"Are you okay?" Mars asked Emmelyn after he noticed her change in expression. He came to her and touched her hair. "Are you still feeling sleepy?"

He was feeling a bit sleepy too because they were making love all night and only rested a little when the dawn was breaking.

It was not enough, but he was a man who had better physical endurance. He could handle being sleep-deprived for days.

However, Emmelyn was a woman and she was pregnant. She might not do well in this situation. That's why Mars asked her if she needed more sleep.

The girl shook her head. "No, I am fine. Let's go."

She kept her thoughts to herself and focused on what they must do to the Milots once they reached the dining room.

Mars and Emmelyn walked together down the stairs and immediately went to the dining room where they ate dinner the night before.

When they entered the massive dining room, Mars and Emmelyn only found Gewen and Edgar sitting leisurely at the dining table, enjoying breakfast. There was no one else.

"Good morning, lovebirds," Gewen greeted them. He then refocused his attention to the food in front of him.

Mars cast his glance around the room and furrowed his brows. "Where are the Milots?"

Gewen replied with his mouth full of food and his voice sounded muffled. "The Marquis apologized to me earlier, saying that there is an emergency with his parents in the countryside. His father fell ill, I think? So, he had to quickly send his wife and daughters there to visit them. He will be back shortly."

Mars and Emmelyn exchanged glances. They knew the marquis and his wife must have realized that their evil plan failed and now they were worried about retaliation.

So, they pretended that they had an emergency and left.

"When did you see them?" Mars asked Gewen.

"Hmm.. I only saw the marquis. Around two hours ago," Gewen replied. He had swallowed his food. "He seemed to be in a hurry."

Mars snorted in displeasure and took his seat at the dining table. Emmelyn followed him.

Gewen could sense something was amiss. He stopped eating and looked at Mars intently. "Did something happen?"

"I want us to leave for Glendale as soon as possible and later send an army to search and arrest the Milots," Mars replied briefly. "I want them all to be hanged."

Gewen batted his eyes in surprise. He knew the prince was not blood-thirsty. Mars wouldn't punish anyone without reason. 

So, what did the Milots do to deserve such punishment?

Gosh.. such wasted beauties, Gewen thought to himself. Those four girls were not bad-looking. If they were to die without tasting what it felt like to be a real woman... it was too bad.

Now, he felt bad about rejecting Annabelle's advances last night.

After the girl turned down his chamber, she clearly made hints that she could stay there with him to warm his bed.

Gewen pretended not to understand her and yawned so wide. He climbed the bed without saying anything and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, Annabelle was standing on her spot awkwardly, not knowing how else she could seduce the handsome lord.

Finally, she could only leave and close the door behind her.

When she left, Gewen rolled his eyes hard. No, Gewen would not sleep with just any woman. He had a standard. He wanted Lori, so he wouldn't settle with Annabelle.

Plus, he didn't want to invite a problem by having sex with the woman who clearly wanted to have his baby. She might later come to the capital to ask his mother to make Gewen marry her.

Nope. Not gonna happen. 

Gewen was more careful now since his parents were so relentless about finding him a wife. He didn't want to be tied down by anyone. Not yet.

Edgar was the one who finally asked the question for both him and Gewen. "What did the Milots do that Your Highness wants to punish them so severely?"

Mars's forehead twitched. "One of his daughters spiked my water with something. She planned to trick me into sleeping with her. I lost an important night's rest because of her."

Edgar's movement halted. He was slicing his meat on his plate and he suddenly stopped. The man turned to look at Mars and Emmelyn alternately. "Wait, did you and the Milot girl—"

"No, no.... tch," Mars quickly waved his hand. His face was filled with an expression of disgust. "I managed to find Emmelyn, and leave that wench outside. She must be scared because her plans failed and immediately decided to flee."

"Ahh.. I see," Edgar nodded. He then continued eating his breakfast like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Gewen chuckled and a smile curved up on his face.

He was happy that he made the right decision. Those Milot girls were trouble.

