The Cursed Prince

Meanwhile, in the royal palace, in Draec's capital, the young king was pacing in the throne room. He just received a letter from Edgar.

Finally, after so many months of waiting for news about Edgar, Mars could feel relieved, knowing his best friend was still alive and well.

He had read the letter quickly and found out the reason why Emmelyn sent Edgar away was really to find information about Myreen and the Leoraleis. Back then, Emmelyn was still heavily pregnant, so she couldn't go on her own.

Mars assumed Emmelyn must be really feel bothered by Bruinen's words when he said Emmelyn had a dark aura which reminded him of the curse from Myreen.

She couldn't take it anymore and decided to send someone that she could trust to go on her behalf to find information.

"Oh, my poor Emmelyn,"  Mars muttered in a low voice.

He felt sad and guilty for leaving Emmelyn behind with only Edgar as her protector. Never in a million years, he thought something would happen to his mother that would put Emmelyn in a dangerous situation.

If only he also left behind Gewen or another person that he trusted to stay with Emmely, this situation wouldn't have happened.

Edgar would still be in Draec to be with Emmelyn and he could prevent Emmelyn from being suspected as the queen's killer.  Emmelyn wouldn't need to fake her death and left Draec to fend for herself.

Ahh... Emmelyn must be missing Harlow so badly. Mars didn't dare to imagine his wife was also missing him. If anything, probably Emmelyn was hating him and blaming him for her misfortunes.

Mars realized he really needed to make up to her.

Sigh. If only he was not the monarch, he could just leave his kingdom to search for his wife on his own. He wouldn't have to rely on the reports and efforts of other people.

Right now, he was powerless in that regard. He must get those knights-for-hire and bounty hunters to search for Emmelyn on his behalf. Not only he had to take care of the kingdom, but he also had to take care of his young daughter. 

Harlow was now three months old and she was very close to him. Mars had moved back to the royal palace and brought Harlow with him so they could always be together.

To make things easier, he had given a building in the royal palace compound for the Greenans to move into. He also appointed Athos as the king's personal advisor and head of the treasury. This way, Athos and his family were always close to him and Harlow.

Lily was such a great help in assisting the new father in taking care of his daughter. After several months with her routine, Harlow's life had become so organized.

Harlow would feed every three hours, at which time Lily would come and take the baby to her wet nurse, and then she would bring back Harlow to her father.

Mars had become used to bringing Harlow to his boring meetings with the royal officials and noblemen in the capital.

In the beginning, the people were shocked and confused, but over time, they became used to seeing the little princess in her small basket, next to the king.

Soon, his actions became the talk of the town and many noblewomen felt sorry for their king who had to take care of his daughter after his wife, who was also his mother's killer, left him.

Many women secretly hoped they could attract the king's attention and that he would look for a new wife from among those aristocratic ladies in the capital.

They thought, being a single father with a really young baby, he must be needing help from a woman who could take care of the little princess.

Some ministers and lords even proposed to the king, in one of their meetings, to take a new wife to secure his power. They argued that a king needed to have a male heir in order for his family to keep their power in the kingdom.

Since Harlow was a girl, they assumed she would not be eligible for the throne once she was older.

They wanted the king to immediately get another child, if possible a son, so his family could continue the line of succession.

After all, if a king didn't have an heir, they were worried that once he was old, the younger generation would all fight for power.

There might be a civil war among the king's cousins and nephews. Added to the fact that most of them were now leading one or more of lesser kingdoms, surely it would create a dangerous situation for the old king and his daughter.

Unfortunately for those people, Mars didn't see the need to look for another wife or make a son since he was still faithfully waiting for Emmelyn to return.

He never paid them any heed whenever the future of the royal family was being discussed.

However, he also didn't say anything about his plan to get his wife back. He still needed to find more evidence that Emmelyn was not his mother's killer.

"Your Majesty, Lord Gewen just arrived and he is asking for an audience," John's voice from the door moved Mars from his reverie. The king looked up and waved at the butler to bring Gewen in.

"Maybe he is bringing an important report about Emmelyn," he muttered to himself while waiting for Gewen.

He had not had the chance to discuss Edgar's letter with his friend. So, Mars took out Edgar's letter from his drawer, ready to share the contents with Gewen.

Then, he would ask about the update on the two bounties he set for Emmelyn. It's been two and a half months. Surely they must have found some clues?

"Your Majesty," Gewen's voice rang in the throne room as the man walked hurriedly to see the king. He brought a scroll in his hand and waved it at Mars. "I just received a letter from Edgar. I think you must want to see the content."

Mars furrowed his brows when he heard Gewen's words. Another letter? Didn't he just receive Edgar's letter? Now, there was a second letter?

Mars waited until Gewen arrived in front of him and handed him the scroll. He, too, take Edgar's letter from his drawer and gave it to Gewen.

"I also received a letter from Edgar. Here, you can read it,"  said Mars. "Basically Edgar explained that Emmelyn sent him to Atlantea to look for information about Myreen and the Leoraleis. So, it seems she really thought about the curse seriously and it affected her life. It's just as I thought."

"Hmm..."  Gewen furrowed his brows and opened the scroll from Mars to read the letter. "This is an old letter. The data here shows that it was sent two months ago from Glasswell. What took it so long to reach you?"

"I am wondering the same. Maybe the courier lost the letter and could only deliver it here after looking for it everywhere?" Mars shrugged. "It's okay, late is better than never."

"Maybe," Gewen agreed with him.

The king checked the letter from Gewen and commented, "Hmm.. the letter you brought does seem quite recent. It was sent one month ago."

"Yeah. So, the new letter will have the latest updates,"  said Gewen. "Read it and see if he has news about the Leoraleis." 

Mars already opened the scroll and started reading. Edgar's handwriting was not the best, but Mars could still read it.

The king read the letter with great interest.  After two minutes, his forehead winced and his expression was filled with disbelief. 

No.. this can't be!

"What is it?" Gewen asked when he realized Mars was holding his breath, looking upset. Because Mars didn't reply, he asked again. "Is anything the matter? Tell me."

Mars looked at him with narrowed eyes. His confusion soon turned into anger. "What kind of rubbish is this? Edgar said there is a third bounty in Summeria for Emmelyn."

.

--------------

From the author:

I am sorry, I need a bit more time to finalize the chapters for "The Cursed King". If you see the publish notification for the book, please ignore it. The chapters are not all ready.

I will only publish 2 chapters for Winwin and then the rest in a few hours. Only then, after all chapters are published, you will see new chapters dispensed to regular readers. Thank you for your patience.