Confronting him in the pool

By the rise of the sun the next day, word had spread in the palace about Princess Selene's behavior with the second prince's right-hand guard.

In an era where gossip was the only form of entertainment, everyone who witnessed it couldn't keep their mouths shut and began to spread it around to those who were unfortunate enough to miss the scene.

"She pounced at him like a demon and clutched at his hair while screaming, 'You little f**ker, I will make you go bald for what you did. I will strangle you to death!' I kept wondering what 'fucker' means the whole night and when I asked a head maid, she told me it means ' Warrior'. Princess Selene had called him fucker and wrapped her arms around his neck. Guess what she did to him next?" asked a maid who had stopped on her way to run an errand to talk to another maid, who looked so invested in the story that her mouth was left open.

"What?"

"She bit him hard on the neck until Lord Zane cried out in pain and tried to get her off him. I've never seen Lord Zane in such a state before. You should have seen how the princess was acting like she was possessed. She's always soft and cruel, but I've never seen her behave like that. She even said, 'Go tell your prince that I will carve my name into history with his blood.' I'm starting to think the rumors about her from a few days ago are true."

"What rumors?"

The maid who was doing the talking cautiously looked around to see if there were any guards in sight before she leaned forward and whispered the rumors that only the high-ranking maids knew about and wouldn't dare spread as they feared the wrath of the princess, who had beheaded a maid when caught talking about the rumors.

The other maid's eyes widened as she listened.

A few minutes later, when the sun had risen to the horizon and spread its golden blessings to the cursed palace of the prince, the maid who had been listening to the gossip hurried into her room and picked up a parchment and dried ink from under her flat mattress. She added water to the ink and began quickly writing down something with trembling hands.

When she was done, she blew on the writing to dry it up before she folded it into a little piece and then placed it in a basket.

After making sure that she covered the piece of parchment with a cloth, she wore an outing robe meant for servants and hurried out.

She walked with confidence out of the second prince's palace without any of the guards stopping her as she was an errand maid in the palace who goes and comes. And when she reached her destination, she passed the parchment to another maid.

Within minutes, that maid had walked down a polished hallway and knocked on a certain door.

A voice called from within. "Enter."

Inside the room, a woman clad in a royal golden robe could be seen lighting some incense that filled the chamber with a flowery scent.

"The letter has arrived, Your Majesty." The maid bowed as she held out the letter.

The Empress's eyes sparkled at that, and she carefully put down the incense and sat down on a chaise lounge before holding out her hands.

The maid quickly placed the letter in her palm.

Her Majesty unfolded it, and when she read the lines written on it, she let out a satisfied laugh that resounded inside the luxurious chamber. Finished reading it, she lit it on fire and watched it burn to ashes.

"And here I thought she was too terrified to do her job properly. Get me a parchment and ink; I need to give out my next instructions to her."

The maid obeyed and then bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Princess Selene has been forbidden to step foot outside the Dooming Palace because of the incident at the inn."

"I see." A smile graced her face. "The royal dinner at the main palace is in two days. All the royal family members are meant to be there, and so will Selene." 'And she has nothing to worry about because Lucian won't make it to that day to stop her.' she added internally as she quickly wrote something down on the parchment.

"Here, send this back to her." She handed the maid another parchment with her own writing and settled back on her lounge while smiling, as everything she wanted was falling into place despite the setbacks she'd faced a few days ago after the incident at the inn and Selene's foolishness.

---

Ave had woken up that morning feeling gloomy and weak, not to mention she was starving to the extent she'd stopped feeling her stomach. She laid down on the bed staring blankly at the window where the golden rays of the sun flickered through the curtains.

It had been long since she'd last felt hunger like this. She'd promised herself the day she stepped out of her father's house to never sleep a day without food and to never be anyone's pushover.

The incident last night with that guard, who Lydia had later told her was Prince Lucian's trusted man, had made her so mad she'd not been able to control her rage.

How could he waste the food when she was starving? And how dare he remind her of the days when she would cook for her stepmother and sisters but be deprived of it?

They'd supervise her while she cooked for them and after she was done, she'd not be allowed a bite, not even the leftovers. She could still recall how they'd rather throw the food away than let her eat it.

What happened last night had made her so angry she could have beaten that guard to a pulp if he wasn't so strong.

The day she left her father's house, she'd sworn to take full control of her life to the point where she'd be in command of people and where she wouldn't have to beg before eating, like when she worked as a kitchen help before stepping into the industry.

She didn't know what sort of cruel joke fate was playing on her, but all she knew was that she would be going home today to enjoy the luxury she'd worked hard to earn and step out of this nightmare.

Selene and whatever mess she was in with her husband was none of her business. Oh, yeah, she had her own life. However, how the hell was she going to step out of this palace with so many guards outside?

She couldn't possibly ignore their threat to use their swords on her and walk by the gate. Would they dare harm a princess?

"Your Highness, the bath is ready," came Lydia's voice, interrupting her thoughts.

Sighing loudly, Ave decided to take a bath to soothe her body before planning on how to leave and locate the inn herself. A hot, steaming bath was all she needed to recharge her brain.

Lydia guided her to a luxurious bath that looked like a mini pool in the middle of the bathing room, with rose petals scattered on the surface of the water and candle lights surrounding the edges

"Wow, it smells good in here," she commented as she took in the bathing room, making sure to avoid the mirror area to avoid seeing Victoria's face in the mirror.

The mere sight of that bitch made her want to pull out her hair and do damage to this body.

Ave dismissed the other maids and allowed Lydia to help her undress. She stepped into the bath, expecting warmth to soothe her tired body, but instead gasped as she landed in freezing cold water that almost gave her a mini stroke.

