Emmelyn's face was beaming when she saw the fat rabbit. Subconsciously, she licked her lips in anticipation. Yes, she liked rabbit meat and she was happy that Mars remembered this about her.

"Food will be ready soon," Mars informed her. "Do you want to freshen up?"

"Yes, thank you," Emmelyn replied.

She got up and washed her face in the lake. The water felt so cold since it was still very early in spring. However, it was really refreshing. Soon, she had become alert and fresh.

The prince and his men caught four deers and one rabbit. It was enough to feed 104 people in their group. Some people were assigned to prepare the meat and the others got ready to roast them.

In one hour, they were all sitting surrounding bonfires with roasted meat on their sticks. They all enjoyed lunch with a warm chat around the fires. Everyone was in high spirits.

"This meat is delicious," Emmelyn whispered as she devoured the rabbit meat prepared for her.

"I remember you like rabbit meat," Mars replied. "So, I got it just for you."

"Hehehe.. thank you for catching this one for me," Emmelyn gushed. "You are a great provider. I am so lucky."

Mars was beaming by her compliment. Meanwhile, Gewen, who was sitting close to them and heard the lovebirds' conversation, rolled his eyes so hard.

These two just keep throwing dog food around them, he thought in annoyance. Gewen never felt bad about being single until he spent so much time around this couple.

Welp... being single was his choice, so he shouldn't regret it. If he tied himself to a single woman, how would he justify his sexual adventures?

Being committed to someone meant he would no longer be able to do it, right?

That didn't sound like a happy life to him.

Yet, how could this friend of his look so happy and beaming when he was with his woman? What was so special about being in a committed relationship?

It would be the same person every time they have sex... eww. Where's the fun in that?

***

After they had a sumptuous lunch, the prince and his men took a short rest and then continued their journey. This time they didn't do it in a relaxing manner, like before.

Mars really wanted to reach Glendale before dark so he could talk to the governor about searching and punishing Marquis Milot and his family. He also wanted Emmelyn to rest properly on a nice bed.

She didn't get enough sleep when they were spending the night in Havertown, and she only took a short nap on the road to Glendale.

He didn't want her to feel tired before their wedding.

As expected, they reached Glendale before sunset. The capital city of Glendale Province was named Glendale too, and that was where the governor resided. He was a former minister from Draec capital that was sent to rule the province by King Jared.

Lord Moran was one of King Jared's trusted friends when he was younger and he had helped the king on so many conquest initiatives. He had two sons and they helped him rule the province, representing the king.

Mars had a good relationship with the Morans and he liked the sons too. When his group arrived by the city gate, Albert Moran and Dawney Moran welcomed them and brought them in.

As soon as the prince met Lord Moran, he asked the governor to immediately arrest the Milots and hang all of them as punishment for offending the crown prince.

The governor was surprised to hear this request. He was wondering what could the Milots possibly do to invite such wrath from the prince.

However, he knew his place as a mere subject to the Strongmoors and shut his mouth, not asking anything. He had known Mars his whole life and Lord Moran was certain that the prince never punished people randomly, without a reason.

"I will send Dawney to Havertown immediately to investigate the Milots whereabouts and arrest them," Lord Moran said. "Does Your Highness want to see them being hanged, or can we just do it when you are not here?"

What he meant was, if Mars wanted to see the punishment being carried out on the Milots, Lord Moran would keep them alive until Mars went back to Glendale from Southberry.

Mars shook his head. Even though he was really annoyed by the scheme that Lori almost pulled off, he didn't think the Milots were important enough to get his attention.

"Very well, then," the governor nodded in understanding. He turned to his son and ask him to go to Havertown immediately. "Dawney, you have heard His Highness."

"Yes, father. I will go immediately," Dawney replied and bowed down to the prince and his father before he took his leave.

Soon, Mars, Gewen, Edgar, and Emmelyn were led to their respective chambers in the governor's palace so they could rest for a bit before dinner.

The soldiers who came with them were given nice accommodation too at the special tower meant for the governor's guards. 

