Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 40: The dead garden

Chapter 40: The dead garden

After Ave had left the tea garden an hour ago, she wandered aimlessly around the main palace to pass time before evening arrived. The Empress had informed her that she and Lucian would be staying the night in the main palace since they would all be having another family dinner, and that the room they would be staying in had been cleaned for them in the late consort qurters.

Ave wasn’t looking forward to dinner despite the fact that she’d need a change of meal, especially after the Empress had mentioned she would be assigned a task later in the dining hall when everyone gathered.

’A task? What kind of task?’ If the Empress hadn’t given her the task in private, it only meant it has something to do with the other royals. Ave huffed as she continued walking down the long corridors, not realizing she was venturing into another section of the palace. She didn’t want to be given any task related to the royal family; her only concern now was how to make Lucian trust her enough to love her again.

She dreaded each day as she worried about her real life in 2024, what if the real Selene’s soul had gone there? What if she ruined her career with her inexperience? That would not only ruin her hard work but her image!

She had endured the tea with the Empress, trying her best to play her part. She had even subtly tried to coax information from the Empress about the cure for Lucian’s poison, but the woman had merely looked at her with that malicious smile and said,

"The cure is not your concern, dear Selene. Your only mission is to feed him the poison. And tonight I’d like to see your efforts in making the second prince love you again."

’Yeah, right.’ Ave thought with a scoff. As she finally realized she had wandered far from the Empress’s quarters, she stopped and looked around at the deserted part of the palace she had stumbled upon. There were no guards or maids in sight, and when her eyes fell on the cobwebs covering every corner of the hallways, she recognized the place.

’Oh, I’ve wandered off to the part of the palace I slept in the last time,’ she thought with a shrug and continued walking ahead. From what she had heard, this part of the palace belonged to the late Third Consort, Lyria, Lucian’s mother. The last time she had been here, she hadn’t had the chance to look around because Lucian had dragged her down the corridors, and when she left, she had been too concerned about Lydia to take notice of the surroundings.

If they were staying in the main palace for the night, it meant they’d be in this section again as the Empress had said their room here had been cleaned, so she might as well look around and find the cleaned room.

Ave wandered around, opening random doors to unknown rooms, and every one she opened was fully furnished but unclean. She grimaced at the sight of dust-covered beds and curtains, hoping she wouldn’t have to sleep in one of these abandoned rooms.

’How cruel of the royals to let this part of the palace fall into such neglect just because it belonged to Lucian’s mother,’ she thought with a tsk.

Lucian wasn’t only unfavored; it seemed his mother had been as well. Ave clicked her tongue and walked out through a back door that led to a garden. The structure of this section was almost identical to the Empress’s, as she had been to the Empress’s garden just an hour ago. However, while the Empress’s garden had looked like paradise, this one resembled something from hell—burned soil and dead plants as far as the eye could see.

"Damn, everything looks so...gone," Ave muttered to herself as she stepped into the garden, her eyes scanning the desolate surroundings. The soil was dark and dry, as if it had been burned, and the plants were nothing but brittle stems, their leaves brown and crumbling

There was what seemed to be a large fountain in the middle, with a statue of a little girl holding a bowl in her hands. Ave guessed the bowl had once poured water, but now, like the soil and plants, it was cracked and empty, covered in dried creepers that crawled over everything, including the walls.

Even the soft glow of the setting sun didn’t bring warmth; instead, it just made the long shadows stretch further across the broken paths and dry plants. She could picture how beautiful it must have been when Lucian’s mother was alive—full of flowers, greenery, and life. Now, all that was left was a garden in ruins.

The evening breeze blew, making the dead leaves rustle on the ground. Ave surveyed the garden for a while before deciding to leave. She still had Lucian to worry about; he would be here tonight, and she hadn’t yet thought of her next plan when she’d confront him. Nor had she figured out how to pass time in this boring era while she was stuck here. With so much to think about, she turned to leave, but stopped when something caught her eye.

"Hmm, how did you survive when everything else is dead?" Ave muttered as she stared at a particular plant.

Amidst the patch of withered, lifeless plants, a hellebore stood tall, its pale white blooms swaying eerily in the gentle evening breeze.

Ave felt an inexplicable pull towards the plant and began to approach it. The dried leaves crunched and rustled beneath her feet as she neared it. Reaching out with the intention to pluck it, a hidden thorn pricked her finger. She flinched, quickly retracting her hand and sucking on the finger while glaring at the flower. But something happened that made a quick frown settle on her face.

"What the...!"

Back at the palace entrance, Lucian had just arrived. The meeting at the border had been canceled midway through their journey due to the Emperor’s demand that both princes be present at the family dinner tonight.

