The Cursed Prince

"You don't believe that the woman could be brought back to life?" Margueritte looked at Emmelyn intently. Her mocking smile became wider. She clearly enjoyed Emmelyn's shock. 

Emmelyn shook her head. She was shocked by Margueritte's revelation but at the same time, she was also overjoyed. How great would it be if Queen Elara could really be revived?

Emmelyn didn't think someone like Margueritte would bother to lie to her. The witch had nothing to gain from it.  If anything, she just found satisfaction in seeing people regret their decision, like what she was showing now.

Sigh. Why was this witch so eccentric? Emmelyn thought sadly. If only Margueritte was like Mrs. Adler, it would be so nice to have her as an ally.

However, Margueritte didn't seem to care about doing good things for others. The only reason why she freed Kira just now was because Emmelyn asked for it and Margueritte made a promise in the past to help Mrs. Adler.

Margueritte was just doing this deed for Emmeyn's sake on behalf of Mrs. Adler's. Emmelyn knew they were lucky Margueritte didn't treat them like she would her enemies. This way, they could prevent an altercation, and instead, they could bring Kira alive.

So, she didn't want to push her luck. She forced a smile and said, "I believe you, Margueritte. I still don't regret the choice that I've made. Thank you for the offer."

Maxim knew the dead queen they were talking about was Emmelyn's mother-in-law, the person whose death resulted in Emmelyn leaving Draec to save herself and turned her into the most wanted woman in the Terra continent.

What happened if the queen was brought back to life? Emmelyn would be exonerated from the allegations and...

Would she be reunited with her husband and daughter? This thought bothered him. If the dead queen was revived, surely she would be able to prove Emmelyn's innocence. The king, Emmelyn's scummy husband, would realize that his wife was not guilty.

Then, what would he do? He must definitely beg for forgiveness and asked her to return to him. And where would Maxim be in this situation? 

He had loved her first! He saw her first and had fallen in love so deeply with Emmelyn. He actually planned to confess his love when they reached Summeria two years ago. They were already heading that way, to his home.

His plan was to reveal who he really was once they arrived in Castilse. However, fate said otherwise. Emmelyn left him all of a sudden. All because that bastard from Draec attacked Wintermere. And then... Emmelyn was even trapped with him. She was deceived to love him and bore him a child.

Look at what happened to her now? She was alone, suffering, and had to go through so much.

Maxim could finally find her again, through sheer luck. He wouldn't let her come back to Draec and suffer some more. Most importantly, he didn't want her to go back to her evil husband. The man didn't deserve her.

If Emmelyn would want her daughter, fine. Maxim would make it happen. He would move heaven and earth to bring the baby back to Emmelyn. But he would never let her go back to Draec again.

So, Maxim was secretly happy that Emmelyn didn't choose to have the late queen revived. Instead, she chose to save Kira. It was for the better.

However, when he saw how devastated she was, and how she forced herself to smile, Maxim couldn't help but feel his heart ached for her. Emmelyn seemed to really love her mother-in-law.

Couldn't she switch her affection later to Maxim's mother? The queen dowager of Summeria was a wonderful woman too. Maxim was sure Emmelyn would like his mother.

Before he knew it, Maxim suddenly had asked Margueritte the question that Emmelyn had been holding back, since she didn't want to offend the witch.

"How can you bring back someone from the dead?" Maxim looked at Margueritte intently.

Fine. If Emmelyn wanted Queen Elara to be revived, Maxim would find a way to make it happen. He couldn't stand seeing her suffer so much.

"Well..." Margueritte smiled sweetly. She seemed to be looking forward to this question and was happy someone finally asked. "Not everybody though. This can only be done because the woman is part elf. So, don't start asking me to revive all your dead relatives."

"Oh..." Emmelyn pressed her lips in surprise. She didn't know this fact. Nobody in Draec, including Elmer The Wizard, knew that there was a chance to revive Queen Elara because she was half-elf. Was this a secret that only a few people knew? "H-how did you know?"

The music that had been playing in the background suddenly stopped and they could hear the man's voice again, this time his voice sounded displeased.

"Mother, stop torturing the poor girl's heart. If you don't want to help her, you should just let them go on their way."

Emmelyn turned around and then looked up. She didn't know who spoke, but she felt touched by his words. The man sounded sympathetic and didn't enjoy the suffering of others, unlike Margueritte whom he called mother.

The temperature around them that was already so low suddenly became even lower. Emmelyn's teeth started grinding again and Maxim quickly took off his coat and wrapped it around her back.

He felt inappropriate to hug her in front of other people just to warm her up. Yes, giving up his coat would mean he felt cold, but he believed his tolerance to low temperature must be higher than Emmelyn's.

When they reached Mount Tempest, he only felt a slight chill, while Emmelyn was already feeling cold. He was sure he could handle this low temperature. He was a strong man.

Emmelyn wanted to reject his coat, but Maxim shook his head. "Just take it. I will be fine."

When Emmelyn turned her head to protest further, she suddenly saw a man coming down the ice stairs from behind Margueritte. It seemed, the closer he got to them, the colder this room became.

Emmelyn's shocked expression made Maxim also turn his head to see what got her attention.

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From the author:

Yes! I'm excited to introduce you to the Ice Prince. This is the second chapter.