The Cursed Prince

"You have to go to big cities or the capitals of any big kingdoms," Emmelyn advised the pirate princess. "They have powerful knights and generals in all shapes and colors." I am actually going to meet a friend of mine, Lord Edgar. He is a young lord from Draec who is traveling here on a mission. He is handsome and very formidable. I think you will like him".

Emmelyn doubt Edgar would like Kira, seeing how ruthless this woman was, but who cares? Emmelyn could sell Edgar all she wanted to Kira and used him as bait to make Kira go with her to Summeria.

A really powerful companion like this pirate princess would be of great help to her. At least, until she could meet Lysander and went with him to meet this weird king of Summeria.

And who knows, maybe Lysander was handsome too and Kira would be interested in him?

Emmelyn knew Lyla, his mother was really beautiful. So, maybe Lysander was not bad-looking either.

Finally, with this in mind, Emmelyn decided to bait Kira with those handsome men on her list. Edgar, Lysander, maybe even Gewen.

If all else failed, she might be able to suggest Kira look for Maxim. Emmelyn would love to know what happened to her friend. If they could find him, Maxim could surely handle Kira easily.

"Okay. I believe you," said Kira finally. She downed her wine and slammed her cup on the table, before turning to Emmelyn and looked her dead in the eye. "If you dare lie to me... you will regret being born!"

Emmelyn scoffed when she heard the pirate princess' threat. Tch. She already regretted being born because her life had become an endless series of bad luck.

"I already did," said Emmelyn bitterly. She decided not to provoke Kira and change the subject. "I am heading to Summeria. It's the largest kingdom on this continent and I heard they have so many handsome and brave men. It's also where my friend is going. So, if you want to meet Edgar, you can just go with me."

Kira looked at Emmelyn from head to toe, as if trying to assess whether this ugly man was worthy of being her travel companion or not.

Emmelyn quickly leaned closer to her and whispered, "If you are worried that I will take advantage of you because I am a man... I will now let you know that I am not really a man."

Kira's eyes bulged when she heard this shocking information. She looked at Emmelyn intently and asked her to repeat what she just said.

"What did you say?"

Emmelyn wanted to smack the woman. Didn't she have ears? Or were they not working properly because she fought so much?

Nonetheless, she repeated what she just said. "I said... If you are worried that I will take advantage of you because I am a man... I will now let you know that I am not really a man."

"What, so are you gay or something?" Kira asked her back. "Is that why you know so much about handsome and powerful men?"

"Gays are real men....who just happened to like other men," Emmelyn tried to explain. "I am NOT a real man."

Suddenly she thought that maybe Kira was better suited with Gewen. They seemed to share the same frequency, didn't they? But.. would she want a womanizer for a husband?

Also.. could a womanizer like Gewen ever let go of his lifestyle to settle down with one woman? It didn't seem like it.

Emmelyn could already imagine what would happen if Kira and Gewen got together and she found out he was sleeping with another woman. Gewen would lose not just a hand, like those thugs from earlier today, but also... ahem.

Well.. serves him right!

It took Kira a while to finally convince herself that the ugly man before her with this ridiculously big birthmark was actually a woman. She narrowed her eyes at Emmelyn and finally asked her, "Are you really a woman?"

"That, I am," said Emmelyn.

Kira's lips curved up in a smile. She cast her glance around her and soon her appreciation for this ugly-looking man, who turned out to be a woman, grew. Most of the other patrons of this diner, especially the female ones were already gone.

They were disgusted or horrified by the sight after Kira beat the crap out of six men who tried to harras her, leaving behind damaged furniture, pools of blood, and five bloody hands on the floor.

They couldn't stomach the sight and no longer had the appetite to eat. However, this woman could still drink her wine calmly?

That means, this woman surely got a nerve of steel, or at least she was not a coward like most other patrons. And for that, Kira decided that this woman was worthy of being her travel companion.

Besides, she had been traveling on her own for some time. It could get quite lonely at times. She loved talking and it would be nice to share the journey and the shenanigans with someone.

And Emmelyn was right. Even though Kira was not afraid of anyone, she would be more comfortable traveling with a fellow woman. They could chase after handsome men together.. hehehe.

"You said you are going to Summeria to look for your friend?" she asked Emmelyn again. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No. He is not my boyfriend," said Emmelyn. She coughed. "I am not looking for men in that sense... I already have a daughter."

Initially, she wanted to say that she was not looking for men because she was married, but when she remembered her scummy husband, the fire in her heart was reignited and she chose not to call herself a married woman anymore.

Yes, she was a mother, but she was not anyone's wife any longer.

"Oh.. where is your daughter now?" Kira asked again.

Emmelyn looked around them and thought she would end up having to answer Kira's neverending questions if she let it.

So, Emmelyn decided to end the fateful dinner and invited the woman to her bedroom to have a nicer conversation.

"It's a long story," she said. "What do you think if I invite you for a drink and we can talk in private? I will answer whatever burning questions you have about me."

She knew Kira wouldn't say no. The woman was too confident with her own capabilities that she wouldn't feel threatened to visit Emmelyn in her room to talk.

Kira nodded. "Yeah... this place is a mess. I am done eating anyway."

She got up from her seat, followed by Emmelyn. They could see Mary stand in the corner of the diner, looking confused, trying to decide which part of the mess she should clean up first.

"Mary, I'm sorry for the commotion," said Kira with a chuckle. She didn't look regretful whatsoever. 

Mary only nodded and muttered something unclearly. It was obvious that she was upset but didn't dare to offend Kira.

"What did you say?" Kira furrowed her brows and walked up to her. "I didn't hear you."

Mary's face turned white and she shook her head while forcing a smile. "N-no... nothing, my lady."

"I thought you said something."

"No, I didn't."

"Hmm.. okay." Kira took something from her pocket and gave them to the maid. "This is the money to pay for the damage. I am sorry for what happened."