NOVEL NEXT 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 playing 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 you lack 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 had come 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 her lashes 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 palace 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 her as it happened in the movies where the male protagonist saved the female protagonist. But much to her astonishment, she landed 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 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 many laws? If she had known, she wouldn't have brought Paulina with her. But there was no way she would be able to leave this place 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 exclaimed 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 and besides, 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.