Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 183: The guest

Chapter 183: The guest

Ave leaped quickly off the bed, outraged and in disbelief that Selene must have done something after writing this to cause her transmigration to this world. She had seemed to suffer from belonging; thus, could it be that she had done something to switch their souls? Does this mean Selene was in her own body in the modern world, and Ave was here in the past? But then, if Selene was behind this, who was that shadow woman and Rosette? And most importantly, how would Selene know about her world to switch their souls?!

Ave felt like pulling off her hair in frustration as she couldn’t seem to piece everything Selene had written together with the rest of the questions left unanswered. Selene hadn’t written about any spell or using it, but whose life did she dream of having? It was obviously hers, which meant they were connected in ways she needed to find out and piece everything together before she would be able to accept her life here completely if she couldn’t return to her time.

Accepting that was going to take a while, but then Rome wasn’t built in a day. With time and patience and with Lucian, she might learn to adjust, but first of all, she needed to make certain she wouldn’t be ruining anything in time by choosing Lucian. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that wasn’t something she should have ever considered, but her heart and soul longed to be where he was and stay with him. Her soul wanted him and cherished him, and if possible, she would stop denying that pull and try to forget everything she was leaving behind by choosing him.

Her wealth, her fame and dreams, her revenge against James Eamon and his family, including Victoria. Those were things that might take time to forget and leave behind. And the thought of them now made her want to find her way back and deal with them first, but she knew that was as impossible as the fact that she couldn’t think about leaving Lucian behind.

But first, she needed to find answers. And... food!

She was starving, and her stomach made it obvious with the loud growling sounds.

Ave put the diary under her pillow and straightened up when Lydia and a few maids walked in with her bathing water.

She took her bath and wore a new set of clothes. All the while the maids set up her meals on the dining table, her mind was lost elsewhere. She wasn’t only thinking about Selene’s diary but last night. She didn’t recall returning with Lucian and didn’t even know what had happened the night before. Everything just felt like she had disappeared here after Lucian’s confession at that pond place.

Whenever she tried to think too much about it, it felt like something was blocking her brain from remembering. When the aroma of the food swirled to her nose and made her salivate, Ave put those thoughts aside, deciding to ask Lucian when he returned, and beamed at the enticing food in front of her. It seemed the cook had gone all out to please her again like yesterday morning, and as she began to eat, her mind wandered to Lucian as she worried if he would get to eat or rest on the battlefield.

Was the battle fought like in movies or worse? She wondered as she absentmindedly ate her food. Do they make camps or fight all day and night?

Throughout the whole meal, Ave’s mind didn’t rest, nor did it allow her to enjoy her meal properly as she intended to do. Thus, when she felt full, she left the rest. She would better go and see all the ingredients they had brought yesterday and pass her time rather than worry unnecessarily about things she had no control over at the moment.

Ave was about to walk toward the kitchen area when Lydia approached and told her, "My lady, Prince Aaron has come to see you. He is waiting outside."

Ave stopped in her tracks, a frown on her face as she wondered why he was here and what reason he had for looking for her here. Since no one seemed to miss or even notice her absence in the main palace, she had decided to stay here in the palace she was familiar with. Furthermore, Lucian hadn’t told her to return to the main palace, but the fact that Aaron was here to look for her made her curious and uneasy.

"Show him into the parlor room," she told Lydia, but Lydia looked a bit distressed as she said,

"Well, he is not allowed inside. The second prince doesn’t welcome people he didn’t approve of himself into his palace, so Lord Zane is keeping him out. But I told him you are eating, and he said to tell you to take your time, he is not in a rush."

Ave parted her lips to tell her to go and tell Zane to let the prince in, but then she thought against it. Lucian had warned her against trusting anyone, and now that he wasn’t around, who was to know if Prince Aaron had come with excuses to meet her just to step in and spy? Not to mention she had seen him with that Edward many times, enough to become wary of him. The last thing she needed now was to give Lucian’s enemies an opportunity to get into his space while he was away.

It was best she met him outside. Ave decided as she walked toward the entrance door, where she could see Zane standing guard out there with his back to her, while Aaron, whom she caught a glimpse of, was smirking at Zane as he tried to converse with him. However, the latter didn’t act like he heard whatever he was saying and remained standing where he was, unmoving and unfazed.

