The Cursed Prince

"I have to see to it myself," Mars finally replied. "The witch has been my family's enemy for as long as I live. This is personal. I cannot let other people handle this problem for me. Even if we asked for Elmer's help, it is still my responsibility."

Emmelyn lowered her face and sighed. She looked at her stomach and thought about Harlow.

How long would her husband leave her? And what if something happened to him? This thought was really scary and made Emmelyn feel distraught again.

Ah.. no wonder he said he would stay here with her all week and spend more time together. It was done to compensate for the time that he would leave her. 

"Where does the witch live?" Emmelyn finally asked with a low voice. She didn't want to be seen as clingy, but the fact was she did feel clingy and didn't want him to go.

Why couldn't they send other people to take care of the witch? This kingdom was huge and full of knights and warriors. Other people could definitely catch the witch and kill her.

Why did it have to be Mars?

As the crown prince, he could just delegate the task to his subordinates, right? Otherwise, why be a leader if you had to do everything yourself?

"She lives in Shadowend. I think you must have heard of the area?" Mars asked her back. "From what I know, it's located somewhere in Wintermere."

Emmelyn furrowed her brows. She had heard about that place in passing. She never went there, but she could confirm it was indeed located in her homeland.

Now, she was thinking how Killian might not be lying when he said he knew the Bellevars.. since the witch and the Bellevars lived in Wintermere.

Uff...

Seeing Emmelyn's face turn murky, Mars felt bad. He already suspected that his wife would not like the fact that he would leave her to kill the witch.

Was her family really the Bellevar's relatives? This didn't make sense. How could she not know the fact? Unless.. they did use a different name and she didn't know who they were.

"What are you thinking?" Mars asked Emmelyn again. He could guess that Emmelyn might try to find the connection between the witch, the Bellevars, and her family.

He didn't believe Emmelyn was related to the witch and the Bellevars at all. It must be lies prepared by Killian when he still planned something sinister before he changed his mind and chose to save Emmelyn.

Unfortunately, now he was dead and couldn't be interrogated to get the truth out of him. Then, what about Ellena? Did she know the truth?

Ellena kept saying that she met Killian through the Bellevars when she came to Wintermere to look for them.

However, Ellena had a reason to lie too. The fact that she came with Killian to the royal gala showed that her relationship with Killian was not really that simple.

"I am surprised to hear that the witch apparently lives in Wintermere," Emmelyn replied in a low voice. "Now, on behalf of my people, I feel guilty."

"Why do you have to feel guilty?" Mars asked her. "It is not your fault. The witch cursed my family because of a personal grudge. The fact that she lived in your land didn't change anything. It was all on her."

Emmelyn went silent when she heard him. He was probably right. But the thing is, when it came to the matters of the heart, nobody could order it to feel something or not to feel something.

The heart wants what it wants. If she wanted to feel guilty, worried, or whatever, it was difficult to make her have a change of heart.

"Princess Emmelyn Rosehill, listen to me," Mars put down his cutleries and held her hands. "You are not responsible for the crime that other people did."

Emmelyn lowered her head. "But it looks like... the Bellevars are really my relatives. So, they are not other people. They are my extended family."

"I don't think they are your relatives. Only Killian knew whether he was saying the truth or if he was lying. But unfortunately, we can't ask him. We will never know," Mars said patiently. 

He added, "Even IF they were related to your family, which I highly doubt, you are not responsible for their actions, or the witch's."

Emmelyn didn't say anything. She was still distraught by the fact that the witch was apparently living in her country all this time. Now she was wondering if they had met and if the witch knew her.

She was sure she didn't know any of such witches...

But she was a princess.. Maybe the witch knew her?

Mars saw her expression and realized Emmelyn was probably bothered by all these facts. So he touched her cheek and looked into her eyes deeply.

"Honey, do you think I should be responsible for what my parents did to Lady Marielle?" he asked her gently. "Do you think Harlow should be  blamed for my family's sins?"

Emmelyn looked at him and bit her lip. She shook her head.

"No..." Her voice was so soft, almost inaudible when she spoke. "You should not be blamed and punished for what your parents did.. and neither should Harlow."

"See? That's what I mean. So, you shouldn't feel bad about what other people did, even though they are your fellow countrymen or if they were your family."

Finally, Emmelyn nodded in agreement. She wiped her eyes and looked at Mars with a concerned look. "So, do you have to go yourself? Can't you delegate the task to someone else? I need you here with me."

She looked at her protruding belly and felt the fetal movement again. She wanted her husband to be there for her and with her. She wanted them to share those moments together.

If he only went to Southberry, she might not feel this disappointed, but it was Wintermere. She knew how far it was.

Mars would take two months just to go there. Back and forth would be four months.  Then he would definitely spend some time there to investigate the witch and make plans to kill her.

By the time he returned to Draec, Harlow would already be born.

How could he do this to her?