Transmigrated Into The Body Of The Cursed Prince Wife

Ave watched as Lucian’s horse and his entourage galloped away from the palace gate. She stood there until they disappeared out of sight, and the gate was shut closed. Then, she turned and dejectedly walked back into the dull palace, feeling utterly drained and bored.

She had stayed awake the entire night to embroider the shawl she’d given to him. Thankfully, she had learned how to make embroideries at the restaurant where she’d worked during her teenage years. It had been a hobby to pass the time before she was called by the chefs to do something. Though she had been horrible at it, she never gave it up, as it helped her relax.

Last night, she hadn’t been able to sleep after finishing the worst meal of her life. How could one survive by eating only grain soup and grain bread? It had been the worst cooking of her entire life but being starved, she had no choice but to eat it. She would have eaten in her room, but it had felt suffocating. Instead, she went to clean the dark dining hall and lit some candles to make herself feel less lonely and bored.

She never thought she’d end up in such a life when she could have been living a wonderful one in her own time, with everything she could ever ask for. She had laid awake in bed before taking the embroidery thread and needle that Lydia had brought for her earlier that afternoon and began sewing them into the shawl to clear her mind of thoughts about her next plan.

She had considered countless ways to make Lucian see her in a better light and love her quickly. She’d even thought of telling him the truth—that her soul had entered his wife’s body and that his wife was lost. But she’d thought twice about it. What if he didn’t believe her and accused her of making up stories to deceive him?

Worse, what if he did believe her and thought she had used some forbidden powers to possess Selene’s body and kill her? Surely, he had not done anything to Selene even when he realized she had cheated on him, because deep down in his heart, he still cared about her more than he let on. Imagine telling him she wasn’t Selene—now that would be a good reason for him to behead her.

She had quickly dismissed that option and considered many others. One idea, in particular, had come to her mind: finding the antidote to his poison and curing him completely.

If she could do that, perhaps he’d learn to trust her. But the problem was, she had no idea what the poison was or how to find its cure. From what she’d learned so far, the Empress came from a kingdom known for creating toxic poisons and potions, including cures for them.

If the Empress had given Selene the poison to feed Lucian, then she must have the cure for it as well. But how on earth was Ave going to get close enough to the Empress to retrieve the cure?

Ave sighed as she pushed open the door to her room and walked towards the open window that overlooked the palace’s backyard. From there, she could see the main palace building in the distance.

How did women survive in eras like this? What did they do to pass the time and have fun? Ave couldn’t figure out what to do to help her pass the days when Lucian wasn’t around. She’d spent yesterday bothering him, but today, with him gone, she had no idea how to occupy her time.

She missed her old life terribly. She missed soaking in a hot, steaming, scented bath in her candle-lit jacuzzi. Here she could only bath with cold water every morning. She had only enjoyed her fame for a few months before this. She should be there now, basking in the luxury of her hard-earned money, going to interviews, walking down the red carpet, and eating whatever she desired, instead of being stuck in one place with no fun at all.

Ave felt her throat constrict and her heart tighten at the thought of having to endure this for who knows how long. Lucian was a hard nut to crack, and he didn’t seem moved by anything she did. Perhaps she should have tried jumping out the palace window to see where she’d end up.

Perhaps even death would have been better than this, but then death was the last thing on her mind.

She had considered going to the main palace, but then what would she do there? She wasn’t ready to get beheaded by the Empress.

As she thought of the Empress, the door to her chamber burst open, and Lydia came rushing in, panting heavily as she announced, "Your Highness, Her Majesty has sent for you. A carriage is waiting for you outside right now." freeweɓnøvel.com

Ave’s face paled at the news. The last person she wished to meet right now was that tyrant Empress. She had been traumatized enough by the death of Selene’s sister, which made the main palace a no-go zone for her, even though she had once thought it would be more lively there than here.

"Why is the Empress looking for me?" she asked Lydia as they walked down the corridors of Lucian’s palace, as if the maid were supposed to know.

