《The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride》 Chapter 1 A Messy Royal Wedding (1) The princess sat still as she let the maids take care of her hair and face. Her stomach churned, and her heartbeat increased with each passing second as she tried not to give in to the wave of panic and anxiety that was threatening to hit her. Once the maids finished with her hair and make-up, they left the room, leaving Madam Grace and Paulina to dress her up. Bothdies came in with her wedding dress and jewelry, and they helped her dress up. The pieces of jewelry were like nothing she had seen, and she would have taken her time to admire them if only she wasn''t so anxious. "You still remember all I''ve taught you, right?" Madam Grace asked, standing in front of her and adjusting the tiara on her ck hair which was tied in an updo. Even though the princess had no idea what she was talking about, she gave thedy a nod as she feared that if she so much as said she still couldn''t remember a thing, thedy might copse. The woman looked almost as anxious as the princess was feeling, as she didn''t want anything to go wrong. Her life depended on it. "My Lady, don''t worry, everything will be fine. The King said I cane with you if your husband permits it. I hope he does." Paulina, her teenage maid, whispered to her as she held one of the Princess''s sweaty hands in her own, and patted it gently. The Princess''s gaze was fixed on the mirror as she tried to get ustomed to her new look. Everything about her looked different now, and she feared that her life was about to change drastically going forward. What she didn''t know was if the change was going to be for the better or for worse. If she was to ce a bet, she would definitely bet on WORSE. "You should breathe. You look so pale that I fear you might pass out before the end of the day," Madam Grace said with a concerned frown as she looked at the princess, whose face was white despite the make-up. Anyone who saw Madam Grace would think the woman cared about her. But the other two women knew better. She only cared about herself. If something went wrong, as her caretaker, she was going to be med.And ''med'' here simply meant she would be killed. The princess took in a deep breath and raised her hands to pinch her cheeks so that her face would have a little color. Not that having any color on her face was going to take away the knots and feeling of unease in her stomach. She was feeling sick. They all turned to the door when they heard a knock, and one of the other Princesses opened the door. "It is time for your wedding, Princess Amber," she drawled, directing a malicious smile at her. Princess Amber. Yes, she was Princess Amber. She swallowed nervously as she tried to stand up on shaky legs. Paulina and Madam Grace quickly grabbed her when she almost fell, and they helped her from both sides in support. She shed them a weak smile as she straightened herself and started walking towards the door. She was really getting married? To a man rumored to be cursed? She believed she was cursed herself, but getting married to a cursed prince? She was doomed. She had never seen him before, and she didn''t know the exact details of his curse, but she knew he had to be called the cursed Prince for a reason. She had been told that he had killed his elder brother, who was the heir to the throne because he wanted the throne. His father, the King, had left him without punishment because he was afraid of being cursed! What kind of a kingdom was she getting married into? At leastthat was what she had heard from Paulina, who said she had overheard some of the maids in the hallway whispering among themselves that the Prince had a very foul temper and had even killed one of his half-brothers in a fit of rage, and that was why none of the other Princesses had agreed to marry him, hence, she was the only unfortunate one left for him. At first, she had wondered why any father would want his daughter to marry someone not only cursed, but also rumored to be amurderer, and she had been told that the King needed powerful allies. By marrying the cursed Prince who no one else wanted to get married to, their kingdom would be powerful, and other kingdoms wouldn''t dare to wage a war against them, knowing the kind of ally they had. How was she ever going to live with a man like that? He would likely kill her the first chance he got. Maybe it would be best if he killed her anyway because she still couldn''t understand what she was doing here, she thought. Raising her chin and looking straight ahead, she slowly walked towards the wedding hall. She stopped just outside the door, and turned to Madam Grace, wanting to know the next step. Madam Grace shed her an encouraging smile and jerked her head to the door, asking her to step inside the hall. This was it. asionally missing content, please report errors in time. Chapter 2 A Messy Royal Wedding (2) The princess took in a deep breath, knowing that once she walked into the hall, there was no going back. She took the first step, and then the next, her heartbeat increasing with every step she took. She feared that her heart might burst out of her chest at the rate at which it was beating. She tried not to look at anyone even though she could feel all eyes on her. Was this really happening? Was this going to be her new life? Or was this a nightmare? Before she knew it, she was standing before the King, the man she had been told was her father, who she had seen just once. The Queen approached her and led her to her seat. The two of them eyed each other, but they kept their resentments to themselves. Now she wished Paulina was beside her. She felt vulnerable being in the midst of people she knew nothing about. She bowed her head, and was so lost in her thoughts that she couldn''t hear anything that was being said until the Queen tapped her shoulder, and she raised her head, "Huh?" She asked distractedly. The Queen ignored her mannerless response, "It is time for you to greet your husband." The Queen informed her. Greet her husband? What? She began to ask herself in panic. What was she supposed to say? Hello? Good morning? How do you do? Her husband! She remembered she didn''t even know who he was among the crowd. She stood up and looked around the hall for the first time. That was when she noticed the most handsome young man she had ever seen. She swallowed when she realized he was staring directly at her with his brilliant blue eyes, and seeing how he was dressed in golden attire, had a white hair with a crown on his head, she could only guess that he was the man she was getting married to. Those eyes. The eyes were intensely fixed on her. She couldn''t guess what he was thinking. She had seen those eyes before. It was a few days back, but it hadn''t been a person. She shuddered and unconsciously touched her injured arm that was covered by the dress sleeves. She remembered how Paulina and Madam Grace had almost copsed when they saw her injured arm. They had said something about how it was bad for a new bride to have a scar and feared what would happen to her if her husband was displeased. "What are you doing, Amber!" The Queen hissed.Everyone was beginning to murmur quietly as they waited for the princess to greet her husband.The King especially looked displeased. She began to take slow steps towards her supposed husband. Both he and everyone sitting around him who were probably from the other kingdom had a very cold and intimidating look. She could feel her feet giving away. As she started moving, a male voice began to recite some words she had never heard before, so she stood and looked around in confusion while Paulina urged her with her eyes to keep moving, and so she did. "Princess Amber... a virtuous princess. Loved by many, hated by none. Gentle as a dove. Knows no evil...." She finally stood in front of the Prince and swallowed nervously. His piercing blue eyes never left her face even for a second. The des stopped and everyone waited for her to greet the prince by reciting her virtues and telling her talents. She stood there awkwardly and slowly offered a hand. "Uhm... Hi?" She asked uncertainly. The crowd gasped and horror filled their faces as they all wondered what the princess was doing. Madam Grace''s face paled. She knew that if the King didn''t kill her, Prince Harold would. Judging by the faces of the guests who hade with Prince Harold, she could tell they were also quite ufortable as they looked at Prince Harold and the Princess. Did she just say ''hi'' to him and offer her hand for a handshake?! Only men shake hands with men, and no one ever shakes hands with royalty, even if you are their partner, and especially if you are a woman! They all waited for him to do something crazy or at least, walk out in a fit of rage and cancel everything. Since he was simply staring at her, no one knew what he was thinking. Everyone''s breathing seized when he stood up. He was quite tall!Even if he was wearing a peasant''s clothing, people would know he was royalty by the aura radiating around him. He looked down at her and to everyone''s surprise, he shook her tiny hand. "Hi." He replied before his lips slowly curved in a smirk. A virtuous princess? Gentle as a dove? Prince Harold thought to himself. What a joke! Meanwhile, the princess worried about what to do next. How was she supposed to tell them that she wasn''t Princess Amber but was Alicia Queen, a famous actress from the future who found herself in Amber''s body? She guessed they would think she was crazy if she so much as muttered that. How was she going to go on like this? She remembered how everything started since she arrived here... Chapter 3 New Life(1) The girl''s eyes fluttered open slowly and it took a moment before her gaze could focus on the ceiling. For the first minute, she simply stared at the ceiling dumbly. Her mind waspletely nk and devoid of anything as she stared at the ceiling. ,m Her brain was taking a really long amount of time to process what was happening around her. She shut her eyes and then opened them again as if trying to reboot her brain. This time, when she looked at the ceiling, she noticed how different the pattern was from hers. This looked more old-fashioned than her modernized design. Where was this ce? As her brain continued to boot, she realized that she wasn''t alone. There was someone else in the bedroom. She assumed it was a bedroom since she was lying down on a soft t surface that she could only assume to be a mattress. She could hear the other person making some sounds. The person sounded happy but was crying. She was saying something about being grateful that she was finally awake. Her eyes slowly moved from the ceiling and darted around the room to see where she was. "My Lady!" The young girl who was standing beside her bed eximed excitedly when her eyes finally settled on her. Mydy? Who was this person? Why was she referring to her that way? The young girl looked very unfamiliar, and from the looks of her, she probably wasn''t more than eighteen years old. She was dressed funny and had a strange ent. "You have no idea how happy I am that you are up! I was so scared." She said and broke into a sob of relief, leaving the girl who was lying on the bed wondering what was going on. Was this a movie scene? How could she be ying a role in a movie she knew nothing about? She wondered, still looking at the crying girl without saying a word. Why did the girl''s clothes look so different and outdated anyway? Had she been involved in an ident and lost her memory? She mused as she tried to remember anything she could about herself, while the girl kept sobbing. Alicia Queen. That was her name. She almost sighed in relief, grateful that she still had her memory. Yes, she was Alicia Queen. A 25-year old orphan. But that wasn''t all there was to her. She was also an award-winning actress. She had struggled through her talent and consistent hard work to climb thedder of fame and sess until she had finally seeded in bing famous with her name and face on almost everyrge billboard in every major city in her country. Her life had been picture-perfect until she has had the misfortune of offending a nosy journalist. The journalist had then taken an interest in her and decided to dig into her past, revealing every dirty detail of her life. The journalist had started by exposing the fact that she wasn''t the daughter of an influential family as she had imed. And then the journalist had gone ahead to reveal the fact that she was a high school dropout, and had also worked as a waitress in a strip club. How the journalist had gotten hold of some of the pictures from her past was something she still didn''t know, but from there, things had gone downhill for her. Many other dirty secrets suddenly began toe to light, one after the other until she could no longer handle the weight of the scandals. It got to the point where no individual orpany wanted to work with her anymore, and then she began to receive death threats from anti-fans. Or maybe they had been her fans but went rogue after her dirty life was exposed like that. What was a star without loyal fans? What was a star without the media? All stars wanted their names to be on the ranking chart forever for a good reason, not a terrible one like hers. Having gotten to the point where she could not take it anymore, she decided to end it all. She remembered climbing a bridge, ready to jump down and put an end to her misery since that was what the world was pushing her to do. She had already forgotten her past life and had moved on from it, hence she couldn''t stand others reminding her of it and bullying her over it anymore. It was just at that moment when she was prepared to jump that she received a phone call. Who thinks of jumping off a bridge with their phone in hand? Alicia Queen. Initially, she had wanted to ignore the call but had hesitated at thest minute since she knew it was her manager, because of the special ringtone she had assigned to her manager''s line. She couldn''t remember how she managed to keep her feet on the rails of the bridge and receive the call, but she did. "ALICIA! I have good news!" Her manager announced excitedly. Good news? Her ears perked up. "I received a call from P &Jpany. They want you to do a promotional ad!" P & J Company was one of the biggestpanies in the country. Why did they want her to do a promotional ad? Hadn''t they been seeing the news? One ad with them would change her life and ount bnce. She was in great debt at the moment. "WHAT? SERIOUSLY?" She asked in shock, wanting to get off the bridge and hear what her manager was saying. But her heels! Damn her for wanting to die in a grande style by beingpletely dressed in her best outfit and heels. She had wanted whoever found her body to know she wasn''t poor. She had wanted to make a statement even in her death. Unfortunately, at that moment when she changed her mind about dying, her heel caught on the rail, and her sudden movement due to the surprise caused her to lose her footing and before she knew it, the phone fell first before she did with a loud, regretful scream. "Oh, no!" Alicia gasped as she sat up on the bed, startling the maid who had been sobbing. Chapter 4 New Life (2) "Mydy, what is the problem? Are you okay? Do you need something?" The maid asked, rushing over to Alicia''s side with worried eyes. Alicia ignored her as she looked around the bedroom and quickly got out of the bed. Her head pounded because of the sudden movement, and she had to hold the edge of the bed to bnce herself. What was this ce? It was clearly not a hospital. It didn''t have the smell or the looks. If not a hospital, then what? Purgatory? Who was thisdy? She wondered as she ran towards the door, ignoring the body ache she was feeling. Once Alicia stepped through the door, she kept running until she was standing outside, looking around what looked like a mountain area. This wasn''t the city she thought as she turned around to look at the building she had run out from. The house didn''t look modern either. Where was this ce? She wondered. The young girl in the room with her earlier was running towards her and this time, she wasn''t alone. She was with a woman who looked to be in her early orte forties. The woman''s dressing pattern was simr to that of the girl. It was only now that she looked down at herself and realized she was dressed the same way. She wore a loose-fitting in dress with a t funny-looking shoe. Still looking confused, she looked at her skin. It looked paler. She looked thinner and her skin looked younger. She was preupied with all the thoughts and confusion running through her mind that she didn''t realize the twodies had caught up with her. The next thing she felt was a stinging p on her cheek causing her to stumble backward. The young girl gasped and quickly used her hands to cover her mouth. Her face was stinging. She really felt it! Was this real? She wasn''t dead? This wasn''t a dream? "Didn''t I specifically tell you not to leave the house? Are you trying to get us all killed because of your stubbornness?" The woman barked at her. "Killed?" She asked hesitantly, testing her voice which sounded different. "By... who?" The two women looked slightly confused at her ent but that was the least of their problems. Something is definitely off and if she didn''t get answers soon, she feared she was going to lose her mind. "Who else if not your father?" The older woman asked incredulously. Her father? What was this woman talking about? Her father waste, and she was an orphan. "How could you leave the house to the main vige? Do you know the trouble you almost caused? Not only did we receive a message from the King, you almost drowned! What would I have told the King? Is this your n to get us killed just at the point where we can return to the pce? Do you know the repercussion of your actions?" "The King? What King?" She asked dumbly, making bothdies exchange a look. "Your father, My Lady," the young girl exined cautiously. Alicia stared at both the woman and the young girl nkly. Were they crazy? Who were they and what were they talking about? Why did the woman sound like she hated her? What was that talk about rescuing her from drowning? When did her dead father be a king? "AHHH!" She used her hands to hold her head which felt like falling off. She was suddenly having a very terrible headache. "My Lady!" The young girl called in rm before running to her side to help her remain to stand. "Madam Grace, the Princess needs to rest. Please." The girl pleaded. From her tone, it was obvious she was scared of the woman. "SHUT UP!" The woman snapped at the girl. "If you had done your job properly and looked after her, she wouldn''t have escaped to the vige. What was she looking for there?" "Uhm... I... it''s..." The Princess? Were they referring to her? Wasn''t she Alicia Queen? When did she be a Princess? Was this some sort of cruel joke or a prank? "Who... are you... people?" Alicia finally raised her head to ask them. She realized things would be easier if she stopped trying to figure out everything and just simply asked them. Maybe this was a strange vige where she floated off to after she fell off the bridge. It wasn''t like she time-travelled to the olden days like some movie she had starred in. She almostughed at the thought. "MY LADY!" The younger girl gasped. "It''s me, Paulina, your handmaiden. This is Madam Grace, your caretaker. Do you remember us now?" She asked hopefully. Her eyes were already beginning to brim with tears. Alicia shook her head. "This must be a dream." She muttered to herself. "I must be dreaming." She repeated. "Madam... Grace I... I think she hurt... her head," Paulina said, bursting into tears. What is this? Reincarnation? Transmigration? A nightmare where she can still feel pain? The older woman looked at her cautiously. "Do you... know who you are?" She asked before adding hopefully, "You know who you are, right?" Alicia nodded, making the two women sigh in relief before she continued. "I am Alicia Queen. I''m 25 years old and I live in the southern part of Brook''s Hill. If you watch the TV, you must have seen me in some movies. Look," She looked at the two women, ignoring their astonished looks. "I am grateful that you saved me from drowning. But you shouldn''t mistake me for someone else. I''m an orphan, and I''m no Princess. Can I get a cellphone or something? Or is there a way I can get a taxi around here? I''ll be sure to repay your kindness as soon as I get back to my ce," she promised, looking from onedy to the other with a serious expression. "What is she saying?" Paulina asked madam Grace in a shaky voice, as she panicked. "Alicia Queen?" Madam Grace asked in confusion, wondering if she had really hit her head or was just ying a prank on them. Alicia gave her a nod, "Yes. So I need a cellphone. I need to give my manager a call. You didn''t happen to see my cellphone in the water, did you? Not that it''s going to work now, anyway," She muttered thest part under her breath, before looking at madam Grace with a hopeful expression since it seemed she was in charge of things. "Take her inside. She needs to rest her head while I fetch the doctor," madam Grace ordered Paulina, and walked away in quick steps before Alicia could say anything else. Paulina grabbed Alicia''s arm, but she pulled away quickly from Paulina while looking at her, "Tell me the truth, where is this ce? Did someone pay you to keep me here?" Alicia asked, looking around her nervously. Paulina''s brows were pulled together in concern as she gazed at Alicia, "You should rest, My Lady. The doctor will get here soon and check your head. We have to make sure you are fine before tomorrow, else we will all be in trouble," Paulina said, taking Alicia''s arm once again. "Tomorrow? What is happening tomorrow?" Alicia asked as she let Paulina lead her back to the ancient-looking building. She was going to just lead them on, and run off her on her own once she got the chance. "You are returning to the pce. The King finally wants you back in the Pce after 12 years!" Paulina announced excitedly. Chapter 5 New Life (3) 5 New life (3) What would you do if you suddenly found yourself in a different body? A strange body? I am guessing your brain would be clouded by confusion. That was exactly how Alicia felt as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The thought had urred to her to ask Paulina for a mirror as she felt she would get some answers if she started by seeing how she looked like because something told her this was more than she was assuming it was.Maybe they were mistaking her for someone else, and she wanted to know why. She had followed Paulina to the small old house and took the hand mirror from Paulina to look at herself. "HOLY SHIT!" She eximed in a voice loud enough to cause an earthquake, startling Paulina. She looked different. What happened to her face? Her hair? She wondered in rm while also trying to stay calm and not panic. Nothing woulde out of it if she panicked. A part of her had expected this no matter how silly and absurd the thought had been. "Mydy, please... you shouldy down on the bed and wait for the doctor." Paulina pleaded. "What year is this?" Alicia turned to ask her calmly. ''Please be 2020. Please be 2020.'' She prayed silently. If it was 2020, then she would likely be able to do something about the current situation, even though it all seemed absurd. "1503," Paulina answered hesitantly. "You... really do not remem¡ª mydy!" She gasped when Alicia fell to the floor, looking lost. What was she going to do? How did she get here? What was happening to her? How was she going to return? Why was the universe ying a cruel joke on her? Why did things suddenly have to go south just when she had seen the light at the end of the tunnel? She had a promotional gig with P & Jpany for goodness sake! "You." She turned to focus her gaze on Paulina who looked at her eagerly. "You... don''t have a cell ph¨C" She shook her head and rephrased her question. "Do you know what a cell phone is?" Paulina nodded vigorously, causing Alicia''s eyes to widen hopefully. "Really? Do you know where I can find one?" "Mydy!" She cried. "What do you want to do in a cell? It''s dirty and smelly." "Excuse me?" Alicia asked the hope she had slowly dying. "I said a cell phone!" "I don''t know if that''s what they call prisons now," Paulina said in between her tears. "This is really 1503?" She asked again, gradually resigning to her reality. Paulina nodded again and stood up from the marbled floor to search inside a small wooden chest beside the tiny bed. Paulina returned with a little book and handed it over to her. "This is your diary, mydy. Maybe you can remember all about yourselfter." Paulina offered her the book which she took hesitantly. She couldn''t do this. She couldn''t live here. She had to leave. She stood up from the floor and turned towards the door but Paulina hurried to stand in front of her. "Please mydy. You need to stay in. Madam Grace ising with the doctor to check you. It has been your wish to return to the pce. Please stay in so you can be checked properly." "Paulina, is it?" Alicia asked and the girl nodded. "Take me to where you found me. You saved me from drowning right? I need to return there." "NO! Mydy, you cannot go back inside the vige. If anyone finds out you have been there, we may all get killed and Madam Grace would make us starve. Please, my princess." She knelt and cried. Alicia could not help but feel sympathy for the girl. What had she gotten into? There was no way she could leave now seeing how Paulina was crying. She wasn''t that heartless to do that to the poor girl. So she was going to wait untilte at night and escape. She had to find her way back to whatever river they had saved her from and return to her real life. She could not live here. Never! She guessed it should be about 7 pm now. Since they obviously didn''t have a TV nor cell phone, she assumed they would have slept off by 9. She was going to escape no matter what it took, Alicia resolved in her heart. An hourter, Alicia sat down patiently as the doctor checked her pulse and continued to hum. Then he ced his fingers on her temples, probably checking the pulse there also. When he was done with everything, he turned to look at Madam Grace who was eyeing her with concern. "She seems fine. It must have been the shock from the incident. With proper rest, she should be fine by the morrow." Alicia decided not to draw much attention to herself. If she wanted her n to be sessful, she had to y along and let them off her back. So when the doctor left, shey down on the bed. She was starving but that was the least of her problems. She had to return home. No one was going to believe this story! "Mydy," She sighed when she heard Paulina call her. The girl was nice, but she was beginning to piss her off. "I am d it is nothing serious. Please sit up and have dinner." Dinner? Alicia sat up and looked up expectantly but the smile on her face faded when she saw the little te on Paulina''s hand. "What''s that?" She asked, frowning in confusion. "Dinner, mydy. It''s your favorite. You like roasted corn." She said before cing it on a stool beside her bed. Alicia looked at the two little cobs of corn that had been roasted and looked up at Paulina. "Just kill me!" She sighed in resignation. Chapter 6 Lost In The Mountains (1) Just as Alicia assumed earlier, after about two hours, the two women were already asleep. Madam Grace slept on a tiny bed at the other end of the room while Paulina slept on a mat beside her bed. She slowly sat up, careful not to make a single sound. She had to escape even if she didn''t know where she was going. She just had to find the vige and look for the river. Once her feet touched the ground, she looked around the tiny room carefully. Thentern was very dim, but it helped her see everywhere. She saw a spare unlitntern on top of a shelf and sighed in relief. She would have felt guilty taking the onlyntern they had. Her only hope now was for it to contain kerosene or whatever people of this era used for theirnterns. Like a thief, she walked stealthily on her toes and reached for it, smiling brightly when it felt heavy. The question guing her mind now was: How was she going to light it? ''They don''t, by chance, still use stones, right?'' She wondered in worry. As her eyes went around the room, she saw a veryrge broom made with sticks. She didn''t waste time before breaking a piece from it. Just like she had done when she was still living in the slums, she used the stick to get fire from the burningntern before using it to light up the second one. Finally, she was done. And thankfully, the two women were still fast asleep. Madam Grace asionally turned in her sleep, frightening Alicia. It took several long minutes before Alicia left the house while holding thentern by the tiny iron handle. The breeze washed over her immediately she stepped out, but she ignored it. It was now or never. She ran. Her dress almost made her trip a couple of times and she swore loudly before gathering the hem in one hand, the other hand tightly holding thentern as she ran for her dear life. "Please Lord, forgive me my sins and take me back home. I don''t want to stay here. I don''t belong here." She prayed as she continued running, not bothering to catch her breath. After running for what felt like thirty minutes, she realized she still could not find any buildings. It looked like she was deep in the mountains. The only sounds she could hear were trees rustling, leaves falling, and some animal sounds. Sounds she had never heard before in her life. "Where am I?" She asked, beginning to panic as she stood. She was panting so fast and hard as she continued to turn and look around her. She didn''t know where she was. Hadn''t Paulina pointed in this direction when she was talking about the vige? Why couldn''t she find the vige? Before any other thought could register, she heard an animal growl which caused her eyes to widen in fear. That was an animal? A wild animal? Although it sounded like the animal was far from her, she began to move back, taking careful steps so that she wouldn''t step on anything. She could literally hear how rapidly her heart was pounding. Her already fast heart rate spiked when she began to hear things that sounded like distant voices and could see the faint glow of fire torches afar. She was thrown into a dilemma as she began to wonder whether or not to show herself to the people. Maybe they would help her? Lead her to the vige? On the other hand, what if they were bad people? She guessed thetter was the answer when she heard a sh sound and somebody''s scream. She gasped loudly and turned to run away. As she began to run in the opposite direction, she wondered whether it was best to leave thentern on or off. If she leaves it on, they may find her. If it was off, she would not see where she was going to and would probably bump into a wild animal or fall into a ditch. Unfortunately, she was too lost in her thoughts and didn''t take note of where she was stepping on. The next thing she knew, she tumbled and was rolling on the grass. Her first instinct was to scream as any normal person would have screamed, but she quickly reminded herself that her life was at stake. There was no point in screaming when it was not going to do anything for her but instead, cause her more trouble. Besides, at this point, nothing was normal. When she finally got to the bottom and stopped rolling, she winced in pain. Her body felt as if she had been seriously beaten. She could feel pain everywhere. "What luck I have!" Her voice was broken and it was only now that she realised that tears were escaping her eyes. Thankfully, she found herntern nearby and crawled to get it because walking seemed almost impossible right now. She wasn''t sure she would be able to use her feet or entire body. Poor Princess. She was going to leave her with a battered body. "Oh no! Don''t do this please!" She cried when she realized that the kerosene from thentern had poured away into the dried leaves on the floor. Even though she was d it hadn''t started a fire, how was she going to get through the night without the ligh¡ª" "Ahhh!" She gasped when she heard another growl. This time, it was behind her. Behind her! She didn''t wait to turn. Surprisingly, her legs worked and she realised she was running but there was nowhere to run to except she was going to climb back where she had fallen from. Slowly. Ever so slowly. She turned around. The first thing she saw was the deep blue eyes of a huge animal looking at her. The animal''s height got to her chest region. Her eyes widened in fear. She had never seen any animal this huge. "Oh my God!" She gasped in fear and stumbled backwards. Chapter 7 Lost In The Mountains (2) 7 Lost in the mountains (2) What kind of animal was this? A fox? A wolf? She wondered as she looked back at the animal that looked like a dog but quiterger and hadpletely ck fur with a little white at the tip of both ears. ''This isn''t the time to be trying to guess what animal it is, Alicia.'' She quickly whispered to herself. The specie of the animal wouldn''t be of any importance to her if it seeded in devouring her. It would simply be said that a wild animal had devoured her. Yes. That was what would be said. It would be called a wild animal. There was no way she would allow this wild animal to devour her. Her eyes quickly darted around her as she searched for something she could use to defend and protect herself from the wild animal. As if sensing what she was thinking, the animal growled a warning and took a step forward... Not a step, it actually limped. That was when she noticed that the animal was injured. Her eyes moved to the animal''s forelegs, and she noticed an open wound that was bleeding profusely. She could definitely outrun an injured wild animal, right? What was she going to do? Why hadn''t she taken her time to watch Natgeo wild? At least if she had done that back then, she would have had a basic knowledge of what kind of animal this was, and she would probably have known how to approach it. Without moving her head, her eyes surveyed her environment. She knew she was at a disadvantage because the animal was likely more familiar with the mountainous terrain than she was. The animal growled once again and took another step forward, making her raise herntern defensively like a shield, "Don''t you dare take another step forward, okay? I can be very crazy, and trust me, you really don''t want to see me mad." She warned with false boldness, even though she was very scared and her body was shaking. On hearing her threat, the animal advanced towards her now, as though wanting to know what she could do. Alicia took another step backwards while holding out thentern defensively. "I''m really warning you, don''te forward." She warned, kicking the ground in front of her, sending tiny rocks flying in the direction of the animal. "I don''t want to hurt you, but I won''t hesitate to hurt you if you so much as think ofing close to me. I am Alicia Queen, and I won''t allow myself or whoever this body belongs to, be devoured by a fucking wild animal, you hear me? I have a mission to aplish, so if you know what is good for you, turn the fuck around and leave." Alicia hissed, jerking her head in the direction the animal hade from. The animal tilted its head to the side as if confused about what she was saying. She was about to sigh in relief, but the animal took that moment to pounce on her, and Alicia let out a frightened wail as she hit the ground with the heavy animal on top of her and thentern flying from her hand. What sort of a cursed life was this? She had attempted suicide and then changed her mind at thest minute, yet she had fallen only toe to this goddamn ce to be eaten by a wild animal? What sort of cruel joke was the universe ying on her? Or was this what really happened to people who attempted suicide? Were they usually given a death worse than what they had wanted? Deciding that her fate would be different, she fought back with all her might. Pushing, and punching and pinching. She kicked when she could, panting hard as she tried to fight for her dear life. "If you think I''m going to let you take a bite, then you thought wrong, bitch. I am Alicia Queen and I''m a fucking survivor!" Alicia yelled breathlessly when she remembered that she had seen a wound on the animal''s leg. She reached for it with one hand and pressed on the injury before biting the animal on the other leg. The animal made some sort of whimpering sound and scratched her arm with its sharp nails as it rolled off her. It tried to get up but staggered back on its feet, making Alicia look at it with a concerned frown even though she was still frightened. The whimpering sound reminded her of her dog, Ruby. She quickly rolled to her feet but kept her wary eyes on the animal. She didn''t bother to nce at her arm, which was stinging, to see the extent of the injury on it. Not when the animal was watching her intensely. She noticed that the animal looked exhausted and weak as it watched her. The animal let out a soft sigh as ity on the ground weakly but didn''t take its eyes off her, as though scared that she may try something funny. It was only now that Alicia realized that while the animal was on topof her earlier, he hadn''t tried to attack or bite her. He had only been sniffing her. She thought about running away, but she was scared. She didn''t know where to run to and herntern was dying out. Besides, those people were still at the top of the mountain. What if they killed her? "Do you... need h-elp?" She asked in a crooked voice as she tried to catch her breath. She reasoned that if the animal had really wanted to kill her, it would probably have done so already. "If you... need my help... sit on your... haunches." Alicia stuttered as though she suspected it could understand her. After looking at her suspiciously for a moment, the animal sat on its haunches, surprising Alicia. Chapter 8 Lost In The Woods (3) 8 Lost in the woods (3) The animal really needed her help? What was she going to do? It wasn''t like there was any material around that she could use to apply first aid treatment. Her eyes flew to thentern which was a few feet from her, and it looked like it was going to go off at any moment because there was no more kerosene inside it, "Give me a moment, okay?" She told the animal as she took cautious steps towards where thentern was lying, and after setting it upright she tried to look around for sticks, "Don''t worry, the sticks aren''t for you. I want to make a fire, or else this ce will be dark soon." She exined to the animal that kept watching her. At that moment, the animal''s ears perked up when it heard a sounding from another direction, and it flew at both Alicia and thentern, throwing her off bnce before ity over thentern. "What are you¡­" "Did you hear that sound?" Alicia heard a deep masculine voice ask, making her snap her mouth shut immediately. Everywhere was dark, save for the light she could see from antern somewhere ahead of them. What sort of animal had this sort of high survival instinct to cover antern in order to hide? "Did you see where that animal went? We have to make sure he dies!" One of the people said, and Alicia nced in the direction of where the animal was. Because everywhere was dark, all she could see was the blue eyes of the animal staring at her as it tried to stay still. Soon the voices faded, and by the time she felt the animal move, the light from themp was dead already. "Oh no! The light has gone off," Alicia cried in distress. Her escape n was no doubt automatically ruined. Seeing how the animal remained silent, something tugged on her heart. She felt sorry for the animal that had to hide from humans this way just so that it could survive. She could understand its resentment and why it would want to attack her too. If she were an animal, she would probably do the same. Why couldn''t humans live in their homes and leave the animals in the wild alone? Alicia wondered as she kept looking into the animal''s eyes. "How am I going to help you without light?" Alicia murmured as she sat on the groundand reached out to pat its head. "Don''t worry, I won''t hurt you. I''m very different from those humans." She murmured softly to the animal. "You know, where Ie from, animals are protected, not killed. Maybe if you''re a good girl, or are you a boy?" She asked thoughtfully, and heard the animal growl. "Well, as long as you are good, I might just adopt you and take you out of here with me once I find my way." Alicia continued as she tried to think of the best way to help theanimal. She suddenly remembered that she was wearing a flowing dress, and she reached down to tear a piece from the hem, "I don''t have a first aid box, but tying up your wound should suffix." Alicia said as she blindly reached for its legs. When she touched one leg and the animal whimpered a little, she figured that was the injured leg, so she ran her hands up it to find the injury, and then tried to tie it up to the best of her abilities in the darkness. "It is getting cold," Alicia said with a shiver as she sat with her knees up, and bnced her head on it. On hearing that she was cold, the animal snuggled closer to her for warmth. "You are a sweetheart, aren''t you?" Alicia asked with a soft smile when she noticed what the animal had done. The ce began to brighten up a little, causing her to wonder where the light wasing from. She looked above and was surprised to see the once empty sky now had a moon. It was a crescent moon. She smiled up at the moon. "I guess the heavens are helping us now." She smiled as she looked down at the dog''s leg, and returned to tie it up properly. "You are a strong animal, you know? How can you go through this and still be alive?" She asked, looking at its face. "You remind me of my dog. I named her Ruby. She also has ck fur like yours, but her eyes are brown. Maybe that''s why I feel sorry foryou?" She sighed. "I wish I could go home to her. Imagine suddenly seeing yourself in the year 1503 from the year 2020. That''s crazy, right? I mean, I am Alicia! But all of a sudden, I am a scrawny looking princess who is in exile. Does that even make sense? And I had 2 cobs of corn for dinner. Can you believe it? Two fucking cobs!" She began tough maniacally, causing the animal to withdraw from her. "What?" She asked the animal. "You think I''m crazy?" Her eyes widened when she thought she saw the dog nod. "Wait, what?" "I am serious!" She said, cing her hand on her chest and staining her dress with its blood. "Just wait. I''ll take you with me and we will return to 2020 together. Then, you will meet my ruby and fall in love. She is pretty. You two would make beautiful puppies together. You are a dog, right? " She asked, scrutinizing its face properly. The animal growled unpleasantly and used its head to nudge her, causing her to fall. "What is wrong with you? I am being nice." She hissed and red at the animal who was still staring at her with its head tilted to the side. "You really do think I am crazy, don''t you?" She asked with a soft sigh. "Well, I understand. I''d think I''m crazy too if I were you." She said with a yawn. "I can''t believe I survived that jump off the bridge only tond here. I''m so tired. I need to sleep for a little while. When I wake up, we can leave this ce together, okay? Don''t worry, I will protect you." Alicia said with another yawn as shey on the ground next to the animal, and dozed off with therge dog snuggling closer to her. By the time she opened her eyes the next morning, the animal was gone, but she was found by Paulina and Madam Grace with an injured arm, a few bruises on her body and blood on her dress and hands. Would you save an injured animal in the mountains? ThatAmazingGirl Chapter 9 Unpleasant Surprise. After Paulina and Madam Grace found Alicia in the mountains and took her back to the hut that they considered their house. Madam Grace was especially livid. She had been worried at first when she saw all the bloodstains and had assumed the worst, but Alicia had weakly exined to her that the bloodstains were from the wild animal she had saved. She had received a harsh scolding from her for running away and also trying something as risky as trying to save a wild animal. Alicia hadn''t been in the mood to argue with her because her body ached badly as a result of the fall, and she felt like she had been beaten with a log of wood. She had bruises all over her body, but the most painful was the one that stood out on her arm. The big dog or wolf had left quite a mark. She was sure it would scar. Poor princess. Madam Grace fed her some chicken soup which she quickly devoured as a result of her hunger. She couldn''t imagine that not only had she not had anything to eat for over 24 hours, but she had also faced all that stress while trying to run away only to return to square zero. She couldn''t remember anything else that happened after she ate, but all she knew was that she had fallen asleep and by the time she woke up, she found herself inside an enclosed space and could feel she was moving. She looked around her in confusion before sliding something that looked like a window to the side. She sighed in relief when she saw Paulina''s face. She realized she was inside a carriage that was moving too slowly for her liking and making her want to throw up. Paulina and Madam Grace followed the carriage on foot and there were also a few people who looked like soldiers with bows, arrows, and swords. "Where are we heading to?" She decided to first ask before any other question. The day was already getting dark. It wasn''t possible she had slept through the whole day, right? There was no way she would have slept through it all simply because she was exhausted, she mused as she looked down at the bandage sling around her arm and observed that she was wearing new clothes. "You are awake!" Paulina eximed. "Where are we heading to and how long have I been sleeping?" "We are heading to the Pce, mydy," Paulina said joyfully. She looked exhausted, but she was smiling as if going to the pce was a lifelong dream of hers. "Pce? Why?" Alicia asked with a shake of her head. "The King. He sent for you. I think we are no longer returning to the ce of exile." Paulina exined quietly. Alicia could see the excited glint in her eyes even though she looked tired. Thest thing Alicia wanted was to go to any pce. All she wanted was to go to the vige and find the river where the Princess had fallen in! "Is the Pce located in the vige where the princ¨C where I fell?" The smile on Paulina''s face disappeared as she looked at the princess. "You... still don''t remember, mydy?" Seeing the look on her face, Alicia realized something was definitely wrong. "The vige is on the other side. It''s a 5-minute walk from the ce we rescued you from in the mountains." "What?" Alicia asked with wide eyes, causing some of the guards who were marching beside the carriage to look at her. Just a five-minute walk? How had she missed it? "Can we go back? Let''s go back. I need to return there." "But... mydy." Paulina looked uncertain before saying, "You still need to rest, mydy. You need to be fully okay before we meet the King, otherwise he is going to scold us." Paulina said, looking frightened. "You don''t understand! I need to leave!" Alicia demanded before she began to hit the front of the carriage with both hands. "Stop moving!" She demanded, but no one paid attention to her. Howe they imed she was a princess yet no one paid any attention to her? Madam Grace had even hit her. She felt more like a ve than a princess. "Paulina, how long is it going to take to get to the vige in the mountains from the Pce?" "Myd¡ª" "Just answer me!" Alicia said impatiently. Paulina bit her lip before stuttering, "You... have been riding for... Uhm... since the morning of yesterday." Chapter 10 Escape Plan Gone... Wrong? Paulina''s answer startled Alicia, who frowned, "What do you mean by that?" "You... fell asleep yesterday. We are... almost at the Pce now." She said, holding her shaking hands together. Alicia''s eyes widened in surprise. There was no way that was possible. She couldn''t have slept that soundly for so long regardless of her level of exhaustion. What did they do to her? Her eyes twitched when she suddenly remembered devouring the chicken soup. "You... drugged me?" She asked in disbelief, her eyes shing unpleasantly. Seeing the anger in her eyes, Paulina hurriedly moved away from where she was to behind Madam Grace, putting space between them so that she didn''t have to answer the question. "Open the gates!" Alicia heard one of the guards call out, and she looked forward to see that they had stopped in front of a giant gate with high walls which reminded her of the walls of Camelot. ~~~~ "What are you thinking about?" She heard a deep voice that startled her out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened when she remembered it was her wedding day. She had zoned out and was still shaking hands with her supposed husband. She raised her head to look up at him. The height difference almost caused her tiara to fall off her head, so she quickly broke free from his hold to fix it. "What are you doing?" Prince Harold asked, which caused her to raise a confused brow. "Fix..ing this.. thing on my... head?" It came out as a question as she took a step back away from him. Okay, he was good-looking, but he was kind of scary. "You are supposed to talk about your virtues." A young girl who was seated on the seat beside where Prince Harold had been sitting, mouthed to her. Alicia almost did a double-take when she saw the teenage girl. She was stunning! She was dressed like a princess and had some resemnce to the Prince she was getting married to. Alicia suddenly remembered what the girl had mouthed to her and looked around at all the confused faces watching her. "Uhm... he... already said it right?" She asked in confusion while pointing at the man who had been reciting the des earlier. "Uhm... Gentle as a dove and... all that stuff he said." She said while cleaning her sweaty palms on her dress. She could hear the murmurs of the guests and see how embarrassed and angry the King and Queen were. What should she do? She was confused and had no idea what was going on. Weddings in the middle ages was weird! What the hell is ''Virtues recitation''? Should she pretend to faint? That was the only thought that made sense. So that was what she did. She slowly copsed on the ground and heard how everyone began to gasp and exim.The loudest voice she heard belonged to Paulina. Alicia wanted them to take her out of there and then she would find a way to escape. But maybe she was unlucky after all, because when she peeped under hershes, wondering why no one wasing to carry her out, she saw a golden robe, before the person crouched down in front of her. She shut her eyes tightly and stilled her breath. She was an actress, after all. She could pull this off wlessly. "That was a bad act, mydy." The deep voice spoke, causing goosebumps to rise on her skin. Scary. p "I will only give you three seconds to get up." His voice wasn''t really threatening, but somehow hemanded fear, especially with the slow and careful way he spoke. She had heard he was bad-tempered. What would he do after the three seconds passed? Would he kill her? Then would she die here? How did he even know she was pretending? Were people in the middle ages usually smart? She opened one eye to peek at him and saw him staring right at her with a smirk. "This is so embarrassing." She cried to herself as her cheeks warmed up in embarrassment. Prince Harold''s smirk transformed to a small smile as he lifted her with one hand until she was standing, causing her to exim in surprise. Chapter 11 "Give Her Music." Alicia wasn''t sure how she was going to survive this. Now that she knew fainting was not going to work, what else could she do? She frowned at the prince for making her n fail and quickly pped his hand away from hers before the rumours she had heard earlier about his bad temper resounded in her ear. Oh, God! Did she want to get killed? The gasps she heard confirmed her fear. If she didn''t control herself and her temper, she was going to die here and would not return to her world or see Ruby anymore. ''My poor baby.'' She almost cried as she remembered her dog, who was missing her by now. "Even in your head, you are talkative." She heard a deep but quiet voice saying something beside her. Prince Harold had been talking to himself, but she heard him clearly and turned to re at him. How dare he call her talkative? Were kids in this era this disrespectful? He was probably in his early twenties or even a teenager. She was 25 years old! She was not going to let this guy control her. Her re began to waver when his piercing blue eyes continued to stare at her. It was as if he was trying to prate her soul. The vibe he gave off was scary, even when he was doing nothing but staring nkly. The re on her face transformed into a forced polite smile and she gave him a bow, looking even more annoyed when his lip tugged upward slightly before he turned and returned to his seat. She made sure to keep eyeing him until he sat down and faced her before she forced out a smile again. Everyone sitting around him looked stiff and was staring at her with something akin to pity and interest. "Now, the princess will entertain the guests and her husband with her special performance," The Queen announced from where she was sitting. WHAT! THE! HECK!? Entertain the guests and her husband? Special performance? Her eyes looked around for Madam Grace and she noticed Madam Grace and Paulina standing beside each other. While Paulina looked at her with worry, Madam Grace was ring at her. Alicia wanted to ask what kind of entertainment they meant, but she figured that entertainment was the same everywhere. Since she was the one performing, she would have to do anything at all. If she was going to be starting a new life before she found her way home, she should as well start it well. ,m She looked at Prince Harold and smirked. "I need music," Alicia announced as she looked away from him, while everyone looked at her and murmured in confusion, wondering why she was asking for music all of a sudden. "What... do you need music for?" The Queen asked in a quiet voice while shifting ufortably in her seat. Was the Princess deliberately trying to ruin the ceremony just so that the Prince wouldn''t want to marry her? If the Prince rejected her, that meant the king would have to offer them another princess if he wanted them to be his allies. That was if Prince Harold agreed to continue with this in the first ce. She had been the one who had suggested that the king bring the exiled Princess from exile to marry the cursed Prince. If she ruined this, then one of her daughters would be forced to marry him, and she didn''t want that. Alicia had noticed how everyone''s eyes continued to go towards Harold as if they were expecting him to do something dangerous. "To entertain the guests... duh? I mean.. my Queen... or is it Her Majesty? Her Highness? Your Highness?" She began to speak to herself again, but not so subtly for the others to hear. When she raised her head, she noticed how red the King and Queen''s faces were. If looks could kill, she was certain that she would have been cold dead by now. Madam Grace, who was standing at one end of the hall with Paulina, nced at Paulina nervously, "What is she doing?" "I don''t know," Paulina said with a worried frown while panicking. The Princess had been behaving strangely for the past few days, and the two prayed the Princess wouldn''t cause any trouble for them all. "You heard her. Give her music." Prince Harold suddenly ordered, much to the surprise of everyone. Why was he being so calm? Was he nning to go on with it and deal with herter? Who was going to be at the receiving end of his wrath after this? Those who knew him wondered. Prince Harold, whose eyes were yet to leave Alicia, considered her with interest. She was indeed talkative. Seeing her face, he could only pity her brain for the kind of trouble she was subjecting it to. Just what was she always thinking about? There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask. What was she trying to do? Although he had not been to a lot of royal weddings, he knew well enough to know that everything she was doing was wrong. Was this part of her n to make him not marry her? Why had she been in the woods at that time of the night? Had she been trying to run away so that she wouldn''t marry him? Was she mentally derailed? Because she had sounded like a crazy person that night and said a lot of things that didn''t make sense. And why had a ''princess'' been in that ce? For now, however, he couldn''t find an answer to those questions. But if by chance she was trying to ruin the wedding because she was avoiding him just like every otherdy was, then he wouldn''t give it to her. Although she was talkative and different from most princesses he had seen and known, he was oddly intrigued by all her ramblings the previous night, as well as the fake fainting episode. She was an intriguing nutcase. At once, the hall was filled with the sounds of musical instruments. Drums, flutes, and many other instruments Alicia hadn''t heard before. She liked to dance, but unfortunately, she was a bad dancer. It didn''t matter. She was just going to have fun. She believed even her awkward dancing style was going to be found to be very sophisticated here. She took off her tiara, leaving it in front of the closest table, and her shoes next, which were killing her because of how tight they were before she raised her gown to reveal her bare feet and twirled around. ''Entertainment here wee!'' Chapter 12 She Didnt Just Do That! "Brother?" Prince Harold turned his head slightly when he heard his half-sister''s voice beside him. "You... aren''t nning to do anything crazy, are you?" She asked quietly before her eyes went to Princess Amber, who was dancing in the middle of the hall. She wouldn''t exactly say that was ''dancing'' because whatever she thought she was doing there was awful. Princess Amber twirled around for the 100th time and almost tripped on her gown before she steadied herself and shed an embarrassed smile. "Something crazy," Harold repeated quietly as if he was thinking about it. "The elders are going to be mad. And you are not permitted to cause harm to humans. You promised." He shot her a re and she quickly shut up. His eyes returned to his dancing bride. There was something strange about her. And he wasn''t only talking about the fact that she was a crazy talkative person; he was referring to the fact that she had no smell. Which was weird. Even humans have a smell, but he had smelled nothing on her that night, and also today, nothing wasing from her. Who was she? After the decision had been made for him to marry a certain princess from this kingdom, everything had been done in a hurry and they left for the trip. Of course, getting married was not something he wanted. But at 21, he was already too old to be single, especially as an Alpha. He could not marry a werewolf. He could not find a mate either. He was supposed to live like that for the rest of his life and honestly, he didn''t mind. He wasn''t the type to care about marriage or mates in the first ce. All he wanted was to be alone without any weak partner trying to tie him down or betray him in the end. But unfortunately, things turned out this way. That night, on their way down here, he had been attacked. The attackers had used several silver arrows as well as wolfbane on him. He had a hunch about the person who was behind the attack and had sent those people after him. But it wasn''t the best time to act. He would leave it forter. He thought back to the night he had been attacked. While trying to regain his strength after the attack, he was taken aback when someone suddenly fell and rolled around in the grass. Because he hadn''t smelled any presence, he was immediately alert and wanted to attack whatever it was, but he was surprised to find that it was a girl. A young girl. She was crying and when she reached for herntern, she was begging it to stay alive. There was no smell from her. Why? He asked himself. His wolf didn''t like that there was no smell from her. His eyes shed danger. And for a moment, his wolf took control of his body and growled at her. She gasped fearfully, and when she turned to look at him, he could see the fear in her eyes before she screamed, "Oh my God!" His eyes remained on her and there was an internal battle going on between him and his wolf and he pushed his wolf from taking over his entire consciousness because if that happened, she was going to be ripped apart. It was difficult to stay in control because he noticed that she was looking around for a weapon, and he growled at her before moving over to her with his leg, which was hurting so badly. When her eyes went to his injured leg, he growled again and took another step forward, but she raised herntern defensively like a shield and warned him, "Don''t you dare take another step forward, okay? I can be very crazy, and trust me, you really don''t want to see me mad." She was threatening him? He was impressed, but if there were anything werewolves hated, it was being threatened. He moved closer again. She took another step backwards while holding out thentern defensively. "I''m really warning you, don''te forward." She kicked the ground in front of her, sending tiny rocks flying in his direction. Oh! She didn''t just do that! "I don''t want to hurt you, but I won''t hesitate to hurt you if you so much as think ofing close to me. I am Alicia Queen, and I won''t allow myself or whoever this body belongs to, be devoured by a fucking wild animal, you hear me? I have a mission to aplish, so if you know what is good for you, turn the fuck around and leave." Harold felt his wolf confused and paused for a moment. He too was confused and surprised. Or maybe shocked? What was she saying? And did she just swear at him? He did it. He pounced on her. Her wail made him alert because he knew those people were still out there and if they found them, he didn''t have enough strength left in him to save himself talk more of her. Herntern flew from her hand. She did all she could to push him away from her, but he was too heavy for her. He tried to get a good sniff out of her, wondering if he would smell anything. But there was nothing. "If you think I''m going to let you take a bite, then you thought wrong, bitch. I am Alicia Queen and I''m a fucking survivor!" She yelled at him before she reached for his injured leg and pressed on his injury before biting his other leg. That had been painful. Really painful. She was indeed fierce. His wolf scratched her arm and he was sure he would have done worse if he hadn''t rolled off her quickly. He was in serious pain. He had never met any human like her before. She was strong. And determined. Since he found it difficult to stand properly, he thought she would use that opportunity to run away, but instead, she began to look at him with concern. "Do you... need h-elp?" She asked him in a crooked voice as she tried to catch her breath. Seriously? Stupid woman. Which woman would try to help a wild animal that had attacked her in the mountains? "If you... need my help... sit on your... haunches." She stuttered. Was she serious? He was in pain and didn''t know what she would do. He was still suspicious of her, but he did as she had told him and saw the surprise on her face. Chapter 13 The Nature Of The Moon Kingdom The Moon Kingdom was by far the strongest kingdom ever. Other kingdoms were either allies with them, or they were allies. There were no two ways about it. The kingdom was rich with gold and other natural resources and they had strong warriors. Rumour had it that once upon a time, there was a war between the Moon Kingdom and another kingdom that had thousands of armies. The soldiers from the Moon Kingdom had only been a few hundred, but surprisingly, no soldiers from the Moon Kingdom fell in battle; rather, the soldiers from the other kingdom all died. Since then, every other kingdom bowed to the demands of the Moon Kingdom because they knew what would be of them if they didn''t. They also got richer because other kingdoms who sought their help had to do whatever they wanted, even if it was beyond them. It was simply an unequal and capitalist exchange between the two. But what people didn''t know was the true nature of the kingdom. Eighty percent of the poption were werewolves. Werewolves had extraordinary strength and could do things humans couldn''t do. Some werewolves who were blessed by the Moon goddess had some kind of powers that others didn''t. The strongest of all werewolves was the Alpha wolf. It was rare to see an Alpha. You could only see one out of every two thousand people. The Alphas weren''t only super strong, theymanded fear from people by simply being in the room. They are blessed with good looks and heightand are also ruthless, hot-tempered, and possessive. They hated it when people questioned their dominance¨C it could lead to bloodshed. The pheromones they release when angry can suppress any and everyone. Only fellow Alphas can withstand it. They are born leaders. In the Moon Kingdom, only Alphas rule. The only time a Beta managed to rule, the Kingdom fell into a state of chaos and since then, A Beta rule was abolished. Beta wolves are the next in the hierarchy. They upy the majority of the Moon Kingdom. They were also very strong. Not as strong as Alphas, but far stronger than humans. The King was always apanied by a Beta, who was naturally the country''s second inmand. The king''s Beta acts as a personal assistant and most times, acts as a middleman between the King and the people. Thest in the hierarchy is the Omega wolf. They are also very rare to find. The omega wolves are known for their fragile nature and weakness. They were seen as equal to humans, some were even weaker than humans, which is a disgrace to werewolves. They do not have the strength forbour, nor can they fight as warriors, so they are more or less weak and useless. They were also blessed with good looks. It wasn''t difficult to recognize an omega wolf because they had an ethereal look. They were often shorterpared to the other wolves and their pheromones were capable of causing chaos. The pheromones they release, especially during their heat, drive other wolves crazy with the intention of mating with them. The urge wasn''t very strong with betas, but it was very strong with Alpha wolves. That was why every omega wolf in the Moon Kingdom always took medicine to conceal it. The medicine wasn''t only bitter, but it caused them excruciating pain. No one cared about how they felt about it because it was the price they had to pay for being useless. Anyone Omega who came out without taking the medicine was severely punished and sometimes killed,because that single action of theirs could cause trouble and plenty of distraction.An Omega who didn''t take the medicine can be forced into heat when they encounter an Alpha. That has never ended well. Another good thing about them was their ability to conceive quicklypared to other wolves that could take years. Because of how weak they are, they rarely shift into their wolf forms. Some may lose their lives if they try it. And it also took time for their injuries to healpared to the others. The humans in the Moon Kingdom were few. They lived in the outskirts of town, away from the werewolves. They had no idea that most members of the kingdom were werewolves. The humans did farming, fishing, and other jobs. They were more or less treated as ves andbourers. Any human who disobeyed anyw was never seen again. The most importantw they were to obey was to make sure everyone living in that district didn''te out every night of the full moon. They didn''t know why thatw existed, but they obeyed it. One person who disobeyed and went outside out of curiosity was never seen again. ~~~~~ As Prince Harold looked at his dancing bride, he wondered if she would be able to survive in his kingdom. She was fierce, but could she live in the midst of wolves? Especially when he had a lot of enemies. A lot of people would try to use her against him. Some may try to get information about him through her. Some may also try to bait him by using her. But they were wrong. Because even if he was marrying her, that was it. Nothing was ever going to happen between them. He wasn''t one to have any weaknesses or attach himself to others. She was just going to be his wife in name, but that was as far as it would go. Thest thing he wanted was for a chatty girl like her to get in his way, no matter how intriguing he found her to be. Soon the music stopped, and his wife stopped moving around like a clown all in the name of dancing. She was panting and sweating hard like she had just done something useful. She was going to be a lot useful as abourer. Harold thought to himself. There was pin-drop silence in the hall as all eyes went from her to him. He could tell everyone was waiting for him to do something crazy, just like his sister had asked. Looking at the faces of most people around him, he could see that they were eagerly anticipating his reaction. Alicia turned to look at him with a slightly raised brow, wondering why everyone was looking at him when she was the one who had performed, and also wondering why the rude audience had failed to p as she danced, or even after her performance. The next thing she heard was someone hitting a table loudly before standing up. "WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?!" One of the men seated around prince Harold asked. He was sheathing with anger. Chapter 14 Do Not Be Rude To My Bride. The one who had stood up was the King''s Beta. He was present as a representative of the king, watching the whole thing and the disgraceful act just like the rest of them. The table he hit shook and he stood up, anger seeping out of him, "WHAT NONSENSE IS THIS?" He bellowed while looking at the Princess. ''Finally! Someone had to ask that question.'' ''Shut up!'' Harold chided his wolf in his head. "Pardon?" Princess Amber looked at the older man in confusion. It was clear from the look on her face that she didn''t understand the reason he was getting angry at her. "IS THIS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE? WHAT SORT OF WEDDING IS THIS?" He looked at the King and Queen and red harshly at them. The tension in the room increased and there was pin-drop silence in the room. People even feared to breathe because of the kind of anger leaving the man. ''I knew marrying a human was a bad idea. You shouldn''t have epted. It was definitely a trap and you allowed yourself to fall into it.'' Harold decided to ignore his talkative wolf. For years, his wolf had been mute and not able tomunicate with him even after shifting into his wolf form, but all of a sudden, he had heard the voice in his head in the morning after his encounter with the Princess in the woods. He had been wondering why it suddenly happened and even his wolf had no idea. Since then, he was always speaking as if trying to make up for all the years he was mute, and he hated the fact that they had different personalities. But he couldn''t deny that he was d to have him. "Excuse me, but who the hell are you?" He returned to reality when he saw the Princess looking at the Beta with her hands on her waist. Every single soul present in the hall except for him gasped at her audacity. Even his wolf gasped.He was never going to get used to this. "W...hat?" Hearing the stunned tone of the Beta, a light chuckle escaped Prince Harold''s lips before he adjusted. "You don''t look like the King. You aren''t the one I am getting married to either, so why¡ª" "AMBER!" The Queen yelled from her seat. Her hands were gripping the handle of the wooden chair so tightly that it was like that was the only thing stopping her from dashing towards the Princess to w at her face. "I stand here as a representative of King Eli." The big man said in a booming voice. "The great king of the Moon Kingdom, whose second prince you are marryin¡ª" "So?" She interrupted. Another gasp filled the hall. "Ss..ooo?" The Beta asked in disbelief. "So?" She repeated. "Harold isn''tining. Why are you?" ''She just called you Harold!!!!'' His wolf yelled, almost making him go deaf. "Har...?" The Beta could not bring himself to repeat the Prince''s name just as she had said it without any iota of respect or honour. He unsheathed his sword and, with the speed of lightning, the next thing she knew was that he was standing across her with his sword pointing directly at her neck. Paulina''s hands flew to her throat in fear as she watched her mistress, while Madam Grace watched the scene before her with a slight frown etched on her face as she wondered what was going on with the Princess. If this man killed the Princess, although she might not have to return to exile anymore, she knew that the King would not spare her. She still couldn''t understand why her fate was tied to such a foolish princess. "Brother!" Prince Harold''s sister called out to him in fear. "Please do something." He could hear the fear in her voice. His half-sister was an Omega and the only one he was a little bit close to in his family. She could not stand violence because of her fragile nature and he could see it from the way her hands were shaking beside her. ''Do not do anything! It is best if she gets killed now. At least the wedding won''t go on. She attacked me! I won''t forgive her.'' ''You attacked her. Yet she helped us.'' Harold reminded him. ''All that matters is that she also attacked me, and I won''t forgive her,'' his wolf huffed at him. ~~~ Alicia, however, looked at the sword in shock. Wasn''t this the era where everyone respected princesses and the brides of princes? She hadn''t expected this. What was going on here? And why was nobody doing anything to stop this crazy fellow? She looked at the sword coldly. Aside from the fact that it was made of gold, unlike other swords she had seen, it looked real and sharp. If it pierced her, she was going to die for real, wouldn''t she? Did the Prince ask him to kill her? She tried to look in the direction of the Prince, but the big man was blocking her view. Everyone was tense and silent. Judging by how the King and Queen could do nothing, she confirmed that the Star Kingdom or whatever they called the ce they came from must be powerful. She noticed how the big man''s nose twitched and he turned his head and body to the side slightly towards Harold. She took the chance to look at everyone who was seated around the Prince, and she noticed that they also looked ufortable. Even the guests from this kingdom all looked tense and nervous, and it seemed like they were struggling to breathe. "Do not be rude to my bride, Damon," Prince Harold said in a calm voice. "She just finished performing. It is only appropriate that we apud her. Don''t you think so?" He threw the question to the house. People nodded eagerly and began to p awkwardly for the Princess, who smiled proudly before ring at Damon as he turned away from her to return to his seat. He didn''t forget to give her a killing re, but Alicia pretended not to notice as she smiled and waved at the guests who were pping for her. If only people in the modern world would appreciate her talent like this. Alicia thought with a tsk. ''I cannot believe this.'' Harold''s wolf sighed in frustration. Chapter 15 Evil Alicia copsed on the bed, arms and legs spread like an eagle. If this was what a wedding felt like, she was never going to have a wedding when she returned to the future. She was exhausted and all of her body was hurting. But first, she had to take off the things she was wearing, especially the corset that was making it impossible for her to breathe. She tried to get up but was toozy to do so until the door opened and Madam Grace entered together with Paulina. "Mydy, are you okay?" Paulina asked, and broke down in tears. Alicia forced herself to sit up and looked at Paulina, who was crying and telling her how scared she had been when the big man pointed a sword at her. "What was the meaning of that stunt you pulled out there?" Madam Grace asked, her eyes shing angrily. "You didn''t tell me the wedding was going to be this difficult," Alicia said as she pulled the crying Paulina into her arms. "You almost got killed!" The woman yelled at her, but Alicia was too tired to argue. She had been arguing since she came to this world. When she arrived here yesterday, she also got into a heated argument with the Queen and one of the Princesses. Upon their arrival, one of the princesses was the first toe to take a look at her. When Alicia asked Paulina who the girl was and Paulina responded that she guessed she was Princess Amber''s younger sister, the girl got angry and pped Paulina hard across the face for introducing her in that way. Alicia, in turn, got angry and shoved the princess, causing her to fall to the floor. The girl hadn''t expected her to react that way and had reported the issue to the Queen, who came and tried to hit her. Things had turned out differently when they realized ''Princess Amber'' wasn''t a pushover as they had all thought she would be. "Please, get me out of these clothes. It''s difficult to breathe while wearing this," Alicia said to Paulina and broke away from the hug. Paulina looked at her apologetically before looking at Madam Grace. "You are leaving immediately." "Leaving to where?" Alicia asked, not liking what she was hearing. "My...dy. You... have to leave with your husband and his people immediately, after he is done speaking with the King and Queen." "WHAT?" She asked in horror. First, they practically kidnapped her and brought her here, and now she has to move again? "NO!" She shook her head stubbornly, "I won''t go!" "You don''t have a choice, Princess. After your marriage, you are no longer a property of this kingdom. You are¡ª" "Property?" Alicia interrupted Madam Grace with a frown. What type of ce did shee to? "I am no one''s property! If I am not leaving, I am not leaving! Take these clothes off me!" She demanded in anger, but Paulina continued to give her an apologetic look. "I''m... sorry..." Paulina''s voice broke as she began to cry again. There was a knock on the door before a man who looked like a guard entered the room. "Mydy, you are to appear before your parents and prince Harold now," He announced with a curt bow. Alicia had a bad feeling about all this. She didn''t want to remain here. She wanted to run away. She had to return to that vige and find that river. "Stay... safe my... Princess. I... will never forget... you," Paulina broke down in tears and hugged Alicia tightly. "What? Why are you sounding like this?" Alicia asked, trying to look at Paulina''s face, but Paulina wasn''t budging. Alicia looked at Madam Grace and noticed for the first time that the woman looked a bit sad. "You will be going alone from now on. We cannote with you. Our duty to protect and take care of you has ended today." Alicia''s eyes widened and she shook her head, "No! That cannot happen!" Her heart felt heavy. There was no way she was going to leave here without taking at least Paulina with her. Although she hade to know her in such a short time, Paulina was the only familiar and trusted face she knew aside from Madam Grace, with whom she had yet to decide whether she was a friend or foe. "Why?" Alicia asked in panic as the guard reminded her harshly toe with him. "We were told so. We do as we are told." Alicia forcefully broke away from the hug and looked into Paulina''s teary eyes, "I will work this out somehow." She promised the girl while trying not to cry before she left the room with the guard who led her to another room that looked like where royal meetings were held, but it was only the king and queen with Harold that were inside the room. When she entered, all eyes turned to look at her, and she could see the desperation in both the king and queen''s eyes. What was going on? Prince Harold noticed the confusion on her face as she walked further into the room to join them. "WHAT?" Alicia snapped at all of them when they continued to stare at her. What kind of rude and uncultured girl was this? The Queen tried to speak, but Prince Harold raised his hand and silenced her, "The Moon Kingdom hates to be deceived. And you have deceived us by giving an exiled princess," As Harold spoke, the tension in the room heightened. Alicia looked hopeful. How did he find out? Did that mean he wouldn''t agree to the marriage? And they would take her back to where she had woken up from and she would finally return to that vige? Alicia found herself nodding in support of Prince Harold. "If my father finds out about this, this kingdom would cease to exist in the blink of an eye." The king and queen looked obviously frightened. Prince Harold turned to look at Alicia, who was waiting for him to say he was no longer interested in the marriage. "Because I am already married to her, I would let her choose if I should forgive you or not," he said, still looking at Alicia, who frowned. ''Humans are soft. You know she is going to protect her family,'' His wolf said to him with a huff. He knew humans were weak and blood ties seemed to matter to them. It was one of the reasons he didn''t like humans, but as his new bride, he had to listen to what she had to say. "Me? Why?" Alicia asked as she looked at the three of them. The king and queen were pleading with her with their eyes while Harold''s gaze was unreadable as usual. "Their lives are in your hands. If you want me to forgive them, the Moon Kingdom is going to remain allies with them and help them as best as we can. If not, we''ll publicly dere them as our enemy." "So... you are still... marrying me?" She asked in disappointment. It was more like a rhetorical question because she sighed and pressed her hands to her temple. She looked at the King and Queen, who were still looking frightened and begging with their eyes. ''Aww... they look so weak.'' Alicia thought to herself. "Well... they don''t deserve forgiveness," She said with a shrug, "Sending a little girl to the mountains in exile is not something one should easily forgive. Do whatever you want with them." She waved a handzily. The three of them looked very surprised as none of them had expected such an answer from her. ''Wow! She is... evil.'' Prince Harold''s wolf eximed. Harold''s lips slowly raised in a smile. Evil. He liked it. Chapter 16 Stubborn Bride Alicia had that fluttery nervous feeling in her belly as she was led outside with her boxes. It was time to go home with her husband. Never in her life had she felt as confused and clueless as she did at that moment. It seemed to her like she was on a rollercoaster. Within three days she had spent the night in three different ces, and now she was going somewhere else again. What was she to expect from all of this? "Are you always this absentminded, or am I to assume that it only happens when you are around me?" Prince Harold who was standing beside one of the carriages, cut into her thoughts as he watched Alicia who just stood there staring at the carriage absentmindedly. She snapped her head up when she heard the familiar voice of prince Harold. She hadn''t realized that they had gotten to the carriage already. She eyed him unpleasantly. If only he had changed his mind about the marriage. "Don''t talk to me." She snapped at him. The guards around tried not to react even though they were surprised, but then again, she had done worse inside so it was expected. "We are riding together," A young feminine voice informed her from within the carriage, and she craned her neck to see the stunning teenage beauty from earlier smiling at her. "Get in, or do you need a special invitation?" Prince Harold asked coolly when Alicia simply stood there staring at his half-sister. Alicia cleared her throat as she turned to look at him, "Not yet. I was hoping I could talk to you about something," Alicia said as she took a step forward, looking directly into his blue eyes. His brow arched, "I thought you just asked me to not talk to you? Are you always this confused?" He asked with a shake of his head. Alicia looked at him distastefully. He might be the most handsome man she had set eyes on, but he was also by far the most annoying. Raising her chin defensively she cleared her throat, "I asked you not to talk to me, I didn''t say I wasn''t going to talk to you," she pointed out reasonably. "So I suppose you only need me to listen? Go on, then," he said, giving her the go-ahead to say what she wanted to say. Alicia pursed her lips, "Like I said, I have a request to make..." "A request? And what could that be?" He asked as his eyes shifted to Paulina who was standing behind her with teary eyes, and then back to her. "Uhm... She cane with us, right?" She asked, not knowing how else to tell him what she wanted. "No." "No?" She echoed. "No." "What do you mean by that?" Alicia questioned him with a slight frown. "Exactly what you heard. You don''t need the extra help. There are enough maids in my kingdom to take care of all your needs. Now get in, you have dyed us long enough," he ordered roughly, and Paulina stepped back. Alicia pulled Paulina''s arm, bringing her to stand beside her, "I''m not leaving here without her. So she is eithering with us, or you will have to go without me," Alicia said stubbornly as she folded both hands across her chest. "Mydy¡ª" Paulina said in panic as she looked between the two of them. She looked away from Prince Harold when it looked like his eyes were going to burn her to ashes. Prince Harold''s gaze moved from Alicia to where her so-called sisters huddled together to watch them as though they were waiting for something hrious to entertain them, and for some reason he felt a sense of kinship with her since he only knew too well what it felt like to be the family''s outcast. "Life has never been fair to us women whether in the past or the future. We are expected to leave our homes, change our names, carry babies, and do all of that. I ask for something as simple as my maiding with me to a strangend and that..." "Get in," he cut in quietly. "...is a problem. I''m not moving an inch from this ce until you say Paulina cane with us. I don''t even know anyone there, how do you expect me to survive?" Alicia asked, raising her chin stubbornly as she stared at Harold whose temper was beginning to burn. Without saying another word, he lifted her off the floor, causing her to scream and il about but he ignored her and roughly shoved her into the carriage where his half-sister was seated, causing Alicia to shriek in both surprise and anger. Alicia turned in her seat to yell at him, but pressed her lips together when she met his cold angry eyes, "I don''t have the patience for stubborn women, so it will be in your best interest to stay still. Your maid can join the servants in the next carriage," he said as he sat down beside his half-sister. His half-sister who had been quietly observing them the whole time looked even more surprised than Alicia upon hearing his words. Alicia beamed and peeked out to look at Paulina with a happy smile, "I told you I was going to make it happen, right? You can join the next carriage. You areing with us," she said with a happy smile to Paulina whose face was wet with tears as she thought it was time to say goodbye to her mistress. Paulina craned her neck to look at Harold, but he didn''t spare her a nce. Seeing as he didn''t object, she smiled at Alicia and bowed to Harold, before going to join the next carriage. Alicia kept looking to make sure Paulina got into the carriage, before rxing on her seat and heaving a sigh of relief. "I''m Princess Tyra. Prince Harold''s younger sister." Harold''s half-sister informed Alicia with a happy smile, and from the gleam, in her eyes, Alicia could tell that she seemed really happy. "Hi! My name is Alic... I mean Princess Amber," Alicia corrected with a smile. Somehow she felt that the beautiful teenager was the same age as the Princess whose body she was possessing. Prince Harold who was known for his coldness andck of desire to engage in a discussion with anyone turned to look through the window while he thought about what to do with his stubborn and talkative wife. "I know who you are," Tyra said with an amused smile, wondering why Alicia bothered to introduce herself when they hade there to marry her. "You look so beautiful and graceful," Alicia said as she eyed the young girl. "Not anywhere near as beautiful and graceful as you are," Tyra said, and bothdies turned to look at Harold when they heard him snort. "Did he just... snort because you called me beautiful and graceful?" Alicia asked with a slightly raised brow, making the corners of Tyra''s lips pull up in a smile. "I think he did," Tyra said with a nod, and turned to look at her half-brother with a grin, but he ignored bothdies. Alicia tsked, and without saying anything else she looked out of the window. All she needed to do now was find out how far apart their kingdom was from the river where the Princess had drowned. She knew the chances of escaping from the carriage was slim, and she wasn''t sure she was willing to risk her neck to the hot-tempered Prince for a futile escape. "How long is the trip?" She asked, turning to look at the princess who had taken out a novel and was busy reading. She nced up with a lost look in her eyes which gradually cleared, "Three days." Chapter 17 Moon Kingdom "Three days?" Alicia asked in rm, sitting up to look outside the window again, and the princess bobbed her head. ''No! no! no! no!'' She cried in her head. Three fucking days? What was she supposed to be doing in a carriage for three days? She had always hated long trips. And by long trips, she meant flights that were more than 2 hours. But here she was, sitting in a carriage that was going to take them three days before arriving at the Sty kingdom or whatever they called the ce? Perhaps she could escape from there at night when everyone falls asleep? Maybe that was a better n. Harold watched her from the corners of his eyes, and he could tell that a lot of thoughts were going on in her head judging by the creases on her brows. He doubted that she ever stayed for a moment without thinking or saying anything. He tried not to let her bother him for now. He had a much bigger problem which is was going to be facing soon. And he was sure that whoever had plotted to kill him a few days ago was going to try it again. ~~~~ By the third day of their journey, Alicia finally admitted to herself that running away was impossible. In the first two nights of their journey, she had tried to wait for everyone else to sleep off or for the carriage toe to a stop so that she could sneak out of the carriage, but it seemed like the people did not sleep. Not once did the carriage stop to take a break at nights. Only a few times when either Princess Tyra or herself wanted to ease themselves or have a maid clean them up with a bowl of water and towel did they stop and it hadn''t been for more than a few minutes. They were served food inside the carriage which Alicia had no idea how they had prepared it. The only thing off was Prince Harold. During the day, the damned Prince never seemed to shut his eyes. At nights, he was nowhere to be found. Whenever he returned at daylight, he lookedpletely exhausted and worn out but he still kept a straight face and rarely spoke to her. She was d Tyra had kept herpany or else, she would have died of boredom before she returned to the future. With a sullen look on her face she eyed the man who was seated across from her. It was strange how he was her husband yet he seemed very uninterested in her. The only time she knew that he was paying attention to her conversations with Princess Tyra were the few asions he snorted or grunted at something she said. "We are about to enter the city," Princess Tyra announced with excitement in her voice as she looked outside the window of the carriage, and Alicia quickly moved to the other window to look out. Unlike the city they wereing from, there was no tall city wall or gate. People were moving about freely like they had no care in the world. There was an undertone of arrogance to it, almost as though they were daring other kingdoms to attack them. She noticed how the people knelt and bowed their head once they saw the carriages, and she turned to spare Prince Harold a nce. His face held an expression of boredom as he looked ahead of him without bothering to see what was going on outside the window. Now that they were in the city, he became even more worried about what to do with the woman he had married. He was just going to entrust her in the care of Tyra, and stay as far away from her as possible. He would also need to sleep in a separate bedroom from her, as he couldn''t pass the night with her, and he wasn''t ready to answer her questions or give her any exnation. Once the carriage rolled to a stop in front of what Alicia suspected to be the pce, Harold jumped down, and without sparing either his bride or half-sister a nce, he walked away as if he had been dying to put some distance between himself and them. Alicia turned to look at Princess Tyra, "Is he always like that? That... that obnoxious?" She asked unbelievably, wondering why he had bothered to marry her if he was going to act like she didn''t even exist. "Obnoxious?" Princess Tyra asked, clearly intrigued by the new word. Why did she keep forgetting that these people were from a different era? Alicia closed her eyes, and let out a soft breath before opening them, "Yes. Is he always this annoying?" She asked, and Princess Tyra let out a soft giggle. "I''m sure you have a lot to learn concerning your husband. Don''t worry, I will be here to answer your questions. We should get down now," Princess Tyra suggested as she dropped her novel on the seat before graciously climbing out of the carriage with the help of a guard. Curious to see where would be her home for the next couple of days until she was able to find her way back to the river, Alicia raised her gown, and jumped out of the carriage in the most ungracious manner without waiting for anyone to help her. Once her feet hit the ground and she looked ahead of her, she noticed the man who had held a dagger to her throat earlier, ring at her, and she scoffed at him before focusing on the gigantic brick building that stood proudly in front of her. One look at the architectural design of the building and she could tell that the people of this kingdom were smarter and wealthier than the other kingdom. Well, if she had no choice and had to be stuck in this era, she would rather live in a ce like this, than the other kingdom which was full of those stupid and spoilt brats called princesses. "My Princess," Paulina whispered behind her, reminding her of her presence, and Alicia turned to look at her with a smile. She was d that she at least had Paulina to turn to. Madam Grace would definitely not be missed. At least not by her. Chapter 18 Beth Alicia was led to a room far bigger and well-arrangedpared to the other kingdom. The room was almost empty, left for a king-sized bed and a dressing table with a small mirror. She remembered how her room was well decorated. Bright sheets instead of these dull looking sheets, floor-to-ceiling windowspared to the small windows in the room. The simrity was that the room was on the second floor, so she could still look at the city from her window even if it wasn''t that big. Something clicked in her head, and she approached the window with a smile on her face. The door behind her opened and a girl entered, but she didn''t bother to spare her any nce as she went to the window. "Mydy," ''I can pass through this window.'' Alicia thought to herself. She only had to try a little, plus she also needed a rope to help her down. She had yed several dangerous roles and had refused to use a stuntman because she had aimed to be the best actress. And one of the ways she demonstrated this was by reducing the cost of hiring a stuntman to y her role. So she had been trained a lot. Jumping down from here would be an easy feat. "Can you hear me?" ''I just have to wait until midnight. But first, I need to find a strong rope.'' She turned to look around the room absentmindedly, still not noticing the person inside. She tried to find something solid she could tie the rope to, and her eyesnded on the solid legs of the bed. ''That''s it! I will try to move the bed a little closer and make do with it. And I will need a horse. I should still remember how to ride one.'' She had starred in a historical drama before and was made to take horse riding lessons for the role. She heard a loud sound behind her, like something was being flogged, and was startled as she jumped back. Then she finally took note of the girl inside the room with her, who had a cane in hand and had used it to hit the dressing table. "Who are you?" Alicia asked and eyed her up and down. She wore a simple dress and had her hair tied in a ponytail with a red head band around her hair and a crescent moon knitted at the center of the front of the band. She''d noticed that the other maids in this kingdom had the same thing around their heads. But unlike the maids she saw in the other kingdom, who looked very meek and humble, this one had an air of arrogance around her, which she didn''t try to conceal. She acted like she was superior to Alicia, which felt weird to Alicia because, technically, she was the prince''s bride and was supposed to be respected. The girl looked to be in her teenage years or early twenties. She couldn''t guess." My name is Beth. I will be your handmaiden from now on and cater to all your needs. I will also be in charge of teaching you the things you need to know about the pce. Firstly, you need to have a warm bath and greet the royals." She turned to face the door and yelled, "Come in." The door opened and about five other young girls hurried inside. They all bowed to Alicia, but it seemed like they were bowing down to Beth. They also looked very nervous, and she could tell it wasn''t because of her. Each had a bowl of something in their hands. "Set up her bath." Alicia watched everything happen in confusion. They all hurriedly pushed open a curtain at the end of the room and entered the next room, which she believed was the bathroom. "You should be stripping out of these," Beth said, eyeing her up and down like she was wearing rags. "Where is Paulina?" Alicia asked. "Who is that?" "My handmaiden. She came with me." "She will be assigned other duties." "She is going to attend to me." Something akin to a smirk grew on Beth''s face. "You do not have a choice here, My Lady. It is the order of the inner court that I train you. Therefore; She. Will. Be. Assigned. Other. Duties," Beth said each word pointedly, as if she was deliberately trying to annoy Alicia. ''There is something wrong with this ce,'' Alicia thought to herself as she took a step forward so that she was standing directly in front of the maid, "And if I say no?" She asked with a slightly raised brow, challenging the maid. "You seem to be mistaken about something here. I... didn''t ask for your opinion. If you care about your maid, it would be best you do as I say," Beth threatened. ''Didn''t the rumor say that everyone was scared of Prince Harold? Howe this girl could treat me, who happened to be Prince Harold''s wife, like this? Who is she exactly? She is no ordinary maid. Everything about her points to that fact. Aside from that, maybe I am being treated this way because they must have heard that Prince Harold does not like me. It doesn''t matter. I need to swallow my anger and be nice to her if I need a rope to get out of here.'' Alicia paused when something else urred to her. Paulina. She hadn''t realized that there was a w in her n until she had to think about Paulina now. What was going to happen to Paulina if she managed to escape? Perhaps she shouldn''t have brought Paulina along with her? "W-We are... done, Miss... Beth," One of the girls said when they came out of the bathroom. She had her head bowed and so did the others. Now, Alicia wondered who this Beth was and why they had assigned her to attend to her. Beth, on the other hand, could feel her blood boiling from having to attend to a mere human woman. She had been working for the royals since she was a baby. Her mother had been a handmaiden before she died. And she was born in this pce. Unlike the humans, who she had heard didn''t let their maids or servants get married and procreate, it was different in the moon kingdom because they were werewolves. And they have to keep procreating to keep them from going extinct. They also needed warriors. Not only was her mother a strong Beta who had sacrificed her life to save the queen, but her father was also a Beta and one of the best warriors. Everyone feared her because she was the favorite handmaiden of the royals, and this was because of her family. She was also quite strong since she trained with her father sometimes. She deserved better than to attend to a mere weak human girl. Chapter 19 Royal Dinner Prince Harold looked out the window in his chamber. The city was dark except for a few lights here and there from torches andnterns. A lot was running through his mind as he could not stop thinking about the attack against him that night. He knew well that those people had deliberately nned to attack him. They weren''t mere hunters. He had his suspicions that it was either the queen or his half-brother Ivan, or that the two of them had joined forces together and nned to have him killed, which wouldn''t be surprising at all. The most mysterious thing he couldn''t stop thinking about was his wolf''s voice that came to life on that night. He had suddenly heard a voice warning him to run, and it had startled him, wondering where the voice wasing from until he realized it was in his head. He had forgotten what it felt like since he was still a boy when the voice went mute. That was when he realized there was danger lurking around the forest where he had wandered off to. He kept thinking about how to address the issue because he could not report it. He wouldn''t even dare. There were still scars and wounds from that night. Usually, it was very easy for their wounds to heal, especially as an alpha wolf. But he had not only been hurt with silver; the silver arrows had been coated with wolfsbane. The wolfsbane had gone directly into his bloodstream, making it difficult for him to heal faster despite shifting a couple more times. "Prince Harold." ? The door opened and his personal bodyguard, Alvin, walked in. Alvin was 20 years old and well built for a Beta. They had both trained together since they were 6, so he was closer to Alvin than anyone else in the pce, even his half-sister, Tyra. "Your bride is ready to meet the royals," Alvin informed him. "Did you do what I asked you to do?" Harold asked him. "I did just as you told me." Harold''s back was still turned to him. He looked out into the city, tapping his fingers on the block. "I have ordered medicine for you. No one knows about it. I will bring it to your chambers tonight. It will help you heal faster." Harold nodded and finally turned around to look at him, "Anything else?" "Miss Beth was assigned to take care of your bride." "Who is that?" Harold asked. "Daughter of Rager. She is 20 years old and works directly under the queen. Plus... she fancies you." Alvin said thest piece reluctantly, "They must have sent her to bully your bride." "Or monitor us," Harold said, smirking. "Shouldn''t you do something about it?" Alvin asked with a hint of concern in his voice, and Harold shook his head. Showing concern would put her in danger and also send the wrong message to the royals that he cared about his new bride, which was incorrect. "She can take care of herself," He said as he approached the mirror to check his appearance. "Discreetly keep an eye on her. She may try to escape." "Escape?" Alvin asked in surprise, but Harold was already heading for the door. Maybe he couldn''t exactly read his bride or smell her and her emotions, but he could see her eyes and the intent thaty behind them. Seeing how he had met her in the middle of the woods the first time he set eyes on her and how she had kept looking out the carriage and kept making excuses for a stop during their trip, especially at night, he could easily tell that she wanted to run off. She was stupid enough to make it very obvious for him to notice. Too bad she wouldn''t be able to do that, because she was soon going to realize that although the kingdom had no walls around it, and it looked unprotected, there were eyes everywhere, and stepping outside of the pce was going to be an impossible feat for her. When he got to the room where they were all supposed to meet, he stood in front of the door which the guards opened to let him in. As soon as he stepped foot inside the room, all eyes turned to look at him, and allmunication ceased. The people ying the flutes to entertain them also stopped ying. The king and queen weren''t in the room, but the first prince, Prince Ivan, and his wife were present. His younger sister was also present; she was seated there timidly. There were a few other members of the family who didn''t live in the pce, like some cousins, aunts, and uncles. They all took a spot on the gigantic table that seemed to have no end. There was a variety of dishes from the start of the table until the end. "Herees the newest groom!" Prince Ivan said, standing up with a big smile on his face while pping, but no one joined him in the apuse. Suspect number one: Prince Ivan. The second offspring of King Eli, Beta, 24 years old, married, no kids. Harold didn''t bother to answer as usual. He took gentle strides inside the room and sat on the seat reserved for him on the left side of where the King would be sitting. "I don''t see your bride anywhere," Ivan said as he looked around. "If you are so curious, you should go and find her then," Harold answered jerking his head towards the door for Ivan to use it. Ivan burst intoughter like Harold had just said something extremely funny, "You never cease to be hrious, little brother," he said with a broad smile directed at Harold before taking his seat. At the same time, the King and Queen''s presence was announced, and every one of them stood up. The pair stepped inside, looking nothing short of royalty. The air in the room suddenly changed as a result of the King''s presence. He was an Alpha, after all. They werepletely dressed in their royal robes, with crowns and jewelry toplete them. The queen had a smile on her face as she looked at all the guests. Suspect number two: Queen Arya. Beta, 42 years old. Mother of Prince Ivan and Princess Tyra. The two got to their seats, each taking the single seat at the head of the table across from each other, and after sitting, the princes followed before the others did the same." Where is your bride? And why are you dressed so... casually?" The queen asked Harold, with an unimpressed smile, "Weren''t you supposed toe in together?" Harold looked like he was disgusted by that and said, "I didn''t want to walk side by side with a mere human." He answered tly, as he knew that some of the people on the table would be satisfied with that answer, and he was correct. As long as he didn''t like her or have a child with her, who would eventually turn out to be an Alpha, everything would be fine. That was the best he could do to protect her. Chapter 20 Older Sister? Everyone at the table directed their attention to the door when it opened and Alicia walked in. If she had thought the dress she had worn during her wedding ceremony with Harold was suffocating, this was even worse. She had thought the royal dinner was going to be a small dinner, but she was wrong. There were at least thirty people inside the hall. But what caught her attention was the dishes on the table. About 90 percent of the dish was made up of meat. Harold watched as Alicia''s eyes lit up the moment it fell on the table. He couldn''t believe that the first thing that captured her attention when she walked inside the hall was the food on the table. He shook his head in mild disappointment, and his gaze met Tyra''s amused gaze. "Ahem!" The queen cleared her throat to get Alicia''s attention, and she snapped her head up to look at the direction it hade from. Alicia was slightly taken aback by the beauty and elegance of the woman who was staring directly at her. The woman looked like she was in her mid orte twenties. She had some simrities with Princess Tyra and guessed that she was Tyra''s older sister. But she hadn''t heard them mention another sister, and why hadn''t she been at their wedding? So who was she? Alicia observed the table''s structure. If the woman was sitting in that position, it meant she had some kind of power. She looked at the other end of the table and found a set of blue eyes staring directly at her and involuntarily took a step back. She would have thought he was the king if he didn''t look that young. He looked like he was in his thirties, and it was impossible for him to be Harold''s father. So he was probably the first son? He was very good looking and had a lot of simr features to Harold. But what made him stand out wasn''t just his kingly robes, but the kind of aura around him that made him seem superior and unapproachable. It was the same way she felt when she first saw Harold. But the difference between Harold and this man was... this guy was her type. Deciding that a wink might be too much for a first encounter, she shed him a smile instead. Her eyes then fell on Harold, who was ring at her, and she suddenly realized she had been staring too much when she was supposed to introduce herself. But one thing she had noticed in this kingdom was the fact that they were all blessed with good looks. Now, she wondered what the king and queen looked like. "Uhm, hello!" She said with a weak smile, raising a hand to wave at everyone on the table before remembering that they were royalty, so she dropped her hand quickly and curtsied instead. Harold bowed his head as though he was feeling embarrassed by his bride''s action, but Tyra, who had seen the barely noticeable twitch of his lips, could tell that he was amused. "Hello?" The Queen asked, turning to look at Harold, whose head was bowed before looking at Alicia once again. "I mean, how do you do your... Majesty? Or majesties?" Alicia asked with a polite smile as she approached the table. Seeing as there was just one empty seat left on the table beside Harold, she could tell that it was her seat, so she made her way towards it. Prince Ivan tried not to chuckle as he exchanged a nce with his wife, and they both turned to look at Harold, who was now looking at his bride with an expression akin to disdain. Apart from Tyra, the royals on the table concluded that Alicia was unfit to be royalty, and if anything, it made both the Queen and Ivan even more happy that she was Harold''s bride. With a bride like that, no one would push for him to be the king. Alpha or not. There were already too many odds against him. Not only was he born of a filthy Omega ve, he was the second son who had killed his brother, was cursed by the moon goddess, and had also married a human girl. An obviously stupid human girl. Alicia didn''t mind being the centre of attention since she was an actress. But all these eyes and the atmosphere were very ufortable for her. Something about this ce felt strange. But she wasn''t ready to know what it was. She wanted to eat a lot and have enough strength for when she would run away tonight. "I had no idea Princess Tyra had an older sister," Aliciamented to the Queen after she sat down. Now, she regretted not taking some time to ask about the structure of the pce instead of nning an escape that didn''t happen. "Older sister?" The queen asked, looking a little confused. "Uh... aren''t you princess Tyra''s older sister? That would make you Prince Harold''s older sister too, I guess?" Alicia said before looking at Harold, who had one hand on his temple. Everybody watched in confusion, wondering why she assumed that. Plus, they were also surprised at her attitude. Humans were usually meek and humble, especially when they were in front of them. Plus, allhumans feared themrumoursse of all the rumors about the moon kingdom, most of which were true. But this girl didn''t look anything meek or humble. She didn''t seem affected by the Alpha King''s presence either. Tyra, who was sitting across from her, cleared her throat a little, getting Alicia''s attention. ''That''s my mother.'' Tyra mouthed to her. ,m "I should not bother?" Alicia asked in a whisper, trying to get what she was saying. ''My mother.'' "Other? Like your other sister?" Alicia asked in confusion. "Does she think she is whispering right now?" One of the Queen''s nephews asked his younger sister, who was seated beside him. "I think she is weird," His younger sister whispered back. "She is my mother." Harold said to Alicia, saving Tyra the stress of whispering to the idiot. "Your mother? Who is your moth¡ª" Alicia''s eyes widened, and she turned to look at the queen. "YOU ARE THEIR MOTHER?!" Alicia asked in shock. How did that make any sense? She looked very young! Queen Arya seemed affected by thepliment. All women liked to beplimented, werewolves or not. The people from Moon Kingdom were tactful and always mind what they said. Therefore, no one would dare openlypliment the royals like this, especially the Queen mother, when they all knew how stupidly possessive the King would get. Queen Arya sent her a smile, causing Alicia to gasp, "Oh my goodness! You looked so young and pretty, I assumed you were their sister. I am so¡ª" She stopped talking and faced the King. "Does that mean... you are... the... KING?" She asked with wide unbelieving eyes. Chapter 21 Smitten. "Does that mean... you are... the... King?" She asked with wide eyes. The king didn''t answer, so she looked at Tyra, who nodded in confirmation. "Oh my! You all look so young, and I had no idea. What do you people eat here?!" She said thest part more to herself and quickly stood up. She raised both hands to her forehead and bent forward in a bow to the king and did the same facing the queen. Damn it! Why did he have to be married? The Queen''s lips curved upward in a weing smile. "You''re wee to the royal family, and to the Moon Kingdom," she said with a nod and gestured with her hands for Alicia to sit down. "Thank you, your majesty," Alicia said with a polite bow as she sat down, while wondering why only the queen was speaking to her. Was the handsome king perhaps dumb? "You are wee, sister-inw. I am Prince Ivan, your husband''s older brother," Prince Ivan introduced himself with a polite smile. "And this is my wife, Princess Luciana," he said, nodding to his wife, who also looked like a teenager. She knew that people in the middle ages married very early, but seeing it still felt strange, even though she had gotten married a few days ago. Princess Luciana smiled politely at her, which Alicia returned. Following that, every other person on the table introduced themselves, one after the other, telling her their names and position in the kingdom, and by the time it got to thest person''s turn, Alicia''s head was already beginning to ache. Didn''t these people realize that there were too many of them and that this introduction was a waste of time? Was she expected to remember all their names? "It''s a pleasure to meet you all," Alicia said with a small smile. Thankfully, the conversations around the table moved from her and their marriage to other details concerning the kingdom, while Alicia waited for them to start eating. This was the first proper meal she had set her eyes on since she found herself in this strange era, and she couldn''t wait to have a taste of it. "When can we start eating?" She whispered to Harold, who red at her without responding. She scoffed at him before directing her attention to Tyra. "Why aren''t we eating yet?" She mouthed to Tyra, using her hands, and Tyra smiled at her. ''We can''t eat before the King,'' Tyra exined, gesturing to the king, who was still seated with a stony expression on his face as he listened to the conversation going on between his brothers and his first son. Surprisingly, Alicia caught it this time. She rolled her eyes irritably. What was the point in having such a nice meal if it was going to get cold even before she could eat it? She preferred her food hot, "Ahem!" She cleared her throat, and all eyes turned to her. She shed the king a polite smile, "The food is getting cold, your majesty," she reminded him, just in case he had so much worry concerning the kingdom on his mind and had forgotten that the food was not going to remain hot forever. Tyra looked at her with rm and shook her head. "Prince Harold, what have you been doing? You haven''t taught your bride about our culture?" The oldest uncle, who was seated at the end of the table closest to the Queen, asked as they all gazed at Alicia with disapproval. Alicia sighed as she rested her back against the table. They still have rules for food?! What sort of stupid chauvinistic kingdom was this with their useless rules? At this rate, she was clearly going to die of hunger. "Pardon my brother, uncle. I guess he hasn''t found the time yet to educate his bride since they have only just arrived here." Prince Ivan said apologetically, even though Harold could tell that he was pleased by all that was happening. "Pardon my bride, father, she will learn to do better," Harold finally spoke, as he turned to meet his father''s gaze. The King, who was a man of few words and was yet to say a word since his arrival at the table, dismissed all their apologies, "I suppose you are hungry. We should eat then," he said as he picked up his cutlery and took the first bite, giving everyone else the go-ahead to eat. The others were surprised he was very calm about the whole thing. Maybe he was lenient because she was human? ''His voice is also sexy.'' Alicia thought to herself while looking at him with soft eyes. When the king looked in her direction again, she shed him a smile and picked up her cutlery before she started eating with so much enthusiasm while the others watched her. She guessed the King was nice after all, and she had been wary for nothing. He was just like Harold. They appeared cold and spoke less, but they were not so bad. She hoped so. The King raised a brow when he noticed how she ignored some of the dishes and only picked some, "Are you a picky eater?" King Eli asked, directing his question to her, and all movement on the table stopped as all eyes moved from the king to Alicia, who was still eating. "I beg your pardon?" Alicia asked, and when the king just stared at her, she quickly looked down at her te and got what he meant, "Sort of. Some of these dishes are not good for the health. So I avoid the dishes that are filled with fat," she exined meekly, and tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear, while they all looked at her with interest. Harold was surprised as he noticed that she wasn''t scared of his father but was just talking to him as if she was talking to any ordinary man. She was even looking directly at him and her cheeks were red. The King looked at her for only a brief moment, and then he gave her a nod before he returned his attention to his food. Once they were all finished eating and the servants were already clearing the table, the King looked at Harold and said, "Stay back and have a word with me, Harold." Chapter 22 Consummation? "Your bride is quite an interestingdy, isn''t she?" The King asked Harold once it was just the two of them remaining in the dining room. "Is she?" Harold asked indifferently as he sat back on his chair, staring into the goblet of wine in his hand. He knew that there were probably some pce servants around the hall, who had masked their scents and were trying to eavesdrop on this conversation so that they could report it to the Queen and his brother, so he needed to be extra careful of whatever he said to the king. "You don''t like her?" The King asked curiously. "Funny you''re only asking me now after the deed has been done," Harold said dryly, and the King smiled at him fondly. Although Harold was a child born to him by a ve, he favored Harold more than his other children. He was wise enough to know that he couldn''t show that in the presence of the others, especially considering the fact that Harold had killed one of his other sons during a fight when they were younger. "I''m sure you know that I only did what I believed was best for you. I learned that you were attacked during your trip. Do you know who did it?" The King asked, and Harold raised his head to meet the king''s gaze. "Who told you that?" He asked with a slight crease on his brow, wondering why Alvin would give such information to the King without his permission. "Need I remind you that I''m the King of this kingdom, and I''m also your father? You don''t think anything would happen to my son without my knowledge, do you?" The King asked, and Harold''s face hardened. "Since you know so much, then you should know the people that came after me, shouldn''t you?" He asked his father bitterly. "I will have some men look into..." "Don''t. I do not care about whoever had attacked me. They seemed like mere hunters. I don''t want to get myself involved in any kind of fight." Harold told his father as he gulped down the rest of the wine in his goblet. Although his father was King, he knew that his father couldn''t help him, especially if the Queen and his brother, Ivan, had something to do with his attack. He knew firsthand how the rules of the kingdom were made to favor only the full-bloods. Also, he was careful of everything he was saying because of the spies listening. He didn''t want to give them any idea about his ns. If the Queen had gotten her way with getting rid of his mother, he knew that the Queen could get away with almost anything else, especially considering the fact that she was from a line of pure royals and she still had the support of her family. The King looked at him as though he wanted to argue, but sighed instead, "If that''s what you want." "Thank you," Harold said and waited for the King to stand up so that they could leave, as he couldn''t walk out on the King, but when the King made no move to stand up, he looked at his father, who looked like he still had something to say, so he waited to hear it. "I know you might not exactly like her... yet. But you should protect her," the King advised. King Eli knew how painful it had been to see Harold''s mother die without being able to do anything about it or even mourn her openly. Thest thing he wanted was for Harold to go through such emotional pain. "I''m not interested in her. I didn''t ask to marry her, so you should protect her yourself if you''re so worried about her... Or maybe you can''t," Harold added thest part under his breath, reminding his father how he had failed to protect his mother. The King heaved a deep breath before standing up to leave, and Harold stood up at once and bowed to the King. The King ced his right hand on the left side of Harold''s shoulder, "When you''ve lived long enough, you will realize that things are not always as they seem," the King said, and then dropped his arm before walking away. Meanwhile, some rooms down the hall, Alicia stood by the window looking down at it at the people who were still moving around. Now that Alicia was here in her bedroom with no ce to go and no idea where Paulina was, she realized that she was in for a very long and boring life if she didn''t find a way out of here. There was no television to watch, no phone orptop, no ce that she knew she could hang out, and there was even nobody to talk to! How did people survive in this era? She turned to the door when she heard a slight knock. Thinking it was Beth, she just stood there and stared at the door, expecting the rudedy to walk in, but whoever it was remained quiet, as though they were waiting for her to open the door. "Come in," Alicia said tentatively, now wondering who it was. To her surprise, the door was pushed open, and Harold walked in, "Oh! I wasn''t exactly expecting you," she said with a small frown as she eyed him curiously. What did he want? He couldn''t possibly care about consummating their marriage, could he? No matter how handsome he was, she wasn''t interested in having sex with him. All she wanted was a problem-free way out of here.Maybe she would have considered if it was the king. "Don''t worry. I have no intention of touching you," Harold said in a slightly irritated tone. ''Oh, thank goodness!'' Alicia thought to herself and then paused with a scowl on her face when the meaning of his words hit her. What did he mean by that? It wasn''t like she was interested in him either. She turned down men, men didn''t reject her. So what did he think he was doing? Seeing the annoyance in her eyes, Harold shook his head. He could tell she was having a conversation with herself in her head again, "I won''t be sharing a room with you. Stick to your side of the pce. Don''t talk to anyone unless you''re spoken to. Don''t leave your bedroom unless you''re sent for. Don''t think about sneaking..." "Hold it!" Alicia ordered, raising one hand to stop him. Chapter 23 "... You Are Mine." Harold''s left brow shot up at the sudden interruption, ''She is rude!'' his wolf growled angrily.'' Shut up and go back to sleep.'' Harold replied to the wolf. He had been having a peaceful time the whole evening when his wolf didn''t say a single word. ''Why should I? This is my business as much as it''s yours. I won''t mate with her!'''' No one is mating with anyone! Now shut up!'' Harold growled back and focused on what Alicia was saying. "Why are there so many rules? Last I remember, you came to marry me, not take a ve, so why do I have to live like a ve?" She asked, and Harold''s eyes hardened at the question. His wolf growled again. Alphas never like to be challenged. They always craved obedience and submission. "Do you know what it means to live like a ve? Do you think you would be locked up in your room doing nothing if you were only a ve?" Harold asked in a dangerously calm voice that caused her to take an involuntary step backwards and shoot him a wary look. Why was he overreacting as if she had said something horrible? She had only asked a little question, so why did he look like he was angry? Or perhaps the King had said something to annoy him, and he was here to take it out on her? "A ve has no will of her own, and I''m saying I don''t like being controlled or told what to do. I might have to break some of those precious rules of your kingdom," Alicia said, staring at her nails and blowing out some invisible specks of dirt she could spot. "I don''t care what you choose to do with your time. Just make sure you don''te running to me when you get into some sort of trouble, as I know you will, because I won''t help you," Harold threatened as he turned around to leave. "Why did you marry me if you weren''t interested in getting married?" Alicia asked before he could reach for the doorknob. "If I had a choice, I wouldn''t be married to you. But right now," He began to take a few steps closer to her, causing her to step back until her back was against the wall. His eyes continued to stare at her darkly, and the gaze was making her scared, so she shut her eyes. ''I told you to stay back!'' Harold yelled in his head. ''You are scaring her.'' ''She deserves it!'' Harold took charge of his consciousness and reached out to touch her face. She was pretty. Very pretty. She looked very humble and innocent¡ª with her mouth shut. And although he wasn''t going to admit it out loud, he would rather have her ranting about than acting like one of those boring princesses. But not to him, at least. She shouldn''t do that to him. "Open your eyes," He said in amanding voice. She opened one eye first, and when she noticed his eyes didn''t look as scary as they looked earlier, she opened the other eye, but she was still very suspicious of his intention. Why a 20 or 21-year old boy could have this kind ofmanding aura around him was something she wouldn''t understand. "As long as you remain in this pce... you are to listen to me. Because you are mine." Her eyes opened wider, and before he knew it, she pped her hand away from her face and shoved him, even though he merely budged. "You are mistaking something, dear Prince. You can own a ve, but you can not own me. Let''s say we are even a loving couple; it doesn''t matter. Because I am my own person. I am a feminist. Do you know what that word means?" She asked when she saw a flicker of confusion across his face when she mentioned the word ''feminist.'' "I do not care to learn whatever word that means you are not mine," He said and turned around to leave the room, leaving Alicia staring after him with a scowl on her face. ''''What a rude jerk! Patriarchal bastard! Arrgh!'''' Alicia cussed as she returned to the window where she had been standing before he interrupted her. Soon she heard a knock on her door again, and red at the door, wondering who it was this time, "Come in if you''re a reasonable person," she said, half expecting it to be Harold, who was back to apologize for his mannerless behaviour. The door opened, "I hope I''m reasonable?" Tyra asked with a small smile, and Alicia grinned at her. Grateful that there was at least one normal person in the kingdom who she could rte with. "Of course you are," Alicia said as she walked away from the window and went to sit on the bed while Tyra looked around the room, which was sparsely furnished, "You know, for a kingdom that looked as wealthy as yours, I expected something better," Alicia said, referring to the interior decor. "I''m sure your husband would do something about that," Tyra lied, knowing fully well that Harold wouldn''t bother himself with such, and her mother was probably trying to get on Harold''s nerves by giving him bride such a room. Alicia scoffed, "I wouldn''t count on that. Your brother is a jerk, you know?" Alicia asked, and Tyra shook her head. "What''s the meaning of that?" Tyra asked curiously, making a mental note to always carry a note whenever she was hanging out with Alicia, as she needed to write down the new words and their meanings. Alicia pursed her lips as she tried to look for a simpler way to make her point, "He is annoying and he always says annoying things," Alicia exined, and Tyra smiled. "You mean like obocios?" Tyra asked, and Alicia blinked at her in confusion. "The word you said earlier when we just got here," Tyra reminded her, and Alicia giggled. "You mean obnoxious?" Alicia asked, and Tyra smiled in embarrassment, grateful that she had yet to use the word with anyone else. "Yes. Both words mean the same?" Tyra asked curiously, and Alicia shook her head. "A jerk is more annoying in a stupid way," Alicia exined, and Tyra giggled as she tried to picture her brother''s reaction if he heard the kind of words his wife was using to describe him. "By the way, what do you do here when you''re bored?" Alicia asked with a yawn. "Bored? What''s the meaning?" Tyra asked, and Alicia sighed. Communication was going to be even more difficult than she had expected if she had to exin what being bored meant. "When you''re tired and feeling annoyed because there is nothing for you to do?" Alicia asked, and Tyra pursed her lips for a moment as she tried to process it. Her mouth rounded into a silent Owhen she got it, and she shed Alicia a smile, "I never feel that way, but when I have nothing to do, I walk around the pce or talk to some of the servants. But now that you are here, I am hoping we can spend some of our time together and then you can teach me new words and their meanings," Tyra said with a hopeful smile, and Alicia couldn''t help feeling sorry for the poor princess who didn''t know what she was missing by being in this boring era. Chapter 24 One Problem To Another. Paulina heaved a deep breath as she copsed on the floor outside the door of thetrine, which she had just finished cleaning. She still couldn''t believe that the second she got off the carriage, she had been dragged away to the servants'' quarters, and without even a second of rest, one of the maids there had stuffed her hand with a bucket containing the soap and other items she needed to clean the publictrines and bathrooms around the pce. Paulina groaned softly when she tried to sit up, and her stomach rumbled noisily, reminding her that she wasyet to eat anything. Although she was a servant, she wasn''t used to such manualbour, as her sole task since she was young had been to serve the princess. Once she stood up, Paulina briefly considered going back to the servant''s quarters to let them know that she was done with her assignment, but on second thought, she decided to first find the Princess. Who knew what other chores those mean people had in store for her? Besides, she knew that once she found the Princess, she was going to get something good to eat and not the measly food that she suspected that those mean people would offer her. She looked around her as she tried to find her way back to the pce, where she knew that the princess would be. After walking around the quiet building and getting lost, she finally found the exit and stepped outside. She looked around in surprise when she realized that the sun had gone into hiding and the sky was dark now. She hadn''t realized how much time she had spent in there scrubbing those toilets. She took in a deep breath to inhale the fresh night air into her lungs, which were still filled with the pungent smell that had followed her from thetrine. She looked down at her clothes, which were of low qualitypared to what even the other servants here wore, and straightened them out. Somehow, she doubted that they were going to let her walk down the halls of the pce dressed like this and smelling of soap. If only she knew where the princess was, this would have been much easier. Who could she ask about where to find the princess? The people here seemed unapproachable and cold. Even the servants seemed to think they were better than her. She shuddered when she remembered how one of the men had drawn a sword at the princess during the marriage ceremony. If they could do that to the Princess, then worse could be done to her, who was just a mere servant, she thought as she tentatively headed for the pce, which stood quite a distance from where she was. She assured herself that if anyone stopped her, she was just going to say that the Princess had sent her on an errand and she was going to report back. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the roar of what she assumed was the town bell. She had been warned about the sound. The first bell was a warning for everyone to go inside. The second bell was to remind them of the first. After the third bell, anyone caught outside was going to be in trouble. This was the first bell. She had to hurry. The closer she got to the pce building, the more jittery she became, and so her gaze kept darting all around her nervously, as though she was expecting the mean maid to step out of the shadows and pounce on her. "Where do you think you are going to?" A harsh voice spoke from behind her just as she was about to go inside the pce, where she could see other servants going in and exiting in a hurry. A startled Paulina spun around immediately to look into the face of the mean maid she had somehow known was going to show up. "I have cleaned thetrines," Paulina said in a shaky voice as she took an involuntary step back. "And?" Beth asked with a look of disapproval on her face, taking a step towards her whenever she took one backwards. Why was she feeling so nervous around a maid like herself when she had done nothing wrong? Paulina asked herself, as she cleared her throat, "And I need to see mdy," Paulina informed her politely. "You can''t see her. Here in this pce, I''m responsible for all the servants, and I assign maids to the royals. I have no idea why you were allowed to tag along with them, but you won''t be serving her. So return to the servant''s quarters at once!" Bethmanded harshly. Paulina stood her ground, "The Prince said I coulde along. I''m here only to serve my Princess," Paulina insisted stubbornly, even though her heart was thudding very fast in her chest. "You are a stubborn one, are you not? Well, I know just the right way to break you in," Beth said with relish in her voice as she reached out a hand and grabbed Paulina by the scruff of her neck with her sharp nails, causing her to cry out in pain. "Let her go," Alvin ordered in a cool voice as he stepped out of the darkness. ? "You have no business interfering in this," Beth hissed at him irritably. "I do. Prince Harold asked me to get her for the Princess, so let her go. I also have a message for you," Alvin added, and Beth eyed him curiously as she roughly pushed Paulina to the side. Without sparing a nce at either her oppressor or her saviour, Paulina ran away from there and hurried straight inside the pce, even though she didn''t exactly know where she was going. All she wanted was to put some distance between herself and the mean witch before looking for someone sane to ask for direc... "Ouch!" She cried when she walked into something solid, and something fell on the ground, making a ttering sound. Her heart sank when she looked down at the goblet, which was now lying on the floor with its cover in a pool of wine. She looked from the wine to the feet of the person she had bumped into, and she had no doubt that he was a member of the royal family. She didn''t know what to expect as she slowly and fearfully looked up. Had she just seeded in running from one problem into another? What if this was the same person who had drawn the sword at the princess? She wondered as she looked into his face. Chapter 25 "RUN!" Paulina looked at the face of the man she had bumped into with fear. She had a feeling the people here could kill her without batting an eye. She was a bit surprised to see how good-looking he was. Was everyone in this kingdom this good-looking? She quickly shook the thought out of her head. Whether they were good-looking or not, the most important thing was that they were dangerous. Even the maids were all very pretty, but they acted like evil witches. Not to mention this young man, who was obviously a royal. He looked to be a teenager just like her, or maybe he was older?But he did look a lot bigger. Blinking back to her senses, she moved back, withdrawing from him. He kept looking at her with an expression she couldn''t read, and his nose was scrunched up as if he didn''t like the way she smelled. She wouldn''t me him. "I''m... sorry for..." "What are you doing here?" He asked in a deep voice that made her scared and withdraw even further from him. Her legs suddenly felt very weak, and she feared that she might fall on her face soon. "I... am here to see... my mistress." She replied. He looked at the open window beside them before looking down at her, nothing the red marks and blood on her neck. "Are you a good runner?" She gave him a confused look, wondering where the question wasing from. "N--o..." She answered nervously. "Soon, the bell is going to ring. And when that happens, you are going to be in trouble." He informed her. "W-hat? Isn''t... that the s-second bell?" She asked, panicking. He looked at the window again and turned to look at her. "If you hope to see your mistress again, run as fast as you can back to your quarters before the bell rings again." Paulina began to fidget. She looked at him, the window, and the mess she had made on the floor. "B-But.." She pointed at the floor. "RUN!" He said in amanding voice that made her flinch. She helped herself up, falling a few times before she raced back the same way she hade. He smirked as he watched her run. Did she say she wasn''t good at running? He bet she would outrun some werewolves if her life depended on it. "William? What are you still doing¡ª" His twin sister paused and sniffed the air. "There was a human girl here?" He nodded, still looking at the direction she had taken. His twin sister''s eyes widened. "What was she doing here by this time? And why was she not wearing a scent patch? Won''t she get into trouble?" She asked, sounding worried. Then she took her brother''s hand. "Hurry, we should leave now before the bell sounds. The night maids will take care of this." She said, pulling him along with her. William looked at the mess on the floor before nodding at his sister. As they turned, the bell rang. His head went back to the path she had taken quickly. He hoped she would be able to survive the night. ~~~ Paulina, who was still running outside, didn''t know when she began to cry. She ran with all her might to the servant''s quarters, but it seemed like the more she ran, the farther the building was. Her heart went to her throat when she heard something that sounded like howls far away from her. She tripped and fell from the shock, but got up immediately and continued the race. Her life depended on this. If she died and left the princess, how was she going to survive this awful ce alone? The howls drew closer and closer as she ran. She let out a scream when a hand pulled her to a corner, but her scream was muffled when the other hand of the person covered her mouth. "Quiet," The person whispered in her ear. She realized it was the same voice of the person she had bumped into in the hall a while ago. She rxed but could not stop panting or the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. He draped a cloak around her, also covering her head with it, and turned her around to face him. "No matter what happens, do not let go of this." He instructed. She felt obliged to nod, even though she had no idea why he was giving her this. How was this supposed to save her? Suddenly, he pushed her behind him when it seemed like something was approaching them. Since he was very huge, he was able to fully cover her, but she had seen therge paws with sharp ws of a huge animal, and she could swear it wasn''t a dog. It took everything in her to not scream. She held tightly onto the back of her saviour''s shirt and tried to stop panting. The animal seemed to stand there for a long time before it turned around and left, howling. When he eventually asked her to run, she held tightly onto the cloak and ran for her dear life. Just what kind of kingdom was this? What was that animal? Why hadn''t it hurt her saviour? Paulina wondered as she ran. She made up her mind that she was never going to step out when it was dark again. Her only prayer was that the princess wasn''t out. Williams watched as she ran, and he couldn''t help wondering what someone like her was doing in the pce. All the maids and servants were usually werewolves, so what was a human maid doing there? He wondered, and then remembered that his cousin had just brought home a human bride. Perhaps she was the maid of the new bride? "Did she escape safely?" His twin sister whispered as she appeared beside him, cutting into his thoughts. When he nodded, she held his hand and began to pull him along with her. "Let''s go. If thest bell rings, it wouldn''t matter that we are royals!" She reminded him impatiently. Chapter 26 The Boss Vs The Maid Alicia had a smile on her face as she rolled from one end of the bed to the other, as she dreamt of herself walking down a red carpet and being interviewed by the paparazzi. There were lots of journalists calling out questions to her, and she had a smile on her face as she answered every one of their questions. Yes, this was her life. And she would give anything to continue living like that. "So when are youing out of your hiding?" One of the journalists standing at the back asked. "I''m not hiding," Alicia said with a confused smile as she tried to make out the face of the person speaking. "Then why didn''t you tell us about your marriage to the Prince?" The same journalist threw the question at her. "What Prince? I''m not married to any Prince," Alicia denied with a shake of her head. "But you are. You ran away because you were ashamed of your past and you got married to a cursed Prince!" The journalist said, and they all began to howl withughter all at once, pointing mocking fingers at her. Alicia shook her head in horror as she looked at them all, and she took a step backwards. They all stepped forward,ughing and booing at her,until the journalist at the back came forward, and she saw that it was the same journalist who had ruined her life and career. "Your life is over!" The journalist said with an evil smile as they all kept advancing. "No! No! No!" Alicia screamed, thrashing about the bed, iling her arms and legs until she opened her eyes and sat bolt upright on the bed while panting hard. It took her a while to settle down, and for a minute, she wondered where she was. Looking around in confusion, she finally remembered where she was. Moon Kingdom. She was indeed married to a cursed prince. But something didn''t feel right. As she looked around her in confusion, realization dawned on her, and her eyes widened when she realized that it was morning. IT WAS MORNING! She hadn''t escaped. "No, no, no, no," She said, pacing around the room and going to look out the window. It really was daytime. It looked like it was 6 a.m. already. She was certain that by the time she got to the door of the pce, every creature in the kingdom must have woken up. How could she have slept through the night when she was nning to escape at night? Why did she keep sleeping off? She had only wanted to rest a little to help her digest the meals she ate. Now, this! She didn''t have much time left before that demon journalist would entirely tarnish her image. She needed to go back as quickly as possible before P & Jpany changed their mind about the endorsement deal. She almost jumped out of her skin when she turned around and saw the mean maid from the previous day staring at her from the open door with disapproval. When did shee in? Howe she didn''t knock? What kind of mannerless people live here? "What are you doing here? Don''t you knock?" Alicia asked, with a look of disapproval on her face. "I believe you have had enough rest. You were allowed to sleep in for an extra hour. Be up early tomorrow," Beth said with a scoff as she pped her hands. ''You were allowed''? WHAT. THE. HELL! Did she look like a ve to these people? They must have all gone insane. The door opened wider almost immediately and some maids walked in carrying bowls of water like they had done the previous day, which they poured into the big tub, which was located at the other end of the room with a curtain demarcating it from the bedroom, "It''s almost time for breakfast. You need to get ready," Beth said in a superior tone and with a haughty expression on her face. "I can bathe myself. I don''t need any help," Alicia said dismissively. "Of course, you will bathe yourself. However, they will be here to help you dress up, so go ahead and wash up. We will begin with your sses the moment breakfast is over," Beth instructed. "And Paulina? When do I get to see her?" Alicia asked, wondering if Paulina was alright. Judging by how Beth was being mean to her, who was a princess, she didn''t want to imagine that Paulina was being maltreated. Surely they would treat Paulina well considering that she was a maid just like the rest of them, right? They all probably would have belonged to the same union had it been in her era. "Am I supposed to know who that is?" Beth asked insolently. Damn the ropes! Alicia thought as she took in a deep breath and looked down at Beth, who she believed she was probably older than, "Listen up, Beth, or whatever you''re called; I''m not going to y the new girl versus high school bully princess game with you. You will watch the manner in which you speak to me going forward," Alicia warned, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin in an intimidating manner. Beth looked slightly taken aback by Alicia''s boldness. There was also clear confusion on her face; she didn''t understand half of what she had said. She raised a brow, "Or what?" Beth asked, taking a step forward so that she was standing nose to nose with Alicia. She was a mere human and could easily be ripped apart by an omega, talk more of her. Alicia smirked, "Trust me, you don''t want to know what someone like me is capable of. I''m not an enemy you would want to have," Alicia threatened, and with that, she roughly brushed past Beth as she walked into the bathroom, leaving Beth and the other maids present staring at her back. She intended to let them all know who the boss was around here. She wasn''t going to allow Beth, who was merely a maid, to push her around. What was the worst that could happen? She would rebel and frustrate Beth, and then escape from the pce before things got out of hand. Maybe if she was able to find Paulina, they woulde up with a good escape n together. And maybe Princess Tyra will be able to get the rope she desperately needs. Chapter 27 Royal Breakfast After having her bath, Alicia returned to the bedroom, wrapped in a robe. She raised a brow when she noticed that Beth had left with two maidens, leaving behind two other maidens who were to help her dress up, "Jezebel left already?" Alicia asked, even though she knew that they probably wouldn''t understand. "Yes, mydy," one of them responded with a bow since they could guess she was referring to Beth, even though they didn''t understand what she meant. "Good riddance," Alicia said as she sat down on the edge of her bed, giving them the go-ahead to do whatever needed to be done. One thing was certain, whether in her real life or this fake life she was living here, she was destined to be pampered. Even though she was a good cook, she didn''t have to cook or clean. As she got dressed, she noticed the sore on her hand was healing very fast, which was strange since she wasn''t receiving any medical treatment. If it had been in the future (her real life), getting attacked by a big dog or wolf like that would have left her at the hospital for at least a week. She would have needed medication for tetanus and for it to be professionally treated. In fact, it would have been a very big deal. She hadn''t paid much attention to the wounds all over her body, especially her hand, since she had been too preupied with her escape n. Now,she realized the other wounds werepletely gone and the one on her hand was rapidly closing up. She had noticed how the maids usually gave her a strange look whenever they saw her injured arm. Her thoughts were broken when someone knocked on her door. Since they were done dressing her up, she stood up. Thankfully, the dress today was not very suffocating. "You cane in," she said as she stood up and admired her reflection in the mirror. ''Princess Amber, whoever you are, you are a gorgeous little thing.'' She thought to herself. "You look lovely," Tyra said with a wide smile as she walked into the bedroom. Seeing Tyra, her face lit up. "It''s all thanks to these beautifuldies," Alicia said, referring to the maids who had just finished dressing her up, and they bowed politely even though they were very pleased with praise from Alicia. It was rare to receive praise from people in the pce. It was almost as rare as having a woman rule the kingdom. "I came so that we could leave together for breakfast. I suppose you are done here?" Tyra asked the maids, and they gave her a polite nod without meeting her gaze. "Let''s leave for breakfast then. We don''t want the King and Queen to arrive before us," Tyra said as she took Alicia''s hand and started leading her out of the bedroom. "Why not? They arrived before me yesterday," Alicia pointed out as she followed her. "Yesterday was your first time in the pce, and you were considered a guest. It would have been rude for you to arrive first and be kept waiting by the King and Queen. Today you''re part of the family, so it would be rude for you to keep them waiting," Tyra exined reasonably. "So how would they have known if they got there before me yesterday or after me?" Alicia asked curiously, as nothing Tyra said made sense to her. "The maids. Nothing that goes on in the pce gets past my parents, believe me," Tyra assured her. ''Was that so?'' She had to be wary of all the maids then. "Talking about your parents..." Alicia smiled as she leaned closer to Tyra, "The king is a real hunk," she whispered to Tyra with a wide smile. "Hunk?" Tyra asked in confusion. "He is very attractive and totally my type! I would snatch him from your mother if she wasn''t your mother," Alicia said, making Tyra look around them in rm. She stopped and took a closer step towards Alicia, who had also stopped walking and was giving her a curious look. "Do not let anyone else hear what you just said. It''s a crime punishable by death." Tyra said. ''Woah!'' What kind of ce was this? Does no one have a sense of humour here? She nodded. She had to keep her mouth shut then. "Good." Tyra nodded and continued to walk. "Have you seen Paulina anywhere?" Alicia decided to ask her. "I haven''t. But I''ll ask around if you want." Alicia beamed and grabbed her hand. "Thank you so much." She wanted to use this opportunity to ask for a rope, but she decided to wait a little longer. Just before they got to the dining room, they bumped into Beth. "Oh God, not again." Alicia grumbled loudly. She understood the fact that Beth didn''t like her or treat her well since she was from another kingdom and her husband didn''t even share a room with her. But she could not understand the condescending look she was sending Tyra. "I will escort you inside. Make sure you do not utter a single word throughout. Consider this your first lesson." Beth said in her usual superior tone. Alicia shared a nce with Tyra. To her surprise, it seemed that Tyra was afraid of her. With a nod, Tyra urged her to agree to Beth''s instruction. Alicia looked at Beth and forced out a very fake smile that disappeared as soon as it appeared. As soon as the door opened and the threedies entered the hall that seemed like they were having a party instead of breakfast, Alicia sent a big smile at everyone and waved, "GOOD MORNINGGGGG!" Shesaid loudly in a sing-song voice. Immediately, the chatter in the hall stopped and every eye turned to look at her. Beth gave her a horrified look, and there was nothing more pleasing to Alicia than seeing that expression on her face. She got it. Beth was trying to bully her to ept these crazyws and customs. And what better way to pay her back than not to obey her? Obviously, Beth would be held ountable for this. ''hehe'' sheughed evilly in her head. Chapter 28 Keep. Your. Voice. Down "Your bride seems to love to make an entrance," Prince Ivan murmured to Prince Harold, and the others who heard himughed in amusement. Haroldpletely ignored them as he focused his attention on Alicia, who wasing to sit beside him. Hadn''t he specifically instructed her not to speak to anyone unless she was spoken to? Why was she so stubborn? Didn''t she realize that the more she opened her mouth, the more danger she exposed herself to? "Good morning, dear groom!" Alicia greeted him with a sweet smile as she sat down beside him, causing Harold to narrow his eyes at her. Why was she smiling at him? Had she forgotten already that thest time they had seen each other they had both been angry at each other? Perhaps she was in a good mood? Why? He had expected her to try to escape over the night, but he had been surprised when Alvin reported to him earlier that morning that there was no movement from her chamber all through the night. Perhaps she was biding her time and trying to get ustomed to the environment? That seemed more like it. She was smart, after all. But it''s quite unfortunate for her that he was smarter. "Did you sleep well?" Alicia asked in a loud voice, making sure that Beth, who was keeping an eye on her, would hear her. Aside from that, she was hoping that having a good rtionship with Harold would make people, especially Beth, respect her. Because it seems they were all looking down on her because of the way he treated her. "Keep. Your voice. Down."He muttered under his breath, emphasizing each word that left his lips. Alicia raised a brow, "Why?" She asked in a loud voice once again, and Prince Ivan, who was watching the both of them, smiled from the corner of his lips. He liked to see that his half-brother wasn''t getting along with his bride. This was literally the best thing that had happened to him. Prince Harold''s eyes hardened when he heard her question, and he looked at her with displeasure. She seemed to be questioning his authority once again, and he didn''t like it one bit. Especially the fact that his half-brother was closely observing them, "BECAUSE. I. SAID. SO." "Oh... you are so feisty... I like it." She yfully pped his arm and giggled. Harold withdrew from her reach immediately and red at her with hard eyes. What in the world was wrong with this girl? And... did she just touch him!? Alicia looked in the direction where Beth was standing. Beth looked like she was seething with anger, and the look in her eyes said it was more than just the fact that she was talking. By chance... Alicia looked at Harold, who was still ring at her and back at Beth. All the conversation around the table, all of which was obviously about her, ceased as both the King and Queen walked in. As Alicia also stood up to wee them, she couldn''t help wondering why people always looked like this whenever the king and queen or Harold were present. There was always this tension in the atmosphere. Even though the people had been chatting andughing earlier, they didn''t quite lookfortable, and it grew worse as soon as the royal couple stepped in. Well, she wouldn''t me them. She felt there was something weird about them too. Especially the King. He was too handsome for this world. Once the King and the Queen had taken their seats, the others around the table sat down. "How was your first night in our kingdom? I hope you like your chamber?" The Queen asked Alicia, looking at her with interest. Hearing the question, Alicia cleared her throat and ignored Princess Tyra''s subtle signal for her not to say anything. "Speaking of my chamber, it wasn''t what I expected. I wouldn''t have imagined that such a sparsely furnished room would exist in a pce such as this," Alicia said, making the king raise a brow. "Sparsely?" The queen asked, echoing the question on everyone''s mind. "I mean, it''scking in furniture. It''s almost empty, save for the bed and dressing table. Perhaps it''s the fault of the interior decorator," Alicia replied. Beth, who was standing at one end of the room, looked like she wanted to rip Alicia apart when the Queen turned to look at her with a slightly raised brow. "Interior decorator?" The Queen asked as she returned her gaze to Alicia. "Yes. I mean the person who was in charge of setting up the chamber," Alicia corrected with a stiff smile. It seemed like she was going to have to learn to speak in basic terms, like she was talking to kids, unless she wanted to interpret every single word she uttered. Harold kept a straight face on and looked like whatever was happening was not his business. "For someone from a rather poor kingdom, you seem to have a lot to say," Prince Ivan observed. "And for a rich kingdom, my chamber, in the said ''poor kingdom'' is a lot better than what you do here." She responded with a stiff smile. Princess Tyra locked her shaky hands together as the air around the room grew stiff. Prince Alvin was beyond pissed. But most of all, the King obviously didn''t like how Alicia hadpared his kingdom to the other one, and the aura was everywhere. Everyone could feel it, maybe except for Alicia, who was busy looking at the dishes on the table. Alicia seemed to realize something was wrong and raised her head to look at everyone. They all had a submissive look on their faces with their heads down. Except for the royal couple and Harold, of course, who still had a straight face. She looked at everyone again and then back at Harold. "Why do they all look that way? Are we... praying before the meal?" She whispered curiously. Chapter 29 Bring Me Paulina Soon, the air in the room eventually returned to normal and everyone gasped in relief. Once again, Alicia looked at them, confused. "BETH! What are you doing when you should be teaching her how things are done around here?" Luciana, Prince Ivan''s wife, asked with displeasure." If you don''t like your chamber, then changes should be made immediately. Beth, make sure you take care of it," the King ordered, ignoring what everyone else had said. Alicia gave him a wide smile before rising from her seat to bow dramatically, "Thank you for your graciousness, your majesty." Seeing the displeased look almost everyone was throwing at Alicia, the Queen and Prince Ivan exchanged a nce. Both their eyes held mischief, and they seemed ted with all that was happening. No one was ever going to stand in support of Harold and his bride. Humans were always weak and submissive, but it seemed the moon goddess was helping them by giving them such an uncouth girl. The King started eating, and breakfast went on without much drama. "Try this," Prince Ivan said, pushing a te across the table in front of Alicia. Alicia looked at him suspiciously. He looked nice, but there was just something about him that made her suspicious of him. Maybe because she had worked in the entertainment industry for a long time and knew there were always wolves dressed as sheep, but this guy looked like a wolf. She looked at the te of whatever it was he had given her and scooped a spoonful of it. It looked like oatmeal, but when she tried it, it tasted weird and different, causing her to grimace as she chewed. "You like it?" Ivan asked. "Uhm... I... guess? What is that?" "It''s the brain of a wild pig." He said happily. Alicia gagged and quickly used her hand to cover her mouth when she felt like throwing up. Wild pig? WILD PIG!!! "It''s my favorite. How does it taste?" Tyra held herself back from chuckling when she saw the look on Alicia''s face. Her face was suddenly red and she kept forcing herself to swallow while keeping an unpleasant smile on her face. "It... it tastes... b-brainy." She grimaced once again. Tyra knew that if she daredugh, she would be in trouble. Alicia was allowed to do and say as she pleased now because she was a new bride and hadn''t gone through formal training, but not her. Aside from her, she could see other rtives who were holding themselves back fromughing. And she clearly saw the amused look on Harold''s face, which he tried to hide by focusing on his meal. Alicia lost two things during breakfast. One was her appetite, and the second was whatever friendliness she was supposed to have for Prince Ivamn, as her groom''s older brother. Once the King was done with his meal and stood up to leave, the Queen joined him, leaving the others who were still eating. Harold turned to look at Alicia, "What was that about?" "What was what about?" She asked as she continued eating. His eyes shed angrily as he red at her. Turning to look at his half-brother, who he knew was eagerly waiting to see him fight with his bride, he stood up, and without saying another word, he left the room. "Have a lovely day too," Alicia called after him with a wave. "You should be careful," Tyra warned in hushed tones after everyone else had gone, leaving just the two of them. "Of what?" Alicia asked as she picked up her ss of water and drank it. "Your words. Especially around the King and Queen. Your response shouldn''t be..." "I will take it from here," Beth informed Tyra as she joined them and turned her attention to Alicia, who was still gulping down water. "It''s time for your lessons," Beth said in a tight voice that barely controlled her rage. Alicia said nothing until she gulped down thest drop and then dropped the ss on the table and belched noisily before using the back of her hand to wipe the water stains from her lips. She was so going to enjoy riling Beth up. She smiled at Beth, who was looking at her with disgust, and she almost felt likeughing out loud, "Okay, bitch. Let''s get on with it," Alicia said as she stood up to follow Beth. "See you aroundter," She left Tyra with a wink, wondering why Tyra was looking at her with a concerned frown. "What is wrong with you?" Beth shrieked at Alicia angrily as they walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind them. "What did I do?" Alicia asked with an innocent smile. Beth took slow steps towards Alicia, and that made her scared for a second. Beth looked like a predator ready to hunt down prey. The way she moved, the look in her eyes, everything about her screamed danger. Why did everyone in this kingdom behave like animals? "You know what you are doing, princess Amber," Beth said in a very low voice as she stood in front of Alicia. The two exchanged heated nces and Alicia noticed how Beth was trying to control herself from doing something bad to her. "No matter how much you try to convince yourself that you are something big," Alicia looked straight into her eyes as she spoke. "You are nothing but a maid, Beth. And I... I am a princess. And I feel so sorry for you, my darling, because this is not a fairytale. I am Prince Harold''s bride, and you are the maid who will serve me. So... shoo." Alicia waved her off with a victorious smile on her face when she saw how hard Beth was trying to keep it in. The two continued to exchange heated nces until Beth forced a smile and stepped back. "I know nothing of what you are trying to speak of Princess Amber. But whether it is to your liking or not, I will be in charge of your sses. And the first thing you will be doing today is getting ready to send off the royals who are going to be leaving the pce toda¡ª" "Bring me Paulina." "sses are more important." "If you want me to cooperate with you, then you will bring Paulina to me," Alicia said in a patronizing tone that made Beth grit her teeth. Chapter 30 "We Are Going To Get Along Indeed..." Although Alicia wanted to believe that she had won the verbal fight between her and Beth, she had yet to set her eyes on Paulina. Beth had agreed to let Paulinae see her, but on the condition that she first get ready to send off the royals while she asked Paulina to change into something better. Seeing how Beth was suddenlyplying, she could sense that something was wrong. She just could not bring herself to trust that Beth girl. But for now, she pushed whatever thoughts she had about that girl behind to focus on this weird thing she was currently doing. Apparently, there were outfits here for literally everything. She had been given different dresses for breakfast, dinner, send-off, wee ceremony, etc. So, as she stood there watching the members of the royal families as they mounted their horses and carriages, she felt like ripping the dress she was wearing apart. How do people breathe in these things? Why did she even have to wear something like this just to bid these people goodbye? "It was nice meeting you. I hope you live here for a very LONG time." A female royal called to her before getting into her carriage. Beth had told her not to speak, but to simply smile and bow politely. She decided to do so because she believed it was something Princess Amber would have done. No matter how stubborn she was, she didn''t want to forget that she was possessing someone else''s body. She didn''t want to put Amber in a difficult position when she eventually returns to her body. "She is in safe hands." Alicia heard the Queen say something to someone and turned to look at the older woman, a man, and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who were standing before the queen. The King was nowhere in sight. The queen looked in Alicia''s direction and waved her toe over. With a slight frown on her face, Alicia approached them and then bowed once to them all. The queen frowned upon this since she was supposed to bow to each of them one after the other, but the queen ignored it. At least for now. "This is my older brother, his wife, and kids." The queen introduced the group to her with a smile and gestured towards the boyfirst. "This is William. And his twin sister, Susan. They are the same age as you." Alicia looked at the twins. Although they weren''t smiling or saying anything, they didn''t look like they were judging her or looking at her like they were better just like the others had been doing. "You smell different," The girl noted this with a twitch of her nose. Smell different? What was that supposed to mean? Alicia thought with a slightly raised brow as she looked at the brat. Was she trying to say that she had a funny smell? Alicia wondered, resisting the urge to raise her arms and sniff her underarms. "She means you smell very nice. Am I right?" The queen asked while giving Susan a sharp look. "Right," Susan said casually. Alicia could guess the girl wasn''t happy about something, but she couldn''t tell what. "William and Susan are going to be staying here for the next few months. Susan is quite a mischievous young girl. Therefore, she would be undergoing the same lessons as you all over again as she prepares for her marriage. And her brother here will apany her around the pce until she is done with her lessons." Oh... now she had a partner. Cool! "Well, I hope we get along, Susan," Alicia smirked. "We are going to get along indeed." Susan returned her smirk, and just like that, Alicia knew that she was going to like the brat. The look in her eyes was enough to tell Alicia that the girl was a troublemaker. "Take care of them for us. We should be on our way before the dark meetus." The twins'' father said as he took his wife''s hand in his. The Queen walked away after they got into their carriage and left, leaving Alicia and the twins behind. ***** "People may suspect soon that she is different. She doesn''t react to authority like other humans do. Neither can her emotions be read." Alvin whispered behind Harold as the two looked at the carriages and horses leaving the pce. Harold felt that way too. If only she wasn''t so stubborn and could lie low. "You mean like NORMAL humans do? Because there is nothing normal about her," Harold said, wondering why she was always so talkative. ? Alvin was slightly amused by that, but didn''t show it, "We have to do something about it." "We will handle that when the timees. For now, make sure you keep getting that particr scent mask for her. And it should only be made for her and no one else." "I understand." "And her maid?" "She almost got in troublest night, sneaking out to see your bride. She was saved by Sir William before the wolf guards could find her," Alvin informed him. "William," Harold muttered and looked in the direction of where his cousin stood with his twin and his bride. As usual, his bride was doing the talking. Damn talkative woman! "Do whatever you can for Paulina. And get her a scent patch to regte her smell. She may not be so lucky the next time. And her mistress will throw a tantrum if something happens to her here." Harold said, remembering how she had nagged him about taking the maid along. He could only imagine how she would nag him nonstop if something happened to her maid. His head was beginning to ache already as he imagined it. He could not believe he had to worry about one not having a smell at all while the other one''s smell was everywhere and could cause a wolf to devour her. "I understand," Alvin said with a bow. "And continue to keep an eye on the Princess. I don''t think the maid likes her very much," Harold said with a sigh when he noticed how Beth, who stood some distance away, was watching Alicia. "I will." With that, Alvin bowed again and left. Chapter 31 "You Are Strange." Once Alvin had left, and all the carriages had disappeared from view, Harold turned to leave and almost bumped into Prince Ivan, who was approaching him. "It seems like you''re not getting along with your bride. Need some advice?" Prince Ivan asked, making Harold raise a brow. "If you keep asking me about her, I''m going to start to think that you are interested in my bride. You shouldn''t covet your brother''s wife," Harold advised with a look of disapproval as he sidestepped Ivan and walked away. Prince Ivan simply stared at his retreating figure, a smile ying on his lips. If he had known how much satisfaction he would get from his brother''s marriage to a strange human bride, he would have been the first to suggest it. "Hey! Wait! Groom!" Harold halted when he heard Alicia calling out to him, and he turned to see her running in his direction. Why did she always have to be so loud? And what did she want this time? "What is it?" He asked in a cool tone, and then moved away from her when she tried to grab his arm, "What do you want?" His tone didn''t sound pleasant. Alicia had already gotten used to him by now and decided she was not going to let him get to her. He was too disrespectful, and it didn''t help that she was older than him. Why did she have to find herself in the body of a teenager? "Did you ask them not to let Paulina attend to me?" She asked as she tried to catch her breath. Harold raised a questioning eyebrow, "Why?" "I haven''t seen her since we arrived here. And although I''ve asked Beth to bring her to me, I don''t trust her to do so. Can you please help me?" Alicia asked, blinking at him rapidly as she set her lips in a cute pout. Harold stared at her without saying anything, wondering what she was doing with her face, "I do not involve myself with such matters," Harold said and turned to leave. But this was Alicia he was dealing with. She hurried to stand in front of him and spread her arms, blocking his path. He stopped and looked at her, his face clearly showing his displeasure. "Why can''t you? Because youck such authority? Or because you are scared that no one will listen to you?" She asked in a taunting tone, knowing it would hurt his ego. If there was one thing she hade to know about this husband of hers, it was his ego and quick temper. His rigid facial features sharpened on hearing that, but he tried to pretend like he hadn''t heard her. If she hadn''t saved him that night, he would have long since gotten rid of her. He continued walking, but she didn''t seem like she was ready to let go because she followed and tried to keep up with his pace. "If you won''t help, I guess I''ll just have to ask the king. He seems really..." The rest of her words trailed off when Harold suddenly stopped and turned to look at her. "You don''t listen, do you?" He asked, watching her with displeasure. "Will you help me, or do I have to go to the king?" Alicia asked stubbornly, ignoring the scowl on his face. It seemed like no matter what he said or did, this little girl was set on putting herself in trouble. What did he do to deserve such a bride? If only he had known she was his bride that first night he saw her in the woods, he would have let his wolf devour her and saved himself this stress. Seeing how he just stood there staring at her, Alicia batted hershes at him, "So? What is it going to be?" With an inwardly resigned sigh, he spoke. "On one condition," He said, wanting to strike a deal with her. He couldn''t keep letting her have her way. If he was going to do this for her, then she had to also do something for him. "What?" Alicia asked with a frown, wondering what he wanted. "First you have to promise to do whatever I say," He smirked as usual. He could not believe he was cutting a deal with her right now. It had never been heard of. But maybe it was the only way to tame her. "No. You have to first tell me what you want," Alicia insisted. She wasn''t naive or stupid enough to make a promise to a prince without finding out what it was. "I guess you don''t want to see your maid then," Harold said as he turned around and resumed walking, taking the main door to enter the pce building. "I''m sure the King won''t give me any conditions," Alicia said, walking closely behind him. As much as Harold wanted to get mad at her, he had to admit she was smart. She knew how to negotiate well to save herself. He turned abruptly, catching her off guard since she was walking directly behind him. Realizing she was going to fall backwards, she reached out to grab him or waited for him to grab heras it happened in the movies where the male protagonist saved the female protagonist. But much to her astonishment, shended on the floor and saw her supposed husband still standing there staring at her even when she cried out from the impact of her ass hitting the floor. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? YOU COULD HAVE CAUGHT ME!" She yelled at him angrily while looking around. Some guards were patrolling the area, and they acted like they didn''t see or hear anything. Harold''s lips curved into a slight smirk as he crouched down to look at her, using his fingers to prop her chin up to look him in the eyes. "You should be grateful that you are my bride." He said calmly."Someone as foul-mouthed as you would have ceased to exist long ago." Okay... that was scary. Alicia blinked at him. She preferred him showing his angry self to her rather than whenever he sounded this calm. It felt eerie and caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. He let go of her chin and stood at his full height and turned to walk away, but she quickly snapped back to her senses and called after him as she picked herself up from the hard floor. "What about Paulina!?" Harold almost sighed out loud. She never gives up, does she? "What do you want?" He turned to ask her. "I want Paulina to stay with me." She said resolutely. "No." "We are both new here and¡ª" "A maid does not share the same chamber with any member of the Royal family." He interrupted coldly. Jeez! What kind of kingdom was this with so manyws? If she had known, she wouldn''t have brought Paulina with her. But there was no way she would be able to leave this ce without Paulina''s help. And when Princess Amber was back in her body, she would need a familiar face. "FINE!" She said through gritted teeth. "...." Harold almost smiled in victory when he saw how frustrated she looked. He could guess she was ready to cut the deal with him and do whatever he asked her to do in exchange for bringing her maid to her. Because, just as he had said earlier, it was not possible for the two to share a chamber. She dusted her hands on her dress and smirked evilly. "In case you have not noticed, I am very good at breaking rules." She moved closer to him and used her finger to poke his chest. "You are so going to regret messing with me, Harold." She walked past him, clutching the finger she had used to poke him. "Christ! Was that a body or a brick?" She eximed to herself as she blew her finger that was hurting from the hard way she had poked his chest. Harold followed her with his eyes. If anyone saw him, they wouldn''t know what exactly was running through his mind. "You are strange." His wolf said out of nowhere, almost startling him since he was not used to his presence andbesides, he had been asleep for a while. "Me or her?" He asked. "She openly disrespects you and challenges your authority, but you look happy." It was weird too, that he found her intriguing. Maybe it was because she was the first girl he had met that was different. And strange. And talkative. He was still following her and noticed how lost she looked as she tried to remember the correct path to wherever she intended to go. ''You are so going to regret messing with me, Harold'' She had said. "We will see about that, wife." Harold muttered under his breath, wondering what she was going to do. Or rather, what she could do to him. It was almost funny to him because he could easily snap her into two by simply holding her. Chapter 32 Give And Take. Alicia had nned to look around for a rope, but it seemed like the kingdom had everything else she was looking for except a rope, and it was very frustrating for her. She must have spent over two hours walking around the pce, but there were still many more rooms she hadn''t been able to ess. The ce was that big. Giving up, she decided she would have to go to the servant''s quarters to look for Paulina. Although she had asked some maids about Paulina and they had all purposely chosen to be tight-lipped, they did let her know that she would not be able to leave the pce walls to go over to the servant''s quarters, and it made her regret entering back inside after sending the guests away. That stupid Harold was the cause of all this! She was Alicia Queen, after all. She always got her way. And if there was something she was good at, aside from sewing and cooking, it was being athletic. Growing up poor gave her a lot of talents. She had to do everything she could to survive, and now she needed to survive. As she returned to her bedroom to draft out a better n, she scanned the windows for the best one to use for her escape to go meet Paulina so they could run away together. After finding the perfect spot, she smiled to herself. Tonight was the night. She had faith that she was going to escape from the ce. She stopped when two guards stopped in front of her, looking at her strangely. "WHAT?!" She snapped at them like she had been doing to everyone here. Why did they all have the same look on their faces, like she was some kind of disgusting thing brought to disrupt their lives here? Now that she thought about it, she hadn''t seen that king''s assistant. The one that drew a sword at her. She hoped to never see him again. "You are needed at the maidens'' hall immediately." The maidens'' hall. That was where she was to have her training with Beth. She sighed in resignation. As much as she wanted to run away, she had a feeling that she wouldn''t be able to get away from these two guys. "Lead the way." The two turned around in sync and even the steps they took was the same. Alicia could not help but mutter "cool" before she marched along with them. "I feel so bad for Prince Harold," Luciana, Prince Ivan''s wife, said with a giggle as she and her husband watched Alicia march along with the guards. Her husbandughed along with her. "I''m sure he feels worse. With that temper of his, how much longer do you think my younger brother is going to let her live?" "It doesn''t matter how long he ns to let her live, we need to do our best to keep her. As long as she is here, things would be difficult for him, and no one is going to ept him as a ruler with that kind of bride," She replied with a confident smirk. "You are indeed my bride," Prince Ivan said with pride as he took her hand in his and kissed the back of her hand. "Be friends with her." "I n on doing just that." She said with a mischievous look in her eyes as Alicia disappeared from their sight. **** "Such a fine name for an empty room," Alicia muttered to herself as she entered the maidens'' chamber. She had expected to see things with color and nice decorations, but everywhere was in. It only had nice scenery since it was open and below it was a stream. Beth was already standing there with the usual grumpy and annoyed look stered on her face. She had a whip in hand, which Alicia seriously hoped wasn''t for her. There were four other maids as well inside the room who had their heads down, and thest was the Queen''s niece, Susan, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else than in this room. "LET''S BEGIN!" Beth said, hitting the whip on the only table inside the room. "Oh... so the whip is for the table? Nice choice." Alicia nodded to herself. "Not so fast!" Alicia said, raising a finger to stop Beth. "Don''t you think you owe me something?" She asked with a slightly raised eyebrow as she moved closer to where Beth was standing. "And what could that be?" Beth asked innocently, even though between the two of them she knew what Alicia was talking about. "Wow! You do not know? My apologies then. I should have known better than to expect a mere maid like you to keep to your words. And you are the one to teach us manners? How funny," Alicia said with a scoff as she stood in front of Beth with both arms folded in front of her, and they both eyed each other while Susan watched the scene before her with obvious fascination. Beth looked very pissed at being spoken about in that manner by a mere human, but before she could say a word, Alicia brushed past her and went to take the seat next to Susan. "And just so you know, I''m not moving an inch until I see Paulina here. Trust me, the little show I put up during breakfast today is the least of what I can do if you mess with me. If you love your position, get me Paulina immediately!" Alicia ordered as she crossed one leg over the other and turned to Susan. "Where is that cute brother twin of yours?" She asked in a conversational tone. Susan grinned when she saw how rxed Alicia was,pared to Beth, whose hands were balled into a fist. She could tell that if Alicia wasn''t a princess, especially the cursed Prince''s bride, Beth would have torn her apart already. "Go and get the maid," Beth instructed one of the maids present with them, and she stood up and left immediately, while Alicia turned to look at Beth. "That wasn''t so hard after all, was it? Listen, Beth, where Ie from, there is something called ''give and take''. It means that in order to have something, you have to be willing to give something first. That''s how it is going to be between us. If you want me to do something, you will have to give me something. And one of those things is respect! I don''t care how you treat other people around here, but when ites to me, you will have to watch your manners!" Alicia said with a smirk. "By the way, when are you going to fix my bedroom as the king instructed? Or do I have to raise the subject during dinner?" Alicia asked in a threatening tone, making Beth''s eyes sh angrily, but she refrained herself from being rude. There was something odd about this human that she couldn''t quite ce her fingers on. She didn''t seem like a normal human. She had asked the maid, Paulina, some questions about the Princess, and everything the maid had said about her mistress was theplete opposite of what she was seeing. "After your training, I will take care of it," Beth said in a calm tone. She knew one thing for sure; this girl was going to die by her hands one day. "I will supervise you as you do it. I''m not sure I can trust the taste of a maid," Alicia said, and then stood up immediately when she saw Paulina approaching her. "Paulina!" She cried as she hurried forward to meet Paulina halfway, while Beth watched them with disapproval. "Mdy!" Paulina cried in relief as she let Alicia embrace her. She had thought she would never see her mistress again the previous night when she was almost attacked by that animal. ''If only she knew that her maid had almost died the previous night,'' Susan thought to herself as she watched the two embrace. "Why do you look so thin? Are you not eating well? Where did you sleep? Are you okay?" Alicia asked with concern as she looked her over. "I''m fine. You look fine, mdy. I''m d," Paulina said with a teary smile, and Alicia reached out to wipe the tears on her cheeks. Beth cleared her throat, "Now that you have seen her, we should start," Beth said, and Alicia gave her a nod. "Wait while I take my ss," Alicia instructed Paulina as she went to stand in front of Beth, and Susan joined her. Two maids each helped Susan and Alicia stand in a position from which they soon realized that they were not supposed to move from that position until they were asked to. Alicia decided to obey for now since she had seen Paulina. In a few hours, they would both be out of this pce. Thankfully, they were not made to do anything. Instead, Beth recited sets of rules to the two, which they were supposed to repeat after her. Women were not supposed to do this. Women were not supposed to do that. All of these made Alicia thankful for the fact that she was not born in this era. Chapter 33 Crazy Rules And Laws "Her maid was brought to her?" Harold asked, trying to hide his amusement as Alvin rted all that had happened at the maiden''s chamber earlier to him. "Yes, milord." He had to admit that he was relieved to know that his bride was smarter than the average human being. Although she tended to talk a lot, which he didn''t like, it was good to know that she wasn''t just all talk, but could actually get what she wanted to be done. He was impressed. ''I still don''t like her'' his wolf informed him with displeasure. ''Neither do I, but she is ours,'' Harold reminded it. "Still keep an eye on them both. She is up to something." Harold gave the order, and Alvin bowed to him before departing. Just as Alvin opened the door to leave, one of the king''s guards knocked on the door. "The King requires your presence," he informed Harold, whom he could see through the crack of the door. What did the king want to discuss this time? He wondered as he stood up and walked to the door, "Where is the king?" "He''s at the royal garden," the guard informed him with a bow before walking away, and Harold left to join the king. Once he got to the garden, the King was seated with a goblet of wine in his hand as he waited for him. "You are here," he said, looking at Harold with a fond smile. "You sent for me," Harold said as he stood before the King, and he pointed to the seat next to him for Harold to sit down. Once Harold sat down, he looked at his father questioningly, "Why did you send for me?" "Your bride, you should talk to her. I understand that¡ª" "I didn''t ask for a bride. You chose her yourself, so maybe you should talk to her yourself," Harold interrupted with an indifferent shrug. "That is no way to speak to the King," the queen chided as she joined them. "We are having a father and son discussion, not as a king and subject," the King informed her dismissively. "May I be excused? Or is it going to be a family gathering?" Harold asked his father politelysince he knew that her presence implied that whatever private conversation they were going to have was over. The king gave him a nod, and with a bow to them both, Harold left. The king turned to look at the queen, who had taken her seat, and his eyes held a touch of disapproval in them as he watched her, "Were you aware of the state of her chamber?" He asked, referring to Alicia. "I had no idea," the queen said, bowing her head meekly. There was no need to pretend not to know who the king was referring to, as it would only further annoy him. "You are supposed to know everything going on within this court, are you not? Or am I to assume that you failed to show interest in her wellbeing only because she is Harold''s bride?" He asked again, and she quickly shook her head. "I''m sorry I neglected my duties. I will see to it that her chamber is well decorated and organized," she promised. "I do not want her to undermine my abilities or my kingdom again. Make sure she has no reason to do that," the king warned before standing up and walking away. The queen''s hands balled into fists as she watched him leave. Of course, her anger wasn''t directed at him, but rather at Alicia, who couldn''t seem to control her mouth. She hadn''t expected the bride to be so talkative or mannerless, considering how humans usually cowered before them when they were in the presence of werewolves. "Is there a problem?" Prince Ivan asked when he saw his mother sitting alone and moved to join her. He had been told that his brother was in the garden with the king, and he had beening to join them. "Harold''s bride," she said between gritted teeth, and Prince Ivan smiled. "Why are you so concerned about her? Her behaviour suits our purpose," Ivan pointed out. "Not if it makes the King question me in this manner. We have to tame her," she said with pursed lips. "Do not worry about her, mother." Ivan promised, "Luciana will take care of her." "I hope so," The queen said as she signaled to one of her maids, who was standing some feet away, "Ask Beth to meet me in my chamber," the queen said as she stood up and walked away. ****** Alicia could swear she had been standing there for more than three hours. Her legs were already giving away, but surprisingly, Susan remained still in her spot without shaking. How did she do it? "When the first bell rings, it signifies the start of a curfew. It means no one should be seen outside before the second bell rings. An exception can only be granted to the members of the royal family. And even the members of the royal family are not allowed to be seen outside as soon as the third bell rings. Anyone seen outside the pce... will die." Beth said coldly, causing goosebumps to rise on Alicia''s skin. The weakness fully left her as she pondered on what she had just heard. That exins the bellsst night, even if she had been too sleepy to make much sense of them. What was she going to do now? How was she supposed to escape at night if there was such a rule? Beth was about to recite another rule when Alicia put up her hands to interrupt her. "NO INTERRUPTION!" Beth said coldly. "Hold on. As a member of the Royal family, I can be outside just before the third bell rings, right?" Beth gritted her teeth in anger. "NO!" She spat out irritably, displeased by the interruption. Alicia waited for her to exin further, but it seemed she had no intention of doing so. "No one recognizes you yet as a royal. You are simply a royal''s bride." Susan said casually, while still looking ahead. "What is that supposed to mean?" Alicia asked. "You can ask Beth. This ce has crazyws and rules." At least they both agreed on one thing: this ce had senseless rules. Alicia turned to look at Beth, expecting an exnation. "Until you do something worthy of recognition, no one here thinks of you as a royal. You are only known as Prince Harold''s bride, and that is within the royal family." "I was a princess before I was brought here." Alicia reminded her. "You were a princess there. Not here." Beth sneered at her. Something made her happy at least, no one was ever going to recognize her. "There will be a recognition ceremony for you when they think you are worthy." Susan spoke up in her usual calm voice. Meanwhile, Paulina paid close attention to the conversation from where she stood with the other maids, her head down. ''Are you a good runner?'' ''Soon, the bell is going to ring. And when that happens, you are going to be in trouble.'' ''If you hope to see your mistress again, run as fast as you can back to your quarters before the bell rings again.'' ''RUN!'' She recalled the gentleman''s voice that had saved her. Hearing this now, she realized she would have diedst night if he hadn''t saved her. He had also protected her from a danger she didn''t know aboutst night. Did he get back safely before the third bell?She started to get worried as she thought about it. What if he hadn''t made it before the third bell rang? "So I have to do something exceptional to be recognized?" Alicia''s voice cut into Paulina''s thoughts. Alicia could not believe it. Whoever drafted out thews that these people followed here was a psychopath. Otherwise, how would they exin all this? No wonder people here looked down on her. "You are neither permitted to talk nor move while the king is speaking." Beth gave Alicia a pointed look as she continued reciting the rules without answering her question. "The punishment for doing this varies. You could be whipped until your back breaks. Royal or not." Alicia shivered when she heard that. She had to keep that one in mind. "Whenever the king enters, you must stand up and bow. No movement until he sits down and permits you to sit. Otherwise, the punishment is severe." "Wow!" Alicia breathed out. "For people not directly rted to the royal family, the punishment can be the death penalty. And for those directly rted, including their spouses and children; it is banishment from the pce." What kind of crazy kingdom rules were these? Death penalty for not acknowledging the king''s presence by standing, and banishment for members of the royal family? Why were they so unreasonable because of something as stupid as not standing up? They could even go as far as punishing a family member with banishment.... WAIT A MINUTE! Her eyes snapped up to look at Beth. "BANISHMENT? FOR REAL?" She asked eagerly. Beth gave her the usual displeased look, hating the fact that this girl continued to interrupt her. "Not death, but banishment, right? So they have to leave the pce?" "Yes." Beth answered, frowning. "And it would be very easy to kick you out of the pce." ''OH MY GOD! YES!" Alicia screamed in her head. Howe no one told her about this sooner? So there was an easy way to leave the pce like this? ''Alicia Queen, you are leaving today. Hehehe!'' She did a happy dance in her head. Chapter 34 Making Trouble. AGAIN. The lessons went on for the girls, but Alicia stopped paying attention after she heard what she wanted to hear. What was the point in listening when she was going to leave here soon anyway? She was lost in her thoughts until a maid walked in, and Beth bowed to the maid, who looked older than her. Alicia''s lips almost fell open as this was a sight very surprising to her. She had no idea that the ''almighty'' Beth bowed to anyone except the King and Queen. "The Queen wants to see you at once at the royal garden," the Queen''s maid informed Beth and walked away, expecting Beth to follow her. "sses continue tomorrow," Beth said dismissively to the two before looking at the maids, and then she gave Paulina a pointed look. "Come with me," she said with a jerk of her head. Paulina snapped her head up to look at her mistress before looking at Beth, and then she shook her head in refusal. After meeting her mistress, she didn''t want to leave her and return to the maid''s quarters again. She had slept on the bare floor the previous night, and considering all the hardship she had suffered since her arrival in the kingdom, she didn''t know what was going to happen to her next. She could not forget how the maid had lifted her the previous night and had almost strangled her to death until she had been saved by the man who imed he had been sent by Prince Harold. Her neck still hurt from the bruise Beth had left on her neck, and she had covered it with a neckerchief. Beth stomped her feet as she approached Paulina, but Alicia was fast and stood in between them, spreading her arms to not give Beth any ess to the little girl. The other maids watched the scene before them with an expressionless face, as they didn''t want to get in trouble with Beth. "You can leave. She ising with me," Alicia informed her with a stiff smile, not liking the way Beth was trying to intimidate Paulina. "You wanted to see her. You have seen her." "She is MY maid, and my maid wille with me. I won''t let you take her to whatever disgusting ce you kept her." Alicia said, adamantly letting Beth get to her. "As long as you live in this pce, you do not own anything that has not been given to you by his Majesty!" Beth snarled at Alicia. Seeing how tense the atmosphere was, Paulina began to get scared. Beth was scary, and the look on her face now looked like she was about to rip Alicia apart. Out of fear, Paulina moved from behind Alicia to stand in between Alicia and Beth. "Mi..dy... I''ll go... with her." Paulina stuttered. With a frown, Alicia pulled Paulina back to stand behind her. "Don''t be silly. I won''t let you go there. You look thin and awful." Susan watched them curiously. Was it because they were human? She had never seen a mistress this nice to her maid before. And the maid looked like she wouldn''t mind giving her life for her mistress either, and it didn''t look like she was doing it out of mere duty. "You do not want to keep the queen waiting." Susan reminded Beth, who was gritting her teeth angrily. Even if Beth was rude to Harold''s bride, she wouldn''t dare be rude to Susan. ring onest time at the two humans, Beth turned around and stormed out of the ce, leaving the maids to run after her. Paulina copsed to the floor immediately Beth left, and with one look at how pale her face was, Alicia could tell that she had been very terrified. "Hey, it''s okay. Don''t mind her. I will do my best to protect you, okay? You don''t have to be scared," Alicia said as she crouched down in front of her as she consoled the little girl. Susan almost rolled her eyes at the mushy scene. Paulina kept insisting that she didn''t want the princess to get in trouble for protecting her, while the princess kept assuring her that it was her duty to do so since Paulina was there because of her. "You are crying a river," Alicia said, looking for something to wipe off the tears that were running down her cheeks. Her eyes fell on the material around Paulina''s neck, but as she reached for it, Paulina held onto it tightly. "What''s wrong?" Alicia asked in confusion. "I just want to use it to wipe your tears." "Uhm... mdy... You don''t have to worry... I am fine." Paulina said as she quickly used her other hand to wipe her cheeks herself. She tried to stand up, but Alicia pulled her down, with a knowing grin. "What? A boy gave it to you? You just got here and you have a boyfriend already?" She asked with a wink as she untied the neckerchief from her neck, but the amusement left her face immediately her eyes fell on the marks on Paulina''s neck. Paulina''s hands flew to her neck to cover it, but it was toote already. Even Susan was surprised to see the mark on her neck. It was very bruised and she could tell that they were w marks. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?" Alicia asked in shock as she pped Paulina''s hands away so she could have a better look at the awful injury. "Who did this?" Paulina shook her head, "No one," she lied. She didn''t want to tell her the truth and put the princess in any more trouble. She had overheard the other maids talking about how the princess was going to get into trouble one day because of her reckless behaviour. Not willing to let it go, Alicia began to grope the much embarrassed Paulina as she tried to look for other marks until she finally found one around Paulina''s wrist. "No... she... didn''t do this." Paulina shook her head and withdrew her hand before putting down her sleeve. The bruise on her arm was from the stranger who had saved herst night. When he pulled her, he held her so tightly that she thought her bone would snap. ''She'' Paulina had said ''she''. A girl had hurt her. Having remembered how she had behaved in front of Beth, it all made sense. "It was Beth? Beth did this to you?" Alicia asked angrily, without expecting an answer. Beth was the only one she knew in this kingdom who was capable of such animalistic behaviour. Paulina shook her head in denial as she quickly tied the neckerchief around her neck once again, but she wasn''t smart enough toe up with a good lie. Before either Paulina or Susan could guess what she was up to, Alicia stood up and was already leaving the maidens'' quarters angrily. Paulina ran after her with pleading cries, and Susan followed them, but with no intention of pleading with Alicia. All she wanted was to witness what Alicia was going to do. Harold, who was walking by, stopped when he spotted Alicia from a distance, walking with a determined expression on her face while her maid and Susan followed hurriedly. ''Not again.'' His wolf groaned. "Where are they going to?" He asked no one in particr as he watched them. "Your bride is going to cause a scene at the royal garden. Beth hurt her maid''s neckst night," Alvin supplied as he joined Harold. "You should stop her before she does something reckless," Alvin added in a concerned tone. Harold took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before heading in the direction he had seen her take. He followed a faster route so that he would get to her and stop her before she got there. Alicia''s eyes were burning with anger as she stopped at an interception and looked to the right and left, trying to figure out the way to the royal garden. She had heard the other maid tell Beth to meet the queen there. "Please mdy, please don''t do anything. Please," Paulina pleaded with tears in her eyes as she stood in front of Alicia. "Step out of my way!" Alicia hissed at her angrily before turning to look at Susan, "Which is the way to the royal garden?" She asked, and Susan pointed in the left direction. As Alicia turned to head in that direction, Harold came out of nowhere and blocked her path. "What are you doing?" Alicia asked, shooting darts at him with her eyes. Harold took a look around him. There were no guards or maids in sight since anyone who sighted him from a mile away made sure to take a different route. Paulina and Susan stood behind Alicia, clearly intimidated by his presence. "Let''s talk," Harold suggested when he saw how angry she was. "Talk? I''m not in the mood to talk to you. Get out of my way," Alicia hissed as she tried to sidestep him, but Harold kept blocking her path. "Where are you going to?" He asked calmly, and Alicia immediately reached for the neckerchief on Paulina''s neck and tugged it off. "You see that? That animal you call a maid did this to her! I''m going to have it out with her. I''m done tolerating her insolence!" Alicia yelled as she tried to push Harold out of her way, but he was like a brick that refused to budge. "Let''s talk first before you do anything," Harold insisted. "Are you deaf or something? I have nothing to say to you!" Alicia snapped at him as she roughly pushed past him. ''She is rude.'' His wolf chimed, but this was not the time to indulge his other self in banter. Seeing that she wasn''t willing to listen to reason or talk with him, Harold lifted her off the ground as though she didn''t weigh more than a bag of feathers. He didn''t carry her bridal style. No. He carried her like a sack of rice on his shoulder. "What do you think you are doing?" Alicia shrieked angrily as he began to walk in the opposite direction. ''This is a good opportunity. Let''s bite her!'' His wolf said with excitement. ''Shut it!'' Harold hissed, already angry that she was making him break out of character. Chapter 35 A Predator And Stubborn Prey Instead of taking her to her chamber, Harold walked into his chamber with her, while Paulina, who had run after them, stood outside the door, terrified that she had caused trouble for her mistress. Who knew what the cursed Prince was going to do to her? After everything she had heard about the cursed prince, she feared for her mistress'' life. "You should go." A person appeared beside Paulina, almost making her fall to the floor from fear, not knowing where he had appeared from. When she looked at his face, she recognized him as the young man who had saved her when Beth almost strangled her to death. If she remembered clearly, he was one of the prince''s people. "But..." She pointed at the door. She couldn''t leave her mistress like that. What if she was hurt? "He won''t hurt her." He assured her, sensing her concern. She didn''t look like she believed it and hesitated to leave there. If she even left there, where would she go to? Back to Beth? "A maid who was passing by stopped in front of them and greeted Alvin with a bow. "Lead her to her mistress''s room. Orders of Prince Harold." The maid bowed and gestured for Paulina to follow her, but she was still hesitant to leave. Alvin took something from his pocket and handed the pouch to her. "Take the medicine for your wound. Go." She still hesitated, but the re from the young man made her move. "She... will be fine, right?" Alvin nodded. "I... will believe you." She bowed to him before leaving with the maid. Susan, who had followed them from a distance, sighed in disappointment after she watched Harold walk into his chamber with his bride. She had really wanted to watch the human Princess challengeBeth. She had been expecting a good showdown. "What is happening?" Williams asked as he joined his sister. "Apparently the servant girl whose life you savedst night came with Prince Harold''s bride. The bride saw w marks on her servant''s neck and she is very angry," Susan exined. He remembered that he had seen the marks and blood on her neckst night. It was another reason her scent was everywhere, which would have gotten her in trouble had she bumped into one of the night guards. He was at least relieved to know that she was able to escape while hiding beneath his cloak. That would have helped suppressed her smell. "It was Beth," Susan answered the unspoken question before telling him how Prince Harold had whisked off his bride before she could cause a scene. "She is quite bold," Williams said with admiration in his tone. Even he would not dare to start a conversation with Harold, even though they were cousins. In fact, he deliberately took a different route whenever he got a whiff of Prince Harold''s pheromones around. "She is. I think it''s going to be fun here." Susan said but noticed her brother was already walking away, so she ran after him. Meanwhile, inside the chamber, Alicia was fuming angrily, "What do you think you''re doing?" Alicia hissed at Harold after he set her on her feet and locked the door. "Stopping you from doing something stupid! What did you think you were about to do?" Harold asked, looking at her with a frown but his voice was calm. One would think he had never raised his voice before, which was true. He didn''t need to shout or be loud to get things done. But maybe he had to start doing so now for this stubborn bride. It seemed to him like she wasn''t the type to think things through before proceeding to do them. Alicia took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself, but it seemed like the more she tried to be calm, the angrier she became, "Someone harassed my maid and left those hideous marks on her, and you expect me to do nothing? Are you kidding me?" She asked in disbelief. "She is just a mere maid." Harold said, making Alicia''s eye sh angrily, and she used her fingers tob through her hair in annoyance. "A mere maid? So she should be maltreated in that manner because she is a maid? I don''t care how you treat your servants here, but I won''t let you hurt mine!" Alicia yelled at him and then paused when something else urred to her. "Hold on. Was this your n? Did you ask that maid to do this to her simply because I forced you to let here with us? Is this why she is being treated that way?" Alicia asked suspiciously as she looked at him with eyes that had narrowed into slits. Harold couldn''t help feeling irritated that she would think that little of him, "And what if I did? What did you expect by taking your maid with you to a kingdom you knew next to nothing about? You should be d that she is still alive. You''re only going to get her killed by acting this way," Harold fired back, without bothering to defend himself. It suddenly urred to him that he had spoken more to this girl than he had done in his entire life. He was the type to usually give a one-word answer or simply nod, shake his head, or shrug. But since she showed up, he kept on talking and talking. It was as if she had possessed him with her talkative nature. "Yes. I agree with you. It was my mistake. I thought I wasing to a sane ce. Little did I know that the people who dwell here are worse than animals. If I had known, I never would have let her step foot in this godforsaken kingdom," Alicia hissed, making Harold''s eyes darken with anger. "Did you just say we are worse than animals?" He asked as he took a step toward her, but Alicia was too angry to care about his anger, so she turned away from him and headed for the door, but paused when something caught her eyes. She looked again more closely and saw a bundle of ropes at one end of his chamber. Ropes! She thought excitedly. So, while she was looking for a rope, he had one sitting in his bedroom? She thought, and then remembered that she no longer needed a rope to leave. After hearing that scary stuff about being killed if one was seen outside after the third ring of the bell, she wasn''t sure she wanted to follow that approach anymore. All she had to do now was break a rule so that she would be thrown out of this good-for-nothing kingdom. Maybe Harold had been right to stop her when he did. She had been too angry to think. She could have ruined her escape n by doing something rash. Harold, who had been advancing towards her, followed her gaze and noticed how she was staring at the ropes thoughtfully. And then, as if remembering that she wasn''t alone in the room, Alicia turned to look at him and shed him a smile, "I''m sorry for my outburst. Thank you for stopping me," she said, making Harold''s brows furrow in confusion. She was angry and cursing at him and his kingdom one moment, and now she was thanking him? She reached for the doorknob and tried to open it, but the door did not open. She turned around and looked at Harold, who was still advancing towards her slowly. This expression of his reminded her of a predatory animal she had seen on the NatGeo Wild channel. "Stay away!" She said, her back pressing against the door. "Why?" He asked and continued to approach her. "I''m warning you!" She tried to sound intimidating, but her tone showed she was intimidated. "Why don''t you yell? And curse like you usually do?" He taunted her. Alicia''s eyes scanned the room for something, anything to protect her from this predator. Fortunately, her eyes fell on a dagger beside his bed. ? She took flight towards the direction and reached for it before unsheathing it. The look on his face showed he wasn''t taking her seriously. He simply allowed her to do whatever she wanted, looking forward to seeing what she could actually do aside from yelling. When he threw something at her, she panicked and flung the dagger in his direction. Time slowed. For the next few seconds, the two stared at each other, shocked. But the shock was not as evident on Harold''s face as it was on Alicia''s face. Her eyes were wide and her mouth opened as she looked at the dagger embedded on the right side of Harold''s chest. She looked at her hands, which were shaking. She had never thrown a dagger before. How did this happen? What happened? She had watched the dagger travel until it was stuck on his chest, just like it happened in the movies. She didn''t have such skills, so howe? Looking down, she realized that what he had thrown earlier was a key to the door. She finally returned to her senses when she saw blood seeping out of the wound she had inflicted on him and gasped, "Oh my God! I''m... I''m... so..." She ran towards him and tried to take the dagger out, but she was too scared to touch it and started to cry. "I''m... sorry... I didn''t mean it. I... I was only messing around. Please don''t die... I have to leave here in one piece¡ª AH!" She yelped when Harold got a strong hold of her hand and looked at her palm. "The calluses are not from your tough life in the mountains." He mumbled more to himself than to her. "Interesting." With a menacing smile on his face, he drew the dagger out of his chest and tossed it on the floor like it was nothing, even though Alicia looked like she was going to faint. Chapter 36 A Not So Prim And Proper Princess Alicia was still shaken by what had just happened in Harold''s chamber as she returned to her chamber with wobbly feet. She looked down at her bloodstained hands and wondered what he meant by those words he had muttered to himself. ''The calluses are not from your tough life in the mountains.'' What did that mean? Although she had always known that the princess''s hands, which she possessed, were rough and hard,pared to her own hands which were very soft and delicate, thanks to all the beauty products she applied and the manicures she always received, she had never thought much of it. She remembered that she had also noticed some scars on the girl''s body, but she hadn''t really paid any attention to it since looking at the girl''s body was not her business nor her priority here. All she had concerned herself with since she found herself in this strange body was finding a way back to her body and her life so that Princess Amber would return to her boring life. Thinking about the scars now, she recalled that the first time she had noticed them, she had assumed that the princess had gotten them due to the tough life she led in the mountains since even Paulina''s hands were rough and she seemed to have a few scars herself. But how had she been able to throw the dagger like that? By chance... was that Amber''s subconscious? Until now, she hadn''t thought that Amber was anything other than a prim and proper princess who lived in the mountains. Now that she thought about it, she realized that she didn''t know much about Amber, and that was because she hadn''t shown any interest in learning about her. She was yet to even go through Amber''s diary to know the kind of person whose body she was upying. When would she have even found the time to read the diary when she had spent all her time thinking of how to leave this ce? Alicia''s mind kept moving back and forth as she walked past some guards and maids without sparing them a nce. She would have bumped into a few of them if they hadn''t made way for her. They looked at her curiously, wondering why she had blood on her hands, and why she looked so quiet and lostas if she had seen a ghost. To Alicia, however, she believed that what she had seen was worse than a ghost. She still couldn''t believe that Harold had taken the knife out of his chest like it was nothing and had kept the usual smirk on his face when he said, "Interesting." She had no idea what he found interesting about being stabbed. Was he even human? Howe that was his only reaction to the wound? Earlier, while she was still panicking and crying about the wound, he had simply gone to pick up the key and opened the door for her, telling her to go and get some rest. She had refused to leave and asked for the direction of the doctor until he began to strip right there before her eyes. Left with no choice, she had left, but only after he firmly told her, "No doctors." She didn''t know whether he meant he didn''t want doctors or whether they had no doctors here. If it had been in the 21st century, whoever had been stabbed like that would have been rushed down to the ER. She couldn''t stop feeling scared. After hearing about his temper, she had expected him to be mad at her or do something. So why had he let her go so easily? Was he nning to retaliateter? She needed to leave this ce as soon as possible. Once she opened her door, she found Paulina standing inside her bedroom, pacing around. She felt relieved. For a moment, she hadpletely forgotten about Paulina and why she hadnded in Harold''s chamber. Paulina looked like she had been crying, and she started a new session of sobs when she saw Alicia''s tear-stained face and the bloodstains on her hands. "Are you hurt? What happened?" Paulina asked as she hurried to where Alicia was standing and took her hands to inspect it. "I''m okay. Stop crying," Alicia said as she walked over to the other side of the bedroom where the bathtub was to wash off the blood that had stained her hands when she tried to press down on Harold''s wound. Once she finished washing her hands and returned to the room, she sat on the bed and motioned for Paulina to join her. "Let me see your neck," she said, and Paulina reluctantly untied the neckerchief. "It''s going to leave a scar. We need to treat it," Alicia said, trying to distract herself from her thoughts. "One of Prince Harold''s men gave me this," Paulina said, extending the balm to Alicia. Alicia looked at it, a little surprised. Had it been under Harold''s instruction? "Let''s clean the woundfirst," Alicia said as she went to wet the neckerchief before returning to clean the wound, and then she applied the balm. Once she was done, she looked at Paulina, "What kind of person is Amber?" Alicia asked with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I mean, what kind of person was your mistress?" She exined when she noticed the confusion on Paulina''s face. Alicia regretted her question as soon as it left her lips when Paulina began to cry. She had forgotten how upset Paulina always got whenever she spoke like this. "Did something happen to you, mdy? Why are you talking like someone else?" Paulina asked amidst her tears. Alicia sighed before grabbing Paulina''s shoulders firmly to look into her eyes. "Listen carefully to me because this is thest time I will tell you this," she started. Paulina''s wide, teary eyes stared back at her. "This may not make sense, but I am not Amber. My name is Alicia Queen. I am from the future. 2020. The era of technological advancement and civilization; we have spaceships, airnes, mobile gadgets, AI..." Seeing all the confusion on Paulina''s face, she realized she was going off track, so she shook her head to get back on track instead of daydreaming about a world she wasn''t sure when, or whether she was ever going to return to. "My point is, I am someone else in your mistress''s body. And I''m not sure where your mistress is, but I''m hoping she''s not in my body and living my life because she''s going to have it even worse than I do, given that I''m a well-known celebrity in my country¡ª" Going off track again! "So tell me... what kind of person is she like?" Paulina looked at her like she had gone crazy. The grip on her shoulder tightened, and she guessed she was not going to let her go until she told her what she wanted to hear. "Before... you... drowned?" Paulina asked hesitantly. Because she knew that was when her mistresspletely changed. Alicia smiled and nodded vehemently. It seemed this girl was finally following her. "Before I drowned." She had a feeling that just maybe... Princess Amber wasn''t as simple as she had thought. Perhaps something else happened to cause her to fall into the river? *********** "What took you so long?" The Queen asked Beth with disapproval when she finally walked into her chambers. "I''m sorry, my queen, I thought you were at the royal garden," Beth said with an apologetic bow, and kept her head down. "What are you doing with Harold''s bride? Are you not supposed to be training her? Why is she so unruly?" The Queen asked with a re in her eyes as she looked at Beth. "I am training her, my queen, but she is... She isn''t like other humans," Bethined. "I never thought you were one to make excuses. Perhaps this task is too much for you to handle. I should get someone else to take care of her," the queen said, and Beth fell to her knees. "No, my queen. Please give me one more chance. " The queen kept the displeased look on her face as she warned, "I''m only going to give you another chance because of yourte mother. I don''t care how you do it, but make sure you tame her! I don''t want her to speak carelessly before the king and cause us any trouble." "Yes, my queen. Thank you, my queen," Beth said with a bow. "And what is it I hear about her maid?" The Queen asked, signalling to Beth with her hands to stand up. "She seems to be very attached to her maid and wants her to serve her. The maid is also attached to her," Beth exined, trying not to grit her teeth. She hated the two with great passion. "Then let her maid serve her," the Queen said thoughtfully, surprising Beth. "But..." "Don''t worry. Let''s just let her have her way for now, while you train her. Let''s make her feel at home," the Queen said with a smile that didn''t reach her eyes. What better way to tame a person than to give them all they want, and then take it all awayter? "Show me to her chamber. Let''s go take care of it," the Queen said as she jerked her head to the door for Beth to show her the way. Chapter 37 Mysterious Princess Amber. Unedited. Alicia listened with rapt attention as Paulina told her all she knew about the Princess whose body she possessed, and she tried to process all that she was hearing. Paulina reminded her of a few things like the fact that she was only 8 years old when her mother was killed. Something aboutmitting treason while she was sent on exile. Paulina had been a ve whose Amber''s mother had saved alongside other ves but she had been the only child among them. The trauma had been too much for the little Paulina who was only 6 years old to bear so she was easily scared and refused to stay apart from the former Queen (Amber''s mother). The queen asked her to serve Amber even though they were the same age and Paulina was happy to do so in gratitude for saving her life. Amber however hadn''t been very friendly with Paulina but she didn''t tell Alicia that, assuming she was still talking to princess Amber. She usually kept to herself but slowly began to open up to the maid. It wasn''t until the tragedy happened that things changed. When Amber was exiled, Paulina followed her, not wanting to leave the little princess on her own. "Can I fight?" Alicia asked, going straight to the point. At this point, she was already tired of the pointless narration. She wanted to know how she was able to throw that dagger wlessly. That was definitely not her talent so it had to be Amber''s. But it was just at that time that the door opened, interrupting their conversation. Alicia opened her mouth to snap at whoever had barged into her bedroom without knocking but snapped it shut when the Queen walked in, apanied by Beth and some other servants who were carrying different materials. Seeing Beth, Alicia''s anger rekindled again, but because of the Queen, she tried to contain it. She still intended to get it out with Beth after now, but just not in the presence of the Queen. "Your majesty," Alicia greeted as she quickly stood up and bowed to the queen. Paulina did the same but made sure she was standing behind Alicia. The Queen looked from Alicia to the servant girl, and then her gaze fell on Paulina''s neck, before she returned her gaze to Alicia, "I''m here to personally see to the set-up of your chamber," the Queen informed her as she gestured to the servants to step forward. "Oh, great!" Alicia said with an excited p even though she had no intention of staying in the chamber for much longer. This was just going to be a good way for her to pass time until dinner time when she would set her n in motion. "What are the things you wish to have in your chamber?" The Queen asked, wanting to have a fair idea of Alicia''s personality and the kind of things she liked. Alicia paused to think about the two bedrooms in her penthouse apartment. There was no way the people here could meet her standard, "I want a full-length mirror on this side of the room," Alicia said pointing to the left side of her bedroom, "And a floral curtain... Perfecto! This will do," Alicia said as she walked over to the maids who were holding different materials and pulled out a floral drape. Beth whose disapproval was obvious opened her mouth to object, but the Queen raised a hand to silence her as she followed Alicia with her eyes. She watched as Alicia pranced around the chamber confidently, throwing orders at the servants as though she was the boss here. Perhaps Beth was right. There was more to the human than meet the eyes? She would need to keep an extra eye on this princess. Thest thing she wanted was for the princess to ruin all the ns she had already made. "I trust you have paintings or artworks which can be hung on the wall?" Alicia asked after she had exhausted every idea in her head. The Queen walked to stand in front of her and ced her hand on Alicia''s shoulder with a friendly smile on her face. "You will get whatever you want. You are prince Harold''s bride and that makes you my family. I will take good care of you. Trust me." the Queen assured her before turning to Beth, "Make sure everything is done as she has requested," The queen said and then turned around to leave. She hesitated when she got to the door and turned back to look at Alicia, "Your girl can serve you," she informed Alicia, who immediately bowed in gratitude, and Paulina followed suit. "Thank you, your majesty," Alicia greeted happily, before shing Beth a triumphant look. Who is the winner now? Alicia desperately wanted to gloat. The queen seemed nice to her. Even if there was some kind of suspicious air around her, she was the other reasonable person here aside from Tyra and the King. "Get the girl some decent clothes and show her where she will be staying within the pce walls. And let me know when they are done setting up the chamber," the Queen instructed Beth before walking away. Once the queen left with her maid, Alicia walked over to where Beth was standing and raised a brow, "Did you do that to her?" She asked, pointing to Paulina''s neck. Beth looked at both Alicia and Paulina with disinterest before turning to look at another maid who was standing close to her, "Go and get the maid some clothes," she ordered, and the maid hurried away. "I asked you a question," Alicia repeated, trying not to lose her temper. "And what if I did? What are you going to do about it?" Beth asked with a smirk, and without thinking about it Alicia raised her hand and delivered a p to the right side of her cheek. Beth''s eyes stung from the effect of the p, but more than that she was stunned, as were the other servants who looked at Alicia in disbelief. "I warned you, Beth. I''m not the kind of enemy you want to have. You heard the Queen. Paulina will serve me now, so I''ll advise you don''ty your filthy hands on her ever again. If you do, I won''t be held responsible for anything I do to you," Alicia warned before turning to look at Paulina who was looking down fearfully. "Come with me." She said, referring to Paulina as she head towards the door. They had an important conversation they needed toplete. "And you," she said, pointing at Beth. "Make this ce to my liking. Unless you want to redo everything all over again." She didn''t wait to see Beth''s reaction because she was already out of the room with Paulina following behind her, feeling ufortable and scared. Princess Amber usually didn''t behave like this. Maybe this was truly another body in her? She shook the thought out of her head. That was not possible. She didn''t even believe in witches so how could she believe in something like that? She concluded something else must have happened when she fell into that river. Beth gritted her teeth, and her hands balled into a fist as she looked at Alicia. She was going to make this stupid human pay for humiliating her this way. She was not going to let here into her life and this kingdom and ruin everything. Harold belonged to her. And one day, they were all going to realize that. And when that dayes, she will make sure to rip this filthy thing into pieces. For now, she had to endure this. Alicia found a safe spot where she believed she would have a peaceful conversation with Paulina without interruption. Although she kept having the nagging feeling to go check on Harold and see how he was faring, she decided to shake it off. It didn''t seem like he was going to die. Besides, this was the era where men went to war. He must have gotten used to getting stabbed by now, right? ''But it had been deep.'' A voice I her head reminded her. She became worried since she wasn''t sure what fate awaited her now. She couldn''t care less about the prince. He deserved it for the way he had treated her and Paulina. Meanwhile, in his room, Harold stood in front of the mirror where he looked at his bare upper body. Even though he had fought in countless of wars, he had only a few scars on his body and most of them were from the times he yed around as a child. The other severe scars had been from hunters'' silvers or wolfsbane. None had been done by a mere human before. More so a girl. His lips formed into an eerie smile as he looked at the stab wound. He hadpletely let down his guard in front of her, thinking she was all talk and no action. Who would have thought? "I got you the ointment." Alvin said, offering a small pouch to him with worry creasing his brows. "The queen visited princess Amber." Alvin said and gave him a run down of what had happened, including the p. Even Alvin could not help but wince a little when he remembered how she had pped Beth. This was Beth of all people. Even he was cautious around her. What more? She had also stabbed prince Harold. He made a mental note to be extra wary of her. Chapter 38 The Diary Alicia''s conversation with Paulina kept reying in her head as she walked down the hall to join the others for dinner. She hadn''t realized how much time they had spent talking until a maid came to ask her to get ready for dinner. After hearing all that Paulina had said, she was certain now that there was more to Princess Amber than met the eyes. There had to be something. ording to Paulina, Princess Amber always kept to herself and never talked back or reacted whenever Madam Grace was rude to them, not even when Madam Grace hit her. Neither had she ever stood up for Paulina when the woman had decided to vent her rage on the poor maid. She always just stood there, staring at the woman with a stony face. She usually kept to herself and rarely slept. Paulina had recalled some asions when she had woken up in the middle of the night and was shocked to find Amber sitting on her bed, staring at nothing in particr. She has also said that oftentimes she saw the princess treating some mysterious wounds. No one knew how she got them. It always worried Paulina, but after epting that there were things Amber wouldn''t tell her, she had stopped asking and always helped her treat her wounds without Madam Grace finding out. Paulina had also told her how the princess liked to take a walk around the mountain, especially whenever Madam Grace was out. And she never allowed Paulina toe with her because those were her ''private moments''. Out of the three, only Madam Grace was allowed to leave the mountain and head to the vige, especially when they were out of items like foodstuffs and toiletries. Paulina told her she had a suspicion that there was something off about Madam Grace, which princess Amber had noticed too. Paulina said that Amber had only recently started to sneak out of the mountain into the vige. Paulina had no idea what she was going there for, and Amber had refused to talk about it. The first time Madam Grace suspected it, all hell broke loose that day. Especially when Madam Grace found something like the head of an arrow hidden among her things, and Amber had imed she had picked it up in the mountains. Alicia learnt that Amber had always looked forward to returning to their kingdom and meeting the king and the new queen. That was why Paulina had been excited when the king finally sent for her, but who would have guessed that it was to marry her off to a cursed prince? That aside, the most worrisome thing for Paulina was ''princess Amber''s'' recent attitude. She hadpletely changed since the drowning incident. She talked a lot, didn''t let anyone bully her, and even stood up for Paulina a couple of times, to the point that she even pped Beth. Princess Amber wasn''t that sort of person, so seeing how she was acting crazy and saying she wasn''t Amber, Paulina was beginning to believe her. "What happened on the day I almost drowned?" Alicia had asked her. Maybe it would give her some clues on how to summon Paulina back to her body and return to hers. "When the message came from the king, Madam Grace was out, and you had also gone out as usual. By the time she returned and saw the message, you were still not back, so we started searching for you. We were both panicking, so Madam Grace and I searched around the mountains, and when we didn''t see you, we went into the vige. It was my first time there." A faint smile appeared on Paulina''s lips when she recalled the memory. After many years, it was the first time she got to see a vige with many people and prettynterns around, since she was usually stuck in the mountains with two women, and the other people she bumped into by mistake were hunters. "I understood why you always went there. It waspletely different from the mountains. It was like a different world," She was, smiling faintly. Alicia almost snorted. ''Different world? Wait until you see Brook''s Hill where Iefrom.'' "Fortunately, we met you. You were surrounded by people besides the wooden bridge on the outskirts of the vige. They said you had drowned, and a young man had saved you before you werepletely gone." Paulina sniffled. "We didn''t know how you got there since you always stayed away fromkes since you were little and don''t even know how to swim!" Alicia wanted to argue with her that she could swim quite well, but she remembered that she was not Amber. Moreover, she had also drowned, so there was no point in trying to prove a point. "Can you stay for at least an hour without crying?" Alicia asked in frustration as Paulina began to wipe her eyes clean with the back of her hands when she remembered how lifeless her mistress had looked then. Paulina had also said she thought that Amber had a secret lover who she was always sneaking out to see, but Alicia didn''t think it was just that. What had Amber been nning? Was it possible the river incident wasn''t as simple as it appeared? The whole narration made Alicia feel uneasy. She felt there was something up with Amber. Or maybe she was overthinking it because of all the movies she had seen, but the girl wasn''t as simple as she made them believe. The Diary! Yes! That was it. She was going to have to put all her ns on hold until she understood who Princess Amber was and what had led to the river incident. That was the only way she would be able to return to her own body. There was no need to leave the pce where she was being well taken care of to somece she didn''t know. Once she could figure out what the princess''s n was, she would get out of the pce. "What are you thinking about?" Tyra asked as she joined Alicia, startling her out of her thoughts. "Hey!" Alicia greeted with a friendly smile, "Where have you been all day?" She asked, realizing that she had not set eyes on the princess since breakfast. "I was in my chamber, reading. How did your ss with Beth go?" Tyra asked curiously. "Was she the one who trained you too?" Alicia asked, and Tyra shook her head. "No, someone else did. Why? Did she cause you any trouble?" Tyra asked with concern since she had overheard some of the servants talking about how Alicia had pped Beth. Alicia wrinkled her nose in dislike as she thought of Beth. That butterfly considers itself a bird because it can fly. Butterfly? Nah. Scratch that. That was too much of apliment for someone like Beth. Beth was nothing like a butterfly. She was amon fly. "I think she is always acting up because she is interested in your brother." "What do you mean?" Tyra asked in confusion. Alicia opened her mouth to respond but closed it when we saw Harolding from the opposite direction. Her eyes widened when she saw him. She had thought he would be healing somewhere but he looked very fine. "Excuse me," she said as she hurried away to catch up with Harold. "How are you feeling now? Has the bleeding stopped?" She asked with concern as she looked at the side of his chest where the dagger had injured him. "I''m fine," Harold assured her as he kept walking while she tried to keep up with his strides. "Are you sure?" Alicia asked as she tried to touch him, but Harold was quick to grab her hand. "Do. Not. Touch. Me," he told her in a stern voice, and she dropped her hands to her side reluctantly. "I''m sorry. I really didn''t mean to hurt you," Alicia said as she continued to follow him. "But howe you look okay? Doesn''t it hurt?'' Harold looked at her briefly with expressionless eyes and then walked into the dining hall without saying another word to her. As usual, the hall became quiet. He needed to return to his usual personality of not speaking much. He had spoken enough for one day. Seeing how he wasn''t willing to talk, she followed quietly and sat down beside him as usual, "Hey!" She waved at Susan, who was already seated with her brother, and then looked at Harold when she noticed that he was staring at her, "What?" "Try to eat quietly. Don''t cause any trouble," he warned in a low tone. Trouble? She thought in amusement. Maybe not tonight, but she intended to cause whatever trouble she could as long as it would make them throw her out of their kingdom when she was ready to leave. Seeing the glint of mischief in her eyes and how she didn''t say anything, Harold could tell that she was cooking something, "If you try anything, I''m going to tell the king that you stabbed me, and tried to kill me," Harold threatened under his breath and felt his wolf cringe at how pathetic he sounded. Not cool Harold, not cool. "Be my guest. I doubt that your oversized ego would let you do that," Alicia said with a daring smile before turning away from him. Once again, she beat him. Chapter 39 BABY? Much to everyone''s surprise, Alicia didn''t speak unless she was spoken to as they all ate dinner. She was still thinking about all that Paulina had said, and she wanted nothing more than to retire for the night so that she could read through Princess Amber''s diary. Harold, who was seated beside her, looked at Alicia from time to time, while he wondered what was going on in her head. Even though he liked that she was quiet, he doubted that her silence had anything to do with his threat or warning. He had observed her long enough to know that her mouth was only this silent when her brain was working. Something was on her mind, and right now he wished he could read her mind. ''She is too quiet.'' His wolfined. ''Shouldn''t you be happy?'' Harold asked. ''It makes me worried when she is like that.'' Are you scared of her?'' Harold asked, amused. ''Why will I be scared of that... th-at¡ª'' His wolf stopped talking when it felt something suppressing it. ''Do not call her unpleasant names. She is ours.'' Harold warned darkly. ''And you should be scared of her. She stabbed us.'' ''Because you let her! You let down your guard around her and you know she is not alright in the head. Wait until I take over, I will bite her!'' He huffed like a child throwing a tantrum before disappearing. Harold didn''t know what he did to deserve this. Was it a good thing that his wolf awakened? He had to deal with this internal demon and also deal with the other one,in the form of his bride. His once peaceful life was suddenly noisy everywhere. Both inside his head and outside. "Are you feeling unwell?" The king, who had been silent, suddenly asked, surprising everyone. Harold thought the king was referring to him until he saw his father staring at his bride. A frown formed on his face. He didn''t like the fact that his father was giving her his attention. He never did so with Princess Luciana or Tyra. Alicia, whose head was bowed as she ate distractedly, didn''t realize that the king was talking to her until Harold nudged her side gently, "The king is talking to you," he whispered to her, and her head snapped up immediately. "I beg your pardon?" She asked as she blinked at him in confusion. "He asked if you felt unwell," The queen repeated, and Alicia''s lips curled into a smile. This handsome king was fast bing her favorite person in the pce. "I''m well, your majesty," Alicia said with a bow. "My king." Tyra, who was sitting across from her, mouthed to her. Thankfully, Alicia caught it this time without making a fool of herself like thest time. "And your chamber? Has it been decorated to your taste?" The king asked, and Alicia pushed back her seat as she rose. "It has, your maj¡ª I mean, my king. The Queen saw to it personally. Thank you for your boundless generosity," she said with a dramatic bow to the king, and then to the queen. Seeing how everyone was staring at her, she could tell that they were confused because she was acting out of character. Everyone knew that she was a little psycho,but today, she was too... okay. That was weird. Well, this was the calm before the storm. She was just going to keep behaving herself this way, so she wouldn''t get into trouble until she found out all she wanted to know and had a tangible n. Seeing all the attention the new bride was receiving, Luciana got jealous. The king never showed much concern when it involved her, while the queen merely tolerated her. She could understand why the queen was nice to Princess Amber, but she could not understand why the king was fond of her. There was nothing special about her, and she was foul-mouthed. She decided to bury that evil feeling before someone took note of it and smiled at her. She knew she was not supposed to talk unless she was spoken to, but there were times she broke the rules, and today was one of those days. "Why don''t we have lunch together at the royal garden tomorrow? I''m sure a lot of things about the pce must still be confusing to you. I will show you around," she said to Alicia. On hearing that, Harold''s gaze moved to his brother, since he knew that his brother''s wife wouldn''t have made such an offer had she not discussed it with him. What were they up to this time? He wondered as he met his brother''s gaze, who smiled fondly at him, you would think they were best friends. Harold could only hope his bride was smart enough to see through these people. For some reason, he trusted her to be able to handle herself properly. Alicia didn''t need anyone to tell her that there was some sort of power tussle going on between both half-brothers, and from what she had observed since she got here, her groom seemed to keep to himself a lot. She had never watched any drama where half-brothers who happened to be princes got along. She had never expected to find herself in this situation. Even though she didn''t care much about Harold, she wasn''t stupid enough to take the side of his enemies, especially after stabbing him and seeing that he was still sitting here like nothing happened. Did that have anything to do with the curse people talked about? "What do you say?" Luciana asked, trying to conceal her anger at being kept waiting. "Thank you very much for your kind offer. But Princess Tyra has been showing me around. And I n to have lunch with my husband tomorrow," Alicia said before turning to look at Harold with a blinding smile, "Right, baby?" She asked, making Harold nearly choke on his wine if he hadn''t learnt enough self-control to act like nothing concerned him. ''SHE JUST CALLED US A BABY!!!'' His wolf yelled, deciding to show up again since he could not take that kind of disrespect. Harold wasn''t deaf. He had heard that. Baby? Did she just refer to him as a BABY? Harold wondered, staring at her in disbelief as his hands tightened around the goblet he was slowly putting down. There was suddenly a pindrop silence in the room, with Susan''s mouth hanging open and everyone looking at her with confusion and shock. How could ady refer to her husband, who was her Lord, as a baby? A prince for that matter? And Prince Harold for the main matter!? "B-Baby?" Luciana almost stammered. She forgot to get mad at her for turning her down because this was a more pressing issue. "You call your husband a baby?" Prince Ivan echoed, trying his best to not let out a loud guffaw. The look on Harold''s face was priceless, and he would have given anything just to see it, but since the moon goddess was on his side, they let his bride show it to them for free of charge. "Is there a problem with that? It''s just an endearment. Same way you call your spouse darling, honey, babe, sweety, sugar, etcetera," Alicia exined, and almost rolled her eyes when they all continued to look at her with a nk expression. ''HOW CAN SHE CALL US HONEY? THAT''S FROM BEES!!!'' His wolf yelled once again, sounding disgusted. "People... call their spouses that in your kingdom?" The Queen asked, bewildered. Alicia nodded, even though it wasn''t technically from Amber''s kingdom. "A baby is an infant. How is addressing your lord as an infant or as a food like honey and sugar, an endearment?" Susan''s twin, William, asked, genuinely curious. "My lord?" Alicia asked, surprised, while pointing at Harold beside her. Many heads around the table bobbed up and down to answer her questions. Alicia turned to look at Harold, who had his eyes closed and his fist clenched. She scoffed. "Is he Jesus Christ or something?" She muttered to herself in disbelief. Why did she even bother with these ancient and outdated people? "Nevermind. Let''s just eat." she said with a small smile as she returned her attention to her food. That even surprised them even more, because she sounded like she had the right to tell them when to eat and when to stop eating. The King looked at her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes but said nothing as he pushed away from the table and stood up. "Let''s have lunch together one of these days when you''re not having lunch with your... baby," he said with a barely noticeable smile, much to the surprise of everyone, before walking away with his wife following closely. Once both the King and Queen had left, Harold looked at her. If looks could kill, she would have died on the spot. "Let''s speak in private," he said as he stood up, expecting her to follow suit. "But I''m not done eating yet," she protested. "You. Are. Done." he said, jerking his head to the side for her to stand up. Grumbling, Alicia stood up and followed him. Chapter 40 A Dangerous Hobby As Alicia followed Harold, she noticed something strange, which she also found to be very interesting. Whenever a maid or guard was approaching and caught sight of Harold, they would immediately turn the other way. Harold didn''t seem to mind them. He just kept going ahead while the others jumped out of his way, looking visibly scared. Alicia stopped walking and looked at his back. He seemed to realize she had stopped walking because he also stopped and turned around to look at her. Alicia realized that she was beginning to feel sorry for him. She had never seen him with a friend, and neither had she seen himugh before. He didn''t seem to have a good rtionship with his family, and even the maids and guards were scared of him. Was this something he wanted? Or was it as a result of the curse or whatever it was that made them tag him the cursed Prince? In the short time she had gotten to know him, she could tell that even though he was scary and made the air icy whenever he entered a room, he was not that bad. If he was, she was certain she would have been dead by now. He didn''t wipe out Princess Amber''s family when he found out that they had deceived him and given him an exiled princess. He had instead asked for her opinion first. He had also kept the fact that she was an exiled princess hidden from his family. If they had known she hadn''t grown in the pce, but in the mountains, Beth would probably have killed her by now. Also, he had let Paulinae with her. Paulina also mentioned that someone from Harold had saved her when Beth was strangling her and also helped her with ointment for her wound. Wasn''t that under his instruction? So what was so bad about him? Or maybe the rumors were indeed true? He had killed his half-brother because he wanted the throne? He didn''t really seem like the type. She had noticed how weak and pale he looked every morning during breakfast. What did he usually do at night? Not that she was asking because she wanted to share a room with him; she was just curious because even during their trip down here, he always had the same pale look in the morning, and she couldn''t help wondering what he did at night to make him look that way. Or was it like in movies where the prince sneaks out to attend a treason-worthy meeting, nning a coup to eliminate the king? If that was the case, she was going to risk it and talk this boy out of it. She liked the king and didn''t want him to die. He was a nice ruler. She paused and angled her head when something else urred to her. There was no way he could have attended such a meeting during their trip down here unless the people that traveled with them were in his group, and she highly doubted that. If that wasn''t it, then what else could he be doing to make him look that way? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn''t take note of the way Harold was staring at her as he wondered what was running through her head. She seemed to be looking at him with something akin to pity and fear, and he didn''t like it. He didn''t want her to look at him with pity. He wasn''t used to being pitied. Neither did he want her to look at him with fear. He hated that disgusting look on people''s faces. All he wanted was for her to not question his dominance, but for some reason, he didn''t want her to fear him like everyone else. Her eyes focused on his, and she snapped back to her senses when she saw him watching her. "Did you ask your servant to give Paulina an ointment for her wound?" "He is not a servant." He replied coldly before turning around and continuing walking, pissed for no reason at all. That seemed to confirm her suspicion that he had sent the person. And now she felt bad for using him of having ill intentions towards Paulina. She followed closely behind and tried to catch up with his strides. Once again, Alicia found herself in his room. She closed the door behind him but didn''t approach him. Instead, she stood by the closed door and looked around the room. She realized that because she had been so distracted by Paulina''s case earlier, and then by the stabbing incident, she hadn''t really taken her time to take a look at his chamber. Thinking of the stabbing incident now, she quickly reminded herself that now wasn''t the time to admire the interior decor of his room, so she turned to look at him, but his back was to her. "Can I take a look at your wound?" She asked hesitantly. "You called me a baby." He interrupted as he turned around to face her. Alicia heard danger bells ringing in her head and took an involuntary step back, but her back was already against the door. Still facing him, she reached for the doorknob with her left hand so that she would run out of the room if he tried anything. She shook her head slightly, "I didn''t call you... a baby. I called you baby." She said this with an awkward smile as she tried to reason with him. Did he ever show any emotion other than indifference and anger? It was either he was annoying her or trying to scare her. To think she had been feeling sorry for him a moment ago. Harold''s face was as rigid as stone as he looked down at her and gave her a look that said, ''what is the difference?'' "Well, a baby is a child, but ''baby'' is an endearment," Alicia repeated and prayed he would let it slide. Butfrom the look on Harold''s face, she could tell that she wasn''t making sense. What she had said didn''t make any sense to her either. "It''s really not a big deal. I wonder why you people make big deals out of nothing here," Alicia said with a slight frown. "I don''t know what you mean by ''you people'', but this will be thest time you refer to me by such a name," Harold warned in a low tone. Alicia rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say. It''s not like you''re someone I want to call ''baby'' anyway. In case you haven''t noticed, there is nothing endearing about you," Alicia said irritably. That certainly did not sit well with the prince, because he frowned at her. He wasn''t someone she would call baby? Then who would she prefer to call that? And there was nothing endearing about him? Ah! He gritted his teeth as he looked at her. The only good thing at this moment was the fact that she was no longer looking at him with pity or fear in her eyes. Harold thought that anger was better than either of those emotions, as he gazed at her. Alicia looked at him suspiciously as she wondered why he was quietly ring at her. "Now that we are done with that, are you going to show me the wound or can I leave, my LORD?" Alicia asked with sarcasm. He could tell that she was making fun of him, but he didn''t care as long as she addressed him the way she should. "There is nothing to see. However, you can''t leave yet," hesaid as he walked over to look outside the window. "What more do you want to talk about? I already said I won''t refer to you as baby anymore," Alicia said as she red at his back. Hearing her tone, he could tell that she was very annoyed, and somehow it amused him. "How did you learn how to throw a dagger like that?" Harold asked as he slowly turned to look at her. This was something he had been thinking about since the incident earlier in his room. Had she learnt how to do that while in the mountains? Who taught her? And why had she bothered to learn such a skill? Was it to protect herself in the mountains? He wasn''t so sure about that. She had such impable skills that he hadn''t even been able to dodge it. Alicia''s heart skipped a beat at the question. How was she supposed to answer a question she didn''t know the answer to? That was also one of the things she wanted to know about Princess Amber. How did she learn how to throw a dagger like that? What else could she do? Seeing how he was staring at her like he could read her mind, Alicia decided to say something. She cleared her throat, "It is just a hobby I picked," she said with a one-sided shrug. Hobby? "I see," Harold said with a nod, even though he didn''t believe her. Somehow, he could see through her, and he knew that she was hiding something. How many more such dangerous hobbies had she picked? "I can leave now, right?" Alicia asked as she was beginning to feel ufortable because of the way he was staring at her. Harold''s lips twitched slightly but it was barely noticeable. It was amusing to see her this ufortable, "So we are having lunch together tomorrow in the garden?" He asked, wanting to know why she had refused Luciana''s offer. "You don''t have to show up," Alicia assured him. Thest thing she wanted was to spend so much time in hispany. "We will have lunch tomorrow. You can leave." Alicia was tempted to curse at him but she swallowed it back and left his room, grumbling. When it was just Harold there, he kept looking out the window before he muttered two words, "Alicia Queen." Maybe it was time to have a word with her maidservant soon? Chapter 41 Little Girl? In different parts of the pce, every member of the royal family who had been at the dinner table was talking about Alicia and how she had called Harold, a baby. They all couldn''t wrap their heads around the fact that she had called the almighty Prince Harold a baby. Prince Ivan and Luciana, who were seated on the balcony of their chamber,ughed as Ivan mimicked Harold''s facial expression when his wife referred to him as a baby. ? "How could she do something as silly as that?" Amidst herughter, Luciana asked. I think Harold is probably going to kill her sooner rather thanter," Ivan said with a satisfied smirk. "It suits our purpose if he kills her too. Who would want to marry a cursed prince who not only killed his brother but also murdered his wife? And who would want to crown such a prince as king?" Luciana asked, and her husband turned to look at her with a proud smile. "You always make me proud, my Queen," Ivan said, and Luciana giggled at the title. "You still have to get close to her. We don''t want the King to be too fond of her," Ivan reminded her, and the smile wiped off her face when she recalled how the King had asked to have lunch with Harold''s bride. In all the years since she was married to Prince Ivan, the king had never asked to have lunch with her or anything else, so why were they giving Princess Amber special attention? "Of course, I intend to keep her very close where I can watch her," she assured her husband with a cold smile. As the first mistress, it was only natural for Harold''s bride to be subservient to her. She was going to rule over the inner court in the near future, after all. In fact, it had been written in the sky that her husband and her were going to be the next rulers, so that was not an issue to trouble herself over. The only problem now was having a child, and as soon as that happened, their fates were going to be sealed and nothing would stop them. She turned to her husband with a suggestive look in her eyes. He knew his wife quite well enough to know what that look meant, and as soon as he saw it, a smile split his face. Even though they had both been trying for a child for the past few years since they got married, he had a feeling that tonight, something was going to change and they would have not just a child, but a son. In another part of the pce, Susan turned to both Williams and Tyra as they all took a stroll down the hallway after dinner. "Baby? Can you believe she called him a baby?" Susan asked, in disbelief. "She is very weird... But in an amusing way," Williams said with a slight smile as he recalled the look on Harold''s face, "Do you think she is going to be alright?" He asked both Tyra and Susan curiously. "I don''t think he is going to hurt her," Tyra said quietly. If Harold was going to hurt her, he would have done so from the very moment heid eyes on her at their wedding. She had brazenly asked for a handshake, called him Harold, behaved in an udylike manner, and went against Damon, the king''s Beta. Not only that, she had been disrespectful to him a couple of times, but instead of being angry, he was amused. So she doubted he was going to get rid of the only thing that amused him in the whole world. "I agree with you. Besides, his majesty seems to like her," Susan said thoughtfully, and Williams nodded. "Yes, the King seems to be fond of her. He even smiled and referred to Prince Harold as her baby," Williams said, and both siblingsughed in amusement, while Tyra looked ahead of them when she saw Paulina. The twins stoppedughing when they sighted Paulina walking down the hallway and looking around like she had missed her way, "Isn''t that the girl fromst night?" Williams asked his sister as they all watched Paulina. Her scent had changed. It was obvious that someone had done something about it. Plus, she looked very different. The filthiness had been handled, and now she was wearing a new, loose-fitting dress and better shoes. Also, her hair was properly brushed and her neck was still tied. The only thing that remained the same about her was her anxiety as she looked around, seemingly lost. "Yes, that''s the human girl. Princess Amber''s maid," Susan confirmed, "I think she lost her way," she observed. "Paulina!" Tyra called out and beckoned to her with a wave. Paulina''s head whipped up and she looked ahead of her to see who had called her name. She was new here, and the only person she could think of who knew her name was her mistress, and that wasn''t her voice. When she saw the group, she quickly recognized Princess Tyra since they had traveled together, and then Susan as thedy who had been receiving training with her mistress earlier. Her gaze moved to the young man, and her heart skipped a beat when she recognized him. He was her savior. He was alive and well! Realizing that she was staring when she had been called, she quickly hurried to where the group was standing and bowed to them politely. "Did you lose your way?" Tyra asked as she nced at Paulina''s neck, which had been covered with a neckerchief. She had heard from Susan about why Princess Amber had hit Beth earlier. "Yes, mydy. I went to have dinner with the others and couldn''t find my way back," she exined with her head bowed. "I think every stranger gets lost on their first visit here. Do you remember the first night we were here?" Susan asked her brother with a grin, and Paulina used that opportunity to sneak a peek at Williams. How was she supposed to thank him for saving her? Who was he to thedies? Was either of them betrothed to him? She didn''t want to thank him in front of thedies and risk being misunderstood. Thest thing she wanted was to cause any more trouble for herself and her mistress. Perhaps she should pretend not to recognize him unless he brings it up first. However, when she snuck a peek at him, she found him staring at her intensely, and lookeddown immediately, her heart beating hard from what she guessed was fear. "Lift your head. It''s ufortable treating us like that." Susan said to Paulina, who was still looking down while clenching the front of her dress. "What happened to your hand?" Tyra asked as she took Paulina''s hand to inspect it. She had a fading bruise mark on her wrist. Paulina looked at Williams once more before she quickly turned to look at Princess Tyra and shook her head, "N-Nothing." Williams'' gaze narrowed on her wrist. The look she had given him when Tyra asked caught his attention. He remembered how he had pulled herst night to hide her from one of the night guards that had gotten a whiff of her scent. He hadn''t even exerted much force because he knew how weak humans were, so he had been very careful. Who would have thought even that would have been too much to cause her this bruise? Looking at her, he knew that he wouldn''t need to put in any effort to snap her into two. "I''ll take you to your mistress''s room." Tyra offered when she realized Paulina was not going to talk about the bruise. She guessed it was Beth''s handiwork again. "Thank you." Paulina bowed to Tyra before looking at the other two to bow. Now that she was staring at them, she noticed the resemnce between the two. Were they siblings? But she dared not ask that question out. She was only a maid, and standing in front of royals like this was already enough to get her punished. All she wanted right now was to leave them and go meet her mistress, because the more she stood there with them, the more ufortable she was. "Sleep well, little girl." Susan said as she turned to leave with Princess Tyra. Paulina almost cringed at being addressed like that. She had heard from Princess Amber that the girl she was training with was 18 years old, which meant she was a year older than Susan. But she didn''t try to correct her as she left with Princess Tyra. "Isn''t she adorable?" Susan asked her brother when they left. "It''s a good thing she has a mistress willing to fight for her. I feel so bad for her. She only arrived here yesterday and already had a lot of bruises." She sighed. "The bruise on her hand was from me." He said softly, feeling guilty. The two never hid anything from each other so he confessed to her. Chapter 42 A Cat And Rat Race (1) Inside the imperial pce, someone raced through, barefooted, like it was a matter of life and death. The person didn''t bother to stop even when they raced past the Queen, which was taboo. But the Queen put her hand up, stopping the guards from taking any action as she watched the person curiously. Never in the history of the Moon Kingdom has someone done that. She was not talking about running past her now, she was talking about running in the first ce. But a lot of weird things have been happening since a certain human girl came to the pce. So it was not a surprise that she was the one running like a mad dog. And who was chasing her? To everyone''s surprise, it was none other than Prince Harold, who had decided that today was the day she would draw herst breath. He wasn''t even running, but his strides wererge and determined. He stopped for a second to bow to the Queen before following the same path his bride had followed, ignoring protocol. And what caused this ruckus, you may ask? TWO HOURS AGO. As a star, Alicia Queen was supposed to be mindful about the kind of food she ate, but maybe because she had suffered hardship and hunger in the early years of her life, she liked to eat as long as it was food, so she didn''t really mind when she sometimes ate the wrong things and paid the price by either having an upset stomach or running on the treadmill to burn off any fat that must have umted in her body. But for the past year, she had been mindful of the kind of things she ate, especially since her poprity grew. So it came as a shock to a foodie like her when she heard that there was no breakfast being organized today. Why? She had learnt from Paulina, who happened to get more information than her, that breakfast was skipped every 4th andst day of the week. That hadn''t sat well with her. If she had been aware, she would have prepared herself mentally, but since she was just told out of the blue that morning, it made her angry when she realized that she wouldn''t be able to eat anything until dinner since they usually skipped lunch. But then, she remembered that she had a lunch date with her darling husband and beamed excitedly, even though her excitement had everything to do with the meal they would be served and nothing to do with seeing Harold. He could skip it for all she cared. She imagined all the meals she would eat and the ones she would give to Paulina, who looked too thin for her liking. The imagination of it alone lit up her mood. So that was it. In thete afternoon, she tried to find the royal garden. As usual, she missed her way a couple of times. The guards were usually mute, and the maids were always scurrying away as if they had something better to do. Luckily, she eventually found someone who showed her the direction to the royal garden. The thought that she had been keeping Harold waiting for a long time made her feel excited. He deserved it. Beaming, she followed the directions but was met with resistance when the guards by the door refused to let her leave the main building for the garden. "I am Prince Harold''s bride, and we are supposed to have lunch here!" She said this, not too pleased with the way she was being treated. Unfortunately, her angry look did nothing to the buff guards who refused to let her pass through. "The prince is not here. He mentioned nothing about having lunch here. Also, Prince Ivan and Princess Luciana are already here. So return inside." A guard said coldly. Her blood boiled. For plenty of minutes, she had been looking around for this stupid garden and had even been excited about keeping the prince waiting, but he was not here? She had told him that he didn''t have toe, but he insisted that they have lunch together. Yet he stood her up. And it didn''t help that her stomach was growling as she could see the other couple having a feast. "You are so dead, Harold!" She swore under her breath as she began to look around for him. As luck would have it, she looked over a window on the second floor when she heard some voices and when she looked down, she saw him outside. He seemed to be fighting or training with a group of guys that looked exhausted and on the verge of passing out. Harold''s back was facing her, so he didn''t see her. It was Alvin who first noticed her when he felt a chilling gaze directed towards them. When he saw those eyes that looked like they were going to shoot deadlysers at the prince, he tried to use his eyes to signal at Harold, but Harold was busy fighting, so he didn''t look in Alvin''s direction. "HAROLD!" Alicia yelled angrily. Harold spun around, startled when he heard his name yelled out like that, and almost got shed for real by his opponent, who had been startled too. "YOU LITTLE BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU STAND ME UP AFTER PROMISING WE WERE GOING TO HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? I CAN''T BELIEVE THAT BOYS ARE STILL THE SAME IN EVERY GENERATION! YOU BETTER STAY CLEAR FROM ME¡ª" Everyone on the field wentpletely silent. Some had their jaws almost touching their toes while she continued to rant. The only words ringing in Harold''s head were: ''Little'', ''bastard'', ''how dare you'', ''who do you think you are'', ''Boys''. Not only was she calling him unpleasant names, but she was also challenging him by asking those questions. And calling him a bastard touched his soft spot, even if it was not a deliberate insult on Alicia''s part. Never in his life had he been spoken to like this, and his eyes shed with a deadly glow that Alicia noticed. She came to her senses when Harold suddenly disappeared, and she had no idea where he went to. She tried to crane her neck to see, but it seemed like he had vanished. "Where... is he?" She mouthed to Alvin. Alvin looked at the door Harold had takenand back at the mistress, who was still peeking out the window. "I think... you should run." And that was it. Chapter 43 A Cat And Rat Race (2) Two secondster, her shoes were in her hand, and her dress blew with the wind as she raced through the pce, looking left and right frantically as she tried to remember the correct path. It seemed like what her manager always told her was true, ''Your sharp tongue is going to be the end of you.'' Well, here it is. Good thing she was a good runner. Alicia continued to pant as she ran, but it seemed like no matter how fast she ran, he was always behind her, even though he wasn''t running. Were his legs that long? She wondered. ,m "Stop right there or I''m going to kill you!" Harold threatened with a growl as he kept following his mannerless wife, but she only turned around and stuck out her tongue at him before resuming the race. Harold stared at her back in disbelief. He was tempted to grant ess to his wolf that was itching to take over and pounce on her. Wolfs enjoyed chasing after their prey and messing with them, but he knew he could not do so in the imperial pce. Meanwhile, Alicia was still running. Thankfully, she didn''t have to tell people to leave her path because, as soon as they saw her, they moved out of her way, giving her the chance to race through without any hindrance. Since she couldn''t exercise here, this was just as good an exercise for her. How dare he get angry because she had called him names when he had stood her up? As if it had just urred to her that she had run past the Queen a moment ago, Alicia turned around and saw the Queen standing and staring at them. "Your majesty!" She called with a wave and a bow to distract Harold, but he didn''t bother to look back to see who she was greeting, so she ran in another direction, but ran straight into the King. Everyone around the King held their breath when she almost bumped into him. Swords were already unsheathed from all angles and were pointing towards the intruder. When the king''s eyes narrowed on Alicia, who was panting breathlessly, he raised his hands to stop his guards, and they withdrew their swords at once. "What are you doing running around the pce? Who is chasing you?" He asked with disapproval as he looked behind her to see why she was running, and Alicia bowed to him immediately. "I apologize, your majes¡ª I mean, my king." Alicia said breathlessly, and quickly went to stand behind the King when she felt Harold''s presence behind her. The swords pointed at her again for having such audacity did nothing to deter her. She felt it was better to face those swords than to face an angry Harold. Harold bowed to the King as he looked at his annoying wife, "Come here," he ordered, but she shook her head vigorously. Although the King was still slightly annoyed that he had almost been bumped into, he felt amused to see his son, who always seemed slightlyposed, chasing his bride around the pce. "Is there a problem?" He asked Harold, as they both shifted their gaze to her. Where was he supposed to start from? How was he supposed to exin to the king that they had given him the worst possible bride? What did he do to deserve such a loud and foul-mouthed bride? "It''s between me and her," Harold said as he returned his gaze to Alicia once again. ''YES! FINALLY! WE ARE GOING TO TEACH HER A LESSON!'' His wolf cried from joy, but Harold paid no heed to it. "Then I suppose I should let you have your way then," the King said as he tried to step aside, but without thinking, Alicia quickly grabbed his hand as he was her lifeline. "NO!" Alicia said, stopping the King. The king, who wasn''t used to being touched by just anyone, stared at her in surprise. No one dared touch him or stop him, yet this human girl was doing both fearlessly. Alicia smiled at him, not knowing what she had done wrong or that the guards were giving her vicious looks as they waited for the slightest signal to take her out. Harold was also taken aback when he saw this. Firstly, she was holding the king. Secondly, SHE WAS HOLDING THE KING! Right now, the king wasn''t the king to him but another man. And his supposed wife was holding another man. "You said we could have lunch yesterday. How about we have that lunch now?" Alicia asked, hoping that even though she had been stood up by Harold, the King would make up for it and also save her from Harold''s wrath since he was the only person she suspected that he respected in the pce. She had used up what little energy she had been conserving to run around the pce, and now she was even feeling more hungry than she had been earlier. Her stomach rumbled noisily, to prove her point. Now she is asking the king to eat with her. Just great! "You''re hungry?" The King calmly. "There was no breakfast, and we were supposed to have lunch together, but he didn''t show up," Aliciained to the king with a pout. "Yet you were chasing her around like you wanted to kill her?" The King asked. Harold realized the reason she had been so angry, but that didn''t excuse her for using such foul words. He had been training and lost track of time. In fact, lunch hadpletely skipped his mind because he had been too busy trying to release his pent-up anger. But he was not going to exin anything to either of them. He hated the fact that she was reporting him to his father like he was a child. And it was worse because the king was taking her side. Since when has starving for a few hours been a big issue? He was so going to deal with her. "You both shoulde with me," the king ordered before walking away. Harold waited for the king to lead the way so that he could walk beside Alicia, "Maybe not right now, but I''m going to kill you," he promised under his breath for her ears only. Alicia was almost tempted to tell him that she didn''t mind dying as long as she wasn''t going to die of hunger. But seeing his face, she knew that it would be a bad idea, so she mped her mouth shut. Alicia 2¨C 0 Harold. Harold''s wolf sighed dejectedly, having lost this round again. Chapter 44 A New Escape Plan Prince Ivan and his wife, Luciana who were still seated in the garden, but were now in thepany of the queen, both turned to look at what the queen was staring at so intently with a slight frown on her face, and their brows creased as well when they saw the king walking into the garden with Harold and his bride. What is going on? Ivan wondered with displeasure as he watched the trio move to the other side of the garden. Why was the king always meeting with Harold in private but not with him? He was the legitimate son, after all, and Harold was the son of a mere ve. This didn''t sit well with him. "Why are they here with the king?" Ivan voiced the question on the queen''s mind when some servants came in carrying different dishes. "They obviously want to have lunch," Luciana pointed out, and that earned her a sharp re from her husband, and the Queen eyed her with disapproval. "I''m sorry I spoke out of turn," she apologized, realizing toote that she had been quick to answer a question she didn''t understand. "Excuse us. I want to speak with my son alone," the Queen ordered. As far as she was concerned, Luciana was slow-witted and didn''t possess what it took to be included in their ns. Luciana nced at her husband, and he gave her a nod to leave. She couldn''t help feeling bitter that the Queen, who was supposed to be on her side in the same manner that the King seemed to be on Princess Amber''s side, was treating her this way. If Princess Amber was Prince Ivan''s bride, she was sure the Queen wouldn''t have treated her this way. She bowed to the Queen, and then to her husband, before walking away. As she walked out of the garden, she looked at where the others were seated, and her heart burned with jealousy and anger towards Princess Amber. She was going to do whatever she could to turn the king''s heart against her. Maybe if she seeded in doing that, the Queen would finally acknowledge her and ord her the respect she deserved as Prince Ivan''s wife. Meanwhile, ignorant of what was going on on the other side of the garden, Alicia''s eyes followed every dish as it was dropped on the table, and she salivated in anticipation. She couldn''t wait to dig into the food. Harold, on the other hand, had a scowl on his face as he watched her. Seeing the way she always behaved at the sight of food, he could only hope that she wouldn''t be poisoned before he got the chance to kill her with his hands. Once thest dish was served on the table, Alicia turned to look at the King, and she smiled in embarrassment when she realized that he had been staring at her. "I''m sorry," she said with a slight blush, making Harold, who was watching her, snort. "It''s okay. You can eat," the King said with a nod as he picked up his spoon before looking at Harold, who was still watching his bride. "You both seem to not be getting along very well," the King observed, and Alicia finally turned to look at Harold, whose gaze she had been avoiding. Seeing how Harold had been ring at her, he could tell that she must have done or said something very annoying to him. It was a miracle that Harold had yet to kill her, and she had seeded in staying in the pce for two nights, despite her sharp tongue. "He is uptight and nothing like you, my King. Maybe I would have gotten along with him well if he had taken after you," Alicia said as she eyed Harold and started eating. Harold''s hand fisted beside him when she said that, but he tried to remain sane. He was nothing like the king? He would haveughed at that. If only she knew the kind of person the king truly was. It was only a matter of time before her eyes would be opened to the harsh reality of how things were done in this pce. The king, who seemed to have observed how Harold''s mood had changed, stood up. "I will leave you two to enjoy your meal," he said to a confused Alicia before leaving them. When it was just the two left, Alicia looked at Harold before panic set in when she noticed the angry way he was looking at her. The color of his eyes seemed to have turned a darker shade of blue as he looked at her. Just when she thought she was going to suffocate, he abruptly stood up and walked away without saying a single word to her. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as he was out of sight, and once she returned her attention to the food, she realized that she had suddenly lost the appetite to eat. Whether or not she had an appetite, she couldn''t let the food go to waste, so she ate as much as she could until there was no more room in her stomach. Once she was satisfied, she picked up a few of the snacks that she believed Paulina would enjoy and slid them into the long sleeve of her gown before standing up to leave. Now that she was full, her mind drifted to an important problem she was faced with, as she walked down the hallway to her chamber. Last night, she had expected to find something, any clue at all, that would let her know the kind of person Princess Amber was. She hoped it would give her a hint as to how to leave this world. Unfortunately, the diary had been pretty useless to her. Most of the entries were poems that she didn''t even understand. She had flipped through the pages and searched for something she could understand, but it was just too impossible for her to understand what the poems were about. She couldn''t continue to live this way. Especially after the deadly look she had just seen in Prince Harold''s eyes. Who knew when he was going to pounce on her and kill her? Even though she had suffered unbearable hardship for the past couple of months because of that evil journalist, and had almost taken her life because of that, it was still her life, and she missed it. She missed everything about her life now. She couldn''t imagine continuing to live without her phones, her cars, the variety of dishes she ate at the ten-star restaurants she often visited, her fancy clothes and heels, and the nice scented baths she often took after a long day¡ªwell, she could do that here too, but it still could not bepared to sitting in her modern jacuzzi, with a ss of wine and soulful music ying in the background. She was tired of living here and wearing these useless, suffocating clothes. If she stayed here for a few more days, she feared that she was truly going to go crazy. Now that it was obvious that she couldn''t depend on Amber''s diary, she had toe up with a good n on how to leave the pce. Sneaking out at night was out of the question, and leaving the pce during the day was also ruled out... Or was it? Certainly, members of the royal family would be allowed to visit the vige, right? Maybe if she could convince the kind-hearted king to let her go out to look around the vige since it was her new home, then just maybe she could sneak away while no one was looking. If that failed to work, then she would have to resort to the banishment n. "Why do you look so lost?" Princess Tyra asked startling Alicia who hadn''t noticed her presence. "Hey!" She greeted with a smallugh to hide her surprise. "I was just thinking about something," Alicia said as she adjusted the sleeve of her dress so that Tyra wouldn''t notice that she was carrying something. "Why was my brother chasing you around the pce earlier?" Tyra asked curiously, reminding Alicia that she was supposed to be hiding from her dangerous husband. She quickly nced behind her to be sure that he was nowhere in sight before quickening her pace, "I may have said the wrong thing to him," Alicia said as she hurried down the hallway, and Tyra tried to match her pace. Tyra was almost tempted to tell Alicia that she was always saying the wrong thing, but she said nothing as she walked Alicia down to her chamber, "Do you have time?" Tyra asked when they stopped outside the door of Alicia''s chamber. "Why?" Alicia asked as she turned to her. "You''re yet to know my chamber, so I want to show you my chamber, and maybe you can teach me some new words too," Tyra said hopefully, and Alicia nodded. She also wanted to ask Tyra some questions. "Okay. Wait here," she said as she went into her chamber to drop the snacks she had taken with her for Paulina. Once she walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind her, she let out a startled cry when she saw Harold standing inside the bedroom ring at her. "Did you really think I would let you go that easily?" Harold asked with a slightly raised brow and grabbed Alicia''s arm before she could open the door and flee. "The king won''t save you here." He said it with an eerily calm voice. Chapter 45 A Good Or Bad Person? "W-What... do you... think you are doing?" Alicia asked in a shaky voice as she tried to act tough, even though she was anything but that right now, and they both knew it. How long had he been in the room waiting? Was he that petty that he had left her in the garden only toe to wait for her in her chamber? What should she do? Perhaps she should scream for help so that Tyra, who was waiting outside, woulde in to save her? Who knows what Harold would do to her if she screamed? She wouldn''t put it past him to snap her neck, and she doubted that Tyra would be able to save her from this mean man. "What does it look like I''m doing, Mdy?" He asked in a mocking tone, but his cold eyes didn''t look amused. "You... are hurting me.." She winced as she looked at the arm he was gripping tightly. Her palm looked very pale and drained of blood. "Are you okay?" Princess Tyra asked from outside the door, much to Alicia''s relief. "NO!" Alicia cried, happy to finally have a savior, but the happiness didn''tst too long when she heard Harold''s next words. "Leave. You didn''t hear anything!" Harold said, in amanding voice, when Tyra tried to speak. "Uh... o-kay?" "No! Don''t leave, please! Call for help? Report to the King..." Alicia pleaded, but she could tell that Tyra was no longer there. She looked at Harold, frightened. Seeing that she was left alone at his mercy now, Alicia raised her other hand to touch her arm, which was hurting terribly from his tight grip, but only seeded in spilling the snacks she was hiding in the sleeve of her dress. Harold raised an eyebrow when different snacks fell to the ground. "So you steal now?" He asked. "Do I look like a thief to you?" She snapped at him, but her face colored in embarrassment as she looked down at the snacks she had picked for Paulina. Although she was angry that they were ruined now, and Paulina wouldn''t be able to taste them, she still felt the need to exin herself, so she cleared her throat, "It''s not what you think," she said defensively, without meeting his gaze. "And what do I think?" Harold asked as he looked at her, but his hold on her arm weakened. Alicia cleared her throat once again, "They''re for Paulina. I didn''t steal them. They are just leftovers," Alicia said without meeting his gaze, grateful that he was no longer holding on to her arm so tightly. "How nice of you," he murmured as he abruptly let her go. Immediately he let her go, she moved away from him too quickly and almost fell, but this time instead of watching her fall, he grabbed her waist like it usually happened in the movies and pulled her to himself so that she had to ce her hand on his chest to bnce herself. Alicia blinked in surprise as she looked up at him, wide-eyed. She had thought he was going to let her fall, as he had done thest time. She was d that he caught her. As she looked into his face, it suddenly urred to her that this was the first time she had looked at his face this closely. He actually looked very handsome, and hisshes were so long and beautiful. She also noticed that his eyes didn''t look so angry anymore either. He would have made a good... younger brother. Harold''s gaze lingered on her face for a moment. She was just a mere human. Someone he could crush without any effort. Why was she always so stubborn? Why would she never listen to him? Why did she keep making him angry all the time? If she was someone else, he probably would have forgotten about the person''s existence by now because she would have already ceased to exist a long time ago. He believed that the reason he was still tolerating her was because she had helped him in the mountains, even after his wolf scared and hurt her. And maybe another reason was because she had been living in exile. He knew what it felt like to be treated differently from your other siblings. ''DO NOT PITY HER!'' His wolf yelled. But when had the two ever agreed on anything? Different thoughts ran through Alicia''s mind as she looked at him. What is going to happen now? Was he going to try to kiss her like it happened in the movies? She almost rolled her eyes at the thought. She was going to p him hard if he so much as tried it. Harold couldn''t help wondering what was going on in her head when he noticed how her gaze shifted to his lips. Was she nning to... ''EWW!'' His wolf eximed. Now he wasn''t sure who annoyed him more. His bride or his wolf. He quickly let go of her and put some distance between them by walking over to her bedroom window, where he stood and looked outside. Alicia stared at his back with a scowl and briefly contemted running out of the room, but she wasn''t sure if it was necessary anymore. He didn''t seem like he was going to hurt her. If he wanted to, he would have done that by now. Instead of running away, she quietly unlocked the door but remained where she stood beside it just in case he changed his mind once again and she needed to run away. "If you love your life, do notpare me with the king ever again." He warned in a quiet voice, without looking at her. If he didn''t sound so serious, she would probably have told him that if he was half the man the king was, she wouldn''t need topare him to the king in the first ce, but she kept her mouth shut and just kept staring at his back. She didn''t need anyone to tell her that he was holding back from dealing with her, and thest thing she wanted right now was to give him reason to pounce on her. Looking at him, she could sense that there was a lot he was not saying, and she didn''t need anyone to tell her that something was off about his rtionship with the king, especially after observing their interaction earlier. What could the nice king have done to him? "And do not ever speak to me in that manner again," Harold warned, this time, he turned around to look at her. About that, she knew that he was right. She shouldn''t have spoken to him in that manner, especially in the presence of others. He had his ego to protect. However, it didn''t sit well with her that she was 25 years old and this young boy was messing with her. But then, she wasn''t in 2020, and this guy was a prince here. A cursed prince, for that matter. She was his bride, and there was a big chance that he could kill her and no one would say a word about it. She needed to be more careful with her words around him. When he just kept staring at her, she raised a brow and gave him a wary look while rubbing her wrist. His eyes moved to her wrist. When he noticed the obvious red mark on her wrist and was a little surprised that he had caused it. His eyes lingered on her wrist before he looked up at her face. Alicia noticed this and drew the sleeve of her dress down to hide the mark. She didn''t want him to think that she was weak and easily hurt. Perhaps when he was in a better mood, she would give him a piece of her mind on how he was supposed to treat women with respect... Or maybe not. It seemed like she always seemed to piss him off every time she opened her mouth, and whenever that happened, she would have to hide from him, and she wasn''t much interested in the cat and mouse game. Not when she had a more pressing issue to focus on. He looked at her wrist that was now covered again and began to ask, "Does... it¡ª" He suddenly stopped, frowned, and shook his head. She gave him a suspicious look. Was that a sh of guilt she saw on his face? Was he going to ask about her wrist? She doubted that. He seemed like the type to not care about anyone, talk more about her... or maybe not? He had cared enough to send someone to give Paulina a healing balm for her neck. That wasn''t something that a person who didn''t care would do. What did she really know about this man? She believed that she was a good judge of character, but when it came to him, she really couldn''t decide whether he was a good or bad person. "Let''s go." He said, making her raise a questioning brow at him. "I''m not going anywhere with you!" She shook her head. She didn''t want to know where he was taking her to, she didn''t trust him and was not going to leave here with him. Who knew if he was nning to take her to somece quiet where he could murder and bury her easily? "I was not asking." He frowned deeply. Thisdy was too stubborn and annoying for his liking. In fact, she was everything he didn''t like in ady, not that he likeddies that much anyway. He wasn''t sure he was going to be able to refrain himself for much longer from hurting her. "Me neither," Alicia insisted stubbornly. Harold let out a weary sigh as he approached her. Seeing this, Alicia opened the door, ready to bolt, but Harold raised a brow as he approached her, daring her to run. Chapter 46 Trust No One. Seeing the challenge in his eyes and how he was approaching her with purposeful strides, Alicia stood her ground as she waited to see what he wanted to do this time. Once Harold got to where she stood, he stopped when he noticed the defiance in her stance. Instead of throwing her over his shoulder as he had nned to do, he decided to try a different approach. He took in a deep breath. "Just to be clear on this, there is no ce you can run to in this kingdom to hide from me. And if I want to harm you, I won''t need to take you somewhere hidden to do so. Anywhere would be good enough for me. So running is useless," Harold said as he looked down at her. Listening to him, Alicia swallowed nervously. She could tell from the look in his eyes that he wasn''t merely bluffing. She had heard he killed his brother and the king was too scared of him to punish him. She had to be careful. "Come with me," Harold ordered again, and this time he reached for the doorknob without waiting to hear her objection. Alicia quickly moved away from the door as he opened it and walked out of the chamber. She contemted it only for a moment before her curiosity got the best of her and she followed him. Harold didn''t need to turn around to know that she was following him. Although she didn''t try to catch up with him and match his pace, she left some distance between them, and Harold liked it that way. Thest thing he wanted was for people to see them walking together and begin to assume that he liked her or something. That would only put her in danger. Not that he cared anyway. Caring about people never brought anything good, especially humans who were weak and could easily be broken. As the couple walked past some of the guards and maids, they could not help but be surprised, as they wondered where they were going together and howe they were walking together without bickering? Alicia, on the other hand, could not help wondering where they were going once he led her out of the pce building. She followed quietly as he led her to the backside of the building, where another tall and dark building stood with two guards standing by both sides of the entrance. They bowed when they saw Harold approaching, and immediately opened the gate to grant them ess while one handed Harold a smallntern. "Why are we here?" Alicia asked nervously as they got closer to the building, which gave her a feeling of foreboding. "You will see soon," Harold said without breaking his stride, expecting her to follow him as he walked through the gate. Alicia looked around her as she hurried to keep up with him, and then took a deep breath before walking inside the low-lit building. Once she did, the pungent smell of urine and some other things she didn''t know hit her hard, and she almost gagged. Where was this ce with such a horrible stench? She wondered as she raised a hand to cover her nose. The smell was seriously upsetting her stomach. She tried to adjust her eyes to the low lighting as she continued to follow him. Once they had walked for some time, he took the left turn, and she could finally hear the weak cries of different people. Some sounded like they were growling, while some were whimpering. They all sounded like wounded animals. Inside the cells, it was very dark, so she could not see anyone else except Harold, who was holding thentern, but it immediately urred to her that he had brought her to the ce where prisoners were kept. Why? "Why are we here again?" She asked with a slight frown and stepped back. He was not nning to lock her up, was he? "This... might be your home if you continue the way you are going. So I thought you should pick a cell just in case," hesaid without looking at her until he stopped by one of the prison doors, and then turned to look at her. "Since marriage to me is the reason you ended up in this kingdom, I''m going to give you this advice only once. Even if I don''t end up killing you, someone else might. People who behave recklessly the way you do either end up here, or worse, dead," Harold said as he looked at her with serious eyes. "The more you continue this way, the more you endanger your life. Do not let the king''s kindness towards you make you believe that he can save you. He can''t save anybody," Harold said in a cold tone as he continued to look at her. He really did not like what he was doing, but it was something that needed to be done. She was his bride, and it was best he let her know that she was endangering her life with her foolish braveness. Alicia swallowed as she listened to him. "If you want to live long enough to leave this pce as I believe you n to, take your sses seriously and act appropriately." Alicia''s eyes widened slightly as she looked at him. How did he know she was nning to run away? Did he read minds? No, that wasn''t possible. "...And just so you know, if you are caught trying to run away, the penalty is death," Harold added. Alicia clenched her fists beside her as she listened to him quietly. She knew running away was only going to cause her death, but what would they have her do? This was not her home. She was unfortunate enough to find herself in this world, and the moment she woke up, she kept moving around until she ended up here, and now she could not leave here either? "Be wary of everyone. Trust no single soul. Not even me." He lectured seriously. "Your closest ally may end up bringing your downfall." Since he believed he was done with what he wanted to say, he walked past her but stopped when she asked, "Is that how you live here?" He didn''t say a word. Alicia turned to look at his back and asked again, "Living like that, having no one to trust or lean on. Is that how you live?" She asked softly, wondering what kind of life that was. She had watched enough movies to understand what he was trying to say, but the reality felt even more sad and lonely than she had thought. He turned around to look at her, "It''s how you should live too." He said before he continued walking, and she quickly followed him.Thest thing she wanted was for those mean guards to lock her inside after Harold leaves. When she returned to her room that evening, she sat on her bed dejectedly. Why was she suddenly worried about Harold? He wasn''t her business. Amber was married to him, not her. But she could not help worrying and feeling sorry for him. She had been tempted to tell him that he could trust her, but that had almost made herugh. She wasn''t even in her real body and she was still making ns on how to leave this ce. So how could she tell him to trust her when she was going to disappear one day? She was brought back to reality when someone knocked softly on the door. She waited for the person to enter, but when the person didn''t, she went to open the door but found no one there. She looked around at the hallway that only had a few guards patrolling and was about to return inside and close the door when she saw something on the ground. It was a box wrapped with a piece of ck cloth. Confused, she picked it up and went inside her room after closing the door. After untying the cloth, she opened the box and saw a bottle of balm inside that looked like the type Paulina was given. She looked at it in confusion, wondering why someone had left it there for her. What was she supposed to use it for? She wasn''t hurt anywhere. The injury she had was almostpletely gone, which she still found strange until now, especially since she hadn''t been medically treated for tetanus. Then her eyes fell on her wrist, and she pulled up her sleeve and saw the red bruise that Harold left when he gripped her arm. "This is not from him, right?" She asked herself as she looked at the healing balm. But who else would have dropped it and done it in that manner? "STOP CONFUSING ME!" She yelled with her hands on her temple. "Are you a good person or a bad person?" She asked an invisible Harold before sighing. She had to leave here immediately before she started worrying too much about someone she was not supposed to concern herself with. "Mdy?" She heard Paulina''s soft voice outside the door and hurried to open it after dropping the balm on the bed. She had been meaning to have a chat with her. "Come!" Alicia said as she pulled Paulina inside until the two sat on the bed while Paulina looked at her in confusion. Alicia did not fail to lock the door with a key before she went to close the windows too. "Are you okay? You were talking to yourself earlier." Paulina said, looking worried. "Enough about me," She shook her head and looked at her seriously. "We have to leave this ce." Chapter 47 Weak Human Host "Leave the pce? But... Is it okay to leave the pce now?" Paulina asked and nervously looked at the window, which was already closed. Since the first night,after she was attacked by Beth and almost got into trouble before she was saved, she wasn''t sure she was ready to risk it and step out of the pce doors, with or without her mistress. "Not now. But we have to n." Alicia was at least relieved to see that Paulina was not asking too many questions and was willing to go along with it. Paulina still looked confused. "Why do we have to n? We can go out tomorrow. But you know we won''t be able to leave the perimeter of the pce building." "That is the point!" Alicia frowned, "We have to make a n to run away from this ce. I believe you also don''t like this ce, right?" Alicia asked reasonably. Of course, there was no way Paulina was going to like the pce, not when she had encountered the likes of Beth. Paulina looked at her in confusion, but it soon vanished when she understood what Alicia was saying and gasped loudly before using her hand to cover her mouth. "You... you don''t mean we should take a stroll?" She whispered. "What stroll? Don''t be silly. I''m talking about escaping from here!" Alicia said, realizing that Paulina had misunderstood her. No wonder she had agreed so easily. Paulina shook her head and her fear was evident in her eyes, "Mdy... we... we will be in trouble if we are caught." She continued to speak in a hushed tone, afraid that someone outside might overhear them. "That is why we need a good n so that we won''t get caught!" "But... what about your husband?" "I didn''t want this marriage. And I''m sure he will be happy when I leave, because he doesn''t want it either. So what do you say? Are you game?" Alicia asked seriously. "G-Game? What... game?" "I mean, are you in with the n? I want us to leave together. You won''t be safe here either." Paulina thought about it for a moment before she nodded. "I will do whatever you want, Mdy. But I am just worried about you. I don''t want anything to happen to you." Alicia smiled and rubbed her hair affectionately. "Aren''t you a sweet girl? Do not worry. I will make sure to protect us. There is one n I have now, and that is banishment, but..." "Bbbbbanishment?" Paulina stammered in horror. "Yes. But I need toe up with a good way for that to happen, so until then, try to find out things from the other maid. Learn if there is any way people are allowed to leave the pce. I have to stop asking Princess Tyra too many questions before she bes suspicious of me, and it seems Harold is onto me. Just find out whatever you can, okay?" Paulina nodded eagerly. If she was to be honest, she wanted to leave this ce. She even preferred living in exile in the mountains to staying here. But she did not regreting here with Alicia. She was d that she was here with her mistress. Maybe she would have had it worse had she remained in the other kingdom. Who knows? "Tell me, does Amber love poetry?" Paulina once again looked worried when she addressed herself that way, but she had chosen to ept everything as it came. "Yes, Mdy, and you are very good at it. And you also speak in riddles that I do not understand." Paulina giggled. Alicia sighed. She suddenly felt like a deted balloon. She had been hoping to show Paulina the diary, but it seemed like the girl knew nothing about poetry, just like her. "So what are you good at?" Alicia could not stop herself from asking. "Painting," Paulina said proudly. She didn''t mind that she was reminding the princess of what she already knew. "You can paint?" Alicia asked, surprised. She nodded excitedly. "I was preparing a gift painting for you when we were at the mountains, but I have not been able toplete it because we moved and I no longer have any painting material." Her shoulders drooped, and she looked down dejectedly. "Hey! Cheer up. I don''t mind if you can notplete it. It''s totally fine." "But I need to give it to you afterpleting it. I have been working on it for a long time and need to add the finishing touches. Without the facial features, the drawing is meaningless. I don''t think I will ever be able toplete it here." Alicia could not help but feel bad for her. She wished she had someone as loyal and devoted as this in her life. She was envious of Amber. "Do not be sad. I will see what I can do and get you all the materials you need to paint. Okay? You can paint in your free time and also not forget to find out information from other maids, okay?" She beamed and nodded. She hoped that her mistress would get it so that she would finish up the painting and show it to her. She just hoped she would be able to get the perfect facial features of Princess Amber''s mother since she was drawing from her memory of when she was 8 years old. Since the princess always wished she had a painting of her mother, she was going to surprise her with one. Now that she was done sharing her ns with Paulina, she stood up ready to leave for dinner, and her eyes fell on the balm again, reminding her of Harold. Thinking about Harold now, she nced at the floor and realized that it had been cleaned. She hadpletely forgotten about the snacks that had been dropped earlier. "Did you sweep the floor?" She asked Paulina curiously, but Paulina shook her head. Did that mean that Harold had asked someone to clean her room? When? Alicia wondered. No! No more thinking about Harold! She didn''t want to think about him or worry about him. Alicia told herself with a shake of her head before returning her gaze to Paulina. "Have you had something to eat today?" She asked curiously, and Paulina gave her a nod. "The Prince''s manservant who gave me the balm yesterday, gave me some snacks a while ago," Paulina exined, wondering if she should tell her mistress that the man had asked questions about her. Hearing that Harold''s manservant, or whatever he was since Harold had said he wasn''t a servant, had fed Paulina, Alicia''s brows pulled together once again. Harold! Why did he keep making her think about him? Why did he keep doing things that made her want to figure him out? She didn''t want to be curious about him! She didn''t want to care about him! All she cared about was leaving this ce. "Try not to get used to receiving help from him," Alicia told Paulina before walking out of the chamber. Meanwhile, inside Harold''s chamber, he stood by his window, deep in thought. If one saw him, they would be surprised to find him looking guilty. "Maybe I was too harsh on her?" He asked himself. He had seen how scared she had looked inside the dungeon. Even he didn''t like going there, so why did he take her there? ''HARSH? HARSH?!'' His wolf yelled in disbelief. ''We didn''t bite her, we didn''t stab her, or even hurt her. You only showed her the cells and you think you are harsh? Why did I find myself in a weak person''s body?''His wolf cried dramatically. "It''s a good thing you are strong," Harold replied dryly, not in the mood to banter. "We are supposed to teach her a lesson, not help her or get soft!" The wolf continued. "She belongs to us, and we are supposed to protect her. I won''t be like my father!" Harold said more to himself than to his wolf. Although he had no feelings whatsoever for his bride, she was HIS bride, and he had to look out for her in a way he wished his father had done for his mother. She reminded him of his mother. Like his mother, who had been brought here against her will. He turned to the door when a knock sounded, and shortly after, Alvin walked in and bowed to him. "Did you get the girl something to eat? And were you able to talk to her?" "Yes, milord," Alvin said with a bow as he watched Harold.It was still surprising to him that his master did not hurt his bride as he had feared he would. Not that he had wanted Harold to hurt his bride, but seeing how much attention he showed to his bride and her maidservant greatly surprised him. It was unlike him. "Are you waiting for me to ask you about your conversation with the girl?" Harold asked impatiently. He would have talked to the girl himself, but that would have raised a lot of eyebrows, and he didn''t want to attract unnecessary attention to the girl. Chapter 48 Internal Quarrel Alvin rted his conversation with Paulina to Harold, and all Paulina had told him about her kind and meek mistress. After listening to Alvin''s disappointing response, he concluded that he should have questioned the maid by himself. If you wanted a job like that done well, then you had to do it yourself. Not that he didn''t trust Alvin to get his job done, but Alvin didn''t have enough information, so he didn''t exactly know what to ask, hence he didn''t get the answers that he wanted. Although he trusted Alvin, he had yet to tell Alvin about Alicia being an exiled princess or about meeting her in the woods, so he believed Paulina had tried to hide it from him and told him nothing about it. That night in the woods, where had she really been going to? A princess in exile who was now supposed to return home and marry a prince wouldn''t try to run away, would she? She would be thankful that she was finally going to live a normal life. But maybe that was not the case with her? She had kept talking about going home. What other home did she mean when she kept trying to escape on the night before her return to her kingdom? Why had she been saying strange things about being someone else and about the year 2020? "What about Prince Ivan and the Queen?" "There hasn''t been any suspicious movement between either of them," Alvin informed him. Harold was convinced that there had to be something. Those two were good at acting. They hadn''t even looked surprised when he returned unscathed. He was sure they had been the ones who had sent those hunters after him. Whether he got proof or not, he was going to pay them back with what mattered to them the most. But for now, something else was more important to him. "Paulina. I want to talk to her myself. Bring her to me. Her mistress shouldn''t know about this," Harold ordered. Alvin didn''t move immediately. He wanted to ask Harold what he nned to do to the little girl to make her say whatever he wanted to hear, but he knew it was impossible to question Harold. He could only hope that he didn''t hurt the girl because he wasn''t sure he wanted to be there when Princess Amber went crazy. Alvin waited until Paulina left the room before he approached her. As he did, he could see the mixture of emotions on her face. It seemed like she was considering running away and also considering standing there since he had helped her a couple of times before. Using her nails to cut her fingers nervously, she waited until he stood in front of her. "Come with me," he said, and turned around to leave, expecting her to follow. "W...why?" She asked nervously, without moving. They had already spoken earlier. What else did he want from her? It didn''t help that she was just talking with the princess about escaping. Did they, by chance, know about it already? Without looking at her, he replied, "It''s a royal order." That made her heart skip. But as soon as he started walking again, she followed nervously. She didn''t know what information they were looking for, but she was not going to release it to them. Protecting her mistress was her utmost priority. He led her to the room she knew was Harold''s chamber. She had followed them here when he kidnapped the mistress. Alvin knocked once before he opened the door and gestured with his head for her to go in. Paulina stood there, scared out of her wits. She wished she could run now and escape from this, but that was a farfetched dream. "You will be safe," he assured her. Even though he wasn''t sure himself, something told him the prince wouldn''t hurt her. His words gave her the courage to step in and she immediately turned to look at the door when Alvin closed it without entering inside. She panicked before she turned to look in front of her at the person looking over the window with his hands behind him the way royals did. "Spill it," he said in amanding voice without turning to look at her. ********** Once it was dinner time, Harold went to the hall. If there was one thing he desperately wished for, it was for this whole family gathering to end. He missed those days when he could stay for months without seeing those faces. That was the reason the King insisted that every member of the family had to be together like this. "It brings oneness," the King had said, almost making himugh. Once he arrived, he didn''t pay attention to the others, even though their conversations had stopped and they were looking at him. His eyes moved straight to Alicia''s seat, surprised to see that she was yet to arrive. He had even arrivedte, so why was she not here? He nced at Tyra, Susan, and Williams and wondered why the people she often walked with were seated and she had yet to arrive. He tried not to let his surprise show as he walked over to his seat and sat down. The more time passed, the more worried he became. Where was she and why was she runningte? Thest thing he wanted was for her to arrive after the King and Queen must have been seated. "Why don''t I see your bride around? Or did you tie her up in your chamber?" Ivan asked with curiosity, but Harold ignored him. He wasn''t interested in wasting his breath talking to his brother. His eyes unconsciously kept going to the door as he wondered what was keeping her. Was she in trouble? Or was she sick? He remembered how pale and sickly she had looked inside the dungeon. ''See what you caused? You were harsh on her earlier.'' His wolf huffed. Harold could not believe this. Wasn''t his wolf yelling that he was weak just a few hours ago? Now he was the bad person, and his wolf was the saint? ''YOU!!!'' ''ME WHAT?'' His wolf asked challengingly. ''How could you take her to that kind of ce? You don''t even know how to treat a woman.'' He scoffed. Okay... Harold could not believe this. His nails dug fiercely into his palm as he tried to keep it in. After he was done settling his priorities, he was going to look for a good shaman to cut off his wolf part. He could no longer have this partnership with him. He missed those days when he didn''t have to hear thisannoying voice inside his head. ''You think I want to stay with you too?'' ''You are an aminal.'' ''Oh my! Why didn''t I ever think of that?'' His wolf eximed dramatically, but Harold could clearly hear the sarcasmced in his tone and got even angrier. Just as Harold was about to finally stand up and go in search of her, Alicia appeared by the doorway, panting as though she had been running. He pretended not to pay attention to her as she walked over to her seat beside him and sat down. Where had she been? And why was she panting? He wondered. "Are you okay?" Luciana asked with a concerned smile. "Yes, I''m fine. Thank you," Alicia answered breathlessly with a nod. Harold half expected her to start greeting everyone loudly as usual or to say something to him, but she simply acknowledged the others with a nod before turning to look at him, "Thank you," she murmured, and then looked ahead of her. What was she thanking him for? The balm? Alvin feeding her maid? Or her room, which was clean? Harold wondered, but didn''t respond or ask her any questions. ''8She will never thank you like that.'' He said smugly to his wolf, who had disappeared since she entered, probably embarrassed after ming Harold, and now she was here looking fine. Alicia''s gaze met Tyra''s, and Tyra quickly looked down timidly. She couldn''t help being embarrassed that she had run away atAlicia''s time of need simply because she had been scared. How could she look at Alicia in the face and call herself a friend? Seeing the guilt on her face, Alicia felt sorry for her. She couldn''t help wondering why Tyra always seemed to be so fearfuleven though she was a princess. Was she being abused? Soon, the King and Queen arrived, and they all stood up as usual to greet them. After that, Alicia ate in silence, and this time the king did not ask her any questions. Everyone around the table could not help feeling that something was wrong. Why was dinner suddenly so quiet? Was Alicia sick? After the King and Queen left, Alicia stood up next and bowed once before she left without saying a single word, surprising everyone, but most especially Harold, whose eyes followed her back until she left the hall. What was wrong with her? She didn''t look too well, and she was quiet the whole time. Was this what it felt like to worry about someone? But he didn''t have the time to think too much about this because it was prettyte already and he had to leave the pce. Once Harold left, Ivan and his wife also left, leaving just Tyra, Susan, and Williams. "What is wrong with her? Is she ill? Should we check on her?" Susan asked with a concerned frown, and Williams turned to her, wondering why she seemed so concerned. Seeing the questioning look on Williams''s face, she shrugged, "Dinner was boring. I like it more when she is active." Chapter 49 Interrogating The Maid As Alicia walked down the hallway to her bedroom, she heard someone call her name just before she took thest turn that led to her bedroom, and turned around to see Tyra, who still had a guilty look on her face. She guessed Tyra was here to apologize for how she ran away earlier today. She couldn''t me her for doing so. "I''m sorry for leaving the way I did." "You don''t have to feel bad. I''m okay," she assured Tyra when she noticed that Tyra was still avoiding eye contact with her. "Are you sure?" Tyra asked as she slowly raised her eyes to meet Alicia, and Alicia gave her a nod. "But you don''t look too well. Are you sure everything is okay?" She asked, sounding worried. Alicia smiled gently at her. "I just feel very tired and exhausted. I can assure you that this has nothing to do with your brother." "You should go in and rest. Curfew is starting soon." Tyra informed Alicia, who nodded and thanked her. "Yes, thanks. Maybe you can show me to your bedro... chamber another time. I''m eager to see how it''s decorated," Alicia said, and Tyra beamed a smile at her, happy that Alicia wasn''t going to hold the incident earlier against her. As Tyra walked her down to her chamber, she asked, "What was that about earlier? I mean, my brother in your chamber? What did he want?" Alicia thought about it too. She had thought he was going to do something crazy, but he had simply led her out to show her what she was going to get herself into and also brought a balm for her hand. "Nothing serious. Temper issues." She said, waving it off. "I hope you two get along as soon as possible," Tyra said, smiling. "I don''t see that happening any time soon," Alicia said with a scoff as she opened her chamber door and walked inside. That night, after thest bell rang, the whole pce plunged into darkness, and the night guards patrolled the pce. Some of the guards were patrolling indoors while most of them were outside the pce. However, there was a particr wolf that wasn''t a night guard but was outside. It was Harold, in his wolf form, staring at a particr window in the pce building from far away. Any wolf who happened to bump into him scurried away as they wondered what he was doing in the vicinity. He was usually not seen at night. Meanwhile, whenever Harold noticed that a wolf was approaching, he would take his eyes off the window and pace around. If any of the guards knew whose window he was looking at and reported it to the queen, she would assume he cared about his bride. Just like every other night, his shifting was excruciatingly painful as he felt his entire bones break. For the first few years, he would shout and cry out in pain, but as he grew older, he learnt to live with it, but it didn''t make it any less painful. So that was how he watched her window for the rest of the night instead of going for a run like he usually did every night before she came here. Tonight, however, he was slightly concerned, wondering what was wrong with her. He had heard her tell Tyra that she was exhausted. Was that just it? Standing there and keeping watch over her window, his mind drifted to his conversation with Paulina. Although she didn''t seem to know much either, from the little he knew, which he had shared with Paulina, he had been able to convince her to speak. He wasn''t proud of himself for threatening her into talking to him, but that seemed to be the only way he could have gotten her to speak. "I want to help your mistress too, but I need to know some things. What do you think the king is going to do to the both of you when he finds out that he has been deceived and that she didn''t grow up in the pce as they have been made to believe?" Harold had asked after she remained quiet for a while, despite hismand forher to speak. Paulina''s eyes had rounded in fear when she heard that, and her entire book trembled from fear. If it wasn''t prince Harold speaking, she would have probably asked how he knew about Alicia growing up in the mountains. Did her mistress disclose it to him? Seeing the surprise and fear on her face, Harold continued, "Why does your mistress call herself Alicia Queen?" Harold asked again, and this time Paulina almost fainted fromworry. Why was Princess Amber trying to get them both killed? How could she have said that name to Prince Harold? "I... I..." She started crying forck of something to say. "I''m waiting," Harold said in an impatient voice, and she quickly dried her tears. "She is Princess Amber. She only started calling herself by that name after she fell into a river and almost drowned to death," Paulina exined tearfully. "If you lie to me, I''m going to kill you," Harold warned in a tone that made her step back involuntarily. "I''m not lying. I''m telling you the truth," Paulina said in a shaky voice. "She fell into a river? She can''t swim?" Harold asked, watching her closely, and Paulina nodded her head. Harold narrowed his eyes, "When did this happen? And where?" "The river in the vige close to the mou... Mountain. It happened two days before we traveled for your wedding," Paulina exined. ? Was that why she had been walking in the woods alone the first night he saw? "Before then, she never called herself Alicia Queen?" Harold asked, and Paulina nodded her head vigorously. "What else changed about her?" He asked thoughtfully. Why was he asking almost the same question that Alicia had asked? Perhaps if she exined to Prince Harold that her mistress wasn''t always this stubborn, he might understand that something was wrong with her mistress and help them? "Her character. She used to be very quiet and loved to keep to herself," Paulina revealed. None of what she was saying made sense to Harold, but he kept listening to her, "What are her hobbies?" "She... She always wrote poems in her journal, and... liked to take long walks by herself." "Can she throw things? Like daggers?" Harold asked, and Paulina''s eyes widened in rm as she shook her head. "She... She was never allowed to be with such things," Paulina said confidently. Harold asked no more questions as he tried to process all that Paulina had said, "No matter what, you must not let her know that we had this conversation." Everything didn''t add up. He could still remember the shock on Alicia''s face when she threw the dagger and it sank into his chest, yet she had lied about it being her hobby. What was she hiding? Harold wondered as he kept watching the window. By morning, he was exhausted and wished he could sleep in like a normal person. But that was something he was not sure he was ever going to get. Resting was also impossible now since he had to have breakfast with the rest of the family. Exhausted, he did his best to freshen up and drank the potion Alvin brought him. When he arrived at the hall to have breakfast with his family, just likest night, Alicia was nowhere in sight. Likest night, he had expected her to run in, panting like she had been chased by a ferocious predator, but even as time dragged, she didn''t show up, even after the King and Queen were seated. He ignored Prince Ivan''s useless questions, asking for his bride again and what he had done to her, and could see the concern in Tyra''s eyes, wondering where Alicia was. But all of their questions were answered when Beth entered the room, bowed, and informed them that Alicia was ill and would not be able to join them for breakfast. From her tone and disposition, it was obvious to Harold that Beth wasn''t pleased to ry the message to them. "What is wrong with her?" The Queen asked curiously. "I don''t know." Beth had a feeling that the useless princess was lying that she was ill when a maid went to fetch her. She had also gone to her chamber and found the princess buried under a quilt, iming illness. Since she could not force her to join the breakfast table, she only had to ry the message while gritting her teeth in anger and hoping for that day toe when she would be punished as she deserved and separated from Prince Harold. "Instruct the royal physician to attend to her at once," the Queen ordered, and Beth bowed to them before leaving to do as she was told. On hearing that Alicia was ill, Harold''s first instinct was to stand up and leave the table, but he refrained from doing so. Doing that would only make them all think that he cared about her, and showing that he cared about her wasn''t going to be good for either of them, even though he didn''t really care. All eyes moved to Harold, since some of them had seen him chase her around the pce the previous day, and those who didn''t see them had heard of it, and they had all heard about how he had taken her to the ce where prisoners were kept. Harold looked back at them with a frown. "I didn''t do anything to her," he muttered defensively, particrly to Tyra, who was seated opposite him and was looking at him usingly since she was the only person who knew that he had been in his bride''s chamber. "You can go and check on her. She is your wife after all," the King suggested since there was no way Harold could leave without his permission when he was still seated. "Her maids can take care of her," Harold said dismissively. Princess Tyra wanted to say she would check on the Princess after breakfast, but as soon as she opened her mouth, a re from her mother made her close it. "I will check on her," Luciana said with a smile, thinking that it would be good to use this opportunity to get attached to Alicia. Chapter 50 Sick Alicia Aliciay still as the royal physician checked her. He ced his hand on her wrist and checked her pulse. After that, he checked her eyes and her tongue. "How are you feeling?" He asked, looking at her with curious concern. Alicia''s face was a picture of distress as she raised her hands to her head, "I feel very tired.My head feels like it''s going to fall off my neck. My whole body aches. And I can''t seem to keep my eyes open," Alicia said in a weak voice, as her eyelids fluttered as though they were shutting on their own volition, and she tried toy down again. "She needs to eat properlyand rest well. I think it is fatigue," the doctor said, turning to look at Beth, who was staring down at Alicia with disapproving eyes. There was nothing that anyone was going to tell her that would make her believe that Alicia was ill. "I will ry your message to the Queen," Beth said as the physician gathered his things and stood up to leave. "I will have someone bring you a cup of peppermint tea for your headache," the physician told Alicia before walking away. Once the physician left, Paulina quickly sat beside Alicia''s bed with tears in her eyes as she looked at her mistress, "What can I do?" She asked Alicia with concern. Seeing the tears in the girl''s eyes, Alicia almost rolled her eyes. It seemed like her eyes never stayed dry. She cried at the slightest opportunity. Alicia wanted to tell Paulina not to worry that she was fine, but she didn''t. Not just because Beth was still standing there ring at her, but also because Paulina''s genuine concern made her acting even more believable. Good thing she was an actress. She had yed several sick roles in movies before, so looking and sounding ill wasn''t something new to her. If they thought she was going to stand for hours listening to Beth ramble nonsensical things at her, they must be dreaming. With how she had lookedst night, no one would doubt she was truly ill, and even Tyra would bear witness that she was sick since she had told herst night that she was very tired and exhausted. Sheughed evilly in her head. "Don''t worry, I will live through this," she assured Paulina in a weak voice, as she prayed for Beth to leave. She was beginning to feel really hungry and wanted to ask Paulina to go and get something for her to eat, but she couldn''t do that with Beth in the room, or else Beth would be even more suspicious of her. "Don''t worry about me, you can leave. You don''t have to be here," she told Beth in a tender voice, but Beth only eyed her and remained where she was. She still was not over the fact that Alicia had pped her two days ago and humiliated her in front of those maids. "I''m not leaving. You missed your sses yesterday because you had lunch with Prince Harold." "Yes. I had lunch with my husband." Despite her false illness, Alicia couldn''t stop herself from saying it, seeing how Beth would never acknowledge the fact that she was married to him. What kind of sick obsession was this? Beth red at her, "I''m hoping that you get better before noon. You still have so much that you need to learn, and I don''t think it''s wise to keep pushing back your sses," Beth said, and Alicia snickered inside her head. She intended to keeping up with excuses like this to skip those boring and stressful sses until she figured out a way to leave the pce. "Unfortunately, I''m too weak to get off the bed, unless you want to teach while I''m lying down," Alicia offered. "You must think..." Beth''s words were cut off by the sudden knock on the door, and they all turned to look while Alicia prayed that whoever wasing in was bringing food along. Trying to look even more pitiful, tears gathered in her eyes. The door was pushed open, and Tyra walked in with Susan, who was carrying a tray with a cup of tea. "The physician sent someone to bring this to you. I took it from him since we wereing here," Susan informed Alicia as they walked into the chamber. "How are you feeling?" Tyra asked with concern as she walked over to the bed and sat down beside Alicia, whose eyes were misty. "I... feel like I''m... dying," Alicia said dramatically, and that only made Paulina break into another round of sobs. "Please don''t die, Mdy. You can''t die and leave me alone. I will die with you." Paulina cried. Alicia reached for Paulina''s face slowly until she touched her teary cheek. "I... will be okay, Paulina. I will survive." She smiled faintly as more tears pooled in her eyes. "I only need to do what Beth asked me to. So, even though I am sick, I have to go to my sses. I believe I will survi¡ª" Alicia broke into a dramatic sob that had Susan and Tyra frowning at Beth. "HOW DARE YOU ASK HER TO GO FOR THOSE STUPID CLASSES IN THIS CONDITION? ARE YOU SICK IN THE HEAD OR SOMETHING?" Susan asked, fuming angrily as she eyed Beth unpleasantly. One could imagine how Beth felt right now as she dug her nails into her palms and looked at the witch who called herself a princess, sobbing pitifully. No one in this world would be able to tell her otherwise. This little witch was acting. "No... it''s fine. Do not take it out on her. She is only doing her job." Alicia said meekly, like an angel, as she used her sleeves to clean her eyes and started coughing out of the blue, like someone who was on the verge of dying. Paulina refused to leave her side, crying loudly. This made Alicia make up her mind that whenever she nned to act like this, she was never going to let Paulina in on the n. Damn! She was taking the whole thing to a new level. "Don''t cry. Nothing will happen to your mistress. She will be fine. You should sit up and drink the tea," Tyra assured Paulina as she moved to help Alicia sit up so that she could drink the tea. "What are you still doing here? Get lost!" Susan yelled at Beth, throwing whatever she could find in her direction. Alicia badly wanted to smile smugly, but she resisted the urge as she watched Beth bow slightly towards Susan. Beth still had an overbearing aura of arrogance around her, but it was none of Alicia''s business. She had made up her mind that whatever concerned Beth, she would have others handle it on her behalf and keep her hands clean. As Beth left the room, she didn''t miss the slight smirk and evil glint on Alicia''s face, which Alicia didn''t try to conceal when their eyes met. It was as if Alicia was daring her to go tell the queen that she was faking it. The royal physician had been here and said she needed rest. Susan and Tyra had seen how pitiful she looked, as well as someother servants who visited with one thing or the other. If Beth continued to push that she was faking it, then it would be the perfect time to use Beth''s obsession with Prince Harold as the reason she was against her constantly. Beth could only suppress her anger and leave the room. Adding one more name to her cklist¡ªSusan. For now, she knew the only one likely to believe her was Haroldsince it was obvious that he hated this new bride. With a n in mind, she felt better. This situation made Alicia realize that if she needed a strong ally in this kingdom, it had to be Susan. She seemed like the only one to take Beth head-on. "You didn''t have... to send her off like that," Alicia said, looking sad as she watched Beth leave. "You are such a sweet soul, Princess Amber, but she deserves it," Princess Tyra said as she offered her the cup of tea. If only they could all hear the evilughter in Alicia''s head right now. They would haverealized that she was anything but a sweet soul. Beth didn''t know what wasing for her. As Alicia was trying to sit up, the door opened and Luciana walked in,a maid carrying a tray of food behind her. "I was looking everywhere for you two so we coulde together. Why did youe without me?" She scolded Tyra and Susan before looking at Alicia, smiling sweetly. "You haven''t eaten, right? I thought you might get hungry," Luciana said as she approached Alicia, whose heart was dancing with joy at the sight of food. Luciana was officially her lifesaver. Not that she liked the girl, but this was food that they were talking about. "You... didn''t have to. I... don''t have an appetite." Alicia said, sighing pitifully as she made a move to return to her former position. As expected, the fourdies cajoled her to eat, even if it was just a bite. "I really don''t feel up for it," Alicia said with tears in her eyesas if she was being forced to do something painful. "You need to take a spoon. We heard from the physician''s assistant that you need food and rest. So you should try some, please," Tyra urged, and the others nodded their consent. "I''m really not hungry, but because of you all, I will just have to force myself to eat some." She said in a tired voice as Tyra helped her sit up. The evilugh in her head and the hope she felt died immediately when she realizedthe ''food''they were referring to was an ugly-looking porridge.'' Just kill me!'' She cried in her head as she officially added Lucianato her cklist. When she refused to eat this time, she really wasn''t faking it. Chapter 51 Beths Only Ally. That morning, Harold took the second floor more than ten times. Whenever he got to thest bend that led to Alicia''s room, he would turn around and wander aimlessly before finding himself back there again. So, for the umpteenth time, he scolded himself and returned to his chamber, but he could not sit still. He began to pace around and almost lost it when he found himself biting his nails absent-mindedly. When did he cultivate such a disgusting habit? ''I need to rest. You are troubling me. Just go check up on her.'' His wolf hissed tiredly. "Who said I wanted to check up on her?!" He snapped out defensively. ''...'' ''Fine. I am only doing this because you asked me to,'' Harold said to his wolf before he turned around and began to head towards the door. ''Yea, right.'' Harold could imagine his wolf rolling his eyes, but he didn''t let that concern him as he smelt a presence before he opened the door and saw Beth standing there, about to knock. She bowed her head meekly with her hands on her belly. "Your highness." He raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was here. She had never approached him before. She had no reason to. So what was she doing here? "Speak," he said impatiently, his voice making her shiver, but she didn''t dare move for fear that he might get angry. "She... she is..." If the other maids had seen Beth stuttering like this, they would probably have fainted from shock. She always acted so confident and strong around them, yet before Harold, she was nothing but a stuttering girl. "Move," he ordered impatiently in amanding voice and moved to walk away, but she gathered herself and spoke. "Amber is lying." Harold stopped walking. Time seemed to slow down as he slowly turned around to look at her. "Amber?" He asked in a low voice that made the hair all over her body stand. Since when was his bride addressed with such disrespect? "Prin... cess Amber," Beth quickly corrected. "She is lying. She isn''t ill. She is faking it so she would get away with her sses," she rushed to add, hoping that he would look past the way she had addressed Amber. She almost rolled her eyes. He didn''t have to pretend to like Amber in front of her. Everyone, including her, was aware that he didn''t give a damn about her and was merely doing all this for formality. "Faking it? So she wasn''t ill? Harold wondered. For some reason, he seemed to believe Beth. His bride was capable of a whole lot of things, so this wasn''t strange to imagine. "Are you sure?" He asked. Beth nodded immediately, happy that someone was finally giving her a listening ear. As expected, the only reasonable person was Harold. "I swear on my life, your highness. Princess Amber is faking it," Beth informed him, already grinning in her head after peeking to see how his face was contorted into a frown. He sighed in his head. She was always extreme with everything. ''She is probably hungry now,'' he thought to himself, remembering she only had a little to eatst night and hadn''t shown up this morning for breakfast. "I will handle it," he said to Beth dismissively. "Thank you, your highness." She bowed deeply and waited for him to leave first, but he didn''t. He still stood there, and she considered taking the risk of looking at his face, but she held back. Her heart lurched to her throat when he began to speak in a calm and collected voice that could send people fainting from fear. "The next time you address her the way you did earlier... I will have your head on a stake," He warned her calmly and knew she got the message when he saw her body shake from fear. She didn''t doubt that he was capable of doing so, and even if she felt she was precious and irreceable, no one would be able to challenge Harold for getting rid of her. Not even her father. ''Pfft! You sound like a good husband.'' His wolf mocked. ''Shut up!'' Meanwhile, inside her chamber, Alicia was finally able to get the three women to leave, leaving only Paulina with her. She instructed Paulina to lock the door with a key, and as soon as Paulina did that, Alicia jumped from the bed, groaning in relief. "Jeez! They should have just built a tent and camped here!" Sheined as she stretched all her muscles until they cracked. A stunned Paulina looked at Alicia, confusion written all over her face, as Alicia approached her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Paulina darling, you are a lifesaver. I never would have done this sessfully without you. Hahaha!" Sheughed loudly, like an evil viiness. "It feels good to finallyugh aloud. But I''m starving." "Midy... what happ¡ª" "Shhh!" Alicia ced a finger on her lips. "No need to think too much about it. "I am fine. I only need to skip sses and also teach that silly Beth a lesson. Let me see how she is going to climb down from her mighty horse and tell the queen I was faking it. Only an idiot would believe h¡ª AHHH!" Both Paulina and Alicia screamed when someone jumped in from the window, startling them. Alicia and Paulina stared wide-eyed at Harold, who also kept his gaze on the two. How did he even climb up to this ce? And why didn''t he use the door like a normal person would? But there was a more pressing issue than those questions. Alicia was supposed to be sick, and so she went into acting, keeping a sick face and pretending to copse. It took longer for Paulina to get into character and began to wail dramatically as she helped Alicia to the bed. This incident made Alicia realize what a bad actress Paulina was and that she was truly never going to let Paulina in on any of her ns because any normal person would see that she was faking it. "Leave," Harold said sternly to Paulina, who quickly stopped crying and scrambled away, leaving Alicia, who was still lying on the bed trying to pull off a believable act. Once Paulina shut the door behind her, Harold looked down at Alicia, whose eyes were shut and she was pretending to be asleep. He didn''t know whether to be angry or not that she had been pretending to be ill. He was relieved that she wasn''t really ill as he had thought, but more than that, he was also upset that he had been so worried and worked up over nothing. He would have taken the door, but he didn''t want anyone to see himing to visit her. Now, he was d he had taken the window. How else would he have confirmed that she had brazenly lied to the entire royal family? As Aliciay there waiting for him to say something, but when everywhere remained silent, she decided to risk it, and opened one eye to take a peek at him. Her heart skipped a beat when she met his piercing gaze, and she quickly shut her eyes as her heart began to race. What was he doing here? Why did hee in this way? What did he want? Why wasn''t he saying anything? His silence was making her ufortable, but it seemed like he was bent on remaining quiet. It was as if he was waiting for her to say something. This suddenly reminded both of them of their wedding ceremony and how she had pretended to faint, but Harold had seen through her. By chance... did he suspect she was lying? She wondered to herself, nearly panicking that he was going to expose her. When she couldn''t bear the silence anymore, she slowly opened both eyes and sat up. "I''m very sick," she informed him in a weak voice, just in case he had missed the memo. Harold remained quiet as he watched her with his piercing blue eyes, which seemed to remind her of the way Dr. House often stared at people. Yeah, Dr. House was the name of the main character from one of her favourite American medical series, House MD. Alicia shifted ufortably as she looked at him, then away from him, and then back to him again, "Is there something you want to say or talk about?" She asked in a weak voice since she was smart enough to decipher that he either suspected that she was faking her illness, hence he came in through the window to confirm it, or he knew for a fact that she was faking it. "What did the physician say?" Harold asked, trying to understand why Beth had assumed that she was faking her illness. "He said I needed lots of rest and food. I''m suffering from fatigue," Alicia said with a yawn as her eyelids fluttered sleepily. "Is it worth it?" Harold asked after some time. "Is what worth what?" Alicia asked in confusion. Chapter 52 Hubby "Is pretending to be sick so that you can skip your sses worth skipping breakfast?" Harold asked, surprising her. "Beth! That bitch! She came to you, didn''t she?" Alicia hissed in annoyance, standing up abruptly from the bed. The sides of Harold''s lips twitched in amusement, but he made sure to hide it from her. How she could switch from sick and dying to this in one moment was something he needed to study. "You haven''t answered my question," Harold reminded her with his hands behind him. When Beth mentioned to him that his bride was faking her illness, he partially believed her, but he kept his doubts because he knew how much she loved food. He was surprised to see that she had actually given up food just so she wouldn''t have to attend the sses. Did she hate the sses that much? "Those sses are stupid, and Beth is even more annoying! I can''t stand her!" Alicia said, irritably. "You need those sses if you''re going to survive in this pce," Harold exined patiently. "Why does it have to be Beth? Can''t someone else be put in charge?" Alicia asked, even though she had no intention of taking the stupid sses regardless of who the teacher was. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "You can''t escape from your sses." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Harold pped her mouth gently with his hand and chided her, "Don''t swear." "What the hell are you doing touching my mouth?" She tried to p his hand away, but his hand was already back beside him. Harold just watched her for a moment without saying a word, and then he sighed again. "I don''t know what I did to deserve a bride like you," he muttered under his breath. Alicia was tempted to give a sharp retort, but she refrained from doing so. She was the one who had been caught pretending to be sick after deceiving the entire royal family. Who knew what would befall her if she annoyed him and he was tempted to expose her? Her eyes widened in surprise when he pulled something from behind him and threw it at her. It was wrapped in paper, so she didn''t know what it was when she caught it. She smelled the aroma before she finished unwrapping it and saw the pieces of meat and other small snacks. He had brought her food, knowing that she was pretending to be ill? She nced at Harold, who looked at her with slight indifference and said, "I saw it on the floor." She didn''t buy it, but she smiled brightly and devoured one of the snacks before he finished blinking. She ate another and was about to eat the third one when he suddenly snatched it from her. "WHAT THE¡ª" "The queen is almost here," he said, alerting her. She didn''t know how he knew that since they were both in here together, and she didn''t bother to ask, especially when he went behind her dressing curtain. She jumped on the bed, covering the quilt and swearing at both Harold and the Queen. Why hadn''t he given it to her earlier? And where was the so-called quee¡ª A knock came on the door, interrupting her, before it was pushed open and the Queen entered with an older maid behind her. Harold could mask his scent from everyone, so he knew the Queen wouldn''t suspect him. "You don''t have to get up. How are you faring?" The Queen asked Alicia, who groaned as if she was carrying all the pain in the world before she sat up, looking sick. "I... I feel like dying." She said in a very faint voice. "It makes me feel heartbroken that I missed those eye-opening sses. I... I was always looking forward to them." She sobbed. "Oh dear, you don''t have to cry," the queen said, handing her a handkerchief. "The sses span for 14 days. Whenever you are fine, you can always make up for the 13 days left," she said with a kind smile, but Alicia had stopped sobbing as she asked, "Eh?" Harold''s wolf burst intoughter while Harold tried to stop his smile, but it was impossible, especially when he saw her facial expression and how she was trying not to break her character. "I heard from Susan that Beth gave you a difficult time. I will punish her," The queen assured her, but Alicia was still finding it hard to ept that news. "I also heard you could not eat." Since it seemed like only the queen was talking to herself at this point, Alicia forced herself to get back into character and began to sob. "I... I can''t eat anything... I don''t have an appetite and everything makes me want to throw up," she said in a tone that would have even the coldest heart pity her. If she could see Harold''s wolf, she would see how ck-jawed he was. Wasn''t she the same person devouring snacks just now? "I will ask your maid and have them make you something you like. You should rest for now." "Thank you, my queen," As soon as the queen left, Alicia hurried to close the door, and when she turned around, Harold was already standing there, looking amused. "Why the hell did you not tell me those stupid sses were waiting for me?" She asked angrily as she caught the snacks he threw at her. "Told you you couldn''t escape from them," he said calmly. "Shit! I need a better n," she said to herself as she shoved another snack into her mouth. "Behave and attend your sses. And do not repeat this next time. You... got everyone worried," Harold said as he returned to the window. "Everyone? Including you?" She asked hopefully, not knowing why she wanted to know, but somehow she was curious to know if this man, whom everyone called a cursed prince, and who people referred to as hot-tempered and hard-hearted, actually cared about her... No, not her. Princess Amber. Harold didn''t respond to her question as he moved to climb out of the window, but she stopped him. He looked at her with a raised brow, wondering why she stopped him. "I need painting materials," she said, remembering she had promised Paulina. ''Oh no! What does she need painting materials for now?'' His wolf wondered. Harold eyed her suspiciously. "What are you nning?" "Why do you think I am nning anything? It''s not like I''ll go paint your chamber walls." "You may do that in the king''s chamber," he said, causing her tough. "This is surprising. I had no idea you had a humorous bone in you," she said in amusement, causing him to frown. "Well, it''s for Paulina. She likes to paint and wants toplete a painting that she ns to gift to me. Who else should I ask for these things if not my lovely hubby?" She winked at him. "Hobby?" He muttered in confusion. "Hubby. As in husband. Not hobby." Alicia corrected, already frustrated that she had to exin every word to these people. He snorted and got into position to climb out. "By the way..." He looked at her seriously before he continued, "Your maid is bad at acting," he said before he quickly climbed out of her window, going his way and leaving Alicia raising her hands in an ''I also said the same thing'' gesture, before she remembered that he had not said anything about the painting materials. As far as Harold was concerned, he had checked on her and given her something to eat. He could go about his day like nothing had happened. He didn''t have the time to do any of the husband or hubby whatever nonsense. "How is her highness?" Alvin asked when Harold met him at the training grounds. Harold looked at him, a little surprised that Alvin knew where he had gone to. But this was Alvin. He knew everything that was happening inside the pce. "She is sick," he said in a dismissive tone as he caught the sword Alvin threw at him. "She wants painting materials for her maid," he said uninterestedly as he wielded the sword, ready to spar with Alvin. "Oh... maids are not allowed to do those things," Alvin recalled. "So... how many materials should I provide for her?" He asked as he also got into position and wielded his sword. "Who said I was going to give her that? Do I look like her servant whom she can send on errands as she pleases?" Harold hissed in annoyance. Two hourster, Paulina was asked to clean a room with a lot of painting materials, some of which she had never seen before in her entire lifetime, since in the past she had to make do with whatever Madam Grace was kind enough to provide her with. She was assigned to clean the ce every evening by herself. Surprisingly, the ce was already clean. But she figured this was a great opportunity for her toplete her painting. She was very thankful to whatever deity had provided her with this opportunity. Chapter 53 Execution Long after Harold left, Alicia stood by the window staring outside. Two things were on her mind: how had Harold climbed through here without a rope, and secondly, why did he bring her food? It seemed to her like he cared about her even though he preferred to act like he didn''t, and she wondered why. Not only had he taken the window to get to her, but he had also hidden from the queen. It suddenly urred to her that he didn''t want anyone to see them living harmoniously. Why? With a sigh, she returned to her bed and looked at what he had brought her. It seemed like he had picked out her favourite snacks in the pcesince those were the things she always ate more often at the dining table. She noted, smiling unconsciously, that he had even noticed that little detail. Prince Harold wasn''t as cold-hearted and evil as everyone thought he was after all. There had to be a reason for whatever he did, and now it was making her curious. What made him live the way he did? She didn''t think he was happy. Thinking about it now, she wasn''t sure she had ever seen him smile orugh. Alicia sighed as she picked up another snack and ate it. After eating to her satisfaction, she put some away for Paulinaand returned to pretending to be ill while she kept thinking about Harold. After a moment, she sat up and shook her head as she pped her face with both hands, "Why am I thinking about Harold when I should be thinking about how to leave this ce? What is wrong with me?" She asked herself in rm as she raised a hand to feel her temperature. Maybe she was really ill after all. She nced at the door when someone knocked, and she quickly dove under the nket and shut her eyes. The door opened, and Paulina looked around tentatively to be sure that Harold had left, before shutting the door and running to the bed where Alicia was pretending to be asleep. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" She asked with concern, and Alicia rolled her eyes as she sat up. "Why are you always so dramatic?" Alicia asked, dryly. "Damatic?" Paulina asked, in confusion. Alicia waved it off dismissively. "Where did you go? Have you eaten?" She asked, and Paulina shook her head. "I was outside the door waiting, but went to hide when I saw the Queen approaching." Alicia reached out to where she had kept the remaining snacks and handed them to Paulina. "Here. Eat," she said, and Paulina eyed the food. "The Prince gave it to you?" She asked cautiously, and Alicia nodded. "Yes, don''t worry. You can eat it." Paulina remained quiet for a moment as she looked at the snacks, "He knows that you''re not sick, doesn''t he? Will he report you to the king?" She asked with concern. Alicia shook her head and said, "I don''t think he will do that.The Prince isn''t as bad as you all think he is," Alicia said with a small smile, which made Paulina''s brows pull together. "Was that why you told him that you grew up in the mountain?" Paulina asked, and this time it was Alicia''s brows that pulled together. She remembered him confronting her supposed father and the queen after their wedding about their giving him an exiled princess, but how did Paulina know about it? "I didn''t tell him that. How did you know that he knew that Amber grew up in the mountains?" She asked, and Paulina''s gaze shifted from her to look at her hands. The Prince had asked her not to say anything to her mistress about their conversation, but she didn''t feelfortable about keeping it away from her. Her loyalty was to her mistress, whether or not she feared Prince Harold. "He talked to me yesterday. He said I shouldn''t let you know about it, so you can''t let him know that I told you," Paulina pleaded fearfully. "He talked to you? When? About what?" Alicia wondered with a slight frown. "He was asking me questions about you," Paulina exined and went on to tell her all that prince Harold had asked her. "He knows that my name is Alicia?" Alicia asked in confusion, since she couldn''t remember ever calling herself by that name in his presence. Although Paulina still could not wrap her head around whoever this ''Alicia'' was, she nodded, "You didn''t tell him?" She asked in rm before raising her hands, afraid her mistress would me her. "I swear, I never mentioned it to him." Alicia''s gaze lingered on Paulina''s terrified face before she ced a hand on Paulina''s shoulder to stop her from freaking out. If Paulina said it wasn''t her, then it wasn''t her. But how did Harold find out about it? Only herself and Paulina knew about this. She didn''t bother to count Madam Grace because the woman never took her seriously and neither did she think the woman had the balls to tell Harold that. Had she said something in her sleep during their trip down here in the carriage? Just how much did Harold know? She wondered. "Go ahead and eat," Alicia ordered when she saw that Paulina had yet to touch the snacks, and stood up to pace the room while trying to figure out how Harold could have found out what he knew about her. ************ The roar of a bell caused Alicia to jolt in surprise. It wasn''t night yet. Probably around 6 p.m. When the bell rang again, she rushed to the window to see what was going on, with her heart in her hand. The first thought that came to her was that a war had broken out and she was going to get caught up in a fight that didn''t concern her. She almost sighed in relief when she looked outside and saw that everything was still peaceful. It didn''t seem like the pce was being invaded, even though she could see a lot of people moving to the left side of the pce. Since she could not tell what they were up to, she quickly put on her shoes and hurried out of her room, looking for any window by the side so she could see what the people were up to. Thankfully, she found one. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw a youngdy who was dressed like a peasant, kneeling on a wooden tform with her back to her. Her hands and ankles were tied behind her to prevent her from moving. She could see some of the people looking down at thedy with pitiful expressions, while the others had disdainful expressions on their faces. She craned her neck to see the members of the royal family, but their faces held no emotion. What could thedy have done to deserve such public punishment? Alicia wondered sadly as the loud criesing from the woman pierced her heart. Her gaze remained on thedy who somewhat seemed familiar to her, even though she was sure she didn''t know her. "YOU DECEIVED THE ENTIRE ROYAL FAMILY BY PRETENDING TO BE WHO YOU ARE NOT. FOR THAT, YOU HAVE BEEN CONDEMNED TO DEATH." A booming voice said beside the King, causing Alicia to panic when she realized what was going on. Thedywas going to be executed. Alicia looked at the young woman who was crying and pleading. Who was she? What did she do to deserve this? How had she deceived them? Alicia''s eyes widened in surprise when Harold stepped forward with a sword in hand. Harold was better than that. He wasn''t who they believed he was. Harold was kindhearted. "No." She tried to call out to him to not do it, but even though her lips moved, no sound came out. "Please..." She continued to shake her head without looking away from him, but his face did not reveal any emotion as he looked down at the person in front of him. Just as he raised his sword above his head, ready to swing it, thedy turned in Alicia''s direction with using eyes, and her eyes widened in surprise and a gasp escaped from her lips when she looked directly into her own face. Not Amber''s face, but hers. Alicia copsed on the floor when Harold''s sword descended. Her eyes opened at once, and she sat bolt upright on her bed, panting hard as her heart raced. It was only a nightmare! A nightmare! Alicia thought as she quickly rolled off the bed, which was soaked with her sweat. She had no idea when she had slept off, but she had been pretending to be asleep when Susan and Tyra came to check in on her earlier. She had expected them to leave once they saw that she was asleep, but they remained there, and then she dozed off. Whatever that dream was, she knew one thing for sure. She needed to leave this ce as soon as possible. She couldn''t let down her guard for a second, whether or not Harold was being nice. For all she knew, he could be acting nice because he was trying to find out the truth about her. She could tell that it was already nighttime since everywhere was quiet. She walked over to the window to see if there was any sign of life outside and also to make new ns to save her life before something bad happens. Chapter 54 Night Guards Alicia had been told countless times that as soon as the curfew began, everyone was supposed to remain in their rooms with their lights out, so she didn''t think there was any trouble looking out the window. After such a nightmare, all she wanted was fresh air, and sitting inside the darkroom was not going to help her achieve that or think properly. So, she opened the curtains and looked out the window. A few torches were burning, but no one was in sight. Even the sounds of animals chirping or running around could not be heard. The silence made her ufortable, but she remained there, lost in her thoughts and wondering what awaited her if she didn''t leave as soon as possible. She saw something move outside, but it disappeared before she could take note of what it was. Breaking out of her reverie, she decided to observe the environment closely and noticed something moving again. Her hands instantly flew to cover her mouth and she drew back at once when she saw something that looked like a very big wild animal. With her heart beating fast, she tried to catch her breath, scared out of her mind as she wondered what that was and why it was here. A thought suddenly urred to her that made her even more scared. Why weren''t the guards in sight? Is it possible that the wild animal killed them and is now looking for a way into the pce? ''Oh, God! I do not want to die here!'' She prayed and considered what to do next. Leave the room and go inform the others about what was happening? Stay here quietly and pretend to not exist so they won''t find her? She wished there was a phone here. She would have called Harold or someone. Shaking from fear, she slowly approached the window again and peeked. She saw nothing but didn''t give up as her eyes also scanned around the room for a weapon. It didn''t take long before another animal came into full view beside a burning torch. What animals were these? Dogs? Alicia wondered as she moved closer to the window once again to get a better look at the animals. Another thought seemed to ur to her. Was this the reason for the curfews? Were these big dogs their security guards? This had to be the reason since Beth had said anyone who stepped outside after the third sound of the bell would die, even if they were royal. Where did the animalse from? Howe she had never heard of them nor seen them? Why did they keep such dangerous animals? Alicia wondered as she looked at the animals, which looked like big dogs. No. They were wolves, not dogs. It seemed like there were lots of wolves in this era. This suddenly reminded her of the animal she had rescued in the mountains that night. She briefly wondered how that wolf was doing as she involuntarily reached for her arm where the wolf had hurt her. Just as she stood there looking out, one of the wolves looked in her direction, making her heart skip a beat as she quickly drew the curtains together in fear before running to her bed and covering her entire body with the quilt. She prayed that the wolf, or whatever it was out there, would note up to her room to hurt her. At least now she knew for a fact that trying to run off at night was dangerous. She also reasoned that pretending to be sick would not change anything concerning those boring sses; instead, she was only prolonging them. She couldn''t keep pretending to be ill. She needed to find a way out. She sat up abruptly when an idea suddenly urred to her, and she rubbed her hands together gleefully as her lips curved into a smile and her eyes gleamed with mischief. She was going to try this out and see if it would work. Now that she hade up with something, she tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn''t, especially after seeing those scary-looking wolves patrolling the area and even making eye contact with one. She wished she could put on thentern. Maybe if she hadn''t seen those animals, she would have taken the risk and done just that, but now that she had seen them, she couldn''t even bring herself to leave the bed. What if the light attracted the animals the same way sound attracted zombies? After turning and tossing for the whole night, she was able to get some sleep, but it didn''tst long before a knock was heard on the door and Paulina walked in. It was already morning. And Alicia wasn''t surprised when Paulina began to fuss over the shadows under her eyes. But the thought of setting her n in motion today and eventually leaving this ce put her in a happy mood. "Did something good happen?" Paulina asked with a slight frown, wondering why she looked so happy. "Something good might happen soon," Alicia said with a smile as she walked over to the window and opened the curtains so that she could look outside. She noticed that the guards were back in ce and that no animal was in sight. It confirmed her suspicion that those animals served as some sort of security guard at night. She wondered where they kept such animals during the day and how they were fed. "Did you know that wild animals guard the pce at night? " Alicia asked Paulina in a low voice, and Paulina''s face whitened as she remembered her experience. She nodded, "How did... you know? Did you try to run off at night?" She asked, and Alicia was surprised that Paulina knew this piece of information and kept it from her. "I saw them through the windowst night. How did you know?" Alicia asked curiously and listened with wide eyes as Paulina narrated her experience to her. She was even surprised that those animals were already out after the second bell. So if they didn''t do anything to whoever had saved her, did that mean the animals were trained to differentiate between people? Thinking about it made her head ache. "That must have been very frightening. Do you know who the person is that saved you? Was it Harold''s man?" Alicia asked curiously, but Paulina shook her head. "I think he is a member of the royal family. I''ve seen him with Princess Tyra and Lady Susan," Paulina said, and Alicia narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out who it was. "Oh! It must have been Williams! Susan''s twin brother," Alicia said,and Paulina almost sighed in relief on hearing that he was Susan''s twin brother. No wonder they looked so much alike. She had been scared that some misunderstanding might happen if Susan or Princess Tyra was his betrothedand found out how he had saved her life. If she had known, she would have thanked him better when they met. The door was suddenly pushed open from outside, and Beth walked in with a re in her eyeslike she was expecting to catch Alicia or something. "Good morning, Betty Beth," Alicia greeted with a cheerful smile as she stood up."The medicine and rest worked like magic. I woke up feeling so healthy," Alicia said as she stretched her arms dramatically. Beth said nothing as she eyed Alicia with annoyance and disapproval. It was as though her hatred for Alicia grew with each passing day. She was even more pissed at her after her confrontation with Prince Harold yesterday. Not only had he scolded and threatened her because of this thing, but he also didn''t do anything or punish her for lying about being ill to everyone. She wished she could identally strangle the little girl to death and not be med for it. "Why are you just standing there? Pick out my clothes while I go shower," Alicia said, smiling sweetly at her before she said her goodbye to Paulina, who scurried away. Paulina could not understand how her mistress seemed to be immune to Beth. Beth was scary, and one re from her made her feel like copsing. Meanwhile, an exhausted Harold was getting ready for breakfast in his chamber and couldn''t stop thinking aboutst night. Even if she hadn''t seen him, he had seen her, and his wolf''s sharp eyesight had helped him see how scared she looked. Why couldn''t she just behave like other normal humans and stay put whenever she was told to stay put? He guessed this time, she was going to be ill for real and skip breakfast after what she had seenst night. He absent-mindedly arrived at the dining hall and was taken by surprise when he saw that his bride was already seated there. She had a serious look on her face and didn''t even acknowledge him when he sat down beside her, which made him pissed, and he also began to wonder what she was probably thinking about with such a serious look on her face. He knew one thing for sure, that whatever she was thinking about was not good. Chapter 55 New Plan. Again! Alicia stood up with the others when the king entered, and just like the previous morning, she was well behaved, making the others look at her as they wondered whether she was still ill. "How do you feel today?" The Queen asked, watching Alicia with concern as she ate absentmindedly. Lost in thought, Alicia had no idea that she was being spoken to until Harold nudged her side while keeping a straight face. She turned to look at Harold, raising a questioning eyebrow, but turned to look at the queen when she repeated her question. "How do you feel? If you were still sick, you shouldn''t havee here. The servants could have served your breakfast in your chamber," the queen pointed out. Alicia tried to organize her thoughts. She needed to find a good way to start before presenting her request to the King and Queen. Remembering the historical dramas she had spent her time binge-watching, she stood up, ced her hands in front of her and bowed to the Queen, saying, "Your grace is immeasurable, my Queen," The others at the table watched her in silence as they wondered what was happening. "However, I didn''t want to worry any of you and had toe here today. Besides, I missed being here." Harold almost snorted at how she was sounding, but he kept a straight face, wondering what she was up to this time. Meanwhile, Beth, who was keeping watch with other maids in a corner, could feel her blood boiling. If rage made people burst, she would have exploded already. How dare she lie to everyone so brazenly? "Do not be silly. Sit down," the queen ordered softly, "Your health is important. You should rest." Alicia sat down gracefully and forced out a smile. She was about to say something when Prince Ivan beat her to it and spoke first. "You must miss your kingdom," he said, smiling. She smiled sadly and nodded. She wished she could give this prince a big hug for making her job easier. "True. However, I belong to this kingdom now. This is my home and nothing is more important than being here with the rest of my family having breakfast," Alicia said as her eyes moved around the table. Harold could not hide his smirk. He was surely going to award her the best actress and liar in town. She was simply exceptional. Beth felt like if she didn''t leave there, she was going to lose it and pull the princess by the hair, demanding for her to tell the truth and stop lying. She had never seen a two-faced witch who was so good at it before until now. "But..." Alicia said, causing everyone to pay attention, especially Harold. He knew whatever she was going to say was the reason she had been behaving this way. "It''s too stuffy inside the pce," "Stuffy?" The Queen asked, confused. "Yes, my Queen." She nodded while keeping a pitiful look on her face, saying, "I am used to strolling around and not being confined within a wall. Back in my kingdom, the members of the royal family are allowed to look around the city, join the citizens during festivals, and learn how they live and the kinds of foods they eat. We also participate in games outside the pce. It doesn''t only refresh the mind and soul, but it strengthens the bond in the family and brings the royals closer to the people," she said passionately. "Unfortunately, I haven''t gotten the chance to do that since I came here. And my entire body still aches from the journey down here. At this rate... I fear I might break down in health again," she concluded with a dramatic sob. Everyone around the table exchanged nervous looks, especially the queen, who knew how much the king hated the moon kingdom beingpared to other kingdoms. Aside from that, the royal family didn''t leave the pce. They had people who gave them whatever information they needed about the citizens. And games? What sort of joke was that? Everything finally made sense to Harold. That was her new n to run away. Unfortunately, she was wishing for too much, because there was no way the King was going to let her leave the pce walls. It was too dangerous out there since most of the poption were werewolves, and not only was she a girl, she was also a human, so how could the king permit her to¡ª "If that is the case... you can do it.," the King said, shocking everyone, especially Alicia, who hadn''t expected him to easily buy her act or agree to it. "Really?" She asked him with wide, surprised eyes. Was it usually this easy to fool these people? "Yes. If it makes you feel better, you should do what you are used to. Go out and look around the city." ''NO! SHE IS GOING TO RUN AWAY!'' Harold''s wolf yelled, ringing warning bells in his head. ''I thought you didn''t like her?'' Harold reminded his wolf dryly.'' ''That doesn''t mean we should let her run away, does it?'' his wold fired back. ''You are just a confused animal.'' Alicia tried very hard to hide the smile forming on her face, but it was proving difficult and she feared that it was going to give her away, but the next thing the king said made the blooming smile vanish immediately. "Your husband will apany you." What? NO! There was no way she could let Harold go with her. He already knew too much about her, and she had no idea how he knew all that he knew. She turned to look at Harold, and shook her head, signalling to him to turn down the King''s suggestion, but Harold simply stared back at her without saying a word. Alicia turned to the king, "I don''t want to disturb my darling husband. I''m sure he has a lot to do with his time," Alicia said with a smile. "Don''t be silly. Your husband has to show you around. Although I doubt he knows his way around," the queen said lightly. Happy to finally see a way to frustrate Harold by making sure he was stuck with his wife. "Then I have to ensure she RETURN to the pce safely," Harold said, causing Alicia to frown. "It is settled then. Prince Harold would apany you," the King said, and the queen exchanged a look with Ivan. "Can I go with them?" Tyra risked asking without looking directly at either the King or the Queen. "We would also love to go with them," Susan said on behalf of her and her twin brother, and Alicia almost cried in frustration. More people on the outing also means more people to run away from or hide from. It was going to be difficult enough to run away from Harold, but adding these busybody royals to it was going to be troublesome. She paused when something else urred to her. Maybe it was best if she didn''t go with just Harold. That way, he would have someone else to focus on and distract him, and she could run away while he wasn''t watching. Either way, this was still better than nothing. She was going to find a way to make it work. "It is not safe for you all to leave the pce at the same time. We should just allow Prince Harold to go out with his bride and have some nice time alone," the Queen suggested, looking from Susan to Tyra, whose face fell. "Yes, I agree with her majesty. You should let the couple have some time to themselves. Who knows? This might be what they need to get along with each other," Ivan suggested with a smile. The King nodded, "The two of you can go together," the king said. ''CAN YOU ALL JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY!?'' Alicia screamed in her head but tried to keep a smile on her face as she rose from her seat and bowed to the King, "Thank you for your immeasurable kindness," she said, before turning to bow to the queen. To everyone''s surprise, Harold didn''t hurry away immediately after the King left, as he usually did. Instead, he stayed put as he waited for Alicia to finish eating. "What? You''re not going?" Alicia asked when he just sat there doing nothing. "I''m waiting for you. We should n our little trip," Harold suggested, and Ivan, who was listening to them, smiled when he heard Harold''s uninterested tone, as he stood up and excused himself from the table, and his wife followed him. Tyra, Susan, and Williams, who were done with their meals, remained seateduntil Harold turned to them, "If you''re done with your meal, you can leave." He ordered, and all three of them quickly stood up and left. He turned towards Beth and the maids, and they all excused them too, leaving Alicia alone with him. Alicia sighed as she dropped her cutlery, "Okay. I''m done. Why do you want toe with me? I''m sure you have better things to do with your time," Alicia asked curiously. "It''s good to know that you''re no longer pretending to be ill. What are you nning to do now?" Harold asked as he watched her. "I want to look around the city. Why?" Alicia asked with a sweet smile. "Remember what I told you the other day?" Harold asked, and Alicia''s brows pulled together. "You''ve said a lot of things. Which of them are you talking about?" "I may not have exposed your lies, but if you are caught running away, the penalty is death. So think twice before abusing the king''s kindness. It''s an unforgivable sin." Chapter 56 "Try To Breathe." Not having anything to do at that moment, Paulina snuck over to the painting room she had been assigned to clean every evening. Seeing as there was no one there, she walked over to the end of the room where she could easily hide if someone was toe in, and she brought out the folded drawing paper of her iplete drawing and spread it over the t surface of a board as she sat down on the floor. She ran her hands over the paper to smoothen the creases on it while she looked at the spot where she had arranged the paints and brushes, trying to figure out which she could use without being discovered since she didn''t know who really owned the items in the room. After a moment, she stood upand walked over to the ce. She picked the items that looked worn and likely to be thrown out, and then returned them to the spot where she had chosen to do her drawing. She sat down, and soon she began to paint. As Paulina painted, she thought of Princess Amber''s mother, and she paused when a frown creased her brows. Would thete queen have wanted Amber to escape from this ce, even though it might cost her life? She had stylishly asked one of the servants who had started to be a little friendly with her why there were no city walls and if ves wouldn''t easily escape from the kingdom. The maid scoffed as she told her that no one ever escaped from the kingdom unless they were exiled. If anyone was caught trying to escape, they were brought before the king and executed to serve as awarning to the others. She wasn''t sure if this was how thete Queen would have wanted her to serve Princess Amber. Maybe what she could do was try to understand the kingdom better and why they operated the way they did, and then they would adjust. It wasn''t like they had any ce to escape to. Even if she managed to escape from here without being caught, Amber''s father would be livid when he found out about it, and he wouldn''t mind executing her either if he found her. This was the safest ce for her, especially seeing as Prince Harold was watching over her. Princess Amber even seemed to trust Prince Harold. Perhaps she should just try to convince her mistress to desist from trying to escape and try to live with her husband? Paulina''s head snapped up when she heard a sound, and her eyes shot to the door. Someone was standing behind the door talking to someone else. Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the knob turning, and she quickly gathered her painting items together as silently as she could and pushed them under the table nearest to her. She found herself a ce to hide behind somepleted paintings that had been covered with clothes. Once the door was opened, she held her breath and tried to stay as still as she could. "Let''s do whatever you want to doter. I don''t want to be distracted right now," Williams said as he blocked the doorway so that Susan wouldn''te in. "But I''m bored. Come on, why do you always stay here alone anyway?" Susan asked as she walked in with William. "Go to Princess Tyra," Williams suggested. "She is busy reading one of those boring books she is always carrying around with her," Susanined. "Then maybe you should read one too, or find something else to do. Just make sure you don''t cause trouble or get into one," Williams warned as he shut the door in her face. Even though Paulina had guessed he was approaching her direction, she still yelped in surprise when he suddenly stopped directly in front of where she had been hiding and looked down at her with an unreadable gaze. Imagine the embarrassment of being caught like this. William ced his index finger on his lip, silently asking her to keep quiet as he looked at the door. She stayed mute immediately, not knowing what could happen this time. The first thing Williams had noticed when he opened the door was a very faint scent that he was familiar with, even before he heard her heartbeat. If he hadn''t heard the heartbeat, he would have assumed that the scent was probably residue from when she went in to clean the ce. The same smell had lingered yesterday when he arrived, even though she had not been in. He wondered why the smell mask wasn''tpletely sealing it off. Or was it because he was sensitive to smell that he could still tell where she had been? He had asked Susan to leave not because he was trying to hide the human from her, but because he really wanted to be left alone, and he also knew that the human might not talk to him like thest time because of Susan''s presence. He wanted to know what she was doing inside there when it wasn''t time for her to clean the ce. After about two minutes had passed, he extended his hand at her without saying a word. She looked at his hand, confused about why he was giving her his hand, before she looked up at his face. "Save yourself from leg cramps," he said before taking her hand and pulling her out of her hiding spot gently. He was extremely careful this time so as not to hurt her. "What are you doing here?" He asked Paulina, who looked like she was ready to flee. "Clean," she squeaked out as she kept looking at the door. Maybe if he hadn''t caught her doing something wrong, she wouldn''t have been this scared and thinking about how to fly from here or even disappear. He looked around, as if searching for something, before he said, "If you want to keep sneaking in here, you should at least have a backup n. There are no cleaning materials anywhere," he pointed out. Having run out of lies to tell, she looked down guiltily. "I''m sorry, your highness," "What do you do here?" She was hesitant to tell him the truth because she didn''t know how he was going to react to that. But he had saved her once, or maybe twice, since he had asked her to run that night and also protected her from whatever wild animal was outside and seemed to recognize him. Also, if he wanted to tell on her, he would have dragged her out by now. "P-Painting..." She stammered. "Oh... you paint?" He seemed intrigued as he sat down on a high stool directly in front of a wooden board with a thick unrolled scroll used for painting. Paulina looked at it with envy, wishing she could paint on something like that. She nodded while looking down. "Can I see?" She was hesitant again, but went to retrieve the paper from where she had hidden it and handed it to him with shaking hands. He took it from her and carefully unfolded it, looking at the piece like a judge ready to pass judgment. She waited with bated breath, wondering whatment he was going to make on it. She guessed he must have seen a lot better paintings than hers. "Who is she?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Mdy''s... mother," she stammered. "She is pretty," hemented as he kept looking at the painting. "I''d like to see it when it''spleted." "Really?" She asked, pleasantly surprised that he seemed interested in her painting. "Yes. How long ago did you start?" He asked. "A long time. But... I forgot toplete it and only found it when we were moving back here," she lied.There was no way she was going to tell the truth without telling him about how they lived in the mountains. He nodded at her exnation and handed the paper back to her. He had to admit that she was very talented and maybe even better than him. "What do you intend to do with it now?" He asked, looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze that made her ufortable and fearful. Everyone in this pce was scary, and even if he was nice, she could not help but feel scared. "To... gggive it to¡ª" "Rx."He cut her off calmly. "Try to breathe." Paulina didn''t realize she was about to have a panic attack until he asked her to breathe, and she did just that, inhaling and exhaling deeply. "How old are you?" He asked, sizing her up. If he were to guess her age, he would say she was 16. She looked small and fragile. But her answer surprised him. She was neen. Which meant she was even older than him by a year, yet he was at least twice her size. "I will arrange for you to apany me whenever Ie here. That way, you canplete your painting," he said as he stood up and began to head for the door. Chapter 57 Big Wild Dogs Alicia didn''t cause any more trouble for the rest of the day. Since the King had permitted her to leave the pce walls, she tried to be on her best behavior for the rest of the day. Harold had insisted they leave the next day, and when she decided against it, he told her that it was for her own good and that she would love to see the kingdom on the 7th day of the week since that was when the markets fully opened and the town would be bubbly. She decided to believe him since she didn''t have any choice, even though she wasn''t actually looking at the kingdom. All she wanted was to find the best way to run. And to do that, she needed Paulina toe with her, and she also needed a horse. She didn''t want to take a carriage. How was she going to run away with an entire carriage? She was happy that something was finally going to work out, so she attended her sses for the day and listened to Beth''s boring lecture for hours. She even willingly practiced the body postures and gestures Beth taught them, which made both Beth and Susan confused. But she didn''t care about their confused looks because today was thest time they were going to see her. The least she could do was be obedient and make this ss less longer than it already was. So when she returned to her room, or chamber, as they called it here, she packed up a few things, the type that wouldn''t make anyone suspicious. She hadn''t bothered to take any dresses because even one of these heavy dresses was going to give her away no matter how hard she tried to hide it. She wasn''t sure how long they were going to be out for, but she doubted they would be able to spend the night outside the pce. So she was just going to monitor him until he let down his guard and then she would slip off. But she seemed to be missing a vital point. This was Harold she was talking about. Harold never let his guard down, especially when it involved his naughty bride, who always thought of an escape n every second. That evening, she was also well behaved during dinner but didn''t forget to mention to the king that she would be leaving the pce with Harold the next day, just in case he had forgotten. "You already have my permission," the King said calmly, making some people around the table jealous, especially Luciana. She didn''t know what was so special about her that the king seemed to treat her better than anyone else and even went as far as permitting her to leave the pce when she had never stepped into the city since she was married here. The only times she left here were during hunting games strictly reserved for werewolves and also during the full-moon. "I... didn''t want to mention this earlier... but I am just curious and just cannot stop thinking about it," Alicia said while facing the king, causing all eyes to turn to look at her. ''Oh no! What did she think about this time?'' His wolf cried out. Harold had the same reaction with his wolf, wondering what she was suddenly so curious about. "What do you feed those dogs? And how did you train them to know the time to discriminate between royals and other people and the time to just rip everyone apart?" She asked with wide, curious eyes. Already imagining giving her dog, Ruby, some sses so she would stop being azy pet and take up night duties, guarding her apartment from intruders, especially those nosy paparazzi and reporters. Everyone was confused about what she was talking about. What dogs? She seemed to read the atmosphere and the look on the King''s face as she exined further to make him understand and was hoping she wasn''t lighting a candle for herself. "Last night... big wild dogs were roaming the area. I saw them from my window," she said, as if giving them a piece of fresh gossip. She had thought about it, and maybe those weren''t wolves. They were probably a different breed of dog than she was used to. It would be very weird for them to guard the pce with wolves. ''She... just called us dogs. Big. Wild. Dogs,'' Harold''s wolf voiced out the same thing in the minds of everyone around the table. One thing these wolves hated was beingpared to dogs, but oblivious Alicia continued. "At first, I thought they were wild animals from the mountains that found their way into the pce and killed all the guards, but then I thought against it and it all made sense that they were the night security. They were really big!" Now they were wild animals. Just great! "Those weren''t dogs," Harold said, gritting his teeth, which caused her to frown at him. "Are you saying I''m blind then? Those were definitely dogs!" She said confidently. Although Ivan and Luciana were equally upset that she was referring to them as dogs, seeing how upset this made Harold, they rxed. All eyes turned to the King, who was looking at both Harold and Alicia, and they could all tell that, as usual, the King didn''t like what Alicia had said. Luciana was very pleased with this. "I''m sorry, father, I will handle this," Harold said with a bow before looking at Alicia with cold eyes, "You had better keep your mouth shut and eat silently," Harold warned. "How am I supposed to eat with my mouth shut?" Alicia asked with a roll of her eyes. "I only asked a question, I wonder why you''re upset," Alicia muttered under her breath. She was d that she would be out of here by tomorrow and wouldn''t have to face these people anymore. "Keep quiet and eat," Harold ordered between clenched teeth. After that nobody said a word until both the King and Queen left. "You still have a long way to go with your bride," Ivan said with a tsk before leaving the table with his wife. Harold turned to re at Alicia. Before their marriage, he had always kept to himself. He only came to the dining room to eat, after which he would leave without saying a word to anyone unless he was spoken to by the king. But since his bride arrived, he had be talkative. "Henceforth you must not speak while we are here unless you''re spoken to. If you have any questions, you can ask me in private," Harold ordered before standing up and walking away. Once he left, Alicia turned to Tyra, Susan, and Williams, who was still seated, "Did I say something wrong?" Tyra looked at Susan, not knowing what to say, so Susan cleared her throat, "Well, the thing is that those weren''t dogs. They''re wolves, and the King is very fond of them. He doesn''t like people referring to them as dogs. It is insulting," Susan exined the best way she could. There was no way she could let Alicia know that those were werewolves. It wasn''t her ce to do that. "Oh, so they were really wolves as I thought initially! Someone should have just said so. The King must have been upset," she said with a slight frown, even though she could not tell why he was upset. And also... those werewolves! The panic set in, but she tried to hide it. "Yes, he was." "I will just apologize to him during breakfast tomorrow then. Thank you for letting me know," Alicia said with a small smile before turning her attention to Williams. She remembered what Paulina had said about being saved by him. She was yet to thank him for it. "Thank you very much for saving Paulina," she said, looking directly at him, and Tyra looked at them curiously since she didn''t know what Alicia was talking about. "Did something happen to Paulina?" Tyra asked curiously. "Thanks to Williams, nothing happened to her," Alicia said with a small smile, and Williams simply gave her a nod without saying anything. He wondered if she was referring to that night or what had happened earlier that day at the painting room. "I need to go and get ready for tomorrow. It''s going to be a long day," Alicia said excitedly as she stood up and left, after bidding them good night. Once she got to her bedroom, Paulina was already there waiting for her. "Perfect! Let''s talk," Alicia said as she went to sit on her bed and patted the space beside her for Paulina to join her. Paulina looked at her mistress curiously as she went to sit beside her. She had been wondering why the Princess had been in high spirit all day. "I finally found a way to get us out of here," Alicia said excitedly. "What way?" Paulina asked with a concerned frown. She had been trying toe up with the best way to dissuade her from escaping. "Tomorrow we are leaving the pce!" Alicia eximed, pping her hands happily, "Get whatever you need and make sure you''re in this room tomorrow morning before I go join Harold outside," Alicia said with a happy smile, and then paused when she noticed that Paulina didn''t seem as excited as she had expected her to be. "Why are you not happy?" "I don''t think we should run away. It is not a good idea," Paulina said with a shake of her head. "What? What happened to you doing whatever I want? You have changed your mind already?" Alicia asked with disapproval. "I need to protect you, mdy, and I don''t think you will be safe if we run away." Chapter 58 Pretty White Hellion The royal family or probably everyone in the pce skipped breakfast on thest day of the week, so Alicia was not asked to get ready for breakfast, taking her time to get everything she needed for her escape. Something kept bothering her, and that was Paulina''s sudden reluctance to leave. How could Paulina just change her mind that way? Why was the maid trying to ruin her ns? What was making her want to stay back in this kingdom? She wasn''t going to stay back in this kingdom nor in this era for any reason, not even for Paulina''s sake. Good for Paulina that she loved being in the Moon Kingdom. Maybe she would just leave without her if she didn''t find her waiting in her bedroom as instructed. Alicia let out a sigh. She had arranged everything she needed and didn''t want to take chances this time, so she went to look for Harold. She didn''t want what had happened thest time they nned eating lunch together to happen again. Thankfully, she didn''t go too far before she bumped into him in an empty hallway. "Are you ready to leave?" He asked when they met. Her face lit up immediately, seeing that he was keeping to his word this time. "I will make a quick stop at my chamber before we leave. I will join you outside," Alicia informed him before she turned and literally ran back to her bedroom before he would change his mind. Harold watched her as she walked away, and he didn''t know what to expect. Good enough, he had asked Alvin to follow them from a distance without Alicia''s knowledge. Even if she managed to trick him, which he doubted was possible, she would never be able to trick Alvin. Once Alicia walked into her bedroom, she felt a stab of disappointment and anger when she didn''t see Paulina waiting for her. She had been making ns for the two of them to escape, yet Paulina ditched her? Did she know what was going to happen to her without her here to protect her? What if the royal family took their anger out on Paulina after she sessfully escaped? Or what if Paulina was threatened to tell the truth and was forced to show them the vige since Paulina knew that was where she was going to head to? She was not going to let that little girl ruin her ns. If the girl didn''t care about herself, she would have had to protect her for the sake of Amber, whose body she was upying. She picked up a tiny bottle of sleeping medicine, which she had requested from the physician when he came to check on her, and then poured it into a gourd containing drinking water. She was about to go search for Paulina wherever she was before she heard a soft knock on the door that made her jolt, but when the door opened, she smiled in relief when she saw Paulina standing there, panting. "I''m... sorry... mdy... I... I had to get snacks for you," she said breathlessly before raising a bag she was carrying. Alicia was touched and embraced her tightly. "Thank you foring," she said with a lot of emotion that caused her eyes to water. She was relieved that Paulina hadn''t decided to ditch her and had even risked getting snacks for her. Amber must have been loved by whatever deity they worshipped here to have such a loyal friend. "Did you take everything you need?" Alicia asked as she pulled away from the hug. ,m Paulina nodded, even though she was only holding a bag with the snacks and another small pouch. Alicia didn''t press her. She believed they were going to survive one way or the other. While Alicia was plotting her escape, another person''s ns were opposed to hers. For example, Alicia had hoped they would use horses, and even though she wasn''t an expert at riding one, she had practiced during a historical drama she starred in. The horse had been so friendly and had made her job easier. Paulina had said she didn''t know how to ride a horse, which was expected since they had all been living in the mountains away from ''civilization''. If Paulina didn''t get the hang of riding a horse, the girl was going to ride with her. Just a simple, perfect n. So imagine the look on her face when she saw Harold standing beside a carriage. "NO FUCKING WAY!" She yelled, startling everybody around her, who looked at her in horror before remembering that Harold was still there and scurrying away. It was even rare for men to say such words, so it was strange to hear a woman, who was supposed to be pure, elegant, and innocent, yellout, even in front of her husband, who didn''t seem to mind. He already knew she had a foul mouth and always swore, so what was the point of correcting her every time? "I am not going to use a carriage!" She said stubbornly. Paulina wanted to tug on her sleeve to plead with her to calm down, but she was scared of making a move with Harold in front of them. "Get in," Harold said in a dismissive tone, letting her know this was final. "NO!" She said stubbornly. "I said I needed fresh air! Fresh air! I don''t want to be confined to that thing!" She said, pointing at the carriage. "Besides, it''s not going to fit the three of us." She said, pointing at Paulina. Harold could not help theugh that escaped his lips before he looked at her tauntingly, saying, "She is not going with us." Paulina snapped her head to look at Alicia, who was staring at Harold in disbelief. Harold had to admit that she was not very smart. Or maybe he was the only one who could see through her ns. If she hadn''t brought Paulina with her, he would have doubted her ns to run away. Plus, they both had bags on them, one of which emanated a nice smell of baked snacks. Thatugh from Harold burned her. It was as if he was mocking her ns to run away. It made her very pissed. She would have long left here if he wasn''t always on her neck. What did she do to deserve this? "This doesn''t make any sense. Why are you doing this?" She asked, trying not to sound defeated. "Paulina," Harold called the frightened girl in a calm tone, but her body shook and her head snapped up immediately to meet his eyes. "Go get busy. Your mistress and I are leaving together. Alone." She spared Alicia a nervous nce before handing her the two little bags. Alicia was about to stop her, but Paulina gave her a look she could interpret as ''Good luck'' and ''Farewell'' before she ran away. "Shit!" She swore quietly before turning to re at Harold. How could he ruin her ns like this? And the worst part is, the bastard had a smug look on his face. Harold instructed a guard to return the carriage and get a horse instead, while Alicia was fuming and ring at him, not paying attention to what he was saying. But when she saw the carriage leaving, she guessed he was at least going to grant one wish of hers but does it matter now? How could her conscience let her leave Paulina behind? Who cares about looking aroundthe stupid city? Was it Dubai? Should she leave without Paulina? The question would have been, "Can she escape under Harold''s watch?" But well... she seemed pretty confident, so we''ll see. "Where are the other horses?" She asked curiously when she saw only one horse. If she was going to escape, then she needed a horse to go far. If this was Harold''s horse, there was no way she could steal it since there was every likelihood that the horse would have been trained by Harold to obey only hismands. Harold was just that sort of person. "We don''t need other horses. You''ll ride with me," he said as he held out his hands for her to get on the horse. "I WON''T!" She yelled again. "Do you get off from pissing me off? You want me to ride with you?" "Can you ride a horse?" He asked, not taking offense by how rude she sounded. She was pissed, and it was as obvious as day. "Why won''t I be able to?" She huffed. Harold wanted to ask her how she managed to ride one considering where she grew up, but he didn''t ask. Since she was being stubborn, he was only going to teach her a lesson. "Bring Hellion," he said to the one in charge of the horses, who looked a bit confused before he bowed and left in a hurry. There was no way he was going to argue with Harold. He left and returnedter with a white hairy horse that looked gentle and pretty. Even Alicia was amazed. "He is the only horse without an owner. If you can get him to like you, he is yours." She humped. She was Alicia Queen. Taming a horse was a small job for her. Besides, the horse looked very friendly. Or so she thought. Chapter 59 The Proper Way To Address Ones Husband "You promised, right? If I can handle this horse, it''s going to be mine." Alicia looked at him seriously, hoping he was not going to go back on his word. She had already imagined how this horse would belong to her and make her escape n easy. By the time she returns to her real life, this would be a gift for Amber. She could not trust any other horse in this pce. Harold nodded while the guards around her were already lighting mental candles for herand praying that she would rest in peace. Hellion was named Hellion for a reason. Although she looked very attractive to the eyes, she was yet to be broken. She was wild and stubborn. "Fine," she said with a smug smile, "I don''t have any trouble taming such a horse." She tried to touch the horse''s coat, believing it would make Hellion love her like it usually happened in the movies, but she heard Harold clear his throat before saying, "I''d advise you to refrain from touching her." She huffed at him. "Without touching, how am I supposed to ride?" She asked before turning to face Hellion, thinking of the best way to mount the tall animal without Harold''s help. She had to get used to it if she was going to run away with the horse. "You need help?" Harold asked from the side. "Sorry to burst your bubbles, dear prince, but I can take very good care of myself without your help. Thank you very much," she said haughtily before carefully keeping her bags on the extended part of the saddle at the side of Hellion,thatwas just standing there, looking bored. And then she mounted. She had yet to straddle the horse before Hellion began to shake her off violently. Alicia didn''t want to lose face, so she held tightly onto the animal and kept trying to throw her leg over it to the other side, but she couldn''t get that done because of how wildly the animal was shaking her off. As if that wasn''t enough, Hellion began to run around in circles, sending her heart rate into overdrive as she felt she was going to fall off the horse any second and get stomped by the animal. "Har¡ªHarold!" She yelled desperately. The help she was calling for stood there with his hands across his chest as he watched the interesting show. Hellion kept neighing and braying as he ran around, trying to get her off of her, but she was holding on tightly to Hellion''s neck now. "HAROLD!!!!" "What? You said you didn''t need my help and you can take a horse just fine," he reminded her while touching his nose. "YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE! YOU! IF... IF I LAY MY HANDS ON YOU... YOU ARE GOING TO REGRET MESSING WITH¡ª HAROLD!!!" She yelled fearfully when she almost slipped, making Harold snort. She was the only one who could still be running her mouth this way while her life was in danger. Meanwhile, most members of the royal family had already heard about how Harold asked for Hellion and were watching the show in amusement from the windows. "Shouldn''t he help her?" Williams asked with concern, despite his amusement. "He probably wanted her to die this way so that he wouldn''t be used of murdering his bride," Susan said with a giggle as they watched the scene. "He is going to help her," Tyra said, but in an uncertain tone since one could never be too sure where Harold was concerned. Harold got on his horse but didn''t make any move as he watched in amusement as she kept cursing and yelling at him to save her. Was there ever a time when she was humble? "MY HANDS ARE GETTING TIRED! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING JUST WATCHING? AREN''T YOU SUPPOSED TO BE MY HUSBAND?" She yelled breathlessly as Hellion passed by him. ''Do you want to kill her?'' His wolf asked in concern, but Harold ignored it. "Maybe I will save you if you address me correctly," he bargained, wanting to see just how stubborn she was, and how far she was willing to go for her pride. Alicia swallowed nervously. This was not the time to be proud, so she called him Prince Harold, and even Your Highness, hoping he woulde to her rescue. He shook his head. "That is not the proper way to address your husband." She racked her brain for a while trying to figure out what he meant by the proper way to address her husband, and even though she couldn''t see his face, she knew that he was enjoying himself at her expense, so she began to throw curses at him again. "Do you think he is going to save her?" Luciana asked her husband curiously. "He will. He is just trying to tame her," Ivan said as he watched his half-brother. He really hoped this was going to be thest time he would see him. "You want me to call you my lord? Are you kidding me right¡ª Ahhhh! MY LORD! MY LORD, MY LORD, MY LORD." She wailed when the only leg keeping her in bnce slipped off and she was now hanging loosely on the horse with only her hands still gripping tightly to the horse''s mane. At this rate, she was going to fall and die like this. Getting killed by a horse. That was a nightmare. It wasn''t how she nned to die. "Say it gently." He said as his horse began to move slowly. "My LORD!" She said through gritted teeth. It seemed the Hellion was tired of ying around, because she suddenly stood on her hind legs with her forelegs off the ground. Alicia screamed in fright as her hands slipped off the mane, but before she could hit the ground, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and lifted her without any effort until she found herself straddling another horse with Harold behind her. Her brain was too slow to react as she broke into a sob of relief as her body trembled. For a moment there, she thought that she was going to die. Harold didn''t move as she cried. He waited for her to settle down. "So do you still want to ride solo, or would you rather travel with me on this horse?" He asked when he noticed that she had stopped crying. Now that she was calm, she wanted to swear at him for pulling a stunt like that. It was obvious to her that he had deliberately offered her the worst horse in the pce, but she couldn''t swear at him. They were leaving the pce together, and she had no idea what he was capable of when provoked. She didn''t want to push her luck. She squared her shoulders and straightened her back. "I guess I will make do with this," she said with a raise of her chin, and Harold smirked as he jerked his head to one of the men to transfer the bag she had carried from Hellion to his horse. Once the man had done that, Harold kicked the horse into a trot. "No guards?" Alicia asked when she noticed that they were the only ones leaving. "I don''t need them. Besides, knowing you, I wouldn''t risk taking the pce guards along with us," Harold pointed out. If she was going to try to escape, it was best that it remained between them both. The royal family wouldn''t take it lightlywith her if they found out about her n. Alicia looked at him, and somehow she felt uneasy. It didn''t make sense that she was more concerned about going out alone with him than she was about being in thepany of pce guards. She patted the water gourd she had taken from the guard and hoped it would be easy to convince him to drink from it. That way, she''d be long gone by the time he awoke from his slumber. She didn''t want to imagine what would happen if he caught her, knowing that she had tried to put him to sleep so that she would escape. If that failed to work, she would try to lose him at the market. That should be easy. What about Paulina? She thought with a frown. If only Paulina hadn''t been so nice and loyal to her, she would have had no problem leaving the girl behind. But now she couldn''t think about just herself. Leaving Paulina in the pce was synonymous with leaving her at Beth''s mercy, and she couldn''t do that. She would have to abort this mission ande up with something else. Alicia tried to keep her back straight so that she wouldn''t lean into Harold, but as time went by, it became difficult as her back began to ache. "How far is the market from this ce? When are we going to get there?" She asked, feeling tired already. "It is still far ahead. Why? You want to push me off the horse and run away with the horse?" Harold taunted. Alicia considered it only for a moment, "I''m not sure there is any way I can push you off without falling off myself," Alicia said with a shake of her head making Harold''s lips twitch in amusement. Harold couldn''t remember thest time he found anything amusing, but since she arrived, he had found himself oddly amused whenever he thought about her. He was curious to see what it was she intended to do today. Chapter 60 Marketplace Having decided to change her ns since Paulina wasn''t with her, Alicia tried to enjoy the ride. She made sure to look around and take note of the routes they were taking. If she was going to escape from the pce with Paulinater, she needed to at least know the right path to take. "Is this the only route to the town?" Alicia asked curiously after some time. "When you are leaving the pce, this is the only path you can take to the marketce," Harold answered, deciding to indulge her. "Hmm. How often do you leave the pce?" Alicia asked curiously. Although Harold usually loved to ride in silence, he didn''t mind that she was talking to him. He preferred it when she was speaking. At least that way, he could guess what she was thinking. Whenever she was silent, he felt oddly anxious. "Every day." "What? You leave the pce every day? Why then did they say that the members of the royal family were not allowed to leave the pce?" Alicia asked with a slight frown. "Thatw applies mostly to thedies, and even if it didn''t, I go ande as I please," Harold said in a haughty tone, and Alicia could hear the stubborn undertone. "Oh, I see!" Alicia said and thenpsed into silence. Although she was curious about a lot of things and wanted to ask him some personal questions, she didn''t say a word. She didn''t want to get to know him more than she already did. That would onlyplicate things for her. Harold, on the other hand, wanted to ask her who Alicia Queen was and why she kept plotting to run away, but he couldn''t bring himself to ask her any questions either. They rode in silence for a while, and he noticed how ufortable she was. She kept trying to adjust every second, "Are you okay?" He asked, sounding unbothered. She was not okay. In fact, she was anything but that. She was used to driving cars, not riding horses for this long. When she was acting in a historical drama, she had been excited about the role, especially because she hadn''t ridden a horse before, so she had put her whole heart into it. But now she wasn''t acting, so staying like this for over an hour was ufortable, and the bumpy roads didn''t help matters. "I''m fine," she said, frowning. She didn''t want him to talk to her unless she initiated the conversation. She was still pissed after how he used Hellion to mess with her and forced her to address him as ''my lord''. But the more the silence dragged on, the more awkward the ride felt, so she decided to ask something that she had been curious about. "Do you have other women?" She was curious to know why he hadn''t tried to pressure her to consummate their marriage. He also had never made any effort to spend the night together. Not that she wanted them to, she was simply curious and thought the only usible reason was that he had concubines or consorts, which wasn''t unusual in this era. "Are you jealous?" She scoffed. "Stop overthinking. I''m just curious. Isn''t it like normal?" "So you want me to have other women?" "I didn''t say that!" She snapped at him. "You have quite a temper," he noted. "You know what, just forget it. Talking to you is pointless anywa¡ª" "I only have you," he said, interrupting her. Alicia would be lying if she said her heart didn''t skip a beat when he said that. Quickly shaking the thought out of her head, she asked, "What about Beth? She seemed obsessed with you. Did you know that? She has been making my life miserable because of you." "How did you know that?" He asked curiously. If Alvin hadn''t told him a few days ago, he wouldn''t have even known the maid''s name. "It''s quite obvious." It also made sense why Beth had reported her to him when she was faking an illness. Although Alvin had told him about it, he hadn''t taken it seriously. "It''s her wishful thinking. Now stop talking, " he said, even though he had been the same person who had been d that she was talking a moment ago. "Who wants to talk to you anyway?" She huffed, feeling offended, and kept mute for the rest of the journey. Soon they entered the town, and Alicia could see people dressed in colorful clothes moving about as they went about the day''s business. But as soon as they spotted them, they all stopped whatever they were doing and bowed deeply while looking fearful. She could see people shaking while some tightly held onto their kids and spouses with their heads down. Aside from their fear, they were eager to look at thedy with him but couldn''t bring themselves to raise their heads. They had all heard rumors that the prince had recently married, which came as a shock to everyone as they wondered which kingdom had decided to release their princess for him to marry. They had also heard rumors that the prince was not getting along with his bride, which didn''te as a surprise. But suddenly, seeing the two now like this, they were curious but could not feed their curiosity by taking a peek. Meanwhile, the cause of this reaction didn''t pay them any mind. Alicia wondered what Harold could have done to invoke such a magnitude of fear in people both within and outside the pce. Although she couldn''t see his face because he was seated behind her, she could guess that he was probably wearing an aloof expression as usual. "We... should get down and walk," Alicia suggested in a whisper, that caused Harold to wonder why she was suddenly whispering. "Why?" He asked in an aloof tone. "Seriously? This is even more suffocating than being stuck in the pce." Sheined. Where was the fun in strolling around the town on a horse while everyone was looking down in fright? "You know what? Turn around!" Shemanded, causing his brow to arch up. "What are you waiting for? Turn around. We need to find this horse a nice shade and look around by foot." "Bane," Harold suddenly said, leaving her confused. "What?" "That''s his name. Bane." She almostughed but stopped herself from doing just that as Harold, surprisingly, did just as she had told him to and turned around. They finally found a secluded spot far away from the frightened citizens, who gasped in relief and began to scurry away as soon as they were out of sight. Harold brought the horse to a stop and got down effortlessly. "Do you need my help to get down?" He asked with a slightly raised brow. Alicia knew that she needed to swallow her pride and let him help her unless she wanted to fall off the horse, which looked quite high from the ground. She giggled when a joke urred to her. She needed to get off her high horse, or else she would fall off this high horse, literally. Harold''s brows furrowed when she suddenly giggled. Why was sheughing? Did he say something funny? Concluding that she didn''t need his help, Harold turned around, ready to leave, and immediately Alicia snapped back to the present. "Wait!" She called out desperately, so he turned to look at her. "It''s too high," she exined, and without saying a word, Harold raised his hands and lifted her off the horse as though she didn''t weigh more than a bag of feathers. Once he set her on her feet, he took the horse''s rein and led it under a tree shade where he could tie it. Alicia watched as he rubbed one side of the horse''s face softly. "Wait here," he whispered to the horse as it nuzzled his hand. She watched the interaction between the two keenly but said nothing when he turned to look at her. "Let''s go," Harold said as he rubbed the horse one more time and walked away, expecting her to follow. "I thought you were worried that I was going to run away? Why are you always walking ahead of me?" Alicia asked as she caught up with him. "You can run away if you like. I''m sure Paulina wouldn''t mind getting executed on your behalf," Harold threatened without turning to look at her. He did not doubt that she cared a lot about her maid, and she wouldn''t dare leave the girl behind. He was d he had allowed Paulina toe here with her." Is that why you didn''t let here with us? So that you can kill her if I run away?" Alicia asked thoughtfully. Alicia sighed when Harold didn''t respond to her question, "Don''t worry, I''m just here to enjoy the fresh air and look around the market." Just for today, she added to herself. She would work out something else. Something that wouldn''t involve putting either Paulina or Princess Amber in danger. She had to think of what would be of Princess Amber if she returned to her body to find out that her maid was dead and she had no home to go. Chapter 61 Shopping Time Alicia insisted that they take another route into the market. As theystrolled side by side, she asked him a lot of questions about the vige and the people who lived there, and Harold tried his best to answer her questions without giving away too much. "How often do youe to the market?" Alicia asked, turning to look at him. "I only pass through it sometimes; I don''t have any reason to be here," Harold exined, and Alicia nodded.Of course, he had no reason to be here. He was part of the royal family, and most of the things here would be inferior to the items used in the pce, as they were made especially for the royals. The two of them attracted several eyes, especially Alicia, who was wearing a dress made from such fine material. Alicia soon realized that she hadn''t handled the situation properly. She and Harold were dressed differently from the other people, so they stood out from everyone else, and as a result, they attracted a lot of attention, whether they wanted to or not. "Have you ever been here with a woman before?" Alicia asked simply to piss him off since she could tell he didn''t like talking much and especially about women. "No," Harold said indifferently. "Seriously? Like you''ve never even had a girlfriend?" Alicia asked, looking at him with interest. Anyway, judging by his personality, she shouldn''t be so surprised. Only annoying and crazydies like Beth would be interested in being in a rtionship with someone as foul-tempered and scary as Harold. "Girlfriend?" "I mean, you have never been in a rtionship with ady? Do you pay for sex?" Alicia asked, making Harold turn to look at her with a frown. It was one thing to be vulgar because she grew up in exile, but it was apletely different thing for ady to talk about sex this openly."Do not speak of this in thepany of others. Ladies are supposed to be modest and chaste," Harold said, making her roll her eyes. The men of this era would be mortified if they found out just how much the world had evolved, and thatdies no longer just talked about sex, but actually initiated it and didn''t bother to hide their dissatisfaction if the men failed to please them. "That doesn''t answer my question. Are you trying to shy away from it?" Alicia taunted, and this time Harold stopped walking. "I don''t have to pay for sex to have it. But I''d rather be with someone that isn''t giving herself to me because she is scared of me," Harold said in a t tone. "I think Beth will be happy to¡ª" "You should stop unless you want me to ask you some questions too," Harold threatened, and Alicia quickly shook her head. After hearing from Paulina that he knew a lot of things about her, she didn''t want him to ask her any personal questions. They both resumed walking without saying a word until Alicia abruptly stopped walking again when something urred to her, causing Harold to also stop walking. "What is it again this time?" He asked, sounding tired already. "I hope you came with a lot of money. Because we are about to go SHOPPING," she said before she began to hop excitedly. Having no choice, he followed behind her. Once again, she stopped and turned to look at Harold, who was beginning to grit his teeth. He really hated how she couldn''t just talk without halting their movement. "And you should stop looking so intimidating. You will scare off everyone," she lectured a bored Harold, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else than be there with her. Harold followed her when she resumed walking again, letting her lead even though she had absolutely no idea where she was going. Seeing how everything seemed to fascinate her, he guessed it was because she had been in exile and was not used to seeing these things. What he did not know was that she was thinking about the possibility of taking some of the things with her from this era to hers, where she could sell them off as antiques. How much was she going to make? That would definitely take care of her money problems, Alicia wished it were possible. She finally saw a shop that interested her. It was a clothing store. Judging by the quality of the clothes the new customers were dressed in, the seller decided to make quite a profit from them as he showed them the clothes that were on disy. Alicia''s eyes fell on the men''s pants that looked like leggings, and she suddenly missed wearing pants instead of being stuck in these suffocating clothes. An idea suddenly struck her, and she grinned, causing Harold and his wolf to wonder what she was up to this time. ''That doesn''t look good,'' Harold''s wolf said warily as they watched her smiling. "Come! You need to change," she said to Harold, who frowned at the thought of changing into those ugly-looking outfits. Although these outfits were expensive to normal citizens and considered the best, they looked like rags to him. He was a royal, after all. "Why are you just standing there? Come and get changed," She said, calling him forward while pointing out all the outfits they would be needing. The seller was only too happy to bring it all to her. "Do you have this in a smaller size?" She asked the vendor while pointing at the leggings and a knock-off brocade boot. Harold wondered why she was asking for a smaller size when he wore a far bigger size than the one she was pointing at. p "What size are you looking for, mydy?" The man asked, smiling politely as he was already imagining how he would milk out many gold coins from these customers. He even went as far as sending other customers away who wanted to take a look at what he had for sale. "Something small. Made for a pre-teen boy. Something I can wear," Alicia said, startling the man and Harold, who looked at her like she was crazy. The man began tough, thinking that she was joking. How could ady wear pants and boots? He continued tough until he noticed the look on her face. Chapter 62 Welcome To Civilization "You... are serious?" The vendor asked, baffled. "I am." She nodded. Before she knew it, Harold was gently pulling her beside him and looking at her like she was insane. "Pants and boots?" He asked, slightly confused but he didn''t show it. "Huh huh. Wee to civilization." She said, smirking at him. He gave her a weird look before letting go of her. She didn''t waste time before she returned to the man, asking for smaller sizes, but the man''s face was suddenly red from anger. "What a disgrace!" he said, hitting his table."How can a woman think about wearing pants and boots?" He asked with disgustced in his tone. That just seemed to get Alicia angry and she red daggers at him. "Do your fucking job and sell what I asked you for! It''s not as if I''m not paying for it." "Y-You! How... dare you?" The man asked in disbelief, clutching his chest like he was about to have a heart attack. He would never believe this, no matter how hard he tried. Not only did she want to wear pants and boots, but she was also swearing openly! "God! I hate conservatism!" She eximed as she tried to take down what she wanted. When the man tried to stop her again, Harold, who had been waiting by the side, suddenly stepped in between them, looking at the man with an expressionless face, but his eyes spoke volume. The man wanted to yell at him, but there was something about Harold that made him swallow his words. He kept trying to find out who this young man was and why he dared to stop him until Harold released a few of his pheromones, causing the man''s eyes to widen in shock, and a loud gasp to escape his lips as he realized who had been standing in front of his shop the entire time. Other werewolves around also knew who that was and began to take to their heels. The vendor had heard that the prince had been in the market but had left with his bride. Who would have thought that the prince was still here and, most importantly, this ill-mannereddy was his bride? He almost fell to his knees before Harold turned back to normal, tilting his head at Alicia behind him, "Give her whatever she wants." Normally, the man would have reminded him that it was taboo for women to dress like that. It was not like it was a written taboo and people would be punished for it, but it was just unimaginable. No one had ever tried it before, so he had no idea whether it was a punishable offense or not. He quickly ran inside his store to find everything Alicia had asked him to, almost falling in the process. "That was cool," Alicia said, tapping his shoulder twice as if she was telling him "well done," before she followed the man inside his shop. She wished she had whatever power he had to just look at people and have them doing what she wanted. Beth would have seen hell in her hands. She looked back at Harold, who was still standing there (wondering what he was doing right now, letting her do as she pleased) and beckoned for him toe in and test out something he would also change into. Although Harold didn''t like the quality of the clothes, and neither did he like that he was wearing what everyone else was wearing, he knew she would bother him until he changed into them. ''This ispletely ridiculous,'' he thought to himself as he stepped out after dressing up, also wearing a straw hat to hide his face from those who would recognize him. He waited there with his back to the door while Alicia changed into her outfit. He turned around after some time when someone tapped his shoulder and looked down at Alicia, who was grinning widely as she looked at him. He looked down at what she was wearing, and although he found it VERY strange that ady was wearing male clothes, it didn''t look so bad on her and it made him stare longer than necessary. Her hair that was fallen was not tied into a ponytail, she wore leggings, boots and a simple dress she had picked earlier, which she tore around the waist, turning the long dress into a shirt. Everything looked very strange to his eyes. "What do you think?" She asked as she turned around for his inspection. Harold cleared his throat as he answered, "You shouldn''t be wearing that." "This is morefortable than those dresses," Alicia informed him before turning to look at the man who was trying to conceal his disgust and annoyance. He was ashamed that he had sold male clothing to ady. "How much are we paying for these?" Alicia asked the man, who was cursing his bad luck for leading these two people to his shop. He couldn''t extort them for fear that the crown prince would kill him, and now it would be known that he had sold male clothes to ady. He wished he could ask them not to pay and just leave his shop with the clothes, but he was too scared to even do that. Not forgetting that he would be at a loss if he didn''t take money from them. Seeing his reluctance, Harold took out some gold coins from his pocket and handed them to the man, whose hands trembled as he took the coins from Harold. "Thank you, Your Highness," he greeted, with a deep bow. "Hold on, let me get our clothes," Alicia said when Harold turned to leave, and she hurriedly went inside and brought out their well-folded clothes. Harold took the clothes from her as they left the shop. Once again, Alicia realized that if she had nned to blend in, she had failed woefully. Now people stared at her even more as they wondered why ady was dressed in male clothes. She did not doubt that some of them would have osted her had she not been walking in thepany of a man. Harold pretended not to notice the looks people were giving them, and somehow he felt amused that, for a change, everyone was looking towards him for a different reason other than because of who he was. Seeing how she kept walking gingerly like she had no care in the world, he could only assume that she was fine. As long as she was okay with it, then it was fine. Although it concerned him that she was strange and acted differently from the way ady was supposed to behave, deep down he was d that his bride wasn''t some sort of weakling. Alvin, who had been following them from a distance, was surprised when he saw Harold dressed in the clothes ofmoners, but he was even more surprised to see Alicia in male clothes. Does Harold know just how much he was spoiling her and letting her do as she pleased? Chapter 63 Street Play Alicia seemed fascinated by what was going on in the market. With the sun down, it made her enjoy her stroll, watching people disy different talents, like tossing various fruits in the air and catching all of them with no one hitting the ground. Some were busy ying with mes.They all wore colorful clothes while the onlookers pped, some donating gold coins to the performers. They also stopped by a makeshift theater where people were gathered to watch an ongoing y. Alicia had been curious to see the kinds of ys these people acted in during this era, but after standing there for a few minutes, she regretted stopping as she looked at the person beside her who kept a straight face while watching the people on the stage. "I am the cursed Prince! I will kill you and take over the throne!" One of the actors eximed in a booming voice before striking at the person he had been speaking to with a wooden sword. As the person dramatically fell to his death, the audienceughed and pped, clearly amused by the y being disyed. "How dare you kill the first prince, you unfilial son?" Someone Alicia believed was ying the role of the king, said, while pointing harshly at Harold''s character. "SHUT up you old man! Or you will be next." Harold''s character threatened the king, who ran away in fright, causing the audience tough so hard that some clutched their bellies while others had tears pouring out of their eyes. "Are you going to look at me or watch the y?'' Harold asked Alicia, who had been staring at him, wondering why he wasn''t doing anything when he obviously looked annoyed. Although he still kept a straight face with his gaze on the stage, she had been able to master the art of knowing when he was pissed. And right now, he was. Since he wasn''t going to do anything, she decided to do something and was about to march towards the stage when Harold grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "Why are you stopping me?" She asked in confusion and pushed away from him when she noticed how close they were. "Don''t be rash. Let''s go if you are done here." He didn''t wait for her to decide whether she was staying or not, because he turned and walked away from there, but not after using his eyes tomunicate with Alvin, who was still stealthily following them. Alvin nodded and turned just as Harold took a turn. As expected, Alicia was behind him,ining bitterly. "What were you going to do?" He asked without looking at her. "Teach them a lesson, of course." He snorted. Did she think she would be able to fight those werewolves? Maybe she could handle knives, but what about closebat? "Why? You didn''t ask me if those rumors were correct." He reminded her. "Are they?" she asked curiously. She had always been curious about it, but she didn''t know how she was supposed to ask him. Was she supposed to say, "Hey Harold, I heard you are cursed. And you killed your brother because you wanted the throne. Is that correct?" That was absurd. "Do not be curious," He said in an indifferent tone, making her angry. She had been expecting an answer, but he just blew her off? When she heard someone scream, she stopped in her tracks and looked behind at the path they had taken. Cries and wails continued, and it seemed like people were running around. She was wondering what was going on when she saw Harold was far ahead of her and chased after him. "It''s those actors, right?" She asked curiously. "....." She gasped as realization dawned on her. "Do you have people following us in secret?" He also ignored her, not saying a word as he walked ahead with his hands behind him. He had to admit to himself once again that she was very smart at deducing things. Alicia could not believe it. Howe they had someone following them and she didn''t know about it? She always believed she had keen senses. This just made her realize that even if she had been nning to run away as nned, it was going to be impossible. Besides, judging from the way she was dressed, it would be very easy for people to point at whatever direction she had taken if she seeded in running. She decided to just have fun and ignore the weird looks people were giving herself and Harold, who was wearing a straw hat and hiding his face. After walking around for a long time buying different items, Alicia was exhausted and hungry, so she turned to Harold and said, "I''m hungry. Can we get something to eat?" She asked, looking around them as though she was trying to find a ce to buy food. "No," he said, cutting her off rudely. "We should return to the pce." "Pce? Not yet! We haven''t even spent up to four hours here. Let''s get something to eat and continue!" "Did Paulina not pack you some snacks when we were leaving? Let''s go get it then," Harold offered, ignoring the tone she had used. "The distance is too far. I think I might faint before we get there," Aliciained, rubbing her abdomen. Harold sighed tiredly as he asked, "Would you like to get poisoned?" "If anyone recognizes me, we will likely get poisoned. And since you''re going to be eating alone, you will die. Alone." "No one would dare poison you. Or me," Alicia said confidently. Although she didn''t know much about how things worked in this era, she knew enough to know that, apart from the fact that these people feared him and wouldn''t dare get on his nerves by poisoning them, they would also be too scared of the King to poison a prince. She smiled sweetly at him, hoping he would grant her this wish and lead her to a nice spot for them to have ate lunch. Of course, would she ever lose to Harold? ''Weak!'' Harold''s wolf spat at him when he noticed Harold had once again been charmed by her. Chapter 64 "Call Me Williams." Back at the pce, Paulina couldn''t help feeling anxious. She kept praying for the princess to escape safely. She didn''t mind being punished on her behalf, but if the princess didn''t want to stay here, she would support her in leaving. The only problem was with Prince Harold. He seemed to be a wise person, which would make it difficult for her to escape sessfully. She really prayed that her mistress would be safe and that no harm woulde to her. She continued to pace around Alicia''s chamber, deep in thought, until she heard a knock on the door. She turned to the door fearfully, praying it wasn''t Bething to harass her because her mistress wasn''t around. Or what if they had caught the princess trying to escape, so they were here to get her? She thought fearfully. When the knock sounded again, she quickly rushed over to open the door and was relieved to find the only maid she was close to standing there. "Is there a problem?" She asked with a shaky smile. "What are you doing here?" The girl asked but didn''t seem hostile. "I... I was cleaning my mistress''s room. Why... are you here?" Paulina asked in turn. "Lord Williams asked me to fetch you. He wants you to meet him in the painting room," the maid replied, not knowing whether it was a problem or not. "Oh! Okay. I will join him soon. I need to first get something," she said as she stepped out of the chamber and followed the maid out. It was likely that he wanted to use the painting room and was keeping his promise to her. Maybe painting would help her rx a bit and get her mind off her worried thoughts. She headed for her quarters, where she usually slept, and picked up the cloak he had given her the first night, which she had yet to return to him. And she was yet to properly thank him for saving her. Whenever she was before him, she was always nervous, so talking was always a problem. Once she got to the painting room, she knocked lightly on the doorwhile holding the cloak behind her. "Come in," Williams said as he remained seated, staring at the door. He watched as Paulina walked in with her head bowedand both hands behind her. Although he wanted to ask her to rx and be free with him, he knew that it was pointless. Looking at her now, it was still very difficult to believe she was older than he was. He cleared his throat, "You can continue your painting," he said to her while watching her closely, "And you don''t need to use those bad brushes or paint. Feel free to make use of whatever you want," Williams offered. On hearing that, Paulina bowed deeply and thanked him. "Thank you, Milord." "Williams. Call me Williams," he said softly. She snapped her head up and looked at him with wide eyes before shaking her head. "I... c-can''t... Milord." She stuttered. He didn''t bother to ask her why, because he knew why. He was of royal blood, even if it was not directly while she was a maid. It was a punishable crime. "You can call me by my name freely when it''s just the two of us. It''s ufortable to address me with such formality," he said. Hesitantly, she responded."Al...right... Mi-lord." He chuckled to himself. It seemed that it was not going to work, so he decided to let it be. "Go on and do what you want," he urged her, and turned away from her, pretending to focus on his own painting, but Paulina made no move to leave. He turned to look at her, raising his brow. "Is there a problem?" He asked, looking at her curiously. Paulina brought both hands forward, extending the cloak to him, which he reluctantly took from her. "Thank... you for saving me and for... letting me paint here. I... wish I could repay... your kindness," she said in a meek tone, with her head bowed, while Williams just stared at her. "Maybe you can," Williams said, causing her to raise her head to steal a peek at him while wondering what someone like her could possibly help him with. "Can you paint a portrait of me?" Williams asked since he knew that she would need to look at him to paint his portrait, and maybe that would help take care of her fear of looking at him. Paulina''s eyes widened slightly in surprise. A portrait? How was she supposed to do that? Her hands began to shake, and she appeared to be on the verge of fleeing at any moment. "That was a question, not an order. You don''t have to do it if you don''t want to," Williams pointed out to her since he could tell that she had likely interpreted it as an order. Paulina looked down with a slight frown. She couldn''t say no to him. He had saved her and was letting her use this room and painting materials for free, so that was the least she could do for him. "I... w-ill do it," she said in a quiet voice. It was almost inaudible, but his good hearing picked it up. "You will?" Williams asked, and tried not to grin when she gave him a nod. "Okay then, you should work onpleting yourdy''s gift. You can do mine after that," Williams said and returned his attention to his own painting once again. He watched from the corners of his eyes as she went to pick up the items she needed before going to one end of the room to sit on the floor. He could see that she was still not veryfortable. "You''re not going to sit on a chair?" He asked. "I''m... m-morefortable on the floor," she said without meeting his gaze. Seeing how much she seemed to fear him, he believed that was another reason she was staying that far away. He briefly wondered if she would keep such a distance while making his portrait. Well, they would have to see about that. Chapter 65 Takes Two To Tango Two weeks ago, if someone had told Harold that he would be strolling around the town like this, it would have sounded like a terrible joke. If someone had told him that he would be dressed in rags like this, the person must have been prepared to die. And if they had told him he would be following a little girl aimlessly, he would haveughed. But here he was. Even Alvin could not help but wonder about the charm she was using on Harold. He was talking a lot, and he even seemed more like a human now, except that Harold kept trying to maintain a bored and disinterested expression. Harold watched with a bored look as they stopped by to watch some people that were dancing. Alicia seemed fascinated by it because she pped happily just like the rest of the crowd and kept trying to stretch so that she could see what was happening since the others watching were all taller than her. Seeing how she was stretching so much but still couldn''t see what was happening clearly, Harold''s lips twitched, finding it amusing, especially when she began to swear in frustration. "Can you dance?" She suddenly turned to ask him while he looked aheadas if he had notbeen staring at her just now. At least the straw hat didn''t only help him hide his white hair, which would make people recognize him easily, but also hid part of his face. "I don''t need to," he answered indifferently. With a mischievous smile on her face, she put her hand up, yelling, "We will dance." ''EH?'' Harold''s wolf asked in confusion, while Harold looked at her like she had gone crazy and tried to walk away, but she held his arm, pulling him back. The crowd turned around to look at the two of them. Some were startled when they saw how she was dressed, while some were fascinated because of how unusual and cool it was. Naturally, the men were the ones frowning at it while thedies admired her outfit. "You will dance?" A man on the small stage asked. "Yes." "No." Alicia and Harold answered at the same time. "Come on, it''s going to be fun. Trust me." She whispered to him. Harold didn''t even want to imagine it. Him. Dancing here? That was the weirdest thing that was ever going to happen to him. He would rather die. "Fun? Like you did in our wedding ceremony?" He asked, reminding her of how talentless she was. "Hey! That''s not fair. You can''t judge me by that. Look, it all depends on the type of music. That one was terrible, and I couldn''t do much with it. But with this... you are going to see just how cool your wifey is," She concluded with a wink that had him raising an eyebrow. "An endearment for a wife. Wife. Wifey." "It doesn''t make sense," Harold said and tried to walk away again, but she pulled him back before leaving his hand and running off to the stage. A frustrated Harold stood there as he watched her tie up her already short shirt, exposing her belly button, which had him frowning and a lot of people looking at her like she was a crazy person. Ignoring all of them, she gave them her best salsa move. Maybe she was bad at every other kind of dance, but she had starred in a movie where she had to master some salsa and tango moves, and the sound of the drums and flutes put her in the mood to show this rare talent to the world. ''That is... surprising...'' Harold''s wolf said, surprised that there was something she knew how to do. Her moves were like nothing anyone had seen before, and judging by the way the crowd was looking at her, it seemed they were more fascinated by her dancing than what she wore. Or maybe it was the two of them at the same time. She blew a kiss at Harold when she turned around and locked eyes with him, causing him to look away from her with his hands folded across his chest. The crowd began to p in sync, following the sound of the drums while she did her thing happily, forgetting where she was, who she was, and her endless escape ns. When she locked eyes with Harold again, she stretched her hands, calling for him while dancing towards him. The crowd, which had significantly grown since she started dancing, parted, giving her the chance to reach for her unwilling partner, who red daggers at her as if saying, "Don''t you dare," Unfortunately for him, she could not see his eyes, so she reached for his hands and began to pull him along with her. Since Muhammad won''t go to the mountain, the mountain would go to Muhammed. And the mountain just visited Muhammed now because there was no ce he would be able to run to now, especially since the crowd had gathered around them. "Let''s tango together," she said over the loud musical instruments that were following them. She didn''t wait for him to walk away or get angry because she began to dance with him, locking their hands together, pushing apart, twirling towards him, and falling into him. Even though he didn''t want to participate, he found himself unwillingly doing so, especially when he caught her from falling. He didn''t know what they were doing, but judging from the reaction of the audience, they seemed very interested, and the crowd was growingrger. She held his hand up and twirled in a spot several times before pushing away from him with only their extended arms in between them. She repeated the action and twirled towards him, and when she fell on him, he was quick to catch her in his arms with his hands around her waist with one of her legs on the ground and another one in the air. They remained like that, eyes locked together until Alicia began tough while trying to catch her breath. Unconsciously, he smiled at her and pulled her up, so she was standing beside him now. She bowed at the audience,who could not stop pping and asking them to continue, but she was done and she was starving. She couldn''t believe that watching people dance had distracted her from eating. Grabbing Harold''s hand, she pulled him along with her as she ran away from the grumbling crowd. ''I can''t believe you just danced in public!'' Harold''s wolf said in an usatory tone. ''I can''t believe it either'' Harold thought as he followed her. He had never done something like this, but he had to admit that it felt rather... good? Chapter 66 Fangirling Over Alvin "I still think that we should return to the pce. You can have a proper meal there," Harold suggested as she looked around the marketce for a ce where she could eat. "Let''s eat something different for a change," Alicia insisted. What did the people here eat? She was dying to have a taste of themoners'' food. Harold sighed as he let her lead them to a shop where people were seated eating outdoors. Harold let his eyes scan around the ce to make sure it was safe before leading her to an empty table where they both sat down. p The owner of the shop immediately joined them, "What would you like to have?" He asked, even though he was not veryfortable with the fact that thedy was wearing men''s clothing. "Do you have a menu?" Alicia asked curiously, making both Harold and the shop owner exchange a look, each wondering if the other knew what she was asking about. With a shake of his head, the shop owner said, "I''ve never heard of such a meal, mydy," and Alicia smiled. "It''s not a meal. A menu is a list of the foods avable in your restaurant. Or maybe a book that contains a list of the foods avable and their prices," Alicia exined, and the man nodded in understanding before shaking his head. "Not everyone can read. And I can''t write, mydy," he exined, and Alicia nodded. "I see. So what do you have?" Alicia asked while Harold watched her, wondering how she knew these things. "Fish and vegetable broth. We also have bread to go with the broth," the man said, and Alicia gave him a nod. "Let''s have some of it then," Alicia said, and the man gave her a nod as he left. Alicia turned to look at Harold who was staring at her with a nk expression, and she smiled at him. "So you have never eaten here before?" Alicia asked curiously. "I have no reason to," Harold said as he kept scanning the environment with his eyes. "Rx. You look too tense," Alicia said when she noticed how stiffly he was seated. Harold''s eyes shifted to her, "You should never let down your guard. You never can tell when someone is out to get you," Harold advised just before the shop owner joined them with two bowls of broth and two loaves of bread. Harold watched him as he set the food down on the table, "Have a taste," Harold ordered, and the man looked at him in confusion. "He wants you to take a sip from both bowls and a bite from the bread," Alicia exined. The man looked at them with a frown, feeling slightly offended that he was being indirectly used of poisoning their meal. But he could tell that these two were not ordinary people. One looked crazy while the other one had a dark aura radiating around him. He didn''t want to offend them so he walked into the shop to get two spoons, and he took a spoonful of broth from each te and ate from the bread before looking at Harold. "You can leave," Harold said dismissively. Once the man left Alicia picked up her spoon, and was about to eat but he held her hand, stopping her. "Wait for a while," he said as his eyes followed the man''s back. Alicia did as she was told and impatiently waited until he gave her the go-ahead to eat. "Hmm... It doesn''t taste bad," she said with a wide smile while Harold simply watched her. "You''re not going to eat?" She asked when she noticed that he was making no attempt to pick up his spoon. "I don''t eat peasants'' food," he said with a straight face that made her snort. "It tastes better than what we are being served in the pce." "I''m not hungry." "What about your man? He is the one following us right? He should join us," Alicia offered, guessing that it was probably the same person who had given Paulina the balm. She only just realized that she didn''t know his name. "He is fine." "That is what you think," Alicia said as she stood up. "What is his name?" "Alvin. Where are you going to?" Harold asked as he stood up to follow her. "To look for Alvin. Duh?" She said as she looked around. Exhausted, he signaled for Alvin toe over. He suddenly appeared in front of them, startling Alicia who wondered where he hade from. In a second, she remembered he was the nice guy who had asked her to run after she yelled at Harold while he was training. "You must be hungry after following us all day,e and join us," Alicia offered, and Alvin looked at Harold who was staring at them. "Don''t mind him. Come let''s eat," Alicia said, taking Alvin''s hand to lead him inside, but Alvin quickly withdrew his hands when he saw the way Harold followed Alicia''s gesture with his eyes. "I''m okay, mydy," Alvin said with a shake of his head, and Alicia rolled her eyes. "Don''t be as bull-headed as Harold. Come let''s eat. It''s an order!" Alicia said, and Harold shook his head as he turned around to look at the food. Having no other choice, Alvin returned to the table with her and sat down opposite Harold, and adjacent to Alicia. Alicia pushed the other te of broth and bread to Alvin, "You have never eaten at the market before?" Alicia asked as she ate while looking at Alvin curiously. "I have, mydy," Alvin said as he looked at Harold, needing his permission before he would eat from the food. "When youe to the market alone? Or with Harold?" He felt very ufortable with the way she was addressing the prince but decided to answer her, lest he annoys her. "Alone." "I see. Go on and eat," Alicia said when she noticed that he was still not eating. She looked at Harold and said, "Tell him to eat." "Eat," Harold said disinterestedly. "So how long have you been working for Harold?" Alicia asked, remembering something Harold had said about Alvin not being his servant. Alvin looked at Harold, and when Harold said nothing he took his silence for consent, "Since we were six," he answered as he picked up his spoon to eat. "Oh! That''s interesting," Alicia said thoughtfully. So this was the closest person to Harold. That exined why he didn''t seem to be scared of Harold the way the others were. If she had any questions to ask regarding Harold this was the right person to talk to. She only hoped that he wouldn''t be too loyal to Harold to answer her questions. She needed to get him on her side. "Eat up," she said with a smile as she watched him eat, while Harold wondered what was going on in her head, frowning at the unusual attention she was showing him. "You are very handsome," she suddenly said while smiling like a fangirl, causing Alvin to choke on the soup while Harold''s frown deepened. Alvin could only apologize to Harold with his eyes because at this rate, it seemed like she was going to get him killed. Chapter 67 Plan B It was safe to say that this was the most awkward lunch Alvin have had in his entire life and he knew for a fact that he was going to get seriously constipated. It was difficult disgesting everything whether literally or figuratively. The sight of Harold not just dancing but doing so in public was something he could not shake out of his head. Never in the 15 years since he had known him had he seen him do something like that. He really could not underestimate thisdy. In only a few days, she had been able to affect his life greatly like this. "Are you married, Alvin?" She asked. He was about to take a bite from his bread when she asked so he stopped and answered, "No." He was just about to take a bite again when she asked another question. "Why?" "Uhm... no reason?" He said uncertainly. No one had ever asked him about his private life before and he didn''t see any reason to share it with anyone. He wanted to bite the bread when she asked again so he simply tossed it down, giving up on eating. "Are you interested in anyone?" "Enough!" Harold said, eyeing her unpleasantly. "Are you interested in him?" He asked Alicia in a bitter tone that made Alvin want to disappear from there. He didn''t want to be caught in a cross fire between this two. "SIT!" Harold said in amanding voice that made him sit down immediately. If anyone saw him right now, they would feel bad for him, thinking he was a weak kid being bullied. Not knowing that he was anything but that. In the whole kingdom, he was probably the only one capable of sparing against Harold almost equally. "Why are you upset? I was only curious. He is handsome and single. And judging by his build, he probably can fight. His clothes also look expensive," she said while looking him up and down. "I''m... not any of that... mdy," Alvin said meekly while waving his hands in an ''I have no idea what you are talking about'' gesture. "So?" Harold asked, directing his question at Alicia. "So... I am wondering if you are interested in Paulina," she said to Alvin, smiling brightly. She had to have a n B in case her n to escape with Paulina was not going to work. Alvin was a close childhood friend cum bodyguard to Harold which meant Paulina would be safe with him. But she had to confirm from Paulina if she was interested before setting up a date for the two of them. Smiling at her brilliant n, she returned to her senses and turned to Alvin, only to be surprised when she didn''t find him there. "Uh? Where did he go to?" She asked Harold who was giving her an unpleasant look while wondering why she was trying to set Alvin up with Paulina? By chance... had she changed her mind about leaving? The thought surprisingly made him feel a little lighter. "Finish up. We need to return to the pce before dinner," he said while looking down at her te. She gave up when she saw no sign of Alvin anywhere and began to eat. After she finished her food, they walked out of the shop, Harold turned to her, "We have to return to the pce now. If we stay longer than this, we will meet curfew." He reminded her. Alicia sighed. She couldn''t help feeling sad that it was evening already. This was the most fun she has had since she woke up and found herself in this body. Now that she had experienced this, she wasn''t looking forward to returning to the pce only to be locked up like she was in a prison. "Can we..." "No." "No what?" Alicia asked with a frown. "No to whatever you wanted to ask." "How can you say no when you don''t even know what I wanted to say," Alicia pointed out in annoyance. "I don''t need to know what you wanted to say. We are returning to the pce now," Harold said, not wanting to hear out her request. He couldn''t understand when he became so weak that he was giving in to too many of her requests. "Thanks anyway. I had fun," Alicia mumbled and Harold could tell that she wasn''t happy to return. What he couldn''t tell was why he was feeling guilty that she wasn''t happy. "Let''s go," Harold said, and they returned in the direction they hade from. They walked in silence for a while before Harold stopped abruptly when he remembered something. "We need to change out of these clothes," he said, looking down at what he was wearing before looking around them. Most of the shops were closing, with everyone going to the main marketsquare where the night fun was happening. "Maybe we can return to the shop where we got the clothes," Alicia suggested, and Harold nodded as they returned in that direction. As they walked together, Harold realized that this was the first time he had spent this much time in the market, and he had actually enjoyed every moment of his time with her. As the realization struck him, he turned to spare her a nce. He was going to have to stop spending so much time in herpany and put some distance between them if he didn''t want to end up getting too attached to her. Thest thing he needed right now was someone who was going to turn into a weakness of his and ruin everything... He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw something flying towards them from the corner of his eyes, and he quickly pulled Alicia to the side before catching the colorful ball which had almost hit her. Two young boys who had been ying inside a shop and had mistakenly thrown their ball out, ran out of the shop and ran up to them, "We are sorry. It was a mistake," they apologized in unison, hoping that Harold would return the ball to them, but Harold simply stood there ring at them as his hold on the ball tightened. Alicia stepped in front of them and looked down at the twin boys who were probably around 9 or 10 years old. "You shouldn''t y such games around the market ce. Someone could easily get hurt," she chided them, and both boys looked at her with wide eyes when they realized who she was. Of course they had heard the rumors flying around the market about the cursed Prince and his bride who was wearing male clothes. Or maybe saying it was a rumor was not the right word since some people had confirmed they heard it directly from the merchant who sold the clothes to them. They looked at Harold fearfully and fell to their knees immediately, "We are sorry," both boys cried. Realizing the boys seemed to recognize Harold, she tugged his sleeve and spoke softly, "Just return the ball to the kids and let''s leave. It''s gettingte," Alicia reminded him. Harold''s gaze shifted to her, and she raised a brow when he looked as if he was not going to return the ball. "The kids did nothing wrong to you. It was a harmless mistake," Alicia said impatiently when the cry of the kids drew more attention to them. The mother of the kids who had been out to get something, ran over to them when she saw her sons bawling, "What is wrong?" She asked looking at her children who were on their knee before looking at the couple standing there. Her eyes widened in fear when she realized who they were, and she fell on her knees immediately, crying even louder. "Please have mercy on my sons, my lord," she cried even though she had no idea what her kids had done. Alicia realized returning to this part of the market was a big mistake. They should have just walked into a random store and changed there, now they had to deal with this. "Why?" Harold asked as he looked down at the three people crying on their knees with their foreheads touching the ground. The people who didn''t know it was Harold watched the scene curiously while those who knew had long fled the area before they would be dragged into this. "Your... highness?" The woman asked, confused as she looked up at Harold, wondering what he was asking. She could barely see him since her eyes were filled with tears and he was wearing a hat. "Why should I forgive them?" "It''s... it''s my fault... your highness." the woman stuttered in between tears. "Then, you agree to be punished instead?" He asked calmly. The boys began to cry even louder while the others who had been watching the scene and had heard the woman call him ''your highness'' began to run away. Because his build looked nothing like Prince Ivan. And if that wasn''t Ivan, then it was the white-haired, hot-tempered prince, Harold. Alicia, who had had enough of his bullying, put her hand up in the air as she yelled, "STOP!" Chapter 68 "Just Not To You..." The few people who were still hiding around to witness what the cursed prince was going to do this time gasped in surprise when she stepped in. "What are you doing?" Harold asked her in a low and angry tone, but she ignored him as she turned to the woman and her sons. "It is nobody''s fault. No one is getting punished today. It was an ident," Alicia said with a dismissive wave of her hands. "I am..." Alicia turned to look at Harold, who was speaking to her under his breath. "Not punishing anyone today, my lord," shepleted his sentence with a small smile, which made him frown. His frown deepened when she patted the front of his shirt in a loving gesture. What was she doing? "My husband was once a little boy, and he understands that idents like this happen when kids y. He was just messing with you and your boys, so you don''t have to worry," Alicia announced as she returned her attention to the woman and her boys, who were still on their knees. "Stand up," she said, extending her hand to the woman to help her up. The woman, who was still sobbing softly, looked at Harold for permission, but he was staring at his wife, not them. ''If you don''t act, they will think that you are weak and your wife is controlling you,'' his wolf reminded him. ''I''m not weak,'' Harold told his wolf. ''Then prove it,'' his wolf challenged. "Don''t worry about him, he is my husband so I know him better," Alicia assured the woman as she raised her and encouraged the boys to stand up. "Thank you so much, mydy. Thank you, my Lord," the woman said with a bow to both Alicia and Harold, and her sons did the same. ''Weakling'' his wolf sneered at him, making Harold snap back to the present. "Please, do you mind letting my husband and I make use of your shop briefly?" Alicia asked politely. "We need to change out of these clothes," she exined when the woman looked at her in confusion. "You can do that, mydy," the woman said with a vigorous nod, d to repay the favor no matter how insignificant it waspared to what Alicia had just done for her. "Let''s go in and change, my lord," Alicia said with a slight bow as she followed the woman into the shop, expecting Harold to follow them. The woman and her sons stood stiffly outside their shop with their heads bowed as they waited for the couple to finish. Breathing was even a problemsince they feared that if they breathed too loudly, they were going to get into trouble. Harold stepped out first, dressed in his simple but fine and expensive clothing, looking nothing short of the prince he was and causing the three to be even more scared as they took involuntary steps backwards. Fortunately for them, Alicia stepped out in time, wearing a dress now with her hair down and a frown on her face as she kept tugging at the material around her waist that was making it difficult for her to breathe. It was even a miracle that she could wear this dress all by herself. For some reason, Harold seemed slightly disappointed when he saw her. As much as he hated to admit it, wearing men''s clothing suited her better. Now that she was wearing this dress, she looked weird to him. He wondered if it was possible to have her dress like that again. What were the chances of hering out of the pce again? "Thank you for letting us change here. I''m sorry for whatever trouble we caused," Alicia said politely to the woman, and Harold tried not to scowl. What did she mean by the trouble they caused? Thest time he checked, it was the woman''s kids who had caused trouble, so what was she apologizing for? The woman shook her head immediately. "It''s... my pleasure, Mdy." The woman bowed. "I... will be happy to help in... anyway I can." The princess had saved her family. She couldn''t imagine what the prince would have done to her and her boys had she note to their rescue. The woman wasn''t stupid enough to believe that Prince Harold had been messing around. The prince never messed around. She was even surprised to see that, unlike the rumors, he seemed to be getting along with his bride and she wasn''t even as bad as people painted her to be. Alicia looked at thedy curiously. Did people in the middle ages usually be indebted for little things like this? Perhaps she would keep being nice and make lots of people indebted to her. Who knew when their help woulde in handy? "We will leave now. And boys..." She called out to the twins, who snapped their heads up to look at her. "Be careful next time." The two boys and their mother nodded vigorously. So she turned to look at Harold and asked, "Where are the clothes?" "Why?" "In case of next time," she said, hinting that they were going to wear the outfits again. When did he agree that they were going toe here another day? But she didn''t bother to wait for his response as she returned inside the shop to get them from the room where he had changed his clothes. She put all of them inside a bag as she stepped out. Just like that, Alvin showed up out of nowhere and took the bags from them before disappearing again. With onest smile at the family, Alicia pulled Harold along with her out of the store. Once again, she had won. Harold didn''t even get the chance to speak or chastise that family before she handled everything in his ce and even pulled him out like she was the elder between the two of them. He didn''t like that. He withdrew his hand from her hold, and Alicia didn''t protest since she had done it for show earlier. As they both strolled down to where he had left his horse, he brooded over all that had happened, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Seeing as they had left the market area and could talk now, he turned to re at her. "Do not interfere next time," he scolded her. She stopped walking to look at him in the face and said, "Why shouldn''t I?" She asked calmly. "I should handle such matters." "The ball almost hit me, remember? Not you. I had to handle my issue my way," she said, matter-of-factly. "I stopped the ball from hitting you," he reminded her. "The ball was harmless. It was a harmless ident," Alicia insisted, trying to reason with him. "It doesn''t matter," he said as he began to walk again, his hands behind him. "It does," she countered as she walked in quick steps to match his pace. "So you''re saying that I should let you handle issues that concern you?" Harold asked as he continued walking. "Yes." Harold stopped, and looked at her. "So if someone tries to shoot an arrow at you or throws a dagger at you, I shouldn''t interfere? I should let you handle it?" He asked, and Alicia blinked in confusion. "That''s different," Alicia said, but Harold had started walking again. He had already gotten the answer he wanted. "It''s the same to me. It''s your issue." "It''s not. One was harmless, and the other isn''t. Listen, I just don''t want people to keep being scared of you. I don''t want them to hate you either or think you are evil," she said in a concerned tone that made him almost stop walking again, but he didn''t. He kept walking. "I don''t care about what they think," he said in an indifferent tone and stopped when he observed that she was no longer walking next to him. He turned around and saw her giving him an unpleasant, defiant look. "You can pretend not to care, but I can''t. I know that you care, and I care about what they think about you. I don''t know why you keep pretending to be okay with people having the wrong impression of you, but that''s just messed up. Maybe it''s because you have experienced this all your life and so you''ve built a wall around your heart to protect yourself so that you don''t get hurt. But I know that deep down inside, you care. If you didn''t care about what they thought, Alvin wouldn''t have attacked those people earlier. Underneath your shell, you are a..." Harold watched her intently as she kept ranting about how he was not that type of person and why was he trying so hard to make people believe those stupid rumors flying around. Who told her that he wasn''t that type of person? She stopped talking when she noticed the evil smirk on his face. It made her almost take a step back involuntarily, but she didn''t."What?" She asked hesitantly. "Don''t be mistaken, Princess... I am... that kind of person," he said, looking her directly in the eyes. "Just not to you." After a brief pause, he added, "YET," before he turned around and continued walking. As soon as she recovered from her shock over what he had just said to her, she raced after him, "Don''t you dare think that you''re going to change my mind about you by trying to scare me. I''m not scared of you!" Alvin, who was following from a safe distance, marveled at all the changes he had witnessed in Harold. Chapter 69 "Being Followed?" After Harold helped her climb the horse, he climbed behind her, causing her to stiffen before she eventually rxed as the horse began to move. As they returned to the pce, Alicia looked around with a sigh. She couldn''t believe how much she had enjoyed herself. She had thought it would be boring and tiresome, but it was actually refreshing. She didn''t even realize when the day started getting dark. She also noticed that now she felt somewhat closer to Harold and less scared of him after spending the day with him in that manner. Who would have guessed that he would let her have her way? Her lips pulled up into a smile when she remembered how Harold had smiled at her earlier after their dance. It was the first genuine smile she had seen on his face since she was used to those evil smiles and smirks that had mischief written all over them. "You should smile more often, you know?" She told him, but Harold didn''t respond. She didn''t know if he was deliberately ignoring her or perhaps he was deep in thought and hadn''t heard her. Either way, she chose not to bother him. Why was he the way he was? Why did he behave that way? Contrary to whatever he wanted her to think, she knew that he was a good person deep down. Why did he want people to see him as cold and heartless? She tried to imagine how terrible his childhood must have been to make him angry at the little boys who were having fun. She decided that she was going to find time to have a private chat with Alvin since she doubted Harold was ever going to open up about his life to her. Maybe that was why she was here? Maybe this was like a mission from the universe? Or a test she needed to pass, and she would probably be able to go back to her body if she was able to help him? Thinking about it, their situations were somewhat simr. Everyone disapproved of them both. The only difference was that Harold was feared by everyone, and he faced their criticism without revealing his emotions, while on the other hand, no one feared her, and she had tried to take her life because she couldn''t stand the criticism. Okay, they were nothing alike, and their situations were very different. She shook the thought out of her head and almostughed at herself. What kind of a stupid thought was that? This wasn''t some kind of transmigration web novel. This was real! And Harold wasn''t her business. While Alicia was filled with her thoughts, Harold, on the other hand, recalled some memories of his childhood as he rode the horse. He remembered all the times he watched other kids y but couldn''t join them because they said he was a bastard or called him the son of a ve. He still remembered the day Alvin had brought a ball for them to y, and how the queen had plummeted it when she caught him ying. He knew that the kids earlier weren''t the ones his anger should be directed at, but he couldn''t help it. He was angry with everyone and everything. He was even angrier with himself now for having such thoughts. It was all Alicia''s fault. She was trying to make him out to be somebody he was not. Maybe what he needed to do was to show her how wrong she was about him. He wasn''t good, and he didn''t want to be good. "That horse... Hellion. Why was he like that earlier?" She asked curiously, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Hate people," he answered in a monotone voice. "Why?" "Don''t know." "Who owns it?" "Mine." "You bought it?" "Gift." "From who?" "King." Alicia would have been pissed at the one-word answers he was giving her, but she knew that his answering her questions in the first ce without shutting her up was a miracle. "Then why don''t you sell it off and get another one?" She asked curiously. She couldn''t understand why he kept a horse that he couldn''t even mount. "I do not let go of whatever belongs to me," he said in a tone that left her tongue-tied, feeling as though there was more to those words. After a while, she asked, "So... if I can get Hellion to like me, will you give him to me as a gift?" "Yes." He agreed immediately because he knew it was impossible. Hellion was familiar with him but still never let him mount him for the 3 years he had owned the horse. Talk less about her. He almostughed, remembering how Hellion had tried to throw her off if only she hadn''t been smart enough to hold on tightly and ask for his help. "You promised. Make sure you do not go back on your word," she said excitedly. Owning a horse would make things easier for her. That way, she could easily escape with Paulina. Bless the soul of whoever thought of not building a wall around the pce. Maybe the person thought of her and decided to let it be. If she could get Hellion, then her escape n was set. She had seen the few stores at the market where she could get whatever she needed for her fugitive trip. And since that merchant was now familiar with her as Harold''s bride, it would be easy to get him to hand over more male clothes for herself and Paulina. They would have to fully disguise themselves as men and cut their hair if need be. "Is that a threat?" Harold asked, referring to the statement she made about him making sure to not go back on his word. "Nope. Just making sure." He frowned but decided not to push it. "I won''t." "And... can wee here another day?" She asked, turning to smile at him, but she was craning her head so much so she had to look ahead. "Why?" He asked in a tired voice. "Because we had fun today. And I don''t get to have fun in the pce." She said, pouting, but stopped pouting when she remembered he couldn''t see her face. After a pause, he asked quietly, "If that happens, you won''t... run away?" There was something about the way he said it that made her swallow back what she wanted to say. She wished she could look at his face right now. He sounded like a kid with abandonment issues. What was she supposed to say? She could not live here. This was not her life. She wanted to tell him she wouldn''t run away if he continued to bring her out, but she could not bring herself to promise him that. It was at this moment that she realized she was beginning to grow attached. "Can''t answer?" He asked in a pissed-off voice. And was even more pissed at himself for being pissed. What was he expecting? Why would she want to stay with a person like him? He had always been okay all by himself, and now, miraculously, he had his wolf. Oh... there was also Alvin. So he didn''t need her. Alicia was still confused about how to answer that question. She wanted to lie so they would drop the topic, but she couldn''t do that. "How long is it going to take to get to the pce?" She asked, changing the topic. He snorted at her attempt to leave that topic. Of course, he had expected that. She was still nning to run away from him. Unfortunately for her, he didn''t share the same thoughts as her. He snapped to his senses when he suddenly caught the slight movement of leaves from the corners of his eyes, and his ears picked up the sound. As though his horse also sensed it, it neighed as it stopped abruptly. "What spooked the horse?" Alicia asked curiously, wondering why the horse suddenly stopped and why Harold tensed up behind her. "We are being followed," Harold said in a t tone as he looked around them, scanning the environment and also trying to get any scent at all, but he got nothing. "Being followed?" She asked, panicking. That term was never associated with something good, especially after being followed by different reporters and paparazzi. If they were being followed now, it was certainly going to be for a different reason than peeping into their private lives. The thought of it alone made her almost have a panic attack as she looked around in a frenzy. "W-What aaabout Alvin?" Alicia asked, and Harold turned to look behind them. They were far away from the vige now, but not close to the pce yet. Even as he turned around, different men in masks came out from behind the trees where they had been hiding, holding weapons in their hands. "What is happening?" Alicia asked in fright. She had not identallymitted suicide in her era just toe to this era and be killed in a fight that wasn''t her business, had she? Harold sighed. He had been expecting this from the moment he agreed to leave the pce. As a matter of fact, he had been surprised that no attempt had been made earlier on their way to the marketce. He looked at the men who had surrounded his horse and saw that they were about eighteen in number. If he was alone, he wouldn''t have been worried, but a woman was panicking in front of him, who had unconsciously grabbed his arm while looking at the men. He had never fought while protecting someone at the same time, so he was not sure how he was supposed to handle this. Chapter 70 Fighting In The Woods ''What are you doing? Let me take over!'' Harold''s wolf said impatiently. He had been scratching to take overpletely since he sensed danger even before Harold did, but Harold kept pushing him back and restraining him. ''No.'' ''No?'' His wolf asked in disbelief. ''She doesn''t know about us,'' he reminded his wolf, who seemed ready to pick a fight with him as he looked down at Alicia, who was tightly holding onto his arm with her body trembling. He could swear that she didn''t know about the existence of werewolves. So what would happen to her if he suddenly transformed right in front of her eyes? But he wasn''t only worried about Alicia right now. He wasn''t ready to experience such excruciating pain twice in one hour. Shifting was not a moment he looked forward to. Unfortunately, he didn''t have any way to stop hispulsory night body shift, but he could definitely stop this one. "Are you scared?" He asked Alicia quietly. "Are you fucking kidding me? We are surrounded!" She whisper-yelled. Harold ran his hand through his hair in confusion. He was at a loss as to what to do. He had never had anyone to care for him during a fight. What was he supposed to do about her? There was no way he was going to let her stay around here. "Why aren''t they saying anything?" She asked, tensed. If they were talking, she would at least know what they wanted, but they just kept looking at them while circling. Her heart lurched to her throat when she felt movement from the back and realized Harold was about to climb down and leave her alone. "Where are you going?" She asked with wide eyes while holding tightly to his hand. "Be good," he said only those two words to her before releasing his hand from her grip and jumping down, leaving her all to herself. "Harold! What the hell are you doing?" She asked as soon as he unsheathed his sword and lightly hit Bane''s crupper. Bane reared, startling Alicia, who yelped and grabbed the reins before she could get thrown off. Without waiting for her to settle, Bane jumped over a group of people and began to run, leaving Harold behind. "SHIT!" Alicia swore when she realized what was happening. "Shit! Shit! Shit!" She swore repeatedly as she looked for a way to stop the horse, since speaking to Bane proved futile. It wasn''t until she noticed three people chasing after her that she realized the seriousness of this ambush. How were they that fast? But it didn''t take long before Harold caught up with them and shed his sword at them. The sight made her scream and her body shook because this was the first time she witnessed something like this. These people were going to kill her. Common sense told her that this was her chance to run away with the horse, but that wasn''t the best n for her. "BANE! STOP!!" She yelled as she used a hand to hit Bane''s cr before she grabbed the reins and drew it to the back with all her might. Bane neighed loudly and reared onest time before he halted, getting the attention of Harold and Alvin, who were busy fighting with the assassins, who were surprisingly very skilled. Harold was slightly baffled that she had stopped and, most especially, that Bane had listened to her, but he didn''t dwell on it for long, because nine of the assassins were still alive and they seemed even more vicious, with two going after Alicia. p "RUN!" Harold yelled at her, but she jumped down from the horse, almost twisting her ankle in the process. She didn''t waste time before raising her dress and reaching for the daggers she had strapped to her thighs. She had bought four of them from the market earlier when Harold was not looking. Since she found out she was good at it, she needed to arm herself, right? But obviously, Harold had noticed and decided to let her do as she pleased. Talk about spoiling one''s wife. Just before one of the assassins could get to her, she threw two daggers with both hands, one directly at the assassin closest to her and the other one at an assassin sneakily approaching Harold, and with the perfect strike, the two daggers pierced their stomachs. The men hadn''t expected that. With wide eyes, they both stumbled and fell. Surprised, Harold took note of the one behind him and stabbed him while the one close to Alicia also fell, with his sword flying from his hand and fortunatelynding beside Alicia, who quickly picked it up. At the same time, she spun around and stabbed the assassin who suddenly appeared behind her, trying to take her unaware. She drew the bloodied sword from his belly and went toplete the job on the assassin who was taking the knife out of his stomach, but he didn''t get the chance to finish before she slit his throat with the sword, striking a perfect avenger pose like she had done this countless times before. It was only after he fell to his death that Alicia realized what she had done and stared at the two corpses with wide eyes. Not only her, but even Harold, Alvin, and the three assassins who were still alive stopped whatever they were doing to look in her direction. Alicia''s entire body kept shaking and even got worse when she looked at the sword. She dropped it to the ground quickly, like she had just been burned, and continued looking at her hands, which were shaking. ''THAT''S MY BRIDE!'' Harold''s wolf yelled in excitement, while Harold intently watched her. Before the three other assassins could recover from their shock, Harold and Alvin finished off two, and as the third one tried to escape, both Alvin and Harold threw their daggers at him, piercing both his legs and causing him to fall on his face. Alvin rushed over to where he was writhing on the ground trying to get up, and he took off the man''s mask. He couldn''t recognize the person''s face, so he asked, "Who sent you?" Although Alvin knew that it was a useless question to ask, he chose to ask nheless. He already had an idea of who sent them. Who else would be after the prince''s life if not the Queen and Prince Ivan? Those two hated him, and they knew his whereabouts, so they were the only people who could have sent these men after him. The man shook his head. From the look in his eyes, Harold, who had approached them with his sword in hand, could tell that the man wasn''t bothered about the fact that he might die. So that was exactly what he did. He shed the man''s throat without bothering to ask any questions. Alvin went around taking off the masks of the other men to see if he could recognize any of them. Alicia, on the other hand, had been throwing up with tears streaming down her face. It just urred to her now that she had just ruined her perfect chance to escape. If she had run far away with Bane while these men were chasing after her, everyone would have assumed that she had been kidnapped or had been killed, and then Paulina would have been safe since she knew that Harold would have made sure that she was okay. So why the heck had shee back? But most importantly, who was Princess Amber? How was the Princess so skilled at using weapons? Because those skills were definitely not hers. So howe she had the princess''s skills? Perhaps the princess''s soul was still inside her body somehow? Then why didn''t she have her memories? Was she sharing this body with the Princess? If that was the case, what about her own body? Feeling suddenly faint, Alicia staggered a bit on her feet, but Alvin, who was close to her, was quick to hold her before she fell. "Thank you," Alicia said weakly, while Alvin looked down at her with newfound admiration and respect. She was indeed a befitting bride for Harold. She was perfect in every sense of the word, and he still couldn''t get over what he had seen. Harold, who had noticed some of the assassins were still alive and busy sending them to the afterlife, nced at Alvin, who was holding his wife and also noticed the awe on Alvin''s face. He could tell that Alvin was impressed. If it had been someone else other than Alvin, he would probably have reacted harshly to him holding her that way, but he didn''t let it bother him as he straightened up. Harold whistled to get Bane''s attention, and the horse that had been standing a distance from them returned to where they were standing. Alicia''s stomach clenched when she saw all the dead bodies and began to throw up again. As the good person that Alvin was, he reached for the water gourd in Bane''s saddle and handed it over to her to wash her mouth. Alicia was still too dazed by what had happened to think straight, so when Alvin reached for the water gourd in Bane''s saddle and handed it to Alicia, she was too distracted to remember that she hadced the water with sleeping medicine as she drank from it after washing the vomit out of her mouth. This was the case of someone digging a pit for someone else and also falling into it. Chapter 71 Sleeping Once she was done drinking from the water gourd, she began to feel drowsy, and before she could fall, Alvin caught her once again and turned to look at Harold with a worried expression. "She fainted." Harold looked at the water gourd and scratched the back of his neck. "She just fell asleep," he said as he approached them and took Alicia from him before carrying her in a bridal style. Knowing how troublesome and mischievous she could be, something told him that she had added something to the water. And he did not doubt that she had likely done it, so she would give it to him. He would need to be more careful with this one. She was smart and could be dangerous. "Clean this up quickly," Harold said to Alvin, who immediately went to work. Instead of leaving immediately, Harold carried her under a tree and sat on a thick log of wood with Alicia still in his arms, sitting on his thigh with her head on his chest. He looked at her face that had suddenly turned paler and could also notice the changes happening to her body. He didn''t need anyone to tell him that she was going to be sick for real this time. Gently, so as not to wake her up, he brushed the strands of hair away from her face as he kept staring down at her. Alvin spared them a nce and was almost taken aback when he saw how Harold was looking at her with a soft, worried gaze. He had never seen such an expression on the prince''s face before. While it made him a bit happy, he was also worried as it dawned on him that at this point, she was going to be the prince''s weakness. Harold hadn''t even fought the way he usually did. It seemed he was ying around with the assassins so she could get far away before he unleashed the beast in him, and he had also been keeping his eyes on her while he fought. He just hoped that nothing bad would happen. He also couldn''t help thinking about how good Alicia was at fighting, so he cleared his throat and asked, "Did you know that she could do that?" while looking at Harold curiously. Harold didn''t say anything as he kept trying to figure out why Alicia had decided toe back to fight with him when she could easily have escaped. This bride of his was a tough nut to crack, but he had to admit that he was beginning to like her. She was very different from otherdies, and it made her very useful. ''Hmm... she is not that bad. Just mannerless, talkative, stubborn, disrespectful, and many other things,'' his wolf supplied as though Harold had asked for his opinion. Seeing how Harold didn''t respond, Alvin deduced that he probably already knew about his bride''s fighting skills. He had been aware of how she had stabbed Prince Harold in the chest but didn''t think much of it, assuming she had only been able to do that because Harold let her. Who would have thought she was a warrior and was able to easily take down these trained assassins? That had to be one of the reasons Harold had been curious about her and interrogated Paulina. "Should I look into this? Although they are humans, I don''t think they were simple bandits," Alvin said, referring to the piled-up bodies, but Harold shook his head. He was curious to know why they had sent human assassins after him and how they were able to mask their scents, but this was not the right time and ce to think about this. It was getting darker and they had to leave. "Let it be. We should leave," he said to Alvin before standing up carefully so that he wouldn''t disturb her sleep. By the time they arrived at the pce, it was past dinner time, but Alicia was still unconscious. Some of the guards gathered around Harold once they arrived, but it was Alvin who came to stand beside the horse so that he could hold on to the unconscious Alicia while Harold got down. The other guards wondered what could have happened to Alicia, but none of them could question Harold, nor question Alvin in the presence of Harold, so they just waited for his instructions. But it didn''t stop many of them from thinking that he had probably done something to her outside the pce since it was no news that he didn''t like her. Some of them had also seen how he had allowed her to mount Hellion. Once Harold got down, he carried Alicia from Alvin, and without saying a word, he took her inside, trusting that Alvin would take care of the horse and whatever else needed to be handled. As Harold headed for Alicia''s chamber with her in his arms, most people stopped to stare in curiosity, wondering what was going on. Was she hurt? Did something happen? They wondered as they watched Harold from a discreet distance. Although his bride was a handful, she made the pce lively with all her antics and gave the maids something to gossip about. Tyra, who was walking down the hallway with Susan, stopped in her tracks when she saw Harold, and she quickly ran up to him and said, "What is wrong? Did something happen to her?" She asked with concern even as Susan joined them. "She is sleeping. Tired," Harold said as he continued walking, not wanting to divulge any information to anybody. Tyra exchanged a concerned look with Susan as Harold walked past them. "Maybe he knocked her out?" Susan asked spectively. "I''m not sure," Tyra said as he continued to watch Harold''s back. Once Harold got into Alicia''s chamber, he gently ced her on the bed and sat down beside her. He knew that he would need to leave soon to prepare for the night, but somehow he wished he could look after her in her state. The door opened suddenly, and Paulina ran in, not caring about Harold. The moment she heard that her mistress was back, and she was unconscious, she left what she was doing and ran down to see her. She assumed that Alicia had probably been caught while trying to escape and that maybe Harold had hurt her. "Mydy," Paulina cried loudly as she ran to the bedside, making Harold turn to look at her with displeasure. "Keep the noise down. She is sleeping," he scolded, and Paulina stopped crying as she stood beside the bed, unable to get close to Alicia because Harold was still seated beside her. Paulina wanted to ask him what happened, but she couldn''t. She wouldn''t dare. Seeing that her servant was there to watch over her, Harold sighed as he stood up, "I don''t think she will be up until tomorrow. Clean her up and help her wearsomething morefortable before the first bell rings," Harold instructed before walking out of the chamber to his chamber to freshen up. The disgusting smell of human blood was all over him, making him ufortable. Immediately after Harold left the room, Paulina sat down on the bed beside Alicia and ran her hands over Alicia''s body, searching for wounds or anything that might show that Harold had hurt her. When she found nothing, she sighed in relief before proceeding to undress her mistress, crying quietly. "Thank you for not leaving me, mydy," Paulina said with a sniffle as she went about taking care of Alicia. "I promise to always protect you. Even if it costs me my life." When Harold returned to his chamber, he found Alvin already waiting inside, who asked, "How is she?" Alvin asked in a concerned tone. "She is fine," Harold said dismissively, not wanting to think or worry about it, "Where are the clothes?" He asked, referring to themoners'' clothes he and Alicia had worn at the marketce. "They are in there," Alvin said, pointing to Harold''s closet. "Good. Continue to keep an eye on her," Harold said as he walked over to the window to look outside. It was already getting dark, and he didn''t have time to waste. He quickly freshened up and was already out of his chamber when the first bell rang. When he walked past Alicia''s room, he stopped and looked at the door. For a long time, he simply stood there, staring at the door, even after the second curfew bell rang. He knew it was time for him to leave. It wouldn''t be long before he would shift, but he decided to just check on her before leaving. He could just jump out of her window after checking on her. So that was what he did. He entered the darkroom but could make out her sleeping figure on the bed, all thanks to the moon, which was shining brightly tonight. He stood by the door for a while before he began to approach her bed. Chapter 72 Its Her... Unedited. Something very strange happened that morning. Harold woke up to find himself sleeping beside Alicia on the bed. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and he didn''t bother to hide the fact that he was surprised. What happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? These three questions ran through his head as he looked around the chamber and then at the girl who was still sleeping peacefully in his arms. Thest time he slept peacefully at night was a very long time ago before his supposed curse so howe he had slept off here and woke up very early the next morning without shifting at all throughout the night? The previous night, he had only nned to see her for a while and leave through her window. But he noticed she was having some kind of difort in her sleep. He guessed she was probably having a nightmare, so after thinking about what to do, he decided to pat her gently and also release some nerve-calming pheromones, even though he wasn''t sure it would work on her since she was human. But who would have expected her to suddenly grab onto his hand and refuse to let go? He was a lot stronger than her and would have easily pulled himself out of her hold, but he didn''t do that even though he knew he was running out of time. With conflicted feelings, he decided to suppress the force of his wolf and stay beside her until she was okay, even though he had never done that before and wasn''t sure he could push back the time he was supposed to shift. Only for him to jolt awake with her sleeping peacefully in his arms! He had never slept for more than 2 hours during the day, and it was a light nap since he had to be cautious of his environment at all times, so his body felt rather confused since he had slept for almost 5 hours before he woke up. ''What happenedst night?'' His wolf asked, also confused. "I don''t know either," Harold responded out loud while looking at the window. In an hour or more, everyone would starting out, so he carefully separated her from him before he jumped out the window and headed for his room''s window before climbing in. For as long as he could remember, his wolf was the one to take over every night, and it usually spent the time hunting or just chasing fireflies around for fun, which always made Harold angry. But back then, he couldn''tmunicate with his wolf, so there was nothing he could do. When he eventually startedmunicating with his wolf that night in the woods, things changed. And since then, his wolf spent the night looking around for anything or anyone suspicious in and outside the pce... Hold on. He was able tomunicate with his wolf for the first time the first night he saw her in the woods. ''It''s her,'' his wolf voiced out the same thing he was thinking about. The same night he met her was when he heard his wolf''s voice in his head for the first time. And now, he had slept beside her and didn''t have to face the excruciating pain of shifting unwillingly. Although he was still standing by his window looking outside while he was lost in his thoughts, he knew when Alvin entered the chamber, so he turned to look at him. From the look on Alvin''s face, he could tell that Alvin must have suspected something. "I didn''t shiftst night," he said before Alvin could ask. Alvin had suspected it, but he was still surprised by that information. Nothing went past Alvin, so he knew the Prince had visited his bridest night and had seen him jump out of her window into his this morning. "How... did that h-happen?" He asked, feeling a little lost. Harold shook his head. For the first time, he looked lost. "I''m not sure," he said before changing the topic and asked, "Any strange movements from within the pce?" Alvin shook his head. "Nothing," he answered. He could not help but think that the queen and Prince Ivan were very thick-skinned. They plotted evil and yet continued to act like everything was normal. Their facial expressions rarely revealed what they were thinking except their false smiles and ingenuine kindness towards the princess and Harold. "Keep looking. No matter how insignificant the information is, let me know about it." Harold said as he looked out his window. "Did anyone leave the pce before us yesterday?" "No, your highness. But some people left 2 days ago. The royal chef, some kitchen servants, and some guards." "How many?" "7 in total." "Look into all of them. One of them must have delivered the message that we were going to leave the pce yesterday." "I''m already doing that. How is Princess Amber?" Alvin asked with concern since she had been unconscious thest time he saw her. "She is still not awake yet." Harold paused before adding, "Ask Paulina to report to Princess Tyra for help. Tyra would order the royal physician to check on Amber," Harold said as he walked away from the window. At least that way, no one would think he had directly sent for the physician. "I will," Alvin said, and turned to leave, but he hesitated by the door as he turned to look at Harold once again, "So does this mean that the curse has been broken?" Alvin asked hopefully, since he knew just how tiresome shifting was for Harold. "I don''t know," Harold confessed as he went to sit on his bed. He really wanted to believe that the curse was broken. He wished that he knew what was going on. Who exactly was this bride of his? And why did things change whenever she was present? "Let me know whatever the physician says," Harold called out to Alvin as he left the room. Down the hallway, Alvin saw Paulina heading for Alicia''s bedroom, and he quickened his pace to catch up with her. "You are going to meet your mistress?" He asked once he fell in line with her steps, and Paulina looked at him with a startled expression since she had been lost in her thoughts and didn''t know when he joined her. "Yes, I am." "If she is not feeling well, ask Princess Tyra to help you get the physician," Alvin said, and Paulina looked at him with a slight frown. "Did something happen to her?" She asked curiously since he was the closest person to Harold that she could ask. From her tone, Alvin could tell that she was suspecting Harold of having done something to her mistress, "Prince Harold didn''t hurt her. She just fainted. Don''t forget to go to Princess Tyra," he reminded her before walking away. Paulina took a deep breath as she quickened her pace. When she walked into the chamber, she was surprised to see that her mistress was still deeply asleep. "Mydy?" She called softly as she stopped by the bed and tapped Alicia''s shoulder, but Alicia didn''t move. If not for the fact that Alicia was still breathing, she would have thought that her mistress was dead. Her face looked so pale that Paulina couldn''t help feeling worried. Just then, Beth pushed the door open and walked into the chamber. She scowled when she saw that Alicia was still lying under the nket. She had seen Harold carrying her into her chamber the previous evening after they returned from their outing, and she was still pissed by the sight, which was engraved in her memory. "Is she going to pretend to be ill once again?" She asked irritably as she approached the bed. "She doesn''t look like she is fine," Paulinained, without sparing Beth a nce as she rubbed Alicia''s hands. Her body seemed very cool. "I''m not going to let you skip the ss today like I let you do thest time. I will no longer teach Lady Susan separately from you," Beth insisted stubbornly as she went to the bed and pulled off the nket, expecting Alicia to stand up and challenge her as usual, but Alicia didn''t move. "What are you doing? She is ill," Paulina snapped at her angrily, as she picked up the nket and rushed to the bed to cover her mistress. Although Paulina was usually scared and timid, she couldn''t afford to be that way when her mistress was sick. She needed to be bold like her mistress in order to protect her. "Ill? You mean like she pretended to be ill thest time?" Beth asked, unwilling to buy Paulina''s tale. "Prince Harold brought her back this wayst night. She hasn''t opened her eyes since she got back," Paulina tried to exin, but Beth was having none of it. She had allowed them to get away with it the first time, and she had even been scolded. She wasn''t going to let them get away with it this time. "If you don''t stand up this minute, I''m going to report you directly to the King!" Beth threatened as she tried to drag Alicia off the bed, but Paulina tried to stop her, and Beth pushed her to the side roughly. "What are you doing?" Tyra asked in horror as she and Susan rushed over to Alicia''s bedside. They had bothe in to check on Alicia before breakfast, mainly because they were curious to know what had happened the previous day and why Harold had carried her that way. "Are you crazy?" Susan snapped at Beth in anger. "She is pretending to be sick. I swear it! She is pretending!" Beth said indignantly as Paulina, Tyra, and Susan gathered around Alicia, who was still unconscious and oblivious to what was happening around her. "She isn''t awake yet?" Susan asked in concern when she noticed how pale Alicia looked, and Paulina shook her head as she sobbed softly. "Please call the physician," Paulina pleaded, looking at Tyra, while Beth stared at Alicia''s sleeping form in confusion. Chapter 73 "I Wont Kill Her." Harold tried his best not to nce at the empty seat beside him or show the others around the table that he was concerned by the absence of his bride as he joined the rest of the family for breakfast that morning. Breakfast hardly felt like breakfast anymore whenever she wasn''t there to cause trouble. He distractedly listened to the chattering going on at the table as they all ate, but he barely touched his meal as he waited for the chattering to stop and for the king and queen to leave so that he could do the same. He needed to know what the royal physician had to say about Alicia''s health. He was feeling very worried about it. "Did something happen yesterday?" The king asked, since, like everyone else, he had also heard about how Harold had carried his wife to her bedroom, and now she was absent from the breakfast table. Harold almost scoffed at the question. Hadn''t the king been the same person who said that nothing concerning his son happened without his knowledge? Howe he didn''t know that he had been attacked? Harold''s gaze moved to the Queen, and then to Ivan, before shaking his head, "Nothing noteworthy happened," Harold assured the king. He knew that both the queen and Ivan were probably expecting him to mention the attack that was made on his life, but he had no intention of doing so. He wanted them to keep trying to guess what had happened. "So why is your bride not here? Did she decide to sleep in because she was too tired from the trip?" The king asked again. "No. She is absent because she isn''t feeling well," Harold supplied tly, beginning to feel annoyed by the interrogation. "I guess leaving the pce didn''t help her health improve after all," the King said thoughtfully, while the others remained silent. The Queen cleared her throat and spoke up. "Has the royal physician gone to attend to her to find out what is wrong?" The Queen asked no one in particr as she tried to look concerned. "Yes, mother. I sent for him beforeing for breakfast," Tyra answered in a timid voice. Her mother spared her a nce before nodding in approval. "Good. I suppose you have seen her? How bad is the illness?" The Queen asked curiously since Beth had reported to her thest time while being scolded that Princess Amber was faking her illness just so that she could skip her sses. Beth had wanted to keep that from the queen, but seeing how Harold, whom she had reported to, did nothing about it, she decided she needed a better ally. Besides, she could not get over the fact that these princesses were treating her like she was trash. The good thing was that it seemed the queen believed her. Even if the queen didn''t take any action, she had at least sown a seed of doubt in the queen''s mind against Princess Amber. "ording to her maid, she has been sleeping since she returnedst night. And even while I was there with Susan, she was unconscious and we caught Beth trying to drag her off the bed," Tyra informed her mother, making Harold''s blood boil in anger, but he tried to hide it as he looked in the direction Beth usually stood. She wasn''t there today. How dare the ve girl try to put her hands on his bride despite all his warnings? She tried to drag her off the bed while she was feeling ill? He understood that she probably assumed that his bride was pretending to be ill once again since she had caught her the first time, but that gave her no right to disrespect his bride in that manner. Even if they saw his bride running around and she told them she was sick, then she was sick! She doubted Beth would do something like that to Luciana, Tyra, or even Susan, so to whom did the arrogant maid think she was doing it? "What? Why would Beth do something like that to her? Does Beth not realize who she is?" Luciana asked with a frown. "She seems to think that Princess Amber is pretending to be ill," Tyra exined. "Beth never treats her with respect," Susan added with a scowl. "She also tried to drag her out the other day when she skipped breakfast, despite how obvious it was that she was sick.If we hadn''t shown up, we don''t know what she would have done." The queen stole a nce at the king and noticed he didn''t like this kind of news. "I will see to it that Beth is punished for this," the Queen said in a slightly pissed-off tone. Why did Beth have to keep doing the things that she wasn''t asked to do? Her only duty was to keep an eye on Harold''s bride and tell them whatever was going on between the bride and the prince. But thus far, Beth seemed useless to her. She needed to be taught a lesson unless she wanted to make things difficult for herself. The King''s gaze moved to Harold, and he could tell that Harold was barely trying to control his temper, even though he was trying to conceal it. He was an alpha, after all. Any little change could be easily felt. "Why don''t you leave the punishment to Harold? After all, she is his bride, and it would be best if he used Beth as a scapegoat so that everyone else would think twice before disrespecting her. Or anyone else," the King suggested, and the Queen looked from him to Harold with uncertainty. No matter what Beth did, she was still the daughter of her loyal servant. She couldn''t trust Harold not to kill Beth. "Your majesty¡ª" "I will take care of it," Harold said in an eerily quiet voice, interrupting the queen who was about to speak. The queen looked at her son, Prince Ivan, who had been unusually quiet throughout the breakfast. He seemed to not like this idea either. Beth was their person. As if sensing their mood, Harold promised. "I won''t kill her." That even made the queen and prince Ivan even more nervous on the girl''s behalf. "Good. Then we will leave it to you." The king said before he stood up and left the table with the queen behind him. This time, Prince Ivan stood up immediately, leaving before Harold even stood from his seat. Ignoring all of them, Harold went to work. That morning, everyone gathered around the windows, peeping at what was happening outside. No one could describe the kind of joy most of the maids and servants felt when they saw Beth in that position. It was no news that Harold was ruthless, but watching him watch the scene while sitting on a high chair and eating a ck fruit that looked like an apple made him seem like an evil overlord. Beth was tied around a pir with a grapefruit on top of her head and her shoulders. Those fruits were the targets the new guards were supposed to strike with their arrowheads. The worst part was that the arrowheads had been coated with wolfsbane. That was to say if it seeded in touching her, the pain was not going to be like other normal pains. It was going to be excruciating and take days to heal up. And if it touched any of her vital organs, she was going to die. If she survived this session, she would have to graduate to the next punishment. If she survived the next, she would move on to the next until Harold was satisfied. She was probably going to die from high blood pressure before they were done. Beth, as usual, kept a stony face. This just made her hate not just Amber, but everyone fond of that witch. She didn''t cry or beg. She only promised to survive this because she was the one destined to kill Amber with her hands. When her gaze fell on the evil overlord, i.e. Harold, it softened. She wondered why he couldn''t see how they were perfect for each other. She promised herself that one day, she was going to make him see it. Seeing how she was staring at Harold, Alvin cleared his throat and informed his friend sh boss. "She is... looking at you with love eyes." He whispered like a love guru, making Harold frown angrily as he raised his hands, letting the trainers start shooting one after the other. Even though the ves and maids disliked Beth with great passion, their hearts beat faster with every arrow that flew towards her whenever new fruits were ced on her head or shoulders. By the time they were halfway through this round, Beth was crying from pain, and they could all see how fast her chest was heaving because, with every arrow flying towards her, she thought she was going to die. She couldn''t keep up her strong woman persona as tears streamed down her cheeks. Never had she been subjected to this kind of humiliation before. No matter what, she was never going to let Alicia off. Not after such a public humiliation. Chapter 74 Sleeping Beauty The onlookers didn''t know whether to be relieved for Beth or not when she passed the first stage. She was crying from not just the fear but some arrows that had scratched her identally. And by scratch, it was a big wound, and the presence of the wolfsbane made it excruciating. She also had blood on her lips because she had been biting down hard on her lips to stop herself from crying out, but unfortunately, that couldn''t hold her. Her father was one of the best warriors in this kingdom and had spent months conquering other cities and protecting the kingdom. Her mother had not only dedicated her life to serving the queen, but she had also died protecting the queen when the Omega woman, who had been assigned by the king to raise Harold, tried to kill the queen. She didn''t know the full story, but she was able to find out that Prince Harold''s mother was a mere Omega who had died after his birth, so he was ced under the care of another Omega to raise him. The queen had been nice enough to visit them one day, and the stupid woman attacked the queen. She couldn''t fathom how an Omega would dare do that or how they got the boldness to do something like that to not just a beta but to the Alpha''s bride. The thought of her strong mother dying in the hands of a mere Omega that deserved to be extinct from the face of the universemade her blood boil. It was the reason she hated Princess Tyra. Omegas were nothing but useless. One may ask why she was still going after Prince Harold despite knowing all of this. It was simple. Both their mothers and his so-called nanny, who killed her mother, were all dead, and nothing they would do was going to bring them back. So they had to n for the future, and since Harold was an Alpha, she deserved to be his bride. Not only because her mother was killed because of him, and they had to pay her back somehow, but because she always went for the best. Her father''s sacrifice, her mother''s sacrifice, and her sacrifice to keep the pce running were enough for them to link them up together. So imagine her shock when she heard that he was getting married! And the worst part was, it was to a HUMAN! But that same person was looking at her with dark eyes. She didn''t want to believe that he was truly doing this to teach her a lesson for messing with his bride. She didn''t even want to believe he had any iota of ''like'' in his heart for her. Maybe he was just trying to vent his anger at being forced to marry that girl. Just maybe. With that in mind, she endured the pain but began to wish she had just allowed those arrows to strike her vital points because the next punishment was getting whipped. She wished it was as simple as it sounded. She was taken to a dark room where she had to strip off her outer garments. A female Beta knight handled this aspect, whipping her back with a cow leather whip with the tips dipped in wolfsbane. It seemed like Harold''s n was to make her wish for death instead. Her cries reached the ends of the pce, terrifying everyone within the pce. This was a warning to never mess with any member of the royal family, whether they were significant or not,because if Beth, who was the daughter of Rager and the favourite maid of the queen, could face this, what about the others? While all this was going on, Alicia was still in a deep sleep. At this point, she could be called ''Princess Aurora, the Sleeping Beauty''because of how peaceful and beautiful she looked. If she had used a normal sleeping pill, she would have been a lot better now, but unfortunately for her, nothing about this pce was normal. The medicine was made for werewolves, which meant it had a longersting effect on humans. Werewolves would have been knocked out for only a couple of hours or some couldst for only a few minutes depending on their body, but Alicia had been out for over 24 hours now and even though the royal physician had made her drink medicine to help her wake up earlier, there was still no sign of that happening. Paulina had a worried frown on her face as she sat on the bed beside her unconscious mistress while holding her hands. Although the physician had said that she was only sleeping and would eventually wake up, Paulina couldn''t help feeling scared. What if she never woke up? "Don''t worry. She will be okay," Princess Tyra, who was seated on the other side of the bed, cut into Paulina''s thoughts as though she could read her mind. Paulina gave her a nodbut didn''t take her eyes away from Alicia''s face. "Why are you so devoted to your mistress?" Tyra asked curiously. She had never seen a servant who was this attached to her mistress. The others did theirs out of duty, but it was so easy to see that Paulina loved her mistress. "It''s my duty," Paulina said softly, but Tyra shook her head. "It''s beyond duty. Not all servants would challenge Beth for their mistress," Tyra saidsince even she was sometimes scared of Beth. "I had to do it. She would have done it for me," Paulina pointed out, and Tyra nodded. That was true. Princess Amber loved her maid, and she never failed to show it. Perhaps that was what Paulina was reciprocating. Paulina, on the other hand, thought back on her rtionship with her mistress. Although she had always loved the Princess, she realized that she loved her even more now after the drowning incident. Both Tyra and Paulina nced at the door when someone knocked on it before it was pushed open and the Queen walked in. She needed to confirm that Harold''s bride was truly ill and not faking it while Beth, who was her person, was being tortured. The queen''s gaze fell on her daughter Tyra, who was seated on the bed, and disapproval flickered in her eyes before her gaze moved to Paulina, who had gotten off the bed at the sight of the queen and was now standing with her head bowed. "She is still unconscious?" The queen asked as her gaze settled on Alicia and she moved closer to the bed. "Yes, mother. Although the royal physician gave her medicine, it''s not working yet," Tyra exined. "Did he say what was wrong with her?" The Queen asked curiously. "He only said that she is in a deep sleep," Tyra exined since that was the only exnation that the royal physician had given her. Alvin had visited the royal physician on Prince Harold''s order to ask if he had given Alicia any sleeping medicine, and the royal physician had exined that Alicia had requested it the previous morning. Alvin had then told the royal physician not to tell anyone about it. It wouldn''t speak well of both Alicia and the royal physician if the royal family found out that she had done this to herself. As the queen approached the side of the bed where Paulina stood, Paulina quickly moved away from there to stand at the other end of the room. The Queen ignored her as she stood beside the bed and looked down at Alicia, who was still sleeping peacefully. "Princess Amber?" The queen called softly as she tapped her shoulder gently, but Alicia didn''t respond. Seeing the peaceful look on Alicia''s face, she was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that she was truly deep in sleep. She had initially assumed that Alicia had probably been hurt or that she was pretending to be ill, as Beth had said. Why had Beth decided to cause such a nuisance without checking her facts? "The moment she regains consciousness, let me know," the Queen instructed Tyra before turning around to leave the chamber. She headed straight for the royal garden, where Ivan was waiting for her, and once he saw her approaching, he stood up and said, "How is she?" The Queen looked around to be sure that no one was anywhere around before sitting down, "She is unconsciouslike they said." "He is really torturing Beth. Don''t you think he is doing that because he knows that she is our person?" Ivan asked as he watched his mother. "She was wrong to have done what she did, so we can''t interfere," the Queen said with a sigh. ,m Ivan was about to say something when his guard joined them in the garden and bowed to the two of them. He turned to look at the guard who was staring at him like he had something to say, and he nodded for the guard toe forward. The guard leaned forward and whispered something into his ear making Ivan raise a brow as he dismissed him. "Did something happen?" The queen asked curiously. "One of the pce guards thought he saw Harold climbing out of his bride''s chamber through the window just before dawn this morning," he said, making the queen''s brows arch. "Does that mean that he didn''t shiftst night?" She asked, clearly surprised by the information. Chapter 75 Something Smells Fishy By dinner time, it had be news all over the pce that Harold''s bride was ill, and everyone couldn''t help but worry about it, for different reasons. "She is still unconscious?" The king asked with concern as they ate. "Yes, my king. The royal physician is doing all he can to make her wake up," the Queen responded. "What did he say was the problem? Was it something she ate or drank? Did you eat at the vige?" The King asked as he turned to Harold, who shook his head, not thinking that he was lying to the King. After all, the king had asked if ''he'' ate. He didn''t eat. It was his bride and Alvin who ate, and there was no reason to tell him that since he knew that she hadn''t been posioned. "What was she doing when she became unconscious?" The Queen asked curiously. "She was exhausted from the trip." He left it simply at that, knowing they would formte something on their own. She had been ''sick'' and traveled into the town for hours; it was only normal for her topse back into illness. The queen looked at him, not sure whether to believe him or not. The King turned to Harold and asked, "Have you been to her chamber to see her yet?" Harold cleared his throat and answered in a monotone voice, "I did." He said and didn''t continue, even though he knew the others were waiting for him to continue. The King wasn''t sure whether to believe him or not. Harold was a very perceptive person, but he honestly couldn''t tell what kind of rtionship Harold had with his bride. Both the Queen and Ivan exchanged a subtle nce when they heard that. "Really? I didn''t hear about that," the Queen said with a curious smile while waiting for him to say more. Had he spent the night in his bride''s chamber? That was the question that kept guing their minds. What would it mean if he had truly not shifted for the first time in all these years? Did it mean the moon goddess had lifted the curse? Why? "It was during my training at the break of dawn. And... I used her window," he said, surprising all of them, except the queen and prince Ivan, who looked confused because now, they were not sure what to believe anymore, but as it stood, it seemed Prince Ivan''s guard had gotten the time wrong, making them think too much about this. It made them annoyed. Harold noticed the shift in their eyes and almost smirked, but he didn''t. If they thought a single thing would get past him in the pce, they must be dreaming. "Can I go with you to see her?" Williams, who usually preferred to keep to himself whenever they were all gathered, suddenly asked, surprising everyone. Harold nced at him, wondering why he wanted to see Alicia. "Okay," Harold said, not seeing any reason to turn down the request. Although he would have preferred to go alone, saying no would make the others think he cared about his bride, and he didn''t want them to think that. Unfortunately, saying he had paid her a visit this morning was probably going to give them the impression that he cared about her and there was nothing he would be able to do about it. He knew that the queen and her son didn''t care whether or not he cared about her. They were only worried that she would conceive,and they didn''t know the probability of a human birthing a werewolf and an alpha for that matter. Aside from that, they liked her as his bride because she was unruly and no one would want that kind of woman as queen. "You must have grown quite fond of your bride overnight. You were quite creative with Beth''s punishment. And to think you were there to supervise it," Ivan said in a light tone, even though his words held a lot of meaning. "You must like the maid to have taken note of how I chose to punish her," Harold responded dryly. "You can relieve the maid of her duty to serve PrinceHarold''s bride. Get someone else to continue her training," the King instructed the Queen, since word had gotten to him that Harold''s bride wasn''t getting along with the maid and she had also pped Beth. "But she has been punished. Can she just continue to serve? She is..." "Get someone else," the king cut in, interrupting the queen, before standing up, "Harold, join me in the royal garden," he instructed as he walked away, and Harold stood up immediately and followed him while Ivan and his mother exchanged a nervous nce. The queen stood up and immediately left, followed by Ivan and his wife, Luciana. "This is the most boring dinner I''ve had in my life!" Susan said, when the four left. "Am I the only one who thinks something smells fishy?" "What do you mean?" Tyra asked curiously, but Susan shrugged. "I don''t know. I just think something smells...fishy," she said, sniffing the air. "Yea. There is a grilled fish right in front of you," William deadpanned, and pushed a te of fish closer to his sister. Tyra giggled before rising from her seat. "I will go to bed early. If you will excuse me." She bowed to the two who returned her bow. Immediatelyshe was out of the room, and it was just the twins left in the entire room, Susan faced Williams. "Why did you want to go see Princess Amber with Prince Harold?" He raised a brow to look at her as he asked, "Is it wrong of me to pay a visit to my rtive''s wife? With my rtive." "Don''t get all smart with me. You''ve been acting very suspiciouslytely. What are you up to?" She narrowed her eyes into slits and peered at him closely, but he used his finger to push back her forehead. "What were you talking about something being fishy?" He asked curiously. "Haven''t you noticed?" She asked before lowering her voice to a whisper. "There is something going on between Prince Harold, Prince Ivan and the Queen. I don''t know what that is... but I know it''s not very good." She said, seriously. Williams looked like he was pondering what she said, but instead, he said, "Don''t go sticking your nose in other people''s business. When you are in the pce, you should be blind, deaf, and mute. Just focus on your sses." "Yes, father," she said while rolling her eyes. "Such a boring person." Outside the dining hall, neither the King nor Harold said a word to each other as they walked to the discussion room. Immediately after they took their seats, the king dismissed the guards so that he could be alone with Harold. "Why didn''t you report it to me that you were attacked on your way back to the pce?" The king asked in a slightly angry tone. There was no need for him to question the king about how he learned about the attack. The King had his own way of finding out information, just like he did. "You said nothing happens without your knowledge, so there was no need to," Harold said with a straight face that made the king sigh. It seemed to him like no matter how much he tried, Harold was never going to forgive him for his mother''s death nor acknowledge him as his father. "You should have told me. You owe it to me. Not just as your father, but the king of this kingdom. You are royalty, and so is she." Harold met his father''s gaze. He was very tempted to tell him that he didn''t owe him anything, but he refrained himself from doing so. Knowing how stubborn Harold was, the king decided not to push it. "Did they hurt your bride..." "Amber," Harold said. "She has a name." Honestly, it sounded kind of weird to say her name out loud. He wasn''t sure he had ever called her that before. "Did they hurt h¡ª" The king asked in a tone that told Harold he was offended but trying not to show it. "No. She was exhausted, just like I said earlier," Harold cut in. When they were alone, this way, he could speak with him normally. "So the people who attacked you yesterday, are they the same as those who attacked you thest time?" "I don''t know. But they were humans," he informed the king. It still didn''t make sense to him that they had sent human assassins after him when they knew he could perfectly deal with a hundred humans at once. Was this some kind of sick game? Over all, he was a little d they had been humans. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to handle them, especially with his bride around. It would have been impossible for her to hurt his fellow breed. "If that''s all, can I leave now?" Harold asked. "You... should be careful," the King warned softly. Harold took that as his cue to leave, so he stood up and gave him a bow before leaving. Chapter 76 "Wake Up," Once the queen and Ivan left the dining room, they headed for the special servant''s quarters in the main pce building, where they knew Beth would be resting after the day''s torture. The Queen turned to the guards who were following them; "You''re dismissed for the night," she said before turning to Luciana, "You too," she said, hurting Luciana''s feelings once again as she turned to her husband, who nodded his head for her to leave. Not having any other choice, Luciana walked away, leaving the mother and son. "I guess we were worried for nothing," Ivan said once he was alone with his mother, and she nodded. "Still, we should keep an eye on him. And you should try to be careful and stop goading him," the Queen warned as she led the way to Beth''s chamber. It was notmon for the top members of the royal family to visit the servants'' quarters since it was the duty of the servants to report to her whenever she sent to them, but it was a known fact around the pce that Beth was the queen''s person, so it was only natural that she would check in on her. As they both walked into the building, all the servants stopped whatever they were doing and bowed to them as they walked past them. "Is Beth here?" The Queen asked the chief courtdy. "She is, My Queen. I will get her..." "No. I will go to her," the Queen interrupted, and the chief courtdy bowed her head as she led the Queen to a chamber at the end of the passage. They could hear Beth crying and groaning in pain even before they got to the door. "Leave us," the Queen told thedy before opening the door. "You can wait here," she told Ivan before going in, since she wasn''t sure about Beth''s state of undress. She adjusted her vision once she got into the dark chamber until her gaze fell on Beth, who was lying belly down on the bed. As she had thought, Beth''s back was exposed and only her waist down was covered. Her back looked very red and sore, and from the way the usually strong Beth sobbed, she could tell that the injury must have been very painful. She hade wanting to scold Beth for what she did, but seeing her in pain knocked the wind out of her sails. How was she supposed to kick an already wounded dog? "Beth," the queen called softly, and the moment Beth heard the queen''s voice, she tried to sit up, but the queen immediately stopped her, "Don''t move," she ordered, and Beth stayed still. "Have your wounds been treated?" She asked with concern as she drew closer to observe the wounds. She knew that the wounds were not going to heal very fast because of the wolfsbane. "Yes, my queen. Some of the servants attended to me," Beth said in a very faint voice. Unfortunately, she couldn''t get proper treatment because it was part of Harold''s discipline. She had to bear the pain as it would remind her to never mess with his bride ever again. "Why did you disrespect Prince Harold''s bride in that manner?" The Queen asked, and Beth sniffled. "I thought she was faking it like she did thest time. I deserve to be punished, My Queen," Beth said, not sounding so sure anymore. Especially now that she had learned that Alicia was still not awake. The Queen sighed deeply. "You went too far. The King has ordered that you be relieved of your duty. You will no longer be serving Princess Amber," the Queen informed her. Although Beth had mixed feelings about the order, she didn''t protest. On one hand, she didn''t want to serve Harold''s stupid bride or be responsible for her, while on the other hand, she wanted to remain in charge of her so that she would teach her a lesson. She was just going to have to figure out another way to teach her a lesson and separate her from Harold. "I will ask the royal physician to give the servants something soothing for your wounds. You can rest until you fully recover. I will assign you to some other duties when you feel better." The queen said to her "Thank you, my queen," Beth said weakly. This was the reason she was going to remain loyal to the queen for the rest of her life. The woman treated her better than anyone else. She believed the queen would also be able to get the royal physician to attend to her, asopposed to Prince Harold''smand. The Queen gave her a nod before walking away. "How is she doing?" Ivan asked as he and the Queen walked out of the servants'' quarters. "Not good. She was punished badly,"The Queen said with displeasure. "He did that only because he knows that she is loyal to you," Ivan said angrily. "Let''s not dwell on that. We still have to admit that Beth was wrong in doing that to the bride of a member of the royal family." "How is that bastard a member of the royal family? You now see him as one of us?" Ivan asked, and the Queen turned to look at him with displeasure. "Do not ever utter such words out loud," she scolded as she looked around to be sure that no one else had heard them before they both returned to the second floor. ************ Harold sat down beside her on the bed and stared at her face. He used to like his quiet life, but since she showed up, his life was anything but that. Now that he had returned to his normal, serene and quiet life, it felt weird. ''Test it out and spend the night here again,'' his wolf suggested. Harold had thought about it, but spending the night twice in a row was strange. Besides, he had not nnsleepoverp overst night. He just found himself in a peaceful, dreamless sleep. ''Aren''t you supposed to be against that since you didn''t get the chance to roam freelyst night?'' Harold asked. ''I am not that selfish. It''s not as if it''s fun for you to shift. Besides, we still have a theory to test.'' Harold said nothing. ''Yes, yes. I know what you are thinking. You are touched by the kind of empathy I have.'' He said this in a narcissistic tone. ''Get lost!'' Harold shut the idiot out and focused on his sleeping bride. He noticed she was getting cold and pulled up the quilt to cover her body, his eyes never leaving her face. "Wake up," he said softly before reaching out to poke her on the cheek gently. He felt kind of helpless because he had never taken care of a sick person before and didn''t know what to do when someone was sick. The only people close to him were Tyra and Alvin. There were always royal physicians and maids to take care of Tyra when she was sick, and even if the queen treated her poorly sometimes, she was still her daughter after all and cared for her. Alvin, on the other hand, seemed to not get sick at all. Except he was injured after serious fights and Alvin would go inside the town to get treated by their private physician, so Harold also didn''t take care of him. Now, he had a bride whom he was obliged to care for, even if he didn''t want to do that. He had threatened the physician to make her wake up until the poor man was pale and almost fed her the wrong medicine. Despite his threats and everything they had fed her, she was still sleeping. "You really do know how to anger me," he said angrily, but continued to poke her cheek gently. ''Someone ising,'' his wolf warned him. ''William,'' Harold said before standing up from where he had been seated. A soft knock came on the door before Williams opened it and peeped inside. When he saw Harold, he entered the room and stood farther from the foot of the bed, looking at Alicia. He couldn''t say he wasn''t a bit disappointed by Paulina''s absence. He had been expecting to see her in the chamber since she had failed to show up in the painting room as usual, and he hadn''t seen her all day. Perhaps after saving her that first day, a part of him had started looking out for her. Williams shook his head to get rid of such thoughts as he focused his gaze on Alicia''s face. "This looks more than just exhaustion," he pointed out, but it seemed he was talking more to himself than to Harold, who didn''t bother to say anything. "Why are you here?" Harold asked after a deafening silence lingered for a while. "I told you I wanted toe with you to see her. Orcan''t I pay a visit to my cousin''s sick bride?" He asked, looking at Harold, who was observing him with a scrutinizing gaze, before hereminded William, "We are not cousins." "I consider you my cousin." William maintained eye contact for a while before he smiled and looked away. "I may be able to prescribe some medicine for her. My mother used to make them. But I''ll need to get the ingredients myself from the market. I can''t put my trust in anything... around here. I believe you feel the same way." "It''s almost curfew," Harold reminded him just as the curfew bell rang. "Go to bed," Harold said to him dismissively, since he didn''t trust Williams. He was, after all, the queen''s nephew, and he couldn''t tell if he had been sent by the queen. "Good night. Let me know what you decide about her health. Everyone is worried about her," Williams said before giving him a bow and walking away. Chapter 77 "... He Wont Hurt Her," Paulina, who was busy moving from one pir to the other, trying to hide from guards as she sneaked out of her quarters, heading for Princess Amber''s chamber, almost jumped out of her skin in fear when the first bell rang. She didn''t know this, but she was lucky that she had been constantly using the scent mask Alvin continued to provide for her. If not, her hiding would have been pointless because they would have sniffed her out easily. Even though she knew that she was not supposed to be out after the first curfew bell, she nned on spending the night with her mistress. She didn''t trust anyone in this pce, and after Beth''s severe punishment earlier, she had a feeling that Beth was going to do something bad to her. She knew it was silly since there was a very high chance that Beth was probably bedridden, but she couldn''t put her mind at ease until she was inside that room to take care of her mistress by herself. Williams, who was heading towards his room after leaving Alicia''s room, paused when he noticed a movement from the corners of his eyes. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the edge of a maid''s gown at the corner of one of the pirs. Hearing the heartbeat and getting a whiff of her scent, which he had be used to by now, he could tell that it was Paulina. Did the girl have a death wish? What was she doing outside here at the time? Williams pondered as he watched her leap to the next pir,pletely unaware that she was being watched. Williams sighed to himself. He was in in view, yet she hadn''t seen him. Was this how she nned to hide herself from the guards? It seemed like she was bent on getting into trouble, and he was certain that she would be caught by the pce guards before she seeded in doing whatever it was that she had in mind. Thankfully, it was just the first warning bell that had been rung. He decided to just stand there and wait till she bumped into him and realized what a silly n this was. Meanwhile, Paulina was thanking her ancestors for sessfully leading her halfway when she suddenly took note of someone standing in front of her. She jumped in shock and used her hand to cover her mouth, muffling her scream, and turned to run away without even looking at the person. She only saw the body build of the person and prepared to flee, but it seemed like she only seeded in taking three steps before the person appeared in front of her and her head bumped right into his chest. She immediately took a step back and bowed her head as she began to apologize profusely. "I''m... sssorry. I... didn''t...." He interrupted her squeaky ramblings and said, "Do you have a death wish?" Williams asked as he observed the shaking little girl in front of him. Maybe it was wrong to refer to her as a "little girl" since she was older than him, but he couldn''t help it. He could literally use her head as a table to support his elbow. She was little and fragile. "I... I am ssssorry... I did¡ª" It suddenly urred to her that the voice was familiar, so she quickly snapped her head up and was met with William''s prying eyes. She looked down immediately, noting she would have preferred to be caught by a guard instead. This royal made her scared and ufortable for no reason at all. And he was a nice person, but she couldn''t understand why she was always scared. "You were smart to not scream. You could have been in trouble if your voice was heard. What are you doing out here at this time?" Paulina tried to speak, but she suddenly didn''t know how to. "I... I w-want... I am..." "Breathe, Paulina," he said in a gentle voice, urging her to rx and breathe because if she continued like that, there was a high chance she was going to copse. As if she had been waiting for permission, she immediately took a deep breath and breathed out loudly. "T-thank... y-you, Milord," she said timidly, without daring to raise her head to look at him. "For what?" He asked curiously. Paulina searched her brain for the answer. What was she exactly thanking him for? "F-For... telling... me to... breathe?" She asked uncertainly and raised her head to look at him. William''s lips twitched in amusement before nodding. "If you are going to see your mistress, you should return. The second bell will sound in a while, and also... Prince Harold is with her." "Eh?" She looked up in surprise. "What... is... he d-doing there?" She asked and started to visibly panic as she considered racing to the room. What was the prince doing to her unconscious mistress? "He is her husband. He won''t hurt her." Williams reminded her. "But¡ª" "No buts," he said before looking at the window closest to them. "You are going toplete your painting tomorrow, right?" He asked, looking back at her. When she nodded, he said, "I guess we can start mine the day after tomorrow." "Uhm... I..." "You aren''t nning to go back on your word, are you?" He asked with a narrowed gaze. "No, no, no, no." She rushed to assure him while waving her hands. "I... I will... do it." He gave her a half-smile thatsted only a second before he looked behind her. "At the count of twenty, the next bell is going to sound," he informed her and saw how her eyes widened, as panic set in again. He was about to tell her to run before she turned around and ran away without a single word to him, holding her dress in her hand to help her run easier. His lips curved into a smile as she disappeared from his sight. "She is super fast," he said to himself, keeping his fingers crossed that she would be in her room by then. He had lied about the seconds; it would take 40 counts before the next bell rang. But at least she would have gotten to her room by then before the pce night guards came out. ******* Meanwhile, inside Alicia''s chamber, after Williams left, Harold returned to Alicia''s bed and sat down beside her once again, contemting whether or not he should take his wolf''s suggestion and spend the night beside her once again. He was just as curious as his wolf to see if his curse had been broken, or if it had been by chance that the first time he spent the night with her, he did not shiftinto his wolf form. He knew that it was a pretty risky thing to do, as he was certain that both the Queen and Ivan would probably have people keeping an eye on him to see if the rumours they had heard were true. And it was even riskier because if that didn''t work, it meant he was going to shift in here. Of course, like them, Alvin had also heard the rumours going around among the pce guards that one of them had seen Harold leaving his bride''s chamber earlier that morning. Hence, he''d stylishly brought it up at the dinner table to dispel the rumour. What if the theory was true, and he didn''t have to transform whenever he passed the night with his bride? What would that mean for their marriage? It was one thing to sleep beside her when she was unconscious and didn''t know that he was there, but it would be an entirely different case when she was conscious. Not that he wanted to spend the nights with her, but would she want to even spend the night with him? ''What if it only happened because she is unconscious?'' his wolf asked. Harold sighed. The unanswered questions were bing too much, and the only way he could get the answers he needed was by trying out the theories. He would spend this night with her, and after now when she regains her consciousness he would let her be, and they would return to their separate lives. With that thought in mind, Harold left her bedside and left the chamber through the door so that whoever the queen and Ivan had set to check the time he left the chamber would actually see him leave. He continued down to the main pce door and exited just as the second bell rang. Once he got out, he quickly made his way to the other side of the pce, as though he was leaving the vicinity of the pce. He still had some time before his transformation, so he went around the pce and sneaked back inside through her window after making sure that no one was in sight. After a moment of hesitation, he climbed her bed. Chapter 78 Palace Affair ? "Are you okay?" Alvin asked with concern when he almost hit Harold with his sword once again. Harold wasn''t the type to be distracted during practice, but it was obvious that Harold''s mind wasn''t on whatever they were doing. "Yes. I''m fine," Harold said in a very unconvincing tone before saying, "Let go again," but Alvin shook his head. "No, you''re not okay. You have been very distracted. Is it because of Princess Amber? Are you that worried about her?" Alvin asked knowingly, since he was also beginning to get worried. It was the second day, and she had yet to wake up. "No, it''s not. Let''s keep practicing," Harold insisted as he picked up his sword. He had pushed forward their training time from noon to immediately after breakfast because he was restless. "Then what is it?" Alvin asked as he sheathed his sword, not willing to continue with the training. This was the time Alvin acted as a friend. Harold had a lot of things bothering his mind, and he had thought that training would help to distract him from his worries, but unfortunately, his worries were distracting him from the training. He stood still for a moment without saying a word, and upon seeing that Alvin was bent on not continuing with their training, he sheathed his sword and headed for the archery range. At least that was another sport that could keep him busy. Alvin followed him, and once he saw where he was headed, Alvin went to get his bow and some arrows before returning to join him. "You''re acting... strange," Alvin said cautiously as he inspected the bow to make sure it was okay. Harold turned to him as he took his bow from him. "Don''t overstep," he warned. He knew that Alvin was talking to him that way only because they were very close and he knew that he wouldn''t hurt him. "I''m sorry. I''m just very concerned about you," Alvin exined, but Harold said nothing as he drew two arrows and strung them in the bow. He tried to focus on the archery target ring as he released the arrows, but the arrow missed, making him hiss in frustration as he drew two arrows again while Alvin watched in silence. Once again, he had failed to turn after spending the night with Alicia, and now he was curious to know if it had happened, or rather failed to happen, because he was with her, or if it was because the curse had been lifted and it had nothing to do with her. Could he risk spending the night in his chamber alone just to see if it had anything to do with Alicia? Perhaps he could run out of the pce or jump out through his window once he sensed himself turning. Apart from that, he was even more worried about Princess Amber now. Everyone at the breakfast table had been concerned as well that morning. Perhaps he should take Williams at his word and let him prepare some medicine for her? At least Williams was the queen''s nephew, and he was certain that they wouldn''t dare hurt his bride, as the queen wouldn''t want to be in a bad position with the king. She could only try to hurt him secretly, not so openly as to kill his bride. Harold thought as he turned to Alvin, who was still standing beside him. "Go to Williams, ask him to tell you whatever he needs you to get from the vige to prepare medicine for her," Harold instructed Alvin, who looked at him without revealing any emotion. So he was distracted because he was thinking of his ill bride? Why then did he deny it earlier? Alvin mused. "Sir Williams? The queen''s nephew?" Alvin asked, just in case Harold had forgotten who Williams was. "Yes. I''m sure they won''t try to do anything to hurt her," Harold said confidently, and Alvin gave him a nod. "What about the bow? Do you still need it? Or should I take it back before leaving?" "Hand it over," Harold said, taking the bow from him before dismissing him. He still needed to distract himself. As Alvin turned to leave, he paused and contemted whether or not he should report something to Harold. "Is there something else you want to say to me?" Harold asked when he noticed from the corner of his eyes that Alvin was still standing there. Alvin cleared his throat, "Paulina has been spending a lot of time alone with Sir Williams in the painting room," he reported, and Harold''s hands faltered on the bow. "Do you think they''re doing anything in there other than painting?" Harold asked without turning around. "I''m not sure. I heard from the other servants that he requests for her to serve him whenever he goes in there to paint..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Word is going around that they''re both having an affair," Alvin added. "Rumors?" Harold asked with disapproval as he turned around this time to look at Alvin. "Do you believe them?" Alvin shook his head and said, "I don''t know about an affair. But I know that she is there with him right now. I heard one of the maids telling her to go to the painting room," Alvin reported. Harold considered it for a moment, then asked, "You said he was the one who saved her that first night, didn''t you?" "Yes," Alvin said with a nod. "You can keep an eye on them just to make sure that he is not working with the Queen to use her against either her mistress or me," Harold said, and Alvin bowed before leaving. Once Alvin left, Harold continued trying to hit the target until he heard Ivan''s voice beside him. "What could be wrong?" Ivan asked as he positioned himself beside Harold and, with his bow and arrow in hand, aimed at the target ring. "Bullseye!" His guard eximed, and Ivan turned to Harold with a smirk. "Perhaps I should teach my little brother how to hit his target?" Ivan asked, tauntingly. "Who would want to learn from a person who doesn''t know how to hit his target when it matters the most?" Harold asked with a smirk of his own as he walked away with his bow, leaving Ivan, who was glowering at his back. Away from there, and inside the painting room, Williams watched over Paulina''s shoulder as she carefully tried toplete the portrait painting. It seemed like once she started painting, she was oblivious to his presence. It was almost as if she had forgotten that he was in the room. He had noticed that the previous time as well. Whenever she was painting, she was transported to a world of her own where nothing else existed. She also looked very serious, but that onlysted until she raised her head and locked eyes with him, then she turned into a panicky and stuttering mess. Paulina, on the other hand, was thinking about her mistress as she painted. She wanted the portrait to be ready so that it would be the first thing she saw when she woke up from her sleep. She imagined how happy the princess would be to see her mother''s face. She hoped that her mistress would stop trying so hard to run away now. Who knew if that was the reason she had be sick? A knock sounded on the door, and Paulina snapped out of her thoughts as she looked up in surprise. "Don''t worry, it''s just one of the maids. You can keep painting," Williams assured her, surprising her even more as she turned around to look at him. When did he get there? He had been seated at his usual spot when she started painting. "Rx," Williams said with a shake of his head as he walked away and headed for the door. Once he pulled it open, a maid stood there with a tray of snacks. "Lady Susan said I should bring you some refreshments," the maid said with a bow, while trying not to take a peek into the room to see what Paulina was always doing there. Gossip was beginning to fly around among the pce maids that Paulina was having an affair with the young Lord, hence she was always meeting him in the painting room. "Thank you," Williams said as he took the tray from the maid and shut the door. "Take a break. Let''s eat," Williams called to her as he set the tray on one of the tables in the room, but Paulina didn''t respond as she had returned her attention to the painting once again. Williams let out a sigh as he walked over to where she was painting and squatted in front of her. Paulina''s head snapped up immediately as she looked at him in confusion. "I said you should take a break. Let''s have lunch," Williams said, pointing to the tray the maid had brought in. Chapter 79 "Never Let Your Guard Down." Paulina was startled to find Williams very close to her and even more surprised that he was asking her to eat with him. "Uhm... t-thank you, Milord. B-But I''m not... hungry," Paulina stuttered. It wasn''t even a second after she said that when her stomach rumbled in protest, disagreeing with her. She did not eat the previous day because,at first, she was too worried about her unconscious mistress, and after that, when she became hungry, she was too scared to go and ask the other servants for food, considering what had happened to Beth because of her mistress. Paulina winced as she looked down in embarrassment. She immediately dropped her painting brush and used her hands to press down on her belly, as if stopping the embarrassing sound froming out again. "Look at me," he said quietly. As if hypnotized, she immediately raised her head and looked up at him. "Let''s eat," Williams said in amusementbefore he stood up and turned away from her. Paulina remained there, not knowing what she was supposed to do. She wanted to run awaybut knew that wasn''t an option right now. How could she eat with a man? And he wasn''t just any man, but a member of the royal family. That would be like her courting death. She was about to open her mouth to tell him she didn''t want to, but a knock on the door interrupted her, making her jump in fear, wondering who was here this time. Williams wondered the same and went to check the door, thinking it was probably his sister. But to his surprise, it was Prince Harold''s guard. He didn''t know his name, but he had seen him several times with him before. "Do you have a minute?" Alvin asked. Williams''s lips formed into a straight line before he nodded and turned to look at Paulina behind him. "I probably won''t be returning soon. Eat up and return to your quarters." Paulina felt guilty for feeling slightly relieved when she heard that. He was leaving her with the refreshment. That was great news, right? But what if he was going to get into trouble and that was why they had asked for him? What if he was getting into trouble because of her since he had been letting her use the painting materials? "Eat," he said, cocking his head at the tray behind her before he left the room with Alvin. Alvin was able to catch a glimpse of Paulina on the floor before he led the way, leaving the room. He wasn''t sure what exactly was going on between them, and it wasn''t his business, but he just hoped they wouldn''t cause any trouble, especially Williams. "I am guessing the Prince changed his mind and wants me to help with the medicine, right?" William asked when they had walked a reasonable distance away from anyone''s earshot. "Yes," Alvin replied reluctantly, not sure what Harold was thinking. He had never asked anyone for help before. And most especially, not someone rted to the Queen. Just how relevant was the Princess to him that he had to resort to this method? "You don''t have to look so wary. I''m not poisoning her. Everyone knows my mother makes the best herbs and medicines. It''s only normal that I know how to make one or two, and I just happen to know the right one for my cousin''s bride. At least, I believe it''s the right one and it would make her well." "I will be with you throughout," Alvin said, not willing to take any chances. "Pfft! You sound like you''ll know if I mix up the wrong herbs and create poison instead," "You will be tasting it first." "You''re not very smart, are you? I could take an antidote first or take it after. There are different kinds of poison. Never let your guard down," Williams lectured with his hands behind him like a schr as he walked ahead. Alvin gritted his teeth angrily as he watched his back. He didn''t have a choice. He had to endure this. He only hoped he would be able to endure the long hours he was going to spend in William''s presence while they went into the town and not kill him. He desperately hoped so. ******* Alicia had travelled back in her dream to her own life, where she was Alicia Queen and not Princess Amber. Her scandals had been forgotten, and she was once again the nation''s sweetheart. Of course, she didn''t think it was a dream. She assumed that her transmigration to the past was a nightmare, and now that she was back to her real life, she ate all the food she missed, drove around town in her favourite car, went to the spa, and got a very good body treatment. She was back in her life and she was very happy here. Once in a while, her thoughts drifted to Paulina and Harold, wondering how they were both faring. But she didn''t let that bother her as she figured that Amber would have returned and taken over from where she stopped. Unfortunately for her, she didn''t get to enjoy her real life because things suddenly changed and she found herself back in the middle-ages, but this time, she wasn''t in the pce. She was in a strange ce that looked like a marketce. It also looked nothing like the market she had visited with Harold. As she wondered where she was and what she was suddenly doing there when a moment earlier she had been on her way to sign another endorsement deal, she heard a voice in her head yell, "RUN!" Looking around in confusion, she caught sight of two bulky men with swords, pushing through the crowd as if searching for something or someone. One locked eyes with her and pointed at her while telling the other person, "There she is. Get her!" Alicia didn''t know who they were or why they wanted to catch her, but she knew it couldn''t be good, so she began to run, berating herself for not doing so earlier. The men were on her heels, chasing after her with all their might. Her blood went cold when an arrow flew past her and got stuck on a wooden pir in front of her. She continued to run until she bumped into someone in front of her who drew out his sword and tried to strike her, but she was surprisingly fast and kicked him in the gut, sending him to the ground before she picked up the sword and stabbed him on the legs. When she felt like the others were getting closer, she left him there and ran away with his sword in hand. It wasn''t until she got to the outskirts of the town that she realized she had nowhere else to go since she was faced with a wide river. She only hesitated for a second before she jumped in, burying herself inside. She remained there for a long time until she felt her life leaving her, but she couldn''t go up because she could hear faint voices on the river bank. After what felt like hours, but in reality, was only a few minutes, she tried to swim back up but found out she couldn''t no matter how hard she struggled. She panicked and continued to try. She grew up beside a river in a rural area, so she was a very good swimmer and could not understand why she was finding it difficult to go up. "I can''t die like this," she heard Amber''s voice say in her head. "I won''t die like this." "Mother... save me," she cried. Unfortunately, she could no longer hold her breath and realized it was toote for her. As life left her, she suddenly gasped loudly and opened her eyes, sitting up instantly. She gasped for air for a while before she looked around, wondering where she was and the reason she was here. Her face fell when she realized she was back here and all of that had been a dream. She was thinking about the first dream where she was back in her real life. She looked around the empty room before standing up from the bed. She felt weak all over and felt like returning to bed, but she didn''t. Looking out her window, she didn''t know what day it was, but it was the break of dawn. Maybe around 6 a.m. As she tried to make sense of the dream she had just had, she staggered towards the mirror and noticed a sheet of paper on the dressing table. Curious, she picked it up and opened it. She could already tell it was a painting even before she opened the full thing and knew Paulina had kept it there. She smiled warmly when she saw that it was a portrait of her holding a bow. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and the smile instantly vanished, her face turning pale. She quickly looked back at the painting, realizing that she had missed something vital. The person in the painting had her real face. It was Alicia Queen. But right now, she had Princess Amber''s face. With wide eyes, she looked at the painting. "Who... is this person?" She asked no one in particr as she inspected the painting. Chapter 80 Missing Bride While Alicia was panicking in her bedroom, Harold was in his room, thinking. He looked out his window with his hands behind him, as he always did. For three nights, he had slept beside her, and for those three nights, he hadn''t changed into his wolf form. His body felt a little strange, and he seemed well-rested. For the first time in years, he was able to rest for three nights in a row! No excruciating bone-breaking pain. He was just normal. But that wasn''t the issue bothering him. It was his bride who had refused to wake up, despite everything they had done. He wasn''t usually the type to get worried over things, but his worry had reached the roof all of a sudden. What hadn''t he done? He had threatened the physician even with death and had also gone as far as epting Williams''s offer to make her herbal medicine, which he had done. He had personally fed it to his bride, not minding who was looking to report it to the Queen or what anyone was going to think of it. Yet, she wasn''t awake. What else could he do? He knew that at the rate he was going, everyone was soon going to start believing that his bride meant more to him than he let on. Even Alvin was thinking so already, even if he had yet to voice it. He wasn''t really concerned with what anyone was thinking. Those were the least of his concerns. ,m A soft knock came on the door, breaking into his thoughts, and he turned just as the door opened and Alvin walked in. "You didn''t shiftst night," Alvin said, trying hard to suppress his smile. It brought Harold back to the recent issue, so he answered as he turned back to look out of his window as the day slowly brightened. "Yes, I didn''t." "Does that mean your curse is broken? And you may likely find your mate or bear children with our kind?" Alvin asked curiously but received a sharp scolding gaze as Harold turned to re at him. "Apologies." Alvin kept his head down in a simple bow. Honestly, Prince Harold hadn''t cared about that part of the curse where he wouldn''t have a partner for the rest of his life. So now that he even had a bride whom Alvin suspected he liked, why would he still care about irrelevant things like that? "Do you think Williams fed her the wrong medicine?" Alvin almost choked on his saliva when he heard the uncertainty in Harold''s voice. Prince Harold was never uncertain about his decision. But seeing the worry across his face, he knew this was serious for him. "He won''t dare do such a thing. Besides, I don''t think the queen or prince Ivan hate your bride. It seems they want you to have a good rtionship." Harold thought so too. But he could never tell what those people were nning. What if they had only seemed that way because they were nning to hurt her all this while?" "Your highness?" "Harold," Harold corrected him. They were not in public, so he didn''t see any reason for Alvin to address him that way. "Uhm... that. What are you going to do when Princess Amber wakes up?" He sighed and turned to look out of his window again. "I have to stay away from her," he said quietly, as though he was talking to himself instead. He could not think of anything better than that. "I mean, you can no longer spend the night with her... right?" Oh, that! Of course, he won''t be able to. He had to stay away from her. Something told him that the more he got close to her, the more trouble was going toe to him. Whenever he was with her, he seemed tockmon sense and let her do whatever she wanted to do. Even if she had said she wanted to practice how to use an arrow with him as the target, he was sure he would have just sighed and stood right in front of her to let her shoot at him. He didn''t know why it happened that way, but he wanted to put a stop to it before it escted further from there. "Let''s pay her a visit before breakfast," Harold said, without bothering to respond to Alvin''s question. Alvin wanted to ask what he intended to do about his knowledge of his bride''s fighting skills, but he doubted that Harold had thought about that yet, seeing as his sole concern was for her to wake up, so he decided to leave that forter as the two of them left his room. Even though he had just left there very early that morning, he needed to check again to see how she was doing. By now, people were already moving around, and as usual, they fled whenever they spotted him. It seemed like their fear grew worse after Beth''s incident because some wouldn''t mind jumping out of the high window and breaking their spine instead of facing him. Harold snorted when he saw two pce guards who had been heading in his direction turn around immediately, running away as if they hadn''t seen him. He didn''t bother with them and went straight to her bedroom. As soon as he entered the room, his breath stopped when he found the bed empty. ''SHE IS MISSING!'' His wolf yelled the obvious. "She was here when I left. Where is she?" He asked Alvin, trying not to sound rmed. Did something happen to her? Why did they move her without telling him? Seeing the different emotions of concern, annoyance, and, surprisingly, fear, on Harold''s usually expressionless face, Alvin knew that this wasn''t good. "Please wait while I ask around," Alvin said calmly. Harold shook his head. He wasn''t going to wait around while his bride''s body was being moved to somewhere he didn''t know. Without saying a word, he stormed out of the bedroom and headed straight for the royal physician''s court. He would know if something had happened to her. "Where are you going to?" Alvin asked as he followed Harold. Harold responded, "To find out what happened to her, and who dared to move her without talking to me first," without breaking his stride, surprising Alvin, who hadn''t actually expected a response from him. "We can just ask any of the servants," Alvin pointed out, but seeing as everyone was running away at the sight of Harold, it was difficult to see anyone to question. "You can ask them," Harold said without stopping, while Alvin looked around for someone he could ask, so he would stop Harold before he did something terrible. Thankfully, he sighted one of the maids who had just sighted Harold and was scurrying away, and he ran after her, "Wait!" Alvin called to her and quickly stepped in front of her to block her path. The girl burst into tears while swearing she didn''t do anything wrong and asking for forgiveness without giving Alvin a chance to say a word. "Do you know where Prince Harold''s bride was taken to?" Alvin asked the maid, who confessed she hadn''t done anything wrong until his question sank in. She blinked a few times before she pointed in the direction of the servants'' quarters. "What?" Alvin asked in confusion. "She... w-went th-at... way," the maid stammered. "You mean she was taken there? By who?" The girl quickly shook her head, not wanting to be misunderstood. Thest thing she wanted was for Harold to punish someone else because they misunderstood her. "She... woke up, and went there on her own," she rushed to exin. "She is awake?" Alvin asked with pleasant surprise, and the moment the maid gave him a nod of affirmation, he hurried away to catch up with Harold to give him the news and also to stop him from doing something he would regret. "Which way did Prince Harold go?" He asked some of the guards he encountered when he couldn''t find Harold, and they pointed him in the direction of the physician''s court. Alvin quickened his pace and ran there in time to hear Harold''s growl, "What do you mean you don''t know where she is?" He asked in anger while the physician quaked visibly in fear. "I... I... s-wear to... you, your highness. I... know nothing of her whereabouts. I''ve not been to her chamber sincest night," he pleaded, afraid for his life. At this point, he was cursing himself for choosing this kind of profession. For the past few days, the poor man had been walking on an eggshell because of a certain human who refused to wake up. "Your highness," Alvin called, as he went to stand between Harold and the physician. Harold''s eyes shed with anger as he looked at him, "Have you found her?" He asked, thinking that Alvin knew better than to interfere in his business this way. Alvin gave him a nod and stepped closer to Harold to whisper into his ears, "One of the maids told me she is awake and went to the servants'' quarters. I think she went to find Paulina," Alvin reported to Harold, whose brows pulled together slightly, while the physician copsed on the floor in relief, grateful that Alvin hade just in time. ''Finally!'' his wolf suddenly yelped, but Harold wasn''t in the mood for any of that. Although he was d that she had woken up, he couldn''t help feeling slightly annoyed that the first person she went to find after she woke up was her servant instead of¡ª whatever! Without saying another word, Harold turned around and walked away from there, while Alvin ran after him, "Are we going to see her?" "No! I''m returning to my chamber. You can confirm to make sure that she is okay," Harold said in annoyance as he walked away, while Alvin looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was suddenly in a foul temper when he had been so worried about her only a while ago. Chapter 81 New Volunteer Instructor Meanwhile, Alicia finally found the servants'' quarters, unknowingly drawing attention to herself, not only because she was awake, but also because of the dress she was wearing. Since it was a simple dress ady was not supposed to wear out of her room, especially if she was a royal. Since it was going to be time for breakfast soon, she was supposed to dress properly instead of running around in a casual dress. But Alicia didn''t know all this as she looked around for Paulina, trying to find the particr room she was in or if she was even in since most of the maids and servants were in their ces of duty, working already, so it was also difficult to find someone to ask. Meanwhile, Paulina, who had been busy with chores on another side of the pce, had just heard that the princess was awake. She wasn''t sure which was racing faster: her heart or her feet. She ran with all her might to look for her. Fortunately, she met the princess outside the servant''s quarters and stopped running. She stood there, panting as she looked at her mistress''s back. Seeing that she was okay and also the fact that she was here to look for her, Paulina was consumed by her emotions. Paulina wouldn''t be Paulina without her crying, so that''s what she did. She burst into tears of joy, getting Alicia''s attention, who turned around to look at her. "Paulina," Alicia called her weakly. She desperately wanted to ask her about the painting, but seeing Paulina now and guessing how worried she must have been, she decided to ask her about the painting after consoling this big cry baby. p "Mydy!" Paulina cried as she threw her arms around Alicia, not minding the other servants who were walking by and looking at them. Most of the servants and guards around the pce were relieved to see that she was awake, but were curious as to why she came here first to see her servant instead of presenting herself to her husband and the royal family. Indeed, the rtionship between her and her servant was weird. "Please don''t start with the tears," Alicia said softly, even though she was d to see that Paulina was okay, although she had lost weight and looked thinner than she already was. "I''m so relieved that you''re okay now. I''m happy," Paulina cried, and Alicia raised an eyebrow. "How long did I sleep?" "Three days." "Three days?!" She asked, surprised. Howe three days had passed just now when it seemed like she had only had a long sleep? No wonder she felt very weak and tired. She hadn''t had anything to eat for three days! But surprisingly, she didn''t feel parched or have a hoarse throat. It was the reason she hadn''t thought she was unconscious for long. "Three days, mydy. Everyone was worried about you." Alicia snorted. She doubted that. With how much trouble she had caused them, she doubted they would be worried about her. "What happened to you? How... did you fall sick?" Paulina asked, fawning over her. Alicia realized she hadn''t even thought about that because as soon as she woke up, she kept thinking about the dream she had and then she saw the painting beforeing here. She thought back to that day, but she was too tired to think about it. Besides, she had something important to take care of. She was about to ask Paulina about the painting when Paulina asked, "Have you seen Prince Harold?" Alicia shook her head. "I haven''t. That paint¡ª" "Why? He was worried about you," Paulina told her, making Alicia raise an eyebrow. Harold wasn''t one to show his emotions so easily to others, so what did he do to make Paulina think that way? "I''m sure he must have been d I was unconscious. He hates my guts," "No, mydy." Paulina shook her head. "He visited you every day and night," Alicia hadn''t expected that. He visited her every day and night? She shook her head to get rid of any unnecessary thoughts. That wasn''t what was important right now. That wasn''t the reason she hade out to find Paulina. "Come, let''s go to my chamber. We need to talk," Alicia said as she took Paulina''s hand and pulled her away with her. "But mydy, You should prepare to join the royal family for breakfast. It will be time for breakfast soon, and I''m sure the queen must have heard that you''re awake now, and will be sending your new instructor," Paulina said, as Alicia kept dragging her along with her. "What new instructor?" Alicia asked as they kept walking. "Uhm... Beth is no longer going to be in charge of you here." "Really?" She asked, pleasantly surprised. "Yes, mydy. In fact, she was punished severely." "Seriously? What happened?" Alicia asked, enjoying this piece of information. Howe she had been unconscious when this happened? "Beth tried to drag you off the bed while you were unconscious. She thought you were pretending to be ill, and Prince Harold punished her," Paulina said, filling her in on all that had happened while she was unconscious. She visibly shivered when she talked about how Harold had punished Beth. Even though she knew nothing about the wolfsbane that had made the punishment unbearable for Beth, being used to hold up shooting targets and getting whipped was something she never wanted to experience. Alicia didn''t know how to feel about this. Harold had punished Beth for her? Wasn''t Beth the pce''s favourite maid? And it would have been horrible for Beth since she had a crush on Harold. "Poor girl," she sighed, feeling a little bad for her. If only Beth had been nice to her, they would have all lived in harmony. Paulina was right. She had to see Harold to at least let him know that she was awake and fine. It seemed he had been worried about her. Alicia''s lips twitched slightly with a smile. Although she had suspected that he cared about her, it was good to know that he hadn''t just been doing that for show. He really did care about her after all. For some unknown reason, she was looking forward to seeing him during breakfast and watching how he was going to keep an aloof face as if he didn''t care about anything in the world. Once they walked into her chamber and shut the door behind them, Alicia went to sit on the bed before turning to Paulina. "The painting... that painting," she said, pointing at the painting she left on the other side of the bed. "You painted that right?" Paulina''s face lit up as she nodded. "Do you... like it, mydy? I wanted to gift it to you for a long time. I was finally able toplete it." "Who did you paint?" Alicia asked, making Paulina''s brows pull together in concern. It seemed the princess hadn''tpletely recovered from the drowning. "It is... the queen. Your mother," Paulina said, wondering why she couldn''t recognize her own mother. "Amber''s mother?" Alicia asked with a confused frown, wondering why Princess Amber''s mother had her face. Was it a coincidence? No. It was all too perfect to be a coincidence. There had to be a link somewhere. Her mind flickered back to thest dream she had before she woke up. Was that a dream, or was it a memory? Was that Amber? Had she jumped into the river because she was trying to hide from those men who were chasing her? "Can Amber swim?" She asked, even though she believed Paulina had already mentioned that she couldn''t swim. "No, mydy," Paulina said with a shake of her head, wondering what was going on in her mistress''s head. Before Paulina could ask any more questions, someone knocked on the door and then pushed it open, and to Alicia''s surprise, Luciana, Prince Ivan''s wife, walked in with some maids, "Princess Amber! I''m so happy to see that you''re awake now," Luciana greeted happily, while Alicia wondered what she was up to. "Thank you, Princess Luciana," Amber said, but Luciana waved it off. "Call me Luciana. Just Luciana. I offered to take over from Beth since she wasn''t doing a good job and we don''t trust the others to serve you well either, seeing as everyone fears Prince Harold," Luciana said with a wide smile, which Alicia found suspicious. "How can a member of the royal family serve me?" Alicia asked, wondering who would approve of something like that. The smile remained on Luciana''s face. "I''m not exactly serving you. For the time being, I''ll simply instruct the maids on how to serve you. I will be training you too. Once you have passed all the tests, you won''t be needing me anymore," Princess Luciana said as she walked over to the bed and grabbed Alicia''s arm with a wide smile on her face, "I''m hoping that we can bond in this period." Chapter 82 Kings Beta Alicia didn''t need someone to tell her that this princess Luciana was up to no good. The princess reminded her of some of thedies she had met while working in the entertainment industry. The smile was just the same, and those people usually had an ulterior motive. But this was not the time to let her know she wasn''t looking forward to bonding with her. Since she was going to be her new instructor, she had to be nice and sweet so she wouldn''t give her hell like Beth did and make her stand for hours. In all truth, Alicia wasn''t looking forward to going to the dining table. She was weak, and it was strange that after being unconscious for three days, she still felt sleepy. She wished she could just stay in her room, freshen up and have something to eat here. And, of course, sleep for a while so she can fully recuperate. "Come on, you need to hurry up and get ready. We don''t want to arrive there after the King," Luciana said, smiling. Paulina helped Alicia up and led her to the bathroom, which the other maids had prepared for her. She soaked herself in therge wooden bath, feeling all her muscles rx. At least these maids were smart to let her stay here herself, unlike Beth''s underdogs who had to help her wash. Very awkward moments. Now that she was rxed, a lot of thoughts filled her head. She wanted to know how and why she fell unconscious and also wanted to know why Princess Amber''s mother had her face. She had often seen this inmovies but had never thought she would experience this herself. Was she a reincarnated version? Or were these people rted to her? Did it mean that Amber was also her ancestor? Then why did shee here? How had she swapped souls with Amber? That was if they really swapped souls because she didn''t know whether Amber was dead, still in this body, or whether she was living her life. But what if Amber was dead? What about her own body? Did anyone find her after she fell into that water? All the questions were beginning to give her a headache. She knew it was nearly impossible to get answers to those questions. All she had to do was look for a way to visit that vige if she wanted answers. But for now, she needed to know what caused her to fall unconscious, so she began to think about everything that happened before she fell sick suddenly. She could remember leaving the pce, so she started from there. The memory shed from one scene to another, causing it to make less sense to her because one moment she was inside a store, another she was dancing, another she was on Harold''s racing horse alone, and another she was eating. She had a feeling that something terrible might have happened. Because the more she tried to remember what happened, the more she got shivers as if it was something traumatizing. After she didn''t get any tangible things for a long moment, she gave up and washed her face and her hair, deciding to go get breakfast first. Maybe her memory wille back. Meanwhile, Harold seemed to be in the worst mood this morning. Even his brother, Prince Ivan, who liked to taunt him, kept his mouth shut, fearing Harold wouldn''t hold back. He looked like he was using a lot of energy to suppress his anger, which made the room feel stuffy for everyone inside, even though it was arge one. It wasn''t until he heard the weakest one, Tyra, whimper that he realized what was happening and called down. Everyone breathed out in relief, but Tyra''s was more audible. Ivan tried to make sense of the reason Harold was like this, and the only reason he could get was that his bride was awake. Did it mean he was hoping she would never wake up? For William''s, however, he had the same thought, wondering what was wrong with Harold, but his conclusion wasn''t the same as Ivan''s because Harold had asked him to swear on his life that no one was going to know about him making medicine for his bride and if he told a soul, Harold was going to ignore the fact that he was the queen''s rtive and have his head sent back home to his parents. He knew Harold was capable of doing that and no one would dare be the first to raise the topic of punishing him. The door opened from outside with everyone expecting Alicia to enter, but to their surprise, it was the King and Queen who had arrived there before Alicia. Behindthe royal elders, was none other than the King''s assistant/Beta, Damon, who had been away for an official assignment after he returned from Harold''s wedding ceremony in the other kingdom. They all stood up immediately, bowing as they approached further. Now that they looked around, Princess Luciana wasn''t here either. After they sat down, they noticed how the king was frowning as he looked at the empty seats. But it was the King''s beta who asked first, "Where are they?" Everyone knew what an annoying perfectionist he was. He had so much authority that he could pass for the king, which meant he was higher in rank than the queen. Now that he was back, they could only hope he would return for another assignment. "They aren''t here yet," Ivan exined. "Of course, he''s not blind. Why aren''t they here yet?" The Queen asked, frowning before turning to look at Harold to ask about his wife. But the door opened again with a loud, "GOOD MORNINGGGG!" in a sing-song voice. How much they missed her. Several lips twitched, and surprisingly, one of them belonged to the King. But two people, in particr, were not amused. Those two were the ever-rigid King''s assistant, Damon, and Harold. "I''m sorry, my King, my Queen," Luciana bowed deeply. "We didn''t mean to arrivete, we were just¡ª" "HOW COULD YOU SHOW UP AFTER THE KING AND QUEEN?" Damon bellowed, causing Alicia to flinch in shock before she turned to look at the man with the thunderous voice. The voice reminded her of the person''s voice in her dream, who had condemned her to death for lying about her identity. As she looked at him now, she remembered this man. It was the same man who had drawn a sword to her neck on her wedding day with Prince Harold. He seemed to have quite a temper. "I''m sorry, My King, My Queen," Luciana cried, bowing to almost ny degrees while shivering. They all knew how much authority Damon had. He wasn''t one to be messed with. Meanwhile, Alicia wasn''t bothered by him. She looked at Harold, who was just staring ahead like nothing concerned him. His facial features seemed to be a lot more rigid than they usually were. ''Shit! He''s angry,'' she said to herself, wondering who the unfortunate person was that had annoyed him this time. Not reading the atmosphere, she began to walk towards her usual seat. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO?" Damon asked, standing up angrily. "Dude, chill! Don''t you get tired of shouting? You are going to ruin the dishes with your spit," she chastised him in a weak voice before turning to look at the King, stunning Damon, who looked at her with his jaw hanging low. He had known she was a rude, mannerless human, but he hadn''t expected her to talk to him in that manner. He thought bying here, they would have lectured her on how to behave, but it seemed he had been expecting too much. Everyone else tried to suppress theirugh, but it seemed to be more difficult with each passing second, especially with the look Damon had on his face. It was the queen who identally let out augh before sheported herself and pressed her lips into a thin line. "My King, My Queen," she bowed deeply, greeting the two. "Thank you for your care and concern. I am presenting myself to let you know I feel better now," "HEY! How... how dare you?!" Damon asked, angry at being ignored. "Goodness! I really should have remained unconscious if I knew I was going to face you today," sheined as she went to sit down. "Why are you still standing there? Come sit down!" She called over Luciana, who was waiting for the king''s permission to rise from the deep bow that was beginning to make her backache. Luciana raised her head to peek at them. She didn''t know whether tough or cry in this situation. The one who had made her arrivete was Princess Amber, who had decided to sleep in the bathroom, but now, she was seated there, leaving her here and even calling her over like she had the authority to. "What insolence!" "Enough," the King finally said, raising his hand to stop his Beta from blowing up. Even though he knew that Alicia needed to learn her manners, the ce had been boring without her. She had been here for barely some minutes and the whole ce was more lively now than it had been in thest three days. "Rise and join us," the King said to Luciana. Alicia, who obviously didn''t think she had done anything wrong, turned to look at Harold and smiled, "Hi?" He spared her an annoyed nce and spat out, "Hi," before turning to look ahead, ignoring her once again. Chapter 83 Tantrum "You said you needed to get some air outside the pce to feel better, yet you came back sick. What happened to you?" The queen asked curiously as they ate, since she wanted to know exactly what had happened. Alicia raised her head to look at her. She still didn''t have a clear picture of what happened to her either so she answered, "I guess I was exhausted. I don''t remember much of what happened," Alicia said with a shake of her head, and the Queen looked at her, wondering if she was telling the truth or just saying that because, like Harold, she didn''t want to tell them what had happened. Harold, on the other hand, wondered if she really didn''t remember or perhaps was just saying that. He had no idea why he was so angry with her when he should be happy that she was now feeling okay and the breakfast table now seemed lively. After eating in silence for a while, Alicia turned to the king when something urred to her and cleared her throat. "My King, I..." ? "Who is her instructor?" The King''s Beta asked with displeasure. "I just assumed the role today. I took over from Beth," Luciana responded fearfully. "Why? You want to be my instructor?" Alicia asked dryly, before returning her attention back to the King. "Thank you, my king. For letting me leave the pce," Alicia said with a polite bow. "Did you enjoy your stroll around the vige?" The king asked curiously, and Alicia smiled at him as she bobbed her head. At least that much, she could remember even though the other parts were not making much sense. "We went to the marketce, and it was fun. The whole ce was so lively and colorful. You should try to take a stroll out and see what I mean," Alicia said with a dazzling smile, and the King smiled back without even knowing it, making the others around the table look at him in surprise, while his beta''s face was a mask of displeasure as he listened to Alicia. "I''m d you did. I hope you''ve recovered fully," the king said, looking at Harold and wondering why he didn''t seem as excited about his wife''s recovery as he had thought he would be. "I hope so too. I''m sorry I worried you," Alicia said before looking at Harold, who seemed to be ignoring her. Although he hardly ever talked to her while they were sharing a meal with the family, something about his silence this morning gave her the feeling that something was wrong with him. "Why do you seem upset?" She asked in a whisper. She couldn''t help noticing that he didn''t look as tired as he usually looked before now. He looked healthy, well-rested and pissed. Harold ignored her as he continued to pick his food while he waited for the king to leave so that he could also leave. "Is it me? Did I do something wrong? Or are you just upset because I woke up?" She asked in a curious whisper, since he might have had beening to her bedroom every day to check on her just to see if she was dead yet. Harold turned to her with a re in his eyes, and a muscle twitched in his jaw before he looked away from her again. Why would she utter or even think of something as stupid as that? What did he stand to benefit from her death? He knew that everyone around the table had likely heard what she said since they all had very good hearing. He nced around the table, but they were all pretending to be focusing on their food. Perhaps it was better this way. They could all assume that he didn''t care about her. That way, they wouldn''t think about using her against him. On the other hand, Williams couldn''t help the confusion he was feeling. Why was Harold giving both his bride and everyone else the impression that he didn''t care about her? From the way Alvin had threatened him and stuck with him all the while he was preparing the medicine, he knew without a doubt that they cared about Princess Amber. If Beth wasn''t the perfect example of that, what else then? After eating, the king stood up to leave, and both his Beta and the queen did the same as they all walked out together. Immediately after they left, Harold stood up to leave too, but Alicia quickly grabbed his hand, "What is wrong?" She asked, ignoring the others around the table. "Nothing," Harold said as he removed his hand from hers and walked away, but Alicia quickly dropped her cutlery and followed him out, even though she wasn''t filled yet. Actually, she would have at least finished her meal, but she had a tasteless porridge while the others atevishly. She could tell that Harold was acting up, more like he was throwing a tantrum, and since she was the closest person to him aside from Alvin, she had to know what was eating him up. "Harold!" Alicia called as she caught up with him. "What is wrong?" She asked, but he kept walking. How was he supposed to tell her that he had been very worried about her, especially when he walked into her chamber and didn''t find her on the bed, and had made a fool of himself at the physician''s quarters only to find out that she had woken up and the first ce she had decided to visit was the servants'' quarters? He was even more angry because he didn''t know why he was angry about that. Seeing as he was in no mood to talk to her, Alicia let him walk away and decided to go find Alvin. She knew that he would at least have an idea of what was wrong with Harold. She would justplete her conversation with Paulina sometimetersince it seemed like she wasn''t leaving this ce anytime soon. Until she had a new n, obviously. She went around looking for Alvin all over the pce, and asked every guard or maid she met along the way if they had seen him but they all kept shaking their heads while running away from her. "Mydy," Alvin called, appearing behind her and startling her. "I heard you were asking for me," he said, d to see that she was okay. Alicia smiled back at him. "Yes, I was. How have you been?" Alicia asked as she started walking, expecting him to follow her, and he did. Like a child, his face lit up. He could not remember thest time anyone asked him that. "I''m fine. I''m d you are fine now," he said as he walked a step behind her, not wanting to walk side by side with her. "Thank you. Why do I feel like your friend isn''t d that I''m fine?" Alicia asked, making Alvin''s brow pull together. "Prince Harold? Uhm... I think he is d that you are fine. Why do you think so?" "It doesn''t seem so. Did something happen to upset him this morning?" Alicia asked curiously as she looked at Alvin. Alvin didn''t know how much Prince Harold would want him to tell his bride about him, so he just stood there for some time. It was true that Prince Harold was in a foul mood, but that was only after he discovered that she was missing from her bed, and even more so when he heard that she was at the servants'' quarters. "Tell me what happened," Alicia said, convinced by his silence that he knew what was wrong. From all Alvin had witnessed thus far, it was obvious that Harold cared a lot about her, and he believed it would be safe to let her know so that she wouldn''t mess with his emotions since he suspected that she cared about him too. She had, after all, chosen not to leave them behind that day and had returned to join them in fighting against those men. "Do you... care about Prince Harold?" Alvin asked politely, knowing that, unlike most members of the royal family, she wasn''t going to interpret his question as an insult. "If I didn''t, would I be here asking you these questions?" Alicia asked impatiently. "I don''t think he would want me to tell you this, but... he cares about you," Alvin said, and Alicia rolled her eyes. "Of course, I know that. What I''m asking is why he is upset right now," she cut in impatiently. Alvin scratched his head, wondering why she was making everything seem vague. "We went to visit you this morning and he became worried when he didn''t see you on the bed. He thought you had been moved..." Alicia''s eyes widened slightly as the realization struck her. "What did he do?" "He went to the royal physician and made a scene asking for your whereabouts before I informed him that you were awake and had gone to the servants'' quarters," Alvin exined. Guilt tugged at Alicia''s heart as she thought about how worried he must have been to have confronted the royal physician. He was probably angry with himself for being concerned about her and revealing so much emotion. "You were with us on our way back from the marketce, right? Did something happen?" Alicia asked, changing the subject, and Alvin looked at her doubtfully, wondering if she had forgotten about the attack. How could she have forgotten about it when he was yet to forget just how well she had fought beside them that day? And how cool she was. "..." "Nothing happened," Harold responded from behind them, and they both turned to see him ring at Alvin. Chapter 84 Gossip Worth Dying For Alvin didn''t know how much of their conversation Harold had heard, but he had a bad feeling about this, especially since Harold was ring at him like that. "Your highness," he greeted, guiltily bowing his head, unsure whether to apologize or not. "You can leave now," Harold said dismissively, and Alvin bowed to him once more before doing the same to Alicia and walking away, leaving them both alone. Harold looked at her without saying anything. If he hadn''t heard her ask Alvin what had happened on their way back, he would have thought that she was lying about not remembering since she seemed to be quite fond of telling lies and acting. Did it mean the trauma had made her forget about it? Because he remembered how sick she had looked before she started throwing up. He also noticed she became sick instantly after that happened. If that was the case, it was best to not remind her since it seemed she didn''t have the mental capacity to handle that kind of news in the first ce. It was different for werewolves who were used to killing, but she was a human after all, regardless of how well she handled weapons. Alicia stared right back at Harold, who was looking at her with a stony expression. ording to Alvin, he was upset because he had been worried about her. Maybe those weren''t Alvin''s exact words, but that was what she had deduced from all that Alvin had said. Perhaps she should apologize to him? But how was she supposed to apologize when it wasn''t like she had deliberately meant to make him worry? And even if he was worried, weren''t there better ways to express his emotions than what he was doing? She let out a soft sigh as she opened her mouth to apologize, but before she could utter a word, Harold was already walking away, "Wait!" She called to him urgently, and he turned to look at her. "Nothing happened? I mean... you mean nothing happened on our way back from the vige?" She asked, her brows drawn together in confusion since she could swear that something had happened, even though she couldn''t remember what it was. Once again, Harold ignored her and began to walk away. Of course, Alicia wouldn''t let him go just like that. She had used what little energy she had to run around, trying to get his attention and also looking for Alvin. "WHY ARE YOU TREATING ME LIKE THIS? WHY DO YOU HATE ME SO MUCH?" She yelled at his back and began to cry. Harold''s steps faltered, and he immediately stopped walking. Seeing this, Alicia hid her smirk and continued crying pitifully, "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE SUCH DISDAIN, MY LORD? I ONLY ASK FOR YOUR ATTEN¡ª" She stopped talking when he turned around immediately to look at her. Some servants felt this scene was worth risking their lives for, so instead of fleeing as usual at the sight of Harold, they hid around, listening in on the emotional outburst of Princess Amber. "I was... unconscious for days. I... still feel very sick but decided to spend some time with my husband instead of resting even though I still feel weak and feeble. Don''t... you pity me, my lord?" Harold didn''t need to look around too hard to see the servants who were eavesdropping on their conversation, but he ignored them and looked at his bride, who was crying, with her hands covering her face. Guilt shed in his eyes before they quickly disappeared. He only felt guilty because what she had said was the truth. She had been sick for days and had only regained consciousness this morning, yet she had been running around. That was the only thing he felt guilty about since he was aware that she was faking this outburst. Right from the first interaction he had with her at their wedding, he knew that she was a terrific actor¡ªbut only to other people, as he could never fall for her lies. He could always see right through her. Maybe if she hadn''t referred to him as ''my lord'' just now, he would have fallen for her tears. Who knew? Unless being sick had made her lose her memory or changed her personality, there was no way thedy he had married would call him ''my lord'' unless it was a matter of life and death. "Follow me," he said quietly before he turned around and began to walk away. She did a happy dance in her head before following him quickly. She followed him as he walked into his chamber, and once she walked through the door, he turned to her and said, "Why did you do that?" "Why did I do what?" Alicia asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about. Harold sighed. He wasn''t in the mood for such childish games. "You should go and rest in your chamber. Why are you moving all over the ce when you have only just woken up?" "Because you were giving me attitude, and I wanted to find out what I did wrong to deserve it," Alicia said with a yawn. She was indeed feeling tired and needed to rest. "I never gave you any attitude. Go and get some rest. And do not draw such attention to me next time," Harold warned. "You are not going to tell me what happened, are you?" She asked, noting that he was diverting from the subject. "Nothing happened." "Then how did I be sick? Something had to have happened to make me sick," Alicia insisted. "You fainted after drinking from your water gourd," Harold said, making Alicia''s brows pull together. It took only a second before she remembered how she had tampered with the water, causing her eyes to widen before she quicklyforted herself. How could she have consciously drank from a water gourd she poisoned with sleeping medicine? She didn''t know much, but she at least knew that she wasn''t that clumsy. "I drank from the water gourd?" She asked curiously. "Why? You don''t think you could have drank from it because you know what you put in it?" Harold asked dryly. "Ha. Haha. What do you mean by that usation?" Sheughed nervously and averted her gaze, puzzled as to how he knew what she had done. Who else knew about it? Was it the physician who had told him? "Go to your chamber," Harold ordered quietly, and then paused when he remembered something else. "You should be watchful of the way you speak to Damon," Harold warned. "Damon?" Alicia asked, trying to remember who that was. "The mannerless man that likes to yell a lot?" She asked thoughtfully since he was the only person she had been rude to thus far. "He is the second-inmand here," Harold informed her, and Alicia briefly remembered what he had said during their wedding about being there to represent the king. "That doesn''t give him the right to be so disrespectful. Even the king isn''t as overbearing as he is," Alicia said dismissively. "So now that we are past that, are you going to tell me why you were avoiding me earlier?" She asked, wanting to get him to admit that he had been worried about her so that she would also find a suitable way to apologize to him. Unknown to them, there were several maids outside Harold''s chamber at that same time. They didn''t just stand stupidly outside his door, but they moved to and fro, pretending to be working. Normally, they wouldn''t dare toe in this direction, but juicy gossip had been flying around about the Prince and his bride. She had been crying in public about how he was neglecting her. They had also heard that the two went into his room, and after a while inside, it seemed they were arguing, but the princess''s voice was louder. That was why they were all around here, trying to find out what was happening. They couldn''t help feeling bad for the princess, as they assumed he was probably hurting her inside the room. They wished they could go closer to the door and eavesdrop to know what exactly they were arguing about, but none of them dared to. "GET OUT!" They all flinched when they heard a voice that belonged to the princess before the door was pulled wide open and the princess held out the door while looking at him angrily. When Harold didn''t move, she marched to him, held his hand, and began to drag him out. When that didn''t work, she went behind him and began to push him from the back out of the room. The servants watched in disbelief. They wanted to run away and pretend like they hadn''t seen anything, but they decided that their eyesight was bad and they needed to be sure that they were seeing things correctly, so they remained there until Alicia pushed him out. "This is my cham¡ª" The door was mmed in Harold''s face before he said, "ber," The servants forgot to run away as they looked at him, ck-jawed. Wait... so he wasn''t the one bullying her? Chapter 85 Bullying Ones Husband And Lord Inside Harold''s chamber, Alicia was fuming with anger as she paced back and forth from one end of the room to the other. She could only admit to herself that in her moment of anger she had absolutely forgotten that they were both in his chamber and not hers. And it was only after asking him to get out that she realized where she was. Still, she had been too mad to care, so she had pushed him out regardless. Their conversation had been going on well earlier (maybe not well, but they had been having a conversation together) until he suddenly said something that didn''t make sense. The first thing he said was that he had thought about it and felt Paulina would be better off living outside the pce. "Why?" She had asked apprehensively because it didn''t make sense that he was suddenly suggesting having Paulina leave the pce. "It would be good for her," he said in a dismissive tone that left her unconvinced. "That won''t happen!" She replied defiantly. "It is going to happen. And it will happen," he said in a dismissive tone, letting her know there was no room for argument. "You can''t do that!" She yelled at his back. "Paulina came here with me. For me. Because of me. You can not just move her out of this ce. She has been with Amb¡ªme since we were kids, and you expect her to suddenly find a way to live alone in a strange kingdom?" She asked in disbelief. Harold didn''t pay her any attention. He had already made up his mind on this. He knew it was petty of him, but he felt like he would be killing several birds with one stone by sending Paulina away. She seemed to be a weakness for his bride since it seemed she had given up running away because of her. Also, he wasn''t sure what was happening between Paulina and Williams. If anyone wanted to harm his princess, then all they had to do was convince or threaten Paulina to do it, and since his bride trusted her, she wouldn''t suspect a thing. Lastly, his bride seemed to only care about Paulina and had gone to see her first after she woke up! How could he continue to let her stay here? Ordinarily, he would have sent Paulina away already and wouldn''t have wasted his time trying to exin to her that he had made up his mind to send her maid away, but he didn''t know just how far she could go when she was angry, and he wasn''t looking forward to finding out, hence he had decided to let her know first before sending Paulina away. "If you are very worried about her survival outside, I can assure you by marrying her off to a wealthy merchant." "HELL NO!" She refused immediately while ring at him. "Did you start taking some cheap weed while I was sleeping?" she asked, perplexed. Harold didn''t understand what she was saying, but he could tell that it was some kind of insult, and it made him frown. "I won''t agree to that. Paulina stays here. If she leaves, then I''ll leave with her," she said firmly. "That is not going to happen," he responded quietly. For some reason, seeing how angry she was gave him a sense of satisfaction since he had been feeling awful because of her. At the same time, it made him angrier because of how she was ready to keep Paulina regardless of the cost. He decided to leave that topic for now. They were going to discuss it more after he finished drafting out a suitable n to send Paulina away. For now, however, he had something else more pressing that he wanted to discuss. Alicia looked at his face curiously. Although he kept a straight, unreadable face, she could tell he was nning something, and whatever that was, it wasn''t good. "I hope you are not thinking about sending her away when I am asleep or¡ª" "Spend the night here," he interrupted. She was in the middle of her ramble when he said that, so she spat out a firm "NO," even before she pondered what he had just asked her because she assumed he was going to talk about Paulina leaving. But who would have expected such a request out of the blue? "Wait... WHAT?!" She asked, shocked. Maybe she wasn''t supposed to be shocked since they were ''married'' and it made sense for them to spend the night together, but they didn''t have that kind of rtionship. She wasn''t even ''Amber''. And she was relieved that he didn''t appear to be interested in her and that they were in separate rooms. So why the sudden change of attitude? "You heard me," he said with his piercing gaze not leaving her face. Shit was about to get real now. This was why she should have nned a good escape a long time ago. She decided to handle this maturely so he would unthink that thought, but when she politely turned him down, he uttered the words she hated to hear most. "It is an order from your lord and husband." That was how she blew up at him until she threw him out of his own bedroom. An order? Who did he think he was to order her? How dare he order her? She was only just recovering after being unconscious for three days, and all he cared about was sleeping with her? That was not just annoying, it was also disgusting and despicable. How dare that inconsiderate prick? That damn horny bastard! The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Now she wished that she had hit him, or even kicked him or pulled out his hair so he would be bald and look as ugly as his thoughts were. Outside the chamber, Harold was just as pissed at his wife as he was at his wolf. Why was she overreacting? He had only said they should spend the night together. What was so difficult or insulting about that? He was her husband, after all, and he had every right to demand that she spend the night with him in his chamber. Why did she have to make him feel that she felt disgusted with the thought of sleeping side by side with him? Did she hate him that much? ''I don''t think she hates us,'' his wolf chipped in, in an effort to calm him down. ''Shut up! I don''t want to hear anything from you. You caused this!'' He hissed at his wolf. ''How? What did I do?'' his wolf asked defensively. ''I wouldn''t have asked her to spend the night, and just would have found my way around it, but you kept making so much noise in my head until I blurted it out. Now see how disdainfully she treated me,'' Harold said, feeling both annoyed and insulted. She had even called him a "horny goat." What did that even mean? ''...'' ''Why are you not saying anything?'' Harold asked his wolf when he didn''t get any response. ''You said you didn''t want to hear anything from me, so BYE!'' Harold had never wished so much to see his wolf in front of him in its visible form so he could strangle him to death with his own hands. While Harold stood outside his chamber, wondering what was wrong with his bride and why she had chased him out of his own chamber, the news was already spreading all over the pce that the difficult prince was being bullied by his bride, and different spections were going around the pce. Was it possible that Princess Amber was angry because it was her husband that put her in her unconscious state and she was confronting him about it now? Or what could he have done to warrant her throwing caution in the wind and treating her lord in that manner? A man like Prince Harold, for that matter! In the pce garden, where the Queen was seated with Prince Ivan having a conversation, Prince Ivan''s guard came forward, and Ivan gestured to him to speak. He briefly ryed the information that was going around the pce to Ivan and the Queen, and they both exchanged an amused smile before dismissing him. "I wonder what he must have done or said to deserve that," the queen said, amused. "Don''t you think it''s as they said? Perhaps he was the one that tried to get her killed. He had been upset all morning when one would have thought that he would be relieved to see that his wife was awake," Ivan pointed out, but the Queen shook her head. "He wouldn''t have made it so obvious that he was annoyed if that was the reason he was annoyed," the queen said thoughtfully. "You think so? This is Harold we are talking about. He doesn''t care what anyone thinks about what he thinks," Ivan reminded the queen. "He doesn''t act as rashly as you think, and if he truly doesn''t care what anyone thinks, he won''t attempt to murder his wife outside the pce when he can just as well do it within the pce," the Queen said confidently. Although she didn''t like Harold much, and she didn''t care for him either, she believed that knew what he was capable of. Ivan sighed. He had to admit that his mother had a point. He wished there was a way he could find out exactly what was happening between Harold and his wife. Chapter 86 Plan Gone Wrong. Again! Alicia was running out of time, and she knew it. She knew it was time to step up her escape n. Because the more she dyed, the more difficult it became for her to escape, especially now that Harold was not just thinking but talking about sending Paulina away and suggesting that she start sleeping in his room. It was only a matter of time before he started doing as he pleased, so she had to do something quickly. Running away was as impossible as having a green sun, and escaping from Harold outside seemed even more impossible. So the only solution left was for them to kick her out willingly. "Whenever the king enters, you must stand up and bow. No movement until he sits down and permits you to sit. Otherwise, the punishment is severe." "For people not directly rted to the royal family, the punishment can be the death penalty. And for those directly rted, including their spouses and children, it is banishment from the pce." Beth''s voice echoed in her head, making the corners of her lips curve. Well, she had to return to this n after all. She was tired of this repetitive life and wanted to put an end to it. She could only hope that they would exile her along with Paulina. In fact, she was certain they would do that. All the historical dramas she had watched happened like that. Besides, Paulina came here with her. They won''t just let her hang around here after she leaves. With that n in mind, she prepared herself for dinner and headed towards the dining room. She arrived early tonight and only found Susan, William, and Tyra. Their conversation ceased as soon as she entered the room. She smiled stiffly at them before going to take her seat. "Did something happen? Why are you here so early?" Tyra asked curiously. "All is well," Alicia said, trying to hide her smile. She could not stop being excited about finally leaving here tonight. "Is that man going to join us tonight? Demon or something." "You mean Damon?" Tyra asked, giggling. She was happy to finally be correcting her about something since Princess Amber was the one who usually corrected her. "Yes, him," Alicia said eagerly, unconcerned about Tyra''s happiness. "As far as I know, he hasn''t been sent out on any official assignment. Which means he is going to join us tonight. Please try not to annoy him. He is a very difficult and scary person." Tyra said, looking worried now. Alicia nodded, but in her head, she was chuckling evilly. It was even better that he was around. That way, he would blow it all out of proportion, since he seemed to be very good at that. "How is your health? Are you taking the medicine the royal physician prepared for you?" Williams asked. Of course not! It smelled disgusting. How did they expect her to drink it? These were the same people who ate the brains of wild pigs. She didn''t want to imagine what they made their medicines with. "Of course. I did not forget to take them," she said with a kind smile. They all stopped talking when Prince Ivan arrived with Luciana. Luciana tried to start a conversation, but not only was she bad at it, but it seemed the others were not interested in having a conversation with her. The next person to arrive was Harold. As soon as Alicia set her eyes on him, she scoffed and threw her face to the side, ignoring him. The room was silent as he went to take his seat beside her without sparing her any nces. The others looked at the two who were both looking in opposite directions and pretended not to see anything. Even Prince Ivan said nothing, thinking it was best to do less talking and more observing. It didn''t take long before the King and Queen arrived, with the overbearing Damon behind them. If you looked at him, you''d think he was the King. Everyone stood up at the same time, elegantly. Everyone except Alicia, whose hands were folded across her chest defiantly while looking straight ahead as though nothing concerned her. The king and the queen stopped walking instantly, with their eyes fixed on her. When the others noticed something was wrong, they moved their eyes around and were all stupefied to find her sitting down. Even Harold hadn''t expected that. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Damon bellowed. As if she had just returned to her senses, Alicia gasped and stood up before falling to her knees. This was the time to reenact those scenes she had watched in k-dramas. With her forehead almost touching the floor, she said, "I... I am... sincerely sorry, my King, my Queen. I... I deserve nothing but banishment." Everyone in the hall looked at her like she was out of her mind. What was she talking about? "Aha!" Harold could not help but scoff aloud. So this was the new n? He didn''t say anything because he knew that thest thing most of the people in the room and pce wanted was to get rid of her when she made the entire ce lively and fun, as she is doing right now. "Oh, dear! What are you talking about?" The queen asked, wondering if she was behaving this way because of her illness, or if it was because Harold was driving her crazy. "I''m sorry, my Queen. My maid and I deserve to be banished for such pompous behaviour from me," Alicia cried once again without raising her head. "At least she is finally learning her manners," Damon, the king''s Beta, said with a scowl as he red at her. Seeing how quiet everywhere was, Tyra fell on her face too, "Please pardon her, father." What? This wasn''t part of the n. Why was she begging on her behalf? Alicia thought in rm as she tried not to re at Tyra. "Please pardon her, your majesty," Susan joined beside Tyra and tugged at her twin brother''s pantsfor him to join them. Knowing that if Alicia left, so would her servant Paulina, and so would his portrait go, Williams also bowed. "We are sorry, your majesty. Please punish us too," Williams pleaded. Oh, for fuck''s sake! Why did these people have to do this now? Had she been so nice to them that they were willing to do this for her? "No, your majesty, please do not punish them. My maid and I will go. That way, order will be restored to the pce and kingdom. Do not listen to them," Alicia cried, and Harold, who had been angry all day after their misunderstanding, almost burst into a fit ofughter. What kind of person was this? Why was she so desperate to leave? Did she even realize that if she was banished, so would he? What made her think that he would let her escape from him once they were both banished because of her? Ivan turned to look at Harold and noticed the amusement on his face as he watched his bride. He didn''t understand what was going on, but he suspected that whatever was happening involved them both. Perhaps she was doing this to punish Harold for something? He was bing even more curious about his half-brother''s marriage as the days went by. "Nobody is going to be punished. You are ill and..." Alicia shook her head immediately and interrupted the king. "No, my king..." "HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT THE KING WHEN HE IS SPEAKING?" Damon roared at Alicia. Alicia took a deep breath to calm herself down because she was on the verge of standing up and yelling at this stupid Damon guy. "That is why I should be ban¡ª" "Will you shut your mouth? Who asked you to speak?" Damon snapped at her again. "YOU SHUT UP!" She yelled at him, failing to hold back her anger and further startling everyone in the room. "YOU!!!" "It''s enough, Damon. She is not sound. Perhaps we should have let her rest, and had her meals delivered to her chamber instead of having her join us," The king said, looking at Alicia pitifully. "You all should stand up. Nobody is going to be banished or punished," the King said, and Alicia almost broke into a sob as all her ns and hopes had just been dashed. Why was the king so nice? Now his kindness was just annoying to her. Or did that foolish Beth lie about the consequence of not standing up to greet the King? Why were things not going the way she wanted? She didn''t want to stay here anymore, why couldn''t they just let her be?" We know you are relieved, no need to cry. Just take your sses seriously from now," the queen said sweetly to Alicia, who felt like pping her to shut her up. "Harold, help her stand on her feet and escort her to her chamber so that she can get some rest. Your dinner will be served there," the king ordered Harold as he walked over to his seat. Harold bowed to his father as he bent down to help her up, but he was met with her ferocious eyes."If you touch me, I will kill you," she muttered under her breath for his ears alone, but what she didn''t know was that everyone in the room had good hearing so they could hear her. Chapter 87 How To Console A Crying Bride... "I have to help you up. It''s a royal order," Harold said for the benefit of those around the table as he lifted her off the ground while Alicia tried not to re at everyone in the hall. They were all very annoying, and even if the king hadn''t suggested that she go to her chamber, she doubted that she would have been able to stand looking at them. Not after they all ruined her escape n. Once she was standing on her feet and dusting off her dress, Harold turned to the King, "Thank you for your kindness, father... And I''m sorry for her behaviour. I think the illness is affecting her more than I thought. I will keep an eye on her and make sure it doesn''t happen again," Harold promised, making Alicia grit her teeth in annoyance as she bowed to the King, and then to the queen before walking away with Harold, ignoring the deadly re Damon was sending at her. Once they were out of earshot, Harold chuckled despite every attempt to stop himself, making her turn to re at him, "What is funny?" She asked angrily. "You didn''t think this through, did you?" Harold asked in amusement as he kept walking. "Think what through?" She asked, despite the fact that she was still very angry with him and his entire family and also at the universe for bringing her here. "You did that because you thought you would be banished, didn''t you? What made you think you would be banished over something like that?" Harold asked, making her eyes narrow. So Beth had lied to her? "I don''t know what you''re talking about. And you don''t need toe with me to my chamber. You can go back and eat with the others," Alicia said, shooing him away as she walked past him, but Harold continued to follow her as though he hadn''t heard her. "I said you can go. You don''t need to..." "I should eat with you. You are my family," Harold cut in, making her heart involuntarily skip a beat. Family. What did that even mean? Being an orphan, that word was foreign to her. Even the few friends and colleagues who had imed to have her back, saying they were her family, had been the first to desert her when the scandal started. The only family she knew was her dog, Ruby. She sighed, wondering how Ruby was doing without her. The thought of Ruby being alone and confused by her absence brought tears to her eyes. She really wished Amber had taken over her body and was taking care of Ruby on her behalf because her manager was the least dog lover on the. But was it possible for Ruby to not realize that she wasn''t the one even though it was her body? Thinking about Ruby now, she remembered the wolf she had encountered in the woods. She wondered if it was okay and hoped that the hunters had not captured it. Seeing how she kept walking without turning back or saying anything, Harold could tell that she was lost in her thoughts again. He was curious to know what was on her mind, but didn''t have to wonder for long because she suddenly crouched down and started crying, startling him. Harold looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was crying. Was it because her n failed? He took one look around and could tell curious eyes were watching, but they started running away when he looked around. "Eh... What is wrong?" He asked in confusion, not sure how he was supposed to console a crying person. He was the one to make people cry, not stop them from crying. Actually, he has stopped a few people from crying¡ªjust by stabbing them with a sword to shut them up forever. It was a very effective method. But he could not use that method now. Alicia had been looking for an outlet to pour out all her anger and frustration, and crying now seemed to help. "I... I miss Ruby..." She said in between tears. She missed her life. She missed home. How could she live here with weird people, weird clothes, no wifi or inte... She paused to remind herself that there had to be a smart device for there to be wifi or inte in the first ce. She would rather have cyberbullies bully her than live here. ? Ruby? Harold frowned. He guessed he had heard that name before, but could not exactly remember where or when. Was it a man? Was that the reason she had been actively trying to escape all this time? This thought left a bitter taste in his mouth. Her loud sobs were making him more angry and frustrated. Would she at least be better and stop running away if Ruby died? ''Ruby is her dog. The one... she wants me to mate with,'' his wolf reminded him in a bitter tone, and he could imagine his wolf gritting its teeth. No wonder he always disliked his bride and called her disrespectful. Harold almost chuckled again, especially as he saw how much she was crying. At least Ruby wasn''t a man. "Come," he said gently, before helping her up and leading her by the hand to her chamber. By the time they got to her chamber, she felt a little better and had returned to her senses. Before she could shut the door in his face, he moved quickly and stopped the door with his leg. Alicia knew that she didn''t have the strength to win this fight, so she stepped away from the door and let him enter her chamber. "What do you want? Why are you suddenly behaving this way?" Alicia asked tiredly since he used to avoid her a lot before now and he never liked talking to her, so what changed? Why was he acting out of character? "What if we had been banished? What would you have done?" Harold asked, ignoring her question as he shut the door behind him. "We?" She asked with a frown. "You didn''t think they would banish you and let your husband be, did you?" Harold asked, and Alicia''s said brows drew together. "Just so you know, if you pull another stunt like this to make them banish us, you won''t escape from me even after we leave the pce," Harold promised. Oh, God! Alicia cried within herself. What was she going to do? How was she ever going to leave this ce? Was she going to be stuck here forever? She wondered as a knock sounded on the door, and Harold pulled the door open for some maids to walk in with different trays of food. They bowed to Harold as they went to set the food on the bed. Neither Harold nor Alicia said a word to each other until the maids left. ******** After dinner, Prince Ivan and his mother met again. Usually, they didn''t have to meet often like this, buttely, a lot was changing, so they had to always meet to analyze the situation. "I think Harold is very fond of his bride," Prince Ivan noted. How else could they exin that despite everything she did, he seemed to tolerate her, when he knew that Harold wouldn''t hesitate to kill anyone that tried such with him. And to think he was amused just a moment ago during dinner. The queen nodded. "I think so too." It seemed like Harold was trying to hide it, but he had been failing at doing sotely. He had even apologized on his bride''s behalf tonight. That was so out of character for him. And he didn''t believe he had only done so because he would have been banished too. Even though they would have wanted that. "Should we be worried or happy?" "For now, we should be happy," she said, smiling. "This is what we have been waiting for. The day he finally has a weakness. And she just happens to be a weak human with an uncouth mouth," she chuckled. Although Prince Ivan felt slightly relieved that Harold''s weakness was a weak human, something else bothered him. "What if they have a child together? He is an Alpha, remember?" Prince Ivan reminded her, trying not to look too worried. "Think about it. She is a human. Do you think she has it in her to produce an offspring of our specie?" The Queen reasoned. "That''s a far-fetched dream. It is obvious that she doesn''t like him, even if he likes her. To the point where she will do silly things just to get away from him. She even threw him out of his chamber at noon. How do you expect them to be in one side and produce a child?" Prince Ivan thought about it for a while before he nodded. It makes sense. Besides, Damon seemed to dislike her a lot. He won''t ever support such a person bing the Luna of the Moon Kingdom. Never has it been heard that a human was a Luna. She was also mannerless and disrespectful to her husband. No one would want a king who cannot control his wife. "I guess I was worried for nothing," he said, sighing in relief, but he didn''t expect his mother to re at him. "You better be worried. If Luciana does not produce an offspring soon, you will lose your ce." "But¡ª" "No buts. 30 more days and if nothing happens, you will have to get a second bride," she said in a dismissive tone. Chapter 88 The Body Or Soul Debate "Where exactly do you wish to depart?" Harold asked her. Was it possible she wanted to return to the same kingdom where her family treated her badly? Should he mention to her how unstable the kingdom currently is since the Moon Kingdom didn''t have their backing? Maybe then, she would stop thinking about going back? After his wedding, he met Princess Amber''s parents to let them know they were going to be punished for deceiving the Moon Kingdom. However, because he married there, he chose to disregard it and let them sign a contract agreeing that the Moon Kingdom would not support them in any way, regardless of the marriage alliance. Having no choice, they signed it. Either they did that, or Prince Harold would go berserk on them. They feared him even more than hisfather. Harold had seen the look of confusion on his father''s face when he presented the contract. The king had asked why this agreement was signed, but he said nothing about it. and left it with them. Maybe if she knew the state of that kingdom, she wouldn''t want to return there? Because it was impossible that she wanted to go back to the mountains. Alicia looked at him unpleasantly. She didn''t think there was any point in denying it again. He had known for a long time about her escape ns and even knew her real name, even though she had no idea how he got to know that. "I need to leave this ce," she said, dropping her cutlery. "I mean... this world. This... is not me," she said, frowning as she wondered if that made sense. "Do you believe in transmigration?" She asked him, but the look on his face made it obvious he knew nothing of that word. "What about soul swap?" "...." She sighed in frustration. "Look, I know this may sound crazy, but you have to believe me," she pleaded to him. She hoped he would believe her and help her leave so he would get back his real bride. Her dream shed before her eyes, and she remembered how she was executed for pretending to be someone she wasn''t. That would have made her stop this big reveal, but she couldn''t stop now. She was running out of options. "How did you know about Alicia Queen?" She asked. He only raised his brow but said nothing. He was also curious to know about this ''Alicia'' person. "I guess you aren''t going to answer," she muttered. "I am from the future. The year 2020. I found myself in this body identally. I don''t know what happened or how it happened. I fell from a bridge andnded in the deep waters below, and could not find my way above the water on time. When I woke up, I found myself upying this body. I heard she also fell into a river and drowned. And then all these crazy things began to happen, and I don''t know how to return to the future and have Ambere back to her body." She stopped talking to catch her breath after the long rambling. She looked at Harold, whose face was still straight, and asked, "Do you believe me?" At least he was not looking at her like she was crazy. "How is there a future when we are in the present?" He asked in a quiet, philosophical voice that almost made her stab him with her fork. "Seriously? That is all you have to say?" She almost cried out in frustration. "What do you expect me to say?" "Help me escape!" "To where?" "Back to my body. My life." "Where is your body?" "The future!" "There is no future without living in the present. How can the future coexist with the present?" He asked reasonably. She wanted to scream and pull out her hair, but seeing the smirk ying on his lips, she had a feeling that he was messing with her. "You believe me, don''t you?" She asked, hopefully. That was a good question. Did he believe her? Harold knew it was crazy. In fact, it didn''t make any sense. But various images and memories began to sh before his eyes. From the first time he saw her and all she had said that night, to the way she spoke and the weird choice of words she used, to the way she behaved and how she was able to dress like a man and make it look beautiful, and to all Paulina had told him. He would be crazy to believe something as absurd as this, but he would be even crazier if he didn''t believe she wasn''t from this world. Nothing about her was consistent with this era. "It is believable," he said with a shrug, making her face light up. "Really? So you will help me escape?" She asked excitedly. "You found yourself in this body before our wedding?" He asked after a long pause. She bobbed her head. Harold stated matter-of-factly, "Then it means I married you and not Princess Amber." Now she really had a bad feeling about this. She shook her head in protest, but he continued. "So why should I let my wife escape to another world, Alicia?" He asked with a sweet smile that gave her goosebumps. "Alicia is NOT your wife. Princess Amber is," Alicia said through gritted teeth. Harold shook his head, "I don''t think so." "You don''t have to think so. It is a fact," Alicia said, trying to reason with him. "And why do you think so?" Harold asked reasonably. "Because you came to marry Princess Amber. And this is her body," Alicia exined as patiently as she could. "Tell me something: Do you think it is the body of a person that we are married to, or the soul?" Harold asked, and Alicia''s frown deepened. What was he trying to say? What was he driving at? "The body?" She said, but it came out as a question. p "So if something happens to the person''s body and they be disfigured, is it okay to leave them since that wasn''t the person we married?" Harold asked again. "Of course, that is the person you married regardless of what happens to the body! They are still the same person insi..." The rest of her words trailed off when Harold''s lips curled into a smile again as he listened to her. He was smiling so much this night. He was obviously having fun. What was making him smile? She wondered as she reyed what she had just said in her head. Oh, no! "You see? I''m married to the person inside this body," Harold said as he picked a piece of meat from the te and chewed on it. He had no idea why he was suddenly feeling so good, but it was a really good feeling. "I don''t want to stay here. I CAN''T stay here. I have to return to my body. To my life. My dog. My career," Alicia pleaded, close to tears. Seeing how emotional she was, Harold sighed and asked, "Why?" "Why what?" Alicia asked in confusion. "Why do you so desperately want to go back?" Alicia frowned, "If you find yourself in a different body, in a different time and ce, won''t you want to return to your own life?" Would he? Harold wondered, "I don''t think so. I don''t think anything happens without reason, so maybe I''m supposed to be wherever I find myself." "Even when the ce is nothing like what you are used to?" Alicia asked, and something urred to Harold. "Howe when you talked about wanting to return, you only mentioned your dog, but you haven''t mentioned your family?" Harold asked, since both times he had heard her talk about her life, she seemed to miss her dog a lot. "Because Ruby is the only family I have," she exined sadly. Something about the way she said it made him want to know about her and her life even though it all sounded weird to her. "How did you fall into the water? What were you doing so close to a bridge? What is the bridge like?" Harold asked, surprising himself at how interested he was in this conversation. Alicia''s brows pulled together. Although she liked that he believed her, she didn''t understand why he was asking that all of a sudden when they had gone past that point in their conversation. "Promise me you won''t judge me," Alicia said, and Harold simply shrugged, not seeing what there was to judge. "Don''t judge, okay? I was... trying... to take my life..." She said and stopped when Harold''s facial expression changed to one she couldn''t read. "You?" Harold asked in disbelief. She just didn''t strike him as the sort of person who would do something like that. She was strong, bold, and very confident. What could ever make someone like her take her life? "I said don''t judge," she reminded him. "I''m not judging. I''m just surprised. If your life is so good that you''re risking everything and trying to return to it, why did you want to take your life?" Harold asked curiously, giving Alicia the feeling that this was going to be a really long discussion. Chapter 89 The Bride From The Future For a moment, Alicia looked at him without saying a word. She decided to just go ahead and tell him everything. Maybe he would take pity on her and help her escape. "I changed my mind at thest minute. But I fell off the bridge by mistake," she exined before going ahead to tell him what the bridge looked like and how different she thought it was from the one in this lifetime. "Why did you want to end your life, to begin with?" Harold asked, wanting to know what could have pushed someone like her to the point of suicide. Alicia took a deep breath, and then she began to tell him her story. It wasn''t smooth sailing because she had to exin a lot of things to him for him to better understand. For example, when she told him she was a professional actress, she noticed he wanted her to throw more light on what that meant, but he didn''t interrupt her, so she exined, "Just like those actors presenting ys in the marketce, I do something simr. But not live. We go to studios and sets and do a lot of arranging to make it perfect, and then it is recorded and aired on various streaming tforms." She realized it was going to be a very long night because she had to exin every single thing in detail. Thankfully, he was smart, so she only exined everything once and a time, and he nodded like an obedient student, almost making her want tough. She told him she was an orphan and how she had struggled her way to the top to be an award-winning actress. Harold''s lips twitched a little when he finally understood what that term meant. That exins why she was such a good liar and why others always fell for her schemes. He did not doubt that she was good. The first bell rang, but she seemed too into her story to care. She had even forgotten to exin some terms to him and he didn''t stop her since she looked emotional and sad as she talked about her life and how everything fell apart after she struggled to make it to the top. She told him about how her fans and everyone else had deserted her when they found out the truth about her past. She also told him all about how she had been ridiculed and disgraced, and when she couldn''t stand it anymore, she thought taking her life was a better alternative until she received the call from her manager. She used her hands to wipe the tears escaping from her eyes when she stopped narrating. "Is it worth it?" Harold asked with a slight frown as he observed her countenance. "What?" She asked weakly. "I mean, what is the point of going back? Even if you rise to the top once again, you know that the love they all show you isn''t real, right? So what is the point?" Harold asked, and Alicia''s brows drew together. She hadn''t really thought about it that way. All she cared about was going back. Either way, it didn''t really matter. That was the only home she knew. "It doesn''t make any difference to me. It''s the way humans are. The media controls their emotions," Alicia exined. "Then the humans in your world are fickle," Harold said, not sure he wanted to live in a world like that. "Are you saying this just because you don''t want me to go back?" She asked with a scoff. "I think you are here because you are meant to be here. I doubt that jumping into the river or trying to take your life will change anything," Harold said as he looked down at the food, which was now cold. "Still, I can''t stay here. I don''t want to." "Why?" "There is nothing here for me! If you had ever lived in my world, you would see how different it is. There are cars, smartphones, televisions, and many other things that you guys don''t have over here. Life here is just the same every day. Nothing new." Harold felt a faint stab in his heart when she mentioned there was nothing here for her. He brushed it off and decided to dwell on the issue at hand. Harold had to agree within himself that she was right. Things used to be the same every day until she showed up, and now it was almost like he waited for her to do something or cause trouble every day to make the day lively. He didn''t have a chance to speak before she continued. "And there is the freedom thing! Liberty to live as you want to. I hate your rules. It feels like I''m in a prison where I have to do everything in a particr way. I can''t eat what I want when I want to. I can''t dress the way I want, and I can''t even go where I want without permission," sheined bitterly." You don''t have a king? Why are you allowed to livewlessly?" Harold asked curiously. "We don''t livewlessly. There are manyws guiding us, just not like it is here. We have leaders: presidents, ministers, governors, and many other officials. And we are allowed to condemn them when they are wrong. We can speak without fear! And there are no ves nor servants, just regr staff you pay to work for you," Alicia said, and Harold said nothing as he thought about all she was saying. He could not imagine a kingdom handling things that way. "What happens when a war breaks out with another country? Who fetches the men from their homes and leads them to the battlefield?" He asked curiously, since he could not imagine how such a disorganized leadership would create a good strategy for war. Alicia almost chuckled. "It works differently. Each country has its unique approach to dealing with such a crisis. In my country and many other countries, the armed forces handle that aspect. You don''t need to go pull young boys from their houses or away from their families. Also... there is one thing inmon with all the countries; there is no ''battlefield''. You can infiltrate the other country by using specially trained forces or handle it aggressively by using weapons of mass destruction." The second bell rang, but just like the first, they didn''t even take note of it. Alicia didn''t quickly notice how the conversation shifted from talking about herself and ns to run away to bragging about the cool things in the future. As he listened to her without interrupting, Harold could see how difficult it would be for someone like her, who was from a ce like that where she had so much freedom, to adjust to a life with little freedom, especially for royalty. Seeing the understanding on his face after talking for over an hour, she felt hopee to life within her and asked, "So? Will you help me find a way?" He shook his head, dashing her hope. "I already told you. You are my wife." Harold said, not wanting to argue over it, so he stood up and made to leave. He knew that it was selfish, but there was no way he wanted her out of here. He didn''t know much about Princess Amber, but he doubted that she was going to be as much... fun as Alicia was. "If I leave, Amber will take over her body, and you will still have your wife! What difference does it make?" Alicia asked angrily as she got off the bed, almost knocking the tray over. "I don''t know about Amber. It is you that I am married to." "Why are you being so unreasonable?" Alicia yelled in frustration. She had thought after her exnations that he would understand her better and help her leave, but it seemed like the man was bent on being unreasonable. "I just told you about my life! Can''t you see the reason I cannot stay here? This ce... it''s not for me." He just stood there, staring at her. Alicia hated it whenever he looked at her like that because she didn''t know what he was thinking. "Alright," he finally said after a while, making her heart skip from excitement and hope. "Really?" "You can escape if you wish," he said gently. "Seriously? You will help me escape?" She asked eagerly, feeling like embracing him. "I didn''t say I would help you. I said you can escape if you wish," he repeated, causing her to frown. What does that mean? "You can go ahead and try to escape. Don''t... just let me or anyone else catch you doing so." "What sort of stupid joke is this?" She asked angrily. Why was he messing with her emotions? "It''s either that or start learning to get used to your life here. I mean it," he said as he headed for the door, but he quickly ducked when she hurled a piece of meat at him. Yeah, that was the fun he was talking about. He smiled and waved at her before leaving the room just as the third bell rang. Alicia screamed along with the bell in frustration. Chapter 90 Saviour Unedited. After Harold left, Alicia roamed around her room, feeling angry and frustrated. She had poured out her heart to the bastard, thinking that he would sympathize with her and help her find a way to escape, but he was just a selfish prick. What had she been expecting from someone like him anyway? She shouldn''t have confided in him. She should have just kept it all to herself. What did he mean by saying she could escape but should try not to get caught? Why was he bent on keeping her here? Why did he keep insisting that she was his wife and not Amber? How did it even make sense? Alicia thought as she sucked her teeth. This was the fault of those stupid royalties who had ruined her ns. The thought of not having breakfast the next morning since it was the time of the week where they skipped breakfast made her relieved. She would rather starve than see all those faces again after they ruined her nsst night. She had run out of options now and had no idea what to do to be able to escape this ce. In need of something to do to keep herself busy, she lifted the tray that contained their barely touched dinner from the bed to the dressing table. She doubted that the maids woulde back to take the tes now that the third bell had been rung. If she wasn''t so upset about her ruined escape n, she would probably have devoured the meal, but now she had no appetite. It seemed like thest option she had now was to find a way to make that horse, Hellion, like her. Once she was able to do that, she would find a way to escape with the horse and take Paulina along with her. If she was going to escape, when was she going to do so? It definitely couldn''t be during the day when all eyes would see her. Especially Harold, who had warned that she shouldn''t be caught by him. It would have to be at night then? Maybe during dinner, while the members of the royal family would be busy eating? Her heart began to beat at the thought of those scary-looking animals patrolling outside. Should she take the risk and see whether she would be able to escape from them? She shook the thought out of her head immediately. Thest way she wanted to die was being ripped apart by an animal, Alicia thought with a yawn, suddenly feeling exhausted now. Still thinking about the best way to go about it, she reached for the portrait painting that Paulina had given her and lowered thentern before going to lie on the bed. It was only now that she held the painting against her chest that she realized she didn''t even know the name of the woman in the painting. She sleepily made a mental note to ask Paulina about it in the morning before drifting off to sleep. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a strange ce and looked around, wondering when she got here when she was just in bed just now. It was daytime, and she was in a busy marketce with people moving about. The market looked different from the one she had visited with Harold. It was smaller and had fewer fancy things. As she kept looking around, wondering if she was in a different world, she heard loud voicesing from the corner beside her and began to head towards that direction. A lot of people were also hurrying towards that direction to see what was happening. She also began to head there, but stopped when she passed a mirror and noticed that she was back in her real body. This was her real face! "What is going on?" A woman asked a man who was hurrying there, making Alicia return to her senses. It''s the loan sharks that work for the king. They are harassing families again and demanding a double of the initial interest. Saviour showed up again and was¡ª"he stopped talking when they heard someone wail in pain. The man stopped narrating and ran towards the direction where people were gathered cheering for their saviour, leaving the woman and Alicia, who had been listening to the conversation, wondering who this saviour was. Alicia hurried towards the direction where the crowd was chanting "Saviour, Saviour" repeatedly. As she pushed her way to the front of the crowd, she was met with a jaw-dropping scene. A youngdy, dressed like amoner, was in a serious battle with four bulky men. She was littlepared to them, but it seemed she had the upper hand. She kicked, punched, pped, and did some jaw-dropping flips that got Alicia interested in watching the fight instead of finding out what exactly she was doing here. When thest man fell face-first to the ground, the crowd went wild, cheering excitedly. The youngdy called Saviour sighed loudly before turning around to face the crowd, smiling. Alicia did a double take when she saw the girl''s face. It was herself. "Saviour, what is your real name?" "What family are you from?" Many questions were thrown at the youngdy who was beaming at them, but she answered none of their questions. Meanwhile, Alicia was still staring at her in shock as she wondered who this person was and what games the universe was ying this time. Stand up for your rights and stop letting these people bully you. If they show up again, you know where to find me. " The girl said to the crowd. The families she had just saved fell on their knees to thank her repeatedly while she tried to pull them up. No need to be too excited. They are going to return another day. You all need to stand together and fight against injustice, "she said to them, and the crowd began to cheer again. The girl suddenly turned and looked straight in Alicia''s direction. The smile left her face, and she seemed shocked to see Alicia. As Alicia tried to step forward to meet her, she suddenly found she could not, and the next thing she knew, she was on her bed. It was the morning. And she had been dreaming. She sat up and looked down at the portrait she was still holding to her chest. This was the same person she had seen in her dream, Princess Amber''s mother. There was no way the dream was just her imagination. Why was she dreaming of both her mother and daughter? Why did that woman have that face? Was she like her ancestor or something? She stood up as her eyebrows creased in a frown. Howe the girl looked surprised when she saw her? This whole thing didn''t make sense. If Paulina had said that Princess Amber''s mother was the Queen, why was she dressed in that way fighting the king''s people on the street? Was that why she was executed and Amber was sent to exile? Perhaps she had been sent to this age and time because there was something that she needed to figure out. Maybe whatever she found was going to throw light on why she became an orphan and had a difficult life. She paced around the room as different thoughts ran through her mind, and she only stopped when a knock sounded on the door before it was pushed open, and Paulina came in behind Princess Luciana and the other maids. "Good morning!" Luciana greeted her with a wide smile as she walked into the room, and she signaled to the maids to prepare the bath, while Paulina went to stand beside her mistress. She still had no idea what Alicia had been thinking by pulling the stunt she didst night, but she sure hoped that Princess Amber would make an even worse and unforgivable mistake soon and be sent out of the pce. She had been shocked by the way the usually timid Tyra had pleaded on Amber''s behalf. She doubted that anyone at that table would have done something like that had she been the one that had made the mistake that Amber had made. Amber was a threat to her position. She was the first daughter-inw, but Amber was overshadowing her and she didn''t like it. "We are not having breakfast today. Is this necessary today? " Alicia asked, not in the mood to face her. "Yes, It is not only necessary, but also very important for every member of the royal family to look their best at all times.You never know when you will be called upon. After your bath, we will continue with your sses, "Luciana said," as she gestured to the bathroom for her to go in. Not wanting to argue with her or talk more than was necessary, Alicia did as she was told while the servants and Paulina cleaned her room and set out her clothes on the bed. Going forward, she was just going to remain calm and do everything as they wanted her to. That way, they wouldn''t see iting when she decided to escape. Yes! That was exactly what she was going to do. She was going to convince Harold into believing that she no longer wanted to leave, and then make him let down his guard. He said she shouldn''t be caught, right? Alicia thought with a smirk that she was going to escape right under his nose when the time was right. Chapter 91 How To Make A Stubborn Wife Stay While Alicia was in her chamber thinking of the best way to make Harold believe that she had changed her mind, Harold was busy thinking about the best way to change her mind and make her stop trying so hard to leave. He paced around the room thoughtfully. Although he should be worried that once again he had shifted to his wolf form, that was the least of his worries. He didn''t want Alicia to leave. While trying toe up with a way to convince her not to leave, he reasoned that it was also important to keep his eyes on her and make sure she didn''t seed in running away before he seeded in changing her mind. Knowing her, he knew that it was only a matter of time before she woulde up with another escape n, which was why, after leaving her chamberst night, he had ignored the curfew and met with Alvin to instruct him to be even more vignt now. He was to follow Alicia with his eyes, nose, and ears every second of the day. If she so much as stepped out through the pce door, he shouldn''t be unaware. "How will I serve you if I''m always following her around?" Alvin had asked, thinking that what Harold was asking him to do was ridiculous. There was no way he could run other errands for Harold and still watch her. "I will be with her whenever I need you to do something else for me," Harold assured him. "If I may ask, why are you doing this?" Alvin had asked, looking at Harold curiously. Werewolves were naturally very possessive of their partners, but he had never thought of Harold as being one of such. Also, Princess Amber was not his mate. She was someone he had been pushed to marry. But it seemed like with every passing day, his possessiveness was increasing. "She is my bride, and I have to make sure that she is safe," Harold said matter of factly, but even though Alvin had the feeling that there was more to this instruction than that, he kept it to himself and had bowed before leaving Harold for the night. A knock sounded on his door, pulling him out of his thoughts. The door opened and Alvin walked in, "Good morning, your... Harold," Alvin caught himself when Harold turned to look at him with disapproval. "Good morning," Harold said as he walked over to the window and looked outside. "You shiftedst night," Alvin observed, noting that Harold looked tired, as he often did in the morning whenever he shifted. "What happened?" He had thought that Harold''s curse had been broken since he hadn''t shifted for two nights. Why did he suddenly shift again then? He had suspected it had something to do with spending the night with his bride, but that didn''t seem to make much sense to him. Harold pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought about it. Perhaps he should wait until he found a way to bring Alicia into his bedroom to pass the night before sharing the information with Alvin. He needed to be sure of it. If it happened to be true, then this was another reason why he would need her to stay back since she seemed to be the one who would break the curse. He couldn''t trust that it was Amber, who he had never met. Harold paused when another thought urred to him: after everything Alicia had said, she had little or no idea how to handle weapons. Did it mean that her ability to throw daggers and fight was Amber''s ability? Was that why her hands had seemed so rough, and she had looked so shocked after throwing that dagger at him? That could also exin why she couldn''t remember what happened after killing some of the men that attacked them? Was it possible that Amber was still inside that body? The thought exhausted him. Why did things have to be soplicated? He would have to directly ask Alicia whether or not she could handle weapons. If she couldn''t, he would find a way to teach her secretly. That way, he would know just how much of her was Alicia and how much was Amber. He wasn''t going to have any use for Amber if fighting was the only thing she was good at. Besides, if it was really Amber who had shown up during that attack and had killed those men, he suspected that there was more to Amber. There was a difference between learning how to handle weapons to protect oneself and learning how to handle weapons to kill, and he had a feeling that Amber had learned how to handle weapons for thetter. Perhaps she had trained herself to seek vengeance? He didn''t want a wife with a different n from his. He would prefer a bride who was trying to run away and thinking up useless ns to one who was living to take revenge. He already had a lot going on with him. He didn''t want to add more. Alvin watched Harold, and from his posture, he could tell that Harold was thinking about many things. He wouldn''t be getting any answers from Harold at this rate, so he called for his attention. "Your highness?" He called out to remind Harold that he was still with him. "Inform Ali¡ª Princess Amber that I will be having breakfast with her at the royal garden. Instruct the maids to prepare our meal," Harold instructed Alvin. He knew how much she liked to eat, and she hadined about not being able to eat when she wanted to. She hadn''t eaten wellst night either, so she was likely going to be hungry and throw a tantrumter. So maybe he could start with food. Alvin sighed. It seemed like he was not going to get any useful information out of him. All he had to do was support the couple so they could continue to get along and just maybe, it would be possible to have a child with her without anything happening to the princess. Alvin bowed and was about to leave when Harold stopped him. "There is something else you should do for me," Harold said with a serious look on his face. ********** It was funny how a rumour would be going around a ce with everyone aware, but the people involved would know nothing about it. It was the exact same case for Paulina and Williams. Every maid knew she had been suddenly assigned to take care of the painting room. But now that she was always meeting Sir Williams there, they suspected he had been the one to use his influence to appoint her there. They all wanted to know what was happening between them, but they could not ask either Paulina or Williams. Not only because Paulina was a human and they didn''t want to rte to her, but also because they knew how much her mistress valued her and had even pped Beth because of her! The two said people were in the painting room with Williams, sitting on a bench, looking at Paulina, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else but in front of him. "Are you just going to stand there?" He asked her in a gentle voice, snapping her back to her senses. She didn''t look at him as she hurried to get the painting materials. Sheid them on the floor across from him and knelt before looking at Sir Williams, whose brows were raised. "You aren''t nning to paint like that, are you?" He asked her. She shook her head and began to stammer, "No... my lord. I... I will draw you first b-before I... paint," He let out a shortugh, startling her. "That wasn''t what I meant. You shouldn''t kneel on the floor. Your neck is going to hurt if you keep looking up from there." She shook her head again, telling him she preferred painting on the floor like this. It had taken quite an effort for her to get the words out. He didn''t push for her to do as he had said because he knew she was telling the truth. She had also preferred staying on the floor while doing the other portrait paintings for her mistress. "In that case..." He let his words trail off as he got down from the bench and sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of her, making her fall back in shock. ,m "My... my lord!" She said in a panic as she stood up and didn''t know whether to help him up from the floor or not. "Rx," he said in a soothing voice. "But... my lord... you are..." She pointed at the floor, but he interrupted her speech. "Go ahead. Make sure you get a good portrait of me. I don''t want you to miss a single thing," he said, and gestured at where she had been sitting directly opposite him. Chapter 92 "Have You Been With A Man Before?" "Sit down. Ensure that you take a good look at me. I don''t want you to miss any detail," Williams said with more authority in his tone, seeing how she was still standing and wriggling her hands nervously. After thinking and overthinking it, Paulina reluctantly sat down on the floor across from him. She tried to focus on setting up the materials, but she was too nervous to do so. "How did you live?" He asked, making her snap her head up to look at him. She was about to lower her gaze when he raised a hand and said, "Keep looking at me." That was a serious battle for Paulina because she was torn between looking down and keeping her gaze on him. "You can talk while looking at me." "But... how... how can I..." She pointed at the materials on the floor. If he wanted her to talk to him while looking at him, how was she going to paint? "We have all day," he said casually, before gesturing with his hands for her to go ahead and answer his question. She tried to look away, but his gaze was fixed on her as if daring her to disobey and look away. She bit her bottom lip in confusion. Why was he curious about how she had lived? She couldn''t tell him the truth. That would be a problem even if Prince Harold hadn''t warned her to keep it away from everyone. "I... lived well?" She answered uncertainly. Williams just stared at her for a while before he asked, "Have you ebeen with a man before?" "M-My...Lord!" Her eyes widened to the fullest, and as expected of Paulina, she looked like she was going to run away and started to panic, and at the same time, she was coughing. "No, no, I didn''t mean it that way," Williams said, not sure whether tough or facepalm. Howe she was so easily flustered? Someone would think she was twelve and not older than him. "I mean... have you been with a man the way you have been with me?" He asked Paulina, who looked like she was going to burst into tears at any point. Not only her face, but her entire body looked red as she tried to look at him but failed miserably. "I... have not... been anyway... with you, My lord," she stuttered while looking at him with confused innocence. This time, Williams facepalmed. "I mean, have you spoken with a man before? Have you painted any before? Taken a stroll with any?" He asked, choosing to be specific with his questions or else she was going to keep misinterpreting him until she had a heart attack and copsed. Paulina shook her head immediately at his question and wondered why he was asking her this. Seeing her shake her head, he was not even surprised. It was quite obvious she had no idea how to rte with a man, more so, a werewolf male who naturally had an overbearing aura, and so one that was a member of the royal family. It exined why she was always in flight mode. It was probably too much for her to handle all at once. "You haven''t served any either?" He asked curiously, and once again, she shook her head. She had spent 12 years in the mountains with her mistress and Madam Grace. How was she supposed to rte with a grown man? Except for those hunters she usually hid from in the mountains. "No... My lord. I... have only served my mistress," she answered timidly. He noticed that she didn''t want to talk about that topic, so he decided to drop the subject, "Go ahead and draw. When you are tired, let me know. We can always continue another day." She nodded, and when she looked down, she sighed softly in relief, but he heard her clearly and smiled before it disappeared quickly. Paulina would have preferred for Beth to bully her and ask her to wash dirty toilets rather than for her to do this. She was veryfortable, especially whenever she looked up at his face and found him staring intently at her. How was she supposed to get the painting done at this rate? Another serious problem was her hands, which were not making it easy for her. They were seriously shaking, causing her to make a few mistakes. Thankfully, she was still drawing his portrait, so the mistakes could be excused, unlike if she had started painting already. She prayed that she would be able to make a good painting eventually and not provoke him for wasting his time after all the assistance he had been giving her. "My father is the Queen''s older brother," Williams said, and Paulina raised her head to spare him a nce, wondering what he was talking about. "So that makes me the queen''s nephew," Williams continued. Why was he telling her that when she didn''t ask him any questions? Although she had already figured out that he was rted to the queen, she didn''t know that it was his father who was rted to the queen. "I''m older than Susan. However, she likes to act like she is the older twin. She keeps saying that it doesn''t matter that I came out first. Can you believe that?" Williams asked with a scoff, and although Paulina was nervous, she almost smiled at that. Williams kept talking about random stuff like his funny childhood experiences and ces he had visited, which he was sure she had never been to because she couldn''t just move around freely. He had noticed how her hands were trembling earlier; hence, he thought if he talked about himself and random things that were unrted to her, she would easily be able to nce at him at intervals without feeling overwhelmed. He smiled when he noticed that his n to distract her and help her rx was working, and her hands were no longer trembling as she drew his portrait. This was a good improvement. He really hoped that she would continue like this. Away from there, Susan was surprised by how cooperative Princess Amber was as Luciana taught them both about the rules guiding the pce and how to conduct themselves as women of the royal family. Alicia did all she was told as cheerfully as she could, even though she still thought that it was ridiculous. She asked questions and tried to seem interested in all of it. When she saw Alvin hanging around, she figured that Harold had sent him to get her again. He hade earlier after she had her bath, to inform her that Harold wanted to have breakfast with her, but she had sent him back to inform Harold that she was going for her training and would have lunch with him when she was done. "That is enough for today. Let''s continue tomorrow," Luciana said with a satisfied smile, d that Princess Amber had been very cooperative. She had heard all about how Princess Amber always stood up to Beth. Not that she had been expecting it since it was only normal for the younger princess to respect her. She was married to the oldest Prince after all unlike Beth who was a maid. Once Alvin heard that the ss was over, he rushed over to the maidens'' chamber to pass across the message. "Mydy, Prince Harold is waiting at the royal garden," Alvin informed her, and she gave him a nod as she straightened her dress. "I will join him now," she said and waved at Susan before walking away with Alvin. Alvin walked a step behind her as usual, while she walked ahead of him, practising her smile and speech. She was going to apologize for overreacting the previous night and tell him that, after thinking long and hard about it, she hade to the conclusion that he was right. She was probably here for a reason, so she would stop trying to run away and face her new life here. As they walked together, Alvin contemted whether or not to inform Alicia about the rumors going around the pce. He doubted that she was going to hear about it since everyone was being careful with their words around her, and he also knew that Harold wouldn''t say anything to her. Somehow, he felt that since Harold seemed to care about his wife a lot, he owed her some loyalty too, especially as this involved her maid, who she cared about a lot. He had no idea what would happen if the king or queen got wind of the rumors before she did. Alvin cleared his throat, and Alicia turned to spare him a nce. "You want to say something?" She asked curiously. After a little hesitation, he said, "It''s about your maid," Alvin started, and Alicia red at him, thinking he wanted to talk to her about sending Paulina away. Seeing the look on her face, Alvin frowned. Why was she looking at him that way when she didn''t even know what he wanted to say yet? "If Harold sent you to talk to me about it, tell him my decision is final! I don''t want to hear about it!" Alicia walked away angrily, leaving behind a bewildered Alvin. Chapter 93 Chatting With Wife Alvin feared that she had misunderstood him and that she might end up confronting Harold over it, which would, in turn, put him in trouble, so he ran after her. "Mydy, I think there is a misunderstanding," he called after her as he ran up to catch up with her, and Alicia stopped once again. Seeing the crease on his brow, she figured that this was important to him, and since she still intended to somehow find a way to use him, she decided to be nice, "What misunderstanding?" She asked with a slightly raised brow. "I only wanted to talk to you about the rumors going around the pce. Unless Prince Harold already mentioned it to you," Alvin added, wondering if Harold had told her about it already. So he wasn''t trying to talk her into epting Harold''s decision to send Paulina away? "Rumors? About Paulina?" She asked, confused. "Yes, mydy." Or was this a ploy by Harold to make her believe that there was a rumor, hence Paulina had to leave? "What rumor?" So Harold had not told her about it? Then what did Harold say about her maid to make her so angry? Did it have anything to do with the reason she had sent him out of his room the previous day? Alvin mused. "The rumors started while you were ill. Your maid has been spending a lot of time alone with Sir Williams," Alvin said, hoping that she would figure out what he was driving at. "That is the rumor? What is wrong with that?" Alicia asked in disbelief. Where did thisdye from that didn''t see anything wrong with an unmarried female spending too much time alone with an unmarried man in secret? "Everyone thinks that they are having an affair," Alvin spelled it out for her. "Is Williams married?" Alicia asked in confusion, not seeing what the problem was. "No." "Good. Then it''s fine. Although I was going to hook you up with Paulina, Williams is a good catch too. I hope the rumors are right," Alicia said with a happy smile as she turned around and continued walking, leaving a stunned Alvin. What kind of person was she? Alvin mused as he followed her. Alicia, who had been seething with anger earlier, was floating with joy at the thought that Paulina had found love. It was just like in the romance movies she watched. The poor girl would end up with a wealthy man. Paulina was like Cindere, only that she was thankfullycking the evil stepmother and sisters. She hoped that it was true and that there would be no obstacles in their path. She was going to make sure of it. That way, even if she seeded in escaping alone, she wouldn''t feel guilty about leaving Paulina behind. She would be certain that Paulina was happy and was well taken care of. She didn''t want the poor girl to live her entire life as a servant. As she approached the royal gardens, the guards standing by the entrance moved away for her to go in, and she eyed them with disdain as she walked past them when she noticed that they were the same set of guards who had refused to grant her entry the first time. Once Harold saw hering, he sat up in his seat. His brows pulled together when she smiled at him. Why was she smiling? He had expected her to be fuming angrily afterst night, so why did it seem like she was happy to see him? "I''m sorry I kept you waiting, My lord," she said with a polite bow before sitting down. My Lord? He didn''t feel good about this at all. What was this woman up to this time? Harold thought wearily. He would have preferred her to call him anything but that. He knew how much she despised calling him that. This must mean that she was up to something. "It''s not a problem. How did your training go?" He asked, observing her closely to see if she was only pretending to be in a good mood. He had been surprised to hear that she had chosen to go for her training rather than have breakfast with him. "It was perfect! Princess Luciana is a very good teacher. Much better than Beth," Alicia said, and then rxed in her seat when the maids came to serve them. Perfect? Harold mused as he watched her. What was she up to? Once the maids were done setting the table and they left, Alicia leaned forward in her seat and then cleared her throat to get his attention. "Aboutst night... I thought about everything you said. You are right." He raised a brow. "What exactly?" "That I cannot leave here. So I just have to ept it and learn to live here." She hoped Harold would believe her and let his guard down around her. So that by the time she had a proper n, he wouldn''t see iting. Sheughed evilly in her head, but her hope was shattered when heughed while looking down. "What is funny?" She asked in annoyance. "That you think I am stupid," he said before reaching for his wine. He served himself and took his time smelling the aroma before he drank from it. ''Damn it! Why does he always have to be so smart?'' She muttered to herself as her hands fisted beside her. Of course, Harold heard her but pretended like he didn''t. Out of annoyance, she picked up her goblet and began to fill it with the wine Harold had drank from, not the one in front of her. "What are you doing?" He asked, the smile leaving his face. Alicia stubbornly ignored him and began to gulp it down, startling him. He slightly panicked and reached for the goblet, but he was toote and she had drank half of it. "WHAT?!" She yelled at him, angry that he had snatched the wine from her. Not that the wine was tasty¡ªin fact, it tasted disgusting now that she had stopped drinking it¡ªbut it had been her way of venting. Harold observed her closely, counting down the seconds. He didn''t know how it was supposed to affect her since he had never seen a human drink this before. It was specifically made for their kind. Ever since she came to this pce, they made sure that whatever she drank was that which was suitable for humans. But she was just too nosy and liked to touch everything. "HAROLD!!! PLEASE HELP THIS POOR GIRL OUT!" She suddenly wailed loudly, making him almost jump out of his seat. It was barely five seconds since he took the cup from her, yet she was already acting crazy. He looked around at the guards guiding the garden, who were trying to pretend like they were neither seeing nor hearing anything. "Do not address me that way in public." He spoke softly. "Address you what way? HAROLD?" She shouted loudly before bursting into tears. "But I like to call you Harold." She said in between tears. ''Not again,'' his wolf sighed tiredly. Barely 24 hours ago, she had been crying, and now he had to deal with this again? How was he supposed to handle her, especially right now when she was drunk at this time of the day? "Fine. Just stop crying." "So I can call you whatever I want?" She asked, looking up at him with teary and misty eyes. He sighed before nodding and hoping that would get her to stop crying, but who was he kidding? She burst into tears again. "I want to go back home. I really want to go back." She tried to reach for the goblet again, but he quickly grabbed it and poured the contents on the floor, despite how expensive it was. She pouted sadly and continued rambling. "But whenever I think about leaving, I... I feel reluctant," she said, looking lost. "I wonder how Paulina is going to live here. I wish I could take her back with me. I wish I had someone there who would love me like Paulina." She began to sob again, but Harold was frowning. "That''s it?" He asked, unimpressed. He should be feeling sad for her that she had no one there, but he was more angry at the fact that Paulina was the only reason she was reluctant to leave. She shook her head and looked him squarely in the eyes. "I... I also worry about you," she confessed. "Why?" He asked, rxing in his seat casually. It was rare for them to talk like this, so now he had to take advantage of her drunken state. "Because you make me worried," she said before throwing a piece of grilled meat at him for no reason at all. He didn''t dodge it and simply looked at the piece of meat that hit him on the chest before it fell on hisp. "Why do I make you worried?" He asked, not sure he wanted to know the answer to that question. If he happened to have grown on her, then it would be a big problem for the two of them. He would prefer they didn''t have any sort of emotional attachment. That way, no one could use either of them to get to the other. Also, he didn''t want anyone at all to like him that way. It was... ufortable. "Because..." She huped and continued. "Be-cause... I... you... you are like a younger brother I never had." She said, making every thought in his head stop as a big frown formed on his face. "Unthink that rubbish thought!" He said in an angry tone as he threw the piece of meat back at her, and it hit her forehead. Chapter 94 Brother Zoned? So here is a little recap of Prince Harold''s life: If anyone was looking for a person that was cold, brutal, and without an iota of conscience in the moon kingdom and beyond, they would have to pick him. When he was a little boy, he would watch gory scenes of people dying with a smile on his face, as if it was amusing to him. There were rumors that histe mother was an enved person who had been captured during a fight with another pack, and that his mother was an Omega. The king had taken a liking to her, and he, an alpha, was the product of it, much to the chagrin of the queen. There was also the rumor that he killed his half-brother, the queen''s first son, and that the moon goddess had cursed him because of his bad temper. He could not marry ady of his kind, and he was cursed to shift form every night, unlike the others who shifted mostly when there was a full moon. p Some of the rumors said that even the king was scared of him. Everyone feared him. They had every reason to. And so, as soon as they caught sight of a head full of white hair, they took every other route they could find to escape from him. No one wanted to be anywhere near him for fear that they might make a mistake that would cost their life. No one knew the source of the rumors or how they spread across the kingdom, but they were careful to talk about them. The citizens of the moon kingdom were even scared to whisper it amongst themselves lest they get caught, but other kingdoms didn''t know the severity of the gossip, which was why they could talk about the ones they had heard of, and that was the only reason Alicia got to know about him being a cursed prince before their marriage. Even if he had wanted to disregard the curse and marry someone of his kind, he couldn''t do so thanks to the rumors of the curse spreading around that any female werewolf that married him was cursed to die. Some would have disregarded it as a mere rumor had they not known for a fact that he left the pce every day before midnight. Not because he wanted to, but because it was something he had to do if he didn''t want to shift within the pce and wake everyone with his cries. He always suffered excruciating pain when shifting every night, which was different from other werewolves. Hence, no female werewolf wanted a husband who wouldn''t spend the night in bed with them or cost them their lives. Of course, Beth didn''t mind this, but she was the queen''s person and couldn''t possibly let them know this unless she wanted to get on the queen''s bad side. So it was because he could not marry one of his kind that he was made to marry a human. He knew that giving him a human bride was the queen''s idea since marrying a human would automatically make people against him taking the throne. However, he doubted that anyone would want him on the throne when they all feared him this way. He did not care about the throne either. Still, the Queen was being careful, and she wanted to have someone on the throne that she could control since Harold was the reason her son, who would have be king, died. Now, back to the present, he has got a bride. First of all, he had been deceived into marrying a princess in exile. But not only did she turn out not to be a princess, but she was also entirely someone else from centuries ahead of them. And she was very strange. That didn''t even annoy him because he could handle that. But what he couldn''t handle was her saying that she was worried about him because he was like a ''brother'' to her. And not just any brother, but a ''younger brother she never had''. A YOUNGER one, not even an older one. What sort of nonsense was that? What about him made her think that he was her brother? The most annoying thing was the fact that he could not take his anger out on her. Not only because she would probably find a way to kill him first, but because he just couldn''t even imagine hurting her. Was this what it meant when one had a wife? Not taking note of the unpleasant look on his face, she continued. "Look here, Harold!" She pointed at him and waved to both sides drunkenly, finding it difficult to keep her eyes on him. "I''m no longer your Lord? I''m back to being Harold?" He asked with a scoff as he watched her. "HAROLD! Listen!" She called out, and Harold sighed. What did he get himself into? "I''m listening," he said and waited for her to go on. "I came up with a new escape n." She said and began to giggle. "You won''t believe how smart I am." She giggled some more. Harold, who was still upset, leaned forward in his seat as he watched her closely. From the moment she walked into the garden, acting all polite and well-mannered, he had guessed that she hade up with another n. And now he was curious to know what it was. It was a good thing that she was the type to pour out everything on her mind when she was drunk. Perhapshe should be giving her this drink whenever he wanted to know what she was thinking, he mused. "Also I..." She belched loudly and continued,"I think the heavens are helping me. I heard that there are rumors about Paulina and Williams," she said, and Harold raised a brow. She had heard about that already? What did the rumors have to do with her new escape n? Or was she going to ask the King to banish her and her maid because of the rumors? He wouldn''t put anything past her, he reasoned without interrupting her. "If Williams and Paulina both like each other, and then he chooses to make her his wife, I would rest assured that she is in safe hands, and then I will peacefully escape from here when you are not looking." She said with a proud smile at then. "When I am not looking?" He asked, amused. "Of course!" She said passionately. If she thought that he was stupid enough to take his eyes away from her for a second when he already knew her n, then she was not as smart as he had thought she was. "I am... I... will make Hellion... like me. While... I make you believe I don''t want to run away again," she began tough like a maniac, and Harold shook his head. Just what did this drink do to humans to make them spill out everything in their heads? "Then, when we go into town, this time, I will personally make sure you drink that water this time. And as soon as you fall asleep," she stood up and began to run around him, "I am going to run away with Hellion!" She began to cackle loudly. Seeing how she wasughing as if her n made sense, he forgot that he was mad at her and let out a burst of amusedughter before he quicklyported himself. Before he knew it, she stopped behind him and hugged his neck, then leaned closer to his shoulder whileughing excitedly. Harold stiffened for a moment, and he nced at the guards who were guarding the garden and then quickly looked away. He tried to shrug her off him, but she stubbornly held on to his neck firmly. "I like your smell," she whispered, and to his dismay, his heart skipped a beat. He had never been in such a position with anyone before. Why did this woman keep stirring his emotions? One moment she was annoying him to death, and the next she was saying things like this. After some time, Harold cleared his throat, "So... That is your escape n?" He asked when he felt her rx her head in the crook of his neck and sigh contentedly. "Yes. I am smart, you know right? Only a pretty head like me could havee up with such a genius n, right?" She asked Harold, who ignored her, but she kept pressing him to answer. Resigned, he nodded. "That''s a nice n." He could not see her face because he sat stiffly while looking ahead, but he could tell that she was smiling happily. "Now be good and return to your seat. You need to eat." He tried to shake her off again, but he felt her shake her head before saying, "I kinda like your hair. It looks soft. Can I braid it for you?" She asked as she dug her fingers into his hair without warning. "ALICIA!" Harold eximed without thinking. Chapter 95 You Will Do... Anything? "ALICIA!" She hadn''t expected him to shout her name like that, so she was taken aback by the aggression and broke into a sob. But instead of letting him go, she held on tightly to his hair, making Harold wince in pain as he tried to release himself from her grip. His hair was a precious asset to him. In fact, every part of his body was precious to him, so no one dared touch him. But this little girl had touched him a lot of times. As if that was not enough, his hair, which was a no-go area, was also gripped like this in public. The guards, and some of the maids who had served them and were still waiting on them, almost fled when they heard his voice. They didn''t want to be the unfortunate person that he would transfer their wrath to. But they were curious about one thing. Who was Alicia? They took a peek to see what was happening and almost died of a heart attack when they saw his bride crying behind him with her hand gripping his hair. Prince Harold, on the other hand, looked like he was going to kill someone, but he just sat there, trying to look at her through his peripheral view. What manner of person was she? How could she not have had any iota of fear of this scary man who was her husband? A man that even the bravest of men in the Moon Kingdom preferred to avoid? What was even more surprising was that Harold let her get away with everything she did. They were not over her pushing him out of his chamber the previous day, and that rumor was yet to die down, yet here they were again witnessing another mouth-dropping scene. "Can you stop doing that?" Harold pleaded when she held on to his hair no matter how much he tried to stop her. "You called my name. I don''t remember thest time anyone called me that. I miss... my name," Alicia cried even louder as her grip on his hair tightened, causing Harold to grit his teeth. He didn''t know what annoyed him most: her hold on his hair or the sound of her endless bawling behind him. She was beginning to sound like her maid, whom he had heard cry more than he had heard her talk. "Stop crying. I will call you Alicia," he reasoned with her so she could let go of his hair. She stopped crying and tried to look at his face from that angle, bringing herself closer to him. "You will?" She asked with a sniffle. "Yes. Now let go of my hair and go sit down," he pleaded, and she reluctantly withdrew her hand as Harold turned in his seat to look at her. She had tears on her face, and for some reason, it made him feel bad as he looked at her. Harold let out a sigh. "Why are you crying so often these days?" He wondered aloud as he stood up to face her. He had wanted them to eat so that he could find a way to convince her to stay, but once again, she had thrown a tantrum about not wanting to stay here and drank his alcohol instead of eating the food they were served, and he was sure she hadn''t eaten anything today. Drinking on an empty stomach was never a good thing. Now the purpose of the whole lunch has been defeated. The only good thing about it was that at least now he knew what her new escape n was, even though it didn''t make sense to him and he was sure as hell that it wasn''t going to work. "I want to go home," Alicia cried, her lips wobbling like a baby''s, "I... I know... my life... is not perfect there, but... I... want to go back." She cried, and without thinking about it, she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist as she embraced him. Panic shed through his eyes as his first reaction was to push her off, but it seemed she had borrowed strength from an avenger and refused to let go, lost in her own emotions. The guards and maids all turned around, thinking if it was best to stay or just flee, because at this rate, they could not guarantee her safety, much less theirs. "Let... me hug you," she pleaded in a voice filled with sadness as she continued to cry. Harold was certain of one thing: he would never allow her toe into contact with alcohol again in her entire life. Although he knew that he shouldn''t allow her to do this, especially in public, he didn''t know any other way tofort her, and if this was what she wanted, he was just going to swallow his difort and let her do as she pleased. Maybe if he showed her that he cared for her a little, she would reconsider her decision to leave. It wasn''t like she had anyone else to go to in the future. He knew he was being selfish with his thoughts, but he couldn''t exactly help it. He had neverforted someone in this manner before, so he simply stood there awkwardly with his hands beside him. Was he supposed to hug her back? Tell her things like, "This is your home now, so don''t cry?" He didn''t think so. He suspected that if he said so, even the moon goddess would be shocked at what she would do to him. So he said nothing and awkwardly raised his hands to hug her back, but he kept dropping them beside him. The Queen and the King, who were going into the garden to have lunch, stopped by the entrance when they saw the scene before them. Their first facial expression was SHOCK. She was hugging him and crying in his embrace while he looked like he was struggling with the decision of whether to embrace her or not. And what more? His hair looked like chickens had fought in it, which was so unlike him. The corners of the queen''s lips twitched when she saw that the usually cold and aloof Harold was beginning to bend for his wife and didn''t mind doing so openly. She was d to know that they had been right about him. Harold cared about his wife. She wondered how he would feel and react if something really bad happened to her now. She wasn''t sure if he was all the way there yet. She would patiently wait until he waspletely crazy about her. Then, he would give up any thought he had about the throne when his wife''s life was ced on the line. The king, on the other hand, watched the scene before him with interest. He felt relieved to know that he had made the right decision by making sure Harold got married. The moment he first encountered Harold''s unruly human bride, he had gotten the feeling that she was exactly what his cold-hearted son needed, and he was d to see that he was right. Maybe what they needed was more time to get to know each other outside the pce and bond more. "Let''s leave them alone. The maids can serve us in my chamber," the king suggested as he turned to leave, not wanting Harold to know that they had seen them. He signaled for the maids to leave with them to give them more privacy, but two guards stayed back. The queen turned to follow her husband, who she was aware had a soft spot for his bastard. She knew without a doubt that deep down, he hoped that his bastard son would be redeemed and take over the throne from him. She had no intention of letting that happen. Meanwhile, Harold internally cringed and almost sighed in relief when they left. Even though he couldn''t exactly smell his father''s presence, it wasn''t so for the queen. He knew when they entered and immediately gave up all thought of hugging Alicia back. But they had already seen enough to know that he had a tiny soft spot for this little devil. "Alright, enough!" He said sternly and tried to push her away angrily but the oblivious Alicia shook her head stubbornly. "Fine!" He said, trying to control his anger. When the guards, who had pretty good hearing, heard him speak in that tone, they thought he was going to unleash some Alpha power on her to make her let go, but what he said next made them almost facepalm and ask themselves if this was truly Prince Harold. "What do you want me to do to make you feel better?" He asked, coaxing her. That seemed to get her attention, and she raised her head to look up at him with her red, teary eyes. "You... will do any-thing?" She asked hopefully. He was sure she was going to tell him to help her escape, and that was one thing he wasn''t going to do, but he nodded. He would do anything for her to let him go right now. With her innocent look that could melt hearts, she blinked at him as she asked, "Then... can I... braid your hair?" WHAT! THE!! HELL!!! "NO!" He yelled, pushing her away. Does she even know who he is? Chapter 96 Hit And Run "By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you''ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you''ll be a philosopher" This was a quote attributed to the great philosopher, Socrates. And now, Harold could understand why. Because he had been doing a lot of thinking that could make him fit as one and ascend to the heaven of philosophers. Should he let her be or should he not? And why is that, one may ask? It was the same reason Alvin''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he arrived at the garden to pass a piece of important information over to Harold, and he couldn''t stop himself from eximing as he moved away from Harold in both shock and disbelief. Harold''s dark gaze fell on his face with a deadly aura around him, daring Alvin tough or say something funny. Alvin wanted to take him seriously. He swore he wanted to take Prince Harold seriously and would have been kowtowing right now, but he just couldn''t, especially seeing him with his hair parted into two and braided to the back. He could tell that the culprit was none other than his bride, who was sitting across from him with her head on the table. She looked like she had been knocked out. By chance, that wasn''t his handiwork, right? "Y-Your..." Alvin swallowed his words and pursed his lips as he tried to suppress hisughter. "Your... High¡ª muahahaha." Alvin could no longer hold it in as he ced his hand on his belly and had a goodugh. "I''m so... I''m so sorry your High hahaha¡ª" "I must look amusing to you," Harold said with a stiff, spine-chilling smile that got Alvin to quickly stand upright as he nodded. "Yes, your high¡ª I mean... no, your highness. I will help you get rid of that thing now," he said with a serious face before taking out a brightly shining dagger from its sheath, which was hanging on the waistband of his trousers. "What are you going to do with that?" Harold asked, hoping Alvin really knew what he was going to do because he had tried to take down this nonsense she did on his hair, but he couldn''t figure out how or where he was supposed to start from, and waking her seemed futile. Alvin looked at Harold with confusion before looking at the dagger. Then he shook his head as he returned the dagger to its sheath and said, "Erm... I have... no idea, your highness. How do I take that down?" "HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?" He bellowed angrily, startling Alvin before pointing at the criminal that had done a hit and run on his hair. "This little devil did this and suddenly copsed!" He said, fuming. It was a good thing he had sent the remaining guards away before she started messing with his hair. How was he ever going to earn respect from them again after this? He still could not get over the fact that they were talking about how she had literally thrown him out of his chamber and now this! He couldn''t understand how she tied his hair, as if she expected him to live with it like this forever. Alvin was confused since he didn''t know what he was supposed to do either. He had only ever seen this hairstyle on little girls outside the pce, and the girls were usually around 5 years old or younger. He always found it cute but didn''t think he would one day see it on a man, and not just any man, but Prince Harold. If others saw him like this, then his reputation was over. He wished there was some magic that could make him capture this moment and save it somewhere to look at it whenever he was having a bad day. Another thing he could not get over was the fact that he had allowed her to touch his hair, and not only touch it, but she had also braided it. "How about I wake her up so she can¡ª" "NO!" He refuted it immediately. He would rather have her asleep like this than have her awake. He was tired of the endless cries and only the heavens knew what she was going to do to him again if she was awake. "Bring me a cloak," Harold ordered. Alvin bowed, and as soon as he disappeared from the garden, he got a goodugh until he was satisfied, before he fetched a ck cloak with a hood from Harold''s chamber and returned to hand it over to him. Alvin had to confess that he felt like pinching Harold''s cheeks and calling him adorable. But what he didn''t know was that Alicia had done the exact same thing before she fell unconscious. As Harold wore the cloak and used the hood to cover his head, he red at Alvin, who he knew was having a goodugh at his expense. "Get Paulina. Ask her to meet me in Ali..." Harold hesitated, wondering why he was calling her by her name more often now. "Ask her to meet me in her mistress chamber," he corrected as he stood up, and Alvin bowed before leaving once again. After Harold adjusted the hood over his head, he went around the table and lifted Alicia from where she was knocked out. As he walked out of the garden and into the pce, he tried to ignore the stares he was getting. It seemed to him that everyone was bing less scared of him these days. How could he exin the fact that they had gathered outside his chamber to eavesdrop on his conversation with Alicia the previous day, and even after she pushed him out, most of them had stood there staring at him in disbelief? All of this was Alicia''s fault. Why did she have to keep embarrassing him in this manner? As he walked down the hallway, Tyra and Susan, who were taking a stroll, stopped to stare at him when they noticed the cloak he was wearing in broad daylight, and seeing Princess Amber lying unconscious in his arms, they could guess that she had probably done something. What they weren''t sure of was whether or not he was responsible for her unconscious state. This was the second time they''d seen him carry her to her chamber, princess style, and they were worried. "Did something happen to her again?" Susan asked with concern as they approached Harold, hoping that this wasn''t like the sleep she had fallen into a few days back. "She''s drunk... She drank my wine," Harold added stiffly, since he could guess what they were probably thinking. "You... let her drink your wine?" Tyra asked in dismay as they followed him. Even she had never tasted the kind of wine he drank. Tyra quickly hurried to open the door to Alicia''s chamber once they got there. Seeing how she easily opened it, Harold could not help but frown. What happened to locking doors? He wondered as he looked down at Alicia. As soon as the door opened, he red at the two girls behind him. It suddenly hit him that they were interrogating him, and there was nothing he hated more than that. As expected, they quickly snapped their mouths shut and disappeared from his sight as he walked into Alicia''s chamber and used his right foot to kick the door shut. Once he got to the bed, he gentlyid her down on it and red at her sleeping form when she giggled in her sleep. What was she finding so funny about the disaster she had made here? He turned to the door when he heard footsteps followed by a light knock. He could tell that it was Alvin who had returned with Paulina. "Come in," he called to them, and immediately the door was pulled open and they both walked in. As expected, Paulina rushed over to Alicia''s bedside, and immediately she saw that Alicia was unconscious, she broke into a sob, and it was all Harold could do not to roll his eyes. What was wrong with both the mistress and the servant? They both seemed to know how to bawl a lot, and he found it very annoying. He was particrly not fond of Paulina because, despite the fact that Alicia wasn''t from here and kept trying to go back, Alicia seemed to like and care for her a lot, enough that she didn''t want to leave without her if she wasn''t sure she would be fine. An idea on how to keep Alicia urred to Harold, making him scowl. He did not like that the idea involved Paulina. It would hurt his pride to rely on a maid to help him keep his wife with him. Harold red daggers at her as he cleared his throat to get her attention. "Your mistress is sleeping. She is just drunk," Harold assured her, and Paulina''s eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "D-Drunk?" Paulina repeated in disbelief since Amber had never tasted alcohol in her entire life, and when she looked at Alvin, he gave her a nod. "She will be okay," Harold said confidently so that she would stop crying, and once Paulina finally stopped, the first thing that urred to her was the strange clothes he was wearing. "Do you know how to undo this?" Harold asked Paulina as he pulled down the hood from his head, almost giving the poor girl a heart attack. Chapter 97 The Coming Occasion "I''m not sure Princess Amber loves this ce," Susan told Tyra as they continued their stroll around the pce. She had been thinking about it for some time now, and even though Princess Amber had been super cooperative during the day''s training with Princess Luciana, she had kept thinking that she was up to something. Otherwise, why would she do what she didst night? Deep down, Susan could swear that her actions during dinner the previous evening were deliberate since Beth had specifically told them that banishment was the punishment for doing what she did. And then, after ignoring the king, she had dropped on the floor, not to beg for mercy, but banishment? Who does that? Tyra turned to look at Susan with a slight frown, "Why do you think that?" "Think about it. Her behaviour and everything she has been doing thus far. Does it seem to you like she is ready to learn or adapt to the customs of the Moon kingdom? I think she would love to leave this ce if given the opportunity," Susan said, and Tyra pursed her lips as she thought about it. "I think it''s just the type of person that she is. She was that way too in her kingdom. Have I told you about all she did at their wedding?" Tyra asked in a very low tone so that no one would overhear her. Thest thing she wanted was to be the one to start a fresh bout of rumours about the unprincesslike behaviours of her half-brother''s wife. Susan shook her head and looked at Tyra with excitement, "What did she do? Wait, don''t say anything. I need to sit down to hear this," Susan said as she took Tyra''s hand and dragged her to somewhere they could sit and talk privately under a tree. Once they were seated, Tyra started to narrate all that had happened, and Susanughed aloud as Tyra described Alicia''s entrance and how she had greeted Harold and offered him a hand for a handshake. "What? She did that?" Susan asked in disbelief, and Tyra giggled as she gave her a nod. "What did Prince Harold do? He must have been furious," Susan guessed. Tyra shook her head. "You won''t believe he shook her hands and also said hi," Tyra said, and Susan''s mouth dropped open. "P-Prince Harold?" She asked in disbelief. She, like everyone else, had assumed that he was tolerating her because she was beginning to grow on him, but that wasn''t the case? He had always been that way since their wedding? Tyraughed as she gave her a nod and continued her narrative, and by the time she got to the part where Alicia pretended to faint, Susan was almost rolling on the floor withughter. "Oh, no! Please tell me she didn''t do that," Susan said as she wiped tears from her eyes. "I think everyone fell for it, apart from Prince Harold. If he hadn''t asked her to stand up, I would never have guessed that she was faking it," Tyra said in amusement as she remembered that day. Funny how it wasn''t so long ago, yet it feels like months already. "Oh, my! This is killing me," Susan said as she held her stomach, trying to stop herughter. "I haven''t even told you how she entertained us. Wait until you hear it," Tyra said, but they stopped talking when they saw Williams approaching them. Seeing Williams now, Tyra remembered the rumours she had overheard earlier that morning concerning him and Paulina, and she briefly contemted whether or not to say anything about it. "You decided to leave your painting room? I wonder why," Susan called out to her brother, happy to see him. These days, he has been spending so much time in his painting room and less time with her. "I needed to catch my breath," Williams lied as he came to sit with them under the tree. He had been bored and unable to stay back in the painting room after Alvin came to get Paulina. Just when he had finally gotten her to rx, and she was even beginning to stutter less when talking to him, Alvin hade to fetch her. He wondered if he was going to have to start trying to make her rx again from scratch when they returned to continue. "What were you both talking about?" Williams asked since he had followed the sound of his sister''sughter to find them. "She was just telling me about all Princess Alicia did during her wedding with Prince Harold," Susan exined to him, and then urged Tyra to continue from where she stopped. ,m When the three were done having the time of their lives, Tyra remembered something she needed to do and stood up. "I will see you two at dinner," she said to them, and was about to leave when something urred to her again, and she stopped. "Has the queen spoken to you two about theing asion?" "What asion?" Susan asked. "The hunting ceremony before the full moon." "Oh!" Williams realized he had totally forgotten that the full moon wasing in just a few days. It was usually one of the happiest days in the lives of every werewolf, but now he had a nagging feeling about it. "Maybe that is why she asked to meet us before dinner? We will see how it goes," Susan said casually. Tyra nodded and bowed to the two, who promptly returned it before she left. "Why do you look that way?" Susan asked her brother, who was lost in thought. "Nothing. I am just thinking about the ceremony." "What about it? It''s not like this is the first time we will be attending the ceremony; it''s just that now, we live here. But that is not the issue right now," she turned to face him, giving him a suspicious look. "What is going on between you and Paulina." "What could possibly be going on between the two of us?" "That is exactly what I want to know. There are rumours, and I do not want people to think you are taking advantage of a little girl who is also human." He found it hrious and let out a smallugh. "She is 19." "19 what?" "19 years old. She is older than us." "Wait, what?" Susan asked, a little shocked since she looked so tiny and timid. She suddenly put up her hand, shaking her head. "That is not the point now," she red at him. "Howe that was the only thing you thought about correcting? Is something going on between you two?" "There isn''t." She still kept that suspicious look on her face as she stared at him, but decided to believe his answer. "Better. We don''t want to get into trouble. You know it''s impossible. Not only is she human, but she is also a maid here. If the queen doesn''t kill her for it, then trust our parents to do so." She reminded him sternly. He simply pursed his lips and looked ahead, saying nothing else. Meanwhile, after what felt like a thousand hours, Harold was finally able to take down his braid. One would have thought he had brought Paulina to do it for him, but he didn''t. Of course, no one was allowed to touch his hair. She stood in front of him, telling him how to go about it, and it got to a point where he could sense her frustration when he kept doing it wrong. But she was smart enough to not show it. His muscles ached from doing such strenuous work. He had never felt so tired, even during battle. When he finally took it down, he went to have a bath and made sure to take his time with his hair to get it done perfectly and brush it. When he was done, he decided to visit the little demon and see how she was doing. He would have to think of a better way to punish her for messing with him like this. The closer he got to her door, the more he got a nagging feeling that something was not right, but he pushed the thought out of his head and opened her door before he entered. He was sure to be worried because as soon as he entered the chamber, he saw a daggering for him and moved his body out of the way, making the dagger stick to the door. The culprit was none other than Alicia, who was looking at him with a strange dark look in her eyes. "Do not take another step," she said in a threatening voice that made him furrow his brows as he looked closely at his supposed bride, who had a murderous aura radiating all over her. Curiosity turned to realization and then to dread. "Amber," he muttered under his breath, as he looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl. Chapter 98 Rebellious Vixen Harold was startled out of his dream with his heart racing so loudly that anyone outside would have heard it. He looked around him, realizing he had drifted off to sleep in his bathtub, which was even stranger than the dream he had just now. In a moment of confusion, he stared nkly until something snapped in his head, and he immediately got out of the tub and went to get dressed. Falling asleep like this, he didn''t like it, even though he knew that he needed to get some rest. He wasn''t even done looking properly dressed before he left his chamber. He noticed that it was almost time for dinner already. Had undoing his braids strained him so much that he had dozed off unguarded? He hurried his pace to go check her room. That dream could not leave his head. What if that happened one day and she suddenly disappeared while Amber returned. What was going to happen that day? He shook the thought out of his head. Judging from all Paulina said about her, Amber would make a better princess than Alicia. She was always calm and collected, spoke less, and obeyed rules, while Alicia was the exact opposite. She was talkative and always hyper. She doesn''t break rules either, she scatters the rules like a rebellious vixen. But he preferred her. Alvin was watching her, and he knew if anything strange had happened in her chamber, he would have reported it immediately, but he could not help it. So as he pushed her door open, he was a lot relieved when he saw her sleeping on the bed with her hands and legs everywhere and her hair all over her face like a zombie. She looked like she was going to fall off the bed at any second. He didn''t even want to talk about her dress, which was riding up to her thighs, or how loudly she was snoring. This was the strangest sight he had ever seen in his entire life. ''So... you prefer this... person?'' His wolf, who had been resting the entire time, finally resurfaced to ask. Harold had to ask himself the same thing as he looked down at her. He walked closer to her and gently began to fix her up. He first drew her dress down before carrying her and cing her in the middle of the bed. Then he went to her hair, brushing it with his fingers all the way to the back. Next, he tucked her properly into a quilt. All the attention made her toss on the bed a couple of times before she found afortable spot and stopped snoring. Thatfortable spot was close to Harold, and she hugged his hand to her chest. He tried to withdraw his hand, but it seemed she was still as strong as earlier when she hugged him. Just what was in that drink? Defeated, he gave up leaving and just sat there, staring at her face. He slowly reached for her cheek and brushed his thumb on it as he looked down at her with a guilty look. He had never apologized to anyone before, but at this time, he did just that. "I''m... sorry, Alicia. But... I won''t let you go," he said very quietly. He didn''t have a say in his mother''s case, so she had been taken away from him. But for this girl, he did have the biggest say. "I will make you like staying here, I promise." He felt his wolf roll his eyes. ''Cringe.'' ''GET LOST!'' Harold barked at him. Thankfully, he did just that and disappeared. For years, Harold could not use the link tomunicate with any member of the moon pack. Not like he would have wanted to, but the curse also stopped him from doing that. But since he couldmunicate with his wolf, he guessed he could do that and decided to try it out with Alvin. After several tries, he finally seeded in entering Alvin''s head, startling the poor guy who hadn''t expected it. "It''s me," Harold said so he could stop trying to force out the strange presence in his head. "Your... highness?" Alvin asked in disbelief. "Yes. I won''t be avable for dinner," he informed Alvin and let go of the link before Alvin could ask him how he was able to get into his head without permission. Alvin had never heard of something like that happening before, so it had greatly shocked him. Meanwhile, Harold had no idea what he had done and just kept talking to the sleeping Alicia until he also drifted off to sleep again with her in his arms. He was sure that at least she would be knocked out until noon or evening the next day. ********** During dinnerter that evening, everyone noticed that both Harold and his wife were absent, but nobody talked about it until the king and Damon joined them. "Why are they not here yet?" Damon asked with displeasure. It was obvious that his dislike for Harold''s bride was increasing with each passing day. "Let itgo. They won''t be joining us for dinner," the king told Damon as he walked over to his seat. He had been surprised when Alvin informed him that Harold wouldn''t being for dinner, and when Alvin couldn''t say why upon further inquiry, he reasoned that it probably had to do with his bride and whatever happened between them in the garden earlier. He noticed that Harold was spending more time with his wife, which was a wee development and improvement. Damon looked like he was going to argue with the king, but he knew better than that, so he let it go, and they all ate quietly, as they usually did when Alicia was not there to entertain them. When they were done eating, the Queen ordered, "Williams, meet me at the royal garden after dinner," before leaving with her husband. Williams exchanged a look with Susan, and she raised her right shoulder in a shrug. They both suspected that whatever she wanted to say to him involved Paulina, since if it were something else, she would likely have invited Susan to tag along. Not to mention the three of them had already spoken earlier. Williams stood up immediately and went in search of the queen. He knew better than to keep the queen waiting. Although she had said he should meet her after dinner, he was aware that it was a polite way of saying he should abandon his meal and go with her immediately. By the time he got to the brightly lit garden with fire torches almost everywhere, she was already seated there with a goblet of wine that a maid had just served. "You called me, your majesty," he said politely as he stood beside her with his head bowed. "Sit," she said, jerking her head to the seat opposite her as she watched him in a way that made him feel slightly ufortable. Williams sat down with his head bowed as he patiently waited for her to tell him the reason she called him. The Queen didn''t say a word for some time, and just when Williams began to lose his patience and looked up at her, she cleared her throat. "How has your stay at the pce been?" The queen asked with a friendly smile. "It has been very nice, your majesty. Thank you for having us," he said with a polite bow. "Do you like the painting room? I never got the chance to ask you since I had them set it up to your taste. Do you have everything you need there?" She asked, and Williams adjusted in his seat, knowing that the queen was heading somewhere with her questions. "Yes, your majesty. It is more than I hoped for," Williams said with a polite smile, even though he wished that she would go straight to the point and stop beating around the bush in this manner. "I learned you talked with Prince Harold''s servant some days ago. What was it about?" She asked with her harmless smile in ce, and Williams''s brows furrowed. Servant? Alvin didn''t seem like the type to be addressed that way. But that wasn''t the most important thing now. Was she watching him? Or perhaps it was Alvin she was keeping her eyes on? And why was she asking him this? Wasn''t he supposed to talk to Alvin or Harold? He didn''t want to be dragged into whatever problem was going on around the pce. How was he supposed to answer her question? Tell her the truth or lie to her? "I approached him first. I offered to help them prepare medicine for Princess Amber when she was unconscious," Williams exined, deciding to go with a half-truth. "You offered to make medicine to wake her up? You told Harold that?" The queen asked curiously. "Yes, your majesty." "And he let you?" She asked, and Williams shook his head. The same way he knew that Harold had taken a huge risk in choosing to trust him to do it, he also knew that Harold wouldn''t want the Queen to know that he had been desperate enough to ept his help. "He refused. He sent Alvin to reject my offer," Williams lied, praying that whoever had seen him talking with Alvin hadn''t heard anything concerning their discussion, else both the Queen and his father would be furious. The Queen looked at him for a while, and then she gave him a nod. "And the maid? What is going on between you and Princess Amber''s maid?" Chapter 99 Pillow Fight Although Williams had suspected that this was the reason the queen had asked to see him, hearing her ask the question caused his heart to skip a beat. Thest thing he wanted was to cause trouble for either himself or Paulina. He knew that Susan had been right. Both their father and the Queen could be really ruthless, and they wouldn''t mind getting rid of Paulina if they so much as suspected that he had something to do with the girl. "Nothing is going on between us, my queen," Williams said, and the queen raised a brow. "Nothing?" She asked, sounding rather disappointed. "Yes, my queen." "But that''s not what the others around the pce are thinking. You know that, right?" "Yes, your majesty. I only let her serve me while I paint because she seemed to have little knowledge about it, unlike the other maids," Williams exined. "That''s such a shame," the queen said as she leaned back in her seat, and Williams did not bother to ask him what she meant. He waited for her to dismiss him, but when she didn''t, he remained standing where he was trying to endure the ufortable silence. He raised his head when he heard Ivan join them. "What took you so long?" The Queen asked as Ivan sat down. Ivan apologized, "I''m sorry I kept you waiting," "He says she is only there to serve him while he paints," she said to Ivan, who, like her, had been hoping that something was going on between Williams and Paulina. "That doesn''t change a thing. We are family, you know that, don''t you?" Ivan asked Williams, who met his gaze. Why was he being asked such a question when they all knew the answer? As if he could say no. "Yes, we are," Williams finally answered after a short pause. "And as a family, we all look out for each other. You are our person," Ivan said, and Williams sighed inwardly. What did these people want from him? He really did not want any of this. "We want you to seduce Paulina..." "What?" Williams asked without thinking, his eyes round with surprise. "Ivan..." The Queen called, turning to look at her son, who had just said something unexpected. Yes, she had been hoping to take advantage of whatever Williams had going with Paulina, and it was also true that she had been waiting for Ivan to join them before dismissing Williams, since they had both nned to talk to him together. Still, she was as surprised as Williams by what Ivan was asking him to do so tantly. "Trust me on this, Mother," Ivan said to his mother before turning his attention back to Williams. "You don''t have to marry her or do anything so serious. The rumours are going around the pce already, so you might as well just do it. Don''t worry, when all of this is over, we will fix it. All we want you to do is get her to trust you to the point that she can tell you anything. Get all the information you can get from her concerning Harold and his wife," Ivan exined. Williams'' brows creased in a frown. He didn''t like this. It disgusted him that these people wanted to use him in this manner, and what he found even more annoying was the fact that he couldn''t directly turn them down. "Do you understand what your cousin is saying, Williams?" The Queen asked, leaning forward in her seat. "Yes, your majesty." "Can you do that for us? Your father would want you to help me achieve my goals within the pce," the queen said, and Williams gave her a nod. "I will try my best to get her to open up to me, your majesty," Williams promised, and the queen gave him a smile of approval. "Good. I''m relieved to know that I can count on you. You can leave us now," she said, and Williams bowed to them both as he left. Immediately Williams disappeared from view, the queen turned to look at Ivan with disapproval. "Why did you ask him to do something like that without discussing it with me first?" "I''m sorry, mother. We were counting on the rumours being true, but now that he has exined the reason she is always in there with him, I didn''t think there was any reason to give up the n. I thought it would help if he seduced the girl. We could still make her our person without their knowledge." "Harold isn''t that stupid. The moment he sees Williams hanging around her a lot, he is bound to be suspicious," the Queen said. "Yet she has been spending a lot of time in the painting room with Williams, and he hasn''t be suspicious or done anything to stop it. Maybe he is too distracted by his wife to be on his guard like before," Ivan pointed out. "Still, what if she bes a problem to us?" "Then we get rid of her." ************* An earth-shattering scream was heard the next morning, waking up everyone who was probably still sleeping by this time, and that included Harold, whose eyes opened to find Alicia running away from the bed like she had just found a python in bed with her. Harold panicked as he flew from the bed to go lock her door before he returned and stood on the other side of the bed. He saw Alicia looking all over her body as if she was looking for evidence of whatever had happenedst night, and for some reason, he was d the bed was in-between them because even if nothing had happened, he couldn''t trust her to rte with him in a sane manner. "Why are you up at this time?" He broke the silence and asked her before he realized that the question didn''t sound right. He guessed she would think he had actually done something to her. She hurried to look out the window, noting it was dawn before she turned to look at him. At this point, she was no longer surprised whenever she suddenly opened her eyes to find herself on another day entirely. "All this while... why didn''t I think that you were actually a wolf?" She asked angrily. Harold''s heart stopped beating at that moment when he heard her. ''How... does she know?'' His wolf asked the same question he was asking himself. Did something perhaps happen in her sleep? Did he identally shift and she saw him? What was she going to think about it? "Uh... how... did you... know that?" He asked hesitantly, stuttering. Stuttering was something he had never done before in his life. Why was he even nervous because of this tiny little thing? "Oh! I can see you even know. You are indeed a wolf in sheep''s clothing. Wait a minute, you even have white hair to really hide who you truly are. Ha! You drugged me to have your way with me?" She used before throwing a pillow at him. When he dodged, she picked another one, throwing it at him immediately. A confused Harold was looking at his clothes, wondering if he wore anything that resembled a sheep when the second pillow smacked his head, annoying him. Now that he was looking at her, he suddenly recalled that she had said something about drugging him. "Who the hell do you think you are ring at like that?" Alicia asked, looking around to throw something else at him. "You drugged me, didn''t you?" She asked usingly when she found nothing else around her, and shook her head when she felt like cking out. She still felt very sleepy, but the nightmare she had about several wolves chasing her had forced her awake, only to find herself cuddling someone in the bed, and that person just happened to have white hair. Who else would it be if it wasn''t Harold? Her brain concluded that he had drugged her and taken advantage of her. "You drank my wine and copsed. I do not appreciate you using me of something so despicable." "Despicable? You were on my bed!" She raised her voice. "You think you are the only one to get angry? You touched me, hugged me, and twisted my hair in a weird way before copsing, leaving me to take care of your mess and you are raising your voice at me?" He asked angrily before picking up one pillow to throw at her. She gasped loudly. "You! You... didn''t just do that!" She eximed as she picked up the pillow to throw back at him while he threw it back at her. It wasn''t until he heard his wolf''s disgusted and exasperated voice asking, ''What are you doing?'' did he realize what he was actually doing. Not only had he been quarrelling with her just now, but he was also busy throwing pillows with her? He was about to throw another pillow before he heard his wolf''s voice. As if he was holding a hot potato, he dropped it on the floor immediately and adjusted himself, returning to his usual aloof self as he said, "You should rest. You still look tired. Breakfast would be brought here." "Ha! Look at him acting all dignified. I can''t believe this," she said incredulously as she watched him hurry out of her room. Chapter 100 Scared Husband Once Harold got to his chamber, it didn''t take long for Alvin to join him. Alvin almost turned back when he saw an angry-looking Harold. He had heard shoutsing from Princess Amber''s chamber but could not exactly hear what they were arguing about since he had been watching from far away. Seeing him now, he knew that Harold was in a bad mood, and as such, he had to be careful of whatever he said. As usual, Harold looked out the window as he waited for Alvin to give him any information he was here for. So Alvin started, "I wanted to tell you this yesterday when I met you in the garden. I looked into all the people who left the pce 2 days before we were attacked on our way back to the pce." "The royal chef, kitchen servants, and guards?" Harold asked, remembering what Alvin had told him the other day. "Yes. There were 7 of them. 2 guards, 4 kitchen servants, and the royal chef. I have been observing them for days. They all seem rather normal... except for one." That got Harold''s attention, making him turn to look at Alvin. "She is a kitchen servant, but she only cleans. The past few days I took notice of her, Inoticed her smell changed." "Her smell?" "Yes. I can''t exactly tell what it is, but there is something strange about her. Here, I made a description of her," Alvin said, handing him a folded piece of paper. If Alvin said her smell changed, then Harold believed. Alvin had a very sensitive nose, even more than him and probably more than anyone else in the entire kingdom. So others may not have noticed it, but he did. "And the others? Nothing at all?" Harold asked as he opened the paper to read the details. "Nothing else." "Was this girl among the group that followed me to my wedding?" Alvin shook his head. "She isn''t." "What about Princess Amber? Has she had any direct contact with her?" "No." "Good. If that ever happens..." Harold turned to look out the window as he said, "Kill her." Alvin almost sighed in frustration. "Wouldn''t it be better to interrogate her to know what exactly is wrong with her?" He asked. The same thing would have happened with the assassin they had caught, but Harold was not the type to ask people unnecessary questions since he already had his suspicions of who had sent them. All he had to do was cut off these unfortunate obstacles, but the more he cut them off, the more they grew. It was as if they were everywhere. Maybe they were. "No need for unnecessary questioning." ''Yeah, just like I thought.'' Alvin thought to himself. "Keep your eyes on her. For now." "I will." "What else?" "Uhm... the queen met with Williams and Susan before dinner. Then after dinner, the queen and Prince Ivan met with Williams privately." He turned around again and looked at Alvin, raising a brow. "I don''t know the details. But it sounded serious. I think they were asking Williams to do something." "It''s Paulina," Harold said with certainty. It seemed like these people wanted to make their moves now using Paulina. Interesting. "What should I do about it? Should I bring Paulina¡ª" "NO!" Harold said immediately. "No. Don''t go close to that girl. For now, at least." He almost added, "Please." If Alicia so much as heard they had called her precious maid out, he didn''t want to know what kind of thing she would do this time. "What about telling Princess Amber to advise her maid against¡ª" Alvin paused when he remembered how happy she had been when he told her of the rumours about the two. If she could, she would lock those two up together. Looking at Harold''s face, he could tell that it was also a bad idea. If he didn''t know better, he would have thought that Harold was scared of his wife. Judging by his actionstely, maybe he was. "Keep an eye out for Susan and Williams. Especially Susan." Alvin wanted to ask why ''Susan'' instead of Williams, but Harold asked, "All these aren''t too much for you, right?" "I can do it," Alvin assured him. "Anything else?" Alvin hesitated before he asked, "My head... how... were you able to get in yesterday?" "I just tried it out." He said in a carefree tone, but seeing how serious and curious Alvin looked, he wondered if he was surprised since he hadn''t linked with him before. "That''s not what I meant. You... got in without permission. Normally, I should have let you in first." It was Harold''s turn to be confused. "Isn''t that how you''ve all beenmunicating with each other?" He asked, curious. "No. Does this mean... you can get into people''s heads?" Alvin inquired, his face filled with curiosity and excitement. *************** After Harold left, Alicia kept touching her body to ensure that everything was in ce and that she hadn''t done anything in her state. Once she was certain that all her clothes were in ce exactly as they had been the previous day, she felt relieved. Why then did Harold choose to sleep with her? And what exactly happened? This wasn''t the first time she had taken alcohol in her life, and she knew that she hadn''t even drunk enough for her to be intoxicated, so what happened? What did she do in her drunken state? She hoped she hadn''t said anything about her ns. She doubted that. She trusted herself to keep her lips shut even in the face of death. p She paced around the room as she tried to remember what had transpired between them during their lunch date in the garden. The only thing that she could remember was Harold''sughter when she told him that she had decided to stay back. From there on, everything else was a blur. Where was Paulina? She really hoped that Paulina woulde to see her before Princess Luciana showed up with the other maids. There were a lot of things that she needed to talk to Paulina about in private. First, it was about Princess Amber''s mother. She needed to find out whatever she could about thedy who happened to look like her. And then, she also needed to talk to Paulina about her rtionship with Williams. She had to know how serious things were between them and if the rumours were true. Then, most importantly, she needed to know if Paulina had any idea of what she must have done or said when she was drunk. She needed to do all of these before the ever-zealous Princess Luciana showed up. These days, it seems like from the moment she wakes up and steps into the bathroom, the rest of the day goes in a blur, and she barely has time to talk with Paulina anymore. She turned to the door when a knock sounded on it, and once she gave the go-ahead, Paulina walked inside. "Good morning, Mdy. How are you feeling?" Paulina asked as she hurried to Alicia''s side. She was relieved that Alicia was awake and looking fine. For a brief moment, Alicia looked at Paulina, relieved that she had arrived before Princess Luciana."Good morning, Paulina. I''m feeling well. Come here. There is something I need to ask you before princess Luciana shows up," Alicia said as she went to sit on the bed and tapped on the space beside her for Paulina to join her. "Mydy, what happened to you yesterday?" Paulina asked, wondering why she had drank the alcohol." That is what I want to ask you. What happened to me? Did I do anything unusual?" She asked curiously, and Paulina looked at her with a puzzled frown. "Prince Harold said you were drunk," Paulina exined. "Yes, I know that I was drunk. But did I do anything when I was drunk?" She asked, hopefully, and then her eyes narrowed when she noticed the amusement on Paulina''s face, as though she wanted tough about something. "What did I do?" "Everyone has been whispering about what happened in the garden, but no one likes to talk about you when I''m around. I think they''re scared after what happened to Beth," Paulina said, and Alicia''s face fell. Great! Just great! She had done something worth gossiping and whispering about, yet the only person she could hear about it from, didn''t even know what it was that she had done. "But you did something I know of," Paulina said, and Alicia looked at her curiously once again. "Go on," she urged her. Paulina leaned forward and whispered in Alicia''s ears, "You made Prince Harold''s hair like that of a little girl." Paulina giggled as she said it, letting out theughter she had been holding back since the previous day. Alicia''s eyes widened in disbelief. Harold''s hair? She touched Harold''s hair? He let her touch his hair? "Me? How did you know that?" Alicia asked, unable to believe what Paulina was saying. "He called me into your chamber and showed me his hair. He wanted me to tell him how to undo it," Paulina exined, her eyes dancing withughter, and even though Alicia knew that she shouldn''tugh, she couldn''t stop herself from bursting into a peal ofughter, and Paulina joined her. She realized that was what he had been talking about before they started the pillow fight. "What did he look like?" Alicia asked amidst herughter. "Like an angry but pretty little girl," Paulina said in a very low voice, and Alicia howled withughter. Oh, well! It was a miracle that she was still alive after doing something as awful as that to the almighty Prince Harold. Yet she had used him of being a wolf and had even thrown pillows at him. The guy must have thought that she was a lunatic. Poor guy. Chapter 101 Queen Anne Knowing that she wasn''t going to be getting any more information on what she had done the previous day while under the influence of alcohol, Alicia decided to move on to the next subject that troubled her. "Uhm, Paulina," Alicia called, and then cleared her throat. "You said the person in that portrait painting is Princess Amber''s mother, right?" She asked, and Paulina gave her a nod. Paulina was tired of trying to persuade Alicia that she was Princess Amber, so she let her say whatever she wanted. "How much do you know about her? What was her name?" Alicia asked curiously, and Paulina looked at her closely, her brows beginning topulltogether in concern. "You don''t remember her?" Alicia could see the confusion on her face again. It was still a surprise how easily she was able to convince Harold, who had never met Amber before, than Paulina, who had always lived with Amber. "Tell me whatever you can remember about her. And also how she died," Alicia urged her, hoping that she would have given her enough information before Luciana came. Thankfully, Paulina didn''t ask too many questions and began to talk about the woman. "Her name was Queen Anne." She started. "She was very beautiful and kind-hearted. She was very strong, and everyone loved her," Paulina said with a nostalgic smile as she recalled how the Queen had saved her alongside others from the hands of those that wanted to sell them off as ves. Although she had been young, she could still clearly remember how her parents had died while fighting to stop their captors, and when it seemed like all hope was lost, the queen had shown up at thatst minute with two swords in each of her hands, shing through everyone and anyone in her path with blood sttering everywhere. That sight was too gory for a child, but for Paulina, who was easily scared, she could not help but be fascinated by the woman, and since then, it was etched deeply in her mind. "Yes, you already told me all about how she saved you and the others. What else can you tell me about her? What led to her death?" Alicia asked impatiently, snapping Paulina back to reality. "The king," she said with teary eyes. "I''m not sure of the details since I was still very young, but I think it had something to do with treason. She was sentenced to death for treason. They... would have killed us, but I don''t know what happened. They... sent us out of the pce instead." Paulina said this with tears leaving her eyes. "I think we survived because of your luck. Queen Anne always said you were a divine child who was going to change the world and be even better than her." "Wait a minute. Treason?" Alicia asked incredulously. She clutched her chest when she felt a stabbing pain that almost made her double over from the pain, but instead of worrying about herself, she left that to the panicky Paulina as she tried to make sense of everything. So Anne was killed by her husband, who almost killed his own daughter too, but sent her to exile instead. And when he needed a bride to marry off to a cursed prince, he sent back for her? What sort of useless bastard was that? She began to burn from rage. If she had known, she would have dealt with him before she left there. From all the dramas she had watched and even featured in, she could tell it had to do with some crazy pce politics. Seeing that witch''s face who called herself the queen there, she could guess this whole thing must have been her doing. "The present queen over there... Where was she at that time?" Alicia asked, sitting up. Paulina tried to know if she was okay, but Alicia ignored her, pressing her to answer the question. "She... was the head concubine then. Her father was the prime minister." "Just as I thought," Alicia said to herself as she massaged her temples. Was it because she was an actress that she found herself here in such a drama-filled world? "Did the king even love her? How could he just sentence her to death?" Alicia asked, wondering what sort of husband would go to such an extent because of something like that. She couldn''t help thinking of how Prince Harold, whom everyone called evil and heartless, had been nothing but caring and kind to her since they got married. "I do not know," Paulina said, and Alicia sighed. It was obvious that Paulina didn''t know much. Of course, she had been very young then, so she wouldn''t know much. Now that she thought about it, she remembered the dream she had and decided to ask Paulina to be sure if that was actually real or if her brain had conjured that. "Did people address her as ''Saviour?''" "I... don''t know." Paulina shook her head and looked defeated that she could not supply further information. "Sighs! You have done well. You seem very smart to remember events that took ce many years ago and was even able to make a good portrait of her. I will make sure you get a good life from now on. Hmm?" Paulina smiled and answered, "I already have a good life, Mdy. Seeing you safe and getting along with your husband makes me happy. Now, I am sure nothing will ever happen to you," Alicia smiled fondly at her before patting her on the head. "That is cute, but you do not have to live your entire life for me. I want you to live a nice life and do whatever you want outside of this pce. If you want to be married and raise children, you should do that. If you never want to get married and want to be a businesswoman or a famous painter instead, you should also do that." She stopped talking when she noticed the confusion on Paulina''s face. "What is it?" "How... can a woman choose to not get married and... be a businesswoman instead? I... have never heard of it." "So what have you heard of?" Alicia asked curiously. "Women who do not serve as servantsand are unmarried... is seen as shameful and disgraceful. We... have to get married and do whatever our husband wants us to do," she said, looking visibly confused. "Hmm. Well, it makes sense. I mean, this is the 16th century," she shrugged. "If the universe forced me to be here against my wish, the least I can do is mess with it," she said with an evil smirk. "So baby girl... are you ready to break some patriarchal rules and be the ''baddest'' Painter ever liveth?" She asked Paulina, who could not decipher thest few sentences she had spoken. "Oh wait. Before that, I need to confirm something," Alicia said, remembering a very important piece of information that had slipped her mind. "About Williams¡ª" Just like it happened in the movies, someone decided to knock on the door just at that moment, causing Alicia to groan while ring at the poor door with disapproval since she could tell that it was Luciana. "You cane in," she called to Luciana, and the door was pushed open. "Good morning, Princess Amber," Luciana greeted in her usual cheerful tone. As usual, Alicia forced a smile at her. "Good morning, Princess Luciana," Alicia replied as she stood up, "Don''t leave when you''re done. I still have to talk to you," Alicia instructed Paulina, who was now trying to straighten the bed while Alicia prepared to bathe. "I was thinking, instead of the usual lessons today, I will take you around the pce and then we can have lunch with the queen in the royal garden. We need to bond," Luciana suggested, and Alicia gave her a nod. She still had to act like everything was fine after all, and do all that they wanted her to do until she was ready to escape. "Can you ride a horse?" Alicia asked curiously. "No, I can''t. Why do you ask?" Luciana asked curiously. ''DO THESE PEOPLE LET WOMEN DO ANYTHING?!'' Alicia yelled in her head but tried to keep a smile on her face. "Nothing. Forget it." "Usually, women from the royal families use the carriages. It is not a dignified look for women to climb horses." "Ah! So I must have looked really undignified to all of you the other day when I left the pce." Alicia said with a smile that was threatening to disappear any minute. Harold had let her ride one the other day, and she was sure they must have heard about it. "Uhm... I didn''t mean it that way." She said with a nervousugh. For some reason, Alicia''s smile gave her goosebumps. "It... was just a surprising sight since it isn''t something we were used to. And your husband was with you, so it''s fine." Luciana assured her. Chapter 102 Round 2 Seeing how nervous Luciana was, Alicia almost rolled her eyes. Even though Luciana hade to her with bad intentions, she doubted that the youngdy would be bold enough to do anything. "While taking me around the pce, we will get to see the stable too, is that right?" Alicia asked hopefully. "Yes, if you want to. Why?" Luciana asked curiously, wanting to know why Alicia was interested in the stable or riding a horse. "Nothing serious. I just want to see that horse..." The rest of her words trailed off when someone knocked on the door, and they both turned to see who was there. "Come in," Alicia said, wondering who wasing to see her so early in the day. Her nose wrinkled in dislike when the door opened, and Beth walked in, looking rather pale and humble." You don''t have to be here. You are no longer responsible for her," Princess Luciana informed Beth, thinking she hade to report forduty to Alicia. "I''m aware, mydy. I only came to apologize to her," Beth said without meeting Alicia''s gaze, and Alicia could tell that her apology wasn''t a sincere one. Who cared whether the apology was a sincere one or not? As long as Beth was here to apologize, and she knew that it was something that Beth hated to do, she was fine. Alicia folded both hands in front of her as she watched Beth and waited for her to go on with the apology. "I''m listening. Go on and apologize," Alicia said in a condescending manner as she crossed both arms in front of her. Beth gritted her teeth in annoyance as she bowed her head. She really did not see any reason why she had to apologize to someone like Alicia. She had gone to present herself to the Queen to let her know that she was feeling better now, and the Queen had ordered her to apologize to Alicia, hence she was here. Who would have thought this stupid human would treat her like this? "I am sorry for everything I''ve said or done wrong to you," Beth''s nails dug into her palm as she apologized, and Alicia didn''t miss it, nor did Luciana miss it. ? Alicia eyed her as she walked up to her and patted her back in a manner that she knew Beth would despise."I''m sure you are sorry, my dear. Try to be a good girl from now on," Alicia said in a pleasant tone. "Now you can go and sin no more," Alicia said dismissively, with a smirk, before walking away to the bathroom. As she had her bath, she remembered what had transpired between her and Harold that morning. He had said that she hugged him and touched him. Why did she do that? Why did he let her do it? The question that was begging for an answer in her head was, why did he sleep on the bed with her? If he had taken advantage of her, she would have known that it was for sex, but he didn''t. So what other reason did he have for being with her in her room? And what was the reason he asked that she sleep in his room with him? Was he perhaps beginning to fall in love with her? Was that why he didn''t want her to leave and kept saying she was his wife and not Amber? She had no idea what to think about that. But her heart was racing at the thought, causing her to bury herself in the bath. He was going to ruin her ns if he loved her. Her n had been to make him believe that she was going to stop trying to run away now, but maybe now she needed to include another n in it. She could try to make him hate her so that he would want her to disappear. ''Arrgg!'' she groaned in frustration. It didn''t make sense. She couldn''t aplish both at the same time. It was going to have to be one or the other. Unfortunately, knowing how smart Harold could be, she doubted that he was going to fall for it. What was she going to do now? Who knew how much she must have said to him in her drunken state? She couldn''t even bring herself to ask him that. But she trusted herself to not have revealed anything. Alicia''s stomach rumbled noisily, reminding her that she had yet to have a proper meal for the past two days. With a resigned sigh, she got out of the bath, feeling sorry for herself as she prepared to go for breakfast. Away from Alicia''s chamber, as Harold made his way down the hall for breakfast, he massaged his temple, which was seriously aching. Although he had slept peacefully the whole night, he had never been this stressed out in his entire life as he kept trying toe up with a n to keep Alicia. If he had known that marriage would bring him this much trouble, he would have thought twice about it before he agreed to make that trip to Amber''s kingdom. Of all the people in the world that could have possibly possessed Amber''s body, why did it have to be someone as erratic as that? She kept making him do silly things, yet he wanted her to stay, and he couldn''t even begin to understand why. "Good morning, your highness," Williams and Susan greeted Harold in unison as they approached the dining hall. On seeing the twins, Harold''s steps faltered as he remembered what Alvin had said about Williams'' meeting with the queen and Ivan. Although he didn''t trust anyone in the pce apart from Alvin and Ali... Wait, what? Alicia? Did he trust her? His brows creased in a frown at the thought. Why would he trust her? What did she do to earn his trust? Seeing the frown on Harold''s face, the twins assumed that Harold was displeased with them or something, so they hurried out of Harold''s way and went into the dining room. Harold shook his head to get rid of his thoughts as he walked into the hall. Surprisingly, Alicia was already seated in the hall, and once she saw himing, she shed him a smile that made him suspicious. "Good morning, my lord," Alicia greeted with a bow, surprising everyone but Harold, who smirked as he sat down. He wasn''t the least bit surprised. He could tell that she was thinking that her n was still secret. Even more amusing was the fact that she was going to act like nothing happened between them that morning. Judging by her behavior, he could also guess that she had probably been told or remembered what she had done to him. "Did you sleep well?" He asked, and she smiled at him. "Very well, my lord. I hope you did the same." Everyone, including Ivan, listened to the exchange between the couple, wondering what was going on between them. "It seems like you are both getting along now. I''m happy for you, little brother," Ivanmented with a smile, but neither Harold nor Alicia had the time to respond as the king and queen made their entrance at that time, and they all stood up. Once the King sat down, and they all sat down to eat, the whole ce was quiet and devoid of the usual small talk as everyone had different thoughts running through their minds. But one thing they were all grateful for was the absence of the King''s Beta. While Harold was busy thinking about how to keep Alicia from leaving, she was thinking about how to execute her ns and win Hellion''s heart. The king, on the other hand, was thinking about how Harold was looking healthiertely and was wondering if what he had heard about Harold spending the night in his wife''s chamber was correct. The queen''s mind was upied with the conversation she had with Williams the previous evening. She hoped that Williams would be able to get her the information she needed while Ivan was thinking about what his mother had said about getting another wife if Luciana was unable to conceive. Susan and Tyra were upied with thoughts of the hunting festival, while Williams worried about the queen''s request. Paulina was scared and nervous enough as it was, and he really didn''t want to get her into any trouble. Besides, Harold would never let him go if he happened to so much as find out anything. What could he do? Do it and get on Harold and Paulina''s bad side, or not do it and get on the Queen and his father''s bad side? He wished he could confide in someone about it, but he couldn''t tell Susan. That would only upset her and put her in trouble, and he didn''t want that. Harold''s eyes suddenly lit up when something urred to him, and he hid a smile. She wanted to leave? Well, he would love to see how she would escape without a horse. Why didn''t he think of that sooner? Well, Hellion was in trouble. ROUND 2: Harold 1-0 Alicia. Chapter 103 Animals Are Important Harold had a smug smile on his face as he trained with Alvin. Regardless of whether Alicia was going to be pissed or not, he had already set his n in motion, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. He almostughed evilly in his head at the thought of ruining her n. Maybe he should continue to feed her his wine to drink so she could keep exposing everything to him. Hehehe. Alvin looked at him, wondering what he was so happy about when he was just about to do something that wasn''t very good. Alvin waited until they took the first break before he asked, "Do you think getting rid of Hellion is a good idea?" Even though Hellion was very difficult and wild, they had watched him grow from when he was little, so he didn''t understand why he was so eager to get rid of Hellion all of a sudden. But as expected, Harold was a heartless person who was not attached to anybody, much lessanimals. So it didn''t bother him that he was getting rid of something useless. Especially when it was useless to him but would most likely be useful to Alicia. Harold smirked. Of course, Hellion had to go first. Then he would have to find a way to deal with Paulinater. He had a feeling that if she meant to make Hellion like her, she was going to achieve that. He didn''t want to take any chances. "Get rid of him tonight. If no one can ride him, there is no point keeping him around," Harold said dismissively. Through his tone, Alvin deduced that there was nothing anyone in this world was going to say to him that would make him change his mind. It was final. As Harold drank water from his bottle, he choked and had water pouring on his face and body when a loud "HAROLD!!!" resounded in the entire pce, scaring even the birds in the entire kingdom away. He quickly nced at Alvin, his face saying, "What did I do this time?" Alvin, who was looking at him, also had a "What did you do this time?" expression on his face. But, seeing as the Prince seemed to have no idea, Alicia appeared in the training ground with her fists clenched firmly beside her, before he could tell Harold that he also had no idea and flee before the Princess found him here and took out her anger on him. They didn''t even need to ask how she got past all the guards until she got there, because it seemed the guards were either scared of her, or scared of what Harold might do to them if they messed with her. The two young men nced at each other before ncing back at Alicia, who looked like she would have burnt Harold to ash if she had the power to. Alicia''s mistake was to let her eyes trail down. Because when she did, she was met by two shirtless men with bulging muscles glistening with sweat under the sun. Her eyes almost popped out of her head and even her jaw dropped from surprise. Her line of sight was cut off from Alvin because Harold stood in front of Alvin and threw a shirt back at him for him to wear, which he did in a hurry. "What is wrong?" Harold asked, but maybe he shouldn''t have because that question snapped her back to her senses and she looked up at his face with a dark re, making him take a step backwards and stand beside Alvin. "Is something..." Harold didn''t get to finish because she cut in. "You told them to get rid of Hellion?!" She asked in an usatory tone. He quickly nced at Alvin, who looked surprised too. How did she know about this?!!!! Unfortunately for Harold, part of Alicia''s tour with Luciana included visiting the stables (Alicia''s suggestion for an obvious reasons), and she just happened to overhear two guards talking about it. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?" She asked him angrily. ''She is scary,'' his wolf whispered. Harold had to admit she did look scary at the moment and unconsciously took a step backwards again. Why was she acting like a little devil? Alvin wondered if he was supposed to say something to calm her down and save his friend, but before he could make up his mind, Harold spoke, "Who... said I did that?" He asked, sounding tough. Alvin turned to look at him in shock. Was Harold lying right now? "If you didn''t, then who? Hellion is yours, right? You promised to give him to me and now you want to get rid of him and you''re saying it wasn''t you. I thought you were an honourable person. If not you, then who?" She asked usingly. Harold, "...." "Why aren''t you saying anything? Were you trying to y me? Was that your n?" She asked, not letting go of her usatory tone. Imagine how excited she had been the entire morning about her new n, only to find out what these people were nning. Alvin felt it was the best time toe in because he had a feeling this might escte soon if he didn''t. But once again, he was interrupted by Harold, who did something that left him totally speechless. Harold raised his index finger slowly and pointed at Alvin, making Alicia''s murderous gaze move from Harold to Alvin, who looked lost. "So it was you?" Alicia asked, eyeing him unpleasantly. Alvin looked at Harold, who shamelessly didn''t bother to spare him a nce, shocked that the prince had actually pushed the me onto him to get away from his wife! Seeing how Alvin wasn''t saying anything, Alicia was convinced that it was him. Maybe if she had thought about this carefully, she would have been able to question the fact that Alvin had nned to do that without his friend''s/master''s consent. But she was blinded by rage just now at the thought of him ruining her ns if she hadn''t gone to the stables today. "I knew it couldn''t be Harold. Even though he is annoying at times, he is a man of his word. So it makes sense that it was you," She said, leaving Alvin even morespeechless. He could not believe it right now. ''I know you did a very dishonourable thing right now... but I am proud of you,'' his wolf said in his head with relief but Harold''s attention was pulled away when Alicia continued to attack Alvin. "Why did you even consider that? Don''t you know that animals have souls just like us? You can''t just kill them as you please. I''m sure even your friend knows that," she said, turning to Harold, who shrugged as if saying, "Of course, everyone knows that." Alvin had never felt this wronged in his entire life. He felt a strong urge to call the prince out on his lie and tell her the truth, but he knew that no matter how scary his bride was, Prince Harold was scarier. But he was beginning to have his doubts now, seeing how the prince had shifted the me onto him. "I hope you fix it. Hellion is mine and if anyone dares to touch him..." She made a scary gesture of slicing her neck with her thumb, making the two of them flinch a bit. Since that was out of the way, her eyes fell back on Harold''s chest again, almost unable to believe that this was his body. She reached out to poke his chest with her index finger absentmindedly, but before she could seed, her finger was pped down. "Are you a pervert?" Harold asked Alicia, who scoffed at him in annoyance. "Your body isn''t even that great," she said with a scoff while eyeing him. With onest re and a gesture with her two fingers pointing to her eyes and then at them in an "I''ve got my eyes on you two" manner, she turned and walked away from the training ground, swaying her hips excessively until she almost bumped into a wall, embarrassing herself and her entire generation. Alvin turned to look at Harold, who was shaking his head at her back while looking amused, feeling wronged for being used as the guinea pig to avoid her wrath. The action had left him speechless. He could noteven get any words out if he wanted to. Thinking the prince was going to apologize to him now that they were alone, who would have thought that he would pat his shoulder twice and say, "Animals are important. Treat them well, okay?" before walking away? Wasn''t he the same person who had been advising Prince Harold against getting rid of Hellion? ''Arrgh!'' He yanked his hair in frustration. Just when he thought that Princess Amber cared about him and saw him as a friend, Harold just had to do something like this to put him in her bad books. Did he say no one in this world would be able to change Harold''s mind about getting rid of Hellion?Maybe Princess Amber wasn''t from this world then. ROUND 2 Harold 1- 100 Alicia. Alvin -50. Chapter 104 Palace Friend Paulina was a bit distracted as she kept wondering what was wrong with Williams. It was obvious he wasn''t his usual self since usually, he would chat with her as she drew him or ask her questions, but he seemed a bit distant. He had only greeted her when they met and sat down, leaving her to do whatever she pleased. Did she perhaps do something to upset him? Was it something she said? But they had been cool the previous day before she left. Or was he upset because she had left with Alvin abruptly when Prince Harold sent for her? She wanted to ask him what was wrong with him, but at the same time, she didn''t know how to do so. Thest thing she wanted was for him to get upset by the question. So instead, she tried to focus on what she was doing. After trying unsessfully for some time to focus on the painting, she put down her painting brush nervously and rubbed her hands together, thinking of the best way to break the silence. She cleared her throat, "Uhm... are you... o-kay, My lord?" She asked hesitantly before looking up at his face with concern. He stared at her for a moment, both surprised and impressed that she had finally gotten over her fear of him to talk to him first, "I thought you were never going to ask." Confused, she looked down and picked the brush back. "I''m... sorry, my lord. I... shouldn''t have asked." "It''s alright. I''m okay. I''m just a little tired." He answered dismissively, making her frown a little. It seemed like he was withdrawing from her and was only here so that she couldplete the portrait painting. Although she should feel relieved that he was finally treating her as he should, it made her feel sad, like she was losing a friend. She had to ept it anyway. This was the way it had to be. She was a servant, and he was of royal blood. How could they ever be friends? What had she been thinking? Williams watched her quietly, and he could tell that she didn''t like his silence. He found it funny that when he talked to her, she felt ufortable, and when he didn''t, she still felt ufortable. But what could he do? He needed to keep some sort of distance between them even while he continued to meet with her. At least in the meantime, he wanted the Queen and Ivan to think that he was still trying to get close to her and win her trust when in truth, all he wanted was to put some distance between him and the girl so that she wouldn''t be willing to divulge anything to him so easily. He focused his gaze on her when she cleared her throat to get his attention, "If... you are tired out... we can continue some other time." She offered without meeting his gaze. "We can continue now. I am fine." Paulina pursed her lips, nodding. She was about to continue when he spoke, giving her hope that just maybe, he was truly just tired and not avoiding her. "Tell me something." "What?" She asked curiously, miraculously not stammering this time. "Anything. Tell me about your kingdom. Do you prefer it here or over there?" Williams asked curiously, wanting to know whether it was as exciting as princess Amber always painted it. "Uhm... I... prefer to stay wherever my mistress is." ,m He raised his brow, staring at her with interest. "Haven''t you ever thought of living your life separately from your mistress?" Surely every servant had dreams and ambitions of their own. Paulina shook her head. "Tell me, can you give your life in her ce?" Without thinking twice, Paulina bobbed her head, surprising him. She, on the other hand, was wondering why he was suddenly asking her all of these questions, but she didn''t ask him. At least this was better than the silence earlier. As long as he was talking, everything was fine. "Why would you do that? Give your life for her?" "I... owe my life to my mistress. Her mother saved me from being sold as a ve. And treated me like her daughter. It is only normal for me to give my life for her daughter now that she is no longer in this world to protect her," Paulina answered without thinking. Williams looked at her, surprised. First, because it was the longest sentence Paulina had ever spoken to him without stuttering, and secondly, because she said something unexpected. "She is dead?" Williams asked, confused. Seeing the confusion on his face, Paulina realized her slip and began to panic, remembering what Harold had told her. As far as everyone in this pce was aware, Princess Amber was the first daughter of the king and queen. She grew up loved and sheltered in the pce, and she was everyone''s favorite princess. "No. I mean... Uhm... I... I." "She isn''t the daughter of the king and queen?" Williams asked her. "I didn''t say that. I mean... since we are no longer in the pce and she is no longer with her family. I.... have to look over her here." She said in fear, hoping she hadn''t gotten them into trouble. Williams knew what she was saying right now did not make sense. The longest sentence see had made without stuttering couldn''t have possibly been a lie or a mistake. She had said Princess Amber''s mother was no longer in this world. That only meant she was dead. And it also meant that some kind of lie had been told about Princess Amber''s family lineage. "You can trust me. Tell me the truth." He assured her, but Paulina was not stupid enough to divulge such important information, especially to a member of the royal family, no matter how nice he was to her. So what did she do? She stood up, ready to fly out of the room. She didn''t even try to pack up. The only ce she could run to at this point was to find her mistress to let her know she had slipped up and apologize and also wait until Prince Harold heard about this and sent her to thend of the dead because she knew that she was doomed. Williams caught her arm before she could run past him, and he held her back, "You don''t have to tell me anything if you don''t want to. I can pretend I didn''t hear what you said," Williams assured her, but Paulina was already too anxious to listen to him. She fell to her knees, "Forgive me, my lord. Please, I don''t want to..." "Paulina, listen to me!" Williams called in a stern voice, wanting her to snap out of whatever daze she was in. "My lord?" Paulina asked as she looked up at him fearfully. "I said you don''t have to worry. Please return to your position, and let''s continue the painting. We can pretend that we never had that conversation," he promised. "It is an order," he added when she didn''t budge. Although Paulina didn''t believe him, she couldn''t disobey him, so she returned to sit on the floor and wriggled her hands together nervously. What could she say or do now? Williams, on the other hand, just looked down at her. Why did he ask her to trust him and tell him such important information? Did he even trust himself? Was he sure that he wouldn''t betray her if either the Queen or his father insisted on him telling them something he had learned about her? He could ask her questions and get to know her without asking questions that had to do with topics like this. Topics he knew that the Queen and Ivan would be interested in. "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have asked you about your mistress," Williams said apologetically, and Paulina''s head came up immediately as she looked at him. "You didn''t do anything wrong, my Lord. You... shouldn''t apologize," she said with a slight frown before looking down again. "Yes, I was wrong. My question made you feel ufortable. I don''t like to make my friends feel ufortable," Williams exined. Friend? He was calling her his friend? Paulina wondered as she looked up at him, "Your friend?" "Yes. You are my friend, or are you not?" Williams asked, and Paulina''s lips twitched slightly as she looked down at her hands. Thest time she remembered having a friend was when she was younger, and her parents were still alive. She never had a male friend either. This was all very new to her, but she liked to know that he considered her his friend. "I am your friend," Paulina said with a timid smile, and this time it was Williams who smiled. "So, since you agree that we are friends, can you stop calling me your Lord now? I don''t think friends call each other that," Williams said, and Paulina looked at her with wide eyes. "If anyone hears me..." "No one will hear you. When we are alone, call me Williams. You can call me your Lord when we are in the presence of others," Williams offered. Chapter 105 Spreading The Charm. After leaving Harold and Alvin, Alicia returned to join Luciana, who was waiting for her by the entrance of the royal garden, where she had agreed to meet her so that they could both have lunch with the Queen. She could not wait for this to be done and go find Harold since they both had something important to discuss. Or rather, she needed to ask him for a favour, and she had to do it in a way he wouldn''t suspect it was part of her n to escape. If only she knew she had divulged every detail of her n to Harold already, she wouldn''t have been this confident. She nced at the guards who were standing by the entrance. They were the same guys who had been there the previous day. She briefly contemted asking them if they knew what had transpired between her and Harold while she was drunk, but she doubted that they were going to tell her anything, so she decided not to waste her time. Luciana smiled once she saw Alicia approaching her. "You have resolved the horse issue with your husband?" Luciana asked curiously, wanting to know if Alicia had seeded. "Yes. I told you he would agree," Alicia said with a confident smile as they both walked into the garden. That seemed to get Luciana''s attention, who stopped walking and faced Alicia. Alicia realized Luciana wanted to ask her something, so she also stood and raised a questioning brow at her. "How do you do it?" Luciana asked curiously, her confusion evident. "Do what?" Alicia asked as she looked around the garden and noted that the queen was yet to arrive. "How... do you make Prince Harold do whatever you want?" She asked with interest. Even she, who had a good rtionship with her husband, could not always get Ivan to do what she wanted. But Amber was able to treat Harold the way she pleased and always got away with it. "Do whatever I want?" She scoffed. "I wish." If he did whatever she wanted, she wouldn''t have been here by now. From the onset, he would have sent her back or at least agreed to let her escape. "He wasn''t always like this, you know?" Luciana said as she led Alicia to a table, and they both sat down, waiting for the queen to join them. "What was he like?" Alicia asked curiously, even though she already had a vague idea from the rumours she had heard. "You can''t tell him I told you anything," Luciana said as she leaned forward in her seat while looking at Alicia earnestly and waiting for her to give her word. "I have no reason to tell him about my discussion with you. We are not that close," Alicia said with a roll of her eyes. Although she knew that Luciana wasn''t trustworthy and had an ulterior motive foring close to her, she also knew that Luciana was eager to bond with her and would be more than willing to give her information about Harold. Luciana looked at her skeptically before giving her a nod."He used to be very cold and scary. He never talked to anyone apart from the King, Alvin, and sometimes princess Tyra," Luciana exined, reminding Alicia of something else she was curious about. "He didn''t like to stay around the pce either. He was always out. I think the only thing that interests him in this pce is the pce library. I heard he likes poetry." "Harold? Poetry?" Alicia asked in disbelief. "Dark poetry. Poems about the most painful way to kill. Those kinds of poems." "That''s more like it," Alicia said to herself before remembering about Amber''s diary. Maybe he could help her understand the writing? She was lost in her thoughts until Luciana spoke up. "So?" She looked at Luciana, wondering what she was talking about. "How do you get him to do what you want?" "You mentioned something earlier. Why does he seem to have a bad rtionship with the King?" Alicia asked curiously, ignoring her question. Luciana''s brows furrowed as she contemted whether or not it was in her ce to tell Alicia about that. She leaned even closer and said in a very low voice, that even werewolves would not be able to hear her from afar. "All I can tell you is that his mother was a ve, and she died shortly after his birth. I think your husband feels that the king didn''t protect his mother," Luciana exined in a whisper, and Alicia gave her a nod. If she were to go by all the movies she had seen, she would bet that Harold''s mother didn''t die a natural death, and Harold probably knew about it; hence he was angry. "And his brother? Did he really kill his brother?" Alicia asked in a whisper. Luciana gave her a nod. "Yes. I can''t give you the details either, since I wasn''t there. But my husband told me Harold killed him. He was the older son and heir to the throne," she said cautiously. "Hmm." Alicia pondered it. She wanted to ask Luciana if they thought Harold had killed him for the throne because she had heard something like that before, but she didn''t dare ask that because she didn''t want to put ideas into Luciana''s head. If the prince had been killed by Harold because of the throne, why did Harold leave out Ivan, since he was next in line? Didn''t that mean Ivan was his next target? However, she didn''t believe that. Harold didn''t seem like the type of person interested in the throne to the point where he would kill his brother for it. There had to be something nobody was talking about. "How long have you been living here?" Alicia asked. "Since I got married into this Kingdom. Four years ago." She informed Alicia, who looked a little surprised. "You got married four years ago? How old are you now?" She asked, not realizing how rude it was to casually ask people this question in this time and age. Luciana was a bit flustered as she said, "I''m 21. I got married when I was 17." "17? That''s early. How did you cope? Did you like it here?" Alicia asked, taking on big sister duties, forgetting she was in the body of a 19-year-old girl right now. Luciana looked at her, still flustered, especially seeing how concerned Princess Amber looked. It suddenly made her remember how she had rebelled about getting married at first and didn''t want to leave her family, but her parents had insisted without caring about her happiness. All they cared about was marrying off their daughter to the heir of the Moon Kingdom. She was lost in her thoughts when Alicia held her hands, bringing her back to reality. "If you ever have a tough time, you can alwayse to me. I can guess you do not like me too much, but I will do my best to console you," she said, making Luciana emotional as she looked at the warm smile Alicia was giving her. "I''m fine," Luciana said before pulling her hand out of her grasp, reminding herself that Princess Amber was supposed to be her enemy. "It wasn''t easy at first, but when I got here, I liked this ce, and fortunately, my husband liked me, and I liked him too," she said with a sincere smile because that was the truth. "Then that''s a relief," Alicia said, smiling. "Still, it must feel stuffy to be stuck in here all day. What do you think? Would you like to get out of the pce one of these days to see the market? You are going to like it," Alicia assured her, smiling eagerly at the thought of showing these people what real fun was. She couldn''t wait to take Paulina and Susan out too. Luciana, who had never thought about leaving the pce walls, was about to consider it when she saw the queen approaching, so she stood up immediately. Alicia noticed the queen and stood up as well. The queen looked from Luciana to Alicia before sitting down, "How has your training been going?" The queen asked Alicia curiously. "Very well. Princess Luciana is a better tutor than Beth," Alicia said, ignorant of the fact that Beth was the queen''s person. "I''m d to see that you''re both getting along. You both have to get along even though your husbands do not," the Queen said, giving them both a pointed look just as the maids came to serve them. "Yes, my Queen," Luciana said with a bow, and Alicia did the same. "How are you feeling now, Princess Amber?" The queen asked, and Alicia gave her a polite smile. "I feel much better. Thank you for being so concerned, my queen," Alicia said with a bow. "You seem to be getting along with your husband now," the Queen noted, causing Alicia to roll her eyes inwardly. Why did it seem like everyone was interested in her rtionship with Harold? What did her rtionship with him have to do with them? "We are still trying to understand each other," Alicia said with a small smile and then decided to change the topic since she doubted they would let it go. Chapter 106 I Believe I Can Fly "How do you stand Harold?" Alicia asked, startling both the Queen and Luciana, who hadn''t expected such a question from her. "What?" The queen asked, wondering why Alicia was asking her that. Alicia almost smirked, seeing the surprise and confusion on the queen''s face. So what? She knew how to ask ufortable questions, but she didn''t like to be at the receiving end of such questions? "Well, I know that he is your stepson, and I''m sure he is not easy to live with, especially with his attitude. How are you able to live with him? Considering the rumours?" She asked, dropping her voice to a whisper. The queen nced at Luciana, who quickly bowed her head, scared that Princess Amber was going to put them both in trouble by saying things she wasn''t supposed to say. "What rumours?" The queen asked with a stiff smile as she returned her attention to Alicia. "I''m not sure if I should utter it," Alicia said with an awkward smile as she watched the Queen keenly. She needed to know the queen''s feelings towards Harold so they could stop beating around the bush now. "You have my permission," the queen said with a nod. "Before marrying him I heard rumours about him being cursed because he ki--lled his brother," Alicia said the rest in a very small voice, and she noticed something flicker in the queen''s eyes before she smiled at her. Regardless of what your husband might have done, he is still my husband''s son. The King''s son. As the king''s wife and loyal subject, I have to coexist peacefully with him," she said, and Alicia would have believed her if she hadn''t heard the edge in her voice. ''How nice would it be for Harold to love her while she, on the other hand, hated him?'' The queen thought to herself, smiling. Alicia might not have been a very smart person, but she was a very good judge of character, and she was good at reading people. She could tell that the queen was only saying what she wanted her to believe. "Oh! I''m d then. I no longer have to worry my head about anything," Alicia said with an awkward giggle, while Luciana looked from the queen to Alicia, feeling very ufortable. "What were you worried about?" The queen asked curiously. "Well, I don''t want to be caught in the middle of a war I know nothing about. I just want to live my life here as peacefully as I can," ''until I can leave'', Alicia said the rest in her head. She didn''t want the Queen to try to use her to go against Harold. "You have nothing to worry about," the Queen assured her before picking up her cutleries to eat. Maybe it was because of the awkward conversation or perhaps the Queen had somewhere else to be, but she didn''t eat more than a few spoonfuls before standing up to leave."I''ve enjoyed my time with you both. Let''s do this again," the queen said as both princesses stood up, and then she walked away. Immediately the Queen left, Luciana turned to leave, but Alicia quickly stopped her. "Hey?" She called as she followed her. Luciana looked at her, wondering what she wanted to say this time. Princess Amber made her ufortable, and she was beginning to doubt that she would be able to hang around her much longer. Alicia shed her a smile and said, "We were talking before the Queen arrived. Just in case, would you like to go outside the pce?" Alicia asked hopefully. She had already received a lot of hate from people in her life, and she didn''t want to receive any more here. If she could get Luciana to like her and be friends with her, then that would make things easier for Amber once she was back. Luciana pondered it. She was from an aristocratic family and didn''t have any reason to step out of the house even before she got married, so she was used to being indoors. The thought of going out unguarded made her feel wary. It urred to her that maybe this was a trap set by Harold to lure her out. Were they nning against her? Perhaps they wanted to abduct her and use her against her husband? "You don''t have to give me an answer immediately. You can take your time to think about it. Since I don''t know when I''ll be able to go out again. But trust me, you are going to like it. It could be us five girls." "Five girls?" Luciana asked curiously. "Yes. Me, you, Susan, Tyra, and Paulina," Alicia said with a wide smile, excited by the prospect of walking around the marketce with thedies. She could even get them to wear male clothes too, and they would have so much fun. If someone like Harold could enjoy himself, then she was sure that thedies would be filled with joy. "I''m not sure we will be allowed to leave the pce," Luciana said with a shake of her head. "Trust me, I can make it happen. Just tell me you want to go, and I will make it happen," Alicia promised confidently. Knowing her, Luciana believed her. She doubted there was something that Princess Amber couldn''t achieve if she put her mind to it. "What about our husbands?" "They can stay back and do whatever men do here. It''s a trip for just us girls," She shrugged. "Um, I don''t think it is possible for thedies of the royal family to go out like that, especially without guards and our husbands," Luciana said, sounding interested. She would like to see what life was like outside these pce walls. "As I said, trust me, and don''t worry. We could go with guards, but they won''t ride with us. I''m sure it will be safe..." Her words trailed off when something shed in her mind, and she blinked rapidly. It was a memory of her and Harold riding on his horse on their way back from the marketce, and the horse stopped abruptly, leaving her feeling tense. Did something happen? Why couldn''t she remember it? "Are you okay?" Luciana asked when she noticed the change in Alicia. Alicia smiled as she gave her a nod."Yes, I''m okay. You can think about it and get back to me so that I can talk to the others," Alicia continued. "I will talk to my husband and let you know what he says," Luciana said after a moment. "Sure. Go ahead and do that," Alicia said happily. Luciana smiled back at her before excusing herself, feeling different kinds of emotions all at once. She didn''t have any friends here, nor had she ever had one. Although she had hoped that she and Tyra would be close after she married Ivan, Tyra didn''t seem to like her much, and she didn''t know why. So she didn''t know how to react to Alicia''s friendliness. Having someone treat her like a friend, especially when that person was someone who was on the enemy side, made her feel very confused. After leaving the garden, Alicia went around the pce in search of Harold. She hadn''t realized just how big the pce was until that moment when she was looking all over the ce for Harold. If she had even seen Alvin, things would have been easier for her, but it was as if the two had vanished from the face of the earth. She spent the rest of the afternoon searching for him before she finally saw him from a window upstairs. He was standing alone by a pavilion beside ake, staring into the water with his hands behind him. What was he always thinking about so seriously whenever she saw him? She wondered to herself as she watched how the breeze blew his shoulder-length hair to the back. Usually, Harold''s thoughts were filled with important things, buttely, he seemed to have restructured his priorities because right now, he was beyond frustrated. He could not believe that he had spent a long time trying to think about a n, only for the n to be thwarted almost immediately. Now, he could only put his hope in Hellion and pray that the horse was not going to give in to her charms. "HEY!" He turned around immediately when he heard that familiar voice call out loudly behind him. As expected, it was her. She was sticking almost her entire body out of therge window while smiling at him. He stared at her intensely for a while, watching her smile and wave at him while the breeze blew her hair back. He would have said she was pretty if she wasn''t such a crazy person. With a bored expression, he waved for her to get away from the window. He feared that at the rate she was going, she was going to fall. Why did she have to be so careless? Maybe it was best to ignore her and let her fall so he could return to his peaceful life? ''As if you can.'' His wolf snorted at him. ''Do I look like I care about her?'' He asked, frowning. He only didn''t want her to go. He didn''t care. Instead of leaving there, she continued to smile at him. She spread her arms wide, almost giving him a heart attack, and making him take two steps forward, but stopped whenmon sense told him she wouldn''t fall in that position. He felt his wolf roll its eyes before disappearing, but that was the least of his concern. He could not help but wonder why Alicia was suddenly so excited. There had to be a reason for it, and now he was very curious. Most importantly, he wanted to know what the queen had discussed with her. "I believe I can fly!" She called out in a sing-song voice, enjoying the breeze. He watched her in amusement before saying, "I hope you also believe in falling." "I can''t hear you!" She yelled back, making him sigh in frustration. He couldn''t yell like she was doing, unless he wanted everyone to finally believe that he had lost his mind. He contemted asking her toe over. Was that even a good idea? Chapter 107 Not Interested Alicia''s face fell when she noticed something was wrong. Even Harold was no longer looking at her anymore as his eyes were elsewhere. Right before her eyes, an arrow was shot at Harold who dodged it immediately before another one came at him. He also dodged it but a secondter, someone was in front of him, attacking him with a sword. Alicia felt her heart drop to her stomach as she watched. Two more people appear from nowhere with swords, attacking him at the same time. "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" She yelled at the three as panic set in and she wondered what she was supposed to do. Weren''t there guards in the pce? How did these people get here? The scene before her eyes brought shes of her memory but she could not put a visible image to the shes and it was beginning to make her head ache. She shook that out of her head and focused on what was happening, yelling at the three people to get away from him. If she wanted to transmigrate that badly, why didn''t she find herself in year 3000 or something, in a peaceful world with advanced technology? Why did it have to be here? Through his peripheral view, Harold watched as Alicia disappeared from the window, and only hoped she was running far away. But she wouldn''t be Alicia if she did exactly as he thought. He saw her running down to where he was a momentter with an unlit fire torch in hand. "Wait!" He tried to stop her but unfortunately, she already had her eye on a target. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" She yelled at the back of one of his attackers before knocking the back of his head, making him fall to the ground with a groan. Harold and the other three stood there, watching her with pursed lips. She was just about to attack the guy on the floor with the torch when Harold wrapped his hand around her waist, lifting her off the ground with one hand, while grabbing the torch with the other hand. "LET ME GO!" She iled in his arms, ready to bite him before she heard his calm voice, "Stop being wild. It was training." He said before he let her down, but he still held on to the torch in case she decided to use it on him.v She turned around to look at him in confusion before she looked at the other three who bowed at her before they reached to pick up their colleague from the floor, surprised at how much strength she had used. Harold waved them off to leave and as soon as they did, he looked at Alicia with annoyance. "Why did you have toe here. If it was a real fight you could have gotten hurt." He scolded her. "What sort of useless practice is this? They shot arrows at you!" She said angrily while panting. "You could have been hurt!" "..." He watched her chest rise and fall from anger as she red at him. His gaze softened and he sighed. Why was she so stubborn? His mind shed back to how she had refused to escape and stopped Bane before joining in his fight. And now she had jumped in again. Was she always this reckless? As much as he was touched, he didn''t want her to do this again. "They''re from the King. He sends them once in a while to test our vignce. Not just me but also Prince Ivan." "But... isn''t that dangerous? What if you had gotten hurt?" "Then I guess it''ll be my luck for not being vignt. Are you okay?" He asked, looking at her up and down. "That was a heavy blow to his head." He said in amusement. She suddenly remembered and gasped as she looked in the direction they had taken. "Oh my God! I''m so sorry. I didn''t know. Is he going to be fine?" She asked with concern. "He will be fine." She sighed in relief. "You seemed excited earlier. What are you up to?" He asked with a suspicious look on his face. Since that was out of the way, her face lit up, making him raise a brow as he asked again, "Why are you excited?" He asked, wondering if perhaps she hade up with another n. "Because I''m happy to see you. I''ve been looking around for you all day," Alicia said as she linked their arms together, and Harold looked down at her with a scowl. "Why? Is there something you want?" Harold asked suspiciously as he looked at their linked arms. "I just wanted to see your face and take a stroll around with you," Alicia lied, as she took a step forward and dragged Harold with her. Although he could tell that she was lying, as she wasn''t the type to do anything without a motive, he decided to y along with her, "What did you talk about with the queen?" "Our conversation was mostly about you. And I asked her if the rumors are true," Alicia said, making Harold re at her. "No, you didn''t." "Yes, I did." She nodded, "Since you don''t want to tell me about yourself, I decided to ask her about it," Alicia said with a wide smile as she patted his chest in a loving gesture that made Harold p her hand away. "You don''t want to know what she said? I thought you would like to know," Alicia said with a teasing smile. "I''m not interested," Harold said dismissively. "Yet you were curious to know what we talked about," Alicia pointed out, and Harold red at her as he unlinked their arms. "I''m not interested anymore." "Okay. That''s fine too," Alicia said with an easy smile which annoyed Harold as she kept trying to link their arms. "What do you want?" Harold asked with a resigned sigh when he got tired of the game. "Why do you keep asking me that? Is there something you want to give to me?" She asked, wiggling her brows yfully. When he didn''t say anything and just stood there staring at her with a nk expression, she let out a sigh as she let go of his arm, "You are no fun." Harold didn''t say anything as he turned away from her and assumed his earlier posture as he looked at theke with a thoughtful expression on his face. "What are you thinking about? You looked very serious earlier too," she asked as she stood in beside him facing him. Harold said nothing as usual, and just when she gave up hope of getting an answer he turned to her and looked intensely at her face. "I''m thinking about how to keep you here," Harold confessed in a quiet voice that made her brows pull together as she continued to stare at him. "I already told you that I''m not... going to try to run away anymore," Alicia reminded him wondering if he had forgotten already. She didn''t look at him as she said that because it seemed thattely, she felt very bad whenever she told him a lie. The corners of Harold''s lips twitched with amusement but he didn''t let her see it, "Yeah, you did say that. I don''t know if I should believe you or not," Harold said, and Alicia went to stand in front of him with an earnest expression on her face as she raised a hand to her chest. "Trust me. I''m here to stay," Alicia said, making Harold almost want to snort withughter. Was she really an actress? Because she was a terrible actress. She was saying something else yet her eyes looked guilty. "Really? So what changed your mind?" Harold asked, choosing to y along. "I thought about it. You were right. I should focus on my new life here. The universe has given me a chance to be happy and have a loving family. I need to seize this opportunity," Alicia said, and Harold nodded his head in agreement. "And that is why I''ve decided to start getting along with everyone. I''m nning on going out to see the vige with the otherdies," Alicia announced with a proud smile. "Is that your new n? You want to find a way to run off? You think the king will let all of you leave the pce?" He asked, shaking his head in disbelief. He always knew she wasn''t very smart, but she kept shocking him everyday. "Oh, ye of little faith. Trust me, it''s not a n to run away. And yes, the king will let us leave. You know there is nothing I set my mind on that I can''t achieve, right?" She asked with a grin, and Harold cursed inwardly since he knew that it was true. The king always seemed to let her have her way. "Also... I thought about it. If I want to get used to living around here, I need to get a horse and I know you aren''t going to buy me one. So the least you can do for me is to help me get Hellion to like me." She beamed adorably at him while batting hershes. Could she be any more obvious? What a little leech of a wife. Harold thought to himself. Chapter 108 Wifes Body Harold could see she was now making her move with Hellion. Too bad for her that she was going about it the wrong way. "If you want to get used to living here, then you don''t need a horse. Women of the royal family do not own horses," Harold pointed out sweetly. "You knew that, yet you promised to give Hellion to me if I could handle him. You can''t go back on your word," she countered. Okay, that made sense. "You don''t possibly expect me to help you handle the horse I promised you on the ground that you would handle him." "I''m not asking you to help me handle him. I''m asking you to help me make him like me," Alicia said impatiently. "So how am I supposed to get him to like you?" He asked, his hands behind him. She gave him a sweet smile, seeing he was not giving her his default "NO!" and was also happy that he seemed to believe her. Why did God choose to bless her with such a genius brain? She praised herself. "Well, I don''t exactly know about that now. But I think if Hellion keeps seeing me every day and I continue to feed him snacks, he wille to like me soon enough." He almost snorted. But he pretended to be following, so he nodded, "And where do Ie in? Providing the snacks?" He asked curiously. "Well, yes. I''m sure you know all that he likes. So you''ll provide the snacks and then be my escort to the stable every day. I''m sure if he sees me with a familiar face, he will realize I''m a friend and then begin to like me," she said with a confident smile, and Harold nodded his head as though he was following all she was saying. "That makes sense," he said after some time, and she was about to smile when he spoke again, bursting her bubbles. "So why do you want me to help you? Didn''t you say you were not my wife?" "What do you mean? What has being your wife got to do with this?" She asked, exasperated. Why did he always have to make things difficult for her? Just when she was beginning to rejoice that they were on the same page, he had to ruin it. "Listen, you aren''t helping me with anything," she said, ring at him and showing her true colours. "You are only going to spend a little time taking me there so Hellion can keep seeing me regrly. Besides, you didn''t even give me any wedding gifts, so you have to do this!" ''Is she... ordering you right now?'' His wolf asked in disbelief. ''No, please! Not you too. Please go back!'' Haroldined in his head. He never looked forward to dealing with the two of them at the same time because it always felt like he was dealing with two Alicias. "Why aren''t you saying anything to me?" Alicia asked, eyeing him angrily when he just stared at her without saying a word. "I don''t owe you any wedding gifts. We already talked about it. You said Amber is my bride, not you." He was about to walk away, but Alicia was in no mood to let him leave. She hurried to block his path, spreading out her arms to stop him. "But you didn''t know that. Yet you didn''t buy her a gift," Alicia reminded him. "And now I do, so I''m not getting you any gift." Alicia sighed. "Wait! Listen to me, okay? Look, I know what I said before, but this... this body belongs to Amber, so technically, your wife is still in here somewhere. It''s just the person in this body that is not your wife, so you have to help me out because you are also helping out your wife, who owns this body so that she can return to her body," She said and began to seriously wonder if what she said just now made sense. He suppressed a smile as he watched her. Amused at how confused she looked."So... you are saying the body is for my wife... not the soul?" He said in a quiet voice that made her look up at him suspiciously. His intense gaze fell from her face down to her body... her chest precisely, and then back to her face. He took a step forward, making her take one step backwards. He took another step forward, and she went backwards again. "So..." One step forward. One step backwards. "That means..." One step forward, one backwards. "The body..." He looked her up and down again and said while moving forward, "Is mine. And... I can do whatever I like with this body." "W-What... are you... sayin¡ª" She yelped when she took another step backwards, not realizing she was at the edge of the pavilion. She was just about to fall out and into theke, but luckily for her, Harold didn''t let her fall this time. Her heart skipped a beat as he grabbed her by the waist and held her in midair. Her hair fell to the back while his fell in front of his smiling face as he watched her flustered expression. If anyone saw them from afar (Actually,a lot of people did see them from afar. They had been entertaining the bored servants and guards, so they never let go of an opportunity to spy on them so they could have something to talk about to light up their boring lives), the sight looked like a picture-perfect scene of a couple dancing. The two stared at each other, each thinking different things. While Harold thought about what to do with her and how to handle her, Alicia thought about how handsome he looked up close with the evil smile dancing on his lips, and she wondered what he was going to do. Alicia was lost in her thoughts until he broke the silence and spoke up. "Why is your face so red?" Harold asked, the evil smile not leaving his face. That just seemed to snap her out of her useless thoughts, and like a wild horse, she tried to push him off with an annoyed expression on her face. He pulled her back and let her go before she quickly took several steps away from him and crossed her arms in front of her chest protectively. "Wh-hat... were you... thinking? How... can you say this body is for your wife? Is... she here now?" She asked angrily. "You said so yourself," Harold reminded her with a smug smile. "Wipe that dirty smile off your face, and take your mind out of the gutter! As long as I''m in this body right now, this body is mine. Do note anywhere near me, or else I''m going to kill you!" Alicia warned him, making him chuckle. "That means you are my wife, and I have every right to touch you," Harold pointed out reasonably, which only infuriated her the more. "Harold, I am warning you. I''m going to kill you if youe anywhere near me," Alicia warned, pointing a finger at him. "Okay, " Harold said with a nod and turned away to leave. "Okay what?" She asked in confusion. "Okay, I''m noting anywhere near you. I''m sure you can find a way to make Hellion like you all by yourself. There is nothing you set your mind on that you cannot achieve after all," Harold reminded her before walking away, leaving Alicia ring at his back. "You are the most annoying human on the face of the Earth," she called out to him, but hepletely ignored her as he walked away, making her want to scream out in frustration. Alicia closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. She was Alicia Queen. The same orphan who rose to fame by sheer determination. There was nothing she couldn''t achieve if she set her mind to it. She could always find another way if Harold refused to help her. He could go to hell for all she cared. With that thought in mind, she squared her shoulders as she left the pavilion and returned to the pce. "Princess Amber!" Tyra called out to Alicia from under the tree where she was seated reading a book when she spotted her. Alicia turned, and when she saw Tyra seated beside Susan, she smiled as she approached bothdies. "Hey!" She greeted with a wave. "You seem to be very busytely. I barely see you anymore," Tyra said as they both adjusted for Alicia to sit down between them. "I know, right? I''ve missed yourpany. It''s been a while since west sat down together," Alicia said apologetically as she sat down. "And that is why I''ve been thinking long and hard about spending quality time with youdies," Alicia said, and bothdies looked at her with interest. "I''m nning a hangout for thedies of the royal family. Excluding the Queen," Alicia announced. "Hangout?" Both Tyra and Susan asked in unison, and Alicia bobbed her head. "What... are we hanging?" Tyra asked in confusion. Chapter 109 Poetic Alicia Alicia almostughed out loud at Tyra''s question. Why did she always forget the kind of people she was talking to? "We are not ''hanging'' anything. I mean we should go out and have fun outside the pce." Susan and Tyra exchanged nces before looking at her. "Are you serious?" Susan asked. Alicia bobbed her head, "Yes. I''m sure you both would like to leave the pce for a day, right? So how about we all go see the marketce like I did thest time with Harold?" Alicia asked, and Susan''s eyes lit up as she bobbed her head, while Tyra looked at her skeptically. "The King won''t let us leave." "Don''t worry about that. I will take care of it. Just tell me you''re interested, and I''ll arrange for all five of us to leave," she said, and without a doubt, they believed her. "Five?" Tyra asked, wondering who the others were. "Yes. Princess Luciana, the both of you, Paulina and me. It''s going to be fun," Alicia said gleefully, already imagining the fun. "Princess Luciana? She agreed toe with us?" Tyra asked, not sure she liked the idea of her other sister-inw tagging along. "She will get back to me after talking to Prince Ivan." "Is Prince Harold aware of your ns? I don''t think he''s going to like you spending time with Prince Ivan''s wife," Tyra said, and Alicia waved her hand dismissively. "Since when did I care about what he likes? All I know is that we are going to have so much fun together. Even Harold enjoyed himself. We danced together," Alicia said, making both Tyra''s and Susan''s mouths drop open in surprise. "Dance? Prince Harold agreed to dance with you? In public?" Susan asked in disbelief. Alicia grinned as she bobbed her head. That was his punishment for annoying her. "Although we were in disguise, so no one knew about it. You have to keep it between us," Alicia said, and they nodded in agreement, even though they knew that they weren''t the only ones who had heard what she said. She didn''t whisper, and there was no way the other werewolves around didn''t hear her. Susan and Tyra looked around them, and as expected, they noticed a few maids staring in their direction with disbelief. Even if they decided to tell someone else about what they had heard, who would believe that the cold and scary prince Harold had danced in public with his wife? Disguise or not. In truth, almost anyone would believe something like that now, since Prince Harold was beginning to look less scary to them by the day. "So? What do you say? Are you game?" Alicia asked and they both looked at her in confusion. "Game? What game?" Alicia rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh, "I mean, will you go with me?" "I''m definitelying with you," Susan said excitedly. "Me too," Tyra said, and Alicia pped her hands as she stood up. "Perfect then. I will set the ns in motion. See you girlster," she called with a wave as she stood up to leave, but Susan was quick to stop her. "Wait! Can''t Williamse with us?" She asked hopefully. "No. No guys, apart from the guards. That reminds me," Alicia said as she returned to her seat and turned to face Susan. "Did either of you hear any rumours involving Paulina and your twin?" Alicia asked curiously, wanting to know if Alvin had been telling the truth. "You heard it too?" Tyra asked, and Alicia raised an eyebrow. "So is it true?" Alicia asked Susan, who shook her head. "No, it''s not. Nothing is going on between them. Williams is only letting her assist him while he paints," Susan exined, not wanting any trouble for her twin. "Really? That''s all there is between them? You can tell me the truth, I won''t tell," Alicia promised, hoping that Susan was only trying to hide the truth from her. "You can confirm this with Paulina. Williams has nothing of that sort to do with her. Our father will kill them both if something like that happens," Susan said, dashing Alicia''s hopes. "You''re exaggerating. You don''t mean that, do you?" Alicia asked, not seeing why their father would kill Williams and Paulina if they had an affair. "She is not. My uncle is scary," Tyra interjected. "Believe me, I mean every word of it. Nothing can happen between them. Williams knows better than to get involved with Paulina, so you don''t need to worry about anything of that sort," Susan added, and Alicia let out a sigh. She didn''t want to cause too many problems here before leaving, so she would return to shipping Paulina and Alvin, for Paulina''s safety. She wasn''t a believer in dying for love. One needed to be alive to enjoy love, after all. ********** While Alicia was trying to set up a new n, Harold was inside his room, lost in thought, until the door was knocked and Alvin entered. "Your highn¨C" Harold raised his hand, interrupting him. Alvin swallowed back his word. Although he was still annoyed at Harold for throwing him under the bus, he had to ept that a lot of weird things were going to keep happening now. "Your bride is probably going to get into trouble for hurting one of the king''s trained followers." "Why?" Harold asked, turning to look at Alvin, who was looking at Harold with confusion. What did he mean by "why"? Wasn''t he there when she went wild and hurt him? "Uhm... my prince... don''t... you think you are spoiling your bride too much?" He dared to ask, earning him a re from Harold. "It was their fault for attacking me when she was present. And his fault for standing in the way of getting hit," Harold said reasonably. "..." Alvin almost facepalmed. How did that even make sense to him? "But... she... is not in the good graces of Damon. I think you should tell her to be more respectful¡ª" "Her attitude is perfect," he said as he turned to face the window. "She doesn''t need to be in anyone''s good graces. They didn''t marry her." "But... you also let her keep dangerous objects¡ª" Once again, Alvin was interrupted by Harold, "Knives are not very dangerous. Also, she needs them to protect herself. Just in case." "But she stabbed you!" "It was not serious." "And she calls you by your name instead of ''my lord''!" Alvin said in frustration. "That title is too long for her to remember." He said with a careless wave of his hand, making Alvin''s jaw drop. Was this prince Harold? ******** Before dinner, Alicia seriously thought about her ns. There was no way she would be able to survive in this pce without Harold, so even though he was very annoying. She had to look for a way to be on the same page as him. There was no point in getting angry at any of his tactics. She didn''t have time for that. She took out Amber''s diary and read a page of the boring poem, wondering what it meant. She didn''t know how long she spent there until a message came for her to arrive for dinner. She was honestly tired of this pce routine. She made up her mind that she was going to be on good terms with Harold and, if possible, cut out a deal that would be of benefit to her. So as she went to dinner that evening, she was fortunate to bump into Harold, who was walking down the same path with his hands behind him. She happily hopped to catch up with him, but he didn''t bother to slow down his strides, making her increase her pace and even had to run until she stood beside him. "What is it?" He asked without sparing her a nce. Alicia eyed him as she tried to tone down her annoyance. As soon as he spared her a nce, she shed him a sweet smile. "The evening is solemn like a song from the south." She said with a serious expression, making him stop walking to look at her in confusion. "What is that?" She stood opposite him, smiling proudly. "I never mentioned my love for poetry to you?" She asked as she started walking slowly with her hands behind her like an aristocratic schr. ,m "When I saw you earlier... you looked like a star. You twinkled. And I wondered how you were above, looking like a diamond. Oh, ye star, how are you?" She turned to look at him, extending one hand. He looked at her like she was crazy before he shook his head and muttered, "Lame," as he walked past her while trying to suppress an amused smile. "I still have more from where that came from!" She called after him loudly. "Never take them out of there." He responded without looking at her. She was greatly annoyed at how he simply brushed her off like that. Did he know how much effort she had put into making it sound so poetically effective? "What an asshole." She muttered to herself in annoyance, stomping her feet on the floor. Chapter 110 Dinner Argument Alicia thought she could be able to draw Harold''s attention during dinner, but the guy just had to snub her and look ahead as if she did not exist. At this point, she was beginning to get fed up. Why was it so difficult to get his attention? She couldn''t believe she had stayed away from dealing with men, only to find herself dealing with a stubborn one here. "You do not like the food?" The queen asked when she noticed, just like everybody else, that she was not eating much. She looked up at the queen before forcing out a smile. "Of course, I do. Thank you," she said meekly. Honestly, she didn''t like most of the meals they had here. She was craving noodles, pasta, pizza, burgers, soft drinks, and a nice chilled beer. If she had known she would end up like this, she would have given up her boring dietary ns and had everything she wanted. Everyone looked at her again. She still was not eating, neither was she talking too much. There had to be something wrong with her. However, when her stomach growled, she decided to have some vegetables. "An issue was raised in the court today," The King said, getting all their attention. Everyone stopped eating, but the oblivious Alicia didn''t even notice and continued eating absentmindedly. "Someone is trying to ruin the reputation this kingdom upholds and they want that person to be found and punished." "What exactly happened, my king?" The queen asked in confusion. They all felt this was a serious situation to be raised in court so everyone sat up and paid attention. "Some days ago, a woman was seen within the market, dressed as a man." COUGHS! The information startled Alicia so much that she began to choke on the vegetable as she slid down on her seat guiltily. Every eye on the table turned to look at her, making her eyes roll around like a thief''s as she tried to avoid eye contact with them. What was wrong with these people? How was that a crime worthy of punishment? Alicia wondered as she tried to clear up her windpipe, but it was still proving difficult. Harold spared her a nce before pushing her water cup in front of her nonchntly. When she was finally able to stabilize her breathing, she gulped down the water in the cup. "Are you okay?" The queen asked, looking at Alicia curiously. "Uhm... yeah. I mean... yes, My Queen." She stuttered as she sat up and spared Harold a nce. Why did he look like he was mocking her? Wasn''t he supposed to be worried? She gave him the look that said, ''If I get caught, I will push the me on you.'' It seemed he understood it, because he gave her a challenging look, as if daring her to do so. She returned the look, letting him know she was going to do that. She didn''t leave her life over there toe die here because she wore leggings. "Why would a woman dare to dress like a man? Was she a spy? Or a lunatic?" Alicia bit down on her lower lip to stop herself fromshing out at Prince Ivan. She looked at Harold again, who wasn''t even trying to hide the smirk on his face. Just like the others, Prince Ivan also looked surprised since it was the first time they had all heard about something like this. He was not part of the royal court yet, so he hadn''t been there when the issue was discussed. "Since that woman showed up, there have been several cases of other women dressing like that, and the court insists they all be punished to bring back bnce to the kingdom." The King said with his gaze fixed on Alicia. Maybe this was the opportunity she needed to escape? What if the punishment was banishment? Alicia wondered and decided to test the waters. "Are they... going to be banished?" She asked, making Harold want to roll his eyes while the others wondered why she was talking about banishment again. "No. The courtiers are suggesting that their hair be shaved and they be flogged at the marketce for everyone to see them and learn not to do that again. That way, bnce will be restored," the king said, making Alicia withdraw into her seat, and Harold smirked. "Uhm... excuse me, but what do you mean by ''bring back bnce''?" Alicia asked the king when she could no longer hold it back, making the others hold their breath. "There is a way that things should be. Women wearing pants isn''t the way it should be. We need to correct that," the king exined patiently. Alicia wanted to say it didn''t make sense, but she knew better than to voice that out, even though she thought so. "Why can''t people wear what they want? It''s not as if they killed someone or are plotting treason. I''ve seen you in your royal robe before. And I have also seen some officials who visit the pce dress in robes too. No one talked about this ''bnce'' since they didn''t wear pants or leggings, did they?" "Men can do whatever they want, but not women. It is taboo for women to dress in men''s clothing. It is an insult to men¡ª" She stabbed her spoon to her te aggressively, making Ivan swallow back his words as he looked at her with displeasure. ''Patriarchal bastard,'' she said in her head, but with a sweet smile stered on her face. "Have you ever tried wearing corsets before, Prince Ivan?" She asked, trying not to lose her temper. Tyra and Susan tried not tough out at Ivan''s ugly facial expression while Luciana didn''t know what she was supposed to say. Meanwhile, Harold had resumed eating as if the argument did not concern him one bit. "Why would I try to wear corsets?" Ivan asked incredulously, while the others watched, wondering what Alicia was driving at. "Perhaps if you wore one, you''d be more understanding of the plight of the women and you''ll let them wear whatever they want," Alicia suggested. Susan bobbed her head in agreement, but the queen gave her a re, and Susan bowed her head instead. Ivan snorted. "There is a manner in which things are organized. Women are meant to wear women''s things, and men, men''s things. Any woman found wearing men clothes deserves to be punished, I''m sure your husband agrees with me," Ivan said, and shifted his attention to Harold who looked unbothered by the argument. "What if like male robes, there are female pants?" Alicia asked curiously while the king just watched her, wondering how she was going to defend herself since he knew it was her. "There are no female pants," Ivan refuted immediately. "What if someone chooses to make one just like the male robes?" She countered. "Then that person must be punished too!" "Why are you so against the idea of females dressing like men? Are pants the only thing that makes you a man? Or are you scared that women will realize that there is nothing really special about being a man once they start wearing pants?" Alicia asked, and Harold turned to re at her. "That is enough," Harold warned under his breath. "I thought you were ignoring me. Now you want to talk to me?" She hissed back at him before turning her attention to the king. "My King, in a civilized society, people are allowed to wear whatever they please. Everyone, not just women, are free to wear whatever makes themfortable. It is archaic to tell people to dress in a particr way, and soon other kingdoms will develop and allow their citizens to dress as they please. Shouldn''t this great kingdom be a pacesetter?" Alicia asked with a hopeful smile. "You are asking the king to let women wear male clothes?" Ivan asked in disbelief. "I''m pleading with the king to let everyone dress as they please. You can wear female clothes too if you want. I''m sure they would look nice on..." "HOW DARE YOU!" Ivan snapped at her, and Harold tried hard not to chuckle. Why wasn''t the king saying anything? They all wondered, as they turned to him. "What do you mean by civilized society?" The king asked Alicia curiously. How was she going to exin this inyman''s terms? Alicia wondered as she looked at the king. "Uhm... A society where the people are wise and have great achievements," Alicia exined. "And how many societies have you seen that are this way? Is there a ce you know where people are allowed to dress as they please?" The king asked, wondering how she always managed to speak with so much confidence when the kingdom she came from wasn''t so great. Alicia smiled as she answered, "I used to read a lot, your majesty. I know these things from lots of books. And I may not have mentioned it before, but I sometimes dream of these things," Alicia said while everyone else just watched her, wondering how she always managed to hold a conversation with the king. The King nodded. "Let''s have lunch together soon," he said with a smile, as he pushed away from the table and looked at Harold. "Come with me, let''s have a little chat," he said as he walked away, and Harold dropped his cutlery and followed his father out. Instead of going to the royal garden as expected, the king walked out of the pce building, and Harold followed him quietly as they walked towards the pavilion. "She was the woman dressed in male clothes. Am I wrong?" The king asked, and Harold shrugged. "I don''t think you should be surprised by that." "I''m not surprised. What I''m surprised about is that you actually let her do so," the king said as he turned to look at Harold. "You chose her, not me. So like me, you should be able to tolerate whatever she does," Harold pointed out. "You are not just tolerating her," The King pointed out. "You fancy her. Greatly." Harold simply looked at the side, choosing not to respond. Chapter 111 Warriors Are Good For Chopping Veggies Immediately after the king and Harold left, Prince Ivan, who was still very angry, stood up and left along with the Queen, since he didn''t want to spend a minute more in Alicia''s presence. Thedy was very annoying and didn''t know her ce. "Do not take whatever she said to heart," the queen admonished, but Ivan wasn''t in the mood to be lectured to either, so he bowed to her before walking in the opposite direction from her. Seeing how Princess Amber had so actively defended the course, he had a feeling that she was probably the culprit. He would like to prove that she was the one. Maybe when she gets into trouble and is punished by the court, Harold won''t look so nonchnt anymore or wear that stupid smirk on his face. Another thing that annoyed him, apart from Alicia''s mannerlessness, was how the King seemed to be so taken with Alicia. Allowing her to air her opinions so carelessly and even exining things to her wasn''t the way of a king. Or was it because she was human? Was that the reason the king seemed to favour her? And why was he always wanting to discuss with Haroldtely? What were they always talking about? Ivan turned around when he caught a whiff of his wife''s scent, and he turned to see hering up behind him. "Are you okay?" Luciana asked, guessing that he had left because he was upset. Although, as preposterous as the whole idea of women wearing male clothing sounded, she had to admit that Alicia had a point. Sometimes it was tiring to dress like ady with all those unnecessary corsets and everything. She wished she didn''t have to wear them every day and could just rx. "I don''t like her. You can''t be friends with her. She is going to be a bad influence," Ivan told his wife bluntly. "But our n..." "Don''t worry about that n. We will find another way," Ivan said, thinking about Williams, who was going to also be of help to them. "I''m her instructor..." "Instruct her and leave. I''m sure you don''t need to be friends to instruct her." Seeing how her husband''s dislike for Princess Amber had grown, Luciana wasn''t sure that it would be a good idea to ask him for permission to go out of the pce with her anymore. Still, since it was important to her, she decided to give it a try and let it go if he said no. "She wanted me to go see the marketce with her," Luciana said conversationally as they walked down the hallway. Ivan paused and turned to look at his wife with an unreadable expression. "And what did you tell her?" "I told her that it wouldn''t be possible," Luciana quickly told him and exined the details to him. "Good thing you already told her so. Your life is perfect as it is. Do not let her influence you, okay?" Luciana''s shoulders drooped sadly, but she kept a smile on her face as she nodded and answered, "Yes, My lord." Away from there, in the dining room, where Alicia was still seated with Tyra, Susan, and Williams eating, Susan looked at her suspiciously. "Were you thedy wearing male clothing?" She asked in a whisper. "Susan!" Tyra and Williams scolded her, but she ignored them as she focused on Alicia. She had taken note of the look which Alicia exchanged with Harold when the king raised the subject, and Princess Amber was the onlydy she knew who was crazy enough to do something like that in a kingdom like this. Plus, she had asked if the punishment for the crime was banishment. All of that had led her to believe that Alicia was the culprit. "Me? Why do you think so?" Alicia asked, wondering how Susan had figured it out so easily. Susan shrugged. "You are the only person I know who is bold enough to do that," Susan said, deliberately making it sound like apliment, and Alicia smiled sadly at the way women were made to live here. There was Paulina, who couldn''t imagine a bright future for herself as a renowned painter, aside from being a housewife. There was Susan, who was forced to stay here and be taught how to be a ''perfect wife''. Luciana had been taken away from her home to be married off to someone she had never met before. Tyra was just here, probably waiting to be married off too. How sad was this? And the saddest thing was the fact that they didn''t know how sad their lives were. "You can''t tell anyone about it," she whispered back, and Tyra''s eyes widened in surprise at the admission. "Prince Harold, let you do that?" "I''m not sure he had a choice," Williams said with a shake of his head as Alicia bobbed her head. "Why did you do that?" Tyra asked curiously. "Male clothes are morefortable than female clothes. And it makes you look cool too," Alicia said, hoping that someday soon, she would be able to confide in them about herself and where she hade from so that they wouldn''t all just assume that she was just being rebellious. As she returned to her room, she came to an abrupt stop when she noticed Harold taking the same path. She considered tiptoeing and taking the opposite direction since she wasn''t sure what he was going to say when they crossed paths. It had been obvious he had not been pleased with the argument earlier, and also, it seemed he had finished speaking with the king. She didn''t want to know what it was all about, but before she could turn around, he turned around and looked at her. She stopped and shed him the most insincere smile in the world before approaching. "How did it go?" "How did what go?" He asked calmly. "Your conversation with the King." "Why? Are you worried I told him you were the woman?" He raised a taunting brow at her. "Which woman? I don''t know what you are talking about." She denied. "Since you all care about rules and patriarchy here, why don''t you guys just go ahead and punish the woman''s husband since he is her ''lord''?" She said with a smile. "That is a good point." He said with his hand behind him as he began to walk. She frowned, wondering why he was simply agreeing with her without putting up an argument. By the time she was back to her senses, he was far away from her, so she ran after him. "Why aren''t you arguing with me?" She asked curiously. He stopped walking and turned to look at her. She thought he was going to warn her again as usual, but instead, he asked, "Do you know how to cook?" That was thest question she had expected from him, so she was a little confused. "Uhm... why?" "You don''t really like the dishes here. I''ve noticed." She looked at him warily. Was he being serious now or was this a n of some sort? "Well... do I have a choice?" She asked curiously. "If you can cook, you can try and see if you can make something you can eat. Or you could exin to the chef how you''d like it." "Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up, "I can do that? Can I really be allowed inside the kitchen?" He snorted. "You sound like the type who obeys rules." He said before he resumed walking ahead. She tried to keep up with his pace as she asked, "Can I go there tomorrow?" "Do whatever you like. I don''t care." He said nonchntly as he kept moving. "Then will youe with me?" She asked, making him stop and look at her like she was crazy. He almostughed at what she had just said. If his wolf was avable right now, he would have screamed out and cursed at her. Not only was she making him seem like a joke to everyone, but she also wanted him, Harold, to join her in the kitchen and watch her cook? Kitchen! He didn''t even know the location of the kitchen in the pce. Not only was he a man, he was a prince. It was unheard of that a man was in the kitchen with a woman. "What is wrong? Do you think I am going to make you wash a lot of vegetables or something?" Harold wanted to tell her he wasn''t bothering to imagine something as stupid as that because it was impossible. At least she was smart enough to know she wasn''t even supposed to raise it. However, Alicia spoke. "You don''t have to worry too much. You can just help me chop them. You should be good with knives, since you''re a warrior, right?" She asked with an innocent smile, already imagining having nice fried rice to eat,pletely oblivious to the aura radiating all around Harold. She wants him... to chop vegetables? In the kitchen? Not even to just watch her cook? He began tough out loud in disbelief. Should he just take the pain and snap her neck? Chapter 112 Cutting A Deal "What''s funny?" She asked, watching him with an innocent expression. Seeing how innocent she looked, Harold decided to ignore her. He wasn''t going to let her push him to do something evil to her. But one of these days, she was surely going to get punished for messing with him so much. Havinge to that decision, Harold ignored her and started walking again. Alicia, on the other hand, could not understand why he was giving her the cold shoulder. Hadn''t he been the one to suggest that she make something she could eat? She didn''t want to trouble the maids to help her after making one for everyone, so who else would she ask if not her supposed husband? "Okay, fine, you can''t chop veggies. But you can help me wash. You don''t have to look so angry. Trust me, I may not be good at a few things, but I am a good¡ª" "Alicia," he called in a warning tone to stop her from talking because he feared he was going to lose it if she continued. "Yes?" She replied sweetly. "I won''t go inside the kitchen with you." "Why?" "No questions," he said strictly and continued to walk away. "You can''t just refuse to go with me and not tell me why," Alicia protested as she ran after him. "Can you stop walking so fast? I can''t keep up with your pace," Alicia pleaded, and even though he didn''t want to have that discussion with her, Harold stopped and turned to look at her. "If you''re behaving this way and trying to keep your distance because you''re mad about what I said earlier¡­" the rest of her words trailed off when Harold raised a brow. "Forget that. At least tell me why you don''t want to go to the kitchen with me," Alicia said, and Harold turned around and resumed walking again. This time he walked slowly so that she would be able to match his pace. Okay, he admitted to himself that he was probably going about this the wrong way. He had to remind himself that they were from different eras, and as such, she probably wasn''t making the request just to ridicule him. "Do men go into the kitchen where youe from?" He asked in a low voice, and Alicia pressed her lips together when she finally understood why he seemed pissed off at her suggestion. Why did she keep forgetting that this was a vastly different era from her own and that they were outmoded? Of course, there was no way a man, much less a prince like Harold, would be found in the kitchen in this era where women weren''t even allowed to wear male clothes. Seeing how she wasn''t saying anything, Harold turned to look at her. "Do they?" He asked curiously now. Wanting to know just how much the world must have changed. "Yes. Men cook for their families. Some men stay at home and take care of the home while the woman goes to work," Alicia said, and Harold''s lips curled in disapproval. What kind of man was that? He was even worse than a male omega. "That''s not going to happen here," Harold assured her, and Alicia rolled her eyes. Of course, it wasn''t going to happen here. There was no need to push it. "Fine. Suit yourself. So, what about Hellion? What time are we going to meet him tomorrow?" She asked hopefully. "I never said I agreed to that," Harold pointed out. "C''mon, don''t be like that. You cannot do this to me when you''re the one who insisted that I stay here. You have to at least make my stay herefortable," She said as she moved to stand in front of him, stopping him from going further. When Harold just looked at her without saying a word, she continued, "I haven''t even asked the king for permission to go out yet. I have a lot on my te that I need to do. So please make things easier for me, okay?" "Why should I when you''re not my wife?" Harold asked, and Alicia groaned inwardly. "Aren''t you tired of having that argument already? Just forget about whether or not I''m your wife. Help me, please." "Okay." "Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. "What do I get in return?" The light dimmed from her eyes, reced with a re. Why did she always forget she was talking to Harold and take all he said seriously? "Why do you need to get something in return?" "Because I don''t do anything for anyone without getting something in return. So tell me. What do I stand to gain by doing this for you?" She pursed her lips and fisted her hands, keeping her temper under control, before she forced out a smile, "I''ll repay you with nice food. You can trust me on that." She was not stupid enough to ask him what he wanted. Before anyone would ask to cut a deal like that, it meant they already had something in mind, and that thing was not going to benefit her in any way, so she didn''t bother to ask him. He shook his head and used his forefinger to push her out of his way to the side before he resumed walking. "I already have nice food." "Trust me, this will be like nothing you have ever tasted," she promised as she ran after him. "I don''t want food. No matter how nice it tastes. When you think of a better offer, you know where to find me," he said before he took the left turn and disappeared out of her sight. Alicia remained where she stood, trying to figure out what else she could offer him before he walked further away from her, but she couldn''t seem to think of any. She stomped her feet on the floor angrily, not sure how she was going to handle this stubborn husband of hers. Why did she even reveal her real identity to Harold in the first ce? At this point, she was fed up with making ns. Ever since she got here, she has been jumping from one n to another. Now while she was still trying toe up with a n to leave here, she had to make another n on how to get Harold to assist her while still trying toe up with another way to get the King to let her and the other royaldies leave the pce. To say she was mentally exhausted at this point would be an understatement. Tonight, she decided she wasn''t going to waste her time thinking too much about anything. She was going to have a good rest and just let tomorrow take care of itself. With her head held high, she opened the door and strode into her bedroom, but she was not prepared for the sight that greeted her eyes. There were 3 maids in her bedroom who were running around as they tried to clean the ce. She wasn''t sure she was ever going to get used to people entering her private space randomly like this. When they saw her, all three of them froze. Once the shock of seeing people in her bedroom wore off, confusion set in. What the heck were they doing there? She mused as her eyes moved from them to the towels and buckets on the floor. She couldn''t remember asking anyone to clean her bedroom. "What is going on here?" She asked in confusion. After a lot of struggle between the three of them, one of them stepped forward and bowed meekly as she exined, "My... Princess... one of us identally spilled water everywhere. We are sorry. We deserve to be punished," She said and knelt with her forehead touching the floor. Normally, they wouldn''t be this frightened talking to a human, but they knew the kind of person she was, so they dared not look down on her. If Beth could end up like that, they knew they would even suffer a worse fate. Alicia looked around the bedroom. The entire floor and her bed looked wet. How did this happen? It didn''t make sense that they identally spilled water everywhere. Why did this look deliberate? "Why were you with so much water?" She asked them. "We... we wanted to clean up the room." "You wanted to clean the room thiste in the evening? And the water flew from the bucket onto my bed and the floor? How did it happen?" She asked, eyeing them suspiciously. "I slipped, and the bucket fell forward, and the water spilled on the bed and everywhere," another maid, who didn''t look as fearful as the other two, exined. Something didn''t seem right here, but what reason could they have for messing up her bedroom? Were they trying to punish her for what happened to Beth? No, that didn''t make sense. Beth didn''t seem like the type to resort to such cheap means, and the maids feared Harold too much to mess with her. "What am I going to do now?" Alicia asked, looking distressed. The three maids looked at her and at each other before one raised her hand slowly and suggested, "My princess, perhaps... you can spend the night in your husband''s chamber?" Chapter 113 Sleepover "It is done," Alvin told Harold confidently. "You just have to wait patiently and she''lle." Harold had never doubted Alvin before, so he was certain that whatever Alvin had done was going to work, but he was still curious to know what his n was all about. "What did you do?" "I flooded her room," he said with a sinister snicker, but immediately stopped when he noticed how Harold was looking at him like he was insane. "That was the brilliant n you came up with?" Harold asked in disbelief. It seemed Alvin was only good at being his eyes and ears around the pce. Coming up with ns was not his forte. He was even worse than Alicia. "Isn''t that... okay?" Alvin asked hesitantly. "Goodness!" He massaged his temples in frustration. How was he going to survive dealing with his wolf, Alicia, and Alvin at the same time? "Just leave," he said, waving him off. Alvin left with a crestfallen look. He kept his fingers crossed that she was going to spend the night over at Harold''s chamber and prove that his n made a lot of sense. He had never failed in anything before and doubted he was going to have a bad name now. After he left Harold''s bedroom, Harold paced around his chamber restlessly as he waited for Alicia toe and spend the night with him. Although he knew that what he had made Alvin do was a cheap move, he couldn''t help it. He had never felt so desperate until now, and he didn''t want to use force on her to do his bidding. He just needed to confirm all of his suspicions, and the only way he could do that was for her to sleep in his chamber. He had tried to get into someone else''s head after he did that with Alvin the other day, but he wasn''t able to and had almost sucked out all his energy while trying. Was it also possible that it was because he had been with her? The only way to confirm all these theories and also his on and off shift was to try it one more time, but she just had to have a coconut head and was not willing to give in to him. Since she had refused to be reasonable and spend the night with him when he asked politely, he had chosen to give her no other choice but to do what he wanted, and Alvin had offered that he had a bright idea. He still couldn''t believe that had been the so-called bright idea. Sighs! He didn''t want to imagine how she would react if she found out that he was indirectly responsible for her flooded chamber. Hopefully, she wouldn''t know that he was behind it. It didn''t matter, because even if she found out, Alvin would have to take the me again. By the time the first bell rang, Harold''s brows were furrowed in a frown. Where was she? Why wasn''t she in his chamber yet? Or had she not been to her chamber yet to see that she couldn''t sleep there? Did something happen to her? These and other thoughts ran through his mind as he quickly exited his chamber and went in search of her. On his way to her chamber, Alvin appeared from the corner, surprised to see Harold out here at this time when he should be with his wife. "Where is she?" Harold asked with a slight frown, confusing Alvin. "She hasn''te to you yet?" Alvin asked in confusion. The maid he had put in charge had told him she had suggested the princess spend the night with Prince Harold, and she had only shed them a smile before she went to pick up a few things, including clothes to change into, then she left the chamber after wishing them a good night. "If she has, would I be asking you?" Harold asked as he resumed walking again. He needed to know if she had stubbornly chosen to spend the night in her chamber or had gone somewhere else. Where could she have possibly gone? He wondered as he neared her chamber, with Alvin walking closely behind him. Alvin, on the other hand, could not understand the couple. They were legally married, and even though Princess Amber hadn''t gotten the blessings of the people to officially identify her as a member of the royal family, she was still Prince Harold''s bride, and by now, they should have started the ns for having a family of their own. So why couldn''t they just act like other normal couples? Once Harold stopped outside her chamber, he knocked on the door twice. When he didn''t get any response, he pushed the door open and found an empty chamber. He walked out immediately and looked down the hallway. "She is not inside?" Harold gave Alvin, who was still standing outside the door, a nod. "I don''t think anything would have happened to her. She should be around somewhere." When he noticed the change in Harold''s look, Alvin tried to trivialize the issue. He had been seeing that quite a lottely, and it always appeared whenever he was worried about her. "Or maybe she lost her way to your chamber?" He offered, but when he noticed he wasn''t helping the situation, he turned serious as he said, "I will search around for her," Alvin said as he quickly walked away, and Harold decided to check with his sister to see if she knew where Alicia was. His pace was two times faster and even increased when he realized the second bell was going to ring soon. This was going to be trouble for both him and her. What if he shifted inside the pce and still could not find her? He needed to at least confirm her whereabouts before leaving the pce. Even before he got to the door of Tyra''s chamber, he heard the sound of feminine voices and giggles inside, making him slow down his pace and narrow his eyes. He could hear Tyra''s faint voice. Then Susan. Andstly, the loudest voice amongst the three belonged to none other than ALICIA. That little devil was here! So this was where she came to? How could a married woman leave her husband for her husband''s sister? He banged the door angrily and heard his sister yelp inside from shock as theughter died down immediately. "Who is there?" Tyra asked cautiously as she went to the door, but Harold said nothing as he waited for her to open it. Tyra opened the door tentatively, and once she saw Harold, she looked behind her before looking at him again curiously. "Is she in there?