Chapter 63 - Street Play

Alicia seemed fascinated by what was going on in the market. With the sun down, it made her enjoy her stroll, watching people display different talents, like tossing various fruits in the air and catching all of them with no one hitting the ground. Some were busy playing with flames. They all wore colorful clothes while the onlookers clapped, some donating gold coins to the performers.

They also stopped by a makeshift theater where people were gathered to watch an ongoing play. 

Alicia had been curious to see the kinds of plays these people acted in during this era, but after standing there for a few minutes, she regretted stopping as she looked at the person beside her who kept a straight face while watching the people on the stage.

"I am the cursed Prince! I will kill you and take over the throne!" One of the actors exclaimed in a booming voice before striking at the person he had been speaking to with a wooden sword. As the person dramatically fell to his death, the audience laughed and clapped, clearly amused by the play being displayed.

"How dare you kill the first prince, you unfilial son?" 

Someone Alicia believed was playing the role of the king, said, while pointing harshly at Harold's character. 

"SHUT up you old man! Or you will be next." Harold's character threatened the king, who ran away in fright, causing the audience to laugh so hard that some clutched their bellies while others had tears pouring out of their eyes. 

"Are you going to look at me or watch the play?' Harold asked Alicia, who had been staring at him, wondering why he wasn't doing anything when he obviously looked annoyed. Although he still kept a straight face with his gaze on the stage, she had been able to master the art of knowing when he was pissed. And right now, he was. 

Since he wasn't going to do anything, she decided to do something and was about to march towards the stage when Harold grabbed her hand and pulled her back. 

"Why are you stopping me?" She asked in confusion and pushed away from him when she noticed how close they were. 

"Don't be rash. Let's go if you are done here." He didn't wait for her to decide whether she was staying or not, because he turned and walked away from there, but not after using his eyes to communicate with Alvin, who was still stealthily following them. Alvin nodded and turned just as Harold took a turn. As expected, Alicia was behind him, complaining bitterly. 

"What were you going to do?" He asked without looking at her. 

"Teach them a lesson, of course." 

He snorted. Did she think she would be able to fight those werewolves? Maybe she could handle knives, but what about close combat? 

"Why? You didn't ask me if those rumors were correct." He reminded her. 

"Are they?" she asked curiously. She had always been curious about it, but she didn't know how she was supposed to ask him. Was she supposed to say, "Hey Harold, I heard you are cursed. And you killed your brother because you wanted the throne. Is that correct?" That was absurd. 

"Do not be curious," He said in an indifferent tone, making her angry. She had been expecting an answer, but he just blew her off? 

When she heard someone scream, she stopped in her tracks and looked behind at the path they had taken. Cries and wails continued, and it seemed like people were running around. She was wondering what was going on when she saw Harold was far ahead of her and chased after him. 

"It's those actors, right?" She asked curiously. 

"....."

She gasped as realization dawned on her. "Do you have people following us in secret?" 

He also ignored her, not saying a word as he walked ahead with his hands behind him. 

He had to admit to himself once again that she was very smart at deducing things. 

Alicia could not believe it. How come they had someone following them and she didn't know about it? She always believed she had keen senses. This just made her realize that even if she had been planning to run away as planned, it was going to be impossible. Besides, judging from the way she was dressed, it would be very easy for people to point at whatever direction she had taken if she succeeded in running. 

She decided to just have fun and ignore the weird looks people were giving herself and Harold, who was wearing a straw hat and hiding his face. 

After walking around for a long time buying different items, Alicia was exhausted and hungry, so she turned to Harold and said, "I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?" She asked, looking around them as though she was trying to find a place to buy food.

"No," he said, cutting her off rudely. "We should return to the palace." 

"Palace? Not yet! We haven't even spent up to four hours here. Let's get something to eat and continue!" 

"Did Paulina not pack you some snacks when we were leaving? Let's go get it then," Harold offered, ignoring the tone she had used.

"The distance is too far. I think I might faint before we get there," Alicia complained, rubbing her abdomen. 

Harold sighed tiredly as he asked, "Would you like to get poisoned?" 

"If anyone recognizes me, we will likely get poisoned. And since you're going to be eating alone, you will die. Alone." 

"No one would dare poison you. Or me," Alicia said confidently. Although she didn't know much about how things worked in this era, she knew enough to know that, apart from the fact that these people feared him and wouldn't dare get on his nerves by poisoning them, they would also be too scared of the King to poison a prince. 

She smiled sweetly at him, hoping he would grant her this wish and lead her to a nice spot for them to have a late lunch. Of course, would she ever lose to Harold? 

'Weak!' Harold's wolf spat at him when he noticed Harold had once again been charmed by her.