Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 173: Tradition

Chapter 173: Tradition

"Who am I, you say?" Ave drawled as she circled the trembling man on the ground, her wicked smirk turning more evil as she crouched down in front of him. "I am the..." She turned to look towards Lucian and the audience with a smirk playing mischievously on her face. She was enjoying herself and liked the bruise she had inflicted on the man’s mouth.

However, she knew not to give away that she was from the palace and that Lucian was like a best friend to her. Anyone who insulted him in her presence would face a far greater punishment with her wooden sword. Not that she could wield a real sword to protect herself, but she could swirl and use it to beat up idiots like this actor.

"I am the leader of the second prince’s fan club! I am his top fan, and whoever dares to insult him within my earshot shall be bashed so badly they wouldn’t want to show their face in society!" she announced, using the sword to hit the man behind her while her eyes remained on the confused audience, who seemed to be wondering what she meant by the words she spoke.

How could one be a fan of the prince? What did she mean by fan club? Those words were going through everyone’s mind as they turned to question each other if anyone could explain what she meant, and as they were busy trying to know the meaning, they didn’t even notice when Ave slipped away from the stage. She hurried to Lucian and Zane, pulling the two men by the hand and making them run with her out of the place before anyone would notice or realize she wasn’t a part of whatever drama they had been playing.

Ave ran with them while laughing so hard she could barely run until they were far away from the stage and crowd. She then stopped to catch her breath while still holding onto the two men, but Zane had learned his lesson and hurriedly pulled his hand away from hers when he saw Lucian’s eyes move to where she held him. He stepped away from her and cleared his throat while pretending to look at the clear blue sky as he rubbed his hair.

Ave turned to look up at Lucian, her blue eyes sparkling happily, not even realizing he had scared Zane away with his eyes. She leaned against his chest as she tried to catch her breath and then said,

"Did you see how I dealt with that fat-ass idiot? He was so rude and disrespectful towards a deceased woman. He should be lucky that wasn’t a real sword—I would have cut off his tongue and made him eat it." She gritted her teeth as she moved away from Lucian’s chest to emphasize her anger with her hands. But Lucian pulled her hand and drew her near him, a smile playing on his lips.

He looked down at her with an expression Ave couldn’t read as he caressed her cheek and then chuckled softly, "You are a strange one, Aveline. You amaze me and yet surprise me all the time. The leader of my fan club, is it?" He smiled as he traced the side of her mouth and watched as her cheeks reddened, as if she were embarrassed, but she didn’t pull away from his touch. An improvement he liked. She seemed to be getting more used to him touching her, and he couldn’t ask for more at this moment.

"What does that even mean?" he asked curiously as he tilted his head to the side and let his hand fall from her face to her arm before it slid down to hold her warm hand in his. She was always warm while he was cold, and he liked her body temperature as much as he liked holding her. He resumed walking with her hand in hand.

Ave cleared her throat, trying to stifle a small smile at the way he held her hand and walked, and, of course, at his curiosity. "Well...a fan club is a group of people who are really...enthusiastic about someone. Like, they admire and support that person, sometimes even obsessively. They follow everything that person does and cheer for them, even if they’ve never met. It’s like... having a loyal group of people who celebrate you just for being you."

Lucian turned his head to the side to look at her, intrigued. "So, these people...they would all come together just to honor one person? Without any gain for themselves?"

"Exactly," she nodded, laughing a little. "Think of it as your own...dedicated followers, but instead of swords and battles, they just share stories about you, write songs, make little sketches—anything to show their admiration. And instead of just standing in the shadows, they’d let the whole world know about their support."

Lucian tilted his head, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "And you would be the ’leader’ of this group?" He didn’t know why, but he liked the sound of her being the leader of it, which meant she admired him.

"Well, technically," Ave shrugged, "but it’s not like I’m making banners or cheering in public. It just means I appreciate you enough to be your top fan. You deserve it for all the battles you’ve fought for a land that never appreciates you for it." She added the last part under her breath as she subconsciously tightened her fingers around his.

Lucian chuckled, giving her hand a gentle squeeze in return. "A strange tradition, but... somehow, I don’t mind having you as my most loyal follower, Babe," he muttered softly, causing Ave to turn to him. Whenever he called her "Babe," something stirred in her stomach and heart. Something crumbled down from around her heart and gave it a kind of warmth she had never felt there.