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer, and before Tyra could say anything, Alicia showed up behind her. "It was you! Why did you want to give us a heart attack like that?" Alicia asked with her hand on her chest. The invasion had made her imagination run wild, thinking a coup was happening and the traitors were there to capture the royal women. "What are you doing here?" Harold asked in an unpleasant tone. "Hanging out with the girls. We are having a sleepover tonight," Alicia said with a sweet smile that made him very suspicious. "A sleepover?" Harold asked in confusion. "Yes. It means that all three of us will sleep here in Tyra''s room tonight. It''s going to be fun," Alicia said excitedly, and Harold turned his gaze to Tyra. "You''re letting her sleep here?" Not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was happening between the couple, Tyra nced at Alicia for guidance, and Alicia gave her a nod. "We are having a sleepover," Tyra repeated timidly. "Okay then. Have a good night''s rest," Harold said, trying to hide his disappointment as he turned around to leave. Maybe he should also send Tyra away after sending off Paulina? "Harold?" Alicia called, stopping him, and he turned to look at her, trying not to look hopeful. "Why did youe to find me? Did you want something?" She asked sweetly, and Harold shook his head. "I just stopped to check on you before going to bed, and I found out that you weren''t in your chamber," Harold said, and then he paused when something else urred to him. "Let''s talk," he said, giving Tyra the eye to excuse them, and immediately Tyra returned inside the chamber and locked the door while Alicia eyed him curiously. "Is it safe to be outside at this time of the night?" She asked, looking around. She didn''t want any wild dogs to attack her here. "You''re with me. You have nothing to worry about," he assured her, and Alicia joined him in the passageway as they moved away from the chamber. "Did you tell anyone that I... that I spent the night in your bed?" Harold asked, hoping she had not. He wished he had remembered earlier to mention it to her, but he had been too distracted by so many things. "No. Why?" she asked curiously. "You must not tell anyone about it. Not even your maid. That has to be kept secret between us." Alicia looked at his face seriously. His eyes looked like they were pleading with her. She smiled at him and nodded. "You should go to bed now before those big dogs are released." She advised him with concern. "Dogs?" He asked, confused. "Right! You guys said they were wolves. So be careful. The third bell is going to ring soon and I''m not ready to die yet. Good night." She said before running back into the room. She waved at him before closing the door. ********* AUTHOR''S NOTE: Dear readers, Sorry I could not leave any update yesterday because I was sick. Thanks for staying active with your votes and gifts. Chapter 114 Q & A Session When a maid suggested Alicia spend the night at Harold''s chamber, she had a feeling that the water incident was not as simple as it seemed because the whole story made no sense and wasn''t adding up either. But the thing she didn''t know was whether this was purposely done by the maids or someone else. She didn''t think this was Harold''s doing because he didn''t seem like the type to be petty like this. So she assumed they probably had a shipper in the pce who wanted them to be closer. And thought doing this was going to set their n in motion. Unfortunately for them, she was neither stupid nor interested in Harold. She had visited Princess Tyra''s room instead and had seen the surprise in Tyra''s eyes when she opened the door. "What are you doing here?" Tyra had asked in concern as she looked at both sides of the hallway. "Are you okay? What are these bags for?" Tyra asked while looking at the bag she was carrying in her hand that had a set of clothes and other things she would need. "I''m fine. My room is a mess right now. Can I spend the night with you?" She asked Tyra hopefully and noticed how the look on her face changed like she didn''t want that to happen, but it was quickly reced with a warm smile as she said timidly, "It''s okay if you want to spend the night here. But... I am just worried." "About what?" Alicia asked curiously, not sure why Tyra always lived on the edge when she was a princess. "I''m not sure they would like it. Father, mother, and prince Harold. If something is wrong with your room, you should spend the night in Prince Harold''s chamber, don''t you think?" She asked reasonably. "Honestly, I do not want to pressure you into letting me spend the night. If you aren''tfortable with it, I''ll just go ask Susan. It''s not a big deal," Alicia assured her with a smile. "Did I just hear my name?" Susan asked, appearing beside her with her brother. She noticed the bag Alicia was holding and raised a curious brow. "Going on a trip?" She asked in confusion while looking impatiently behind her. "Not at all. My room is messed up, and I''m looking for a ce to spend the night." "What about Prince Harold''s chamber?" Susan asked before it urred to her that the two didn''t have that kind of rtionship yet, and even if they did, Harold wouldn''t be able to spend the night with her anyway. Not when his curse forced him to leave the pce every night to shift. "My chamber is kind of small. I would have been happy to amodate you." "That''s fine. I can just¡ª" "You can stay here," Tyra said at the same time that the first bell rang, making all of them cautious. "Can I stay too?" Susan asked eagerly. Tyra was a bit reluctant, but she nodded and opened her door for them. Alicia sighed in relief as she went in while Susan followed behind. "Good night. Make sure to get to your room before the second bell rings!" Susan instructed Williams, who nodded before heading his way. That was how their sleepover started and officially began with a question and answer session, which Alicia could not wait to put an end to since she didn''t want them to ask about her life. Since thedies seemed engrossed in that topic, she decided to y along and do most of the asking until the knock came on the door, distracting them from the fun story Susan had been telling them about. After Harold left, Alicia returned to the room, looking a bit nervous. The two girls looked at her closely as she chewed her nails before going to the window to look outside. "Is something wrong?" Tyra asked first, but Alicia didn''t answer since she was curiously looking outside to see if the wolves had been released. ''Whatever. They probably know him and won''t hurt him.'' She said to herself, deciding not to let it bother her as she returned to the bed where the girls had been watching her. "What is bothering you?" Tyra asked with concern. "Is it Prince Harold?" She didn''t bother to deny it and simply nodded. For some reason, she felt bad about just leaving him out like that when he had taken the risk to look for her. If only they had phones here so she could call him to confirm that he was okay. "He even came here to look for you tonight. You two must be having a nice rtionship now." Susan chipped in. "Not really." "You must care about him," Tyra said, smiling. "He is my husband, isn''t he? I should care about him," Alicia said since that was the natural thing for a wife to say. "Did he want something?" Tyra asked curiously. Although Alicia didn''t understand why they seemed so interested in her rtionship with Harold, she shrugged, "He just wanted to see if I was okay since he heard that my room was a mess," Alicia said, and Tyra smiled. "He must care about you a lot." "Yeah, I think he does," Alicia said with a smile. Susan cleared her throat, "Since it''s just us girls. I''m curious about something. You and Prince Harold¡­ Has he ever tried to get closer to you?" Susan asked, and Alicia raised a brow. "Susan!" Tyra scolded, embarrassed by the question Tyra had asked. "No, he hasn''t," Alicia said with a shake of her head even though she didn''t like the personal question. She had been the one who had asked for a sleepover, after all, so she had to answer their questions and make it as fun as possible so that the next time anyone tampered with her chamber, she could always ask for another sleepover. "Oh, why? You don''t want him to?" Susan asked again. Alicia smiled, "We don''t have that sort of rtionship," Alicia said, and Tyra nodded in agreement. "I heard that Beth came to apologize to you this morning?" Tyra asked, changing the subject. Alicia felt relieved that the conversations had finally shifted from her and Harold to Beth, "Yes, she did. I don''t think she meant it though," Alicia said, and Susan snorted. "Of course, she didn''t. I''m sure she only came to you because the Queen asked her to. Beth thinks she is better than everyone else simply because she is the queen''s person. She keeps forgetting that she is just a maid," Susan said, and Tyra nodded in agreement. "I''m d prince Harold dealt with her that way. I wonder if she still feels the same way about him now," Tyra said, and Alicia leaned forward. "Although Paulina told me that she was punished mercilessly, she didn''t see it for herself. How bad was it?" Alicia asked, and Tyra shuddered. "Very bad." "Let''s hope she will stay out of my way now," Alicia said with a yawn. "I was wondering, do you have any idea why Alvin is always watching me?" Susan asked Alicia curiously since she had noticed that Alvin seemed to be following her around very discreetly. Maybe someone else wouldn''t have noticed, but she had done a lot of sneaking around in her life to know when someone was doing the same. "Alvin? Prince Harold''s guard?" Tyra asked, surprised. Susan bobbed her head, "I noticed it, but I haven''t asked him about it yet," Susan exined, and Alicia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "Hmmm, I see." "What do you see?" Susan asked, hoping that Alicia had the answer to her question. "Maybe Alvin likes you," Alicia said with a grin, and Tyra''s eyes widened in surprise while Susan''s jaws dropped. "What? Me?" Susan asked, touching her chest in disbelief. Alicia bobbed her head. Maybe that exined why Alvin wasn''t interested in Paulina. It would be nice if something happened between Alvin and Susan. That way, if something eventually happened between Paulina and Williams, that would make Susan and Alvin, Paulina''s iws, and she trusted them to take care of Paulina. "It''s not possible!" Susan said with a shake of her head. "Trust me. It is," Alicia said with a wide smile while Tyra just listened to them. "Why would he fancy me? Fine, I understand that I''m very beautiful and any man with eyes would fancy me, but we are not even in the same ss. He can''t be with me," Susan said, and Alicia rolled her eyes. "Things like that don''t matter to the heart when it is love. And maybe it is because he knows he can''t be with you that he has not approached you. He enjoys watching you from a distance. Aww," Alicia said, raising her hand to her chest in a dramatic gesture, and Susan blushed. "Why aren''t you saying anything?" Alicia asked Tyra, and she gave her a weak smile. "I''m inexperienced, so I don''t know what to say," Tyra said with a shrug. "Inexperienced? You have never been courted before? And there is no one you fancy?" Alicia asked curiously. Tyra shook her head shyly, and from there on, the conversations moved to other subjects such as the nned girls'' trip, until Susan dozed off, and then Alicia did the same. Having no other choice, Tyray beside them as she tried to sleep off, trying not to dwell on her thwarted ns. Chapter 115 Cutting A Deal Tyra was the first to wake up the next morning, and she roused both Alicia and Susan from sleep so that they could return to their chambers before everyone started moving around. She had no idea how the king or queen would react if they were to find out that they had all spent the night together. "It is morning already?" Alicia asked as she stretched out on the bed. "Yes. You should be in your chamber before Princess Luciana gets there. We don''t want her to know you spent the night in my chamber," Tyra exined. "Why?" "Why what?" Tyra asked in confusion. "Why shouldn''t she know? Why don''t you like her?" Alicia asked curiously. "I do not hate her," Tyra said defensively. "But you do not like her either," Susan, who had finally woken up, pointed out as she sat up. "She reports everything to her husband, and he reports to our mother. It is hard to be friends with someone who does that. You don''t do that, do you?" Tyra asked Alicia. "Don''t worry, all your dirty secrets are safe with me," Alicia assured her yfully. "I don''t have any dirty secrets," Tyra said with a slight frown. "Good for you then. The moment Princess Luciana sets foot in my chamber, she is going to find out that I didn''t sleep in my chamber. But you have nothing to worry about. I''ll exin to the King and Queen if they get angry," Alicia assured Tyra as she got off the bed. She had a long day ahead of her, and the first thing on her To-do list was to go and see hellion. She needed to find a way to reach an agreement with Harold so that he would help her. "Thank you for letting me sleep here. I enjoyed the sleepover, and I hope we can do this again tonight. With snacks, hopefully," Alicia said with a hopeful smile since she knew that there was no way her wet bed was going to get dry anytime soon. "Again?" Tyra asked, not sure that was a good n. Alicia bobbed her head, and Susan pped excitedly, "Yes! Let''s do it again tonight. I''ll find a way to get us snacks," Susan offered. Seeing how excited they both seemed, Tyra smiled, "Okay then. You both win. Let''s do so again," Tyra offered, and Alicia quickly embraced both girls before heading for the door. "See you girlster," she called with a wave as she left. Susan smiled at Tyra happily. This was the most fun she had had since she was living here, and what made it even more fun for her was because it was like they were breaking thew by doing it. "I love Princess Amber! And I love you too, my darling cousin," Susan said as she embraced a surprised Tyra, before leaving. Once they left, Tyra picked up a book to read while she waited for the maids to prepare her for the morning. Thankfully it was the seventh day of the week, and as usual, there was no general breakfast, so she had the morning to herself. Some momentter, after she had her bath and was ready to leave her chamber, she walked down the hallway, heading for the tree shade where she usually sat to read outside the building, when she saw Harold walking alone. She ran up to him and called excitedly, "Brother!"Harold''s steps faltered as he turned to look at her. Why she continued to call him that even when they both knew that both Ivan and the queen hated it was something he couldn''t understand. She smiled at him as she stopped in front of him and bowed slightly as she greeted,"Good morning, brother," Harold was in a foul mood, and as far as he was concerned, there was nothing good about the morning. His whole body ached, and he was feeling very tired. "Do you want something?" He asked, hoping that they could keep the conversation short. He needed to return to his chamber to sleep. The only reason he was outside by this time was because something had dropped from his pocketst night in his haste to leave the pce, and now that he had found it, he needed to sleep. Tyra''s face fell at his question, "I was hoping we could talk like we used to do. Or maybe you could watch me practice how to hit my target. We haven''t been able to do that since you got married," she pointed out sadly, making Harold sigh. That was true. Although he liked being alone, Tyra was the only member of the family that he lete close to him, and he sometimes tried to teach her how to use weapons to protect herself, even though she was bad at it and the training sessions left him feeling frustrated. But since he got married to that stubborn witch, he had barely had enough time to spare on anything else. To think he had even considered getting rid of his half-sister because of her made him shake his head. "I..." "There you are," Alicia called from behind them excitedly before Harold could say a word, and he scowled in displeasure when he turned to see her. "Good morning, my lord," Alicia said with a polite bow. "I will excuse you both to talk," Tyra said with a small smile and a bow at Harold before continuing on her way and leaving the couple alone. Once Tyra left, Harold resumed walking, and Alicia followed him. She was relieved to see that he was fine and the wolf guards did not hurt him. "How are you?" She asked when she took a closer look at him and saw that he looked pale and tired. His curt reply came almost immediately saying, "I''m fine." "You don''t look well," Alicia said, making Harold want to scoff. Whose fault was it that he didn''t look well? If she had done what he wanted her to do, he probably would have had a good night''s sleep. Instead, she had made him run out of the pce like a mad man because he didn''t want to shift within the pce walls. "I''m fine," Harold repeated stiffly. "I''m d you''re fine," Alicia said with a small smile as she continued to follow him. Harold stopped walking abruptly and turned to look at her before asking, "What do you want?" "It''s morning. We are supposed to go and see Hellion, remember?" She asked, shing him a sweet smile. "I''m not going." "Why not?" Alicia asked with a slight frown. "I''m tired. I need to sleep," Harold said, and she raised a brow. "Didn''t you spend the whole night sleeping? Why do you need to sleep again? Are you ill?" She asked with concern as she moved closer to him and raised a hand to his forehead to feel his temperature, but Harold was quick to p her hand away. "Why do you always touch me without my permission?" He asked with an unpleasant look on his face. Alicia almost rolled her eyes at the question. "It''s nothing sexual. I was just trying to see if you have a fever," she exined, and Harold frowned at her again. "Sexual?" "I mean, I don''t want to sleep with you¡­." was that it? Was that what people called sex in this era? Or was it like the Biblical times when they said ''Know'' when referring to sex? I don''t want to know you? Aliciaughed to herself at how ridiculous it sounded while Harold just stared at her, wondering what was amusing. "Anyway, since you''re not ill, I don''t see why you want to sleep in. Let''s go and see hellion. It won''t take long, I''m sure. You can go in and have your beauty sleep once we are done," Alicia said with a sweet smile. "Have youe up with a good deal for me yet?" Harold asked with a slightly raised brow, reminding her that he wasn''t going to help her unless she offered him something first. She had been thinking about it all morning, but she had no idea what to offer him. Perhaps she should ask him what he wanted, and that would give her an idea of what was in his head? "Okay, tell me. What do you want?" She asked, and Harold narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Was she asking just so that she would turn him down again, or was she going to do whatever he wanted? "You know what I want already," Harold said tly and resumed walking again. "Can''t you just stand still and talk? Do you always have to walk?" Sheined as she followed him, but he said nothing as he kept walking until they got to his chamber and he opened the door. "So, what is it that you want?" She asked as she walked inside with him. ? Harold raised a brow, and she looked at him before looking at the chamber. This was it? For her to sleep with him? She frowned. "You want me to sleep with you?" She asked incredulously. "It''s not what you''re thinking. I just want you to sleep here. Nothing is going to happen between us," he assured her since he didn''t want anything to happen between them either. Alicia continued to look at him suspiciously. By chance, was he involved in the ''flood'' incident? Chapter 116 Sealing The Deal Alicia could not help but be wary of Harold. Why was he so interested in her sleeping in his room? He had even sneaked into hers the other time when she had been drunk. Now, it was beginning to make her suspect that he was responsible for the flooding incident. Was this his n? "Did you flood my room?" She decided to ask since thinking about it was not going to give her any direct answer. "No," he replied curtly, and left it at that, but her suspicion lingered. "Why do you want me to share a room with you?" "Not share. Just the night." "Isn''t that the same thing?" "No. I don''t want you in my space." "What?" She looked offended, even though she wasn''t supposed to. "What do you mean by that?" "It''s simple enough. If you want me to see to it that you get free time with Hellion, you have to y your part." "Why are you so interested in this? What are you nning?" She asked while eyeing him suspiciously as she took a step backwards and crossed her hands in front of her protectively. He watched her in amusement and shook his head, "I told you already. Just sleep here." How was he supposed to exin to her that it helped him stay in his human form and that there were other abilities he was able to unlock with her around? "Is it because of other people? Are you worried about what they may say?" She asked curiously thinking that it would make sense if that was the reason he was doing this. They had been married for several weeks now, yet they had only spent the night once, as far as she was aware. Was there some kind of rumour going around or were they probing him because of it? Harold didn''t answer and just watched her while different emotions flickered on her face, like they usually did when she was thinking deeply. He looked at her keenly and tried to see if he could get into her head. From the moment he met her, he wanted to get into her head to know what she was thinking about. At first, it was because he thought she was crazy. Then, at their wedding, he had been curious to know how and why she suddenly appeared there, and now, he wanted to know her ns and maybe also know what she thought about him. He was just curious. It was nothing serious. As soon as he tried to get into her head, she moved and began to pace around, making him almost sigh in frustration, but she turned to look at him sharply. "Okay, I understand why you are trying to do this. Do not be surprised at how I know. I am just naturally smart and have seen lots of dramas to know how all this works. So, I''ll spend a night here and even make sure the news gets to all the ends of the kingdom. But you won''t touch me. And we won''t share a¡ª" "A night?" He asked, slightly amused. "Of course, what were you expecting?" "Thirty nights." "WHAT THE HELL!ARE YOU CRAZY?" She yelled, almost startling him. She had thought this deal was only for a night, so what did he mean by thirty nights? A whole fucking month! "It''s only a fair deal. You''ll get to visit Hellion every day and learn how to ride a horse. At the end of the day, you keep him. If you do not make up your mind in the next five seconds, it climbs to 60 nights." He said and turned towards his window, but she frantically raced towards him and appeared in front of him. "Be reasonable. I cannot spend thirty nights with you!" "Can you spend sixty then?" he asked, making her almost facepalm. "Thirty nights is too much. I am not used to living with someone, much less sharing a bedroom. I cannot." He looked at her face carefully, and when he saw the desperation on her face, his ego was hurt. She didn''t want to share a room with him, but he could understand her a little, so he decided topromise and shorten it. "Okay, I understand." He said with his hands behind him. "Really? So you''re going to reduce the days?" She asked hopefully. When he nodded, she smiled happily and felt like embracing him before he said, "Twenty-nine nights then." The smile instantly vanished from her face as she eyed him unpleasantly. Was this guy sent to frustrate her life? Was that the n? "Seriously? Is this how you bargain here?" "I am being nice to you, Princess. I do not bargain with others." "Two nights." She demanded, making him return the re she had been giving him earlier. "Fine." He conceded. Alicia would have been happy if she didn''t already know him by now. And she was right to be wary. "I will only take you to Hellion once in that case." "Why are you so petty?" "I am being petty?" "Fine! Three nights." "Twenty-five nights." "Four nights." "Twenty nights." "Five nights!" "Fifteen nights." "Six nights." "Seven nights. And that is final," Harold said, thinking that he was being more than fair. "Fine! Jeez! You are so annoying," She said angrily and yelped when he reached for her hand. She didn''t process what was happening until she felt something sharp prick her thumb, making her wince as she tried to withdraw her hand, but he held on tightly. She looked at the blood on her thumb, both angry and confused. She was about to yell at him, but her words got stuck in her throat when he took her finger to his lip and sucked on the blood. She watched him ck-jawed, too tense to move or say a word, while Harold, on the other hand, almost withdrew from her when the first drop touched the tip of his tongue. It was bitter. Extremely. That was weird. Human blood tasted very differently from werewolves''. They tasted sweeter. Was it because she was not from this world? It wasn''t until he dropped her hand that she returned to her senses and took a few steps backwards. "What... is wrong with you? How could you..." She stuttered while looking at her finger, her face entirely red, but Harold seemed unbothered because he used the same needles he had used on her to prick his thumb and extended his hand to her. She looked at his hand and at his face as if he had lost his mind. "You... are not telling me to do what I think you are doing right now, right?" "An agreement has to be sealed by blood. If anyone fails to meet up with their end of the deal... they die." He said seriously, making her shiver, but there was no way she was going to suck his blood. "Are you... out of your mind?" She asked in disbelief. "Firstly, you do not share sharp objects! Secondly, you want me to drink your blood?Eww!" She made a face to show she was disgusted and would not try it and also stepped back even more. "You don''t have to worry; I will keep my end of the deal and next time, please do not do this again..." She said while looking at her finger, which he had pricked. "You don''t want to drink my blood?" He asked her, almost amused. How did she think she was able to heal fast from the wound he inflicted on her that night in the mountain? Maybe he should tell her that the sweet medicines she was fed the first few nights she arrived here were actually mixed with his blood? "So what is going to happen to this?" He asked while looking at the drop of blood on his finger, patiently waiting for her. "You can lick it up yourself, please." "How am I sure you won''t go back on your words?" "How am I sure you won''t try to do something funny at night?" She asked too. "Because I don''t lie," Harold said with a frown. "Yeah, right. Look, we have to trust each other''s words if we want this to work. So do we have a deal?" She asked. He looked at her face for a moment before nodding. "Seven nights here equals seven days with Hellion." Alicia wanted to argue about that and make him extend her time with Hellion, but she decided to leave that forter. Besides, she was sure of her ability to get Hellion to like her before the end of the seven days. Meanwhile, Harold had other ns. How she was able to believe that he would actually help her with her escape n was something he could not fathom. He had initially wanted her around to test out his theories, but now he was beginning to have other thoughts. His body wasn''t that great? He was like a younger brother she never had? She didn''t want to share a room with him? He was going to see about that. Seven nights. He was going to make the best use of this opportunity so that by the end of this stipted time, she would eat her words. Meanwhile, Alicia wasughing in victory inside her head. Seven nights. She was going to use this time to get Hellion to like her. She was so excited that her ns were finallying to light. Hehehe. "Nice doing business with you," she said while offering her hand to him for a handshake. Oh, it was his pleasure. He shook hands with her. Chapter 117 Worth It? Paulina had a shy smile on her face as she walked into the painting room that morning, and Williams'' lips twitched with a smile as he watched her. "Good morning, my lor..." Williams cleared his throat to stop her. "What did we agree on?" Paulina knew what he was talking about, so she didn''t bother to y ignorant. "Good morning, Wil...Iams," she said without meeting his gaze, and he smiled before nodding his head. "Good morning, Paulina. Did you sleep well?" He asked, and she bobbed her head as she went to sit down on her spot while Williams did the same. For most of the night, and ever since he woke up, the only thought guing his mind was Paulina''s slip the previous day. Not because the Queen would be interested in this kind of information, but because he was just very curious to know and understand what was going on. Was Princess Amber truly a princess? Because thus far, there was nothing princess-like about her behavior, and judging by what Susan had pointed out, it seemed like she desperately wanted to be banished from the moon kingdom, and he couldn''t understand why. He knew that there was no way he could ask Paulina that question since it would only rm her and cause her to run back into her shell, and he didn''t want that. "How much longer do we have before the portrait is ready?" Williams asked curiously as she continued the painting from where she stopped the previous day. "I will finish it by tomorrow," Paulina said, and he nodded. "Would you like to keeping here to paint with me?" He asked, and Paulina''s hand faltered as she remembered her conversation with her mistress earlier on. Earlier, when she had gone to Alicia''s chamber to report, as she always did once she woke up in the morning, Alicia had asked her about her rtionship with Williams and what she was always going to do in the painting room, even after the portrait had beenpleted. "He wanted me to make a portrait of him since he let me use his room and materials," Paulina had exined, feeling ufortable since she could tell there was more to the question, judging by her tone. "And what do you both talk about when you''re in there? Or don''t you talk to each other?" Alicia had asked curiously. "He... talks, and I listen." "Do you think he likes you?" Alicia had asked, making her snap her head up to look at her in horror. That was impossible. She could not even imagine it. She was a servant and he was from the royal family! How could he like someone like her? "He... doesn''t, Mdy." She said confidently, but lowered her head when Alicia''s scrutinizing gaze refused to leave her face. "What about you? You don''t like him as a man?" Alicia had further asked, but Paulina had been unable to respond to that question since she didn''t know what it meant to like a person as a man. It wasn''t like she could like him as a woman, could she? "Tsk. You''re so innocent and naive," Alicia said with a shake of her head when she realized that Paulina didn''t understand what she was talking about. "Make sure you let me know if he makes any advances on you, okay? I have to guide you as a big sister, so you don''t make any mistakes," Alicia had said before changing the subject and telling her about the trip she was nning for all five of them, making her very excited that she had thought about including her together with the other royal women. How was she ever going to repay her mistress for this love? Well, she had to start by keeping her lips sealed and making sure there was no slip up on her part. "Would you?" Williams repeated when Paulina didn''t respond to his question, pulling her out of her reverie. "Would you like to keeping here to paint with me?" He repeated when he noticed she wasn''t catching up with what he had asked earlier. "What... would I be painting?" Paulina asked with a slight frown. "You will be teaching me how to paint like you," Williams said. She shook her head immediately before bowing. "Milord, I... am not worthy to teach you. I believe... you can get any reputable painter of your choice to help you do that and not a lowly maid like me." He moved closer to her, making her want to step back, but she didn''t and remained rooted on the spot, but it was proving difficult when he continued to advance and stopped right in front of her. He reached for her chin with his hand and raised it so she could look up at his face. "Yes, I can get any painter of my choice. And I want you," he said while looking directly into her eyes. Paulina''s heartbeat skyrocketed as she kept eye contact with him. She could not keep up with it and shut her eyes, hoping he would go away. Thankfully, he let go of her chin and returned to his position. "Your heart beats really loudly," he noted. In panic, she pressed her hand to the left side of her chest, as if trying to stop it from beating while apologizing profusely. He looked at her in amusement before returning to his seat. After he sat down, he asked her, "So... what do you say?" Paulina was not sure if this was a good idea. She would like to ask her mistress first, but judging by Williams'' expression, he wanted an answer immediately. Coming to this painting room daily had saved her from all those difficult chores and hardships she usually endured since the other maids always looked down on her and hardly talked to her. It was better if she continued since he seemed like her only friend in this kingdom, and this was the only time she got to talk with him. He had also saved her life. The least she could do was do this. Right? "I will," she said in a very low voice that he almost missed, but he didn''t. Williams smiled and nodded as he said, "Good." With that, Paulina resumed the painting, and neither of them said a word until Williams broke the silence and asked cautiously, "If you had a chance to return to your kingdom, would you go?" Paulina paused and raised her head to look at him, wondering why he was asking her such a question again when she had already told him that she preferred to stay wherever her mistress was? Was there something he wanted to know? "No." "Why not?" "My mistress is happy here, and I want to stay here with her," Paulina responded. Williams'' brow arched when she said that. "She is happy here?" He asked, surprised. Considering that, like Susan, he thought Princess Amber wanted to be banished. "Yes," Paulina said with a nod. Even though her mistress kept insisting on running away, she knew that this was also the happiest she had seen her. Her mistress was full of life and more caring now than she could have said before they got here. "I see," Williams said to himself, causing her to look at him warily. His sudden interest in all this was beginning to make her suspicious. She decided she was going to tell her mistress about this so she would be sure what she was supposed to say. ********* Princess Luciana looked like she was reading a book, but in reality, she was lost in her thoughts. This morning, her personal maid informed her that the trio¡ªSusan, Amber, and Tyra¡ªhad spent the night together. Usually, she wasn''t the type to care about useless things like this, but hearing that piece of information made her heart feel heavy. What was it that she felt? Sadness? Loneliness? Jealousy? "What are you thinking about, Mdy?" Her maid asked behind her. "Is it all worth it?" She said more to herself than to her maid. The only person she had was her husband. The king didn''t favour her, the queen looked down on her. Tyra didn''t like her, and honestly, she didn''t like the girl either. Susan was even worse, and Prince Harold was, well, Prince Harold. Now, there was a new member in the family. Someone she was supposed to hate. How long was this whole thing going to continue? At this rate, she was never going to have a friend for the rest of her life. And the worst part of everything was that she had not been able to bear a child. If she had had a child, it would have been more bearable for her and maybe they wouldn''t all favour Alicia over her, right? With a heavy sigh, she turned around to leave the library and go find her husband tofort her. Unfortunately, he was with his mother. She had wanted to leave, but something kept her rooted in the spot, listening to their conversation. Chapter 118 Silly Misunderstanding Unedited. Alicia''s brows creased with annoyance when she walked into her chamber and saw her wet mattress. Who was the mad person that had decided to do something like this? How long was it going to take before the mattress got dry? Now she didn''t have a ce to stay or rest during the day until nighttime, when she would go to Harold''s chamber to pass the night. She reasoned irritably as she carried the chair from the dressing table and went to sit by her window, where she looked outside at the peopleing and going. Her heart skipped a beat when her thoughts drifted to her arrangement with Harold. After their agreement earlier, he had said that he didn''t want anyone to know that she was sleeping in his chamber, not even Paulina or Tyra. He had suggested that she leave her chamber shortly after the sound of the third bell and return to her chamber very early in the morning before anyone would notice anything. The question that gued her mind now was why? Why didn''t he want anyone to know about it? If, like she had assumed, he was doing it to quell some kind of rumors, then why didn''t he want people to know that they were sharing his chamber? Or did he perhaps have other ns? What exactly did he want from her? Why was it so important to him that she sleeps in his chamber if no one was to know of it? Did she need to be wary of him? Alicia paused her lips as she tried to understand what Harold was up to. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a sniffle, and she quickly looked behind her. There was no one in the room with her, so where had the sounde from? Was it outside the door? She wondered as she listened to see if she would hear it again, but everywhere was silent. Just as she returned her attention to the window, she heard the sniffle again, and this time she stood up and went to look outside the door. There was no one there. Her eyes darted across the room to where her bathroom was hidden behind a curtain, and she slowly approached it. Once she got there, she pulled open the curtain carefully, and she was surprised to see Princess Luciana seated inside the dry tub crying. "What is wrong?" Alicia asked as she quickly rushed inside and went to meet her. Luciana said nothing but shook her head as she kept trying to stop the tears which were flowing down her cheeks. "Did someone say something to you? Did anyone hurt you?" Alicia asked with a concerned frown as she patted Luciana''s back to console her, but it seemed to only make her cry the more. "Stop crying. Dry your tears and talk to me," Alicia pleaded as she used her hand to wipe Luciana''s tears. Once Luciana was able to calm herself, she looked into Alicia''s face, "I''m sorry I came here. I didn''t know anywhere else to go," Luciana said in a shaky voice, and Alicia''s heart broke for her. "You can alwayse here. My room will always be open to you," Alicia promised with a friendly smile. Although she had been suspicious of Luciana''s intentions from the first time they had spoken to each other, she had taken a liking to the girl and was really concerned about her. "Thank you," Luciana said as she tried to stand up, but Alicia put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Do you want to talk about why you were crying? Maybe I can help?" Alicia offered, and Luciana stared at her, wondering if it was a good idea to confide in her. "You can talk to me. I promise whatever you say will stay between us," Alicia encouraged her. Luciana drew in a deep breath, "I don''t have any friends here, and the only person who is close to me in the pce is my husband. I just heard... I heard him and the Queen talking. He wants to marry another girl." Luciana cried. ************ Alvin had noticed during their usual practice that Prince Harold was in a good mood. It wasn''t as if he was jumping with glee, but knowing him, Alvin could tell by the subtle changes in his mood that showed he was excited. As much as he was curious, he had decided not to ask. But he could guess that it had something to do with his bride, especially after seeing the two of them enter his room together earlier. Did it mean that his n had worked? He wondered to himself, feeling betrayed that Harold didn''t tell him anything when he had been doing a lot of thinking on how to get them together. After thinking about it for some time, he decided that he needed an exnation and was just about to go find Harold when someone appeared in front of him, taking him by surprise. He was even more surprised when he saw that it was Susan. The two of them had never had any reason to chat with each other before now. So why was she here? "Come with me," she said to him and turned to walk away without giving him the chance to say a word. Alvin looked at her in confusion but didn''t bother to move from where he stood. He didn''t answer to anyone apart from Harold, except for the King and Queen because, of course, he could not say no whenever the royal couple summoned him, and so far, only the king had summoned him. So why should he answer this girl? When Susan realized that he wasn''t following her, she stopped and turned around to look at him. She hadn''t thought that he was the type to be shy, considering how he looked so manly. So he was shy because she approached him first? Susan mused as she eyed him up and down with interest. It seemed like he hadn''t expected that his love interest would suddenly show up in front of him when he was used to looking at her from afar. "You must not have expected me to ever talk to you directly, right?" She asked as she returned to where he stood. "Yes, Mdy." He answered honestly with a curt bow. Susan was a little surprised that he answered honestly. She had thought he was going to deny it. Just how deep was his hidden affection for her? Meanwhile, Alvin was annoyed at her for rudely stopping him without going straight to the point. But he tried to keep a polite front as he waited for her to say what she was here for. But when she didn''t, he decided to get it done with and ask instead. "Can I ask why you wanted to see me?" ''He still can''t believe that I approached him,'' Susan thought to herself and sighed while tucking some strands of hair behind her hair. Although he was a fine man. Unfortunately, this thing was not going to work. "I''m sure you must be exhausted." "From what?" He asked in confusion. "The moving around. Spying on me." When she said that, she noticed how guilt shed in his eyes before they turned normal. She was an expert at studying people, so nothing went past her. So it was true indeed. He secretly loved her. Why did he have to punish himself like this? She looked at him pitifully. Alvin, on the other hand, was a little surprised that she had caught on that he was keeping his eyes on her. It wasn''t as if he hadn''t noticed that she had noticed him. But pointing it out to him this way was unexpected. "There seems to be a misunderstanding, Mdy. I was not spying on you." "Then you were looking at me? Watching me?" She asked. Alvin looked around him consciously before he answered, "I was not either. You must be mistaken. I¡ª" "It''s fine. I understand. You do not have to try to deny it. But all I can say is, it won''t work out. Save yourself the heartbreak and heartache now. You are good-looking and very manly. I''m sure you will meet someone who is good for you." "..." Alvin felt like he was missing something here. What was she talking about? What heartbreak? Meet someone good for him? Meet who? Was she talking about his friendship with Harold? ,m "Do you understand?" She asked in a concerned tone that made him even more confused. He just wanted to get away from her and go do something else, so he nodded and bowed. Susan looked at his bowed head with pity. She felt kind of bad for being this blunt with him, but it was what needed to be done. She was an aristocrat and was born to end up with an aristocrat. Same with every other aristocrat in the world. It was something that no one could change. Ever. Chapter 119 Room Service Luciana had never been heartbroken in her entire life. To think that she had been on her way to meet her husband forfort, only to be met with such heartbreak. For four good years, they had been married, but could not get a child. Sometimes, she felt her husband was pissed at her for not being able to give them a child, but he still continued to show her love even when the king and the queen didn''t. He held a special ce in her heart as her best friend and husband, but she was about to lose him as well. The painful part was that he seemed to be considering the decision because, without a child, taking over the throne would be difficult. The pain in her heart had brought her here to brood. She didn''t even know why she thought abouting here first. Maybe because she assumed she wouldn''t return here since it was left in a deste statest night and she didn''t even spend the night here. She wasn''t sure if telling her about this was a good idea, but she knew she would not be able to keep this within her. Still crying, she told her, while Alicia hugged her close and patted her back like a big sister. Alicia listened patiently as Luciana poured out her heart to her. Alicia felt sorry for the princess and angry at the unfair manner in which women were treated. Howe everyone was quick to assume that the woman was responsible for their inability to have a child and not the prince? Why wasn''t the woman also allowed to get another husband to see if she would conceive? The most annoying part of it was that the Queen, who was a woman and should have been more understanding, was the one advising her son to get another wife. Alicia was grateful for civilization and technology. She was d that she wasn''t from such an era and that now people were not only more knowledgeable about situations like this, but there was also a wide range of other methods for couples to try when having difficulty conceiving a child. She was even more d that women of her era wouldn''t hesitate to walk away from their marriages if their husbands decided to so much as insult them by getting another wife, unless, of course, it was by mutual agreement. "Don''t cry, darling. Your husband isn''t worth your tears, trust me. Everything will be fine," Alicia said as she patted Luciana''s back. She waited patiently until Luciana finally calmed down, and then she helped her clean her face. Once Luciana stopped crying, she didn''t know what else to do, so Alicia led her out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Alicia offered her the seat by the window while she stood there staring outside. "You shouldn''t me yourself. There are several factors that could have made it difficult for you two to have a baby. You never know, your husband may be the problem." Alicia said, making Luciana stare at her like she had just said something sphemous. "H-How... can my husband be¨C" "I know it may seem impossible for you to believe it. But that is the truth. Having a baby is the responsibility of the two parties involved. Why do you think you are the problem and not your husband?" Luciana still looked confused by this new knowledge, so Alicia decided to let it go for now and not confuse her tired brain. "You know, you can stop him from getting married to someone else if you want to," Alicia said, and Luciana looked at her doubtfully. "I can''t. As long as the queen is the one asking him to marry someone else, he will do it," Luciana said, knowing how much her husband fears and respects his mother. She was like his god. Alicia sighed and shook her head. "Listen, you have a choice to either stop him from marrying someone else or stop yourself from being hurt by his actions." "What can I do to stop being hurt by his actions?" Luciana asked hopefully and began to wonder why she seemed to trust her words when she was only newly married. "Get a life outside your husband. Stop making your world revolve around him," Alicia advised, and Luciana frowned in confusion. "How? What life?" "Start doing things that are not centered on pleasing your husband, but yourself. Do those things you like, and go to ces you please, but with the king''s permission, of course. Learn to do new things," Alicia advised, but the frown didn''t leave Luciana''s face. "What if I get thrown out of the pce? It would be shameful to return to my family," she said, and Alicia almost cried in frustration, but she reminded herself that this was probably one of her missions here; to emancipate these women from the mental and social bondage that had been imposed on them. "I can assure you that you won''t get thrown out. You will continue to y your wifely roles, but you will no longer treat your husband as if he is your Lord. It is left for him to try to figure out what changed and sit up, or lose your love and respect entirely. If he marries another woman, it will be his loss, not yours," Alicia assured her, and they both turned to the door when someone knocked. "Princess Amber, are you in?" Susan asked softly, and Alicia nced at Luciana to see if she was okay. "Yes, you cane in," Alicia said when Luciana gave her a nod. Susan walked into the chamber, and she was taken aback to see Luciana seated by the window. She didn''t understand the newfound friendship between the two, but it also wasn''t her business either. "Have you seen Princess Tyra? I''ve been searching for her all over the pce," Susan asked from the doorway, but Alicia shook her head. "No, I haven''t. Is there a problem?" She asked, noting the slight worry in Susan''s voice. "I just finished talking to him," Susan said in a dull voice as she approached them. "Him? Who?" Alicia asked in confusion. "Alvin." Susan mouthed to Alicia so that Luciana, who had her back to her, wouldn''t hear her. "Oh!" Alicia eximed in surprise since she hadn''t expected Susan to actually confront Alvin. "What did you say to him? What did he say?" Alicia asked curiously, and Susan nced at Luciana skeptically, wondering if she could speak freely in her presence without being summoned by the Queenter. Susan entered the room and closed the door behind her before carrying the small table inside the room beside the window so she could sit on it. p Susan looked at the table and up at Alicia''s face in confusion. Luciana also looked at the two and looked at the table, confused too. "Why are you two looking at me like that? Sit," Alicia said before offering the seat to Susan. "On... a table?" Susan asked in confusion. "Jeez! Can you all stop being too rigid?" She asked in frustration before sitting on it and tapping thest space for Susan to sit on. Susan sat down and was considering telling Alicia about Alvin in the presence of Luciana when someone knocked on the door again. "I think we''re finally going to have a girls'' time out," Alicia said in amusement, guessing it was Tyra as she went to open the door. Surprisingly, it wasn''t Tyra outside. A man stood in front of her while three maids were behind him, carrying trays of different delicacies, except for one maid who had a different tray with something else. She looked confused as she stared at them. "What is this for?" She asked in surprise. She hadn''t asked for room service. The four bowed at her before the man leading them spoke, "Prince Harold wanted us to serve you. We are not sure what you like, so we brought a variety. In addition," he turned to the maid with a different tray, who stepped forward with her head bowed. The man took the note and the brush from the tray before looking at Alicia, who had just been taken by surprise. "I need a list of the things you would like to eat, so we can get fresh ingredients for them outside the pce." "Whose others?" "Prince Harold''s." "Woah! I didn''t know Prince Harold had this side to him." Susan said, pleasantly surprised as she appeared beside Alicia to look at the four people. Luciana had also been listening in on the conversation too, so she stood up from her chair and went to the door, surprised to see this sight. She was even more surprised to see the head of the kitchen here in person. "May... we?" The head chef asked hesitantly since they were all blocking the door. "Oh, yeah. Thanks." Alicia said with a smile, feeling touched at the effort he was making for her. They had all skipped breakfast this morning, so she was certain the girls would also be interested in eating. Chapter 120 Practice Makes Perfect The head of the kitchen entered together with the three maids, who looked around in confusion, wondering why the room looked weird and smelled damp. Alicia showed them to the table where they dropped everything, and she looked at them in awe. How had Harold thought to send her all these? Seeing this, Luciana could not help but feel envious of her, and it brought her great sadness. For the four years since she had been married to Ivan, he had never done anything like this for her. "Can you give us the list of things you want now?" The man asked Alicia politely when the maids finished serving the meal. Alicia''s face lit up as she thought of all the yummy things she had avoided eating because she was watching her weight. Well, this wasn''t her body, so she was free to eat as much as she wanted now without fear of weight gain. "Oh, yeah! Sure. I want to make pizza, burgers, pasta, Oh! Add smoothies to the list. You have no idea how much I''ve missed that. I''d like to also make¡ª Oh... Sorry," she stopped when she noticed the confusion on all their faces. Why did she always forget that she was the most civilized person in this era? Who knows? Perhaps if she seeded in making pizza and burgers in this era, her name would be written in history as the first person ever to make a delicacy like that. "You know what? Just leave this note here, and I will write them down and return it to youter." "Uhm... I can''t. This note is... it is kitchen property." The man exined ufortably, not wanting to annoy her. "I see. No worries, then. You can leave with the kitchen note. I will write them down and bring them over to the kitchen myself so that we can review the list and see what items you can get and which ones we would have to find alternatives for." "I will be waiting, mydy," the man repliedwith a bow. "By the way, when can I use the kitchen?" She asked, surprising the others in the room. "You want to use the kitchen?" Susan asked in surprise. Alicia nodded like it was something normal."You can join me if you want. I will be delighted to show you a few kitchen tricks," She said, winking at them before facing the man. "If we are able to get all the ingredients you need by tomorrow, then you can use the kitchen in two days," the man said, and Alicia smiled broadly. "That''s cool! Thank you so much." She said politely to the four people who bowed to her before leaving. "Prince Harold is aware that you want to go into the kitchen to cook?" Luciana asked with a deep frown, wondering what was happening and why it seemed like Alicia was doing the opposite of all that they were supposed to be doing, yet her husband was treating her so nicely. Alicia smiled, "Yes." "And he allowed you?" She asked incredulously. Seeing the surprise on her face, Alicia decided that it would be a bad idea to tell them that Harold had actually been the one to suggest that she go into the kitchen to make her own food. They would probably die of shock that her husband was helping her rebel. What a sweet man she was married to. I mean, sweet man Amber was married to. "I''m going into the kitchen to fix something that suits my taste. What is so wrong with that?" Alicia asked and then looked at Susan thoughtfully, "Can you cook?" Susan shook her head, "Why do I need to when we have servants to do things like that?" Susan asked, and Alicia shook her head. "Cooking is a basic survival skill that every adult should learn. So what happens if your servants choose to go on strike and refuse to cook? You will die of starvation," Alicia said, and both Luciana and Susan exchanged looks. "They can''t refuse to cook. If they do, they will be punished," Luciana said, and Alicia decided to give up the debate. It was their choice. They could do whatever they wanted. "You both can start eating before the food gets cold. I need to go look for Paulina. I''m sure she must be hungry. I will also see if I can find Tyra." "Why do you care about Paulina so much?" Luciana could not help but ask. It''s not that she had a bad rtionship with her personal maid, but she didn''t have such a close rtionship with her either that she would go to all this length to look for her to feed her. That was just so strange and... improper. "What do you mean? Paulina is my friend so I care about her," Alicia said matter of factly. "Your friend? She can''t be your friend. She is a maid." Susan reminded her. "That is where you are wrong, darling. She can be anything to me that I want her to be. As a matter of fact, I don''t just see Paulina as my friend. I also see her as my younger sister, and as much as she cares for me and my welfare, I will do my best always to protect her." "Uhm... I''m not sure I can eat at the same table as a maid," Luciana said with a slight frown. "Well then. Practice makes perfect. Come on," she linked her arms with Susan''s and Luciana''s, standing in the middle of the twodies. "Where are we going to?" Susan asked in confusion. "Let''s go find our personal assistants and give them a treat today. You are eventually going to see that there is nothing wrong with treating them with as much care as they show us." Alicia said, dragging thedies to the door. "I can not do that," Luciana protested with a shake of her head. They had a ss structure here that could never be changed for anything. Maids were maids. Princesses were princesses. "I''m sure Paulina is in the painting room with Williams. If she is with him, then I''m sure she isn''t hungry," Susan said as she dragged them out of the room. Change wouldn''te to these ones in a day. Maybe she needed to take it one day at a time by pushing them to take baby steps, "Okay, they won''t eat with us. But each of you will give a piece of snack to your maid, agreed?" She asked, looking from one to the other. Luciana shrugged. That was something that she could do. Susan gave her a nod, and Alicia smiled at them. She was sure that when they saw how much joy their kind gesture would give their servants, they would be more willing to eat with them. "Okay then, let''s find Tyra." Fortunately, they saw Tyra walking down the passageway even before she finished speaking. "We were justing to find you," Alicia said with a wide smile. "I was looking all over for you," Susan told her. Tyra looked at the three, confused, wondering why they were looking for her and why Luciana was with them. "I was feeling sick, so I went to see the royal physician." Alicia looked at her closely and noticed she looked pale. She wondered what was wrong with Tyra. Several times, she wanted to ask about Tyra''s rtionship with the rest of the family, but she didn''t know how to bring up such a sensitive issue. Judging by how Tyra had said she didn''t like Luciana reporting every detail to her husband and the queen, Alicia could only tell that there was a kind of strain in their rtionship because even Tyra and the Queen never rted much like mother and daughter. She wondered why. "What did he say was wrong? How do you feel now?" Alicia asked in concern as she stepped forward to feel Tyra''s temperature. "I feel better. He gave me medicine. So now that you have seen me, where are you heading?" She asked and looked at the three one more time. "Prince Harold brought her breakfast!" Susan said excitedly, cutting Alicia off. "He did?" Tyra asked, surprised. "Well, he didn''te with the food, but he sent the head chef and some kitchen servants. They brought a variety of dishes for her. Can you believe it? Who thought Prince Harold was such a romantic?" Susan asked with a wide smile. "Stop being dramatic," Alicia said with an embarrassed smile as she looked at Tyra, who seemed very surprised. It seemed like thest thing she had expected Harold to do. "Wow! That is great! I see you are both getting along very well," Tyra said, smiling. "Yeah, we are learning to," Alicia said as she led all of them back inside, but paused outside her door when something urred to her. "My room is still a mess, and there is not enough space for all of us to sit down to eat," she said, looking at Tyra hopefully. "What is wrong?" Tyra asked, and Alicia smiled. "Why don''t we move the food to your chamber?" Chapter 121 Go Find Her Unedited Harold stood by his window with a satisfied smile on his face as he thought about how happy Alicia would be when she received the meal he had sent to her. He couldn''t wait for night toe so that they would share his chamber. Although he didn''t like having people in his space, he looked forward to having her in his chamber. He turned around to look around the chamber, and even though the ce was squeaky clean already, he decided to tidy it up some more so that she would be veryfortable staying there. There was a single knock on the door, and then it was pushed open, "What are you doing?" Alvin asked when he noticed Harold straightening the bed. "Why are you here?" Harold asked, turning to look at Alvin. Alvin cleared his throat, "I wanted to know if my n worked," Alvin said, and Harold scoffed. That horrible n of his? How could he think that it would work on his smart wife? "It didn''t." "So why were you so happy?" He asked suspiciously, and Harold raised a brow. "When did you see me happy?" "I know you have been in a good mood all morning. Why?" "Who said I''m in a good mood?" Harold asked again, and Alvin shook his head. "The way you''re answering my question right now proves that you''re in a good mood. Did she agree to sleep in your chamber?" Alvin asked curiously as he looked around the chamber, and then his eyes narrowed when he noticed that the chamber was squeaky clean. Although Harold was a very neat person, but he never allowed the maids into his chamber. The only person he let in to clean his chamber was Alvin, so seeing it looking this neat and knowing that he wasn''t the one who did it made him suspicious. "Did you clean your chamber all by yourself?" Alvin asked in disbelief. "Did youe in here only to question me?" Harold asked, and Alvin sighed. It was obvious that Harold didn''t want to answer any of his questions, but at least seeing the state of Harold''s chamber was all he needed to know that Princess Amber was spending the night with him, and that was responsible for his happy mood. Alvin cleared his throat, "Lady Susan approached me earlier," he said instead, and that got Harold''s attention. "Susan? Why?" "She knows I''ve been spying on her," Alvin said, sounding slightly embarrassed, and Harold raised a brow. "If she noticed you spying on her, am I to assume that everyone else you have been spying on is also aware?" Harold asked, displeased that he wasn''t doing a good job. "No, your highness. Forgive me," Alvin said with a bow. "What did she say?" Harold asked, wanting to know if the queen was probably now aware that he was spying on her niece. "She didn''t say anything that made sense. She only said, ''I understand. You do not have to try to deny it. But all I can say is, it won''t work out. Save yourself the heartbreak and heartache now. You are good-looking and very manly. I''m sure you will meet someone good for you''. Does it make sense?" Alvin asked after repeating word for word everything Susan had said. He had been reying their entire conversation in his head ever since she left, but the more he tried to understand what she meant, the more confused he became. Harold thought about it for a moment, and his lips twitched in amusement when he realized what had happened. "What did you tell her?" Harold asked curiously. "I didn''t understand what she said, so I just told her that I understood so that she would leave me alone," Alvin exined, and Harold chuckled, surprising Alvin, who didn''t understand what was amusing Harold. As long as that was what Susan was thinking, then it was okay. She wouldn''t report it to the queen if she thought Alvin was watching her because he was interested in her, but she wouldn''t hesitate to report him to the queen if she knew the truth. "Have you found out anything new?" Harold asked, and Alvin looked at him in confusion. "No. Nothing new. Did you understand what she meant?" Alvin asked, wondering why Harold changed the subject. Harold was very tempted to lie to Alvin, but their rtionship was built on trust, so he couldn''t lie to him, "She thinks that you fancy her," Harold said and chuckled when Alvin''s jaw dropped in disbelief. Alvin frowned not liking that Susan thought he liked her. Now that Alvin said it, her words began to make sense to him. He almost facepalmed himself when he realized that he had unknowingly confirmed her wrong suspicions. Now he wished he had not been quick to say h understood her. He couldn''t believe that she had rejected him when he didn''t even like her to begin with. "Don''t let it bother you. It is better she thinks that way than she knows you were actually spying on her," Harold said, as though that was supposed to make Alvin feel better. "I didn''t find anything on her. Should I keep following her?" Alvin asked, and Harold looked at him like he was crazy. "How did you expect to find something on someone who knew that you were following her? There is no need to follow her anymore. Just let her be," Harold said, waving Alvin off. "Go find her and tell her to meet me at the stable soon," Harold instructed. Alvin knew the ''her'' he was referring to was Princess Amber, so he didn''t bother to ask. "The stable? Are we going somewhere?" Alvin asked curiously. ? "No. She wants me to teach her how to make Hellion like her," Harold said, and Alvin looked at him incredulously. "You want to do that?" "Yes. In exchange, she will sleep in my chamber for seven days," Harold said in a tone that told Alvin that he was proud of himself for striking such a bargain. So that was why he was in such a good mood? Interesting. "Seven days? Will you keep sharing your chamber with her even if it doesn''t work?" Alvin asked curiously, and Harold shrugged. "I will let her sleep here alone if it doesn''t work. After all, you ruined her chamber," Harold said usingly, and Alvin looked at him in disbelief once again. "You wanted me to..." "I didn''t ask you to ruin her chamber," Harold cut in, and Alvin shook his head. His poor heart couldn''t take Harold''s betrayal and ingratitude anymore. "Is there something else you want me to do for you?" Alvin asked, ready to leave Harold alone. "Just do as I said. Ask her to meet me at the stable," Harold repeated, and Alvin bowed to him before leaving. Meanwhile, away from there in Tyra''s chamber, thedies were having a good time as they ate while Susan told them how she had confronted Alvin and his response. "He didn''t deny it?" Alicia asked in surprise, and Susan shook her head. "I felt sorry for him though," Susan said with a sigh. "Aww. Don''t worry. I''m sure he will be fine," Alicia said as she chewed on a piece of meat. "You are not going to report to your Prince Ivan or the queen, are you?" Susan asked Luciana. "I won''t." "What happens in this room, stays in this room," Alicia said with a wide smile. "Can you tell us your secret?" Tyra asked Alicia with an innocent smile as she ate. "What secret?" Alicia asked curiously. "I''m curious to know why Prince Harold treats this way. Is there something you did to win his favor?" Tyra asked, and both Susan and Luciana looked at Alicia curiously, wanting to know what her secret was. If it worked for a cold man like Prince Harold, then it would work for any man, so they needed it. Alicia giggled, "There is no secret. I''m just myself," Alicia said, and they all looked at her doubtfully. "Have you ever shared a room with him?" Susan asked, even though they all knew that it was impossible for Harold to spend the night with her because of the curse. They had all heard about her episode with Harold at the pavilion when he had held her like he wanted to kiss her, so just maybe Harold was being nice to her because he desired her. Alicia remembered Harold''s request to her the previous night and that morning about not telling anyone that they had spent the night together. She shook her head, "You asked me a simr questionst night, didn''t you? We don''t have that kind of rtionship." Before anyone else could ask any more questions or say anything, Alicia decided to change the subject, "So now that we are done eating, how about we all pick a piece of snack for our personal maids?" Alicia suggested, and the others eyed the tray, "It isn''t a big deal, trust me. This should be our little way of telling them we appreciate what they do for us," Alicia exined, and they all reluctantly picked a piece of snack. "Now let''s go," Alicia said as she picked a snack too, and they all headed for the door. Chapter 122 Big Baby Unedited. Alvin was torn between approaching Princess Amber and telling her that the prince demanded her audience, but on the other hand, he didn''t want to approach because of the people she was with. Especially Susan. How on earth had shee to the conclusion that he liked her? Unfortunately for him, he looked like a dejected man in love to Tyra, who noticed him lurking around and signaled to the otherdies. They all turned to look at him, startling him when he suddenly found four pairs of eyes looking back at him. He had never been so confused in his entire life. He turned around, making to leave, but turned back when he remembered prince Harold was waiting for his wife. Alicia looked at him with pity. To her, Alvin looked like he wanted to avoid Susan because he could not bear to see her after she just rejected him a little while ago. It must be hard on him. She felt like giving each of them a warm hug because they all seemed to be going through one problem or the other. As the big sister, she decided to approach the confused-looking Alvin, who was grateful for that. She was about to ask him if he was okay when he blurted out, "Prince Harold is waiting for you at the stables." "Really? So soon?" She asked, surprised. She was d she was dealing with a reasonable person and not someone who went back on his words after making promises. Seeing how he was keeping to his end of the deal, she figured she had to do the same. "Give me a second," she said before returning to where thedies stood. "I''m sorry, but I have to go join Ha¡ª Prince Harold now. You three can go on and do this without me. And make sure to inform me about how it goes, okay?" The three seemed reluctant to let her go, but they didn''t want to go against Harold so they agreed. As soon as Alicia left with Alvin, it became very awkward between the three and the one who felt it the most was Luciana since she knew she was the odd one out. "You two can go ahead. I will just return to my chamber," she said with a forced smile and didn''t wait for them to say a word before she turned around and left with the smile nowhere to be found. It was only now that she remembered all of her problems. How was she able to forget that these past few hours? "Is something wrong with her?" Tyra asked Susan. "I have no idea. I met her in Amber''s bedroom. I think she cried." "I... am not sure I amfortable with her being around us all the time. I don''t know if I can trust her," Tyra said, looking very worried. Susan threw a hand over her shoulder like a protective big sister and said, "You don''t have to worry too much. Even if she has an ulterior motive, pushing her away is only going to make things worse. We should just try to be mindful of the manner of things we say around her." Tyra looked at her and smiled before nodding. "I guess that works too." Away from there, as Alicia followed Alvin, she wondered whether or not to ask him about how he was truly feeling. She had never been heartbroken before so she had no idea how he must be feeling and what to say to make him feel better. When Alvin''s footsteps slowed, she hurried to stand in front of him and looked at him with sympathy. Alvin, who had just been thinking about something that could get him killed, was caught off guard by her sudden appearance in front of him. It had scared him, thinking someone had heard his thoughts about getting rid of Susan. "I do not exactly understand how you feel, but I know it''s going to get better. If you want to talk to someone, I am here for you. And I know that your friend will also do his best tofort you." "..." Okay... so what was she talking about? "Is this the stables?" Harold asked with a straight face but it was obvious he was annoyed. He looked at Alvin and then at Alicia before his eyes went to Alvin again, who quickly noticed the close proximity between him and the princess and he quickly stepped backwards. Harold eyed him before moving his attention to Alicia. "You arete." He said. "I''m sorry, Prince, I was caught up doing something else." "What was that?" He asked, trying to hide his distaste. He was waiting for her here and even thinking as soon as she was here, she would shower him with praises for being considerate and sending her meals but she was busy with something else? And instead of eagerlying to him, she chose to chat with Alvin instead. "I... will take my leave now," Alvin said and bowed to the two before he quickly disappeared. He didn''t need anyone to tell him that Harold was not in a good mood right now. "My prince, I am sorry for keeping you waiting. I was having brunch with the other royal maidens. You are such a sweetheart," she gave him two thumbs up and smiled, showing her teeth. He eyed her and huffed before he turned around, heading to the stables. "Come on, don''t be mad at me," she said while running after him. "Have you had breakfast?" "Do not talk to me." Alicia looked at his back in confusion, wondering why he was throwing a tantrum right now. For some reason, it always seemed funny whenever he behaved this way because it made him look like a big baby when his body build was anything but that. "What did I do wrong?" She asked, running to stand beside him. When he refused to stop, she grabbed his arm and held it to her body tightly. That seemed to get his attention and he stopped walking to re at her. "You are only nice to me because you want me to help you," it was after he said it to her in a bitter tone that he realized how dramatic he sounded. "What? When did I do that?" He gave her a look that said, ''Seriously now?'' "Seriously, I don''t know what you are talking about." She said innocently. "You are polite today." He pointed out. "That''s not you." "What?" "You apologized, thanked me and even addressed me with respect. It''s because you are trying to not make me change my mind." He said to her in an unpleasant tone before he turned and continued walking ahead. She frowned at his back, wondering if that was true. To arge extent, it was true. And the thing was that she had done it all unconsciously. Harold felt a bitter taste in his mouth at the thought of being used. Why did that even bother him? They had a deal and were both going to keep to their end of the deal so it didn''t matter if she tried to be nice or not. "That was not intentional. I thought you''ve always wanted me to stop calling you by your name." She said after sessfully meeting up with his pace but he ignored her. She sighed, feeling exhausted. It was so difficult being the mature one among all of them. They arrived at a clear field with a wooden fence. Hellion was right there, tied to a Boulder. She had been so excited to see the horse, but now that she was here, she was kind of scared, as the image from the previous time shed before her eyes and she remembered how scared she had been, dangling from the horse. Harold looked down at her and could guess what she was thinking, seeing that look on her face. He remembered how she had cried that day after he saved her from Hellion. He had to admit that she was a brave woman. To think she was still interested in meeting the horse wasmendable. "What are you waiting for? Go greet the horse," he urged her, trying to sound annoyed. "You go first." She said hesitantly. "Now you are scared?" He asked in a mocking tone. ''I am.'' She said in her head. But she didn''t want to be the loser now. She had been confident about getting Hellion to like her and she was going to seed no matter what. She twisted her neck to both sides until they popped and linked her fingers together, bending them until they cracked. With a determined look, she smirked at Hellion before marching forward but she stopped and turned back to look at Harold, who was just standing there and watching her. "Why are you still standing there? Come lead the way," she used her head to gesture for him toe over while he tried not tough. "You were doing all that just now just to ask me to still lead you there?" He shook his head and decided to just follow her. Chapter 123 Day 1 With Hellion Alicia followed Harold as they walked towards Hellion. She didn''t know what to expect from the horse, but since Harold was there with her, she felt safe and confident that he wouldn''t allow any harm toe to her. Harold walked within the line of Hellion''s vision so as not to spook the horse, and after circling for some time, he finally walked towards it from the side, "Avoid eye contact," Harold told her quietly as they approached. Although she wanted to ask him why, she was too focused on the task ahead to do so, and she also didn''t know if it was a good time to speak, seeing how Harold was speaking so quietly. She made a mental note to askter. "Hold out your hand," Harold instructed once they got very close to the horse, and Alicia turned her questioning eyes on him. "Why?" She asked in a barely audible voice. What if the horse bites her or does something to her hand. "He needs to sniff you and decide whether or not he can trust you," Harold said, and she looked at him for a moment before hesitantly holding out her hand to Hellion. Hellion looked from her hand to Harold and then back to her again, but itpletely ignored her hand and just walked away from there as though it didn''t want to be disturbed. "What is wrong?" Alicia asked with a slight frown. "Nothing," Harold said as he walked over to where Hellion now stood. He wasn''t sure if it was the right time to tell her that, just like her, no one had been able to ride the horse or control it. The animal was still unbroken. If he told her the truth that there was nothing she could ever do to make Hellion like her, then she would realize that he wouldn''t be able to help her get the horse to like her, and then she would want to call off their deal. "So why did it walk away from us?" Alicia asked, following him. "Because he doesn''t trust you yet." "Maybe we should havee with snacks. What snacks does Hellion like to eat?" Alicia asked curiously. "Apples and carrots. But you can''t feed him yet. He has to trust you first," Harold said, and Alicia gave him a nod as she made a note of it. She was just going to bring apples and carrots with her the next time she visited Hellion. "Let''s go," Harold said, and Alicia frowned. "Just like that? We haven''t even done anything yet. You didn''t even introduce me to him," Alicia said with displeasure. "It''s one day at a time. When ites to dealing with horses, you can''t rush the process," Harold said in a very calm tone, as though he was teaching a child. Alicia''s mood dampened as she thought about wasting her time today. Why was the horse being so difficult? If this was a novel or movie and she was the protagonist, the horse would have immediately taken a liking to her, shocking everybody. This was why she preferred web novels to reality most of the time. "Fine. Whatever," she said as she turned to walk away. Harold noticed the change in her mood and followed her. For some reason, he wished he could do something about it to make Hellion like her. But that was impossible. Besides, if Hellion did, then she would have had a means of escape, and he didn''t want that. She stopped walking abruptly and turned to look at him as she said seriously, "By the end of the seven days, Hellion has to like me," she said, and Harold gave her a nod, looking like he was seriously rooting for her to achieve that goal when he was not. It wasn''t like he could tell her otherwise anyway. By the end of the seven days, she would have also spent seven nights with him, so even if she got angry that the horse didn''t like her, he could just say it wasn''t his fault. He had fulfilled his end of the deal by taking her to see the horse every day and trying to make the horse like her, but at the end of the day, it was up to Hellion to decide whether or not to like her. When she returned to her sulking mood, he decided to lift her spirit and said, "Have you made up your mind on the day you want to go to the market ce?" That seemed to get her attention, and she turned to look at him suspiciously. Why was he suddenly suggesting it? Usually, she was the one to suggest it while he turned her down. "When is the appropriate time to go? Like... a time when it''s fun outside. What''s your most anticipated festival?" She asked curiously. He thought about it for a moment before he shrugged. "There is usually a festival to celebrate the king''s birthday. It''s the biggest asion in this kingdom. Everyone celebrates it. So the town is very colorful, with many visitors from other kingdoms. Themoners can also disy their talents and skills, and the best that pleases the king gets favored by him." ''You are saying a lot at the same time.'' His wolf said, sounding tired as if he was the one doing all the talking. ''You are not needed here.'' Harold replied, shutting him up. ''I feel so neglected.'' Harold ignored him and focused on Alicia, who was deep in thought. He tried to break into her head again, but it was as if she was bent on not letting him, because she immediately looked at him and asked, "How does that work? The ''favored by the king'' part." "It''s exactly as it implies." "Do they get paid? Have a business set up for them? Something like that?" She asked curiously. He wondered why she was asking and shook his head. "They just receiveacknowledgement from the King. And if the king requires such service another time, he sends for them." She frowned. "So they do not get paid?" "What is more important than getting favored by the king?" "Getting paid, obviously!" She said, almostughing. "This should be around the time of the feudal lords and serfs. I guess I need not be surprised by such capitalism. No, this is even worse than capitalism." He looked at her in confusion, not understanding what she was saying and, most importantly, wondering why she sounded like they were doing something wrong. "I think I''m going to suggest to the king to set them up. You know, the winner should have a business set up for them or be given enough mary reward to set up a business of their own." Harold''s brow furrowed as he thought about it. That sounded like it made sense. "Imagine if that works and Paulina wins with her painting! That''s going to be so exciting. She would probably be the first female merchant in this era! I cannot wait to see that happen." She said excitedly. "What about you? Don''t you have any skills to disy on that day?" "Nah!" She waved it off. He nodded, knowing she had no skills to disy in the first ce. So she''d better save them both the embarrassment. "I don''t want to reduce the other people''s chances by joining. Because if I decide to join, I''ll take the prize home." She said confidently, making himugh out loud before he straightened up. Why did he forget he was dealing with her? "You justughed out loud," she said with a surprised smile. "I did not." "Yes, you did." "I did not. I don''tugh." "Yes, you do, and you did. So when is this festival going to take ce? I need to tell Paulina to get ready for it," she said, not giving him any room to deny it anymore. "It already happened this year. It won''t be until next year." "That''s good. She has enough time to prepare. Let''s monitor her painting together until then, hmm?" He kept eye contact with her, wondering if she knew what she was saying. Wasn''t she nning to run away? When it looked like she was still waiting for him to answer, he nodded. Harold felt hesitant to let her go as they returned to the pce, so he cleared his throat and spoke again, "How well can you use a bow and arrow?" He asked, thinking that this was probably the right time to start training her to be as strong as, or even stronger thanAmber. "Bows and arrows are outdated where Ie from. We prefer to use guns." "What are those?" "It''s going to take a while to exin it. Remind me tonight. I''ll also make a drawing of it." "Regardless of that, you need to learn how to use bows and arrows now that you are here. Come with me," he said, wanting to lead her out of the pce again, but Alicia stopped him when she remembered her brief conversation with Tyra. Tyra had told her about her training with Harold and how he didn''t seem to have the time for her anymore. She thought it would be best if Tyra came with them. That way, he can teach the two of them at the same time. She was eager to shoot an arrow. "Let''s find Tyra first," she suggested, but Harold frowned, wondering why she wanted to bring a crowd. "I cannot teach two people at the same time." He said before pulling her along with him. Chapter 124 Mesmerizing... Unedited. As soon as Alicia and Harold got to the shooting range, every other person disappeared, even the bodyguards who were supposed to stand guard. None of them wanted to be used as the shooting target for prince Harold to impress his wife. Seeing how he was acting these days, they wouldn''t be surprised if he decided to use one of them as targets to show his wife that he could perfectly strike their eyeballs or foreheads. Oblivious to the people fleeing, Alicia looked around, amazed at how simr it was to the ones she usually saw on movies, "Wow!" She eximed as she turned around while Harold just stared at her. Alvin joined them, carrying Harold''s bow and arrows, and once Harold red at him, he dropped the items and disappeared, but only after Alicia sighted him. "Are you ready to begin?" He asked as he took a tiny piece of towel to where she stood. Alicia stood with her back to Harold while she continued to look ahead of her in the direction Alvin had followed, "I feel so sorry for Alvin," she said with a sigh, making Harold''s brows to pull together in displeasure. "What do you think I can do to make him feel better?" Alicia asked thoughtfully, oblivious to Harold''s annoyance at the way she was talking about another man. "Why are you not saying anything?" She asked as she turned around to look at Harold. "Are you ready to begin?" Harold asked, ignoring everything else she had said, and she raised a brow. "He told you about it, didn''t he?" Alicia asked, and Harold looked at her in confusion. "Don''t be too hard on him. I know that you''re hardened, but not everyone is like you. We can''t choose how we feel about people, or who we fall in love with," Alicia continued. Harold clenched his jaw as he tried to process what she was saying. First she was feeling sorry for him, and now she wanted to help him feel better. Now she was talking about love. Was she... "HAROLD!" She yelled, snapping a finger in front of him, and he snapped out of his thoughts. "What?" He asked with a scowl. "You were not paying attention. What are you thinking about?" She asked, but Harold just eyed her in annoyance. "Let''s start your training. We don''t have all day," Harold said, and Alicia rolled her eyes. "Fine." "Good. Now give me your hands," he said as he stopped in front of her. Absentmindedly, she offered him her hands while she looked down at the set bow and arrows, "Are those yours?" "Yes," Harold said as he looked down at her small hand. He often forgot that she was a fragile human because of how she paraded around the ce with so much boldness and confidence. It wasn''t until she felt him wrapping something around her palm that she looked down and saw what he was doing. "This is to prevent injuries and calluses," He said with his gaze on her hand before she could ask. Alicia looked up at him and smiled warmly. He looked at her face before he averted his gaze and stepped away from her. Wondering what was making her smile. "Thank you," She said honestly. "For what?" "I don''t know... for everything. And for being thoughtful to send me breakfast." He almost snorted. "You have a nasty attitude when you are hungry. I was just saving everyone." "Who? Me? Of course, not! I am sweet at all times," as soon as she said the words, she remembered the other day Harold had stood her up at lunch time and how she had called him all sorts of names to vent. She quickly shook the memory out of her head. That was different. "You seem to recall something," He noted with a smirk. "What? Me? Of course, not! Let''s just practice. It looks like it may rain soon," She said, smoothly changing the topic. He knew that she was trying to change the topic, so he simply shook his head before offering her the bow and arrow. She looked at it thoughtfully and tried to use it like she had seen in movies, but she couldn''t get the hang of it. Every time she tried to nock the arrow, it fell off the bow. Harold continued to observe her, confirming what he already knew that she didn''t know how to use the bow and arrow. Every time she had done something spectacr, it was usually when she was defensive. The time she stabbed him and the time she fought with those bandits were a perfect example. Was Amber still hiding somewhere inside that body? He hoped not. "I thought you were here to teach me, not just to stand and watch me make a fool of myself. How do I use this?" She turned to ask him in embarrassment when she kept missing it. She couldn''t even hold the bow properly, talk more of aiming at a target. "Alright. Let''s start by teaching you how to stand correctly," Harold said as he moved closer to her. Meanwhile, not far away from there, once Susan and Tyra were done giving out the snacks to their personal maids as Alicia had suggested they do, they decided to stop by the shooting range since they had heard that prince Harold had taken his wife to there. Tyra was the first to notice them and she stopped in her track. Susan wondered why Tyra suddenly stopped and also looked ahead, only to be met with a romantic scene that made her blink in surprise. Harold was standing behind Alicia with the back of her head firmly pressed against his chest, while he used his hands to guide hers on how to hold the arrow. She looked so tiny in his arms that Susan suddenly wanted to marry an alpha as big as Harold. "Don''t be impatient. You will eventually understand how to do this," Harold said to her patiently, causing Tyra''s lips to arch downwards. "He is not that gentle when he teaches me." She mumbled. "That is because you are not his wife. Hehehe," Susan said as they continued to watch them. "But it''s not working! Maybe it''s because the bow is too big? I need a smaller one tailored for me. Something custom-made," Alicia said, and Harold snorted. "The bow is not too big. Tyra practiced with these bows and she did well. Besides, tailors don''t make bows," he said, and Alicia scowled as she turned her head to look at him, wanting to exined what custom-made means, but her mouth suddenly went dry when she raised her head and he looked down at her. Her heart skipped a beat when she met his gaze. She had been so focused on the training that she hadn''t realized that she was standing so close to him with her back pressed so closely against his body that she could feel the heat emanating from his body. Alicia could no longer remember what she had nned to say. And although she knew that it was best to move away from him, she couldn''t bring herself to move. It was as though her feet were nted to that spot, and even though her neck was already beginning to ache because of how she was craning it to look at him, she couldn''t look away from his gaze either. Howe he was this mesmerizing upclose? It had to be a crime. He could hear how fast her heart was beating, and although he couldn''t tell why, it was affecting his own heart rate too. "I think they''re going to kiss. Let''s give them privacy before he smells our presence," Susan suggested excitedly as she pulled Tyra with her away from there. Harold was startled when he suddenly heard Susan''s faint voice, and he wondered how he had been so distracted to not have noticed or smelled Susan''s presence. His gaze moved to the corner where he saw as both girls disappeared from view. As though she had been released from a spell, Alicia looked away from Harold and quickly moved away from him, putting some distance between them. "I know that tailors don''t make bows," Alicia muttered under her breath without looking at him, silently cussing herself for whatever it was that had happened just now. "Let''s try again," Harold suggested, and Alicia nodded as she picked an arrow and nocked it as he had taught her to. "Aim... Shoot!" Harold ordered, and she released the arrow immediately, expecting to get a perfect shot now that she had perfected her stance and how to nock her arrow, but unfortunately, that didn''t happen. The arrow barely made it halfway to the target before hitting the ground. "For fuck''s sake!" Alicia hissed angrily as she reached for another arrow, but Harold ced a hand over hers to stop her. "You did well for your first lesson. We can continue tomorrow." He said calmly. "What? But I haven''t even mastered how to make a good shot yet," Alicia protested, as she turned to look at him. "You didn''t ask me to teach you, remember? I chose to teach you, so I can choose to end the ss when I think you have practiced enough. And right now I think you have learnt enough for one day," Harold said, his voice getting thicker as he looked at her. Hearing how husky his voice was beginning to sound, Alicia decided that it was probably a good idea to call it a day. She looked down at his hand on top of hers and he followed her gaze. She waited for him to remove his hand but he just left it there like that was the perfect ce to keep it. She pulled her hand away from his as she muttered a silent "Thank you" to him. Well... this was bing weirder. She thought to herself. Chapter 125 Book Of Life Luciana walked into the chamber she shared with her husband, and she found him seated there, having a snack and drinking wine. "I''m d you are here now, my love. I have been starving and was waiting for you to ask the maids to bring us something to eat. Where have you been?" Her first thought was to ask him to go tell his mother to get him food, or better still, go ask the wife he was nning to get. But she knew better than to say something like that. A day ago, she would have excitedly gone to sit down beside him, and by now, she would have asked the maids to serve them brunch in their chamber. But after hearing the conversation he had with the queen earlier while he was here pretending like all was fine, she felt her insides boil with anger. She was also annoyed because Prince Harold had sent the royal head chef to his wife to serve her while Ivan was eating without providing something for her, while also waiting for her to ask the maids to serve them. Had she always been this ignorant? Or was she just stupid? "Where were you earlier? I searched all over for you," She asked calmly as she went to sit on the chair next to him, ignoring his question. "I was with my mother," Ivan said without much concern as he sipped from his wine. "What were you both talking about?" Luciana asked conversationally, and immediately Ivan red at her. "I said I''m hungry, or didn''t you hear me? Why are you asking me such a question when you should be sending the maids to get us something to eat?" He barked at her. Luciana flinched before standing up, "I''m not hungry. I''ve had something to eat already, but I will..." "What? You ate without me? When? Why?" Ivan asked, shocked and livid that while he had been waiting for her, she had eaten without him. "Yes. I ate already with Princess Amber, Princess Tyra, and Lady Susan," Luciana said, satisfied with the shock and anger she saw on his face. Princess Amber had been right. The only way she could live with what her husband and the queen were nning to do was to start living for herself. "Without me? You ate without thinking about me whether or not I''ve eaten?" Luciana was tempted to tell him that he had also been in here eating his snacks without bothering to find her to see if she was okay, but once again, she decided to keep her thoughts to herself. "I was hungry and couldn''t find you. You should have just told your mother that you were hungry. I''m sure she would have asked them to get you something. I will ask the maids to serve you something now," Luciana said calmly as she walked away from the chamber, leaving her husband, who was staring after her in shock. He didn''t need anyone to tell him that this wasn''t his wife. There was no smoke without fire, and he could tell the source of this particr fire. This was the handiwork of none other than his cursed half-brother''s demon wife. First, she had suggested that she leave the pce with her, and now she had convinced his innocent wife to eat with her when she was supposed to wait and eat with him. She was beginning to influence his wife negatively, and he wasn''t going to just stand by and let that happen. Angrily, he stood up, throwing everything he could find to the floor before he left the room in a fit of rage. At first, he thought about confronting Alicia but he knew it was safer to confront Harold than Alicia. Because he had a feeling that if he confronted Harold, he wouldn''t do anything. Besides, they had sworn to not get into any scuffle inside the pce. But if he confronted Alicia, he felt Harold may forget about the sworn agreement. And as much as it hurt his ego to admit, Harold was Alpha and he was a Beta. He didn''t stand a chance where Harold stood. So it was safer to meet his younger brother. Away from there, Harold paced around his chamber, unable to get everything Alicia had said about Alvin out of his mind. Why did she say that thing about love? After thinking about it for a while without getting any answer, he left his chamber to go find Alvin. Maybe if he knew what they had been discussing about before he interrupted them, he would get a good understanding of what she was talking about. It didn''t take him long to find Alvin roaming at the edges of the pce as he tried to keep an eye on everyone and everything at the same time. He was holding something that looked like a book but it was wrapped with a cloth, which made Harold curious because Alvin was not one to study. "Your highness..." Alvin greeted awkwardly as he hurried to meet Harold. He had noticed that Harold had seemed displeased with him earlier, and he hoped that whatever it was that had annoyed him had been resolved. "What did she tell you earlier? Before I interrupted you both?" Harold asked without beating around the bush. Alvin''s brows pulled together as he tried to recall what she had said. Only one line made sense and stood out in all she had said, but knowing how Harold was about his wife, he wasn''t sure if it was okay to say it. "Tell me," Harold ordered when he noticed Alvin''s hesitation. "She said if I want someone to talk to, she is here for me." Harold pondered it before he chuckled evilly. "So... what did you tell her?" Alvin shook his head immediately and waved his hand. "I didn''t get to tell her anything before you showed up. Of course, I would have said no." Harold gave him a scrutinizing look as if trying to suck the truth out of Alvin. Alvin was not sure he had ever been this frightened before. "You did well." Harold finally said and ced a suppressing hand on his friend''s shoulder, "If you need anyone to talk to, you cane to me. Hmm?" Alvin nodded immediately, "Thank you for your immeasurable graciousness." Harold smiled at him. "Don''t mention it. We are friends anyway. So far you don''t get too close. Hmm?" Alvin didn''t have to ask what "So far you don''t get too close" meant. He only had to be referring to one thing. And yes, he was not stupid enough to get close to her even though she didn''t understand the ss structure in the moon kingdom. "What''s that?" Harold asked, referring to the cloth Alvin was holding. "Oh..." Alvin smiled as he opened the cloth and just as Harold had suspected, it was a book. "I bought it from the marketce. It''s called ''Book of life''." Harold raised a questioning brow so Alvin exined. "It''s a book about women. What women like and how you can make them like you." "You want to make someone like you?" Harold asked him. "I bought it for you," Alvin said, pushing it to Harold, who frowned and stared at the book. "Why would I need such a book?" "Uh... to make your bride like you?" "I don''t need a book to make anyone like me," Harold said, ring at him. "There you are!" Alvin immediately wrapped the book with the cloth when Ivan approached them, looking pissed. It had been a while since the two had any confrontation like this because they had both sworn before the king a few years ago to bury their resentments and try to live in peace within the pce. Seeing him like this, Alvin could not help but ask himself what was wrong while moving to stand between the two brothers. "What have you been doing instead of teaching your wife manners on how to mind her business?" Ivan asked angrily. Although Ivan was happy she had that type of attitude that would make everyone hate her, he couldn''t live in the same ce with her like that. Especially not when she was beginning to influence his well-mannered wife. Harold raised a questioning brow, wondering what he was on about. He knew that Ivan was angry with Alicia, especially after their argument during dinner the previous evening. So what could she have done this time to provoke him? "You better warn her. Because the next time I see her with my bride, filling her head with stupid thoughts and advice, I won''t let her be." Harold smirked at him, not in the least bit bothered by his brother''s threat. "Why don''t you try it then, and see what I will do to your wife the next time I see her with my bride letting my bride fill her head with stupid thoughts and advice?" Harold said to him with a malicious smile before he began to walk away. He stopped, turned to look at Alvin and took the book from him before he continued on his way. Alvin, "..." He looked down at his hand and Harold''s back. Wasn''t he the same person who said he didn''t need the book? Ivan gritted his teeth as he wondered what he was supposed to do now. It also didn''t help that Luciana was Alicia''s instructor now. His mother had warned him that using Luciana would be a bad idea but he had assured her that Luciana was always going to be on their side. Now how was he supposed to deal with this? He red at Alvin before he stomped his feet angrily as he left to go find his mother to handle this mess for him. Even though he was going to take a second bride to bear him a son, Luciana was still his first, and he loved her. Chapter 126 Kitchen Accident Unedited. After leaving Harold, Alicia returned to her chamber. The first thing that hit her nose was the damp smell of the ce. She could not help but wonder if it was normal that no one had made any effort to sun dry her bed all through the day. The whole ce had an unpleasant smell yet nothing was being done about it, and unfortunately she couldn''t report it to the king as the servants who had been involved in the so-called ident might be punished for it. Since she was going to be sleeping in Harold''s chamber for the next seven days, she decided to not let the state of her chamber bother her for the time being. She was going to talk to Harold about itter. Having made up her mind, she went to sit beside the window where Luciana had been seated earlier. Her brows furrowed as she thought about Luciana and what she had said about the queen trying to get prince Ivan a second wife. What could she do to help the poor girl? Her thoughts drifted to her and Harold, and she wondered if the queen would dare to suggest the same thing to Harold. Of course she wouldn''t dare. And even if she did, he wouldn''t dare or else she was going to scratch out his eyes and see how he would be able to see the second wife in the first ce. She paused when she realized what she was thinking about and then she frowned. Why did she care whether or not he decided to marry a second wife? It wasn''t like she was really his wife in the first ce anyway. That was something for Amber to worry about when she returned to her body not her. And it would be better for her if he even married a second wife, at least that way he wouldn''t think of making any sexual advances at her. Her thoughts moved from there to Susan, and she felt sad when she thought of the heartbroken Alvin. She wondered how she could help him feel better. She wished that things didn''t have to be soplicated and people could be with whoever they wanted regardless of the ss. Paulina could be with Williams, and Alvin with Susan. But she knew that was just a pipe dream, since even in her era there were still people still considered ss when choosing a partner. She smiled when she thought of the calm and soft-spoken princess Tyra. She found it weird that Tyra who was always busy reading romance novels was yet to fall in love with anyone. The royaldies were all like regr teenage girls to her, and she liked everyone of them. It was funny that now that she thought about it, she had actually enjoyed her day with them. She paused when she realized that she had actually enjoyed her day today, and had not even spent much time thinking about her escape n anymore. That was strange. She stood up once she remembered that she she was yet to write out the items she needed the kitchen staff to get for her from the market. She looked around for writing items, and then wrote down the list of the items she would love the kitchen staff to buy for her. For now, shepleted her list and went to find the head chef in the kitchen. Thanks to her little tour with Luciana the other day, it didn''t take long for her to find the kitchen. As soon as she walked into the kitchen, every conversation and activity ceased. Everyone in the kitchen were surprised to see her and stood up immediately, wondering why was here. "Mdy," the head chef greeted with a bow as he stood in front of her. "You all can continue with what you were doing. I came to hand this over," She said to the man. The others however, were not sure they could continue doing what they had been doing earlier with her standing there. They were even afraid to breathe for fear of annoying her. "Mdy... what... are these?" The head chef asked curiously as he pointed at 9 ingredients out of the 13 she had listed. Once again she had forgotten that the universe had chosen to send her to an era where she had to exin almost everything she said. Well, tonight was going to be a long night. For the next hour, she sat outside the kitchen with the older man as she tried to exin what the items were used for and also find an alternative ingredient for each item since the chef said those were not avable. By the time she finished, it was almost dinner time and she was exhausted. She stretched with her entire muscles popping, and the man watched her udylike behaviour with disapproval but he dared not utter a word. "Let me know when you get back tomorrow so I can check them." "I will, Mdy." "And you do not need to trouble yourself too much. If it''s difficult to find some, I could go with you to¡ª" "That won''t be necessary, Mdy. We can handle this. We will surely find everything you need." He cut in immediately. He didn''t want to imagine what Prince Harold would do to them if they failed to find everything his wife needed. She nodded. "Thank you. And I''m sorry for taking much of your time. Let me know whenever you need assistance here. I will be sure to help." The man looked at her in surprise, wondering why she was polite to him. Of course, he was one of those people who looked down on her. She was not just a human, but a woman. And he had heard of how mannerless she was. While he on the other hand was a man. A Beta wolf and the best chef in the whole of the kingdom. Despite that, he didn''t receive much respect from the royal family. But the one he had expected to be more disrespectful and arrogant was was being so polite to him. "Are you okay?" Alicia asked him. "Yes, Mdy. I''m fine. You should head back now. We will get dinner ready soon." "Okay. Thank you again. And see you tomorrow!" She said, waving at him as she turned to leave. He wanted to tell her to be careful but it was toote because immediately she turned around, she bumped into a maid behind her and before she knew it, she felt something wet hit her skin and clothes, causing both her and the maid to gasp loudly. Alicia looked at the girl with her mouth hanging low and then looked at her body, and the floor. The smell of what had just hit her made her want to throw up. It looked and smelled like blood. Blood! What were she even doing with blood? "I''m... I''m sorry, Mdy. I deserve to die." The girl said in a rush as she fell on her knees her whole body shaking in fear of what manner of punishment would befall her if Harold so much as got wind of this. Every other maid within the area took the opportunity to flee. Once upon a time, a maid had identally spilled water on the queen''s hand had disappeared with no one knowing where she was until this day. The one who had identally bumped into Luciana had faced her husband''s wrath who ordered for her to be beaten until all her bones were breaking. Now, not only had she bumped and spilled pig''s blood on a royal, that royal just happened to be Prince Harold''s bride. Wasn''t this what they meant when people said one was courting death? Alicia just kept looking at her body, not sure what she was supposed to do. Alicia''s eyes went to the girl, who had her head bowed. The chef bowed his head, "Have mercy on her, mdy," he apologized with a deep bow. "You don''t have to apologize. It was also my mistake. I should have been more careful," Alicia said while looking at the girl, wondering why she looked familiar. Everyone around them looked at Alicia in disbelief, including the maid who had been expecting to be scolded and disciplined for her error. "Mdy... Your dress," the girl called in a fearful whisper and Alicia smiled at her. "Stand up my dear. Don''t worry about it. I can always wear something else," She assured the maid as she reached for the maid''s hand to help her up. Once the maid raised her head to look at her, Alicia had the feeling once again that she knew her. She wanted to ask if they had met each other before, but she figured it was possible since she was a maid in the pce. But why did it feel as though she hadn''t met this girl in the pce? "Be careful next time. I should hurry and get cleaned up before dinner," Alicia said as she walked away, and the maids stared at themselves wondering what kind of person she was. She didn''t seem as bad as they had heard. Who even carried those rumors about her in the first ce? They all murmured amongst themselves as she disappeared from view. Chapter 127 Lake As Alicia returned to her chamber, she realized that changing out of her now ruined clothes and even having her bath was going to be impossible without first finding either Paulina or Luciana. She had no idea where the maids that usually prepared her bath were, so she needed them to help her get the maids. She tried not to concern herself with the curious stares she was getting from some of the maids and guards as she walked past them. "Mdy, what happened to you?" Alvin asked as he suddenly approached her from nowhere, startling her. "I''m alright. Nothing happened. Could you help me get Princess Luciana? Or maybe you could help me find Paulina ande with her?" She asked instead, thinking that Luciana already had a lot on her mind, and she didn''t want to be a bother. "Who did this to you?" Alvin asked as he took in her appearance. He knew that Prince Harold was going to be livid if he heard that someone had poured pig blood on his bride. "That is not important right now. Help me get Paulina ande back with her, please. I might need your help too," she instructed before heading for her chamber. Once she walked inside and shut the door behind her, she took off the soiled dress and just stood there in her undergarments as she waited for Paulina to join her. She didn''t have to wait for too long, as a knock sounded on the door a momentter, and Paulina walked into the chamber, "Mdy, is everything okay?" Paulina asked fearfully as her eyes fell on the bloodstained dress that was on the floor, and Alicia gave her a nod. "There is no time, and I need to prepare for dinner. Ask Alvin to help me draw water for my bath while you help me dress up," Alicia instructed, and Paulina looked at her like she had lost her mind. "What?" She asked impatiently. "That is the duty of a maid, not a guard, mdy. It is not right for a man to draw water," Paulina exined, and Alicia felt like rolling her eyes, but she didn''t. "I will bete for dinner if I wait much longer for you to find the maids. Let''s just go to thekeside instead. I will just take my bath over there and dress up," Alicia said, and Paulina''s eyes bulged. Paulina''s surprise was for several reasons. First of all, Princess Amber wasn''t a good swimmer, so she usually avoided going close torge bodies of water close to the mountain. Secondly, princesses didn''t bathe in such public ces. Alicia ignored her as she put on a different set of clothes to go to theke and then asked Paulina to get her something else that she would change into after bathing. She walked over to the door where Alvin was still standing, waiting for her to give him another instruction or dismiss him. "Can you lead me to theke?" She asked Alvin hopefully. "Lake?" Alvin asked, looking at her with surprise. He had been able to hear their conversation, but he didn''t think she was serious. "Yes. I need to wash up. You can keep watch while I bathe, and Paulina will help me to dress up," she said, and without waiting for him to say anything, she walked past him, expecting both him and Paulina to follow her. As three of them walked out of the pce and towards theke, the guards and maids followed them with their curious gaze, wondering where they were going, especially because Paulina was carrying some clothes with her. Once they got to theke, Alicia looked around for the part of theke where she could get maximum privacy. "Okay, you can stand over there and keep watch while I bathe," she instructed Alvin, pointing to the side that faced the pce, since she suspected that if anyone was going toe that way, they would being from that direction. Seeing the calm water, she felt very excited as she stripped off her clothes beside the pavilion, and Paulina helped her to take off her undergarments and carefully set them on the pavilion. "Mdy, shouldn''t you at least wear underwear?" Paulina asked when she noticed that Alicia was taking off everything. p "No. I want to skinny dip. I''ve missed doing that," Alicia said with a wide smile, and without waiting for Paulina to speak further, she picked up the bar of soap before jumping into theke. "Woohoo!" She eximed as her body hit the cold water. Why hadn''t she thought ofing to bathe here sooner? She wondered as she spread soapther over her body. As the thought hit her, it also urred to her that maybe she didn''t need to go to the other river to drown. What if she tried drowning herself here? Maybe Amber would return to her body if she felt that her life was in danger. Deciding to give it a try, she stopped swimming and held her breath as she went under the water. Water filled her lungs, and she started to drown without struggling. ''Princess Amber'' she called in her head as she felt life slowly drain out of her. She hoped that Amber would take over soon, but the more seconds passed, the more scared she became that she might die and Amber might not take over. Paulina''s face shed in her memory, the same with Tyra, Susan, Luciana, and Alvin. And thest was Harold, remembering his amused face when he looked at her most of the time. Unable to bear it anymore, she released her breath and swam to the surface of the water, coughing and breathing hard as she fought the urge to cry. "Mdy, are you okay?" Paulina, who had been standing by the edge of theke and peering into the water, asked in concern since she had been very worried about her mistress, especially after she disappeared under the water for a couple of seconds. Alicia said nothing to her as she swam out of the water, breathing hard. She dropped the soap on a rock at the edge of theke and cleaned her hands before taking a piece of cloth from Paulina, which Paulina offered her as a towel to dry her face and body. Different thoughts filled her head as Paulina hurriedly helped her dress up so she wouldn''t bete for dinner. Once Paulina was done, they returned to the pce, and she headed straight for the dining hall. Inside the hall, everyone was already seated, waiting for the King and Queen, while Harold kept ncing at the door as he waited for Alicia to arrive. Just when he decided to leave and go in search of her, she walked into the hall, and didn''t look at him. He gave her a questioning look as she went to sit beside him, and every one of them noticed her wet hair, which wasn''t properly arranged. "Where were you? Are you okay?" Harold whispered to her, and she gave him a nod. The otherdies around the table looked at her curiously, especially when they noticed that she was wearing different clothes from what she had worn earlier. "Are you okay? Did something happen to your dress?" Luciana asked curiously since she was in charge of her welfare. Ivan, who was seated beside his wife as usual and was still seething because of his wife''s attitude earlier, scowled at Alicia with displeasure, not liking the concern he heard in his wife''s tone, but Alicia wasn''t in the mood to give him any attention. "I''m fine. I ruined my clothes, so I had to change into something else," Alicia exined with a smile. "By the way, did youdies get to do what I asked you to do?" She asked conversationally as she looked from Luciana to Tyra and then to Susan. She smiled when all three nodded their heads while Harold, Ivan, and Williams watched them with curiosity, wondering what she could have possibly asked them to do. "How did it go?" She asked, and Luciana looked slightly embarrassed to talk about it because of the men in their midst. "Let''s talk about itter," Luciana suggested, and the others nodded in agreement. "..." Alicia opened her mouth to speak again, but shut it when the King and Queen joined them, and they all stood up to acknowledge their presence. Once everyone was seated and they started eating, Alicia waited for some minutes before clearing her throat to get the king''s attention. Everyone looked at her curiously, wondering what she wanted to say this time. "Uhm, I have a question, my king," she said, and when the king gave her a nod, she continued, "I was just curious about the follow-up meeting with your council." Alicia asked the king with a curious smile. "Follow-up meeting?" The King asked, and she bobbed her head. "Concerning the crazy female that chose to wear male clothes," she exined, and the king''s gaze moved to Harold before it returned to her. "We decided to let go of it since it was a one-time offense. But if she is caught next time, she will be punished," the king said, and Alicia sighed inwardly. "I see," she said with a small smile, feeling sad already since she had actually been looking forward to wearing the clothes again and even encouraging the other royaldies to do the same when they leave the pce for their hangout. After that, everyone returned their attention to their meal until Alicia cleared her throat once again to get their attention. Both the queen and Ivan looked at her with irritation, while the others looked at her with curiosity. "Is there a question you want to ask again?" The queen asked with a forced smile. "Yes, my queen. My question is for the King," Alicia said, and the king gave her a nod to go ahead. "The lunch you talked about before, can we have it tomorrow?" Meanwhile, Harold was already beginning to turn red with anger from theck of attention as he red at his father and then at Alicia. Chapter 128 Angry Harold As soon as the King left together with the Queen, Harold stood up, his face rigid as he approached the door. Everyone followed his back with their eyes. It wasn''t unusual for him to leave immediately after the King left, but tonight, there was this air all around him that made everyone guess something was eating him up and if anyone dared cross his path tonight, they were going to get burned. "Uhm... excuse me. Good night," Alicia said as she quickly stood up and chased after him, wondering who had annoyed him between the time she left him and now. "Wait up!" She called after him, but he didn''t stop and just kept advancing like a man on a mission. She raced with all her might to get to him, but he didn''t stop until she, unfortunately, tripped on her dress and fell. That was when he stopped and turned back immediately. "Can today get any worse?" She hissed in frustration, wincing from the pain as she checked her elbows for any scratches. "Why are you running around? Are you an animal?" Harold scolded as he went to stand in front of her, giving her an unimpressed look. "If you had waited for me, I wouldn''t have!" "So now you want to talk to me?" He asked in annoyance. He was mad at her for ignoring him. At first, it was Tyra taking her attention, then it moved to Susan, then to Luciana, and then to Alvin, now his father. He didn''t even want to mention Paulina because the thought of that girl alone made him angry. How many people would he have to get rid of? He was also angry for not stopping and causing her to fall. And was angry at her for being angry at him when she was the one making him angry. "What are you talking about? When have I never spoken to you?" She asked in confusion, without making any move to get up from the floor. "So you are just going to remain there?" Harold asked as he looked down at her. "If this is the only way to get you to talk to me." He sighed from frustration before squatting in front of her, still towering above her. "Did you... hurt yourself?" He asked, looking at her arms. She nodded and showed him her elbow which had a little scratch. He winced when he saw the scratch, imagining how painful it was. ''Tsk! Dramatic. Even a baby can handle that. I''m so tired of you two,'' His wolf said in an ''I''m fed up with you two'' tone.'' I told you to never show up whenever I''m with her, didn''t I?'' Haroldmunicated with his wolf while examining her arms. ''Why? How else can Iment on this cringe-worthy scene?'' ''I don''t want to deal with you now, ''''But I want to. Grant me a wish and I''ll let you be every time.'' Harold wanted to blow him off, but he didn''t do that immediately. He would certainly love to have his privacy without this stubborn wolf showing up every second to say stupid things in his head. ''What is that?'' ''Let me meet her in my form,'' his wolf said excitedly. "Are you out of your mind?!" Harold yelled out, startling Alicia, who had been quietly observing him as he observed her arm. "WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?" She yelled back as she made to stand up from the floor. She really could not understand this guy. One minute, he was being all sweet and checking out her injury. The next, he was yelling at her. Harold looked up at her angry face, a little flustered, and then he realized he had spoken out loud just now and she had misunderstood. "Uh... it wasn''t..." What was he supposed to say? ''Hey Alicia, never mind that. Just like you are a soul in another person''s body, I have a wolf inside my body and I was justmunicating with him via mind link, so that yell was not meant for you?'' She was human. And sure, there woulde a day where she would have to find out about the nature of the moon kingdom, but that day wasn''t today. Or anytime soon. She had to be fully trusted and embraced by the members of the royal family and the entire packmunity. Then, she would be initiated into the pack as the only human. Of course, that may take years. But it would be faster if she had a child and if the child bore their mark. But for now, she had to remain oblivious like this. Otherwise, she would be walking on eggshells around all of them and even want to leave this ce as soon as possible. Harold stood up and looked at Alicia, who was still expecting some kind of exnation for his outburst just now. Meanwhile, it seemed like his wolf had finally disappeared after causing this misunderstanding. "Uh... I''m sor¡ª" He stopped halfway, frowned, and began to walk away. Alicia scoffed in disbelief before she started to chase after him again, but this time, however, she was able to catch up with him easily since he slowed his pace. She would have to let this go. This wasn''t the best time to quarrel with each other, especially as the two of them were going to be sharing a bedroom from tonight. "Is it safe to leave my chamber after thest bell?" She asked the question she had been pondering for a while: "I don''t want any wolves pouncing on me." He began to walk slowly and turned to look at her, "It''s safe for you." "Okay... I''m definitely not going to take your word for it." She shook her head stubbornly. "I have never met those wolves before. Wolves are usually wild and bloodthirsty, and I don''t want to be used as a meal. You don''t speak Wolfnguage, so do not try to convince me otherwise." "You¡ª" "I will meet you before the second bell." He stopped walking and looked down at her face seriously, "You have to keep to your words, Princess." "Are you threatening me?" She asked in confusion as she stood there, looking puzzled. Why did it feel like he was angry at her? Harold nodded. "I am." He said before walking away. Harold had just arrived in his chamber when Alvin came to report for thest time that day before the bells began to sound. "What happened to her?" Harold asked Alvin immediately after he entered. He remembered how flustered she had looked when she entered the dining room, and that her hair had been slightly damp too. Alvin scratched the back of his head, wondering if he should just resign from being Harold''s personal assistant now because he was not looking forward to his reaction when he found out the truth. "There was an ident in the kitchen." "Kitchen? She was in the kitchen today?" He asked in confusion. "She went to deliver a note with the list of ingredients she would like the head chef to get for her at the marketce tomorrow." "Why did she have to go there to do it?" Harold asked, frowning. "She insisted." "How did the ident happen?" "Well, she bumped into a kitchen servant carrying pig blood and¡ª" Just like Alvin had expected, Harold''s face darkened when he heard that part. If he was already like this, how was he going to react if he heard his wife had gone to bathe in theke outside. "Who was the maid?" Harold asked in an uninterested tone as he went to the mirror, observing his reflection. "Well, the thing is..." He locked eyes with Alvin through the mirror, silently prompting him to say it. "It was the same maid I talked about thest time. The one whose smell changed after she left the pce." Harold spun around immediately and looked at Alvin. "So they finally met?" He asked calmly. When Alvin nodded, he turned and faced the mirror again. "Remember what I said thest time?" Alvin nodded. Harold had said that the day the maid ever crossed paths with Alicia, was the day she was going to die. "But I think that is going to be a rash decision for now. Tomorrow is the day the kitchen staff will go out. Don''t you think I should monitor her movements to know what exactly is up with her before we take such action?" Alvin said reasonably. Harold was the type to act before thinking most of the time, and that was another way Alvinplemented him, since Alvin did a lot of thinking before carrying out an action. "One day. If there is no important news, then there is no need to keep her alive." p Alvin nodded and bowed, d he was done with this topic because he didn''t want to ever mention theke part to Harold. "There is still more. Say it." Harold, who was about to dismiss Alvin, ordered when he noticed the look on Alvin''s face like he was hiding something deliberately. Chapter 129 Are You Jealous? Once Alvin saw the dark look on Harold''s face and how his aura had changed, he ran out of Harold''s chamber before Harold would attack him, as he knew he likely would. Seeing this, Harold closed his eyes as he tried to bring his emotions under control. Alicia had chosen to bathe in public, and she had taken Alvin with her to keep watch? Alvin? It seemed like she was bent on making him hate everyone in the pce. There was something else he was feeling that he couldn''t exactly exin. Even though he knew that he should probably wait until she came to his chamber before addressing the issue, patience wasn''t exactly his strong point, so he couldn''t stop himself as he stormed out of his chamber in search of her. Besides, chances were, if he chose to wait until she came to his chamber before addressing the issue, she was going to raise her voice or something, and then everyone would know that they were sharing a room. Also, he wasn''t sure yet how the transformation thing worked. Maybe she needed to be asleep for him to not transform. Thest thing he wanted was to start transforming in the middle of an argument with her. That would be really terrible. As he walked down the passageway, everyone in his way hid since they could all feel the domineering aura around him. He was angry, and thest thing they wanted was to be his scapegoat. Seeing the direction he was headed, they could all tell that he was going to his wife''s chamber. Perhaps this was the night he was finally going to kill her? They all wondered as they came out of hiding to look at him after he walked past them. Without knocking, Harold pushed open Alicia''s bedroom door and mmed it behind him for effect. Of course, he was too angry to knock. Who had the patience to knock when they were angry? Immediately the door was mmed, Alicia, who was seated by the window, upied by her own thoughts as she waited for the bell to ring so that she would go to Harold''s chamber, jumped in shock when the door was suddenly opened and mmed. She quickly turned around to see who the intruder was, as she stood up, only to see it was Harold. With a hand in her chest, she berated him, "You don''t know how to knock or shut a door quietly? You almost gave me a heart attack." She asked in a scolding tone before she noticed the dark re he was sending her. "Why did you go to the Lake?" Harold asked, ignoring her question. "Okay... why does it feel like I have done something abominable again?" She asked curiously. "HELL! It is even worse than an abomination!" He said angrily. "You aren''t just a woman. But a married woman!" He reminded her sternly. "But... there was now that said it was taboo to do so." She reminded him thoughtfully, not liking how angry he was sounding to her right now. "Because it is something that shouldn''t even be thought of in the first ce. Why will you bathe in a public ce?" Harold growled, unable to keep down his anger. "Okay, I get that you are angry. But rx." She said calmly, her hands up. "No one saw me, so I won''t get into trouble." "You think that is the problem right now?" He asked in disbelief. "That isn''t the problem?" She asked, confused. Harold took a deep breath. Was it her n to drive him crazy with her cluelessness and clumsiness? "Anyone could have seen you." He said in a quieter tone this time. "Alvin was keeping watch, and Paulina was there too. I''m sure no one saw me. Why is that a problem?" "Alvin? And it didn''t sound weird to you that you took a man to keep watch for you while you bathed in public?" He asked in disbelief. "Who else should I have asked to keep watch? Your brother? His guard? Or you?" Alicia asked, and then she narrowed her eyes when he looked away from her. He breathed deeply again and then looked at her. "You could have asked me. Even though I wouldn''t have agreed to it. At least I should be the first person you ask. Not... Alvin." As soon as he said those words, he began to feel stupid. Wait... so was this why he had been angry the entire time? Because she had asked Alvin and not him? "Oh..." Alicia drawled as a smile began to form on her face. "I see what is happening here. You are jealous." She said with a teasing smile, and Harold had to stifle the urge to strangle her. "Don''t be ridiculous. Why would I be jealous that you bathed in ake?" He asked in anger. Alicia could not help butugh at how adorable and clueless he sounded. "You are jealous that I went with Alvin and not you. You know, I would have asked you if I saw you first, but it was an emergency and I bumped into Alvin first." Harold frowned at her. "I. Am. Not. Jealous." He said in a tight voice. "I don''t have any reason to be." "You don''t?" Alicia said with a wide smile as she moved closer to him and poked his chest yfully. Harold red at her, but he didn''t push her away. "Don''t go to theke ever again." She stopped ying and pouted sadly. "But I''m trying to adjust to living here. I have a swimming pool at my house where I rx when I''m stressed. Theke is the closest thing to a pool. I didn''t realize how much I missed submerging myself in water until I did so tonight." She said while giving him her best innocent look. "Don''t be stupid. If you were so good at swimming, you wouldn''t have drowned and ended up here." As soon as he said that, the other feelinghe had been having made sense to him. The portal had been through water. What if she had disappeared? Or what if she had simply just drowned and died or Amber took over her body back. What would he have done in that case? Alicia also remembered how she had tried to end it in theke and the traumatic experience of having water fill up her lungs. And then the faces that had shed before her eyes, especially Harold''s. How did ite to this that she had gotten herself attached to these people? Harold noticed her dull countenance and thought she was sad because of what he had said, reminding her of her attempt to end her life and ending up here instead. "I... didn''t mean it in that way." He said softly, bringing her attention to him. "Don''t go with Alvin next time. Tell me when you next want to swim and I will take you somewhere else. But you have to agree that I''ll be there." Harold offered. Alicia got rid of her sad thoughts and smiled at him. "So you are jealous?" She asked, returning to her yful mood. "Even though that was the case, you are my wife," Harold reminded her, as though it was an excuse for his behavior. Alicia opened her mouth to remind him once again that she wasn''t his wife, but she decided against it since she knew how that argument was going to end. It was better for the both of them if he continued to believe that she had finally decided to ept her fate and stay here. Seeing how she wasn''t refuting it or raising any argument, he almost sighed in relief. "It seems your instructors have been doing a bad job in teaching you the code of conduct of a woman, a princess, and a member of the Moon Kingdom." "What is that¡ª" Harold put up his hand, interrupting her from asking anything. "So I have made up my mind to give you a new instructor who is going to teach you everything afresh." "You''ve got to be kidding me." She said in disbelief. Start afresh? Hell! She''d rather die. Those many hours of standing while Beth lectured. Those boring lectures with Luciana. She had to go through it all again? "I am not kidding you. It is something you have to do." "NO!" "It wasn''t a question." "I wasn''t asking either. Do you know what I had to endure during those lectures? You want me to go through it again?" She asked, sounding pissed this time. "You need them, Princess. Otherwise, you are going to get into trouble one day and I won''t be able to help you." He said in a very calm tone and that made her anger die down a bit. "And who is this person that''s going to teach me? Princess Tyra? Or maybe the queen this time?" He shook his head. "None of them." "Then who?" She asked, curious now. He held her gaze for a few seconds before he pointed at himself, making her jaw drop. Chapter 130 The Sleepover Alicia wasn''t sure how she was supposed to react. One moment, he was saying that he was going to be her new instructor; the next moment, he was racing out of the ce inrge strides, as if he was embarrassed by it. She just stood there, staring at the door as a small smile slowly spread across her face. She shrugged and turned around. "He''s cute." She said to herself while smiling as she went to stand in front of the mirror to get herself ready for tonight. She wasn''t getting ready for him or anything; she just liked to look good always. She took ab and, as she untied her hair and started brushing it, she reasoned that she didn''t exactly hate the idea of him being her instructor. Even though he hadn''t lectured her before, she had the feeling he would be a better professor than the other two girls. And whichdy didn''t like a sexy professor? She wasn''t saying that Harold was sexy. She was just saying.... you know... you get the point? She tied her hair into a ponytail, which she had noticed wasn''tmon here becausedies'' hair was usually styled to the back. Leaving it untied was also notmon here. When she was done with her hair, she changed into a simple nightdress and looked at her reflection in the mirror closely, in case anything was out of ce. "Why does my face look so dull?" She mused before taking out apact of powder. "I need to look good to have a good dream tonight. You know, since I would be sleeping in that annoying guy''s room. I don''t want to have a nightmare." She spoke to herself, using the excuse to touch up her face with powder while trying to make it look like it was her natural face. What started as a simple powder to avoid a ''nightmare'', graduated to lining her brows and eyelids and glossing her lips. When she was done, she smiled at her reflection in the mirror, seeing how pretty she looked. She had made it look like she wasn''t wearing make-up and doubted anyone would think otherwise. Whether she was Alicia or Amber, she was a beauty to behold. "I''m going to have a good dream tonight." She said in a sing-song tone as the first bell rang, causing her heart to skip. She had told him she would go to his room after the second bell, so she braced herself. And waited impatiently until the second bell rang. Without thinking twice, she opened her bedroom door and peered at both sides of the hallway, noting how empty it looked. She stepped out and locked her room with a key before she began to sneak around like a thief. Meanwhile, Harold, who had been patiently waiting for her to approach, stood outside his chamber with his hands folded across his chest and his back resting on the door. Alvin almost facepalmed when he saw Harold in that position, but he was done for the day, so he simply disappeared. So much for not wanting anyone to know that they were going to be spending the night together. What was the point of leaving the pce doors earlier and sneaking back in through the window if he was just going to stand out here to tell everyone that he was back? Harold noticed Alicia approaching from afar, hiding between blocks and pirs like a thief, even though this part of the pce was clear. He just stood there, watching her make a fool of herself while she probably thought she was doing a great job of hiding herself. He took the time to observe her, noting how different and prettier she looked tonight. As soon as the third bell rang, she panicked and began to race in clear view towards his chamber. He still didn''t intervene and just watched her run with all her might. But when she looked up and saw him standing by the door, relief shed in her eyes and she stopped running as fast. She looked like she trusted him to handle whatever would happen. The thought that she trusted him made a faint smile appear on his face as he opened the door to let her in as soon as she got nearer. Alicia entered his room and heaved a big sigh of relief with her hand on her chest. "That scared the shit out of me." She confessed. "Didn''t you say you wereing before the third bell rang?" He asked her after locking his door. She nodded while panting. "I didn''t think sneaking around was this time consumi¡ª" "Why are you wearing makeup?" He asked, interrupting her while looking at her face with interest. Alicia looked at him in rm, wondering how he knew that. "Who... said... I wore makeup?" She stuttered while looking away from him. "This is how my natural face is at night." Usually, Harold was not the type to prolong issues, so as she looked away and approached the bed, she expected him to give up, but instead, he appeared in front of her, his fingers lifting her chin as he scrutinised her face with a serious look on his face, as if he was in the middle of something very important. He used his thumb to graze her lip and looked at his thumb, confirming she had used that stuffdies usually wore on their lips to make it glossier. "You wore make-up." He pointed out. Were they seriously going to do this right now? Alicia wondered as she tried to step backwards. "And so?" She snapped at him, pushing him away while looking all flustered. "What if I did?" He looked at her smugly as he asked, "Why did you?" "Not that it''s any of your business, but I wanted to have a good sleep. So shoo!" She said, pushing him out of the way, and surprisingly, he moved out for her as she went to the right end of the bed. She sat down and looked at him before asking, "So where are you going to be sleeping? I thought you would have brought in a second bed or a mat by now?" She asked while looking around until her eyesnded on Harold, who was just standing there looking at her without saying anything. "What is it?" She asked. "That''s my bed." He pointed at it. "Of course, I know that. But since I''ll be sleeping here¡ª" "I''ll be sleeping in my bed." "WHAT?!" She asked, jumping from the bed, startling him a bit. "What do you mean by you''re sleeping on this bed? Then where am I going to sleep?" "Do not overthink it. I won''t touch you. And I hope you do not touch me too." He said calmly before turning around towards his window. "You hope I do not touch you too?" She asked in disbelief. Was this guy high on something? Why would she touch him? She decided to just go to bed and ignore him. So she turned around and marched to the bed. After she got on, she pulled the quilt until it got to her chest and used the pillows on the bed to form a demarcation between their sides. As Harold looked out the window, he was lost in his thoughts. It was fast approaching the time he was supposed to shift, but he wasn''t feeling the signs. He couldn''t hear his wolf either. Was she really the solution? He turned to look at the bed and was surprised to find her staring at him. "Aren''t we supposed to put out the candles now?" She asked in a whisper. Whenever it was past the third bell, she was instructed to always put out the candles and not step out or even speak. She had forgotten about that earlier while talking to Harold and had even raised her voice, forgetting this arrangement was supposed to be a secret. "You can leave it on if you want." He said as he put down the curtains and turned around. Alicia decided it was best to leave the candles on since she was going to be sharing a room and bed with this guy. "What are you doing?" She asked, sitting up at once when she noticed he was taking off his shirt. "What does it look like I''m doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. She sat up immediately and looked at him with rm as he pulled off his shirt, revealing his bare chest to her. She clutched the quilt to her chest tightly while giving him a threatening look, warning him not toe closer. "Why do you look so nervous, princess?" He asked in an innocent tone. "I thought I was like a younger brother to you and my body isn''t that great? I''m just about to go to bed, so don''t have any dirty thoughts about me." He said as he sat down on his side of the bed, his back to her as he began to take off his boots. Chapter 131 First Night Alicia watched in disbelief as Harold took off his boots and theny on his side of the bed with his back to her. "You are going to sleep without your clothes?" She asked, still staring at his back. "I always sleep this way. Do you have a problem with it, Princess?" Harold asked without turning to look at her. Alicia cleared her throat. "We need toe up with some rules for the next couple of nights. This won''t work," she said, and this time Harold turned to face her. "What kind of rules?" Alicia swallowed."You can''t sleep without your clothes. It''s not proper," she said without looking directly at him, as her eyes kept straying to his chest. "Why not?" Harold asked, his right brow arched. Alicia cleared her throat, "You are a man..." "Ah! I''m no longer like a younger brother to you?" He asked, making her brows pull together in confusion. Although she remembered having that thought, she couldn''t remember uttering it, so where did he hear it? "When did I ever say you were like a younger brother to me?" Harold smirked, "So I''m not like a younger brother to you?" "That isn''t the point. You shouldn''t go to bed without clothes. How would you feel if I was sleeping beside you without clothes?" She asked without thinking. "You are my wife. I don''t mind you sleeping naked if it will make you morefortable," Harold said with a harmless smile, but Alicia wasn''t fooled by it. "I can''t share your bed with you if you''re not going to wear your clothes," Alicia insisted as she eyed him. "As long as you maintain your side of the bed, I don''t think myck of clothes will be a problem for you. The same way you need your make-up to have a good sleep, I need to sleep without clothes to have a good sleep," Harold said with an innocent smile as he turned his back to her. Alicia stared at his back for a moment, and when she didn''t know what else to say, shey down but didn''t turn her back to him. That would be too risky since, even though he was acting so innocent and indifferent, she wasn''t naive enough to trust him. Each of themy on their side of the bed, unable to sleep. While Harold was surprised that he didn''t transform as usual and was wondering why things were different when he was with Alicia, she, on the other hand, just couldn''t sleep because she was in the same bed with him. She kept staring at his back. Her eyes moved from his broad shoulders to his tiny waist. "Harold? Are you asleep?" She called softly after a while. "No." Okay. So now that she knew that he was awake, what was she going to say? She couldn''t fall asleep, and she didn''t know what else to do. "I can''t sleep," she said after some time. "Try," he said dismissively. "I''ve tried. I can''t." "So what do you want to do?" "Let''s talk. Tell me a story so that I can fall asleep," Alicia suggested, and Harold turned to look at her, disbelief written all over his face. "Me? A story?" He asked, not sure he had heard her correctly. "Surely you know some stories, right? Just tell me something to make me sleep," Alicia pleaded, and Harold frowned. What was he supposed to tell her? "Something like what?" He asked hesitantly. Alicia propped herself on her elbow and looked at him. "Did you mean what you said earlier about being my instructor?" She asked curiously. Harold still didn''t know what had possessed him to suddenly say that, especially since her sses usually fell during his training time. But then again, he didn''t think it was apletely bad idea. At least that way, he would keep his eyes on her and monitor her more closely. "Yes." "Really?" She asked with a wide smile, and Harold''s brows pulled together since he hadn''t actually expected her to be happy with the idea. "Yes. Now go to bed," Harold said as he turned his back to her once again, hoping to get a good sleep. "Harold?" She called after a minute, making him want to groan. "What?" "Am I disturbing you?" Alicia asked when she heard the weariness in his tone. "What do you want?" He asked instead. "You haven''t told me the story," she reminded him. "I don''t have any stories to tell you. Why don''t you tell me more about where youe from instead?" Harold suggested. "How am I supposed to fall asleep when I''m talking to you? It''s better if you do the talking," Alicia said, and Harold turned to look at her again. He wished he knew the best way to make her fall asleep. What could he say or do? "I don''t know what to tell you." "Then tell me about yourself. Why do you behave the way you do?" "How do I behave?" Harold asked with a slightly raised brow. "Like you don''t care about anything or anyone," Alicia said, even though she knew he cared about her. "Because I don''t care," Harold said tly. "You don''t?" "I don''t." "Why don''t you care?" Alicia asked. "Why do you care about everyone?" Harold returned, thinking about how she was being friendly with everyone. He wouldn''t be surprised if he saw the queen eating from her fingers soon. "Because it''s the human thing to do." "Have you always been like this? I mean before you came here," Harold asked, and Alicia''s brows pulled together as she thought about it. "Yes, I think so. I try to be nice to people when I can," Alicia said, and Harold raised an eyebrow. "And where did that get you?" He asked, and Alicia blinked at him, feeling slightly hurt that he said that. "My being here has nothing to do with being kind," Alicia said defensively. "It is not a weakness to be good to people. It is a strength because not everyone can be good." He heard the hurt in her tone and felt a bit bad for saying that. "Just don''t get too close to anyone. Else you are going to end up getting hurt," Harold warned. "But you are close to Alvin. So can I get close to Alvin?" "NO!" Harold snapped, angry that she had even thought of it. "But you just said..." "Don''t go anywhere near Alvin. You are my wife," he reminded her, and she snorted. "Whatever," she muttered with a yawn as she turned on her side. She doubted that they could have a proper conversation that involved her rtionship with other people, and he wouldn''t use the ''You are my wife'' line. Seeing how she turned to her side, Harold did the same, and before long, they both fell asleep. Harold woke up in the middle of the night, and he groaned when he realized that not only had Alicia rolled over from her side of the bed to his, but half of her body was snuggled against his. So much for putting the pillows between them, Harold thought as he tried to gently push her off him, but it was as though the more he pushed, the closer she stuck to him. For some reason, he wanted to let her be and me it on her stubbornness to go away, but he knew that he had to push her away since she was most likely going to use him of touching her if she woke up in his arms. He knew how crazy and illogical she could be. Finally, he managed to push her off him, and she stirred in her sleep. She opened her sleepy eyes to look at him, and Harold held his breath, not knowing what to expect, but then she smiled at him and returned to sleep, causing Harold to sigh in relief. After that, Harold could not go back to sleep, so he got off the bed and spent the rest of the night pacing around his chamber and thinking about different things. Now that he knew that being with her would stop him from transforming too often, he was going to have to find a way to spend more nights with her so that he would have normal night rests like everyone else. To do that, he had to figure out a way to win her heart so that he wouldn''t have to resort to deals to make her spend the night with him. He also had to think about how to go about being her instructor. After thinking for some time, he realized that it would be dawn soon, and he needed to sneak out of the pce so that they would see him returning insidee morning. He went to the bed and sat down beside her while looking at her peaceful face that waspletely in contrast with her personality. He gently brushed some strands of hair away from her face and called her softly, "Princess?" She stirred in her sleep and slowly opened her eyes to look at him. "Is it morning already?" She asked with a sleepy yawn, and Harold nodded. "You can remain here. If you''re asked where you spent the night, tell them I let you have my chamber because yours was bad. You don''t know where I spent the night," Harold said, and Alicia gave him a nod before returning to sleep. Chapter 132 Something Like What? When Alicia woke up two hourster, she was surprised to find the bed empty beside her, and she immediately sat up, wondering where Harold had gone off to. The memory of him telling her something this morning shed in her head, and she tried to remember what he had told her exactly while looking around the empty room. Surprisingly, she had had a good sleep. The bed felt like her bed in the real world, so she had a great sleep. She looked down at herself and smiled when she figured he had kept his promise of not touching her. Maybe sleeping here wasn''t so bad after all. Because whenever she slept alone in her bedroom, she didn''t sleep in peace for fear of those creatures lurking outside the window. But here, she was able to let go of that fear, unconsciously trusting Harold to protect her. "You can remain here. If you''re asked where you spent the night, tell them I let you have my chamber because yours was bad. You don''t know where I spent the night." His voice filled her ears, reminding her of what he had said. She frowned in confusion. There were a lot of things about him that she could not understand. At first, he didn''t want them to know she had spent the night here. Now, he didn''t mind and had even asked her to tell them he was the one who hadn''t slept here. Then where had he spent the night? She wondered to herself as she got up from the bed and dressed the bed until there was no single crease on it. When she was done, she went to the dressing table, where she noticed something was wrapped there. Usually, she wouldn''t touch anything inside his room since snooping around wasn''t usually her thing, but for some reason, she felt this was for her. So she unwrapped the piece of cloth and confirmed it when she saw a dress neatly folded. p "He couldn''t even add a note. How unromantic," she said while smiling like an idiot, but straightened herself and her face when she saw her reflection in the mirror. She wasn''t dumb, so she knew exactly what was beginning to happen. But it was something she didn''t want. And she was going to fight it. She changed into the dress, and as soon as she stepped out of the room, it seemed that was the time the maids all decided toe out to work, because several pairs of eyes looked at her in surprise when they saw her leaving his bedroom that morning. They would have assumed she came to look for him this morning, but the nightwear she threw casually on her shoulder as she walked said otherwise. Of course, she was no blushing virgin, so she met their gaze. She walked past them, thinking that she did not owe any of them any exnation. She headed for her chamber to prepare for the day. Once she walked into her chamber, she saw Paulina, Luciana, Tyra, and Susan all standing there like they had been waiting for her. "Good morning. I didn''t know we were having an early morning meeting. I would have woken up earlier," she said with a smile while they watched her with concern. "Where did you spend the night?" Tyra asked, since she was the one closest enough to ask such a direct question. "In Harold''s chamber. I can''t sleep here yet, and I couldn''t impose on you anymore," Alicia exined easily, and the royaldies exchanged a look. At the same time, Paulina silently rejoiced that her mistress was now getting along with her husband enough to share his chamber with him. "You spent the night with Prince Harold?" Susan asked before either Tyra or Luciana could. "No. He let me sleep in his chamber. I don''t know where he slept," Alicia said with a smile as she stretched her body, missing the look of understanding in the eyes of the royaldies and the disappointment in Paulina''s eyes. "Why are you all here?" She asked curiously since she could understand Paulina''s and Luciana''s presence but not Susan''s and Tyra''s. "When I couldn''t find you in here, I went to check Princess Tyra''s chamber, and when she didn''t know where you were, we went to Lady Susan''s chamber, and then we all came here," Luciana exined, and Alicia smiled, happy that thedies all cared about her enough to look for her. "That''s nice of you. Thank you. I will be spending the night in Harold''s chamber until my chamber is fit to sleep in once again," Alicia said, and they all nodded. "Paulina, get the maids," Luciana instructed, and Paulina hurried to get the maids that served her mistress. "I have to return to my chamber to get ready for the day," Tyra said since she was yet to have her bath. "Me too," Susan said, and bothdies left, leaving Alicia alone with Luciana. "How are you feeling today?" Alicia asked once they were alone, and Luciana sighed. "I''m fine. I have decided to take your advice and live for myself now," Luciana said, and Alicia smiled at her happily. "That is a very wise decision. Don''t worry. I''m always here if you need any form of support," Alicia assured her, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she remembered that she wouldn''t always be here. Would Princess Amber care for thesedies as much as she hade to care for them? In less than an hour, news had spread all over the entire kingdom that Princess Amber and Prince Harold were going to be having a baby soon. "What?" The queen asked, her teacup hanging in midair, when she heard what Ivan had just said. They were yet to go for breakfast since Ivan had gone to her chamber in search of her immediately he heard the rumors flying around. "Let us speed up the selection process and find me a second bride," he said with a determined look on his face. She sipped her tea slowly and gently dropped her cup on the table. "Is this because of the rumors?" She asked. "Does it not bother you?" Ivan asked in return. "You should know better than that. Those two didn''t spend the night together. He was seen leaving the pcest night and entering the pce very early this morning. There is no way he could have spent the night with her. The curse can''t be broken," she said with a smug look on her face. "Mother," Ivan went to sit down beside her, looking extremely worried. "Are you really sure the curse won''t be broken? What if he finds his mate and the curse is lifted?" He whispered. "If Harold could let her spend the night in his chamber, doesn''t it mean they are already on good terms? What if they have a child before us?" "Fret not!" She said sternly before reaching out to hit him in the face twice. "Do not forget that he killed my son. Your older brother. I won''t let him be," She said, voice heavy with malice. "There is no way he is going to live a good life after doing that." She sat up and looked ahead. "I think it is time to make our move. Let''s get you that second bride. And when the timees, nobody will dare to stop you. No one." Ivan decided to trust his mother and nodded. "What about Luciana? Is she still behaving improperly?" The queen asked with a look of disapproval. "She is still doing her duties to me, but she isn''t behaving normally," Ivanined, silently cussing Alicia for spoiling his wife. "Don''t worry. I''m sure she will behave herself by the time you get a second wife. Go and get ready for breakfast," she ordered, and Ivan left her chamber. Away from there, Harold stood in his chamber staring at his bed, which Alicia had straightened, and Alvin cautiously tapped on the door before walking into the chamber, "Good morning, your highness," he greeted, still standing by the door just in case Harold was still mad at him. Harold was getting mad at him too often these days, and he couldn''t understand why. "It worked," Harold said, answering the question he knew was on Alvin''s mind, even though Alvin already suspected it worked. "That is good news, right? That means the curse has been broken?" Alvin asked in a whisper, but Harold didn''t say anything. He still didn''t understand what it meant. Did this mean that Alicia was his mate? Did werewolves have human mates? He had never heard of it before, so he didn''t know what to think, especially since Alicia wasn''t even from here. "I don''t think the curse has been broken. If it had been broken, I wouldn''t need her to be in the same ce as me for me not to transform," Harold said thoughtfully, and Alvin silently agreed with him. "So maybe you need to do something more with her to break the cursepletely?" Alvin guessed, and Harold turned to look at him. "Something like what?" Chapter 133 Harolds Priorities Unedited. At Harold''s question, Alvin looked to the side awkwardly. Did Harold really expect him to spell it out to him? When Harold said nothing and just kept staring at him like he was waiting for a response, Alvin cleared his throat, "Perhaps physical mating?" Alvin suggested tentatively. To his surprise, Harold looked like he was actually contemting the idea. Some time ago, before Alicia set feet in the moon kingdom, Harold would never have harbored such a thought. Seeing that Harold was actually contemting it, Alvin decided to continue, "Hopefully, if you do it with her and the curse is fully broken, then you can marry one of our kind and get a..." Alvin stopped in confusion when Harold looked at him with disgust. What did he say that was disgusting? He had expected Harold to react that way when he suggested he mate with a human, not when he suggested he marry a werewolf. "Is there anything else you need to report?" Harold asked, not wanting to continue with that line of conversation. "News has spread all over the pce that you and your wife are expecting a baby soon," Alvin said, and Harold snorted. They only spent a night together. What kind of exaggeration was that? "Is that all?" Harold asked, and Alvin shook his head before he said in a quieter voice, "The kitchen servants are going to the market ce today." He didn''t have to ry the entire information for Harold to know what he was talking about. He had to follow and make sure to keep his eyes on that particr girl. "Can I trust that she wouldn''t catch you spying on her?" He asked in reference to what had happened between Susan and Alvin, making Alvin frown. "That would not happen." "Good." "Since we are done with training for the morning, are you going to take a trip into town?" Alvin asked curiously. Usually, Harold took a trip once in a while away from the pce. But ever since he got married, the only time he had gone out was when he went out with his wife. He wasn''t actively making any ns concerning the queen and Ivan either, neither had he been focused on finding out who had attacked him during his wedding trip and also when they were returning from the market ce. "I won''t be going out for a while." Harold said causally before adding, "I need to take her to Hellion everyday and also... instruct her." "Instruct her?" Alvin asked in confusion. "Beth and Princess Luciana has been doing a bad job. It is only right for me to teach her." Alvin blinked at him, surprised by this. "You... are going to be her instructor?" He asked in disbelief. Harold was also embarrassed to admit it so he simply shrugged like it was not a big deal even though he was yelling at himself for making such decision impulsively. Alvin didn''t know what to say or how to start. How was he to remind Harold about his goals? With her presence, he seemed to have forgotten about it all. Was this a good thing or bad thing? "If there is nothing else, you should go get prepared to leave with them." Harold said to Alvin who nodded and took his leave. Once Alvin left, Harold prepared to leave for breakfast. As he dressed up, he thought about how to go about Alicia''s training. Why had he offered to be her tutor? That had been very impulsive of him, and he was surprised that she hadn''t even rejected the suggestion. As he walked into the dining hall, his eyes fell on Alicia, who was already seated. When he noticed she was still wearing the dress he had selected for her this morning, his lips were about to curl up in a smile until he remembered it was one of the things he was supposed lecture her about. Ladies had special dresses for every asion and what she was wearing was not an okay dress for breakfast. But it seemed like the entire royal family were tired of pointing these things out to her. Meanwhile, Alicia''s eyes lit up when she saw him and her lips curved in a smile, "Good morning," she greeted as he took the seat beside her. "Good morning," Harold greeted back. "Where did you go to?" Alicia whispered to him, wanting to know where he had run off to so early in the morning. Harold turned to her wanting to ask her to shut up and not say anything about their night together since no matter how much she whispered, everyone seated at the table was going to hear her, but before he could say anything, the king and the queen walked in, and they all stood up. They all ate in silence for a while until the Queen cleared her throat and spoke up, "I heard that you are both expecting a baby soon. Is that true?" She asked Alicia with a kind smile. Alicia, who hadn''t expected that question, choked on her food and coughed a couple of times. What did she mean by they were having a baby soon? Where did thate from? She opened her mouth to exin the situation, but before she could say anything, Harold spoke, "When the timees, you won''t need to hear it first from the servants," he said bluntly, making everyone turn to look at him, especially Alicia. When the timees? What did he mean by that? He was not probably expecting them to.... "What?" She asked Harold in a whisper while her eyes said, "What the hell are you saying?" Harold gave her a pointed look before looking ahead, ignoring her. The queen looked at him with a stiff smile as she said, "I''m d to hear that," From her tone, it was obvious to everyone, including Alicia, that she wasn''t. The queen however, tried to keep the smile on her face. She didn''t have a problem with Harold getting along with his wife. In fact, she hoped for that. She was also certain that if they had a baby, no one would consider Harold to rule because his child was not a pureblood and she doubted their baby was going to be one of their kind and not take after his mother. The only reason she was angry was because he seemed to be doing well with his bride. And if they had a baby before Ivan, it would be a big shame to them. The queen turned to Alicia and asked, "How is your traininging? We will have to change your tutor once again. Prince Ivan hasined that the training is taking his wife''s attention from him," the Queen said with her smile in ce, and Alicia nced at Luciana, who looked surprised to hear that. Luciana turned to look at her husband who avoided her gaze and sipped his wine like he didn''t have anything to do with this. Her fists balled beside her as she tried to keep her emotion under control. This was how they wanted it, right? Fine. "There won''t be any need to get her a new tutor. I will train her myself," Harold spoke once again, surprising everyone on the table, including the king, who had been quiet the entire time. "You will train your wife yourself?" The King asked while Ivan exchanged a look with the Queen. "Yes, I will. So you don''t have to worry about her," Harold said, and the King nodded before turning to Alicia, who was unusually silent. It was one thing for Harold to say he wanted to take up the duty of training her, it was another for the queen to dismiss Luciana off her duty like that. And it was all because of her selfish husband, whom she was ring at right now. "You can meet me in the royal garden by noon for our lunch," the king said to Alicia before standing up to leave, and the queen followed suit. Once the King and Queen left, Ivan stood up to leave, and he turned to Luciana when she didn''t stand up to follow him, "Let''s leave," he ordered. "I will join you when I''m done eating. I''m not done yet," Luciana said with a calm smile as she focused her attention on her food, trying to conceal the anger she felt. Ivan looked like he was going to argue with her, but since the others were still seated at the table, he didn''t want to push it, so he walked away angrily. Susan exchanged a look with Tyra, both wondering why Luciana, who always seemed to be at her husband''s beck and call, was suddenly acting out of character. "Brother... are you really going to be her tutor?" Tyra asked curiously, and Harold gave her a nod. "Meet me at the pavilion when you are done eating," Harold said to Alicia as he stood up and walked away from there. Chapter 134 "Apart From Me" Although Alicia wanted to stay a while and ask Luciana if she was okay, seeing how Harold had already left, she could only imagine the kind of tantrum he would throw if he didn''t see her soon. Even though Tyra, Susan, and Williams didn''t exactly know what was happening between Luciana and her husband, they could tell something was wrong. For Tyra, who had been with them since they got married, this was a strange sight. She had never even seen them have an argument before. Well, it wasn''t as if they could have an argument. He was her lord, and whatever he said was final. So there was no reason to argue. But seeing her rebelling now was something strange. "I''ll meet youter," Alicia said to her before she stood up and ran after Harold, who was now thinking about how to get these useless chores off his te. As Alicia ran off, Susan couldn''t help being amused by the irony of the situation. Luciana, whose husband controlled her for a living, was the one still seated there and making no attempt to join her husband, who had been expecting her to leave with him. In contrast, Alicia, who never let Harold control her, was the one hurrying to meet up with him even though he had permitted her to join him when she was done. Harold was already mentally exhausted thinking about all he had to do for the day. His life used to be simple. Now, he was her instructor, and he had to take her to Hellion every day and also teach her how to use an arrow. What possessed him to take up all these duties blindly? It wasn''t long after he arrived at the pavilion that he saw her racing towards him. He wanted to tell her to slow down and walk, but he just shook his head and let her do as she pleased. ''How will you train her if you keep letting her do as she pleases? Tsk'' his wolf said, and Harold ignored it as he focused his attention on Alicia, who was panting as she stopped in front of him. "Right in time! I''m a good student. Don''t you agree?" She asked breathlessly while smiling at him. Without saying a word to her, he went to sit down before returning his gaze to her. "Sit," he said, motioning to the seat across from him. She went to sit down, wondering why he wasn''t in a cheerful mood. Not that he was always in a cheerful mood, but his mood was usually better than this. Unless he wanted to scold her again. "Why does Prince Ivan think you are a bad influence on his wife?" Harold asked, watching her closely as he waited for her response. Seeing how the queen had raised the issue of recing Luciana as her tutor, it was obvious that Ivan hadn''t just been ranting the previous day. His wife had to have done something to upset him enough to confront him. And seeing how she had refused to leave the dining hall with her husband also showed that she was beginning to rebel against him. It was easy to see why they would believe that Alicia was the one influencing Luciana. She had been spending a lot of time in Alicia''spanytely, and Alicia was as stubborn as a goat. "Oh... that!" She almost rolled her eyes. So this was the reason he looked so serious? And that was why they were stopping Luciana from being her tutor? ''Yes, I agree with you. She is a stubborn goat,'' Harold''s wolf agreed with him on hearing her tone. ''I didn''t call her a stubborn goat,'' Harold corrected his wolf. ''She is as stubborn as a goat. She is a stubborn goat. They both mean the same,'' the wolf said dryly, and with a shake of his head, Harold ignored his stubborn goat of a wolf. ''I''m not a goat,'' his wolf protested, but Harold was bent on ignoring him as he focused on Alicia. Once Alicia looked around to make sure no one was around before she leaned forward and said, "Do you know that your brother is an asshole?" Harold raised an eyebrow at her. She didn''t know whether his eyebrow was raised because he didn''t understand what an asshole meant or if it was because he was wondering why she was saying that about Ivan. "I mean, I haven''t known Luciana for a long time, but she is not as bad as she portrays herself to be. I think she only wants validation from her husband and the queen, but what are they paying her with? Prince Ivan wants to take a second wife!" She said in disbelief and saw a frown form on his face. "Why?" He asked. Alicia shook her head. "Exactly what I asked myself too! Why would he want to do that? I couldn''t believe it either when I heard about it. I think it''s¡ª" "No," Harold cut her off. "No what?" Alicia asked in confusion. "Why are you addressing him that way and only calling me by my name?" He asked Alicia with a slight frown, confusing her. What was he talking about? And how did it rte to the issue on ground? "Prince Ivan?" She asked in confusion, after racking her brain. The look on his face told her that was what he was referring to. Her jaw dropped in disbelief before she shook her head, "Aren''tyou the same person who was suspicious of me because I called you ''Prince Harold''? In your own words, you said I was being too polite, and that was not me." She reminded him with a frown. "So I''m the only one you are not polite to?" Harold asked, looking at her with a nk expression. "Are you not the only one that ims to be my husband?" Alicia retorted matter-of-factly. Harold wanted to tell her that he wasn''t merely iming to be her husband; he was her husband, and as such, she needed to respect him more than everyone else, but he knew that argument wouldn''t work on his bullheaded wife. Besides, he was already used to her talking to him the way she did. "Do not get yourself involved in their business. Let''s study," He said dismissively as he opened a big book in front of him. "Seriously? Are you not going to talk about this?" She asked curiously, since she had at least expected him to ask her what she had said to Luciana. "No. It''s not my business, and it''s not yours either. Let''s focus on what is our business," Harold said, pointing to the book in front of him, but Alicia was not having that. "Are you going to marry a second wife?" She asked him, folding both her hands as she looked at him. Harold paused from flipping the pages of the big book to look at her, "I thought we already had this conversation?" "Have we? Because now I''m curious. You don''t seem to see anything wrong with your brother marrying a second wife." "I do not let other peoples'' business bother me, and you shouldn''t either. Let them sort out their issues themselves. You need to focus on yours." "That doesn''t answer the question of whether or not you want a second wife," Alicia reminded him stubbornly. "Have you finally made up your mind that you are my wife? Because if you haven''t, I see no reason why you seem so concerned about whether or not I would want to get a second wife," Harold said, watching her with amused frustration. He was right. Why did the thought of Harold having a second wife bother her? "I''m only worried about Princess Amber," Alicia said defensively. "Thanks for being so concerned about my wife. I''m sure she knows already that men are allowed to have more than one wife. She will have no problem with it. Now that you''re done worrying on her behalf, let''s focus on your lessons. Soon, we will be receiving some important guests. You need to be on your best behavior." Did that mean that he wanted to get a second wife or not? She wondered, but her curiosity over the other part of his statement got the best of her, so she decided to keep the second wife talk forter. "What important guests? What is the asion?" Harold looked at her, wondering how he was supposed to answer that. It was almost the full moon. And they usually had a banquet to celebrate it. He still could not shake off the worry he was feeling. "Princess?" He called her gently. "Hmm?" She noticed a sh of concern in his eyes as he said, "Always be careful." He said before adding a soft, "Please." Her confusion turned to concern as she wondered why he suddenly sounded this way. What kind of banquet was this? "Can I trust you to do that?" He asked her. "You don''t have to worry about me. You know I''m always careful, and I mind my business," Alicia said, and Harold snorted, making her raise an eyebrow. "I''m serious. I''m careful and I mind my business. Luciana came to me. I didn''t go to her," Alicia said with a frown, wanting him to believe her. "Yes, I agree. You don''t go looking for trouble. Troublees looking for you. I want you to do your best to avoid trouble. And don''t forget what I told you before; you can''t trust anyone in this pce," Harold said seriously. "Apart from you," Alicia said thoughtfully Harold hesitated for only a second before saying, "Apart from me." That was a lie. Trusting him was going to be her undoing. Because if that dayes, and Hellion gets tamed by her, he was going to kidnap the horse and ruin her ns. As far as he was concerned, she was going nowhere. An oblivious Alicia smiled at him and nodded. Chapter 135 Nothing Is Impossible Luciana stood before the Queen and her husband with her head bowed. She didn''t need anyone to tell her what they wanted to say to her, as it was obvious from the queen''s disapproving stare that her wimp of a husband had gone to report her to his mother. He was bing less attractive to her by the hour now, as her eyes were opening to all the unattractive things about him. Maybe it wouldn''t be such a bad idea if he got married to someone else. Someone they could control and order around as they pleased. She knew it was an udylike thing to think about, but she no longer cared... Or perhaps she was trying not to care. "What is going on with you?" The Queen asked, her tone scolding. "I don''t understand, my queen," Luciana said innocently. If they could act like all was well and they weren''t nning to bring in a new wife, then she could as well y along. "Is there a reason you are going against your husband?" The queen asked, and Luciana looked from the queen to her husband and then back again as though she didn''t know what they were talking about. "I wouldn''t dare go against my husband, my queen. He is my lord," she said in a timid tone, and the queen eyed her as though she was trying to determine whether or not to believe her. "Then how do you exin starving him, and refusing to follow him when he asked you to in public?" The queen asked, and Luciana tried to remain calm and keep her expression gentle. "I tried to find my husband so we could eat together, but I didn''t. So when Prince Harold sent his wife food while I was with her and Susan, and she invited us to eat with her, I couldn''t say no¡ª" "Harold sent his wife food?" Ivan asked in disbelief, echoing the question on the queen''s mind. "Yes. The head cook delivered it to her chamber himself," Luciana said, trying not to hiss at her ipetent husband. They were still struggling with shock at the news that he had let his wife use his chamber, and then he had shocked them further by announcing that he would be training her himself, only for them to hear now that he had sent her food? Howe he was not hiding his feelings for her from them? Or was this a trap? Was he deliberately trying to make them believe he cared about her so they would help him get rid of her? The queen mused. That had to be it. Judging from the way Princess Amber behaved, someone like Harold would never fancy her. This had to be a trap. "What if she is already pregnant and he is doing all this to keep her close and protect her?" Ivan asked, forgetting that his wife was there for a scolding. He could not stop panicking at this thought. Being born a Beta already had him at a disadvantage. "Ivan," his mother called in a warning. Why did he always forget about their goals whenever he was worried? The queen eyed him before returning her attention to Luciana. "It will do you well to stay away from Harold''s wife. You have been relieved of all your duties regarding her," the queen said in a dismissive tone. Or what? Luciana thought. What was the worst they could do to her, apart from bringing in a second wife? Maybe throw her out of the pce. But there was no way they would easily do that merely because she was hanging around with her sister-inw, Luciana mused as she bowed politely to them both before walking away. Ivan looked at his wife''s back with displeasure as she walked away without sparing him a nce. As Luciana walked out, Williams stood by the door waiting to be called in since he had also been summoned by the queen. "What if she is pregnant and they''re truly expecting a child?" Ivan asked, looking very worried. "She is not." "You can''t tell for certain. She was ill, remember? What if her sickness was due to the pregnancy?" Ivan asked, pacing around the queen''s chamber. "I am a woman. I would know if she was pregnant. And her illness wasn''t due to any pregnancy unless she was already pregnant before Harold married her," the Queen said dismissively, but she had a thoughtful look in her eyes. "Besides, what is the probability of them having a child of our kind? And even if that happened, who would want a king with a human wife and a half-blood child? Use your head, Ivan. I shouldn''t spell things out to you every time. You have to be smart. And learn to control your emotion." She said sternly. ? Seeing how his mother was confident, he decided to believe her. She was always right, so he believed she would be right again this time. "For the uing banquet. We just have to make sure everyone sees the kind of princess Harold is married to. You can always achieve your goals without staining your hands." He nodded and finally rxed. "See if Williams is out there, and bring him in," the Queen ordered, and Ivan walked over to the door to usher in Williams. Once he stood before her, Williams bowed to the Queen, and she smiled at him fondly, "How are you?" "I''m fine, my queen," Williams said without meeting her gaze. "There is no need for such formalities between us when we are alone. You are, after all, my nephew," she said, motioning for him to take a seat beside her. "Have you learned anything from Princess Amber''s maid?" She asked without beating around the bush. His hands balled into fists beside him as he looked at her. ******* Alicia flipped through the pages of the book as she tried to memorize the names and positions the people upied. He had given her a copy of the kingdom register, which had the names and information of aristocratic members of the kingdom, up to their fourth generation. The bulk of these people was going to being to the pce for the banquet, so she had to familiarise herself with them. As she read through it, Harold was busy reading a book across from her. The book had a ck cover, making it impossible for her to tell what kind of book it was. Or was this the dark poetry Luciana had told her about? Curious, she decided to ask, but before she could, he looked up to find her staring at him. Self-consciously, he looked down and faced his book, causing a small smile to form on her face when she noticed he was notfortable. "Stop staring and read," he said without looking at her. Her smile grew bigger as she wondered whether he was shy now? "What are you reading?" She asked. "A book." He replied without raising his head. She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I know. What kind of book? You seem engrossed in it." He raised his head to look at her and closed the book before keeping it inside his shirt. "That should be what concerns you," he said, pointing at the book she was supposed to be reading. "It''s too long and boring," sheined. "You do not have a choice." "Can''t you just stay close to me on that night and whisper who the people are? I don''t think I can memorise all of this." She said, raising the heavy book and pouting cutely. He averted his gaze from her before taking a smaller book from the pile of books on the table between them and cing it in front of her. "Read this then." She beamed. If all instructors were like this, wouldn''t the world be a better ce? She took the book from him and asked, "I am just curious. Why aren''t there names of women in this book?" She asked, referring to the register she had been reading through earlier. They only talked about men in power and their sons, and also grand and great-grandsons. No single woman were mentioned. "Because they are women," he said casually. "And so?" Harold sighed tiredly. He knew where this conversation was going now. "You should know by now how men are different from women here." "You know, women gave birth to all these men here, right?" She asked, touching the book. He nodded. "That is the duty of women. To produce offspring worthy of being included in this book. That is their honour." Alicia didn''t even have the energy to scoff. She was not expecting less from these people. With a determined look on her face, she hit the book loudly, almost startling him. "My name is going to be in this book." He raised a brow at her, almostughing at the determined look on her face. "That is not possible." He said calmly. She smirked challengingly. "I am Alicia Queen. Nothing is impossible," she said confidently. Chapter 136 Lunch With The King When Alicia approached the garden to have lunch with the king, she noticed how quiet the environment was. There were no maids or guards in sight, except a bodyguard, and he stood away from the garden. She couldn''t help wondering why. By the time she arrived at the garden, she noticed that the king was already seated there and a variety of meals had been served too. She felt sorry that she had kept the king waiting. As soon as the king saw her, he acknowledged her presence with a smile that made her nervous. Funny how she had been looking forward to this meeting so she could tell the king all she had on her mind, but now that it was just the two of them with no one else in sight, she was a little nervous. Also, she wanted to be done with this as soon as possible so she could go appease the big baby, who hadn''t wanted her to leave when the guard came to call for her, because, ording to him, he was not done teaching her for the day. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do since the king had already sent for her. She had to cut their lecture, which didn''t please Harold one bit. He had warned that if she left, it meant she was not going to visit Hellion that afternoon since she would be using that time. It seemed he was trying to bait her because he knew she could not turn down the king, and now she had one day cut off from visiting Hellion. "That doesn''t mean I have to spend an extra night in your chamber, does it?" She had asked, even though deep down she really didn''t mind staying in his chamber since not only was his bed morefortable than hers, but he was also a man of his words, and she didn''t have to worry about being touched. "You will spend an extra night since you are the one breaking our agreement," Harold had said as he eyed her from where he sat. "That means I don''t have to spend this night with you since you won''t be taking me to Hellion," she concluded, and Harold shrugged and looked away from her to the big book she had been reading earlier. "As you please." She could tell by the nonchnce in his tone that he was not happy with her. Unfortunately, it couldn''t be helped. And she was keeping the king waiting right now. "I will try to be quick with the king so I can return in time for us to go see hellion," Alicia had said before walking away in quick steps. Standing before the King now, and seeing how everyone had disappeared, she doubted that this would be a brief conversation. Something told her that just as she wanted to talk to the king, he also wanted to talk to her. "My king," she bowed. "Sit," he gestured at the seat across from him and she sat down elegantly, her eyes on the table. "I hope you find something you like," he said calmly. Her eyes lit up at that, and she smiled at him. "Thank you for your boundless generosity, my king," she bowed again while seated. The King nodded and had a small smile on his face as he gestured for her to eat. Before she started, the king watched as she pushed some tes to the side. He guessed she was preserving them for someone, but he didn''t ask. They both ate in silence for a while as Alicia tried to gather her thoughts and decide on the best way to raise the subject of leaving the pce. She hadn''t wanted to raise it in the presence of everyone else since she knew that the Queen and Ivan would frown at it, and she didn''t want those two in her business. Also, she wasn''t sure if the king was going to agree to that particr request, and she didn''t want to embarrass herself in front of everyone. "You don''t like your husband very much, do you?" The king asked suddenly, making her almost choke on the meat she had been eating, since she hadn''t been expecting such a direct question from him. Why was everyone interested in her rtionship with Harold? "Uhm... my king... we... are getting along..." "You don''t have to lie to me," he said calmly, before sipping his wine without taking his eyes off her. He had made sure that no guard or maid was around who would eavesdrop on their conversation and report it to either his wife or Ivan. Alicia didn''t bother to say anything because, judging by how serious he looked, she could tell that he knew something, but she didn''t know what it was. Was he asking because he found out that she stabbed Harold when she first came? "You don''t have to be ufortable. I asked us to meet here, not as your king, but as the father of your husband," he said, hoping that would calm Alicia since she was shifting in her seat ufortably. Alicia nodded slightly, "We are getting along, my king." The King studied her face for a while before speaking again, "Do you miss your kingdom?" There was nothing to miss about that shithole kingdom that princess Amber came from, but she did miss her home, and that was her kingdom, so she nodded, "Very much." The king''s lips twitched, "I am aware of the fact that you were brought from exile to marry Prince Harold. And I am also aware that you are the woman who was dressed as a man," he announced, shocking Alicia. Her eyes widened a bit when she heard that, and her heart almost burst out of her chest in panic as different questions raced through her mind. What exactly did he know? And since when did he know about this? How did he know about that? Did Harold tell him? She recalled that they both left together after dinner that night. Was the king going to punish her? Did he also know that she had been trying to escape this whole time? She tried to calm herself by reminding herself that as long as he hadn''t killed her this whole time, she was safe. Also, there was no way he would know that she wasn''t even the exiled princess. She was living in the princess''s shell. "Then... why didn''t you... do anything?" She stuttered. "Because you are Harold''s wife. And even though he is bad at revealing what he thinks and feels, I know that he cares about you greatly, so I have to keep you safe," the king said softly. Oh, well! She swallowed air nervously. "That is why I am asking you for a favor. Since I have turned a blind eye to everything that involves you, can you promise me that you will always look after Harold?" He asked, and from his tone, Alicia could tell that he cared deeply for Harold. Alicia looked at him in confusion, wondering what he meant, "But I..." "Do you think the attack on you two on your way back from the marketce is going to be thest? Or do you think it is the first time he has been attacked?" "What... attack?" She asked in confusion. The King paused and looked at her confused face in confusion. Did Harold ask her not to talk to him about it? Was that why she was pretending not to remember? Or did she really not remember? He wondered as he watched her. "You really do not remember," He said it more as a statement than a question. It seemed she had been telling the truth when she said she knew nothing. Alicia racked her brain, trying to recall what he was talking about. There had really been an attack. Was that why she copsed? Why didn''t Harold mention anything about it? She remembered how he had interrupted them while she was asking Alvin about it. Why was he hiding it from her? Most importantly, why couldn''t she remember that particr incident whereas she remembered everything else that had happened that day? "I don''t remember, and Harold didn''t say anything," Alicia murmured after some time. "He probably did not say anything because he is trying to protect you. I''m not sure he understands that it is best for you to know there is danger and be on alert." Was that why he was teaching her how to use the bow and arrow? Because he wanted her to be able to defend herself in his absence? Different thoughts swam around her head. "As his bride, you have to protect him in any way you can," the king said, even though he trusted that Alicia would do just that. He had heard about how she had attacked the men who were training with Harold, thinking that they were trying to hurt him. "Who are they? And why... are they attacking him?" She asked in a shaky voice. "Being a member of the royal familyes with attacks like this. If one is tough, they may survive. If they are not, then it''s a pity." "But you are the king. Can''t you do something about it? What if he gets hurt? What if something bad happens?" She asked, panicking. She found it difficult to breathe well as her heart contracted at the thought. It was terrifying. She couldn''t imagine living in this time and ce without Harold. What would she do if Harold got hurt? If he was no longer here for her? She''d rather just die. The King noticed how worried she looked and smiled in relief, "You seem to care about him more than I thought you did." "Eh? W-What?" She stuttered in confusion. Even she was surprised to realize how deeply she cared about him too. If she didn''t know better, she would have thought that she was in love with him. Pfft! What a silly thought. Chapter 137 "You Want Me To Spy On Him?" It was only after Alicia staggered into her chamber that she realized that she had forgotten to raise the important subject for which she had asked the king to have lunch with her. She was still too overwhelmed by all that the king had said and by the realization that if anything happened to Harold, she was royally screwed. With that realization hade the other realization that, as long as she was stuck in this era, she wanted Harold to be with her. How had she gotten herself into this? "You seem to care about him more than I thought you did." The king''s voice rang in her head. She had been so lost in her worries that she hadn''t realized it until he mentioned it. And when she looked at his face closely, she noticed he looked relieved. "Eh? W-What?" She stuttered in confusion. "I want to believe that you care for him greatly as much as he cares for you. And that you won''t let yourself be used by anyone against him." "But... if you care for him a lot, why don''t you protect him? What could I possibly do? He... doesn''t even tell me anything." She had said to him, sounding hurt. Why didn''t he tell her about the attacks on his life? Or tell her what had happened that evening before she fainted? The King smiled sadly as he said, "You must know that we do not have the best rtionship." She knew that even without being told. "His mother died when he was still an infant. Everyone he was close to died. I cannot protect him and everyone of his person." "Why?" She asked in confusion because it didn''t make sense. Wasn''t he the king? Howe he couldn''t protect his son? Or... "Is it because of the rumour I heard?" She asked carefully. "About... his older brother." The look on the king''s face changed when she mentioned that, and she immediately stopped talking. The King picked up his wine and took another long sip, this time. "That is a long story." "O...kay." The King looked at her intensely for a while, making her shift in her seat ufortably before he said, "If I am going to protect Harold, you have to let me know everything. The things he is doing, the things he says, and what you suspect he is going to do. Everything." She frowned in confusion. "You... want me to spy on him?" "You are his bride. You are not spying." "I cannot do that. Reporting everything to you means spying on him." She said, still frowning. "Why can''t you?" "Because it is wrong. And I would hate it if someone was doing that to me. I''m sorry, but I won''t do this." She said politely, her hands clenching her dress beside her. When the king didn''t say anything for a long time, she raised her head and noticed he didn''t look as serious as she had expected. "Good. You have done well." Heplimented her before rising. She was lost in her thoughts now and could not stop thinking about everything they had said. She wasn''t stupid enough to not know that the major reason she got away with everything she did was because of Harold, and it was because Harold cared about her. The King had made it sound like it was a big deal. Or maybe it was because Harold didn''t care about anyone. Maybe only Alvin and Tyra. But he seemed to treat her a lot better and even allowed her to do whatever she wanted. How else was she to exin all his thoughtful gestures to her the past couple of days, and his incessant tantrums whenever she didn''t do as he wanted? Or his anger every time he saw her with Alvin? She could tell that his feelings towards her had changed. And that was trouble. Big trouble. Speaking of tantrums, her eyes widened when she remembered that she had told him she would get back in time to go and see Hellion with him. Now he was going to throw another tantrum, Alicia thought as she gathered her gown and ran out of her chamber, but as soon as she got outside, she remembered the small box with snacks, which was wrapped with a cloth and was currently sitting on her dressing table. She went back to retrieve it. After getting it, she ran like she was being chased by a mad demon until she ran into someone, and she almost fell. Thankfully, she was able to protect the box while also stopping herself from falling. She silently prayed that it was Harold or Alvin who she had run into, and no one else, as she straightened and raised her head to look into the face of the person. She took an involuntary step backwards, clutching the box in front of her tightly when she met Prince Ivan''s cold eyes ring at her. Ivan eyed her with dislike. She was everything he hated in a woman, and now she was trying to make his lovely wife be like her. He looked down at her, contemting if he should bother with her or merely ignore her existence and go on his way. Alicia swallowed nervously as she shed her brother-inw an apologetic smile. "I''m sorry, I was in a hurry and wasn''t looking," she said, not wanting to get on the man''s nerves any more than she had done already. If for any reason, she wanted to reduce the number of enemies Harold had, she had to start with those within the royal family, and for now, the ones she could guess were Prince Ivan and his mother. From what the king had said, the members of the royal family already had enough enemies, and thest thing she wanted was to stir more discord between them. She didn''t want the brothers to fight against each other when they should be fighting side by side against their enemies. Ivan thought this was a good opportunity to teach her a little lesson. He hadn''t been the one to look for her. He was on his own when she bumped into him rudely. But just as he opened his mouth to give her the scolding of her life, a voice growled behind him. "What is going on here?" Harold growled from behind Ivan when he saw Alicia standing in front of him, looking like she was scared. He immediately assumed that Ivan was harassing Alicia, as he had promised to do if he saw her with his wife again. Ivan turned around and the brothers engaged in a stare down, with neither of them backing down. Immediately Alicia heard the anger in Harold''s voice and noticed the intense res, she ran to stand in front of him and exined, "I was running to meet you, and bumped into him by ident," she said, holding Harold''s right hand with her free hand. Ivan looked at them both with disapproval, and without uttering a word to either of them, he walked away, fuming. Immediately after he left, Harold withdrew his hand from Alicia''s grip and red at her. "Why were you running? Why were you within the pce in the first ce when you were supposed toe back after your lunch with the king?" He asked, obviously in a foul mood, but Alicia couldn''t me him for it. She had been expecting it and she was prepared to ept it. "I''m sorry," she said meekly without bothering to exin the details to him, and that only confused Harold more. When did she start apologizing so easily? Did Ivan scare her that much? "Did he hurt you? Did he say anything to you?" Harold asked, every trace of anger in his voice now reced with worry as he scanned her body with his eyes. "I''m fine. Nothing happened." She said in a soft voice. She had never been so mentally tired in her entire life. He raised her chin with a finger so that she would look up at him and he looked closely at her face. He could tell that something was wrong. Seeing how concerned he suddenly seemed, tears gathered in Alicia''s eyes as she stepped away from him. "I''m fine," she said, not trusting herself to say more than that. She had never had someone be concerned about her in the way he had. Yes, Paulina cared about her, but it was actually Amber that Paulina cared about, and she cared about her because of some deep sense of loyalty that she owed the queen. But with Harold, it was different. She was the one Harold cared about, not Amber. She was the one he kept taking care of and the one who had promised to help her escape this ce. Maybe not exactly escape, but he had agreed to help her with Hellion and turn a blind eye as long as he didn''t see her escaping. Harold was confused when she stepped away from him, and in those few seconds, his brain began to think about different things that could make her reject him. But when she suddenly stepped forward and embraced him before breaking into a sob, he became even more confused. It had to be the king. What did he say to her? Chapter 138 Glaring Contest Harold led Alicia to the closest chamber, which just happened to be a mini library. Thankfully, no one was inside, so he locked the door and waited for her to stop crying since he wasn''t sure how tofort her. Alicia didn''t even know when they got in here because she was just crying in his embrace. For some reason, she felt that this had happened before and wondered when she cried in his arms like this, but she could not exactly ce it. "Are you okay now, Princess?" He asked quietly as he broke free from the hug. She noticed he was holding the box of snacks in his hand and wondered when he had taken it from her. No wonder she had been able to fully embrace him. She wondered why he addressed her that way most of the time. Did he know that calling her "princess" like that sounded like an endearment? "I''m fine... sorry," she said and wiped her tears with her sleeves. Harold looked like he didn''t believe it. He took her hand and led her to a seat before he sat down beside her. He dropped the box on the table and took out a handkerchief from his inner shirt before reaching to clean her face. He looked so focused and so worried that it made her feel even worse. She shifted back a little and took the handkerchief from his hand to clean her tears on her own. He was not helping. What was going to happen to her if she allowed him to do all this? How was she going to sessfully n her escape? For days, she hadn''t taken her time to make any serious ns. She hadn''t even wondered about Amber''s mother and why they had the same face. She had stupidly tried to drown herself, and she hadn''t been able to do that either, with all these people''s faces shing before her eyes. What was she going to do now? Harold frowned at her when she took the handkerchief from him. He said nothing and pulled it out from her grip before reaching to clean her face stubbornly. She tried to reach for it again while calling out his name, "Har¡ª" but he interrupted her with a re, "Behave." He stated sternly and began to gently clean her eyes. She resigned and let him do it, but didn''t look at him. She looked to the side. "Did the king say anything to you?" He asked. He felt only the king would probably have such an effect on her. He was the king. He was an alpha wolf. Maybe he had threatened her? Because he knew the king knew about many of the things she had said and done. "We had lunch together, so, of course, we talked," she said, trying to y it lightly. "What did you talk about?" Harold asked seriously as he used his hand to arrange her hair that was all over her face. She looked at him for a second before she averted her gaze and looked at the box on the table. "I brought you some snacks I think you would like," she said and reached for the box. Harold wanted to scold her for changing the topic, but he paused and looked a little surprised when she reached for it and handed the box to him. He took the box, still looking confused before looking down at it and up at her, "Why?" He asked quietly. "Why what?" "This..." He looked down at the box. Firstly, no one had given him a packed lunch box with snacks. The maids served him when he wanted, and he joined the rest of the family at the dining table, but that was it. Secondly, he had thought it was for Paulina. "What do you mean?" She asked, also confused at his confusion. "I saw them and thought you might like them, so I bought them for you. Besides, I know you haven''t had lunch yet." "What about Paulina?" He asked. He wasn''t sure he hated saying any name as much as he hated saying that name. Why did he dislike her this much? "Paulina?" Alicia was a little confused before she remembered and eximed in surprise, "Oh! Paulina! I totally forgot!" This was worse than she had thought. She had forgotten about Paulina, who she wanted to escape with, but had thought about Harold, whom she wanted to escape from. She shook off the thought. She was going to think about thatter, not now when he was staring at her the way he was. Harold tried to keep a straight face as he looked at her. She had forgotten to pack some snacks for Paulina but had packed some for him instead? He thought to himself, feeling... he couldn''t ce how he felt exactly, but he knew that he was trying to not smile. "Can you share?" She asked with an apologetic look, making the smile transform into a scowl. "No!" He eyed her unpleasantly before clutching the box to his side. It was her fault for forgetting, so what did that have to do with him? Alicia looked at him in disbelief."Why not?" "Because it''s mine, and whatever is mine belongs only to me," Harold said stubbornly, his grip tightening on the box. Alicia eyed him for a minute. His attitude was really funny. She couldn''t believe that this full-grown man was acting like a baby. "Go on and eat it then," she said, watching him. "Here?" He asked, looking around the library, and she bobbed her head. "I will get someone to get you a drink," Alicia said, wanting to rise, but Harold quickly stopped her. "Just stay here. Don''t worry about it," Harold said as he opened the lunch box. "You will need to drink something," Alicia said, concerned, but Harold shook his head. "I asked Alvin to get me water before meeting you. I''m sure he will bring it here," Harold said, and then looked into the lunchbox as he tried to enter Alvin''s head. As soon as he was able to, he asked him to bring a gourd of water to the library before raising his head to look at Alicia. He exited Alvin''s head as quickly as he entered, leaving Alvin in a panic at the sudden intrusion again! "What did the king say to make you cry?" Harold asked as he picked up a snack and bit into it. On hearing his question, Alicia remembered what the king had said about them being attacked, and she sat up, "Why are you teaching me how to use a bow and arrow?" Harold''s brows creased. What did that have to do with her tears? "The king asked you that?" Alicia fought the urge to roll her eyes and said, "The King didn''t say that. I''m just asking to know." "Why? Was that why you were crying? You don''t want me to teach you that?" Harold asked, and this time Alicia red at him. "For chrissake, Harold! Can you just answer the damn question and stop asking me silly questions?" Alicia snapped at him, and Harold red back at her, not liking being yelled at. Even his wolf growled at the disrespect. Thankfully, Alvin chose that moment to knock on the door. "Come in," Harold called, without breaking his gaze. Alvin walked in and tried to hide his surprise at seeing Harold seated with a pack of snacks in front of him. When Harold stormed away from the pavilion angrily after he informed him that his wife was done dining with the king, he had expected toe in here and see Alicia on her knees crying for her life, not Harold eating. But then again, this was Harold and his bride he was thinking about, so he ought not to be surprised. But then again, it looked like she had cried. "Alvin," Alicia called, breaking her gaze from Harold to look at Alvin, who was dropping the water gourd on the desk. Alvin quickly looked from Harold to Alicia, praying not to be dragged into whatever was going on between them since he had noticed them ring at each other. "What happened on our way back from the market ce?" Alicia asked, and Alvin quickly turned to Harold. "Don''t say a word, Harold! I''m talking to Alvin, not you," Alicia said when Harold opened his mouth to dismiss Alvin. "Look at me," Alicia instructed Alvin, who was still staring at Harold, and he turned to her. "Talk to me. He won''t do anything to you. What happened?" She asked again eagerly. Alvin believed her when she said Harold wouldn''t do anything to him, since even Harold was scared of her. If his master was scared of her, who was he not to be scared of her? His only worry was that he was loyal to Harold and he didn''t want to break Harold''s trust. For some reason, she couldn''t remember the attack, and Harold wanted it to remain that way. He had to honor Harold''s wish. Harold tried to enter Alvin''s head, but he couldn''t no matter how hard he tried. It seemed like as she was talking to him, Alvin couldn''t hear him. He could only hope that Alvin wouldn''t say a word. "Uh... nothing happened, mdy," Alvin said awkwardly to Harold''s relief and to the disappointment of Alicia. "Nothing happened? So the attack was nothing?" She asked with a harsh re. Chapter 139 Kill Or Be Killed Alvin had just returned from an important mission and was making his way to find Harold to ry everything he found out from following the kitchen staff to the marketce when Harold entered his head. Since Harold entered, wouldn''t he have just asked how it went? But no. He had asked for a gourd of water, and now he was here, facing the harsh re of Harold''s wife. Alvin nced at Harold in confusion. Did he perhaps tell her the truth already and now he was about to get into the Princess'' bad books because he was being loyal to his disloyal master? Or was she saying this because she had regained her memory and was testing them? "You don''t have to look at him. He already told me all about the attack. I can''t believe you lied to me, Alvin. And I was beginning to trust you," Alicia said to Alvin with a disappointed and dejected look. She looked so in character that Harold almost believed he had truly told her something. She was good. But he could not understand what she was trying to achieve by doing this. Had she possibly remembered the attack? Or did the king tell her about it? Harold mused as he watched Alvin, hoping that Alvin was smart enough to see through Alicia''s ruse. Unfortunately for Harold, Alvin was not smart enough to win against maniptive women like Alicia. So Prince Harold told her? Alvin wondered, still waiting for Harold to enter his head and talk to him, but there was silence. That had to mean that Harold wanted him to tell her the truth. "I''m sorry, mdy," Alvin apologized sincerely, making Harold grit his teeth. He was going to kill Alvin as soon as he got the chance. "Don''t be. Sit down and tell me exactly what happened..." Alicia said calmly, pointing to another seat behind Harold. Thest thing she wanted was for Harold to be ring at Alvin, and threatening the poor guy. Alvin nced at Harold, before doing as he was told. Harold suspected that her questions had something to do with the reason she had been crying earlier, and if that was it, then maybe it was best they told her about it once and for all. She had to know what she was capable of doing. "I will tell you all you need to¡ª" "No." She interrupted Harold, frowning at him. "You had your chance," she reminded him, and although Harold didn''t like that she was ordering him, he remained silent. "Go on, Alvin. Tell me exactly what happened," Alicia urged him, and after only a moment''s hesitation, Alvin went on to give her the details. "We were attacked by some bandits or assassins. I don''t know what exactly they were, but they were huma¡ª I mean... they were bandits." Alicia looked at him in confusion, wondering what he was rambling about and why he looked like he had almost said what he was not supposed to. She noticed Harold had also turned to look at him before he corrected himself and said something else. "They attacked us. Prince Harold asked you to leave with Bane, but you refused and fought alongside us." "Wait a minute..." Alicia interrupted him with a raised hand, lookingpletely lost. "I fought?" She looked at Alvin and then at Harold before adding, "Some assassins?" She asked in disbelief, torn betweenughing at the joke or calling Alvin crazy. "You did," Harold said when he noticed she didn''t seem to believe it. It was just as he had suspected, that had been Amber''s subconsciousness. Alicia looked at his face closely, trying to check if he was joking, but he looked very serious and so did Alvin. It was as if hearing what happened was the trigger she needed because the memory shed before her eyes, causing a splitting headache that made her clutch her head in her hands. "Princess?" Harold asked, sounding concerned as he stood up from his seat, dropping his lunch. He tried to get her attention, but she continued to groan while holding her head. Harold quickly nced at Alvin, who was as confused as he was. Alvin was standing behind him now, but he obviously had no idea what he was supposed to do. Suddenly, the two heard her gasp as she stood up abruptly and stared into the distance, her face as white as a sheet. "What is wr¡ª" "I... killed s-someone." She said in disbelief before facing Harold. Harold wondered whether she now remembered all that happened that day, seeing how she remembered this part. But before he could ask, Alvin spoke. "Actually, you killed three people." Alvin reminded her tactlessly and received a sharp look with a mixture of disbelief and anger from Harold before he sealed his lips and began to contemte fleeing or not. It seemed like he was not supposed to say anything. Alicia''s already white face paled even more as she looked from Alvin to Harold. "Is... he telling the truth? I... I killed someone? No... three... people?" She asked, looking down at her hands in disbelief. Well, now he had to deal with this. Harold almost sighed in frustration before giving Alvin the side-eye. "Leave," Harold ordered Alvin, who didn''t need to be told twice. As soon as he heard that, he fled the chamber, giving the two some privacy. He could not help but continue to feel confused by her reaction. Hadn''t she said that Harold had told her all about it already? Why was she behaving like she was hearing it for the first time? Did she just trick him? Between Harold and his wife, he didn''t know what to do. But he was sure of one thing... they were going to be the death of him. Alicia, who was still stunned by this new piece of information, looked at Harold and asked, "Is... it true?" From the look on her face, Harold could tell she was hoping he would tell her it was a joke. Unfortunately, it was real, so he nodded and decided to be honest with her. "Yes. You killed three men. Two with daggers and one with a sword," Harold exined, watching her closely. Alicia raised a hand to her head, which continued to ache as images of the fight shed through her mind. "I killed three men," Alicia murmured. "You wanted to know what happened. Now you know what happened. Get over it." "Get over it?" She asked in disbelief, crying now. How could he trivialize this issue like this? "I KILLED PEOPLE! THREE MEN WHO PROBABLY HAD FAMILIES." She raised her voice before the panic set in. "Oh my goodness! What have I done? How did this happen? What have I gotten myself int¡ª" "Calm down." He said, cing his hands on her shoulders to keep her from pacing the room, but she pushed him away immediately. "HOW COULD YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN?" She cried. If Harold had suspected that she would react this way, he wouldn''t have told her about this even if a sword was drawn to his neck. "Because it''s not a big issue?" He replied, shrugging. Her jaw hung low as she looked at him in disbelief. Harold could not help but wonder what he did wrong to be stared at like that. She killed the people that attacked them. What was so wrong with that? "How can killing people not be a big issue? Maybe it is normal for you, but it is not for me. I led a simple life. I am an actress, not a killer! I haven''t even killed a chicken before and I killed three people!?" She burst into tears, still finding it hard to believe. Harold just looked at her, wondering if he understood how she felt. But the truth was that he didn''t. He wasn''t sure he could either. "It was either that or they could have killed you." He said while taking her hand. She tried to withdraw from him, but he wouldn''t let her. "I don''t care!" She yelled. How was she going to live happily knowing what she had done? "I do." "I don''t!" "You could have been killed like the others if you hadn''t fought back." He reminded her. "You have a life too. You have friends and family. But they wouldn''t have cared either." Her sobs came out broken as she gripped the front of his shirt with her hands and cried while her body shook. "I... killed people, Harold." Harold wasn''t sure he had ever taken the initiative to embrace her, but he did so now. Seeing her cry like this made him devastated. Thankfully, she didn''t pull away and just cried in his arms. "Princess, if you have to kill a million people just to stay alive, then I will choose that a million times over. You are no longer in your world. This is our world. So I hope you get used to it soon." Chapter 140 Alicias Real Face After she was done crying so much, she sat down and just stared nkly without saying a word, while Harold just stared at her, not sure what he was supposed to do. "Would... you... like some bread?" He asked, offering one. Alicia turned to look at him. If this weren''t such a big issue, she would haveughed at hisme attempt to console her. But she didn''t have it in her tough right now. "How could I do that?" She asked quietly, making him frown in confusion. "You don''t want to eat the bread?" "No. I mean... I can''t... I don''t... I don''t even know how to use a sword or a dagger," Alicia said in confusion, returning to that topic. She had been thinking about it for a while, and it just didn''t make sense. "You stabbed me before with a dagger." He reminded her as he returned the bread to the box. "But I don''t know¡ª" "Amber knows how to," Harold said matter-of-factly, and Alicia''s eyes widened as understanding dawned on her. She wanted to ask him how he knew about it, but that was the least of her worries right now. Princess Amber. That exined the ckout and why she couldn''t remember what had happened. So Amber was still possessing this body? What did that mean for her? If Princess Amber was still living in this body, then what about her body? Was she alive? Different questions ran through Alicia''s mind until she felt Harold take her hands and squeeze them gently to bring her back to reality. He didn''t want her to try and force herself to remember anything, so she wouldn''t have that episode and break down again. That was scary to watch. She met his soft gaze and listened to him as he spoke, "I''m teaching you how to use the bow and arrow so that she won''t have to take over your body every time there is danger," Harold exined. "But it''s her body, not mine," Alicia said in a shaky voice, revealing how scared she was. If Amber had taken over her body, then what had happened to her subconsciousness? Did it mean that a day woulde when Amber would fully take over, and she would be buried forever? "It''s your body now, and it is going to remain so," Harold said with confidence. "You have to take your lessons seriously," Harold continued, but Alicia was still too lost in her thoughts to argue with him. She knew she wasn''t going to possess Princess Amber''s body forever, but until the moment came for her to leave, she would need to learn how to defend herself... and help Harold too. But then, something else urred to her, and she looked at Harold sharply. "But what if it wasn''t Amber?" He raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering what she meant by that. "I''m just wondering about the possibility that it would be Amber''s mother." "Amber''s mother? What does she have to do with this?" "This may make me sound crazy, but you have to believe me, okay?" Did he have a choice? He nodded gently. "Paulina gifted me a painting. A painting of Amber''s mother. She had the same face as me. I mean my real face. Alicia''s face." "How is that possible?" "I have no idea. And I had a dream..." she shook her head. "It was more vivid than a dream. I think it was the past. She wasn''t an ordinarydy. She was a fighter. Paulina also confirmed it. Her name was Queen Anne. Could it be that she is the other soul possessing this body and not Amber?" She asked with concern. Why was everything here soplicated? While she was racking her head about this, Harold had his priorities set. "The painting is of your real face?" He asked curiously, and she nodded. "I want to see it," he informed her. He was going to think about all this messter, but for now, he wanted to see what she looked like without Amber''s face. Alicia thought he was curious because he wanted to help her find answers, so she stood up, ready to lead him to her chamber, where she had kept it hidden with Amber''s diary. As the two left the library, Harold tried to get into Alvin''s head again, but this time, it was exhausting to do so. He guessed it was probably because he had done it once and still hadn''t mastered the art, so when he noticed it was taking so much energy from him, he stopped. For now. As they walked down the hallway, the Queen, who was walking down behind them, raised a brow when she noticed that they had been in the library. She turned to her bodyguard. "Find out what they were doing there," the Queen ordered him, and he bowed to her before walking away to do as he had been told. The queen continued on her way down to the private pavilion to have some tea. Once she got there, she sat to wait for Tyra, who she had sent for, to join her while a servant served her tea. She looked up when Tyra joined her. "Mother, you sent for me," Tyra said with a bow. She had been very surprised when she received the message. "Sit," she ordered, and Tyra sat down gracefully. "How have you been?" The Queen asked, and looking at the way she talked to her and treated her, one would doubt that she was the queen''s daughter. "I''ve been well," Tyra said, curious to know the reason the queen had sent for her. The Queen nodded but said nothing as a servant came to pour some tea into a mug for Tyra. Once the servant left, the Queen looked at Tyra. "I learned that Susan and Harold''s wife passed the night in your chamber two nights ago," she said, and Tyra nodded. Of course, she hadn''t expected it to remain a secret forever. "Princess Amber''s chamber was flooded, and she couldn''t sleep there, so she asked to share my bed, and I couldn''t turn her down," Tyra exined. "Flooded? How did that happen?" The queen asked curiously, and Tyra shook her head. "I don''t know, mother." "And Susan? Was her chamber flooded too?" "No, mother. She slept off while we were talking, and I didn''t want to disturb her sleep," Tyra lied, and the Queen nodded. "What do you think about Harold''s wife?" The queen asked, and Tyra almost sighed in disappointment. Of course, what else had she been expecting? That the queen wanted to see her to spend time with her as mother and daughter? She was more concerned about Princess Amber, of course. "I think she is very lovely and suits Prince Harold," Tyra said with a small smile as she thought of Alicia, and the Queen looked at her with disapproval. "Do you think she wants to be Queen? Has she said anything about wanting Harold to be king?" The queen asked, and Tyra shook her head immediately. "No, mother. I don''t think she has such thoughts," Tyra said in Alicia''s defense. "So why is she being nice to the servants?" "I think it''s just the way she is, mother." "And what about you? Why did you give and the others give snacks to your servants?" The Queen asked with displeasure. "We only gave our servants the snacks from the meal we shared," Tyra said, noting the queen''s displeasure. "I''m sure that was Princess Amber''s idea. You are a princess, and servants are servants. They can have the leftovers when they clear the table. You must not be the one to feed them," the Queen said, and Tyra nodded. ,m "I''m sorry, mother." Before the Queen could respond to that, her bodyguard returned. He stood behind the queen, and his eyes met with Tyra''s. Their gaze held for only a second, and he bowed to her before Tyra looked away. "Don''t let yourself be influenced by Harold''s uncultured wife. It is one thing to watch you cling to Harold and call him your brother. It is another thing for you to cling to his human bride. You are superior to her. Don''t ever forget that," the Queen said in a dismissive tone. "You can leave," she ordered, and Tyra bowed to her before leaving. As she walked away, the queen''s guard stepped forward to report to the queen. "There was a gourd of water and a pack of snacks in the library. I think they were having lunch together, my Queen," he said with a bow. They were having lunch just after she had lunch with the king? Why did the king send everyone away just to speak with her? What did they talk about? She hated that everyone was beginning to warm up to Harold''s wife. It seemed like the only people in the pce who were still immune to her charm were herself, Ivan, Damon, and, for some reason, Beth. Her maids had reported to her that everyone in the kitchen was singing her praises about how humble and caring she was. And even the maids that were in charge of her welfare also kept talking about how well she treated them. As much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to get worried because of Harold''s wife. Wasn''t she trouble? Chapter 141 Stylishly Stealing A Painting When Alicia entered her room, she was a little surprised to see how the entire ce looked. Everywhere was clean and it looked like the bed had been reced too. The damp odor was no longer in the air, but had been reced by a pleasant smell. "What happened?" She asked, dumbfounded. It hadn''t been a very long time since she left the room, so howe it had been transformed like this? "Even though you are going to be spending the nights in my chamber, you will still return to yours during the day. It is only appropriate to make itfortable for you." Harold said casually behind her. She turned to look at him and smiled, "You are very thoughtful. Thank you." She told him before turning to look around. If they could easily do this in less than a few hours, howe they had left it like that this entire time? He waved it off like it wasn''t a big deal. So little things like these were the key to a woman''s heart? Harold reasoned. That book wasn''t totally useless after all. "The portrait?" Harold said, reminding her impatiently. "Oh, yes!" She turned towards the drawer in the dressing table and reached for the little bag inside. She took out Amber''s diary and opened it to take out the piece of paper she had kept folded inside it. Harold didn''t wait for her to open it for him. He took it from her and opened it. Somehow, Alicia was curious to know what he thought of her appearance. It was as though he was assessing her, and she was waiting for him to call the results. Would he prefer her face or Amber''s face? Alicia watched Harold as his eyes patiently roamed over the portrait painting of her face. Why was he taking such a long time? Did he know her? She knew that Harold must have been young when the Queen was killed, but who knows? Perhaps she had visited their kingdom when he was a child or something? "This is exactly what you look like?" Harold asked after a while without taking his eyes away from the painting. He honestly hadn''t been able to put a face to ''Alicia Queen'' but he certainly hadn''t expected her real appearance to be a lot more pleasing to the eyes than that of Amber. "Yes," she said with a nod. Hoping that he was done now. "Your eyes are blue?" Harold asked once again as he looked at the blue eyes that looked lighter than his. "Yes. Exactly like hers," Alicia repeated, trying not to sound impatient. "It makes sense that this is you," he said softly without taking his eyes off the painting. "How so?" She asked in confusion. "Only someone with such a rebellious look can harbor your soul and foul mouth." Alicia''s brows furrowed in confusion when she heard that. "Is that... an insult?" She asked but gave him a suspicious look when he folded the paper and kept it inside his inner shirt. "What are you doing?" She asked him. "I''m keeping it." Alicia blinked back him surprise, "You want to keep the painting? Why?" Alicia asked, since that was thest thing she had been expecting him to say. "Because it is important that I do. You may misce it. And you do not need it. She is not your mother, and you already know what you look like." Alicia could not follow his train of thought. "Hold on, that is not your concern. Besides, it was a gift from Paulina!" "Do you know who made it possible for Paulina to make you this gift?" "It was by chance that she was assigned to clean the painting room, so how does that have anything to do with¡ª oh!" She eximed. "It was you?" "You can put it that way if you please." He took her hand and led her to the bed before pushing her down to sit on it. Then he crouched in front of her. "You have had a long day. You should forget about the painting and rest. Let''s talk again tonight. Is that okay, Princess?" Alicia''s mouth was too dry for her to say anything, so she bobbed her head. Although she loved the painting and wanted to hold on to it as that was the only physical thing she had left of her real self, and she feared that if she didn''t look into that painting often she would soon forget what she really looked like, she also wanted someone else to know what she looked like. Someone who would look at her and remember her real face even if she forgot. Hence, she would let him have it if he wanted it that much. She could always ask Paulina to make another painting for her. "Good," Harold said as he made a mental note to have the portrait framed so that it wouldn''t get crumpled and ruined. When he was about to stand up, she reached for his arm and held him back. "Next time, do not keep anything from me. I want to always know what is happening. It is better that I know about my actions, whether or not I was conscious." Alicia told Harold quietly. "Alright." "I should go and see Hellion before it gets toote," Alicia said and tried to stand up, but he wouldn''t let her. "Rest." Rest? How could she rest? Not only did she have that scary conversation with the king, she also realized that she had killed three people. Thest thing she wanted was to sleep for fear of having a nightmare. It would be better for her to do other things to upy her mind. Besides, going to see Hellion was important to her escape n, and they were not done with their discussion that led her to show him the painting either. She needed them to finish it. "BI still need answers," she said, stopping Harold again when he tried to stand up and leave. He would have to start by finding out everything he could about Queen Anne. He would need to know who she was before she became Queen, what led to her death, when she died, and how she died. If Alicia''s suspicion was right that Queen Anne was also possessing Princess Amber''s body, then he would need those answers to understand what had also brought Alicia to possess the body of the daughter of a woman that looked like her. Wow! It was all soplicated. Harold turned to her, "Don''t worry, I will find a way to get all the answers you need," Harold promised, since he was also curious now, "Until then, let''s focus on other things." Harold said to her softly. "Can you stay until I fall asleep?" She asked in a pleading tone. He looked hesitant for a moment before he stood up and went to sit down on the chair in the room. Her thoughts drifted back to her conversation with the king. She had a lot of things to think about. She wanted to know more about him and what he was thinking, but she didn''t know how to ask him since she could guess he wouldn''t want to tell her. "Stop thinking and sleep," he said from where he had been watching her. She sighed and closed her eyes. It didn''t take long before she drifted off to sleep. Harold stood up and went to the bed to cover her up properly. He reached to touch her face, but just as he was about to touch it, he stopped and withdrew his hand before he walked out of the room. He knew that from now on, his life was going to be even moreplicated than it already was. How did he get to this stage? Wasn''t this the exact thing he had been trying to avoid the entire time? As soon as he got inside his room, Alvin knocked and entered. ,m "How did it go?" He asked Alvin. "It was just as I suspected. There is something strange about the girl. Her smell changed again to the first one I was familiar with." He narrated to Harold about how he had kept a close eye on her and even followed her when she went into a store to get some things. When she came out, her smell was different, and there was something odd about her. "Is she wearing a scent mask?" Harold asked, even though he suspected that it was more than that. "I don''t think so." Alvin shook his head. "I think there are two different people." "She is a twin?" Alvin asked, a little confused. "I believe so." Harold pondered what he had just been told. "So one is inside the pce and the other one is outside. And they switch ces once in a while? Interesting." He said to himself. "What should I do?" Alvin asked Harold, who was deep in thought, wondering if this was truly the case. "I think it''s time to take that stroll into town again." "I can find the one outside easily." Alvin offered. "Hold on. Keep an eye on the one inside the pce. I need proof that she works with either Ivan or the queen. I also need to know what they are nning." Chapter 142 Covet The Throne With a lot on his mind, Harold went to the training ground to practice. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn''t realize how aggressively he was fighting with others. If they had been using a real sword instead of a wooden version, they would have had thousands of cuts on their bodies already. The guards could not help but pray for a helper to deliver them, and it seemed like the moon goddess was on their side because a helper came in the form of the delicate princess. "Brother!" Tyra called as she looked at the other guards with worry. Harold snapped back to his senses and stopped before he looked at her. He noticed the worry in her gaze and looked around him, seeing the bruises he had inflicted on all the guards. With a gentle nod of his head, they all ran away, leaving the siblings. Tyra approached him with a handkerchief and a gourd of water and handed both to him. "What were you thinking about that made you like that?" Harold didn''t answer her and just took the water. After a gulp, he dropped it and took the handkerchief. "What are you doing here?" He asked her. "I came to see you." "Is something wrong?" He asked. Tyra looked around them to be sure they were alone before she turned to him and asked, "Do you think anyone would hear us?" Harold naturally had sharper senses than her since she was an omega. When Harold didn''t get anything or suspect any presence around, he shook his head. "What is wrong?" "Mother sent for me today." He said nothing and just waited for her to say what she wanted to. "She wanted to know more about your rtionship with Princess Amber. And to know if you had any ns to covet the throne." Harold raised an eyebrow. Of everyone to ask, why did the queen think about asking Tyra? "I assured her that it wasn''t the case. But... I don''t think she is going to let it go just like that." "Do you realize the danger you are putting yourself in by revealing this to me?" "I know." She nodded. "That is why... you should think about it." "About what?" "Coveting." Harold knew what she was talking about. She wanted him to covet the throne. "Speak of no such thing. It is treason." "I do not care. The pce is not safe. None of us are. Do you think I do not know that you were attacked on the way to your wedding?" Tyra asked, surprising him a little. "And I know that more is going to happen. Or maybe it has happened already but you are keeping it from everyone. Mother and Ivan are not going to stop until they get rid of you," she continued. "Tyra!" He called her sternly. "The throne is not mine to keep," he said, tempted to remind her that she was the queen''s daughter and Ivan''s sister. Her loyalty should be to them, not to him. But then again, they had never treated her right because she was an Omega, so maybe he understood why she preferred him to her own family. "Do you think Ivan is going to be a better king?" She asked with watery eyes. "If Ivan bes king, it would be over for everyone. You know how ruthless he is. He is only just trying to act responsibly, so the people continue to favour him. You know how he and mother treat Omegas. You know better!" "TYRA!" He called her again in a warning voice. She stopped talking and began to sob quietly. He had his ns. But he didn''t want Tyra to get involved in any of it. And she was right. He knew better how these people treated Omegas. Because his mother had been one, and she had been killed. Harold put a hand on her shoulder as he said, "You should stay out of all this. For your safety." "When have I ever been safe?" She asked, looking up at him. "I cannot live the way I want to. I cannot be happy. I only have to wait patiently until mother decides to marry me off to someone who would find an omega like me worthy. I can''t choose anything about my life or the person I want to spend the rest of my life with," She cried. "You may not know this, but father''s health has been deteriorating. Mother also knows about it. It is only a matter of time before he announces his sessor. I think things will get worse from now on. And I am scared." Her body shook as she cried. Harold was surprised to hear about this since it was the first time he was hearing about the King being sick. He was also surprised by how much Tyra knew and everything she kept inside of her. "You will be safe. And if there is someone you have in your heart, I will support you." She looked up at him with hopeful eyes and asked, "Are you sure?" Her question just made him confirm that she did have someone in her heart. "You have my word." Away from there, Aliciay on her bed, unable to sleep. She had only been able to rest for a few minutes before she woke up. How could she sleep? She had too many things on her mind, and it all went beyond escaping now. Although she still wanted to return to her life, she couldn''t just leave like this. Especially now that Harold''s life was in danger. She silently cursed herself for worrying about Harold when she should be more concerned about leaving this damned ce with its dangers. Why the heck was she letting her emotions get in the way? And why the heck was the thought of escaping from here no longer look appealing. After that drowning episode, she doubted that returning would be as easy as she had thought, and maybe it was time she concerned herself with the why and how she ended up here now that she knew that she wasn''t the only one possessing Princess Amber''s body. Well, she wasn''t sure, but it was still a possibility. She was also curious to know who had attacked them on their way back from the marketce and why. Was it a random attack on them because they were royals? Or had Harold particrly been targeted? She stood up and started pacing around the bedroom. What could she do here? How could she apply her modern knowledge to solve her problems here? She nced up when a knock sounded on her door before it was pushed open, "Mdy," Paulina greeted her with a bow as she walked into the bedroom. Alicia sighed inwardly. It had been a while since she worried about Paulina. Somehow, she had been too distracted with thoughts of Harold and everyone else to think about the poor girl. "Paulina, how are you?" She asked, shing her a smile as she walked over to where Paulina stood. "I''m fine, mdy. Prince Harold asked that I get you ready for dinner since Princess Luciana is no longer in charge of you," Paulina exined with a smile. "Does that mean you are in charge of me now?" Alicia asked hopefully, and Paulina shook her head. "No, Mdy. Your husband is in charge. I only have to follow his orders," she corrected, but they both knew she was indirectly in charge. "That is good. Have you had something to eat today?" Alicia asked, feeling guilty that she had packed snacks for Harold, who didn''t really need them, and had forgotten about Paulina, who needed them. "Yes, Mdy. Willia... Sir Williams made sure of it." "Williams? So you''re now on a first-name basis with him?" Alicia asked, and Paulina blinked at her in confusion. "I guess things are going on well between you two?" Alicia asked instead, and Paulina gave her a shy smile that made Alicia worried especially after her conversation with Susan. "He said we are... friends." "Just be careful," Alicia said to her before remembering the favour she needed from Paulina. "I''m sorry to bother you, Paulina..." "You could never be a bother to me, mdy," Paulina quickly cut her off. "I''m d to hear that. Would you mind painting another portrait of Princess Amber''s mother?" She asked hopefully. "A new one?" Paulina blinked in surprise since she hadn''t been expecting that. Alicia nodded, "A bigger one, hopefully. I''d like to have it framed and hanging on the wall here," Alicia said, pointing to the opposite end of the bed. She would love for her real face to be the first thing she saw every time she woke up in the morning. "I will need the other painting to make a new one," Paulina said, but Alicia''s brows pulled together in distress since she doubted that Harold was going to release it. What was with him and the painting anyway? "It''s with Prince Harold. He wants to keep it. Can''t you make a new one from your memory?" Alicia asked hopefully. Although it wouldn''t be easy to make a portrait painting of Queen Anne by merely relying on her memory, seeing how it seemed to mean a lot to her mistress, Paulina smiled. It appeared that Princess Amber had finally put away her thoughts of running away from here. "I will do it," Paulina promised just as the other maids arrived with pails of water. "It''s time to get you ready for dinner, Mdy." Chapter 143 A Bad Feeling Harold had been thinking about a lot of thingstely, and meeting Tyra this evening hadn''t helped. She had just seeded in making him more concerned about everything. Usually, things like this didn''t bother him too much. He knew that they wouldn''t hurt Tyra, and he and Alvin could handle themselves. But now, there was Alicia. It would have even been better if she was the only one he would have to protect, but Alicia just happened to be a busybody who cared about everyone. He had a feeling that when there was conflict, instead of saving herself, she would want to stay back to save others, just like she had done when they had been attacked at the marketce. With a heavy sigh, he went to stand by the window in his chamber, staring at the painting of Queen Anne, which he now looked at as a painting of Alicia. His lips involuntarily curved into a smile as he used his forefinger to trace her face. He hadn''t been kidding when he said only someone with such rebellious looks could harbour her soul and foul mouth. Her real face was more befitting than Princess Amber''s, and he didn''t think so just because she was more beautiful than Princess Amber. She was more beautiful, yes. But unlike Princess Amber, who looked somehow fragile, weak, and princess-like, even though she was not, Queen Anne looked more like a fighter. Maybe it was the way her eyes seemed to shine with defiance. A part of him wished this was the person he was married to, and the sensible part of him reminded him that it was her he was married to. It was that defiant soul that possessed this frail body. He folded the paper and returned it to his pocket when he heard Alvin''s footsteps from outside and turned to the door just as Alvin knocked and walked in as usual. From the look on Alvin''s face, he could tell that Alvin had questions he needed answers to. "Did you ry my message to Paulina?" Harold asked, and Alvin gave him a nod. "Are you aware that the king is not feeling well?" Harold asked, and Alvin blinked at him in surprise. It was the first time he was hearing about this. "Since when?" Alvin asked in confusion since the king had appeared to be healthy when he saw him earlier that day. "That is what I need to find out. I only just heard of it today." Now that he thought about it, he recalled that the king hadn''t had much of an appetitetely. He only ate a little or spent his time talking to Alicia before he left. He had also noticed the king usually left his morning assembly and meetings quite on time. He wasn''t surprised that the king had not mentioned anything about it. "You know what it would mean if anything happened to him right now," Harold said, and he didn''t need to spell it out to him for Alvin to get the gist. Both brothers had sworn before their father and the entire court to not fight against each other, and they both knew that the king was the only thing keeping Ivan and Harold from shing each other''s throats. The moment the king died, Harold was aware that both the Queen and Ivan woulde after him, just as Tyra had pointed out. And it wasn''t just his life at risk anymore. He knew that Ivan wasn''t fond of Alicia, and that meant the queen didn''t like her either. They wouldn''t mind trying to hurt her first just to get at him. And he feared it was going to work. Damn it! How did he let his guard down so much? "Try your best to keep an eye on Ali... Princess Amber," Harold said dismissively, and Alvin nodded but remained where he stood. "What else do you want?" "Is Princess Amber... alright?" Alvin asked, and Harold raised a brow as he asked, "Are you worried about my wife?" "You just asked me to keep an eye on her," Alvin said defensively. Who would have thought Prince Harold would be this jealous and possessive over his wife? So much for not wanting to get married. "She is fine." Even though Alvin knew he probably shouldn''t ask, he couldn''t stop himself. He needed to understand what was happening in order to do a better job of protecting her. "Why couldn''t she remember what happened?" Alvin asked tentatively. More than that, he wanted to know why she had seemed so shocked at the thought of killing those men when she had handled the weapons so expertly, as if it wasn''t her first time doing so. Although Harold trusted Alvin, he couldn''t bring himself to tell him anything. It was better if he was the only one who knew about Alicia. Besides, how could he exin to Alvin that Alicia was not Princess Amber? Or was it that Princess Amber was not Alicia? It had been easier for him to believe it since he had met her trying to escape in the woods before knowing she was his supposed bride, but how could he expect Alvin to understand it when even he didn''t understand it? Believing something was one thing, but understanding it was another. Thinking about it now, he remembered that there was something else he needed to do. He couldn''t entrust it to Alvin, as if he did that, Alvin would find out that Princess Amber had been living in exile beforeing to the pce. It was something he needed to do by himself. Alvin, who was still waiting for Harold to answer his question, was on the verge of giving up when Harold finally spoke, "I will be away from the pce for some time. Keep an eye on Princess Amber all the time and also on that pce maid," Harold said, and Alvin wasn''t surprised that his question had been ignored. Until now, Harold didn''t keep secrets from him, but it seemed like where his wife was concerned, he had secrets to keep. "Where are you going? The vige?" Alvin asked curiously. "No." Princess Amber''s kingdom. He had to visit that ce. Maybe he would get answers to all this. "When do you n on leaving?" Alvin asked when it urred to him that Harold was not going to tell him where he was going. "After the banquet." "Three days?" Alvin asked, surprised at how soon it was. "I have a bad feeling," Harold muttered to himself. Guests would starting into the kingdom the next day to greet the royal family. And the banquet would be held in two days. There were a lot of werewolvesing in for the full moon hunting ceremony. His wife was human. "What is going to happen to Princess Amber and her maid during and after the banquet?" Alvin asked, sensing why Harold was notfortable with this. Well, there was going to be only one solution. Harold thought to himself as he looked at the empty jar of wine on the table. If all things went smoothly, she would drink it and fall unconscious for a full day or two, and by the time she woke up, everything would have ended. But he was still very skeptical. Because they were talking about Alicia here. Nothing ever went as nned with her. Dinner that evening was unusually quiet. Everyone had something on their minds, so they didn''t even think about how awkward the silence was as they ate. When Alicia finally looked up, she noticed the atmosphere, and her brows pulled together as she observed everyone. She had been lost in her thoughts earlier and didn''t realize how weird it was. She noticed Harold steal a few nces at the king, who was eating the food uninterestedly. Her eyes moved from the King to Ivan, and at the same time, their gazes met, almost making her flinch from how scary he looked. She quickly looked away from him to Luciana, who was barely eating her food. Tyra looked the same way. In fact, she looked quite dull today, and it seemed she hadn''t put much effort into her appearance, as Alicia had noticed she usually did. Susan also wasn''t eating much, and her brother looked exactly the same. It was as if the cutlery was all heavy tonight. Thest person was the queen, who seemed absent-minded. What was happening to everyone? When the king cleared his throat, it seemed like it was a bell that had snapped everyone to their senses. They all stopped eating and looked at him as he began to speak, "I am sure you all are aware of the oing banquet that is going to take ce in two days." He paused and looked at all of them before he continued, "Tomorrow, several dignitaries will being to the pce and will be hosted here until the banquet is over. I am hoping everyone is going to be on their best behaviour." "Prince Ivan and Prince Harold are going to be in charge of receiving the guests. I am counting on you two to not make any mistakes." The king said, making both Ivan and the queen grit their teeth in anger. Chapter 144 Palace Fight. After the king was done saying all he had to say, he stood up and left, apanied by the Queen. Surprisingly, the next person to stand up immediately wasn''t Harold nor was it Ivan, since he was still busy ring daggers at Harold for being chosen alongside him to wee dignitaries¨C something that was supposed to be done by the heir to the throne. But the one who stood up was Luciana. As soon as she did, Ivan turned to look at her, but she only acknowledged Harold and bowed to him before she turned around and left the hall with all eyes on her. Ivan could not hide his distaste and surprise when she left. It seemed she was getting worse with each passing day. He stood up with anger written all over him and chased after her. Everyone who saw Ivan in that mood could guess that he wasn''t going to make peace. He was angry. Noticing this, Alicia tried to follow, but Harold grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. Alicia red at him, and he red back with warning in his eyes. How many times did he have to remind her that their business was not his or hers? "Eat," Harold ordered. Alicia looked around the table, surprised that everyone was acting like they didn''t notice that Ivan looked mad enough to hurt his wife. Or was she simply overreacting? "LET ME GO!" They all heard Luciana''s loud cry, and Alicia had thought it would make them react, but everyone remained seated there like they had heard nothing. Ivan was usually dumb, but no one wanted to mess with him because they knew what he was capable of doing. Alicia could no longer sit back and forced her hand out of Harold''s grip before running out of the room, taking all of them by surprise. ''Why did you let her go?'' Harold''s wolf asked in displeasure. ''She forced her hand away. You saw that.'' ''Do I look stupid to you? You purposely released your hold to let her leave. Your brother''s business shouldn''t be your business!'' His wolf reminded him. It seemed like Alicia''s busybody was beginning to rub off on him. Meanwhile, the others around the table were wondering why he was not doing anything or leaving as usual; he just sat there, drinking wine. "Brother?" Tyra called quietly. At the same time, they all heard Alicia''s voice outside and stood up immediately, running out of the room. One thing was clear to Harold... she was never going to stay out of trouble. Maybe this would teach her the much-needed lesson so he decided not to interfere. Outside the hall, Alicia was livid with anger. "Let her go, you animal!" Alicia barked at Ivan when she saw him trying to pull up Luciana, who sat on the floor with her hand on her cheek where Ivan had just pped her. Without waiting for him to move, Alicia used all her might to push Ivan away from Luciana, who was trembling and weeping softly. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Alicia yelled at him, shoving him again as she reached to help a surprised Luciana up. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" Ivan bellowed at her. His chest was heaving heavily up and down in anger, and all he wanted to do was to reach for Luciana and teach her a lesson. "I''M GOING TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!" Ivan promised Luciana as he tried to push Alicia out of his way. How dare she treat him like he was insignificant? He was done pampering her. If she wanted to be stubborn, then he was going to tame her by force, and he wouldn''t let anything stop him. Not even this girl. This stupid human who he was sure had filled her head with ideas. "WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS?" Luciana asked after she had been helped up, with tears streaming down her red face. She had never been hit before in her entire life, so she still could not believe he had touched her when he was the same person deceiving her and trying to marry a second wife, which may probably happen very soon since the banquet was happening in a few days. "You dare to raise your voice at me?" Ivan asked in an eerily calm tone and charged at her, but Alicia stood in between the two. "I''m not going to let you touch her!" Alicia said defiantly, and in a fit of rage, he grabbed Alicia by the hair and flung her to the side with more force than he had intended. Scratch that. He had intended for that. He wished she could bash her head on the wall and just die. Alicia lost her footing when Ivan shoved her. She had thought she was going to hit her body on the wall, but fortunately, someone caught her. Well, two people actually¡ªAlvin and Susan. No one knew where Alvin had shown up from. They just saw him appear and point a sword at Ivan with his right hand while supporting Alicia with his left. When he noticed that someone else was holding Alicia, and the person''s arm was on top of his, he turned to see who it was, and was startled to find Susan standing beside him, holding up Alicia. The two looked surprised to see each other and, unfortunately, they both let go of Alicia at the same time, so she fell to the floor with a loud thud. Everyone else watching the scene, "..." This situation would have been funny if they were not dealing with an enraged prince. Pain shot through Alicia''s scalp, and her vision blurred as she winced from the pain of having her hair pulled that way and having her ass hit the floor. She groaned from pain as she rubbed her waist, not sure whom to get angry at right now. Thankfully, Tyra came to help her up quickly. "Brother¨C'' "Shut up, you filthy Omega." He said harshly to Tyra who wanted to plead with him to stop. That just seemed to touch her soft spot and made her stiffen but Alicia was still too lost to notice. Ivan turned and smirked at Alvin, whose sword was still pointed at him. "You dare point a sword at me?" Ivan asked in disbelief, but before Alvin could answer, Alicia had recovered from the shock. "HOW DARE YOU USE VIOLENCE ON WOMEN?" She yelled and charged at him, jumping on him as she gripped his hair with her hands, shocking everyone. By now, all the servants had disappeared from view, but they watched the scene from a safe distance. The scene before them waspletely new and different. Who would have ever expected a princess to act this way? Especially towards a prince? Her husband''s elder brother? Neither Alvin nor the other royals present made any attempt to step in. Even Luciana stood there wide-eyed as she watched her husband try without sess to push Alicia away. Luciana wrung her hands together nervously as she watched the scene before her.She had been wrong. She shouldn''t have behaved in that manner. If only she hadn''t walked away as she had done, and had just behaved herself, none of this would have happened. She wanted to step in to stop her husband, but who knew what her husband would do to her if she got in his way? Why did Princess Amber step in for her? Alicia stubbornly clung to Ivan, with both legs firmly wrapped around his waist, one hand pulling his hair, and the other hand wing at his face or anywhere she could reach. "Of all the stupid and irresponsible things to do, you dare to raise your hands on your wife, you shameless swine!" As she spoke she hit him and also tried to spit out the hair getting into her mouth, and Ivan seeing no other way out, charged at the wall. At that exact moment, Harold, who had been inside the dining hall drinking his wine and minding his business, decided to step out and see what his nosy wife was up to, and his eyes shed with deadly anger when he saw what Ivan was about to do. Without wasting any second, Harold moved quickly and grabbed the back of Ivan''s shirt to pull him back. The moment Alicia''s gaze fell on Harold, and she saw the anger in his eyes, she snapped back to her senses and stopped. Although she was still very mad at Ivan, she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be smoothening the rtionship between the brothers, not causing more strife between them. What had she just done? There were other ways she could have handled the situation instead of getting on his bad side like this. Ivan, on the other hand, spun around in a rage to see who dared to pull his shirt, and thankfully, Alicia loosened her grip on his hair, and Harold plucked her away from him, pushing him back angrily for letting Alicia hold him like that while he held up Alicia with one arm firmly wrapped around her waist like she weighed just as much as a jar. Ivan''s face was red, not just with rage but with the angry scratch marks from Alicia''s nails. He was feeling very angry and even more embarrassed. He needed to teach Harold''s wife a lesson to save his face in front of everyone, and he wasn''t going to let Harold stand in his way. "Do not get involved in this," Ivan warned Harold through gritted teeth when he pulled Alicia behind him. Not only had Princess Amber insulted him verbally and hit him, but Alvin, a mere servant, had also dared to point his sword at him. He wasn''t going to let it go. "I should let you harm my prin¡ª Princess Amber?" Harold asked Ivan, quickly correcting himself when he realized what he was just about to say. Chapter 145 Loud Evening Ivan''s hand moved to the hilt of his sword, eyes shing dangerously, showing how prepared he was to shed blood at that moment. "Step aside, Harold. Your wife dared to interfere in my private business andy her hands on me. She needs to be disciplined," Ivan said as calmly as he could muster. Seeing the trouble she had caused, Alicia became worried. She didn''t want these brothers to fight because she had gotten herself involved in this. Just this morning, she had assured Harold that she was going to be safe and would mind her business. Well, here she is now. And the thing was that if she could go back in time, she would have done the exact same thing. She couldn''t just stand by and watch Ivan abuse his wife. What if something bad happened to her? Harold pushed Alicia behind him. "Like you said, my wife. My wife, my business. If anyone is going to discipline my wife, it is going to be me," Harold said, and then his gaze moved to Alvin. "Escort her to her chamber," he ordered, but before Alvin could take a step, Ivan drew out his sword and pointed it at Alvin. "It''s going to be either your wife or your loyal servant," Ivan said, and a muscle twitched in Harold''s eyes. Everyone tensely watched the scene before them. Even Alicia felt nervous. She knew that she had outdone herself this time. Ivan was a prince, and possibly the next in line to the throne. What had she been thinking by behaving in that manner? And now she had seeded in dragging Alvin into her mess. If she didn''t fix this, Alvin would be punished in her ce because he was a servant. And she couldn''t let that happen. But did she have to apologize to Ivan? He had been the wrong one. He had pped his wife, pulled Alicia by the hair, and had also shoved her. Did he deserve an apology? "Uhm... P-Prince¡ª" "Shut it!" Harold snapped at her, and she pressed her lips together at once. Seeing how serious it was, Luciana could no longer hold back. "PLEASE STOP IT! I WAS WRONG!" She cried. Who would have thought that a moment of stubbornness would lead to something this serious? "SHUT UP!" Ivan turned and bellowed at her in a thunderous voice, making her flinch. Ivan turned to look at Alvin, who didn''t look a bit shaken, while Harold looked like he was trying to suppress his anger. When Ivan moved his hand a bit, Susan panicked. "What do you think you are doing, cousin? We are inside the pce!" Ivan ignored her. He ignored everyone. All he knew was that he was going to shed blood today. Either it was Alvin''s, Harold''s bride, or Harold himself. It would be lovely if it wasthe three of them. "Alvin was acting based on my orders. You can''t punish him," Harold said calmly. His wolf was agitated at this point. All he could think about was having Ivan''s filthy blood all over his hands. But he knew he could not do that. So he tried to remain calm, hoping Ivan wouldn''t push him to the edge. Ivan scoffed at him. "You dare order your guard to draw his sword at me? A servant pointing a sword at a prince?" Ivan growled, feeling all the more insulted. He was about to strike at Alvin when a loud voice thundered beside them. "WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?" The king asked, and immediately every movement ceased, and everyone turned to the king. The Queen, who had returned with her husband, took a look at Ivan''s face, which still had the scratch marks and had a sword in his hand pointed at Alvin, and then her gaze moved to Luciana, who was still touching her face and had tears streaming down her eyes, before settling on Alicia, who was poking her head from Harold''s back like she was hiding. Her hair looked a mess. "Who did this to you?" The Queen asked, boiling with anger as she stepped forward to look at her son. Almost immediately, they all started to speak. While Ivan was trying to tell his mother how Alicia had attacked him while he was trying to discipline his wife, Luciana was telling the king how her husband had attacked her after dinner, and Alicia was also telling the king her side of the story. "ENOUGH!" The King ordered harshly. Was it too much to ask for a day of peace? "I am disappointed in all of you. How can royalties create a scene such as this for even servants to watch? Alvin, you may leave. The rest of you..." "Father! He pointed a sword at me!" Ivan said through gritted teeth. If it was up to him, Alvin wouldn''t see the light of day. After all, Beth had done less than that, yet Harold had punished her so severely. "What? You dare to point your sword at a Prince?" The Queen asked in disbelief. "He was trying to protect Princess Amber." Susan exined quickly, causing her brother to look at her suspiciously. Firstly, he had noticed the drama between her and Alvin when they both caught Princess Amber. She had previously spoken up when Ivan drew a sword to Alvin''s throat, and now this? Alvin also seemed confused and looked at Susan, who held his gaze for a second before she looked away from him. "That is not an excuse!" The Queen snapped at Susan angrily. "Prince Ivan hit his wife and he shoved me," Alicia informed the queen, hoping that as a woman she would understand that her son had been wrong. "What is wrong in a prince disciplining his wife?" The queen asked angrily, making Alicia''s jaw drop in disbelief. "And if you hadn''t meddled in his affair, he wouldn''t have shoved y¡ª" Alicia exploded in anger. "Meddled in his affair? I should have allowed him to hit her and do nothing? You would have watched your son do that to his wife and not meddle?" She asked in a raised voice, unable to stop herself. What kind of future king were they breeding here? Harold used his hands to massage his temples. What did he get himself into? He asked himself. Here he was, thinking of a way to get her out of one mess, and she was very well on her way to getting knee deep in another, Harold mused as he pulled her back, "Keep quiet," he warned in a dangerously low tone. "You dare to raise your voice at your queen?" The Queen asked, angry at her insolence. Every other person could not believe it either and stared at her in disbelief. "Father," Harold said, ignoring everyone else and focusing on the king because he was the only person he owed an exnation to." I apologize for my wife''s behavior. She doesn''t know her ce and keeps getting involved in other people''s businesses. I will be sure to discipline her myself. And as for Alvin, he was only acting on instruction. He would not dare to draw his sword at anyone if he didn''t think my wife''s life was in danger. I apologize for the disturbance we all caused," Harold said with an apologetic bow, while Alicia seethed with anger. Did he just say that she did not know her ce? The king had no idea what to do in this case. He was fed up and just needed to rest. To think he just told them a little while ago to be on their best behavior? "Everyone, leave for your chamber. We will address this issue after the banquet," He said dismissively. "I do not want to hear anything about this until then." Both Ivan and the queen seethed in anger. So that was it? They all bowed to the king as he turned to leave, and his wife reluctantly followed after him in anger. Harold turned to look at the others, and with one look at his eyes, Susan, Williams, and Tyra turned to escape immediately. Even the maids and guards who had left their duty posts toe spy on them began to run away. The only people left were Alvin, Harold, Alicia, Luciana, and Ivan, whose eyes were filled with hate and anger. "Take her with you," Harold said to Alvin, who bowed and gestured for Alicia to walk ahead, but she didn''t move. Angry at being disobeyed, Harold turned to re at her and found her staring at him. There was a mixture of guilt and worry in her eyes as she stared at him. "Go," he said to her, sounding calmer now. Alicia didn''t want to because she was scared the two were going to be at each other''s throats. But she decided to trust Harold this time. He was a wise person after all and wouldn''t deliberately cause trouble. "I''m sorry," she whispered to him before following Alvin. When it was just the two brothers left, Harold''s face turned serious as he faced him, "I do not care what you do with your wife. But the next time youy your hands on mine..." He moved closer, as if walking past Ivan, and stopped just before he could brush past him. "This is thest warning." Harold only seeded in taking a few steps away, heading towards the opposite direction, when Ivan said, "You have crossed the line, Harold." Ivan turned to look at Harold''s back. With a smirk, Harold replied, "Do not get it wrong, Ivan. I drew the line," he said before walking away. Chapter 146 No Sitting On The Fence Although it waste in the evening, in every corner of the pce, news had spread about what Princess Amber had done, and everyone was whispering about what had just happened between the members of the royal family. They all had to whisper since the king had said he didn''t want to hear about it until after the banquet. The Queen, who had left with her husband, was fuming as she walked into his chamber with him. "You will let the servant and Harold''s wife be after doing that to our son? A Prince? You are taking Harold''s side, aren''t you?" She asked with displeasure. She wasn''t usually one to openly express her displeasure with her husband, but this was her son they were talking about, and she hated that, like before when Harold had killed her first son, the king was going to do nothing. "There are no sides in this. And like I said, I don''t want to hear of this," the king reminded her. "Now leave. I want to be alone," he said in a tired voice, but she didn''t miss the authority in his tone. Without saying another word, she turned around and stormed out of his chamber. She went directly to Ivan''s chamber, and immediately after she walked in, she saw Luciana standing in the middle of the room, looking confused. She walked up to her and pped her hard across her cheek. "How dare you?" She asked in a calm voice. Although she was beyond pissed, she was wise enough not to want the king to know that she was doing that after he asked them to let things be.Luciana raised both hands to her cheeks and bowed her head as tears fell from her eyes. "I''m sorry, my Queen," she apologized, torn."Just this morning, I spoke to you about behaving yourself, and what did you do? You dare to disregard my warning and defy your husband in public?" The Queen asked, ring at her harshly as though she wanted to hit her once again, and immediately Luciana fell to her knees. "Please forgive me, my Queen. I don''t know what came over me," Luciana cried.What else could a person like her do? This was a battle she was never going to win. She wasn''t Princess Amber. She could never be as bold as she was. Unlike Princess Amber, who had Harold, Tyra, Susan, Williams, Alvin, and even the king solidly behind her, she had no one but Princess Amber who would take her side.The door opened, and Ivan stormed in, his eyes burning with rage. He stopped when he saw his mother in the chamber and his wife kneeling with her head bowed. "Mother..." The Queen turned, and she also pped him hard across the cheek. "How dare you create a public scene?" She asked, furious at him too for not controlling his temper. "Couldn''t you have waited until you were in your chamber to discipline her? Do you want to ruin all our ns?" "I''m sorry, mother," Ivan said with a bow, even though he wasn''t the least bit sorry. "If you so much as to cause any more problems for us, especially during the duration of this banquet, I will make sure you disappear. You better be on your best behavior," the Queen warned Luciana before ring at her son."And you, keep your temper in check and behave yourself. We will deal with themter," she assured him before walking away. Away from there, Tyra, Susan, and Williams took a stroll around the courtyard as they discussed what they had just witnessed. "There is nothing princess-like about Princess Amber," Tyramented with a shake of her head, wondering how Princess Amber could have jumped on Ivan that way. Did she even realize that she was not only a princess but also a married woman? Susanughed softly."By now, that shouldn''te as a surprise to you. Do you think they''re going to fight?" Susan asked them both thoughtfully. "They won''t fight. Not after the King stepped in," Tyra said, and chewed at her lower lips anxiously. "Princess Amber shouldn''t have gotten involved in Prince Ivan''s business," she added worriedly.Although she wanted Harold to take over the throne, and she knew it wasn''t going to happen without either of the brothers killing each other, she didn''t like that Alicia was getting involved. "She cares too much about everyone to not get involved. I doubt she would merely look away if she saw you in danger," Susan pointed out, while Williams just watched her. "That is why she keeps getting into trouble. Now the Queen is angry with her. Did you see what she did to Prince Ivan''s face? And she even raised her voice at the Queen," Tyra went on with a distressed frown, thinking about her conversation with the Queen earlier that day.Princess Amber was already considered a threat in the queen''s eyes. Doing all she had done had just made it worse because now the Queen wouldn''t just see her as a threat but as an enemy too. She had touched Prince Ivan, who was the apple of the queen''s eyes since the death of her first son. The Queen wasn''t going to just let this go, whether or not the king dismissed it. "It is a good thing Prince Harold showed up when he did. For a moment there, I was terrified for her," Susan said and turned to look at Williams. "Why aren''t you saying anything?" "You are saying enough for two," Williams said, and Susan scowled at him. Tyra sighed. "I should go in for the night. It''s been a long day," Tyra said as she looked at the twins. "Goodnight Susan, Goodnight Williams," she said as she walked away, leaving both siblings behind. As they watched her leave, Susan shook her head, feeling sorry for Tyra, who was so weak and always felt agitated over the slightest show of violence. She turned to Williams when she felt his gaze on her and raised an eyebrow. "Why have you been staring at me in that manner?" Susan asked since she had noticed him giving her a funny look at different times that evening. "Is something going on between you and Alvin?" Williams asked without beating around the bush. "NO! Why would you think that? Don''t tell me he said something to you?" Susan asked, looking at her twin curiously. "Was he supposed to say something to me? Did he say anything to you?" Williams asked, and Susan contemted whether or not she should tell Williams since she wasn''t sure how he was going to react to it. Deciding that it was best to tell him since they never kept secrets from each other, she sighed, "Well, he said he likes me," she said with a slight blush, and Williams blinked at her. "Alvin told you that he likes you?" "Well, he didn''t exactly have the guts to. I noticed that he had been spying on me for a while, so I confronted him," Susan said with a shrug. "And he admitted that he likes you?" Why didn''t that make any sense to him? "Yes. But don''t worry. I made it clear to him that nothing could ever happen between us. We are not in the same ss after all. I feel so sorry for him," Susan said with a sigh, while Williams just watched her, trying to determine if all she felt was sympathy or not. She had been quick to remind him of what would happen if he got involved with Paulina. For her sake, he hoped that she would keep that same advice in her mind. "What about your conversation with the Queen earlier? How did it go?" Susan asked since they had not found time to be alone since the Queen summoned Williams. "They wanted to know if I''d gotten anything from Paulina," Williams said with a worried frown. "And? What did you tell them?" Susan asked, looking at him with sharp eyes. "What do you think? I had nothing to tell them, of course," Williams said, and Susan''s brows drew together in concern. "I guess they weren''t too pleased to hear that. What are you going to do?" She asked, and he sighed. "I have no idea. I only know that Paulina is my friend, and I do not wish to betray her trust," Williams said, and Susan nodded. "We shouldn''t get involved in anything going on in the pce. The best way to stay safe is to sit on the fence. We are neither for nor against anyone," Susan said, and Williams looked at her. "How well do you think that will work? You will eventually have to pick sides. Besides, it seems to me like you picked sides this evening. You weren''t on the fence," Williams said, reminding her of how she had jumped in to defend Alvin. "That was different..." "Yes. That''s exactly what I''m saying. We can''t always choose to stay on the fence. Eventually, we will have to decide which side we are on," Williams said just as the first bell rang. Chapter 147 Snubbing Alicia paced around Harold''s bedroom, feeling guilty. Her brain kept trying to conjure up the scene that was happening between both brothers. What was she going to do now? Her head was hurting badly and her body ached from being dumped on the floor earlier, but that was the least of her problems. Harold was angry. How was she going to face him? Was he going to yell at her? Snub her? Kick her out of his room? By the time the first bell rang, Harold still wasn''t inside, and it made her more concerned. What if he was being punished because of her? She decided to take the risk and leave the bedroom to go look for him. She had caused this mess and wouldn''t allow him to be punished because of her. As soon as she opened the door, she saw Harold standing there. He had been about to open the door before she did. It startled her and made her heart skip a beat from his sudden appearance. Looking at his face closely, she noticed he looked fine. There was no sign of a bruise or anything, but he didn''t look happy and his facial muscles were all rigid as he looked at her with displeasure. She gave him a chance to enter, and as soon as he did, she closed the door and turned around to look at his back. "Harold, I am sorry. I didn''t mean to cause such a mess. I swear. I just... I know I should have ignored it, but I couldn''t help it. It''s probably notmon here to see domestic violence as a crime, but the case of domestic violence is rampant during my time and people die from it. It is a crime. And I''d feel guilty if I didn''t at least try to stop it, but I swear I didn''t mean to cause a scene like that or get you in trouble. I will take responsibility for my actions tonight, and if there is a severe punishment, I am ready to take it. And I promise that this is thest time something like this is going to happen. I will be careful from now on¡ª" "Stop talking and breathe." He ordered, looking at her sternly. She stopped talking immediately and gasped for air, only now realizing how long she had been talking without a break. He only eyed her and went towards the bed. "Come here," he said quietly. Not sure why he was calling her towards the bed, she went with heavy steps and he signalled with a nod for her to sit down. She sat down while he stood in front of her. She watched him take out a little bottle containing some kind of oil from his pocket. Then he took out some kind of ck ball as small as a bead from a folded piece of paper and picked it up with his fingers before moving it towards her lips. "Open," Alicia looked at it skeptically. Was he expecting her to eat this thing? What the hell was it? It was even smelling bad. "Open," he repeated coldly this time. For some reason, she decided to trust him and opened her mouth. He dropped it inside and ordered, "Swallow." She did, wincing at the bitter taste in her mouth. "It... tastes bad. What is this?" She asked as she grimaced. He ignored her but instead reached for her hair with his fingers. He parted it in the middle where Ivan had grabbed it and began to apply the oil from the little bottle to it. Whenever the oil touched her scalp, she felt a hundred times better, and surprisingly, her body felt a lot better. What kind of medicine did they have here? As much as she was grateful for his care and concern, she felt ufortable that he was snubbing her. She was not used to the two of them being in the same space and not talking to each other. Or him being this angry at her. The second bell rang. When Harold was done, he brushed her hair to the back with his hands and closed the bottle of oil before dropping it beside the bed. When she noticed he was about to leave the bedroom, she stood up and hurried to stand in front of him. "Go to bed." "Where are you off to?" She asked, not moving away from his path. "I will talk to you when I get back." He said calmly. Feeling dejected, she nodded and moved away from his path to let him leave. His stare lingered on her sad face for a few seconds before he left the chamber. Outside the pce, Alvin waited for Harold to show up. Although he knew that he should never have drawn his sword at Prince Ivan, Princess Amber''s safety had been paramount in his mind, and he didn''t mind receiving any punishment for that. When Harold showed up, he bowed and looked down guiltily, "I apologize for my reckless behaviour tonight." Harold looked at him in confusion before waving it off while rubbing the back of his neck and saying, "You''ve turned soft-hearted.You didn''t even leave a scratch on him." He said, sounding mildly disappointed. "Since it''s like this. There is nothing I can say." Alvin looked up at him in confusion. Did it mean he was not going to get any punishment from Harold for his reckless behaviour tonight? "Be careful from now on. Things are about to get very... serious." Harold warned. "I will," Alvin said, bowing. "Continue to keep an eye on the princess. She has a talent for drawing trouble even if she doesn''t want to." Alvin nodded and bowed again. It really seemed like he was not going to get punished. Saving Princess Amber was a top priority now. Meanwhile, Aliciay on the bed, feeling too ufortable to fall asleep. When the third bell rang, she became even more wary, wondering whether he was leaving her to sleep here alone tonight because he was mad at her. How was she going to sleep tonight at this rate? While contemting what to do to make him forgive her, she had a bad feeling that someone was inside the room with her and turned around immediately, reaching for the knife on the side of the bed. When she saw Harold staring at her, her eyes widened in surprise, and she returned the knife immediately and looked at him and then at the window where she guessed he had entered from. "Wh-hat..." She tried to ask him a question, but she didn''t know exactly how to ask him that. Why did he leave earlier only to return through the window? Once again, he ignored her and went to sit on his side of the bed and began to take off his boots. He was kind of pleased to see how smartly she had reacted when he entered. Unfortunately, she hadn''t been too smart to detect him. "Are you still piss¡ª" "Everyone thought Beth was the problem..." He started talking with his back still turned to her. "Luciana was sent instead. And then I thought Luciana and Beth were the problem and offered myself instead." He paused again before he began to speak in an exhausted tone, "But then you jumped on the prince and raised your voice at the queen." He finally turned to look at her as he asked, "Do you know the kind of situation that puts me in?" "I know! And I am sorry." Just how many times had she apologized tonight? She could not remember ever apologizing to anyone as much as she had done tonight to Harold. "I know you may not like Prince Ivan and Princess Luciana that much, but imagine Luciana was your sister and her husband was treating her that way¡ª" "You do not regret your actions tonight, do you?" He interrupted, looking at her closely. She looked down, guilty as charged, "I''m sorry. I just... if that were me, I would have liked someone to stand up for me too." "I would never treat you like that." He spoke softly, making her raise her head to look at him. She saw the honesty in his eyes and took a moment to reflect on how he had been treating her since she arrived here. She believed him. He would never treat her like that. The two stared at each other for a long time until Alicia snapped out of it and spoke while looking at the side, "I promise to be on my best behaviour from now on." Harold snorted. His snort clearly implied that that was not going to happen, and Alicia understood it. "Go to bed." He said to her before taking off his shirt. As soon as Alicia saw this, she turned immediately and covered herself with the quilt. He smirked at her before he blew out thentern on his side of the bed, making the room dimmer than it already was since they were only left with thentern on Alicia''s side of the bed. Chapter 148 Dating And Courting Unedited. As Haroldy on his side of the bed, he wondered why she did not put a pillow between them to demarcate their sides of the bed like she had done the previous night. Did she even realize just how much she was beginning to let down her guard around him with each passing day? He mused. Not that he didn''t want her to. He was actually d that she was gradually getting ustomed to being with him, whether or not she knew it. He wondered what she was thinking about and why she was so unusually quiet. Was she still feeling guilty over what she had done? Should he reassure her that he was not angry? He decided against it as soon as it crossed his mind. Telling her that what she did was okay and he was not angry would encourage her to even do worse things. So he stayed quiet and just listened to the even sound of her breath. He was just about to drift off to sleep when she whispered his name softly. "Harold?" She called his name as she turned to face him. But he had his back to her. "Hm?" "What exactly is this banquet all about?" She asked curiously. "Why are you asking?" He asked without turning to look at her. "I don''t know... I just feel it''s a really big asion." "It is," He said quietly. "You are also going to be introduced to the entire aristocratic family during the banquet to see if they ept you or not." That made her heart skip. She was his wife already. What did it matter if they epted her or not? "What if they do not ept me?" For some weird reason, she wanted them to like her. She was doing this for Amber, she reasoned. She wanted Amber to be happy. Harold didn''t answer that question because everything was in her hands. There was a fifty-fifty chance that she would either make them love her, or she would make them despise her. It depended on the aspect of her they met. And he also knew that the Queen and Ivan were likely going to try to goad her into doing things to annoy the aristocrats so that they wouldn''t like his wife. "Harold?" "Hm?" "You haven''t my question. What if they don''t like me?" "Why is it important to you that people like you?" Harold asked instead. "You are the one who said the aristocrats are going to have to decide if they ept me or not. If they don''t ept me, what will they do?" She asked. "That shouldn''t be your concern. Focus on being on your best behavior," Harold advised. There was no need to tell her that no one would want him to be king if the aristocrats did not ept his wife. But then again, he didn''t want to be king either, so that wasn''t really his business. All he wanted was for her not to cause any more trouble than was necessary. It was easier for her to get away with stuff when it involved just the royal family and the king. But even the king would be forced to make a decision against her if the aristocrats all pushed for it. "I already promised you I won''t cause any more trouble. You shouldn''t go fighting with Prince Ivan either. I don''t want anything to happen to you," she said, but Harold said nothing. "Harold?" She called again after some time. "Hm?" Harold asked patiently. He couldn''tin since he had asked his talkative wife to share his chamber with him. He would have to endure all of this until the seven days were over. After all, this was still better than having to transform into his wolf form and move around aimlessly every night. "What was your dream?" She asked. "What dream?" He asked in confusion, wondering when he ever told her he had a dream. "When you were younger, what did you wish to be when you grew older?" "Why do I have to dream about bing anything else when I am born a Prince?" He asked her quietly. Although that made sense somehow, that wasn''t what she wanted to hear. "Uh.... let''s say... like bing something or someone well known? Like the head of the police... I mean the head of warriors or even maybe... a king?" She asked tentatively. He didn''t answer immediately, but after a while, he turned and faced her. Now, they were both lying on their sides facing each other. "You are trying to find out if I am interested in inheriting the throne," He pointed out, seeing through her immediately. He guessed this had to do with her conversation with the King. "Kind of..." she replied, sounding slightly guilty to have been caught. "I am not interested in the throne. It is not mine," Harold said, even though he knew he should be interested. He shouldn''t be interested in sitting on it, but he should worry about who sits on it. Ivan would be the wrongest person to sit on the throne. "But... what about..." "The rumors?" He interrupted. "Yes. The rumors." "That didn''t happen because I wanted the throne," He said, referring to the death of the older prince. "If I did, Ivan wouldn''t be alive until now." "Then it was a mistake?" She asked hopefully. "Why do you assume so?" "Because... I don''t think you are the type to just kill a person without thinking," She said reasonably, even though that wasn''t entirely the truth. The truth was, she just desperately wanted it to be a mistake. She didn''t want to think of him as the sort of person who would intentionally kill his brother for no reason. Harold could not help butugh in amusement at her response, "Do not get it wrong, princess. Not all rumors are lies," He said matter of factly and waited for that to sink in before he continued, "I am that type." Alicia frowned. "But... you didn''t do it on purpose, did you?" She still kept that hopeful tone when she asked him. He just stared at her for a moment before he finally shook his head, "I didn''t." She smiled and sighed in relief, "Thank God. I knew that was not possible," She said, beaming. He watched her smile and almost smiled. He propped up his head with his hand and elbow resting on the bed and asked, "You seem to believe whatever you are told. How old are you?" Alicia followed suit as she answered, "That''s not correct. I only believe whatever you tell me. And I am twenty-five." He frowned slightly in confusion. "Twenty-five what?" "Twenty-five years old, duh!" "Duh?" "Nevermind. I''m twenty-five years old," Alicia said with a sigh. "You are old!" He eximed, causing her to be flustered. "I beg your pardon," She red harshly at him. "No wonder you act like a nosy grandmother." Alicia gasped at the insults. "How dare you!" She eximed. "Firstly, twenty-five is not old, and I do not act like a nosy grandmother!" "Howe you were not married?" He asked curiously, thinking that no one might have wanted to marry her because of her troublesome character. "People are not forced to get married as early as people do here. People could stay until their thirties or forties, and nothing is wrong with that. There are even people who don''t want to get married at all." He could understand men not wanting to get married at all since he hadn''t wanted a wife until he had been forced to marry this talkative. "Thirties? Why get married sote? Their own children should be getting ready to get married by then," He said, sounding confused. His confusion made herugh, "It''s not so where Ie from. People only get married when it''s their choice or when it involves those arranged marriages and stuff. But where Ie from, people do date from a young age." "Date?" "Like court each other. Boyfriends and girlfriends, but it doesn''t mean they would get married. They can always break up." "Ady can be dated several times then?" He asked in displeasure. "Yeah." She nodded. "What do people do when they date?" "Go out on dates to ces, be kind of intimate with each other. You know... hugging and kissing and stuff..." she winked at him and began to giggle to herself, ignoring the look of disgust on Harold''s face. "Have you been dated before?" He asked while looking at her suspiciously. "I am 25. What do you expect? Of course!" "You have been courted by a man before?" He asked in surprise. For some reason, he had expected her to say no. "By four men, actually." She said with a grin, startling Harold. "Four men?" Harold asked in disbelief. Alicia giggled, "Yes, four men." "How could you have been with four men?" He asked, ring at her. "Because it is what I wanted," she said with a dismissive shrug, amused by his reaction. It seemed like he was upset at the thought of her having been with other men. Very funny. "Did they all touch you?" Harold asked with a slight frown even though he knew he shouldn''t ask because he might not like the answer. "Of course. And I touched all of them too," Alicia said with a grin, which immediately left her face when she saw the murderous glint in his eyes. Harold couldn''t exin precisely how he was feeling, but one thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to kill someone. He wanted to find those four men she had been with and beat the life out of them for touching his wife. Chapter 149 Angry Husband Alicia struggled between the amusement she was feeling at his jealous reaction and the surprise that she was actually feeling the need to exin to him in the first ce. "You don''t have to worry though. It wasn''t this body. So rest assured¡ª" "It''s not the body that matters," Harold muttered irritably. For a moment, he considered just leaving the room to go sleep outside. He had the feeling that after having his entire bones broken just for his wolf to take over, he would feel better. "Then what matters? It wasn''t even in this era. I believe Princess Amber is still untouched," Alicia assured him with the best smile she could muster. Even her smiles were beginning to piss him off. To Harold, seeing her smile like that was as if she was proud of what she had done. Couldn''t she see that he was angry? "I''m married to you, not Amber. And even if her body is untouched, you are not untouched. You let them hold you and hug you, and you held them back. Disgusting," he said irritably. Hold? He thought the ''touch'' she was referring to was simply holding and touching, yet he was angry like this? Alicia almost wanted tough at the hrity of the situation. Normally, she would have corrected him and reminded him she had mentioned something about kisses and other stuff, but she had a feeling that he was going to throw her out through the window if she dared to mention that. She would never have imagined that dating guys would be an issue. Who would have thought she would end up transmigrating to another era where a woman''s chastity was important? "Harold, we both know that this doesn''t make any sense," she said, and he turned his back to her. He was in a foul mood already, and he didn''t want to talk about this anymore and get even angrier. "Why are you overreacting? Haven''t you been with a woman in the past?" Alicia asked, and almost as soon as the words left her lips, she realized that it was actually possible that he had never been with a woman. He had told her before in passing that he didn''t have any women prior to her arrival here, and the rumours had said no families were willing to grant their daughters to him even though the Moon kingdom was very rich. Otherwise, why would the king send for Amber in exile when he had other daughters? And especially with this temper of his, what woman would willingly want to be with him when they all seem to fear him so much? And he didn''t seem like he enjoyed thepany of others either. But then... there was Beth. Harold said nothing to her as he shut his eyes and tried to go to sleep. There was no need to respond to her question, nor was there any need for him to get worked up any further because he would never be able to get his hands on the useless men who had touched her. "I can''t believe you are angry with me over something that happened when you didn''t even know of my existence," Alicia said incredulously, and with a shake of her head, she turned her back to him too when her words were greeted with silence. They both remained on their sides of the bed in silence until she drifted off to sleep. As soon as Harold noticed she had slept off, he sat up on the bed and red at her. How dare she sleep peacefully after annoying him like this? In anger, he picked up his pillow and hit her with it, but she giggled and adjusted in her sleep. Resigned, he used his hands to massage his temples as he began to think deeply. If Alicia coulde from the future... was there a chance that he could go to the future? He thought about it seriously until he eventually fell asleep. Like the previous day, by the time Alicia woke up from her sleep, Harold was nowhere in sight. She left the bed and yawned while stretching as she looked around the room. Why did he keep leaving? Why didn''t he want them to know that they spent the night together? She wondered as she looked closely at the dressing table, expecting to find a dress there just like yesterday, but there was nothing. She frowned slightly and remembered the conversation they had both had just before she drifted off to sleep. "Is he, by chance, still angry?" She asked herself as she made her way to her chamber, once again, ignoring the looks she was getting from the maids as she passed by. When she raised her head, she saw Luciana walking ahead of her, and she quickened her pace to catch up with her. "Princess Luciana," she called, and when Luciana heard Alicia''s voice, she quickened her pace to avoid her. The previous evening, her husband had warned her that he never wanted to see her in Princess Amber''spany. And he had told her that if she ever defied him again or disrespected him in any way, he was going to kick her out of the pce. As much as she liked Princess Amber, and as much as she despised her husband and the Queen right now, she couldn''t dare defy her husband. Her parents would never take it easy on her if she were to be thrown out of the pce. They would never ept her with open arms. It didn''t help matters that her parents were going to be arriving today. If the queen or prince Ivan mentioned her recent attitude to them, she would be in trouble. Alicia frowned when she noticed that Luciana was deliberately avoiding her and quickened her pace. Once she caught up with Luciana, she grabbed her arm to stop her. "What is wrong?" She asked, sounding worried. Of course, she had promised not to get involved, and she wouldn''t. But she just wanted to be sure that she was alright and go on her way. Luciana looked around to ensure Ivan wasn''t anywhere in sight before she spoke quietly, "Nothing is wrong. Please stay away from me, Princess Amber. I don''t want to have any more trouble with my husband because of you," Luciana said, making Alicia frown as she wondered what trouble she had caused exactly. Was it because she had intervenedst night? "Because of me? Am I the reason you usually have trouble with him?" Alicia asked, not understanding why Luciana would say that, especially as she had only been trying to help. "Yes. I didn''t ask for your helpst night. You shouldn''t have gotten involved. Please don''t get involved in my marriage next time. Focus on yours, and I will focus on mine." Luciana said harshly and tugged her arm free from Alicia''s grip, then walked away while Alicia stared at her in disbelief. Despite that, she could not help but be worried about Princess Luciana. Wasn''t this the exact behaviour of how those who were suffering from domestic violence behaved? She guessed Prince Ivan or the queen must have threatened her. Although Alicia was tempted to go after her and find out exactly what the Queen or Ivan must have said to her to make her act this way, she decided not to do it. Maybe this was for the best. She had promised Harold that she wouldn''t get involved with them again and that she would stay out of trouble. That was exactly what she was going to do. She was going to mind her business. If that was the only way she could help Luciana, then she would do it. When Luciana had her privacy, she sat down on the floor and hugged her legs to herself as she cried, feeling bad for how she had spoken to Princess Amber just now. But that was the only thing she could do to save herself and also save Princess Amber because if she continued in her stubbornness like this, her husband and the queen were going to me it on Amber and probably do something to her. It was quite funny how she had disliked Amber from the beginning just because her husband wanted her to do so. But the same person had stood up for her, putting herself in danger. The same person had consoled her when she realized her husband was taking a second wife. The same person had shared her food with her and advised her to be strong and try to focus on herself instead of living for her husband, something she wouldn''t have dared do. And even though she regretted doing that now, that little moment of stubbornness had shown her what freedom felt like. Living for yourself, having friends, sharing moments. She broke down in sobs, wondering what her life was going to be like now. What was she going to do? Chapter 150 How To Win The Hearts Of Aristocrats By the time Alicia got to her chamber, Paulina was already waiting for her there. Alicia smiled at her, thinking that Paulina always took her duties too seriously. "Good morning, mdy," Paulina greeted with a smile of her own as she watched her mistress curiously. Two things were on her mind. First, she hade early to check on her mistress after hearing the rumours of her fight with Prince Ivan the previous night. She had rushed down to her chamber before the bells were rung to see if she was fine, but after waiting until the first bell rang, and her mistress did not show up, she raced back to her quarters. Secondly, seeing her return to her chamber just now confirmed that she did not spend the night in her chamber. Paulina had believed her mistress when she said she had chosen to spend the other night in Harold''s chamber because her chamber had been ruined by that water incident, and she couldn''t sleep in her bed in the state it had been, but seeing how she had returned to her husband''s chamber again despite her chamber being okay, it had to mean that there was more to it. And maybe the rumours about them expecting a baby soon weren''t far from the truth. "I take it you are here to get me ready for breakfast as usual. Where are the others?" Alicia asked as she went to sit on her bed. "Prince Harold said I should let you know that there won''t be a general breakfast today since everyone is preparing for the banquet, which is starting tomorrow. I will get the others when you''re ready," Paulina exined, and Alicia''s brows pulled together in displeasure. Because they were preparing for a banquet that would be happening the next day, they were supposed to stay hungry? What sort of fasting exercise was that? She hadn''t even eaten wellst night because of Ivan and Luciana''s drama. As if reading her mind, Paulina said, "Prince Harold also said the head chef has gotten the items you requested, and you have from now until before noon to go to the kitchen and fix whatever you want," Paulina added, surprising Alicia, who had forgotten that she was supposed to have gone to the kitchen the previous day to find out if the chef had gotten the items. How could something as important as that have escaped her mind? Oh, yeah! She could remember how. She had been busy. First Harold had kept her upied in training after breakfast, and then she had gone to have lunch with the king from there, followed by her running into Ivan and that small drama, and then Alvin had revealed that she, who couldn''t even hurt an animal, had murdered some human beings. Three men, for that matter. Not average, harmless men, but assassins, and with a sword and daggers. Who would think about food? She had been too distraught to think of anything else, and then she had ended the day on an even more exciting note by jumping on Prince Ivan and snapping at the Queen. Yeah, yesterday had been a very eventful and busy day, so it was only natural that food would be thest thing on her mind. To think that of all the things she had to worry about, such as possibly sharing Princess Amber''s body with Queen Anne, Harold was mad at her over the number of men she had touched and allowed to ''touch'' her. She shook her head in disbelief. Something else urred to Alicia, and she looked at Paulina, "Where did you meet Prince Harold so early in the morning?" She inquired, hoping this would exin where he always went. "He sent Alvin," Paulina exined, and Alicia almost sighed. Of course, that was it. Harold wasn''t exactly the type to want to meet with Paulina unless he wanted to scare her into telling him something he wanted to know. She would have to talk to Alvin and find out where Prince Harold always went to early in the morning. She paused when another thought urred to her. Seeing how he was going to be busy with weing the guests, and she didn''t even know just how busy they were going to be with the whole banquet ceremony, was he going to be able to find time to groom her and also take her to Hellion? "Can I go and call the others now?" Paulina asked, breaking into Alicia''s thoughts, and she nodded. "Wait," she called before Paulina could leave, and Paulina looked at her with curious eyes. "How have you been? I know I''ve been distracted a lottely, and we barely have enough time to talk anymore," Alicia said, and Paulina beamed a smile at her. "I''m fine, mdy," she said with a bow. Looking at her, Alicia could tell that she was okay, at least physically. She didn''t look as pale or thin as she had been some time ago. In fact, she had a glow about her. "I hope nobody is bullying or harassing you?" Alicia asked, and Paulina blinked in confusion. "Is anyone making things difficult for you? Like Beth?" Alicia asked, and Paulina shook her head. She didn''t know if it was because of her friendship with Williams or because of what Harold had done to Beth, but no one spoke rudely to her. They weren''t particrly friendly, but they were not hostile either. And thus far, she had yet to run into Beth. "I''ve not seen her," Paulina said, and Alicia nodded. "Good. Just stay out of her way. And if, for any reason, she does something to you, make sure you report it to me, okay?" Alicia instructed. "Yes, mdy," Paulina said with a bow. "What are your ns for today? Have you started the painting yet?" She asked curiously, wanting to know if Paulina could apany her to the kitchen since she would need some extra pairs of hands if she were going to be quick with all she nned to do. Paulina shook her head. She was supposed to add the finishing touches to Sir Williams'' painting that morning, "Not yet, mdy. But I will start today," Paulina assured her. "So, can you join me in the kitchen?" She asked and watched as an emotion flickered in Paulina''s eyes. "Yes, mdy," Paulina said, even though it meant she was going to have to cancel her ns with William. "You have ns already, don''t you?" Alicia asked knowingly, and Paulina looked away guiltily. Her loyalty was first to her mistress before Williams, so she felt guilty for feeling bad about cancelling her ns with Williams to serve her mistress. "It doesn''t matter, mdy," Paulina assured her. "What ns did you have?" Alicia asked, not wanting her to cancel her ns just for her sake. From the look she had seen in her eyes, she could tell that whatever n she had was important to her. "I... was supposed toplete a portrait painting of Sir Williams this morning," Paulina said, sounding apologetic about it, but Alicia smiled. "It''s fine. You can do that. Don''t worry about me. I will have Tyra and Susan apany me," Alicia assured her. "No Mdy, I will go with you," Paulina said, but Alicia shook her head dismissively. "I don''t want you to anymore. Just do what you have to do, Paulina. You''re not my ve. You should have a will of your own. Now go and get the others. I have to hurry so I can finish up at the kitchen before noon," Alicia instructed as she went to stand in front of the mirror, and with a polite bow, Paulina left the room to do as she was told. Alicia was grateful for whatever medicine it was that Harold had given herst night. She knew that ordinarily her body was supposed to be aching badly, especially her scalp, considering what that demon Ivan did to her, but thankfully she was feeling very healthy and energized. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered just what these people here did for skincare aside from their normal bathing processes. She was going to have to use some of those items in the kitchen to prepare a face mask for herself and the girls. How exciting it would be to finally put those do-it-yourself training to use here. Wouldn''t she be known in history as the first person to introduce natural skincare routines? She thought with a wide smile. And maybe to win the hearts of some of those aristocrats whose approval she, no, not her. Whose approval Amber needed, she could prepare some lovely hors d''oeuvres with the items the chef had gotten her and have them serve it to wee the guests. Or maybe she could even serve it to them herself as she introduced herself to them. What better way to get into the heart of a man than through his stomach? If it worked on modern men, she was sure it would work even more on these chauvinistic men. Chapter 151 The Guests (1) Alicia found Tyra first, looking out a window dejectedly. "What is wrong?" Tyra flinched, having not expected someone to suddenlye behind her. When she realized it was Alicia, she sighed in relief. The ever nosy Alicia looked out the window, looking for what Tyra had been intensely staring at. "What were you looking at?" "Nothing. I was just thinking." "About what?" Alicia asked, concerned. "Nothing." Tyra managed a smile and said, "You don''t have to worry about me. Where are you off to?" Alicia noticed she was trying to leave that topic and decided not to push her to answer. "I wasing to look for you and also for Susan. I was wondering if you girls were interested in joining me to cook." "Cook? I... don''t know how to." Tyra said in embarrassment. "Of course, I didn''t expect any better. You are a princess after all." Alicia said and shed her a smile. "But... you are a princess too." Tyra reminded her. "Oh... that is true. Haha!" Aliciaughed awkwardly when she realized her slip. "I learnt it as a hobby. I will teach you. You don''t have to worry too much." "But... the guests are going to be arriving soon, and we have to be ready for whenever they call for us toe greet them. So... I don''t think we can go there now." "Oh! That''s also fine. Maybe in the evening then?" Alicia asked hopefully. "Princess Amber," Tyra called her gently and turned to fully face her. "We cannot risk it. We have guestsing here. What if it gets to them that the princesses here are doing the jobs of servants?" Alicia almost pulled out her hair in frustration. Did it mean that her ns of getting to their hearts through their stomachs was going to be in vain? With a resigned sigh, she said, "I will think of something. For now, I need to ensure the ingredients are properly preserved." "I wille with you then." Tyra offered with a smile. On their way, they met Susan, and, as expected, Susan didn''t even wait to be invited before she joined them. Alicia noticed Susan, who was walking on her left side, was unusually excited and got curious, so she asked, "Did something good happen?" "What?" Susan asked, confused. "You seem very excited this morning." "My parents are arriving this morning. I have missed my mother a lot." "Oh. That''s nice. Are you going to be leaving with them when they return?" Alicia asked curiously while hoping that Susan would stay longer. Susan paused to think about it. When her parents had suggested she stay back to receive lessons here alongside Princess Amber, she had hated it. She wanted to go back home and live her carefree life, where she always snuck out of their residence and got involved in mischief. But they had insisted she stay back. Who would have thought that these past few weeks have been so eventful? She had had more fun than she usually did at home, and it was all thanks to Princess Amber. No wonder it hadn''t urred to her to return with her parents. "I don''t think I will be leaving with them. I have barely learnt anything with all the changes of instructors." "Oh! I forgot about it. How have you been learning?" Alicia asked, almost pping herself at how distracted she had been at everything else happening around her. "The Queen is going to assign a new instructor to me," Susan informed them. "You can join me and Harold," Alicia suggested. "Ah!" Susan eximed and shook her head, "I''d rather not. Thank you." She said with a forced smile that made Tyra chuckle. "I am curious..." Tyra said as they began to walk again. "What happened between you and Prince Harold after you leftst night? Did... he get mad?" Tyra asked Alicia in a low voice. "You shouldn''t be concerned with their private affairs. You should be concerned about yourself, don''t you think?" Susan asked Tyra, making Alicia raise her brow, wondering what Susan was talking about. "Haven''t you reasoned that the queen is probably going to try to find you a partner?" Susan asked Tyra. Surprised, Alicia looked at Tyra and noticed how pale she suddenly looked while balling her fists beside her tightly. "Really?" Alicia asked Susan before facing Tyra again. Did it mean Tyra would be leaving anytime soon? "There is a possibility. But I am not hoping for that." Tyra said before turning and continuing walking. Alicia wasn''t sure what she was supposed to say. She just watched Tyra''s back and sighed heavily before giving a hand signal to Susan for them to keep walking. "After checking the ingredients. We should go watch them wee the guests. I found a very good spot." Susan suggested, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Alicia didn''t have a problem with that, so she shrugged. It was best to see the faces of those she would be meetingter, and also, she knew Harold was going to be there weing them. ********* Harold almost yawned from boredom as he waited for the guests to arrive. It was quite funny that Ivan had been ring daggers at him, probably pissed at being asked to wee the guests with him when he wasn''t interested in it in the first ce. Alvin signalled with his chin to the top of the building and Harold looked up, where he was quick to see Alicia walking past a window. She was together with Susan and Tyra. Susan seemed to be doing the talking while Alicia and Tyra wereughing, but Harold noticed there was something wrong with her. She didn''t look very happy. Forgetting he was still mad at her, his eyes followed her until they stopped by arge open window. When he noticed they were about to look in his direction, Harold turned and kept his face ahead. At the same time, a carriage stopped in front of them. The three girls watched Harold, Alvin, Ivan, Ivan''s bodyguard, and the queen''s personal bodyguard stand in line to receive the guests, but once the first carriage stopped, Ivan stepped forward to greet the guest, taking the shine away from Harold, who didn''t even seem bothered. "That is Sir Gregory. The most sessful merchant in the moon kingdom." Tyra informed them as the man stepped down, adorned in a golden robe. "And those are his wife and his only child, Sir Lance." Alicia could not help but notice the vague introduction of the wife. It was just as Harold had pointed out. Their only significance was giving birth to sons. "Lance is so handsome and is going to inherit his father''s wealth. Too bad he has a nasty attitude." Susan said and Tyra nodded in agreement. Alicia remembered seeing something about these people in the book, but she could not exactly remember what it was. "If you want to be in the good books of the aristocrats, you have to make Sir Gregory be on your side." Tyra pointed this out to Alicia, who was observing the man and his family. The man and his son, in particr, both had this air of arrogance around them as they conversed with Ivan. Alicia took note of the ugly eye they sent towards Harold''s direction as they spoke with Ivan. Just great! They didn''t like Harold already, so that was double work for her. "Are you okay?" Susan asked Alicia curiously. She was unusually calm today. "Yes. I am." Alicia assured her with a smile and looked ahead when she noticed a second carriage approaching as soon as Sir Gregory and his family were led away by the Queen''s guard. "Those are Princess Luciana''s parents. Her father oversees the rural areas of the Moon Kingdom. So he is barely around." Tyra exined to Alicia when the couple stepped out of the carriage. The three girls wouldn''t deny the fact that they were eager to talk about what had happenedst night, especially about Luciana. But since the king had said no one should mention it, they all decided not to. "They look kind." Alicia pointed out. Susan scoffed immediately. "Don''t be too quick to judge anyone by their looks. He is far from that." When they led them away, Susan looked at the next carriage approaching and beamed, "I think that''s my parents." As soon as it stopped and her parents got down, she waved at them happily, but they didn''t see her, so she excused herself from the girls and raced down to meet them. Susan met them halfway when they were being escorted by Alvin and immediately ran into her mother''s arms, hugging her tightly. Tyra and Alicia watched them from upstairs, and while Alicia was smiling at the scene, Tyra looked sad, especially when she watched how Susan''s parents were fawning over their daughter. By this time, the remaining ones were Ivan and Harold, waiting to wee the next guests since their bodyguards were leading the others to the chambers reserved for them and had yet toe back. Two carriages stopped at the same time. An older man and a younger man got down from one, while an older woman and a teenage girl came out of the other. "That''s the Minister of War, Sir Richard, and his son, Sir Harvey. And those two are his wife and daughter." Alicia watched them curiously. This man seemed to be the first person who didn''t give Harold a stink eye but rather, willingly shook hands with him. But what caught her eyes was the teenage girl who was smiling shyly at Harold. "Benedicta. She was Harold''s chosen bride when they were younger." As Alicia watched with a frown, Benedicta''s older brother looked up at the window where the two of them stood. He squinted his eyes and stared in their direction with surprise. "Why is he looking at us that way?" Alicia asked Tyra, who shook her head. "I think... he is looking at you." Chapter 152 Couples Quarrel When the first guest arrived, Ivan was quick to assign the Queen''s bodyguard to lead them to their chamber. Since he was one of the most important people in the country, it was only normal that he would assign their person to lead him instead of letting Harold do that. Seeing how Harold was nonchnt about the whole thing made his blood boil. He had expected Harold to try and prove to the guests that he was worthy of the throne by being nice to them, but he didn''t seem to mind, which made Ivan feel angry because it felt as though he waspeting with Harold, who wasn''t even putting any effort into it. As the queen''s bodyguard, Damian, led the guest away, Ivan noticed how Damian''s eyes went to the top of the building before he quickly looked away and continued walking ahead. Curious, Ivan turned and found Susan, Tyra, and that witch by the window, conversing together. The mere sight of her made his blood boil. He was going to deal with his useless sister and stop her from hanging around Harold''s witch of a wife. Remembering how she had jumped on him and scratched his face made him shudder. He remembered that Susan''s parents were going toe soon, and he almost began to dance for joy. He was going to tell them to make their daughter stay away from her and also have Susan leave the pce. That little thing had dared challenge him when he almost struck Alvin. Not once, but twice. So when Alvin received his uncle and was leading them, he took special note of them, especially when Susan excitedly went to embrace her parents. He narrowed his eyes, observing them, and noticed how Alvin averted his gaze from her while Susan stole a nce at him. A smirk suddenly formed on his face as realization dawned on him. Well, this was getting interesting. There was a high chance that the son fancied a servant. A human servant. And then their precious daughter seemed like she fancied a bodyguard. And of all the bodyguards, it had to be Harold''s. He could almost imagine his uncle and aunt''s faces when they heard this. Hearing himugh like that made Harold look at him with interest. For all the years he had known Ivan, whenever heughed like that, it meant he was already plotting something. But he didn''t let it bother him. Ivan was an idiot, after all, who always allowed his emotions to control him. So, no matter what he was nning, there was always bound to be a w in his n. Since it was just the two of them left. He was more bound to leave now. But he decided to be patient since they had just one guest left that was going to arrive this morning before some others got here in the evening. It wasn''t long before the Minister of War arrived. Sir Richard greeted Ivan casually before he went to stand in front of Harold, shaking his hand firmly and asking how he was doing. Through the corner of his eyes, he noticed Ivan frowning at the attention Sir Richard was giving him. Harold greeted the entire family casually and was about to turn and leave them with Ivan to handle the rest when he heard a faint, tiny voice call out to him, "Your highness, Prince Harold." He looked at the girl with a raised brow. Wondering what this was supposed to mean? Usually, people were quick to get away from him, but she, on the other hand, wanted his attention. Sir Richard cleared his throat, "Your highness, this is my daughter, Benedicta. She had juste of age and would be attending this banquet for the first time." Sir Richard said with a friendly smile, and Harold looked away from the girl and faced her brother, who hadn''t spoken a word. Harold noticed Harvey was looking up behind him in surprise and frowned when he remembered what was up there. He followed Harvey''s line of sight, and just as he had guessed, his sister and princess were there. Well, for Harvey''s sake, he did hope that the young man was staring at his sister instead. Harold realized he was supposed to be worried about something else when he saw Alicia ring daggers at both him and... Benedicta? What did the girl do to her when she was only just arriving now? He wondered as he stared back at Benedicta. ''What did you do this time?'' His wolf asked, sighing tiredly. Of course, he did nothing wrong. In fact, if someone was mad at someone, it was him who was mad at Alicia, so why was she ring at him like that? "I will escort you to your chamber, Sir Richard," Ivan offered politely, making both Harold and Harvey return their attention to what was happening in front of them. "I''m sure Prince Harold can escort us," Sir Richard said with a polite smile, and Ivan turned and walked away in annoyance to go report to his mother, while Harold walked ahead of the family, leading the way. "Who is thatdy standing up there with Princess Tyra?" Harold heard Harvey ask his father. "That is MY bride," Harold said without looking back, hoping that Harvey would get the message clearly and get rid of any ideas he was getting in his head. Why was Alicia standing there anyway? Why couldn''t she just stay hidden and out of the sight of trouble? Harvey had barely been here for ten minutes and he was already showing an interest in her, whether or not it was a good or bad interest. "Ah! That is your human bride?" Sir Richard asked as he looked up at her again. This time, Harold didn''t respond and just continued to lead them while trying to guess what Harvey was thinking. "How do you cope with her being human?" Benedicta asked as she hurried to walk beside Harold. Although her parents couldn''t give her away to him in marriage because of the curse, she still fancied him since she had been his chosen bride before the curse came upon him, and she still hoped that the curse would be broken. Since Harold wasn''t under any obligation to answer her question or speak with her, he ignored her as he continued walking. After showing them to their chamber, which they already knew since they had stayed there during every banquet, Harold went in search of Alicia. Maybe he needed to spell it out to her that she should stay out of the way of these aristocrats. He wanted her to avoid all of them. He didn''t care whether they approved of her or not, as most of them didn''t approve of him anyway. He went to the spot where he had seen her standing with Tyra earlier, but she had left there already, so he continued to look for her until he saw her sitting under a tree shade with Tyra in the courtyard. "Come with me," Harold ordered her, and turned to leave, but stopped when he noticed that she wasn''t following him. He turned to look at her, raising a brow, "Why are you not following me?" "You didn''t say, please. I''m not your servant; you can''t order me around that way," Alicia said with her arms folded in front of her and a stubborn look in her eyes like she wanted to fight with him. What was wrong with this woman? Why did she keep behaving like she was possessed by a demon? Oh, yes! She was actually the demon possessing a body that wasn''t hers. And he had married the demon. Knowing her the way he did, he knew that she wouldn''t budge if she didn''t get her way, and there was no way he was going to beg her to follow him. Not when he was still mad at her. Who begged a person he was mad at to follow him? All he wanted was for her to not cause any problems that wouldplicate things for them both. "Excuse us," he ordered Tyra, and immediately she stood up and bowed to him before walking away. "Because you couldn''t order me, you chose to order your sister. What a man you are," Alicia said with a scoff, and Harold red at her. Harold took a deep breath to calm himself. It seemed like the moon goddess had deliberately made them choose this woman as his bride, whether or not she was his mate, to teach him patience. The amount of patience he had exercised since he married her was far more than he had ever exhibited in all his life. Otherwise, how could he exin that she was still alive despite all the annoying things she had said to him since she came into his life? "You promised to not cause any trouble," Harold reminded her, choosing to not argue or fight with her as he suspected she wanted. "Oh, are you now talking to me? I thought you were giving me the silent treatmentst night over something I did 500 years from now where you didn''t even exist?" Alicia asked, and Harold just stared at her. Was this woman normal? Was it about when she did it or was it about the fact that she did it? "Just don''t cause any trouble. Don''t leave your chamber unless it''s for breakfast or dinner or I send for you. I will have them deliver food to your chamber during lunch, and..." "Excuse you?" Alicia asked in annoyance. Chapter 153 Child Bride? Alvin almost rolled his eyes at the scene before him. Of all the guests, why did he have to be assigned to the Queen''s family?The mother and daughter just wouldn''t stop fawning over each other, and it didn''t help that the said daughter was someone he wanted to get away from. He didn''t know what she was thinking in her head, but thest thing he wanted was to be associated with her in any way. He still could not wrap his head around the fact that she thought he fancied her. That was the strangest thing he had ever heard in his entire life. "Where is your brother?" Susan''s father asked. "He is probably in the painting room and doesn''t realize what time it is now. I hope you bought me something on your way?" Susan answered, looking at her parents hopefully. "Of course!" The mother said, smiling. "The servants are with them. You will see them when we arrive in our chamber."Susan looked behind them excitedly at the servants, who were carrying several bags, following them.She spared Alvin a nce again and noticed how he just kept his gaze ahead. Was he feeling timid because he was in the presence of the family of the girl he fancied? Was this by chance... a reality check since he could see how different they were from each other? Susan wondered, feeling a bit down. "Have you been taking your sses seriously?" Her father asked. "Yes, father." She lied.How could she take her sses seriously when they kept changing instructors? "That is nice. I can see some changes in you already. I think you can go back home with us now," her mother said. Susan noticed how Alvin''s steps faltered as he looked at the side before he continued walking ahead as if he had heard nothing.Susan could not help but feel bad for Alvin. He couldn''t even hide how he felt for her. Why did her mother have to mention something like this in front of him?Meanwhile, Alvin was trying to suppress his smile of relief. He really hoped that this couple was going to take this girl away from here. He didn''t like her and was also fed up with monitoring her. That was going to be less work for him. "I still have more to learn. So I will stay for a while." Susan said, and when Alvin''s strides broke again, she confirmed he was eagerly listening to their conversation and was now d she was staying back. "Really? It''s a surprise that you are willing to stay back and learn." Her father said suspiciously, just as Alvin led them through the flight of stairs. "Isn''t that what you''ve always wanted?" Susan asked them. "Of course! It''s what we''ve always wanted. In fact, during this banquet, we are going to pay close attention to the families and find you a suitable partner!" her mother said joyously. "What?!" Susan asked, frowning.At the same time, they arrived in front of the chamber assigned to them, and Alvin turned around and left impatiently, already tired of listening to them.Susan''s eyes followed Alvin''s back until she noticed her father was about to follow her vision before she looked at him, shaking her head. "I don''t want to get married! I''m just 18!" "What do you mean you are ''just'' 18? That is already too mature. Should I remind you that by the time I was 16, I already had you and your brother?" Her mother asked her, frowning slightly. While an argument was brewing between Susan and her parents, one was already going on between Harold and Alicia. "Just don''t cause any trouble. Don''t leave your chamber unless it''s for breakfast or dinner or I send for you. I will have them deliver food to your chamber during lunch, and..." "Excuse you?" Alicia asked in annoyance. Seeing how Alicia''s eyes were already shing, Harold could tell that she was going to be unreasonable, so he decided to back down a bit. "I''m just trying to say that I need you to stay out of trouble," Harold exined calmly. "And I''m a kid who has to be locked up in her bedroom just to prevent her from getting into trouble?" She asked, rising from where she was seated and moving closer to him. "That is not what I mean..." "So what do you mean?" She snapped at him as she poked his chest. Harold gritted his teeth and grabbed her hand. They were in the courtyard and anybody could see them. Not that what she was doing mattered much to him, as he was already used to her and her nasty, unreasonable temper, but he didn''t want the aristocrats to have a bad first impression of her. "Can you be reasonable for once in your stubborn life? I thought you wanted the aristocrats to like you?" He asked in a low tone. "You are the one being..." "You said you trust me, right?" He cut in before she could finish, and she blinked at him in annoyance. Although she was angry with him, she couldn''t deny that she trusted him. "What has that got to do with this?" she asked grudgingly, and Harold''s gaze softened. "Because I need you to listen to me. For your safety, trust me and stay in your chamber until this banquet is over. Please," Harold added softly. Hearing the worry in his tone, Alicia frowned. "We''ve already been through this. I will mind my business. I won''t even talk to anyone unless I''m talked to first." "If I''m not there, don''t talk to anyone. Do you remember the names and titles of everyone I asked you to memorize yesterday?" He asked. "You promised to remind me when I meet them in person!" She reminded him. "You''re going back to your chamber now. I will get the book, and you will remain inside your chamber memorizing all the names until it''s time for dinner," Harold said, and motioned for her to move. "So you''re no longer angry?" Alicia asked, refusing to budge as she eyed him. "Angry?" Harold asked in confusion, and then he scowled when he recalled that he was mad at her. "You can''t touch any man or let any man touch you anymore," he said in a warning tone. "Apart from you?" She asked, eyeing him curiously. ,m "Yes. I''m your husband, after all," he said, and Alicia''s lips twitched with a teasing smile. "So you want to touch me?" She asked, batting hershes in a flirty way, and Harold sighed. "You don''t have the time to joke around. Let''s go," he said as he took her hand and dragged her along with him. "But I need to use the kitchen this evening. I told the chef already," Alicia said as she followed him. "If you want to do that, make sure you know all the names in the book by this evening or I won''t let you out," Harold said as he dragged her along. "Are more peopleing today?" Alicia asked as she tried to match his pace while they both ignored every other person they walked past. "No. The others will join us tomorrow." "What about Hellion? Will you be able to take me to him today?" She asked, and Harold shook his head. "No. We can''t do that until the banquet is over," Harold said, and Alicia looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I won''t spend the night in your chamber tonight then," Alicia said defiantly, and to her surprise, he nodded in agreement. "We can continue with our deal after the banquet," Harold said, making her frown at him as she stopped walking and forced her hand out of his. She had expected him to argue that she spend the night with him regardless, but seeing how he easily agreed, she eyed him suspiciously. What now? Harold wondered as he stopped to look at her. "No!" Alicia said with a stubborn glint in her eyes. "No what?" Harold asked in confusion. "Few days ago you were trying to make me spend thirty nights with you, and all of a sudden, because your child bride is here, you want to spend the night alone?" Alicia said, unable to keep the annoyance out of her voice. "My child bride?" Harold asked in confusion, wondering what she was talking about. "You think I don''t know that the girl who was walking with you earlier and smiling stupidly was your little chosen bride? You want to lock me up in my chamber so that you can have time to frolic around with her, don''t you? Haha! I am Alicia Queen. I ruin ns for a living." She threatened him. Harold''s confusion cleared slowly when he realized what she was talking about. He hadpletely forgotten about the girl being his chosen bride until she mentioned it.Was that why she had been ring at the two of them earlier? But why was that bothering her? "Hold on!" He put his hand up to stop her from speaking further as his brain began to work fast to interpret what was happening with her right now."Is this jealousy?" He asked her curiously. Chapter 154 Pissed Wife Alicia looked at Harold like he was crazy before scoffing loudly. "Why the hell would I be jealous?!" She asked him in disbelief and marched to her chamber, opening the door forcefully and was about to m it when he pushed it open and entered, before closing the door behind him. "What?!" She snapped at him, wondering why he was still following her. Wasn''t he eager to get away just now? "Care to exin why you have this wild attitude right now if it''s not jealousy?" He said calmly while spreading his palms open. He wasn''t used to dealing with women, but something told him that this was definitely jealousy. Maybe if Alvin was here now, he would have been able to tell since he was usually smart about these things when they did not concern him. "I am just pissed. And I deserve to be." Alicia said angrily and folded her arms across her chest. He stared at her, amused. He wanted to tell her that she looked like a wild rabbit right now, but he also wanted to save his face and hair. Thest thing he wanted was for her to attack him like she had done to Ivan. "So... you are pissed because you think I am going to meet with her?" He asked softly. "That is not the point! You want to keep me locked in here! Are you embarrassed of me?" She gave him a fierce, using look. "Why would you think that?" "Stop answering my questions with questions!" She barked at him. "When did I do that?" "You are doing that right now!" She groaned in frustration and almost felt like throwing something at him when she saw him trying to hide a smile. "Okay, calm down." He said, looking serious now. "I know you probably do not like the fact that I am asking you to stay here, but it is for your own good. Everyone in this pce. Every single one is dangerous. And you have a special talent for attracting trouble. This is the best I can do to keep you safe." "Is there some kind of secret about this entire pce and banquet that I do not know of?" She asked suspiciously. Ever since she arrived here, she could not shake off the feeling that these people were hiding something from her, and Paulina had confirmed that she felt the same way. They had all been talking about having a banquet, but what was the purpose of it? No one was saying anything about that, and when she asked Susan and Tyra, they simply waved it off. Harold looked at her intensely before nodding. "There is." "Really?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. Harold nodded. There was no point in hiding it because one day, she was going to find out. And the sooner she knew that something was wrong, the sooner she would begin to protect herself and stay away from trouble consciously. "What is that?" Alicia whispered curiously. "It''s a secret for a reason." He reminded her. "But I am a part of this kingdom now. I need to know." "In your words, you aren''t a part of anything here. Amber is. Therefore, I don''t think I can tell the secret to you." He said, smirking. She scoffed loudly in annoyance. "Don''t get all smart with me." She eyed him. "However..." "..." "If you would like to know, you can," Harold said with a shrug. Seeing him like this, Alicia could not help but be suspicious. "Why do I feel like there is a condition to it?" She asked while looking at him with narrowed eyes. "Because there is." "And that is?" She asked hesitantly. "I have to be sure that you think of yourself as a part of the royal family first. It is not a secret that can be told to just anyone." "That''s easy. I think of myself that way already, so tell me." She said eagerly, but Harold chuckled and shook his head. Did she think he was going to fall for that? "That''s not what I meant. I don''t need your words for it. Words are meaningless. They cannot be trusted." Alicia rolled her eyes in frustration. Why did this guy always have to make uplicated thingsplicated? "Then what do you need me to do for you to tell me?" "Your action." "What... action?" She asked hesitantly, not trusting him one bit. "You can only find out when you... bear our child. That''s the only guarantee." He said calmly and blew off imaginary dust from his nails. "WHAT THE HELL!" She eximed in shock while Harold looked at her and chuckled. "I''lle see youter. Be good." He patted her head twice before he left her room. Alicia bared her teeth, but it was toote. He had left already. What was wrong with him? Why would he think she was jealous? What was there to be jealous about? She was the one he was married to, after all. Not her. Amber. Princess Amber was the one he was married to, why did she keep missing it uptely? She needed to keep reminding herself that she wasn''t Amber. She wasn''t Harold''s wife. How dare he ask her to have a child for him? Did he know what that meant? That they would have to have sex with each other? Her stomach did a flip at the thought, and her body suddenly felt warm. No! What was wrong with her? What was wrong with her brain and her body? Why was she thinking and feeling things she had no business feeling? Maybe it was Amber. She was feeling Amber''s emotions, not hers. That had to be it. She wasn''t the least bit sexually attracted to Harold, even though he was very handsome and sexy with his taut skin and bulging muscles and... The rest of her words trailed off, and she frowned when something suddenly urred to her. The other night, when he took off his clothes in front of her, his body looked very smooth. Even his chest. There had been no sign of a scar on his body, especially the spot where she had stuck that dagger mistakenly. Howe it had healedpletely? Or perhaps it was that medicine? The same one he had made her swallowst night that had made her feel better? That had to be it. She walked over to the window and looked outside. Something else was on her mind now. What was the secret of the Moon kingdom that Harold said she couldn''t know about unless she was part of the royal family? Was she going to find out about it during the banquet? She was going to have to keep her eyes and ears open the whole time. Her thoughts suddenly drifted to a movie she had seen the previous year, "Ready Or Not", where the new bride was forced to participate in some crazy, secret, bloody family rituals. Was this secret going to be something simr to that? Harold had said the aristocrats were going to decide if they approved of her or not. Were they going to put her through dangerous tests? A shudder ran through her at the thought. She hoped not. Since no one was going to tell her about it, she was just going to stay alert and find out the secret herself, Alicia decided. Away from there, Harold''s earlier bad temper had been brightened thanks to their conversation. He almost whistled happily as he walked down the hallway. How she could easily affect his mood was still a surprise to him. She made him angrier than anyone else he knew, and she was also the only one who could make his mood switch in the blink of an eye. His eyes narrowed, and he stopped walking when he saw Alvin walking down with a smile on the edge of his lips. Why was he happy? Harold wondered as he waited for him to join him. "I''ve shown them to their chamber," Alvin reported with a polite bow, wondering why it seemed like Harold was no longer in a foul mood. "Good. I need to meet the King and inform him that we have weed the first set of guests. Take the royal journal to Princess Amber''s chamber; she needs to memorize the names. And make sure you keep your eyes on her," Harold instructed before walking away, and Alvin left to do as he had been told. Once he got to Alicia''s bedroom, he knocked on the door lightly, and Alicia opened the door. "Aha! Just the man I want to see," Alicia said with a wide smile, which made Alvin want to drop the book and run for his life. He knew that look. Whenever she had that look in her eyes, he usually ended up on Harold''s bad side. That look meant she had a question to ask. And it was often a question that he wasn''t meant to answer. "Prince Harold asked me to bring this book to you," he said with a polite bow as he handed it to her. "Pleasee in," she said, but Alvin shook his head. "I can''t be alone with you in your chamber, mydy," Alvin said politely, and Alicia''s lips rounded in a silent ''O''. "My apologies. I will just step out then," Alicia said as she closed the door behind her, smiling creepily at him. Chapter 155 Interrogation Alvin kept a safe distance between himself and Alicia as he followed her. Thankfully, she didn''t stray too far from her chamber. She stopped along the passageway and turned to him. "You were with Harold early this morning, am I right?" Alicia asked, and Alvin, who had been trying toe up with all the possible questions she could ask him, almost blinked in surprise since he hadn''t been expecting that particr question. "Yes, mydy," he said with a bow. "Around what time precisely?" She asked, and this time Alvin was relieved that Harold had told him what to say in case she asked him about it. "Before dawn. We usually start the first rounds of our training before dawn," Alvin supplied, and Alicia nodded. "I see. Do you have any idea why he doesn''t want anyone to know that..." She stopped when she remembered that he had said she wasn''t to tell anyone that they had spent the night together. As far as everyone knew, she was sleeping in there alone. She wasn''t sure if that also included Alvin. She decided to change her question format. That way, she would know just how much he knew. "Do you know where Harold sleptst night and the night before?" She asked, and Alvin blinked at her in confusion. Didn''t the prince spend the night with her? Why was she asking him such a question? Was she testing him? If so, why? "He slept in his chamber, mydy," Alvin answered simply, and Alicia nodded. That meant he knew that they had spent the night together since she was aware that everyone in the pce knew that she had been sleeping in Harold''s chamber, even though they didn''t know that Harold was sleeping there with her. "Do you have any idea why he doesn''t want anyone to know that I''m sharing his chamber with him?" She asked, and Alvin quickly shook his head. "No, mydy. I have no idea," he said very quickly. He answered too quickly, as far as Alicia was concerned. He didn''t even pretend to be surprised or to think about the question before answering. So this was yet another secret that she had to deal with? She wondered how many more secrets they were keeping from her. "Alright. Thanks for your time," Alicia said with a bright smile as she walked away from him. She was going to find a way to make Harold tell her the truth, whether or not he wanted to. Maybe it would be best if she woke up early and followed Harold. Perhaps then she would find out if he was truly training with Alvin that early in the morning, and if that were not the case, then she would get to know where he was always going to. She didn''t want him to do anything that was going to get him into trouble. Because if he got into trouble, what would happen to her? Once she returned to her chamber, she sat on the bed and opened the book. A yawn escaped from her lips when she saw the first boring name. Because this seemed to be very important to Harold, she would do her best to memorize the names, even if it meant she was going to soak her legs in a bowl of water so she wouldn''t doze off. When Alvin rounded a corner, he was surprised to find Harold there with his arms crossed when he was supposed to be reporting to the king. It seemed as though he was waiting for him. "She questioned you, didn''t she?" Harold asked Alvin without beating around the bush. ? "Erm... yes, your highness. But... she didn''t look convinced by the answers I gave." Harold nodded. "She is smart. Be wary of her," Harold eyed him. "You may be smart, but she knows how to get information from you if she wants to." Alvin swallowed nervously and bowed. Of course, he had fallen into her trap before, so he understood why Harold was eyeing him like that. "I will," Alvin assured him, and Harold turned and walked away. Away from there, all the families that had arrived settled into their various quarters in the pce, unpacking and arranging their belongings. Luciana walked into her parents'' quarter, and immediately her mother saw her and took in her appearance, a sigh of disappointment escaped from her lips. "You are still not pregnant yet," she observed, and Luciana''s steps faltered. She had been happy that her parents were here and she would at least have someone to talk to, but she was clear that she had thought wrong. "Father, mother, you are wee," Luciana said, forcing a smile. "How have you been?" Her father asked without sparing her a nce. "I''ve been well. How are you both doing? And how is everybody at home?" She asked curiously. "This is your home now. The people back there shouldn''t concern you," her mother chided as she embraced her. Luciana simply stood stiffly as her mother embraced her. Everything just seemed very strange now. "I got you some herbs to help you bear children for the prince," her mother said once she pulled away and led her to the bed where a wooden box was lying open. ''Children! Children! Children! Don''t they talk about other things?!'' Luciana cried in her head. When was thest time any of them asked her how she was faring? The only thing they cared about was her bearing children. What if she wasn''t the one at fault? What Princess Amber had told her echoed in her head. Yes, it could also be the fault of her husband. So why was no one bothering him as much as they were bothering her? "Mother?" Luciana called out to her mother softly. Her mother, who was already holding the box, turned to look at Luciana, who was still standing where she was. "What is it?" The older woman asked. Luciana looked at her mother and then at her father before she looked back at her mother. "I... was thinking... what if... I am okay?" She stuttered. "Okay?" Her mother asked in confusion. "What if I don''t need the herbs? What if¡ª" "Do not be stupid!" Her father said sternly. "If you were okay, you would have given birth to a child a long time ago!" He lectured her. "I mean, what if it isn''t my fault?" Luciana asked. "If it isn''t your fault, then whose fault is it?" Her mother asked, genuinely confused. Luciana clenched and unclenched her fist as she stuttered. "It... could be... my husband''s?" As soon as the words left her lips, the box in her mother''s hands dropped from shock, and her father''s head snapped up to look at her like she had lost her mind. "W-What... treacherous... thing are you... s-saying?" Her mother asked in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? How can you utter something like that? How did you even think of that?" Her father asked, equally in disbelief. "How can your husband be the cause of your not having a child? He is a man! Your lord! You should be grateful to him and worship him for not throwing you out already!" "Why do I have to be the only one at fault?!" "Because you are a woman! A wife!" Her father yelled at her. "When you have thought about what you said and feel remorseful, you can return to greet us. Get out of my sight!" Her father barked in an angry tone. Luciana blinked rapidly as she tried to stop herself from shedding tears. "I SAID GET OUT!" She flinched and quickly looked at her mother, who was looking at her with disapproval. Seeing the looks on their faces, it urred to her how unfair women were being treated aspared to men. She wasn''t saying she wanted to be equal with men, but can''t she have a life on her own? It was even more painful when women treated other women badly because of men! With tears in her eyes, Luciana turned around and headed for the door. As soon as she opened it, she was startled to find the Queen and Ivan standing there. Luciana''s mother gasped loudly when she saw them, and her father looked ufortable as he wondered just how much of their conversation the two people heard. The queen stepped in, and Ivan followed suit, with his eyes on Luciana. Luciana turned to the side and looked down, avoiding any form of eye contact with anyone there. "My Queen, you... didn''t have toe to greet us. We would havee to you," her father said with a bow, and her mother followed suit immediately. From the look on both Ivan''s face and the queen''s face, Luciana could tell that they hade there because of her. "I had to. Because it is important." The queen said as she went to sit on the chair inside the room before gesturing at the others, "Sit," she said to them. Luciana''s parents looked at each other, already dreading whatever conversation they were going to be having. Chapter 156 Newborn Rebel... Luciana''s parents sat down, and since everyone in the room had upied all the seats, Luciana had to stand, which made her anxiety ten times worse. It made her feel like a criminal awaiting judgment. "Your daughter has been disrespectful to her husband," the Queen started, without beating around the bush. Her eyes went to Luciana''s parents, who looked at each other in concern before they turned to look at their daughter, who simply stood there with her head down. Thinking that the queen had overheard what Luciana had said a moment ago about their childlessness being her husband''s fault, Luciana''s mother straightened. "My... Queen. I think she¡ª" "I am not done talking," the Queen cut her off harshly, putting up her hand to stop Luciana''s mother from saying anything. "When I chose her for the prince, you assured me that she was a smart girl who was submissive and obedient. I believed all you said and took your words for it. But not only has she not been able to produce a son, but she has also been disobedient to her husband, both in private and in public. She even yelled at her husband because he scolded her. She has brought shame to the royal family." "LUCIANA!" her father yelled her name in anger, making her flinch. "What are you still standing there for? Kneel and apologize!" Her mother yelled as she also went on her knees in front of the queen. "I''m sorry, my queen. We are sorry. She... she isn''t like that. I think she has just been troubledtely. I will talk to her." "GO ON YOUR KNEES AND APOLOGIZE THIS INSTANT!" her father bellowed at her when she was still standing there. With her hands clenched beside her and all the veins in her face and neck popping, she reluctantly knelt and kept her head down. She bit her lower lip so hard that she began to taste blood. At this point, there were no more tears in her eyes. All that was left in her was anger and hate. Hate for all of them. "It is toote for that." The queen said with a casual wave. "You can see her attitude now. She doesn''t even want to take responsibility for her actions." The queen sighed heavily. "It is that girl! You were perfect! But you chose to associate yourself with Harold''s uncouth wife!" Ivan said in anger, as he stood up from his seat. Luciana''s parents looked at each other again before looking at their daughter, who hadn''t said a single word. The queen eyed her son unpleasantly, and he kept his mouth shut and sighed heavily before returning to sit down beside her. "As it stands now, you cannot me us for any action we are going to take," The queen said and dismissed Luciana''s parents when they tried to talk again. "She is going to be punished. Because I hold her very dear to my heart, I ensured she wouldn''t be hurt or that her behavior wouldn''t be revealed to the public. So I came beforehand to let you know," The queen said and stood up. Ivan also stood up and stood beside her. "What... punishment?" Luciana''s father asked as dread filled him. "She will move out of Prince Ivan''s chamber and be cut off from all forms ofmunication with the other members of the royal family for 21 days. She needs to reflect on her actions." Knowing the implication of the queen''s words, Luciana''s mother gasped and shook her head as she tugged on the hem of Luciana''s dress for her to beg, but Luciana said nothing and just kept her head down. "Pleading won''t change anything. Because a suitable bride who is going to bear Prince Ivan a son has been selected already." The couple snapped their heads up to look at the queen and Ivan in shock and disbelief. "Do not me us. me your daughter and her wrong choice of friends. If she had obediently carried out her duties, none of this would have happened. The punishment is going to be effective as soon as the banquetes to an end. But until then, she will be moved out of his chamber. There is not enough room in his chamber to amodate her and his new bride, and since she has failed in her duties, someone else will have to take over. Don''t you think so?" She asked with a warm smile before turning to walk out of the room. Ivan''s eyes lingered on Luciana, and his gaze softened a bit as he watched her just kneeling there. His gaze went rigid again, and he stormed out with his mother. Luciana''s mother ced a hand on her chest as a sob escaped her lips. She still knelt and didn''t even have the strength to stand up from the floor. Anger and disappointment filled her father''s eyes as he looked down on Luciana, but her eyes were carefully nk as she rose and dusted off her clothes. She was past caring now. It was probably for the best that she moved out of his chamber since she couldn''t stand looking at him anymore. She had loved Ivan deeply as a wife should love her husband, but he had hurt her just as deeply with his actions. She had been a submissive and loving wife, but that hadn''t stopped him from plotting with his mother to rece her with a new wife, and now they were trying to make it seem like they were only doing so because she had been rebellious when it was their n that had made her turn this way. She had never been fond of the Queen since the woman had never really cared about her either. She had no business with the Queen or her parents. She was indifferent about them. It was even more apparent that they cared more about their royal status than their daughter. Luciana stood up, dusted off her clothes, and walked out of the chamber while her mother, who had been sobbing, stopped abruptly and stared after her in disbelief. Away from there, Susan opened the door, and the Queen and Ivan walked into the chamber where her brother and his family were gathered, and every one of them stood up. "Brother," the queen greeted with a warm smile, and her brother and his wife bowed to her. "You didn''t have toe here to see me," her brother said in disapproval, and she waved it off with a smile. "Of course, I had to. How have you been?" She asked as she walked in and sat down on one of the seats in the chamber. "I''ve been well. How are you, and how have things been around here?" Susan''s father asked, and the queen smiled. "I''ve been well, and everything has been fine," she said as her gaze moved from Williams to Susan. "Thank you for taking care of Williams and Susan. Susan says she likes it here," Susan''s mother said, and the Queen''s brows arched. "Is that so?" She asked, and Susan nodded. The Queen looked at Susan for a while without saying a word, wondering if perhaps Ivan had been right about Susan and Alvin. Was it Harold''s ploy? To attach his people to her own people? Howe first it was Princess Amber''s servant getting close to Williams, and now it was Harold''s servant getting close to Susan? "Susan, why did you take sides with Alvinst night?" The Queen asked, wanting to see Susan''s reaction in the presence of her parents, and Susan blinked at her in surprise, wondering what that had to do with the discussion on the ground. "Who is Alvin?" Susan''s father asked in confusion. "Alvin is Harold''s servant. He pointed his sword at me, and Susan took sides with him," Ivan rushed to answer, and Susan''s father looked at her in disbelief. "Is that correct?" "I didn''t take sides with him," Susan said calmly, and anger red in Ivan''s eyes. "Are you calling me a liar then?" The Queen asked before Ivan could say a word. "She wouldn''t dare do something like that, my queen. I''m sure there is a misunderstanding," Susan''s mother rushed to defend her. "Exin yourself, Susan! What happened?" Her father said in a stern tone, and she nced at Williams, who gave her a nod before she stepped forward. Although her parents were loving and all, they were also very strict and harsh when they needed to be, especially if it had to do with royal business. "Prince Ivan was hurting his wife, and Princess Amber stepped in to stop him, so when he tried to hurt her, Prince Harold''s guard, Alvin, stepped in to defend her," Susan said, and both the Queen and Ivan eyed her with disapproval, but they both knew better than to say anything. Even though she was the Queen, she still feared and respected her elder brother to arge extent, and so she sat back and decided to let him handle it. "And so you got involved?" Her father asked calmly. "I only exined that he was trying to protect Princess Amber," Susan said defensively. "And you only did that because you fancy each other, didn''t you?" Ivan asked, to the dismay of everyone. Chapter 157 You Are A Bad Liar Susan looked at Ivan, trying to hide her irritation. She decided that if he wasn''t a prince, she would probably have called him an idiot to his face, but since he was a prince, she had to refrain from saying it out loud. Her father looked at her for a moment without saying a word. He knew his kids, and he knew how sharp they both were, especially Susan, who could be very mischievous. What he was trying to figure out now was if Ivan''s allegation had anything to do with the reason she was saying she wanted to remain in the pce and didn''t want to get married yet. "Isn''t Prince Harold''s guard the one who showed us to our chamber?" He asked, and Ivan gave him a nod. Now that it was being discussed, he remembered noticing how she had kept looking back while they were talking. Was the guard the reason for all of that? "Is it true that you are involved with him?" Her father asked calmly when she said nothing. "As I already said, father, I was only pointing out the truth. You taught us not to turn a blind eye to injustice, and that is what I did. If I didn''t speak, Prince Harold''s guard was going to get punished merely for protecting Princess Amber. I''m sure if I was the one being treated that way, you would appreciate the servant stepping in to defend me," Susan said, and Ivan red at her. Unable to stay still anymore, the Queen, who had been waiting for her brother to say something meaningful, looked at Susan with displeasure, annoyed that Susan was speaking about injustice as though they were the unjust ones. "Whether or not Ivan was right, he is your cousin. Your loyalty should be with him and not with our enemies. Did you not know that already?" The Queen asked coldly. Susan was almost tempted to ask what she had done to Tyra, who was all over the so-called enemy, ''Prince Harold'' and preferred him over her own biological brother, Ivan, but once again, because she was the queen, Susan had to keep her opinion to herself. Susan''s mother looked at her with mild disapproval before looking at the Queen, "I''m sorry, my queen..." "Being sorry is not enough! Both your children are taking the enemy''s side..." Ivan cut in but snapped his mouth shut when the Queen red at him. If he wasn''t her only living son, she would have abandoned him long ago for his unruliness and foolishness. He didn''t seem to know when to speak and when not to speak, and that irritated her more than she could say. "What do you mean by that? What did Williams do?" Their father asked, turning to look at Williams, who had been silent the whole time. He knew that if he didn''t speak first, either the Queen or Prince Ivan was going to say something that might put Paulina in trouble. He stepped forward, deciding to beat them to it. "Princess Amber''s maid is in charge of cleaning my painting room, and she sometimes attends to me when I paint. Prince Ivan asked me to get close to her and get information..." "You asked my son to get close to a ve? A human ve?" Their father asked with displeasure as he red at Ivan and then turned to his sister with angry eyes, "Tell me you didn''t know about this." Although she was the Queen, but as a woman, her authority was limited. She knew how powerful her brother was, and she also knew that they needed him on their side, so she couldn''t afford to offend him. "Brother, it is not what you think, I..." "It isn''t? I left my children in your care, trusting you to watch over them, and this is the report I get? If you don''t mind, I would like to speak with my children alone," he said, making it clear that he wanted her and Ivan to excuse them. The Queen gritted her teeth before heading for the door, and Ivan followed, annoyed that his mother was allowing her brother to be rude to them." Is it true? Are you involved with Prince Harold''s guard?" Susan''s father asked, watching her very closely to detect any trace of a lie in her words. "Of course not, father. I would never do something like that," Susan said indignantly, and judging by the way her father rxed after watching her for a moment, he believed her. "It had better remain that way," he said to her before turning to Williams. "I don''t care what your cousin or the queen said to you, I want you to stay away from that human servant. Get someone else to clean your painting room." ******* "You came," Alicia said when she opened the door and saw Harold standing there. Her surprise made him confused, and he looked at her intensely as he walked into her room and shut the door behind him. "I said I was going to." He reminded her. "Of course. I just... didn''t think you''de back." She said honestly and sat on the bed where she had been before he knocked. "Why?" He asked, as he went to sit down beside her. "I don''t know. I mean, everyone is kind of busy and you have guests to attend to, so I just wasn''t expecting you, I suppose." She shrugged. He felt there was more to it, but he didn''t push her to exin and just looked at the piece of paper and brush on the bed beside the book. "What were you doing?" He asked while looking at the strange thing she drew. "I got bored, so I decided to draw." She said as she picked up the piece of paper. "I''m not very good at drawing, but I wanted to do something to pass the time, and then I remembered I promised to show you a few of the things we have in the future. So I made a drawing of a gun first, since I think you will be more interested in that," she turned the paper over to him to show off her drawing proudly. The good thing was that he had no idea what an actual gun looked like, so he wouldn''t be able to tell. He looked at the drawing closely, and his brows pulled together as he said, "Why do I feel this is not what it actually looks like? You are bad at drawing?" He asked curiously. Why did he have to be too smart? "It''s really like this. They are different types. This is just a handgun, and do not underestimate it. One bullet in your head and you''re down." "Have you ever used it before?" He asked, looking at her. "I have operated one with nk bullets before. During a movie shoot. I acted as a cop." "A cop?" "A police. Like... a warrior but¡ª" "You? A warrior?" He asked, almostughing. "Hey! Do not look down on me! I am very talented and can pull off any role easily." She said defensively. "What''s your favourite role ever?" He asked as he adjusted and ced his back on the headboard and folded his arms across his chest. She also sat on the bed with her legs folded like she was about to meditate while facing him. "Hmm... I think when I acted in a historical drama. I was a viin who eventually became a queen. It was so exciting. That''s the drama that made my poprity soar. And the media wouldn''t just stop talking about me for months, even after the drama aired." Initially, she was excited as she talked about it, but as she remembered how the same media treated her afterwards, her mood deted. "Executioner," Harold said, getting her attention and making her raise her head to look at him in confusion. "What I wanted to be. You asked mest night." He said calmly, trying to pull her out of her thoughts. "Executioner? As in... someone who executes people?" She asked, a mixture of confusion and disbelief on her face. When Harold nodded to her question, her eyes widened slightly and she gulped. Well, she didn''t have to be surprised. Nothing here should surprise her anymore, right? "Uhm... that is..." "You don''t like that." He stated while he kept watching her. "That is still... cool... I guess?" "You are a bad liar, Princess." "I''m sorry." Aliciaughed awkwardly. She just could not hide her surprise at the career choice. "Why... that? I mean, you have the right to choose whatever you want to be, but I''m just curious why you chose that." He shrugged again."I always imagined being able to kill all my enemies like that. I used to admire the chief executioner when I was little." Okay, that was just crazy. "You... no longer wish to be that, right?" She asked hopefully. When he nodded, she sighed in relief, "I''m d you no longer think of being that." "Yes. That is because I don''t have to be an executioner to kill whoever I want to." He said with a smile that startled her. "HEY! You don''t have to sound so scary every time. That startled me!" She said, exasperated. Harold put his head down and smiled. Seeing him smile, she hoped he was just messing with her. "Why are you here? Aren''t you supposed to be busy or something?" She asked him curiously. He raised his head to look at her and was quiet for a moment before he asked her seriously, "Why do you think I''m here instead of outside doing something else?" Chapter 158 "Stay," "Why are you here? Aren''t you supposed to be busy or something?" Alicia asked him curiously. Harold raised his head to look at her and was quiet for a moment as he looked at her with serious eyes, "Why do you think I''m here instead of outside doing something else?" He asked, and she looked away from him as she answered. "Uhm... I don''t know?" Alicia avoided his gaze and rubbed the back of her neck. "You are a smart girl, Princess." He said quietly before reaching for her chin and turning her to face him. "You know why," he murmuredzily, and Alicia''s heart skipped a beat. ''Oh, no! This isn''t happening right now.'' Alicia cried in her head. He just stared at her for a little longer before he let go of her with a shake of his head. "You are not as brave as I thought you were," he said with a smirk. She looked at him with a frown, not sure what to say to that. "What has bravery got to do with anything?" She asked after a moment. Harold waved off her question. "Knowing how you respond to things, and because I don''t want you to behave wildly when you hear itter, I came to tell you this so you would be prepared and..." Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest. She hoped he wasn''t going to tell her what she was thinking? Or was he? No! She didn''t want to hear it! If it had anything to do with his childhood bride, she didn''t want to hear about it. He could just go on and do whatever he wanted. She stood up abruptly. "I... need to shower." She turned to quickly walk away from him, but he grabbed her hand, not letting her leave, and she turned to look at him with questioning eyes. Seeing how she was trying to avoid listening to him, Harold wondered what she was thinking. "You don''t want to hear what I came to tell you?" He asked, and Alicia shook her head. "You''re going to hear it first from me, whether or not you want to," Harold insisted, and waited for a second before he continued, "Luciana is going to be punished," he informed her quietly. "That''s what I wanted to tell you. Rx." Wait... that was it? Alicia blinked at him in surprise when she saw how serious he looked, and then what he said slowly began to register. Luciana? Punished? How? Why? "Punished? How?" She managed to ask as she sat down beside him on the bed. Harold didn''t let go of her hand, but just continued to hold on to her with their hands between them on the bed. "Ivan is going to get a second bride as soon as possible. She will probably be chosen during the banquet," Harold exined. "I don''t understand," Alicia said with confusion in her eyes as she looked at him. "You already knew about it. Why do you look so surprised?" He asked. "Yes, I know he wants to get another wife. What I''m asking is, why is she going to be punished? What did she do wrong? What kind of punishment? And why is he in a hurry to get a new wife?" "She is going to be punished because she went against her husband publicly and privately. She would have to be locked up and atone for her sins." "But... I''ve done worse than that to you, haven''t... I?" Alicia asked, recalling all the times she had been rude to him in public, especially that one time Harold had chased her around the pce because she called him names. "Was I being allowed to do as I pleased because Princess Amber is not from your kingdom?" She asked with a frown when Harold didn''t say anything. "I''m not Ivan," he reminded her calmly. Of course, she could have been punished this whole time for all the times she had defied him and gone against the culture of the Moon Kingdom, but they all knew better than to touch or punish his wife without his permission. "So you are saying he is in a hurry to get a new bride because she went against him? But that''s not what happened. She wouldn''t have gone against him if he wasn''t already nning to get a new wife," Alicia said with a slight frown. Howe they were changing it to make it seem like it was Luciana''s refusal to be pushed around that made them decide to do this? "It doesn''t matter. You shouldn''t get involved anymore." "What about her parents? They are here, right? Can''t her father do something about it? Or at least stop them from punishing her?" She asked hopefully. "Princess, when a woman is unmarried, she is the property of her father. As soon as she is married, she bes the property of her husband. And when she is old and her husband is no more, she bes the property of her son. Her father can do nothing about whatever Ivan decides to do. She belongs to Ivan." Alicia put her head down and sighed heavily as she let the words sink in. "It''s my fault. I shouldn''t have gotten involved." She said guiltily. "Is it really?" He asked, raising a brow. "I don''t... know. I just... I feel things would have been different if I hadn''te here," Alicia said sadly, and Harold agreed with her. If she hadn''te here, he would still be very bitter and lonely. Since she came, everything had changed, both in his life and around the pce. Although she caused a lot of trouble, she brightened up the ce too. She brightened up his life. He always looked forward to the times he would be in herpany, whether or not he was talking to her. But that wasn''t the point right now, so he decided to focus on her concerns. "Your being here has nothing to do with Ivan''s decision to marry a second wife. Even if you hadn''t gotten involved, Ivan would still have taken a second wife because he needs a son," Harold exined to her. A tear slid down her eyes and she quickly wiped it with her hand. Maybe it was because she was older than all the girls here that was why she could really feel how unfair it was and was always worried about them. It was as if she was watching her younger sister being bullied. "What about you?" She asked Harold in a low, exhausted voice. "As a prince, you will need a son too, won''t you? Will you be forced to get another wife too? When that timees, will I be locked up too?" She asked, and Harold stared at her. He had never really given much thought to being married or having kids until she came into his life. Surprisingly, he had caught himself once or twice wondering what a son or daughter from her would look and behave like. Would their child be a werewolf or human? He had asked himself that before, and it was Alvin''s fault for putting ideas into his head by talking about mating. "We haven''t even been married for a year, so there is no rush. Besides, no one can force me to do anything. All I''m trying to say is that it is Ivan''s decision to make. Whatever he chooses to do is up to him. No one will question him because he is the man and he owns Luciana," Harold exined patiently. "I... guess there is nothing I can do about this. I have to ept it. This ce can never be like where I came from. I can only make things worse here, not better..." Alicia sniffed. "You''ve made a lot of things better by being here," Harold said, but she was too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear him. "...And it''s just... so scary to imagine spending my life here. Because I can''t... I don''t know how... She sniffed again and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "What if I have to live here forever? Can I really ept thesews in my heart? I can''t be a man''s ''property'' for the rest of my life. I''m my own person. How do I live with these stupid ideologies?" Harold watched her as tears flowed down her cheeks as she spoke. "You must really hate it here." He said a little sadly. "I do. I hate it!" She answered honestly. "I thought I had it worse, Harold. I thought my life was the absolute worst. Buting here, I''ve realized that there is nothing worse than being caged and not even realizing you are caged. There is nothing... here... for me..." "I''m here. You have me," he said quietly. "Do I?" She asked, looking at him with misty eyes. "I''m not stupid, Harold! I know you are probably doing or nning to do something dangerous. What if something happens to you one day? Or what if, just like Ivan, you are forced to marry someone else or that child bride of yours? What happens to me then? Won''t I eventually be neglected? And then I will be punished like Luciana or worse still, segregated because I do not have a son that is going to ''own'' me in my old age. Do you really expect me to live in this kind of society that I can never adapt to?" He nodded, making her want to sigh in frustration. She was about to stand up but he held her back and drew closer to her on the bed. "Stay," he mumbled. She looked up at him, blinking. "I... will create the kind of society you want. I will make it happen. For your sake." He said and leaned forward to kiss away her tears. Once he pulled away, he locked eyes with her and reached a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. Alicia''s heart fluttered as she gazed into those beautiful blue eyes of his. Mouth dry, and mind nk, without thinking she leaned forward at the same time as Harold, and their lips met. Chapter 159 Window Guest Heart beating fast, and with butterflies fluttering in her stomach, Alicia''s eyes closed of their own volition as she locked lips with Harold. Right now she wasn''t thinking. All she was doing was feeling. She was giving in to the emotions that were swirling around inside her. She wanted him. Her body wanted him. Harold''s eyes remained open in surprise, and he watched her as she kissed him passionately. All he had wanted to do was kiss her forehead, but she had kissed his lips instead. Surprising him. If not for the seriousness of what was happening between them at the moment, he would have gloated that she was kissing someone she considered her younger brother. But he was too lost in the fact that she wanted him in this way. Harold felt warmth spread all over his body, from his lips to his once cold and empty heart, and from there to every other part of him. Overwhelmed by his emotions, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to himself so that she was pressed against him as he devoured her lips. Alicia''s fingers moved to the back of his head, and she dug her fingers into his soft hair as she let herself melt into the kiss that tasted of... longing. She had no idea if it was hers or his. Neither of them heard the knock on the door until it was pushed open, and then Tyra''s eyes widened in surprise at the sight before her. Neither Harold nor Alicia, who were so engrossed in each other, took notice of her presence, until she quickly exited the room and shut the door behind her. Harold broke the kiss abruptly and pulled away from Alicia when he heard the door close. He turned to the door, wondering why he hadn''t heard it open and why he hadn''t realized that someone was there. From the residue scent he perceived, he could tell that it was Tyra who had been there. Why hadn''t he heard her? Alicia, on the other hand, flushed as she moved away from him and raised her hand to her chest in surprise when she realized what had just happened between them. Her heart was still thumping fast, and her body was still tingling with the sensation from the kiss. What could have possessed her to kiss him? It had to be Princess Amber or Queen Anne. There was no way she could have initiated that kiss on her own volition. It couldn''t possibly be her. Harold turned to her, and his gaze softened when he noticed how embarrassed she looked. She didn''t meet his gaze. She was looking everywhere else but at him, and it made him want to smile. "I want you to stay here. With me," Harold said in a gentle voice as he brushed his knuckles over her jaw to make her look at her. This time, Alicia snapped out of her thoughts and looked him dead in the eye as she said, "How can I stay in this ce that is full of secrets? You want me to trust you, and even though I do, you don''t trust me. You im you want to make here a ce I can stay, but you are the same person keeping secrets from me when I don''t have any secrets that you don''t know about." "Some of those secrets are meant to keep you safe," Harold exined quietly, even though he could understand what she was talking about. "Keep me safe? From who? From what? How does sneaking out of the bedroom every morning and pretending that we didn''t spend the night together keep me safe?" She asked hysterically as she got off the bed. There was no way he could tell her about the curse and the fact that everyone expected him to leave the pce every night without telling her about their true nature. How could he open up to her? How did she expect him to tell her that she was in a kingdom of werewolves and that she was married to one? That would make her want to leave here all the more, and he didn''t want that to happen. "What happens to me when you are not here and I''m stuck here? There is no way I can live in this ce without having a clue about what is happening around me. If I have to be stuck here, then I deserve to at least know what I''m getting into! And don''t you dare repeat that nonsense you said about bearing a child before you tell me," she warned, and Harold sighed. "I will tell you. I promise you. But not now." He said before he stood up and left her bedroom. Alicia buried her face in her hands as she thought about what had just happened between them. What was she thinking? She didn''t want to like Harold that way. She tried so damn hard not to! "I''m so screwed," she cried. This wasn''t how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to find a way to escape from this ce and leave everyone of them. But the first problem came in the form of Paulina. She could not leave the girl behind. And then, Luciana, who seemed to be going through a lot, came along. And now she went ahead to kiss Harold. Just wow! When she heard her curtain flutter, she looked up immediately and saw someone enter her bedroom. Within a second, she was filled with different emotions. At first, she was startled, but then she remembered Harold liked toe in through the window sometimes and was about to be rxed when she looked at the person and realized he looked nothing like Harold. "Who are you?" She asked in rm and stood up immediately.Although it was already getting dark, when he turned around, she was able to make out the face. She had seen him before. Wasn''t he Harvey? Benedicta''s brother? She remembered he had been staring at her earlier. "Amber," Harvey called her in a gentle voice. Before Alicia could process what was happening, why he was in here and looking at her with fondness in his eyes, he pulled her closer and embraced her tightly. "How did you end up here? I looked for you all over. You must have been scared." Scared? Yes, she was. Imagine someone breaking into your bedroom at night and embracing you out of the blue. Alicia quickly pushed him away and put a significant space between them before she looked at him with confusion. Her brain quickly worked it out. But how did he know Amber? What was she supposed to do? Pretend she recognized him? "You... know me?" She asked hesitantly,cking anything else to say. As much as she would have liked to meet someone who knew Amber personally and get to know more about her through this person, she wasn''t sure how to go about this. Who was he to Amber? p Harvey looked at her in confusion and just kept observing her face. He was good looking. He had ck hair and dark brown eyes. He was also very tall and well built and looked like the mysterious type. The way he stared at her right now made her feel ufortable. He looked like he was trying to read her. "You don''t recognize me?" He asked calmly. "Am... I supposed to?" As soon as the question left her lips, she felt the tip of a knife in her throat. When did he appear in front of her? She looked up at him, startled, while he looked down at her with a gaze she couldn''t read. "When I heard about how the new princess behaved, I knew it couldn''t be Amber. What happened to her?" He asked in a calm voice as the tip of the knife touched her throat. Alicia swallowed nervously. Who was this psychopath that seemed to know Amber quite well, even better than Paulina? She had to give him credit. He was smart. "You have guts," Alicia said, looking up at him and trying to be tough. "Pointing a knife at a royal. You must be courting death." She said with a re as she pushed the knife away from her neck and stepped back. He just continued to look at her curiously and smirked before sheathing his knife. Alicia almost sighed loudly in relief. "You have her spirit," he noted as he turned towards her window. ''What do I say?'' Alicia asked herself impatiently as she watched his back. "I don''t know if you are just pretending because you intend to achieve something, but we both know that this is thest ce you want to be, especially tomorrow night." He said and turned to look at her. Thest ce Amber wanted to be? Tomorrow night again? What was really happening with everything? He approached her and ced a hand on her shoulder before she could step back. "Tomorrow night... I will help you escape. Leave this ce." He said seriously. Chapter 160 I Was Wrong Luciana did not waste any time that evening. As soon as she got into the chamber she shared with her husband, she began to gather her things. She knew she didn''t have much time because the queen would soone to send her off to a different chamber, so she tried to be quick. The door opened, and she didn''t need to turn around to look at who it was. She already knew it was Ivan, and the fact that he was in the same room with her enraged her. Her wolf was itching to take over and attack him, but she dug her nails into her palm until blood almost began to drip, trying to control herself. "You are angry," Ivan noted from behind her when he sensed it. She ignored him and walked to her dressing table to pick up her items from there. "Talk to me. Don''t be stubborn," he said, wanting her to show genuine remorse for her actions. He loved her, and regardless of all his mother had said, he wanted her. The only reason he wanted a second wife was to have a son, not necessarily because he wanted Luciana to be reced. She paused and took a deep breath as she turned around to face him. Ivan was startled when he saw the look in her eyes. He had never seen her look at him with so much hatred and anger before. "What happened to you? You were never like this. What changed you?" He asked as he took a step towards her, but he stopped when he saw her eyes sh dangerously. "What changed me? What happened to me? You really do not know?" Luciana asked in a calm voice. Ivan sighed deeply. "Do not me me. I warned you not to get too close to Harold''s wife. You caused all this¡ª" "I did?" She interrupted, feeling like throwing anything she could find at him. Was he still ying the victim right now, even after everything? "Of course! If you had listened to me, none of this would have happened! But you chose to listen to that little witch. You chose to be stubborn, and you treated me like an idiot in front of others." "Because you are an IDIOT!" She spat out spitefully. Ivan''s eyes widened in disbelief when he heard that. He was yet to recover from the shock of being insulted by his wife when she threw her hairbrush at him. "What hase over you?" Ivan asked in confusion. "You think I did not know you and your mother have been nning to marry a second bride for a while now? I waited for you to tell me the truth. Did you? And now you are trying to make it look like you only just came up with the idea because I''m stubborn. Do I look like a fool to you?" Luciana asked in an angry voice. Ivan looked like he had just been pped on the face. Seeing his stupid look, she snorted. "There is no need to pretend. You can do whatever you want to do. Marry whomever you want and have as many kids as you like. I do not care about you anymore," she said as she brushed past him and picked up herb before going to get her bag on the bed. This time, when she tried to walk past him, he didn''t let her. He held her hand and pulled her to him, embracing her. "Let go of me!" Luciana yelled and tried to push him away roughly, but he didn''t let her. He hugged her tightly, not letting her escape from him. "It''s my fault. I was wrong." "Let go!" "I WAS WRONG!" "I SAID I DON''T CARE, LET GO!" She yelled and tried to get away from him desperately because her resolve was beginning to weaken. Why did he have to treat her like this when he was the only one that she had? "I''m sorry." He said in a tight voice without letting her go. "You have changed so much," she said, sobbing quietly as she stopped trying to force her way out of his arms. "Why do you have to do this? Why? What did I do to deserve any of this? I''ve only loved and been loyal to you, so why did you choose to repay me in this way?" Luciana asked as she cried. "I''m sorry, I can''t help it. This is the only way I can secure the throne. I promise you, getting a second bride is not going to change a thing. You are still mine. And it is you who will be my Queen." A forcedugh escaped her lips as she found the strength to push him away. "I have never been interested in the throne. All I cared about was you. Everything I did was all for you. Because I wanted you to be happy, I thought having the throne would make you happy, and I was willing to sacrifice anything for you to get it. But... look at you. You are willing to give me up for the throne. Is it worth it? Is this useless battle worth it when no one is even fighting with you?" "Is that what you think?" He asked in disbelief. "That this is a useless battle?" He asked her slowly, "Has Harold and his witch seeded in getting into your head?" "There you go again!" She said, frustrated as she cleaned her tears. "Harold doesn''t care about you or the stupid throne! He only cares about his wife''s happiness! Neither of them cares about the throne. You should be more like your brother!" Luciana snapped at him, and Ivan red at her. "Watch your tongue!" He warned, not liking the fact that she wasparing him to Harold. "It is obvious you cannot be helped at this point. Do whatever you want to do. But when you realize that all of this isn''t worth it... I may not be there for you. Because then, it would be toote," said, looking him dead in the eyes before walking out of the chamber, leaving an equally angry and frustrated Ivan behind. Away from there, Alicia paced around her bedroom, wondering what Harvey had been talking about. How did he know Amber? Were they in any kind of rtionship? What did he mean by she had Amber''s spirit? Why wasn''t he surprised that she didn''t know him? Should she tell Harold about it? After seeing how jealous Harold could be, she wasn''t sure it would be a good idea to tell him that another man had snuck into her chamber through the window. But maybe if she did, together they could confront Harvey and find answers to some of the questions that gued her. She paused, surprised when something suddenly urred to her. He had offered to help her escape from here, and instead of her dancing with joy, she was thinking about telling Harold about it? Did that mean she no longer wanted to leave here? Oh, God! Alicia went to sit on her bed and buried her face in her hands as she thought about it. She had no idea what she was doing anymore. She didn''t even know what she wanted. She stood up and walked over to the window. Once she noticed that it was almost getting dark, she remembered that she was supposed to return to the kitchen with Susan and Tyra to prepare the snacks she wanted to serve the Aristocrats. She pushed all her thoughts to the back of her mind, deciding to ponder on them at a more convenient time. For now, she needed to focus on the issue at hand. Thankfully, she remembered the names of the aristocrats that had arrived earlier. She would study some more with Harold''s helpter at night. Having made up her mind, she walked out of her chamber in search of Tyra and Susan. Susan''s parents had arrived, and she could only hope that Susan would still be able to apany her. Her thoughts shifted to Paulina. Since Williams would be busy with his family, that meant Paulina should be avable to apany her. As though summoned by her thoughts, she saw Paulina walking towards her. "Mdy," Paulina greeted with a bow as she stopped in front of her. "I thought you would be busy?" She asked when Paulina stopped in front of her. "Will... Sir Williams said I could leave, so I decided toe and see if there was something you wanted me to do," Paulina said, and Alicia smiled. "Yes. The more, the merrier. Let''s find Tyra and Susan, and then we can all go to the kitchen together," Alicia said as they both walked down the passageway. Alicia nced at Paulina. "Did Princess Amber have any friends in the mountains?" She asked, wanting to know if perhaps Paulina would know of Harvey. Paulina almost sighed inwardly. Were they back to her talking about herself like she was somebody else? "Nobody ever visited you. I don''t know if you had friends in the vige," Paulina answered patiently, and Alicia nodded. Maybe if she knew the name of that vige, she would have confirmed if that was where Harvey came from. They stopped when they saw Susan and Williams standing at the spot where they had all stood earlier, watching the aristocrats as they arrived. "Susan," Alicia called to her happily, and both siblings turned in their direction. Seeing the two people their parents had just asked them to avoid, Susan sighed inwardly. How was she supposed to avoid someone like Princess Amber? Chapter 161 Frequent Blunders "Are you busy right now? Can you apany me to the kitchen now?" Alicia asked hopefully and Susan turned to Williams. She had been looking forward to seeing what Princess Amber was going to do in the kitchen, and she had even promised to apany her. How was she going to renege on her promise now? "You can go. I wille up with an excuse," Williams told her quietly when he sensed her longing to go. Paulina, who had been staring at Williams discreetly, felt her brows pull together when she noticed that he seemed to be ignoring her as he had yet to even spare her a nce since she stood there. Did she do something? "Thank you. Let''s go then," Susan told Alicia with a wide smile. "We have to find Tyra first," Alicia reminded Susan. "Wasn''t she with you? Earlier, she said she wasing to your chamber," Susan said, and Alicia shook her head. "I didn''t see her. Let''s find her quickly. It''s almost time for dinner," Alicia said as she led both Susan and Paulina away. Paulina turned to look at Williams onest time as they left, and she met his gaze. Relieved that he wasn''t totally ignoring her, she gave him a polite bow before hurrying after Alicia and Susan. When they didn''t find Tyra under her favourite tree in the courtyard where she loved to sit and read her novels, they decided to check her chamber. "Princess Tyra, are you in there?" Alicia asked as she knocked on the door, and Tyra, who was lying on her bed reading a novel, as usual, grunted her response. Alicia opened the door, and both she and Susan walked into the chamber, while Paulina remained outside. "I thought you were going to find her earlier?" Susan asked curiously as Tyra sat up on the bed, still holding her novel in hand. Tyra looked at Alicia closely. It seemed to her that both Harold and Alicia were hiding whatever was happening between them. "I was at your chamber. I knocked, but there was no response, so I assumed you were not in, and I left." Tyra answered. She had knocked? Was that when she was inside with Harold? Alicia mused, wondering why she hadn''t at least heard her. Or was that the reason Harold had pulled away? "You did? Sorry about that, I was probably asleep," Alicia lied, confirming Tyra''s thoughts that she was trying to keep whatever was happening between her and Harold a secret. Tyra nodded. "I suppose you are here so that we can go to the kitchen?" She asked with a bright smile as she dropped her book and got off the bed. Although it wasn''t a good time to do this, since Amber had Harold''s permission already, or at least, he was aware of what his wife was up to, she didn''t have any choice. Alicia nodded. "It''s a good thing you remember. Let''s go then," she said, and they all walked out together. "By the way, did you both hear that Princess Luciana is going to be punished and Prince Ivan is going to marry a new wife?" Alicia asked, and Tyra shrugged. "That is what happens when wives go against their husbands. You shouldn''t have gotten involvedst night," Tyra said, and Alicia sighed. "If you were Princess Luciana, wouldn''t you have wanted someone to get involved?" Susan countered. "Susan, we both know how things are done here. Whether or not Prince Ivan was right, Princess Luciana is his wife and she belongs to him. He can do to her whatever he pleases. One day you will be married and be a man''s property too, whether or not you ept it," Tyra said bluntly. Hearing the argument, Alicia recalled her brush with Luciana that morning and what Harold had also told her. "Princess Luciana also said I shouldn''t have gotten involved, so maybe Tyra is right. I really should learn to mind my business around here," Alicia said, making Susan feel sorry for her. "Yes, you should. If you want to stay out of trouble and keep your husband safe, you should stay away from other people''s business," Tyra said a bit more harshly than she intended. "I still don''t think you did anything wrong. Don''t mind Tyra," Susan assured her and red at Tyra, wondering why she was in a foul mood. Alicia smiled at Susan warmly. It felt good to know that even in this era where women were treated this way, there was someone like Susan. Now that she thought of it, Susan behaved more like a modern-day woman than someone from this era. Her only w was in thinking that Alvin was beneath her, and as such, she couldn''t be in a rtionship with him. "Thank you, that means a lot to me," Alicia said with a wide smile before turning to look at Paulina, who had remained silent. "Make sure you pay attention, alright? I''m going to teach you how to prepare some delicacies, just the way I love them so that you can prepare them when I''m not there," she said, and Tyra looked at her curiously. "How did you learn to cook if your maid doesn''t even know how to prepare the food you like?" Tyra asked reasonably. Aliciaughed awkwardly once she realized her blunder and even Paulina was also wondering when her mistress learnt to cook and even had a favourite meal. Usually, she was served soups and roasted corn or meats and she epted them without saying a word. "Trust me, I came up with this recipe on my own. It''s a new one, and she doesn''t even know about it. When I''m done, you''ll see what I mean," Alicia assured them with a bright smile as she led them into the kitchen. "I''m still wondering why you were allowed to go into the kitchen in your kingdom. Are princesses not treated specially in your kingdom?" Susan asked, but before Alicia coulde up with a response, the chef saw them, and he ran out to greet them. "Mydy," he said with a bow, greeting all three women. "We are here as nned. I understand you have your hands full as a result of the banquet, so don''t worry. I won''t take your time any longer than is necessary. Just show me to the area I can use, and give me everything I had asked you to help me preserve earlier and we will get out of your way," Alicia said, and the chef bowed to them before leading them inside, while the kitchen servants murmured amongst themselves since they were notfortable with the presence of the members of the royal family in the kitchen with them. "Your father is going to be angry when he finds out you are here," Tyra whispered to Susan as they followed Alicia and the chef. "You''re the Princess. You should worry about your mother''s reaction," Susan whispered back. Even though they both knew that this was a bad idea and they were going to get scolded for it, Alicia couldn''t be resisted. Chapter 162 The Decision After leaving Alicia, Harold tried his best to control himself and not smile like an idiot as he walked down the hallway to his chamber. More than the kiss, he was a little excited that she wasn''t so insistent on running away like before, but rather wanted to know more about him and the Moon kingdom. That had to mean that she was thinking about staying, right? Why else would she be curious about him and the kingdom, if she was just going to run away the first chance she got? Harold stopped when he noticed one of the king''s guards approaching him, and he raised his eyebrows. "His Majesty is ready to see you now," the guard informed him with a bow, and Harold followed him. Earlier, he had waited to meet with the king after weing the aristocrats, but the king had been busy attending meetings, so he had returned to stay with Alicia and keep herpany instead. The guard led Harold into the king''s special library, where he usually went to study. It was quite dark, with somenterns lighting up the ce. He walked to the end until he found the king reading a book calmly. "Sit," the king said without bothering to raise his head to look at him. Harold obeyed and sat down, crossing his arms across his chest in a rxed manner as he observed the king. The king put away his book and looked at Harold. Watching him, Harold noted how pale he lookedpared to this morning. But he didn''t ask any questions and just waited patiently for what the king had to say. "Things won''t be easy from now on." "Then why don''t you do something about it?" Harold asked without pretending to be confused about what the king was talking about. The king sighed and shook his head. "I have wronged a lot of people in my life. That is my biggest regret." "..." "I know you hate me. And I also know that there is nothing I would do to make you think any differently about me." He was right. There was nothing the king would do that was going to make Harold see him differently. He had raided his mother''smunity and annexed it to his, even though they were also werewolves. Killed many residents who had opposed and took the women as ves. One of whom had been a physician¡ªhis mother. As an Omega, it was already difficult for her to live in their world. But she had chosen to rise above it all and make a name for herself. But how did she end up? As a ve here. Not only that, the king had taken advantage of her even though he had a wife. He was an Alpha and she was an Omega. All efforts to resist had proved futile, and she wasn''t allowed to take her own life. When the Queen found out, she tried all she could to kill her, but the king did his best to protect her. The attacks didn''t stop and even got worse when the Queen found out she was pregnant. But the Alpha was bent on protecting her, so there was nothing the queen could do to stop it. That could onlyst up until Harold was born. An Omega birthing an Alpha didn''t onlye as a shock to them, but it also took a toll on her body, and that was when the Queen made up her mind that both she and the baby were going to die. Unlike the rumours that had said his mother died after birthing him, the Queen had poisoned her to death, faking her death as a result of his birth. After that, the Queen had offered to raise him, but even a stupid person could see through it, and the king had assigned an Omega who had been in charge of taking care of his mother before her death to take care of Harold. Unfortunately, the woman also met her death at the hands of the queen. She wasn''t the only one who died that day. But Beth''s mother too. Harold had been an innocent kid growing up, having no idea of what was happening around him. All he knew was that his mother was dead, the Queen didn''t favour him that much, and only the oldest prince liked to y with him, while Ivan was always behind his mother, ring at him. Thissted until he was eleven, and a secret letter was delivered to him. The Omega who raised him had written earlier and asked to have it delivered to him when he was 10 for him to be aware of everything happening around him. The letter didn''te until he was 11 because the messenger could not bypass the security in the pce until it was time for the King''s birthday festival. And that was how everything came to light. He confronted his father about it, who had warned him to never mention it again. But at least... he hadn''t denied it. It all got worse when he had been sparring with the eldest prince as usual, but for some reason, the prince had been vicious and seemed as though he was deliberately trying to stab him. He had also noticed that, unlike the blunt swords they usually used during practice, he was using a sharp sword. Harry hadn''t realized that until he was cut on the hand. That was when he knew something was wrong and kept defending the attack while asking the prince what was wrong with him. He hadn''t nned on using force when he pushed the prince, but he was an Alpha and the other was a Beta. The force had sent thetter flying to the wall with full force. That was the first time something like that ever happened to him. That was thest thing Harold saw before he cked out. It wasn''t until he woke up that he realized the prince''s sword had been poisoned, and the poison got into his blood when he was stabbed. And then the worst news: the prince was dead. He died from a head wound. That had shocked him to the bones. He had a lot of questions, questions he didn''t have any answers to until now. The curse also came. All he knew was that the rest of his life was shaped and defined by that moment. He went from being called the white-haired Prince, to being called a murderer and a cursed Prince. "On the final day of the banquet..." The king said, getting his attention. "I will announce the heir to the throne." "..." The king looked away as he said, "My choice... is your brother." Harold raised a brow at him and said nothing. "You should leave the pce when that dayes. You should leave the pce and live far away with your wife. If you tell me where you would love to go, I can have someone prepare your new home," the king offered. "You are going to ruin this kingdom," Harold said in disappointment at his father''s decision just because he felt he owed it to his wife for cheating on her all those years ago. What about his birth mother, who had died? What about the life of the woman who had raised him? It wasn''t like he had been expecting the king to name him the heir to the throne. No. He had never really desired nor shown any interest in the throne. All he had ever wanted this whole time was to get vengeance for both his mothers, who had been murdered unfairly. There was no way he could achieve that if he ran away or let Ivan ascend the throne. He would rather die than have Ivan and his mother rule the Moon kingdom. He was wise enough to know that he might really die if he did as the king ordered since they both knew that there was no way either the Queen or Ivan were going to let him run away that way. He was forever going to be a threat to them, so they were going to keep trying to find him and kill him. Not to talk about Alicia, whom he knew Ivan deeply despised. He remembered the question she had asked him earlier, "What happens when you''re not here and I''m stuck here?" He didn''t want to think about the kind of fate that might befall her if anything happened to him. "Why? Do you suddenly desire the throne?" The king asked, watching him with interest. "Yes," Harold said, meeting the king''s surprised gaze. Until today, he had never desired the throne, but he had realized now that to give his princess the kind of world she wanted here, he would have to take over the throne. He wasn''t going to let his princess live in a world ruled by Ivan. Never. The King shook his head, "You should..." "I''m not asking you to name me as your heir. You can name Ivan as the heir, but I''m not leaving. All I''m asking is for you to do as you have always done. Look away, and do not interfere in whatever that follows." He warned. He was going to find a way to keep Alicia safe, and if he couldn''t keep himself safe, he would make sure to at least find a way to help her return to her world. There would be no need for her to remain here if he wasn''t here, and if he couldn''t make this ce liveable for her. Chapter 163 I Dont Want You After the king left to prepare for dinner, Harold remained seated in the library for a long moment, thinking about his sudden decision to take over the throne. Yes, he needed it to avenge his two mothers, but he also needed to do it to keep himself and his princess safe. He needed to do it to keep her beside him and to give her the kind of life she wanted. He stood up to leave, and once he walked through the door, he saw Alvin standing there, "How long have you been standing here?" Harold asked. Even though it was Alvin, the thought of not smelling his presence bothered him. But he had been the one to suggest Alvin use a mask. Since he was doing a lot of snooping around, it only made sense for his scent to be hidden, even from Alphas. "Not long," Alvin answered. "Why didn''t youe in?" He asked, but Alvin looked away, not sure how to pass this message to Harold. "I thought you were busy and was waiting for you to finish," Alvin said, knowing full well that he was only stalling and postponing the inevitable. He was going to eventually have to say what needed to be said. Harold watched him for a moment. Having known him for a long time, he knew something was wrong, and Alvin was finding it difficult to tell him. Either one of their ns had gone wrong, or... a certain princess had attracted trouble. "What happened?" Harold asked impatiently. Alvin cleared his throat and made a conscious effort not to shift from one foot to the other as he spoke. "Sir Harvey..." Harold''s eyes narrowed on hearing the name. Harvey was the man who had been staring at Alicia in a certain way he did not like earlier, and seeing how Alvin was reluctant to speak, something told him that this was about Alicia and he knew he wasn''t going to like it. "Speak!" He ordered sternly. "Sir Harvey... went into... He went into Princess Amber''s chamber," Alvin said in a rush, and as he expected Harold''s eyes sparked with anger. "What?" Harold asked, already feeling his blood drumming in his ears. "He snuck in through the window. Maybe he missed his way." Alvin quickly added. "The princess is fine. I checked on her and she was..." Harold stormed off angrily before Alvin could finish, and Alvin ran to catch up with him. "Where are you going to, your highness? You can''t do anything to the guests," Alvin reminded him, and when it seemed like his rage had blocked his ears, Alvin stepped in front of him to stop him. "I can''t allow you to do anything rash, your highness," Alvin said as he blocked Harold''s path. "Move!" Harold warned. "I can''t. You are going to make a mistake if you act out of anger, and then you will be in trouble. The princess will also be in trouble if it is heard that another male entered her chamber. What if they know each other from somewhere?" Alvin asked just to stall Harold, even though he did not believe that there was any way Princess Amber would know Harvey. They lived in different kingdoms, and he doubted that Harvey had ever had reason to visit Princess Amber''s kingdom, where humans resided. He too was curious to know why Harvey had visited the princess. "Maybe you should ask her what he wanted instead of fighting him?" Alvin suggested, and it seemed to work because, although Harold still looked angry, he became reasonably calm and the murderous glint in his eyes died down. Unlike Alvin, Harold knew that it was possible for Harvey to meet Princess Amber since the mountains where she had been exiled to was very close to the little kingdom that Harvey''s father controlled. It was where most of their war equipment was built. Did Harvey really know Princess Amber? Was that why he had looked at her that way and even taken the risk of going into her chamber when he knew whose wife she was? Harold mused. "Where is my... Where is Princess Amber now?" Harold asked calmly. "She is at the royal kitchen with her maid, Princess Tyra, and Lady Susan," Alvin informed him. "Go and remind them it''s almost time for dinner and they need to prepare and get to the hall on time," Harold said before turning to walk away. He had initially wanted to make her stay in the room throughout and have her feign illness so she would stay in tonight and tomorrow where he would feed her his wine so she would be knocked out. He wasn''t sure if that was possible anymore. He was going to try his best to patiently wait until it was time for them to go to bed, and then he would ask her about it. He hoped she would confide in him about it before he raised the topic. "Your highness," he heard an excited female voice, which he recognized as Benedicta''s voice, call out to him, and he ignored it as he kept walking, but she quickened her pace to catch up with him. "I was looking all over for you," she said as she walked next to him. Harold stopped and turned to her, "Is there something you want?" He asked, trying not to look irritated. "You... remember you are supposed to be my husband, right?" She asked shyly, and Harold wondered what she would think if he told her that he had forgotten and that it was his wife who had reminded him a while ago. "Were," Harold said bluntly, trying not to take out his anger on her since she was Harvey''s sister. "And she is not dead or anything. And you both seem to be doing okay," she observed. Harold looked at her closely. He had to admit she had guts. "Reason?" Harold asked impatiently. Benedicta was a little flustered at his one-word responses. She had known him when she was little and also heard that he didn''t say much. He only grunted, shrugged or said a word, leaving you to guess what he meant. She guessed he was asking her the reason she was saying this, so she cleared her throat and smiled shyly again as she exined. "I just want to know if..." She paused and cleared her throat again, "Whether... I mean, I want to know if you know, the curse has been broken? Your bride. She is human, after all, and she won''t be able to bear you healthy sons of our kind. If the curse has been broken, I still want to be your wife," she rambled. Harold didn''t hide the disgust on his face as he looked at her, making her self-conscious. "No," Harold said and resumed walking again. "Don''t you want me? Don''t you want a wife of your kind?" She asked as she followed him again. He stopped walking and faced her, hisface red with anger and his pheromones everywhere, almost making her suffocate. He took a step closer to her and she took a step backwards while trying to breathe. "I don''t want you," he said in a calm but firm voice, conveying his irritation. "Y-You... really do... not want me?" She asked quietly this time as she watched him with tears in her eyes while still struggling to breathe. ,m Knowing she was going to lose consciousness soon, Harold stopped suppressing her with his pheromones and red at her. "Your brother wants me! Are you okay if I be your brother''s wife?" She asked, and Harold tried not to look surprised since he should have expected it. He should have, but he didn''t. When did they arrive that the Queen and Ivan had already made a move? And even though he didn''t want her, it was surprising that they were nning on marrying the girl that would have been his wife had he not been cursed. Those people really loved to overdo things. Chapter 164 Who Are You? "Try it and tell me what you think," Alicia said with an eager smile as she held out a tray to the royal chef, Tyra, Susan, and Paulina, who were standing next to her to see the magic she had created. She and all those with her were sweating profusely due to the heat in the kitchen, but she didn''t mind. She had spent some hours in the kitchen doing something she actually enjoyed, and it was fun. Teaching Tyra, Susan, and Paulina had been as frustrating as it was fun since they werepletely clueless in this aspect. The others nced at Tyra to take the lead since she was outranked them. Tyra cleared her throat as she reluctantly reached for a tray containing a sugar-zed doughnut with honey spread on it, and she bit into it softly. "Hm!" she eximed before she could catch herself, but the surprise in her eyes already made Alicia''s eyes light up with satisfaction. "How is it? Is it nice?" Susan asked as she salivated. "You can have any of your choice too. And you too, sir, for lending me your space," Alicia said, and Susan picked a piece of coconut tart while the chef picked a meatball. "Wow! This tastes so nice! I can''t believe we did this!" Susan said excitedly as she stuffed her mouth full of the doughnut, not minding that they were being watched. The chef narrowed his eyes as he took a bite. This was a new taste. He had been making meatballs, but both the taste and the texture werepletely different. This was expertly done. How could a princess cook this well? "What are you waiting for?" Alicia asked Paulina, who reluctantly picked a cheese grape cluster, and she blinked back her surprise when she tasted it. This couldn''t be her mistress. From all she had seen today, she highly doubted that this person was Princess Amber. For all she knew, Princess Amber had never stepped into a kitchen or gone close to a fire before, yet this person had handled all the ingredients and even utensils as though she had been raised in a kitchen. p What happened to her mistress? Was she possessed when she drowned? How could she exin these changes in her? Paulina worried as she chewed slowly. "So? What do you all think?" Alicia asked, wanting to hear them say it even though she could tell from their expressions that they loved it. The chef nodded, "It''s good." "Good?" Alicia asked incredulously, and then shook her head, "That won''t do. On a scale of one to ten, tell me how good it is," she said, and they looked at each other, wondering what she meant. "The highest score is ten, and the lowest is one. If you like it very much and you think the aristocrats will like it too, give me a ten. If you don''t think so, then give me one. If you are not sure, give me five," Alicia tried to exin. Getting her point, the chef nodded, "What about eight?" He asked, and Alicia smiled as she gave him a nod. "Coming from an expert like you, I will have to settle for that. Thank you," she said with a polite smile as she turned to Tyra. "Ten?" Tyra asked, and Alicia beamed her a smile before turning to Susan. "Ten!" Susan said, and Alicia gave her a thumbs-up before looking at Paulina. Seeing that they were all looking at her, Paulina blinked back the tears in her eyes at the thought that she had lost her mistress, "Ten." "Perfect!" Alicia said happily, and then smiled when she spotted Alvin. "Alvin,e over here," she called with a wave, and Susan''s heart skipped a beat as she turned to see Alvin. Had he missed her so much that he hade here to find them? She mused and pressed her lips together to hide her smile. "Try this and tell me what you think," she ordered, pointing to the meatball which the chef had tried. Alvin tried not to look at anyone else but Alicia, since he knew that Susan was there. He wasn''tfortable being in the same space with her. She behaved like she was crazy. Alvin''s eyes rounded in delightful surprise when he took a bite, and he looked at her, wondering if she had actually made it. "What do you think?" Alicia asked with an eager smile. "It''s... Perfect," Alvin said, and Alicia shed him a wide smile. "Good! I''m satisfied then. All that''s left is to pack up some and serve the others," Alicia said thoughtfully. Alvin cleared his throat. "Mydy, Prince Harold said I should let you know that it''s almost time for dinner and you should get ready," he said quietly, and Alicia nodded. "I''m done here. I''ll be out soon," she assured him, and once Alvin left, she turned to the chef. "Make sure you serve these before dinner. They are the appetizers," she said, pointing to the tray containing the meatball and cheese grape cluster. "And after we are done with the dish you prepared, you can serve these. They are called desserts. They might want to take it back to their chambers, so pack it up nicely," Alicia instructed, and the chef nodded. "Can I get a food box to take some with me? I have to pack some for my husband," she told the chef, and he nodded as he left, while Susan and Tyra exchanged a look. It was obvious that things were getting better between her and Harold, as she would never have done this some days ago. But then again, they could also see how much effort Harold was making for her. Many royals would not let their wives step foot in the kitchen. After packing some for Harold, Alicia gave some to Tyra, Susan, and Paulina, who had assisted her, and they all left the kitchen. "How did you learn to cook that way?" Susan asked, and Alicia shrugged. "It''s a gift. Thank you for helping me today. I''m grateful," Alicia said with a smile of gratitude as she looked at bothdies. "We need to change our clothes. You''ve got flour on your face, and you''ve got some in your hair too," Alicia said as she looked from Susan to Tyra. "See you at dinner," Tyra said with a small smile as she walked away, and Susan waved at her as she did the same. Paulina escorted Alicia to her chamber, and once they walked through the door and shut it behind them, Paulina looked at her with questioning eyes, "If you are not Princess Amber, who are you?" Chapter 165 Then What About Me? Life seemed to have drained out of Paulina as she found her way to the courtyard. She had been stupid. She had been so stupid. How could she not have recognized her mistress? How could she have doubted it the entire time? "You finally believe me?" Her mistress had said when she asked her who she was. Or maybe it wasn''t right to call her her mistress now. She was Alicia. Alicia Queen. "You... really aren''t... my mistress?" Paulina had asked, dread filling her. When Alicia tried to touch her to help her sit down, Paulina unconsciously moved away from her touch and saw a sh of hurt in Alicia''s eyes. She could not process this. She thought back to the moment she noticed the changes in her. It was after she woke up from unconsciousness. She had tried to convince her and Madam Grace that she wasn''t Princess Amber, but they had thought she was crazy. She remembered how she kept trying to run away, how she suddenly turned talkative, how she was suddenly friendly and always stood up for people. All the time she talked about Princess Amberas if she was talking about someone else. How she had fearlessly jumped into theke to bathe, and now, cooking these dishes, she could swear that Princess Amber had never seen before in her life. Was she crazy to believe Alicia was telling the truth? And the worst part was that it seemed like Prince Harold already knew. Because she remembered how he had interrogated her, asking her questions about Princess Amber''s attitude before and after she fell into the river. Howe she hadn''t believed it then but someone who had just met her seemed to know? "How? How did this happen? What did you do?" Paulina asked usingly, without meaning to. Alicia shook her head, "I don''t know what happened. I''ve been trying to go back to my body too, remember?" She asked, and Paulina nodded. At least she knew that was true. So that meant it wasn''t Alicia''s fault. That knowledge relieved her since she didn''t know what she would have done to Alicia if she was responsible for her mistress''s disappearance. "W-What... about my... mistress? Where is she? Is she in your body too?" Paulina had asked with tears clouding her eyes. She had promised Queen Anne that she would take care of Princess Amber. She could not believe that her mistress had been gone for a long time and she didn''t realize it. And she had even said she preferred her mistress now and even liked her more. How stupid had she been? What could she do now? How was she going to stand looking at her mistress''s body knowing that it was just a shell for someone else? Inside her room, Alicia was thinking the same thing. When Paulina asked about her mistress, she had said, "I know this is hard for you to ept, and I''m sorry. I never wanted this either." Alicia said, looking guilty. "I don''t know where she is, just like I don''t know what has happened to my body. And honestly, I wish I knew. Because then, I would be able to make a decision quickly." Alicia said with a heavy sigh before she looked at Paulina sadly. She always knew that this day was going toe. The day woulde when Paulina would realize that her mistress was gone and she was another person. And then the love and loyalty Paulina had for her were going to disappear like it was never there in the first ce. This was her reality. No one was going to love her sincerely. Paulina cried and shook her head. "I just... I feel guilty. I don''t... don''t know where my mistress is or if she is stuck somewhere and wants to return or if she is dead. How do I face her mother when I die?" She asked before breaking down into sobs while Alicia looked at her helplessly. Alicia looked at her for a moment, thinking if she should tell her about the portrait. Maybe that would help her feel better. "The portrait you made of Queen Anne¡ªthat is what I look like," Alicia said, and Paulina looked at her in confusion. "Queen Anne?" Alicia nodded. "I don''t know if it is rted or not, but I''m still trying to find answers. I also noticed that I can fight with swords and daggers sometimes when I lose consciousness. It''s either Queen Anne is also possessing this body, or it''s Princess Amber. Because I can''t do those things," she said, and for the first time, hope shed through Paulina''s eyes. "That means she can stille back, right?" Paulina had asked hopefully. Alicia smiled faintly at her, but through the smile, she was hiding the pain she felt. Of course, Paulina would want her mistress back and her, gone. It was normal. "I don''t think this is going tost forever. She wille back one day." Paulina sniffed and nodded before leaving the room. Alicia tried to hold her back tofort her, but she knew that Paulina wanted to be alone to think things through. Her attitude was justified. Queen Anne had saved her life and taken her in. She served Amber since they were both little and was even sent out in exile along with her. They had gone through a lot together for more than a decade, and now she had just found out that her mistress was nowhere to be found and she didn''t have any idea how to go about looking. This just confirms the theory. It wasn''t the body that mattered. It was the soul. Even though this was Amber''s body, it was Amber''s soul that Paulina cared about. She turned around when the door opened abruptly and an angry Harold entered before closing the door behind her. He red at her, but his gaze immediately softened and turned to one of confusion when he saw her face. It was only then that Alicia realized she had tears in her eyes and quickly cleaned them while sniffing. "What happened to you?" He asked softly as he approached her and led her to the bed to sit down before he sat down beside her, still holding her hand. "Paulina. She knows now." Alicia said, looking at him while trying to blink back tears. Paulina was the reason she was crying? He mused in displeasure before asking, "She knows what?" "About me not being Amber." "Oh..." Harold drawled, not seeing the problem with it. If he didn''t have a problem with it, then there was no problem with it. "She didn''t know earlier?" He asked and added, "I guess she is not very smart." Alicia sighed tiredly and buried her face in her hands. "I''m not sure what I''m supposed to do now." "What you''re supposed to do about what?" "She is not happy because I am not her mistress," Alicia reminded him. "She has been following me blindly for a while, and I even brought her here! Now I feel I owe it to her to find a way to get back her mistress for her." Harold''s hand fisted beside him, and he tried to not snap at her. "Why do you care about Paulina so much?" He asked, almost sounding bitter. "I... have never had anyone treat me so well without expecting anything in retur¡ª" "Then what about me?" He interrupted, causing her to look up at him. "Everything I have done for you, I have never done for anyone before, and I''ve never asked anything from you in return apart from you remaining with me." He reminded her as calmly as he could. The two stared at each other for a long time before she stood up from the bed and turned her back to him as she went to stand by the window, "I met Sir Harvey a while ago." Chapter 166 "Tell Me." "I met Sir Harvey a while ago." Even though Harold was annoyed to hear that, the fact that she had mentioned it to him without him asking her first made him smile, but he put his head down to conceal it. He didn''t exactly care for her trusting him. He only wanted her to stay. But now that he could see she trusted him like this, he wasn''t sure what he was supposed to say. "Why aren''t you saying anything?" She asked as she turned to face him when he said nothing for a while. He looked up at her, his face back to normal as he said, "He was in this room." Her eyes slightly widened, and she quickly went back to sit beside him as she asked, "You knew?" p "I told you several times. Whatever you do in this pce is no secret¡ª" "You asked people to spy on me?" She asked, frowning slightly. Seeing how she was beginning to get mad, he quickly decided to tell her the half-truth. Thest thing he wanted was for her to get mad. It was beginning to look like for every moment something good happened between them, it was ruined the next moment by something else, and he didn''t want to ruin this one. "Not me. There are a lot of eyes watching and waiting for you to make a mistake so they can take it out on me. And you are lucky that I was able to find the spy before he went to tell everyone that a man snuck into your chamber. You would have been in trouble." She sighed and nodded. "I just... I didn''t expect him to suddenly show up here. But... why didn''t you say anything if you already knew?" "..." "You were waiting for me to tell you first, I guess." She reasoned. "What if I had kept it from you?" Harold pondered the question. What would he have done had she kept it secret from him? He wasn''t sure either. But he knew it wouldn''t have been good for either of them. Himself, Alicia, and most especially, Harvey. "Why did you tell me?" He asked curiously. Noting this question was more important than knowing what Harvey hade in here for. He could always get an answer to that. But there was no way he could tell what Alicia was thinking. He could only read her when it came to escaping. Other times, he could not. "I have watched and starred in too many movies to learn that it is important to open up when you have the opportunity to. And I guess I was correct because you really were aware." "That''s just it?" He asked, slightly disappointed. "I also wanted you to know this because it is important. Harvey knows Amber personally." Harold didn''t act surprised because he had thought about it. "I don''t know the kind of rtionship they both have, but it seems like he knows her very well and seemed to deduce that I''m not Amber. I think he would have answers to some of the questions I have about Amber and Queen Anne, because right now, the only clue I have is the fact that Amber, Queen Anne, and I share the same first letter in our names, and myst name is Queen. I feel everything is rted somehow and I don''t know how to go about it, but I think knowing more about them would tell me the reason why I''m here and¡ª" "Breathe," he said, and ced a hand on her shoulder to stop her from talking. She finally stopped talking and took a deep breath. "I can''t believe the only connection you could make between the three of you was that," Harold said, trying not to sound amused. "Is there any other connection you can make?" Alicia asked, and Harold shook his head. "Maybe if I knew them, I would have been able to. Don''t worry. I will handle Harvey. You should stay away from him," he said calmly. "You are a marrieddy, and from the royal family. Meeting secretly with a man is going to get you and your entire family annihted." Alicia grimaced and nodded. Of course, she wasn''t surprised by that. She suddenly remembered that she hadn''t told him everything Harvey had said. Should she tell him? He was keeping secrets from her, so why couldn''t she keep this from him? Harold watched her face as different emotions flickered across her features. "What do you not want to tell me?" He asked as he raised her chin with his right forefinger and studied her face. Alicia looked away from him when her eyes fell on his lips. The lips that had messed with her senses a moment ago, "You don''t need to know." "Tell me," he ordered softly as he turned her face to him again. She didn''t know why, but for some reason, she suddenly feltpelled to tell him the truth, since she knew that he would be very mad if she got into trouble because she kept this from him. "He said something about Amber knowing this was thest ce she wanted to be tomorrow night. And then he said I should leave this ce, and he offered to help me escape tomorrow night." Harold tried to control his anger as he listened to that. He didn''t care about Harvey''s rtionship with Amber, but he was enraged that Harvey had dared to talk to his wife about running away. What if Alicia had still been bent on escaping and had decided not to tell him about this? He would have returned the next morning to find her gone? "Do you still want to leave?" He asked her calmly, and she looked at him with a slight frown. "I... I don''t know. Even if I leave here, I don''t know if I''ll be able to return," Alicia said, and Harold sighed. "Then ignore him. I''ll find all the answers you need, and we''ll figure it out together," Harold promised as he stood up from the bed. "I will leave for the dining hall first. Get dressed and join us. Remember, be good." Alicia nodded. "I promise." She didn''t know what was up with this banquet and everything, but she knew she didn''t want to make even a single mistake. She also had to pray not to draw any trouble to herself. No matter what, she was going to pretend like she wasn''t seeing or hearing anything. As Harold headed for the door, she remembered she had packed some snacks for him and quickly called, stopping him from stepping out of the door. "Harold?" He gave her a questioning look as she hurried to the desk where she had dropped the box before her conversation with Paulina and grabbed it before returning to hand it over to Harold. "I had some of the snacks I made packed for you. Try them and let me know what you thinkter." He looked at the excitement in her eyes as he epted the box from her and gave her a small smile before he nodded and left the room. As soon as the door closed, his face turned back straight and the air around him turned overbearing as he headed for his room to drop the box before heading to dinner. Chapter 167 Secret Note "Father!" Beth eximed excitedly when she saw him standing beside theke with his hands behind him while staring into the distance. She quickened her pace to meet him since she didn''t want to keep him waiting. He hated that the most. Wasting time doing nothing while waiting for someone. He turned around just as she got closer, and instead of the happy reunion Beth had imagined since she had not seen her father in a long time, what she received was a harsh p across her face that made her fall to the ground, breaking her already broken body that was still trying to heal. She gasped and looked up at her father''s angry face in shocked confusion while touching the cheek he had pped and wondering why he seemed so angry. Her father had never hit her in this manner before, and so she couldn''t imagine what she could have done to warrant such harsh treatment. "Father?" She asked as she blinked back the tears that stung her eyes. p "What is this that I hear you did?" He asked in a calm tone that would make anyone else wonder if he had been the one who had just hit her. She immediately bowed in front of him as she tried to swallow the fresh humiliation that washed over her when she remembered what she had experienced. When was this humiliation ever going to end? "Stand up!" Her fathermanded harshly, his disappointment evident in his voice. Hearing the disappointment in his voice was more painful than the sting of his p. Her father had never spoken to her in this manner or hit her before, but she was experiencing both and it was all because of that witch. With shaky feet, she managed to stand up, but she couldn''t bring herself to look into his face. "Now look at me and answer my question! What did you do?" He barked at her. She raised her head as she tried not to let her tears drop. Her father didn''t raise her to show weakness, "I made a mistake. I thought she was pretending to be ill," Beth tried to exin, hoping that her father would at least hear her out and understand where she wasing from. "You thought? Is that how your mother and I raised you to serve the royal family?" He growled at her, and she took a step back. "The greatest honor our family has ever received is serving the royal family. My father, your mother, me, and now you. Do not ever forget that." He reminded her harshly. Beth''s eyes shed dangerously, and she quickly looked down to conceal it. Serve? Wasn''t he tired of serving? How about being served instead? How could he just be okay with that even after losing his wife? Long after her father walked away from there, she remained where she stood with her hands clenched beside her. Her head was down as she finally let her angry tears flow down her cheeks with all the veins in her head and neck standing out. Amber. As much as she honored her father, she would have to disobey him now. He was okay with his life heading warriors, but she was not. Her father had sacrificed a lot for him to be made a minister, but no, he was still beneath the Minister of War. Her mother had served as a maid, and now it was her turn. She could not go on with this useless life. She needed to do something. Unfortunately, she didn''t know how to go about it, especially with Prince Harold and the king protecting her. As she made her way back to the servant''s quarters, every other maid fled when they saw her approach and sensed the aura all around her. They knew it would be terrible to be in her presence. She looked like she wanted to kill someone. After she entered her private chamber in the servants'' quarter, she closed the door and began to think deeply. The more she dyed, the more time she lost. Prince Harold seemed to be getting fond of Amber and she was not going to let that happen. Her eyes immediately went to the door when she felt something, and then she saw a note that had been slid inside the room from under the door outside. She watched it with narrow eyes before she hurriedly went to open the door without picking it up. She looked out but found no one and even tried to get a smell but got nothing. She closed the door and picked up the folded note before she opened it. Seeing her father''s writing, she was surprised and quickly read the note. At first she was confused, especially when she could not get any smell from the note to convince her it was her father, but as seconds passed by, she was convinced that it was from him. When sending this kind of note, it only made sense that he would be careful. There was no way he would have beenfortable settling for just that position. They were flesh and blood after all. The note almost made her smile happily. She had patiently been waiting. She could wait a little longer. An evil smirk curved her lips. Just a little more, and everything would go as it should be. The night seemed to be going well for a lot of people because the queen could not hide her pleasant mood at how well everything was going as the maids dressed her up for dinner. If Ivan married Benedicta, they would have solid backing in the internal court. The king was also not feeling too well and, as usual, he was turning a blind eye to everything, and she hoped it would continue like this. As for Harold, the heavens were helping them without their putting much effort into it. "You''re all dismissed," she said sternly to the maids when they finished dressing her up, and they all left her dressing room quickly. