NOVEL NEXT Chapter 43 A Cat And Rat Race (2)
Two seconds later, her shoes were in her hand, and her dress blew with the wind as she raced through the palace, 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.
Harold stared at her back in disbelief. He was tempted to grant access 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 palace.
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 occurred 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 palace? 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— 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 slightly composed, chasing his bride around the palace.
"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 explain 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 palace.
She had used up what little energy she had been conserving to run around the palace, 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," Alicia complained 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 had completely skipped his mind because he had been too busy trying to release his pent-up anger. But he was not going to explain 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 should come 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 clamped her mouth shut.
Alicia 2– 0 Harold.
Harold's wolf sighed dejectedly, having lost this round again.