Marked By The Cursed Alpha Prince のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

LaylaI stood in front of the tall silver-framed mirror that always made me feel smaller than I already was, and my fingers were trembling as I touched the lace that covered my shoulders. The pure white, delicate dress stitched with patterns so fine they could have been spun by moonlight itself. It felt unreal on my body, as if it belonged to someone else. Someone gentler, prettier, or someone who had grown up knowing she would one day walk down an aisle with the world watching. A delicate tiara sat above my veil, reminding me again and again that today, I was the bride.A Princess Bride. The bride. A word that had never belonged to women like me.Never in my wildest dreams, or even in my quiet secret hopes, had I believed that a day like this would arrive, where the Moon Goddess herself would witness me entering a union. Women like me were not meant to be brides, nor lovers, nor anything close to cherished. We were always the ones who stayed in the shadows, unseen, unnoticed, and m

Third POVA few hours ago…From a high, shadowed ridge overlooking the winding forest road, Prince Maxmillian observed the distant commotion unfolding below with a lazy expression that barely concealed the sharp intelligence in his eyes. Beside him, the horses of his personal guard pawed impatiently at the frosted ground, and behind him, ten of the finest knights of the northern battalion stood waiting for their prince’s command. They had followed him only because he insisted that a morning ride would “clear his head,” though everyone knew Prince Maxmillian rarely did anything without a strategic reason.He narrowed his eyes as he saw the royal carriage come to a halt in the middle of the forest path, surrounded by dense trees that allowed an ambush from all four sides. A faint curve of interest tugged at the corner of his mouth. So, something had finally happened.Zed, the commander of his personal guard, stepped beside him. “Your Highness,” he said with a bow, “the carriage is under

LaylaThe nurse’s hands were gentle, but every touch sent a sharp tremor across my back where the carriage had slammed me. My wedding gown, beautiful as it had been, had hidden more wounds than my flesh, and now that the fighting was over and the survival instinct no longer numbed me, the pain crawled slowly over my body. Daisy and Rosie lay in the neighbouring room, more wounded than I, and guilt kept twisting itself around my ribs each time I remembered how helpless they had been. They were hunted because of me. I pulled two innocent ladies with me for my own gains. The nurse stepped away when she finished, and I let out a breath only to realise that Prince Lucian, my husband, had been watching the entire time. He stood by the pillar, his arms crossed, face unreadable but intense in a way that made my breath shorten. He had insisted the nurse check every bruise on me; I had argued, but he had overruled me with his firm and leave no room for nonsense tone.Now, under his gaze, I fe

Layla“The most beautiful woman in the world,” addressed me as Princess, as if we were equals and as if I were as high-born as she was.My confidence had never been as low as it was in that moment. Princess Arielle’s beauty and grace were exactly as the legends described, or perhaps even more than they could ever do justice to.“I came here with a request,” Princess Arielle said.I looked at her. Please don’t ask me to give up my husband. Don’t force me to hate you.You were far too beautiful to be hated.“What can I do for you?”My voice was meant to be firm and confident, but it came out weak, almost trembling, as if I couldn’t properly form my words. So I raised my chin or at least tried to and said more clearly,“What can Prince Lucian’s household do for you?”She looked at me and said, “It’s not the Prince’s household that I see, but you…”She paused, looking worried, still impossibly beautiful, as she continued,“The construction company in the city… I hired them to build a gard

Layla“What are we doing here, my princess?” Sir Lewis, now my knight, asked me as we stood in front of a dirty lake. Construction work was supposed to begin soon, but it seemed it would be delayed.“Cleaning the poison out of the lake,” I said, as workers in protective suits went into the water, wearing proper masks and clothing that would not let water penetrate. They would remain dry inside. I had instructed them that if they felt water touch their skin, they were to come out immediately.Outside, large fires burned beneath big vessels coated black by soot. Some workers were pulling garbage, dried and wet weeds from the water, while others carried water in buckets to the vessels and poured it in from ladders. Not all the fires were lit, only those whose vessels were filled. The vessels over active fires were closed and tightly covered. These fires would burn for days.“What’s the use of fire?” Sir Lewis asked.“The water is poisonous,” I explained. “It can’t be used or simply throw