The Cursed Prince's Strange Bride

As Harold headed for his chamber, he remembered that he was yet to speak with Susan, and also that he needed to speak with Harvey, so he returned in the direction of the dining hall.

He had a lot on his mind, especially as he still had not figured out the best way to keep Alicia out of trouble for the duration of the banquet, especially at night.

This was the first time they were having humans live with them in the palace, and as humans, if either Alicia or Paulina mistakenly stepped outside at that time and they were seen, that would be a big problem.

Would she listen to him and not step out of her chamber if he gently asked her not to? The major problem he had with her was that she only chose to listen to him when she wanted to, not necessarily when he wanted her to. As a result, it was hard to entirely trust her to obey him on this, especially since he knew she would want him to tell her why he wanted her to remain inside before listening to him, and he couldn't explain that to her yet.

The only plan he could think of right now was feeding her and Paulina his wine so that they would both be knocked out. Alicia was the problem, since he could easily make Paulina drink it, so he didn't have an issue with that girl.

But how could he make Alicia drink it without suspecting him? Should he annoy her or say something mean to her so she would need a drink to wash down her anger and, by 'coincidence', she would find that one? Or perhaps he could ask Paulina to make her drink it since she seemed to like Paulina a lot.

Harold's steps faltered when he saw the two people he wanted to see walking together ahead of him with their backs to him. Something didn't feel right about the sight of them together. What was going on? Did something happen after he left the dining room? He mused as he watched them.

"Brother!" Tyra, who was heading for her chamber, called with a wave when she saw him, causing both Harvey and Susan, who had been heading for the courtyard, to turn in his direction.

"Are you going somewhere?" Tyra asked with a cheerful smile when she came to stand in front of him.

"I was just taking a stroll around," Harold lied, and then he turned in the direction which Susan and Harvey had taken, "Are they friends?" Harold asked casually as he started walking again and Tyra fell into steps beside him.

"Susan's father and Harvey's father suggested they take a stroll together and get to know each other. The queen is setting them up together. She is trying to set me up with Lance and Prince Ivan with Benedicta. You know what it means, don't you?" Tyra asked, confirming Harold's suspicion.

"It is not unusual for royal families to arrange for such unions that would benefit them," Harold said, trying to make it sound like it was nothing.

From the way Tyra was speaking, Harold could tell that Susan had not told her anything about him, or else he was certain she would have asked him about it already. Tyra wasn't the type to keep secrets from him.

"They are only doing all this because they want to strengthen Prince Ivan's chances of becoming King," Tyra said, and Harold glared at her.

"I've told you not to speak about such things to me or anyone else. You have to be more careful," Harold scolded her sternly before walking away from her in the direction he had seen Harvey and Susan go.

To his surprise, he saw Susan alone at the spot where Tyra often sat to read. She was seated there with her head bowed as though she was deep in thought, and he looked around for Harvey, but when he didn't see him, he approached Susan.

Susan who had been lost in her thoughts, felt her heart jump into her throat when she noticed that someone was standing in front of her and she raised her head to see it was Harold. She stood up immediately and took a step backwards.

"Your highness," she greeted breathlessly, without making eye contact with him. She had never had a direct confrontation with him before, so it made her anxious.

Harold said nothing as he continued to look at her with his piercing gaze until she was shifting uncomfortably where she stood while waiting for him to speak.

"You know why I'm here, don't you?" He asked after some time, giving her the chance to say what he wanted to hear while also trying to see if she was going to act ignorant.

Susan didn't waste any time thinking about it. "You're here because I'm avoiding Princess Amber?" She asked tentatively, and Harold's brow arched.

"Is that really why you think I'm here?" He asked coldly, and she gave him a nod without looking at him.

Harold looked at her for a moment and didn't even need to hear the answers from her since it was very obvious that she knew something. They were in the courtyard, and he didn't want to draw more attention than was necessary to them, or else she would be questioned.

The best way to go about warning her would be to do it in a way that he wouldn't give himself away if she truly was telling the truth and didn't know he had spent the night with Alicia. He wished he could get into her head. But he hadn't been able to master the art of reading what was on people's minds before the whole thing stopped. He had tried doing that a few times when he was with Alicia, but nothing happened. He also hadn't been able to hear from his wolf in a while. Everything was quite troubling right now. It was as if he was back to his life when Alicia wasn't here. The only difference was that he could sleep well at night now.

"Whatever you found out last night, keep it to yourself. If I hear of it elsewhere, you will answer to me," he warned, and he waited until she bobbed her head in agreement before walking away.

That way, if she really didn't get to Alicia's chamber, she would easily think he was referring to what she discovered about the queen and Damon, and if she had gotten to Alicia's chamber and knew he slept there, then she would assume he was referring to that.

Now he needed to find Harvey.

Susan had almost forgotten how to breathe when Harold was present, but now that he was gone, she heaved a deep sigh of relief, almost gasping.

How he had been able to guess that was something she could not understand. By chance, had Alvin not believed her and told him about it?

That just seemed to make her even more sad and angry at herself. She had been stupid the entire time.

All she had to do was to be careful from now on since it seemed Harold was hiding something big and if it mistakenly leaked out, she would be blamed for it. As for her marriage to Harvey, there was no way that was happening and, thankfully, he felt the same way.

He had laid it out to her plainly that he wasn't interested in her and was going to find a way out of this for them. As much as she was grateful, it was another huge hit to her ego. In less than a day, she had been rejected twice. Her beauty, her connection with the queen, none of them seemed to matter to either of the men.

Dejectedly, she walked towards her chamber and it seemed like nothing was about to become easier for her because she heard faint voices as she passed by a door and stopped against her better judgement.

"Are you really going to marry him?" A male voice asked.

"Don't be stupid! You know that is impossible."

Susan's brows furrowed as she recognized the feminine voice that responded. Princess Tyra? Who was she speaking to?

Curious, she pushed the door open and was met with two startled faces. One belonged to Tyra, just as she had suspected, and the other one looked familiar. She looked at what he was wearing and seemed to recognize him.

"Aren't you... Damian? The Queen's bodyguard?" She asked in surprise as she looked from the bodyguard to Tyra and then back again.

Tyra was doing her best not to panic while Damian seemed to be seriously thinking about the best thing to say.

Susan suddenly gasped as realization dawned on her, and she quickly closed the door behind her before she started whispering.

"Is he... the person you like and have been secretly meeting? Is that why you are always leaving your chamber?" Susan asked curiously.

Tyra's eyes bulged out and she shook her head, but Damian quickly took hold of Tyra's hand and held it tightly in his, "Please... keep our secret," he said with a bow.

Tyra shot him a deadly glare that Susan had never seen before and tried to remove her hand from his, but he gave her a pointed look and shook his head slowly.

"She already knows. Why should we hide it?" Damian asked softly.

Susan scoffed and placed a hand on her forehead as she closed her eyes and shook her head. What was wrong with everyone in the palace? And why was she always the one finding out people's secrets? She really hoped she wouldn't get in trouble at this rate.