Lucian had returned some time ago, but to avoid being near Selene, he had spent his time in his study getting important work done. Now that he was here, all he could think about was returning to his palace to bury himself in his plans rather than being around a family who couldn’t care less whether he lived or died—or a backstabbing wife he had spent the entire day trying to banish from his thoughts.

During his ride back, he had mulled over Selene’s behavior endlessly, each time his eyes falling on the shawl she had wrapped around his neck that morning. True to her word, the journey to the border had been cold, and the shawl had protected his neck.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reconcile this new Selene with the one he had known before the accident. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the woman living as Selene now was a completely different person.

He was a good judge of character, and having known Selene for ten years, he knew her better than anyone. She had never learned how to do embroidery—she always claimed holding a needle would ruin her palms. And her way of speaking had changed as well; Selene used to speak softly and sweetly, while now there was a hint of rebellion in her tone.

’You’re overthinking this,’ his beast commented with a sigh. ’Everything on your mind today has been Selene, Selene, and why she’s different. How about we give her the second chance she’s asking for?’

’I never give second chances. And I never take things that have been used by my stepbrother. Never.’

Lucian’s face hardened even further, and his strides grew longer. Any maids or guards who saw his expression hurried in the opposite direction, doing their best to avoid him.

He was about to enter the corridor that led to Consort Lyria’s quarters when he spotted Prince Caelan, who was flirting with a giggling maid in a corner behind a large pillar. As usual, Lucian intended to ignore him—he had seen worse when it came to the third prince. He was about to walk past when he locked eyes with the prince.

Caelan quickly dismissed the maid with a wave of his hand before sauntering over to Lucian with a mocking smile that never failed to irk the second prince more than he wanted it to. "You’re finally here. I was waiting for you, and I almost thought you wouldn’t arrive anytime soon. I was about to pass the time having fun." He clicked his tongue. "But you just had to show up right when I was getting it on with that pretty little thing."

Lucian tucked his clenched fists into his trouser pockets, regarding his half-brother with a look of bored impatience. Though Lucian was the eldest, it was only by a few months. "And why were you waiting for me? If I recall, you and I never have anything to discuss—unless, of course, you’re waiting to receive the beating you escaped the other day."

Lucian’s voice remained calm, betraying none of the anger or irritation he felt toward this particular person.

Prince Caelan let out a bark of laughter. "You mean the other day at the inn when I was having the best time of my life with your wife?" He mocked, taking pleasure in seeing his brother’s jaw tighten. "Don’t think too highly of yourself, Lucian. You’re just the son of a lowly Princess who seduced the Emperor with her beauty, an exiled prince. Do you really think you can get away with beating me? You—"

Lucian could tolerate any insult in the world; he could handle his brother mocking him about Selene because she no longer meant anything to him. But he could never overlook his late mother being insulted.

In a swift movement, Lucian grabbed Caelan’s collar and hurled him against the wall with one hand. "Say that again, and I’ll make sure you lose that useless tongue of yours," he gritted through clenched teeth, his eyes glowing dangerously in the dim hallway light.

Caelan’s bravado faltered momentarily, fear flickering in his eyes as he remembered the rumors that surrounded Lucian. But knowing his brother wouldn’t dare hurt him within the palace, he forced a smirk despite being choked against the wall.

"Calm down, brother. I was merely stating the truth, and you get so angry." He shook his head in mock pity before adding, "If I were you, I’d think twice before raising a hand against a prince. We are in the palace, after all, and brother Alden and everyone else cares more about me than you. You can’t get away with hurting me."

Lucian’s eyes darkened as his grip loosened. The last thing he wanted was to let his anger control him to the point of actually harming the third prince, risking everything he had worked for. Caelan was right about one thing—no one, not even the Emperor or Empress would let Lucian off easily for it. And Alden would be all too eager to see him punished by death.

As Caelan arrogantly pushed Lucian’s hand away from his collar, Lucian allowed him to, his restraint calculated.

Caelan adjusted his collar, his smug expression returning. "I was waiting here to tell you that I will be the future Emperor because I’ll be taking a bride from Banzai. You should show me some respect now because once I take the throne, you’ll be the first I kill. And as for your wife, she’ll be my concubine."

A humorless laugh escaped Lucian’s lips. He stepped closer, forcing Caelan to stand his ground. Though Caelan didn’t back down, the fear in his eyes was unmistakable as Lucian leaned in, his voice low and dangerous. "You can have Selene for all I care, but the throne... We shall see about that, brother. I will hang your head along with your mother’s at the top of my chamber."

Lucian straightened up and turned on his heel, leaving the third prince momentarily paralyzed by fear. Caelan swallowed hard, his bravado quickly faltering as he muttered under his breath, "Mother shall hear about this," before hurriedly scurrying away like a rat who had just narrowly escaped the jaws of a cat.

Meanwhile, Lucian made his way to his late mother’s quarters, completely unaware of the unexpected scene awaiting him there.