The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

"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. Having come 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—"

"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 you come 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 here comfortable," 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 plate 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, replaced with a glare. 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 place?

At this point, she was fed up with making plans. Ever since she got here, she has been jumping from one plan to another. Now while she was still trying to come up with a plan to leave here, she had to make another plan on how to get Harold to assist her while still trying to come up with another way to get the King to let her and the other royal ladies leave the palace. 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 place. 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 explained, "My... Princess... one of us accidentally 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 accidentally 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 this late 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, explained.

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?"