"Why are you looking at me like that?" asked Emmelyn curtly. She felt that Mars's gaze at her was filled with suspicion.
Did the prince suspect her of something?
Why?
She didn't do anything wrong!
At least, not yet.
"It's all right," said Mars, clearing his throat. "I thought you had something on your face."
"Eh ... w-what did you say?" Emmelyn widened her eyes and rubbed her entire face, trying to find something on it as Mars was referring to. "Is there really something on my face?"
Mars just laughed internally at Emmelyn's behavior, which he thought was very cute.
"No, I told you, I only thought there was something on your face. It is okay. I was wrong," he said finally.
Ahh… Mars really missed this girl, even though they had only been separated for a week.
He wondered what would happen if he had to go to war? He would be gone for a long time. What should he do if that happened?
Mars tried not to think about it and focused his attention on the food in front of him. He had to discuss with his father about their future political strategy.
Of the 43 kingdoms on the continent of Terra, 35 were already under their control. His father aimed to rule all those kingdoms under Draec's rule and unite the entire continent of Terra.
In the past, King Jared himself would go to war with his generals. However, ten years ago, when Mars became an adult, he began to replace his father to lead the battlefield.
King Jared now only focused on handling the government matters in the capital and managing the politics with their royal envoys.
Usually, before they decided on sending troops to conquer one country, King Jared would send royal envoys to them, asking the kings of these countries to submit to Draec.
If they refused, then Mars and his generals would bring their army to attack these kingdoms and make them submit to Draec by force.
So far, their troops had never lost a battle. This was because King Jared always calculated everything well. He was a great military strategist.
Usually, Draec would attack and conquer one kingdom every year. Once they conquered the kingdom, he would place his trusted people as the governor there with the military force to control the country.
This would be especially helpful when Draec planned to go for another war with the next target. With troops in all of these kingdoms, it would be easy for him to muster the military when they attacked a new country.
Last year, they attacked and conquered Wintermere. This year, they planned to conquer another kingdom not far from it. It was also located close to the sea, like Wintermere.
If Mars had to go and lead his army there, he could possibly leave Emmelyn for about 3-4 months. Ah .. he really didn't want to imagine it.
What if Emmelyn still wasn't pregnant before he left for war? Their chances of conceiving would be greatly reduced. They would lose the precious 3-4 months because he was away.
But, on the other hand, if Emmelyn was already pregnant by then... Mars thought he wouldn't have the heart to leave the girl to deal with her pregnancy alone.
Ahh ... could he ask his father to postpone their plan to conquer a new kingdom this year?
Perhaps it would be even better if they could put off the plan until Mars and Emmelyn's child was born.
Hmm ... but if their child was born, Mars didn't know if he would have the heart to leave the child alone with Emmelyn too.
He would miss out on his child's important moments in life. He wouldn't be able to watch his child turn on his back, crawl, had his first teeth, learn to speak, etc. etc ...
Ahh ... was this how all parents felt? His mind went to his soldiers who had to go to war and leave their families to carry out their duties to the king.
Mars sighed. It seemed that he could now understand what some of his people felt because he was almost in their shoes.
The prince decided that he would be kind to his men who already had families and had to make sacrifices by leaving their wives and children when they had to go to war.
Yes, he would be a better leader and show more understanding and support for the fathers in his army.
After Mars was done eating. He sat back against the chair and relax. It felt so good to be back home.
Home sweet home.
"All right, what were you doing at home while I was away?" asked Mars. He turned to Emmelyn and looked at the girl intently.
Emmelyn shrugged. "Lady Athibaud canceled her invitation because one of her daughters was sick. I busied myself reading and went to explore the villages around the castle. In one village, I met a new acquaintance from Wintermere."
"Oh really?" asked Mars. He knew Wintermere was so far away from here. So, what was that person doing in Draec?
"That's right. She is an old woman who once lived in the Bay of White Whales, an area by the sea in Wintermere. She came here to care for her sickly older sister, until she passed away. She then decided to stay in Draec because she was worried she would not make the long journey to Wintermere alone," Emmelyn explained.
