"Um ... H-Heya?"
Cringing, Adele bit her tongue. Right away, she felt the urge to slap herself to oblivion after making a fool out of herself in front of this tall, gorgeous man.
'Real smooth, Adele. Way to make a great impression on Prince Charming here.'
But could she really be blamed for this? Nobody had warned her that the man she had secretly accused as a sociopathic kidnapper would end up being such a huge, mouth-watering piece of hunk!
'I mean, it's not fair! How can one man be both beautiful and handsome all at once??' The resentful woman squinted her eyes as she envisioned a glowing halo shining behind the man's dark head.
His midnight-colored locks fell smoothly behind his lower back, loosely tied together by a flimsy white lace. His strong set of brows and high-bridged nose were perfectly balanced along with his sharp, chiseled jawline. On the left of his chin ran a small yet distinct scar, which added a rugged charm to his otherwise ethereal looks. Even his sunkissed complexion contrasted flawlessly against the majestic blue cape that's draped over his heavily armored shoulder.
But what attracted Adele the most were the bright, alluring eyes that hid underneath his inky lashes. She had to admit that in all her life, she had never seen a paler shade of irises than the ones this man had. It was almost like gazing into a misty sky.
No, perhaps it was more accurate to say that it was like staring into a frozen winter lake, luring you in with its deceivingly crystallized slate. Stealthily, it pulls you deeper and deeper, until you realize too late that you've fallen into its abyss.
Slowly. Steadily. Until you freeze completely.
... Although that feeling could be because he was glaring daggers right at her.
"I thought I was told that the princess was on death's door." His low-pitched voice resonated against the walls. Its chilling undercurrent sent shivers down the woman's spine.
Standing behind him were a dozen silver-armored knights, towering and intimidating in their shared solemn ambience. One of the larger ones dropped down on one knee, bowing his shorn head in reverence as he addressed his stern commander.
"Apologies, My Lord. There had been no news of her awakening. We were only informed that Her Highness' fever had risen."
"Is that so?"
The man seemed unconvinced. He scoffed as he crossed his plated arms.
"Considering the impressive agility she's shown, it seems to me that my wife is in perfectly great shape for someone who had been asleep for almost a week."
Startled, Adele gaped at the offending man.
"... Wife? Are you talking about..." Her words fell off as she pointed a shaky finger to herself.
The man cocked an eyebrow. His eyes briefly flicked towards the cowering maid behind Adele, who bowed and squeaked out an inaudible greeting towards him, before returning back to the latter in a frostier state.
"... Do you take me for a charlatan? Who else would I be calling as my wife?"
"...."
"...."
'... WHAAAAAAAAAT?!'
Adele could not believe her ears! How was it possible for her to become the wife of this seemingly unattainable man?! Did she actually hit the transmigration jackpot??
'No! Bad Adele!' the drooling woman shook her head fervently. 'Don't be fooled by his looks! He could still be a psycho for all we know!'
.... A very hot psycho husband, nonetheless.
Adele cleared her throat before spreading her red lips into a small, apologetic smile. For now, the smartest thing to do was to play along with this little game.
"I beg your pardon, Your Highness. That was quite rude of me."
"I'm glad you are aware."
"...."
'Hey, mister,' The edge of her lip quivered slightly. 'I just came back from the dead! Can't you be a little nicer to your sick wife?'
Adele covertly pinched the side of her hip as she struggled to keep up her nonchalant expression.
"... Yes, I'm well aware of my carelessness. For that, I sincerely apologize for my heedless words."
Adele slipped a foot behind her ankle, bending slightly into a bow that she felt was appropriate, almost like the ones she'd seen on tv before. Her silky wine-colored hair fell gracefully over her pale neck, giving off a pitiful yet heartprovoking image to those around her.
"I've heard that you were in the middle of an important excursion when a messenger informed you about my failing health. Again, I apologize for interrupting your work for such a trivial matter."
"If you know exactly that, then tell me .."
The veins on his tanned neck protruded as he scowled at the dubious woman.
"What made you decide to toss yourself into the palace lake in the middle of the night, knowing full well that you could've drowned or frozen to death had your maid not called the guards the second she noticed your absence?"
'I ... what?!'
Adele flinched at his icy tone. In all honesty, she did not know how to respond to his inquiry.
How could she possibly explain to him that she was not actually his real wife, and that she didn't know his wife's reasons for doing such things? All she's ever done was involve herself into a catfight and get thrown overboard into the sea! And now, she's stuck here in this strange place, not even knowing who exactly she was.
