Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 199: Digging the grave

Chapter 199: Digging the grave

It took them more time than expected to sneak the body out of the palace without being noticed by the guards on duty. They walked in the shadows until they arrived at the forest, where the waxing gibbous moon illuminated their path and brightened their way.

Lucian walked in front, with Ave following behind him and turning cautiously from side to side. They were surrounded by the sounds of chirping crickets, the distant hoot of an owl echoing in the forest, and the quiet rustling of leaves beneath their feet.

When they arrived at the spot Lucian thought was good to bury the body where no one would ever suspect, Ave took the shovel he had taken from the palace stables from his hand before he could put the body down.

"What do you think you are doing, my love?" he inquired with an arched brow as he watched her begin to hit the shovel into the hardened soil, removing it to start digging the ground.

"Isn’t it obvious that I am digging a grave?" she heaved for breath, even though she hadn’t dug much and was already feeling tired.

Lucian put down the body and walked up to her. "Hand it over; I will do it," he said as he reached out to take the shovel from her hands. But Ave moved it away from his reach and looked up at his face with a slight pout of displeasure.

"I want to do it. I killed her, and it’s only right that I do the hard work," she told him. When he frowned in disapproval and parted his lips to argue, Ave added, "I really want to do this. I lived twenty-four years of my life in a similar body to Madeline’s. She has the same face as the body I possess in the future, and now that I know that it doesn’t belong to me, I want to do this as a form of farewell to her. By killing her, I have ruined the chance of Aveline Eamon ever being born in the future. Please, let me do this much, or I will feel terrible for the rest of my life," she pleaded, looking up into his eyes.

This was the first time Lucian had heard that she shared similar features with Madeline when she lived in the future. Although he still didn’t think it was right to make her dig when she was injured, he could see from her pleading look and desperation to make amends by punishing herself to dig that she wouldn’t give him the shovel unless he forced her, which he didn’t want to do.

"If you are tired, hand it over to me, and I’ll do the rest." Saying this, he patted her head and stepped away from the mark she had made to dig the grave. Lucian went to lean against a tree and watched her begin to work. She gathered her hair back and tied it, then began to dig with all her might. He could tell with each mud she dug out, she was using all her strength. Her slender hands gripped the shovel so hard they had turned pale, and it hurt Lucian to watch her punish herself like that.

"Aveline," Lucian called after a while when she’d only dug a quarter of the grave despite an hour having passed by now. She hummed in response, and he asked the question that had been bothering him the whole time he watched her.

"You said my mother sent you to the future because you had the Rosa mark," Lucian said conversationally as he watched her. "Was that the only reason Anne asked her to send you away?" he asked curiously.

Ave was silent for a moment. They had sent her away because they didn’t want her to be with Lucian, but somehow, it seemed destiny had brought them together despite everything. She wasn’t certain why they didn’t want her with him, but she didn’t tell him that and instead said,

"Yes, she said a child with Rosa can’t be safe in this world," she heaved a breath.

Lucian knew Rosa was said to be a myth, as it had been ages since the last person with the powers killed herself and sealed her own soul from ever reincarnating to protect the world. The fact that his mother had done something to make her friend’s daughter have the forbidden powers made him wonder why she would do such a thing. Once it became known that Ave had the powers Rosette had once possessed, many would come after her, including the night creatures, who he had recently realized were not extinct. They would want her powers for themselves, and she would be in danger for it, even though she wasn’t the actual Rosette but a child born with half of her.

Lucian looked up at the sky and saw that the moon would be full in a few days. Sighing, he turned back to his wife, who seemed determined to dig the grave herself but was taking forever to get it done.

"At the rate you’re digging, my love, we will be here until sunrise," he said as he walked up to her and stood in the middle of the small hole she had made for hours. "You have done enough; let me do the rest. But unless you want someone to walk up to us, you can continue," he added when she was about to protest.

Ave could feel her bones shaking internally from the digging. She could barely stand properly. Not to mention she hadn’t eaten well for the past few days; she felt lightheaded and faint. Without arguing with Lucian, she knew she had punished herself enough for her crimes and handed him the shovel as she moved to walk out of the small hole. She felt the world spin around her as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her, but her husband’s supportive arm came around her waist to steady her.

"Careful, love," he whispered softly as he pulled her close to rest her head against his chest, his arm around her waist.