Shivering intensely as the weather here seemed so cold like winter, Ave shot an accusing glare at Lydia. "Why didn't you tell me it was cold? Don't you have hot water here?"

Bowing her head, Lydia apologized. "I am sorry. It was His Highness who ordered that no hot water be prepared for you."

Ave clenched her fists, her patience finally snapping. "LUCIAN!" she gritted furiously, surprising Lydia, who looked taken aback that her mistress was daring enough to use the prince's name directly.

Ave ignored the maid's cautious look around. That bastard Lucian had not only deprived her of food but also of a relaxing bath in this freezing weather. She had tried to shrug off everything he'd done since her arrival here as nothing because she believed it wasn't directed at her but his wife.

However, he'd crossed the line and gone too far.

He could do all that to his wife once she was back, but Ave wouldn't let him go for torturing her. Did he think she was a pushover?

It was time she faced him and let him know he'd messed with the wrong person!

Ave jumped out of the bathtub, grabbed a robe, threw it on, and stormed out of the bathroom at a run, with Lydia running after her.

Her anger propelled her through the cold, gloomy hallways of the South Wing, where she'd heard from Lydia that no maid had ever dared to go as the prince had forbidden them.

And Ave was grateful none of the maids had the guts to follow her. Reaching Lucian's door, she didn't bother to knock; she raised her leg and kicked the door open.

"How dare you...!"

Her words trailed off as she was met with a spacious, empty, dark chamber with thick curtains all pulled together to block the natural light. The only source of light was a small lamp on a desk that looked like it would exhaust itself very soon.

How could someone live in a gloomy place like this? What is he, the beast from Beauty and the Beast? she thought with a scoff as her gaze briefly fell on a map on the desk, and then she looked around the high ceilings with the unlit candle chandelier.

The atmosphere was cold and scary, devoid of the feeling of a human room. What prompted Selene to marry a man like this prince?

Stupidity, of course. Just like Victoria, Selene must be a bigger fool who falls for every handsome man because of their looks.

Momentarily forgetting her rage, Ave continued to look around until she heard the sound of water from an adjoining room.

"Of course, he's enjoying a hot bath," she muttered to herself.

She approached the bathing room and opened the door without bothering to knock. Her forgotten anger surged back as she saw Lucian relaxing in a steaming hot bathtub, a tub even bigger than the one in Selene's chamber, his head leaned back and eyes closed.

His long, silky hair poured wetly down his firm chest and shoulders. The fact that he looked relaxed after torturing her made Ave lose her cool even more.

Without thinking, she walked forward, intent on kicking his head from behind to wake him up from his relaxation.

But as she raised her leg to kick him, Lucian's amber eyes flew open.

Everything happened so quickly before she saw it coming. He swirled around and grabbed her leg, pulling her into the pool before she could react.

His amber eyes flashed dangerously as his fingers wrapped around her fragile neck.

"Have you finally gained the courage to stab me in the back personally?" he gritted through clenched teeth.

Ave struggled, trying to free herself from his grip by hitting his hand. "Let go... you are choking..." She could feel the breath leaving her lungs and the color draining from her face.

How could she possibly stab him in the back when she had no knife? Ave thought as she hit his hand. His grip on her neck loosened abruptly; however, he didn't remove his hands from around her neck and glared murderously down at her.

He looked even more dangerous and evil with his wet hair, droplets of water dripping down his hardened face and traveling down his neck and firm chest.

Despite the danger, Ave could not help admiring his upper body that was visible in the water. If he were in her time, many companies would have gone crazy wanting to sign him up with them.

'Damn, what a man!' she thought.

Lucian noticed the way her eyes were trailing his body and was taken aback by two things. There was no disgust on her face nor was there resentment.

She was looking at him in... admiration. Something she had not done in the whole year of their marriage.

If it were before, her look of admiration would have sent him over the moon, but now, he wanted to gouge out those blue eyes of hers so he'd never have to look into them and remember her betrayal.

For the whole year of their marriage, she'd never allowed him this close to her, and it surprised him and yet angered him that she wasn't trying to get away from him.

He didn't want her near him. He didn't want to have to look into her eyes or hear her voice. He didn't want to touch her, but because she'd brought herself here, he used the hands around her neck to caress her skin, making Ave stiffen in place.

Smirking at her reaction, he said as he trailed his hands from her neck to her chest area while his eyes remained on hers.

"Did you come here to finally fulfill your duty as my wife, Your Highness? Have you finally decided that my chamber doesn't smell like a dead corpse and came here yourself? You should have told me you were ready, I would have taken you to an inn."

His dangerous whisper and her reaction to his touch made Ave immediately regret her decision to confront him. She stood still as his eyes trailed her body, where her robe clung to her womanly figure.

She saw a flicker of admiration in his amber eyes before it quickly shifted back to disgust, as if it was never there, and his hand flew back to her neck, where he tightened his grip this time more than the first time.

"You disgust me! I want to kill you right now!"

Though terrified, Ave didn't let it show as his grip tightened so hard she could hear her neck bones cracking. She struggled, kicking, punching, and scratching him with her long nails.

'This fucker wants to kill me!'

When she finally scratched his face, he released her. Furious and breathless, she delivered a hard punch to his left eye.

"You fucking selfish bastard! I am not your wife, and you disgust me more than you think!"

She quickly climbed out of the water before he'd pull her back again, but he had no intentions of doing that. She ran out of the bathing room like her life depended on it, because it did, water dripping behind her.

Back in the bathtub, Lucian's jaw tightened. He looked into the mirror above the bath and saw the nail scratches on his face and a black eye already forming.

However, something else took him by surprise and he froze in place.