The Cursed Prince

"Would you do that?" Emmelyn was so moved by the kind offer, she brushed off Maxim's arm and walked forward to meet Raphael face to face. At that moment, she was convinced that the man was kind and didn't mean to harm them.

Maxim who initially shielded Emmelyn from Raphael was surprised by what she did. He moved forward and grabbed her arm, "Don't believe him so easily. There is no such thing as free lunch! He must want something from you."

Emmelyn knew Maxim was right. However, she was so tempted by the offer to revive Queen Elara that she didn't think clearly. Her steps halted and she looked at Raphael with pleading eyes.

"Please tell me what I should do to earn your offer..." she asked him sincerely. "I love Queen Elara with all my heart. She was like the mother that I always wanted to have. She treated me so sweetly and she cared about me."

Tears started dripping from her eyes as she continued her words, "She didn't deserve to die in such a horrible way. I don't even want her to be brought back to life to prove my innocence... I just wanted her to live so she could be with her family again."

She remembered how much Queen Elara was looking forward to meeting Harlow. She imagined if her mother-in-law was revived, she would be so happy to meet her granddaughter.

The queen wouldn't care that Harlow was a girl, unlike those jerks in the capital who thought only sons were precious and daughters weren't.

Raphael's expression turned gloomy when he heard Emmelyn's plea. He muttered, "I don't understand how could someone so kind and pure-hearted like you be hated by so many people?" 

The handsome man shook his head several times and sighed. "You don't deserve the curse that was cast on you."

"D-do you know the Leoraleis?" Emmelyn felt her chest tightened.

She felt glad that they decided to stop by Mount Tempest. It looked like she could get good results from her meeting with Margueritte and Raphael. If Margueritte refused to help her after freeing Kira, maybe Raphael would?

The man looked like he was a kind person. If he could at least give Emmelyn a clue or something that could help her break her curse, she would consider it a big win.

"I know them," said Raphael. 

"Do you think I am really cursed by the Leoraleis?" Emmelyn asked again. So far, she had only heard people told her she was cursed with bad luck and it seemed this curse was cast by the royal family of Myreen, called the Leoraleis.

However, she hadn't been able to confirm it since nobody had met the Leoraleis in person and knew them. Her next hope was Maxim's mother who seemed to know them.

Today Margueritte confirmed this fact, that Emmelyn was cursed by the Leoraleis, but since Raphael also claimed to know the family, Emmelyn wanted to know from the man if what his mother said was true.

Raphael nodded. "I do."

"Do you know why?" Emmelyn chased him with another question. Her heart was beating fast. If she could gather as much information as possible, she would know what to do.

She added, "I have never met any of the Leoraleis. In fact, I didn't even know them until someone suddenly mentioned their name to me and said he saw me surrounded by a dark aura that reminded him of the Leoralei's curse."

Emmelyn stepped forward and without hesitation, she held Raphael's arm and begged him, "Please... I need to know why. Not knowing what I did wrong is killing me from the inside."

"You did nothing wrong," Raphael replied. "Trust me. Sometimes bad things happen to people not because they are guilty of something. Life is so full of injustice. Like I said earlier, you don't deserve the curse she placed on you."

"She?" Emmelyn held her breath. So, the person who cursed her was a woman?

"I have said too much," said Raphael apologetically. "You will know the truth when you get to Myreen."

Emmelyn was dying to know more. However, she knew better than to push her luck. So, she nodded weakly and thanked the man for the additional information he gave her. It did shed some light that a woman from Myreen, one of the Leoraleis, had cursed her.

She could use that information to narrow down her search when she met Maxim's mother and asked her about the Leoraleis.

"Thank you for answering my questions," Emmelyn said as she let go of the man's arm.

She was embarrassed that she had touched him when she was desperate for an answer. She hoped he didn't consider her presumptuous. "I will continue my journey to Myreen and find the rest of the answers there."

"That's good." Raphael nodded. He paused for a moment before he reminded Emmelyn that he offered to revive Queen Elara. "You asked me what I want in exchange for helping you bring back your mother-in-law to life?"

"Yes..." Emmelyn looked at the man intently, waiting for his next words in anticipation. "Please, tell me how can I get my mother-in-law revived?"

"What can you afford to give me?" Raphael asked back. 

Emmelyn became silent. She thought Raphael would set a price or requirements for him to help her, but instead, he asked her what she could afford to give him.

"I... I don't have much on me," said Emmelyn haltingly. She felt her clothes and found the snake pendant that was hanging on her neck. She remembered Mrs. Adler said the snake pendant was very valuable. 

She said it could neutralize all kinds of poisons. Other than that, Emmelyn didn't know what else she could use the pendant for. Maybe this pendant was valuable enough to give Raphael in exchange for his help?

So, Emmelyn took off the necklace from her neck and reached out her hand to give it to Raphael. She said, "This is my most valuable possession. You can have it if you revive my mother-in-law."

Raphael was stunned when he heard Emmelyn's words.