The Cursed Prince

"Fine." Emmelyn pursed her lips and after taking a long deep breath, she started recounting her story. "I am sorry for not being completely honest with you in the past. My name is Emmelyn Rosehill. I am actually the youngest daughter of King Lestat Rosehill of Wintermere. It's a small kingdom in Terra."

Maxim listened to Emmeyn's words attentively. He actually already knew this part, but he wanted to hear it from her mouth directly.

Emmelyn continued her words. "Two years ago, I heard the news from the merchants in the market that my kingdom, Wintermere, was attacked by a big kingdom in Terra, called Draec Empire. I panicked and felt so distraught, so I left to go home as soon as possible. I didn't see you at the inn we were staying at, so I couldn't say goodbye."

"You could have left a note," Maxim muttered. "I was looking for you everywhere. I thought you were kidnapped or something."

"Sorry... I was not thinking straight, okay?"

"Yeah... Well, I am sorry for interrupting. Please continue," Maxim said to her. 

Emmelyn wiped her tears again. Dammit. Those tears just kept dripping even though she tried to act tough. They made her look so pitiful. She hated it.

"Take this..." Maxim quickly tore the hem of his shirt to become a makeshift handkerchief and gave it to Emmelyn. He said, "Just use this one. Your poor sleeves will be ruined if you used them like that."

Emmelyn accepted the handkerchief and mouthed her thank you. She didn't remember ever crying this much before. Dammit. She didn't want to keep crying.

Emmelyn didn't realize that the pent-up frustration and anger exploded because she had held them in for so long. She needed to vent. And now that she had slowly let them out, she started to feel much better and relieved.

She could finally tell Maxim everything that happened. She explained to him how she arrived in Wintermere and found her kingdom was already conquered by Draec.

By this point, her tears were already dry.  Emmelyn could continue her story in a more calm manner.

"Our kingdom is very small and insignificant, and from others' point of view, my father should have just surrendered and bend the knee to the king of Draec."

Maxim had heard about this too and he was always wondering the same thing. He was happy to know that he would know the answer directly from Emmelyn. 

"However, my father chose war. He did it for my mother's grand-aunt and her husband who came to us for protection decades ago. He had to do it to keep his promise to them."

Emmelyn then explained who Duke and Duchess Bellevars were and why they ended up in Wintermere. "They were hiding from the king of Draec. When the invasion happened, they had been living in Wintermere for decades."

Maxim didn't say anything while Emmelyn recounted her story. He gave her his undivided attention. The more Emmelyn told him what happened, the more he became angry at the king of Draec.

Last year, Maxim was so mad when he found out about the invasion and the fact that Emmelyn was actually a princess of Wintermere.

He was determined to take back Wintermere from Draec for Emmelyn's sake, but he knew he must find her first. Otherwise, all his efforts would be in vain.

Why would he try to snatch Wintermere from Draec that would cost him so much energy and manpower if Emmelyn was not there to receive her kingdom back?

If it wasn't for Emmelyn, Maxim wouldn't do such a thing. He was already busy taking care of his own empire.

He was not interested in adding a small kingdom from across the ocean to be part of his colony. Emmelyn was the only reason he would ever take Wintermere back from Draec.

"Grandma Isabelle's old friend was the witch who cursed the Strongmoor family and she advised me to go to Draec and get my revenge," Emmelyn continued her story. "I initially planned to seduce the crown prince so I can get closer to him, before I kill him."

Maxim's heart skipped a beat when Emmelyn got to this part. He pursed his lips and looked at the woman intently, anticipating the words she would utter next.

Did she really go and seduce another man? What happened between them?

Emmelyn was a very attractive woman. She could seduce a rock and the rock would fall in love with her. Maxim was sure of that.

He knew Emmelyn was charming and any man would be stupid not to fall for her.

So, did she do it? Did the crown prince of Draec fall in love with Emmelyn? What was the relationship between them now?

"However, I had to change my strategy because, apparently, the curse made him unable to touch women," Emmelyn added. "He didn't want any woman to hover around him. I can't possibly get closer to him, and seduce him to kill him."

Maxim's tense expression lightened up for a bit when he heard that the prince from Draec couldn't touch women.

"At that time, I didn't know that any woman who touched him would die. I thought he just hated women and didn't want them around him. And so, I disguised myself as a man." When Emmelyn continued her words, Maxim's expression became tense again. "I pretended to be a male servant and worked in his castle. I finally got close to him and one night, I can find the opportunity to kill him."

Maxim couldn't stand the suspense. His fingers started tapping on his hips as he listened to Emmelyn's story to completion.

He hoped Emmelyn managed to kill the enemy. He hoped she could teach that man a lesson.

Maxim waited for every word that came out of her lips with full anticipation.

Did she kill him? Was that the reason she said she was now being chased by so many people?

"I failed to kill him. Even though I have put triple the dose of his sleeping potion, that bastard didn't sleep! He caught me in the middle of the attempted assassination," Emmelyn grumbled. "And... apparently, I was immune to his curse."

"What?!" Finally, Maxim couldn't take it anymore and interrupted Emmelyn in the middle of her story. "So, he touched you?!"

"Yes, and I didn't die. So, he realized I was the only woman who was immune to his curse. He suddenly got an idea how he could get children to become his heirs..."

Emmelyn still vividly remembered what happened that night. Mars asked her to choose her punishment for trying to assassinate the crown prince.

Emmelyn could choose death by beheading, or she could give birth to his children.

Maxim was not dumb. He could immediately see where this story was heading. However, he still hoped his guess was wrong when Emmelyn continued her words.

"I chose to keep my head so I can try to kill him again in the future. So, I accepted the agreement to bear his children," said Emmelyn. "He said after I gave birth to three children, he would let me go and return Wintermere to me."

Maxim clenched his fists to the sides.  He had never felt so angry in his life.

The anger consumed him from the inside that he felt like his whole body was engulfed by fire.