The Cursed Prince

Mars thought Emmelyn was indeed sick. That's why she was quiet all morning. Usually, she would comment on many things or discuss anything that came to her mind.

Mars always loved listening to her chatter and voiced his opinion a little. Their chat was always good. 

Now, he understood why Emmelyn was so distraught when he intentionally avoided her and didn't want to talk with her, before her drunk confession. 

She was expressive and liked talking. She would suffer if she couldn't really talk to people. Mars was her opposite. He loved quiet and didn't talk much.

He normally hated noise and talkers. The prince could only stand Gewen, who talked too much because the man was his childhood friend and he was used to Gewen's chatter for decades already.

As for other people? Not so much. They knew to keep their silence before the crown price.

However, apparently, Mars didn't mind having a chatterbox for a wife, since she was so knowledgeable and full of wonderful stories. Mars really wished he could travel with her and see the world together. 

Maybe... after they're old and their children inherit the throne?

After they finished with breakfast, Roshan came to report that Mrs. Coultard came to bring Emmelyn's coat and dresses.

Apparently, she got the crown prince's message loud and clear. If Mrs. Coultard didn't finish Emmelyn's clothes by due time, the royal tailor would be punished.

Prince Mars wasn't known for being compassionate and generous to the outside world. So, of course, that woman was terrified. She would rather keep her head than her pettiness.

"Can I see them?" Mars asked when Emmelyn got up from her chair to meet Mrs. Coultard.

The girl only shrugged. "Sure."

They went to their chamber and waited for Mrs. Coultard in there. The royal tailor came with two seamstresses, her assistants.

The women were visibly shocked when they saw the crown prince was sitting elegantly by the window, watching their arrival with a flat expression.

"Your highness." They all three bowed down respectfully.

Mars just nodded and didn't say anything. They understood that they should keep their distance from him since the prince hated women.

"Your highness, we've got your coat and ball gowns ready." Mrs. Coultard forced a smile when she talked to Emmelyn. In front of the crown prince, she didn't dare to act curtly to his woman.

She initially thought Emmelyn was a mere bed warmer to the prince, but when she saw the crown prince seemed to be very fond of that woman, Mrs. Coultard realized that Emmelyn was more than that. Thus she decided to change her attitude.

Emmelyn accepted the coat from Mrs. Coultard. It was made of really warm material, layered by thin leather. It also looked really nice with light blue color that would bring out the sparkle in her eyes.

She immediately put it on and admire herself in front of the mirror. The size was perfect and it felt good to wear it.

"What do you think?" She turned to Mars and asked his opinion.

The man nodded and smiled. "It looks good on you."

He genuinely thought she would look good on anything. She was too beautiful for words. Didn't she know that?

Mrs. Coultard gasped. She sometimes saw the crown prince from afar when she came to the palace. She didn't remember if she ever saw him smile. The prince always looked serious and scary.

Oh, my....

What was the relationship between the prince and this lowly woman? Was this a serious relationship? Would he plan to marry her? How was that possible? This girl was a nobody, right?

So many thoughts were raging in her mind, but Mrs. Coultard kept them to herself. She didn't dare to be presumptuous now. She loved her head too much to look for trouble.

After Emmelyn tried her coat and was happy with it, she took it off and the two seamstress assistant came to her to help take off her dress. Now, Emmelyn would try her ball gown and one other dress that was made for her.

Mars opened the curtain wide to let all the sunlight in and kept himself busy reading a book, while Emmelyn was assisted by the ladies to put on layers of undergarment and finally her dress.

The ball gown was the most beautiful thing Emmelyn had ever laid her eyes on. It was made of the finest silk with layers of brocade in dark blue, decorated by small gemstones on the front part. Paired with her light blue coat, she looked so stunning. 

The girl clicked her tongue several times to admire her looks.

"What about this?" Emmelyn turned to Mars and asked his opinion again. The man thought she would look good in anything, even a gunny sack, so he nodded and smiled.

"Yes, that looks good on you."

Emmelyn was happy with her dress. She liked the fact that it had some layers that could hide some stuff for her to carry. She could sew a secret compartment under one of the layers and hide her knife there.

