Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 158: Being suspicious about her behaviors

Chapter 158: Being suspicious about her behaviors

The so-called announcement wasn’t made in the dining hall but in the large open hall that led to the dining side. The hall was very big and spacious, and all the guests stood there while they whispered about what this was all about. The Emperor had yet to arrive, and before his arrival, the place was filled with hushed murmurs.

Many knew that two of the guests were missing, but none knew if they had been found, especially the family of the prince who couldn’t be found.

On one side of the hall, Madeline stood with a grim expression, with Catherine by her side. She was in a foul mood for many reasons, and now she was forced to come out here and stand, waiting to hear the announcement. Last night, she had hoped to spend some time with the man she would marry, perhaps even get to know each other more so that when they got married, he would know what sort of things she liked to receive as gifts and the kind of diamonds she fancied. But after that absurd dance of the Pendragon Royals, he had disappeared from her sight.

That wasn’t the only reason she was mad. She was angry because after he disappeared, shortly afterward, Selene was also nowhere to be found inside the hall. Madeline had kept her eyes on the wench, but she’d disappeared all of a sudden. She had a gut feeling all night that the two had been together.

He was supposed to give her all the attention there was because she wasn’t only risking her family’s reputation to marry a rumored cursed prince and the son of a rumored witch, she was also willing to make her father help him sit on the throne. She was to be pampered by him and cared for, but not once had he ever even spoken back to her. She was always the one doing the talking.

Madeline didn’t even care one bit about their kingdom’s ambassador being missing. Her biggest concern was the man she wanted to marry. She was going to do anything to remove any obstacle from their way. And as if the wench knew Madeline was thinking about how to get rid of her, she walked into the hall with Aaron by her side, who seemed too kind and gentlemanly around her, even making a path for her in the crowd to stand.

Madeline gritted her teeth at that. After her dance last night, every one of the princes had been talking about how beautiful Selene was and how she shone on the platform. She’d even overheard many of them whispering about how they wished they could take her back as their concubine, as that was the only position she could ever get the chance to have after being disposed of. And from how her brother was being this kind to the wench, she hoped he had no plans of taking her back to their kingdom. He better not think about it.

"I told you, Your Highness. Selene is no longer the woman you know. It seems she has been possessed by another soul that acts completely out of this world," Catherine said as she noticed how the princess was staring at Selene, who was now gathering her long dress in her forearm and exposing her legs where she wore no stockings like every female was supposed to. No lady would be caught raising her dress that high, and not even the old Selene, as she always tried to carry herself with an elegant grace.

Madeline narrowed her eyes at Selene. Not only did she gather her dress, but her stance at that moment was nothing like a lady’s. She had her hands on her hips and wasn’t standing straight. She even yawned with her mouth open while using the back of her hand to cover it, not elegantly but poorly.

Recalling how the old Selene used to be and trying to picture this one here, she realized something unsettling and interesting. "Something is indeed off with her," she muttered to herself as she used her finger to tap her chin.

"I’ve been trying to tell you this for a while, Your Highness, but you didn’t listen. Those dresses they used to perform last night were described by Selene to the seamstress’s assistant in the doomed palace. I was there, and I witnessed it. Selene is my stepsister, and I know her better than anyone. She was never talented in designs. We grew up in the same household, and I can tell you that this new Selene is not the one I know. Something is wrong with her, and she’s hiding it." She whispered softly for only the princess to hear, and she watched in satisfaction as Princess Madeline’s face looked deep in thought before her olive eyes brightened up.

"What do you think she may be hiding?" Madeline asked, completely interested. Normally, she wouldn’t be caught dead speaking to a lowly slave maid, but if it was going to benefit her and get rid of that wench from their lives before her marriage to the second prince, she was willing to take a maid as an assistant and an ally.

Catherine smirked as she said, "I don’t know for certain, but her behavior proves that she is hiding a big secret. If you ask me, I’d say she may have regained some forbidden powers. Anyway, she is from Gina, and it’s not impossible for someone like her to have powers. It wouldn’t be surprising if she used some kind of enchantment to make herself braver and smarter."

As Catherine saw how the princess was falling for her words, it was all she could do not to grin wildly. Selene was one of the people she never liked, even before they were taken away from their home and brought here. Their father had always favored Selene and doted on her like a princess. She had everything she wanted, from the prettiest chamber to the nicest tutor, while Catherine was treated like she wasn’t from the household because she wasn’t as beautiful.

