"You stay here and wait for Lady Emmelyn's order," Mars immediately told the two maids standing in front of the chamber. "Come see me in my study as soon as you hear anything from her."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The two maids bowed down so deeply. Mars left them and walked to his study. Internally, he felt relieved that he was no longer cursed so they could have maids in this castle. Emmelyn needed them to help her.
His steps halted when he saw Gewen stand by the hallway, looking very serious.
"Hey, Gewen. Where is my father?" he asked the man.
Gewen shook his head. "His Majesty has left. He said he will be waiting for you tomorrow at the royal palace."
"Oh..." Mars just realized that he didn't even talk properly to his father when he came today. Too many things happened so fast.
Mars was too distraught to even think about his father earlier. But now that he had left Emmelyn to grieve in private, he started thinking about the situation and what his father might think about what happened.
What was the king thinking now? He did mention that he already heard rumors about Emmelyn being a princess from Wintermere and she came here to kill Prince Mars.
Ahh.. this was really bad!
And suddenly.. Killian made a scene where he tried to kill Mars. It made the situation become worse. Now, Mars had to think of an excuse or a story that would make Emmelyn free from the king's suspicion.
If King Jared think Emmelyn was involved and had a bad intention by entering Mars' life... she would be in danger.
"How long did my father stay?" he asked Gewen. Now he felt bad. He should have at least come out and see his father for a moment and asked his understanding that he would need to care for his wife.
Wait... his father didn't know that Emmelyn and he were already married. Mars decided that he must tell his parents the truth tomorrow when he saw them.
At least, his mother would understand and support his decision unconditionally. He knew that for sure.
As for his father... ah, he didn't really know at this point.
"His Majesty didn't stay long. The Prestons came soon after you went inside with Lady Emmelyn. It looked like they had a serious conversation with the king," Gewen explained. His expression looked grim. "Lady Preston was very distraught when she saw Ellena's injury."
Ah.. that's right. Ellena was here too and she was injured after she stabbed herself with Mars' sword.
He almost forgot about her because he was too preoccupied with Emmelyn's condition. The Preston must have heard of what happened and came here immediately.
If they didn't have spies hovering around this castle to update them on every little thing that was going on, at least, they must be worried because Ellena didn't come home after so many hours. So they decided to come here and check on her.
Mars could imagine their reaction. He believed Lady Preston would make a big deal out of the incident that befell Ellena. He wondered how they would demand compensation for Ellena's injury when she inflicted it upon herself.
"Where is Ellena now?" He asked Gewen. "Is she still in the guest room?"
Gewen shook his head. "No. The Prestons brought her home, against Mr. Vitas's recommendation. They didn't want her to stay here, where 'she would suffer' they said."
"Hmm... How bad is her injury?" Mars asked again.
Gewen let out a long sigh before he replied. "It looked pretty bad. Fortunately, it is not life-threatening and Mr. Vitas came immediately to treat her wound. He said Ellena will survive."
"That's good." Mars felt a bit of relief. If Ellena didn't die, at least the Prestons wouldn't have a reason to incite commotion in the capital. Everyone saw that Ellena stabbed herself. It was nobody's fault.
However, if she died, even if it was her fault, they could blame it on the crown prince for causing her to feel so desperate that she took her own life. Just like what happened to Lady Marielle when King Jared broke off their engagement.
"How did things end up like this?"
Mars looked up when he heard Gewen's words. The man unexpectedly spoke in a serious manner. He rarely saw Gewen talked like this.
"I don't know, Gewen," was Mars' reply. He was just as shocked as Gewen. He thought his only problem was finding the witch and kill her, then he could announce his marriage to Emmelyn.
Once they went through all the obstacles, they could live happily together and build a family. Emmelyn already forgave him, and accepted his family.
They already had a baby on the way, and more to come. Things should have been on the right track.
Now, with Ellena injured and Killian died when he tried to attack the crown prince, things became more complicated all of a sudden. Ellena said Killian was the Bellevar's relative and he knew where the witch lived because he took Ellena there.
That would mean, somehow, Emmelyn was also related to the Bellevars. Did she know that?
Did she know about the grudge between the Bellevars and the Strongmoors? Did she lie about not knowing them and the curse? And, if she knew... then, why did she still come to the crown prince castle and disguised herself as a man to get closer to him?
Was she actually immune to his curse and took the opportunity to make him fall for her since she was not affected by the curse?
Mars loved his wife so much and he refused to believe that Emmelyn had anything to do with the witch and intentionally came to Draec to seduce him and get her revenge.
However, other people might not see it that way. They might think she was related to the Bellevars and came here to get her revenge, not only for them, but also for her family.
Mars was deep in his thoughts.
He must ask Emmelyn if she really knew the Bellevars, like what Killian had admitted before he died. They might change their identity and she knew them as someone else.
If he could find the Bellevars, he could clear her name from any suspicions.