The Cursed Prince

They kissed intimately and when they let go, Emmelyn smiled so wide, her jaw hurt.

"I'm so lucky that it doesn't take a lot to make you smile... hehehe," Mars commented. He felt happy too. Emmelyn was a woman with a good character. She knew how to appreciate people.

Mars remembered when she got access to his treasure chest, the first thing she did was rewarding those cooks in the kitchen who had been working hard to cook her favorite dishes.

So, he figured, if he did something nice for her, she would definitely give him a reward too.

And he was right!

Getting an intimate kiss for a jug of glow wine was so worth it.

From now on, he would keep thinking of little things to do to make her happy so he could get more rewards... hehehe.

"Ahem... let me call the coachman to bring our glow wine," Mars said with a broad smile.

He made a sign to his men and soon their coachman came with a jug of glow wine, a small pot, and one cup. He left the items with them and retreated.

Emmelyn was happy to see that they were given some sort of privacy by his men. 

It felt like there were only the two of them there. So, they could enjoy the time together being lovey-dovey, seeing the beautiful view with a cup of glow wine in hand.

Oh.. it was so perfect!

Even though they didn't get to have a real honeymoon since their marriage was kept secret, at least while they were in Southberry, Mars took her to see beautiful places and do romantic things together.

The crown prince used flint to light a fire. They could easily find several branches on the ground to make the small bonfire. He used one big branch to hang the pot and warm the glow wine.

The fire helped warm their bodies too, so they could take off their coats. Once Mars saw the glow wine boil, he poured it into the cup for them to share.

The breeze carried the nice smell of glow wine with it and filled the air around them. 

"This is perfect," Emmelyn commented as she gave the cup to Mars after she took a sip. Now, she wished they could come back here in autumn and see the grapes being harvested.

It must look even more amazing.

Oh... and by then they would already have their baby!

How wonderful!

She smiled faintly as her gaze cast to a far away place. There were so many good things to look forward to in the future.

Now, if only she could meet Killian again and convince him to join her and live in peace, then, her life would be complete.

That reminded her... she needed to talk to Mars about it.

"Husband..." Emmelyn turned to him and looked at the man with her best puppy eyes. "I want to tell you something, but please don't be mad at me because I didn't talk to you about it sooner."

Mars looked at her intently. He loved those beautiful blue eyes that looked like a doe's. He believed if he kept staring at them he would be drowned inside.

However, his ears perked up when he heard her mentioned something about he shouldn't be mad at her for keeping something a secret.

This didn't sound good.

What was it that she had been hiding from him and why did she do that?

"I will never be mad at you if you feel that you need to keep something to yourself. You must have your reason," he replied. "I trust you."

Emmelyn fluttered her lashes and smiled sweetly. Oh, her puppy eyes worked like a charm!

"Thank you so much for trusting me," Emmelyn said. She let out a long sigh before she finally revealed the secret that had been bothering her mind.

"You can tell me anything," Mars reassured her. He gave her the cup back and Emmelyn sipped the glow wine a little.

"I think I saw my brother the other day." Finally, she told him what happened.

Her sentence was shocking but Mars was a true war strategist who were used to keeping a cool head over even the most shocking news. He didn't show his surprise on the surface.

He nodded patiently and asked, "Where did you see him?"

"It's so hard to believe, but I actually saw him at the royal ball..." Emmelyn's voice turned hoarse as she got emotional. She missed Killian so much and wished she could talk to him, but the opportunity didn't come.

Mars took the cup from her hand, put it on the ground, and hugged her tightly. He could see how the whole thing must have been bothering her mind a lot.

He wished Emmelyn immediately told him about Killian when she saw him at the royal ball so he could investigate what happened. However, he knew better not to pressure her.

"It's okay..." he whispered. "It's fine. You are not doing anything wrong. Thank you for telling me this."

Right then, Emmelyn suddenly felt the heavy burden on her chest dissolved as she melted into his arms and cried her eyes out.

"His name.. is... Kilian.. sobs... He is my brother and we were close. I had not seen him for years and I thought he also died together with the rest of my family..." she cried. "I missed him so, so much..."

"It's okay.." Mars kept patting her back gently and didn't ask anything. He let her tell him what happened at her own pace.

"I was so scared that he would do something to get revenge..." Emmelyn said between her sobs. "He pretended not to know me... but I saw him once looked at me with a disappointed gaze."

"He must feel disappointed that I am now joining the enemy... sobs.." 

"I tried to talk to him, but I couldn't... Now, I don't even know where he is..."

"When did you see him?" Mars finally asked. "Do you know anyone around him?"

"Yes.. he came with Ellena..."

"Oh..." Mars' body turned stiff. This was truly shocking.

How on earth Ellena knew Emmelyn's brother and intentionally took him to the royal gala with her?