After they rested for an hour and cleaned up, the prince and his friends came to the dining hall, where the governor would eat dinner with them.

The feast thrown by Lord Moran was really festive. Since Mars and the Morans were close, they had so many things to discuss and share. It was a really nice dinner.

Once they were full, they decided to rest and continued their journey early in the morning.

***

They arrived in Southberry when it was close to midnight the next day. Athos welcomed them with a sleepy face.

However, as soon as he saw Emmelyn, his interest piqued.

Even though Emmelyn was disguised as a man, Athos could immediately tell that this girl was the woman that his cousin fell head over heels for, that he wanted to formalize his wedding to her as soon as possible.

"Welcome to Southberry, Your Highness, and my lords," Athos greeted them in a happy voice. "Have you all had dinner?"

"Yes, we had eaten some food packed by the cooks from Glendale," Mars replied. "At the moment, we only need sleep."

"For sure, definitely!" Athos notified his butler to bring his guests of honor to their respective chambers. Just when they were about to follow the butler, Lily, Athos' wife came through the door.

"Hey, you have arrived," she said to Mars with a smile.

Her eyes quickly searched the figure of a girl who would marry the prince and she found Emmelyn standing next to Mars. Lily assumed that this was the girl.

She smiled broadly and approached Emmelyn. "Welcome to Southberry, Lady Emmelyn. We are so happy to see you."

"Thank you," Emmelyn replied. "The feeling is mutual, My Lady."

"You must come with me," said Lily to Emmelyn with a smile. Then, she turned to her husband and said, "the bride and groom shouldn't see each other before the wedding, I will take Lady Emmelyn with me and you can take His Highness with you."

Emmelyn smiled sheepishly when she heard Lily's words. She nodded slightly to show her agreement.

"Let's go, sister," said Lily as she grabbed Emmelyn's hand and took her to walk out of the room.

Meanwhile, Gewen and Edgar who heard Lily's words earlier, both furrowed their brows as they turned to Mars and stared at him, looking dumbfounded.

"Wh-what did she say just now?" Gewen asked Mars in a stutter. "Did she mention wedding? Or did my ears play tricks on me??"

Athos looked at Mars in bewilderment. "They didn't know?"

"Know what?" Gewen asked.

Mars cleared his throat and waved his hand, to lighten the mood. "Well, I wanted to make it a surprise for you."

"Wait... what do you mean?" Gewen suddenly turned pale. "Are you getting married here in Southberry?"

Mars nodded solemnly. "Yes. I will marry Lady Emmelyn to make sure that our child will be legitimate and my father will approve our relationship."

"Why wouldn't your father approve of your relationship with her? I thought they already accepted her," said Gewen.

Mars shook his head and let out a long sigh. "My father doesn't know who she is. If he found out, he might not give his blessings."

"I don't get it... I don't see the reason why the king won't give you his blessings. I think he has no problems even if you married a commoner since the queen is also a commoner," said Gewen. "Unless..."

"You are right," Mars interrupted Gewen's words. "That's why we believe getting a secret wedding is better. I want you and Edgar to be here.... because you are both my best friends, and I want to share this happy occasion with you."

Gewen and Edgar exchanged glances.

This was such shocking news! Last year, they never thought that their friend would ever find a woman he could touch.

Now, not only had he found her, he was also about to marry her. And he seemed so in love and happy.

This was truly good news!

Edgar was visibly happy for the prince, while Gewen looked like he was feeling dejected.

Gosh.. this would be the end of the world for him since he had always made the crown prince his excuse for not getting married.

If his parents found out that Mars already got married, they must put more pressure on him to find a wife.

.

.

>>>>

From the author:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your patience and support. I have seen the internist and got better diagnosed. I got an infection caused by gallstones. Fortunately, no need to remove it with surgery. I just need to take medication and fix my diet.

I am resting a lot these days and I will continue writing as soon as I recover. Thank you so, so much for being so understanding and supportive. I am so touched! xx

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