Those memories had imprinted themselves in her heart and mind. Though they shared the same father, Catherine always felt like an outcast. She hated those days when they would get invited to balls, and Selene, despite being a young girl of five years, got all the attention while she, the eldest daughter, was ignored. Even that deceased Jasmine, who was a daughter of their father’s concubine and was still an infant then, received more love and care than she did.

Even her own mother would never fail to remind her of how her narrow face, large forehead, and protruding upper teeth made her look less alluring compared to her half-siblings. She had not only gone through a childhood filled with people comparing her to her siblings but also had to come here and be insulted for it. She had been thrown into the position of a servant without a second look.

Meanwhile Selene, even though she had been disposed of, which Catherine was over the moon happy about, she still wasn’t thrown into being a servant, instead she seemed to keep gaining more attention. She looked too beautiful to be a servant, everyone had been whispering the whole time. Catherine hated hearing those words. She had tried to make this senseless princess see how much of an imposter this new Selene was, but the short-tempered princess would either pour tea on her or slap her.

Not until now, the princess hadn’t listened, especially when that damned dress Lydia gave her had been nothing but useless.

"From now on, we have to keep a close eye on her," Madeline said as she looked at Selene now suspiciously. "Everything and anything she does must be watched until we have solid proof that she is using enchantment."

"Yes, Your Highness." Catherine answered with a smile playing on her thin lips. Even if she wasn’t using enchantment, Catherine would make sure she got framed.

Meanwhile, on the other side, where Ave was standing, feeling bored and tired, she felt the back of her neck prickle as if someone was watching her. She turned to see that it was none other than Catherine and Madeline. They didn’t even try to make it less obvious that they were staring; they kept looking even when she turned to look at them. Madeline even smirked at her.

Ave’s forehead creased into a frown as she sensed something was off with those two. She knew that Catherine didn’t like her stepsister, and Madeline also didn’t like her, and those two coming together and looking at her like this only meant they were up to something. Could it be that they were plotting against her? Ave wondered as she had a gut feeling.

With that witch Catherine and that spoiled princess, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they plotted to kill her behind her back just like in those dramas she watched and even starred in. Jealousy could make one’s heart so dark and ugly. And those two sure had dark hearts. She wished Lucian would have picked a better person to marry than that Madeline.

Deciding to ignore them for now and make sure she became more guarded before they’d send someone to kill her at night in her sleep, she looked away and her gaze drifted back to the balcony at the top of the hall where thankfully, the Emperor and Empress everyone had been waiting for had arrived along with the elder prince and the other two Pendragon princes. Lucian wasn’t there, she noted with a frown as she looked around but couldn’t find him.

Strange. Where was he? she thought as she recalled she hadn’t seen him since she walked away from the Empress’s chamber. Ave was still trying to look around when she heard the first prince begin to speak to the guests, who had gone completely silent at the arrival of the Pendragon Royals.

"Good afternoon to all our honorable guests who have come from faraway lands to celebrate the Emperor’s birthday ceremony. His Majesty would like you all to know that we will stop at nothing until we find the two missing guests, alive or dead. From our little investigation, we have come to the conclusion that their disappearance has something to do with enchantment that must have been performed the night before His Majesty’s birthday ceremony...!" Alden paused to allow his words to settle in with the guests, who were quick to gasp at the mention of enchantment.

Ave went slightly pale at those words. How could her performing a spell to heal Lydia make two people who had been present at the ceremony last night disappear all of a sudden? She wondered, terrified at the fact that if anyone were to discover what she had done, she might end up getting blamed for many more things.

"We also suspect that all this might be happening because of the Valerie people. Our soldiers will set off for battle to defeat them the day after tomorrow. We shall get rid of every and any form of witches and powers from our lands. I give you all my word, I won’t rest until every single one of the Valerie people are met with their doom and justice is brought upon our people!" he announced, and the people in the hall roared in agreement to that.

"All those filthy creatures should be killed! They are evil and have brought nothing but bad luck to us!" Words like that went around the hall before the first prince held out his hand to silence them, as he seemed not to be done delivering his father’s words to the people.

"His majesty has also decided to allow the wedding of my brothers and sisters to take place after we return from the war victorious. The wedding shall be a form of a victory celebration for us!"

Ave’s fingers instinctively clenched around the fabric of her dress as she swallowed hard. Lucian would not only be going to war to kill people like them in a day, but he would also be getting married once he returned. Why wasn’t she happy about this outcome? And where was Lucian? Why wasn’t he here?

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