Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 41: Exposed!

Chapter 41: Exposed!

Lucian walked down the dusty corridors of the palace he had grown up in. Though he longed to cherish everything his mother had once adorned, he couldn’t. Not with the Emperor’s orders forbidding any maids from stepping into this section of the palace.

However, his mind was elsewhere today. Caelan’s words replayed in his head, overshadowing any concern for the dirty halls. The Banzai Kingdom, one of the largest and wealthiest in the Empire, was renowned for its riches and influence. Its princesses were said to be breathtakingly beautiful, all of them ripe for marriage.

He had been considering taking a wife from that kingdom to support his ascent to the throne but the Empress had beaten him to it. Now, he would have to find another powerful match.

Not that he cared for beauty or any sentimental attachment. He no longer sought a wife for the same reasons as others. The betrayal he had suffered once was enough. He wouldn’t allow himself to fall into that trap again. All he needed was someone from a powerful background to support his claim to the throne, and he intended to find that someone when all the guests started arriving in a few days.

Lucian’s thoughts continued to churn as he made his way toward his old chambers to settle down before dinner. He was about to turn into the corridor that led to his chambers when a loud gasp and an exclamation echoed from the direction of the garden.

A deep frown settled on his face. No one, apart from him and Zane, could step into the garden—everyone believed the rumors that it was cursed because everything in it had died along with his mother.

Who was there now, especially at this time of day when it would soon get dark? Lucian thought, turning toward the garden and beginning to walk in that direction. The closer he got, the louder the person’s panicked voice became.

"How is this happening? My face! No way—what the fuck is going on?! Don’t play jokes with me, Mother Nature. This shit ain’t funny!" the voice exclaimed breathlessly.

His frown deepened. He didn’t recognize the voice, so his strides quickened. He came to a halt at the back door that led to the garden, his usually blank face now showing a look of surprise as a blinding light momentarily fell on his face.

The once-dead garden now looked very much alive. Clean water flowed from the fountain, filling the air with its calming sound, and the flowers bloomed with vibrant colors, their scent swirling around the space. It looked exactly as it had when his mother was alive. But what astonished him even more was the woman standing in the midst of it, looking down at her reflection in the fountain’s water.

He couldn’t see her face, only her back, where long strands of wavy blonde hair cascaded down. Who was she? He moved to make his presence known and demand answers, but then he stopped as the woman’s blonde hair began to change, transforming into a familiar shade of red.

"Oh no, give me back my real face, you son of a bitch!" she exclaimed, throwing a stone into the flowing fountain. The water began to dry up again, along with the plants.

Ave couldn’t believe it. She had caught a glimpse of her real face for just a minute before everything changed back. She had pricked her finger on a plant and watched as the garden bloomed to life. If this had been a normal circumstance, she might have panicked at the magic surrounding her. But she was living in an era where she didn’t belong, trapped in the body of a woman she despised. Instead of panicking, she had reveled in the transformation, until she saw her face change.

Now that everything had reverted back to the way it was, she was starting to panic. "Why show me my face if you’re not going to take me back home? For a moment, I thought you’d actually take me back!" she shouted, flinging her arms into the air in frustration as she looked around, hoping to find whatever invisible force or spirit was toying with her life and mind.

Ave bent down to pick up another stone, ready to throw it into the fountain in frustration, when she heard something. Her blood ran cold as she sensed a presence behind her and the crunching of dead leaves beneath footsteps. Was this invisible force really here? She wasn’t brave enough to face a real ghost in the darkness. Her legs began to shake, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

Swallowing hard, she stood straight, clutching the stone tightly in her hand. She turned, intending to hurl it and run for her life, but froze in place, her eyes widening in shock.

"It’s you...!" she exclaimed, just as a hand shot out and wrapped around her neck, lifting her off her feet. If she could roll her eyes, she would. Why did it seem like every time she encountered this so called husband of hers, he was always ready to choke her?

This time, though, he wasn’t strangling her because he believed she was Selene. His eyes glowed, burning like flames as they bore into hers. His lips barely moved as he spoke, but his voice sent shivers down her spine. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Who am I? Ave thought in panic as the air left her lungs. Wasn’t she Selene? Or—wait—was her real face still there? She darted her eyes to the side, noticing her hair was still red, which meant she was still Selene.

"W-what do you mean?" she gasped, struggling to pry his hands off her neck. Her vision blurred as her lungs screamed for air. Her question only seemed to anger him more. His grip tightened, forcing tears from her eyes as they rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto his hand.

