The Cursed Prince

"Can I ask for anything?" asked Emmelyn. "Will you give it to me if I demand it in exchange for my womb? Or are you not that capable to grant all my wishes?"

"Tell me what you want." The devil put down his cup and now looked at Emmelyn intently. "I'll decide after I heard it."

"Alright," Emmelyn let out a long sigh then said her conditions. "Since you want three children from me, I want to get three things from you. It's only fair."

The devil nodded without batting an eye. "I agree. Tell me what you want."

"Fine." Emmelyn continued her words. "First I want to know WHY. I don't want to do this blindly. I need to know what's in it for you."

The devil twitched his forehead. He seemed reluctant to share his secret. Should he tell this girl why he chose her to give birth to his offsprings?

Would she take advantage of the knowledge?

[What, Mars? Are you scared of this little woman? She couldn't hurt you even if she knew everything.] The devil's mind was at war with himself.

"If you are not open with me, I wouldn't do it willingly. You can make me carry your children, but I can always hurt myself to hurt them...." Emmelyn's voice was cold, and for a moment it shocked the devil. He didn't expect this petite girl that looked so elegant and charming could say something like that.

So horrible!

"In the end, you wouldn't get anything," Emmelyn added.

"Hmm... alright, you won. I will tell you why I chose you to be the mother of my children," finally the devil relented. He raised his cup one more time and a servant quickly came and topped up his tea. The servant quickly withdrew to the corner of the room once he was not needed.

"I'm listening," said Emmelyn.

"You have been working for me for over one month now," said Prince Mars. "You must know that no women are allowed to touch me."

Actually, no women were allowed in within 100 meters radius from the devil, but yes.. basically no women were allowed to touch him, lest they would be executed.

"Why is that?" Emmelyn asked with great interest. "Will you turn into a frog if they touched you?"

"You...!" The devil massaged his temple.

He didn't know if this girl was sincerely curious or she was just mocking him. Could be both. He would ask his advisor to analyze the situation.

"So, what is it? You promised you'll be honest with me," Emmelyn kept pressing.

"All right, fine. If a woman touched me, they will die." Finally, Prince Mars told Emmelyn what she wanted to know. The girl held her breath. "I was cursed by a witch when I was born. No woman could touch me and live to see the sun the next day."

"Oh...." Emmelyn badly wanted to think the devil was joking, but she knew him better now. The devil didn't have a sense of humor. He might never even know what a joke was.

That explained a lot!

So... those other women, who were killed for touching him... were not really killed. They just died.

How scary!

"Then.. how?" Emmelyn felt a shiver run down her spine as she looked at herself in a frown. "Why am I still alive?"

"Maybe, you are not really a woman? I still have to check," the devil retorted.

Emmelyn spontaneously covered her chest with her hands when she saw the devil's eyes wandered toward her twin peaks. Now that she was wearing a dress, she didn't wrap her chest with a bandage. Finally, after one month, her beautiful bosom could breathe properly.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped at him. "Stop being a pervert. You ruin my appetite."

The devil gulped and refocused his gaze on Emmelyn's lips, to hear what she had to say next. He didn't want to ruin her appetite. He needed her to be healthy and gain a little weight so she could bear healthy sons for him.

"Now, you know. I cannot touch women, except you. At least for now. If later in the future I found other women that could bear me children, I wouldn't need you again. If I found you once, I can find you twice. So, don't even think about using it as a leverage to blackmail me."

[Ugh... that was exactly what I wanted to do.]

"Fine," Emmelyn scoffed. "Let's talk business then. I have something you want, and you wouldn't let me go unless I give it to you. So, since I am not allowed to leave anyway and am forced to give it to you, I want to get something out of it."

"You have got your first wish already. Name the other two," said the devil.

"Fine. For my second request, I want my freedom. You shouldn't keep me chained or locked up. If I am stressed, it wouldn't be good for your kid," Emmelyn said earnestly.

The devil nodded. "I agree. Granted. What is the third?"

"I want my kingdom back. I am sure your heir is worth more than a small colony." Emmelyn hated seeing her family's kingdom was reduced to a mere province by the devil ever since his army defeated Wintermere's army in the battle of Silvermeadow.

The devil creased his forehead. His kingdom had too many colonies, he couldn't keep track of them one by one.

"What's the name of your kingdom?" The devil finally asked.

"It's Wintermere," said Emmelyn. She bit her lip, trying to hold back her urge to charge at the devil and stab him with her fork.

"Oh.. we just conquered it last year. The kingdom is now ruled by my distant cousin, Ethos," said the devil. He tapped his long fingers on the table and got into thinking. "Fine. I can give it back to you AFTER you give me three heirs. Not before."