The Cursed Prince

Emmelyn nodded. "Yeah. I will have many layered plans, in case this one doesn't work. What's important for me now is to get away from Terra as soon as possible."

She sat down on the bed and removed her shoes. Then she took the wine jug and poured wine for herself. "At this rate, we will reach Wintermere in two weeks. I hope by then I will have recovered 100 percent and can sail to Atlantea."

She added, "I've been to Glasswell, the port closest from Wintermere. I will reach it in two weeks with a ship. I think from Glasswell to Summeria, I will take another two months."

Emmelyn had never been to Summeria, but she had heard a lot about the biggest kingdom in Atlantean continent. It should be easy to go there, and as long as she had money, her journey would go smoothly.

Nobody knew who she was in Atlantea, and it was such a big place, she could easily avoid her chasers.

Hmm... maybe she could do what Lyla suggested. She could give her wedding ring to the brothel owner and asked Lyla to fake her death using a purchased corpse from somewhere.

This thought made Emmelyn smile. It was good to have options. 

She finished two cups of wine before she decided to sleep. After a long time, tonight her sleep was dreamless.

It was peaceful and lovely.

***

"Good morning, Your Grace," said Lyla with a big smile when she saw Emmelyn enter the dining room. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"I did," Emmelyn nodded. She sat at the dining table and poured tea for herself. Mrs. Adler followed behind her. 

"Please, enjoy the breakfast provided by my cooks. They are really talented," said Lyla. She made a point to serve Emmelyn well, hoping that the princess would finally decide to grant her proposal.

Emmelyn knew this too. She didn't want to beat around the bush. So, she sipped her tea and got down to business.

"Lyla, I have thought about this and I agree to meet your son, Lysander, but it will be on my terms. You can ask him to pick me up somewhere after Glasswell. You should also let me know how I can reach out to him once I land on Atlantea."

"Oh my... thank you so much for listening to my proposal," Lyla was so happy that she got up and almost hugged Emmelyn. At the last moment, she was aware of their difference in status and decided against it.

"Let's talk about the details after we finish breakfast," said Emmelyn. She had thought about this plan and after making the assessment from all angles, she decided this was for the best.

They ate breakfast in silence. It was done quickly as if both parties wanted to quickly proceed with their cooperation. Once the food was cleared from the table, finally Emmely explained what she wanted.

She put down her ring on the table and looked at Lyla intently. "I need your help to get rid of all my chasers in Terra. You can use this ring. The king will know that it's my personal item. Please, don't mess this up. I don't have anything else to give you if this plan doesn't work."

Lyla was surprised to see that Emmelyn's personal item that she wanted to use to fake her death was a ring. What did it have to do with her? Didn't she say she had a daughter? Was she already married?

However, the brothel owner knew better to keep her mouth shut. She took the ring carefully and put it in her pocket. "I will not fail you, Your Grace."

"Thank you," said Emmelyn. She then continued sharing her plans. "Next, I will need good clothes. I think it will be easy to spot me if I keep my current disguise. After I leave your place, I will disguise myself as a young lord who is traveling with a wife."

She added, "Can you lend me one of your girls to pose as my wife?"

Lyla pressed her lips in awe. She thought Emmelyn's plan was brilliant. Nobody would suspect a married nobleman. 

"Yes, of course. Which one do you like? You can have Anna or Lucia," she replied immediately. "You have met them."

Emmelyn thought Lucia was demure and would not give her a headache, so she mentioned Lucia's name, to which Lyla agreed immediately.

"I also will need a good carriage with a coachman and a servant. Can you provide all that? I will only need them until I can take the ship to Glasswell. They can go home to you after they took me to Wintermere." Emmelyn thought she would be safe once she arrived on the other side of the ocean.

She wouldn't bring Mrs. Adler, the servant, or Lucia with her to Atlantea. They would only slow her down.

"Definitely. You can use my carriage, my coachman, Lucia, and one servant. I will also write a letter for Lysander that you can give to him in person. So, he will know that it's really you." Lyla became more excited. "Once you land in Glasswell, you can go to this popular inn, called The Singing Cat. Lysander always sent his letters to me through merchants going here and stop by at the inn."

"Okay, I will take note of that," said Emmelyn.

"Great. I will prepare everything. When do you want to go?" Lyla stood up and got ready to prepare everything that Emmelyn asked.

"As soon as possible, please..."

"Okay. Right away then."

Emmelyn thought Lyla's steps were so light that she looked like she was dancing in happiness. Ahh... she could sympathize with Lyla, since she was a mother too.

She had only been separated from Harlow for one month, but she already suffered so much. She couldn't imagine being in Lyla's position and couldn't see her son for over ten years.

She really hoped Lysander would forgive his mother, seeing how much Lyla was making an effort to reconcile. If not, Emmelyn would scold that man and beat the crap out of him.