The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn arrived at the little forest where she was 'buried' alongside her brother. She had seen from afar how the area near the graves was surrounded by soldiers and some servants.

Emmelyn quickly stopped her wagon and parked it behind the big rock at the end of the forest before they could see her.  Then, by carrying some firewood, she pretended to be a villager who came to the forest to look for firewood to sell.

She walked inconspicuously closer to the horde of servants and watched the scene unfolding. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized her husband was standing by her grave, observing the soldiers dig the soil with shovels to uncover the casket used to bury her in.

What was he doing here? Emmelyn was so distraught when she suddenly caught sight of Mars.

She didn't know Mars came here to dig her grave. She thought he came to mourn. So.. why was he doing this?

Did Mars know that she faked her death and wanted to check for himself? Or did he decide to dig out her grave because he wanted to move her body somewhere else?

What was happening here?  So many questions raging in Emmelyn's mind. Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes as she looked at Mars' physical condition.

The prince's back slumped dejectedly and his usually strong and commanding posture now looked so tired and aggrieved. The man looked like he just returned from a big war, being defeated.

Emmelyn couldn't see his expression clearly but his gesture showed a man drowned in deep sorrow. Seeing him in such a condition tugged her heartstrings.

Emmelyn had to exert all her sanity not to come running to him and hugged him.

There were too many people around Mars right now, including... that bastard traitor, Roshan!

At the moment, Emmelyn didn't know how Mars perceived his mother's murder case. Would he believe Ellena's and Roshan's lies that Emmelyn was the killer?

If he did, Emmelyn couldn't blame him because all the evidence and witnesses' testimonials were not in her favor. They really got her good this time.

Unless Queen Elara herself rose from the dead and exonerated Emmelyn or Ellena lost her mind and confessed to her crime, then it would be hard to prove her innocence.

And even if her husband did the stupid thing in front of other people by sticking by her and believed that she didn't kill the queen, what about the rest of the people?

The king? The ministers and other lordships?

If Emmelyn came out now only to be arrested, all her efforts to escape would be such a waste. She wouldn't be able to go find the Leoraleis and free herself from their curse.

At the moment, this was her main priority. To get her loved ones free from getting affected by her curse.

Emmelyn was determined to do this because she was thinking about her child. For as long as Emmelyn lived, Harlow would be at risk of getting affected by the curse that befell her mother. She would be unlucky and suffer for life.

While Emmelyn was still breathing, she would do whatever it took to make Harlow's life easy.

No. Emmelyn decided she wouldn't take the risk of appearing before her husband now. She would wait and find the opportunity to see him in private. She could try to see him before she went to Atlantea.

But, if she couldn't find the opportunity, Emmelyn would just leave. Seeing her husband was not her top priority at the moment. As long as she knew he was alive and well, she could leave with peace of mind.

However, different story when it came to Roshan. Emmelyn was adamant that she must kill the treacherous butler so he couldn't get closer to Harlow.

Emmelyn would never allow him the opportunity to hurt her baby.

While Emmelyn was trying to blend in with the servants who surrounded the prince, Mars was interrogating Roshan to tell him what happened on the fateful day when his mother was found murdered.

"Who checked the treasure chest in my study?" Mars narrowed his eyes and looked at Roshan intently. He found it odd that at the time of a murder, the king's guard would make a point to check on his study, especially his treasure chest. "Why did they do it?"

Roshan started to tremble. It was he who asked the king's guard commander to check on Mars's study after they found the queen's dead body and that Emmelyn was missing.

"Well... Damien, the king's guard said they needed to search the whole castle to find the killer," Roshan said haltingly. "They checked the castle inside and out. That's when they found out that Lady Emmelyn was missing and the gold in your treasure chest was also gone."

This explanation sounded reasonable. Roshan just hoped Mars wouldn't cross-check his statement to Damien, because then Damien would tell him that it was Roshan who suggested the king's guards inspect the castle inside and out, including the prince's study.

"When was the last time you saw my wife?" Mars asked again. 

Roshan said, "The last time I saw Lady Emmelyn was after she returned from king's town. She went inside her chamber to rest. And then she asked me to bring Queen Elara to see her when Her Majesty arrived."

Emmelyn really wanted to charge and kill Roshan on the spot. She couldn't hear what the butler was telling her husband, but she was sure it must be another lie.

"Your Highness! We have found the casket," said a soldier suddenly. He came to the prince's side and bowed down to apologize for interrupting his conversation. "There is no body inside the casket."

Mars held his breath when he heard the soldier's statement. He was not so surprised because Ellena had told him that Emmelyn faked her death. Deep inside he had been wishing that Ellena was telling the truth.

And now.. it looked like his wish was granted. Emmelyn was not really dead.