They ate quickly and got ready to leave the mansion. Mars was right when he said the Milots were running away to avoid punishment. He felt angry because they could get enough time to escape while he was drugged.

However, after thinking about it, he realized those people wouldn't escape punishment since his army would find them wherever they were hiding.

Now, he just needed to reach Glendale as soon as possible and talked to the governor to take care of this issue for him. He didn't want to dirty his hands while getting ready for his wedding to Emmelyn.

"Where is the marquis?" Mars asked the butler when they left the dining room, ready to go. The old man bowed down deeply to pay his respect to the crown prince.

"His Grace is not back yet. He left because of an emergency," the butler said with a halting voice. Mars knew he was hiding something, but he pretended not to notice. 

He waved his hand. "Tell him we are leaving now. I might stop by on my way back. By then, I want to see him here."

"I will tell my master, Your Highness," said the butler. "Have safe travels and may the gods ever be in your favor, Your Highness."

Mars nodded and took his leave, together with Edgar, Gewen, and Emmelyn.

They regrouped with the 100 soldiers and continued their journey toward Glendale. Along the way through the roads of Havertown, many people were lining up on each side of the road, excited to see him off.

Somehow, they were notified that the crown prince and his two famous generals were passing by their town. The excited townspeople came out of their homes to greet them.

This was such a rare opportunity, to see the future king from up close. So, of course, they wouldn't let this opportunity pass.

"Long live the crown prince!"

"Long live the crown prince!"

The townspeople cheered over and over again. Mars's mood which was murky that morning, slowly turned brighter. He smiled and waved at them.

The man felt touched by the devotion shown by his people. He always wanted to be a good king and he hoped he could live up to their expectation once he took the throne from his father.

***

Emmelyn yawned several times on her horseback. Mars realized that she needed her sleep. So, he decided to ask his men to stop when they found a good place to rest.

"There is a small woods in front of us," Edgar commented. "I think we can rest near the lake. Some people can go hunting for food and the others take turns with the security."

"Okay, let's stop there and rest." Mars agreed.

He glanced at Emmelyn who was yawning again. Mars really hoped she could at least take a nap for two hours while they hunted and prepared lunch, and then continued their journey to Glendale, where she would have a proper rest.

The group finally arrived at the spot that Edgar meant. They quickly got off their horses and find a nice place to rest.

Emmelyn tied her horse to a tree branch and sat on the ground layered by thick grass by the small lake.

The beautiful view couldn't attract her attention because she was very sleepy.

"You should rest. Gewen and I will hunt with several men. Edgar will stay here with you to protect you, together with the other soldiers," Mars tapped Emmelyn's shoulder. The girl nodded in a grateful expression.

She knew he was right. She must at least take a nap so she would be fresh enough to continue their journey. If she fell from her horse because she was sleepy, she and the baby could get hurt.

Since Emmelyn was disguised as a man, Mars couldn't take her on his horse with him.

His men would wonder if Mars was really gay for giving special treatment to Lord Aldrich.

No... they couldn't allow that to happen.

"What about you? Don't you need to rest too?" she asked the prince.

Mars chuckled and shook his head. "No, I don't. I am a man. I can go without sleep for days."

He wanted to ruffle her hair before he went, but he held back because it would look too intimate.

"Take care and get me a fat and juicy game!" Emmelyn said with a broad smile. "I feel like eating a roasted meat with glistening fat."

"I will look for a fat and juicy animal for you," Mars replied with a chuckle.

He turned and motioned Gewen to bring their quivers and arrows. They got back on their horses and shouted to five soldiers to follow them.

Soon, the small group disappeared from sight. Emmelyn yawned again and decided to spread an animal skin on the grass and took a nap on it.

****

She woke up to a delicious smell wafted in the air. Her lashes fluttered before her eyes opened and quickly went to search for the source of the smell.

"Hey, you're awake?" Mars' indistinct voice rang out in her ears. She looked up and found the two golden irises were looking at her from above. "I've caught a fat and juicy rabbit for you."

He remembered she said she really liked rabbit meat, so he made a point to catch at least one for her.

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