The queen dowager of Summeria was a beautiful but feisty and stubborn woman. Actually, Emmelyn reminded Maxim of his mother a lot. Maybe this was one of the reasons why he was instantly attracted to her when they met for the first time.

However, the queen was not impressed when her son told her about Emmelyn. The queen already had a better candidate in mind. She was the daughter of the queen's sworn sister. She often told Maxim that someday he should marry this girl.

Maxim was a modern man who hated being forced into something he didn't want to do. So, he opposed his mother's request and left Summeria to make a life for himself in the outside world. That's how he met Emmelyn.

And the rest was history.

When Emmelyn suddenly disappeared, Maxim looked for her everywhere, but he eventually had to stop looking because of his father's passing.

Being the oldest son in his family, Maxim suddenly had to take on the role of the head of the household.  No more adventures for him because he carried the burden to lead not only his family, but also his massive country.

Maxim took a lot of effort to convince his mother to let him marry the woman he loved. He had never loved anyone like he loved Emmelyn and he stubbornly decided to look for her as soon as he could.

Maxim's mother didn't want him to marry Emmelyn when they thought she was just a commoner since that meant she and Maxim were not from the same level.

Now that Maxim knew Emmelyn was actually a princess, a new problem arose with the fact that she was already married.

Maxim realized it would become more difficult to make his mother like Emmelyn if she knew Emmelyn was already married to another man with a child.

Even if he didn't care about Emmelyn's past status and could convince his mother to accept Emmelyn, the royal family and the aristocratic families in Summeria would be against their relationship.

A king should only marry a virgin to make sure that the children born to him were his biological child to inherit the throne.

(Note: since DNA test was nothing a thing in the past, marrying a virgin was considered the only foolproof way to ensure that the king's children were his.)

This virginity issue was such a big deal that, in some kingdoms, the wedding night, where the royal bride and groom consummated their marriage for the first time, would be witnessed and verified by the royal physician or the king.

Many princesses would be married to their royal husbands when they were really young, even as young as 14 to 15, basically as soon as they got their period and were of age to start conceiving the royal heirs. The younger, the purer, the better, before those princesses had any chance to know other men.

Now, if the people knew Maxim wanted to marry Emmelyn, who was not a virgin, there would be many oppositions and this would create another uproar in his country.

Maxim was a new king and he was still growing his influence in the capital and all their colonies. The first several years were the formative time of his reign. He shouldn't risk it by inviting criticism on his personal life.

He had five older sisters who all married men from the high nobility and kings from lesser kingdoms. They were all hungry for power.

If he gave them an excuse to usurp the throne, Maxim would have to go through the hassle to quell their rebellions.

He hated wars and their impact on the people, especially those who were poor and had no means to defend themselves. So, this situation really put him in a dilemma.

Hmm... Didn't Emmelyn say that her marriage to the guy from Draec was kept secret?

This means, nobody knew that she was married. Right?

Maxim tapped his fingers on his cup and got to think. If he could win Emmelyn's heart and make her marry him, he might as well hide her status from everyone. People in Summeria didn't need to know that Maxim didn't marry a virgin. It's none of their business anyway.

Finally, he made a decision.

*** 

"Did you rest well?" Maxim asked Emmelyn when he saw her come down the stairs with Kira, looking fresh and alert. For a few moments, he stood in awe as his eyes caught sight of her.

Emmelyn had changed her outfit and now she looked clean and dignified. Her hair was tied in a ponytail for practicality. Her beautiful face was adorned with a sweet smile. She looked breathtaking.

"I took a nap," Emmelyn admitted. "I haven't had such nice rest in months."

"Oh, that's good." Maxim also turned to Kira and nodded at her to be polite. "Did you have nice rest too, Kira?"

Kira nodded and yawned. "Yeah. It was nice."

Next to Maxim, Lysander was standing firmly, like a soldier awaiting orders from his commander. Emmely greeted him too. She brandished a scroll and gave it to the man.

"Hello, Lysander. This is your mother's letter. I met her on my journey and she said she has been missing you so badly."

Lysander smiled awkwardly at the mention of his mother. It was true. He had not seen his mother for over ten years and he always refused to return to Twig. He knew his mother missed him, but hearing it from another people made him think about his mother more.

Lysander missed her too. He hoped once he could really be in the king's good grace, he would get a better life and could invite his mother to come and stay with him in Summeria.

"Thank you, your highness," Lysander replied politely. He accepted the scroll and kept it in his pocket.

"Okay, let's eat dinner. I am hungry," Maxim broke the ice and motioned everyone to follow him. "I know this great tavern not far from here."

They all walked out of the inn and went to the tavern that Maxim mentioned. It was a really nice place with only three tables and several chairs. One of the tables was reserved for them, while the other two were filled by other patrons.

.

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This is a fact, that virginity was such a big deal in the past, and princes' and princesses' first consummation was usually verified by a physician or the prince's father. I can imagine, it must be hella embarrassing.

I remember reading about this for Mary Antoinette's and King Louis XVI's  first consummation, also Catherine Medici's and King Charles I's.

Charles I's father, who witnessed the consummation and gave pointer, said "The couple was energetic". XD

Both women were 14 at that time, or even younger.

And this did not only happen in the distant past. They said Prince Charles from England also married Princess Diana when she was 20 because she was young and a virgin (which was very important), even though they were not actually compatible and Charles was 20 years older.

We all know their marriage didn't last.

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