Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 184: Right on time!

"She wants the dishes today before sunset, or you will be branded as her slave by tomorrow morning," he announced grimly, and Ave’s footsteps immediately halted. She moved away from Aaron and began to pace the grounds in worry.

"Oh no, it’s almost afternoon. I promised her ten dishes, and I have to make them ready before sunset today!" she muttered to herself. Whatever it was, she needed to get on with it now before it was too late. The last thing she needed now was to become a slave to the Chen kingdom or get punished by the king of the kingdom for disappointing his mother.

She glanced at Aaron and told him, "I’m sorry to cut our stroll short, but I think I’ve got too much on my plate, as you can see. If you’ll excuse me," she bowed in courtesy to the prince, who looked taken aback by her choice of words but didn’t say anything about it and told her,

"If you need my help for anything, I’ll be glad to offer it." He offered kindly.

Ave wouldn’t be needing his help when Lucian had made sure she got everything she needed. Thus, she smiled and told him, "Thanks for the offer, I’ll keep that in mind."

Aaron looked disappointed but tried not to let it show as he gestured towards the bench under the oak tree and said, "I will be sitting there until sunset when you are ready to present the dishes to her." He didn’t allow her to refuse that part and strode towards the bench, making himself comfortable with his legs crossed over the other. He beckoned for someone behind Ave, and when she turned, she noticed he was calling his manservant, who had been standing by his horse.

When the man came to him, Prince Aaron shifted for him to sit beside him on the bench, and they began to converse like friends.

Knowing that she couldn’t possibly talk him out of waiting for her to finish, nor could she welcome him into the palace, Ave decided to let him stay and made her way back towards the entrance.

However, before she walked in, she heard the sound of carriage wheels coming to a stop behind her. Turning to see who it was again, her eyes brightened when she noticed it was the royal carriage of the Pendragon Princesses. And when she saw them exiting the carriage one after the other, an idea suddenly came to her mind. She needed as much help as possible since the Queen Mother of Chen wanted the dishes today itself.

Retracing her steps, she turned back to them and went to greet them. "Hello guys!" She grinned in excitement, as she knew with them here, she wouldn’t have the chance to overthink about Lucian or her decision to stay or leave, and again she would make sure they had so much fun with what she had in mind for them today.

"Selene!" They called her name at the same time as they rushed to her, and for the first time since Ave had come here, she wished they would call her by her own name.

"I have never been this happy to see you guys!" Ave exclaimed excitedly as she hugged them one after the other, and they all looked at her in question, Isolde and Celeste’s expressions looking identical as they wondered why she would be this happy to see them. Could it be that she was bored and had some plan to make them have fun in her own ways?

"I hope you do not plan to take us to that river again?" Isolde asked, terrified at the thought of it as she hadn’t forgotten how they had been scolded by the second prince for something that wasn’t their fault but Selene’s. "If that is what you have in mind, we might as well go back to the main palace," she added when Ave laughed.

"I agree with Isolde; I don’t want to go to the river." Celeste nodded in agreement as she inched closer to the carriage where Orion, who had also insisted on coming here with them to escape the third prince, was climbing down the carriage steps.

"What river?" he questioned as he looked from his sisters to Selene, who was surprised to see him.

"You came here as well! It seems I will have all the help I need," Ave exclaimed. "And don’t worry, I am not taking you to any river. We are going to have fun in the kitchen," she told them as she wiggled her brows, but it seemed the mention of the kitchen terrified them more than going to the river.

"What are we going to have fun doing in a kitchen?" Celeste questioned with a frown. She had never stepped into any kitchen before nor had she thought about being in one.

"Cooking, of course!" she announced to them as if that was a normal thing to do. They were royals, and royals do not cook when they have servants at their beck and call. It was either Selene was joking or she was completely out of her mind to even suggest that, Orion thought as he regarded the woman with a displeased frown. No nobleman would be caught cooking in a kitchen, not to mention a royal; he was royal, and he wasn’t about to disgrace his royal blood by stooping to that level Selene was about to drag him to.

"I am not going to any kitchen. In fact, I’m going back to the main palace. Have fun doing the servants’ job." He turned to leave, but before he could take a step forward, Ave had grabbed his robe and stopped him.