"...You should calm down. I am not here to trespass into your prince’s territory when he is not around, and if I had intentions to really go in, you or anyone couldn’t stop me from going in. Tsk," Aaron clicked his tongue as he remarked arrogantly, while eyeing Zane in amused fascination. But when he noticed Ave was approaching, his dark eyes brightened up, and a genuine smile graced his lips, causing his one cheek dimple to deepen and the sides of his eyes to crinkle.

"Your Highness, what a pleasant surprise to have you out here," Ave greeted as she came to stand before him and bowed slightly. Before she knew it, he reached out and took her hand with the intention to kiss her knuckle, but he paused as his eyes fell on the purple pearl bracelet around her wrist.

However, Aaron’s eyes didn’t only fall on the bracelet but on the cut around her wrist, which anybody from this era knew what it meant. His fingers impulsively tightened around hers as his eyes trembled momentarily, different emotions passing through his eyes, which Ave missed as he had leaned down to press his lips against her knuckles.

When his lips seemed to linger on her knuckle, Ave felt uncomfortable and pulled back her hand from his, trying to maintain her friendly smile when he straightened up and looked into her eyes with those midnight black orbs that seemed to see through her soul and pierce through her in ways she couldn’t put a finger on. She felt a sense of unease and familiarity wash over her all of a sudden as they locked eyes. The feeling was so overwhelming she couldn’t speak nor move her eyes from his until Zane, who had been standing at the side and watching the prince closely, came to stand between them, blocking her view of him.

"Your Highness," Zane said with respect in his voice while hiding his contempt for the man before him. "If you don’t mind stepping away from the lady, it’s not appropriate for you to stand so close to her when the second prince is not here." He told him. In their lands, a married woman and an unmarried man could not stand as close as the prince had been standing with Ave, and since Zane knew of her marriage to his friend, he couldn’t stand and watch the man look at her with such eyes when he’d promised Lucian to protect his wife in his absence.

Aaron’s dark amusement returned when Zane blocked his view of Ave. He regarded the man who stood at the same height with him and then scoffed, "Why is that? The lady is unmarried, and I don’t see why I shouldn’t stand before her. And since when did you take the position of the lady’s guardian?"

Zane’s jaw clenched tightly as he opened his mouth to speak, but Ave patted his back and moved from behind him. She shot him a look to back down and then turned to the prince and smiled. Her marriage with Lucian wasn’t known to anyone apart from Zane, and this prince was Madeline’s elder brother, and from what she’d come to notice, the young man was smart. She wouldn’t want him knowing and then ruining Lucian’s chance to gain the Banzai Kingdom’s support now that he was closer to having the support of others because of the Banzai.

"Don’t mind Zane, you see he is protective of me because he still thinks of me as his prince’s wife. He is forgetting that I am now disposed and no longer the wife of the man he serves. Right, Zane?" She turned to him with a tight smile and eyes that warned him not to do too much of what he was doing and allow her some time with the prince.

Zane understood her warning and silently stood back after bowing curtly to them. Lucian hadn’t told him to let it be known to anyone that he was married to the lady, thus, he knew not to do too much that might give that away.

When Zane went to stand at the side, Ave turned back to Aaron, who was regarding her with those piercing eyes and a smile on his face. "Since I cannot step in, mind taking a stroll around with me while we talk?" He held out his arm for her to take, and when Ave seemed to hesitate, he arched his brows, "Are you also forgetting that you are no longer bound to any man, and holding my arm is absolutely fine and normal?"

Even if she were bound to another man, like he had said, Ave didn’t see anything wrong in holding his arm. The reason she was hesitating was because he made her feel uneasy, but just so she wouldn’t make him suspicious of anything, she grinned and hooked her arm around his. But to her surprise, he pulled her closer so she would stand close to him to the extent that their shoulders were touching.

He began to lead her away. Ave turned in time to see Zane gritting his teeth, but she assured him with her eyes to stay back.

"So, what brings you here, Your Highness?" she asked, trying to look and keep her friendly facade when she wanted nothing but to bolt from him.

"Well, for one, I didn’t see you the whole of yesterday, and after I asked around, I heard from the Pendragon Princesses that you were here. And second, Queen Lan Hui sent me to you," he informed her with a small chuckle when he heard her sharp inhale.