Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife
Chapter 44: Assigned task

Chapter 44: Assigned task

Lucian froze for a moment when he heard what she’d dared to call him in front of everyone. A muscle twitched in his jaw as he glared at her, but she looked completely oblivious to what she’d just said—just like she always did whenever she addressed him by his name.

Her expression and behavior at this moment made him silently question which world this woman was from to make her so bold and disrespectful towards royalty without a care for the punishment that would follow. Was she really trying to annoy him or make him lose face in front of the others, just like how the real Selene would always do?

"It has a unique taste, babe," she continued with a sweet smile, nudging the spoon toward his tightly sealed mouth.

’Did she just call you a babe? As in, an infant?’ His beast, who had been quiet all night, laughed. ’That’s insane—and I like her for it!’

’She’s disrespectful to us, and you dare say you like her for it? I think I might end up killing both of you one of these days.’

Even the people in the room who heard what she’d called the scary second prince could not hold in their laughter and amusement, while others felt annoyance at her disrespect. Why would she address a grown man—a prince at that—as a babe? Was she courting death?

Princess Thalia chuckled softly and hid it behind her hand, but when she met her brother’s gaze, she quickly composed herself with a small cough.

She couldn’t help but admire this new Selene and her daring behavior. And the look on the second prince’s face made it all the more amusing—his face looked so flushed from suppressing anger, or more so embarrassment. She’d never seen him show any emotions during their family dinners. He never talked much and would just seat there and ate silently, but today, everything seemed different.

"Are you out of your mind, Princess Selene to dare disrespect my brother by calling him a babe?" Orion exclaimed in choked-up anger. He didn’t like this Selene anyway, and the fact that she was insulting the elder brother he had been trying for years to get close to gave him an opportunity to speak for him.

Ave glanced at the young prince with an oblivious frown. "In what way did I disrespect him by calling him babe?" she asked, causing everyone in the room to gasp yet again. Was she trying to act ignorant or trying to make fun of her husband? Didn’t she know a babe was an infant?

The Empress massaged her forehead, thinking this girl was becoming truly useless to her plans.

Prince Caelan couldn’t help but smirk in amusement. He had thought that Selene was starting to like his brother more than him, but it seemed he was completely mistaken. She was trying to insult him, and by the look on his face, he could tell she was doing a good job of annoying him and putting him in his place. A babe? What a joke. He chuckled softly.

Orion’s face flushed with anger. "You...!"

"Me, what? Babe is not an insult but an endearment, a loving way to address someone you like, just like sweetheart and baby are endearments," she explained with a confident lift of her chin, only to get another reaction from the royals.

"How is calling someone an infant an endearment?" Celeste said with a frown. She had never heard of calling someone a degrading name as an endearment. Since when did babe become an endearment?

"It seems Selene is really a madwoman, just like the rumors say," Isolde commented with a scoff while tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear and looking at Ave warliy.

"Princess Selene, what gave you the right to insult a royal?" came the Emperor’s displeased, deep voice, making Ave swallow nervously. The last thing she wanted right now was to be sent out of the dining hall when she was enjoying her meal—her first good meal in days.

"I didn’t..." Ave was about to explain when Lucian’s warning voice fell on her ears.

"Stop talking, you foolish woman, and apologize to him," he grated through tightly sealed lips, his mouth barely moving as he warned her. Though he was so angry he wanted to strangle the life out of her, he held back, as it seemed the girl didn’t know what she’d said was an insult. He couldn’t help but wonder where on earth she came from to not know her mistake here.

Ave frowned as she looked at him. Though she wanted to ask if he really needed to call her foolish, she knew he seemed to be helping her here, so she simply bowed her head in apology to the Emperor. "My mistake, I shall never call my husband ’babe’ again," even though she knew she would start calling him that again, especially if it meant getting a reaction from him.

He looked almost cute when he was mad and embarrassed, and the way he was glaring at her from the side of his eyes at that moment made her wish she could capture the moment, freeze him in time like a picture and use it as a meme on social media. He resembled a wary dog, bracing itself for an attack that could come at any second, tense and ready to snap.

The Emperor gestured for everyone to continue eating after warning Ave of using such terms to address an adult prince.

Ave couldn’t believe these ignorant people thought she was insulting Lucian by calling him babe. But then, what did she expect from ancient people? She sighed and resumed trying to feed Lucian the soup, only to be met with his dark glare that made her hand shake, causing the hot soup to spill on his clothes and soak into his thigh, making him groan.

Ave quickly reached for a napkin and began to dab at his thigh where the hot soup had spilled while frantically apologizing, but Lucian gritted his teeth in irritation. "What is wrong with you?!" he rebuked furiously as he stood up from his seat and grabbed her hand which she was using to dab his thigh like the most natural thing to do.