Who would ever believe her if she told them that she came from another dimension?
'They'll think I'm insane!' Adele wailed inwardly. 'Worst case scenario is if they either throw me at a mental institution or drag me to the guilottine!'
It took a lot of willpower to hold herself back from pulling out her own hair.
Besides, Adele still had no idea whose body she'd possessed.
'This can't really be Snow White, can it?'
After all, Snow White had lived happily ever after with her Prince Charming and her seven dwarves.
Who would've imagined that Prince Charming would end up treating his beautiful wife like an annoying little bug?
'Talk about a reality check!' Adele gritted her teeth. 'I guess even fairy tale princesses have marital problems too.'
"... I don't remember, Your Highness. I must've been sleepwalking that time." She lied through her chattering teeth. She could only hope that her scary "husband" wouldn't notice her bluff.
Unfortunately for her, life sometimes wasn't fair.
"That's funny." The man gave a meaningful smirk. "I was informed that you had sent your maid away to fetch some tea for your insomnia."
He turned his eyes towards the quivering maid in question.
"Isn't that correct?"
To her credit, Roslyn managed not to faint on the spot despite her heavily shaking legs.
"... Th-That's right, Your H-Highness." she stuttered. She didn't dare look up at her master's stone-cold expression, nor at her mistress' anxious one. Between the strict prince and the cruel princess, it was preferrable for the young maid to dive headfirst into quicksand than to be the subject of either of their wrath.
"A-As you've mentioned, Her Highness couldn't sleep that night. So she ordered me to fetch her a fresh pot of lavender tea to help s-soothe her head. I-I asked her if I could call someone to accompany her while I was gone. But then she g-got angry! She th-threw her empty teacup at me and said that if I didn't fetch her tea right away, that I ... My family ...!"
Roslyn couldn't help herself. She bursted out in tears before she could continue to confess her account.
Adele knitted her thin brows together. From the looks of it, it seemed like Roslyn was traumatized by the original owner's anger. Moreover, it didn't seem like her actions and emotions were false. True, she already had her suspicions earlier. But judging by the most recent scene, it was nothing but reconfirmation for Adele that the woman whose body she'd possessed was a truly vindictive person.
Which again begs the question ... Who exactly was she?
This time, Adele was sure that she did not possess Snow White's body. The evil stepmother, maybe? Or some other spoiled villainess from a face-slapping novel?
But how could she find out the identity of her body's owner without evoking even more suspicion towards herself? Come to think of it, the man doesn't seem to see this woman in a favorable light. Perhaps his relationship with his wife had already deteriorated way before she arrived.
'It wouldn't be surprising.' Adele pondered as she noticed the wary looks that the knights gave her way. 'Judging by the way she treats her employees, it doesn't seem like she's doing herself any favors in the popularity department.'
It's too bad though that Adele would have to take the brunt of her karma! She grittily cursed at the unidentified troublemaker.
'Come back here, you coward! Why do I have to become your scapegoat?!'
"What exactly are you thinking?" A gruff voice interrupted her thoughts.
Adele snapped her head towards the visibly impatient man. Trembling, she plastered a nervous grin onto her perspiring face, hiding her equally clammy hands behind her back.
'Think, Adele! Think! Remember those times when Lila had to come up with those excuses to get out of dance practice!'
"I ... I must've lost my mind! Haha, th-that's right! Maybe the ... stress of living as a princess had finally gotten to me. To the point that I, uh, couldn't help but burst it all out?" The woman couldn't help but shrink as she timidly mumbled out the last phrase.
This was exactly why she hated confrontations! Just look where her last face-off had gotten her!
As expected, Adele's words didn't seem to placate the man's suspicion at all. His eyes narrowed sharply at his "wife's" unusual reaction.
"So you're saying that the reason you decided to throw a tantrum at your maid, isolate yourself, and then carelessly risk your own life by plunging into the lake ... was because you're having issues with your role as the Crown Princess?"
"... Yes?"
"..."
"... Er, Your Highness?"
And then, the man laughed.
It took almost half a minute for his laughing fit to die down, much to Adele's astonishment. She glanced at the rest of the room's inhabitants as his chortle bounced against the walls. None of them seemed to share his strange amusement.
In fact, all of the men, including the burliest of the knights, seemed to fidget out of nervousness as they watched their Lord's antics.
They all knew what was coming next.
At once, the temperature of the room dropped down by several degrees. Beffudled, Adele felt a bad omen crawl up her spine as she watched her "husband" lose the humor in his icy eyes.
"You've become a better actress, Odile."