Whenever he addressed her with such endearments, Ave always felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach and her heart beating so loudly she thought it would explode. She had never known the man who had once been after her neck when she first arrived in this era would be as gentle and caring as he was now. She had rejected his affection because she believed she would return to her world someday, but now that she knew she was here to stay, she allowed the walls around her heart to crack down and accepted his caring gestures without blocking them away.

With each passing day, she couldn’t believe how Selene could have hurt a man like this for a man like the third prince.

"You feel like home, warm and cozy, and you make me feel less bad about killing someone because you had my back," she muttered under her breath as she rubbed her head against his chest like a kitten, her exhaustion beginning to take its toll on her body. She felt his large hand work through her hair and massage her scalp as he leaned down and murmured into her ear,

"I will always have your back, my wife. Besides, I would have killed the princess myself if you hadn’t, because she stood in the way of our marriage and new relationship. She was an obstacle to us." He clicked his tongue in amusement. Ave frowned, pulling her head back to look up at him.

"You’re used to killing to the point you don’t even think what I did was wrong, aren’t you?" she asked, struggling to believe he could still sound amused with a dead body right in front of them. She wished she could be as nonchalant about it as he was, to forgive herself so easily for taking a life, but she knew she’d be lying to herself—it would haunt her days until she learned to forget it.

Lucian shrugged, unfazed. "Taking a life for me is as easy as stepping on an insect. I’ve killed so many that I lost count long ago. Other lives mean nothing to me, Aveline." He paused, letting the cold truth about himself sink in. He was no saint and had never felt bad for killing the people he killed. "They never have. This world has no shortage of people who’ll see me dead if they had the chance, so why would I think twice about returning the favor?"

He tilted her chin up, making sure she held his gaze. "But you...you’re different. You did what you had to, and you did it to protect yourself. Don’t waste your thoughts on her death. She meant nothing—not to me, and certainly not to you. People like her, they’re nothing but obstacles. If you hadn’t killed her when you did, she would have killed you."

He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, his touch gentle despite his calloused words. "Feel the weight of her death if you must, but know this: Guilt is for those who think their lives are worth less than the ones they take. So don’t be so quick to shoulder blame when all you did was fight to stay alive."

Ave pursed her lips as she rested her hands against his chest and looked into his eyes. "You have a way with words that makes one feel better, just like earlier in the room. You look so cold and heartless on the outside, but I believe you are the loveliest man in the world. And I am sorry you are now married to a woman who is terrible with words and knows nothing about being a wife," she purred. Now that she had accepted him as her husband, she knew she would have to learn to be a wife—something that had never once crossed her mind in the past. Marriage had never been something she wanted before, and she’d never imagined herself being someone’s wife.

A grin tugged at Lucian’s lips as he raised his hand and traced her plump, rosy lips with his finger, which looked slightly pale tonight. "Why are you sorry? There is no guidebook on being a wife. Just be yourself, accept my affection, and give me yours in return." Then, leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "By the way, I hope you aren’t forgetting the things that come with being a married couple?"

Ave frowned at his words and turned her head to look at him, but she regretted it as soon as she did, for his face was so close to hers that she thought if she moved any closer, their lips would lock. "What things?" she asked, her voice shaking a little as she stared into his flame-like eyes. She watched his smile broaden as his gaze trailed down to her lips and then back to her eyes.

"For starters, we are yet to consummate our marriage, my love. I hope you haven’t forgotten that part?" he whispered as he leaned down and nibbled her earlobe. Ave jolted back from him, her face flushing as she swallowed hard to keep her uncharacteristic shyness in check at the notion of where their conversation was leading.

She hadn’t forgotten; she just hadn’t thought about it, as everything had happened so fast. Not to mention, with all that had happened in the past weeks he was away at war, she had no time to think about their marriage and what she was required to do as his wife. Now that he reminded her, she couldn’t help the thrill of nervousness and excitement that went through her body at the thought of it. But knowing they still had a body to bury, she sighed and moved away from him.

"If you’re tired, we can switch again," she told him as she stepped out of the small hole and went to stand at the side to watch him. But he flashed her an amused grin, noticing she had avoided the topic of their marriage consummation, something important in this era to make a marriage complete.

"You look so adorable when you’re shy, my love." He laughed gently as he began to dig the grave.