The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

With everything that was going on in the palace, Luciana wasn't the main focus at that point, and no one was really checking to see if she was repenting and asking the goddess to forgive her and make her a good woman again, as she had been asked to do. Thanks to this, she was able to sneak out of the prayer chamber she was supposed to be in before the break of dawn while her maid filled in for her.

She dressed up like one of the maids and sneaked around the palace, not sure where she was going or whom she was supposed to meet to join hands with her to help Princess Amber.

This was one of the effects of being on Ivan's side. She didn't have anyone in the palace who liked her or who would believe she was taking Harold's wife's side now. But she tried to hold onto the fact that they may believe she was going against Ivan and the queen for revenge. It didn't matter what they thought of her. Princess Amber had risked a lot to take her side, and she was going to return the favour in any way she could.

She was about to round a corner when she bumped into someone who had just taken the other corner. Luciana was about to shout when she remembered she was sneaking around and quickly used her hands to cover her mouth. She noticed the other person did the same thing, and that was when she realized it was Susan.

The two were obviously surprised to see each other, but Susan was more surprised, especially because of the way Luciana was dressed and she was not supposed to be here at all.

"What... are you doing here?" Susan whispered suspiciously and pulled her to a hidden corner.

"What are you doing sneaking around?" Luciana threw the question back at her.

"I asked you first! You aren't supposed to be here. What are you planning? Did you, by chance..." Susan stopped, and her eyes widened.

"Is this really your doing? Were you angry at Princess Amber because she was one of the reasons that caused the problem with your husband? Was that why you did this? You were not allowed to hunt that night, so you must have had enough time to do so."

Luciana looked at her in disbelief and scoffed. "You are the queen's niece. Everyone knows how much the queen wants to seize power for her family. You must have planned with her to get rid of Princess Amber and Prince Harold. Isn't that why you were close to her in the first place?"

Susan gasped. "How... dare you?" She asked, offended. "I have never had an ulterior motive in befriending Princess Amber. But you, on the other hand, cannot say the same because you hate her."

"I do not hate her."

"You don't? Then why did you kill Beth and blame her for it?"

"You have lost your mind. If I killed Beth, why am I taking this risk and sneaking out to find a solution for Princess Amber?"

"Or you must have planned all this with the queen and Prince Ivan so that no one would suspect you. Maybe you were going to report to them."

Luciana looked at her like she was crazy.

"I have every reason to want to go against the queen and Prince Ivan. Because I was discarded. But you, you don't. Your father is the queen's elder brother. So you should be the main suspect."

Susan was offended by that. Okay, she was related to them, but that didn't mean she was like them. She honestly didn't care about the royal family. In fact, she hated the fact that her aunt was the queen. Because it affected her freedom greatly. She always had to live like 'the queen's niece'. And now, the Queen had also planned a wedding for her like it was the normal thing for aunts to do. Everything they did had to be for the benefit of the royal family. It was annoying.

Seeing the look on Luciana's face reminded her of herself when she was having a conversation with Alvin last night. She had thought Alvin's trust issues were too intense and annoying, but it seemed she was just like that too.

But maybe... she could believe Luciana?

"Are you really on Princess Amber's side?" Susan asked her suspiciously.

"I am not on anyone's side. I just want to find the truth that makes sense. If she is innocent, so be it. If she is guilty, so be it." Luciana said pointedly, but deep down, both ladies felt that she was not guilty of this.

"I am also trying to find out the same thing," Susan informed her.

"So even though you are still suspicious, I want to try to trust you. But if you deceive me..." Susan moved closer to stand in front of her, trying to give her the most intimidating look she could put on.

"I will... make sure to skin..." Susan paused. Who was she going to skin this time? Luciana didn't have a brother, nor did she have a child. The only person she knew that Luciana cared about was her idiot cousin.

"I will make sure you watch while I skin Prince Ivan alive, and then I will do the same to your parents before I kill you with my bare hands."

Luciana simply looked at her with pursed lips. "I would appreciate it if you could do that for me," Luciana said, tapping Susan's shoulder in appreciation.

Seeing as they were both on the same side, they looked at each other once again, "Where were you going?" They both asked simultaneously.

"I had nowhere in mind," Luciana said, feeling slightly embarrassed by that admission, and Susan looked at her incredulously.

"You had nowhere in mind?"

"Unlike the rest of you, a lot of people are not fond of me. And Princess Amber was the only one who I had on my side even though our husbands did not get along. I was just trying to see if there were any other people who believed that she was innocent so that we could work together," Luciana said, and Susan remembered the day she had gone to Princess Amber's room and seen Luciana there with red and swollen eyes as if she had been crying.

"Why didn't you come to me?" Susan asked with a frown since Luciana knew about her friendship with Princess Amber.

Luciana raised a brow. "If you were in my position would you go to yourself? The queen's niece?" She asked, and Susan sighed.

There was that again. "Alright. Come with me to my chamber; let's talk there," Susan said and turned to leave, but Luciana looked at her skeptically.

"You are dressed as a maid. Keep your head down," Susan advised before walking away, and Luciana followed behind her closely.