Lydia shook her head, "I don’t know..." She was as terrified as her mistress, perhaps even more so. Lydia had narrowly escaped being left in the palace last time, and now she feared that her mistress was being called to answer for disobeying the Empress’s orders by taking Lydia back with her the other day.

A few minutes later, when the royal carriage arrived at the main palace, Ave exited the carriage, feeling her knees shake and threaten to give way beneath her as she ascended the stairs leading to the entrance. The last time she had been here, she had been amazed and astonished by the palace’s beauty, so much so that she had almost missed the royal dinner—one she hadn’t been allowed to eat at the end.

However, this time, as she walked up the stairs and into the grand palace, she barely registered any of it. Her mind was filled with dread at the thought of meeting the woman who had summoned her. Could it be that the third prince had told his mother about her knocking him out? Or was the Empress calling her because she expected her to report some news about Lucian, as Selene had done before?

If that was the case, then Ave knew she was done for. She had nothing to report, and even if she did, she wouldn’t betray her only chance of leaving this hell. Lucian was her savior and her only way back home.

She would rather—

"Ouch! Watch it!" Her thoughts were cut short as she bumped into someone. The person had obviously been reading a book while walking, and it fell to the floor in front of Ave as they collided.

Ave looked up sharply, ready to let out her frustration on whoever it was, but she stopped when she was met with the apologetic, smiling gray eyes of Princess Thaila.

"Oh, it’s you!" Ave exclaimed, recalling her last encounter with the beautiful princess, while forgetting that bowing was the proper way to address royalty in this era. However, the princess didn’t seem to mind her lack of formality. She bent down to pick up her book and asked with genuine curiosity,

"Watch it? What’s that supposed to mean?"

Ave smiled awkwardly, "It’s a phrase you use when someone isn’t watching where they’re going. I didn’t realize it was you, that’s why I said it." She added quickly, hoping the princess wouldn’t take her words as disrespect.

"It’s okay, I wasn’t watching my way anyway. I was too immersed in the book to see you coming." She smiled, clutching the book tightly to her chest. Ave’s eyes caught sight of the title, ’The Love I Never Had’, and she gasped in recognition.

"Is that the original book ’The Love I Never Had’, the novel about Jeannie and Jacob?" she asked, her eyes widening as she recalled that a movie had been made out of the novel in the 1700s, and another in the 1900s. She’d even heard there’d be another remake in 2024. Ave had loved it, despite not being a romantic.

Princess Thaila’s gray eyes brightened as she nodded. "Yes, it’s the one. I’m surprised you’ve read it. It’s my favorite novel of all time, and whenever I read it, I always wish my life could be like Jeannie’s, where the man I love would be brave enough to face the world for me." Her eyes held a longing that didn’t go unnoticed by Ave, who narrowed her eyes at the princess.

"You must be a hopeless romantic, I see," Ave teased with a knowing smile.

"Hopeless romantic?" Thaila laughed softly. The term was foreign to her, but she found herself relating to it. "Hopeless and romantic—you mean my romantic dreams are hopeless, right?"

"Well, it’s more like this..." Ave was about to explain further when she felt a presence behind her. The person’s shadow loomed over her, and from the princess’s widened eyes, she could tell it wasn’t just anyone. Before she could turn around, she saw Thaila quickly hide the book behind her back and say,

"Brother Alden, I was just on my way to the garden. Why are you back? I thought you had a meeting." She sounded nervous, causing Ave to spin around, only to be met with the First Prince, whom she had seen once at the dinner table.

Prince Alden was a tall, muscular man with a face as hard as stone. He had a long, handsome face that looked as if it had been pulled from a beautiful painting, and just like his sister, he had gray eyes—though in a different shade—and black hair.

He regarded Ave as if she were invisible, then shifted his gaze to his sister. "How many times have I warned you to stop reading those useless books that make you dream of marrying a commoner? You are a princess; you shouldn’t be seen reading books such as that." He rebuked sternly.

Ave, unable to keep her mouth shut as always, couldn’t help but interject when she noticed how terrified and hurt the princess looked at her brother’s scolding. "And what’s wrong with reading books and dreaming of marrying a commoner?" she asked with a raised brow.