The Cursed Prince

Mars let his wife meet Mr. Cornelius, her teacher, and shared their news together. He head heard how Emmelyn was really close to her old teacher because the old man taught her many things and actually spent more time with her than her own parents did.

"Gosh... I am very happy to see you, Mr. Cornelius. Where do you live now? Would you see us later so we can catch up properly?" Emmelyn asked the man.

She still wanted to talk to him, but she realized they were still in the harbor and if they delayed their journey, they would reach the Wintermere's governor's palace by nighttime. 

She reached out her hand to her husband and asked him to come so she could introduce him to her old teacher. "Honey... please meet Mr. Cornelius. I have told you about him."

Mars came with Harlow in his arms. Even though the child could already walk on her own, he thought it was easier to carry her most of the time when they were mobile, so he could always get his eyes on her.

"Hello, Sir. I am happy to meet you. Emmelyn has told me a lot about you," Mars greeted the old man with respect.

Even though he was the king, but Mr. Cornelius was much older than him and was also someone that Emmelyn respected. So, Mars treated her teacher with respect too.

Seeing the king's attitude toward him, the old teacher couldn't help but look stunned. He thought he was dreaming. Wasn't this man their king? He looked so kind and graceful... and the way he spoke to Mr. Cornelius respectfully showed how polite and kind he was.

"Y-your... Majesty..." the old man wanted to bow down but Mars quickly motioned him not to. 

"No need for formalities now, Mr. Cornelius. We are not in the royal palace and you are my wife's teacher," Mars said with a smile. "She told me a lot about you and how much you helped her."

"Oh... that is my duty, Your Majesty," Mr. Cornelius replied with a beaming face. "It was both an  honor and pleasure to teach Her Majesty."

The word 'Her Majesty' still rolled out weirdly in Mr. Cornelius's tongue. It was hard to believe that the girl he taught for years was now the queen of this empire. Not just for Wintrermere, but actually Draec.

"Well... I am glad that you are back, together with your son and both of you look healthy and well," Mars said. "We are on the way to the Wintermere palace and spend the night at the governor's residence. We would love to have you for dinner if that's okay with you."

"Oh... Your Majesty..." Mr. Cornelius was at a loss for words. He was very moved by the king's treatment of him. He served the king of Wintermere for so long but Emmelyn's father never acted this polite and welcoming toward him, as what was shown now by the king of Draec.

And this man... was the monarch who controlled all the lesser kingdoms under his empire. Yet, he was far from arrogant and overbearing. This made Mr. Cornelius realize that he shouldn't believe the rumors outside about the Strongmoor.

He knew Emmelyn well enough to know that she would never marry a jerk. So, perhaps, this young king was truly a good man.

Mr.  Cornelius smiled broadly and bobbed his head several times. "Yes, Your Majesty. That will be an honor. I will definitely come."

"Good," Mars patted the man's shoulder and nodded at him. "I guess, we'll see you later."

"Goodbye, Mr. Cornelius," Emmelyn gave her teacher another hug before she wiped her tears and got ready to continue her journey. 

Mr. Cornelius was shedding tears too as he let Emmelyn go and said with a hoarse voice, "See you later, Your Majesty. It's so, so good to see you again."

He bowed down so deeply, together with his son. Mr. Cornelius and his son watched as the king and his group continued their journey to the governor's palace until they all disappeared from sight.

"Kira... thank you so much. It's such a wonderful surprise," Emmelyn said to Kira with gleaming eyes. "How did you find them?"

"Well, I just wrote letters to my father and forced him to trace Regan's whereabouts and send his men to find news about your teacher. It took a while, but they found him and his father working as slaves in one of the islands quite far from here," Kira replied.

She added without batting an eye, "Regan was sold to slavery by one of the groups under my father when they plunder the ship he was in. His father tried to free him but ended up in the same position. I asked my father to free them, I don't care how he would make it happen."

"Oh... then, thank you freeing them," said Emelyn with tearful eyes. "My teacher looked thinner than the last time I saw him, and older... but he is healthy and he has his son with him. Those are what matter."

"Yeah... sorry about that," Kira looked at Emmelyn without guilt in her eyes. "That's just what my people do. We attack ships and plunder coastal towns and sell people. It so happened that the people we sold this time are your acquaintances."

Emmelyn understood that much. She liked Kira as a friend, but it was hard to accept the dark side of her when Emmelyn's teacher and his son became the victim of the pirates' cruelty. 

Meanwhile, Gewen looked at Kira with a shocked expression when he heard her nonchalantly mention the crimes that her people do for a living.

He brushed off that fact from the moment he got to know her, but now he was reminded that she and he came from such different backgrounds. Even if he could woo her and win her heart, would his parents accept Kira into their family?

And would Grim Serpent accept Gewen to become Kira's husband?

It seemed very unlikely.

The former womanizer became so quiet on the way to the governor's palace.

***