Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 145: The Empress reward

Chapter 145: The Empress reward

The outcome of the dance was totally unexpected to Ave after she returned to the hall with the Princesses after changing their dresses back to the formal ones they wore before. Though she had expected to have the spotlight, she hadn’t anticipated anyone would like it as much as they did now, with curious guests crowding around them, trying to know where the dance originated from.

She had deliberately altered the dance the other day after realizing how dangerous this world was, the original dance she planned could have been considered scandalous, hence after asking around and hearing what the butterfly dance looked like, she made some changes and came up with a new dance, moulding the future with the past. She had added bits of the butterfly dance in order not to make the changes in her from the original Selene too obvious. Turns out that move had worked. And now, all the guests were all over her.

Ave had a stiff smile on the whole time she tried to get the guests off her back, their ways of questioning her didn’t lack arrogance. Thank goodness most of them went to the Princesses, as they still believed Selene was below them despite how she had shone on the stage, and Ave had no problem with that, she had achieved her goal with the dance tonight: to show Madeline and Lucian that she was a better dancer and that, even without him, she could do fine in this world.

He had said he didn’t care and that she wasn’t his concern, right? Then she would also show him that she didn’t give a hoot about him, Ave thought as she tried her best not to look toward the direction she knew Lucian was still seated. Instead, she focused on the guests around her, who were now presenting her with gifts as compliments for the dance, just like they had done with Madeline.

Since Ave had no maidservant, she had to carry each one herself. And while she carried them, she couldn’t help but think about Lydia and how the girl must be doing now after she had healed her last night. She had been unconscious when Zane took her to the doomed palace, and she hoped he had kept his word of having the servants there look after her. The last thing Ave would want was to lose the girl after she’d risked everything last night to heal her.

Ave had just placed the gift boxes on a table she had been seated at before the dance when she heard the clicking sounds of approaching footsteps. She turned to the side, only to see Madeline, her pretty face a mask of disdain as she came to stand in front of her, arms crossed against her chest and her olive eyes boring intensely into Ave.

"What’s up, Maddie?" Ave said in a good-natured voice with a wave of her hand as she leaned on the table she had placed her gifts on, a smile playing on her lips. She saw Madeline’s brows draw together as if confused by those words, then her frown turned to a scowl and a glare.

"Just because you thought you’ve danced so well doesn’t mean you can dare insult me with Pendragon foreign ridiculous words, Selene. Your dance doesn’t change the fact that you are still an untitled woman who will be my maidservant very soon," she said with scorn, then scoffed before adding, "And to think I believed you were terrified last night—you played one big joke on me and think you can get away with it. You will never be in my position and will forever be below me."

Ave couldn’t help but chuckle at the sound of those words—not because she found it silly but because it was ridiculously familiar. Victoria had been the one to say those words to her; however, now the tables had turned, and she was the one saying it, or more accurately, her ancestor saying it to Victoria’s ancestor.

Madeline gritted her teeth in anger as she heard Ave’s chuckles, but before she could say anything else, the Empress’s maidservant, an elderly woman, approached them. Bowing to Madeline, she turned to Ave and reported, "Milady, Her Majesty wants your presence immediately. You have done a good job by impressing not just the Emperor but the guests, and your rewards await you."

Ave felt her heart tremble in dread at the thought that the Empress sought her presence. She hadn’t faced the tyrant Empress since the day she had been deposed, as she had avoided any unexpected encounters with the woman by changing her path whenever she caught a whiff of her. But it seemed there was no escaping that now. Whatever this reward was, she would gladly let it go just so she wouldn’t have to face the woman. But Ave knew she dared not refuse to go.

Nodding her head and trying to hide her sudden anxiety, she glanced towards the fuming Madeline, offered her a curt bow, and gave a sidelong smile before she followed the maid who led her away from the guests still gathering around the Pendragon Princesses and talking about the dance they’d performed.

Ave noticed that the maid was leading her to the quieter part of the hall at the far end where tables and chairs were set, but no guests were there. And when they drew closer, she noticed the Empress sitting elegantly on one of the chairs, sipping her wine from a goblet. She looked as calculating and cunning as Ave last remembered, and when the woman looked up and met her eyes, Ave felt sweat break out on her palms, which she was clenching tightly at her sides as she approached.

Schooling her expression and making sure she wouldn’t reveal how much she feared this certain woman—not only because she had beheaded a young girl on their first meeting, but because of everything that had been said about her in history. She was said to be the biggest sorceress in the Pendragon Dynasty, who had ruined many lives. Up until this moment, Ave still couldn’t pinpoint how she could be a sorceress when she wasn’t a witch—or was she?

