Right at that moment, Emmelyn felt like she wanted to break down and cry. She had suppressed the feeling for a long time and brushed off Mrs. Adler's divination as superstition, just to make herself feel better.
Mars also convinced her that there was no such thing as bad luck. So, even though she was bothered by what she heard from Mrs. Adler for the first time, she tried to block that thought from her mind.
However, ever since she met Bruinen who clearly and candidly told her about her being cursed, Emmelyn could no longer lie to herself.
Bruinen was the 'good wizard'. He had no agenda to tell lies to Emmelyn, and he did it before the king and the crown prince.
The same went for Mrs. Adler. Emmelyn had known the old witch for a long time now, enough to know that this old witch was on her side.
She wouldn't scheme her by telling her a lie, to make Emmelyn think she was bad luck and should leave Draec as soon as possible.
"So... my family..." she sobbed uncontrollably. "They died... because of me? And so did Killian? Oh my god.... my poor family..."
Being the only survivor was already hard enough for Emmelyn. And, now she found out that actually her family's demise and the fell of her kingdom was her responsibility...? This was too much.
Her heart palpitated and her face was hot with fever. She fell down to the chair and had to press her chest because she could barely breathe.
Mrs. Adler quickly came to her and unbuttoned the top part of her dress to help her breathe easier. She also gave Emmelyn the ginger tea from the table. It took a while before Emmelyn could calm down her heart.
"Mrs. Adler.. have you heard of the Leoraleis from Myreen?" Emmelyn asked after she could breathe again. Her voice was weak and hoarse from crying so much.
The pregnant woman looked so pitiful and sad. Mrs. Adler felt so sorry to see her.
"The Leoraleis?" The old witch furrowed her brows and then shook her head. "I am sorry. I have never heard of them. Who are they, Your Highness?"
Emmelyn rested her chin on her two hands and was deep in thoughts. She remembered Bruinen said he read about the family when he was younger.
It was understandable since he was an educated wizard, while Mrs. Adler was just a village witch. She only learned herbomancy from the witch that she served since she was young.
Mrs. Adler was not an educated woman, to begin with. So, it's unlikely that she had read about other kingdoms from across the ocean.
"I met a wizard last month who said exactly the same thing as you," Emmelyn turned to Mrs. Adler with a pitiful expression. "He said I am surrounded by a dark aura and I bring bad luck. Just like what you told me when we first met."
Emmelyn added, "He said... all the signs reminded him of the people who were cursed by the Leoraleis from Myreen."
"Oh..." Mrs. Adler pressed her lips in surprise. "So, he is a seer too?"
Emmelyn nodded. "Yeah. That's what his master told us. The young wizard's name is Bruinen. He is a seer, but when he said that I was bad luck and surrounded by a dark aura, my husband quickly dismissed his claim.. "
Emmelyn let out a frustrated sigh. "I know he did it to protect me, and my feelings. So, the wizard said he was a seer but not a good one. So what he saw might be a mistake..."
Mrs. Adler nodded in understanding when she heard Emmelyn's words.
She was not gifted with spell casting or any types of offensive powers, but she was gifted with herbomancy skills and seer ability.
That was the reason why the famous witch who employed her as a servant decided to help her develop her talent and taught her some skills.
She could now use herbomancy to treat people who were sick or wounded. She also could use the divination window to see the future or people's luck.
She was quite confident with her skills. However, she understood if Emmelyn didn't believe her in the beginning. Nobody liked the fact that they were bad luck or would bring calamity to the people they loved.
However, now that Emmelyn had heard the same claim from another, probably more educated, wizard, she started to waver and realized that what Mrs. Adler said might be the truth.
And now, she wanted to know more about the curse... and how she could free herself from it.
"I understand why the prince did that, but denial is not going to solve a problem," Mrs. Adler said gently. She didn't want to offend Emmelyn by saying that her husband shouldn't have shut off Bruinen when he spoke.
It seemed, Bruinen was more knowledgeable than her in this matter. She was, after all, just a seer. She could see but was powerless to do anything, while Bruinen knew where the curse might have come from.
"I know you are right," Emmelyn bit her lip so hard that it was now bleeding.
Mrs. Adler ripped the hem of her dress and gave it to Emmelyn to rub the blood from her lip. The princess was in tears when she received it. She realized, this old witch was so kind to her, just because they came from the same country.
Now, seeing how much the old witch cared about her, fear slowly crept inside her heart.
What if...
What if Mrs. Adler would also experience bad luck because she was close with Emmelyn?
If what she said was right, that her whole family died because of her... maybe Mrs. Adler would be affected too? And what about her husband? And Harlow?
Oh god... this is too much.
Even though Emmelyn was so heartbroken by the revelation. She tried to steel her heart and look tough. Mrs. Adler was right. Denial would not solve a problem. She must address this issue.
She was apparently cursed, without her knowledge, and without knowing what she did wrong. In order for her to save the people she loved from becoming the victims, like her family.. she had to break this curse.
But how...?
If only her husband was around, maybe she could talk to him about it, and together, they could find a solution.
Unfortunately, Mars would only be back in two months or longer. She must take care of this now. As soon as possible.
Before anyone else died because of her.
"Mrs. Adler, what should I do?" She cried despondently. "It looks like I have been cursed by the Leoraleis from Myreen. That's the most logical explanation. I might have unintentionally offended them when I was traveling to Atlantea..."
"I don't know who the Leoraleis are, Your Highness, but if they are in Atlantea... I have two sisters that might be able to help you," said Mrs. Adler.
She added, "If you still remember, my teacher had two disciples, while I was just a servant who learned a bit of herbomancy from her. The two ladies are very powerful witches. I don't know much about where they are now, but I know that they went to Atlantea. And... they might know the Leoraleis."