Everyone around the table held their breath. Though they knew how short-tempered the second prince was and had heard many scary rumors surrounding him in the Empire, he rarely lost his temper in the main palace, as he’d learned from childhood the punishment that followed. However, now that it seemed it was towards his wife, no one interfered and watched to see what he’d do to her.

She had disrespected him anyway—it would serve her right if she lost a hand now. Isolde and Celeste giggled secretly at the thought. They never liked Selene, especially for how she always tried to act like the most beautiful woman in the palace, and how she received so much praise for her manners, which she had begun to lose after her so-called accident.

As Lucian’s eyes darkened and narrowed dangerously towards Ave, Prince Caelan looked ready to interfere, but a glare from his mother made him sit back down and watch in anger as his brother looked like he’d kill her at any moment.

Ave gulped as she met his burning golden eyes, with his grip like steel around her wrist. "I didn’t mean to spill the soup..." she muttered with a nervous smile, and he let go of her hand so abruptly, like her skin had burned him.

Lucian sat back down, trying to calm himself. He didn’t know why he was allowing this woman to get to him when he had never let Selene’s behavior at the dinner hall in the past make him lose his cool. Even if he’d lost his temper, it was always when they were alone.

Ever since this woman—who he intended to restrain and teach a few manners—had taken over her body, things were starting to change in his world. He had already accepted that Selene was no longer part of his world, but this...this whatever her name was was starting to make him behave out of character lately.

For a moment, no one said anything as they didn’t expect the outcome. They’d expected Lucian to resort to violence to discipline his wife, but when he sat down and resumed eating like nothing had happened with a blank expression, everyone glanced at his wife.

Ave felt all eyes on her as she sat back down. But when she looked up, she met the third prince’s eyes, narrowed and fixed on her with an intense gaze.

Ave looked away, pretending he didn’t exist—he didn’t in her world, after all. She was no longer Selene, and if Lucian wouldn’t disposed of her and was still her key to returning home, she would ensure that this disgusting prince never comes anywhere close to her again.

Princess Thalia, however, who looked to be holding back a smile, locked eyes with Ave and they shared a smile.

Dinner resumed like nothing had happened, and after everyone was done eating, they sat for a few moments of silence with their heads bowed down. Ave pursed her lips and looked around in confusion. Were they praying or what?

But then it turned out the Emperor was standing up to leave the dining hall, followed by his trusted minister, who had held a sword to Ave’s neck the other day.

When he left the hall, the first prince followed suit, then Lucian stood up as well, without sparing her a glance or a word, he left the hall and a few others whom Ave didn’t know in the hall, leaving behind the Empress, the princesses, two princes, and Seraphina.

Ave watched Lucian’s retreating back until he walked out of the door. She had thought he’d report her to his family tonight, but the fact that he hadn’t made her want to follow him and thank him properly or even ask why he’d spared her life.

However, the moment she stood up to follow him, the Empress stopped her. "Sit down," she commanded with an authoritative voice that made her sit down. ’What now, woman?’ she wondered.

"The Emperor’s birthday ceremony is coming soon, and just like every year, Princess Selene will be presenting him with the gift of the butterfly dance," the Empress announced, causing Ave to frown. Butterfly what?

"However," the Empress continued, "this year will be different. She won’t be dancing alone." She turned toward Ave and said, "You are to teach the three princesses how to dance the Gina butterfly dance and present the dance together on the day of the ceremony to everyone."

"What?" Ave remarked, taken aback.

"No way will I let Selene teach me anything!" Celeste exclaimed.

"That is wonderful!" Princess Thalia clapped excitedly.

"I don’t want to dance with a madwoman!" Isolde sneered in disgust.

Each of them had a different reaction to the announcement, including the fourth consort, who was quick to disapprove of her daughters being around a loose woman like Selene. "Your Majesty, if the Princesses are to learn a dance, don’t you think it’s best to hire a dance teacher to teach them rather than have Princess—"

"I chose Princess Selene for a reason, Seraphina. She was originally from Gina and grew up practicing the dance. Every year, she made the Emperor smile. She’s graceful with her movements, and no better teacher would suit the Princesses like her," the Empress said.

"But..." Seraphina began, ready to protest further, but Elara’s sharp gaze silenced her.

"Are you defying my orders, Seraphina?" the Empress asked coldly.

"I dare not, Your Majesty," Seraphina replied hastily, bowing her head.

"Then it is decided." Elara declared, turning her attention back to Ave who now looked as pale as a ghost on the thought of her teaching a dance she had never heard of to the Princesses. "You will begin the practice tomorrow with the Princesses in the second prince’s palace."