Ave paused her wandering thoughts as she came to stand before the woman in the dimly lit side of the hall, where the activities were only faintly audible here. Then, she put on a smile that showed none of the nervousness she felt before she bowed her head. "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Elara looked up at Ave from where she sat with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes before she remarked quietly, "I didn’t know you had so much more dance talent up your sleeves until now, Selene. Have a seat—you have impressed me enough to earn a seat with me." She gestured toward the chair opposite her, and when she saw Ave sit down, she gestured for her handmaid to pour Ave a drink.

Ave watched as the elderly maid poured the blood-red wine into the goblet and then stepped back. Then she heard the Empress say, "Have that as a compliment for your wonderful performance. The Emperor and I have also prepared a present for you and the others, but before that, I’d like to hear how you have been doing lately." She said calmly as she sipped her wine with the grace of a phoenix and the regal movement of a feline. Though despite her age, the Empress looked no more than a thirty-year-old beautiful woman.

Ave could tell this meeting wasn’t only because the Empress wanted to compliment her dance, but because she had other motives. However, whatever those motives were, she didn’t know, which made her even more wary. "Well, Your Majesty, what can I say? I became a deposed woman all of a sudden with no title. It really pains me that I was deposed before I could achieve any of our plans for the Cursed Prince." She expressed with great feeling in her voice while she forced tears into her eyes to make her words believable.

Nonetheless, to hide her true feelings, she reached out to pick up the wine goblet for a drink to wet her suddenly dry throat, but the Empress’s eyes seemed to fall on her injured hand.

"What happened to your hand? How did you get such injuries?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes to inspect the wound that looked like a cut and still had a trace of blood as it appeared she had re-bruised the injury. Realizing how she despised touching or coming close to any human blood—since, as a royal night creature who was brought up having and only touching witches blood, human blood was considered degrading—she looked away from her hand and back to her face and said dismissively, "Never mind."

Ave released the breath she didn’t know she was holding when the Empress’s eyes fell away from her hand, where the man in the casket had scratched her. She wouldn’t have known what excuse to give for how she got the injury, but thank goodness the Empress didn’t look interested in knowing and resumed where they left off.

"You can still help Caelan even though you have been deposed, Selene. My promise to make you his concubine after his enthronement still stands. You may have lost the affection of the second prince, but you haven’t lost your duty to me." She said, the corners of her lips pulling up into a smirk. Elara would have preferred it if Lucian still loved her as he had when she first married him, but because of Caelan and how he couldn’t keep away from the girl, they had messed up everything.

If only Lucian would care about her as much as he had before, if only she was still his wife, Elara could use the girl in another way. Love was always a weakness for any man who fell into it; one would be willing to give up everything for the person they cared about. Now that the time was drawing near when the throne would be vacated, she needed to get rid of all the Emperor’s male children to give her son an opening. The first prince’s death had already been arranged if everything went as planned, but the second prince would always be a challenge to eliminate.

Ave could feel the calculating gaze of the Empress as she stared at her. Smiling, she said, "I am glad to know that Your Majesty still considers me an ally and wants me to help the third prince. After all, he is the love of my life, and I would do anything to ensure he takes the throne." Ave said, while deep down, she felt the complete opposite of her words. She would do anything to make sure the third prince never came close to sitting on the throne. He was one of the men she hated to the bone, apart from her father, James Eamon. Men like that deserved to rot in the pit of hell.

A smile graced Elara’s face; she liked that Selene still seemed to love her son. Though she couldn’t use Lucian’s love for his former wife to reach him, she could certainly use Selene’s love for her son in any way she could. "Very good, Selene. Drink up the wine before the ice melts away. To compliment your dance, I ordered my maidservant to add ice, one of our treasured items, and I hope it cools you down after your wonderful performance."

Ave glanced down at the drink and saw the ice. She had learned that ice was as expensive as gold in this era as preserving it was harder than making gold. Since she came here, she hadn’t had any cool drinks, and, feeling the dryness in her throat and the heat after their performance, she reached out without hesitation and gulped it down. The sweet and sour cool taste of the wine spread over her tongue and washed down her throat.

She liked the taste, so she didn’t put the goblet down until she had drunk it to the last drop. Smiling at the Empress to hide her eagerness to flee from here before she’d cringe to death with every word she was forced to speak, Ave said, "Thank you for your generosity, Your majesty."

The Empress smiled back, "It’s nothing. Selene, since you still love my son and are willing to help him achieve his goal of becoming the next Emperor, then this will be your first test. Lanie," she turned to her maidservant and gestured towards Ave, "take her to the chamber where her presence awaits her. I hope you will like it," she said to Ave, who was eager to leave the Empress.

"Whatever it is will be to my liking, Your Majesty." She stood up, bowed, and added, "I will take my leave now." She turned on her heels and followed the elder maid leading her away, unaware of the evil glint in the Empress’s eyes as she watched them walk away.