The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

Knowing that she wasn't going to be getting any more information on what she had done the previous day while under the influence of alcohol, Alicia decided to move on to the next subject that troubled her.

"Uhm, Paulina," Alicia called, and then cleared her throat. "You said the person in that portrait painting is Princess Amber's mother, right?" She asked, and Paulina gave her a nod.

Paulina was tired of trying to persuade Alicia that she was Princess Amber, so she let her say whatever she wanted.

"How much do you know about her? What was her name?" Alicia asked curiously, and Paulina looked at her closely, her brows beginning to pull together in concern.

"You don't remember her?"

Alicia could see the confusion on her face again. It was still a surprise how easily she was able to convince Harold, who had never met Amber before, than Paulina, who had always lived with Amber.

"Tell me whatever you can remember about her. And also how she died," Alicia urged her, hoping that she would have given her enough information before Luciana came.

Thankfully, Paulina didn't ask too many questions and began to talk about the woman.

"Her name was Queen Anne." She started.

"She was very beautiful and kind-hearted. She was very strong, and everyone loved her," Paulina said with a nostalgic smile as she recalled how the Queen had saved her alongside others from the hands of those that wanted to sell them off as slaves. Although she had been young, she could still clearly remember how her parents had died while fighting to stop their captors, and when it seemed like all hope was lost, the queen had shown up at that last minute with two swords in each of her hands, slashing through everyone and anyone in her path with blood splattering everywhere.

That sight was too gory for a child, but for Paulina, who was easily scared, she could not help but be fascinated by the woman, and since then, it was etched deeply in her mind.

"Yes, you already told me all about how she saved you and the others. What else can you tell me about her? What led to her death?" Alicia asked impatiently, snapping Paulina back to reality.

"The king," she said with teary eyes.

"I'm not sure of the details since I was still very young, but I think it had something to do with treason. She was sentenced to death for treason. They... would have killed us, but I don't know what happened. They... sent us out of the palace instead." Paulina said this with tears leaving her eyes.

"I think we survived because of your luck. Queen Anne always said you were a divine child who was going to change the world and be even better than her."

"Wait a minute. Treason?" Alicia asked incredulously. She clutched her chest when she felt a stabbing pain that almost made her double over from the pain, but instead of worrying about herself, she left that to the panicky Paulina as she tried to make sense of everything.

So Anne was killed by her husband, who almost killed his own daughter too, but sent her to exile instead. And when he needed a bride to marry off to a cursed prince, he sent back for her?

What sort of useless bastard was that? She began to burn from rage. If she had known, she would have dealt with him before she left there.

From all the dramas she had watched and even featured in, she could tell it had to do with some crazy palace politics. Seeing that witch's face who called herself the queen there, she could guess this whole thing must have been her doing.

"The present queen over there... Where was she at that time?" Alicia asked, sitting up.

Paulina tried to know if she was okay, but Alicia ignored her, pressing her to answer the question.

"She... was the head concubine then. Her father was the prime minister."

"Just as I thought," Alicia said to herself as she massaged her temples.

Was it because she was an actress that she found herself here in such a drama-filled world?

"Did the king even love her? How could he just sentence her to death?" Alicia asked, wondering what sort of husband would go to such an extent because of something like that. She couldn't help thinking of how Prince Harold, whom everyone called evil and heartless, had been nothing but caring and kind to her since they got married.

"I do not know," Paulina said, and Alicia sighed. It was obvious that Paulina didn't know much. Of course, she had been very young then, so she wouldn't know much.

Now that she thought about it, she remembered the dream she had and decided to ask Paulina to be sure if that was actually real or if her brain had conjured that.

"Did people address her as 'Saviour?'"

"I... don't know." Paulina shook her head and looked defeated that she could not supply further information.

"Sighs! You have done well. You seem very smart to remember events that took place many years ago and was even able to make a good portrait of her. I will make sure you get a good life from now on. Hmm?"

Paulina smiled and answered, "I already have a good life, Milady. Seeing you safe and getting along with your husband makes me happy. Now, I am sure nothing will ever happen to you,"

Alicia smiled fondly at her before patting her on the head. "That is cute, but you do not have to live your entire life for me. I want you to live a nice life and do whatever you want outside of this palace. If you want to be married and raise children, you should do that. If you never want to get married and want to be a businesswoman or a famous painter instead, you should also do that." She stopped talking when she noticed the confusion on Paulina's face.

"What is it?"

"How... can a woman choose to not get married and... be a businesswoman instead? I... have never heard of it."

"So what have you heard of?" Alicia asked curiously.

"Women who do not serve as servants and are unmarried... is seen as shameful and disgraceful. We... have to get married and do whatever our husband wants us to do," she said, looking visibly confused.

"Hmm. Well, it makes sense. I mean, this is the 16th century," she shrugged. "If the universe forced me to be here against my wish, the least I can do is mess with it," she said with an evil smirk.

"So baby girl... are you ready to break some patriarchal rules and become the 'baddest' Painter ever liveth?" She asked Paulina, who could not decipher the last few sentences she had spoken.

"Oh wait. Before that, I need to confirm something," Alicia said, remembering a very important piece of information that had slipped her mind.

"About Williams—"

Just like it happened in the movies, someone decided to knock on the door just at that moment, causing Alicia to groan while glaring at the poor door with disapproval since she could tell that it was Luciana. "You can come in," she called to Luciana, and the door was pushed open.

"Good morning, Princess Amber," Luciana greeted in her usual cheerful tone. As usual, Alicia forced a smile at her.

"Good morning, Princess Luciana," Alicia replied as she stood up, "Don't leave when you're done. I still have to talk to you," Alicia instructed Paulina, who was now trying to straighten the bed while Alicia prepared to bathe.

"I was thinking, instead of the usual lessons today, I will take you around the palace and then we can have lunch with the queen in the royal garden. We need to bond," Luciana suggested, and Alicia gave her a nod.

She still had to act like everything was fine after all, and do all that they wanted her to do until she was ready to escape. "Can you ride a horse?" Alicia asked curiously.

"No, I can't. Why do you ask?" Luciana asked curiously.

'DO THESE PEOPLE LET WOMEN DO ANYTHING?!' Alicia yelled in her head but tried to keep a smile on her face.

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Usually, women from the royal families use the carriages. It is not a dignified look for women to climb horses."

"Ah! So I must have looked really undignified to all of you the other day when I left the palace." Alicia said with a smile that was threatening to disappear any minute.

Harold had let her ride one the other day, and she was sure they must have heard about it.

"Uhm... I didn't mean it that way." She said with a nervous laugh. For some reason, Alicia's smile gave her goosebumps.

"It... was just a surprising sight since it isn't something we were used to. And your husband was with you, so it's fine." Luciana assured her.