Although she hadn’t agreed to be his girlfriend, he had taken it upon himself to call her "Babe." However, the fact that she didn’t mind it surprised her more than the fact that she hadn’t stopped him from calling her that.

She couldn’t be a girlfriend to a man about to marry another, but she had decided to put all that aside for today and not worry about anything else but to enjoy today to its fullest with Lucian. He would be going on a dangerous battle tomorrow, and she wasn’t certain when she would see him again, or if she would ever see him again. Their relationship might not have a name, and she might not want to admit what she felt for him or him for her, but she didn’t care at this point.

Ave didn’t allow herself to get distracted by any other activities that might lead to her wasting time and instead walked with Lucian to where she would be buying the ingredients. They walked around for some time with Ave looking for fresh ingredients that would substitute what they don’t have in this time to make modern dishes. It took them more than an hour to finally get everything she needed, with Zane following behind them like last time, carrying bags in both hands.

Since Zane’s hands were full, Ave made Lucian carry the bags as well, but unlike last time, he didn’t seem unwilling. He took them willingly from her hands even before she’d had to ask him to. Unlike last time as well, Ave was grateful none of the sellers were rude towards her and that no one would lose their limbs.

By the time they were done buying everything, it was already mid-afternoon. Ave was already starving, and she knew Lucian must be as well, even though he didn’t speak it out loud. He hadn’t eaten since yesterday nor this morning before they came out. However, she didn’t want to suggest they stop for food when he had been against it the last time they came out. If he were to be against it now again, she might forget about her promise to be calm and end up having an argument. Thus, she kept silent and walked between the two men towering over her like bodyguards.

"Should we stop to eat, Babe?" came Lucian’s question that made Ave’s eyes round, her head snapping towards him. Did he just ask her that? It was like he could read her thoughts!

Without hesitation, Ave nodded eagerly, "Yes, we should. I noticed an eatery up ahead there when we were coming here. Let’s eat there!" She clapped happily, her invisible tail wiggling like an eager puppy. Too pleased with Lucian’s suggestion, she hooked her arm around his since she couldn’t hold his hand for the bags he held in them. And she felt how he snuggled his arm closer to her as if wanting her to hug his arm to her, and Ave instinctively did so, while Zane, who was watching from the side, couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

"I think I might die from the discomfort of having to watch these two," Zane thought to himself, feeling strangely unsettled by the affection they were displaying, especially since Lucian had always denied that he loved her. If this wasn’t love, then perhaps it was pure madness.

"Did you say something, Zane?" Lucian called out, narrowing his eyes at him, clearly having overheard.

Zane gave him a tight smile. "Not at all, My Lord. I was merely admiring the lovely weather."

As they were walking towards the eatery Ave had mentioned, Lucian stopped all of a sudden at a little clearing where Ave noticed two couples in matching outfits walking away hand in hand, smiling at each other. A frown settled on Ave’s face as she noticed Lucian was watching the couple and then the clearing, and then his eyes brightened. Not knowing what he was thinking, she pursed her lips and asked,

"What is it?"

Lucian turned his head to the side to look at her, a small smile playing on his lips as he asked, "You always like trying new things, don’t you?"

Ave nibbled the inside of her cheek as she wondered what he meant. However, she bobbed her head, "Of course. I like trying new things. Why did you ask?" She arched a brow in wonderment. She was starving at this point, and what she wanted to try more than anything was a good meal and a good cold soda, nothing more.

"Then let’s explore one of the northern traditions of our Empire. I’ve heard that whoever partakes in it can have their deepest desire granted, and their biggest problem solved without lifting a finger. What do you think?" he asked her as he already began to lead her to the clearing. She seemed to get interested when he mentioned her problem being solved. If her biggest problem could be solved, that meant she could return to her time without having to lift a hand!

"How do we go about this tradition?" she asked, already intrigued.

"Well, it requires two people. You’ll need a partner, and since you’re here, we can be partners." He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes, which Ave missed as she looked at the clearing, already imagining some random superstition granting her wish.

"Let’s do it!" she exclaimed. However, if she’d just turned at that moment to look at Zane’s expression, she would have realized something didn’t seem right and that Lucian was trying to get her to do something she wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t told her it would solve her problem to entice her.

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