Ave ran back to her chamber, shivering from the cold and anger at the fact that the prince had almost strangled her to death.
Wrapping a hand around her hurting neck, she winced at the sharp pain. The pain was real. It was Selene's body, but she felt the pain. This man was dangerous, and she had to leave tonight no matter what, she thought.
She collapsed onto the floor, still in her wet robe, her body trembling from both the cold and the adrenaline.
The memory of the resentment she'd seen in Lucian's burning amber eyes made her question what Selene could have done to him to make him hate her this much?
It was either he was a psychopathic prince, who found pleasure in hurting the weak, or Selene had done something to deserve such treatment. But no matter how much she looked at it, nothing a wife could do would make someone, who everyone claimed cared about her, despise her all of a sudden.
For a moment in the pool, she had thought he was bluffing and that he wouldn't be able to kill his wife, but he wasn't bluffing. That man is indeed a monster, she thought, her heart pounding.
And what frightened her more than his actions, was the fact that she'd stood there like a fool when the pervert was about to caress her breast!
She wasn't the kind to get smitten by any man regardless of their looks; in fact, she found the concept of being in a relationship or having any romantic feelings disgusting.
She wasn't gay, but she wasn't interested in men either. You could say she was just immune to all those cringey feelings with the opposite sex.
She'd never had any sexual reaction towards any man or woman, but a moment ago when that pervert of a man had almost touched her in a no-go zone, she'd felt...
No, not her. Selene, stupid Selene, had felt her stomach flutter.
'Selene, you better know that if you want to feel something for a man who seems ready to kill you, do it when I'm out of here! Got it?!'
Ave looked down at her other hand where she held the map.
From her brief glance at it in Lucian's chamber, she'd realized it was the map of the whole Empire. With this, she wouldn't need to drag Lydia along with her and risk the girl ruining her plans or stopping her tonight.
All she had to do now was get Lydia to tell her the location of the inn on the map without making it obvious that she intended to run away from this nightmare.
That girl could be a pain in the ass sometimes. So naive to the extent where she'd asked Ave what the meaning of "fucker" was, and when Ave had told her it meant "warrior," the girl had gone ahead explaining it so confidently to the other maids who witnessed the scene and were in question of the foreign word.
Recalling it now made her shake her head at the girl's innocence.
Ave was about to stand up from the floor when something slid into the chamber from under the door. Frowning and wondering what it was, Ave walked towards it and picked it up. She opened the door to see who had slid it into the room, but the hallway was empty.
Shrugging, she closed the door and looked down at the object. It was a piece of... Is this supposed to be the ancient writing paper? she thought as she admired the rough and worn paper, sealed with a crude wax stamp.
She turned it back and forth, but there was no sender's name. Perhaps people don't put their names on letters here, she thought, and unfolded it.
Her brows frowned deeply, and then she laughed in disbelief as she read the letter out loud. "You did a good job. Rest assured now that I shall no longer get rid of you like I said the other day. And tonight, everything shall fall into place. Our problem will cease exiting."
"What the hell does this mean?" Ave thought as she reread it, still not grasping the meaning. Who had sent this to Selene?
All she knew was that Selene was a woman with many secrets and people after her neck. First her husband, and now this person was talking about getting rid of her. The more reason she had to leave tonight before things got more complicated in this world.
She was curious about a lot of things but she no longer wanted to know anything about this world. Whoever sent this letter must be in some kind of conspiracy with Selene.
Just as she was pondering over the letter, Lydia rushed in, panting. "Your Highness! Here you are. I've been looking all over for you. You shouldn't run like that again, or you will lose the respect you've worked hard to gain in the second prince's palace." Lydia said, sounding concerned for a mistress, who from Ave's little snooping around realized wasn't that nice to her.
Ave rolled her eyes and stuffed the letter into her robe. "Respect? Who needs respect when you've got a homicidal prince and mysterious death threats? Lydia, darling, you're my hero."
Lydia frowned in confusion. "Your Highness?" She asked, not understanding a word the princess meant. Homi, what?
Ignoring Lydia's confusion, Ave quickly shifted gears. "By the way, Lydia, I was just thinking... about that inn you mentioned. Where exactly is it on this map I happened to find on the floor?" She unfolded the Empire map casually, trying to appear nonchalant to make the girl unsuspecting.
Lydia looked puzzled but looked down at the weird drawings and writings on the map then looked back at Ave with her glimmering green eyes while wringing her hands in front of her. "Your Highness...I...I don't know how to read, have you forgotten that as well?"
God-damnit!
How could she have forgotten that literacy was not common among the servants? She needed a different approach, something that would allow her to pinpoint the inn without raising suspicion.
"Oh, it slipped my mind." She plastered a smile on her face as she tried to think of another way. "Do you know the name of the inn?" She asked, as the map came with names of what seemed to be cities and villages and other kingdoms in the Empire.
Lydia nodded.
"It's The Silver Moon Inn, Your Highness. It's near the edge of the village, just past the forest after the palace. Why did you want to know?" She asked curiously.
Ave nodded, memorizing the location before she smiled. "I just wanted to make sure I avoid it during my... walks."
Lydia's frown deepened. "Walks, Your Highness?"
Ave waved her hand dismissively. "Yes, walks. Now, could you be a darling and fetch me something warm to wear? I need to get this cold out of my bones."
Lydia bobbed her head, ready and happy to always be of help as she hurried away. Ave took a deep breath. Tonight, she would escape this nightmare, find that inn, and figure out a way back to her time. No homicidal prince or mysterious letter would stop her.