Mars looked closely at Emmelyn. When he heard the girl talk about Wintermere, he could see her face was radiant, and her beautiful eyes were full of excitement.
He wondered if Emmelyn missed her hometown.
If Wintermere were close from here, for example, like Southberry or Longfell, Mars would gladly take Emmelyn there to ease her longing.
Unfortunately it would take them a full month on horseback to reach Wintermere, and two months if it was a leisurely journey.
He naturally couldn't leave the capital for that long. He had the duties and responsibilities as the crown prince.
[I'm sorry I couldn't take you to Wintermere ...]
Mars sighed away. For some reason, suddenly, his guilt towards Emmelyn filled his chest again. He and his kingdom were the cause of Emmelyn losing her family and hometown.
Indeed, Wintermere still existed, but without her family .. what was the point of having Wintermere back?
Emmelyn became astonished by Mars's attitude. It was unusual for the man to be so quiet during a conversation with Emmelyn. Was there something on his mind that bothered him?
"What are you thinking about?" asked Emmelyn at last. She had learned to ask what Mars was thinking if she saw the man's attitude change.
She had repeatedly told Mars that she couldn't read minds.
Mars didn't answer right away. He did not have the heart to discuss Wintermere with Emmelyn. The man tapped his finger on the table and wondered what to say to the girl.
Finally, he cleared his throat and made a sullen face. "I just remembered. You said something to Gewen that smeared my reputation. Do you want to explain what happened?"
Emmelyn pursed her lips and frowned. "What did I say to Gewen? Is that bastard slandering me?"
Mars looked at Emmelyn in disbelief.
This girl was truly one of a kind, he thought. It was clear that Emmelyn was the one who impulsively told Gewen that she was the crown prince's boyfriend while she was disguised as Lord Aldrich.
Her words made Gewen think Mars was really gay. However, this girl actually had the audacity to accuse Gewen of slandering her?
"He didn't slander you. I think you said something to him that made him misunderstand," said Mars. He then crossed his arms on his chest and stared at Emmelyn with narrowed eyes. "Now, he and Edgar think I am into men. Do you remember what you said to Gewen back then?"
"Oh...!" Emmelyn unconsciously pressed her lips, and her eyes went so round.
Oops ... apparently, that scummy perverted general bastard discussed that with Mars!
Uff .. Emmelyn couldn't get away anymore when Mars asked her bluntly like this.
"Hmph ... Gewen, you bastard," muttered Emmelyn, rolling her eyes. Her initial surprise was replaced by annoyance because she thought Gewen talked too much. "I did say stuff to him, but I have my reasons."
"What reasons? Do tell me." Mars really didn't understand what could justify Emmelyn deceiving Gewen by destroying Mars's reputation. He stared at Emmelyn's lips closely as if he didn't want to miss a word from her.
"When he trained me archery, apparently he thought I was a girl and so he tried to sexually seduce me," Emmelyn said in an irritated voice. "I just wanted him to stay away from me, so I told him that I'm a man and I'm your boyfriend."
Mars batted his eyes when he heard Emmelyn's explanation.
Ah ... that made sense now.
He knew Gewen, his womanizer friend, very well and was not surprised if Gewen indeed tried to make a move on Lord Aldrich if he suspected him to be female.
No wonder Emmelyn pretended to be Mars' boyfriend.
"Are you telling the truth?" asked Mars to confirm. "You are not lying to me?"
"When have you ever seen me lie?" asked Emmelyn, rolling her eyes.
However, when her gaze met Mars' eyes, the girl lowered her face. She then cleared her throat and said with a low voice, "Ahem ... well, okay, I did lie to you and disguised myself as a servant for a month ..."
"And...?" Asked Mars, raising an eyebrow.
"Uhm ... and then I also lied when I told your mother that I was the daughter of a prostitute and I was raised in a brothel.. " Emmelyn added with an even lower voice.
When she saw Mars raise another eyebrow, she blurted in annoyance. "Okay, okay... I know I lie a lot! But this time I only lied to him to teach him a lesson. So he doesn't go around seducing girls. I am not lying to you now."
Mars was happy to hear her explanation.
He nodded and tapped her shoulder. "Very well."