Lucian’s eyes bored into hers and his eyes fell momentarily on her moist blue eyes, but the moment he felt her tear hit his skin, his hand released her, and she fell to her knees, supporting herself against the fountain, coughing and gasping for breath.

Ave felt like she might die from the pain in her neck, but before she could recover, Lucian drew his sword and placed it dangerously close to her throat. His voice was deadly calm as he spoke, and she knew he meant every word.

"I’ll ask you one last time: Who are you, and what have you done to Selene?"

What had she done to Selene? Ave thought, clutching her burning throat as she nervously raised her head to look at him through tear-filled eyes. Could he have seen her earlier, when her face had changed? Oh no, he knew she wasn’t Selene!

"ANSWER ME!" he barked, sending her trembling even more.

"I... I didn’t do anything to her," she stammered. "All I know is that I had an accident in a different time, and when I woke up, I was in your wife’s body."

"Why do you think I’d believe such words from a woman who has been pretending to be my wife and annoying the life out of me?" he growled. "You are an imposter, and you’ll die by my sword tonight if your answers do not please me." He edged his sword closer to her neck, causing Ave to tremble in fear.

"Please, don’t kill me. I didn’t do anything wrong," she pleaded, shutting her eyes tight. She had dreaded this moment, but it had come sooner than she had expected. "I have no reason to lie to you, Luci—Your Highness. It’s not my fault that I’m in your wife’s body..."

Silence fell in the garden for a moment before Lucian spoke again. "You’re really not Selene, are you?" His voice had shifted—calmer now, yet still cold and detached.

Ave shook her head. "I am not," she told him the truth. Perhaps this was it. Perhaps she would officially die here before ever returning to her life. She had blown her cover and would be killed by the second prince. Maybe dying was better than living in this hellish era while pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

But the thought of dying and leaving everything behind broke her down. Her fame, wealth, and luxury would be gone before she had the chance to fully enjoy them. Victoria would win and become the famous actress of the year while her soul rotted here.

"My life is over before it even began!" she cried out.

Lucian watched the woman in his wife’s body sob earnestly, her shoulders trembling as she cried loudly. He glanced down at her red hair. If he hadn’t witnessed her change in appearance, he would have doubted his suspicions about her being Selene at this moment. The way she was crying loudly was uncharacteristic—something Selene would never do, even with a sword at her neck. She’d cry silently regardless of the situation.

Though he thought he despised Selene enough to not care if she lived or died, he didn’t like the idea of another woman inhabiting her body and trying—unconvincingly—to be her.

"Who are you?" he found himself asking before he could stop himself. Her crying ceased immediately, and she glanced up at him. His hand holding the sword moved back slightly.

Ave stared at him for a moment. His expression wasn’t visible as the sky had turned completely dark, and there were no lights in the garden. She looked at his hand, which had fallen to his side, then back at his face before answering.

"My name is Aveline Eamon. I live in a world different from this one," she whispered, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

’Aveline,’ Lucian thought as the memory of that night in the forest flashed through his mind. No wonder that name had been repeating in his head—it was hers. He couldn’t believe Selene had been lost and another soul was living in her body.

Another soul who seemed entirely different from the flowery woman he had once known. But one thing he couldn’t understand was how she possessed a power that was frowned upon—power that would get her killed if it were discovered.

He knew Gina’s powers when he saw them because his mother and many people from Gina had possessed them. But Selene hadn’t. She had passed the magic tests years ago before being placed in the palace as an errand girl for the Empress.

Lucian knew he should kill her right then and there, as she was an imposter who had not only deceived him but had used some form of magic to swap souls or perhaps even kill Selene’s soul to inhabit her body. Yet, he also knew he didn’t need to kill her himself. Very soon, she would give herself away and be executed for the imposter she was, especially with the way she behaved—it was only a matter of time before others discovered her secret.

Ave frowned as she looked up at Lucian. "Aren’t you going to kill me?" she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"I don’t have to kill you," Lucian finally said, his voice a chilling mix of indifference and menace. "You’ve already mark you own death by being here. You’ll soon wish you’d never used magic to steal Selene’s body."

"I didn’t use any magic," Ave defended quickly before she could stop herself. She’d heard from Lydia that anyone suspected to use magic would be beheaded.

"You can explain that to the royal family once they find out how you’d ended up here." He turned to leave, but Ave hurridly spoke again in panic.

"Are you going to tell them?" She asked shakingly.

"Find that out for yourself," he said coldly, then he cast one final, hard look at her, his amber eyes glowing with a flicker of something far darker than mere hatred, before turning on his heel and striding out of the garden.

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