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled at herself. Just as she stood up and turned towards the door, a note slid inside the room from the bottom of the door, making her raise an eyebrow. Chapter 168 All Secrets Will Come To Light By the time the queen was done reading the short note, her face was as pale as a sheet. The note almost fell off her hand, but she quickly caught it and flinched when a knock came on the door. She didn''t waste any time before tucking it inside her dress before going to open the door. It was her bodyguard. "It''s time for dinner, my queen," he said with a polite bow. She tried to hide her emotion as she narrowed her eyes on him and asked, "Did... you see anyone approaching my door or leaving the hallway on your way here?" He looked at her and shook his head. "Did something happen, my queen?" She looked at his face closely. He seemed curious too. Was probably wondering why she was tense. She shook her head and tried to rx. It wasn''t like she suspected him. In fact, if he had seen the shadow of anyone around here, he would have chased and brought her the person''s head before knowing why the person was lurking around here. "Are you okay, my queen?" He asked with concern. "I''m good," she said, but her hands, which were in tight fists beside her, said otherwise. ''All secrets wille to light. And this isn''t about Prince Harold''s mother.'' The note had said. She could feel the arrogance with which the person had written the note. The person did know something. And whatever they knew wasn''t good. It was going to ruin her. Her legs were so weak that when she took a step to leave the room, she almost fell but quicklyported herself. Her bodyguard said nothing and went to open the door for her. Immediately the door opened, they saw the King and Damon had just arrived. The sudden arrival made the queen, who was behind the guard, gasp and jump, making everyone confused. "Uh... I''m... sorry, my king. I was just..." "Why are you anxious?" The king asked as he looked between her guard and the queen. He could smell her anxiety everywhere, and it was unpleasant. The queen tried to force a smile as she looked at the king and at Damon, who was still looking between the two with a kind of suspicion and irritation. "The queen is nervous because of the banquet and meeting all those guests tonight. I served her a soothing tea earlier, but I guess it didn''t work. Please punish me, my king," The guard said and bowed humbly in front of the king. The king just stared at them before he turned and walked away while the "ever-righteous" Damon red at them too before he followed the king, and the queen tried to steady her breathing before following. ******** "What are these?" Susan''s mother asked no one in particr as Harold joined the dining table. He didn''t need to ask what she was referring to as he could see the strange snacks disyed on the table, and something told him that was what Alicia had packed for him. Aside from Ivan who was lost in his thoughts and dead to the world around him, everyone who had been seated stood up as soon as he entered, but he paid no mind to them since he was thinking about something else. Howe it was being served to everyone? He had asked her to prepare what she liked for herself, but she had made enough to feed everyone? Why hadn''t she mentioned this piece of information to him? This was going to make the aristocrats talk badly about her since she wasn''t supposed to go to the kitchen. Where was she anyway? He turned his attention to the door and took his seat absent-mindedly while the others followed suit. "They are very tasty snacks. Prince Harold''s bride prepared them to wee you all," he heard Susan whisper to her mother, who turned to her in surprise, and every eye around the table moved to Susan too. A Princess? In the kitchen? It seemed like the rumors about her were true, the aristocrats mused, while Harold turned his attention to Harvey, who looked like he was trying to figure out something. Beside Harvey, was his sister, whose head had been down the entire time. Sensing he was being watched, Harvey looked at Harold, and the two stared intensely at each other. Harold was waiting until after dinner before approaching Harvey, and he hoped for Harvey''s sake that the young man wouldn''t provoke him anymore than he had already done. "She went into the kitchen? She can cook?" Susan''s mother asked, and Susan bobbed her head. "She went into the kitchen to prepare them for you. You will love them," Susan assured her mother without answering her question, and her father turned to her sharply. "You tasted them already? Don''t tell me you went into the kitchen with her?" Her father asked with displeasure, making Susan, who realized her error almost immediately, nce at Williams for help. At that same moment, Harvey lowered his gaze, and Harold turned to the Queen''s brother with a frown on his face. "What is that tone supposed to mean?" Harold asked in a voice that made it quite obvious he didn''t want a wrong answer to that question. Even though they all knew that Susan''s father didn''t like Harold, as he was the queen''s brother, he couldn''t be rude to Harold either since Harold was a prince. Before Susan''s father could respond, Alicia walked into the hall, and all eyes turned to her. She smiled graciously and bowed to them all without saying a word, before going to sit beside Harold. Everyone could hear the way her heart was beating fast, but the smile on her face wavered only when her eyes met Harvey''s eyes, and she quickly looked away. She almost sighed when she met Benedicta''s gaze and saw a look she recognized. The girl was an aristocratic version of Beth. She seemed to dislike her for being married to Harold. If she was the child bride, then why did that change? Was it about the curse? She had no idea what the curse was until now. Although she doubted that Harold would tell her about it if she asked, she was going to ask him anyway. Her gaze moved to Harvey''s father, and she noticed that the man was just looking at her with curiosity, and thankfully, there was no form of animosity or disapproval in his eyes. Just in curiosity. Her gaze shifted to Luciana''s parents, and she noticed their expressions of displeasure and disapproval as they looked at her. She had no doubt that Ivan had said something to them about her. She had yet to open her mouth, yet it seemed like half the people here already disapproved of her. She wasn''t so sure anymore that the appetizers and desserts she had prepared were going to help her warm her way into their hearts. Her gaze moved to Luciana, who was seated between her parents and Ivan, but Luciana''s head was down, so she couldn''t see her face. She felt sorry that she had contributed to thedy''s problem. When she looked at Ivan, their gaze met, and she noticed that all the scratches and bruises she had left on his face the previous evening hadpletely faded and he looked as though she had never scratched him. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she looked closely at him. How was this possible? By chance, was it the herbal medicines they had here? "You didn''t answer my question," Harold reminded Susan''s father, and Alicia turned to him, wondering what the question had been about. Both men stared at each other, and thankfully the king, the queen, and Damon walked into the hall at that moment, saving everyone from what would have no doubt been trouble, as it was obvious that Harold was annoyed. Chapter 169 Strange Snacks "What are these?" The king asked as he picked up a meatball that looked like nothing he had eaten before, while the other aristocrats looked at him curiously. "That is a meatball, my king. Something you can chew on while discussing before the main meal is served," Alicia responded as she looked at the king, waiting eagerly for him to have a taste of it and tell her if he liked it. The king turned to look at his wife, wondering why she wasn''t saying anything yet and noticed she was lost in her thoughts and still looked very pale. She was still anxious but had been able to tone it down. The queen could care less about Princess Amber. That note had seeded in messing up her head, and what made it worse was the fact that she didn''t know who her enemy was. She didn''t get any smell from the note to give away the person and it made her even more insecure, especially with all these aristocrats gathered. Was it Harold? She shook her head. She didn''t think it was him. He was the type to go directly and not y around; besides, the note had said the secret wasn''t just about Harold''s mother. Then who among all these people had done that? Seeing how her husband and some of the guests were beginning to look at her, she broke out of her thoughts and tried topose herself. Her eyes fell on the table and seeing all the strange things there, even though she hadn''t heard whatever they said earlier, she could guess who had done this. "Don''t tell me you prepared this?" The queen asked, her displeasure obvious in her voice, even though she liked that Alicia was doing things like this that would make the aristocrats like her even less. She had a lot on her mind, yes. But she wouldn''t forget her original goal. Whoever was trying to ckmail her, she was going to find the person and, with her bare hands, squeeze the living daylight out of them. They were going to regret messing with her. "Who let you into the kitchen?" Damon asked, hating that once again she was behaving as she liked without following the rules of the royal family. Alicia turned to Harold, not because she didn''t have an appropriate response for either the Queen or Damon, but because she had promised not to cause any trouble and she needed him to speak if he didn''t want her to say something. "I gave her permission to go into the kitchen. Do you have a problem with that?" Harold asked, silently daring anyone to say something careless about his wife in front of him. The king ignored everything else they were saying as he bit into the meatball and chewed on it slowly before looking at her with interest, "You made this yourself?" "I did my king, but with help, of course. Princess Tyra and Lady Susan assisted me. Do you like it?" Alicia asked hopefully, and the king smiled as he gave her a curt nod before picking the cheese grape cluster, while the Queen eyed Tyra with disapproval. "And what is this?" The king asked as he looked at it with interest, while everyone else watched and waited for the king to have a taste of it. It seemed like the rumours they had heard outside were false. They had heard that this new human bride was a troublemaker and everyone in the pce hated her. But watching her interaction with the king now, he seemed quite fond of her and she seemed to be getting along well with the princess and Lady Susan. "It is called a cheese grape cluster. I noticed you haven''t been eating very welltely, so I thought you might enjoy something different on the menu, especially as it is a special asion. Thanks to my husband, who made sure I got all the items I needed to make these things for you, we were able to arrange these," Alicia said with a proud smile, trusting that since the king was aware that she had been in exile, he wouldn''t ask how she learned to make the snacks. "Menu?" The king asked, and Harold remembered what she had said about it being a list of food. "She means the list of food being served," Harold exined, and Alicia turned to him with a wide smile, pleased that he was taking note of the words she was used to. The king nodded as he bit into the cheese grape cluster, and then he smiled when he tasted the juicy grape. "This tastes good too," the king said, and Alicia beamed with pleasure. "Surprisingly, you seem to be good at something," Harold whispered to Alicia, who red at him even though she heard the subtle pride in his voice when he said it. Of course, the exchange was not hidden from all the prying eyes. "Why are you not eating? It''s not every day that a princess goes into the kitchen to prepare such a special meal. You should enjoy it," the king urged the others. Although most of them have been dying to have a taste of it, they didn''t want to show it. While most of them were curious about how these strange things tasted for the king, who was used to different varieties of food to be pleased by it, some others had different reactions. Harold didn''t pick up any and just watched everyone''s reaction to see if the king had been exaggerating because he liked her. Harvey seemed very confused as he looked at Alicia with confusion. Ivan, on the other hand, was too irritated at her that the thought of eating what she had made with the other two witches made him feel like throwing up, but there was no way he could go against the king and not eat it. Benedicta, on the other hand, was trying so hard to keep her anger hidden, but it was proving difficult with each passing second and even the tea her mother had given her to help her calm down was not working. She still couldn''t believe that Harold chose a human bride over her. She was going to make him regret it. Chapter 170 Manipulative Princess Oblivious to the unpleasant feelings around her, Alicia''s face beamed with a smile as she watched them pick up a piece of each of the appetizers one after the other, and she almost pped for joy when she saw the quick surprise that crossed the queen''s face when she tasted it, before she quickly concealed it with indifference. It seemed like they had not been expecting it to taste this good, and they were all genuinely surprised by it. "It is pleasant," Sir Gregory, the richest merchant in the Moon Kingdom,mented with a nod, and she smiled at him when she remembered that Tyra had said she needed him on her side if she wanted the other aristocrats to like her. "Thank you, my lord. I read that you are allergic to peanuts, so I was extra careful to not add any," she said, and he looked at her in surprise. "Allergic?" He asked, looking at her curiously. "Your body gets swollen and your neck, red. It''s called allergy," Alicia exined, and he nodded. She still could not understand why something as sensitive as that was included in a book for all to see. Weren''t people in power or businessmen usually very careful and did not let out any of their weaknesses for fear of it being used against them? Or was it because he was too powerful and didn''t concern himself with things like that? She could not understand anybody here. p Then again, after such a warning had been passed across to the entire public, she could imagine the punishment that would befall anyone who dared to poison his meal with peanuts, as ignorance would never be tolerated as an excuse. "That is true. I''m surprised you took note of such a thing," he said, impressed that she wasn''t entirely as careless and mannerless as he had been made to believe. "I hear you also run different food stalls all over the kingdom. You are an important part of this kingdom, so it is only proper that I take note of such important details." Alicia said with a polite bow, and he smiled at her. While Harold tried not to roll his eyes. "Thank you, mydy, but I don''t run in food stalls. I own them." Sir Gregory said, trying not to get annoyed. Alicia was a little confused at first, but when she understood his confusion, she almostughed, but she ended up giggling. "I didn''t mean that. What I meant was that I heard you own and control a lot of food stalls. If you need my secret recipes to make snacks like these so you can sell them and earn more, do well to let you know. With my husband''s permission, I won''t hesitate to share them with you for free." Harold almost snorted. She always surprised him with her maniptive nature. She was indeed smart. A businessman was always a businessman, no matter the era. His eyes shone when she said that, and he was already beginning to salivate, not at the snacks, but at the money he was going to get from selling snacks like this. "I will keep that in mind, mydy." Sir Gregory said with a polite smile that Alicia happily returned. ''One down.'' The queen looked at Alicia with concealed displeasure as she was taking all the attention on the table as usual. Soon, the conversations around the table drifted to other things as the king and Damon enquired about the trip of the aristocrats and how their regions were doing. "Why are you not eating?" Alicia whispered to Harold when she noticed that he had yet to have a taste of any. "I don''t want to share the one you kept for everyone else. I still have the ones you packed for me. I would rather have that when we return to our chamber," Harold whispered back to her, even though he knew that everyone could hear what they were saying. A blush stained her cheeks as she moved away from him while clearing her throat, wondering why he was saying such words to her. She avoided eye contact with him and stuffed her mouth with meatloaf. Once Alicia noticed that the appetizers were finished, she waved over one of the maids and whispered to her that it was time to serve the main dish, and she politely reminded her that the desserts were to be served after the main dish so that they could take it back with them to their chambers as midnight snacks. The Queen exchanged a look with Ivan, as they both wondered if this was Harold''s tactic to win the hearts of the aristocrats. Why was Alicia the one controlling the kitchen maids and what was being served? How did she even learn how to do any of this? More importantly, howe they didn''t know she was capable of this? They wondered. Even though he didn''t like Alicia, he envied the way she was trying to be of help to her husband by winning the hearts of the aristocrats despite her stubbornness. Yet here was his own wife, Ivan mused, as he turned to look at Luciana with disdain when he noticed how well she was eating thest bit of her snack like she didn''t have a care in the world. His eyes lingered on her, and he knew she was aware that he was watching her, but she didn''t spare him any nces. "By the end of the banquet, I would be marrying a new bride," Prince Ivan announced, and silence fell upon the room immediately. Both the Queen and the King looked at him immediately. His mother felt like snuffing the life out of him with a pillow while he slept. What did she do to deserve a son like this? So careless and stupid. The silence dragged for a while, with no one saying anything, not even the king. "You already have a wife, don''t you?" Damon asked with displeasure, finally breaking the silence. Ivan turned to re at Luciana, who was just looking ahead and chewing whatever she had inside her mouth. All eyes were literally on the two, but she didn''t bother herself with whatever was happening, which made Ivan the more annoyed. Thankfully, the rest of the meal came at the right time, and the queen finally broke silence and spoke, "Finally we can have something we are used to," the Queen said with a stiff smile, and the meaning of her words was not lost on anyone. Let''s enjoy our meal. Anything else that needs to be discussed would be talked about after the meal," the king said, putting an end to the awkwardness as the meals were served. Chapter 171 Stuck In A Dilemma As Alicia returned to her chamber after dinner, she had a slight frown on her face as she wondered why everything suddenly seemed kind of different here. She couldn''t ce her finger on it, but something about the dinner made her feel anxious. Her instincts told her that things were about to be even moreplicated than they already were. Perhaps it was because she had watched her fair share of royal movies that she could tell that there had been some kind of tension in the air despite the smiles andughter going around the table. It seemed like with the presence of the aristocrats, a certain strain hade on everyone, and everything had changed all of a sudden. Even Susan''s attitude seemed somewhat different tonight. She noticed that Susan had avoided eye contact with her, unlike before, and she had left with her parents immediately after dinner was over, which was unlike her since she usually hung around with them. Susan had acted strangely earlier that afternoon too, before she finally agreed to join her in the kitchen. After thinking about it, the only thought that came to her mind was that her parents had asked her to stay away from her. Susan was the daughter of the queen''s brother, and Alicia knew the queen didn''t like her even though she was pretending to. That only makes sense. What would this change mean for Paulina and her friendship with Williams, if Susan, who was female, was avoiding her? And judging by how she had asked Tyra to follow her to her chamber after dinner, Alicia could tell that Tyra would be instructed to stay away from her as well. Luciana was gone. Susan was beginning to avoid her whether or not she wanted to, and Tyra was likely going to do the same too. The queen was trying to iste her from everybody she considered her friend. Even the girl''s hangout away from the pce, which she had been nning to go on with thedies, now seemed like an impossible dream. Apart from Harold, who else did she have here? Even Paulina, whom she had taken to be her sister, didn''t really care about her anymore now that she knew she wasn''t her mistress. Alicia sighed as she walked into her chamber distractedly, but was startled when she saw Paulina standing by her bedside. "Paulina," she whispered in surprise as she shut the door behind her. "Mydy..." Paulina started, and then looked down at her hands, which were sped together. She had thought about it, and even though it wasn''t exactly her mistress who was upying this body, it was still her mistress''s body, and the person inside her, Alicia, or whatever her name was, had been kind to her. Also, after thinking about what she had said about having the same face as Queen Anne, Paulina didn''t believe it was a coincidence. She believed that everything happened for a reason, and if, for some reason, another person with Queen Anne''s face was possessing Princess Amber''s body, then maybe Queen Anne was the one possessing the body. Because now that she thought about it, Alicia''s behavior was very simr to Queen Anne''s. "Do you still n to leave here?" Paulina asked with concerned eyes, and Alicia looked at her without saying a word until she was seated on the bed. "Why do you ask?" Alicia asked calmly, wanting to know what was in Paulina''s head. "Because I don''t think you should leave here. You will only make things difficult for Princess Amber if you leave and she returns," Paulina exined, and Alicia gave her a nod. Of course, she was thinking about her mistress. "Do you think Princess Amber would have wanted to stay here? To be married to Prince Harold?" Alicia asked, and Paulina looked at her for a moment, not sure how to respond to that. "She always did as she was told, so she would have stayed here," Paulina said, and Alicia shook her head. "Then maybe you don''t know your mistress as much as you think you do," Alicia said, thinking about what Harvey had said about this being thest ce Amber wanted to be. Even without the encounter, she just had the feeling that Amber wouldn''t have stayed. She wouldn''t havee here in the first ce. "What do you mean?" Paulina asked, confused. "I don''t think your mistress is as simple as you think she is. Are you aware that she has a male friend?" Alicia asked, and Paulina''s eyes widened in surprise. "A... A man?" That just seemed to confirm that Paulina knew nothing about her mistress. What else was Amber hiding? "Do not worry about it. I will think of something and protect us all." Alicia assured her. "You should return to your chamber before the bells start ringing." Paulina looked like she still had something to say, but seeing Alicia''s mood, she knew it was not a good time, so she bowed and left the chamber. After she left, Alicia sat on her bed and drew her legs closer, wrapping her arms around her. She was mentally exhausted from everything that was happening. Now that she was alone, everything that had happened today began to rey in her head. Especially the kiss she had shared with Harold. What was she going to do now? As much as she wanted to deny it and ce it all on someone else controlling her mind, she knew that was far from it. She had warned herself several times. She had reminded herself that flowing with the tide was a terrible idea for her. But she hadn''t been careful. She had kissed him. And one way or the other, Harold must have realized she no longer saw him as a "younger brother". This was the part where she should have started nning to run away because the more she stayed here, the moreplicated things would get. But surprisingly, she didn''t want to go anywhere. Because she wanted to protect him. How could she even be thinking of protecting him now when she had nothing and knew nothing? She wanted to leave. She wanted to stay. Paulina wanted her to find her mistress back. Harold seemed like he would strangle the life out of Amber if she dared show up. Now, she was stuck in a dilemma. What was she going to do? How was she going to live going forward? What was she going to do about Harold and her feelings for him? "Fucking hell!" She yelled and threw everything she could find on the bed onto the floor. With everything out of the bed now, her eyes fell on the diary she had hidden there this morning. Chapter 172 "I Wont" Tyra and Ivan followed the king and queen obediently until they got to a safer ce away from everyone. As soon as the king turned around, he threw a hard p thatnded on Ivan''s face. Tyra gasped and jumped back, and her hand quickly flew to cover her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the scene. Both Ivan and the Queen also stared at the king in shock while Ivan touched the side of his face where the king had pped. If he weren''t so strong, the p would have twisted and broken his neck. "It''s my fault for letting you do as you please," the king said, sounding disappointed. "My¡ª" "SHUT UP!" The king angrily bellowed at the queen, who was trying to make him calm down, and she flinched and, at the same time, stepped back and put her hands up in fear. The king looked at the three of them in displeasure before he focused his gaze on his wife and pointed at Ivan. "Look at the son you raised. Who would ever think he is fit to be king?" "Then what would you have had me do?!" Ivan yelled unfairly, with his hand still touching the side the king had pped. The queen tried to silence him, but he didn''t pay them any mind. "If mother had treated you a little like how Luciana treated me, you would have done worse! I could not just sit down and let it¡ª" "Brother..." "Shut up!" He red at Tyra, shutting her up. The king looked at Tyra and then at Ivan before he sighed and shook his head. "I told you all..." He started to speak calmly. "Be on your best behavior for the rest of this banquet. To not mention anything about Luciana either. But you..." He looked at the queen first, "and you..." He faced Ivan. "What did you do?" Ivan was about to speak again, but the queen spoke up first, cutting him off. "I will handle it, my king. We..." "I will no longer condone this nonsense. Especially during this period." He said it in a stern tone that gave them goosebumps. ,m "If you mess up one more time, I will forget our tie. All of you." Having said that, he turned and walked away. The queen faced Ivan, looking livid. "What is wrong with you? Why do you behave like an idiot every time?" He threw his face to the side and scoffed. "Are you trying to destroy everything now?" The queen asked, sounding even more annoyed now at his unapologetic behavior and nonchnce. "What are you staring at? Go wait outside!" He yelled at Tyra, who flinched and looked at their mother. With annoyance written all over her face, the Queen cocked her head for her to go outside, and she bowed and left the room quickly. "This is not the time to let your emotions control you!" The Queen reminded him sternly. They needed to up their game and make sure Ivan was announced as the heir. Otherwise, it would be over for her. "So what am I supposed to do about Luciana? She treats me poorly." Heined. "Come back to your senses!" The Queen snapped angrily, trying to control herself from hitting him. "You act like you are tied by fate, and she is your mate. Should I remind you about how she embarrassed and disgraced you? How she looked down on you and took your enemy''s side? How she trampled on you? Should I remind you about all of that?" Those words brought Ivan back to his senses, and he began to remember all she had done to him, how she left him and went to have breakfast with Harold''s crazy bride. How she had been doing as she pleased and disobeying him. Seeing the anger in his face, the Queen knew he was finally back to his senses. "Remember all of that and do away with her. If this nonsense continues, I will have to get rid of her to bring you back to your senses. We do not have time." "Don''t touch her!" He warned, eyeing his mother unpleasantly. "I will handle her myself. I will make her regret ever treating me like that." He said this with a sinister smile on his face that made the queen frustrated. Why wouldn''t he learn about his priorities and stick to them? "Do not give me any reason to touch her." The queen warned him. "Tomorrow, we will talk about your wedding with Benedicta. And you have to apologize to her family for springing it up like that." "I am a prince!" He reminded his mother, exasperated. "Why would I apologize to them? You can handle it." He said and turned around to leave. "We aren''t done talking!" She called after him, but he waved her off and walked out. The queen used her hands to massage her temples, not knowing what she was supposed to do with him. This was a very critical time. Especially at this point when someone was onto her. Why was everything not going as nned? Just why? As Ivan opened the door, he looked at Tyra and the queen''s bodyguard, Damian, who seemed to be facing each other but turned towards him as soon as he opened the door. He looked at Tyra closely and noticed how she was avoiding his gaze, and then turned to Damian, who kept his head down in a bow. "Useless!" Ivan muttered, not bothering himself with the likes of them as he stormed out. Tyra bit her lower lip and clenched her fists beside her as she kept looking ahead without looking back at Ivan. The day woulde when Ivan would finally learn his ce. She would make sure of it. Since Ivan was out, Damian opened the door for her to go in and meet her mother, and Tyra stepped inside hesitantly, not looking forward to whatever conversation she was going to have with her mother because she could vaguely guess what it was all about. Immediately she stepped into the chamber, the queen looked at her with unconcealed disgust, "Why do you keep disappointing me? It is bad enough that you are a weak Omega. Why do you not listen to me and keep embarrassing me?" The queen asked angrily, and Tyra looked at her in confusion. "What is my offense, mother?" "Did I not warn you only a few days ago about giving food to the servants? So what did I hear tonight about you going into the kitchen? You COOKED? A PRINCESS?" The queen asked, her voice rising hysterically. "I didn''t cook, mother. Princess Amber cooked, and I only..." "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" The Queen yelled angrily, and immediately Tyra snapped her mouth shut. Confused, Tyra opened her mouth to apologize. "I''m sorry, moth..." "I said shut it! I do not want to hear a word from you." The queen ground out through gritted teeth. "I think you have stayed in the pce long enough, and it is time for you to leave here before you disgrace yourself and the royal family any further," the Queen said, and Tyra frowned, hoping the queen wasn''t trying to say what she was thinking. "Where am I going to, mother?" Tyra asked quietly. "Where else is ady supposed to go from her father''s house? Your husband''s house, of course. Get ready. By the end of the banquet, I will be announcing your marriage to Sir Gregory''s son, Lance," the queen said, and Tyra''s eyes hardened. "I won''t." Immediately the words left her mouth, the Queen turned to look at her in disbelief. Even Tyra was surprised at what she said. "I... wasn''t asking for your permission." The queen said, still in disbelief. First, it was Ivan, now it was her? "Leave!" The queen ordered angrily as she began to pace around the chamber. Seeing the way Alicia had impressed Sir Gregory, whom she desperately needed on her side, she needed to make her move. Harold and his wife had made their first move with food, but she needed something more substantial to sway the man. What else than a marriage tie to the royal family would persuade a greedy man like that? Chapter 173 My Wife Harold stood by the pavilion away from the pce with his hands behind him as he looked into theke, waiting for Alvin to return with Harvey, whom he had sent for. Approaching Harvey anywhere around the pce wouldn''t be a wise decision, and neither would it be safe for Alicia, as someone might overhear them and report to the king or queen that Princess Amber was an exiled princess, and he didn''t want that to happen. As he looked into the water, he remembered that Alicia had been in there recently, and he looked around to see if it was possible that someone could have seen her from a distance. As he turned, he saw Harvey and Alvin approaching from a distance, and his eyes hardened. He wanted nothing more than to hit Harvey for daring to offer to help Alicia escape, but he couldn''t. The wise thing to do would be to find out whatever Harvey knew about Princess Amber, and he couldn''t achieve that through violence. Even though Harvey was beneath him, he was the son of an aristocrat, and doing anything to him would mean he would have to face the aristocrats, and he didn''t want to get on their bad side. Not now, when he had had such great ambition. "You sent for me," Harvey said when he stopped in front of Harold, and Harold gave Alvin a nod to excuse them. Alvin, however, was not sure about that. Leaving Harvey with Harold, especially when they were this far from the main building, he didn''t think that was a good idea. What if he did something stupid because of his anger and jealousy? Harold raised a brow at him, wondering why he was still standing there, but Alvin was lost in his thoughts. To say he was confused right now was an understatement. Earlier that day, he had overheard Princess Amber''s conversation with Paulina and had been trying to make sense of it, but he could not make any sense of all he had heard. It sounded like another soul was upying the princess'' body, which made him begin to wonder if Harold knew about it. Was that why he had been questioning Paulina all those times? And also the reason he said he was going to visit her kingdom? "Alvin," Harold called him harshly, making him snap back to his senses. Alvin looked at the two young men, praying nothing bad would happen as he turned around and walked away. "Why were you in my wife''s chamber?" Harold asked coldly without beating around the bush, while Harvey just stared at him. It irked Harold so much that Harvey was stillposed even before him, especially after what he did earlier. "Did she tell you that or did you put someone to watch over her chamber?" Harvey asked, and Harold''s eyes shed dangerously. "Why were you in my wife''s chamber?" Harold repeated very slowly, making it clear that he expected only answers to his questions, not questions. Harvey looked at Harold, unable to tell what Harold was thinking. Did he know about Princess Amber being an exiled princess? If he didn''t know, there would be no need to mention to him that he knew her, as that might put her in danger. But what if he knew? Harvey reasoned as he continued to look at Harold, contemting how to answer the question. Was it possible that Harold knew? If he did, how many other people knew about it? And why did they let her remain in the pce? It seemed like she had a good rtionship with the king and the princess, so he doubted that they knew about it. "I''m sorry. I missed my way, and ended up in her chamber," Harvey said and Harold''s eyes narrowed. "Through the window?" Harold asked, and Harvey sighed. "I was trying to avoid running into Lance in the hallway, so I decided to use the nearest window. You might not know this, but I''m not very good with directions..." He stopped talking and tried to cover his nose when Harold''s angry pheromones filled the atmosphere. "That is not what I was told," Harold said calmly, making it clear that he had heard from someone. Harvey held Harold''s gaze, and his brow arched when Harold took a step closer to him, "How do you know Princess Amber?" Harold asked calmly. "I never said I knew her..." "You wouldn''t have dared to sneak into my wife''s chamber if you didn''t know her." Harold pointed out. Watching him closely, Harold guessed that the only reason he was not saying anything was because he was trying not to disclose his rtionship with her since he had met her as an exiled princess. "I know she was an exiled princess, so you don''t have to lie to me. Go on and tell me exactly what your rtionship with her is that made you offer to help her escape!" Harold growled in annoyance. "You know she is an exiled princess? How do you know? Wait, she told you I offered to help her escape?" Harvey asked in confusion, not understanding anything that was happening. First, it was Amber not recognizing him, and somehow he could tell it wasn''t just because she had lost her memory. At first, he had wanted to think so, but after hearing her speak during dinner and seeing the different snacks she had prepared, he could tell that something was not right. There was no way that person was the Amber he knew. ,m And now she had even reported him to Harold. What happened to Amber? Did Harold do something to her? Harold''s eyes shone with impatience and annoyance as he looked at him. "If you are not going to answer my questions, then I will have to take it up with your father and have him ask you himself," Harold said and turned to walk away. "She... she was my friend in the mountains," Harvey said, stopping Harold. "Your friend?" "I don''t know what you have done to her to make her this way, but I don''t want any problems toe to her. She has suffered enough and..." "She is MY WIFE! If anyone is going to worry about her, it should be me!" Harold said coldly, ring at him. Chapter 174 Be Mine Harold used the window and entered Alicia''s chamber immediately after the third bell rang. The lights in the room were already off, with only the burning torches from outside and the moon illuminating the room dimly. He stood by the window, deliberating on whether to approach her or not, as he looked down at her sleeping figure. He knew it was a risk to do this. Sneaking into her chamber when he was supposed to be out and making the rest of the aristocrats believe he was still suffering from that curse, but how could he return to living like that? How could he do that after feeling what it was like to have a good sleep? To sleep beside her? And not think about anything. Maybe it was best that they all knew he was no longer suffering from the curse. But then, wouldn''t they begin to wonder why and probably trace it to Alicia? He had too many fears now. "I probably should seal the door and just let everyone keep using the window," Alicia said without moving, making him realize that she was awake. She turned to face him, sleeping on her side and using her hand to prop up her head. He just stared at her, wondering whether it was okay to join her in bed. When he spent the night here, it had been an ident, and also, she was unconscious. Now that she was fully awake, he wasn''t sure what to do, and leaving now was probably not safe for him. Fortunately, Alicia adjusted a pillow and patted the side beside her as she said, "You should sleep." He looked at her with a mixture of relief and surprise. He hadn''t expected her to even allow him anywhere near her bed. The gesture almost made him smile. Slowly, he went to the bed and sat down carefully as he began to pull his boots. "The moon is unusually bright tonight." She said, looking out the window as Haroldy down with his back on the bed while he faced up. "It''s going to be even brighter tomorrow. It''s the full moon." Harold said. "Really? How are you so sure about that?" She asked curiously. "It''s that time of the year. The banquet is held at this same time every year," Harold said, and Alicia paused her lips thoughtfully. "This same time? On a full moon? That sounds like a werewolf gathering," she said with an amused smile, sure that he wouldn''t know what she was talking about. "Werewolf?" Harold asked with a curious frown as he turned on his side to face her, while wondering how she knew about them. Was this something Harvey might have revealed to Princess Amber? And it was stuck in her subconscious? "They are mythical creatures often written about. There are movies about them too. Werewolves are humans that transform every full moon into wild animals. Don''t worry. It doesn''t really exist," Alicia assured him with a smile when she noticed the seriousness in his eyes. Harold was surprised to know she had an idea about it. Was it possible that there were other werewolves in her world but she doesn''t know about them just like humans didn''t know much about them here? Also, he wasn''t sure any werewolf would like the sound of that. "Humans that transform into wild animals". They were not humans. And they were not wild animals. They were simply just werewolves. "They don''t exist?" Harold asked, and she bobbed her head. "Of course, they don''t! How would you believe that creatures like that exist? I don''t believe in witches, vampires, or dragons. Those are all mythical creatures," Alicia said with a yawn. "So, what do you believe in?" Harold asked curiously. "I believe in science," Alicia said without hesitation. "Does this science exin why you are here and not in your own world?" Harold asked, and Alicia pursed her lips. "Well... there is time travel..." She paused when she remembered that would require a machine, and she didn''t have one. "And is that what you did?" Harold asked, and she scowled. "Why are you asking so many questions? Don''t tell me you believe in witches," she said, suspiciously, and Harold wondered how she would react if he told her he was a werewolf. And yes, he did believe in witches. But that was another story. "Tell me more about those creatures that transform," Harold said instead, and seeing his curiosity, Alicia smiled as she started to tell him about vampires and werewolves. "Do you prefer vampires?" He asked gently. "Nah! They live on blood. I find that repulsive. I can''t deal," she said with disgust. "So you prefer the werewolves?" He asked, and she shrugged. "They are always made to look so hot and powerful, so it''s hard not to prefer them," she said with a wide smile. Harold chose to ignore that. "They don''t repulse you?" He asked, sticking to the topic. "I feel sorry for them. The shifting process looks painful in the movies. Imagine breaking all your bones and turning into an animal. It''s a good thing they don''t exist. I don''t want to imagine a world with such creatures," she said with a shudder while Harold pursued his lips, not sure whether to be relieved or not at her answer. "Let''s stop talking about scary subjects. Why did youe to my room?" she asked, changing the subject. "You... were nice tonight," he praised her. Before she could say ask if that was what he came to tell her, he added, "And your snacks were... different." "Good different?" She asked, smiling a little. He simply shrugged without giving her an answer, but she could read his gestures and tell that he had enjoyed them. "I could tell from the faces of the aristocrats that they loved the snacks even if they didn''t want to. And I think Sir Gregory was impressed too." "Susan and Tyra said I needed to make him like me if I wanted the other aristocrats to be on my side and in extension, be on your side. I think he approved of me, don''t you?" Alicia asked excitedly. Did she really think it was that easy? "What is your n for getting close to Sir Gregory?" He asked curiously. "You already know my n." She said calmly. "I don''t want you to get involved." Alicia didn''tment immediately, but when she said, she nodded and said, "Okay," which made him raise an eyebrow. "Okay?" He asked in confusion. Wasn''t she going to argue with him? "You just said you didn''t want me to get involved." She reminded him. "And you just said okay?" He asked again and looked at her closely. There had to be something wrong with her. Otherwise, why would she just agree? "I don''t want to try to change things anymore. I want to cause less trouble to myself and... to you too." She said earnestly. "I spoke with Harvey," he informed her after a moment of quietness. "Really? What did he say?" She asked, bing alert immediately, which made him slightly pissed that he seemed excited to hear about another man. "What did he say?" She repeated when he didn''t answer immediately. "I could not get much information since he had to return to his chamber before the second bell rang. But it''s just as you said. He knew her." "Is there a possibility that she learned how to fight from him?" Alicia asked curiously. Harold nodded as he answered. "There is. He knows more. However, he doesn''t want to share." Alicia felt so too. Harvey knew a lot. He was probably her key to understanding everything that was happening. "I will meet with him." "No." Harold disagreed immediately. "I need to get information from him." "What for?" "Because I need to know more about Amber." "Or... you could just forget about it?"He asked hesitantly. "Harold. I don''t even know where my body is. Or Amber''s soul. Even though I have no way of changing things, I want to at least know about Amber and Queen Anne. It will give me more clues." She said calmly, hoping he would understand what she was saying. He just kept staring at her face intensely, leaving her to wonder what he was thinking. "Be Mine," Harold said out of nowhere, and her heart lurched. "What?" "Be mine." He repeated calmly with his gaze not leaving her face. "I heard you the first time. Why... are you... saying that?" Alicia asked in confusion as butterflies fluttered in her belly. "You didn''te here by choice. But now... I want you to give your heart to me, Alicia." Harold said, and Alicia blinked at him, speechlessly. Chapter 175 No What-Ifs Alicia''s mouth felt dry as she looked at Harold. She didn''t know what to say to him. Was she to tell him that she kind of liked him already and that he already kind of had her heart? Or was she supposed to turn down his request? Looking at him, she could tell that it hadn''t been easy for him to say that to her. A man like Harold was used to taking and not asking. "Say something," Harold said quietly when she just kept looking at him without saying a word. Alicia''s thoughts were correct. His kind were not used to asking, unless they were asking those superior to them in terms of rank or position. Especially an Alpha such as himself. Maybe it was because of what his mother had gone through that he was trying not to be anything like his father and not trying to impose anything on her. "Uhm... Why?" Alicia asked in confusion. Even if they hadn''t exactly spelt out whatever was happening between them, they were already sharing a bed and had even kissed each other, right? "Why? Aren''t you supposed to say something?" He asked in confusion. "No. I mean... why are you asking me that? We... are already kind of in that stage... I guess?" She said this awkwardly and began silently praying for this topic to end soon. Because at this point, she could not lie and promise him anything. "If you are mine, you won''t leave me." ''I won''t allow it.'' Harold chose to be entirely honest with her, but he said thest part in his head. He didn''t want to forcefully keep her against her will or use trickery. He wanted her to want to stay because she loved him. Because she wanted to be with him. Was that too much to ask? Hearing that made her heart break for him. He sounded like a kid that was scared of losing his mother, and she felt sad for him. She wanted to say yes. Wanted to embrace him and promise him she was always going to be here. But could she? Her future was uncertain. She didn''t know when something would happen and she would have to disappear from here. What was he going to do then? "Do you... love me?" Alicia asked after a moment, even though she already suspected that he did. Although all his actions thus far showed that he loved her, he had never voiced it out. And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to hear him say the words to her. Harold looked into her eyes, knowing that his response was important to her. As much as he hated to reveal his feelings to others, he didn''t want to lie to her about his feelings for her, so he nodded gently. He had never been so d that she wasn''t a werewolf. Because she would have taken note of his pheromones that were everywhere in the room because of how nervous and ufortable he was with this kind of topic. "You... annoy me more than anyone else, but you... are the only one that makes me happy." He said honestly. His soft gaze and words made her heart jitter, and she was torn between keeping her gaze on him and breaking eye contact because of how her heart was hurting at the mere thought of their uncertain future. However, he wasn''t making things easy for her because he decided to pour it out and let her know how he felt honestly. "You make me look forward to each day. Before you came, I was merely existing, but now I''m actually living, and it''s because of you. I don''t want to ever lose you, Alicia," Harold said, and tears gathered in Alicia''s eyes when she saw the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke. "I know it is difficult. Being in a strange ce. Meeting strange people and living by strange rules. But I am here. You have my word." He promised. No one had ever said such words to her. She had never meant this much to anyone before, and she was amazed because he meant that much to her too. She doubted that if she ever returned to her life with these memories, her life would be meaningful again without Harold. "Will you be mine? Will you give your heart to me? I will do all I can to make you happy here," Harold promised as he watched the flicker of different emotions in her eyes as she looked back at him. She raised her face to look up, trying not to let any tears fall. "But... What if..." "I don''t care about the what-ifs." He interrupted her, knowing what she was going to talk about. It wasn''t as if he wasn''t scared too. If they were fighting a physical battle, it would have been a whole lot different. But this... he feared the unknown. Because he didn''t know what to expect about this strange soul swap. "It is you. I care about you. This moment with you," Harold said as he inched closer to her, and then he reached for her hair and tugged off the band that was holding it in ce, making her long hair tumble down in curls around her shoulders. "Harold... W-What are... y-you doing?" Alicia asked in a breathless whisper. "I told you. I want to make you mine. I want you," Harold breathed, looking into her eyes with hungry eyes that made butterflies flutter in her stomach. "B-But we... are still talking," she managed to say weakly, unable to break her gaze from his. She knew she should probably push him away and run in the opposite direction, but she couldn''t bring herself to move. She was enthralled by the look in his eyes. "I''m tired of talking. We can talkter. You don''t have to give me an answer now. You can think about it. But don''t ever tell me you still think of me as your brother. My only sister is Tyra," Harold said, his voice a husky whisper that made her stomach jitter with repressed longing. "Harold..." Alicia protested weakly, and whatever she was going to say deserted her, and she gulped air when he brushed his knuckles over her jaw. "If you can''t love me yet, what about desiring me? Do you not want me?" He asked in a very gentle voice that told her if she said she didn''t, he wouldn''t force her. He was giving her a chance to give herself to him. She could either halt whatever was happening right now between them before it went too far, or she could just seize the moment and go with the flow. Why should she deny herself the love she had been missing her entire life? Harold watched her as she considered his question. He knew that she wanted him too. At least that was what the kiss they had shared earlier that day told him. He was tired of waiting. He wanted her, and he wanted her to want him too. Chapter 176 Sneaking Just after the third bell rang, the entire pce was deserted, but a lone figure was sneaking out of a chamber, wearing a blue cloak with a hood that was covering their head and a mask that was hiding their scent. This person behaving suspiciously was none other than Susan. She had always been good at sneaking around, so it was quite easy for her. But she was praying not to bump into any night guards patrolling inside the pce. As soon as her hand touched the doorknob of Alicia''s chamber, she paused when she heard faint voices inside. She furrowed her brows and listened intently. Her eyes rounded in surprise when she heard that familiar bass. She couldn''t make out what they were saying, but she knew that voice. Harold. What was he doing here? Wasn''t he supposed to be outside in his wolf form? She was still thinking about it when she thought she heard something and immediately left there to hide behind a pir. Her heart was in her hands as she prayed that it wasn''t a night guard. With her fear heightened, her senses were also heightened and so she was able to hear the faint sounds of footsteps. Ever curious, she looked at the other end where the sound was disappearing to and began to wonder if another person was sneaking around by this time too. Because the night guards were never in their human forms, those footsteps were only from a person too. She looked back at Princess Amber''s door onest time and decided it was best to leave now. She was d she had worn a mask. What if Harold had smelled her presence? How was he even here? She shook that out of her head. It was the least of her problems right now. Her curiosity got the best of her and she decided to find out who that person was. So she followed. Common sense told her to return to her chamber, but her curiosity got the best of her and she kept following until she saw that, just like her, the person was also wearing a cloak. A ck cloak with a hood covering their head. From the person''s height, she could tell that it wasn''t a man. It was a woman. That made her even more curious, wondering who exactly was that. There were many women in the pce now. And whoever was sneaking around by this time must have something up their sleeves. The person stopped in front of a door, which Susan recognized as the King''s library. Susan immediately hid when the person began to look at both sides just before she opened the door. When the person turned to check the left side where Susan was hiding, if Susan wasn''t already surprised this night, she was in shock now that she saw a glimpse of the person''s face. It was her aunt. The queen. The queen immediately entered the library and closed the door behind her. "What is happening in the pce?" Susan wondered as she began to approach the door. First, it was Harold, in his human form, inside his wife''s chamber. Now, the Queen was sneaking around at night. There was no way she was going to return without getting at least one answer. And the closest one to get, literally, was this one. So she went to the door and tried as much as she could to open it without making a sound. She peeked from outside and after adjusting, she began to hear two voices, but she couldn''t hear what they were talking about. One belonged to the queen and the other belonged to a man. A man. It didn''t sound like the king. And this was the king''s library. She inserted her head further to catch a glimpse of the other person, and as soon as she recognized the other person from the side view, her hand pushed the door further open identally, and she almost tripped. The sound got the attention of the two people inside, but unfortunately for them, she was fast and quickly shut the door before she started running. It seemed the night was meant to go bad for her because at the corner she was about to take, she could tell a night guard was approaching from there and began to panic. She turned around and was about to run towards another end when she was suddenly pulled behind arge pir and a firm hand was ced on her mouth. She was about to panic before she looked at Alvin''s fierce re, telling her not to do anything. Her heart was racing from fear and panic. And it wasn''t helping that she could feel one of the night guards approaching in their direction. She closed her eyes and waited with bated breath for the guard to go away. The guard stood beside the pir trying to get any smell. Fortunately for Susan, she was wearing a mask, and it was only now that it urred to her that Alvin was also wearing a mask. What was he doing out here by this time, and how had he seen her? After what felt like an eternity, the guard growled and moved away. As soon as Alvin removed his hand from her mouth, she gasped in relief. As much as she loved adventures, this was one adventure she never wanted to repeat in her entire life. "What are you doing out?" Alvin asked in a very quiet voice as he stepped away from her but kept his gaze on her face. Since one guard had just left, it would be a while before another one came here. ,m "What are you doing out too? Were you keeping your eyes on me?" She whispered. Alvin sighed and rolled his eyes while trying to have a civilized conversation with her. "I wanted to meet Princess Amber." She informed him. The mention of that made his eyes flicker, and Susan noticed it. It seemed like Harold''s curse had been broken and they were hiding it. "But I didn''t get to her chamber," she lied, and she noticed Alvin was a little relieved. He was really bad at hiding his emotions. Or maybe she was just too good at reading him. "You could have met her in the morning. Why did you have to wait until now?" He asked, obviously not believing her. "Because I can''t." She said as she looked around. "You have to help me tell her. I don''t want her to think that I am avoiding her for nothing. Let her know that for as long as my family is here, I will have to stay away from her. She should also talk to Paulina to stay away from Williams no matter what." Alvin wasn''t sure whether to believe her or not, so he left that and asked her the most important question. "What did you see?" Susan looked at him with pursed lips, not sure if it was wise to tell him about it. Seeing how she was reluctant, he turned to leave, but she held his hand to stop him, startling him. He immediately withdrew his hand from her grip and red at her, confusing Susan. "The queen," She answered honestly, deciding to be truthful with him since that was the least she could do for him as she could not return his feelings. "She... was with the King''s Beta. Sir Damon." Alvin''s brows pulled together when he heard it. He had also seen the queen sneaking around but hadn''t expected Susan to beat him to it, and also, he hadn''t expected she was meeting Damon secretly. If only Susan hadn''t interfered, he would have gotten more information about it. "Return to your chamber. And be careful." He said and was about to turn when she said, "You... should also be careful too. Try to... stay far away from my parents. They know about you." She said guiltily. "And... don''t do something like this again. I don''t appreciate you always keeping your eyes on me." Alvin decided he was fed up and faced her. "You seem to be getting something wrong." "What? You want to also deny and say you weren''t keeping your eyes on me and meeting me here was a mere coincidence? And you are not angry about my parents'' talking about sending me off to marry someone?" She asked, almost sounding angry. "That is correct!" He said in a stern voice, also sounding angry. "I don''t know where you got that idea from, but I do not fancy you in any way, shape or form. And I admit, I was keeping my eyes on you. But that is because I was worried you were being close to Princess Amber with an ulterior motive. So I hope you stop misunderstanding because it makes me ufortable." Alvin had never felt so much relief as soon as the words left his lips. He had never spoken so many words to anyone other than Harold before. But when he looked at her, he noticed her eyes were getting misty, which made him surprised and confused. But his main concern was that he didn''t want her to cry. Because he didn''t want any night guards finding them here. Thankfully, without saying another word, she walked away in hurried steps, making him almost feel sorry for being so brutally honest with her. Chapter 177 D-DAY "Can you be a little more patient?" Alicia asked, gazing into Harold''s eyes earnestly. She didn''t want to hurt his feelings, and at the same time, she didn''t want to do something she might regretter because she let herself be carried away by the moment. "How long?" Harold asked calmly. "Until the banquet is over? I need some time to think and sort out my feelings," Alicia said, and Harold looked at her skeptically. "You will give yourself to me after the banquet?" Harold asked, wanting to be sure that he wasn''t going to wait only to be disappointed at the end. "I need to think about it, Harold. I care about you, and I do not want to hurt your feelings, but I also need to be sure that I want to do this with you. I have to weigh the pros and cons," Alicia said, and went on to exin what she meant by pros and cons when he stared at her nkly, but Harold could care less about whatever that meant. Harold looked at her for a moment, and then he gave her a nod. "I will wait," he said as he moved away from her to put some space between them. To a point, he could understand her and her reservations. Who knew? Maybe he would have acted the same way had he been in her shoes. "Thank you," Alicia murmured in relief. She knew if he had pressured her a bit more she would most likely have given in, but she was d he didn''t pressure her. She needed to analyze everything, and then get as much information as she could in that period too. Besides, this was not her body. Using Amber''s body to fulfil her lustful desires didn''t sound like a very smart thing to do. "Harold?" She called softly when she remembered something she had been meaning to ask him. "Hmm?" "Is there really a curse? I mean, why are you called the cursed Prince?" She asked, and Harold stiffened on his side of the bed. He was silent for a while, and she almost thought he had dozed off until he spoke again, "I will tell you all about it after you''ve given yourself to me," Harold said, and Alicia raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you won''t tell me if I don''t give myself to you?" "Yes," Harold said simply, and she sighed. He didn''t want to tell her. It was nice to see her living so freely like this. What would she think of him when she realized what he truly was? "When will we resume the lecture with Hellion?" She asked, and Harold''s heart skipped a beat. They were still on that? "Do you still n to escape from here?" He asked, hoping that wasn''t the case. "Do I need to learn to ride a horse only to escape from here?" Alicia asked, and Harold rxed a bit. "We should sleep now, Princess. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day," Harold suggested. "Why do you always call me princess when you know I''m not a princess?" Alicia asked, ignoring everything else he had said. She had long noticed how he always referred to her as "princess," and it was an endearment she had strangelye to love. Harold sighed. It was obvious she wasn''t ready to sleep now. He really wanted to sleep since he knew he wouldn''t be getting any sleep once the banquet started as they would all need to leave the pce at night apart from Alicia and Paulina, who were humans. "I am a Prince. You are my wife. You are my Princess," Harold said simply, and Alicia''s brows pulled together. That wasn''t the kind of response she had been hoping for. She had wanted to hear something more romantic, not just such a logical response as that. "That''s all?" "Is there something else you want to hear?" Harold asked, and she hissed. "Nothing. Goodnight," she said as she turned her back to him. Harold looked at her back for a moment, and then he moved close to her and pulled her close to himself. "Harold..." "Don''t worry, I''m not going to do anything. I promised to wait. I just want to hold you while you sleep," Harold said, and Alicia''s heart skipped a beat at the thought of being cuddled all night by Harold. At least it was a good thing that he was not sleeping bare-chested tonight. Alicia stayed still and tried not to resist as Harold adjusted on the bed until she was lyingfortably in his arms. She didn''t realize she was holding her breath until Harold spoke, "You should breathe. I already told you I''m not going to do anything," he reminded her, and she slowly took a deep breath. They bothy there infortable silence while Harold listened to the sound of her heartbeat until it stopped racing and she finally drifted off to sleep. Once she was asleep, he also let himself give in to sleep. By the time Alicia woke up the next morning, Harold had left as usual, but her bedsheet still smelled of him. She sat up when she remembered that he had cuddled her all night, and immediately she hurried to the mirror to check her face just to be sure she didn''t look terrible. Thest thing she wanted was for him to have seen her looking like she had been in a cat fight in her dream. She smiled when she saw that she looked pretty, as usual, and then turned to the door when Paulina gently pushed it open. "Good morning, Mdy," Paulina greeted, and Alicia watched her closely, wanting to see if there was any change in her attitude. "You realize that you don''t have to serve me anymore, right? I can ask Harold to get me another pce maid if you feel ufortable serving me," Alicia offered, not wanting her to keep serving her if she wasn''tfortable with it. "I want to keep serving you, mydy. I will continue to serve you," Paulina assured her. "Why? Because you think I can help you get your mistress back?" Alicia asked, but Paulina shook her head. She had barely slept all night because she was thinking long and hard about everything they had discussed the previous day. She had remembered how Alicia had confronted Beth for hurting her and all the other times Alicia had treated her more like a sister than a servant. She had treated her even better than Princess Amber had ever treated her. She knew that had Alicia been princess Amber she never would have been brought to Moon kingdom. The mistress she knew wouldn''t have tried to force Prince Harold into taking her along with them, and from their discussion the previous night, it was obvious that regardless of her love and loyalty to Princess Amber, she really didn''t know her much. If Princess Amber came back, she would continue to serve her, but even if she didn''t, she was more than willing to serve Alicia. Alicia, who had the face and heart of Queen Anne and lived in Princess Amber''s body. "I came to this kingdom because of you, Mdy. I want to remain by your side. I''m sorry for my manners yesterday. I was... shocked," Paulina apologized with her head bowed, and Alicia stared at her, not knowing how to react. "It''s okay. You can get the others to prepare my bath," Alicia said, and Paulina quickly left to do as she was told, while Alicia walked over to her window to look outside. Somehow she wasn''t feeling very excited about the day since she wasn''t sure how it was going to be, especially afterst night''s dinner. The ce was going to be boring and lonely for her if Tyra also started to avoid her, as Susan and Luciana were doing. She knew she had Harold, but there was no way he was going to be able to spend every moment of the day with her. Besides, she didn''t want him to. Not afterst night. She needed time away from him to sort through her feelings and decide for real if she wanted to stay here beside Harold or leave. Perhaps she should spend the day in her chamber and pretend to be ill? That would save her a lot of stress and drama. She paused when she realized that if she did that, then Harold would be there all by himself. He had said before she came that he was only existing and not living. Her heart fluttered, but also squeezed painfully at the same time when his words came back to her. Just how bad must his life have been before she showed up? She too had felt empty at some point, despite the love her fans had poured on her and her abundant possessions. She had always felt this void. This longing to be wanted by someone. To love someone and be loved in return. Her case was still better than his because she had been alone when she felt empty. But he was surrounded by people. Even though he was surrounded by his own family, he felt this way. She turned when the door opened once again and Paulina and the maids entered the room, carrying the water for her bath. She drew a deep breath as she walked away from the window and began to undress. No matter what, she couldn''t leave him to eat with all those people by himself. For his sake, she was going to face the day with her usual charm and grace. She would try to be brave for both herself and him. Chapter 178 (In)Eligible Bachelor "What is it?" Harold asked Alvin, who was holding out a gourd of water to him after their training. "It''s water," Alvin said, making Harold scowl at him as he took the gourd from him. "That''s not what I''m asking you. What do you want to say? Tell me," Harold said, not liking that Alvin''s uneasiness was putting a damper on his fine mood. He had woken up feeling very rested and happy with Alicia in his arms. Somehow, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders after confessing his feelings to Alicia. Alvin looked around them, making it clear to Harold that he couldn''t speak out there in the open, and immediately, Harold stood up and walked away, leaving Alvin to follow him. Neither of them said a word until they got into Harold''s chamber and shut the door behind them. "Did something happen?" Harold asked, watching Alvin closely. Alvin wasn''t sure whether he should mention Susan''s involvement in this to Harold, "The Queen met with the king''s betast night. In the king''s library," Alvin said, and Harold''s brow shot up. The Queen and Damon? That was unexpected. "Was it after thest bell?" Alvin gave him a nod, "Yes, your highness." "Were you able to hear what they discussed?" Harold asked hopefully, but Alvin shook his head. "Lady Susan was there before me. She tried to eavesdrop but almost got caught, so they left before I could get a chance," Alvin exined, and Harold frowned. That too was unexpected. Why would she be out spying on her aunt? "Susan? What was she doing there by that time?" Harold asked, and Alvin shrugged. "She said she wanted to meet with Princess Amber. I think she was heading to your wife''s chamber when she saw the queen and decided to follow her," Alvin exined, thinking of how sad she had looked when he said he didn''t fancy her in any way. He shook his head to discard it. He wasn''t going to let that affect him. "Are you sure she didn''t get to the chamber?" Harold asked suspiciously, thinking that it wouldn''t be good if Susan found out the curse had been broken. If Susan knew and told her family about it, then the queen would definitely find out about it too, and he couldn''t let that happen. At least not yet. "I''m not sure. But she said she didn''t," Alvin said, and Harold looked at Alvin thoughtfully. "You asked her, or did she just tell you so?" Harold asked, and Alvin thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. "I didn''t ask. She told me so. She said she wanted to tell Princess Amber that she would be avoiding her for as long as her parents are here," Alvin said, and Harold nodded. He couldn''t trust Susan. Why else would she offer Alvin such information without being asked? There was only one way to find out if she had gotten to Alicia''s chamber or not. Harold thought as he walked out of his chamber in search of Susan. He needed to have a word with her before they went in for breakfast. "Where are you going to?" Alvin asked as he ran after Harold. "To find Susan. I think she might have gotten to the chamber. She probably knows I was there," Harold said, but Alvin stopped him. "Why don''t I speak with her instead, and find out the truth? People might be suspicious if you are seen talking to her," Alvin suggested, and Harold scoffed. "How would you know if she liesto you when you believed her so easilyst night?" Harold asked, and Alvin looked down in embarrassment. "I will talk to her myself. Just keep an eye on my princess," Harold said as he walked away. Away from there, Tyra, who was headed for Susan''s chamber so they could both go for breakfast together, caught sight of Lance heading towards her from the opposite direction, and immediately she turned and tried to run away, but she was too slow. She didn''t make it any less obvious that she was running away from him because she increased her pace and was about to turn the corner before he appeared in front of her, blocking her path. "Are you running from me?" He asked with a mixture of cockiness and annoyance as he looked her up and down. The only child of Sir Gregory. He was the real definition of cockiness, and it didn''t help that his father was an important figure in the country. Even the way he was dressed oozed extravagance. He was literally sparkling in gold. He had a good face and would have been one of the eligible bachelors in the country if he wasn''t so hated by many. No one could stand him. That was why he was still unmarried at twenty-one. Very shameful. "No. I just remembered I had to do something." She said without looking at him and tried to walk away, but he didn''t let her. He blocked her way again. "What did you remember?" He asked, lowering his head to meet her height and looking at her face. He was taunting her. She loathed him. "Excuse me." She said dismissively and tried to walk away, but once again, he wouldn''t let her. "You should look at me when I talk to you." Annoyed, she raised her head to look at him. He gave her a cocky smile as he said, "You grew up pretty. Unfortunately, you are still an Omega. I can smell you everywhere, even with your mask on. You should do a proper job of hiding it." She pursed her lips and looked at him with hard eyes, making himugh. "What? You are angry? You look so adorable." He tried to pinch her cheek but she pped his hand away, making him sigh in frustration before putting his hands behind him and standing tall. "I''m guessing it was your idea for me to marry you. Unfortunately, I cannot stand your smell. Do not get me wrong," he raised a hand and exined quickly, "You have a nice face. But I''m super sensitive to smell. So I am going to insist to the royal family that I am not interested in marrying you, okay?" Tyra wished she could be pissed, but she could not help but snort in derision. "You must not know that no one wants to marry you," she said and pushed him to walk away from him, but there was no way he was going to take that jab at his ego. He grabbed her hand tightly, spinning her around to face him. She winced and tried to withdraw her hand from him, but she could not. "Say that again," he dared her. "Let go of me! Do you have a death wish?" She yelled at him. "Aish!" He grimaced and stuck a hand inside his ear as if she was making noise. "You think anyone cares about a little Omega princess?" He taunted and was just starting tough when he felt a harsh kick at his side, sending him flying to the wall. Thankfully, the wall was made from the finest material; otherwise, the bricks would have fallen and copsed on him. There was nothing Tyra wanted more badly than that. Lance could not believe what had just happened and lifted his head from the ground to unleash his fury on the perpetrator when his eyes met Harold''s bored gaze. He instantly swallowed back his words and got up slowly. I mean, this was Harold. Someone who killed the potential heir to the throne was capable of getting rid of him in a heartbeat, and he won''t be avenged at all. His father had specifically told him to stay away from Harold. Even if he was reckless, he knew he could not do otherwise. He red at the two of them before he huffed and walked away. Tyra looked up at Harold as she rubbed her wrist where Lance had grabbed her. She was very relieved and smiled faintly at him, with appreciation and adoration gleaming in her eyes. "Thank you," she said meekly. He nodded faintly and was about to walk past her when she grabbed his hand, making him stop and look down at her with a raised brow. She remembered he didn''t like being touched and let go slowly, "You... remember your promise to me, right?" She asked quietly. The look on his face told her he didn''t know what exactly she was talking about, so she reminded him. "About supporting me to be with the one I want to be with." He looked at her, looked at the path Lance had taken and then looked back at her before nodding gently. "Okay," she said with a faint smile and bowed gently before leaving. Once Harold noticed that she seemed to be going towards Susan''s chamber as well, he turned around and walked away. He wanted to speak with Susan alone. Chapter 179 Embarrassed Williams stood at the foot of Susan''s bed and looked down at Susan, who was sprawled on the bed with her eyes on the ceiling. "Did something happen?" He asked curiously. "I feel like dying, dear brother." She said in a very quiet voice that made his brow shoot up. "Is this about your marriage mother talked about?" He asked curiously as he went to sit down on the chair in front of her dressing table. Susan had a lot on her mind as shey on her bed, and if not for the banquet and the fact that she didn''t want to have to answer a lot of questions about why she was skipping breakfast, she would have preferred to avoid joining the family and aristocrats. She couldn''t even afford to pretend to be sick, as if she did that her mother would fuss over her and not give her the space she needed to be alone and think. Although she was nosy and liked being adventurous,st night''s discoveries had left her confused. First, it was finding out that Harold didn''t shift, but was spending the night in his bride''s chamber. She hadn''t thought they were in that kind of rtionship. Then what about the curse? Had it been broken? How? Who else knew about it? She really wished she could talk with Princess Amber about it and ask her questions, but she couldn''t. As if thinking about her discovery of Harold''s secret was not enough, seeing the Queen meeting in secret with the king''s beta was another surprise. As a matter of fact, it was a big shock. How long had they been meeting that way? What could they want to talk about that required meeting at such an ungodly hour and in such a ce? Someone could easily misunderstand if she wasn''t the queen. "Or is this about Alvin?" Williams asked, cutting into her thoughts. Distracted, she sat up immediately and red at him. "Of course not!" She said defensively. Her reaction only made Williams certain that he had something to do with her mood right now. He crossed his legs and folded his arms as he watched her keenly, waiting for her to talk. She cried out and used her hands to cover her face. The thought alone made her wish the ground would open up and swallow her. "I am so upset!" Williams had thought that she was faking the cry, so he was a little startled when he saw her sniff and clean her tears with the back of her hands before sheughed out. "What did he do?" He asked, sounding concerned as he sat up. It was rare for something to get to Susan like this. She bit her nails as she thought of Alvin, and her face flushed in embarrassment when she remembered all he had said to her. He didn''t fancy her in any way, shape, or form? He had been spying on her this whole time because he thought she wanted to harm Princess Amber? Why would he think something like that? Because she was the queen''s niece? Susan sighed as she got off the bed and walked over to the window to look down at the courtyard. She couldn''t believe that she had been making a fool of herself this whole time. She had even taken his side over Ivan''s side. Not that she had been wrong in doing that anyway. Ivan had been wrong, hence, she had taken Alvin''s side. How was she going to face him now after making a fool of herself? She shouldn''t have listened to Princess Amber. It was Princess Amber who had nted that seed in her heart, making her think that Alvin fancied her. She wished she could talk with Princess Amber about it. "He doesn''t like me. I have been making a fool out of myself the entire time." She said with a careless shrug as she turned to face him. "I have been assuming things on my own. I guess I deserved that." "He... told you that?" Williams asked hesitantly as he watched her. "Yes." "When did you meet him? Aren''t you supposed to stay away from him this period?" He asked, reminding her about their parents'' being in the pce now. Rumours could spread if they were seen together, and it would just confirm what Ivan had used her of. Susan looked a bit flustered and shrugged again. She couldn''t tell him she had broken the rules and snuck out at night. She also didn''t want to tell him about whatever she had seen and heardst night. Because she wasn''t sure about the nature of those meetings yet and she didn''t want to put him in trouble. "No one saw us." She assured him. "What about you? Have you heard anything from Paulina?" She asked, changing the topic swiftly. He knew what she was trying to do, but he only gave her a suspicious look before shrugging too. "I don''t have any reason to." "Because you want to protect her?" She asked suspiciously and didn''t wait for him to answer before she said, "You shouldn''t forget that she is human. And you are the heir of our family. You haven''t forgotten that, right?" It wasn''t as if she was looking down on humans, but this was justmon sense. Harold could do it but they were not Harold. Williams wasn''t cursed to never be together with their kind. Harold wasn''t the heir either. At least, they all believed he wouldn''t be made king even if he was an alpha. If their parents so much as suspected that Williams had a soft spot for Paulina, she would die at that same hour. "And you shouldn''t forget that Alvin is not just any guard, but Prince Harold''s guard. You should be more worried about yourself. Because it wouldn''t just end with getting rid of Alvin. We will be going up against Prince Harold. And we all know that the king favours him. Even more than the queen." "I... don''t care about him," Susan said, swallowing nervously. Williams sighed and stood up. "You should take care of your feelings. And be careful." He warned. They both turned to the door when a knock sounded. "Susan? Are you in?" Tyra called from outside. "See you at breakfast," Williams said as he went to open the door. He shared a bow with Tyra before he excused himself and Tyra entered the room. "I take it you are ready to leave for breakfast?" Tyra asked once she noticed that Susan was now in front of her dressing mirror, touching up her face and adjusting her hair. "Yes, I am." Susan turned to look at her and forced out a smile. "Shall we leave?" Susan asked and Tyra nodded. As soon as bothdies stepped out of the chamber, Tyra asked, "Are you alright?" She had noticed that Susan wasn''t her usual chatty self. "Yes, I am," Susan said quietly as she continued walking. She wondered if she should tell Tyra about what she had seen and heard. Tyra was very devoted to Harold, so she wasn''t sure she could tell Tyra about it as Tyra might want to confirm it with Harold. And she couldn''t tell Tyra that she had seen the queen with Damon either, since regardless of the bad rtionship between her and the queen, they were still mother and daughter. "The Queen wants me to marry Lance," Tyra informed Susan, and immediately Susan, who had been distracted, stopped walking and snapped her head up to look at Tyra. "What? Lance?" Susan asked with contempt. Although they all suspected the queen was going to push for it, hearing it for real was shocking. "Yes. But I''m not worried about it. Lance doesn''t want to marry an Omega like me. He says he can''t stand my smell," Tyra said, and Susan''s eyes shed angrily. "He said that to you?" What was wrong with all the male species in this kingdom? Tyra giggled, "I''m not upset. I''m actually d he can''t stand my smell. I don''t have to worry about him. Besides, after the way Prince Harold handled him a while ago, I''m sure he wouldn''t want to bother with me," Tyra said with a pleasant smile, and Susan looked at her closely. "Prince Harold? What did he do?" Susan asked, and Tyra told her how he had saved her from Lance, but she didn''t tell her about Harold''s promise to her. Bothdies paused and stood straight when they noticed the King''s beta, Damon, approaching. He had the usual cold air around him as he walked straight. Susan''s heartbeat soared as she wondered if he knew she had seen themst night, especially with the way he was looking at her. She bowed and expected him to walk past, but he stood just before he could pass them and looked at them, sending Susan''s heartbeat into overdrive. She could swear he could hear it. Fortunately, his gaze moved from her to Tyra, who kept her head down. "Get a proper mask for your smell before joining the table." He said before walking away. Susan heaved a deep sigh of relief before turning to look at Tyra, who still kept her head down. But her hands were tightly fisted beside her and she looked... angry. Susan could almost smell the anger and hate that was radiating all around Tyra. She would have been pissed too. But it was weird getting this feeling from Tyra. "It''s okay, let''s go and meet the physician before we head for breakfast." She said, touching Tyra''s shoulder gently. Chapter 180 "Her" "Why did you send for me?" Ivan asked his mother curiously as soon as he joined her in the pavilion beside theke. It was surprising that she would want to see him so early in the morning and at such a location before breakfast. Even though it was just the two of them around there, she still looked around before she cautiously asked in a low voice, "Were you aware that Harold was attacked when he left the pce with his wife a while ago?" "He was attacked?" Ivan asked, surprised. The queen didn''t seem to buy the act, and she red at him, "Do not fool me. I remember you saying you hoped he wouldn''t return. Did you have anything to do with it?" She asked sternly. "What? You are suspecting me now?" He asked, looking pissed. "You gave me a reason to." She reminded him. "Because I said I wanted him gone, you think I was behind the attack?" He asked in disbelief. "I always say that whenever he leaves the pce!" That was kind of true. But she still looked at him with suspicion. "Are you sure you had nothing to do with it? Can you swear to me that you had no hand in it?" She asked again, sounding nervous now. Ivan sighed in frustration. "I swear it, mother! I had no hand in it. Why are you suddenly bothered about this if it happened a long time ago and you had no hand in it? Shouldn''t you be happy that he has more enemies apart from you that are after his life?" Ivan asked, and the queen shook her head. "Who do you think he''ll think sent those people after him?" The queen asked, and Ivan''s brows pulled together. "How did you evene to know about this?" He asked, looking at her suspiciously now. "I received the information from a reliable source." "Damian?" He asked, but she shook her head. "No. Not Damian. I didn''t hear about it from him. I already sent for him. I need to know if he knows anything about this," the queen said thoughtfully as she paced around the pavilion. "Then how did you hear of it if it wasn''t from Damian or me? Which other sources do you have? Are they inside the pce or outside?" He asked, still sounding suspicious. "That isn''t the point now!" She snapped at him. "Someone sent human assassins after him. And no one heard about it. Don''t you understand what that means?" "Uhm... that assassins were sent to him and he killed them?" He asked, not getting her point. "Why are you so dumb?!" She shrieked, almost pulling her hair from frustration. "The king knew about it, but they kept it hidden! They might have suspected us for it, and that was why it was kept buried. I really hope you had no hand in it, because if you did..." "I am not that stupid! If I needed to get rid of him, I wouldn''t use humans," Ivan cut in, interrupting his mother. She began to pace again as realization began to set in. She stopped abruptly and looked at him as she said, "Someone is messing with us." "What? Who?" He asked as he looked around for a sign of anyone who was probably eavesdropping, but there was no one around. The queen could not shake it off; the note, the attack, and someone had also spied on herst night. There was someone in the shadows that was trying to cause unrest in the royal household by turning them against each other. What did the person intend to gain? "Have you noticed anything strangetely? From anyone at all?" She asked, ignoring his dumb question. If she knew who was messing with them, would they be having this conversation right now? "Is there something I am supposed to notice? You can tell me, so I''ll look out for it." "I have a bad feeling about the banquet. I feel so uneasy." She said nervously as she began to pace around again. "Does it mean it truly wasn''t Harold who got rid of those people we sent after him during his wedding trip, just like we had suspected initially?" He whispered. The queen stopped herself from biting her nails nervously as she pondered his question. "You are beginning to make me feel uneasy," Ivanined as he watched her. "You should be. You should watch your every step and not make any blunders. Everything you do right now matters a lot," the queen said thoughtfully. "We don''t have to worry too much. We have the majority of the aristocrats on our side. Harold doesn''t stand a chance..." "Harold isn''t the only enemy we have to worry about right now! He didn''t attack himself, did he? Whoever attacked Harold is also our enemy," the queen said with a slight frown. "I must see her." She muttered to herself. "Her? Who?" Ivan asked, looking at her for a long moment, and his eyes rounded in surprise when he figured out who the "her" she was talking about was. "What... if someone sees you?"He whispered as he went closer to her and looked around them again. "I don''t have a choice now! I won''t be able to rest until I am sure that I am on the right track and find whoever is messing with our heads." "You shouldn''t act rashly, mother. You just told me to be mindful of my actions and not make any blunders. You know that w-witchcraft is a taboo for us. If anyone sees you close to her, it is going to hinder my chances of ascending to the throne. And what... what if... people find out that Harold''s curse was¡ª" "Shut it!" She interrupted and looked all around her in fear, hoping no one had heard. Her heart nearly lurched to her throat when she saw someone approaching, but thankfully, it was her bodyguard, Damian. "Don''t ever speak of that. EVER!" she warned Ivan before focusing on her bodyguard. "Are you aware that Harold was attacked when he went out with his bride?" She asked as soon as he stepped into the pavilion. She didn''t even give him the chance to greet her first. "No, my queen." He said, looking both surprised and confused. "Find out more about it. Tell me everything you know about it. I want every single detail," the queen ordered, and Damian bowed to her. "Let''s join the others for breakfast," the queen said, as she walked away from the pavilion, leaving Ivan to follow her. ****** As Alicia stepped out of her chamber to leave for breakfast, she noticed Alvin standing by the hallway, pacing back and forth, as if he was thinking about something. "Good morning, Alvin. Is everything alright?" She asked with a friendly smile, and immediately Alvin stopped pacing and bowed to her when he noticed her presence. "Good morning, mydy," Alvin greeted politely. "Are you here to see me?" She asked, looking at him curiously. "I have a message from you fromdy Susan," he said, and Alicia nodded for him to go ahead. "She wants you to know that she isn''t avoiding you deliberately, but she needs to stay away from you until her parents leave," Alvin said, and Alicia gave him a nod before walking away. She didn''t see any reason to remain overly friendly with any of them either if they were going to avoid her for any reason whatsoever. She would rather she pulled away from them and distanced herself from them so she wouldn''t get hurt by their action and indirectly hurt them too. Thankfully, she had Harold, Paulina, and Alvin to rely on, and they were good enough for her. The first person to arrive at the dining hall was Alicia. Both Tyra and Susan were surprised when they got to the hall and saw Alicia already seated there. She greeted bothdies with a polite smile and a nod, but said nothing else to them as she looked ahead of her, causing them to exchange a surprised look. Williams was the next to join them, and he was closely followed by Ivan, who arrived in thepany of Benedicta, who was giggling at something Ivan said, but the smile died on her face when she saw Alicia. She didn''t care what the sacrifice was. As long as she would deal with that useless human princess and make Harold regret his decision. Soon the aristocrats and their family members came in one after the other, and Alicia maintained the polite air around her. She noticed Luciana still kept the same aloof air around her and Ivan''s mood was slowly changing. Alicia noticed that Harvey was staring at her, but she didn''t spare him any nce. She just sat still until the room suddenly became cold and conversations ceased. She didn''t need anyone to tell her it was her darling husband who had joined them. Her heart skipped a beat when she raised her head to look at him, and she noticed that he was staring at her. Not with his usual annoyed or disapproving expression, but rather, he just seemed pleased to see her there. All the words he had said to her at night came back to her, and butterflies fluttered in her belly as she watched him approach. "Good morning, my Lord," she greeted once he took his seat beside her, and Harold''s lips twitched in amusement at her greeting. "You look like you had a good night''s sleep, Princess," Harold observed, and she flushed in embarrassment since they both knew she had slept in his arms. She cleared her throat. "I guess I did. Did you?" She asked, and Harold gave her a nod as he nced at Susan. "It was a good night." Susan, who like everyone else around the table had been listening to them converse as though they hadn''t spent the night together, quickly turned away from them guiltily when her gaze met Harold''s. Seeing her reaction, Harold''s suspicion was heightened, but before he could dwell on it, the King arrived in thepany of the Queen and Damon, and everyone rose to greet them. Chapter 181 Taking The Wifes Side Seeing Damon and the Queen together, Harold couldn''t help thinking about what Alvin had said and wondering what the deal was between them and why they were meeting in private at such an ungodly hour. What could they have talked about? He tried to remember how the two had always acted around each other, but he didn''t think of anything particrly suspicious. Damon had always been the King''s Beta and the Queen seemed to be cautious around him since he was the next inmand and held quite a position of authority in the Moon Kingdom. Or was that not it? Or maybe that was it and they were simply talking about the king? But why would they choose that odd hour? He wondered as he met the queen''s gaze. Instead of looking away as he should, he held her gaze, making her brows pull together as she looked away from him. The Queen could tell that he must be thinking she was behind his attack. She wondered how many more things could have happened that he was suspicious of her for. Not that she was scared of him or anything, she just didn''t want her carefullyid out ns to be ruined because an idiot somewhere was plotting. Perhaps she should find a way to let both Harold and the King know she had no hand in the attack? The best way to do so would be to expose the real culprit. If she could find the person behind it and hand them to the King, then surely they wouldn''t be suspicious of her and she would get rid of her enemy. Killing two birds with a stone. But then again, she couldn''t risk it. What if the person was behind the note she had received? What if the person knew about the secrets she couldn''t afford to let anyone know about? If she handed the person to the king and the person exposed her secrets, she would be better off dead than alive. Perhaps it was better to let them believe she was behind the attacks, and once she found the culprit, she would find out the secrets they knew about her and how many other people knew of it before getting rid of them. Breakfast that morning wasn''t business as usual, as it seemed like everyone hade to the dining chamberwith the intention of keeping to themselves and minding their business, or perhaps it was because everyone had different thoughts on their minds. The conversations around the table were strained. The king was still thinking about what Harold had said the previous day. The queen was thinking about the note she had received. Harold was thinking about how to approach Susan. Alicia was thinking about how to talk to Harvey and get him to tell her about Amber, oblivious to the nces she had been receiving since breakfast started, since most of them had been waiting for the unusual snacks she had made the previous evening but saw none today. Susan was thinking about all that she had discovered the previous night while making a conscious effort not to stare at either Harold or the queen and Damon. Ivan was thinking about the conversation he had just had with the Queen, Harvey was wondering about what had happened to Princess Amber, Benedicta was thinking about Harold and her marriage to Ivan, Tyra had a lot on her mind, as did Williams and Luciana. Apart from the discussions going on between the King and the aristocrats, every other person around the table remained silent, but Harold didn''t miss the way Susan nced in his direction from time to time, as though she was contemting something. Alicia, who sat beside him, ate quietly, and perhaps because of the aristocrats present, no one bothered to ask why she was so quiet, and Harold preferred it that way. It looked like she was beginning to take heed to all his warnings after all. As soon as the King cleared his throat, everyone stopped eating and faced him. "Prince Ivan and Prince Harold, you both should be prepared to wee the guests who will be arriving by noon," the king said before rising up. Everyone else stood up and bowed as he excused himself and asked the others to carry on with their meals, leaving Damon to handle the rest with the queen, since it would be rude for all of them to leave the guests like that. Once the king left, Sir Gregory looked at Alicia and smiled at her. "Thank you for the snacks you sent with us to our chambers. They were really good, and I enjoyed them," he said, and his wife nodded in agreement, while Lance hid his scowl, as he was very bitter towards Harold. Since he couldn''t hurt Harold for humiliating him in that manner, then he would have to get back at Harold through his weak human wife. No one needed to know that he was responsible for it, Lance mused with a smirk as he formted a n in his head. Alicia smiled at him and bowed her head curtly. "I am d you enjoyed it, my lord. I could teach your wife how it is made, and she could pass it on to your workers. My husband doesn''t mind me sharing the recipe with you." Alicia offered, and he nced at his wife, who was frowning now. "Wouldn''t it be better if you taught it to our servants instead? It isn''t right for her to do jobs meant for the servants," Sir Gregory said, and Ivan gave a snort ofughter. Harold, who had been eating quietly, suddenly dropped his cutlery on the table with force as he red at Sir Gregory, "It isn''t right?" Harold asked quietly, and turned to Alicia. "If his wife isn''t allowed to do jobs meant for the servants, then you are not allowed to teach any servants either. Keep your knowledge to yourself. If you are done with breakfast,e with me," Harold ordered as he stood, and Alicia gave Sir Gregory an apologetic look and a bow before standing to follow Harold. Everyone could not understand what was wrong with Harold. It wasn''t as if Sir Gregory had said something wrong. Cooking was meant for servants, and he should have even scolded his wife for doing that, so why was he getting angry. At this rate, he was probably going to tell them something absurd one day, like how men were also supposed to cook. That was simply an unthinkable thought. Shudders! As Harold walked away, he stopped by Susan''s side of the table and looked at her for a long moment, as though silently warning her not to divulge his secret. Susan shifted ufortably in her seat until Harold walked away. Her parents, who had noticed Harold''s stare, turned to her. "Did you cause any trouble? Did you do something to him?" Susan''s mother whispered with concern, and Susan shook her head immediately. "He''s probably upset that I''m avoiding his wife." Susan said, hoping that was correct. Her mother nodded while her father and Williams looked like they didn''t believe her at all. Chapter 182 Matchmaking Queen Meanwhile, Sir Gregory was trying to control his temper. Once again, Lance was very angry. And so was Benedicta. She was angry about the public disy of affection he shew towards his human bride. That was just insane! As usual, no one could tell what the look on Harvey''s face meant. "Pardon his manners, he is unusually not like that," the queen said with a sweet smile, even though she was very sweaty. Being around Harold was torturous because she didn''t know just how much he knew. And she could not tell who had been spying on herst night either. "Forgive him," Damon said to them all, taking up his role as the next inmand and making the air around the dining room go cold. "We have our trusted allies here and so we do not think it is necessary to keep this away from each of you," Damon said before his eyes went to Luciana, who kept her gaze ahead of her, not even sparing her parents any nces the entire time. "Princess Luciana has lost her title as a Princess. She disobeyed her husband and looked down on him. Which is a crime punishable by death. But as the first Princess of the royal household, she would be emunicated and be made to repent for the sins against her husband and thews of the Moon Kingdom. She is also banned from taking part in the banquet tonight as well as the full moon ceremony." There was pin-drop silence in the room as all eyes went to Luciana, who didn''t flinch at all, as if she was not the one they were talking about. Her mother looked like she was going to burst into tears while her father closed his eyes at the public humiliation of their family. If only his useless daughter had a son. This wouldn''t have happened. Ivan looked at his wife. One part of him pitied her, but the other part was mad about how cool she was being about everything when she was supposed to be crying and begging him for mercy. "As Prince Ivan announced yesterday, he would be getting married to Benedicta. The daughter of Sir Richard," the queen announced. All eyes turned to Benedicta, who was forcing herself to smile, but it was not working. "However, there is going to be another royal wedding between Princess Tyra and Lance. The Son of Sir Gregory." The queen announced again, smiling. Having these two families behind her was the best thing she could ever think of. With them behind her, Harold didn''t stand a chance even if the King decided to favour him. Tyra''s eyes shot wide as soon as the queen said that. She hadn''t thought the queen was nning to go through with it. Even though she knew her mother usually did as she pleased, she had expected to at least have time to n something. But she was caught off guard by this sudden public announcement. She would rather die than marry Lance. And judging by the look on his face, Lance felt the same way. Unfortunately, there was no Harold to save her from this now. Susan gave her a sympathetic look. And that was all she got. "I... don''t wish... to..." "It has been decided!" Damon cut her off in a harsh tone that had Tyra recoil back in her seat and keep her mouth sealed. The queen also red at her in displeasure before she smiled sweetly at everyone once again. "Pardon them. Children these days are quite difficult to handle." She forced out augh to lighten the atmosphere, but it was anything but. The only ones who seemed to be happy about this arrangement were the queen and Sir Gregory, who washappy that someone was finally going to marry his son and not just anyone, but someone from the royal family. He could overlook the fact that she was a weak Omega. It didn''t matter at this point. He could already imagine how his business was going to be transformed. So when Lance even attempted to say something, Sir Gregory made sure to give him a wicked look to keep his mouth shut. "That is settled then. It''s a thing of joy for parents to see their children getting married and raising a family, isn''t that correct, brother?" She looked at her older brother, who nodded in agreement, while Susan and Williams looked at them curiously. They didn''t care who was getting married, as long as they were not involved. That was good. Susan''s throat was dry from all the anxiety and awkwardness, so she raised her goblet to drink some water. "As we settle on the royal weddings, Sir Harvey and my lovely niece, Susan, can take the time to get to know each other better." Susan had not expected it, so she choked on her water and quickly used her hand to cover her mouth as she looked wide-eyed at the queen. This had to be a joke, right? ******* Oblivious to the numerous weddings being nned without the consent of the involved parties, Alicia and Harold kept advancing toward her chamber. When they were far away from the dining, she held his arm and stopped him. "I put in enough effort not to cause trouble. Why did you do that?" Sheined in a soft voice. It was very obvious, even to Harold, that she was touched at how he had stood up for her like that. That was a good question. Harold didn''t know. Wasn''t it normal for servants to handle the kitchen? But if his wife could make those things for all of them, why couldn''t Sir Gregory''s wife do the same? "Thank you," she spoke softly. "For doing that. But I really don''t want you to get into trouble. Especially because of me." Not knowing what else to say, he simply nodded and she shed him a smile. "I need to speak with Harvey. I have questions I need to ask him," Alicia said, and Harold looked at her closely. He looked betweenconfused and disappointed. "You... are not going to ask him to... help you escape, are you?" Harold asked doubtfully, and she eyed him with annoyance. "If I had such an intention, would I have told you about my conversation with him? Arrange for me to meet with him without trouble. I need to find out more about Princess Amber and Queen Anne. Can you do that for me?" Alicia asked, and Harold looked at her for a brief moment before giving her a nod. "I will send Alvin to get you when it''s time. You should remain in your chamber until then, and..." "And stay out of trouble," Aliciapleted his sentence with a roll of her eyes, "I will be waiting for Alvin," she said, and waved him goodbye before walking away. Frowning, he raised his hand slowly to do the same before quickly putting it down and turning around. Chapter 183 Another Secret As Harold headed for his chamber, he remembered that he was yet to speak with Susan, and also that he needed to speak with Harvey, so he returned in the direction of the dining hall. He had a lot on his mind, especially as he still had not figured out the best way to keep Alicia out of trouble for the duration of the banquet, especially at night. This was the first time they were having humans live with them in the pce, and as humans, if either Alicia or Paulina mistakenly stepped outside at that time and they were seen, that would be a big problem. Would she listen to him and not step out of her chamber if he gently asked her not to? The major problem he had with her was that she only chose to listen to him when she wanted to, not necessarily when he wanted her to. As a result, it was hard to entirely trust her to obey him on this, especially since he knew she would want him to tell her why he wanted her to remain inside before listening to him, and he couldn''t exin that to her yet. The only n he could think of right now was feeding her and Paulina his wine so that they would both be knocked out. Alicia was the problem, since he could easily make Paulina drink it, so he didn''t have an issue with that girl. But how could he make Alicia drink it without suspecting him? Should he annoy her or say something mean to her so she would need a drink to wash down her anger and, by ''coincidence'', she would find that one? Or perhaps he could ask Paulina to make her drink it since she seemed to like Paulina a lot. Harold''s steps faltered when he saw the two people he wanted to see walking together ahead of him with their backs to him. Something didn''t feel right about the sight of them together. What was going on? Did something happen after he left the dining room? He mused as he watched them. "Brother!" Tyra, who was heading for her chamber, called with a wave when she saw him, causing both Harvey and Susan, who had been heading for the courtyard, to turn in his direction. "Are you going somewhere?" Tyra asked with a cheerful smile when she came to stand in front of him. "I was just taking a stroll around," Harold lied, and then he turned in the direction which Susan and Harvey had taken, "Are they friends?" Harold asked casually as he started walking again and Tyra fell into steps beside him. "Susan''s father and Harvey''s father suggested they take a stroll together and get to know each other. The queen is setting them up together. She is trying to set me up with Lance and Prince Ivan with Benedicta. You know what it means, don''t you?" Tyra asked, confirming Harold''s suspicion. "It is not unusual for royal families to arrange for such unions that would benefit them," Harold said, trying to make it sound like it was nothing. From the way Tyra was speaking, Harold could tell that Susan had not told her anything about him, or else he was certain she would have asked him about it already. Tyra wasn''t the type to keep secrets from him. "They are only doing all this because they want to strengthen Prince Ivan''s chances of bing King," Tyra said, and Harold red at her. "I''ve told you not to speak about such things to me or anyone else. You have to be more careful," Harold scolded her sternly before walking away from her in the direction he had seen Harvey and Susan go. To his surprise, he saw Susan alone at the spot where Tyra often sat to read. She was seated there with her head bowed as though she was deep in thought, and he looked around for Harvey, but when he didn''t see him, he approached Susan. Susan who had been lost in her thoughts, felt her heart jump into her throat when she noticed that someone was standing in front of her and she raised her head to see it was Harold. She stood up immediately and took a step backwards. "Your highness," she greeted breathlessly, without making eye contact with him. She had never had a direct confrontation with him before, so it made her anxious. Harold said nothing as he continued to look at her with his piercing gaze until she was shifting ufortably where she stood while waiting for him to speak. "You know why I''m here, don''t you?" He asked after some time, giving her the chance to say what he wanted to hear while also trying to see if she was going to act ignorant. Susan didn''t waste any time thinking about it. "You''re here because I''m avoiding Princess Amber?" She asked tentatively, and Harold''s brow arched. "Is that really why you think I''m here?" He asked coldly, and she gave him a nod without looking at him. Harold looked at her for a moment and didn''t even need to hear the answers from her since it was very obvious that she knew something. They were in the courtyard, and he didn''t want to draw more attention than was necessary to them, or else she would be questioned. The best way to go about warning her would be to do it in a way that he wouldn''t give himself away if she truly was telling the truth and didn''t know he had spent the night with Alicia. He wished he could get into her head. But he hadn''t been able to master the art of reading what was on people''s minds before the whole thing stopped. He had tried doing that a few times when he was with Alicia, but nothing happened. He also hadn''t been able to hear from his wolf in a while. Everything was quite troubling right now. It was as if he was back to his life when Alicia wasn''t here. The only difference was that he could sleep well at night now. "Whatever you found outst night, keep it to yourself. If I hear of it elsewhere, you will answer to me," he warned, and he waited until she bobbed her head in agreement before walking away. That way, if she really didn''t get to Alicia''s chamber, she would easily think he was referring to what she discovered about the queen and Damon, and if she had gotten to Alicia''s chamber and knew he slept there, then she would assume he was referring to that. Now he needed to find Harvey. Susan had almost forgotten how to breathe when Harold was present, but now that he was gone, she heaved a deep sigh of relief, almost gasping. How he had been able to guess that was something she could not understand. By chance, had Alvin not believed her and told him about it? That just seemed to make her even more sad and angry at herself. She had been stupid the entire time. All she had to do was to be careful from now on since it seemed Harold was hiding something big and if it mistakenly leaked out, she would be med for it. As for her marriage to Harvey, there was no way that was happening and, thankfully, he felt the same way. He hadid it out to her inly that he wasn''t interested in her and was going to find a way out of this for them. As much as she was grateful, it was another huge hit to her ego. In less than a day, she had been rejected twice. Her beauty, her connection with the queen, none of them seemed to matter to either of the men. Dejectedly, she walked towards her chamber and it seemed like nothing was about to be easier for her because she heard faint voices as she passed by a door and stopped against her better judgement. "Are you really going to marry him?" A male voice asked. "Don''t be stupid! You know that is impossible." Susan''s brows furrowed as she recognized the feminine voice that responded. Princess Tyra? Who was she speaking to? Curious, she pushed the door open and was met with two startled faces. One belonged to Tyra, just as she had suspected, and the other one looked familiar. She looked at what he was wearing and seemed to recognize him. "Aren''t you... Damian? The Queen''s bodyguard?" She asked in surprise as she looked from the bodyguard to Tyra and then back again. Tyra was doing her best not to panic while Damian seemed to be seriously thinking about the best thing to say. Susan suddenly gasped as realization dawned on her, and she quickly closed the door behind her before she started whispering. "Is he... the person you like and have been secretly meeting? Is that why you are always leaving your chamber?" Susan asked curiously. Tyra''s eyes bulged out and she shook her head, but Damian quickly took hold of Tyra''s hand and held it tightly in his, "Please... keep our secret," he said with a bow. Tyra shot him a deadly re that Susan had never seen before and tried to remove her hand from his, but he gave her a pointed look and shook his head slowly. "She already knows. Why should we hide it?" Damian asked softly. Susan scoffed and ced a hand on her forehead as she closed her eyes and shook her head. What was wrong with everyone in the pce? And why was she always the one finding out people''s secrets? She really hoped she wouldn''t get in trouble at this rate. Chapter 184 I Wanted To After Ivan and Harold weed the rest of the guests, they both went their separate ways. Harold had sent Alvin on an errand earlier, so he went in search of him while Ivan returned to bond with his new potential bride. ? Earlier when they were going for breakfast, the two had something to prove, so they had acted friendly to each other. Ivan wanted to hurt Luciana and show Harold how much power he had umted, while Benedicta was trying to prove to Harold how much he was missing from rejecting her. At this point, she didn''t care about anything. She was going to marry Ivan, and with her family''s influence, she was going to make sure Ivan became king and her queen. Now that they both had no one to prove anything to, they both walked in silence while Ivan continued to sigh, which irritated Benedicta so much. He suddenly stopped and faced her. "You should return to your chamber and rest. This is your first time attending the banquet. It would be too hard on you." He tried to sound polite, but it was obvious he was getting rid of her. He turned to leave, but she began to speak, "If you are going to marry me, you have to stop thinking about other useless things." He turned to face her, "Shouldn''t this be more important?" "You don''t have any right to tell me what to do." He said, his face rigid. She snorted. "So you want to miss this opportunity because of Luciana? Someone who disrespected you?" Before she knew it, he was in front of her. His hand almost went to grab her throat, but he tried to control his hand in mid-air as his wicked re was fixed on her face. "If you ever talk about her so disrespectfully again..." Benedicta swallowed in fear but kept herposure and cocked her head up. "What are you going to do? Can you hurt me?" She asked, snorting again. "You know you can''t. Do not forget the power my father holds here. As long as you are not the king yet, you can''t do anything to me." "Really?" He asked quietly. As soon as she nodded, he grabbed her ear and pulled it, making her wail in pain as she tried to remove his hand. That was the sight Harold walked up to. He wouldn''t lie and say he was not startled. His steps faltered as he looked at the two. He tried to hide his amusement as he walked past them, but he failed. The two finally took notice of him, and Ivan parted from her immediately, but Harold was already gone. Benedicta''s face burned from anger and embarrassment, and she was just about to yell at Ivan but found him walking away in the opposite direction to the one Harold had taken, leaving her in the middle. "Did you find anything?" Harold asked Alvin when hemet with him. Alvin shook his head. "I didn''t find anyone that looked like her. She hasn''t been acting strange either. She has only been working in the kitchen." Alvin exined. Harold nodded. "Let us wait until after the banquet. I''ll have to interrogate her myself." "Wouldn''t it be better to keep observing her to know who we are dealing with? If they knew we were already onto them, they would have to bring in new ones and it would be difficult to know who a spy was within the pce." Alvin exined reasonably. "So what do you suggest?" Harold asked Alvin calmly. He wasn''t usually the type to take advice, but now he needed to always act rationally for a certain someone''s sake. "I suggest we keep observing. Maybe there is a big n ahead. I''ll keep watching her." "Fine. Also keep an eye on Damon and the Queen. I need to know what they''re up to," Harold said, and Alvin bowed before leaving. Meanwhile, Alicia was quietly in her room when she heard a knock on the door. When she opened it, she found a kitchen staff standing outside and immediately recognized the girl as the one who had identally spilled pig''s blood on her. The girl she thought looked familiar. She held a tray in her hand with a te on top that was covered. "I... brought you this." The girl said timidly. "To apologize for the other time and to thank you for not punishing me for it." "Oh... you didn''t have to," Alicia said calmly but took the tray from her. The girl bowed politely and shed a smile at her. "I wanted to." Not in the mood to go back and forth, Alicia smiled at her and asked politely, "I hope you didn''t get in trouble because of what happened?" "No, mydy. Thank you." The girl said timidly and bowed again before leaving. While Alicia was smiling to herself about how well these people were treating her, Harold continued around the pce in search of Harvey, and just when he was about to give up the search, Alvin saw him and informed him that Harvey was at the archery range, and they both headed there to find him. To Harold''s relief, Harvey was alone, so he didn''t have to worry about anyone listening in on their conversation. Harvey, who had been about to release an arrow from his bow, paused and turned in Harold''s direction when he heard the approaching footsteps. Something told Harvey that Harold was there to speak with him, but he couldn''t figure out what else Harold would want to talk to him about, considering he had said everything he needed to say to him the previous day. He acknowledged Harold''s presence with a bow and then returned his attention to the target in front of him as he patiently waited for Harold to say what he hade for. Alvin handed Harold his bow and arrow to join Harvey, so it wouldn''t seem suspicious to anyone watching that Harold had been seen with Harvey the previous day and here he was talking with him again. Neither of them said a word to each other for some time, as each focused on hitting their target several times, while Harold thought about the best way to ask Harvey to speak to Alicia. Chapter 185 Witch Harold knew if Alicia was seen alone with Harvey, considering that they were not rted in any way, and Alicia was a married princess who had no business meeting with another man in private, it would look suspicious and cause eyebrows to be raised. He didn''t want any unnecessary and unpleasant rumours to go around the pce, so he needed to be careful. "My bride wants to speak with you," Harold said after some time, surprising not just Harvey but Alvin too, who couldn''t understand what business Princess Amber could possibly have with Harvey and why Prince Harold was willing to deliver such a message on behalf of his wife to another man who had snuck into her chamber the previous day. A lot of things about Princess Amber were confusing to Alvin, and he couldn''t help wondering what Prince Harold and Princess Amber were hiding from him. "You asked me to stay away from her," Harvey reminded Harold quietly as he continued to shoot. There was no doubt in his mind that Harold adored whoever was possessing Princess Amber''s body. Who would have thought that the almighty Prince Harold could serve as a messenger for his wife? "And I still stand by that. I''m only asking you to meet with her because she has some important questions she needs you to answer. Also, I will have to be present there when you speak with her to avoid any misunderstanding, especially now that you are courting Lady Susan," Harold said, making Harvey turn to look at Alvin curiously as he wondered if Alvin also knew that a stranger was possessing the princess''s body. Seeing how Harvey turned to Alvin, Harold remembered that Alvin was still standing there with them and could hear what they were saying. "Lead Princess Amber to the pavilion. Let her know we will meet her there. Arrange for tea to be served," Harold instructed, and Alvin bowed to him before hurrying away. Immediately after Alvin left, Harold returned his attention to Harvey, "She needs to know about Princess Amber and understand what happened. I want you to help her," Harold said, and Harvey finally dropped his bow and turned to Harold. "Why?" Harvey asked, and Harold raised an eyebrow. "Why what?" "Why does she need to understand what happened? What difference is it going to make? You don''t want Princess Amber, do you? It is this person in her body that you want. Am I wrong?" Harvey asked, and Harold looked at him for a moment. "You are not wrong. She is my wife, and I can''t say no if she wants to find out what happened to her," Harold said, and then paused when something urred to him. "Why did you want to help her escape?" Harold asked curiously. "Because this ce is not meant for her. Princess Amber would never have agreed to get married to you ande to your kingdom if she was here," Harvey said with such certainty that made Harold even more curious. "Why not?" "She knows about our kind, and she is not very fond of us," Harvey exined. "Did she know about you?" Harold asked, and Harvey shook his head. "So you told her about our existence, but didn''t tell her you were one of us?" "She was attacked by a werewolf in the mountains some years ago, and I saved her. Did you expect me to tell her I was one too?" Harvey asked, but Harold did not respond. "I taught her all she needed to know to protect herself..." "You were the one who taught her how to fight?" Harold asked, and Harvey looked at him curiously. "She already had the gift. I just helped. How did you know she could fight?" Harold contemted whether or not he should tell Harvey the truth, and seeing how Harvey was being honest with him and knowing that Alicia needed Harvey''s help too, he decided to open up to him, "I think she might still be in there somewhere. Twice, Alicia has used weapons in a way she normally isn''t capable of doing," Harold exined. "Alicia?" Harvey asked curiously. "That is her name?" Harvey asked a second question immediately, thinking that the name sounded familiar. It wasn''t amon name around here, but he had certainly heard of it before. Harold gave him a nod and said, "Why don''t you seem very surprised that someone else is possessing Princess Amber''s body?" Harold asked, thinking that Harvey hade to terms with the idea too easily. "We are werewolves. I don''t think something like this should be very surprising to us," Harvey said, matter of fact, but Harold felt like Harvey was still hiding some things. It was obvious he was. And the fact that he was chill about this whole thing made him even more suspicious. "I know you are suspicious of me," Harvey said, narrowing his eyes at Harold. "But I have heard things, read things, and seen things. Things you wouldn''t believe are in existence. Also, Amber was... close to me. And this concerns her." Harold did not like the sound of that, but he didn''t push. That wasn''t the priority right now. "Are you ready to meet with her?" Harold asked when they saw Alvin approaching, and Harvey gave him a nod. Harold led the way to the pavilion, and neither of them said a word as they walked through the courtyard down to the pavilion, attracting the attention of everyone they walked past. Harold did not doubt that before the end of their discussion, the Queen and Ivan would have heard of their meeting and would wantto know what they had talked about. Alicia, who had been impatiently waiting for them as she paced around the pavilion with Princess Amber''s journal in hand while rehearsing her questions, stopped when she saw them approaching. Harold turned to Alvin and said, "Go keep an eye on other things, and let me know when it''s time to wee the guests," Harold ordered Alvin, reminding him indirectly of an assignment he had given him earlier that morning. Immediately, Alvin bowed and excused them. After they all sat down, Alicia poured some tea into their cups before looking at Harvey, "Thanks for agreeing to meet me," she said politely, and Harvey gave her a nod. "Prince Harold said you have some questions," Harvey said, and Alicia bobbed her head before sipping from her cup. "I do. Can you tell me what you know about Princess Amber? I''d also like to know about her mother, Queen Anne. That''s if you know anything about her," Alicia said, while Harold remained silent. "What exactly do you know about her?" Harvey asked curiously, and Alicia raised the journal, which was resting on her thighs. "Do you know about this? Paulina said this belongs to Princess Amber," Alicia said, and Harvey looked at it curiously, realizing it was the familiar journal which Amber always carried around with her. "Yes. It belongs to her," Harvey confirmed. "Can you understand what is written here?" She asked, but Harvey shook his head. "She used to write things only she could understand so that no one else could read her journal," Harvey exined, and Alicia''s brows pulled together. That exined why she had been unable to make sense of what was written on it no matter how much she tried to get it. If Harvey could not understand what was written in the journal either, that meant the journal was useless to her. "Did she tell you why she was sent into exile?" Alicia asked the second important thing on her mind. "Her mother was found guilty of treason and witchcraft. She was sent to exile because they believed she might also be a witch like her mother. It was thest plea of her mother to save Amber." Harvey said, making Alicia gasp in surprise, while Harold stared at him in disbelief. "Witchcraft?" Harold and Alicia asked in unison. "She didn''t tell me that since she didn''t know the details because she was sent away when she was still very young. I found out about it myself by going to her kingdom to ask questions. Queen Anne was greatly loved by the people and seen as a saviour," Harvey exined, and both Harold and Alicia exchanged a look. "Do you believe that? How can they send a little girl into exile to such a ce because they think she might be a witch?" Alicia asked in disbelief. "Witches do not exist. It''s like saying vampires and werewolves exist. That doesn''t make any sense," Alicia said incredulously, and this time it was Harvey and Harold who exchanged a look. "Does it make sense to you that you ended up in another person''s body?" Harvey asked, and Alicia frowned. "Do you think it is true? That Queen Anne might have been a witch?" She asked Harvey in confusion. "Princess Amber believed that her mother had special powers," Harvey said, as if that answered her question. "What does all of this mean? Why do I look like Queen Anne? Why am I in Princess Amber''s body? I don''t understand anything. It''s bing more confusing," Aliciained as she looked at Harold helplessly. "You look like Queen Anne? How did you know that?" Harvey asked with interest. "Paulina made a portrait painting of Queen Anne. That''s what I looked like beforeing here," Alicia said, and Harvey''s brows pulled together thoughtfully. "Wait... are you from the future?" Harvey asked when he remembered a conversation he had with Amber some months ago about something she had read in herte mother''s secret diary. Chapter 186 More Confused Alicia exchanged a look with Harold before giving Harvey her full attention, "Yes. How do you know that?" She asked, trying not to let her voice give away her excitement. Harold knew it was silly of him, but he could not help but be jealous at the amount of attention she was giving him. If only he had met Amber first and knew all this information and also made that trip to her kingdom earlier, he would be able to provide her with all this information. Another thing that annoyed him was the way Harvey kept staring at her. Why couldn''t he speak to her without looking directly at her? He was beginning to think Harvey and Amber''s rtionship wasn''t so simple as he had put it. Harvey was deep in his thoughts as he tried to make everything make sense. Then he remembered why the name "Alicia" had sounded familiar to him. "I remember Amber mentioned something like that some time ago." Even the look on Harvey''s face showed that he was confused about the whole thing. "She saw a name in her mother''s diary, and ording to the diary, the person was from the same lineage and looked like Queen Anne." Harvey said, and Alicia''s brows pulled together with curiosity as she leaned forward in her seat. Queen Anne had seen her before? Or was it someone else that Queen Anne had seen? Even as she asked, the dream she had some time ago shed before her eyes, and she remembered her eyes meeting those of the fighterdy who the people had referred to as their Savior in her dream before she woke up. That was when she had been unconscious for days. Did that mean it wasn''t a mere dream? Was it a memory? Or did she travel to the past inside the past life again? What could all of this mean? Also, Queen Anne hadn''t been executed for treason like Paulina had told her? "Queen Anne''s diary? Where can I find it?" Alicia asked hopefully. Perhaps if she read through it, she would get a better understanding of her rtionship and connection with both Queen Anne and Princess Amber. "You can''t find it. Thedy who was watching over Amber burnt the diary when she caught her attempting to recite some of the spells on it," Harvey said, causing Alicia''s face to fall. Madam Grace. That woman had been ruining her ns since the beginning of her time here. "Did she tell you anything else she found in the diary?" Alicia asked hopefully. "No. She never really talked about her mother''s diary until that day. And she only asked me about it because she wanted to know if I''d ever heard of someone from the future," Harvey exined, and Alicia sighed as her brows furrowed thoughtfully. Watching her, Harold could see that she was feeling very sad and disappointed, as she had hoped Harvey would be able to answer her questions, but it seemed like Harvey was as clueless as she was, and he was onlyplicating things more with the half information he had. "If I may ask, what happened? When did you find yourself in her body?" Harvey asked curiously. "I don''t know anything about the dates, but I found myself here two days before the wedding. What date was that?" Alicia asked, turning to Harold. Harvey''s eyes narrowed when Harold mentioned the date. That had been the day he had been waiting for Princess Amber to show up at their usual spot in the vige for her training, but she didn''t show up. "What happened?" Harvey asked curiously. "I don''t know. Paulina said she drowned in the vige river," Alicia said, and Harvey shook his head. "That doesn''t sound right. Amber could not have gone to the river. She doesn''t know how to swim, and even though I offered to teach her, she never agreed to go near the water," Harvey exined, and Alicia had another shback to her dream. "I think she was being chased," Alicia said, and this time both Harvey and Harold looked at her with interest. "Why do you think so?" They asked in unison, and Alicia''s brows pulled together as she tried to recall the exact details of the dream and narrate it to them. "Who could have been chasing her, and why?" Harvey asked thoughtfully. "Why didn''t you tell me about the dreams before now?" Harold asked with displeasure, not liking the thought that he had just heard of it at the same time as Harvey. "I didn''t think it was a big deal," she said, looking at him apologetically. "I thought it was just a dream" Harold opened his mouth to say something, but shut it when he heard Alvin approaching from the distance. "I have to leave now to greet the guests. Return to your chamber when you''re done speaking with him. I will join you when I''m done," Harold said as he rose from his seat, and then he looked at Harvey. "The Queen is going to want to know what we talked about," Harold said, and Harvey gave him a nod. "Don''t worry. Whatever we have discussed is going to remain between us," Harvey promised. "Did Amber... have a smell?" He asked quietly. Harvey slowly shook his head. "Smell? What smell?" Alicia asked curiously. "So she has a witch''s blood on her?" Harold asked but he was speaking more to himself than to Harvey. "What does that mean?" Alicia asked in confusion, but Harold turned to give her a faint smile before excusing himself to join Alvin. He didn''t know what Harvey was going to tell the Queen when she asked, and he definitely couldn''t tell Harvey what to say. But he believed that Harvey cared about Amber enough to keep his mouth shut, and that was enough for him. "What is going on?" Harold asked once he got to where Alvin was. "The king is having a meeting with the aristocrats and the guests that have just arrived. He wants you to join them," Alvin exined, and Harold gave him a nod. "Keep an eye on them, and make sure she gets to her chamber safely," Harold said, and Alvin gave him a nod. Before Harold could walk past him, Alvin spoke, "Can you tell me what is happening? Why is Princess Amber speaking with Sir Harvey?" Alvin asked, and Harold looked at him for a moment. "Let''s talk about itter. I can''t keep the king waiting," Harold said before walking away, while Alvin bowed to him. Harold knew he''d have to tell Alvin about Alicia sooner orter, because only Alvin could truly care for her if something happened to him; not that he wanted anything to happen to him, but for Alvin to better serve Alicia, he''d need to know everything in case Amber took over her body at any point in time and Alicia lost consciousness. Harold frowned in confusion when his thoughts wandered to what Harvey had said about Alicia being from Queen Anne''s lineage and about Queen Anne being a witch. He hadn''t expected something like that. What did that mean? Witchcraft was taboo not only in the Moon Kingdom but many other kingdoms as well. And if it was true that, for any reason, Alicia had any such powers, it would be a problem for her. His steps faltered when another thought urred. Was that why the curse didn''t seem to have any effect on him when he was with Alicia? His wolf had spoken to him for the first time the first night he met her. What did that mean? Did she truly have powers that she did not know about? Was that why her blood tasted really bitter and repulsed him when he licked it the other time during their ''promise sealing''? He had nothing personal against witches, so even if she was a witch, it didn''t matter to him as he had been bewitched by her already. If anything, this meant he had to try harder now to take over the throne, as that was the only way he could protect her. If it got to the ears of the queen or Ivan that Princess Amber''s mother had been executed and she had been exiled on the grounds of witchcraft, they would want to use that against her, and he couldn''t let that happen. Chapter 187 Blood Moon "What was Prince Harold talking about a smell?" Alicia asked Harvey curiously after Harold had left. The two young men had said a lot of things that didn''t make sense, and it just left her even more confused. "I can''t answer that question. Only your husband can exin it to you," Harvey said politely, and Alicia''s brows furrowed as she tried to think about what it could mean. She doubted Harold was going to answer that question. Something told her this was one of those secrets that she would only know about after she gave herself to him. Harvey left like he had said all he had to and stood up to leave. He bowed and was just about to take the first step when she stood up immediately and asked, "Why did you say this was thest ce I would want to be in tonight? Or rather... thest ce Amber would want to be tonight? Is something happening tonight?" Alicia asked, but Harvey shook his head and looked at her with something akin to pity. "I''m sorry, I can''t answer that either. You will have to hear that from your husband," Harvey said apologetically, and Alicia sighed in frustration. He kept telling her to ask the one person who was not going to tell her anything. Who else could she ask? Alvin was even more tight-lipped than anyone else she had ever met. The girls wouldn''t tell her anything, and Paulina had also not been able to find out anything from the other maids. Harvey looked at her pitifully, "You care about Prince Harold, don''t you?" She opened her mouth to answer but closed it, and then, after a few seconds, she asked slowly, "Am... I not supposed to?" Alicia asked, but Harvey said nothing. Although what he actually wanted to know was just how far Alicia had gone in her rtionship with Prince Harold, since he doubted that if Amber returned, she would want to remain married to Prince Harold. Unfortunately, he couldn''t ask her that since he had seen firsthand how close her rtionship with Harold was, and he knew that she would report back to Harold whatever he told her, and he couldn''t risk that. "Can you tell me a bit about your life before you came here, and how you found yourself here?" Harvey asked instead. Alicia gave him a questioning look before she nodded and sat back down. What was there to hide? Harvey returned to where he had been sitting and waited for her to talk. Alicia went straight to the point to tell him she was from 2020. She exined the nature of her job to him and realized telling him about her life wouldn''t be easy because she had to literally exin everything. By the time she was done exining, the crease on his forehead had grown deeper. "Does that mean you were both drowning at the same time?" "I... think so?" Alicia said, and Harvey paused as he tried to connect everything he knew. "Was it... on a blood moon?" Harvey asked thoughtfully, and Alicia blinked at him in confusion. "Blood moon?" She asked, but Harvey was also trying to make the calction based on what he knew about the day Princess Amber had failed to show up. "Yes. I think it was a blood moon," Harvey said confidently when he remembered that he had been unable to use his abilities that night because of the red moon. "What about it?" Alicia asked when she noticed that he seemed to have figured out something. Harvey sighed and looked deep in thought as he said quietly, "Amber is a very curious person." He informed her. "She was quiet. But always thinking about things. She also wanted to know more about her lineage and asked me to help her find out about the possibility of something like that happening," Harvey exined, and Alicia gave him a confused look. "''That'' what?" What was he referring to? "Queen Anne seeing you." "Oh..." The more Alicia thought about it, the more she felt that it didn''t make sense. How did Queen Anne know her name and that she was from the future? She had only locked eyes with thedy and had thought it was just a dream. Did that mean she had truly been present there? Had that happened on a blood moon too? "So? What did you find?" She asked Harvey. "I didn''t believe it because it sounded silly and it didn''t seem like it was possible. And also because witchcraft is taboo everywhere. It was difficult to get any information about things like that. So we concluded that it was a myth." For werewolves, their abilities were lessened on that day. That was as far as the werewolfmunity knew. They didn''t know what it did to witches. He only heard some rumours. ? "But obviously I''m here, so it''s possible it was true, right? What did you find?" Alicia cut in impatiently. "As I said, it was a myth." He reminded her, being careful not to give her any false information to hold on to. "I don''t care what it was. I just want to know what the myth says." She said impatiently, almost pleading with him to tell her. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair once before he went on to exin, "While the blood moon isn''t good for other... people, it is very good for witches." "Other people? What does that mean?" She asked in confusion. She had noticed he wanted to say something else earlier but skipped it. Was he talking about other kinds of creatures as well? "There are a lot of things I cannot tell you," he said sternly. "I don''t know why you are here, but I believe you are here for a reason. But I wish I knew how we could undo this and bring Amber back. Unless we have to wait for another blood moon. But I also don''t know if it is going to work or how it is going to work." "When is that going to be?" "It happens only once every year." "Oh..." she drawled. "So... that time witches can teleport from one dimension to another?" She asked, still confused. Harvey looked confused. "I don''t know what that means. And I don''t know how it happens for witches. But... I can try to find out when I return." She sighed dejectedly. "Does Amber have any other living rtive?" His lips were pursed as he shook his head. "Queen... Anne wasn''t the only one that died that day." Alicia gasped when she heard that. "Her... entire family was... wiped out?" "I told you before. Witchcraft is taboo. Many people don''t talk about it. It''s hard to know." Her shoulders drooped in her seat, and she used her hand to rub her forehead. How had she moved from acting in soap operas to finding herself in this world, to learning she was from a line of witches? She suddenly sat upright, almost startling Harvey, at whom she was beginning to look suspiciously. "What creature are you?" "What?" He asked, startled. Alicia did not stop to look at him suspiciously. "I mean, there are witches, right? And you said something about witches being stronger than other ''persons'' during the blood moon. Which means those other ''persons'' are other kinds of mythical creatures I never would have believed existed until today. So if witches can practice serious spells like soul swapping or summoning people from the past and the future on that particr day, when do the other ''persons'' get to practice theirs? And you know one thing I find even more suspicious?" She asked but didn''t wait for him to answer before she did, "Tonight is a full moon, and suddenly, everyone is gathering in the pce and everyone is looking... suspicious. Wait...!" She suddenly stood up and looked at him with wide eyes, "Now that I just thought about that, it actually makes sense. Is that the secret everyone has been hiding?" Harvey looked at her with interest. Aside from the fact that it was weird to hear so many wordse out of Amber''s mouth at once, it was also surprising how she was about to put things together toe to that conclusion. She sat back and drew her seat closer to him in the most uncouth manner, making him cringe. She looked around, noting how Alvin was watching from far away and began to whisper, "You also said something about how this is thest ce Amber would like to be, especially tonight. So I am sure I am on to something. Tell me the truth." Her voice went lower as she asked, "Is this... a kingdom of witch hunters?" Harvey wasn''t sure whether to be disappointed, amused or relieved at the conclusion she came to. She had just made him nervous for nothing, thinking Harold would me him for telling her all about it. He shook his head and stood up, ready to leave. "No. We are not that." She continued to look at him suspiciously. "I have to leave now. If there is anything I can find, I will... let you know." Alicia almost groaned from frustration. Why was he so tight-lipped? "You were in love with her, weren''t you?" She asked, suspecting that was the reason he had been running such errands for Amber, who was an exiled princess. "She is my friend," Harvey said without admitting or denying Alicia''s allegation. "I guess that is all?"Harvey asked, wanting to change the subject. "Will you help me find out if there is a way out?" Alicia asked again, "I know you would want Amber toe back. You know I can''t ask Prince Harold," Alicia said, and Harvey stood up. "I can''t promise you anything. Permit me to take my leave now," Harvey said with a polite bow before walking away. He hesitated and turned to her. "You should be very careful around here," he advised before walking away, leaving a frustrated and confused Alicia behind. Chapter 188 Troublemaker By the time Alicia returned to her room, she was even more frustrated with everything. She wanted to get angry at Harold, but she wasn''t sure if he was to be med for everything. She had opened up to him about who she truly was. She didn''t hide anything from him, so why was he giving her such a condition before telling her about himself and all that was going on in his kingdom? If she was able to confirm with him that they were witch hunters, then one of her problems was solved. She would have known what they were hiding here and focused on her lineage. At first, she only wanted to know about Amber, but now it was far more than that because it concerned her too. And it concerned her ancestors. And Queen Anne and Amber knew her name. She couldn''t just sit still now. She looked outside and noticed it was going to be dinner time soon. Maybe in an hour or two. By this time, Harold must have been done greeting the guests. She had to see him now since she had a feeling she wouldn''t be able to see him again until the next day. She just felt uneasy and didn''t even know why. She also wanted to meet Paulina to warn her to be careful because now she didn''t trust anything or anyone. She knew Harold had mentioned she stay inside her room until the next day and not show up for dinner, but it wasn''t even dinner yet, so she figured she could still go out. She had been too lost in her worries and had totally forgotten about eating. It wasn''t until her stomach rumbled that she remembered she hadn''t had anything to eat since breakfast. Luckily for her, she still had the snacks the maid had brought her. The biscuits looked nice, so she picked five of them in her hands and munched on them as she left her room. But things were bound not to go smoothly for her. Just like Harold had said, she was bound to cause trouble even without trying. Someone bumped into her from behind, almost causing her to fall. Thankfully, she didn''t. But one of her biscuits did, leaving her with two left. "Can''t you watch where you are going!?" The person who had bumped into her bellowed at her as he came to stand in front of her, towering above her. She looked at him in disbelief. Wasn''t he Sir Gregory''s son, Lance? "Why are you making trouble out of the blue?" She asked him and tried to recall if she had done anything bad to him, but all she could remember was offering to teach his mother how to make snacks. "So I am a troublemaker?" He snarled at her and used a finger to push her on the forehead. She blinked at him in confusion and heaved a heavy sigh as she tried to control her temper while also stepping backwards since he obviously didn''t understand what personal space meant. She looked like she was going to burst at any moment, and he looked like he was waiting for her to do just that. But to his surprise, she bowed deeply. "I''m sorry for bumping into you. I must have been blind to not see you. I hope you are not hurt?" She asked, looking concerned. That left him flustered. He had heard she was uncouth and loud and had a nasty temper simr to her husband''s, so why was she being nice? He frowned and looked at her suspiciously. "Your family is important to this kingdom, so you have to be protected at all cost." She fawned. "As long as you are here, do let me know if you get into any kind of trouble. I will be happy to help you." She smiled lovingly and handed him her two biscuits. Lance had never been so confused in his life. He looked at her, not sure how to bully her when she was behaving like this. He looked at the biscuits she was offering him and was about to hit them out of her hand before he remembered the snacks she had made the previous night. "You don''t have to be so modest. You should have this before dinner. I don''t want an important figure like you starving." She continued to fawn over him as she forced the biscuit into his hand while he continued to look at her like an idiot. "You should enjoy it and take care of yourself." She shed him a smile and hurriedly walked past him while cursing him in her mind. What an idiot. Did he think she was going to fall into his trap and get into trouble at this important time? She didn''t bother to look back as she increased her pace to quickly get away from him. The fact that she had only eaten two of the snacks alone made her even more pissed since she was still starving. Meanwhile, Lance continued to look at her back. "She is strange," he muttered to himself as he bit into the biscuit, but he was disappointed that it didn''t taste special. How could he have fallen for her cheap tricks? He thought to himself as he angrily munched on the snacks. ******* Not aware of the fact that Alicia was looking for him all over the pce, Harold was in the shooting range. Whenever he had a lot to think about, he usually went there. He was lost in his thoughts when he felt a presence and turned around to find Tyra approaching him with a gourd of water and a handkerchief, as usual. "What did you do to your smell?" He asked as he received the handkerchief from her. Her face flushed as she answered, "I was asked to cover it up properly." Harold nodded in understanding, but it made him uneasy that he didn''t know she was around until she was closer to him. "Why do you look pale?" He asked her as he received the water she was giving him and took a big gulp. "I... don''t feel too well. But I will be fine." She answered before looking around, then she inched closer. "I... heard mother left the pce." That caught his attention. He had been very busy and so was Alvin, so they had missed something so important. "When?" "Noon. She returned after two hours." "Who did she go with?" "I don''t know." He narrowed his eyes to look at her, "Who did you hear it from?" He noticed how nervous and ufortable she looked when he asked that. "Just... someone." She muttered. "I told you to not do anything dangerous or get yourself involved in anything." "I know. I just... thought you should know. I... will leave now." She said and turned to leave, but staggered and almost fell. Harold was quick to catch her with one hand and looked at her closely. "You are sick." He said as he helped her stand. "I''m fine." "You don''t look it. You should rest tonight." "I can''t!" She cried. "You need to!" He said sternly. "Tonight is... important. If... I stay back, it might be..." "It doesn''t matter. You should rest. Your health is more important. I''ll ask the physician to meet you in your chamber. Rest for tonight. I will speak with the king about it." She bit her finger nervously. Harold could guess what she was thinking. Tonight was important. But it didn''t matter. She was an Omega. Their bodies were different and weaker, and she could get hurt while hunting with others tonight. "Are you... sure it''s okay for me to stay back?" She asked quietly. He nodded. "I''ll help you to your chamber." He offered, making her smile. "You are so good to me." She said while looking up at him. Harold felt a familiar smell around and turned to find Alicia approaching. It was the artificial smell mask they included in her bathing water every day so that they wouldn''t know she was a human without a smell. Now that he thought about it, was that the reason she had no smell? Because she was from a line of witches? And is that why his abilities have improved since he met her? Because she was a witch? But why could he not keep in touch with his wolftely? Or even get into people''s heads anymore? Was it because it was almost the full moon and the werewolf abilities superceded witches'' abilities during this period, so his curse was back? But why was he still able to sleep at night? "I was looking for you everywhere." She said breathlessly, making him return to reality. "I will return to my room now," Tyra said politely and bowed before leaving the couple without listening to Harold''s protest to wait so they could see her off. "Aren''t you supposed to be in your chamber?" He asked Alicia after Tyra left. Still panting, she reached for his water gourd but found it empty."No more water?" "Tyra only brought that. Why are you panting? Did you run?" He asked as he began to walk ahead of her. "Where are you going to?" she asked. "To find you some water." He said and kept his pace even so she could catch up. Chapter 189 Doubts And Fears "Tyra," Susan half yelled just as Tyra opened her bedroom door to go in, causing Tyra to jump back in shock. "Susan! Why are you sneaking up on me?" Tyra asked as she pressed a hand to her chest and frowned at Susan. "I wasn''t sneaking up on you. You were distracted, or else you would have realized that I have been trying to get your attention," Susan said, and Tyra sighed as she stepped into her bedroom, and Susan followed suit. "What are you worried about? Is it about your marriage to Lance? And your rtionship with the Queen''s guard?" Susan asked as she jumped on Tyra''s bed, and Tyra eyed her with displeasure. "Can you not talk about Damian?" Tyra asked, and Susan smiled at her. "Why? Are you that embarrassed about it?" Susan asked with a knowing smile. "I don''t want to talk about it," Tyra said as she went to stand by the window and looked down at the courtyard. "You have to tell me about it. I''m dying to know how you fell for him and how long your rtionship has been going on. You know your mother will have his head if she finds out about this, right?" Susan asked, and this time Tyra turned to her. "Shouldn''t you be worrying about yourself instead of worrying about me? Are you going to marry Harvey? What about Alvin?" Tyra asked, changing the subject, and immediately Susan''s expression changed. "Harvey is not interested in marrying me. Alvin is does not fancy me either. It was all a misunderstanding. Nobody wants me," Susan tried to y it lightly and shrugged, but Tyra''s eyes widened slightly as she went to sit beside Susan on the bed. "They both told you that?" Tyra asked, and Susan gave her a nod. "That''s sad, but don''t let it bother you," Tyra said as she patted Susan''s arm, and Susan smiled sadly. "It''s not as sad as you being forced to marry that idiot when you have someone you love and who loves you," Susan said, and Tyra sighed. "Let''s forget about such sad subjects. Are you ready for tonight?" Tyra asked, and Susan shed her a smile. "Yes! At least that''s one exciting thing to look forward to," Susan said happily, but before Tyra could respond and tell her she wouldn''t be a part of it, a knock sounded on the door and she stood up. "Who is there?" Tyra asked curiously. "It''s the royal physician, my princess. Prince Harold sent me to you," he announced, and Susan looked at Tyra with curiosity as she asked the physician toe in. "Are you feeling unwell?" "Yes. I was not feeling too well earlier, so Prince Harold insisted that I rest," Tyra said as the physician walked in with his instruments to check her vitals. "You do look pale," Susan observed after she took a closer look at Tyra. They both remained silent as the physician checked her, and when he was done, he stepped away from her and said, "You need to rest. Your pulse is weak. I will send someone to bring you some medicine," the physician promised with a bow before leaving the chamber. "Does that mean you can''t go hunting with us tonight?" Susan asked with a concerned frown. "Prince Harold insisted that I must not go. I don''t know. Maybe I need to rest," Tyra said with a sad sigh. "Don''t feel too sad. I can stay back here with you if you want me to," Susan offered, and Tyra shook her head immediately. "No. Please don''t do that. I feel terrible enough that I''m going to miss it. You have to go so that you can tell me all about it," Tyra said, but Susan continued to look at her with concern. "Are you sure you will be alright on your own? The whole pce is going to be empty," Susan reminded her. "Not exactly. Princess Amber and her maid will be here. If I need something, I will ask them," Tyra promised, and Susan smiled, relieved when she remembered that. "That''s true. I wonder if Prince Harold has warned her. I hope Princess Amber won''t get into trouble. She has to stay in her chamber," Susan said thoughtfully. Knowing princess Amber''s penchant for trouble, Susan was a bit worried about her. She wondered if she should find a way to warn her to stay in her chamber. "I''m sure she will be fine. She has been on her best behaviortely. I suppose the incident with Prince Ivan changed her," Tyra said, and Susan nodded. That was true. She has been calmtely, and there has been no drama from her. Susan mused. Her brows pulled together when she suddenly remembered what Alvin had said about spying on her because of Princess Amber, and she sighed. Here she was worrying about Princess Amber when she was suspected of meaning her harm. Away from there, Ivan walked into the queen''s chamber to see her pacing around restlessly, "You sent for me, mother. How did the meeting with her go?" Ivan whispered curiously as he sat down on the chair in the chamber. "I didn''t meet her. She was not around," the Queen said as she continued to pace. "What is wrong?" Ivan asked, and the queen paused to look at him. She couldn''t tell him about the note she had received, and there was no way she could tell him that someone had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Damon either. That would raise a lot of questions she wasn''t willing to answer. Everything seemed to be going badly for her right now, and it was making her very anxious. Not meeting the witch had heightened her anxiety as well. She couldn''t shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen. "Are you getting along with Benedicta?" She asked curiously, and Ivan gave her a nod. "Good. Make sure things go smoothly so you can marry her by the end of the banquet. I have an assignment for you," the Queen said, and Ivan looked at her curiously. "What assignment?" "Send someone trusted to Princess Amber''s kingdom. I want them to find out all they can about her," the queen said, and Ivan raised a brow. "Why are we wasting our time on someone as insignificant as Harold''s bride?" Ivan asked, and the queen snorted. "Insignificant? Are you just stupid? Or didn''t you see what she was trying to dost night at dinner?" The queen asked, and Ivan frowned. "She prepared some special snacks for dinner. Do you think the aristocrats would take Harold''s side just because of some snacks?" Ivan asked incredulously, and the queen shook her head in disappointment. "Have you asked yourself howe a princess like her can cook?" The Queen asked, and Ivan narrowed his eyes. "Maybe things are different in their kingdom? Perhaps the royaldies are groomed differently from how it is done there?" He ventured. "I don''t want any guesses. She is too bold and acts too rashly for a princess. Send someone trusted to her kingdom. I want answers before the end of the banquet. I need us to have something we can use against Harold and his bride in case the king chooses to y foul," the Queen said, and Ivan looked at her incredulously, wondering what she was thinking. "You know that is not possible. The banquetes to an end tomorrow. It takes five days to get to her kingdom and back..." The queen paused when she realized that he was right, "Still find a way. You never know how whatever we learn might be useful to us against Harold," the queen said, and Ivan gave her a nod. He stood to leave, but hesitated when he remembered something. "Harvey had tea with Harold and his wife earlier," Ivan said, and then Queen looked at him with confusion. "Harvey? With Harold and his bride? Why? Did you find out what they talked about?" She asked, and Ivan shook his head. "I tried to ask him, but he said he observed that Susan seemed to have a close rtionship with Harold''s bride, so he wanted to know more about Susan from her, and Harold insisted on sitting with them," Ivan said, and the queen nodded thoughtfully. "Do you believe him?" She asked, watching him closely. Ivan shrugged, "What else could he be speaking with Harold about? He is going to be married to Susan, and his sister is going to be married to me. They have no choice but to take our side," Ivan said, and the queen gave him a nod. "True. You can leave now. I need to rest and get ready for tonight," the queen said, and Ivan bowed to her as he turned to leave. He hesitated by the door and looked at her. "Stop worrying too much. Everything will go smoothly," he assured her before leaving, but that did nothing to put her mind at ease. She had a feeling that something was going on in the pce. Something that was beyond her, and she needed to prepare for whatever wasing. Because it was going to be HUGE. Chapter 190 Ancestor And Descendant Alicia felt like she was wandering. She could not exactly ce it, but she knew something was wrong. If "Nothing" was a ce, she was currently there. She could see nothing except a big ck void, and that made her scared. She thought it was a nightmare at first and prayed to wake up, but as the seconds passed, she became concerned. What made her even more scared was when she pinched herself and felt the pain for real. Her heartbeat spiked. What was happening to her? Was this another transmigration? How did she get here? What happened? Was she going to be stuck here now?No! She didn''t want to be here. She couldn''t stay here. What about Harold? Where was he? She yelled his name several times, but there was nothing. All she could hear was the reverberating sound of her voice. It made her shudder with fear, and she hugged herself to ward off the feeling of dread that was beginning to overwhelm her. She felt it to the point where she could almost taste it. "Hello?" She called out, and her voice echoed. "Is anyone here?" She called again, hoping that she wasn''t alone. Maybe someone else was around somewhere but had failed to respond because she had called Harold and they were not Harold. She bit her lip when she got no response. It felt like she was the only one in this ce, and that caused a deep feeling of dread and fear to settle over her. Why was this happening to her? Was it because she had failed to appreciate what she had at the Moon Kingdom and kept trying to return to her life? Was this a sort of punishment? How would Harold cope? He had said he was merely existing before she came. How would he live now? How could she be worrying about Harold right now when she didn''t even know where she was or what was happening to her? Alicia asked herself incredulously, and her heart skipped a beat when someone suddenly spoke. "It''s you!" Alicia turned when she heard the very familiar voice. And instead of being scared at the sudden presence, she felt a lot at ease, and almost immediately, the ce brightened up. She squinted and tried to adjust to the sudden brightness while trying to see the person''s face. She wasn''t surprised to see a replica of herself standing there staring at her in wonder. It only took one look for her to know that it wasn''t her. This was Queen Anne. Apart from the outfit she was wearing, what stood out was her bulging stomach under the long in white dress she was wearing. She was pregnant. Her face was pale and her hair was brushed down, falling down to her waist. "You look... just like me," Anne said with awe. Really? How was that possible? Was she by chance... She touched her face and quickly looked at her hands and nails. She wasn''t in Amber''s body. She was looking like her real self currently. How did that happen? "You are Queen Anne, right? Where am I?" Anne''s eyes widened. "How... did you know my name? And... who are you? Why do you look like me?" Okay... this was weird now. If Anne was this okay to meet her like this, shouldn''t it mean she knew who she was? Besides, Harvey had said her name had been in Anne''s diary, right? So why didn''t she know her and was asking her who she was? "How did I get here? Was it you?" Alicia asked, and Anne gave her a nod. "Yes. I summoned you here." "Why?" "Because I saw you a year ago. You were at the market. And I knew you were not a real person. You saw me too, didn''t you?" A year ago? Market? Not a real person? "A year ago?" Alicia asked, and Anne nodded slowly. It was a year ago? How was that a year ago? Wasn''t it only a little while ago that Alicia saw her? None of it made sense. "Don''t you remember?" Anne asked, but Alicia raised a finger to stop her. "Give me a minute!" Alicia said, as her brain rapidly began to put things together to make sense of the situation. One, it seemed like this was their second meeting. Two, Anne had probably summoned her after seeing her the first time. Three, time was different in this dimension. Or maybe she was just the one who was confused. "I saw you too. But the timing doesn''t make sense..." "What is your name?" Anne cut in. "My name is Alicia." "Alicia," She repeated the name. "I would have been able to summon you easily if I knew your name." She muttered to herself. "How were you able to do it? To summon me here?" Alicia asked in confusion. "It''s the Blood moon tonight. It was not very difficult but not very easy either." Blood moon again. So that hadn''t been just a myth then? "The first time I saw you at the marketce. Was that on a blood moon too?" Anne nodded. "But I didn''t summon you then. So I was surprised to see a non-human that looked like me." "I am a human. And... I think... you are my ancestor." Alicia informed her. "Your ancestor?" "I am from the year two thousand and twenty." As soon as she said that, Anne''s eyes widened, "How... is that possible?" "You tell me. You are the witch here." Her eyes widened again. "How... did you know that?" "Is there any other way to exin how I am here? You have to be a witch to have summoned me," Alicia said, wondering why Anne didn''t seem so smart like she had always imagined. "What year is this?" She asked before Anne could speak again. "This is... year Fourteen-eighty-five," Anne said, and Alicia''s eyes narrowed as she pondered that piece of information. She was back in time again? The year with Harold was 1503. This meant she had gone 19 years back. And also meant that the baby in her stomach was... "Amber?" Alicia asked, pointing at Anne''s stomach. Chapter 191 Different Dimension "What?" Anne asked, looking down at her stomach. "The baby you are carrying. That is Amber, right?" "Amber?" When she saw the confused look on Anne''s face, she realized she really wasn''t making any sense. Of course, Anne had no idea. "It''s a girl. Her name is Amber." Alicia said, looking at her stomach. Anne looked at her stomach and caressed it. "A princess," Anne muttered with a smile before looking up at Alicia. "How did you know?" Seriously, how was she supposed to answer that? Because technically, she didn''t meet Amber. She was inside her body. "Why did you try so hard to summon me?" Alicia asked curiously, changing the topic swiftly. "I told you I was surprised. Even though I am from a line of witches, I am not exactly a full-blood witch." "What does that mean?" "Witches are hated in my world," Anne told her. "We are seen as the carriers of doom. My maternal lineage bears the mark of the strongest witches in existence. But that giftes with a price. We either live secretly in peace or destroy anyone who tries to destroy us. We were tired of the endless bloodshed. So my mother ced a spell on me when I was born to stop me from practicing any spells. She wants me to live like other people. Marry someone nice, live like ady and have a nice normal family." She said sadly. "I saw you fighting at the market." Anne nodded. "I didn''t exactly live like ady." Sheughed. "But look at me a yearter. I am married to a king and about to have a princess today." Today? So Amber was born on a blood moon? Was that why the switch happened on the same day? "How were you able to practice spells then?" Alicia asked her. "It was after meeting you a year ago. I had to try everything I could to meet you again to know who you truly are," She smiled."I am happy to know I have a descendant that looks exactly like me and survived until the year two thousand and twenty. I wish I could see what the world looked like then." Alicia felt something was wrong, and when she looked down at her hands, she noticed she was glitching like she was about to disappear. "Don''t go yet!" Anne cried desperately, and the glitching stopped for a moment. "Something strange happened on a blood moon 19 years from now," Alicia said, deciding to be honest since she wasn''t sure when she would disappear. When Anne looked curious, she exined, "I... found myself in Amber''s body. I don''t know how it happened. But she seemed to have been in serious trouble and drowned. Then I woke up in her body in the year 1503." Anne touched her stomach protectively as she asked in a terse voice,"Where... w-was I?" Alicia looked guilty as she said, "You... were not around." "Dead?" "Yes. I''m sorry," Alicia said softly, not knowing how to tell her that she had been sentenced to death by her own husband. She smiled sadly. "I guess things are going to be difficult for me. But I''m d I know that now." Alicia felt herself glitch again. "I will do all I can to protect her and make sure she lives a long life," Anne said while caressing her belly again. "Thank you for telling me." "Why don''t you try to protect yourself too? You can run away with her now." Alicia said in concern. Anne shook her head. "One thing I have learning from a line of witches is that no matter how far you run, your fate will catch up with you. So I can only live my best life until then." Alicia nodded slowly. That was true. "You should be wary of your husband''s concubine," Alicia warned, and Anne smiled at her. "Do you know what she was like? Amber?" Alicia noticed how her face always lit up whenever she talked about the baby that was yet to be born. "She was quiet. She was a good fighter like you. And had friends who loved her," she said, thinking about Harvey. "She also had a maid. Her name is Paulina. You saved her from being sold as a ve. She is very loyal to Amber." "I did?" Anne asked, smiling. "I guess I will look out for Paulina and raise her well to thank her for looking after my baby in the future." Alicia smiled as everything urred to her. So this was how it happened? No wonder Paulina adored Queen Anne. Anne must have treated her really well since she knew Paulina was going to be an important person in her daughter''s future. "I will try to live my best life and also do everything to protect my baby so I don''t have any regrets when I die. Even if it means learning spells." ? She said this with a happy smile before going closer to Alicia. She held Alicia''s hand and smiled at her. Alicia glitched again and found herself fleeting away. Alicia wanted to ask if she knew anything about how Amber woulde back after the swap but she felt herselfalready leaving the dimension, so she yelled, "You don''t have to worry too much about Amber. She was able to marry a very handsome prince from the Moon Kingdom." "What? Moon... Kingdom?!" Anne yelled, but that was thest thing Alicia heard before everything went ck for her. ~~~~ Alicia groaned in pain as she regained consciousness. She could hear a voice talking to her and crying, but she couldn''t make out what the person was saying. It felt like she was sleeping on a hard surface, and it made her entire body ache all over as she tried to open her eyes. However, when she opened her eyes, she was met with darkness and only a dim fire torch that enabled her to see only a little. She saw a swollen face with bruises and dirt hovering above hers and could hear the person crying and asking her if she was okay. "P-Paulina?" Alicia asked in a hoarse voice and was even shocked at how dry her voice was. Paulina helped her sit up and hugged her tightly while crying. Alicia looked around her in confusion. The ce was dark, smelly, scary, and... locked? She could hear loud cries and wails all around her. She had been here before with Harold but she had been outside the cell then. What was happening? Was she still dreaming? Why were they locked in this scary dungeon? "I''m... so ggd you... are a-awake. I... w-was so scared you wouldn''te back," Paulina cried, and Alicia frowned. "What... is... h-happening? How... long have... we been here?" Alicia struggled to speak. "F-for the past... two days." Paulina cried. Chapter 192 Blood Alicia wanted tough at the awful dream she had found herself in, but she didn''t have the energy to do so because, one, it wasn''t funny, and secondly, her whole jaw ached for real, especially her head, which was pounding seriously, making it difficult for her to properly process everything. Two days? Paulina said they had been here for two days. Why? What happened? Alicia wondered in confusion. "T-Two... days?" She managed to ask. "Why are we locked up here? What about my husband? Where is... Harold?" She asked, knowing that Harold would never allow something like this to happen to her. The loud cries and groans of the other prisoners gave her goosebumps all over and made her very scared. Something had to be wrong somewhere. This had better be a dream. Paulina cried as she shook her head, "I don''t know where the Prince is. I don''t know." She looked at Paulina with concern. Paulina looked awful. And she looked like she was struggling to breathe as she cried and spoke. Alicia touched her head when it began to bang. It was making it difficult for her to think. She touched her head as she thought about the most important question to ask since none of this was making any sense. "Then do you at least know what happened? Why are we here? Where is everyone?" Alicia asked as she tried to stand up so she could take a look around, even though her knees felt weak and her head felt too heavy for her neck. "I don''t know. I was dragged away from my bed. But I heard them saying y-you... that you k--illed... someone." Paulina stuttered, and Alicia''s eyes widened as she stumbled back in shock. "K-Killed... s-someone?" She asked in disbelief. Her heart began to beat very fast and she fell back to the dirty ground. She ignored the throbbing pain in her head and pondered that information. She had killed someone. She was locked here for two days, and Harold was nowhere in sight. By chance... was it... Harold? "Please... tell me it... it wasn''t..." She choked on her words, not sure how to ask that question. Her entire body began to shake, and tears suddenly poured out of her eyes. "It was... B-Beth," Paulina said as she took her fragile self to hug Alicia. "They... also said... you hurt Princess Tyra and she isn''t waking up." She gasped as a feeling of dread and horror overwhelmed her. The gasps turned into a broken sob and then a full sob. "No. I... didn''t do it. I didn''t," Alicia cried with a shake of her head while Paulina hugged her tightly. "What happened on that night?" Paulina asked but Alicia could not think of anything. Even trying to think alone was making her head ache so much. Was this by chance the same thing that had happened when she went to the market with Harold and how she had killed three men? But... how? What happened? Beth, of all people? And she had also hurt Tyra? How? Why would she? Of all the offenses she had been expecting to hear, that was the least. Murder? That was impossible! There was no way she could have done that. And even if someone else had possessed her, what could have made the person murder Beth and hurt Tyra? No. She didn''t do it. She couldn''t possibly have done it. Where was Harold? What was he doing? Did he believe that she had murdered Beth and hurt Tyra to the point where she was unconscious? She needed him to believe her that she didn''t do it. "Why... did they... think I did it? Why?" She asked in confusion as she broke free from the hug. This was not the time to cry. It was time to find answers. Why couldn''t she remember anything? Her entire brain was nk. "Blood. Your... clothes are stained," Paulina said, and for the first time, Alicia looked down at herself, and although the cell was dark, she could make out the stains on the white sleeping dress she was wearing. "Blood?" Her brows pulled together in confusion. Why was she wearing a sleeping dress? Paulina said they had dragged her off her bed. That meant they had brought them there at night? She usually slept with Harold, so how could they have brought her here if Harold was with her? What could have happened? How did it happen? She mused as she tried to recall the events of thest two nights, but try as she might, nothing came up. She raised a hand to her head, which began to ache as she tried hard to recall what could have happened. No matter how much she tried, she couldn''t remember anything. It felt like something was obstructing her from essing her memories. The more she tried, the more her head ached, and she felt faint, so she stopped. Perhaps it was best to go about it slowly. She could start by finding herst memory. What was thest thing she could remember aside from two nights ago? She closed her eyes as she tried to focus. "Be mine." She opened her eyes when she remembered those words from Harold. She could remember them both lying on her bed. She could remember him cuddling her to sleep. What happened after that? Was that the night they took her? She could remember that he had said those words that night after they weed the first guests and she prepared snacks. She turned to Paulina, who was sobbing beside her, and something shed in her head like a recent memory. She had talked to someone about Paulina recently. Who did she talk to? Was it in her dream? She wondered and shook her head. That wasn''t what was most important at the moment. Looking at Paulina, it seemed like crying was all she knew how to do when there was trouble. She couldn''t afford to give in to despair right now like Paulina was doing. Chapter 193 Nothing Makes Sense. "What happened on the morning of the Banquet?" She asked curiously when she recalled that Paulina had left her that evening after she found out that she wasn''t Princess Amber. "On the morning of the banquet?" Paulina paused to ask in confusion, wondering why she was asking her that. "Yes. Was it that morning we were brought here? Do you remember seeing me that morning? This wasn''t what I was wearing on the night before the banquet," Alicia said, and Paulina broke into a fresh bout of tears when she realized that Alicia didn''t seem to remember anything. "Can you just stop crying and tell me what happened? I need to figure out what happened to know how to save us," she snapped at her impatiently, and almost as suddenly as she had started crying, Paulina stopped. "That wasn''t the day we were brought here. It was the next morning. On the morning of the banquet, everything was normal. You went to breakfast as usual and did everything normally," Paulina said, and Alicia''s brows pulled together thoughtfully. "I behaved normally?" She asked, and Paulina gave her a nod. "Yes, mdy." Alicia fell silent as she tried to think. If it was true that she had acted normally, why couldn''t she remember anything that happened? It was strange. She had never experienced such a timepse except that one time. Her entire body stiffened when it urred to her that she had experienced something simr some time ago and there was no way to prove that it wasn''t her who killed Beth since it would have still been her technically. She wished there was a way she could speak with Harold. He was the only one who would know exactly all she had done that day. "Why else am I being suspected?" She asked curiously. It didn''t make sense that she was locked up because of the blood only and Paulina was also suffering from it because she was her maid. "I... don''t know. No one told me anything." Paulina replied weakly. As much as Alicia was trying to act sane now, she was scared shitless. What the hell happened? Away from there, Luciana paced around her secluded chamber as she thought about the events of thest two days. No matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn''t believe that Princess Amber could have done something like that. And knowing how much her husband and the Queen hated Princess Amber, she wouldn''t put it past them. Some things didn''t just make sense. One, it didn''t make sense that it was Beth who had been killed. Beth was the queen''s person, and she doubted that the queen would sacrifice Beth just to get Princess Amber. And it didn''t make sense that a frail human like Princess Amber could have killed a strong werewolf like Beth either. And then, why would Princess Amber stab Tyra? Tyra was her friend. Thinking about it again, it sort of made sense that it was Beth who had been murdered, despite her being the queen''s person. Beth was the only person who could be killed and have Princess Amber take the fall for it since she was the only one known to have had issues with her apart from Prince Ivan. It wasn''t like they could murder Prince Ivan and use Princess Amber of it. But then, what about Tyra? And then, Harold''s issue too. She turned to the door when it suddenly opened and her maid, who she had sent to find out what was happening at the pce, walked in carrying a tray of food, "What is the situation of things at the pce? What is going on? Has Prince Harold regained consciousness?" "No. Prince Harold is still unconscious, and Princess Tyra too. The king''s illness seems to have gotten worse, so the Queen and Prince Ivan are handling things. Beth''s father and the aristocrats are putting pressure on them to sentence Princess Amber so they can return to their homes," the maid said, and Luciana''s brows furrowed. This wasn''t good. If Harold and Princess Tyra were still unconscious, that would mean Princess Amber had no one on her side. She doubted that Susan could do anything either since her father was the queen''s brother. The only sentence that could be given to Princess Amber for hurting a princess to the point of consciousness and taking the life of someone from the pce who also happened to be a werewolf and also someone that the royal family honoured, would be death. Especially if it was the queen and Ivan who would be in charge. "Do you know if Princess Amber has regained consciousness yet?" Luciana asked, and the maid shook her head. Luciana sighed when she remembered all the times Princess Amber had stepped in to help her. Her conscience would never permit her to turn a blind eye to this and let the Queen and Prince Ivan win. She needed to see Princess Amber. If Princess Amber was awake, then she would be able to tell her what had happened, and maybe then she could find a way to help her. With that thought in mind, Luciana headed for the door and nned to sneak out, but before she could leave, Ivan opened the door and walked in. Immediately, the maid excused them. Seeing him, her countenance changed and she eyed him with displeasure. "What do you want here?" "I came to see you," Ivan said, ignoring her cold tone. He could excuse that. "Are you not going to offer me a seat?" Ivan asked when Luciana said nothing and just stared at him. Ivan sighed when she still said nothing to him and took a step towards her, "Things don''t have to be this way between us. I would forgive you if you seek my forgiveness and promise not to go against me again," Ivan offered sweetly, and Luciana scoffed. "I''d rather spend the rest of my life here than staynext to a person like you," Luciana said with disgust, causing an ugly frown to form on his face. "Go back to your new bride and don''te back here," Luciana said, and Ivan''s face contorted with anger. "You allowed Harold''s wife influence you, and now see how you both ended up." He said spitefully and went to sit on her humble bed, crossing his hands. "Aren''t you regretting it now that things are going smoothly for me?" Chapter 194 Visitor Alicia didn''t know how long she had been conscious there. Probably only an hour had passed, but it felt like days. It was safe to say that this was the worst time of her life. Her brain was still foggy, and she was not only weak, but her throat felt parched. Seeing how Paulina was struggling to breathe, she could guess the girl was faring even worse. Plus, it looked like she had been seriously beaten. Alicia didn''t bother to ask her about that for fear that she would remember something awful and start crying again. She had to leave here first before she would settle that. But how to leave was the problem. She had no idea where Harold was. She had no idea where anyone was. Paulina had said no one hade here to visit. Not even to give them food or water. A guard only came to check if she was awake. Paulina didn''t know the exact time of the day the guard arrived here because it was always very dark inside the dungeon. There were no windows either. But Paulina assured her that it was only going to be a while longer before he arrived again. As much as she wanted the time to run so he coulde and see her and so they could quickly get out of here, she also didn''t want to spend another second here. When the guard eventually came to check on her, she had asked for them to be released after he confirmed that she was awake, but he rudely turned around and left, not even giving her a chance to ask about Harold. And for the next couple of hours, no one else showed up. The worst part was that Paulina had exined to her that the guard would take an even longer time before he would arrive again, or maybe not since she was conscious now and there was no reason to check. Since she was already awake, shouldn''t they release her? The wait was frustrating. "Hang in there," she said in a dry voice to Paulina, who looked like she was going to lose consciousness at any moment. "I''m... fine, Mdy," Paulina said quietly from where she was lying on the cold hard floor. "I... don''t know how to... get... you any food." Paulina said with regret. "Is that even important right now?!" Alicia snapped angrily at her. She looked like she was dying, but she was regretting not knowing how to get her mistress something to eat? "B-But-" "Shut up and save your energy. I want you to be conscious when we leave this ce. I am going to get us out of here no matter what it¡ª" Alicia stopped talking when she heard a sound like someone was approaching and quickly looked out the cell gates hopefully. Paulina tried to stand up to join her, but she could not move her body at all. They saw a dimntern first before the face came into view, "You are really awake!" Susan whispered, her eyes lighting up. Alicia almost cried for joy when she finally saw a familiar face. Susan got closer and dropped thentern on the floor before taking out a small bottle from inside the sleeve of her dress. "I could only bring this with me to avoid suspicion. It''s water." Susan whispered when she noticed how Alicia was looking at the bottle skeptically. "Water?" Alicia whispered back as if she had just seen an oasis in a desert. As soon as Susan nodded, Alicia reached for it and staggered to where Paulina was. The bottle was very small and she doubted one could get two full gulps out of it. But at least it was something. She removed the cork and fed the water to a stubborn Paulina, who tried to fight her off so she would drink it herself. But Alicia wouldn''t hear of it. She forced Paulina to drink everything and sighed in relief when she saw how rxed Paulina was after drinking the water, even though she still looked guilty and was trying to fight back tears. Susan watched the scene in confusion. How many people would do this for their maids? "Thank you," Alicia said to Susan as she handed the bottle back to her. "What about you? Why didn''t you share?" Alicia shook her head. "I can manage. But Paulina can not. When can we get out of here? Where is Harold? What exactly happened?" Alicia asked impatiently. "Keep your voice down," Susan whispered and looked behind her. "I am not supposed to be here. If I get caught, I will be severely punished." "Why am I here? I didn''t do any of those things I was used of. Where is Harold?" Alicia asked, but this time, her voice was hushed. "A lot has happened in the past few days. Prince Harold is... unconscious," Susan said, making Alicia''s heart skip a beat. "What?" Alicia asked her rm. "An ident happened. He... was shot with an arrow. I can''t exin further, but we are still waiting for him to wake up." Alicia''s legs could no longer support her and she fell to the ground while Paulina slowly began to cry. Susan crouched in front of her and looked at her with pity. "What happened? Did... you really kill Beth and stab Tyra?" "How... how is he unconscious? Harold is stronger than that. A mere arrow wouldn''t make him like that. What... what happened to him?" Alicia asked as she broke down in sobs, ignoring Susan''s questions. Susan could not exin to her the nature of the injury. She didn''t know how it had happened, but he had been shot during the hunt. Of course, it would have been a simple ident if it hadn''t been for the three silver arrows with wolfsbane coating the heads that had been used to shoot him. It was no ident. No one knew who had shot him. And no one knew why he was still finding it difficult to recover up till now. "I need to know what happened to know how to help you. Because I believe you didn''t do that. It would have been fine if it was just Beth, but you have no reason to hurt Princess Tyra." "I didn''t... do it. But I... can''t remember anything. Oh God! What is going to happen? Is it that serious?" Chapter 195 Crescent Moon Dagger She didn''t do it, but she couldn''t remember anything? How was she going to defend that? Susan wondered. "This is a very serious issue. That''s why you are locked here, and now that you are awake, you will be tortured until you confess." "Not that. Harold. How serious is his wound? Is he going to be fine?" She asked fearfully. She didn''t want anything to happen to Harold. Although she wanted to get out of this ce, leaving this dungeon would be meaningless if anything happened to Harold. How would she live in this ce and time without Harold? She couldn''t. "Is that what you should be worrying about right now?!" Susan scolded. "I know he is your husband, but this is a very serious issue. You are probably going to get killed before Harold wakes up, and if that happens, do you know what this kingdom is going to turn into? You have to save yourself first." She sounded annoyed, but she knew this was not the time to be angry. She sighed and began to speak quietly. "Prince Harold will be fine. Alvin has been with him the entire time, and the royal physicians have been working to make sure he is okay. Now you have to think about what happened on that night. If Tyra was awake, she would have told us what happened. But¡ª" "I can''t remember!" Alicia cried. "I can''t remember anything that happened that day. I am trying so hard but it feels like my head is going to fall off," Alicia said, close to tears. "That day? Or night?" Susan asked with a slight frown. "I have no memory of the entire banquet day. I only remember what happened the day the first guests were weed," Alicia said in a shaky voice, and Susan frowned. "How is that possible?" She asked with a frown as she looked at Paulina, and as usual, Paulina was crying quietly. "Do you own any daggers with a crescent moon on the handle?" Susan asked quickly and looked behind her one more time. Crescent moon? Alicia thought about it. She remembered the daggers she had bought when she went out with Harold to the market. She was about to nod when she felt a splitting headache and an unfamiliar scene of Harold handing her the knife. "You left it in my chamber. Keep it beside you tonight," She heard Harold''s voice in her head and groaned as the headache tore through her entire body, almost making her lose consciousness. "Princess Amber!" "Mdy!" Susan and Paulina called out in worry while Paulina rushed to hold Alicia. "Are you okay?" Susan asked with a concerned frown, but Alicia was still holding her head. "It''s her head," Paulina said tearfully. Seeing her that way, Susan was very worried. And as much as she wanted to stay and find out as much as she could from Princess Amber, she had to leave. Just then, the first bell rang for the night. "I... have to go now. You have to try to think of something. You don''t have time. I will also try to find whatever I can." She stood up and picked up hermp. She hesitated when she saw Alicia was still wincing from pain while cradling her head and Paulina was patting her back andforting her. "Take care of your mistress. I will see what I can do." Susan said with regret before she hurried out of the ce. Susan could not stop thinking about how everything turned out this way. One minute they were preparing for a banquet, weing guests and nning stupid weddings, and the next minute, people were dying and getting hurt. Beth had been stabbed repeatedly as if whoever had done it was a monster. Even for werewolves, the sight had been too much for them. Beth''s father was not taking it easy. What bothered everyone also was seeing how Tyra had also been stabbed twice. Thankfully, hers didn''t hit a vital organ, so she could survive it. Although she was still weak and unconscious since she was an Omega. A human killing a werewolf was something the Moon Kingdom could not overlook, no matter who she was. And since all the important people of the Moon Kingdom were here, it didn''t help make things easy for Princess Amber. What they still could not understand was how a HUMAN had been able to hurt their kind. It didn''t make any sense to her. No matter how much she thought of it, there was no way Princess Amber could have killed Beth or hurt Tyra. Although she was stubborn and always causing trouble, this wasn''t something that someone like her would do. Princess Amber, who had encouraged the royaldies to feed their maids and had stood against Prince Ivan for hurting his own wife, could not do something like that. Believing that Princess Amber was innocent wasn''t enough. She needed to find a way to prove it, and it didn''t help that Princess Amber couldn''t seem to remember what had happened. Susan was distracted by her thoughts as she opened the door of her chamber, and she jumped back in shock when she saw someone inside. Thankfully, it was Williams. "You scared me!" She said as she let out a breath of relief and shut the door behind her. "Where have you been?" He asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "I decided to take a stroll," Susan lied as she walked past Williams. "Where? I looked around the courtyard and everywhere," Williams said, and Susan sighed, knowing that there was no need to lie to him. "I went to the dungeon," she said, and Williams looked at her with wide eyes. "How? Why? Didn''t you stop me from going there, saying it was too dangerous?" He asked, and she sighed. "It''s different for you. Paulina is there, and everyone might misunderstand. If Father learns that you went there, it would make things worse. Besides, I''m better at sneaking around. And you wouldn''t have been able to convince the guards to let you inside without alerting the queen." Susan exined as she sat on her bed and buried her face in her hands. Williams sighed. Her first point was correct. Or maybe, all of her points were correct. She was right. As far as everyone was concerned, he had no reason to worry about Princess Amber, but Susan did since they were close. So it was safer if she went there. "How are they? Were you able to speak with her? Is she awake now? Did she do it?" Williams asked as he went to sit beside her. "They''re not okay. Although she''s awake now, she doesn''t seem to remember anything that happened that day," Susan said as she looked up at him with sad eyes. "That means she is going to be found guilty. Unless... we find a way to prove her Innocence." Chapter 196 Missing Witness "How is she doing? Any improvement?" The Queen asked the royal physician as they both stood beside Tyra''s bed, while Ivan stood by the window. "She is still unconscious and weak," the royal physician said, and the queen sighed. "Do you have any idea how long she is going to be this way?" Ivan asked, but the royal physician shook his head. "That, I cannot say." "You can leave," the Queen said, and the royal physician bowed to them before walking away in fear. He had every reason to be scared now because the entire kingdom was suddenly in a mess. "That''s the thing I hate about Omegas. They are so weak," Ivan said with disapproval, and the Queen turned to re at him. "Don''t speak about your sister in such a manner," she scolded, but Ivan paid no heed to her words. "See how pathetic she looks," Ivan continued with a shake of his head. "It''s so difficult to acknowledge her as my sister." He said with disgust. The queen eyed him unpleasantly as she said, "Are you trying to mock me for birthing an Omega? Do you think you hate it more than I do?" She asked him harshly. He finally got the hint that she was angry and kept his mouth shut. "The least you can do right now is shut up and not try to annoy me. I already have a lot to think about." "Whatever you say." He muttered to himself. "I learned that you visited Luciana a while ago. Why did you go there?" The Queen asked, changing the subject. "I went to see how she was doing," Ivan said with a scowl, thinking about Luciana''s rude words and how she had turned him away. He had always been a good husband to her. Why couldn''t she swallow her pride and apologize to him? "Stay away from her. Immediately after we have taken care of Princess Amber, and your sister regains consciousness, your wedding to Benedicta would take ce as nned. Don''t mess up our ns by being careless," she warned, and Ivan smirked. "It''s not like Harold stands a chance against me now. No one would want him to be king, not after what his wife has done. And who knows? Seeing as he is taking so much time to wake up, he just might not survive," Ivan said with a note of satisfaction in his voice, and the queen shook her head. "You are not curious to know who could have hurt him?" The Queen asked, and Ivan shook his head. "We both know that Harold has offended a lot of people, and he has a lot of enemies. They probably had been waiting for the right time to attack him and they finally found it," Ivan said dismissively, and the queen looked at him without saying a word, wondering whether or not it was Ivan who had done it. From the moment she learned about Harold''s attack during the hunt, she had been suspicious of Ivan. But Ivan had insisted that he wasn''t responsible for it. A part of her wished he was since if he wasn''t responsible for it, that confirmed her suspicion that someone was messing with them. "Harold getting hurt, the king''s health bing worse, Beth dying, and Tyra getting stabbed by Princess Amber was simply fate? All at the same time?" She asked, letting him know that she didn''t believe that. One would think she should be rxed now that everything was working out in her favour, but she could not stop being uneasy. "Of course! The goddess wants me to ascend the throne. Everything is working out well. Why are you always worried and suspicious of everything?" He asked, sounding annoyed. She knew better than to believe that all of this was a coincidence. The sudden worsening of the king''s illness, Harold''s attack, Beth''s and Tyra''s attacks, as well as Princess Amber''s imprisonment. She had a feeling that the person who had sent her that letter was behind most of this. She wasn''t as stupid as Ivan to entirely believe that a mere human like Princess Amber had overpowered a strong Beta like Beth and killed her. There was more to everything that was going on, and as much as she was d that getting rid of Princess Amber in this way was good for their ns, as it would mean that no matter what happened, the aristocrats would never take the side of a werewolf whose bride had murdered one of their own, she knew that she couldn''t afford to let down her guard either, as she didn''t know if she was going to be the next person to be attacked. She would have also loved to make Harold watch as they sentenced his bride to death, but then, she was still worried about what Harold would do when he woke up to realize what had happened in the pce. Wouldn''t he think she had been the one to n this whole thing out? A knock came on the door, and Damian entered the room. His eyes went to the bed first before he greeted the queen and Ivan. "How did it go? Have you seen her?" He shook his head. "I cannot find the maid anywhere," Damian said with regret. "So you are saying a maid was able to escape from this pce and no one knew about it? A mere kitchen servant?" Ivan asked, annoyed. "I am still looking all over for her," Damian said with his head down. "Look for her. She has to tell us exactly what she saw that night." The queen ordered angrily, and Damian bowed to her before looking at the bed onest time, and he left the room. If they had known she would disappear like this, they would have insisted on questioning her some more that night after they found the three unconscious bodies. But they had been too busy trying to tend to Harold and Tyra, and Beth''s father hadn''t taken the death of his daughter quite easily, especially when the maid told them what happened in fear. She was supposed to be treated by the physician so she would be in the right frame of mind while telling them what had happened, but she disappeared the next morning. Chapter 197 "So Be It" The queen became even more nervous now that she learned of the disappearance of the maid. Who was the maid working for? Who was behind all this? Was it Damon? He hadn''t been around during the hunt since he had to stand in for the king in the town and ensure that things went smoothly with themoners and unimportant people in the kingdom. He was yet to return since some issues had kept him busy, and even though what was happening in the pce was very important, making sure that the people outside the pce walls werepletely safe and not running wild or feasting on the tiny poption of humans in the kingdom, was equally as important. But was there any reason for him to do something like this? No matter how hard she thought about it, there was no one else within the pce that would dare to go against her apart from Harold. And since it was obvious that it wasn''t Harold, Damon was the only other person that came to mind. Thankfully, he was returning tomorrow. She would have to talk about it and also keep an eye on him. Right now, she couldn''t afford to trust anyone. She paused when she recalled something else that had been bothering her. Harold. Although since the past two days, Alvin had not let anyone else into Harold''s chamber aside from the physician, but from what she knew, neither Alvin nor Harold had left the chamber, and that meant only one thing. Harold had not shifted into his wolf form for two days. What did that mean? Was it that he was too weak to shift, or was it perhaps true that the curse had been lifted truly? She was going to do her best to get rid of Princess Amber quickly and make sure Ivan took over the throne before either Prince Harold or Princess Tyra regained consciousness. That way even if Princess Amber was innocent, she would be long deadbefore the truth came out, and then Tyra''s confession would help her find the person who was ckmailing her. She knew without doubt that Tyra must have seen the person''s face and could identify the person. She would try to seize this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. If Harold tried to cause trouble after he regains consciousness, she would make sure they take care of him once and for all with Ivan''s power as king. Although, it would be even better for her if Harold never recovers and just dies quietly, saving her the stress. "Now that Harold''s bride is awake, we should try her first thing in the morning and sentence her as soon as Damon returns to the pce," Ivan said, breaking into her thoughts, and the queen sighed. "Yes. Let''s do that," the queen said just as the first warning bell rang, and she headed for the door as Ivan followed her out of the chamber. Although he knew that his mother was still suspicious of him, he didn''t care.. He was going to do his best to ensure that Harold never recovered, and he would make sure that Harold''s bride was killed. She had iting. Feeling super happy, he left the chamber in a good mood together with his mother who was still nervous for whatever reason he could not understand. Away from there, Williams paced around Susan''s chamber as they both thought about the problem on ground and tried to figure out what they could do about it, "It''s strange that she can''t remember anything. Even stranger that she had been unconscious for two days," Williams said thoughtfully, and Susan nodded in agreement. "Exactly. None of it makes any sense. She didn''t even sustain any major wounds or injuries. How could she have fought with a beta like Beth and even killed her without sustaining any serious injuries? Why is everyone so quick to believe that she is guilty simply?" Susan asked incredulously. "You can''t me them. Three unconscious bodies were on the floor and only her was unhurt. She had blood stains all over her and the dagger was in her hand. Not forgetting the witness," Williams said reasonably, and Susan raised a hand to massage her temple. It didn''t help that the maid who had stayed back to attend to Princess Tyra was insisting that she had seen Princess Amber attacking Beth. ording to her, a sick Princess Tyra and herself had rushed out of the chamber when they heard someone''s scream, and when they got there and saw Princess Amber attacking Beth with the dagger, Princess Tyra had stepped in to stop Princess Amber since they were friends, and had asked the maid to go find Prince Harold, but by the time she returned with some people who were willing to leave the euphoria of enjoying the full moon to attend to other businesses, Princess Amber had killed Beth and injured Princess Tyra. Tyra had whispered Princess Amber''s name before she lost consciousness. "If only Princess Tyra was conscious. She would have been the best person to say exactly what happened and prove Princess Amber''s innocence," Williams said, causing Susan to sigh once again. Apart from her and Williams, who else could she count on to support Princess Amber and join them to prove her innocence? Harold was down, and she couldn''t count on Alvin since he was stuck at Harold''s bedside like a dog to its owner. Paulina was Princess Amber''s maid and, as such, her testimony wouldn''t be valid, hence she was locked up with her mistress. Tyra was unconscious and they had no idea how long it would take before she woke up, so they couldn''t rely on her. It was just going to be her and Williams, and they couldn''t do much either, as their parents would be furious if they found out about what they were doing. Her parents had specifically told them to stay out of everything and that they were going to be leaving the pce together as soon as this was settled. "Why is she taking so long to heal?" Susanined with a slight frown as she stood up from the bed and walked over to the window. Williams stopped pacing around when the second bell rang, "Try to get some sleep, and do not leave your chamber. It''s dangerous right now," Williams warned as he prepared to leave. "What if Princess Tyra wakes up and says Princess Amber truly hurt her?" Susan asked before Williams could open the door, and he turned to her. "You have to stick to what you believe. You can''t help her if you are harboring such doubts. If you believe that she didn''t do it, then don''t concern yourself with what Princess Tyra is going to say. Focus on proving her innocence," Williams told her before opening the door. "You know what this means, right?" Susan asked before he could step out. He turned to look at her. "We are now taking sides." She whispered to him. Williams pursed his lips and pondered it before he shrugged. "So be it." And with that, he walked away. Susan let out a sigh once he left, and she began to pace around the chamber. Where was she going to start from in proving Princess Amber''s innocence? Did she really believe that Princess Amber was innocent or did she have doubts? She mused as she thought about Princess Amber. No, she didn''t have any doubts. Princess Amber would never do something like that, and she was going to prove it. With that thought in mind, Susan ignored Williams'' warning to her not to leave her chamber and walked out of it. She needed to check on Princess Tyra one more time before going to bed, and maybe she could just pass the night there. She wanted to be there when Princess Tyra finally regained consciousness so that she could get as much information from her as she could. Chapter 198 Intense Trust Issues. Susan knew that she was taking a big risk. With what had recently happened in the pce, the security was tightened and everyone was being careful so they wouldn''t be suspected of anything. But she couldn''t just stay back. Time is of the essence currently. She was certain that from tomorrow, Princess Amber would face interrogation, and seeing how she didn''t know anything was not going to help her out of this at all. She had to find something before her parents forced them out of here. And during the day, she wouldn''t be able to do whatever she wanted. She made sure to spray the scent mask Williams had made for her a year ago to help her with her sneaking and changed into dull-coloured clothes before sneaking out of her room. Her initial n had been to go to Tyra''s chamber, but she changed her mind and took the opposite direction to thest ce she was supposed to be, a bag of snacks in her hand. She sessfully got to the hallway of Harold''s chamber but became nervous when she stood in front of the door. How was Alvin going to react if he saw her there? She wondered. Realizing she didn''t have enough time to ponder those things, she ced her hand on the doorknob and turned it. As soon as it opened a little, she felt the sharp tip of a de on her throat, making her gasp. The door opened fully, and Alvin''s face came into view. He looked exhausted and angry. And despite seeing it was Susan, he didn''t put down his sword. She had made sure to wear a mask, so how did he know she was there? The shock quickly wore off and she stepped back, then tried to peek inside, but Alvin blocked her view. "What do you want?" He asked in an unpleasant tone that made her swallow nervously. She didn''t know what to say first, so she quickly raised the bag of snacks in her hand and offered it to him. "I figured you haven''t had anything to eat in days." Alvin didn''t bother to look at what he was being offered, but he looked even angrier now. "Are you clowning?" He asked as he lowered his sword and she frowned. "You expect me to ept that from... you?" That ''you'' in his statement meant a lot more than he implied, and she understood that. She was the queen''s niece. And she was not ignorant of the fact that Alvin was probably suspecting the queen or even her family for this. "You think I poisoned this?" She asked, almost sounding annoyed, but figured she didn''t have the right to be angry. She would have been wary too if she were in his shoes. "Go back!" He ordered and tried to lock the door, but she forced her way in and ced her hand there, confident he wouldn''t m the door on her hand. The annoyance on his face increased. "I know you do not trust me. I wouldn''t trust me either if I were you. But do you really think I would poison you? I risked a lot toe here to talk to you. I could get caught by the night guards. The queen would be furious if she heard of this, and my parents would skin me alive. Do you want me to have a bite of the snacks first before you believe me?" She asked and thought about doing just that, but that also meant she would have to remove her hand from the door, and he was most likely going to m the door against her face. "The queen or your parents could have sent you here." He said pointedly, letting her know that he didn''t trust her at all. "Go back." He repeated. At the same time, the second bell rang, startling her. "DO YOU THINK PRINCE HAROLD WOULD HAVE WANTED THIS?" She asked in annoyance. "What do you know about what his highness would have wanted?" He asked angrily as he stepped out to meet her, towering over her. She looked up at him and swallowed nervously again. He was very intimidating. Maybe all those years of being together with Harold had shaped him this way. If they all didn''t know he was a Beta, everyone could have believed he was an Alpha considering his build and how serious he always looked. She looked into his eyes boldly as she said, "Princess Amber is going to die." His frown deepened. "And I''m sure your dear master is going to be so pleased when he wakes up and realizes you left her there all alone just because you wanted to protect him." She said it with sarcasmced with anger. "She is awake. She doesn''t remember anything that happened that night. And I''m sure you do not believe that Princess Amber actually did all of that." "So you are telling me to leave His Highness unattended?" "If you are so worried, Williams can look after him. Williams also knows a lot about herbs¡ª" "Can you even listen to yourself?" He asked, almostughing at how absurd she sounded. "I know you are suspicious of everything and everyone right now!" She yelled in frustration before remembering she was supposed to be quiet. "But Princess Amber needs your help. And staying by the Prince''s side every second is not going to help her!" She cried out in a hushed voice. "We need to put our heads together and think of something. You should know some of the king''s trusted guards. You can put them in charge of looking after the Prince. And..." She dipped a hand inside the bag of snacks and took one before biting it and painfully swallowed it without chewing it much. "I... d-didn''t poison it." She said, trying to catch her breath. Alvin looked at her suspiciously before turning his face to the hallway. "Return to your chamber. It is unsafe." He said in a calm voice this time before he returned to the room and closed the door behind him, leaving behind a frustrated Susan. She had never met someone with such intense trust issues before. But she couldn''t me him. Harold was shot with three silver arrows coated with wolfsbane. His wife was used of murder, his sister was hurt and his father was ill. He had every reason to be suspicious of everyone. Especially someone rted to the queen like her. She was about to turn and walk away when the door opened. She looked at Alvin, her eyes gleaming with hope, while he continued to stare at her suspiciously. ? It wasn''t like he didn''t want to do anything. He was worried, scared and confused. He had never felt this way in his entire life before. He also knew that Prince Harold was going to kill him if he woke up and found out what had happened to his wife. But what could he do? He was loyal to Harold and had to make sure he was safe. But ensuring Harold was safe meant ignoring his wife, who was in the dungeon. If anything happened to her, he didn''t want to imagine what was going to happen. But then, he was very worried about leaving his friend, even for a second. "Let me know whatever you find." He said to her. "And if... you are trying to deceive me..." His eyes turned dark as he said, "I will make you watch me skin your brother alive before I do the same to you and the rest of your family. You know I''m not joking, right?" Susan blinked at him and opened her mouth in shock. Of course, she wasn''t nning to deceive him, but why did he have to sound so evil and threaten her like that? "I... know." She nodded slowly and handed the bag to him again, but he eyed her unpleasantly before shutting the door in her face for the second time. Susan scoffed in disbelief. But when she heard thest bell ring, she realized it wasn''t the time to get annoyed. It was time to sneak back to her chamber since Tyra''s chamber was farther away from here. She was just going to pay Tyra a visit first thing in the morning. Her heart was in her throat by the time she was finally able to sneak back into her chamber sessfully. Several times, she thought she was going to get caught but was fortunate enough to escape all of them. She had just gotten to the point where she was about to breathe freely since she had done this sessfully, but a presence in her room startled her. She almost screamed, but the person was fast and used a hand to cover her mouth from behind. "It''s me." The person said quietly. Susan''s eyes widened, and as the hand left her mouth, she slowly turned around and saw Harvey standing there, staring at her. Chapter 199 "Because I Want To Help" "I learned that the murderer has regained consciousness," Benedicta announced as the maids attending to their family served them tea after they were done having dinner in their chamber. Since the incident happened, all the families within the pce had been eating alone in their chambers, especially as the king was ill and there was no need for the general royal meals. "You shouldn''t refer to her in such a manner when she hasn''t been tried yet," Harvey scolded with a re as he looked at his sister. "We all know that the trial is just for show. She is guilty. The maid who witnessed it already gave her testimony. So we know truly that she did it. I heard she doesn''t get along with Beth," Benedicta said matter-of-factly before turning to her father. "Father, I hope you all will make sure that she is sentenced to death immediately. She deserves to die for doing that to Beth and Princess Tyra. Beth''s father is so saddened by the loss of his daughter, and so is the Queen by her daughter''s injury," Benedicta said, and her mother looked at her with disapproval. "Why do you seem to have so much to say concerning this matter?" Her mother asked, and she shook her head as she ced a hand on her chest. ,m "I feel terrible because I would have married a man who is married to such a scary woman. And I feel very sorry for the Queen, who lost her first son in the hands of Prince Harold, and now her daughter is battling for her life thanks to Prince Harold''s bride. Not to forget Beth''s father, who lost his wife trying to protect the queen from Prince Harold''s evil caretaker, and now he has lost his daughter to Prince Harold''s evil wife. Prince Harold and everyone close to him is evil. It''s no wonder he is so fond of her. They fit so well together. Now I''m d I never married him. She should be executed before Prince Harold regains consciousness!" Benedicta said with disdain, and both her parents and Harvey watched her in surprise as they wondered what happened to make her feel that way. "Watch what you say or else you''re going to get into trouble. I don''t want to hear a word concerning this from you anymore," her father warned, making her pout. When the first bell rang, Harvey rose from his seat and said, "It has been a long day, father. I will excuse myself now and return to my chamber." Harvey said with a bow to his parents, and he eyed his sister with displeasure before walking away. "Be careful," his mother called out to him, but he was long gone. Like everyone else in the pce, Harvey was both curious and confused over what had happened that night, but unlike everyone else, apart from Harold, who was unconscious, there wasn''t a single doubt in Harvey''s mind that Alicia was innocent. His trust in her wasn''t simply because he had been friends with Princess Amber or because he had shared tea together with Alicia and Harold and exchanged secrets with them, but after his brief discussion with her the other day, he felt like he knew her well enough to know that she wasn''t capable of such evil. Neither was Amber. He didn''t need anyone to tell him that something was going on and if he didn''t act fast, Alicia was going to lose her head. Princess Amber''s head. He had thought long and hard about the best way to go about it without drawing attention to himself or causing more trouble for Alicia since no one knew about his close friendship with Princess Amber, and it would be considered odd if he showed more interest in the case than was necessary. After much thought, he had decided to find allies. People who, like him, believed in Alicia''s innocence and were willing to work with him to prove it. For now, he knew of only two people who were close to her apart from her maid and Harold, and those were Princess Tyra and Lady Susan. Unfortunately, princess Tyra was not only unconscious but she was also one of the people she had been used of harming. That leftdy Susan and possibly Harold''s guard, who he had learned had refused to leave Harold''s bedside. Instead of going to his chamber, he went outside instead. This was a risk, but there was nothing else he could do. He didn''t have much time. He raised his head and looked up at a window he knew to be Lady Susan''s bedroom. He had scouted the area earlier today to get the exact ce. Now, he decided to pay her a visit to find out what she thought and if she was willing to stick by Alicia. He looked around to make sure no one was looking before climbing up the wall that led to Susan''s bedroom. Just as he got to the windowsill and prepared to heave himself up, he heard voices inside her bedroom and paused as he listened to her and William''s conversation. Thankfully, he had been sure to use the scent mask he always carried with him. Not wanting Williams to catch him sneaking into his twin sister''s chamber, Harvey stayed still and waited until Williams left. Their conversation greatly interested him since he confirmed that they were truly on her side. But hearing Susan mention Alicia didn''t know what had happened made him even more worried than he already was. Just as Williams left, and he started to climb up again, Susan hurried out of the chamber, and he sighed as he climbed into her chamber, deciding to wait for her while hoping that he wouldn''t have to wait for too long. Thankfully, not long after, Susan returned to the chamber, and he was quick to sp a hand over her mouth before she could scream, "It''s me." Once he felt that she was calm enough and wouldn''t scream, he let his hands drop to his side as he looked at her, "What have you learnt so far?" He asked, going straight to the point since he needed to leave soon if he didn''t want to be caught. "What... have I learnt so far? About what?" Susan asked in confusion, wondering if he was referring to the training she received at the pce, or if he was asking because he wanted to know if she would make a good bride. "About Princess Amber''s case," Harvey said, and her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at him. He sneaked into her chamber to ask her about Princess Amber''s case? Why? She would have been suspicious of him had she not taken note of him almost all through the hunt until they left when they saw what had happened to Harold and also heard the ruckus happening in the pce. Did her parents or the queen send him to find out if she was going around looking for trouble? If they had done so, he wouldn''t be sneaking into her chamber, would he? "Princess Amber''s case? Why are you asking me about that?" She asked, looking at him with a slight frown. "I know she is your friend, and I know you don''t believe she did it. Have you seen her? Have you spoken with her yet?" Harvey asked despite knowing the answer already, but Susan continued to eye him with suspicion. "What do you want? Why are you asking me these questions?" "Because... I want to... help," Harvey said, and Susan raised a brow. "Why?" Why? What reason could he possibly give her? There was no way he could tell her that he was close to Princess Amber. "Because she is your friend, and I also believe that she could not have hurt a werewolf as strong as Beth. And it doesn''t make sense that Prince Harold was hurt at the same time," he said, and Susan pped her hand suddenly. "Right? There is no way she could have done that! Why is no one else seeing that she is innocent?" Susan asked, momentarily forgetting her suspicion. "So will you answer my question and tell me what you have learnt so far? Perhaps that way I''ll know how to help," Harvey offered, and Susan looked at him for a moment, unsure whether she should trust him. "How do I know the queen or my parents didn''t send you to spy on me and know what I''m up to?" She asked, and Harvey paused as he thought of the best response he could give her. "I have no reason to work for either your parents or the Queen. And unfortunately, there is no way I can prove that to you if you don''t give me the chance. You can either take my word for it and trust me or try to save your friend by yourself. But you should know that whatever you decide, she will be tried tomorrow and could be executed if we are unable to prove her innocence," Harvey said, and Susan looked at him hesitantly as she tried to make up her mind. "If... you are trying to deceive me, I will make you watch me skin your sister alive before I do the same to you and the rest of your family," she threatened, trying to sound as intimidating as Alvin had sounded, but Harvey merely stared at her. "Tell me everything you know," he said seriously. Choosing to trust him, Susan did just that and gave him a rundown of everything, hoping that together they would all find a way to save Princess Amber. Chapter 200 Suspect Vs Suspect With everything that was going on in the pce, Luciana wasn''t the main focus at that point, and no one was really checking to see if she was repenting and asking the goddess to forgive her and make her a good woman again, as she had been asked to do. Thanks to this, she was able to sneak out of the prayer chamber she was supposed to be in before the break of dawn while her maid filled in for her. She dressed up like one of the maids and sneaked around the pce, not sure where she was going or whom she was supposed to meet to join hands with her to help Princess Amber. This was one of the effects of being on Ivan''s side. She didn''t have anyone in the pce who liked her or who would believe she was taking Harold''s wife''s side now. But she tried to hold onto the fact that they may believe she was going against Ivan and the queen for revenge. It didn''t matter what they thought of her. Princess Amber had risked a lot to take her side, and she was going to return the favour in any way she could. She was about to round a corner when she bumped into someone who had just taken the other corner. Luciana was about to shout when she remembered she was sneaking around and quickly used her hands to cover her mouth. She noticed the other person did the same thing, and that was when she realized it was Susan. The two were obviously surprised to see each other, but Susan was more surprised, especially because of the way Luciana was dressed and she was not supposed to be here at all. "What... are you doing here?" Susan whispered suspiciously and pulled her to a hidden corner. "What are you doing sneaking around?" Luciana threw the question back at her. "I asked you first! You aren''t supposed to be here. What are you nning? Did you, by chance..." Susan stopped, and her eyes widened. "Is this really your doing? Were you angry at Princess Amber because she was one of the reasons that caused the problem with your husband? Was that why you did this? You were not allowed to hunt that night, so you must have had enough time to do so." Luciana looked at her in disbelief and scoffed. "You are the queen''s niece. Everyone knows how much the queen wants to seize power for her family. You must have nned with her to get rid of Princess Amber and Prince Harold. Isn''t that why you were close to her in the first ce?" Susan gasped. "How... dare you?" She asked, offended. "I have never had an ulterior motive in befriending Princess Amber. But you, on the other hand, cannot say the same because you hate her." "I do not hate her." "You don''t? Then why did you kill Beth and me her for it?" "You have lost your mind. If I killed Beth, why am I taking this risk and sneaking out to find a solution for Princess Amber?" "Or you must have nned all this with the queen and Prince Ivan so that no one would suspect you. Maybe you were going to report to them." Luciana looked at her like she was crazy. "I have every reason to want to go against the queen and Prince Ivan. Because I was discarded. But you, you don''t. Your father is the queen''s elder brother. So you should be the main suspect." Susan was offended by that. Okay, she was rted to them, but that didn''t mean she was like them. She honestly didn''t care about the royal family. In fact, she hated the fact that her aunt was the queen. Because it affected her freedom greatly. She always had to live like ''the queen''s niece''. And now, the Queen had also nned a wedding for her like it was the normal thing for aunts to do. Everything they did had to be for the benefit of the royal family. It was annoying. Seeing the look on Luciana''s face reminded her of herself when she was having a conversation with Alvinst night. She had thought Alvin''s trust issues were too intense and annoying, but it seemed she was just like that too. But maybe... she could believe Luciana? "Are you really on Princess Amber''s side?" Susan asked her suspiciously. "I am not on anyone''s side. I just want to find the truth that makes sense. If she is innocent, so be it. If she is guilty, so be it." Luciana said pointedly, but deep down, bothdies felt that she was not guilty of this. "I am also trying to find out the same thing," Susan informed her. "So even though you are still suspicious, I want to try to trust you. But if you deceive me..." Susan moved closer to stand in front of her, trying to give her the most intimidating look she could put on. "I will... make sure to skin..." Susan paused. Who was she going to skin this time? Luciana didn''t have a brother, nor did she have a child. The only person she knew that Luciana cared about was her idiot cousin. "I will make sure you watch while I skin Prince Ivan alive, and then I will do the same to your parents before I kill you with my bare hands." Luciana simply looked at her with pursed lips. "I would appreciate it if you could do that for me," Luciana said, tapping Susan''s shoulder in appreciation. Seeing as they were both on the same side, they looked at each other once again, "Where were you going?" They both asked simultaneously. "I had nowhere in mind," Luciana said, feeling slightly embarrassed by that admission, and Susan looked at her incredulously. "You had nowhere in mind?" "Unlike the rest of you, a lot of people are not fond of me. And Princess Amber was the only one who I had on my side even though our husbands did not get along. I was just trying to see if there were any other people who believed that she was innocent so that we could work together," Luciana said, and Susan remembered the day she had gone to Princess Amber''s room and seen Luciana there with red and swollen eyes as if she had been crying. "Why didn''t youe to me?" Susan asked with a frown since Luciana knew about her friendship with Princess Amber. Luciana raised a brow. "If you were in my position would you go to yourself? The queen''s niece?" She asked, and Susan sighed. There was that again. "Alright. Come with me to my chamber; let''s talk there," Susan said and turned to leave, but Luciana looked at her skeptically. "You are dressed as a maid. Keep your head down," Susan advised before walking away, and Luciana followed behind her closely. Chapter 201 New Ally Since it was still very early in the morning, other members of the royal family and aristocrats were not out yet, so the maids and guards who were walking around paid no attention when Susan and Luciana passed them. Once they walked into Susan''s chamber and shut the door behind them, Luciana turned to Susan again and said, "I heard that Princess Amber has regained consciousness. Have you been able to see her? Or have you heard from her yet?" Luciana asked, and Susan nodded, but she looked away from Luciana as she spoke "I snuck into the dungeonst night. She can''t remember anything that happened," Susan said with a sigh, and Luciana frowned. "She can''t remember anything?" She asked, and Susan gave her a nod. Luciana looked at Susan closely. "Do you think she did it and is pretending not to remember?" "If you believe she did it, you won''t be sneaking around and risking the wrath of the Queen," Susan pointed out, and Luciana nodded in agreement. That was true. And even now, it didn''t make any sense that Princess Amber would do something like that and have no memory of her action. Princess Amber was a lot of things, but she wasn''t a coward. Everyone in the royal family could attest to that. "Don''t you find it strange that she was unconscious for two days and now she can''t even remember anything that happened?" Luciana asked thoughtfully, and Susan paused as she considered it. "I do. That is why we need to find out what happened at once," Susan said, and Luciana nodded in agreement. "Is there anyone else that believes that she is innocent?" Luciana asked, thinking that the more they were in number, the better for Princess Amber. "It''s just me, you, and Williams," Susan said, not mentioning Harvey''s name since he had insisted that she shouldn''t tell anyone of his involvement for the time being. "I''m praying that Princess Tyra regains consciousness soon," Susan said, and Luciana looked at her like she was crazy. "Even if she regains consciousness, do you think the Queen or Ivan is going to let her say the truth?" Luciana asked, and Susan narrowed her eyes. "Are you suspicious of them too?" She asked in a whisper, and Luciana nodded. "Why else was Prince Harold attacked at the same time?" She asked, and Susan nodded in agreement. "You have to stick by Princess Tyra''s bedside and make sure you are there when she wakes up. That way you can hear the truth from her before the Queen or Ivan tries to shut her up," Luciana said, and Susan nodded. "I learned that Prince Harold is still unconscious, and that the maid who testified against Princess Amber is missing," Luciana said, and Susan gave her a nod, not bothering to ask her how she got to know these things when she was not even in the pce. "Stay by Princess Tyra''s bedside. I will return to my chamber and try to gather as much information as I can from there. I will send my maid to you if I find anything. Williams should try to get close to your father and the Queen and find out their ns," Luciana suggested, and Susan gave her a nod. It sounded like a good n. They were all strategically positioned to get information. "I will send for your maid if I learn anything." ~~~~~~~ Alicia felt like she was hallucinating. She could no longer tell the difference between what was real and what was fake. One moment, her consciousness was in a ce; the next, it was somewhere else. She wanted it to stop, but what could she possibly do? She was too weak to do anything. Maybe it was because she hadn''t had anything to eat or drink for days. Or maybe this was something else entirely. One moment she was dreaming about speaking with Harold, and the next, she was in an unfamiliar ce in the same era. It looked like an inn. She was listening in on a conversation going on in the next room. She didn''t know how she got there or who the people were, but she could tell they were plotting something against someone. She hadn''t been too subtle in her eavesdropping and identally dropped her bow. "Someone is there," she heard the voice of ady who seemed to be panicking. That alerted all her senses, and she ran out of the room. The next thing she knew, some bulky men were chasing after her. This reminded her of a previous dream she had. She remembered... She hadn''t been able to make sense of what was happening when she suddenly found herself in the pce with Harold handing her a gourd of water. "You should not always run." He advised. She epted the water and took several gulps from it, some slipping out and ending up on her chin and the side of her mouth. Harold looked at her with his lips pressed together and said, "I can easily understand why Harvey was quick to believe that you are not Amber." Wait... what did that mean? She was about to demand an exnation when she found herself in a different ce entirely. This time she was drowning, and she could feel it. She was not in Amber''s body. She was in her real body in her own era. This was the night she tried to end her life on that bridge. Her eyes widened when it dawned on her where she was, and she tried to swim to the top, but no matter how hard she tried, she just could not do it and she kept sinking down. "I can''t die like this," she heard a familiar voice in her head. It wasn''t hers. "My lineage cannot end this way. I have a descendant. So I didn''t end like this." The voice said with confidence. It was Amber''s voice. "You have to save me, Alicia. Please save me." She said it again before saying some things that didn''t make sense. Something that sounded like poetry, but wasn''t. Was that... a spell? "Mdy!" Alicia was shaken awake by a scared Paulina, who had tears in her eyes. Alicia gasped for air as soon as she found herself back in reality. The drowning had felt real just now. She opened her eyes and groaned in pain, so she squinted to look at Paulina. Seeing how worried the girl looked, she wanted to smile and assure her that she was okay, but she couldn''t fake it. She was not. At this point, she was probably going to die before she was released from this ce. Were those real dreams or mere hallucinations? She wondered until she noticed how Paulina fearfully looked at the door. Alicia followed her eyes to find four bulky men standing outside the open dungeon, looking down at them condescendingly. "Bring them." The one at the back ordered and two approached the girls, each manhandling them as they dragged them up and tied their wrists with a rope before pulling them out of the dungeon. It was difficult to stand, much less walk, but Alicia had to do it, and she gave Paulina an encouraging look. "Bear with it. We are not going to return here." She tried to sound confident, but she was far from that. Even the way her voice sounded didn''t help motivate Paulina, but she nodded, deciding to believe her. Alicia was capable of making impossible things possible. Chapter 202 Everyone Is A Suspect The scene before Alicia looked like something out of a Sageuk K-drama, or perhaps like the nightmare she had some time ago about being beheaded. Unfortunately, the endless cry of Paulina, who was kneeling beside her, and the vicious re in the eyes of the man she recognized as Beth''s father, were the only assurances that she had that this was not a nightmare. If she were merely an observer and not the victim here with an invisible noose around her neck, who was about to be sentenced for a crime she wasn''t entirely sure yet if shemitted or not, she probably wouldn''t have believed herself either. Looking at herself in daylight, she could now see how the nightdress she was wearing was redder with blood than white, and even her body was stained with dried blood. The only question that kept reverberating through her mind was, "How? How did she get here? How did all of this happen?" There was no way she could possibly have hurt Beth or Tyra, and she doubted that Queen Anne or Princess Amber had taken over her body to exert such wickedness. From what little she hade to know about them, she doubted that they were capable of such things. She briefly remembered Harold and Alvin telling her how she had killed those men, but she shook her head. That was a different case. She believed that whoever had taken over her body at that point had done so because they were in danger. Was it possible that she had been in danger in the hands of Beth and they had taken over her body to help her defend herself, and because they didn''t know Princess Tyra, she had been hurt for getting in the way? Alicia''s gaze moved from one face to the other, hoping to find at least one person who felt sorry for her, or who was willing to believe her, but there was none. Apart from the aristocrats whom she had served her special snacks, there were other new faces she didn''t recognize, leading her to believe that these were the others who arrived on the day of the banquet. If only Harold wasn''t hurt. If only he was here, then she wouldn''t have to face all this since she knew that he would understand her or at least find a way to get her out of this mess. The queen was here, Prince Ivan was here, but where was the King? Why wasn''t he here yet? He was the only other person she could depend on to have her back apart from Harold. Was he the one they were all waiting for before starting the trial? She continued to look around to see if she would find Susan, but the onlydy in the hall seemed to be the Queen. She paused when her gaze fell on Harvey, and her heart sank when he shifted his gaze away from her as if he was pretending not to know her. Of course, what had she been expecting? That he would take her side? It was Princess Amber who he knew not her, and she had turned him away when he came to her bedroom and offered to help her get out of here. Alicia suddenly felt a blinding headache that made her head spin, and she raised both hands to her head when she suddenly remembered something she believed was a fragment of her lost memories. "You should be very careful around here." A voice said to her. She recognized the voice. It was Harvey''s. When did Harvey say that to her? What did they discuss? She wondered as she looked away from him. Just then, the queen''s guard walked in and went straight to where the queen was seated. He whispered something into her ear and immediately she rose. "I will be back," she told Ivan before walking away. She walked directly to the king''s chamber to see Damon standing there beside the king''s bed. "You are here," she said, and Damon turned to her. "Yes. I came to greet the king before joining the assembly," Damon said, and the queen nodded. "He needs to rest. You shouldn''t disturb him with matters of the kingdom right now. Let''s step outside," the Queen suggested, and Damon bowed to the king, who could barely speak before following the Queen out of the king''s chamber. They walked for some time without saying a word to each other until they got to the royal library, where they went in. The Queen looked around to make sure they were alone before looking at Damon. She was about to speak when Damon beat her to it and asked, "How is the king''s health?" She shook her head. "I don''t know why his health keeps failing. The shiftst night must have been too much for him and he broke down. The physician assures us that after enough rest, he would be okay." "Are you sure that''s just it?" "What? Are you suspecting me?" She asked in disbelief. "He is my husband!" She said angrily. "If I wanted to do anything to him because I was angry, that would have been 22 years ago." "He is an Alpha. Isn''t it suspicious that he is this sick? Do you know what is going to be of our kingdom if words get out to the public about his health?" Damon asked. "I should be asking you that." "What does that mean?" The queen looked at him suspiciously. Maybe he was the one? Was he by chance aiming to be King? She decided to brush that off for now and monitor him. For now, she had something more important to take care of. "I thought we should have a word, and reach an understanding before joining the others," the queen said, and Damon looked like he wasn''t ready to let go of that topic, but he dropped it for now. "I was startled by the news I received. What exactly is going on in the pce?" The queen still looked suspicious. Was he truly innocent of all these? Chapter 203 Leave The Palace? "Are you behind this?" She asked, deciding to get to the bottom of this. If he was behind everything else, they would both know how to deal with it. But if it wasn''t him, then that was going to make her even more worried. Damon looked at her with a lost expression, not understanding what she was talking about. "Behind what?" "Did you send people to hurt Harold? And are you responsible for Beth''s death and Tyra''s wounds?" She asked, and Damon looked at her as though she had lost her mind. "Why are you asking me that? I am the King''s Beta! Not a murderer," Damon said, eyes zing with fury at the insult. The Queen said nothing as she looked at him with using eyes, "It''s just the both of us here. You can tell me the truth," she pressed, and this time he red at her. "I do not appreciate this usation. What do I stand to gain from any of this? I have nothing to do with this. How do I know you are not responsible for it?" Damon asked, and the queen looked at him incredulously. "Why would I want to hurt my own daughter?" she asked, and Damon took a step towards her. "You are a very ambitiousdy, Queen Arya. There is no one else I know in this kingdom who wants to hurt Harold as much as you, and I know that there is nothing you can not do to get your hands on the throne, even if it means hurting your omega daughter. So tell me, are you behind this?" Damon asked, and the Queen sighed. It was obvious to her that Damon wasn''t responsible for this, and it made her even more worried now. "I''m not. If it''s not me, and it''s not you, then someone else is behind this," the Queen said, her brows creased with worry lines. "Who could it be?" She asked thoughtfully, while Damon continued to look at her. "Am I to assume that you don''t think she did this and you are trying to prove her innocence?" Damon asked, and the Queen shook her head. "No. Even if we are not responsible for it, there is no reason we can''t use this to our own advantage. After we get rid of the insolent girl, we can try to find the real culprit, and then we can hand him to Harold when he wakes up and tries to avenge his wife''s death," the Queen said even though she was praying Harold never wakes up. Initially, her n was to torture Harold so he would regret being born. Make sure he suffered in misery without a partner, the throne or love from anyone. She had done a great job of spreading the rumours about Harold throughout the entire kingdom and beyond. She didn''t want him to have an easy death. She wanted him to regreting to this world. She wanted the king to regret his mistake when he saw how much misery his son was in and how everyone hated him. But who would have thought that her n to marry him off to a human would backfire? Not only did he end up being attracted to her, but the girl had caused nothing but havoc since she stepped into the kingdom. Maybe it was time to stop ying around. But how could she get rid of Harold now when Alvin wouldn''t even blink when she went to pay him a visit to know how he was faring? "Is the King aware of all this?" Damon asked, and the Queen shook her head. "He is not. And I would rather he didn''t hear about any of it until we are done," she said, and Damon looked at her with disapproval. "You know he is fond of her. He is going to be very angry if he finds out we did this without informing him," Damon reminded her. "He is too weak to move or speak. He is not in any state to handle this matter," the Queen said, and then paused when she remembered something else she needed to tell him. "The maid who testified against Princess Amber has suddenly gone missing. No one knows her whereabouts. I suspect that she is involved in this and that whoever sent her is hiding her." the Queen informed Damon, and he narrowed his eyes. "Do you think she might be the one who was listening to us the other night?" Damon asked, and the Queen pursed her lips as she thought of it. That was possible. She could also be behind the letter she had received. "We have to find her and know who she is working for," the Queen said, and Damon gave her a nod. "We will. For now, let''s join the assembly. We will try Harold''s bride and sentence her immediately," Damon said, and the Queen nodded in agreement before turning to leave. Damon followed her, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he asked, "How is Princess Tyra doing?" The queen paused before answering, "She is still unconscious. I hope she remains that way until we are done," the queen said before walking away. ~~~~~~ Away from there, Susan tapped her feet impatiently as she listened to her mother talk about things she had no interest in listening to at the moment. "I don''t think we should remain here much longer. The pce is not safe right now. We must leave immediately after your father returns from the assembly," Susan''s mother suddenly announced, and Susan looked at her in dismay. "Leave? Why? I want to remain here for my training," Susan said, but her mother looked at her in disbelief. Since when did she care about things like that? "That could have been you who was hurt!" Her mother yelled at her. "If you had been the one to witness the scene, maybe you would have been the one who got hurt! You see why we told you to stay away from her? I don''t want you anywhere around this pce anymore!" Her mother said with resolve, making it impossible for Susan to say anything. She could tell her mother was angry. "We... should at least stay until the trial is over. We are not even sure that she did¡ª" she shut her mouth when her mother sent her a dark re. "The trial will be over today and we will leave. You should go and start getting your things ready. Tell your brother to do the same," her mother said, and Susan walked away angrily, going to look for Williams. Chapter 204 "... We Will Know." Susan was at the epicentre of everything at this point. If she left the pce with her mother and brother, what was going to happen to Princess Amber? She had been able to convince Alvin to do something. She had also allied separately with her brother, Luciana, and Harvey. So how could she just disappear now? She was going to have to find a way to remain here and dy the trial. She couldn''t leave no matter what, until either Prince Harold or Princess Tyra regained consciousness and were able toe to Princess Amber''s aid. As she moved around in search of Williams, she walked past the hallway that led to Princess Tyra''s chamber, she stopped and took a few steps backwards to look in the direction of Tyra''s chamber. A slight frown appeared on her face as she realized that the guard who had been positioned at the door to guard her room was missing. With everything going on in the pce now, she was suspicious of everything. The first thought that urred to her was, "What if someone had done something to Princess Tyra?" With that in mind, she moved closer to the door and frowned when she heard a male voice speaking inside. Although she couldn''t exactly make out what the person was saying, she walked over to the door and pressed her ear to the door. What if the person speaking inside the chamber was responsible for everything and had gotten rid of the guard so he could finish off Princess Tyra so that she wouldn''t be able to tell them what had truly happened? Susan reasoned. Hands on the knob and her heart beating fast, she slowly opened the door, wanting to see the person inside, and at once, Damian, who was seated beside Tyra''s bed, stood up immediately and turned around to look at her. Susan let out the breath she had been holding when she recognized Damian. "Oh! It was you. For a moment, I thought it was someone else who hade to hurt her," Susan said with a relieved sigh before looking at Tyra, who was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. But it was obvious she was sick. "What are you doing here? You both will be in trouble if the Queen finds out about your rtionship with her," Susan said after the relief had worn off. "I wanted to see how she was doing since I couldn''t ask anyone," Damian said with a concerned frown as he looked back at the bed where she was sleeping. Seeing this, Susan''s heart broke for him. The poor man couldn''t even stay beside thedy he loved when she was unconscious, Susan thought with a sigh. "What about the guard?" Susan asked when she remembered that the guard wasn''t at the door. Damian admitted, "I sent him away so I could be alone with her," and he looked away, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Oh!" She eximed softly, feeling like she was intruding on their privacy when they didn''t even have enough time to spend together like this. "How is she doing?" She asked, going to stand beside Tyra''s bedside. "She is still unconscious," Damian said as he also looked down at Tyra''s pale face, and Susan nodded. "I''m relieved you are here with her. I hope we can find the person behind this soon," Susan said, and Damian looked at her in confusion. "The person behind this?" Susan tried to understand what his tone and the look on his face meant. It seemed to her that he already believed that Princess Amber was behind this. Since he was working directly with the queen, wasn''t he supposed to at least suspect the queen? But then again, Queen Arya didn''t have any reason to hurt her weak daughter. "Certainly you don''t believe that Princess Amber could have hurt her, do you?" Susan asked curiously, wanting to know what Damian thought from his perspective. Even though he was the queen''s guard. He should also know that Princess Amber was friends with Tyra. Damian stared at her for a moment before he answered, "I don''t know what to believe since the maid said she witnessed everything." "A maid that suddenly disappeared into thin air?" Susan asked reasonably. Why couldn''t they use their brains to think? There was no need to involve him in anything or tell him that she was suspicious of the Queen and Ivan since she wasn''t sure yet if Damian was more loyal to the queen or his rtionship with Tyra. "If you learn of anything, you must let me know, okay?" Susan asked, and he gave her a nod. "I should leave you now to spend more time with her. If she wakes up while you are with her, please send for me immediately," Susan said, and Damian gave her a nod once again before she headed for the door. "Lady Susan?" Damian called, stopping her, and Susan turned to him with questioning eyes. "Please don''t forget to keep my rtionship with the Princess a secret," Damian said, and Susan smiled at him. "You have nothing to worry about," she assured him before walking away to find Williams. She didn''t have to walk for too long before she saw Williams at their usual spot in the courtyard, deep in thought, "Williams!" She called, and he raised his head to look at her. "Have you gotten any news yet?" Williams asked when she got to where he was and sat down beside him. "Mother says we should pack our bags." "What?" Wiliams asked, surprised when he heard what Susan had just said. "She wants us to leave?" He asked, and Susan gave him a nod. "Yes. And she is serious about it." "We can''t do that. We have to do something. We don''t even have any means of knowing what the oue of today''s meeting is going to be," Williams said with a worried frown as he rose from his seat. He feared that they were going to find out about it toote since no guards or maids were allowed into the assembly hall until the trial was over. "Don''t worry about that. We will know." Susan assured him. Chapter 205 Any Better Ally? William raised a questioning eyebrow at his sister, wondering how exactly she was nning to find out what had happened without drawing suspicion to herself. "How? Are you going to ask the queen or father? You know they won''t say anything to us, and they are going to suspect us. More reason to have them send us out of this ce." Williams pointed out. "Not them," Susan shook her head before moving closer to whisper into his ear. "Harvey. He will tell us about it," She said and moved backwards while he looked at her in confusion. "What does he have to do with this?" He inquired, perplexed. She wasn''t supposed to tell anyone about this, but William was her twin, and this was an emergency. "He is helping me find information." "Helping you find information?" Williams asked, still in confusion. "Why? Did he change his mind about marrying you? Do you want to marry him?" Williams asked, and Susan shook her head. "This has nothing to do with any of that." "Then what reason does he have to help you with this?" Williams asked, not understanding what was going on. "I know he doesn''t have a reason but¨C" "He is not interested in marrying you. And his sister was supposed to be betrothed to Prince Harold. Didn''t you notice how she was ring at Princess Amber the entire time they were together in a room? You think that kind of person is going to help you for no reason? What if someone sent him? What if they are behind this?" "Goodness! Why is everyone in this pce so suspicious?" She eximed. First was Alvin suspicious of her. Then she was suspicious of Harvey, and then it was her and Luciana suspicious of each other. Now it was her brother''s turn. "And I really hate to say this... but what you said makes perfect sense." Williams sighed and shook his head. "If it makes sense, why did you involve him in this? When did you both even meet? What led to the conversation? And what did you both agree on?" Williams asked, not knowing what to do about his sister, who seemed to have a knack for attracting trouble. "Alright, just listen, okay? Although I''m not supposed to tell you this since he asked me not to let anyone know that he is helping me," Susan said, and then she told him about their conversation, leaving out how Harvey had been waiting for her in her chamber. "...he is attending the assembly. He said he would inform me of everything that happened there. That way, he gets first-hand information from Princess Amber and the assembly members," Susan finished, and Williams sighed wearily. He wasn''t sure if hepletely trusted Harvey yet, but he was going to be on the lookout to make sure Harvey wasn''t trying to cause trouble for them. His sister was fond of getting herself into trouble. "Who else are you working with?" Williams asked her suspiciously. She knew that if Williams heard the name, he was going to be troubled, but she went ahead to tell him since she at least needed one person to know about everything. "I spoke with... Luciana." "Luciana!?" Williams eximed in surprise. Was she always this dumb or just pretending to be dumb? First, it was Harvey and now it was Luciana? Maybe next she would tell him she had also spoken with Alvin, thest person who was going to believe her. "I know what you are thinking." "Are you sure? Because if you do, you should know why Luciana is a bad idea," Williams pointed out. "She is being honest! We can trust her," Susan assured him. "And how did you know this? I suppose she told you to trust her, and you just agreed?" He asked, looking at her incredulously. "Trust me, she really wants to help Princess Amber. And we need every bit of help we can find right now." "I know we need every bit of help we can find, but it doesn''t mean we are that desperate to be asking Luciana for help! Princess Amber is partly the reason why she is in that situation." He reminded her. "How did you even meet her? Isn''t she supposed to be repenting?" "She sneaked out in search of a way to help Princess Amber. I happened to bump into her and we talked. I could tell that she was being sincere. I could feel it." "The same way I can feel that you are going to get yourself into trouble." "Don''t worry, we won''t get into trouble. For now, your focus should be on finding a way to keep us here." He didn''t look pleased at all. He was still wary about the whole thing, but she had already gotten herself involved and there was nothing he could do at this point. "Who else?" "Who else what?" She asked, pretending like she didn''t know what he was talking about as she thought of how Williams was going to react if she told him about Alvin. "I know that look." He said while looking at her suspiciously. "What look?" She looked at him and tried to keep a straight face, but he could tell she was hiding something. When his probing gaze refused to leave her, she sighed deeply and looked around before approaching him again. "Don''t yell. And don''t look at me like I am crazy either." "Fine." He promised through gritted teeth. p "Al-vin." As soon as those words left her lips, Williams shut his eyes and tried to control his temper while she stepped back to look at her brother''s face. "Alvin?" He repeated, ring at her. Just perfect! "I''m beginning to think it would be a good idea to get you out of this pce." He said angrily and was about to walk away when she hurried to stand in front of him. "I know how you feel, but think about it. Is there any other ally better than Alvin?" She asked him seriously. Chapter 206 Troublemaker At It Completely ignorant of the ns of Susan''s parents to ship her and Williams out of the pce, Luciana paced around her chamber, thinking about how they could handle things. For now, she had drawn two possible conclusions. Either Princess Amber had done it, or someone else was responsible for it and wanted her to take the me. As for the first conclusion, she couldn''t believe it, since there was no way Princess Amber could also be responsible for what happened to Prince Harold. But why Beth, of all people? And howe Princess Amber could not remember anything? Howe the king was very sick at the same time? Everything was too smoothly nned. She didn''t believe it was merely a coincidence. If Tyra had not been involved in this and only Beth had been affected, things wouldn''t have been as intense as this. That left her with the second conclusion. Someone else had done it but wanted Princess Amber to take the me. But why Princess Amber? Was it perhaps someone that had a grudge against Harold? Why not just kill Prince Harold? Why go as far as doing this to Prince Harold''s wife? At first, she had been suspicious of the Queen and Ivan, but after Ivan''s visit to her chamber the previous day, she had begun to rethink it. She had worked closely with the Queen and Ivan before, and so she knew how they reasoned. Because of this, she had a feeling that this might be neither of their doings. She wasn''t proud to admit it, but she hadn''t married a very smart man. Ivan was not capable of pulling off something like this. Everything was just too perfect and had good timing. It seemed like whoever was behind everything had been nning this for a very long time, and she knew that Ivan did not have that sort of patience since impatience and foolishness went hand in hand. For some reason, she felt it wasn''t the queen either. As far as she knew, the Queen wouldn''t go this far, especially not when keeping Princess Amber alive meant that Harold would not be able to ascend the throne since no one would want a human bride. She also didn''t think the queen would hurt Tyra, even though she didn''t like her that much. Everything boiled down to the maid who had witnessed everything. Howe Tyra had been sick that night? Howe she was the one attending to Tyra? Who had put her in charge when she worked in a different part of the pce? Luciana sighed in despair as she thought of everyone who was being affected by this evil plot. A knock came on the door, distracting her from her "prayers" and she immediately went to kneel and bowed her head in prayer since she had no idea who was at the door. She raised her head when she heard someone approaching and she realized it was her maid. "Did you find anything? Is the assembly over? Why did you waste so much time?" Luciana asked as she rose, while her maid dropped the tray of food. Her maid was supposed to find out any information about the missing maid and bring her breakfast. But more than three hours had passed since she left. When her maid faced her to exin, Luciana noticed the bruise on her face and approached her. "What is that?" She asked, pointing at the cut on her face. It had been treated and was probably going to heal up by the following day, but it hadn''t been there this morning. "A cut." The maid said stupidly, which earned her a re from her mistress. "How did that happen? I sent you out to find something and you returned with a cut on your face. Were you ying around?" She snarled. One thing a lot of people disliked about Luciana was her arrogance and the way she behaved. Ever since Princess Amber came here, Luciana had been a bit better at treating the maids, but she was still in between a good mistress and an overbearing mistress. "No, Mdy. I was sent on an errand," Her maid, Leana, quickly exined, before going on to narrate what had happened. She had gone to the kitchen to get breakfast for her mistress and also to hear thetest gossip since that was the best ce to know what was happening in the pce. Unfortunately, things were not meant to be smooth for her because as soon as she entered, all eyes went to her, making her confused as she wondered what she or her mistress had done this time. Ever since her mistress was stripped of her princess title, things had not been easy for her, but she had never thought it was going to get this bad. "She should do it. After all, she serves only Luciana. She can serve one more person." Since Princess Luciana lost her title, Leena had been quiet and timid, but she couldn''t take it anymore today. "Have you lost your mind? Who are you addressing in that manner?" She yelled at the assistant kitchen staff, but what she got in return was a tray being shoved at her rudely by the head of the kitchen. She instinctively caught it and held it in her hand, with a frown on her face as she looked down at the tray, which contained a little tea kettle and cup. "Take that to Sir Lance''s chamber. You should serve him since no one else wants to do it." The head chef said to her before he turned and walked off. The other maids visibly sighed in relief and also walked away, leaving Leana to do as she had been told. Leana had heard how he assaulted the maid that served him the previous day, and since then, no one else wanted to do so. Unfortunately, she had just literally walked into trouble. She turned around and left the kitchen with the tray to do as she had been instructed. As much as she dreaded crossing paths with Sir Lance, she knew she had to serve him or else she would be in trouble, and she had been right to feel that way because even before she got to the door, she heard Lance''s angry voice before something was smashed. It made her flinch and spill some of the tea on the tray. ? Already shaking from fear, she approached the door and was already thinking of how to get in, when the door opened and a guard rushed out. When he saw Leana, he gave her a sympathetic look as he scurried off. She took a deep breath and entered the messy room. Chapter 207 Lance? As soon as Leana entered the chamber, Lance''s vicious eyes turned to re at her. She tried to move, but she was too scared to do anything. "Give me that, and stop breathing too loudly! It''s annoying!" He bellowed at her as he picked up the piece of a broken te beside him and threw it at her. She flinched when it cut her on the side of the face, and she dropped the tray in shock, causing it tond on the ground with a loud, shattering sound that startled Lance. Immediately, Lance ced both hands on his ears and closed his eyes as he groaned in agony. "I''m... I''m so sorry." She cried and knelt down, not minding the hot tea which had spilled on the floor where she was currently kneeling on, but Lance was so angry that when he opened his eyes, she thought she saw fire in them and knew it was over for her. Remembering how he had hit and kicked her made her want to cry. "Why would he do that to you?" Luciana asked, shaking in anger. Even though he was an idiot that everyone hated, he wasn''t usually that extreme. "I... don''t know. I just know it is difficult to serve him for now and everyone is scared of going to meet him. He has been having soothing tea and medicine for days now." "Medicine? What kind?" Luciana asked in confusion, and her maid shook her head. "I... don''t know." Luciana''s frown deepened. "How could he behave so insolently and no one is doing anything about it?" "I... don''t think anyone can do anything to him. Otherwise, he would have been corrected after what he did to Beth that day since she was the Queen''s person. Maybe the Queen isn''t doing anything because she wants him to marry Princess Tyra," the maid reasoned, but Luciana was no longer listening to her. ,m Something she mentioned had piqued her interest. "Beth?" Luciana looked at her in confusion. "He did something to Beth? When?" "Ehm... three days... ago. I heard they had a big misunderstanding and he was very pissed at her." Luciana''s eyes shone brightly."Three days ago? On the same day as the banquet? Howe I am just hearing about this for the first time?" "I... didn''t think it was important to tell you about Beth and Sir Lance. Who would have thought she would die on the same day?" Leana looked down and sighed sadly. As if she had just had a sudden Eureka moment, Luciana began to pace around. Lance. Lance. Was he the culprit? Why was he suddenly like this? "Why did he quarrel with Beth?" She stopped pacing and asked Leana, who shook her head that she didn''t know the reason. Did Lance have a reason to do any of this? Wasn''t he supposed to be married to Princess Tyra? Then what about Harold? Did he have a hand in that? Where was Lance exactly that night? Luciana hadn''t been hunting with the others, so she didn''t know this. But someone else might have the answer. Quickly, she reached for a note and ink and scribbled down something quickly. "Protect this with your life and make sure it gets to Lady Susan." She instructed her maid, who had a questioning look on her face, but she epted it and hid it inside her dress before she left to do what she had been told. ~~~~~~ While Susan was trying to stop Williams from leaving and assuring him that having Alvin on their side was a wise decision, Leana approached and handed the letter to Susan before scurrying away, leaving the twins confused. Susan immediately opened the note, and her brother went to stand behind her. As soon as the two were done reading it, they looked at each other. The note was short and straight to the point, it read, "WHERE WAS LANCE DURING AND AFTER THE BANQUET?" "Lance?" Susan asked no one in particr as she tried to understand why Luciana would ask such a question. Was it possible that she thought Lance was behind this? Of course, he was very arrogant and behaved stupidly, but that didn''t make him a murderer, did it? So how did Luciana arrive at such a conclusion? She wondered as she nced at Williams. "..." Susan opened her mouth to speak but paused when she noticed the look on Williams'' face. He looked like he was deep in thought and trying hard to remember something. "Did you see Lance during the banquet?" Susan asked curiously, and Williams shook his head. "I saw him going with us but he didn''t seem like he was fine," Williams said thoughtfully. "He didn''t seem like he was fine?" Susan asked, not understanding what Williams meant. "He wasn''t as excited as he usually is, and he walked past me without trying to annoy me as he usually did," Williams said, and Susan pursed her lips as she tried to recall if she had seen Lance on that night. "But why Lance? It''s not like he has anything against any of them," Susan asked, trying to understand why Luciana wanted them to find out where Lance had been that night. "Didn''t you say Harold attacked Lance for being disrespectful to Princess Tyra?" Williams asked, reminding her. Susan''s eyes widened when she remembered that, and she gasped when she finally saw light in Williams'' question. "Yes! That was what princess Tyra told me," she said with a nod, "Perhaps Luciana heard of it too?" "It is possible. Could it be that Lance was trying to get back at Prince Harold and Tyra? But why then did he kill Beth and not Tyra? And why was Princess Amber there?" Williams asked no one in particr, but Susan''s brows were creased with a confused frown. Both siblings looked up when they heard someone approaching, and Susan rxed when she noticed it was Harvey, while Williams kept a wary eye on him. Surely no one would think it was odd that Harvey was speaking with them since it was already known that the queen was pushing for them to get married. "What is going on?" Susan asked once he stopped in front of them, and Harvey looked at Williams without saying a word. "I know I promised not to tell anyone, but Williams isn''t just anyone. He is my twin brother, and I couldn''t keep it away from him," Susan said guiltily as both men stared at each other. "Why are you helping us?" Williams asked, but Harvey turned to Susan, ignoring him. "The elders are meeting with the king''s Beta before the trial begins, so I excused myself. I overheard something I found interesting," Harvey said, and Williams'' annoyance slowly faded to curiosity. "What did you hear?" Susan asked with interest. "Sir Gregory and his family are leaving today because Lance isn''t feeling too well," Harvey said, making both Susan and Williams exchange a look. Their shared look seemed to say "Lance again?" "And why is that interesting?" Williams asked before Susan could speak and give away what little information they had. Harvey looked between the two and hesitated for a moment before he said quietly, "Because I do not remember seeing Lance''s wolf during the full moon hunt. And we were supposed to be in the same pack." Chapter 208 "Im Innocent" Even though Harvey would have preferred to go with Susan and Williams to confront Lance, he couldn''t since he also needed to be at the assembly, which would be starting at any moment, and he needed to keep an eye on what was going on. His eyes were fixed on Alicia, who was looking around the ce as though she was searching for someone even though everyone was present now. "As you all know, the king is ill and cannot join us. The Queen, Prince Ivan, and I will be in charge of this assembly and trial," Damon announced, causing Alicia''s heart to skip a beat. The King was ill? Why now? Why did he have to be ill at the same time as Harold, who was unconscious? Was he aware of what was happening to her? Alicia wondered as tears gathered in her eyes. Something told her that someone had murdered Beth and they were trying to make her take the fall for it. Or else, why was everyone who was supposed to help her unable to make it? "We are all gathered here for the trial of Princess Amber, Prince Harold''s bride, who killed one of us, Beth, and injured Princess Tyra," Damon announced, and some of the members of the assembly began to whisper amongst themselves, while some looked at her with contempt. "You can''t say it''s a trial and then say she killed someone in the same breath," Sir Richard corrected from where he was standing on the right side of Damon, and Alicia almost sighed in relief, d that she at least had one person who was reasonable. The Queen turned to him with displeasure and tried to conceal her anger as she said, "It''s only called a trial because we want her to admit to what she has done. Regardless of what she says, we already know that she is guilty," the Queen said, and the others nodded in agreement. "If that is the case, then you should sentence her already and not waste our time questioning her," Sir Richard said, dispelling any element of hope that had started to bud in Alicia. "If it were your daughter who was hurt or killed would you be interrupting this assembly in this manner?" Beth''s father asked, his eyes red with rage as he red at Sir Richard, not minding the fact that Sir Richard was his superior. "Please, we shouldn''t fight over this, Sir Richard. You should let the King''s Beta speak," one of the other aristocrats said, and the hall became quiet, with all eyes on Alicia, who was kneeling in between the two ces where the aristocrats stood, with a weak Paulina kneeling beside her. "What happened on the night of the banquet?" Damon asked as he looked down at Alicia with a mixture of disgust and disapproval on his face. He was d that this had happened to her and not anyone else since there was no other person he despised as much as he did her. Right from the first time he set his eyes on her during her wedding to Prince Harold, he had known she was a bad choice for the prince and she was going to be trouble. She had proved it almost immediately when she dared to open her wide mouth to challenge him in front of everyone on that day. And not only had she challenged him in her kingdom, but she had also dared to bring her mannerlessness with her to the moon kingdom. She deserved whatever she got. "I have no idea," Alicia cried, hoping he would believe her even though she could tell from the look on his face that he hated her. Of course he would. She had never given him any reason to like her. In the same way, he had never given her any reason to like or respect him like everyone else did. If only she had known such a day woulde when her life would be in his hands, she would have tried harder to maintain a cordial rtionship with him. If only the king or Harold were here, then she would at least have been sure of a fair trial, but now she wasn''t sure of it seeing as no one here seemed to be on her side. From the look on their faces, she could tell that they all thought she was guilty already. Who was responsible for all this? Who hated her so much that they would go to this extent just to do this to her? The only people she knew in the pce who didn''t get along with her and hated her guts were the Queen, Ivan, and Beth. She couldn''t imagine the queen hurting her daughter just to set her up for something like this, so who could it be? And where was Susan right now? "You have no idea? How can you say you have no idea after you did that to my daughter?" Beth''s father roared as he took a step forward, and immediately Paulina started wailing in fear that he was going to hurt Alicia. Ivan ced a hand on Beth''s father''s arm to stop him, "I understand that this is difficult for you, but please exercise a little patience," Ivan said reasonably, and the Queen gave him a nod before stepping forward. "Princess Amber, where were you on the night of the banquet?" The Queen asked calmly. Alicia''s first instinct was to say she was in her chamber as usual, but she couldn''t bring herself to say so since she had no memory of the entire day and she didn''t even know if she had been in her chamber or Harold''s chamber. What if she said she had been in her chamber, and maybe an ident had happened like thest time water had flooded her chamber during the day? No matter how much she thought about it, the only response she could give was an honest one, and from what she knew about cases like this, saying she had no idea where she had been that night was only going to end up making things worse for her. So instead of responding to the queen''s question, she closed her eyes as she tried once again to summon her memories of that day, but like before, her head began to ache to the point that she almost passed out, so she stopped and shook her head, causing it to throb again. "I can''t remember anything. I don''t know what is happening, but I have no memory of that entire day. You have to believe me, please. Someone is trying to set me up. I''m innocent!" Alicia cried helplessly, and Paulina cried harder when she saw how helpless Alicia was at that moment. Chapter 209 The Suspect (1) While the meeting to determine Alicia''s fate was ongoing, in Susan''s chamber, she and Williams waited impatiently for Luciana to join them. They didn''t have enough time to spare now because they were not sure if the assembly was going toe to an agreement on whether Princess Amber was guilty or not. Susan and Williams decided not to go to Lance first, but instead to speak with Luciana and find out her reason for asking them to find out where Lance had been on the night of the banquet. That way, they could have more facts with which to face Lance, since thest thing they wanted was to go meet him with partial information and make him aware of what they knew. "Why is she taking so much time?" Williams asked impatiently as he paced around Susan''s bedroom. "Be patient. You know she has to sneak out of her quarters and sneak past all those maids and guards without getting noticed. She is risking a lot more than us by doing this," Susan said as she also paced her chamber. Thankfully, they didn''t have to wait too long before Luciana knocked on the door, dressed once again in her maid''s uniform. Thanks to everything that was going on around the pce, no one was paying attention to anything else. Susan quickly opened the door when she heard the knock, and Luciana walked in, "You sent for me. Did you find anything about Lance? How is the assembly going? Is Princess Tyra awake?" She asked immediately Susan shut the door behind her. "Calm down," Susan said before shooting Williams a ''Can you see that we can trust her?'' expression. "Everything is still the same. Damon arrived a while ago, and the assembly just started now," Susan said before looking at Luciana closely. "I got your message. Why are you suspicious of Lance? Did you see or hear something?" Susan asked, and Luciana gave them a nod. "He has not been on his best behaviourtely. All the maids are scared of approaching him." She mentioned. "But Lance has always been like that, right?" Susan asked. Even though they were beginning to point to him as the suspect, she needed to have solid proof. They couldn''t just say it was Lance because his mood had been worsetely and Harvey hadn''t seen him that night. They needed more proof. What was his motivation for carrying out the act? Luciana shook her head. "It is worse. He has been inside his room since the banquet ended and is being fed soothing tea and medicine. Not just that, he had a quarrel with Beth on the evening before the banquet and swore to teach her a lesson before he left." Susan and Williams quickly exchanged a nce when they heard that part. Finally, they were beginning to get some clues. "What did Beth do? And are there any witnesses?" Susan asked quickly. Luciana nodded this time. "A maid had seen what had happened. But sadly, I cannot call her to question her about it. You have to do it." Although Luciana tried to y it lightly, the twin siblings could see the sadness in her eyes. She had lost her Princess title and her potential Queen title, so, of course, no one was going to take her seriously anymore. Especially since she had always had a bad attitude towards the servants. "Leana will show her to you. You can ask the maid what happened between Lance and Beth. But I still don''t understand why he would do that to Prince Harold, Princess Tyra, and Princess Amber. Wasn''t Beth killed at the same time as Prince Harold was shot?" Luciana asked in confusion. "He may or may not have had a reason to do what he did," Susan said to Luciana before looking at her brother to tacitly ask for permission. When he nodded, she exined to Luciana what Tyra had told her about Lance. So here is how it is; one, he didn''t like Princess Tyra and didn''t want to get married to her after the banquet ended. He had also gotten into a fight with Tyra to prove it. Two, Prince Harold hade to his sister''s rescue and taught Lance a lesson. He probably could not handle it since he was such an arrogant idiot. So he must have vowed to get back at him. Three, he had gotten into a fight with Beth and swore to teach her a lesson. This happened on the same evening. Was it possible that all of this was linked together? "Maybe he had really done it? What is the best way to get back to Prince Harold if it wasn''t through his wife?" Susan asked excitedly, beginning to believe that they had found the culprit seeing as Lance had something against Beth, Tyra, and Harold, and Harvey had also seen him leaving before the end of the banquet. "Yes." Luciana nodded confidently. "I think it must be him. I noticed he was very angry when Prince Harold acted rudely to his family after Princess Amber offered to teach his mother how to make her snacks." William pondered it. For some reason, he didn''t think Lance was capable of pulling something like this off. He didn''t seem that smart or that audacious. And his family was usually careful, considering the position they had in the kingdom. "Have you been able to find out where he was?" Luciana asked, and Susan exchanged a look with Williams again before giving Luciana a nod. If they were going to all work together like this, they needed to be honest with each other. Besides, they couldn''t have found the biggest suspect without Princess Luciana''s help. Both she and Harvey helped. "Yes. I think you are right. Lance might be responsible," Susan said as she also told Luciana what they had learned. Since she didn''t have time to spare, she didn''t think it was necessary to start looking for the maid to question her about what the fight had been about. She didn''t care what Lance had fought over Beth for, the most important thing was that they had all the clues they needed. And he might just be the one responsible for all this. And they hoped they were correct. "Alright, I have to return to my chamber now. You should go and confront Lance. Don''t forget to send a message to me when you''re done, so I can know what is happening," Luciana said before leaving the siblings. Once she shut the door behind her, both siblings exchanged a look before heading for the door. Chapter 210 The Suspect (2) As Williams and Susan approached Lance''s chamber, they heard things scattering and shattering inside, and they both stopped in front of the door and turned to look at each other. "You should stay back. I will go in on my own." Williams said to his sister, but she shook her head. "No. We should go in together. He won''t dare do anything rash if we are together." Although Williams looked worried about going in there with Susan, he nodded. He knew that she was not going to change her mind, and besides, it was unfair to suddenly make her wait behind when she hade this far. While Williams was hesitating to knock on the door, Susan opened it and was about to enter the room when Williams held her back and looked at her with wide, questioning eyes. How could she just open the door like that without knocking when she knew she was going into the chamber of a man? "What?" Susan mouthed to him before she pushed the door wide open and entered. As soon as they did, a dagger came flying in their direction, and thankfully, the twins were able to dodge it, and the dagger flew out of the room. Lance looked at the intruders with an angry face while Williams looked all around the room that looked like a war had been fought and conquered inside. Meanwhile, Susan kept her eyes on the dagger that was stuck in the wall outside before looking at Lance with a smile, saying, "You are quite good at using daggers. I bet you can stab people you do not like repeatedly with it." Williams almost facepalmed, but he just rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?" Lance bellowed at them. "We came to see you," Williams said just as he shut the door behind him. He waved his hand repeatedly as he asked them to get out before he copsed on his messy bed and shut his eyes. "Did you kill Beth because she annoyed you?" Susan asked, going straight to the point, while her brother shot her a pointed look, asking if she was crazy. Lance furrowed his brows before he opened his eyes and red at Susan, then he sat up immediately, wincing as he touched his head. "That''s the servant that died? Why are they making a fuse out of it? Wait! You are suspecting me of killing that stupid maid?" He asked in disbelief. "Is that why you are here?" "No." "Yes." Williams and Susan said at the same time. Williams turned to re at Susan, but her focus was on Lance, who was staring at the two of them as if they had lost their minds. "I would have dly killed her myself!" He said in annoyance. "I promised to teach that filthy thing a lesson, but someone else beat me to it!" He hit his chest repeatedly as if he was feeling wronged. "When you find out who did that to her, let me know. I am going to pay that person back for ruining my ns." He spat out bitterly. "Now, get lost." The twins looked at each other again. They both had the same look of confusion on their faces. Was he faking this? "So you do not believe Princess Amber killed Beth?" Williams asked curiously. "Princess Amber? Prince Harold''s wife?" Lance asked in confusion, "How can a weak human like her kill that filthy maid?" He asked, curious. "You have no idea what has been happening?" Williams asked in confusion. Howe he was sounding oblivious when everyone in the pce knew what had been happening in the past few days? "Princess Amber killed her?" Lance asked, smiling, "That is interesting. I didn''t know she had it in her." "Where were you that night during the hunt? You were not present there, were you?" Susan asked him seriously. "What?" Lance asked, sitting up again. "Are you really suspecting me of killing her?" He asked in disbelief. "You have to answer my question," Susan said angrily, and Lanceughed dryly before standing up. "I was willing to listen to you two because you are rted to the queen. But your time is up. Get out." As soon as he was done saying that, he shoved Williams. Susan''s eyes widened, and before Williams could react, she stood in between them and shoved Lance. "If youy your filthy hands on my little brother again, I am going to rip your tongue out of your mouth and make you swallow it." She said darkly while ring daggers at Lance. Williams gritted his teeth in annoyance at the way she had addressed him, but Lance, on the other hand, was looking at her with a different look that she had never seen before. "Goodness!" Lance eximed, surprised. "That was... lovely." His reaction confused Susan, who looked at him in confusion before turning to look at her brother. "Your name is Luciana, right?" Lance asked with his eyes fixed on Susan. "Susan," she spat out, still ring at him. "Oh! Susan. Luciana is Prince Ivan''s former bride. I remember," He smiled again, and Susan could not deny that this guy was creepy. Williams pushed her to the side and gave her a warning re before turning his vicious eyes at Lance, who suddenly seemed to have a weird interest in his sister. "Tell us what you know," Williams demanded. Lance suddenly looked serious, and he went back to sit down before putting up his hands. "Okay, I had no hand in it. And I am surprised to hear this." His eyes went to Susan again, "Ask me what you want. Come sit beside me." He tapped beside him on the messy bed and received a nasty look from the twin siblings. "Did you do everything on purpose so it would be med on Princess Amber just to get back at Prince Harold?" Susan asked. Lance winced again and touched his forehead. "Why would I do something like that? Do you know what my father is going to do to me if I did something like that? That is treason!" Lance said with a frown, wondering why they would ever think he was capable of something like that. Chapter 211 Having The Same Symptoms? Watching Lance as he massaged his temple, Williams agreed within himself that it didn''t make sense that Lance was responsible for everything, even though everything seemed to be pointing at him. Apart from the fact that everything had happened too perfectly and he wasn''t sure that Lance was capable of pulling off such a stunt, Lance needed to have people working with him for this to have happened. Judging by what Harvey had said, Lance had already left the hunt before Harold was hurt, and if for any reason, Lance was smart enough to be responsible for something like this, then there was no way he would be foolish enough to act in a way that would attract attention. "Howe you had no idea about all this? Everyone has been talking about it for days. Why have you been hiding here for days? Why are you taking medicine and soothing tea? And why were you not with your pack on the night of the banquet?" Susan asked him all at once, making him frown. "Can you take it one at a time? I''ve been having a bad headache for days, and I can''t process too much," Lance pleaded, and Susan frowned. "What headache? Is it the weight of guilt for killing Beth?" She asked usingly. Lance wanted to be annoyed, but he could not help butugh. "You really want to believe I killed her?" He asked rhetorically before saying, "Fine, I killed her. So what?" He raised his chin challengingly, making the two siblings look at each other again. Why couldn''t this guy just be serious and give them a useful answer? "Look, I don''t understand the filthy foods these servants here make. But I think I must have eaten or drank something terrible that''s making me have this troublesome headache. So I need to rest. And tell those servants to bring me some tea to stop this headache." He said and waved them off again. Susan didn''t believe him. She was very suspicious of him and felt he was lying to them to get away with it. "We are not leaving until you tell us what happened that day and where you were. Also, what happened between you and Beth?" Susan asked. Lance looked at her in annoyance and noticed she was also annoyed. He smiled at her and shrugged. "I cannot remember clearly. My head is aching and it makes it difficult to think." "Then how did you remember you quarreled with her? And how can you not remember when it happened only a few days ago? The same day she died." Williams asked suspiciously while Susan had a questioning look in her eyes. Why was he reminding her of Princess Amber? Or was he faking it? "Does your family know you are questioning me like this?" Lance asked the two, smirking. When he noticed the looks in their eyes, he guessed correctly that they were doing this without the permission of their family. "That is none of your business! Answer the questions you are being asked if you want me to spare you." Susan threatened him. This time, she was convinced something was wrong with him when Lance smiled at her again. "I always remember the people I hate." He said defensively and sighed again before touching his head. Lance thought deeply and sat up immediately. The look on his face told the other two that he had remembered something. "That servant... she was whipping some servants." Susan and Williams shared a look, both wondering what Lance was saying with a serious look on his face. "What servant?" Williams asked. "Belt. Or whatever you call her." "Beth." Susan corrected. "She was punishing some servants. And I stepped in to correct her. But she was rude to me." Susan scoffed loudly. "You want us to believe that you actually stepped in to correct Beth because she was punishing some maids?" "Believe it or not." Lance shrugged casually. "I think the maids spoke nicely of Princess Amber and Belt heard it so she punished them." "Beth." Williams corrected. "I don''t care!" Lance snapped at him. "So you are trying to tell us you stepped in because Beth was punishing some maids who spoke fondly of Princess Amber? We are talking about Princess Amber here. I''m sure you do not even like her, especially after what her husband did to you." Susan asked in disbelief. "I felt I owed it to Princess Amber for being nice to me and giving me those stupid biscuits that tasted terribly!" He said defensively. "You met Princess Amber privately?" Williams asked immediately but noticed Lance was deep in thought. "What is it? Did you remember something?" Williams asked when he noticed that look on Lance''s face. "Tell me everything that is going on right now. What about Princess Amber? Have you seen her? What did she say?" Lance asked, wanting to understand all that was happening first before telling them what was on his mind. Susan exchanged a look with Williams, who gave her a nod before going on to tell Lance the basic things. Tyra was hurt, Harold was hurt, Beth was killed, and Amber was facing trial since a maid had imed she had done the deed. For now, no one knew if she was also being tried for Harold''s incident. And HE was the biggest suspect now. "Prince Harold too? Someone hurt him too?" Lance asked in shock. Although he should have known that Prince Harold was unconscious, since that was the only way something like this could be happening to his wife and blood was not flowing all over the pce. "What is Princess Amber saying about it?" "She doesn''t remember anything," Susan told him. "She can''t remember what happened?" Lance asked with sudden interest. "She can''t. Her head keeps aching and... Wait! Are you asking because you want to confirm if she can''t remember you did it?" Susan asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, and Williams closed his eyes in embarrassment. His sister was the worst interrogator in the entire kingdom. He couldn''t understand why she had to always say everything she thought out loud. Even if Lance was the one responsible for it, they were never going to confirm it with her questioning skills. "Headache?" Lance said thoughtfully. "Isn''t those the same symptoms I am having?" "How am I supposed to know what is wrong with you? Is this your way of denying this?" Susan asked him angrily, but Lance was still lost in his thoughts. "If I ate something to make me feel this way. What kind of symptoms would a human have if they ate the same thing?" Lance asked thoughtfully. "Are you saying you and Princess Amber are having the same symptoms, so you ate the same thing?" Williams asked. "We all ate the same thing for breakfast that morning." "Biscuits!" Lance said, his eyes lighting up. "What? You want biscuits?" Susan asked in annoyance, wondering why he was bringing that up when they were talking about something important. "Princess Amber gave them to me. She ate the same thing!" Lance announced. Chapter 212 The Clue Susan had to admit that she was disappointed. She had been excited about finding the culprit, but with the information she had gathered, it seemed like they were far from it. But at least they had a clue. "You don''t think he did it, right?" Williams asked Susan when he saw the disappointed look on her face as they walked away from Lance''s chamber. "Do you think he might be telling the truth about the biscuits?" She asked as she looked at Williams thoughtfully. "I should be asking you that. You were closer to Princess Amber than I was. Did she make any snacks that day?" Williams asked back. "I have no idea. I had to stay away from her, remember? I doubt Luciana or Harvey would know anything about it either," Susan said with a defeated sigh as they walked into Williams'' chamber. Williams nodded as he pondered it. "If she didn''t make any snacks in the kitchen that day, then it means someone probably served them to her privately," Williams said thoughtfully, and Susan narrowed her eyes as she considered it. "Perhaps Prince Harold asked them to serve her lunch in her chamber like he did thest time?" She asked no one in particr as she dropped onto his bed in exhaustion. "If that''s the case and it was served from the kitchen, then someone else might have had it too. Can you remember anyone else having biscuits on that same day?" He asked after some time as he paced his room. "I don''t think so," Susan said with a shake of her head as she sat up and looked at him. "You know more about herbs than I do. Do you think it is possible that something might have been added to the snacks to cause those symptoms in Princess Amber and Lance?" Susan asked him curiously. He paused to think about it for a moment before nodding his head slowly. "It is possible." "Do you know what could have been added to it?" Susan asked hopefully, and this time he shook his head. "I have no idea." "You can ask mother about it, can''t you?" Susan asked and Williams raised a brow. "You really want to make her suspicious of me, don''t you? Didn''t you say she is already asking us to pack our things and get ready to leave the pce immediately? How do you think she would react if she got wind of what we are doing?" Williams asked, incredulously. "Fine! Then visit the library and find something immediately! We don''t have time to waste. If we can get a clue from this, we can ask Lance to stand in as a witness, and maybe they can investigate this properly." "Are you listening to yourself? You want to make Lance stand in as a witness? Do you think he is going to do that?" Williams shook his head. "Do you think that his father is going to let him get involved in this?" "I don''t care. Even if I have to drag him there myself, he is going to do it!" Susan said with defiance, and Williams shook his head. "You need to be more realistic. You want to drag Lance there when father would have your head if he found out what you''re doing?" Williams asked, making her hiss in frustration. "So what do you suggest we do? We can''t just stay here and do nothing while she dies, simply because we are scared of our father! We are not cowards! We already agreed that we had picked a side, didn''t we? Then let''s do what it takes to save her, even if it means going against Father," she said, and Williams sighed as he wiped his face with a hand and went to stand by the window. "I know. I understand what you mean, but..." "There are no buts, Williams. If anything happens to Princess Amber, our family won''t be safe from Prince Harold either. I hope you realize that?" Susan asked, and Williams sighed. "Do you think I don''t know that or I''m not worried too? I just want us to act with wisdom. What good would it do Princess Amber if father or the Queen locks us up until they were done with the case?" Williams asked reasonably, and Susan got off the bed and started pacing the chamber. As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Their father could have them locked up if he suspected they were involved in this case, and then they would be unable to do anything. "What if you ask any of the kitchen maids about the biscuits? They should know." Susan suggested. "Do you realize how risky it will be for me to question a kitchen maid right now? The queen''s guards are everywhere." "Everything we are doing right now is risky, Williams, but that hasn''t stopped us. You can just innocently ask them about the biscuits Prince Harold asked them to serve the princess three days ago or ask them to make the same biscuits they made three days ago. I trust you. I''m sure you cane up with a nice n," Susan said as she began to head towards the door and Williams eyed her suspiciously. "Where are you off to?" "You don''t expect me to stay in your chamber all day with you, do you?" She asked, but the suspicion didn''t leave William''s eyes, especially when he noticed that she wasn''t making eye contact and she was avoiding giving him a direct answer. "Where are you going from here?" "To ask someone who might know something about this." Williams looked at her for a while and noticed how she still wasn''t meeting his eyes. "Don''t tell me you''re going to meet Alvin?" He asked with a raised brow and sighed when he saw a blush creep up her face, but she tried to hide it with a casual shrug. "I will meet youter. In the meantime, find out what you can about the biscuit and see if you can get something to reverse Princess Amber''s memory loss and stop the headache." She said, and quickly hurried out before he could ask her any questions or stop her. Chapter 213 Torture Meanwhile, in the assembly hall, there was pandemonium as everyone seemed to have a different opinion concerning this case. When the Queen could not take it anymore, she pped her hand on the handle of her chair loudly and stood up. The noise ceased and everyone turned to look at her. "This is not a big issue to cause such a disagreement amongst everyone. Princess Amber killed one of us and she harmed our Princess. She probably has a grudge against the royal family and may have also had an aplice to harm Prince Harold and get rid of the maid who witnessed the gruesome act carried out on my precious daughter and maid¨C" the queen choked on her sob and, fortunately for her, some people bought the act. "Who knows what her n is? I don''t know what might happen to the rest of us if we keep dying passing judgement," the queen said with a sniffle. At this point, Alicia wasn''t sure what to say again. It seemed that no matter what she said, these people were going to think she was responsible for what had happened. But she had to try. She couldn''t die like this. Not when she didn''t know what was wrong with Harold. She was going to survive and find the person who had done this. And she was going to consciously stab them to death for hurting Harold and for putting her and Paulina through this torture. If she had only been guilty of stabbing Beth, she would have assumed Beth had attacked her first and she had unconsciously fought back. But then, she didn''t have any reason to hurt Tyra. And someone had also hurt Harold and probably gotten rid of the maid who was the witness. So at this point, she was convinced that this was a great plot to get rid of her. And her biggest suspect was Ivan. Not only because of all the period dramas she had seen, but also because of the way the Queen seemed to be pressing for her to be sentenced immediately. Harvey was about to say something when Alicia raised her voice with what little strength she had and cried, "I DID NOT DO IT!" Everyone''s attention turned to her. "If I... had a grudge against the royal family and wanted to get rid of all of you as you im, I... would have poisoned the snacks I made for you all," she reminded them. "Everyone here is aware that I have a good rtionship with my husband¡ª" "KEEP QUIET!" The Queen yelled angrily at her, especially when she noticed how everyone was listening to her quietly. "EVERYONE KNOWS I HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH PRINCESS TYRA TOO!" Alicia yelled back, ignoring the queen. "I said keep quiet!" "She has a point," Sir Richard said,ing to Alicia''s aid. "She has no point! My daughter and son are both struggling for their lives because of her! She needs to be executed." Even Prince Ivan and Damon turned to spare her a nce when she referred to Harold as her son, even though it was a known fact that she despised Harold. "Everyone saw how well she got along with Prince Harold. Why would she try to get rid of him in that manner?" Another person asked. "I thought I heard she doesn''t know about our kind? So how did she know to get rid of Prince Harold in that manner?" Another asked, and the queen looked at all of them in annoyance. How could they be this gullible because of some stupid snacks she had made for them? Alicia didn''t understand some of the things they were talking about, but she almost sighed in relief when she saw that some aristocrats were on her side now. "Why are you in a hurry to execute her when the King is not here? Even though she is not a recognized princess yet, she is a member of the royal family and, as such, needs to be tried fairly." When Sir Richard said that, some other aristocrats nodded in agreement. "What are you talking about a fair trial? She hurt a princess!" The Queen said in a raised voice, and one of the ministers looked at her with displeasure. "You should sit down and control your temper. You might be the Queen, but a woman is not supposed to be making decisions for the court." Another minister said while frowning at the queen. "That is right!" Many of the aristocrats began to agree, as it urred to them that she was practically instructing them on what to do, and that was wrong. For the first time ever, this rubbed the queen in a bad way, and she gritted her teeth as she looked at them with her fists clenched tightly beside her. Damon gave her a look, telling her to sit down, before he stood up and said, "We need toe to a conclusion." "I DID NOT DO IT!" Alicia yelled once again, and Damon red at her. "We don''t expect you to admit to it even if you did," Damon said with disdain, and Alicia shook her head. "I deserve a fair trial. I know that neither you nor the queen like me, so I don''t expect you to judge this matter fairly. I don''t want either of you to be in charge of this," Alicia said stubbornly, and Damon shook his head. "Where do you think you are to make such arequest? In the king''s absence, I oversee the affairs of the kingdom, and you should keep your mouth shut if you don''t want to be beheaded this instant," Damon threatened with a deadly re in his eyes that shut Alicia up. Seeing how she was quiet now, Damon''s gaze moved around the hall from the face of one minister to the other until it settled on Sir Richard. "If your daughter, Benedicta, was the one who was murdered, would you demand a fair trial?" He asked, and just like that, he asked all the others who had daughters too. "More than having just anyone punished for it, I would want the real murderer to be punished, so yes. If it was your own daughter being used of such a crime, would you let her be sentenced in this manner?" Sir Richard asked in return, and once again everyone began to murmur. "And how are we supposed to find the real murderer when she ims she doesn''t remember anything?" Damon inquired. "Torture. She should be tortured until she tells us what she knows. I''m sure she wasn''t dragged out there without her knowledge. Torture has always been an effective way to help people remember things," Prince Ivan suggested. They argued about it for some time until the members of the assembly reached a unanimous agreement that she and her maid should both be tortured until she confessed the truth about what happened that night, instead of sentencing her to death without getting a confession from either her or her maid. "I will call for an assembly again after she has confessed what she knows," Damon announced, indicating the end of the meeting. "I permit you to torture her yourself. For what she did to our daughters, do not show her any mercy," the Queen whispered to Beth''s father as the others trooped away. Although she would have preferred to sentence her to death immediately, since the members of the assembly had insisted that they get a confession first, she had no choice but to go along with their decision so she wouldn''t appear suspicious. She did not doubt that Beth''s father would torture her to death. "Thank you, my queen," Beth''s father said, his eyes burning with anger as he walked away from there and followed the guards who were dragging Alicia and Paulina away. He turned to one of the guards beside him and said, "Get my daughter''s body. I want her face to be thest face the murderer will see before she dies." There was no way he was going to bury his daughter until he had avenged her death. Her murder was going to be buried first before her. That was the kind of justice she deserved. Chapter 214 Had? At this point, Susan wasn''t sure what was making her heart race so much as she approached the hallway of Harold''s chamber while looking all around to make sure no one was paying attention to her. Was it because she was scared? Apprehensive? Or perhaps it was because she wasn''t sure what to expect from meeting Alvin? However, when she got closer, the first thing she noticed was that things were different this time. Three guards were standing right outside the door. And judging from their dress, she knew they were high-ranking guards who worked only for the king. Even their appearance looked scary. She had a feeling that Alvin was still inside, so she approached the door despite their presence and was met with 3 pairs of vicious eyes staring right at her. None of them moved out of her way and just stood there, watching her as she approached. "I... am h-here to meet... Alvin." She said in a shaky voice while nervously wiping her sweaty palm on her dress. "Let her in." Alvin said from inside, and after a scrutinising look at her by the three of them, they stepped aside and one of them opened the door. She shakily went inside and as soon as the door closed behind her, her legs almost gave way under her, but she held on and leaned against the wall as she let out a breath of relief. Her eyes went to the bed where Alvin was seated beside Harold''s unconscious body, feeding him medicine, but Alvin didn''t bother to spare her a nce and just kept looking at Harold. It was strange for her to see Harold looking so sick, weak, and vulnerable. He was always majestic, cold, and scary. Not sick like this. And the sight brought her sadness. If she was this sad, she could understand a bit of how Alvin felt seeing him this way as she couldn''t say shepletely understood, considering how attached Alvin was to him. "Why aren''t you saying anything?" Alvin asked and turned to look at her. He looked even worse than he lookedst night. She guessed he still had not eaten nor drank anything. She doubted he had even left Harold''s side to take a bath. "The guards are already outside. Why didn''t you go and freshen up? You don''t look too... good." "What are you here for?" He asked coldly, not giving her any chance for small talk. She pursed her lips and went closer to him, but seeing how he was ring at her, she stopped approaching. It seemed like it was going to take a really long time for her to truly earn his trust. "We had a suspect." "Had?" He asked. "Yes. But we no longer think he might be responsible for it." "We?" Alvin asked with a slightly raised brow, and she gave him a nod. "That''s a long story. But know that I am not working alone. There are others who believe that she might be innocent." She exined quickly. "Is anyone else working with you apart from your brother?" Alvin asked, wanting to be sure he wasn''t getting involved with people that would create more trouble than solve it. Thest thing he wanted was for Princess Amber''s life to be endangered more than it already was. He raised an eyebrow when Susan looked away. "Answer my question." Susan knew that, like Williams, Alvin would doubt the intentions of Luciana and Harvey, and she didn''t want to waste the little time she had trying to convince him that those two could be trusted. Seeing how she was being reluctant to answer the question, Alvin tried to think of any other person who could possibly be on Princess Amber''s side. He thought of all the people within the pce whom he was aware she had rted with in one way or the other, and his brow arched when one name came to mind. "Is Sir Harvey working with you?" Alvin asked after a moment, and Susan''s eyes widened in surprise. How did he know? Seeing the startled expression on her face, Alvin could tell that he was right. Harvey was the only person he could think of who would be helping her. Although he didn''t know or understand what their rtionship was, he believed he could trust Harvey since Harold did not kill him for sneaking into his wife''s chamber through the window, and Harold and his wife had even shared tea with him and had some private conversation. "I can assure you that he can be trusted. He is not helping me just because he wants to marry me," Susan rushed to exin, thinking that Alvin hade to that conclusion because he had heard of the possible arranged marriage between her and Harvey. "Who did you say was the suspect?" Alvin asked, making it clear he had no desire to speak further on the Harvey issue. "Lance. The suspect was Lance. But after interrogating him, it seemed like he wasn''t." "What made you suspicious of him?" Alvin asked. Seeing how he was finally interested in what she was saying, she was happy to tell him all she knew. "But then he keptining about a headache and fading memory. Those were the same symptoms Princess Amberined about. We were able to link it to the biscuit they both ate. So I wanted to know if you knew about any biscuits she ate. Or maybe if you are aware she made some?" "Biscuits?" Alvin asked in confusion before standing up from where he was seated. "Princess Amber didn''t make any that day. And I cannot remember Prince Harold asking me to ask the kitchen maids for any," Alvin said with a frown. "Do you think there is someone in the kitchen who must have served it to her? Maybe you didn''t know about it?" Susan asked curiously. "Are you sure Lance''s words are to be trusted? And he is not trying to deceive you?" Alvin asked her before something else urred to him and his frown deepened. "He couldn''t have been pretending. Everyone is aware that he has been taking medicine for his head," Susan exined, but Alvin''s thoughts have moved from there. "Who is the maid that stayed back with Princess Tyra?" "You mean the witness who is missing?" Susan asked him. "There is a missing witness?" Alvin asked in confusion, almost making her jaw drop. "I know you are loyal to your master, but can you please focus on other things? Did you really n to ignore Princess Amber the entire time?" Alvin frowned and gave her an unpleasant look. "Are you... scolding me right now?" He asked in a quiet voice. Chapter 215 "Wake Up Soon." Susan swallowed nervously. Why was he always so intimidating? "Yes. Why? No one has ever scolded you before?" She asked, trying to act tough. "Don''t do that. I will get angry." He warned, but before she could respond he returned to the main topic. "So a maid imed to have seen Princess Amber kill Beth and stab Princess Tyra, but Princess Amber doesn''t remember doing that and she is having simr symptoms with Lance who was your first suspect, and he imed Princess Amber had given him a biscuit she had been eating?"he asked, summarizing everything she had said thus far, and Susan gave him a nod. "Exactly. I already asked Williams to find out whatever he can about any herbs or potions that could have such effects on our kind and humans," Susan assured him. Alvin seemed to be lost in his thoughts, so she remembered something vital and decided to tell him about it. "I think you should know this. But the maid who is missing works in the kitchen. I have no idea why she was serving Princess Tyra that night, and I cannot ask the head of the kitchen either, because I do not want to be suspected. But I think you can do that yourself." "Are you looking for an opportunity to get me out of here so your aunt can hurt Prince Harold?" He asked suspiciously. "Goodness! Can you stop being so suspicious of me?" She asked in frustration. "I don''t have time for this! My mother wants us to leave this ce after the assembly today. If I end up leaving, you should be able to continue with these clues." She said, frustrated. Her angry eyes red at Alvin, who seemed to have recovered from his suspicion and sighed deeply. "A kitchen maid." He muttered. He had his suspicions now. "Who is she?" He asked her curiously. "I''m not sure you would know her..." "Can you at least tell me what she looks like?" Alvin asked, and Susan gave him a nod as she tried to describe the maid. Alvin''s brows pulled together once she was done. That was the same maid Harold had asked him to keep his eyes on. "It''s her." He muttered to himself again. "What? You know her?" "She probably fed the biscuits to Princess Amber secretly." He said to himself, while Susan watched him with confusion. If he could find the person who had directed her to watch over Princess Tyra, he would be able to find the person responsible for everything. He needed to find her. Or at least, her twin who was outside the pce. With that goal in mind, he returned to the bed where Haroldy and covered him properly with the quilt. "Wake up soon." He said quietly before adding in a threatening tone, "I am warning you, Harold." Susan watched him carefully until he turned to look at her, and with the same warning tone, he said, "Do whatever you can to stay back." At that moment, it urred to her that she was truly going to try her best to stay back. ******* "I didn''t do it. I am innocent," Alicia kept insisting as they tied both her and Paulina to two chairs. She wasn''t sure what the nature of torture was, but seeing who was in charge of it sent shivers down her spine. How could they have put Beth''s father in charge of torturing her? The man had a murderous glint in his eyes, and she knew he would stop at nothing until she was dead. "I didn''t do any of it. I didn''t. I have no reason to kill Beth or hurt Tyra or Harold. You have to believe me," Alicia begged weakly, while Paulina continued to cry beside her. "My mistress is innocent," Paulina cried in a cracked voice. Instead of listening to her as she had hoped, her statement seemed to add fuel to the fire because most of the aristocrats frowned at how she had addressed her husband so casually. If she could call him by his name like that, it meant she had the audacity to kill him. Alicia raised her head when she noticed two men walking toward them with their hands lifted above their heads as they carried a body wrapped in a mat, and her eyes widened in surprise when they dropped it in front of her and unfolded the mat to reveal the body. Her heart skipped a beat, and a gasp escaped from her lips when she looked down at the body and realized that it was indeed Beth''s corpse. Although she had been brutally wounded and there were stab wounds all over her body and so many bruises on her face, the body was unmistakably Beth''s. Somewhere deep inside her, she had been nursing some sort of hope that Beth was probably still alive and all this was just a set up, but seeing Beth''s corpse in this manner, she felt both torn and devastated. She would have vomited if she had had anything left in her stomach. Maybe if it had been a single stab wound, she would still have been suspicious of herself, but seeing all the wounds on Beth, she shook her head. Neither Princess Amber nor Queen Anne were beasts. She knew they would never do something like this to another human being. Even though she had never been fond of Beth, and they were not even on good terms, seeing the corpse of someone she once knew that way, someone who had served her howbeit grudgingly... She broke into an uncontroble sob. Although Beth was a bitch, she didn''t deserve to die this way. She didn''t deserve to be so brutally murdered. Without a doubt, Alicia knew that she wasn''t responsible for this. And it was so unfair that the perpetrator was out there. Seeing the pained look on Beth''s father''s face made her feel even worse. "No! No! No! I didn''t do this. I could never do this," Alicia cried out as she shook her head and tears dropped from her eyes. Beth''s father looked at her, immune to her tears, as all the instruments he needed to torture her were set on a table in front of him. "It is a good thing that you didn''t easily admit to your crime. Beheading you would have been too easy. I''d rather torture you and make you beg for death," he said as he stepped forward. "You ughtered my daughter like an animal. I''m going to make you experience every single pain she felt in tenfolds," he promised. Chapter 216 Interrogation "Speak," Alvin warned in a low, threatening voice. That was the difference between him and other people, and one of the simrities he had with Harold. He didn''t waste his time with a question-and-answer session. If he wanted an honest answer, he knew how to get it, just like he was doing now with the tip of his sword pointed at the neck of the head of the kitchen after assuring him they were only going to have ''a word'' privately. There was no way he would openly threaten him to tell him about the maid when others who were working for the queen were lurking around. As far as he was concerned, this was the queen''s doing. "I... I d-don''t know... I ssswear..." The poor man stammered and put his hand up while his eyes kept moving between Alvin''s face and the tip of the sword on his neck. Alvin made sure to press the tip of the sword against the man''s throat so he would feel it as he calmly spoke with a bored expression, "That is not the answer I want to hear. Where is she?" "I... I have no idea. I swear. The queen had already asked. She disappeared since that night." "Why was she serving Princess Tyra that night? On whose orders?" "I have no idea. She has no reason to serve Princess Tyra. I don''t know why she went there. She was supposed to join the pack for the servants. I really have no idea. I swear on my name." The man rushed to say. Alvin could literally hear the man''s heartbeat from where he stood. He looked at him closely, trying to see if he was being honest or trying to deceive him. "Okay," Alvin said and withdrew the sword from his neck, causing the man to gasp in relief and press his palms together to thank Alvin. Everyone knew that Alvin was the rational one between Harold and him. But when Alvin gets to this point, then no one will be able to stop him. Not even the queen. "Some biscuits were served to Princess Amber that day. Who made them?" The man thought about it for only a minute before shaking his head. "We didn''t make any biscuits that day." "You sound so sure. Are you lying to me?" Alvin asked calmly. "I am not!" The man swore. "The only snacks made during the period of the banquet were the ones Princess Amber made. We exhausted all the ingredients that day, so we could not make other kinds of snacks or biscuits until the night of the banquet when we made other snacks from the ingredients reserved for the feast." He said confidently. "Do you swear that this is the truth?" Alvin asked him. He nodded eagerly. "I swear it. That is the truth." That just seemed to confirm Alvin''s suspicion. But then, he still hadn''t gotten the real answer he wanted. Who had sent that maid to Tyra? And where was she? Now, he only had one option left. And that was leaving the pce to look for her. Could he risk leaving Harold alone for a whole day? ********* Away from there, Alicia and Paulina had cried so much as they were being tortured that they had both lost their voices. "I didn''t do it. I don''t know anything," Alicia cried weakly but breathlessly as some of the guards brought in water and piece of cloth, and they began to untie them. It seemed like with each passing hour, Beth''s father wasing up with more and more torture techniques to prove that he meant what he said when he told her she was going to feel Beth''s pain tenfold. He had started the torture by pouring hot coals on the floor under their feet, and while the coal burned their feet, they were flogged until they both passed out from the pain and exhaustion of crying. They had regained consciousness by finding themselves hanging upside down until they passed out once again. Now they were made to lie face up on a wooden tform and tied to it. Alicia had no idea what the next torture was, but she knew that her body couldn''t take much more. Her entire body was aching, and the scorching sun was not doing anything to help her injuries or burned feet. The pain was too much for her, and unless a miracle happened right now, she was going to die. "I''m sorry you''re going through all of this because of me," Alicia told Paulina in a weak and broken voice when she turned to her and saw how the girl was struggling to breathe. "I''m sorry, mdy. I wish I could protect you from this instead of just suffering with you," Paulina cried weakly, and tears rolled down the sides of Alicia''s eyes. She wished she could really do something other than repeat to them that she didn''t do it. Seeing how Paulina had been dragged into this and made to suffer for something she had no idea about made her cry. She had asked repeatedly for them to let her go, but it seemed like this was the fate of servants in this era. They were going to suffer the fate of their masters, or even worse. "Are you still not going to confess to your crimes?" Sir Richard asked with a slight frown as he and Harvey approached them, and the guards who were about to cover Alicia''s and Paulina''s faces for the next round paused. "I... didn''t do it," Alicia struggled to speak as she turned to him, hoping that someone would believe her. Anyone. That would give her hope to hang in there, especially as she had no idea where Susan was or if she had been abandoned. It was possible that Susan thought she was guilty since she couldn''t remember what had happened. "You likely won''t survive the next couple of tortures. Why not put an end to the torture by confessing to your crime?" Sir Richard asked, still frowning slightly. He had nothing against either Harold or his wife, and he wished things were not happening this way, but there was little or nothing he could do. The other aristocrats and members of the assembly were beginning to lose patience and be irritated, and he knew without a doubt that they would demand that she be sentenced soon just so that they could return to their homes. Alicia shook her head weakly, "I''m innocent. Please believe me, and save us," she pleaded, both her throat and lips feeling patched. Sir Richard sighed as he shook his head, "I can''t do anything for you. It would be better for you to confess and tell us whatever you know. Anything at all." Sir Richard suggested before walking away, but Harvey didn''t leave with him immediately. Chapter 217 The Confession Harvey stepped forward and grabbed both Alicia and Paulina''s hair, and as they cried out in pain, he whispered, "Hang in there a little longer. I believe you. And we are trying to prove your innocence. You have to survive this." "How could you hurt Princess Tyra? You deserve what you''re getting," He growled for the benefit of others before he let go of their hair and walked away, ignoring the strange look he was receiving from the others who were wondering why he did that since he didn''t seem close to the princess. He believed her? He said ''we''. Who were the ''we''? Was it Susan? But Harvey wasn''t close to Susan, or was he? Alicia wondered, but she didn''t have much time to think as the guards ced a cloth over her face, and before she could guess what they were up to, they started pouring water into her face, and her cries came in muffled gasps as she struggled to breathe. Alicia tried to reach for Paulina''s hand, but she couldn''t. No matter how much she was suffering now, she promised herself that she was not going to die. It was going to be unfair that after being brought to this world without her permission, she was going to leave like this for something she had no control over. ''Amber. Queen Anne. You have to save me.'' She said in her head as she kept struggling to breathe. This was a terrible way to die, and it began to give her shes of when she had fallen into the water in her world and had been drowning. She cked out for a moment, and when she came to consciousness again, she remembered herself leaving the room. At that moment, she also began to strangely remember some things she could not remember happening. She remembered looking all over her room that night for something. Her actions seemed clumsy, and she even managed to knock down some things as she made her way to the door of the room. As soon as she managed to open the door, she almost stumbled to the floor but held back and touched her head. She felt someone standing there. She didn''t know who the person was, but someone had been standing outside her door. "W-Water..." Alicia had said to the person in a very dry voice that she couldn''t recognize herself. Alicia gasped loudly as soon as the cloth was removed from her face. She could not remember when the person stopped pouring the water over her face, but at this point, she could not even cry from relief. Because she felt like she was going to die at any minute. She could hear some of the aristocrats who were still present murmuring loudly, but she did not bother to learn what decision they wereing to now. She was focused on the person who was untying Paulina and began to panic as she wondered where they were taking her to. As soon as Paulina was made to stand under the same burned feet, Beth''s father was in front of her and pped her so hard that Paulina spat out blood before she fell to the ground. "W-What... are... you doing?" Alicia asked in a panic. "Say it again," Beth''s father growled at Paulina as a guard roughly held her up again. "I.... d-did it." "What... are you saying?" Alicia asked weakly, wondering what Paulina was talking about. "I did it, mdy. I killed Beth and stabbed Princess Tyra." Alicia''s eyes widened, and she looked at Paulina in shock. What... did she just say? "Please mdy is innocent. I did it alone. I still have the scars from when Beth hurt me. She has always been mean to my mistress. I could not take it anymore." Paulina cried, and Alicia turned to her. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" Alicia yelled angrily, and Paulina shook her head, tears falling from her eyes. "I did it. You are innocent. I did it. I killed Beth, and I hurt the princess for getting in my way," Paulina repeated, and Alicia''s body shook with both pain and anger since she could understand that the foolish maid was trying to sacrifice herself to save her. "Shut up your filthy mouth! You didn''t do anything," Alicia snapped at her while Beth''s father stepped forward and signaled the guards to untie Alicia. "Your maid has confessed; all that is left is for you to confess. There is no way she could have done it without your permission," Beth''s father said, but Paulina shook her head. "No. I did it alone. She knows nothing about it. It was me. I did it all alone," Paulina cried in her cracked voice. Beth''s father snorted and faced Alicia. "There is no way a maid can carry out such actions without the orders of their masters. Maybe you will finally confess your crimes after you watch her die." Alicia looked at Paulina with anger, disappointment, and fear. Maybe Paulina had done this to save her, but she had no idea she had just put them into more trouble. As Alicia saw a guard dragging Paulina to the podium where she was to be beheaded, she recovered and yelled, raising her voice with all her might. "ARE YOU STUPID?" She asked Beth''s father, who looked at her, frowning. "Do you look down so much on your daughter that you think Paulina, who can barely kill an ant, can kill her and stab a princess? What does she intend to gain? What do I intend to gain?" She asked angrily. "Are you so blinded by grief that you cannot open your eyes and see that this is a great scheme before you? Your daughter''s murderer is out there living freely, and they are making you kill the wrong person! Do you think you will be safe after killing me or my maid? Is this your definition of justice? Are you an idiot?" Beth''s father was obviously shaken by her words, and he just stood there and stared nkly. Some aristocrats also seemed to ponder her words. Seeing this, the Queen ignored all of them and stood up. "Behead the maid," she said in a vicious tone. Helplessly, Paulina was dragged away while Alicia could do nothing but scream. Chapter 218 Getting Caught Ignorant of what was going on with Alicia and Paulina at that moment, Susan paced around her chamber as she tried toe up with what to do next. Now that they had ruled out Lance, and Alvin was out in search of the missing maid, she didn''t know what else she could do. After some time, she paused when she remembered that she had yet to inform Harvey and Luciana about their discussion with Lance, so she walked over to the dressing table in her chamber and sat on the stool as sheposed a note asking Luciana to meet with her. She was going to go find Harvey after sending the message to Luciana. She raised her head when her door was suddenly pushed open, and quickly threw the note under the table and stood up as her mother walked into the room. Her mother had a suspicious look on her face as she looked at Susan, "What are you doing?" She asked as her eyes moved around the chamber as though she was searching for something. "What am I doing?" Susan repeated before shaking her head, "Nothing." Susan tried to assure her mother despite the guilt that was disyed on her face. Her mother, who obviously did not believe her, moved around the chamber. "Where are your bags?" She asked, and Susan stared at her without saying a word. "Why are you not packing up your bags as I asked you to?" "Em... I..." Susan stuttered as she shifted from one foot to the other, not knowing what excuse to give her mother, especially seeing how the older woman was looking at her suspiciously. Susan''s mother looked at her for a while and noticed how she was holding the edge of her dress tightly, and then her gaze shifted to the white paper which was visible under the table. To Susan''s surprise, her mother approached her quickly and bent down to pick up the note that she had been in the middle of writing. Before Susan could react, her mother began to read it. When her mother read the note, she turned to look at Susan with a frown on her face. "What is this? Who were you writing to?" "NO ONE!" Susan yelled defensively. "I... was just writing." Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Williams entered. He didn''t look surprised to find his mother inside the chamber since he had heard her voice. He could sense the tension that hung in the atmosphere of the chamber as he gave Susan, who was obviously panicking, a questioning look. "You couldn''t have been writing this to ''no one''. Tell me who you are writing this to right now!" Her mother demanded harshly as she waved the note in front of Susan. "What is it?" Williams asked as he drew closer to them. He took the note from his mother and read it. "What has your sister been up to? I asked her to pack up and asked you to do the same, but instead of doing as she was told, she was here writing a secret note!" She turned her attention back to Susan. "Tell me what you have been up to before I report this to your father!" She threatened, and Susan panicked more. She knew that if this got to her father, he was going to do his best to get the truth out of her, and then everything was going to be worse. Williams took a deep breath before looking at Susan with apologetic eyes. When Susan saw that look, she gave him a warning re that did not escape their mother''s keen eyes. "Tell me the truth, Williams. What is she hiding?" "Mother..." "Williams!" Susan called his name loudly when he began to speak. "Keep your mouth shut!" Her mother snapped at her. "I didn''t want to tell you this, mother. I know you may be disappointed but you and father have always taught us to be brave and follow our hearts!" "Williams! What are you doing!?" "You cannot hide this any longer!" Williams yelled at her. "Do you think you''ll be able to do anything if you keep hiding it from them?" "Mother... I..." "She was writing a note to Harvey," William said immediately, cutting Susan off. Susan, who was ready to yell at him, swallowed her words immediately and looked at him with a slight frown. What was he talking about? "Harvey?" Their mother asked in confusion, and Williams gave her a nod. "Yes, mother. They fancy each other greatly." Williams said sadly, and their mother looked at Susan with surprise. Susan was only confused for a minute before she realized what Williams was doing. The note she had written simply read, "IT''S AN EMERGENCY. LET US MEET AT..." That was where the note had stopped before her mother came in. So that note could have been sent to anyone for any reason. Why hadn''t she thought of that? Susan thought in relief that perhaps Williams was too smart for his own good. "And I think It is unfair that you are asking us to leave now that she has found someone who she wants to be with," Williams said to his mother, who still looked surprised. The older woman turned to look at Susan again as if to confirm what Williams was saying, and to Williams'' surprise, Susan burst into tears. "It''s so... unfair, mother. It''s... so difficult to find someone who fancies me and whom I fancy too. Yet you want to pull me away from here without considering my feelings. How... do we get to learn about each other?" Susan began to cry loudly, and her mother looked at her with something akin to guilt as she went to embrace Susan. "I had no idea. I thought you didn''t like him that way," she said with tears in her own eyes as she patted her daughter''s back lovingly while Susan smirked at Williams, who was rolling his eyes at the dramatic scene. "You know how difficult it is to find someone who you fancy and who also fancies you too. Do not... take me away from here." She said in between sobs. "Do not cry, my dear. If that is what you want, you can stay. I''m confident that both Harvey and your brother are going to be here to look after you. Stop crying now," her mother said as she patted her back to calm her. "I guess there is no reason for us to leave immediately. I will unpack my bags at once. Now stop crying," their mother said as she pulled back from Susan and brushed her tears away before heading for the door. Immediately she left, Susan let out a sigh of relief as she smiled at Williams, "That was really smart of you. For a moment there, I thought you were going to tell her the truth," Susan said, and Williams shrugged. "You realize that now she is going to make sure you get married to Harvey, right?" Williams asked, and Susan waved it off dismissively. "What is important right now is that we are not leaving anytime soon. When the time for thates, we can always find an excuse to not get married," Susan said before looking at him curiously. "Tell me you found something in the library?" She asked hopefully. "Not yet. You should know that it is not as easy as you think. I have to read so many books on potions. I was bing exhausted, so I came to find out how your discussion with Alvin went," Williams said, and Susan frowned at him, displeased that he wasn''t doing what he was supposed to do. "You don''t have the time to be exhausted right now. Alvin has gone in search of the missing maid. Now go back and find out whatever you can about the biscuit," Susan instructed as she returned to her dressing table to finish writing the letter, and Williams sighed as he headed for the door. "If youe across Harvey, find out what is happening with Princess Amber and also tell him about our meeting with Lance. After this letter has been delivered to Princess Luciana, I will head to Princess Tyra''s chamber," Susan said, and Williams gave her a nod before walking away. ******** Seeing the state of things following Paulina''s sudden confession, Harvey quickly excused himself from his father and hurried away from there in search of Susan and Williams. He needed to find out how their interrogation had gone and to let them know what was happening so they could expose Lance immediately before Paulina was beheaded. As he hurried down the passageway to Susan''s chamber, he stopped when he saw Williams heading to the library, "Williams!" He called in an urgent tone, and Williams turned to him. "Have you interrogated Lance? Is he guilty?" He asked, but Williams continued to eye him with suspicion. Seeing as Lance wasn''t guilty, he had no reason to trust Harvey. For all he knew, Harvey could be responsible for it as well. Why else would he offer to help them when he wasn''t even friends with Princess Amber? "What is going on? Are they done with the assembly?" He asked, ignoring Harvey''s question, and Harvey frowned. "Princess Amber''s maid confessed she was behind it and she is about to be beheaded," Harvey said, and Williams'' eyes widened in disbelief. "Paulina?" He asked, and before Harvey could respond, he ran away from there to go see things for himself, leaving an angry and frustrated Harvey behind. Chapter 219 Goodbye, Milady Harvey continued down to Susan''s chamber, but by the time he got there, she had left the chamber in search of her maid, who she wanted to help her fetch Luciana''s maid. As Harvey hurried around the pce in search of Susan, he ran into Susan''s mother, and just as he bowed to her and was about to hurry past her, she stopped him. "I suppose you''re searching for Susan?" She asked curiously, and Harvey turned, wondering how she knew who he was searching for. "Yes, mdy?" he said hesitantly and began to think of the appropriate way to excuse himself. Seeing how she was looking at him with a kind of interest he wasn''t familiar with, he became slightly ufortable and asked, "Please... do you know where I can find her? I mean,dy Susan." Pushing his curiosity aside, he asked. Susan''s mother smiled at him warmly. "You don''t have to worry about anything anymore. Susan and Williams already told me everything," she said with a knowing smile, and Harvey looked at her nkly as he wondered what she was talking about. Did Susan, by chance, also tell her mother about his involvement in trying to prove Princess Amber''s innocence? He wondered. Not understanding what she was talking about, he gave her a nod and said, "I''m relieved to know she told you about it. Where is she?" Harvey asked, trying not to sound curt or impatient. Susan''s mother continued to smile at him, "I just finished speaking with your mother..." "My mother?" Harvey asked in confusion, not sure what she was talking about. "Yes. We both agree that it''s a good thing that you and Susan are getting along in this manner," Susan''s mother said, and although Harvey still wasn''t clear about what she was talking about, he smiled stiffly. He was going to strangle the living daylight out of her if she had dared to tell her mother about his involvement, despite his warning to keep it to herself. Seeing how distracted he seemed and how he kept moving from one foot to the other as though he couldn''t wait to leave her and continue on his way to search for Susan, Susan''s mother smiled happily. Young love. It was always such a beautiful thing to behold, she thought as she reached out and patted his arm. "If she isn''t in her chamber or with Williams, then maybe you should check Princess Tyra''s chamber," she suggested to Harvey''s relief, and he bowed to her as he hurried away from there, but not without hearing her dreamy sigh and disturbingment. "Young love," Susan''s mother murmured happily as she watched him run off in search of her daughter. Harvey paused and turned around to nce at her, wondering what she meant, but he shook his head and hurried away in the direction of Tyra''s chamber to find Susan since he already knew that she wasn''t with Williams. There would always be time to satisfy his curiosity, and right now wasn''t the time. Not when lives are at stake. Away from there, Alicia continued to yell at Beth''s father as some guards tied her to a chair while Paulina was dragged to the podium. "I swear to you, she didn''t do anything! She is lying to you! Please do not hurt her. Let her go, please. She is innocent!" Alicia cried, her heart beating very fast as she watched the guards push Paulina down on her knees roughly while the executioner unsheathed his sword. At this point, Paulina didn''t even have any energy left in her. She just allowed them to push her about as they pleased while praying for all this to end. Although she didn''t know exactly who Harvey was, he had just said they were trying to prove their innocence and it would be pointless if her mistress died before her innocence was proven. She couldn''t let her die such a public death the way Queen Anne had died. But it seemed like she had just made things worse. Her only hope was that the young man would find a solution or that Prince Harold would wake up and help Alicia. Williams arrived at that point, but before he could do anything, his father turned to look at him when he smelled his scent. "What are you doing here?" He asked when he saw the wild look in Williams'' eyes. Williams opened his mouth to tell his father that Paulina was innocent, but he quickly reminded himself that saying that to his father was only going to endanger her more. Interfering this way was going to make his father believe that something was going on between him and Paulina, and then he would stop at nothing to get rid of her. Tears streamed down Alicia''s face as she watched the scene before her in horror, and seeing as Beth''s father was no longer listening to her, she turned her beseeching eyes to the Queen and Damon, "Please, my queen. I know you despise me, but Paulina is innocent. If you must kill someone, then kill me. Please have mercy! Please," Alicia cried desperately, but neither of them paid any attention to her. Instead, the queen gave the executioner the go-ahead to carry out the act since it seemed as though Beth''s father was no longer in his right mind. He just stood there, staring nkly. Williams ignored his father and looked straight at the podium with wide eyes. At the same time, Paulina''s weak gaze found his. She tried to smile at him, but she could not even move her facial muscles. She could see death staring right at her and knew she could not survive this. She only wished she had thanked him enough for treating her well. She wished she could tell him how happy she was whenever he let her into the painting chamber. She had no regrets. The only sadness she had inside herself was that she was not able toplete the painting of Sir Williams and the second painting for Alicia, just like she had promised. Seeing how misty Williams'' eyes were made her feel guilty and at the same time grateful. How could a man like him feel sorry for someone like her? Her eyes moved from Williams to Alicia, who was shouting and crying for them to let her be. ''Thank you... Mdy. Good-bye.'' Paulina said in her head and closed her eyes, submitting to fate. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she waited for the sword to drop. As soon as the executioner raised his sword above his head, Alicia shut her eyes tightly and cried out with all her might. Most of the aristocrats'' attention was pulled away from what was happening, and even the executioner was distracted and looked up at the unusually dark sky as clouds began to gather. The only people who were not paying attention were Paulina, Alicia, and Williams who was still in disbelief at the scene and thinking about what to do. But as murmurs began to grow louder and a heavy breeze began to blow, his attention returned to reality, and he noticed the oddity of the weather. "What is happening?" The same question was in the mouths of countless people as they tried to shield themselves from the heavy wind. It wasn''t until thunder rumbled and powerful lightning struck that some of the aristocrats quickly began to run out of there. Paulina weakly opened her eyes and looked at what was happening. The thunder had also startled her back to reality. She noticed how dark everywhere was and the heavy breeze was almost blowing her away. The only one who seemed to not be aware of what was happening now was Alicia, who was trying to get away from the chair she had been tied to and save Paulina. All of her energy seeped out of her at once, and she passed out. There was a ruckus everywhere as everyone tried to run back to the main pce building. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?" The queen yelled at no one in particr as she held down her dress to prevent it from exposing what was not meant for the eyes of the public. "I... think we should shelter ourselves," Ivan said and began to run away. The queen looked around her in panic and also looked at Damon. "Where are you running to?" The queen bellowed at the executioner, who was about to take cover too. "Kill the maid!" The Queen ordered. The man looked around in confusion and went back. It was difficult to do something because he also had to protect his eyes from the dust and also had to take control of the sword that the breeze seemed to be controlling for him. As soon as he climbed back onto the podium and managed to raise the sword, a loud feminine voice bellowed for him to stop. Confused, he left his sword in midair and tried to see who it was. All they could see at first was the silhouette of a girl holding down her dress. As she came closer, the queen recognized Susan and frowned at her. Querying eyes turned to her, and Susan swallowed nervously when she caught her father and the queen''s angry eyes. "Princess Tyra is awake!" She announced, panting. Chapter 220 Interrogation On Hold Earlier on, as Susan made her way to find her maid, who was to help her fetch Luciana''s maid, she met Luciana''s maid heading in her direction. "I was just about to send for you. Are you here to see me?" She asked when she saw the letter in her hand, and the maid gave her a nod. Although she couldn''t understand what was going on between her mistress anddy Susan, she suspected that it had something to do with Beth''s murder, and so she needed to act discreetly since she was aware that if she was caught, she would also be punished alongside her mistress, or even more like what Paulina was going through. "My mistress asked me to deliver this to you," she said as she handed Susan the letter, and Susan gave her the letter for Luciana. "Give this to her. Tell her it''s urgent," she said, and the maid bowed to her before hurrying away. Susan opened the letter and frowned when she saw the words written on it, [HAVE YOU CONFIRMED IF IT WAS LANCE? I HEAR PRINCESS AMBER IS BEING TORTURED RIGHT NOW AND SHE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT MUCH LONGER. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?] They were being tortured already? She had never felt more useless in her life. She couldn''t stand watching them torture Princess Amber, and there was nothing else she could do right now than go to Princess Tyra''s chamber and pray for her to wake up. With a sigh, Susan squeezed the letter into the hand of her dress and made her way to Tyra''s chamber. Once she got to the door, she ignored the guards standing there and pushed the door open. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Tyra stretching out on the bed. Tyra pulled down her hands immediately and looked at the door with wide eyes. "You are awake!" Susan cried in awe as she ran to meet Tyra and embraced her happily. Tyra looked like she was panicking and looked all around her while trying to get Susan to keep her voice down because she was yelling too much. But the door opened and the two guards who had been guarding her door entered and looked at her, relieved. "Did you just wake up? Everyone has been worried about you. I''m d you are awake now. How are you feeling?" Susan asked excitedly as she pulled away from Tyra and ran her hands over Tyra, who looked like she was about to faint again. Susan stood up immediately she remembered that Paulina and Princess Amber were being tortured. "One of you should stay here with her. While the other should go and call the royal physician to check on her while I inform the Queen that she is awake," Susan said to the guards, and before Tyra could stop her, she ran out of the chamber with all her might. As she ran down the hallway, she met Harvey, who she almost ran into, but he quickly grabbed her. "Where are you running to?" Harvey asked, wondering if she had heard about the execution already, but when he saw the smile on her face, he doubted it. "Princess Tyra is awake. I have to go and inform them," she said excitedly, and Harvey let go of her arm immediately. "Hurry then. Her maid is about to be executed," immediately the words left his lips, Susan looked at him in horror as she raised her gown and increased her pace. But she suddenly stopped and turned around in confusion when she heard the sudden rumbling of thunder and saw the way the sky darkened. She picked up her pace and started running when a strong wind suddenly came, blowing off some of the decorations hanging on the wall and causing them to fly around the ce. As she stepped outside, the whole ce was covered in dust and even though she couldn''t see clearly and the wind wasn''t making it easy to move, she ran with all her might against the wind until she got to the execution ground. "STOP!" She yelled when she saw the sword of the executioner raised above his head, and she tried to catch her breath before telling him what she hade for. "Princess Tyra is awake!" Princess Tyra was awake? Those who were still standing around and waiting to witness the execution mused. Damian looked at Susan doubtfully, as he wondered if she was telling the truth or just saying that to stop Paulina''s execution. Susan''s father, who was still standing beside the Queen and Damon despite the fact that the other aristocrats had fled, stepped forward, not liking the fact that both his children were present there. "What are you doing here?" He asked in an angry tone. "Are you telling the truth?" The Queen asked at the same time, and Susan bobbed her head. "Yes, my queen. I saw her myself and ran down here to inform you about it," Susan said without meeting her father''s gaze. Even though the queen was displeased by the sudden turn of events, on hearing this, she abandoned everything else, and even her passion for killing Paulina and Princess Amber, to go see her. Seeing Tyra was important. Not necessarily because she cared that her daughter had regained consciousness, but more because she needed to find the person who was behind all this since she was certain that the same person was responsible for the letter that had caused her so many sleepless nights. "I''m sure you can take care of things here," she said to Damon before looking at her brother. "Let''s go." The wind did not make it easy for her to move. But Damian and three other guards who stood around her, helped her get away sessfully. Susan''s father looked at his children, but neither of them was staring at him. Instead, their gaze was focused on the two people he didn''t want them to associate with. He made a mental note to discipline themter as he walked away with his sister. Beth''s father looked at Damon, and he shook his head. "Hold off on torturing them further until we hear from Princess Tyra," Damon said before walking away too. Chapter 221 "Hang In There." Beth''s father had a displeased frown on his face as he looked at the unconscious forms of Paulina, who had also fainted on the podium, and Alicia, who was still unconscious, before ncing at the two siblings who were approaching. Williams walked past him to meet Paulina, while Susan fought against the wind as she tried to get to Alicia. Beth''s father ignored them and looked at the guards still standing near him, "Take my daughter''s body inside. And keep an eye on the criminals," he ordered the guards before leaving there to go and confirm what had happened to his daughter from Tyra. "We will take care of them," Susan told the guards, who looked at her skeptically before stepping aside. As soon as Susan got to where Alicia was and saw what she looked like, she choked on her sob as she began to untie her from the chair. Susan had never seen anyone look this awful, and what was worse? She was even a human. "Hang in there," Susan pleaded, and was about to ask Williams to help her when she noticed he was with Paulina. Williams looked down at Paulina helplessly. He couldn''t even bring his hand down to touch her because his hands were shaking. "Snap out of it!" Susan yelled at him, bringing him back to his senses. He still looked confused, but he hesitantly reached out to feel her pulse and sighed in relief when he felt it, even though it was weak. At once, he lifted her off the ground and into his arms. Seeing how she could not depend on her brother to help her with Alicia, she used all her strength to help Alica up. Normally, as a Beta, she was supposed to be strong enough to carry someone as light-weight as Alicia, but she was not a warrior, and neither had she ever trained to be one. So she could only help Alicia walk on the same foot that was burned. Susan hoped that now that Princess Tyra was awake, she would clear Princess Amber''s name quickly so that the nightmare would be over for all of them. Even though Williams knew that they were supposed to take them back to the dungeon as instructed, he couldn''t bring himself to do so. Not when they were both unconscious and he could see the wounds on Paulina. He knew that if they didn''t at least treat them or give them water and food, they could die even before they were proven innocent or faced execution. He needed to make sure he treated them quickly and fed them before they were taken back to the dungeon. Williams arrived at the confines of the pce walls first and then noticed how his sister was struggling. She was trying to pull Princess Amber along with her, fight off the wind so she could see where she was going to and move ahead, and also hold down her dress. At the rate she was going, they were going to fall. Fortunately, before he could decide on what to do about Paulina so he could go help Susan with Alicia, Harvey hurriedly walked past him, and not minding the wind, he approached thedies. In one easy move, he swept Alicia off her feet and into his arms, and carried her bridal style towards the building, while Susan tried to catch her breath as she followed him. When the three of them got to where Williams was standing with Paulina in his arms, they looked back outside at the heavy wind that came out of nowhere. Even inside the pce was affected and some decorations had been thrown off to different sides. If only the pce hadn''t been built with the finest materials, they were sure the building would have copsed by now. "What do we do about them?" Susan asked, bringing them back to the present. Even though things had happened this way, they were still prisoners, and their involvement right now was going to put them in trouble. They knew it. "We will take them to my painting room. I will quickly treat their wounds while you find something for them to eat and drink," Williams said to Susan, and she gave him a nod as she hurried away to find food for them. Immediately they entered his painting room and gentlyid bothdies on the floor, Williams turned to Harvey and said, "You should go back and join the others before they find out you''re with us. It is bad enough that they now know of our involvement. If our father chooses to punish us, we will need your help," Williams said, and Harvey gave him a nod before walking away. Susan, on the other hand, hurriedly went to the kitchen to ask the chef for some porridge. She could not help thinking about how things were suddenly working in their favour. She was d she had been there at the right time to stop the execution; otherwise, Paulina would have died. Even though there was nothing going on between Williams and Paulina, she knew that if they had killed her, it would have really affected her brother. At least now, Tyra was awake. She was going to tell them what exactly had happened that night. She would have still been worried about the real culprit being Princess Amber, but after Lance told them about the biscuits, she had a feeling that they were on the right track. But then, she could not help thinking about the sudden change in weather and what could have possibly caused it. It was a very unusual urrence. As Susan arrived in the kitchen, the queen and her entourage barged into Tyra''s chamber. Tyra looked terrified when she saw the crowd of people inside her chamber. She weakly used the quilt to cover herself and held it firmly to her body. "How do you feel?" "Do you remember what happened that night?" Damon and the queen asked at the same time. Chapter 222 Impatient Queen Everyone''s attention in the room moved to the king''s Beta and the Queen, who was Tyra''s so-called mother. Damon had been the one to ask Tyra about her health, while the queen went straight to the point. Seeing her mistake, the Queen paused and took a deep breath to calm herself, "How... are you feeling?" The Queen asked, slightly flustered. It was obvious to everyone present that she didn''t mean it. Tyra looked at all of them frightfully and pulled the quilt even higher without responding to any of their questions. Her gaze met Damian''s concerned and questioning gaze briefly before she looked away from him. The royal physician who had been attending to Tyra before their arrival turned to them and said, "My Lords, my queen," the royal physician said, bowing to them. "It would be best to let the princess rest for a while. She is still in shock and needs time to reco¡ª" "We will send for you if we need you. Excuse us," the Queen said before he couldplete his statement. There was no way he could argue with the queen. He looked pitifully at the weak princess before he bowed to the members of the royal court before leaving. "The rest of you should leave too," the queen said to the guards who were in the chamber with them. Damian looked at Tyra for a moment longer before he left with the rest of the guards, leaving the queen alone with Damon and her brother. With everyone gone, the queen approached Tyra''s bed and asked her impatiently, "Who stabbed you? Who was that maid with you that night? And why was she with you?" ****** Ivan, who was taking shelter in his chamber from the sudden wind, looked at the door when a faint knock sounded on it. "Who is there?" He asked as he reached for his sword, which was lying beside him on the bed. Following what had happened to both Harold and Tyra, he knew that he also needed to be careful. He couldn''t be too sure that this wasn''t an attack on the royal family. A prince and a princess had been hurt, and he was the only one left. He still suspected his mother of what had happened, especially when he saw her eagerness to get rid of Princess Amber and her maid. But for some reason, he felt it wasn''t her handiwork, and judging from the suspicious look his mother had been giving him, as if she suspected he had a hand in the whole thing, it seemed she truly wasn''t responsible. "It''s Benedicta," she said quietly, and Ivan frowned as he rose and went to the door. Even though they were going to get married soon, it wasn''t proper for her to visit him in his chamber in this manner since they were not married yet, so why was she there? He wondered as he opened the door. "Has the raging wind stopped?" He asked as he looked around, and he noticed that things were back to normal and the maids were busy putting the ce in order once again. "It has. What is going to happen to Prince Harold''s bride now?" Benedicta asked, and Ivan frowned at her as he closed the door behind him and joined her outside. "You came to my chamber to talk about Harold''s bride?" He asked her curiously. She stepped back away from him and gave him a pointed look. "I was curious and you are the only one I could ask. Why are you here and not in Princess Tyra''s chamber?" She asked, and he raised an eyebrow. Ivan furrowed his brows as he began to see her in a new light. Why was she truly asking him about this when her father and brother had been present too? Or did she have a hand in this? While he was thinking that, something she had said urred to him, so he asked her. "What am I supposed to be doing in her chamber when she is unconscious?" He asked, and Benedicta almost scoffed at his ignorance. "She is awake now. Everyone is talking about it. The queen and the king''s Beta has gone to see her," Benedicta said, and Ivan looked at her in surprise. "When did this happen?" He asked, but before she could respond to his question, he walked away from her as he headed for Tyra''s chamber. Howe something like that had happened and no one told him about it? He wondered angrily as he marched towards her chamber. ***** Luciana, who had received Susan''s message and was on her way to meet Susan in her chamber, made a U-turn in the opposite direction when she sighted Ivan walking down the hallway, and thankfully he did not recognize her because of the maid''s uniform she was wearing. It seemed she could not continue with this because if she got caught, this was going to be a very big issue. She waited until Ivan had passed by before turning to look at him, while wondering where he was hurrying to. Not because she cared about him, but because she was looking for every means to find clues on what was going on. She turned her face to the other side as two maids walked past her, and she listened to whispers about what might happen now that Princess Tyra was awake. Princess Tyra was awake? It was surprising how she had never really liked Tyra, but that news seemed to bring her so much joy right now. It seemed like things had changed since thest letter Susan had sent her. She was not sure if it was safe to go to Susan''s chamber anymore, plus she doubted that Susan was in her chamber at the moment. For some reason, she had a feeling that things were going to be fine from now on. So she decided to return to her chamber and wait for another letter from Susan. Chapter 223 Back To Zer0 Tyra looked like she was going to burst into tears any minute. She looked at them with pleading eyes, hoping for them to go away, but the queen didn''t budge. The king''s beta and queen''s brother were still looking at her, waiting for her to speak. As if things were not already too intense for her, the door flung open and Ivan entered. Instead of looking relieved that his sister was awake, he frowned at the others. "Why didn''t anyone send for me?" He asked his mother, who gave him an unpleasant look before returning her gaze to Tyra. "We do not have all day. We were in the middle of an execution, so you have to speak now!" The queen''s brother said impatiently. A tear escaped Tyra''s lips before she shook her head slowly in fear, "I... don''t... remember a-anything." Frowns formed on the faces of the four people who had been expecting a different answer. "I don''t... know what happened." She repeated it and began to cry. "You must be joking!" Ivan said angrily before anyone else could say a thing. They had all been waiting for her to give them an answer, and this was it? This was all his stupid omega of a sister could say? If she knew she was going to be so useless to not remember anything, why did she wake up? She should have remained unconscious until Harold''s wife was executed! Why did she have to wake up now and ruin everything? "What do you mean by that? Are you saying you do not remember the person who stabbed you?" Damon asked, frowning. "You have to remember!" The queen yelled, causing Tyra to jump. "What is wrong with all of you? Why is no one remembering anything?" Tyra''s uncle asked, but by this time, Tyra was already sobbing. "What about the maid that served you on the night of the banquet? Do you remember her?" Damon asked quietly. Tyra sniffed and looked like she was thinking about it before she nodded slowly. "Who is she and why was she serving you that night? Why were you outside? And did you really see Princess Amber stab Beth? Did she also stab you?" The queen asked, trying to force an answer out of her. "Easy. She needs to¡ª" "Do not tell me what to do about my daughter!" The queen snapped at Damon angrily when he tried to step in. She red at him before facing Tyra. "She... approached me on that night of the banquet," Tyra said in a shaky voice. "She... begged to stay with me and serve me that night. I... couldn''t say no to her, so I agreed." "Why did she do that? And why did you agree without seeking permission from me first?" The queen asked. "Does that even make sense? Everyone looks forward to the hunt. Why would she ask to serve you on that night?" Ivan asked suspiciously and got even more suspicious when he noticed how Tyra was avoiding eye contact and holding the quilt to her body tightly. "What are you hiding?!" Her uncle bellowed at her angrily, making her body jump again, and she sobbed. "I am sorry!" She cried out. "She told me her secret and felt I was the only one that would understand her." "What secret is that?" The queen asked suspiciously. "She... didn''t want to join the hunt. Because... everyone would know..." "Know what?" Damon asked. "That she... is an Omega," Tyra said with her eyes shut as she began to cry again. The others exchanged a look amongst themselves. How was an Omega working in the royal pce? That was impossible. She couldn''t have deceived them. "That is impossible. An Omega cannot work in the pce." "But she is one. I know it!" Tyra said seriously. Omegas could easily smell their kind if they were very close, so if Tyra said she was, then she was. "Are you not the person in charge of inspecting royal servants?" The queen''s brother asked the dumbfounded queen. The queen looked at Ivan and Damon, who were both giving her suspicious looks. For some reason, she felt her brother was also beginning to feel the same way. "Are you suspecting me of this?" She asked them in disbelief, but neither of them responded. "What else do you remember? How long have you known about her real identity? Did she say anything to you? Do you remember what else happened that night?" Damon asked Tyra, who shook her head while looking at him in fear. "I''m sorry... but I... I can''t remember what happened. I don''t know. Why are you asking me this? Did something happen?" "Are you so useless that you cannot even remember that you were stabbed? How can you lie there and ask us if something happened?" Ivan bellowed at her, and she broke into a sob. "Stop shouting at her. She just regained consciousness," Damon said irritably, not liking either the queen''s or Ivan''s attitude. "You really can''t remember who stabbed you and made you like this for the past few days?" The Queen asked in disappointment and sighed when Tyra shook her head. Just when she thought she was finally going to get answers, she was back to square zero. Damon sighed. Although he was as frustrated as the others about the issue, there was nothing they could do. "We should leave her to rest, and let the royal physician attend to her. Maybe she would remember everything after getting some rest," Damon suggested. "What work has she done that she needs to rest from? She has been lying here uselessly and sleeping for the past..." "Enough! Let''s leave," the Queen snapped at Ivan before turning to walk away, but she paused when she got to the door and turned to look at Tyra one more time. "Do your best to remember who did this to you. It is very important that you do," she said before walking away. As they left the chamber, Susan''s father excused himself and headed straight to find his rebellious children, while the Queen turned to Ivan. "Leave us," she told him, but Ivan frowned. "Why? Shouldn''t we all talk about what to do to Harold''s bride..." "Shut your mouth and leave!" The Queen snapped at him, and he shut his mouth. He tried to hide his displeasure as he walked away, not sure if he was angrier at Tyra or the Queen, who seemed to be looking down on him. "What can we do now?" The Queen asked. "Now that Princess Tyra is awake, there is nothing we can do, unless we find more evidence. We can only keep them locked up in the dungeon until Princess Tyra can tell us what happened." Chapter 224 Rebel "They are badly wounded," Susan said sadly as she and Williams applied ointments to the wounds on Alicia and Paulina. "Focus on the bright side, they are alive. Their wounds will eventually heal," Williams said as he carefully treated the wounds on Paulina''s feet, while Susan tended to Alicia. "But not like ours. It''s going to take a long time for them to heal." Susan said, still sounding sad. "You were not the type to care for people this much," Williams said, despite the mood. His sister was a rebel. She didn''t act like other women, and so people saw her as abnormal. She didn''t have any friends either, since most youngdies felt they were too refined to be friends with someone as wild as her. It was the reason their parents were worried about her and had kept her here to learn how to be a properdy so she could eventually get married like her mates. So seeing her suddenly caring about someone other than him was unusual for Williams, but he could understand why she was that way around them. "I don''t want anything to happen to Princess Amber," Susan said in a quiet voice. "Especially when it is obvious that it is a set up. I want to see here back to herself. The wild, noisy, abnormal bride of Prince Harold. I''d like to see that." She said with a nostalgic smile, as she remembered when everything was smooth. Taking sses together, eating together, spending the night together, sharing things about themselves, baking together, gossiping, and just being youngdies. Was it too much to hope they could return to those days? She suddenly snapped out of it and said, "But I''m d Princess Tyra is up now. I wonder if she has told them who is behind the attack," Susan said thoughtfully and looked down at Alicia when her eyes slowly fluttered open. Susan was about to excitedly badger her with questions about how she felt when she noticed Princess Amber was trying to speak. "What?" Susan asked curiously and lowered her ears to Alicia''s lips so she would hear what Alicia was saying. "P-Paul-ina. Where... is she?" Alicia asked in a weak and raspy voice. "She is fine. She is here," Susan said, and assisted Alicia as she tried to sit up to look at Paulina''s unconscious form. Tears of relief streamed down her cheeks. She had thought they would execute Paulina for real. What happened? She wondered as she looked around William''s painting room. "What happened? How are we here? Have they found the person behind it?" Alicia asked, and Susan ced a hand on her arm to stop her. "You should have some water first," Susan said as she brought the gourd of water to her lips. Without resistance, Alicia gulped down every drop of water in the gourd and only dropped it after it was empty. She wanted more. "Do you need more?" Susan asked, and she nodded. Susan handed her another gourd, and she emptied it again, before looking at Susan with appreciative eyes. "Thank you." "Tell me what happened. Why are we here? Are we free now?" She asked, even though she doubted that was the case. If they were free, she would be lying on her bed in her chamber, not on the floor in a painting room. "Princess Tyra is awake now. You need to hurry up and eat before theye to take you away again," Susan said urgently, and Alicia''s brows pulled together and her heart skipped as soon as she heard that. Take them away? Did Princess Tyra say that she had done it? Had she really done that to them? "Why... are they taking us... again?" Alicia asked fearfully. Susan nced at Williams, who had been silent the whole time. It was Williams who spoke this time. "She just woke up, so we don''t know anything yet. We brought you here immediately after the others left, and they don''t know where you are. Eat quickly. You need strength," Williams said, and Alicia looked at both siblings with eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you for helping me. I am so sorry for whatever trouble this is going to cause you. I wish there was something I could do about it." "Stop talking. We will be fine. What is the worst that could happen?" Susan asked. Alicia was truly grateful to the twins. If it weren''t for them, she probably would have been dead by now. "Harold... how is he?" She asked. "You almost died. You should be worried about yourself right now, not Prince Harold. Have you been able to remember what happened?" Susan asked as she ced a bowl of porridge in front of Alicia. Alicia shook her head. Judging by what was happening and how Susan was not answering her question directly, she guessed Harold was still unconscious. "Do you remember eating biscuits or giving any to Lance?" Susan asked, and Alicia''s brows furrowed together as she tried to remember if something like that had happened. "Lance?" She asked in confusion as she tried to remember who that was. "Sir Gregory''s son." Williams offered. That gave her the memory of who that was. Even though it seemed like she had a memory of talking with Lance, she couldn''t seem to ess it. She raised a hand to her head when it started aching once again and tears gathered in her eyes, "I can''t remember anything," she cried, and Susan exchanged a look with Williams. "It''s fine. You shouldn''t force yourself. Just eat and take this medicine. It would help with the headache. I''m sure you will be able to think better when it''s gone." He said and pushed a little bottle in front of her. "Did he say I gave him biscuits? Did something happen to him too?" she asked, looking at Williams this time. Susan picked up the spoon and helped feed Alicia. They didn''t have time to waste here, and it was very obvious that Alicia wouldn''t be able to feed herself. Chapter 225 New Plan "He keeps having headaches. The only thing he ate that was different from what every other person ate were the biscuits he received from you that evening," Williams exined. "Biscuits? Did I make them? But everyone ate the snacks we made, and they were alright," she said, looking at Susan, who gave her a nod. "We don''t think you made them. But we don''t know who you got them from either. But that is our clue. You both have simr symptoms, but his symptoms seem to be milder than yours." Williams exined patiently. Alicia tried to think about it, but she couldn''t. The only vivid memory she had from that day all ended in the morning. It was difficult to remember anything else without trying so hard and suffering from a terrible headache. "You should eat," Williams said to Alicia and turned to Susan. "Stay here with them while I go and check what is going on in the pce," Williams said and headed for the door. As he approached the pce, he met Harvey, who was headed in his direction, and both men stopped. Seeing the look on Harvey''s face, Wiliams could tell that something was wrong somewhere. "Princess Tyra says she can''t remember what happened that night," Harvey informed Williams. "What?" Williams asked in disbelief. It didn''t make sense that nobody was remembering anything. "They are letting her rest for now. No one is allowed into her chamber. I got to find out about it from Prince Ivan. How is Princess Amber?" Harvey asked, and Williams shook his head. "She is awake now, but she still can''t remember anything," Williams said, and Harvey sighed deeply. Even though Princess Tyra was awake now, something told him that this was far from being over. "There is only one way we can stall this execution until we find an answer," Harvey informed Williams, who looked at him curiously. "What do we do?" "Have Lance testify," Harvey informed him. "You know that is not going to work," Williams said reasonably. "His family tries to avoid anything that is not beneficial to them. I doubt his father would agree to that." "I work in the court. Don''t you think I know that better than you?" Harvey asked quietly before exining further. "All he has to do is let everyone know that what is happening to himtely is a result of what Princess Amber fed him." "Isn''t that going to make things worse for Princess Amber?" "Sir Gregory loves his son dearly. If he so much as suspects that someone poisoned him or fed him with any potion, he would not stop until he dug deep into it." Williams pondered it. If they approached it that way, they were eventually going to connect the fact that Princess Amber was having the same symptoms and that Lance had seen her eating the biscuits too, just like he had told them. Then, with the royal order, they were going to find out how it had gotten to Princess Amber and probably Princess Tyra too. But the problem was with Lance. How were they going to convince him to do this? Should they act like they are trying to have Princess Amber punished for making him that way? Or should they ask him to join them to seek justice? Lance wasn''t an easy fellow. But they were going to try. "We will try to convince him," Williams assured Harvey. By "we", he meant Susan, but he didn''t need to mention that. He had a feeling that Lance had an unusual interest in his sister. He just hoped they could use that to their advantage. Williams stiffened when he saw his father approaching, and Harvey looked too. They could both tell that he was angry. "Where is your sister!?" his father bellowed angrily. Williams nced at Harvey, "I don''t know. Thest time I saw her she was with Harvey," Williams said, surprising Harvey, who hadn''t expected that. The older man''s attention moved from his son to Harvey, "Where is she?" He asked, and Harvey bowed apologetically. "I let it slip that I was hungry, and she left to find me something to eat. I will go look for her immediately and ask her to meet you in your chamber," Harvey said with a bow and walked away before the man could say anything else. However, the older man still looked suspicious and turned his attention to Williams, who looked like he had never done anything wrong before in his entire life. "What are you and your sister up to?" William''s father asked, and Williams shook his head innocently. "What should we be up to?" He asked, maintaining an innocent look on his face. "So why were you both present there?" He growled in annoyance, but before Williams coulde up with a response, he shook his head. "Go and get your things ready. When you are done, you and your sister should meet me in my chamber!" He said before walking away. Immediately after he left, Williams let out the breath he had been holding. He could tell that his father was yet to find out that it was he and Susan who had carried Princess Amber and Paulina from there. If the man was fuming this way already, just how angry was he going to be when he found out the truth? Williams wondered as he returned to the painting room to meet Susan. They needed toe up with something that would make their father believe that they were not involved. The only way they could continue to help Princess Amber was if their father didn''t know they were involved. "Is everything okay?" Susan asked when Williams walked into the painting room, and his heart broke when his gaze fell on Paulina who was awake now but was sobbing weakly as Susan fed her. He shifted his gaze to Alicia, who was thankfully still awake. "We have to leave you now. I will send the guards to get you. If our father finds out we are helping you, things will be even more difficult for you," Williams said, and Alicia nodded in understanding. Williams looked at Paulina for a moment before ncing at Susan. "Let''s leave. Father wants us to meet him in his chamber," Williams said before walking away, and Susan followed. Chapter 226 "We Cant Leave?" "Is everything okay? Why does Father want to see us?" Susan asked as soon as they left the painting room. "Why do you think he wants to see us? You were the one who interrupted Paulina''s execution, and he saw both of us there," Williams said with a shrug. "But that doesn''t mean anything. It''s not like he saw us moving them away from there anyway. He will thank me for interrupting the execution soon. Who knows? Maybe that''s why he wants to see us. Princess Tyra has probably told them what happened already," Susan said with a hopeful smile, and Williams turned to her when he realized that he was yet to give her thetest update on the issue. "I don''t think so. Princess Tyra doesn''t remember anything," Williams said, and immediately Susan stopped walking and looked at him in confusion. They were not going to do this again, were they? "What?" "Harvey told me. She doesn''t remember what happened on that night." Susan closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands before letting out a groan of frustration. "Someone has to be lying! It doesn''t make any sense that the three of them cannot remember what happened that night. Did Tyra eat the biscuits too? What if the missing kitchen maid who was with her was the same person that gave Princess Amber the biscuits? Perhaps she gave it to them both?" Susan asked thoughtfully, but Williams shook his head. "I don''t know. We need to find a way to talk to her privately and see if we can get a clue," Williams said as they both continued walking. Could this get any worse? Susan thought with a sigh, and she soon realized the answer was yes when Williams spoke again. "Father wants us to get our things ready," Williams said as though he had read her mind. "Ready? As in ready to leave?" she asked, and Williams gave her a nod. "He wants us to leave? Why?" Susan asked Williams in a panic. "I think he is suspicious of us," Williams said thoughtfully, and Susan frowned. Just when she thought they had taken care of this issue with their mother, now it was their father who wanted them to leave. Convincing him otherwise won''t be as easy as it had been with their mother, Susan thought with a sigh. "What can we do? Father isn''t going to buy our story like mother," Susan said dejectedly. "I know. I''m not sure if we can do anything to stop this right now." "But we can''t leave. You know that, right?" "We can''t. That is why you will have to make sure mother convinces him." Williams said, and Susan raised an eyebrow. "Me? How?" "She already believes that you need time to get to know Harvey. Bawl or do whatever you must to make her feel sorry for you. If mother is on our side, she can help us convince father," Williams said, and then he remembered the lie he and Harvey had told their father. "And I already made him believe you are getting along with Harvey," Williams said and exined what had transpired between them a short while ago. "Me? Get Harvey food?" She asked him in disbelief before sighing heavily. "How long do you think we can continue to do this? One way or the other, they are going to find out what we are doing. Besides, it''s not as if it''s a secret that we were the ones who carried Princess Amber and Paulina. They are also inside the painting room the Queen permitted you to use." She reminded him. "That is easy to exin. Besides, I''m going to inform the guards that they are in the painting room. There is nothing suspicious about us wanting to privately interrogate the person who hurt our cousin," Williams pointed out. "Can''t we just convince father that Princess Amber is innocent? I believe if he listens to us, he will understand why we are doing this," Susan said reasonably, but Williams shook his head. "You make it sound as though you do not know who father is. Even if he believes us and thinks we are doing the right thing, do you think he would be willing to let us stay here to do this?" He asked her reasonably. "This isn''t a simple matter. The daughter of the leader of the warriors, who is also the queen''s favourite maid, was killed. A princess was hurt, the witness is missing, and Prince Harold is not waking up. Father wouldn''t want us to involve ourselves in this. Especially if it involves going against his sister, the queen, whether or not she is wrong." Susan looked around to be sure no one was around before moving closer to her brother. "I have been thinking about this... don''t you find it strange that the queen is trying to sentence them to death by all means without investigating it properly?" Susan asked in a whisper, and Williams raised a questioning brow at her. "Think about it carefully. The king is ill. Prince Harold is unconscious. His wife is about to be killed. Who is going to gain from all this? Who is next in line to the throne if the other males from the royal family are out?" Susan asked, and Williams'' eyes widened as he looked around them in panic. "Don''t you ever say something like that out loud!" He scolded her harshly. "I know it is risky to even think about something like that, but we need to look at everyone in general and think of the reasons why they would do something like that," Susan said reasonably. "Do not ever mention it again to me or anyone else. You could get us all in trouble if another ear hears of it." He warned her before letting her know about the conversation he had with Harvey concerning Lance. "You want me to convince Lance? Why me?" she asked in confusion. She didn''t like that guy at all. "Because he is interested in you. So you¡ª" "Wait¡ª what?" she asked with wide eyes. Chapter 227 Someone Is Lying. Williams looked at her, wondering why she was so surprised. "Didn''t you realize that earlier?" "Lance? Interested in me?" She shuddered. "That is so... disgusting," she said with a grimace. "However it is, we have to use that to our advantage. I do not want to do this either, but we don''t have a choice. And I am going to be with you whenever you have to speak with him, so you don''t have to worry about being alone with him," Williams assured her. They both stopped walking when they saw Beth''s father, Sir Rager, walking toward them. He looked angry. Susan turned to Williams and whispered, "Perhaps I should try to convince him that..." "No! Are you out of your mind? What do you thinkour parents would do if they heard of it?" Williams whisper-yelled and red at her. "We can''t act carelessly. Father wouldn''t listen to mother or Harvey if Sir Rager made him believe we were on Princess Amber''s side. The only way we can help her is to make everyone believe we are not on her side..." "You mean we should be friends who appear as foes? We shouldn''t try to defend her to anyone?" Susan asked, and Williams gave her a nod. "Don''t say anything and just listen," Williams said as he walked towards Sir Rager. "What are you doing?" Susan asked in a hushed tone. "Just y along. We need to make him believe we are not on Princess Amber''s side. He saw us carry her away. If he tells the Queen or father, we are doomed, remember?" Williams whispered back as they got closer to the angry man. Sir Rager stopped walking when he saw them approaching, and his gaze narrowed in on them suspiciously. Before he could say a word, Williams bowed politely and said, "We have been meaning to find time to pay our condolence visit to you. We are deeply sorry about what happened to Beth. She was my sister''s tutor and she was very dear to us. We would like to assist you in whatever way we can to get justice for her," Williams said, and immediately Susan sniffled dramatically as she broke into a sob and covered her face with both hands. Okay... she was being too dramatic now. Williams thought as he tried not to re at her. "I still find it hard to believe that Princess Amber could do that to Beth and Princess Tyra. If she could do that to even Princess Tyra, then she could have done that to me too," Susan cried, and Williams handed her his handkerchief and used that moment to re at her again whilemunicating with his eyes. His re could be interpreted as, "I said do not say anything. Why did you say all that? Are you trying to get her killed by making him angrier with her?" She returned a look that could be interpreted as, "I thought we were trying to make him believe that we were not on her side?" Williams shook his head before turning to face Sir Rager, who still hadn''t uttered a word but just kept staring at them. "I''m sorry we had to take them both to my painting room. As you must know she was our friend. Princess Amber and Susan were tutored by Beth. We haven''t been able to question her or see her since the night of the banquet, as our parents wouldn''t let us. We wanted to give her a chance to see if she would confess to us in private, but she is not willing to speak to us either. Please send your men to take her from there. We want nothing more to do with her," Williams said with a polite bow. Sir Rager gave them both scrutinising looks that made the two ufortable. Maybe it was because he was the head of the warriors that made him scary like this even without saying a word. "I believe I do not look stupid to the two of you." He said in a quiet voice. "You don''t believe what you just said." The twins looked at each other and tried to hide how rmed they were. Before Susan could lie, he spoke again. "Do you think Princess Amber or her maid did that to Beth?" They both didn''t answer immediately, as they tried to weigh the answers they had in mind. His prying eyes continued to look at them, and without waiting for an answer, he walked away, leaving them to catch their breaths. "You are not very smart ating up with ns," Susan said as she looked at Sir Rager''s retreating figure. "Should we be worried about that?" Williams asked as he also stared at the man''s back before he took a corner and disappeared from their line of sight. "If he asked us that, maybe he also believes she was not responsible?" Susan asked hopefully as they resumed walking. "Let''s hope so." They were just about to get to the chamber where their parents stayed when Susan suddenly stopped walking, and Williams turned to look at her. "What?" he asked when he noticed the thoughtful look in her eyes. "I think you should ask Harvey to meet father instead." "What?" "If father wants us to leave, it is because he doesn''t trust us and is angry because we showed up there today. Harvey is an official of the court just like his father. If he speaks on our behalf with the excuse of getting to know me better, father is going to listen and mother is going to do her best to convince him." "We can do that after hearing what Father has to say," Williams said as he turned to move, but she didn''t follow him. "Are you noting in?" Williams asked suspiciously. "No. I have to go somewhere else," Susan said, and Williams raised a brow. "Where?" "I have to meet Tyra." "I don''t think you will be allowed to see her." Williams reminded her. She smiled at him as she said, "Let me worry about that. All you have to do is take care of father," Susan said before walking away. And Susan was correct. One person was indeed telling a lie. Chapter 228 Two Or Three Days Time "What are you doing here?" The Queen asked with displeasure when she walked into her chamber and saw Ivan standing by the window. "Isn''t it obvious? I was waiting for you," Ivan said as he looked at his mother. "What for?" She asked, sounding annoyed. She was still reeling from the disappointment of her aborted n to kill Princess Amber, as well as Tyra''s inability to remember what happened. "Mother, are you hiding something from me?" Ivan asked, and the Queen raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?" "How could you not inform me that Tyra was awake? How could you go in there to see her without me?" Ivan asked, still feeling pissed that he had heard of this from Benedicta. He felt insulted that everyone else around the pce had known that Tyra was awake and he had been thest person to know. "How could I go to her chamber without you? Are you my eyes or legs? Why can''t I visit my daughter without you? Since when did I need your permission to visit her?" "That is not what I mean. I''m just trying to say you should have asked someone to inform me. Do you know how I felt hearing about it from someone else?" Ivan asked, and the queen scoffed. ,m "Your feelings are the least of my problems right now. And just so you know, you were not on my mind when I heard that your sister had regained consciousness. Perhaps if you hadn''t run off so cowardly, you would have found out for yourself that she is awake," the Queen said with disapproval. Ivan eyed his mother for a while, not impressed by the way she was speaking to him so disrespectfully. Even though she was a queen and his mother, she seemed to be forgetting that she was a woman and needed to ord him more respect. He decided to not pursue the subject since he needed her right now to get what he wanted. After he was king he was going to have to put her in her ce and make her understand that queen or not, she was still just a woman. "What did you discuss with Damon?" Ivan asked, and the queen looked at him incredulously. "If I wanted you to know about that, would I have asked you to excuse us?" She asked, feeling irritated by his stupid questions. She wished now, more than ever that she had another son. If only that evil Harold had not killed her first son, she wouldn''t have been forced to deal with a senseless son like Ivan. She often found herself wishing that it was Ivan who had died and not her first son. She reminded herself that now was not the time to cry over spilled milk. She needed toe up with an alternative n, she thought with a sigh as she turned her back to him and walked over to stand by the window. Once again, Ivan tried to calm himself and not let her words upset him. "What are we going to do about Princess Amber now?" Ivan asked, and the Queen turned to look at him. "What about the people you sent to enquire about Princess Amber? Have you heard from them?" She asked without answering his question, and Ivan shook his head. "Not yet. We should hear from them in two or three days," Ivan said, and the Queen sighed once again. What were the chances that Harold wouldn''t regain consciousness and be out of bed before then? They would lose the opportunity to rid Harold of his bride the moment he awoke, not to mention the need to find the person behind everything and hand them over to Harold, or else he would believe they were behind it in the same way she was certain he believed they were behind the previous attack on his life. "What about Harold? Is his guard still not letting anyone go close to his chamber?" The Queen asked, and Ivan gave her a nod. "Although I noticed some of the king''s top guards guarding the door," Ivan said, and the Queen pursed her lips. "Does that mean his guard has finally left his side? I''m surprised that he hasn''t done anything to help Harold''s wife when just days ago he attacked you for her sake," the queen said thoughtfully. "I will find out if he has left Harold''s side. Maybe this is the chance we need to get rid of him once and for all." ****** Susan would not be called Susan if she didn''t know how to do the impossible. She was the type that could sneak out of their residence under the watchful eyes of countless guards. She was the type that could sneak around the pce even after thest bell and also get into the dungeon. So getting into Tyra''s chamber was not a big deal for her. She only needed to say a few words, re or look at them sweetly before the guards stationed outside Tyra''s chamber could risk their jobs and lives to let her inside. As soon as Tyra saw her, she tried to sit up but cried in pain when the side of her stomach that had been stabbed began to hurt. "You don''t have to sit up," Susan said quietly and moved closer to help her adjust. She helped Tyra sit up and looked at her sadly when she noticed tears clouding Tyra''s eyes. Susan gently hugged her and began to pat her on her back. "You are going to be fine, don''t worry." She assured Tyra, who began to sob in her arms. Tyra sniffed and slowly pulled away to clean up her tears. Susan quickly used the other side of the handkerchief her brother had given her earlier to clean Tyra''s tears. "I heard you cannot remember what happened that night," Susan said in a hushed voice after looking at the door. Since the queen''s guards were outside, she had to be careful about the things they said. Chapter 229 The Lie Or The Truth? "Prince Harold... how is he?" Tyra asked weakly. "He has been unconscious. He was badly wounded¨C" "Why? Is he going to be okay?" Tyra asked as she began to cry. "He is Prince Harold. We are sure he can survive this. There is something more important." Susan leaned closer and asked, "The maid with you that night... did she look suspicious? Is there anything you can remember about her?" Tyra shook her head as she answered, "I had never met her privately before until that night. She begged me that she wanted to stay back during the hunt, but she could not think of any excuses to give." "Why did she want to stay back?" Susan questioned her curiously. "She... was afraid everyone would know she was an Omega," Tyra responded timidly. "What? She is an Omega? How did she get to work here then?" Susan asked, surprised. "I don''t know. But she started working after the full moonst year. This was her first time in the pce during the full moon. I don''t know how she was able to hide it." She paused before adding, "I felt bad for her. As an Omega, I could understand her. So I agreed for her to stay with me." Susan looked at her suspiciously and asked, "You do not remember what happened after that?" "I... can''t. Don''t you believe me?" Tyra asked when she noticed the suspicion in Susan''s eyes. "Did she give you any biscuits?" "Biscuits? W-What... biscuits?" she asked, looking genuinely curious and confused. "Think about it carefully. If she gave you anything that you ate or drank. It''s going to help us with a lead if you, Princess Amber, and Lance ate the same thing." "Lance? What does he have to do with this?" Tyra asked, still confused. Susan looked at her closely before shaking her head. "On second thought, I do not think you ate anything to make you not remember what happened that night." She leaned closer and whispered in Tyra''s ear, "You are lying to all of us." She leaned back and noticed the panic in Tyra''s eyes. "I... I am not lying. I... really do not remember." Tyra said while shaking her head defensively. "Both Lance and Princess Tyra could not remember what happened the entire evening. Princess Amber finds it difficult to remember anything after that morning, while Lance can only remember up tote afternoon. Lance is a Beta. So there is no way he couldn''t remember up to that evening, but you, an Omega, could remember how the maid approached you that evening but nothing else. And I don''t think getting stabbed would have made you lose your memory. It doesn''t seem to me like you hit your head." Susan said reasonably. Yes, she was good at easily reading things except for knowing whether or not a guy was interested in her. Tyra looked at her in rm before bursting into tears, scaring Susan, who hadn''t been expecting it. "I don''t know what I''m supposed to do." Tyra cried. Susan''s eyes widened and she kept her voice down as she whispered, "You remember, don''t you? What happened that night?" Tyra shook her head and kept her face down as she cried. "Did you expect me to tell them the truth and make them execute her?" She cried and raised her teary face and misty eyes to look at Susan. "What... is that... supposed to mean?" Susan stammered. She didn''t like the direction this was going. "What would happen to Prince Harold if I told them the truth? She is his bride! He won''t be happy about it, and he is going to hate me!" "Keep your voice down!" Susan said through gritted teeth and looked at the door in rm. Her heart was in her throat at this point, and she was desperately hoping that Tyra didn''t know what she was saying. "It''s the truth," Tyra said, in fear. "Remembering what happened that night still scares me. B-But... I''m sure... she didn''t mean it. I... I am so scared! Please help me!" Tyra held Susan with shaking hands and cried loudly while Susan simply sat there, stunned. But she was soon pulled out of the reverie when the door opened and she saw Damian, standing there with another of the queen''s guards and the royal physician. Susan could tell from the expression on their faces that they had heard the conversation. At this point, Susan was confused and didn''t know what to do. Tyra still held Susan and sobbed. "Is that true?" Damian asked, keeping his gaze on Tyra. When she heard the voices, she raised her head and looked up to find three people. She looked scared as she shook her head while Susan stood up, not sure what she was supposed to do. "I will inform the Queen," the second guard said. "Wait! We... are not sure yet." Susan said in panic while Tyra nodded her head in agreement with what Susan said as she quickly cleaned her eyes. "Not sure?" Damian asked with a scowl. "The three of us heard that. You do not have to deny it to save Princess Amber. Justice has to be served." Damian said while giving Tyra a pointed look. Susan looked on helplessly. She could understand why Damian was being stubborn about this. He had a special rtionship with Tyra and wanted to make sure the person who had hurt her was punished. But it still didn''t make any sense to her. Why would Princess Amber do such a thing? Helplessly, she watched as the other guard turned around and left to go report to the queen.Right now, she was heartbroken and devastated. Had she been wrong about Princess Amber all this time? "No one was supposed to be in here without the permission of the queen. Why are you here?" Damian asked her harshly. Now she was wondering the same thing. Why did shee here? She had just worsened the issue. She should have let Princess Tyra continue to pretend like she did not know anything. At the rate this was going, Princess Amber was going to be executed once the Queen and the aristocrats got hold of this new piece of information. And even Harvey would not save her and her brother from being sent away from the pce. Chapter 230 Feeling Wanted. Ever since Paulina woke up, Alicia had not said a word to her. Although she was d that they had survived that one, Alicia still did not say a word to her. She couldn''t get over the fact that she had stupidly tried to take the me for everything and got herself killed. Right now, they were back in the dark, smelly dungeon. Some guards had taken them back here, butpared to earlier, they felt better. No, they were not okay. They were hurting all over from the whips and burns, but Williams had helped treat them, and the most important thing was that they were no longer dehydrated and they had eaten and taken some medicine, which made them feel less like dying. "H-how... do you feel, Mdy?" Paulina risked asking Alicia, who was seated quietly at the other end of the cell away from her. Alicia wanted to get angry and snap at her. She really wanted to get angry at this silly girl. But she could hear the concern in Paulina''s voice so she sighed, "Do not ever repeat what you did. You could have gotten killed," she said in a quiet voice. "I''m sorry, Mdy. I thought... if I took the me, they would leave you alone. I didn''t want you to die." Paulina said feeling guilty for causing her mistress such distress. Things had not turned out as she had nned and she would have been killed after only seeding in causing more trouble for her mistress. "I would rather die than have you die for me," Alicia said fiercely. "But... I can''t... live without you," Paulina said timidly, startling Alicia. "I... don''t know how I will live or what I will be able to do if you are no longer here with me. I would... rather die." Alicia''s heart ached when she heard that. Why hadn''t she thought of that? Why hadn''t it urred to her that she was the reason Paulina was in the moon kingdom, and Paulina had lived most of her life only serving Princess Amber? Although she believed she was responsible for Paulina and would rather die than let anything happen to the girl, she understood better what was going on in the girl''s head now. "Paulina¡ª" "No one has ever treated me better like Queen Anne, Princess Amber and you. Even though Princess Amber didn''t show it very much, I knew she cared about me. And when you came, you treated me even better. I always forgot I was a maid when I am with you. And... I feel guilty that sometimes I hope you always remain here instead of leaving one day," Paulina continued without letting Alicia interrupt her. ? "I have never heard you say so many words at the same time," Alicia said lightly while trying to blink back tears. She was beyond touched by Paulina''s words. She couldn''t believe that just like Harold, Paulina wanted her to stay. She had never felt so wanted in her entire life. Even her fans in her real world didn''t give her that sense of importance. "No... one has ever treated me well like you and Prince Harold." She said in a tight voice as she kept trying to fight the emotion. "That is why I will never allow anything to happen to you," Alicia said before crawling over to Paulina. "Come here," she said warmly as she embraced Paulina, letting the girl rest her head on her chest while she patted her back. "Don''t worry, I will do my best to protect you always," Alicia promised. "I won''t allow anything to happen to you either," Paulina promised, but Alicia shook her head. "You don''t have to do anything. You have done enough already. And I love you with all her heart," Alicia said before kissing the top of Paulina''s smelly hair while the girl broke into a sob. "I''m... s-sorry for getting you into trouble. I... didn''t mean it," Paulina cried. "It''s okay. I told you it''s fine. Now that Princess Tyra has regained consciousness, let''s just wait for her to tell us what happened," Alicia said, and Paulina sniffled and pulled away from her to look into her face. "Have you been able to remember anything?" Paulina asked hopefully, but Alicia shook her head. "Not exactly. I don''t know what''s happening to me. It seems like my memory has been mixed up. I kept seeing shes of ces I believe must be from Amber''s memory," Alicia said thoughtfully. Thankfully, the headaches had stopped, and she was feeling a bit clear-headed now. Even though she couldn''t remember what had happened that day, all the dreams she had starteding back to her gradually. When she noticed Paulina''s curious face up close, she exined, "Amber was in an inn. It seemed like she was waiting there for someone. But she happened to hear something she was not supposed to hear. I think that was how she ended up drowning. She was running from the men who were chasing her," Alicia said as she tried to make sense of what she had seen. "Were you able to remember anything else?" Alicia narrowed her eyes as she tried to remember it. "No. But the voice... I remember the voice of the person who was speaking in the inn was feminine. It was a young woman. She was in charge," Alicia said with a thoughtful frown. "Do you remember what they were speaking about?" Paulina asked, wondering why they would want to kill Princess Amber. "I think they were plotting against someone..." Before she could finish speaking, they heard heavy footsteps approaching, causing their attention to shift to the door. Someone approached with antern in hand, and as he got closer, Paulina shrieked and scooted back in fear when she saw Beth''s father''s face. Alicia could not deny the fear that gripped her when she saw his face. This was someone who had almost killed them just hours ago. Although she couldn''t tell why, but something seemed different about him. The man dropped thentern in front of the gate and looked at the two closely before setting his gaze on Alicia''s face. Before he could speak, Alicia decided to speak first despite the trickle of fear down her spine. Chapter 231 What Next? She cleared her throat as she met his gaze, "I''m sorry for your loss, but you are barking up the wrong tree here. I think you should know that no matter how much you are going to torture me, my response is not going to change. I did not kill your daughter, and neither did Paulina. We may not have gotten along with her, and our rtionship was not a pleasant one, but we are not beasts. I wouldn''t even do that to my enemy, much less someone who had served and trained me in the past. I won''t allow you people to torture me or Paulina into making a false confession. I didn''t like Beth, and I''m not ashamed to admit it. I''m not going to pretend to like her now because she is dead. I found her to be very annoying, controlling, and unnecessarily proud. But regardless of how I felt about her, I never wished for her death and I am sad to know that she was murdered in such a gruesome way. I would never hurt Princess Tyra either. She was the first friend I made after I married Prince Harold, and I have no idea how I would have coped here in those first days without her. I am innocent. You can choose not to believe me, but you should face this objectively so you can catch your daughter''s real killer and allow her to rest in peace," Alicia said in a rush, and also stopped to take a deep breath when it felt like she had run out of oxygen. It seemed like she had tried to speak as fast as she could just in case he chose to interrupt or ignore her. Beth''s father watched her for some time without saying a word, and then he took a deep breath, "I don''t think Beth is someone you could have easily killed without dying with her," he said in a calm voice, and Alicia''s eyes widened. No matter how much he tried, he couldn''t understand what was happening. Now that he was trying to set his grief aside to think, he couldn''t believe that it was possible that Harold''s wife had killed his daughter. It didn''t make sense that Beth would die that way. "You... believe me?" Alicia asked in disbelief, even though she could feel another sprout of hope rising within her. Rager didn''t answer. "I asked some of the servants and guards about you," he informed her. "Most of them secretly think you did not do it. And you seem to have the support of some aristocrats and even the queen''s rtives," he said, and on hearing that, Alicia teared up. He remembered how some of the maids had been scared and intimidated by him, yet they had told him she was not that type of person. Some imed she had helped them carry buckets of water when she saw them struggling with it. Some told him how she had helped them when they got into trouble with Luciana and she wanted to punish them. Some told him about how she served them the snacks she had made and helped them clean. They didn''t think someone as nice as her could do that. Apart from the good reports he had gotten from most of the maids and guards about her, he could see the sincerity in her eyes as she spoke. He had met a lot of people in his lifetime, and he liked to believe that he was a good judge of character who could tell a lie from the truth when he heard one, and after listening to her, she sounded like she was telling the truth. Unless she was a good liar. "I swear on my life. I did not do it." "Don''t be so quick to swear." He warned her. "Princess Tyra is currently being questioned. She admits seeing you stab Beth, and she says you stabbed her when she tried to stop you before you copsed,"Rager said as he continued to watch her. Both Alicia and Paulina gasped when they heard that. "Princess T-tyra said I did that?" Alicia asked in shock, realizing the little hope she had felt sprouting a moment ago had been crushed. Rager continued to look at her, "I do not want my feelings to get in the way of my judgement. All I want is for my daughter''s killer to face the same fate. That is why I have decided not to involve myself in this directly anymore. I will watch from the side and observe how everything goes. I suggest you start thinking hard about what happened that night." He warned before he turned around and left. Once he left, Alicia embraced herself as a nk look crept into her eyes. Princess Tyra said she did that? She killed Beth and hurt her? Alicia thought with defeat. She remembered the words Harvey had spoken to her on the day he sneaked into her chamber. He had said that was thest ce she wanted to be especially on the night of the banquet. What did he mean? Was it possible that Princess Amber turned into a beast on that night or something? Had he known that something like this was going to happen? She thought about Harold. Did he know something? Was that why he kept insisting she stay in her room? Was all this rted to Princess Amber? Or was it rted to the secrets of the moon kingdom, which Harold had said he would only tell her after she gave herself to him? "You did not do it," Paulina said as she scrambled over to Alicia''s side and wrapped her hands around her. What if she had truly done it? What if she was really guilty but just didn''t know it the same way she had killed those men and hadn''t known about it until she heard from Harold and Alvin, who had witnessed it? She thought and raised her head when she felt Paulina''s arms around her. "I know you did not do it. Maybe... someone asked her to say you did. You can''t hurt anybody," Paulina said confidently, but Alicia knew otherwise. What was going to happen to them now? There would be no need for a trial or torture anymore now that Princess Tyra had told them this. She doubted that either Harvey, Susan, or even Williams would believe her now that they had heard from Tyra. Did that mean she was going to be executed just like that? What about Harold? What was he going to do when he woke up and found out that she was dead? She couldn''t just let them execute her this way without saying goodbye to Harold first. Chapter 232 Think Carefully... "Where is your sister?" Williams'' father asked the moment Williams walked into their chamber and there was no trace of Susan behind him. "She will join us shortly. She had something to take care of in her chamber," Williams said as he went to sit down, and their father looked at him for a moment without saying a word. "Your mother said Harvey and Susan are interested in each other. Is that correct?" he asked, and Williams nced at his mother, who was beaming with joy, before returning his attention to his father. "I... think so, father." "Oh! You do not have to be so modest now. Just tell him the truth already." His mother cut in. "I told you. I saw him looking everywhere for Susan earlier. I''ve never seen such desperation in the eyes of a young man in a long time," their mother said excitedly, and Williams tried to understand what she was saying. Desperation? Was it possible that Harvey really fancied Susan? Was that why he was helping them? Or was it possible that their mother had misunderstood the reason behind Harvey''s search for Susan? Perhaps it was the time he hade to tell them that Paulina was about to be executed? That makes sense. Harvey had been in a hurry then. Williams reasoned. Williams'' father looked at his wife uncertainly, not sure whether or not he entirely believed what his wife was saying, "There will always be another time for them. I want the three of you to return..." "I don''t think that would be fair on Susan, my Lord. You have no idea how much she cried earlier when I asked her to pack her bags. Please let us stay a little longer and..." "No! If they want to be together so much, we can arrange for Sir Harvey to visit us after we get back. And then he can spend some time there getting to know her and our people. But for now, I want them out of the pce," he insisted stubbornly. "Father, can we at least wait until Princess Tyra regains her memory? It won''t be fair for us to leave without knowing how she is doing. We also don''t know how the Prince is. I don''t think this is a good time to leave," Williams pleaded, and his father looked at him suspiciously. "I hope you both are not getting yourselves involved in whatever is going on?" he asked, and Williams shook his head quickly. His father''s question seemed to make him realize that Beth''s father hadn''t reported them. Does this imply that the man was beginning to see the light in what was going on? Williams'' father watched him closely, and he didn''t believe him. He could tell when he was being lied to. He knew how nosy his children could be, especially Susan, who had a penchant for trouble and seemed to be very fond of Princess Amber. Susan was not the type to mind her business, especially not when it involved the people she cared about, and he knew that somehow she was doing something secretly. There was nothing they were going to say to make him believe that they were not up to something, and he didn''t want them to get involved in whatever was going on around the pce. He wanted them to remain as neutral as possible since he too was trying to understand what was going on. "You don''t think Prince Harold''s bride is behind this, right?" Their father asked, and Williams sat up "You believe that too?" Williams asked his father before realizing it was a trap and shutting his mouth while his mother continued to stare at the two of them. That was all his father needed to know that they were going to get themselves into trouble. "Go and get your sister..." "This is not fair!" Williams said stubbornly, startling his parents. "How... can you talk back at your fath¡ª" "Something is wrong and someone needs to find out what is happening. Are you going to be happy if an innocent person is killed for something she did not do?" he asked, cutting off his mother. "That isn''t how you raised us¡ª" "So what?!" his father asked angrily. "You want to get yourself involved in the court affair?" "No! I just want to be here when Princess Amber is found to be innocent of all this." "Do not get yourself involved, Williams. This is serious!" His mother whispered frightfully. "I forbid you and Susan from getting yourselves involved. This has nothing to do with either of you! And whatever is being decided on by the court is what¡ª" Before he could finish speaking, a knock sounded on the door, and they all nced at the door. "My Lord." The three of them heard Damian''s voice, and the older man gave Williams a pointed look. "A message from the Queen," Damian said before opening the door without permission. "The Queen wants you toe at once. Princess Tyra has just remembered what happened," William''s father turned sharp eyes on Williams again. "I will be with her shortly," he said to Damian dismissively. Damian bowed his head before leaving. As soon as he was out and closed the door, the older man turned to look at Williams. "Now that she is awake, you and Susan must get your things ready tonight. You are leaving first thing in the morning," he said before walking to the door to leave. Williams looked at his mother, who looked confused. She couldn''t decide which side to take, but it was clear she didn''t want him involved and would go to any length to keep them safe from any royal feud. "You have to understand your father. He is trying to protect you both. Getting involved would do you more harm than good." "She is innocent," he said confidently. "Someone else is trying to put the me on her." His mother scooted closer to him and put her hand on top of his. "That is more reason to stay away from this. The elders of the court are going to find an answer if she is really innocent." "That is the problem! No one is trying to find anything!" he raised his voice and looked at his mother apologetically when she flinched. "Mother, think carefully..." he said as he leaned closer to her. "Is there any potion that can cause great effects on both humans and werewolves? Something that can make even werewolves violent and lose some parts of their memory and also suffer from headaches? It can also make humans very confused, lose their memory and have a serious headache?" Chapter 233 Betas Nightmare "Why are you asking me about that?" she asked in rm before quickly standing up to go look outside the door to be sure no one was within earshot. Williams looked at her in confusion and wondered why she looked so nervous when he had only asked a question. "Why are you asking me about that?" she whispered as she returned to sit down very close to him. "It''s an emergency. Please tell me." He said desperately. His maternal side of the family was good at making potions and herbs. So he believed she was the best person who would know about this. Since their parents already suspected they were trying to help Princess Amber, why not just go ahead and ask her instead of reading through countless books and wasting time? When she saw how desperate he was, she sighed and nodded. "There is... one." Williams sat up immediately, seeing hope. "Beta''s nightmare. That is what it was called." "Was?" he asked curiously, and she nodded. "It has stopped existing for over 30 years because of the effect it had on other people. Why are you asking about such a thing?" Stopped existing? "Other people? What does that mean?" "I heard this from my mother. It was made by the former royal physician to help stop thete king''s constant headaches and help him sleep well at night. It worked well for Alphas, but it did the opposite for Betas. It made them... crazy. The potion was potent enough to kill Omegas. I don''t know about humans." Williams furrowed his brow when he heard that. Was it possible they were not talking about the same potion here? If they were, it meant Tyra hadn''t eaten it. Otherwise, she would be dead by now. But what effect did it have on humans? If it could kill Omegas, was it not the same as it killing humans? Howe Princess Amber survived? And howe Princess Tyra was... wait! Damian just said Princess Tyra remembered what had happened. So she hadn''t eaten it. That was the only reasonable conclusion. "Is there an antidote for it? Something that can reverse the effects?" She shook her head. "None that I can think of. But if the person wills themselves, they may be able to slowly remember. But it would take time. A lot of time." "Do you know of anyone who took it?" "It was fine for thete king, but when his eldest son, who was a Beta took it, it made him crazy, and he even attacked the present King, who was his younger brother. Everyone knew he had great animosity for his younger brother, who was born an Alpha while he was a Beta." Williams'' eyes widened when he heard that. He had never heard this story before or about the king''s older brother. This began to give him a bad feeling. Was it possible that the same thing happened to Amber? Was the side effect on Alicia the same as Betas and had she truly done it? "When this happened, the former king had to test the potion on the different people of our kind. Two Omegas died after taking it. The two Betas suffered the same fate as the king''s oldest son. So he was not punished for attacking his brother." "The royal physician. Where is he now?" Williams asked curiously. She shook her head. "I don''t know. I heard he just... disappeared. No one has seen him for over 20 years now." "He ran away?" "I don''t think so. He was loyal to the present King. They were close allies. He didn''t have a reason to run away." "Then is he dead?" "I don''t know either. Why are you digging into this? I am only letting you know so that you do not ask someone else and get yourself into trouble. I''m not sure you would be forgiven for talking about something like that." For some reason, Williams believed that they were talking about the same potion. How was the potion still existing now? Williams stood up immediately. If only the king was present. With Lance''s testimony and Princess Amber''s, they would believe she was telling the truth, and even if she was guilty, the me would shift to whoever was still using that potion on people. "Where are you going to?" his mother yelled after him as he ran out of the chamber. Immediately after he left, Williams rushed out of the room to go find Susan, since he was certain that she knew whatever was going on and must have heard from Tyra. Away from there, in Susan''s chamber, she sat on her bed and covered her face with her pillow as she sobbed. She had no idea what else to do. She had thought she was helping, but it seemed like she had just made things worse. With Princess Tyra''s testimony, Princess Amber was likely to be sentenced immediately. She didn''t know whether to believe Princess Tyra or stand by Princess Amber. She had known Princess Tyra longer than she had known Princess Amber and she didn''t want to believe that Princess Tyra would lie about something like this knowing that Princess Amber''s life was lying in the bnce. At the same time, she also had reasons to believe Princess Amber, especially after hearing from Lance about the biscuits and seeing how Princess Amber could not seem to remember anything that had happened that day. Regardless of Princess Tyra''s testimony, Susan still thought that it didn''t make sense. It didn''t make sense that one human had overpowered two werewolves. A strong Beta like Beth, and also Tyra. How could anyone believe this story? Was it possible that the Queen or someone else had threatened Princess Tyra to testify that Princess Amber was responsible for everything? Susan raised her hand when a single knock sounded on her door, and she wiped her tears immediately. "Come in," she said, knowing it was Williams. Immediately Williams walked into the chamber and saw her face, he knew that something was wrong and that whatever Princess Tyra had said wasn''t going to help their cause. "What is wrong? I heard that Princess Tyra has regained her memory," he said, and immediately Susan broke into a sob. Williams watched her without saying a word, as he seemed to already know the answer. Chapter 234 Guilty Inside the dungeon, there was no sense of time because of how dark the ce was both during the day and at night. Alicia had never been more painfully aware of time as she was in these moments that she had spent in the dungeon. Even though there was no wristwatch here, Alicia could hear her time ticking. With every second that passed, she could feel death approaching. It was closer than she hoped for. At this point, she had already made up her mind that she was guilty. Her subconscious had taken over and put her in trouble. So there was no way she could get herself out of this. She wasn''t sure she wanted to. If she had really done that to Beth, regardless of whatever Beth had done, then she was a beast and she deserved to die. Perhaps this was the way her life was meant to end here. Even if she managed to return to her world, how was she going to live there knowing she was never going to see Harold ever again? How was she going to live without him? The thing that saddened her most was the fact that she couldn''t even remember herst moment with Harold. What did they talk about and do that day before things went haywire? Having nothing to do but wait for the time when they woulde to take her, she recalled everything that had happened since she first opened her eyes in that little hut in the mountains. Tears ran down the sides of her eyes as she remembered her wedding to Harold and all that had happened between them since she came to the Moon Kingdom. She remembered the first time she saw Harold blush. It was the first time her period started here. She hadn''t been prepared for that, so it took her aback when she felt the familiar cramps, although milder than what she usually experienced herself. She had gotten the shock of her life when Paulina had brought her some little pieces of cloth, which were to serve as "sanitary pads". Paulina had excitedly fawned over it, talking about how it was a lot better than what they used in the mountains. To say she had been horrified was an understatement, and even Paulina had looked confused as she wondered why her mistress was acting like she had never used it before, but then, Paulina was still sticking to the idea that her mistress lost most parts of her memory after drowning, so she excused it. Fortunately, Harold had bumped into them. He had been pushy about knowing what they were talking about, wondering if it was an escape n. And seeing how Harold was not going to let them rest until he knew what was going on, she blurted it out to him that she was "bleeding", and when he inquired how she got injured, it had been very awkward to exin what was happening to him. Paulina had practically run out of the chamber in embarrassment while Harold tried to hide his embarrassment, but he didn''t do a good job. It was the first time she saw a dust of pink on his cheeks. He exined to her that men were not supposed to be in the same space as their wives during that time as it was taboo. But he stayed with her. And when she keptining about the weird pad, he asked her to tell him about the type she liked and have the servants make one. She had excitedly drawn a picture of it and showed it to him while exining how it worked. She had hoped to embarrass him, but he was surprisingly attentive and even suggested they use sheep wool to create one. He had done that and many more things for her selflessly. She didn''t want to cry. She tried not to. But she couldn''t stop herself as her lips trembled and a startled sob escaped her lips. She cried harder when another memory came to her. She remembered how he had chased her around the pce like he wanted to murder her when she called him a little bastard after he stood her up during lunch. She didn''t want to die. For the first time, it urred to her just how attached she was to this ce. Not exactly the ce, but the people here. Harold, Paulina, Tyra, Susan, Williams, Luciana, and the king. She didn''t want to leave. She didn''t want to leave especially Harold. She sobbed as she remembered all he had done for her. Simple things that she had taken for granted. Sending her meals, bringing her water to drink, applying a healing potion to her head after Ivan tried to rip her hair out of her skull, allowing her to livefortably, standing by her side whenever she made a mistake, and calling her by her real name to remind her who she was. He had opened up to herpletely, but she had been too busy worrying about a future she couldn''t even see to open up to him. The thought of leaving without seeing Harold again. The thought of not telling him how she felt or thanking him for everything he had done for her. Those were the thoughts that broke her heart and made her heart ache. As much as she tried to stop herself, she couldn''t. And this time, it was Paulina who embraced her and held her close as she cried. Why had it taken so long to realize how she truly felt about him? Why had it been so difficult to give herself and her love to him? Why had she been so wary only to end up like this? Why did she have to realize her feelings only after going through all this? Thinking about all this made her cry loudly as she prayed for him toe back to her, "You have to return to me, Harold. I don''t know how you are going to do it, but you have toe to me. Or else I will never forgive you for a thousand years. Please... wake up. I''m begging." She said in between sobs and didn''t stop even after some guards opened the cell again and entered inside. This time, they took only her and left Paulina behind, who was screaming and trying to crawl out with them. No matter how loudly Paulina cried or banged on the gate, the guards paid her no mind. She wanted to console Paulina. She wished she could assure her that they were going to survive this, but she couldn''t bring herself to do that anymore. She had lost all confidence in herself and didn''t want to give her any false hope. But just as she had promised her earlier, she was going to protect her no matter what. Alicia kept her eyes shut, enduring the pain she felt all over and praying for Harold to be well. She didn''t open her eyes until she heard sounds around her and realized she had been returned to the podium where Paulina had almost been executed. She dimmed her eyes against the harsh sunlight, wondering why it was so bright. Was it a different day? Had she been awake the entire night without knowing it? She thought as she looked around her. Like the previous day, all the aristocrats and the members of the assembly had gathered once again, and most of them eyed her with scorn and disapproval. Of course, it was well deserved. Princess Tyra had told them what happened. Now she seemed like both a murderer and a liar to them. Was there any way to convince them that even if she had done it, she had no memory of it? Would they listen to her if she tried to exin that her subconscious must have taken over and she hadn''t done it in her clear mind? When Damon stepped forward, her attention shifted to him. She gazed at him, but his eyes were stony as usual as he spoke, "Princess Tyra has testified that you were the one who hurt her and killed Beth. Do you still insist that you are innocent?" Damon asked, and there were murmurs around them wondering why Damon was now wasting time by asking her that question when the previous day he had wanted to execute her without getting a confession from her. Alicia swallowed as she shook her head. There was no need to drag things anymore. The torture of not knowing what was toe was already killing her. She had done it and was going to be sentenced to death. As much as she hated to leave without seeing Harold and saying goodbye to him, she also didn''t want him to watch her die. "Speak with your mouth!" Damon growled at her. "If... Princess Tyra said I''m guilty, then... I must be guilty," Alicia said as she met the queen''s gaze, and to her surprise, the queen''s lips twitched with what seemed like a triumphant smile. How could she smile at a time like this? Alicia understood that the queen hated her guts and probably also hated her because she was Harold''s wife. But how could she smile that way when she was about to be executed? Chapter 235 Intruders An Hour Earlier... Harvey had a deep crease between his brows when he sneaked into Susan''s room, but found no trace of her once again, just like the night before. He hade in the previous night to find out if Susan and Williams believed Princess Tyra''s testimony and to know if they were still on Alicia''s side or not, and what they nned to do now about Lance, but Susan''s room was empty. He had gone in search of Williams too but had also not seen any trace of either of the siblings around the pce, and now he was getting more worried by the second. Alicia would be executed soon, and he had no idea what the siblings were up to or what to do. He suspected that someone had threatened Princess Tyra into testifying against Alicia. No matter what Princess Tyra had said, he refused to believe that Alicia had done that vile thing. Amber was not that kind of person either. Her only hatred was for her father and the entire kingdom that had annihted her entire maternal lineage. She doubted Amber had taken over at that point, realized she was in the Moon Kingdom and killed Beth just because she encountered a werewolf. As he headed for the window to leave, the door suddenly opened, and he turned around, hoping it was Susan but was surprised when he gazed back at someone who was not supposed to be there. What was Ivan''s wife, who was supposed to be repenting of her sin, doing there, dressed in a maid''s uniform? He wondered as he looked back at Luciana, who was also staring at him and wondering what he was doing in Susan''s chamber. Although it was not news to her that the Queen was trying to set him up with Susan, she did not think their rtionship was close enough for him to be in her chamber. What did he want? She wondered as she narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here?" They asked each other in unison. "You are not supposed to be here. Why are you here?" Harvey asked, and Luciana scoffed? "At least I came in through the door. I can''t say the same for you. What are you doing here when the owner of the chamber is not around?" Luciana asked, looking at him suspiciously. She wasn''t scared of being exposed by him since she knew that he would also need to exin the reason for his presence in Susan''s chamber if he exposed her. As far as she was concerned, everyone was a suspect until proven otherwise. She wasn''t sure if Harvey had something against Beth or Princess Tyra, but his being in Susan''s chamber like this was enough to make her suspicious. Unfortunately, Harvey was also suspicious of her and began to rack his brain, wondering why she was truly here. Was she here to hurt Susan? Had she sneaked out like this that night and probably fed Alicia the biscuit? Or did she have something to do with the other maid who was the witness, considering how she was dressed right now? "Where is Susan?" She asked, looking around the chamber as though she half expected to see Susan''s dead body on the floor or something. Harvey''s brows arched as he spread his arms, "As you can see, she is nowhere around," Harvey said as he eyed her curiously. "What are you doing here in a maid''s uniform?" Harvey asked, but Luciana didn''t say a word. She couldn''t trust him to tell him a word. "Seeing as we can''t tell anyone that we met each other here, and since we have no business being here in her chamber, let''s pretend we didn''t see each other," Luciana suggested, and turned to leave, but Harvey quickly stopped her. "I can''t find Susan. I haven''t seen either her or Williams sincest night," Harvey said, hoping she would have some information about their whereabouts. Luciana looked at him. She too hade because she was yet to hear from Susan. Because she had run into Ivan on her way to meet Susan the previous day, she had returned to her chamber. And then things had be crazy after Princess Tyra''s sudden testimony, and no matter how long she waited and paced around her chamber waiting to hear from Susan, no message hade. She had even sent her maid to meet with Susan, but the maid had said Susan wasn''t in her chamber. She had assumed that Susan was avoiding her because she now thought that Princess Amber was guilty. Hence, she had taken the risk ofing to her chamber despite how busy the whole ce was with activity. She wanted to be sure whether or not Susan believed Tyra. Luciana thought about the sudden disappearance of the twins, and she could bet herst gold coin that their father had caught them and locked them up. "You are going to be betrothed to her soon. You should go ask her parents," Luciana suggested before turning once again to leave, and then her hands hesitated on the doorknob as she nced back at him. "Please hurry. And if you find her, tell her that... I''m waiting to hear from her," Luciana said before walking away. Immediately after Luciana left, she was confused about where to go now. She decided to return to her "prison" for now, but everything had happened so fast. She was about to take a corner when she bumped into someone and squealed from the shock of it. The next thing that happened, she was pushed so hard that her back hit the wall before she fell to the floor. As if it didn''t end there, a sword was pointed at her neck. "How dare a filthy maid touch¡ª" Ivan paused, and his eyes widened when he saw who the maid was. He had reacted on impulse and failed to see who it was earlier. Chapter 236 Nothing Has Changed, Right? When Luciana heard his voice, she raised her head fully and looked up at him while trying to bear the pain she felt. "What... are you doing here?" Ivan whispered in surprise before hurriedly going to check the corner he hade from. He had been pissed at his mother, so he had walked ahead of her. And now, she was closely approaching. He held Luciana up with one hand, ignoring her cry of pain, and moved inrge strides until they got to the closest door, where he shoved her inside before he entered and closed the door. "What are you doing out here dressed like this?" He asked in a scolding tone but still kept his voice low. Luciana was still trying to get over all that had just happened. Bumping into him, the way he had shoved her and tried to kill her because he had thought she was a maid, and how he had suddenly brought her here. Ivan, on the other hand, was trying to control his temper. He had tried to go pay Harold a "visit", knowing Alvin was not around. But those stupid guards had refused to let him in! He could not shake off the anger he felt. He was a prince and the real heir to the throne. Yet they had refused to let him in! It didn''t help that his mother was always willing to worsen his moods and call him names whenever he could not achieve something. He swore to himself that as soon as he became king, he was going to kill Alvin in front of Harold before he did the same to those guards who had looked down on him. "Let me go!" Luciana hissed angrily and forced her hand out of his grip. She tried to walk away, but he blocked her path and frowned at her. "What have you been up to?" He asked suspiciously. "Nothing!" "Ah! I see what this is..." he said, smiling. "You must have heard what was going on and wanted to see what happened to the woman who ruined your life," he smiled lovingly and began to caress her face, but she pped his hand away and looked at him in confusion. He didn''t look offended instead, he continued to smile. "Sure, my love. I will grant your wish. And allow you to watch her take herst breath." The confusion on Luciana''s face transformed into shock, and her eyes widened while Ivan grinned in delight. ******* Harvey climbed out of the window and quickly made his way into the pce. He had heard from his mother the previous night, and ording to her, Susan''s mother hade to inform her that he and Susan were both deeply in love, and she even told his mother about the letter Susan had been sending. Thinking about it now, he suspected that the recipient of the letter might be Luciana. He shook his head. That wasn''t important right now. As long as they believed that he and Susan were in love, they wouldn''t suspect a thing. Standing outside the door of their chamber, he knocked on it, and a momentter, Susan''s mother opened the door hesitantly after he called out his name to her. "I''m sorry to be a bother," he said with a polite bow. She smiled when she looked at him, "What are you--" "Please where is Susan? I''ve been searching all over for her," Harvey inquired politely, and he noticed how the woman looked behind her cautiously. "I''ve neither been able to do anything nor rest because I can''t find her," Harvey said, and Susan''s mother smiled sadly. "I''m not permitted to let anyone see her. Their father locked them up to prevent them from getting into trouble. And we are leaving as soon as the execution is over," she exined apologetically. "Then shouldn''t I see her before she leaves?" Harvey asked with a slight frown. He needed to hurry. He was already absent from the assembly which was being held at that moment to decide Alicia''s fate, and he didn''t like that. "You..." "Please, mdy. I really need to see her. I won''t be there for long," he pleaded, and although she had a distressed frown on her face since she knew that her husband would not be happy if he found out about this, she held the door open. The first thing Harvey noticed as he walked into the chamber was the two guards standing in front of the wooden door he believed led to the bathroom. He didn''t need anyone to tell him the siblings were there. The guards hesitated to let him in, but one re from Harvey''s potential mother-inw and they parted. When he entered, he saw both siblings were tied to their chairs. It was as though their father didn''t trust them with the guards either, so they were tied and being watched over so that they wouldn''t escape. Williams looked at him apologetically when they saw him, while Susan''s eyes were red and swollen as though she had been crying. The siblings had nned to meet with Luciana and Harvey the previous night to decide their next course of action, but before they could even leave Susan''s chamber, their father walked in with guards to seize them. Seeing as they needed to keep up appearances as a result of his story, Harvey moved closer to where Susan was. "I missed you, my love," he said so that even those outside the bathroom could hear him clearly. He sounded so sincere that if Susan didn''t know better, she would have believed his words, but after her experience with Alvin, she wasn''t so quick to believe that anyone fancied her anymore. "I would have met youst night under the tree as we agreed, but my father came to get us before I could," Susan exined as she looked into his eyes. Susan''s mother listened keenly to their conversation, not sure whether to be sad for the touching moment or happy that a good man could love their wild-natured daughter. "Nothing has changed, right?" She asked, hoping that he understood her question. Chapter 237 Should I Help You? Harvey looked at her, if by that question he was asking if his mind had changed about Alicia''s innocence, or if she was asking if something had happened to Alicia. He doubted it was thetter since he was sure she would have somehow heard from her parents if anything happened to Alicia. "Nothing has changed," he said confidently. So beautiful! Susan''s mother gushed as she listened to them. It was good to know that despite this setback, nothing had changed in their feelings for each other. Williams, who had been quiet, felt relieved. "If this is not too much to ask, can you help me meet with Lance? He wasn''t feeling too well, and I was supposed to check on him but can''t do so anymore," Williams said, reminding Harvey about their n to meet with Lance. Harvey gave him a nod. "I will do that," he promised, and then paused when he remembered Luciana''s message. He tried to think of the best way to convey the message to Susan without exposing Luciana. "Perhaps I should go to the temple and pray for us," he said, and then sighed. "Perhaps not. Princess Luciana must be there repenting and waiting. I wonder if this is how she felt being separated from Prince Ivan," he said thoughtfully, and Susan got the message. "Now I feel sorry for her. I wish there was a way I could let her know that I understand her better now. I guess we are all suffering the same," Susan said and gave Harvey a nod when he looked into her eyes to confirm that it was what he thought, and Luciana was on their side too. "I should leave now that I have seen you. I''ve been away from the assembly for too long. I shall try to convince your father not to take you away from me," Harvey said as he straightened, and Susan nodded. "I will trust you to handle everything," she said as tears trailed down her cheeks. She wished she could help Princess Amber more than this, but now there was nothing she could do. Williams also felt sad. There was no way he could pass on the new information he had about the potion he suspected Princess Amber and Lance had consumed. If only he could pass the information to them, then he was sure that they could argue that even if Princess Amber had done it, she had not been in her right senses and someone had plotted this. The siblings were torn as they watched Harvey leave. Now he was their only hope to save Princess Amber, and they had to put all their faith in him to be able to convince Lance to testify. If he failed, then all they could hope for was a miracle, or else Princess Amber might lose her life. Immediately after Harvey left their chamber, he went to find Lance to convince him to testify that he had ingested the biscuits which Alicia had given him and to exin his symptoms after eating them. Once he got to Lance''s chamber, he couldn''t find him there. He looked around for him and was told that Lance had gone out to the execution ground where Princess Amber was going to be executed. Immediately, Harvey hurried down there. He had thought they would still be in the assembly room. He had no idea that they had moved to the execution ground so quickly. He hoped that Lance had gone there to testify on his own, and even if he had not, he hoped to find Lance quickly and convince him to save Alicia. Just as he got there, his steps faltered when he noticed the tense atmosphere, and his gaze moved to Alicia, who looked pale and had a lost and distant look in her eyes as tears rolled down her face. She didn''t seem to be looking at anyone as Damon spoke. It seemed to him that she had given up on herself and had decided to let whatever would happen to her happen. "What is happening?" Harvey asked the person standing closest to him, slightly distracted from his original mission by the scene in front of him. "She just confessed to killing Beth and hurting Princess Tyra," the person said tly without turning to look at him, and Harvey nced at him when he realized it was Lance, but before he could say anything, Damon spoke again. "Because you are royalty, and Prince Harold''s wife and the one who you killed is not of royal blood, we decided to grant you the honour of dying an honourable death. Princess Amber, wife of Prince Harold, you have been sentenced to death by poison." Immediately the words left Damon''s mouth, Alicia closed her eyes and tears freely dropped. This was it. "I''m sorry... Harold." She muttered to herself before slowly opening her eyes. A guard stepped forward with a bowl she believed contained the poison and stood in front of her, offering her the bowl. "You should tell them she doesn''t remember anything," Harvey whispered to Lance in a pleading tone, and Lance turned to him with wide eyes. "What?" Lance asked, wondering why Harvey was saying that to him. "Tell them she gave you biscuits. Tell them you have simr symptoms," Harvey pressed. He would have preferred they stick to the earlier n for Lance to confess to his father that Princess Amber had caused his mental illness so that they could look into the issue officially and find out who had given them, but there was no time for that anymore. Lance furrowed his brow and gave Harvey a panicked look. Was Harvey also trying to prove Princess Amber''s innocence? Why were they all involved? He wondered in annoyance as he looked around, hoping everyone''s attention was on Alicia and not on him and Harvey. "I have no business with it!" He snapped at Harvey, who was tempted to punch him for being a coward. "Then should I help you?" Harvey threatened. Chapter 238 "Go To Sleep," Lance looked at Harvey in horror. It seemed like the guy wanted to throw him into this whether he liked it or not. "She is going to die in a moment if you don''t speak!" Harvey pressed as Alicia took the bowl from the guard. Her hand was shaking so much that she almost dropped it. It was obvious that she was scared, even though she looked resigned now. Everyone was watching. Patiently waiting for her to die. Some were impatient. The queen looked down at her from the podium where she stood, trying hard to hide her condescending sneer. This was her first payback to Harold. As much as she wanted him to never wake up from his unconscious state, she also wanted him to live for a long time in misery after finding out that the woman he fancied so much was no more. Ivan, however, didn''t bother to hide his delight as he watched from the balcony, where he had forced Luciana to watch with him. He had covered her properly with a cloak that had a hood and held her in ce so she would witness the entire thing. Luciana''s body shook and a bead of tears streamed down her face. Ivan could force her to stay, but he couldn''t force her to watch, so she closed her eyes tightly. Another person who could not hide their delight was Benedicta. She was so excited that anyone would have thought they were having a celebration right now and not an execution. No matter how hard Harvey pressed, he could see the hesitation in Lance''s eyes. He didn''t want to get involved, and he could understand why. This was no minor issue. Harvey noticed Lance was looking at his father. Sir Gregory kept his gaze on what was happening in front of him. He seemed disappointed at what was happening ahead of him. That was his nned money bag that was about to get executed. "Speak! Stop being a coward and save her life! This is myst warning to you!" Harvey said in a dangerous tone. Normally, Lance would have been seriously angry, but seeing how Princess Amber was about to die made him a little less stupid. Lance''s heart began to beat heavily as he watched Alicia raise the bowl to her lips. If he didn''t speak in a moment, she was going to die, and they were all going to hate him for it because he had had a chance to help but had refused to help. Everyone hated him already and barely talked to him, but since this whole incident, they have all spoken to him. And seeing how they were jointly trying to help despite their parents, while he, who could actually save Princess Amber''s life by telling them what he knew was hesitating because he feared what his father might do, he agreed with Harvey that he was a coward. Just as the bowl touched Alicia''s lips, Lance shut his eyes tightly and weighed the pros and cons of dying this execution. "STOP!" Lance yelled with all his might. The shock caused Alicia to flinch and drop the bowl in her hand, and look up. There was a sudden, loud silence everywhere as all eyes turned towards Lance, who knew at this point that he was screwed. He couldn''t look at anyone. He didn''t want to look at anyone, especially his father. But before anyone could concern themselves with him, the atmosphere changed, making it difficult for most of them to breathe. Before they could wonder what was happening, there was a whizzing sound of an arrow that pierced through the neck of the guard who had served Alicia the poison. His eyes widened just before he fell to his death. In less than a minute, he had gone from looking at Lance, who had interrupted the execution, to having an arrow pierce through his neck. With his heart beating fast and thinking that everyone had gone deadly silent because of his yell, Lance opened his eyes, expecting to see all eyes on him, but instead, everyone was looking in a different direction. He followed their gaze, and the first thing he saw was a man who had from his nose down, covered with a handkerchief that was tied to the back of his neck. He held a bow and arrow in hand. From his build, even Lance was able to identify him. It was Alvin. And just behind him, Harold slowly approached, and with each step he took, the air was less breathable for every single person present there. He looked... different. His natural blue eyes were pure red. His white hair rode behind him with the wind, and as crazy as it sounded, he seemed to have grown bigger... wilder. Scarier. Everyone stared in fear. Ivan and the Queen tensed at the sight of Harold. At this point, Ivan didn''t know whether to be grateful that the guards had refused to let him go into the chamber or not. As Ivan''s hold on her weakened, Luciana fell to the floor and cried in relief when she saw Harold. Even if breathing was difficult at this point because of his wild pheromones that had polluted the air, she could not help but be relieved. Harvey felt the same way as Luciana. He could only close his eyes and sigh in relief, while Lance was more than grateful at this point. As much as he hated Harold, he had perfect timing. Alicia, however, didn''t realise what was happening. She was still reeling from the fact that she had almost drank the poison and also the fact that a person had been killed in front of her. As she looked at the blood all over the guard, who had his eyes wide open even in death, she began to have some shes that made her head throb. "Did you think you were going to live forever?" She heard a voice in her head that she recognized as Beth''s. Beth was mocking her. "You are just a mere humanpared to me," Alicia began to get shes of seeing a bloodied body on the floor. The body belonged to Beth. "Now... your turn..." Someone whispered in her ear. She tried to stop thinking about it. Because the more she thought about it, the more her head throbbed and the more frightened she felt for some reason. It wasn''t her. She didn''t kill Beth. She felt a hand on her shoulder and snapped back to her senses, also flinching from the touch. "Princess..." Harold called calmly. His already deep voice sounded even deeper. Alicia raised her teary eyes in disbelief and looked at the face of the person crouching down in front of her. He looked familiar yet unfamiliar. "H-Harold?" She asked in disbelief and prayed her mind wasn''t ying tricks on her. "Go to sleep," he said softly and knowing she was safe now, she fainted immediately. Chapter 239 Shhh Everyone watched the scene before them in awe, and for some reason, it felt like it was the calm before the storm. It was obvious to everyone that Harold didn''t want her to be awake, but they weren''t sure whether it was because he didn''t want her to bear the pain she was feeling all over, or because of something else. Perhaps something he nned to do. Harold patted her hair gently, and his heart ached when he saw the marks on her body. Trying not to disturb her sleep, he carefully lifted her into his arms and closely watched her face as he did so. If Harold wasn''t already furious, his blood boiled when she cried in her sleep and painfully tried to adjust in his arms. She seemed to be in severe pain, even in her sleep. Harold clenched his teeth as he paused with her in his arms for her to settle back into her sleep. Seeing this, anyone in their right mind would not interrupt, especially seeing how his wild angry pheromones were still in the air, making it difficult for them to breathe. But it seemed like Damon had forgotten who Harold was for a moment. And as the main person with authority there, he stepped forward and tried to speak, "Your high¡ª" "Shh..." Harold interrupted quietly without raising his head to look at Damon. That was all he said, and he had said that to Damon. But chills ran down the spines of every single one of those present there. The Queen turned to Damon and the aristocrats, wondering why they were not doing or saying anything. How could he just show up and disrespect all of them by doing what he liked, yet no one was doing or saying anything? Sensing the Queen''s angry gaze on him and how most of the aristocrats were depending on him to save them, Damon made the second mistake and cleared his throat to speak again, despite the suffocating air around them. "Your highness, we are d to see that you are awake now. But you can''t take your wife from here..." He swallowed what was left of his sentence when Harold snapped his head up and his burning red eyes settled on Damon''s face. "No movement until I return," Harold said in a very quiet voice as he turned to leave with Alicia. p His warning had been simple enough for everyone toprehend, but there were always going to be those who liked to challenge people. Even Damon, who was the king''s beta, knew better than to say a word, but a low-ranking aristocrat who was probably looking for a chance to climb up thedder for being "brave" took a step forward. "It is disrespectful to¡ª" He didn''t get toplete his sentence when Alvin threw his dagger directly at the man, burying it deep in the man''s throat without caring who he was. The unfortunate man made a guttural sound as he crumpled to the floor, startling everyone around. The man''s shaky hands went to his throat, but he couldn''t reach it before his hands fell limply beside him. Alvin walked over to where the man fell and retrieved his dagger, which he wiped on the man''s clothes. There were muffled gasps around them as everyone was too scared to make a sound lest Alvin or Harold single them out. While this was happening, Harold walked out of the scene, unbothered by whatever was happening there. By this time, people were visibly shaking, but the good thing was that they could breathe freely, or maybe not, since they were still too scared to even sigh. They knew that Harold would not hesitate to get rid of them if they so much as coughed. So even after Alvin followed his master, everyone still remained where they were standing. They really wanted to know what was wrong with the prince. Because that wasn''t him. It seemed like something else had possessed him. "You would have been the first to die today," Harvey told Lance, who still hadn''t gotten over the shock from earlier. His father had shot him several curious and warning nces that he chose to ignore and act like he didn''t see. Lance turned to look at Harvey. He looked stupidly confused as he wondered what Harvey was talking about. