The Cursed Prince

"Is that so? It's great if you've admitted that you're just like most men out there," Emmelyn said, pretending to focus all her attention on the soup in front of her. "So, I was right."

She enjoyed the soup slowly as if it was the tastiest and most expensive food in the world, so she had to enjoy it with all her heart.

This soup tastes good, she thought. At least, that was one good thing that happened to her this morning. Everything else was bad.

Ah.. it worked too! Her headache slowly dissipated.

"Yes, based on that consideration, I now agree with your suggestion, to tell the truth to the queen at the royal ball that I only need you to bear offsprings for me, so that she wouldn't expect much of you. She should know that I'm not looking for a wife," said Mars again. "That would be the best."

He studied Emmelyn's reaction while continuing his words and smiled with satisfaction when he saw Emmelyn nodded lazily.

"Whatever .." said the girl. She had finished the soup and pushed the bowl to the center of the table. She then poured tea into a cup and drank it.

"Hey .. aren't you going to offer me tea?" asked the prince, pursing his lips. "I was kind enough to ask the cooks to make hangover soup for you, but you didn't even say thank you, and now you're not offering me tea either. Do all ladies from Wintermere have bad manners like you?"

Emmelyn almost choked on her tea when she heard the man. She was furious and offended that Mars mentioned her country as if all the girls from Wintermere had no manners like her.

Emmelyn realized that she was guilty. She should have thanked Mars for taking care of her and telling the cooks to prepare this soup, but she was so annoyed by the man earlier that she had forgotten her manners.

Without saying a word, she put down her cup on the table, took the teapot, and poured tea for Mars in another cup.

Then, she pushed the cup to the edge of the table, indirectly showing Mars that she had poured him tea. Emmelyn then returned to her own cup and sipped her tea.

Mars shook his head and took his cup. He sat down beside Emmelyn to have tea together.

"You have too much pride, don't you think? Is it really that hard to say sorry?" Mars commented.

Actually, Emmelyn didn't mind apologizing if she made a mistake, but what Mars said this morning made her feel demeaned as he called her an insignificant princess of a small colony.

Emmelyn finished her tea and then turned her body to face Mars. Her expression was very serious as she looked at the man and spoke to him.

"Are you done talking? Is that the only reason you came here so early?" asked the girl. "When you have said everything you need to say, please go. I want to change clothes and start my day. I'm very busy today."

Mars knew Emmelyn wasn't busy at all. In fact, she was bored to death. 

"You haven't practiced sword-fighting in a long time, right?" asked Mars suddenly. "Do you want to join my soldiers for training?"

"Eh ...? What did you say?" Emmelyn couldn't hide the joy in her voice. This was really unexpected.

Oh, God ... she was bored to death in this castle because she had to look and act like a lady. She really missed the time when she was free as a bird.

She could go out into the forest, hunt small animals and roast them, then bathe in the river, practice her sword on her own...

Ahh ... living as a male was so much fun and had more freedom. After her disguise was exposed and she lived in this castle as a princess, she had to wear a dress and act like a lady.

It was oh, very... very boring.

Therefore, Mars' offer just now really made her tempted.

By the way.. why all of a sudden?

Did Mars make her this offer because he was serious ... or was he just playing with her?

Hmm.. as far as Emmelyn remembered, Mars never joked about such things. The man might not even understand humor.

So, did this mean.. he was serious?

"What did you say?" asked Emmelyn in a choked voice. "Can you repeat it?"

"Do you want to train with my soldiers? You can disguise yourself as a man and train in the castle yard. I don't think there's anything wrong with working out. If your body is healthy and active, you will have a healthy pregnancy, and my son will grow up to be healthy too," said Mars with a shrug.

He quickly added, "I won't expose your disguise, I can promise you that. So, just let me know if you are up for it. I won't offer this twice. I am just in a very good mood today. It's up to you whether to take it or not."

At that moment, Emmelyn felt like rushing toward Mars and hugging him, maybe even kissing him on the lips, because she was so happy about the offer.

Ahh ... if she could disguise herself as a man again and practice with her sword, surely she could overcome her boredom. She also felt itchy to practice. She didn't want to lose her skills.

So, this offer was really a wonderful change of scenery for her.

[Aaaaahhh.. this is so exciting!!!]

However, she wouldn't let him know she was that excited. She shrugged and responded with an indifferent tone. "Sounds good. Hmm .. let me think about it."

Emmelyn stood up and approached the cabinet where her clothes were neatly arranged by the servants yesterday. She selected a cute light blue dress and then stopped her movements. She turned to the man with furrowed brows. "If I accepted your offer, how can I disguise myself as a man? I don't have men's clothes here."

They had thrown away her old clothes after her disguise was exposed, and since that day she had been wearing pretty dresses. 

Emmelyn was already thinking of stealing men's clothes from the servant's quarter or asking Roshan for them when she wanted to go to Bydell Village in disguise, while Mars went to Southberry.

"I can easily get them for you," said Mars. "If you want, I'll send Roshan over here and bring you two sets."

"Hmm .. well, hmkay, if you insist," said Emmelyn.

At that time, Mars wanted to laugh at Emmelyn's proud attitude. This girl must have been really mad at him because Mars had called her an insignificant princess from a small colony, to keep giving him this attitude.

To show her protest, Emmelyn acted like anything the man said to her had no meaning. 

Mars actually didn't mind Emmelyn's mad at him. This girl looked cute when she was angry.

"After your hangover is gone, we'll have breakfast together and discuss our future plans," Mars said.

"What else needs to be discussed?" asked Emmelyn in surprise.

"For example, I've decided that I'm going to move into this chamber. After I slept here last night, I feel that this room is actually much nicer than mine. So now I'm going to take ownership of it," Mars replied casually.

"W-what did you say?" Emmelyn was shocked.

[No way! I like my chamber!]

[If he moved here, then where will I sleep???]

"I like this chamber and decided to use it for myself," said Mars. "You can choose, get out of this room and move to my old chamber, or you stay here with me. Since I am so kind, I don't mind sharing it with you."

Emmelyn couldn't believe her hearing.

Did this mean they would be living together again?

How could this man like a chamber decorated with a princess in mind? The bed linens and curtains were adorned with pink lilac patterns!

Wow.. Emmelyn never expected that despite his manly appearance, Mars apparently had such a feminine taste.

Mars paid no heed to her shock. He patted her on the back and left the chamber. Before he reached the door, the prince turned to Emmelyn and said, "I will wait for you in the dining room for breakfast."

Emmelyn stood rooted on the spot for a good while, trying to make sense of what just happened earlier.

So.. she would share a chamber with the crown prince again?