The Cursed Prince

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Mars knew Harlow felt really bored. They had been on the ship for ten days and every day, as far as the eye could see, there was only water around them.

It seemed Harlow preferred to be traveling with their carriage. They could stop anywhere, picked flowers she fancied, and the scenery was always changing. She always looked excited and happy whenever they left their accommodation and started moving.

Maybe, unconsciously she knew that the faster they moved, the sooner she would meet mommy?

Mars felt so blessed because he had such a non-fussy child who enjoyed the trip wholeheartedly. He thanked himself for making a good decision of bringing Harlow with him.

Now, he couldn't imagine doing otherwise.  He would miss his daughter terribly and would always think about how she was doing. He would worry a lot too..

Also, when he met Emmelyn again, he could imagine how much Emmelyn would want to see Harlow as soon as possible. If she saw him come with Harlow, she would definitely feel very happy.

"Your Majesty!!" Edgar suddenly knocked on the cabin door and entered when Mars asked him to come. His face looked excited and full of vigor, making the king wonder what happened to make Edgar in such a good mood.

Harlow, who was pouting and wrung her fingers, looked up to see Uncle Edgar. His enthusiasm rubbed off on her and Harlow's expression now looked interested.

"Edgaaa..." she chirped to call Edgar's name and waved her hands at the man.

Mars quickly covered her mouth and gently scolded her. "Harlow, you must not call people who are older than you by their first name. It's 'Uncle Edgar' to you, not 'Edgar'. Your mother will scold me if she heard you call Edgar by his name."

Edgar chuckled and shook his head. "Babies copy adults. You should call me Uncle Edgar, so she copies you."

Mars sighed. "I don't want to call you uncle. That's not gonna happen."

Edgar laughed out loud. "Hahaha... Oh well, I've tried."

"What happened? You seem very happy," Mars asked Edgar. He got up from the bed and walked toward the door to approach his friend. 

"Oh, you should go out and see this. It's amazing!" Edgar blurted excitedly.

He almost forgot the reason he came to the king's cabin. He knew Harlow disliked the sea and was bored by the same scenery every day.

So, when he saw a group of dolphins was swimming and jumping around their ships, he immediately went to ask Mars and Harlow to come out and watch.

"Dolphins??" Mars was very excited to hear that. He had read and heard about these cute mammals but had never seen them in person because he had never traveled by sea before. This was his first time. The king turned to Harlow and smiled broadly. "Do you want to see dolphins? Let's go out!!"

Harlow didn't understand why these two men looked excited, but she was ready to see something amazing, judging from their expression. 

The three of them went to the dock and stood by the edge to get a better look at the dolphins. Edgar was right. There was a group of dolphins which consisted of maybe around 200 dolphins, swimming leisurely around their ships.

They moved in unison, going up and down the water. One time, they could see fifty dolphins jumped into the air together and then plunged back to the water in such a beautiful movement. They looked like they were dancing in the water to a tune that only they could hear.

Harlow's eyes bulged when she saw the show. It was amazing. Her cheerful laughter immediately filled the air around them, much to her father's delight.

"Ahh.... so, you like dolphins, don't you?" Mars asked Harlow with a broad smile. He was relieved to see his Harlow look happy again. His baby had been looking disinterested and bored for the past few days, and this made him worry.

They still had such a long journey ahead of them. If Harlow felt bored and tired, this would affect their traveling pace. They would need more frequent breaks and rests. This would make meeting Emmelyn become delayed more and more.

"I knew she would love it," Edgar whispered to Mars' ears. "She looks happy now."

"Yeah, she does," Mars nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Edgar."

He tucked a strand of hair behind Harlow's ear. Her silver hair was so thick and now had grown almost down to her nape. 

Fortunately, her body had grown bigger and chubbier too, so her head no longer looked too big for her body because of her thick hair. Mars thought she was so cute and adorable and he loved Harlow to bits.

"How far are we from the land?" Mars asked Edgar while Harlow was mumbling to herself about the cute dolphins.

"We'll reach land tomorrow, the captain said," Edgar replied. "General Frey and General Blackmoor must already clear the way for us."

"That's good." Mars nodded. "Things are going well so far."

"We are on track," Edgar commented.

King Mars Strongmoor only came with his massive army to show his force to King Loriel of Summeria, that he was not to be undermined.

He had a feeling that King Loriel or Maxim would try to keep Emmelyn in Summeria, despite Mars coming in peace to get his wife back.  Even King Loriel told Edgar that much.

He said he would take back Wintermere and even Harlow from Mars' hands. Of course, Mars wouldn't let him. Before Loriel could come and attack him, he would move first, using the principle 'offense is the best defense.'

Mars had to prepare for the worst-case scenario, that he had to wage war with Summeria to get Emmelyn back.  Exerting his army would be the last resort, but he was ready for anything.

General Frey and General Blackmoor, was tasked with bringing 100,000 soldiers to open the path for Mars and his smaller troops.

With that much power, they would subtly 'intimidate' the lesser kingdoms they were passing through on the way to Summeria, not to go to war against Draec.

They would explain that Draec was not interested in attacking or conquering the small kingdoms in Atlantea. They had had enough colonies and resources back in Terra.

The two generals would tell the lesser kings that the king of Draec and his men were just passing through and wouldn't attack nor plunder their countries if those kings allow them to pass.

General Blackmoor who was a smooth talker would always remind those kingdoms that they were only colonized by Summeria and they were not obliged to stay loyal to their oppressor.

In fact, they told those lesser kingdoms that should a war broke out between Draec and Summeria, it was in those lesser kingdom's best interest to support Draec to win the war. Draec promised their independence if Draec won against Summeria.

This strategy worked. No kings would want to see their countries involved in bloodshed for defending Summeria. So, they looked the other way when Mars and his army passed through.

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I am very happy with the pace of the story now. We will soon have Maxim and Mars meet in a face-off and Emmelyn can return to her loving husband.

By the way, thank you so much for gifting your golden tickets to <The Cursed Prince>.

Since we are still on #3 of the Golden Ranking, I will publish 3 chapters per day again this week. Let's keep the same target for next week too.

PS: Have you heard of the saying "Offense is the best defense?" This reminds me of another saying, "Offense is the best defense. So, in order to lose weight, we have to attack food and eat as much as we can."

Do you agree? XD