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and said, "Prince Harold wouldn''t have killed me. I had no hand in this." Lance reminded him. "But... I will," Harvey said calmly. Ivan, on the other hand, turned to look at Luciana, but surprisingly, she was nowhere around. He had no idea when she left. He was furious. All his ns had been ruined. Just when he thought everything was going smoothly for him and Harold''s wife was going to die, everything changed. He felt like screaming at someone. As much as he wanted to storm out of that ce, he decided to stay back until Harold returned and see what the bastard was going to do. After all, he was watching from the balcony, so he was safe. At the same time, Damon had a lot of things to be worried about. He didn''tpletely believe that Tyra had been telling the truth when she said it was Princess Amber who had hurt her. It didn''t make sense to him the same way he knew it didn''t make sense to the Queen either. Now that Harold was awake, he was going to be in a difficult position, and his sense of judgement was going to be questioned, especially if Harold looked into what had happened and was able to prove that his wife was really innocent. Not to mention how he would have to face the king, who would be pissed that they had attempted to do something like that without his knowledge. Why had he allowed the Queen to talk him into indulging in this foolish venture? Damon turned to look at the Queen, whose eyes were tightly shut and her fists clenched. It seemed like she was trying to hide her anger. But no matter how angry she felt, she was bound to obey. Chapter 240 "Dont You Agree," "You are such a coward! A disgrace! You are the King''s beta, but you dare stand there and watch him take the criminal away!" The queen spat out angrily when she opened her eyes and met Damon''s gaze. When was she going to get the opportunity to pay Harold back for all the pain he had caused her? Not only had he woken up, but he had also saved his wife at the wrong time! Why was everyone so useless? Why was everything suddenly working against her when it had all been going well just days ago? The queen wondered as she tried to hold back her cry of frustration. Damon clenched his teeth as he tried to control his own anger. "Get a grip on your temper. And watch your words," Damon warned quietly. "You all are useless! Useless! You only speak boldly when dealing with women. I can''t believe you all just stood there and let him disrespect us!" She yelled with disgust as she tried to stop her angry tears from spilling. The fear most of the aristocrats and bystanders felt changed to one of disgust and displeasure at the queen. Was she insane? Damon opened his mouth to admonish her, but before he could do that, one of the aristocrats spoke, "Why didn''t you do something about it as the Queen? Weren''t you here with us?" He demanded angrily. "Shut your trap, you filthy thing!" She said furiously, leaving the aristocrat stunned. Weren''t they the ones who had embarrassed her and said she was a woman, so she wasn''t supposed to tell them what to do just yesterday? "You--!!" "You should be ashamed of yourself, you stupid coward!" She eyed him unpleasantly. The two corpses lying on the floor were forgotten as a verbal fight ensued between the Queen and the aristocrats who were offended by her name-calling and insults. Ivan watched his mother with irritation, wishing there was a way he could shut her up as her actions were ruining their chances with the aristocrats. How would they support him now after this attitude she was putting up? Ivan wondered irritably why she didn''t know her ce and was always quick to insult men. Aside from his annoyance at his mother, he was also beginning to lose patience seeing as Harold was still not back even after two hours had passed. He didn''t know whether to be surprised or not that no one had taken a step from where they stood despite their arguments, which was slowly beginning to die down because they were getting exhausted. He wondered if they would have all remained here like this had he been the one who gave the order. Annoyed at them and himself for listening to Harold. He turned to leave, but just as he took the first step, thunder crashed in the sky, startling all of them. Remembering what had happened the previous day, the pandemonium stopped and everyone looked up, hoping it wasn''t the storm that wasing again. But this time, it was something greater than the storm because Harold was returning. This time, he had a wicked smile on his face and his hands behind him as he approached. His eye colour was still strangely red, and the suffocating pheromones seemed to have gotten worse. They didn''t know whether to be thankful or not that Alvin was not with him now. Because apart from his wife, it seemed like Alvin was the only person who couldmunicate with Harold and keep him under control, but Alvin was also very scary on his own, and he seemed to have lost his sense of rationality too, just like his master. Thunder rumbled again, causing them to jump in fear as he kept approaching. He didn''t stop. He kept his pace even until he got to the podium where Damon was standing, and before everyone''s eyes, he grabbed him by the neck with one hand and raised him off the ground. This time, they all could not muffle their gasps of horror. This was Damon. No one, dead or alive, had ever tried this. The queen, who had been standing beside Damon, quickly scurried away from there in fear to stand behind her brother. "You shouldn''t have said a word when I warned you," Harold said calmly as he applied pressure, making sure that there was no way for Damon to breathe. Damon''s eyes bulged out as he struggled to breathe. He also tried to fight the hand that was trying to squeeze life out of him, but no matter how hard he fought, Harold wouldn''t stop. He just kept staring at Damon with a straight face as he continued to squeeze. Just when he was about to pass out, Harold threw him to the ground below the podium with a loud thud, causing most of the others to flinch as though it was them. The almighty Damon was reduced to nothing as he gasped for air on the bare ground. It was even worse for him because he was closer to Harold, so the air he was inhaling was not nice either. Harold turned to look at the rest, who visibly withdrew whenever he looked in their direction. Seeing their reaction, he smirked, "You should have thought about this moment before conspiring against my princess." He looked at all of them as he said calmly, "Don''t you agree?" ****** ? Meanwhile, Susan''s mother could already sense what was happening. The entire pce seemed to have been polluted by the smell of an enraged Alpha and also the smell of blood in the air. Only a fool would leave their children here. So she ordered the guards to take Susan and Williams back to their residence. Both Susan and Williams almost cried in joy when they realized that Harold was awake. But they still were not sure of what was happening and whether or not Princess Amber was still alive. And what was worse, they were still tied like criminals and smuggled into a in-looking carriage despite their protests. "I don''t want to do this either. But you two have to go as far away from here as possible. We don''t know what is going to happen now," their mother said in a desperate tone as she tried to send them off. Chapter 241 Brave Maid It was no secret that neither Susan nor Williams wanted to leave. They tried to squirm free but could not. Williams had his arms tied to the rest of his body. His wrists were also tied separately, the same as his ankles. Susan only had her wrists and ankles tied together. It was so difficult to stay inside the carriage that was a lot smaller than what they were used to. Susan had it worse since she was seated inside, so she couldn''t even look at her mother as she cried andined to win her sympathy. Was this it? Susan thought sadly. If anyone had told her that she would be so attached to the pce like this, she would never have believed it. But thanks to Princess Amber, she hade to love living here, so how could she just leave this way without even saying goodbye to anyone? How could their mother just send them off like that? This was unfair. "You cannot do this to us, mother. We need to know what is happening. Please." Williams begged as he looked at her through the small wooden window, while Susan sobbed quietly. "Your father and I will join you tomorrow. You have to endure this journey," the woman said resolutely before sliding the wooden window closed. "We promise to leave with you tomorrow! Please, mother! You can lock us up in the chamber, but don''t send us away. Please, mother!" Susan cried, but their mother said nothing as she gave their guards the go-ahead to take them away. Their hearts became even heavier when the carriage shook and began to move. At this point, Susan and Williams were both resigned. It wasn''t as if they could do anything more for Princess Amber now that Prince Harold was awake and could handle everything, but they wanted to be here. Susan shut her eyes tightly as she silently prayed for a miracle to happen. The carriage had only moved for a few seconds when it abruptly came to a halt. The abrupt stop threw the twins off guard, and they exchanged a startled look, wondering what was happening. There was silence for the next one minute before they heard heavy footsteps and a familiar baritone. "On Prince Harold''s orders, no one leaves the pce until he says so!" Alvin announced, blocking the path of the carriage. Williams turned to look at Susan, whose confused eyes had lit up now. She knew it! She knew there was no way she would leave just like this! "No... one is in there!" Their mother, who had been waiting to see off the carriage, said defensively while trying to hide her panic. But Susan wouldn''t be Susan if she made things easy for the poor woman. "She is lying! We are in here!" Susan called out while trying to wriggle out of the ropes, not bothering to save her mother''s face. Susan''s mother shut her eyes tightly as Alvin red at her before almost destroying the carriage door as he opened it. He peered inside and saw the twins, who looked hopeful as soon as they saw him. Seeing how they were tied up like this and how relieved they seemed to see him, made him truly believe that they had genuinely tried to help and were being taken away from here against their will. "Prince Harold is awake, right? What about Princess Amber? She is fine, right?" Susan asked hopefully before Williams could ask. "Prince Harold is awake, and the Princess is receiving treatment," Alvin said, and with one swift move, he used his dagger to cut off the rope binding Williams'' wrists. "Thank goodness!" Susan cried in relief. For a moment, she was scared that Princess Amber might have been executed already. "Paulina. What about Paulina?" Williams asked as he waited for Alvin to help cut off the rope tying his arms to his upper body. The thought of that girl almost caused Alvin to cringe. He had never met a girl who cried so much or so loudly. He remembered hearing the sound of her cries even before he got to the dungeon. Immediately she saw him, she barraged him with questions about her mistress, and without giving him time to respond to her questions, she had called him "Stupid."That''s right. Paulina, the timid maid, had called him stupid. She had also called him a coward for not showing up soon enough and letting them treat her mistress in that manner while hezed around doing nothing. As angry as he had been at the unnecessary name-calling, he had been more surprised by her bravery as she kept calling him names. He never would have imagined that she was capable of exhibiting such anger or boldness. It wasn''t until he told her that her mistress was safe and that Prince Harold was awake that she finally became quiet, giving his ears time to heal from her screams. "But you won''t be able to see her now. She is being treated. Prince Harold asked me to take you to your mistress'' chamber to get treated." And then Paulina started to cry again. She cried in relief this time as she began to thank him and apologize for all the name-calling, immediately returning to her timid self. He had thought that was enough to calm her, but she had insisted on seeing her mistress first. It seemed like she still had little doubt in her that her mistress was safe. To save himself the stress of trying to convince her otherwise and the time he would use to exin to her, he hit the spot behind her neck to make her unconscious before he threw her on his shoulder like a bag of rice and took her to her mistress'' chamber since Alicia was in Harold''s chamber. Alvin sighed as he returned his attention to Williams, who was still waiting for a response. "She is safe. She is being treated by the physician," Alvin said as he cut off thest rope binding William''s ankles before shoving him out of the carriage to attend to the other twin. Chapter 242 Panicked Maid Susan''s heart skipped a beat as Alvin turned to her. "Thank you foring for us," Susan said in a soft voice while looking at him intensely. "It was on Prince Harold''s orders," he reminded her without looking at her. Thest thing he wanted was for her to misunderstand him again and make her cry. Alvin kept his gaze and attention on cutting off the ropes, but he was more careful this time than he was when cutting Williams loose since she was ady. Williams pursed his lips as he watched Susan, who kept her gaze on Alvin, who had not bothered to spare her a single nce. When Alvin was done cutting off the ropes, he was about to leave when she stretched out her hand. "Help me climb down," she said in a sweet voice that almost made Williams scoff loudly. Alvin furrowed his brows and just stared at her while Williams cringed at the scene. Seeing how their mother was still watching with displeasure, Williams stepped forward and took his sister''s hand before helping her climb out of the carriage. She didn''t forget to re at him as they followed Alvin, who was leading the way. "This is not right," their mother said to Alvin unpleasantly, but he only gave her a curt bow before walking away, but not before ensuring that the twins were following behind. Susan could not look at her mother''s face, so it was only Williams that gave her an apologetic look as they walked past her. They had chosen sides, and the least they could do was stick to that decision instead of running away. "Did you find the maid?" Susan asked as they headed for the pce. Hearing her question, Alvin''s thoughts drifted to what had happened the previous day after Susan''s visit. After learning nothing from the kitchen staff, he rode into the vige in search of the maid. The moment he got into the main vige, the first news he heard going around the vige was the news of a floating corpse. ording to the vigers, the corpse of a youngdy had been seen floating on the river earlier that afternoon. Not distracted from the reason he was in the vige, he had hurried to the ce he believed the kitchen maid lived. He had followed her before, so he knew where she went, even if he wasn''t sure she lived there. Immediately he stepped into the little house that could barely contain his size, he was attacked with a knife by a person wearing a ck cloak with a hood. He only shoved the person to the side, but the effect was great on the person, who flew to the end of the wall and hit their back against the wall before they fell to the floor, groaning and crying from pain just as the hood fell backwards, revealing the person''s face. He recognized her. She was the maid he was searching for. "Please don''t kill me. Please," she cried as she tried to rise, but Alvin harshly pushed her down as he walked further into the room and looked around. There was a bag on the sleeping mat, and from all indications, she had been about to escape when he walked in. "Were you going to run away?" He asked harshly. She snapped her head up and when she saw him, her eyes widened and panic shed in her eyes. "Please... don''t kill me. Please!" She continued to cry, not listening to anything else Alvin was saying. Of course, she had worked in the pce long enough to recognize Alvin. She knew who he was and who his master was. For someone like him toe find her here, it only spelt doom. Had they been caught? Was that why her sister ended that way? "The only way I can spare your life is if you tell me what truly happened and who you are working for," Alvin said as he went to crouch down in front of her. She shook her head vigorously as she kneeled in front of him. "I... don''t know anything. I''m not working for anyo.." "You should think carefully before you respond to my question. If you lie to me, I won''t kill you with my hands. I will make sure I hand you over to Prince Harold," Alvin promised, and the threat seemed to work, because immediately she paled. "Please, I swear to you I did not do anything wrong. I am only a maid in the pce. Please let me live. Forgive me. My only crime was allowing my sister to work in the pce. I am sorry. Please forgive me," she cried as she rubbed her hands together. Seeing how she was begging and not answering his question despite her obvious fear, Alvin paused and furrowed his brows. There seemed to be a mix-up somewhere. But at least he was able to confirm their theory that she was a twin. "So why were you packing?" He asked. The maid suddenly burst into tears. "I... saw her b-body. I... don''t... I don''t want to die. Please I''m sorry!" She cried, her lips trembling as she spoke. Alvin furrowed his brows again as he pondered this. Was that what he had been hearing in the vige? Her sister was dead? Which of them testified? Was it the one that was dead? "Who killed your sister?" Alvin asked, and she raised her head to look at him in confusion. It was as though she expected him to have the answer to that question, and that made him confused. "I... don''t... know. Isn''t that why... you are here?" She asked in fear. "Why am I here?" He asked, trying to understand her train of thought. "I... d-don''t know..." she said as she sobbed. Without saying a word, Alvin drew out his dagger and held it against her neck, causing her to cry out, before shaking her head vigorously and raising her hands in surrender. That was all the motivation she needed to speak. "I... was supposed to take over from her at the pce, but she didn''t return home. I couldn''t go to the pce and risk getting caught. So today... Today, I heard that a maid''s body was floating, so I rushed to see who it was, and it was my sister. I thought she had been caught, and I would be next. I... didn''t want her to go to the pce on that night because I feared she would get caught. But... she left... she left... and I could not go and find her there because I was scared. But... she didn''t return." She broke into loud sobs, with her entire body trembling. So it was her dead twin sister who had been with Princess Tyra and had testified against Princess Amber? "Why were you both switching ces?" Alvin asked, still eyeing her suspiciously even though he was beginning to think that she really might be telling the truth. If she thought the reason he was here was because they had been caught, that meant she had no idea what had transpired in the pce or what her sister had done. But could he trust her? "Alvin?" Susan called, bringing his attention back to the present. He nced at her and remembered her question, "She is dead." Chapter 243 "Where Is Everyone?" "Dead?" Susan asked as she exchanged a look with Williams before looking at Alvin. "How? Did you kill her?" She asked suspiciously, and Alvin tried not to scowl at her. Although he wished he had killed the maid earlier when they first began to suspect her, as that would have saved them the trouble, but then, whoever had used her would have used someone else. And it irked him how Susan jumped to the conclusion that he was the one who killed her. Why was he surprised? She seemed to be good at jumping to conclusions. "Her rotting corpse was found in the vige river. She has been dead for some days," Alvin said as they arrived at the pce. He didn''t bother to tell them about her being a twin since that wasn''t their business and there was no point in giving them that information. He was yet to give Harold the details about the twins since Harold had gotten off the bed and hurried down to the torture hall the moment he got off the bed and dressed up. He still did not know how Harold had known that something was wrong. He had been moving around the pce in search of Susan to ask her some questions when one of the guards came to inform him that Harold was awake, and he seemed furious as he changed his clothing hurriedly. None of the guards could ask him about his health or what had annoyed him in his unconscious state, so they hade to find Alvin. Despite how close he was to Harold, he felt a trickle of fear in his spine at the moment he got into Harold''s chamber and saw his face and eyes. At that moment, he had been thankful that he had returned to his senses and listened to Susan''s suggestion for him to leave Harold''s side and try to save his wife. He had no doubt that Harold would have killed him had he woken up to see him sitting beside him while his wife was being tortured. "If anyone gets in my way, cut them down." Harold had ordered him calmly as he marched out of his chamber. That calm tone... Alvin did not like that, especially when he realized that Princess Amber had just been sentenced to death. "Can you just stop and answer my questions?" Susan asked as she blocked Alvin''s path. She was trying not to get angry at him since he had just rescued them, but he was refusing to tell them anything when they were risking their lives for this course. Alvin stopped walking and looked at her with a raised brow. "What question?" He asked, while Williams watched Susan suspiciously, wondering if she truly had feelings for Alvin, because her behavior towards him wasn''t normal at all. And for some reason, he noticed that it appeared like Alvin was slowly beginning to indulge her behaviour. "Did you find out if she drowned or if someone killed her? It doesn''t make sense that she would die just like that after making that confession," Susan said, and Alvin had to admit that she was a lot smarter than he had thought, and loyal too. Even though he still found her annoying, it was good to see that she had a brain in her head and didn''t just use it for jumping into conclusions. "She was killed. You don''t have to worry about it. I will find out who did it," he said confidently, and Susan nodded before looking around them. "Where is everyone?" Susan asked when she noticed how lonely the ce was. Everywhere seemed to be empty. There was no sign of life around them. It was unusual not to see at least a maid going about her duties or a guard patrolling. It was too quiet inside. If not for the fact that everywhere looked tidy, and there was no trace of blood, they would have thought that Prince Harold had ughtered everyone in the pce. Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing the twins to shudder. If that was not enough, they heard the angry growl of a wolf that made fear grip every one of them, Alvin not excluded. "Whhat... is that?" Susan stammered as she took a few steps backwards, going to stand behind Alvin, who was also surprised and wondering what was going on. Did Harold shift in daytime? His curse has been broken? Everyone was going to know now. "Is that...?" Williams left his question hanging as he began to takerge strides to go look for the closest balcony to the execution ground where he could watch what was going on. "Where... are you going to?" Susan asked in a panic, torn between chasing after Williams or staying there. As much as she was curious, she was terrified. "I need to know what is happening. Father is there!" Williams yelled without looking at her as he began to take the flight of stairs. The growl shook the entire pce again, causing Susan to cry from fear before she began to find it difficult to breathe. Everywhere stank of blood and poisonous pheromones that made her begin to choke. Seeing this, Alvin quickly turned to her and took out a spare handkerchief he had with him. He pulled her by the hand to face him and noticed how tears were beginning to pool in her eyes as she struggled to breathe. He took out a piece of paper from his inner shirt and quickly opened it. There were two little brown medicines, and he forced one into her mouth before using the handkerchief as a nose mask for her, standing in front of her and tying it to the back of her neck. When she blinked, tears fell from her eyes, and she raised her head to look at him. He looked down at her with a bored expression as he said, "Go wait in your chamber until everything settles." She stepped away from him, and it was as though she had just thought about something and quickly snatched thest pill from his hand. "Sorry," she said apologetically as she began to run back towards the direction they hade from. Alvin stared at her in disbelief as he asked, "Where are you going to?" "MY MOTHER IS STILL OUTSIDE!" She yelled back without turning to look at him and just kept running with the hem of her dress in her hand. Alvin continued to look at her retreating figure before he scoffed in disbelief. But he remembered he had something more important to do, so he quickly began to find his way towards the execution ground. Chapter 244 "Make Sure You Live," That evening, there was pin-drop silence in the entire kingdom. Even those far away from the pce knew that something was wrong. Doors closed silently, and all torches and candles were blown off in every chamber. The one who was responsible for it all walked gracefully in slow strides as if he had no hand in it. Harold wore a long ck flowing cloak whose hood covered his head up to the centre. He had blood all over him and some were also on his face, matching the colour of his eyes that was yet to change. If Susan, who had been far away from the execution ground, had felt his impact where she was, imagine what happened to those close to him. Some weak ones amongst them had unfortunately died, some had copsed, and when he shifted into his wolf form, that was the highlight of it since almost all of them had never seen him in this form before. And even those who had identally seen him at night in this form had been surprised by how huge his wolf had gotten. The dark fur was even darker, and his previously blue eyes had be zing red, almost as if they were on fire. But one thing that stood out to them was the fact that he had shifted. In broad daylight! And he had done it so effortlessly in a split second. The curse... it was broken. He went on a rampage, tearing apart every guard who had dared to touch Alicia, regardless of who ordered it. Of course, the aristocrats had to fight for the guards to be singled out since they didn''t want to be the ones to die. And most of them denied their involvement in the trial, pointing to Damon, who was still trying to breathe, and the queen, who was already shaking and trying not to pass out. They didn''t know whether to be thankful that they had not seeded in executing his wife yet or not. Imagine what he had done simply because she was tortured. What would he have done had they seeded in killing her before he regained consciousness? The thought of it made most of them shudder, including the queen. When he shifted back to his human form, Alvin was behind him, covering him with the ck cloak. They all cussed Alvin in their heads for two reasons. One, he was supposed to be stopping his master, but he wasn''t doing anything. Two, his choice of clothing for Harold right now was bad as it seemed to make him appear scarier and darker. Seeing how he was approaching the queen next, she took a step backwards in fear while shaking. Ivan, who was also trembling where he stood, fisted his hands beside him as he watched Harold slowly approaching the queen with expressionless eyes. "I will pay you back for today," Ivan swore in his head before he turned around and scurried away. Of course, he needed to be alive to pay Harold back. Now wasn''t the time for bravery. "Prince Harold! Do not do this," Benedicta cried pathetically as she went to block his path. She spread both arms wide open as tears ran down her cheeks. The tears were both from anger and frustration. On one hand, she was angry, and on the other hand, she felt shattered. Shattered because she was supposed to be Harold''s bride, yet she had been stopped from marrying him because of the rumors of a curse. After seeing what had happened, she doubted the existence of the curse that had stopped her from marrying him. Aside from the fact that he was an alpha, seeing how much power Harold had and how everyone feared him, she could see that he was more likely to be king than the cowardly Ivan who had run off. And who else but her was meant to be his Queen? She had been eagerly waiting for Amber to drink the poison, but everything had suddenly turned out this way! She wanted to cry. She wanted to yell. She wanted to squeeze the life out of Amber. But all that was forter. Now, she had to be their saviour and stop Harold. That way, everyone would see she was meant to be queen since she was even braver than this pathetic queen. And the entire royal court was going to be on her side and support her being queen. She was willing to forgive Harold for how he treated her earlier. But for Princess Amber, she was going to think of somethingter. Both Harvey and their father looked at her in panic. What hade over her? How dare she do that when even men were avoiding Harold right now? Tears dropped from Benedicta''s eyes as she said in a weak, frightened voice, "Please, get a hold of yourself and¡ª" Everyone gasped again when he flung her out of his path with one hand until she crashed into a group of guards who were standing some feet away, causing two to fall to the ground along with her. Defying Harold''s orders not to move, Harvey and his father ran towards Benedicta, who had passed out. Harold didn''t bother to look back and just kept approaching the queen until she had nowhere else to run to, and then he stopped in front of her, making it even more difficult for her to breathe. "Make sure you live," he said calmly. "Live... until she is proven innocent." "And then... you die," he concluded with a smile while she panted in fear. Although he was still very angry, he was satisfied with what he had done. For now. After he was done fishing out the person behind this, every one of them was going to pay the price for humiliating his princess in that manner. "Nobody leaves the pce until I allow it," Harold ordered in a booming voice before turning around to walk away with Alvin behind him. Immediately he left, every one of those that were left let out a breath of relief as most of them hurried away from there lest he changes his mind and returned. ,m Harvey and his father carried Benedicta, while Susan''s father left there to check on his family, not bothering about his sister, the Queen, whose trembling legs had given in, and she had copsed on the floor with no care as to who was watching. Apart from the fact that she had never witnessed anything as terrifying as this in her life, she couldn''t believe that Harold''s curse was broken. The curse was broken and he was so powerful. Not even the king was as strong as he was. How did it happen? She needed answers, but how could she get them when her only hope was outside the pce and she had no idea where she was? What had happened? This was the dread she had been feeling since the beginning of the banquet. She had known something terrible was going to happen. But she hadn''t nned for this. They were all in trouble and the only one that would be able to save them was the King. He had to wake up. Chapter 245 "The Target Was Not Me" Harold sat on the bed beside Alicia''s sleeping form as he spoonfed her the medicine that the royal physician had prepared specially for her. Seeing how gentle he was with her, no one would guess that it was the same person who had just killed more than a dozen people earlier. He had washed off the filthy blood from his body and changed into a loose white garment and had his hair, which had grown a bit longer while he was unconscious, neatlybed out. He looked ethereal, except for his eyes, which were now a mixture of the usual blue and red as he tried to calm down and take care of Alicia. ''I need to rest. Wake me up if you want us to rip more people apart,'' Harold''s wolf said in his head before disappearing. Alvin stood away from him, not knowing if it was okay to speak yet. He had never seen Harold this way before, so he didn''t want to overstep his boundary. A lot of things had changed about him and he was curious to know how he was. "Tell me," Harold said when he was done spoon-feeding her the medicine, and he moved away from the bed to look out the window, as he usually did when he had a lot on his mind. Alvin knew Harold was asking about everything that had happened. Harold only knew a bit of what had happened but not in detail, so now, Alvin exined the best way he could, starting from how he had been wounded during the hunt and how he had stayed beside him without knowing what was going on with Princess Amber until Susan hade to see him. "You were in here with me for days without keeping an eye on her?" Harold cut in with a growl as he turned around to re at Alvin. Alvin cautiously took a step back as he exined, "I couldn''t leave you alone. I didn''t know what to do. I had to watch over you even though I also wanted to make sure she was okay. What could I have done? I couldn''t trust anyone. There is a limit to what I can do for her as a guard." Harold looked at him, eyes zing with anger. As angry as he was, he knew that Alvin was right. Alvin had done what he could. Only he could have saved Alicia. He couldn''t bear to think about what would have happened had he arrived even a secondte. "Did you see the person who shot you?" Alvin asked him. Maybe if Harold knew, that would give them a hint. Harold shook his head a bit. "Something didn''t feel right about that night. I sensed it." He said as though he was talking to himself, but Alvin clearly heard him. "Did you find anything?" Harold asked, and Alvin told him about his visit to the vige and his conversation with the maid. "Where is she now?" Harold asked, hoping that Alvin had not let her get away. "I helped her to hide somewhere safe. I told her she has to stay there until you are awake and decide what to do with her," Alvin said, and Harold gave him a curt nod. The king was ill. He was shot, and even though his wounds healed a long time ago, he hadn''t recovered his consciousness until now. Beth was killed, Tyra stabbed, and Alicia framed for it. "Should I start looking into the person who tried to kill you?" Alvin asked. He could have done so earlier if he had had the time for that. Surprisingly, or maybe not, the royal court had not taken it seriously and simply tried to make Princess Amber the culprit for that as well. "The target was not me," Harold said thoughtfully. "What?" Alvin asked in confusion. "If they wanted to kill me, the person would have seeded when he shot the first arrow," Harold shook his head. "It doesn''t make sense that he missed a vital point three times. The n was to hurt me, not kill me." "How were you not able to take note of the person''s presence until it happened?" Alvin asked curiously. That was one question that had been on his mind the whole time he sat there looking after him. It still didn''t make sense that he had been shot just like that, especially on a full moon night when he was supposed to be at his strongest with all his senses alert. Harold wasn''t the type to let down his guard, especially not on an important night like that. "I don''t know," Harold said again, more to himself than to Alvin. "Something must have happened." He said as he snapped his head up to look at Alvin. "For now, let''s focus on her," His gaze softened as he looked at Alicia. "I believe whoever shot me has a hand in this too." "If they didn''t n to kill you? Why did they shoot you?" Alvin asked, still confused. With his gaze still on Alicia, he said, "Most likely to get rid of her. They must have thought it would be easier to get rid of her if I''m not there." "The Queen?" Alvin asked even though he thought it didn''t make much sense. The queen hated him. And if she had a chance, she would kill him and not mess around with him or his wife. "The threest attacks on me were not meant to kill me," Harold thought out loud as he remembered the attack on the first night he met Alicia. The second was when they were returning from the marketce, and then thisst one. They hadn''t tried to kill him. There was something else he didn''t know for now. But he could assume that the attack this time was to kill Alicia. "Every single person who knows something about this... make them gather at the pavilion. Double up the night guards. Anyone caught trying to escape... must die." Harold ordered, and Alvin looked at him hesitantly, wondering whether or not he should speak freely. "Say it!" Harold ordered, knowing that Alvin had something to say. "Princess Tyra... she said Princess Amber did it. What if this is simr to what happened thest time? I mean, on our way from the vige? What if she did it but doesn''t remember it?" Alvin asked, hoping that Harold would exin to him what was going on with his wife, as he had promised tost time. He could tell that there was something off about Princess Amber, but he couldn''t tell what it was and from the bits of the conversation he had heard her having with Paulina and also with Harold and Harvey, he could not make sense of it. Chapter 246 "First Prince?" Away from Harold''s chamber, everywhere around the pce was silent despite the movement of people to their various quarters and chambers. It seemed like everyone was walking on tiptoes in fear that if they made too much noise, Harold might locate them ande for them. Even the maids and guards were too scared to gossip about what had happened. Especially since they were still mourning some of their friends who had died. Neither the Queen, Ivan, nor Damon met to discuss anything as they ordinarily would have done. They were all feeling too embarrassed and disappointed to face each other, so they all returned to their chambers like dogs with tails tucked between their legs to reflect. Damon had never felt more humiliated in his life than that day. It seemed like both Harold and his wife specialized in humiliating and embarrassing him. The Queen, on the other hand, was feeling both angry, disappointed, frustrated and scared. She would be an idiot to dismiss Harold''s threat so easily, especially since she suspected that his wife might truly be innocent. If she was innocent, then why did Tyra say she was guilty? Did someone threaten Tyra to say otherwise? Or did Princess Amber really do it? The Queen mused, not knowing what to think. She had so many questions that were begging for answers. What was she going to do now? Meanwhile, Ivan was in a fit of rage. He broke everything breakable in his chamber as he yelled in frustration. Not only was Harold''s curse broken, but Harold was more powerful now too. If only his stupid mother had not angered the aristocrats, he could have counted on their support, but now he was at a disadvantage and it was all because she did not know her ce as a stupid, senseless woman. Williams, on the other hand, walked into their parents'' chamber and was startled when his mother jumped up from where she was seated and broke into a sob as she embraced him. "What is wrong?" Williams asked as he looked from his mother to Susan in confusion. Had she missed him that much? Wasn''t she the same person who had been bent on sending them off a while ago? Susan sighed, "Isn''t it obvious? Mother was worried about you. Now that you are here, let''s go," Susan said as she rose from her seat, and their mother turned to her in rm. She had never been so scared in her entire life, and despite all of Susan''s attempts to assure her that Williams was fine, she had refused to believe any of it until she saw him with her own eyes. And now they want to leave her sight again? "Where are you going to?" "You don''t expect us to spend the night here, do you? We have to return to our chambers. We are safe and everything is going to be fine. You don''t have to worry about us," Susan assured her mother confidently, d that they had chosen to be on the right side. She could move around the pce fearlessly now and go to bed without any worries because she was on Harold''s side. After hearing about everything Harold had done today from some of the servants, she couldn''t imagine how terrified she would have been right now had they not been on his side. Alvin would put in good words for her family, right? She earnestly hoped. They all turned to the door when it opened, and their father walked in with a worried look on his face, and immediately their mother left Williams to embrace him. She felt relieved to see that both her husband and children were safe. "Why did you untie them?" He asked in displeasure, and his wife shook her head. "I was going to send them home earlier but Prince Harold''s guard stopped us," she exined, not wanting to tell him the role Susan had yed in making sure Alvin had caught them. "You both must stay in this chamber with us until everything is over. I don''t want you out of our sight. And you must not invol..." "It''s toote for all of that, father," Susan cut in before their father could finish, surprising them all. "Prince Harold is awake now, and we are going to help him in proving that Princess Amber is innocent. I believe that she is innocent regardless of anything else you think. And I won''t let you stop us." Susan said confidently, and she looked at Williams for support. "I believe she is innocent too, father. Please do not try to stop us. We can not keep sitting on the fence because of you. If we don''t do anything, the wrong person will be punished, and then we don''t know who might be attacked or framed next," Williams said reasonably. "Didn''t you learn anything today? Prince Harold is perfectly capable of helping his wife. Don''t you know that already?" Their father asked, not wanting them to go anywhere near Prince Harold. "Princess Tyra already testified. Don''t you trust your cousin''s testimony? She is close to Prince Harold and wouldn''t dare lie against his wife," their mother said, but Williams shook his head. "Even if she did it, I think someone might have poisoned her with the Beta''s nightmare. If that is what happened, don''t you think she is innocent then? Just like what happened before?" Williams asked, and his mother''s eyes widened in surprise while Susan looked at him in confusion. How did she not know about this? He had found the potion? "How... did you know about the first Prince?" Their father whispered in rm, and turned to look at their mother, who he suspected must have mentioned it to them. "I didn''t know that was the reason he asked me about it," She exined weakly. "First Prince?" Williams asked in confusion and even his mother seemed to find what her husband had said strange and looked at him. "We only talked about the King''s brother. What... happened to the first prince?" The woman asked him curiously and that just seemed to get the attention of Williams and Susan too. What did Ivan''s older brother have to do with this? Chapter 247 "It Wasnt Me," Three pairs of eyes looked at the older man, waiting for him to answer. Williams had been referring to the incident his mother had told him about. The one involving thete king''s family. So what was their father talking about? "I was referring to the same person. The king''s brother was also the first prince," Williams'' father said, sounding a bit flustered before turning his harsh gaze at the three of them. "Stay out of this!" He warned them. Williams and Susan exchanged a look, obviously not buying it. But that was not the main issue now. "Father, we understand that the Queen is your sister and you don''t want to get involved in this, but we really have to do this. We need to find the person behind it," Williams said calmly, but Susan was done with being calm. "You can choose to support the queen. But we won''t stand back like you did and let them kill our friend¡ª" "YOU---!" Their father eximed in disbelief as he looked at Susan with wide eyes. "How dare you talk to your father like that?!" Their mother shrieked angrily, going to stand in front of Susan, but Williams pulled her behind him. "That is the truth. How long are you going to sit on the fence for?" Susan asked and Williams turned to re at her, but she didn''t stop. "Everything is pointing to the fact that someone else is behind it. I am sure you know that too! Isn''t it suspicious that the kitchen maid who testified against Princess Amber is dead?" Susan added, and their mother''s eyes widened again. "The maid is dead? Where did you hear that?" Their father asked since he was yet to hear of it until now. Susan gave him a nod. "I heard it from someone reliable. Her body was found in the vige river. We know that you don''t approve of our friendship with Princess Amber because of the Queen, but even Tyra, who is the queen''s daughter, is friends with her. And I know that Princess Amber would have done the same for me if I was in this situation," Susan said, and their parents exchanged a look. Seeing how far they had gone in this made their parents worry. Even though they were worried and didn''t support their decision, they knew that there was nothing they were going to say or do to change their children''s minds, especially now that sending them away from the pce was out of the option. ******** Harold looked at Alvin, who was waiting for him to tell him the secret he was hiding about Princess Amber, without saying a word. What was he supposed to say to him? Where was he supposed to start from? That she was from the future? Or that she was from a line of witches? And they didn''t know where the real Amber''s soul was? It was tooplicated, and this was not the time for that. Harold headed for the door. "I want to see Tyra," Although Alvin was disappointed that Harold wasn''t telling him anything yet again, he pushed that thought aside. Harold had said he would tell him, and if he wasn''t saying it now, it meant that this was not the right time. They had more pressing issues to take care of. "Your highness," Alvin called in a tone that told Harold that he was about to receive advice he wouldn''t like. Harold paused and looked at him as he waited for him to speak. As much as he liked doing as he pleased, he valued and trusted Alvin''s counsel. "It''ste already. I think you should rest for tonight and stay with her instead," Alvin advised. "You can meet Princess Tyra at dawn. And I will make sure no one leaves this pce tonight. You should stay with her," he said, looking at the bed where Alicia was sleeping. She seemed to be a lot morefortable nowpared to earlier. Harold nced at her. He also didn''t want to leave her for even a second. After pondering it for a minute, he gave Alvin a nod as he returned to the bedside. He could always attend to other matters tomorrow. For now, he had to stay with her. He also felt tired. He had never used so much energy before in his entire life. Just like everyone else, he had no idea what had happened to him earlier either. But one thing he knew for sure was that it had something to do with Alicia. So with Alvin gone, he climbed into bed with her, hugging her as she slept in his arms. He tried not to hold her tight because she seemed to be in pain everywhere. "Harold?" She called, surprising him. "Are you awake?" He asked softly as he tried to look at her face, but it seemed like she was still sleeping. When he was about to give up, she called his name again, as though trying to be certain he was still there. "I''m here," he assured her when she said his name a second time. "Thank you," she said before falling into a deep sleep. He was exhausted, but he could not sleep. Why would he? He had been sleeping for the past few days, and also, he had a lot on his mind. He wasn''t only thinking about what had happened to them all, but something entirely different. How had she been able to get into his head? He knew she was from a line of witches, but he hadn''t had a personal encounter with one before her. So he wasn''t sure how much of their abilities woulde as a surprise to him or his kind. But that had surprised him. With her in his arms, he tried to test out what he had done before. To get into someone''s head. If this could work out, then he was a lot closer to catching the real culprit. But then again, what if Alicia had truly done it? "It... wasn''t me," Alicia said in her sleep, causing him to look down at her in surprise. Chapter 248 "You Were Brave," Paulina groaned in pain as she slowly opened her eyes. It felt as though a boulder was crushing her entire body. Her eyes and throat were hurting so much. She guessed it was from all the crying and screaming. "You are awake," she heard a familiar voice beside her and turned her head to the side to find Williams sitting on a chair beside her bed, his legs crossed. Paulina looked surprised to find him there and opened her mouth to speak, but found it difficult to do so. He reached for a small bowl and spoon on the tiny stool beside him before he stood up and went to feed her the liquid that tasted terrible. She hesitated, but he just left the spoon between her lips, waiting for her to open her mouth, and she reluctantly did. She winced when the bitter taste sent shivers down her entire body, but surprisingly, after a few spoons, she felt a little bit better. Without saying another word, Williams turned back and dropped the bowl on the stool before he went to sit down and crossed his legs. Paulina felt very awkward and ufortable and wasn''t sure what to say to him. She slowly moved her head to the window side and noticed it was already nighttime. "I am d you are alive," he said calmly, pulling her attention back to him. "You haven''tpleted my painting," he added. Paulina smiled nervously and looked at her hand. "Isn''t... it time for bed?" She asked before looking back up at him. "I wanted to see how you''re doing first," Williams said, and there was a small silence between them since Paulina did not know how to respond to that. "So you killed Beth?" He asked, startling her. She raised her head to look at him, eyes shining with horror. Williams suddenlyughed. "You were brave." "I... didn''t k¡ª" "I was talking about yesterday." He interrupted. "Oh..." she pursed her lips when she remembered what he was talking about. "I put my mistress in trouble." She said sadly. "I don''t think... that was bravery." "Not every maid can do what you did," he pointed. "Risking your life for your mistress. Although it almost didn''t end well. But that was lovely." He smiled at her. Paulina didn''t know how to feel about that, so she just looked down. "It makes me envious." He paused. Paulina raised her head to look at him in confusion. Why would he be envious? "Envious to the point where I want to steal you from her." She blinked several times, still confused as she began to speak quietly, "Uh... my Lord... I can''t... serve two people at the same... time," Paulina said timidly. Williams''s lips twitched in amusement as he said, "I know." He stood up from his seat and patted her head, making her withdraw instinctively. "Sleep well," he said, not at all offended as he left the room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Susan, resting her back on the opposite wall with her hands folded across her chest. She pushed herself off the wall as he closed the door. "I knew I was going to find you here," she said, giving him a knowing look. "Are you not supposed to be in your chamber now?" He asked as he walked away from there. "Yes. But I had questions and I was also curious to know where you had hurried to immediately after we left father''s chamber." Susan said as they made their way down the hall, not minding how lonely and quiet the whole pce was. It seemed like they didn''t even need to ring the bell to keep everyone in their chambers tonight. At least they were both grateful that the people responsible for thenterns had remembered to light them up before retiring for the night. "So... Paulina¡ª" "What did you want to ask?" Williams said, cutting her off. "Beta''s nightmare. What is that?" She asked curiously, leaving that topic for another time. Williams looked around to be sure it was just the two of them before he told her what their mother had told him when he asked. Susan looked thoughtful as he exined how it worked for different species. "If it is capable of killing Omegas, doesn''t that mean it can also kill humans?" "I don''t know. Mother doesn''t know how it works on humans either." Williams said honestly. He had also thought about it. If the potion could kill humans, Princess Amber was a human and she was a weak woman, yet she had survived it. Susan suddenly remembered something, and her eyes lit up as what happened earlier began to make sense to her. "Don''t you find it odd?" She asked thoughtfully. "What do you find odd?" Williams asked, wondering what she was talking about and why she couldn''t just ask her question directly. "What father said. I don''t think he was referring to thete king''s son," Susan said thoughtfully, and Williams shook his head before looking around them again. "Why are you never careful with your words? Do you want to get us in trouble?" He asked with disapproval, and Susan pped a hand to her mouth. "I''m sorry. I was just lost in thoughts," Susan said, and Williams sighed. Of course, he understood. He only wished she would be more mindful of their environment before speaking. Especially at a time like this when everyone was tense. "You are going to your chamber, right?" Williams asked, hoping that she wasn''t going to be sneaking around tonight. "No. I have to see Princess Tyra and find out how she is doing, then see if I can check on Princess Amber too..." "You can''t," Alvin said, startling both siblings, who turned to see him standing behind them. They didn''t hear himing so howe he was so close? They mused, and Susan ran her hands down both sides of her dress as she looked at him. "Why not? How is she doing?" She asked, and Alvin shifted his gaze from Williams to her. Chapter 249 "I Still Doubt You," In the past, Alvin would have been unable to answer this question honestly, but now there was nothing to hide. It was no longer a secret that Prince Harold''s curse had been broken, and everyone also knew how much Harold cared about his wife. "She is still asleep. She is in Prince Harold''s chamber, and they both need to be left alone," Alvin said, and Susan nodded. "Of course, they should be left alone," she said with a nod, but deep down, she was relieved she wouldn''t be identally bumping into Harold tonight. Aside from the fact that she was still terrified about what she had heard about his transformation, thest time they spoke, he had been suspicious of her, so she needed to be careful. "I would like to speak with your sister alone if you don''t mind. I will escort her to Princess Tyra''s chamber," Alvin said, and Susan looked at him in confusion when she heard that, while Williams looked at them hesitantly. "Why?" Williams asked, switching to protective brother mode. But the one he was trying to be protective of gave him a stink eye. Williams looked at her in confusion while she jerked her head to the side, telling him to get lost. Alvin watched the siblings impatiently and cleared his throat, bringing their attention back to him. "Never mind then," he said and turned to leave, but Susan quickly stopped him. "I will speak with you!" Susan called after him and red at Williams onest time for him to leave. Williams scoffed loudly before ring right back at her and walking away. Alone with Alvin now, Susan smiled as she looked at him, remembering how he had saved her earlier. "Thank you for saving me," she voiced out her thanks. "I would have done the same for anyone." He said dismissively, making her frown. "But you are the only one capable of stealing from someone who saved your life." He added. "When did I steal from you?" She asked him angrily, her mood already bad. "You ran away with my medicine." He reminded her calmly. "I had to save my mother''s life!" She said defensively. "What if that was for me?" He asked her, frowning. "You are a strong man, so you can always survive." Alvin looked at her in disbelief. "You are... shameless." She snorted at him. "It''s too bad you are just realizing that now." She began to walk past him, but he remembered he hadn''t asked her the questions he wanted to ask her that had made hime to look for her, so he grabbed her arm just as she was about to walk past him, causing her to stop. She red at his hand that was holding her and then at his face and back at the hand again. Alvin quickly let go of her and went back to his usual serious mood. "Let''s talk," Alvin said and began to walk in the opposite direction, causing her to look at his back in confusion. "That is not the way to Princess Tyra''s chamber!" She called after him. "You cannot go to her chamber tonight." What? Why? Hadn''t he just promised Williams that he would take her there? "Tonight... it''s not safe." He said in a serious tone. "You can meet her when Prince Harold is done meeting her tomorrow. Until then, do not go to her chamber." "Oh..." Seeing she understood, he began to lead her towards her chamber, expecting her to fall in step with him or move ahead. "Apart from Sir Harvey and your brother, did anyone else work with you in trying to prove Princess Amber''s innocence?" Alvin asked, and Susan smirked as she looked at him. "I see that you no longer doubt me," Susan observed, and Alvin turned to look at her. "I still doubt you," Alvin said, and almost smiled when the smirk disappeared from Susan''s face as she stopped walking to look at him in disbelief. "Who else worked with you?" He asked once again, ignoring how hurt she looked by his statement. "Why do you ask?" "Can you answer questions directly?" Alvin asked, and Susan frowned. "When did you stop using honorifics?" She asked, and Alvin raised an eyebrow. "You started it first. If you are not going to answer my questions, good night then," Alvin said, as he turned around to walk away. Susan looked around them before stopping him. "I''m not sure if I should mention her name," Susan said in a whisper, and Alvin turned to her. "It is Prince Harold who wants to know. Don''t you think it''s better he knows those who are on his side?" Alvin asked even if they both knew that they were actually on his wife''s side and not exactly on Harold''s side. They were only doing this because she was Princess Amber, their friend. Not Prince Harold''s wife. Seeing how she was reluctant, Alvin made a mental note of everyone Princess Amber had associated with and his brow instantly shot up. "Is it Princess Luciana?" He asked, and Susan gasped. Wow! He was so smart! "How did you know?" She asked, looking at him with awe. "How did she help you when she is locked up?" Alvin asked curiously. "It''s best you don''t know the details. Now that you know those who are involved, can you tell me why?" She asked. "Every detail is important. I need to know who is involved and how they got themselves involved." Susan sighed. "She just gave us suggestions. She has been sneaking out in a maid''s dress." "A maid''s dress?" Alvin asked, alert. "I don''t think she has anything to do with the kitchen maid," she quickly said, trying to put him at ease, but Alvin was a naturally suspicious person and his suspicion antenna was already alert. "I will find out for myself. Send a message to every one of them that Prince Harold wants to meet with you all at the pavilion by dawn. Also, invite Lance," Alvin added. The mention of Lance made her shudder with his craziness. Alvin noticed but didn''t think much of it. "What about Princess Tyra?" Susan asked, wondering why he wasn''t talking about her. "Just as I mentioned earlier, Prince Harold will speak with her privately. Get the message across to everyone else," Alvin said before turning around to leave. "Where are you going to? We haven''t gotten to my chamber yet." She reminded him. "You are good at sneaking around. You should start from here and pass the message across to them." "Oh!" Susan murmured as an embarrassed blush stained her cheeks. "Good¡ª" Before she couldplete her sentence, Alvin had already walked far away from her. "Night," she muttered to herself. Chapter 250 Crazy Queen It was not surprising that while Harold slept peacefully beside Alicia in bed, some other people around the pce were unable to find sleep. On top of the list was Ivan. No matter how hard Ivan tried to sleep, he couldn''t. His mind was very troubled. And the few times he managed to doze off, he woke up immediately when he saw Harold''s red eyes and smirking face. So very early the next morning, before the crack of dawn, Ivan left his chamber and made his way to the Queen''s chamber. When he got there and found the ce empty, fear gripped him for a moment until he remembered that she could have gone to the king''s chamber, so he went there to find her. As he approached the King''s chamber, he almost sighed in relief when he saw some of the queen''s guards standing outside with the king''s guards, who were guarding the whole ce. He had been right. She was with the king. His presence was announced by Damian, and then he entered inside and closed the door behind him. Immediately he walked inside, his gaze fell on the Queen, who was seated on a stool beside the sleeping king. As he moved closer, he noticed that the king seemed to look even paler than thest time he saw him. "How is father?" Ivan asked in a quiet voice. She raised her head to look at him, and he noticed how terrible she lookedpared to the king. It was obvious that she hadn''t slept a winkst night. "He... is still not waking up," the queen cried before she suddenly stood up and gripped Ivan''s hands, startling him. "Do you also think this is all Harold''s n?" She asked anxiously. "What are you talking about?" Ivan asked in confusion, wondering whether she was talking about the king''s health. "He must have done it on purpose. He must have nned all this so that we would hurt Princess Amber and he would have a genuine reason to hurt us. He must have also poisoned the king so that he wouldn''t be able to stop him. This is all his n¡ª" "That doesn''t make any sen¡ª" With fear in her eyes, she shook her head and continued to ramble on. "He has been lying to us! His curse had been broken a long time ago. I sensed it. I suspected it. Do you think some mere arrows and wolfsbane are enough to keep him sleeping for days? Remember how he punished Beth thest time? He must have been waiting for an opportunity to kill her and now he is trying to put the me on us!" "COME TO YOUR SENSES!" He yelled at her and withdrew his hand from her grip harshly. "Do you think it makes sense that he would hurt Tyra or stay back and watch us hurt Princess Amber like that?" He shook his head at her in disbelief. "I don''t know what to think! Harold is going to kill us all if your father doesn''t wake up. He wants to kill us. He told me so," she said crazily, and Ivan shook his head in disappointment before remembering the reason he hade to find her. "What happened to Harold?" Ivan paused and looked at his father on the bed before he whispered, "You said he was going to be like that forever." "I told you something went wrong! I don''t know what is going on. I can''t even find her anymore. Do you think he found her? Maybe he reversed it and killed her?" The Queen asked uncertainly, her hands trembling as she spoke. "If he did, don''t you think he would have exposed you already?" Ivan asked with a scoff. How dare she call him names when she was so weak? Ivan mused as he watched her. He had never seen his mother look so scared and nervous before. She hurried to where her husband was and held the king''s hand in a tight grip. "You have to wake up as soon as possible." She cried desperately. He was the only one that could stop Harold from doing whatever he was nning to do to them. Seeing how his mother was acting crazy, Ivan left there and decided to return to his chamber. He needed to think since it was obvious that he couldn''t rely on her to be reasonable. What had he been expecting from a woman? Ivan thought as he walked away from there. By now, the day was already getting bright. Bright enough to see two arrows being shot directly at him! His eyes widened and he dodged the two arrows, but he wasn''t so lucky with the one that left a deep cut on his upper arm. He winced in pain and pressed his other hand on the wound, trying to make sense of what was happening. But he didn''t have the time to think about this before three men dressed in all ck and covering half of their faces with handkerchiefs showed up with swords and began to attack him at once. "WHO SENT YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?!" Ivan kept yelling as he tried to keep his eyes on the three assassins that were obviously after his life. He wasn''t prepared for this and wasn''t with his sword either, so it only took one blow before hended on the ground. His eyes shone as he saw a sword descending on him, and he immediately shut his eyes, waiting for it to strike, but after a few seconds, nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw Harold approaching from the opposite side with a smirk as dark as the ck robe he was wearing. He had his hair tied in a messy bun and his arms were behind him as he approached Ivan, while the three men who had attacked Ivan bowed to Harold before fleeing. Harold kept his gaze on Ivan as he got closer. "I''m disappointed that you were caught off guard. Father always taught us to be prepared," Harold said calmly as he stood before him and looked down at him, not bothering to crouch down to his eye level. So Ivan could only swallow his humiliation and look up at him. "The next time..." Harold paused. "You will not be so lucky." He concluded with an evil smile before he walked past Ivan. Ivan''s hands fisted beside him on the ground. He ignored the blood and pain from the cut on his arm because the anger and hatred he felt at that moment were far stronger than the pain. He rose and dusted off his clothes angrily as he watched Harold walk away. As angry as he was, he felt even more frustrated at the moment because he had no idea where to start in dealing with Harold. Chapter 251 Cry For Their Lives. Harold was ignorant of what his presence was doing to the kitchen servants as he stood there with his arms crossed after listing out all the things they were supposed to make for his wife so she could have a variety of things to choose from as soon as she woke up. He remembered every single meal she had enjoyed eating and those she winced at, so he listed them out, making sure they got the meals correctly. Those were the only meals the servants were allowed to make since Harold had put every other person in the pce on apulsory fast, making sure that every single eatable and drinkable thing was confiscated that morning. Since they had starved Alicia, it was only fair that they all had a taste of their own medicine, right? But things were not going so smoothly inside the kitchen. Imagine Harold showing up in the kitchen after everything they had heard he did the previous day, and some of them had been unfortunate enough to witness it. His presence there almost caused them all to have a heart attack. Even though he looked physically different from how he looked the previous day and his eyes were back to normal now, they could not stop thinking about that incident. How he had shifted, the size of his wolf, thunder rumbling behind him, how he ripped people apart, how he handled Damon and even made the queen shiver in fear while Ivan was nowhere to be found. The blood all over him and even his face, his red eyes, and the ck evil cloak. They could not shake it off. Every one of the kitchen servants was shaking in fear, and it was difficult for them to cook sessfully because of how their hands were trembling. "You don''t have much time," Harold said impatiently, because he had a lot of things to do today and didn''t want to waste his time here. But they all obviously took his words literally as a threat to their lives, and the maids started weeping in fear. The first person to react was the head chef, who cried loudly and fell on his face, making sure his forehead touched the ground. "HAVE MERCY ON US, YOUR HIGHNESS!" The other servants quickly went on their knees and cried for forgiveness too, making Harold look at them in confusion, wondering what was wrong with them. He tried to tap the head chef to get up, but at the same time, the man lifted his teary eyes and gasped in shock when he saw Harold''s hand descending to strangle him just like he had done to Damon the previous day. "YOUR HIGHNESS!!!! I AM SORRY!" The man cried out in a louder voice, causing Harold to step back, looking obviously frustrated as all their cries grew louder. "Your highness," Alvin called behind him as he entered the kitchen. "I think... you should step outside." He said,ing to the servants'' aid, but indeed, he wasing to Harold''s aid because he could not deal with all the cries right now. "You have an hour to prepare everything," Harold said to them before he stepped out of the kitchen in a hurry. A chorus of thanks echoed in the kitchen as they looked at Harold''s retreating figure and looked at Alvin with adoration for saving their lives. "One hour," Alvin reminded them as he stepped out, causing them to return to their senses. Immediately, they all stood up and began to run around to get everything in ce. Harold massaged his temples as he walked farther away from the kitchen. He seemed to be very sensitive to things now, and that noise had nearly set him off. "Is she ready?" Harold asked as soon as Alvin caught up with him. "She is," Alvin answered. Harold nodded when he heard that. "Let''s meet her." As much as he wanted to stay with Alicia until she was fully better, they didn''t have time. He had to gather as much information as he could now. Alvin led him to a hidden chamber that most people had no idea existed within the pce, and as soon as the door opened, the maid hurriedly stood up in fear. But the fear gripped her even more when she saw Harold. She had no idea what he had done the previous day, but she knew well about Harold''s personality and had seen what he had done to Beth because of his wife. Alvin had told her about what happened to Princess Amber and her sister''s hand in it. Was she going to survive this? Her shaking legs gave in and she fell to the floor in fright, even though Harold was just staring at her nkly without saying a word. Harold went to sit on the only chair inside the room, while Alvin stood by the door. "You will tell me the truth," Harold said calmly. He wasn''t asking her. He was telling her what to do, and she eagerly nodded as she turned to face where he was seated. "What is your name? And how were you able to trick everyone?" Harold asked with a nk expression. Fearfully, she exined to him. Her name was Agnes, 17 years old. She had a twin sister, Matilda. Her twin was the oldest and, unfortunately, an Omega. When they were born, their father had been disgusted. Firstly, he wanted a son. But not only did he get two daughters instead, but one was an Omega. He at least wanted to get rid of the Omega, but their mother had refused, and that was how they were all cut off. Their mother diedter, leaving them to fend for themselves. Or rather, leaving Agnes to fend for the two of them since no werewolf would ept an Omega as abourer since they would rather employ humanbourers than Omegas. Humans didn''t own jobs in the Moon Kingdom, much less employ Matilda, so there was no way her sister could be useful. It wasn''t easy for them, especially buying the medicines and special masks for her sister to help improve her health, to help her not go into heat, and to help conceal her scent. They had settled on a particr wooden smell that was almost simr to Agnes'' own, so that people wouldn''t know she was an Omega. Their luck came when Agnes got a job in the pce. But things were not as easy as they had expected because she couldn''te and go as she pleased. She could only be permitted to leave the pce once every sixty days. She hadn''t been aware of this until she got the job. And she couldn''t just quit easily. Leaving her Omega sister alone for that long was not possible. Fortunately, she was among the kitchen servants who were permitted to leave the pce for the purchase of food items. From there, she sneaked out to meet her sister, only to find her in a terrible state. Matilda could feel a bad breakdowning and needed medicine as soon as possible. Aside from the fact that it was very expensive, it was difficult to get. Agnes was out of time and needed to hurry back before they realized she was missing. That was when the thought hade to her and she quickly exchanged her outfit with Matilda. In the pce, the servants and guards were given medicine for free for their health. They could even steal some of the supplies kept for Princess Tyra. Chapter 252 Agnes Albeit reluctantly, her sister had made sure to use thest cheap mask they had to change her smell before she followed the direction Agnes had told her. They promised to meet each other again the following week and swap back. Agnes had been so scared to send her sister off. She hadn''t been able to sleep the entire night, afraid they would catch her. Thankfully, she showed up the next time, looking a lot better. Matilda had liked the feeling of working for the first time in her life. And was sad to give it up. She had also been happy about essing so many free medicines and meals. That was how everything had started. She promised to let her switch back the following week, and it happened again. But when her sister returned that following week, she noticed she was beginning to act strange. At first, the thought that urred to Agnes was that they had been caught, but Agnes had assured her that everything was okay and they were going to be making a lot of money, enough for them to be able to afford everything they wanted and get married. Agnes noticed she also became secretive and tried to stop Matilda from doing the switch again, but that caused problems between them when Matilda threatened to show up at the pce and reveal what they had been doing. At that point, Agnes was put in a tight position. It continued like that for several months until the period of the banquet. Agnes had been given her day off to go home for a day before the banquet. They both knew there was no way Matilda would be going to the pce in her ce during that period because she was definitely going to get caught no matter what. But her sister had stubbornly deceived her and gone to the pce. And now... she was dead. Agnes rounded up her story with a sob. "Have you ever had a personal encounter with Princess Amber?" Alvin asked when Harold just continued to look at her nkly, wondering who in the pce had been controlling her sister and even made her testify against Alicia. He was sure it wasn''t the queen. He didn''t think it was Damon either. Was it Ivan? Agnes nodded to Alvin''s question and looked down. "It was... when I... identally... spilled pig blood on her dress." That seemed to get Harold''s attention. "So that was you?" He asked, remembering that incident had made Alicia bathe in theke and asked Alvin to keep watch for her instead of him. "I am sorry, my Lord. It was an ident. I... never met her privately again. That was the first andst time!" She said nervously while crying. "It''s okay. People make mistakes." Harold said nicely as he stood up, making Alvin look at him suspiciously. That was certainly not from Harold''s mind, and the girl seemed to think so too because she kept her head down and sobbed silently. ,m "So no one noticed anything? That you are twins, not the same person. Didn''t the kitchen staff or the head chef notice any changes in your character?" Alvin asked, breaking the tension in the room. Agnes shook her head as she stuttered an answer in between her sobs, "We... always made sure to tell each other about... everything that happens while we... are on duty. We... leave each other notes," she responded. Harold continued to look at her without saying a word while Alvin continued the questioning. "Did you notice any changes in the way any member of the royal family treated you afterwards?" He asked, and she shook her head after pondering it for a few seconds. When Harold stood up immediately, she almost jumped from where she was kneeling and her sobs grew louder. "You will be needed soon. When that timees, you will only do as you are told." Harold said as he made for the door and left the room, ignoring Agnes, who couldn''t believe that she was still alive. Harold had a lot on his mind as he made his way to his next stop. He needed to see Princess Tyra before going to the pavilion where Alicia''s ''support team'' was waiting for him. He needed to get a full grasp of everything from their different perspectives. At the moment, the most prominent thing on his mind was what had happened the previous night. He wasn''t even thinking about his conversation with the maid like Alvin was suspecting as he walked behind him. How was Alicia able to hear his thoughts andmunicate with him that way? He understood that Amber was from a lineage of witches, but how was Alicia able to do that? Harold wondered. Although he had wanted to continue with the mind link and ask her some more questions, he had thought it best to let her sleep. He could always do that after she was well rested and recovered. "That is not the way to the pavilion," Alvin said when he noticed that Harold was walking in a different direction. "I should first hear what Tyra has to say," Harold said without stopping. "But they are waiting already," Alvin reminded him. "This won''t take long. You can let them know that I will join them soon," Harold said, and Alvin gave him a nod before walking away to do as he was told. As Harold made his way to Tyra''s chamber, he saw the royal physicianing from there, and immediately the physician saw Harold, his heart skipped a beat and he stopped in his path as he bowed deeply. "I suppose you areing from Princess Tyra''s chamber?" Harold asked, and the man gave him a nod. "Y-Yes, y-your highness." He stammered in fear. "How is she doing?" Harold asked curiously. "Try not to stutter," Harold warned. The man opened his mouth to talk and shut it before preparing himself mentally to speak freely. "She has a hard time epting that she almost got Her Highness killed after her conversation with Lady Susan was overheard. She doesn''t speak to anyone and is always crying," the man said with his head down. Harold''s brows pulled together when he heard that. "Have you noticed anything strange about her since you started treating her?" Harold asked, and the man considered Harold''s question. "Anything strange?" The man repeated more to himself than to Harold and quickly shook his head when he met Harold''s gaze. "If you ever suspect or notice anything strange about her or anyone who visits her, let me know," Harold said and was about to walk past the man when the physician remembered something and told him about it. Something that made him more suspicious and confused. Chapter 253 Support Team Meeting When Harold got to her door, he noticed how empty the entire hallway was. There wasn''t a single guard there. He knocked on the door gently and didn''t have to announce it was him before the door was pulled open and Tyra fell into his arms, embracing him tightly as she cried. "You have no idea how relieved I am to see that you are fine. How are you feeling now?" She asked with tears in her eyes as she hugged him, while Harold stood stiffly in her embrace. He was even surprised at the great impulse he felt to shove her away. He had no idea why the hug was irritating him this much, and even his wolf didn''t seem to like it. But he tried his best to fight the urge to push her away since he wasn''t sure how much impact it would have on her and now. And she was still sick. When she noticed how silent he was, she pulled away from the embrace and looked up into his face. "Is everything okay?" She asked as Harold continued to look at her with a nk expression. "Who hurt you?" Harold asked, and almost immediately, tears gathered in her eyes. She cried as she raised a hand to her lips. "I''m so sorry. I really didn''t want to tell them the truth. I swear to you. I didn''t want to, but then I was talking to Susan. I don''t know what came over me. Remembering it made me scared, so I didn''t think they would hear us." Tyra cried as she tried to embrace Harold once again, but he held her away from him and stepped to the side. "Did someone ask you to say this?" Harold asked, thinking that it didn''t make any sense that Tyra was insisting that Alicia was responsible when Alicia had told him she wasn''t. As far as she was concerned, what she said was the truth. "I would never lie to you. I swear to you, brother. She was acting crazy. I was so scared. I tried to stop her... but she pushed me away and stabbed me. She stabbed me!" Tyra cried and staggered back, cing a hand on her forehead. She almost fell, but fortunately for her, she didn''t. Because Harold didn''t move an inch from where he was standing and watching her closely. "You should get some rest," he said as he made to leave. "You trust me, right?" She asked hopefully, and Harold looked at her for a moment. Although Tyra was his sister, and he cared about her, Alicia... If Alicia said she was innocent, then she was innocent and Tyra was lying to him. What he just couldn''t understand was Tyra. Why was she lying to him? But it also seemed as though she was telling the truth. Harold said no word to her and just left the chamber, heading towards the pavilion where the others were waiting for him. Once he walked into the pavilion, they all stood from their seats, and his gaze moved from Luciana, who was humbly dressed in a simple dress, to Harvey, and then to Susan and Williams, before it finally settled on Lance, who was unexpectedly also dressed in simple clothing, causing Harold to raise his brow while Lance avoided eye contact. Wasn''t it an irony that the fathers of each of them gathered there were members of the assembly, yet while they believed that his wife was guilty, their children were working behind the scene to prove her innocence? Okay... maybe not all their children, because he still had no idea what Lance was doing here. Harold didn''t ask them to sit. He stood there scrutinizing each one of them, and from where he stood, it seemed like they were holding their breaths, and his silence only seemed to make them even more nervous. After what seemed like a long time, Harold finally spoke, "Does any of you think she did it?" He asked as he watched them closely, and they all looked at each other, no one was willing to speak first. "I don''t think Princess Amber is capable of doing anything like that," Susan spoke first since she was more like the head of the little group. "I believe she is innocent too," Luciana said quietly. Harold looked at Harvey, "What do you think?" He asked since among everyone gathered there, only Harvey knew about Alicia''s secret. Harvey held his gaze for a moment before he said, "She is innocent." Harold gave him a nod before looking at Williams and Lance as he waited for them to speak. Lance wasn''t sure if it was wise to speak since he was still very terrified of what Harold might do to him if he heard that he had hesitated for a moment in testifying in favour of his wife. "I don''t think Princess Amber is capable of doing that. But if Princess Tyra is right, then it is possible that Princess Amber must have ingested the beta''s nightmare," Williams answered honestly, and Harold arched a brow as he watched him, while the others who had never heard of the beta''s nightmare, stared at him in confusion. "The beta''s nightmare? What is that?" Harvey asked with a confused frown, and they all listened as Williams told them he had confirmed the symptoms with his mother. Since everyone knew his mother''s lineage were physicians, they could trust the words. "... What I find difficult to understand is why something capable of killing an Omega would have such an effect on a human," Williams said, and Harvey exchanged a look with Harold, which Alvin noticed. "So someone poisoned me?" Lance asked in disbelief at the thought that someone would actually try that. "You were just unfortunate to eat it. It wasn''t meant for you, remember?" Susan reminded him as she tried not to scoff at his inted ego. "I think someone made the biscuit with it and gave it to her on purpose. But I''m also wondering why Beth wasn''t at the hunt and why she was in the pce at that time," Williams said thoughtfully, drawing their attention back to the main thing. "So you think she did it?" Harold asked calmly, and Williams'' heart skipped a beat. Harold''s calm voice seemed to be even scarier than when he appeared angry. Because then, one wasn''t sure what he was thinking. Nervously, Williams began to exin, "I am only trying to say that..." Susanughed nervously to break the tension and interrupted Williams. "No, your highness. He doesn''t think so. If he had, we wouldn''t be sitting here right now. We are only trying to find clues to prove that she is innocent," Susan rushed to exin, and Harold looked at her with a nk expression. He never would have imagined that the queen''s niece and nephew would end up bing his allies. Maybe Susan was the wrong person to be wary of within the pce? "Is your father aware that you are doing this?" Harold asked, and the twins exchanged a look, not sure what answer to give. Seeing their reluctance, he seemed to get his answer. They were doing this without his permission. Whether or not he was aware of it Chapter 254 "For Now..." Harold turned his attention to Lance before he sat down at the head of the table while the others remained standing, except for Lance, who moved to sit down, but when he noticed everyone else was still standing, he paused mid-air before straightening himself back up. "You didn''t answer my question," Harold said to him, making Lance''s heart skip a beat. He had thought that Harold had forgotten about him. Lance swallowed as he avoided eye contact with Harold. There was only one wise answer to give right now. "No. I don''t think she did it," Lance said, and Harold raised an eyebrow. "Why not? I can understand why everyone else might think that. But you are not close to her enough to think that way," Harold said, making Lance''s heart beat even faster. He really didn''t like being put in the spotlight like this. "Everyone says kind things about her, and I don''t think she is strong enough to defeat a Beta like Belt¡ª" "BETH!" Susan and Williams'' corrected at the same time. For the umpteenth time! While Alvin, Harvey, and Luciana held back theirughter. If even someone as stupid as Lance thought so, why did the members of the assembly not consider that? Why had they all been in a hurry to sentence her? Harold thought with annoyance. Seeing how Harold''s intense gaze was still on him, Lance sighed in frustration. "Okay... I was annoyed at Be¨Cth. But I did not kill her. In case you think I have a hand in this." "How do we believe you when you don''t even remember what happened?" Luciana asked, still suspicious of him. "How do you believe Princess Amber is not responsible when she doesn''t remember anything and her clothes were covered in blood when she was arrested?" He snapped back. "How did you know about that if you were not there and you were locked in your chamber the entire time?" Luciana asked back, engaging him in a quarrel. "People talk! The news has been everywhere. And I had a long discussion with my father. Do you know how my father almost killed me just because of my involvement yesterday? I can''t believe you are doubting me!" He scoffed in disbelief. Yes, his father had almost killed him. But at the same time, his father was grateful to him for interrupting at the right time. Because what would Harold have done to all of them if she had died? Talking about his father seemed to remind Alvin about Benedicta, and he looked at Harvey, wondering how his sister was doing after the incident yesterday. He hoped she would remain unconscious for a few days. He didn''t like seeing thatdy at all. Lance looked at every one of them that were still looking at him as though they suspected him, and he sighed loudly. "I told you before. I didn''t kill her. I know I hit her during the day on that day, but that was because I was already in a bad mood before I bumped into her harassing some maids about Princess Amber. I became angrier because she is a maid. So why was she treating other maids as if they were a lower ss than her when they were all the same kind of people?" Lance asked them all, as though he was waiting for them to support his statement, but when no one said anything, he went on, "Also, Princess Amber was a little nice to me and seemed to adore me since she knows how important my family and I are to this kingdom. She even gave me those biscuits, so I felt I should just use the opportunity to pay her back in a good way." "If I had known those biscuits would cause me this trouble, I wouldn''t have taken them from her," he muttered thest part. Or rather, he wouldn''t have tried to bully her in the first ce. His nosiness had gotten him involved in all this now, and there was no way he would be able to get out of this easily. Everyone just listened to him, but no one said a word as they waited for Harold to speak. "Sit," Harold said, and they all sat down hesitantly, while Harvey looked at him curiously. "What about you? Do you think she did it?" Harvey asked, making everyone look at him, wondering if he had a death wish. "She didn''t do it," Harold said with so much confidence that everyone looked at him with interest. "How did you know?" Susan asked, forgetting her fear for a moment. "She said she didn''t do it," Harold said, even though he knew they were not exactly expecting an exnation from him. After hearing how they had all tried in their various ways to help his wife, he felt that he owed it to them to be open. They had thought that maybe she had remembered something, but hearing the vague answer made them almost sigh in disappointment, but they didn''t dare try it. "Has she regained her memory?" Williams asked curiously. Maybe if she had, then this answer would have made a lot of difference. "Does that mean the biscuit was not poisoned? Then what happened to us?" Lance asked without waiting for an answer, and they all looked at Harold as though he had the answers to all their questions. "I can''t answer your questions. At least not yet. We will have to wait until Princess makes a full recovery," Harold said, and no one missed how he had referred to her. Why did that "Princess" sound so much different from the normal "Princess"? "What are you going to do now?" Luciana asked quietly, and Harold looked at her curiously, wondering why she was taking Alicia''s side. Even though he understood that she was currently on bad terms with Ivan, he knew that she would still benefit more from Ivan being king than from him being king, so why was she taking this risk? Was it just because Alicia had been good to her? Or was she trying to get back at Ivan by taking their side? "For now..." Harold started before looking at Alvin, who came forward and dropped five little new daggers on the table in front of them, as well as a small bowl. "Swear on your lives," Harold said as he waited for them to pick one each. He would have used just a dagger and made them all share it just like it was normally done, but if Alicia heard of it, she would resume those boring lectures and berate him for sharing sharp objects just like she had done in the past. Something about contagious diseases. He didn''t want that. Chapter 255 The Oath Harvey, Susan, Wiliams, Luciana, and Lance knew that as soon as they swore on their lives to be truthful to Harold and work together to make sure the culprit was found, they wouldn''t be able to turn back. "You have the chance to leave now," Harold said as he watched each of them calmly. Each of them exchanged nces between themselves, but the longest was between Susan and Williams, who knew what this meant for them. Lance, on the other hand, wanted to leave. He kept looking around for someone who was going to stand up first so he would follow suit, but neither of them did. Harvey reached to pick up one of the daggers, and as soon as he took it, Alvin appeared beside him and snatched it from his hand, causing Harvey and the others to look at him in confusion. Alvin ignored their looks and simply pushed the bowl close to them before he opened his palm for Harvey to give him his hand. Harvey opened his palm, and at once, Alvin drew the tip of his dagger on Harvey''s palm, drawing out blood and letting it drop into the bowl before giving the dagger to Harvey as the token of his oath. Although Harvey didn''t flinch, Luciana, Susan, and Lance winced and began to have a double mind about this. The next was Williams, who opened his palm, and Alvin did the same before he moved to Luciana, who reluctantly opened hers. Alvin didn''t consider that she was ady and just went on to do the same, causing her to cry out in pain while Susan shifted in her seat and looked pale. The two people left were Lance and Susan, who were now looking pale. Seeing as he was supposed to be the man here, Lance opened his hand. It seemed like Alvin had a special dislike for him because his cut was deeper, causing him to also cry out and let out some swear words. Thest was Susan. Alvin went to stand in front of her, and it was very obvious from the look in her eyes that she was scared of doing this. She turned her attention to Harold as she said in a shaky voice, "You... have to promise you will spare our families." Everyone else looked at Harold hopefully as they waited for his answer. "Your parents and siblings," he paused, "I will... try my best." Even though that was not an assurance, for someone like Harold, it was enough for them. Alvin opened his palm for her to ce hers on top, and she hesitantly reached to ce her smaller, delicate hand, which was shaking so much, on top of hisrge rough one. "You can close your eyes," Alvin spoke for the first time, and even after she shut her eyes, he still waited for a few seconds before gently stabbing the tip of the dagger to the tip of her thumb, making her wince in pain. No one had been talking before that, but it seemed as though the ce waspletely silent. Alvin looked around and noticed how all eyes were on him. Even Harold was looking at him with a raised brow, and his gaze kept moving between Alvin and Susan in confusion. Williams and Harvey were watching him curiously while Lance had an annoyed frown on his face. Luciana had her mouth open in disbelief as she looked at her palm and looked at what Alvin had done to Susan. Susan also seemed to notice the silence, and as soon as she opened her eyes, Alvin seemed toe to his senses, and he quickly drew the cut line on her palm, making her cry out loudly. "YOU LITTLE--!!!" She couldn''t find anything to call him as she looked at her hand, where she now had two cuts. Alvin moved away from her as soon as he finished adding her blood to the bowl and went to stand beside Harold with a straight face. Immediately they were done with the meeting and Harold walked out of the pavilion, Susan rose, wanting to speak with Alvin. She understood that he didn''t like her. But how could he give her two cuts?! But before she could catch up with him, Lance appeared in front of her with a wide smile, causing her to halt. Thankfully, she didn''t bump into him. Susan scowled at him and tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path again. "What?" She barked at him, causing Harvey and Luciana, who had been about to leave, to look at them with interest. Not minding her cold tone, Lance still smiled at her. "We are on the same team now," he said, and Susan eyed him with displeasure. "Therefore?" Susan asked irritably, while Williams tried not to chuckle as he enjoyed the scene from his seat. "So we should be closer, don''t you think so?" Lance asked hopefully, and Susan tried not to look too disgusted at the thought of being close to a conceited person like Lance. "No, thank you," she said with a shake of her head. Thest thing she wanted was to be close to someone like him. That he wasn''t guilty of Beth''s death as she had thought, didn''t mean she now thought highly of him. As far as she was concerned, her opinion of him was still the same. She turned to Williams, using her eyes to tell him to save her, but he turned away as though he didn''t see her. "Why not?" Lance asked, not deterred by her unfriendly tone or attitude. "Because I don''t like you and I don''t want to have anything to do with you," Susan said as she walked away from there in quick steps. "That is impossible! I am very charming!" Lance said as he hurried after her. Williams chuckled under his breath as he watched Susan hurry away with Lance trying to catch up with her. Ordinarily, he would have stepped in to save her from Lance, but after the attitude she had put up the previous night when he tried to protect her from Alvin, he had no intention of interfering in her business anymore. She was going to have to sort out her problems with Lance on her own, Williams thought as he stood from his seat and gave Harvey a nod before walking away from there while thinking about going to check on Paulina to see how she was doing. Since she was a maid, he doubted that anyone would be by her side, especially not when Princess Amber was in bed herself. Chapter 256 "If You Can," Seeing that the show was over, Harvey rose to leave and turned to look at Luciana when he noticed her presence. It was just the two of them there. "Is Lady Susan not supposed to be your betrothed?" Seeing that she had gotten Harvey''s attention, Luciana asked. "Are you not supposed to be Prince Ivan''s wife?" Harvey asked, making Luciana''s brows pull together. "What does that have to do with my question?" She asked in confusion as she tried to find the connection. "What is your question?" Harvey asked, feigning ignorance, and Luciana eyed him with mild annoyance. "Why are you letting Sir Lance chase after her that way? I think he fancies her," Luciana said, and Harvey merely looked at her without saying a word. Before now, he had never had any reason tomunicate with her in any way until they had met in Susan''s chamber the previous day, so he couldn''t understand why she was asking him questions as though they were friends. Seeing that he wasn''t going toment on that, she continued, "If you are not interested in Lady Susan, why did you join us? Why were you in her chamber?" She asked curiously since she had assumed that Harvey had sneaked into Susan''s chamber and was helping them because he was interested in Susan. "Do you always ask so many questions?" He asked with disapproval as he headed for the door and Luciana followed him. "Only when I need to be sure about something. I want to understand why you are on Prince Harold''s side. You don''t have any reason to be," she said, and Harvey paused. "Perhaps if you exin to me why you are on Prince Harold''s side while you are married to his half-brother, I might tell you why I am on his side," Harvey said, and Luciana shrugged. "I''m no longer married to Prince Ivan. He is getting married to your sister. Don''t you know that already?" She asked, wanting to also use the opportunity to find out how Benedicta was doing since she had heard from her maid that she had gotten hurt while trying to stop Harold. Harvey almost sighed when he remembered that Benedicta was getting married to Ivan. Here he was swearing allegiance to Prince Harold while his sister was getting married to Ivan. He could never understand that sister of his. One minute she was talking about getting married to Prince Ivan, the next she was badmouthing Princess Amber and Harold as though she was still interested in Prince Harold, and then there she was getting in the path of an enraged Prince Harold to stop him. As what? Who did she think she was to Prince Harold to have done that? Harvey mused, and then his brows pulled together when he remembered that thest time he had seen her before leaving for the pavilion that morning, she had still been unconscious. He hoped she would return to her senses as soon as she woke up. "I wish I could entertain your questions, but I have important things to attend to," Harvey said as he hurried away from there, leaving Luciana, who scowled at his retreating figure, before walking in the opposite direction to her maiden chamber. Just like Princess Amber had her chamber, she also had hers. But she had always lived in Prince Ivan''s chamber with him since she always had to tend to his needs. Thanks to being on Prince Harold''s side, she could now boldly move back into her chamber. To hell with repentance. As she headed for her maiden chamber, she paused when she saw Ivaning from the royal infirmary and walking towards her direction. Before she could turn around and walk in the opposite direction, he saw her. Ignoring him, she continued on her way. "Stop!" Ivan called out authoritatively when he saw her. He was in a foul mood, and he was even angrier now that she was ignoring him. He had returned to his chamber after his exchange with Harold that morning, expecting to see his breakfast already served, and he was told that there was no breakfast. As if that was not enough, the guard he had sent to get the royal physician had returned to inform him that the royal physician had refused toe to treat his wound, stating that Prince Harold had ordered them not to treat anyone else. Not only had he banned the kitchen from making them food; he had also asked the royal infirmary not to attend to anyone else in the pce apart from Princess Amber, Paulina, and the king. And now even his own wife was ignoring him? That was uneptable! Luciana''s first impulse was to keep walking and just ignore him, but knowing how huge his ego was, she knew that he would most likely ask his guards to stop her if she didn''t listen to him. Luciana heaved a sigh as she stopped in front of him and gave him a polite bow. Concern flickered in her eyes when she saw the wound on his arm, but she looked away from it, reminding herself that Ivan was no longer her business. He had his new wife to worry about him if he was wounded. "Why are you out here when you should be repenting?" Ivan asked with an annoyed look. "What am I supposed to be repenting of? What did I do wrong?" Luciana asked, and Ivan''s eyes almost bulged out in surprise at her tone. "It was a royal order..." "From who? The King didn''t order me to do that," Luciana challenged. "How dare you!" Ivan yelled at her, and Luciana tried to hold back her snort to no avail. "I never knew your voice could be this loud. I wonder why I didn''t hear it yesterday," Luciana said, and Ivan''s eyes zed with anger as he stepped towards her to hit her. "Prince Harold has ordered me to return to my maiden chamber. That is where I will be staying henceforth. If you have a problem with it, you should confront Prince Harold." With a cold smile while tilting her head to the side, she added, "If you can," Luciana said with a cold smile before walking away, leaving behind a very angry Ivan. Chapter 257 "I Swear On My Life!" ? After Susan was able to escape from Lance, she made her way to Princess Tyra''s chamber to check on her and find out how she was doing. As she went there, she thought about what Harold had said about Princess Amber being innocent, and she couldn''t help the frown that creased her brows at the thought. Would it be wise to ask Princess Tyra about it again? Perhaps now that Prince Harold was awake and there was no pressure on her anymore, she would be able to tell the truth? Susan mused. If their suspicion was true, and Princess Amber had been fed the Beta''s nightmare, then did that mean that it had been given to her to kill her? What exactly had been the n? Susan wondered as she knocked on Tyra''s door, and without waiting for Tyra to respond, she walked into the chamber. She was surprised when she found Tyra sitting on her bed with her head bowed and her chin resting on her drawn-up knees. Tyra lifted her teary eyes to the door when it opened, and when she saw it was Susan, she began to cry. Susan hurried to Tyra''s bedside and looked at her with concerned eyes. "What is wrong? Why are you crying?" Susan asked as she embraced her, trying her hardest not to hurt her already injured hand that was now wrapped with a piece of cloth. "Prince Harold doesn''t believe me. I can tell. I don''t know how to make you all believe me," Tyra cried, and Susan frowned as she consoled her. Did that mean that Tyra was insisting that Princess Amber had hurt her? And she hadn''t been forced to say so? Not hearing anything from Susan, Tyra pulled back and looked into her face, "I would never lie against Princess Amber, or try to hurt her in any way. She is not only my friend, but she is also Prince Harold''s wife, and I care about my brother''s happiness. I swear on my life." Tyra said desperately wanting Susan to believe her. "Can you tell me what happened that night?" Susan asked her, and when Tyra gave her a nod, Susan looked into her eyes and said, "Swear on your life that you will tell me the truth." "I swear on my life!" Tyra swore immediately and she began to narrate what had happened that night to Susan. She had been feeling sick. ording to Tyra, she was having a tough battle with her wolf since it was the full moon and her wolf wanted to shift desperately since it was the year she had turned 18 and was supposed to join the hunt. Susan would also bear witness that her Omega smell had been everywhere that evening, that even Damon had asked her to cover it up. So she stayed back that evening, with Prince Harold''s permission. The maid had also pleaded with her to let her serve her, and she couldn''t say no. Besides, she needed someone with her. She was just about to go to sleep when she heard a scream outside that jolted her awake. At first, she had ignored the scream, thinking it was just her ill mind ying tricks on her, but when she heard the scream a second time and saw that the maid had heard it too, she remembered that the only people in the pce were herself, the maid, and Princess Amber, as everyone else had gone for the hunt, so with the help of the maid, she went to the end of the hallway beside the staircase leading to the ground floor. That was where they saw someone holding a dagger. She had blood all over her as she stood over someone''s body, stabbing her repeatedly while the person was struggling weakly. She had almost crumpled on the floor in both fear and surprise because of the way her legs had been trembling, but the maid had held her up. When the person standing in front of the body turned around, they were even more shocked to see that it was Princess Amber, and Tyra was surprised when she realized that the person lying on the floor and struggling for her life was Beth. Since Tyra was familiar with Princess Amber and trusted that she wouldn''t hurt her, she had asked the maid to go find Prince Harold or anyone to help while she stayed back to talk Princess Amber out of killing her. Tyra began to tremble as she got to that part, and Susan held her close, wincing in pain when her hand began to hurt. "She... starteding towards me. It was like something else had taken over her mind... she... pointed the knife at me. And... and said it was my turn. Before... before I could do anything... she stabbed me!" "I was so scared. I didn''t know what happened to her. I don''t want any of this to happen either. I don''t even know how she was able to kill Beth. But that is the truth." "It''s fine. We will get to the bottom of this. You should focus on getting better so that your wound can heal up faster," Susan said as she continued to console her, not sure what else to say or do because at this point, she didn''t know who or what to believe anymore. She wished she could believe Tyra, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn''t ignore the fact that the maid who had witnessed everything with Tyra had gone missing immediately after testifying against Princess Amber, and had even been killed. Maybe if Princess Amber hadn''t been apprehended immediately and Prince Harold hadn''t been unconscious, they could have thought it was Princess Amber who had gotten rid of her, but that wasn''t the case. "I shouldn''t have said anything. Maybe if I hadn''t said anything to you, no one would have known about it, and Brother wouldn''t be mad at me. I don''t want him to be mad at me," Tyra cried, but Susan said nothing as she patted her back. There was nothing more to say. Chapter 258 There Is No Water After being unconscious for thest fifteen hours since her ungracious fall, Benedicta moaned softly as she slowly regained consciousness, "Mother?" She called out in a dry voice. "Mdy?" The maid, who was seated beside her, cried in relief immediately she heard her voice, and her mother, who was standing by the window, rushed to her side to confirm that she was awake. "How do you feel?" She asked with a concerned frown as Benedicta tried to sit up. "W-Water... I need... water..." Benedicta croaked out as she tried to adjust her eyes to the bright light. The maid quickly went to drop the curtains and exchanged an rmed look with Benedicta''s mother. Where were they going to get water from? They had all been worried about her because, despite the fact that Prince Harold had been responsible for her fall, they had been unable to get the royal physician to prepare any medicine for her. He had insisted that it was against Prince Harold''s order to treat anyone regardless of the family they belonged to. So there was no medicine, no drinking or bathing water, and no food for them either. So all they had been able to do since the previous night was massage her body with their regr soothing balm since they couldn''t even get a drop of water to keep down her fever. "Where is... it?" Benedicta asked as she looked at the maid in annoyance. "Mdy..." "There is no water to drink." Her mother exined with sympathy, causing Benedicta to frown in confusion. "Why? My body... aches," she groaned before falling back on the bed. "What happened to me? Where is the water? I need water." Benedicta said desperately with her eyes closed. It was a struggle to speak because her throat was dry and sore. Her mother sighed in frustration before looking at the maid. "Go and inform her father that she is awake," she ordered the maid, who bowed and quickly left before she turned her attention back to Benedicta. "What were you thinking? Why did you do something as foolish as trying to get in Prince Harold''s way?" Her mother asked in a scolding tone, despite her relief that she was awake and alive now. "Prince Harold?" Benedicta asked in confusion, and her heart skipped a beat when it all returned to her and she remembered what had happened. She had thought she was going to die at that moment when he flung her out of his way. How could Prince Harold do that to her? She hoped he was going to be disciplined for doing something like that... She paused when she remembered that he had been about to hurt the Queen. "What about the Queen and Prince Ivan? Did he hurt them?" She asked, and her mother shook her head. "They are safe. You didn''t have to step in. Your father is very furious," she said, and before Benedicta could respond, there was a knock on the door, and the door opened to reveal Harvey, who walked in. "How is she doing?" Harvey asked immediately he walked in. "She wants water," their motherined helplessly as she looked at him. "There is no water. There is nothing that we can do," he said to Benedicta dismissively before facing his mother. "Where is Father?" "He is in the bedchamber. I left him there to think. They need to find a way to sort this out." "It would be better if they didn''t do anything. Prince Harold is very angry." He said as he went to sit down. "Where have you been all morning?" His mother asked, but Harvey said nothing. There was no need to tell her that he had been with Prince Harold. He knew how she was going to react to that after what he had done to Benedicta. Harvey sighed, and without answering her question, he turned to Benedicta, "Why did you do that?" "No one was going to stop him. I had to try to stop him," Benedicta said, and Harvey scoffed. "Do you think that was bravery? You were being foolish and it almost cost you your life," he said, and their mother red at him. "Don''t be harsh on your sister! She just woke up and she is weak," she scolded, and just then the door opened and their father walked in. "Is there any hope of getting food or water?" Their mother asked as she rose from Benedicta''s side to meet her husband, but he shook his head as his gaze shifted from Benedicta to his wife. "Prince Harold has refused to see or speak with anyone," he said as he walked over to the bedside to look down at Benedicta, who was now crying softly. "Then he should let us return to our homes!" Their mother cried out in frustration. She had never felt more ufortable than she did right now. They needed to bathe, eat, and have water to quench their thirst. Why did they have to be caught up in the middle of the royal family''s drama? "No one is allowed to leave either. Don''t worry. We are still trying to see what we can do," their father promised before looking at Harvey. "Come with me," he said, and walked out of the chamber, expecting Harvey to follow him. ,m Once they walked out of the chamber, his father turned to him and said, "I learned that you shared tea with prince Harold and his bride some days ago," he said, and Harvey looked at his father, wondering why that wasing up now. "Yes, father." "You didn''t believe that his wife was guilty, did you?" He asked, remembering how Harvey had reacted when his sister was speaking ill of Princess Amber and Prince Harold. Harvey said nothing as he looked at his father, and his father sighed, "I''m not going to ask you what your rtionship with them is or why you are on their side, but..." "As one of the youngest members of the court, who has been with Prince Harold privately before, the elders want you to speak with him and see how we can end this." Chapter 259 Enraged Alpha Harold stood by the bed where Alicia was sleeping as he watched the head chef and some of the maids set several meals on therge table at one end of his chamber. Immediately they were done, they bowed to him and quickly exited the chamber. Once they left, he sat down on the bed beside Alicia and he looked down at her sleeping figure. He wanted her to wake up as soon as possible, but another part of him wanted her to remain asleep until she felt no pain anymore. He didn''t want her to bear the pain, he thought as he gently touched her hair. Alicia was now wearing a loose peach-coloured robe, and her hair was knotted at the back. He had ordered a female physician to clean her up and change her robe and had also instructed her to do the same for Paulina. Paulina. Although he hadn''t really liked how Alicia had been so attached to the maid to the point where she ignored him for her, but after learning how she had been willing to risk her life to save Alicia despite what she knew about Alicia, Harold had to admit that the girl wasn''t as bad as he had thought. And for Alicia''s sake, he was going to make sure she was fine. Looking down at Alicia, he was relieved to see that herplexion was looking much better than it had been the previous day, but despite that, he still could not stop the rage he felt inside of him. It was almost as if he could feel all the pain she had felt and was currently feeling. He was still very angry at himself and everyone else who had in one way or the other contributed to causing her such pain. He had promised to keep her safe, yet he had not been there when she needed him the most. He doubted she had ever gone through something as terrible as this in her world. He had asked her to stay here and promised to protect her. But he hadn''t been able to do that. And she had suffered. He would never have forgiven himself if anything worse had happened to her. Harold sighed as he reminded himself that she was safe now and he was never going to let the person behind her suffering go unpunished. For now, all he wanted was for her to recover. He wanted to see her smile at him again. Even though it was weird, he also longed to hear her swear and curse at him and call his name as only she could. Harold thought with a rueful smile that he didn''t even mind if she was going to do something troublesome like pull the queen''s hair. He wouldn''t put something like that past his troublesome princess. His brows pulled together when he remembered how she had yelled at him angrily thest time before the banquet when she had gotten angry because he refused to answer her questions about the moon kingdom being a kingdom of witch hunters. Could that have been the reason she was outside her chamber at that time of the night? Had she gone out because she wanted to confirm whether or not they were witch hunters and had gotten herself into that mess unknowingly? Harold mused. He wished he hadn''t gone hunting with the others that night. His original n had been to go out with them and sneak back into the pce to be with Aliciater, but then he got hurt and opened his eyes dayster. ,m Harold couldn''t help but wonder if she was having a peaceful sleep or not, as hey down beside her and held her to himself. He closed his eyes as he thought about the time when he had been unconscious and how he had woken up. Throughout the time he had been unconscious, his mind had been nk. He didn''t even dream. He had just been in a deep sleep until he began to feel his ears ringing intensely, causing him so much difort. The ringing sounds had slowly begun to make sense, and all he could hear were loud cries. After some time, he had finally been able to make out who the voice belonged to. It was Alicia. He had heard her begging him to wake up and swearing to never forgive him if he didn''t. It had made him begin to wonder what was happening in his sleep. Her cries had intensified, causing him a splitting headache that made him groan in pain. He had wanted to tell her he could hear her so she should stop crying. He had even raised his hand unconsciously to touch her, but it was as though she wasn''t there. "Wake up," his wolf said in a loud voice, and it was at that moment that his consciousness returned and his eyes snapped open at once. His wolf. How did he suddenlye back? He had thought that the first person he would see as soon as he opened his eyes was Alicia, but was surprised to find the room empty. Before he could wonder what was wrong, he could somehow feel her pain and distress and immediately got up. "Something is not right," his wolf said, and he just had to agree. Something was definitely wrong. He could feel it all around him, especially when his ears stopped ringing and everywhere suddenly seemed very silent. Harold''s thoughts were broken when a light knock sounded on the door. He knew only Alvin would dare do that, so he sat up and properly covered Alicia with the quilt before asking Alvin toe in. Immediately Alvin entered the chamber, he was weed by the delicious aroma of food, and his gaze moved to where the food was arranged before he looked at Harold. "Did you find anything strange?" Harold asked without looking at him. "Nothing yet, your highness. We have searched everywhere and gone through everything the king takes." "So you don''t think the king is being poisoned? It is all coincidence?" Harold asked, turning to look at him now. "I will keep looking," Alvin promised with a bow. "Tighten the security around the king and make sure neither the Queen, Damon, nor Ivan can go into his chamber," Harold ordered, and Alvin gave him a nod as he awaited further instructions. Chapter 260 Lending Back The Book Just as Harold was about to dismiss Alvin, he remembered what he had heard from the physician and turned to Alvin to give him further instructions. "I want you to also look into Damian. He seemed to have met with Princess Tyra a couple of times privately. Let me know why," Harold ordered, and although Alvin seemed a little confused about the instruction, he gave him a nod. "What about Sir Rager?" Harold asked him. Although he had been very tempted to kill Sir Rager when he heard that he had been in charge of Alicia''s torture the previous day, he had decided to exercise patience on it because, for some reason, Sir Rager had not been present at the torture hall when Alicia was about to be executed. Hence, he asked Alvin to find out why. "He is deeply affected by his daughter''s death. I heard from Paulina that he visited them in the dungeon," Alvin said and ryed what Paulina had said to him. Although Harold didn''t really care about Beth, he had great respect for Sir Rager as a warrior, and he wished things didn''t have to be this way. Regardless of how angry he was at Sir Rager, he couldn''t bring himself to kill the man for reacting that way to his daughter''s death. Knowing Alicia, he knew that she would be very angry if she woke up and heard that he did something like that to Beth''s father, regardless of whether or not she had been on good terms with Beth. "He would want to see you. I think you should let him pay you a visit," Alvin said when Harold didn''t say anything for some time. "I can''t do that until I have found the person responsible for his daughter''s death," Harold said and Alvin nodded in understanding. "I think it would make him feel better if he knew you were trying to find the person behind it. He has refused to bury her until her killer is executed," Alvin exined, and Harold sighed. "Alright. I will meet him. Arrange for us to meet at the royal garden," Harold said, and Alvin bowed to him before turning to leave. He hesitated for a moment when he remembered that there was something else he needed to speak with Harold about. "What is it?" Harold asked, and Alvin looked at him hesitantly. "Say it!" Harold ordered, and Alvin squared his shoulders as he summoned the courage to speak. "Does everyone have to starve?" Alvin asked cautiously. Harold turned to him as his brow arched. "You are excluded if that is what you are asking me." Alvin didn''t move nor say anything, so Harold kept his questioning gaze on him. "It wasn''t about you, was it?" Harold asked as he narrowed his gaze to look at him. "I was just saying¡ª" "Lady Susan?" Harold interrupted, causing Alvin''s head to shoot up to look at him in confusion. "What?" Alvin asked, wondering why Harold was talking about Lady Susan all of a sudden. "If you are not asking for food for yourself, then is it for her?" Harold asked patiently, and Alvin''s eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "What? No! Why would I? I was only talking about those who had joined us this morning. Since they have been trying so hard, I just think¡ª" "She was there too. So what are you trying to say? Do you want to get some food for her?" Harold asked, ignoring his frantic rambling. Alvin looked like he was about to explode in anger, much to Harold''s surprise. "I said it''s not her!'' Alvin snapped at him, and then took a deep breath to calm himself when he remembered he was talking to Harold. "I just think you shouldn''t starve those that are on your side," Alvin added through gritted teeth while ring at Harold, and Harold looked at him for a moment, almost amused. "Alright. Find a way to get some food and water across to them. Just enough food for them, not their family," Harold said with a nk face, resisting the urge to mention Susan''s name once again, lest Alvin decides to attack him. "And if you want..." Alvin paused and waited for Harold toplete his sentence. With a serious face, Harold said, "I could lend you back your book." Alvin looked obviously confused, not sure what Harold was talking about so Harold waved him off. He wasn''t sure what to make of Alvin''s behaviour. He had noticed how Alvin was beginning to show preferential treatment to Susan, and he didn''t know how to interpret it. Did he really not fancy Lady Susan, or was he just too dumb to know that he was beginning to fancy her? The Alvin he grew up with wasn''t the type to care about any person aside from him. Alvin could watch an entire vige getting ughtered and wouldn''t do a thing about it if it didn''t concern him, so seeing him suddenly giving Lady Susan a small cut and asking for food for the "group" was quite suspicious. Harold''s head snapped around in Alicia''s direction when she let out a soft moan, and tried to adjust, and immediately he sat up. "Harold?" She called to him sleepily. "I''m still here," he assured her softly, hoping she was going to wake up now, but unfortunately, she sighed contentedly when she heard his voice and went back to sleep, causing him to sigh in disappointment. As much as he wanted her to sleep peacefully, knowing she hadn''t been able to do so in days in that dungeon, he also wanted her to at least wake up and eat something. She had lost too much weight. He felt so bad. He wasn''t sure what else he was supposed to do. They had given her the best medicine, and he had also fed her his blood just like he had done the first time she came to this kingdom to help her wounds heal faster. And even though her wounds seemed to be healing faster, she was still not waking up and that bothered him. Chapter 261 Holding The Palace Hostage To say Ivan was furious would be an understatement. Ivan was boiling with anger as he made his way back to the king''s chamber to see his mother. Who did Harold think he was to make such orders? Why was everyone listening to Harold and not him? How dare they disrespect him in that manner? Even Luciana? How could his own wife talk to him in that manner? How could she take Harold''s side when she knew that Harold was his enemy? Without acknowledging the guards, Ivan headed straight into the chamber. He scowled when he saw his mother lying on the bed beside the king. How could she be so useless as to be sleeping at a time like this when Harold had taken the entire pce hostage? The kingdom was in a mess, yet the dearest Queen was sleeping! "Mother!" Ivan called harshly, and the queen''s eyes opened immediately, and she sat up when she saw him. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the blood stain on his clothes and the injury, "Did Harold do that to you?" She asked fearfully as she looked at him, and Ivan looked down at his wound with annoyance. He had no idea what Harold had applied to the arrow, seeing how it was taking so long for his wound to heal and he was still bleeding. He had been unable to wash off the blood because there was no water, and he couldn''t receive treatment either because despite going to see the head physician, he had refused to treat his wound. "Do you know that Harold has banned the servants from making food, and even the royal physicians refused to attend to me? There is no water anywhere for drinking or bathing. And even Luciana has left the quarters she was sent to and has moved back into her maiden chamber!" Ivan yelled irritably, ignoring his mother''s question. "He did?" The queen asked in surprise, and Ivan grabbed his mother''s shoulders and shook her hard. "Return to your senses! What are you doing lying down here when all our ns are being ruined?" Ivan asked, and the Queen looked at him, not knowing what to do. "What about Damon? Where is he?" She asked, and Ivan scowled. "I don''t know. I have not seen him since yesterday," he said irritably, hating how ipetent everyone was. Before either of them could say another word, the king''s special guards who had guarded Harold''s door while he was unconscious walked into the chamber with Alvin, and Ivan red at them. "What are you doing here?" He growled angrily, and Alvin stepped forward. ? "Prince Harold has ordered that no one should be allowed to stay in the king''s chamber until he has recovered. You both have to leave," Alvin said with a polite bow, and the corners of Ivan''s eyes hardened in anger. "I''m the Queen. He is my husband," the Queen reminded him as sheughed in disbelief. Have they all gone crazy? "It is Prince Harold''s orders..." "How dare you?" Ivan asked as he pulled out his sword, which he was now moving around with, and took a step forward, but Alvin didn''t flinch, and the Queen quickly grabbed Ivan''s hand to stop him. As much as she hated everything that was happening right now, she couldn''t do anything about it. She couldn''t even take the risk of confronting Harold, not after what she had seen the previous day. In order for them to survive and achieve their goal, they needed to stay alive and y safe. "Let''s leave," the Queen told Ivan quietly before returning to the king''s bedside. "No! What right does Harold have to ask us not to see father?" Ivan yelled, and Alvin looked at the guards, subtly asking them to escort the Queen and Ivan out. "Make sure you survive, my Lord. Please wake up," the Queen pleaded as she looked down at her husband, before returning to where Ivan was still yelling and making threats. "When I be King, I''m going to make sure I behead you myself! Just wait!" Ivan promised Alvin as his mother pulled him by the hand, while the guards followed them out. "Be calm. Let''s go and see Damon and find out what the aristocrats are doing about everything," she told him calmly. "I''m sure no one would let him continue this way for long." ******* It was as though the more time Harold spent beside Alicia looking down at her sleeping form, the more he couldn''tprehend what had given both the queen, Damon, and the aristocrats the boldness to do all of that to Alicia. Was it that he had be so weak and lenient with them that they had all forgotten who he was and treated his bride in that manner? How could they have done that to her knowing who she was? How could they inflict such pain on her? Harold mused as he looked into her peaceful face. These thoughts made him feel very angry all over again, and he really wanted to take his anger out on someone. Anyone. Unable to stay still, Harold stood up, making sure to not cause Alicia any difort before he walked over to the window to look out, as he usually did when he had a lot on his mind. To his pleasant surprise, just right outside his window, he saw two people sneakily feasting on something while taking turns looking around to make sure no one wasing that way. Since he had gone through every single updated book of aristocrats in the Moon Kingdom, he could easily identify who they were even without a close look at their clothing. They were both young masters from noble families. They were between the ages of eighteen and twenty. If they had been younger, Harold would have understood a little. But these young men were fit to be warriors, yet they were doing something this shameful while even maidens were left to starve. Chapter 262 Get Lost! Harold scoffed in disbelief as he watched them. He had given strict instructions for no one to eat anything. Not only had these fools disobeyed him, their hiding spot just happened to be outside the window of his chamber! He could understand why they thought it was safe. The ce was like a deserted spot. Even though Prince Harold''s chamber was on the second floor of the building, no one wanted to ever pass by that direction for fear that he would look down and find them. Thankfully he had been looking for someone to take out his anger on, and the fools had offered themselves to him on a tter. He couldn''t let go of the opportunity. If there was one thing Alphas hated in general, it was to be disobeyed or for their authority to be challenged. Harold''s eyes shed a bright red as his wolf awakened once again. "Stay," he ordered calmly as he continued to look at the boys. The two seemed to have felt the scary energy around them and paused to look around, searching for where it wasing from, until one looked up and gasped in horror, even falling to the ground as soon as he saw Harold. The other followed his gaze, and he looked like he was going to pass out soon. Things became even more difficult for him when he began to choke on the wild fruit. Harold smirked before he turned around and left his chamber. He could have easily used the window, but they were not worth that much effort. Harold took his time to gracefully walk out of the empty pce to meet them, knowing that they wouldn''t dare move from that spot. Alvin, who had been on his way to Harold''s chamber to inform him that he had set up the meeting with Sir Rager, followed Harold immediately he saw him, wondering what was happening this time. Alvin didn''t have to wonder for too long as Harold led him directly to the two boys, who were trembling as they waited for him. It was as though they were rooted to the spots where he had left them. Even if they wanted to disobey him, why didn''t they just hide in their chambers? He guessed they were being stingy and didn''t want to share with others inside. "I believe my instruction was clear enough?" Harold said calmly as he stood in front of them. The one who had fallen to the ground immediately went on his knees while the one who had been standing did the same and fell on his knees with their heads down, too scared to look at him. "My... Pr-- your highness. Have... have mercy on us." Harold ignored that one and looked at the other boy, who was shaking so much and finding it hard to say a word. "I hear your father was eager to have Princess Amber executed--" "Y-Your highness... I... my... my father would never do such an impudent thing!" He cried and ced his forehead on the ground in fear while Alvin watched from the side. "Ah!" Harold said, nodding slowly as he took a step forward. "I guess I''m lying then--" "How... can I dare think that your highness is ly--?" Before he couldplete his sentence, Harold grabbed him in a chokehold, lifting him from the group effortlessly. The other boy cried in fear while the one currently being strangled found it difficult to breathe and struggled as he was faced with Harold''s red eyes. Harold didn''t put much pressure on his hold, but instead, he just kept staring at the boy whose life was slowly seeping out of him. "Your highness!" Alvin called in rm, making Harold snap his head to the side to look at him angrily. Alvin''s eyes went to the window on the second floor behind Harold, and curiously, Harold followed his gaze. His heart stopped instantly when he saw her. She was awake. Alicia was looking down at them with a groggy and confused expression on her face. How was she even standing? Immediately Harold registered it, he looked away from Alicia, and out of impulse, he tossed the poor boy to the side and shut his eyes. "Stop crying and run away with him," Harold ordered with his eyes closed. The other boy didn''t need to be told twice. He looked up at the window and back at Harold before he hurried to where his friend was and helped him up, even as he tried to catch his breath. But there was no time for that. They were about to stupidly run past the window direction when Alvin red at them, and they took the other route immediately, crying and running for their lives. ? Harold turned to Alvin, and even Alvin could tell how anxious Harold was because he could hear his heart beating very fast as he looked at him. "How are my eyes?" Harold asked. "Very red," Alvin said apologetically as his eyes travelled back to the window. Harold shut his eyes in frustration as he warned his wolf, "Get lost before I get angry." ''No. I want to see her too.'' His wolf said stubbornly, making him wish he could get a hold of him and strangle him. His life was always so difficult whenever he was around. Alicia''s grogginess seemed to clear up, and after adjusting to the brightness, she called softly, as though scared that she was hallucinating and his image would disappear. "Harold?" Harold wanted to look. He wanted to go up there at that moment. But he could not. ''You''re going to scare her. GET LOST!'' Harold warned onest time. ''You annoy me so much,'' his wolf hissed in disappointment before disappearing. Harold could not even believe it. But his annoying wolf was thest thing on his mind now. He looked at Alvin for confirmation, who nodded to let him know he was good now before he turned around to look at the window with his clear eyes and clear mind. As soon as Alicia''s gaze settled on his face, she blinked a few times to be sure she wasn''t seeing things. When he smiled at her in relief, her hand flew to cover her mouth and she cried in relief that he was truly there. It hadn''t been a dream. Chapter 263 "Dont Leave Me," For thest couple of days, Alicia had no idea what was wrong with her, but she knew something was wrong somewhere. She had a series of dreams, but she wasn''t sure which one was real and which was just a figment of her imagination. She wasn''t even sure whether some of the things she had dreamt about Amber were real or not. When she woke up earlier, she had also thought it was another dream, especially because of how everywhere had been so quiet. She had also doubted that it was real due to the fact that she was lying on a bed inside the pce and not on the cold floor in the dungeon. How was it possible that she was in the same ce where they had tried to kill her? The thought of it made her anxious and it became difficult for her to breathe. Even though her head was hurting, it was a lot better than before. She slowly sat up on the bed and looked around the room, and her heart skipped a beat when she recognized her environment. This was Harold''s chamber. What was she doing here? Was Harold awake? Where was he? Why was the whole ce quiet? She forced herself to endure the pain and got down from the bed, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, she winced in pain from the burn under her feet and also touched her temple when a memory shed. The silence in the pce right now reminded her of that night. Once again, she remembered how she had woken up in the middle of that night of the banquet and was looking around for water, but unfortunately, she couldn''t remember past that. Her entire body shook, and she tried to bear the pain and took a step towards the window to see what was happening outside since she could hear distant voices. Standing by the window, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Harold. Even though she was still in the pce, which she hade to hate. Harold was there. He was alive, and he was there. Harold''s heart skipped a beat once his gaze settled on Alicia, and relief flooded through him. Before Alvin could stop him or advise him to go around the pce the same way he hade, Harold effortlessly climbed up the wall and entered the room through the window. He pulled Alicia into his arms, and she held onto him tightly as she cried while Harold kissed her forehead and patted her back while also holding her very closely as though he was scared that if he let go she would disappear. "Thank you," she cried repeatedly. She was not thanking him for saving her life. She was thanking him for being alive. She had been worried about him to the point where she had had different scary dreams. Thinking about it now, she pulled away from him and looked at him through her tear-stainedshes, "How are you now? I heard you were hurt. How is your wound?" She asked as she moved her hands around him, looking for his wounds. Harold wanted to scold her for worrying about him when she had almost died. He pulled her back to himself and hugged her, "I''m fine. I''m more worried about you. How are you feeling now? Why did you leave the bed?" Harold asked softly as he swept her off her feet and carried her bride-style to the bed. Instead of cing her on the bed, he sat down and made her sit on his thighs while she buried her face in his chest as she continued to cry from relief. She had thought her biggest fear was dying, but at thatst minute she had realized that her greatest fear was no longer seeing Harold, and life wouldn''t make sense without him. She was d that Harold was alive and well. "Do you hurt anywhere?" He asked dotingly as he adjusted her on his thighs so he could check the soles of her feet. "Why did you leave the bed?" He asked, but Alicia wasn''t saying anything. She just kept crying as she held on to him tightly. "You need to eat something. There are enough meals here for you to choose from," Harold continued to speak before she could say a word. Alicia hadn''t taken note of the food until then. But even though her stomach was totally empty, eating was thest thing on her mind. "Do you want water first? There''s also some porridge for you--" Alicia pulled away from him when she remembered that she was yet to see Paulina. "Paulina. What about Paulina?" Alicia asked fearfully, hoping that Harold hadn''te toote and she was dead. "She is fine. She is in your chamber being treated too," Harold assured her softly. "What happened? Have they found the person responsible for everyone?" She asked, and Harold pulled her close until he could tell it was causing her difort, so he released his hold a little. "Don''t worry about that right now. You need to eat and regain your strength. We can talk about anything else," Harold said, but Alicia shook her head. "Can... we l-leave?" She asked in a tight voice as she raised her teary eyes to look at him. "What?" He asked in confusion. "The pce. Can we leave? I... I can''t breathe here. I can''t..."she choked on the rest of her words and began to find it difficult to breathe again, making Harold look at her in rm. "Alright. We can step out of the pce for a while if that is what you want. I will get everything ready," Harold said as he gently ced her on the bed and tried to stand up, but she wrapped her arms around him tightly and shook her head, "Don''t leave me." She wasn''t sure if this was a dream or reality yet. If this was a dream and both she and Harold were safe once again, then she didn''t want the dream to end. She didn''t want to wake up from it. She didn''t want to have to endure any more torture or be forced to die. She didn''t want to watch Paulina die either. And most especially, she didn''t want to be in this pce if Harold wasn''t here. "Poison... they... tried to make me drink it..." she said in fear as her body shook. The incident had caused her great trauma and, hopefully, she would be able to recover from it someday. Chapter 264 A Bad Dream Harold felt anger rise within him again, but he took a deep breath to calm himself. Seeing how the colour of his eyes was changing at the slightest annoyance now, he couldn''t afford to get angry and scare her. He was relieved that she was alive and she was awake now. That was what was most important to him. "I''m here now. No one will hurt you again," Harold promised, but she refused to let go, so he sighed as hey down beside her and cuddled her. Harold was torn between going to get things ready to take her out of the pce for a while, and staying there with her. She looked scared, and it made him worried. Ever since he knew her, he had never seen her like this. She had not even looked this scared the first time he met her in the mountains in his wolf form. She was always in control, always noisy and causing trouble. She didn''t fear anyone. But looking at her now, she was different. She was broken. And it hurt him. He had to move her out of here for a while. He could understand why she wanted to leave. She had been suffering here for the past few days. ''Get into Alvin''s head,'' his wolf suggested, making him remember he could actually do that. So he held her close and sort after Alvin in his head. This time, it wasn''t as strenuous as he had expected. "Your highness?" Alvin had been in the middle of informing Sir Rager about the change of ns in his meeting with Harold when he heard Harold''s voice in his head, and Sir Rager looked at him questioningly, making him realize he had spoken out loud. Alvin wasn''t sure he was ever going to get used to this. He quickly excused himself from Sir Rager before giving Harold his full attention. ''Your Highness?'' Harold heard Alvin''s questioning voice in his head. ''Get things ready immediately. We are stepping out of the pce for a while,'' Harold instructed before freeing a confused Alvin. "It''s alright. I''m here. Alvin is going to get the horses ready," he assured her softly now, and she settled into his arms. Alicia wasn''t thinking clearly at the moment, so she didn''t care to know how he hadmunicated that to Alvin when he didn''t even leave the room or open his mouth. All she wanted was for Harold to not leave her side, and for them to put some distance between her and the pce. It was too difficult to breathe freely here. Neither of them said a word as theyy on the bed, and just when Harold was beginning to think she had dozed off, she spoke. "I... I had a bad dream." She whispered as though she was scared to speak. "What dream?" Harold asked quietly. "You... k-killed many people. I wanted to stop you. But... I could not do anything," she said, sounding more sad than angry or disappointed. Harold''s lips formed a thin line as he continued patting her on the back. Everyone he had killed deserved to be killed, and he doubted that he would have been able to stop his wolf had she tried to stop him. Well, how was he going to exin what he had done? "And you... your eyes... they looked different. You looked different," Alicia said, and Harold stiffened, and even his hand that was giving her aforting pat on her back stopped. Saying she had dreamt that he killed so many people sounded like a normal dream, but saying she had dreamt that he killed many people while his eyes looked different didn''t sound like a dream. It was exactly what happened. How had she ''dreamed'' that when she wasn''t there? He would have understood it if she only dreamt about his eyes since she had seen them when he first picked her up from the execution ground, even though she seemed not to remember it, but he couldn''t understand her dreaming of what he had done. Thankfully, before either of them could say anything else, a knock sounded on the door and knowing it was Alvin, Harold permitted him to enter after he sat up and used the quilt to cover her up, including her head. Alvin entered stealthily with arge tray in hand, and Harold''s gaze moved to the tray, which contained some folded masculine clothes and two brocade boots. One was a lotrger than the other one. Harold recognized the clothes. Those were the clothes they had worn thest time they left the pce for the marketce. Thinking about that memory now, Harold wondered if that was the point when he began to take an interest in Alicia. He had always been curious about her from the first day he set eyes on her, but he realized now that things had changed between them after that visit to the marketce. Harold sighed as his gaze shifted from the tray to Alvin, whose gaze was on Alicia. Sensing Harold''s gaze, Alvin cast a questioning nce at Harold, wanting to know if Alicia was fully conscious or had slept off again. He had been avoiding Susan all day because thest two times he had run into her around the pce, once when he took food to her and her brother, and the second time when he was on his way to meet Sir Rager, she had hounded him, wanting to know how Princess Amber was doing and when she could see Princess Amber. And she kept asking him to help her talk to Prince Harold to let her see his bride. He couldn''t understand what her obsession was with Princess Amber but he was thankful she was not asking about the cut he had given her earlier. ''Speak. She is awake'' Harold spoke in Alvin''s head, startling him. And Harold''s eyes gleamed with amusement when he saw the shock on Alvin''s face at suddenly hearing Harold''s voice in his head even while they were together. "Everything is set. I brought your outing clothing," Alvin said, as he tried not to re at Harold. Chapter 265 Fighting For The Throne Immediately the Queen and Ivan walked into the hall where Damon and the aristocrats were gathered, trying toe up with a solution to the problem and find a way to reason with Harold, everyone turned hateful eyes on them. The queen pretended not to notice how they were all staring at her, and she squared her shoulders as she went to stand beside Damon. The aristocrat who she had insulted and called names the previous day stepped forward, "You have no right to be in a gathering of men..." "I am the Queen," she reminded him calmly, trying not to show she was pissed. "That is only when you are standing beside the king. He is not here right now, and you shouldn''t be here either," the man said, and the other aristocrats who had been displeased by the queen''s name-calling the previous day bobbed their heads in agreement. "HOW DARE YOU?" Ivan growled as he drew out his sword and stepped forward, but Damon ced a hand on his shoulder and stopped him. "You are the cause of all the problems we are facing now! You shouldn''t be here either!" Another aristocrat said with an annoyed frown as he looked at Ivan. "Yes. You are the one who suggested that Prince Harold''s bride be tortured. How dare you draw a sword before the nobles?" How could they have so little fear and respect for him and his mother, whereas they all trembled in the presence of Harold? The queen cleared her throat. "There is no need for us to me each other. We have to find a solution to the problem now. What are we going to do?" The Queen asked, but the aristocrats were having none of it. "We do not want you or Prince Ivan here with us anymore. We do not want to anger Prince Harold any more than we have done already," the aristocrat whom the queen had most insulted the previous day insisted. The Queen turned to Damon desperately, "Make them listen. Things are going to get out of hand if we don''t do anything about this. Prince Harold has ced some guards in the king''s chamber and has asked them not to let us near him. If we don''t do anything, he is going to kill the king and take over the throne while we are here fighting amongst ourselves," the Queen said, pleading with him to take her side. Damon was not in the mood for any of this as he was still too embarrassed after what happened yesterday. Thankfully, they all quieted down when the Minister of Justice asked the Queen, "You must already have something in mind. Let us hear it." "As it stands, the king is very sick and without a ruler, the kingdom is going to crumble. We cannot let Prince Harold turn this kingdom upside down." "What do you mean without the king? Even if the king is not present, Sir Damon can issue orders in his ce." Another interrupted. ? One of the aristocrats scoffed at that. "After he was flung out like a sack of dirt yesterday?" "How... dare you?!" Damon growled at the man who simply scoffed. "Enough!" The queen yelled angrily, tired of their pointless arguments. "We do not have time to argue. We need toe up with a solution!" She reminded them. "You think anything is going to help now? Prince Harold probably knows we are meeting like this and is allowing us to do so because he would still do whatever he intends to do regardless of any conclusion we arrive at." Another one reminded them. "Exactly my point!" The queen eximed. "We have to do something about it. I believe with the approval of the court, Prince Ivan can be¡ª" "Now that his curse has been broken, he is the heir to the throne, isn''t he?" One of the aristocrats asked, cutting off the queen rudely and infuriating Ivan, who had been looking forward to this moment. As soon as he was permitted to rule, the first thing he would do was make sure Harold and his witch of a wife ceased to exist. He was going to make Luciana crawl on the ground and beg for his mercy, and as for Alvin... he would have to wish for death. He has had that n in his head the entire time, but now what? Prince Harold was the heir? What rubbish! "I am the rightful heir to the throne!" Ivan yelled angrily. "But you are a Beta. Only an alpha can be king and rule in the Moon Kingdom," another aristocrat pointed out, causing the queen to grit her teeth in anger. "Then do you want an Alpha who is going to burn down this kingdom and send us all to our graves? Do you want an Alpha with a human bride who is probably not going to have an heir of our kind?" One snorted. "We all know the history of the Moon Kingdom and how a Beta almost destroyed it after he was crowned king. That has been abolished for several decades now, and we are not about to change our history." "History can always be changed! Prince Ivan is going to be a good king!" The queen tried to assure them in her anger, even though she doubted that. Ivan was an idiot. But she was going to shape him into a good king. Unfortunately for her, many of the aristocrats felt the same way and voiced their disagreement, asking to wait for the king to recover and make the final decision. Whatever he agreed on was what they were going to stand by. "Only a powerful Alpha like Prince Harold can be king. Didn''t you see him yesterday?" Another aristocrat asked, and Ivan, who was already boiling in rage at this point, pointed his sword at the aristocrats crazily. "LOOK AT MY FACE AND TELL ME I AM NOT FIT TO BE THE KING?!" Ivan demanded in anger. "I DARE YOU TO SAY THAT ONCE AGAIN!" Ivan yelled while the Queen massaged her temples. At what point did everything start going wrong? Why did things have to be this way? The queen wondered. Just then, Damian walked in and whispered something into the queen''s ear. Chapter 266 Busybody For the umpteenth time that morning, Alvin found himself standing in front of Susan, who was raising an eyebrow at him. She stood inside her chamber, holding the door while he stood outside. "You know people will talk if they see the two of us several times in a day?" she pointed out to him, while he looked at her like she had lost it. "You have been the one following me around," he reminded her before going straight to the point. "Prince Harold wants you to help Princess Amber get dressed. They are leaving the pce." Susan was about to retort to what he had said about her following him around, but the other statement he made piqued her interest. "Leaving the pce? Why? Where are they heading to? Is she awake?" She asked at once before stepping out of her chamber and closing the door behind her. "She is awake. And she wants to leave the pce for a while," he informed her, making Susan frown in confusion as she wondered if that was a good thing to do at this point. "Does she remember anything now? What of Prince Harold? Why is he leaving the pce? Won''t everyone run away if he leaves the pce?" Alvin almost massaged his temples. Why were all the women inside the pce abnormal? He didn''t want to talk about Prince Harold''s very strange bride. What about Paulina that could cry a river at any slightest thing and then a busybody like Susan? He just hoped she wouldn''t get into trouble one day. Of course, he doubted that. And it wasn''t his business if she fell into trouble because of her busybody. "Why aren''t you saying anything?" she asked impatiently. "Would you run away after Prince Harold ordered everyone to stay back?" he asked her calmly. Susan looked like she was pondering it before she hesitantly said, "Uhm... no?" "Good. Stop asking questions and follow me." Alvin said coldly before he turned and began to walk ahead. "If Prince Harold asked you to send for me, it means he trusts me, right?" she asked hopefully as she followed him. That question made Alvin stop walking and turn to look at her. "Are you nning to betray us?" He didn''t wait for her to say anything before he reminded her, "You already swore on your life." Susan could not help but roll her eyes. "Hold it! You are too suspicious. How do you live? And do not think I have forgotten how you hurt my palm earlier. Williams asked me to forgive you since you act insane when you''re before a woman. That''s why I--" "What?" Alvin asked, frowning. "I act in..." He couldn''t bring himself toplete the sentence as he red daggers at her. "Why are you ring at me? Williams said that not me!" she reminded him as she began to walk ahead, leaving him behind. "With this attitude, you are never going to get married," she said as she continued walking. "I don''t care about pointless things like that. You should be worried about yourself. No one would marry you." Alvin retorted, causing her to stop and look at him in disbelief. Her abrupt stop in front of him also made him stop abruptly before he almost bumped into her. As usual, he frowned. "Do I need to remind you about who I am? I am Susan. Not only am I a part of the royal family, but I am also so beautiful that all the young men in this kingdom would fall t at my feet, asking me to marry them." She said smugly. All Alvin said in response was a nd "Okay," before he moved to the side and walked past her, leaving her to stare at his back in disbelief. Why was he so abnormal and difficult? She fumed. Unfortunately, she seemed to like how serious he always was. She wondered what he would turn into when he had ady he truly loved. Before she snapped out of her thoughts, they had already gotten to Harold''s chamber, and as soon as Alvin knocked, the door was opened from inside. Harold looked at Alvin before his gaze settled on the shorter person beside him. "Be careful," he said to Susan in a warning tone before he stepped out with his change of clothing, while Alvin also gave her a warning look before he followed after Harold. "I got thergest carriage ready for Princess Amber. Bane is also in front of the pce." Harold nodded his gratitude before he went to one of his secret chambers to change. Meanwhile, when Susan entered the room, she found Alicia looking frightened and quickly went to sit down beside her on the bed. As usual, Susan asked several questions until she realized Alicia wasn''t in the right state of mind, and then she stopped. She did what she was supposed to do there, but she was surprised to find the outfit she was supposed to assist Princess Amber in changing into. This seemed to remind her of what the king had said the other time about a woman wearing men''s clothing and how Princess Amber had been interested in that topic. It makes sense now. Another thing that surprised her was how nice it was on Princess Amber. She had never considered dressing like that before, but seeing it now, she was eager to try it out. Unfortunately, Williams was a lot bigger than her and she wasn''t sure any store would agree to sell that to her even though she was a noble woman. Maybe she could plead with Williams to help her without their parents finding out? A few minutester, Harold was carrying Alicia in his arms out of the room to outside the pce doors, where the carriage was waiting. Her entire body, including her head, was covered with a quilt. Susan followed and tried to catch up with Harold''s long strides. "Paulina. She has toe," Alicia said as soon as she was inside the carriage. Chapter 267 Are They Running Away? Once Damian stepped away from the Queen and left the hall after receiving instructions from her, both Damon and Ivan looked at her curiously, wondering what news Damian hade to deliver. The queen''s lips curved in a smirk as she faced them all. "Prince Harold is leaving the pce with his bride," she announced to the members of the assembly who were still talking amongst themselves and everywhere became silent. Harvey, who was standing amongst the others, looked at the queen with interest when he heard that. Did that mean Alicia was awake now? "What do you mean they are leaving the pce?" Damon asked with a frown. "You heard me. If we are going to do something about him, we have to do it now while he is away, or else we might all die before the end..." "What are you trying to say?" One of the aristocrats cut in. Seeing that there was no way she could outrightly suggest that they try to harm Prince Harold, she smiled. "I''m saying we have to figure out a way to take care of this problem now." "What if they are running away? What if his wife has confessed to him and he is taking her away from the pce so she wouldn''t be punished?" Ivan asked, not wanting to lose his opportunity to get back at both Harold and his disrespectful wife. "Do you think Prince Harold is the sort of person who would run away like that?" Harvey, who usually preferred to be silent during assemblies, asked from behind the crowd. As the youngest of the noble lords, he always tried to maintain himself during assemblies. He preferred to observe and leave the others to deliberate on things. One thing he had noticed so far was that he and his father were always on the same page. So whenever there was an issue, he trusted his father to speak on their behalf. "If that is the case, isn''t it better for you? Doesn''t that mean that he is also leaving the kingdom, and you don''t have to worry about him bing king?" Another of the aristocrats asked, and Ivan red at both men. It seemed like their level of disrespect was growing by the day. "Are they leaving with any guards or servants?" Damon asked before Ivan could say anything, and the Queen shook her head. "I don''t know that much, but we will find out soon," the queen said, and the aristocrats began to murmur amongst themselves. "I don''t think there is anything we can do. I think the best thing to do is toe up with ways to appease him. We must not do anything to annoy him any further," another aristocrat said, and Ivan scowled at him distastefully. "You prefer to be a coward under his mercy than to stand up against him and..." "I didn''t see you standing up against him yesterday. I remember seeing you run away the moment he got close to the Queen," the man said, and Ivan''s eyes red with anger, while the Queen also turned to look at Ivan with disapproval when she heard that. "I am not going to be a part of this gathering if it is going to involve any plot against Prince Harold. I''m only here so we can find ways to appease him," one of the aristocrats said, and the others agreed with him. Thest thing they wanted was a repeat of yesterday''s event. Most of them hade with their families, and they didn''t want to make any decisions that would endanger them and their families. "So we are going to do nothing?" The Queen asked in disbelief as she looked at Damon. "Are we going to starve to death and die of thirst just because you all are scared to confront Prince Harold?" The Queen asked angrily as she looked at all their faces, but no one was saying anything. They needed to eat! But the idiot servants were too scared to make something for them to eat. They hadn''t even found a single soul in the kitchen! "We don''t even know where he is going or how long he will be away. We don''t know what ns he has for us. Are we going to wait until he kills us all?" The Queen asked hysterically. "So what do you suggest we do? Let''s hear your suggestions," one of the aristocrats said, and they all looked at the Queen, who also looked back at them, not knowing what to say. "Let''s put our heads together..." "Let''s capture Prince Harold and his wife so they don''t run away," Ivan cut in before his mother could finish speaking. "What is stopping you from doing that? He is your brother, after all. Go with your guards and do as you please," Sir Gregory said, jerking his head to the door for Ivan to do so. "HOW DARE YOU?!" Ivan bellowed at him. "If you all were useful, Prince Harold wouldn''t have dared challenge us like this!" "Challenge?" Harvey asked with a scoff, "Princess Amber was almost executed without proper investigation." "Because she killed someone! And even if she didn''t kill Beth, she stabbed a princess. That is enough to have her killed." Ivan said in annoyance as he frowned at Harvey''s disrespect. Harvey was about to retort when his father interrupted, "Since we are not making any progress with the meeting, I will be returning to my chamber. I''d prefer to reserve what little energy I have left," Sir Richard said and gave Harvey a pointed look for him to also leave. Sir Richard was about to take the first step when the door was pushed open and three fully armed guards marched inside with one leading them and the other two behind him on each of his sides. They didn''t need to announce who they were. They were the king''s special guards. There was suddenly silence in the entire room as most of their gazes went to the door, expecting Harold toe in any minute, while the other half were expecting the King to have woken up. However, it was none of them because the leader began to speak in a loud and clear voice. "On Prince Harold''s orders..." he started. "If anyone leaves the pce before he returns, every one of you will pay the price." As soon as he said that, they all began to murmur amongst themselves. What sort of joke was that? "THEREFORE..." He started to speak in a loud voice again, silencing the murmurs. "You all have to make sure no one escapes." The murmurs grew louder again. What sort of trouble was this that had befallen them? "LASTLY..." Silence again. "Prince Harold hopes you are all enjoying your meeting," he concluded with a polite bow before he turned around and stormed out of the room with the other two behind him. Sir Richard didn''t wait for theints to start. Just as he had nned earlier, he walked away from the ce just as their voices grew louder and Harvey followed, but not after ring at Ivan, who scoffed in disbelief. "Do you think they''re running away?" Sir Richard asked Harvey as they walked down the hallway. Sir Richard was somewhat grateful that Harvey was on Prince Harold''s side, if for nothing else but the fact that he had been able to get food and water, which they had given to Benedicta and had tiny portions of it themselves. "Prince Harold would not do that until he proves that Princess Amber is innocent," Harvey said confidently. "If you believed so much in her innocence, what was the reason for the show you put up while she was being tortured?" Sir Richard asked when he remembered how Harvey had behaved. Harvey cleared his throat, remembering how he had seeded in doing nothing for them. If Prince Harold hadn''t been there at the right time, they would have died. Because he wasn''t sure Lance would have kept up with the n. "Excuse me, father. I should go and find out where they''re going and how long they will be away," Harvey said and quickly hurried away from there before his father could say anything. As he hurried down the hall, he met Susan, Alvin, and Paulina heading for the front of the pce. Alvin was carrying Paulina in a bridal style, and the girl''s face looked like it was going to blow up from how red it was, while she kept pleading for him to put her down, but Alvin paid her no mind. "Is Princess Amber awake now?" Harvey asked once he caught up with them, and Susan nced at him and gave him a nod. "How is she feeling? Does she remember now?" Harvey asked curiously, and Susan shook her head sadly. "I''m not sure," Susan said quietly, not quite over the sadness of seeing the usually lively princess Amber in the manner she had seen her. "Where are they going to?" Harvey asked Alvin, who was yet to say anything, as he walked beside him. "Away from the pce." Chapter 268 Unwelcomed Guests (1) Susan had tears in her eyes as she watched Alicia and Paulina embrace each other while crying hysterically inside the carriage. No one could tell if they were shedding tears of relief or tears of shared suffering. Only the two could exin what they had endured and survived together. As Susan sniffled, she looked down when someone offered her a handkerchief, and she looked from the hand up to the face. It was Harvey. Her brows pulled together in confusion as she looked at him, wondering why he was being nice to her and if he had changed his mind about their arrangement. "It''s for your tears. Dry it," Harvey offered as he continued to hold out the handkerchief. "Thank you," she said politely as she took the handkerchief from him. She looked at Alvin as she cleaned her tears and noticed him staring at her before he turned his attention to Harold when Harold asked him a question. "What about Thorn?" Harold asked Alvin when he didn''t see Alvin''s horse anywhere, and Alvin returned his attention to Harold. "Thorn?" Alvin asked in confusion as he wondered why Harold was asking for his horse. "Aren''t you riding with us?" Harold asked Alvin, who looked at him in surprise. "Am I?" Alvin asked, and Harold simply gave him a pointed look. "What about the pce? Now is not the time for us to leave the pce at the same time. Someone needs to tend to things in your absence," Alvin pointed out. Even though Harold knew that Alvin would neverin, he could see how exhausted he looked. He had been very busytely and would need to rx and get some fresh air outside the pce too. He would have told Alvin to stay back in the pce and do nothing but rest, but he knew Alvin. He would be ufortable sitting in one ce for a long time, so that wouldn''t work. "Lord Vincent and Sir Oscar will take care of things in the pce," Harold said, giving Alvin the go-ahead to go get his horse. Immediately, Alvin bowed to him and left to do as he had been told. "How long will you be away?" Harvey asked Harold as he stepped away from Susan and moved closer to the carriage, his gazending on Alicia, who had stopped crying now, but she was still hugging Paulina, who was seated beside her. How long? Harold had no idea. He just needed to take her away until she was okay. He didn''t care how long it was going to take. If he needed to be in the pce for anything, he would have to find a way to do so. "I don''t know," Harold said, and Harvey frowned. He hadn''t been expecting that response. "Are you not going with any guards?" Harvey asked when he noticed that the only people with them were the two carriage riders and Alvin, who had gone to fetch his horse. "Alvin ising with us," Harold said simply, and Harvey frowned. Was that not too risky? "Just Alvin? Are you sure you will be safe alone?" Harvey asked, not sure he was okay with that. He had no idea what the Queen and Ivan were going to eventuallye up with, hence he was worried about their safety. "I can take care of her," Harold said, knowing that Harvey''s concern was for Alicia, or rather, Amber, and not necessarily for him. Ordinarily, he would have been angry, but at the point he was now, he didn''t mind Alicia having a lot of people who cared about her other than him. What was most important to him was that there were people who were looking out for her and she would be safe. If not for them and their contributions, she would have probably died before he woke up. "I do not doubt that you can take care of her, My Lord. But travelling alone with two sickdies is going to put you at a disadvantage if you meet any foe in the way." Harold said nothing and just raised his eyebrows. He knew that Harvey still had more to say. "Therefore, I would like toe with you... if you don''t mind," Harvey offered and added thest part when Harold''s already raised brow went higher. Harold shook his head. "You are a part of the assembly. You can''t just leave," Harold reminded him. "Yes, I can. I will ride alongside you and Alvin. I''m sure you must have heard about my swordsmanship," Harvey said, and without waiting for Harold to raise another objection, he bowed as he said, "I will go get my horse." With that, he walked away from there to get his horse and send word to inform his father that he would be leaving with Prince Harold. As Harvey was leaving, Luciana was hurrying toward them, and she didn''t forget to re at Harvey as they passed by each other. "Is Princess Amber awake? I heard they were leaving the pce and came to check." Luciana asked Susan as she approached the carriage, but seeing Harold beside the carriage made her stop beside Susan instead. "How is she?" Susan turned to her and sighed sadly, "She seems different. The execution broke her. She cried a lot." Susan murmured just as Alvin returned. "She always acted so strong. I never would have imagined that she could shed tears," Luciana said with a sad sigh as she remembered the day she had been crying in Princess Amber''s bathroom and she hade in to console her. That seemed like ages ago now, and she wished she could offer her the samefort. Seeing as Alvin was back and Harvey was following closely behind, Harold went to look inside the carriage to let her know they would be leaving now. "Are you going with them?" Luciana asked in surprise when Harvey rode past them on his horse, and he gave her a nod. Since when was Harvey this close to them? Luciana wondered to herself as she watched the smug look he was giving her. That made her even angrier at him. She just couldn''t shake off the feeling that he was suspicious. Harold was about to slide the door closed when Susan stepped forward and asked, "Can Ie too?" Chapter 269 Unwelcomed Guests (2) Harold paused and turned to look at her. What was this? First, it was Harvey, and now it was Susan? "I''m sure Princess Amber would need someone to attend to her since Paulina isn''t feeling well either," Susan said, stepping forward to look at Harold with beseeching eyes. When it seemed not to work, she stretched her neck to the side until she could see Alicia and blinked at her cutely. "No," Alvin said behind her as he arrived with his horse''s rein in hand, making her turn to re up at him. "I didn''t ask you. I was talking to Prince Harold," Susan snapped at him before facing Harold. "If you all leave, my father is going to punish us for disobeying his orders, and no one will save us. I cannot believe that after all the good I did, you are going to abandon me like this," Susan said as she began to cry, while Alvin tried not to roll his eyes at her drama. How could she be saying ''us'' yet she was willing to leave her twin brother behind? Alvin mused with a snort, but Susan ignored him. Harold wanted to run his hand through his hair in frustration. He wanted a quiet trip. But it wasn''t going as nned now. Harold looked at Alvin, who shook his head subtly for Harold not to allow her, but Harold turned away from him to look at Alicia. "Do you want her toe with us?" Harold asked Alicia, who had been quiet the entire time. Alicia nodded. She had promised to take them out of the pce for their girls'' time out. Even though it wasn''t exactly a pleasant situation, it was okay for them to leave this pce now. When Harold turned away from Alicia to look at her, she could instantly see the consent in his eyes and beamed. Harold stepped away from the door with a sigh. They had chosen the biggest carriage so Alicia would be able to restfortably and even sleep inside. He would have joined her but didn''t because he wanted her to rest but what was this now? Immediately Susan entered the carriage and sat down opposite Alicia, Luciana asked in a heartbroken tone, "What... about me?" "What about you?" Harold asked in displeasure as he eyed her, trying not to raise his voice in anger. "You... can''t leave me here alone with the queen and Ivan," she said, almost crying. Harold gritted his teeth as he turned to Alicia, and once again she gave him an apologetic look and a nod to let Luciana in. And just like that, another person was added to the group. Luciana excitedly joined the carriage, and as soon as she sat down beside Susan, the two began to giggle. Seeing how happy they looked made Alicia''s mood light up, and even Paulina joined in the giggling. "I cannot remember thest time I stepped my feet out of the pce," Luciana said, sounding as though a boulder had been lifted from her shoulders. "Me too," Susan said in agreement. It only worked whenever she sneaked out of the home, but that had been a long time. And Williams usually found her. As soon as Harold closed the carriage, they saw Williams walking withrge strides towards them while looking around. "Where is Susan?" He asked Alvin after he bowed to greet Harold and Harvey. On hearing his voice, Susan snuck her head through the window of the carriage and waved at him. "I''m in here. I''m leaving the pce with them," she said with a wide smile. Williams went closer and looked inside the carriage through the window, surprised to find all four of them there. He also took note of the others who had already mounted their horses. "Why are you all going without me?" He asked with a frown as he scowled at his traitorous sister who couldn''t hide her happiness. Before Harold could snap at him, they all saw Lance running towards them, and almost all of them released a sigh. It seemed like every one of the members of her fan club hade out to see her when they heard that she was awake and was leaving the pce. It was funny how fast news flew around the pce. Lance had the same reaction as Williams when he saw all of them: "Were you all nning to leave me here?" He asked in disbelief. "Why don''t we just set up a big tent in the mountains and y together?" Harold asked in an irritated tone. "Really? We can do that?" Lance asked, his eyes lighting up. "NO! That was a joke." Alvin said in disbelief as Harold massaged his temples while all the girls giggled at the back, including Alicia. "We all swore with our lives. We can go together. I believe we can be able toe up with something if we are all out of the pce?" Williams said reasonably. SILENCE... And just like that, every one of them left the pce with Harold and Alicia. Away from there, in Sir Richard''s chamber, a maid informed Sir Richard that Harvey had left the pce with Harold, and immediately Benedicta sat up. "What? Why would he do something like that? I''m getting married to Prince Ivan! Shouldn''t he be taking Prince Ivan''s side, especially after what Prince Harold did to me?" Benedicta asked in a raised voice, and her mother ced a hand on her arm. "You shouldn''t raise your voice. You are yet to recover from..." "Do you know if anyone else went with them?" Sir Richard asked, ignoring his daughter''s outburst. The maid gave him a nod as she mentioned the names of everyone who left the pce with Prince Harold. Sir Richard sighed, feeling relieved that the Queen''s niece and nephew, Prince Ivan''s first wife, and even Lance, had gone along with them. He would have been very worried if only his son had gone, but now that the children of the queen''s brother were with them, he believed they wouldn''t make any rash moves. Chapter 270 Finding An Ally. Despite her mother''s warning not to leave her chamber since she was yet topletely recover, Benedicta left her chamber but kept her head down in case she ran into anyone who had witnessed what happened to her the previous day. She was too angry to sit down in one position. She wanted to find Ivan to know what was wrong with him and why he wasn''t doing anything when Prince Harold had hurt his bride-to-be. But just as she was about to pass by a door, she stopped and turned to the side to look at it. When she remembered this was Princess Tyra''s chamber, a smirk formed on her lips. She guessed the best way to start anything was to have allies within the pce. And who better than the vulnerable Princess Tyra, who was currently left alone? She walked towards the door and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. "Princess Tyra, are you in? It''s Lady Benedicta," she called out. Tyra, who had been lying on her bed reading a novel, frowned when she heard Benedicta''s name, and she went to open the door. Tyra looked at Benedicta with a nk expression as she wondered what she was doing in her chamber since they were not friends and hardly ever talked to each other. The only thing she could say they shared inmon was eating together at the same table during banquets or feasts. Benedicta smiled when she saw the questioning look in Tyra''s eyes. "I know you''re surprised to see me. Well, I thought you must be lonely, so I..." "Did Prince Ivan or the Queen send you?" Tyra asked impatiently since that was the only exnation that made sense. She knew of Ivan''s n to marry Benedicta despite the fact that they all knew that Benedicta had been Harold''s betrothed child bride. Benedicta shed her a smile. "Not at all. I figured since Lady Susan left the pce, you might be lonely¡ª" Benedicta tried to make her way into the room, but Tyra blocked her path and gave her a questioning look. "Susan left the pce? Didn''t they say Prince Harold banned everyone from leaving the pce?" Tyra asked with a confused frown, wondering how Susan could have left without informing her first when they had agreed to take a stroll together in the evening since the physician had advised her to leave her chamber and walk around since her wound hadpletely healed up now. Benedicta raised her hands to her lips, feigning surprise as she said, "Oh! You weren''t aware that she left? I''m sorry. I thought she must have told you before leaving," she said, looking at Tyra apologetically. "Did Prince Harold permit her to leave?" Tyra asked, still not letting Benedicta in. "Yes, he did. She actually left the pce with Prince Harold and Princess Amber," Benedicta exined, and Tyra''s eyes widened as she stepped out of her chamber unconsciously. "Prince Harold left the pce? And she went with them?" Tyra asked in a low voice. Benedicta nodded instantly. "Yes. Doesn''t this go to show that she doesn''t believe you? I''m even more shocked at Prince Harold. How could he take his bride''s side over yours? You have been a devoted sister to him this whole time, yet he pampers his wife even after she almost killed you," Benedicta said with a shake of her head as she looked at Tyra pitifully, but she was shocked to find Tyra ring at her even though she was obviously upset by the news. "Don''t speak of Prince Harold in that manner," Tyra warned. Benedicta almost wanted to snort at the blind devotion. She could see why many people hated Tyra so much. Not only was she weak, but she was also pathetic. But Benedicta didn''t let that concern her. If she was going to be living here, she would need allies here, especially one she could easily manipte. "You see what I mean? How could they all do this to you when you''re so kindhearted? Even Luciana, who is supposed to be on your side!" Benedicta said, and Tyra''s brows furrowed. "Luciana? What happened to her?" Benedicta''s eyes widened, and as though divulging something she wasn''t supposed to, she said in a quiet voice, "She also left the pce with Prince Harold and his bride." Tyra frowned, "Isn''t she supposed to be repenting? Has she been pardoned?" Tyra asked, wondering why and how everyone was leaving so easily. Benedicta''s brow furrowed as she thought about it too. Howe Luciana had left her ce of repentance? Did that mean she had abandoned her husband and was now on Prince Harold''s side? Was Ivan aware of this? Benedicta mused before focusing her gaze on Tyra. "I don''t know about that. But now that you mention it, it seems weird that they all left that way," Benedicta said with a thoughtful frown. "Who else left the pce?" Tyra asked curiously. "Apart from Susan and Luciana, Williams, Lance, and even my own brother also went with them. Can you believe it? I feel betrayed! How could he take Prince Harold''s side despite what Prince Harold did to me and how his wife stabbed you until you almost died?" Benedicta asked in disbelief, as though she was going to cry. When she noticed the strain in Tyra''s neck, the lost look in her eyes, and how she was biting her lip and fisting her palm beside her, she almost smiled. But that didn''t go as nned for Benedicta because the next minute, Tyra snapped out of her trance and red at her. "I don''t know what you are nning to do, but it won''t work. Prince Harold would never ignore me like that. You should return to your chamber," Tyra said, and without waiting for Benedicta to say another word, she shut the door in her face and threw the novel she was holding across the room as she bit her lower lip to keep herself from crying. They all left the pce? Why? How could they leave the pce without taking her along? Prince Harold, Susan, Luciana, Princess Amber, Sir Harvey and even Lance? Lance?! What was happening? Chapter 271 Couple-To-Be Quarrel A knock sounded on Tyra''s door before she could finish processing everything. Hearing the three knocks at once, she could tell it was Damian and immediately opened the door. She looked at both sides to be sure no one was there before pulling him by the arm inside while Damian looked at her face in confusion. "Did you know that Prince Harold left the pce with the others?" She asked before Damian could ask what was wrong. "How did you know that?" Damian asked. Tyra looked at him in disbelief. "Why didn''t you tell me about it?" "I had to let the queen know first." "You had to let the queen know before me?!" She asked, raising her voice, but remembered thest thing she wanted was for someone to find them together, and she quickly kept it down. "You should control your temper, Mydy. We need to talk," he said in a serious tone. Away from there, seeing how her n for Tyra had failed, Benedicta fumed as she stormed to Prince Ivan''s chamber. On her way, she spotted him walking ahead of her, and she quickly hurried to catch up with him. Meanwhile, Ivan was still fuming over the fact that not only had they left the pce, but they had taken Luciana with them! What right did they have to take his wife away? Even though he was very angry and frustrated, he was also very worried and ufortable. Luciana had never stepped out of the pce without him throughout their four years of marriage. She had been moved from her parent''s home down to the pce. She only left whenever there was an asion that allowed them to leave, and she went withpany, including himself and armed guards. He had learnt that Harold had left without armed guards, and as much as he hated to admit it, the only people he could trust to save Luciana if they fell into trouble were Harold, Alvin, and Harvey. Lance was a useless piece, and Williams... he wasn''t sure if his cousin knew how to do anything other than paint and medicine. So, after thinking about it for a little while, he decided he was going to pursue them and bring back Luciana. If the others wanted to leave forever or meet with a foe during their journey, he didn''t care. ,m But things never went as nned for him. And this obstacle nowes in the form of Benedicta. The stupid witch he was supposed to get married to. "Prince Ivan!" Benedicta called out loudly. From the tone of her voice, it was obvious to anyone that she was about to cause trouble again. Ivan turned to her with irritation, and as soon as he saw her, he scowled. "I see you survived," he said in a taunting tone. As much as he was not supposed to annoy her as she would be his wife and he needed her family, he could not help but show his displeasure. He didn''t like anything about her, and it was unfortunate that he had to put up with this. Benedicta''s face reddened as he reminded her of the incident that happened yesterday. How could he be so stupid? That was all he had to say after Prince Harold almost killed her? Her supposed husband-to-be hadn''t even bothered to visit her at all! "How can you be so cowardly and ipetent?" She hissed at him angrily. Anger shed in Ivan''s eyes as he tried to resist the urge to strangle the loudmouth who didn''t seem to know when not to speak. "Watch your tongue," Ivan warned. He was mad enough at her brother and father to take it out on her if she annoyed him further. "Or what? You can''t even get anything right! The whole pce has been turned upside down because you couldn''t stop Prince Harold yesterday. And even after he almost killed me, I can''t believe that you couldn''t do anything about it! How could you let him go just like that?" She snapped at him. "You didn''t pay me a visit either. I could have died!" "Why should I do anything about it?" Ivan asked, his anger gradually growing. "''Why''? How can you ask me such a question?" She asked, her own anger equally growing. Without responding to her, Ivan resumed walking again, and she ran in front of him and blocked his path in the same manner she had blocked Harold''s path, and Ivan chuckled humorlessly. "I see you didn''t learn your lesson yet," he said, wishing she had crushed her head when she fell the previous day so he wouldn''t have to deal with her. "I said I could have died!" She said angrily. She had many suitors who wanted to marry her. They could kill just to have her as a bride. Yet these two brothers were treating her like a meremoner. If they weren''t from the royal family, she would have made her father get rid of them by now. As much as she wanted to end things with Prince Ivan, the ''queen'' title was too big to give up. Besides, everyone in the Moon Kingdom knew she was born to be married into the royal family. She wouldn''t be able to raise her head in public if it didn''t pull through. "You should have done something! You don''t feel sad at all?!" She asked, sounding angry. "I feel sad. Believe me. I am so sad that you survived. So be a good girl and return to your chamber." Ivan said dismissively. Her already red face became even redder when he said that. "A coward like you doesn''t deserve to be king! It is no wonder everyone is taking instructions from Prince Harold and ignoring you. Even the servants won''t attend to yo...!" Before she could finish speaking, Ivan hit her hard across her cheeks, and she looked at him in shock as she fell to the floor, letting out a loud cry. "One more word from you and I will make sure you do not get to speak for the rest of your life," Ivan threatened darkly before walking away from her. Chapter 272 The Trip (1) While Alvin rode his horse ahead of them, Harvey followed behind them to watch their backs, while Harold rode beside Alicia''s side of the carriage so he could keep his eyes on her. Lance and Williams rode their horses at the other end quietly. At first, no one was talking. Despite Luciana''s and Susan''s initial excitement to join them, they fell silent immediately the carriage left the pce. Alicia herself had been too lost in her thoughts to bother with a conversation. Different thoughts were going through her mind at the same time. Even though no one was talking about it or asking her about what had happened, Alicia could tell that they were all curious to hear her own side of the story, and just maybe they were holding back from asking because of Harold''s presence. She really wished she had the answers. Although she knew now without a doubt that she didn''t do it, since she couldn''t remember what happened or who did it, she still couldn''t exin herself to them. However, she was grateful that they were still on her side. Still, she wanted to know what Tyra had said or if the killer had been found, or if she was still the major suspect, but she didn''t know how to ask them that question. Would Harold have been able to take her out of the pce this way if she was still a suspect? Would they all have been here with her too? She wondered. Another thing that she found strange was the fast healing. Alicia looked down at her hands, which had been full of bruises before now. She knew she was supposed to be in a really terrible physical state following all that happened, but she wasn''t, and neither was Paulina. The first time she woke up, she thought it was a dream because she had been expecting to see so many wounds and bruises on her body from the torture. Especially the burn wounds, but had been surprised not to find any, and even the burn under her feet seemed to have healed up. She only felt a little difort, but she was certain she could move about freely. She still couldn''t understand the kind of medicine they used in the kingdom or how it worked, but whatever it was, she was grateful for it, or else she and Paulina would have been in severe pain by now. She was also d that Harold had healedpletely from his wound too and could be by her side, she thought as her gaze moved outside the carriage and settled on Harold, who was riding beside her and asionally looking at her. When he turned again and found her staring at him, he sent her a small smile, which she returned before he returned his gaze to the road ahead of him. "The carriage is too quiet," Susanined with a bored yawn, making Alicia return her attention to them. Soon, Susan began to tell them stories about her hometown and some of her funny experiences growing up, and how she often sneaked out of the house and almost always ended up in trouble. As Susan spoke, Lucianaughed and often interrupted to ask questions orment on something while theyughed together. Their endless conversation seemed to make Alicia rx a bit, and her feelings of anxiety slowly vanished. They also had snacks inside the carriage that they munched on as they spoke. The guys who were riding on their horses remained silent, and the only people talking ceaselessly were Susan and Luciana inside the carriage. Since they were not so quiet, everyone of them could hear their conversation, and Alvin, who was riding ahead of them, tried not to shake his head as he listened to Susan''s udylike stories about herself. Alicia remained quiet as she listened to them, but she smiled or giggled asionally whenever she heard something funny. However, she soon joined in the conversation. All it took to make her speak was Luciana''s curiosity about her outfit. The carriage had be quiet again for some seconds, and as Luciana looked at Alicia''s outfit, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she pped excitedly as though she had just discovered a huge secret, making Susan look at her with interest. "What is it?" She asked, and Luciana leaned forward in her seat as though she wanted to share a secret with thedies. "You were thedy the king spoke about who wore men''s clothing, right?" Luciana asked, remembering how Princess Amber had challenged Ivan and even told him he could wear a dress if he wanted. Susan rolled her eyes as she said, "Is there any otherdy in this kingdom who could have done that, if not her? Besides, didn''t you see how she vehemently defended thedy?" Alicia could not help butugh out loudly. "From all you''ve said, I think you could have done it," Alicia said, and Susan bobbed her head. "Yes, but only second to you. Now that I''ve seen how good this looks on you, I''m going to try to get one for myself too. I''m just not sure how I''m going to convince them to sell it to me. Williams might not agree to help me either," Susan said with a frown. "That''s right, dear sister, I won''t help you do something like that," Williams said from his horse. "I will dly help you, mydy." Lance chipped in, even though he barely knew what they were talking about since he had just been dozing off on top of his horse. Susan''s lips formed a thin line as she tried to ignore him. It seemed like Lance was trying to make her lose her mind, so she was just going to ignore him. "Prince Harold helped you get yours, didn''t he?" Susan mouthed so that Harold wouldn''t hear her, and Alicia gave her a nod and began to tell them how the people had reacted in the market when she wanted to get the clothes and how Harold had helped her. Harold was d to see how much better she seemed nowpared to earlier as she involved herself in the conversation. But he began to feel ufortable when Alicia narrated how he had threatened the vendor in a dramatic way, and the girls squealed while the guys outside rolled their eyes, except Harold, who looked slightly embarrassed but kept his gaze ahead. Chapter 273 The Trip (2) Soon, Alicia began to speak less, so the conversation only revolved around Susan, Luciana, and Paulina, whom Luciana was trying to get to tell them more about herself and her hometown, while Susan wanted to know how she had learned to paint. Williams smiled as he listened to Paulina, who answered their questions timidly as it was ttering for her to find herself amid nobledies who were interested in having such conversations with her. But anyone who listened in closely or who knew Paulina well would know that her stories were either made up or partly true, and Alicia could not help but look at her sadly. She had only had a normal childhood for a while before she was almost sold off and then started serving Amber before she was sent on exile with her, and now she was with Alicia here, and had just managed to narrowly escape death. As their journey grew longer, Alicia began to feel ufortable. She was having terrible motion sickness but didn''t want to ask them to stop because of her, especially when it looked like they were in the woods. The bumpy ride was not helping either. She didn''t know how thesedies were sofortable sitting inside the carriage. Once they got to a very bumpy road beside a smallke, and her motion sickness grew worse. Thankfully, Harold noticed, "Is something wrong, Princess?" He asked as he looked into the carriage from his horse. Every one of them was suddenly quiet and faced Harold, whose sole focus was on Alicia. They could never get used to seeing Harold that way. Both the look on his face and his soft tone whenever he spoke to her were something they just couldn''t get used to, especially Harvey, Lance, and Williams, who had seen what he did just the previous day. By now, Alvin had already gotten enough, so it was no longer new to him. Alicia shed him a smile and nodded, but Harold could see right through her and immediately put his hand up for the ride to be halted. With one look from Alvin, the carriage riders, stopped the horses, and everyone came to a halt. "Let''s take a rest," Harold said as he climbed down from the horse, while the others looked at him in confusion. A rest? When they had only been riding for less than two hours? The girls, however, appreciated it and Susan was the first to open the carriage door and jump out ungracefully, almost straining her ankle before she saw Alvining to help them out and realized she had missed a good opportunity. Alvin didn''t give off any reaction when she looked at him. Instead, he went to help Luciana and Paulina get down, while Harold went to help Alicia climb down. "Why are you never careful?" Williams asked Susan in a scolding voice as he watched her limp to his side before getting down from his horse. "You should have let me help youe down, mydy," Lance said with a smile as he got down from his horse, while Susan eyed him in displeasure. He was about to say something else when his eyesnded on Alicia and what she was wearing. Even William was staring too. It was both rare and surprising and fascinating. But none of them could say anything at the moment, especially seeing how Harold was carefully holding her. It seemed as though they were invading their privacy, so everyone looked away and pretended to be doing something else. Once they all got down, the carriage riders took the horses to theke to quench their thirsts, while Alvin found a spot for them to rest and spread arge quilt, which he had packed with other things on the ground so thedies could sit, while Harvey, Williams, and Lance set down the rest of the snacks, drinks, and roasted meats for them all to eat. "You really do hate carriages," Harold noted as he led Alicia to the spot where Alvin had spread the quilt. He remembered how she had been ufortable the first time he rode with her to the Moon Kingdom and how she had refused to use a carriage but a horse when they went to the marketce. "It''s slightly ufortable." She confessed honestly. "How do you feel now? Would you prefer to ride on Bane with me?" He asked, and Alicia bobbed her head. "I will feel better on the horse," Alicia said before handing him a roasted pork on a skewer which she had reserved for him. "Are you sure you will be okay on the horse with me? Besides, it would mean you would have to leave them alone in the carriage. I noticed you were enjoying theirpany earlier," Harold pointed out. ,m "I''m sure they won''t mind as long as I feel okay. Here, I reserved this for you," she said as she raised the stick to his lips, waiting for him to take a bite. Harold hesitated and bit on the first piece of meat, but almost choked when he noticed all eyes were on them. He had been so engrossed in his conversation with Alicia that he hadn''t realized that they were all still standing there staring at them and listening to their conversation. The first to let out a loud giggle was Paulina, whoas soon as sheughed, became shocked at her audacity tough at Prince Harold. Her face reddened immediately and her hand quickly flew to cover her mouth as all eyes turned to her and the action made everyoneugh. Harold''s face was a bit red as he took the skewer which Alicia was still offering. "You should get some rest," he said before walking away from her. He red at Alvin, who chuckled as he walked past him to tend to his horse. He could tell that Alvin''sughter was his way of getting back at him for teasing him about Susan earlier. Chapter 274 Unwanted Love Interest As thedies sat down on the quilt, the men found rocks to sit on while Harold went to tend to Bane''s mane. "I wonder what is going on in the pce right now," Lance said as they ate, thinking about his father, whom he had not informed before leaving with the group. Although he had a feeling his father would find out about it somehow. "You should head back to the pce if you are so curious," Susan hissed at him. As usual, Lance looked at her with interest as he asked, "Would you like to ride on my horse with me?" "I would rather ride on a one-legged horse," Susan said in an unpleasant tone. "You prefer one-legged horses? I don''t know where I can find it, but I will buy you one," Lance offered, and Williams chuckled, while Susan shook her head. "You don''t seem to understand sarcasm, do you?" Alicia asked in amusement. "Whatnguage is that?" Lance asked, and Alicia shook her head. "Nevermind." He seemed to be slow. She doubted that he would understand her even if she exined it to him. So what was the point? "Do you understand thenguage she is talking about, mydy?" Lance asked Susan hopefully, and she scowled at him. "Can you just stop talking to me?" Alicia was in the middle of drinking water when she paused and looked at Susan and then at Lance. She wanted to ask what was going on, but Luciana beat her to it. "Do you fancy her?" Luciana asked Lance curiously since she had noticed Lance''s unusual behaviour towards Susan. Susan red at Luciana while Lance gave her a wide smile and said, "Isn''t it clear enough?" Susan shrieked in horror, making all the othersugh, and even Harold''s lips twitched slightly where he was with his horse. Alicia looked at each one of them. Although she didn''t know exactly when Lance had joined the group, since she knew that the others didn''t like him, she was d to know that they were all there with her and not judging her. The only person who was missing here was Princess Tyra. Perhaps this was the best time to find out why she wasn''t with them. "How is Princess Tyra doing? Is she well now?" Alicia asked, making every one of them look at her in surprise. How could she be asking of Princess Tyra after learning that Princess Tyra had testified against her? They all mused. All eyes travelled to Harold since they didn''t know what to say or how to respond to her question. "She is feeling better now but she still needs to rest," Harold said as he moved closer to her. "She should have joined us. This trip would have done her some good too," Alicia said, and Harold sighed as he squatted beside her. "I think it''s best she remains in the pce for now until everything has been sorted out," Harold said softly while the others watched them. "Am I still the sole suspect? What did Princess Tyra say?" Alicia asked, and Harold shook his head. "You left the pce so you could get away from that. Let''s not talk about that until you are feeling better, okay?" Harold said softly as he looked into her eyes and patted her hair. Alicia sighed before giving him a nod. While everyone marvelled at how the couple had changed from the always bickering duo to such lovey-dovey, Susan, on the other hand, was still eyeing Alicia''s outfit and feeling envious of howfortably she was seated, unlike them. "Prince Harold, can we get men''s clothing too and change into them when we get to the market?" Susan asked, looking at Harold hopefully, and the same look was mirrored on both Luciana''s and Paulina''s faces. "You can''t!" Williams answered before Prince Harold could. "Do not raise your voice at her, brother-inw," Lance said as he draped a hand around William''s neck. "You can wear whatever you want, mydy," Lance said to Susan, smiling like an idiot. Williams quickly wiggled out of his ''brotherly'' gesture and red at him. "Brother-inw?" Williams asked him. "You do realize her betrothed is here, don''t you?" Williams asked as he looked at Harvey, who raised a brow while Susan red daggers at Williams before she turned to look at Alvin, who was busy sharpening his sword. "I do not have a betrothed!" Susan corrected him immediately, and Lance beamed. "You heard her, right? She doesn''t have a¡ª" "That doesn''t mean I want to marry you," Susan quickly added before Lance could finish gloating. "Besides, you are already betrothed to Princess Tyra," As soon as Susan said that, she thought about Tyra and Damian. "I do not want to marry her. I prefer you." "She is a bad choice for you. Have you ever wondered why she is unmarried yet, or why we have been in the pce for such a long time? She is being trained on how to behave like a properdy and act like a good wife. You probably already know that she doesn''t act like ady," Williams said in a bid to discourage Lance, but unfortunately, it wasn''t going so well because Susan looked at him in rm before looking at Alvin''s side again, who still seemed focused on what he was doing, but it was obvious his lips were curved in a smirk. By now, almost everyone in the group had noticed how she had stared at Alvin a couple of times, the only exception being Paulina and Lance. "Why do you mean by that?" Susan snapped at Williams, and Alvin pretended to cough to hide hisughter as he stood and walked away from there. "I''m unmarried because I''m taking my time to choose the right man! And I am a properdy!" Susan yelled too loudly at Williams, startling her brother while her gaze quickly returned to Alvin, who was walking away from there toward theke. Chapter 275 Serious Time Seeing how upset she was by William''s words, Lance hurried to reassure her, "It doesn''t matter, mydy. Don''t let brother inw''s words ruin your mood. My family is rich enough to have all the servants in the Moon Kingdom. We can even build the biggest herbal store for you, brother-inw. Lady Susan doesn''t have to do anything other than stay beside me and look charming and beautiful for me," he said with a loving gaze directed at her, while Alicia, who had been finding the entire conversation amusing, winced at how that sounded, so she was not surprised to find the frown on Susan''s face. "What a weirdo," Alicia muttered to herself, but everyone heard her. "Weirdo? What is that?" Lance asked, knowing fully well that she was referring to him. Alicia looked up and was surprised when she noticed that all eyes were on her. She knew she hadn''t spoken out loud enough for Lance, who was far away to hear her, so how did he hear her? Was everyone in the Moon Kingdom blessed with such good hearing? She wondered as she forced a smile at him. "It means a very charming man," she lied, but somehow, once she said that memory of something simr shed in her mind and her brows pulled together, but before she could get what it was, it disappeared. "Really? I have never heard that word before." Lance said thoughtfully before his eyes lit up and he looked at Susan. "You see, even Princess Amber agrees with me." "I AM A WEIRDO!" he dered once again, with a very proud and confident smile that made it difficult for Alicia to hold back herughter. She let loose with a loud guffaw while Harold even chuckled where he stood since she had already told him what that meant before when she called him a weirdo. From her reaction, the others could guess that wasn''t the meaning, but the ignorant Lance had no idea as he kept talking about the benefits of being married into his family while Susan looked at him like she was going to stab him to death soon. Once she stoppedughing, she looked at Lance closely and suddenly remembered how he had raised his voice to halt her when the bowl of poison touched her lips. "I was told you im I gave you biscuits?" She asked, and all eyes turned to Lance. "Yes. You still don''t remember?" He asked, and she shook her head, still wondering why she would offer biscuits to him. "Why did I give you a biscuit? I don''t think... I made anyone that day." She asked, and Lance nced at Harold, who was looking at him and waiting for him to speak. There was no way he could say the truth that he had bumped into her and tried to make trouble, so instead, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "You bumped into me along the hallway, and gave me the biscuits while apologizing to me," he said, and Alicia''s brows pulled together as she thought about it. "Along the hallway? Where was I going?" She asked while Harold looked at Lance. "What time did that happen?" Harold asked, and after Lance told him, he nodded. "You wereing to find me," Harold filled in for her. "So you think the biscuits are the cause of what happened to me?" She asked, and when Williams nodded, she began to ponder it. "Do you remember the maid who threw pig''s blood on you in the kitchen the other night?" Alvin asked her as he returned and sat down on the rock beside Prince Harold. Alicia would never forget that incident. She nodded immediately and looked at Alvin, who exchanged a look with Harold. "We think she must have had a hand in it," Alvin said. "She gave me the biscuits?" Alicia asked curiously. "That is what we think." "But why?" She muttered to herself. "I don''t think I have done anything to annoy her before," Alicia said out loud as she tried to remember that girl and how she had thought the girl looked familiar but she couldn''t exactly remember where she saw her outside the pce. "Did Tyra also have the biscuit?" She asked, looking up. "Princess Tyra didn''t. But she said you stabbed her." "It''s enough," Harold said, not wanting them to go back to that topic. Even though he also needed to find answers as soon as possible, he had brought her out so she wouldn''t think about any of those for now and get better. "What happened to you, Harold?" Alicia asked, making Lance choke on his food at how casually she had addressed him. By now, every one of them was used to this whole thing, except for Lance. All eyes turned to Harold, ignoring Lance. They had also been curious, but no one dared ask. "I felt unwell that night," Harold said as he tried to remember. I was returning to the pce, but it was difficult walking. He remembered being about to rest his head on a tree branch and clear his mind when he was shot in the back. "Were you poisoned?" Alicia asked curiously. "Did you eat anything strange?" He shook his head. Everything he had eaten, he ate with the others on the table. No one would have dared poison him or even conceived the thought to do so. But he just couldn''t tell what exactly had happened to his body that night. Everyone was quiet for a moment, not sure what to say then. Alicia sighed as she said, "Someone else was there." "Where?" Harvey asked, speaking for the first time. Alicia was lost in thought as she tried to tap into her memory of what had happened that night. She told them about how she had woken up feeling thirsty and lightheaded and how she felt someone was outside her door but couldn''t remember anything else other than a dead body, blood, and someone whispering that it was her turn next. That sent chills down Paulina''s spine, who shifted closer to Alicia and held the hem of her shirt tightly. "But... Princess Tyra said you said that to her," Susan said in confusion. Chapter 276 Recalling (1) On hearing that Tyra had told Susan she had said the exact words to her, Alicia looked at Susan in confusion. What was happening? Had she remembered it wrongly? "She told you I said that?" Alicia asked with a confused frown, and Susan pressed her lips together when Harold shot her a re. Seeing that Susan was not going to say anything else because she feared Harold, Alicia rose from there and walked slowly to where Harold was. When she noticed he was standing up too, she shook her head, telling him to remain there. Harold could do nothing but look at her skeptically as she tried to ignore the faint pain under her feet and walk toward him. When she got to where he was, she sat down on the rock beside him and began to speak slowly, "Can you at least fill me in on my day? Everything I did during the day before that night?" She asked hopefully, and Harold''s brows drew together in concern. "Don''t worry. I will be fine, I just need answers. I don''t like feeling like I''m missing memories, and something tells me the memories are important. Did I speak with Harvey yet?" She asked, and Harvey, who was seated away from them, nced at her, as did everyone else who was wondering why she needed to speak with Harvey. Paulina, on the other hand, looked at the others in confusion as she wondered why they were staring at Alicia and Harold so intently when they couldn''t even hear what the couple were discussing silently. Harold looked away from Alicia to the rest of the group since he knew they could all hear her even though she was speaking quietly for his ears alone. "Let''s talk about itter," Harold said, and Alicia shook her head, not understanding why he wasn''t answering any of her questions. "Whyter? It''s not like we are doing anything else right now. Don''t you need answers too? I''m sure you also want to know whether or not I did it..." "I know you did not do it," Harold said, and Alicia frowned. He couldn''t even be mad at her right now since he was just relieved that she was back to her usual stubborn self. "How are you so sure about that? What if it''s like what happened the other time?" Alicia asked, and Harold gritted his teeth in frustration since he knew they were all listening and were looking at them with curiosity, wondering what happened the other time. Although Alvin understood what she was talking about, he was just as curious as the rest of the group to know what was going on with Alicia. "You told me so," Harold said with forced patience, and seeing that she wasn''t going to stop pestering him until they talked about it, he stood up and offered her his hand. When she gave him a questioning look, he said, "Let''s go for a walk." That made her even more confused. Why did they have to go for a walk? But she didn''t question it. She reached out to hold his hand and he helped her up, making sure to walk at her pace as they went closer to theke. As they walked away from the others, Alvin stood up and followed them from a safe distance. "When did I tell you that I did not do it?" Alicia asked him. "When you were sleeping." "If I was sleeping, how did I tell you that?" She asked with a slight frown. "You don''t remember anything about the conversation we had with Harvey?" Harold asked, and she shook her head. "I don''t. I had some shes like I spoke with him, but I can''t remember it clearly," she said, and Harold sighed. How was he supposed to exin what had transpired and how she had spoken in his head if she didn''t remember the part about Ambering from a lineage of witches? When they were far enough away from the others, he stopped walking and found a spot beside theke where she could sit. Once they were seated, he looked at her and asked, "What do you want to know?" "Everything. Can you tell me all that happened on the day of the banquet? All I did?" She asked, and Harold gave her a nod. "You didn''t do much. You came for breakfast as usual, and I escorted you back to your chamber after breakfast..." "What happened during breakfast?" Alicia asked curiously since she knew that breakfast was usually eventful, especially now that there were more people around who hade for the banquet. "It was nothing serious," Harold said but went on to fill her in on the details since it seemed important to her. "Typical you," Alicia said with an amused smile when Harold told her how he had left the dining room with her after getting angry at Sir Gregory for implying that she should teach his maids how to prepare the snacks, instead of his wife. "I will never let anyone get away with insulting you," Harold said with a serious expression in his eyes as he reached to brush some strands of hair away from her face while maintaining eye contact with her. She held his gaze before putting her head down, smiling a little. Well, she wouldn''t deny that his words made her heart flutter and gave her butterflies. "I... think I know that," Alicia said as she raised her head to look at him. "Good. You should always remember it." He said in a serious tone before gently tapping her cheek and with a concerned look, he asked, "Are you cold? Why is your face so red?" Alicia stilled for a moment before it dawned on her what she was talking about. Sheughed awkwardly as she pped his hand away. "I am fine," she said with augh. Sometimes, she seemed to forget how naive Harold was. He seemed to not believe her, and so she cleared her throat, returning to seriousness as she asked, "So what else happened? Did I hang out with Princess Tyra and Susan?" Harold still looked at her with concern before he shook his head. "They were staying away from you before then, remember?" Harold asked, and she sighed when she remembered how they had been avoiding her. "You are right. So what did I do if I didn''t hang out with them?" She asked, and then watched Harold distractedly pluck out a wild flower beside him. Instead of answering her question, he seemed engrossed in looking at it and pulling out the thorns. She was about to call out his name when he suddenly faced her and handed her the flower. She was a little flustered but was touched by the gesture. With a soft "thanks," she received the flower from him and sniffed it. Bad move. She immediately withdrew it from her nose. It smelled terrible. As hard as she tried not to show it, she couldn''t help it. "Is it bad?" He asked in a soft tone. She forced a smile at him, but it didn''tst for long because she sneezed. Harold reached to grab the flower from her, but she quickly saved it and hid it behind her, refusing to give it to him while Alvin was trying hard not tough out loud. He tried to cover hisughter with a cough again, but Harold''s deadly re sought him, and he immediately kept a straight face and turned around, walking farther away from there. "I''ll keep this," Alicia said as she hid the flower behind her, possessively, ignoring a frowning Harold. "So tell me... what else did I do that day?" She asked, going back to the serious topic. "You were in your chamber. I asked you to stay in, until I sent Alvin to you," Harold exined quietly. "What did you send him to me for?" "I wanted you to wait for Harvey and I at the pavilion. You said you wanted to speak to Harvey." "About Princess Amber, right?" She asked, and Harold gave her a nod as he went on to tell her about the part of the discussion he had heard before he left. "A witch?" Alicia asked, not sounding as surprised as she should be, and then her brows pulled together when it urred to her that this wasn''t news to her. Although she had only just heard about it now from Harold, it seemed like she already knew about it. It wasn''t exactly like she had a memory of talking to Harvey about it, but it seemed like a recent memory. "Are you okay?" Harold asked when he noticed the way her brows were narrowed in concentration. Alicia said nothing as she tried to focus on a memory. She could sense it was very close. It wasn''t blocked like the rest of the memories of the banquet day. This seemed like a more recent memory. "Blood moon." Chapter 277 Recalling (2) ''Blood Moon.'' "Witches are hated in my world.'' Alicia''s brows pulled together as she tried to make sense of where she had heard those words. It was a feminine voice. Who said that to her? Was it Amber? Or Queen Anne? She mused. "Princess?" Harold called softly as he touched her arm, and she looked into his face. "Did you remember something just now?" Harold asked, and Alicia sighed. "I''m not sure yet. I feel like I dreamt of Princess Amber. Or maybe it was Queen Anne," Alicia said and Harold nodded. "I think you might possess their powers," Harold said, and Alicia looked at him curiously. "Me? Why do you think so?" "I heard your voice in my head while I was unconscious. You said you would never forgive me if I didn''t wake up," Harold said, and Alicia''s eyes widened in surprise since she could remember she had said that. "You... heard that?" She asked, and Harold gave her a nod. "And while you were asleep, you heard my thoughts and responded," Harold said, and her mouth dropped open as she raised a hand to her chest in disbelief. "I... did?" She asked, and Harold nodded again. "You told me you didn''t do it, so I''m sure you didn''t do it," Harold said, and she looked at him curiously. "Do you believe in witches? Don''t you think it would be a problem for you if truly Princess Amber is a witch?" Alicia asked with concern. "I don''t care about that. All I want is for you to be safe," Harold said, but Alicia remained worried. "So you left me alone with Harvey?" She asked, returning to their discussion. "Yes." "Can I speak with Harvey? I need to know what happened after that," she said, and Harold looked at her for a moment before giving her a nod. "You can do soter. I brought you out because I wanted you to rest." "I know. But I cannot rest. You and Tyra were almost killed. Beth was killed while I am being framed for everything and almost got killed! Paulina almost lost her life too. The king is also ill. I can''t just pretend like I''m on a high school field trip and live happily." She pointed it out to him and noticed the confusion on his face when she talked about a field trip. She sighed and reached out to hold his hand. "I just want to know. Otherwise, I won''t befortable and it wouldn''t matter that I am out of the pce. Nothing would change." Harold sighed and held her hand as he said softly, "After your discussion with Harvey, Alvin escorted you back to your chamber. I suppose you left your chamber and were on your way to find me when you bumped into Lance. I can''t tell when you were given the biscuits," Harold said, and Alicia nodded thoughtfully. "What did we talk about? When I thought I was going to die, I was sad because I couldn''t remember ourst conversation," Alicia confided, and Harold chuckled, surprising her. "What is funny?" She asked in confusion. "It was hardly a pleasant memory. You were upset and yelling at me. You even said you were going to kill me when I carried you on my shoulder back to your chamber," Harold said in amusement as he recalled what transpired between them. He was about to start narrating to her when something urred to him, making him furrow his brows. "Harold?" Alicia called softly when she noticed the thoughtful look in his eyes, and Harold looked at her. "Are you okay? I asked you why I was upset," Alicia repeated, reminding him that he was supposed to be telling her about what had transpired between them. Harold''s thoughts drifted back to what happened when Alicia joined him and Tyra. "I was looking for you everywhere," Alicia said breathlessly. "I will return to my room now," Tyra said politely, bowed, and left the couple without listening to Harold''s protest to wait so they could see her off. "Aren''t you supposed to be in your chamber?" He asked Alicia after Tyra left. Still panting, she reached for his water gourd but found it empty. "No more water?" she asked with displeasure. "Tyra only brought that. Why are you panting? Did you run?" He asked as he began to walk ahead of her. "Where are you going to?" she asked. "To find you some water." He said and tried to keep his pace even so she could catch up. "I wanted to ask you something," Alicia said breathlessly. "Don''t say anything and try to catch your breath before you speak," Harold cautioned. "How can I catch my breath when you''re still walking?" She asked in annoyance. "Then wait here while I get you water," Harold said and quickly hurried away from her with his gourd to find her water. He returned a momentter with a gourd of water, which he handed her, saying, "You should not always run." He advised. She epted the gourd from him and took mightly gulps from it, some slipping out and ending up on her face and the side of her mouth. Harold looked at her with his lips pressed together, "I understand why Harvey easily believes you are not Amber." "What do you mean by that?" She growled at him, and Harold shook his head in disapproval. "Your training will resume after the banquet. I have to start from scratch and teach you how to act like a properdy," Harold said, thinking that she would have to learn to be more gracious as Queen. "I know how to act like ady just fine," she hissed in annoyance. Sensing that they were going to be having a misunderstanding soon if he didn''t change the subject, Harold gave her a false smile and said, "You do, Princess. What were you going to ask me?" He asked, and immediately Alicia narrowed her eyes. "I finally figured out what you''re hiding from me. I mean the secret of the Moon Kingdom," Alicia said, and Harold''s heart skipped a beat as he wondered if Harvey had told her about it. He was going to behead him if he had done that. But he doubted that. She seemed too rxed for someone who knew about their kind. Keeping his face casually nk, he raised a brow, "Tell me about it then." "Harvey doesn''t want to admit it..." she used her hand to gesture for him toe closer. Curiously, he went closer and even tried to meet her height when she stretched to whisper in his ear, "I know you are witch hunters." Harold snorted and stepped away from her. "Witch hunters?" "Yes. Are you not?" She asked, and Harold shook his head. "No." "Then what are you?" She asked with a confused frown, and Harold shook his head. "I''ve told you already. I''m not saying anything until you give yourself to me. So if you want to know..." "WHY?" She yelled at him, surprising Harold, who looked around to be sure no one was watching them. "Why do I have to give myself to you to know anything? Don''t you know that this is called ckmail? How am I even sure that whatever you are going to tell me is even worth it?" She snapped at him, and Harold raised an eyebrow. He wasn''t sure he was ever going to get used to being yelled at. "You know what? Don''t tell me anything. Why am I even wasting my time? I''m going to ask the King myself!" She said impatiently and started marching towards the pce, but before she could take a few steps, Harold swept her off her feet and carried her on his shoulder. "HAROLD!" She shrieked in horror since that had happened so fast. "Set me down this moment or I''m going to kill you." Harold ignored her as she kicked and cussed and yelled. He ignored all the eyes that followed them as he took her to her chamber, and once he walked through the door, he threw her on the bed. "Don''t leave your chamber again, and don''t go about asking anyone any questions," Harold warned. "Or what? What are you going to do?" She hissed at him, and Harold smiled at her. "I don''t know what I''m going to do, Princess. But if you want to be safe, you have to stay in your chamber." "Why? Safe from what? At least tell me something!" She snapped at him in frustration. "I can''t tell you anything until you..." Harold let the rest of his words trail off, and he bit back a chuckle when he saw the sh of anger in her eyes. "You will be served dinner in your chamber. I mightete, but I will join you before dawn," Harold promised as he headed for the door while Alicia red at his back. He paused by the door when he remembered something, and turned to her as he bent to take out a dagger from his boot. "You left it in my chamber. Keep it beside you tonight," he said as he returned to give her the dagger. "You have some nerve giving a dagger to an angry woman. You remember what happened thest time I was angry with you, and I had a dagger, don''t you?" She asked, and Harold smiled. "I know you won''t hurt me again... baby." he said confidently before walking away, leaving Alicia, whose jaw was hanging loose as she kept asking herself in disbelief, "Did he just call me ''BABY!?" Chapter 278 Palace Quarrel (1) Back in the pce, one would think Ivan was joking about leaving despite Harold''s orders until he was seen mounting his horse with a sword in hand. The news flew around the pce quickly, and before he could move even an inch, a crowd of people ran out of the pce doors, blocking his path as they looked at him in anger. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" The minister of justice bellowed at him in anger. Seeing this interruption, Ivan frowned but didn''t get down from his horse, as he eyed all of them in displeasure. "What does it look like I am doing, old man?" Ivan snarled at him as he wiggled atop his horse from side to side. "O-Old... man? You!" The man eximed with fury, but Ivan didn''t wait to hear the rest of his words before he interrupted. "You all should move out of my way. I do not mind riding over you all to get to my destination." He warned. He was too tired to argue with them. He was starving and thirsty. As someone who eats almost every hour of the day, he was not used to fasting. "We do not care wherever you are going to, but you cannot leave the pce. There has been a clear instruction that no one should do so." Another man said in a thick, serious voice. "Clear instructions?" Ivan asked with a scoff. "From who exactly? The king?" "From Prince Harold! And we are going to obey it. Every one of us." The man replied, earning a snort from Ivan. "Ah! You sound so obedient. How disgusting." Ivan spat out and tried to move with his horse, but the men drew closer and some dared to draw their swords at him, making anger sh in his eyes. "I AM THE ELDEST PRINCE AND HEIR TO THE RED THRONE. IF ANYONE DARES DISRESPECT ME OVER HAROLD''S ORDERS, I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAD!" Ivan swore in a booming voice that almost intimidated them if not for the presence of the king''s guards, who were watching from the balcony on the third floor, as though whatever was happening downstairs had nothing to do with them. "YOU DARE NOT DO SUCH A THING!" The Minister of Justice spoke once more, causing Ivan''s anger to rise to the apex, but he tried to save his energy as he spoke calmly. "Aren''t you ashamed? You are the Minister of Justice yet you act so... idiotic." "Idiotic?" The man scoffed. "Sometimes I wonder how it is that you are a prince, but then, I cannot fault the royal blood." He sneered. "How dare you?!" He roared as he jumped down from his horse, his sword unsheathed to strike him down, but many other swords were unsheathed and pointed at him, making him halt and look at them in disbelief. "WHAT? YOU DARE POINT YOUR SWORDS AT ME? DO YOU NOT KNOW WHO I AM?" "We all know who you are. It is the reason we do not want bloodshed. You have to return inside, my prince." Another noble said in a calm tone, hoping he would be reasonable and save them all from the angry Alpha. "None of you here have any right to tell me what to do! Prince Harold left the pce with my wife, yet none of you could do anything about it! He is trying to get back to me and get rid of her outside the pce, but you want me to stay back?" He asked in disbelief and looked at each of them as though he was looking at idiots. "Your wife? As far as we know, Lady Benedicta is in her chamber and¡ª" "WHAT STUPID BENEDICTA ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?" He glowered at the man. "PRINCE IVAN!" The queen yelled as she approached them. The nobles formed a path for the queen to pass so she could get to her son and hopefully speak some sense into that thick skull of his. The queen was enraged, and Ivan could see it. But he didn''t care. Because he was enraged too. And he needed an outlet to let it out before it consumed him. Unfortunately, this was going to be a useless battle. There was no way he could leave here if they all wanted to stop him from doing so. Maybe he could get away with striking down one or two people, but what about the rest? Over twenty people were trying to stop him. A majority of whom were well-versed in martial arts and swordsmanship. "Follow me," the queen said to him in a tight voice before she turned around to face the nobles. "Apologies, he had a bad sleep." She said with an apologetic bow and a tight smile before she began to walk back the same way she had taken there. "You all... I won''t forget this day!" Ivan promised them and groaned in frustration before he followed his mother while ring at all of them. The queen didn''t stop walking. She continued until they were in her tea room, and as soon as Ivan entered, she didn''t wait for him to close the door behind him when she turned around and raised her hand to p him. Fortunately or unfortunately, Ivan was swift this time and caught her hand in midair before it happened. "What are you trying to do?" He asked her with a dark re. She looked at him in surprise and looked at the hand he was holding tightly. She tried to retrieve her hand from his hold, but he held on tightly and even squeezed it painfully, causing her to wince in pain as she looked at him in disbelief. "It is a punishable offence to dishonour your parents!" She reminded him harshly as she tried to pull her hand back. With one dark re, he threw down her hand and took a step backwards. "Do not ever raise your hands at me again," Ivan warned, shocking the queen once again. Chapter 279 Palace Quarrel (2) "HOW DARE YOU? YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GET THE ARISTOCRATS ON YOUR SIDE! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE NICE TO BENEDICTA! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHAT HAS COME OVER YOU?" She shrieked. Although she was tempted to hit him again, she didn''t. "What is wrong with me?" Ivan asked with a dry chuckle. "LUCIANA IS OUT THERE!" He pointed in the direction of the pce gate. "And so what? What business of yours is that?" The Queen asked, struggling to control her temper. "She is my wife and she is out there with Harold! It''s going to get dark soon and I have no idea where she is or what Harold has done with her¡ª" "COME TO YOUR SENSES!" She yelled in frustration, shutting him up. She was beginning to lose patience with her stupid, ipetent son, who only knew how to stir trouble. If only he was half the man Harold was, things wouldn''t have been this way. "It is over between you and her no matter how hard you try. You should move your affection onto Benedicta and not hit her! Do you know what hitting her could cause? Do you know how hard it was to appease her?" "Appease her? Why? You said it yourself, mother. There is nothing wrong in a husband trying to discipline his wife," he reminded her, leaving her flustered. She remembered. She had said that in his defense during his fight with Princess Amber concerning Luciana. "She is not just anyone! Benedicta is not just any maiden. She is going to be the queen!" "Benedicta?" Ivan asked,ughing. "I have no intention of making her my queen, dear mother," he said, causing his mother to look at him in horror. "It is enough for her to provide heirs. You are the one expecting too much." "What... what hase over you?" She asked in a broken voice. She looked like she was going to cry at any moment, but she swallowed it and straightened her shoulders. "I''m not going to let you ruin everything because of your foolishness," she said before turning to the door. "Seize him!" Shemanded loudly. Ivan looked around him in confusion as four burly guards marched inside the chamber and seized him from both sides. "He must not step out of his chamber no matter what." The queen ordered them. "What? What do you think you are doing? I am the prince! You cannot do this to me. Get your hands off me before I rip you apart!" "Make sure he doesn''t try to unseal his windows either." Ivan''s head snapped up to look at his mother. "What windows? What did you do?" "When you return to your senses, you will be let out." She said in a serious tone. "And remember what I told you earlier... if you continue this way with Luciana, I will have no choice but to make sure she doesn''t live one more day. If you think I cannot do it, try to disobey me one more time." She said in a dark voice. "I WILL KILL YOU! IF YOU DARE TOUCH LUCIANA, I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!" Ivan threatened and kept shouting even as he was dragged out by the guards and taken to his chamber. "Such devotion." The queen mocked him as she watched them drag him out of her chamber. Once they had left, she took a deep breath and sped both hands in front of her. Why was everything going wrong? She mused before remembering that she wanted to speak with Tyra one more time privately. She needed to find out what was going on from Tyra and confirm if it was truly Harold''s bride who had hurt her and killed Beth. If it was Harold''s wife, that meant she still needed to find out who had hurt Harold since she was sure that whoever had hurt him was also the one messing with her. ******** Meanwhile, away from there on the path to the vige, Harold was busy reminding Alicia of all that happened between them that day, while the rest of the group was wondering what they had been talking about and Harvey''s involvement in all of it. "You must know what they are talking about. What is it?" Luciana asked Harvey in a whisper, and the rest turned to look at him. He simply shrugged and kept mum while he continued using his dagger to carve shapes from sticks. "It feels nice to be out here like this," Lance said as he looked up at the evening sky. "I have never been out like this before," Lance said. "Do you mean you don''t go out?" Luciana asked him. "I do. But not always. As an important part of this kingdom, I have to be protected at all times," he said matter-of-factly. Susan tried not to react, but she couldn''t stop herself from snorting out loud. "You don''t believe me?" Lance asked, facing her. "Whenever I go out, people respect me so much. I cause so much distraction. They always move out of the way and show me much reverence," he said with a smug smile. "I would move out of your way too if I saw you," Susan muttered under her breath. "I think they were actually trying to get away from you, but well..." Luciana said, and let her words trail off as she shrugged. "They do that because they cannot stand in the same presence as me. They see me as a god," He proudly,pleting the sentence for her. "Let me guess... you go about with guards, heavily armed guards, and dresses that make you stand out like a peacock, and you think anyone would want to approach you?" Susan asked incredulously. Lance blinked at her and frowned. "Pea¨C what?" "It wasn''t me. Someone else said you looked like a peacock." "Who dared to address me with such a vile term?" He asked in anger before he noticed how they were all looking at him and tried to keep calm. Chapter 280 Fancy Dying Everyone continued to look at Lance without saying a word, as they tried to figure out why he reasoned and behaved the way he did. "You do not expect me to dress shabbily, do you?" Lance asked in a calmer tone. "Do you have friends?" Williams asked him, but Lance waved it off. "Everyone feels intimidated by me," he informed them. Paulina sighed in distress for him. What kind of life was that? "What was that?" Lance looked at her, shooting a brow up. "Eh?" Paulina looked up at him in fear when he turned his attention to her. "You feel sorry for me?" He asked her in disbelief. Paulina shook her head immediately. "Uh... no. I don''t..." "You are a servant, right?" She nodded timidly, and he snorted. "What''s that for?" Williams asked Lance, frowning. "What''s what for?" Lance asked back. "The sound you just made." Susan pointed out in displeasure. Lance shrugged. "Nothing. I am just amused to find a servant feeling sorry for me," he said, almost sounding disbelieving. "She is not a servant. She is Princess Amber''s handmaiden." Williams corrected. "There is no difference between a handmaiden and a servant, is there?" Lance asked before gesturing around them. "Look around us. He isn''t only from a noble family, but he is one of the officials," he gestured at Harvey, who was still busy with whatever he was carving before he pointed at Luciana. "Even though things didn''t end well for her, she is also from a noble family and was married to a prince." Luciana red at him, but he ignored her and looked at the direction Alicia had taken with Harold. "Princess Amber is a princess and is also married to Prince Harold. You and your sister are from a noble and royal family," he pointed out to all of them. "These are the kinds of people I move with. Isn''t it clear that she and..." He looked toward Alvin''s direction, who was approaching them as he said, "...that big guy are out of ce--?" "You must have a death wish!" "You must fancy dying." Susan and Williams said at the same time as they red at him angrily. "Wow! You two are really twins. You both said the same thing! Say something again," Lance said in fascination, but Susan snapped at him. "If you have a problem with being in the same ce as them, then you should return to the pce. We won''t let you belittle anyone here. Unless you have a death wish." She always seemed to forget that Lance liked it when she spoke like this because as much as he was flustered and confused about why they were getting angry when he had just pointed out the truth, he seemed enthralled as he looked at Susan. "I am really going to marry you," he said, looking awestruck while every one of them released a sigh, except for Paulina, who was still scared, and Harvey, who was trying not tough. As much as Lance was stupid, he was a funpany. "We will be moving soon," Alvin informed them as he got closer before looking pointedly at Harvey. Harvey looked at him closely and could tell Prince Harold wanted to speak with him. Or maybe it wasn''t Prince Harold once again. Alvin turned his attention to Paulina and asked, "How are your feet?" "It... it is... fine," Paulina said as she looked down. Ever since she called him names, she dreaded meeting him or speaking with him like this. "You need to return to the carriage. It''s time to rub the balm on your wounds." He said as he took out the small container from his pocket. Paulina nodded quickly and stood up, wincing slightly. Even though the burn wounds were surprisingly closed up, they still hurt a bit. She never thought it possible to be standing on her feet a few dayster after that happened. Alvin moved to where she was and tried to carry her in his arms like he had done before, but she stepped back in horror and looked around them in embarrassment. "I... can walk," "She walked before. She is fine. Why are you trying to carry her?" Susan asked as she went to stand in between them. As expected, Alvin ignored them and moved to carry Paulina again, but this time, Susan squeezed herself in between the two of them. "She can walk! Even if she needs someone to carry her, Williams can do that. Right?" Susan turned to look at her brother, who nodded and stood up immediately. Paulina''s already red face reddened even more, and she shook her head more vigorously this time. "Why is it okay for Sir Williams to carry her and not me?" Alvin asked as he tried to swallow his displeasure. "You... you are big. You are going to scare her if you carry her. She... needs someone shorter." Susan said awkwardly, and just like the others, she knew she wasn''t making sense. Williams also wasn''t taking it nicely. Maybe Alvin was tall... he wasn''t short! "I... am fine. I... can... w-walk," Paulina said as she snatched the balm from Alvin and hurriedly began to limp towards the carriage without looking back. Alvin looked at her back with pursued lips before he turned to go get his horse, leaving Susan to stare at his back while Williams was ring daggers at her. "Why... do I feel something strange is going on here?" Lance asked in confusion, while Luciana just kept a close eye on all of them before she stood up and began to head toward the carriage. Luciana thought with amusement that this was such a fun trip and she was d that she had followed them. Harvey had taken that distraction as an opportunity to go join the couple, and as soon as Susan saw the three of them, she turned to her brother, ignoring his re as she asked, "Something is really happening between the three of them. Why are they keeping us out of it?" "How am I supposed to know that?" He asked back. "Then I''ll find out for us," Susan promised. Chapter 281 Loyalty For A Promise Before Williams could stop her, she hurried towards them. Alvin sighted her from his end and followed suit to stop her, but her distance was shorter, which meant she would get to them first. She was curious to know how far they had gone in putting things together. She was too far into this now, so she needed to know all the clues they were trying to gather. And seeing how Harvey was involved with them, she wanted to know what he had with them. As soon as Harold saw her, he excused himself from Alicia and Harvey before looking in Alvin''s direction, stopping him from trying to get to her. Alvin was a little bit hesitant, but he bowed before turning around. At the same time, Harold met Susan halfway and stood in front of her. "Do you trust Harvey more than me because I am rted to the Queen?" Susan asked as soon as she got to him. For some reason, she could tell he didn''t want her to know what they were talking about. "No." "Oh... okay?" Susan replied in an uncertain tone. Harold wasn''t the type to sugarcoat things just to please the other person. So if he said no, then it was the truth. "What are they talking about?" She asked as she looked ahead in their direction. With how close the distance was, she could probably hear them if she tried to, so Harold decided to distract her. "Have a walk with me, cousin?" "Eh?" She asked in surprise and confusion. That sounded... suspicious. Cousin? "I need to ask you something important." "Oh... okay." She looked at Alicia and Harvey again before she followed Harold, who led her to a different side, far away from the rest. "What happened on the day Princess Tyra confessed to you that Princess Amber was responsible for stabbing her?" Harold asked her. Susan recalled the incident and narrated to him how scared Tyra had been and how she had unknowingly let others hear her. "There was nothing I could do since Sir Damian came in with Sir Cory and the physician. They all heard her. It was impossible to cover it." Susan said with a sigh as she remembered how heartbroken she had been on that day. Damian. Had that been a coincidence? Harold had a lot of theories ying in his head, but he didn''t dare try to think about them. "Do you mayhap know anything about Damian and... Princess Tyra?" He asked. Susan tried not to show it, but Harold saw it. She was making an effort to not show any reaction, but that was a reaction on its own. And Harold caught it. "What is it?" "I don''t know!" Susan said defensively. "You swore..." He reminded her, "..on your life." "My prince..." "It is an order." He said it in a serious tone that made fear grip her. Susan began to move from one foot to another and bit her nails nervously. What was she supposed to do? She had promised Tyra too. Wouldn''t this be a problem? Seeing the impatient look on Harold''s face, she blurted,"They... are in love!" Harold was startled to hear that. In love? Damian and Tyra? That was thest thing he had expected, and it showed on his face. "Please don''t do anything about it. I wasn''t supposed to tell you. It is already bad enough that they have to hide it. You should let them be." Harold began to remember how desperate she sounded whenever she asked him to support her choice of a lover in the future. And how she seemed to know all that was happening with the queen and within the pce. It was Damian? "You must be disappointed. But we do not choose who we fall in love with. Even if it is going to get us into trouble." "Just like you are doing?" He asked. "What?" Harold looked in Alvin''s direction, where he was talking to his horse, and she followed his gaze. "Do you think that is possible?" Harold asked her. This time, he was surprisingly sounding like a worried cousin or worried friend, she didn''t know if he was worried about her or for Alvin. He was a servant. She was of noble blood. And he wasn''t just any servant, but for Harold! ,m Susan turned to look at him. "I... can guess you... wish to lord over us all." He raised an eyebrow. Her hands balled into fists beside her as she tried not to show her fear. These words were worthy of being termed treason. "I have sworn my loyalty to you and I will do that again and give you every piece of information I know. In return..." Harold''s raised brow went even higher. "You... will make me a promise." "A promise?" "A royal decree. For my family." "I already promised I''ll try to spare your parents and your brother." He reminded her. "Not that." She shook her head before looking at Alvin again. "No one can reject a marriage to the King''s Beta." Harold looked at her, a little surprised, before his eyes moved to Alvin again, who was still speaking to his horse but smiling now. It was rare to find Alvin smiling at people. It''s almost as rare as finding a yellow sea. But yeah, he smiled at his horse. "I won''t do it if Alvin doesn''t want it." "He will want it." She said confidently. "It will be put into thought when I think Alvin wants it too." She smiled at him and nodded, "Then I must tell you something..." She looked around and stepped even closer to him, despite the fact that others obviously wouldn''t hear them from that end. "If we can find whoever has the beta''s nightmare, we can find the one who has been against the royal family for a long time." "Ah! I never thought about it." Harold said sarcastically. Of course! Everyone knew that was the answer to the problem. Was she trying to annoy him? "Prince Harry... it was involved in his death," she whispered, and Harold''s expression went from annoyed to curious. "What has that got to do with this?" Harold asked with a frown. "Beta''s nightmare. He was fed with it," she exined, and Harold''s brow pulled together as the implication of her words dawned on him. Chapter 282 Quiet Trip Different thoughts were running through Alicia''s head as Harvey told her about the conversation they had thest time at the pavilion in the pce. She sighed when Harvey finished, not knowing what to say or think. "Can I ask you a question?" Harvey asked hopefully. "If it''s about what happened to Beth, I still don''t remember," she said, and Harvey shook his head. "No, it''s not that. Earlier... when you were talking with Prince Harold, you mentioned that something happened some time ago. What happened?" Alicia''s brows pulled together as she tried to figure out what he was talking about. "When Prince Harold said you didn''t do it, you asked why he was so sure and what if it was like what happened the other time," Harvey reminded her when she seemed not to be remembering. "Oh!" Alicia eximed softly as she nced at where Harold stood in the distance, conversing with Susan and Williams. Could she tell him that? Wouldn''t that be like shooting herself in the leg? If she told him the truth, he wouldn''t believe that she was innocent anymore, would he? "I''m on your side, you know? If there is something I should know, you should tell me," Harvey urged her when he noticed her hesitation. Even though she wasn''t sure Harold would want her to tell him, she thought he needed to know. After all, he knew Amber was from a lineage of witches and she was a different being upying Amber''s body. Surely he would understand that she had no control over what it was. She suspected he loved Amber, and she believed that no matter what she told him, he wouldn''t expose her or put her in danger. That would be like endangering Amber, who was his friend. "I was told I killed three men who attacked us on our way from the vige, but I have no memory of doing it," Alicia summarized. "I can''t wield a sword or handle a dagger, but it seems I''m able to do so when I''m in danger. I think Princess Amber takes possession of the body when there is danger," she exined, and Harvey had a thoughtful look on his face as he listened. "You know Amber closely. Do you think it''s her?" "I cannot say for certain if it is Princess Amber or not." ,m "What? Why?" "Although we have sparred a couple of times and she was able to easily catch up with some martial arts skills, I do not think she has ever been in a fight with a man before, much less three men," Harvey exined, and Alicia''s frown deepened. "Then what does that mean?" She asked, and Harvey shrugged. "It could be her. It may also be something we have no idea about. I''m not sure what is going on with you..." "Prince Harold said Imunicated with him telepathicall..." She stopped when she realized he wouldn''t know the meaning of the word. "He said I was in his head," she exined, and Harvey''s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You were in his head?" He asked, and Alicia gave him a nod as she exined what Harold had told her about how he woke up and how she told him she was innocent while responding to his thoughts. Harvey said nothing as he listened to her. There seemed to be more going on with her than he had assumed. As much as he knew, Princess Amber had no powers. She had tried everything she could to be able to cast spells, but nothing ever worked as far as he knew. So what could this mean? Was it possible that someone else entirely was possessing the body too? Or was this all Alicia? He mused as he looked at her closely with interest. They couldn''t spend more time talking about it since Harold joined them and said they needed to get back on the road before it became very dark. As they resumed their trip to the vige, everyone was quieter this time as each had different thoughts that were going on in their heads. Luciana was worried about something she knew she shouldn''t be worrying about. Someone rather. Ivan. While helping Paulina apply some ointment on her feet earlier, she had thought about the wound she had seen on Ivan''s arm, and she couldn''t help worrying about him. She knew that Harold had asked the physicians not to treat anyone apart from the King and Tyra, but now she was worried about Ivan. She wondered if Benedicta would take care of his wound. She sighed when she remembered that Benedicta had been hurt the previous day too. And she knew she couldn''t count on the Queen to do anything about Ivan''s wound. She was also worried because she knew Ivan could not stay without food. How was he going to survive? No matter how angry and betrayed she felt, she just couldn''t seem to break out of the habit of worrying about him, even though she knew he was a selfish person who did not deserve her love or concern. While she was thinking about that, Harold was thinking about Susan''s revtion concerning the death of his half-brother, Prince Harry. Was it possible that Prince Harry had ingested the beta''s nightmare? Was that why he had attacked him so violently that fateful day until he was left with no choice but to fight back and defend himself? Who could have fed the first prince the Beta''s nightmare? And why? Was it possible that someone else could have been responsible for that one incident that had redefined his entire existence? Although he had always kept to himself, Prince Harry had done his best to treat him as his younger brother, and he had been as devastated by the death of Prince Harry as everyone else, yet no one cared that he had only been trying to defend himself. Not even the moon goddess. He had been isted, beaten, starved, and forcefully fed some bad-smelling medicine that made him throw up for days. Then he started feeling lightheaded, sick, and weak. And then he suddenly shifted one night. It was so painful that he thought he was going to die. He cried his eyes out the next day, and before he could recover from that, it happened again. This time, everyone could tell something was wrong. The physician, however, had no idea what it was, and when it continued to happen like that for the rest of the week, no one could take it anymore. His cries were usually loud and could not let anyone sleep at night. Plus he could not control his wolf, so sometimes, either someone had been scratched badly, or he fought with a night guard, or he scattered and destroyed anything he could find. Chapter 283 The Curse The king, who was still grieving for his first son, had "suggested" for him to leave the pce every evening before his shift until they found the solution. At least he was kind enough to provide some guards for him who wouldn''t let him wander too far. They made him a cot away from the pce where he had to stay, and Alvin was always there with him, feeding him meals and medicine whenever he shifted back the next day. He had asked Alvin to leave several times because he had injured the youngd more times than he could count after shifting. But Alvin refused to leave. They had been friends for 5 years, and he was going to stick around. Then one day, the answer finally came. He didn''t even know that people like that existed until he saw the shaman. The man had said he was suffering punishment for killing a prince. He was going to remain like that for the rest of his life and marrying one of their kind was going to bring doom to the girl and her entire family. That was the first andst time he saw him. He had tried to reach out to the man some yearster but found out that he had died that same night on his way out of the pce. ording to what Alvin told him, he had fallen from his horse and died. Now, everything was beginning to look different to him. Did the King and Queen know about Prince Harry? Of course, it was possible that they were aware. That had to be the only reason the Queen''s brother knew about it. Then did they at least try to find out how he had ingested it? Or had they all just been okay with making him take responsibility for something that wasn''t exactly his fault? That brought him back to the question of who could have fed the beta''s nightmare to Prince Harry. He doubted that it was the Queen who had done that. She would never have risked her son''s life by giving him something as dangerous as that. She loved Harry far more than she loved either Ivan or Tyra. If what Susan had said was true and Prince Harry had been given that, then it was possible that the same person was behind all this, seeing how they were using the beta''s nightmare once again. How many people knew about the Beta''s nightmare? Who could possibly have it in their possession? For the prince to have ingested it, that had to mean whoever had given it to him was within the pce walls, the same way it had been given to Alicia. Who could be living within the pce walls that held so many grudges against the royal family? If it was true that Alicia had ingested the beta''s nightmare, why was she alive? She wasn''t a werewolf, and as such, if it could kill an Omega, it should as well kill a human. Or was it because she was a witch that it didn''t kill her? But whoever it was who had given it to her must have known that she was just human, so was it possible that they had given it to her to kill her? Not to make her wild? What if she had died after taking it? Harold''s heart skipped a beat at the thought, and he nced into the carriage to look at Alicia, who also had a crease on her brows as she too was lost in thoughts. He needed to take better care of her and keep his eyes on her all the time. This also meant that anything she was going to eat or drink would have to go through him first. He couldn''t afford to take any risks. Something told him that all the attacks weren''t separate. Whoever had attacked him had something to do with all of this too. Now what he couldn''t quite understand was whether killing Beth had been nned, or if it was just a coincidence and she happened to be at the wrong ce at that time. Why did Beth not go hunting? Had she stayed back to attack Alicia? Why would she do that when she knew she would naturally be the suspect? Was Beth the person Alicia had said was standing outside her chamber? That couldn''t have been Beth, since the person had told Alicia that she was next, possibly after Beth had been killed. And Beth wouldn''t have followed her patiently to the front of the pce before attacking. So either that maid or the real culprit. If Tyra had said the maid had been with her throughout that night, then it was thest option. The real culprit. Everything was not adding up. Going forward, he was going to treat everyone else in the pce as suspects, apart from those who were here with him. First, he needed to start by finding everyone who knew about the Beta''s nightmare. Since he was outside the pce, he was going to try to find the royal physician who had disappeared or find out what happened to him, and then he would try to find his family. While Harold was lost in his thoughts and thinking hard about everything, Alicia was trying to sort through her memories to figure out which had been a dream and which was reality. Now she remembered seeing Queen Anne. Had that been a dream? She mused as she remembered everything they had spoken about. She remembered telling Queen Anne about Amber, and that was even before Amber was born. How did that make sense? Was she here because she had somehow met with Queen Anne and told Queen Anne about all this? This was far moreplicated than a sci-fi movie. But how? How could she have met with Queen Anne and told her what would happen when she was already here? Alicia raised a hand to her temple, which was beginning to ache as she tried to decipher everything. This wasn''t going to be easy at all. Chapter 284 Unedited. It was difficult for most of them to believe that they were still in the same Moon Kingdom. Wasn''t it ironic that they were nobles, yet they hadn''t experienced the fun part of life? They could see the vige from the hill where they were. It was alreadyte in the evening, but torches andnterns lit up the whole ce. People were buying and selling all manner of things. There were different shows and performances happening, and there was a group ying tricks with fire. They could hear the peopleughing, pping, and swearing. But all in all, it seemed they were having fun. The sort of fun none of the noble kids had ever had and could never have. Thedies in the carriage snuck their heads out the window to watch in awe. It was so different from the pce and their residence, where they usually had lights out at night after dinner. There was never a fun ceremony except it was a royal wedding, banquet or birthday celebrations of the members of the royal family. "Did you get to see things like this whenever you sneaked out of the house?" Luciana asked Susan, who shook her head as she kept her eyes down the hills. She wouldn''t have dared sneak out of home at night. Even Williams was not allowed to do so. Since they didn''t want to draw much attention to them, Harold suggested they stop the carriage and horses here for the carriage men to look after while they walked down to the vige. They were all eagerly epting of that as they wanted to get there as soon as possible. When Harold got down from his horse and went to open the carriage to help the dies" down, he frowned at the new sitting arrangement. Alicia was now seated inside while Luciana was beside her, closer to the door, while Paulina and Susan sat in the opposite seat facing them. Luciana forced a smile at Harold as soon as she saw him by the door but he stepped to the side and red at her. "Jump," he told her impatiently. "What? It''s high!" Lucianained as she looked down before looking at Alicia toe to her rescue but she only got a sheepish smile from Alicia in return. "Susan got down well on her own." "Susan is used to being reckless but--" "What do you mean by that?!" Susan asked in mild annoyance as she pushed Luciana out of the way and attempted to jump, but she paused when she remembered how Alvin had helped the others get down earlier, so she looked around for him. "Are you not helping us get down?" She called to Alvin, but he ignored her and didn''t make any move in her direction, making her re at him. "I will help yo..." Before Lance could finish, Susan jumped down. Seeing how impatient Harold was and how no one else was moving an inch to help Luciana get down, Harvey stepped forward and offered his hand to her. Luciana looked at his hand with a frown, "I can get down on my own," she said before pushing him to the side and jumping down, falling ungraciously with her palms and knees to the ground. They all heard her shriek in pain as Susan ran behind her to help adjust her dress before helping her stand up. Luciana looked down at her dirty palm, which was even more horrifying to her than the bruise on her knees. Never has she seen so much dirt before on her body. Harvey let out a condescending snort before he turned away from there while Williams stepped forward to assist the only person left in the carriage with Alicia-- Paulina. "I can mana.." before Paulina could finish making her excuse, Williams grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, making sure she fell into his arms. Paulina''s eyes widened in surprise as she fell into his arms, and for a moment she stayed still as she looked up into Williams'' face. Alicia who was still in the carriage behind Paulina, smiled as she watched the scene in front of her. It looked like a scene straight out of a romance movie. Once again, Lance looked at the two in confusion. Firstly, why was Williams holding a maid like that? And why were they in that position like that!? Ever since he started this trip, or rather, ever since he arrived the Moon Kingdom, he had witnessed a lot of strange things that he could notprehend. "What are you still staring at? Walk!" Alvin said with a sharp re directed at him. Lance snapped back to his senses and realized that he had zoned out. Not only had Williams and Paulina separated, but they had all started moving already while he was still standing there. He snorted at Alvin, wondering why he was always so angry, and he tried to push his way out by brushing shoulders; even though his shoulder was far below Alvin''s. Unfortunately for him, Alvin didn''t budge but just looked down at him and raised a brow as if he was questioning an idiot. Lance looked a bit flustered and cleared his throat awkwardly before he moved to the side to walk away, joining the others. It was probably best to just stick to his brother inw instead of staying alone because it seemed like this Alvin was going to do something bad to him. As they drew closer and joined the rest of the vigers in the busy town, they all could not hide the amazement on their faces. Even though Alicia was used to something better than this, she could not deny that this was a pleasant sight. The boisterous town was a pleasant sight to behold after being stuck in the pce for a long time and going through something very traumatic in thest few days. Susan''s eyes were literally sparkling as she looked around. She turned to look at her brother who was also looking around in amusement and as soon as their eyes locked, they both grinned. "Why didn''t I ever sneak out at nights?" Susan asked in disbelief while Williams chuckled. Chapter 285 Unedited Harold, Alvin, and Harvey were all used to being out, so this was nothing special to them. However, that wasn''t the case for Lance. One, he didn''t leave his residence at night. Two, people were just carelessly bumping into him! Nobody was bowing, running away, or creating a path for him. However, they did receive strange looks from passersby, and that was because of the expensive fabric they wore. Lance wasn''t sure how to feel about the way he was being treated now. He was very annoyed. But on the other hand, it felt somehow good that he could move about freely and blend in. He didn''t like it, but it just felt somehow good. They were not the same thing. He could feel good about something and not like it, right? Luciana, on the other hand, felt like shedding tears as she watched kids run about, adults dancing in the open,ughing, singing, pping, and even eating out in the open! She could see a young man offering a flower to a blushing young maiden, who epted it shyly before handing one to him in return. Paulina, however, could not stop her tears as she used a hand to cover her mouth while trying to keep up with the others. She had never seen anything like this in her entire life. It was so beautiful. So colorful. She could paint this scene a million times. ********** Tyra stood by the window in her chamber, staring out into the night as she thought about what Benedicta had said and the fact that everyone she considered her friend in the pce had left without her. She turned to the door when it opened, and her mother walked in without knocking. Her mother had not bothered to visit her since she regained consciousness days ago, so she was surprised to see her now. What was her mother doing in her chamber? She mused as she walked away from the window to sit on the edge of her bed. "I''m surprised you are here. Why didn''t you go with the others?" The queen asked as she walked over to the table in Tyra''s bedroom, where some snacks and two pitchers of water were arranged. Tyra forced a smile, "They asked me toe with them, but I didn''t want to leave the pce. I couldn''t stand to face Princess Amber yet," she lied, not wanting to give her mother the pleasure of knowing how affected she was by the actions of all those she trusted. "Is that so?" "Yes, mother. How is father''s health?" Tyra asked as she watched her mother, who shamelessly poured herself some water and drank from it to quench her thirst before stuffing her mouth with the snacks. Why hadn''t she thought ofing to Tyra''s chamber to find food before now? The Queen mused as she ate, not minding the fact that Tyra was watching her. She drank some more water, and Tyra looked at her with a disapproving frown as she waited for a response. "Send the maids to draw you water for a bath. I will have my bath here," the Queen ordered without responding to Tyra''s question. "Didn''t Prince Harold instruct..." "Are you still taking his side even when he has made it clear that he doesn''t care about you? How could he take the side of his wife even after hearing that she hurt you?" The Queen asked, and Tyra shook her head. "She is his wife, and even though I don''t know what happened to Princess Amber that night, I''m sure she didn''t mean to hurt..." "Keep shut, and do as you have been told! Get the maids!" The queen snapped at her, and Tyra shuddered as she stood up immediately and left the chamber in search of the maids, while the Queen gobbled down as much as she could eat. By the time Tyra returned to her chamber, the Queen had eaten up all the snacks and finished the water in the pitcher too, and was standing by the window. Was this the reason she had visited her? Did shee here to find food and water? Why was she not surprised that she had finished everything without leaving any for her or finding out if she had even eaten? "They will be here with water soon," Tyra said as she went to sit on the bed. The queen turned to face her, "Do you truly remember what happened that night? Were you telling the truth about Princess Amber hurting you?" The queen asked, and Tyra''s brows pulled together and her lips trembled as she looked at her. "You don''t believe me too?" Tyra asked in a low voice, and the Queen raised an eyebrow. "Who else doesn''t believe you? Harold?" She asked, and tears clouded Tyra''s eyes as she gave her mother a nod. "I swear to you, mother, I''m telling the truth. I have no reason to lie against Princess Amber," Tyra said, but the Queen continued to look at her skeptically. "How do you expect anyone to believe that Princess Amber, who is human, could have killed a strong Beta like Beth?" The Queen asked, and Tyra shook her head as tears dropped from her eyes. "I have no idea. It was so terrifying to watch her," Tyra said with tears in her eyes, as she looked at her mother, hoping that she would at least believe her. "Are you sure you are telling the truth? Did someone ask you to say this?" The Queen asked with a frown, but before Tyra could respond, a knock sounded on the door, followed by the voice of a maid announcing their presence. Neither Tyra nor the Queen said a word as the maids walked in with buckets of water to fill the bathtub, and when they were done, they stood by Tyra''s bed waiting to serve her, but the Queen waved her hand dismissively, and the maids left. "Pull yourself together. Let''s continue after I''m done bathing," the queen said before walking into the bathroom and leaving Tyra alone. Chapter 286 Village Shaman Even though most of the vigers were more focused on other things, they could not help but throw curious nces at them. In order to not draw any more attention to themselves, Harvey suggested they all change intomon clothing like the rest of the vigers, so they would easily blend in and mix with the crowd. Susan was excited about it, hoping this was a chance to finally change into an article of clothing like the one Alicia was wearing. As they tried to find the nearest clothing store, they passed by many people crowding around a man who was seated on a stool. There was another stool across from him and a mat on the floor with different kinds of objects. Curious, the group went to watch what was happening since people seemed eager to watch too, and Alicia was a bit surprised when she realized he was a shaman. Didn''t this kingdom forbid witchcraft? Howe a shaman was right here in the middle of the streets? Or were they not the same thing? Harold could see the confusion on Alicia''s face as she watched the shaman read the fortune of a youngdy. He didn''t know how to tell her that this wasn''t considered "witchcraft". Some werewolves were lucky enough to have divine gifts from the Moon goddess, even if it were necromancy. But witches were... well, witches. Now that he thought about it, it didn''t make any sense to him either. The shaman called for the others toe and have their fortunes read, but one man from the crowdined about how expensive it was, using him of ripping them off their money, while some called him a scam and a shaman of doom. The Shaman paid him no mind as he continued to shake his tambourine with his eyes closed while he was muttering some words. "Give me some silver coins," Susan asked Williams in an impatient tone. "What? Why?" Williams frowned at her. "Don''t tell me you want to get yourself involved in that?" "Just give me!" She said impatiently as she stretched out her hand to him. "I have none." ? "What do you mean you have none?" "I came out to look for you in a hurry, so I didn''t take anything with me." He exined to her. "Even though I came out in a hurry, I never forget to take coins with me," Lance said proudly as he gave her his full pouch of gold coins. At the same time, Harvey handed her three gold coins too, and she didn''t think twice before snatching Harvey''s instead, and excitedly ran to the front, leaving a displeased Lance who was ring at Harvey. Meanwhile, Alvin looked at the single silver coin he held in his hand before he returned it to his pocket as though nothing had happened. "Can you really see the future? Can you tell me what the future holds for me?" Susan asked as she sat down across from the shaman, who was still lost in the spirit. "Will I get married to a very handsome man?" She asked as she threw the 3 coins on the mat in front of him. Williams shook his head at her. Of everything to ask, that was what she chose? Williams mused unbelievably. He stopped shaking his tambourine immediately and opened his eyes to look at the coins. When he saw them, his eyes lit up. Without saying a word, he handed her a cup filled with sticks for her to pick one, and she wasted no time before picking one up and handing it to him. He looked at the stick and shook his head. "You will never get married," he dered, and most of the people in the crowd gasped as soon as he said that. The little group with Harold watched the scene in front of them each with varying degrees of surprise, amusement, and displeasure. Perhaps the person who was most displeased by the shaman''s announcement was Lance, while Williams, Alvin, and Harvey, who didn''t have faith in the shaman, were amused. Harold watched with a nk expression, while Paulina and Luciana didn''t know how to feel or react. Alicia, on the other hand, was taken aback by the shaman''s words. If he was a con artist or a fake shaman, wasn''t he supposed to be telling her something she wanted to hear? Why would he say something like that to her? Or did he say it with the hope that she would ask for a solution and then he would get more money from her? Susan''s excitement died immediately, and she frowned at him. "What do you mean by that?!" She asked angrily. "You are not going to marry anyone." He rephrased as though that was the answer she was searching for. "WHY?" Susan barked at the man, startling him, and immediately, Williams stepped forward. "It''s your fate. You won''t get marrie..." "SHUT YOUR FILTHY LYING MOUTH! HOW DARE YOU?!" Susan yelled angrily as she stood from her seat. "You are a scam, are you not? You took my coins and--" "Sorry," Williams apologized to the startled Shaman as he dragged Susan away from there, who continued to yell and curse at the shaman as he dragged her away. Susan was even more enraged when she saw Alvin standing there with his eyes gleaming with amusement while Lance stepped towards her. "Don''t worry, mydy. He is wrong! I''m going to make you my w--" "Shut your mouth!" Susan snapped at Lance before he could finish, shutting him up. "You should know better than to take his words to heart," Williams said, trying tofort her. "Let''s get going," Harold said, and started to walk away from there, but Alicia stopped him. "You should go. I am curious to know what he would say about you," Alicia said to Harold, but he shook his head. "I''m not interested in things like that," Harold said, but Alicia insisted. "Come on, just try it. At least that way, we will know if he''s real or not..." "He is not real!" Susan hissed at Alicia, and Harold turned to re at her, making her press her lips together as she looked away from them. Chapter 287 Scammer "Why don''t you try it instead?" Harold suggested to Alicia when he noticed her interest in whatever it was the shaman was doing. "I''m more curious to hear what he will say about you," She said eagerly as she pushed him to the front, while the others watched curiously to see if Harold was going to do as she said. "Do you think he might be real?" Harvey asked Alicia curiously since she was the witch amongst them. "There is no way to know if we don''t try again," Alicia said before poking Harold''s side. "What are you waiting for?" She asked when she noticed how he was standing there with no attempt to step forward. "I don''t want to..." "What if I go first? Will you give it a try?" Alicia asked, and Harold reluctantly agreed. "I don''t think that is a good idea," Harvey said with a slight frown, worrying that if the shaman was real, he might see that Alicia was a witch and that would endanger her. "Don''t worry. I can handle myself," Alicia assured him, and immediately, Alvin handed Alicia the coin he was holding, making Susan scowl at Alvin as she wondered why he didn''t offer her the coin when she asked for one earlier. Alicia dropped the coin in front of the shaman and waited expectantly for him to read her fortune. Naturally, she was curious to know what he was going to say about her and to see if he was real or not, seeing how he had unexpectedly given Susan such bad news. "What do you want to know?" The shaman asked as he focused his gaze on Alicia. "Anything. Tell me anything you see about me," Alicia said with a cheerful smile as she watched the man. He gave her a nod as he handed her the cup he had handed Susan earlier, and Alicia drew out a stick, which she handed to him. The shaman frowned as he looked from Alicia to the stick and then back again. "There is nothing." "What do you mean?" Alicia asked with a slight frown. "I don''t see anything. You are a strange one," the shaman said, and Alicia pursed her lips as she considered his words. Perhaps he was not seeing anything because she was a different soul in a different body? "So you can''t see my past or my future?" She asked, and he shook his head. "You are strange," he said, and Alicia reached for her coin, but he quickly snatched it away before she could take it. "It''s mine," he said, and she gave him a nod as she stood, while Susan snorted where she stood. "He can''t see anything about her, yet tells me all that nonsense," Susan muttered under her breath. "It''s your turn," Alicia said once she got to where Harold stood and took his hands as she dragged him over to where the shaman was. "But he couldn''t tell you anything..." "I''m sure he has his reasons. Let''s find out what he will say to you," Alicia insisted, and reluctantly, he went to sit down there and threw a gold coin in front of the Shaman. The Shaman''s eyes lit up again, and even the crowd of people was beginning to get curious about the identity of these people that were throwing golden coins about. "Would you like to know anything in particr?" The man asked, but Harold shook his head with a bored expression on his face. He handed Harold the same cup after shaking it for him to pick a stick out of it, and Harold didn''t hesitate before he snatched one and threw it to him. He looked back at Alicia with an expression that said, "I don''t want to do this," but she held up her two thumbs to him with an encouraging grin. "Your blood is precious." The Shaman said as he narrowed his eyes to look at Harold. "Anything else?" Harold asked impatiently. The man was a bit flustered by his attitude and looked at the stick again before looking up at Harold. "You share this precious blood with two living people. One of them¡ª" "Three," Harold said and stood up, pointing out the w in his statement. He was a scammer indeed. "They are two," the shaman insisted. "You should pack up and leave if you''re going to keep deceiving people!" "I knew he was a scam!" Susan muttered under her breath. "Stop letting him deceive you out of your money! He is a fake!" Susan yelled, inciting the crowd. Most of the people in the crowd became enraged and even began to throw objects at the Shaman, who quickly packed his things, not forgetting his gold coins as he ran away. Alicia tried to hold back herughter as she saw a grumpy Harold approaching, but she could not help it. Sheughed out loud while he red at her. "It''s not funny," Harold pointed out, but Alicia couldn''t help it. "It''s funny that I almost fell for his tricks. I can''t believe such good con artists exist here too," Alicia said in amusement. Had the so-called shaman not been wrong about Harold''s family rtions, she would most likely have believed that he was real. Harold raised an eyebrow. "Con artists?" He asked the same question that the others were curious about. "Yes. People who cheat and trick other people," Alicia exined as they began to move again, and then she pointed at a clothes shop ahead of them. "Isn''t that the ce we got our clothes?" She asked, and Harold nodded. "That''s right." "We can get clothes for the others there," Alicia suggested, but before Harold could refuse and let her know he had made that exception for only her, she started walking ahead of him, and Susan quickly ran after her excitedly, leaving Luciana and Paulina to do the same. "You are not going to let them all wear male clothes, are you?" Williams asked Harold with a slight frown while Harvey and Lance looked at him curiously. "They can all wear whatever they choose. Feel free to get a dress for yourself if you want one," Harold said before walking away. Chapter 288 Confession Unlike the first time when the salesman had been very adamant about selling male clothes to ady, it was much easier for him to do so this time. Susan, who had been upset over the fake shaman''s prophecy, was quick to snap out of it after she put on her new clothes. "I feel sofortable, it''s almost impossible to believe this!" Susan said in awe as she twirled around, and for once, she didn''t feel much fabric all around her. "Although I can breathe freely, why does it still feel like I am wearing a dress?" Luciana asked. Even the way she was walking seemed calcted and restricted. "It''s your mind. Free yourself and walkfortably." Alicia said as she patted her on the shoulder before looking at Paulina, who was still staring down at herself in disbelief. Lance, on the other hand, kept sniffing the clothes and looking down at himself with a frown. He had never worn something so cheap, in, and inferior before. He felt so ufortable. In order not to draw too much attention to them, thedies tied their hair in buns and wore straw hats just like some of the vigers, as well as Harold, who was wearing a hat to cover his hair. With Harold''s unique hair colour, anyone would easily suspect who he was, and thest thing they wanted was that. "What do you think?" Susan asked as she stood in front of Williams, who was standing next to Alvin. Although she stood as though the question was meant for Williams, the others could tell it was Alvin''s opinion she wanted since her gaze was on him. "Father is not going to be pleased about this," Williams said, even though he thought the clothes looked good on her. "Father is not pleased about a lot of thingstely, so I''m sure this won''t be a problem," Susan said dryly. "You look charming, mydy," Lance said, while Harvey seemed to agree. He had to admit that it made thedies look smarter. He doubted that his own sister would ever agree to wear such clothes. Susan ignored Lance as she waited for Alvin to say something, but he didn''t look at her. "Since everyone is dressed, let''s keep moving," Alvin said, and when Harold gave him a nod, he started walking ahead of the others, leaving Susan, who scowled at his back as they followed him. Eventually, they were all able to adjust to the strange clothing and continue their sightseeing. "Where are we going to sleep tonight?" Luciana asked curiously after they had walked for some time. "Why? Are you feeling tired already?" Susan asked as she nced at Luciana. "No. I''m just curious." "I''m sure we can find a good inn around here," Alicia said just as Alvin, who was leading them, stopped walking, making the others do the same. "Where is this ce?" Alicia asked Harold. "It''s the best inn around," Harold told her just as the elderly innkeeper came out to wee them. The old man''s eyes lit up the moment he saw the little crowd of guests. "Do you have enough room to amodate us?" Alvin asked, and the innkeeper shook his head apologetically when he counted nine people. "There are only four rooms avable. But you can all fit in them if you share the rooms. I will give you a discount," he offered quickly, not wanting them to leave for somewhere else. "It''s easy. You two can share a room," Lance said, pointing at Harold and Alicia since he couldn''t mention their names and blow their cover. "Although I doubt I''ll be able to sleep in this kind of ce, I will stay in one room. Harvey and brother-inw can share one, and thedies can share. Right?" Lance suggested. "How smart of you. Where is he expected to sleep then?" Susan asked, pointing at Alvin. "Oh! I thought he was supposed to be guarding us?" Lance asked uncertainly, and Susan red at him but before she could say anything, Harold spoke. Much to Lance''s disappointment, Harold changed the sleeping pattern. Harold and Alicia were to sleep together, and Alvin was to have a room to himself while Harvey, Williams, and Lance would share a room, as would Luciana, Susan, and Paulina. As far as Harold was concerned, they had invited themselves on this trip, so they had to share or sleep outside, and even though they thought it was unfair and didn''t like it, they couldn''t argue with Harold. "It''s settled then," Susan said with a wide smile, pleased by the arrangement. Although, before now, she hadn''t really been close to Luciana, now she wasfortable enough with Luciana to share a room with her. She looked forward to talking with them until she fell asleep, the same way she had done with Princess Tyra and Princess Amber. Thinking about that night now, it seems like years ago. Why did things have to change so much in such a short time? Her brows pulled together when she remembered that she had left Tyra without informing her. She wondered how Tyra was doing and hoped she was fine. Susan snapped out of her thoughts as the innkeeper showed them to their rooms, which had them frowning. The ce was small and there were no decorations. Just in rooms with floor mats, which were supposed to be their "beddings". How was this ce the best inn around? If the best inn around was this way, what were they to expect from the other inns? They mused as they looked around the ce. Alvin took out Harold''s money pouch and handed a bunch of coins to the innkeeper. As soon as the man saw it, he gasped, and suddenly, he was even more enthusiastic than he was before. "We have more mats. I''ll bring them so you don''t have to worry about sharing. You can alsoe out to eat; we serve the best food in the entire kingdom!" the man said excitedly before he ran off. Harold led Alicia inside their room while the three girls went into theirs too. While Luciana and Susan looked hesitant as they observed their room, Paulina felt the ce was nice enough for them. Lance scowled at Alvin as he entered his room, which was directly opposite theirs, and Alvin smirked at him before he slid the door closed. Inside the room Alicia and Harold shared, they both sat on the sleeping mat on the floor as they faced each other. "You need to have your bath and get some rest, Princess. It has been a long day," Harold said as he looked at Alicia, and she smiled at him when he reached out to touch the side of her face. "How are you feeling now? Does your body ache anywhere? Do you want me to get you anything?" Harold asked, but instead of responding, Alicia just continued to smile as she looked at him. How could she not adore this big, strong man who, despite how much he was feared by others, cared about her this way? She had always watched movies and read books about people having their own person. Someone who would love them, put them first, and always have their back. She had always wanted to have her own person and at some point, she had thought that was never going to happen. Who would ever have thought that she would find hers in an era that wasn''t even hers? "Why are you smiling?" Harold asked curiously when he noticed how she was staring at him and smiling. "When I thought I was going to die, I thought about a lot of things, and I regretted so many things..." Harold frowned, "Don''t remind me of that. It makes me angry just to think about that. I wish I killed everyone who took part in that trial," Harold said, and Alicia''s brows pulled together. "Did you kill anyone?" She asked, and Harold looked away. She was going to find out sooner orter anyway, so there was no need to deny it or lie to her about what he had done, Harold reasoned. Yet he didn''t look at her. He couldn''t bring himself to. "Harold? Did you kill anyone?" She asked with a frown and reached out to touch his face when she noticed the way he was now avoiding her gaze like a stubborn kid. "I was angry. Do you have any idea how painful it was to see you there like that? If I had been a momentte, you would have drank that poison," Harold said defensively, and his voice almost broke as he said thest word. His heart still ached whenever he thought about that or remembered seeing her there raising the poison to her lips before Lance''s distraction made her drop it. Hearing the anger in his voice and seeing the way his whole body had stiffened as he spoke, Alicia could tell that he was upset, so instead of scolding him as she had nned to, she moved closer to him and wrapped both arms around him. "You didn''t hurt Beth''s father, right?" She asked hopefully. "I only let him live because of you," Harold said, and Alicia smiled as she took his hand and raised it to her lips. "Thank you. You don''t have to be angry any more. You saved me. That is all that matters," Alicia murmured soothingly, and slowly, Harold rxed. He adjusted their positions so that she was sitting between his legs, her back resting on him while his back was resting on the wall, and he wrapped his arms around her. They sat there in silence for some time until Alicia called his name, "Harold?" "Yes, Princess?" "About what I regretted most," Alicia said, and Harold tried not to groan as he patiently waited to hear what she wanted to say. He didn''t like that she kept thinking about that experience and whatever it was she regretted. He wanted her to forget all about the horrors. "I regretted not realizing my feelings for you earlier," Alicia said, and Harold''s heart skipped a beat. That wasn''t what he had been expecting. She craned her neck so she could look into Harold''s face. "I thought I would never get the chance to tell you how I feel about you. And now I don''t want to waste any more time keeping it from you." Harold''s mouth was dry and he swallowed as he looked back into her amber eyes speechlessly. "I love you, Harold. With all my heart," she grinned as she added, "And not as a younger brother," Harold''s eyes brightened, and he let out a shyugh. Muffled excited squeals and giggles could be heard from the next rooms. Chapter 289 Drunk "What kind of food is this?!" The others could all hear Lance''s frustrated cries from his room, and this time, they didn''t me him because they felt the same way. in rice, some vegetables, and barely enough meat to satisfy them with fermented rice wine. While Lance was busyining and yelling at the poor innkeeper to have better food prepared for him, the three girls sharing a room looked at theirs with interest. Luciana sniffed their wine jar and grimaced. "It smells strong," she said. "We should return it." "We may never get the chance to taste something like this again," Susan whispered as she began to pour some for herself. "Have you ever had rice wine before?" Susan asked Paulina, who shook her head. She had never had any type of wine before. "Women are not supposed to drink things like this!" Luciana scolded her. "And royals are not supposed to sleep in inns or be outside the pce by this time. Women are not supposed to dress like men either. We are not supposed to be eating things like this. But we are doing it all. You better make up your mind before my nosy brotheres to snatch this away!" Luciana hesitated while Susan gave the two of them pointed looks, waiting for them to make up their minds. Paulina hesitantly pushed her cup forward so that Susan could pour her some, and Susan beamed in excitement, seeing how she was influencing someone finally. She poured some for Paulina, and as soon as she dropped the jar, she raised her cup and took a big gulp, grimacing when the sharp sour taste moved from her mouth down to her stomach. "Go on," she urged Paulina, who was looking at her in horror before filling her cup again. Paulina took a slow sip and winced before she tried it again. Seeing how the other two were drinking without her, Luciana pushed her cup forward, earning smiles from the other twodies. Susan immediately filled it to the brim. It wasn''t until loudughter and chatter began to disturb the others that Williams immediately fled his room, realizing that the innkeeper must have fed them the same wine, thinking they were men. He didn''t bother to follow courtesy as he pushed their door open, and just as he had expected, the wine jar was empty and Paulina had passed out from one cup while the other two''s faces were flushed from the drink. "What did you do?!" Williams asked harshly as he went to grab their cups and jar from the ground in between them. "I didn''t do anything!" Susan said defensively in a slurred voice before burping. "You drank! And you gave Paulina!" He said angrily as he went to where Paulina was passed out to feel her pulse. "Drank? I... swear, I didn''t! D-did... we drink?" Susan asked Luciana drunkenly. Luciana, who was trying to keep her drooping eyes open, nodded before she remembered she was supposed to say no and shook her head instead, making Susan titter withughter. Susan''sughter stopped almost as soon as it started, and she looked behind Williams. "Where is Alvin?" She asked in a loud voice, and Williams red at her. "Keep quiet!" He said in a harsh whisper. "Get me Alvin!!!" Susan insisted stubbornly, and Williams rushed over to where she was and ced a hand around her mouth to shut her up, knowing that she was going to make a fool of herself. Susan let out a muffled cry of protest, while Luciana began to cry too, "That foolish man, Ivan!" Luciana cried, and Williams shut his eyes. Why didn''t he realize sooner that his sister was irresponsible and would not only drink the wine but give some to thedies with him too? "How could you? After all the love and care I gave you, you dared to betray me! Who do you think you are?" Luciana cried in a loud voice as she hit her chest. "Keep shut!" Williams hissed at her and cried out when Susan bit his hand. "ALVIN!" Susan called out in a loud voice as she staggered to her feet while Williams red at her. He was about to stand up when Luciana dragged him down and began to hit him wherever she could find. "You betrayed me! After all I did for you. I... was with you for 4 years. I stayed by your side! How could you treat me like this?" She stopped hitting the unfortunate Williams and began to sob. Her sob was so heartbreaking that Williams could not even get angry or push her away to go get his sister. Thankfully, Susan hadn''t stepped out of the room and turned to watch Luciana, whose face was buried in her palms as she cried. "It''s so unfair!" Luciana cried. "Why... can''t I stop worrying about you despite everything? I... I do not deserve this. This is so unfair! I do not deserve any of it." Williams was not sure whether he was supposed to say anything or try tofort her, but things got worse when Susan began to cry too as she watched Luciana. "Do... not cry..." Susan said to Luciana while she also cried. Williams stood up and tried to control his anger as he went to cover Paulina with a quilt before he went to stand in front of Susan. "Now, give me a good reason why you are crying," he said through gritted teeth. Susan just continued to cry loudly for no reason at all, making Williams feel like crying too from frustration. "You are going to regret this in the morning if you don''t get a hold of yourself!" Williams warned, but Susan was too drunk to pay heed to his words. "Men are wicked! I will never get married!" She swore and turned around to open the door just in time as Alvin slid the door open. "Why are you disturbing everyone?" Alvin asked as he took in her flushed face and drunken demeanour. He looked further inside the room and saw a passed-out Paulina and Luciana who had thankfully shut up now and was looking at them with teary eyes. Williams sent an apologetic look to Alvin. He could hear Harvey approaching too. Just nice! Maybe they were trying to incur Harold''s wrath before they both shut up. At least he was d that Lance had knocked off after two cups of wine. He didn''t want to deal with that one either. He held his sister back just as Harvey got closer and stood beside Alvin, watching them curiously. "Please do not mind her. She is not usually like this. She has nev..." "How dare you!" Susan asked angrily as she pped Williams'' hands away and charged towards Alvin, and they all looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was talking about. "Let her be," Alvin said when Williams tried to hold Susan back once again. He wanted to see just what it was she wanted to do. Once Williams let go of Susan, sheunched herself at Alvin and stood on her tiptoes as she grabbed the cor of his shirt while she waved about drunkenly. "It was you, wasn''t it? You told that fake shaman to say all that to me. Did you think I wouldn''t know that you nned everything?" Susan asked, eyeing him suspiciously, and Alvin snorted while Williams facepalmed. "You are drunk," Alvin said calmly. "That was the reason you didn''t give me your coin; you knew he was a fake!" Susan said usingly, while Luciana, who was watching the show, giggled from her spot on the mat. Alvin raised a brow at her as he watched helplessly, not sure what he was supposed to do or how he was supposed to handle this. Thankfully, Harold approached. He looked grumpy and ran his hand through his hair. Every minute, he was regrettinging with this crowd that was causing him so much nuisance. "GO TO BED!" He ordered Susan. The men watched the scene in amusement as Susan, who had been acting like a wild cat, whimpered as she let go of Alvin''s shirt immediately. It seemed like the alcohol did not stop her brain from understanding Harold''s instructions. "And you too!" Harold said to Luciana, and shey down and shut her eyes at once, ying dead while Susan went to join her. Harold stood there and looked at the rest of them. Alvin was the first to disappear without sparing anyone a nce. Harvey chuckled to himself as he turned and left Williams inside. Although Williams was annoyed, he still went to cover his sister and Luciana before he bowed curtly to Harold and also left the room. First thing in the morning, he was going to make sure they all returned to the pce. They had caused so much distraction for him and Alicia tonight that couldst him for a lifetime. He couldn''t even say anything to Alicia or let her continue because of this eavesdropping crowd. He wanted to groan from frustration. Chapter 290 "You Are Mine, Alicia Queen." At the sound of the second bell, after most people in the pce had retired to their chambers and quarters save for the night guards, the Queen could be seen walking down the hallway as she returned to her chamber after speaking with Tyra. One nce at her and anyone would know that she had a lot on her mind as she walked. The more she thought about her conversation with Tyra, the more she believed that Tyra was not telling the truth. She was hiding something. Although Tyra once again insisted that Princess Amber was responsible for Beth''s death and her injury, something about how insistent she was and how desperately she was trying to make her believe her, made the Queen extra wary and suspicious. What exactly was going on with Tyra? Why did her story not add up? If she didn''t have a good memory, she would probably have missed the small but obvious discrepancy between the narration Tyra had given the first time and what she told her now, the Queen mused as she thought about Tyra''s narration once again. The first time, Tyra told her and the members of the assembly that she had been going to Princess Amber''s chamber to check on her when she heard the scream and went to check thinking it was Princess Amber, and now she said she had been in her chamber and was about to sleep when she heard the scream. What was the truth? What exactly was Tyra hiding? If she didn''t know better, she would have thought Tyra was behind it, but Tyra was an omega and was nowhere near powerful enough to take on a beta like Beth. Especially not on such a night. Did she by chance know the person who had been causing her unease this whole time? Once the Queen got to her chamber door, she stopped walking and turned to look at Damian, who was walking behind her. "I want you to keep an eye on Tyra," she said, making Damian''s brows pull together. "I want to know wherever she goes. Whoever she meets and whatever she does," the Queen said, and Damian gave her a nod. "You can leave," she said dismissively as she walked into her chamber while wondering what she did to deserve two useless children who were causing her nothing but trouble. She stood by her window and looked outside into the night as she silently prayed that something good would happen and cause things to work in their favour since everything had been working against themtely. She sighed as she listened to the sound of the third bell, and she decided to get some rest. Just as she was getting ready to go to bed, a knock sounded on her door. "My Queen, it''s Damian. I have news for you," Damian said, and immediately the Queen wore a robe over her white sleeping dress. "You cane in," she said once she was properly covered, and immediately Damian opened the door. "A messenger just arrived. He brings an important message for Prince Ivan," Damon said, and the queen''s eyes lit up once she heard that. That had to be the news she had been waiting for for thest couple of days. "I will see him at once," the Queen said, but Damian looked at her hesitantly. "It''ste, my queen. Perhaps you can meet with him in the morning," Damian suggested. "I will see him now. Bring him to the royal library," the Queen ordered as she jerked her head to the door for Damian to do as she had instructed. "Should I get Prince Ivan?" Damian asked, but the Queen shook her head. She couldn''t trust Ivan yet. He was acting foolishtely, and she didn''t want him to ruin her ns. "I will meet him alone," she said before walking out of her chamber. A short whileter, the royal library door opened and Damian escorted a young man inside to meet the Queen, who was already seated. "Wait outside," the Queen ordered Damian, and he bowed to her before excusing them. "You can tell me whatever you have to say to Prince Ivan," the Queen said, giving him a nod. ******** Away from there, inside the inn, Alicia''s body trembled and groaned in her sleep as she kept turning her head from side to side. She was sleeping beside Harold and was directly facing him, using his arm as a pillow. Seeing how much difort Alicia was in, as though she was having a bad dream, Harold touched her face gently and brushed her hair away from her face. "Wake up, Princess," he whispered to her and watched as she opened her eyes. "Were you having a bad dream?" Harold asked once her gaze focused on his face. She nodded. She had been dreaming about the interrogation and how she had been close to dying several times. As though he could sense what she had been dreaming about, Harold leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You are safe now," he said, and she smiled at him. "Why are you awake? You couldn''t sleep?" She asked, and he gave her a nod. "Yeah. I would have been surprised if a prince like you could sleepfortably in an inn. I can swear you''ve never slept in a ce like this before." She teased, feeling better now. "It''s not my first time," he said, surprising her. "Really? Does that mean you sleep out often?" She asked curiously, and he shook his head. "No. I slept in an inn on my way to our wedding." He replied with a small smile. Although he wouldn''t actually say he had slept since he was only able to rest there for a while before he left at night. "I see," Alicia said with a smile as she used her hands to prop up her chin, curious to know why he had been awake. "So if it''s not the difort of the inn, why are you awake? Were you having bad dreams too?" Alicia asked curiously. "No. I was thinking." "Thinking? About what?" She asked as she looked at him with interest. "About you," he said in a soft tone, taking her aback and making her look at him in surprise. "Oh my! I had no idea you could flirt!" Harold chuckled as he said, "I was thinking about what you said to mest night." "Oh..." Alicia smiled in embarrassment. After she confessed to him, the noise from the other room had taken her aback, and she began to wonder if they could hear them. But she didn''t get a chance to think about it before the innkeeper led some maids to serve their dinners. She didn''t even get to eat much before she slept off. "What about it?" She asked, and Harold looked serious as he asked, "Did you mean it?" Alicia smiled as she bobbed her head. "Then say it again," he said as he propped himself up with one hand, facing her too. "You are so childish," Alicia said with an amused grin, but he didn''t move nor say a word as he waited for her to repeat it. "I love you, Harold. More than anyone else in the world," she said, and Harold looked at her skeptically. "Does that mean you don''t want to leave me anymore?" He asked as he held her gaze. The smile on her face wavered, but she still kept the smile on as she nodded. Harold broke into the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face. "You promise?" He asked, still smiling. "As long as it''s within my power," she promised. "I will make sure you don''t leave." He said it in a serious tone that almost scared her. "You are mine, Alicia Queen." He said as he held her gaze and her brow pulled together as she looked at his eyes, wondering if she was beginning to see things or if it was the dim-lit room that was making her see a mixture of red in his clear blue eyes. He snapped out of it and kissed her forehead tenderly, and that seemed to pull her attention back to him. "Is... that all?" She asked with a slight frown. "All what?" He asked in confusion, returning to normal. "Well, I was expecting more..." She looked away from him and cleared her throat. Thest time he had been in a hurry to say he wanted to make her his, and now that she finally told him how she felt, why wasn''t he doing anything other than kissing her forehead? "More what?" Harold asked as he looked at her, and then he grinned when he noticed how she was avoiding his gaze and what she meant dawned on him. "When the timees, it''s going to be on our bed, not on the mat of an inn," Harold assured her as he kissed her lips softly, making butterflies flutter in her belly while she smiled into the kiss like a lovesick fool. If only she had her real body. She thought to herself. Chapter 291 A Surprising Coincidence. "It''s not morning yet, is it?" Alicia asked, wanting to distract herself from everything. "Not yet," Harold said, judging by the silence all around them and the night sounds he could hear outside. Alicia sighed. "I don''t think I can go back to sleep," Alicia said as shey face up, while Harold adjusted so he could look down at her face. "What do you want us to do?" Harold asked, and she propped herself up on one elbow and looked at him curiously. "I''ve been curious about something..." "As long as it''s a pleasant subject, I don''t mind," Harold said, not wanting her to talk about the torture or Beth''s death. All he wanted was to enjoy this moment with her without worrying about whaty ahead of them. "What were you thinking when you agreed to the wedding? I also want to know what you thought about me when you first saw me," Alicia asked. Well, he was beginning to wish she had talked about Beth instead because he wasn''t sure how he was supposed to exin the entire thing to her. "Hmm," Harold tried to draft out a better first meeting between them since he could not exactly tell her they had first met when he was in his wolf form yet. He was going to leave that forter. "When I first met you..." He began to remember the wedding day and how confused and anxious she had looked as she walked down the hall in mismatched steps. Now that he was remembering that day, he could understand why she had looked so awkward. From showing up in a strange world to getting married to a cursed prince. It was a miracle how she was able to hold out. "Hmm?" Alicia urged him impatiently to continue. "I knew immediately that you didn''t know what you were doing." He said in amusement, and sheughed out loud before nodding in agreement. "I had no idea what I was doing!" "And I also thought that it wasn''t possible to have a more terrible actor in the world. You were bad at acting." "Hey! I was a renowned actress!" She said, sitting up and ring at him in disbelief. He just continued to look at her in amusement, with his hand propping up his chin as hey on the side. "Maybe you are when you have to pretend to be who you are not for money. But when it bes something real that affects you, your confusion always shows on your face." "Really?" She asked with a frown, and he nodded. "I''m d I was able to survive until now. I thought Damon was going to strike me dead with how angry he was that day." "He wouldn''t have dared," Harold said calmly. She snorted. "I''m sure you didn''t like me. It wouldn''t have mattered if he had killed me." "The queen wanted you toe to the Moon Kingdom. So I''m sure Damian would have also stopped him from doing anything rash even without me." "Damian? Do you mean the queen''s guard?" She asked thoughtfully. "Yes," Harold said with a nod. "He was there too?" She asked curiously, not remembering seeing him. Or maybe it was because she didn''t take note of the others except for Tyra, Damon and Harold. "He was. Sir Oscar was also there." Harold informed her. "Sir Oscar? Who is that?" "He is the king''s most trusted guard." "I see... What about Alvin? He wasn''t there, right? I don''t remember seeing him." Harold shook his head. "He had things to take care of here." "Things more important than his best friend''s wedding?" Alicia wiggled her brows yfully. "Back then... yes," Harold said sheepishly. "Ouch!" Alicia ced a hand on her chest. "That hurts." She said, faking heartbreak and making him chuckle. "So why did you stay in an inn? When I traveled back with you we didn''t stop anywhere. Or were you just trying to punish me?" She asked. "Tyra was very sick. Thankfully, we were just passing by an inn, so I let her rest there and went to say my greetings to Sir Richard. Even though he offered me a ce to stay, I didn''t want to, so I let the others stay there and returned to the inn that evening to take Tyra there." Although he said Tyra was sick, she had actually fallen into her heat all of a sudden, which was bad. Thankfully, she had a lot of medication with her that suppressed it. However, it took them 2 more days toplete their journey. He wasn''t sure if she was so weak because all Omegas were like that or because she was born before the stipted time. Now that he thought about it, Damian had been there guarding her too. "Wait... Sir Richard? Harvey''s father?" Harold nodded. "Does that mean you were in the same vige where Ia€¡° I mean, Amber drowned?" He gave her a nod. "Wow! That''s such a surprising coincidence," Alicia said thoughtfully as she thought about the dream she had of Amber. Or was it a vision or a memory? Was all of it really a coincidence that Harold happened to be there at the same time? "Indeed." He said with a thoughtful look of his own as he wondered if what Susan had said was true and how long Tyra had been in a rtionship with Damian. Something didn''t seem right. Was the queen perhaps trying to use Damian against her daughter? That didn''t make sense. The Queen would never do that. He was going to have to find out more about Damian. But for now, since they were out, he was going to look into the previous royal physician. *********** It was grey before dawn and still foggy, but someone was sitting on a wooden bench outside despite the cold, looking at the sky. Williams was a little startled when he came out of the inn and found her sitting outside with a quilt all around her. "What are you doing outside at this time?" Williams asked Paulina, who was startled by the sound and turned to look at him. When she saw it was him, she visibly rxed and stood up immediately. "Sit," Williams said as he went to sit down on the same bench but made sure there was enough space for her to sit. However, Paulina stood there and just looked at the bench reluctantly. "Sit," he repeated, and this time, she slowly sat down like a statue and looked straight ahead. "How do you feel?" Williams asked, and she gave him a nod. "I feel better. My wounds..." "Why did you drink so muchst night?" He cut in, and she immediately looked at him with wide eyes, wondering how he had known that, but Williams was not ready to go into details. "I... only had half of the cup," she said in embarrassment and avoided eye contact. "Half?" Williams asked, amused. Seeing how she was embarrassed, he asked instead, "Why are you awake at this time?" "I... always wake up early." "By this time? Why?" He asked curiously. "To... clean?" Her answer came out more as a question. Realization dawned on Williams, and he nodded before looking away from her, a little embarrassed. "That must be tough, right?" He asked, and she shook her head. "I... don''t know. It''s normal," Paulina said, unable to imagine it being any other way. Normal? How could that kind of life be normal? Williams mused. "Do you see yourself doing something else? Something entirely different?" He asked, and when she nodded hesitantly, he guessed, "Painting?" That brought a smile to her face, and she nodded again. "Mdy said she would make sure I get my own business and paint as much as I like." She said with glee. He raised a brow at her as he asked, "You believe she can do that?" "She promised to bring me with her to this kingdom. She promised to show me outside the pce. She also promised to make me dress up like this and take me to the vige. She also promised that she would not let me die. She made everything happen." Paulina said, smiling hopefully. "Mayhaps, she can also make that happen." "I hope so too," Williams said with a smile. With Princess Amber, he hade to find out that a lot of things were possible. Only she could have made a person like Prince Harold act the way he did around her. Only she could have made all of them leave the pce like that and also let thedies dress in such a different way. He had to admit that since she came to the Moon Kingdom, a lot of things had changed in their lives. The two were quiet for a while and just looked up at the sky before Paulina asked hesitantly. "Why... are you up this early, My Lord." "Williams," he corrected before turning to look at her. "Sir... Williams." She corrected. "Different reasons." He said before sighing heavily. Usually, he was an early riser. He also found it difficult to sleep in a strange environment, and also, he could not stop worrying about Susan. Chapter 292 A Fake Princess Back in the pce, the Queen was still seated in the same position where the messenger had met her the previous night. She didn''t sleep a wink throughout the night as she tried to process everything that she had been told. One by one, she tried to process them. First of all, Princess Amber wasn''t a real princess. Her real mother was the infamous Anne, and not the current queen. She had been brought from exile to marry Prince Harold, which was a big p to their faces. How dare those filthy humans deceive them? She didn''t exactly care if Harold had married a princess or a queen or even a ve. The thing that annoyed her was that those people had intentionally deceived them. Back to the main issue. Before the queen''s father died, with the permission of her husband, the King, he had aided in the alienation of Queen Anne''s family, after they were discovered to be witches in hiding. And as fate would have it, Princess Amber was not only married into the same family who had helped in the destruction of hers, but she was from a line of witches! Did it mean Tyra had been telling the truth about her? Did Amber, by chance, know about this and hade for revenge? Was that why she almost killed Tyra? Was she aiding Harold to get rid of them? The most important question was: was she also a witch? Was she the reason Harold''s curse was broken? It made sense that she was a witch. No wonder she was easily able to bewitch almost everyone in the pce, if only she wasn''t immune to it. Thankfully, even her useless son was immune to her. Was Harold aware that his wife was a witch? Surely, Harold would abhor witches too, right? Now that she thought about it, she wondered if Amber was the one responsible for those letters. If she was, then who was responsible for the attacks on Harold? It still didn''t entirely make sense. There had to be someone else. She wasn''t sure whether to be excited or wary about this piece of information. She was excited because this would be a good way to punish Princess Amber and Harold, but wary because she wasn''t sure what the oue would be. She didn''t want to underestimate them and end up in a bad position again like thest time. Should she call an assembly to tell them about this? Or should she dig more into this first? She didn''t want to act rashly. At this point, she was beginning to get paranoid again. That witch... the woman had sworn her life to her and had been her strongest support after she saved her. But she has suddenly disappeared. Did Princess Amber have a hand in all this? Were they, by chance, holding her hostage and waiting for the right time to ruin her life? If she wasn''t already paranoid before, she was now. What was she supposed to do with this new piece of information? She didn''t want to make any rash decisions that would end up backfiring, but even after staying up the entire night to think, she wasn''t able toe to a conclusion, and at this point, she could not rely on anybody. A knock sounded on the door before Damian entered and bowed to her. "You should return to your chamber and get some rest, My Queen. You have been up the entire night." He said with concern. Rest? That was the least of her problems at the moment, she mused as she rose from her seat and walked out of the royal library, and Damian followed behind her quietly. She was surprised when she stepped out and observed that it was dawn already. She hadn''t realized that she had spent so much time thinking about what to do. Perhaps she could gather the assembly but leave out the part about Princess Amber being a witch and instead punish Princess Amber''s father for deceiving them. That way, the issue of witchcraft wouldn''t be exposed by her and she would be safe, right? Besides, no good daughter would be okay with watching her father being punished. Maybe she could reach an agreement with Princess Amber and let her father live if she agreed to go far away with Prince Harold? She sighed as she thought about that. Princess Amber didn''t seem like a very good daughter. "My Queen, is everything alright?" Damian called, causing the Queen to stop as she turned to look at Damian. That was when she realized that she had walked past her chamber. She sighed once more and returned to her chamber, still deep in thought. Although it was risky, if she gathered the assembly in the absence of Harold and Princess Amber and told them about Princess Amber''s true identity, that would clear every doubt that anyone had that she was innocent. Everyone would see her for the witch she was, and even those who were supporting her would withdraw their support when they realized that they had been bewitched by her. Perhaps Harold too would be wary of her if he found out the truth about her. Although she would have to do something to convince Harold and turn his heart against her, if that didn''t work, she would have to rely on the aristocrats and trust them not to make Harold king. No one would crown an alpha who was married to a witch. She would take this risk and expose Princess Amber, and if for any reason they brought in the witch to testify against her, she would do her best to deny ever being associated with the witch. Once she got to her chamber, she turned to Damian and said, "Ask Sir Damon to meet me in the royal garden immediately, then gather the assembly. Tell them I have an important announcement to make," she instructed, and Damian bowed before walking away. Soon a knock sounded on the doors of all the aristocrats as they were summoned to the assembly, and although they were displeased by it, they made haste and left their chambers to find out what was happening. Immediately after Damon was informed of the queen''s summons, he left his chamber and went to the royal garden to meet with her. "What is this I hear about an assembly?" He asked with displeasure as he joined her. "That is no way to greet the Queen," she scolded, and he tried to rein in his temper as he bowed to her. "I received an interesting visitorst night," she started, but Damon said nothing as he merely looked at her and waited for her to get to the point. "Before the banquet, I had asked Ivan to send some people to find out more about Princess Amber," the queen said, and even though curiosity briefly flickered in Damon''s eyes, he said nothing as he continued to look at her, patiently waiting for her to tell him what she learned. "You were present at Prince Harold''s wedding. Did you not notice anything strange about her?" The Queen asked, and Damon narrowed his eyes as he recalled all that had happened that day at the wedding, and he scowled when he remembered how she had challenged him in the presence of everyone. "If you have something important to say, get to it," he said, not willing to indulge in small talk by giving details of a past event. "We were fooled. Princess Amber is not a princess," the queen announced, and Damon''s eyes widened slightly. "What do you mean?" "She is the daughter of thete Queen who was executed by the king. She was exiled and was only brought in from exile to marry Prince Harold," the Queen said, and Damon frowned. "You mean she is not a real princess? Her father deceived us?" He asked as his insides boiled with anger at not only being disrespected by a human who wasn''t even exactly royalty, but also being fooled by a foolish king. "He did. And even more surprising is the fact that she''s from a line of witches," the Queen said, and this time shock registered on Damon''s face. "A witch?" He asked in dismay, and then his eyes narrowed when he recalled what had happened on the day Paulina was to be executed. "Do you think she might have been responsible for the strange cloud and wind that swept over the pce a few days ago?" Damon asked, and the queen''s eyes narrowed. Why hadn''t she thought of it? It made sense that she could have been behind it. But was she that powerful? "I''m not sure. But it wouldn''t hurt if we said that to the aristocrats. That would make them believe she is dangerous," the Queen said, and Damon looked at her with questioning eyes. "Is that why you called for the assembly?" He asked, and she gave him a nod. "Yes. Let''s expose Harold''s witch bride. But first, I want you to send for her parents. They need to be punished," the queen said, but Damon shook his head. "Prince Harold said no one must leave...." "Isn''t it clear that he had been bewitched? Once we exposed that, no one would take his words seriously anymore! Believe me and do as I have said." Chapter 293 Tall Lady While the Queen was almost going crazy in the pce, the oblivious group were getting out of their rooms one by one. If it wasn''t the nice smell of roasted meat that woke them up, it was the heavy knocks on their doors by the innkeeper, inviting them toe out for breakfast. Alicia and Harold had already left their rooms and were outside using sticks to brush their teeth, so they were the first to sit down around the table on the front porch of the inn. Only this morning did Alicia notice that the innkeeper also ran a restaurant by the side of the inn, and some guests or customers were having rather simple meals as well. Seeing how they were sitting around a grand table in front of the porch, some of the customers were rather curious and watched them while they were still engaged in their conversations and gossip. Paulina came out next and just stood back awkwardly, not sure what she was supposed to do now. She felt rather uneasy because she hadn''t done any chores at all today, and now they were about to eat, and there was no way in hell she was going to sit down with them. So was she just supposed to stand back and watch guard or return to the room? "Why are you just standing there staring at us?" Harold asked as soon as he noticed her presence, and Alicia turned to face Paulina. Paulina was startled that Harold was talking to her and when he pointed at her, she almost had a heart attack until he made a gesture with his hand to the other seat beside Alicia. "Come sit here," Alicia said, tapping the seat beside her. Hesitantly, she went to sit down just as some maids came and started serving meals on their table. Unconsciously, she jumped up from the seat and tried to take the tes from one of the maids, but Alicia grabbed her hand and pulled her back down. "What are you doing? You came out to rx, not to serve," Alicia cautioned her softly. Just what kind of life was she used to that it was even embedded in her subconscious to serve? "I... am so ufortable, mydy," Paulina said in a quiet voice as she shifted in her seat. The two maids who were serving them paused and looked at both Alicia and Paulina curiously. "You aredies?" one of them asked. "Yes. Why?" Alicia asked with a slightly raised brow. "Didn''t the king agree for women who dress like men to be punished? Aren''t you scared?" The other one asked in a hushed voice. "We are, that''s why we are wearing straw hats to disguise ourselves. You couldn''t tell at first nce, could you?" Alicia asked as she tilted the hat away from her face and winked at the maid, who giggled. "We couldn''t," she agreed, and Alicia grinned while Harold''s gaze was fixed on her as she spoke with them. "Don''t worry, we will keep your secret and not tell anyone," the first one promised, with a mischievous look on her face. "That will be very much appreciated," Alicia said with a wide smile. "Your meat will be served shortly," the other said as they turned to leave, but she noticed Harold. "You are a really talldy," the first one said, and Alicia was wondering why the girl was saying that when it appeared they were the same height, but she noticed that the maids were staring at Harold. Harold''s head slowly turned to face the maids, and from the look in his eyes, it seemed like he was trying not to react to her words. "Enjoy your meal, mydy," the second maid said as she tapped Harold on his shoulder, and before he could burst from anger, the oblivious girls had already hurried away to go serve other guests. Paulina pped a hand over her mouth, trying so hard not tough, but when Alicia burst into unrestrainedughter, Paulina could no longer hold it in again and sheughed out loud too. Williams came out to find Alicia and Paulinaughing loudly, while it seemed like Paulina was making a conscious effort to stop but could not. Harold, on the other hand, was gripping his spoon with so much strength that it broke into two. "They must want to die," Harold said in a dark voice, and that just set off Alicia and Paulina again, totally ignoring how he had snapped the spoon into two. It took a while before they were able to tone down theirughter while Williams joined them with a questioning look on his face, wondering what had happened. "I think I am going to die!" Susan said this in a loud, dramatic voice as she came out of the inn while cradling her head with both hands. Harold turned his displeased gaze on her, startling her and making her stumble backwards before giving the others a questioning look, wondering what was wrong with him. She moved stealthily and sat down beside her brother just as Luciana came out, looking even worse than her. "What happenedst night?" Luciana asked in a cracked voice that made Williams snort. "You two did a good job of annoying mest night," Williams said in an annoyed tone. "Last night? What happened?" Luciana asked Williams in confusion, but Lance''s loud groan distracted them as he stepped out. "This was the worst night of my life. I could not sleep well." Heined with a hand on his neck as he found his seat beside Luciana. "You slept veryfortably and your snores could not let me sleep." Williams pointed out, making the others chuckle. Except for Harold, of course. "That''s a lie. I don''t snore and I could not sleep well either." Lance said defensively and looked at all the vegetables and fruits on the table. "Where is breakfast?" He asked, hoping this wasn''t it. To answer Lance''s question, the innkeeper and another man brought a full-grilled pig that caught the attention of other customers, making them pause their gossip. Chapter 294 Food Fight "How did you prepare that for them but sell only this to us?!" One customerined bitterly. "The bush pig was hunted and brought here by one of them. If you bring one as well and pay me well, I will grill it for you." The man said it in a "businessman" tone that made the displeased man scoff. "One of us? Who was it?" Lance asked curiously. "Who else if not Alvin?" Susan asked, smiling before looking around. "Where are Alvin and Harvey?" Alicia asked first since they were still not out yet. "They left on an errand." Harold said to Alicia, making her raise a questioning brow. "I will tell you about itter," Harold whispered to her, and she gave him a nod. "Does he ever sleep?" Susan asked curiously. When did he leave his room and go hunting, then returned and now running an errand? He was always moving around. Maybe it was his sleep deprivation that was making him so cold-hearted and emotionless. "That shouldn''t be your business," Williams reminded her. "And if I were you, I wouldn''t be so keen on facing him after embarrassing yourself the way you didst night," Williams said, and Susan raised a hand to her chest and looked at him in confusion. "Me? What did I do?" Williams shook his head and eyed her with disapproval. "Just make sure you avoid him as much as you can. And also stay away from anything that tastes like or resembles wine," Williams advised. "What did I do?" Susan asked again, hoping she hadn''t said or done something inappropriate. "You embarrassed yourself! Our family! Our generation!" He stabbed his spoon on his te with each statement, making her flinch. "How? Don''t I deserve to know exactly how I embarrassed myself?" She snapped at him. "You bawled loudly and kept yelling Alvin''s name," Alicia supplied when it seemed like Williams wasn''t going to answer Susan''s question. "I did? Did he see me?" Susan asked in horror, already feeling embarrassed by the thought. "Of course, he did! You flung yourself at him and used him of telling that fake shaman to say all that to you," Williams said, and Susan covered her face with both hands. Williams was right. She was going to do well to avoid Alvin for as long as possible. It was a good thing that he wasn''t having breakfast with them. "When are we going back to the pce?" Williams asked. They all turned their gaze to Alicia as they waited for her to respond. There was no need to look at Harold since they all knew that if they asked him, he was going to ask his precious Princess when she wanted to return. So it was best to ask her directly. Seeing as they were all staring at her, Alicia looked at Harold and said, "Can we go back by evening?" She asked, and Harold gave her a nod. "If that is what you want." Harold said, and Alicia smiled at him. "Can we not go back immediately? We haven''t seen enough of the vige yet!" Susan whined, and both Luciana and Paulina bobbed their heads immediately. Even Lance looked at Harold with hopeful eyes, but he ignored all of them and focused on his meal, making them sigh dejectedly. As they enjoyed their food, they listened to the gossip all around them. It was both fun and thrilling because their eating table at the pce was usually quiet, except when Alicia decided to unleash some of her craziness or the king had things to say. They listened to the gossip about two servants¡ªa guard and a maid¡ªin the house of an aristocrat who fell in love and ran away with some of their master''s money, and currently, the police were searching all over for them. Some talked about the pce and how the nobles who had gone there hadn''t returned or sent words home, and some of them voiced their envy at thevish lives they were currently living in the pce. The others simply listened to their conversations until they got to an interesting one that touched a sore spot in one of them. A man was narrating the marital affairs of another household. The wife of a certain man, whom he had married for 10 years, hadn''t been able to produce children. Then the husband was fed up, threw her out and married another woman 2 years ago. His former wife then had an affair with another man and was now heavily pregnant while her ex-husband''s current wife still couldn''t conceive. Funnily enough, the men voiced theirints and were ming the ex-wife for refusing to bear a child for her husband and shamelessly getting pregnant for someone else. A middle-aged man was especially annoyed and suggested the police arrest the woman and punish her for shaming her husband in such a manner. The sound of a spoon hitting the table noisily startled those around the table while the others away from them, who had been talking about the issue, looked at the source of the interruption. It was Luciana. In anger, she stood up, took off the straw hat, and red at the men condescendingly. "How dare you sit here and judge the woman?!" She asked in a harsh tone that made every one of them look at each other. First of all, she was a woman. Secondly, she was a woman dressed as a man. Thirdly, a woman was challenging them and even asked them, "How dare they"? "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TALKING TO IN SUCH MANNER, YOU FOUL-MOUTHED WENCH?" One of the men stood up and yelled at the top of his voice. Luciana was startled at the tone this vige pauper was using to speak to her. It was only now that she remembered she wasn''t in the pce or dressed like a princess. Even though men had a lot of rights, rich or poor, as a noblewoman married into the Royal family, shemanded respect. "I AM TALKING TO ALL OF YOU, YOU FILTHY MEN!" Luciana said, pointing at all of them. "How could you say the woman should be punished? You didn''t think the man was at fault? He could not grace his wife with a child for 10 years, and now that another man did it, she should be punished? ARE YOU ALL INSANE?" "She must be crazy!" Many of the men there agreed. Harold began to massage his temples and turned to look at Alicia. From the look in her eyes as she looked at Luciana, he could tell she was in full support of Luciana. Well, this wasn''t going to end well. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THE MAN IS RESPONSIBLE? IS IT HIS DUTY TO CONCEIVE A CHILD?" One of the men yelled, and Lance could not help but nod in support of the man. Alicia tsked. "So much ignorance." She said on the side but obviously, she was heard. "Who are you referring to?" Another man asked Alicia. "You! What are you going to do about it?" Susan chipped in calmly. Well, it didn''t end well. From yelling, it turned into a food fight, with each group throwing food at each other while Harold just watched from the side with his hands folded and lips pursed. He was never going to do this silly trip with these people ever again. Chapter 295 Capture The Witch Away from there in the pce, the Queen stood beside Damon as they faced the aristocrats and members of the assembly. "Why did you send for us so early in the morning when we should be reserving what little strength we have? We have no energy to waste on such unproductive gatherings," one of the aristocrats stated in annoyance, and the others murmured in agreement as they discussed amongst themselves. Although Damon was displeased by the disrespect, he couldn''tin since this had be his lot since Harold publicly humiliated him. "A very shameful and disgraceful piece of information has reached our ears," Damon announced, and everyone fell silent. "It is an insult not only to the royal family but also to the moon kingdom," Damon continued with a grave expression on his face, while the Queen nodded in agreement as she did her best to maintain a crestfallen expression. "And what is this insulting information about?" Sir Richard asked, wanting him to get straight to the point so they could be done with it. Damon looked at the Queen, and when he gave her a nod, she signaled to Damian, who was standing by the door, and he stepped out. "As shocking as this is to us. I, in particr, feel insulted and embarrassed..." "Can you just state what it is and save us time?" One of the aristocrats asked with a frown. "You have to exercise patience, my lords," the Queen pleaded, and a short momentter, Damian walked in with the man who hade bearing news for Prince Ivan. The man bowed to the Queen and Sir Damon, and then to the members of the assembly, before returning his attention to the Queen. "Can you tell the members of this great assembly what you told me?" The Queen asked, and the man gave her a nod. "I was traveling around the viges selling my wares, and I heard some disturbing gossip going around in one of the viges. At first, I didn''t realize that Prince Harold''s bride was from there. But when I heard the news going on about how Prince Harold had married their exiled princess,..." "Exiled Princess?" Several aristocrats asked at the same time. "What do you mean by an exiled princess?" Sir Richard asked. "That was what I heard that Prince Harold''s bride has been in exile since she was only a child. I was shocked to hear that our Prince had married a Princess in exile, so I tried to find out more about it and why she had been exiled. That was when I heard the shocking truth that Prince Harold''s bride is from a long line of witches and her mother, who was the former Queen, was executed for practicing witchcraft," the man said, and everyone eximed. "Are you certain of the words you speak? Prince Harold would have your tongue if this is a lie," Sir Richard said, and the man fell on his face. "I swear on my life that it is the truth I speak. I couldn''t keep it to myself knowing that the kingdom was made a fool of and we have a witch amongst us. I had to make haste to bring this information to the King," the man said, reciting all that the Queen had asked him to say. "How can we know that you are telling the truth?" One of the aristocrats asked. "It''s simple, I believe. All we have to do is send for Princess Amber''s father. He must answer to us and tell us if what this man has said is the truth or a lie," the Queen said fiercely as she looked around the hall while the aristocrats murmured amongst themselves. "How can we do that when Prince Harold has ordered that no one must leave the pce?" One of the aristocrats asked with a frown. "Isn''t it obvious that he has been bewitched by her? She is the one manipting him, and she probably knew that her time was up, hence she made him do all of this to us. We must not let witchcraft prevail in our kingdom!" The Queen said passionately. "I think this is a very delicate issue, and we have to tread with caution," one of the aristocrats said. "Think about it. Doesn''t this exin why Prince Harold''s bride tried to hurt Princess Tyra and why she killed Beth? She came to our kingdom to seek vengeance on the royal family. It is no news to everyone here about the role my father yed, with the permission of my husband, the King, in getting rid of witches. Only a strong witch like her could have defeated a strong Beta like Beth," the queen said, and the aristocrats murmured amongst themselves. While some agreed with the Queen, others didn''t. They didn''t want to make any hasty decisions that would further enrage Harold. "To think she practiced her sorcery right in front of us and we knew nothing about it," the Queen said, and this caused their attention to return to her and they cast questioning eyes on her. "What do you mean?" They asked, and the Queen shook her head. "Have you forgotten the strange wind and cloud that swept through the pce the other day? Who do you think was responsible for it?" The Queen asked, and they all looked thoughtful as they processed all that she was saying. It did make sense that only strong witchcraft could have been responsible for such a sudden change in the weather. "What are we going to do then? We will have to wait for Prince Harold to return and let him know... "We can''t do that! He is being controlled by her, and we can not trust his judgement! We must act fast before he returns, or else we do not know what else she might make him do," the Queen said as she looked at Damian. "Send some of your best men to Princess Amber''s kingdom. They are to bring her father here. Then you must take some men with you and go capture the witch! Do not let anything or anyone get in your way, even if it''s the Prince," the Queen ordered, and Damian bowed to her, but before he could walk away, Sir Richard spoke. "Even if it''s the Prince? What do you mean by that? Are you asking him to hurt the prince and those with her? Do you realize that some of our children are with them?" He asked, and Sir Gregory nodded, as did Luciana''s father. "Are you asking us to ce the safety of your children above that of the kingdom? How could you let your children leave with them in the first ce?" The Queen asked without thinking until she met her brother''s harsh gaze on her. "Try not to hurt them. But make sure you bring the Princess here," the Queen told Damian, who was waiting for final instructions, and he bowed to her once again before leaving. Chapter 296 Newscaster Meanwhile, Ivan wasn''t taking it lightly in his chamber, where he was still locked. He had been unable to sleep all night because of the burning rage inside him, and his chamber looked as messed up as he was. He had destroyed everything breakable in his chamber until there was nothing left to destroy. He couldn''t even look outside because, true to the queen''s words, the windows had been sealed and sprinkled with wolfsbane, so he was just stuck inside with his increasing rage. He stopped pacing when he heard a familiar voice outside his chamber, and he scowled when he recognized the voice as Benedicta''s. What was she doing here? One of the reasons he was stuck here was because of her. "Step aside, I want to see Prince Ivan," Benedicta ordered one of the guards stationed at the door. "I''m sorry, mydy. The Queen gave orders that he is not to leave his chamber and no one is to go in," the guard said apologetically. "Am I no one to you? Do you not know that I''m Prince Ivan''s betrothed? Step aside! You can tell the Queen it was my order," Benedicta said authoritatively. Theguards looked at each other before the one standing in front of the door reluctantly stepped aside and opened the door for her to go in. She eyed them in displeasure before she went into the chamber and they closed the door behind her. "My goodness! What have you done?" she asked in dismay as she looked around his chamber. "What are you doing here?" Ivan asked with a scowl as he watched her approach. "I learned you were locked up in your chamber. I wanted to see for myself," Benedicta said as she continued to look around his chamber with disapproval. She shook her head as she shifted her gaze to him. "How could you be so foolish as to want to leave the pce in search of Luciana?" Benedicta asked, and Ivan red at her. Why did she never learn? "Princess. You will call her Princess Luciana!" Ivan warned, and she scoffed. "Do I need to keep reminding you that she is no longer married to you, so she is not a princess? Besides, why do you care about her when she has made it clear that she is not on your side? She has sided with Prince Harold. I''m the only one you have on your side now, so you should learn to treat me better and apologise to me for hitting me," Benedicta said as she maintained a safe distance between them. Despite himself, he could not help but let out augh. She was crazy. Very crazy! He had the feeling she would die at his hands. "Have you heard the news yet?" she asked, and Ivan scowled at her. "Is it that you do not have any friends or someone to gossip with? Why do you keep bothering me?" Ivan asked, and she smiled at him. "Because you are my husband. I''m only getting acquainted with you. I take it you haven''t heard of the assembly that was held a short while ago," she repeated, and this time Ivan looked at her with annoyed curiosity. "What are you talking about?" Benedicta smiled. "The news is all over the pce. Someone came with a message that Princess Amber... I take that back, Amber, is actually not a princess," Benedicta said, and Ivan''s eyes sparkled with malice. "How is that possible? Sir Damon attended their wedding. It was a royal wedding," Ivan said as he set aside his irritation with her to get this information from her. "The royal family was deceived. Amber is the daughter of thete Queen who was dethroned and executed. And Amber was sent on exile to the mountains when she was still a child," Benedicta said, relishing the moment as she gave out the information slowly. She could not wait to see the look on Harold''s face when he learnt about this. "Her mother was executed on what grounds?" Ivan asked, not exactly surprised that the mannerless wench wasn''t a real princess. Shecked manners, which he was sure she would have possessed had she been brought up properly in a royal household. How dare that filthy lowlife human disrespect him and turn his wife''s heart against him? "Witchcraft," Benedicta said with a malicious smile. She was counting on two things. One, if Harold had any intention of bing king, he would abandon his wife now that he knew she was a witch and not a true princess, and hopefully, now that his curse had been broken and she was his betrothed child bride after all, he would have no choice but to marry her. Two, if Harold refused to give up his wife, that would make him less likely to have the throne, and Ivan would ascend the throne after making her his wife. Although she hoped Harold would abandon his bride and marry her since she preferred to marry a powerful alpha like Harold and not a cowardly beta like Ivan, but it didn''t make any difference. Either way, she was going to be Queen. That was the most important thing. "Witchcraft?" Ivan asked, looking stunned! Of course, he had always thought of her as a witch, but he would never have imagined she was from the bloodline of one! He paused when he realized something. This information couldn''t have juste by chance. It had to be from the people he sent to Princess Amber''s kingdom. How dare his mother treat him like this? How dare she hold an assembly without consulting with him first or telling him that his messenger had arrived? He mused as his blood boiled with anger. He was going to make sure to punish her for this when he eventually ascends the throne. He would teach her to know her ce as a woman. "Yes, witchcraft. The Queen has sent some men to summon Princess Amber''s father, and she has sent Damian to capture Amber and bring her back to the pce," Benedicta said with a pleased smile. "I need to go with them," Ivan said, and Benedicta shook her head. "You can''t go with..." Before she could finish speaking, Ivan stepped forward and grabbed her roughly by the throat. "I''m going with them," he said as he held her hostage with his sword to her throat as he dragged her with him to the door. He didn''t trust his mother. Luciana''s safety was paramount to him. They could capture and kill whoever they wanted. The only person he wanted to retrieve was his wife. Chapter 297 Aftermath Alvin and Harvey looked at each other before looking back at the group who were quietly seated on the front porch of the inn in confusion. They all looked like aplete mess. Their clothes, faces, and even their hair had different kinds of food debris. The most surprising part about it all was that Harold wasn''t spared from it. Vegetables were hanging loosely on top of his straw hat, and it seemed like the side of his face was smeared with tomatoes. It seemed like he was trying to suppress his anger with his eyes closed. Alvin looked around the inn, which was empty except for the group. Even the innkeeper could not be found anywhere. What the hell happened here? Did a storm happen that he wasn''t aware of? "Okay... is anyone going to exin what happened here?" Harvey asked, getting their attention. They looked in their direction with no one saying anything before they looked at each other. Harold''s annoyed outburst had shut them all up and sent the men fleeing when they realized whose pheromones it was. Susan made a deliberate effort to ignore Alvin. She wasn''t sure of the details of all that had happened between them, but she just wished she could disappear. It had happened that Harold had asked them all to shut up, and one of the men had challenged him, asking who he was to talk to elders rudely. He had even warned Harold to stop ring at him and asked if he thought he was the infamous Alvin just because he was tall. Remembering everything now, they had to confess that it was funny. Of course, he wasn''t the infamous Alvin. He was Prince Harold! The first person who started to chuckle was Alicia, as she looked at everyone who looked nothing like their graceful selves when they were in the pce. Susan joined, and Luciana could not help but burst intoughter. Paulina, who hadn''t escaped from it either, looked at Williams'' unusual appearance and began tough too. Williams had tried to step in as a peacemaker, but when he had an almost empty porridge bowl thrown at him with some actually touching his face, he actively joined in throwing whatever he could find at the men angrily. When Williams saw Paulinaughing, he also could not stop himself. Paulina had tried to save as much food as she could so they wouldn''t waste it, and that had made her a good target from both sides since she had been in the middle. Lance, on the other hand, could not hide his disgust at the filth all over him. He had been yelling that his clothes were expensive before he remembered he was wearing rags, so he rxed, but the peasants'' food that was all over him made him want to throw up. "Is it funny?" Harold asked in a dark voice as he opened his eyes to re at them, and immediately, they all shut their mouths apart from Alicia, who continued to giggle. ''IT''S FUNNY!'' His wolf said, and he could hear the annoying animalughing in his head. He had almost been tempted to join them to throw food about, and he knew for sure that that wasn''t him. It was his stupid wolf. "If you loosen up a bit and think about it, it''s funny," Alicia said as she leaned against Harold and pushed him yfully. He eyed her in displeasure, but she grinned at him. "You have something on your face," Alicia said with a giggle as she brushed the stain from his cheeks while he pushed her hand away grumpily and cleaned it himself, frowning even more when he saw the oily stain on his hand. "That was fun," Alicia said, and while Susan and Luciana silently agreed with her, Paulina was undecided, and neither Harold, Lance, nor Williams agreed. "It''s good that you spoke up! These men need to learn that sometimes infertility should not only be med on the woman but..." "Princess," Harold called in a warning tone, and Alicia rolled her eyes. "Fine. I won''t say another word," she said as she made a zipping gesture on her lips and Harold shifted his gaze to Harvey and Alvin, who were still staring at them in confusion. With his gaze, Harold silently inquired about the errand they had run, and Alvin gave him a slight nod. "There is a river nearby. You all need to clean up." Harvey suggested, and that was how they all found themselves in the river a few minutester. Alvin handed the bag he had been holding to a confused Paulina, who took it from him. When she looked into the bag, she realized it contained new sets of the same kind of clothes for them. Alvin doubted that these spoileddies would be willing to wear one outfit for 2 days considering how they usually dress up 3 times a day. Susan, who was still avoiding Alvin, was the first to get to the water and, after taking off her shoes, she dipped a toe in the water but immediately recoiled. "It''s cold!" She cried out. No matter how warm the weather was, she always bathed in warm water, and so did the others. So this was new to them. "I can''t bathe with cold water." Lanceined, making all eyes move from Susan to him. "Shouldn''t the innkeeper provide something warm? What if I fall sick? Who is going to take responsibility for my health?" Heined, making the others roll their eyes. "But the water isn''t that cold. Come and check it out." Susan said to Lance, making his eyes light up at how she was intentionally indulging him and even smiling at him. He moved closer beside her and took off one shoe. When he dipped his leg in the water, he flinched and was about to step out when Susan pushed him with all her might and he fell into the water with a loud stter. He yelled and cussed loudly while the othersughed heartily, especially Susan, who was giving him a smug look. "I''m sure the kingdom is going to be in ruins now that you are cold." Susan mocked Lance, who was ring at her. Chapter 298 Childish Adults Since Lance could not push Susan into the water, as soon as he stepped out of the water, he ran towards Williams, who didn''t realize what was happening until Lance was already pulling him towards the water. Before Williams could push him away, he found himself already falling into the water and did not hesitate to grab Lance''s hand tightly, which made the two of them fall inside. Williams gasped as he raised his head out of the water and used his hand to push his hair from his face to the back. His dark gazended on Lance, who was chuckling to himself but was still in the water and taking his time to wash the filth away from his precious body. Of course, Williams was not going to let the one who had started it get away with it. As soon as Susan noticed him leaving the water anding closer to her, she wanted to run off, but he moved swiftly and carried her in his arms. She kicked, screamed, and iled about in his arms, but he held on tightly until he got to the water and threw her in. Susan squealed as she fell into the cold water and totally forgot all her manners as she rained colourful insults on her brother, who smirked at her and gently washed his face in the water. Seeing how the girls wereughing at her, Susan swore she wasn''t the only one going to endure this cold and humiliation. So, as she rose from the water with her hair sticking all over her face, she raced towards Luciana and Alicia and began to pull the two of them with all her might. No matter how hard they tried to push her away, it seemed like Susan was bent on making sure they suffered the same fate. Paulina had tried to save Alicia from it when they got to the water, but unfortunately, she was dragged into the water too. That was how Lance, Williams, Susan, Alicia, Paulina, and Luciana found themselves in the water while Alvin, Harvey, and Harold just watched them, wondering what kind of childish adults they were. After Lance and Williams left the water, thedies were allowed to finish washing up while the men stayed far back to keep watch over them with their backs turned to them. Williams and Lance had to return to the inn to dry their clothes before they caught a cold. The men left could hear thedies chattering andughing over the food fight, while Luciana and Susan admitted that they had never experienced such a fight before. Alicia told them it was normal, while Paulina looked at them strangely, wondering what was fun about wasting food. Alicia also told them about pillow fights and how it was fun, especially when the feathers were flying all around the ce, and while Paulina worried about cleaning up the mess the pillow would make, Harold wondered who the hell she had even had that kind of moment with when he knew she had no close friends. Alicia had no idea of the kind of unpleasantness she had caused a certain someone as she sshed some water on Susan and Luciana, and soon all four of them started a water fight that had themughing out loud while Harold tried not to get angry at the waste of time. He tried to remind himself that as long as Alicia was having fun, there was no need to be upset or hurry them along. He had brought her out of the pce so she would recover, and he should be grateful that she was doing so well. Soon thedies got tired and began to leave to the back of arge rock to change their clothes one by one. Once they finished and it was time for the guys to do the same, Alicia stood there, causing Harold to raise an eyebrow, "Why are you not returning to the inn?" "We will keep watch too while we wait for you to finish," Alicia said, and the men looked at her like she had lost her mind. "We can look after ourselves. Alvin will escort you back to the inn," Harold ordered, but Alicia nted her feet on the ground stubbornly. "What do you mean by that? You kept watch while we had our bath. It''s only fair that we keep watch too, isn''t it?" Alicia asked the other three girls, who were about to nod, but one nce at Harold, and they both shook their heads. "Return to the inn and wait for us," Harold said, and seeing that her stubbornness wasn''t working on him, she decided to change her tactic and pouted instead. "But I don''t want to leave your sight," she said in a sad tone, making Alvin look like he was cringing, while Harvey was just staring intensely at her with an unreadable gaze. Harold sighed in resignation as he said, "Fine. But you don''t have to keep watch. You all can sit under the tree over there and wait for us to finish," Harold said, and Alicia shed him a smile as she pulled Paulina and Luciana along with her while Susan followed excitedly. "Should we spy on them?" Susan whispered as soon as they got to the tree. Paulina''s face flushed immediately and she shook her head while Luciana looked at her like she had lost her mind. "Let''s spy on them!" Susan whispered excitedly again, and they all turned to their gang leader, Alicia. "Why are you whispering when they''re far away?" Alicia asked the same question Paulina was curious about, and Susan exchanged a look with Luciana. "We have to be careful since we don''t want anyone to hear this," Susan whispered, and Luciana nodded before she stuttered with a red face,"But... we can''t spy on them." Paulina nodded immediately in agreement. "I bet you''ve only seen Prince Ivan''s body in your entire life. Aren''t you curious to see the bodies of other men?" Susan asked mischievously. "At least I have seen one! You haven''t." Luciana eyed her in displeasure. "Who said I haven''t?" Susan asked, and all eyes turned to her. Chapter 299 Williams Likes Alvin? All threedies looked at Susan curiously as they wondered whose nakedness she had seen. Susan grinned as she said, "I have a twin brother, remember?" "You... spy on Sir Williams when he is... und?" Paulina asked in horror, making Susan shudder. "Don''t be silly. We''ve been together for almost 19 years, so it''s only natural that I must have seen him without a shirt before. Would you like to see it?" Susan asked Paulina, who bobbed her head up and down before she realized she was nodding and not shaking her head and immediately shook her head instead. Alicia almost chuckled. Were they really talking about guys without shirts as if it were something sacred when many men went shirtless in 2020? These girls would probably drown from nosebleeds if they transmigrated to 2020. "You don''t mind us all seeing Alvin''s body?" Alicia whispered, and Susan''s brows pulled together. "What?" She asked in confusion, and Alicia grinned. "Spying on them while they are bathing means we all get to see what Alvin looks like without his clothes on. You don''t mind, do you?" Alicia asked once again, and when Susan merely looked at her in confusion, she added. "I''m asking you this because I mind. I don''t want any of you looking at Harold. He is only mine to look at." Alicia said seriously. "I can look at Alvin while you look at Prince Harold. Luciana and Paulina don''t have to spy with us," Susan suggested reasonably. "Why do you get to look at Alvin and we can''t? And why are you eager to spy on Alvin in the first ce when Sir Harvey is the one you are betrothed to?" Luciana asked with an arched brow, and Susan blushed when she realized her slip. "I¡ª" Susan opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what exnation to give. Alicia giggled as she asked, "Do you think they spied on us while we had our bath?" Hearing her question, Luciana, Susan, and Paulina raised their hands to cover their chests instinctively as they looked at her in horror, making Alicia look at them in amusement as she wondered why they were reacting that way when they had "bathed" with most of their clothes on. "Why? You want to spy on them, but you don''t want them to spy on you?" She asked, and Susan dropped her hands. "It''s different. I''m ady. Only my husband is meant to see my body," Susan exined, and Luciana nodded in agreement. "What if they spied on us? What if Alvin saw you?" Alicia asked with a teasing grin, enjoying herself as a blush crept up Susan''s face. "He wouldn''t do something like that. Prince Harold wouldn''t either," Susan said confidently, even though the thought of it made her feel embarrassed. "Then there is no reason we should spy on them. By the way, I was going to set Alvin up with Paulina..." "Why do you want to set him up?" Susan asked in confusion, while Paulina also looked confused as she wondered why she wanted to use her to set Alvin up. "I mean, I wanted to have Alvin and Paulina betrothed¡ª" "What? You can''t do that!"Susan cut in before Alicia could finish speaking, while Paulina''s eyes shone in horror and she shook her head. "Are you speaking for yourself or Williams?" Alicia asked. Luciana listened to the conversation, not knowing what to make of it, while Paulina tried to make sense of what they were saying. Does Lady Susan fancy Alvin? Then... what does Sir Williams have to do with this? Did he... by chance, fancy Alvin too? How was that possible? "You shouldn''t do that. People are supposed to choose who they want to be with. Besides, I don''t think Paulina wants to be with Alvin. You see how she gets scared whenever he is close by. Or do you fancy Alvin?" Susan asked Paulina, who still looked very surprised that Alicia had thought of something like that. Her and Alvin? She shuddered at the thought. Alvin was much too scary. The only things pretty about him were his face and his hair. His entire build was scary, and the air around him was always dark and evil. Paulina shook her head quickly. Alicia sighed as a frown fanned her brows. Why didn''t she at least transmigrate to a simpler era? Why did it have to be such a troublesome era? Not only did she have to worry about possessing the body of ady who was from a lineage of witches in a ce where witches were forbidden, but she also seemed to possess some powers herself. And now she was in the middle of a mystery murder where she was the prime suspect. If only they were advanced enough and could carry out DNA profiling, she wouldn''t have been in such a fix. And to top it all off, the children of the queen''s brother were falling for people they weren''t supposed to. Alvin was Harold''s person, and Paulina was her person. She didn''t want those two to be in trouble. These thoughts caused Alicia''s mood to shift, and worry clouded her mind as she wondered what they were all going to do with their emotions and love interests. She tried to focus on Susan when she realized that Susan was still speaking and said, "I was told your family would never allow you to mar..." "That is for us to worry about. Don''t do anything," Susan said, and Alicia raised both hands in surrender. "If you say so." "So you fancy Alvin," Luciana said to Susan, confirming her suspicion while Paulina''s eyes went wide. "You... really fancy Alvin?" She asked in disbelief. Was that even allowed? If this was correct, did it mean Sir Williams also fancied him? Susan raised a finger to her lips when she heard the men approaching. "They areing this way," Susan said, and Alicia looked at her and stood up to look ahead of them. Chapter 300 Dead Unlike thedies, the men cleaned up quickly and didn''t waste any time talking or ying silly water games. Alicia''s brows drew together when she realized that Susan was right and the men were approaching. She couldn''t help but wonder how Susan knew they were done when they had all been busy with their discussion. "How did you know they were done?" Alicia asked curiously. "I heard them approaching. Didn''t you?" Susan asked, before remembering that Alicia was human, and then she turned to Luciana, who bobbed her head. "I did too," Luciana said, and Alicia narrowed her eyes suspiciously as she looked from Susan to Luciana. "Did you hear them approaching?" She asked Paulina, and Paulina shook her head. ? This confirmed her earlier suspicion that the people of the Moon Kingdom seemed to have very sharp auditory abilities. She made a mental note to ask Susan and Luciana about thister. Since Harold was refusing to tell her anything, she would ask thedies. They all stood and went to join the men. "That was quick," Alicia said as she linked her arm with Harold''s and walked beside him while Paulina, Luciana, and Susan walked beside her. Alvin walked ahead of them, and Harvey followed behind as they returned to the inn. Harold was quiet the entire time as he thought about what Alvin and Harvey had shared with him, wondering if he should tell the others about it or not. He would have loved to keep this to himself just like he usually did, but since the others had sworn loyalty to him, he considered involving them. Once they were inside the inn, Harold stopped walking and addressed the others. "Let''s talk." He said calmly. As much as Alicia wanted to take a break from all the seriousness, she knew she could not avoid the main problem forever. Besides, they were going to return to the pce today, so she needed to at least know what Alvin and Harvey had found. A few minutester, they were all seated on the floor in Alvin''s room since his room was the only neutral room and was also less upied. Knowing how much Harold hated to beat around the bush and how he hated unnecessary stories, Alvin went straight to the point. "I''m sure I do not have to remind you all that you swore on your lives to not betray us and keep whatever you learn among us." Alicia looked at all of them in confusion. "We swore on our lives? When?" She asked before looking at Paulina, who also looked confused. Alvin''s eyes went to Paulina, and he remembered she hadn''t been a part of the swearing ceremony. He immediately took out a dagger to conduct her own ceremony when he felt a nasty re in his direction from Harold, making him pause his action. Harold looked at Alicia and cleared his throat while waving it off quickly. "It was nothing. They just promised to not betray you. Go ahead." He said to Alicia before turning his attention back to Harvey to inform them about what they had learnt. "We tried to find any trace of the past royal physician who made the Beta''s nightmare. We thought that would give us a clue as to whoever was still using it now." He paused to let that sink in before he continued. "However, the few people who remember the physician im that he died almost twenty years ago." "If he is already dead, then how is the medicine still in existence?" Williams asked. "My mother said all of it was destroyed back then." "What about other members of his family? Maybe there is someone else who knows about it and is still selling it?" Susan asked. "How did he die?" Alicia asked curiously. "If he worked for the royal family and died all those years ago, you would have at least heard about it, right?" Harold nodded. She was indeed smart. "ording to them, his house was burned down with his family in it. While some people think it was an ident, others im they suspect it was done on purpose." Alvin said, and all eyes turned to him for more information. "By who?" Alicia asked. "The Royal Family," Harvey answered, surprising them all, and all eyes turned from Alvin to Harvey. "Why do they think so? Did someone see or hear something?" Lance asked curiously. "One of his house servants, who escaped a day before the attack, told his brother that immediately the physician returned from the pce one night, he overheard him telling his wife that they were in danger and needed to run away," Harvey said, and the others looked at them thoughtfully. What could have happened? "And where is this servant now?" Alicia asked thoughtfully. "He ran away that night after hearing that. No one knows where he is." Alvin supplied. "How did you learn about all this then?" Susan asked curiously before she remembered she was supposed to be avoiding him. "There is an old store on the outskirts of the vige where people pay handsomely for information. It is believed that the owner of the ce gives out genuine information and admits if he doesn''t know something, instead of making false statements. We were also able to confirm some of this by visiting the previous physician''s residence, which is still in ruins today. We searched for the man who used to live next door but moved away many years ago. He confirmed that he saw two peoplee out of the residence that night before setting fire to the apartment." Harvey answered. "When did you have the time to do all this?" Susan asked with a slight frown. When did Alvin catch the pig and also have enough time to go about asking questions and getting information? When did he ever rest? "How did he know they were from the pce?" Williams asked at the same time as Susan, and immediately, Alvin unsheathed his sword, scaring them all before he dropped it in the middle without saying a word. Chapter 301 Dont Touch Me! "Guards who serve members of the royal family directly are bestowed special swords by the king," Harold exined. Although the others all knew this, it was the first time both Alicia and Paulina had learned about it, and they looked at the sword with interest. It did look different and had a long golden design in the middle with some words and a circle crested on it. "So the man was willing to give you this piece of information despite seeing you with this sword and knowing his life might be at stake?" Alicia asked Alvin in confusion. Alvin nodded. "I just convinced him a little and he told¡ª" "He broke one of his arms and legs," Harvey cut in, making all eyes turn to Alvin, who just sat there and was looking ahead with a straight face. Alvin red at Harvey when he noticed the way all eyes had turned on him. "It was... necessary," Alvin said awkwardly as he put his sword away. While Williams shook his head at his sister, who seemed to be trying hard not to smile. "Did they have any children? And did the children survive?" Alicia remembered to ask, and Harvey gave her a nod. "Yes. They had a son, but no one knows where he is or if he died that night. The only bodies found were those of the physician, his wife, and some servants and maids. His son''s body wasn''t found," Alvin exined, while Harold listened to all the conversation going on around him without contributing a word. "How old was his son when this happened?" Luciana asked thoughtfully. "About three years old. The man remembered because he had his daughter around the same period the physician''s wife had her son," Harvey said and Alicia immediately faced Alvin in disbelief. "You broke the arm and leg of an old man?!" "He is not that ol..." Alvin let the rest of his words trail off when Alicia red at him. "What does it matter whether he is old or not?" Alicia snapped at him. Alvin nced at Harold, hoping that Harold woulde to his aid and help him exin to his wife that it had been necessary, but Harold looked away from both Alicia and Alvin. "If there was another way to convince him to speak, I would have done so," Alvin said, looking flustered and feeling betrayed by Harold. He couldn''t help feeling like a child who was being scolded by his mother. The otherdies in the room were taken aback by Alvin''s apparent nervousness. This was the first time they had seen him this way, and it seemed like only Princess Amber had this effect on him, Susan mused as she watched him, failing to hide the jealousy she felt. Howe he was like that to Amber but was cold to everyone else? "This is not eptable. You can''t keep using such brutal force on people. They''re not animals!" Alicia said passionately, and the others looked at her, wondering why she was so affected by something like that when her husband was even more brutal than Alvin was. Didn''t anyone tell her what he had done on the day he woke up from his unconsciousness? "I will... try to be gentler next time," Alvin promised, even though he didn''t believe that either. What was the gentler way of making someone who didn''t want to speak speak? This was him being gentle already! Prince Harold wouldn''t have even bothered with the man and simply shed him with his sword for wasting his time, even though he wouldn''t get any information from a dead man. Alvin sent a re in Harvey''s direction and was beginning to get ufortable with all the focus on him until thankfully, Lance spoke. He had never thought that in this life, he would be thankful to Lance at some point. "If someone from the royal family killed the physician, then he must have known something he wasn''t supposed to, right?" Alicia nodded. That makes sense. "If it were the king who had killed him, they wouldn''t have done it that way. He would have simply been arrested or something. But he was killed secretly after telling his wife to run away. Someone else in the pce must have killed him. A member of the royal family..." she looked at Harold to be sure she was on the right track with her reasoning, and he nodded. Every one of them was suddenly quiet. If it wasn''t the king, they all knew the next person in mind who would have carried out such an action. It definitely wasn''t Harold, Ivan, Harry, or Tyra. They were all kids back then. There was only one person left... the queen. And maybe, Damon. So what exactly happened back then and what did the physician know? "Maybe the physician''s son or someone close to his family is alive and is seeking vengeance?" Lance asked, and everyone looked at him, genuinely surprised to know that he was smart enough to have figured out something like that. "Aww! Our little Lance is growing," Alicia cooed as she reached out a hand to ruffle his hair, and everyone looked at her in surprise, including Lance, who seemed startled by her touch. Before Lance could move away, Harold''s leg shot forward and kicked him out of her reach, causing him to groan in pain as he was sent flying to the other end of the room. "Why did you let your hair touch her?!" Harold red at Lance while the others looked at Harold, Alicia, and the unfortunate Lance in disbelief. Was he serious right now? "How could you kick him like that?" Aliciained in horror as she stood up and went to help Lance, but before she could touch him, he put his hand up and moved away from her reach as he cried out, "DON''T TOUCH ME!" Lance was beginning to regret swearing that oath because now he was bound to these people. There was a psychopath who would break someone''s hand and a leg to get a piece of information and another who could kill someone for breathing the same air as his wife. Well, not that he was that perfect, but he would have preferred to be the one on the giving end and not the receiver. Chapter 302 Bitter Queen (1) It did not take long before the news of Alicia being a witch spread all over the pce like wildfire. It was the subject on the lips of every aristocrat within the pce walls, and even the maids and guards were not left out. Some of the servants who had experienced Alicia''s kindness in the past refused to believe that someone as nice as she was was a witch, while some others thought it made sense that she was a witch. They believed that only a witch could have the sort of boldness she possessed and even win the heart of a fearsome person like Prince Harold. However, regardless of the rumour and the Queen''s order for the activities to resume as usual in the pce and for the kitchen chefs and maids to prepare a meal for them, none of them dared disobey Harold''s orders. Bewitched or not, they all feared Prince Harold and would rather face the Queen''s wrath than prince Harold''s wrath. All everyone was waiting for right now was the return of Prince Harold and his wife, and for them to know whether or not what the Queen had said was true. Like everyone else, Queen Arya waited too, but with mixed feelings. She knew she was taking a risk, but it was one worth taking for the greater good. Different thoughts ran through Queen Arya''s mind as she stood in the throne hall looking at the King''s seat while she waited for Damian to return with Princess Amber. Although she knew it would take some time for them to return, she was too restless to sit still or wait in her chamber. The door opened behind her, but she didn''t turn to see who it was. "You are going to ruin us all," The queen''s brother, who had just walked in, spoke to Queen Arya, whose back was still to him as her eyes were fixated on the throne. Without turning to look at him, she said, "Whatever I''m doing is for our good." "Our good? Whose good? You are just being senseless and acting foolishly!" "YOU WILL NOT..." she immediately turned around to face him with a dark look in her eyes, "... speak to your Queen in that manner." She warned, but her brother still kept his face rigid. "Then act like a sensible Queen! Your actions are only going to bring more chaos into this kingdom. If the King was here, he wouldn''t have handled things this way--" "YES! That is because the king is unfair." She cried out. "THE KING IS ALWAYS UNFAIR TO ME!" She yelled with teary eyes as she moved closer to him. "He wouldn''t have done anything if he were here! The same way he did nothing when that monster killed my son! He did nothing when your nephew was killed! And that is because he cares for Harold more than he does for me! I have been with him for so many years, yet he values that bastard... That... monster more than me and allows him to use his guards as he pleases!" "You shouldn''t speak so rashly!" He scolded as he looked around them. "Why are you acting so carelessly? What has gotten into you? What hase over you and Prince Ivan?" He didn''t even want to talk about Prince Ivan right now, because that boy had gone raving mad. He had practically held Lady Benedicta hostage with a knife and had threatened to sh her throat if anyone so much as took a step forward and tried to stop him. It had caused quite a ruckus in the pce. Benedicta''s parents, especially her mother, had not taken it lightly when Benedicta''s fearful screeches echoed in the pce while the aristocrats fought amongst themselves. Although Benedicta''s parents wanted to let Ivan leave so they could save their daughter, most of the other aristocrats refused. It was one thing to let the Queen have her way and send her guards after Prince Harold''s wife, but it was an entirely different thing to let Prince Ivan leave on his own. They would rather die than put their lives at risk of Harold''s sword by letting Ivan step out of the pce. In the end, not only had Ivan stabbed an aristocrat, but he had also left the pce, leaving a traumatized Benedicta and furious nobles behind, with some of the king''s guards going after him. It was clear to both the Queen and her brother that no one would want Ivan to sit on the throne after his action. And the marriage between him and Benedicta was over before it even started. The queenughed hysterically and used a hand to clean the tear that had escaped from her eyes before looking back at the king''s seat with a determined look in her eyes. Men. All the men around her were useless. She was done relying on all of them. She would handle things her own way henceforth. She would do a better job of it than relying on this incapable and cowardly lot. "You should not--" "I AM BITTER!" She hissed harshly, cutting him off. "You know what I think? Maybe... it is not such a bad thing that the King is no longer fit to sit on this throne anymore," she smiled maliciously. "Perhaps this is the Moon Goddess finally stepping in to change the course of our history. It''s time for a new era..." "What are you talking about?" Her brother asked, not wanting to believe she meant what he was thinking. "Get a rein on your children, dear brother. We need to get our children married as soon as possible. Ivan will marry Benedicta, whether he likes it or not. I have also chosen the proper bride for Williams. He is to marry--" "Have you really lost it now?!" He asked, angry that she wasn''t paying attention to him. "Can you take my side for once?" She yelled at him and then moved closer to where he stood and ced a hand on his shoulders. "This is what Father would have wanted!" The queen said, and he looked at her incredulously as he shrugged her hands off him. "What? You think he would have wanted a crazy daughter?" "So what do you want me to do?" She frowned at him in anger and stepped away from him. "Everything we have is crumbling right before us!" She cried in a frustrated tone. "Tell me! What do you expect me to do? Stay back and do nothing until Harold kills us all? Stay still and watch the witch destroy this kingdom?" She asked angrily. Chapter 303 Bitter Queen (2) "You are doing too much..." Her brother said in a frustrated tone but she shook her head. "Ever since that girl stepped her feet into this ce, it has been one problem or the other! I should have killed her the moment she came here. It was all my fault. But now, I am going to correct it. I will not let a witch ruin this kingdom!" She dered passionately. Her brother looked at her as though he was staring at a crazy person. "I advise that you sit back." "Sit back?" She asked in disbelief. "That won''t happen. I have sat back long enough. I am done sitting back. From now on..." she pointed at the throne. "That... is going to be my seat." "What?" If he hadn''t already been in disbelief, he was this time as he looked at her like she had been possessed by some kind of demon. "I am going to be sitting on that throne," she said with determination, and her brother shook his head as he stared at her in disbelief. She had lost itpletely. "That is not possible. Women have no ce in the court; talk more about ruling over a court of men. You are a Beta..." "You can''t tell me what I can or cannot do!" She snapped at him. "It is my duty as your brother to tell you the truth!" He yelled at her angrily. "You are making a mistake if you think anyone would let a woman sit on that throne," her brother said, but she ignored him. "Aren''t you angry at all?" She asked him. "A witch ruined our family! It was a witch''s curse that killed our parents! And you expect us to let her live? Can''t you see she is here for vengeance? She wants to kill us all. I am sure others are working with her. They must have been nning this for years. I am sure it was their n to kill Prince Harry. My... p-poor son¨C" She choked on a sob, quickly collected herself, and looked at her brother. "You have lost your mind. I will not let you ruin this kingdom and put the lives of my children in danger. You are going to stay back and¡ª" "It is already toote for that." She said calmly, and at the same time, the heavy door was pushed open with force, and Damon marched inside, looking livid. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" He barked at her, but she rolled her eyes. "Not you too, Damon!" She said it with disapproval. "ARE YOU CRAZY?" "YOU WILL SHOW YOUR QUEEN SOME RESPECT!" She yelled back. "If you MEN are too fearful to do anything, then I have to step up. I''m doing what''s best for the kingdom," she said, raising her chin. "And what about Princess Tyra?" Damon asked her. The queen sighed and adjusted the crown on her head as she said calmly, "I will never hurt my daughter." "YOU WILL NEVER HURT YOUR DAUGHTER?!" He yelled. "You had her locked up in the dungeon!" "That is just to bait Prince Harold and the others!" She said defensively. "Think about it... Everyone out there cares about her. If they learn that she has been locked in that filthy ce and will only be released when they get back, they will all return to the pce without putting up any fight. It''s the second n I made in case he causes trouble. I''m trying to keep the others safe!" She exined while both men looked at her as though they had just confirmed that she was crazy. How did her brain work? What sort of mother used her child as bait? Couldn''t she have left Princess Tyra in her chamber and had Damian lie to Prince Harold that Princess Tyra had been locked in the dungeon? "You are making a mess of everything!" Damon told her, but she shook her head. "No. I''m doing my best to fix everything, and I''m surprised that you both don''t see it," she said in disappointment. "I care about this kingdom. I need you both to trust me. Join hands with me, and let''s get rid of Harold and his witch bride. I will be a better ruler than my husband was," she said, looking at both men with imploring eyes. Both men exchanged a look, and they silently agreed that she had lost her mind and they needed to do something before she ruined everything for everyone. "You need to get some rest. Let''s talk again after you have rested," her brother suggested wearily. "I don''t want to rest. I will wait until they get here," she said stubbornly. "I will have mydy wife serve you a soothing tea then. Something to calm you while you wait," he said before walking away from there, leaving her alone with Damon. He was going to make sure to take his children out of there the moment they returned. From the look of things, there was going to be a bloodbath in the pce soon, and he didn''t want his children involved or affected in any way. "Ask them to release Princess Tyra at once," Damon said once they were alone. "Why? It''s not like anyone is going to hurt her in there..." "She is barely recovering, and the first thing you do is throw her into the dungeon like some criminal? What sort of a mother are you?" Damon yelled at her. "She will be alright. Leave me. I want to be alone," the queen said dismissively as she turned away from Damon. "I''m going to have her escorted back to her chamber¡ª" "YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!" She turned back and yelled at him. "SHE IS A PRINCESS!" He reminded her. "AND SHE IS MY DAUGHTER!" She reminded him also. "As the King''s Beta, I have every right to control whatever happens in this kingdom in the king''s absence." He said pointedly as they both exchanged heated res. Chapter 304 What Hunting Ground? Once the group all settled back down after Harold''s assault on Lance, they returned their attention to the point that Lance had raised. While some of them believed that it could be the physician''s son. Some of them thought that they couldn''t just conclude that the physician''s son or someone close to the family who had ess to the physician''s beta''s nightmare was seeking vengeance. Even if their best bet was that the potion had been fed to Alicia and Lance, there was still a possibility that it might be some other kind of potion they didn''t know about. But regardless of whatever potion it was, the question now on all their minds was WHO? Who was this person messing with all of them? "How is it possible that the physician''s son might be in the pce? I mean, he was very young at the time his father was killed, and he was young at the time of the first prince''s death, right?" Susan asked quietly, shuddering at the thought that such a vengeful enemy was walking around the pce. "Maybe someone he trusted brought him into the pce?" Lance asked. "Or he may be dead or sold as a ve somewhere else, while the person doing this is someone else," Luciana said reasonably, and Harold looked from Alvin to Harvey, silentlymunicating with them before looking at the rest of the group. "We need to leave for the pce," Harold said, but Alicia shook her head. "Not so soon. Before we leave, I want to know about everything. I want to know all that happened and how I ended up in the dungeon. I also want to hear what Tyra said, and I want to know the present state of things at the pce," Alicia said, looking at Harold. He held her gaze for a moment, and when he saw the determination in her eyes, he gave her a nod. He then looked at Susan, since amongst them all, she seemed to know better. Alvin had been by his side, nursing him, so he didn''t really know much of what happened that night. Susan sat up and cleared her throat as she began to narrate. "We were all at the hunting ground when the maid raised the rm..." "What hunting ground?" Alicia asked, and at the same time, Susan received a sharp re from Harold and immediately realized her slip-up. She was tired of hiding this, and it wasn''t easy controlling the kinds of things she said. Why did the King have to put this pressure on them to not utter a word about their kind to her? Anyway, they could understand why. How would Princess Amber react if she happened to know? "What were you doing in the hunting ground at night?" Alicia interrupted with a frown, remembering how she had felt the whole ce was silent and deserted. She looked at Harold with a frown, wondering why they all left her alone in the pce to go hunting. She could remember how he insisted she stay in her room. Why? All eyes turned to Harold, and he shifted ufortably. "It''s part of the banquet ceremony," Harold said without meeting her gaze, and Alicia snorted. "What do you people think you are hunting on a full moon? Werewolves?" She asked with a shake of her head, and they all looked at each other but nobody said anything, leaving Alicia to think they were looking at each other because they had no idea what a werewolf was even though Harold seemed to have had an idea when they talked about it. But before she could exin that to them, something else urred to her. "Wait, so you were hurt during the hunt?" She asked when she remembered that Susan had told her Harold had been shot by an arrow. "Yes," Harold said with a nod. "You should let her continue if we are going to leave today," Harold said, and Alicia gestured to Susan to continue. "We got to the pce and saw you and Princess Tyra lying there unconscious, and Beth was dead." "What did the maid say?" Alicia asked curiously, even though Susan had given her some updates while she was in the dungeon. "She said you were attacking Beth and Princess Tyra," Williams responded, and Alicia frowned. "Where is the maid? Can I talk to her?" Alicia asked, but Harold shook his head. "She is dead." Alicia looked at him in surprise and asked, "Did you kill her?" "Do you think I am a monster who enjoys killing people?" He asked, slightly annoyed, while the others exchanged looks and just cleared their throats as they pretended not to hear that. Ignoring them, Harold exined to her. "Someone already killed her before Alvin could find her. She was dead before I woke up," he said with a frustrated sigh that Alicia took as sadness as the sole witness was dead. But Alvin, on the other hand, could guess that the reason Harold had been annoyed and now sounded frustrated was because he didn''t get the chance to kill her himself before someone else did. He only hoped that he wouldn''t take out that frustration on her poor twin. "So why were Princess Tyra and Beth in the pce with the maid if everyone else went to the hunting ground?" Alicia asked thoughtfully. This was moreplicated than she had thought. "I asked Princess Tyra to stay back because she was feeling unwell, and the maid stayed back to nurse her. I have no idea why Beth stayed back or why no one noticed her absence," Harold said since they couldn''t exin to her that the maid who had stayed back was an Omega werewolf and Tyra had let her stay for that reason. Alicia didn''t want to believe that someone was probably trying to use Tyra against her because she didn''t think Tyra had any reason to want to kill her and hurt Prince Harold. But it was concerning that she had stayed back and also been at the scene. Chapter 305 The Decision They couldn''t help but notice the thoughtful frown on Alicia''s face. "What... are you thinking about, Mdy?" Paulina asked softly, and Alicia sighed as she looked at them. "I don''t know. Different thoughts are running through my mind," Alicia said, unable to shake off the thought that something was wrong. Somehow she had a feeling that everything was rted and that those dreams she had about Princess Amber were not mere dreams. What if they were messages from her subconscious trying to help her figure some things out? Since Harold mentioned that he and Tyra had been in that vige where Amber had drowned, she had been unable to shake that dream from her mind. She was having a hard time believing in coincidencestely. "Tell me about them," Harold said softly, and Alicia shook her head. "Later. I should let her finish speaking," Alicia said, and Harold looked into her eyes before giving her a nod, understanding that whatever she wanted to say couldn''t be said in front of the others. "Please go on," Alicia said, and she listened as Susan brought her up to speed with everything that had happened and how they all teamed up and tried to dy everything while also trying to gather evidence. Susan, of course, didn''t mention the oath they had taken. By the time Susan was done, Alicia let out a deep breath and looked at them with gratitude. It was funny how people she knew for years were quick to discard her when the media was against her. Yet, these people she had barely known for a long time stood by her even though she had been used of murder and there had been a "witness". Sheughed ruefully and raised her head to blink back tears before sniffing and looking at all of them one by one. "Thank you. You all saved me, and... I''m grateful," she said quietly. "You would have done the same and more if it were someone else," Luciana said in a soft tone as she looked at her. The others nodded in agreement. They imagined if it had been someone else in her ce, the person wouldn''t have even gotten to the point where they would face execution, even if it meant Alicia was going to pull the Queen and Damon''s hairs to suspend everything. Harold looked at her softly as a smile yed on his lips. He wondered how someone could be so fierce and sopassionate at the same time. It just didn''t make sense that the people in her world didn''t value her. Alicia smiled in embarrassment, as the atmosphere was too ufortable for her. She didn''t want to cry. But she was always going to remember this day and all they had done for her. "If you don''t mind, can you excuse us for a moment? I want to speak with Harvey and Prince Harold alone," Alicia said, and the rest of them exchanged a look, while Alvin looked at Harold, feeling left out. Harold gave him a nod to leave with the others, knowing that if Alvin left with them, no one would be around to eavesdrop on their conversation. Alvin nodded and made his way to the door as he waited for the others to leave first. When it was his turn to step out, Harold spoke in his head. ''There are a lot of things I want to tell you, and I will tell you. I... promise.'' Alvin looked back at Harold and smiled a little before he stepped out to keep the others from eavesdropping. Once they left, Alicia looked from Harold to Harvey and then back again. "I think we should tell the others the truth about me," Alicia said, and Harold exchanged a look with Harvey, who shook his head. "That is too risky. We can''t trust them not to tell anyone else about it," Harvey said, and Alicia shook her head. "They have risked their lives for me. They''ve believed in me even without any evidence. I don''t think I should keep any more secrets from them," Alicia said, and Harold''s brows furrowed. "How much do you want to tell them?" "Everything. My real identity as well as the truth about Amber''s lineage. They are our allies, and they should know," Alicia said, and Harvey shook his head, totally against the thought, but Harold merely sighed. "Was that what you were thinking about earlier?" Harold asked her. Alicia shook her head. "Do you think Tyra is telling the truth?" She asked, and Harold shook his head. "You told me already that you didn''t do it..." "Yes, so you said. But I''m asking, if I didn''t tell you that I was innocent, would you have believed her? Do you think she has any reason to lie against me?" Alicia asked with a frown. Thest thing she wanted was to turn Harold''s heart against his only sister. The only other person who seemed to care about him in the pce. Tyra was also her friend, and she had grown to treasure her a lot. But it was important that she ask him this question. "Do you trust her?" Alicia asked, and Harold hesitated for a moment while Harvey kept looking between the two. "Why are you asking me this? Do you suspect her?" Harold asked without answering her questions, and Alicia sighed. "I don''t know. From what Susan said, the only people who were in the pce that night with me were Beth, Tyra, and the maid. Tyra and the maid are a team, and Beth was probably acting on her own..." "You think Princess Tyra might have done it?" Harvey asked while Harold frowned. Although he had his own suspicions, he knew Tyra wasn''t strong enough to take on Beth. "She couldn''t have killed Beth," Harold said quietly. Alicia turned to face Harvey and asked him seriously, "You know Princess Amber quite well. Do you think she is capable of killing someone that way?" Chapter 306 Trouble Is Coming Harvey looked at her for a moment before he shook his head. "She is not that type of person." He said quietly. "I believe so too. And I don''t think it''s Queen Anne either. Since we agree it''s not me, that leaves Princess Tyra, or whoever else might have been there that night..." "We don''t know if someone else was there," Harvey pointed out. "So we are left with two options. Either Princess Tyra did it or she is protecting the person who did it. The fact that the maid was killed tells us that someone else is involved. I prefer to believe that Princess Tyra might have seen the person, and maybe she is too scared to say it," Alicia said confidently. "Did you know of her romantic rtionship with Damian?" Harold asked out of the blue, and her brows pulled together. "Damian? The Queen''s guard?" Alicia asked in disbelief, and even Harvey looked surprised to hear that. "Yes. Susan told me about it," Harold said, and seeing her surprise, he could tell that she didn''t know about it. Alicia narrowed her eyes thoughtfully when she remembered how Tyra had shaken her head when she asked her if she didn''t fancy anyone. Why did she lie to her when even Susan knew about it? Or did she not consider her a friend as she had thought? "Then is it possible that the Queen knows about it?" Harvey asked curiously. "I will speak with her again when we get back to the pce," Harold said. He had only heard about it from Susan and would need to speak with Tyra to know if the rtionship was genuine or if there was something else there. "I want to be there when you speak with her. Let''s call the others in and tell them about everything so we can leave," Alicia said, and the look on Harold''s face, told her he didn''t like the idea. Harvey also felt the same way. This wasn''t something simple. Before either of them could say another word, Alvin slid the door open impatiently and walked in with a worried frown. "What is wrong?" Harold asked, getting up immediately since he could tell from the look on Alvin''s face and the way he had entered that there was trouble. When Paulina also ran in immediately and looked at Alicia with a panicked look, Harvey and Alicia also stood up at once, and Alicia gave Paulina a questioning look. "Damian is outside..." He paused. "And he is withpany." Harold narrowed his eyes and smiled, as though trying to suppress the burning anger he was feeling even as his wolf slowly began to resurface. "They dared to disobey my orders." He said calmly. But that was not all. Alicia could hear different voices at the same time. There seemed to be an argument happening out there. "He insists that the Queen and the court have ordered to bring Princess Amber in." Alicia unconsciously stood behind Harold as her heart lurched to her throat. No. She didn''t want to be subjected to that torture again. "She has been used of deceiving the royal family and the Moon Kingdom," Alvin rushed to add when he noticed Harold was picking up his sword. "How... did she do that?" Harvey asked with a frown while Alicia reached for the hem of Harold''s shirt and held it. The anxiety she felt was so overwhelming that she felt she would pass out. Alvin looked at her, unable to utter the words, as he looked at Harold. "Say it!" Harold ordered. He hadn''t spared Alicia a nce since Alvin entered, but he could feel her fear. He could surprisingly smell it all over the room and wondered if the others could. "They said she is... not a real princess, and she is a¡ª witch," Alvin said, and Harold ground his teeth in annoyance as he drew his sword, ready to go outside and deal with Damian, but Alicia grabbed him quickly by the arm. "There is no reason for violence..." she said while looking at him with pleading eyes. "If we let them take you... you will be killed," Harvey told her, and Alvin looked at them in confusion. "Is it... true?" Alvin asked Harold, wondering what Harvey was talking about and why they didn''t seem surprised or feel that was stupid just like the others outside believed. "It is... moreplicated than that," Alicia said, trying to be calm, and Alvin could not hide the surprise on his face. He immediately looked at Harold, who gave him a defeated nod, and Alvin just stood there, stunned. "Where are the others? I think it is time we returned to the pce. Ask them to give us some time. Harvey, please get the others. I think it''s best they hear it from me first," Alicia said, and Harvey looked at Alvin. "You can stay. I will get the others and speak with Damian," Harvey said before walking away, knowing that Harold would want to speak with Alvin. When just the four of them were left, Alicia moved forward and stood in front of Alvin. "I''m sorry you''re finding out this way. I was going to tell you about it just now," Alicia told Alvin apologetically while he looked at her, not knowing what to say. "Did you know from the start?" Alvin asked Harold, who wasn''t sure what he meant by "know from the start", but he nodded anyway since he had known about her witch lineage for close to two weeks now. "She didn''t hide anything from me," Harold assured Alvin. Alvin couldn''t believe that she was a witch or that she wasn''t even a real Princess. No, maybe he could believe the part about her not being a real princess because she didn''t act like the others did. But the part about being a witch? Was that why Harold''s curse broke? Then what was the conversation he had overheard Princess Amber and Paulina talking about that day about her not being the ''real Amber''? Was there more to this? Or did she take over the real Princess Amber''s identity? Chapter 307 Trouble Has Come (1) Meanwhile, the others were having a serious argument outside with Damon and the rest of the guards, as they refused to let them inside the inn. "I am just carrying out my duty," Damian said calmly. "Your duty is to arrest people based on lies? Aren''t you ashamed of yourself?" Susan asked them angrily. "It will be decided if it is a lie or the truth when she gets to the pce." He patiently exined. "Does that make any sense to you? How can she be a witch?" Williams asked in annoyance. "I know everyone is seriously looking for a way to get rid of Princess Amber but isn''t this so silly? A witch? Fake princess?" Luciana scoffed. "As I mentioned earlier, it would be determined after an investigation is properly carried out." "Do they ever carry out a proper investigation at the pce?" Lance asked curiously and frowned when he noticed the nasty re Damian sent his way before looking ahead as though he was too good to banter with Lance. "Did you just... look at me like that?" Lance asked in disbelief as he jumped down from the podium and approached Damian, ignoring how fully armoured he was dressed and all the guards behind him. Damian''s gaze moved back to Lance, who was now standing in front of him, but he maintained his condescending look that had Lance shoving his shoulder with a finger. "Who do you think you are? I can get rid of your entire family without lifting a finger! How dare you look at me like that when you are nothing but a lowly¡ª" "Sir Lance!" Harvey called from behind, getting the attention of a livid Lance, who was more annoyed at the arrogant stare Damian was still giving him. "This is not the time to get angry!" Susan snapped at Lance. Seeing the two guys like that, she guessed Damian was giving him such an attitude because Tyra was now betrothed to Lance. "We will go with you. But you have to be patient and let them change back into the right outfits." Harvey spoke diplomatically while the others looked at him like he had lost his mind being calm with them like this. They were also beginning to wonder why Princess Amber and Alvin weren''t out yet, but when Harvey looked at them pointedly, they understood that they were needed inside. The closer their footsteps got, the more nervous Alicia was. The first face she saw before the others was Susan, who began to speak immediately. "We were waiting for you out there toe hear the silly things they are saying about you," Susan started speaking as she pointed outside. "They said you are a fake princess and a witch." "It''s so stupid that they keep looking for something to persecute you for." Williams chipped in. "I guess we can go to the pce since that''s a lie. I wonder who started spreading the rumour." Lance chipped in, and Luciana nodded in agreement and said, "I''m sure it was the same person that served them that potio¡ª" "It''s true," Alicia cut in with a heavy heart as she looked at all of them. Seeing how they trusted her so much made her heart ache, and she wished she had had the chance to tell them about this earlier. They all looked at her in stunned silence before Luciana startedughing. "You are not a witch. You don''t have to ept it." "You don''t even look ugly or old. Make us believe something else." Lance said, waving it off dismissively. "Is this a new n you both came up with Harvey? This is something serious." Williams said seriously as he looked from Alicia to Harold to Alvin and then to Paulina, who was standing beside Alicia, looking very fearful and holding Alicia''s free hand that wasn''t holding Harold''s tightly. He was about to look away from Paulina, but his head snapped back to her and he observed the fear all around her that was leaking. It seemed she was also shaking, and when their eyes locked, she looked away immediately in... guilt? It couldn''t be... "It''s the truth," Harold said, cutting off Susan and Luciana, who were still giving reasons why admitting to the lie was a bad idea. Alicia may admit it a thousand times, and they still wouldn''t believe it. But Harold only needed to nod for them to take his words seriously. When Harold''s words sank in, Lance was the first to gasp and used his hands to cover his mouth as he looked at her in shock. The other three also could not hide their shock. They all looked at her with wide eyes and drooping jaws. "I was going to tell you all about it, I promise. That was the reason I sent you away. I didn''t think you would hear it from anyone else but me," Alicia said guiltily while looking down. She hated starring in movies or series where she had to keep a secret hidden until it was exposed and blew up in her face. She had actually thought she hated it because it didn''t make sense to keep secrets from people you love. Why not just tell them before they find out somewhere else like it almost always happens in movies and books? Butter, she realized that wasn''t the case. She hated it because it reminded her that she had a secret that would blow up in her face one day. And that had happened to her. And here, it has happened again. Why did she always move around with bad luck? Why was her life never easy? Or was her lineage cursed? Because take a look at how Queen Anne ended. What about Queen Anne''s family? Also Princess Amber? Now... was it her turn? To pay for something she had no control over, just like it had happened to Anne and Amber? "You.. are really a... w-witch?" Lance stuttered in disbelief before frowning as something urred to him. Chapter 308 Trouble Has Come (2) "If... you are not a real princess... then... did you... use a spell to change your looks?" Lance asked in horror as he stepped back. "Shut it!" Susan snapped at him before facing Alicia again, still looking confused. "WE NEED TO GET MOVING!" Damian''s voice boomed from outside, reminding them that they had no time for dilly-dallying. "If you are not a real princess, how did you marry Prince Harold?" Williams asked curiously. "Princess Amber... is a real princess, but she... was sent into exile after her mother, Queen Anne, was executed," Alicia exined weakly. She was emotionally drained right now. Why was there always one problem or another? "Why are you talking about yourself that way?" Luciana asked, still confused and shocked, while Susan still hadn''t said anything about this until now. "It''s so...plicated. I''m sorry. I... really didn''t want to keep the truth from you all. But... I didn''t know--" "It was you," Susan said from the side as she looked at Alicia. "The windstorm." She said before looking at Paulina. "When she was almost executed. You... caused that." "I... have no idea," Alicia said as she shook her head honestly. "It could be me. It could also not be. I don''t know. I have never practised witchcraft before. I only know my ancestors were one." Alicia said defensively. "Then you should have told me! I thought we were friends!" Susan said in an angry tone. Williams tried to stop her from talking, but she could not hide her hurt. "I guess I was the only one who took our friendship seriously and even trusted you. I even risked my life for you! I feel like I don''t know you anymore. You could have also killed Beth and stabbed Tyra for all I know--" "It''s enough!" Harold growled at her, but Alicia shook her head at him to stop. She had every reason to be angry. Susan ignored him and still wanted to speak when Paulina beat her to it. "She is not an evil person!" She said it in a loud and clear voice, which was surprising. "How could she tell you about that? Aren''t you rted to the Queen, who has been looking for a way to kill her?" Paulina asked, crying as she pointed at Williams and Susan. "The queen is your aunt." Then she pointed at Luciana. "You are married to Prince Ivan, who also hates her." Lastly, she pointed at Lance. "You are even worse than them. So why should she risk her life to tell any of you about it? Isn''t that selfish of you to ask? Can you swear you don''t have any secrets you are keeping from her?" Paulina''s outburst scared all of them, who looked at her as though she had suddenly grown two heads. Even Harold could not help but look down at the little girl in surprise. Lance, on the other hand, was still trying to grasp what she meant when she said he was worse. How was he worse? He was a charming young man! And why was the maid suddenly so charming? He shook the thought out of his head. What was with him and foul-moutheddies who didn''t know their ce? Well, he didn''t mind Susan. After she realized what she had done, she shrank back and hid behind Alicia in fear. Williams, in particr, could not hide his disbelief. He had never heard her say so many words and so clearly before. Now, he remembered the information he had been trying to pry out of her when she slipped that day and said Princess Amber''s mother was dead. The room fell silent as everyone tried to process what they had heard. It was all so confusing and somewhat terrifying. And Paulina was correct. They also did have secrets they have been hiding. But hers... hers wasn''t something they could take lightly. Damian yelled again impatiently for them toe out and threatened to break into the ce if they were not out in the next ten seconds, and even said they should not think about running away. "That bastard," Harold said, angry. Who did he think he was? As if that wasn''t enough, they heard Ivan''s loud voice, calling for Luciana. Luciana unconsciously jumped in fear and turned to look back. What was he doing here? Harold let out a shortugh that sent chills down their spines. The next thing they heard was the sounds of swords shing together. Alvin was the first to leave the room, while Susan''s worried eyes followed him. She was torn between following him or staying with Luciana, who had a mixture of emotions on her face. As the sh of swords intensified, Luciana ran out just as Ivan wasughing and arrogantly telling someone that today was the day he would finally kill them. Susan followed and ran after Luciana, and both Williams and Lance did not think twice before running after Susan. Harold would have been the first to leave if Alicia wasn''t holding onto him so tightly and refused to let him go. "It''s Dangerous." She pleaded, not wanting him to fight. "I will go with them. You don''t have to fight with them... please." "This won''t be easy," he said, closing his eyes as his wolf kept furiously scratching to take over. When he opened his eyes again, Alicia looked at his eyes in confusion; it seemed as though the colours were mixed with red and the usual blue. "They made a mistakeing here to arrest you." He said in a gentle voice as he reached to caress her face lovingly while Paulina turned around to give them privacy. The two stared at each other silently. They knew that as soon as he stepped out of the room, something they both wouldn''t like may happen. But he had no choice. "This is... unavoidable." He said softly before leaning down to nt his lips on hers and kissing her slowly. Tears left Alicia''s eyes as she kissed him back, dreading what was going to happen soon. Chapter 309 MASS RELEASE (1) Outside the inn, Harvey had tried to stop the whole thing from escting, but he had to confess that Damian was beginning to piss him off. And as if that was not enough, Ivan appeared, looking nothing like his usual self. He looked angry, exhausted, and weak, but surprisingly, his voice was still loud and firm as he jumped down from the horse, yelling for Luciana toe out. From the look on the faces of both parties (Ivan and Damian''s group), it was obvious they were not pleased to see each other. Especially when Ivan stood in front of Damian to block their path from going in. "No one will go in there or do anything until I get my wife out of there." He ordered sternly. "I apologize, your highness, but we do not have the time to wait for you to fetch your wife first. We are following the Queen''s order," Damian said, not bothering to hide his displeasure and impatience. Ivan looked at him as though Damian had lost it. He didn''t me him. He med his mother. If it wasn''t because of her, even guards wouldn''t dare look down on him like Damian was doing right now. "If any of youy a hand on her, I will kill you myself." He threatened Damian quietly before marching forward to storm into the inn, but Harvey blocked his path. "I think it''s best you return, your highness," Harvey said before looking at Damian. "And you too. We were about to leave for the pce anyway. Don''t try to make us angrier than we already are. There was a clear instruction that no one should leave the pce." Harvey reminded the two groups with annoyance. He was trying to be civil, but it seemed they did not appreciate it. Ivan gave off an "I can''t believe this"ugh as he wielded his sword. "Get out of my way," he warned Harvey, who gave him a condescending look before he also drew out his sword. "I''m sorry, but I can''t do that." "Do you realize who I am? Are you disobeying my instruction knowing who I am? Is your family aware of this?" Ivan asked, his eyes zing with anger. "With all due respect, your highness, if you didn''t want to be treated this way, you shouldn''t have left the pce," Harvey said, even though he understood what Ivan was talking about. It was probably strange and annoying to him that he had given his loyalty to Prince Harold and Alicia when his only sister was betrothed to him. "What did Harold promise you to make you betray even your sister? Or were you bewitched by his witch too?" Ivan asked, but Harvey merely stared at him nkly. "You should watch your words, your highness," Harvey cautioned, annoying Ivan. Enraged, Ivan raised his sword, and with a growl, he struck at Harvey, who quickly took on a fighting stance and used his sword to block it. "You must have a death wish!" Ivan said this in anger as the fight intensified. And at the same time, Alvin stepped out just as Damian''s group was about to storm in. The fight would have been between Damian and Alvin if Ivan hadn''t suddenly thought it was best to attack his enemy with this opportunity. Without so much as a word, Ivan roughly pushed Harvey to the side and swung his sword at Alvin. Alvin was able to deflect the blow with his own sword before kicking him in the gut. Yet, that didn''t stop Ivan froming back at him with full force while Harvey took on Damian''s group, with Damian standing by the side and watching with an unreadable expression. "Today is the day I finally kill you," Ivan said with a crazyugh as he continued to charge at Alvin, who wasn''t even putting so much effort into the fight. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Luciana yelled in panic when she arrived outside with Susan, Williams, and Lance behind her. That seemed to halt the fight on his part temporarily as Ivan hurried to her but stopped and looked at her, his face almost showing disgust. "Why are you wearing this? Who forced you to dress in these unbefitting clothes?" He asked as he looked her up and down and then looked at Susan, who was dressed the same way, with disapproval. "Nobody forced me. I wore it because I wanted to. What are you doing here?" Luciana asked in annoyance. Ivan decided to focus on the reason he hade. He was going to settle the issue of her clothester. For now, he had more important things to fix. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you? Why did you leave the pce without my permission? Don''t you know you could have gotten hurt?" He asked with a mixture of concern and relief as he looked her over. Outside the inn, things were rather chaotic, and some vigers were already gathering around and watching what was happening. Meanwhile, Harvey and Alvin were still busy fighting with Damian''s soldiers, who were trying to force their way inside. Seeing how he was acting like he cared, Luciana looked at him in confusion while Susan scoffed, and Williams gave her a pointed look to keep her mouth shut and not interfere in the conversation between the couple. "Let''s go back. I came to take you back with me. Do not stay with that witch and that monster. I know they are nning to hurt you to get back at me. You should be grateful I came to get you now before their n worked." Ivan said without waiting for her response as he tried to drag her away, but she nted her feet on the ground and shook her head. He turned to look at her in confusion and raised a questioning brow. ****** A/N Hello sweethearts. I know most of you are pissed at me. If I could, I''d write every day. But writing isn''t easy. With that being said, we''re currently having a mass release of 10 chapters! Don''t be shocked. You deserve it for your patience and votes. In addition, open thement box. You''ll find a picture of Miss_B and her hubby. Cheers! Chapter 310 MASS RELEASE (2) "I am not going anywhere with you!" She said defiantly and pushed his hand away, surprising him. Apparently, he didn''t think she was going to say no to him after all his sacrifice toe and get her himself. This was a big shock to him. "What? Don''t tell me you''d rather stay here with them than go back with me. I came all this way just to get you and ensure that you''re safe¡­" "I didn''t ask you to." She cut him off. He came to ensure that she was safe? She almostughed, especially when she began to remember the way he had treated her these past few days just because he was in a one-sidedpetition with Harold. She had been so stupid, taking their side all these years without thinking things through. But that was in the past. Never again was she going to be fooled or used by Ivan or the queen. Ivan grabbed Luciana by the hand again and held her tightly this time, but she became aggressive as she tried to shove him away. "Go back to your mother and your new bride. Leave me alone!" Luciana hissed harshly. "Now is not the time for you to be stubborn. Haven''t you heard about Harold''s wife? She is a witch and must have bewitched all of you¡­" Therge gasp they heard around them drew their attention to the fact that they were not alone. Although most of the male vigers were focused on the fight between Alvin, Harvey, and Damian''s men, thedies were more interested in the conversation. They needed to know what was happening so they could spread the gossip. ''A witch? The cursed prince is married to a witch?'' They asked amongst themselves. "You must have been bewitched. That exins why you started behaving the way you did and how you are behaving now. But I will save you," he said passionately and reached to carry her, but she stepped back and went behind Susan. Seeing that things were going to be even moreplicated if they allowed the gossip to spread any further, Williams went to disperse the crowd while trying to assure them that Ivan didn''t mean what he had just said. "It''s not safe for you to remain here!" He said it in an angry tone. "I won''t let you remain here. You are still my wife and¡­" "I don''t care! I''m not going anywhere with you!" Luciana snapped at him from behind Susan. Ignoring his wife''s words, Ivan tried to forcefully grab her, but Susan took up a protective stance and blocked his path. "She will leave with us just as she came with us," Susan said pointedly, and Williams, who was still trying to disperse the crowd, sighed inwardly. Why did she never listen? "Get out of my sight. She is my wife, and I have¡ª" "She is no longer your wife, cousin." Susan reminded him. "We cannot trust you to leave with her. You may hurt her." Susan chipped in again for the impatient Ivan. Ivan looked at her with annoyance and displeasure. It was obvious that she had also been influenced by Harold''s witch wife; otherwise, why would she dare to stand in his path in the same manner as Harold''s wife had done thest time? "What is wrong with all of you? Why can''t you see that you have all been bewitched?" Ivan yelled angrily, hating that everyone who was in his way was supposed to be on his side. "I''m not leaving this ce with you! I will return with them. You should go back to the pce and stop creating a scene here. You wasted your time traveling here, your highness." Luciana said as she moved away from Susan''s back to look at Ivan. "I. Am. Not. Leaving. Without. You!" He said this angrily before raising his sword. "And not even you can stop me," Ivan said as he pointed his sword at Susan, who was still blocking his path. "I don''t care whether or not we are cousins. I will kill you if you get in my way any further," Ivan warned Susan before turning to Luciana. "If you don''t want to watch her die,e with me," Ivan threatened, and as soon as Williams saw that things were getting out of hand, he quickly picked up a sword from one of the fallen soldiers on the ground and went to stand in front of both girls. "I won''t let you hurt either of them," Williams said, and Ivan shook his head in disbelief. "Even you dare to stand against me?" He asked him. "I don''t want to fight with you, but I won''t let you take her against her will or hurt them. You can either let here with us peacefully and you can resolve your issues with her at the pce, or you would have to go through me first," Williams said reasonably. Ivan chuckled in disbelief. "I can''t believe you chose the side of my enemies. From this day, I no longer consider you my family. I will deal with you as I deal with my enemies," Ivan said, and without warning he attacked Williams. While everyone else was in the middle of one conflict or another, Lance remained where he stood and gazed up at the sky as he sighed deeply. What was wrong with everyone? Why were they making such a fuss over nothing? Why were they fighting and killing each other over something so simple? As far as he was concerned, this was an easy issue. What was so difficult about handing Luciana over to her husband while they all peacefully followed Damian and his group to the pce? Why did they have to fight when the pce was the destination of every one of them? Or was he the only one who didn''tckmon sense here? He had only followed them out of the pce because he didn''t want to be left out of the fun. If he had known they were going to fight and kill each other this way, he wouldn''t have followed them. He was a man of peace, not a man of war. Unless he was the one starting the war. Chapter 311 MASS RELEASE (3) Susan knew that even though her brother could handle a sword, there was no way he would be able to beat Ivan, who was more skilled and experienced than him. When Susan noticed her brother was beginning to struggle with the fight and was only defending, with Ivan not giving him any space to recover and fight back, she also picked up a sword, which she held up with two hands because of how heavy it was. She wasn''t sure what to do until Ivan knocked Williams to the ground and was about to strike him when she used her sword to stop his midair. Her hands were shaking together with the sword as it was too heavy for her, especially when Ivan continued to push it down. "Why are you just standing there when you should be helping?" Luciana yelled at Lance desperately, rousing him out of his thoughts as she pointed at them for him to do something. Immediately, he hurried over to Williams and helped him out of there while looking at Susan with concern as he wondered what to do. Meanwhile, Williams was pushing him away since he didn''t want to leave Susan alone with Ivan because he seemed to have gone crazy. "I will never forgive you for hurting Williams," Susan said in a bitter tone, but Ivan only smirked at her. Ivan was annoyed, bitter, and angry. And it was making him blind. He was blinded by rage at this point. There was no way he was going to leave Susan alone after she had repeatedly gotten in his way. He withdrew his sword, and hers fell, freeing her hands from the heavy metal. As she looked down at her palms, which were a bright red now, Ivan grabbed her by the throat, taking her by surprise. She looked at him in shock as he began to strangle her with one hand while still holding on to his sword with his other hand. Everyone panicked, and just as Luciana, Lance, Williams, and even Harvey left the other group to attend to that issue, Ivan felt a sharp kick on his side, which made him let go of her as he fell to the floor. Susan was about to fall to the floor when the person who had saved her caught her in his arms just before she was about to hit the floor, and he red at her. Ivan looked at them. Once again, it was the stupid guard he hated so much. Alvin. Alvin''s re moved from Susan to Ivan before he looked back at Susan, who was gasping for air. He was kneeling with her in his arms, and from the look on his face, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Lance yelled at Ivan as he hurried to where Susan was to take her away from there. While Luciana stood there, frozen on the spot as she looked at Susan, who was still trying to breathe, and Williams was now attending to her. With the distraction and all their back to Ivan as Alvin focused on helping Susan recover, Ivan didn''t waste time anymore as he took the opportunity to sh at Alvin''s back with his sword, blood spilling immediately. Time seemed to pause after that happened, and even the vigers, who were hiding on different sides to watch, had their hands covering their mouths. For some reason, it didn''t matter if a hundred soldiers were in. But the big guy was different. Besides, he had just saved thedy! Susan stared wide-eyed at Alvin, who was just staring ahead nkly. Even Alvin seemed to be in disbelief. When was thest time someone sessfully used a sword on him? Just how distracted had he been during the fight? Lance and Williams took Susan from Alvin''s arms and pulled her away while she yelled at them to let her be, tears flowing down her cheeks. Just as Ivan wanted to deliver another blow before Alvin would recover, poisonous pheromones filled the air and affected every single one of them as Harold kept his gaze solely on Ivan. Knowing how his pheromone was poisonous even to his people, he suppressed it and drew out his sword instead, while Alvin also stood up and wielded his sword, ignoring the deep cut on his back. Not only blinded with rage but also stupid enough to ignore Harold''s presence and attack Alvin, Ivan charged at Alvin, but before he could get close enough to him, Harold appeared in front of him with speed like they had never seen before and knocked off his sword, also knocking him to the ground just like Alvin had done earlier, but while Alvin had done it mildly since Ivan was a prince, Harold''s was aggressive. "Har¨C," Alicia whispered in a frightened tone, scared that he might get hurt, while Paulina held Alicia''s hand firmly, more out of fear than support. As soon as Harold left the room, despite his warning for her to remain inside, she followed him out. Seeing the blood everywhere made her want to throw up. This was all her fault. She already looked pale and lightheaded merely from watching them fight. She didn''t want anyone else to be hurt because of her. "Go and stand beside the princess," Harold ordered Alvin, while he held Ivan''s angry gaze. Alvin looked hesitant, but this time, Harold turned to look at him, and then his eyes also found Alicia''s, and he could see the fear in them. She didn''t want anyone to be hurt. She was going to me herself. He could read her. Alvin bowed to him, and as soon as he stepped back while trying to hide his pain, a crying Susan approached him. "I... am so sorry. It''s all my fault." She said as she tried to touch him, but she withdrew her hand and looked at her brother, crying desperately, "Do something about his wound!" Chapter 312 MASS RELEASE (4) Williams didn''t know whether to curse at Susan now or just wait untilter before doing so. He couldn''t understand if she was too blind to see that he was also hurt. "Worry about yourself and your brother''s wound," Alvin said gruffly. He was mildly annoyed that he had been distracted enough because of her to get hurt. He couldn''t help his resentment at her penchant for getting herself into trouble. Williams'' gaze moved from his sister to Paulina, who was staring at him, and he could see the fear and worry in her eyes as she looked at his bleeding arm and leg. He tried to smile at her and assure her that he was fine, but he couldn''t, so instead, he returned his attention to Harold like everyone else was doing. "Although you don''t deserve it, I will give you all a chance to turn around and leave. If you don''t do so, I will kill every one of you." Harold promised in an authoritative tone, but Ivan scoffed at his words, while the rest of Damian''s men looked to Damian for instruction. Although Harold wanted nothing more than to tear them apart without mercy, he knew that Alicia wouldn''t want that, so he was giving them a chance to save themselves, even though he hoped they would stubbornly disobey. At this point, Ivan was failing to control his emotions, and it was obvious to every one of them how crazy he was acting. It seemed like he was very low on his normal energy and was beginning to depend on his wolf form. "Do I look like one of the guards that you can order around? Hand me my wife, and I don''t care what happens to you or your evil witch," Ivan said harshly, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Why don''t you call her that once again," Harold growled as his eyes shed red with anger, his wolf also itching to take over. Harold kept trying to stop it, but it seemed his wolf had greater control at this point since Harold was beyond angry right now. Sensing this, Ivan did something he was not supposed to do. With a loud growl, he shifted into his wolf form and charged at Harold. That was thest straw that broke the camel''s back. Harold was trying to stop his wolf from taking over, even though it was proving difficult, but with the presence of another wolf trying to attack him, and a Beta wolf at that, he lost the battle. As soon as he caught Ivan''s wolf in his hands, he threw him against the straw wall, destroying the ce before he effortlessly shifted. Compared to Harold''s wolf form, Ivan was nothing. Most of the werewolf vigers took flight at the sight of Harold''s wolf, some screaming as they ran, while the few humans amongst them who knew nothing about their existence and had onlye to this part of town for one business or another fainted. By now, every other side''s fighting had stopped. As much as the fight was important, they couldn''t dare provoke Harold in his wolf form. Not after what he had done at the pce. Damian remained where he stood with an idle expression on his face as he watched the brothers fight and waited for them to finish fighting so he could take Alicia with him to the pce as instructed by the queen. Harvey, on the other hand, looked at Alicia, who was looking as white as a sheet, with concern, knowing that this was going toe as a shock to her since she had no idea that Harold was a werewolf or that she was in a kingdom of werewolves. Alicia would have thought she was seeing things or that her mind was ying tricks on her if Paulina, who was standing beside her, hadn''t fainted from the shock already. Alicia still didn''t move, even as Williams caught Paulina in his arms. She kept her gaze ahead, her mouth dry, and her breathing seized as she took a step back. Williams exchanged a look with Susan as he took Paulina inside the inn, and Susan could tell Williams wanted her to go inside with him since he didn''t trust her enough to stay out of trouble in his absence. Susan gave him a nod, letting him know she would follow him, but she nced at Luciana with concern, knowing that this was not going to end well for Prince Ivan. Even though Luciana acted like she no longer cared about Prince Ivan, they all knew she did. The look on her face right now showed it, Susan thought as she followed Williams, and Lance followed them too. "Your highness! Please spare him!" Luciana cried, knowing that Harold was going to kill Ivan if no one stepped in. It was no doubt that Ivan''s wolf was no match for Harold''s, and it was obvious from the countless wounds and scratch marks on Ivan''s wolf while Harold was still in perfect shape. Susan and Lance, who had been following Williams, turned back just as Luciana rushed over to a stunned Alicia as she continued to take several steps back and pleaded desperately, "Please ask him to stop. He''s going to kill him!" Luciana cried, but Alicia could neither hear nor see anything else apart from Harold in his wolf form. Seeing that Alicia was not going toe to her aid, Luciana rushed forward to get between Harold and Ivan just as Harold was about to pounce on him. Seeing the intruder, Harold summoned every ounce of self-control he had in him to halt his attack. Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case for the blinded Ivan, who hadn''t noticed Luciana''s presence yet. With his fangs and ws bared, he tried to attack Harold, and without waiting to see who had gotten in between them, he jumped on her as soon as he turned around, sinking his fangs into her shoulder. He tore part of her skin out and almost tore off her arm with his ws before realizing what had happened. Chapter 313 MASS RELEASE (5) Everything happened slowly. Alicia couldn''t even cry out when she saw it. Unable to contain her shock anymore, she passed out, but Alvin was fast enough to catch her before she could hit the ground. The loudest cry came from Susan, who watched the scene before her in horror. Only a second seemed to have passed, and even Harold''s wolf seemed to be stunned, much less the rest of them. It seemed like Ivan finally realized something was wrong because, obviously, something was wrong! As if he had just returned to his senses, he jumped away from Luciana and stepped back with blood all over his mouth and fur. Luciana had arge part of her neck bitten out, and blood was gushing out of her mouth and the open wound on her arm, which was lying broken beside her. It seemed like her entire blood was draining out because she began to turn really pale and her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell to the floor with a loud thud and began to convulse. Susan screamed in shock when she saw that, and her hands flew to cover her mouth while tears streamed down her face. Ivan shifted back into his human form, ignoring the fact that he waspletely naked and had blood all over him, even on his mouth and face, which was the least of anyone''s problems. But one of the guards quickly took a robe from one of the fallen soldiers and wasn''t sure how to approach Ivan, who was staring down at Luciana''s body with disbelief and eyes gleaming with tears. Harold''s wolf was still hyper and wanted to pounce on Ivan, but this time, Harold took control over it, not allowing that to happen. He looked back at Alvin, who was holding onto Alicia''s limp body, and Alvin could tell he wanted to shift back, so he made Harvey hold on to Alicia while Harold kept following every move with his eyes as he looked at her with sadness and guilt. As soon as Harold shifted back, Alvin covered him with a long robe, and he went to Alicia, but he hesitated before taking her in his arms, while Harvey just stared at her before looking back at Harold. By now, Ivan had fallen beside Luciana on the ground, and with shaking hands, he reached to hold her. It was definitely the first time for everyone as Ivan burst into tears, hugging her tightly. "I''m sorry. I''m very sorry. Please... don''t do this to me, my love. I''m sorry. I''m so sorry." Ivan said it repeatedly as he cried loudly, not sure how to help Luciana, who was still bleeding so hard and convulsing. Someone finally draped the cloak over him, but he didn''t even acknowledge them as he cried, demanding loudly for someone to do something. Williams, who had rushed out of the inn when he heard Susan''s scream earlier, quickly recovered from the shock of seeing Luciana in that state and went to the side of the inn to fetch some leaves, which he began to squeeze quickly in his hands as he hurried to where Luciana was. But Ivan proved to be a big problem as he didn''t want to let go of her. "MOVE!" Harold ordered Ivan harshly from where he stood as he looked down at him with annoyance. If only he had listened and minded his business, none of this would have happened! "DO YOU WANT HER TO DIE?" Williams yelled at Ivan angrily as he tried to shove him away. When Ivan was still not moving, Alvin took it upon himself. With the anger and hatred he felt for Ivan, he shoved him with his feet, controlling his rage to punch him. Ivan didn''t even care. He just wanted to get back to her, but Williams was already holding her as he ced the leaves on her wounds and tore arge part of his shirt to use as a tourniquet. "Stop crying and get more!" Williams looked up at Susan, who was still crying, and she looked a bit confused at first before she hurried to where Williams had gone to pick out some leaves, and not knowing how to help, Lance followed her to assist her. They weren''t sure which he was using, so they plucked almost all of it and dropped it on the floor beside Luciana before Susan impulsively ripped her shirt just like Williams had done, exposing arge part of her stomach. Even though something bigger was happening, her action seemed to stun all the men there, but Susan was oblivious as she handed the ripped cloth to Williams to do with it whatever he wanted, while she knelt beside Luciana, begging her not to die. Meanwhile, Ivan seemed to have returned to his senses, and even though he was still crying, he knew that saving her was for the best, and he watched with hope as Williams did his best to at least stop the blood from gushing out. Harold was surprisingly feeling guilty about this, which came as a surprise to him. Because normally, he wouldn''t have cared if something terrible had happened to anyone, especially someone dear to Ivan. But for the past few days, it seemed Luciana was a part of his family. She was also Alicia''s friend and had taken a blood oath as his person. Remembering something, he spoke to Alvin telepathically, and Alvin seemed to remember he had taken many kinds of medicines with them on this trip for Paulina and Alicia, as well as some other medicines, just in case. So he took out one of the pouches he had on him and handed some medicines to Williams, which they had to feed Luciana. Thankfully, Luciana had stopped convulsing and the blood flow had reduced, but she was unconscious now and her pulse was very weak. "She needs to get treated by the royal physician. I don''t think I can do much." Williams said helplessly. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CANNOT DO MORE? ISN''T YOUR FAMILY THE BEST AT MAKING MEDICINE IN THE KINGDOM?" Ivan bellowed angrily at him before his voice went softer as he pleaded with Williams to tell him she was going to be okay. "We need to get her to the pce fast enough," Williams exined, trying not to be mad at Ivan, whom he med for everything. Chapter 314 MASS RELEASE (6) As much as everyone hated Ivan, right now they felt pity for him. Even though he acted like an idiot most of the time, they knew Luciana was important to him, and he had hurt her with his hands... literally. He already had a lot of regrets, so they didn''t want to try to punish him or me him for this. But the twins obviously had different thoughts. "I will take her with me," Ivan insisted as he tried to go and carry her, but to his surprise, before Alvin could push him back, an angry Susan stood up and pped him hard on his face, surprising them all. "This is all your fault!" She cried. "If anything happens to Princess Luciana, I will kill you myself." She red at him before asking in a harsh tone, "How do you intend to take her to the pce yourself?" The others looked at Alicia and Luciana, who was unconscious¡ªnot counting Paulina, who was inside the inn unconscious too. "Ride with Princess Luciana in the carriage to the pce. Do your best to keep her safe. We will find our way to the pce." Harold instructed Williams and Susan before turning to Alvin. "You should also return to the pce and get treated." "They can go without me. I can''t leave you," Alvin said without hesitation, even though the pain was getting to him terribly. It was no ordinary wound that would simply cover itself and heal. It was a deep cut, and he still had blood pouring out of his back. But how could he leave for the pce when Harold was here with two unconsciousdies and soldiers who were not willing to budge? "You are no use here in that state!" Harold insisted, but Alvin didn''t budge. ? "I can take the medicine I brought with me. I will heal. I can''t leave you alone," Alvin repeated stubbornly, but before Harold could respond, Susan looked at him angrily. "You need to be treated! You cannot remain here. What... is wrong with everyone today?" She asked, bursting into tears. Usually, Susan was a very collecteddy. Even Williams could count the number of times he had seen her cry with one hand. But everything that had happened today seemed to be too much for her to handle, and he could understand why because he felt the same way, especially because of the uncertainty they all felt about Luciana''s recovery. Williams wasn''t sure how to tell them, but they would need a miracle for Luciana to survive this. How had the day, which had started so well, turned out to be this way? They had enjoyed the food fight, regardless of how annoying it had been at first, and then the water fight. Who would have thought the day would end this way? Alvin just stared at Susan with an unreadable gaze before he turned and began to approach a frightened soldier who kept stepping back, preparing to flee, as he wondered what he had done to suddenly be facing Alvin''s wrath. However, before he could flee, Alvin held onto him and pulled off his cloak wordlessly before returning to drape it around Susan, who was only just realizing that part of her body was exposed. "She is running a fever! We have to leave." Williams said in panic when he felt Luciana''s burning temperature and cold sweat forming all over her body. All arguments ceased as Harvey helped him carefully lift Luciana from the ground, ignoring Ivan, who was trying to do so himself while panicking. Harvey looked down at his banter partner with pity, almost cursing her for trying to protect her idiot of a husband. Thankfully, the carriage riders hade in earlier to ride them back to the pce, so they were nearby and rushed in to open the carriage door. "You should leave with them," Harold said to Lance, and he gave Harold a nod as he joined Williams and Harvey, who were carefully trying to ce Luciana into the carriage while Susan was seated inside so Luciana''s head and shoulders would rest on her thighs. Because of the situation of things, no one there remembered that Susan and Luciana were still dressed in masculine clothes, and even if anyone did, that was the least of Susan''s concerns as she clutched dearly onto the cloak around her and prayed for Luciana''s life, while Luciana, on the other hand, was too busy fighting for her life to care. "You shoulde with us," Susan called out to Alvin through the window of the carriage. "We will join you shortly," Alvin said with a polite nod, then turned away from her. Ivan was still staring at the carriage dumbly with tears in his eyes until Harold''s voice snapped him to his senses: "Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or leave for the pce?" Ivan turned to look at him and still seemed muddleheaded for a brief moment until the carriage began to move, with Lance following behind on his horse while Williams was riding inside with the girls with his eyes on Luciana, but even he was beginning to feel an unpleasantness within him that he couldn''t ce yet. Ivan quickly adjusted and properly, wrapped the robe around him before mounting his horse. Harold stood there with Alicia in his arms and watched until the carriage and horses had disappeared from view. For today, he would let Ivan be. He tried to put himself in Ivan''s shoes, imagining he had done that to Alicia instead. So he could understand how Ivan felt. He hated Ivan, but he didn''t want to punish him today because he knew how much Ivan cared about her and could still remember how excited Ivan had been after he met Luciana up until their marriage. He had surprisingly not made trouble with anyone then and just took everything with a smile, which had been very weird for Harold to see. Now, however, he had something more important to think about. Harold''s blood boiled and his heart ached at the same time as he looked down at Alicia''s pale face now. He couldn''t imagine how shocked and scared she must have been to see him in that form, and it was all their fault. Chapter 315 MASS RELEASE (7) Harold was furious. He was mad at Damian and Ivan for showing up, and even more than them, he was mad at his wolf and himself for revealing himself to Alicia in this way. He was going to let her rest in the chamber, and then he would take care of these people once and for all. But then, just as he turned to return to the inn, Damian stepped forward to stop him. "I apologize, My Prince, but you have to go with us to the pce." Damian reminded them, and immediately, Harvey and Alvin drew their swords. Harold looked at Damian for a few seconds, and what Susan had told him about his rtionship with Tyra reyed in his head. It was the only reason he hadn''t done anything to Damian the entire time, but his patience was beginning to fade. Exhausted, Harold turned to Alvin and Harvey, instructing, "If anyone else takes another step, kill them." "Don''t kill him," he said, pointing at Damian before walking away with Alicia, leaving Harvey and Alvin to take care of things. But before he could enter the inn, Damian spoke up. "Princess Tyra was imprisoned, and for as long as you are not back in the pce, the Queen has ordered that she remain in the dungeon." That stunned all of them, and even Harold paused as he turned back to look at him. "What was her crime?" Harold asked, since it did not make sense to him that the Queen would lock up her own child in the dungeon because of him. "It is as I told you. The queen knew you would be reluctant toe with us. She had the princess thrown into the dungeon because she knows how close the princess is to you and your wife. If you do not arrive with your bride to prove her innocent of these allegations, Princess Tyra is going to be tried for lying against your bride." Damian repeated, ncing at Alicia, who was in Harold''s arms. "Why should we believe you?" Harvey asked, and Damian''s gaze shifted to him before looking at Harold. "You don''t have to believe me. I''m taking you with me no matter what," Damian said firmly. Just how far was the queen willing to go?Harold mused. It didn''t even make sense. How did one thing rte to the other? Even though Harold could understand Damian''s persistence to get them back to the pce. His instructions were still the same. He gave Alvin and Harvey a nod as he walked into the inn with Alicia. By the time Harold left Alicia in the inn and returned to join them outside, all of Damian''s men were down, and only Damian was fighting with Harvey and Alvin. Harold could tell that the only reason Damian was still alive was because of his instructions. Although Damian seemed to be very skilled with his sword, he was no match against Alvin and Harvey. Damian seemed pretty determined. Was it that he was blindly loyal to the Queen? Or was all of this for Tyra? Harold mused. Seeing Harold, Alvin, and Harvey withdrew their swords, giving Damian time to catch his breath. "Find a carriage for the princess and Paulina," Harold ordered Alvin, and with a bow, Alvin left, grimacing in pain. "Seize his sword," Harold told Harvey, and immediately Harvey knocked off Damian''s sword. "Your men are dead, and the only reason I''m sparing your life is because of Princess Tyra. We will leave when the carriage gets here," Harold told Damian, whose eyes widened in surprise before looking at Harvey. "Keep your eyes on him," Harold instructed Harvey before returning inside to watch over Alicia. Harold didn''t know how long he sat there looking at her before Alvin came back to inform him that he had rented a carriage for them. Harold carried Alicia, while Alvin carried Paulina, and they ced bothdies in the carriage. "Ride slowly," Harold warned the carriage drivers before getting on his horse. Alvin handed the innkeeper, who had been lurking around a pouch of gold coins as he apologized, "We are sorry for the damage," Alvin said with a polite bow before getting on his horse. "My men," Damian said, looking down at the bodies of his men; some were dead, and a few were critically wounded. "They are your problem. We can leave you behind to take care of their bodies if you please," Harold said coldly. "I have to go back with you to the pce," Damian said, and without another word to him, Harold gave the carriage rider the go-ahead to move. "What am I to do with the horses?" the innkeeper asked cautiously but got no answer as they all rode away. As Harold rode beside the carriage, all he could think about was Alicia. What was she going to think of him now? How was she going to react to his being a werewolf? Was she going to be scared of him? Was she going to hate him? She had just confessed her feelings to him, and now this. How was he going to face her? He had always thought that when it was time for her to know about his kind, she would hear about it directly from him. Never had he thought that she would find out by watching him transform. Harold sighed when he remembered that he had other, more pressing issues to worry about. The allegation against Alicia. How did they find out about it? Did someonee into the pce with the news? Who? When? For Damian and even Ivan to have been able to leave the pce despite his orders meant they were treating the issue seriously and the king''s guards could not interfere since witchcraft was a serious issue that even the king wouldn''t condone. What exactly did they intend to do to Alicia even when they were all aware of what he was capable of doing to them? Or did they perhaps do this because they were under the impression that he didn''t know about Alicia''s real identity? Did they think he was going to sit back and let them hurt her? Chapter 316 MASS RELEASE (8) His mind drifted back to Luciana, and he prayed that she was going to survive this. Knowing Alicia, she was not going to forgive him if Luciana died, even if he wasn''t the one who had directly hurt her. Harold turned to look at Alvin when he noticed how quiet he had been after they had ridden for an hour, and his brows pulled together in concern when he saw the sweat that coated Alvin''s brows and how pale he looked despite trying to maintain a straight face. "We should take a break." He announced. "A break? The pace is slow enough already. If we continue at this slow pace, we are never going to get to the pce before nightfall," Damianined angrily from his horse. "Then go ahead of us. Nothing is stopping you," Harvey responded harshly. "Shouldn''t you be in a hurry to get back to the pce considering that Prince Ivan almost killed your sister?" Damian asked, expecting that to get Harvey''s attention. "Since you said almost, that means she is still alive. There is no reason to hurry. Now keep shut before you make me knock you out," Harvey growled in annoyance. "Let''s take a break," Harold told the carriage riders, and Damian gritted his teeth as the carriage came to a halt. "Princess Tyra is going to end up spending the night in the dungeon if we don''t move," Damian said, riding to meet Harold. "Princess Amber spent more than one night in the dungeon. She should be able to survive it," Harold said coolly, and Damian clenched his fists. "She is unwell. She has barely recovered from your wife''s..." Damian paused when Harold looked at him. "She has not recoveredpletely from the injuries. The dungeon is not the ce for her," Damian said instead. "I''m not the one who locked her up. The Queen did. It is the queen you should be saying this to, not me," Harold said as he jumped down from his horse and went to stand beside Alvin''s horse. "If you were the one in the dungeon, Princess Tyra would have done everything to get you out of there," Damian said angrily. Harold was trying really hard to not let his anger take control of him. Otherwise, he was going to hurt this boy, who was making him very angry. If only his sister was not acquainted with him, it would have saved him from tolerating this. "Come down," Harold said to Alvin and noticed how difficult it was for Alvin to move. Harold didn''t hesitate to help Alvin down and held his arm as he looked at him, concern showing on his face. "You don''t feel better?" Harold asked. Alvin was about to say that he was, but when he saw the sharp gaze from Harold, he shook his head. Harold immediately raised his shirt and frowned when he saw the deep cut that was not healing. In fact, it seemed as though the wound was spreading and a bad smell wasing from it. "Poison," Harvey said in surprise from his horse. Alvin pulled down his shirt and shook his head. "I... am fine." Harold gritted his teeth in annoyance, but then he remembered something. "Williams was cut too." "That Cow!" Harvey swore in annoyance as they all wondered how Williams was currently faring and hoped he would be able to survive it until they got to the pce for him to get treated. "Did you take the medicine?" Harold asked Alvin, who nodded. Seeing how things were now, Harold didn''t think it was best to stop. They didn''t have any time to waste. They had to leave for the pce quickly. "You should rest inside the carriage." Harold offered. "There is no need for that. We can just leave." Alvin spoke slowly as he moved to mount his horse. Harold went to open the window of the carriage to check on thedies before they left, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw that Alicia was awake. She just sat there and stared nkly at nothing. Harold tried to speak but could not find the right words to say as he just stared at her while she looked ahead. How had she managed to stay so silent that he didn''t know she was awake? Harold wondered as he looked at her, not knowing what to say. Alicia closed her eyes, and her shaking hand reached for the window without looking and slowly slid it closed. The more it separated the two of them, the more painful it was for Harold, and it was very clear that even the others who saw his face could tell. He remained there and just stared at the window separating them without moving an inch. "Can... we go faster?" Alicia asked in a tight voice, but no one said anything. "We should hurry back to the pce," Harvey said, breaking the silence. Harold reluctantly stepped away from her window and went to mount Bane. They moved a lot faster now, but Harold was distracted, and it was difficult for him to breathe, so much so that his eyes began to turn misty. His mind continued to rey the way she had shut the window. Did she hate him now? Why wasn''t she saying anything? Was she rejecting him? ''It is my fault,'' His wolf said in a guilty tone. But as much as Harold wanted to me someone right now, his wolf wasn''t the one to me. The one who had caused it all was Ivan. ''She is crying,'' he said again sadly, and Harold''s ears perked up as he tried to confirm it amidst the breeze and wheezing sounds all around them. True to his wolf''s words, he could hear muffled sobs. It was as though she was trying to hide it. This broke his heart even more. They already had a big problem to tackle in the pce. Why did this have to top it up? Chapter 317 MASS RELEASE (9) Inside the carriage, Alicia used a hand to cover her mouth as she sobbed. She had woken up a while ago and had kept her eyes closed as she tried to process her thoughts, but she did not know what to say or what to think. She couldn''t get past the fact that Harold was a werewolf. A werewolf? Never in her wildest imaginations would she have thought of that, even though Harold had all the makings of one. All the signs had been there, and maybe she should have guessed it, especially with the whole weird-looking night guards, the full moon, and hunting stuff. Their exceptional hearing ability. Everything was there! But she didn''t try to think about it because she didn''t think it was possible. How would she have ever thought that werewolves truly existed and weren''t just mythical creatures? Thinking of that, she remembered telling Harold about werewolves, and she closed her eyes when she remembered how he had listened to her with keen interest and asked if she preferred werewolves or vampires. He could have told her the truth this whole time, so why didn''t he? She remembered him saying he wanted her to give herself to him first. He had said something about telling her everything about the kingdom after she bore his child. How could he say he loved her yet keep such a secret from her? Besides, did werewolves love someone who wasn''t their mate? From what she knew about werewolves from books and movies, werewolves only loved their mates. So how could he im he loved her when she wasn''t even his mate? Alicia shook her head to get focused. Love was thest thing she should be thinking about. Harold was a werewolf, she reminded herself. If Harold was a werewolf, did this mean every one of them were werewolves too? Including Tyra, Susan, and Luciana? That had to be it since Susan and Luciana also had sharp hearing abilities. They were werewolves, yet they had been mad at her for not telling them she was a witch? Now she felt as though she were the clueless female lead in a fantasy movie or a web novel. Paulina had been correct. They had an even bigger skeleton in the closet. Her mind reyed Harold''s transformation again, and she shut her eyes tightly, trying not to remember it, but whenever her mind moved from there, it went to Ivan pouncing on Luciana. She felt like throwing up. Her motion sickness was not helping either. Why was everything so difficult andplicated? Why did she have to be reborn in this ce where there was one problem after another and most of the causes seemed to revolve around her? Was this really the olden days or an alternative universe with so many crazy things? Or maybe she had been reborn into a novel with a weird plot? How was she supposed to feel or react to the whole thing? This was her Harold. A man she loved. But... He was partly an animal! The thought broke her heart and almost made her cry loudly. She had heard the fear and apology in his voice, and even though she hadn''t directly looked at him, she had been able to feel it in his gaze. Just what more surprises were left? Vampires or zombies? She sniffed and used her hands to clean her tears before tapping Paulina, who was lying across from her, while also softly calling her name. Paulina opened her eyes and looked confused initially as she tried to sit up while Alicia helped her up. Paulina was about to ask what happened, but judging by the look on Alicia''s face¡ªher red face and bloodshot eyes¡ªshe tried to remember what had happened herself. And she did. "Prince Harold," she gasped loudly, her eyes wide with fear before she used her hand to cover her mouth and looked around her in panic. "W-where... are we... going to?" She asked first since that was the most important question for now. But she made sure to whisper. As much as she wanted to look out to see the people outside with them, she was too scared to do so. "We are returning to the pce," Alicia said, watching Paulina sadly. The poor girl looked pale and terrified. "W-What... about... Lady Luciana and Lady S-Susan?" Paulina remembered to ask first since they had all traveled together in the carriage the first time. "They traveled ahead of us. Lady Luciana is injured and needs to be treated urgently," Alicia exined, trying to stay calm for Paulina''s sake. She knew how quickly the girl could freak out, especially if she suspected that Alicia was just as scared and confused as her. "Are they also...?" Alicia nodded slowly, knowing that Paulina probably didn''t know what to call them. Paulina''s hands went to her mouth as she tried to muffle her frightened gasp. She couldn''t believe that the people she had eaten with andughed with were all part half humans and half dogs. What if she had annoyed them, and they had turned and pounced on her? Goosebumps rose all over her body when she remembered how she had almost been devoured by simr creatures on her first night in the kingdom. Had those been humans too? One of them? She gasped again in surprise when she remembered Beth. She did not doubt that Beth was like them too. Beth, who had hated her and her mistress. Oh, no! "We... can''t go back there. Please. We can''t go back with them. Please. . let''s... not go." Paulina whispered in a frightened tone. She was on the verge of tears, and Alicia could see that. "Then where do we run to?" Alicia whispered back. At this point, she wanted to stop this conversation because she didn''t know if they could all hear them outside. "Anywhere safe, Mdy," Paulina said desperately as she took her hands, but as she looked closely at Alicia, she could tell Alicia didn''t n to do that. Chapter 318 MASS RELEASE (10) "We cannot leave now," Alicia said with a soft sigh. Although she understood Paulina''s fear, she didn''t think running away was an option. "WE ARE SURROUNDED BY DANGEROUS PEOPLE!" Paulina raised her voice in fear, startling Alicia. Alicia ced a hand on her lip, gesturing for her to keep quiet. "They can hear you," she whispered into Paulina''s ears, and her already wide eyes grew even wider. "What... do we do?" She asked in a frightened tone. "What... if they hurt us? You are in danger already at the pce. What are we going to do?" Paulina asked as she started to cry, and Alicia pulled her close to her body, hugging her. "Do you think Williams is capable of hurting you?" Alicia asked, causing Paulina to stiffen. She hadn''t even thought about Williams in all of this. He... was a monster too? Williams? The realization made her begin to cry loudly as she hugged and held onto Alicia with all her might. Alicia did all she could to console Paulina, who kept crying like she had lost a loved one. Harvey and Alvin, who were listening to the conversation going on inside the carriage, nced at Harold at intervals. Alvin was angry at Alicia for acting the way she did and for hurting Harold when he had epted her the way she was despite not being a real princess because she had been exiled and also being a witch. Harvey, on the other hand, did not know how to feel for the couple. He understood them both. Alicia''s shock and maybe the feeling of betrayal. And he understood Harold''s sadness. Wasn''t that the reason he never told Amber about being a werewolf? ***** In the carriage far ahead of them, Susan looked at Williams with a concerned frown when she noticed how he was sweating profusely and how his breathing was bingboured. "Williams, what is wrong?" Susan asked as she watched his pale face. "I''m... I''m not feeling well," Williams confessed weakly as he kept attending to Luciana, whose pulse was getting even weaker by the second. Unfortunately, he couldn''t do much since they were stuck here and he didn''t study to be a physician. He only knew the basics and some herbs. "What do you mean?" Susan asked fearfully, and Williams reached for the sides of his leg and arm where he had been cut. "I... I think it was poisoned," Williams said, and Susan''s heart flew to her throat. "Poi-Poison? How... are you feeling? How bad is it?" She asked fearfully, wanting to go to his side but unable to do so because of Luciana, who was lying with her head on her thighs. "I might not be able to stay awake much longer. We need to get to the pce soon," Williams confessed in a very faint voice, and tears sprang to Susan''s eyes. "We have a lot of herbs here! Can''t you use something? Please stay with me. Don''t faint," Susan cried, and then hit the side of the carriage urgently. "Go faster," she cried loudly, even though she knew they were already going as fast as they could. "I''m sorry, Williams. I''m so sorry. It''s all my fault." She cried, but Williams shook his head. "It''s not. And do not worry. The cut isn''t very deep, so it will take a while before the poison gets into my bloodst¡ª" He spoke weakly and paused as something urred to him. Alvin. His face was filled with dread, but he tried to act normal so that Susan wouldn''t think to that point. Seeing his face, Susan assumed the poison really was circting and panicked. Thankfully, it didn''t take long before they arrived at the pce. It was already dark when they arrived but many torches were lit everywhere, as though prepared for Harold and his witch''s arrival.As soon as the carriage stopped, Susan let out a loud cry for help, asking some of the guards to help her carry Williams, who was on the verge of losing consciousness. Before they could do that, Ivan jumped down from his horse and sent a guard to call for the royal physician while he tried to carry Luciana out of the carriage as gently as he could with Lance''s help. Lance''s eyes went to Williams before they moved to Susan, and he gave her a concerned look and handed her a handkerchief. "They will be fine." He said softly, but even he wasn''t sure. When Ivan tried to carry Luciana on his own, Williams weakly exined that someone else has to support him so he won''t hurt Luciana, but when Ivan still tried to do it himself, Lance got angry, yelling at him for acting like a fool and trying to risk his wife''s life. This was the scene Lance''s parents met, and they looked at each other in confusion. They weren''t even concerned about the person covered in blood that Lance and Ivan were trying to save. They were wondering what had happened to their son. And were also thankful that he was okay. When they heard he left with Harold, they assumed the worst for him since they knew how he behaved, but surprisingly, he seemed to be unscathed, except for the weird clothes he was wearing. As they carried Luciana into the pce, it was difficult at first for anyone to know who it was since she was dressed in men''s clothes. But once they recognized her, they began to murmur amongst themselves in horror, but Ivan did not spare anyone a nce as he hurriedly made his way to her chamber, hoping that the royal physician would be waiting there already. He couldn''t take her to his chamber because he had turned the ce upside down, and she couldn''t stay there right now. As Williams, who was covered in blood (his and Luciana''s), was carried out of the carriage, with Susan, who was also covered in Luciana''s blood, running after them, everywhere was surrounded by maids and guards, and some of the aristocrats who had rushed out from their various chambers when they heard the rumours that Harold and his witch wife were back. Of course, everyone''s bet was on Harold, especially as they could not find him or his bride anywhere. "Luciana? What happened to her? Who hurt her?" Luciana''s mother, who hade out to watch what was going on, cried as soon as she saw her unconscious daughter being carried inside the pce, and she ran after Ivan, demanding answers, but he did not say a word to her. What could he tell her? That he had left the pce to go get her because he was worried Harold might hurt her, but he had ended up being the person who had almost killed her? As Susan''s parents hurried outside to see what was happening, they met Lance, Susan, and the guards who were carrying Williams by the hallway, and their mother broke into a sob the moment she saw Williams. "What happened to him?" Her father demanded, trying to act calm even though his eyes said otherwise. Susan didn''t see her parents since her eyes were on her brother, whom she was running after. So she had run past her parents, but her father quickly caught up with her and held her arm to demand answers first, after looking at Williams, who seemed to be unconscious now. She was about to yell at the person, but when her eyes settled on her father''s face, she broke into tears. "It was Prince Ivan. He... cut him with a poisoned sword," Susan told him tearfully as they resumed following the guards to their chamber, while their mother was still trying to catch up with them. Everyone heard that, and that came as an even greater shock! Or maybe not. "Prince Ivan? Your cousin?" Her father asked in disbelief, and Susan nodded. "He also did that to Princess Luciana and hurt Alvi¡ª" her eyes widened in horror as it urred to her. Ivan had also cut Alvin! Chapter 319 MASS RELEASE 1 In her bid to be alone so as not to be disturbed by her brother or Damon, the queen hid in the royal library. Her brother''s wife had brought the so-called calming tea to her earlier, as he had said she would, and she didn''t need anyone to tell her what it was. She would be foolish to drink a calming tea that would knock her out when so many things were going around the pce that needed her attention. She couldn''t trust Damon or any of them to handle it, so she needed to be alert. She had received the tea and asked her brother''s wife to leave, but she remained there, wanting to watch her drink it. "I need to take the cup when you are done, my queen," her brother''s wife had said. "I will send one of the maids to bring it to you. You can leave." The queen spoke, but when her brother''s wife kept standing there, she lost her patience. "Did you poison my tea?" Why are you bent on staying here until I drink it?" The queen snapped at her, startling her. "No, my queen. My lord husband said I should ensure you drink the tea beforeing back," she exined calmly. "Did he put something in it? Maybe you should drink it. I''m sure you are as tensed as I am since your children are in the vige with Harold and the witch," the queen said, and she shook her head. "I''m fine, my queen. I''ve had some calming tea myself," she said politely. "If you are not going to drink the tea, then leave," the queen ordered, and with a sigh of resignation, her brother''s wife left. Once she left, the queen asked her maid to pour the tea away into her chamber pot and sent her to ask the royal physician to meet her in the library. She made sure to ask her not to let anyone else know where she was before heading for the royal library. Knowing her brother, he would want to see her and ensure she drank the tea, and she wasn''t in the mood to deal with him right now. Alone in the library now, she sighed as she thought of her dear husband, who was lying pale in his bed while she waited for the royal physician to confirm their spection concerning the king''s health. She knew a lot of people assumed she had a hand in his ill health, but that wasn''t true. There were over a hundred reasons why she wanted the king to be healthy, especially now. He was the only one who could put an end to the craziness in the pce. Aside from that, Ivan''s position wasn''t secured yet, and he hadn''t given his blessing for the royal weddings, which were supposed to take ce to strengthen her allies. So why would she want to get rid of him? Even though he hadn''t been the best husband to her, he was dear to her, and she loved him. But seeing as how things were now, she was just going to handle everything herself, whether or not the nobles agreed. She almost cursed herself for being useless all these years. She would have spent the whole time building an army instead of just being inactive. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply. She was exhausted yet couldn''t even dare close her eyes to sleep. She had so many thoughts running through her head at the same time, and what she wanted most at the moment was for Damian to return with Harold''s witch so she could be killed. She knew it was going to be very hard for Damian and his men to seize Harold''s wife unless Harold let them. She was counting on the fact that Harold had no idea who his wife truly was and would let them take her. Also, Tyra''s life was at stake, and he was a good brother to her. Either that or there was going to be a bloodbath, and she hoped the witch would be killed one way or another. It would be better for her if Harold also died in the process. She sighed when her thoughts went to Ivan, who had left the pce against her will. Ivan had be too attached to Luciana, and she found it very irritating and annoying that he had chosen to go against her just to get his disobedient wife. She was going to teach Luciana a lesson for thwarting her orders and leaving the pce when she was supposed to be repenting for her sins. She was going to teach Ivan a lesson by teaching Luciana a lesson. She turned to the door when it opened, and she waited in her corner until the royal physician came into view. "My queen," the chief physician called as he bowed to her. He was exhausted from all the running around the whole day. He had to check on Princess Tyra to make sure she was fine after Sir Damon took her out of the dungeon, and then he had to check on Benedicta and the aristocrat whom Ivan had hurt. If they were not important people in the kingdom, his assistants would have attended to him, but because of their positions, he had to be in charge of everything himself, and now he had just returned from checking on the king once again since the guards Harold had stationed at the king''s chamber wouldn''t let the queen or anyone else go near him. He was still scared that Prince Harold might have his head when he returns and finds out that he had gone against his order and treated the aristocrat and Benedicta when they had been instructed not to attend to anyone else but the King and Tyra. He had no choice but to treat them since Damon and some other aristocrats had threatened to kill him before Prince Harold''s return if he didn''t treat the aristocrat and Benedicta. Chapter 320 MASS RELEASE 2 "Is it correct?" The queen asked the physician in a quiet voice, even though it was just the two of them in the library. The physician nodded sadly and bowed as he said, "I apologize, my queen, but it is indeed as we suspected. What ails his majesty is the Alpha''s plight." "For how long?" She asked in a tight voice. "I suspect he has been taking it in small portions for a long time now. Over... a year now." He exined as his head went even lower. Over a year. Someone had been messing with the king''s health. Her palms fisted beside her in anger. Who would dare to do something like that? How dare they? It had to be that same person who had been attacking Harold and also messing with her. "It must have been through his meal." Since it doesn''t affect betas or omegas. That could have been the only way to poison the king. She said to herself thoughtfully, and the physician''s brows pulled together as he thought about it. Although he agreed that it might be through his meals or drinks, he wasn''t sure it was the general meal, or else Prince Harold would have been in a simr state too since he was also an alpha. They couldn''t possibly arrest everyone that worked in the kitchen, but maybe if they could narrow it down to those who attended to the king alone, they could find something, the Royal Physician mused, but before he could point that out to the queen, she banged her fist on the table in front of her as she stood up. "I must find the person responsible and kill them with my own hands." She said this in rage before looking pointedly at the physician. "You must not breathe an air of what we discussed today to anyone," she ordered as she headed for the door, but the physician called for her attention in confusion. "What about his Majesty, the King? What should I do about his state? There is a rare herb that can be used to push out his poison. If we can get the herb and mix it with an Alpha''s blood, it will be able to cure him of the ailment and get rid of the poison," he rushed to tell her. "Alpha''s blood?" The queen asked curiously. She would rather die than have Harold''s blood save the king''s life. Besides, what was the point of reviving the king when she was going to take over the throne? She mused, but before she could give him an answer, an urgent knock sounded on the door, making their attention turn there. "You may enter," the queen ordered, and immediately one of her maids came in, panting. "Has the witch been captured?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. "My queen, something terrible has happened." The maid said it breathlessly, making them look at her curiously. "Lady Luciana is severely injured and needs urgent treatment," the maid said, looking at the physician since Prince Ivan had sent for someone to fetch him. "Luciana?" The queen asked with a confused frown. Although Luciana wasn''t the person she wanted to hear about right now, hearing that she was hurt made her very curious. "What happened to her?" What about the others? Is Prince Harold here with the witch?" She asked as she headed for the door, while the maid and the physician followed behind. "Prince Harold and... his wife are not here yet. But Prince Ivan returned together with Lady Luciana, Lady Susan, Sir Williams, and Sir Lance. Lady Luciana is badly wounded. From what I heard, Prince Ivan is... responsible." While the head physician looked at the maid in horror, the Queen stopped walking and turned to look at her in disbelief. That was impossible. Ivan would never do that. The queen shook her head. Maybe this girl has heard wrongly. "Are you sure it was Prince Ivan and not Prince Harold? And why isn''t Prince Harold here yet? Where is Damian?" She asked as she began to walk again, this time in hurried steps. "One of the maids overheard Lady Susan telling her parents that Prince Ivan lost control in his wolf form and attacked Princess Luciana." "His wolf form? In public?" The Queen stopped walking again and asked in horror, but as she slowly digested the information, she let out a loudugh, surprising the maid and the royal physician. Well, wasn''t this the heaven helping her punish her foolish, rebellious son? Who would have thought he would hurt her with his own hands after disobeying her to go protect her? "How bad is her wound?" "Very bad, my queen. She needs to be treated by the head physician immediate¡ª" Before she couldplete her sentence, the queen pped her hard across the face, making the physician, who was about to hurry away, stop in his tracks. "How dare you decide that?" She spat it out. "Why should the head royal physician attend to someone who has already lost her princess title?" The queen hissed. "Forgive me, my queen. It was Prince Ivan''s order," the maid apologized as she fell on her knees. "Sir Williams... also needs to be attended to. He... he was also hurt by Prince Ivan," the maid quickly added so that the queen would forget her blunder. "What?" She asked in horror. As if that wasn''t enough, the maid went on to inform her that Williams had been cut with Ivan''s poisoned sword, making her face pale immediately. She had already nned a wedding for him in theing days! If she wanted to take the throne, she needed many allies! Beside that, her brother was not going to let this slide. "Go! Hurry! You have to save him!" She urged the royal physician, who bowed and hurried away to the chamber where the Queen''s brother stayed. "What about Damian and the others?" The queen asked. Why wasn''t anyone saying anything about him? Just what had happened to thwart her ns like this? Chapter 321 MASS RELEASE 3 The maid shook her head. "I don''t know, my queen," she said, and the queen waved a hand to dismiss her. "I want to be left alone. Do not tell anyone where to find me. Let me know the moment Damian arrives," the queen ordered, and the maid bowed to her. But before she could hurry away, the Queen instructed her to inform some of her guards to follow the physician and make sure no one tries to force him into treating Luciana. Williams was her priority. Alone now, the queen stood still, looking around nervously as if she didn''t know what to do anymore. This wasn''t how she nned it. Everything seemed to be falling apart. What was she going to do now? She definitely couldn''t face her brother right now, nor could she face Damon, who was angry with her, or Luciana''s parents, who would be very upset right now. No, she couldn''t. They would all me her, as usual. She wished Damian was back with Harold and his witch so she could channel all their anger at him and his witch. She turned around and returned to the library. She was going to stay there until Damian returned with them. Meanwhile, in the other part of the pce, while Susan and their mother were with Williams, tearfully begging him to stay with them as their mother tended to his wound while waiting for the physician toe and decide the antidote for the poison, their father was already searching for Ivan since he did not find him in his chamber. Susan had never felt so useless in her entire life. The only thing she could do was cry as she watched her crying mother try to help Williams as best she could. If she had known, she would have spent her time learning medicine instead of stupidly running around. "Why isn''t any physicianing?" Susan cried. She wanted to run to go find anyone herself, but at the same time, she didn''t want to leave her brother alone even for a moment. Williams groaned in pain and tried to open his eyes, but it was too painful for him. "P-Princess..." He muttered slowly. "What is it?" "What is wrong?" The two women asked immediately as they tried to get their ears closer to hear what he was trying to say. "Prin..cess Luciana. Ch-eck... on her." He spoke before he closed his eyes and went still. Their mother used her hand to cover her mouth and cried softly in helplessness before she looked at the door. They needed to know the poison Ivan had used before the physician could find the antidote. There was no poison in this pce that didn''t have an antidote inside the pce too. So why were William''s father and the physician noting? Susan no longer wanted to stay still and stood up before running out of the room. The cloak had fallen from her body now, so she looked very... unpleasant, with blood all over her, half of her stomach exposed, wearing men''s clothing and boots, and her hair tied in a messy bun. But that was the least of her concerns. And at this point, that was the least of anyone''s concerns right now because the pce was a mess. In another part of the pce, Ivan also could not stay still. How could he when Luciana was in such a state because of him? How could he stay calm when her parents were all over him? Even Luciana''s handmaiden was there, shedding tears and begging him to do something until he ordered her to go find the physician and bring him back here as soon as possible. He would have done that himself. But he didn''t want to leave her alone. He was worried and didn''t care what anyone said to him at this point. He already hated himself enough. It was taking all the self-control Ivan had not to set the pce aze as he waited for the maids and guards to find the stupid royal physician. Luciana''s parents, for the first time since they arrived, were not staying calm or taking things lightly, not when their daughter''s life was at stake. "Why are you just standing there instead of going to find the royal physician yourself?" Luciana''s father growled at Ivan, who stood over Luciana''s body watching her pitifully while holding her hand and begging her to stay alive. "You could have let us take our daughter back home instead of trying to kill her because you no longer want to be married to her," Luciana''s mother, who was seated on the floor beside Luciana''s unconscious form, wailed. "If anything happens to my daughter, I will never forgive you!" I won''t let this go!" Luciana''s father threatened as Luciana''s maid came to tearfully report to them that the head physician was noting. "What?" Luciana''s father asked in disbelief. "WHY?!!" Ivan roared and listened in disbelief as the maid informed them that the Queen had instructed that no royal physician was to treat Luciana; otherwise, she would have their heads. Without saying a word, Ivan picked up his sword and walked away from there to find his mother. He was going to kill her if that was what he had to do to get the physicians to treat his wife. Who did she think she was to do that to him? When was she going to know her ce and realize that without the king beside her, she was nothing? Luciana''s father, who was also boiling with rage, followed Ivan. He wasn''t going to let the royal family treat his only child this way. It was one thing for them to have stripped her of her title unfairly the way they had done, but he was not going to let them kill his only child! The moment his daughter was well, he was taking her out of the pce and back home since the royal family had cut her off. He would rather have his daughter alive and useless than dead. Chapter 322 MASS RELEASE 4 As Ivan headed for the Queen''s chamber, the two guards he had sent to find the royal physician came to inform him that the royal physician was headed for Williams'' chamber. Ivan turned crazy when he heard that and he changed his direction to his Uncle''s chamber with the guards following closely behind him, while Luciana''s father continued to go find the Queen. Ivan could handle the physician while he gives the Queen a piece of his mind. Ivan had not gone too far when he sighted the royal physician who was surrounded by three guards who were guarding him to William''s family chamber. The queen had indeed meant it. Wielding his sword, Ivan stopped them, threatening to kill anyone who dared to disobey him, "Come with me," he ordered the physician. The physician was torn. Since he started working in the pce, this was the umpteenth time he regretted choosing a career as a physician. He had not seen Lady Luciana, but judging by what the first maid had said and the look on Lady Luciana''s handmaiden''s face, he could tell it was a serious issue. And as a physician, he wanted to take a look. Unfortunately, he couldn''t do so. William''s father who had been looking for Ivan all over the pce also wielded his sword at Ivan when he saw him, "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO MY SON?" Williams''s father roared angrily at Ivan as he tried to strike but Ivan caught his sword with his midair. Merely seeing the expression on William''s father''s face, anyone could tell that he was using hisst self-control to keep himself from killing Ivan. "You should have taught your son to never get in my way. I warned him," Ivan said before turning to the physician but before he could say anything, Susan ran to the physician. "Come with me, you must save my brother, please," She cried as she grabbed the physician''s hand, but before she could pull him with her Ivan stepped forward, and so did her father when he saw the menacing look in Ivan''s eyes. Ivan turned to his uncle, "Get another physician for your son. He has to attend to my wife!" Ivan said as he looked at the physician pointedly. "The same wife you almost killed?" William''s father asked, and Ivan ground his teeth. He hated his uncle''s guts. "You might be my uncle, but I advise you to watch the way you address me," Ivan warned. "He will attend to my son first. You can get someone else for your wife. And pray nothing happens to Williams." he said, and Ivan''s guards drew their swords, while the three guards escorting the physician also drew theirs. "Father we don''t have time for this. Williams is dying. We need to know what poison he used so that we can get the antidote," Susan cried impatiently, not interested in the back-and-forth banter. "Name it!" The man growled at Ivan whoughed humorlessly when he heard that. "If my wife dies, your son dies too. If you want him to live, then the physician muste with me," Ivan said as he red at Susan with hatred gleaming in his eyes. He wished she was the one dying and not Williams. She was the cause of everything that had happened. If she had not stood in his path, Luciana would have followed him quietly and he wouldn''t have had to fight Harold in the first ce. In anger, the older man attacked Ivan with his sword and they both began to fight as Ivan tried to keep up with him even though he was yet to recover from his fight with Harold. "WILL YOU LET WILLIAMS DIE AFTER ALL HE DID TO KEEP LADY LUCIANA ALIVE?" Susan yelled in anger but quickly ced a hand on her throat and coughed when it began to hurt from Ivan''s strangtion earlier. Susan watched in worry as her father fought with Ivan. She tried to use the distraction to run away with the physician, but Ivan''s guards did not let that happen. And that just started another round of group sword fights that almost made Susan have a panic attack as she remembered thest fight and all the casualties which includes her brother. She wasn''t sure how Alvin was faring yet and Luciana was also hurt. She didn''t want anyone else, especially her father to get hurt. With every step she took with the scared physician, there was a guard trying to stop them and another guard attacking the one trying to stop them. Susan knew the only reason she was still alive was because of who she was. Otherwise, Ivan''s vicious guards would have struck her down. As soon as her father knocked Ivan''s sword out of his hand, the sword fell to the ground and slid to where Susan was. Susan looked down at the sword and then she looked at Ivan who was still persistent in the fight even if he had no weapon now. With hatred filling her eyes, she picked it up with her two hands with only one goal in mind. Seeing how Ivan was distracted in trying to dodge the man''s attacks so he wouldn''t get shed with the sword, Susan raised the sword with all her might and shed at Ivan''s back, just like he had done to Alvin. Every fight stopped immediately and even her father looked at her in horror but Susan kept her angry eyes on Ivan, who turned around to look at her in disbelief. As soon as he did, she growled and with every strength she could summon, she shed at his right leg before he could dodge it or before anyone could stop her. Ivan wailed and fell to the ground and blood poured out from both his hand and leg. "It''s fine if you do not want to tell us the poison you used. But if Williams is going to die, then you should as well die with him." She said darkly. Chapter 323 MASS RELEASE 5 With everything going on in the pce, Lance''s mother, in particr, could not help but be grateful that her son had returned safely. She had whisked him away to their chamber and embraced him as she cried in relief. What would she have done if he had returned in the same state as Williams or Luciana? Lance gently pushed her away in embarrassment, but she held onto his arm dearly as she broke away from the hug. "How could you leave with them without telling us?" What if Prince Harold or the witch had hurt you? Why did they make you dress in something so filthy?" She cried. "I''m fine." Lance assured her impatiently as he said, "I have to go and check on the others." "Check on who?" His father asked as he entered the chamber, frowning. "Your father and I were very worried about you. You were not feeling well for days. How can you choose to leave us again?" His mother asked, looking appalled. "Father," Lance greeted with a curt now, "I apologize for leaving without letting you know." But we will talk about thister. I need to know what is happening," he said impatiently. "Stay out of it!" Sir Gregory snapped at him. "Since when did you care about those things? That fight is for the royal family. Not yours to involve yourself in." "What has gotten over you?" His mother asked in concern. This was not the son they had raised. Why was he getting involved in something so dangerous? "I understand that you are worried about my safety, but my friends are hurting." "Friends? Since when did you be friends with them?" His father asked with a displeased frown. That was a good question. Since when did he be friends with them? They had only spent a night outside the pce. Eating weird food, dressed in peasant clothing, throwing water at each other in the cold river, throwing food at people, looking at the vige night life, telling stories about themselves, and even meeting a fake shaman outside. Lance looked at both his parents and sighed inwardly. He had indeed done a lot of stupid things he would never have done in his entire life in just one day. But why did it feel as though the hours he had spent with that group were like the best hours of his life? Having themugh and y with him that way when until now they had all ignored him? He had always been "Sir Gregory''s son". But with them, he had been Lance. Of course, they obviously hadn''t remembered he was Sir Gregory''s son when they shoved him into that cold river, asked him to bathe in that kind of ce, gave him rice wine to drink, or when Princess Amber patted him on the head and Prince Harold kicked him until he saw stars. He had even be less scared of Harold in the time he spent with them because he felt like a part of them. He had felt a sense of belonging. He had drawn blood with them, and those people were not only friends to him. They were like family now, joined together by blood, and he couldn''t stay locked up in his room while Luciana and Williams were dying. "I apologize, but I have to go," Lance said, and without waiting for either of them to stop him, he ignored their calls as he hurried away to Williams'' family chamber since it would be easier to see Williams than Luciana. ********* Alicia''s motion sickness was not helping her anxiety right now. If not for the way things were with Harold at that moment, she would have preferred to ride on the horse with him but she couldn''t. She couldn''t face him yet because she had yet to fully process everything. Although the shock had worn off since she knew a bit about werewolves before, she was not over the feeling that Harold had kept such an important secret from her when she had never told him a single lie before. Only God knew what had happened with Beth that night. What if Beth had seeded in tearing her apart? What if Ivan had turned when she fought with him and killed her in his rage? How could he have kept something like this from her? As those thoughts ran through her mind, her stomach churned. Her head was beginning to ache as well as her whole body. She wanted nothing more than to get away from this enclosed box and breathe in fresh air, even if it meant them arriving quickly at the pce a€¡° the same pce she was dreading returning to There were too many problems waiting for them back at the pce for her to want to go back. The issue of Beth''s murder was still on the table; Williams and Luciana were in terrible states and might not survive it; Susan was mad at her, and right now she was just as equally mad at Susan; and there was Tyra, who was using her of murdering Beth and hurting her. Now she had to go back and face another round of interrogation for being a witch and deceiving the royal family when even that wasn''t her fault. Nothing was going smoothly for her right now, and the only person aside from Paulina who she knew was truly on her side and would risk his life to protect her had been keeping such a huge secret about himself from her when she had beenpletely honest with him all along. Even if she wanted to run away with Paulina, as she had suggested, where could she run to? The moon kingdom was all she knew. She had stayed in the moon kingdom longer than she had stayed in the mountain or the other kingdom where Amber was from. This was the only life she knew in this era, and as much as she was upset right now about Harold hiding the fact that he was a werewolf from her, she knew she had nowhere else to go, and she desperately wanted to believe that things were the same even though the image of him transforming could not leave her head. Chapter 324 MASS RELEASE 6 Alicia turned to look at Paulina, who was still shaking in fear where she was seated. Unlike Alicia who hade to terms with the whole werewolf stuff because she had watched movies and read books about werewolves and vampires, Paulina had likely never heard of them before. She didn''t even know they existed until that day, so she was still in shock at discovering that people could turn into wild animals, especially people she knew. Knowing that she had almost been attacked by such a creature did not do anything to ease her fear. The world suddenly seemed very unsafe. Paulina looked at Alicia when she covered her trembling hands with hers and said, "Everything will be fine. We will be safe," she said quietly, trying to be strong for her. However, the look in Paulina''s eyes told her that the girl didn''t believe her one bit. "Alvin!" They both turned to the window when they heard Harold call in an rmed voice before they heard the loud neigh of horses and everything came to a halt including the carriage, making them jolt forward. Alicia opened the window in rm, wondering what had happened but she could not see anything. "I think the poison is spreading," Harvey said, sounding concerned. "Speak to me. Can you get down?" Alicia frowned when she heard Harold''s voice again since she could tell that was how he sounded when he was worried. She immediately opened the carriage door and as she tried to step out, Paulina held her arm, looking frightened. "It''s fine. You can stay inside." Alicia assured her before jumping down. She almost gasped when she saw Alvin. He looked very pale and sickly and his eyes were closing involuntarily. It looked like he was going to fall off the horse but Harold and Harvey were holding him still, looking worried. Harold''s eyes locked with hers as she rushed to their side, and he was surprised to see her outside, but Alvin''s painful cough with blooding out of his mouth took Harold''s attention back to him. "How could you let him ride in this condition?" Alicia asked in horror when she got to where they were, surprising Harvey who turned to look at her. He had not expected her to recover so fast from the shock. Damian remained on his horse as he observed them with annoyance. "Let''s help him inside the carriage," Alicia suggested with a sense of urgency, snapping the two men out of their worried states, and they helped Alvin get down even though he kept insisting weakly that he was fine and could continue on his horse. "This is not the time to be embarrassed!" Harold snapped at Alvin, who obviously hated how he was being treated right now. When he was set on his feet with his body leaning on Harold, Harvey raised Alvin''s shirt and almost did a double take when he saw the wound but quickly put the shirt down so that Alicia wouldn''t see it. He looked at Harold and shook his head. Alicia noticed the exchange and turned to Harvey. "He... is going to survive before we get to the pce... right?" She asked hopefully, but the look on both Harold and Harvey''s faces told her they were not so sure about it. It seemed like it would take a miracle for him to survive it. "What... is wrong with... him?" Paulina''s fearful voice asked behind Alicia as she peeked at them from beside the carriage. Although she was still scared of them, Alvin had always treated her well since she joined them in the kingdom. From the moment he saved her from Beth''s strangle to when he helped her treat the burn under her feet. Even though he made her embarrassed sometimes and she was scared of him sometimes too, she believed he was a nice person. So seeing him look deathly was very strange and frightening. As soon as they all turned their eyes on her, she withdrew into the carriage and hid inside, burying her face in her hands. "Alvin, stay awake," Harold ordered as he gently pped his face when Alvin began to close his eyes. Alicia could see the flood of emotion on Harold''s face as he turned his gaze from Alvin to her. He was scared that Alvin might die. Seeing him look so worried, Alicia tried to touch him but at thest moment, she withdrew her hand while he turned to look at her with a gaze she could not read. "Let''s get him into the carriage and hurry so we can get to the pce on time," She said, and immediately Harold and Harvey carried Alvin into the carriage, where Paulina was frightfully seated by the edge with her eyes tightly shut so she wouldn''t look at any of them, especially Harold. cing him inside the carriage was another problem because Alvin wasn''t as tiny as the girls. And they had to make sure he was lying on his stomach so he wouldn''t hurt his back further. But they did their best to get him inside and as soon as he was in, they heard the distant sound of horses approaching at full speed. Immediately, Harvey took a fighting stance and unsheathed his sword while Harold still kept his eyes on Alvin, who was struggling to breathe, as he tried to make himfortable inside the carriage. This time, Harold was pleading with him to endure it for a while. Paulina could not help but take a peek at Harold, observing how he was acting like a normal human being at that moment who was worried about his friend. She had never seen him look that way before. But she could understand why. Seeing Alvin like this, even she could not stop the tears in her eyes from flowing. She didn''t want him to die. The horses got closer and three horses with three riders came into view. Two were dressed as guards while one was dressed as a physician. The guard''s outfits weren''t the same ones the royal guards wore. The uniform belonged to the guards from the queen''s brother''s household and both Harvey and Alicia recognized them. "On Lady Susan''s orders, we brought the antidote for Sir Harvey," One of the guards said in a loud voice before the physician climbed down from the horse. "Sir Harvey?" Harold asked, immediately withdrawing himself from the carriage. Alicia and Harvey also looked confused but then it urred to them that Susan had sent the antidote for Alvin but most likely couldn''t say so since her parents may not let their guards leave for the sake of Alvin, but would be willing to let them leave for Harvey who was her supposed betrothed. Harold looked at Harvey, and understanding what was happening, Harvey received the antidote and quickly hurried inside the carriage with the physician following behind. Meanwhile, Damian just watched from his horse with keen interest. Chapter 325 "I Can Do Anything" As much as the queen wanted to be alone, she couldn''t ignore all the ruckus going on around the pce, especially when her maid kepting to report to her. Earlier, she had arrived at the scene just seconds after Susan shed Ivan''s leg with his sword and ordered him to tell them the name of the antidote so that both he and Williams could be treated immediately. She had watched the scene in horror as Ivan bled and cried in pain while Susan stood before him. She hadn''t recognized who it was earlier because of the clothes, but she took a closer look and recognized her niece. "YOU STUPID WENCH!" Ivan growled with all his might as he tried to get up, but the cut on his leg was restricting him. "WHY ARE YOU ALL STANDING THERE? ARREST HER THIS INSTANT!" Ivan yelled like a maniac as he looked at the guards, who were reluctant to do anything. They could not hurt Susan or her father, but that wasn''t the case for them. If Susan could cut Ivan, a prince, with a sword that was poisoned, what would make her spare them? Especially seeing how Susan''s father and the other guards were still wielding their swords and ready to fight, they didn''t make any rash moves. "TELL ME!" Susan yelled at Ivan, who was groaning in pain as he tried to bear the pain and stand up, but Susan was done ying games with him. She kicked him right in the stomach, making him fall back to the ground. At this point, even her father was shocked, much less the queen, who had finally had enough. "HOW DARE YOU TREAT A PRINCE WITH SUCH DISRESPECT?!" The queen asked with a burning anger as she approached them. Even though she knew this was not a good time to face her brother, she couldn''t get over the disrespectful scene and how they were making a fool out of a prince. Her son. Her brother''s angry eyes went to her, and it looked like it was taking everything he had in him not to attack her.It was the only reason she hadn''t smacked Susan hard across the face and have her thrown into the dungeon. "PUT DOWN YOUR SWORDS. ALL OF YOU!" The queen yelled, and at once all the guards dropped theirs, except Susan and her father. The queen eyed Susan with displeasure. "You have gone too far. Put it down!" "He has to tell us the poison first," Susan said it defiantly with tears in her eyes. The more time they wasted here, the more in danger the others were. Hearing that, the queen turned to Ivan, unable to believe that not only had he hurt Williams, but he was also stopping the physicians from attending to him. What in heaven''s name had gotten over him? It was bad enough that she had lost the support of all the other aristocrats, and now she was going to lose her only brother''s support too? "I will tell them only if the royal physician goes to attend to my wife," Ivan insisted stubbornly despite his pain. Hearing that, the queen looked at him with disapproval. "I guess you will not behave yourself until Luciana is dead. You leave me no choice," the queen said as she looked at the guards she had sent to escort the royal physician. "Seize Luciana and take her to the dungeon for disobeying royal orders and for leaving the pce," the queen ordered, stunning every one of them. They all knew that Luciana was unconscious and not in a state to be moved carelessly or even thrown into the dungeon. As much as Susan wanted help for her brother, Luciana''s life was also at stake, and Luciana was a friend. "You can''t do that! Stop them at once!" Ivan ordered his guards, but after one look at the queen, they remained where they stood. "Seize him and lock him up at once!" The queen ordered Ivan''s guards, and immediately they switched sides and surrounded him, ready for arrest. "DARK BEAN! IT''S... DARK B-BEAN!" Ivan cried pathetically, losing this round to his mother. "You have to save her. Please, mother. Please do not let her die," Ivan cried, and the queen looked at his pathetic disy with displeasure before turning to the physician. "Get the antidote at once and attend to my nephew." She instructed the physician, who bowed and hurried away with his heart in his hands from everything he had just witnessed, while Susan''s father hurriedly followed him. He had already walked far before he realized that Susan hadn''t followed. The queen turned to look at Ivan''s guards and instructed, "Escort him to his chambers and make sure he stays there until he receives treatment." "Luciana. What... what about Luciana?" Ivan asked as the guards pulled him up from the ground and dragged him away, while he continued to yell and scream all he could until he was out of sight. "Lady Luciana is in a critical state. She needs to be attended to." Susan informed her. "YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR PLACE!" The queen snapped at her angrily. Her hands were itching to p Susan, but she refrained from doing so only because she didn''t want to annoy her brother anymore. "The only reason you are still in one piece is because of your father. You should never forget that." The queen said and looked her up and down in disgust before adding, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Walking around like that without any dignity. You better go clean up before I have you thrown out of the pce," the queen hissed. Susan looked down at herself, and her eyes bulged out when she saw how exposed she was and all the blood on her. She immediately let go of the sword and used her hands to cover her stomach, consciously. The queen tsked at her and was about to walk away when Susan gathered herself and yelled at her back just as Luciana''s father, who had been searching for the queen all around the pce, joined them. "ARE YOU NOT BEING TOO HARSH?" The queen stopped walking but didn''t turn around. "Williams tried to keep her alive with all his might. Even when he knew he was dying, he was still worried about her. What if that was Tyra who had been hurt?" "You cannot do this to us!" Luciana''s father said in displeasure while the Queen slowly turned around and moved her annoyed gaze from Susan to the old man. "I cannot?" Sheughed. "I am the queen." She reminded him. "I can do anything. And you should be thankful I didn''t have her executed for disobeying me." She said with an arrogantugh before she turned around and walked away to her brother''s chamber to check on Williams. Susan''s hands fisted beside her as she watched the queen''s back. If this was how queens behaved, she never wanted to be one. She was just going to take matters into her own hands and hope that Harold woulde soon and cover for her. Neither Williams, Luciana nor Alvin were going to die. Even if it meant disobeying the queen or stabbing more people. With that in mind, she picked up Ivan''s sword, not minding how she looked as she stormed out. Chapter 326 A Mere Guard Although the Queen would rather not face her brother''s wrath, especially since she had been avoiding him all day, she knew she owed him an apology, and she needed him to remain on her side. Even though she was the queen, her brother was quite vicious when he was pissed, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was a little intimidated by him, especially now that Ivan had caused a lot of trouble that she had to deal with. "What are you doing here?" Her brother asked her the moment she walked into the chamber. "How is he doing?" the queen asked, but no one answered her question as William''s mother stood up and excused herself from the chamber, seeing that the siblings had a bone to pick. "Ivan will be punished for this. You have my word." She tried to keep her chin up, but whenever her eyes fell on Williams, who had fallen asleep after drinking the antidote, her confidence faltered. "Your word? I don''t need your word! This wouldn''t have happened if you had not made such rash decisions. And I will never forgive you for this!" Her brother snapped at her angrily. She was about to speak again when he cut her off. "The moment Williams feels a little better, I''m taking my family out of this ce. You can resolve your family''s problems yourself. We no longer have any ties." She looked at him in disbelief and shook her head. "We are of the same blood. You cannot just end our ties because you are angry. Williams is going to be fine. Don''t be unreasonable." "We. End. Here." He said, making sure she got the message clearly. The queen burned with anger, and without another word to him, she walked away from the chamber. She saw no reason why he was ming her for something that Ivan had done. Besides, shouldn''t he be ming himself for not being able to control his children? How could he have let them grow attached to her enemy to the extent that they left the pce with Harold? If they had not left the pce in the first ce, none of this would have happened so he was also responsible! Every one of them was responsible, and she wouldn''t let them me her for whatever happened to their children! What was rash about her sending her guards to arrest the witch? Was she supposed to let the witch roam freely in their kingdom after they found out the truth? She had done them all a favour by doing what she did. Besides, who knew if everything had gotten out of hand and everyone was acting out of character because the witch had cast a spell on them? Instead of getting mad at each other and fighting themselves, shouldn''t they focus on the cause of all the misunderstandings? Harold and his witch were the ones at fault, not her! She concluded as she headed for her chamber. As she walked into her chamber, her maid hurried over to report the recent developments to her. Susan had not only sent out an assistant physician but had also threatened the royal physician into attending to Luciana''s wounds. "WHAT?" She asked the maid with fury. Susan. That girl was beginning to get on her nerves just like Harold''s witch, and she wouldn''t be held responsible for taking any action against her. ****** Away from there, Harold stood outside the carriage and observed as the royal physician treated Alvin''s wound while Alicia helped hold antern beside him so he could see what he was doing, as it was already dark. However, they noticed how frightened the man was, and that made him clumsily drop some of his instruments. Why wouldn''t he? Everyone knew the massacre Harold hadmitted. He had put them all under arrest and imposedpulsory dry fasting, and to top it off, his wife was being suspected as a witch who had truly killed Beth and put the king in that state because she wanted Prince Harold to take the throne while she would be queen. So it didn''t help that the two people were beside him at the moment, watching him keenly. At this point, he only prayed not to make a single mistake; otherwise, it was over for him. "If you dare drop one more thing carelessly, I will a tter with your head sent to your family," Harold said calmly, and that just made the frightened physician shake, but he quickly caught the needle that was about to fall off his hand. Even Paulina, who was still inside the carriage, was shaking from fear. The fear didn''t escape Alicia either, who just kept staring at Alvin and swallowing tightly. Thankfully, the physician was able to control himself and do it correctly since his life was on the line, and fortunately, Alvin visibly rxed in his sleep and his breathing, albeit slow, became a bit steady. The only time Harold had ever felt more relieved than he did right now were both times Alicia woke up from her unconsciousness. "He... will be fine. The... antidote and medicine he took helped... slow down the effect of the p-poison," the assistant physician stammered as he kept his gaze down on Alvin, whom he wouldn''t have dared stare at if he wasn''t unconscious. He couldn''t help wondering why Susan had lied and said it was Sir Harvey who needed the medicine when it was merely Harold''s guard. He wouldn''t have risked his life toe here. "What about Sir Williams? Do you know how he is faring?" Harold asked with concern, and Paulina, who had her eyes shut the whole time, snapped them open when she heard Williams'' name and looked at Alicia, wondering what Harold was talking about. "He... is in a very bad state. The poison was beginning to spread." "W-What poi-son?" Paulina asked in rm as it dawned on her that Williams had been injured earlier too. Chapter 327 Shocking Sight "Prince Ivan''s sword was poisoned. He cut both Alvin and Williams," Alicia exined calmly, and Paulina''s eyes widened as she looked at them in horror. Her fear of Williams and his kind all forgotten now, she looked at the assistant physician and asked, "How bad is it? Will he survive? But... Alvin looks... better now, so Sir Williams should be fine since he received the antidote first, right?" she asked fearfully, and the physician frowned, wondering why a maid was questioning him. First, he had been sent out of the pce to treat a mere guard, and now he was being questioned by the witch''s maid? What was wrong with everyone? Why couldn''t they know their ce? He mused as he looked at Paulina with annoyance. "Why are you not answering the question?" Harold asked, startling the physician, who jumped in his seat. "I... don''t know. I was forced to leave before the royal physician could finish treating him," he hurriedly answered. "Sir Williams isn''t built as a warrior, so his body could not fight the poison properly." Paulina''s hands flew to cover her mouth, and she just continued to stare in horror, her heart beating so fast that everyone, even outside the carriage, could hear it. "He will be fine." Alicia rushed to assure her. She was also praying and hoping nothing would happen to him. At this point, she was mentally exhausted. "And Princess Luciana? How is she?" Alicia asked with concern. "I... don''t know. As of the time we left, no one had attended to her on the Queen''s order," the physician said, and Alicia''s eyes widened in disbelief. "What? Prince Ivan allowed that?" Alicia asked, unable to believe her ears. Although she had fainted, from what she had seen before fainting, she knew that Luciana had been seriously wounded. "Lady Susan... she cut him with her sword, and the Queen had him locked in his chamber so he couldn''t do anything," he exined, and Harold sighed when he nced at Alicia and saw the distress on her face. Harold turned to Harvey, who had been keeping an eye on Damian the whole time he and the physician were focused on Alvin. "We should leave now so that we can arrive at the pce soon," Harold said since they were very close to the pce now, and Harvey gave him a nod. As the physician stepped away from the carriage and returned to his horse, Harold nced at Alicia and caught her staring at him. He held her gaze for a moment as he wondered what she was thinking. He could tell that she wasn''t exactly as scared of him as he had assumed, but he wasn''t sure if she had forgiven him yet. Was she still very mad at him? "Let''s... talk when we get to the pce," Alicia said quietly. Harold looked a bit surprised that she was talking to him willingly and also offering to talkter. He could not hide the relieved smile on his face as he nodded and walked away to get on his horse. It was after the second ring of the bell that they arrived at the pce. However, some people were still lurking around. One of them was obviously the queen, as she waited for Damian to bring good news. The more time went by, the more anxious she felt, and she had every reason to feel that way because her maid, who had been forced to keep watch, ran to meet her in the library to inform her of their arrival. The queen raced to the closest window where she could see outside, and just as the maid had informed her, Damian was right there with them, his hands tied in front of him, looking defeated. Her body began to visibly shake as she realized that once again, her ns had failed. She was only slightly relieved to see that Sir Harvey was well. His parents had made it clear that there was going to be trouble if anything happened to Harvey while Benedicta was still healing from the shock she had experienced from Ivan. She knew she could not take Sir Richard''s words lightly. He was the Minister of War for a reason. They had refused to let her be, saying they heard rumours that a physician had left the pce and that Sir Harvey was injured. She tried to deny it, but when he refused to buy it, she admitted having sent the physician and antidote to Harvey and assured them that he was fine. Thankfully, after the first bell, they had to leave her alone, no matter how unwilling they were. They could not break the pce rules just because they needed to see their son. Meanwhile, Harvey and Harold were trying to help an unconscious Alvin out of the carriage. As soon as he was out, Harold made the sleeping Alvin rest on him while standing, just as Susan ran out from where she had been hiding and towards them. Alicia and a still-frightened Paulina got down from the carriage and watched as Susan broke into tears of relief as soon as she saw Alvin, and without thinking, she hugged him, even though he was still unconscious and in Harold''s arms, shocking not only the ones present there but also the ones they didn''t know were watching. "I''m so sorry." She cried and pulled away to look at Harold, asking hopefully, "He will be fine, right?" "Why are you still outside?" Harold asked, frowning. "And looking like that?" He added as he looked her up and down, noting how worse she looked. She stepped back and hugged herself self-consciously as she said, "I got into trouble and had to hide out and wait for you to arrive." She exined in embarrassment, knowing Prince Harold was the only one capable of saving her at this point. "Sir W-Williams, how... is he?" Paulina stuttered in fear and anxiety. Meanwhile, Alicia looked at the pce, dreading entering. Chapter 328 Messed Up Situation 1 Thest bell rang just as Harold and Harvey arrived at Harold''s chamber, both carrying Alvin. Thankfully, the head physician, whom Harold had ordered the assistant physician to fetch, was already standing outside Harold''s chamber waiting for them. So immediately Harold and Harvey went in, he followed them. After gently cing Alvin on the bed, Harold sent Harvey out to stand outside with thedies while he remained in the chamber with the head physician and Alvin. Harold said nothing as he watched the head physician examine Alvin and apply special ointments to his wound. After some time, the head physician looked at Harold. "Apart from the poison, he seems to becking rest, and there is a lot of tension in his body. He is weak right now and needs to get a lot of rest for him to recover fully," the physician said, and Harold just stared nkly. Alvin was his eyes, ears, shadow, and most trusted man. Unlike the others who had a lot of guards and servants, Alvin did basically everything for him, so he could understand why Alvin would be exhausted. "Get him any medicine you have that would help him rx," Harold said, and the physician bowed as he said, "I will bring him some in the morning, your highness." The exhausted man was obviously waiting for Prince Harold to dismiss him since he was done there, but the Prince seemed to be oblivious to his mood as he carried on a conversation, "I learned you attended to Williams..." The man began to panic as he immediately said, "I... was forced to do it, your highness. I was forced to treat them all. I didn''t mean to go against your orders. I''m sorry, your highness," the royal physician cried as he fell on his face, thinking that Harold was going to punish him. "Who else did you treat?" Harold asked, momentarily distracted as he wondered if anyone else was hurt. The poor man began to shake as he fearfully stammered out their names one by one. Lady Benedicta. Lord Davis. Princess Tyra. Lady Luciana. Prince Ivan. As soon as the physician mentioned thest name, he began to sob. Harold looked down at him, frowning. This reminded him of his experience in the kitchen and how they had almost driven him crazy with their cries. "Rise," Harold ordered as he looked at Alvin. He had a lot of things on his mind at the moment to be angry at Ivan being treated. If he had been the one to cause that much damage to Ivan, he wouldn''t have bothered. But if anything happened to Ivan now, it would be on Susan. The man rose obediently, looking like a puppy that had just been scolded. On Harold''s inquiry, he informed Harold about the nature of their injuries and what happened to the ones that got hurt within the pce walls. He didn''t leave out how Susan had cut Ivan with a sword and threatened him to treat Luciana. Harold already knew that from the assistant physician. The more Harold listened to him, the more impressed he was by Susan. She had saved everyone''s life by sending the antidote down to Alvin. Even he had no idea what he would have done to them all if anything had happened to Alvin. "How are Sir William and Lady Luciana?" Harold asked curiously. Even though the physician was frightened, he could not help but pause to look at Harold closely, wondering if he had hit his head. Why was he concerned about everyone? "I asked a question." Harold reminded him in a patient, impatient tone. "Lady Luciana is in a terrible state..." "Will she survive it?" Harold asked, interrupting him, and the physician shook his head. "I... do not know, your highness," the physician said, and Harold sighed as he thought about how devastated Alicia would be if Luciana didn''t survive. "Make sure she survives. It is an order." Harold said, surprising the physician, who still felt something was wrong with his head. He couldn''t understand why Harold would care whether or not his brother''s wife survived the injury inflicted on her by her own husband. But then again, seeing how she had left the pce with him, the physician decided that Harold must care about her because of his wife. "Sir Williams?" Harold asked, and the physician shook his head. "He will recover, but it will take some time. The poison did much harm to his body, and he didn''t have the antidote or any other medicine quick enough," the physician informed him. "I learned Princess Tyra was locked in the dungeon. Is she healthy enough now?" Harold asked with concern since his next stop after now would be the dungeon. Everything in the pce was a mess right now. "Sir Damon released her from the dungeon already. She is not fully recovered yet. Her body is weak," he exined, and Harold sighed in relief. Although he had tried not to show it, he had been worried about Tyra. He was d that she was not in the dungeon. He was going to have to wait until the morning to pay her a visit and also find out about the nature of her rtionship with Damian. Damian was getting on his nerves, and there was something about him that Harold did not like. He wasn''t sure what it was, but he just wasn''tfortable with him. "You can leave," Harold said dismissively, but as the physician turned to leave, he hesitated. Harold was about to go to Alvin''s side when he noticed the man''s hesitation and asked, "Is there something else?" Usually, the man would have been running away by now. The physician was hesitant to speak because the queen had warned him not to breathe a word of their conversation to anyone. However, a part of him wanted to tell Harold about it just in case he was being poisoned as well. Should he tell or not? Chapter 329 Messed Up Situation 2 "Speak!" Harold ordered the physician. "I--" He kept his voice as low as possible as he whispered in fear, "I found... out the King is... being p-poisoned." The royal physician whispered, and Harold''s eyes narrowed. "What poison? And by who?" Harold asked, also keeping his voice very low. The man told him all he knew about the poison, but as for the culprit? "... I don''t know who is behind it, but the Queen believes it might be through his food," the royal physician said. "The queen knows about this?" Harold asked, and the royal physician was startled when he realized his error. "Yes, your highness. She suspected it first and asked me to look into it," the royal physician rushed to exin. "Is there an antidote?" Harold asked, and the head physician told him what he had told the Queen. At this point, he was getting very exhausted. He had never felt this drained before. Not even when he had to painfully shift at night and lose sleep. "Get the herbs ande for my blood to prepare the antidote. You must not tell the Queen I know of this. Do not tell her you are treating him either. Let me know whatever she says or asks you to do," Harold ordered, and the physician bowed to him. That was easy enough; after all, the queen had told him not to breathe a word of their conversation to anyone, and telling her he had told Harold about it would only get him in trouble. "You can leave now," Harold said, and this time the head physician hurried out of the chamber. Outside Harold''s chamber, Harvey, Susan, and Alicia stood there without saying a word to each other since they all had different thoughts running through their minds. So much so that they didn''t try to eavesdrop on Harold''s conversation with the physician. While Harvey was thinking about all that had happened that day and wondering what the morning would bring, Alicia was also lost in her own thoughts, wondering what would be of her and if Harold would need to fight everyone like they did today to protect her. She didn''t want anyone else to get hurt or killed because of her. She was scared at this point, and she also didn''t want Harold to get hurt. The image of him transforming into a wolf shed in her head again, and she shook her head as goosebumps rose on her skin. Why couldn''t she stop thinking about it? Susan, on the other hand, was worried about Alvin, Williams, Luciana, and also Tyra, whom she had not seen since she left the pce. However, despite her worry, she couldn''t shake off the feeling of guilt that made her keep stealing nces at Alicia. She had been mad at Alicia for keeping her true identity to herself while she and everyone else had been keeping their own secrets from her. She knew that by now Alicia would have figured out that she and everyone else in the pce were werewolves. She owed Alicia an apology, but that would have to wait. At least for now. Alicia didn''t bother to look at her even though she could tell Susan was stealing nces once in a while. She had not said a word to Susan since they arrived because she had nothing to say to her. She didn''t know what to say, and even if she did, she was miffed that Susan had reacted that way earlier when she was also keeping secrets. After some time Harvey turned to Susan and asked, "How is Princess Luciana doing? Has she been treated?" Harvey asked, and Susan gave him a nod. "Yes. We just... need to pray," Susan said with a sigh. She hadn''t been able to check on Luciana, but she had heard her condition had worsened before the physician met her. Her life was hanging by a thread now, and they could only pray she survived. They all snapped out of their thoughts when the door opened and the royal physician walked out of the chamber. Just as Susan was about to enter the room after Alicia entered, Harold appeared at the door and blocked her path. "You should clean up and rest. You look tired." Susan stared at him in disbelief. How could he ask her to leave? "But I need to..." "He is not conscious." He reminded her. "The head physician said he will be fine after getting enough rest." When it looked like she was going to argue again, Harold took a deep breath. "I do not want to order you," Harold said calmly. "I am telling you as your cousin. You need to get some rest," Harold said, and Susan''s gaze softened as she looked at him. "I will handle whatever mess you''ve made tomorrow. Don''t worry about it and get some rest," Harold repeated. Susan almost cried as she nodded. For the past few days, she had felt a very close bond with Harold. She couldn''t believe he was the same person she had been wary of this whole time. "You can rest in my chamber and change into one of my dresses." Alicia offered, noting how reluctant she was to leave. If she had been hiding before they arrived, it had to be because she was scared of facing them because of the trouble she had caused. No matter how upset she was, she couldn''t stay mad at Susan. Susan had been on her side and had given her hope in her dark time, believing her and taking her word over Tyra''s. Susan met Alicia''s gaze, and she bowed slightly as she said, "Thank you." "Sir Harvey will escort you there before going to meet his family," Harold said, and Harvey, who had been waiting to go in to see Alvin, looked at Harold in confusion. If everyone left, who was going to stay with Alvin and Harold? "But..." "You should go to your family. They are probably worried, and your sister is not fine," Harold said, and Harvey, deciding not to argue since he was right, bowed to him and acknowledged Alicia with a nod before turning to escort Susan to Alicia''s chamber. "Thank you," Susan said to Harold again as she left with Harvey. Now, it was just Alicia and Harold staring at each other. Chapter 330 He Is Never Going To Like Me Harold looked around a bit awkwardly, not knowing what he was supposed to say now that there were just the two of them in the room. He closed the door and kept his gaze on Alicia, who was looking at Alvin with concern. She felt his gaze on her and turned to face him. But just as he was about to say something, Alicia looked around, her eyes filled with panic as she suddenly realized that they were alone. "Where is Paulina!?" Harold stupidly looked around the room as if expecting to find her, as it had just urred to him that the ce had been too quiet. If Paulina had been with them, she would have been crying the entire time for no reason at all. "Wait here. I will go out to find her," Harold suggested. "I want toe with you," Alicia said eagerly, but Harold shook his head. "I want you to stay out of sight for the time being. And... it''s dangerous to be out at this time." Harold noticed how anxious she was as she reluctantly nodded. "Please look after Alvin. I won''t be gone for long." Harold said before he walked out, and once she locked the door behind her, he hurried away in search of Paulina. ****** Away from there, Susan entered Alicia''s chamber and bowed politely to Harvey, who stood outside the chamber. "You were very brave today," Harvey said, sending her a small, proud smile. "I didn''t have a choice." She muttered and continued to use her hands to cover her stomach self-consciously. Harvey noticed and decided to let her be. With a curt bow, he took his leave, heading to meet his family. Susan locked the door before walking into the bathroom to see if she could find water to wash up. She was relieved when she found a half-bucket of water inside. She quickly cleaned herself and dressed in Alicia''s fresh clothes, feeling very relieved when she stopped smelling the blood, sweat, and dirt all over her. While she was doing all this, her thoughts wandered to all the events of the day, and she tried to make sense of them all. Her heart ached when she remembered how they had all gotten hurt, and she began to sob. Luciana, Williams, and even Alvin would never have been hurt by Ivan had she not stood in Ivan''s way. Maybe if she had stayed out of their issues and allowed Luciana to leave with Ivan, everyone would be fine by now. She was the cause of all that had happened. Every one of them had gotten hurt because she never listened and always got herself into trouble. Williams had gotten hurt while trying to protect her, and so had Alvin too. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to any of them. She was startled out of her thoughts when she heard an urgent knock on the door as soon as she sat on the bed. "Who... is there?" Susan asked in fear as she rose from the bed and looked around the chamber for any weapon she could use to defend herself. "Open the door!" Her mother spoke in a harsh whisper, scaring her. Susan quickly dried her tears as she went to the door. "How did you know I was here?" Susan asked as she opened the door. As soon as her mother walked in, she locked the door behind her and turned to Susan, whispering loudly, "Have you lost your mind!!!?" she asked, ignoring Susan''s question. Her tone made Susan flinch since her mother had never scolded her this harshly before. The angry look in her mother''s eyes was not helping either. "I... did not have a choice," Susan said, thinking her mother was referring to all the crazy stunts she had pulled to ensure that Williams and Luciana got treated. "You did not have a choice? Walking around the ce dressed that way and embracing a man? Not just any man, but Prince Harold''s guard for that matter! A servant!" She snapped at her in annoyance. Susan suddenly went pale as she looked at her mother like a deer caught in the headlights. "He was the one you sent the antidote to, wasn''t he?" Her mother asked. Susan swallowed nervously as she began to exin, "I... he... he saved my life." Her mother looked horrified as she ran her hand over her face and covered her mouth in shock. In a very low voice, the woman asked with wide eyes, "Don''t tell me Prince Ivan had been speaking the truth when he said there was something going on between you and... the guard?" "Nothing is going on! I swear! He... he saved my life, and I had to make sure he was safe--" "You embraced him!" her mother cut her off in disbelief. "Do you have any idea the number of people who saw you? What if word of that gets to your father? How do you think your father would react when he finds out you risked your life going against the queen only to have the guards and physician go out of the pce for a mere guard?" The woman asked before adding the most horrifying part: "You did all that right in front of your betrothed!" "I said he saved my life! You shouldn''t talk about him like that," Susan snapped at her mother irritably. "What has gotten over you?!" her mother yelled back, not minding the fact that they were supposed to be quiet by this time. "HE DOESN''T EVEN LIKE ME BACK!" Susan cried and burst into tears as she sat on the floor, overwhelmed by all her emotions. "What... do you mean by that?" her mother asked in shock. "He doesn''t like me. He is annoyed by me. And now because of me, he got hurt. He is never going to like me," Susan cried, burying her face in her hands. "Which man in his right mind would ever be annoyed by you? Is he out of his min--" the woman shook her head, realizing how she was deviating from this shocking revtion. Chapter 331 Are You Still The Same? Susan''s mother looked at her daughter in confusion as she tried to make sense of this. Didn''t Williams say she fancied Harvey? Harvey was the son of the Minister of War. Not only that, he was the youngest nobleman in the assembly. He was also a great warrior and seemed to fancy Susan a great deal. So why? "How... how can you fancy him?" She asked in confusion as she crouched down in front of the crying Susan. "What is so great about him aside from his looks? Aren''t you scared of him?" Her mother asked in confusion. He was ufortable to be around. And he''s like twice Susan''s size! "You deserve the best. Not a guard. And certainly not Prince Harold''s guard. I don''t want you getting yourself involved in whatever goes on in this pce. This is for your own good." Susan continued to sob. "M-Mother..." "Stop crying over a guard!" her mother snapped at her, already exhausted from everything. It was a miracle that she was still functioning properly at this point. "That is all I have to say. You have gotten into too much trouble already. Your father is going to handle it. I''m going back to the chamber to stay with your father and brother. Stay hidden and do note out until it''s time for us to leave. And your father must not learn of this," she warned before rising. She didn''t leave immediately and just stared down at Susan for a short while before she sighed and began to head for the door. "Make sure to lock the door," she said without turning to look at Susan before walking out of the chamber. ******* While Harold was out there searching for the missing Paulina, she was currently moving about like a thief with a cane in hand to serve as a weapon as she tried to find Williams. Susan had said he was resting, but they were not sure when he was going to wake up. She only wanted to take a peek. It had happened impulsively. She didn''t even know when she left the others until she was far away from them before it urred to her what kind of risk she was taking, especially after finding out the kind of people in this ce. When she got outside their family chamber, her confusion intensified, as she wasn''t sure what she was supposed to do. As soon as she heard footsteps approaching the door, she ran to the opposite side and hid there. The door opened, and Lance stepped out of the room with Williams'' father. "You don''t have to see me off. I can join you to look for Lady Susan and her mother." Lance said to the older man. "I will search for them after seeing you off. It''s dangerous to walk alone at this time. You need to return to your family in one piece," the man said, while still looking at Lance suspiciously since he wasn''t sure what the youngd wanted from their family that he was being so helpful. "It would be faster if I joined you in the search," Lance pointed out. "You don''t have to." The older man said as they continued walking. Paulina almost had a heart attack when Williams'' father suddenly stopped walking and briefly looked in her direction. She held her breath and raised a hand to cover her mouth so she wouldn''t identally let out any sound. She remained in that position until he resumed walking, and both men disappeared from her sight. Paulina considered what they had said and concluded that no one else was inside the room. She resumed tiptoeing and slowly opened the door before peeking inside. It was empty and quiet, and there was a faint glow from antern inside. She stepped in, her heart beating so fast, and walked quietly to the bed where Williamsy still. Seeing him like that, she began to sob quietly, but as soon as she saw his eyes opening, she jumped back in fear and wielded the cane in her hand at him. Williams was toozy to open his eyes and just kept them shut as he managed to speak in a very weak and faint voice. "If... you are so scared. Why did youe?" Although his eyes were still shut, he sounded sad. "You... are you... o-kay?" Paulina asked from a distance. "Water. I... need water," Williams whispered with a groan, and Paulina fearfully moved closer to hear him, but she still kept a safe distance between them and continued to wield the stick. "Water," he repeated faintly. Thankfully, she was able to hear him this time and looked around the chamber. Once she found a gourd of water, she began to approach him but stopped midway, too scared to move closer. Seeing him in difort made tears roll down her cheeks. She wanted to approach, but she was too scared. She didn''t know the kind of person they truly were or if they were in good rtion with the other part of them or if that part existed on its own. Because why else would Prince Ivan have hurt his wife? In fear, she began to speak with her hands shaking so much that she felt the gourd and cane were going to fall. "Y-You... are still... the same, r-right?" Williams used all his strength to squint at her as his lips curled slightly. "Do I... look like I can hurt you?" He asked before groaning in pain. Paulina quickly dropped the cane on the floor and approached his bed. Her feet grew heavier as she got closer, but she tried to swallow her fear and approach him with the gourd of water. She hesitated again when she was about to feed him the water, but she tried her best to just see him for who he was at the moment. With that in mind, she began to help him elevate his head so he could drink. Chapter 332 Caught In The Act "My head hurts," Williamsined, asking her to lift him slowly as she fed him the water. "I''m... sorry, Milord." She apologized awkwardly and helped him do it gently. As soon as she noticed he was satisfied and he opened his eyes almost fully to stare at her, she was startled and let go of his head, immediately stepping away from him and going to pick up the stick while Williams groaned from the impact. "I''m... I''m s-sorry, Milord, but... I''m... scared." Paulina cried quietly as she looked at him. "I know." He said it quietly as he shut his eyes. "You should leave before anyone sees you here." He told her calmly. He was scared for her. Apart from the fact that he knew his father wouldn''t take it lightly if he saw her in there, he also knew they had rung the third bell already. He had been shocked awake when he smelled her presence and heard her heartbeat outside the chamber. He didn''t know whether he could easily recognize her presence because they had spent a lot of time together. Otherwise, his father and Lance would have known she was out there too, even though she was wearing a scent mask. The only reason he had forced his eyes open was to confirm if he was imagining things or if she really had entered the room, especially as he could smell her fear. "Will... you be okay?" Paulina asked with concern. "I will be. You still owe me a painting." He said lightly, making her cry in relief, seeing how he could still joke around at this point. "How is Luciana?" Williams asked weakly. "I... don''t know, Milord." "And Alvin?" "The... physician said he... will be fine," Paulina informed him. "You should leave now," Williams said tiredly as he shut his eyes. He had exhausted all his strength talking to her. "Do... you turn into... t-that too?" Paulina asked hesitantly, even though Alicia had told her they were all the same. Williams opened his eyes again, and she unconsciously stepped back. "Are you asking because you want me to say no?" Williams asked, and his gaze moved from her to the door. "My parents... are here," he informed her in rm. Paulina looked at the door, and her eyes widened in surprise; a startled gasp escaped from her lips when the chamber door suddenly opened. His parents'' eyes widened when they saw her. Not only was a strange person inside the room, but she was holding a stick! With everything going on in the pce right now, their first reaction, especially William''s mother''s, was panic. "What are you doing here?!" Williams'' father growled. There was no point in asking her who she was. They knew her. Not only was she human, but the queen had asked Williams to get close to her for their benefit. Paulina trembled in fear as she looked at them and down at Williams. "I am¡ª I wanted to¡ª I..." "You are awake!" His mother eximed joyfully as she immediately came forward to look at Williams. Paulina flinched in fear when the woman walked past her, but at that moment, she was the least of their concerns as the couple went to check on their son. "Do you recognize me? Can you talk?" His mother asked a series of questions at the same time, and without waiting for an answer, she looked up at her husband and said, "We should send for the royal physician. This is a miracle!" "Do you feel hurt anywhere?" His father asked him. Williams either nodded or shook his head in response. Seeing how the family was engrossed in that, Paulina desperately wanted to escape. If she was afraid of Williams, who had been her friend and was currently sick and in bed, what then could be said about his parents, who were healthy and in front of her? "WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO?" His father suddenly turned to her, scaring her to the point where she almost fell to the floor. "I... I..." She almost burst into tears, not knowing what to say. Seeing how scared she was, Williams opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a word, a knock sounded on the door, and without waiting for permission, the door opened and Harold appeared, surprising the couple, especially the woman, who clung to her husband. "I sent her. I was busy with the physician, so I sent her to check on Sir Williams. She will leave now," Harold said from the doorway, and immediately Paulina ran to stand behind him. Even though she was scared of him, at least Alicia trusted him. As for Williams'' parents, she didn''t know. "I apologize for disturbing your peace at thiste hour of the night," Harold said apologetically as his gaze fell on Williams, relieved to see he was awake. Hopefully, Alvin will also wake up soon. "I took him out of the pce with me and couldn''t keep him safe. My apologies," Harold said with an apologetic bow. "For any trouble Lady Susan caused, I will handle it," Harold said, surprising the couple, who would never have imagined that Prince Harold was capable of being so polite. He had apologized to them and even bowed. Was he plotting something? The couple just continued to stare at Harold, who turned to Paulina. "Let''s leave." He closed the door after him and left, with Paulina trailing behind him with her stick. The couple kept staring at the door and then looked at each other before staring at Williams. At least their son was okay. Another couple who could not hide their relief when they saw their child safe were Harvey''s parents. They looked at him with concern since they had heard the rumours that he was just as badly wounded as Williams, and the queen had imed to send an assistant physician to give him the antidote and treat his wound. But looking at their son right now, he doesn''t look wounded or sick. Chapter 333 You Are The Queen, Remember? Harvey''s mother embraced him and kept her cries low since it was past the time they were allowed to make any sound. "I''m fine," Harvey assured them, but his mother didn''t believe her as she tried to look him over. "We heard that you were poisoned!" His father said. "I was not. There was a mixup." He assured them, too tired to go into details. "What happened? Why did everyonee back hurt?" his mother asked curiously, but instead of responding, he looked around the chamber. "Where is Benedicta?" "She is fast asleep. It''ste," his mother reminded him. "I heard something happened to her." He asked them. "Yes. It was Prince Ivan." Sir Richard said, shaking his head, and both he and his wife narrated how Ivan had held Benedicta hostage. "I don''t think this marriage agreement is a good idea," Harvey said, worried for his sister. He had seen today that although Ivan was stupid, he cared deeply for his wife. He didn''t want his sister to get in the middle of that. "Yes. We have decided to cancel the marriage agreement between Benedicta and Prince Ivan, as well as with you and Lady Susan. We do not want to be involved in any way with whatever is going on in the royal family. You shouldn''t get involved with them anymore either," Sir Richard said, referring to Harvey''s newfound friendship with Harold. "Did you know that Prince Harold''s wife is a witch?" his mother asked, whispering. "It has been a long day, mother. We should all get some rest," Harvey suggested, ignoring his mother''s question as he left them to go to his chamber. He was worried about a lot of things. He had no idea how Harold nned to handle everything, especially with Alvin down. Not only did they have to find the physician''s son to know how the potion was in cirction and find the culprit behind Beth''s murder, but now they also had to save Alicia from being executed for being a witch. He knew that Harold was going to need his help now more than ever before, and he was going to offer it with or without his parents'' approval. All he needed to do right now was calm his head and take his time to think carefully about his next steps. ******* While all this drama was going on in different parts of the pce, the queen was almost going crazy with the turn of events. "My queen," Damian greeted her with a bow when he faced her. "The others. Where are the others?" The queen asked anxiously, even though she could guess what had happened, and Damian shook his head. The queen fisted her hands beside her, and all the veins in her neck almost popped out. After all they did, they were still walking freely within the pce? "Get some rest." She said. She wanted to ask about Susan and Alvin, but she held back. Susan had not only deceived all of them but had also made a fool out of her after iming to Sir Richard that she had sent the physician out of the pce for Harvey when it was Alvin that had been hurt! How dare she have a romantic rtionship with that thing?! "Tomorrow... is another day." She said with a determined look. Damian gave her a bow before leaving, but instead of heading for his chamber, he headed for Tyra''s since he needed to know if she was back in her chamber or was still locked up in the dungeon. The queen cussed all the nobles in her head. She had even reduced the number of night guards that patrolled around the pce that night so that the nobles could join her in handling Harold and his witch. But they had been too scared to stay back with her when the first bell went off. The only good thing about them leaving her was that it also made Sir Richard leave her alone. She had to do something about Harold and his wife. She needed to have a n. It was kill or be killed, and there was no way she and Harold could live. She would not be able to ascend the throne as ruler either if Harold was alive. She needed to take care of Harold and his witch once and for all. Her major focus for now was the witch. If she could tear her away from Harold, that would make him go crazy with grief, and crazy people always make mistakes. With that in mind, she began to head towards Damon''s chamber. Unfortunately for her, thest thing Damon was going to do right now was listen to the queen or take advice from her. Not when he knew she was losing her mind and was constantly causing trouble for them. Besides, Harold had already sent word to instruct him to call for an assembly first thing in the morning. As powerful as Harold was, and even though he knew no one could hurt Alicia without his permission, he also knew that the moon kingdom was against witches, and he had to settle this issue with wisdom otherwise Alicia might never be able to move around freely or get along with anyone. "You are just going to let them do as they please? She is a witch!" The queen hissed at Damon, who paid her no mind after asking if he had a n. "You are the queen, remember? Try to stop them!" Damon growled irritably. "And it is improper for a married woman to visit a man, especially at this time of the night." He said as he held the door open for her to leave. The queen red at him, and without saying another word, she stormed out of his chamber and returned to hers. It seemed like she had no one on her side anymore on whom she could rely. Ivan was acting like aplete fool, and thanks to him, her brother was mad at her. Damon was also being cowardly and not listening to her anymore. What could she do? Chapter 334 Unwanted Roommate As Alicia paced around Harold''s chamber waiting for him to return with Paulina, her thoughts strayed to different things that could have happened to Paulina. What if she had decided that she couldn''t stay in the moon kingdom and tried to run away? What if she had lost her way and one of the wild beas... werewolves had attacked her? She shuddered at the thought and rubbed her hands down her arms. Maybe she should have left with Harold and not let him go in search of her alone. Paulina feared him and would probably hide if she saw himing her way. She turned to the door when it suddenly opened, and her relief knew no bounds when she saw Paulina with a cane walk in after Harold. "Why did you disappear? You scared me," Alicia eximed as she rushed to meet her. "I''m... sorry, mydy. I..." she paused, feeling too embarrassed to continue. "What? Where did you go to?" Alicia asked curiously. Paulina didn''t say anything and just avoided eye contact, looking nervous. Alicia looked at Harold in confusion, but he also didn''t say anything. "Did you try to run away?" Alicia asked quietly, and Paulina shot her head up, shaking it. "No! I will never leave you. I... I only w-wanted to see how Sir Williams... was doing," Paulina said apologetically. That surprised Alicia because it was the same person talking about running away. She had also seen how scared she was. Yet she was the first to go and willingly find him? ? "You could have told me before leaving. Were you able to see him?" she asked, and Paulina nodded gently. "Is he okay?" Alicia asked, and Paulina nodded to her relief. "He is... awake." "Really?" Alicia asked in surprise and looked at Harold, who nodded. She turned her head toward Alvin and looked hopeful. "It means he can also wake up soon, right?" But she didn''t get an answer immediately. She turned to look at Harold, who was quietly watching Alvin. "Yes," Harold said as he turned to look at her. There was no need to scare her any more than was necessary. William''s cut was not as severe as Alvin''s. Ivan had clearly not nned to kill Williams. But that wasn''t the case for Alvin. The only reason Williams'' minor injury had done much harm to his body was because it had taken too long for him to get treated. Alvin''s cut was so deep that it took nothing for the poison to get into his bloodstream. If Ivan had cut Alvin the second time before Harold intervened, Alvin could have died. The only reason Alvin had been alive long enough to receive the antidote was because of the medicine they had taken with them on their trip. "I will escort her to your chamber to pass the night with Lady Susan...." "No!" Paulina interrupted Harold in panic. She looked at Alicia in panic, shaking her head. "I don''t want to leave your side," Paulina quickly added, going to stand beside her and holding her hand. Harold frowned in annoyance, but he tried not to show it. What did she mean by saying she did not want to leave her side when she had so conveniently done so a while ago to go and see Williams? He had been waiting for the best time to speak with Alicia privately, and when he thought he had got it, Paulina just had to reassure him that she was always going to be there to piss him off. "It''s okay, Paulina. You will be safe in my chamber...." even as Alicia said the words, Paulina shook her head. "I can''t sleep alone with her," Paulina pointed out. "You slept with herst night," Harold reminded her gruffly before looking at Alicia, hoping that she would ask Paulina to leave so that they could have time to speak as she had said they would, but from the look on her face, he could tell she was going to give in to Paulina. Alicia could understand Paulina''s fear and reservation. She may have slept with Susan and Luciana the previous night, but that was before she realized who they were. It would take her some time to befortable around them again. "She can spend the night here with us. If you can get her a nket, then she could sleep at the other end of the room," Alicia suggested to Paulina''s relief, and although Harold didn''t like that idea, he didn''t object. As Alicia watched Harold rummage through his closet for a nket, she thought about the conversation she was about to have with him. Although she had a fair idea about werewolves, she needed to know more about him and his kind. She didn''t want any more secrets between them. Once Harold found the nkets, Alicia took them from him and gave them to Paulina, who went to spread them at the distant end of the room, but instead of going to sleep on them as they expected her to, she approached them. "I... will watch over him while you get some rest," she said, knowing that they needed to talk. "That is not necessary, Paulina...." "I... want to. He took care of me when I was sick." She said as she looked at Alvin. "I will look after him too." "Alvin is my responsibility," Harold spoke calmly. "You both need rest." He returned to Alvin''s side and sat down on the stool beside the bed, looking at him. Alicia looked at Paulina and gave her a nod before leading her to where she hadid the nkets for them to sleep. Paulina snuggled closer to Alicia, and it wasn''t long before she fell asleep. If Alicia had not been there, she probably wouldn''t have been able to fall asleep tonight. Harold watched them for a while before looking back at Alvin. He couldn''t think about too many things at this point because he was also exhausted. He shut his eyes for a moment and snapped them open almost immediately. He looked in Alicia''s direction and noticed her eyes were open, and she was staring at him. She made an effort to retrieve her hand from Paulina''s hold and covered her up properly before she approached where Harold was and sat down on the stool next to him. Chapter 335 I Will Catch Them For You The two just sat down like that for a while and looked at Alvin before Alicia said, "I have a lot to ask. But I don''t know where to start." "I am still the same person," Harold said, turning to look at her, but she didn''t look back at him. "Why... didn''t you tell me?" She asked, still not looking at him. "I wanted to. But... it''s... I..." He paused, not sure what else to say. "You wanted me to have your children first. Why?" She asked as she looked up at him, noting how guilty he looked. She scoffed, "Do you know how unfair it would have been to have kids without knowing what they would have truly been?" She asked. "Did you try to think about how I would feel seeing my children turn into wolves or lead lives that I have no idea about or how to help them?" The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, and she couldn''t sit still anymore, so she rose, and Harold did the same. "Do you realize how selfish it is of you to even think of taking that choice from me?" Harold didn''t try to interrupt. He just let her speak. At least she was talking about it. "What if they suddenly transformed into werewolves and ran into the wild? How... how do I chase them and bring them back home?!" "Alicia..." He called softly, seeing how worked up she was. "They won''t do that. And... if they do, I can... catch them for you." He said with sincerity. "THAT.... is not the point!" Alicia snapped at him in disbelief. "I opened up to you about everything. I hid nothing from you! I''ve been honest with you from the start, but you withheld such important information. You had no right keeping this from me! Only God knows what happened the other night! To think you all knew...." "I''m sorry...." "Don''t you dare shut me up with an apology!" Alicia hissed at him, trying hard to keep her voice down because of Paulina and Alvin. "I''m not trying to shut you up. You can say all you want, but I also want you to understand that I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to hurt you," Harold said apologetically as he watched Alicia walk over to the window to look outside. Alicia took a deep breath as she stood there, trying to calm herself. After some time, she turned to look at him. "Why? Why did you choose to marry a human?" "No matter how superior our kind is, we need humans around us. It was a sacred pledge made hundreds of years ago. We are not to interfere in humans'' lives, and we are not to expose our kind to them for there to be a bnce. You are... the first human in this pce. You and Paulina. The king wanted to protect you and also wanted to make me stay married. No one was supposed to tell you." "Why? Because I will run away, and it would be difficult to find another bride willing to marry you?" she asked and he gave her a nod. She doubted that. Benedicta and Beth seemed very interested in marrying him. "Why... why me? Why Amber? Why not your own kind?" She asked curiously. "I know many people are scared of you, but there are also people willing to marry you. The king could have also given a royal decree or something." "It''s more than just that," Harold informed her. There was his curse. Where was he going to start in exining that part to her? He looked out the window and noticed it would be morning soon. "You need to rest. I promise you, we will talk about this tomorrow. But..." "No! I want to talk about it tonight. Who knows what might happen tonight or even tomorrow?" she asked, and Harold sighed patiently. "It will be morning soon. You need to rest, and there is someone I need to talk to briefly before we attend the assembly in the morning," he exined, and Alicia''s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. "You don''t have to fear anything. All you have to do is deny everything you are used of tomorrow," Harold said, and she looked at him in confusion. How was that supposed to solve anything? "They didn''t believe me when I said I didn''t kill Beth despite being tortured. What makes you think they will believe me this time?" Alicia asked, and Harold stepped forward and ced a hand on her shoulder as he held her gaze. "No harm wille to you as long as I''m there. Trust me and do as I say. You are not a witch, and you know nothing about the usations against you..." "But... I already admitted it to Susan and the others," she cut in. "It doesn''t matter. They know better than to say anything else," Harold said as he dipped his hand into his pocket and took out two small bottles of potion, then handed them to her. "What... is this?" She asked as she took them hesitantly. "It''s a potion. It''s added to the water you and Paulina bathe with." "What? Since when? Why?" She asked as she looked at the ck liquid in the bottle. "You have no smell, and Paulina has too much smell." "What does that mean?" She asked in confusion. "Everyone has a smell." "And... I have none?" He nodded. "The potion gives you a very faint smell to make people who pay attention to you think you have a smell but wear a mask to cover it. A bottle of this canst for many days before the effect wears off." "And Paulina?" "It helps to mask hers. Hers is stronger, so people might not know she is around them unless they pay proper attention." He said as he showed her hers and Paulina''s. "How long has this been going on?" She asked, already exhausted. "Since you arrived at the pce." "So it''s possible that some guests who followed you from this kingdom to the wedding already knew I had no smell?" She asked curiously, and that made Harold pause. Why had he never thought about it until now? Chapter 336 "I Called For Her," The air in the entire pce was very chilly the next morning. As much as the noblemen would have all loved to not join the assembly, they knew that was not an option. Besides, they wanted to be done with this and return home as soon as possible, but on the other hand, thest time they gathered in Harold''s presence... shit went down. Damon stood in his spot beside the king''s seat, looking ahead. Everyone expected him to at least say something, but he was mute. At this point, almost everyone had lost their respect for him. Not only had Harold humiliated him thest time they gathered, but he seemed to have lost relevance now. As the noblemen all stood, too scared to even whisper among themselves, the door opened, and the queen entered. All heads turned to look at her, many of them frowning in displeasure. Normally, she was not supposed to get involved in their meetings, but they had let her the first few times because it had been important. This time, they didn''t want her in, especially as she carried trouble everywhere. Meanwhile, the queen could feel all the hostility they had towards her but kept her chin up and her hands fisted beside her, looking at Damon. They had a meeting this morning, and everyone knew except for her! If she hadn''t been informed that Prince Harold asked for her presence at the gathering, she wouldn''t have known about this. Damian was still recuperating, so he was not beside her, which made her a bit self-conscious, but she tried not to let it get to her. "You are not supposed to be here," one of the noblemen said, voicing his displeasure at her presence. Her steps faltered, but she decided to ignore him as she continued walking ahead to the other side of the throne, but another spoke up, "This assembly was called for noblemen and not for women who bring nothing but chaos!" She stopped and slowly turned to look at him, recognizing him as the deputy governor of one of the measly viges in the kingdom. His audacity stunned her. Yes, she was a woman. But she was the wife of the king. If only she had been born a man. None of them would dare speak to her brother the way they spoke to her. She was the queen! But they valued the brother of the Queen even more than the queen herself. If only the king had looked favourably on her.Would they have dared look down on her like this? Would any of them dare speak to Princess Amber with such disrespect, even in Harold''s absence? She shook that silly thought out of her head. She couldn''tpare herself to that poor, uncouth witch who wasn''t given a proper upbringing. Her anger rose as she looked at the man. When she noticed he was about to speak again, she spoke first. "You must have a death wish." She looked angry. He''d better thank the moon goddess she was not the one presiding over the pce affairs. She would have had his tongue by now. "He is not wrong!" Her brother, whom she had been avoiding looking at, spoke in a loud voice. "There is no ce for you here." He added, stunning her as she turned in the opposite direction to face him. Everyone else was suddenly silent as the siblings red daggers at each other. "I called for her," Harold announced as the door opened and he entered. All eyes turned to him as soon as he entered. Everyone was suddenly still, and everywhere turned cold. He wore a ck robe and had his hair in a loose bun. His sword was firmly held in his right hand, and he kept his gaze ahead as he strode in majestically, tempting every one of them to fall at his feet. Harvey looked at Harold, wondering why he asked for her to join when she was desperately trying to get rid of Alicia. Or was he nning something else? The queen looked away from her brother and continued to walk ahead until she stood in her position. As expected, no one objected or said a word about it again, which gave the queen a mixed feeling. Most of the noblemen assumed Harold was going to sit on the throne, but he didn''t. He stood at the front, facing all of them. Silence filled the room as they all waited to know why this assembly was called for. They at least hoped that Harold was going to let them return to their homes so they could end this quickly and get to breathe freely outside the pce. "I believe there is something you would all like to know about Princess Amber''s identity." "..." "We also need to confirm that she killed Sir Rager''s daughter and tried to kill Princess Tyra." "..." No one said a word. "The queen will be in charge of questioning the suspects and witnesses." He announced, stunning everyonewho looked at him in surprise and began to murmur among themselves while looking at the queen, who also seemed surprised by that. She looked at his back suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. Not only had he asked her toe here, but he was also handing his wife over to her on a tter? She looked at Damon, who obviously didn''t look pleased by this. But seeing how displeased and humiliated Damon was at being ignored, she stopped reading meaning into Harold''s intention. It was nice to see Damon like this. Harold''s eyes met Harvey''s, who looked bothered by this. Everyone knew how the queen had been trying to get Alicia executed, so what was he thinking? Meanwhile, Alicia was outside, trying to control her emotions. She only hoped things would turn out well. She had faith since Harold was at least involved now unlike the first time. The door opened as her cue to enter, and she took a deep breath as she entered the room. Chapter 337 The Questioning Whenever Alicia was asked during an interview about the most nervous day in her entire life, she always talked about the first day she appeared on set for her first lead role in a drama. She always thought nothing was ever going to beat that. But that was a lie. She was nervous. She didn''t know what to expect, especially now that she knew all of them in the room were werewolves. Paulina had offered toe with her here, but she had refused. Paulina didn''t mention it, but Alicia had been able to guess the girl''s fear. Paulina feared it might be thest time she would see her. Alicia was not going to let that happen. She had to handle this. The more she thought about it all, the more convinced she was that someone was deliberately trying to frame her, and she was not going to sit back and die a useless death here. She had freshened up that morning in her chamber, where Susan was still fast asleep. She guessed Susan was very exhausted because, despite all the sounds Alicia made while moving around, Susan didn''t stir in her sleep. All eyes were on her, reminding her of how they had also watched and waited for her to drink the poison and die. This time, however, she was not going to let them win. She didn''t want to appear timid or weak, so she had taken the time to tie her hair in an updo, touch up her face with powder, and dress in the in white gown members of the royal family were meant to wear while being questioned by the court. She looked at Harold and saw him staring right at her. He seemed to be staring at her too intensely, and it made her feel self-conscious. She raised a brow as though asking, ''What the hell are you staring at?'' And he seemed to return to his senses and looked to the side, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. She stopped walking and stood in the middle of the hall, looking away from Harold. Surprisingly, the person who stepped forward to question her was the queen, who had a smug look on her face. Alicia quickly looked at Harold, who gave her a reassuring look, making her a little less tense as she looked ahead. At least 99 percent of the people gathered there were not pleased with the queen being in charge, but they could not voice it out. Especially Damon, her brother and Luciana''s father, who was trying really hard to swallow the hatred he had for her and how she had been willing to let Luciana die. Because of her and her son, his daughter was still struggling to survive. The queen cleared her throat and started, "Amber¡ª" "Princess Amber," Alicia corrected, cutting off the queen and startling them. Okay, no one expected that. The side of Harold''s lip curved upwards and he looked down, smiling. The queen frowned at the disrespect and scoffed. She could not believe this little thing was still trying to act like she was something. "Everyone knows that you are not a princess." The queen taunted, smirking. Alicia looked confused as she asked, "How so? I was born of a King and a Queen." She reminded her. "But you were sent into exile and had your Princess title stripped from you." The queen reminded her too. "And that brings me to the first question. Did you lie that you were a real princess when you were not?" "I did not lie." "YOU ARE FORBIDDEN FROM LYING TO THE HOUSE!" The queen shrieked in anger. She hated the fact that this little thing was not only exchanging words with her, but she also seemed confident that she was going to get out of this alive. She wished. Everyone else was obviously ufortable with what was happening and looked at Harold, but he was just watching the scene without any intention of getting involved. "I did not lie." Alicia said in a serious tone before adding, "But the King did." Everyone was shocked by her sphemous statement and wanted to attack her with words, but they could only murmur among themselves. Seeing this, the queen got even angrier at the partial treatment between them when she was the queen! "HOW DARE YOU LIE AGAINST THE KING BECAUSE YOU KNOW HE ISN''T HERE TO DENY IT?" The queen shrieked, asking, "Do you know you can die for this?" "I dare not lie against the king," Alicia said in a serious tone. That was partially true. The king had revealed to her that he knew she had been brought from exile to marry Harold but was turning a blind eye to it because Harold cares for her. She knew the King wouldn''t let her be med for it if he had been well, so she could as well use him to save herself. "The king has always been aware. The same as my Lord Husband, who is a witness. Did you expect me to announce it to the rest of you when the King ordered me not to mention it?" Alicia asked them, throwing the question at all of them. The murmurs increased, and they all looked at Harold. How could he still ept her despite knowing that she had been raised in such conditions? They doubted it. "She is correct." Harold said calmly before gesturing at the queen, "I guess that settles that im. Move on." Harold said this dismissively, angering the already livid queen. "We do not have a witness!" The queen said to him. "I am the witness." He reminded her. "You are her lord husband. So you may be trying to cover for her." The queen persisted. "Then we should do our best and hope the king wakes up soon to confirm it," Harold said calmly. The queen swallowed hard in anger and looked at the other noblemen, who seemed to have given up getting involved in this. Cowards! Stupid cowards! Chapter 338 The Witness It was impossible. She didn''t believe the king was aware. They were lying to them. He wouldn''t have let her survive another day if he knew who she was. Her hands balled beside her, and she took a deep breath, deciding to continue. There were many other things to use her of, so she could let this one slide for now. "Tell the house the reason your mother was executed and you were sent to exile." The queen gestured for her to go and speak. "I do not know about it. As you must have learned, I was sent out when I was still a child," Alicia answered. "Your mother''s family were witches! And so are you. You killed Beth and tried to kill Princess Tyra. And you are also suspected of causing the King''s ill health and trying to get rid of Prince Harold during the banquet." The queen rattled. Even she had some doubts about it. It didn''t make sense that Princess Amber was responsible. But what if she was responsible and hade for revenge? She just had to get rid of this girl. Having her beside Harold and in the pce with them was dangerous, not only because she was suspected to be a witch but because it seemed like Harold would do anything for her and wouldn''t blink if she even asked him to set the pce aze. "Why... would I do that?" Alicia asked, not understanding why they would conclude she was responsible for it all. Maybe she had killed Beth like they imed. She could understand that usation, as a lot of people knew she didn''t have a good rtionship with her. But she had no reason to hurt Tyra and the King. And there is absolutely no reason to hurt Harold. So what did she intend to gain by doing all that? "DO NOT QUESTION M--" The queen paused and took a deep breath to control her temper. "You must have bewitched everyone ande for revenge!" "Why would Ie here for revenge?" Alicia asked in confusion. None of it made sense. Do these people use their brains at all? Or was there something else she did not know about? "Do not try to lie to us right now, you witch!" The queen yelled at her, losing control now. "You must have realized that myte father helped the king eliminate your entire maternal lineage for witchcraft and came for revenge. So why would the king let you be when he already knew who you were? You think I am stupid? Alicia looked at her in shock as she tried to process what the woman had just said. She turned to look at Harold, who seemed equally surprised to hear this. He was not a member of the assembly, much less a member when he was a child, so he didn''t know some of the actions that were carried out, especially as he had a bigger problem to deal with rting to his curse and istion. Alicia looked in Harvey''s direction, wondering if he always knew about this, but she could not read the emotion on his face. The king had been involved in annihting Anne''s entire family. Why? Then, if he knew Amber was Anne''s daughter, why did he let her live all this time? Had he been nice to her because of guilt? Had he been plotting something else? She didn''t know why she felt such overwhelming sadness, anger, and betrayal. She guessed it was because these were her ancestors they were talking about. She thought she knew these people. But in less than 24 hours, she realized she didn''t know them at all. She closed her eyes, trying hard to control her emotions as she dug her nails into her palm. When she opened her eyes, she looked directly at the queen as she said coldly, "I have never practiced witchcraft and cannot admit to being one." "Haha!" The queenughed in derision. "Everyone here witnessed the windstorm on the day your maid was about to be executed. That was your doing." The queen spoke in a challenging tone. "Do you have proof?" Alicia asked, her voice still cold, and the queen scoffed. "Alright. You can keep denying it. But we at least have proof of your killing Beth." "Bring Princess Tyra!" The queen bellowed. That did not phase Alicia, as she continued trying to control her temper and process it all. She was a witch. The Moon Kingdom was mainly upied by werewolves. The queen''s family and the King had wiped out her entire family, leaving only Amber. Why? How long has the king known? By chance... did the King n for this? Her marriage with Harold? She doubted. The door opened again, and Tyra entered. She looked even paler than she appeared thest time. She also wore a white dress and had her hair in an updo, but she looked lifeless as she tried to keep a gracious walk to stand beside Alicia, who didn''t spare her a nce. Tyra bowed to greet the house, and almost immediately, the queen spoke to her. "Tell us what you saw that night." Queen Arya demanded. Alicia turned to look at Tyra and almost felt sorry for her when she saw how she looked. It had been a while since she hadst seen her. However, she reminded herself that now was not the time to feel sorry for Tyra when she was in such a serious condition. She noticed how Tyra''s gaze moved to Harold''s, and she began to sob. "Why aren''t you talking?" The queen demanded harshly. "Can... I... not do this?" Tyra pleaded weakly as her gaze moved from Harold to the queen. Alicia''s annoyance moved from the queen to Tyra. Why couldn''t she just open her mouth and tell the truth?! Even though she was a little tensed about Tyra pointing at her again as the culprit. Seeing how calm Harold was gave her confidence. The queen was obviously about to yell at her for her stupid and cowardly act when the door opened again, interrupting them. All eyes turned to the door as Sir Oscar entered, and behind him was a timid maid, following him with her head down in fear. Their brows furrowed as they wondered what this interruption was for and who she was. But as soon as she raised her head, many of them recognized her. Wasn''t she the maid who had witnessed Princess Amber stab Princess Tyra? Chapter 339 "It Is You" Every one of them looked at the maid in confusion, wondering where she hade from. Hadn''t she been missing this whole time? Because of how insignificant she was, the queen had even forgotten to add her to the list of people Alicia was suspected of getting rid of, even though Alicia had been in the dungeon at the time. They had concluded that she had an aplice so it didn''t matter if she was locked up or not. "I have brought in the witness." Sir Oscar announced as he bowed and stepped to the side, leaving the girl standing beside Alicia and Tyra. Alicia''s gaze has been on the frightened girl since she entered. The witness? Didn''t they say she was already dead? Howe she''s here now? She looked at Harold, who was giving the maid a pointed look, and guessed he had a hand in this. Why hadn''t he mentioned this to herst night? The more Alicia looked at the girl, the more unpleasant she felt within her, and her head began to ache. It seemed like a memory wasing to her, but something was pushing it back. She sucked in air and touched her forehead, looking away from the girl and facing Tyra, who was on her other side. She noticed how sweaty Tyra was as she kept sping her dress beside her. Alicia could not tell if it was because she was sick or because of something else, but that was the least of her problems as she felt unsettled about this girl. "W-Water..." Alicia heard her voice in her head, and the memory came back to her. She was having a bad headache and dry throat as she staggered to the door weakly, looking for help. She opened her bedroom door, and the face of the person she had found standing there that night was this maid. Her eyes widened as she turned to face the girl. She had been there. What was she doing outside her room at that time? The queen was having a bad feeling in her gut seeing how this maid showed up from nowhere. She had nned to go straight to the point and ask Tyra to tell them who had stabbed her and have Princess Amber punished for it. But with this interruption, she could not focus on Tyra when the maid was the main witness to everything. Angry, she asked, "Where have you been all this while?" The queen asked her in a harsh tone. "I... have been ill, my queen." "You have been ill?" The queen asked in disbelief. "You ran away from the pce without permission and vanished into thin air!" The maid quickly fell to the floor, pleading, "I''m sorry, my queen. I... could not move for days. That... was why I did not show up. But... I knew I had toe today." "Just go straight to questioning her," Damon said in an irritated tone, causing the queen to re at him. But from the look in the eyes of any noblemen, they felt the same way. They were tired and starving and did not want to waste their time. "Introduce yourself to the house." The queen ordered. She raised her head in fear as she stammered, "My... name is Agnes. I... am a ...k-kitchen maid." "You were in the pce on the night Beth was murdered and Princess Tyra was almost killed, correct?" Agnes nodded. "I... was in the pce." Alicia looked at the girl closely and turned to look at Tyra again, noting how tense she was. It was as though she could sense it, and it wasing quite strongly from Tyra. She looked at Harold, who had been staring at her, giving her a concerned look. "What did you see that night? Tell the house what happened." The queen demanded. Tyra reached out, distracting all of them, who turned to face her. "I... am sorry... but I... do not feel well," Tyra said with teary eyes as she tried to vomit again but used her hand to cover her mouth. The queen eyed her in displeasure before turning her gaze back to Agnes, while Tyra looked at Harold with misty eyes, but he looked away from her and instead looked at Alicia, who was intensely staring at Tyra. "Go ahead!" The queen snapped at Agnes, who flinched as she began to speak. "That... night... I stayed back to serve Princess Tyra." The queen nodded and looked at Tyra, asking, "Do you recognize her? Was she the maid that stayed with you that night?" Tyra looked around nervously as she slowly nodded. "She... it... it was her." She spoke weakly. The queen nodded, asking, "Tell the house what happened that night." The queen almost sounded excited as she asked her. This time, they were getting somewhere. "I..." Agnes looked around her, obviously scared, as she said, "...didn''t... see anything else." "WHAT?" The house went into an uproar as words began to fly everywhere, showing their displeasure. As expected, the queen was not taking it likely as she stepped down from the podium. "HOW DARE YOU LIE TO THE HOUSE?" The queen bellowed at her. "You already said it was Am¡ªPrincess Amber. Why are you lying now?" "I... only said that because I was asked to. I... didn''t see Princess Amber kill anyone. I swear on my life." The queen''s eyes lit up when she heard that. There was only one option here. If the maid admits she didn''t witness Princess Amber kill Beth and stab Princess Tyra but someone asked her to, then that person was most likely the person messing with her and all of them. She didn''t mind that she would be found innocent of Beth''s murder. But there was still Tyra''s stabbing to handle. And Tyra had said Princess Amber was responsible. They would have toe back to that. For now, they were all curious about the person who had told her to lie. "Who is the person that asked you to lie?" The queen asked as she approached the girl, who was still shaking on the floor and was even crying now. "My... queen... I... dare not say¡ª" "SPEAK!" The queen demanded fiercely. Agnes looked up with misty eyes and burst into tears. "It... it is you, my queen. I... am sorry but I can no longer lie." Agnes cried, stunning every single soul in the hall except one. Chapter 340 Crazy Royals "You said you didn''t want any bloodshed." Harold calmly said to Alicia, who was waiting for an exnation about what had just happened in the assembly hall. They were both in Harold''s chamber now, alone. Except for Alvin, who was still sleeping on the bed. As for Paulina, they had no idea where she was hiding, and Susan was still fast asleep in her chamber. "What happened? Didn''t you say she died? Why did she suddenly say it was the queen? It wasn''t the queen, right?" Alicia asked a barrage of questions, as what had just happened didn''t make much sense to her. Harold almostughed, remembering the queen''s reaction when Agnes pointed her out as the true culprit. The woman went berserk, pulling Anne''s hair and asking her to stop lying before she killed her. It was a good thing there were people present to save the poor maid from her clutches. It was safe to say thest shred of dignity the queen possessed hadpletely disappeared today. The queen hadn''t been able to use Harold, so she faced Alicia, pointing at her with eyes red with anger, "IT IS YOU! YOU MUST HAVE ASKED HER TO LIE!" Since Alicia was obviously innocent, she denied her involvement in it while the rest of the noblemen looked at the queen suspiciously. Even Damon seemed to be doubting her at that point. The same could be said about her brother since they both knew that she was aiming for the throne now. "It isn''t me! It''s not!" The queen yelled defensively as she looked at all of them. The noblemen did not take it easy with her as they threw words at her. So she had been responsible and tried to get rid of Princess Amber the entire time? She had also been the reason they all had to endure this much suffering in the pce when they were supposed to be feasting since the banquet ended. Maybe it was also her n to get rid of the king and have her son crowned as king. No wonder she had been pushing for the marriage between the royal family and other solid members of the noble court. She must have been up to no good. Maybe Princess Amber wasn''t a witch after all. The queen had been the one to bring the person who imed he heard the history of Princess Amber''s family. What if it was all a lie? What if she had also sent Prince Ivan to go and kill Prince Harold so he could take over the throne? He had obviously used the poison on his sword when he left the pce; otherwise, the aristocrat he had stabbed would have also died from the poison before he arrived, but the man had not been poisoned and only survived the stab wound. Had Prince Ivan also tried to kill Luciana because he wanted to get married to Benedicta quickly? If that was the case, why had he used Benedicta to escape? Maybe he was insane? Wow! This royal family was filled with crazy people they could not understand. That was the conversation going on between the members of the court, and it just solidified the reason why a woman was strictly supposed to stay as a woman and not get involved in anything else other than keeping her home and caring for her husband and children. These thoughts began to fill their minds, and they didn''t hide their grievance. "IT WASN''T ME!" The queen yelled, almost pulling her hair in anger. "YOU LITTLE WENCH!" She charged at Agnes again, but this time, Damon was the one who stood in between them, ring at the queen. "It''s enough!!" He chided her. "What is enough?!" She snapped at him. "You are just going to believe what a stupid maid says about me?" The queen asked as angry tears pooled in her eyes. "It wasn''t difficult for us to also believe the stupid maid when she said it was Princess Amber. She was almost killed because of the words of a stupid maid." Harvey said it in a bitter tone from where he stood. After all, he was also a member of the court. The queen ignored him and turned her eager eyes to Tyra. "You! You were also there. She stabbed you, right? It was her, right?" She asked desperately as she pointed at Alicia, who was just watching the entire thing without giving any input. She was still trying to remember what had happened after she saw this girl outside her chamber that night but nothing wasing. Alicia looked at Harold, not sure how to react to all that was happening. And she saw it. Harold was trying not to smile as he watched the queen go crazy and how the court had turned against her, even demanding for her to be arrested. Tyra stepped back in fear as the queen continued to prod her for an answer. "I... am sorry, mother!" She said, bursting into tears as she fell to the floor, where she began to choke and gasp for air. It was so severe that they had to carry her out as she passed out in the arms of the guards. Tyra''s reaction just made everything worse for the queen, and it began to solidify their suspicion. However, Alicia looked at the unconscious Tyra until she was carried out of the room. Was Tyra in on this n to push it to the queen too? Or was the queen truly involved? She doubted. Something was wrong somewhere. "AHHHHHHH!" The queen yelled in frustration, almost following Tyra to p her back awake, but Damon was there to stop her again, making her livid to the point where she didn''t know when she pped Damon hard across the face, making the noblemen gasp in shock. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO STOP ME FROM TEACHING THESE USELESS GIRLS A LESSON?!" The queen asked in a bitter tone while ring at Damon, who was trying so hard to control his temper. If she wasn''t the queen, there was no doubt that it would have been over for her now. The queen on the other hand was beginning to suspect Damon of having a hand in this. As for his motive, she wasn''t sure yet. Chapter 341 Humiliated The court grew livid, shunning her for treating a man like that--and not just any man--but someone next to the King and far more important than she could ever be. Some noblemen even suggested that she be arrested immediately. "Do you swear on your life that you are telling the truth?" Sir Richard, who had been quiet the entire time, asked Agnes. Sir Richard suspected that a lot was happening, more than they could understand, but that was not his main concern now. They had to move on with this since it has been a long time and they were still going around in circles. Agnes nodded while crying. "I swear on my life. I... won''t... dare lie to the court--" "SHUT UP, YOU FILTHY LIAR!" The queen bellowed at her. "Why would I do such a thing?! Why would I hurt my husband and daughter and also kill the maid who had dutifully served me all her life and me it on Prince Harold''s wife?!" The queen asked, wondering why they cannot see the obvious that she was being framed. "You were quick to believe she could hurt her husband and Princess Tyra, who was her friend." Sir Gregory reminded her. "Because she is a witch!" The queen yelled out in frustration. Wasn''t anyone listening to her? "She came for revenge!" "But that was not the im against her when she was almost forced to drink poison. The ''witch'' im only came now." Sir Richard reminded her. "It doesn''t matter when it came! All that matters is her motive!" "We also need to confirm that, because now, we cannot trust whatever you say." Another man said. "Wasn''t it you who received the maids into the pce?" And another aristocrat asked the queen. "You must know her and must have instructed her." At this point, everything was against her. Can''t these stupid people do a proper investigation before concluding she was responsible? Were they stupid? The queen wondered in disbelief. "I... am going to find the person responsible for this." The queen swore with a deadly look in her eyes. "And I swear on my life! I am going to rip that person apart." The noblemen scoffed, snorted, and began to murmur among themselves, obviously not believing her act. Damon returned to where he had been standing and turned around to face the hall as he said loudly, "From now, the queen''s movement will be limited to her quarters, and she is not to ever meet the witness privately nor visit the king." "W-W-What?" The Queen stuttered in disbelief as she turned to look at him. However, Damon continued, "As for the witness, she will remain in the dungeon until we find the truth, and no one is allowed to meet her privately." Damon said this in a firm tone just as some guards came to drag Agnes out of the hall while she cried and kept yelling that she was sorry. Some guards also came and politely escorted Alicia out, who looked at Harold briefly before she followed them out. With a straight face, Harold also walked out of the hall without saying a word or doing a thing. That concluded the meeting, and without being told, the noblemen knew they were still not going anywhere anytime soon. This made them hate the queen even more, and they all red at her, saying a word or two of their displeasure as they filed out. The queen''s brother gave her a disappointed look and shook his head pitifully before he walked out, the same as Damon, who instructed the guards toe to take her to her quarters as he walked away, leaving only the queen in therge hall. "DO NOT TOUCH ME!" The queen yelled at the guards who hade to lead her away. She turned around to leave, but then Harold stepped in. With one look at the guards, they bowed and quickly left the hall, leaving just him alone with the queen, whose eyes were still misty with angry tears. She had never been this humiliated in her life. Worst of all, it was for something she had no hand in! Harold advanced towards her and continued approaching while she tried to stand in a spot without flinching. When he stood beside her, with both of them facing the opposite direction away from each other, he looked down at her and said quietly, "Remember, I do not have to say a word to ruin you." Her head snapped up to look at him when she heard that. "If you want to survive this... you better do your best and find the culprit for me." He stepped back and smiled as he said, "Otherwise, you will die." Every part of the queen''s body shook in anger as the tears finally spilled from her eyes. Her jaw shook as much as her hands, which were fisted beside her. Harold gave her a curt bow as he excused himself while the guards returned to take her away. "What is going to happen to her?" Alicia asked Harold with concern, referring to Agnes. since he had just given her a rundown of who Agnes was. "Why... should I worry about that?" He asked in genuine confusion, not sure how that was his business. He looked so oblivious when he asked that Alicia also looked at him in confusion as she wondered why he was confused. "She... lied against the queen. She... might end up dying after we find the real culprit." Alicia whispered. Harold honestly didn''t see how that concerned him. The little maid owed him her life. And that was how she was going to use it. Make the queen find the real culprit while Alicia can rest and move about freely. Agnes had not only lied to the entire pce; her sister had caused great havoc, med it on Alicia, and then died. Someone had to be responsible. Besides, this girl was not totally innocent. She had spilled pig''s blood on Alicia and made her go swim outside without inviting him, but had invited Alvin instead. He was even being nice right now. Wait... wasn''t he? Chapter 342 Determination For the first time since this whole thing started, Alicia was standing outside Princess Tyra''s chamber door. It had been a few hours since the assembly ended, so she guessed Tyra should be awake now. There was just something about her that made Alicia confused. Something was wrong somewhere. Before Alicia could knock on the door, the door opened, making her halt with her fist in mid-air. A maid stepped out and almost did a double-take when she saw Alicia there. At this point, Alicia was used to it. From Harold''s chamber to Tyra''s, she had received different kinds of wary stares from maids and guards as they all tried to stay away from her path. She didn''t know whether it was because of the rumours about her being a witch or because they were scared of Harold. Either way, it didn''t bother her as much. "I want to see Princess Tyra," Alicia said to the girl, who was still looking at her warily and standing calmly by the door. "The Princess needs not to receive visitors at the¡ª" "Move," Alicia ordered, and immediately the girl moved out of her way as if an invincible force had shoved her off. When Alicia entered, she saw Tyra sleeping on her side in the bed with the quilt covering her whole body except her head. She had her eyes closed, and even her breathing was even, but Alicia kept moving forward and carried the little stool beside the dressing table to the side of the bed where Tyra was sitting and sat down, looking at her. She had to admit that Tyra looked paler than she remembered. No one was having it easy in this pce. "I know you are not sleeping," Alicia said softly. Tyra opened her eyes slowly and looked at her before she turned to lie on her back, looking up. "How are you?" Alicia asked. "..." Tyra continued to look up without saying a word or blinking. "I... didn''t stab you, did I?" Alicia persisted. She had to get something out of Tyra today. Tyra looked at her in annoyance and sat up as she asked, "You think I''ll just make up lies to put you in danger for no reason? Why? What would I gain by doing so?" "I don''t think I did," Alicia said confidently. "Do you remember what you did that night, then?" Tyra challenged. Alicia had never seen her look or act this way before, especially towards her, so it made her a bit flustered. "I guess you don''t. You may lie all you want, but I know that you are a witch, and only I know what happened that night." "There is a witness, remember?" Alicia reminded her, even though she also knew the "witness" was a fabricated one. But at least there was a witness, so Tyra couldn''t just assume she was the only one who knew what happened that night. Tyra scoffed. "A witness? Do you believe her?" Tyra asked, making Alicia ponder what Tyra was thinking. Did she know that the maid was not the person that night? "Then why didn''t you deny it when you knew the maid lied against the queen?" Alicia asked. "It was for Prince Harold." She said it in a serious tone. "I know he is doing a lot to save you, and I didn''t want to go against him. I will... do anything for him." She said seriously. Alicia didn''t say anything. She didn''t know exactly what to say. Why was this whole thing messing with her head? "You should stay away from Prince Harold. You are only going to hurt him if you lose control again. No one knows what you will do next." Tyra warned. "And you think I will be able to hurt Prince Harold?" Alicia asked her. "You have hurt him before, haven''t you?" Tyra asked back. "Wh..." "You were able to stab him. I also didn''t want to believe it then because I didn''t think you were capable. But learning now that you are a witch makes everything make sense." Alicia sighed. "I do not have any reason to hurt you or Prince Harold. So as much as you im it was I who put you in that condition and killed Beth, I will never believe it." "It''s fine if you don''t believe it. I will tell everyone and Prince Harold that I cannot remember what happened that night, just like I did before to save you. I could say I was bewitched or that I do not remember, just like you. I will say anything Prince Haroldpels me to say. Does that make you feel better?" "Do you... have something against me?" Alicia asked in confusion. Why was she suddenly so hostile toward her? It was unlike the meek Tyra they all knew. "You almost killed me!" Tyra eximed. "You expect me to embrace you andugh like nothing happened?" Tyra paused and then added, "The pce has been a mess since you arrived. Look at the king! Look at Princess Luciana. Look at Williams, Susan, and Damian. What about Beth? What about me? Do you... know how much I have suffered?" She choked on a sob as she continued. "Even Prince Harold... he... almost lost his life." Tyra was crying now. "Do you... know how scared I was that I was never going to see him again?" Alicia could only watch as Tyra cried her eyes out. She seemed genuine, and her whole body shook as she cried. She could only watch. Because there was nothing she could do. She believed she didn''t do it. Paulina believed it too. Harold believed her. And every one of them who had joined her on that trip outside the pce had believed her. Maybe she had been too calm for too long. She stood up with determination. Whatever was inside Amber''s diary, she was going to decipher it. If she had to summon Amber or Anne''s soul to exin what had happened that night, she was going to do so. ***** A/N DEAR PEOPLE, THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET INTENSE. IN ALL ASPECTS. WINK WINK. Chapter 343 "Such Pure Love" As Alicia stormed to her room, determined to find out the things Amber had written in the diary and make sense of them, a sharp pain shot through her head, causing her to almost fall. Fortunately, she leaned on the wall, wincing in pain as her head began to throb. The pain increased, and she began to feel lightheaded, groaning in pain as she pressed her palm to her forehead. Different memories and voices began to sh in her head as she remembered a series of events that had happened that night. "Now, it''s your turn." "Did you think you would live forever?" "Prince Harold is not here to save you." "I brought you some biscuits." ? Everything went by so fast until she heard a voice clearly, the other voices disappearing from her head. "My Princess,e with me to get some water." Alicia remembered squinting to look at the maid, who was standing outside her door. Alicia tried to speak, but her head was aching terribly, which was affecting her vision, and her throat was very dry. Even though Alicia was sick at that point, she wanted to ask the girl why she was standing outside her door at that time of the night. Unfortunately, the pain in her head worsened and made her almost fall to the floor, but the maid held her up and helped Alicia away from there. "Y-You..." Alicia turned to look at the maid''s face. "Are... you... o-kay?" Alicia asked in a tight voice. Despite the pain and difort she was feeling, she could tell the girl was not feeling well. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. Her face was red, and her eyes were teary. "A-Are you... sick... s-somewhere?" Matilda looked at her with teary eyes and sniffed. "I''m... sorry, My Princess. But... I can only survive if... if I do this." Matilda said in a guilty tone. Alicia cried in pain from the headache and began to breathe heavily as she felt like she was going to pass out soon. "P-Prince H-Harold... where... where is he?" She asked with all her might. "I''m sorry. I am so sorry, my Princess." Matilda cried as she kept leading Alicia far away from her room. Alicia''s breathing turned erratic, and at that point, she found it difficult to speak. She began to gasp for air, and it seemed to affect her current state as she also began to gasp and slide down the wall to the floor. "WHAT IS WRONG, MY LADY?" Paulina''s panicked voice threw her off her thoughts as she ran to embrace Alicia on the floor, panicking as she tried to pull her up. "What is wrong with you? Are you unwell? Should I send for Prince Harold?" "It''s fine... I''m fine." Alicia said painfully. "Just... just sit with me for a while." She added before Paulina could say anything else. Paulina didn''t think that was the best solution since Alicia didn''t look well at all. But seeing how exhausted Alicia looked, she hesitantly sat down on the floor beside her, both resting their backs on the wall, not thinking about how inappropriate their action was. The two sat there, with Paulina looking at her with worry until Alicia''s breathing returned to normal as she massaged her temples gently, thinking about all she had just heard. This just made her certain that someone had truly nned to make her take the fall for all that had happened that night. When was this going to stop? "Do you feel better now?" Paulina asked her in concern, making Alicia sigh heavily. "I don''t know. I am... so confused. One minute I believe myself, the next I don''t know anymore, and then I believe myself again. It just continues." She didn''t want to talk about this now. She would have to put in enough effort to remember all that had happened that night. "We can''t... run away from here, can we?" Paulina asked in a whisper. "Do you still want to run away?" Alicia returned the question to her, looking at her intensely. Paulina''s cheeks flushed as she looked away from Alicia and sighed."I... I don''t... know. I am just scared." Alicia nodded. "I can understand." "Why... are you okay with this? This whole thing?" Paulina asked curiously. "I have heard about werewolves before. Although I didn''t think they were real. But I also didn''t think transmigration and witches were real. But I guess that is not the same for you." Paulina didn''t understand the other thing Alicia said, but she got the message and nodded."After Queen Anne took me in, I only lived in the pce before I moved to the mountain. I have only heard a story among the pce maids about a person turning into an animal and people taking potions to see themselves as different people, but they were too scary, so I stopped listening to their stories. I didn''t think... it was real." "Do you think Sir William will hurt you?" Alicia asked her. Paulina pursed her lips and shook her head as she said shyly, "I... don''t think so." "It''s the same way I feel about Prince Harold. Things are different now, but they are also not different. If that makes sense." "You... must like him a lot," Paulina said with a small smile. "I do," Alicia confessed. "A whole lot. And it... it all scares me. Because I don''t know what may happen next. I don''t even own this body, and sometimes when I look at this body in the mirror, I... imagine different things." "Like what?" Paulina asked as she turned to face Alicia fully. "That... he likes Amber and not me. I know it doesn''t make sense. But I just cannot help but feel that way sometimes. I wonder what it''s going to be like if someday I''m in my real body, standing in front of him, and Amber is also standing beside me. Will he get confused? Would he be willing to let that body go? What about Amber? This is her body. Yet..." "I don''t think he will be confused," Paulina said, cutting off her rambling. "You are you. Princess Amber is Princess Amber." Paulina smiled at her warmly. "You can tell me what you really look like in the future, and I will make a painting of you." "You''ve already given me one." Paulina shook her head. "That was of Queen Anne. I''m sure you look a little different; even the way you dress should be different. You can gift the painting to Prince Harold so he''ll never forget what you look like and do not get confused." Alicia almostughed, remembering how he had taken the other painting from her. She couldn''t bear to tell Paulina about it. "Or do you want to try using the potion that can make him see the real you?" "I''m sure something like that doesn''t exist." "That''s how I thought humans that turn into animals didn''t exist." "That makes sense," Alicia said, almostughing. "You went to see Williams, right?" Alicia asked her, remembering she had been missing the whole morning. Paulina nodded and looked crestfallen. "I could not meet him. His family''s guards were standing outside the entire time, and his mother was inside. I waited, but I could not go in. I had to run away when his father returned." She said sadly. "You fancy him, don''t you?" Alicia asked her in a serious tone. Almost immediately, Paulina shook her head. "I... wouldn''t dare." "Because he is a Lord and you are a maid?" She asked. "I... don''t know. He... is like a star. I know I cannot reach it. But I don''t want to either. I am happy just looking at it whenever it shows up in the sky." "How would you feel if he were to marry another woman?" Paulina pondered. "I... want him to be happy. If the woman makes him happy, I will be happy too." She said in a genuine tone. "I just... want him to always smile and paint and practice medicine and do all he loves to do. If I can be of help in any way, I will be happy to help." "Such pure love." Alicia sighed. "You may never get married at this point." "Should I?" Paulina asked. "You should. You will make a great woman, a great wife, and a great mother," she said, making Paulina blush. "So should I find you a husband?" Alicia turned to face Paulina now, asking in a yful tone. "Would you like to marry Alvin?" Paulina immediately shook her head. "No. And I don''t want Lady Susan to be mad at me." "Oh! You finally got wind of that, didn''t you?" Aliciaughed. "What about Harvey?" Paulina shook her head. "Lance?" Paulina grimaced and vigorously shook her head, making Aliciaugh loudly. Harold watched the scene from afar, smiling a little. He was d to see her out and about now that all the attention was on the queen, who was going crazy in her chamber and shattering everything she could find. He turned to leave, a certain potion on his mind. Chapter 344 Mixed Feelings "Let us go." Williams'' father said to Harold, who was currently staring at theke. He liked toe here to think because, for some reason, it made him a bit rxed and clear-headed. However, the n was ruined when William''s father showed up behind him, demanding permission to leave with his family. Harold turned to look at him, his hands crossed at the back. He was quiet for a long time as he gave the man a scrutinizing look. Sir Evan did not bother to hide his displeasure, which was either directed at him or at the situation going on in the pce. Sir Evan had always been like that. No one knew what he was thinking or which side he was on, and honestly, Harold hadn''t bothered to find out all these years since his default belief was that everyone hated him. He especially didn''t expect much from Sir Evan, judging the circumstances. His sister''s husband had cheated on her with a lowly Omega. Not only was Arya from a noble family, but she was also very pleasant to the eyes and a Beta. But the King had ignored that and mated with an Omega ve, and the worst part was that they had an Alpha, which the King "actively" protected even though Harold had never genuinely felt so. "Why?" Harold finally asked the man calmly. And no, Harold was not asking why he wanted to leave with his family. He was asking him, "Why should I let you leave?" And the older man understood that. Sir Evan ground his teeth, seething, but he kept his voice calm as he said, "I believe my family has done enough, and it''s high time we step out of the pce. We do not have any intention of getting involved in whatever fight that''s happening or is going to happen within the pce, so you do not need to worry--" "Do I look worried to you?" Harold asked, almost amused as he removed his hand from behind him to cross it in front of him, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the man. Sir Evan realized Prince Harold''s wife had this habit, which he had unconsciously picked up. "My son almost died! And I do not know what is going to happen to Susan after she got involved. I need to leave with my fami--" "Your precious children aren''t the only ones with their lives at stake." Harold reminded him. "Just by being in the pce with me, everybody''s life is at stake," Harold said with a short, sarcasticugh, further annoying Sir Evan, who was trying to be diplomatic with Harold but the youngd was not being cooperative. "Everyone stays in the pce. And you know I won''t make an exception. However, do not worry about your precious children." Harold said before he turned and walked away, not caring how the man took his words. Of course, he wouldn''t want anyone else to be in danger. Especially the people who had sworn their lives to him, and as much as he hated the fact that Lance was on the list, he could not help it. It was his duty to protect all of them, but he could not send them away. What kind of person would he be if he was lenient to the queen''s brother by letting them leave despite keeping everyone else in the pce and considering everything going on in the pce? Not that he cared about what the court thought, but that was going to put him in a difficult position and ce both Williams and Susan in a bad light. However, it seemed like he was not done with this family because on his way back to his chamber to check on Alvin, he bumped into thedy of the house, who seemed relieved when she finally saw him. Just judging by her expression, Harold could tell she wanted to ask him for the same thing her husband had just asked him. Before she could say a word, Harold beat her to it. "No." He said, going straight to the point even though the woman had not told him what she was there for. Her eyes shone, and a frown formed on her face as she asked, "What? Why? You don''t even know what I was going to ask you!" She hurried to stand in front of him when he tried to walk past her, giving him an "I won''t leave until you talk to me" look. Harold stopped and looked at her closely. Why did she suddenly seem familiar even though he had known her his entire life--oh, Susan. It did make sense. He could see the resemnce between the two. "Whatever you are asking, the answer is no." He deadpanned. "I... I am scared for my children." The woman said, obviously looking wary of whatever was going to happen. "You can keep me here. Lock me up or do whatever. I will stay here with my Lord Husband. But I need to get my children out of here! Especially Susan. I don''t know what the queen or Prince Ivan might do to her after what she attempted." Harold almost felt jealous at that moment. Almost. Was this how parents were? Willing to do anything for their children, even putting their lives in danger? He had only ever received that kind of concern from Alvin, who was unfortunately still unconscious and battling with the pain of expelling the poison out of his blood. And until recently, he remembered Alicia and how she had literally put her life at risk by running to the patio where he was being ''attacked'' by the king''s men and fighting them with a torch to protect him. Susan''s mother stared at him in confusion as she wondered what was amusing about whatever she was saying that was making him smile. Harold noticed and kept his usual appearance. He seemed to be in a good mood this morning. Since Alicia was ''free'' and doing her thing, that seemed to bring him great relief since her spirit seemed to have been broken a few days ago and he thought she wouldn''t be able to get herself back. Also, she had finally been able to talk to him, and there seemed to be a prospect of her having a child with him. Lastly, she seemed to still be interested in him, judging from her conversation with Paulina this morning. She had really put aside the thought of running away when he wasn''t looking, and the certain potion Paulina had talked about was something he had heard Alvin mention before when they were digging into the mysterious change in Agnes/Matilda''s scent, but Alvin also hadn''t been too sure. So maybe there was really a way to see Alicia in her true form because he didn''t like the fact that Amber was sharing her with him in such a weird way. But something still bothered him. The fact that his family had been actively involved in getting rid of her lineage, and also the fact that Alicia did not mention anything concerning it to him when they met after the meeting. He had been waiting to hear what she had to say and even thought she would me him for what his family did. But she hadn''t. Nothing at all. So it was difficult to know what she was thinking. "Prince Harold?" Lady Victoria called for his attention, wondering what was seriously wrong with him this morning. Harold looked around them, and when he was certain it was just the two of them in the hallways since every other living creature was most likely avoiding bumping into him, he opened the door closest to them, where some kitchen supplies were, and entered, waiting for her to follow him. He was sure he would get some answers from her. He would never let go of an opportunity. The unsuspecting woman followed him, wondering why he was ignoring her. Chapter 345 Emotional Manipulation Harold could tell the woman had followed him inside the room, but he did not turn to look at her. Instead, he acted like he was busy checking out the supplies in the storage as he thought of the best way to force the truth of the questions he wanted to ask out of her. He wasn''t the type to beg people for answers or do things peacefully. Nah. Peace was never an option. "Prince Harold. You should consider it. I know it may be hard on you to let them go, but this is as far as I can go as their mother." She spoke to his back in a pleading tone. Harold turned to face her, deciding to go straight to the point. For some reason, he could tell that Susan and her mother behaved alike, which meant that this woman was just as nosy. So there was no way she wouldn''t have any idea about all that had happened in this pce, especially since her husband was a member of the noble court. "Sir Evan has been a member of the court for as long as you have both been married. I am sure that you are aware of every decision that has been made in the court." The woman was a little startled, not sure where this wasing from. "I... I do not get involved in the things of men." She answered, blinking rapidly. "You do not have to get involved. But you must have known." He spoke softly as his eyes went to the wooden table and chairs in the corner of the room where the supplies are documented. They needed to talk. "I... do not know anything." She repeated, shaking her head. Harold smirked at her. It was obvious she was lying, and there was no way he was going to let her out of the room without getting answers to his questions. It was as though she could tell what he was thinking because she moved to the door, intending to escape. But obviously, Harold was faster, standing between the woman and the door, sending her heart rate spiraling. "What... are you intending to do?" She asked, fear obvious in her voice as she stepped back from him, shaking. Harold just looked pointedly at her and tried to think fast. He didn''t think threatening her would be a good idea in this case because the woman would be more wary and decide to be tight-lipped. Threatening her with the lives of her kids is going to make things even worse because she would never trust him and would deliberately still try to hide some information from him. What should he do to get her to talk willingly? What would Alicia do in this case? He thought quickly and remembered how emotionally maniptive Alicia could be. "Let... me leave." The woman said, trying to sound tough even though she was shaking. "Aunt," Harold called in a gentle tone, scaring the hell out of the woman as she looked at him with wide eyes. He had never called her that before. In fact, he had never given her a second of his life since he was born. "I have always treasured you and seen you as a mother even more than the queen." He cringed internally. Well, this was awkward. But he had to continue. "Seeing how you are trying to protect your children makes me wish I had known my mother. Would she have been a kind mother too?" He gave her a heartbroken smile and stepped away, walking past her and keeping his back to her. Victoria''s maternal instinct kicked in, and instead of running away now that he was out of the way, she hesitated and just stared at him pitifully. Poor boy. He was still a child, after all, even though he tried to act tough. He never got to meet his mother, and the only woman who had been a mother figure to him had also died when he was a child. Also, he had never spoken this much to her before. Her sad eyes followed him as she wondered if he was crying since his back was to her. She had never seen him so vulnerable to her. "I''m sorry for being like this. You should leave." Harold said in a vulnerable tone, but he swore in his head that if this woman stepped out of that door after he had embarrassed himself like this, she was never going to be alive to see another day in this embarrassing world. Instead of leaving, the woman stepped closer to him, slowly and fearfully touching his back. "It is okay. You... can always consider... me your m-mother." Harold almost snorted, but he turned around to look at her with soft eyes as he asked, "Really?" "Of course!" She nodded eagerly. "But you don''t like me." He reminded her, almost showing his true colours. "When did I say that?" She asked defensively. "You look at me like you do not like me." "That... is all in the past." She said, a little flustered, and immediately changed the topic. "About Susan and Williams--" "I also want to let them go." He cut in. "But it is not going to be good for them." She gave him a questioning look, and he continued, making sure to show her how passionate he was about their new-found bond. "My cousins have been engaged in everything that has been happening, including going against Prince Ivan. The best ce for them to stay is in the pce..." She was still hesitant. "But..." "They can leave as soon as we get answers to everything. So the earlier it happens, the earlier everyone can leave." He said with a soft sigh and added, "But it seems it''s going to take a while because a lot of herbs and potions are involved. And Williams is the only one I can trust who is knowledgeable in that part." He turned again, sighing. Alicia was a bad influence. "Really? What herbs and potions?" The woman asked with interest. Chapter 346 The Untold Story Harold had a list of things he wanted to ask her because now there were a lot of potions circting in the pce. He also wanted to be sure of the right antidote for Alpha''s plight and needed to know if they were hiding any information on how to quickly flush out the poison from Alvin''s body without much pain. Also wanted to know what he had been fed on the day of the banquet, learn more about Beta''s nightmare, and every other thing he could think of. So he turned to look at her, looking all serious. "I heard there is a potion that makes someone appear in another form?" What were you expecting? He has his priorities! "I think... someone may have used it to appear as the maid who testified today in court." He exined when he noticed her confusion, baiting her. The woman looked at him keenly before shaking her head as though saying it was not possible. She went to the chair at the corner of the room and sat in it while Harold followed and sat down, d to see she was beginning to getfortable with him. "There... is a potion. Camelion''s water. But that is not how it works." Harold''s eyes almost lit up when he heard it did indeed exist, but thest part of the sentence made him a bit wary. "The potion came into existence hundreds of years ago. It was used to show people in their true forms." "True forms?" She nodded. "When humans were at war with our kind, it was used to identify the werewolves hiding among them since humans cannot really tell. But over the years, people have been made to believe different things about the potion." When she noticed he looked kind of like he wasn''t getting it, she exined. "If a werewolf is made to drink the potion, he appears in his true form as a wolf. So anyone who entered their city was made to drink the potion first." "Like the person''s soul?" He asked with interest. She pondered and nodded. "I think you can put it like that. But the effect doesn''tst for long. It may onlyst for a few hours and stop." Did it mean he could really see the real Alicia, even if it was just for a short while? Alicia''s case wasplicated, so he couldn''t ask her outright. He really wished it would work. Because he also wanted Alicia to see herself since he could guess it was not easy living in someone else''s body, especially someone she was prettier than. "What if the person takes it again?" She shook her head. "It is dangerous. We do not know what lies within one''s soul. Summoning it twice could either cause havoc or kill the soul." He frowned. "I didn''t know humans made those kinds of things." He muttered. "Anything is possible in this world. As long as there are witches in existence." The room was suddenly too quiet and cold as soon as she said that. "You also believe that she is a witch?" He asked her gently. She hesitated before she said, "I do not believe anything that has not been proven." "She was fed Beta''s nightmare. You do know about Beta''s nightmare, right?" She looked hesitant but nodded. Williams and Susan told her this. "If I tell you all I know, you must not get my children involved or ask them any questions." She bargained. He didn''t like bargaining with people. But this was different. "Will you really do that, aunt?" He asked in such a meek tone and with such gentle eyes that it made the hairs on the woman''s skin rise. Why did everything he did, even innocently, feel so eerie? "This... is a taboo topic." She whispered. Whenever she thought about it, it made her ufortable. She went on to tell him everything Williams had told him about the Beta''s nightmare. He tried not to interrupt as he tried to see if he could get anything new from what he already knew about the potion. But when she was done, he was rather disappointed because it was the same thing. However, he was a good judge and could easily tell that she was hiding a lot from him. Unfortunately, he could not enter her head. He still wasn''t sure how that worked for him. "Tell me the untold story." He said this, startling the woman, whose eyes widened in surprise. And that just confirmed he was correct. There was more to it than she was letting on. "Why... are you digging into it?" "Someone is still using it. Within the pce. And if we do not find the person, we will not be able to go anywhere with the investigation." "How... is that possible?" She asked tensely as she began to rub her palm over her arm. "The Beta''s nightmare is not an ordinary potion. And like I told you, they were all destroyed many years ago under the former King''s orders. So it can''t be remade." Harold kept his prying eyes on her. And the woman realized he was not going to drop it until he got an answer. "Promise me... you are going to protect my children if I tell you all about it." She pleaded in fear. It seemed like whatever she was going to share was really important for her to act this way. Harold nodded. His nod alone was worth more than a thousand vocal promises. She swallowed nervously and said. "There... were no herbs my family did not know how to create." He knew that. "Thete king constantly had a lot of ailments, so my family took care of most of the herbs. My father worked together with the head royal physician, Sir Wilson." He also knew that, but he paid attention, careful not to miss a word. "At a point, none of the medicines were working well for his headache, and they needed something... stronger. Something potent. Otherwise, it was going to drive him crazy." He knew that too. Her voice went lower as she said, "The royal physician came one day. I... was practicing making invincible masks for my scent, so they didn''t know I was in the room listening to them. He... he said he had found a secret ingredient that could cure the king''s headache." That was new. He raised a questioning brow at her. "It was..." she swallowed. "It was... the ashes of a witch." He had not expected that. Chapter 347 Unfamiliar Familar Smell "Why do you look angry, father?" Williams asked his father weakly. It wasn''t unusual for his father to always be upset about something, but today, it seemed like he was so pissed that he could feel it all over the room. It was so strong that Williams could not continue sleeping and had to open his eyes to ask. His father turned to look at him, and when he heard his voice sounding better thanst night, he looked relieved. "When did you wake up? How do you feel?" He asked as he walked to the bedside and stood beside him, looking down at Williams. Williams tried to sit up, but his father stopped him and held him back on the bed. "You need to rest more. The physician said you should not move too much." Even though his voice sounded stern, Williams could hear the concern. "I cannot keep staying in this position. I am tired." Williamsined. "You do not have any choice. You should be lucky I am not berating you for leaving the pce without permission and getting yourself into trouble." Well, he didn''t want to argue that with his father because his father would surely win the argument. He was indeed lucky that the man was not asking him too many questions or getting angry at him. Williams'' brows furrowed as he began to remember some things from the previous day, and he asked, "Princess Luciana... how is she?" He shook his head. "She has not woken up yet. The physician does not know if she will be able to survive it." Williams sighed heavily as he remembered how Princess Luciana had risked her life for Ivan. "I should have helped her more." He said with regret. "It is not your fault. You did your best to keep her alive while you were also ill. It is all Prince Ivan''s fault." His jaw tightened as he said that name. He didn''t want to imagine what would befall the pce and the entire Moon Kingdom if his nephew became the king. Williams wanted to ask about Alvin, but he could not ask his father that. Only one person would know. "Where is Susan?" He asked. Now that he was thinking about it, he realized that he hadn''t seen her for a long time, which was unusual for the busybody girl. Sir Evan almost sighed when he was reminded of her and the trouble she had caused. If not for the fact that the Queen had been restricted to her chambers, Susan would have been severely punished for what she did to Ivan. He wasn''t just anybody. There was still a chance he was going to be king, even though no one wanted that. But many of them do not also want Prince Harold, so it was a dilemma. If only Prince Harry was still alive. When Sir Evan realized Williams was still waiting for an answer about Susan''s whereabouts, he wanted to inform him that she was still deep asleep thest time he sent a maid to check, but he paused and looked at the door when he smelled the presence of someone familiar. "What is it?" Williams asked him. Since he was too weak, his senses were also weak. It was a miracle he could tell when Paulina was around the area. He still wasn''t sure how it happened. "His father quietly stood up just as the door opened without even a knock, and to his surprise, the person who walked in was Susan, who looked very exhausted even though she had been sleeping for a long time. "Susan?" Her father called in confusion. Susan looked at him, wondering why he looked confused. She looked behind her, but she was the only one there, so she turned to look back at him. "Is something wrong, father?" She asked before her eyes went to Williams, who was also confused about her father''s action. Seeing Williams awake, Susan''s eyes lit up, and she quickly hurried to his bedside. "You are alive!" She said excitedly as she sat down on the bed beside him. "Unfortunately so." He replied sarcastically and scrunched his nose. "Why do you smell different?" He asked. "What do you mean?" She asked him absentmindedly as she focused on feeling his forehead. "You smell like Princess Amber. What did you do?" Her father, who had been watching her, asked. Williams suddenly understood why her father reacted that way earlier. Because she indeed smelled like Princess Amber. However, Susan didn''t see it as a serious thing, as she simply shrugged. "Maybe because I am wearing her dress and I slept in her chamber?" The two men looked at each other and then at Susan, who also stared at them in confusion, wondering what the big deal was about this. "Have you washed yourself this morning?" Her father asked. She shook her head. "I just woke up. But I didst night." "Then go wash yourself before youe back. It''s notfortable." Her father said in a serious tone that made her smell her arm, wondering if it was really bad. But of course, werewolves didn''t know what they smelled like. Others knew it. However, it was not unusual for Susan to brush it off, as she asked instead, "I heard there was an assembly this morning. What happened?" She asked curiously since she had yet to meet anyone else. "There was an assembly this morning?" Williams was surprised. As soon as Susan woke up, she hurried here to check on her brother and family. In fact, she was surprised she had slept well after all she didst night. But she had been skeptical about meeting her father because she thought he must have heard about what happened between her and Alvin, but thankfully, he seemed to be unaware. Neither was he asking her why she had lied and sent the physician with an antidote for Alvin instead of Harvey like she had imed. "I already told you to stay out of it." Her father scolded as he eyed her with displeasure. He hadn''t caused his parents this much stress, so he had no idea why he was being punished with stubborn children that wouldn''t listen to him or heed his warning. Chapter 348 The Untold Story "But... we just need to know what is happening. Prince Ivan almost killed Williams! Shouldn''t he be punished?" Susan said, trying to bait her father to tell them what exactly had happened, even though she knew it was impossible for a prince to be punished for hurting another person, especially when the person didn''t die. "Does that mean you should be punished for almost killing Prince Ivan too? Why were you reckless?" "So I was supposed to let him go free after hurting Williams?" She asked back, sounding annoyed. "Do not be rude to father," Williams said, touching her arm. Sir Evan wanted to forbid them from leaving their chambers and getting involved in any of this, but he knew that doing so, would make them continue to get involved, even secretly. So it was best to be aware of all they were doing. "I thought you said the maid was dead?" He asked, looking at the two. "What maid?" Williams asked first. "The maid that came in as a witness." "Yes." He nodded. "That was what we heard," Susan added, also nodding. The older man scoffed. "She was brought in as a witness today. She ims it was the queen who ordered her to say it was Princess Amber, and now the queen is restricted to her quarters." The twins looked at each other in confusion. They doubted that Alvin had lied to them about it. So what was happening? And how did the queen get involved? "You see why you should not get involved?" He said to their two. "No matter how hard you try to fight for them, there may still be things you do not know about them or their actual ns for you. From now on, you two must stay out of it. You may not know when Prince Harold is lying to you and wants to use you. And Princess Amber... there are still a lot of things about her we are not yet sure of. Until we find our way out of this pce, I do not want either of you to get yourselves into trouble again." Williams and Susan were not paying attention at this point as they pondered what they just heard and whether or not they were supposed to believe it. They only slept for a few hours, and a big change like this has happened? "So... Princess Amber is free?" Susan asked her father. "For now." ''For now''. It echoed in Susan''s head. It meant she could get real information about what had happened there from her. "Where is your mother?" Sir Evan suddenly asked as he looked around as though she was hiding somewhere in there. "I don''t know." Susan shook her head. "Whenst did you see her?" He asked Williams. "I saw her briefly this morning when I opened my eyes. I haven''t seen her again." Sir Evan felt wary all of a sudden. With everything going on in the pce, he wouldn''t want his family moving around. "I will find your mother." He said this before walking away. Meanwhile, the said woman was currently with Harold, innocently taking the bait and falling into his trap. When Harold nned on talking to Victoria, he had expected to only know a thing or two about the potions that seemed to be freely roaming the pce. However, he hadn''t expected to find out so many strange things that were surprisingly linked together. He wondered when and how all of these things had happened within the pce, and they knew nothing about them. Not even in the books or hearsay. And there was probably only one exnation for that... the Moon Kingdom had a lot to hide. And it was the reason Lady Victoria was very ufortable as she spoke about it. Witches ashes. Was that meant in the literal sense? "Ashes?" Harold echoed. "Keep your voice down!" The woman scolded him before she remembered that it was actually Harold that she was talking to now, and when he raised a brow at her, her eyes widened, and she looked at him, a little flustered. "I... mean you should not try to strain your voice." She said awkwardly and shed him an even more awkward smile. This was strange. It seemed like since Alicia entered his life, everyone was beginning to treat him very differently. He wasn''t sure how he felt about that. Seeing how he wasn''t saying anything but was just looking at her quietly in a way that made her skin crawl, she began to ramble, but in a whisper. "I do not know everything in detail. But ording to what the royal physician said back then, he... mentioned that it was only a medical myth he found in a book his father passed down to him." "What happened to the witch?" Harold''s brow furrowed when he found himself whispering this time instead of talking as usual. Okay, he hated this. "I... think it happened just as I heard. They... they... burnt a witch alive until there was nothing but ashes left." "And it worked?" She nodded. "It was mixed with some strong potions that help relieve headaches." Harold pushed back and pondered it. Just what did the Moon Kingdom get itself involved with? "Does the others know?" He asked. "Is that why they tried to put Princess Amber to death on the mere spection of her being a witch? Because of what Beta''s nightmare caused between the King''s sons?" She shook her head. "Not even close." She leaned closer, and her voice went even lower than it already was. "You promised to protect my children, right?" Was she trying to piss him off right now? However, he tried not to break his sudden meek character and nodded. There seemed to be a lot of information that he could only get from this woman, who was willing to protect her children. "And you won''t tell anyone you heard this from me." He nodded again. Despite the assurance she had received from him, she was still nervous, as she exined quietly. "Since that incident, the Moon Kingdom has been in fear of retaliation from witches." Chapter 349 Fear Of Retaliation Despite the assurance Lady Victoria had received from him, she was still nervous, as she exined quietly, "Since that incident, the Moon Kingdom has been in fear of retaliation from witches." Fear of retaliation? That could only mean the Moon Kingdom had kidnapped and burnt a witch alive to use as a potion for their king, his grandfather. It repulsed him just thinking about it. "At one time, there was tension in the Moon Kingdom. This was many years ago when I was still a little girl. But... I heard my father talking about it with my mother. It seemed the witch n found out what the Moon Kingdom had done to their kind." "Even if our kind is strong for war, there are so many ways we cannot beat the witch n. Especially a witch n prepared for war even though they were smaller in number and not as organised as our kind." "To make peace, thete king called them for a meeting to apologize and reach a truce. I believe the condition agreed on was that the king would provide a home for them within the Moon Kingdom." "However, the king went back on his word and attacked them before they got to the Moon Kingdom. A serious fight ensued between both sides, which spread into the viges, killing more humans than our kind. It was believed that the witches alsoid a curse that has been affecting the kingdom, especially the noblemen and rulers of the Moon Kingdom, since then." "A curse? Is that real?" He asked, feeling a bit overwhelmed by this information. He thought he used to be the only one moving around with a curse! So now his kingdom was cursed, while he also faced a personal curse. Just perfect! "I... don''t know." She said it with a sad look in her eyes. "Maybe it is. We are meant to live long lives. Are you not surprised that there aren''t many older elders in the kingdom or people who ruled together with the former King?" "They all died." He said, looking deep in thought. "Yes." "It wasn''t made known because they did not want the younger ones of our kind to be troubled by it. But that was also why it became taboo to talk about witches in the Moon Kingdom after all that happened only some years ago. Remembering it causes people great fear. And even after years had passed, the fear didn''t stop among those of us who were alive then. Because we still believe the witch n is going to show up one day." "That... and the curse was what Sir Zealot tried to stop." "The queen''s father." "Yes." She nodded. "He was among those who were fortunate to survive that period. But it made him go crazy, and he was hunting for the witches until he found their dwelling ce. He was able to convince the present king to wipe out the witch n for fear of them striking first." And that was how they got to Amber''s family. So it had always been the Moon Kingdom''s fault when the other party simply cared about having a home. "So... it was all Moon Kingdom''s fault." Harold closed his eyes, feeling very guilty, even though he was not sure why he felt that way. No wonder some of them had been quick to condemn Alicia to death as soon as they heard she was a witch. But he could not understand why Alicia had made it to this kingdom in the first ce. The only person who would have the answer to that question was the king. He needed to know why he was allowed to still be married to Alicia after finding out who she truly was. And also, why was Princess Amber spared from the bloodbath? "What about the former physician? Was he killed by the witches too?" Harold asked even though he already knew some information about how the man had died. He just wanted to get any information out of her. "I... do not think so. He just... disappeared." Harold recalled that Harvey and Alvin had been able to get information about the man dying at the hands of royal guards. Then... what must have killed him? "Did anyone from the royal family have any reason to kill him?" He asked her. She shook her head slowly as she thought about it. "He was an important person to the Kingdom. And he cared about the health of the members of the royal family. If he had been in the pce, the queen wouldn''t have given birth to Princess Tyra before her due date and suffered so much. Princess Tyra would have been very healthy too." He wanted to know how much had happened with Prince Harry and the Beta''s nightmare. How it got to the pce and how Prince Harry got his hands on it. But he had been told by the twins that it was their father who knew that part because even their mother seemed oblivious to it. "That... is everything I know." She said, giving him a look that he could interpret as "I hope this information is worth your promise." Harold gave her a small smile and hesitated before he reached for her hand on the table. The woman almost flinched, and even her hands shook when he held her. "Thank you, aunt. This will help me investigate this properly. You do not have to worry about your children." She looked down at his hand that was covering hers and hesitated before she removed one hand and ced it on top of his. "I will also help you in any way I can. I... am your aunt." She said with an awkwardugh that almost made himugh, but he just nodded. He believed that with this information, he would be able to find out more if he asked Harvey to dig into it because he doubted Harvey knew about all this too. Since they had concluded that, he decided to stop beating around the bush now and go straight to the point. "I would like to get a potion." Chapter 350 Siblings Moment (1) When it was just Susan and Williams left, she didn''t go wash up like her father had suggested. She sat down and continued to think deeply, just like Williams. They could not understand the sudden turn of events, but they really wanted to understand it. "Are you not going to go do something else instead of sitting here? This is unusual of you." Williams said to her. Withoutmenting on that, she asked him, "How do you feel? Do you think you are going to be up anytime soon? Do you still feel like you were poisoned? "Are you asking because you care about me or because you want to know how much effect it will have on Alvin when he eventually wakes up?" "I am worried about you!" She chided him. "And yes, I am also worried about Alvin." Williams just stared at her and noticed she had fallen back into thinking before she started muttering. "I cannot bring myself to go and see him. I fear bumping into Princess Amber. She may not want to be friends with me anymore. She didn''t even look at mest night." "Princess Amber is not like that. You even slept in her chamber and are wearing her clothes." "I reacted badly. I was angry at her for not telling us about it when--" "You had a reason for not telling her. And she can understand. We were fighting for her with our lives on the line without knowing that vital information that could have made things different." "Knowing what we truly are is also vital information. And witchcraft is not something that the Moon Kingdom will ever embrace." She pointed out. "Maybe not knowing she was from a line of witches made us look at things clearly instead of jumping to conclusions?" Williams added. "I don''t know if you are trying to make me feel better or not." He chuckled. "You seem to care about her a lot." Susan nodded. "I feel like she''s an older sister I can rely on. I guess I have always wanted someone like that." "But you have me." He joked. "You are my brother, and you are younger!" She reminded him, making him scowl. "Or is it because she does mischievous things like you?" Sheughed. "Maybe that too." Seeing herugh made him cheer up a little, and he smiled at her before reaching to hold her hand. "Do you think she will evere around?" She asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes. "Do you think Paulina will evere around?" He asked her. "It would take an even longer time to have her ept this than anyone else in this world." She said so, remembering the kind of person Paulina was. "She was herest night," Williams told her calmly. "Who was?" "Paulina." "What? Paulina?" She asked, surprised. "She came to check on me." Susan didn''t believe it. Paulina? Of all people? "How?" She asked in disbelief. "And she came with a cane." He added, amused. "A cane? What for?" "Because she was scared." "And she came to see you? Paulina? How is that even possible?" She still couldn''t believe it. "My point is that if Paulina cane here, Princess Amber can also ept it. She is stronger, remember?" Susan pondered. "Or maybe... they just prefer to be around people they care about at this time?" She asked and added. "Even though she didn''t look at me at all, she was still with Prince Harold. And I believe Prince Harold should have been scarier since, you know... he was the one she saw in that form. But she looked like she still wanted to be around him. And Paulina..." she paused and eyed Williams. "She must really like you and trust only you, even if she is still scared." Williams didn''t say anything to that and just raised a brow when he noticed she was still giving him a suspicious look. "What is going on between the two of you?" "I have told you there is nothing." "Are you sure? Did Mother see her?" Susan asked, whispering now. "Mother and father both did." "Oh no! They are really going to send us away now." Susan cried as she stood up and began to pace around his bedside, biting a finger. "What is wrong?" She paused and looked at Williams. "Mother... she... she saw me embrace Alvinst night." "What? Alvin embraced you?!" Williams asked, taking on full protective brother mode as his eyes shed angrily. "I. Said. I. Embraced. Him.!" She reiterated with a re. "And do not think about doing anything stupid." "Why would you embrace him? And if Mother saw it, I am guessing you must have done so where other people had seen it too!" "I know it was stupid of me! I was just... I don''t know how to exin it. I couldn''t hold myself back. I thought he died after trying to save me, and then I saw him, but he was looking half dead already, and I just..." she fell back on his bed, groaning. "I must have gone insane!" "That doesn''t sound good," Williams said with concern. "I know. I know." She nodded. She could only pray that no one else had seen her because if her father learned about it or if even the noblemen heard about it, it was going to cause a lot of trouble. She was ady, and he was a guard. Even if she had been the one to embrace him, he would be med for it. Since she was now tainted and no man would want to marry ady that had embraced a guard. "You have the time to be worried about him now?" He asked her. Even if she wasn''t saying anything and was only thinking, he could guess what she was thinking about. "If you are so worried, why not let him go?" He suggested and almost shrank back to bed when she gave him a death re. "Do you think it is easy for anyone to catch my fancy?" "So what if another woman approaches him, and maybe... he ends up being interested in her? What are you going to do?" She scoffed. "Anydy who wishes to die should go ahead and approach Alvin. I will happily grant her wish." Williams just shook his head as he looked at her. He couldn''t say anything to discourage her because he knew perfectly well that when the day came that Susan would decide to get rid of anyone that was going to make her unhappy, he would willingly offer to make the poison for her. Chapter 351 Siblings Moment (2) "You... are not really interested in Paulina, right? It is going to be trouble if we are both going against the elders." She said in a pleading tone. If it was just her, at least Williams would have her back. And if it was just Williams, she would have his back. But now, it was the two of them, and that spells trouble. "I do not want to give up on Alvin. It''s already bad that I am going after Alvin; you should not do the same. Besides, Father cannot hurt Alvin. But it''s not the case for Paulina." "Go and wash up. You smell ufortable." He said as he adjusted in the bed and closed his eyes to sleep. Susan finally stood up, and at the same time, a knock sounded on the door. Williams opened his eyes, and they both looked at the door as it slowly opened, and Lance peeked inside, his eyes lighting up when he saw her. She sighed. "Ah! You are awake, and you are here too." He said to the twins with a smile as he weed himself inside the chamber, closing the door behind him. Susan rolled her eyes as soon as she saw him. He was back to dressing in expensive linen that made her eyes hurt. Thankfully, he did not adorn himself in gold linen. Noting how he was being stared at, Lance felt pleased. "My father advised me to dress in simple clothing because of all the things happening in the pce. But it is quite clear that no matter how simple I dress, I always look good." Lance said as he put out his arms and slowly turned around, showing off his "handsomeness" proudly. Williams looked at a frustrated Susan with amusement. Susan seemed very annoyed by his presence, and anyone could tell why. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, sounding slightly rude and unweing. Lance didn''t pick an offence. "I was here until the second bell rangst night, watching over Williams. I even had a chat with your-- why do I smell Princess Amber here?" He asked in confusion as he looked around. This again? Susan had thought her father and Williams were exaggerating, but now that someone else was pointing it out, it made her a little concerned. Was it that serious? Was that the reason why some maids and guards had looked unusually at her? Lance continued to sniff until he got closer to her, and he gave her a confused look, sniffed the air around her again, and raised a brow. "Did you wear a scent mask to smell like her?" That made Susan begin to ponder, and she looked at her brother again as what Lance said slowly began to sink in. "Does she... by chance, wear a scent mask?" She whispered to Williams while Lance, who could hear them, went closer. "What did you do inside her chamber?" Williams asked curiously. She shook her head. She didn''t touch anything she wasn''t supposed to touch. She only took her bath and changed into Princess Amber''s clothes before she went to bed. "I didn''t... do anything." She said while thinking. "Does Princess Amber wear a mask to hide that she is a witch?!" Lance asked in horror, raising his voice a little too loudly. "Do not be silly. As far as we know, her mother''s family were witches, but her mother didn''t practice witchcraft, and neither did she," Williams said in her defence, but that didn''t make Susan feel any better. What had happened? Lance thought about it and nodded hesitantly. "That was what she said too." "Who?" Susan asked. "Princess Amber. At the assembly." He replied casually and watched as the siblings'' eyes lit up. "How did you know? Did your father tell you?" Susan asked, interested. He shook his head. "I asked Harvey. It took a while before he agreed to tell me about it. I hate thatd." He sighed heavily. "You should disagree with the betrothal and focus on me instead." He suggested in a dismissive tone that almost made Williamsugh. Was it possible to dislike and like someone at the same time? Because he felt that way about Lance. Lance''s attitude was the least of Susan''s concerns, however. She hurriedly went to carry a stool and ced it beside the bed, smiling as she gestured for him to sit on it while she excitedly sat down on the bed beside Williams. Why had she forgotten about Harvey? Anyway, since Lance knew some information, he was just going to share it with them. Lance looked at her suspiciously. "You are suddenly interested in having me around?" He asked smugly, making Susan frown. "If you do not want to talk, then leave!" She said harshly as she tried to stand up, but Lance quickly put his hand in the air. "Fine! I will stay. What a bad temper for ady." He muttered thest part as he sat down obediently. Harvey had kept it short when he spoke with him, so he ryed the same thing to them. Princess Amber had denied it. Agnes med the queen. The queen was locked up. A proper investigation was to be carried out. Princess Amber''s family were still on their way. Princess Tyra had fainted. And the most surprising of them all was that the king had been in on alienating Princess Amber''s family. This began to put doubt into their minds, and their father''s words echoed in their heads. Was it possible Princess Amber had trulye for revenge? Had they been deceived? "But... don''t you think something is off with Princess Tyra?" Lance asked thoughtfully. "Why?" Susan asked, even though she thought so too. "I just think she is hiding a lot." He answered with a shrug. Susan felt the same, as did Williams. But they had no idea why Harold hadn''t confronted her about it yet. Or maybe he had, but they didn''t know about it? "Or maybe the queen really has a hand and is threatening her?" Williams asked thoughtfully. Absentmindedly, Susan spoke up, "Or what if someone knows about her rtionship with Damian and is threatening her with it?" "What rtionship?" Williams and Lance asked at the same time. Susan realized her slip, and her eyes widened as she cleared her throat and shook her head. "It... is nothing." "She is in a rtionship with Damian? The queen''s guard?" Lance asked in disbelief, adding, "A GUARD?!" "WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING WITH A GUARD?" Susan snapped at him angrily, confirming to the two young men that Tyra and Damian were truly something. "What if everything is truly the queen''s n, and they are using Tyra?" Williams asked. So many what ifs. Chapter 352 Devotion Alicia was not sure what Harold was up to, but she wasn''t bothered because she knew he was inside the pce. It was already approaching evening. Thest time she saw him was when he escorted two maids who had brought her lunch. From the look of things, she guessed he had probably stayed with them when they made the meal and followed them to deliver it. The girls were shaking so much that she thought they were going to drop the trays, but they also looked too frightened to drop the trays. Thankfully, they did all they were supposed to without making any mistakes. As soon as they left, wordlessly, Harold bit into all the food and smelled them, which was quite ufortable for her to watch, but she guessed it was probably a werewolf thing. When he was done, he just stood up and gestured for her to eat before he disappeared. She hadn''t seen him again since then, even after 4 hours had passed. Presently, she was in Harold''s chamber, watching over Alvin. He had only stirred once, and she had thought he was going to wake up, but to her disappointment, he didn''t and fell back into sleep. Maybe he needed a long rest because, ever since she came here, Alvin was always moving about. But Alvin''s body obviously was not used to staying idle because he stirred again, and this time she could see his eyes opening. She just stood by his bed, her eyes fixed on him, as she prayed with all her might that he would wake up. At least for Harold''s sake. Even if Harold hadn''t said anything about him, she could tell how much he was hurting whenever he looked at Alvin. With a low and painful groan, Alvin''s eyes began to open. He had a hard time adjusting to the light in the room, so Alicia hurried to the window and dropped the curtains before she returned to the bedside. "W-Water..." He croaked out. Alicia knew next to nothing about how to care for an injured person. As much as she wanted to go and fetch the physician, she also wanted to stay with him and help him with whatever he needed. So she reached for her gourd of water and tried to help him turn to the side since he was lying belly t on the bed as his back had suffered the deep cut. However, she noticed he was in a lot of pain as she helped him adjust and was a bit flustered as she was not sure what to do. He bore the pain and reached for the gourd, drinking with his eyes closed. Even though he had sounded like he was going to die if he didn''t get to drink water, when she handed it to him, he still took it slowly. Never had she seen Alvin not being... Alvin. "You are finally awake! How do you feel?" She said with relief as she took the empty gourd from him and dropped it on the floor beside the bed before helping himy back on the bed with his head turned to face her. He opened his eyes, and when his senses seemed to clear and his eyes settled on her, he frowned. "What... are you doing here?" He asked in a faint voice but she could clearly hear the harshness in his tone, startling her since she was not sure what she had done to him to deserve this attitude. Or maybe it was because it was her fault for everything that happened to them? "I thought you would have run away as soon as you were out of the carriage." He pointed out to her, still making her confused. "Did I do something wrong?" "Prince Harold has only ever cared for you." He said, still sounding pissed even though his voice was very weak and quiet. "But you were cold to him, hurting him." Alicia sighed. "Is that what you should be worried about after almost dying?" she asked him. Wasn''t he supposed to ask where he was? What happened to him? What day it was, or those kinds of questions she had seen people in this position ask in movies? "I do not care about dying!" He snapped. "I only want to be sure that Prince Harold will be fine and that the person he cares for the most is not going to hurt him just because they are not the same kind." "I... care about him." She said even though she knew she didn''t owe him an exnation. "Then why did you try to hurt his feelings? Do you think he would ever hurt you like that? Ever turn his back on you?" "Alvin..." "I won''t forgive you if you make him sad. The world won''t forgive you either. You know he will never take his anger out on you. He''ll rather burn down the entire kingdom." She just stared at him, not sure what to say at this point. Alvin seemed really angry at her, and even though he was lying helpless here, he was very intimidating. "I won''t run away. It''s already toote for that." She spoke softly. "Good. Because if you try to run away, I will fetch you back for him. Even if it means locking you up." She scoffed. "Now you are being dramatic and creepy. I should probably let your dear friend know you are awake since you are not happy to see me after I stayed here to watch over you all day." "I didn''t ask you to. You should have spent the time making it up to him." "What did I do to him?" She asked in confusion. "You really have no idea," Alvin said, remembering the look on Harold''s face when she closed the carriage window on him and talked about running away with Paulina. In all the years he had known Harold, he had never seen him look so helpless, so hopeless, and so defeated. That had hurt Alvin. Even more than the poison coursing through his veins. "I won''t run away. If that is what you are worried about. I already gave him my word." She assured the "papa bear" who wouldn''t let her be. "Good." He said and began to drift off again, surprising her. "Seriously? You just woke up to fight with me and now you are going back to sleep?" She asked before she began to panic. "You are not dying, are you?" He opened his eyes faintly and looked at her as he said quietly, "I will never die before Prince Harold. I will serve him until he leaves this world, and then I will follow him." Alicia almostughed, even though it was quite touching that he had so much devotion for Harold. "You wouldn''t have been able to do that if you had died. You should thank Susan whenever you see her." As odd as it sounded, his promise that he was not going to die before Harold made her a little relieved, and she believed he truly wouldn''t. Since I wanted to fall back to sleep, she was just going to let him be and then let Harold know he had woken up. At least, it would make him feel better to know that. His eyes closed and then slowly opened again. It seemed he was trying to fight back the sleep. "The queen did not try to have your head yet?" He asked weakly, ignoring what she had said about Susan. Or maybe he hadn''t heard it since he was on and off. "Agnes was brought in as a witness. She said it was the queen who ordered her to say I killed Beth." Alvin let out a shortugh that made him groan in pain. "I knew Prince Harold was not that nice to let her go." He said, remembering Prince Harold telling Agnes that it was fine and everyone made mistakes when she apologized to him. He had found it odd because he knew it wasn''t Harold''s thing to just forgive and forget. So he wasn''t surprised to hear this now. "When... I was still a little boy, I was very weak and even smaller than other boys my age." Alicia wasn''t sure what story he was about to tell her, but she listened keenly as he kept going slowly. From the look on his face, it seemed like he was reliving the moment, so she didn''t interrupt. "Being friends with Prince Harold and training with him helped me a lot, but because of my status, I was still looked down upon." She didn''t know much about Alvin''s background, so this got her very interested. "One time, a boy who was the son of a nobleman attacked me with his friends. I was too timid to hurt people of that status, so I allowed them. The little boy broke my arm and rejoiced with his friends." That sounded crazy. Alvin took a longer pause this time, going on and off before he continued. "Prince Harold was angered when he saw my arm and tried to pay him back, but ording to the elders, the culprit was still a boy and didn''t know what he was doing, so Prince Harold could not hurt a 10-year-old boy for hurting a mere servant. That was not proper." 10 years old? Alicia was a little surprised. How were they raising their children in this era? "Prince Harold had agreed and let it be until one day, some yearster. The boy had turned 15 years old. Even I had forgotten about it, but Prince Harold remembered and found the boy. He made sure to break his arm, and when he was asked why he did so, he reminded them that the boy was old enough now to be punished for his crime." Alvin broke into a smile, and even though Alicia knew that was wrong and in crazy, she could not help butugh. "Prince Harold... will always be the first for me," Alvin said before giving in to the deep sleep. Poor Susan. If only she knew that herpetition was Prince Harold and not some random woman. Chapter 353 "You Need To Be Calm" The queen was going crazy. She had knocked down literally everything inside her chamber until there was nothing left, leaving her depressed. She screamed her lungs out and even banged on the door but got no response either. HOW?! Just how did they expect her to find the rat who had actually done this if she was to remain locked here? Harold had yed her. He yed her big time. And all the stupid aristocrats were too blind and cowardly to see that. She was back to square one. Or maybe square zero. She needed to see the physician. She had to instruct him to do all he could to save the king. That was the only way she was going to survive this, and the king was going to restore bnce to the pce. She wished the king was healthy. If only he was awake, all of this wouldn''t have been happening. She had a feeling Harold had locked her up here because he wanted to use this opportunity to get rid of the king and me her for it. It would even be worse if he found out she had told the head physician not to treat the king. And if Harold ever seeded in getting rid of the king and taking her down, it was going to be very easy to get rid of Ivan too and im the throne for himself. That cowardly Damon had caused this, and he was yet toe see her to exin himself! It seemed her brother had also meant it when he said he was going to cut ties with her. The only one she would have counted on was her useless son, and she had ordered for him to be fed with the strongest potion to put him to sleep when he was going crazy the previous day over Luciana. He obviously wouldn''t be waking up for at least two more days. With all hope lost, she fell to the ground in despair. She was not going to cry. No matter how much they try to lie against her, she was innocent, so she had nothing to fear. Why was the moon goddess so unfair to her? Why?! She didn''t deserve any of this. The ones that should be punished were Harold and his witch, not her. Or maybe she should still hope in Sir Damon? She believed he was going to find a solution to all this as the king''s beta. Besides, Harold had humiliated him enough, and he must want to pay Harold back. She had to believe in him. Meanwhile, after concluding his conversation with Lady Victoria, the said Harold went to see the king, where he spent most of the day together with the head physician, who was making some herbs in the king''s chamber and also drawing out his blood. To Alphas, their blood was their life, and the more blood they had, the stronger they were. So after losing almost two bowls of his blood, he felt faint, and it was taking a long time for his wound to heal, which meant he could not go and see Alicia. It was one thing for her to know that he was a werewolf; it was another for him to go meet her with a deep cut in his wrist that had yet to heal. Harold had been able to get Lady Victoria''s word on finding him a bottle of camelion''s water. She had said it was rare but it was not impossible to get it from old physicians living on the outskirts of the kingdom, and she had promised to ask one of her loyal guards to go check for it if Harold permitted him to leave the pce. Harold hadn''t thought twice about it. In fact, he had been too excited that he had lifted the food ban in the pce before he knew what he was doing. As for Beta''s nightmare and Alpha''s plight, Lady Victoria had no idea how to get them. The thought of Beta''s nightmare gave her goosebumps, and Alpha''s plight on the other hand was something rare, both because there were not many Alphas in existence and because of the kind of effect it would have on them. It was poison. "How long is it going to take before the king wakes up?" Harold asked the man, who stopped mixing herbs into the bowl of blood and looked at Harold, who seemed eager for the King to wake up. With everything going on in the pcetely, some people have been specting that Harold was trying to im the throne for himself. If only they could see how much effort he was putting into making sure the king woke up. "That, I cannot say, My Prince." He said with an apologetic bow that made Harold sigh. ********* True to the queen''s belief, Sir Damon was trying to find a solution to all this mess. Surprisingly, he had not been allowed to meet with Agnes in the dungeon, which had greatly infuriated him. It seemed like with every passing day, Harold was bound to make him feel more useless, and he hated it. Now, he was outside the door of the second witness, and he hoped he was going to get an answer and not some fainting. He knocked on Tyra''s door, and almost at the same time, the door opened from the inside with a physician stepping out. The young man bowed to greet Damon when he saw him before stepping to the side. "How is she?" Damon asked dutifully. "She is better, My Lord. She only needs to keep resting. Her pulse is very weak." The physician exined. Damon nodded and stepped in just as the physician left. Tyra was sleeping on the bed quietly, but as soon as Damon entered, she opened her eyes and looked at him, slowly sitting up. "How are you doing?" Damon asked in an emotionless tone as he looked at her small, weak frame on the bed. Tyra maintained eye contact with him, which surprised him, and he was even more surprised when she snorted. "I thought my smell irritated you. It''s a surprise you can step into my chamber." She said in an annoyed tone. That startled him as he looked at her in confusion, wondering what was wrong with her. She had never dared talk to him in that tone or even look at him so condescendingly. "I have nothing to say to you. Leave." She said coldly and looked away from him. Damon found it difficult to process what was exactly happening now. She seemed like a totally different person. However, he had a goal in mind and decided to ignore her rudeness. He wouldn''t me her for it. The only person to be med was Harold, who was making everyone look down on him. "What happened on that night? I know you are hiding something." He said in a serious tone, prodding her for an answer. She turned to look at him, and the look on her face slowly transformed into one of amusement. She let out augh, surprising him again. "I am hiding something?" She asked. "That is a surprise. People might think you are a saint." What was she talking about? He frowned at her in annoyance but could not help but ask, "Do you have a problem with me?" "As far as I can remember, we do not have any kind of rtionship for you toe into my room and question me. The maid already said the queen ordered her, and I said so too. Punish the queen for it and leave me out of it." As soon as she said that, she got down from the bed and pointed at the door. "Get out." "Watch your tone¡ª" Her voice grew louder, and she yelled, cutting him off. "GET OUT! NOW!!" Sir Damon flinched and looked at her as though she was crazy. Something was definitely wrong. Hesitantly, he stepped out of the room, and as soon as he was out, someone jumped in and entered the room through her window. Damian went straight to the door and locked it with the key before he turned around and looked at Tyra, who was sitting on the floor now and running her hands through her hair repeatedly until it was a mess all over. "Come to your senses!" Damian snapped harshly as he grabbed her from the floor, pulling her up. "Are you out of your mind?!" He whispered harshly, sounding annoyed. With all her might, she pushed him away and pped him hard across the face. "DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE CAUSED?" She yelled before breaking down in tears. She was about to fall back to the bed, but he held her and helped her sit on the bed as he quickly reached for a bottle of potion from his pocket, opened it, and offered it to her. She stood up from the bed and grabbed it, trying to throw it out the window, but he was quicker. He took the bottle from her and grabbed her from behind, forcefully feeding her the potion while she iled about and tried to get away from him. But he was bigger. He a beta and also a warrior, so there was no way she would have won against him. Her fighting gradually stopped, and her cries died down as he released her, helping her return to lie down on the bed. "You need to be calm." He said softly as he gently turned her into bed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, giving in to the calmness. Chapter 354 Anne(1) That night, Alicia returned to her chamber to spend the night even before the first bell rang. Maybe because she now knew the kind of people they were, she took it seriously this time and closed the windows before putting out themps, leaving only a candle beside her bed. However, she could not sleep. She went through Amber''s diary but was still finding it difficult to understand it. Some of the words were in English, while others were in a different kind ofnguage she had never heard of, so it made it difficult to understand what she was reading, which was not exactly helpful. Maybe because she was thinking about it too much and also thinking about what the queen had said about the king''s involvement in getting rid of Amber''s maternal family, she fell asleep in the middle of reading the diary and had a series of strange dreams. She was present there, watching everything happen as though she were invincible, but the main characters were other people. FIRST DREAM. The person had her face when she was younger, so she could tell it was Queen Anne as a teenage girl. Probably around 15 or 16 years old. Anne looked like she was escaping from a cave in thete evening, and she seemed very excited to do so. Alicia could hear a loud male voice calling for Anne, but the teenager giggled as she covered her head with the ck cloak she was wearing and ran away while trying not to make any noise. "At least do not cause trouble, please!" The boy''s defeated voice echoed in the cave. "I hope you used the mask!" Alicia felt like she was watching herself. Not just because they looked simr, but also because it was the same way she used to escape from the orphanage. She followed Anne until she found herself in a bustling market square at night. The ce was so colourful that Anne''s eyes sparkled as she looked around her with a big smile on her face. She continued to explore until she got to a ce that reminded Alicia of a geisha''s parlour. Burly guards were standing by the entrance, and Alicia could see how Anne was calcting in her head how to get in there without getting caught. "I wish I knew some spells." Anne cried in defeat, reminding Alicia of the time she had struggled to enter a nightclub for the first time. Alicia was remembering this, so she didn''t know when Anne moved away. By the time she realized this, she saw Anne scaling the fence by the corner. "So much determination," Alicia said in amusement after Anne sessfully entered. Alicia didn''t have to do anything because she found herself inside the colourful ce filled withughter, music, and men clinging to women. Even if the women were properly covered in their clothes, Alicia could tell the kind of ce this was, but it seemed like Anne had no idea. The strong stench of liquor and sweat was also in the air, making it a bit ufortable to breathe there, and she noticed it was the same for Anne. Anne moved stealthily as she watched the different activities taking ce in the open. "They are so beautiful." She said with admiration in her eyes and took down her hood. Alicia found she was staring at thedies performing a sensual dance for some of the men, who looked like high-ranking officials. She looked back at Anne, wishing she could tell her that she was prettier. Even if she didn''t know much about how Anne had lived, she could tell the girl didn''t have a normal childhood just like her and sneaking out to see the world around her was the only way to enjoy life. Anne kept moving around like a thief and stopped at once when she heard the sound of a de and a loud cry. It also gave Alicia a pause as the two of them turned towards the direction it hade from. Slowly, Anne began to follow the direction, and the more steps she took, the clearer the voices at the end sounded. Alicia peeked with her before she realized she was actually invincible here, so she came out in full view to watch while Anne peeked. There stood three men. And two others, one lying dead on the ground with his throat open and the other on his knees, begging for his life and swearing he knew nothing about what they were asking him. The one who stood out was the one holding the bloody sword. He was tall. He was insanely good-looking and had a wicked look in his blue eyes, eyes that reminded Alicia so much of Harold. He also seemed to be in his early 20s and had thick, dark hair that fell to the back of his neck. The other men, however, looked like they were already in their 30s. So even though he was the youngest, he spelled danger. The sight was very ufortable for Alicia to watch. No matter how many deaths she had witnessed in the Moon Kingdom, she was never going to get used to it. "He is... beautiful," Anne said without thinking as she kept her eyes on him, making Alicia look at her in surprise. Was this girl crazy? This man had just killed someone, and he looked dangerous! However, it wasn''t only Alicia that looked at her. Even though Anne had been quiet, the three dangerous men turned their attention toward her. But before she could run away, someone grabbed her from behind, making her shout in fear. Once again, Alicia had forgotten that she was invincible and only remembered when the man kept his eyes fixed on only Anne. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING THERE?" The man, who had suddenly shown up from behind, yelled at her as he threw her into the spotlight. Anne fell to the ground and cried out in pain. "WHO ARE YOU?!" One of the men, whom she had been watching, bellowed as he approached Anne, while the dangerous young man just looked at her, tilting his head to the side as though trying to understand something. Chapter 355 Anne (2) Anne looked at them in fear and shifted on the ground as she tried to get away. "You can''t talk?!" The man who had caught her asked impatiently as he took out a dagger. "Y-Yes." Anne stuttered in fear before she realized her slip and almost pped herself. "I mean..." she nodded instead, ying dumb but knowing it was already toote to pretend. "Why didn''t we know you were here? What are you?" The other man who had approached asked as he sniffed the air around her, freaking her out. "I... missed my way. I... didn''t see you kill any man, I promise." She said in a scared voice, making the worried Alicia almost facepalm. Was Anne this silly? She didn''t have to say that! "She is lying. She must be a spy." One of the older men who was still standing beside the first dead body said. Spy? Did she look like one? Alicia wanted to scream. However, the sight before her was bothering her. The man who had caught Anne was squatting before her with his dagger, ready to strike at her any minute. "You cannot miss your way in here. If you are here, you are either a spy or must be a man-pleaser." The man in front of Anne said. "Man-pleaser...?" Anne wondered what that was. Maybe it was safe to say she was that because she knew whatever it was, it was better than them assuming she was a spy? It would also save her head since she had entered this ce illegally. She immediately nodded. "Yes. I... I am that. A... man-pleaser." She stuttered in fear. The man chuckled and looked her over with a creepy look in her eyes, and then he did something that made even Alicia''s eyes widen and make her wish she was not invincible. The man used the dagger in his hand to slice the top of her dress. Fortunately, Anne was able to react quickly before it got past her upper chest region and exposed her breast. She screamed as she pushed him away. Luckily, he wasn''t squatting in front of her with much stamina, so he fell to the ground, and as soon as the dagger fell from his hand, she ignored the fact that she was almost exposed and picked up the dagger. When she noticed he was about to get up from the ground, she grabbed his hair with all her strength, pulled his head to the back, and ced the knife on his neck, ready to slit it. "If you ever do that again, I will slit your throat open and make you drink your blood, you useless old cow!" She spoke in a dark, shaky voice. Everyone became still. Even Alicia was shocked at how much guts she had, even though it was clear that she was scared. "WHAT... DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? DO YOU THINK YOU WILL LIVE AFTER THIS?" The man asked in anger. "You should be worried about yourself." She threatened him as she took the tip of the dagger closer to his throat. "I should worry about myself?" The manughed before he manoeuvred out of her hold, and before she knew it, the tip of the dagger was pointing at her neck instead, with his hand grabbing her hair just as she had done to him. But he was a lot more brutal. Anne let out a painful cry while the man and the others watching, except for the man who had been begging for his life and the other dangerous-looking young man,ughed. Alicia could only watch in anger, as she knew there was nothing she could do. "What do you suggest I do to this crazy wench, Prince Wilder?" The man asked as he pulled her hair to the back forcefully, and she let out a strangled cry. All eyes went to the said person, who had been quiet the entire time. With one swift move, he slit the throat of the man kneeling before him with his sword, and the man died instantly. Slowly, he dragged his bloody sword, which seemed to be longer and bigger than normal swords, behind him as he approached where they stood. Alicia''s heart was beating very fast, but she tried to assure herself that Anne didn''t die as a teenager. Although it wasn''t helping, especially seeing how scared Anne looked. With every sound the young man made as he approached them, Anne let out a scared whimper, dreading what was going to happen. As soon as he stood before her, towering above the man assaulting Anne, much less Anne herself, Wilder''s gaze moved from Anne to the man as he said softly, "Let her go." The man didn''t want to, but he obeyed and made sure to yank her hair some more before he forcefully pushed her away. Wilder looked at the man and opened his palm, wordlessly asking for the dagger. The man obediently handed it to him. He seemed excited, knowing what was going to happen to the crazy wench. But well, he had been wrong because he hadn''t expected that the one whose neck would be slit with the dagger was himself. It had happened in a sh, and his eyes widened as he touched his neck, which was gushing out blood. He didn''t get enough time to register what had happened before he fell to his death. The other men, who had been enjoying the show, instantly went mute as they looked at their friend in horror, but they could not say a word. "Men shouldn''t treat little girls like that," Wilder said before he took off his cloak and carefully draped it around Anne, who was looking up at him. "Do not carelessly answer questions if you do not know what they are talking about. And do not go to ces you are not supposed to go to." He said to her as advice or maybe a warning? She didn''t care what it was. She just nodded and looked up at him dumbly, and even after he walked past her with the others, leaving the three dead bodies behind, she still stood there, staring nkly. Alicia sighed in relief when they all left. But she turned to look at Anne with concern, wondering if the shock was getting to her. "I... think..." Anne started, "...I have found my husband." She said with a dreamy look in her eyes as she turned to look at the direction Wilder had taken while hugging his cloak around her body. Okay... this girl had to be a psychopath to not be moved by these dead bodies and the fact that the one who had caught her fancy was actually responsible! Alicia thought with a sigh. But now, she was curious about this event. Who was that? They had called him a Prince. That was obviously not Amber''s father. What had happened between them? Chapter 356 Amber AUTHOR''S NOTE: I wasn''t able to properly edit this chapter before uploading it. However, I hope it makes sense. I have a very busy day. ******* Alicia had wanted to learn more about Anne. She felt a deep connection with her, maybe because Anne looked exactly like her. Unfortunately, it didn''tst. Before she knew it, she was out of there. She found herself in a forest. She looked around her and realized why she was there. She saw Amber. Amber looked a bit younger than now. For some reason, Alicia was excited to see her and learn about her. Since the person she knew barely any information about was Amber. Amber looked just like she had imagined her. Unlike Anne, who seemed to have a chirpy personality, Amber''s face was straight. She looked cold, and her eyes looked detached from everything around her as she strolled around. She seemed to be looking for something because she inspected some leaves as she passed them, but they seemed not to be what she was looking for. Suddenly, they heard a growl beside them and turned around immediately. Their eyes widened when they saw a big wolf with brown and white fur and deep brown eyes growling at Amber. This reminded her of the wolf Alicia had seen in the mountains when she first got here. But this wolf was a lot smaller and less scarypared to that one that was ck all over and had scary blue eyes. For a split second, something seemed to register in Alicia''s head, but she didn''t have the time to think about it. Unlike how she had reacted when she saw that wolf, Amber, however, was calmer. It was obvious that she was scared. Amber took slow steps backwards, trying to get away from him. But she kept her eyes on him, calcting every movement while taking out the small knife from the pouch hanging by the side of her dress. The wolf growled again and took a step forward, and while Amber was nning how to strike, the wolf shook itself as though trying to shake off dirt, and right before their eyes, it let out a loud growl before his features began to change to those of a human until itpletely transformed, revealing the features of a full-grown naked man on his knees. The sight was even more terrifying than the wolf form itself because... a wolf had transformed into a man! Amber let out a shout of fear and wielded her knife in front of her. If there was something Alicia had observed so far, it was that her lineage didn''t joke with knives or daggers. The man twisted his head to the sides, stretching his muscles as he stood up on his feet, not bothering to hide his nakedness from the teenage girl. "You... how... what is that?" Amber asked in disbelief. The man looked at her with a smirk. He seemed to be in histe twenties. He was tall, he looked very wild and rugged, and he looked like he hadn''t had his bath or gotten proper grooming in a while because he had rough facial beards and a tangled mop of hair in his head, and he smelled really bad. His face was also stained with dirt and something that looked like blood that had dried up. "What... are you?" Amber asked again, pointing the knife she was holding with her two hands at him. "I should be asking you." He said before sniffing the air around him. "Why don''t you smell?" "Because I took my bath!" Amber said amidst her fear and continued to step backwards when he kept advancing. Amber kept her eyes on his face, too scared to look down and even more scared to not keep her eyes on him. Alicia reminded herself that nothing had happened to Amber. As evidenced by her presence here. So she tried not to worry too much, but she still could not help it because of how creepy this man was. The man kept moving forward. "You must be a witch." When Amber''s eyes widened, the man cackled crazily. "I knew it! What great luck! I wouldn''t have imagined meeting a little witch here." "I... am not a witch!" Amber yelled even though she was scared. Alicia had to admit that she admired this girl. Even though she was now aware of the existence of werewolves, the sight had still scared her. But Amber had taken it well. It was normal to be scared. "Yes, you are." The young man smiled. "And I have heard your body has a lot of benefits," he said, looking at her up and down and charging at her. She didn''t know how it all happened, but Amber just found herself dangling in the air with his hands on her throat, squeezing the life out of her. Amber wiggled, trying to fight back, but it was not helping with the way he was strangling her andughing like a maniac. Tears pooled and fell down her eyes as she began to gasp for breath as one hand tried to push his hand away. Alicia could not continue to watch and tried all she could to punch or kick the crazy man, but her touch felt like the wind as it passed him. However, Amber seemed to have it in her because she held the knife tightly in her hand and shed it at his throat, which was open and in good view for her since he was looking up at her. The man growled in pain and immediately dropped her to the ground before touching the upper part of his neck. "Stupid silver!" He swore as he looked at the knife she had used while touching his neck, which was slowly pouring blood. Unfortunately for Amber, she had never used a knife on someone before, so she hadn''t done it expertly. This enraged him. She coughed as she tried to stand up from the ground to run away while clutching the knife in her hand desperately. However, it seemed like the dude was done ying around with her because he let out a loud growl again and shifted back into his wolf form. Amber watched in fear as she got up from the ground and tried to run away, while tears poured out of her eyes. And just as he was about to pounce on her, an arrow was shot at him from the side, deeply piercing the wolf''s body. It let out a shout of pain and tried to stop itself from falling. But another arrow came at him again, shooting at its leg. He let out another loud, painful growl as he fell. Everything happened so fast. Alicia and Amber looked at the side the arrow wasing from and saw a man standing atop a hill close to them. Alicia recognized him. Harvey. He also looked younger. He wore their usual outfit and a brocade boot. But his hair was longer here, and it was in a messy bun. He looked aloof as he kept his gaze on the injured wolf that was whimpering. He loaded his bow with arrows again and shot two arrows directly at the stomach, which killed him as his whimpering died down instantly. Amber looked at the wolf with wide eyes, still in disbelief over what she had just witnessed. She had heard of this before. But she had only thought it was a mere story. "That... was a person," Amber said in a low voice filled with fear as she looked at the dead wolf that was bleeding all over. She couldn''t help her body from shaking after all that had just happened. Harvey stepped down from the hill and approached her. Amber didn''t want to take any chances and stepped back. People usually stay away from this side of the mountains, so she had never met anyone else before. It was the first time, and meeting two men, one of whom had turned into an animal too, made her a bit slow to process everything. "It... was a person." She muttered to herself as she looked at the dead form. "All I see is a wolf," Harvey answered casually as he got closer and crouched down to check if the wolf was truly dead. "Are... there more like him?" She asked while stepping back unconsciously. He looked at her and raised a brow. "There are always wolves in the mountains if you wander far." "I am not talking about a normal wolf! That was a person, and he tried to kill me!" She said with heavy emotion as everything sank in at once. She had almost died! She had seen a naked man! A naked animal man called her a witch and almost killed her! "You also tried to kill him." Harvey reminded her. "What are you?" He asked her, making her confused. "I am a person." She answered, but from the look in his eyes, he didn''t believe her. Why? Didn''t she look like a person? "Then what are you doing here?" He asked as he stood up from where he was crouching after confirming that the wolf was dead. "I live around here." "Why do you live around here?" Amber was annoyed at the endless questions. And he seemed to know that too. "What are you doing here? I have never seen you before." She threw the question back at him. "He has been causing a lot of trouble. I was looking for him." Harvey said, pointing at the dead wolf. "So you know he is a person?" Amber said, taking note of the pronoun he had used. "Are you a person who hunts their kind?" Harvey considered it before he shrugged. "You can say that." "I will walk you home." He offered as he adjusted and dusted his cloth. Her answer came almost immediately. "NO!" "I saved your life. I should make sure you get home safely." Amber was not buying it. He sounded suspicious. Even Alicia could tell he was being suspicious of her. Maybe he already knew she was a witch by now. He also must have clearly heard the other wolf when he attacked Amber. "Thank you for saving my life. But it is not your business." She said as she began to hurry away while Harvey simply watched her retreating figure. Chapter 357 "Join Me" From that point on, Alicia''s dream became messed up. She had wanted to learn more about Anne, but no, she had been pulled out of there. Now that she was interested in learning more about Amber, she was also pulled out of there. But this time, it was different. Because she didn''t find herself in a ce. It was like she was hanging in the void. She found herself in a space, standing alone. Everywhere was dark and frightening. This reminded her of the time she had a dream where she saw Queen Anne for the second time. She looked all around her with dread. She hated this. She didn''t have a good feeling about this. However, before she could think about what to do, voices began to ring in her head. There were so many voices speaking, yelling, wailing, and crying at the same time that she found it difficult to make out what they were saying. ''Rx. Rx.'' She willed herself as she shut her eyes, trying to focus on the voices. It seemed as though the memories were now a mixture of Anne and Amber''s lives together, but she tried her best to tell them apart. "I waited for you for 38 days." She heard a voice that belonged to Anne amidst all the noise. "I... wanted to return your cloak, but I forgot it." Anne sounded nervous. But she also sounded excited. The next voice she heard didn''t belong to Anne but to someone else. "Seizeing here. You look too weak for what may happen to you." The voice was cold. It was terrifying. It probably belonged to Wilder. "Why do you suddenly wish to train with the men?" Alicia heard a woman''s voice and guessed this was another memory, but she wasn''t sure who it belonged to. "Fighting shouldn''t only be for men. Women need to protect themselves too." Anne responded. The other person started, "But..." "If I am not going to ever practice witchcraft, I should be able to save myself somehow." Anne cut the person off. With a resigned sigh, the woman said, "Whatever you say, mydy." Anne sounded excited as she said, "Thank you, mother." The voices in Alicia''s head grew louder, making her cry out in pain. It seemed whoever was controlling all this was making an effort to blow up her brain. Why couldn''t things happen smoothly? "It belongs to the man who saved me." Anne''s voice came again. It sounded as though she was gossiping with someone. "I heard them call him a Prince. He has a beautiful name that fits him." "Did you tell him about you?" A boy asked her. "No! I didn''t want to scare him. But I will tell him when I eventually marry him. If he is truly a prince, then I will be his princess." She giggled. "What... is his name?" The boy asked, sounding jealous. But Anne happily provided it. "Wilder. Prince Wilder." tes crashed loudly, and there was suddenly a thick silence before a small, scared voice asked, "You... met w-who?" "What is wrong, mother?" "Oh no! Oh no! How... how did... we are in trouble!" The woman sounded frightened. "Swear to me that you wore a scent mask to make you smell like humans." "You are hurting me, Mother!" Anne cried. "Lady Avery..." the boy called gently. "You''ll injure her." "SWEAR TO ME!" The woman yelled. "I... I... didn''t." Anne cried. Alicia could hear the woman''s defeated gasp. "They must know we are around. If they decide to find us during the full moon, our spell can no longer keep this ce hidden." "Mother..." "You are already lucky to be alive after meeting that man! You are forbidden from going anywhere else." However, it seemed like Anne didn''t heed that because the next memory Alicia heard was of Anne''s voice saying, "This is going to be myst time meeting you." She sounded sad. "They finally know." Alicia heard the voice again. Wilder. He always sounded cold and scary. She had no idea why Anne kept going to him. "What?" Anne asked; she seemed confused by hisment. The next thing Alicia heard was a painful cry from Anne, and then her shaky voice asked, "What... are you doing?" "Why... are you tasting my blood?" "You are, indeed," Wilder said ndly. Screams and horrifying cries that almost drove Alicia insane rang in her ears as all the voices came back in full force. Alicia once again tried to rx. The more the pain in her head consumed her, the more memories she was bound to miss. She didn''t want to miss this opportunity. "This is the best for you. Live a normal life. Maybe one day you will be able to provide us with a home." The voice she heard belonged to a woman. It was heartbreaking. She could tell the woman was on the verge of tears. "Mother..." It was Anne''s voice. She sobbed, not able to say a word. "Do this for us, Anne. Live as a human. You will be a queen, Anne. You will bear children, and they won''t have to live as we did. They are going to have a home and parents who love them. I believe in you. I... be-live in y-you." Her voice broke at the end, but it seemed she was making an effort not to cry. "I DON''T WANT TO LEAVE YOU!" More screams echoed. It was louder this time and even more intense. And then it all went silent, and the next thing she heard was a p. "Even if you hate it so much, you are already married to me. And you will be under me forever!!!" The voice belonged to a man. He sounded angry. "How dare you go against my words again? You are trying so hard for me to kill you. Or you want me to send you away so you can go after the man in your heart?" A crazyugh echoed. "You will live and die here." The screams started again, bringing Alicia to her knees as she kept fighting the banging pain in her head so that she could focus on all of these memories. The more she connected to them, the more she felt like she hade here for a purpose and that she was only going to get an answer by enduring this. Then it all went quiet again, giving her a chance to breathe. "You didn''t tell me your name." This time, it was Harvey''s voice. It seemed like she was back to Amber. "I do not believe youe here to hunt every day." Amber''s voice said. "And I do not believe youe here to pick herbs every day either," Harvey responded lightly. Amber blew him off rudely. "Think whatever you may." "I am Harvey." There was a hesitation before she said, "Amber." "It''s a pretty name." "It''s a stupid name." Harveyughed. "I''m sure only you think so." Amber didn''t respond to that. "Care to see the world outside this forest?" He offered. "I''m not supposed to." "Do you only do what you are supposed to? Because I am certain you shouldn''t be wandering here." "That is not your business." "If you wish to go out,e here by this time tomorrow. But if you don''t, I''ll assume you are not interested in the offer, and I''ll never show up here again." He paused and added, "Promise." "I''m... not interested." Alicia could tell that she was. "We''ll know tomorrow." "Do not bothering," Amber told him. But then, the next thing Alicia heard was the usual cheers from the vigers at the market. "Do not make it too clear that you''ve never been here before," Harvey said to Amber. It seemed she had met up with him the following day. "It''s..." was all Amber muttered. But from her tone, Alicia could tell that she was fascinated. "Do you want that?" Harvey asked. "No." "Will you be allowed to keep it?" "You sound like you know a lot about me." "I only know what I need to know." He answered. "So you know why I live in the mountains?" "You know what else I know?" He asked instead of answering. "What?" "That you need to keep this. It''s dangerous out there. Having a bow and arrow is necessary." "I can''t even use it." She said hesitantly. It was obvious she wanted it. "Wouldn''t you like to learn?" "From you?" "Do you have anyone else?" He taunted. "Pay for it since you offered." Alicia groaned in pain when the headache came again. "You are a quick learner. You should take a break." Harvey''s voice came again. "I don''t need a break. I need to be perfect." "You look like you hold a grudge against someone." Harvey pointed out. "And I will burn them all to the ground," Amber said with determination, and Alicia heard the swoosh of a knife as it struck a hard surface. That word continued to echo in Alicia''s head, following screams and wails, and for a split second, she could see wild fire before her, causing her intense fear. "ALICIA!!!" "HELP US ALICIA!" "SAVE US!!!" "AHHHHH!" "Alicia..." "Princess!" She opened her eyes at once, gasping for air, her chest moving up and down with full force. She flinched when she felt someone beside her but rxed when she realized it was Harold on the bed with her. He helped her sit up and offered her water to drink, which she readily epted and drank greedily. She was sweating all over, and it was still difficult to breathe properly. When she was done, he took the cup from her and began to dab at her face with a kerchief. "Bad dream?" He asked quietly. "I... don''t know." She said in a hoarse voice. "I saw... Harvey." Harold frowned. "Why is Harvey in your dream?" He asked, his lips pursed. "He was with Amber. I... also saw Anne." "Oh... did they tell you anything?" She shook her head. "I don''t know if it''s just a dream or what had actually happened. I think... it actually happened." Even though she couldn''t make sense of many things, she had to admit that they were not bound to have things easy. Whether it was her or Amber or Anne. Were they caused? She turned to look at him, remembering that she had gone to bed alone. "What... are you doing here?" He didn''t take that well, thinking she probably didn''t want him sleeping on her bed anymore, so he stood up. "I wanted to check on you. I''ll leave now." As soon as he turned, she grabbed his hand. "You don''t... have to." He turned to look at her while she looked up at him. "Join me," she offered. Chapter 358 The Mad Prince Susan and Williams looked at themselves before looking back at their father, who was staring at their mother suspiciously. Whether the woman knew she was being stared at or not, she focused on what she was doing. Since they all woke up at dawn, they found her already knitting a scarf, and she had refused to talk to anyone. Which was rare because she never just randomly did anything. "You still aren''t telling me where you went when I was looking all over for you yesterday, and now you are suddenly making a scarf? Do you think giving me this is going to make me change my mind and stop asking? The woman stopped what she was doing and raised her head to look at him in confusion. "Who said it was for you?" "What?" Her husband asked, surprised. "Then is it for me?" Susan asked hopefully. "Should be mine. I''m the one sick." Williams chipped in. "Ha ha! It''s not for any of you!" Lady Victoria said in amusement before she resumed what she was doing while the three looked at her in confusion. "WHO HAS IT!?" Her husband bellowed, startling all of them. "Why did you shout?" Victoria asked as she ced a hand on her chest and looked at him in displeasure. "I want to know who you are making a scarf for that you woke up early. You also disappeared for a long time yesterday!" She scoffed in disbelief. "Are you using me of something?" "Isn''t there enough reason for you to be used of something?" Williams and Susan''s heads went back and forth as they followed their parents'' argument. "Then use me all you want!" The woman said in annoyance and stood up, making to leave, but Susan suddenly gasped. "Mo-ther... are you... meeting another man?!" Susan eximed. Everybody''s eyes widened, and the older woman marched to where Susan was, pping her on the back of her head. "OW! I only asked a question!" Susan cried. "IT''S FOR PRINCE HAROLD!" Victoria shouted in annoyance as she looked at the three of them. With the look on their faces, it seemed like they wouldn''t have been this shocked if she had admitted she was making it for another man rather than Prince Harold himself. "W-W-What?" Victoria stuttered defensively as she eyed the three. "Can''t I make something for my nephew?" "NEPHEW?" The three asked her incredulously. "He... called me... aunt." She said happily and burst into excitedughter before she went to sit down on the seat she had stood up from. Okay... that information even scared them the most. Prince Harold? Called her aunt? How? Why? When? Where? "What is happening?" Her husband asked her in confusion. It was hard for him to process this, and the twins felt the same way. "He said that he always saw me as his mother, even more than the queen." She giggled again in excitement before her eyes went soft as she muttered, "Poor boy. I should have been a lot nicer to him." She paused and added with passion, making them flinch. "BUT NOW! It''s not toote. I can always right my wrongs and treat him better than I have always done." This time, Sir Evan not only looked at her; he also exchanged nces with his children, who seemed to still not believe this. Had she even charmed? "Did he try to find out any information from you?" Williams asked suspiciously. "W-What? No! We just had a mother-son moment." She said defensively, making them even more suspicious. "Mother-son moment? Seriously?" Williams asked, frowning. "So he was the one you were with yesterday." Her husband questioned. "Well..." Victoria dragged her words out and shrugged. "What can I say? You already know it." "Now you want to openly care for him? I don''t remember you ever caring for Prince Ivan." Susan pointed this out. "Why would I care for thatd who knows nothing but cause trouble?" The woman asked with anger as her eyes went to Williams. "If someone like him could try to kill his wife and his cousin, I don''t see any reason why I should be nice to him." "That sounds incorrect. Prince Ivan only hurt them recently, but you have not really been nice to him even before now--" Her mother''s re shut Susan up immediately. "I am going to hit your mouth one day since you don''t know when to stop talking." Susan consciously reached out to cover her mouth with a hand, protectively. "Do not let anyone hear you say that. You never know what will happen in the future." Sir Evan said to his wife regarding what she had said about Ivan, and that just seemed to annoy her. "And so? What if everyone hears me? He tried to kill my son! And his wife is still fighting for her life! He would have also killed Susan. Did you not see her neck when she came in? She looked like an animal that escaped being ughtered." "I don''t think I appreciate being described that wa-- sorry... go on, mother." Susan went back to covering her mouth when her mother''s death re went to her. "You are not going to show your support to Prince Ivan just because he is your sister''s son, right? Besides that, we both know Prince Ivan will never sit on the throne--" "Shhh!!" Her husband chided her. "Do not shhh me!" The woman said, annoyed. What if something had happened to her children? "I have always wanted to know. Why can''t a Beta sit on the throne?" Susan asked curiously. "What if the king does not have an Alpha?" "That is the reason why an Alpha must continue the bloodline on the throne. Because an Alpha must always give birth to at least one Alpha." Her father responded. "That doesn''t sound fair to the other sons, especially if they are the oldest." Williams pointed out. "It doesn''t matter. Royal Betas constantly cause trouble. Unlike Alphas, they cannot control their emotions and be wild." "Don''t you think that happens because it''s their way to pour out their anger since they know they can never rule on the throne just because of something they have no control over?" Williams asked reasonably. "Some of them were just very... chaotic. A Beta was king at one time. It didn''t change anything. " His mother answered this time. "Was there anyone a bit better than Prince Ivan at least?" Susan asked curiously. Because to her, Prince Ivan was crazy. He almost killed his wife; he attacked her and also almost killed Williams and Alvin. He had also stabbed an aristocrat and put his betrothed''s life in danger. Her father let out a curtugh. "Prince Ivan is actually the calmest. It''s the reason many people believe he may take over the throne." Susan shared a surprised look with Williams. Prince Ivan was the calmest? How? When? Where? Why?! "It''s hard to believe." Susan shook her head. "Well, Prince Harry would have been if he didn''t pass away so early." Her mother said with a sad sigh. "What about the King''s brother? What was he like?" Williams asked, remembering that his mother had told him briefly about him when he asked her about the Beta''s nightmare. She had mentioned he was under its influence and attacked his brother, the current king. When Williams asked that, he noticed that his parents looked ufortable talking about it. "He was a mad Prince. I''m not sure there is ever going to be someone else like him." Sir Evan said, looking deep in thought. "Mad Prince? Was he crazy?" Susan inquired curiously. "He was terrifying! When Prince Harold was younger, everyone feared he was going to be just like him. We are all fortunate that Prince Harold is a lot better than him." Their mother added, making them a little surprised. There was actually someone else scarier than Prince Harold? "Is he that bad? What did he do?" Susan asked. "What did he not do?" Her father countered the question. "He was a terror to not only our kind but to humans and every other creature out there. He was the only one who dared join the court assembly on his own, even though he wasn''t a member of the court. He was also the only one who dared to kill noblemen right in front of everyone because he was annoyed. No one could go against him." Well, didn''t that remind them of someone else? But maybe Harold was a lot more rational. Because he had only reacted that way when they tried to kill his wife, and the king was currently unavable to handle things. Their mother shivered as she said, "He had a boy''s eyes plucked out for staring at him in a manner ''he didn''t like'', and a girl''s tongue ripped out for calling his name wrongly." "That is... terrifying," Susan said quietly, feeling goosebumps rise on her skin. "Didn''t anyone do anything about him? What about his father, the king?" "Where is he now?" Williams added. "No one could. He was of royal blood, after all. And no one knows where he is. But for everyone''s sake, we hope he already died." Sir Evan said. "Do think someone was able to kill someone like that easily?" Williams asked. "I can''t say. No one was able to escape his wrath--" "Oh! Wasn''t there a girl who did?" Lady Victoria interrupted her husband. The siblings looked curious now as they paid attention. "There was a rumour at a certain time... that a girl bit him." She informed them. "Bit him? Was she our kind?" Susan asked. Victoria shook her head. "She was a human." "WHAT?" The twins asked at the same time in surprise. "I don''t know how true the rest of the information is, but they said the girl seemed to be angry at him about something, so she bit him on his hand and ran away." "And he just let her?" Susan asked. "I heard he only remarked, ''such a strong bite for a little thing''. That was all he said before he walked away." Williams chuckled. "That''s something Princess Amber can do." "I was just thinking the same!" Susan eximed in amusement, and the two startedughing. "I''m sure she must have died that day. It''s impossible to cross paths with the mad prince and your life remains the same, especially if you annoy him like that." His wife nodded in agreement. "Poor little girl." Chapter 359 "You Make Me Happy" Alicia awoke to the chirping of birds outside her window. The soft light of the early morning filtered through the curtains, illuminating the room. As she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, she realized she was not alone in bed. Not only was her elbow bumping into the other person, but they were holding her close with their hand draped around her waist, and her face almost touching their chest. They were both covered with a quilt. She immediately recognized who it was¡ªHarold hade inst night andforted her after a dream that had disturbed her. She had asked him to join her in bed, but he had seemed surprised and a bit reluctant. Unlike his usual self, he didn''t speak much and had appeared stiff. However, Alicia made the first move and snuggled closer, putting her arm around his waist. He stiffened again, but when he recovered, he raised a hand as though about to hug her, but he stopped midair, asking, "Can I?" "Don''t be silly," she replied tiredly, taking his hand and cing it on her waist. She closed her eyes, but it was still difficult for her to control her breathing. "Will you be okay?" He asked softly. She nodded tiredly. "But you can sing for me." He was quiet for a while before saying, "I have never sang before in my entire life." She wasn''t sure how he handled the rest of the night before she drifted off to sleep. Now that she thought about it, it was quite crazy because she had just woken up from a very weird and scary dream and felt she would have to stay up for the rest of the night, but she felt weak all over and couldn''t fight the sleep. Thankfully, she had a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night, helping her head rx. She drew herself up, fixing her eyes on the man sleeping next to her. Harold was still asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. She studied his face, taking a moment to admire his handsome face, his strong jawline, and his messy hair. She loved how peaceful he looked when he slept. He looked... normal. He was still the same man. She assured herself. It didn''t matter whatever he was. All that had happened to her until this point had also been strange, so it shouldn''t matter if he was a werewolf or vampire. Alicia leaned in closer, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. Her eyes fell to his lips, and ever so slowly, she began to reach closer with her gaze on his lips. Was this considered taking advantage of someone since it was unconsented? She hesitated a bit, and her eyes moved from his lips and looked up. She let out a shout and kicked him out of the bed when she saw a pair of blue staring at her! Harold hadn''t expected that, so he couldn''t prepare himself as hended hard on the floor and winced. "What... were you trying to do?" Alicia asked, a little flustered after being caught in the act. Harold looked at her in confusion, not bothering to get up from the ground where he satfortably. "Shouldn''t... I be the one asking you that?" He asked, his voice still rough from sleep. Well, that was correct. She reasoned. "Why... why didn''t you tell me you were awake?" She said in embarrassment, still trying to push the me onto him. He just gave her a puzzling look as he asked, "Why are you embarrassed? You can always do whatever you want to me. I don''t mind." He added thest part in a quieter tone, suppressing a smile as he bit down on his lower lip. "It''s not funny!" She snapped at him, hissing as she climbed down from the bed and offered him a hand to help him up. Harold smiled at her and took her hand; however, instead of getting up, he tugged at her hand only a little, but that was enough to send her off bnce. She let out a startled scream as she fell on top of him while he began tough. She tried to get off him, but he held onto her tightly and evenid his back on the floor with her on top of him, his hands firmly around her waist and keeping her in ce. "Stop ying around!" She scolded him and tried to get away, but despite all her wiggling, she could not move away. She sighed deeply and just stared at his face, looking annoyed. "What''s funny?" She snapped at him again when she noticed how bright his face looked. He seemed to be having fun at her expense. "You make me happy." He spoke in a quiet voice and smiled softly at her. Those words seemed to melt her heart immediately, transforming the annoyed look on her face into a soft one. It was so unfair that he seemed to have this kind of effect on her. Alicia thought with resignation as she fell onto him, resting her face on the side of his neck. Theyy there for a moment, enjoying each other''spany in silence. It was a peaceful moment, one that they both treasured. For some reason, it felt like they had been missing this for a long time, even though it was just a short time ago that they were like this. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, breaking the silence. She nodded. "Did you?" "The first time in days." He informed her and suddenly asked, "What were you thinking?" "When?" She asked as she unconsciously snuggled closer to him. "The time before you tried to kiss me on the lips¡ª" "You. don''t. have. to. be. so. specific!" She said through gritted teeth and felt the rubble of restrainedughter in his chest. After a little pause, Alicia decided to be honest with him and said, "Just wondering what our future holds. What we''ll be doing, where we''ll be. Things like that." Harold gently rubbed her back soothingly, almost cajoling her back to sleep. "It doesn''t matter. I... will always be by your side." Alicia felt a warm rush of relief, the fear and uncertainty that had been gnawing at her dissipating in an instant. "I''m... d," she said. "That means a lot to me." Harold turned his head to her side and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "You must always remember that I treasure you." He paused and added in a serious tone, "It is an order." Maybe this should have been romantic, but it made Aliciaugh, especially because he was serious. "You should probably use that royal order and move us away from the floor. My body hurts." She said this in amusement, making himugh in embarrassment. ********** Alvin groaned as he slowly came to, his eyes fluttering open to find a familiar face looking down at him with a hopeful smile. He rubbed his head, trying to shake off the fog of unconsciousness, but he felt even more ufortable with the way he was sleeping with his front on the bed and not the back. "You''re awake!" Susan cried, a relieved smile spreading across her face. As expected of the teenager, she had escaped from her family''s watch as soon as they focused on other things and decided toe to check on Alvin instead. Fortunately, there haven''t been any guards watching outside the chamber since, obviously, only a crazy person courting death would decide toe to Prince Harold''s chamber to hurt Alvin. "What are you doing here?" Alvin asked, his voice raspy. He tried to sniff the air around him sensing something different about it, but his senses were too dull for that so he ignored it. "Do you know where you are? Do you remember what happened?" Susan asked at once before she continued speaking, "You saved my life. You put yourself in harm''s way to protect me. Do you remember?" She asked hopefully as she dragged her stool closer to his bed, her eyes shining with hope. However, Alvin just stared at her with his usual indifference. "You don''t have to remember if you can''t," she said hurriedly. "Just know that I am grateful." Silence followed after that. "What''s on your mind?" Alvin asked. "What?" She asked, confused. "What is it you want to say?" He asked her, sensing that there was more she wanted to say. Susan blushed and rubbed her hands together before she started talking, "Well... your life is... in danger, so you have to stay beside me from now on in order to survive." He frowned, pointing her, "I am healing just fine." "I am not talking about your wound." She said and hesitated before saying, "When you... returned to the pce, many people... including my mother, saw us embracing so¡ª" His frown deepened. "Why would I embrace you?" His question annoyed Susan, but that wasn''t the point now, so she ignored it and answered without meeting his gaze. "You... were still alive, and I was relieved." "And I embraced you because you were relieved?" He asked in a tone that said, "you are not making any sense." "Well... I was the one that embraced you¡ª but do not worry! I will protect you!" She quickly added when the look on his face changed as soon as she said the part about being the one who hadinitiated the embrace between them. Alvin almost snorted. With all his might, he tried to bring himself to lie on his side, leaving Susan confused since she was not sure whether to help him adjust or just let him be. "Look closely at the two of us..." He started. "Who can protect whom?" His tone was taunting. Susan pondered his question. "Uhm... that is correct. Then you can just protect me instead. I don''t mind." She offered shamelessly, blinking innocently at him. Chapter 360 The Determined Alicia Queen Is Here! Alicia bumped into Susan, who wasing out of Prince Harold''s chamber with a dejected look on her face. Both Susan and Alicia stopped walking as soon as they saw each other. Susan, especially, looked awkward until Alicia made the move and resumed walking. When she got closer to Susan, she stopped and asked, "Is he awake?" Susan seemed a bit surprised that Alicia was initiating a conversation. She nodded and looked back at the door. "But he fell back asleep." Alicia nodded. "Thanks to you, he could survive." "I didn''t have a choice. My brother''s life was also in danger." Susan said modestly. Alicia nodded in understanding. Silence passed between them, making it even more awkward. However, Alicia spoke, breaking the silence. "You don''t have to feel too awkward around me. I have already let go of whatever hurt I felt about the secret you all kept from me." She said in a sincere tone. "Really?" Susan asked hopefully before her look turned sullen again "But I... I got angry at you¡ª" Alicia cut her off. "It doesn''t matter. You all were the ones risking your lives to save me." "So... you really are not angry anymore?" Susan asked, watching her face closely. Alicia nodded to affirm it. "There is no point in that. It''s all in the past." Susan broke into a big smile, and before Alicia knew what was happening, Susan was already hugging her. "Thank you so much. I thought you hated me now." Susan sounded like a boulder had been lifted off her shoulders, so Alicia believed her. "I now know why I always liked you," Susan said with a big smile as she broke away from the hug. "Why?" Alicia asked, smiling too. "You are..." Susan paused, not finding the right words. "I don''t know how to exin it." "Cool?" Alicia offered, amused. Susan pondered before she nodded. "But even better!" Aliciaughed before saying, "Let''s not avoid each other." Besides, she didn''t know how long she had here left. "Let''s not do that." Susan quickly bobbed her head, agreeing to that. She could not stop smiling. "I''m happy to see you back to yourself." "What do you mean?" "I always wished I was like you," Susan confessed. "You are confident. Very confident. You are not the type to let someone use you and just let them do that. It was why I could do that to Prince Ivan. Because I believed you would have done the same." She beamed. Her words made Alicia soften. It was simr to what Harold had told her this morning. He had mentioned that he was d she was the type of person he could count on to take care of herself even if he wasn''t around. He had said it didn''t mean he was going to leave her on her own, but he just liked how she always fought back. Despite their words, she felt that wasn''t entirely true. She had given up in her past life and tried to kill herself. She had almost given up when the court found her guilty and wanted to kill her. She had let them do to her as she pleased, even going so far as to try to kill Paulina. Those people had toyed with her. Now that she thought about it, it made her burn with rage. She had gotten a glimpse of what Anne and Amber had been like. Even though she didn''t know most of the details, she could tell they hadn''t been pushovers. She was Alicia Queen. She was not a pushover. With this new-found determination and anger in her, she found herself in front of the mirror that evening, staring at her new reflection. A confident smile that looked creepy appeared on her face, pleased at what she had done. She had never felt so confident and empowered. The transformation she had undergone was nothing short of miraculous. She had been through so much in her life¡ªthe countless trials and the near-death experiences¡ªand she was done with being a victim. She had cut her hair into a short bob, and it framed her face perfectly, giving her an edgy look. She was done with the prim and proper princess look. She was not going to live by their rules anymore. The dark eyeliner and red lipstick she had been able to make from her mix of makeup products added to her newfound confidence, and she couldn''t help but feel like apletely different person. She then put on her new attire, the tunic and breeches she had worn outside the pce that had caused controversy in the kingdom. She also rolled up her sleeves, revealing her toned arms, all thanks to Princess Amber''s effort in keeping her body fit. Lastly, she wore brocade boots and fixed her daggers on them. Whoever was messing with her, she was prepared for them. If they wanted trouble, she would just have to give them that in a hundred folds. And with that, Alicia strode out into the world, ready to face whatever challengesy ahead. She was a new person, with a new determination, and she was ready to make her mark on the world. From the moment she stepped outside her chamber, everyone within the pce could feel a chill they could not fathom. The ones who had it worse were those who saw her pass by. It had taken a while for them to realize it was her, and the shock had been... shocking. For some reason, she seemed much scarier than Prince Harold at this moment, and they could not even stay to watch or gossip. As soon as they saw her, they fled. Everything about her was weird. The hair, her face, the clothes, the aura. Everything was simply... strange. And it made them begin to believe that she was truly a witch. Alicia walked with a purposeful stride, her head held high and her eyes fixed on the horizon. She was a force to be reckoned with, and she was not going to let anything stand in her way. She believed she had been brought to this era for a reason, and she was not going to be a coward about it. A crazy smile appeared on Alicia''s face when she noticed all that was happening around her. "Buckle up motherfuckers." She muttered as she continued her journey straight down to the stables. "Hellion," she called softly when she got to where the white wild horse was tied. She approached it slowly, keeping her eyes on its face. With the look on Hellion''s face, it was obvious that the horse was not happy to see her. "You need to get used to this face because you will see me often." She spoke to the horse and smiled at it before turning around and leaving the stables, while Hellion stared at her in confusion, as though wondering who the crazy woman was. By now, word about her was spreading throughout the pce. But Alicia was prepared for what was toe, and she was currently on the archery range, trying to remember what Harold had taught her before all the craziness started. In one of her memory shes, she had heard Princess Amber say, "Using weaponses easy for us." Alicia didn''t know the "us" Amber had been talking about, but she assumed she was talking about her lineage considering Anne had also been good at it. She picked up the smaller bow and arrow and aimed, letting the arrow fly. Of course, it didn''t hit the bullseye. In fact, it hadn''t hit anywhere at all and simply fell to the floor, which she had expected it to. But she was determined to get better. Because whoever had tried to get rid of her, she was going to kill that person with her own hands. Determined, she continued, letting several arrows keep flying for the next hour. She repeated the process and noticed she was getting better with each shot. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, she added a flourish to her shots, twirling her bow in her hand as she reached for another arrow. She released it, and this time, she was able to hit a target, albeit not the bullseye. She gasped in surprise and looked at what she had done with pride, tears almost filling her eyes. "It really doese easy for your blood." She turned around immediately and saw Harvey behind her, his eyes on the arrow she had shot. "That was a good shot." ******** AUTHORS NOTE: Hello, beautiful readers! I had to write here because it''s a little long. So this book isn''t ranking too well in the Golden Tickets section, so I was thinking about ways to improve that. I have seen some authors do this, so I was considering also doing a simr thing. In case you are not aware, Golden Ticketse from the coins readers spend on this book, either by opening privilege chapters or sending gifts. So I was thinking that maybe I should introduce a win-win situation... The usual update for this book is going to be 7/WEEK. If I get a 1000-coin gift (LUXURY CAR), there is going to be an extra chapter the following day, making it 8/WEEK. If I get a 2000 coin gift (DRAGON), it''s going to be 9/WEEK. 5000 coins is going to be 10/WEEK 10,000 coins¡ª12/WEEK and 15,000 coins¡ª14 Chapters the following week. Of course, this is not mandatory, so I''m not asking you guys to break your banks for it. And also, if anyone sends me more coins in a day or week, I''ll dly ept them and even do a happy dance! Lol. But if this n is going to work, I''ll be asking my boss for at least one day off a week so I canpile chapters and keep updating. I hope you all support me, please. Thank you. Chapter 361 Familiar Aura Seeing Alicia with a bow and arrow reminded Harvey of Amber. It was one of those days she had been able to escape from her matron toe continue her lessons with him. Harvey and Amber were in the mountains, surrounded by lush green forests and towering peaks. He was teaching her how to shoot an arrow, and she was determined to learn. "Take a deep breath and steady your hand," Harvey said as he stood behind her, adjusting her stance. Amber didn''t care that he was close to her or touching her hand in a way that was inappropriate for a man and woman, just like Madam Grace had taught her. She was focused on learning. She kept her eyes ahead and pulled back the bowstring, aiming at the target. She let go of the arrow, and it hit a little close to the bullseye. Amber''s eyes lit up, and she turned to Harvey. Amber wasn''t a very expressive or vocal person, but Harvey could tell that she was excited at her achievement. Harvey smiled and gave her a pat on the back. "You''re going to be an excellent archer." He praised. Those words made her smile, which was the first time Harvey had seen her smile since he knew her. "My mother used to be good at this," Amber informed him as she sat on the ground and rested her back against a big tree. "She said using weaponses easy for us. She tried to teach me, but the idiot forbade her from doing so." ''The idiot'' referred to her father. "Does this make you feel connected to her somehow?" Harvey asked as he also sat down on the tree beside her and rested his back too. "It does."She nodded before murmuring, "I feel connected to her." * As soon as Alicia saw Harvey, she began to see shes of the dream she had had, which featured him. She had suspected that he had deep feelings for Amber for a long time. She had first suspected it from the first time they met and how he had entered her chamber through the window and embraced her. And after the dream she hadst night, she suspected it even more. The Harvey with Amber was different from the Harvey she knew. He wasn''t that cheerful around them. The thought made her feel a sense of guilt. Of course, it wasn''t her fault, and she had no control over it. But she was still in Amber''s body. "You look... different," Harvey said as he took in her look. Her look was very unusual. But more than just her look, there was a different kind of aura around her. One that was almost simr to being in Amber''s presence. Not just the body but the personality. "You must be really angry about something." He pointed out. "How do you know so?" She asked as she put down her bow. "I just know so," Harvey said as he picked up the bow and arrow she had dropped. He drew and released it, hitting the bullseye with a thunk. "Nice!" Alicia said as she looked at it in awe. It felt so easy when he did it, as though it wasn''t something she had been struggling with for hours. "You will get there soon," Harvey assured her, but his gaze was on the arrow he had shot. "It must be hard for you," Alicia said quietly, getting his attention. He raised a brow when he noticed the strange way she was staring at him and thement she had made. "What is?" "You see me, yet know I am not Amber." "We cannot control the things that happen in this world. I believe you were brought here for a reason." He said ndly. "Why didn''t you tell her?" "What are you referring to?" He asked, confused. "Amber. Why didn''t you tell her how you felt about her?" His already-arched brow went higher. "How do I feel about her?" "You do not have to deny it. I saw it all. I mean... I dreamt it. Your first meeting. How you saved her life. How you offered to take her to the vige. You were happy with her." He looked a little surprised, or maybe intrigued by that. "You did." It wasn''t a question, but Alicia deemed it necessary to answer, "Yes." She nodded. Harvey sighed and dropped the bow in his hand. "I... felt bad for Princess Amber." He confessed, getting Alicia''s attention. "She didn''t get to live a normal life. She had a lot of love in her. But also had a lot of hate in her. And sometimes, her lovees in the form of hate." He smiled sadly. "I hope she is not dead. I just hope... her soul is resting somewhere. Or maybe she is inside your real body and is living a better life." Uhm... Alicia doubted that. For some reason, she felt it was a lot easier to adjust to this world than to the present one, not to mention the kind of person she was and how the media was all over her. Where was Amber going to start from? Seeing cars instead of carriages, tall buildings, and skyscrapers? Aerones? Blinding lights? a world that cannot function without cell phones and advanced technology? a little scuffle and ending up in the police station? a world where you can barely do a thing without a credit card? Nah. Amber would have probably drowned herself. "But you loved her..." "Even if. It doesn''t matter." Harvey cut in. "She never saw me as anything other than a friend or a trainer... or whatever she saw me as. I also... wasn''t sure how she would react if she knew who I really was." "She trusted you. She would have been able to ept you--" "Or stab me in the heart with a stake." He interrupted again. "She is not you, Alicia." He reminded her. "All she wanted for her life was to get revenge on her father and his kingdom." Harvey recalled the days they used to train together in the mountains. She had wanted to learn how to use every kind of weapon. She said her mother had been able to use different weapons effortlessly because she had promised someone she was capable of saving herself and had put in the effort to train. Fortunately, it all came easily for her. Sadly, she wasn''t able to save herself in the end. Whenever Harvey trained with Amber, her determination to take revenge on her father was evident in every movement she made. Harvey remembered watching in amazement as Amber swung the sword with ease, her movements graceful and deadly. She was a natural fighter and a born warrior. He wondered if that was truly a gift that was passed down to her generation. He knew that if he continued teaching her some more, she was going to be very skilled, to the point where she would be able to spar with others, but for some reason, he had hesitated in teaching her more. "Would you like to get married?" She had suddenly asked one day after training, surprising him. "Why do you inquire?" "You are old enough to get married." "So are you." "I do not care for things like that." She hissed. "Then why were you asking me?" "Because... I know someone you can marry." He looked at her in confusion. For as long as he can remember, she only knew him aside from the people she lived with. And there was no way she was talking about Madam Grace, whom she hated so much. He raised a brow to look at her, guessing who she was talking about but not wanting to assume. "You can kidnap Paulina and marry her. When she sees other ces outside this mountain, she''ll choose to stay with you." Amber suggested. He almostughed at the absurdity of that. He wanted to ask why she didn''t offer herself, but he didn''t. "I thought you didn''t like Paulina?" Amber shook her head. "I hate that she is with me. I do not hate her." "She lost her parents at a young age. She didn''t get the chance to live a normal life before she was thrown in with me here. And instead of hating me, she just..." she sighed. "I hate it. And it makes me get angry whenever I see her." "Then why not treat her nicely? You make her cry a lot." He suggested. "How do you know that?" Amber turned to look at him, giving him a curious look. "I have... heard her crying," Harvey answered hesitantly. "Paulina has never left the hut, and she does not cry that loudly." "Do you make her cry or you do not?" He asked, flustered and trying to throw the attention back to her. Thankfully, she fell for it. "Maybe. But not being nice to her will make her hate me and wish to run away one day." "And Madam Grace?" "She needs to stay with me." Amber said softly before adding, "One fateful night, I will wake her from her peaceful slumber and make sure she sees my face very clearly as I painfully send her out of this world." He wouldn''t lie. He had almost shuddered. Looking at Alicia now reminded Harvey of that side of Amber. The scary side that was ready to send people out of this world. Chapter 362 YEVRAH EVOL The queen sat on her bed, her hair a mess, and her eyes so red that fire coulde out of them. She had never felt so helpless before. The sound of the door unlocking echoed in the room, and she looked up, hopeful for news of her release. As Damon entered the room, he looked around the room, his face showing his irritation. Everything was either on the floor or broken. It was no argument about whom Prince Ivan had taken after. From the first look on his face when he entered, she knew immediately that he had no good news for her. But she didn''t want to believe it. "Damon, what is happening? Why am I still locked in here?" she asked as she stood up, desperation in her voice. "I have not received any information regarding your release. The court is still considering the options," Damon replied, his voice calm and steady. "What do you mean, ''considering the options''? I am the queen of this kingdom; I should not be treated like amon criminal!" she eximed, anger and frustration evident in her voice. Damon sighed. "I understand your frustration, but you must understand that the situation isplicated. We need to ensure that justice is served and the truth is uncovered." The queen''s anger boiled over. "The truth? The truth is that I am innocent! I had nothing to do with that crime!" She paused and began tough in disbelief. "You all really want me to go crazy, don''t you?" "You left the pce before the banquet night. Where did you go to?" Damon asked her. The queen''s eyes twitched, but she quickly collected herself and scoffed. "Now, I have to exin where I go to? Harold always leaves the pce! Why don''t you go and ask him where he always heads to?" "You are the suspect now. That is why we have decided to bring Damian in for questioning." "W-What? Why?" She asked in an apprehensive tone. "Damian is your bodyguard, and he was with you when you left. To get to the bottom of this, we need to leave no stone unturned," Damon replied, trying to remain calm in the face of the queen''s wrath. "You better be on my side, Damon. If not..." the queen left the rest of her words unsaid, her voice low and menacing. "I am not on anyone''s side but the truth. I am merely carrying out my duties. I suggest you cooperate with the investigation, and hopefully, the truth wille to light," Damon replied, his voice firm. The queen''s rage was uncontainable; she started pacing the room. "I won''t cooperate! I won''t be made a fool of! I am the queen of this kingdom, and I demand to be treated with respect!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the small chamber. She then picked up a broken piece of mirror that she had shattered earlier in her fit of anger and ran the sharp edge across her palm, drawing blood. "Look what they have reduced me to!" she eximed, holding up her bleeding hand. "I am not just a suspect; I am a prisoner in my own kingdom!" Damon watched in horror as the queen''s behaviour became more and more erratic. He knew that he needed to get out of there as soon as possible before things escted even further. What was wrong with all of them? The queen, Ivan, and even Tyra By chance, did they have a mental illness? Remembering Sir Zealot now, he realized this craziness had started a long time ago. "If you want me to help, you have to tell me what you have been up to and where you went that day--" "I WILL NOT TELL YOU ANYTHING!" She yelled, shoving him. "Do not forget. If not for my father, you would be nothing more than a poor rat in the streets." His eyes shed dangerously. "If you do not want to be in an even worse position in your life, you know what to do." He gritted his teeth as he stared down at her, matching her re. "I will do my best to see what I can do to help you. In the meantime, I suggest you calm down and rest," he said, backing towards the door. He quickly left the room, locking the door behind him. His anger was rising to the point where he felt like exploding. But as if that encounter was not enough to rile him up, as soon as he turned the corner, he found someone there, already waiting for him. ****** Alicia was walking down the hallways back to her chamber that evening when she saw Prince Harolding from the opposite side. As soon as his eyesnded on her, he paused, his head tilting to the side as he took in her new look. Alicia also stopped walking and mirrored him, also tilting her head to the side in amusement. He always knew that she was a rebel, but this was far more than he could have ever imagined. As he approached her, he couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease. The way she looked, with her eyes lined and her hair cut, it was almost as if she were a different person. "Princess?" he called, his voice hesitant. He stopped in front of her. "You look... different." She raised an eyebrow and gave a wicked smile. "Do I?" she asked, her tone teasing. Prince Harold cleared his throat, trying to shake off the feeling that something was off. "It was you?" "Me what?" She asked curiously, but instead of answering, he asked, "Should I be wary? You look quite... scary." Alicia could no longer suppress it and burst outughing, the sound filling the hallway and putting Prince Harold at ease. "Oh, Milord," she said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. "You''re always so serious. Don''t worry, I won''t hurt you." Harold let out a chuckle when he heard that. "I''m d to hear that," he said. "But, may I ask what brought on this sudden change in appearance?" He took her hand and twirled her around, looking at her in wonder. When she faced him again, the smile on her face faded and her expression became serious. "I just needed a change," she said softly. "I was feeling trapped like I was living someone else''s life. I needed to do something that was just for me." which was also true, literally. Harold nodded, understanding her frustration. "I know what you mean," he said. "As royalty, we have certain duties and responsibilities that we must uphold. Dressing like this is... abnormal, especially within the pce walls--" "I know--" "But Queen Alicia dressing like this... is very not abnormal." He remarked, winking. He said with a smile that made her grin. "It''s Alicia Queen." "I don''t see the difference, Princess." He offered her his hand, and she took it, locking their fingers together as they began to head down to her chamber, their hands swinging in the middle and the entire pce unsettled. But that wasn''t their business. That night, Aliciay in bed, and this time, Harold didn''t need to sneak inter at night. He was beside her as she flipped through the pages of Amber''s diary. She had been hesitant to pick it up this night because of the dream she hadst night. She assumed the diary had something to do with it. But as much as she hated the headache, she also wanted to learn more things, and even though Harold didn''t like the idea, he did not object. The moonlight filtering through the window cast a soft glow on the pages, illuminating the words written there. She couldn''t help but feel a sense of fascination with the diary as if it held all the secrets of the world within its pages. She had been trying to understand the words written in the diary for days now, but for some reason, they just didn''t make sense. The more she read, the more confused she became. But tonight, as she was going through the pages, she came across a page and noticed it was thicker. She suspected some pages were stuck together and gently pulled them apart. Surprisingly, she saw only two words written on it: "YEVRAH EVOL." "What does this mean?" Alicia asked, turning to Harold for answers. He shrugged. The words didn''t make sense to him either. Alicia frowned, deep in thought. She couldn''t shake the feeling that the words were important, and she was determined to find out what they meant. She traced the letters with her finger, muttering the words under her breath. Just then, Harold passed her a ss of drink to soothe her mind, and as she reached for it, her hand slipped and the drink spilled all over the page with the two mysterious words. "Oh!" Alicia cried, quickly grabbing the diary and trying to clean the page. She tried to wipe away the liquid, but it had already soaked into the paper, smudging the already weak ink. "Let me help," Harold offered apologetically and took the diary from her, flipping the page over. The two suddenly paused when they saw the mirror image of the two words. YEVRAH EVOL Behind, it spelled:"LOVE, HARVEY." Alicia''s eyes grew wide with surprise as the realization dawned on her. Chapter 363 The Questioning Damon was in charge of leading the investigation the next morning. But with one look at him, anyone could tell that something was wrong with him. He wasn''t his usual stoic self, who was always angry. During this period, it seemed like his ego had taken several hits, and now he looked like he''d rather be anywhere else than in this ce. Harold was also in the meeting, but he didn''t involve himself in anything that happened there. He let the others handle it because he trusted that Alicia didn''t have a hand in it so they were going to draw out the culprit somehow. "We received information that just before the banquet night, the queen left the pce alone with a guard," Damon informed the others, his voice no longer as loud as it used to be. Before he could continue, the door to the assembly room creaked open, and he fell silent, his eyes going to the door, the same as all the others, as they all felt a certain, unexinable chill simr to what they had experienced yesterday. Some of them had heard the rumours about who was causing it, so they kept their gaze on the door. The door swung wide, revealing the figure of none other than Prince Harold''s wife, Princess Amber, standing tall in the doorway. Those who didn''t see her or hear the rumours were confused by this strange person standing there, but a close look at her face and her smell told them who it was. She was dressed in a manner that was unfamiliar to the noblemen: a ck man''s tunic, ck breeches, and ck boots. Her hair was cut short, and her face was painted with ck eyeliner that entuated her piercing eyes and ck lipstick. As she stepped into the room, a chill ran down the spines of the noblemen. Some of them shifted nervously where they stood. They knew that she was not supposed to be there, for women were forbidden from participating in the assembly unless they were being questioned. And yet, there she was, standing in their presence, her eyes zing with determination. For some of the noblemen, the fear was even greater, for they had agreed to execute Alicia just a few days prior. They weren''t sure what they had been thinking then by following the Queen''s lead, and since then, it had been difficult for them to sleep with both their eyes closed and eat without getting suspicious that they were being poisoned. They knew that they were at the mercy of Prince Harold, whom they feared would be wrathful should they harm a hair on his wife''s head. And looking at her now, it seemed Prince Harold wasn''t the only one to be feared. They didn''t believe a mere human could exude this much scariness. She had to be a witch. But who were they to judge now? As Alicia stepped into the room, the assembly of noblemen fell silent. All eyes were on her as she made her way to the front of the room, her eyes never leaving the faces of the men gathered there. She refused to be intimidated. She stood tall, her chin held high, as she spoke. "I am aware that my presence here is not in ordance with the usual protocols of the assembly. However, this matter concerns me deeply. Therefore, I deem it necessary to be present here." She turned to look at Damon as she said, "After all... I almost died because of it." The noblemen''s eyes kept flicking back and forth between Prince Harold and Alicia. No one dared say a word about it, especially after thest thing she said. Yes, they had all watched when she almost died. They also knew that should they offend her, they would be offending the prince himself. They could not even raise an issue about the way she was dressed because, as much as they wanted to call her out on it, some of them were fascinated. Meanwhile, Harold acted like he could not sense their unease and difort at her joining them. He was just staring at her as though she was the only thing in the room, much to their annoyance. Seeing she had passed her message, Alicia stepped back and stood beside Harold, her eyes scanning the room one final time. She could see the displeasure in the faces of many of the noblemen. However, they could only keep their words to themselves. When her gaze fell on Harvey, who was staring at her, the words "LOVE HARVEY" echoed in her head. Amber had written that. Her trail of thoughts was however broken when Damon spoke up loudly, "WE WILL CONTINUE THE ASSEMBLY!" Many unpleasant looks went his way. It was obvious that, at this point, he had lost favour with the rest of the noblemen. However, Damon''s skin was already thickening, and he pretended not to notice. "As earlier mentioned, we received information that just before the banquet night, the queen left the pce alone with her guard." He repeated. "The guard will now be brought in for questioning in ce of the queen, as is the custom of the Moon Kingdom." As he announced, the door opened, revealing Damian with his hands tied in front of him. His face was rigid, and the air around him was cold as usual as he strode inside the hall. Beside him were two other guards leading him inside. Damian was ced in the middle, and the two guards returned, closing the door behind them. "You are standing here before the royal court in ce of the queen. Therefore, you will present yourself to the house to be known." Damon said. Alicia was kind of disappointed. She would have loved to see the queen standing there instead, just like they have done to her. Even if it were herst breath, she was going to make sure the status quo would be broken and the queen put in that position. "You may now introduce yourself to the assembly before the questioning." Damon gestured at Damian, who gritted his teeth, trying to hide his annoyance as he said, "I am Damian. The loyal guard of the queen." "How old are you?" "Twenty-five." Twenty-five? Alicia reasoned. So he was seven years older than Tyra and even older than all the other young people within the pce? Since it was difficult to tell their ages by their looks, she had always assumed he was the same age as the others but only a little more mature because he was a bodyguard. "How long have you been in the pce?" "I have been in the pce for 12 years." "Have you been serving the queen for that long?" "I''m sure everything you are interested in knowing is in the book you''re holding. Why don''t you just read it out of there?" Damian said in an annoyed tone that made most of the noblemen frown in irritation at his disrespectful tone. "YOU ARE STANDING BEFORE THE ROYAL COURT. YOU WILL SHOW RESPECT!" Sir Richard bellowed. He was still one of the few men who was not intimidated by Harold and Alicia''s presence. Alicia still wasn''t sure how she felt about Damian. He just gave off a certain kind of vibe. Even after being scolded by Sir Richard, he still had a rebellious look on his face. Was this simply because he was blindly loyal to the queen? Or because he had a forbidden rtionship with Tyra, the queen''s daughter? "Go on. Read it," Harold said calmly to Damon, who was burning with rage. Now, even mere guards disrespect him. The book was usually in the royal archives, which were unattainable to anyone other than the King and his Beta. It had the details of everyone in the pce. Of course, he could have just read out Damian''s profile, but wasn''t Damian here to be questioned?! He gritted his teeth too and opened the page with Damian''s profile, reading out, "Damian." He spat out the name as though cursing him in his head. "25 years old. An orphaned beggar brought into the pce at the age of 13. After proper training, he was assigned as the personal guard of Prince Harry, the first son of King Eli and Queen Arya. After Prince Harry passed, he was locked in the dungeon for 2 years, and at the age of 16, he swore his life to the queen to pay the debt for not protecting the first Prince." Damon read out. Hearing his unpleasant profile even made the other noblemen scowl. He wasn''t even a thing, yet he dared act rudely toward them. "Is everything correct?" Damon asked him. "They are," Damian answered. "In all the years you have served the queen, do you think she has any reason to kill Beth, hurt Princess Tyra, and also frame Princess Amber for it?" Damon asked him. "I don''t see any reason for that. The queen harbours no such grievances towards either of them. Beth was her loyal maid, just like her mother, who protected the queen with her life. Princess Tyra is her only daughter, and Princess Amber is the bride of Prince Harold." "Then who did you meet outside the pce before the banquet?" "We didn''t meet anyone." "You left the pce, didn''t you?" "The queen was tired of being in the pce and needed to breathe fresh air. So we went outside." Damon looked at him, not sure what he was supposed to do about this. Damian seemed bent on not saying anything regarding their outing. On one hand, he could not stop remembering the encounter he had with the queen, and on the other hand, he could not also stop thinking about what happened after he left the queen''s chamber. He had met Tyra. And that had not been a pleasant meeting. Chapter 364 Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea "What are you doing here at this time?" Tyra asked when Damian entered her chamber without knocking. She stood up from the bed and went to check outside to be sure no one was around before she closed the door. "I asked what you were doing here?" "What I am doing here or why I am here when I should be locked in the dungeon?" Damian asked in anger as he reached for her, grabbing her by the throat and mming her against the wall. Tyra cried out when her back hit the wall, but she had an even bigger problem: she could not breathe. "It was you, wasn''t it?" he hissed, his fingers tightening around her neck. Tyra gasped for air, struggling to breathe as Damian''s grip grew stronger. She shook her head frantically, trying to deny his usation. "W-What... are you... talking about?" She struggled to speak as tears poured out from the corners of her eyes as she continued to fight to get his hand away from her neck. "You told them we left the pce. It wasn''t on the records, so no one else was supposed to know." "No... I swear I didn''t tell anyone," she wheezed. But Damian didn''t believe her. He red at her with a look of pure hatred, and for a moment, Tyra thought that this was the end when his grip grew tighter. Damian instantly let go of Tyra, and she fell to the floor, gasping for air as she touched her neck. "You must be out of your mind. You must be crazy!" She cried out as she looked at him from the floor with angry tears in her eyes. He walked towards her and knelt on one knee in front of her, raising her chin so she could look up at him. "The only one crazy here is you. And if you want to survive in this pce. Do not try to y me." He warned darkly. The two exchanged heated res before he took out a tiny bottle of potion from his pocket and threw it in front of her. Without another word, he stood up and headed for the door, leaving the room. However, before he disappeared out of the hallways, Susan wasing from the opposite direction and saw his back. She had heard he had been questioned earlier today, but no useful information was obtained, so they let him be for now and were going to keep digging. Seeing him now reminded her of his role in all that had happened a few days ago. She disliked him so much and wondered what Tyra saw in him. As she opened Tyra''s door, she was surprised to find Tyra not only sitting on the floor but that everything about her looked different. Her eyes were teary and she looked angry, and her ws were deep into her palms until blood was dripping out of them but she seemed oblivious to it. As soon as Tyra took note of her, she reached for the bottle of potion and quickly hid it inside her dress before she helped herself up. That also caught Susan''s attention. "What''s going on?" Susan demanded with a frown. She could see marks on Tyra''s neck that told her she had been choked, and she knew that something terrible had happened. And knowing Damian had just left her chamber, he was Susan''s first suspect. Tyra self-consciously pulled her dress up to hide the marks on her neck and also cleaned the tears in her eyes before turning to give Susan an unweing stare. "It is rude to enter people''s chambers without permission." She said in a hoarse and raspy voice. "Tell me what happened," Susan said gently. "Nothing happened," Tyra said in a dismissive tone as she climbed into bed and threw the covers over her head. Susan watched Tyra with a growing sense of worry. She decided not to ask any questions anymore or raise her suspicion that Damian was the culprit. She simply made a mental note to keep a close eye on Damian. "Everything is going to be okay," Susan said soothingly. "I''ll always be here if you need me," Susan assured her, but Tyra didn''t say a word in response until Susan left. As soon as it was only her in the room, she pushed off the quilt, her eyes filled with anger and her chest heaving up and down. She had counted on the wrong person. Yesterday, she had met Damon as soon as he emerged from the queen''s chamber. THE PREVIOUS DAY: Damon had been livid after he met the queen. And on his way, he had found Tyra. She had her back resting on the wall and her hands folded across her chest as though she were waiting for someone. And as soon as their gazes locked, he could tell he was the one she had been waiting for. This made him puzzled, as he wondered why she was waiting for him when she had gone crazy on him earlier. "Do you think it is proper for a man of your stature to be meeting with the queen in her private chambers?" Tyra asked, her voice tinged with an emotion he couldn''t describe but it certainly wasn''t concern. Damon''s face flushed with anger at her words, and he took a step forward, towering over her. "My actions are proper and appropriate. I am only doing my duty for the king and this kingdom." Tyra let out a shortugh before saying, "I''m sure you''d prefer a quieter ce to have this conversation with me." She said and turned around without saying a word, leading him into a room. He was still angry and especially wary, but he followed her until they got to a private room, and he entered after her, closing the door behind him. As they stood face-to-face, Tyra''s eyes locked with his, and he could sense the urgency in her tone. "The queen is guilty." "Do you have proof?" "I do not need proof for it. After all, you all tried to kill Princess Amber without any proof." "Princess Amber was on the scene! And you swore it was her who also stabbed you." "And now I am saying it was the queen. That should be enough for you all." "You cannot just keep changing your testimony!" "Everyone knows that the queen has not really been in favour of Princess Amber or Prince Harold. And even though I am her daughter, she doesn''t love me either. Don''t you think it''s normal for her to try to get rid of us and me Princess Amber for it? She also tried to kill Prince Harold so that Prince Ivan could take over the throne without anypetition. That means Prince Ivan is also in on it and deserves to be punished too¡ª" "YOU CANNOT RECKLESSLY MAKE ACCUSATIONS!" "You should mind how you talk to me, Sir Damon. You are not my father." She spoke calmly, but her voice oozed anger, stunning him. "You will always be my father''s assistant. A beggar that was fortunately redeemed by my grandfather." Damon''s face contorted, taken aback by her harsh words. "So mind the way you talk to me. For I am a princess." "Do you¡ª" "I should give you a piece of advice, Sir Damon," Tyra said, cutting him off. "Do not give anyone a reason to be suspicious of you and your blind loyalty to the queen. I understand that you cannot help it, but now is the time to free yourself from thatmitment and do what is right." "And what is right?" "Get rid of the Queen and Prince Ivan. I already gave you the information you need to do that. Find what the queen has been up to outside the pce." "You... it was you?" Damon asked, confused. "You must take action before it is toote, Sir Damon. If you keep trying to protect the queen, who knows? A certain unpleasant rumour might suddenly start spreading around the pce and the entire kingdom." She looked thoughtful as she added, "I''m not sure only the queen will be in trouble then." "What are you talking about?" "What am I talking about?" "Do you... are you hiding something?" "Me?" Tyra asked with an innocent look. "I''m not sure what you mean. But maybe we''ll understand better when the certain rumour begins to spread?" Tyra''s bluntness and directness caught him off guard. There was something about her that made him uneasy. But Tyra smiled at Damon. "I understand perfectly well, Sir Damon. But I know that you are up to the task. And when this is over, I promise you that you will have my full support." She backed up towards the door, looking disgusted as she said, "And do something about the way you smell when you are angry. It''s disgusting." She tsked before walking out of the door, leaving a fuming, confused, and uneasy Damon behind. He had a terrible feeling about it all. Now in her chamber alone, Tyra remembered the conversation she had had with Damon, and her anger soared even higher. "Did he think I was joking?" She muttered to herself before she began tough crazily. One thing was however certain, Damon was between the devil and the deep blue sea. Chapter 365 "I Dont Bite" The painting room was dimly lit, with the only source of lighting from the window facing west. Paulina was seated on a wooden chair, focused on her painting, trying to perfect every stroke of the brush. She had spent the past night here. It was the only ce she seemed to feel safe, and she didn''t want to be a burden to Alicia by clinging to her. She had been spending her time painting, as it seemed to help her get her mind off everything that had happenedtely. Alicia had described her looks and even drawn samples of how she usually dressed to give Paulina an idea, so she tried to get a picture of it in her head and make a nice portrait of her, a lot bigger than she had ever drawn her entire life. She had been painting for a few hours when she heard footsteps outside. Her heart skipped a beat, and she tried to assure herself that she had heard it wrongly. Who could possiblye here? When the footsteps got closer, she stood up in a hurry and instinctively hid behind a cab. As the footsteps came closer, she held her breath, hoping whoever it was would leave. But the door opened, causing her to almost gasp. She immediately reached to cover her mouth so as not to let any sound escape. For some reason, she could tell that whoever had entered was looking for her. She could feel the person''s gaze sweeping over the room until it finally settled on her hiding spot. "I know you''re there, Paulina," he said, his voice low and soft. "You cane out." Paulina was more than surprised to hear Williams'' voice. Wasn''t he still ill? She hurriedly stepped out from behind the cab, and when she saw him really there, standing in flesh with a cane supporting him, her eyes rounded in surprise. "What... how... why..." Paulina tried to ask a question, but she found it difficult. What was he doing here? How did he get here? Why was he here? Was it wise for him to be up and about? Williams only observed her look. Some parts of her face were smeared with paint oil. In fact, she seemed to have it all over her. He turned towards the closest chair and sat down gently, exining, "I''m tired of being in bed all day," he replied with a shrug. "I needed to stretch my legs a little and..." He paused and looked around the room before his eyes settled on her. "I missed this ce." Paulina still had that wary aura all around her as she stared at him from where she stood. His eyes remained on her before they moved to where she had been painting earlier. He stood up, walking towards that direction, and as soon as she noticed, she dashed past him and instinctively turned it away from him, hiding it from his view. He didn''t fight her for it and just raised a brow at her. "What are you painting?