Chapter 145 Loud Evening

Ivan's hand moved to the hilt of his sword, eyes flashing dangerously, showing how prepared he was to shed blood at that moment.

"Step aside, Harold. Your wife dared to interfere in my private business and lay her hands on me. She needs to be disciplined," Ivan said as calmly as he could muster.

Seeing the trouble she had caused, Alicia became worried. She didn't want these brothers to fight because she had gotten herself involved in this. Just this morning, she had assured Harold that she was going to be safe and would mind her business. Well, here she is now. And the thing was that if she could go back in time, she would have done the exact same thing. She couldn't just stand by and watch Ivan abuse his wife. What if something bad happened to her?

Harold pushed Alicia behind him. "Like you said, my wife. My wife, my business. If anyone is going to discipline my wife, it is going to be me," Harold said, and then his gaze moved to Alvin. "Escort her to her chamber," he ordered, but before Alvin could take a step, Ivan drew out his sword and pointed it at Alvin.

"It's going to be either your wife or your loyal servant," Ivan said, and a muscle twitched in Harold's eyes.

Everyone tensely watched the scene before them. Even Alicia felt nervous. She knew that she had outdone herself this time. Ivan was a prince, and possibly the next in line to the throne. What had she been thinking by behaving in that manner? And now she had succeeded in dragging Alvin into her mess. If she didn't fix this, Alvin would be punished in her place because he was a servant. And she couldn't let that happen.

But did she have to apologize to Ivan? He had been the wrong one. He had slapped his wife, pulled Alicia by the hair, and had also shoved her. Did he deserve an apology?

"Uhm... P-Prince—"

"Shut it!" Harold snapped at her, and she pressed her lips together at once.

Seeing how serious it was, Luciana could no longer hold back.

"PLEASE STOP IT! I WAS WRONG!" She cried. Who would have thought that a moment of stubbornness would lead to something this serious?

"SHUT UP!" Ivan turned and bellowed at her in a thunderous voice, making her flinch.

Ivan turned to look at Alvin, who didn't look a bit shaken, while Harold looked like he was trying to suppress his anger.

When Ivan moved his hand a bit, Susan panicked. "What do you think you are doing, cousin? We are inside the palace!"

Ivan ignored her. He ignored everyone. All he knew was that he was going to shed blood today. Either it was Alvin's, Harold's bride, or Harold himself. It would be lovely if it was the three of them.

"Alvin was acting based on my orders. You can't punish him," Harold said calmly. His wolf was agitated at this point. All he could think about was having Ivan's filthy blood all over his hands. But he knew he could not do that. So he tried to remain calm, hoping Ivan wouldn't push him to the edge.

Ivan scoffed at him. "You dare order your guard to draw his sword at me? A servant pointing a sword at a prince?" Ivan growled, feeling all the more insulted. He was about to strike at Alvin when a loud voice thundered beside them.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?" The king asked, and immediately every movement ceased, and everyone turned to the king.

The Queen, who had returned with her husband, took a look at Ivan's face, which still had the scratch marks and had a sword in his hand pointed at Alvin, and then her gaze moved to Luciana, who was still touching her face and had tears streaming down her eyes, before settling on Alicia, who was poking her head from Harold's back like she was hiding. Her hair looked a mess.

"Who did this to you?" The Queen asked, boiling with anger as she stepped forward to look at her son.

Almost immediately, they all started to speak. While Ivan was trying to tell his mother how Alicia had attacked him while he was trying to discipline his wife, Luciana was telling the king how her husband had attacked her after dinner, and Alicia was also telling the king her side of the story.

"ENOUGH!" The King ordered harshly. Was it too much to ask for a day of peace?

"I am disappointed in all of you. How can royalties create a scene such as this for even servants to watch? Alvin, you may leave. The rest of you..."

"Father! He pointed a sword at me!" Ivan said through gritted teeth. If it was up to him, Alvin wouldn't see the light of day. After all, Beth had done less than that, yet Harold had punished her so severely.

"What? You dare to point your sword at a Prince?" The Queen asked in disbelief.

"He was trying to protect Princess Amber." Susan explained quickly, causing her brother to look at her suspiciously.

Firstly, he had noticed the drama between her and Alvin when they both caught Princess Amber. She had previously spoken up when Ivan drew a sword to Alvin's throat, and now this?

Alvin also seemed confused and looked at Susan, who held his gaze for a second before she looked away from him.

"That is not an excuse!" The Queen snapped at Susan angrily.

"Prince Ivan hit his wife and he shoved me," Alicia informed the queen, hoping that as a woman she would understand that her son had been wrong.

"What is wrong in a prince disciplining his wife?" The queen asked angrily, making Alicia's jaw drop in disbelief. "And if you hadn't meddled in his affair, he wouldn't have shoved y—"

Alicia exploded in anger. "Meddled in his affair? I should have allowed him to hit her and do nothing? You would have watched your son do that to his wife and not meddle?" She asked in a raised voice, unable to stop herself. What kind of future king were they breeding here?

Harold used his hands to massage his temples. What did he get himself into? He asked himself. Here he was, thinking of a way to get her out of one mess, and she was very well on her way to getting knee deep in another, Harold mused as he pulled her back, "Keep quiet," he warned in a dangerously low tone.

"You dare to raise your voice at your queen?" The Queen asked, angry at her insolence.

Every other person could not believe it either and stared at her in disbelief.

"Father," Harold said, ignoring everyone else and focusing on the king because he was the only person he owed an explanation to."

I apologize for my wife's behavior. She doesn't know her place and keeps getting involved in other people's businesses. I will be sure to discipline her myself. And as for Alvin, he was only acting on instruction. He would not dare to draw his sword at anyone if he didn't think my wife's life was in danger. I apologize for the disturbance we all caused," Harold said with an apologetic bow, while Alicia seethed with anger. Did he just say that she did not know her place?

The king had no idea what to do in this case. He was fed up and just needed to rest. To think he just told them a little while ago to be on their best behavior?

"Everyone, leave for your chamber. We will address this issue after the banquet," He said dismissively. "I do not want to hear anything about this until then."

Both Ivan and the queen seethed in anger. So that was it?

They all bowed to the king as he turned to leave, and his wife reluctantly followed after him in anger.

Harold turned to look at the others, and with one look at his eyes, Susan, Williams, and Tyra turned to escape immediately. Even the maids and guards who had left their duty posts to come spy on them began to run away.

The only people left were Alvin, Harold, Alicia, Luciana, and Ivan, whose eyes were filled with hate and anger.

"Take her with you," Harold said to Alvin, who bowed and gestured for Alicia to walk ahead, but she didn't move.

Angry at being disobeyed, Harold turned to glare at her and found her staring at him. There was a mixture of guilt and worry in her eyes as she stared at him.

"Go," he said to her, sounding calmer now.

Alicia didn't want to because she was scared the two were going to be at each other's throats. But she decided to trust Harold this time. He was a wise person after all and wouldn't deliberately cause trouble.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him before following Alvin.

When it was just the two brothers left, Harold's face turned serious as he faced him, "I do not care what you do with your wife. But the next time you lay your hands on mine..." He moved closer, as if walking past Ivan, and stopped just before he could brush past him.

"This is the last warning."

Harold only succeeded in taking a few steps away, heading towards the opposite direction, when Ivan said, "You have crossed the line, Harold." Ivan turned to look at Harold's back.

With a smirk, Harold replied, "Do not get it wrong, Ivan. I drew the line," he said before walking away.