While Bruinen was certain that he would win, Gewen felt the same way. He already imagined getting a wizard as his personal servant for ten days.

Gewen believed in himself. He knew he could seduce any woman and made them do what he wanted.

No one... let me repeat it... no one could resist Gewen's charm.

"Okay, let's go after lunch and return in the evening. Whoever gets the best information, wins the bet," said Gewen with a smug expression.

Bruinen nodded in agreement. Seeing the scene, Mars could only shake his head.  He almost forgot how competitive Gewen could be if he put his mind to it.

Well, he didn't mind though. Right now, he needed information to decide on the strategy to use in dealing with the witch.

If they could find ways to enter the witch's home secretly, he would be glad. He just needed to save Ellena's heart and give it to Elmer for safekeeping. He was the only one who could return it to Ellena and save her life.

Once it was done, they could face the witch head-on. With Elmer, Bruinen, and his men, Mars was confident that they could beat Thesalis Morelli and kill her.

Once everything was over, he could finally go home and put this behind him. He and Emmelyn would start their lives together. They would finally have their happy ending.

Thinking about his wife made the man feel mushy. He faithfully made time to write one letter to her every week and told her how he was doing. Even though he was tired, couldn't sleep, and stressed, he never mentioned any of those in his letters.

He only shared how they were all in high spirits, which country they were in now, what interesting things he saw on the road. He had sent 6 letters so far and received four.

Mars told Athos his route and Emmelyn would send her letters to Southberry. Then, Athos would manage the delivery of her letters to the provinces that Mars would pass by.

Her fifth letter was supposed to arrive in Wintermere this week but Mars hadn't received any notification from Ethos about any letters from the capital.

He was wondering if something happened back home, or the letter was just delayed.

Before lunch, he took out the four letters he received from Emmelyn and read them again. They warmed his heart every time he read them, when he missed her.

In her letters, Emmelyn would tell him how many times Harlow kicked her on the day she wrote her letter. She would also share what she and the queen were doing to entertain themselves.

She wrote many mundane things in her letter, but to him, they felt special.

Mars couldn't wait to go home and hugged his loved ones.

***

After lunchtime, Bruinen and Gewen went to find information. They left the inn where they were staying and went to their respective destinations.

Bruinen brought some samples from the 'salt he was selling' to the local market. He went there with several people and pretended to be a salt merchant who was traveling with his servants to sell his products and was looking for a new market.

Meanwhile, Gewen dolled up to go to the tavern. He was so happy to get a wizard as his personal servant for ten days that he was humming when he changed his shirt and combed his long hair.

Gewen asked the innkeeper which tavern was the busiest and decided to go there. In his opinion, usually, people talked in the tavern about who's who. 

When some of his men left, Mars stayed in the inn the whole time. His appearance was too eye-catching to be part of the salt merchant group to go with Bruinen.

He also didn't want to create a commotion in the tavern if he was to show up together with Gewen. So, he chose to stay behind with Elmer and discussed their plans.

***

Gewen went to a really big and busy tavern, pretending to be a young master from Asguay who was traveling and looking for adventures. His presence quickly attracted the attention of many people.

Girls from the small town flocked to the tavern to see the handsome man drinking and chatting.

"I am looking for an adventure," the beautiful man was chirping with a big smile plastered on his face. "Do you know anything interesting I can do in this area? Say.. do you know any monsters I can slay?"

He rolled up his sleeves to show his toned arms to the delight of the women around him. They shrieked and chattered at the same time, giving him suggestions.

He listened carefully if they mentioned anything about monsters around Shadowend since Ellena said the way to Mrs. Morelli's house was guarded by a gatekeeper who controlled monsters.

One girl enthusiastically raised her hands. "I know a place where you can fight monsters! On the way to the cliff, there is a small forest. People said it's haunted. They even call it the haunted forest."

"Haunted forest?" Gewen raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"Well... it's been haunted since forever. So, nobody dares to come there. In  the past, some people went there to look for mushrooms or animals to hunt and they never return." The girl was beaming with happiness when she saw Gewen seem interested in her information.

"When was the last time anyone entered the forest?" Gewen asked again.

The woman turned to look at her friends and furrowed her brows. She asked the girl sitting to her right. "Do you remember the handsome man who insisted to go to the top of the cliff many years ago?"

A woman who sat next to her immediately replied, "I think it was four or five years ago? He went there with the girl who later worked for Mrs. Morelli."

Gewen immediately knew they were talking about Ellena and Killian. Five years ago Ellena left Draec to search for the witch and came to find the Bellevars in Wintermere.

Duke and Duchess Bellevar told Ellena where to find the witch. And since, as she said, they actually wanted the witch to lift her curse, they asked Killlian's help to bring Ellena to Mrs. Morelli's house.

"Did they make it out of the forest alive?" Gewen asked them. He gave the ladies his killer gaze and they all swooned in their place.

"Yes, they did. The man came out one week later, and the girl ended up working for Mrs. Morellli. From what I've heard, the man was injured and he had to rest in Mrs. Morelli's house for the week before he could leave."

"Hmm.. that's interesting," Gewen smiled at the woman who just spoke. "You seem to know so much."

"Ahahaha... well, my father is the mayor. He knows many things," said the woman sheepishly. "The man came to see my father after he came down from the cliff and everyone was shocked to see he was still alive. So, they asked him to confirm whether the monsters were gone or if they were still there."

"And, what did he say?" Gewen touched the woman's arm gently when he uttered his next question.

She giggled uncontrollably, while her friends all looked unhappy since she could provide Gewen with more information than them.

They, too, wish they knew more. Unfortunately, she was the mayor's daughter, so she kept more information than the others.

"He said the monsters are still there and advised people to stay away from the cliff and the haunted forest," the girl replied. 

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