After she was satisfied with her ball gown, she tried her second dress. It was simpler in design, but also made of fine silk and had intricate embroidery on the skirt that made it look even more expensive.

"What do you think, Your Highness?" Now, Mrs. Coultard acted sweetly toward Emmelyn because the crown prince was in the room. She realized she had to curry favor with this woman to be on the prince's good side.

"They're nice. Thank you for making them for me," Emmelyn replied casually.

Even though she didn't appreciate how Mrs. Coultard treated her initially, now she couldn't care less. The royal tailor had maybe realized her stupidity and now changed her attitude toward her.

"Ahh.. I would love to keep making dresses for you, my lady. Just let me know if you ever need more dresses," Mrs. Coultard was happy because Emmelyn didn't seem to hold a grudge toward her since she treated Emmelyn curtly in their first meeting.

"I have enough dresses at the moment," Emmelyn tilted her chin toward her wardrobe. "So, I don't think I will be needing you in the near future. The queen is throwing a royal ball next week, that's the only reason I'm getting a new dress from you."

Mars looked up when he heard her confidently say she wouldn't be needing new dresses from the royal tailor.

[Oh, Em darling, you seem to forget that pregnant women won't fit into their regular clothes.]

[Once you are pregnant, we will have to get you new clothes]

[I mean.. I don't mind seeing you naked 24/7 if your clothes don't fit.. but...]

[Our children would suffer. So..]

Mars was moved from his reverie when Mrs. Coultard repeated her goodbyes since the man didn't respond after the first.

"Ahem.. Your Highness, allow me to take my leave..." she said for the second time.

Emmelyn turned to Mars and saw the man was daydreaming with a faint smile on his lips. She furrowed her brows.

Emmelyn had seen this smile several times already and could now recognize the perverted thoughts that the prince was having that resulted in that smile.

"Hey!" She tapped his shoulder and whispered. "Mrs. Coultard wants to leave and she has been saying goodbye twice."

Mars turned to see the royal tailor in a cold expression and nodded. "You may go."

"Thank you, your highness." Mrs. Coultard and her assistants bowed down deeply and took their leave.

Once the ladies were gone, Emmelyn sat beside the man and stared at him probingly. She didn't say anything and after a while, Mars became uncomfortable.

"Why are you staring at me like this?" he asked her. "Didn't your parents teach you that staring is rude?"

She shrugged. "You told me sometimes I don't have manners. So, why are you surprised?"

"Hmm.. okay. But is there any particular reason why are you staring at me now? Is there something on my face? Or.. are you just admiring my good looks? Are you not satisfied with our sex earlier today and want more?"

Emmelyn hiccuped when she heard his shameless words.

"Shameless," she said. "Now I know how you can stand Gewen. Birds of the same feather flock together. You are just as narcissistic as that guy."

However, she was smiling when uttered her words. Mars realized Emmelyn's good mood had returned.

"Indeed! I can only blame Gewen for corrupting me," he replied.

Emmelyn rolled her eyes. "I saw your smile just now. You were thinking of something perverted. What was it?"

Mars chuckled when he heard her question. "Do you REALLY want to know?"

"I'm curious," Emmelyn replied.

"Well.. when I saw you try on those dresses, I kept thinking how beautiful they were on you, but you still look better without anything on."

Emmelyn shook her head and patted the man on the shoulder in a disapproving look. "Apparently my guess is right. That's what I thought too... tsk tsk. Pervert."

"Haha.. really? Gosh, I should be careful with my thoughts from now on. It looks like you've known me well enough by now to read my mind," Mars said with a broad smile.

He was really happy to have this conversation with Emmelyn. Sitting together by the window, talking about silly simple stuff like this felt so pleasant and peaceful.

Now... they had to relax and wait for Doctor Vitas to visit. Inwardly, Mars was suspecting that Emmelyn might already be pregnant.

It had been more than one month since they started having sex regularly, and last night suddenly she spat the sweet fruits and called them bland and disgusting. She also ate so much, even though Mars knew she wasn't hungry.

Perhaps.. it was one of the signs that she was carrying?

If that was true.. Mars couldn't be happier. However, he was really scared to jinx it. So, he held back from even talking about it. He would just wait for Doctor Vitas to check her health and confirm everything.