The Cursed Prince

Note:

This chapter is dedicated to Kelly Goodwin. Thank you, thank you for your gifting another castle yesterday. We are now on #4 Golden Ranking! uwuuu ^^

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Emmelyn felt really sad when she saw Edgar cry. She knew the man was fond of Queen Elara since she was kind to them and had known them since they were little. She could imagine Gewen must be feeling devastated too when the news of Queen Elara's death reached him.

This actually made Emmelyn feel baffled. How did Ellena not feel any pinch of remorse when she killed the queen? Did she not grow up together with the men? Why was she so heartless?

Ah...  it looked like Emmelyn would never know. Unless she returned to Draec and confronted the wicked woman herself.

"I was devastated too, Edgar..." Emmelyn said with a hoarse voice.

She tried to be stronger between the two of them and didn't cry again. She had gone through the period of mourning for months and almost recovered from the pain.

Now, she had felt so much better, especially after she met Raphael and found out that the queen could be revived. After her encounter with the ice prince, she had felt a glimmer of hope.

Emmelyn wanted Edgar to feel the same thing too and stopped grieving. So, she touched the man's arm and tried to calm him down.

"Lord Edgar... I actually have good news for you," Emmelyn spoke to him gently. "I met someone who claimed he could revive Queen Elara. So, there is hope."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Edgar was surprised to hear Emmelyn's words.

He looked at her with a confused gaze. If he didn't know Emmelyn well enough and knew the woman was not into nonsense or tasteless jokes, he would have thought she was joking about the unfortunate event.

Edgar asked, "Your grace, tell me what do you mean by the queen can still be revived?"

"Well... they said since  Queen Elara is part elf, she didn't actually die. She only returned to the elf realm and she could be brought back," Emmelyn explained to Edgar what she had heard from Margueritte and Raphael.

They didn't exactly say it in detail like that, but she made her own conclusion. Besides, it was easier to say it that way to Edgar.

"Wait..." Edgar's tears slowly subsided. He was a smart man and could quickly understand what Emmelyn wanted to say, even though it was hard to believe initially. "You were saying... the queen can be revived? Is that true?"

Emmelyn nodded. "Yes. That's right. And I want to ask for your help to do the job."

"Tell me what can I do to  help?" Edgar wiped the tears with his sleeves and tried to focus all his attention on the next words coming out of Emmelyn's lips. "I hope we can really bring back the queen..."

Emmelyn slowly and clearly explained to Edgar about her meeting with Raphael and Margueritte. The man listened to her story attentively. Emmelyn didn't explain too many details but it was enough for Edgar to understand everything.

"Oh heavens..." he massaged his forehead after he listened to Emmelyn's story.

The man was overwhelmed by the information and for a few moments, he couldn't say anything. He stared at Emmelyn with conflicts written all over his face.

He said, "Why don't you go home with me and bring the scarf to revive the queen by yourself? I am sure the royal family will appreciate it very much."

"No, Edgar. I cannot go back to Draec for several reasons," Emmelyn bit her lip. "I have something important that I have to finish here."

"You mean, the curse?"

"Yes."

"How long do you think you will be able to sort it?" Edgar asked again. "I found some clues about the Leoralei of Myreen and I have been studying stories about Myreen from local folklores. It looks like Myreen is not too far from Summeria. It might be located in the south and around one month journey from here."

"Thank you for finding out this information for me, Edgar. I really appreciate it," Emmelyn smiled. "You have helped me a lot. I am sorry for troubling you so far."

Edgar understood what Emmelyn meant. She regretted the fact that Queen Elara was killed mere three days after Edgar left, and she was the one who was responsible for sending Edgar away.

Maybe things would have been different if Edgar was in the capital back then. Ellena wouldn't have a chance to do her evil plan. Or, at least, it would be more difficult for her to frame Emmelyn.

So, in a way, Emmelyn felt guilty for sending Edgar away.

"Your Grace, you said the queen was killed to frame you. Who did that? Please let me know." Edgar looked at Emmelyn deeply and tried to hear the truth from her. 

He was making guesses from the moment Emmelyn said she was framed, but he didn't want to make his own assumption.

Edgar knew that Emmelyn had issues with Ellena and the Prestons. So, it was possible that they wanted to blame her for the queen's death.

"It was Ellena who did that," Emmelyn clenched her jaws, holding back her anger. "I think I know why she did that. She had promised the wicked witch that she will kill Queen Elara for the witch, and in return, the witch will break her curse from Mars."

Edgar furrowed his brows. He remembered Ellena did say that the witch made her kill someone, but Ellena refused to explain further about the person she killed.

So, maybe Emmelyn was right and Ellena actually had not killed the victim when she left the witch? She was made to promise to kill the queen and had been waiting for the right time to do it?

But... would she really be so heartless to kill the mother of the man she loved?

"Do you know it for sure?" Edgar asked Emmelyn seriously. "It's a really big accusation to throw someone."

"She admitted it to me when I asked to see her," Emmelyn explained. "She paid our butler good money to betray me and set up the trap to kill Queen Elara. I already gave that butler a good punishment, but I couldn't touch Ellena."

"Wait.. she told you that she killed the queen?" Edgar massaged his temple. "Why would she do that?"

"I told her I would write a confession and she could use it to give Mars and make him hate me," Emmelyn added. "I only did it because I was cornered and had no other way. I begged her to let me write my confession to the murder in exchange for my freedom."

Edgar looked at Emmelyn with wide eyes. He was shocked and couldn't believe Ellena would be so wicked to do something this evil, to their own friend.