The Cursed Prince

While they were having dinner, Maxim decided to interrogate Renwyck about his past relationship with Margueritte and asked what happened between them.

He was also wondering about the identity of Raphael. The man seemed to be surrounded by the air of mystery. He could turn people into ice? Whoaa.. Maxim thought it was done by Margueritte. Apparently, he was wrong.

Raphael also had golden eyes. Was he even human? Maxim had never met anyone with such eyes. And Raphael could also bring back Emmelyn's mother-in-law from the dead? Who was he? A wizard too?

He must be really powerful if he could do that since even Renwyck was incapable of bringing people from the dead and he was the most powerful wizard Maxim had ever known.

Another mystery was the fact that both Raphael and Margueritte knew the Leoraleis. Renwyck didn't know those people because the Leoraleis had withdrawn themselves from the world.

Was there any relationship between the residents of the ice castle and the Myreen royal family?

Ahh.. so many questions. Maxim was sure his mother could provide some answers too when they reached Castilse, but he wanted to know from Renwyck everything he knew now.

"Renwyck, when did you meet Margueritte?" Maxim asked the wizard who was taking out two waterskins from his bag and gave them to the people around him to drink. Maxim took one and was pleasantly surprised to know it contained wine. "Hm... this is good wine."

"Yeah, indeed," said Renwyck with a smile. He took the third waterskin and sipped it joyfully. After sipping his wine, he replied to Maxim's question. "I knew Margueritte a long, long time ago. Back then she just arrived in Atlantea with her sister. Her name is Dolores."

Emmelyn's ears perked up at the mention of the other witch that Mrs. Adler told her. She forgot to ask Margueritte about Dolores.

What happened in the ice castle was too overwhelming that she didn't remember other things. 

In her mind, she just wanted to free Kira and then got out of there. Getting help from Raphael was just an added bonus. Ahh.. she should have asked about Dolores too.

So, someday, if fate would have it and Emmelyn got the chance to meet Mrs. Adler again, she could tell the old witch about what happened to her witch sisters.

She looked at Renwyck attentively and listened to every word that would come out of his lips. This was good! The wizard knew both Margueritte and Dolores.

"What happened between you?" Maxim asked again. He knew it! Renwyck must have a good relationship with Margueritte. Maybe they were romantically involved in the past?

"Well.. I fell in love with Dolores, but Margueritte took a fancy to me. It was awkward," Renwyck admitted.

His face looked expressionless. Ask him about this decades ago and he wouldn't want to share what happened. However, since it was a long time ago, he had got over it and moved on.

"Huh? The ice-cold woman took a fancy to you?" Maxim chuckled. "Go on. Did Dolores return your love?"

Renwyck shook his head. "She held on to something she called sisterly love. Since Margueritte loved me, Dolores feel that it was not right for her to take the man that her sister wanted. It was awful."

Emmelyn felt sorry for Renwyck. From the way the man recounted his story, it seemed like his love was requited but the woman decided not to accept his love confession because she didn't want to hurt her sister.

What Dolores did was admirable, but foolish. Why should she sacrifice her own happiness for other people? Emmelyn didn't understand.

"So.. did you leave Dolores?" This time, it was Emmelyn who asked the question. She had become invested in Renwyck's love story because it involved the women she knew. "What happened between you and Dolores after that? Where is she now?"

Renwyck did not feel offended by Emmelyn's barrage of questions. He had heard that Emmelyn had some sort of relationship with both Margueritte and Dolores through their common acquaintance. So, he knew her curiosity was justified.

The wizard cleared his throat. "Well, after a lot of work and years of proving myself to Dolores, she finally accepted my love and was convinced that it's okay to be happy, even if it means her sister was not."

"Oh... I didn't know you're married, Renwyck," said Maxim in surprise. He had known the wizard for a long time, but never knew that he had a wife. "Where is Dolores now then?"

At this question, Renwyck became sad. He took a while to finally replied to Maxim's question. "I am not so lucky. Dolores died before giving birth to our son. They both didn't make it."

"Oh..." Maxim was at a loss for words. He felt so bad, not knowing this fact about Renwyck who had served his family for decades. So, when he was younger, Renwyck almost had a family of his own?

Emmelyn pressed her lips in shock and tears started forming in her eyes. She remembered the pain of giving birth. It was truly a life-and-death struggle. Now, she felt lucky to give birth to Harlow safely. Even though her baby was premature, Harlow was strong enough to survive.

"I am very sorry to hear that..." she said with a hoarse voice.

She knew, even after decades, Renwyck was still saddened by the loss of his wife and child. The fact was he didn't remarry even after so long, that Maxim didn't even know Renwyck ever had a family.

"Thank you, my lady," Renwykc smiled. There was no more sadness in his eyes because he had made peace with it after dozens of years. "I am sure they are now in a better place."

"When did this happen?" Maxim asked again. "So, Dolores left her sister and lived with you. What happened to Margueritte that she now lives in Mount Tempest?"

"Hmm... I am not sure what happened. She was angry and left us to go to the elf kingdom. Decades later I met her again. She always blamed me for Dolores's death. When I met her the last time, she already had that boy with him. He called her mother, but I don't think Raphael is her son."