"Not a chance, Prince. We are all going to the kitchen," she declared as she pulled him back and closed the carriage door. "We are not cooking the normal meals you eat here; we are going to make something different and exciting. Don’t you want to be the first to invent something new?" she tried to convince them, and they all seemed thoughtful for some time before Isolde agreed, and then Thalia.

Seeing that her two sisters had agreed, Celeste sighed in defeat, "Fine. I would like to see what we can do when none of us know how to cook."

"And where do I stand here?" Orion scoffed as he jerked his robe away from Ave’s clutch. "Are you forgetting I am a man? Men don’t go to the kitchen," he reminded them in case his sisters had forgotten.

"You are not the only man joining us; Zane is also going to be there," Ave announced, and that got the attention of not only Orion but Thalia. Orion’s role models were the second prince and his bodyguard, and whatever chance he could get to be around either of those two, he seized them.

"Fine. I will join you in the kitchen." He declared with a clear of his throat and made his way inside the palace, where Zane was standing at the entrance, clueless about the fact that he was going to be dragged to the kitchen as well.

When Ave noticed Thalia’s eyes on the man, she smirked as she thought she was going to play matchmaker for many of these royals today. "Let’s go in," she began to lead them inside.

"We didn’t see you at the farewell of the soldiers this morning; you didn’t come to see Brother Lucian off?" Thalia commented as she broke her gaze away from Zane, who didn’t even act like he’d seen or noticed her there. That hurt Thalia, as she hadn’t gotten the chance to apologize for their last encounter, and Zane wasn’t even giving her the chance to. Thus, she turned to Ave instead and asked that question, only to remember and say,

"Oh, I always forget that you and Brother Lucian are no longer married. You have no reason to see him off. Princess Madeline was there anyway; she gave him her handkerchief as a token of good luck. She has been boasting about it to every soul in the palace that Brother Lucian had taken her handkerchief." Thalia shook her head as she recalled how Madeline had been telling everyone at the dining hall this morning and calling herself his wife when the marriage hadn’t even happened.

Ave, who had no idea what it meant to give a handkerchief, couldn’t help but ask, "Why did he take her handkerchief? I mean, what’s the point?"

Thalia pursed her lips, gazing at Ave with surprised disbelief. "Have you forgotten our tradition?" she asked, as that tradition was common knowledge to everyone in their lands, but didn’t wait for Ave’s answer before explaining. "When a man goes to battle with a lover’s handkerchief or piece of clothing, it shows that she means everything to him. It’s like taking a part of her with him—a token of good luck meant to protect him. He fights not just for himself, but for her. His victory is hers as well. That’s why Princess Madeline is overjoyed. She’s already calling herself his wife."

Ave felt her heart tremble at that revelation. She knew she had been the very one to convince Lucian to take Madeline as his wife when he seemed willing not to marry her again that day in the stables, but now that things had taken a turn in ways she didn’t expect, she didn’t know what to feel now. Everything had reached a point where she knew he wouldn’t be able to back out of the marriage if he wanted to take the throne, and she couldn’t help the stab of jealousy that pierced her heart at the fact that he had taken Madeline’s handkerchief, and she hadn’t been there when he was even leaving.

Since she wasn’t yet certain where she belonged or if she would be able to even stay in this world with him, she decided not to interfere with his marriage with Madeline or do anything to stop it. She schooled her expression, swallowed her jealousy, and then smiled,

"Was he happy to take her handkerchief?" she asked before she could stop herself.

Thalia looked back to the time this morning; she recalled seeing a little smile on his face as he tied the handkerchief around his sword and then nodded her head. "I think so. He was smiling, which means he was happy..." She trailed off as they reached where Zane was standing at the entrance. When he looked at her with his hazel-grayish eyes, Thalia felt her heart skip a beat. She offered him a smile, but his expression hardened like steel as he looked at Ave, ignoring her completely.

"I will be around, My lady. Call me if you need me." Zane bowed to Ave, ready to escape from having to be anywhere close to this princess, but before he could leave, Ave stopped him.

"I will need your help as well in the kitchen. Let’s go." She pulled his hand before he could refuse or protest, and Thalia happily trotted behind them.