Bruinen immediately realized that his remark had caused tension in the room. He smiled and bowed down so deeply to the king.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. My skills are still very bad and I believe I have made a grave mistake. I don't think Princess Emmelyn has any such bad aura or anything to do with the Leoraleis. The family has vanished from the earth for more than one hundred years. Today, they are just part of history. I am truly sorry for causing concern."
Mars was relieved when he saw Bruinen tried to do damage control. He turned to the young wizard and looked at him with a new appreciation.
He believed, once he became the king, Bruinen would be a good ally to have in place of Elmer who had been wanting to retire and live in peace. He liked how Bruinen knew his place. Mars could now forgive the young wizard for his remark earlier.
"Hmm.. okay. Maybe you are right." Finally, King Jared looked relaxed. He no longer pressed on the matter.
"Well, then, let's not talk about useless things. We haven't met Elmer for a long time. I want to know how he is doing," Queen Elara smiled broadly and looked at Elmer. "You look so healthy. Have you been well?"
"I am well, Your Majesty. Thank you for caring about this lowly servant," Elmer replied politely.
"You have done so much to help our family. Of course, we care about you. Well.. let's have a drink o wish everyone good health!"
The queen immediately motioned the servants to serve wine to lighten the atmosphere. She noticed how her husband look agitated when they discussed Emmelyn and her so-called dark aura.
The queen didn't know about dark aura or whatever, but she had seen how the situation became tense all of a sudden. This pained her to no end.
Why couldn't her husband like their daughter-in-law? Their son loved this woman and she was carrying his child. Soon, they would have a grandchild from her womb. Couldn't King Jared at least treat her well?
"Yes, let's drink to our health," Elmer said. He raised his cup, followed by the others. "Also let's drink for the mission. We will finally be able to catch the witch and kill her!"
They all drank to those. Only Emmelyn didn't have a wine cup in her hand. The servant gave her a cup of tea.
She sipped her tea while listening to the men talking about the witch and her location.
"I believe, we all have to go in secret. That means, the prince must go undercover. If he came with his regular entourage, the news would spread that the crown prince is heading to Wintermere and this could make the witch suspicious," said Elmer.
Everyone nodded in agreement. Elmer was right. The witch might run away and they would never be able to find her again. The king had tried searching for her for over 27 years to no avail. You could say they were just lucky to finally find the witch because of Ellena.
She investigated people who were connected to the Bellevars and finally found them on her own. This time, if they let the witch escape, they might never find her again. That's why this mission was very important.
"So.. Shadowend is located in Wintermere, right? We conquered that kingdom two years ago," said King Jared. He turned to Emmelyn. "You are from there, aren't you? Do you know where Shadowend is?"
Emmelyn bit her lip and forced herself to look unbothered. "I have heard of it in passing. It's close to the sea."
"And you have never met the Bellevars, you said?" The king asked again.
Emmelyn shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of, Your Majesty."
Mars looked bothered by the conversation. It now looked like the king was interrogating Emmelyn just because she was a princess from Wintermere.
It was already hard for Mars to convince Emmelyn not to feel guilty about her status as a princess from Wintermere and the fact that the witch and the Bellevars went to Wintermere for hiding.
He had told her over and over again that she was not responsible for any crimes committed by other people, and yet the king wanted to rub salt on that wound?
Now, Mars really lost respect for his father today.
He never expected that the king would be so petty and closed-minded when it came to Emmelyn. All his life, Mars thought his father was a good and intelligent man.
King Jared was harsh and ruthless to other people when it came to his family's safety, but he always treated his family really well.
Now, shouldn't he think of Emmelyn as his family member and treated her as one?
The princess had married Mars, his son, and was now carrying their baby. What more did he want before the king could think of Emmelyn as family... and not the enemy?
Mars really felt like he was between rock and a hard place.
"Father, I have vouched for Emmelyn last week. I hope you haven't forgotten that." Mars finally rose from his seat and stood facing his father firmly. He had run out of patience, seeing his father's attitude toward his wife.
Last week, before they went to see Ellena, Mars had bent down on his knees, to beg his father to accept Emmelyn as his wife. He had vouched for her and said Emmelyn was his responsibility.
If his father kept bringing up the fact that Emmelyn was part of the enemy, it means the king was breaking his promise. And Mars wouldn't let his father get away with it.
His eyes looked at the king intently, and somehow King Jared could understand that this time his son was dead serious. Last week, Mars had even dared to defy his father that he was sent to the Grey Tower.
It showed that the prince was truly a hopeless case now. He would do anything for this homeless princess. He had loved her too much.