Chapter 171 Stuck In A Dilemma

As Alicia returned to her chamber after dinner, she had a slight frown on her face as she wondered why everything suddenly seemed kind of different here.

She couldn't place her finger on it, but something about the dinner made her feel anxious. Her instincts told her that things were about to become even more complicated than they already were.

Perhaps it was because she had watched her fair share of royal movies that she could tell that there had been some kind of tension in the air despite the smiles and laughter going around the table.

It seemed like with the presence of the aristocrats, a certain strain had come on everyone, and everything had changed all of a sudden.

Even Susan's attitude seemed somewhat different tonight. She noticed that Susan had avoided eye contact with her, unlike before, and she had left with her parents immediately after dinner was over, which was unlike her since she usually hung around with them.

Susan had acted strangely earlier that afternoon too, before she finally agreed to join her in the kitchen. After thinking about it, the only thought that came to her mind was that her parents had asked her to stay away from her. Susan was the daughter of the queen's brother, and Alicia knew the queen didn't like her even though she was pretending to. That only makes sense.

What would this change mean for Paulina and her friendship with Williams, if Susan, who was female, was avoiding her?

And judging by how she had asked Tyra to follow her to her chamber after dinner, Alicia could tell that Tyra would be instructed to stay away from her as well.

Luciana was gone. Susan was beginning to avoid her whether or not she wanted to, and Tyra was likely going to do the same too. The queen was trying to isolate her from everybody she considered her friend.

Even the girl's hangout away from the palace, which she had been planning to go on with the ladies, now seemed like an impossible dream.

Apart from Harold, who else did she have here? Even Paulina, whom she had taken to be her sister, didn't really care about her anymore now that she knew she wasn't her mistress.

Alicia sighed as she walked into her chamber distractedly, but was startled when she saw Paulina standing by her bedside.

"Paulina," she whispered in surprise as she shut the door behind her.

"My lady..." Paulina started, and then looked down at her hands, which were clasped together.

She had thought about it, and even though it wasn't exactly her mistress who was occupying this body, it was still her mistress's body, and the person inside her, Alicia, or whatever her name was, had been kind to her.

Also, after thinking about what she had said about having the same face as Queen Anne, Paulina didn't believe it was a coincidence. She believed that everything happened for a reason, and if, for some reason, another person with Queen Anne's face was possessing Princess Amber's body, then maybe Queen Anne was the one possessing the body. Because now that she thought about it, Alicia's behavior was very similar to Queen Anne's.

"Do you still plan to leave here?" Paulina asked with concerned eyes, and Alicia looked at her without saying a word until she was seated on the bed.

"Why do you ask?" Alicia asked calmly, wanting to know what was in Paulina's head.

"Because I don't think you should leave here. You will only make things difficult for Princess Amber if you leave and she returns," Paulina explained, and Alicia gave her a nod.

Of course, she was thinking about her mistress. "Do you think Princess Amber would have wanted to stay here? To be married to Prince Harold?" Alicia asked, and Paulina looked at her for a moment, not sure how to respond to that.

"She always did as she was told, so she would have stayed here," Paulina said, and Alicia shook her head.

"Then maybe you don't know your mistress as much as you think you do," Alicia said, thinking about what Harvey had said about this being the last place Amber wanted to be.

Even without the encounter, she just had the feeling that Amber wouldn't have stayed. She wouldn't have come here in the first place.

"What do you mean?" Paulina asked, confused.

"I don't think your mistress is as simple as you think she is. Are you aware that she has a male friend?" Alicia asked, and Paulina's eyes widened in surprise.

"A... A man?"

That just seemed to confirm that Paulina knew nothing about her mistress. What else was Amber hiding?

"Do not worry about it. I will think of something and protect us all." Alicia assured her.

"You should return to your chamber before the bells start ringing."

Paulina looked like she still had something to say, but seeing Alicia's mood, she knew it was not a good time, so she bowed and left the chamber.

After she left, Alicia sat on her bed and drew her legs closer, wrapping her arms around her. She was mentally exhausted from everything that was happening.

Now that she was alone, everything that had happened today began to replay in her head. Especially the kiss she had shared with Harold. What was she going to do now? As much as she wanted to deny it and place it all on someone else controlling her mind, she knew that was far from it. She had warned herself several times. She had reminded herself that flowing with the tide was a terrible idea for her. But she hadn't been careful. She had kissed him. And one way or the other, Harold must have realized she no longer saw him as a "younger brother". This was the part where she should have started planning to run away because the more she stayed here, the more complicated things would get.

But surprisingly, she didn't want to go anywhere. Because she wanted to protect him. How could she even be thinking of protecting him now when she had nothing and knew nothing?

She wanted to leave. She wanted to stay. Paulina wanted her to find her mistress back. Harold seemed like he would strangle the life out of Amber if she dared show up.

Now, she was stuck in a dilemma. What was she going to do? How was she going to live going forward? What was she going to do about Harold and her feelings for him?

"Fucking hell!" She yelled and threw everything she could find on the bed onto the floor.

With everything out of the bed now, her eyes fell on the diary she had hidden there this morning.