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. "It... is a gift for my mistress," she replied, her voice guarded. He was still suspicious, but he nodded and returned to his seat. "I thought you already gave her one? What about mine?" He asked, faking sadness. "Oh... Milord... I will make yours after--" "Have you ever received a gift?" he asked, interrupting her. She pursed her lips as she pondered the question, then nodded. "Queen Anne used to get me nice things. Princess Amber also made me an oil paint out of a nt." She smiled when she remembered that, but her smile grew sad as she said, "Madam Grace poured them away and forbade me from using such things." The sadness lingered for only a short while before she snapped out of it and said, "I''m sure my parents must have gotten me a lot of things too. Even though I cannot remember much about it." Williams looked at her intensely. From the few words she had just said, he had been able to learn more about her than he had known about her in months. "I could give you a gift," Williams offered, his voice soft. "Just name it." Paulina snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head. "I don''t expect such things." "You do not have to expect it." He spoke calmly. Paulina eyed him warily, unsure of his intentions. She was aware of their differences in status, and the idea of epting a gift from him made her ufortable. It was improper. Inappropriate. In fact, it was taboo. "I appreciate the offer, my lord, but it''s not necessary," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. They fell into afortable silence, both lost in their thoughts. Williams noticed the tension between them and tried to ease it. "Don''t you have anything to ask me?" He asked her. He could tell she was very wary of him. Not like she had never been, but now, it was very obvious. She wasn''t even making any move to sit down. She just kept her eyes on him as though waiting for any sign that would make her flee. Paulina hesitated before she shook her head. She didn''t want to talk about that. The thought of it still scared her. Williams seemed a little disappointed that she wasn''t asking, but he said instead, "Then tell me about your life in the mountains," he said, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. Paulina sighed, a sad smile ying at the corners of her lips. "It was not easy, My Lord," she admitted. Even though she had never beenfortable here, life was a lot easier here than in the mountains. Being watched over by someone like Madam Grace, eating barely proper meals, not meeting other people, having to farm for food to eat before some would be sent to Madam Grace from the pce, the fear of wild animals, and how cold it usually was. "It was tough," she said quietly. "I can imagine it," Williams said, his eyes filled with sympathy. "But you''re here now, and that''s what matters." "Yes?" She answered with uncertainty. When Williams suddenly stood up, she flinched, making him raise a questioning brow at her. "You still think I am going to hurt you?" "I... I don''t... think so. I don''t know. I''m just--" "Be calm." He said calmly, making her stop her rambling to look up at him. "I am still the same person, Paulina." He assured her. "Everyone who was good to you will still be good to you. Everyone who was bad to you will still be bad. Nothing has changed." He let her words sink in before he asked, "Do you understand that?" "I... think so," Paulina said as she tried to control her breathing to go more smoothly. "Come," he called,ying out his hand for her to take. She looked at his hand and looked up at him, reluctant. "You want me to?" he asked. She continued to stand there, staring at his hand. How dare she take the hands of a Lord? Did he even know what he was asking of her? Since she refused to move, he did. He dropped his cane carefully by the chair and walked closer to her. With every step he took, she took one backwards until her back was firmly against the wall, stuck, and Williams towering above her. "I don''t bite." He promised in a whisper as he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face. She gasped and looked up at him in disbelief. She wasn''t sure what he was doing, but she knew this was... weird. Everything about it was weird, including how closely they were standing. "Do not always look down on yourself. You are a lovely person." He said in a soft tone and leaned in, gently kissing the top of her head. Paulina waspletely caught off-guard. It was the first time any man had ever kissed her, and the shock of the sensation was overwhelming. She felt her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Her mind raced with a mix of emotions: shock, fear, confusion, and even a hint of excitement. She had never been close to any man beforeing to the pce, and this unexpected kiss left her feeling unsteady and off-bnce. When Williams pulled back, Paulina didn''t know what to do. She stood there, staring at him in disbelief, as he watched her red-beet face with a mixture of concern and interest. But as the reality of the situation sank in, Paulina''s fear took over. She was just a maid, and Williams was a lord--what was she doing?! Without another word, Paulina manoeuvred her way out and fled from the painting room, running as fast as she could down the hallway. She didn''t want to think about what had just happened - it was too much to handle. Chapter 366 Uncomfortable Meeting At this point, it was safe to say that Sir Evan was frustrated beyond exnation as he looked at theirrge chamber and found it empty. His wife was nowhere in sight. In fact, he hadn''t seen her in hours. Williams was also not in bed, but at least he had been nice enough to leave a note that he was going to take a stroll. He didn''t want to talk about Susan since that was her usual pattern. He used his hands to massage his temples before he sat down on the bed. Maybe he had made a mistake getting married? Because he had a feeling that they were going to be the death of him. Meanwhile, the said Susan had been busy drawing lines as she tried to make sense of everything. The more deeply she thought, the more she had a bad feeling about everything. Tyra and Damian were in a secret rtionship. That was what they had told her. Or rather, that was what Damian had told her. Damian had also been the one to show up when she was with Tyra, and Tyra had confessed to her about what she imed happened that night. Had it been a coincidence? Not only that, he had been the one sent by the queen toe and arrest Princess Amber. Had the queen sent him because she believed Harold would not be able to hurt him? She shook her head, doubting that. Harold had found out directly from her, so that was ruled out. What could have made Damian attack Tyra? Did it have to do with him being questioned today? What was that strange potion that Tyra had hidden from her? She scratched her head as she walked down the hallway, trying to think back to her conversation with Tyra that day to see if there was something she had missed. She didn''t want to suspect Tyra, but she could not help it at this point. Tyra had first asked about Prince Harold when she saw Susan. Susan didn''t think much of it. Others had visited Tyra''s chamber before her, so she guessed Tyra must have heard it from them. She remembered that she had asked Tyra about the maid, and Tyra had imed she had never met her privately before that night. Then she had asked her if she remembered what happened that night, but Tyra insisted she doesn''t. However, when she continued to probe, Tyra had burst into tears, and in her exact words, she said, "Did you expect me to tell them the truth and make them execute her?" When Susan inquired about what she was talking about, Tyra responded, "What would happen to Prince Harold if I told them the truth? She is his bride! He won''t be happy about it, and he is going to hate me!" Tyra had raised her voice at that point, making Susan conscious as she looked at the door in rm. She had even asked Tyra to keep her voice down, fearing someone would hear them, but Tyra didn''tply until Damian, another guard, and the royal physician entered the room. Had that been a coincidence? She wondered as she remembered Damian''s reaction, iming that justice needed to be served. She shook her head. She couldn''t just conclude that Tyra had done that on purpose. Tyra didn''t have any reason to hurt Princess Amber. She didn''t have any reason to help anyone hurt Princess Amber either¡ª She suddenly paused when she remembered something she had missed. Tyra hadn''t been curious about the reason why Princess Amber could not remember anything, yet she had also imed to not remember anything at first. She also remembered the conversation she had had with Tyra when she was trying to confirm if Tyra had eaten the same biscuit. "Did she give you any biscuits?" She remembered asking Tyra. "Biscuits? W-What... biscuits?" Tyra asked, looking genuinely curious and confused. "Think about it carefully. If she gave you anything that you ate or drank. It''s going to help us with a lead if you, Princess Amber, and Lance ate the same thing." "Lance? What does he have to do with this?" Tyra asked, still confused. ''Lance? What does he have to do with this?'' That sentence echoed in her head over and over again. Why had Tyra only asked about Lance? As she pondered it, she suddenly snapped back to her senses when someone ran past the hallway ahead, almost bumping into a maid. Susan realized it was Paulina, who seemed so fast, as though she were riding the wind. Paulina profusely apologized to the maid and continued running. Susan watched in concern before hurrying to catch up with her to know what was wrong, but the girl was definitely a good runner because she had disappeared. Susan stood there and looked back in the direction she had run, realizing that was where the painting room was located. Meanwhile, in the Royal Garden that evening, their mother was busy giving Harold a bad vibe. Okay... when he had that conversation with her the other day and said all those cringeworthy things, he had definitely not meant them. So he didn''t understand why she was sitting across from him now, offering him a te of freshly made bread she had "baked for him," while giving him a warm smile that made him feel uneasy. Just what had he gotten himself into? "Go on, Williams and Susan enjoy it. My Lord Husband also loves it. I''m sure you''ll love it." Nah. He won''t! He doesn''t eat what people "made specially for him," or maybe because no one had actually made any special dish for him before except the usual general meals. Even the one Alicia had made hadn''t been made with only him in mind, but he wouldn''t me her. He hadn''t reacted well when she asked him to help her chop vegetables in the kitchen since he was a warrior and probably good with knives. He just continued to look at the te strangely until he looked at her face, noting how the excitement in her face was slowly disappearing and turning to one of disappointment. It made him feel a little... bad? But he could not help but ask a question that flustered her. "Did you poison it?" "Why would I do that?!" She asked in disbelief, looking offended. "Then why are you randomly making me something to eat? Don''t you also find that weird?" Her disbelief grew. "How can you think of all that just because I made you something to eat? Have you never been baked for before?" She asked in an offended tone before she realized her question was insensitive, and she quickly gave him an apologetic look, but he seemed not to be offended by it because he even nodded at her question and folded his hands across his chest. "I am sorry. I shouldn''t have said that¡ª" "I thought you had news for me about the potion; that''s why you asked me to meet you here." He said, interrupting her. "You will receive news tomorrow. But for tonight, I wanted to give you this since I already promised to treat you better than I always had." She said before adding, "Here, take this." She pulled out a beautifully knitted scarf from the basket beside her and handed it to him, saying, "I stayed up all night to make it for you. I''ve always loved knitting, but I don''t get to do it as much as I''d like." Okay... now he was really wary. When he just continued to stare at it without taking it, she sighed in frustration and stood up, walking towards him. To his surprise, she wrapped it around his neck, adjusting it tenderly and making Harold ufortable as he tried to withdraw from her, but she didn''t let him. When she was satisfied that it looked okay, she smiled at him and returned to her seat. Harold looked at the scarf around his neck in confusion. He wasn''t used to this. His default action was to pull it off, but he tried his best to keep his hands by his side. The scarf was a deep shade of blue, with subtle patterns of white and grey woven throughout. It was long enough to wrap around his neck twice, and it felt incredibly warm and cozy against his skin. Had she really made this for him? Why? "I know I haven''t been the best aunt to you," she said, pouring him a cup of hot tea, "but I want you to know that I will make it up to you." Harold just stared at her and slowly reached for the tea she had poured him. He raised it and took a sip. When she beamed, he paused and looked at her suspiciously, making herugh. "I really didn''t poison it." She swore, grinning as she poured one for herself too and drank it. Harold took another sip of the tea, savouring the rich, fragrant vour. Hesitantly, he also picked up the bread and took a small bite. Since she was so persistent, he didn''t want to outright deny her. "Your eyes tell me you like it." She teased, smiling happily. "It''s normal." He said this casually and bit into the bread again. Chapter 367 Dramatic Fight The next morning, the pce was in a state of chaos. Everybody was left confused, as what was happening had never happened before. In fact, this was more serious than Beth''s murder. It was more serious than the queen being a suspect and even more serious than the fact that they were all stuck in the pce, not allowed to go home. And what exactly was happening? It was simple, or maybe not so simple. Prince Harold was in the kitchen. And no, he wasn''t monitoring the kitchen maids like a hawk this time. He was there to cook for his wife himself. "Why are you just standing there?" His ''instructor'' scolded, her voice stern. "I thought you wanted to learn how to cook?" The instructor was none other than Lady Victoria. Of course, she had been the most shocked when he suddenly showed up in her chamber the previous night after they parted ways. Her entire family had been surprised by his presence, especially her husband, who had no idea what she had been up to with him. When Harold had mentioned he wanted to speak with her privately, that sent bells ringing in Sir Evan''s ears. He was wary and didn''t want to agree to it, but his wife was able to assure him that it was okay and stepped out with him to hear what Harold had to say. And he had simply said in his usual authoritative tone, "Before dawn tomorrow. Join me to make breakfast for Princess." And with that, he disappeared, leaving the confused woman behind. Her family had been more confused than she was when she dazedly told them what he had said. But when she fully considered it, she was happy that he considered her the best person to ask for something like that. This had also made her husband very suspicious, as he wondered when these sudden close ties between them started. Back to now, hadn''t Harold said she should "join him"? However, he just stood there with his hands folded across his chest, watching her do everything, much to the older woman''s annoyance. "But I''m not very good at it," Harold admitted to her, even though he hated admitting that there was something he actually could not do. But no one would me him. In fact, everyone was wondering if he had gone crazy because he was not only a MAN but also a PRINCE. And dirtying his hands with kitchen items was very demeaning. "I wasn''t expecting you to know how. But you are not even trying and are just watching me. You need to get your hands dirty if you want to learn anything!" She spoke harshly. Harold red at her, feeling annoyed that she was yelling at him. No one had ever dared to raise their voice at him before except his rude wife, but he could manage her and not anyone else. "Don''t be rude to me. I will get angry." He said, eyeing her. "You think I am not angry?!" She retorted by stabbing the knife she was holding on the chopping board, taking him aback as he looked at her as though she had gone crazy. Seriously... was this woman mentally okay? She was yelling and ring at him! "Who put me in this position?" He asked her, trying to cover his annoyance at being yelled at, but he could not hide it. "HOW WOULD I KNOW THAT?!" "IT WAS YOU!" He raised his voice back at her. By this time, those who had been daring to eavesdrop outside the kitchen were confused by what was going on inside the kitchen. Was Lady Victoria and Prince Harold... quarrelling? "Me?" Lady Victoria asked him in disbelief. "I was just on my own when you came to me and asked me to join you. You said "join". But you have not done anything. You think this is going to be special for your dear wife if you just let me do everything?" "If you had not made me eat that breadst night, I wouldn''t have been in this position either." He retorted. Lady Victoria looked at him in disbelief and confusion, wondering what he was talking about. How had she caused this? Well, she had indeed caused it. FLASHBACK TO THE PREVIOUS NIGHT. Alicia was in her room, going through Amber''s diary. She had thought reading the words backwards was going to help her, but she realized that it wasn''t exactly the case. Some words still didn''t make sense, whether she read them the way they were or tried to flip the letters. She had seen something in the diary that read "SLLEPS SDRAWKCAB," which she was able to trante as "BACKWARDS SPELLS". She felt maybe she still didn''t understand some words and sentences because they were actual spells written backwards? If so, how had Amber been able to learn about something like that when she was stuck in the mountains and only got to leave when Madam Grace was out? She had also tried to find out more about Amber''s personal feelings for Harvey but got nothing. For some reason, she was really curious about that. That wasn''t all; Anne''s memories were also making her very curious. Unfortunately, she knew there was no way to get more information unless she had a dream again. This was how Harold met her when he entered her chamber. He saw her sitting on the bed, her nose buried in the diary. He walked up to her and stood beside her, peering over her shoulder to see what she was reading. "Have you been able to understand anything else?" He asked, concerned. She had been putting too much effort into this for the past few days, and he was beginning to feel sorry for her. She shook her head. "Not yet. But... I don''t know. I just feel a certain connection whenever I am going through this." She raised the diary and looked at it closely, wondering if some of the "spells" she had been reading from it had been the reason she was able to look into the lives of Amber and Anne. "I''m sure with your determination, you''ll figure it out eventually." He assured her, patting her head gently. Chapter 368 Frustrated "I''m sure with your determination, you''ll figure it out eventually." He assured her, patting her head gently. She hoped so too. Because she could not shake off the feeling that all this had to do with the reason she had been brought here by whichever deity had brought her here. She looked up at him, smiling warmly at his support. Suddenly, she wrinkled her nose and looked at him closely. "Did you eat something?" she asked curiously. A little embarrassed, he answered. "Uh, yes. Lady Victoria made some snacks for me." Since when did Alicia have a smart nose? He wondered. He hadn''te here immediately after he left Lady Victoria. He had stopped by his chamber to check on Alvin and also carefully folded the scarf in his closet. He had also checked on the king before he arrived in her chamber, so he hadn''t thought she''d be able to tell. She looked him over, hoping to find something extra, but he was empty-handed. Alicia''s expression turned sour, and she dropped the diary on the bed. "You ate without me?" she eximed, standing up and crossing her arms. "How... could you do that to me?" She asked in a pitiful voice. Harold tried not tough at her sudden outburst. "Princess, I''ve been bringing you food for the past few days. Surely you do not expect me to wait on you hand and foot every moment of the day." "It''s not the same thing," she pouted. "If you ate something nice, you should have thought to bring mine too!" "But you always eat without me." He reminded her. "Because you brought them for me. It''s not like someone else specially made it for me. I would have brought yours too!" "A few months ago, you gave me some snacks and almost made me share them with Paulina. Do you think I have forgotten about that?" He asked her in a serious tone that made her exim in disbelief, "So you are paying me back? Harold, are you this petty?" "You didn''t know that?" He said in amusement, making her eyes widen in surprise. "Wow! Just wow! Fine! Eat without me." She threw a pillow at him dramatically, but he was able to catch it, as he said, "Are you always this hot-tempered?" "You didn''t know that?" She asked, mimicking him. Heughed. "It''s okay, Princess. You don''t have to feel too bad or angry. The snack wasn''t that nice, which is why I didn''t bother bringing yours." "Lies!" "True." "Lies." He went closer, dropping the pillow on the bed and rubbing her head again as he asked, "Okay, what can I do to make it up to you?" "Nothing." She huffed and just kept staring ahead while he rubbed her head. "You are being dramatic." "Wow! First, you eat without me, and now I''m being dramatic?" She pushed his hand away from her head and red at him. "You really are not going to let this go, are you?" "Except you cook for me." She muttered, and her eyes lit up mischievously. "You could make me a meal," she said yfully. Harold''s expression turned horrified. "Me? Make a meal?" He asked in disbelief. She rolled her eyes. "Oh,e on. It''s just for fun." "There is nothing fun there." She got annoyed but suddenly looked at him, smiling lovingly. Of course, he became suspicious at once. "Do you want to see something else that''s fun?" She said in a sweet tone as she got down from the bed and offered him her hand. He took her hand hesitantly and continued to look at her with suspicion as she led him out of the room. He foolishly followed her, loving the feeling, until she opened the door and drew back her hand. She told him the fun thing was outside and asked him to look. Of course, he had also stupidlyplied, and then he had his ass shoved out of the chamber. She closed the door with a bang and locked it, locking him outside the chamber. "When you make up your mind to make it up to me, let me know." She said, feeling smug for sessfully fooling him. He stared at the door in disbelief, only just realizing that he had been yed. He was always smart, calctive, and maniptive, so falling into her trap most times was something he could not understand. So this was how he had ended up in Lady Victoria''s chamber that night. Actually, he hadn''t gone immediately. He had decided to be stubborn, thinking she would open the door for him, and when she didn''t, evenughing at him, he decided to act tough and told her that he was just going to sleep in his chamber that night. He had thought she would call him back, but instead, she annoyed him by saying, "Good night, my lord." In annoyance, he stormed to his chamber. He had been hoping to bump into someone he could take out his anger on, but suddenly no one was in sight. Where on earth did everyone disappear to?! This also worsened his mood for the night. However, after almost dying of boredom by just staring at Alvin''s sleeping face, he decided to swallow his pride. He was eventually going to pay Alicia back somehow, but for now, he just couldn''t bear it. He was already so used to her chamber that staying in his for the night felt very weird and ufortable. So he really couldn''t believe that the woman, who had caused all this was yelling at him now when it was all her fault! "YOU ARE CUTTING THOSE CARROTS TOO THICK," she said at one point when he began to actually do one of the weirdest things he had never imagined himself doing. Andter: "YOU ARE PUTTING TOO MUCH SALT." Andter again: "HAROLD!!! YOU ARE NOT FIGHTING A WAR WITH THE CHICKEN!!!" Lady Victoria yelled in frustration before she started to cough from how sore her throat was from all the shouting. Maybe this was a bad idea. Chapter 369 Rold The day had been quite unusual; even the morning assembly was canceled because Prince Harold was feeling unwell. Those who hadn''t heard what had happened this morning began to spread rumours that he had probably been in a battle with a fierce beast the previous night and had been injured. Some didn''t believe that. Instead, they felt he had killed the beast but needed to rest. Meanwhile, the said person was deep asleep with his head on Alicia''sp in her chamber. He was exhausted, and his body ached all over. Alicia looked down at his sleeping face, smiling warmly as she gently stroked his hair. He looked so peaceful and innocent while sleeping. She almostughed at the thought that cooking had turned him into this fragile baby. She had only wanted to tease him a little the previous evening, but the more he answered, the more it turned serious, and she decided to keep pushing it. She hadn''t thought he was going to do it. In fact, she had been very surprised when he kicked her door open and stormed into her chamber with a tray of roasted chicken and vegetables and a blend of fruit in a jar for her. Her jaw dropped when she saw him carefully ce it on the table while muttering to himself. He looked angry. "Are you okay?" She had asked in concern as she stood up in a hurry, wondering why he was the one serving her this morning when he usually escorted the maids. He turned to re at her, making her withdraw in confusion as she wondered whether he was still mad aboutst night since she had gone to bed before he returned to her chamber and only realized he had slept in here with her when she saw him disappearing in the morning. But something about him stood out. His hair was a mess, and he had charcoal stains on different parts of his face. He suddenly stretched out his hand to her, showing her different burn marks and cuts. "What happened to you?" She asked with concern as she took his hand. "I have never been burned before in a kitchen." He grumbled. "And I have never been cut by a kitchen knife before. Neither have I been put in a position where someone would repeatedly yell at me." He began to ramble in annoyance, much to Alicia''s surprise since he was usually not like this. "She said ''sprinkle a little salt'' which I did. Then she said it was too small, and then I added more, and then she yelled at me for adding too much. WHY WAS SHE YELLING?!" He raised his voice, making Alicia step back. "She was the one who was vague with her instructions! She told me to ''blow the fire'' and got angry when I poured a bowl of water on it to blow it out. I don''t know how Susan and Williams cope with her. She is a PAIN in the neck! She is a pain all over my body!!!" First of all, Alicia had never heard him talk this much. Secondly, she had never seen him this angry at someone. If he was mad at someone, he was not vocal about it. Thirdly, was this what she thought it was? She looked at the meal he had brought, at his stained face, the burns on his hands, his messy hair, and how he smelled of smoke, sweat, and a mixture of spices. "You cooked for me!" She eximed in surprise, smiling brightly at him. He was about to keep protesting when she suddenly embraced him, making him shut his mouth. "Thank you!" She said with a heavy voice, feeling touched. Seeing how this man, who grew up in an old-fashioned world, was willingly doing things for her that some men in her world wouldn''t have agreed to do, made her emotional and feel cared for. Harold looked down at her, also touched by her reaction. Now, he felt like he could forgive Lady Victoria a bit for pushing him to do the actual cooking while she instructed him. At least, it made him proud to know that he had actually made the meal and not just watched someone else do it. He could also forgive the stupid servants and guards who had seen himing with a tray and fled for their lives as though he were carrying weapons. He had wanted to ask someone to help him hold the tray because the burns on his hands were something he wasn''t used to, and they were not healing quickly because of the amount of blood he had lost during this period for his father, but the crazy people had all run away! What was so scary about him holding a tray? Now, he felt a twinge of guilt, realizing he had only focused on himself and his own needs and not stopped to consider the meal she might have actually been craving. "I hope... you''ll like it." He said, feeling a little uncertain. "I don''t care how it tastes. I love it!" She said before pulling away from him, smiling happily. He smiled back at her and let her pull him down onto the chair to eat with her. But before then, she helped rub a balm into his hands to soothe the burns and also wiped his face clean with a towel. The meal hadn''t tasted bad. It was nice and average, but it seemed like the best meal she ever had. He liked how happy she looked as she ate the meal. At one point, she even stood up and approached him, kissing the top of his head and taking him by surprise. This wasn''t bad after all. Alicia ced a soft kiss on his cheek as she watched him sleep peacefully after they ate and he took his bath. She was d to see him familiarize himself with other people. Harold probably didn''t even know it yet. She was proud of him. Meanwhile, in his dream, Prince Harold found himself in a strange and unfamiliar ce, surrounded by a dim, misty forest. For some reason, it didn''t feel like a dream. It felt real. He felt something approaching in the woods and just watched with curiosity, wondering what that was. He had a feeling he knew what it was, and he was correct. He saw the giant ck wolf walking towards him like a predator, and Harold tilted his head to the side, wondering what this crazy animal was up to. He had heard that some people were able to meet their wolves, but he didn''t know how it happened, so this was a surprise for him. "You''ve finally been able to join the mind link." The wolf said in Harold''s head when he stood in front of him, but Harold shook his head, making it clear that he was not going to be conversing with an animal. His wolf transformed into a human who looked exactly like him. But unlike Harold, he had jet ck, longer hair that looked like his fur, and his eyes were bright red. But everything else was the same, including his naked body. This was interesting. "Long time, no see, Harold!" His wolf said with a cheerful smile. "We''ve never seen each other before, wolf," Harold pointed out. "No, no, no. You don''t call me wolf. You call me Rold!" He grumbled. Rold? Why did that sound familiar? "I used to go by Haro. But it didn''t suit me, so I chose Rold instead." Harold just eyed him and looked around them. "Where is this ce?" "My world. And let me tell you a secret..." He moved closer to Harold, his eyes glistening as he said, "I''m like a king around here." Harold frowned. "Around where?" Rold gestured to their surroundings. "This dimension, of course. It''s just like your world. This is mine. But we are still the same people. I don''t know what happened after the banquet night, but I feel great!" He said happily, making Harold annoyed at how vague and annoying his wolf form was. "But you know... something is still missing," Rold said with a thoughtful expression. Harold raised a questioning brow at him. "You know you are my other half?" "I don''t see why that matters." Rold shrugged. "It matters because you''re notplete without me. And I''m notplete without you. We need each other, Harold. And you need to do it so I can be stronger. So that WE can be stronger. I am tired of counting on you." "What are you talking about?" Harold asked his crazy half. Rold smirked. "Oh,e on. You know what I''m talking about. We should mate with her." He said excitedly, causing Harold''s blood to boil. "Stay away from her. She is mine." Harold warned darkly. Rold raised an eyebrow. "I wanted to tell you the same thing because I cannot trust you anymore!" Did he just... "You have guts!" Harold said calmly, trying not to show how affected he was by this insane Rold. "You know I am very selective," Rold started. "But after considering it, I decided to ept her, even though it is not beneficial for me because she does not have a wolf side in this ce with me, so it''s difficult to initiate a mating process between you two in your world. Andtely, you have had too many women around you that smell awful, which makes me sick. Oh! Especially that girl whose name starts with a B." Rold pretended to throw up. "The next time she shows up around us, I will rip her heart out and feed it to her brother. I''ve noticed how he stares at Princess; I don''t like it--" "SHE IS NOT YOUR PRINCESS!" Harold yelled in anger, jolting himself awake with the intense fury he felt. Chapter 370 Coward Harold knew that it was silly of him to be getting mad at his wolf because whether he liked it or not, his wolf was a part of him. In fact, his wolf was him. And he was his wolf. Just like his body and soul were one. It can also be seen in Rold''s effort in picking out his own name from his. Ha-Rold. Rold. However, he didn''t like it. The fact that his wolf had a personality of his own made him see them as two separate people. His anger slowly reduced when he looked at Alicia, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms. Thest thing he remembered wasying his head on herp to sleep on the bed, but now they were both wrapped in each other''s arms. Funny how he hadn''t felt her move. Just how deeply had he slept? By now, he knew that being around Alicia was going to make it very easy for him to be killed. Because with her, he was able to forget about everything and sleep peacefully. Something he hadn''t been able to do in many years of his life. He gently caressed her face, d to see her sleeping peacefully since she hadn''t been able to rest properly for the past few days. It was still very bright outside as it was noon, and the sun reflected in the room, making all her facial features stand out. He wasn''t sure which he preferred¡ªher short hair or her long hair. But he figured this was probably better since Alicia was doing her own thing and this was now her unique identity while the former look was Amber. He could not wait for Lady Victoria to bring him the good news about Camelion water. He hadn''t told Alicia about it yet. Especially because he wasn''t sure if they would find it. He didn''t want to make her keep her hopes up and then disappoint her in the end. He suddenly sensed something within him and frowned, wondering what was wrong. He furrowed his brows as he tried to sense what was happening, but his energy had greatly been weakened, so he could not tell. But it continued to make him feel ufortable, so he looked down at Alicia, remembering how she was able to empower him sometimes. He reached to hold her hand and closed his eyes as he tried to sense what was happening to him, and he got it. It felt like his blood was flowing faster in his veins, but he knew it was not him. His eyes suddenly snapped open as it dawned on him. The king was waking up. After carefully tucking Alicia in and dropping the curtains, he left for the king''s quarters. When he entered the King''s chamber, the Royal Physician turned to look at him in surprise, wondering how he knew toe here now when the King had just opened his eyes about 5 minutes ago. But he had not been able to ask for Harold''s presence because he didn''t want to send someone to tell him about it since they were doing this quietly, and secondly, he had heard Prince Harold was resting for the day. Harold looked at the man who had brought him into this world. The king had opened his eyes and was awake, albeit weak and groggy. He was propped up on a mound of pillows, his face pale and drawn. Surprisingly, Harold''s heart clenched at the sight of the king in such a weakened state, but he pushed his emotions aside. Even though he really didn''t care for the man and held many grudges against him, it bothered him that he looked like this when he was always so high and mighty. "How do you feel?" Harold asked when he approached the bed. "I am just surprised you have not used this chance to take over the throne." The man spoke lightly, his voice barely above a whisper. "There is no rush for that," Harold replied as he sat down on the chair the royal physician offered him beside the king''s bed. The man realized they would need to talk, so after helping the king drink his medicine, he bowed and left the father and son in the room, closing the door behind him. "Did you know you were being poisoned?" Harold asked, going straight to the point. "I have done a lot of bad things in my life. I wouldn''t be surprised if someone wanted me dead." The man said in a nonchnt tone that made Harold unimpressed. "You are the king of this kingdom. If you cannot even take care of yourself, then you should step down." The king let out a short, dryugh and looked at him, his dull eyes lighting up. "I have never heard you say so many words at once." Harold didn''t see any need to respond, so he didn''t. "The physician tells me you gave your blood for me." He said, looking at him seriously. "An Alpha''s blood is their life. You shouldn''t have done so." "I am your subject. I should do what I can to help the king." "Were you being a subject, or you were being a son?" King Eli asked. From the look on his face, he was curious to hear the answer, but Harold didn''t give him one. Defeated, King Eli sighed. "The throne... is a sad ce." He said heavily. "Ites with a lot of burdens. A lot of sacrifices. A lot of emptiness." Harold could see the heavy emotion passing through the king. "That seat... is not worth giving our lives for. But this is my fate. And I know that I cannot escape it." "Being punished for the wrongs you did?" Harold said rhetorically. "We are all going to be punished, Harold," Eli replied calmly. "Is this why you wanted me to leave the pce and live a simple life with my bride somewhere else?" King Eli sighed again. "I have wronged you all your life. I want to protect you¡ª" "Do you think you are a hero, and I would thank you for trying to protect me when you''re going to be destroying this kingdom by making Ivan King?" "You don''t know the half of it¡ª" "I think I know just how sick you all are. Making pointless sacrifices and iming it''s for the Moon Kingdom. Just how many people did you recklessly destroy?" Harold sounded pained. He was angry. King Eli knew he was probably thinking about how mother. But it seemed like there was more. "You know something, don''t you?" The King asked curiously. "Why did you let me marry Princess Amber if you knew whose daughter she was?" The king''s expression turned serious, and for a moment, Harold thought he saw a flicker of guilt in his father''s eyes. But then the king''s face hardened, and he looked away. "I had my reasons, Harold," he said, his voice cold and distant. "But they are mine, and I do not wish to discuss them now." Harold felt a surge of frustration and anger as he felt like he was being shut out of something important. "This concerns me." The king sighed and closed his eyes. For a long moment, there was silence in the room, broken only by the sound of the king''sboured breathing. Finally, the king opened his eyes and looked at Harold, his expression pained. "There are some things that a father must keep hidden from his son," he said, his voice still weak and barely above a whisper. "For your own sake and the sake of the kingdom, I cannot tell you everything. But know this: everything I have done, I have done for the good of our kingdom." "That is nonsense!" Harold spat, irritated. "You killed an entire n! I thought you only ended with my mother." "I wouldn''t lie and say I do not regret many things I did during my early reign as king. I just... didn''t want the Moon Kingdom to be in ruins during my reign. I watched my father do all he could for the kingdom. I watched him die, as well as other noblemen. I had to protect this kingdom and take out whatever could be a threat." Harold shook his head in disbelief. He had always thought the king was a wise man. But he was a coward. Stupid coward. "If you were in my shoes, you''d understand," Eli said, reading the disappointment in his look. "Did you have a hand in manipting the situation for Princess Amber to be married to me?" He shook his head. "I didn''t think King Cedric would do that. But when I found out... I couldn''t do anything. Because of you." He said in a quiet tone. "I didn''t mind that someone like her could cause harm in this kingdom. I didn''t care about all of that. Since you liked her and she was able to make you live like a normal person. I was ready to risk it all." Harold exhaled heavily and looked away from him. "I must rest now," King Eli said weakly as he began to slip back into unconsciousness. Harold felt a wave of disappointment wash over him, but he knew better than to argue with the king when he was in such a weakened state. Even when he left the room, his mind continued to race with questions and doubts. He had always thought he knew the king to some extent, but now he realized that there were secrets and mysteries that even he could not prate. It was a sobering thought and one that would stay with him for a long time toe. Chapter 371 "You Are Not Okay." "You still won''t tell me what happened yesterday?" Susan asked Williams, looking at him suspiciously. It hadn''t been long after Paulina ran past her that she went to check what had been chasing her from the painting room since she was certain that was where Paulina had been. And surprisingly, she found her brother there, staring at a painting with interest. No matter how much she tried to squeeze information from him, he remained tight-lipped, much to her annoyance. "You also haven''t told me what you have been up totely." He retorted. "I told you I''m not up to anything!" She said defensively. She wasn''t sure, so she couldn''t just throw out information about her suspicions. Also, she wanted desperately to believe that Tyra was innocent, and sharing this information with others was most likely going to make her keep doubting Tyra. She had to be sure about Damian too, and she knew telling her brother about this was a bad idea because he would want to stop her. An idea suddenly came to her, and she stood up in a hurry, leaving the room and not paying any mind to Williams, who was calling for her. "She is going to be the death of me," Williams said with a sigh. Meanwhile, Susan had a determined look on her face as she decided to carry out the n in her head. If Damian was involved in all this, she guessed it meant the queen was protecting him, and that was why a lot of people were not talking. But she was going to dig out the truth. Susan had turned to the maids. They were often overlooked and underestimated, but Susan knew that they were the eyes and ears of the pce and that they knew more than most people realized. Since Agnes had also been a kitchen maid, she believed she would be able to get information from here. Susan discreetly entered the maids'' quarters and began her investigation, asking around discreetly, trying to find out if anyone had seen or heard anything unusual on the night of the banquet. Most of the maids had nothing to report, which was frustrating. In fact, they seemed happy that Beth was gone and didn''t care for whoever had killed her. About to leave dejectedly, a maid passed by and bumped into her, slipping a note into her hand. Before Susan could even see who it was, the maid had hurriedly fled. Susan looked around her, sure no one was around before she opened the note and read, "Look for Katherine." Katherine? Who was that? Susan wondered as she looked around her, but no one was in sight. All the maids had something to do since it was still daytime. She decided to find the maid who had slipped this note to her instead. If the maid was giving her a clue on who to ask, then it meant the girl knew something. And what did she mean by "look for Katherine"? Did it mean that Katherine was not in the pce? Although she hadn''t seen the girl who gave her the note, she knew how she smelled, and with that, she snuck out of the maid''s chamber, oblivious to the eyes watching her. However, she also seemed to have her priorities in order. As much as she wanted to find that girl, she also wanted to check on Alvin and know how he was faring. Thatd was annoying her, but she could ignore it for now since he wasn''t feeling too well. When she got to Harold''s door, she knocked once before pushing it open and going inside. However, what Susan saw made her stand still. An assistant physician was alone with him in the room, cleaning his bare body. His lower body was covered with the quilt, so she was not sure whether he was wearing something below or not, but his upper body was exposed and glistening with a mixture of water and oil. Usually, his body was always around the quilt except for his back, so she didn''t get to see more than she was supposed to. But now, it seemed his back was a lot better because he was made to sleep on his back with a kind of herb sprinkled on his bed, so his chest down to his navel was all open for Susan. Meanwhile, Alvin and the physician looked at her, wondering why she was not leaving and just standing there, staring with round eyes and red cheeks. "Why aren''t you leaving?" Alvin asked with his piercing gaze on her face. At the same time, the physician hurriedly covered Alvin''s upper body with the quilt so as not to taint the maiden''s innocent eyes. The oblivious Susan, who was feeling tingles all over her body and goosebumps that were suddenly appearing on her skin out of nowhere, snapped back to her senses and simply shrugged as she rested her back on the wall and folded her arms across her chest. "I came to check on you, so I''ll be here until he is done." Alvin gave her a look as though she were crazy before his eyes went to the physician, who had a curious, questioning look on his face. That was when Susan realized her slip and immediately jolted away from the wall,ughing awkwardly. "I... I had to report something to you. It''s from Prince Harold. And it''s urgent." She said this in a serious tone while giving the physician a pointed look that told him to hurry up and leave. Alvin gave her a suspicious look. It looked like she was lying. There was no way Prince Harold would send her on an errand for him. But he could not exactly be certain, so he gave the physician a look that said "You can get lost now," and the young man didn''t need to be told twice. Staying in Alvin''s presence and even getting to touch his body made him feel as though he had lost half of his lifespan, even though Alvin hadn''t bothered to say a word to him at all. He didn''t even go wait outside. He just picked up all his things clumsily and ran away. When there were just the two of them in the room, Alvin adjusted, cing both his hands on the back of his head, unconsciously flexing more than Susan could handle as she took in his biceps, triceps, and all the ceps he had. He looked at her, waiting for her to go ahead and tell her why she was here, but as he stared at her, he noticed she was lost in her thoughts, and once again, her cheeks were heating up, but the main thing was... Her eyes were on the part of his chest that was exposed, and she smelled funny. He furrowed his brows at her, awed at her brazenness. "Do you... realize you are a Lady?" he asked, sounding a little ufortable. It seemed like she had forgotten, so he had to do her a favour by reminding her. Once again, Susan snapped back to her senses. She had lied when she said Harold had sent her to him. She hadn''t even seen Harold at all today and had even made a mental note to avoid him because, judging by her mother''s mood swing, cracked voice, and how she spoke about Prince Harold''s poor skills as Susan helped her massage her back after she returned from the kitchen, Susan felt it would be wise to avoid Prince Harold because if her mother was like this, then she must have said a thing or two to Harold that he didn''t like, and she didn''t want him to take it out on her. Susan said no words and sat down on the chair beside the bed where the physician had been sitting. She looked directly at Alvin, locking eyes with him. This made him ufortable, so he pulled out his hands from under his head and pulled up the quilt to cover the rest of his exposed chest up to his neck. "What is it you came here for?" he asked again in an impatient tone. Should she ask him if he knew who Katherine was? Should she tell him about how she felt about Damian? "I... have never touched a man''s body before." She blurted it out before she could stop herself. Suddenly, there was a heavy silence in the room as Alvin''s eyes rounded before he looked away from her, pulling the quilt even higher. Susan felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. WHY HAD SHE SAID THAT?! How was that even rted to anything she had been thinking about? "I... do not need to know that," Alvin said awkwardly. Susan tucked her lips in, also staring back at him awkwardly. She touched the back of her neck, touched her ear, and went back to scratching the back of her neck as she shifted ufortably in her seat. His questioning look followed her every movement, wondering what was wrong with her. "You... are not okay." He noted. Sounding a little concerned. She swallowed nervously and immediately jumped from her seat, startling him. She stood there, staring at him, while he stared back, wondering why she was behaving like someone who was possessed. Before he could even say another word, she turned around and fled the room, leaving him utterly confused. Chapter 372 "I Will Not Fail You," The queen wasn''t sure what was happening, as no one had brought her any news. She didn''t even know how the questioning went yesterday, and it made her very nervous, but she tried to convince herself that if something bad had happened and Damian had said some things he wasn''t supposed to say, then they would havee for her. That thought still made her sane, but as soon as she heard her door opening, she jolted from where she was seated on the floor, looking at the door in apprehension. When she saw that it was Damian, she let out a sigh of relief, d to see him. Damian looked around the room once before he bowed to her "What happened yesterday? What did they ask you? What did you say? How did they know we left the pce? Did you tell them where we went? Of course, you wouldn''t. You didn''t, right?" She rambled, her eyes piercing and intense. "I only told them you needed some fresh air, and that was why you stepped out of the pce. Rest assured, My Queen, I didn''t say anything that would put you in danger." He assured her. She closed her eyes and released another longer sign of relief as the overwhelming emotion almost made her fall back to the floor. "What about that maid? That thing that dares lie against me? Have you been able to reach her? I don''t care how you do it, but you need to make sure that girles back and tells the truth, even if it means torturing her to the brink of death--" "My Queen, everyone is forbidden from meeting her. That is only going to put you in a bad position. Because if we do anything to her, it is only going to make people believe you were the suspect." "But it wasn''t me! I didn''t do it! This is all Harold''s n and we need to make sure she confesses that he made her say all that!" She yelled in frustration before she began to pace around. "If I may dare, my queen. There is a way we can solve this mess in the pce." "What way?" "Princess Amber continues to im that she has no memory of what happened on that night. She believes she must have been drugged by someone. What if that is correct? It means that someone is probably trying to get rid of you through this process--" "What is your point?" She snapped impatiently. "How about asking her for the details to know what kind of potion she was drugged with? That way, we can find the person who made the potion and know who patronized them." "What if Princess Amber is telling lies? What if she had really done that to take revenge since she is a witch? I cannot trust her. I cannot trust anyone right now except you." "I know, my queen. That is why I think this is the only way to survive this. We need to throw a bait for the real culprit. Let us have Princess Amber questioned again. Then we will know if she was truly drugged or if she is lying. If she was drugged, then we can find the person who did it and why. But if she is lying, then she is the culprit." "We have no time to waste. The longer it is dyed, the more the noblemen are convinced you did it. I should probably let you know that Princess Amber was present in court yesterday and no one said a thing about it." "What?" She asked, furious. "She joined the assembly?" Damian nodded. "We have to do something in case they have forgotten who the real queen is." "Find Sir Damon!" She bellowed. "Let him know I am going to join the assembly tomorrow. I am going to use my hands to draw out the real rat and squeeze them to death." She said in anger, her veins bulging out. Damian bowed and was about to leave when she spoke up: "You will not betray me, right?" He turned to look at her, bowing, "I wouldn''t dare, My Queen." "Good. You know what is at stake. You owe me your life, and after failing the royal family once, you cannot afford to fail me a second time." She said in a tight voice, revealing more emotion than she wanted to. "I understand, My Queen. I will do everything in my power to bring the true culprits to justice." The queen leaned forward, her voice low and dangerous. "I do not care about justice. I care about my reputation and my freedom. You will find a way to get me out of this situation, or you will suffer the consequences." Damian''s eyes met the Queen''s steely gaze as he answered, "I will do everything in my power, My Queen." The queen stepped back, her expression softening slightly. "I believe you, Damian. But you must act quickly. The longer I remain in this prison, the more damage it will do to my reputation and my standing in the kingdom." Damian nodded once more. "Understood, My Queen. I will not fail you again." The queen gave him a small nod of approval before dismissing him with a wave of her hand. ******* AUTHOR''S NOTE: So I mentioned being poached by some other writing tform, but I haven''t really epted their offer. They asked for a werewolf-themed book like this one and something more clich??. So something came to my head the other day, and I wanted to share it with you all. I don''t know if I''ll be writing this story on the other website or if I''ll write it here afterpleting this one. But I want to drop the outline here, and you all can tell me what you think. And if you want me to send you a reminder whenever I start this book, you can also leave ament. Thank you. BOOK TITLE: THE ALPHA AND THE BANDIT LEADER. Shiva had an unusual upbringing. She did not know the details surrounding her birth but found herself taken in by a notorious bandit, Adolf, who raised her in his gang. He had found her mother alone in the woods, dying with baby Shiva in her arms. Out of desperation, she had entrusted her child to Adolf with only a ne and hairpin, begging him not to let her live like other "Omegas." Adolf hid the fact that she was an Omega even from the gang members and gave her suppressants and every supplement he could to help her hide it. She was also trained alongside the boys until she eventually became the leader of the gang at 16 after Adolf''s death. But as the saying goes, every day is for the thief and one day for the owner. And that day came when Shiva was 18. Her life took a turn for the worse when her gang stole from the younger brother of the leader of the Panthera n. Having heard of the acts of the notorious bandits, Cain hadn''t bothered to get involved for a few reasons. One, it wasn''t his business. They didn''t even know who the bandits were or where they lived. Two, they mainly stole stolen goods or the goods of corrupt government officials, so such officials could not make a proper report either, and three, they had never stolen from his n. Until now. And the audacity almost ate him up. So much so that he was bent on ripping all of them apart. Cain set a trap for them, and despite Shiva''s instruction to the gang not to attack his fleet again because they had done so impulsively the first time, they went ahead without her consent, even drugging her. By the time Shiva came to, half of the vige had been killed in a gruesome manner, including her dear friends. Despite the drug in her system, she got into fighting until she was faced with no one else but Alpha Cain. Of course, she had no idea who he was and could not see his face since it was covered just like hers. But she could tell he controlled these people. So she attacked him. Cain could also tell this person was the leader, and he had naturally assumed it was a man. But it didn''t take long for him to find out her true identity because she was not able to block his pheromones, which sent her into heat for the first time in her life. Cain wasn''t sure what surprised him the most, the fact that the bandit leader was a girl or that she was able to set off his rut for the first time in his life. Seeing how she was about to get exposed, and with the intense pain and difort she felt, she fled. However, there was no way Cain would let her go like that. He pursued her into the dark, and with both their instincts taking over, they mated. Without even seeing each other''s faces. When a little bit of her sanity returned, she stabbed him with her sword before fleeing, hoping he was dead. ? From that moment on, her life was turned around for the worst. Not only was her vige burned to the ground and almost everyone killed, but her secret was revealed to the rest of the gang and she was cast out, almost dying in the process. With life looking so meaningless now, all she hoped for was death. Unfortunately for her, realizing she was going to have a child made her more depressed. Her goal was to abandon the child as soon as they were born. And when she realized she had a girl, she prayed she was at least not an Omega. But the worst happened. Her daughter was an Alpha -- In a world where Alphas were few and considered a threat to everyone. 7 yearster, the 6-year-old Fox was raised like a boy and also identified as a Beta but she was still a terror to other kids. Unlike Alphas who were reserved and cold, she was always bubbly and a troublemaker. And Shiva would be med for that because she trained her daughter in martial arts even before she could walk. When Shiva journeyed to the capital after finding some clue about her birth mother, not only did Fox bump into her paternal male cousin, who immediately could tell she was a girl, but Fox also bumped into Alpha Cain, and unlike every other person who cowered before him, she challenged the 27-year-old Alpha to a fight when she saw him "bullying" a helpless man. Whether Shiva liked it or not, her little rascal was bound to put her in trouble and bring her face to face with the man who had been looking all over for her for the past few years. The same man that ruined her life. And she was also bound to find a lot of secrets about her real identity, which was going to lead to Shiva drawing out her sword and putting some people to sleep forever. ***** LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE UP FOR THIS LATER THIS YEAR!!! Chapter 373 Siblings Fight Susan had never felt so embarrassed in her entire life. If she had only escaped Alvin, that would have been a different case. But as soon as she got into their family chamber and locked the door, panting, she found Williams in the room, giving her a puzzling look. "What is chasing you?" He asked her curiously. He had wanted to know what she was up to only for her to stand up and leave without any proper exnation, and now she looked like a wild bull had been chasing her. "Nothing," Susan said without meeting his eyes. However, he continued to give her a puzzling look. Not only was she panting and breathing so hard, but she was also very sweaty, and her entire face was flushed. He put the book he had been reading aside and got down from the bed, approaching her. Susan was still trying to catch her breath with her back against the door and her eyes tightly shut when he neared her and scrunched up his nose. "Why do you smell like this?" He asked in a panic. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked at him, wondering what he was talking about again. She smelled her arms but got nothing. "Where are youing from?" He asked, his voice urgent. "Nowhere!" She said defensively and tried to escape from him, but he grabbed her by the arm. She winced and tried to get away, but he didn''t let her. Instead, he opened the door, shoving her out as he also followed, and after closing the door behind them, he continued to pull her with him and even increased his pace when he heard their father''s voiceing from the opposite direction. "Where are we going?" She asked breathlessly. "Do not talk, and follow me." He said sternly as he pulled her along with him. He made sure to check every corner for people first before he pulled her along so they wouldn''t bump into anyone around. That was how he led her out until they were at theke outside the main building that evening. Before she could ask any other questions, he pushed her into theke. She let out a scream at the unexpected push as she fell into the water with a stter. "Why did you do that?!" She yelled at him as she pushed her hair out of her face, but she didn''te out of the water immediately, finding it soothing. "Would you have agreed to enter otherwise?" He asked her as he painfully crouched down on the elevated tform above theke. "Why did you push me?!" She demanded angrily. "How careless are you? You walked around the pce smelling like that? Are you trying to get yourself into trouble?" "How... how do I smell?" She asked, a little flustered. "Tell me, who were you with? Alvin?" At the mention of his name, she began to see shes of his body and immediately closed her eyes, shaking the image out of his head as she stuttered, "N...o." "WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU?!" Williams asked in a furious tone as he got up immediately, ready to storm wherever Alvin was. "Wait... wait. He... he didn''t do anything!" Susan quickly called in rm, stopping him. "Then what happened? You were smelling like that. What if one of the crazyds in this pce had found you? And you even had the guts toe to our chamber! You must have nned a proper exnation to give to father and mother if they saw you." He said in a harsh tone. "Why are you so careless and naive?!" His voice grew higher, showing how displeased he was. "Stop yelling at me!" She yelled back, bursting into tears. That took Williams aback because it was thest thing he had expected. Susan was also not the type to cry because she was being yelled at, especially by him. She began to sob in the water, making him confused as he went back to squatting in front of her. "Did you think I wanted to run around the pce feeling that way? If you had seen him too, you would have felt the same way!" She said in an using tone, making him frown. "No, I wouldn''t." He muttered, but that wasn''t the point right now. "I don''t know what I was thinking when I said that! I am so embarrassed. I... I didn''t even get to touch it before I ran away. I missed a big opportunity!" She sobbed in regret, making him look at her in confusion as he wondered what she was going on about. "If you have a hard time controlling yourself around him, stay away from him in the meantime. Do not do something that would cause trouble. You know Father would go crazy if he noticed this." He advised calmly this time. "Stop crying. I''m sorry for yelling. I was just frustrated." He added softly, but Susan sobbed even louder, feeling more frustrated than him because the image was refusing to leave her head and the stupid Alvin had pulled up the quilt instead of pulling it down, and despite her confession that she had never touched a man''s body before, he hadn''t pitied her and let her touch him. "What can I do to make you feel better?" Williams asked her. "Can you just pretend you want to check up on him so we can go back there together--" "Are you out of your mind?" He asked in disbelief. "I shouldn''t have asked." She muttered to herself, burying her entire body in the pool dramatically. "Let''s go!" He called for her, but she refused toe up. "Susan!" She still did not. Williams closed his eyes and breathed deeply in frustration. He wasn''t sure what he did to deserve a twin like him. But the longer she was in the water, the more worried he was, and even though he threatened to leave her there, she still refused toe out. "I kissed Paulina." He confessed in a soft voice, and at once, her head sprung out, and she coughed loudly to get water out of her lungs before looking at him with wide, red eyes and an agape mouth. "Were you nning to kill yourself?" He asked in displeasure, but she quickly waved a hand in front of him. "Do not change the topic!" She said before yelling, "YOU DID WHAT?!" Williams looked around consciously before ring at her. "It was on her head. It was nothing serious." Her mouth rounded in surprise as realization dawned on her. She remembered how Paulina had raced past her and how she had found Williams at the other end, but he had refused to tell her what had happened. "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" She yelled as she swam closer to where he was squatting. "Were you nning to make her die of shock? She just found out about our kind, and you kissed her? Oh no! What if someone finds out? What is going to happen?" "Nothing is going to happen." "Maybe not to you! She is a maid! Everyone is going to me her for seducing you and have her head in a stake!" "At least I do not go about smelling like I am ready for mating after meeting her, unlike someone else!" He said it in an irritated tone that had her gasping before she threw a handful of water at him, which he unfortunately couldn''t dodge. "Mind what you say to me!" She warned him. "I know it is going to be difficult for me, but at least I can trust Alvin. He is a warrior. And he is Prince Harold''s friend. No one would dare hurt him. But Paulina, even though Princess Amber adores her, if everyone else wishes for her head, even Prince Harold would not be able to stop it. And I don''t think you are strong enough to protect her." He frowned at her as he listened to her words. Seeing the look on his face and noting especially that he was hurt either by her words or the truth in what she had said, she felt a bit guilty. "You know I will always support you, Williams. But we are both taking a risk. And... I don''t want--" He stood to his full height, making her look at him in concern. "You don''t have to exin anything. Wait here. I will get you something warm to cover." He said before walking away without sparing her another nce. She looked at his retreating figure dejectedly, sighing. She remained in the water, enjoying the feeling on her body. It also reminded her of the time she had taken a bath in theke with the otherdies and how they yed together, including Williams and Lance. Such a short time felt like a really long time already. When she heard someone approach again, she naturally assumed it was Williams and looked up immediately. However, it was not Williams. Susan swallowed nervously as she looked up at Damian, who was looking down at her in theke. Chapter 374 From A Poor Village Beggar To The Palace Susan felt very uneasy with Damian right there, staring down at her. It was already evening, and it was just the two of them currently in the area. Her imagination ran wild as she remembered the mark on Tyra''s neck and how she had been snooping aroundtely. When he took a step forward, she unconsciously swam backwards and kept her gaze fixed on him. "Greetings, Lady Susan." Damian greeted in a gentle tone before looking around."Why are you here alone by this time of the evening?" He asked her, sounding concerned. Seeing that he was finally speaking, she was able to rx a bit. Only a bit. Her guard was still up. "Williams is on his way here. I fell into theke by ident, and he has gone to get me something warm for my body." She said, making sure he got the message that Williams was going to show up soon in case he wanted to try something funny. He nodded and looked around one more time before he began to speak. "I do not think it is wise to stay in theke longer. You are going to catch a cold. And... the pce is not very safetely." He reminded her before taking off his cloak and offering it to her. "You can have it." She looked at him suspiciously, wondering what he was up to. It was weird that he was suddenly acting nice to her and trying to have a conversation with her when they were not close. He took in the look on her face and exined his actions: "I appreciate what you did for me, Lady Susan." She raised a brow in confusion. "What did I do?" "I assumed you told Prince Harold about my rtionship with Princess Tyra. That is why I am still alive today." He exined. "Oh... I promise you, I didn''t mean to say that to him. It was--" "It doesn''t matter now. Because that spared me my life, and I want you to know that I am in your debt." He said as he squatted and wiggled the cloak in his hand for her to take it. "You... don''t have to take it seriously," she muttered, feeling ufortable. Hesitantly, Susan reached for his cloak, but just before she could take it, he ced it on the tform and turned around to give her privacy to step out of theke and cover up. Susan was still very wary of him. She looked around, hoping for Williams to show up soon, but he was still nowhere in sight. By chance, did he leave her here because he was angry at her? She quickly got out of the water and climbed up the tform before wrapping the cloak around her wet body. She also pushed her hair to the back and squeezed the water out of it, but some stubborn hair still clung to her face. "Thank you." She said to him, and when he felt her movement, he guessed she was done changing and turned to look at her. "Would you like to head to your chamber now or would you prefer to wait for Sir Williams here?" He asked politely. Susan just stared at him before asking, "Do you really fancy Princess Tyra?" She asked, not able to shake off what she had seen earlier. Damian looked at her before sighing heavily. "When I first came to the pce at a young age, I had no one." He said, narrating. "My parents had been poor farmers who died when a gue hit our vige, and as luck would have it, I was able toe here to the capital." She was not sure how his story rted to the question she had asked, but she quietly listened to him. "I do not know if I was born lucky or unlucky. Because whenever one good thing happens to me, a terrible thing follows. When I moved from being a poor vige beggar to serving Prince Harry, I thought my life was set, and I couldn''t ask for anything more. But when he died, my life became even worse. And during all those times, the only one I had by my side was Princess Tyra." A sad smile appeared on his face as he narrated. "I could surprisingly rte with her. Even though she was a princess, her life was so much different. No one cared about her. Not the king, not the queen, and not any of her brothers. Not even the ''righteous'' Prince Harry, whom everyone adored. The only one who cared for her was Prince Harold. And when Prince Harold had to move away when his curse began, she was left with no one to care for her. Just like me." He stopped narrating and turned to look at her. "I know you do not trust me. But for Princess Tyra, I am willing to do all I can to protect her. I know our love is impossible, but as long as I am here, I want to keep caring for her." Susan looked at him closely, trying to see if he was lying or telling the truth. "So you believe she is right about Princess Amber killing Beth and stabbing her?" "If I am being honest, I do not know. I only want to know the truth so she can rest. Everything has been causing her so much anxiety that I fear she may do something bad to herself. I have been secretly sending her some calming potions, but I do not know how long it willst. And I do not know what will happen if someone finds out. But I also do not want her to hurt herself again." Calming potion? Was that by chance the potion she had seen Tyra hiding? Then what about the mark on her neck? Was that what he meant by ''hurt herself again''? By chance... did Tyra try to hurt herself? Susan wondered in confusion. "I heard from Princess Tyra that Princess Amber was fed with something that tampered with her memory. Same as Sir Lance." He said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Do you... know anything about it?" She asked suspiciously. He shook his head. "But there is a way we can know it." "How do you mean?" She asked, interested. "To find the person who has good knowledge of the potions and tell us the kind of potion used on them. It will help us find the person who used it within the pce if we can find how the person got it." Susan thought about it. It was the same thing their team had been talking about before all the craziness began. They knew it was the past royal physician, and the man had also been secretly killed by someone from the pce. Maybe the person who killed him had the potion and was using it within the pce? First on Prince Harry and now on Princess Amber. "Would the noble court be interested in it?" She asked with skepticism. He nodded. "The queen is going to raise the issue. The only problem is having Prince Harold agree for her to be allowed to join the assembly to air her view. But I believe that if Princess Amber talks to him about it, then it will be settled. After all, it''s also to prove his bride''s innocence." Susan nodded. It did make sense. She would have to talk to Princess Amber about it. She suddenly looked at him again, suspicious. "Why are you telling me all this?" He could have told anyone else about this. Why her? "Because I am desperate." He said, looking sincere. "I do not know whether the queen is responsible, nor do I know what to believe since Princess Tyra is giving one ount and Princess Amber does not remember. Digging into the potion and finding the person who made them would help us find the true culprit and end all this." He paused before adding. "You are the only one I can tell this to. Because you can understand my desperation since you know my rtionship with Princess Tyra. And also... you understand what it''s like to have a forbidden love." He gave her a knowing look that made her ufortable, and she quickly looked around before facing him again, shaking her head. "What... are you talking a--" "Alvin." He simply mentioned, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I know." Her eyes rounded in surprise, and she shook her head again. "There is nothing going on between the two of us. I swear it!" "Do not panic. I won''t tell anyone." He said in an assuring tone. She swallowed nervously, feeling ufortable about this. "Your brother is closer. I''m not sure he would be happy to see me here. I should leave now." He said with a polite bow. However, before he left, he asked her, "Can I trust you to speak with Princess Amber about this? It would be nice if you didn''t tell her it was my idea. I do not wish for the queen to know that I am secretly helping Princess Amber." He pleaded. Susan looked at him closely. By chance, had she judged him too quickly? If he was suggesting that the culprit be found by letting the noblemen dig into the Beta''s nightmare, she doubted he was responsible. It also seemed like he was not taking anyone''s side now but simply wanted to fulfil his duty and also protect the one he loved. She suddenly felt bad for suspecting him and was d she hadn''t gone about spreading such a rumour around. She nodded immediately. "I will talk to her about it. You do not have to worry about it." "Thank you. I knew I could always count on you." He gave her a small smile and made to leave when she called him back and took off the cloak, handing it back to him. "Thank you, Damian." She said warmly. He nodded before he disappeared. Chapter 375 "Like What You See?" A/N: I''m currently travelling so writing is quite a challenge especially as I am suffering from motion sickness. So I am hoping the grammar errors and typos aren''t much. Thanks. **** The soft flicker of candlelight illuminated the chamber as Alicia emerged from the bath, her skin still damp from the warm water. This was one of the things she appreciated here. Having a tub here, even though it was not asfortable as the modern tub. At least she could soak in it after a stressful day like today. And the fragrance from the oils and flowers added to the bath made her feel refreshed as she stepped out. She had abolished the pattern of having maids bathe her and dress her up. It was too ufortable. She wore a simple gown that was barely up to her knees and had wrapped a towel around her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom, heading for her room. As soon as she entered the room, the door opened, and Harold stepped inside. As soon as his eyes met hers, he seemed a little flustered at having met her when she was not done getting dressed. However, he didn''t step out immediately and just stared at her, taking in the sight. It was funny how every single day it seemed like he was seeing a new and prettier side of her. But at the same time, he was frustrated because this wasn''t her real body. "May I help you, my lord?" Alicia said in a teasing tone, hiding a smile. "I can returnter." He said, pointing back at the door. "It''s alright. You can stay while I finish up." She gestured at the bed and walked to the dressing table to finish up her nightly routine. Harold watched her reach for a bottle of fragrant oil and began to pour it into her palm, the liquid shimmering in the candlelight. The room was quiet, save for the asional sound of the oil bottle being opened or the soft rustle of clothing as Alicia shifted in her seat. The oil glinted in the light, making her skin look almost luminous. Prince Harold watched her intently, his eyes tracing the curve of her calf and the smoothness of her thigh. She could tell he was watching her every movement. Alicia was used to his gaze, but tonight it seemed more intense than usual. If she was being honest with herself, she would have to admit that she was doing it partly on purpose. He watched her massage the oil into her skin, starting at her feet and working her way up her legs. His gaze lingered on the smooth, taut skin of her calves and thighs, and he felt a surge of desire stir within him. It was the perfectly wrong time to remember the encounter with his wolf, urging him to mate with her. Alicia finished oiling her legs and moved on to her arms. She worked slowly and methodically, taking her time to savour the sensation of her own touch. When she was done with that, she untied her hair and brushed it neatly. When she was finished, she stood up and turned to face Harold. His eyes roamed over her body, taking in every inch of it. With a mischievous smile, she asked, "Do you like what you see, my lord?" Harold cleared his throat, feeling suddenly self-conscious. "Maybe," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. They both exchanged an intense look, and Alicia broke it first when sheughed. He smiled in return and tapped the space beside him for her to join. She joined him in bed and leaned into him while he covered them with the quilt. "What were you up to today? You were gone by the time I woke up." She asked him. Harold cleared his throat, trying to push aside the thoughts that had been guing him since he entered the room tonight. "The king woke up briefly." "Really?" Alicia sat up at once. "How is he? Is he going to be fine?" He shrugged. "I hope so. He doesn''t still look too well. But I don''t want anyone to know about it for now. He needs to fully recover." Alicia didn''t try to find out why he didn''t want anyone to find out now. Whether it was because he didn''t want the noblemen to swarm the king or for some other reason, she didn''t know, and she didn''t ask. She simply nodded. "I won''t let anyone know about it." He nodded. "Don''t you think you should also rest and see the physician to check you properly? You haven''t been looking too welltely." She said with concern. Lately, he seemed paler and more tired. She had assumed it was because of all the stress, but he didn''t look like he was getting better. "I will do so." Harold said, not wanting to worry her. He knew the reason he was like that and didn''t want to share it with her. He''ll be fine anyway. "What were you up to? You were not in your chamber when I returned earlier." He asked, changing the topic. Alicia sighed, a hint of frustration in her voice. "I went to the stables to visit Hellion again, but he''s still not epting me. I''m not going to give up, though." "How about I buy you another horse?" He offered. It was funny how he was bent on making sure she had no horse at one point, and now he was offering to buy her one. She shook her head. "I am going to tame Hellion and make him mine." "You are determined, aren''t you?" She nodded, grinning. "Just you watch me." "Good luck with that then." He cheered for her before asking, "Was that all you did?" "I went to the shooting range too to practice. Although I''m still not very good at it, I think with more practice I''ll get there. So I was hoping you might join me tomorrow and give me some pointers. It''s been a while since we went there together." Yeah. It has been a long time. He reasoned. If they could just go back to the time when it was all still simple for them. But now, that was very impossible. "Tomorrow?" she asked. Harold nodded, a smile ying at the corners of his lips. "Okay." That single word made her beam, and she leaned back into him. He wrapped his hand around her, holding her close. The two said no words for a while before Harold spoke again, asking, "Are you okay to attend the morning assembly tomorrow? Damon was asking for the queen to be let in. She apparently has something to say about the case." Alicia was quite surprised to hear him mention this. Because on her way while looking for Paulina, she had met Susan and had a little chat with her, and Susan had suggested that she use the queen to find out how the Beta''s nightmare was still in existence. Alicia nodded. "Yes, I''m okay with that. I think it''s important to hear what the queen has to say and also ask her some questions too." Harold looked thoughtful, with a hint of reservation in his eyes. "I don''t trust any of them. What if she is trying to put the me back on you?" Alicia ced a gentle hand on his arm. "I understand your concerns, but I think it''s important to keep an open mind. We won''t know what the queen has to say until we hear it. I really want this case to end as soon as possible." Harold was still hesitant about it, but he nodded. He also wanted to be done with this. A knock on the door interrupted them, and Harold looked up, wondering why he hadn''t sensed the person''s presence. Was it still because he was recovering from his blood share, or was there something else? Was Alicia the cause? He looked at her, remembering how he also hadn''t been able to sense other people around when he was close to her. "Are you expecting someone?" She asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. He put in an effort to sense who was outside and realized it was Lady Victoria. At once, he got down from the bed and looked at Alicia as he walked towards the door, saying, "Yes. I was supposed to meet Lady Victoria for something." Alicia looked at him suspiciously, wondering what it was that he needed to meet her for. But she simply nodded, d he was at least rting with some family members, and it seemed Lady Victoria did care about him too. When Harold opened the door, he found the woman there. She seemed a bit nervous as she looked around. "I have to hurry back before my Lord husband finds me." She said in a hurry before asking, "Is it okay to talk now?" Harold looked back inside the room at Alicia, who was still sitting on the bed. However, he stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him as he said in a quiet voice, "You can speak." He said, looking hopeful. Chapter 376 PLEASE DO NOT OPEN. WRONG CHAPTER. UNLOCK IN AN HOUR. "You still won''t tell me what happened yesterday?" Susan asked Williams, looking at him suspiciously. It hadn''t been long after Paulina ran past her that she went to check what had been chasing her from the painting room since she was certain that was where Paulina had been. And surprisingly, she found her brother there, staring at a painting with interest. No matter how much she tried to squeeze information from him, he remained tight-lipped, much to her annoyance. "You also haven''t told me what you have been up totely." He retorted. "I told you I''m not up to anything!" She said defensively. She wasn''t sure, so she couldn''t just throw out information about her suspicions. Also, she wanted desperately to believe that Tyra was innocent, and sharing this information with others was most likely going to make her keep doubting Tyra. She had to be sure about Damian too, and she knew telling her brother about this was a bad idea because he would want to stop her. An idea suddenly came to her, and she stood up in a hurry, leaving the room and not paying any mind to Williams, who was calling for her. "She is going to be the death of me," Williams said with a sigh. Meanwhile, Susan had a determined look on her face as she decided to carry out the n in her head. If Damian was involved in all this, she guessed it meant the queen was protecting him, and that was why a lot of people were not talking. But she was going to dig out the truth. Susan had turned to the maids. They were often overlooked and underestimated, but Susan knew that they were the eyes and ears of the pce and that they knew more than most people realized. Since Agnes had also been a kitchen maid, she believed she would be able to get information from here. Susan discreetly entered the maids'' quarters and began her investigation, asking around discreetly, trying to find out if anyone had seen or heard anything unusual on the night of the banquet. Most of the maids had nothing to report, which was frustrating. In fact, they seemed happy that Beth was gone and didn''t care for whoever had killed her. About to leave dejectedly, a maid passed by and bumped into her, slipping a note into her hand. Before Susan could even see who it was, the maid had hurriedly fled. Susan looked around her, sure no one was around before she opened the note and read, "Look for Katherine." Katherine? Who was that? Susan wondered as she looked around her, but no one was in sight. All the maids had something to do since it was still daytime. She decided to find the maid who had slipped this note to her instead. If the maid was giving her a clue on who to ask, then it meant the girl knew something. And what did she mean by "look for Katherine"? Did it mean that Katherine was not in the pce? Although she hadn''t seen the girl who gave her the note, she knew how she smelled, and with that, she snuck out of the maid''s chamber, oblivious to the eyes watching her. However, she also seemed to have her priorities in order. As much as she wanted to find that girl, she also wanted to check on Alvin and know how he was faring. Thatd was annoying her, but she could ignore it for now since he wasn''t feeling too well. When she got to Harold''s door, she knocked once before pushing it open and going inside. However, what Susan saw made her stand still. An assistant physician was alone with him in the room, cleaning his bare body. His lower body was covered with the quilt, so she was not sure whether he was wearing something below or not, but his upper body was exposed and glistening with a mixture of water and oil. ? Usually, his body was always around the quilt except for his back, so she didn''t get to see more than she was supposed to. But now, it seemed his back was a lot better because he was made to sleep on his back with a kind of herb sprinkled on his bed, so his chest down to his navel was all open for Susan. Meanwhile, Alvin and the physician looked at her, wondering why she was not leaving and just standing there, staring with round eyes and red cheeks. "Why aren''t you leaving?" Alvin asked with his piercing gaze on her face. At the same time, the physician hurriedly covered Alvin''s upper body with the quilt so as not to taint the maiden''s innocent eyes. The oblivious Susan, who was feeling tingles all over her body and goosebumps that were suddenly appearing on her skin out of nowhere, snapped back to her senses and simply shrugged as she rested her back on the wall and folded her arms across her chest. "I came to check on you, so I''ll be here until he is done." Alvin gave her a look as though she were crazy before his eyes went to the physician, who had a curious, questioning look on his face. That was when Susan realized her slip and immediately jolted away from the wall,ughing awkwardly. "I... I had to report something to you. It''s from Prince Harold. And it''s urgent." She said this in a serious tone while giving the physician a pointed look that told him to hurry up and leave. Alvin gave her a suspicious look. It looked like she was lying. There was no way Prince Harold would send her on an errand for him. But he could not exactly be certain, so he gave the physician a look that said "You can get lost now," and the young man didn''t need to be told twice. Staying in Alvin''s presence and even getting to touch his body made him feel as though he had lost half of his lifespan, even though Alvin hadn''t bothered to say a word to him at all. He didn''t even go wait outside. He just picked up all his things clumsily and ran away. When there were just the two of them in the room, Alvin adjusted, cing both his hands on the back of his head, unconsciously flexing more than Susan could handle as she took in his biceps, triceps, and all the ceps he had. He looked at her, waiting for her to go ahead and tell her why she was here, but as he stared at her, he noticed she was lost in her thoughts, and once again, her cheeks were heating up, but the main thing was... Her eyes were on the part of his chest that was exposed, and she smelled funny. He furrowed his brows at her, awed at her brazenness. "Do you... realize you are a Lady?" he asked, sounding a little ufortable. It seemed like she had forgotten, so he had to do her a favour by reminding her. Once again, Susan snapped back to her senses. She had lied when she said Harold had sent her to him. She hadn''t even seen Harold at all today and had even made a mental note to avoid him because, judging by her mother''s mood swing, cracked voice, and how she spoke about Prince Harold''s poor skills as Susan helped her massage her back after she returned from the kitchen, Susan felt it would be wise to avoid Prince Harold because if her mother was like this, then she must have said a thing or two to Harold that he didn''t like, and she didn''t want him to take it out on her. Susan said no words and sat down on the chair beside the bed where the physician had been sitting. She looked directly at Alvin, locking eyes with him. This made him ufortable, so he pulled out his hands from under his head and pulled up the quilt to cover the rest of his exposed chest up to his neck. "What is it you came here for?" he asked again in an impatient tone. Should she ask him if he knew who Katherine was? Should she tell him about how she felt about Damian? "I... have never touched a man''s body before." She blurted it out before she could stop herself. Suddenly, there was a heavy silence in the room as Alvin''s eyes rounded before he looked away from her, pulling the quilt even higher. Susan felt like she was going to die of embarrassment. WHY HAD SHE SAID THAT?! How was that even rted to anything she had been thinking about? "I... do not need to know that," Alvin said awkwardly. Susan tucked her lips in, also staring back at him awkwardly. She touched the back of her neck, touched her ear, and went back to scratching the back of her neck as she shifted ufortably in her seat. His questioning look followed her every movement, wondering what was wrong with her. "You... are not okay." He noted. Sounding a little concerned. She swallowed nervously and immediately jumped from her seat, startling him. She stood there, staring at him, while he stared back, wondering why she was behaving like someone who was possessed. Before he could even say another word, she turned around and fled the room, leaving him utterly confused. Chapter 377 (OPEN THIS INSTEAD) The room was filled with an air of tension as the noblemen gathered for the morning assembly. At this point, they were already fed up with this. Howe they hade for their usual banquet and ended up attending a series of interrogations and meetings? They all murmured, wondering what new information they were going to be hearing today. As usual, Damon was standing in his spot. He had a bad feeling about the queen joining them, but he didn''t know exactly why he was apprehensive. Prince Harold was fashionablyte, and as the door swung open for him as he entered, everyone felt his cold aura. His face was stern and unsmiling, as usual, but it seemed that this time he had a whole lot on his mind. The noblemen exchanged nces, unsure of what to make of his demeanour. Soon after, Alicia joined them. Again! And if they had thought she had impulsively dressed the way she did two days ago, this time she let them know she had done it intentionally because she wore a simr outfit. However, the noblemen couldn''t talk about it, but it was clear that they were bothered by her choice of clothing and her presence in the court. Just like Harold, she appeared cold and distant, her eyes flickering around the room as if she were looking for something. When she didn''t find it, she looked at Harold, and he gave her a reassuring look that put her at ease. She nodded and went to stand beside him. Damon cleared his throat and started the session. He went straight to the point, calling in the queen to join them. The queen, thankfully, had been able to make herself look presentable. In her attempt to remind everyone that she was still the queen, she dressed in one of her royal linens and touched up her face with makeup, getting rid of the dark circles and wrinkles that had sprouted on her face in the past few days. When the Queen saw Alicia, she was instantly annoyed. First, she was present here again when she wasn''t supposed to. Secondly, she had to disrespect the court by dressing like that! Poor King, if only he was awake to see what these idiots were turning the kingdom into. She thought sadly. But this was not the time to start making a case out of it. She decided to let it be and went on with the questioning. "What can you say about the chargesid against you?" Damon asked the Queen. She red at him in irritation, asking, "How do you expect me to find something tangible if I am restricted to my quarters?" She asked rudely. This made the noblemen angry, and some of them began to openly voice their displeasure. She ignored them and went on, saying, "We can all remember that Princess Amber ims to not remember what happened that night." The queen started and turned to look at Alicia. "Is that correct?" "It is." Alicia nodded. "And I learned you believe you were poisoned with a potion to make it so?" Alicia nodded again, seeming calm as she answered, "Correct." "Who served you the thing you ate? And who is your witness?" "The questioning is done here by me!" Damon said in irritation, gritting his teeth. "If you cannot carry out a proper questioning, then maybe I should." The queen snapped at him, causing an uproar in the room. Even though the men were no longer in favour of Damon again, it didn''t mean the queen had any right to be that disrespectful to Damon and the entire court. "You will respect the court and do as you are told. Otherwise, you will be sent out." Damon warned. The queen gritted her teeth and scoffed but kept her mouth shut, and the room fell silent as Damon began to question Princess Alicia about the events of the murder. "Why can''t you remember what happened on the night of the murder, Princess Amber?" Damon asked her. Alicia''s voice was soft and measured as she spoke. "I''m not sure, Sir Damon. I simply cannot recall what happened. But I think it has to do with something I ate." The queen was about to speak, but res from different angles shut her up. "What did you eat?" Damon asked her. "As I said, I cannot remember." The noblemen began to murmur at how absurd she sounded. "And how would we believe that is not a lie if you cannot even remember?" Damon asked her. "I have a witness," Alicia announced, getting their attention. "You have a witness?" Damon asked, and she nodded. Just then, the door opened, and out of everyone they had imagined was going to show up here as the witness, thest person they expected was the young man standing right outside the door in a very shy golden outfit that could blind someone. Lance''s father looked at him in confusion and rm, wondering what he was here for. And the question was also on the minds of many of the noblemen. Because... this was Lance! Lance stepped forward. Even though he looked like he would rather be anywhere else than here, he tried to look serious as he stood just a few paces behind the queen and bowed to the House. "Are you the witness?" Damon asked him in confusion, and Lance nodded. Many eyes went to Sir Gregory, who looked uneasy, not sure what was happening. "Introduce yourself briefly," Damon instructed. "I am Sir Lance. The Son of Lord Gregory." Nothing else. "May we know why you are here as a witness in this case?" Lance went straight to the point, narrating. "On the day the incident happened, I met Princess Amber in the hallway. I saw her eating a biscuit, which she offered me two. I thought they were the same ones she had made, so I ate them, but I noticed they tasted different." "What happened after that?" Damon asked. "I cannot say for certain because I cannot remember most of what happened after that. But I had a terrible headache, and I was very... not myself for a while." "Why did you think it was what she fed you with that caused it?" "When I heard she could not remember what happened, I thought maybe it was the cause. Because we ate the same thing." "Then howe you were able to remember what happened but she cannot even remember who served her the biscuits or if she had made them herself?" The Queen asked angrily. "You should know why, don''t you think?" Alicia replied, making everyone look at her with a kind of interest, wondering if she already knew about their kind. In fact, at this point, they wouldn''t even be surprised if she knew, considering all that had been happening. "You can ask my father for the details about what happened next. Because as I mentioned, I cannot remember much. I could not participate in the night hunt either because of it." Lance said with disinterest. "Is that true, Lord Gregory?" Damon asked the man, who was still not sure what his son had gotten into, but he nodded. "It is true." "If that is the case, we will have to check with the kitchen to know if Princess Amber made such snacks herself--" "Why would she make such snacks that would endanger her and also feed them to Sir Lance for no reason at all?" Sir Richard asked reasonably, interrupting Damon, and some noblemen nodded in agreement. "I believe we have the best physicians in this kingdom right here in the pce. We should seek their opinion about any potion that can make someone act like that. This would help us know if Princess Amber is telling the truth or if she is lying and Sir Lance is her aplice." Harvey said, airing his piece while Lance sent him a re. Throughout this, Harold hadn''t said anything. Even though the assembly was going the way he wanted, he felt some kind of apprehension and couldn''t tell why. "If we can tell the kind of potion that was used to harm them, then we can interrogate the kitchen servants to know who had used it!" Sir Gregory said with determination. His son had been a victim of it, and he was not going to let the perpetrator escape. Many of the noblemen agreed. They also believed if they could find the person, they would know the real killer. "Very well, then. Bring the royal physician!" Damon announced. The entire room was quiet as they all waited for the man to be brought in. After a few minutes, the door opened again, and the man entered the room with his head down. He went through the same process of introducing himself even though it was not necessary since everyone knew him, before they went straight to the point. "We have an issue we would like your unbiased opinion about," Damon said, and the man nodded, letting them know he was willing to provide any valuable information. Alicia was asked toy out all the symptoms she felt that night and the days after that, and after she was done, Lance was also asked to do the same. He told his part and the ones he could not remember, his father was made to tell them since he was standing in as a witness to the witness. The physician jotted everything down, and it could be seen how tense he was the more Lance or his father spoke of his symptoms. When he was done taking the note, he looked up at all of them, and from the looks on most of their faces, some of them seemed to have an idea about the kind of potion, including the queen, whoseplexion had grown pale, but she hoped it wasn''t it. "With my experience as a physician for over 30 years, I can only say that there is one potion capable of causing such symptoms in Sir Lance. I, however, cannot say for certain about Princess Amber, for reasons we all know." The noblemen listened keenly, the tension in the room was palpable. "I am afraid... there is a high chance that it is the forbidden potion. Beta''s nightmare." He announced. The queen gasped as soon as she heard that; the agony she had felt when she lost her son was returning. The noblemen were in a frenzy now, their voices raising in confusion as they wondered why and how it was in the pce. Prince Harold remained silent, his face stony and unreadable, the same as Alicia''s. Chapter 378 "OUR QUEEN" The mention of Beta''s nightmare brought unpleasant feelings to everyone present there, knowing how much havoc that potion was capable of causing. Most especially the queen, who began to have shes of the incident that happened over a decade ago. She shut her eyes tightly as she went back to that moment when she ran out of her chamber in an ungrateful manner, hoping it was all an unfunny joke but still finding her precious son''s corpse. Her body shook as she tried to push that memory away and stop the tears in her eyes from spilling. The royal physician looked at her from where he stood, feeling her pain. Her favourite son, Prince Harry, had died after his fight with Harold. Even though the little stable boy who had witnessed the fight and had run to call for help had confessed that Prince Harold''s heave wasn''t strong enough to kill Prince Harry, no one had been willing to listen to him. No one even knew where the stable boy was anymore. As far as everyone was concerned, Prince Harold and Harry had fought, and the former used the advantage of being an Alpha to kill thetter. With the help of the royal physician, under the orders of the king, they continued looking for answers to why Prince Harold and Prince Harry had fought and the reason for his death. They also questioned the people who had seen him before the incident, and judging from the symptoms the people mentioned he showed, they guessed the potion had been the cause, but they had kept it from others. The only people who knew were the significant people in the royal family. But whether Prince Harry had been poisoned with Beta''s nightmare or not was not the problem for the queen, because as far as they were concerned, it was not enough to kill a Beta, so Harold was still responsible since Prince Harry also had a head injury. Unfortunately, they hadn''t been able to find the one responsible or how Harry got to consume such a potion because he wasn''t alive to remember and narrate it to them. And Damian had paid the price. Dearly. "How is that still in the pce when it was forbidden a long time ago?" Sir Gregory asked, shocked that his son had consumed such a substance. Just then, the door opened again, distracting them all. Damian stormed in, looking like whatever he had to say was urgent and couldn''t wait. How bowed at once and started, "I''m sorry to barge in rudely, but... Princess Tyra is very sick and needs the presence of the royal physicia¡ª" "YOU WANT THE ROYAL PHYSICIAN TO LEAVE THIS IMPORTANT DISCUSSION TO ATTEND TO HER WHEN THERE ARE OTHER PHYSICIANS IN THE PALACE?" Sir Gregory yelled in anger. His only son had almost died?! "I''m sorry, but she is still the princess, and she needs¡ª" "Shut it!" The queen red at Damian, eyes zing red with anger and unshed tears. Damian immediately went mute and just stood behind obediently. "What have you been doing letting that potion spread around the pce?" The queen looked pointedly at Damon, who gritted his teeth. She was trying very hard not to let the emotion she was feeling show, and it looked like Damon felt the same way. "Just like every other person, I had no idea something like that still existed." He said to the house. The queen let out a short cry and quickly used her hand to cover her mouth. What was happening? By chance, was this a decade-long plot? She shed back to the note she received, the disappearance of the witch, Beth''s death, the king''s illness, andstly, Harry''s death. Was it all a coincidence? Meanwhile, questions were still flying around as everyone tried to understand why the potion was still in existence. "Who still uses that after it was forbidden?" "The one who made the potion was Sir Wilson. It is impossible for it to still be in cirction." "But it is still in cirction!" Sir Gregory cried out. The son he was feeling pained for was busy praying for this meeting to end soon because he was tired of standing. Lance wondered how these men were able to stand for hours and still have the energy to argue. "I don''t care how any of you do it. Find the person who used that potion and bring them to me!" The queen cried out in despair as she tried to keep herself from falling. She wasn''t sure what she felt at the moment. Anger? Fear? Anxiety? Hate? But all she knew was that if she got the person, she was going to rip them apart with her bare hands. "Where is Sir Wilson?" Harvey asked calmly from where he stood, observing the whole thing. "Didn''t he die many years ago?" One nobleman asked the man beside him. "He died? I thought he simply stopped working here." Another said. "Of course, he died! Why would he stop working here when he was so talented?" Another asked. "We have other talented physicians, so it''s possible he took a rest." Another said. "You don''t even know the whereabouts of someone who dedicated his life to this kingdom?" Alicia asked, showing her disgust. "There were too many things going on in the pce back then. Why should we be bothered about a physician when the king didn''t raise any issue about it?" One man asked. "That''s right. He worked for the pce, and if the pce isn''t concerned about it, then why should we?" Another chipped in. "Shut. Your. Mouths." Alicia said in anger, stunning them. She looked at them in disbelief. Should she even be surprised? People were always going to be the same, whether in the past or present. How many politicians or people in government cared about citizens who dedicated their lives to work in sectors that promote the development of the country? Teachers, Doctors, Nurses, Lawyers, Members of the armed forces. Did the government truly care about them? "I DON''T CARE ABOUT ALL THAT!" The queen yelled, breaking Alicia''s trail of thoughts. "Someone is out to destroy the royal household, and it could be any of you right here!" The queen screamed, starting one of her crazy episodes. "WHAT ARE YOU ACCUSING US OF?" "WHY WOULD WE DO THAT?" "IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO SAY, THEN RETURN TO YOUR CHAMBERS AND STOP LAYING FALSE CLAIMS." The room turned into a mess as the noblemen began to attack the queen for what she said. Suddenly, a gentle voice spoke, "If I may dare speak, my Lords." "Why would you dare speak here? Don''t you know where you are standing?" A nobleman asked as he eyed Damian unpleasantly for daring to speak in their presence. "I am standing amongst the noblemen of the royal court; I know that much. I am also our queen''s guard. And if our queen is directly involved in this, it makes me involved too. Besides, I was also questioned concerning this." The ''our queen'' he kept repeating almost made some of them gag. "You may speak." Damon gestured for him to go ahead. Damian bowed to the house one more time as he began to speak. "Using harmful potions on members of the royal family is a crime punishable by death. And I believe that in order for the person to be caught, we need to start from the genesis of this whole problem and look for the one who made the potion." "We already said he died many years ago!" Someone snapped at him impatiently. "What if he didn''t?" Damian asked calmly. "I heard his body and those of his wife and servants were found." Another said. "What? All together? Why am I just learning this?" Another man asked. "Does it mean that he was murdered? Who could have murdered him?" Another asked. Damian looked at them thoughtfully as he said, "If he was murdered, it makes it even more suspicious. Why would someone murder the entire family of a mere physician?" Damian''s innocent gaze went to the queen, who was even paler now and had all the veins in her neck popping and her hands balled in tight fists. His eyes moved to spare a nce at Damon, who was looking calm but whose entire resolve was broken. Damian,"I believe I speak on behalf of our queen when I say that it is important to look into who and why the royal physician was killed." He paused and added, "Maybe someone killed them to steal the potion and use it, or maybe it was for another reason; we cannot tell. But if we can find the reason and the person behind it, I believe we can find the person responsible for what happened that night and put everyone at ease." He suggested to the house. The queen slowly turned to look at Damian, her nails digging even deeper into her palm. Damian looked back at her and bowed modestly to her, as though he had just fixed all her life''s problems. As much as the noblemen did not like Damian and didn''t want to acknowledge him, they could not deny the fact that what he said made sense. "I think that idea is a good one. We should look into it and know what happened that night and who was responsible." Sir Richard said. "Who knows, maybe the person is even in our midst." "YES!" Sir Gregory echoed. "I will deploy every resource I have to make sure the real culprit is caught!" It led to another round of rowdiness as they all gave their support. "Since that is the case, can our queen''s restriction be released now, my lords?" Damian asked, interrupting them again. "Even though we have a little idea about what happened that night, the queen is still guilty of forcing a maid to bear false witness against Princess Amber, which led to her almost getting executed. So I do not think it is wise to let her off now." A man said. "Yes! She also caused a lot of trouble and has put the entire kingdom into unrest." Another agreed. The queen could not even speak as she heard all the vile words being thrown around about her. She could not say a word, even if she wanted to. She had an even bigger problem to deal with. Harold simply stared at her with an unreadable face before his eyes slowly moved to Damon. Chapter 379 (Un)Noble Noblemen Harvey thought about the just-concluded meeting. He and Alvin had been told during their little investigation that Sir Wilson and his family had been killed, and it had been done by the royal guards. But judging by the reactions of the noblemen, they had no idea of such a thing. Did it mean someone in the royal family had carried out such ns without the knowledge of the other noblemen? Was it perhaps the king? He didn''t think so. The king was not that kind of person. Besides, if he wanted to kill Sir Wilson for any reason, he would have done so in a reasonable fashion and maybe spared his household too, unless he had really gotten involved in treason. Then who else? The only other person who had such authority aside from the king was Lord Damon. But what reason would he have to kill Sir Wilson? This was the second meeting he just finished having with some noblemen, while his father also had the ones he had been attending. Since he had confirmed that his father had returned to their chamber, he decided to go meet him and see what they had been able to gather. Also, he knew his father knew a lot of things¡ªmore than he would ever know, even though he was a member of the court too. But just as he got to their hallway, he saw his mothering in the same direction. When she saw him, her eyes lit up, and she increased her pace to meet him. "What is wrong, mother?" He asked in a tone of urgency, but she held him by the hand and began to head in the same direction he had juste from. "I want to speak with you. Privately." She added as she continued pulling him with her. Harvey didn''t like the tone of that. He never liked it when his mother asked to speak privately because there were two things she usually talked about. One was finding a bride, and since he ''had'' Susan now, he knew it was the other one she wanted to discuss. Regardless, he obediently followed her. They both stood in a clear hallway, looking out the window as the afternoon breeze passed through them. "How was the meeting?" She asked. "You know I cannot openly tell you what was discussed there." He reminded her. "I know. I know. I am not asking for you to tell me about it." She said and then sighed. "Isn''t it exhausting now?" It was Harvey''s turn to sigh, and he did so deeply. He knew this was what she wanted to discuss. "Mother, I like being in the court. I already told you this many times over." "Do you?" She prodded. "I do." "You are sure it''s not because your father made you?" "Father didn''t make me join the court. It was what I''ve always wanted to do because I admired him. He never forced me to be a nobleman." "But there are so many other things you can do. You can be a merchant. You can start a training school for warriors. You can even choose to stay idle for the rest of your life and not do anything. We can afford it¡ª" "Mother..." He called in a warning tone. "I have done this a lot of times, and I... am exhausted." She said in a pained voice as she looked at him with pleading eyes. "My father was a nobleman. Your father is one. Your sister is being made to marry Prince Ivan. And you... you are also ving your life for the kingdom¡ª" "If I do not do it, who else would do it¡ª" "There are many other people!" She cried. "Noblemen of the royal court are all bad people. And they do not end well. They never end well." She spoke in a desperate voice, trying to convince him. "Do you think Father is bad?" He asked her calmly. "You think your father has never done something he regrets because of this kingdom?" She retorted, making his brow furrow. "Do you think he is happy?" "What are you saying?" He asked her, confused. "I worry about you two. He probably agreed to have you be a nobleman in the royal court because he knows you are kind and just. He wants you to be the person he never was in his younger years. And I am certain that is also the reason he has continued serving the court. Because he wants to be a better person now¡ª" "Mother, I know you do not like that we are in the royal court very much, but do not speak ill of Father." He chided and looked around them to be sure no one heard. "I have been in the court for 2 years, and I have seen how different Father is from the rest. He is your Lord husband. You should believe and trust him." "I do not want my family to get involved in other affairs that will endanger our lives." She said in a serious tone. "You are already openly showing your loyalty and support for Prince Harold, and the day he gets used of treason without any support for him, you are aware that you are going to be punished for treason too, and so is every member of your family." "Mother, you are thinking too much about this. I swore to you that I would only follow the right path, and that is what I will do." "Then are you going to agree for us to fix a wedding date soon? If you are married to Lady Susan, you will have the support of the Queen''s side at the very least." He sighed. "It is unnecessary to talk about marriage at this point. But I promise to take care of myself and to protect our family." "Harvey¡ª" "I swear it, mother. Rest assured." She looked at him, feeling disappointed. He wished he could assure her more than he had, but honestly, he had no idea what else to say to her. But he saw the pain in her eyes, and she turned around and walked away from him; even when he tried to reach for her, she ignored him and left. He only sighed sadly before he went back to their chamber to meet his father. This wasn''t the first time he had had this conversation with his mother, so he knew she was going toe around soon. When he entered their chamber, he found his father reading through a thick note while drinking tea. From the smell, he could tell it was the calming tea his father liked to have after being stressed out. Harvey instantly went to sit across from him. Usually, he would wait until he was done reading before he interrupted, but now he didn''t have much time anymore because he had to report back to Prince Harold. "Do you have any idea about what happened to Sir Wilson?" He asked Sir Richard, who lifted his head and looked at him. Putting aside the book, he shook his head as she said, "I also heard that he died. But the kingdom was going through a turbulent time then, so many of us were distracted and didn''t pay it any mind." "Is there a reason for anyone to kill him?" "I don''t see why anyone would kill him." Sir Richard answered honestly. The man was a rather gentle person and not a troublemaker. "Why are you asking?" He asked Harvey. "I''m just curious about a lot of things," Harvey answered, and what his mother had said rang in his ears. He had never questioned his father before about his years as a nobleman. His father had always been a just and upright person who stood for the truth. But maybe there have been times his hands were tied and he indirectly supported evil? Just like the time ''Princess Amber'' and Paulina had almost been killed. Even he hadn''t been able to do anything useful and had only counted on Lance to speak up. "Do you... ever regret being a nobleman in the royal court?" Harvey asked his father, who was rather taken aback by the question and looked at him. "You have never asked me that before." He said softly. "I know." "Are you regretting being one?" Sir Richard asked him. Harvey thought about it and shook his head. "Have you?" Sir Richard sipped from his ss before he said, "I do not know." Harvey frowned. "Why don''t you know? You are noble. Many people adore you and wish to be like you. I grew up admiring you and wanted to be a nobleman just like you." "A nobleman." He scoffed."What is ''noble'' about us?" He asked, looking directly into Harvey''s eyes. Harvey just looked at him, speechless. "I wanted you to understand that working for the court is not an easy feat. I''m sure you must have noticed it in the few years since you joined. One way or the other, we directly or indirectly get our hands dirty. I just hope... you, at least, be a ''noble'' nobleman." "Fath¡ª" "I won''t stop you from showing your support for Prince Harold. But the noble thing to do is to never betray the one you have chosen to support." "Even if the lives of our family are on the line?" Harvey asked. "Then, son, that is the price you pay for nobility." "Will you pay such a price?" Harvey asked. It was only now that he was fully able to grasp his mother''s fear. Harvey noticed how his father''s expression changed when he asked that. "I... didn''t before. And if it happens again, I don''t know if I will make the same choice or not." He looked at his son and smiled sadly. "If it is too much, you can always retire and live a simple life." Harvey observed him quietly. It felt like his father had been loyal to someone and betrayed them. Or maybe he had been indifferent in order to save himself and his family. It made Harvey curious. "Who... were you loyal to?" Sir Richard looked at him. Silence passed between them for a moment before he answered honestly, "The one called... the Mad Prince." ****** A/N: Been trying to write in the AUTHOR''S NOTE section but for some reason, I cannot ess it. So... we received lots of gifts in February! Yay! Thanks to everyone who sent me gifts. Thanks for your votes andments too. It''s super wonderful! You all are wonderful! So we received Super gifts from Ayana_Heels today which means the update schedule is going to be doubled (or tripled if I''m not able to upload 2 chapters in a day for some reason) Furthermore, I would like to have your opinion on something. There is supposed to be a little backstory about Queen Anne. But I do not want this book to seem too draggy or slow so I''m considering taking it out. What do you think? Would you like some backstory about Queen Anne and Prince Wilder or I can just mention them on a passing? Chapter 380 The Same Everything For most of the meeting, Harold looked absentminded, but he paid attention to all that they were saying. He could not stop thinking about the first meeting they had this morning. There was something about the queen and Damon''s reactions that he couldn''t shake off. That had also made him remember what he heard from Alvin: that Susan had seen the queen and Damon chatting in the middle of the night before all this craziness began. The other thing that bothered him was the idea of someone being against the royal family for a long time. Of course, he knew that the queen had no hand in what had happened. However, he couldn''t say the same about the king''s health because she had deliberately asked the physician not to mention it to anyone. But he knew she hadn''t been involved in what happened that night concerning Beth, Tyra, and himself. And it meant that the person who had fed Prince Harry the potion was also responsible for what was happening now. Harold had taken note of the way Alicia had looked at Damian. He also felt that there was something more about him, and this was the time he missed having Alvin around because Alvin would have started digging into him. But he also wanted Alvin to rest a lot. He would have to fix all the problems himself. Although it wasn''t easy. Now, he really understood the burden of being a leader. He always had something to tackle, and it made him have less time to spend with Alicia. Fortunately, she seemed to have developed a new hobby of learning how to use weapons. She was also trying to decode what Amber had written in her diary. One may ask him why he hadn''t met with Tyra for a long time. He also wasn''t sure. But he knew it was more than just the fact that she was repulsive to him. There was a kind of energy around her that made him wary, and he didn''t want to believe Tyra had been involved in this. He didn''t want to believe that she had been the one to make him drink poison that day. He didn''t want to believe that she had lied that day about her health to make him suggest that she stay back. He didn''t want to believe she hadn''t been out to witness Beth''s death by coincidence. He wasn''t sure what he would do. He really wasn''t. So as much as he wanted to listen to her tell him the truth, which he hoped was all a coincidence, he also didn''t want to meet her. He had also tried. But whenever he got to her hallway, he felt a strong aversion and a smell that pushed him away. It was all frustrating. However, they were going to take other routes to get to the bottom of this. Maybe it was time to throw in the bait. "We can start from here and see what we can find." A nobleman said before they all looked at Harold, waiting for his input. He looked at the men seated around the table and spoke, "We can end here. If there is anything else that needs to be discussed, you can let me know it." "Sir Rager has agreed to join the investigation to find out what happened to Sir Wilson. I believe we will get positive news soon." One man said. Sir Rager. That man was one lucky bastard. If it had been a few months ago, the man wouldn''t have been alive until this moment after what he did to Prince Harold''s Princess. But luckily for him, Prince Harold was very level-headed now, thanks to Alvin and his bride. "I guess that is it then." Harold was about to stand up when he noticed how the men were exchanging nces. It seemed like they had something to say but were hesitating to mention it. "Speak now. You won''t get this chance again." Harold said to them as he crossed his arms across his chest and remained seated. The men all looked at each other as thoughmunicating with their eyes before they tacitly decided on something, and one of them cleared his throat before speaking. "My Prince... we... were thinking." He cleared his throat again before speaking humbly, "We know that... young people can do a lot of things these days and also act... rebellious, but traditions are sacred and shouldn''t be broken, and--" "Straight to the point." Although Harold spoke calmly, the man jolted in his seat before blurting out, "It''s about Princess Amber." Harold furrowed his brows but said nothing as he waited for the man to say what he had to say on behalf of the others. "The way... her choice of dressing bothers us--" "Why would the choice of dressing of another man''s wife bother you?" Harold asked the man calmly, but even though he was calm, the men shifted in their seats ufortably. Another man spoke up, "My Prince, the thing is... we already addressed this in the court with the king. And... anyone who dresses that way should be punished because they are mocking us men by trying to dress like us--" "Oh!" Harold looked like he got their point, but then he asked. "So we should punish her?" "Yes! I mean... no... not at all!" The man said at once, waving his hands in front of him with wide eyes at his initial error. "In fact, I wanted to tell you that your bride is allowed to visit my clothing store anytime and pick out any nice women''s clothing she fancies. She can pick as much as she wants for free!" "For free! Lord Pascal owns the biggest clothing store in the kingdom and sells the best fabric" Another man chipped in, and the others nodded in support. "Really?" Harold asked, looking at Lord Pascal suspiciously. "Of course! She can pick anything she likes." "Then what about me?" Harold asked him. "Y-You?" The man stuttered and looked at his friends in confusion, wondering what he was asking about himself when they were talking about his wife''s clothes. "By chance... you also like to pick some clothes?" Lord Pascal asked inquisitively. "Shouldn''t I?" Harold asked him. "Of course! Of course, you can! You can pick whatever you desire!" He said with a heartyugh. "Then I may have to trouble you, Lord Pascal. This is a bad time for me and my princess to leave the pce. So how about you fetch them for us yourself?" "Really?" Sir Pascal''s eyes lit up at the honour. Not only was Prince Harold acknowledging him, but he was also going to let him leave the pce and breathe some fresh, less suffocating air outside the pce?! Who wouldn''t want that? Harold nodded. "They should be exactly the same for me and Princess." "You mean the same colour? Or the same fabric?" The man asked excitedly. "The same ''everything'' from head to toe," Harold said while giving the man a pointed look. The man tilted his head to one side, obviously confused. He looked at his friends again, and they seemed confused too. "Uhm... My Prince... when you say the same from head to toe? You... you are not... saying you want to wear a dress... are you?" The man stuttered. "Did you hit your head somewhere? Why would I wear a dress?" Harold asked, frowning at the man unpleasantly. The man jumped in his seat and was about to apologize, but Harold cut him off. "The same tunics, the same pants, the same boots." He said, cing emphasis on each word as he spoke to the man. The man''s eyes widened, and he looked at his friends. Weren''t they justining about his wife''s choice of clothing? How could he just ignore them and even make one of them bring in such types of clothing for his wife? That was supporting evil! "But... we... we just said that your bride should not--" "You are only allowed to control the way your wife dresses." Harold said to them before the image of a tiny Alicia standing on the table in front of him and pointing at him with one hand on her waist showed up in front of him, saying, "Women have the right to dress the way they want to. It''s their bodies. Got it?" The tiny Alicia asked him. Harold pursed his lips and nodded gently before he faced the men again, sighed, and added, "That''s if your wives let you." That was as far as he could go. The men looked at each other but could not say anything as Harold continued. "But do not cross the line and try to control how Mydy should dress." He stood up, his face as hard as steel. "This is a warning to you all. Do not make me lose my temper. You all know... it never ends well." He said thest piece before he turned and left the room. Chapter 381 Crazy Wench While Harold was nning a matching couple''s outfit for himself and his princess, the said princess was in Luciana''s chamber, looking at her sleeping figure. Luciana looked terrible. The sight broke Alicia''s heart into a million pieces. Luciana looked like a corpse and a lot smaller than she usually looked as shey on the bed. She had a bandage around her neck and another wrapping from her shoulder down and also covering her entire left arm, but Alicia could not see the rest since she was covered with a quilt. "She is going to be okay, isn''t she?" Luciana asked the physician who had just finished performing acupuncture on her. The young man bowed his head as he answered sadly, "I apologize, my Princess, but I do not know for certain¡ª" "What do you mean by saying you do not know for certain?" Luciana''s mother cut in, crying. "Didn''t they say the pce had the best physicians? How can she remain like this even after days have passed? She has not even opened her eyes at all!" She cried even louder. "We are doing the best we can, Mydy. She was... deeply hurt¡ª" "I cannot lose my only daughter. I will not let that happen." The older woman cried louder as she fell back on her seat. "If there is anything that needs to be done to have her fully recovered, do not hesitate to let us know," Alicia said to the physician, who bowed before leaving the room. Alicia looked at Luciana''s parents. One was crying while the other was looking at his daughter with regret. But she could still feel their animosity toward her. They didn''t want her here. And they didn''t even try to hide the looks on their faces when she stepped in. "I''m sorry that this had to happen. I promise I''ll do all I can to help Luciana¡ª" "What can you do for my daughter now that she is like this?" Luciana''s mother interrupted Alicia, her eyes brimming with tears. "My daughter was always a good and obedient girl. She always respected everyone. She respected her parents, her husband, and her husband''s family." "But because of you¡ª" "I will not have you me me!" Alicia said firmly, cutting the woman off. That startled the crying woman and her husband, who looked at Alicia. "If you are going to me me because I was the one who made her leave the pce, I will ept it. Even though Luciana is an adult and made that decision for herself. But I will not have you me me for anything else. If you need someone to me, then it should be the one who made her this way!" "You!" Luciana''s father pointed at her as he tried to speak, but he was even too speechless to say a word. "If Luciana had been obedient and stayed back, none of this would have happened! She would have still been fine now!" Alicia looked at them in disbelief and shook her head. "The little time we spent outside the pce, I''d never seen Luciana more happy and freepared to when we were here. You married her off at a young age. You treated her like a possession instead of your beloved daughter, and when she needed you the most, you looked down on her and cared more about your reputation and stupid titles than your precious daughter. Aren''t you disgusted at yourselves?" She asked the two, whose eyes widened. "But you dare me me?" She asked them. "HOW DARE YOU?!" The older man screeched in anger. "HOW DARE ME? HOW DARE ME?" Alicia asked in anger as she looked at Luciana''s father, making sure to maintain eye contact as she said, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Luciana was too precious to have been treated the way you both did to her." She almost choked on her words as her eyes went back to Luciana. She suddenly felt bad for getting angry and raising her voice here. Alicia ignored the two elders and went to stand beside Luciana''s bed. She gently touched Luciana''s cold and pale face, looking at her with a pained look. "Be well, my dear," Alicia wished earnestly before she turned around and walked out of the room without sparing Luciana''s parents any nce. She left in a very bad mood and just walked around absentmindedly before she found herself in the passageway leading to the king''s chamber. A ce she had never been before. She wasn''t even sure how she got here. She was to turn and take the steps back down, but she paused and looked at the passageway. She hesitated for a moment before she decided to go ahead and meet the king. ******* A loud p echoed in the chamber, almost shaking up the room. As expected, it had been done by the queen, and the one on the receiving end was none other than Damian, who kept his head down. The imprint of the queen''s palm could clearly be seen on his face. "What... were you thinking?" The queen asked in a shaky voice as she fidgeted. Her chamber was at least clean now since maids were brought in to get her prepared for the meeting and also clean her room. But from the look of things, it wouldn''t be long before more things were broken and the ce turned into a mess again. "How could you suggest that to the court?" "WHY!?" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "I sincerely apologize if I did something wrong, my queen. But I thought it was the best way to dig into the issue and prove you were innocent." Damian offered. "I didn''t ask you for that! I didn''t ask you for that!" She suddenly gasped for air and used her hand to cover her mouth as she paced around. Her eyes were opening and closing while one hand was running through her hair. "Is... something wrong, my queen. Is there something I do not know of?" Damian asked softly as he looked at her. The queen seemed to be lost in her thoughts and just continued to pace around. "Are you... involved, by any chance?" He asked her, but she suddenly stopped pacing around and looked at him. "Where is Sir Damon? What is he up to? Where is he?" "He has been attending a series of meetings." "Find him! He needs to see me. But first, let him know the king needs to be treated for his ailment. He has to announce and let the court know the nature of the king''s illness. He can get the details from the royal physician. They should make sure that the king gets treated. If the king is well, all will be well." She rambled and resumed pacing around. "Yes, my queen." She suddenly stopped again and looked at him. "King Cedric. What about King Cedric? Any word?" "I''m sorry, my queen. But I have no word yet. My ess within the pce has been limited. But I''m sure we can get the details from Sir Damon." He assured her. She sniffled and ced her hands in her temples, massaging them gently when she felt the spark of a migraine. "Are you okay, my queen?" He asked with concern. "My brother. Lord Evan. I need to meet him." She said in a desperate tone. "But my queen¡ª" "I need to meet him! Tell him it''s urgent. Tell him it''s a family issue. If he doesn''t ept, let him know that I swear by ourte father''s name that I am going to reveal to the noblemen of the royal court that his daughter is having a dirty affair with a mere guard." She nodded, the threat making more sense to her. "Yes, let him know that. If he wants his household to be the subject of mockery and never have his daughter get married, he should ignore me." "I... will let him know, my queen," Damian said with a deep bow. "Do that." As soon as Damian left the room, the queen fell to the floor and broke into a sob. She had never felt so scared in her life. Never felt so vulnerable. Whoever was out to get her was doing a good job. She grew up as a beautiful woman whom everyone adored. But now, that once beautiful woman that made people envy King Eli for marrying her more than the fact that he was king had now been reduced to a crazy wench. What did she ever do to deserve this? "IT''S ALL YOUR FAULT!" She screamed in tears, ming the king. Why did he have to make her turn into this? Into this pathetic crazydy? She burst into tears as she gripped her dress, ignoring the snorts and spits falling from the orifices on her face. If only Eli had been good to her and treated her like a queen. Her life would have been better a million times over. This was all his fault! Her cries grew louder, not minding if anyone was hearing her outside. Some things she had seen in the past still haunted her to this day. Even after decades had passed. Even after that home wrecking wench was dead. She could never forget how her dear husband had smiled at her when he never smiled at her. She could not forget how he had called that wretched thing''s name when they had been in bed together! She could not forget how happy he had been when he was told he had an Alpha son. She could not forget how he had shamelessly been mourning that wretched Omega ve after she passed. She could not forget. If only that woman hadn''t shown up. None of this would have happened. Everything she had done wouldn''t have happened. And this person who was out to ruin her wouldn''t have existed either. It was all his fault. Not hers. Chapter 382 Did You Ever Love Her? Alicia stepped into the dimly lit hallway of the castle, the flickering torches casting long shadows along the stone walls. Even though it was just noon, it seemed like night in there. As she walked towards the King''s chambers, she noticed two heavily built guards standing at the entrance. She wanted to return. Especially now that she had realized they were werewolves and didn''t want to get herself into trouble. She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should proceed, but she held her chin high, took a deep breath, and began to walk in that direction. Surprisingly, the guards paid her no mind, even though she could tell they had felt her presence. She looked at them in confusion, wondering if they were not seeing her, but when they just continued to ignore her, she moved stealthily like that until she stood in front of the door, and when no one still stopped her, she knocked first before she slowly opened the door and stepped inside. The chamber was hot and dimly lit, and Alicia had to squint her eyes to see. The King was lying on his bed, his chest rising and falling with each breath. She kept going closer, and when she stood beside his bed, she felt a pang of pain as she looked at the King lying on the bed. It wasn''t like she had a close rtionship with him, but the king had been nice to her since she arrived here. So seeing him so weak and vulnerable, she couldn''t help but feel sorry for him. She went closer to his bed and pulled up the covers, making sure he wasfortable. "Please get well soon," she said earnestly, wishing the pce would return to the way it used to be, minus Ivan''s craziness. Also, she believed if the King was back on his feet, he would be able to handle things easily and Harold would rest. As she was about to leave, the King suddenly called out to her, and Alicia turned around to face him. She was surprised to see his eyes now open. "Amber," he called weakly. She immediately returned to him and looked at his face with hope. ? "How are you feeling?" she asked softly. His gaze was weak, and he made to sit up. Alicia hesitated for a moment before she helped him sit up and ced a pillow on his back. She also properly draped the covers over him, and when she was done, she noticed the king staring at her with a kind of questioning look that made her curious. "Is... something wrong?" She asked him, but then remembered how she was dressed and looked down at herself before she faced the king again. He didn''t say anything for a few seconds, but then he simply shook his head. "Nothing is wrong." "How do you feel? Should I call the physician?" She asked. "You don''t have to do that." "Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, not sure what she was supposed to do since he wasn''t saying anything helpful. "You can just sit down and tell me how you are doing." He looked genuinely interested, so Alicia did just that, even though she was still hesitant. She went to carry the stool from where it was and dropped it beside the bed before she sat on it. However, she wasn''t sure what to say to him. "I hear you were present when Lady Luciana was hurt by Prince Ivan." The king said. Alicia nodded. "And you... you must know the nature of our kind." She nodded again, and after a pause, she asked, "Sir Wilson... did you kill him?" She asked, stunning the king. There were a lot of questions he had thought she would ask first and had not expected that she would ask something unrted. Alicia, on the other hand, had epted it all. Yes, he had a hand in ending the lives of Amber''s family. He made them hide their nature from her. The royal family had done a lot of things that had directly and indirectly affected her. But those weren''t her fights now. They had more pressing things to handle, and she needed answers. "Why are you curious about him?" "He is our key to knowing what happened on that night and proving my innocence. I''m sure you must have heard about what happened." He nodded. "I heard a few." He answered before looking straight at her as he said, "I did not have any reason to kill him." "Does any other member of the royal family have a reason to kill him?" "I do not know about that and do not care either." "How can you say you do not care? He was your physician." She said, sounding a little bit annoyed. Why didn''t they have any regard for the lives of people who had been working for them? The king looked at her, and to her surprise, he let out augh. "You really are brazen. So simr." He muttered thest part. Alicia didn''t have the time to wonder what that meant as she just continued to stare at him with displeasure. "I cannot tell what happened to him. Even if he were my physician, he was someone I never cared much for." Alicia''s gaze softened as she looked at him. There was something about the way he said it that sounded so sad. It seemed like the king had a lot on his mind that he had never shared. "Every one of us is going to be punished for the wrongs we havemitted one way or another." "So you think he was punished for his wrongs and you are being punished for yours?" "I only want to rest." He looked lost. Sad. And she could tell that his words meant more than he cared to say. "You hate it, don''t you? Being a king." She asked softly, sounding sympathetic. He let out a curt, sadugh and looked at her. "You are the first person asking me that." "You must have been burdened a lot." She said pitifully and reached to touch his hand. He looked down at her hand and just stared quietly for a while before he nodded. "I was. I am." When he looked up, she saw the sadness in his eyes. The tough king, who always looked majestic, looked so broken. He looked like he was fed up. He looked empty. She had never seen him like that before. "It''s not your fault. You were just being king." He shook his head. "It was mine. All my fault." He let out a deep sigh. "I had a feeling that you were going to make Harold better. And I was right. You have an aura capable of changing someone. Just like... her." ''Her''. Alicia could vaguely guess who he was talking about. Especially when she saw the look of guilt on his face. "You knew my mother, didn''t you?" "I did." "Was... Prince Wilder your older brother?" She asked. He turned to look at her, a little surprised. "He was... mostly called the Mad Prince." That seemed to confirm it for Alicia. She hadn''t mentioned it to Harold, but she had thought a lot about the dream. Wilder did not only appear like their kind; he had reminded Alicia of how she had felt when she first met Harold during their wedding. He also had Harold''s eyes, and even if he wasn''t as tall as Harold, he was still really tall and built like Prince Ivan. The question the men had asked about why Anne didn''t have a smell had also made her assume so. "The person she changed, was it Prince Wilder? Was that why you didn''t get rid of me after finding out who I was?" She tried to keep her voice calm, but she was still annoyed by it. The fact that he had a hand in getting rid of Amber''s maternal lineage. After seeing snippets of their lives, Alicia felt it was unfair. Anne didn''t deserve any of it. But she had ended up living an ugly life and even being killed unfairly. "You have every reason to be angry at me. To be angry at the moon kingdom. But Harold has nothing to do with them." He said in a soft voice. "I had no intention of putting the me on him. He has also been a victim of... you know..." She didn''t get toplete the sentence because she didn''t want to talk about his mother''s incident. "That is why I do not wish for Prince Harold to follow the path I did." He said. "If you care for him like I believe you do, make him live a simple life. An easy life. Away from this ce. This pce." A frown formed on her face. "Don''t... you feel bad for him?" He paused for a moment before saying, "I do. That is why I am trying to save him. I care for him. More than anything." The man kept his head down and Alicia had no idea how to feel about it. "Did you... ever love her? Harold''s mother?" She asked carefully. ***** A/N Down with a fever, again! Will send in the second chapterter. Chapter 383 Regrets (1) "Did you... ever love her? Harold''s mother?" She asked carefully. "With all my heart." He didn''t hesitate to answer, surprising Alicia. In all the versions of the story she had heard about the king and Harold''s mother, he had simply taken advantage of the poor woman. But she could not conclude for now because he may have loved her as he imed, but did the woman love him too, or had he truly forced himself on her like the tales said? The king continued in a whisper, "Maria... was the best part of my existence." He looked visibly hurt now, and Alicia could tell by his entire countenance as soon as he said her name. Maria. It was the first time Alicia was learning her name. "I have never talked about her with anyone before or mentioned her name in many years. You... really are strange." He said with wonder. "If you loved her, why didn''t you protect her?" She asked, ignoring the words he had said. Sadly, he responded, "I would have. I should have." "Did she love you too?" It almost sounded like an interview or maybe a therapy session, but Alicia was really gentle and curious and for some reason, he could easily open up to her. "You... must have heard the rumours." She nodded. "I have." He shook his head. "They weren''t exactly lies," he confessed. "What does that mean?" she asked inquisitively, hoping it didn''t mean what she thought it meant. "Harold. He reminds me so much of her." He smiled sadly, and she could tell he was picturing the woman again. "The hair. The eyes. The looks. He is a splitting image of her." Whenever the King talked about her, Alicia always noticed how pained he look. It was a mixture of pain, sadness and regret. "How do you feel whenever you look at Prince Harold? Do you remember her?" He nodded. "It hurt me. But it also gives me hope. But... it hurts me more." "If her vige had been intact, she would have lived a long life. She would have been a great physician. She wouldn''t have met me. She wouldn''t have birthed a child she wasn''t alive to raise." "Did she... love you too?" Alicia asked so she could know how to feel about it. Whether he had forced himself on her, whether it had been a one-sided love on his part, whether she had reciprocated, or whether it was a Stockholm syndrome on her part, she was curious to know. She could tell Harold had never had this kind of conversation with the king before, and she hoped that with his answers, Harold could finally get closure on the kind of life his mother, Maria, had had with the king. She did hope it was a good one. "I don''t know." He said honestly and sniffled, making Alicia sit up in rm and her heart racing at the thought of the king crying, but thankfully, when he looked at her, he was not crying; he only had his still broken look and soulless eyes. "I think sometimes, I was blinded by my feelings and try to convince myself that she did care for me. But who would truly care for someone who ruined their home and their lives? Who would?" Those words touched Alicia more than they should have because, right now, she was living in Amber''s body. Would Amber have wanted this? Being in the midst of the people who had ruined not only her life but the lives of her entire family. She tried to shake the thought out of her head. She felt guilty, but did she have a choice? She had tried to run away several times. She even tried to have herself drowned. But she had still ended up with these people. "What about the queen? Didn''t you love her?" Alicia asked curiously, choosing to not think about that for now. Instead, she wanted to focus on something else. She could not imagine how hurt the queen must have been. She had two sons for the king already, yet he went ahead to get entangled with a ''ve,'' whom she had just realized that he loved when he still had a wife! "Don''t you regret hurting her? The Queen." The king snorted, almost as though the question was funny and unbelievable. "The only thing I regret... was marrying Arya." That startled Alicia. She hadn''t tried to guess the rtionship between the king and queen, but she hadn''t expected him to say that. Also, she hadn''t expected him to open up to her about it. It seemed like his thoughts had been filled to the brim and he needed to let them out. Fortunately or unfortunately, she had presented herself. "I did not have a choice because it was what my father wanted." "The queen''s father must be powerful?" Alicia said, indulging him. If the queen behaved the way she did and always raised her shoulders because she was a noblewoman, coupled with the fact that she had mentioned her father having been involved in getting rid of witches, she guessed he was indeed a powerful man, and the king confirmed it. "He should have as well been the king. I would have left the throne for him." He said sadly. Sir Zealot is the worst thing that has ever happened to him. He was the worst thing to happen to the Moon Kingdom. And he never regretted being the one who had actually been responsible for his father-inw''s death. He would never regret that. Alicia could vaguely guess how things had happened for him. She had seen too many soap operas and dramas to not know that sometimes there was usually a powerful aristocrat whom even the king had to listen to. In this case, it was probably Lord Zealot.And judging by how the queen behaved, he was most likely a nasty old man. But she tried not to jump to conclusion since the Queen''s brother seemed reasonable and so were his offsprings. But then, the king seemed like a really powerful man, so she could not understand how or why someone else could control things on his behalf. Chapter 384 Regrets (2) She tried to put the king in her shoes, wondering what he would do if he were to go back in time to his younger days just like she hade here from the future. She decided to ask him instead. "If you could go back in time, what would you like to change about the past?" She asked him lightly. "Go back in time?" He asked, curious. "To the past. If you could return to the past and change something. What would it be?" She tried to make the atmosphere light, but he still appeared sad, and he didn''t answer immediately. She didn''t act impatient for him to speak. She always waited for whenever he felt like speaking and was thankful that he always answered her questions. He said, "Instead of trying so hard to be the perfect king for this kingdom, I would be a better brother. I would not allow others to dictate my life for me. I would be a better father. I would have cared for Maria. I wouldn''t always be indifferent. My indifference caused a lot of damage, not just to me but to the entire kingdom." She looked at him sadly, not sure what to say. However, he continued, "I... wouldn''t be King." "I wouldn''t end the lives of innocent people." He seemed to have a lot of regrets and things he would change. What a sad life! Alicia thought to herself. She listened attentively as the King spoke, his voice growing weaker with each passing moment. She had never expected him to be so humble and remorseful. It touched her greatly. How could he hate his position so much when Prince Ivan was willing to kill just to sit on the throne? King Eli sighed heavily. "I regret it. Everything I did in the past. I regret all of it." She slowly reached for his hand again and ced hers on top of his. She wasn''t sure what to say tofort him, so all she did was soothingly tap him. For some reason, that seemed to put him at ease, and he closed his eyes. Alicia continued and quietly whispered, "I hope you can find peace within yourself, My King. You cannot correct the past, but you can always shape the future by fixing the present. So I hope you can get back on your feet soon." She looked up at his face and noticed the wry smile that formed. "That... was a nice thing to say," he said to her and opened his eyes to look at her in a squint. Alicia still had a lot to ask him, but he didn''t look like he had it in him to continue with this conversation. Was she sad about it? Yes! Was she disappointed? The answer was no. She didn''t mind being a channel for him to let out all his pent-up emotions. But she still wanted to know more about Anne. He seemed to have known her somehow, and at this point, she had no one else around she could ask about it, and she wasn''t sure when next she would have those vivid dreams about the lives of Amber and Anne. The king tried to reach for a tiny case by the side of his bed, and when she noticed, Alicia helped him reach for it and handed it to him. It looked like a pen case, but this one was smaller and made of gold. Even though it looked easy, the king had taken a great effort to open it, making Alicia worry as she watched him without offering to do it instead. When he finally opened it, he took out a crescent-moon-shaped pin badge that was also made of gold and handed it to her. "I cannot tell you about your mother or her rtionship with Prince Wilder, but with this, you can get the information from someone else." He said. Alicia received it and looked at it in confusion. "Am I... supposed to speak into it?" She asked. The king let out a shortugh and shook his head. "It signifies a royal order. You can ask the person what you need to know. If they refuse, it means they are refusing a royal order. No one... refuses a royal order." He said with confidence. She looked at it in awe but doubted what he had said. People could also tell lies just to get away, right? But that wasn''t the main point now. She was d he was giving her a chance to learn about Anne from someone who probably knew her well since he was rmending. "Whom do I ask?" She asked eagerly. "Take it to Lord... Richard." He said, stunning her. "Lord Richard? You mean Sir Harvey''s father?" She asked in surprise. He nodded. "He was very familiar with Prince Wilder. He should know best." Alicia looked at it one more time and held tightly to it. If Sir Richard knew, why didn''t Harvey know about it? Had Harvey hidden it from her, or had Sir Richard kept it from Harvey too? "Thank you, My King. I appreciate this." She said her thanks with all the sincerity she could muster. He smiled weakly at her before saying, "Thank you." That made Alicia pause as she asked, "Why are you thanking me?" "For being with Harold despite everything. And for letting me talk to you tonight. I have never felt this relieved for a long time." Alicia smiled at him, feeling relevant. "Thank you for sharing such important information with me. I should probably let you rest now so you can recover quickly." She said as she stood up from her seat and helped him adjust back into a sleeping position since he also looked like he was about to fall back asleep. He closed his eyes and fell back onto his pillow, exhausted from the effort. "I am d Harold could protect you," he said before falling asleep. Alicia stayed by his side for a while, watching him as he slept. She knew that the King had a long road to recovery ahead of him, not only in terms of physical recovery. However, she hoped that he would be able to make amends for his past mistakes. She hoped. Chapter 385 Lie If You Must Earlier, Susan had temporarily put a halt on her "investigation." She had thought about it and felt there was no need to think wildly and suspect Damian had a hand in everything and was making Tyra lie for him. She thought thinking so was silly, and now that they had raised the topic of finding out what happened to Sir Wilson, they were already a step closer to finding the real culprit. But Susan had a curious spirit. And after someone had secretly given her a note telling her to find Katherine, she could not just sit back. So even though she was no longer suspicious of Damian, she still wanted to know who Katherine was, and this time, she decided to ask two people who were closer to her than other maids. Susan had found Paulina in the painting room, and when she entered, Paulina looked very tense and jumped from where she had been sitting, painting. Susan stood by the door awkwardly when she noticed Paulina''s reaction. She didn''t know whether it was because Paulina knew who she was now or because her brother had scared her by kissing her. Either way, she didn''t want to scare her. "Can I... step in?" Susan asked from the door. Even though it was a general painting room for the pce, she felt this ce was more of Paulina''s quarters, and she didn''t want to be rude by forcing her way in. Paulina nodded and put her painting things aside, also turning the board away from Susan''s direction, and just stood nervously. Susan entered and walked towards her, but she still kept a significant distance between them as she said, "I realized I didn''t get to apologize to you--" Paulina immediately shook her head, asking in confusion, "Why would you apologize to me?" "For keeping things from you and Princess Amber..." "You are a Lady." Paulina reminded her."I... am a maid." Those words made Susan frown. Why did all of them like to always draw lines between them? Why couldn''t they all be equal? But Susan knew that equality was not possible in their world. It would never be possible. However, she didn''t want this invincibledder separating her from Paulina. Or Alvin. "You are my friend," Susan said to her in a firm voice. "We''ve dined together. Bathed together and travelled together. If I did something wrong, I should apologize to you. Likewise, you doing the same if you did me wrong." Paulina said nothing and just looked at her in amazement. How were Susan and Williams very different from the queen and Ivan? "What... are you here for?" Paulina politely asked instead. "I came here to ask you a question." As soon as Susan said that, she noticed how Paulina tensed up, and her heart began to pound. She narrowed her gaze to stare at Paulina, wondering why she was so scared before it urred to her. Williams had said he kissed her on the head, and that had unfortunately put Paulina''s life in danger. She guessed that was the reason the girl looked so scared now, and she was correct. ? Paulina had been thinking about it and all the trouble that one action would cause Alicia if people heard about it. Because it would be right to punish her for presenting herself for a Lord to taint himself with her, but she knew Alicia wouldn''t simply let it happen, and that was going to cause even more problems for Alicia now that they weren''t done fixing the others. She has been hiding since it happened. "Do you know who Katherine is?" Susan asked. It took a few seconds for Paulina to process the question, and when she realized it had nothing to do with what happened the other day, she almost sighed in relief. "I heard she is a maid," Susan added. Paulina nodded her head. "She... supervises the maids'' quarters." "Have you seen her? Do you know where she is?" She shook her head. "She has not been in the pce for a long time. I cannot tell." "Do you know anything about her at all? Anything else?" Paulina thought about it before answering, "She is usually the one we report to if any maid falls sick." Susan pondered it. It wasn''t different from what she had learned from Luciana''s maid. She had said, "Katherine is like an assistant to Beth, but they never get along. She is also in charge of our quarters, and she is the one we report to if any of us fall ill. She stays in the room with the physician while the maid is being treated in case there are some physicians trying to take advantage of us. It has happened before." When Susan also asked if she knew where she was, she answered, "I haven''t seen her in a long time. But she used to say that her mother makes pottery in the east part of the vige market. Maybe she went there?" Susan sighed as she walked down the hallway, thinking about this. How was she going to leave the pce to go look for Katherine? Although she had gotten simr answers from the two, she had a feeling Katherine would know something. If she was in charge of the maids'' quarters, it meant she knew all the maids. Therefore, she must have known Agnes and maybe learned a thing or two from her to know if she has ever met Tyra privately. There she goes again, suspecting Tyra. As she absentmindedly walked towards a corridor, she bumped into someone and stepped back immediately. She was about to apologize when she looked up and realized it was Damian. "What... are you doing here?" She asked before she realized she had just asked a silly question because they were within the pce walls and she was bound to bump into him. "I was looking for you, mydy." He said with urgency, which made her look at him in rm. "Did something happen to Princess Tyra?" "Not Princess Tyra. But you." He said to her and looked around them. When he found no one, he kept his voice low as he said, "The queen seems to know of your rtionship with Alvin." Her eyes widened as she stammered, "W-What? How? I... but... nothing is going on between us so --" "I have no idea what she knows, but she knows something. And she is going to threaten your father with it to be on her side. She has instructed me already." That made her begin to panic, and she nervously bit her nails. "But nothing is going on between us. How can she do that to me?!" "The queen is desperate now. If she has a hand in any of this and your father gets involved and tries to save her, he will also be held responsible." "But..." "You''ve already been in the queen''s bad books the moment you hurt Prince Ivan. Many people know about it too. If they hear a rumour about you and Alvin, whether it is true or not, it is going to greatly affect your family. And Alvin too." Susan''s face paled immediately. "Oh no... what... what do I do?" She asked in fear. "I think... you should tell your family first." "What? Tell them what?" She asked in horror. What was she going to tell her father? It was already difficult that her mother knew and has always been giving her the side eye. She couldn''t afford for her father to even hear a rumour about it or for other aristocrats to find out. It was going to destroy her family. She didn''t even care about her reputation or that no man would want to marry her. "Think of something. Lie if you must or act like the victim and tell your parents you heard some rumours about you and Alvin. Just be the first to tell them before someone else. Then you will be saved." He advised with concern. "Your father must not fall for her n and help her out." He added. Susan bit her nail nervously, and her anxiety became very obvious. What was she going to do? ****** Harold met with Lady Victoria again, who handed him a small bottle of potion. She had told him the previous day that the potion itself was not ready, but the man had given her the partially made essence with some of the ingredients she could use toplete it, and with his permission, she would prepare it. He had given her the go-ahead and said they were going to meet again when it was ready today, and now it was. He took the bottle, surprised to find how clear the liquid was. It looked like in water. "I do not know who you are going to use this on, but you have to think about it very carefully. You don''t want to bring out something you didn''t n for." The woman said it with concern. Harold looked at the bottle closely, asking, "How many hours would the effectst?" "I don''t think it would be more than 2 hours." She answered skeptically. He looked at the bottle again and nodded. Chapter 386 All Stories Have An End With some directions, Alicia was able to locate the ce she was searching for. She stood outside Sir Richard''s chamber but hesitated to knock. Of course, she could have dropped by any other day. But she didn''t want to waste any more time. If there was someone who knew about Anne, she needed the information as soon as possible. She needed whatever clue would make her understand why she was brought here and how to properly follow that path. Therefore, she didn''t want to waste any time. In the movies and books she had read, it always happened that the person would suddenly go missing or mysteriously die. She didn''t want that. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, and almost at the same time, the door opened from inside. However, the first person she saw was Benedicta. Benedicta was surprised to see her there. The surprise quickly faded, and it turned to disgust as she looked her up and down. Benedicta had heard rumours. But this was far more than she had expected. Alicia even looked weirder to them because the pants she was wearing now were short, up to her knees. She had cut them herself. She wore higher boots this time. Benedicta looked at her boots. It was the type warriors wore, especially when it was raining, but obviously, Alicia didn''t think so because of how fashionable they looked. Her shirt, however, was still big in the usual men''s size, but it looked like she had cut some parts in the bottom and tied it around her stomach, making the dress look a bit fitted, which brought confusion to Benedicta''s face. Her hair was also short, and she had weird makeup on her face. Something ck like charcoal around her eyes and lips that was strangely fitting and-- "Are you done?" Alicia asked her, bringing Benedicta back to her senses. She looked up at her, and the scowl returned to her face. "What are you doing here?" She asked Alicia rudely. "Did youe to gloat about how you''ve ruined this kingdom by your mere presence?" She taunted. "Or how your leaving the pce made me a victim of Prince Ivan''s madness, and he almost killed me?" "Or how you put my brother in harm''s way?" She eyed Alicia as she asked, "Go on, tell me what you are here for. But I hope it''s not an apology. Because you should keep it to yourself. I will never forgive you." Alicia just stared at her in amusement before she let out augh. Alicia wasn''t sure whether being in the body of a teenager was the cause of her trying to be petty because she felt like saying some mean things but she had to swallow it. This girl wasn''t worth it. "I would like to have a word with Lord Richard," Alicia told her. Benedicta frowned. Of everything she had expected, that was the least. "Who do you think you are to have a word with my father?" She asked in annoyance. "You think he is someone you can just meet because you are married to Prince Harold? Why?" Benedicta suddenlyughed. "Oh... you must need his help now that you are being used of being a witch." Alicia looked her up and down and sighed in frustration. "I know the three people you dislike the most right now are Prince Ivan, Prince Harold, and me." "And so? You want to apologize on their behalf and yours too? You think that would make me treat you--" "I heard you lost consciousness after Prince Harold flung you like a rag doll and have been sick after Prince Ivan assaulted you." She said, cutting Benedicta off. "Would you... like to see what this third person can do to you if you keep this disgusting attitude up?" Alicia asked, pointing at herself while smiling. Benedicta looked shaken by her words and stepped back, swallowing. "Y-You... t-think I... am scared... of y-you?" Benedicta stuttered. Alicia took a step closer to her as she said, "I don''t care. But you should be." An approaching footstep caught their attention, and they both looked to the side. Both were relieved when they saw Harvey approaching. "Brother! She came here and bullied me!" Benedicta cried as she went to hold his hand while looking at him with misty eyes. Harvey looked down at his sister and then at Alicia. "What... are you here for?" He asked her curiously. "I would like to meet Lord Richard." Harvey looked confused, wondering why she wanted to meet him, but he nodded and removed his hand from his sister''s hold. "Stop making trouble and remain in the chamber." He said to her sternly before turning to Alicia. "Forgive her, Mydy. I will lead you to my father." Harvey said to her and red at his sister before he gestured for Alicia to move ahead. Benedicta looked at her brother in disbelief, but he didn''t spare her any other nce as he followed, taking the same direction he had just taken here. "May I ask why you are looking for my father?" He asked when they moved further away from the chamber. "I would like to ask him something," Alicia answered. Harvey didn''t say anything for a while, and then he stopped walking and asked, "Is it about your mother?" She stopped too and looked at him. "How did you know that?" "I got hints that he probably knew her. But I''m not sure." She looked at him suspiciously, trying to guess if he was being honest or not. Had he been keeping things from her? She just nodded and continued walking while he followed her. Alicia looked around, hoping to bump into Harold so he would go with her since she also wanted him to be there. She had no idea where he was, so it would be difficult to look for him. "Have you seen Prince Harold?" She asked him, but to her surprise, as soon as they took a bend, they saw himing in the same direction as them, and her eyes lit up. She beamed and waved at him while he awkwardly waved back, even though they were already approaching each other. But his face turned serious when he saw Harvey beside her. Rold''s voice began to echo in his head. "...And you have been having too many women around you that smell awful, and it makes me sick. Oh! Especially that girl whose name starts with a B. The next time she shows up around us, I will rip her heart out and feed it to her brother. I''ve noticed how he stares at Princess, I don''t like it." He looked intensely at Harvey when he stood in front of them but withdrew his gaze when Alicia tapped him. "We are about to meet Lord Richard." "What? Why?" He asked in confusion as he looked between the two again. Alicia gave him the shortest summary, telling him he had the answers to some questions and she wanted to ask him. She didn''t say more than that until they found him inside his office, where he usually talked about war matters. He was alone and going through some books when they found him, but when he saw the three, he looked surprised and confused. As soon as Alicia and Harold sat down, Alicia went straight to the point, asking if he knew Queen Anne, and from the look on his face, it was obvious that he did. "I would like to learn all you know about her." "I apologize, My Lady. But there are some things that I cannot tell--" Harold was about to speak, but Alicia didn''t care what he wanted to tell the man. She held his arm to keep him from talking. "I know," she said to Sir Richard. "But... I want to learn everything. Most especially, how she is connected to Prince Wilder." She said before taking out the pin the king had given her and pushing it on the table towards him. All the men in the room looked very surprised. One, she had this pin. Two, Queen Anne and Prince Wilder? Harvey and Harold had never heard this part before. Sir Richard was also confused about how she knew about it, guessing her mother must have said something to her when she was younger. "Everything..." Alicia repeated to the man, who took the pin and looked closely at it to be sure it was not a fake. "H-How?" He asked in disbelief before looking at her. "Is the King awake?" He asked with hope. "He gave this to me a long time ago and told me to trust you to give me the answers I needed." She lied, and Harold could tell it was a lie. He guessed she met the king today. Sir Richard sighed heavily before looking at her and then at the other two men in the room with them. "I... will excuse you then," Harvey said and was about to leave when Alicia called out to him. "Stay." Even Harvey''s father was surprised, wondering just what their rtionship was and why she was even letting him stay. "LOVE HARVEY" continued to rey in her head. And she knew that if there was anyone Amber trusted, it had to be Harvey. And he had to be here. In case she disappeared one day and Amber returned. He would have to tell all of this to her if Harold didn''t. Harvey hesitated before he opened a seat on the other side of Alicia and sat down. Sir Richard, however, still looked hesitant to say a word. He looked at the pin, then at Alicia, and sighed heavily. "It is a long story." "All stories have an end." She answered. Chapter 387 Kill Or Be Killed "Prince Wilder had a bit of an attitude problem." "Or maybe a lot." Sir Richard said as he imagined Wilder in his majestic form simply walking on his own, looking as cold as usual with his entire ck outfit, especially the fur coat he usually wore, with his hair parted to the side, almost covering his right eye, and looking like a wicked bandit leader. It was always difficult to tell he was of royal blood by the way he dressed. "As much as people feared him, they all thought he had the qualities of a leader. He could save the kingdom from any kind of war. He knew not how to solve problems if it wasn''t through violence." Even though decades had passed, he still shivered when he remembered him. How Wilder would casually walk into the royal court during a morning assembly, and even the king couldn''t stop. Sir Richard had been one of the guards in the royal court who was present during meetings. So he knew it. He knew it all. The grand door was pushed open in the middle of a serious conversation, and as they all expected, the one who had joined them was none other than Prince Wilder. The assembly had only a few noblemen. Meetings like this were usually held when they were plotting something. All eyes turned to him, with people shaking ufortably in their positions. Thest time he joined them, one of their noblemen had died. And no, he hadn''t simply stabbed him as a lesson to the man so he would heal up and continue being a nuisance to him. He had simply gone for his throat. Everyone knew that was Prince Wilder''s favourite spot. "What are you here for? Again?" The King, his father, asked him. The king looked even worse than he did the previous day. It seemed like he had been afflicted with something worse than the headache but was still trying so hard to prove a point that he was a tough king. "If you are so worried about the witches retaliating, why not go after them and get rid of them first?" Prince Wilder suggested, going straight to the point. "What? That is wrong!" Prince Eli, who was standing in his spot beside the King, said with a frown. "Wrong?" Wilder asked, letting out augh. "It''s kill or be killed, little brother. The more you spend time deliberating on this every day, the more they are probably going to strike up a n to get rid of the Moon Kingdom. Do you think we stand any chance against a proper plot of witches?" "But attacking them is wrong--" "He is right! It''s also what I have been thinking about." Sir Zealot said, cutting off Prince Eli. One would think Wilder would be happy that someone as powerful as Sir Zealot was taking his side, but he simply looked at the man with disgust. Everyone knew how much he hated the man''s guts. And ever since they got rted through marriage, he''s hated him even more. Wilder turned his attention towards the royal physician, who was shaking with his head down; unfortunately for the man, Wilder had set his eyes on him. With every step Wilder took towards him, he shook in fear but could not move an inch. It was always a mistake to run away from Wilder. A big taboo. To all their surprise, or maybe not, he grabbed a fistful of the man''s hair, and he let out a painful scream. "What were you thinking preparing such a potion? You and your father who wrote it must have been crazy." He said as his grip around the man''s hair tightened, pulling so much that some of his hair began to fall off his head. "I... I was wrong." The man cried. "No. You are mad." He suddenly scoffed in amusement. "Yet you look so innocent." "Enough, Wilder!" The king yelled. Wilder smiled in amusement before he let go of the man''s hair and pped the man''s face, even though the man was at least twice his age of twenty. "Your idea can only work if we know the exact location of witches. Rumours have it that they cast a spell to hide from the rest of the world." "It doesn''t matter if they have a spell around them or not. We will always find a scapegoat that will lead us to others. Where did you find thest one?" Prince Eli started, "My King, isn''t that too--" "At the outskirts of the kingdom to the west." The king answered Wilder. His answer was an obvious assignment to Wilder, which they all understood. Wilder smiled his usual wicked smile and blinked at his brother, who was not hiding how furious he was. "They do not have a smell." "Got it!" Wilder said before he sauntered out of the room just like he had entered, winking at Richard on his way out while Richard rolled his eyes at the weirdo. Sir Richard had followed him under the King''s orders when he left the pce. Even though he had been instructed to simply watch him from the sides, it hadn''t taken anything before he was caught by Prince Wilder. "Did he send you because he thinks I won''t kill you?" Wilder asked him. Of course, that was the reason the king had done so. Every spy sent to tail Wilder for the past few years has not returned. Even though Richard was a little close to Prince Wilder, he had been reluctant to ept the King''s orders to tail him because Wilder was unpredictable. "Two heads are better than one." "All heads roll," Wilder said uninterestedly before he began to move to where his horse was waiting. That made Sir Richard sigh in relief, realizing Wilder was sparing his life. He quickly opened the bag he had on him and took out a straw hat and cloak, along with a bottle of potion. "If you are going to do this, you should hide your identity properly. I''m sure even witches know who you are and how you smell." Wilder eyed the things before taking the potion. "Scent mask?" Richard nodded. Wilder simply shrugged before he epted them. **** A/N I won''t lie, I''ve been demotivated. Many of you probably know how Webnovel''s mary policy is. Authors do their best writing and at the end of the month, the ie is below what we expected. I even used to think it was 30% for authors but just heard it was 23% which means when authors make $1000 for a book, we only get $230 while WN gets $770. Lol. The worst part is, they increased the number of coins used in unlocking a chapter. I have to finish this book tho. But I doubt I''ll continue writing here in the future. Fighting! Chapter 388 Strangely Different "Brother." Prince Eli''s call distracted the two. They weren''t sure how he was able to follow them out here without them noticing him. Maybe it had to do with how Alphas can sometimes mask their presence. From the look on Wilder''s face, he didn''t like it. "Why are you here, dear brother? Weren''t you warned to stay away from me since the incident?" "I am against this," Eli said seriously, ignoring thement he just made. "You are against everything," Wilder said with a bored look. "Then don''t do it. Not only is it dangerous, but you are also going to be killing many innocent people." "Witches are never innocent." "We aren''t either." "That is why we need to get rid of every threat before theye for us." "That is a wrong approach!" Eli said angrily but Wilder just scoffed at him. "You are never going to be a great king at this rate. You are so fragile, brother, so weak." He said as he walked threateningly closer toward Eli, and just like he had expected, Eli moved backwards. Even Alphas feared Wilder. Why wouldn''t others? "You are going to be a terrible king," Wilder whispered to him. "I... don''t want to be King," Eli said in a broken tone. "Unfortunately, you were born with a blood greater than you. Just like father." Wilder said pitifully. "Letting an ignorant man control you two. Giving him more power by marrying his daughter. You couldn''t even say no. You even mated with her and had a Beta son!" Heughed like he was really amused. "Even her blood seemed stronger than yours." Heughed again and watched how Eli''s face turned red from anger but he waved it off like he couldn''t care less about how he felt. "You should return to your pregnant wife. Let''s hope she gives you an alpha this time. Otherwise, you are going to be aughingstock." He turned to leave but Eli called after him. "Then you think you are better than me? Deriving joy from killing people?" Wilder turned to him."Take this anger to your father-inw. When he suggests... I guess that word is wrong. Because he never suggests. He demands." He paused what he wanted to say and turned all serious as he asked, "You are learned. You have read hundreds of books about our history. Have you read of any generation where our kind chooses to run off to some other kingdom instead of residing here?" "That is because they have realized how terrible the kingdom is now under father. And it would even be worse under your reign. And should I tell you what is even going to be worse? When Lord Zealot demands that you fetch back your people and even take them in as ves to teach the others a lesson, you are just going to do it. Like a pathetic little fool." "I hate you," Eli said with spite, handing fisted beside him. "No. You don''t, brother," he said confidently. "You are only intimidated by me." He smiled, amused. "And you know there are only two ways you can live freely. Getting rid of me while you are king. Or me being the king while you attain freedom. Unfortunately, you have no control over both." He tsked as he turned around to leave, muttering, "What a weakling." Wilder mounted his horse, and Richard gave Eli an apologetic look before he mounted his too, and they rode to the west. Richard didn''t know what Wilder was thinking. They didn''t even know whether he desired to be King or not. He even rarely spoke to people outside and only spoke more when he was with his brother, and their conversation was always like that¡ª leaving Eli angry and sick at the end. Wilder also looked very angry whenever he was done chatting with his brother, but why? Was he jealous? Maybe. Maybe not. Richard had never been to the area before. When he heard the outskirts to the west, he thought it was a remote area with barely enough people. But the ce was bubbly and had a lot of people. In fact, it seemed like it was because they weren''t in the main areas that they lived recklessly. So it was easier for them to blend in with the crowd. Richard observed the difort Wilder was facing with the rowdiness and noise. Whenever he was present, everyone was usually quiet especially because he was very sensitive, and it got worse after he consumed arge amount of Beta''s nightmare. But now, they didn''t know he was present so they made as much noise as they liked in the streets, which was beginning to affect him. It got worse when a wooden gate was pushed open and someone ran out, falling hard on the ground. It was surprisingly a girl who was probably around 11 years old, and she had blood in the side of her mouth. Themotion caused a small crowd to form around them as onlookers began to wonder what was happening. "You think you can run away? Drag her in!" A girl who came in from inside instructed the girl beside her, who looked like a maid. Both girls were not more than fifteen years old, and the one who had instructed the other had a whip in her hand. She looked like a nobledy. A spoilt nobledy. The little girl on the floor kneeled and sobbed while begging thedy to forgive her, but the girl turned deaf ears to her cries and ordered the maid to drag her in. Wilder watched the scene with interest. He had never seen other people bully each other before now. It was... intriguing. Just as the girl was about to drag the little girl back inside, another girl appeared from the crowd and pushed the maid off just before she could grab the little girl from the floor. "What are you doing to a little girl?" The girl who had interrupted them asked as she looked at the older girls in disbelief. She also looked as young as the nobledy. But she looked... strange. It wasn''t exactly about her looks or what she was wearing. She was pretty. Very beautiful and wore a blue cloak without covering the hood, but she just looked different for a reason neither Richard nor Wilder could pinpoint. "And why are you all just watching without doing anything?" The Savior girl asked the onlookers. She seemed genuinely confused. Chapter 389 First Meeting "Mind your business!" The nobledy spoke harshly before gesturing to the maid to grab the little girl, but once again, the intruder pushed her off. "How can you bully a little girl like her?" The strange girl asked in disbelief as she looked down at the frightened girl. From the look of things, this was not the first time it had happened. "She is my servant, so why can''t I bully her?!" The nobledy asked arrogantly. "Ser-Servant? What is... that?" The girl asked in confusion. "I... am not a servant. I... we share the same father." The little girl said timidly as she sobbed, and that seemed to enrage the nobledy, who went towards her and forcefully pushed the saviour girl aside before kicking the little girl right in the face, eliciting gasps from the onlookers and a painful scream from the little girl. "Say that again!" The girl yelled at the little girl, who had now fallen to the floor, crying in pain as tears flowed down from a cut on her forehead. "You must have deceived yourself with that and fallen asleep on my bed! Do you want to be a nobledy so badly?" She asked the little girl in a furious tone. "I''m... s-sorry, mydy... I was cleaning and..." "Why are you crying so much? Did I hit you?" The nobledy asked the little girl in an innocent tone before crouching down in front of her. The little girl went back on her knees immediately and shook her bloody head in fear. "You... didn''t hit...me." She said, wiping her tears with her sleeves. "Nowe in. I cannot control my legs, so I don''t know what they might do again." "YOU CRAZY HUMAN-KICKING ANIMAL!" The saviour girl yelled when she got over her shock and charged at the nobledy, grabbing a fistful of her hair, much to the shock of everyone present there. Even Wilder''s brows furrowed, and he seemed to have forgotten his noise sensitivity for a while as he watched. The nobledy let out a scream and tried to push her away, but the other girl used both hands to grab her hair while the nobledy''s maid watched in horror, too scared to even move. All she could do was yell, "Mydy, mydy," over and over again. It seemed like she was secretly d about it and didn''t want to interfere. "Why are you shouting? Did I grab your hair?" The saviour girl asked as she held onto it even more fiercely. "Let me go!" The nobledy cried in pain. "What do you mean by let you go? Did I touch you?" The girl asked in an innocent tone as they began to go round and round in circles. Whenever the nobledy let out a shout, her assaulter also shouted as if she didn''t know what was happening. "I control my hands. Oh my! Why do they keep grabbing your hair?" She asked with an innocent confusion that would have made a blind person believe her. The crowd watched. Some were horrified, but the bulk of them was amused andughed heartily, none of them bothering to interfere. It wasn''t every time someone dared challenge someone of noble blood. Richard noticed Wilder''s lips were curled. He seemed amused. Very amused. Wilder watched the scene with interest, which was quite rare since he never cared to watch anything happen around him. But on the other hand, why wouldn''t anyone find this amusing? Richard could not help but let out augh. It seemed like fun things happened in the West. "If she isn''t a nobledy, she is going to have her hands cut off," Richard said in amusement. Almost at the same time, a group of guards began to approach the house, and the nobledy cried to them for help. That was when her maid interfered, trying to pull the other girl away from her mistress, but the more she pulled her, the more it made things worse for her mistress because the other girl was not ready to let go of her hair. Richard watched as the maid whispered something to the strange girl while trying to pull her away from her mistress, and the girl looked up at the same time the group of guards realized thedy that was being assaulted ahead was their mistress. "MY LADY!" They yelled in horror when they saw what was happening, and as soon as the girl noticed it, she let go of the nobledy''s hair and ran for her life. Two guards ran after her while the others went to help their mistress, who had fallen to the ground, crying and picking strands of her lost hair from the ground in horror. Richard looked closely at the girl who was running towards their direction. She seemed like a really good runner, and even the two guards were finding it hard to keep up with her. She ran past them, and before Richard could make a move, she bumped hard into Wilder, but she yelled out a sorry without sparing him a nce as she resumed her face, touching her shoulder that seemed to have dislocated from the contact. Wilder looked at her running figure, almost in disbelief at what had just happened. Did she just... bump into him and leave like that? However, his nose scrunched, and he muttered, "Too spicy." "What is?" Richard asked in confusion. He was a little shocked that Wilder was letting her go just like that. "That''s not a real smell," Wilder said quietly just as the guards chasing her got to where they were, but as soon as they were about to run past them, one made a mistake by staring at Wilder, and Wilder tilted his hat up to look at the guard. Wilder only smiled and tilted his head to the side, but it seemed like Wilder was more popr than he had assumed because the man gasped and immediately turned around, running back to where he had started from while his partner watched in confusion, wondering whether to chase after the girl or his partner. Chapter 390 "Catch Her," Months passed. The king had fallen severely ill and passed, and Prince Eli was now King Eli. Another unfortunate thing that happened was Queen Arya giving birth to another Beta, making it two Beta sons. The kingdom was even more unstable at this point, and Lord Zealot''s foothold was stronger since he could even control Eli more than he did the previous king. He was a powerful man with gold and armies, and it wasn''t until his death that King Eli could fully be in control of them. But Richard could see how worse Wilder had be. And as much as Lord Zealot felt he wielded enough power, he could never control Wilder, and he couldn''t even use Eli to control him. Wilder''s anger seemed to have increased too, even killing people for the most insignificant of reasons. However, Wilder had found a new hobby-- finding the witches'' hiding ces. When he agreed to do this months ago, he hadn''t thought it was going to be like this. Wilder wasn''t used to losing. He always won. And the longer he didn''t find them, the crazier and more excited it made him. He looked forward to the euphoric feeling he would get after finding them. Also, the longer he didn''t find them, the more tense the noblemen were in the pce because they felt the witches were still nning to attack them. "Message from the pce," a guard said. Wilder gave him the nod to go on. "Our queen has put to bed. A Beta Prince." Wilder looked like he was confused and asked, "Our queen?" Richard tried tomunicate with his eyes to tell the guard to correct himself. Wilder hated that family and didn''t like being associated with them. But rather, the idiot had nodded and repeated, "Our queen." Unfortunately, that was thest of him, but not before Wilder promised that his queen was going to take care of his family. "Will you be going to the pce for his birth celebration?" Richard asked him. "For what reason? I doubt anyone is excited about his birth." He chuckled, as though finding it amusing. "Queen Arya must be devastated. I heard she was convinced she was carrying an Alpha. She kept talking about how the baby made her feel exhausted and also powerful at the same time, so she believed it was one." Wilder scoffed. "The moon goddess is not crazy. Making an Alpha out of that bloodline. They can only keep dreaming." "But... are you really not going to get married at all?" Richard asked curiously. Two years ago, when it had been newly announced that they were going to find a bride for Prince Wilder, he had boldly announced in the assembly that anyone who offered their daughter was going to be gifted their daughter''s head on the wedding night, and everyone had taken him seriously. Very seriously. "Are you asking me that because you were recently betrothed to Lord Colton''s daughter?" Richardughed. "I just think you should build a family. You are getting old." "I''m only 21." Wilder reminded him. Richard knew him to an extent. Wilder would never allow anyone toe close to him. If there was one thing he didn''t have, it was weakness. If something was beginning to seem very important to him, he got rid of it no matter what it was. That was why it was impossible to get to Wilder. He had no w. So it was almost impossible for someone like him to think about getting married or having kids. It was like a prison. One he would never wee for himself. They went out that evening. It was when they believed witches usually operated--in the evenings. First, they dropped by the restaurant to eat. That was the second time they saw her. She passed by them, heading forward. She was looking around her in awe, and beside her, a dog followed happily. The dog was neither a puppy nor a big dog. Just in between. Like a tour guide, she pointed things out to the dog as though he were a human enjoying the sights with her. She squatted in front of the dog, asking, "Would you like to go with me to my ce?" She asked the dog and beamed when it looked like the dog nodded. "Do not worry; it''s not this pretty, but you will love it there. They will love you too." She assured the dog, patting its head. "I told Beck I made a friend here, but he thought I was lying. Maybe I should take you with me to show him? But would that make me a bad person by taking you with me there? Is it even possible for you to enter?" She looked thoughtful. "She doesn''t make any sense," Richard remarked. Wilder neither agreed nor disagreed. He just stared at her. She went on her way, and the two focused on their meal. As Richard and Wilder were done and about to leave, they heard amotion ahead, and lo and behold, it was her, running toward their direction again. Behind her was the dog also running at full speed, and another smaller ck dog behind them, chasing after them while barking. While running for her life, she looked back and was surprised to find her dog now beside her, and even more surprising was the fact that the dog ran past her. "How can a smaller dog be chasing me and you!? What is wrong with everything here?" She cried breathlessly as she kept up her pace while calling for the dog ahead to wait for her, but the dog seemed even more scared and just disappeared. Once again, she ran past the two of them and bumped hard into Wilder again. Without looking, she apologized and ran for her life. People just stared at themotion, some asking themselves why the dog that seemed to always be calm was chasing her and only her in particr. Wilder looked at her running figure again, frowning. But then he scrunched his nose. "Smells different." He muttered just as the dog got closer to him. Richard was surprised when Wilder moved a bit to the roadside, standing on the path the dog was racing toward. As soon as the dog saw him, it came to a halt, whined, and hid its tail before he turned and ran off. Wilder looked back again at the direction she had run in and looked at Richard, instructing, "Catch her." "Eh?" Richard was a bit lost, but then he chased after her. However, he never found her. ***** A/N Thanks to all those whomented. I''ll try to end this book as soon as possible without leaving any stone unturned. One of the readers suggested I use PayPal for gifts (just like a donation for the book). I don''t know if it''s allowed but I''m trying it out. PayPal and Revolut are both not essible in my region so I''m using a trusted friend''s. (Paypal) [email protected] (Revolut) +359 89 862 5386 Thanks in advance for your donations. Highly grateful! Chapter 391 Marriage Proposal The third time Wilder met the strange girl, Richard hadn''t been there when it happened. It was a year after they met her the second time. He had chased after her at that time but didn''t see even her shadow. The only thing he had found was the dog, which had run for its life. They had received information about a man who knew some details about the witches'' hideout. Richard had led some people to find them, while Wilder had taken a different route with some other men. When Richard met them againter that night, he noticed the tension in the air and the fact that one of the men was gone. After inquiring from the others about what had happened, they fearfully whispered to Richard about what had happened. First, the men they had met had no idea about witches and thought they could extort money from the one trying to gather information about them. Unfortunately, that person was Prince Wilder. However, it was toote before they could even regret their actions. Secondly, they had met a strange girl that had no smell on her. Not only that, she had spied on them and even threatened their friend, who had died, but Prince Wilder did nothing to her. In fact, he had covered her with his cloak and given her some advice before he walked away. He had done nothing! They could not understand why, nor could they ask him. So they implored Richard to do so and ask Wilder instead. That evening, Richard did. He met Wilder in his tent. The burning torches properly illuminated his face and how deep in thought he was. Immediately Wilder looked up and saw Richard''s face; he said slowly, "Get rid of all of them." Richard furrowed his brows, wondering who he was referring to, but he had been with Wilder long enough to know. He was talking about the three other men who had been with him tonight. "My... Prince..." "Should I instead?" Wilder asked. Richard hesitated, but shook his head and bowed before leaving the tent to do as he had been instructed to. For the following days, Wilder didn''t say anything about that night, and Richard didn''t ask either, even though he was dying of curiosity. It wasn''t until after a month had passed that Richard saw her again. It was the third time he was seeing her in close to three years, and whenever he saw her, she looked different--taller, prettier, and more reckless. Just like right now. She stood directly in front of the two of them just as they were about to reach the gate of the courtesan''s house, where they were supposed to meet with someone. Richard was about to draw his sword before he recognized her. Her excitement made Richard confused because thest time he saw her, she was being chased by a dog. Howe she was suddenly looking at Wilder as though they were acquainted? "I waited for you for 38 days," she said while looking at Wilder with sparkling eyes. Wilder raised a brow at her before he looked around them, and then he looked at her again. Richard looked back and forth at the two. She hadn''t even taken note of his presence. She waited for 38 days? Richard''s eyes rounded in surprise as he realized they had met and guessed she was most likely the one they had met that night. He also noticed she had a calmer scent around her too, which meant she changed her scent often, so there was only one exnation for that. "I... wanted to return your cloak, but I forgot it." She said, and when Wilder still didn''t say a word, she spoke again, "My name is Anne." Wilder took an intimidating step toward her, and unlike what they expected, she didn''t step back or look scared. In fact, she took one forward too while smiling, confusing the two men. So it was Wilder who awkwardly stopped and stepped back instead. "Seizeing here. You look too weak for what may happen to you." His voice was cold, and that made the smile slowly disappear from her face. "I... can take care of myself just fine." "Can you?" He asked, raising a brow even higher as though taunting her. She nodded confidently, not breaking eye contact with him. A smirk formed on his lips, and he immediately grabbed her by the hand. She let out a small startled squeak, but before she knew what was happening, he was already pulling her with him and walking out of that vicinity. Richard wasn''t sure what he was supposed to do since he still could not understand what was happening between them, but he quickly ran after them and kept a safe distance between them. "You are hurting me!" Anne cried as she tried to pull her hand away. Richard looked at where Wilder was holding her around her wrist, wondering what was hurting her there when he wasn''t putting in any effort, but to his utter surprise, Wilder let go of her and simply ordered her, "Follow me." He thought Anne was going to take the chance to run away, and it seemed Wilder thought so too because when Anne indeed followed him, he stopped walking and turned to look at her. Now, they were in the woods, with barely enough light to guide their paths, but at least they could still see each other. "Why are you following me?" Wilder asked her slowly, frowning. "You... asked me to follow you," Anne replied in confusion. "You were supposed to run away." He said to her, looking annoyed now. "Do you follow everyone who asks you to follow them?" Anne shook her head. "I don''t." "Then why did you follow me?" "Because you asked me to follow you!" "That is not what I am asking!" Wilder snapped, almost making Richard burst intoughter, but he was too intrigued tough. It was a sight he had never seen before--a frustrated Wilder. "Why... did you follow me?" Wilder asked her again. This time, he counted his words and said them carefully. It was surprising how his intimidation didn''t have any effect on the tiny girl. "Because... I wish to marry you!" Anne blurted out, her face bright red. "W-WHAT?" Wilder asked, startled. Even Richard had almost shouted the same thing. He watched with wide eyes. "Do you... even know who I am?" Wilder asked her in disbelief. Richard doubted she knew. If she did, she would have already built a temple to worship the goddess that she had survived their first bump those many months ago. And even survived a second one. "Wilder." She said his name, shocking Richard. Wilder didn''t seem surprised. She had heard them call him that night. "How old are you?" Wilder asked her. "I''m 16. But do not worry, I''ll be 17 soon." "I don''t wish to marry you." He said ndly, turning down her proposal tly. "Why?" She asked with a heartbroken look on her face. Wilder eyed her as he said, "You are too fragile." "What... do I do then?" She asked with genuine curiosity and held the hem of his shirt when he was about to walk away. Wilder slowly turned his head to look at her. "Learn to protect yourself. With weapons. You will need it." He said dismissively before he walked away from her. Richard was still trying to process all he had just seen when he heard her loud voice call after Wilder, "I will find you again, my future husband!" Richard thought he saw a smirk on Wilder''s face. But by the time Wilder was closer to him, his face was straight. The two headed back into town quietly before Richard asked, "She... is one, isn''t she?" He asked Wilder hesitantly. Wilder didn''t respond immediately. After a while, he answered, "She isn''t." Richard doubted that. And for some reason, he wondered if Wilder was thinking the same thing he was. Were the witches nning to use Anne to get to the Moon Kingdom through Wilder? If that were the case, he would have to do something and report this to the elders. Chapter 392 A Piece Of Advice Richard followed Prince Wilder when he returned to the pce a few monthster. The first thing Wilder did when he arrived was go find the king where he was looking out into theke and grab him by the neck until Eli''s back was against the wall of the podium behind them. Wilder squeezed viciously, and even Richard had been too shocked and scared to know what he was supposed to do. Seeing how there were no guards around, he didn''t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. "You must have really lost your mind!" Eli spoke in a strained voice but made no effort to fight off Wilder. "You really listened to him and took our own people as ves," Wilder said in disbelief. "My... Prince..." Richard called out in fear when the two just kept staring heatedly at each other, and Wilder was not leaving him alone. If other people saw this, they would tag Wilder asmitting treason and trying to get rid of the King. Just then, someone showed up. A servant. She carried a tray of tea in her hands and looked absentminded. She also looked very weak and fragile, and her eyes were lifeless. Her whole look made her appear like an empty vessel and not a person. It didn''t help that she was walking like a zombie. What stood out the most about her was her white hair and ethereal beauty, which were still obvious despite how badly she looked now. It was the first time Richard had seen her, and from the marks she had all over her body, he could tell she was one of the ves because if someone like her had been in the pce the entire time, they would all have known. When she got closer to the men, who looked ready to rip each other apart, she said no words and just stood there with the tray in her hand as if waiting for them to just kill themselves so she would serve the king''s corpse the tea. Wilder spared her a nce before he let go of Eli''s throat and stepped back from him, turning his attention to the maid. He simply stared intensely at her before asking in a deadly quiet voice, "How old are you?" She raised her eyes and looked directly at him. There was no fear or intimidation. There wasn''t even hate or anger. They were simply lifeless. "Seventeen." She answered without showing him any form of respect by addressing him with a title. Wilder furrowed his brows and took a step toward her but got pulled back by his brother. "It''s enough! We can discuss all you wish to discuss in your chamber." Eli said to him before he looked at the maid, "You may return." "Eh?" Wilder asked, looking between the maid and his brother before he let out augh as he asked, "What is this?" Eli red, and even his pheromones began to spill out, but Wilder seemed unaffected. "Does your madwoman know about this... fascination you have?" Wilder asked Eli in a taunting tone as he looked back at the maid, who still had an unreadable gaze but seemed very ufortable with Eli''s pheromones in the air. Luckily for them, Eli suddenly stopped doing that, but he was still very angry as he yelled at his brother to stop. Richard was confused at this point, not sure what was happening. "I SAID LEAVE!" King Eli said sternly to the maid. She was about to before Wilder quietly said, "You won''t dare take a step." Just like that, the maid remained where she was. The utter disrespect made Eli''s face burn, and the look on his face made Wilder smile in pleasure. "How do you feel about being in the pce?" Wilder asked the maid rhetorically before he continued. "How do you feel learning that your puppet king took his own people as ves and is trying to make himself feel better by keeping some of you in the pce like other servants as if you asked him for that in the first ce?" "Enough" "He killed your people, didn''t he? Took away your dreams. I''m sure you never wanted to be a servant who wanted to serve others. You probably had someone you wanted to get married to and start a family with. But what happened? Your dear king here allows his wife''s father to control him and make him ruin your lives, and the same person dares fancy you like an idiot¡ª" "ENOUGH!" Eli yelled and charged at Wilder to strike with his sword, but suddenly stopped when the maid let out a croaked sob and dropped the tray on the floor with a loud tter. And then she began to cry. Eli seemed very shocked when he saw her. It was as though it was the first time she was letting out any emotion since he knew her. She cried. It was so heartbreaking that even Richard felt likeforting her but he stood where he was. He wasn''t sure why Prince Wilder had done that or why he had sounded so affected. Yes, Wilder held their kind in high esteem, and to him, werewolves were the ultimate. So seeing how the King was ruining their kingdom like this and even going as far as having some killed just to capture the others as ves made Wilder mad. But he didn''t think that was just it. Eli stared at the maid, who had fallen weakly to the ground and was weeping. From the look on his face, he looked miserable. He looked like his heart had broken into a thousand pieces. Without another nce, he hurried out of the ce. "I will give you some advice," Wilder said, crouching down to face the maid. "Whether you choose to kill him or kill the queen or decide to take over the queen''s seat, just get your revenge. And if you are lucky, the Moon Goddess may take your side." He said before he stood up and walked out of there. Richard heard a vague "thank you" from the maid, which made him a bit shocked. It was the first time that someone had said that to Wilder. Richard felt bad for her. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do. The next day, Wilder dropped shocking news for the elders. Chapter 393 Witch Or Witch Not? Prince Wilder insisted that he didn''t need any more men deployed to that vige to hunt around for witches. He said he would handle it and would be permanently moving there to better find them on his own. Everyone was supposed to be happy about him going far away, right? But no. They were uneasy. First of all, it has been 3 years now. Howe he still hadn''t been able to find one single witch in that small vige? The Prince Wilder they knew would even burn down the entire vige just to find them. It didn''t make sense that after three full years, he still did not have any information. Secondly, for what reason was he stating he would permanently move to that side of the kingdom when many of them understood his tacit desire to be the ruler? It doesn''t make sense that he suddenly wanted to give up such ambition to travel far away and live in a ce that wasn''t even as developed as the capital. So his desire to move there was suspicious. It was better for them to keep the enemy close. Thirdly, his insistence on not having any more guards deployed to that area made them even more suspicious and wary. Was he, by chance, nning something? Was he probably trying to start a revolution and carry out the plot there, then show up here one day to take over the throne? Many of them had questions. However, they couldn''t even ask him, and even if they could, he hadn''t given them the chance because as soon as he said his piece, he left the hall and returned to prepare for his trip, leaving the assembly in an uproar with the elders putting pressure on King Eli to do something and control his brother to behave properly even though they all knew it¡ª Prince Wilder was untamable. King Eli didn''t even look like he was in the mood to do anything. He looked terrible, and many feared he was falling victim to the same illness that had taken the life of thete King. The only group of people who were happy about the news from Prince Wilder were the guards that would have been deployed over there with him.Because so far, almost all of the guards that had been deployed there have vanished off the face of the earth. They didn''t want to be in that position either. For Richard, however, he thought that Prince Wilder''s announcement didn''t make any sense. Wilder hadn''t mentioned it to him before he made the announcement, and it wasn''t like Wilder told him about his ns anyway, but they have been together for the past 3 years. He also hasn''t been able to go on with his marriage because he has had to remain in the West with Prince Wilder, so the news hade as a shock to him. There was nothing fun in that ce. So the only reason he could think of that would have made Prince Wildere to that silly decision was probably because of Anne. Why? Prince Wilder wasn''t the type to be emotionally attached to someone, so he doubted that was the case. In fact, it was too weird and impossible to think about that. At one point, he began to suspect that she had probably cast a spell on him, and that made him worried for not just Wilder but the entire kingdom. And now that Prince Wilder was asking for guards to not be sent there anymore, what would happen to them if witches came out to attack them over there? He wanted to believe that Prince Wilder had a grand n, but he just could not believe that. There was definitely something he did not know. He had wanted to report this the first time but had waited and kept monitoring things to make sure he wasn''t simply jumping to conclusions since he also hadn''t confirmed whether she was truly a witch or not. Anne had shown up again after thest time she dered her interest in marrying Prince Wilder, and Wilder had almost struck her with a sword but ceased at thest minute, reminding her that she was still too weak, even though she had surprisingly been able to stop him once with a stick. Wilder had assured her that the next time they met, he was going to strike her for real if she was still that slow. Surprisingly, the girl had smiled and taken it as an encouragement that they were going to meet again, and she had promised to do better and make sure to fight back. In Richard''s opinion, Anne wasn''t all that suspicious. But that fact alone made her very suspicious. And the reason he began to really suspect her was how Wilder was always lenient with her and had even ordered Richard not to tail her to find where she lived when Richard had suggested it. Also, more and more guards that came into contact with Anne kept disappearing mysteriously, and Wilder didn''t say anything about that either, so Richard wasn''t sure what to think about it. He felt he was probably overthinking it because if that had been the case, then he would have also disappeared since he had met her a couple of times already. With all this still in his mind, he stood before Lord Zealot the next day. Of course, he hadn''t gone of his own volition. And the fact that Lord Zealot had sought him out when Prince Wilder stepped out of the pce alone made him very ufortable. He wasn''t the type of man you wanted to meet alone. The funny thing was that he was a Beta like them. But his grandfather had been so important to the creation and expansion of the Moon Kingdom that even after many decades passed, his family was still revered, and now, it didn''t help that Lord Zealot also controlled most of the kingdom''s resources. Since they were still within the pce, Richard chose not to think too much about this private meeting. But he had been wrong. After all, this was Lord Zealot. Chapter 394 The Attack The attack hade abruptly. Prince Wilder had been bathing in the stream down the woods, with Richard standing guard far away, when he felt that they were being ambushed. At almost the same time, arrows came flying at him. Thankfully, Richard had already sensed it and was able to swiftly hit them off with his sword. However, the men all came out of their hiding spots, dressed in all ck, with their faces covered from their noses down and also wearing short straw hats to properly hide their identities. They came with their swords, and from their swift movements and aggressive behaviours, it was obvious they only wanted to do one thing¡ª kill. Meanwhile, Wilder was carefully getting dressed, ignoring whatever was happening. He took his time to also wear his shoes and tie his hair. Richard was a skilled warrior as he tried to control the fight by fighting with all five men at once while also trying to stop the ones trying to race past him to go attack Wilder, who was still by the stream. However, it was still tough for him since he had to fight with five other skilled warriors all at once. Fortunately, Wilder eventually showed up with his entire body, from his hair down, still wet, making his clothes stick to his body. Wilder was usually very aggressive, so it didn''t take long before two heads rolled to the ground. When they were beginning to think that they had control over the fight, several arrows with silver heads were shot at them from a blind spot before five other men flew out. Now, they were 7 men against 2. Richard''s back had been against them while killing one man, so he hadn''t seen the arrowsing. Wilder drew Richard out of that path, unfortunately putting himself in the position of an arrow that embedded itself directly on the upper left of his chest. He let out a painful groan when the thing burned him so much that he felt like copsing, but he was able to support himself from falling with his sword on the ground. But the pain shot through his entire body, making him growl painfully before he fell. "W-Wolfsbane..." Richard muttered in horror as he looked at Wilder, who had fallen to the ground. He could smell that potion in the air and realized he had to be extra careful now. These people were seriously serious. Silver plus wolfsbane. Even Alphas could not handle the pain, much less Betas. And having a silver-headed arrow coated with wolfsbane directly pierce your body was a nightmare. With Wilder on the ground, the four men charged at the same time. Two were already badly injured and were being looked after by one man. "Are you okay?" Richard asked Wilder in worry as he raced to meet the men halfway and began to fight with them, keeping them away from Wilder. He was not okay. He couldn''t be okay. Wilder was letting out an agonizing scream while trying to pull out the arrow that was stuck to his chest. p¦Á§ád¦Á §«?¦Í¨º|,§ã¨°§® Guilt ate Richard up, seeing as Prince Wilder had been wounded because of him. Another thing that made him feel extremely guilty was the incident that happened a week ago with Lord Zealot. And he didn''t need to be told that he was responsible for this attack. The men were very skilled, far beyond what he had ever seen. Only that man had such skilled warriors. That meant it was very difficult for him to fight with the men all at once. He had even suffered a few cuts and could not turn to check on how Prince Wilder was doing. With a loud growl, Wilder pulled the arrow from his chest, throwing it on the ground. His robe was instantly soaked with blood, and he also spat out a mouthful of blood as soon as he got up from the ground. He shook his head to clear the fog in his brain and remain conscious, but the look in his eyes told Richard something was very wrong with him. They had all stopped fighting now and were taking positions to attack Wilder too, as he kept approaching them while staggering and weakly drawing his sword along with him. "I... do not care who sent you." He said quietly as the light in his eyes blue eyes dimmed. "You all die." He dered. The fight grew intense, and despite Wilder having the upper hand, it was obvious that something was seriously wrong with him, and Richard was also bleeding and exhausted. It turned even worse when five more men suddenly showed up with arrows and posed to shoot. Richard panicked when he saw them and looked at Wilder, whose face was still straight as he wiped off the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. Suddenly, a strange, medium-sized bottle was thrown in their direction, and next came a loud voice shouting, "WILDER, RUN!" The voice distracted not only Richard and Wilder but also the archers, who looked at the direction the voice hade from in the same direction Richard and Wilder were. It was the first time since the fight started that Richard was able to read Wilder''s facial expression. He was shocked to find her there. And so was Richard. No one moved immediately. Who would take a little girl who had just showed up out of nowhere and thrown a bottle in the middle of a sword fight seriously? But Richard noticed Wilder staring at the bottle, and he also stared back and noticed how the liquid inside seemed to be boiling. Fortunately, they were able to react fast and raced back as the bottle made a cracking sound, creating a surprisingly loud explosive sound before the assassins could make a run for it. Gas was released into the air, and it smelled very poisonous. It was so bad that they all began to choke, but it was worse for the assassins because they could not make a run for it now as their whole body felt numb, and they fell to the ground. Chapter 395 "Its Nothing" The gas had also affected Richard, and Wilder, who was already suffering from the silver and wolfsbane poisoning. As soon as Richard took notice, he tore out a part of his dress and handed it to Wilder to cover the lower half of his face while he did the same for himself. With the assassins still struggling to run away but too weak to even move, Wilder took the chance, racing into the poisonous smoke with his sword, and Richard followed with his sword too. He didn''t care that it was a dishonourable thing to do since his opponents were down since they had started it first with 15 men attacking two of them. When they both seeded in killing all of them, they escaped from the smoke and saw a sight that made them pause. One of the assassins was holding Anne captive. She was quite tiny, so she was effortlessly squeezed into his body with a hand holding her around her lower body and a knife to her throat, which had made a small cut in her chin. "Drop your swords," he threatened Richard and Wilder, trying to sound intimidating, but it was obvious he was scared from how shaky his voice was. The poisonous smoke had dissipated and he could clearly see the dismembered bodies of all his partners. "Why should we?" Wilder asked the man calmly. "I will kill her if you don''t!" He warned and pressed the knife higher against her throat. "Then... go ahead," Wilder said with disinterest and gestured for him to carry out the act. Richard wasn''t sure what to do in this case. He looked at Anne, who looked scared as she eyed the knife inching closer to her throat with each passing second. "I told you, tiny girl," Wilder started as he looked at Anne. "The next time you show up in front of me, I won''t hesitate to strike you with my sword. Thankfully, I have someone to help me get rid of you." He said to her while Richard just stood there, still confused. "I WILL REALLY KILL HER!" The assassin yelled in confusion and frustration. "You are really not going to save me?" Anne asked Wilder with a pitiful look. He shook his head at her and crossed his arms across his chest and just stared at them. "Hurry up and get rid of her so I can get rid of you." Richard looked between Wilder and Anne, as did the assassin, who obviously had no idea what to do at this point. Anne pursed her lips and muttered, "Annoying," at Wilder before she slowly reached for the inside of her sleeve to take out a small knife she had hidden there. The foolish assassin had realized something was wrong with these people and decided to flee, but it seemed he thought Wilder was bluffing about not caring about what he decided to do with the girl because if he hadn''t, he would have attacked him and not just stood there. So he decided to use her for his escape as he tightened his hand around her and began to step back. With his attention on escaping, he didn''t realize she had a weapon on her. Quickly, she bit the hand he was using to point the knife at her neck and angled it perfectly for his neck before she stabbed the knife right there, even though he was still standing behind her. His blood spilled on her as he let go of her and staggered backwards before falling to his knees with his hand touching the part of the neck she had stabbed where he still had the knife. While Richard stared with wide eyes filled with shock, he turned to Wilder and saw how he grinned brightly like a maniac at the scene. As soon as the assassin fell to his death, Anne looked at the corpse with wide eyes. "You killed him," Wilder said with pride as if to answer the question she was asking herself in her head.please visit Richard had already been overthinking whether the girl had actually been a good fighter but had been lying because she had secret ns, but her reaction made him begin to rethink. She looked pale, frightened, and still in disbelief, and as soon as Wilder affirmed it to her, she burst into tears and knelt beside the man''s corpse, crying and apologizing. "He would have killed you if you had not killed him," Wilder said quietly. "I don''t want to be a murderer!" She cried and her sobs grew louder. "I... didn''t know this... was what they meant when they said we were blessed with survival skills. I don''t want to survive like this!" She said more to herself than to any of them as she kept crying. Richard wondered who the "we" she was talking about was, but he obviously could not ask her. "Then why did you stab him? What were you thinking? That he would fly away?" Wilder asked her. His weird sarcasm almost made Richardugh, but they had a bigger issue. "I... I don''t know!" Anne cried. Wilder went to pick up the familiar cloak from where Anne had dropped it and wear it. As he tied the ropes, he said, "You also helped us kill all these people. You should embrace your talent with an open mind." "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Anne yelled at Wilder and gave him a dangerous re. "You dare call this talent?!" Richard''s jaw dropped. "I only wanted to save you. I came to return your stupid cloak and let you know I have been training so hard, but I killed people because of you!" "Stop looking at it!" Wilder said sternly before he went to where she was and pulled her from the ground, then he began to drag her along with him while she yelled for him to let her go. He took her to the stream and pointed at it. "Wash the blood off your body and return home." "That is what you say to someone who saved your life?" She asked as she pulled her hand away from his hold while looking up at him angrily. "You hate it so much. I cannot thank you for it then." "You are so arrogant. I don''t even know why... I like you." She sniffled and used the back of her hand to wipe away her tears. "Is this... really the kind... of person you are?" She asked while looking up at him with sad eyes. "Is that why..." she stopped talking and looked at the stream. "Why what?" he asked. She slowly shook her head, and without looking at him, she answered, "It''s nothing." Chapter 396 The Options Richard just looked at the two. Aside from what had just happened, he could tell something was bothering Anne. On the other hand, he could not understand what was wrong with Wilder or why he had worn the cloak when he was supposed to be checking his injury. How was he still standing there and chatting with her? He could smell Wilder''s difort from where he stood. "Look at me," Wilder ordered Anne when she kept staring into the stream. She sighed and turned to look at him, locking eyes. "This... is going to be myst time meeting you." She said. The silence dragged between them before he said, "They finally know." "What?" Anne asked, looking confused by hisment. Instead of answering, he grabbed her by the waist and drew her closer to him with barely enough space between them. She let out a shout and looked up at him with wide eyes, but he ignored everything else and just leaned down. "What... are you doing?" From where Richard stood, he could hear her heartbeat. The sight made his eyes bulge out as he wondered if Wilder was about to do what he thought he was about to do. When their faces were only a few inches apart, Wilder''s tongue darted out, and he licked the blood on the side of her jaw where the knife had left a cut. "Why... are you tasting my blood?" She asked in fear and pushed him off. He let her go with a conflicted look. "You are, indeed," Wilder whispered, sounding disappointed. "You should leave. Do not return." He said in a harsh tone before walking away from her. Richard was too stunned and confused to say anything. When Wilder walked past him, he followed him after ncing back at Anne, who just stood there looking dejected. As soon as they had walked far ahead and had gotten to some areas with people, Wilder almost stumbled and winced in pain. "Find a physician." He instructed. "What if theye again?" Richard asked in concern even though he knew that finding a physician was more important right now. "Now!" Wilder said sternly. Richard bowed and walked away but hadn''tpletely disappeared when Anne showed up with her face rid of blood now. She looked angry. "What do you take me for?" She asked as soon as she stood in front of Wilder. "You think you can control me as you please? One minute you tell me to do this, and after I do that, you still try to chase me away. Do you know what it took for me toe here to find you? Do you know... how much I am suffering because of you?" She cried. "And so?" Wilder asked ndly. She sniffled and looked at him coldly as she said, "I... will no longer like a murderer who is going to turn me into one. We will... end here. But... you have to remember that I hurt you too." And suddenly, she grabbed his hand and gave him a strong bite that made his eyes widen, and he hissed in pain. When she was done, she let go of him and ran with all her might without looking back, while he looked at her running back in disbelief before looking at the bite mark with bits of his blood pooling around it. "Such a strong bite for a little thing." Hemented with a sad look. Not that he was always happy, but he just looked really sad now.please visit Some passersby had seen what happened, but Richard guessed none of them knew who he was, which was why they were still around. "HOW... COULD A GIRL EMBARRASS A MAN LIKE THAT IN PUBLIC AND GO SCOT-FREE!" An elderly man, who seemed to obviously not know who Wilder was, said this in anger. "Shut. Your. Filthy. Mouth." Wilder said in a menacing tone before he kicked the man out of his path and walked away, sending the poor innocent man flying and crashing on a nearby brick stand. Richard could not stop thinking about it all. Especially the attack that had happened. The physician he had called had done his best, but the arrow had grazed Wilder''s heart, with the wolfsbane affecting him there. They weren''t even sure how he had been able to still fight and return to his tent when it had been that severe. Even though the physician had been too scared to mention it, they knew that his life had been significantly cut short. He wasn''t sure what Wilder thought about the attack. Wilder never mentioned it. Richard was at this point lost, especially when he remembered the note he had received on his way to look for the physician. An arrow had been shot in his direction with the note. "REMEMBER." was the only word written on it. But he knew what they were talking about. He reached for the bottle of potion in his inner pocket and looked at it even as he remembered Lord Zealot''s words. "Prince Wilder is going to bring doom to this kingdom. Because of him, everyone looks down on the King. He thinks he is better than everyone and doesn''t care about anyone. Do you think you can remain loyal to that kind of person?" "Isn''t that why you are not yet married? You have been betrothed for more than a year now. But because of his selfishness, you cannot return and start your family. Is that the kind of life you want to live?" "I will give you two options: Give me something solid that would justify Prince Wilder''s arrest. Or make him take this." Lord Zealot pushed the potion at him. It was arge dose of Beta''s nightmare. The same potion that was banned years ago. "It won''t kill him. By making him take it all at once, he will only go crazy. But he will live. So either he goes crazy or we arrest him ording to the customs of the Kingdom. The choice is in your hands." "If you hesitate to make up your mind, it means unnecessary bloodshed is going to happen. And it won''t just end with you both." Richard knew it. Lord Zealot was not only threatening him with his life but with that of his family and that of his bride-to-be. The shocking part about everything was that after he left the room, he saw King Eli standing outside. He had been able to mask his presence and heard their entire conversation. But what did he do? He just stared nkly and turned around, leaving without saying a word. Richard was stuck, and that was Sir Zealot''s pattern. He never offered good options. And with Prince Wilder already this sick, he decided to choose the only option that was best for all of them. At least, if he were to go back to the pce, even as a prisoner, he would still be able to live longer and get treated by the best physician with the best herbs. How naive had he been? His option was to capture Anne and use Wilder of protecting the witches. Once Wilder was arrested, they would use Anne to find her people and annihte them, and everyone would be happy. "That... was your choice?" It was Harvey who asked his father in disbelief. Chapter 397 "Thanks To His Help." Richard stared at the three without answering Harvey''s question immediately. Was that the choice he had made? Sacrificing the little girl who did nothing to them to get Wilder back in the pce? Richard looked at Anne''s daughter, who did not say anything. She had been quiet since he started talking, just like Harold too. Harold had actually seemed surprised when he realized Wilder and Anne''s rtionship ran deep. But Alicia hadn''t been since she already knew about them; what she didn''t know was whether or not Wilder had her in his heart for real. "Father..." Harvey called when his father still didn''t answer but just looked at the golden pin in his hand. "I thought it was the best. For everybody." Richard finally answered while Harvey stared at him in disbelief and disappointment, but Alicia and Harold still kept their faces straight. What was the point of being surprised? The witches were wiped out, and Anne died somewhere else. They already knew that. "You... were also going to watch Queen Anne''s daughter get killed without... doing something?" Harvey asked, feeling emotional when he remembered how Alicia and Paulina had almost been killed. "One... wasn''t enough?" "You must have believed I came for revenge then," Alicia said to Sir Richard quietly. She also felt emotional. She wasn''t even sure she wanted to know the rest of the story. It greatly affected her because not only did Anne have her looks, but she had also taken a glimpse into her life. And when she met Anne in that dimension at that time she saw her for the second time, she also seemed like a very lovely person. And despite everything she went through--including being forced to marry someone she didn''t want to--she still tried to do the right thing. Alicia remembered the first time she had seen Anne fighting with some men in the vige who were trying to extort the vigers. She remembered how everyone had chanted her name. How lovely she was. A tear escaped her eye, and she sniffled before quickly cleaning it with her palm. "Did you regret it?" Harold asked him in a heavy voice. It was as though this was too much. Constantly, he was being put in a position to feel guilty about being with Alicia. Richard nodded immediately. "It was toote." He said sadly. "Everything became messed up." "The King. Did he... ever meet her?" Alicia asked him. "I do not think so. But... everyone knew the tale about her. So he must have been told." "What tale?" Alicia asked. Wilder had been constantly sick, but he was too stubborn to stay well-rested. He was always training outside his tent, despite the pain it brought him and the fact that his stab wound was not healing and had even spread to the point where it was rotting. At that point, Sir Richard knew that if more men came for a surprise attack on them, Wilder wouldn''t make it. He didn''t know what he had been thinking. He didn''t even know why he had treated Sir Zealot. Or maybe he hadn''t trusted the man but had been scared of what the man would do to his family. He had returned to meet him to exin that he would neither let Prince Wilder be punished for treason nor make him go crazy. Rather, they should bring one of their best physicians to get Prince Wilder treated. In return, he was going to give them a description of a certain witch and show them the direction she usually took into the woods; he believed they would be able to find the witch''s hideout through that means. Lord Zealot had surprisingly agreed. He seemed more eager to get the witches destroyed than to care about whatever Wilder nned. And so they sent a physician under the guise of visiting the head of that city. Richard exined to Wilder that a physician was in the city, and he was going to bring the man over. And despite Wilder''s insistence that he didn''t need one, Richard tried so hard to convince him and brought him over for the treatment. In exchange for the physician, Richard handed out the location and a drawing of the girl. It wasn''t even 2 dayster when they heard the news about some men scouting a particr area in the woods with strong incense smoke. The kind that was able to bring out anything hidden. Even though Wilder was always stuck in his chamber, the smell of smoke in their air seemed to have drawn him out of the tent because, by the time Richard arrived there from an errand, Wilder was not in and neither was the physician. In a panic, he raced to the woods, and that is when he saw Wilder. His hair was down and loose, and not only was he looking pale, but he also had obvious dark circles and an eye bag and looked thinner. Richard was worried about Wilder exposing himself like this to them. But it was toote. Especially since Wilder''s sword was dripping blood and two of the men dressed in ck were already lying dead beside him. The most surprising thing was the number of people there. There were up to 30 people who didn''t even look like normal soldiers, nor were they dressed like one. They were dressed in ck robes and held heavy weapons, reminding Richard of the assassins that had attacked them the other time. The highlight of it all was Lord Zealot''s presence. He sat on his horse, and not only he was fully armoured, but his horse was too. "Do you think you can stop all of us like this?" Sir Zealot asked Wilder in a mocking tone. In response, Wilder wielded his sword and pointed it at him. "You are already toote." Lord Zealotughed and pointed in the direction adjacent to Wilder. "We already found where they are hiding." He paused and looked around until his eyes found Richard''s and gestured to him with a hand. "Thanks to his help." Wilder''s eyes followed Sir Zealot''s hand, and when he saw the person on the other end... Richard never wanted to remember the look in his eyes. Chapter 398 THE WITCH "EVERYBODY!" Lord Zealot called the attention of the crowd. "PRINCE WILDER HAS CONNIVED WITH THE WITCHES AND IS TRYING TO PROTECT THEM. HE WILL BE ARRESTED FOR TREASON!" He dered. Richard watched with wide eyes, realizing what Lord Zealot had done. Had he been yed? Wilder just smiled at Lord Zealot and shook his head. "That... won''t be happening." "Do you think you are getting better because a physician from the pce treated you?" He asked in amusement beforeughing. "You should cooperate with me if you want an antidote for the poison in your body. It may make you feel like you are strong. But it is sucking out all of your energy." Richard felt even more stupid now. No wonder he hadn''t seen the physician. Why did he think he could ever trust this dishonest man to act honestly? Wilder ignored the man and gestured for the guards toe ahead. But not to arrest him. It was to fight. "My... Lord. You cannot do this!" Richard cried out to Sir Zealot. "I cannot? I can do anything." He said arrogantly and gestured with his hand for the men to attack. Richard was about to join and fight beside Wilder, but Wilder sent him a warning re for him to stay put. He didn''t know whether it was because Wilder was really angry at his betrayal or because, by joining the fight, he was also going to be charged with treason. He felt his emotions rising and tears in his eyes as he watched the sight from where he stood: several men attacking Wilder all at once, while others went to light the incense to break through whatever barrier was keeping them away. Richard could only watch helplessly as everything happened around him. It was surprising how Wilder was still able to handle fighting with all of them despite how sick he was. But it wasn''t possible for him to continue like that because his entire body seized and he spat out a mouthful of blood. With the distraction, he received several cuts on his body from the others. Both on his arms and legs, but he still stood, even as blood poured out from several parts of his body. Richard began to panic and tried to move again, but Lord Zealot noticed and gestured with his head for him to be arrested. But just as they were about to get to him, they were distracted by flying arrows that came out of the incense smoke and hit two men, both on their legs. They let out a shout and suddenly went mute when two needles came flying out of the smoke and struck at some points in their bodies that made them still at once. Everyone''s direction went to the smoke, and much to their surprise, the silhouette of the person began to get closer while the men prepared to attack whoever was there. But when the person came out, they were all surprised to find a boy--no, it was a girl. But she was dressed like a boy and had a bow and arrows in her back, held a sword in her hand, and had knives tucked in her brocade boots. The things that gave her off as a girl were her long, wavy hair, feminine body, and swell of her chest. She looked around, and as soon as her eyes found Wilder, they widened. For the first time, Wilder''s eyes also revealed emotion. They widened slightly. As though he hadn''t expected her to be there. It was almost as if he was panicking. Richard felt the same way. A part of him hoped that she really wasn''t one and that this whole thing was just them wasting their time. He didn''t want anything to happen to her either. Besides, she had saved their lives before. But she had shown up. "THAT IS THE WITCH! CAPTURE HER!" Lord Zealot bellowed with excitement. However, the girl was already hurrying towards Wilder. "Don''t!" Wilder said in a dark voice, but she ignored him as she said, "This is for me too." She said this and used her sword to slice at the soldier who was about to attack her. One slice at his hand, two at both his legs, and one at this other hand. He fell to the floor in pain, as it was even too difficult to stand up. When she was not using her sword, she was shooting an arrow or throwing needles. One thing they all noticed was that she wasn''t killing anyone. She was only making them helpless. While she was fighting off the people on her path to Wilder. Wilder was doing the same. Richard watched. Every one of them was more than surprised to find a girl fighting like that. They doubted that training could have made her this way. It looked like she was gifted. They doubted that other witches were like her. But again, was she truly a witch? If she was one, why wasn''t she using any spells? The men shamelessly began to attack her two at a time, and as much as Wilder looked like he wanted to go and kick her out of there, whatever poison he had in his system was beginning to kick in, coupled with the wound in his heart that had been rapidly spreading. He fell to the floor with a painful growl, and as Anne watched in distraction, she was cut deeply by the side of her stomach. "NO!" Richard yelled just as she cried out in pain and dropped her sword to the ground. Wilder raised his head and found her kneeling with her hand on the right side of her stomach, where she had been cut and was dropping blood. Sir Zealot watched the two of them and suddenly let out a loudugh. "This is interesting." He muttered. As another guard was about to stab her, Zealot yelled, "KEEP HER ALIVE, YOU FOOL!" "She will lead us to the others." He instructed and added, "Arrest Prince Wilder immediately." He said smugly, seeing how the two were on the ground after rendering over half of his men handicapped. But things were not bound to go smoothly for him. With an angry look in his eyes, they watched Wilder as he pulled off his outer robe and began to transform into his wolf self. "DON''T!" Richard cried out. In that state, it was a bad idea for him to do that. He would die. "You are going to kill yourself." Lord Zealot said to Wilder, whose blue eyes had already turned a darker, angrier shade. He ignored them and let out a loud, painful growl, with all of his bones breaking as he shifted from his human form right before Anne, who was watching with widened eyes. The wolf wasrge and a mixture of ck and brown, and the blue colour of his eyes was a lot darker. When he stood to his full height, the men stepped back, pointing all their weapons as their keen eyes followed his whole movement. But Wilder didn''t fight. He took a big leap to where Anne was, and even though she was staring at him with wide eyes, she got up from the ground immediately and got on his back. It all happened quickly. Before the others knew it, he was running off with her, but not before she reached to grab his robe from the ground. "CATCH THEM!" Lord Zealot yelled. Chapter 399 Him Or Her The rest of the things that happened between Anne and Wilder, Richard didn''t know. But as the other warriors chased after them that evening, Richard followed too. He ran with all his might. Even though he had lived in this town for over 3 years, he didn''t know much about this area of the woods because Wilder had forbidden him from following Anne. So he was just as clueless as the other guards, who didn''t know exactly where he was taking her. However, something told him that Wilder would not take her far from there because he knew Wilder. He would want her to return, especially now that she has been injured. Fortunately, he was able to find them around a rocky area that had rocks big enough for a person to lean on. Richard didn''t approach. He couldn''t. Wilder had changed into his human form, and he simplyy on the ground. His robe was used to cover his body, and Anne kneeled beside him, crying. One hand was on his back, while the other was touching the side of her stomach that had been cut and was bleeding so much. She also had some injuries on her palms and face and a cut on her lip. Judging from those, he assumed she had probably fallen off his back or he had been too weak, and the two of them fell together. Wilder whined in pain and tried to turn to his side. Despite her pain, she tried to help him, but he shook his head. "Turn around." He instructed her weakly. Sheplied and turned around, while Richard stepped behind a tree to hide so she wouldn''t see him. Wilder wore the robe, and when he was done, he looked at her back and said, "You shouldn''t havee." She turned around to face him and found him tearing the bottom of his robe. When he was done, he sighed heavily and shifted to rest his back on one of the rocks before he turned his face to the side to look at her. "We... need to stop the blood." Speaking alone was difficult for him. "Raise your shirt." He instructed her. She didn''t speak at first and just shifted to share the rock with him before she turned to look at him. "How... long?" She asked, inferring how long he had known about her identity. "You don''t... seem scared yourself." He said, referring to his nature. "I... my mother... reacted badly when I said your name. I... also heard her talking to someone. So I... knew you were one." "Yet, here you are." He said before muttering, "Stupid." "I... really am." Sheughed, but tears poured out of her eyes at the same time. "Our... barrier is breaking. I felt something was wrong with you and wanted to check before I left with the others." "What if it was I who broke it?" He asked gently. "I... trust you." She said with teary eyes. "And I... am sorry I could not protect you." You looked at her in disbelief. "You really... know nothing about me. Yet you''ve saved me twice." He shook his head. "Come with me. My family can heal you. We are good at so many things. We are not evil, I swear." She tried to reassure him as she took his hand, holding him intimately for the first time. He looked at their hands before slowly removing his. "You should leave now. Before the moon appears." She shook her head stubbornly. "I will worry about you. Please. Let''s go together." She cried helplessly from both the physical pain she was in and the one in her heart. "Go. You are hurting." He spoke to her quietly. "And... I cannot save you." His voice was filled with hurt and helplessness. It was the first time in Richard''s life that he had heard Wilder sound like that. He was truly helpless, because even as he said that, he coughed out blood and groaned in pain. Anne wanted to help. She wanted to do something. But she could not do anything. She could only cry and watch him helplessly. "I''m... sorry for biting you that day." She sobbed and gently hugged him as he kept groaning in pain. "I''m sorry for everything. This is all my fault. If... if I had listened to my mother and stoppeding here, I... I never would have caused you this pain. I never would have destroyed our home." She cried in his arms, and he let her. Richard figured the pain in his heart must be killing him, but he didn''t push Anne away. He only quietly said, "It''s not your fault. None of it." "ANNE! ANNE!" They heard a woman calling for her, and their attention went to the woman who had shown up from the opposite side where Richard was hiding. As soon as Anne heard the voice, she pulled away from the hug and looked surprised as she managed to stand up while holding the side of her stomach in pain. "ANNE!" The woman cried when she saw her. Anne also burst into tears when she saw her mother, and when the older woman saw the blood on her clothes and hands and how she looked, she turned pale. She didn''t ask why Anne hade here, nor did she scold her. But her voice sounded urgent as she said, "We have to hurry before nightfall befalls us--" She paused as soon as her eyesnded on the man, who stood up from behind the rock and stood beside Anne. His look alone was so scary that the woman touched her chest in fear. "You... are a wolf." She spoke, and a red ball of light formed in her hand. She was about to strike when Anne stood in between, spreading her arms. "DON''T, MOTHER, HE''S MINE!" The woman was already in the middle of striking, so she diverted it to the side, and the ball hit a rock, shattering it. "That... is Prince W-Wilder?" Her mother asked in horror. "Mother, please save him! Let''s take him with us." Anne said in a pleading tone. "Have... you... lost your mind?" The woman asked in disbelief. "Our people are going to die! Do you... really want to end us like this?" The older woman cried. "Mo-Mother..." Anne cried. "You... are our only hope, Anne. Our pureblood. You cannot taint yourself like this." The woman pleaded. "I... don''t want to l-leave him." Tears streamed down her eyes, and she turned to look at Wilder behind her. "Go!" He ordered her in a cold voice. "You are hurt--" "They killed your grandparents!" Lady Avery yelled."Your father! And now they''ve hurt you. But you want to bring a wolf with you on a full moon night?" "Come here! We need to leave. You... you are hurting." Her mother cried in pain as she watched Anne, who was also crying. Anne let out heartbreaking cries. She wanted to obey her mother. It was obvious. But she also wanted to stay with Wilder.He was sick. "Did you know what happened to your aunt Leah?" Her mother asked amidst her tears. "She was just a young girl like you. Stubborn like you. Her dream was to be a painter. She wanted to live a simple life and even derived joy from the simplest of things. But... do you know what happened to her?" "SHE! THOSE PEOPLE!" She pointed at Wilder. "THEY BURNT HER ALIVE TO MAKE A POTION FOR THEMSELVES!" "YOU PROMISED TO STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!" She reminded her daughter before getting soft as she begged, "Please, Anne. Come with your mother." Chapter 400 CHAPTER 400! "THEY BURNT HER ALIVE TO MAKE A POTION FOR THEMSELVES!" Richard had to admit that what the Moon Kingdom had done to them was even more ridiculous now that Anne''s mother had put it like that. Anne''s eyes widened at the words her mother said, and she turned to look at Wilder. From the look on her face, the cut on her stomach was nothingpared to what she felt in her heart. "They... are monsters." Her mother cried. "Please, Anne." Richard felt his emotions rising again. The woman looked really broken standing there and facing an enemy she could not bring herself to hurt because of her daughter. "I... he... Wilder is... is not that kind of person." Anne said with tears in her eyes. "I trust him. He won''t do something like that to Aunt Leah." Wilder simply stared at her without saying a word. "You are really naive. Prince Wilder is the worst of them all." "Do you think they would have still been alive if we had nned to get rid of them too, just like they did with us? But we already swore on our lives that we were not going to take the lives of other people. But they... they are not like that." "But you tried to hurt him just now when you came here, and he hasn''t tried to hurt you!" "ANNE!" Her mother yelled at her in frustration. "Take your daughter with you. They areing soon." Wilder said in a hoarse voice as he wiped off the blood on his mouth with his sleeve. True to what Wilder had said, they could hear hurried footsteps and voices approaching. "W-Wilder..." Anne called him with tear-filled eyes. "Save yourself and your people." He said, looking straight into her eyes. She shook her head as more tears flowed down her face. "DO NOT BE STUBBORN!" He yelled at her. "I... cannot save... you." He said in a broken voice and turned his face away from her. "Please, Anne, let''s go." Her mother begged. "I have always allowed you to do all you wanted to do. Please, do this for me now." The woman pleaded before she chanted a spell that opened up a portal. Anne cried loudly as she looked at Wilder, who had turned his back to her. "We need to hurry! I can''t keep holding it." Her mother urged her before she hurried to pull Anne along with her, but she was careful so Anne wouldn''t get hurt more than she already had. Dejected, Anne realized it was the only option she could choose. "BE SAFE, WILDER!" She called loudly as her mother pulled her towards the portal. "LET''S... LET''S MEET AGAIN." She yelled amidst her tears. He turned to look at her just as they stepped into the portal, and thest thing they saw was her teary face. "We... won''t," Wilder muttered just as the portal disappeared together with them. "Anne," Wilder said her name for the first time as he looked at the empty space. He stood there for a while before he began tough. He continued tough even as tears rolled down his cheeks, and when he touched it and looked strangely at the liquid, hisughter increased. He took out a bottle from the pocket of his robe, and Richard''s eyes widened when he realized that was the potion Lord Zealot had given him. He had no idea how long Wilder had been with it or how much he knew. Richard''s feet were locked to that spot. He could not move. He could not go and meet Wilder. He had done this himself. He had caused everything. Wilder walked barefooted away from there, absentmindedly. Richard didn''t follow. He stood there. Waiting. Not sure what he was waiting for. Eventually, he got some news. Another round of fighting had started. Wilder had been cut a lot of times. And... he had also fallen off a cliff. They all knew it. Prince Wilder died that day. By the time night fell and the full moon was up in the sky, the barrier eventually broke, opening them to a rather surprising small vige. Some people had been able to escape, but they were also able to ughter many more people. Richard felt sick to his stomach. In all his life as a warrior, he had never encountered something so troubling. The worst part was that the witches weren''t exactly fighting to kill them, or maybe it was because they were too weak during the full moon, unlike wolves who were stronger. But Sir Zealot was ready to get rid of every single one of them, even making the warriors all shift into their wolf forms and tear them apart. Richard had recognized one of the witches who had stayed back. It was Anne''s mother. However, Anne was nowhere in sight. Lady Avery continued to use her strength to build a barrier against the warriors'' pration while the others fled. But the barrier wasn''t as solid because it was the full moon, which meant they weren''t as powerful as they were during the blood moon. She coughed up blood and even had a severe nosebleed; however, she didn''t stop until blood started rolling down her eyes like tears. While she was doing this, Sir Zealot had ordered more incense to be lit, which made it difficult for her. With her bloody face, she looked at the soldiers all around her and at Sir Zealot as she said, "Under the full moon, I curse thend youe from." She said before her voice grew louder, "YOU WILL ALL REGRET THIS DAY. THE DAY YOU HURT THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN''T FIGHT BACK! YOU WILL ALL DIE LONELY AND MISERABLE DEATHS. ONE FILLED WITH EMPTINESS AND REGRET. ALL OF YOU!" She coughed out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground just as the barrier around them crashed. Sadly, that was the end of her life and the lives of all the others who couldn''t make it in time to escape. Their screams echoed throughout the night before silence befell them. Under the full moon, the wolves had a great feast--a feast they celebrated every year in their kingdom tomemorate that moment. Chapter 401 The Separation They could all see the pain in Sir Richard''s eyes as he talked about how Anne''s family were killed. It was the first time either of them was seeing him that way. No one spoke immediately. They knew there was still more for him to say since it hadn''t ended there. However, the whole narration had a major impact on Alicia. She dug her nails into her palms and tried to endure the headache as memories that weren''t hers came flooding in. Parts of the conversation were about something she was familiar with. But now they hit her differently. "This is all my fault. I... I am so sorry, mother." Anne cried as she knelt with her head touching her mother''s feet. "I know." The woman sounded broken. She crouched down and raised Anne''s head to look at her teary face. Lady Avery smiled sadly as she cleaned off the tears with her hands, but they just kept pouring. "Do not me yourself. All of this was bound to happen." Anne shook her head. "It was me. If... if only I had listened to you¡ª" "You would have also regretted it for the rest of your life." Her mother spoke gently. "We... have never had a free life. We are always hiding. Always anxious." "I was just like you when I was a child. A very curious child. But I listened to my mother. And... I regret it a lot." "Sometimes I wish I went out to see the world outside our hiding spots. That... was why I let you do all you wanted. Because I didn''t want you to have regrets." "I regret it. I regret it a lot!" "But you were happy. The times you were there. I... am sorry." Lady Avery said, crying. "I am sorry that I can no longer make you happy. I... am sorry I cannot let you be with the man you want. No matter how you think about it, Prince Wilder doesn''t deserve you. You deserve better. And... I am sorry I cannot help you find a better man either." Anne shook her head and burst into tears as she held her mother dearly. "I don''t want to leave you. You are all I have. I... I can''t live without you." "This is the best for you. Live a normal life. Maybe one day you will be able to provide us with a home." "Mother..." Anne could not make out a word and only cried. "Do this for us, Anne. Live as human. You will be a queen, Anne. You will bear children, and they won''t have to live like we did. They are going to have a home and parents who love them. I believe in you. I... be-live in y-you." Her voice broke at the end, but it seemed she was making an effort not to cry. "I DON''T WANT TO LEAVE YOU!" "It may take longer. It may not be you now; it may be your child. Or another descendant of yours. But you need to survive to save us. And to release all the aggrieved souls and make them rest in peace." She said, trying so hard not to cry. "Go now! All preparations have been made. Survive my precious girl." The woman said and kissed Anne''s head. It was a long kiss. As though she were saying goodbye. And while tears ran down Anne''s eyes, they flowed down the woman''s too and dropped on Anne''s head like an anointing. And until the end, Anne didn''t want to part from her mother, but she was dragged away and forced into a portal, and with ast painful smile, her mother waved her goodbye before closing the portal. Anne''s friend hadn''t gone with her. It was something she had to do by herself. It was her destiny. Unfortunately, he had also died at the great feast that night. "Princess!" Harold called and shook Alicia back to consciousness. Alicia gasped loudly and opened her eyes, which had tears streaming down from them while she tried to catch them. It was unfair. It was so unfair. She blinked several times, used a hand to cover her mouth, and also threw her face to the side so she wouldn''t have to look at anyone or anything. What sort of sad life did her ancestors have? Now that she thought about it, had she also been included? She didn''t have it easy at all while growing up. And even after making a name for herself, she had to work twice as hard as other actresses just because of how anxious she always felt about people knowing about her. And her worst nightmare had alsoe true. Now, she was thinking about something she hadn''t thought of in a long time. Her biological mother. Where was she? What happened to her? "Do you want to return for tonight?" Harold whispered to Alicia with concern. She shook her head. She was going to take it all now. She needed to feel the pain once and for all to know who exactly she was going to take out her anger on. "Queen Anne." Alicia looked at Richard. "What exactly happened to her?" She asked as she sat up in her seat and looked at the man with a dark gaze. He was one of the elders she respected in the court. But now... Lord Richard looked down. It seemed like this part was even more painful for him to talk about. "We do not have all night." Harold reminded him. He sounded cold and angry. Sir Richard sighed heavily before telling them what had happened. Not the rumours they had heard around. But from the source who had been there. "It was all Lord Zealot''s." He said in a heavy voice. Even after years had passed and the leader of the witches'' vige, Lady Avery, was dead, the Moon Kingdom was still tense, most especially Lord Zealot, whose health had taken a major hit. Against Richard''s will, he was made to serve Lord Zealot, and for the obvious reason, Lord Zealot held him in high esteem and drew him closer like a trusted guard. So he had been around to see Lord Zealot gradually go crazy with worry. Since Wilder''s body wasn''t exactly found and the little witch was also not found, the paranoia continued to eat him up and make him go crazy to the point where he hallucinated and could no longer sleep well at night. The king seemed to have been concerned about his health because he visited Lord Zealot in his chamber twice a week and even humbled himself to care for the man, something Richard never understood since it was the same man who had made his reign hell. Unfortunately, during one of his episodes, Lord Zealot strangled his wife to death with his hands. ***** A/N Sorry about the break. My sick leave was over so I had to resume work. Next chaptering shortly. Chapter 402 At 20 Lord Zealot was a man of great ego. So he revered being worshipped by the people for getting rid of the witch leader and tried as much as possible to hide how paranoid he was feeling, especially with the strange deaths of a few elders. However, with the birth of Harold, everything became worse for him, as he could feel his influence dying. He had also taken his anger out on Arya. Even though she was the queen, he had assaulted her a couple of times, including hitting her for not bearing an Alpha. Then imagine what he did to her when she gave birth to not only a girl but an Omega. Unfortunately for him, it was difficult to control things when he wasn''t very sane. He needed to live a long life to be able to shape the kingdom back into what it was supposed to be. When he could not hold it anymore and needed a good excuse to start witch-hunting again, he opened up about the curse, bringing back fear in the elders. It was around the same time his wife had died "mysteriously," ording to what everyone else knew. He was Lord Zealot after all, so it didn''t take much for people to believe him, and they also trusted him to get rid of the others, iming that by getting rid of all of them, whatever stupid curse would be lifted. But in reality, Lord Zealot wanted to find that girl. She was the direct descendant of the witch leader, and he believed she had the power to lift the curse and make him sane again. Also, he had been suspecting that the girl was probably protecting Wilder, and if they found her, they would find him, even though he had a strong feeling that Wilder was dead. There was no way anyone could survive what had happened to him. Not even if the greatest witch helped them. And once again, Richard was forced into it. This time, the search was difficult since they had no idea where the rest of the witches were spread out. They only knew Anne''s face, but this has been six years since then, and she must have changed. However, they still used her portrait, and a yearter, they received ''good news''. It was anonymous information that the person they were looking for resided in a certain kingdom, and not just that, she was the current queen. That was how they found out about Anne and also realized that the one who had informed them was none other than a concubine whom Lord Zealot was able to use his influence to make queen after Anne''s public execution. The Moon Kingdom was influential, as was Lord Zealot. So it was quite easy for him to influence decisions in this small kingdom. Besides, it also seemed like the king had been looking for an opportunity to get rid of Anne but couldn''t because of how she was adored by the vigers. With the im of her being a witch, the King was more than happy toply with her execution. But had it been that simple? Of course not. Richard remembered when he saw her again back then. He hadn''t wanted to join them. But Lord Zealot has kept an invincible leash around his neck since that incident. He had felt very guilty, and when she looked at him from the dungeon gate, he prayed for the moon goddess to take him away¡ª to kill him so he could atone for his sins. Anne looked a lot different. It was 7 years since thest time he saw her. He heard tales about her when they arrived in this vige. How she helped people, freed ves, and was adored by the vigers. And once again, Richard showed up in her life to ruin it once again. "I... am sorry." Richard apologized when he visited her in the dungeon. Anne looked haggard and bruised from the interrogation. She sat on the dirty floor in the dark, stinking cell, and her little daughter was sleeping on herp. "Tomorrow. I will help you escape. There is a boat¡ª" "This is my fate," Anne said in a quiet, defeated tone. It was as if she already knew this. She didn''t put up a fight. She just epted it all. He looked at her with guilt and sadness before he fell to his knees. "Let me... let me at least save you." He begged. "He... is gone, isn''t he?" She asked. Richard sniffed and nodded. She blinked and sniffled before looking at him with a sad smile. "If you wanted to save me, you wouldn''te here. But I can see it. Our fates will constantly be intertwined. Even after death." She sniffled again and looked like she was going to cry, but she only nodded and looked to the other side, ignoring Richard until he eventually left while in tears. Lord Zealot had tried to have her lift the curse her mother had ced on them. He had even tried to bargain with her to let her go if she did that. But from the look on her face, she didn''t believe it. Even Anne who didn''t know him did not believe his offer but Richard, who knew the man quite well had believed him like a fool all those years ago. "I cannot lift your curse because I feel aggrieved just like my people." Those words sounded like knives to Lord Zealot''s heart. "Then how can the curse be lifted." He asked at once, looking hopeful. "Only from a descendant who had not been born at the time the curse was ced. Who wasn''t in the world when the blood of our people was shared." She said in a serious tone. Lord Zealot pondered before asking, "Your... daughter?" "Save her. And let her live. At 20, she will have the power to break your curse and set you free." Anne instructed. Richard didn''t know whether she was telling the truth or simply wanted to save her daughter. And Lord Zealot looked like he felt she was deceiving him too. "So we should live with your curse until she is 20? That is not possible! She will just die with you!" Lord Zealot said, his face red in annoyance. ***** A/N I''ve been away due to a family issue. Been with my aunt for a couple of days now. She was preparing for surgery and finally had itst night. It''s been quite hectic for me and I''m hoping I''ll be able to do my best with the updates after she travels back tomorrow. 15/04/2023 Chapter 403 Ill-Fated Richard and Lord Zealot waited for her to give in, but Anne seemed unfazed. She simply shrugged and said, "That is fine then. Everyone in your kingdom can keep rotting. And all of this will be for nothing because you will die, and so will your entire generation until there is no one left to remember you and all of these disgusting achievements you think you have." Her words and entire countenance took them back to that night 7 years ago, when her mother had caused them and it awakened fear in them. Lord Zealot bellowed. "HOW DARE YOU¡ª" "YOU WILL NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE AT ME!" Anne yelled at him with fire in her eyes. "If you really do not wish to see the next full moon. Go on and raise that voice again." She threatened in a dark voice. Even Richard was shaken. From her tone, she was serious, and they couldn''t take her words lightly. Lord Zealot stared at her and swallowed before he cleared his throat and asked calmly, "How do I believe you? What if you are trying to give her enough time to gather more witches ande for revenge in the future?" "Cowards." Anne snorted. "Now I know why you have been constantly hunting us down. Pathetic cowards." Lord Zealot''s face turned red. He looked like he wanted to blow up, but he kept it in. "You can keep her isted and watched. Away from this kingdom. Take her maid, Paulina, with her. And most especially, keep her away from the Moon Kingdom." Lord Zealot didn''t like that. "If we keep her under my watch in the Moon Kingdom, she will grow just fine, and I will know what she is up to." Lord Zealot said in a tone that said he was not willing topromise and let the girl live in a ce where he wouldn''t be able to tell what she was up to. "Do you think a descendant with such blood filled with resentment can bring peace to those who''ve caused our ancestors nothing but sorrow if she lived in yournd?" Anne asked, almost sounding amused. "It''s different if she lives away. But if she lives within, whether intentionally or not, tragedy is bound to keep happening in your kingdom." Anne looked pointedly at Zealot as she ordered, "Keep her away and safe. Until she is 20." Anne turned and left the room when she was done. She didn''t beg or try to confirm if he was truly going to keep her daughter safe. She had this confidence around her, as though she knew her daughter was going to be safe. Lord Zealot looked like he didn''t believe her. But at that point, he didn''t have a choice. Besides, he felt like a 6-year-old girl was harmless. So he rted it to the king to keep her isted. The king hadn''t been pleased since he didn''t want another witch who was going to outshine him around, so he had dly sent her far away to the mountains. He also reasoned that executing Anne and her daughter was going to make the vigers angry, so by keeping the little one alive, they would still see him as a merciful leader. Only Lord Zealot and Richard knew about the girl who was exiled. But Richard suspected that the King knew. King Eli seemed to know a lot more than he let on and that always made Richard ufortable. It was another reason why Sir Richard had been stationed in that district all those years to keep an eye on what was happening with her over the mountain away from the Moon Kingdom. But after Lord Zealot died in his sleep shortly after, Richardpletely ignored it. Richard didn''t even care about the stupid curse. If it was going to bring their doom, they all deserved it. He had also been too guilty to ever meet her, and eventually, he forgot about her. Honestly, he hadn''t known it was her in the pce all this time until her identity was revealed. He was wrong to have acted like he knew nothing and watched her almost die. Harvey just stared at his father as though he were looking at a stranger. He could not believe it. Harold was also deep in thought because all he had heard tonight was something he hadn''t heard before. Not only about his uncle, Prince Wilder, who had barely been mentioned in the kingdom, but also about his rtionship with Anne, and not just that, he had also heard about his mother. He had never cared for Lord Zealot. He barely met the man when he was alive, but he knew how much influence he had. "Why?" Harvey asked in a heartbreaking voice. "Why... did you remain here after... doing all that?" "WHY DID YOU ACT SO HONOURABLE?!" Harvey yelled in anger. "WHY DID YOU TRY TO GET BENEDICTA MARRIED INTO THE SAME FAMILY WHO DID ALL THAT? WHY DID YOU TRY TO MAKE ME GET MARRIED TO LADY SUSAN?" Sir Richard kept his head down through Harvey''s outburst. "Why... do you have to disappoint me like this?" A tear ran down Harvey''s eyes, and he didn''t even try to hide it as he buried his face in his palm and began to cry. Alicia looked at him. She had been trying so hard not to cry, but seeing him cry like this made tears leave her eyes. "Sir Richard," she called him. He looked up at her. "I... think I can understand you to some extent," Alicia said to him as she cleaned her tears. "It must have been difficult being given such unfair options. You had to save your family and that of yourdy wife. And you did your best. You thought you could handle things without bloodshed. You tried to stay loyal." Sir Richard looked up and blinked back tears as he tried to remain calm, but his emotions weren''t letting him, and tears escaped his eyes. "But... Anne... my mother... was a child." She said in a tight voice filled with pain. "She... didn''t deserve it. She saved your life and that of your Prince. Your friend." Sheughed in disbelief. "I don''t care for whatever happened to Prince Wilder. Even though... Anne loved him, he wasn''t exactly a good person. But... Anne... my mother... was a good person. You... should have done better for her." She choked on her words in tears and turned to look at Harvey, who had just realized what an ill-fated rtionship he had with Amber. And when the time came for Amber to draw her sword for revenge, she might point it at him too. Their fates were all connected. Chapter 404 This Author Is Apologizing For The Break. A/N ***** I deeply apologize for the break. I had a very busy time at work this week, and I could not keep up with my writing at all. Hopefully, I''ll be able to update this book every day in April until it finally ends. ****** Harold just looked at Alicia''s back as she walked slowly to her chamber, her mind filled with thoughts. Too many thoughts. He walked behind her slowly and didn''t ask her any questions or try to find out what she was thinking about. He understood her. Everything was hard to take in. She had simply stood up and left the room, and he had followed her, leaving just a disappointed Harvey with his father. It was alreadyte in the evening and the first bell had already been rung, but that didn''t seem to bother Alicia at all as she still walked slowly. "Come out," Harold suddenly ordered, making Alicia stop walking, but she didn''t turn to look at him immediately. However, she heard ruffling beside them and turned to find a guilty-looking Susan nervouslying out of her hiding spot. Susan bowed to acknowledge the two of them and said nothing. Her eyes looked sad as if she had cried. Alicia could tell she had heard their conversation. But how much? She had no idea. "What were you doing there by this time?" Harold asked her. "It was an ident!" She spoke defensively. "I... didn''t follow you there, I swear it." Harold kept his suspicious gaze on her, and it took a moment before she realized that she was indeed suspicious. So she quickly exined, "I... was told I smelled a lot like Princess Amber, so I... had to get rid of it first by getting rid of every smell. I didn''t do it for any hidden purpose." She quickly exined and briefly wondered how he had been able to know she was there. Alicia simply acknowledged her with a nod and started walking ahead. Too tired to start a conversation. "It... never gets better, does it?" Susan asked, stopping Alicia in her tracks, and slowly turning to face her. "You are... angry at me, aren''t you?" Susan asked her. "Why would I?" She asked in a tired voice. "Lord... Zealot." Susan said softly. "Since he... since he... he is my grandfather," she said with her head down. Alicia sent her a small smile as she said, in an exhausted tone, "Well, you are not him. You are very... different from him." Susan looked at her with tear-streaked eyes and slowly nodded before asking, "Will... you be okay?" "I will try. Don''t wander about. Good night." Susan hesitated, but she nodded slowly. She spared Harold a nce and bowed before she left. When it was just the two of them left, Alicia turned around and looked at Harold, and he could see how exhausted she was. But more than exhaustion, there was something he could not read in her gaze. And it didn''t give him a good feeling. She gave him a weak smile simr to the one she had given Susan before walking closer to him, and then she embraced him. Out of the blue. He was startled at first, but he recovered quickly and hugged her back. "I am tired." She said with a heavy sigh. "I know," he replied softly. "Then let me hug you for a bit." She said softly and tightened her hold around him. The second bell rang with the two of them in that position. None of them flinched at the loud, intruding sound that broke the peaceful silence of the night. He wanted her to say something. Anything at all. Thankfully, she did. But of all the things he had expected her to say first, she said thest thing he had expected. "Do you think your mother ever loved the king?" She asked, still in his embrace. Did he think so? He had no idea. He barely knew anything about his mother. So how would he know about her affection for the king? However, he did have an idea. "I... don''t think she did." He shook his head. "Why do you think so?" "I do not take after the King much. Therefore, if I take after her, then I doubt she felt any real affection for him that was not forced in because she was born vulnerable to a person like him." He spoke softly, but she could hear the quiet anger in his voice. "She wouldn''t... genuinely care for someone who ruined her life like that." Alicia nodded as she echoed thest statement he had made. "She wouldn''t genuinely care for someone who ruined her life like that." "I wouldn''t either." She said, her voice still very weak. "I... am A-Alicia." She said in a broken voice. He wondered why she was telling him that. "But to everyone else, I am Amber. Princess Amber." "People may also wonder why Amber has such deep feelings for Prince Harold when his family ruined hers." "They may wonder why I do not have any ill feelings towards Susan when her grandfather ruined my family." "They may wonder why Amber chose to be close to Harvey if they find out the role his father yed in the whole thing. Or why Amber is okay with Paulina being that close to Williams." She suddenly let out augh. "No wonder many of them were convinced that I was here for revenge. It''s the normal thing to do in my case. The reasonable thing for Amber to do." "And yet¡ª" He heard her sniff and let out a quiet sob. Harold tried to break free from the hug to look at her, but she held on to him tightly, refusing to let go. She didn''t want to. "I... love you. Very much, Harold." She sniffled. "It''s difficult for me to show it to you, but it''s because... I don''t know how best to show it to you." "You... are the best thing that has ever happened... to me." "And for you, I want to always be better. And I want you to be better too. To not just be feared, but to be loved." "A-licia¡ª" "I didn''t mind giving up my civilized existence to be here with you. I didn''t even mind how my life suddenly jumped from normal to paranormal¡ª" "Princess¡ª" "But... I am scared." "I cannot stop thinking about this whole thing. I cannot stop thinking about Anne. I cannot stop thinking about Amber." "I know that Amber wouldn''t want any of this. She... would hate it." "She would hate you. She would hate me too. And then if she finds out about Sir Richard, she is going to hate Harvey too. I have... a bad feeling about all this." He also had a bad feeling about this. And that was because whenever he tried to focus on the present, something just showed up to remind them that Amber was most likely going to show up one day and everything would be messed up. "Alicia..." He called her softly and forcefully broke free from the hug to look at her teary face. She closed her eyes and didn''t look at him. All he could see were the tears all over her face. It was just as Susan had said. It never gets better. ***** A/N (2) I''ll be getting off work soon. So I''ll try to upload another chapter. Let''s hope for a great weekend! Chapter 405 Just For Tonight Harold could understand how she felt. Maybe Alicia would wish to turn a blind eye and forgive them because it hadn''t directly affected her, but she was a descendant. And she was living inside the body of one of the people it had directly affected. As a little girl, Amber''s life suddenly took a bad turn when her mother was publicly executed and she was sent out into istion. Amber must have hated the people responsible for putting her entire maternal lineage in that condition. So what if she woke up one day and found out that she was not only married to, but surrounded by all of those people? ¡ª Lord Zealot''s descendants, which include the queen, Sir Evan, Williams, Susan, Ivan, and Tyra. And also those that were indirectly rted to him, including Luciana and Lady Victoria. ¡ª The former king''s descendants, which include King Eli and Harold, to whom she was married to. ¡ª Sir Richard and his family, including Harvey, who had always been her friend. ¡ª And the entire residents of the Moon Kingdom. How would Amber handle something like this? It would definitely be tough for her. Even though Harold wanted to focus on the future, even though he didn''t want to care about all that now, he couldn''t help it. He couldn''t help how much he understood her. He thought about the best thing to do for Alicia now. She needed a distraction from all of this. At least for tonight. Thinking fast, he realized there was only one thing he could probably do for her now. "Would you... like to see yourself? Would it make you happy?" He asked her hesitantly. "I don''t want to." She shook her head as soon as he asked. "That isn''t me. It''s Queen Anne. And I would just end up feeling terrible agai¡ª" "Not... the painting." He cut her off. Alicia looked at him with her teary eyes, wondering what else he was talking about if it wasn''t the painting. Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile before he locked their fingers together. "Just trust me." He spoke quietly to her before leading her to her chamber. Alicia followed quietly. She didn''t even have the energy to ask him a question. She just wanted to trust him now. She looked at their locked fingers and tightened her hold on his hand. Of course, she trusted him. And she hoped there was a way¡ªor any kind of miracle¡ªto help her get through this night sane. As soon as they got to her chamber, he locked the door, and with his gentle hands on her shoulders, he turned her around to face him and reached to clean her tears with his hands. Then he went to find thentern and lit it, making the room brighter, before turning to look at Alicia, who was still standing. Then he dipped his hand into his pant pocket and took something out. Alicia''s eyes followed every movement of his. She looked at the clear liquid he held in a small bottle with confusion. "It''s a potion." He informed her as he also looked at it. "What''s it for?" She asked curiously. Her first guess was that it would help her sleep. But at this point, she was beginning to feel wary about potions. "It''s known to help reveal things that are hidden. For what they truly are." He exined before walking to her. Once again, he took her hand and led her to the bed, making her sit down before he sat down beside her, the two facing each other. "It can help you see yourself. The real you." Her eyes slowly widened, and she looked at the potion in his hand before looking back at him. Wasn''t this what Paulina had talked about? "How... is it possible?" She asked with a mixture of surprise and confusion. Harold decided to be honest with her about this. He would respect whatever decision she came to. If she wanted to take it or not. But he had to make sure he ryed it exactly as Lady Victoria had exined it to him. He remembered how Lady Victoria had exined it to him and said the same thing to her. "When humans were at war with our kind, it was used to identify the werewolves hiding among them since humans cannot really tell." She looked down at the bottle, obviously not getting it. "It means that if my kind is made to drink the potion, they would appear in their true form against their will¡ª their souls. Which is our wolf form for our kind." "That sounds... like magic," Alicia whispered. She didn''t think it was the kind of potion that normal people were able to make. Harold had felt that way too. And when he voiced out that he didn''t think humans could make something like that, Lady Victoria had answered, "Anything is possible in this world. As long as there are witches in existence." "Did she make this herself?" Alicia asked curiously as she took the bottle from him and looked at it closely. "Someone else did. But shepleted the process." He answered. She looked up and deeply into his eyes. "How... did your kind know how to make things like this?" she asked curiously. "If this wasmon here, I believe it would have been easier to identify witches by making them drink this. The noblemen would have suggested I take this too," she said thoughtfully. Harold''s brows pulled together as he pondered it. He hadn''t thought about it like this. "By chance..." she stopped talking and shook her head. She didn''t want to suspect Lady Victoria''s family of anything. Maybe they were just too good. But if that wasn''t the case, maybe their medical reputation was a lot more than it seemed on the surface. Even though she wasn''t saying anything, Harold seemed to be seriously thinking about it too. And now he was beginning to wonder about the identity of the physician who lived on the outskirts of town. "We are probably just overthinking it." She said, sighing. "I think I''m just very sensitive now after all I heard." Alicia tried to assure him. He was already building a good rtionship with Lady Victoria, and she seemed to be an honest person. She didn''t want to make him put his guard up again. "It''s okay if you do not want to take it." He said and tried to take it from her, but she moved it out of his reach. "We should... at least try." She said and gave him a tiny smile. She could see how hesitant he was now. Besides, they weren''t sure what exactly was going to happen if she took it and if it was truly going to reveal her real self or something else. Now that Alicia was showing interest in it, Lady Victoria''s words echoed in his ears: "I do not know who you are going to use this on, but you have to think about it very carefully. You don''t want to bring out something you didn''t n for." "How long does the effectst?" Alicia asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Only a few hours. You... can only take it once." He said to her, remembering all of Lady Victoria''s instructions, or rather warnings. "Thank you," Alicia said honestly and reached out to touch his face gently. "For thinking about this." She whispered. "And you do not need to worry too much. I do not think I can die easily. It''s now my decision to try this." "The worst that might happen is that I may be able to see more of Anne and Amber''s lives. I believe everything that happens here is just like the fulfilment of the reason why I was brought here in the first ce." He sighed heavily and touched her hand, which was on his face before he looked down and nodded. "Will I seem selfish if I tell you to take a break?" He muttered as he looked deeply into her eyes. He too looked exhausted. "You do not deserve this. It feels like an endless punishment for you. You need a break. Please." He spoke softly, making tears cloud Alicia''s eyes. She sniffled and cleaned her eyes before smiling at him. "Would you... like to see me?" "Can I?" He asked meekly, and she let out augh. "Would I do this if you weren''t going to see me?" She asked in an amused tone before she stood up. "Wait here." She whispered to him before she headed toward the bathroom. When she got there, she shut her eyes tightly and prayed to whatever deity had sent her here. Just for tonight, they had to help her and make this work. She dipped herself into the water and just stayed there for a while with her eyes still shut in prayer. Just for tonight. Please. Harold waited in the room. He was impatient but tried to stay still as he prayed in his heart to whatever god or goddess had sent Alicia to him for the potion to work since he wasn''t exactly sure how it would work in her case. But he wasn''t this anxious for himself. It was for her. If she could only be herself for the next few hours. Not for anyone, not even for himself. But for herself. He wanted her to stop thinking about anything else and remember that she was still existing and focus on the present. Whatever future they had, he was going to be there to help her sort through it. But for now... just for tonight. For her sake. He felt the curtain shift after a long time. It felt like time stood still at that moment as he turned his attention in that direction at once. Chapter 406 "Our Moment" Alicia just stood there with a towel around her chest and another around her hair, her heart racing and her body shaking slightly. Things were different. She wasn''t sure what was going to happen when she took the potion in one gulp, but she had braced herself. She felt a strange sensation creep over her body. It was as if she were shedding her skin, revealing a new, unfamiliar body underneath. She could feel her bones shifting and her muscles elongating. She had never felt anything like it before. And the interesting part about it all was that it didn''t cause her any pain. She had stepped out into the dimly lit room to be sure she wasn''t just overthinking it. When her eyes locked with Harold''s, he just stared. He stared. Without a word and ever so slowly, he stood up from the bed and just continued to stare at her with all his attention. It seemed to her that even if the world were burning at that moment, it wouldn''t distract him. Slowly, she looked down at her hands, and a soft gasp escaped her lips. They were different--slender and graceful, with delicate fingers that looked like they had never done a day''s work in their lives. It was just as she remembered. Her hands had been one of her biggest insecurities when she was younger. All the manualbour made it look anything but feminine. But thanks to the life of luxury. She had taken extra care of her hands so she wouldn''t be reminded of those days when she saw them. She slowly reached for the towel around her hair and loosened it. And as it fell to the floor, her damp hair fell along the way to her shoulders. It wasn''t the short bob she had cut. It was long. She covered her mouth with her hand immediately, and her eyes turned misty as she looked at Harold, whose eyes were surprisingly just as misty as hers. She didn''t want to be too hopeful. She needed to be sure she wasn''t imagining this. So she hurried to the mirror on the dressing table and stood in front of it. This time the gasp that left her lips was louder, and tears ran down her cheeks. It was her. Not Amber. Not Anne. It was her. Alicia. Harold couldn''t believe what he was seeing. He had always known Alicia as ''Amber''. Never had he seen her in another form. But now, standing before him, was apletely different person. He couldn''t take his eyes off her. It was just as she had said. She looked a lot like the woman in the painting Paulina had made. She looked even better. A lot better. "Your eyes are really blue..." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Alicia barely registered his words, as she was too focused on the reflection in the mirror. She had been too used to being in Amber''s body that it felt like she was looking at a stranger--a woman with high cheekbones, full lips, blue eyes, and long, flowing hair. Alicia''s eyes widened as she realized that the woman in the mirror was her. Harold felt a lump form in his throat as he looked at her. He had always wanted to see how she truly looked, but he never expected her to look this beautiful. He felt a surge of emotions rise within him, and he had to fight to keep them in check. He watched as she touched the mirror, testing to see if it was real. Then she locked eyes with him in the mirror, and he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. She hadn''t thought that this day woulde. Never had she thought there woulde a time when seeing her own reflection would bring her so much emotional pain and relief. Harold stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her from the back, pulling her close. She could feel his warmth against her skin, and it was a smallfort in the midst of her confusion and fear. She closed her eyes and epted his hug while he continued to look at her in the mirror. "It feels... surreal," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "How... is this p-possible?" Harold felt his own emotions bubbling up to the surface. He had never seen Alicia so vulnerable before, and it was breaking his heart. But at the same time, he could not say exactly how he felt about this. Saying he was d was an understatement. This was the best distraction she needed, and he was d it worked out just fine. "I don''t know," he said, his voice gentle. "But I am d it worked. You are the most beautiful being I have ever seen." He said in awe and ced a kiss on the top of her head without taking his eyes off her in the mirror. Alicia leaned into him, soaking up hisfort. For now, she was just grateful to have Harold there with her, holding her close and helping her navigate this. She was d because not only was she reminded of herself and what she looked like, but Harold could see her for her true self, even though this was going to be short. And Harold was grateful to finally see the real Alicia--the woman he had fallen in love with. She opened her eyes slowly and locked eyes with him through the mirror. When their eyes connected, he smiled at her and said her name softly. "Alicia Queen." She smiled at him and reached to wipe the tears out of her face while he dropped another kiss on her head. They both still stared at each other in the mirror as she slowly put down her hand. "It feels strange." He whispered. "What is?" She whispered back. "I''m just seeing you like this for the first time. But you don''t seem like a stranger to me at all. As if I''ve always known you like this." "Maybe you have been able to convince yourself a long time ago since you saw that painting." She spoke softly. "Maybe." He spoke quietly and leaned down to drop a kiss on her shoulder. When she unconsciously tilted her head to the side and exposed her neck, he paused and just stared at it. ''MARK IT!'' He heard the sharp order in his head and shut his eyes immediately. Alicia simply watched him in the mirror. He was still leaning closer to her, but he wasn''t doing anything and kept his eyes tightly shut. She could also feel the rhythm of his chest. He was breathing heavily. "My Lord?" She called softly. His eyes slowly opened, and they locked gaze in the mirror again. But this time, her breathing hitched when she saw his eyes. The blue was mixed with a tint of red. He shut his eyes again and shook his head as he said, "This is your moment. I... don''t want to be selfish." His voice was dark and heavy. It was a tone she had never heard before. And the type that was supposed to make her wary. But no. They did other things to her instead. She turned around to face him and looked up at him while he looked down at her. Both their eye colours were strange to the other person. She reached for his face, and as soon as she touched it, he leaned into the touch and shut his eyes again. "This is... our moment." She whispered before gently cupping his face with both hands. And as she slowly brought his head down, she stood on her tiptoes, and just when their faces were only a few inches apart, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Our moment." She repeated and saw how his eye coloured flickered until it looked like they were purple before he leaned down and aggressively captured her lips with his. Alicia held on to him tightly as she tried to keep up, but it was all at his pace-- a rather fast pace, as though he were fighting with himself. So she decided to give the same energy. This was her. This was her body. And all of her pent-up feelings for him were released at that moment. Without breaking the kiss, he lifted her effortlessly in his arms until she was wrapped around him and had her towel entirely riding up. She reached for the buttons in his shirt and began to hastily undo them but Harold suddenly stopped what he was doing and carefully dropped her to sit on top of her dressing table. They both locked eyes, both breathing heavily and with a wicked smirk, Harold tore the shirt out of his body, sending the stubborn buttons flying everywhere. Her lips slowly curled up. Her gaze was different. It was a way she had never looked at him before. Or maybe because he had never seen her like this before. He wasn''t exactly sure. He watched how she absentmindedly bit her nail as she looked at his body with a lustful gaze. And then he moved closer to her. When he stood in front of her, he took the hand out of her mouth and ced it on his abdomen to make her feel it. Her breathing hitched up and so did his before he leaned closer and took her left earlobe in his mouth while a hand went underneath her towel. Chapter 407 "Dont Fight It," [SEXUAL CONTENT AHEAD] 18+ ONLY. **** Not that there was much on the dressing table, but everything on it fell to the ground, causing a noise in the peaceful night. But the two responsible for it didn''t flinch. Harold''s lips found her neck, and as he kissed and suckled, it took everything in him not to take a bite, even though his wolf was desperately fighting for it. Alicia''s hands were all over him. She could not get enough of touching him in her real skin. And the thought made a sob escape her lips. A happy sob. Harold stopped kissing her immediately, as did the hand on her thigh. He buried his head in her shoulder in defeat as he panted and shook his head. "I''m so stupid. I''m sorry--" "No." She shook her head as she spoke softly while running her hand through the locks of his hair. "I''m... happy to be with you like this." She said before bringing his face up so he would look at her. He looked at her; the purple in his eyes had faded back to blue, with only some hints of red still loitering around. But he seemed to have returned to his senses. She wrapped her hands around his neck and brought him down again, pressing their lips together. This time, he wasn''t as aggressive as he was earlier. He wasn''t simply being guided by lust for Alicia Queen but by desire and love. As much as his crazy wolf was trying to show up and force its way to handle things in the usual aggressive way, Harold did all he could to push it back while he let Alicia take the charge this time. Without hesitation, her tongue entered and stroked against his. When he let out a guttural growl, Alicia giggled into his mouth, and so did he. Once again, she wrapped her legs around his waist and removed one hand from around his neck to shamelessly glide down his body to the lower region. Before her hand could touch the ''prize,'' he lifted her effortlessly off the table and started walking towards the bed. She yelped in surprise and quickly went back to holding him around his neck, but it was practically useless because she was dropped to the bed while he hovered above her without crushing her with his waist, and in that position, his long hair fell forward. Alicia watched as he sexily used a hand to push them from his face to the back. His muscles bulged right in front of her eyes. Of course, he had always been this sexy. She felt an intense heat burning her from within, and all of a sudden, even the towel weakly wrapped around her waist was too much clothing for her. Slowly, with their gazes firmly locked, she reached to loosen it. Harold blinked at her. He just stared at her, his eyes moving from her face down to the swells of her breasts and then to her smooth stomach. He couldn''t see more since he was hovering above her, but the only one he had seen sent his entire system into overdrive. She kept her gaze on him, studying all the emotion that went through his face. He turned his face to the side, using a hand to cover his face as his breathing turned ragged and unsteady. She saw how red his face was and lifted herself so that she was propped with both elbows behind. "Don''t fight it," she whispered. His head instantly turned to look at her, his eyes returning to purple. Alicia was curious about the eye changes. But this was not the best time to ask. It was time to do other things. His eyes went back to her breasts, and he just stared in awe. "This... is what they look like," he muttered as he brought a hand to cup one of them. "Soft," he said as the words almost caught in his throat. "You''ve never seen one before..." She remarked and arched her back into his touch, biting her lower lip. He shook his head as he kept his focus on her body, which his hands were busy exploring. He looked like a kid who had just seen a toy for the first time and was trying to learn how it worked. However, it felt different for Alicia because his touch did crazy things to the rest of her body. His eyes moved from her chest to her face, where he locked eyes with her and just stared at her with an intense gaze she could not read. "What... is it?" She managed to breathe out. "I... can''t exin it." He said in a husky voice. "I... like you. A lot." He frowned in confusion as if he didn''t even know why he was saying it. A smile broke on her face, and at once he was kneeling on the bed and lifting her off the bed into his arms. Once again, she was straddling him with both their upper bodies bare and pressing hard into each other, but while he still had his pants on and even his shoes, the towel was still around her waist and hadn''t fallen off. However, the position was just perfect for her to feel exactly how aroused he was for her, and she let out a gasp as soon as she felt it pressing onto her core. Once again, the aggression was back. His lips trailed from her lips to her ear, and he then nibbled his way down her neck again. She arched her back up, rubbing against him, nearly purring at every nip, kiss, and lick he gave her. Harold seemed to also be very affected by what she was doing because his growls were bing more ferocious and his actions were bing hastier. He dropped her back on the bed, and this time, the towel fell offpletely, leaving her entirely naked. Alicia did not try to rush him. She let him explore and learn. She wanted him to learn about her body. To know her body. And only hers. His eye roamed over her body to between her thighs. He cocked his face to the side as he withdrew to have a proper look at her right there. Alicia''s face flushed red, and her breathing was still erratic, but she said nothing. "You... are sweating a lot here." He said in a hoarse voice as he tentatively dipped a finger, which slid freely into her. When she let out an erotic gasp, he immediately took out his finger and looked at her with pure amazement. Alicia swore she would haveughed. But she didn''t have it in her to do so. She remembered a conversation she had had with Luciana at the time Luciana was trying to get close to her for the queen; she had mentioned Harold had refused to take sses on how to be a dutiful husband, a.k.a. sex education. She could see the oue. **** A/N Just got back from work. It''s so exhausting! Chapter 408 Marking... WARNING: SKIP IF YOU''RE UNDERAGED OR UNCOMFORTABLE. [SEXUAL CONTENT INCLUDED] **** Harold looked at his finger, which was wet. He carefully observed the liquid. It didn''t look or feel like sweat at all. Alicia''s patience was running thin. But for some reason, just watching him was still fun for her. He raised the wet index finger to his lips and dipped it into his mouth while looking at her. Her breathing hitched, and she blinked at him again. He removed his hand from his mouth and gave her a coy smile before biting his lower lip. He leaned down, but this time, hey beside her. Very closely and looked at her face while his hand slid down again. He could see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as his hand went down until he dipped another finger and she made the same sound again, but she wasn''t done with the moan when he crushed his lips to hers again while his finger moved in and out and the noises she made just kept echoing into his ears. He liked the sound. Alicia''s hand also said down to the waist of his trouser band. She knew that if she didn''t make any moves, he was going to spend all night probably exploring, and they didn''t have the time for that. Thankfully, the ess was easy, and she was able to slide her hand inside and cup his erection. He let out a moan into her mouth, and so did she. The tales about Alphas had been true. Very true. And it almost made her scared. It felt long, and it had a solid girth. His finger moved faster, and she tried to use the same energy on him, but his actions kept distracting her, especially since he had returned to being aggressive with not only his finger but his kisses as well. She felt liquidse out of him and drop to her hand. This just made the movement very easy for her, and he temporarily broke the kiss as he let out a deep guttural growl, but his finger didn''t stop, and neither did her hands. He opened his eyes to look at her, and as she panted and tried to take in enough air, she saw the gaze in his eyes flicker and arger shade of red appear, making her breathing stop at once. He leaned down to her shoulder at once, and as he gave her a strong bite that made her scream in pain, he inserted a second finger inside of her. Now, she was torn between pleasure and pain for her, but the pain from the bite had hurt, and she looked at the bite and the blood all around it with wide eyes. The one who had done it raised his gaze to meet hers. "You''ve been with someone else like this before." He said with a deep, annoyed voice as his fingers continued to pump in and out of her. His probing gaze remained on her face. As though he was waiting for an exnation and, at the same time, not wanting to get one. She remembered when she casually told him about it a long time ago. Why was he so... unforgetful? However, Alicia could not even talk if she intended to. Not only because he looked scary and arousingly scary, but because of what his fingers were doing to her. So all she could do with her mouth was moan, and it was getting louder and louder. "W-Wait..." She tried to reason with him as she felt the familiar sensation of wanting to pee, but he ignored her and looked down at her blood. He took a lick and muttered, "Bitter," but he still took another lick. His tongue trailed the entire bite mark and just kept moving down until he got to her right nipple and took it in his mouth. Her eyes rolled back, and she turned to the side to face him, her hand wrapping tightly around him and throwing a leg over his waist to grant him better ess. She tried to stifle her moans by biting down on his shoulder while her other hand took out his member from the pant. He stopped and let out a long growl. This time, it wasn''t guttural, but he let it out. He seemed not to care who they were disturbing, but she did, so she quickly sealed their lips to muffle it. He temporarily gave her breathing space by taking his fingers out of her. But before she could rest from it, she realized that their position right now was bringing both their genitals into direct contact, and this time, without any piece of clothing between them. With a hand in her butt, he pulled her closer to him, and as soon as both their nds met, gasps escaped their lips. He stopped again. And sat up. His eyes got a clear view of her entire body, and that same wicked smile formed on his face. He quickly kicked off his boots and stood away from the bed as he dropped his pants, standing naked before her. She looked at him from where shey, and her eyes widened as she saw all of him. One hand unconsciously went to cover her mouth. He pushed his hair out of his face and slowly returned to the bed. Alicia wasn''t sure how he did it, but she found herself flipped on the bed until she was lying on her stomach, and then he leaned down on her body, angling their genitals to meet. She let out a sharp gasp when he pushed for the first time, and her hands clutched the bedsheets. He didn''t get into her. He leaned even closer, and his lips were right on hers as he whispered, "I may mark you." "W-Wh-at?" She stuttered, sounding muddleheaded. "It''s forbidden to do such." He quietly exined. She still could not fathom what he was talking about with his member still pressed against hers, rubbing erotically. "You are... very tiny." He whispered. "I''m trying not to rip you apart. But... I can''t promise not marking," he said before giving her a solid push and breaking into her. Alicia buried her face into the bedsheet, and her grip on it tightened as she tried to muffle the pain, but she could not still help it. He didn''t move as soon as he entered. His hands found hers, and he covered them with his. He also used his tongue top at the sides of her face and neck, as a dog would do for its owner. His breathing was strong and ragged in her ears. She felt hot all over. Especially down there. She also felt full. She felt pleasure. She also felt pain. But she needed more. So when she pushed herself back into him, he didn''t need any further encouragement. He began to move. But he did so slowly. And with every move, he kissed and licked her body. She cried out with every movement. Even though he was being slow for her, it didn''t change the fact that he was quite big for her. He hadn''t joked when he said she was very tiny. However, with how easy his romping was, the pace increased, and his strokes became harder, longer, and faster. She could feel his entire girth as well as the tip tapping her cervix. There was an intense war inside of her between pain and pleasure. And it seemed like pleasure was winning. For both of them. She unknowingly mped around his member, and that just sent him even wilder as his pace grew intense. Her screams were less muffled now, but she was still conscious of the environment and bit hard into the bedsheet. She wasn''t the only one feeling such intense pleasure. The Alpha, who had never had anything to do with a woman in his entire life, felt even more pleasure than she did. And just as she was sent over the edge, squirting out more liquid than Harold could fathom, his eyes wentpletely red, and his teeth sank into the back of her neck. ''WE DID IT!'' She heard a loud voice, which was not from Harold. The intense pain sent electric shocks of pleasure through her body, and as she cried out while also releasing more liquids, he growled loudly in her ear and reached his climax. Shooting rope after rope into her while he gentlypped at her body and the blood from the mark with his tongue. As she fell into sleep, she heard Harold say something that sounded like they should get married. Alicia wasn''t sure what happened next. When she came to, she slowly opened her eyes groggily and found Harold cleaning her with a towel, his eyes stillced with desire, but he let her sleep. "You should rest," she said weakly, making him look up at her face. "Isn''t tomorrow busy?" He nodded. "King Cedric would be arriving at dawn. There is going to be an assembly in the morning." She nodded and began to fall back into sleep. "He... may be executed." He sounded like he was asking for her opinion, and she opened her eyes faintly to look at him. "Sing for me," she said instead and began to fall back to sleep. He let out a shortugh and shook his head. "I know not how to sing." He whispered as he watched her return to sleep. The smile on his face slowly faded as he knew that he may never get to see her like this again. Chapter 409 The Chaos (1) The queen kept her eyes on the window, dreading the break of dawn. She had waited the entire night, yet she hadn''t heard back from Damian to know if he sent her words to both Sir Damon and her brother. She hadn''t heard from anybody, and it was already dawn! She had been told to join the assembly. How could she join the assembly like this? The anxiety almost drove her crazy as she paced around her chamber. She didn''t know what they were going to ask her or what they were going to hold against her. And if anyone was supposed to be here right now, it had to be Damon! Her happiness knew no bounds when her door was roughly kicked open and her brother entered. The happiness she felt overshadowed his rude entry, but the look in his eyes made her halt and think twice. Something was wrong. Sir Evan approached her in long, furious strides and grabbed the cor of her dress on both sides, making her eyes widen in shock and fear. "Where is Susan?" He asked darkly. "Have you... lost your mind?" She asked as she tried to push his hands away, but his grip tightened and he even drew her closer. "WHERE IS SHE?!" He barked. "How... how would I know where your daughter is?" She asked as she kept trying to push him away. "Wasn''t that your message? If I never wanted to see my daughter get married, then I should ignore you. Wasn''t that what you said?!" He yelled at her. She began to gasp from fear and tried to force him to let her be. The assault was making her remember some things she had faced in the past from her father, and it seemed Evan could tell because he suddenly let her go, but he did so roughly that she fell to the floor, where she continued to gasp for air with a hand ced on her chest. "Where did you keep her?" Sir Evan asked. "Have you gone mad?" Arya asked as she looked up at him with teary eyes. "How dare you treat your queen in such--" "WHERE IS SHE!?" He shouted, making her let out a frightened yelp. "I DON''T KNOW WHERE YOUR DAUGHTER IS!" She continued to pant before helping herself stand up. "I waited for you the entire night, and this is how you treat me?" "We... can''t find Susan anywhere." He said in a calmer tone, as though pleading with her to stop this joke. "If you are doing this to get back at me then--" "Now you suspect me for your missing daughter?" She asked in disbelief. "You think... You think I would do anything bad to my niece?" She began to get angry as she asked, "IS THAT HOW YOU THINK OF ME NOW?!" He took a frightening step towards her, and she stepped back. "I don''t care what you are capable of doing. But I want to see Susan." She scoffed in disbelief. "Then why not go ask her lover? Or maybe they ran away already?" She taunted. He halted. "W-What?" She looked at his reaction and let out augh. "I guess Damian didn''t tell you then." She shook her head at him. "You like to act like you are better than me. But then your daughter is giving herself to a mere guard. How disgusting." Sir Evan looked at her in disbelief. He just stared nkly before he turned around and left the room immediately. Meanwhile, Alvin was getting his morning treatment when the door was forcefully pushed open. Both the physician, who was rubbing an ointment on Alvin''s back and Alvin, who was finally able to sit on the bed, looked at the door and saw Williams panting. "Have you... seen Susan?" Williams asked Alvin, who frowned. It was just the break of dawn. Why was he asking him? Alvin shook his head and asked, "I haven''t. Did she already leave her bed this morning?" "She... her bed is still neatly made." "What''s the problem? Maybe she dressed the bed and went out for a stroll?" Alvin wondered. "No. No. No." Williams shook his head, looking like he was just a second away from panicking. "She never dresses her bed." "What?" Alvin asked in confusion. "She... she didn''t sleep on it. I... we thought she went to bed earlyst night. But... she didn''t return to the chamberst night. And we can''t find her anywhere." Williams ran his hands through his hair roughly just as Alvin made to stand up from the bed. "You cannot move--" The physician started, but Alvin turned, and after one re from him, the physician kept his mouth shut. Just then, another person ran into the room. Lady Victoria. She looked at Williams and then at Alvin. Tears were already in her eyes, and she was breathing really fast and had beads of sweat all over her body even though it was just dawn. "Please tell me she snuck in herest night. I... I won''t get angry. I swear it." She said with a pleading look directed at Alvin. They didn''t care that someone else was in the room and might tell this to others. That was the least of their concern. Alvin managed to stand up, his legs almost giving way. He was also feeling lightheaded, but he managed to stand tall and look at the woman pitifully. He wished he could give her the answer she needed. "She... didn''t." He said weakly. "But I will find her. Lady Susan likes to move about, so she... she should be somewhere." He said it in a heavy voice just as Lady Victoria burst into tears. "Where... Where could she be?!" Victoria cried. Alvin quickly put on his shirt, and despite the concerned look from his physician, he picked up his sword. "Please let us know if you find anything. We will keep looking." Williams said and was about to lead his mother out when they came face to face with Sir Evan, who was just about to enter the room. He entered the room, and as soon as Alvin saw him, he stood still. Sir Evan looked at Alvin and then at his wife, andstly at his son, Williams. Chapter 410 The Chaos (2) The morning assembly had been held very early because they had a lot to discuss. And reports needed to be made. It wasn''t only about the Beta''s nightmare that they were investigating; King Cedric was arriving soon and was going to meet them there for questioning. Not just him, but his entire family. For some reason, Harold felt very exhausted and sensitive to everything around him, including light, sound, and smell. It had never been like that for him before until this morning. After their couplingst night and after cleaning up Alicia, he held her close and refused to take his eyes off of her. He knew that the moment was limited, and the moment she began to change, he knew it too. It was a painful moment for him. He shut his eyes and held her tight as though it was going to stop the change, but it didn''t. And by the time the feel of her long hair, which caressed his arms, began to slowly disappear, he felt it too but still kept his eyes shut. Another troubling thing that had happened was how repulsed he suddenly felt for the body in his arms. It was so intense that he felt like throwing up, which was strange. His wolf kept forcing him to push her away, and when Harold refused to budge, Rold tried to force its way out, but Harold remained willful and tried not to cast her body aside, tightening his hold around her. Yet she did not wake up. When he left the room this early morning, she was still deeply asleep. Looking at her had been really difficult too, which was something he could still not exin. However, he covered her properly with the nket before leaving the chamber. Despite it still being very early, he had met Williams, who seemed to be walking towards the chamber, and asked if he had seen Susan this morning, to which he replied that he had not. But knowing what a busybody Susan was, he guessed she was properly snooping around. But now that he could not find Sir Evan or Harvey in the assembly, it made him curious. While trying to find anyone else that was missing, his eyesnded on Damian, who was standing at the far back, close to the door. He kept his gaze straight ahead the entire time. As usual, Damon chaired the assembly. His demeanour was nothing like it usually was. For some reason, he seemed very less confident, and even his voice, which is usually very loud, seemed rather low. He greeted all the noblemen and the queen, who was standing at the back, before he gestured at Sir Gregory to tell them how far they had gone with their search. Sir Gregory stepped forward and began to speak. "Just like I promised to do, I supported the effort to find out what had happened to Sir Wilson by providing some gold as a reward, and it didn''t take long to get some answers. There is still more to investigate, but we have a lead." He gestured at Sir Rager and stepped back while Sir Rager stepped forward and bowed to the House before he began to speak. "From our findings... Sir Wilson had been nning to run away with his family before he was killed." Murmurs and questions began to arise as they all wondered why he wanted to run away and why he was killed. Most importantly, who killed him? "It was done by... royal guards with crested swords." Sir Rager announced, and this piece of information made the room go wild as everyone began to talk and ask questions at the same time. The sound sensitivity grew, making Harold ufortable as it felt like his eardrum was about to explode. "Silence," He breathed quietly in difort, but that was enough to make everyone shut up at once. "How can we believe that?" Damon asked Rager, who turned to face him. "How can you believe what exactly?" Sir Rager asked him. "That was done by royal guards. Does the king have any reason to kill him? Even if he wanted to, he wouldn''t do that in such a manner." "Do you expect to get an answer from me when you are the King''s Beta?" Sir Rager asked Damon, making thetter grit his teeth in annoyance. "We cannot get confirmation from the king about it now, but we can hear what the queen has to say about it." The queen let out a sharp squeak when she was suddenly put in the spotlight by Sir Gregory, with all eyes turning towards her. She looked at all of them and swallowed hard. Harold could smell her anxiety from where he stood. It was disgusting. "I... think that is a lie. No... one from the royal family has any reason to hurt Sir Wilson." "So are you trying to say someone else told the royal guards to kill him?" "You dare not mock the king''s authority!" She snapped at the nobleman, who had innocently asked."No one else has the right to control the king''s guards except himself." "So you are trying to say the king killed Sir Wilson and took the Beta''s nightmare?" Another nobleman asked since she wasn''t making any sense. "I didn''t say the king killed him! But 20 years ago, we all knew that the only person who controlled the royal guards was the king." She yelled defensively. "Then what is your point?" "She is not making any sense." "Is she trying to say the king did it or not?" "Women are so troublesome." The noblemen murmured among themselves while the queen continued to look around. "Why are you all asking me? Do I look like the king? How would I know why he asked them to set his house on fire?" She yelled at all of them before looking at Damon, who hadn''t said anything. "Do you think I am responsible, Sir Damon?" She asked him while giving him a pointed look. The atmosphere grew tense, and silence filled the hall while the queen and Damon just looked at each other. "Queen mother?" Harold called in a calm tone that made the hairs on her body rise as she broke eye contact with Damon to face him. "You don''t think the king has any reason to set his house on fire, and neither do you think anyone else is capable of controlling the royal guards?" Harold asked her. "That''s what I said." She answered arrogantly. "But... no one mentioned that Sir Wilson''s house was set on fire." Harold reminded her. Silence. Chapter 411 The Chaos (3) The queen looked taken aback for a moment before she looked around at everyone who was also staring at her intensely. "They... said it..." she stuttered. "No one did." Sir Rager answered as he looked at her with an unreadable expression. "How did you know that?" Sir Gregory asked her. "You... you all mentioned it!" She yelled defensively and looked at Damon. "Right?" Does it mean she knows about it? Does she have a hand in it? Does it mean she truly was with the Betas nightmare and had really used it? Those questions flew around. "It''s not me! I didn''t do it. Why would I kill him? Does it make sense to you?!" Her voice kept getting louder and louder. "We didn''t say you killed him," Sir Rager said. "But that is what you are implying. You think our queen hid the Beta''s nightmare somewhere just to poison Prince Harold''s bride in the future?" Damian asked from the back angrily. All eyes turned to him. Many looked angry. This boy again. Why was he so stubborn? "YOU ARE FORBIDDEN FROM GETTING INVOLVED!" A nobleman yelled at him. "Why? I serve the queen, and it is my duty to protect her!" Damian said cockily. "He has a point," Damon said in Damian''s defence, making everyone look at him as though he were crazy. Wasn''t he the same person who always barked whenever someone of low status interrupted them? "The queen does not have any reason to do so. Also, we all knew how much she struggled when she conceived Princess Tyra. Sir Wilson would have been of great help to her, and she doesn''t have any reason to kill him." Damon exined. "EXACTLY!" She cried in support. "Why would I do that to him?" "We never can tell. You are still suspicious to us." "How can you say the queen is suspicious? So you want to search her chamber first before you are convinced? But of course, you cannot do that to her. She is our queen." Damian said again, and this was beginning to make the noblemen angry as they began to throw words at him, some asking him to get lost before they petitioned for him to be executed. Harold kept quiet the entire time. He had always been quiet during meetings like this because he didn''t want anyone to think he had a hand in anything. People like to assume. And could easily conclude that he was doing this to get rid of the people he hated. But for the queen, he was going to make sure she saw hell. He had promised her that. And he was one to always fulfil his promises. However, the noise was almost driving him crazy, and he wasn''t sure how to handle it. The only exnation he had for it was probably because he had marked Alicia. Men, and especially Alphas, were regarded as too great and important to have their lives tied to their wives for life. That way, it could also help the man if he wanted to get rid of his wife and take in another one. So it was generally agreed that marking should never happen. Men didn''t want to lose their lives and agility because of their weak wives. But Harold hadn''t thought twice about it. And also, because it wasn''tmon, he didn''t know what the side effects were like. He tried to force himself to remain sane and looked at the noblemen, who were all attacking Damian with words, who remained rooted in his position without budging. There was something about this guy... It felt like he wasying a trap, but he wasn''t exactly sure until he knew the oue of this meeting. "You have to cooperate with us and let a search be carried out in your chamber." Sir Rager said to the queen politely. "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO SEARCH OUR QUEEN''S CHAMBER?" Damian shouted and drew out a sword. "Arrest him!" Sir Rager pointed at Damian, and guards instantly surrounded him. Surprisingly, he didn''t put up a fight as they grabbed him and took him out of the room. The queen paled instantly. Searching her chamber was the worst humiliation she could face as a queen. And the only one who could have helped her stop it had been arrested. Letting strange men into her private space to touch her things... never! "I... would rather die than have your filthy hands on my royal chamber." "You don''t have much choice now, my queen. It is something we must do to proceed since the King is not awake yet." Sir Gregory said. "And while it is being done, you will be locked in the hot pce." Sir Rager added. "NO! YOU CAN''T DO THIS TO ME!" She yelled in disbelief. "I TOOK CARE OF YOUR LADY WIFE AND YOUR DAUGHTER!" she said usingly at Sir Rager. "And where are they now?" He asked her. "THE KING IS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT! HE IS! MAYBE SIR WILSON WRONGED HIM. THAT WAS HOW I KNEW HIS HOUSE WAS BURNT!" She cried out amidst all their confusion and anger. The door suddenly opened, and all eyes turned to it at once. The one who had entered was the royal physician. Immediately after the queen sighted him, her anxiety rose, and she had a bad feeling about this. "What are you here for?" Damon asked. His voice was almost faint. At this point, he wasn''t even anchoring the meeting anymore. "To make a confession." He said, making the queen even more nervous and scared. "The queen made me swear not to get the king treated of his ailment." Another rowdiness started. And this time, it was more intense. "STOP LYING!" She screamed. The physician gave her a rundown of the king''s illness, the queen''s insistence on not getting him treated, how Harold stepped up to give his blood for the treatment to work, and how the king''s health was improving gradually. "That is good news. At least, the King would be up soon to tell us when he told you about Sir Wilson''s murder." Sir Rager said with a straight face. While the queen continued to yell and cuss at the royal physician with tears streaming down her cheeks, all the noblemen were onto her. "You were trying so hard to make the King responsible when you are the one responsible?" "Why aren''t you saying anything?!" She bellowed at Damon, who kept mute. "You... you are the King''s Beta. You have more power to control the royal guards. Why aren''t they ming you?" "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO PUT THIS ON ME?" He yelled at her. "How dare me?!" The queen asked in disbelief. "He doesn''t have any reason to do that." One nobleman mentioned. "But I do?" She snapped at him. "You probably wanted to get rid of the King, Prince Harold, and Princess Amber all at once that night so that Prince Ivan would take the throne. That was why you were also trying to marry your son to Lord Richard''s daughter and have his son marry your niece." One said. "Where is Lord Evan, by the way? Maybe he is also involved in her plot?" Another said. Another said, "And Sir Richard too. He could have helped her with this." "True. He has been quiet the entire time." "Where is his son even?" "Are you courting death?" Sir Richard asked them in a slow, careful tone. Another round of verbal fighting was about to ensue before Harold spoke up. "The search can be carried out in the Queen''s chamber and every ce she owns in this pce." "YOU CANNOT DO¡ª" "Additionally," Harold continued, cutting her off. "Find the book of records of royal guards at that time. Find them all and question them." They all nodded in agreement. That was very smart. They all ignored the queen''s shouts as they arrested her from the hall, leading her to the hot pce while a search began in all her controlled areas within the pce. With all that happening, the next meeting started. King Cedric and his people were brought before the court. Chapter 412 The Chaos (4) Chapter 412 The Chaos (4) Harold hadn''t been interested in the other kingdom when he went for his wedding with Princess Amber. So he hadn''t taken note of other things that didn''t concern him, just like the fact that King Cedric had a young son and three princesses. None of them looked older than 17 years old. Especially the son, who looked to be around 11. His children''s wrists were all tied together with a single rope, and they were made to kneel at the back while King Cedric and his queen were made to stand in the middle where they had to answer questions. Since they were also of royalty, even though they were far below the rank of those they could actually view as being of royal blood, they weren''t made to kneel, nor were they tied. The instruction had been for King Cedric, his queen, and their children to be brought in, excluding his consorts or concubines. How the kingdom was going to function without its king? They didn''t care. Were they worried that the other kingdom woulde for revenge for arresting their king? They didn''t care either. The Moon Kingdom was superior in every sense, and it would continue to remain that way whether they liked it or not. It would have been easy for Harold to stop this questioning because this was just going to confirm to them that not only was Princess Amber an exiled princess, but she was the daughter of someone who had beenbeled a witch and had been executed. But he didn''t try to stop it. They all deserved to know the truth and hate themselves and their nature for the pain they had caused the other group. Also, he had the upper hand here because now he knew that Sir Richard would be able to confess and let the court know that Amber was the only one capable of breaking the curse that had been ced on them. And King Cedric would also confirm that it was Lord Zealot who had made him spare her all those years ago. So they wouldn''t even think of hurting her. Not that they could. It was going to be Sir Richard''s punishment. Sir Rager was out now attending to the queen''s business, so the authority for this meeting was back with Damon, who looked very distracted and sick. "What are you waiting for?" Sir Gregory asked Damon impatiently, making him return to his senses. Looking at the timid King Cedric, who could not even speak a word, made Harold feel disgusted. He was well above 50 years old. Harold tried to imagine the same person with Anne. Hepared this old man to Alicia''s true form, and the image was the most unpleasant and repulsive thing he had ever imagined in his life. Damon was about to speak when Harold interrupted and spoke, "Sir Damon seems to be unwell. How about someone else take over?" Harold asked before his eyesnded on Sir Richard, and he gently called out the man''s name. "Sir Richard?" All eyes turned to him while Sir Richard raised his head to look at Harold. "I believe we can all trust Sir Richard to carry out a proper questioning," Harold spoke. The room echoed their yeses, urging Richard to take over since Damon seemed to have lost his wit. An embarrassed Damon could not do anything other than step aside to create the tform for Sir Richard, who was slowly heading up there. Most of the noblemen could not help but wonder what was up with Sir Richard today. He seemed to be out of it. "I, Lord Richard, the Minister of War, will take over the questioning." He announced and bowed politely at the others before he faced King Cedric, whose head had been down in fear while his queen was trying to muffle her cries and asionally looking back at her children, who were also crying quietly as they looked at their parents with fear and uncertainty. "Did you trick the Moon Kingdom by handing over your witch daughter, who was in exile, for marriage to our Prince?" Sir Richard asked in a hesitant tone. King Cedric looked up and shook his head immediately while also waving his hands. "She... she is not a witch. Even her mother had never practiced witchcraft before. It... it was never confirmed that she was a witch." Harold was doing a mental countdown for when King Cedric would recognize Sir Richard. Why was his memory as poor as his looks? "But you... executed her." Sir Richard said in a pained voice. The raw emotion in his voice confused the other noblemen, who wondered why he sounded affected. "I was forced to do it! I wouldn''t execute my queen just like that if I hadn''t been forced." Cedric cried out as though he had been wrong. His wife, Queen Darcy, turned to look at him in disbelief, and as he met her gaze, he separated from her, putting a distance between them as he pointed at her. "It... it was her! She was the one who asked for Amber to be brought back to the pce and reced with one of our Princesses. I never would have dared to lie!" He fell to his knees with his forehead on the ground as he burst into tears. His children watched in disbelief at what their father was doing, their cries getting louder just like their mother''s. "IT WASN''T ME! HOW CAN YOU LIE AGAINST ME AND TRY TO MAKE ME TAKE THE FALL?!" She yelled at her husband before she looked up at Richard and shook her head. "It... it wasn''t me. I have no authority in the kingdom. Amber was very dear to me. I didn''t even believe that her mother was a witch. It was him who did all that and also brought her back¡ª" "STOP LYING, YOU WENCH!" King Cedric yelled and pulled a handful of her hair from behind, making her cry out in pain as she tried to push him away. Chapter 413 The Chaotic Palace ? With King Cedric and his wife acting crazy, their children watched in shame and embarrassment. They could only try, but they were not allowed to move an inch to separate their parents. Meanwhile, the noblemen watched the king and queen pull each other''s hair, wondering if these people were truly royalty. What an embarrassing sight! This was why they were always going to remain inferior. "STOP IT!" Richard yelled as he looked at both of them with disgust. The couple broke apart, both their hair looking like bird nests. Harold simply watched and continued to count down until either of the crazy couple recognized Sir Richard. His patience was running thin. They were quite lucky that his sensitivity to sound had decreased. He wasn''t sure what he would have done. It was obvious that the couple were lying. ording to what Sir Richard had said, King Cedric had been happy to execute Anne, and the queen had given the information to Lord Zealot''s people about Anne''s whereabouts to have them promote her rank to that of the queen, which she achieved after Anne''s death. Amber was dear to her? What a joke! "My Prince.... please save me. Spare our lives. You already spared us one time. Tell them you know about it." King Cedric said as he fixed not only his eyes but also his hope on Prince Harold. "I am aware," Harold said calmly, making King Cedric cry out in joy, but he had obviously been too quick to be happy because Harold''s next words dashed his hope. "But I was also deceived. I only found out after the wedding ceremony. You didn''t expect me to kill my bride, did you?" He asked Cedric with a strange smile that made the man shake in fear and begin to stutter. "B-B-But..." "But what?" Harold asked him, his voice still calm, but he was very irritated. The man was a coward; he was filthy. Anne didn''t deserve it. And no parent in their right mind would have given up their daughter to be married off to someone like him. But he had been the only hope for Anne''s mother. For Anne''s n. To save their daughter. Yet... Harold felt his eyes turn misty, which was a very rare urrence. He looked up instantly and took a deep breath, trying to control his rage. But his wolf was restless. And he was tempted to let it out. "Why did you im she was a witch if you are also saying she had never practiced witchcraft? Do you think that by iming she isn''t a witch, your life would be spared? She is still an exiled Princess. You are not innocent at all!" One nobleman yelled at King Cedric since Richard was still not saying much. The man looked weird. "LORD ZEALOT!" King Cedric suddenly shouted. "It was him! He asked me to keep her alive. He said he was going to need her back in this kingdom when she was twenty. I didn''t know why, but I did as I was told. He was the one who asked me to take her away." Queen Darcy nodded immediately. "YES! Since she is almost 20, we thought it was time they needed her back, so we sent her. Please spare us. If anyone has to pay for this... it should be him! Please spare me and my children." King Cedric was shocked to find his wife pointing at him as the one who needed to be punished. He red up! "HOW DARE YOU FILTHY DEVIL TRY TO PUT THIS ON ME WHEN IT WAS YOUR IDEA!" "IT WAS YOUR IDEA!" She yelled back at him, and another round of cursing and quarrelling followed. "Mother!" "Father!" "Please!" Their children cried out, but no matter how loud their voices were, their parents remained unruly. "Shut. Your. Filthy. Mouths!" Harold said in a dark tone that brought silence to the entire hall as well as a chill. Even the crying children ceased crying at once. "Why would Lord Zealot ask you to spare her life? Are you lying to us? What does he have to do with any of this?" Harold asked. "No! I... I s-swear I''m not lying." Cedric scratched his hair with his shaking hands and looked at the noblemen. "He... he came with warriors. I can''t remember¡ª" His gaze fixed on Richard, and he paused, his brows furrowing at once. "IT WAS YOU! YOU WERE THERE!" He pointed at Richard, and all eyes in the hall turned to look at him. With the chaos in the assembly room, there was even more chaos all over the pce. The search party for Susan had increased as theybed through every inch of the pce. It was difficult to find her since she had gotten rid of her smell the previous day. Harvey had also been searching with Lance when he heard his father was leading the questioning of King Cedric and began to race towards the assembly room. Luciana''s parents cried helplessly as their daughter began to battle for her life again, as she continued to convulse while the physicians tried to do something. In another part of the pce, the queen was yelling and banging on the gates to be released from the hot cell, while a guard handed a bottle of a strange-looking potion he had found amongst the queen''s things to Sir Rager. And in another part, a cell door inside the dungeon opened quietly, and someone stepped out. But instead of leaving the ce, the person walked slowly to another cell and looked down at the girl in the cell, while Agnes looked up at the figure in fear. Meanwhile, while all of this was going around, Harold was calcting if it was truly coincidental that Queen Arya had been the one to suggest he take a human bride from that kingdom, while the queen over there had been able to convince King Cedric to send Princess Amber. With everyone''s attention now on Sir Richard, the door of the assembly room opened, and everyone''s attention moved from Richard to the door. Harold looked on in surprise as Alicia stepped in. Well, Alicia in Princess Amber''s body once again. She was dressed in normaldies'' clothing and was without the excessive makeup that made her look like an evil witch. But her eyes looked even darker now. And she seemed... different. "AMBER!" Queen Darcy called as soon as she turned and saw her. "Was this a revenge you nned?" One of the princesses looked at her with disgust and anger in her teary eyes. "I wish you had died together with your useless mother." Everyone else did not utter a word. They looked at Harold''s bride, who didn''t bother to look at the princess who had said those nasty words to her. Her gaze was fixed on her father and his wife, and she slowly began to approach them. The queen cried, feeling wronged. "This is how you pay us? After bringing you from the mountain to give you a life here! Do you think it would have been difficult killing off a little wench like you?" She asked as she met her stepdaughter halfway, stopping herself from hitting her. With a straight face, Princess Amber replied in a soft voice, "Unfortunately, you didn''t kill me." A smile formed on her face just as she unsheathed a knife and said, "But I can" before stabbing it directly in her throat. Loud gasps and screams from the King and his children filled the hall as blood sttered all over Princess Amber''s face. Queen Darcy had her eyes still wide open as she fell to her unfortunate death with a loud thud. She tilted her head toward King Cedric as she muttered, "A queen... for a queen." "Am-ber..." Harold breathed in shock just as Amber turned her bloody face toward him. And while all this chaos was happening, a certain nuisance who had been asleep for a while finally woke up with a loud gasp. Prince Ivan. THE END. Just kidding. Lol. But Volume 1 was supposed to end here tho. EDIT:: 19/05/2023 ***** A/N I haven''t been on here for over 2 weeks, and right now, I cannot even bring myself to read thements because I do not wish to see anyments that would throw me off. I''ve had a rough and tough month. Been from one issue to another. Started with an allergic reaction to ack of proper blood cirction and then a migraine. And now I''m out of work, so yeah, I''m currently UNEMPLOYED. You are free toin since many of you purchase coins and many only read my book here, but I am a person. Just like you, I break down sometimes. And yeah, I do feel guilty about leaving, but I cannot help it most times because I am not in the right frame of mind and there is no tform to make an announcement. Those who tried to reach me through Miss B, thank you for reaching out. She did let me know, and you can confirm from her that I have been on several medications even till this moment and would be travelling home to my parents'' soon to live there for a while and just get back myself. So when you dropments sometimes, be nice. Because I also have feelings too. And writing a novel requires critical thinking, which cannot always work if one is not in the right frame of mind. Chapter 414 "I Watched..." ? A/N (I''m sincerely grateful and feel indebted to you all. Thank you for your messages. I haven''t read most of them yet, but I feel a lot better already. I won''t be taking such a long break again. I promise. 05/06/2023) PS: Those reading JOCK NEXT BED can check for updatester also. **** The pce had never been in such an intense mess in all the history of the Moon Kingdom. Everyone was talking about something, running around, looking for someone, hiding from someone, and what had happened in the courtroom during the assembly was quickly spreading around the pce already. Alvin was going to find Harold when he found him, but at the same time, Harold almost fell and held himself up by resting on the wall. He looked like he was in pain, had his eyes tightly shut, and his breathing wasboured. Alvin ran to him at once and looked at him in concern. When he got closer, he noticed the sweat all over him and that his eyes were unstable. "What is wrong with you?" Alvin asked as he panted from all the running he had been doing. Harold seemed surprised to hear his voice and opened his eyes faintly. "What... are you doing here? You should be resting." Harold said as he tried to look closely at him, but he felt very sick, which was rare, and he hadn''t even been able to smell Alvin nearby. His head was hurting, his eyes were hurting, and his entire body was hurting. But none couldpare to the ones he was feeling in his chest. It just wouldn''t stop! "Susan is missing. We can''t find her anywhere." Harold heard the concern in his voice. There was also a hint of fear. Initially, he thought this was a simple thing, and since Susan liked to sneak around, they would find her soon. But now, this was also adding to his worries. "On... mymand. A search party should begin. Curb through the inside and outside of the pce. She must be found." Harold noticed Alvin''s hesitation. He wanted to leave immediately as he seemed impatient but was also worried about leaving Harold alone. "Leave now." "Will... you be okay?" Alvin asked him. Harold managed to nod as he said, "Amber... have you seen her?" Alvin quickly shook his head but had a concerned look on his face. He wasn''t sure he had ever heard Harold address her that way before. "You can leave now." Harold waved him off, and at once, Alvin ran off, but after another long, worried look at Harold. Meanwhile, Paulina was racing all over the pce, searching for her mistress. She had heard that her mistress had ruthlessly killed Queen Darcy, bringing the assembly to a quick end. But no one knew where she was now, as she had disappeared after the act. Paulina, however, didn''t believe it. Alica was not like that. She wouldn''t just kill someone. So even though many people were talking about it, she still firmly believed that someone was trying to frame her. Eventually, she saw her. It was a room she had entered that she found open. She heard loud breathing inside and slowly pushed the door open to find her at the end of the room. She was sitting on the floor and hugging her knees. Her entire body was shaking. Even in that position, Paulina could see blood on the side of her face and clothes. When she gasped loudly in fear, Amber raised her head and locked eyes with her. But the sight of the blood on her face made Paulina''s eyes shine even brighter, and she stepped back in fear. "P-Paulina¡ª" Amber croaked out as a croaked sob escaped her lips. "W-What... what did... you do?" Amber sniffled and helped herself up, but that just sent Paulina racing to the back, farther away from her. "Mother always said I should stay away from the wolves." She said quietly as she hugged herself. "She said that a lot of times. And told me... that if I happened to find myself in the midst of the wolves one day, fate would guide me." Amber wasn''t even staring at Paulina. Her gaze was empty as she stared into empty space. "You... killed¡ª" "She deserved it," Amber said, breaking off Paulina''s whisper and making her gasp in disbelief and fear at the confirmation. It was as though Paulina was still holding on to a tiny thread of belief that she hadn''t truly killed Queen Darcy. "You... you are not like this. How could... how could you..." The remaining words could note out of her mouth, and all that came out was a sob. "COME TO YOUR SENSES!" Amber snapped at her before she stumbled backwards and clutched her head as she let out a cry of pain. Paulina was torn between going to her, standing right there, or running out the door. She was scared. Something was definitely wrong somewhere. When she noticed the pain had subsided for Amber, she looked at her with concern and took a step toward her as she spoke, "You... you are not that heartless. You are not like that¡ª" "You wanted me gone too," Amber said, her voice filling with disappointment as she looked at Paulina with eyes that reflected her tone. She was disappointed. Paulina looked at her in fear and confusion before her eyes widened and she asked, "Mi..dy?" Amber let out augh. "If you are so sick of me, you can leave." Paulina shook her head as she spoke. "That... is not it. You... killed¡ª" "I ALSO WATCHED MY MOTHER BE EXECUTED!" Amber yelled at her in tears. "I... watched." She cried with a shaky voice. "WHY SHOULDN''T HER CHILDREN WATCH TOO?" Paulina used a hand to cover her mouth as tears streamed down her face. Her gaze was on Amber, who was still looking at her with disappointment before she cleaned the tears from her eyes, and her voice went hard as she spoke. "If you think it''s going to end here, you better rethink it. They need a good amount of time to feel the heartbreak of losing a loved one. And then... I will burn them all down. Every. Single. One." She said in a dark voice as she looked around the room, letting Paulina know she meant including the Moon Kingdom. ***** A/N I''ve been away due to a family issue. Been with my aunt for a couple of days now. She was preparing for surgery and finally had itst night. It''s been quite hectic for me and I''m hoping I''ll be able to do my best with the updates after she travels back tomorrow. 15/04/2023 Chapter 415 Bait And Pawns? ? With everything happening in the pce, Harold wished he could be everywhere at the same time. But it was impossible. And especially impossible now that he felt really sick. He could notmunicate with his wolf either. Walking was quite tough for him now too, but he had to keep going. He had a goal in mind, and that was to look for Alicia, or rather, Amber. He wasn''t sure what she was going to do next, and it made him apprehensive. He also wanted to know where Alicia was. She couldn''t just disappear like that. ording to Lady Victoria''s words, "It is dangerous. We do not know what lies within one''s soul. Summoning it twice could either cause havoc or kill the soul." But that was if he had fed Alicia the potion twice. He had only done so once. Why did it happen this way? Or had his mark done it? Either way, he felt he had a hand in it, and the thought made him sick to his stomach. Apprehension, guilt, anxiety, and fear¡ªhe felt all of them at once, and with every step he took within the chaotic pce, it was hard for him to breathe, and his eyes were shutting on their own. But he refused to give in to whatever illness was happening to him. Unfortunately, he could not stop reying what had happened earlier in his head. The memory refused to go away. How she had stabbed Queen Darcy to her death without flinching. And the look in her eyes when she faced him with blood all over her face. He could not stop thinking about it. Just then, a physician approached him in a hurry and stood in front of him to greet him before saying, "The head physician is currently busy handling other things, so I was sent to check on your health." He exined quickly with his head down. Harold guessed at once that it was Alvin who had sent him. However, he shook his head. "Go assist the head physician. It is an order." He said in a strained voice. The young physician looked a bit hesitant, especially since it was very obvious that he was sick, and also, Alvin was a scary guard, but he could not argue with Prince Harold, so he simply bowed and ran off. As soon as the physician left, a guard approached him even before Harold could start walking again and bowed to him. As much as he didn''t want all this distraction, he knew now. This was the price he had to pay if he wanted to rule over the Moon Kingdom. Only the affairs within the pce were this chaotic; what about the kingdom as a whole? The guard confirmed to him that a strange potion was found in the queen''s special safe, which they had forcefully broken open, and that it had been forwarded to the Royal Physician to check what kind of potion it was. The queen''s special safe itself was her personal belonging. No one else had ess to it. There was only one key for it, and it was usually always with the queen. A strange potion. It was just as he had expected. His gut had told him that they were definitely going to find something. Something that hadn''t been nted by the queen herself. He was too tired to talk. Too tired to think. He simply waved the man off and decided to head towards his chamber to get one of the potions he used to take when he felt sick. Even though he wasn''t sure if it was going to work, he had to try. He couldn''t find Alicia in this state. He had to be well and clear-headed. "My Prince," another guard he recognized well, approached him in long strides and bowed when he stood before Harold. "Speak," Harold managed to tell him in a faint voice as he fisted his hands tightly beside him, refusing to give in to his difort and impatience. "It was just as you expected. Damian approached the maid, Agnes. However, we could not catch him, and he fled." He knelt immediately with his head down as he said, "I deserve to be executed for my failure, My Prince." Harold ced a hand on his head as he tried to remain sane and force out the memory of Amber''s eyes staring at him from his head. Damian had indeed approached Agnes. "What about the maid?" "She is safe. We brought her inside the pce." "Make sure Damian is found. Your life is on the line." Harold ordered him, giving the man one more chance. There was no point in punishing anyone now. He had confirmed it: Damian was indeed cunning. And he suspected that he had a hand in some of the craziness happening within the pce. But he didn''t think the queen did. Damian''s recent actions seemed as though he had been baiting the noblemen into suspecting the queen. But what does he have to do with everything? Since Agnes was arrested, the security in the dungeon had been so strict that no one was allowed to step foot in there except for Luciana''s maid, whom he had chosen himself. She was to deliver food directly to the prisoners. So when Damian continued to rile up the noblemen, he guessed he had an ulterior motive because there was no way he would have remained unscathed without getting thrown into the dungeon, and Damian knew that. So why did he keep on doing that? Simple. He wanted to be thrown into the dungeon. Harold had assumed that if any kind of potion was truly found in the queen''s belongings, then he would believe it was Damian''s work. That meant he was killing several birds with just one stone, and the noblemen were just pawns in his plot. But why? Damian and the queen. Damian and Tyra. Damian and Agnes. He was simply everywhere. He almost forgot... Damian and Prince Harry. Damian had to be found! And if Tyra really had a hand in it, then he was never going to forgive her. Never. Chapter 416 Nuisance ? It wasn''t news that many people disliked the mere existence of Prince Ivan. So hearing that he was awake made many of them disappointed and then annoyed when he began to throw a tantrum when he heard that his mother had been taken to the hot pce and he was still not being allowed to leave his chamber. He had barely enough information about what was happening in the pce, nor did he know how Luciana was doing. There was no way in hell he was going to let himself be confined in his room. He tried to go through the window, and as soon as he touched it, it burned him harshly, the pain sending him flying away from there. He just remembered that his witch of a mother had ordered for them to be coated with wolfsbane to confine him inside thest time. Maybe she did indeed deserve to be punished like that. But as long as the punishment was noting from him directly, he was not going to let that happen. He continued to constitute a nuisance by banging on the door with the little energy he had left. He also threw everything in his room against the door and tried to slice through it with his sword. After an hour of his craziness, his door opened. He was ready to strike at whoever was on the other end, but he paused when he found Sir Rager and some guards behind him, and he eyed them unpleasantly. "HOW DARE YOU TREAT A PRINCE IN THIS FOUL MANNER? DO YOU WANT TO LOSE YOUR LIFE¡ª" He began to cough as his throat went dry from all the yelling he had been doing. Sir Rager simply stared into his room at all the mess on the floor and shook his head. "I am sure you are aware of all that has been happening within the pce." Sir Rager mentioned to him. "I don''t care about any stupid thing happening in the pce. Get out of my way!" Ivan said as he tried to walk away, but the man blocked his way. "The queen is being suspected of several crimes. Especially being responsible for poisoning the King." "What?!" Ivan asked in disbelief. "Have you lost your senses, old man?" "The poison the King is suspected to be suffering from was found in her special safe. And if she has nned to get rid of the king, it has to be because of you. And that is... treason." "What? You think my mother and I tried to get rid of the King?" "Not only the king. But Prince Harold and his bride as well. It is a well-known fact that you attacked Prince Harold with a poisoned sword. Prior to that, he was attacked on the banquet night, and so was his bride." He scoffed in disbelief. "Your point is?" "You are a suspect. Therefore, you will continue to remain in your chamber. But first of all, we would have to search your chamber." "YOU WILL NOT DO SUCH A THING TO A PRINCE!" "Okay," Sir Rager said to humour him before he gestured at two guards to follow him inside the chamber while the other three guarded the door so Ivan could not leave. They even drew their swords at the annoyed Ivan, who could only rant but was too weak to move. Not only had he been starving and dehydrated for days, but he had also fallen into a long sleep. So he felt weak all over. He decided to forgive them and let them do as they pleased for now. But he took note of all their faces. He was going to ruin their lives. Unfortunately, it seemed like his life was going to get ruined first because they found two potions in his chamber. He recognized the one he had used on his sword, but the second one was something he had never seen before in his entire life and had no idea why it was inside his chamber. ******* Paulina raced toward the direction her mistress had taken. She was not very smart, but she knew quite well that her mistress, Princess Amber, was back. She was supposed to be excited. But instead, she was scared. She wanted to meet her, but at the same time, she was too frightened to. Fortunately, she found Harolding from the opposite direction. "My... P-Prince..." she called in a hurry. Whether it was Amber or Alicia, she believed she could trust Harold with it. He looked up at her with a weak gaze, and she quickly pointed in the direction Amber had taken in a panic as she said, "She... went that way. She.. is leaving the pce." Despite his ill health, he went in that direction, and as soon as he found her, he drew her into the nearby room, but she pushed him with force, making him stumble and hit his back on the wall, hissing out in pain. "Don''t. You. Dare. Touch. Me!" Amber warned in a dark voice as soon as she faced him. Her eyes were zing red and angry. She looked a mess. Her hair was scattered, and she still had dried blood on her face from the residue that she had refused to wipe off. Her hair and dress also had blood on them. The strong stench of blood was hurting Harold''s nose, and the urge to throw up grew. "You can''t... leave. Alicia... where is Alicia?" He managed to ask. "You... are the son of the King." She spoke quietly as she looked at him. "Amber¡ª" "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THE NAME MY MOTHER GAVE ME!" she barked at him as she drew out a dagger. He recognized it. It was the dagger Alicia had bought when they went outside the pce for the first time. And one of them was still stuck in Queen Darcy''s throat. "I... hate you." She choked with tears in her eyes and staggered backwards as her head began to ache and stupid memories began to flood in while she screamed in pain, letting go of the dagger to clutch her head as she cried for the pain to stop. "Alicia... Alicia!!" Harold called in concern as he hurried to her and held her shoulders gently, shaking her carefully to get her to return to her senses, but once again, she shoved him with all her might as a sudden wind blew past her. Her pain stopped, and so did her cries. Harold''s back hit the wall again, and he groaned in pain. This was not going to be easy. "Where... is she? Alicia?" He asked, his voice almost pleading. "It''s my body. Why are you looking for someone else?" Amber asked. Chapter 417 Was This Why? ? "Where... is she? Alicia?" Harold asked, his voice almost sounding pleading. "It''s my body. Why are you looking for someone else?" Amber asked before her angry eyes moved away from Harold to look at the window. He pushed himself away from the wall, as he could already feel his eyes closing on their own. His body had never experienced this kind of shutdown since he was born. He tried to approach Amber as she looked out the window at the sky. "It''s almost the Blood Moon. I''ll be 20 soon." She muttered to herself. The tone she used to say it told Harold that whatever she was thinking inside her head was not good. Combining the tale he had heard from Sir Richard and what he had found with Alicia, the Blood Moon was a powerful time for witches. And if Anne had asked for Amber to be kept until she was 20, it meant there was something up right there. "You can''t summon her and get rid of her as you please," Harold said weakly. She turned to face him, her eyes cold. It was devoid of any kind of emotion, not even hate. He wasn''t used to this kind of look in her eyes. Her eyes were either sad, happy, mischievous, or naughty. They were never like this. "I want King Cedric." She said it in a cold voice. "Why?" He asked even though he already knew why. At this point, he didn''t even know what to do with or for her. He just wanted Alicia here, but how could he force out a soul? He was frustrated, lost, scared, and, worst of all, in shock. "Why?" Amber asked as though she had just heard the strangest thing in her life. "Why?" She repeated it as she took a step closer to him. "Have you considered how you are going to handle this? Or how Alicia is going to handle this when she takes over? You cannot just show up and kill people and¡ª" "SHE WAS THE FIRST PERSON I EVER KILLED!" Amber yelled at him as tears welled up in her eyes. "I can''t just show up and kill people? Do I look like a sadistic murderer like you lot?" She choked back a sob and used her hand to wipe away her tears, even as her face turned straight again. It was her first time killing a person? Then did that mean it hadn''t really been her those times Alicia had been in danger? Was it truly a gift they had? "My ancestors swore an oath. That they would never take the life of another. Now I understand why they had to take that oath." She looked him dead in the eyes as she said, "Because when you kill once. You want to kill again. And again. And again." "Fortunately, I didn''t swear any oath." "I... will help you have your revenge." He offered. He knew it was a big promise, but he didn''t have a choice. She looked at him for a long time before she let out augh. Sheughed andughed until tears began to flow from her eyes and roll down her cheeks. "It''s funny you do not realize my desire to kill you." "I know the Moon Kingdom wronged you¡ª" "IT CANNOT BE COMPARED TO YOU!" She cried loudly as she turned and drew down the cor of her dress to reveal a bite mark on her neck. Harold''s bite mark. Harold looked at it with wide, confused eyes. "I would have died in the river that day." She cried. "I would have forgotten about my desire for revenge and just died. I shouldn''t have worried that Paulina would be made to pay for my crimes and JUST DIED!" "I saw... I saw the memories of my mother. It was in my head as soon as I woke up. So I know she saw them herself. Even I... didn''t get those visions. But she did... so how... how could she act like... like it was none of her business?" "How... HOW COULD SHE USE MY BODY TO LOVE A MAN LIKE YOU?" She yelled in anger before picking up her dagger from where she had dropped it and began to speak slowly. "I would never have done that if it had happened the opposite way. I would have fought for my kin no matter what." "SO WHY WOULD SHE DO THIS TO ME?!" Harold was still staring in disbelief. "It was her body. The potion worked." Harold muttered to himself. "You fell for a stupid illusion." She let out a pained scoff and looked at him with a dark vengeance in her eyes. Harold did not want to believe it. He was smart. He was always smart. There was no way he would have fallen for a trick. It had been her. Alicia. Why... was his mark on Amber''s body? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Something was wrong somewhere. His mark was in the body of someone who hated him with her life. It was in a body that was rejecting him. Was this why? He felt a sharp pain in his heart, more painful than anything he had ever felt before, and as he clutched his chest and tried his best not to double over in pain, he saw, through the corner of his eyes, Amber aiming her dagger at him. "This is for all of us." She said quietly as she approached him. She was about to strike when someone entered the room, and she directed the dagger in that direction. The person dodged the strike, and the dagger lodged itself in the open door. Without a second space to process who had entered, she threw a kick, and when the person dodged again, she reached for the dagger and pulled it out from the door, throwing herself at the person who grabbed the hand holding the dagger before it could pierce his neck. Her eyes widened when she came face-to-face with Harvey, and she instantly let go of the dagger, which fell to the floor at once. "Amber..." He breathed heavily. With her eyes still round in shock, she whispered, "What... are you... doing here?" Chapter 418 The Strange Encounter (1) ? Queen Arya could hear nothing except for her struggle for fresh air, which was rather impossible to find in the hot, tiny room that had no window. The ce was unbearably hot for her, and even though she was wearing only a thinyer of clothing aside from her underwear, she looked really damp, as though she had just stepped out of a bath. She had sweat all over her, and her long hair was stuck to her face. She had shouted, banged on the door, and done all she could until her throat was dry and the heat was draining every ounce of energy she had left in her. She thought she heard someone crying outside, but she could not exactly tell since the ce seemed rather isted and it was solidly built in such a way that she could not tell what was happening outside. All thanks to her. This had been Maria''s residence back then, and it had been Arya''s idea to make a tiny building here for her since this ce was usually isted and it seemed like the sun rose from this particr spot in the kingdom. Since she didn''t want that woman anywhere around the main pce and she couldn''t just kill her off quickly, this had been the perfect spot for her. When Maria passed, it became empty until Tyra had her first heat and was sent here. The fact alone that a Royal member was having heat was embarrassing enough. She didn''t want to be shamed more than she already was. But who would have thought that she would end up here? She won''t stay here. This ce was meant for Omegas. Not for her. "I can''t stay here." She said it on the floor weakly. She was drifting into unconsciousness, but she refused to fall into it. She had to wait. Someone was definitely going to save her. She had a lot of options. Her brother. Damon. Damian. And even the king. He couldn''t possibly believe the royal physician and abandon her like this. She was still his bride. The mother of his children and her family had greatly contributed to bringing peace and stability to the Moon Kingdom. The door suddenly opened, and she tried to stand up at once, but she was too weak to do that and had to hold onto the wall. It didn''t matter. Someone was here to save her, and she was going to make sure everyone responsible for this would be paid back a millionfold. She stood weakly and looked at the door, but the hope died and was reced with anger, annoyance, and confusion when she saw the person who had entered. It was Tyra. And it looked like she had been crying. The door closed behind Tyra, and she saw a glimpse of the guards guarding the door outside. Tyra looked around the empty room before she faced her mother and looked at her with a soft, pitiful gaze, saying, "I have been kneeling outside for the past 2 hours, begging to meet you. How are you, Mother?" "What are you doing here?" The queen asked, not hiding her disappointment. "Didn''t they mention you were sick and had your heat all of a sudden? Why are you outside?" The queen asked before she remembered that that wasn''t important. She had more important questions to ask. "Where are the others? Why haven''t they taken me out of here yet?" She asked in a desperate tone. "Which... others?" Tyra asked innocently. "DO NOT PLAY SMART WITH ME!" The queen barked at her. "WHY AM I STILL HERE?" "Be calm, Mother," Tyra said with a sigh. "The pce is in a messy state right now. You mustn''t have heard, but Princess Amber killed Queen Darcy in the presence of the entire court." "W-What?" The queen inquired in shock. "Many people are beginning to think she really killed Beth," Tyra added. The queen''s eyes shone as she processed what she had just heard, but then she remembered the role Tyra had yed in this whole thing and how she was one of the reasons she was in this mess. Anger rose within her, and she hurried to Tyra''s front before pping her hard across the face. "This is all your fault! How could you not stick to one story and tell the truth? Tell me! What happened that night? Was it really Princess Amber that killed Beth?" She asked, aggressively grabbing Tyra by the cor with both hands. Tyra touched her red cheek that had been pped and straightened to look at her mother before her hand dropped from her cheek and she sighed. "What happened that night shouldn''t be important, Mother." She said it with a calm look. "A bottle of Alpha''s plight was found in your safe. How... could you try to kill Father? The king of this kingdom?" Tyra asked in an using tone that was filled with disbelief. If the queen''s eyes weren''t already wide when she heard that, they were now. She let go of Tyra''s cor and shook her head. "That... is a lie..." "That is not what everyone thinks, Mother. Everyone believes you tried to get rid of the King and Prince Harold in order to make your son the king." "SHUT UP! That is a lie! Who is stupid enough to believe that nonsense?!" "But a bottle of Beta''s nightmare was found in Ivan''s chamber, and he has been arrested and taken to the dungeon. You... didn''t know?" Tyra asked with wide eyes before she nodded to herself. "Of course you didn''t. You have been in here." She looked around the ce. "You are lying." The queenughed in disbelief. "Ivan would never do that." "Of course." Tyra nodded in agreement. "Ivan is not smart enough to make such a wless n. But... you are." The queen looked at her in confusion. "How... dare you talk to me in this manner? Are you... courting death?" She asked in a quiet tone. "You still don''t get it, do you?" Tyra asked her calmly before saying, "You will die before me." Chapter 419 The Strange Encounter (2) ? Arya looked at Tyra strangely. Something was wrong. Tyra wasn''t the kind of person to talk back to her. "You are the queen. With so many people at your disposal. But who is right here with you? It''s me." Tyra said it as though it were something she was supposed to be proud of. "I kneeled outside for two hours, crying and pleading to see my dear mother. I... wanted to see how you were coping here with my own eyes." The condescending tone she had used sent the queen over the edge, and her blood boiled. "HOW DARE YOU¡ª" The queen was about tond another p across Tyra''s face again, but she was taken by surprise when Tyra grabbed her hand, and the next thing she felt was a harsh p on her face that had her shouting in pain and sending her falling to the floor in shock. The queen sat on the floor in disbelief and looked up at Tyra as she felt her burning cheek with her hand. She had just been pped. By her daughter. Her omega daughter. Her unfilial omega daughter. She could not believe it. She refused to believe it. Tyra, however, had a satisfying look on her face as she said, "You are already so weak from this heat. But you know? It''s nothingpared to what I experience during my heat. In fact, this is quite warm and familiar." "What... hase... over you?" The queen asked with a hint of fear in her voice. She could not even find the strength or courage to stand up from the floor. "I actually came to tell you what is happening outside since I''m the only one you have now. I will give you a quick summary of your troubles." Without waiting for the queen to speak, Tyra began to list out with her fingers. "One, the king is still unseen, and even though he''s being treated, there is no guarantee that he is going to be in a position to lead the kingdom from now. All thanks to the potion you have been feeding him with." "Two, you and your son conspired to get rid of the King and Prince Harold with Princess Amber in order to take the throne for yourselves. You even tried to get your son married off to the daughter of the Minister of War to fuel your ambition." "Three, there is actually a maid who imed you instructed her to say it was Princess Amber who killed Beth and stabbed me. And that said maid was attacked in the dungeon by none other than your precious personal guard, who is currently on the run." "Four, your niece is missing, and I''m sure your brother suspects you for it too. Five, the pce is even more chaotic now after Princess Amber killed Queen Darcy." "Six, Prince Harold has fallen unconscious, and so has Princess Amber. But I don''t know the details." "Andstly, I am right here to let you know all of this. Oh! I forgot to mention that they are beginning to get leads about what happened to Sir Wilson, and since they aren''t sure who used the royal guards for such an act, Sir Damon has been restricted to his chamber. But you are still being suspected. I heard you gave yourself away during the assembly." "In summary... you are in a tight spot, queen mother." Nothing made sense. Everything sounded crazy and impossible. This was a joke. A big joke. "I... will fix your attitudeter. Just... call your uncle. Tell him toe see me¡ª" "Didn''t you hear me? They are all looking for his daughter. You think he would leave his daughter toe meet you?" Tyra asked her in a gentle tone. The queen withdrew from her as she looked at Tyra. Something was wrong with her. Also, she had never heard Tyra say so many words at once. And not just that, she had actually pped her and said a lot of things that didn''t make sense! She swallowed nervously. "Tyra... I... I am your mother. You know what happened that night. Tell me the truth. I will find the person who tried to frame me if I know what exactly happened that night. I know I have not been good to you. But I am still your mother. I... I will forgive you for being disrespectful. Just... tell me the truth. Eh?" Tyra looked at her with a straight face, while her mother stared back with hope in her eyes. Tyra continued to stare at her before she let out augh that scared the queen and had her withdraw backwards again. "You... really want to know what happened that night?" Tyra asked in amusement as she folded her arms across her chest. Her mother nodded slowly. "You know it already. It was... you." "Do not y with me!" The queen snapped. Tyra spread her hands open as she said, "Think about it. It makes the story perfect that way. I found you killing Beth to frame Princess Amber, and you tried to kill me to conceal it. But then, when I survived, you threatened to kill me if I said a word, so I could not. Everyone could understand why I could not tell the truth all those times. And everyone would believe without a doubt since you were very eager to execute Princess Amber." "SHUT UP!" The queen bellowed as she forced herself up. "It wasn''t me. I was in the woods that night! ¡ª" "That''s true." Tyra nodded in understanding. "But... where was Damian on that night?" The queen''s eyes flickered when she heard the question. Where was Damon that night? It didn''t matter where he was. He had nothing to do with this. But she was going to kill him when she saw him again. His stupid loyalty had put her in more trouble. As for the potions Tyra was talking about. Those were all lies. "We could just change your name for his. But it doesn''t matter. It''s still you¡ª" "SHUT UPPPPP!" The queen grabbed Tyra by the neck and tried to strangle her, but one solid shove from Tyra had her falling to the floor and scraping her elbows. Chapter 420 The Strange Encounter (3) ? Arya looked at the blood on her elbows, and that was when she realized her body was shaking too. "T-Tyra... what hase over you? Are you... have you been possessed?" The queen asked in fear as she looked up at her from the floor, where she remained. She had never felt like this before. Something didn''t feel right. And the way Tyra was aloof and the kind of smirk on her face made the queen wary. She didn''t want to believe Tyra had something to do with all this. Of course not. Her daughter didn''t have any reason to. She didn''t have any reason to hurt her father or Prince Harold, much less her own mother and blood brother. Besides, she was not that smart. She was only a weak girl. Suspecting Tyra meant she was overestimating her. Tyra suddenly giggled and used a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes shining with mischief, while Arya looked at her like she had gone crazy. "I like that look on your face." She spoke to her mother in a quiet tone. "It went from suspecting I have a hand in all this to waving it off because I am just a stupid and weak Omega." She squatted as she whispered, "That underestimation is what made you all blind." Arya shook her head. It was impossible. This was Tyra. Maybe she was ying with her. Or someone else was trying to use Tyra again. "No. No. You... you can''t. You have no hand in this. You are... you are just..." "Your daughter," Tyra replied with a small smile. "You are good at lying. Manipting. And most especially, covering your tracks. Why does it surprise you that you have a child that is just like you." Arya shook her head. She didn''t believe it. Tyra had no hand in this. Maybe she was dreaming. Or hallucinating. This had to be a side effect of staying here. This was the punishment she was made to face here. She only hoped she wouldn''t see Maria too. "Weren''t you curious?" Tyra inquired genuinely. "Ivan is stupid. Harry was also stupid. You should have been curious and asked yourself if you truly didn''t have a child that was just. like. you¡ª" "DO NOT CALL HARRY''S NAME, YOU CRAZY WENCH!" The queen bellowed at her with fury in her eyes, which were already pooling with tears. "Oh... you are still pained about the loss of your dear son," Tyra said with a sad look on her face before she stood up and turned, looking away from her mother. Arya stared at her back in disbelief. This was not her daughter. Tyra was obedient. She was timid. Ignorant. This person was different. She was scary. "Would you like to know something interesting, Queen Mother?" Tyra asked and turned around to look at her mother with a straight face. Both women locked eyes before Tyra went to where her mother was and squatted directly in front of her, and then she leaned closer to whisper into her ear, "Prince Harold... didn''t kill your beloved son." She leaned back to look at her mother''s face before grinning happily. "W-What... are y-you... saying?" The queen asked with wide eyes, finding it difficult to process what she had just heard. "I may not give you the answer you desire about what happened on that night of the banquet, but I can definitely give you this answer about Prince Harry. Because... I was there." The queen''s breathing became unstable as she was torn between believing her or not believing her. It was Harold who killed her son. She didn''t know who had fed Harry Beta''s nightmare, but Harold had killed her son. He was responsible for it! "No..." Tyra shook her head as though reading the Queen''s thoughts on her face. "It was someone else. Someone else made sure Prince Harry died after it happened." "The person fed your son Beta''s nightmare and gave him a real poisoned sword after inciting him to go after Prince Harold." She frowned when she said that part. "And the person would have done the same to Prince Harold if I hadn''t been there to stop it." "T-Ty...ra..." The queen choked out as she tried to touch Tyra''s arm while also trying to sit up, but her hand fell back, too weak to even reach Tyra, who was right in front of her. It was a lie. It was impossible. She didn''t believe it. "It was... Damian." Tyra whispered and then giggled. It seemed like time stopped at that time. The queen could only stare nkly. Her brain wasn''t even processing what she had just heard. But when she finally processed it, she thought it was silly. "Who... put you up to this?" She asked Tyra in a low, angry voice. Whoever was doing this was trying to create a rift between her and her loyal bodyguard so she would start suspecting him and have no one beside her again. For what reason did Damian have to do that? He was a little boy when the incident happened. He was around the same age as Harry. Why would a 13-year-old try to kill his master? And how would he get Beta''s nightmare? It was all silly. "WHO PUT YOU UP TO THIS?" The queen yelled as she reached for Tyra''s throat and grabbed it, squeezing with the little strength she had left even as tears streamed down her angry eyes and down her face. Tyra didn''t move, nor did she make any effort to get her mother''s hands off her throat. She just squatted there, staring nkly at the woman, and it seemed like the chokehold didn''t have much effect on her. What strength did the queen have at this point? "Would it make sense if your loyal Damian was rted to Sir Wilson?" Tyra asked, sending all the nerves in the queen''s body to stop functioning at once. "It''s over for you, queen mother," Tyra spoke quietly as she roughly shoved her mother''s hands off her neck. The queen was muddleheaded at this point. But Tyra was hellbent on not letting her be, so she leaned closer to her again. "Do you want to know the next thing that will happen to you?" Then she whispered... "Your brother might kill you too... as soon as he finds Susan''s body." Tyra leaned back,pping and grinning happily at her mother, who was still finding it difficult to process anything. All Arya could do was pant and gasp as blood drained out of her. With that, Tyra stood up and looked at her mother, just as the grin turned into sadness and tears pooled in her eyes. She turned toward the door and knocked. And as the door was open for her to leave while she sobbed quietly, she fainted outside, and some of the guards had to quickly save her. Chapter 421 The Peacemaker It was almostte in the evening, and yet there wasn''t much progress with anything. Harvey stood outside Princess Amber''s chamber without making any effort to go in. He had wronged her, and he knew it was going to take a great deal for her to forgive him. He hated to admit that there was nothing he could have done at that moment when their eyes locked. Amber wasn''t Alicia. Although Amber could get really impulsive sometimes, she had never done something that impulsive, such as killing someone. When he first heard about what happened in the assembly room, he suspected that wasn''t Alicia in action. He also didn''t think it was Amber. After seeing how she was almost stabbing Harold, he knew for a fact that it was not Alicia because she would never do that. And when she looked at him, he confirmed it was Amber even before she asked the question about why he was there. It seemed like Amber didn''t have much memory of Alicia''s life here. But when her eyes dimmed, for some reason, he could tell she was surfing through Alicia''s memory, and it wouldn''t take long before she got her answer. He panicked. Especially when Harold copsed. At that point, all he could do was knock her out, so he struck her around the neck. He regretted it. But he didn''t have much of a choice. ording to the physician, she was very exhausted and in a deep sleep, and wasn''t sure when she would wake up. But he was certain she wouldn''t be waking up today. The same could be said about Harold, who was ill and had also fallen into a deep slumber. With other craziness going around in the pce, especially since his father was caught in the middle of so many controversies, such as King Cedric mentioning his name and also his involvement with the queen in trying to marry off his children into royalty, he decided to leave there for now. He could not continue lurking outside her chamber. Besides, it was improper. On his way, a sound caught his attention, and he peered into the hallway to find someone repeatedly banging their forehead on the wall. His brows furrowed when he recognized Alvin. He could only see his side profile, but Alvin looked exhausted and frustrated. Before he could attempt to approach Alvin, Lance came from the opposite side and shoved him, revealing Alvin''s bruised forehead. Thankfully, it wasn''t serious. And thankfully, again, Lance was wearing normal clothing. "What do you think you are doing?" Lance asked him in his usual condescending tone. Alvin ignored him, which was rare for Alvin. He didn''t even spare him a nce. He just dejectedly fell back to the wall as he muttered to himself, "I feel so useless." Lance eyed him unpleasantly. "You must think so highly of yourself. Nothing in the pce is your fault." Harvey was surprised that Lance was actually trying to console Alvin until Lance added, "Why do you keep forgetting your ce?" At this point, Harvey wasn''t sure if Lance was trying to console him or annoy him. But he wouldn''t be Lance if he didn''t try to remind others beneath him of their ce. "I should have protected them. But I was stupidly lying in bed all week." Alvin continued to murmur to himself,pletely ignoring Lance. "You had to rest. And you still need it." Harvey said as he approached them. Lance turned to look at Harvey, but Alvin just continued to look ahead nkly as he said, "The Prince is ill. The king is ill. Lady Susan is missing, and you want me to rest?" "You ming yourself would not change a thing. The only thing you can do for your master is make sure things in the pce are fine. Isn''t that why Sir Evan asked you to return here, and he would find his daughter?" Harvey reminded him. "I should have been out there too. I can''t do anything here right now, but I can help find her¡ª" "ENOUGH!" Lance snapped at him. "Your presence wouldn''t make a difference." "I won''t keep tolerating you!" Alvin said in anger as he grabbed Lance by the cor aggressively. "Get off me, you wild animal!" Lance tried to shove him off as he angrily said, "Who do you think you are to care about her? Do you think you are more worried about her than I am? Or more than Sir Harvey, who is her betrothed? Or even her parents and twin brother?" Lance asked before he threw a punch at his face, causing Alvin to abruptly let go of him. Although Alvin made no move to fight back, Harvey didn''t want to risk it and moved to stand in between the two of them. "Are you both children?!" Harvey asked in annoyance. "This is not the time to fight! The best guards have been sent out to look for her. They are also looking for Damian all over. But you think it is the best time to fight?!" "You are right..." a voice said behind them. The three young men''s attention went to the one who had just joined them. It was Tyra. "Prince Harold wouldn''t want this to happen in his absence. We should try to keep the pce in peace until he gets better. That is what he would want." She said in a weak voice. "What are you doing here? I thought they said you got sick again after kneeling outside the hot pce to meet the queen." Lance asked her, not hiding his displeasure at her presence. "I... cannot lock myself in my chamber all day long." She said timidly. Lance scoffed. "I see what you have been doing the entire time." Harvey red at Lance, which had him rolling his eyes, but he said no other words. Tyra sniffled and put down her head as she said, "I am... sorry." She sobbed quietly. "I know that part of this is my fault." "What has Damian been up to?" Harvey asked her. She quickly looked up and shook her head. "I... have no idea. The... truth is... there was nothing between Damian and I." The three young men looked at her curiously. "Damian is loyal to Queen Mother. I was... being threatened. That was why I yed along with everything. I was scared that if I didn''t... I would get hurt. Just... like the King and Prince Harold." The men didn''t speak. She continued. "They are Alphas, so they were able to survive the Queen''s plots, but I won''t be able to survive. Please forgive me." She sobbed and knelt on the floor with a loud thud. "You don''t have to kneel before us. If you want to be helpful, tell us all you know and stop constantly crying. It''s annoying." Alvin said it in a harsh tone that made her flinch. Without looking up, she said, "I... promise to tell all I know." She then looked up with teary eyes as she added, "But promise me you will find Susan. Susan is... my friend. She is the first real friend and family member I have aside from Prince Harold. I don''t want anything bad to happen to her¡ª" "Do we look like we want anything bad to happen to her?" Lance asked in annoyance. "Be calm," Harvey said as he looked at all of them and then looked down at Tyra. "You should get up. It is wrong to kneel before us¡ª" They suddenly heard amotion outside the pce that caught their attention. The three men looked at each other, forgetting about Tyra, as they quickly made their way outside the pce in a hurry. Slowly, Tyra got up from her kneeling position and looked in the direction the three young men had taken with dark eyes and palms tightly fisted beside her. Chapter 422 A Glimmer Of Hope? Or Not ? Williams had been doing his best to coax his mother into calming down. She had tried to join the search party just like Williams had tried to, but Sir Evan stopped them and asked Williams to take care of his mother and himself since he hadn''tpletely healed from the poison. He hadn''t wanted toply, but then someone had to look after their mother. She was worried and even in tears, as she feared something bad had happened to Susan. Fortunately, he was able to convince her to take a calming tea, which put her to sleep. But he didn''t leave her side and just watched her sleep until there was a faint knock on the door, and it slowly opened. When he looked at the door, he found Paulina peeking her head in, and when she noticed him, she gently pushed the door with her body as she entered with a tray of snacks and tea in her hand. "My Lord..." she greeted in a quiet voice as her eyes went to his mother''s sleeping form. Williams stood up and went to her. It was the first time she had appeared in front of him since that happened between them. She had been avoiding him the entire time. "I brought you something to eat and drink." She said awkwardly, and when he still didn''t say anything, she looked around awkwardly and quickly went to drop the tray on the table at the left end of the room. "You shouldn''t worry too much. Lady Susan is a smartdy. She will be fine." "It''s almost a day already. Almost a day has passed since she went missing." He said it quietly, went to sit down on the chair, and looked down at the snacks she had brought him. "Maybe she lost her way," Paulina said, not knowing what else to say. She looked at Williams, who looked down. She had never seen him look like this before. He seemed hopeless. She thought it was best to leave him be and bowed. As soon as she turned, he spoke, "Stay." She turned around to look at him as soon as he said that. "Stay for a while." He said and gestured at the chair across from him. She stood there for a while, contemting it. She knew it was not safe. And this was the chamber of his family, and his mother was sleeping not too far away. But then again, this may be thest time to have a chat with him. Because now that her mistress seemed to be back, she had a feeling Princess Amber would want them to leave this ce soon. She went and sat down stiffly across from him. "Everyone is looking for her. I''m sure she would be found soon." Paulina spoke in a very quiet voice. "I want to believe so too," Williams spoke in a weak tone without staring at her. "But... I know that something is wrong. I can feel it. I really want this feeling to be wrong, but I... I cannot convince myself." He said in a tight voice. The words were heavy, and he sounded really pained. "What if... what if she went into the town? What if ¡ª" "Susan has no reason to go out into town." He interrupted. "Her family is here. Her friends are here. Alvin is here." he said thest part with hesitation. Paulina looked down sadly, but then she immediately looked up, and her eyes widened. Out of excitement, she grabbed his hand on the table. "Katherine! Lady Susan was looking for Katherine!" She said it with excitement but still kept her voice hushed. "Maybe she went out to look for her." "What are you talking about? Who is Katherine?" For the first time, there was hope in William''s eyes, and he also ignored the handholding, even though his mother could wake up at any time and see them. "She supervises the maids'' quarters. Lady Susan asked me if I had seen her or knew where she was. I don''t know why she was looking for her, but she seemed to be doing it secretly." "What did you tell her?" "I told her what I knew. Katherine has not been in the pce for a long time. She is usually the one we report to if any maid falls sick." "What does Susan have to do with the maid?" He asked curiously. "I don''t know. But she didn''t look like she knew much about Katherine while she was asking me." "If she didn''t know much about Katherine, then it means someone told her something," Williams said to himself as he stood up. "Alvin has already returned to guard the pce, right?" He asked as he began to head for the door, while Paulina quickly stood up and followed him. "I... haven''t seen him. I don''t know." "You can let him know we already have a lead. I will look for my father and also let him know about this." He said just as they got outside, and he quietly closed the door behind them. She nodded and was about to turn to leave in the opposite direction when he held her shoulders and looked down at her. "Thank you for telling me this." He said sincerely and smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time since the day started. Paulina was d that she was able to help, even though she hadn''t done much. She smiled back at him and nodded. Just as they were about to part ways, one of the servants from Sir Evan''s household ran towards them, panting and looking frightened as he fell to his knees before Williams. "My... Lord..." He gasped before he broke into a sob while his quivering fingers pointed in the direction he hade from. Both Williams and Paulina looked at him in confusion, but the confusion Williams felt soon turned into dread as he looked down at the servant, who could not say a word. The door suddenly opened, and his nervous-looking mother came out of the chamber. She looked down at the servant and didn''t prod him to say a word. She took to her heels at once, racing outside the pce while Williams just stood there, staring nkly with bloodpletely drained out of him. Chapter 423 The Misfortune ? It seemed like time slowed as people filed out to watch what was happening outside. While some people with a high rank could step out, others, including servants, could only watch from the windows where they were. An open four-wheeled wagon was rolled in, followed by one of the groups that had gone out in search of Susan. Since it was already evening, some of the bodyguards held fire torches while the others simply stood with their heads down. They all had solemn looks on their faces. They could all see it. Even if they tried to pretend like they could not. They could all see a body in the wagon, which was covered with a white cloth. The person was not as tall as the average man, and neither was their body moving. It was simply lying still. The bodyguard leading the troop dropped to his knees while facing the pce as he painfully said in a tight voice, "This... useless servant... f-failed." No one could speak or move. The only thing some of them could do was release horrified gasps, while some of the servants watching from the windows began to sob. It was just at that time that another group arrived. The one being led by Susan''s father. His troop slowed beside him as he moved slowly towards the wagon. It was the first time for many of them to see Sir Evan look so frightened. He tried to reach for the cloth to pull it down, but he could not bring himself to do so. He folded his hand to form a fist and shut his eyes as he took a loud, shaky breath. He didn''t want to confirm it. "It... isn''t my... child, right?" Susan''s mother asked as she looked at her husband with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Sir Evan opened his eyes and stared at her, not being able to say a word to her. Tears spilled down Lady Victoria''s eyes, and she used a hand to cover her mouth as she shook her head in denial. "You... promised me you were going to bring her back and we would scold her together," she said to her husband as she began to walk towards the wagon, but her legs were suddenly so weak that she fell to the ground. Sir Evan looked at his wife with tear-streaked eyes before he turned his gaze away from her and shut his eyes. "It can''t be her." The woman said with conviction before forcing herself up from the ground and staggering towards the wagon. She was about to reach for the cloth to pull down when her husband grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her into a tight hug while she cried loudly and iled about in his arms to be let out so she could confirm that it was truly not her daughter. The sight was so heartbreaking for everyone that some of them could not bear to watch anymore and ran back inside the pce. "P-Please..." Lady Victoria pleaded with her husband as she lost the will to fight and cried out loudly as she hugged him. "I''m... sorry." Sir Evan said in a broken voice as he sniffled. Lady Victoria shook her head and suddenly began to gasp for air. Her husband quickly let go of her because it was obvious something was wrong. She clutched at her chest and continued to gasp as she fell off his hold. Luckily, he caught her and shook her. "What is wrong with you?" He asked her in panic, but she said no words and continued to gasp for air. "Get the physician!" Sir Evan yelled as he lifted her in his arms. His worried eyes went to the wagon, and he looked torn for a split second before he carried her into the pce with long strides. Harvey had been in denial the entire time. Susan couldn''t die. Even though he hadn''t known her for a long time, he could swear that it was impossible for someone like her to have an enemy who would go as far as getting her killed. He shook his head. She could not die like that. It wasn''t her. It was not possible. He turned beside him to look at the two young men who had followed him out, hoping he was hearing and seeing things and that this was not real. Lance''s eyes were wide and his face pale. He looked frozen on the spot, his eyes fixed on the wagon. Alvin, on the other hand, looked at the wagon with his usual stoic expression. But it wasn''t normal. All of the veins in his neck were visible and strained, and his hands were tightly clenched beside him as he stood still and also stared at the figure in the wagon. He didn''t move an inch. He only looked. And then he shut his eyes. "What... is happening?" Tyra asked as she stepped outside. No one said a word. They could not. Her eyes went to the wagon, and she staggered towards it. At one point, she fell to the ground and had to be helped up by some guards while she continued to approach the wagon with tears in her eyes. As soon as she stood beside it, her shaking hands reached for the cover and slowly pulled it open. Her hair was revealed first. The familiar hair they all knew. And the more she drew down the cloth, the more of her features were revealed until her entire face came into view. Tyra let out a scream as her hand dropped the cloth and she fell to the ground, crying, "Noooooo!" That was the confirmation they all needed. It was Susan. Cries erupted from every corner of the pce. "Why... why?" Tyra cried loudly, shaking on the ground. Why? Why was she an annoying busybody who would not let her be? Why wouldn''t she just mind her business? If it wasn''t for Susan, many things wouldn''t have been ruined. Tyra''s sobs were so heartbreaking that they could make even a cold-hearted man cry. "My Princess... you are unwell. Please..." One of the maids who had dared step out went to Tyra and tried to help her up, but Tyra refused, crying loudly on the ground. Williams stepped out at that moment, apanied by Paulina, whose hand was covering her mouth as she also sobbed. This was shocking and unexpected. It was too hard to believe. Williams slowly walked up to the wagon and took a look at his sister''s face. She looked peaceful in her sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn''t a peaceful sleep for any of them. She had a cut on her lip, and blood had dried around it. Someone had hit her. The other thing that stood out was the purple bruise on her neck. Strangled. She was pale. With no single sign of life. But Williams was blind to it all. He took his sister in his arms, lifting her off the wagon as he said to no one in particr, "Get the royal physician immediately." He didn''t pay anyone any mind as he carried his sister off with the covers further rolling down. As he passed by the others, they could all see her face and confirm that it was indeed Susan. The daughter of Lord Evan and Lady Victoria. The Twin of Williams. The Queen''s niece. It was THAT Susan. Lance, who was still in disbelief, tried to approach Williams, but Harvey quickly held his hand to keep him in ce. That evening was tough for every one of them. Paulina folded herself into a fetal position as she slept on the floor beside an unconscious Amber''s bed, sobbing. If there was onedy she hade to like a lot, it was Susan. She remembered the night she shared a room with Susan and Luciana in the inn. She remembered the food fight they had had. And Susan had called her her friend. And had even apologized to her. Nody had treated her with such kindness before, except Alicia. And the thought of how Williams was feeling right now made her cry even more. Lance stood outside Sir Evan''s chamber. He could neither bring himself to knock nor go away. All he could hear were quiet sobs and Williams saying, "Susan, please." Lance remained there until his mother found him, bringing him into her embrace while he tried to muffle his sobs but failed. For Alvin, he went to Harold''s chamber. "My Lord..." He called quietly as he knelt beside Harold''s bed. "Harold." He called again, his voice slowly fading. "H-Ha¨Crold." He choked on his words as he reached for Harold''s hand and held it in his hands before dropping his head on their hands. Even though Harold was unconscious, he held Alvin''s hand in a way that assured Alvin that he was there. It seemed like those fun days of ying together outside the pce were nevering again. Alicia was gone. Luciana was not waking up. And Susan... Chapter 424 Queen ? Two days. Two days had passed, and everything was still a mess. It was even worse now because, with the King ill, the Queen imprisoned, Ivan in the dungeon, and Damon restricted to his chamber, Harold had easily taken control over the affairs of the pce, but with him suddenly sick now and even the physician unable to tell what exactly was wrong with him, the only free member of the royal family was Tyra. As much as they could not ept her since she was far lower in rank than even some maids, they did not have much of a choice now since it directly affected her family, and they could not simply shun her, especially when she suddenly brought out her royal token. Every direct member of the royal family had a token that would permit them to handle things in case the higher authority was not present. For Tyra, hers had always been kept as a form of decoration because no one thought a situation would arise where she would ever need it. If the noblemen''s displeasure was not bad enough, Tyra suddenly called for a morning assembly with all the noblemen in the pce. The audacity stunned them. A woman, an Omega? Even with the token, they could not allow her to be in charge and brazenly try to control them just because of some token. The said person who was riling up the noblemen was in her chamber. Tyra stood with her hands spread out as four maids dressed her up. The atmosphere felt very weird for the maids inside because they were not used to it. Not only were they dressing her up, but two other maids were sitting on their calves while kneeling on the floor; one was strumming a zither while the other was ying the harmonica. Tyra kept her eyes closed, revelling in the gentle, melodious tone until the maids were done dressing her up. A mid-length mirror was carried by two maids, who held it in front of her to see her transformation. She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the mirror with a straight face. She was wearing a rather extravagant-looking red dress,plete with the hairdo and different golden hairpins and earrings. She slowly tilted her face to both sides, taking in her new look. Her blood-red lips were particrly striking, reminding her so much of her mother. But she was not Arya. She was Queen Tyra. Her lips curled up in an almost invisible smile, and she took in a deep, satisfying breath before she waved for the mirror to be taken away. She stepped out of her chamber, where a group of guards were already waiting for her instructions. She turned to one and asked, "How is Prince Harold?" The guard stepped forward and bowed curtly before answering, "He isn''t awake yet. However, the physician is doing his best." She nodded and turned to another one: "Are the noblemen already waiting in the courtroom?" The first guard stepped back while the one she was referring to stepped forward and also nodded curtly before answering, "Some of them have already arrived. As for the others, I... guess they would be arrivingte." They were noting. They were rebelling against her. Her eyes turned cold, and her hands clenched in tight fists beside her. "Make them arrive..." She said it in a tone that told him it didn''t matter whatever method he used. "...and you will be getting a reward." She added. When the guard bowed and was about to walk away, she raised a hand to stop him. "I changed my mind." The guard looked at her as he waited for her orders. "Lock their children in the dungeon. If they do not have any children in the pce, lock up their wives." She turned around to leave. "Show no mercy to anyone who tried to stop you. Spare Lord Evan. Let him mourn his daughter," she added as she walked away with two buff guards following closely behind her. She didn''t need anyone to tell her that Sir Evan was not present. Instead of heading to the courtroom, she walked in the opposite direction. The aura she gave off was so different and strange that it made anyone she walked past step to the side and keep their heads down while she blissfully ignored all of them until she was standing outside Damon''s chamber. "Take a break." She said to the young men guarding the door. The two guards exchanged looks before they bowed and walked away, while the guards following Tyra also excused themselves. She entered the room and found Damon standing by the window. He turned and looked at her. He took in her appearance, almost confused at who this person was before he took a closer look and then noticed the royal token she was wearing as a ne. "What do you think you are doing?" He asked her in his usual gruff tone. "I should be asking you that." She said calmly as she went to take her seat in the main chair and gestured for him to sit across from her. His brows creased as his frown deepened. "SSIT!" She said it in an annoyed andmanding tone while looking at him with dark eyes, hissing out the "S.". He didn''t move immediately. The anger, humiliation, and irritation were all evident on his face. But despite his ego, he sat down across from her, bringing a satisfying smile to Tyra''s face. "We should be having tea while conversing. Too bad I have to lead the morning assembly and cannot¡ª" "What do you mean by that?" He asked in a voice filled with disbelief. "I came to tell you how to save yourself." She said this, ignoring his question. "Give up on the queen. She should be executed together with Ivan for plotting treason." "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" He asked in a harsh tone, hitting the table so hard that it almost split in half. "I''m not." She said as she drew closer while keeping eye contact with him. "But you are. And that is why you are in this mess." She drew back and crossed her arms as she looked at a fuming Damon intensely. "I have always been wondering. You don''t look like you have affection for the queen. Why did you have an affair with her?" Chapter 425 "I Know You" ? Damon paled instantly, and his eyes widened at once. He remembered the words she had said to him thest time she had privately met with him to convince him to me the queen and Ivan. "Do not give anyone a reason to be suspicious of you and your blind loyalty to the queen. I understand that you cannot help it, but now is the time to free yourself from thatmitment and do what is right." He had merely thought she was bluffing, even with the subtle threat of an unpleasant rumour spreading in the kingdom. She revelled in his reaction. Seeing him look so terrified brought her great pleasure, and she began to cackle. She looked up,ughing so loudly, while Damon turned his attention towards the door to be sure no one was there. "You... t-that is nonsense¡ª" "If you hadn''t done that, you wouldn''t have gotten rid of Sir Wilson just to hide that fact. And you won''t be in this position right now." She said, cutting him off. Her face turned serious, and her voice went low as she asked, "How does it feel now? How does it feel to be useless? To be hopeless. To be looked down on by everyone. How does it feel?" She could see it even though he was trying to hide it. Her words were getting to him, and the humiliation and fear were making him anxious. "I currently have the highest authority in the pce. If you promise to put the entire me on the queen and Ivan, I will make sure to spare your life and give you the chance to find Damian yourself and get rid of him before your secretes to light." She whispered while nodding her head, as though that was the answer to all his problems. "Da-mian?" He whispered, even though the whole thing was still a shock to him. It was obvious he had no idea what Damian had to do with all this. "He is... Sir Wilson''s son." She whispered again before cing her index finger on her lip as she breathed a "shhh." As Damon''s eyes widened in shock, Tyra grinned at him, looking excited. "Choose wisely before you are called upon. And just like I promised youst time, you will have my full support." Those were thest words she said to him before leaving his chamber. Tyra could hear the distant cries, arguments, and displeasure around the pce as people were forcefully locked up, giving the noblemen no choice but to attend the meeting. But she didn''t mind it. She didn''t try to hurry to join them in the courtroom either. Thankfully, a good opportunity came to while away time. And that was a report that came from a guard, letting her know that Alvin had left the pce and that Harvey was no longer guarding Princess Amber''s door either. Maybe he had left for the morning assembly. "Who then is watching over Prince Harold and Princess Amber?" She asked curiously since both men had been guarding the rooms for the past few days, giving her no chance to visit. "No one, my princess. But with your order, guards would be sent¡ª" "Never mind it," Tyra said, raising a hand, but then something struck her, and she looked at the guard curiously. "Why did Alvin suddenly leave the pce?" She asked in a curious and anxious tone. "I have no idea, my princess." The guard responded. "Send someone smart to secretly follow him and report everything he is up to." She instructed. "I will do that immediately." She gave him a nod, and he quickly left her with the other two guards, who followed closely behind her. They had thought she would head to the courtroom, but instead, she began to head towards Princess Amber''s chamber. She hadn''t even gotten close to the door when she said to both guards, "Wait here." Leaving them farther away from the door. When she got to the door, she slowly opened it and entered, quietly closing the door behind her. She looked at the bed where Ambery quietly and just stared at her sleeping figure. The windows were open, keeping the room ventted and bright. Tyra slowly approached the bed, her eyes never leaving Amber''s face. When she stood directly beside the bed, she reached to touch Amber''s face, running a finger on her skin in a feather-like touch. Her finger trailed down from her face to touch the side of her neck, and at once, her eyes darkened just as her hands went to her neck as if to strangle her. But she stopped at thest minute. She stared at Amber''s face for a few seconds before she grabbed the pillow beside her and pressed it down on her face, snuffing the life out of her. At first, it was going smoothly until Amber began to unconsciously struggle with her body twisting on both sides and her legs dragging along the sheets. Seeing how Amber was waking up, Tyra exerted pressure, but unfortunately, Amber seemed to have fully woken up and grabbed Tyra by the neck, taking her aback. Tyra tried to get away from her hold and exerted more pressure on the pillow until the hold around her neck tightened and she could not take it anymore. She instantly let go of the pillow to fight off the hand around her neck, and as soon as she was out of Amber''s grasp, she fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air with tears running down her face. Amber weakly removed the pillow from her face and loudly sucked in air, also gasping. She forced herself to sit up, feeling very faint from having been unconscious for days, and then she looked at Tyra on the floor, who was coughing and touching the front of her neck while looking at Amber with evil eyes. Amber had no idea what she had done to deserve this. "W-Why?" She weakly asked Tyra. "Why?" Tyra echoed as though she had just heard the most ridiculous question in her life. "You. Deserve. To. Die!" She said it in a spiteful tone as she tried to stand up from the floor. Amber narrowed her eyes to look at her. She had been able to see some memories of Tyra with Alicia, and Tyra wasn''t this kind of person. But something else bothered her. Tyra looked familiar. And she didn''t think this was Alicia''s memory. It was hers. Amber''s eyes suddenly widened slightly. "I... know you." She said it in surprise. ******* A/N I haven''t been on here for over 2 weeks, and right now, I cannot even bring myself to read thements because I do not wish to see anyments that would throw me off. I''ve had a rough and tough month. Been from one issue to another. Started with an allergic reaction to ack of proper blood cirction and then a migraine. And now I''m out of work, so yeah, I''m currently UNEMPLOYED. You are free toin since many of you purchase coins and many only read my book here, but I am a person. Just like you, I break down sometimes. And yeah, I do feel guilty about leaving, but I cannot help it most times because I am not in the right frame of mind and there is no tform to make an announcement. Those who tried to reach me through Miss B, thank you for reaching out. She did let me know, and you can confirm from her that I have been on several medications even till this moment and would be travelling home to my parents'' soon to live there for a while and just get back myself. So when you dropments sometimes, be nice. Because I also have feelings too. And writing a novel requires critical thinking, which cannot always work if one is not in the right frame of mind. Chapter 426 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE WITH ME! ? Amber''s eyes suddenly widened slightly. "I... know you." She said to Tyra in surprise. "It... was you." Amber breathed out, but she looked confused because it didn''t make sense to her either. How was it possible? Her head was spinning at this point. She wondered if she was thinking wrongly since she had just been forcefully awoken from her consciousness by a crazy princess who wanted to kill her. But she didn''t think she was mistaken. It was this girl. She had been the one in the next room in the inn, where she had been waiting for Harvey. It had all started with her. Amber was surprised as she began to get a clearer picture of everything while trying to put her memories and those of Alicia side by side. "You... sent people after me?" Amber quietly asked as she looked at the genesis of her problems. But she did not exactly get it. Why was it her? Tyra obviously didn''t understand what she was talking about. She looked at Amber''s face and cackled withughter. "You seem to have lost it," Tyra said in betweenughs as she wiped off her amused tears. "That is good. That is very good!" Tyra said this with a smile as she slowly began to approach Amber''s bed, trying to take advantage of how weak Amber was. "Why did you try to kill him," Amber said this to Tyra, stopping her from moving closer. "Your brother," she added. Tyra paused, not sure what Amber was talking about. Amber looked like she was having a bad headache. She cradled her head with both arms and moaned quietly in pain. Seeing this, Tyra thought it was best to advance. She kept her eyes on the pillow and slowly began to head toward the bed. The pillow was her only safe choice at this point as it wouldn''t leave any evidence. The thought excited her. However, she let out a squeal and jumped back when Amber suddenly raised her head and looked at her with clear eyes. "You have tried to kill me three times!" Amber said with certainty as she put her hand down on the bed to help herself down from the bed and get up. Tyra looked at her in disbelief and quietly asked, "Tried to kill you three times?" She shook her head. "I have killed you a million times in my head already!" She said this as anger began to rise within her, and her voice rose. "You should have just continued to be a stupid human that caused trouble every day. I liked you better then!" She cried out. "Why do you hate your brother''s bride so much?" Amber asked her calmly, even though she was anything but calm. She felt very sick. If Tyra hadn''t woken her up, she probably would have been asleep for a few more days. Her head was muddled and aching. The flood of memories that weren''t hers made it difficult for her to think. But she couldn''t show it. Amber''s attitude greatly annoyed Tyra. Why was she so calm? She acted like she didn''t see Tyra as a threat. Everyone should see her as a threat. She had worked her whole life for everyone to see her as a threat right now! Tyra''s chest rose and fell aggressively as she fisted her hands to look at Amber, who was looking at her with prying eyes. "Do you think you are special just because Prince Harold favours you?" Tyra snarled before letting out a condescending scoff. "You must have used your witchcraft to charm him and make him like you! Prince Harold didn''t like you! He didn''t want you anywhere near him! He didn''t even want to bring you to the royal dinner after your wedding. He didn''t even ask for a honeymoon for you two because he hates you. And then you had to use witchcraft on him! HOW DARE YOU STUPID WITCH!?" Amber looked at her. Something was definitely wrong with this princess. She looked angry, livid, and crazy. And she had angry tears spilling down her red eyes. Just how much hate did she have in her for an oblivious Alicia? Amber shook her head gently. "Lucky you. I do not practice witchcraft. Otherwise¡ª" "SHUT UP!" Tyra yelled at her. "YOU STILL DARE LIE TO MY FACE?" Tyra let out augh and tried to get a strong grip on her hair, but it had been properly fastened in ce by several hairpins. She groaned and reached for her hair, furiously pulling the hairpins until one fell out, letting her get a good grip on her hair. As she did that, she continued ranting. "YOU THINK I DIDN''T NOTICE IT ON YOUR STUPID WEDDING DAY THAT YOU DIDN''T HAVE ANY SMELL ON YOU? OF COURSE, I DID!" Tyra''s yells were making it hard for Amber. She knew it wouldn''t be long before she fell back into sleep. She didn''t want that. Especially right now.She had to be awake until the Blood Moon. She had to unlock her core and get rid of every one of them at once. Tyra continued ranting. "It wasn''t hard to know you were one. I have always known you were a witch. And now everyone in this kingdom knows you are one. So even if they ever find out that it was I who got rid of you, they are going to worship me." Sheughed excitedly. "EVERYONE IS GOING TO WORSHIP ME! AND PRINCE HAROLD WOULD NOT CARE ABOUT YOU SINCE HE HAS ME¡ª" Amber let out augh and shook her head. "Do you think a weakling like you can kill me even in my sleep?" She asked in a tired tone as she gestured at the bed. "You''ve already tried and seen how useless you can be, even to yourself." Those words felt like a dagger to Tyra''s heart, and her entire body froze in ce. She was instantly broken and all her confidence died out with just those few words. "How... can you... say that to me?" She asked Amber. "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT TO ME?!" She yelled angrily and burst into tears, startling Amber. An urgent knock sounded on the door, followed by one of the guard''s voices as he said, "Should wee in, My Princess¡ª" "GO FURTHER AWAY!" Tyra yelled at the door. "I WILL KILL ANY OF YOU WHO COMES IN HERE WITHOUT MY ORDER." "Apologies, my princess." The guard said before they heard two heavy footsteps walk farther away. As Tyra''s eyes moved away from the door, they fell on the hairpin on the floor and her eyes shed dangerously. She picked it up and held it tightly, her eyes moving back to Amber who was just watching her quietly. Chapter 427 I See You Remember... ? With determination, Tyra spoke, "Maybe I failed to kill you once. But let''s see if I will fail again¡ª" "Once?" Amber mocked."I told you you''d tried to kill me three times. And you''ve admitted you have killed me a million times in your head because that is as far as you can go." "Do. Not. Say. That.!" Tyra said before pointing the sharp end of the hairpin at Amber with both hands. "If there is anyone capable of killing anyone in this room, it is I. But you know why I won''t?" Amber asked her as she took the very first step towards Tyra, making her recoil backwards in fear while still pointing the hairpin at Amber. "It is because you seem like the type that would ruin your own kingdom." She sighed as she added, "If I desire to see the ruin of this kingdom, then it means everyone in your family has to die. Sadly, I cannot kill Prince Harold myself... but you can. You have tried it before. If you decide not to be a weakling, you can try it again and maybe seed this time. And when it works... I can finally kill you myself." "SHUT UP! HOW DARE YOU?! WHY WOULD I EVER KILL PRINCE HAROLD?" "Really? I thought we''d gone past the stage where we had to pretend to each other. Should I tell you about the first time you tried to kill me?" Amber asked her. She took another step towards Tyra, and thetter frightfully withdrew backwards again. "Didn''t you have some men try to get rid of Prince Harold on the way to his wedding?" Amber quietly asked. Tyra let out a startled shout, and her shaking hands dropped the hairpin. She looked at Amber with wide eyes. "I see you remember now. You sent people after me, and I ended up drowning." Amber almostughed in disbelief. She could not believe that the one who had caused it all was standing right in front of her. And she was also the daughter of the king and granddaughter of Lord Zealot. She looked at Tyra, who was looking everywhere else but at her, as her shaking hand went to her mouth, where she bit her finger. Her eyes snapped wide as she remembered that day, and she looked at Amber in fear. "How... how did you.... how did you know that?" Tyra breathed out in fear before she realized she was asking the wrong question. "Have you... have you always known and pretended you didn''t? Did you... did you tell Prince Harold?" "IS THAT WHY HE HAS BEEN DISTANT WITH ME? YOU LIED TO HIM ABOUT ME!!!" Tyra yelled at her in fear. "Lied?" Amber scoffed. "You are the only one who lied to him. He always treated you well, yet you tried to kill him." "I DIDN''T! I DIDN''T!" Tyra screamed and used both hands to cover her ears so she would not hear those words. "THEY WERE ONLY SUPPOSED TO HURT HIM A LITTLE! HE NEEDED A LITTLE PUSH TO GET RID OF THE QUEEN AND IVAN. I WOULD NEVER HURT HIM!" "Really?" Amber asked quietly. "Was that why you also tried to kill me during the full moon night? To give him a little ''push''?" Amber took another step towards Tyra, who also moved backwards until her back was against the wall. "Do you remember?" Amber asked in a soft voice before narrating in a hushed tone as she continued to move closer, "It was dark. It was hot. Everywhere felt dry. There was blood everywhere. And you. You tried to stab me." Amber stopped walking. "That... is im-p-possible." Tyra closed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. "How... how can you... remember that night?" Fear gripped Tyra. She looked into Amber''s eyes and shook in fear. "You... who are you? You aren''t Amber. You aren''t her! You aren''t her!!" Tyra cried and suddenly grabbed her chest as she found it hard to breathe, remembering how Amber had wickedly punched her in the chest when she tried to stab her that night. The pain had almost wrecked her. It was so bad that she spat out blood and fell to the floor. Amber then fell to the floor and tried to reach for the dagger she had knocked out of Tyra''s hand when she saw Tyra reaching for it. Amber groaned and wailed in pain from the effects of the drug and crawled over Beth''s blood to reach for the dagger. Unfortunately, Tyra painfully grabbed it first, but it was toote to do anything since she was in severe pain and already felt like passing out, so she couldn''t even approach Amber at that moment. Also, voices had gotten closer, letting her know that the maid had brought people to the scene. All she could do was brace up and stab herself lightly. Despite the pain, she was able to throw the dagger to where an unconscious Amber was. She knew it was toote to harm Amber. But then, there were many other ways to get rid of her. But she had underestimated Amber and overestimated herself. "I see you remember," Amber said to her. Tyra looked up at her with burning fury in her eyes. "I... have underestimated you." She said it in a cold voice. "Because of you... Prince Harold no longer treats me like he used to. It doesn''t matter if he suspects meter. It doesn''t matter if he knows all that I have done. If you are gone, he will eventually forget about you. I will be the only family he has left. He won''t be able to hurt me." "You have lost your mind." Amber shook her head pitifully at her, just as she began to hear voices in her head. Amber waved her off, saying, "Go. I... won''t hurt you. I''m sure you have a kingdom to ruin." Amber managed to speak to her and quickly turned away from her and headed toward the window, hoping the fresh air would keep her sane, but it was not working. The voices in her head kept echoing. "I am the most important person to Harold. Only I can help him ascend the throne. I know him better than anyone." Tyra said with confidence before she picked up the hairpin again, aiming it at Amber''s back. Chapter 428 Gone Mad ? However, the door was gently opened, and a clueless Paulina, who had just entered the room to clean Amber''s body, found this scene before her. Tyra was pointing the sharp tip of a hairpin at Amber''s back and looked like she was going to harm her with it. Tyra looked so determined, and the gleam in her eyes made her look like she was in a trance, that even Paulina''s entry hadn''t been noticed by her. Paulina let out a startled gasp and unconsciously threw the bowl of undiluted hot water which she had carried in at Tyra''s body, burning her back and the side of her left arm. Tyra let out a painful scream and turned to her as she wiggled about, the hairpin falling off her second hand. Paulina also screamed in shock and fear, wondering why she had done that to Tyra without confirming what was exactly happening. While Amber fell to the floor beside the window, whining in pain. "HAVE YOU GONE MAD?!" Tyra eximed at her. "I''m... sorry. I don''t... I don''t know what I was thinking." Paulina cried to Tyra as she looked at her guiltily. With everything happening in the pce, her fear was heightened, and it was most likely the reason she had done it. She didn''t exactly think Tyra could harm her mistress. In fact, she had heard several things this morning about Princess Tyra, but she didn''t believe them because Tyra was not that kind of person. Tyra cried in pain while looking at her arm where the burn was more obvious. It had turned red, and it hurt terribly. Even though her back was also burned, it didn''t feel this bad since she was wearing a lot of garments. "I will... I will go get the physi¡ª MY LADY!" Paulina eximed when the shock of hurting Tyra had worn off and she finally realized that not only was Amber awake, but she was on the floor and looked like she was in pain. Just as she was about to hurry toward her mistress, Tyra pulled her by the hair roughly, taking Paulina aback. "Even a lowly maid had the guts to treat me like this?" Tyra asked darkly. In pain, Paulina tried to reach for Tyra''s hand to pull it away from her hair, but with every move she made, Tyra''s fist tightened and yanked it even more, causing her great pain. "I''m... I am sorry. Please... let me just check on my mis¡ª" "COLIN!" Tyra yelled with all her might as she dragged a squealing Paulina by the hair toward the door. "COLIN!" She yelled again as they stepped out and check the hallway just as the two guards appeared from the right end, and Tyra pushed Paulina at them. Both men quickly caught her and restricted her. "She dared hurt the one with the golden token." Tyra said with a burning anger as she yelled, "AND THAT IS TREASON!" "NO! I DIDN''T! I''M SORRY." Paulina cried out in fear and disbelief as she tried to kneel but found it impossible with both men holding her up by her arms. "YOU KNOW I WOULD NEVER COMMIT TREASON. IT IS ME, PAULINA! I WOULDN''T DO SUCH!" "Why would I know what is in the mind of a ve like you?" She sneered at her before looking at the guards. "Beat her to death," Tyra ordered with a wave of her hand and turned to return to the room, ignoring Paulina''s cries and pleas. The guards looked at each other for a brief moment, both hesitating. They knew how important Paulina was to Princess Amber, and they knew how important thetter was to Prince Harold. "My Princess... is that a good... idea?" One of them asked her. "JUST DO AS YOU''RE TOLD OR YOU WILL BE NEXT!" Tyra turned to snap at him. They could only bow curtly before dragging a wailing Paulina out. When Tyra returned to the room, she found Amber standing now. But not only that, one of Amber''s palms was dripping blood, and on the other hand, she held the hairpin, which was bloody now. She had used it to cut her palm so the pain could keep her conscious and it seemed to have worked a bit. However, she still looked awful and her eyes looked soulless. "You must be desperate to live," Tyra spoke in a mocking tone, not even fearing the sight of Amber with the sharp hairpin. "I can say the opposite for you. You must really want me to kill you." Amber said in a tight voice as the grip around the hairpin tightened. Tyra let out augh. "I am surprised the first thing you didn''t whine for is Paulina. You really have changed." Tyra blinked her eyes at her cutely before she said, "Everyone would know that she tried to kill me. So it is a justifiable reason for her to die. As for you..." she pointed at Amber. "Since you do not want me to quietly kill you, you should just jump out the window and kill yourself." Her finger moved from Amber to the window. Amber smiled at her even though it was very weak, and she also dropped the hairpin in her hand to the floor. "Just like you can never kill me. You cannot harm Paulina, either. Even a mere maid of mine cannot be killed by a weakling like you¡ª" "HOW. DARE. YOU?!!!!!" Tyra yelled as she forced another hairpin out of her hair and charged towards Amber with the intention to kill her. Amber cannot live. Not only did she know too much, but she had insulted her more than anyone else. She could tolerate the royal family looking down on her. She could tolerate the kingdom looking down on her. But she would never tolerate this witch. Everything happened very fast. They were closely facing each other, looking into each other''s hateful eyes. Time suddenly slowed and the only sound they could both clearly hear was the sound of blood hitting the floor. It was quiet at first, but the sound of the drop soon became very frequent as it hit the floor repeatedly. That was when the door urgently opened again, and Harvey entered the room to witness this scene. Chapter 429 Unauthorised Authority ? Only a really deaf person would not have heard all the cries around the pce since dawn, especially Paulina''s screams as the big men dragged her along with them. "SHE IS GOING TO HURT MY MISTRESS. PLEASE SAVE HER!" She cried to the two guards, who kept their faces straight and just kept pulling her with them. Paulina realized that if Tyra had done this to her, then she hadn''t been overthinking things when she acted earlier. And it also meant that the rumours she had heard this morning about Tyra were all true. What happened to her? Why was she doing this to them? She could only cry, knowing that there was nothing she could do. She had no one to save her. Not her mistress, not Prince Harold, not Alvin, and not Williams, who was still guarding his sister''s corpse and neither leaving her side nor letting her body be burned. She was hopeless. Some people watched, but they were too scared to go closer or even utter a word for fear of being the next one to be dragged like that since this has beenmon since morning. Except for one person. And that was none other than Lance, whom many of them hadn''t seen in days. He didn''t look too good. Lance was known for always looking good and dressing like he owned all the treasures of the world, but now he was just wearing simple clothes, and even his hair was not properlybed. It didn''t look like it was evenbed at all. And he reeked of strong wine. He wasing from the opposite direction and stopped when he saw this. Putting out his hand, he said a loud "STOP!" making the men stop walking. Even though Lance did not hold any authority, the fact alone that he was the son, only child, and heir of Lord Gregory was enough authority on its own. One they could not ignore. "What is going on here?" Lance asked in confusion as he looked at a wailing Paulina. He had just heard that Princess Tyra was acting crazy and had taken over the affairs of the pce, and since dawn, the thing they had all been hearing are cries from different angles and different people. "We are acting on Princess Tyra''s orders. Please move." A guard said. Paulina shook her head quickly and began to speak. "I... didn''t hurt her on purpose. She was trying to hurt my mistress and¡ª" "Shush!" Lance rudely cut off Paulina before turning to the guard who had spoken to him just now. "Did you... just tell me to move? Me?" Lance turned to look behind him, wondering if there was someone else behind him that the guard was referring to. When he saw no one, he faced the guard and asked, "You mean ''I'' should step out of the way for ''You''?" The two guards looked at each other again before one spoke up. "We are working under the orders of Princess Tyra." "And what exactly are her orders?" Lance asked. He didn''t seem impressed at all. They stared at each other again. They knew others were also watching. With a sigh, the other one spoke up, "Beat... her to death." Gasps escaped the lips of all those who had heard. Lance, however, looked really surprised. He looked down at Paulina, who was quietly crying. "Princess Tyra really ordered that?" He asked her, still in doubt. Paulina bobbed her head pitifully. "She must have really gone crazy," Lance muttered to himself,ughing in disbelief. When the guards were about to resume their journey, Lance put his hand out and looked at them questioningly. "Where are you going? I''m not done talking." "What may we assist you with?" One asked impatiently. "You should be smart enough to know that there are so many reasons why you cannot harm her." "Sir Lance¡ª" "If Princess Tyra is trying to get her killed quickly like this, it means something suspicious is up." Lance cut him off. "But¡ª" "Do you know the most feared people in this pce right now?" Lance interrupted again before he informed them. "The King. Princes Harold. Princess Amber. As much as I hate to include this person, I just have to; Alvin. Andstly, myself." They didn''t think so about thest part, but oh well... Lance pointed at Paulina as he said, "This stupid maid who likes to cause trouble is not only important to Princess Amber, who is important to Prince Harold, who is important to the King, but she is also Alvin''s secret love." "EH!?" Paulina eximed in confusion, just like the other people also eximed in surprise at this news. "And I, of course, think she is a good maid and have been nning to ept her as my maid. So you see why you cannot kill her?" The guards looked at each other, and at once they shoved Paulina towards him as though they had been looking for an excuse to escape from this. Princess Tyra didn''t have the right to simply execute guards like them, even with her golden token. But if they wronged the wrong person by hurting Paulina, there were tons of people who could easily get rid of them. The guards turned to report the issue back to Princess Tyra, while Paulina cried in relief. "I cannot believe I spent so much energy talking just because I wanted to save a maid," Lance said in his usual condescending tone as he looked down at Paulina, who was on her knees with her forehead touching the floor in appreciation of his saving her life. She was still so frightened and in awe of the fact that she had been saved that she couldn''t say any words. She could only cry. "What are you still doing there? Let''s go check on your mistress." He snapped at her and Paulina quickly returned to her senses when she realized the danger Princess Amber was probably in. Chapter 430 She Is Fine, Isnt She? ? Back in Princess Amber''s chamber, Harvey looked at the scene before him with wide eyes. "I told you," Amber spoke quietly. "You. Can''t. Kill. Me." she added before she shoved Tyra away, and the hairpin Tyra had tried to stab her with also fell to the floor, covered in blood. Tyra fell to the floor with a loud thud. With wide eyes, her shaking hand reached for her face, where she had a deep vertical cut from underneath her eyes down to her jawbone. It slowly dawned on her what had happened. She had been the one to get hurt out of the two of them! Tyra let out a heart-shattering scream that caused Amber to groan in pain from the headache she felt. "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Tyra wailed in tears from the floor as her blood flowed down from her face, soaking her dress. Harvey stopped watching in horror and acted quickly to hold Tyra up before she could reach for the hairpin, which she was crawling towards. "LET ME GO! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU! I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Tyra kept fighting to be let off as she burst into tears at her ruined face and also at the knowledge that this witch had the upper hand again. "You may want to get it treated before it scars forever. However, I do doubt you''d live a long life, so it shouldn''t matter." Amber spoke in a rxed tone that filled Tyra with hate and anger. She kicked, wailed, and cried as she tried to get off Harvey''s hold, but he was a really strongd that she couldn''t fight against. Just then, the guards entered the room in a hurry and looked around in horror: the floor with so much blood, Princess Tyra''s face, and Amber''s palm dripping blood. Not to mention Tyra''s arm, which was still bright red from the burn earlier. "ARREST HER! KILL HER!" Tyra cried at the guards while pointing at Amber. The two guards just stood there in confusion, staring at the scene and at each other. "Take her with you and call for the physician to get her treated," Harvey instructed the guards, who hesitated for a moment before they went into it, taking a crazy Tyra out of the room by force. This time, it was her cries that echoed throughout the pce, as she also threatened the guards with death and threatened to kill everyone too. With them gone, only Harvey and Amber were left. Amber fell to the floor immediately, and Harvey quickly went to her side. "I have to be awake. It''s almost the Blood Moon." Amber muttered to herself even as Harvey helped her return to the bed. She also wanted to kill King Cedric with her own hands. Fate had to be fair to her this time. Confused about how to handle everything, including treating her wound and cleaning the blood off the floor, Harvey just looked around. He also could not bring himself to look at her after he had held the truth from her and struck her unconscious. Thankfully, Paulina rushed in. But she wasn''t alone. Lance was behind her. "I knew you wouldn''t die," Amber said weakly as she looked at Paulina, a gentle smile of relief on her face. Paulina quickly went to her and sat on the bed beside her, embracing her while crying loudly. "WHAT HAPPENED IN HERE?" Lance asked as he looked around the room in confusion. While in Paulina''s embrace, Amber''s eyes began to shut on their own. Alicia hadmunicated with more people than Amber had in her entire life. So it was difficult for her to "download" the memories of Alicia all at once, and being forced out of her unconscious state had made a mess of her head. Amber hugged Paulina back and rubbed her back gently. "I will go find the physician," Lance said before he quickly left the room. "I''m sorry, mydy," Paulina said as she sobbed. "I never wanted you gone. You have been my only friend and family for as long as I can remember. I just want you to be happy. You mean everything to me. I''m so... sorry for making you feel like I wanted you to disappear. Please stay with me." Amber''s hands around her tightened, and she sniffled just as her eyes began to shut involuntarily. "I... will stay with you." She whispered to Paulina. But before her eyes could shutpletely, she looked at Harvey, who was watching her, and quietly said, "I... understand." Before her eyes shut and she fell back unconscious. While Lance was looking for the physician, he was in Luciana''s parents'' chamber. Luciana''s mother had her hands covering her mouth as she shed tears of joy. Luciana had surprisingly opened her eyes after her husband left for the morning assembly (where they had been forgotten, by the way). Beside the woman was her older maid, who was beside her with tears of joy in her eyes too, while Luciana''s maid was kneeling beside her bed, also crying as the physician checked her. Throughout, Luciana just looked up at the ceiling nkly. She hadn''t said a word or looked anywhere else. The physician stopped and stood up, not looking as excited as them, as he asked them all to step outside for a minute. "Why? Is something wrong?" Luciana''s mother asked, panicking. The two other women also had the same expression as her, but after he assured them he simply didn''t want any distractions and their sobs were making it difficult to concentrate, they stepped out, waiting anxiously for him to call them back in. But instead, he stepped out and closed the door behind him quietly, looking sorrowful. "What... what is wrong? She is fine, isn''t she?" Luciana''s mother asked in fear as she looked at the physician. "I''m afraid... Lady Luciana has... lost her voice. And... she may not live past a few years." He said sadly. The words felt like a hard push at her mother, who almost fell to the floor if not for the quick effort of the two maids to hold her up. **** EDIT: All yourments made me emotional and I wished I had read it sooner. I saw ament where Ayana mentioned I was saving up for my Master''s degree and was even surprised someone remembered it. Yes, I''ve been saving up and I nned to start my studiester this year. But I think I''ll probably have to focus on my health for now. As much as I hate spending nights in the hospital since it''s something I''ve been used to, I just have to do this and pursue my dreamster. Thank you all once again. And I wish all of you GREAT HEALTH. Cannot be overemphasised how important it is. Chapter 431 The Princess Has Gone Mad ? If HATE had a colour, the colour would have filled the entire pce that evening. Everyone had thought the only woman to hate in the pce was Queen Arya; they had no idea there was another crazy person waiting to unlock her madness. Not only had she not shown up at the court, but the children of those she had arrested for failing to join the courtroom were still imprisoned. None of them knew what to do. Thankfully, Harvey had sent information that Tyra was ill and wouldn''t be attending court today. Sir Richard had offered to bear the consequences and had dispersed the noblemen, agreeing to take responsibility if anything were to happen. However, he could do nothing about their arrested children. Tyra, however, was not pleased when she heard that, and that made her craziness grow wild. She yelled and scattered everything she couldy her hands on from the bed where she was being treated. She was the ruler now. How could they call her sick? How could they disobey her orders? Her actions made it difficult for the physician to get her wound treated, and the poor young man could only watch and pray he gets quickly done with this so he could leave in a hurry. But when another guard knocked and entered the room to give her another piece of information, he knew that he was not going to be done anytime soon. Whenever someone came in, it was to give her more bad news. One minute she was crying about her face; the next she was yelling and cursing at the noblemen for leaving the court and swearing to execute all their children. The next, she was yelling at the stupid guard for losing sight of Alvin outside the pce. Damian hadn''t been found either. And then she almost went even crazier when she heard that Lance, of all people, had rescued Paulina. "I WILL KILL ALL OF THEM!" She yelled in anger, and as the frustrated physician tried to reach for her face to rub some more ointment on her cut, she grabbed his hand and gave him a good bite that made him scream in pain. It was like she was pouring all of her anger and grievances into that one bite, making the physician scream even louder until she let go of him. "GET LOST AND GET ME THE HEAD PHYSICIAN!" She said this as she pushed him away, his blood shimmering on her teeth. "WHY WAS IT SO DIFFICULT TO TREAT A WOUND?" The physician looked at her, trying to hide his grievance. Maybe if she wasn''t moving about too much, he would have been done with it a long time ago! He looked at the bite on his hand and just hoped that whatever craziness she had wouldn''t be shared with him. He didn''t bother to stay there any longer. He picked up his things and left in a hurry while Tyra''s chest continued to rise and fall in anger. But as if all her humiliation was not enough, she was informed that the physician was ''busy''. He had just finished attending to Luciana and was attending to Princess Amber, who had fallen unconscious again. "Get. Out." She said as she looked ahead in anger, her hands forming fists and clenching hard on the bedsheets. "ALL OF YOU! GET OUT!" She yelled at the others in the room, and they all ran out, shutting the door with a bang and leaving only her inside. Her chest rose so high that it looked like it would touch her jawline. "AM.BER," she said with a dark voice and a stern look in her eyes. Because of her, she was being treated like this. She was a princess! Everything would have been perfect with the initial n. Everyone would have thought Beth and Amber had killed each other. The queen would have been med for ordering Beth to kill Princess Amber and the Beta''s nightmare in Amber''s blood would have served as proof. Tyra would have been the perfect witness that night. By now, she would have been living the life she has always envisioned. At thatst minute, she had even stabbed herself to make sure Amber would be killed for trying to kill her, if they wouldn''t kill her because of Beth.She hadn''t wanted to take chances. Yet she had been looked down on! She would have killed her. She had to kill her before Prince Harold woke up. Paulina would have died too. Damian needs to die too, since he was the one taking all the me for them. The queen would also get executed for all Damian had done. Everyone needs to die before Harold wakes up! She began to shake in fear and raised her knees as she sat to hug her body. "If there is anyone capable of killing anyone in this room, it is I." She shook her head to try to get rid of Amber''s voice. "NO!" She yelled at the voice in her head. "You have killed me a million times in your head because that is as far as you can go." She shook her head harder and covered both ears with her hands. "You cannot harm Paulina, either. Even a mere maid of mine cannot be killed by a weakling like you." "GO AWAY!" She pped her ears harder until they were bright red and buried her face in her knees while she continued trying to shake that voice out of her head. "You. Can''t. Kill. Me." "I CAN!" She yelled back at the voice in tears. "You may want to get it treated before it scars forever. However, I do doubt you''d live a long life, so it shouldn''t matter." "GO AWAY! I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL KILL YOU!" Tyra could not hear anything else except Amber''s voice in her head. So when she felt Amber try to kill her, she raised her head and made the first move. She pulled thest hairpin from her hair and stabbed it right on Amber''s neck, the blood sttering all over and filling Tyra''s face. Tyra looked at Amber''s wide eyes and open mouth. She saw how Amber stared at her with a mixture of fear and disbelief like she could not imagine she died in her hands. Amber touched the pin on her neck as she fell to the floor, quietly gasping for life with her eyes still wide open. Seeing this sight, Tyra gasped loudly and began tough in joy. "I killed you!" "I KILLED YOU!" "I KILLED YOU! HAHAHAHA!" She got up from her bed and looked at Amber. "It was Prince Harold." Tyra said with pride. "He taught me how to kill in one strike." "Your husband killed you! Hahaha!" A scream shocked Tyra, and she turned to the door to see a maid who had just entered with a tray of food. The tray fell to the floor, causing a loud ttering sound to fill the room. "She... is dead, isn''t she?" Tyra asked the maid in a d tone while pointing at Amber''s dead body, lying in her pool of blood. The frightened maid withdrew backward, her eyes moving between the body on the floor and the crazy princess. As soon as she got out of the chamber, she took to her heels, screaming along as she ran. The princess had gone mad! Tyra stared at the door in confusion before she looked back at the body with a grin. However, the grin soon began to vanish when she noticed Amber''s body changing. "NO! Where... are you going?" She yelled at the body. Unfortunately for her, her scolding didn''t do anything because Amber''s body had transformed into Tyra''s maid, who had previously run into the room to check on her mistress. "Where... is Am-ber?" Tyra asked in shock, and when the realization of what she had just done hit her, she let out a scream and fell on the floor, right beside the body. Seeing the blood on her hands made her sick. She panted in fear and forced herself up, even though she kept tripping on her dress. She hurried to her dressing table, throwing out everything with shaky hands as she looked for a certain potion. But no matter how hard she tried, there was nothing. Because this morning, she had poured out thest one, confidently iming, "A queen doesn''t need this." Well, maybe she was no queen after all. Chapter 432 I Will Do Better ? "What do you mean by that?" Luciana''s father asked in dread. He had just returned from the courtroom in a bad mood and heard the good news that made him temporarily forget how angry he had been this morning, only to hear something even worse. "She... cannot talk anymore?" He asked his wife, hoping he had been the one to hear wrong. When he returned earlier, she had pulled him out of the chamber before he could even say much to Luciana to tell him about the news. She was distraught, and her face was swollen from crying so much. "She... may not live long either. Our poor child." The woman said this and cried heartbreakingly. "W-hat?" Her husband asked in shock and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief. "I should have had a son." He said with regret. The crying woman looked at her husband, thinking she had not heard him correctly. "You should have given me a son!" He repeated. "Is... that what is important now? Our child is dying!" She said in tears. "Then what should I do? Go there and sit with her until she dies?" He bellowed at her while pointing at the door. "You should have at least raised her properly. If she had been an obedient and submissive wife, she wouldn''t have turned into this now!" "HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT RIGHT NOW?!" "I WARNED YOU! YOU ONLY HAD A JOB TO GROOM HER PROPERLY FOR HER HUSBAND. BUT WHAT DID YOU DO?" He used his wife. "You fed her with things that blocked her stomach from conceiving and made her disgrace our family? What then is our gain for having a daughter?" "I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!" The woman cried out. "I did my best to raise her into a beautiful wife. Did I follow her into the pce where she got corrupted? And if you cared a little about women, you would have known that babies are not conceived in the stomach!" "Why should I educate myself on such irrelevant things?" He asked in anger. "You have to make sure she apologizes to the royal family and make Prince Ivan take her back. She should at least leave this world with a proper title that won''t put our family to shame." "WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU?" She gasped in exhaustion."Is it the same royal family that is in shambles right now?" The man was about to angrily reply to her when the door opened, and Luciana''s maid, Leana, looked at the two with a worried look in her eyes. But more than worry, she looked disappointed.Very disappointed. "Mydy... is right in here." She reminded them with a tight voice before she shut the door at them. The older woman looked at her husband and shook her head before she covered her face with her hand, crying quietly. "It''s good she heard it. I''ll just tell her directly. Her ears at least work, correct?" He asked his wife but didn''t wait for an answer before he opened the door and went inside. Luciana was sitting on the bed now, just staring nkly at nothing in particr. It had been obvious she got thinner when she was still unconscious, but now that she was up, it was even more obvious. She also still had a bandage around her neck. Leana was helping her massage her legs, which were under the covers, and when her father entered with his wife closely following behind, none of the girls looked at them. Luciana just continued to stare nkly, her face still expressionless. She looked dead. "She needs to rest. She doesn''t need this now." Her mother pleaded with him, but it was obvious he was very angry, and the anger could only be satiated when he said what he had in mind. So he stood in Luciana''s line of sight and began to speak. "Even though I have always wanted a son, do not think that I do not love you." He started. "I gave you the best. The best teachers. The best foods. The best fabrics. I made sure you wanted for nothing. And in the end, I expected you to perform your duties to your family. To THIS family." "Your mother, as you know, was from a lowly family. Making her my wife brought great honour to her family, and even in their graves, her parents still rejoice." His wife covered her face with her hands in shame and disappointment. "Can you say the same for us? Can we rejoice in our graves?" He shook his head in disappointment. "It''s unfortunate that it won''t ever happen. Because you may even die before us." "MY LORD!" She could not take it anymore. Her husband was embarrassing. "DO YOU NOW SEE WHY WOMEN SHOULD ACT LIKE WOMEN?" He yelled at his wife then turned back to face Luciana. "Look at the queen now! Look at her daughter, who could not handle the kingdom for even a day. Look at Princess Amber, who is always falling unconscious because of how much of a busybody she is. What about Susan? She died just like that because she could not stay in one ce and act like ady." For the first time, Luciana''s eyes found focus, and they fixed on her father''s face. "Can you see yourself too?" The man continued. "My Lord, enough!" His wife cried. All of this information was new to Luciana, who had been unconscious for a long time. Luciana turned to look at Leana with questioning eyes and shook her head as though saying that wasn''t correct, right? Leana pursed her lips, and with teary eyes, she nodded once, confirming that all he had said was nothing but the truth. Every one of them. Susan was dead. She let out a broken, strained gasp as tears suddenly filled her eyes and began to fall. The sight of Luciana trying to cry soundly but being unable to do so and only making broken sounds was too painful to watch. Leana hugged her, crying with her while her father finally shut his mouth and stormed out of the room. Luciana''s mother covered her mouth with her hand, crying quietly where she stood as she watched her daughter. Meanwhile, the news about Luciana being awake had finally reached an almost insane Ivan in the lone cell where he was. When he first heard Tyra had taken over the affairs of the pce, he thought everyone was insane to have let that happen, especially when several children of noblemen were brought into the dungeon at once and imprisoned. He kicked, shouted, and cried out for him to be released so he would put things in the right ce, but no one answered him. He had vowed to get rid of everyone when he stepped out. He kept it up until he heard Luciana had defeated death and finally woke up. It was a surprise for the other ''inmates'' when Ivan suddenly burst into tears, thanking the Moon Goddess and Luciana for returning to him. "I will do better." "I will be better." "Thank you, my love." He said it in between tears as he fell on his knees, oblivious to the fact that the story wasn''tplete. Chapter 433 Fate And Destiny ? Alicia slowly opened her eyes, and when she sat up, she found herself inside her room. This was the room she had lived in for two years now. She remembered how fulfilled she had felt when her manager brought her here for the first time and showed her around the three-bedroom luxury penthouse their Bosses had decided to move her into after she won the nation''s grand award as the ''Best Actress'' for two years in a row. This apartment was her greatest achievement, reminding her of how she had moved from being a lowlife to earning it with her hard work. Now she was here. She weakly sat up on the bed and looked everywhere. She was muddleheaded initially until she noticed someone standing by the window, looking out into the bustling night city. She loved looking out that window. Seeing the world below her made her feel like she was really on top. That thought brought a smile to her face until her muddleheadedness began to slowly clear, reminding her that there was someone standing by her window! She narrowed her eyes and looked closely at the person, who had a very simr figure to her and was wearing a in white, long, simple dress. It was... herself? How was she in the bed and by the window? She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel stupid? The person by the window turned to look at her, and just as she had guessed, the person had her face! "We meet again." She said this, smiling softly. "You... Anne?" Alicia called out as her head began to get clearer. "Your world... is a fine ce." Anne turned to look out the window again. That seemed to snap Alicia out of her daze, and her eyes widened in panic as she quickly looked all around her, also leaving the bed quickly. She was here. She was in her room. What was happening? How did this happen? "What happened to me? Why am I here? What happened?" She asked Anne in panic. "This isn''t real. Your consciousness has been resting here." Anne turned around and informed her. "What happened to me?" Alicia asked in confusion. Thest thing she remembered was... She shut her eyes tightly and searched her brain to remember thest thing that had happened. Why was she unconscious again? She slept with Harold. She remembered. They had spent the night together IN each other. Had he done it so much that she fainted? "Why are you appearing to me again? Did something happen? Is this the past? Present or future?" Alicia asked her curiously. "I used to think your destiny was to free our wandering souls. I guess... I was wrong." Anne spoke quietly. "What... does that mean?" Alicia inquired. She could not read Anne''s face to know what she was thinking or feeling. It made her confused. "It''s the Blood Moon in seven nights," Anne informed her, ignoring her question. "The twentieth age is very significant for our kind. So is the Blood Moon. Even if I couldn''t practice witchcraft, I could feel my witch core burning when I turned twenty." She paused and added, "Since Amber will be turning twenty on that night, her core will burn by force, and her soul will be the strongest. Whether or not you are in control of her body." "I... am lost." Alicia said before she remembered something and then asked, "You asked Lord Zealot to keep Amber protected until she was 20. Was that to deceive him so he would keep her alive until she became a full witch?" Anne shook her head. "I used my entire core to protect Amber when she was born on that night. So practicing witchcraft was impossible for me. It was the reason you were able to save her body from dying that day. It was what drew you in when she said those spells." Alicia was still lost. Was it because she felt lightheaded or because it was just tooplicated for her to understand? "If Amber decides to lift their curse or fight against them, it would be her decision. But at least, she would be able to protect herself." "Why... me?" Alicia asked, lost. "Why did I have to be the one to save her that night? Why not you? I mean... it was your witch core, right?" "Our times are different." She informed Alicia."But our souls mirror each other. Looking at me, you can see that clearly." Yes. They did look the same. "However, I and Amber''s flow on the same tide. The present cannot be altered. It is against the natural forces." She paused again before adding, "We can also say that fate is messing with us. I was able to do that after I met you for the first time. I had to do all it would take to save her." "So if the curse is not lifted, things will continue to go bad for the Moon Kingdom?" "In every generation," Anne answered immediately. "They... will keep destroying each other." Her tone was serious. Was that why the King was ill? And also the reason one problem or another had been happening? Would it continue like this? "How... can the curse be lifted?" She asked Anne desperately. "Lifting the curse requires a huge sacrifice." Alicia did not like the sound of that. "My mother... burned her soul for it," Anne said in a tight voice. As much as she tried to hide it, Alicia could feel how much pain she was in.She felt it in her heart. "It can only be lifted by another soul of a descendant." "W-What?" Alicia eximed in surprise. "You were... going to let Amber die in exchange for lifting the curse on the same people who ruined her life and ended her lineage?" Alicia asked in surprise. "That is your first emotion." Anne smiled softly at her."Now, think about it." She moved closer to Alicia. "Think about the friends you have made there. Think about the fact that many more generations are going to die for what their ancestors did. Something that they do not know about. How... are we then different from them?" Anne asked in a heavy voice. "I hate them. I hate them all. And I hate that even after death, they continue to make us suffer. I hate that one of us would have to give our souls if we wished to free them. I hate it." She said with misty eyes. "But it is not my nature to continue on that path." Alicia looked at Anne with teary eyes that mirrored hers and thought about all they had done. Making the witches live in hiding all their lives. Burning a witch for a potion for their King. Sneaking an attack on them and killing them all, including Prince Wilder, their kind, whom Anne loved. Celebrating that night with every full moon. Seeking after Anne, who was already trying to survive with her daughter, executing her, then sending her little daughter off into exile. It was all too much. But on the other hand, innocent people would continue to suffer for it. Harold had done nothing to deserve it. Alvin did nothing. Susan and William did nothing. Tyra and Luciana did nothing. And even she, who had simply been married here, was being affected by the curse and making her life miserable. They would continue to hurt each other, unaware of the fact that they were under the influence of Lady Avery''s curse. "Amber would never do it. She would never." Alicia said as tears dropped from her eyes. She didn''t know Amber personally, but she knew it was going to be impossible for Amber to exchange her soul to free them of the curse. Rather, she was going to curse them again. She was sure of that. Anne nodded. "I wouldn''t want that for my daughter either. She... has suffered enough." Anne sniffled and wiped her tears with her hands. "I wish she could leave all the hate and live a nice life. One I never got to experience." It was toote now. "Is there anything I can do? Anything to help this situation¡ª" "You can do nothing." Anne cut her off before she could finish. "Maybe this is not your destiny." "Why¡ª?" "You are a part of them now, Alicia. You are one of them." "Because I wined and dined with them?" Alicia asked in disbelief. "Youid with our blood''s enemy," Anne said. "You carry their mark on your soul. You... can do nothing." Alicia let out a quiet gasp as she stared helplessly at Anne. "If you care about them, you can try to stop Amber from destroying everything. That is as far as I can go for the Moon Kingdom. This... is thest sacrifice I can make to the kingdom of the one... I cherished." Alicia could tell she was talking about Prince Wilder. She could see the pain in Anne''s eyes. Even in death, was it never going to end? When was she going to be free? "Is... it ever going to get better?" Alicia asked hopefully. Anne shook her head. "I do not know. Maybe it has to do with why you are really here. Maybe... maybe we will know someday." Those were thest words Anne said to her before she dispersed and everything turned ck. When Alicia opened her teary eyes again, she was in a ce she now recognized as her home. Not the luxurious penthouse. It was an old-fashioned chamber. Chapter 434 Disappointment? ? It took a while for Alicia to process everything as soon as she opened her eyes. Her soul had left the body to somewhere else, and she had met Anne, and now her soul was back, so they were all too much for the brain to handle at once. She justy in bed with her eyes faintly opened and staring at the ceiling, knowing she was back here in this chamber. She had seen the ceiling too much to not know where she was. Light filtered into the room, so she could tell it was daytime and not nighttime, which she was d for. Mirror. She needed to see herself. However, she felt toozy to sit up. She weakly turned her head to the side and squinted when she noticed someone was there. It was Paulina. Paulina was seated on the floor with her back resting on the door and her eyes shut, her head slowly dropping. "Why is she sleeping there?" Alicia wondered to herself. Where was Harold? Paulina''s head dropped at once, startling her awake momentarily. She dragged her head back up, her groggy eyes ncing at Alicia. "You are awake," Paulina said sleepily before she shut her eyes, going back to sleep, but it took only two seconds before her eyes snapped wide open and she looked at Alicia, eximing. "YOU ARE AWAKE!" Paulina quickly stood up from the floor and hurried to the bed, where she sat down beside Alicia. "I feared you were going to be asleep for a long time again. Do you feel hurt anywhere? Should I call the physician? How do you feel? Please don''t fall unconscious again." Paulina said thest part with worry. "Calm down." Alicia said in a weak tone before murmuring, "Help me up." Paulina quickly did that and helped her sit up. As soon as she sat up, Alicia realized just how weak this body was. So many things were not making sense. Firstly, Paulina was here instead of Harold. And if Paulina recognized her, it meant the effect of the potion had faded and she was back to Amber''s looks. Thirdly, was this weakness a result of what had happened between her and Harold? Judging by Paulina''s reaction and what she had said about calling for the physician and pleading with her not to fall unconscious again, it meant she had been unconscious, and remembering Anne''s words, she had said her consciousness was resting there. What was with this ce and making her faint all the time? She had only fainted once in her real life. And that had happened on her birthday five years ago, which had almost started a rumour about her being pregnant. But here, it was back-to-back for her. She felt she hadn''t been unconscious for long because she was neither very thirsty nor hungry. Or maybe it was because of the empty bowl of soup on the floor beside the bed. Even though she felt mentally exhausted, her body generally looked healthy. It was all thanks to Paulina, who looked awful. She looked like she hadn''t showered. Her hair was also a mess, and not only did she look pale, but she also had dark circles under her slightly swollen eyes. "Mydy?" Paulina called in worry when Alicia just looked at her face with concern and did not pay attention to her. "Should I... get the physician here?" Paulina asked hesitantly and looked at the door. She didn''t want to leave. She had been too scared to step out of the room after what happened yesterday. What if someone came to drag her mistress away? Or drag her away too to punish her? Even though Lance had saved her, she still felt that it was only a matter of time before something happened to her again. Alicia had a lot of questions to ask her. But seeing how scared Paulina looked made every other question pend. "What is it?" Alicia asked her, and at the same time, she lifted her hand to reach for Paulina''s hair to smooth it over when she noticed it was wrapped with a bandage. "After what happened yesterday¡ª" "What... why is this on my hand?" Alicia asked in confusion, cutting off Paulina. She could faintly feel the pain from it. She could not remember getting cut that night. And why would she get a cut while she was unconscious? "The physician had to get the cut treated before it got infected. What... happened between you and Princess Tyra? Why did she do that to you?" She asked with genuine concern. Paulina hadn''t been in the room when Amber cut herself, so of course she had no idea it had been done by her. "Wait..." Alicia put her hand up to stop Paulina from rambling. She was lost here. "What exactly happened yesterday, and what did Princess Tyra do? I... was unconscious, wasn''t I?" Alicia shook her head to clear her thoughts. "How long has it been since I fell unconscious?" "You... don''t remember?" Paulina asked quietly. "I wouldn''t be asking you if I did, Paulina. How long have I been unconscious?" "By... chance... are you... are you not... Are you Lady A-licia?" Paulina asked hesitantly while looking at her face closely. "Why... would you ask me that?" Alicia asked and only a secondter, her eyes slightly widened. "Amber." She breathed quietly. "She was... here?" Alicia asked her in surprise. Looking at Paulina''s face, it was the first time she could not tell what the girl was thinking, as they were filled with different emotions. But there was one that she could not mistake. It was disappointment. "You... are Lady Alicia." Paulina echoed quietly before she stood up. "I... should get the physician." She said and was about to turn when Alicia caught one of her hands and looked up at her face. She thought she had grown past the stage where other people could affect her emotions, but that was a lie. Seeing Paulina in a hurry to go away from her made her feel hurt. "Tell me what happened. Where is Harold? Why... am I here like this?" Alicia pleaded with her. Now, she could tell there was more. She hadn''t just been sleeping. Something had been happening. Paulina turned to look at her. "You need to be treated now that you are awake. You also need to eat something. After resting, I will tell you all that you need to know." "Paulina¡ª" "I will be back shortly," Paulina said and quickly left the room before Alicia could say another word. Chapter 435 Falling For The Bait (1) ? As soon as Paulina stepped out of the room and closed the door, she rested her back against the door and covered her face with her hands, feeling very emotional but not sure how to react. She couldn''t even cry. She didn''t know what to feel. Why couldn''t they just be two different people in two different bodies? How long was this going to continue? She hadn''t known just how much she had missed Princess Amber until those few minutes they had been together. And now she was gone. What exactly was she going to tell Lady Alicia? That Prince Harold had been unconscious? Susan was dead? Lady Luciana had lost her voice, and her life span had been cut short? Or that Alvin had journeyed into the town after she told him Susan had been looking for Katherine? Tyra was acting crazy and had not only attacked her but also arrested a lot of innocent people and tried to kill her? She at least had to start somewhere. She took a deep breath before she decided to go look for the physician. She was not worried about Tyra showing up at the chamber because Tyra was currently in the morning assembly, and it seemed like things were really tough this time because when Harvey hade to check up on Amber at dawn, he had told her he would be returning after the assembly. Surprisingly, Lance had alsoe to check on her, and when both men were talking, Harvey mentioned something about Sir Damon being brought in as a witness against the queen. She didn''t know what that meant, but judging by how Harvey still wasn''t back yet, it meant the morning assembly was taking a long time. She only hoped there was no more trouble. At least for now. But maybe that was only wishful thinking. Because in the assembly hall stood Tyra, who was not willing to sit back and let rumours continue to fly around about how unworthy she was to lead the kingdom in the absence of the others. Not even a scar on her delicate face and a burn on her arm could keep her. She hade too far to sumb to this little glitch in her n. Her wounds usually take a long time to heal, but unfortunately, this one was taking even longer. Hate filled her heart for everyone, but especially for Amber. She didn''t want to act recklessly anymore, not with Harvey watching her every move, just like he was doing right now. She looked back at Harvey over the ck veil covering her face from the hat she wore. It was inappropriate for women''s bodies to be scarred. The thought of it still brought her great grief and madness. She was also wearing a long-sleeved dress that covered the burn mark on her arm. Princess Amber was going to pay for it. She swore with her life. But for now, she had to quickly put everyone else in their ce. And seeing things go ording to her n made her heart delighted, temporarily forgetting about the humiliation she had faced. Whether they all hated her and were cursing her because of their children, who were all still locked up in the dungeon, she didn''t care. They all deserved it. Every single one of them. She would have had all their wives locked up too. That was her only regret. That way, they would learn their lesson, and she wouldn''t have been insulted this morning by a nobleman who had been used as a scapegoat and dragged out of the room to the dungeon. "It was the Queen," Damon said in a tight voice. As angry as Tyra was currently, those words brought a smile to her face. Finally! "I currently have the highest authority in the pce. If you promise to put the entire me on the queen and Ivan, I will make sure to spare your life and give you the chance to find Damian yourself and get rid of him before your secretes to light." Those were the words she had said to him the previous day. She had thought he would at least stick to being the tough guy. "She... got rid of Sir Wilson," Damon confessed to the house. "She also got rid of the guards who carried out the act. I''m sure you must have already realized they were dead." His words caused an uproar in the room, even when he was still in the middle of his speech. Questions flew from all angles from every nobleman in the room. That was just impossible. But the main question on all of their minds was:Why? "SILENCE!" Tyra yelled at the house. The noise was driving her insane. Of course, she was the one chairing this meeting. Something even Harold hadn''t done. "Go on." She urged Damon to continue while trying so hard not to grin in delight. This was the same person who always looked down on her. One would have thought he was a principled man. But he was nothing but a coward. A coward now under her mercy. Damon gritted his teeth. Any observant person would have noticed the hate in his heart whenever he looked at Tyra. But what other choice did he have instead of saving himself? "The queen has always been greedy for the throne. That you can confirm from the queen''s own brother, Lord Evan." He said this to the house and turned his gaze to the spot where Lord Evan usually stood but was now absent. "Sir Wilson seemed to have stumbled upon this secret of hers, and she silenced him. I do admit that I knew about itter but took no action. But I wouldn''t use the king''s guards for something so atrocious." The noblemen had so many questions. Was that how the queen and Ivan were able to get their hands on such strange potions? Has she been hiding it all this time? Had she been plotting this for a long time and now decided to attack the King and Prince Harold? Was she trying to rebel by deliberately trying to get her rtives to marry into the Minister of War''s family? This brought them back to Sir Richard. However, the tiny witch that looked stompable was making it difficult for them to voice out their thoughts. Nothing had been this annoying and frustrating for the men''s bloated egos. "I admit that I am guilty of that, and I''m willing to be punished by the king himself," Damon spoke in a firm tone. Chapter 436 Falling For The Bait (2) ? "I admit that I am guilty of that, and I''m willing to be punished by the king himself," Damon spoke in a firm tone. Tyra smiled at him. She understood that he was trying to let every one of them, especially her, know that he had no intention of letting anyone other than the king punish him. But it was toote for that. She was going to ruin him. "But before then..." Damon continued. "I promise to catch the criminal, Damian, myself. Who has always been carrying out those evil deeds and have him confess to all the queen has done." The house was torn between agreeing for him to do that or holding him as an aplice since what he was saying was not adding up. However, they didn''t doubt that the queen had a hand in it since she had made that very obvious during her trial and had also been the one to mention how Sir Wilsom died. "Is that all you have to say?" Tyra asked, looking pointedly at Damon. "That is all," Damon said coldly, not bothering to address her with any honourable title. "You are missing a lot of things," Tyra said in her usual gentle voice that reminded everyone of how soft and delicate she had always been. Damon''s vicious eyes looked at her as though he were asking what she was ying at. It seemed it was only now dawning on him that he shouldn''t have trusted her. Anyone with the blood of Lord Zealot running through their veins was never to be trusted. "Aren''t you asking for a chance to capture Damian yourself so you could kill him outside the pce?" Tyra asked him usingly. Damon looked at her in anger just as the house sparked up, wondering why Tyra was making such an usation against him. Maybe the other noblemen were gullible, and that was why it was easy to sway them, but Tyra wasn''t like that. No one could beat her when it came to being sneaky. She could tell what Damon was nning. He was going to get rid of Damian if he caught him outside the pce, and then there would be no witness for this case, but Damon''s words and all the evidence already found against the queen would be more than enough to punish her. The crime of hurting the king was nothing less than a death sentence, no matter who the culprit was. He was indeed willing to throw the queen under the bus to save himself. What a coward. Damon blew hot at Tyra. "WHY WOULD I DO THAT WHEN DAMIAN IS THE WITNESS TO ALL OF THE QUEEN''S ATROCITIES?" Some of the noblemen were obviously swayed and felt it made sense. He didn''t have any reason to kill Damian. The little crazy thing was just trying to cause a rift between them. "Whatever I do is for the good of this kingdom!" Damon spoke in a calmer voice this time, but only Tyra could tell he was anxious. "Damian tried to get rid of the maid in the dungeon. He was against the queen''s chamber being searched. He has always been with the queen and has also left the pce with her a couple of times, so he knows her better than anyone else. I am going to bring him back to the pce to confess his crimes." "Or maybe you just want to run away?" Tyra taunted. "He could hold a big secret of yours, so either you are nning to run away or you wish to kill him, but either way, we know you won''t be bringing Damian here. Alive." "PRINCESS TYRA!" He yelled in fury, dreading whatever she was nning in that tiny, annoying head of hers. His body was shaking from anger at this point, and it was obvious to every eye. "I WILL NOT LET YOU INSULT ME!" "You should be honest and tell all these gentlemen why exactly you want to find Damian yourself. Isn''t it because Damian is aware of your illicit affair with the queen, and you hope to silence him just like you did with his father, Sir Wilson?" That could be said to be the most shocking news they have all heard, but none of them could make a sound. This was the biggest allegation and scandal of the century. It couldn''t be correct. But why would Princess Tyray such an usation against her own mother when the penalty was very severe? All mouths were open in shock, and all widened eyes were facing Damon, who suddenly could not find any words to say. He couldn''t even deny it immediately. The thought of Tyra doing this to her own mother was shocking, even for him. "You must have gone insane toy such usations against me. I am the King''s Beta. I will not allow you to¡ª" "Will not allow me?" Tyra ridiculed him and let out a mockingugh. "You shouldn''t worry too much about Damian. I will make sure he is caught and gets his confession." Tyra assured him before ordering the guards. "Seize him!" Two guards marched toward a livid Damon, who was now heaving in anger. Tyra had yed him. Greatly. "I WILL NOT BE TREATED THIS WAY!" Damon roared before reaching for the sword of one of the guards and drawing it, pointing at the guards to stay back. "I WILL KILL ANY OF YOU IF YOU COME NEAR ME." Has he lost his mind? He must really be guilty! He conspired with the queen to get rid of the King? How dare he try to use a weapon in here? Damon ignored all the questions and horrified reactions all around him as he wielded the sword. By now, five other guards from the back had approached him, pointing their swords at him too. "I have given my entire life for this kingdom. I will never be treated this way by a mere Omega." Damon spoke in a bitter tone as he ignored the guards and all the noblemen and pointed the sword in Tyra''s direction. Every one of them was still horrified because, before now, they were still thinking Princess Tyra was falsely using Sir Damon, but his reaction right now was telling them otherwise. Had he really? With the queen??? Tyra was surprisingly calm. Instead of withdrawing, seeing how he had a murderous aura all around him as he pointed his sword at her, she slowly began to approach him instead, causing the other noblemen to conclude that she had indeed lost her mind. Tyra continued to approach, her gaze fixed on Damon''s angry face. The man could do nothing as she called his bluff and walked right in front of him, and when he still didn''t use the weapon, she smirked and approached closer, where she stood beside him but facing the other side, and said in a whisper, so low that even the great hearing of their kind couldn''t pick it up, thanks to the veil she was also wearing over her face. "Only the one with the bigger hate can win." She said to him. "You can never be the winner between us. Because I hate you more... father." Tyra drew back to look at his shocked face, and he saw her smile. Chapter 437 "Let Me Borrow It" ? Alicia was fed up with sitting there while knowing nothing and simply letting the physician examine her. She knew that something was wrong, but no one was saying anything. If she had been unconscious the entire time, Harold should have been here by now, knowing she was awake. Even Susan would have shown up. Also, Paulina was too jumpy and had been avoiding eye contact with her. Alicia had asked the physician if everything was alright, and he quickly said all was well and told her to receive her treatment with a free mind so she would get better on time. She noticed the man also seemed a little wary of her. She didn''t press Paulina for an answer. She simply took her treatment. She drank whatever she was given, ate whatever she was fed, and let the physician prick her skin with needles until he concluded that she was going to be fine and needed a little rest. A little rest?Alicia snorted inside of her. As soon as the man left her chamber, she got down from the bed, taking a second to appreciate how effective their medical practice was because she felt alright. "Where... are you off to?" Paulina asked hesitantly when she noticed that Alicia had picked up a dress to change into. "If you are not going to tell me anything, I''ll find answers myself," Alicia said as she pulled off the first dress she was wearing and wore the second over her head. She wanted something free and in since she was very irritable right now, and this dress was just perfect. "You should rest! That''s what the physician said!" Paulina said in a panic. Alicia turned to look at her and said in a serious tone, "Look at me, Paulina. I am not the type to sit back when I am anxious. If I want answers, I must get them. Even if you do not wish to tell me." Alicia ignored her and turned to wear her footwear. When she was done, she picked up a hairband from the dressing table to tie up the front of her hair so it wouldn''t fall into her eyes. If the hair she had cut had grown a few inches longer already, it meant she had been sleeping for many days. As soon as Alicia walked past Paulina and reached for the door, Paulina blurted out, "Prince Harold is unconscious!" That stopped Alicia on her track and she turned to look at Paulina in shock. "What... happened?" She asked after a moment''s pause. Just what had happened while she was asleep? Paulina''s voice was filled with emotion as she said, "I don''t know what happened. But he was with you before it happened. He... wasn''t hurt physically at least. Alvin said he noticed the prince looked unwell that morning." "He was with... me?"Alicia asked slowly. "A... lot has happened, Lady Alicia... I don''t... know where I am supposed to start." Now, Paulina was acting more like Paulina because tears were clouding her eyes. She had been trying to act strong the entire time so as not to alert Alicia and stop her from getting treated properly. Alicia, however, has noticed how Paulina has stopped addressing her as "mydy" but as "Lady Alicia" since she woke up. But that was the least of her worries right now. "My... mistress came," Paulina confirmed it to her with a sad look on her face. Alicia had suspected it earlier, but hearing it made her feel uneasy. "She... killed Queen Darcy first. The court has been in an uproar since then because she was alsost seen with Prince Harold before he copsed. King Cedric is still locked in the dungeon, and so are his children." Alicia''s hand flew to cover her mouth when she heard what she thought was the most shocking news she would ever hear. She didn''t wait to hear the rest before she opened the door and ran out of the room. Panicking, Paulina ran after her. Alicia found two guards standing outside Harold''s chamber and ignored them to run inside, but surprisingly, the guards stood in front of her, stopping her from going in. Or maybe it was understandable because they believed she had been the one to hurt them. But it had still taken her aback. "We apologize, but we cannot let you in." One of the guards said in a serious tone. "On whose orders?" Alicia asked curiously. "Princess Tyra''s." He replied. "Princess Tyra?" Alicia asked incredulously. Were they messing with her right now¡ª ''What happened between you and Princess Tyra? Why did she do that to you?'' Alicia suddenly remembered that question and turned to look at Paulina, who didn''t look surprised by the turn of events but she seemed to be scared. "Can I... at least see him for a second?" Alicia asked the guards in a pleading tone. "I... am sorry." The other guard said it in a sincere tone and put his head down to avoid her gaze. Alicia was not unreasonable. She could tell their hands were tied. Why was everyone acting like this? Paulina approached her and took her by the hand, quickly leading her away to a more private spot. All this while, the wheels in Alicia''s head were spinning. "What is going on?" She asked Paulina, realizing that no matter what, she could not get the answers herself. Someone needs to give her a heads-up. "Princess Tyra is in control of the pce now. The king is still ill. The queen and Prince Ivan are currently locked up." "What?" Alicia breathed out in disbelief. Was that why Tyra had tried to hurt Amber? Because she was taking revenge for her brother? "Princess Tyra is not the same person we used to know. She has also arrested the children of the noblemen who refused her call to join the morning assembly yesterday, and this morning, a nobleman was dragged out of the assembly to the dungeon. And yesterday..." Paulina hesitated before she said fearfully, "She... ordered for me to be beaten to death, but¡ª" "WHAT?!" Alicia eximed with wide eyes. That was just unbelievable. "Sir Lance saved me! Nothing happened." Paulina quickly added to calm her down. Of course, nothing happened because she was standing in front of her. But ordering for Paulina to be killed? She didn''t even care what Paulina had done. That was just in psycho! She remembered how hostile Tyra had been toward her recently. She seemed like a different person. "Where is she?" Alicia asked her. "She is leading the morning assembly. I heard that mydy injured her face. She is not in a good mood. You should stay away from her... please." Paulina pleaded with her, unconsciously holding her hand tightly. Alicia could not believe this. She evenughed in disbelief. Tyra must have gone crazy. She walked away from Paulina and returned to the guards who were guarding Harold''s door. When they saw her, they looked ufortable again, hoping she was not trying to make trouble. "I will not try to force my way in. But I want you to swear to me that Prince Harold is okay." Alicia said to them in a calm tone. The guards exchanged looks before one nodded and answered,"The Prince is fine. The physician stated that the prince needed to rest and should not be disturbed." Relief washed over her, and she nodded before her eyes dropped down to one of the guard''s sword. "Let me borrow it." "Pardon?" The guard asked in confusion and followed her line of sight. A few minutester, Alicia was walking down the hallway with a stoic expression on her face, dragging a sword behind her. While Paulina followed, looking as nervous as ever. She had thought Alicia was heading towards the assembly room to find Tyra, but surprisingly, Alicia was heading out of the main pce hall and towards the dungeon. This made her even more anxious. Chapter 438 New Guards ? Before Alicia and Paulina even arrived at the dungeon, they could already hear loud voices, cries, and ongoing argumentsing from the direction of the dungeon gate. When the dungeon''s gate came into view, they realized the number of women and young girls standing out there, hoping to be let in. There were up to fifteen of them in total, and only a few young men of noble families watched from the side like it was an amusing sight. However, some young men stood with the women too. Within a few seconds of seeing this, Alicia could already tell that the desperate women were the families of some of the arrested people, while others had simply tagged along. Most of them had something in their hands. Either it was a warm cloak, a covered bowl of food, a gourd of water, etc. "My daughter is in there! How could you arrest my little daughter and put her in this stinking ce?" A woman asked with tears in her eyes, and the others echoed the same. They wanted to meet their children. The guards didn''t budge. The five men blocking the gate looked weird and were not dressed in the normal knight''s uniform. They were also bigger, older, dirtier, and looked very aggressive, carrying crude weapons. They weren''t exactly guarding the gates since they sat separately on whatever could serve as a seat, be itrge bricks or rocks. The men seemed to be having fun taunting the women and cackling loudly at whatever they thought was amusing. Who were these people? Alicia had never seen this group of people before. "I... heard Princess Amber changed some guards. I don''t know where they came from either." Paulina whispered in her ear. When a loud cry sounded from inside the dungeon, one of the women cried loudly. "THAT IS MY DAUGHTER! THAT IS HER VOICE!" She cried out and tried to force her way inside. Unfortunately, it seemed like the men were done messing around with these women because they suddenly looked serious, and one of the men who looked like their leader stood up and rudely pushed her to the ground, startling everyone watching. As the man approached the woman, who was wincing in pain on the ground, the other woman gasped in fear and unconsciously retreated, just like the young men. The man suddenly stopped walking and looked around him at the other frightened women before he let out a heartyugh and turned to his friends, saying, "Reminds me why I love women. So fragile." His friends bellowed inughter at the ''amusing'' scene, especially when the woman on the ground tripped on her dress when she tried to stand up and fell back to the ground. "Son of a bitch!" Alicia muttered in anger and tried to walk up there, but Paulina quickly held her hand and shook her head, telling her not to. "They are all scared of you... I mean, Princess Amber. It won''t... be good." For a second, Alicia was torn. But her attention was drawn when they heard the woman crying on the ground, and all eyes were fixed on her. "I just want to see my daughter. She... feels awful pain when she is bleeding. You cannot keep her in this dirty ce. She is ady!" The men ignored the woman and joked among themselves,ughing heartily and spitting in an uncultured manner that made thedies retch in disgust. One of the women boldly went to help the other woman to her feet and pointed at the men, yelling, "You uncultured riff-raffs! It''s no surprise you do not know how to treatdies because you all grew up in the slums. I hope you all die miserable deaths." That seemed to make the men stop hollering inughter, and their gazes turned serious. The one who seemed like their leader approached the woman and grabbed her by the hair. Then he began to drag her past the dungeon gate while saying, "Your cultured husband won''t be able to save you, whore!" The other women could only cry and demand she be let go, but they could not save the woman, who was screaming in pain and fear as the man dragged her inside. When Alicia turned to look at Paulina again, Paulina didn''t need to be told. She let go of Alicia at once, who was brimming with anger at this point. "LET HER GO THIS INSTANT!" Alicia demanded fiercely. When the other frightened women saw her, they didn''t know whether to be hopeful or frightened. It was the same woman who had killed her stepmother only recently and made her husband go unconscious. She was also rumoured to be a witch, and they had all witnessed certain strange things that could confirm she was indeed one. So most of the women also withdrew and moved away from her path. The man still firmly held onto the woman''s hair even as he turned to face Alicia. "Ah! Another feisty one." One of his friends mocked, making the five of themugh loudly in amusement. As if taunting Alicia, the man grabbed the woman''s hair even tighter as he pulled her along with him to stand in front of Alicia, pointing his other free hand at the sword she was holding. "Careful so it doesn''t hurt you." One of them said in a sing-song voice while pointing at her sword. This made the group of men burst intoughter once again. "Do you even know how to use that, wild rabbit?" He mocked as he reached to touch Alicia''s face while looking at her with eyes zed with lust. After all, she was dressed in a rather in dress that mostdies didn''t wear out of their rooms. "We can see if I can use it or not," Alicia said in a serious tone before she wielded the sword with both hands and, without thinking twice, stabbed it right through the stomach of the man. Gasps and screams echoed all around from the frightened women and the young nobleds, and even the man''s friends seemed to have realized that this wild rabbit wasn''t joking because they all stood up at once. Alicia looked up into the startled eyes of the man she had stabbed, whose hands had finally let go of the poor woman''s hair. "Seems I can use it just fine," Alicia said quietly before she dragged the sword out of his stomach, making him scream out in pain as he fell to the floor, soaking in his own pool of blood. Chapter 439 Kill Or Be Killed ? Even Alicia was not sure what had possessed her to react that way. But as the saying goes, "When in Rome, act like the Romans." She wasn''t in the 21st century, where she could be arrested for something as simple as a verbal assault. Over here, it was kill or be killed. Jungle justice. Only the strong would survive. And she was going to survive. Two of the man''s friends rushed to his side, while one whose face was red with fury began to approach Alicia while wielding his weapon, which had the shape of a sickle. "You are going to die!" He said in a furious tone as he tried to attack her with it, but she quickly dodged the first strike. "I can say the same for all of you if you do not hand over the keys and step aside," Alicia spoke in a serious tone before she pointed the sword at the man, firmly grabbing it with both hands. Meanwhile, his friend was at the point of death, and the others with him were doing their best to stop the bleeding while yelling for him to remain with them and instructing the other one not to let the perpetrator get away with it. "Princess... Run!" The woman she had saved earlier yelled at Alicia when she realized the man was attacking with the intention to kill. "Princess?" The man asked, stopping his strike midair. "Princess... Amber?" One of the other men behind asked in surprise while looking at Alicia. "Isn''t that Prince Harold''s wench?" Another one asked in panic as he tried to wrap his head around that and also stop his friend from bleeding to death. But it seemed none of them were going to work. "What if she is? She just stabbed Polo!" Thest one yelled, the evidence showing right on his body since he was soaked with his friend''s blood. "Are you Princess Amber?" The one attacking Alicia asked her. "What if she is? Kill her!" "She is Prince Harold''s beloved! And we need to get Polo treated first!" He yelled back at one of his friends before he faced Alicia, demanding, "Have Polo treated by the royal physician, and I will hand over the keys." He bargained even though it looked like what he most wanted to do was bash her head against the gate until all the essence was sttered everywhere like a tomato. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" One of his friends yelled and tried to pick up his weapon to do the deed instead, but another one stopped him. "No!" Alicia firmly rejected the deal. "He''s nasty. My mercy does not extend to his kind. No royal physician would save his filthy blood." "HOW DARE YOU!" He yelled at her. "I will never hand over the keys." "You are in no position to bargain with me." She said it coldly. "I can only let you leave this pce alive, and if it''s his fate, he will survive if you find him a physician quickly. So... hand over the keys." She demanded. "Just give her the stupid keys! Polo is dying!" One of them shouted. It was a surprise to see how emotional these men could turn when one of their own had his life on the line. "Hand over the keys!" Another yelled at him. Heaving in anger, he swore as he tossed the bunch of keys to her. "I will kill you myself one day." Alicia snorted as she caught the keys in her hand. "It is not your fate to kill me." She replied. He was angry. But they had lost. They could only carry their brother and hurry out of there to get him treated, with the promise of returning for her. Alicia looked at the bunch of keys like it was an award que, and it was only now that she realized how hard her heart was beating in fear and her body was trembling. She had been scared. Anyone in their right sense would have been. But she had surprisingly done it. And she had surprisingly survived. Once again, Harold''s name alone saved her. She raised the key above her head and dangled it as she said, "Shall we begin?" The women cried in joy, all looking at the keys with sparkling eyes filled with tears. All the men present there looked at her with admiration, and by now, more people had alreadye out to witness this. She is a saviour! She is indeed! Our children are safe! This and many other words were what Alicia heard around her, giving her a feeling of deja vu. Was it the first time she saw Anne? She felt a sense of fulfilment. Even though she hadn''t exactly done something that great, her heart swelled with joy. Alicia watched as mothers reunited with their children. Boys and girls who had never experienced such hardships before cried in their mothers'' arms. It was such a beautiful yet sad sight to witness. What exactly caused Tyra to act like this? If she hadn''t heard directly from Paulina, she would have thought they were all lies. All the mother''s expressions had taken a huge turn, and whenever they looked at Alicia, their gaze had turned from one of fear to one filled with gratitude, despite the fact that she was still holding a bloody sword. "Thank you for what you did. You are what many of us will never be." A young girl who had just reunited with her brother, who had been arrested, said to Alicia with sincerity. "It''s... nothing. Anyone could have done that." Alicia responded with a warm smile. She let out an adorable giggle before she shook her head and said, "No one could have." And then she walked away to help her brother out together with her mother, who sent Alicia a grateful smile. "My husband was dragged in here this morning. Is it... okay to release him too?" A woman asked hopefully. Her eyes were swollen, thanks to crying for the past hours. "Release everyone who was locked between yesterday and today," Alicia instructed them loudly, making them cheer. The women thanked Alicia warmly and quickly joined the others as they divided the key amongst themselves and helped each other with burning torches. "Thank you." Paulina, who had been quietly holding a fire torch beside her, spoke quietly to Alicia as they watched themotion inside the dungeon. "For what?" Alicia asked her in confusion. "For doing this. For not letting me stop you. She was right... no one could have done it but you." Paulina said this with a proud look in her eyes. Was it really her doing? Alicia thought to herself. Somehow, she was having imposter syndrome. She had only been able to survive so far because of Harold. Without him, she would have died a long time ago. "When I heard amotion happening here, I knew it had to be you." Alicia and Paulina turned to the voice and saw Lance, who had just entered. Lance''s gaze moved from their faces to the sword in her hand. Chapter 440 "Its Always You" ? Alicia looked at Lance up and down. Why was he looking so unncely? "Why do you look like this? Did you get your heart broken?" Alicia asked him in a light tone. She had meant it as a joke even though she was concerned about what was wrong with him, but his reaction made her even more curious. His demeanour suddenly changed, and he looked crestfallen. His jawline turned rigid as if he was trying to suppress whatever emotion in him that was trying to force its way out. "Are you okay?" Alicia asked in concern. "I don''t... think I am." He said with a sad smile, one Alicia had never seen before. Then he asked her, "Are you okay? She was... your friend." "Who?" Alicia asked in confusion. "Susan." "Why wouldn''t I be okay? Where is she, by the way? I haven''t seen her at all today." Alicia said as she looked in the direction of the door. If Lance had been able to hear about thismotion here, Susan definitely should have been here by now. Lance looked at her in confusion before his eyes went to the tense Paulina beside her, who nervously shook her head. He raised a brow at her but said nothing. Most of the people leaving the cell also noticed the exchange but said nothing and just gave her awkward smiles as they filed out until none of them was left inside the dungeon. "We should leave here. It stinks." Lance said and turned around, but he noticed Alicia was not moving. Alicia just stared at the long and dark hallway, which almost looked endless. Voices were stilling from those ces, but they were very faint. As if those people hadpletely lost hope. "Do not do whatever I think you are thinking of doing," Lance told her. "I am not doing anything. I am only curious about what lies in that depth." Paulina tried to speak, but Alicia turned to her and said, "You can wait for me outside. I''ll be back as soon as I am done checking." She took the torch from Paulina and handed her the sword before she looked at Lance. "Please look after the women and ensure their children are well cared for before I return." After she entrusted that to Lance, she turned and began to head down. Paulina hesitated. She looked at the door and then at Alicia''s back before she gave the sword to Lance and ran after Alicia. Lance just sighed and scratched his head. "Stupid humans." He muttered although he looked sad before he turned and left the dungeon. After passing through all the unlocked cells, Alicia began to reach the ones that were still locked. The first person she unexpectedly saw was Prince Ivan. It had slipped her mind that he would be here. "Prince Ivan?" She called out quietly. Ivan sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his body, but as soon as he saw her, he dropped his knees and folded his arms across his chest, frowning at her. "It''s always you." He said it in displeasure. Alicia ignored that and simply asked him, "Why didn''t you alert us to unlock your gate?" She asked him even though she doubted anyone actually cared about whatever happened to Ivan in here. He scoffed. "I would never submit myself to your mercy." He said arrogantly. "Do you realize that I might be your only hope to leave here?" She asked him. Ivanughed in amusement. "Do not kid yourself. I had no hand in whatever I am being used of. So I will leave here soon. And a crazy witch like you can never be my only hope. I hate you. All of this is your fault!" He said this as he charged towards the gate and shook it aggressively, startling her. "My fault?" She asked in disbelief after stepping back. "You turned Luciana against me. And even now, she has not reached out to me since she woke up. It is all because of you!" He yelled in anger. It looked like he was going to cry but was stopping himself from doing so. Alicia turned to Paulina with a questioning look, and Paulina gave her a gentle nod. Yes, Luciana was awake. But it seemed her dear husband had no idea what else there was about her. Hearing that Luciana was awake made Alicia''s face light up. She had been scared that something bad would happen to her. If she had known, she would have visited Luciana earlier. Back to Prince Ivan, who changed her mood. "I can see you haven''t changed a bit. It seems like your ego is far greater than your love. Otherwise, you would have epted any means to leave this ce and check up on your love, whom you almost sent to her death. You really do not deserve her." Alicia said in a disappointed tone before walking away from there. "HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME?" Ivan continued to yell and throw curses at her until his voice became distant. This meant that Alicia had walked even further down the hallway, and it was beginning to get difficult for that one torch to illuminate their paths. "I''m... scared," Paulina spoke in a shaky voice while holding Alicia''s sleeve. "Stick beside me, Paulina," Alicia said to her. They passed by so many cells, with some people looking half-dead. Alicia could not help but wonder what they had done. This looked like a life sentence. Just then, Alicia stopped walking and turned to the side, putting the torch forward to light up that direction. That was when they saw a flight of stairs leading down. Alicia looked at Paulina, who had a wary look on her face. It was obvious that whatever was down there was something she was not curious to find out. But they hade this far. She couldn''t just turn back. "What if something dangerous is down there?" Paulina whispered in fear. "We have a sword." Alicia reminded her and looked down at Paulina''s hands, only just realizing that she no longer had it. Paulina looked guilty. However, they had gone too far, so Alicia took the first step down, and of course, Paulina had no choice but to follow. It took them about 30 stairs before they arrived at the bottom. And what was surprising? It was empty down there. Just an empty and dark space with solid rock walls. "There is nothing here," Paulina whispered, and her voice returned to her in echoes that made her jump. "There should be something," Alicia replied as her inner detective kicked in and she began to look around. Paulina followed closely behind as Alicia looked at the rocky walls. Alicia suddenly stopped walking, ced her hand on the wall she was observing, and traced it with her fingers. She turned to hand the torch over to Paulina, who was watching her closely, and when Alicia faced the wall again, she gave a strong push that opened up the corner of the wall, revealing another room in there. "I knew it," Alicia muttered confidently. Paulina stared in awe, having never seen anything like that before. Thankfully, the wall wasn''t the type to close on its own, so Alicia took the torch back from Paulina but hesitated to go in since she wasn''t exactly sure of what she might find there. Her mind yed at different things she could possibly find on the other side of the wall, but none of them was anywhere near what she found when she stepped inside after retrieving the torch from Paulina. There was a tomb in therge room. And in front of it was a tombstone. On it was boldly written, "THE LOVING BROTHER OF KING ELI, PRINCE WILDER." Alicia looked at it, her eyes shining with surprise. Wilder has always been... here? Chapter 441 What do you know? Chapter 441 What do you know? Tyra was tiny. She was an Omega. She always looked weak. Physically, it was impossible for her to hurt even the faintest Beta maid in the pce. But the kind of aura she gave off as she stared out the high window was enough to make the three guards behind her very ufortable. She was not stupid enough to walk alone. At this point, she knew she was the most hated in the pce, and that feeling brought her great joy. Because now, no one sees her as a fragile Princess anymore. She was in everybody''s thoughts, and they feared her. Instead of simply walking past her with a little nod of acknowledgement, they fled the other way when they noticed her shadow. But someone was bound to make it difficult for her. Tyra watched as mothers joyfully reunited with their children and led them back into the pce. She watched as the fathers, who were finally done with the morning assembly, tried to catch up with their families. The news of what that witch was up to made the assembly end earlier than Tyra would have wanted. She had thought Amber would be resting for a while until she sorted out everything this morning and nned how to get rid of her. Amber knew too much. "My... Princess..." A guard approached to give a report to Tyra, who was still staring "Speak," Tyra said in a calm voice without looking at him. She kept her eyes fixed on the outside, watching. out the window with the wind blowing the veil covering her face. "Speak," Tyra said in a calm voice without looking at him. She kept her eyes fixed on the outside, watching. "We moved Sir Damon to the west dungeon instead." He informed her. With the ruckus going on outside the dungeon, they could not take Sir Damon there for now. "Too nice for him." Tyra said nonchntly before she muttered, "Princess Amber." Who could have thought she was bold enough to confront Polo and even hurt him? She wasn''t an easy opponent after all. "You really do not want to make it easy for me." Tyra sounded amused as she talked to herself, which confused the guards, but they only stared at each other and said nothing. Tyra''s eyes suddenlynded on a familiar figure outside who looked like she was sneaking out and hiding from the rest of the group. "Bring her to me." She said this while pointing at Agnes. When two of the guards beside her tried to leave, she pointed at one to leave while the two who had tried to leave were made to stay behind. The guard took a look at the person he was supposed to catch before he bowed and left. She then turned for the first time and faced the guard who had ryed the news about Damon and instructed, "Send more guards out to find Damian. No matter what, find his journal of potions and bring it back with you, together with his corpse." That stunned the guards, who looked at her in surprise. First of all, why was she so obsessed with finding Damian? She had sent different batches of guards outside the pce until there were only a few left to guard the pce. Secondly, Damian''s name had been mentioned in court today as a significant witness to a certain case no one wanted to speak loudly about. Why would she want him dead? Journal of potions? What was that? And why was she careless about her orders? They had never hated their duties as much as they did right now. At this point, they would rather be under Prince Ivan''smand than under hers. Unfortunately, he is locked up now. The guard she had instructed had to voice out his thoughts. "But there are not many guards left in the pce. If more guards are sent out, it would be difficult to protect the pce in case anything happens." "I will protect the pce." She said slowly. "Just do as you are told." He hesitated, but he bowed and left to carry out her orders. He didn''t have any choice. Tyra turned to look up at the sky. She had everything under control. She smiled as she murmured, "It''s almost time." The two guards beside her looked at themselves,municating with their eyes, before she broke their interaction and said, "Lead me to the West Dungeon." She wondered if Damon would be happy to see her again. ****** While the town was filled with guards trooping in and out in search of a person, someone who hadn''t been searching for him bumped into him. It was none other than Alvin who identally found a haggard-looking Damian, and they were both currently shing swords in a bamboo grove. Damian had blood all over his tattered clothes and body. Some were fresh open cuts from swords; the others were dried, proving Alvin wasn''t the first person he had encountered who had shed swords with him. "Give up. You are no match for me." Alvin reminded him. He wasn''t putting much effort into the fight because he knew that if he did, Damian was going to die. He already looked weak, and his sword looked heavy in his hands. Damian tried to catch his breath while also trying to stand up from the ground, using his sword for support. "You... would have killed me if you wanted." "It''s not my job to kill you. You are a prisoner of the pce who broke out of the dungeon. You have been conspiring with the queen ¡ª" "I didn''t conspire with the queen. Those are lies." He spoke in a firm tone. "Lies I heard you proved with your actions," Alvin said to him coldly. He didn''t make any effort to attack Damian and just watched as he kept trying and failing to stand on his feet. "The queen is indeed guilty of so many things. Things you cannot even imagine. I wanted her to pay for her crimes." "You are loyal to the queen. And she is the mother of Princess Tyra, thedy you love." Damian cringed when he heard that and let out augh that made him spit out blood. "I do not have that kind of rtionship with Princess Tyra. It''s disgusting to imagine." Alvin frowned. "That was a lie I told Susan because it was necessary." When he mentioned Susan''s name, his facial expression changed, and so did Alvin''s. Damian finally stood to his feet and sighed heavily. "You must be out here looking for answers about Susan.". Alvin''s face darkened immediately, and his hand gripped his sword tighter as he asked in a dark voice, "What do you know?!" "A lot," Damian answered almost immediately. "There is also a lot more happening in the pce that you do not know¡ª" "That is not my concern!" Alvin snapped, and before Damian knew it, Alvin was holding him by the cor, snarling, "What happened to Susan?" Just then, they heard voices. It was heading their way. And even without seeing them, it was quite obvious that those voices belonged to guards from the pce, and those guards were only out there for one reason. Damian. Chapter 442 "Recreating" Chapter 442 "Recreating" Alvin could not remain there either. He had left the pce without proper permission and needed to return as soon as possible, but he needed answers first, which had been difficult since he could not find the one he was out here to find. "Keep me away from them, and I will help you with two things." Damian bargained. "There is nothing you can help me with¡ª" "There are a lot of things I can help you with. But if you do not hear me out, you are going to regret it. For the rest of your life." "Do not tempt me." Alvin''s tone still sounded dark. "Tell me what you know about Susan." "Keep me away from them, and I promise¡ª" Alvin''s hands tightened around his cor. "Susan... the person who killed her," Damian said. That caught Alvin''s attention, and his brows furrowed. "I''m sure whatever you are out here for is to find that out. I have the answers." "Who... is it?" Alvin asked, his voice sounding less tough than it had earlier. The voices drew closer. "It depends on what you decide," Damian said with his gaze locked on Alvin''s. "I have nothing to lose if I die. I believe I have achieved my greatest wish. But... you all do. You will lose more than you can smugness and arrogance. He looked sad and lifeless. Most importantly, he looked honest. imagine." Damian seemed a bit different. He wasn''t showing his usual smugness and arrogance. He looked sad and lifeless. Most importantly, he looked honest. "What... is the other thing?" Alvin asked since Damian had promised him two things if he helped him out of there alive. "I will give you two people. Two very important people." "Which people?" Alvin asked. From his tone, Damian could guess he assumed the people were those involved in Susan''s death, so he gave a hint. "One is rted to Prince Harold''s curse. And the other serves in the pce." Prince Harold''s curse? Who was that? A maid? Was it Katherine? "You have to choose now. Or I can save myself Or decide to perish here." Damian said to him as the voices drew even nearer. ***** "Is this... what you have been nning?" Damon asked Tyra. Tyra looked down at him. He was on his knees and had his hands spread out, both held by chains. His face was a mixture of so many emotions. But one she happily picked out was regret. That look made her heart soar with joy. "I can see you finally regret how you treated me all these years. Never did you imagine that you''d die under mymand one day." She taunted. She had expected him to first ask her how she knew about it all. How she had outsmarted them all. But she also didn''t mind his first question. He looked up at her veiled face withzy eyes as he said, "My only regret in my life was getting involved with the queen. You... are the worst part of my existence." Tyra''s entire demeanour changed, and she burned with anger, feeling her whole body shake and itch. At once, she pulled the hat off her head with the veil and threw it at him. "YOU REGRET IT!" She yelled, her chest heaving up and down. "YOU JUST DON''T WANT TO ADMIT IT BECAUSE OF YOUR STUPID PRIDE!" She yelled at him again before pulling hard at her hair. Damon looked at her with something akin to disgusting pity and shook his head. Tyra shut her eyes, willing herself to calm down. She was Queen Tyra. She could handle this. She reminded herself, but it was still difficult to control the way she was breathing. She snapped her eyes open and red at him when he said, "You... really want to put shame on your mother''s name? You want to see her executed so badly? Do you think you would be free from it? You are going to die together with us." The way he sounded as though pleading with her seemed to boost her emotions, and she burst intoughter, reveling in the feeling. "I cannot believe you are talking to me about shame," Tyra said whileughing. "I would be thrilled to see both your heads on a spike hanging for all to see." "You will be there to apany us¡ª" "No, I won''t." She cut him off, smiling proudly. "You think you would be acknowledged?" He asked her. "As your daughter? Of course not. That is a disgusting title!" She faked vomit. "People are going to hate me. But they would hate you and the queen even more. As for me, Prince Harold would not let me be executed. And when I am left here in the pce with no proper title? What else is befitting of me?" She asked before she said, with a wide smile, "A Queen." "I am going to be the queen of the moon kingdom. Harold''s queen!" She announced it to him. "You... have gone mad," Damon said this in disbelief. He had never heard anything more crazy than that. "Prince Harold has ady wife¡ª" "She will be gone!" Tyra yelled, her face turning serious again. "If I can make the queen rot in the hot pce and reduce you to this, I can get rid of her!" Damon had never seen anyone crazier in his life. "He will never choose her over me! He promised me he would support my love. He will never go back on his promise." She said confidently before smugly adding, "A witch will never be the queen of the moon kingdom. I will put an end to it before it begins." "You can control the guards as much as you like. But none of them would be stupid enough to hurt a strand of her hair." Damon reminded her. "Hahaha! Guards? Which guards?" Tyra burst intoughter again until she had tears flowing down her cheeks. "I am not stupid enough to rely on your pce guards." She said to him before asking, "Do you know one thing useless Omegas have a lot of?" She looked closely at him before she answered her own question. "It''s time." "People rarely pay attention to us. So we can even build an army of rogues. People who hate this pce as much as I do. People who have been neglected their entire lives and have experienced being inferior. With only a little hope and the promise of gold and knighthood, they would burn down this pce under mymand." She said slowly in a serious tone. "What... have you done?" Damon asked in disbelief, looking up at her with wide, confused eyes. "Recreating." She answered. "Giving hope to the hopeless. Purging this pce." "The court... would never be in support. They would never!" He said angrily as he tried and failed to get off the chains. "The court?" She echoed. "Which court?" She asked with a grin before she walked out of there. Chapter 443 Rogues Chapter 443 Rogues "I''m scared..." Paulina said to Alicia fearfully. It was one thing to walk down a dark, eerie hallway. It was another thing to be in a hidden room with a coffin that housed the dead body of someone they didn''t know. The entire time, Paulina''s eyes kept going to the stone door, fearing it would shut and leave them stranded here. That would be a nightmare. Alicia tried to understand what the king was thinking. Why would he hide Wilder''s body here? She walked around the sarcophagus, too scared to even touch it, much less open it to look inside to confirm whether there was indeed a body there. A year ago, if someone had told her she would willingly be in a ce like this, she would have frightfullyughed it off. But after everything she had experienced since she arrived here, this was probably the least scary thing. She paused and brought the fire torch forward when she saw something that looked like a small pouch. She quickly shut her eyes and apologized for the invasion of privacy before she picked up the pouch and handed the torch back to Paulina, who stood closely behind her. She opened the small pouch and pulled out the piece of paper her fingers touched first. It was neatly folded, so she carefully unfolded it while Paulina peered closer with the torch to see what it was. It was a portrait of a girl''s side profile with a hood covering her head, painted with red ink. On the free side beside the painting were the words, "Tiny Stubborn Witch." Alicia could tell at first nce who the girl was. And also the person who painted it. If someone like Wilder could spare his time to do this, he must have truly had her in his heart. Alicia figured there was still something in the pouch and reached for it. It was a brown, handmade bead bracelet. "Uh..." Paulina eximed as she brought her head closer to look at it. "What is it?" Alicia turned to ask Paulina, who was looking at it with interest. "Queen Anne used to wear something like this. It looks the same." Paulina informed her before adding, "It must be verymon." She said thoughtfully. "I doubt it is," Alicia muttered while looking at the painting again. Bothdies suddenly jumped and let out frightened gasps when someone entered the room. But it soon turned to sighs of relief when they realized it was Harvey; he looked worried and held a fire torch in his hand too. "You... scared us," Alicia said, trying to catch her breath, with Paulina tightly holding her arm, also trying to catch her breath. Harvey sounded urgent, and even his breathing was fast. "What are you doing¡ªwhat is this ce?" Harvey fixed his eyes on the tombstone and stony coffin. When he read the words on the stone, his brows furrowed. "Prince Wilder?" He muttered in confusion. "Could there be a reason why he is being hidden here, if I''m guessing correctly, by the king?" Alicia asked curiously, while Paulima just stared at the two of them, lost. "That should be the least of our concerns right now, Alicia," Harvey spoke in an urgent tone. How had he immediately guessed it was her and not Amber? Alicia wondered, but she didn''t ask since Harvey looked like there was trouble. "We need to get back into the pce right now." He said it with the same urgency in his voice. "What is wrong?" She asked in worry as she began to return the items to the pouch. "Princess Tyra..." Those were the only words he could utter before he said impatiently, "We need to hurry." And then began to lead the way. Alicia didn''t ask any more. It seemed very urgent right now, and the most important thing was to leave here. She quickly returned the pouch to the ce she picked it up before she hurried out, holding Paulina''s hand tightly. By the time they were out, Alicia could tell why Harvey''s tone had been filled with urgency. Not just that, but Lance had also shown up just before they left the dungeon gate. Apparently, he was the one who informed Harvey about where Alicia was, and now that things had turned this way, he decided to find them and let them know before it was toote. When Alicia first came to the Moon Kingdom, she admired their bravery in not setting up a gate to guard the pce. And after living here for a while, she was able to understand why no one in their right senses would attempt to attack the pce. But maybe someone who wasn''t in their right mind would do that. Because why was a group of wild-looking men trooping toward the direction of the pce? The surprising or not-so-surprising thing was the girl on a horse who was slowly approaching their direction as though to wee them. Alicia recognized that back. It was Tyra. What the hell was happening? Tyra had gotten rid of the hat and veil. Whatever she was intending to do right now was more important than the scar on her face. She could always fix thatter. This was giving her much joy. "What... is going on?" Paulina asked in fear. The men were many, and they looked like the ones who had been guarding the dungeon gate earlier. They were big, carrying crude weapons, and walking slowly with nasty smirks on their faces. They could hear frightened screams as the women around the pce ran inside, scampering about to get away from these wild men. They weren''t sure what Princess Tyra was hoping to do, but they didn''t want to wait there to find out either. "We need to hurry in. The noblemen are nning to lock all the doors." Lance spoke in a rush as he led the way. It seemed like Tyra hadn''t been smart enough to think about that probability when she stepped out of the main door. But at least, they were now taking actions against the one with the ''royal seal'' or whatever they called it. Alicia figured. As they began to head towards the main doors, guards trooped out of the pce with weapons in their hands. The rogues weren''t exactly few. They were up to sixty of them, if Alicia''s eyes served her correctly. However, the pce guards were less than 30. Alicia and the others kept their eyes there as they hurried towards the pce doors, trying not to miss a single thing. It seemed the pce guards were against whatever Tyra was up to and were really challenging her this time. Alicia could not hear the conversation, but the next thing that happened made her stop in her tracks while many others who had been watching from windows facing that direction screamed in shock. A big, burly rouge swung his rusty sword, cutting off the head of one of the guards. Tyra looked at the rolling head of the guard and burst intoughter. She began to cackle so loudly that even Alicia could hear it from where they stood. "Get... rid of them," Tyra said in between her amusedughter as she wiped tears from her eyes. Chapter 444 Locked out Chapter 444 Locked out In only a second, two more guards were down in the pool of their blood, and an intense battle ensued, one that the pce guards were obviously going to lose. "RETREAT!" Alicia screamed at the guards. Some turned towards her voice, and as soon as they saw her, they heeded her warning, racing back towards the pce doors. The rogues seemed really amused, and so did Tyra, who wasughing with them. She had turned with her horse and was now facing the pce doors. Alicia watched in fear as some of the guards who were badly injured struggled to keep running. Some had fallen to the ground and could not even get up. While the few that were fortunate to not have been attacked have already run back inside the pce. It was indeed obvious that the rogues were messing around with them because they just watched them and didn''t chase, believing they would die either way. There were only about 13 guards still alive, and only about 5 of them looked fine enough to make it to the pce doors. Alicia had never been so scared and lost in her life. She didn''t even know when Harvey pulled her until they got to the pce doors. However, before she could enter inside with him, she pulled her hand from his hold and ran back to help the guards trying to reach the doors. "MY LADY!" Paulina, who was already inside, yelled in fear. Lance and Harvey also looked at her with wide eyes, but Alicia was not paying attention to anything else. She kept reminding herself that this was Harold''s kingdom. If anything happened to it, she wouldn''t be able to save him either. Why was he always unconscious at the wrong time? Tears of fear rolled down her cheeks as she helped a guard up to his feet. His stab had been in his stomach. If he wasn''t going to die from the stab, then he probably would from the infection of the de. But she believed that there was nothing these physicians here couldn''t treat. It was a struggle pulling him up, and when she finally did and looked ahead, she saw Harvey running out to also help. Lance looked hesitant for a moment and looked like he was cursing her in his head before he also ran out. Two women whom Alicia believed to be Lance''s mother and Harvey''s mother, who hade to look for their sons and make sure they were inside the pce before the doors were locked, tried to hold them back, crying, but could not. As Alicia pulled the young man along with her, she could see the fear and hesitation in Paulina''s eyes, and the sharp look in Alicia''s eyes told Paulina not to think of stepping out. "MY LADY!" Paulina screamed while pointing behind Alicia. At the same time, Alicia felt a sharp kick to her side before she could turn shot by an arrow, which Harvey, who was ahead, was able to quickly cut off with his sword before it flew past the pce door. around, and that sent her falling along with the guard to the ground. The kick was courtesy of Lance, who had just saved her from being shot by an arrow, which Harvey, who was ahead, was able to quickly cut off with his sword before it flew past the pce door. From the ground, Alicia looked at the direction it hade from and realized it had been shot by none other than Tyra, who was looking at her with an evil expression and getting ready to use the bowstring a second time with a determined look in her eyes that told Alicia she didn''t intend to miss this time. What ever did she do to Tyra? She stared at her in disbelief. "This... isn''t worth it. Save yourself." The guard Alixia was trying to save said to her weakly. This time, they were lying side by side on the ground. Alicia held his hand and tried to pull him up with her as she said, "I will save you¡ª" "No. You... can''t." He interrupted her. "But... thank you. For trying." He gave her a warm smile before he closed his eyes. Alicia looked at him, sobs escaping her lips. She didn''t know exactly why she was crying. Was it fear? The fact that she failed? But she didn''t have the time to focus on that, especially when another arrow wasing at her. This time, she was able to dodge it and stand up quickly to help another guard. By now, Lance and Harvey had been able to save the rest and were on their way to help lead the twost living guards back to the pce, despite their parents'' protest. Alicia grabbed thest guard and hurried along with him. She kept her eyes behind her to look at Tyra, who was aiming another arrow at her, but then Tyra suddenly stopped and looked ahead of her, yelling, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" At the same time, Alicia heard amotion ahead and looked at the pce doors that were... CLOSING? It seemed like an intense argument was also happening inside, and she could briefly see some guards dragging a stubborn Harvey away while Lance''s mother was pulling him with her and yelling at him. "WAIT!" Alicia yelled as she hurried her pace towards the door, but she kept seeing less of the inside as the space kept getting smaller and smaller, and just before the doorpletely closed, a crying Paulina forced herself out, falling to the ground. Alicia stopped in her tracks, stunned. Did they just... lock her out? The door was so thick that she could no longer hear a sound from the other side. Everything was suddenly quiet. She looked down at Paulina, who looked up at her with teary eyes. "My...dy..." Paulina sobbed. "What... happened?" Alicia asked in disbelief. Her voice came out so quietly that it was even difficult for Paulina to tell what she was asking. "They said... they do not want a witch inside with them," Paulina informed her in tears. Tyra was livid. But seeing how Alicia had been locked out despite always acting like a saintess and caring about them made her feel better. A whole lot better! She felt so good that she forgot about her annoyance and began tough. Chapter 445 Must Be Crazy ? For the first few seconds, Alicia wanted to believe that she was imagining things. But Tyra''sughter behind her and the closed door in front of her made it clear enough that she wasn''t imagining things. It was real. She had been locked out. And it wasn''t just her. She looked at the guard she had risked her life to save. He had been ignored. She also looked down at Paulina, whose entire body was shaking as she cried on the ground. The guard stepped away from Alicia''s support and leaned on the door. However, he looked at Alicia with guilt. As though it was his fault she could not make it on time. "Were... you pushed out?" Alicia asked Paulina just as she helped her up, ignoring Tyra''s taunting remarks and crazyughter. "N-No." Paulina stuttered. "You... came out yourself?" Alicia asked in disbelief. Everything still felt like a dream to her. One minute she was in the dungeon, freeing their children. The next, she was being locked out? It was almost like she was going to get a panic attack as the feeling reminded her of how her life hade crashing down and how the same people who had loved her had been the first to cast her aside. "I... came out myself," Paulina answered, breaking her out of her thoughts. Those words made Alicia burn in anger, and she yelled out her name, startling the poor girl. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" "I COULDN''T LEAVE YOU ALONE!" She yelled back, crying, and quietly added, "I... I don''t want to be alive if you are not alive." Unable to control her emotion, Alicia hit her across the face in anger. "DO YOU THINK I WOULD BE HAPPY IF YOU DIED TOGETHER WITH ME?" Alicia asked in tears before pulling her into her embrace and hugging her tightly while sobbing. "What am I going to do with you? Why did you do something so stupid." Alicia asked in tears. She wished the girl wouldn''t be this stupid! She wished there was a way she could free her off this debt she thought she owed Queen Anne. How could a girl like her, who was always easily frightened, constantly put herself in harm''s way because of her? "What a touching sight," Tyra said with a p, causing the girls to break their hug. Alicia used her hands to wipe her tears as she turned to face Tyra, while Paulina hid behind Alicia. "You didn''t care that she was going to die yesterday. Why are you faking it now?" Tyra asked. "What did I ever do to deserve this? What did any of us do?" Alicia asked her. She hadn''t had the time to think about any of this properly, but she doubted any amount of thinking would be able to give her a proper answer to why Tyra was behaving this way. "YOU HAVE GONE BACK TO FAKING IT?" Tyra used her in anger. "You are worse than me, Amber. You have always known me and the things I did, but you pretended to be nice to me all this while." "I was always genuinely nice to you!" Alicia yelled at her. Her anger overpowered her fear.I think you should take a look at "Why... how did you turn out this way?" "YOU WERE NEVER NICE TO ME!" Tyra snapped at her. "You only pitied me. If you were nice to me, you wouldn''t have taken Prince Harold away from me! He was all I had until you came, and he could no longer spend time with me." Tyra didn''t give Alicia a chance to talk because she continued. "You must have loved to watch me make a fool of myself. You knew what happened on banquet night all along. You knew that happened on the Blood Moon night all along! And yet you pretended like you knew nothing when you met me!" Alicia was lost. What was she talking about? Banquet night. It was the night of the Full Moon. She didn''t remember what exactly happened that night. Blood Moon. It hadn''t been her. It had been Amber. Alicia also remembered that Amber had had a confrontation with Tyra earlier. There seemed to be something she didn''t know. "But it doesn''t matter. None of it matters. Because I am in charge now." Tyra said smugly as she concluded her rant and then, with a loud voice, ordered the blood-thirsty savages behind her, "PREPARE TO BREAK DOWN EVERY DOOR AND DRAG THOSE COWARDS OUT!" Frightened screams began to echo all over the pce, and some windows began to shut. They would rather bury their curiosity, not watch what was happening, and go hide somewhere else than get caught by these people. Meanwhile, some of the men were busy preparing the heavy weapon to be used to knock down the doors. "YOU MUST BE INSANE!" Alicia yelled at Tyra in disbelief. She had gone crazy. This wasn''t normal. "YOUR FAMILY IS INSIDE. THE KING AND PRINCE HAROLD ARE INSIDE!" "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO, YOU WITCH!" Alicia snorted at Tyra. "I am the witch, but you are the one trying to ruin your kingdom right now. Isn''t that ironic?" "Should we kill this wench first? Heard she did that to Polo." One of the men said impatiently. "A quick death? No." Tyra shook her head before she spoke to Alicia pointedly. "You deserve to be humiliated until you desire to end your life yourself." She said it with venom in her voice. "That is your payment for the scar on my face." "We should have fun with her, shouldn''t we?" One asked his ''brothers'' whoughed wildly and nodded in agreement. "Get rid of that thing beside her first. That would hurt her." Tyra instructed, pointing at Paulina, who let out a startled scream and held tightly onto Alicia''s arms, refusing to let go. "Ah! That one looks fine too. It would be a waste to just kill her, wouldn''t it?" One of the big men looked up at Tyra while baring his rotten teeth in a grin. Tyra scoffed before waving nonchntly as though saying, "As you please." Chapter 446 "You All Wanted A Witch..." ? Alicia had already taken a protective stance in front of Paulina, and from the look in her eyes, she was daring anyone to try and take her away, even though she was scared. Run, protect yourselves. I... will cover for you." The guard, who had been watching everything unfold, managed to speak as he pushed himself off the wall and grabbed his sword tightly. Alicia turned to look at him and then at Paulina before she looked in the direction of the men. While some were almost done with whatever weapon they were assembling to break down the solid doors, four men were approaching them, and it was quite obvious they wereing for her and Paulina. As for the guard, of course, they were going to get rid of the little hindrance too. Alicia quickly turned back to Paulina and shoved her at the guard, who could barely keep himself up. "Protect yourself," Alicia said strictly, and almost immediately, Paulina shook her head. "Listen to me!" Alicia said to Paulina sternly. "Return to where we were and hide there." Paulina knew she was talking about the tomb, but she shook her head in refusal, refusing to move. "This is not the time to be stubborn! I cannot save you here." Alicia snapped. "What if something happens to you? I don''t want to leave you¡ª" "I cannot save myself when I am trying to save you!" Alicia looked at the young man and said in a desperate tone. "Make sure you both survive. Otherwise, I will kill you myself." "l don''t¡ª" "I PROMISED!" Alicia yelled, cutting Paulina off before she could refuse again. "I promised you the title of the most renowned painter." Alicia reminded her. "I promised to make you a great merchant. And I... will fulfil it. You have to live." Alicia said in a desperate tone before she cupped Paulina''s face and dropped a kiss on her forehead while tears dropped from Paulina''s closed eyes. As soon as Alicia let her go and pushed her away, Paulina spoke. "If anything happens to you, I... will kill myself." She promised her before she held the guard and began to run away. "DO NOT LET THEM GET AWAY," Tyra ordered. "Where can they run to? They will die anyway." One said,ughing. As usual, some joined in. Alicia looked at the four men, who had gotten very close. She quickly picked up two swords that had been dropped earlier by the wounded guards, and that action alone made the men stop in their tracks, hesitating. They had heard rumours about this witch. One they wouldn''t have dared to believe if one of their own wasn''t battling with death at the moment. Alicia''s angry eyes looked at the men before she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The swords were heavy. They reminded her of how her arms felt whenever she was working out with heavy dumbbells. However, she held onto them, spreading her hands out. ''Amber. Anne. Avery. I didn''te here to die in the hands of these crazy psychos.'' She said it in her head.I think you should take a look at Her mind suddenly went back to the times she had seen Harold training alone, to the times when he was busy training with Alvin, and to the times he was swinging his sword in an actual fight. She also remembered the times he had taught her, reminding her that life here was to kill or be killed. To every other person, she just stood still, and those who still dared watch from the windows felt she was crazy. She was supposed to be running for her life, especially seeing how those four men weren''t exactly far from here and had deadly weapons. Fortunately, the men looked more confused than amused now, and they just stared as though entranced. The others, including those preparing to knock down the doors, remained where they were behind Tyra, all eyes on her. Suddenly, things seemed to change, and no one could utter a word. Their gazes simply settled on her, and they watched with furrowed brows as a strange gust of wind twirled around her. Alicia was still in the same position with her eyes closed. She thought about all that had happened to her since she came here. How she was always fighting for someone else. How she concerned herself with something that was none of her business. Anne had also been like that when she was a queen. However, Lady Avery hadn''t been like that. She had simply chosen a simple life in seclusion. Same as Amber, albeit involuntarily. But trouble still found them. Avery Anne Amber Alicia. Death continued to threaten them. At that moment, it seemed like she bore the grievances of all thedies plus her own. Lady Avery had been killed under Lord Zealot''smand. Queen Anne had also been killed under hismand. Amber had lived an unfair life, and as for herself... despite all she had done, she had been locked out. The grievance was so great that her panting turned into loud gasps, and angry tears flowed down her face. When it came out in a burst, she let out a loud, earth-shattering scream and opened her eyes, which briefly had a mixture of Amber''s amber eye colour and Alicia''s blue eye colour before they settled on a bright brown. While lost in her mind, Alicia had been oblivious to the windstorm that was happening. Birds of different kinds flew away to safety, and the brightness of the cloud had turned a dark shade. Cages were broken, letting all the animals kept as food in the pce run away. The barn was also broken, and some horses were racing madly in the direction of the rogues, who were finding it difficult to escape the windstorm since it was too strong and they could barely see a thing or move. But that was if they could escape from their weapons harming them since the wind was strong enough to carry some. Tyra screamed when her horse reared and threw her off before it ran with the other horses. Fortunately for her, she was caught before she could fall to the ground and break her neck. When an unaffected Alicia finally realized what was happening all around her, something else caught her attention. It was the infamous white horse that was about to race past her. "Come here," Alicia said quietly to Hellion, and amidst the storm, Hellion heard her voice and stood still. After a brief look at her, the stubborn horse approached and crouched down for her to mount. Alicia mounted Hellion while holding tightly onto the swords in her hands. And with a triumphant smile on her face, she said, "You all wanted a witch so badly." Chapter 447 Mothers ? While themotion was happening outside, worse could be said to be happening inside. In every corner of the pce, people were running helter-skelter. Despite the fact that all windows had been shut, the gust of wind still affected the pce, and it was as though the whole building was shaking. Things fell from their positions, people fell while running, and frightened screams echoed all around. The worst part was the fact that they didn''t know where to run or hide. All they could do was lock themselves inside their chambers. They were all certain about one thing. There was trouble! And if those men dared break into the pce, it would be the end of the Moon Kingdom. "I WILL NOT LET YOU LEAVE THIS ROOM UNLESS YOU WISH TO SEE ME DEAD!" Lance''s mother yelled at him. Her actions were frantic, and she had tears of fear in her eyes. The only thing the mothers could do now was gather their children while the fathers were out thinking of a solution to this madness. "Then what am I supposed to do here? Does it make sense how they locked Princess Amber and her maid out of the pce?" He asked angrily. He still could not believe how those men had shamefully connived to drag himself and Harvey away and lock Princess Amber out, despite the fact that she had been trying to save the guards who were trying to protect the pce! "SHE IS A WITCH!" She shouted at him, reminding him. "I don''t know how she possessed you to behave like this, but I will not let you put your life in danger again." "Mother¡ª" "Do you know how scared I was when you left the first time to find her?" He could see it. Her eyes were filled with fear. "I don''t want to lose you. You are my world." Tears ran down her face, and she hugged him as she quietly cried. Lance simply stood there awkwardly, and just then, the door opened and his father entered the room. The woman broke free from the hug and turned to look at her husband with relief in her eyes as she cried out, "My Lord!" "What are you doing here?" Lance asked his father when Sir Gregory shut the door quickly and looked at the two of them, sighing in relief when he saw his family safe. "What... is the meaning of the question?" He asked Lance in confusion. "Why are you here? Aren''t the noblemen supposed to be doing something about this?" Lance asked, lost. "What else can we do?" Sir Gregory asked him. "We cannot go outside, and there are not enough guards in the pce. Even though we have armies, how do we send news to them? I believe it would take a while before they get the news and get here too." He said this as he went to open a big chest and took out two swords, then threw one at Lance, who quickly caught it. "We can only remain here and protect your mother." Lance looked at the sword in his hand and then at his father in disbelief. "That is it? We are all just going to hide here and wait until they break down the doors and find us? Like cowards?" "LANCE!" Both his parents yelled at the same time as they looked at him with wide, confused eyes. "This is unbelievable!" Lance said angrily. "Sir Harvey and I were dragged out of there, yet you have no ns?" "DO NOT TALK TO YOUR FATHER LIKE THAT!" "DO NOT YELL AT MY SON!" Sir Gregory snapped at his wife before he walked closer to where Lance stood and ced a hand on his shoulder. "What hase over you recently, son? When did you start behaving like this?" He asked in a gentle tone. "Is it because youck gold? New fabrics? Is that what you miss? Your life outside of this ce?" His father asked thoughtfully. Lance''s gaze as he looked at his father, and then he pondered the question. What was it that he missed? And then he said quietly, "I miss... my friends." He blinked. Tears clouded his eyes as he looked at his father''s gentle gaze. "Son?" "I... miss S-Susan." He said this in a heavy voice before he looked up and quickly wiped his tears. Only three women had been able to make him raise eyebrows in admiration at their behaviour. Susan was one. Princess Amber was one. And Princess Amber''s stupid maid, who always liked to cry but was tough sometimes, was another. Susan was always ready to risk her life for others: to save Princess Amber from execution; to save Alvin from poison; to save her brother''s life. Princess Amber was the same. Always putting others first, she even tried to save the soldiers'' lives when her own was at stake. And Paulina... despite how frightened she was, ran out before the door was locked. Unfortunately, one of those three women was gone. And the other two were currently outside, and he wasn''t sure if they were still alive. "I have a good memory of the people I met here." He said softly to his parents, who were looking at him with concern. "So... I am going to protect this ce. Anyway... that I can." I think you should take a look at "Lance..." His mother cried. "Protect mother," He said to his father, then turned to look at his mother, who shook her head while crying. She didn''t want him to leave. "I love you, mother." He said to her and dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead. Without looking back, he held his sword tightly and left the room.All he could hear were his mother''s loud cries amidst all the chaos in the pce. In Lord Evan''s chamber, almost the same thing was happening. Even though they were grieving, they could not ignore what was happening outside. Lord Evan had already left the chamber, so it was just Williams and his mother. "Please... I have already lost Susan. I don''t want to lose you too." Lady Victoria begged Williams, who had picked up his sword, which he had never used. Williams looked thinner than he was. He was also pale and had obvious dark circles. He had spoken less, avoided his meal, and lived like he was not living, yet the first thing he wanted to do now was step out of the chamber? His mother didn''t want to allow it. "You hear that, mother?" He asked as he pointed at the window his father had shut before leaving earlier. "That is a windstorm. That... is Princess Amber." He said, his eyes gleaming with hope. "I have been waiting for Princess Amber to wake up. Grandmother told me that witches can do the impossible¡ª" "Let us allow your sister to rest in peace¡ª" "NO!" He refused; his red eyes were filled with tears. "I will do anything I can to make sure she wakes up. Her body is still warm¡ª" "IT''S FROM THE POTION YOU''VE USED ON HER, WILLIAMS." She yelled. "Please wake up. You are making me very worried." MOTHER!" He snapped at her. Something he had never done before. This startled Lady Victoria, and she flinched from reaching to touch him. "I will not let anything happen to Princess Amber or Paulina." He said it with resolve. "W-Williams... Please..." She begged and came closer to hold his hand, shaking her head in refusal. "Mother... Please..." He pleaded too, with tears in his eyes. "I... cannot take this pain I am feeling. I don''t want any more, mother." It was the first time. The first time since Susan died that Williams was shedding tears openly. He had always suppressed it. Always muffled it. She watched, heartbroken. She was a physician, but she could not heal the pain her little boy was feeling. She could not bring back her daughter either. She could only cry helplessly. "Paulina..." Williams said weakly and fixed his gaze on his mother''s face. "I... have had her in my heart from the first time I saw her. I cannot take it if anything happens to her too. I''m... already too deeply hurt in my heart." Lady Victoria let go of him and used her hands to cover her mouth in shock as tears poured down her wide eyes that were staring at him. "Please, Mother... please let me go." He cried. Victoria closed her eyes before she slowly moved away from the door and turned to look away from him, sobbing quietly. Meanwhile, outside, the windstorm was calming, but it was still difficult for the rogues to find their footing. However, none of it hindered Alicia. All she could think of was the battle before her. She had to win, even though she knew it was impossible. But she had to. This was for her friends. She was about to use the rein on Hellion when arrows came behind her, shooting down one of the rogues who was sneakily trying to shoot her. She quickly looked behind her and was surprised to find Harvey on a horse approaching. He drew the bowstring again, shooting an arrow at another, and when his horse got closer, he threw a bowstring and pack of arrows at her, which she swiftly caught after dropping one of the swords and fastening the other onto Hellion after she mounted it. Harvey was good at it. Despite the wind, his aim was precise and urate. "How did..." Alicia tried to ask how he was out here. But he beat her to it and answered, "I''m good at using Windows." He said to her lightly, reminding her of the time he had sneaked in and out of her chamber the first time they met here. Alicia smiled at him; she had never been so happy to see Harvey until this moment. His presence alone made her confidence soar. "Shall we?" He asked. "We shall." She replied and looked ahead, setting her bow with two arrows on the string. She drew two at once. She released. And two more rogues fell to their deaths. This was just the beginning. The beginning of the end. Chapter 448 Women In Power... ? There were a lot of things that did not make sense to Alicia. As much as she tried to wrap her head around why Tyra was doing this, she could not think of anything. Or maybe she had no time to do proper thinking because she was in a battle between life and death and had vowed not to die. Herself and Harvey were putting in their best effort, shooting arrows and using swords on some nearby rogues. The greatest advantage Alicia had was that the windstorm didn''t affect her. But that was also a disadvantage for Harvey. However, he was a well-trained swordsman and not as careless as the rogues, who could not find their footing. Another fortune Alicia had was Hellion. Hellion had always hated it when someone was close to him. So it was in a battle on its own, kicking away any sign of a person around it. At this point, the ground was littered with dead bodies. The rogues left were only about 15, but they were still quite a lot for Alicia, who was already pretty exhausted. She wasn''t immune to any of it. She had a few cuts, some from arrows she only narrowly missed and some from other sharp weapons that were able to touch her. But she didn''t want to give up. If she had gotten to this stage, she believed she could do more. She could win this fight. And she wanted to win this fight. However, the more exhausted she was, the weaker the windstorm was. She knew she could not continue. "Why can''t you kill her?! Why are you all useless?!" A livid Tyra, who had been hiding far away, yelled at the remaining wounded men, who were moving backwards at the sight of Alicia and Harvey approaching with their arrows drawn. "SURRENDER. AND YOU SHALL LIVE." Alicia yelled loudly for the men to yell. But on hearing that, Tyraughed loudly. "DO YOU THINK THAT I CAN BE EASILY DEFEATED?" Tyra asked, sounding amused. She pointed a sword at Alicia as she said, "You must be mistaken, Amber. I have no intention of losing." She said it in a more serious tone, and just then, Alicia and Harvey''s eyes narrowed to look far behind Tyra before their eyes widened in shock at more Rogues trooping in that direction. There were about 50 of them. Fifty strong men, haggard men, racing in their direction. Alicia turned to look at Harvey. He was also stunned. This was more than they could handle with their empty packs of arrows and exhaustion. Alicia looked at Tyra angrily. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS FOR?" She yelled at her, livid. "It''s not my fault. You underestimated me." Tyra said with a smile before she began tough loudly as the troop got nearer and nearer. Alicia turned to Harvey. There were so many things she wanted to say, but at the same time, she had nothing to say. Should he return? Should she tell him to fight with her? This was a fight that they were not going to win. Alicia Queen... how did her life turn out this way? But then Harvey gave her a small smile and nodded before he looked ahead, ready to fight to the death. And just when they thought they had no hope left as the troop got closer, the pce doors opened. And it was not only Lance and Williams that stepped out but also a few other pce guards, some of whom already had injuries from the previous fights, and some noblemen, including Sir Richard, Sir Evan, and Sir Gregory, who would rather die than not be out there to protect their sons and their kingdom. There were also some other sons of nobility who had been trained to fight. When Alicia saw them racing out of the pce with different weapons in hand, trying to fight, she didn''t know when tears dropped from her eyes. And even an effort to smile made more tears flow. She turned to look at Harvey, who also seemed touched as he looked at their troop with his father in front. Sir Richard nced at him briefly and gave him what could be considered a proud smile. The sight gave them renewed strength and hope. Gathering her strength, she raised her sword and, in a loud voice, bellowed, "FOR OUR KINGDOM!" "FOR OUR KINGDOM!!!" They all echoed as they shed with the other group, fighting with all their might. However, when Alicia''s eyes went to where Tyra was, she noticed Tyra looked unusually calm. In fact, she had mounted a horse now and just watched the fight. Either she was very confident in her team''s winning, or there was something else that gave her that kind of strength. But whatever it was, Alicia had a bad feeling about it. I think you should take a look at Meanwhile, some noblemen inside the pce were demanding that the pce doors be sealed after they had been locked. And while trying to carry out this cowardly act, they never dreamed of being put down by women. Women! And young girls! Most of the noblemen were very angry at this point. First of all, those stubborn men insisted on leaving the pce to join the fight despite their protest. They were noblemen, not fighters! Why couldn''t they just seal all the doors and windows and wait until the guards outside caught wind of what was happening and came to their rescue? But they had received a solid bacsh from Sir Richard, who was supposed to be restricted to his chamber. Not only had he called them cowards, but he had also told them how disappointed he was, especially at the pce guards who stood by and watched as the woman who had risked her life to protect them was locked outside. Since those stubborn ones had decided to go out, they could only protect the pce and seal the doors. But who would have thought the next set to protest were the women? Since when were they allowed to talk in the presence of men? "These doors will remain unsealed!" Lady Victoria said, standing in front of the door with the sword her husband had handed over to her to protect herself. Some other women were beside her, fully in support of her decision. "HAVE YOU LOST IT, WOMAN? YOU WANT US TO DIE JUST BECAUSE YOUR HUSBAND AND SON CHOSE TO DIE?" A man bellowed at her. "YES!" She screamed. "YES, I HAVE LOST IT!" "OUR SONS ARE OUT THERE! OUR HUSBANDS ARE OUT THERE! THE WIFE OF OUR PRINCE IS OUT THERE!" She looked at all of them pointedly before her tone reduced, and she said, "If we lose this war, the pce should as well burn to the ground for all I care. But this door shall remain unsealed!" She said with fire in her eyes that even some men were scared of approaching her, especially with that sword in her hand. Everyone had heard what Susan did to Prince Ivan. How she has cut him with his own poisoned sword. They didn''t want to take any chances with this crazy woman. "I can see why your daughter died. She must have been as careless as you are." Someone said it in an unpleasant tone, making the room go quiet. Lady Victoria''s eyes met his. It was a boy. Probably 18. His father was one of the noblemen currently trying to have the doors sealed. Victoria swallowed hard as she moved closer to where the boy was and stood in front of him. She looked at him. He looked back at her. And then she gave him a hard p on the face that echoed throughout the entire room. Her action was shocking for everyone gathered there because, not only was he a young man of age, but never had it been heard that a woman hit a man, not even her son. Well, Princess Amber had even fought with Prince Ivan, but that didn''t count now. The boy touched his cheek, still in disbelief. It was his father who reacted first, storming in front of Lady Victoria and yelling so much that his spit flew everywhere, "HOW DARE YOU HIT MY¡ª" His words failed toplete when she also pped him hard across the face, sending the whole room gasping in shock. "I can see where he learned to be mannerless," Victoria spoke to the stunned man fearlessly and then turned to look at the wife and mother of the men she had pped, who was standing behind her husband, as though challenging her to speak too. But the woman looked like she was grateful for the p she had given to the men in her life. Victoria raised her chin confidently and turned back to guard the door with the sword in hand. "The door remains unsealed." She said it firmly. But whether the door was to be shut or remain unsealed, it didn''t matter. Because Tyra already had a n for those left instead. They were her n C. Chapter 449 TWO OPTIONS... ? Not only the pce had been affected by whatever was happening that day. Words were quickly spreading throughout the whole kingdom. Some also had to experience it firsthand because the rogues hadn''t just appeared out of nowhere. They had stormed into the kingdom, and it seemed like they were trying to leave their impact everywhere because they destroyed whatevery in their path. They destroyed stalls, beat up people, and even captured some that caught their eye. This also meant that the rogues had been active inbat with the pce guards out there. So while the guards were innocently out to catch a fleeing Damian, they had no idea what was waiting for them, and since they were not prepared for battle, the rogues won most of the fights. But something more intriguing was the news spreading around about Prince Harold''s bride. The same woman, who had not been officially recognized and bestowed the title of princess, led the battle happening outside the pce. It was the first of its kind. A woman, dressed in a simple robe, not prepared for war, having never fought in a war, was actively fighting to keep their pce from infiltration. It was definitely going to go down in history. Prince Harold''s bride was worthy of him. She was worthy of the Princess title. The windstorm had also affected them, especially Alvin, who could guess the cause of it. He was riding with all his might back to the pce. He didn''t want to believe everything Damian had said to him. No one in their right mind would trust Damian. But he didn''t want to take any chances. Especially when he saw the dead bodies of pce guards littered in the woods. "Tyra... is crazy." Damian had said to him. "She doesn''t care about anything. If she loses it... everyone is going to be in danger. The only one she cares about is Prince Harold." These words yed in his head as he rode his horse, Thorn, with all his might. "Did you n all of this with her?" He had asked Damian, pointing his sword at his neck. It was almost impossible for Alvin. They were talking about Tyra. The same Tyra he knew. The same Tyra they all knew. A fragile Omega girl who always fell sick and hid herself in her room. "Yes," Damian admitted with anger in his eyes. "Why?" Alvin asked softly as he brought his sword to Damian''s neck. It still didn''t make sense. Damian was loyal to the queen. Damian was also in a secret rtionship with Tyra. Did he do this because he wanted to be with her? That thought didn''t make sense. Damian had been sounding like he hated Tyra. "Why?" Damian repeated it as if that question did not make any sense to him. "Why!?" He repeated it loudly this time. "BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT!" From that moment on, everything Alvin heard was something he would never have imagined in his entire life. With that burning anger in him, he kept riding. "There is a secret door in the pce that no one knows of. The older generation of the queen''s family who built the pce created it to secretly monitor the affairs of the pce. The queen takes that door whenever she leaves the pce." Alvin wanted to ask how he knew about it, but then he remembered that he was the Queen''s trusted guard. "What about the door?" He asked just as they both looked up when they noticed the sky changing in the direction of the pce and lighting filling up the sky. "You should return to the pce." ***** Meanwhile, in the pce, things had taken a different turn. Alicia was lost. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. She was able to understand that in a clearer light. The lives of these people trying to protect the pce are all in her hands now since they have decided to follow her to battle. However, they were losing. This wasn''t a movie scene. This was reality. Her people were dying. By now, the windstorm hadpletely calmed down. She didn''t know what else she could do. She didn''t know any spells. She didn''t even know how she was able to create the heavy windstorm. Twice. The only pattern she could pick out from both was that she had been desperate. She had been desperate to save the lives of others, not hers. She had been desperate to protect others. The first time was with Paulina. And now all of these people.I think you should take a look at Was this her destiny? The reason she had been brought here? But she didn''t know any magic. She could only use whatever Amber''s body could bring forth. Her fortune right now is the fact that she can fight. She didn''t even know how it was happening, but her body and weapons moved on their own as if they were closely working together with her brain to tell her who and how to strike them. But then, wasn''t she a descendant? If she was a descendant, didn''t that make her a witch too? Didn''t that mean her witch core had also been unlocked when she turned 20? When she turned 20... She tried to think back. No significant thing had happened that day. She had had a birthday party prepared for her, which she, unfortunately, missed because she had been sick. In fact, she had been so sick that she had to be taken to the hospital in an ambnce, which had made the headlines with some blogs alleging she was pregnant. Now that she''s thought about it. Maybe that was indeed something. It had rained heavily that day, contrary to what the forecast had predicted, so it had taken everyone by surprise. Despite that, her manager had been hopeful that her birthday party would continue as nned. But then she felt her chest get stuffy. From there, it turned into something serious, causing intense pain in her heart. It was so severe that she found it difficult to breathe. All she could do was cry in pain until she was taken to the emergency room while unconscious. It was the following day that her manager told her they couldn''t point out what exactly had gone wrong since her vitals were normal and she seemed fine. She hadn''t even broken a fever. Since then, she has been made to eat healthier and take her workouts seriously. That had definitely been something. But nothing else out of the ordinary had happened to her until she was brought here. There had to be something. There had to be something. While she was lost in her thoughts, she was doing her best to fight off everyone in her path to where Tyra was. However, everything came to an abrupt halt when they heard loud voices, screams, and criesing from behind them, and the pce doors were roughly kicked open. When they looked behind them, they saw more rogues, but this time they wereing out of the pce with the rest of the people who had been inside as hostages. How was that possible? Alicia quickly looked at Tyra, who had a bright smile on her face. The only fortunate thing happening at that moment was that the rogues who had been busy fighting with them had retreated backwards, guarding Tyra, who was still looking smug from the horse she mounted. The rogues just continued to file out. There were over a hundred of them, and each of them had someone in hand with a weapon at their throats. Maids, noblemen,dies, stable boys, and young men from noble families. They were all equal right now. Mothers cried for their children. Children cried for their mothers and fathers.Fathers cried to be saved. The fathers, who had been fighting with their lives on the line, looked behind them at the horror. Sadly, some of them had more to cry about. Because not all of those who had left the pce doors to fight against the rogues were still alive. Alicia looked at all the faces behind her. She could even see Luciana, who looked pale and sickly. Her eyes did a quick scan. Susan wasn''t there. Prince Harold and the King weren''t there. It made her begin to panic. Where were they? "I told you, Amber. You underestimated me." Tyra said arrogantly. "Prince Harold and the king are okay. I wouldn''t let any harme to them." "You... have gone mad," Alicia said as angry tears pooled in her eyes. It felt like all her efforts the entire time had been for nought. Tyra snorted before she looked at all the hostages. From the look in their eyes, it was still difficult to believe that Tyra was the one doing all this. And that look brought her joy. "I HAVE NO INTENTION OF HURTING YOU ALL," Tyra spoke in a loud voice so all could hear her. "WHAT JOY WOULD IT BRING ME IF THOSE WHO BROUGHT STABILITY TO THE MOON KINGDOM ARE ALL DEAD?" She asked rhetorically. "HOWEVER, I WOULD OFFER YOU ALL A CHOICE TO SAVE YOUR LIVES..." Tyra offered as the rogues surrounding her made her path for her to advance towards them. Chapter 450 They Are My Army! ? They all knew they could do nothing. It was a war they were going to lose if they decided to fight head-on. Their people had been held hostage, and they had also been outnumbered. Alicia and those who had been fighting alongside her were in the middle. Tyra and her group were at the other end, while the crying hostages were on the other side. Alicia looked at the people beside her. Every one of them had blood all over them. No one could tell which exactly was from them and which was from the opponent. They were all severely injured. She didn''t want to mention the many dead bodies all around them or the pungent smell of blood in the air. Harvey had blood trickling down his head too. He had been knocked off his horse and sustained a couple of injuries. Lance looked like he would pass out any minute, and his father, who also had blood all over him, held his son up to keep him from falling. The same could be said about Williams and Lord Evan. They were all hurt, yet they were trying to survive. But it looked like that dream was bleak now. "HOWEVER, I WOULD OFFER YOU ALL A CHOICE TO SAVE YOUR LIVES..." Tyra offered as the rogues surrounding her made her path for her to advance towards them. Tyra stopped her movement and looked pointedly at Alicia and shook her head, saying, "Only I get to be on a horse." She wasn''t negotiating with Alicia. It was a firm instruction that she wanted her on the ground just like the others. Not in a high position like her. "You must have really low self-esteem," Alicia remarked, but instead of getting offended, Tyra let out augh. "You won''t be able to keep up with that attitude for long anyway." She said it with a confident shrug while still keeping her gaze fixed on Alicia. Alicia looked around at all the lives that were in danger. She swallowed hard and tapped Hellion twice, who seemed to understand what she wanted and crouched down. "Haha! What a great performance from a witch. Too bad you are only good at controlling animals. Oh... and causing windstorms that cannot stop me." Tyra said it in a mocking tone that made the roguesugh in amusement. Alicia was surprised the rogues even had the guts tough when so many of their brothers were lying dead on the floor. This just seemed to confirm to her that these people didn''t care about brotherhood. Maybe the first group she witnessed outside the dungeon was the only one close enough to feel that. She ignored Tyra''s taunting and got down from the horse, waving for Hellion to go away, and the horse didn''t waste time before it ran off. When a rogue tried to shoot at Hellion, Tyra red daggers at him, and he put his arrow down, not understanding why she didn''t want him to get rid of the stubborn horse that had caused them great trouble during the battle. Seeing Hellion gone and Alicia reduced in height to a position where Tyra could look down on her together with the others, Tyra smiled and moved closer again to address them all. This time, she didn''t bother to raise her voice too high. "You are all members of this kingdom. We are one kind. And I am not a monster who would be happy to watch you all die." She said softly. With that tone, she could have fooled everyone. Even Alicia admitted she had been fooled too. This was a plot twist she had not expected. Seeing Tyra as a viin was still unbelievable for her. But it didn''t change the fact that she was one. "WHAT ELSE ARE YOU THEN?" Alicia asked in anger. "What am I?" Tyra repeated the question and then looked at the others with an innocent look in her eyes. "Do you me me for what just happened?" She asked the other. I think you should take a look at No one said a word. They were either too scared of the big men holding them in ce or they were so filled with hate that they couldn''t give her the attention she was craving. She had the upper hand here. They, unfortunately, had to admit it. "It was her who caused all of this," Tyra said, pointing at Alicia. All eyes turned to Alicia. "There wouldn''t have been a fight if you didn''t intervene. People wouldn''t have died. So everyone''s death was caused by you." Tyra was unfortunately getting into the heads of some of the frightened women who were crying quietly. Many noblemen disliked Alicia and had even locked her out of the pce, so now that they were looking for someone to me, it would naturally fall to her. "There wouldn''t have been a fight if I hadn''t intervened?" Alicia asked,ughing lightly in disbelief. "You brought in men with weapons and desecrated the pce. You had children arrested for nothing!" "YOU BROUGHT IN THUGS!" "THEY ARE MY ARMY!" Tyra yelled back at Alicia in anger. "TYRA!!!" Sir Evan bellowed at her. If looks could kill, she would have been dead from the way he red at her. "What is the meaning of all this? This is treason." He said before his voice grew louder in anger, yelling, "YOU KILLED YOUR OWN PEOPLE!" He said in utter disbelief. It had been back-to-back grief for him. "Do you know what the punishment for treason is? Surrender now, and you may still be spared for this." He offered in a furious tone. Tyra looked at him closely, and then she broke into augh. Her thugs, or rather, armies, joined in,ughing in amusement. "Treason? Punishment? Surrender?" She chuckled and shook her head at him pitifully. "Who is going to punish me, uncle?" She spoke in a challenging tone but still had a smile on her face. "Even if no one can, as long as there is a Moon in the Sky, you will be punished for what you have done to... my family." A woman cried while looking at the dead bodies of a youngd and a man beside him, who had both joined the fight earlier. Tyra followed the woman''s line of sight. And it did look like she felt guilty. But that look onlysted for a second before she turned to the woman with a serious face. "You will only find peace when you join them," Tyra said sadly in a sympathetic tone, and at the same time, the rogue behind her stabbed her from the back with his sword, piercing right through her. Screams and startled cries filled the air as they all watched the scene in horror. The man drew back the sword that had impaled the stiff woman, who fell to the ground with a loud thud. Tyra looked at the body on the ground as blood slowly surrounded her. She had an unreadable expression on her face. She wasn''tughing like a maniac, and she wasn''t pulling her hair either. She just stood still and stared. Chapter 451 Wife, Sister, Or Son? ? Killing off ady abruptly in front of all of them caused a fearful reaction that had some people crying loudly in fear. It seemed like the act had been a wake-up call to every one of them to know that it could be any of them next. Tyra took a deep breath and tried to speak, but the cries distracted her. "SILENCE!" One of the rogues behind her bellowed in a deep voice that had some girls squealing in fear before they quickly muffled their cries. "As I mentioned earlier, I have two choices for you. Your lives will be spared if you cooperate with me. I don''t intend to harm anyone." Tyra said in her usual soft tone, which usually makes her appear like an angel. Could have fooled them. But now they knew better. And they knew that whatever options she had for them were not good ones either. "As the one in charge of the affairs of the pce, I am going to be a transparent leader and let you know the important things that have been happening in the pce and let you all decide with me." She looked at them. "I am not like other rulers who segregate you into groups. I do not care about your rank. You are all in my court right now, and you are all going to join me in making the decisions for our kingdom!" She spoke in a passionate tone that impressed the rogues, who began to p. Fearing for their lives, some of the others could only put their hands together while trying not to cry out. Tyra smiled at their reception before gesturing behind them. The ones who could see what she was pointing at watched in horror as more rogues approached them, pulling two people with them. One man and one woman. Two were pulling a woman who almost looked lifeless with her hair everywhere and a dirty, in dress as she was dragged out with her bare feet and toes scraping the ground as they dragged her along. "MY QUEEN!" Some of them fearfully cried out. Even though the queen was not liked, she was still a queen. Their queen. The woman bestowed the Luna title with the blessing of the moon goddess. How could she be reduced to a zombie? The man was Damon. He had blood all over him and seemed to have been severely beaten to the point where he was too weak to fight off the men dragging him along. When the rogues got closer, they tossed the queen on the ground and made Damon get on his knees. Everyone was shocked to see this. The queen, who was her mother, had been reduced to this? And also, Damon was the King''s Beta! This sight seemed to make most of them lose hope of surviving. Even her mother had not been spared? If she could do this to even her mother, who were they? What kind of monster was she?I think you should take a look at It was going to be a long, frightening day. "DO NOT¡ª" Tyra started as she looked at Sir Evan: "Take. A. Step!" She warned him in a dark tone. She had noticed him trying to move. He was holding onto Williams, but then his wife was held captive, and now his sister, the Queen, had been reduced to this! Sir Evan''s vicious eyes red at Tyra, who smiled faintly at him and nodded in the direction of his wife, who flinched when a knife was brought closer to her throat, ready to be shed. It was a warning. If he so much as took a step, his wife would die. And then he would have to choose between saving his son or his sister. "Mother!" Williams cried out, trying to move, but Sir Evan had weighed the chances and quickly held him down. The look he gave to Tyra was a promise to kill her himself. The queen''s weak eyes looked up at the viin who had reduced her to this. Having savages drag her out like she was some kind of ve. She hadn''t been able to think of anyone else who could dare do that in their kingdom. But she had the greatest shock when she found the face of her daughter staring right back at her. There was no remorse, no guilt, and no sadness. They were only staring at her with nothing. As if Tyra couldn''t be bothered about whatever was happening and whatever would happen to her. That was when it came to Arya. She was nothing in the eyes of her daughter. If she had paid even a little bit of attention in the past, she would have realized that Tyra always looked at her with these nk eyes. "T-Tyra...?" She choked on her tears. She was too weak to do anything. She could not expect anyone to save her. They were all praying for their lives. "How could you do this to your kingdom?" Damon asked Tyra weakly. There was blood all over him. On his head, nose, lips, and ragged clothes. Everything was stained with blood. "You should ask yourself that question. How could you betray the king byying with his wife?" Tyra asked in a gentle tone. Despite the fact that the lives of the others were at stake, they could not stop the surprised gasps that escaped their lips. Many of them still weren''t aware of what transpired in the assembly room, so this came as a shock to everyone. Most especially the queen, who looked at Tyra with wide eyes. "HOW CAN YOU SAY SOMETHING SO ABSURD!" Sir Evan yelled out in anger. "Your sister. Is guilty. Of adultery." Tyra repeated to Sir Evan, making sure he got and understood every phrase. "I... I didn''t do it." The queen cried as she looked at her brother, who had turned to look at her with hopeful eyes for her to tell him her devil of a daughter was lying. If she could do all of this, why wasn''t she capable of lying against the queen? Chapter 452 Self Or Son? ? "I... I didn''t do it." The queen cried as she looked at her brother, who had turned to look at her with hopeful eyes for her to tell him her devil of a daughter was lying. If she could do all of this, why wasn''t she capable of lying against the queen? "I... didn''t." She repeated it as she struggled on the ground to crawl towards her brother, who seemed to suddenly have a double mind. "I wouldn''ty such a heavy usation against my own mother," Tyra told all of them in a calm tone. "But as the one responsible for this kingdom now, I have to be honest with you all and let you know what your queen and Beta have been up to." Tyra looked down at Damon, who was looking up at her with a gaze she couldn''t exactly read since he already seemed to be struggling with not copsing on the ground. He could barely say a word either, and his eyes continuously rolled back into their sockets. Seeing him like this made her delighted. Seeing all of them like this made her VERY delighted. "You really never guessed that the queen and Sir Damon would have had an immoral affair all these years? He has been by her side since he served my grandfather." "Tyra..." the queen cried as she fell back on the ground. "Why... how... why are you doing this?" Sir Evan looked at his sister in disbelief. It seemed as though with every second that passed, the usation further dissolved in his brain, making it difficult for her to ept it. "I''m sorry, mother. But I have to purge the pce of your sinful acts. You do not deserve to be the queen of the moon kingdom. You do not deserve to stand beside the king. All you have to do now is confess your crimes and receive punishment. Otherwise, others will suffer for it." "Tyra¡ª" "Confess your crimes!" Tyra ordered before she began to list out the so-called crimes. "You have always wanted to hurt Prince Harold because you wanted Prince Ivan on the throne. You killed his mother. You killed the maid in charge of him. You had worked with a witch and had her curse him and make sure Prince Harold was sent away, where you could easily get rid of him, but unfortunately, it didn''t work ording to your n because the King was strictly guarding him." All the information was almost unbelievable to all of them. The queen was a very arrogant woman. They couldn''t believe she would stoop so low to do something so dishonourable. Besides, Sir Damon was a strict man and the King''s trusted fellow. Unfortunately, he couldn''t even deny any of the allegations, as he was too battered to do so. Alicia, however, didn''t find any of it surprising. At this point, nothing could surprise her anymore. It just made sense that someone had a hand in everything. But the fact that the queen and Damon? Just eww! "My... Lord... I want my lord." The queen cried pitifully. "Take me to my king." She said in between her sobs, but Tyra wasn''t done with her yet as she continued to list out her crimes. "You med Prince Harold for killing Prince Harry when you knew it wasn''t him. You knew someone had fed Prince Harry the Beta''s nightmare. You knew his death wasn''t simple, but you wanted to put the me on Prince Harold and make everyone hate him."I think you should take a look at Another surprise for all of them. "And you must have known where Beta''s nightmare came from. Because your trusted Damian is the son of Sir Wilson, whom you killed with the help of Sir Damon because he found out about your affair." Another surprise. "And you have been using Damian all these years. You used him to make you more potions from his father''s book. You poisoned the king with it to make him ill and also tried to kill Prince Harold many times so that you and Prince Ivan would seed." "ALL THOSE ARE LIES!" The queen shouted with all her might as she looked up at Tyra and then at everyone else, shaking her head. "I didn''t... I don''t know any of it." Tyra scoffed. "If Damian was here, I''m sure he would have confessed to all your crimes and everything you made him do¡ª" "I... didn''t do those! I would never hurt my King! I would never hurt my son just to punish Prince Harold. But I will hurt you. I WILL HURT YOU FOR ALL THESE ALLEGATIONS!" The queen yelled and broke into sobs. "Then you will have to choose," Tyra saidzily. "Between admitting to your crimes and letting yourst hope for the throne die," She gestured towards the pce doors behind them once more, and this time, the next person that was dragged in with wrists and ankles tied was Prince Ivan. He looked like he had also been seriously beaten, but he was not as bad as Damon since he could still raise his voice faintly and try to fight off the men dragging him before he was tossed on the ground beside his mother, who looked at him in panic before her eyes went to Tyra, who was smiling down at her. "Choose carefully, Mother. Prince Ivan is also being used since a potion was found in his chamber. Not to mention how he tried to kill Prince Harold with a poisoned sword earlier. If he didn''t do that himself, it means it was you. You did everything." Alicia was horrified at what Tyra was trying to do. Her eyes went to Luciana, and she could see the faint shock in Luciana''s eyes as she looked at her husband, who was lying on the floor, tied. Since his back was to her, he didn''t see her. Alicia could sense that there was something else here that Tyra was trying to do. It seemed like she was threatening the queen to ept that she did all that, or Prince Ivan would die. If Tyra was trying so hard to make one of them take the fall, it only had to mean one thing. Tyra was using her falsely. Many of the things she imed the queen did were lies. Alicia began to wrap her head around everything. From what she had been witnessing Tyra do all this time to what she had said earlier about the banquet night and to whatever had happened between Amber and Tyra that she didn''t know of. If Tyra was bent on getting rid of her, then it meant she had done quite a lot in the past for that to happen. The banquet night? Chapter 453 LIES Chapter 453 LIES To say that Ivan was shocked beyond words is an understatement. He tried to get up from the group, but it was difficult to move with his ankles and wrists tightly tied. However, he could see his mother beside him. He could also see Damon, his uncle, and his cousin. And he could also see her. Tyra. And the men all around her. "What... is going on here?" He asked in disbelief. "Why do you look like this? Why am I here like this? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" He bellowed and began to cough when it felt like his throat was going to tear from the dryness. Tyra scoffed in amusement before ncing at the rogue beside Ivan, who roughly picked him up and made him kneel. "YOU STUPID OMEGA WENCH!" Ivan yelled at her as his dark eyes red at her. Even though his voice was hoarse and broken, he still managed to show how enraged he was. "HOW DARE YOU TREAT YOUR PRINCE LIKE THIS?" He looked around. "WHERE IS HAROLD? WHERE IS THAT BASTARD THAT LET THEM ARREST ME¡ª" His eyes fell on Alicia, and he looked like he was ready to pounce on her for whatever Alicia had no idea about. However, before he could say anything else, the queen spoke up, crying. "T-Tyra... what... you... are my child." She wept. "Prince Ivan is your brother. I did... I did so many things wrongly but... but I never did those things you are using me of. I want the king. Please bring my Lord to me." Arya cried loudly. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHY ARE YOU BEGGING THIS CRAZY WENCH?" Ivan turned to yell at his mother. "Ah!" Tyra eximed lightly. "You werete. So I should let you know that the queen, your precious mother,id with Sir Damon." Ivanughed like he had just heard the most stupid thing ever. He didn''t even bother to look at the two people involved. He looked at his crazy sister instead. "You must have really lost it, haven''t you?" "Have I?" She let out augh. "Who knows? Maybe you are even a product of their affair¡ª" "T-Tyra!" Damon said with the little strength he had in him. "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK SUCH ABOMINABLE WORDS!" Ivan yelled and tried all he could to stand on his feet, but it was impossible. "Why don''t you ask her then?" Tyra said. "I didn''t do it." The queen shook her head. This time, she was looking between her brother and her son. "I... wouldn''t do something like that. Tyra... please do not do this. Do not... do this¡ª" "Hahaha!" Tyraughed loudly. She continued tough until her eyes were filled with tears. "You must regret it." She said with happiness while looking at her mother. "You hated me. You didn''t hide it, mother." Arya shook her head, but Tyra''s harsh voice had her squealing in fear. "YOU HATED ME! AND IT WAS SO OBVIOUS THAT EVEN THE MOST LOWLY SERVANTS LOOKED DOWN ON ME!" "EVERYONE GOSSIPED ABOUT ME." This time, Tyra had changed back into her crazy self with the look in her eyes and the tone in which she was speaking. "And you..." she looked behind her at her uncle, pointing a finger at Lord Evan. "Did you ever treat me like your niece? Did you ever care for me? Did you?!" She was even more annoyed when she looked at him. Because he didn''t look guilty or remorseful. Rather, he still had hate in his eyes. "All because I am an Omega." She spoke quietly, her voice and gaze distant. But then a big smile broke on her face as she looked at all of them, asking, "Can you all see what an Omega can do now?" "I TURNED THIS ENTIRE KINGDOM UPSIDE DOWN JUST BECAUSE I WANTED TO! I COULD TAKE DOWN ALL YOUR GUARDS AND LEAVE YOUR PRECIOUS KINGDOM DEFENSELESS! I COULD LEAVE THE PALACE WHENEVER I WANTED, DESPITE ALL OF YOUR NIGHTGUARDS PUT IN PLACE. I, TYRA, WAS ABLE TO DO ALL OF THAT¡ª" "You must have looked down on the Moon Kingdom." They heard a voiceing from the other side, an entirely different route, and all eyes turned there to find Alvin on his horse. Tyra inhaled deeply and looked at him. "I do not want to hurt you, Alvin." Alvin''s dark eyes stared at her before he drew his sword. Many rogues prepared their weapons as soon as they heard the name, ''Alvin''. But Tyra didn''t permit them to attack. "Do you think your presence can make a difference here? You think you can stop me?" She asked him in a mocking tone. "I am only trying to put things in ce." "What exactly are you trying to put in ce?" Alicia, who had been quietly thinking about this whole thing, asked. "I. Said. I. Will. Get. To. You.!" Tyra said impatiently. These whole distractions weren''t making her enjoy the effects of her actions. "You must think everyone here is as stupid as you, don''t you?" Alicia asked, making some of the hostages look at her as though she had lost her mind. Even though she was not being held, even though she held a sword in her hand, and even though she was Prince Harold''s wife, she could easily die at once here. "W-What?" Tyra asked with slightly wide eyes. "You had all of this prepared. How else would you have had these nasty beasts show up in this pce if you didn''t have any authority?" Alicia asked. "It was all your n. You had to make sure everyone was out. You had to make sure there were no distractions so you could hold the highest authority in the pce. The potions? That is all bullshit. It must have been your n. What... did you do to the King and Prince Harold?" Alicia asked. Her chest was heaving up and down at this point, and her hands tightly clenched her sword. When Alicia pointed it out like this, it made sense to the others. If Tyra had always had these people and had been nning this, it meant that everything that had happened in the pce wasn''t simply a coincidence. Tyra looked a bit flustered about being put in the spotlight like this for the wrong reasons. And that wasn''t all, because just like Alvin had said, she had really underestimated the Moon Kingdom''s defence. Because right beside him, a troop led by Sir Rager showed up. A nightmare was about to begin. And it was obvious that more blood was going to be shed soon. See you soon... Chapter 454 The Upper Hand In The Fight ? When there is desperation for hope, any sign of hope is strictly held onto. The sight of Sir Ragering with a troop behind Alvin gave the hostages hope, and most of them began to shed tears of joy, believing that this nightmare was over. The day felt unusually long, but they would rather prefer daylight to nighttime at this point. Unfortunately, the sun was setting quickly now. Tyra looked at the troop and then at her ''Army'' all around her, who seemed to have lost their confidence for a minute as they looked at the troop and then exchanged nces among themselves. There was no more smugness on their faces at this point. They knew that shit was real. "SURRENDER! AND DROP ALL YOUR WEAPONS!" Alvin yelled out. Tyra drew back with her horse, putting a significant amount of distance between her and the others. She looked at the intruders with a calm expression and thenughed. Alicia hated thatugh. Whenever sheughed like that, it was because she was nning something really stupid. "Surrender?" Tyra asked him in disbelief. "You don''t get it?" She looked at Alvin while pointing at the hostages. "I have the upper hand here. For every step you will take from that point, a mother and child will be killed." She said this and burst intoughter. That caused an uproar as the mothers and children cried for their lives while the fathers, who were also held as hostages, cried out for the troop to not do anything. Seeing the hesitation in every one of them, the rogues seemed to regain their confidence and joined Tyra in herughter. Of course, they have the upper hand here. Tyra turned to look at Alicia with smugness. "And what if I did all that?" She asked, referring to Alicia''s usations about nning this whole thing to take over control of the pce. "Does it make the queen any less guilty?" "TYRA!" Sir Evan yelled. Alicia looked at her in disbelief, just like many of them were staring at Tyra. She didn''t want to believe that Tyra had also deliberately hurt Prince Harold when he had been nothing but nice to her. "SO WHAT IF I DID ALL THAT?!" Tyra yelled back at them. "You have always adored the queen. But what did she do? Shemitted a taboo and disgraced the name of the King. She had an affair with this measly thing that was but a ve!" She pointed at Damon, who was still on the cold, wet ground. "She made Prince Harold suffer over and over again! She connived with a witch to curse Prince Harold, but she was so eager to get rid of Amber for being one. Can''t you see? No one can ever be as worse as her. I am doing you all a favour by getting rid of her¡ª" "It was you," Alicia said quietly as it all came to her, interrupting Tyra''s rant. Everything was beginning to make sense. Her usations were beginning to make sense. Even though she did not understand most of it, some were able to get a clearer picture.I think you should take a look at "You... killed Beth." After Alicia said it, it began to make more sense. A part of her had always doubted Tyra back then, but she had refused to explore that feeling because it did not make sense. Howe Tyra had suddenly been sick that night and stayed back? Howe the maid, who had been a witness to the whole thing, was killed? Howe Tyra indirectly egged them on to execute her while Harold was unconscious? She didn''t think Tyra was able to do them alone. It wasn''t just her. She remembered Damian. "You and Damian. You nned all of this. You killed Beth to frame me. You could have easily killed me that night if you wanted. But you wanted me to be executed. You wanted the queen to be responsible for that while Prince Harold was unconscious. It was all your n." "That... that is... not possible." Sir Rager said, shaking his head. His whole demeanour had gone from that of a warrior ready for battle to that of a broken father who didn''t want to believe what he had heard. This conclusion from Alicia brought back shock for all of them. No one expected Tyra to be so vicious. No one at all. "You! Tyra... you must have poisoned Father too! It must have been your doing. How long have you been nning this? How long have you been acting like a snake?! You even dare use your mother of something so disgusting!" Ivan roared at her and began to cough again. Tyra looked fed up. While usations were flying around, she just pursed her lips and scratched her neck, like she couldn''t be bothered by any of them. "TYRA!" Sir Rager yelled when Tyra didn''t respond to that allegation. "QUEEN TYRA!" She yelled back at the man, her eyes burning from anger and impatience. "So what if I did all that? You can''t do anything to me. You cannot hurt me. I have the upper hand here. No one can save you. Not the king. Not Prince Harold. I have the upper hand. Your lives are all in my hands." She spoke in a confident tone as her eyes looked all around. "W-Why?" Sir Rager asked quietly, his voice broken. "Why..." "Your stupid ve of a daughter dared covet Prince Harold?" Tyra scoffed. "What a joke." She looked straight at the man as she said, "Why do you look angry? Your wife died while protecting this adulterer; what is so bad about your daughter dying for me?" He let out a loud, angry growl and reared his horse before he drew his sword and raced towards her, but with one hand signal from her, three arrows went flying toward him, and one sessfully hit him in his stomach, sending him falling off his horse and to the ground. The other arrows were deflected by some guards behind him before they could find any flesh to sink into. Chapter 455 Monster... ? Seeing what had just happened to Sir Rager, the frightened ones cried in fear. People cried out when they saw this. But they couldn''t move. They could only cry out in fear. Sir Rager groaned in pain as he tried to get up from the ground. They hadn''t exactly been prepared for battle, so he wasn''t prepared for it and was still only wearing normal clothes, which meant that the arrow went deep into his gut, making him spit out blood. "Weren''t you taught not to let your emotions control you when you''re in battle? Prince Harold taught me that." Tyra taunted him. Sir Rager fell back on the ground, and when it looked like some guards were going to help him, Tyra spoke up, "I wouldn''t do that if I were you." She warned and turned her eyes towards the hostages to make her threat clear. That stopped them, and they could only watch in helplessness as he tried and failed to stand on his feet until he could no longer try and justy on the floor with his back and staring at the sky. He seemed to be deep in thought even as his blood pooled around him. Now it all made sense to the queen. All this while, she had been living in fear, looking for the one who was hunting her. The person who had sent that note to mess with her. It was all her daughter. Together with Damian. She almostughed in disbelief. "I wanted to give you all two choices to save yourselves, but I changed my mind." "TYRA!" Alvin yelled out. He hadn''t wanted to believe some of the things Damian had told him until now. He didn''t want to believe that she would betray Prince Harold in such a way. But with every passing minute, it became clear. "I don''t want to hurt you, Alvin." She said to him before adding, "And it is Queen Tyra from now on. This thing can no longer be your queen." "You aren''t even a Princess," Alvin said to her. He hadn''t wanted to make any usations. He had always known whenever a woman admired Prince Harold in an unusual way. But he had never thought so about Tyra''s behaviour. But after all he heard, after all he had witnessed, and after all he remembered, it all made sense. "You know quite well that your father isn''t the king, but Sir Damon." "You are courting death," Tyra said with a dark gaze in her eyes. This was another shock for the rest of them. At this point, they weren''t sure who to look to for answers. Was it Tyra? Alvin? The queen? Or Sir Damon? This was purely insane! "Isn''t that why you are doing this? Isn''t that why you''ve always hated Beth and tried to kill Princess Amber together with her?" Alicia''s eyes widened as the realization set in. Alvin was not the type to make false usations. It all made sense! Tyra always knew this and wanted to have Harold all to herself. Tyra scoffed and used her hand to brush her hair back as she casually said, "You are making this difficult for me. How annoying." "You are really not the daughter of the King?" One of the Rogues asked her in surprise. "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" She said to him in a tone filled with disgust. "Is that... true? That is not true, right?" Sir Evan asked the queen, who was about to deny it while crying, but Damon, with all his strength, muttered, "It is true." Gasps filled the air everywhere. Those three words alone had been able to confirm so many things for all of them. The queen had an affair with the King''s assistant for real. That hadn''t been an usation. She had had their child right in the pce, and the filthy thing had been bestowed the title of princess! The fact that she was even an Omega! So many of them badly wanted to throw up. But they had to hold it in. "Have you... have you gone mad?!" The queen shrieked at Damon, who simply had his eyes closed.I think you should take a look at He looked like he was done with all of this and wanted it to end. "It''s not true. I swear it." The queen cried and shook her head. She looked at her brother. Her nephew. She looked all around her, denying it to whoever cared to believe her. "Am-Amber... you know... you know how it feels to be lied against. They... they are lying!" Alicia wasn''t one to judge people. But this queen. She just couldn''t. She turned her face away from the woman. "Tyra... you... you are a monster. I regret birthing you. You should have died when you were born! You should never have been born!" In between tears, the queen cussed at her with all her might. Tyra giggled. "So what if the King isn''t my father? It doesn''t change that there is nothing you can do to me. Prince Harold loves me. He will love me more when I get rid of all you obstacles to his throne. He will adore me when I get revenge for him for all you did to him. I... am going to be your queen." She said with so much joy that she couldn''t contain herself and began tough excitedly, pping her hands. Some of the rogues had to admit to themselves that this girl had some issues with her head. "That... is not true, right?" Prince Ivan asked. He was still in shock about everything and only managed to speak now as he looked at his mother. "You... monster...." The queen cried while pointing at Tyra. "Are you any better?" Alvin asked in anger. He had never felt so useless. He couldn''t approach because of all the lives at stake. He could still see some of their people''s corpses on the wet, cold ground. He was useless. He was useless in every way. "You and Sir Damon got rid of Sir Wilson because you knew he had guessed you were pregnant when everyone in the pce knew the king had long since moved on from you." He spoke to the queen usingly. She was the genesis of all this. "You knew he suspected your affair with Sir Damon, and you killed him and nned to seduce the king toy with you. Isn''t that why you lied to everyone that Princess Tyra was born premature when she was indeed full-term? Sir Wilson''s assistant, who helped with the birth, also mysteriously broke his neck on the way back to the pce after going to purchase some herbs for you. Aren''t you as vicious as the devil you created?" "How... did you know all of that?" Tyra asked hesitantly, feeling a bad vibe about this. Those were all too personal for Alvin to know. Unless... "I told him," Damian said as he showed up from among the troop and came forward with his horse. He looked battered. The only thing that looked very alive were his eyes. They stared at Tyra with fury. "Not again! Not again! NOT AGAIN! Why are you all making this difficult for me?!" Tyra asked and burst into tears while dragging her hair like a pathetic little loser. "DAMIAN! YOU FILTHY RAT!" The queen yelled with all her might as soon as she saw him. Damian red at the queen before his livid eyes moved away from her to loom at Tyra. "What do you think you are doing?!" Tyra yelled at him as she cleaned her tears with the back of her hands. "Did you also n to get rid of me when you asked to help me mess up the pce?" She asked in disbelief and pointed at Damian as she said, "This is all partly his doing! And you have thatd beside you?" Alvin ignored her and turned to Damian as he asked sternly, "What was thest thing you promised to tell me after meeting Tyra?" Damian turned his eyes to Tyra and said, "Since you are admitting to all your crimes? Aren''t you missing something?" His eyes moved away from Tyra, and he nced in Sir Evan and William''s direction before his eyes found Lady Victoria. Chapter 456 Honourable Hypocrite ? Damian turned his eyes to Tyra and said, "Since you are admitting to all your crimes? Aren''t you missing something?" His eyes moved away from Tyra, and he nced in Sir Evan and William''s direction before his eyes found Lady Victoria. "I don''t know what you are talking about," Tyra said with a shrug. "Do you not?" Damian asked angrily. "What do you think you are doing?!" Tyra asked harshly. "Do you think going against me is going to change anything?" She asked in disbelief. "I guess this has always been your n?" YESs!" Damian said coldly. "IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY PLAN!" The atmosphere grew tense as the others watched the exchange. In a voice filled with pain and sadness, Damian said, "I have never wanted anything more than to ruin the royal family." He looked at the queen on the ground, whose teary eyes were on him. "At a young age, my family was killed. We were just a quiet family who wanted to live our best lives. My dream was to be a great and honourable physician just like my father, but it was cut short because of the royal family, and you think I''d be loyal to any of you?" He turned to look at Tyra as he asked, "Especially someone from the bloodline of the queen who caused everything?" "You are one to talk. Did you think your father was also innocent?" Alicia asked in anger. As much as she hated Tyra and her actions, she couldn''t just watch Damian act like a saint here. "If everyone wanted revenge like you, do you think your father would have lived for that long to even have had you conceived?" She asked him pointedly. "It was his idea to burn a witch to be used for a potion for the previous king, but what did you say? A great and honourable man?" She scoffed in disbelief. "If it weren''t for him, the witch would not have been wiped out! Your kingdom wouldn''t have been too scared of retaliation, and Lord Zealot wouldn''t have seen a perfect excuse to wipe out the witch n, but what? You are here for revenge? Are you fucking kidding me?" She was livid. She exchanged intense res with Damian, who was looking at her like she was Tyra''s sister in craziness. "You... you killed... Prince Harry... didn''t you?" The queen managed to speak, asking Damian. Ivan was fed up at this point, and he was too tired to say anything as he digested the back-to-back shocking information, but when his brother was mentioned, he looked up with wide eyes. Damian ignored her. His gaze was still on Alicia. "Don''t say stupid things. My father is not that kind of person. He would never do that to soil his honourable nam¡ª" "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Alicia snapped. She thought if she heard the word "honourable" one more time, she might lose it. "Ask the elders. I''m sure most of them here are aware of it." Alicia said and began to look at the men whenever she mentioned their names. "Lord Richard? Lord Gregory? Lord Evan?" She called out. Damian shook his head. "I pity your mother. In her short life, she married an ''honourable'' monster and gave birth to an ''honourable'' idiot. She didn''t deserve such a wicked fate." Alicia said pitifully. "SHUT UP! THAT IS A LIE!" Damian yelled at her, and his eyes looked around him, and he saw all the hateful and disgustful looks he was getting. "YOU KILLED MY SON! IT WAS YOU! YOU KILLED HARRY. YOU FED HIM THAT POTION! YOU WERE HIS TRUSTED SERVANT!" The queen cried in pain as she clutched her chest, sobbing loudly on the ground without any iota of dignity left. It all made perfect sense.I think you should take a look at Every. Single. Thing. Damian was lost in his world of denial and just continued to shake his head. "Then should I take revenge on you too?" Alicia asked in an exhausted tone. "Look all around you at what you have done..." She pointed at the dead bodies on the ground and then at the hostages. "Look at the people you have hurt because of your choice for revenge. How does that make you any different?" Damian looked at the pile of dead bodies on the ground, and then his eyes fell on the woman who had been killed by a rogue under Tyra''s order. He also saw all the hostages. Men, women, frightened children, servants, and physicians. "Can you see now?" Alicia spoke to him, her voice filled with disappointment. "Yet you had the guts to hurt your Prince. You had the guts to try to get me killed! Your hypocrisy is unparalleled. So disgusting." Tears clouded Damian''s eyes, and he shut his eyes. He felt a strong desire to throw up and began to retch. Tyra began tough. Sheughed andughed while pointing at both Alicia and Damian, like the scene was very amusing. "You are so stupid fighting for a monster¡ª" "SHUT UP!" Damian yelled at her just as tears fell from his eyes. "Monster? You all are monsters! All of you in the royal family! You are all willing to kill yourselves for the throne." Damian pointed it out with tears in his eyes. "Did I get to do much? I didn''t. Because you all are crazy! What about you?" He pointed at Tyra. "Does everyone know that you are crazy? That you have been crazy for a long time, just like your grandfather was?" It did make sense that she was crazy. It was obvious. "BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY!" Tyra yelled at him in anger. Damian continued. "You didn''t think twice before poisoning the king. You didn''t think twice before staging attacks against Prince Harold to incite a fight between him and Ivan for the throne. You didn''t think twice about framing and throwing your rtives in the dungeon. You killed people who had been loyal to you. You even killed... killed S-Susan." Everywhere instantly turned cold. Chapter 457 Lets Not Fight... ? The evening was already quite chilly, but Damian''s words made it even colder. "Sssu¡ª what... are you t-talking about?" Lady Victoria stuttered in a quiet voice while looking at Damian. "What are you talking about?!" Williams asked in a panic, and Sir Evan''s wide eyes moved from Damian to Tyra and back to Damian. "Which... Susan?" Alicia asked and began to look around her again for any sight of Susan. "WHY AREN''T YOU ANSWERING?! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?" Alvin bellowed at Damian. "I didn''t kill Susan," Tyra said with a pout. "You saw me crying when she was found; why would I kill her and cry so much?" "Isn''t Susan that pretty wench that tailed you from the pce that night?" One of the Rogues beside her asked, looking up at her. "Ah! The one Polo caught?" Another asked the first one. "Wasn''t it Cory that strangled her?" And another asked, and a conversation started among them. "No, it was Polo. Cory only pped her because she was talking too much¡ª" "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS?" Tyra bellowed at the idiots, her eyes zing red. Lady Victoria, Lord Evan, Williams, Alicia, Harvey, Luciana, Lance, the queen, Ivan, and Alvin. They were all frozen in their spots as the words slowly sank in. "You... aren''t talking about Susan, are you?" Williams asked, his voice filled with dread. "Susan... where is Susan?" Alicia asked in a panic. Tyra scratched her head and sighed as she said, "You heard them, right? It wasn''t me. I didn''t touch her. She even hit me on the face, but I didn''t touch her." She pointed at her cheek, beside the mark on her face. "But... I did promise her I''d cry the loudest at her funeral. Hehe," She chuckled, using a hand to cover her mouth. Lady Victoria found it difficult to breathe. Her breathing came in loud gasps until the rogue holding her in ce could no longer take it and struck behind her neck to make her copse, then he let her fall to the ground with an exhausted sigh at the freedom. Lord Evan could not find the words to say. His dead eyes looked at his wife on the ground and then at Tyra. "W-Why? Why... did you do it?" Williams asked in a dark voice and tried to get up. His father didn''t bother to stop him this time. Alicia covered her mouth with her hand in shock, muffling the loud, startled gasp just as tears pooled in her eyes. Susan was dead? How? When? Where? All this while... "SUSAN LIKED YOU!" Lance yelled at Tyra before he burst into tears, and his father quickly embraced him while his mother cried from where she was still being held. "I know you are angry. But I do not want to hurt you." Tyra spoke to Williams calmly. "You should stay back before these wild men harm you." She pointed at the men beside her, who had their arrows drawn.I think you should take a look at "You think... I am afraid to die?" Williams asked her as he dragged his sword up. Tyra looked at himzily and slightly tilted her head as she asked, "You think it is difficult for me to find Paulina?" That was a threat. Williams halted, and so did a broken Alicia, whose tears had already streamed down her face. "If you are angry, take it up against Princess Amber. She is the cause of everything. If she hadn''t been alive until now, my ns would have worked a long time ago. I wouldn''t have still been sneaking out of the pce, and your sister wouldn''t have died. Luciana wouldn''t have also lost her voice and had her life cut short!" Tyra cried out defensively while pointing an using finger at Alicia. WHAT? Alicia''s wide, teary eyes turned to look at an exhausted Luciana whose eyes were closed and skin pale. She looked like she was about to pass out. "What... do you mean?" Ivan asked in a frightened tone and began trying to look behind him to find Luciana. "I am the innocent one!" Tyra cried. "So you should kill her! Kill her to avenge your sister! I promise I will never hurt Paulina, and I will tell you what happened to Susan. You fancy Paulina, don''t you? I can make it happen! When I be queen, I will issue an order for you to marry her. Trust me." She tapped her chest passionately and pointed excitedly at Alicia as she continued rambling. "Just stab her with that sword. Prince Harold will forgive you. I will beg him on your behalf¡ª" "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Alvin growled and began to race towards them with his sword drawn out. "DO NOT COME CLOSER; THEY WILL KILL YOU!" Tyra yelled at him, pointing at the rogues beside her. Alvin ignored her and raced towards her while Williams just stood there, frozen, lost, and broken. With tears all over Alicia''s eyes and face, she swallowed hard and raised her dark eyes to look at Tyra, who was still yelling at a livid Alvin, and the rogues beside her, who were ready to strike Alvin down if he didn''t stop advancing. Alicia took a long, deep, shaky breath before she yelled out, "STOP, ALL OF YOU!" All eyes turned to her, heeding hermand. Alvin''s horse, Thorn, also halted, bringing Alvin to an abrupt stop, and his wicked, teary eyes fell on Alicia. She shut her eyes for a second and let go of the sword in her hand, letting it fall to the ground. They all still stared at her. "Let''s... not fight." She spoke in a quiet voice and opened her eyes. Alicia turned to the rogues and said, "I... understand you all and your pain. You are strong men who deserve to be seen. You shouldn''t be in hiding. But being beside Princess Tyra is wrong. She is crazy. And she only considers you all a tool for her to exploit to reach her goals¡ª" "Haha! What are you doing? You think that is going to sway them?" Tyra scoffed, mocking her effort. "You will never be a leader in this kingdom, Tyra!" Alicia said to her harshly. "And it means your army would never be recognized as one. But... with me, they will be recognized and respected by everyone. Even Prince Harold." "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" Tyra yelled at her; any kind of amusement she initially felt was long gone now. Chapter 458 Snatching The Rogues ? "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?" Alvin yelled at Alicia in anger. What was she trying to do? Make peace? He would rather die. "I will never agree to this!" Lance also yelled at Alicia. "You do not need to agree to it!" She snapped at them. "She must have gone mad!" "That is impossible!" "We cannot do this!" Most of them voiced their displeasure despite the fact that their lives were at stake. "You want us to embrace the same people who have hurt us deeply? Are you this wicked?! My husband was killed!" One of the hostages cried in pain. "WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF US? ISN''T IT MORE IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE ALIVE? DOES IT MATTER IF WE HAVE TO EMBRACE THEM?" A nobleman yelled at the woman. "You coward! How can you say that?!" Another nobleman yelled at him. However, Alicia ignored all of them. The most important thing was to save all their lives. It didn''t matter how she did it. All that mattered was that she did it. "If it''s gold you want, you will get more gold than you were promised," Alicia spoke to the rogues in a serious tone that got them interested. "If it''s a knighthood, you will have it." She promised. "But it can only happen if we recognize your effort in repenting and letting the hostages go. Surrender ande to my side." The rogues looked at each other, murmuring amongst themselves, until one asked, "How can we trust you?" "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" Tyra asked in a harsh tone, but one of the rogues beside her raised his hand to interrupt her as he said, "Hold on!" Then he faced Alicia and looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze. "How do we believe you?" He asked her. Alicia picked up her bloody sword from the ground and wrapped her palm around the de, drawing a deep cut. She dropped the sword and raised her palm, which was dripping with blood, as she said, "I swear on my life. Your lives will be mine to protect. You can trust me." She promised. "You will get five times as much gold as you have been promised, and you will be pardoned for the crime you havemitted today." "F-Five times? Is that... is that correct?" One stammered with wide eyes. A blood oath was something serious, so that seemed to convince them that she was serious. "STOP IT! STOP IT! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO CONFUSE MY ARMY?" "Should we trust her?" One of the rogues asked his brother beside him, but Alicia answered instead. "You have no other choice but to trust me. Tyra is a tyrant." Wow! That rhymed perfectly. "She doesn''t have the King''s blood. Do you think the King would keep her alive after this?" She asked them. "I, on the other hand, am the bride of Prince Harold. Prince Harold will be your future King! By joining me to stop this act of treason, you will all be greatly rewarded!" "I guess we can trust her. You have seen what she is capable of doing." A rogue whispered to the one beside him. "Prince Harold indeed favours her, so it shouldn''t be a problem." "DON''T DO IT! I AM YOUR MASTER! I HAVE BEEN YOUR MASTER FOR YEARS!" Tyra yelled at her army before she faced Alicia, and her horse also got hysterical with her as it swayed about. "YOU STUPID WITCH! YOU DARE TRY TO STEAL MY ARMY!"I think you should take a look at "Shut your mouth, crazy wench! You are no master of ours." One of the Rogues spat in annoyance at Tyra. "How can we trust her? She may be trying to deceive us." "Does she seem like the one to lie? Isn''t it better to take a better deal than lose our lives with this mad cunt?" "I AM QUEEN TYRA! YOU CANNOT TURN YOUR BACK ON ME. I WILL KILL YOU ALL IF YOU DARE DO SO!" When the rogues still hesitated to decide, Alicia looked at the royal guards, yelling to them, "DROP ALL YOUR WEAPONS! YOU WILL NOT FIGHT!" "Princess Amber..." Alvin shook his head in refusal. "DROP IT!" Alicia ordered. The guards looked at each other before they did as she had said. Seeing how they had given up their weapons, the rogues were finally able to believe her, and one by one, they began to let go of the hostages, excitedly talking about how much gold they would be receiving. "ARE YOU ALL STUPID? DO NOT LET THEM GO!" Tyra yelled at her army, which was now fully surrendering. Some even dropped their weapons, smiling happily at the jackpot. Alicia looked down at the blood in her palm before she looked up at a hysterical Tyra with a smirk. The hostages fell to the ground in relief, crying and embracing their families, even though they hated the deal and hated Alicia too. "Aren''t you going to swear allegiance to me?" Alicia asked the rogues. One of them, who appeared to have a significant position among them, quickly called all of them to step away from the hostages ande stand in front of Alicia to pay allegiance. They had all turned their backs on Tyra, who was still yelling crazily at them. "PRINCE HAROLD WOULD NEVER ACCEPT THIS!" Alvin yelled at Alicia in disappointment. "I AM HIS WIFE!" Alicia yelled back at him, harshly. The leader of the rogues stepped in front of her, shouting out, "WE WILL FOLLOW YOU!" And the rest echoed loudly, "WE WILL FOLLOW YOU!" "YOU WILL FOLLOW ME! YOU BASTARDS WILL FOLLOW ME!" Tyra yelled at them, already crying. Alicia''s evil gaze went to her. "No," Alicia said to Tyra. "But you will follow them shortly." She said in a dark tone before she picked up her sword, and before anyone could realize what was happening, she stabbed it deep into their leader''s gut. While he stared at her with wide eyes, she turned behind her to where the hostages were still gathered and crying and waved her bloody palm in the air. A visibleyer of barrier formed around everyone behind her, sealing the hostages away from the rest of them. "SLAY THEM ALL!" Alicia yelled to the pce guards, who were already quick to action. Horses reared and others picked up weapons, and they all raced to the middle in battle mode. Some already drew their arrows, shooting down at the disorganized rogues, while Harvey stood in front of Alicia, protecting her as she tried to keep the barrier intact while yelling for the people to race back to the pce. The disparity between trained warriors and bandits was quite clear. Because with only a moment of distraction, they had lost their footing, giving the pce guards the chance to wipe them off. There was no honour among thieves. Therefore, she didn''t have to treat them with one. She had promised them. Their lives were hers to protect. And also hers to ruin. Seeing the unbelievable turn of events, Tyra turned her horse, ready to flee. Chapter 459 Do You Regret It? ? "I guess that was why you were brought here. To save them." Alicia heard a voice. Once again, she was back in this dimension. There was nothing in the space except emptiness. Just like when she firstmunicated with Anne. "Amber?" Alicia called in surprise. She was used to seeing Anne, but never Amber. It was the first. "We finally meet," Amber spoke to her in a gentle voice. Yes. They finally met. But then... "Why... am I here?" Alicia asked quietly before the memory began toe to her. There was a battle. She had felt a surge of a strange power, which she harnessed and created a barrier to protect the people behind her. However, she had greatly underestimated what it meant to use magic. Magic was spiritual; therefore, it worked with the soul. It felt like the barrier was sucking out her soul and every ounce of energy was leaving her. The worst part was that the people were moving slowly. Some had to support others who had copsed from fear or relief, but then there were others making it difficult for her. They refused to leave until their rtives, who were still out there, left with them, which meant they wanted the barrier down. After all, the royal guards were more than enough to take down the rogues. "I DO NOT THINK I CAN HOLD THIS FOR LONG. THE BARRIER IS WEAKENING; YOU SHOULD ESCAPE!" She shouted to Harvey, who was trying to keep some wild rogues from getting to her. The rogues were losing the battle, and they didn''t want to go down without her. She had deceived them. She had shamelessly sworn with her life, only to go against her words dishonourably. As for their former master, Tyra had fled. Which was the reason why Lance, Williams, and Alvin were nowhere in sight. They all chased after her. However, only Alvin had a horse, so the two had to quickly find wandering horses around the area while also angrily killing off any rogues in their path. An exhausted Harvey tried to keep them from getting to Alicia while the rest of the warriors dealt with the others. Some guards tried to help other people, like Sir Rager, to their feet, but with the barrier up, they could not do much. Which was the dilemma Alicia was facing coupled with the effect it was having on her. From within the barrier, some people refused to leave, even crying to Alicia to stop it so their families would join them, including Harvey''s mother and sister. "I WILL NOT FORGIVE YOU IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO MY BROTHER AND FATHER!" Benedicta cried helplessly beside her mother, who was begging Harvey to stop and find a way inside. "GO AWAY!" A livid Harvey turned to yell at his mother and sister. Unfortunately, the distraction caused him to miss dodging a sword, which went deep into his gut. "HARVEY!" Looking behind her, Alicia yelled at the same time as Benedicta and his mother, who screamed in fear. From where Lord Richard was busy fighting desperately with cuts all over his body, he turned to look at his son with wide eyes, and was also an unfortunate victim of getting shed in the arm since he was distracted too. Harvey fell on one knee as blood gushed out of his wounds, and when the rogue who had stabbed Harvey tried to go in for the second strike, Alicia screamed in fear and let go of the barrier, throwing herself in front of Harvey. "No!" Harvey cried out weakly just as the sword pierced Alicia on the left side of her chest.I think you should take a look at Alicia''s eyes widened, and her jaw fell, leaving her mouth open. All eyes watched; some yelled out, and some could only watch in horror with their eyes and mouths wide open. When the excited rogue pulled out the sword, she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and fell back into Harvey, who let go of his sword and quickly caught her. "Don''t... do this," Harvey said in a tight voice as he held her closely, shaking her. "D-Don''t..." His voice was broken, and a startled sob escaped his lips. "Hahahaah!" The rogueughed in triumph and tried to go for the final blow when he was stabbed in the back, the sword ripping through his stomach. His blood sttered on both Harvey and Alicia and when the sword was drawn back, the man fell to the ground, revealing the one who had stabbed him. It was Sir Richard. Sir Richard had only a sh of confusion when he saw how Harvey held Princess Amber before he knelt on one knee to look at his son. "Let''s take her inside." The barrier finally dissipated, letting Harvey''s weeping mother and daughter rush beside him. That was as far as Alicia could remember. "I... died," Alicia whispered in fear. "I... don''t think so," Amber answered. "None of us would be here now if my body was dead." Did that mean she survived that? Even though this was her soul, remembering that scene made her feel an intense pain in her heart, and she ced a hand there as she tried to steady her breathing. "Thank you," Amber said quietly. Alicia''s teary eyes looked at her, wondering why. "For... what?" "For protecting Harvey," Amber answered with a faint smile on her face, her eyes misty with tears. "I was partly there with you. Your magic drew me in. I could sense it." "You... do not need to thank me for that." "I was surprised. You didn''t seem like the type to ignore everyone else for just one person." Amber pointed it out. "There are a lot of things I wouldn''t have believed I''d be able to do until I got here," Alicia responded in a heavy voice as the memory of her ordering for the rogues to be in shed through her head. "I guess it''s difficult for someone to be free from selfishness. We''d always protect the things and people we hold dear to our hearts." "Do you regret it? What you did. Repeatedly putting your life in danger for others." Amber asked her softly. Chapter 460 May We Meet Again... ? "Do you regret it? What you did. Repeatedly putting your life in danger for others." Amber asked her softly. Alicia pondered the question. "When I saw some movies where people threw themselves in front of a person about to be hurt, I always thought they were silly." She let out augh. "I guess... it''s because I did not understand what it means to love someone and be loved." She remembered what had happened earlier. "When I was out here, shut out of the pce, it was Harvey who showed up for me. So you do not need to thank me for it. Because what I did had nothing to do with your feelings for him." Alicia also remembered the times Paulina would have been hurt because of her, but the girl had willingly sacrificed herself, especially when Alicia was about to be executed for killing Beth, and how she had gotten out of the pce before the doors were closed. "Paulina too. I would have done the same for her." Amberughed sadly. "Paulina is always silly. She knows nothing but loyalty." "And sobbing too," Alicia added lightly, and they bothughed even though this was a heavy conversation and both had tears in their eyes. Alicia smiled at Amber. It was nice to meet her. She hadn''t thought they''d connect like this. Maybe it was because she had lived in Amber''s body for a while that she felt this emotional. When Amber turned to wipe the tears out of her eyes, the mark on her neck caught Alicia''s eye, and she also touched her neck, surprised to find it was also in hers. She recognized the mark. "Why... do you have that mark?" Alicia asked Amber curiously, pointing to her neck. Amber''s mood changed at once, and sadness filled her eyes as she said, "We are both connected to your Prince. It''s a soul tie between the three of us. Unfortunately." "What... does that mean?" Alicia asked hesitantly. "The witch''s blood is strong. They can either make his kind stronger or ruin them if they are not prepared for it. Just like that potion can heal the strong ones and ruin the minds of the weak ones." Amber exined. "Beta''s nightmare." Alicia breathed softly. "There were two witch souls in one body. Didn''t you think it''d affect him greatly, no matter how strong he is?" Amber asked, referring to the mark. "Is that why... he is still unconscious?" "Probably. And both of our souls cannot dwell fully in the body at the same time. It means it will continue to affect his soul until he can ovee it. Or until the soul swap stops. And if that happens and his soul is tied to that of a witch, he is going to be very strong. An unbeatable Alpha." "How do you know this?" Alicia asked curiously.I think you should take a look at "It''s almost the blood moon and my birthday. I have been receiving a lot of enlightenment in my spirit. Also... I got a glimpse of my mother''s life." Her eyes were sad, but she had a faint smile on her lips. "She looked just like you. But younger." Amber''s eyes lingered on her face, and Alicia could tell she was remembering Anne. "She was in love with a Prince. She even begged him to mark her so he would be saved. I''m not sure from what." Amber said it lightly, almostughing. "Prince Wilder," Alicia mentioned his name softly, remembering his gravestone. "Did... he?" She asked. If Wilder had done that, there was a probability he would have been saved and be stronger, right? "He didn''t do it." Amber shook her head. "The only thing she seeded in doing was having him ept the bracelet she crafted herself. I didn''t know my mother was that silly." Amber giggled with tears in her eyes. "I recognized that bracelet. She had one too, which she always wore. She... must have lived a very tough life longing for him." Amber sniffled and quickly cleaned up her tears again. Alicia could feel her pain. She felt bad too. And the worst part was that Anne had not been able to rest in peace after all this time. "She shouldn''t have ended up with Cedric," Amber spoke in a dark voice. "He should die." "And what about the moon kingdom?" Alicia asked her quietly. "What... do you intend to do during the Blood Moon?" Amber looked exhausted. She stared at her deeply and sighed. "I have wanted revenge all my life, Alica. You will never understand it." It was true that she would never understand what they all went through. But if she were Amber, she would want revenge too. And that was why she decided not to be selfish. Whatever Amber chose to do, she would not fight it. She would leave it all to fate. "But right now..." Amber continued. "I don''t know how I feel seeing you trying so hard to protect those I want to ruin, even when they treat you so badly." Did she have a choice? She was doing it for the people she cared about. For Harold. For Paulina, who had found a home here just like her. For Williams. For Harvey. For Luciana. For Lance. And for... Susan. "You... are a strange person," Amber said to her while still smiling sadly. "And... I am honoured that y-your soul found my body." She said in tears. This time, she didn''t try to hide it, but she let her tears fall. Alicia used a hand to cover her mouth as tears fell down her face. Amber''s smile was shaking since she could not stop her tears. But she still tried to keep the smile on as she said, "May we meet again, Alicia." "May... we meet again, Amber," Alicia replied in tears just as Amber dissipated. Herst words to her were, "Goodbye, Alicia queen." She just knew that was thest time. She could feel it. Her mission here wasing to an end, even though she wasn''t exactly sure what it was. Chapter 461 Strange Girl ? The gentle rustling of flowers and the soothing scent of petals filled the air as Haroldy nestled among the vibrant blooms, cocooned in a dreamlike slumber. A soft breeze whispered through the flowery ce, carrying with it a sense of tranquillity. But as something delicate traced his face, he stirred and opened his eyes, squinting against the brightness of the flowery ce around him. Through the haze, he saw a little girl of about 6 with sparkling blue eyes peering down at him, her face adorned with a wide, bubbly grin. She seemed to be bursting with excitement, and he couldn''t help but feel both bewildered and curious about this unexpected encounter. "You''re finally awake!" the bubbly girl eximed, her voice carrying the excitement of a thousand adventures. He blinkedzily, still feeling disoriented, and sat up, weakly propping himself up on his elbows before he fully sat up. Still confused about what was happening, he felt an odd taste in his mouth. It was very bitter. Curious, he touched his lips when he felt a weird sensation and looked at his hand, which had blood on it. The girl giggled and showed him the tiny cut on her palm as she said, "That''s my blood!" His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he could hardly believe what he just heard. "Your blood? Why would you do that?" he asked, still trying to grasp the situation. "You were not waking up, so I had to save you with my blood." She said nonchntly as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. Her blood? How was it possible for her to save him with her blood? Where was he? Why did he need to be saved? So many things did not make sense. By the way, she was a little girl. He was an Alpha. How could her blood save him? Why was her blood also bitter? Why was he here? Who was this girl, and why did she look familiar to him even though he had never met her before? "I''m d you are not asking me all of those questions at once¡ª" "You can read my mind?" He asked, surprised. She nodded. "How is that possible?" "You just drank my blood!" She pointed out. How did that make sense? "Have you never read someone''s mind before now?" She asked in a curious tone. Reading someone''s mind? No. But he could speak into Alvin''s, and that was as far as he had gone. She looked at him thoughtfully as he said, "You have fed Uncle Alvin your blood before. Haven''t you felt closer to anyone else you''ve fed your blood before?" His father. He had known his father was awake simply by sensing it. "I think it''s difficult for you to get into the mind of an Alpha or make them hear your voice. You can only sense them. But for Omegas... it may be destructive to feed them your blood, even if it is to help them. I don''t know." She shrugged. "Who are you?" he managed to ask, his voice hoarse from his slumber. And how did she know all this? Who was she? And why was Alvin ''Uncle Alvin''? "I am the person you love the most in the world!" She said with a big grin. Okay. That did not make any sense to him. He didn''t even know her. "Where am I? Where are we?" He asked instead, hoping she would at least give him a useful answer now. "You were in a bad ce. I brought you to this flowery Realm," she exined, gesturing to the petals and flowers around them.I think you should take a look at "Bad ce?" He wondered. The worst part was that his brain was still foggy, and he could not make sense of anything. "I was looking for you. I had to find you everywhere from the time in the book. Your kingdom is in a mess; how can you be sleeping?" She asked in a tone that held a mix of yful scolding and genuine concern. He was lost. Completely lost. He touched his head. It seemed like her ramblings were going to cause him a bad headache even more than his confusion about all that was happening. "So... how did you find me?" He asked her. Her grin widened, revealing tiny dimples on her cheeks. "I travelled through different dimensions! It''s not as hard as it sounds. You were in a bit of a pickle, so I decided to lend a hand." Pickle? "It was in the book of words." "Wait!" He put his hand up. With her reading his mind, it was difficult for him to follow his trail of thoughts. If she could travel like this, it only meant one thing. She was a witch. And the fact that her blood was very bitter confirmed it. "Sort of a witch." She answered. "Can you stop reading my mind?" He said to her sternly, and she bobbed her head up and down. "Then stop it." She looked at him for a while, and he began to wonder if his harsh tone had made her sad, but then she suddenly giggled and threw herself into his arms in an embrace as she chirpily said, "You look really young and handsome!" He was startled. The impact made him fall back into the petals with her on top of him, still giggling excitedly, her innocence shining through. "What... are you doing?" He asked as he tried to push her off, but he didn''t do it with force. "I am hugging you!" She eximed, her voice filled with childlike enthusiasm. He sat up and pulled her away from the hug, looking at her face in frustration. "What is your name?" He asked her. "Who are your parents?" Maybe this way, he could find out who she was. Sheughed, herughter sounding like the tinkling of bells. "You will find out soon enough!" she replied, her eyes gleaming with mischief. Before Harold could ask any more questions, she pointed to a shimmering portal that had appeared nearby. "You should hurry. Everyone is waiting for you." She ced one tiny hand on his shoulder as she said, "Remember, you are strong." He could feel himself getting sucked in by the portal, and he could only watch in confusion as it pulled him away from the strange girl. "See you again soon!" The little girl waved as the portalpletely sucked him in, and just like that, the Flowering Realm disappeared from view. Harold found himself back in his own kingdom, surrounded by the chaos that had consumed it. Chapter 462 Another Failed Promise. ? You know when they say that the moment you miss school for one day, that''s when all the fun things happen, right? That was exactly what had happened to Harold. But the difference was that nothing about what had happened was fun. He still could not wrap his head around it. None of it made sense. But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, he had seen the signs. Where does he start? Ask why and how long he has been asleep? Ask how and why Alicia was unconscious? Ask why all around the pce was very noisy when he woke up, even though it waste at night and the night guards should already be out? He didn''t even have time to think about the strange encounter he had just had. Alvin was beside him when he woke up in his dimly lit chamber. He had never seen Alvin so broken. Usually, Alvin was a very strong person. But when he saw Harold stir awake, tears filled his eyes, and he embraced Harold even before he could sit up, sobbing quietly on his shoulders. "Alvin?" Harold called in surprise, but he didn''t push him away. Instead, he hugged him and gently patted him on the back. "T-Thank you, Harold. For waking up... thank you." Alvin said gently, though his voice trembled with emotion. That was Alvin speaking as a friend. Harold wasn''t sure what exactly had made Alvin like this, but when he knew why, he wished he hadn''t. In solid steps, he was out of his chamber, and as soon as he stepped out into the hallways, the castle seemed to hold its breath, and a heavy silence fell on the pce, the air carrying a tense aura that permeated the whole building. Wherever they were, they could all sense that a great force was in the pce. One would think Harold would barge into her chamber with how determined his steps had been, but that wasn''t the case when he got there. His steps slowed, and when he got to the door, he hesitated before he slowly opened the door and entered the room. The head physician was attending to Alicia with two other maids assisting him and Paulina waiting beside her bed. As soon as they saw him enter with Alvin closely behind, they fell to their knees with their heads on the floor. Their reaction was both relief and fear, and even one of the maids began to cry. However, Paulina stood still, but she burst into tears and brazenly raised her voice at Harold. "WHY ARE YOU COMING ONLY NOW?!" The others were taken aback by her outburst, even Alvin. But Harold wasn''t. He had also asked the same question. Why did he wake up only now? He had promised her. Yet he failed her once again. Harold kept his eyes on Alicia, who was still unconscious. He ignored everyone else and slowly made his way to her, and when he got to her bed, he looked down at her and then slowly sat down beside her. He slowly reached to touch her pale face, but he hesitated when he noticed the needles piercing her scalp. He didn''t want to do anything that might causeplications. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and turned his eyes to the physician. "How is she?" She asked in a quiet voice. So quiet that it would have been difficult for the wind to carry his words with how Paulina was crying bitterly. The physician turned while still on his knees to face Harold, shaking. His eyes moved around at the others in the room, and Alvin understood. "You are all excused," Alvin said to them. The mains flinched at his voice before they rose and left in a hurry with their heads down. Paulina hesitated before she left while cleaning her tears. Alvin was about to follow them out when Harold said a quiet "Stay," directed at him.I think you should take a look at Alvin looked at him and nodded gently before he stood in front of the door. "You can speak now," Harold said to the physician. "My... Prince. It is..." The man hesitated. It seemed like whatever he was about to say was too heavy for his lips. "Speak freely." Harold urged him quietly. "The... the sword... pierced deep into her heart, my Prince," he exined, his eyes filled with pain for his prince. Harold swallowed hard. "When is she going to wake up?" He asked the man. It was obvious he needed no excuses for why the physician could not save her. The man briefly looked at Alicia before he turned to face Harold with a heavy expression. "I... have done all that I can for her, My Prince," he said somberly. "But... the wound is severe, and I... cannot guarantee her survival. It is a miracle that she has made it this far." Harold clenched his fists, feeling a surge of desperation and determination. "You still hold a rank here because we believe you are capable." Harold reminded him, adding, "And you will not prove me wrong." "My... Prince..." The physician hesitated, his eyes avoiding the prince''s gaze, and then he turned to look at Alvin. He had something to say, which they guessed was important, so Alvin hesitated between remaining there and leaving the room, but Harold ordered, "Speak!" The frightened man flinched before he said quietly, "There... is something unusual, my prince." He began cautiously. "I think... an overpowering energy within her is... keeping her alive." "What... is that supposed to mean?" "I... dare say... that it seems the princess is with child." Surprise washed over Harold''s face. That was thest thing he had expected to hear, and it was obvious in his round eyes. Alvin also looked very surprised by the news, and his eyes went to the unconscious Princess. "She... is carrying our... child?" Harold whispered, the weight of the news sinking in. He turned to look at Alicia, his face a mixture of different emotions. Chapter 463 Heartbreaking ? "She... is carrying our... child?" Harold whispered, the weight of the news sinking in. He turned to look at Alicia, his face a mixture of different emotions. "Yes, Your Highness, but¡­" the physician''s voice trailed off, a grave concern evident on his face. Harold turned to look at him sharply. "But what? Tell me!" Harold demanded, his voice growing more urgent. "It... is a risky situation, my Prince." The physician exined, his tone gentle yet filled with apprehension. "Given the severity of her injuries, her body may not be able to handle the strain of developing a child." Harold''s mind raced with so many things. But almost immediately, he made his decision. "If the child puts her at risk, then¡­ then get rid of it," he said, his voice quivering with emotion. Alvin looked at him with both pity and sadness. "Her life is more important than anything else," Harold told the man in a quiet voice. The physician nodded sadly. "I understand your concern, Your Highness. However, even if we were to take that course of action, I fear it may not be enough. Her injuries are grave, and her chances of survival are uncertain. It... is a risk to even get rid of... the royal child." "I don''t care about anything else!" Harold snapped. "I... just want her to live," he said, his voice now a deep,manding plea. "Do whatever it takes to save her." He rose and looked at the man, and in the meekest tone he could ever muster, he added, "I beg of you." It was so touching for the physician, who shed a tear and sniffled. Alvin simply turned his gaze away from them to look at the door instead, shutting his eyes tightly. The physician nodded solemnly as he cleaned his tears with the back of his hands. "I will do everything in my power, my Prince," he replied with a heavy heart. But it was quite clear in his voice. There was no hope. As soon as they stepped outside and the door closed, Harold''s legs gave way, but Alvin was able to quickly catch him before he could fall. It was the first time in a long time that Alvin had seen Harold''s eyes look misty. Harold looked up and quickly tried to maintain hisposure as he stood tall. Hesitantly, Alvin let him go with a heavy heart. He could not even bring himself to say any words. This would have been a happy asion. But now... "Where. Is. She?" Harold asked in a dark voice that mirrored the look in his eyes. He was already taking the hallway even before Alvin could answer. The ''she'' Harold was asking for was none other than ''Queen'' Tyra. Alvin would have preferred not to talk about that mad girl. He had been restricting himself from meeting her, unlike the others. He informed Harold that she was locked in the hot pce. It had been crazy for days, and despite the fact that no one was keeping them in the pce and the reason they had all been ''imprisoned'' in the pce and not allowed to step out was not clear, no one had left since that day. No one was leading the affairs of the pce either. Everything was in a state of anarchy. People were always outside the hot pce, trying to force their way in. Most of the pce guards were stationed outside there to stop them from seeding, but it was getting more difficult by the day because more vigers had been trooping in too since they had also been affected by the battle. They all wanted to lynch the monster.I think you should take a look at Some were waiting until either the King or Harold woke up and gave their sentence to her before they would leave. They were even prepared to riot if Prince Harold tried to have mercy on her because she was his sister. Some believed he wouldn''t be soft on her since they weren''t rted by blood anyway. Of course, the Queen, Sir Damon, and Damian were not left out. They all needed to be punished first. There were also some who were patiently waiting until Princess Amber woke up, and most of the vigers had been bringing in food supplies and fruits for her, wishing her a safe recovery and thanking her for holding the pce intact for as long as she could. As Harold strode inrge strides towards the hot pce, he instructed Alvin, "Find me, Harvey." Harvey was the only one who could clearly exin things to him. He needed to know just how much had been Alicia and how much was Amber. And just what had happened to him since Harvey was thest face he saw before he fell off. "Call the others also. Williams, Lance, and Susan." Alvin stopped walking as soon as he mentioned her name. He hadn''t been able to bring himself to tell him about it. Amidst his burning anger, Harold noticed him and stopped walking too, turning to look at Alvin. **** Harold''s steps faltered when he got to the door of the chamber. He thought he was numb to every kind of pain. He had thought the worst thing that could happen to him was his curse. But no. Even though he felt stronger physically, his heart was hurting. It seemed like knives were repeatedly jabbed at his heart. He was hurting. Hurting for Alicia. Hurting for their child. Hurting for Susan. Hurting for her family. Hurting for Alvin. He could not bring himself to open the door, so he stood out there until the door was opened from inside and he was faced with Lord Evan. He looked nothing like a Lord. There was no sign of his noble status. He looked empty. "My Prince..." The man said in a hoarse voice before he fully opened the door and nced back at his wife. Harold slowly stepped in. He found Lady Victoria in bed, sobbing. When she saw him, she tried to sit up, more tears running down her face. "Prince... Harold." Her voice croaked in tears. "My... my girl... you... you promised me. You promised you were going to protect my children." She wept bitterly while clutching at her chest. Harold stood there, fixated on a spot. His neck felt tight, and it was difficult for him to breathe. He could feel the heavy emotion finding its way to his eyes as tears. At once, he turned and left the room. The aura all around him was wild and scary. He only had one destination in mind. Chapter 464 Justice will be served. Chapter 464 Justice will be served. Outside the hot pce, a camp had indeed been formed. Looking all around, this whole unorderliness was nothing befitting of the Moon Pce. There was no regard for the rules. No fear of the pce. People littered all around; some were even roasting meat and drinking wine. What an odd time to bond. This was why having a leader was always necessary. It seemed like the people had gotten over whatever force had thrown the pce into silence earlier because they resumed what they had been doing. Some were still not giving up and trying their best to get inside the hot pce, which was surrounded by pce guards d in battle armour. This was the sight Harold saw when he stepped out of the pce. But as soon as he stepped out, the air outside was thick with tension. Silence followed, and all eyes turned towards him. He was awake. A real ruler was awake. They fell to their knees immediately. Their reaction was a mixture of hope, fear, and apprehension. They feared his zing eyes and dark aura all around him. They were also hopeful, seeing that he was around to set things right. But deep down, they were apprehensive, fearing he might favour his sister and protect her. Harold ignored all that was happening around him. If you were in his shoes, thest thing that would bother you were these people. Besides, he could understand them because he was about to do the same thing. Storming into the hot pce. But unlike them, he could freely enter. Tyra''s voice could be heard even before he went in. Her voice echoed off the walls, yelling to be released and promising death to everyone who contributed to throwing her into this ce. This pce... Harold had always hated it. Because Tyra was made to stay here whenever she was on her heat. But now... As the heavy door creaked open, Tyra''s messy appearance became evident. She had a wild and unkempt look; her clothes were dishevelled, and her once beautiful face was marred by an ugly scar, a cruel reminder of the darkness that had consumed her. Yet, despite her dishevelled state, there was a glimmer of excitement in her eyes as soon as she saw him, convinced he hade to rescue her. "My King! Oh, I knew you''de for me!" she eximed, her voice trembling with excitement and pain as she tried to embrace him. But the prince''s reaction was far from what she had expected. However, instead of embracing her, his face grew colder as he grabbed her by the neck, his grip tight and unyielding, effortlessly lifting her off the ground with a grip that disyed his immense strength as he choked her. Tyra gasped for breath, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to free herself from his unyielding grasp, but his hold was relentless. "W-Why? Why... are you d-doing this?" She managed to gasp between painful breaths. It seemed like the sound of her voice was a catalyst for his anger because he squeezed harder until it felt like she was going to die. "B-Brother!" She managed to choke out as tears streamed down her face, and her voice strained. Hearing that, Harold''s hold on her throat lessened, and he looked at his sister, Tyra, struggling for her life in his hand. Remembering all the times he had promised to be there for her. Remembering how he promised to protect her. She was one of the most important people to him. Remembering all of it, including her betrayal, broke him. The burst of emotion sent him growling, and with a powerful throw, he hurled her against the wall, and she crashed to the ground, a painful whimper escaping her lips. As she looked up at him with teary eyes, her hand instinctively went to her throat, feeling the marks he had left. She clutched her throat, trying to speak, but when she saw the anger and disdain in his misty eyes, she could only cry quietly. "You... betrayed me." He spoke in a pained tone and a broken voice. Not only him. She had betrayed everyone who loved her. Everyone who cared for her. She shook her head. "I... I didn''t....my king." Her head shook vigorously. "They deserved it! They''ve repeatedly hurt us!" She yelled, crying. He stared down at her, his eyes nk. She pleaded with him, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "You promised to support me, to be by my side! I thought I was the most precious person to you! Everyone can hate us, but we cannot hate each other!" Tyra''s sobs filled the room as she crawled on the ground to get to him. He continued to look at her. It seemed like even now, he was still hoping that it was all a lie. That Tyra was still Tyra. He shut his eyes for a moment before he opened them and said, "Be prepared for dawn." He turned to leave the room, but she panicked and cried out, not sure what that meant. But he didn''t turn back. The only turn he took was to turn his back on her. Tyra''s pleas fell on deaf ears as he turned to leave the room. Her cries and screams echoed behind him, but he remained resolute, unwilling to turn back. She reminded him of their bond and their promise to be by each other''s side and support one another. But he shut her out like she was some stranger. Outside, the crowd was still waiting anxiously, unsure of the prince''s decision. When he emerged, his face was a mask of pain and determination. "Justice will be served," he dered, his voice carrying a sombre authority. That was all he said before he walked away. Usually, he wasn''t the type to give them any kind of information, so it came as a surprise to them, and the fact that he was assuring them of getting Justice made some of them cry tears of joy. Harold and Tyra''s paths had diverged, and there was no turning back from the choices they had made. The consequences of her actions had left a permanent scar on both her face and her rtionship with her beloved brother, Prince Harold, forever. Chapter 465 The Long Summary (1) Chapter 465 The Long Summary (1) There were a plethora of things to fix at once, and Harold was not the type to waste time, especially when he was angry. So he had put everyone together outside the pce and not in the courtroom so that everyone, including the vigers, would watch firsthand. He had the royal golden token. Not that he needed it at this point, but he had it with him as a symbol of the authority he held in the pce right now. The Queen Damon Damian Tyra Ivan Were all there to face trial. As much as the crowd wanted nothing more than to stone them to death, they could do nothing and only wait for the leader to control everything. It wasn''t only those royal members; there were also some others. It was Agnes, the maid Tyra had instructed the pce guards to capture for her before the whole mess started. There were also two extras that Alvin had provided. Katherine and another strange-looking middle-aged woman who wasn''t familiar to any of them. She was behaving abnormally. She looked crazy and had a cloth stuffed inside her mouth to keep her from talking, shouting, or whatever. They were all on their knees, waiting for their fate. Despite Sir Rager looking like he was almost dead, he was also there, sitting in a chair, witnessing the whole thing. It seemed like whatever decision would be taken right now was what was still keeping him alive. "I will not hear a sound," Harold said darkly to everyone, but especially to some of the people in front ready to face trial, which included the queen and other maids. Ivan looked more angry than anything else. He had been loud throughout the night, yelling for Luciana to be brought to him, and when he was first brought here this morning, his eyes scanned the crowd, but she was not there. Tyra, on the other hand, looked like there was no meaning to her life. She looked like a picture of what a witch should look like, which Lance had talked about the other time. She even looked worse and more scary. But then her eyes were empty, and seeing her like this now, she looked so fragile that no one would believe the mess she had done to the pce. Alvin gestured to Lance to read out the draft of the entire situation to the crowd, and then he stepped up with a long scroll that had a novel summary of all that had urred. Most of the crowd was surprised, and some of them even began to low-key look down on Prince Harold for putting someone like that in charge when Lance was a terrible person only because his father was wealthy. Some noblemen were also frowning so much that their faces had wrinkled and they looked older all at once. First of all, Harold had looked down on their positions and brought them out here to stand with both women, children, and peasants. Secondly, there were a lot of honourable noblemen who could do that. So why was it Lance? His parents were staring at her child with pride, much to their annoyance. However, could they do anything about it other than whining within themselves? Lance began to read through He started from the beginning. "For the queen and Sir Damon''s usation. It has been said that an illicit affair had urred leading to the conception of who we''ve always recognized as our Princess..." He stared at Tyra briefly. It was difficult to conceal his disgust for her. He traced it down to the Queen and Damon getting rid of Sir Wilson for realizing this; however, their son had survived it and hadn''t been a victim of the situation back then. In fact, Sir Wilson was still charged with being in possession of potions and ingredients that had been long banned from the Moon Kingdom; he also did not destroy his book of lethal potions, all of which had been under the instruction of the former King. Damian just stared, his eyes zed. It felt like he had wasted all his life. All his effort. Everything. As much as he didn''t want to believe most of it, he could not continue to lie to himself. His father had not been as honourable as he had always imagined. Like an idiot, he thought his lovely father was the same as others in how he treated him. Peaceful, loving, and honourable. He tried to blink back tears, but he could not stop them. Now it was time for Damian''s crime, and it was even more than anyone had expected. Damian didn''t hide anything and just told them the entire truth when he was askedst night. He knew it was the end for him anyway. There was no will to live for him. His revenge had started when he came to the pce as a poor beggar, arming himself with potions for his revenge. His n was to do it slowly and quietly when no one was expecting it. He didn''t mind if it all happened in years. He wanted to ruin the entire Moon Kingdom, and he had to take his time. Damian had always been a smart kid. Even before he was 5, he was already mixing poisons, and he grew up to be awickedly smart adult. He had wanted to be more patient and wait for a while. But Harry had been too nice. He didn''t want to wait any longer for fear of growing attached to the young master. He hade for revenge, and that was what he would get. Feeding Harry Beta''s nightmare had been the start of it. But it hadn''t gone ording to n. The one Harry was supposed to kill was Ivan, the prince everyone hated so much. Since Ivan had been pretty wild, he hoped that when Harry continued to strike him like that, they would probably just end up killing each other. When Ivan heard this part, he looked up with wide eyes and turned to look at Damian, who had his eyes closed. Chapter 466 The Long Summary (2) Chapter 466 The Long Summary (2) It was either that Prince Harry had some low-key grievances against Harold or his mother had incited him too much because by the time Damian led him out and went to find Ivan, Harold had shown up in the training range, and things got crazy. Damian didn''t exactly hate Harold since he wasn''t from the queen; neither did he give anyone trouble and just lived quietly. But since he had gotten involved, he could not just stop now. So when both Harold and Harry were unconscious, he did it. He blew a poisonous powder at Harry. He didn''t want to take any chances and have Harry remember what he had done. But Tyra had seen him. And it was from that moment on, the brainwashing started. It was all to bring her to his side. And Tyra, a weak little girl with an inferiorityplex, had fallen for it. If Damian knew about the Queen and Damon''s affair, it was obvious he knew about Tyra too. He told the little girl. Reminded her of how Damon hated her. How the queen hated her. How everyone hated her because she hade from an illicit affair. It wasn''t difficult to believe because it was obvious. It was also very clear. How could an Alpha with a Beta birth an Omega girl like her? It was all clear. He had promised her this: One day, she would be the most feared ruler. And that was her only dream. But she had to put up with everything thrown at her for years for her dream to be realized. However, Damian had been thrown into prison to die after Harry''s death. Since he didn''t want to die there and end his revenge, he used another card. He knew where a witch was. He had met one a long time ago while he was trying to find his footing. It had been his gift to the queen. Since she hated Harold and feared he might take the throne after killing her son, they could restrict him from doing that. How about a curse to make him ineligible? It was only after the queen was satisfied with the oue that sheter released him after a long time, and he continued his service with her. And as he became loyal to the queen, helping her with all her atrocities, he was building Tyra secretly. He would use Tyra to destroy all of them, and then they would destroy her too, and the Moon Kingdom would be in ruins. It was his goal. A very long, detailed, and evil goal. The one that involved several potions and poisons. Killing Beth. Killing maids. Gathering rogues. For Tyra, she had also directly and indirectly hurt many people. And it was because Harold had refused to be ambitious. If he had been, she wouldn''t have gone this far. She had even tried to incite him several times by having hunters and even bandits attack him and kill Alicia too, but he still made no effort to dere war for the throne, so she had to help him do it all. Ivan would have died a long time ago. But she had been patient. He was like her catalyst because seeing him motivated her to do this more. He didn''t deserve a secret death that would make people suspect Harold for it, but a public execution. The type that would involve treason. Beth had always been torn in her flesh. Since Princess Amber was also annoying her, she wanted to make sure they both got rid of her. It was quite easy to get Beth. They only needed a letter in her father''s handwriting to tell her it was her chance to get rid of the princess tonight during the moon hunt and he would look out for her, also apologizing for the harsh words he had said to her earlier by theke. It had been easy for Damian to make that kind of letter with a simr style of writing as Sir Rager''s after copying one of the official letters he had sent to the pce. Beth had stupidly fallen for it. Damian had warned Tyra several times against harming Alicia directly since killing a witch came with a lot. It was why Tyra always wanted others to do it. It would have been easy if bothdies had killed each other and just gotten lost, leaving her to her king, who would love only her. Even if Alicia hadn''t died, the many doses of Beta''s nightmare would have made her crazy, as evidenced by the witch kneeling with them. Yes, she had been theirb rat. But as fate would have it, Tyra and Beth bumped into each other first. And Beth had been very nasty to her. She was going to die anyway, so why not earlier? She had descended upon Beth like a wild animal until Damian showed up to pull her away, shocked at the scene. He had also noticed she was having her episodes and quickly fed her the potion before she could go find Princess Amber too. Alicia''s head had conjured it wrongly. The one she had seen and imagined hadn''t been Beth because Beth was already dead even before she got down. It was Tyra. Always been her. She had wanted to just get it over with and kill Princess Amber that night. Whatever consequences came with it, she was ready to face themter. But that didn''t work. And more ns didn''t. It was all because of her. Susan wouldn''t have died either. She liked Susan even though she was annoying and liked to act like she was better and smarter than everyone just because she was fortunate to be born a Beta. Susan had seen her leave the pce that night after she bid goodnight to Harold and Alicia after hearing the tale Sir Richard told them about Prince Wilder and Queen Anne. She had followed Tyra, who was sneaking around, and that was how she found the secret door too and followed. Chapter 467 The Long Summary (3) Chapter 467 The Long Summary (3) Susan had followed Tyra, who was sneaking around, and that was how she found the secret door too and followed. Especially since she didn''t have any smell around her, she had been confident in tailing Tyra to see what she was up to. Remember how she had always been suspicious of the girl? But she had unfortunately been caught, especially when Tyra was in her crazy mood. "You are disgusting. And you will never get away with this." Susan had promised her just before Tyra scoffed at her, and also promised her that she would cry the loudest at her funeral and watch from the spirit world how she was going to take over the Moon Kingdom. But the same Tyra was here... as a prisoner. For Agnes, her crime was simple. Deceiving the pce by exchanging with herself and her sister. Her sister had unfortunately been Tyra''s pawn in this whole mess, and so when she was done being used, she was disposed of, and the same fate would have awaited her sister if she hadn''t been quick to hide before Alvin found her. The truth was revealed: Prince Harold had made her say it was the queen who ordered her to lie that Princess Amber killed Beth because he wanted to teach her what it felt like to simply take people''s word or believe as you pleased without investigating. Just like she had done to him when Harry died. Just like she had also done to Alicia. "You... are a monster..." The queen cried at Harold, feeling wronged. But should that be her problem right now? This was the problem with Lord Zealot''s descendants. They never wanted to take responsibility for their actions. They always wanted to me others. Katherine. She was in charge of the maid''s quarters and the maids'' health, but she had gone missing since the banquet night. She had learnt about Agnes and Matilda identally. And by mistake, she heard Tyra''s instruction to Matilda about feeding the potion to Princess Amber. Knowing that had put her life at risk and she had fled the pce. It was Damian who sent the information about Katherine to Susan. And he had done that only because he wanted to help her solve the puzzles she had been trying to solve. He was already fed up at that point since his and Tyra''s paths seemed to have diverged. He wanted to ruin her at once. But since he liked to remain in the shadows, he liked to use others. However, he hadn''t expected Susan to keep it all to herself. It was only after her life bore the risk that he realized what he had done to her. It was also when he realized he had messed up. He had liked her a little. She had been too different, brave, and naive to trust him. She was beautiful. And beautiful. For some reason, nothing made sense anymore after that, and he was tired of the whole thing. He was fed up. So he had captured Katherine himself. It was Tyra''s desire to kill her because she was the proof that not only had she lied that she hadn''t rted with ''Agnes'' before then, she had even instructed the girl to poison Princess Alicia. If she had died from normal poison, it would have been difficult to me the queen for it. But if she had something that would make her insane and fight to the death with Beth, it would have been different. Everyone knew who Beth was to the queen. But nothing had worked out. Nothing at all. Katherine had told them as much as she knew, but there was something else that she had done but vowed to take to her grave no matter what. Something... the king had made her do. For Ivan. He was innocent of all charges of treason except stabbing an aristocrat to escape the pce, attacking Harold with a poisoned sword, and harming Luciana badly. By the time Lance was done with the scroll, the crowd was left speechless. Everything was just too much to take in all at once. All eyes turned to Harold, whose countenance was making it difficult for anyone to utter even a gasp of disbelief at what they had all just heard. They all waited with bated breath for his judgment. Suddenly, Lance stepped down, and the royal head physician climbed up to give his report. If there was a single person who didn''t already hate Tyra by now, hearing about Alicia''s condition, especially finding out that she was with child, their hatred for Tyra soared, and this time, even Harold''s countenance could not stop the people. They yelled, pelted her with rotten goods, and shouted for her to be executed. But the said Tyra, who had been looking ahead with nk, unremorseful eyes, looked at Harold with betrayal as tears now clouded her eyes. "How... could you do this to me?" Tyra cried, heartbroken. "HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME BY CONCEIVING A CHILD WITH HER!" She yelled and began to cry, shaking her head. The crowd was stunned beyond words. If they already didn''t believe that she was crazy, they confirmed it now. "You must be desperately willing to die!" Lance said in anger, impatiently storming to where she was. No one bothered to stop him as he kicked her with all his might, sending her falling to the ground. "SHE MUST BE CRAZY!" "SHE HAS REALLY LOST IT!" The crowd couldn''t believe it and even Ivan looked at her in disgust while her mother simply shut her eyes. Harold looked at her with a nk expression. There was not a single sign of affection in his eyes as he watched his sister in that despicable state. It was funny that thest time he found Lance bullying Tyra, he had been the one to kick Lance. Now... "I will not let you die." Harold suddenly said, making the crowd go quiet as all eyes turned to look at him, some filled with disbelief. Chapter 468 The Long Summary (4) Chapter 468 The Long Summary (4) The vigers'' faith in Harold began to dwindle as they continued to wonder if he was trying to protect her despite all that she had done. With his pointed gaze on her, Harold continued. "Death is too easy for you." He added. "So you shall be alive. Everyone needs to remember you and what you have done. You... will remember what you have done." "You will be alive and see how everyone recovers from what you have done except for you." "You shall remain locked in the dungeon and never see the sun for as long... as you live." "That... is what you deserve." He concluded. His tone sounded pained. It was very clear that he was deeply hurt. They could all feel his pain. And as much as they wanted her to die, they felt that was even better. Lady Victoria hugged Williams, both quietly sobbing. Was this going to make them feel better? No. But they had no choice. "I...would rather die," Tyra said, shaking her head. "I WOULD RATHER DIE!" She yelled. "You cannot do this to me. Everything I did was for you! I DID IT FOR YOU!" She continued to shake her head in refusal, crying. "I would rather die!" "But you will live," Harold said before turning away from her. ording to the custom of the Moon Kingdom." Both didn''t react to the sentence, but the crowd cheered happily. This time, it was Alvin who stepped up to read the remaining sentence. "Sir Damon and Damian shall both be executed by the morrow ording to the custom of the Moon Kingdom." Both didn''t react to the sentence, but the crowd cheered happily. "Queen Arya shall be stripped of her Queenly title and all of its benefits. She shall bear no regal name. No title. No grace. She will never step foot in the Moon Kingdom for as long as she lives. In exile, she shall remain." She shook her head. She refused. "You can''t do this to me. I am the queen! I am the queen of this kingdom!" She cried. "I want the king. Get me the king..." She looked at Ivan, who was a few paces beside her and tried to reach for him. "Ivan... save me. You... you are the King''s heir. You will be the King. Save your mother." He looked sorry for his mother, but at the same time, his eyes were filled with disgust. He was fed up. "If you hadn''t given birth to that disgusting thing... none of these would have happened. And... Luciana would... have¡ª" He exhaled sharply and looked up to blink back tears. The queen stared at him with teary eyes in disbelief, refusing to believe that he had chosen Luciana over her. "Enough with the drama. Unless you desire to be executed publicly!" Alvin snapped at the queen coldly, who was interrupting his flow. The crowd was relieved when her cries died down; they were already irritated by her antics. They could not believe that that woman had been upying such a dignified position for so many years. It was a big disgrace to the Moon Kingdom''s name. Alvin''s eyes moved to the maids, Katherine and Agnes before he looked at the scroll in his hands and continued reading. "The maids shall... leave the pce at once and live freely wherever they choose with as much gold to sustain them for only a year." Bothdies looked up at him at once, thinking they had heard wrong since they were both waiting to hear their execution dates. They then looked in Prince Harold''s direction in disbelief. Although people may think Katherine had done nothing wrong but only escaped to save her life after learning something she wasn''t supposed to, she had kept the information to herself and even ran from her duty post. It was enough for her to be executed, as the issue wouldn''t have escted this much if she had reported it earlier. So being pardoned was something that came as a shock. Agnes, too, hadn''t expected it. She hadn''t expected to be forgiven for her deceit and the fact that her sister had aided and abetted Tyra in her actions. The maids burst into tears, crying in gratitude with their heads down. The crowd was, however, not impressed by this. As far as they were concerned, everyone kneeling there was supposed to be killed. They all deserved it. They had lost their rtives and had their properties destroyed by wild men because all these people had contributed in one way or another. None of them deserved to be pardoned. "The strange woman will be properly cared for by the royal physician until she is sound and well." Alvin read out. Nah. Not the witch too. They didn''t like that. Why should the royal physician care for a witch? And she wasn''t only a witch like Princess Amber kind of witch; she had also ced the curse on Harold. "Do you have a problem with it?" Alvin asked the crowd in a dark tone that had them all shaking their heads at once. He red at them before he returned to reading. "Prince Ivan..." Everyone waited. Some hoped he would face the same punishment as his mother, at least. First of all, he was not liked by anyone. Secondly, they all knew how he had tried to kill Prince Harold and also killed his wife in the process. Thirdly, they weren''t even sure if he was a real Prince. What if he was also the son of Sir Damon? "His punishment... will be determined by the King," Alvin announced, much to their disappointment. "He is not to be imprisoned. However, every authority he has as a Prince shall no longer be effective until the King makes a decision and decides otherwise." "That is impossible!" Ivan yelled in disbelief. "You dare not do this to me!" He yelled at Harold in anger, and Harold, who had been quiet, said in a cold and determined voice, "I can do that to you and even more. You should be grateful you can still talk." Harold answered him coldly, making him speechless as he looked around for someone to at least point out that this was nonsense. Harold didn''t have any right to put a restriction on his authority. It was not possible. He would not allow it. Chapter 469 WHATS!!! Chapter 469 WHATS!!! When the rest thought it had all been settled, most of the noblemen were unprepared to receive the shock of their lives as Alvin spoke again, but he didn''t start with the serious issue. "Every nobleman is free to leave the pce with their families as all restrictions have been lifted." They sighed in relief. Finally, they could return to their residence, where they could breathe freely. "However, for every nobleman who insisted on shutting the pce doors against Princess Amber and the royal guards, they are all to be stripped of their titles and every incentive they receive from the pce immediately and never to hold any titles other than that of amoner for the rest of their lives." WHAT! They all froze. The only ones who rejoiced were the peasants who had had enough of them. "HOWEVER!" Alvin bellowed in a loud voice to get all their attention. "For the sake of their Lady wives, who stood guard by the doors, their sons would be pardoned and allowed to hold titles. And if they do not have sons but daughters... their daughters... will be weed as noblewomen in the court." WHAT! WHAT!! WHAT!!! So many WHATS! This announcement was the biggest shock of everything. Their daughters would be allowed to hold titles in the court? HOW? WHY? However, no one could challenge the decree. Even the young daughters of such families could not wrap their heads around it. It was just too... unbelievable. ******** It was difficult to be a ruler. Because you didn''t have the time to dwell in your own sorrow when there were so many other things to take charge of. Alvin watched Harold hunched over his desk in the royal study, the dim candlelight casting shadows on his fatigued face. Harold was mentally and physically drained. It was as clear as day. And he had been working nonstop without rest, trying to put the pce in order. Alvin knew this was just him trying not to dwell in the anguish over his bride, who was constantly being treated. He didn''t want to interrupt. He had told the royal physician to do his best, so he didn''t want to pressure him until good news was brought to him. As Harold perused through the stack of letters and notes, a knock sounded on the door. Even before the knock came, they had both already sensed it, but Harold had sensed it even longer and knew it was Luciana. Alvin opened the door, and Luciana entered with her maid in tow. Her once radiant beauty was now overshadowed by a ghostly pallor, evidence of the incident that had almost imed her life. Or maybe it did. Harold stood up, his eyes filling with pity as he looked at her. Tears welled up in her maid''s eyes as she conveyed her mistress''s wish. "My... mistress wishes to cut ties... with her parents and be allowed to leave the pce." Harold looked at Luciana with concern andpassion, understanding the torment she must be enduring. "Do you... have any ce in mind you wish to go to?" He asked Luciana quietly. Luciana slowly shook her head, looking like a lost little girl who needed help, and once again, Alvin looked away. Harold wished he could look away. "If leaving the pce is truly what your heart desires, I shall provide you with enough gold to ensure yourfort," Harold said gently, his voice carrying both sorrow and understanding. "Thank you... My Prince." Leana said, sobbing quietly as she reached to hold Luciana''s hand, who looked at Harold with eyes wet with gratitude. "Let us be alone," Harold said to Alvin, who nodded and looked at Leana, to follow him out. She bowed once more to Harold before she left, leaving her mistress and Harold inside the room. Harold then hesitantly reached for a letter among the pile on his table and turned to face her again while handing it to her. "I stumbled upon this. Whatever you decide to do with this information, know that I will stand by your side and support you." It looked like he was still hesitating to give it to her, but then he released it when her trembling hands reached for it. Luciana opened the aged parchment slowly. Her eyes scanned the words, and her expression shifted from confusion to shock and then to heartbreak as she read the note. It was a medical diagnosis of Ivan. Written long before her marriage to him. He was incapable of fathering a child. "It is only known to the Royal physician. And... the King." Harold added quietly. "He... had no idea either." He was referring to Prince Ivan. The weight of the revtion crushed Luciana''s spirit, and she let out a gut-wrenching sob, only to be further pained by the fact that her voice could no longer convey her anguish. Instead, she whimpered incoherently, her tears betraying the depth of her emotional turmoil. Her entire body shook, and the tears dropped in the note, each liquid on the note making the words even bolder. Feeling a mix of guilt and empathy, Harold reached out tofort her, but she stepped back as if needing topose herself. With a determination born from pain, she moved to the nearby candle and held the note to its flickering me, her body still shaking as she sobbed. The parchment caught fire, and as it turned to ashes, it felt like a cathartic release of long-held secrets. That was her choice. Ivan didn''t need to learn about this. Once the note had been reduced to nothing more than charred remains, Luciana turned back to Harold. Her eyes were red and swollen; her voice was lost, but her gratitude and grief were palpable. She bowed deeply before him, a gesture that spoke volumes of her respect and appreciation for his understanding. Then she turned, and before she finally left the room, a startled sob escaped her lips, and she clutched her chest tightly. Chapter 470 Mere excuses Chapter 470 Mere excuses Despite all that had happened recently, the grand castle stood as a formidable symbol of power and history. Its stone walls echoed with tales of love, betrayal, and duty, and within those ancient walls, a family''s legacy unraveled amidst a tumultuous struggle for the throne. Prince Harold''s heart weighed heavy with the burden of his father''s choices as he cautiously approached the King''s chamber. The air inside was thick with the scent of aged wood and flickering candles, casting a warm and somber glow. It wasn''t as if the room had once been filled withughter and counsel, but it felt even stranger now, unlike the previous times he had been here. It seemed to carry an air of mncholy. As Harold stepped inside, his eyes fell upon the sight of his father lying on the opulent bed, his once-mighty frame now frail and vulnerable. The King''s face bore the marks of time, etched with lines of experience, but it was evident that illness had taken its toll. "Father," Harold''s voice trembled with emotion, "open your eyes." His voice came out as an order. The King stirred from his slumber, his eyes fluttering open to meet his son''s gaze. "Harold," he said weakly, a hint of regret in his weary voice. Harold looked down at his father with disappointment etched on his face. "Is this what you truly wanted, Father?" he asked, trying to hold back the rising tide of frustration. "To see chaos and suffering consume the pce and our people?" The King''s long stare remained on his face before he dragged himself to sit up on the bed to look at his son''s disappointed face. King Eli''s response was tinged with an air of indifference, as if he had long relinquished his hold on the kingdom''s fate. As expected of him. "You could have left when I asked you to," he murmured. Harold''s heart ached at his father''s nonchnce. "Your indifference costs lives!" he eximed, his voice tinged with sorrow. "Lives that could have been spared if you had taken your duty seriously. If you had just continued to be a King and not chosen to give up now!" But then, in a moment of vulnerability, the King confessed a secret that had weighed heavily on his soul. "I loved your mother deeply, Harold," he whispered, his eyes clouded with sorrow. "You should understand how I feel¡ª" "THAT HAS NOTHING¡ª" "When she passed, a part of me died with her." Eli interrupted his snap. "I''ve been holding on, but now... now I long to rest." Harold''s anger momentarily wavered, reced by a flood of empathy for the man who had been his father. He had never understood the depth of his father''s pain and heartache until recently. Until he had someone he loved dearly and did not want to imagine life without her. But even with that, many lives were at stake. And all this would have long been avoided, especially since he could swear his father knew most of what had happened even in secret. So Harold could not let him off the hook that easily. "Those are mere excuses," he retorted, his voice resolute. "You must take care of the kingdom. And you should say goodbye to yourdy wife before she leaves." The King''s eyes seemed to harden as he looked back at his son. "I have my own matters to attend to, Father. And I won''t hold onto the throne for you any longer." A sad smile graced the King''s lips as he seemed to drift back into his memories. "Can you see it now, Harold?" he mused. See what? "The emptiness, the loneliness, the weariness thates with the throne?" Harold''s heart was twisted with conflict. This whole thing was difficult for him. Especially since he could not pretend like he wasn''t aware. He simply turned away from his father, silently acknowledging the painful truth thaty between them. Without another word, Harold left the chamber, the heavy door closing softly behind him. As he walked away, his mind was a whirlwind of emotions, grappling with the weight of his father''s mistakes and the responsibility that now rested on his shoulders. After a long period of seclusion, the King finally stepped out of his chamber, much to the surprise of everyone. With so many people currently leaving the pce, more people bumped into him and bowed, but there was no denying that the respect and adoration they had for him had dwindled significantly. The king didn''t mind. He looked even more sickly than before, but it was evident that his affliction was not merely physical; it was a deep and haunting torment of the soul. His steps led him to the repentance room, where Queen Arya, his estranged wife, knelt in prayer, preparing herself for the painful journey of exile. As she heard the soft creaking of the door, she turned, and her eyes met the once-familiar gaze of her husband. The sight of him, so changed from the strong andmanding man she had once known, struck Arya to the core. Her heart ached with regret and longing as she fell to her knees before him, tears streaming down her face. "Please, My Lord," she pleaded, her voice breaking, "forgive me. Do not believe the lies they spread about me. I never meant to betray you." But instead of offering forgiveness, the King looked down at her with a mixture of sorrow and coldness. "Did you truly believe that you would remain on your high horse forever, Arya?" he questioned, his voice distant and filled with disappointment. Her heart sank at his words, and she clung to the hope that her husband would see the truth in her eyes. "I loved you, My King," she said, her voice quivering with emotion. "And my father... he helped your reign run smoothly. My family has always been there for this kingdom. I am sorry. Do not let the son of a ve do this to us. The Moon Kingdom will be mocked forever! Chapter 471 I Am Petty ? The King stared down at her with nk eyes as she cried pitifully. "Please...You can do it. Let''s... Let''s go back to how we were. I am sorry. I will apologize to everyone. Ivan... Ivan is your heir. I am your queen! Remember all my ancestors have done for this kingdom. Remember how my father helped you..." A bitter smile twisted the corners of the King''s lips as he shook his head slowly. "If your father indeed helped me run this kingdom smoothly, why did I put in a lot of effort to make him have a rough death?" he retorted, his tone sharp and taunting. Arya''s eyes widened in shock, unable to fathom the truth her husband was revealing. "No," she gasped, "that can''t be true. My father was loyal to you. You... were loyal to him!" The King''s gaze hardened as he continued, his wordsced with pain and bitterness. "Did you truly think I was unaware of your schemes, Arya?" he questioned, his voice low and filled with usation. "Did you believe I didn''t know about Tyra? Or that night when you tried to make me lie with you to conceal the evidence of your crime?" Arya''s breath caught in her throat, and her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn''t believe what she was hearing. "Eli... please," she pleaded, her voice desperate, "I... never meant to betray you. I loved you, even though we were forced into this marriage. But... my f-father..." The King''s expression remained cold and unyielding as if he had already made up his mind. "Your actions have consequences, Arya," he dered, his voice devoid of emotion. "You killed so many people, even Maria, and you buried your sins deep enough for others not to know. You... were smart." The weight of her sins and the depth of her husband''s knowledge crushed Arya''s spirit, leaving her feeling utterly exposed. "I... I did what I had to do," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I had to protect myself, my position, and our children. I''m... sorry. But I always loved you." She cried bitterly and shook her head, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "It was a mistake. Damon... it was a mistake. I was... I was lonely. I don''t know why I did that. I... I don''t know. I was stupid..." she cried. For the first time, she sounded genuinely remorseful. He still looked down at her; not even a flicker of wistful sadness flickered in his eyes. There were no signs of pity. Of love. He had always hated her. "You were clever; I will admit that," he said, his voice tinged with bitterness. He crouched down to look her squarely in the eyes. "But your daughter was smarter than you." He said quietly. "She was an Omega. Yet she was very smart, very strong, and always appeared to be weak. Unlike you, who I could tell all you were up to, I could not always tell for her." "She was just like her grandfather. But unlike him, who sumbed to his madness and only killed your mother and those around him, Tyra did a lot more. So much for her name to always be remembered for as long as the Moon Kingdom exists. She... even poisoned me too." He let out an amusedugh. Arya''s eyes widened in shock, unable to fathom what her husband was talking about. "W-What... is that... supposed to mean?" She asked with a trembling voice, withdrawing from him a little. "I am petty." He said and stood up. Tears flowed freely down Arya''s cheeks as she realized the full extent of her husband''s revenge. He was suddenly unrecognizable to her. The King''s demeanour remained stoic as he spoke with an air of finality. "Your actions have consequences, Arya," he repeated. "And now, you and your children will bear the weight of those consequences." Desperation filled Arya''s heart as she reached out towards her husband, but he stepped back, out of her reach. "Please, My King," she implored, "forgive me. I never meant for things to turn out this way." "Forgiveness cannot erase the past," he said sadly. "The damage has been done, and the price must be paid. Ivan is my son. So rest assured, nothing else will happen to him." As Arya continued to weep, the King turned to leave the room, his steps heavy with the weight of his own regrets. But before he walked away, he spoke onest sentence that pierced Arya''s heart like a dagger. "Remember this, Arya," he said with a hint of sorrow, "your family''s lineage ends with this generation. The sins of the past will not be passed on." With those words hanging in the air like a haunting echo, the King left the repentance room, leaving Arya on her knees, shattered and heartbroken. Her world had crumbled around her, and the consequences of her actions had finally caught up to her. Arya bellowed loudly, her cries reaching the ends of the Moon Kingdom, but it was the end of her. The exile of Queen Arya marked the end of her glory days, leaving behind a legacy tainted by deceit and treachery. The people, still reeling from the revtions, looked to their Prince Harold with hope, yearning for a leader who would bring justice andpassion to the kingdom. Because as far as they were concerned, that was neither King Eli nor Prince Ivan. As the sun set over the ancient castle, painting the sky in hues of gold and crimson, Harold stood by theke, his heart heavy with the weight of responsibility. He knew that the road ahead would be arduous, filled with challenges and difficult decisions. There was still no good news. And as the winds whispered through the castle walls, carrying with them the echoes of a painful past, Harold vowed to learn from the mistakes of his father and to protect the ones he loved no matter what. He wanted to believe that in the midst of darkness, there remained a glimmer of hope for a brighter future. Chapter 472 A Sad Love Story ? The majestic pce still stood tall, witnessing the final act of a bittersweet love story. Luciana, the once vibrant and spirited princess, had lost her voice and, with it, the ability to express her deepest emotions. Her time in this world was limited, and the weight of that knowledge weighed heavily on her heart. As she prepared to leave the pce, her parents stood before her, her mother''s eyes brimming with tears. Luciana''s mother clung to her, her sobs echoing through the corridor. But Luciana was numb to everything and just kept heading out with Leana. "Luciana, please," the woman pleaded, her voice choked with emotion, "don''t go. Stay here with your husband. Or you can leave with us." Only moments before, Luciana had bid farewell to Harvey, whoy ill in his chamber from the deep stab he had taken. Their banter and sharedughter outside the pce now seemed like distant memories. The thought of Harvey''s frail form haunted her, and the impending funeral of her beloved friend, Susan, was more than she could bear. Tears flowed freely when she approached the room where Susan''s lifeless bodyy and stood outside the door. Luciana knelt and bowed her head, ovee with grief, and bid farewell to one of the women who had made her short life worthwhile in only the short time they spent with each other. Tomorrow would mark the final goodbye as the kingdom mourned the loss of their beloved Susan. With a heavy heart, Luciana turned away from her parents, her maid, Leana, by her side, offering silent support. They approached the waiting carriage that would carry them away from the pce¡ªfrom the kingdom she had known her entire life. As she was about to step into the carriage, Prince Ivan appeared, his robes hastily thrown on, his eyes wild with desperation. He had been in the middle of his bath, preparing to see her again after he had been repeatedly turned down when he received the news of her departure, so he was damp all around and ran down here on his bare feet. Desperate, Ivan reached out to hold her arm, his voice trembling. "My... Love, please," he implored, but Luciana kept her gaze averted, unwilling to meet his pleading eyes. Ignoring everything else, he fell to his knees before her, tears streaming down his face. "I will change, Luciana," he promised, his voice filled with desperation. "I will be a better husband. I swear to love you as you deserve." He grabbed her hand even tighter. "P-Please..." Those around watched in pity. As much as they all hated Ivan, they felt bad for him and his fate. But even more, they felt bad for Luciana. From the other side, tears were streaming down Luciana''s face. She tried to pull her hand away by force, but he refused to let go. He refused to give up on their love and stood up, pulling her into a tight embrace, trying to convey his feelings through touch and gesture. Tears streamed down his face as he held her, promising to not let her out of his sight. Luciana kept trying to push him away, but he refused to let go. "I will go with you!" He dered. "I... can''t live without you. Let''s go anywhere. I don''t mind it." She continued to push him away, crying quietly. Ivan''s embrace got even tighter, holding her close as if trying to etch her presence into his soul. "I love you." He said desperately. He wished he could hear her voice and hear her say that she loved him too. But he knew that her love transcended words. He wanted her to stay. Or at least let him leave with her. He didn''t care about this stupid kingdom. She was all he had. Lance approached from behind. He hesitated for only a second before he dragged Ivan from behind, pulling him away from her. Everyone had thought a fight would ensue next, but rather, Ivan''s teary eyes looked at Lance, and he begged, "Help me make her stay. Please. She... is leaving me." Ivan shook his head and said, "I can''t lose her." He pleaded, his voice cracking with sorrow. "Please, help me convince her to stay." When Ivan turned to her parents, the bystanders, the pce staff, and even the nobles who had gathered, hoping that someone would intervene, he found only sad and sympathetic gazes. No one dared to intrude upon the intimate struggle of a heartbreaking love story. In fact, some seemed to look at him in disgust since he was not behaving like a man right now, and this even confirmed to most of them that he didn''t even deserve to sit on the foot of the throne. Luciana sniffled and turned to look at him, her teary eyes filled with sorrow and... love. She reached up to touch his face, tracing his features with a tender touch that conveyed more than any words ever could. And then she gently reached for his hand and pressed a gentle kiss on his palm, her touch lingering as if trying to etch the memory of her warmth into his soul. He grabbed her hand just before she could turn away again, gazing into her eyes, searching for the words that were forever lost in her silence. She drew back her hand and turned to get into the carriage, leaving a broken Ivan staring dumbly at her. Ivan''s desperation reached a breaking point, and he grabbed a dagger from Lance''s belt, holding it to his own throat as he locked eyes with her through the open carriage window. "I will kill myself if you leave," he dered, tears blurring his vision. In a panic, Lance tried to wrestle the dagger from Ivan''s grip, but he was no match for the Prince''s desperation. Ivan held the de closer to his throat, drawing out a trickle of blood. Luciana looked at him through tear-filled eyes. But she couldn''t let his actions change her decision. Ivan clung to the de, his eyes pleading for her to change her mind. She looked like she was going to start crying soon, and then her hand reached to slide the window closed, but just before it closed, Luciana looked back onest time, her eyes locking with Ivan''s. In that silent exchange, they shared a lifetime of love and memories, the unspoken words of their hearts forever etched into their souls. As the carriage carried her away from the pce, Ivan panicked and chased after it, his tears flowing freely. Lance hurriedly restrained him, calling for some guards toe take him inside. But Ivan wouldn''t be Ivan if he gave up easily. He was going to find her. He would find her. No matter what. Chapter 473 Goodbye... Chapter 473 Goodbye... In the dew of dawn, as the sun''s rays slowly crept over the horizon, a scene of heartbreak unfolded outside the pce. Susan''s lifeless bodyy wrapped in a coarse sack, awaiting its final fate on the prepared wood for her burial. The hushed whispers and stifled sobs of the gathered crowd at the pce created an eerie backdrop to the heartbreak that had befallen the castle. The silent cries and pitiful gazes were directed at Susan''s grief-stricken parents, Lady Victoria and her husband, Sir Evan. Lady Victoria, once known for her grace and poise, was now crumpled to her knees, her soul torn asunder by grief. Her sobs echoed through the courtyard, making the air heavy with sorrow. Sir Evan, usually a pir of strength, was reduced to a broken man, clinging to his wife as if she were his only lifeline in this world. The grief weighed heavily on all their hearts, and they struggled to find the strength to bid Susan a final farewell. Amid the mourners, one figure was conspicuously absent¡ªSusan''s twin brother, Williams. A sombre Prince Harold, who had authority over the burial proceedings, had not yet given the go-ahead for her body to be set alight. It seemed that they were hesitating, hoping that Williams would appear in time to say his goodbye. As the moments stretched on, it seemed that Williams had indeed nned not to witness this and bid his sister a final farewell. With a heavy heart, Harold mentally prepared himself to give the go-ahead for the pyre to be ignited. Just then, in a desperate rush, Williams appeared, and all eyes turned to him. His eyes were swollen from crying, and his face was contorted with grief. His legs nearly gave way as he approached his sister''s lifeless form, the weight of the loss bearing down on him like a crushing wave. Tears welled up in his eyes, and with trembling hands, he gently pulled down the coarse cloth covering Susan''s face to catch ast glimpse of his beloved sister. "Good...bye, Susan," Williams whispered, his voice choked with tears. "We''ll meet again... as siblings. And... I''ll protect you with my life like I should have before." The air was thick with grief and unspoken emotions, and he leaned in to kiss her forehead gently, his tears falling onto her cold skin. As he covered her head and turned away from the pyre, the wood was set on fire, but he couldn''t bear to watch. The mes roared to life, consuming Susan''s remains, while Williams stumbled away, his heart heavy with unbearable grief as tears streamed down his face while his mother''s cries grew louder. The onlookers couldn''t help but weep openly, their tears mixing with the dew on the grass. Paulina had her hands covering her mouth as she wept. Among the crowd, Harold, Lance, and Alvin were also visibly moved by the heart-wrenching sight. Lance did not try to hide his tears, allowing them to flow freely in remembrance of the only girl he had fancied. On the other hand, Alvin appeared moreposed, his grief veiled behind a stoic exterior. But as the wind brushed his cheek, a single tear escaped his eye, betraying the pain he felt in his heart. Meanwhile, inside the pce, in a dimly lit chamber, an unconscious Aliciay in her room, tears streaming down her cheeks as if she sensed the loss of her friend, mirroring the collective pain that pervaded the castle. And slowly... her eyes opened. Later, Paulina sought out Williams in the painting room, knowing he would be there. And she was right. She found him sitting alone, looking empty and depressed. "My... Lord," she said gently, her voice trembling with sympathy. That got his attention, and he looked up, his eyes empty and filled with sadness. "I... brought you something." She handed him two carefully rolled painting scrolls. He epted them, and when he unrolled the first one, he found a portrait of Susan, captured in her most radiant smile. Tears welled up in his eyes as he beheld the beauty of the portrait, cherishing the memories it evoked. But it was the second painting that truly overwhelmed him. In the image, he and Susan are depicted together in a river, yfully sshing water at each other andughing. The nostalgia hit him like a tidal wave, and he could hardly contain his emotions, sobbing as he gazed at the likeness of his beloved sister and the moments they had shared only recently. "I... am so sorry for your loss," Paulina whispered, her own eyes welling up with tears. "I hope you''ll always remember the happy memories you shared with Susan and find some sce in them and the promise of your reunion one day." Unable to hold back his emotions any longer, Williams broke down in tears, and for the first time, Paulina initiated the embrace as she also cried. Williams wrapped his arms around her, tightening the hug so hard that it felt like he was going to crush her. He sobbed bitterly and thanked her. What exactly was he thanking her for? He didn''t state it. With a trembling voice, Williams confided, "I''m leaving the pce with my parents," Her heart dropped, and she stiffened immediately. "But I wille back." He added. "It won''t...be long." Paulina nodded, her hold around him tightening as her tears flowed freely. "Do not go anywhere," His broken voice was a mixture ofmand and plea. She nodded, sniffing. "I... won''t." "Wait for me until I return." Paulina cried, and she nodded, too heartbroken to speak anymore. She could only remain in the tight embrace, knowing that after now, it was uncertain when she would see him again. "I''ll miss you, Paulina," Williams whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "Greatly." "I''ll... miss you too, Williams," she responded. With a heavy heart, Williams left the room with the painting. As he walked away, Paulina stood there, tears streaming down her face, watching him until he disappeared from view, hoping for the day he would return. But even more than that, she hoped his heart would heal. Chapter 474 Goodnight... brother. Chapter 474 Goodnight... brother. In the cold, damp depths of the ancient castle, the King and Sir Richard walked silently, their footsteps echoing through the stone passages. Torches flickered against the oppressive darkness, casting eerie shadows that danced like spectres on the walls. The air was heavy with the weight of unspoken words. Sir Richard''s heart pounded in his chest as he ventured deeper into thebyrinthine dungeon. He had mustered all his courage to ask the King for permission to leave the pce with his family and to abandon the life of nobility that had once seemed so desirable. But it wasn''t just about leaving; it was about setting his son free. Free from everything. As for Harvey''s health, he would find the best physician to nurse him back to health. But the King had not given him an answer. Instead, he had led him here without any words. Finally, they arrived at a hidden chamber, its entrance concealed behind an ancient stone door that bore the marks of time and secrecy. The King pushed it open, and he stepped in, Sir Richard following behind him uncertainly, but he hadn''t expected to see what was right there. The sight that greeted Sir Richard was heart-wrenching. At the centre of the roomy a simple, weathered gravestone, a haunting reminder of a life lost too soon. Sir Richard''s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw this. "Prince Wilder," He whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. At once, he was back to his youthful self in his mind, remembering those memories. Tears welled in his eyes, and his legs gave way, falling to his knees as he felt his heart breaking. How... was he here? When...? The King''s gaze softened, and he ced aforting hand on Sir Richard''s shoulder. "I had to keep his body hidden here," he began, his voice heavy with sorrow as he turned his eyes to the grave of his brother. Sir Richard could understand why without being told, and it made him sob even more. They had branded Wilder a traitor, and that meant his body was to be mutted and discarded if he had been found by the others first. No matter what had happened in the past, Eli had always deeply loved his brother. Without all thebels and shes for power, they would have lived as two loving brothers, enjoying hunting, sparring between themselves, and most importantly, being able to be beside the women they loved dearly. He couldn''t bear the thought of such indignity for his own brother, even in death. Wilder did not deserve that. "I have been hoping for the day I could give him a proper burial and send him off to our ancestors," Eli added in a tight voice. Sir Richard''s heart ached at the King''s confession. The bond between the two men ran deep¡ªfar deeper than anyone would have imagined. And he had been with Wilder for years, so he knew that King Eli was very important to Wilder. Even when he was frustrated with his choices, he still worried about him. Sir Richard''s tears fell freely as the evidence of his betrayal was brought right before his eyes, reminding him of the kind of youth he had been. "I... found sce in here." the King continued, his voice barely above a whisper. "I could only share my burdens with him." Eli turned to look at Sir Richard. "Let Harvey stay. He will be treated until he is fine. If he chooses... allow him to be for Harold what we couldn''t be for our brothers." Overwhelmed with emotion, Sir Richard''s tears grew louder. All signs of his nobility were lost. He was here. Before his master. Before his friend. He had been disloyal. He choked out, his voice raw with grief. "I... am s-sorry for failing you." He was sorry for everything. He had thought that if he were given the opportunity to make a decision again, he would choose the same thing. But only now have his eyes cleared. Wilder had been his brother. His friend. He wouldn''t have done it. He shouldn''t have done it. Sir Richard cried, his voice echoing all over. The King shook his head. Putting aside his name, his title, and his dignity, he knelt beside Sir Richard, and their torches cast dancing shadows around them. He was only but a little brother here. No King. No Alpha. If only he could return to those days. Those simple days with his brother and friends. "You were never at fault." He whispered. "It was the machinations of others that brought this tragedy upon us." Richard shook his head, refusing to ept that. He had greatly contributed to this. In that solemn moment, the King made a profound request. "Will you do thisst favour for me, Richard? Let us... apany him on his final journey." His friend. His brother. Through tear-blurred eyes, Sir Richard nodded, his heart heavy with the weight of duty and love. "Yes, my King. I will stand by him until the end." The night wore on as the King and Sir Richard emerged from the depths of the castle, solemnly carrying the heavy casket containing Prince Wilder''s body. The pce courtyard was illuminated by the glow of moonlight, and curious gazes followed the procession. As the pyre was erected, the air was thick with sorrow and anticipation. The mes rose high, consuming the casket along with the bracelet and painting of Wilder''s beloved which he had found deeply locked in Wilder''s royal safe. Sir Richard stood at a distance, his heart heavy with the memories of his cherished friend, now reduced to ashes. As the fire burned, the King looked at the mes with teary eyes, whispering a low, "Good night... brother." Sir Richard''s breath caught in his throat as he also said his goodbyes to him. It was long overdue, but he was grateful for the chance to bid him a proper farewell. In the flickering light of the pyre, under the watchful gaze of the moon and the curious eyes of the pce members, Prince Wilder was sent off to rest in peace. Chapter 475 Light Is Just Light To Itself... ? Prince Harold stood with a heavy heart outside Alicia''s chamber as the physician attended to Alicia, whose frail figurey upon the bed. The air outside was heavy with tension, and the prince could feel the weight of his worries pressing down upon him. Alvin, as usual, was beside him. But it wasn''t only them outside. Paulina was out there and so was Lance, who had wanted to check up on the situation but found this tense atmosphere and waited with them. Paulina was in tears, her trembling hands sped in a fervent prayer for her mistress''s recovery. Lance, stood by their side, his face etched with concern for Alicia and also Harold. All he had experienced in this short time had taken a toll on him. He wished it was all a bad dream and hoped he would wake up and find himself back in that disgusting inn with disgusting foods thrown at him. He would pick that over anything else. Earlier, the others had all been inside the chamber but had been kicked out. Not exactly ''kicked out'', but the physician had asked them all, especially Harold to leave the room. The physician, with furrowed brows and a sombre countenance, tried his best to alleviate Alicia''s suffering, but the cause of her pain remained a mystifying enigma. Her heartache seemed to defy exnation, and her fevered body emitted an intense heat that engulfed the room like an inferno. The man well-versed in the medical arts, could only shake his head in frustration at his inability to pinpoint the source of her agony. Harold''s heart ached in tandem with his beloved''s torment, and the sight of her suffering tore at his soul. Alvin, despite the deep and empty hole in his heart, stood by his side, trying to console him, yet unable to fathom the depths of Harold''s despair. They both knew they couldn''t ease her pain, and it was a helpless feeling that engulfed them. In the midst of their distress, the physician had implored Harold to remain outside the chamber. It was an agonizing decision, for every fibre of the prince''s being yearned to be at her side, yet the physician had noticed something peculiar. Alicia''s health showed a slight improvement when Harold was even a little bit further away from her. And her relief was quite apparent when he exited the room at the physician''s suggestion. It was an inexplicable phenomenon, but one they couldn''t afford to ignore. Maybe it had to do with his mark which she bore on her neck? Harold had reluctantly agreed to wait, his heart heavy with the knowledge that he might be causing her more suffering merely by being near. s, love had turned into a torment for him, as he felt torn between his yearning to be with her and the possibility of easing her pain by staying away. Minutes dragged on like an eternity, the atmosphere was fraught with grief and worry, and finally, the physician emerged from the chamber with a heavy sigh. His expression was grim as he approached the anguished prince with all the worried eyes on him. "She is resting now, my Prince," he spoke softly, trying to conveypassion amid the despair. "But I would still advise waiting a while longer before entering. There is something peculiar about her condition that I cannot fullyprehend." Harold''s heart sank further, but he understood the physician''s rationale. He nodded reluctantly, fighting back the burst of frustration and sorrow he felt. "Do what you can, and I shall wait," he murmured, trying to hold onto a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness that surrounded him. But the look in the man''s eyes told him there was only a limit to what he could do. The conversation they had had earlier still stood but Harold ignored the look in the man''s eyes. As far as he was concerned, something would be done. Paulina, however, did not wait. She opened the door and rushed into the chamber, crying in relief when she saw Alicia. Alicia looked very pale, weak and sickly. But she still managed a smile at her and then her eyes looked outside and spoke faintly, her voice trembling with emotion, "It''s tonight. The... blood moon will soon be out." Paulina did not know what that meant. Neither did she care about that. She went closer and sat on the stool beside her bed, trying to wipe off her unending stream of tears. "Thank you... for being alive." Paulina said tearfully and Alicia turned to look at her with a sad smile. "How... is Prince Harold?" Alicia asked quietly. "He is fine. He will be here soon." Paulina said, refusing to divulge details. She also knew Alicia would start asking questions so she decided to distract her by handing her a note Luciana had left for her. Alicia looked at it with faint eyes before her hands weakly received it and she opened the note. It was a poem. It read: ---- In the realm of shadows, there stood a radiant light. You, whose glow pierced the darkest night. Unaware of how far your brilliance had stretched. You guided lost souls with love, cherished and unmatched. In this world, our paths crossed, destinies intertwined, Since then, dear Amber, you''ve been engraved in my mind. No regrets for our meeting, nor for all that ensued, For the moments we shared, my heart deeply imbued. But now, a cruel chasm divides us, tearing me in two, My only regret, dear Amber, is our agonizing goodbyes. I dream of a day, beyond this sombre gloom, Where we shall reunite, far beyond the Moon. By theke''s serene shore, we''ll frolic like before, With Paulina and Susan,ughter, joy, and more. Until that moment, dear Amber, keep my memory near. And at the bottom of the note were the words: Light is just light to itself. But light is light to darkness. To darkness, it brings more than words can describe. It brings hope. You, Amber, were the light to all our darkness. Goodbye. Luciana. ---- Alicia read the note with teary eyes, her heart breaking further with each word she absorbed, her fingers trailing the marks left by dried tears on the note. This, unfortunately added anotheryer of sorrow to her already troubled soul. In that moment, the weight of her pain and the uncertainty of her condition became almost unbearable. Paulina panicked. This was not what she had hoped for. "Bring him... Prince Harold..." Alicia cried to Paulina, who hesitated but then she cried loudly, making Paulina flinch and with fear and panic, she went to fetch him. Chapter 476 The options Chapter 476 The options Alicia''s anguished cries echoed through the stone walls. The pain etched on her face was unbearable, and Paulina wasn''t sure whether finding Prince Harold was the right option since the physician was against him meeting her soon. She didn''t know the content of the letter Alicia had read; however, she knew that the pain she was feeling was far different from the ailment any physician could treat. If Prince Harold''s presence was able to provide any sce to her ailing mistress, then she would not hesitate to find him.With a heavy heart, Paulina sought the prince, her steps echoing the urgency of the situation. As Harold entered the room, his eyes widened in rm at the sight of his Alicia in such agony. Without hesitation, he rushed to her side and enveloped her trembling form in his arms, holding her close to him. Despite the stab wound in her heart, Alicia clung to Harold, seekingfort in his embrace. The pain of her injury seemed to fade momentarily as she buried her face in his shoulder, tears flowing freely. "Harold, it hurts so much," she whispered between sobs. It felt like her heart was constantly being stabbed. The pain was quite intense and not only physical. It was funny how she was always so tough whenever Harold was away, but as soon as he showed up, it all overwhelmed her and broke her spirit. Everything that had happenedtely. Luciana. Susan. All the deaths. And most especially, she knew her time here was almost up. She guessed that had been her destiny here. To save all these people. She wasn''t exactly sure to what extent she would be able to do that. "I am here," Harold murmured in a reassuring tone, his voice full of concern. His heart ached as he felt her pain, torn between wanting to hold her even closer and the fear of causing her more harm. However, he tried to lessen his hold on her but still kept her in his arms, breathing her in. "Alicia," He whispered. It had been a while. Just then, the royal physician entered the chamber with Paulina in tow. His eyes narrowed disapprovingly when he saw Harold beside Alicia, but he could not say a word about it; instead, he went into action, assessing her condition and checking her pulse. Harold stepped away for a moment to give him the chance to do that, but he didn''t leave the room this time. He closely watched as he tried to put her at ease, all the while the man''s brows were furrowed in concern. By the time he was done, Alicia was calm on the bed with her eyes closed, much to Harold''s relief. But the physician still had to remind Harold about what was at stake, even though he was scared to do that. He nced at Harold and motioned for him to step aside, requesting to speak with him privately. "I must discuss something of grave importance with you," the physician said solemnly. "You can speak here," Alicia said in a very low voice, opening her eyes faintly. Harold''s side eyes briefly looked at her before they turned to the Physician as he said, "We can speak outside. She needs to rest." He wasn''t looking forward to the conversation. He turned to leave, but Alicia spoke again, weakly. "Do not hide anything from me. Let him say it." Harold felt torn, wanting to shield her from any further distress but also knowing that the truth had to be faced. Harold was distressed. He turned to look at the physician one more time, his gaze permitting the man to share whatever information he needed to share while he went to sit on her bed beside her and took her hands. With a heavy sigh, the physician relented, steeling himself for the heart-wrenching revtion. "My... Princess, you are with child," he said gently, his voiceced with sorrow. Confusion washed over Alicia''s face as she processed the news amidst her pain. She briefly turned to look at Harold and then further away at Paulina, and when their facial expressions told her they already knew, her eyes widened slightly, and he squeezed her hand gently. The physician further exined, "Your pulse is weakening, but there is another, fainter pulse growing stronger. You carry a child, mydy." Alicia''s eyes grew even wider with realization, and a mix of emotions surged through her. "I''m pregnant?" She whispered, her voice filled with wonder and fear. The physician''s expression remained sombre as he continued, "Yes, mydy. But thisplicates matters. You..." He paused and briefly nced at Harold, too scared to say more. "I... what?" Alicia asked weakly and also nced at Harold, who shut his eyes at once, steeling himself for the news he didn''t want to hear. The physician still hesitated to inform her about it. The options were both difficult and filled with uncertainty, putting her in an agonizing predicament. He tried to exin the situation, listing out the options Harold had since he was her lord and would be the one to decide their fate. However, either one of them was heartbreaking. The first option presented to Alicia was to attempt to remove the unborn child from her womb and give her a chance to live. This choice aimed to give her a chance at survival for at most 2 years, as it would alleviate the strain on her weakened body caused by the pregnancy. However, it also meant terminating the life of the growing baby, making it an emotionally distressing decision for Alicia. The second option was to continue with the pregnancy and give birth to the child. However, it came with significant risks, as the pregnancy was already taxing her weakened body. There was no guarantee of her survival after the birth or even making it through the duration of the pregnancy, and she would be sacrificing her own well-being for the chance to bring new life into the world. Alicia''s already wounded heart pounded in her chest as sheprehended the gravity of the decision before her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Harold, whose eyes were still shut and whose hold around her hand tightened. He refused to look at her. Alicia let out a faint, heartbreaking smile before saying a quiet "Thank you" to the man, dismissing him as well as Paulina, who seemed to be trying so hard to hold in her emotions in front of her. When it was just the two of them left in the room, she turned her gaze to him and whispered his name, but at once he let go of her hand and stood up, saying a stern "No!" when she hadn''t even said anything. Chapter 477 The threat Chapter 477 The threat A baby. That was thest thing Alicia expected to hear. A baby was growing inside of her. It was still difficult to wrap her head around it. But time was not waiting for her. She could feel that her time was limited. A baby growing in this body meant the baby was growing in Amber''s body. Which in turn meant that the whole idea of that potion was a sham. She was heartbroken. For herself. For Harold. For everyone. But most importantly, for Amber. She didn''t want to cry. But she could not help it. Turning her eyes to him, she called him slowly, but he stood up at once, saying a firm no. Whatever she had to say, he didn''t want to listen to it. "We... need to talk." She said it faintly, too weak to even speak. "You need to rest." He spoke in a dismissive tone and turned to leave, but then Alicia spoke up. "There is no time to rest, Harold. It''s... the Blood Moon tonight." She informed him, and at once, he stopped and turned to look out the window, his eyes wide with realization. "No." He said it in a determined tone, shaking his head. "No. No... I will not allow it again." "Harold..." "I WILL NOT ALLOW IT!" He yelled, startling her. Prince Harold''s outburst shocked Alicia, and tears streamed down her cheeks as she gazed at him, hurt and heartbroken. She had never seen him like this, and his anger only intensified her own pain. She understood the weight of his fears and the responsibility he felt, but she didn''t have any choice. None of them did. They both didn''t know what might happen tonight, and the unknown was scary. Taking a deep breath, Alicia tried to steady her voice, though it trembled with emotion. "Harold, I know your heart is torn, and I understand your fears. But... it''s the same for me." Tears clouded her vision as she spoke weakly. "I do not know what is going to happen tonight, but I know that I... can no longer survive this. I can feel it." He shook his head, not willing to listen to this. "I know what your choice is, but I cannot live with the burden of ending our child''s life. It would... haunt me even in death. I may not have chosen this path, but it is one I must face with courage¡ª" Her words seemed to fuel Harold''s anger even more, and he clenched his fists, facing her with dark eyes. "Courage? Is this what you call courage?" he retorted bitterly. "You''re willing to throw everything away, even your own life, for a child you haven''t even met. This is not bravery; it is foolishness, and I will not allow it!" He sounded different. Commanding. Possessive. Wild. There was no hint of gentleness in either his tone or eyes. He seemed different. Alicia took a deep breath, trying to find the strength to make him understand. "Harold, our child is a part of us, and I... cannot abandon them," she pleaded, her voice shaking. "If fate has chosen this path for me, I must ept it, no matter how... painful." Her words only seemed to infuriate Harold further. "And what about us? What about me?" he demanded, his voice still filled with anger and pain. "You would choose a child over me?" "It''s not about choosing one over the other," Alicia sobbed. "But if I have to make this sacrifice for our child''s chance at life, I will do it. I don''t... have a chance." "You are going to live! I will make you live for a long time. And anything that is going to be a hindrance to that, I am going to get rid of it!" He said in a serious tone, the colours of his eyes flickering between red and blue. "Harold!" She cried out in frustration and fear. "We did not choose this part!" She reminded him, her voice filled with both fear, pain, and sadness. "I was brought here against my will. Against our will. And I cannot stay against my will¡ª" "YOU SHALL STAY!" Hemanded harshly. With an intense look on her face, he spoke in a quiet tone that gave her goosebumps. "You must have forgotten that I am not who you''ve pictured in your head that I am. You have to do your best to stay alive with me. Many lives are in your hands. Be a gooddy until the end and keep saving lives. Since that is what you are so good at." "What... are you talking about?" She asked, her voiceced with fear. He gently reached to touch her face, and looking her deeply in the eyes, he told her, "Everyone will die." His gaze softened for a moment, and he pulled her into a gentle hug as he continued speaking quietly: "If you leave me, every single person you tried to save who put you in this condition will die. Everyone you protected with your life as the cost. I will burn down this entire kingdom and wipe out the families of every single physician in this kingdom who cannot save your life. That is... the person I am." He threatened darkly. Alicia''s breathing hitched up in fear, and she slowly pushed him away from the hug to look at his face, noting how his entire eye colour was a dark shade of red. "I do not care how much you hate the patriarchy, my love. But the decision about what happens to you lies with me here. And that is final." He said this before he stood up and stormed out of the room, leaving her alone with Paulina, who was crying silently in her corner. Alicia was still stunned by Harold''s reaction. She was shaken too. He sounded like he meant it. Like he was indeed going to do that. Alicia turned to Paulina with sad, teary eyes for emotional support. With the chances she has currently, did she have any other choice? What did they expect her to do? Why was fate unfair to them? "Paulina..." Alicia cried tiredly. "I... I need your support." She closed her eyes weakly, finding the strength to speak, but Paulina, too, shook her head in tears. Chapter 478 Shared feelings Chapter 478 Shared feelings No. Not Paulina too. Through tear-filled eyes, Alicia pleaded weakly, "Please... you''ve been with me through everything. Help... help me..." She closed her eyes, seeking strength, before continuing, her voice tired, "...take care of the child when I''m gone." Paulina''s heart shattered at Alicia''s request, tears streaming down her cheeks as she replied, "I... cannot do it." Her voice quivered with emotion, shaking her head as she added, "I won''t do it." "P-Paulina..." "I have lost too many people I cared for!" Paulina cried loudly. "My family! Queen Anne! I don''t want to go through it again. I can''t bear to go through that pain over and over again. I won''t care for the child if you''re not here. I won''t live if you are not here!" Alicia''s heart sank at Paulina''s refusal, knowing the deep pain she carried. Tears streamed down her own face as she stretched her hand out to her. Paulina didn''t waste time approaching her and taking her hand as she sat beside her on the bed, sobbing quietly with her head down. "I feel... saddened to burden you with this. But you... will live. You have Williams." Alicia forced out a smile. "You have a dream that I believe is going to be realized. Paulina shook her head, refusing to meet her eyes. Alicia gazed at Paulina, her voice barely above a whisper. "You... have been... my rock," she said, her voice filled with love and gratitude. "I couldn''t... have asked for a better friend." Paulina burst into tears and hugged her tightly. "I don''t want you to die!" she wept bitterly. "I won''t die," Alicia assured her softly. "My soul is returning. I can already hear the voices in my head. I am going back to where I came from." The room was filled with heart-wrenching emotions as Alicia''s life hung in the bnce. Paulina clung to her, desperate to keep her by her side, but she knew that sometimes fate had other ns. The weight of their shared grief was almost unbearable, and yet they found sce in each other''s embrace. "I love you, little girl," Alicia spoke softly, making Paulina cry even louder. The door creaked open, and Harold slowly entered the room again, his eyes now a striking shade of blue and heavy with sorrow. Paulina''s heart sank as she excused herself and fled from the room, tears streaming down her cheeks. Alicia looked at him with sorrowful eyes. Whatever emotion he was feeling, she could feel a double dose of it. Harold spoke to Alicia, his voice trembling with pain: "Don''t... you pity me?" Alicia hesitated for a moment, her heart aching at the vulnerability in his voice. "I... I have no one else," he added softly, his own eyes welling up with tears. "I''ve lost everyone," he continued, his voice cracking with emotion. "When I thought I finally had family and friends to rely on... My only sister... betrayed me." A deep sense of loneliness engulfed Harold, and he couldn''t hold back the tears that began to flow. He was a man. He was a prince. He was an Alpha. For his entire being, he was not supposed to shed tears, no matter what the reason was. But he could not stop it. The pain in his heart was far more than he could handle. "For the first time... I felt what it''s like to have a mother. However... I broke her heart. Susan... she pledged to support me with her life, but she... died." He wiped away his tears, trying to regain hisposure, but he could not. "Alvin has always been with me. My pain was his pain. I thought... it was great there was Susan who was willing to give him the love I knew he deserved." He paused, his voice broken as he said... "But I... watched her body burn..." "It was all just a cruel mockery. Everything." His voice cracked. Alicia could see the torment in Harold''s eyes, and her heart broke for him. She could not even find any words offort for him because she knew that deep down, she would be breaking his heart too. She could only shed silent tears as she watched and listened to him. "When... when will this end for me?" Harold''s voice wavered, filled with despair. "My entire life has been filled with nothing but betrayal and heartbreak." "I SUFFER FOR THINGS I NEVER DID, AND I''M HATED UNJUSTLY! PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT KEEP LEAVING ME!" Alicia''s tears continued to flow, mirroring the pain she saw in Harold''s eyes. She wanted to take away his suffering, to heal his wounds, but she knew it wasn''t within her power. He reached out and embraced her gently, his grip tightening as if afraid to let go. "We will find a way, Alicia. I''ll do everything to protect you. I can''t bear to lose you too... please..." In a moment of tenderness, Harold cupped her face in his hands, his desperation mixing with anger. "I can''t bear the thought of losing you," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "I love you more than anything in this world." Alicia''s heart swelled with love for him, but she knew deep down that she had to make a difficult decision. She leaned into his touch, her heart torn between her love for him and the hard choices they faced. "I love you too, Harold," she said, her voice filled with agony. "But sometimes, love demands hard decisions. This is one of those times." He held her close as if shielding her from the pain surrounding them both. "Please don''t leave me," he pleaded, his voice breaking. "I can''t bear to lose you. You... are my life." Alicia hugged him back, feeling the weight of their shared sorrow. It was a heartbreaking moment as they clung to each other, seeking sce in their love amid the trials they faced. The room seemed to grow darker, and their tears merged in a shared pool of sadness. In that moment, Alicia knew that love wasn''t always enough to mend all wounds, and she feared the path they were embarking on. Yet she couldn''t ignore the depth of her feelings for him or the pain he carried in his heart. They remained in each other''s arms, finding sce in their shared grief as they navigated the turbulent waters of love and loss. The pain they felt was palpable, and their emotions were raw and exposed, their vulnerability evident in every touch and every tear shed. Chapter 479 ...Where time flows in harmony Chapter 479 ...Where time flows in harmony Alicia''s anguished cries echoed through the pce that night as the blood moon slowly ascended to the sky, casting an eerie crimson glow upon the kingdom. The physicians scurried around, their brows furrowed with concern, but her pain proved to be beyond their understanding. Outside the chamber, Prince Harold paced restlessly, his heart clenching in fear for his beloved Alicia. He had desperately implored the physicians to do anything to ease her suffering. Anything at all. He hadn''t used his usualmanding tone, nor did he speak to them with the authority he possessed. He had pleaded as a husband. As a lover. It was even more painful for him since he could not be inside with her, especially whenever she screamed out his name. Thankfully, Lance had dragged Paulina away, so there was one less distraction outside. But in the physician''s voice, he had said, "We''re doing all we can, my prince. But this affliction seems more spiritual than physical." He knew that. However, he still tried. He clenched his fists, torn between his fear for Alicia and the helplessness of the situation. "She cannot endure this agony any longer. Is there no way to ease her pain? Anything at all?" His tone was desperate. Unfortunately, the physicians were at a loss. All of them. They have never encountered anything like this before. None of them knew how to handle the pain of a witch''s core on the blood moon. As the blood moon reached its zenith, Alicia''s cries intensified, causing a violent vibration that resonated throughout the kingdom. The impact was so intense that even the people outside the chamber found themselves clutching their ears in agony and gasping for air. The air crackled with tension, and vases scattered across the pce shattered into a thousand pieces. Every one of them present in the pce, no matter where they were, shut their ears and continued to gasp for air. Unfortunately, the ones who received the most impact were those inside the chamber with Alicia. Within the chamber, the physicians were thrown against the walls by an unseen force, coughing out blood from the impact while also trying to breathe. Their ears also bled, and their backs ached from the impact of the hit. Her cries suddenly ceased, leaving behind a haunting silence. Harold dropped his hands from his ears and rushed in, only to find Alicia sitting on the bed, eyes aze with an unsettling crimson hue, matching the blood moon outside the broken window. "Ali¨C" Harold paused, and then he looked around the room. Everything was a mess. It looked like the room had been turned upside down, and the physicians were also trying to get up. Harold held the door open for them as they struggled to get up and scurried out of the room, especially when they saw her eyes. "Alicia?" he called quietly, his voice choked with emotion. Her fiery gaze met his, and the mes in her eyes softened, as did the impact she had on everyone else except for Harold. At once, she coughed, and blood stained her lips, sending shivers down Harold''s spine. But he couldn''t bring himself to approach her, as his body was rejecting her. He didn''t need the voice to whisper in his head to tell him this was not their actual mate. He was now one with his wolf. "Amber..." He called, his voice trembling with heartache. "I feel the same way seeing you," Amber said weakly as she looked at him. But deep down within them, they both knew this was going to be thest time they would feel this way. Amber winced in pain and touched her chest, feeling the intense pain there. Then she lifted her eyes and looked at the moon outside, sadness in her eyes. The door suddenly creaked open, and Harvey, still recovering from his earlier injuries, stumbled into the room with a hand on his stomach, wincing in pain. He looked very thin and sickly; all signs of his nobility were gone. "Amber," he called out softly, his heart breaking at the sight of her. Amber turned her eyes away from the window to look at him, and then she forced out a smile at him through her tears, her voice barely a whisper. "I''m d to see you onest time before it''s all over," she said, her gaze never leaving his. Harvey choked on a sob and slowly approached her bed. Despite the pain he felt, he knelt beside her, tears streaming down his face. "I... should have protected you better. I''m sorry," he said, his voice choked with guilt. Amber shook her head gently, despite the pain it caused her. "You did all you could, Harvey. Even more." She spoke through tears and tried to touch him, but she withdrew her hand and sniffled. Harvey shook his head, sobbing. With his cracked voice, he asked weakly, "Could things have... been different for us? If we hadn''t been bound by these fates?" It was toote. Amber shut her eyes, tears mingling with the blood on her cheeks as she spoke quietly. "Maybe we... could have been great hunters." She opened her eyes, and both misty eyes met as she added, "You would have been better than me. You are great at climbing," she said, a faint smile touching her lips. Harvey chuckled through his tears, his snort mixing with his tears. "You... asked me before. My favourite colour." Harvey looked at her and seemed to remember that moment, nodding. "It is green. The green from the hairpin you gave me." She sniffled and broke into tears as she said, "I''m... I''m sorry I lost it." Harvey shook his head. "It''s alright. I can... I can get you m-more." He cried. That was only wishful thinking. He knew it was not possible. Harold could no longer watch this scene and turned, stepping out of the room with intense pain in his heart. Amber''s strength waned, but she continued speaking, her voice barely above a whisper. "You... were the only good thing in my wretched life," she admitted. "If... our fates were different. Maybe... maybe I... would have been beside you. For a long... time." she said, her indirect confession leaving him stunned. Harvey wept openly, unable to contain the surge of emotions within him. "Is there no other way to save you?" he pleaded, grasping onto hope. He reached for her hand but quickly withdrew it when he got burned from merely touching her. She shook her head, her eyes filled with sorrow. "No, Harvey. My time here is over," she said, her voice tinged with finality. "But... we will meet again. We shall reunite in a realm where our time flows in harmony," She promised Harvey, who was bawling his eyes out. Chapter 480 Sing me a song... Chapter 480 Sing me a song... It was very painful for Amber to move, but with the help of a stick, which she held onto with all her might, she moved slowly outside, her body hotter than ever as though engulfed in mes. She was grateful for the fact that Paulina was not here, at least. She had weighed her options ande to a conclusion about what to do. She had her eyes fixed on the Blood Moon as she painfully tried to get closer. Harold followed behind her quietly. There was nothing he could do. As much as he hated to admit it, he was useless when it came to the tactics of the deities. "MY LADY!" Came the desperate cry of Paulina behind her, racing towards her with all her might. A frustrated Lance ran after her. "DON''T LEAVE!" Paulina cried, running to embrace her. Despite the burns the body contact with Amber caused Pauliana, she refused to let go until Amber tearfully pushed her away with all her might, and Paulina fell into Lance''s arms. "Take care of yourself," Amber said to her weakly. "We... will meet again, I promise," Paulina shook her head, crying. She also tried to get away from Lance, but he wouldn''t let her go. Lance, however, wasn''t sure what was happening and just watched with a sad gaze. "Please..." Paulina cried in a broken voice. "We have been through so much together. You... are my only family! I beg you." Amber forced a smile at her and apologized for leaving her behind. "I will protect you in our next life," Amber promised before she looked up at the moon, which looked redder than ever. Under the blood moon, she looked back at Harold onest time, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Let her go," she implored, her voice strained. "Her destiny was to liberate our people and yours. To be the vessel for the greatest being that will free all of us from our sad fates." Harold shook his head, his heart breaking at the thought of losing her. "No," He muttered. He didn''t care about any of that. He only wanted her. Even if the world was going to crumble, he would not let her be the sacrifice. "It doesn''t matter what you want," Amber spoke calmly before adding in a resolute tone. "Three souls cannot dwell in this weak body. We can only give it up for the little one." Harold shook his head. He was not going to let that happen. He would not. "Grant me onest favour, Harold," Amber said this without giving him any chance to decide if he would do it or not. "Punish him. King Cedric." Her eyes darkened. "For the pain he inflicted upon my mother. Give him the same death sentence he bestowed on her. Publicly," she said, her voice tinged with vengeance. "His children have to feel every pain that I felt." Amber paused and shook her head. "I''m sure they wouldn''t feel as much pain. Because... they weren''t betrayed by their own father. Because it wasn''t their father who killed their mother. Neither are they going to be sent into exile." Sheughed bitterly. "They can never feel my pain. But they deserve to feel at least a little. Because I do not forgive. I... am not my mother. Neither can I forgive you and your kingdom." He could only look at her helplessly as she shifted her dark gaze to the blood moon and opened her arms wide, dering, "I SEEK FOR VENGEANCE!" The air crackled with power, and thunder rumbled, awaiting hermand and scaring every creature who could feel the impact of her power in the kingdom. "MY LADY!!!!" Paulina cried to stop her, but Amber was focused and did not get distracted as her weak voice grew louder. "I SEEK VENGEANCE!" She repeated, and lightning filled the sky, a red glow from the moon settling upon her like a spotlight. "BUT NOT MORE THAN I WISH FOR MY CLAN TO REUNITE AND REST IN PEACE!" Lance, "PRINCESS AMBER!" Paulina, "MY LADY!" "AMBER!" Harold yelled. "I LIBERATE MYSELF OF EVERY LINK I HAVE WITH THE WOLVES, AND IN EXCHANGE FOR MY 20TH LIFE, BURN MY CORE FOR MY CLAN''S FREEDOM AND PEACE!" A visible burn mark appeared, covering the scar that was once visible on her neck, and she let out a painful scream, as did Harold, who growled in pain, clutching his heart. He almost fell, but Alvin appeared behind him, keeping him up as he looked at the scene before him, horrified. Amber gasped faintly, and her voice grew weak as she said thest words, preparing to give her soul: "May... we all rest in peace and reunite with those we love. Far beyond the Moon and stars," "No... no..." Harold said in horror as he pulled himself from Alvin''s hold and tried to stop her. Unfortunately, it was toote. Amber had offered her soul. Another painful scream escaped her lips, and they watched in fear. The blood moon seemed to absorb her very soul, and all those present could only watch in tears as her life force left her body until there was nothing left to take and the weak body fell. Harold was quick this time, despite the intense pain he felt. He cradled her body just before it could hit the ground and held her closely. Her delicate framey motionless in Harold''s arms, with the red moon casting haunting shadows on her pallid face, contorted with pain. Prince Harold''s heart broke into a thousand shards as he cradled her, and he whispered her name like a desperate prayer, hoping for a miracle. Harold''s voice trembled with anguish as if by saying her name, he could somehow will her to stay with him. However, he said Alicia, which confused Lance. Alicia''s frail form trembled, and a soft groan escaped her lips, revealing the immense pain that wracked her body. She turned her gaze towards Harold, her eyes dimmed by the weight of suffering. "Harold," she whispered, her voice trembling like a fragile leaf in the wind as if the effort to speak was draining thest reserves of her strength. Her words tore through him like a dagger, and he choked back a sob, shaking his head in refusal. "You can''t leave me," he implored. "I won''t let you." She mustered a feeble smile, and her hand slowly reached out to touch his tear-streaked face. "This... body can fight on, but my soul... is slipping away," she confessed, her voice filled with a mixture of eptance and sorrow. Behind them, Paulina watched helplessly, her tears flowing freely. She had always been with her. Either Amber or Alicia, she had been by their sides through all the trials and triumphs, and now... Paulina couldn''t contain her emotions any longer and burst into tears, her body trembling, and Lance hesitantly pulled her into his embrace as he tried to swallow his grief too. "We... haven''t spent enough time together. We... we didn''t spend enough time together..." He said stubbornly, still embracing her burning body. "You... have to let me... go, my love." She begged, but he held her even closer, not wanting to ept her fate. "I won''t let you go," he vowed. "I will search thends, the heavens, wherever it takes me. I will find a way to save you." Alicia spoke, her voice growing fainter. "Remember... the saddest drama I once starred in, which I told you about?" she said, her breaths shallow andboured. "A man who clung to his past love, seeking her through the passage of years, until the memories faded away and he forgot even her name and the reason he was still alive." "P-Princess..." "I... don''t want you to be like that man." She said with tears falling from the corners of her eyes. He shook his head. "I don''t... want to ever forget you... You have to stay with me. I will do all I promised to do if you dare leave!" He threatened. "I... know you won''t." Her tone was filled with love and her faith in him. Her hand was about to slip away from his face, but he held it in ce, covering it with his hand and looking down at her with teary eyes. She winced in pain and muttered that she was cold before begging in a whisper, "Save the child within me. And when... when the timees... let this body rest peacefully." "No. I won''t allow this. I won''t!" He continued stubbornly, shaking his head while hugging her tightly to his body. "P-Please..." "S-Sing me a song..." She pleaded weakly. Both of them remembered thest time she asked him to sing her a song, and he said he didn''t know how to sing. Now, however, he sniffled and hugged her body even tighter as he sang her the only song he knew. A bad. His voice broke as he poured his heart into the song. Alicia''s eyes closed, and her breathing slowed as she listened to her husband''s heartfelt melody with a contented smile on her face. Their memories shed before their eyes. From the moment they first saw each other on their wedding day to their trip here. was a heartbreaking scene of love and loss, as the three of them were entwined in their shared sorrow. To their constant banters and running around the pce. To dancing in the vige. To the first kiss they shared. To teaching her how to shoot an arrow and helping her ride Hellion. To confessing their feelings and sharing their bodies. To the times they both bare their hearts out to the other. All of these memories and more came crashing down, letting their tears flow freely as Harold sang in a broken voice, causing tears to flow also in the eyes of those who watched. Paulina''s cries grew louder, echoing the anguish in Harold''s soul. It was a heartbreaking scene of love and loss, as the three of them were entwined in their shared sorrow. Finally, her hand slipped from Harold''s grasp, and her body grew limp. And even as his tears fell on her lifeless form, he did not stop his song. Chapter 481 Familiar but strange Chapter 481 Familiar but strange Alicia''s eyelids fluttered open weakly, and the world rushed in like a tidal wave. Blinding light pierced her vision, making her squint against its intensity. Her head throbbed as if a storm raged within her skull, and a heavy weight seemed to press down on her chest. The sterile, clinical smell of the hospital invaded her nostrils, mingling with the faint scent of antiseptic. As her senses gradually awakened, a symphony of beeps, clicks, and mechanical murmurs filled the room. Each sound echoed like a distant memory, a ghostly reminder of the world she had been detached from. Alicia''s fingers twitched as she attempted to shift her body, but an overwhelming weakness held her captive, rendering her limbs leaden and unresponsive. Her mind struggled to shake off the haze that clouded her thoughts. Her memories were jumbled fragments, a puzzle she couldn''t piece together. Panic began to rise like a storm within her chest, and her heart raced as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She blinked, her gaze darting around the room. Machines with blinking lights and trailing wires loomed over her, an alien forest of technology that seemed both fascinating and frightening. She attempted to sit up again, but her muscles protested weakly, her body feeling as if it were made of lead. Her head spun, and the effort left her breathless. Her confusion deepened as her eyes scanned the empty room. Where was she? Why was she alone? Her thoughts were a whirlwind of questions and a storm of uncertainty. Bits of fragmented memory danced on the periphery of her consciousness. A bridge, water, a strange glow... Alicia''s brows furrowed as she tried to grasp these fleeting images. She remembered standing on the precipice, an overwhelming despair threatening to consume her. And then a call came. And then the plunge into the frigid embrace of the ocean, the struggle to reach the surface, the moon''s eerie glow, its hypnotic pull. But the details remained elusive like grains of sand slipping through her fingers. She winced as a sharp painnced through her head as if trying to bring her back from her disjointed reverie. She groaned, her voice a fragile thread of sound. A haunting sadness clung to her heart like a shroud, tugging at her emotions like a relentless undertow. It was a pain that defied exnation, an ache that seemed to emanate from the very depths of her being. Tears welled in her eyes, and a sense of helplessness washed over her. Her emotions were a tempest, a whirlwind of despair that threatened to consume her. She wanted to cry out, to release the torrent of anguish that threatened to drown her, but the words remained trapped in her throat. This emotion made her even more confused. She felt like an alien in her body. Just then, the door creaked open, and a figure stepped into the room, bathed in the fluorescent light that spilt from the corridor. Alicia''s gaze shifted, and finally seeing a familiar face made her break down in reliefbined with all the other emotions she felt. It was her manager, a young woman in herte thirties. She held a little bag in her hand, and the other hand held a phone to her ear. She was in the middle of a call. Mabel''s voice trembled as she spoke tremulous whisper. "Oh my gods, you''re awake!" She enveloped Alicia in a fierce embrace, her body trembling with emotion. "We into the device. As soon as her gaze met Alicia''s, the phone slipped from her fingers, ttering to the floor, forgotten. Tears welled in Mabel''s eyes, and she rushed forward, her voice a tremulous whisper. "Oh my gods, you''re awake!" She enveloped Alicia in a fierce embrace, her body trembling with emotion. "We thought we lost you. I thought I lost you." Alicia''s lips trembled as her manager''s arms enveloped her in a tight embrace. Her mind was a tumultuous sea of conflicting feelings¡ª relief, confusion, fear, and a yearning to grasp the elusive memories that danced just beyond her reach. Her body shook with sobs she couldn''t control, the dam of her emotions finally breaking free. Each tear that fell carried with it a wave of sorrow, a pain she couldn''t quite articte. It was as if her heart was being torn apart ¡ªa visceral ache that left her gasping for breath. Her manager held her even tighter, her voice a soothing murmur against Alicia''s ear. "It''s okay, my dear. You''re not alone. I''m here with you." The words were a lifeline, a reminder that amidst the turmoil of her emotions, there was still an anchor to reality. Alicia clung to her manager, her fingers digging into the fabric of her clothing as if trying to anchor herself in the storm. The sobs racked her body, a release of pent-up feelings that had been building within her during the uncharted depths of hera. She couldn''t pinpoint the reasons behind her depression or the source of her tears, but in that moment, it didn''t matter. Mabel pulled back slightly, her watery eyes searching Alicia''s face as if trying to read her thoughts. "We''ve been waiting for this moment for so long," she whispered, her voice trembling. "You''ve been in aa for one... one year. Doctors couldn''t exin why you didn''t wake up sooner, but... you''re here now." She cried. Alicia''s lips quivered, and she managed to find her voice, weak though it was. "O-One year? How... how is that possible?" Her voice held a trace of disbelief, a sense of time lost that she couldn''t fathom. Mabel nodded, her expression grave. "We don''t understand what happened that night. But you... were found on the shore, unconscious and barely alive. It''s a miracle you survived. I don''t... I don''t know what I would have done if something bad had happened. I was so... so scared." The woman cried loudly without reservation. Mabel was the strongest woman she knew. She was Alicia''s safe space. No matter what happened in her life, she knew she could always count on her to handle things. Up until Alicia was done with the whole thing and wanted to end it all. Seeing the woman like this now in a way she never had broke her heart, and she instantly regretted the decision she had made. However, she still tried to absorb the information she had just learned. One year. One year. With a gentle touch, her manager wiped away the tears from Alicia''s cheek and smiled amidst her tears. "Thank you foring back." She smiled at her and began tough. "Why did I forget to call the doctor?" Mabel was about to press the call button, but Alicia weakly said, "Someone is alreadying." Mabel was about to ask her if she had already pressed it, but then the door opened and a nurse entered, who looked surprised to find Alicia awake. Chapter 482 P & J ? Days passed, each one marked by Alicia''s arduous journey towards recovery. Each time her eyes fluttered open, she was met with a maelstrom of emotions and a tempest of memories just beyond her grasp. These fragmented recollections taunted her, refusing to fit together, leaving her feeling like a ship lost at sea, adrift between the unforgiving waves of confusion and despair. Mabel''s growing worry etched lines of concern on her face, a testament to the toll this prolonged ordeal was taking on both of them. She had always known Alicia''s strength, but this battle was unlike any other, chipping away at their optimism. The sporadic cycles of consciousness followed by tearful outbursts had be a pattern that had Mabel perpetually on edge. They were in the dark, relying solely on medical treatments, attempting to mend the fractures in Alicia''s mind as rmended by the doctors. Alicia''s suffering would have remained a closely guarded secret if it were up to Mabel alone. However, the director had chosen a different path, exploiting Alicia''s condition to elicit sympathy. He had woven a narrative of a near-fatal ident, feeding into the public''s concern and curiosity. Outside Alicia''s apartment, fans had rallied in a show of support. Notes of well-wishes flooded her doorstep, along with gifts and bouquets. Thankfully, the hospital''s location remained a well-kept secret, shielding her from the prying eyes of her admirers. The once-vibrant Alicia, known for infusing every room with her infectious energy, nowy subdued, a mere echo of her former self. Gone were her wild antics, her knack for controversy, and her spirited nature. Then there was a glimmer of change. On this particr day, Mabel quietly entered Alicia''s room just like she had been doing the past few days so as not to trigger her, only to find her awake. Not only was she awake, but she was up from the bed and standing beside the window, her gaze fixed on the world outside. It was a rare sight¡ªa moment of calm amidst the turmoil. Mabel looked at her, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears and a spark of hope dancing in her eyes. "The world... looks strange." Alicia''s weak voice broke the silence, surprising Mabel. It was yet another facet of Alicia that had changed¡ªa heightened sense of awareness. Turning her head to face Mabel, Alicia''s sullen eyes met hers. There were no tears, and in that absence, there was a glimmer of hope. Only to Mabel. "Alicia..." Mabel whispered and approached her cautiously. She hesitated, opting not to probe into Alicia''s well-being directly. The pretence of normalcy seemed to be the only anchor they had left. Instead, she opted for a distraction. Something to pull Alicia''s focus away from the overwhelming emotions that held her captive. "How strange?" Mabel asked as she went to stand beside her. Alicia turned to look out the window again, and so did Mabel. It was evening. The city lights littered everywhere, and buildings were made to look minute from the high floor they currently were. "Was it... always this loud at night?" Alicia whispered as she continued to look outside. Why did it all feel strange to her? Why was it so noisy? So rowdy? So... unfamiliar? Mabel looked at her side briefly, her eyes filled with sadness and pity, wishing she knew how to help Alciia return to her true self. "I want to return home," Alicia spoke again. "I will work towards that and make sure we can return there without getting seen by¡ª" "No. Not there." "Then... where?" "I don''t... I don''t know." She said it in a sad tone before using a hand to cover her face in despair. Mabel panicked within her, fearing Alicia would be triggered again, so she seized the opportunity, a hint of a forced smile tugging at her lips as she spoke in a fake excited tone. "Did I ever mention that Stefan turned out to be married?" Of course, she didn''t mention it. This was the first conversation they had. Alicia raised her head and turned to Mabel, her brows furrowed as she grappled with the name. Recognition slowly dawned, mingling with surprise and confusion. It was a wee sight, and Mabel couldn''t help but chuckle at the mix of emotions that yed out on Alicia''s face. "Believe it or not, he managed to find someone who could handle his... ''charms''," Mabel chuckled, herughter cutting through the heavy atmosphere. Alicia''s voice, though faint, held a note of disbelief. "Someone... actually married him?" Stefan was a middle-aged producer they had worked with at one point. He had a nasty attitude and was a chronic womanizer who had tried several times to get Alicia on his bed until she had ''identally'' spilled her drinks on him at one party, and he threatened to have her cklisted. What a joke. "Indeed," Mabel grinned, warmth spreading through her chest. "Are you regretting missing a good man?" Mabel joked andughed when she saw the disgust on Alicia''s face. "I think I''ll pass." Alicia spoke in a light tone before they both grew quiet while facing each other. Mabel''s smile began to dwindle, reced with concern, but she kept making an effort to keep the smile on her face. Alicia''s gaze softened, a flicker of guilt passing through her eyes. "I''m sorry, Mabel." Mabel waved her hand dismissively before taking hold of one of Alicia''s hands. "No need to apologize. You''ve been through enough." Alicia''s lips curled into a smile, a tender affection shining in her eyes. "You''ve had it rough taking care of me." Mabel''s smile matched Alicia''s, a silent assurance passing between them. "I''d do anything for you, my pretty girl." Alicia''s reply was filled with gratitude, her words carrying a weight that transcended their simple conversation. "I know." Mabel quickly left that topic and decided to ask something else while escorting Alicia back to her bed, and after Aliciay on it with the pillow propping up her back and waist, Mabel sat down beside her. "Lest I forget... do you know Hunter Cooper personally?" Alicia''s curiosity was piqued, her brows furrowing as she tried to ce the name that sounded both familiar and unfamiliar. "Who is he again?" "The current vice president of the P & J conglomerate?" "How... how would I know him personally? You know everyone I know." Alicia inquired, her toneced with curiosity. "Did something happen?" Confusion clouded Mabel''s features, and she leaned in, her voice conspiratorial as she said, "He seems to have quite an interest in you. He''s been keeping tabs on you, especially since that promotional ad offer. Remember?" P & J? Promotional ad? Then Alicia remembered the call she had received just before she fell into the water. Chapter 483 Giving up 483 Giving up Alicia''s memory stirred, a soft sigh escaping her lips as realization slowly dawned upon her. She blinked, her gaze unfocused for a moment, before focusing on the present. "Why would he be interested in me?" she murmured to herself, her brow furrowing in thought. "And... I didn''t even know there was someone called Hunter in the Cooper family tree¡ª" Her contemtion was abruptly interrupted when the door behind her swung open with a rude force. The sudden intrusion of the director and his entourage sent a jolt through the room. Alicia and Mabel turned, their expressions shifting from confusion to surprise. The director entered with an air of exuberance, nked by his followers, some of whom carried bouquets of flowers, while one held a professional camera. His unsettling smile was as prominent as ever, directed solely at Alicia. Mabel, despite her presence, seemed to fade into the background. "Ah, my beautiful Alicia Queen," the director''s voice boomed, his teeth bared in an overly enthusiastic grin. Mabel rose to her feet, her initial shock reced by a polite but tightly controlled smile. She was ready to greet their unexpected visitors, only to find herself ignored. The director''s unwavering attention remained fixated on Alicia, a trend that had be all too familiar. "Why was I not informed of her awakening sooner? I would have hastened my visit," the director chided Mabel, his words dripping with a thinly veiled reprimand. His eyes, however, never strayed from Alicia, who was attempting to sit up on the bed. Mabel''s protective instincts red, her hands instinctively curling into fists at her sides. She was ready to interject, but before she could, the director''s hand shot out, his gesturemanding Alicia to remain still. "No need to rush, my dear," he purred, his voice dripping with an almost patronizing sweetness. "Rest and recuperate. We have something truly remarkable in store for you." One of his subordinates materialized behind him, presenting a file with a flourish. The document was promptly handed over to Mabel. "This," the director dered, his tone a mixture of triumph and excitement, "is the opportunity of a lifetime. A role worthy of your triumphant return." Mabel''s shock and dismay were palpable. The audacity of the director knew no bounds¡ªto spring such news on Alicia, oblivious to her fragile state, was beyond reprehensible. "You know what? We are going to take a few pictures and make your name number one on every blog ¡ª" "This... has to be a joke... Director Phillips, right?" Mabel''s voice, though controlled, carried an undercurrent of displeasure. Her frustration was a tightly coiled spring, ready to unleash at any moment. "Firstly, Alicia is not okay. Secondly, she had no idea about this as her manager! How could he spring it upon them from nowhere without having a discussion with her? She turned to the photographer who was about to take pictures, and one re from her made himpose himself. "A joke?" Director Phillips asked "This joke is the current sensation in the country! Have you not been following the news for the past 8 months? It''s the life story of one of the greatest queens to ever exist, and Alicia here... would be ying the main lead of the story, yet you think it''s a joke? It wasn''t easy to snag this opportunity. This is¡ª" "SHE IS..." Mabel took a deep breath to control her temper, and then her voice grew lower. "Can we at least have a conversation about this outside?" Mabel asked politely. Mr. Phillips didn''t like her tone, but then he nced at Alicia, who was just staring at them nkly, as though none of this concerned her. With a curt nod, they retreated to the hallway along with his entourage, leaving Alicia inside the room. With the room now quiet, Alicia turned her gaze to the file that Mabel had left behind. The title held her in its grip. Curious, she picked it up, wondering what ''T-C-P-S-B'' meant. ***** The hallway offered a temporary reprieve from the charged atmosphere in Alicia''s room. Mabel''s frustration simmered just beneath the surface, her determination to protect Alicia''s well-being evident in her stern expression. "Director Phillips, I understand the importance of this opportunity, but Alicia is not in a state to make decisions like this. Her recovery is delicate, and pushing her into something like this could be detrimental." Mabel spoke quietly so that even his entourage behind them wouldn''t hear them. "You''re being overly cautious, Mabel. Alicia is a talented actress, and this role could be a turning point for her career." "I''m not disputing her talent, but she''s grappling with a lot right now. She needs time to heal, both physically and mentally." "We can''t put everything on hold indefinitely. The entertainment industry moves fast, and opportunities like these don''te often." "I understand that, but Alicia''s health shoulde first. We can revisit this once she''s stronger." "Fine, we can dy the decision for a little while. But I need you to understand that this role could be a game-changer for her. It''s a chance to show the world her resilience." "I appreciate your concern for her career, but Alicia''s well-being is my priority. We''ll discuss this further when the time is right." Back in the room, Alicia''s gaze remained fixed on the file, her thoughts a whirlwind of emotions. For some reason, she could not bring herself to open it after turning the first page, where the title was spelt out in full. THE CURSED PRINCE''S STRANGE BRIDE. As Mabel re-entered the room, Alicia''s eyes shifted from the file to the figure before her. Mabel looked concerned as she started to talk. "You don''t have to do it¡ª" However, Alicia interrupted as she dropped the file without looking further at it. "I wish to give up acting." Alicia''s voice was quiet but its impact on Mabel was anything but that. This greatly shocked Mabel, who turned still and looked at her with wide eyes. "But... acting... acting is your life. Y-Your dream." She reminded Alicia. Chapter 484 Queen Tam 484 Queen Tam Yes, acting had been her life. Her refuge from everything. Years of hard work and dedication had brought Alicia to this point, but now doubt crept in. She had worked years to climb thedder of sess, to have her name mentioned first before the names of any other actors and actresses. But it was all for what? Mabel watched Alicia closely, her heart full of concern. She could feel the weight of her sadness even without a word from her. "I had... thought acting would bring me happiness." Alicia''s voice trembled as she spoke, her vulnerability on full disy. "I believed that stepping into different characters'' lives would help me escape my own struggles." She remembered how she had worked so hard under the sun, under the rain and even had to put up with so many nasty attitudes and also suffered some very humbling moments. Her voice broke. "I really... really believed it," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "But the more I got lost in those roles, the more... the more I lost touch with who I really am." Tears welled up in Alicia''s eyes, and Mabel''s heart ached for her. Before this incident, she wouldn''t have considered it. That was why she would rather die than give it up. But now... "I don''t know who I am, Mabel. I am lost," Alicia confessed, her voice filled with raw emotion. Mabel''s own eyes glistened with tears as she took Alicia''s hand, offering her silent support. "But the world knows who you are," Mabel reassured her gently. Alicia''s voice wavered as she responded, her pain evident. "The world knows nothing. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have had the guts to stand on that bridge," she admitted, her vulnerabilityid bare. "It was the stardom, the pressure, that pushed me to that point." Alicia''s admission was like a punch to Mabel''s heart, and she couldn''t hold back her tears. "I couldn''t bear the weight of expectations, the constant scrutiny, the loneliness behind the mour," Alicia continued, her voice quivering. "I... I tried to take my own life, Mabel." Tears streamed down Alicia''s face, and Mabel wrapped her arms around her, offeringfort and understanding with her hug. "It was... it was the only thing I had left," Alicia whispered, her voice heavy with sorrow. Mabel held Alicia close, her own tears falling. "And right now, I don''t see why I should keep trying so hard," Alicia admitted, desperationced in her voice. "I had no idea you were going through such a difficult time," Mabel said with years in her eyes as she rubbed Alicia''s back. She was trying not to cry so Alicia would also be strong, but she could not help it. "I''m so sorry I couldn''t be there for you. I am so sorry¡ª" Alicia sniffled and shook her head. "It wasn''t your fault, Mabel. It isn''t your fault. It was a struggle I had to face on my own. And I''m sorry for being so selfish and putting you through all that." Mabel broke the hug to look at her face. She forced a smile through her tears and used her hands to wipe Alicia''s face gently. "It doesn''t matter if the world doesn''t know who you are. Hell! It doesn''t even matter if you do not know who you are." She took Alicia''s hands in hers, as she said. "But I know who you are. And I know that you are going to find yourself, and I will be right behind you, in front of you, and beside you. You don''t have to do this alone, Alicia." Alicia cried in gratitude and hugged the woman again, who kept trying to not let her tears fall as she rubbed Alicia''s back. Mabel''s voice was filled withpassion as she reassured her. "It''s fine. You can stop living like that now. Let''s not let the pursuit of fame dictate our lives. Let''s no longer live for the sake of others'' expectations." Mabel''s support was unwavering as she pulled back to gaze into Alicia''s eyes, asking, "So, what do you intend to do?" She asked, her voice gentle yet curious. Alicia sniffled and shook her head as she whispered, "I don''t know, Mabel. I just don''t know. But I want to find my own path, even if it means stepping away from the limelight." Mabel nodded understandingly, a mixture of emotions ying across her face. "Alicia, you''re incredibly brave for acknowledging your feelings and making this decision. I''m here for you, no matter what you choose. We''ll figure things out together." Tears spilled down Alicia''s cheeks, a mix of relief, sadness, and hope washing over her. "Thank you, Mabel. Your support means more to me than you''ll ever know." Mabel managed a small smile through her tears and helped Alicia restfortably on the bed before she cleaned up her tears. She was at least grateful that Alicia was strong and was trying to fight through whatever was bothering her. A nurse came in to check on Alicia, and she also looked d to see her up and take vitals, informing Mabel that she seemed to be a lot more stable before the nurse left and Mabel picked up the script beside the bed. "So should I get rid of it?" Mabel asked, holding up the script with a hint of humour, despite the seriousness of this decision. It would involve meetings, money, contracts, yelling and more yelling, plus more money! In one word, Alicia''s decision would bring trouble not only to herself and Mabel but to so many other people and organizations, and Mr. Phillips would throw a crazy fit, which she was not looking forward to. "What exactly is it about?" Alicia asked, looking at the script in Mabel''s hand. "Mr. Phillips mentioned everyone is talking about the story." Mabel opened the script and flipped through the pages, a realization dawning on her. "I knew this was going to happen soon," she mumbled to herself before looking at Alicia. Taking a deep breath, Mabel continued, "I know you aren''t really great with history, but you should have heard about Queen Amber, right? From the 16th century." "You mean the princess who was forcefully granted the title of queen after her passing by her evil husband, who continuously fed her his blood believing it would keep her alive, but she passed after birthing Queen Tam?" Alicia recalled with a sense of historical knowledge. Seeing her talk so much made Mabel''s heart swell with joy, and she figured talking about this would probably take Alicia''s mind away from other heavy conversations. "Boy! Were we wrong!" Mabel eximed and exined further, "So... on the night you... that incident happened," she corrected gently, "a lot of strange phenomena urred." Alicia''s curiosity was piqued as she asked, "What... is that?" Mabel borated, "The moon... it was strange. It was believed to be a lunar eclipse." "Out of the blue?" Alicia asked, her brow furrowing. Mabel confirmed, "Out of the blue! The reflection was especially strong in the south on one of the Cooper''s ownednds, as if it were casting a spotlight there." Mabel''s tone turned more serious as she mentioned the government''s involvement. "And trust our busybody government not to simply ignore it. They''ve been digging, finding things, and also putting things together. The real stories." Alicia''s interest was piqued even further. "And you know the most fascinating thing?" Alicia urged her to continue, "What is?" "It was recorded that Princess Amber actually had her soul sucked out by the moon," Mabel revealed, her voice tinged with awe. "It was said that the moon was full. And red. And it took her spirit, leaving her empty to birth the... Of course, we would have thought it was crazy, but the year it was recorded, there was also a lunar eclipse on that night in 1504!" Alicia''s brows furrowed as she processed the information. Mabel continued, "Everyone has been talking about it for the past year. New notes and letters have been found to change so many things we''ve always believed." "1504... red moon," Alicia mumbled to herself quietly. Something within was drawing her, but every time it happened, Mabel''s voice pulled her back. "And another interesting fact is that Queen Tam''s full name is actually Tikvah Alicia Maria. Isn''t it an exciting coincidence that you share names? No wonder her story always reminds me of you and your crazy antics! Not to be too shocked, I think there were some kinds of voodoo happening back then. It''s all so difficult toprehend... scientifically." Alicia''s attention was fully captured now, and she looked down at the script with renewed curiosity. "So... is the story before or after Queen Tam was born?" "You can just look through it to find out then," Mabel said, handing the script to her. Alicia hesitantly took it, her fingers grazing the front page of the script. Why does it feel like she was being pulled to read it? She flipped through the first two pages she had opened before. And on the third page was the note... ''Embrace the echoes of the past, for they hold the keys to your present. Release the burdens you carry, and let the moon''s embrace heal your wounded soul.'' --- Queen Tam, The First. Chapter 485 The invitation Chapter 485 The invitation Alicia had been explicitly told to rest, yet she couldn''tply. For the next two days, she immersed herself in the script, delving into videos, online articles, and textbooks rted to the subject. Amidst this information overload, contradictions and nonsensical facts were rampant, not to mention a multitude of discrepancies that gued her understanding. But then again, what more could be expected from such aplex topic? The true essence of historical events remained an enigma, an eternal puzzle. Even those who had lived through those times possessed varying narratives to recount. Generation after generation, the tales would mutate until the truth was obscured, leaving only the remnants of lies in its wake. A startled gasp escaped Mabel''s lips as she entered the room, her eyes widening in disbelief. "Don''t tell me you were up the entire night?" Alicia''s attention was drawn away from her relentless study as she became aware of their presence. When Alicia finally lifted her head to acknowledge them, a sharp twinge of pain coursed through her neck, a consequence of hours spent in the same strained position. "Alicia..." a little voiceced with disbelief called quietly. Alicia''s gaze shifted to the small figure beside Mabel. Leya. She was Mabel''s 8-year-old daughter. Leya, with teary eyes and already sobbing, evoked a pang of emotion within Alicia. Alicia hadn''t exactly been able to really grasp the fact that she had been asleep for a full year until she saw Leya. The girl had transformed during the time Alicia was unconscious, growing slightly taller and now sporting her hair in two neat pigtails. She was no longer 8. She was 9 years old. The words tumbled from Alicia''s lips, her voiceden with a mixture of awe and realization. "Leya..." She extended her arms, inviting the girl into her embrace. Leya rushed to her side, climbing onto the bed and wrapping her arms around Alicia, tears flowing freely as she cried out loudly. "You... were asleep for so long." Leya''s voice quivered against Alicia''s shoulder, her sobs punctuating the air. Tears welled up in Alicia''s eyes as she held Leya close, soothingly rubbing her back. Her voice trembled as she spoke, carrying an apology that flowed from the depths of her heart. "I''m so sorry for causing you distress. I truly am." Leya''s response was fervent; her words were imbued with the intensity of emotion. "I would have never forgiven you if you had left. I would have hated you forever and ever ¡ª" "Leya!" Mabel interjected gently, moving closer to them and brushing away her own tears. "I know. I know. That was why I came back. You can forgive me now." Alicia''s grip on Leya softened, and she broke the hug, allowing their gazes to meet. A tearful smile graced Alicia''s lips as she reached up to wipe away Leya''s tears with her thumbs. "You look absolutely lovely. Did your grandmother take good care of you?" A nod came from Leya, her voice a mixture of pride and excitement. "A lot has happened. I won first ce in the drawingpetition." "Truly?" Alicia''s eyes widened with astonishment, and she nced at Mabel for confirmation. The nod she received was filled with maternal pride. "That''s quite an achievement." "I hope it was a painting of me again," Alicia yfully teased, a spark of amusement in her eyes. Leya''s response was bubbly and exuberant. "It was! And I''ve gotten much better. I''ve been waiting so long to show it to you..." The sentence trailed off as Leya''s voice wavered, emotion once again oveing her. Alicia''s reassuring hug enveloped Leya, her words tender andden with empathy. "It''s alright. I''m here now, and I''m not going anywhere. I''m sorry." Their presence acted as an unspoken pause, temporarily halting Alicia''s intense research. Nestled in her bed, she cradled Leya close while Mabel scolded her for neglecting her well-being and bemoaned the dark circles under her eyes. Although it was obvious that Mabel was relieved. She would rather have Alicia consume herself with studying this piece of history she wasn''t sure why Alicia was interested in rather than have her constantly in a depressed state. "It doesn''t matter, Mabel. It''s not like I have anywhere to go." Alicia said in a casual tone. Mabel''s concern took a different turn as she mentioned a looming event. "You know, there''s a party you might have to attend soon." "If you want, of course." Mabel quickly added. Alicia''s curiosity was piqued, and her expression turned inquisitive as Mabel handed her an invitation. "It''s a special gathering showcasing recently unearthed artefacts rted to this." She gestured at the script. "This is primarily for the elite." "Real-ly?" The intrigue in Alicia''s voice was unmistakable as she fully sat up and epted the invitation. "I was hesitant to bring it up, considering you might not be up for it. However, given your unexpected fascination with all this, I thought you might find it interesting," Mabel exined. Alicia''s fingers carefully extracted the invitation from its envelope, her eyes scanning the details. "It''s scheduled for next Friday." She said quietly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yes, indeed. But only if you feel prepared. It''s a lot to take in, and I''m not sure if it''s advisable given your current condition¡ª" "I will attend," Alicia interjected firmly, handing back the invitation. Her determination was unwavering as she reiterated her intention. "I wish to be there." Once again, she could feel the flood of emotion rushing towards her and decided to distract herself with the people around her. Mabel''s tone held a mix of caution and care. "Then you must treat this seriously and prioritize your health. This is going to be the first time you are showing up in public after a year. It might not be easy." Leya''s enthusiasm bubbled over as she piped up with hopeful eyes. "Can Ie too?" Alicia''s response was instantaneous, a smile tugging at her lips as she reassured the young girl. "Why not? You can apany me." The joy that illuminated Leya''s face was infectious, and Alicia felt a sense of connection and warmth that transcended her research-driven istion. "Sorry to burst your bubbles, but children are not allowed in there," Mabel said, causing Leya''s face to fall while Alicia gave her a sympathetic look. "How soon am I getting discharged?" Alicia asked Mabel. "After aprehensive test is carried out tomorrow, we''ll know how soon that will happen." Alicia nodded and rubbed the back of her neck again. Once again, she could feel the flood of emotion rushing towards her and decided to distract herself with the people around her. "You didn''t check the Inte for posts about you, right?" Mabel asked hopefully since she had specifically told Alicia not to check them before she handed her a cell phone. "I have been too busy to look through those." Mabel looked at her closely. It didn''t look like she was lying. That was strange. Alicia always cared about what people said about her. "Why are you so interested in this topic? You''ve not actually been a fan of history, except you had to study for some roles." Alicia looked at her thoughtfully. That was true. She knew a thing or two about history, most of which she hadn''t learned on her own. But for some reason, she was drawn to this. It wasn''t only a good distraction for her, but it seemed to be drawing her in. But it was difficult to get any real thing. She only had to wait until the big reveal next Friday night. Chapter 486 Alicia Queen Chapter 486 Alicia Queen Alicia woke up with tears in her eyes again. She had been having strange dreamstely. Maybe it was because she had been burying herself in history that she now even dreams of being a part of it. She felt every sadness, every happiness, every heartbreak. But all the other faces were blurred. It was like she was there, but at the same time, it was like she wasn''t there. It seemed like something was trying to reach out to her, and she was also trying to reach out to something, but there was this invincible barrier that was making it difficult for any of it to happen. Mabel had advised her to stop reading anything on it. Rather, they took yoga sessions seriously to help her meditate and heal her mind. She continued this routine until the night of the asion. She was a bundle of nerves. It was the first time she was going to reveal herself to the world, and she was doing that without the permission of the director. She didn''t need anyone''s permission. Alicia stepped out of the car, the harsh camera shes momentarily blinding her. Reporters swarmed around her, their voices blending into a cacophony of questions and spection. She wore an outfit that elegantlyplemented her striking blue eyes and exuded an air of understated sophistication. When she looked at her reflection earlier, she felt weird. Pretty, yes. But she felt unfamiliar with herself. Her attire consisted of a floor-length gown crafted from a deep midnight blue fabric that seemed to shift and shimmer as she moved. The dress hugged her curves in all the right ces, flowing gracefully with each step she took. The bodice featured intricate beadwork that sparkled like stardust, adding a touch of mour to the ensemble. The neckline of the gown was a delicate sweetheart cut, framing Alicia''s corbones and drawing attention to her slender neck. Her shoulders were adorned with sheerce sleeves that draped down to her wrists, adding an ethereal quality to her appearance. and adding a touch of sparkle to her visage. A delicate silver bracelet adorned her wrist, its simplicity enhancing the overall sophistication of her look. As Alicia turned, the gown revealed an elegant open back with a hint of bare skin juxtaposed against the intricate fabric. The dress then cascaded into a flowing train that trailed behind her, creating an aura of regal elegance. Her choice of essories was subtle yet impactful. She wore a pair of sapphire drop earrings that echoed the colour of her eyes, their deep blue hues capturing the light and adding a touch of sparkle to her visage. A delicate silver bracelet adorned her wrist, its simplicity enhancing the overall sophistication of her look. Alicia''s hair was swept up into an intricate chignon, allowing her delicate features to take centre stage. A few loose tendrils framed her face, softening the overall look and giving her an air of effortless beauty. Her makeup was a perfect bnce between natural and polished. Soft shades of taupe and silver graced her eyelids, enhancing the intensity of her blue eyes. Her lips were adorned with a subtle nude shade, allowing her eyes to remain the focal point. As Alicia stepped onto the red carpet, the cameras couldn''t help but be drawn to her. It seemed like the others were confused for a few seconds before they recognized that it was indeed her. Alicia Queen. Not only the reporters but also the other guests. However, amidst her elegance, there was a subtle gesture that she couldn''t suppress. asionally, she would absentmindedly rub the back of her neck, a motion that Mabel had noticed since the moment she woke up but was now even more frequent tonight. Concern etched Mabel''s features as she gently touched Alicia''s arm. "Are you sure your neck is okay?" Mabel''s voice wasced with concern as her eyes searched Alicia''s face. Alicia''s fingers stilled on the back of her neck as she looked at Mabel, her expression slightly distant. "I don''t know. It''s just a habit, I guess." Mabel''s worry remained, her concern for Alicia''s well-being evident. "Let''s get it checked again tomorrow." "I don''t think that is something we should be discussing with all these cameras on us," Alicia whispered to her. As they continued down the red carpet, Alicia''s fingers returned to their absentminded rubbing. But surrounded by the excitement of the event and the newfound determination in her heart, she pushed aside her worries for the time being, fully embracing the world that awaited her. "Ms. Alicia, why were you keeping your health under wraps?" "Can we expect a statement about your recent absence?" "Are you fit enough to be here tonight?" "Did you really try to take your life?" "Don''t you think you owe your fans an apology?" Mabel tried to get her out of there as soon as possible, and Alicia was quietly following until thest two questions came and she stopped. "No," Mabel warned quietly. She knew what came next whenever Alicia had that determined look on her face. However, it seemed very different tonight. Her aura was different. "You shall all be silent!" Alicia raised her hand, signalling a moment of quiet. The reporters hesitated, their microphones held at the ready, but everyone was suddenly quiet. "Ladies and gentlemen, I understand your curiosity, but my health is a private matter. I am here tonight because I have a genuine interest in the historical artefacts that are being showcased. Let''s focus on the event itself, shall we?" A hush fell over the crowd as Alicia''s stern response reverberated. "If anyone of you dares to ask anything contrary to the reason we are here..." They all waited for the threat. "Don''t just try it. Because I do not even know what I will do to you." Her threat was clear, and every one of them just stared at each other, hesitant. Mabel stood by her side, her eyes wide with surprise, but she was grateful Alicia wasn''t using any curse words but rather a new manner of speech that made her sound odd and archaic. Another reporter regained theirposure and managed to stutter out a question. "Ms. Alicia, can you borate on your connection to history?" Alicia''s face softened as she turned in his direction to answer. "History is like a puzzle ¡ªan intricate tapestry woven with stories, perspectives, and untold secrets. I''ve spent countless hours researching, trying to uncover the truth buried beneathyers of time. Tonight, I''m here to immerse myself in these artefacts and deepen my understanding of our shared past. And I am grateful for the chance to explore all of these even before they are made open to the general public." She said humbly. The reporters exchanged astonished nces, clearly not expecting such a thoughtful response. The camera shes continued to erupt, capturing the moment as Alicia held her ground with an air of quiet determination. Mabel gave Alicia''s hand a discreet squeeze, her pride evident in her eyes. "Well done," she whispered. Alicia returned her smile before they turned away, and they hadn''t moved far ahead when she felt a sharp burn in her heart, and the pain made her gasp and trip. But before she could fall, someone caught her, holding her in his embrace. "Are you having a conversation in your head?" The quiet deep voice asked. Chapter 487 Hunter ? "Are you having a conversation in your head?" The quiet, deep voice asked as he held her firmly in his arms. Alicia could not register anything in her head at that moment as the pain hade abruptly like it was squeezing her heart. In a few seconds, the pain disappeared, and she was able to realize the kind of position she was in, in the presence of so many watchful eyes. She looked up at the young man who had caught her, his strong arms wrapped securely around her. He was tall, his hair raven-dark and perfectly styled, hinting at a rebellious spirit beneath his polished exterior. A wisp of hair fell across his forehead, further entuating his maic allure. His midnight blue suit perfectlyplemented her own attire, and his blue eyes, much like hers, seemed to hold a depth of emotion that was hard to decipher. Their gazes locked for a moment, an unspoken connection forming between them. Alicia felt a strange sensation¡ªa pull, a familiarity, and yet an unsettling feeling that she couldn''t quite ce. His intensity was undeniable, and it resonated with something inside her. His piercing eyes truly held the power to captivate souls. Like deep pools of cerulean, they carried an enigmatic intensity that seemed to hold the mysteries of both the past and the future. Each nce from him felt like a secret shared, a silent understanding forged between kindred spirits. "I-I''m so sorry," Alicia stammered, her cheeks flushing as she pulled away and stood upright, her hand instinctively moving to the back of her neck, where a persistent difort throbbed. Mabel, slow to react, was already apologizing to the man on Alicia''s behalf when he spoke, his voice deep and resonant. "No harm done. Are you alright?" he asked, his gaze still fixed on Alicia. She nodded, her fingers rubbing her neck as the pain continued to prickle beneath her skin. There was something about him that seemed to intensify the sensation. She couldn''t help but feel a mixture of unease and curiosity. The man extended his hand towards her, his lips quirking into a faint smile. "Hunter Cooper. It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, Alicia." Hunter Cooper, the embodiment of captivating allure and hidden depths,manded attention the moment he stepped into a room. Of course, it would be weird if he didn''t have the looks of the male lead in a typical romance novel. With his chiselled features and a strong jawline adorned with impably groomed facial hair, he exuded an air of rugged sophistication that left hearts racing in his wake. His suit, tailored to perfection, clung to his broad shoulders and trim physique, an understated testament to his timeless charm. Standing at the crossroads of rugged charm and refined elegance, Hunter exuded a sense of duality that was impossible to ignore. His aura was both powerful and tender,manding attention while also inviting intimacy. There was an underlying vulnerability in his demeanour, a vulnerability that dared to unveil itself in the presence of the right person. Alicia hesitated. She looked down at his hands for a moment before she ced her hands on his, her own hand feeling small and delicate in his firm grip. "Alicia Queen. Nice to meet you too." Well, he already knew her name, but courtesy demanded she introduce herself too at least. Hunter''s eyes bore into hers, and for a moment, the world around them seemed to fade away. She felt like he was trying to peer into her soul, searching for something she couldn''t quiteprehend. "Have we... met before?" Alicia found herself asking, her brows furrowing in confusion. Hunter''s gaze didn''t waver as he responded, "Mayhaps. But... I''ve heard a lot about you." His confident smile held a hint of mischief as if he knew secrets that the world had yet to uncover. Alicia''s curiosity deepened, but before she could ask anything more, Mabel intervened, her concern evident. "Are you sure you''re feeling alright?" Hunter''s intense gaze finally broke away from Alicia''s, and he seemed to regain hisposure. "Perhaps a change of scenery would help. If you don''t mind, I could apany you for a moment." "Why would you offer to show me around?" Alicia finally asked, trying to put some distance between them at least. He was so... ufortable. "Aren''t you a guest here as well?" Hunter''s lips curled into an amused smile, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Well, the Coopers basically run everything here. So, consider it an insider''s tour." Alicia''s eyebrows shot up in surprise, the realization sinking in. She couldn''t help but be intrigued by the confident aura he exuded. There was definitely more to Hunter than met the eye. "So... shall we?" He offered. Mabel''s hesitation was palpable, but Alicia''s sense of unease mixed with intrigue overpowered her better judgment. "Sure," she said, almost against her own will. As they walked away from the crowd, Alicia''s difort didn''t diminish. She continued to rub the back of her neck, her eyes darting asionally to Hunter, who walked beside her with a sense of purpose. "So, what brings you to this event?" Alicia finally broke the silence, her curiosity getting the better of her. Hunter nced at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. "The same thing that brings everyone here, I suppose. The allure of history, the intrigue of the past." His answer was vague, but Alicia sensed that there was more to it than he was letting on. The more time she spent in his presence, the more she felt the odd sensation intensify¡ªa mixture of attraction, familiarity, and an underlying unease. Mabel, ever vignt, finally caught up with them, looking very worried. "Are you feeling any better now?" She whispered to Alicia. Alicia nodded, her attention divided between Hunter and her difort. "Yeah, I think so." Hunter turned his gaze toward Mabel, his intensity making her slightly ufortable. "I''ll make sure she''s alright. Thank you." He was practically dismissing her. Mabel''s concern was evident, but she seemed to sense that arguing with Hunter wouldn''t get her very far. He was known for... well, being Hunter. She turned her attention to Alicia, whose gaze assured her that she would be okay. Reluctantly, she nodded and walked back towards the event, leaving Alicia and Hunter standing together. It was difficult for them not to catch the eyes of the other guests, especially when they both looked like a couple in their matching outfits. She could faintly hear her name on different lips in the room, and most of the conversations didn''t sound pleasant. It was clear that before the night ended, bloggers would have filled their pages with photos and spections. Damn the spotlight. As Alicia and Hunter stood together, she couldn''t shake the feeling that there was something about him that was deeply connected to her strange dreams and the sensations she had been experiencing. She wanted to ask more questions, but there was an unspoken tension between them, and she wasn''t sure if she was ready to confront whatever it was that he seemed to represent. "Do you believe in the supernatural, Alicia Queen?" Hunter asked while looking ahead. His tone and the way he had said her name sounded odd. "Like what?" She asked, looking at his side profile. "Everything. Witches. Ghosts. Werewolves... Reincarnations." He turned to look at her. Her gaze met his again, and she found herself drawn in by his intensity and the enigmatic air that surrounded him. It was weird. Before, if someone had asked her this question, she would have straight up said no. But for some reason, she seemed to believe it was not impossible. "May...be?" He just stared at her before he took her hand, whispering, "Let me show you something." She looked at their locked hands with furrowed brows and pulled hers away from his grip. "Do not casually touch me," she said in a stern tone before tilting her head for him to lead the way, ignoring the amused glint in his eyes. Chapter 488 A Glimpse Into The Past ? Alicia''s steps echoed softly as she followed him down the dimly lit hallway, her thoughts a whirlwind of curiosity and caution. She had never been one to trust strangers, yet here she was, trailing behind a man she had just met. His confident strides and assured demeanour, however, gave her a faint sense of reassurance, tugging at the thin thread of her curiosity. He led her through corridors that seemed untouched by the rest of the event''s attendees, as if he knew the building intimately. Alicia''s gaze flickered around, noting the disarray of paintings and ornaments that hinted at a forgotten past. Her curiosity burned brighter, urging her to discover what he was leading her toward. They arrived at a door that looked like any other, but the digital interface on it betrayed its significance. He pressed his fingertip against the sensor, causing the door to slide open with a soft hum. Alicia''s skepticism was momentarily reced by surprise. She eyed him warily before a half-joking question escaped her lips, "You''re not secretly a serial killer, are you?" His lips curled into a yful smile as he met her gaze. "I believe you''re stronger than you look. In fact, I''d wager you could take on an army if you so desire," he quipped, his eyes twinkling with amusement. Alicia shot him a re. "Don''t tempt me. If you try anything funny, you''ll regret it." He smirked and stepped inside, waiting for her to join him. With a shared understanding of their boundaries, she stepped into the room after him, her fingers absentmindedly grazing the back of her neck, where the nagging difort persisted. When the door slid closed, she quickly turned to look at it before turning to look ahead. Descending a dimly lit staircase, he engaged her in conversation, guiding her thoughts to Queen Tam and her ascent to power. "How much do you know about the history?" He asked her without looking at her. As Alicia recounted the limited information she knew, he listened intently, his expression a mix of curiosity and something else she couldn''t quite ce. She spoke of the contradictory ounts surrounding it, but the only constant was Queen Tam''s conquests and her influence on the formation of their present-day country. The warrior queen''s fiery temper and her deep affection for her father and nanny, Lady Paulina, were the constants in the varying narratives. "She took down kingdoms and raised kingdoms effortlessly, expanding Drakoria until it turned into our present-day country. That''s dope." She concluded. He nodded thoughtfully, as if her words triggered memories of his own. "Did you know Drakoria was once called the Moon Kingdom?" She didn''t know that. "As well as Lady Paulina''s journey from a timid maid to one of the notable women in the history of this country?" Alicia shook her head. "I wasn''t exactly aware of that. There are so many things about history that we cannot tell since we didn''t live in those times." He continued, his voice taking on a warm undertone as he recounted the period after Princess Amber''s soul disappeared. Paulina had dedicated months to tending to the princess''s body and painting her portrait to ease her grief. These paintings captured the essence of the happy moments of Princess Amber, Lady Susan, and Lady Luciana. Over time, these portraits came to hold a special ce in the hearts of the people, especially that of Princess Amber, as she was seen as their guardian against misfortune. People wanted her portraits in their chambers as a form of talisman to protect themselves and their families. But then someone thought it would be best to mize it and was willing to turn it into a business. "Lord Lance," Alicia murmured under her breath, a knowing look in her eyes. His chuckle held a hint of admiration. "Impressive that you guessed. Indeed, Lord Lance saw the potential for profit and proposed selling these cherished works. Even going to the houses of those who had already received the portraits for free to demand they pay for them." Aliciaughed, a feeling of satisfaction washing over her. She had a hunch that Lance''s entrepreneurial spirit, from all she had read, wouldn''t go to waste, even if he was officially the pce treasury minister. Hunter acknowledged Lance''s role in transforming Lady Paulina''s talent into a thriving business, expanding from Princess Amber''s portraits to others who wanted their own portraits, those of their family, lover, children, and so on. People were also willing to learn from her, and she had so many apprentices, most of whom were little girls. Before his passing, King Eli himself recognized Lady Paulina''s aplishments, honouring her talent and officially having her name written in their book as the first businesswoman in their kingdom''s history. A woman who wasn''t even their kind. Hunter''s tone shifted, his eyes glinting with a mixture of emotions as he reminded her of the first woman in Drakoria''s history book. Princess Amber''s valour had opened doors for others; her legacy was a testament to her sacrifices. She was the reason Lady Paulina could advance from a little ve to a maid in exile to a pce maid, growing to not only be a great businesswoman but also married a Sir; she practically raised the greatest queen in history, and her son, who was a few years younger than Queen Tam, was the only one who could tolerate Queen Tam, and both had found love with each other. Tears of pride welled up in Alicia''s eyes as she absorbed the significance of Lady Paulina''s journey. She admired the strength and resilience that were evident in the stories of those who defied societal norms, but she was not sure why the story of this particrdy was always touching for her, even having a supportive husband who was beside her, running his little infirmary while she did her business. Hunter handed her a handkerchief for her tears while watching her intensely, but she shook her head and said she was fine as she looked up to blink back tears. "How... do you know all of this?" Her gaze scrutinized him, suspicion tinging her inquiry. She had spent days researching this and knew barely enough, yet he sounded like he had witnessed everything firsthand. He looked at her as he reached to open another door with his fingerprint, putting an end to the long trip. Their steps led them to a room bathed in the soft glow of dim lighting, a space teeming with historical artefacts. Photographs adorned the walls, capturing moments frozen in time. Books and paintings stood as testaments to stories that had shaped their world. Objects of significance rested on disy, each holding a fragment of their shared history. It was a treasure trove of memories waiting to be explored, and Alicia''s heart quickened with anticipation. Hunter''s gaze swept over the room, a mixture of reverence and nostalgia evident in his eyes. He gestured for Alicia to follow him, and together they moved amidst the collection of historical artefacts. There was a quiet energy in the room, as if the stories of the past were whispering to them. "None of these are meant to be seen by the public eye. They hold secrets and tales that go beyond what history records." He whispered, his words echoing in the room. Alicia''s brow furrowed as she turned to him, her voice tinged with curiosity and suspicion. "Then... why bring me here?" A small smile touched Hunter''s lips; his gaze steady on hers. "Because I believe you''re meant to see something, something that connects you to the past in ways you might not yetprehend." His voice was hushed as he spoke. He led her to a particr painting, tucked away in a corner, bathed in the soft glow of a spotlight. He turned her attention back to the painting, and as Alicia''s eyes focused on the portrait before her, her breath caught in her throat. It was as if time had frozen, with the image holding her captive. The person depicted in the painting bore a striking resemnce to her¡ªfacial features that were hauntingly familiar yet belonged to a different era. Alicia''s gaze darted from the portrait to Hunter, a mixture of confusion and shock ying across her features. The truth slowly dawned on her, a realization that seemed both impossible and undeniable. "Who... who is that?" she stammered, her voice barely a whisper. Hunter''s expression held a depth of emotion, a mixture of understanding and empathy. "That, Alicia, is a glimpse into the past. A past that holds a connection to you, a connection that stretches across time." As the weight of his words settled over her, Alicia''s mind raced toprehend the implications. She stared at the portrait, the eyes of the person in the painting seeming to meet hers with an uncanny familiarity. The pieces of a puzzle she hadn''t known existed began to fall into ce, and the sensation of d¨¦j¨¤ vu that had haunted her for so long suddenly made sense. Her shaking hands found her neck, rubbing intensely, and her heart raced as she looked back at Hunter, her voice trembling with a mixture of awe and uncertainty. "You''re saying... I''m connected to this person?" Hunter nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "Your connection to this person, to this history, is more profound than you could have imagined. The past and the present are intertwined, and you''re standing at the crossroads of it all." It didn''t make any sense. None of it did. Alicia''s mind raced, her thoughts a whirlwind of questions and revtions. She stared at the portrait, her reflection mingling with that of the person who seemed to bear her very essence. The room around her seemed to fade away, leaving only the portrait and the enigmatic man beside her. She turned to look at the man beside her, taking a step backwards away from him as her nervous voice whispered, "Who... are you?" The air around them crackled with unspoken questions and a growing sense of urgency. **** A/N: In case you have any questions for the characters to answer¡ªdead or alive¡ªdrop them. That would be thest chapter with their answers. Chapter 489 A.Q? ? When Alicia left Mabel''s apartment that night, an inscrutable feeling settled within her. Attending the event felt like apelling summons, as if the answers she had been pursuing were intricately woven into this asion. The pull of destiny was undeniable, though the reason behind it eluded her grasp. As she ventured deeper into the enigmatic realm of her curiosity, a surge of questions tumbled through her mind. Observing the individuals surrounding Queen Tam, she contemted who among them held the key to the mystifying history she longed to unearth. Could it be King Eli, whose memory lingered despite his brief reign, changing the annual banquet date tomemorate his death rather than the full moon? Or perhaps Lady Paulina and Sir Williams? No, not quite. Did Lord Alvin, the silent overseer of pce affairs, who watched over the adventurous Queen Tam even in her reckless youth, hold the answers? Or Lord Harvey, the War Minister who was also Queen Tam''s mentor andbat instructor? Maybe it was Harvey''s sister, who persistently sought closeness to Queen Tam, harbouring dreams of bing her stepmother? And what about Alexander, Sir William''s son, whose impulsive deration of affection for Queen Tam had turned a court meeting into aedy since it was recorded he didn''t exactly have the best senses and hadn''t been aware others were in the room, which had led to his mother chasing him around with her shoe for always embarrassing himself and the queen? Or could Lance, the audacious Minister who defied conventions by marrying amoner, hold the key? Prince Harold, who chose a life of seclusion and never assumed the title of King after his beloved''s passing? Could it be Lady Luciana, whose alleged infertility led her to leave the pce when her husband pursued another marriage? Or her husband, who abandoned his royal duties to search for her, ultimately finding her. Her grave? Was it the indomitable Queen Tam herself, known for her valiant spirit, who raced into battle with her white horse? What was it that Alicia yearned to unearth within the folds of history? And why did she sense an unspoken connection to the enigmatic figure named Hunter? Hunter''s gaze remained unyielding, radiating intensity and profound anticipation. An aura of mystery surrounded him, and Alicia''s curiosity was piqued. With a measured tone, he posed a question that sent ripples through the air, setting aside her previous inquiry about his identity. "Have you ever contemted the possibility that every individual in the world might share an underlying connection? Amon thread weaving us all together?" Taken aback by his unexpected question, Alicia furrowed her brows, her wary eyes still locked on his. "I... asked you a question." He moved toward another framed work¡ªa disy of ancient writings. "Consider the Christian belief, for instance, that we all descend from Adam and Eve. Different cultures have their own beliefs, but they all converge on the idea of amon source." "What are you suggesting?" she asked, her voice quiet and hesitant. Hunter''s smile held a knowing edge. "I suggest that we, too, share amon origin¡ªa bond that surpasses ourprehension." Perplexed, Alicia''s expression twisted into one of bewilderment. "Are you implying that we might be somehow rted?" Hunter''s gaze sparkled with an enigmatic charm. "Perhaps, in a way that transcends the conventional understanding of kinship. It''s aplex concept, and even I don''t possess all the answers." As Alicia grappled with theplexity of his words, Hunter pressed on. "Much like diverse cultures possess their own narratives, we possess a unique history¡ªa history that ties us to a shared origin that has sculpted our world." Intrigued yet cautious, Alicia leaned in slightly. "And this shared origin you speak of... what exactly is it?" Hunter''s eyes held a deep reverence. "It''s a history that stretches further back than wemonly acknowledge, a tapestry woven with veiled truths that go beyond written ounts." As his gaze returned to the portrait that eerily resembled Alicia, her curiosity deepened. "Consider this portrait," he murmured, his voice like a delicate whisper. "When Lady Paulina created it, did she intend to capture your present self or perhaps the essence of a version of you that transcends time?" Her perplexity deepened. "Why would she paint me? I''m 26. Not some immortal who has lived through time." Hunter''s words resonated with significance. "What if the ''you'' she painted isn''t confined to your chronological age? What if the essence of your existence threads through the fabric of time?" "Are you proposing... the idea of reincarnation?" Alicia''s skepticism was palpable, an echo of the supernatural question he had posed earlier. Hunter''s gaze bore into hers with unwavering intensity. "It''s not merely a matter of reincarnation, Alicia Queen. Our shared history carries elements that defy the ordinary." "Who was she?" Alicia inquired softly, her gaze returning to the portrait that stirred a strange feeling within her. However, his answer greatly surprised her and left her stupefied. "Queen Tam''s grandmother," he revealed before leading her to an ancient inscription that bore the history of the strange bride of a prince. "The strange bride of the prince, believed to havee from the future after an attempted suicide; A woman for whom the prince was willing to relinquish everything, including his royal title. His beloved A.Q." A.Q? Alicia''s brows furrowed, her mind grappling to make sense of it all. She moved closer to the inscription, absorbing the words that held a profound meaning. "This... doesn''t make any sense," she breathed, feeling her chest constricting and making it difficult to breathe. Engaging with the stories etched into the portraits, Hunter spoke softly. "Consider the events of the past year¡ªthe circumstances surrounding your year-long unconsciousness, the curious entries in the court records." "I was unconscious for a year. What more could there be to it?!" She turned, snapping at him as her frustration surged. Hunter''s voice bore a weight of significance. "You knew where your body was, but what of your essence? Your soul?" The realization washed over her like a wave crashing against the shore. "My soul was... absent," she murmured, a torrent of memories flooding her mind. Those vivid dreams. The emotions that felt foreign yet undeniably real. Chapter 490 The Mark ? Alicia''s mind raced, piecing together fragments of moments that had felt like distant echoes. The warmth of an embrace, the sound ofughter, tears shed in solitude, moments of intense fear, and a deep well of bravery¡ªshe recalled it all. The enigmatic experiences that had brushed against her consciousness during her year-long unconsciousness suddenly gained rity. Could these sensations, these memories, be echoes of a past life? As if sensing her internal struggle, Hunter''s presence offered a steady anchor. He remained patient, allowing her to navigate the tide of emotions and revtions. Alicia''s conflicted gaze flitted between the ancient writings and Hunter''s intense eyes, seeking answers to questions that extended beyond the boundaries of logic. A whisper of vulnerability edged into her voice. "Are these... memories? Or am I... imagining things?" Hunter''s response held a soothing reassurance. "They''re not mere imaginings, Alicia Queen. They are glimpses into the threads of a history that connects you to something far greater than the present." Alicia''s breath trembled as the weight of understanding settled upon her. "A history that... that defies time?" Hunter nodded, his gaze unwavering. "A history that intertwines souls across the ages, shaping destinies and weaving a tapestry of experiences." With every passing moment, Alicia''s internal struggle intensified. The skepticism that had initially coloured her perception was now entwined with a growing eptance of the inexplicable. She grappled with the idea that her existence transcended her current reality, that her soul bore the imprints of lives lived before¡ªa notion that tugged at the boundaries of her understanding. Hunter''s presence felt like an anchor in the sea of uncertainty. His words carried a quiet conviction. "It''s a lot to absorb, Alicia. A journey of self-discovery and revtion that will reshape your understanding of identity and purpose." The weight of the revtions bore down on her, leaving Alicia torn between the familiarity of her own reality and the intriguing possibility thaty before her¡ªa journey that would unearth ancient truths and unlock the depths of her own soul. As the room''s artefacts seemed to whisper their secrets, Alicia''s gaze returned to the portrait that bore an uncanny resemnce to her. The features of the past and present converged, blurring the lines between the ages. The sensation of being caught in the ebb and flow of time was both unsettling and exhrating. Hunter''s voice cut through her contemtion, gentle yet resolute. "Take your time, Alicia. This is a profound revtion, and the journey ahead will be one of profound transformation." Alicia''s gaze met his, a storm of emotions swirling within her. Her internal struggle continued, but beneath the uncertainty was a burgeoning curiosity¡ªa curiosity that beckoned her to embrace the mystery before her and embark on a journey that would bridge the gap between her present self and the echoes of history. "If... if what you say is true, if I carry the essence of an ancestor within me," she began tentatively, "what... does that mean for my future?" Hunter''s eyes held a depth of understanding. "It means that the past, present, and future are intricately interwoven. It means that your journey holds significance not just for you but for the entirety of our shared history." Alicia''s uncertainty mingled with a newfound sense of purpose. She looked around the room, the artefacts seeming to echo with whispers of forgotten stories. The weight of her choices and the responsibility of her connection to the past rested upon her shoulders. None of it made sense to Alicia. The weight of the revtions settled heavily upon her, a mix of emotions swirling within her like a turbulent storm she couldn''t escape. "Would you like to take a break and return to the main event? I do not wish to overwhelm you," Hunter''s voice offered a lifeline amidst the chaos. Alicia''s head shook in a feeble attempt to clear her thoughts. As a tear inexplicably escaped her eye, she quickly wiped it away, her sniffling echoing the confusion that gripped her. "I should... I should believe that my soul went on a journey. That is... that is what you are saying?" Her voice was a whisper, trembling with disbelief and uncertainty. How was it that just one slip a year ago had messed her up this much? Hunter''s words floated in the air, almost surreal. She struggled to absorb their meaning, the unknown threatening to consume her. "You were present in body but not in essence. The mystery surrounding your identity can''t be exined away by mere chance. And like I said earlier, you may not get it since you''ve only unlocked half of you and not the other half¡ª" "Hold on!" Exhaustion edged her voice, a trembling hand halting his words. "What do I have to do with all this? Let''s say it''s a coincidence that this woman looks like me. Let''s even say I believe the crazy tale about my soul going on a journey on its own and dwelling in the past. What... what does it all have to do with me now? Why did you want me toe here?" She asked, her voice a mix of exhaustion and frustration. Hunter''s gaze bore into her, intense and understanding. A mixture of urgency and empathy radiated from his eyes, making her feel both drawn to his words and apprehensive of them. "You carry half the soul of our ancestor. His essence¡ªthe essence of his wolf''s life¡ªflows within you." Alicia''s incredulousughter was a reflexive response, disbelief washing over her like a tidal wave. She couldn''t wrap her mind around what he was suggesting. "You''re saying I carry someone else''s soul within me?" Hunter''s gentleness contrasted with the gravity of his words. His soothing tone seemed to cushion the impact of the revtion, though it did little to alleviate her confusion. "Not just anyone''s, but that of a pivotal figure in our history. You bear a mark that signifies this connection, one that ties all of us together." Her fingers moved unconsciously to her neck, where she had felt the inexplicable difort. Her touch lingered there, as if seeking reassurance or anchoring herself amidst the turmoil. "I don''t... I don''t have any marks on me." She stuttered. Chapter 491 A Blend 491 A Blend "I don''t... I don''t have any marks on me." She stuttered. Hunter''s unwavering gaze held a steadfast calmness. It was as if he saw beyond the surface, prating into the hiddenyers of her existence. "You can''t see it now. But we can see it." His gaze shifted to her hand on her neck, and she followed his line of sight, her brows knitting together. "It''s a part of your identity that''s been hidden, waiting for the right time to reveal itself." Her confusion intensified, like a fog thickening in her mind. She felt like she was groping in the dark, trying to make sense of a reality that seemed to slip further from her grasp. "I don''t understand." "It''splex, and it will take time for you toprehend fully. Around four years from now, when you turn thirty, your mark will reveal itself to you, and the pieces will fall into ce." Alicia''s heart raced, anxiety gnawing at her. The idea of waiting, of not understanding until yearster, was a heavy weight on her chest. "You''re saying I won''t understand this until I''m thirty?" She asked quietly, not sure why she was taking his words seriously. Hunter''s eyes held a glimmer of assurance, a light amidst the uncertainty. His presence seemed to steady her as she wavered on the precipice of a new reality. "You won''t be alone in this journey. Those of our kind who have lived for up to three decades can see the mark too. They''ll help guide you as well." Her emotions surged, a torrent of thoughts and feelings flooding her mind. She felt a mixture of wariness and awe, like a delicate bnce on the edge of a precipice. "Who are you, Hunter? What are you? Who are the others?" Hunter''sposure remained unshaken, a pir of stability in the midst of her chaos. His calmness contrasted with her inner turmoil. "I am a blend." Alicia''s bewilderment deepened, her need for understanding driving her to probe further. "A blend of what?" Hunter''s smile held weight, as if he understood theplexity of his own existence. It was a smile that carried history, and it tugged at her curiosity. "A blend of two ancient forces¡ªthe Blood Moon and the Grey Moon." Alicia''s brows furrowed, her confusion only deepening as she tried to grasp the significance of his words. "Blood Moon? Grey Moon? What are you talking about?" Hunter''s voice held a quiet wisdom, as if he were revealing a secret that had been kept hidden for centuries. "In the past, they might have called me a werewolf or a witch. I''m more of a hybrid, a merging of those elements." Alicia''s eyes widened in disbelief, caught between skepticism and fascination. "You''re telling me you''re a... a werewolf-witch hybrid?" Hunter''s demeanour carried a mixture of gravity and lightness as if he understood the incredulity his words might evoke. "The truth is more nuanced, but that''s the essence of it, yes." The tension that had built within Alicia found release in unexpectedughter, the sound echoing through the room. "So, you''re saying you''re a werewolf-witch hybrid?" Hunter''s earnestness, however, quelled herughter, recing it with a solemn understanding. "It''s a bit moreplex than that, but at its core, yes." As Alicia''sughter ebbed, her gaze turned sombre. She looked around the room¡ªthe artefacts, the portraits¡ªeach suddenly carrying new weight. A shiver of realization ran down her spine, and herughter transformed into a serious contemtion that left her with goosebumps. "This is real, isn''t it? This history, these connections¡ªthey''re all real." Fearced her words, her voice betraying the unease she felt. Hunter''s understanding gaze met hers, bridging the gap between her uncertainty and his unwavering knowledge. "The history you''re uncovering is real, and your ce within it is equally real." Her eyes held a mixture of emotions¡ªfear, curiosity, determination. It was as if she stood on the threshold of an unknown world, both eager and reluctant to take that next step. "How long have you known about all this? And why reveal it to me now?" Her voice quivered, her fatigue evident in every word. Hunter''s smile was a mixture of gentleness and authenticity, a balm to her weary soul. "Sometimes, knowledge unfolds when the time is right. Every event, every revtion, has its purpose." His thoughtful gaze seemed to prate the very essence of her being. He offered an exnation that resonated deep within her, even if she couldn''t fully grasp it yet. "This piece¡ªthe portrait¡ªwas discovered recently. I intended to meet you before the Blood Moon graced the sky, but it seems fate had other ns. There''s a reason for the timing, for this moment." Alicia''s emotions churned like a tempest, caught between the whirlwind of uncertainty and the flicker of anticipation. Her heart battled against the grip of fear, while her determination fought to stand its ground. It was as if she stood on the edge of a precipice, torn between the pull of an unknown abyss and the promise of a transformative journey that could reshape her entire reality. Turning to Hunter, Alicia''s voice wavered, a blend of awe and uncertainty betraying her inner turmoil. "What does it truly mean, Hunter? Carrying this essence, this mark¡ªwhat am I being drawn into?" Hunter''s gaze locked onto hers, his eyes holding a depth that hinted at concealed truths. His words were measured, carefully selected, as if he were treading on fragile ground. "There''s someone who seeks you, Alicia. A presence whose path is fated to intertwine with yours. This connection you share defies the constraints of time and space." Alicia''s brow knitted in perplexity. "But how? And why would someone be seeking me out in this way?" Hunter''s gaze remained unwavering, an intensity burning within. "The ''how'' is less significant in the grand scheme of our existence. It''s the ''why'' that''s rooted in a legacy spanning generations." Confusion and frustration mingled in Alicia''s expression. She found herself growing frustrated with his manner of speech, how he veiled everything inyers ofplexity. She hated it. "I think... I need to go," Alicia uttered, her breath escaping slowly,den with apprehension. Hunter''s demeanour softened, his voice a gentle reassurance. "Of course. Take all the time you require. Within this room, there are hidden revtions waiting for you, ready to be unravelled at your own pace." Alicia''s gaze held onto the portrait that seemed to mirror her own countenance, before sweeping across the room¡ªa space filled with echoes of untold stories. Her breath caught, a mnge of trepidation and curiosity swirling within her, a reflection of the maelstrom of emotions that had be her constantpanion. Chapter 492 The Letters ? Alicia found herself immersed in her room that night, the outside world fading into insignificance as she grappled with the profound magnitude of what she had learned. Her mind was a swirling vortex of images and narratives, each vying for space within her consciousness. Everything felt surreal, like an enigmatic dream or a haunting nightmare from which she couldn''t rouse herself. Seated on her bed, she clutched the small diary that Hunter had entrusted to her just before they parted ways that night, her fingertips tracing the worn leather cover. Emotions churned within her, a tempestuous storm of fear, weariness, disbelief, and sadness swirling in her heart. It was as if an invisible weight settled heavily on her chest, making it difficult to draw a steady breath. Exhaling a trembling sigh, she delicately brushed away an errant tear that had escaped her eye, determined to maintain herposure. Crying felt futile, yet her emotions were unrelenting, churning like turbulent waters just beneath the surface. Her attention shifted to the note from Hunter, still unopened since the moment he had handed it to her. He had also offered it with hisplimentary card. A mixture of curiosity and trepidation held her back, battling for supremacy within her. After a hesitant moment, Alicia carefully unfolded the note. The words, though few, radiated a sense of reassurance that provided a semnce of sce amidst the turmoil within her. "I will be here for you." A single tear sshed onto the note, and she hastily brushed it away, her nose sniffling in tandem. It was as if Hunter''s words offered a lifeline, an anchor amid the chaos threatening to engulf her. She trembled as she held the note, Hunter''s message imbuing her with a tentative sense of hope. But her attention was inexorably drawn back to the old diary. With a mix of apprehension and longing, she opened it. It was as if she already knew, even before she opened it, that it belonged to Queen Tam. Her shaking fingers flipped the pages until she found faded ink scribbled across the pages, and then she began to read their pages. The words, written in a style that transported her to another era, bore the hallmark of ages past. "Should I write to you or should I not? Will you ever find it or will you not? Are you a part of me or are you not? Do I want you to know me or do I not? They say you were simply a soul in another body. Then do I belong from the soul or to the body? Or do I belong with both? Who am I writing this to? The soul or the body? I have done a lot of thinking. And whichever of you I belong to, I know you will find it. You may not know me. But I know you. And I have heard tales. I have received enlightenment and have seen you a couple of times. But you cannot see me. At least, not yet. Is it tough for you? Tough that you cannot remember anything? Do I wish for you to remember anything? To remember father? To remember me? I do not wish for it. Because I have seen how painful it is watching them every day. Watching Lord Harvey every day. Watching Uncle Alvin every day. Watching Lady Paulina. Watching Sir Williams. Watching Lord Evan. Watching Lady Victoria. Watching everyone who misses the others they cannot see. Watching father. And it is painful for me. Even though I never met you. But you shall know that I love you dearly. And I shall be as great as you. I shall protect all those dear to me and continue to break every curse that threatens to destroy my people. I shall continue to end very and make all of us of different kinds as one. I, Tikvah Alicia Maria, promise you, the body and soul, this. And I want history to know that the great Queen Tam found a role model in herte mother. And I shall continue to think about you until I die." ¡ªTAM Tears blurred Alicia''s vision as she absorbed the poignant words. The diary became a conduit through time, connecting her to a past she had only just begun to grasp. Emotions surged forth, overwhelming and raw, as she permitted herself to experience the emotions that had been suppressed for so long. She cried, each sob a cathartic release of pent-up feelings that had long yearned to break free. With the finality of a closing chapter, Alicia turned the page of the book gently, her tears absorbed by the fabric of her blouse. Her heart weighed heavily, yet she felt an inexplicable connection, an understanding that transcended logic. She took a deep, shuddering breath and gingerly flipped through the diary''s pages, her fingers brushing against something tucked within its confines. Her curiosity piqued, she withdrew the folded paper thaty hidden within. The paper was aged and yellowed, its ink faded with the passage of time. It was a letter, written in a long script, that whispered of days long gone by. As she unfolded it, her eyes widened at the sight of a letter addressed to "A.Q." The weight of its contents seemed to hang in the air, a mixture of apprehension and curiosity settling over her. The letter was longer than she anticipated, and so was the sheet of paper, which had an unusually long size and was filled with faded ink. Yet, for reasons she couldn''tprehend, she couldn''t bring herself to read it. There was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind¡ªa strange sense that the words within were meant for her. It didn''t make sense, and yet the feeling persisted, leaving her torn between curiosity and uncertainty. The letter started with the word, "Princess," And it was as if she could hear the voice in her head. A faint, tender voice. And as she gazed at the words, her eyes were drawn to the dates, each representing a passage of time, a chapter in the author''s life. Chapter 493 Two-Decade-Long Letter ? And as she gazed at the words, her eyes were drawn to the dates, each representing a passage of time, a chapter in the author''s life: 1507 I have never written a letter before. 1508 I don''t know what to write. 1509 ... 1511 My heart aches. 1512 1514 The ink that flows from my pen cannot possibly convey the depths of my longing, the torment of my regret, and the fierce determination that fuels my every breath. 1516 I must confess, my beloved, that my heart aches with the thought that you may bepletely gone from this world. The idea that my own shorings may have yed a part in driving you away is a burden too heavy to bear. 1516 Your life, so precious and radiant, extinguished because of my ws¡ªsuch a reality is a torment that gnaws at my very soul. 1517 I cannot do this. 1518 How I wish I were deserving of the love you bestowed upon me. Your affection, so pure and unreserved, illuminated my life like the brightest star in the darkest night. Yet, in the face of such boundless devotion, I found myself faltering, unable to reciprocate in a way that would honour the me you ignited within me. 1518 My heart aches with remorse. 1519 I yearn to turn back time, to rewrite the past, and to prove myself worthy of the love that you so generously offered. But, s, time is unforgiving, and the choices I made or didn''t have led us to this painful juncture. 1520 I could not do it, Princess. I have not forgotten you. How could I? The memory of yourughter, your touch, your unwavering belief in us lingers in every corner of my mind. I cannot erase the echo of your presence, nor would I ever want to. You are a part of me, etched into the very essence of my being. Yet, as much as I yearn to seek you out, to bridge the chasm that separates us, I find myself bound by an inescapable truth. I must wait. Patiently, with a heart that aches and a soul that yearns, I must wait until the remainder of my soul can no longer remain in my body and fade away to find the other part dwelling within you. 1521 Waiting is a torment of its own. I long to traverse the realms in search of you, to find you no matter the obstacles, the hardships, the barriers that stand in my way. I am prepared to endure, to fight, to journey through time and space until I am reunited with the part of me thatpletes this fractured soul. 1522 I miss you. 1522 I''m going crazy. 1524 If I held the quill of destiny in my hands, I would rewrite our narrative to align with the symphony of my heart. I would sculpt this world, no matter the challenges that arise, to embody the aspirations that course through my very being. 1525 I''ve been consumed by a vision, a yearning for a world where every thread of our existence is woven into a tapestry of perfection. In my musings, I imagined a reality where the Zealot family''s presence was but a fleeting thought. I dream of my father and mother finding each other in the embrace of love, leading simple lives asmoners. A union built not on titles but on the purest emotions that bind two souls together And for Harvey, finding Amber as a pce princess with parents who love her and care deeply for her. Their days intertwined in a harmonious symphony of happiness. Luciana would find a love worthy of her essence. Children would fill her life, a reflection of her heart''s desire. Their family, a sanctuary of love, would thrive under the warmth of sharedughter. Alvin, my dearest brother, would stand hand in hand with Susan, always fed up with her antics, but he wouldn''t leave her. Because it was those quirks that first drew him to her. As for the woman who held my heart, I envision a world where she could shed the masks society imposed. In this perfect realm, she would dance with me, the vige''s heartbeat echoing in the rhythm of our steps. Our daughter, a reflection of her strangeness, would grace our lives with an otherworldly light. And then, one day, we would all converge under the gaze of the moon,ughter flowing by the riverside and yful jests exchanged with vigers. The world would mirror our dreams, a harmonious symphony orchestrated from the threads of our desires. 1525 But know this, above all else¡ªI am prepared to wait, to hold vigil until the threads of our souls find their way back to each other. Mymitment is unwavering, for as time unfurls its tapestry, I remain steadfast in my resolve. My mark, my blood. They will draw you to me and I to you. 1526 The moon waxes and wanes, and with each cycle, I am reminded of the patience that defines my love for you. It is a waiting game that binds us, connecting our souls through the ebb and flow of existence. When you return¡ªor if you return¡ªwe shall embark on a journey together. A journey that transcends the boundaries of time and space, a journey that leads us inexorably to the ce where we were always meant to be. 1527 With a love that knows no bounds. The next year came with a different writing.* 1533 Father passed. And now I shall bring a close to this two-decade-long letter. I hope you find each other. Goodbye, Mother. The words danced before Alicia''s eyes, each sentence carving deeper into her heart. A lump formed in her throat, her chest constricted by an overwhelming flood of emotions. Alicia clenched the letter to her chest, a sudden quake shaking her body, threatening to shatter the fragile facade she had been holding up. She tried to hold back, to control the surge of emotions threatening to erupt, but her body betrayed her. A startled sob escaped her lips, and with it, the floodgates of her emotions burst open. Tears streamed down her cheeks, unstoppable and uncontroble, as her shoulders shook with the weight of the years that had led to this moment. Chapter 494 The End Was Only The Beginning. ? Her grip on the letter tightened, her knuckles turning white as if she could anchor herself to the past through Harold''s words. It was a torrent of feelings she couldn''t suppress any longer, a release that was both cathartic and overwhelming. The dam that had held back her pain, her confusion, and her longing finally gave way, and she cried¡ªa cry that held the echoes of the love, the sorrow, and the connection that transcended time itself. She could feel the weight of Harold''s emotions, his regrets, and his hope, all mingling within the words he had penned. It was a connection that transcended time, a love that had survived the ages, and a promise that they would find each other once again. Tears streamed down her face, each drop carrying the emotions Harold had poured into his words. The letter was a testament to his unwavering love, to his pain, and to his longing that spanned centuries. It was a love letter to a woman he could never forget, even across the chasm of time itself. Gently wiping her tears, she turned her gaze to her phone. The weight of her impending decision pressed upon her, urging her to take action. With a trembling hand, she copied Hunter''s number from his card and dialled it. As soon as he answered, her voice wavered as she said, "Can... I go back?" The silence on the other end of the line was heavy, almost oppressive. Hunter''s voice eventually broke through the void, asking if she remembered anything else. She shook her head instinctively, though he couldn''t see her, and confirmed that she was merely curious about the potential to go back. In response, Hunter''s voice carried a tone of caution and resignation, reminding her that she was bound by the constraints of the Blood Moon and its elusive cycle. He gently conveyed that she could do nought until her third decade''s Blood Moon graced the heavens. She sobbed quietly. He listened quietly. "What... what would happen? If it works. If I go back." She asked amidst her tears. Hunter''s reply echoed with uncertainty, echoing the profound mystery that shrouded her destiny. It was an endless possibility. "I cannot say." He spoke quietly. "Will you return to the time prior to your first meeting?" "Would you recall the first life you had there if you returned a second time? "Would you have memories of this world if you ventured there a second time? "Would those you wish to meet recognize you?" "Would you return in a different body with a different fate?" Hunter reminded her that the forces of fatey beyond her grasp and that destiny was a current that flowed regardless of her desires. But one thing he was sure of was that she would be able to get her answer when she could see the mark, and just maybe, before she would decide, their souls would find each other. Who knows? Perhaps they have already met but haven''t been able to recognize each other yet. Alicia''s heart clenched with a mix of hope and trepidation. She nodded to herself, even though Hunter couldn''t perceive the gesture. She understood that her ultimate decisiony in wait until her thirtieth year. Taking a deep breath, Alicia whispered, her voice steady despite the emotions swirling within, "We''ll meet again," before ending the call. Her room enveloped her in shadows, the world outside shrouded in a silence that matched the heaviness in her heart. Alicia remained seated in the dimly lit room, the gravity of her emotions still clinging to her like a shadow. Yet amidst the weight that pressed upon her, a newfound resolve began to emerge. She was Alicia Queen, a blend of the past and the present, a unique force woven by time itself. As her tears dried and her breathing steadied, she knew that the end of this chapter marked only the beginning of her journey. As she stood there, bathed in the soft glow of her room''s light, Alicia acknowledged that the path ahead was uncertain. The letters, the diary, and the echoes of history whispered to her¡ªa blend of love, loss, and hope that transcended the boundaries of time. Taking onest look at the diary and the letters that now held so much significance, she felt a mixture of gratitude and anticipation. The journey thaty ahead would be challenging, but she was resolute. She was ready to embrace her destiny, to uncover the threads that connected her to a love that spanned centuries. But she had a feeling that when that time came, She would seek him out first. She would return to him. She would remember all of it. And she was going to create that Utopia for Harold. With everyone he loved in it. With a determined exhtion, Alicia rose, her eyes alight with a renewed sense of purpose. She understood that while the past was written, the future was a nk canvas, waiting for her to leave her mark upon it. The ache in her heart mingled with a spark of determination, a recognition that the story wasn''t over yet¡ªit was only the prologue to an unwritten adventure. The end was only the beginning. AND THE CURTAINS DREW CLOSE. ***** Woww!!!! Thank you for reading THE CURSED PRINCE''S STRANGE BRIDE. Thank you for following. It''s been two years, and a lot has happened during those two years. But I am d to have thought about this book. I am d to have started it. And I am d to have met you all. Thank you to all my lovely readers. Thank you for the votes. Thank you for thements. Thank you for buying privilege chapters. Thank you for the GIFTS! Thank you forughing with me as we read the chapters. Thank you for crying with me. Most especially, thank you for loving this book. As I mentioned earlier... if you have questions for all the characters, drop them before tomorrow ends. Let''s keep our fingers crossed that the future of our favourite characters is going to turn out the way we hope! PS: I don''t think I''ll be starting The Alpha And The Bandit until maybe next year. But look forward to an update from me. I hope you are following my Instagram. That book will be focused on exactly what a perfect state is. Utopia vs. Dystopia, which is led by both main leads, Is it possible to have apletely perfect state? Or imperfect state? What makes a state perfect or imperfect? Or... states must have a blend of the two? In that case, one must submit to the other. Would it be the rebellious Omega Bandit leader? Or the Alpha of the Panthera n? Please leave ament! Gifts! Votes! Everything! I feel so emotional right now. Lol. I will miss you all greatly. I love you guys from the bottom of my heart. Please please please... Leave a review for this novel. And refrain from leaving spoilers. Lol. Pleaseeeeeee..... Chapter 495 [Bonus ] ? THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO THE LOVELY READERS. IT WOULD CREATE AN INCITE INTO THE LIVES OF THE CHARACTERS AFTER THE INCIDENT IN 1504. QUESTION: DID HARVEY AND ALVIN EVER GET MARRIED? For a nobleman, it was rather obligatory to get married to continue the bloodline. Harvey was finally able to settle down a decade after the incident urred. He married a nobledy of the court. Whispers did circte regarding his prior feelings for thete Princess Amber as the reason he refused marriage for years, yet this remained a delicate subject. Alvin, on the other hand, did not. Marriage has never been important to him, and all he used to care about was protecting Prince Harold. It wasn''t until Susan passed that he realized he felt differently towards her than was normal. Perhaps, if she had lived a little longer, he would have realized that. All he had now was a portrait of her from Paulina, which he carried with him all through his lifetime and was also buried with him. QUESTION: WHAT ABOUT LANCE? He did get married. Although Susan''s death had really hit him far more than he could imagine. Not only Susan but seeing how Princess Amber also died, he had vowed not to fall in love with any woman or get married since he couldn''t bear the pain of losing his loved one. But after a few years passed, he met a weird thief who had run into his carriage to hide when she was being chased by some men she had stolen from. He eventually let her hide there out of pity and even talked to her against such an act. Seeing her cry in remorse, he felt proud of himself for changing her life until she left and he realized she had stolen his gold pouch. The fact that she had made a fool out of him was something he could not ept, and he spent weeks hunting after her. Well, that was how he met his future wifey. His parents and even the court had been against it. But Lance was Lance. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO BENEDICTA? For years, she tried to elevate her status to queen. Seeing how Amber was gone, she thought it was a good chance to take over and be the one to mend Harold''s broken heart. She kept trying for years, discarding her parents'' efforts to marry her off since she was already approaching 25 and no one would be willing to marry an old spinster. She tried to get closer to TAM, but TAM, even at 6, was a nasty brat who had her banned from visiting the pce. She had no choice but to finally get married at 27 to a widower since all the younger noblemen men were taken or didn''t want her because she was either too old or too bratty. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO TYRA? Tyra was never seen again after that incident. No one knew how long she lived, when she died, or whether or not she regretted all she did. She was simply cut off from the world until her shrivelled bones were found in the present day. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO KING CEDRIC? ording to what Amber had said before her soul left, Cedric was taken back to his kingdom with his family, except for his wife, whose body had rotted on the grounds of the Moon Kingdom. The one who had been in charge of it was Harvey. When there was no single good act by Cedric that could save him from facing public execution, he was subjected to one. It was even crazier because his subjects all rejoiced at his demise, believing this was retribution for what he had done to their beloved queen Anne. Unfortunately, the kingdom was plunged into anarchy after his death, with no one willing to let someone of Cedric''s blood rule them again, especially as Cedric''s father and grandfather had been like that too. And that was how a new reign started with another bloodline, who was a tyrant even worse than Cedric. This was until TAM cleared up the mess. She was a descendant of the throne after all. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO KING ELI? Eli, burdened by personal grief, reluctantly embraced leadership after Harold''s tragedy, understanding the kingdom''s fate rested on his shoulders. He persevered for several years, his love for his crazy granddaughter ever so obvious. He guided the kingdom through turbulent times until his health declined when TAM was 6, marking the end of an era. His greatest joy was Harold and TAM, who refused toe out for 2 months after his passing, grieving. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE THRONE AFTER THAT? Trusted noblemen shouldered the kingdom''s responsibilities during TAM''s upbringing, nurturing her multifaceted talents despite her fiery temperament. Theck of repercussions for her actions, however, led to an untouchable aura. At just 15, TAM''s unique blend of witchcraft and Alpha heritage paved the way for her ascension to the throne, marking a new era of rule characterized by both capability and unpredictability. QUESTION: WHAT WAS TAM LIKE? Physically, TAM was the epitome of beauty. Most of her features were from her father, except for her hair colour. She was taller than the average woman and even towered over some men. She mainly dressed in men''s clothing, courtesy of Lance, who owned several businesses, one of which was tailoring clothes in men''s fashion specially for women. But whenever there was a special asion in the pce, he never missed sending her dresses with a reminder that she was a princess, and Tam always hated it. Not only because of how heavy andplicated the clothes were, but because of how he always sent her dresses that always sparkled with gold. She didn''t want to talk about the extravagant jewellery he always added to them. As for her abilities: From the moment TAM was born, magic radiated all around her, breaking every kind of curse on her kind without even trying. They all felt the impact as soon as she was born. Her birth brought freedom to both werewolves and witches. It would have been difficult for any of them to handle her if they didn''t already have a witch in the pce who had been imprisoned the entire time while also getting treated for her madness from Beta''s nightmare. She seemed to have been better when the first Blood Moon happened, and when TAM was born, it was felt everywhere that it even had her madness cured, surrendering it to an even greater force. Harold did not care about getting revenge for the curse she had ced on him. All he wanted was for someone with experience to guide his daughter and for more people like her to be weed into the Moon Kingdom. TAM could read minds, get into people''s heads, and sometimes mind control also works, but it took a great deal of her powers. She inherited everything that belonged to her mother. Whether it was her books, her daggers, Hellion, or the men''s clothing she usually wore outside the pce. Her father hadn''t kept anything from her. Letting her know all about her mother and the dynamics that surrounded her. When TAM was younger, she carelessly read her father''s thoughts a couple of times, but as she grew older, she was always careful and tried not to pry into his privacy, even by mistake. He was always thinking about the same thing. And his present look was nothingpared to the older portraits of him or whenever she glimpsed into his past. His hair was now overgrown, as were his beards and all facial and body hairs. His eyes were always soulless, too. However, they lit up whenever he saw her. Although she would have loved it if they were always lit. But know this: TAM was surrounded by a loving supportwork, including her father, grandfather, a maternal figure, Paulina, uncle Alvin, Harvey, Lance, Williams, her grand uncle and aunt Evan and Victoria, and even a witch nanny. Alexander, 4 years her junior and admirer, eventually became her husband and partner in governance, assisting in temper management and ruling by her side. As she embarked on her reign, TAM''splex nature, inherited powers, and influential rtionships shaped her journey as the ruler of the Moon Kingdom. Chapter 496 [Bonus ] ? CONTINUATION: QUESTION: WHAT ARE BLENDS? Blends are hybrids. A mixture of wolves and witches. One would think TAM was the first blend, but she was not. If Harold and Alicia could fall in love and Anne had also been in love with Wilder, what was to say that other wolves and witches hadn''t crossed paths before and created blends while living in hiding? However, TAM''s unique blend of Alpha and witch leader blood made her an unparalleled figurehead. Unlike wolves, who were weaker during the Blood Moon, and witches, who were weaker during the full grey moon while the other parties were stronger, Blends were stable during both. Their core partially unlocks at twenty, opening them to more of their abilities, but the third decade was the peak of both abilities from wolves and witches blending. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO WITCHES? TAM was partly a witch, so it meant that she was to witches the way she was to werewolves. She had faced opposition trying to create a home for them in the Moon Kingdom with the help of the nanny witch beside her, who helped her seek the rest out. She didn''t need to take a blood oath to protect and guide TAM for the rest of her life as punishment for the acts Arya used her tomit. TAM was a descendant of their leader, and therefore she was their leader and saviour. For the first time, witches had a home. Even though it took a long time for both parties to adjust, they finally did after many years, and they even created more Blends through marriages between both groups. Although the usual opposition always came from both sides, as it would for most interracial marriages today. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO IVAN? Ivan lived with regret for the rest of his life. After journeying for a long time to find Luciana, he finally found her maid, Leana, and heard the worst news of his life¡ªhis love had passed on. But Leana assured him that she was happy before she passed. The thought of her being happy before she passed broke him even more. The fact that she could only find true happiness after leaving him. And how much she had suffered with him. He med one person for it. And that was his mother. And Ivan would not be Ivan if he wasn''t... Ivan. He journeyed to find her to take revenge. But he heard she had killed herself after being crazy for a year and waiting for the king toe meet her. He was hopeless at this point. There was nothing left in the world for him. Nothing at all. He fed himself poison, and he passed, ending the bloodline of Lord Zealot. QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENED TO AMBER''S SPELLBOOK? It was inherited by TAM. Alicia could not practice the backward spells herself because her real identity was a Blend, and any extraordinary thing she did during her time in the past was because of her Blend identity, as her core had already been partially unlocked when she turned 20, but her abilities were still limited in Amber''s body. Amber could not use the spells in her book either since her core hadn''t yet been unlocked and she had a protection spell over her until she was 20. Unfortunately, she didn''t live past 20. But unsurprisingly, TAM had both the body, soul and abilities for it. She didn''t need to use any spells either but she tried them out for fun. QUESTION: WHAT WAS HAROLD''S FATE AFTER THE INCIDENT? Harold, a broken man. He understood the implications of being a leader, just like his father told him. And he regretted not leaving the pce when his father told him to leave with his bride. If their fates had been different and he had Alicia by his side with half of his soul in her fueling him, he would have been the strongest Alpha to ever exist. However, that trait was passed down to his daughter and her lineage. It was the reason mating marks were preached against. Because of how vulnerable it left the men if anything happened to their wives. But the good part about it was that even if the wife departed first, his soul would find her when it was time to leave. But all he could do was wait. That was the punishment for trying to sink oneself into the soul of another against natural forces. You can only wait until it was your time and suffer the pain of heartbreak. Taking your own life meant your soul was to depart on your own terms and disappear into nothingness. Harold''s hope and belief were that as long as Alicia was back in her world, when it was time for him to depart his world, his soul would seek her out whenever she was. And he would find her. He didn''t know how it would happen. But he knew it would happen. QUESTION: WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ALICIA? Alicia Queen never gives up. Once she sets her mind to do something, she will see it through to the end. And now she was ready to seek her happiness. Whether it was going back in time or finding them all here, she was going to do it. At 30 or before. However, since her mark isn''t reflecting now, his memory of her cannot awaken yet. So maybe... just maybe... he was around. Waiting to be awoken. THE END!!!!! ******* AUTHOR''S NOTE: Once again, thank you all for reading this book. WHEW!!!! I think when the idea came, I wasn''t exactly sure how to write it since I had never written a fantasy book before. But I remember texting Miss_B and telling her I had an idea about a book, and I shared the synopsis with her. She liked it but was a little skeptical because I am not very consistent with writing. Especially from 2021, when my health took a major hit. Many of my readers already know that I have the weakest immune system ever. It means I am prone to so many things. I always joked that if I waved at someone with a fever, I might end up having the fever. Lol. Regardless of it, I wanted to write. I also wanted to earn Because yeah, I constantly visit the hospital, and hospitals are not exactly cheap. I think it got to a point where I took a really long break from writing. It was a crazy period for me because I felt like I was done. I gave up everything. Medication, hospitals, eating healthy, etc. I was angry because I felt I didn''t deserve the endless suffering. But you all brought me back. You know, sometimes I get scared reading thement section. Lol. I always had a feeling that there would be someone bashing me for not writing. But fortunately, whenever I returned from my rpse, I met nice words from you all, and it has helped me. Writing isn''t easy. Many authors, too, face different issues. A friend who also writes here on WN has been battling cancer for years, and she tries to keep writing because, well, chemo and medication aren''t exactly cheap either, but sometimes she could stay months before writing another chapter because she cannot help it. There is also the issue of writer''s block. That part is very difficult to handle, I tell you. Dear Lovely people, Thank you for the love you showed me. And I hope this love will be extended to other authors whose books you read. Also, when we write consistently for some new books, it is because we need to meet a certain requirement for that book; otherwise, we would not earn anything from the book. That was why I tried to keep updating Jock Next Bed, as I do not have enough readers there and can only earn if I write more and write every day! No matter how much pressure I''m under. So this is a thank you to you all, especially to my privilege readers, who helped me earn more than I''ve ever earned here on WN. Thank you for the GIFTS. Lol. The super gifts always made my day. It is crazy how much love you''ve shown me by spending so many coins on this book. I would have loved to write out the names of the top contributors, but there are so many of you. Lol. And thankfully, WN has made it easier to list you all out in this book profile, and as long as this book exists here, all your names will remain there, and everyone will see that we created this book together. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. WE''LL MEET AGAIN WHEN THE MOON SHINES THE BRIGHTEST. Love, AG. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!