"Huh? So, he is not actually her son?" Maxim became intrigued by Renwyck's story. "How did you know that?"

Renwyck let out a nervous laugh and sipped his wine again. "The boy is not human. I don't know how he ended up with Margueritte, but he was the reason why Margueritte decided to seclude herself in the mountain and build an ice castle. She seemed like she wanted to hide him from— I don't know who. She wouldn't say."

"When was the last time you met them? Before today, I mean," Maxim asked again. Apparently, Margueritte's and Raphael's story was quite interesting. "How long has she been living there? I have never heard about her until recently."

"Well, I met them ten years ago. The boy was only eight. I think Margueritte was keeping a low profile when the boy was still young. And now that he is older, she decided to be more relaxed. He called me uncle because I married Margueritte's sister," Renwyck explained.

His eyes went droopy. He was reminded of the love of his life. Dolores was so beautiful, fiery, and full of life, unlike Margueritte who was ice cold and arrogant. He missed her so much.

"By the way, Aslain here is what's left from Dolores. She raised him and I get to keep Aslain after she died," Renwyck added. 

"Ohh... it's beautiful," Emmelyn wiped her eyes. She could see how much Renwyck loved his wife. Ah, too bad Dolores was gone too soon. 

"I didn't know the story," said Maxim.

He was touched when he heard the story about how Renwyck ended up with his amazing dragon. Apparently, Aslain was more important to Renwyck than Maxim thought. He was not just the wizard's pet dragon. It was actually his wife's.

The king offered his condolences. "I am sorry about what happened."

"It's okay, Your Majesty. I had traveled the world to get over the pain and finally settled down in Castilse. I enjoy my life now. Your family has been good to me."

"I am glad if you think that way," Maxim patted Renwyck on the back and decided to change the subject.

He said, "So, tomorrow we will continue our trip to the capital. Since Emmelyn prefers traveling by land, we will meet the rest of my men in the next city and go together. You can just return to the royal palace and wait for us there. We will be fine without you. I don't think we will need your help again."

"I will do as you said, Your Majesty," Renwyck replied. 

Kira who had been listening to their conversation suddenly raised her hand. She looked at Maxim intently and asked him bluntly. "Are you really a king? These people keep calling you 'Your Majesty'."

Maxim forgot that he was hiding his true identity from Emmelyn and Kira and Emmelyn only found out earlier today. So, it's no wonder that Kira was still not updated with this new fact.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Wait... so, you're really King Loriel Ashborn?" Kira blurted her next question. "Is that true?"

Maxim started to feel annoyed by Kira's question. Was it not obvious?

"Yes, I am."

"Oh, by seven seas!" Kira pressed her lips and turned to look at Emmelyn. "This man is the king who has been looking for the girl named Emmelyn and you said your real name is Emmelyn... So, are you both the same people I keep hearing about in our travel?"

Suddenly light bulbs were turned on in Kira's mind. She found this fact to be mind-blowing. What are the odds? The two most talked-about people in Atlantea were sitting right here with her.

She asked Emmelyn urgently, "Did you know this?"

Emmelyn let out a long sigh and replied, "Only a few hours ago. Don't ask me, okay? I am just as deceived as you are."

"Hey... I don't mean to deceive you," Maxim quickly defended himself. "I told you I will explain everything."

He looked at Emmelyn deeply, trying to show that he was sincere and would be willing to lay all his cards to let Emmelyn know that he didn't mean to trick her. However, he wouldn't do it while they were still surrounded by other people.

He wanted to have a private moment with Emmelyn where he could be honest with her about everything.

Maxim thought he could get the opportunity if they took the dragon to arrive faster in Castilse. Unfortunately, Emmelyn decided to travel by land because of Kira.

Hmph. So, his love confession and everything else should wait.

Emmelyn understood the meaning of his gaze and nodded. She knew Maxim so well because the man was like the male version of herself.

"Okay," she said finally. Then, Emmelyn turned to Kira. "Yeah. He is King Loriel Ashborn, and I only found out today, just like you."

Kira gave Maxim a murderous side-eye and then turned to Emmelyn, "Is he threatening you? Even if he is a king, I wouldn't hesitate to smack him if he gives you trouble."

"No..." Emmelyn laughed nervously. She could see how Kira had become her feisty self again after they were far away from the ice castle. "It's okay, Kira. Maxim... or Loriel here, is my friend. He would never do harm to me."

"That's right," Maxim added. "I would never do harm to you nor hurt you. That is a promise."

Kira pursed her lips, while Emmelyn looked away, pretending not to hear Maxim's words which he uttered solemnly. The man sounded like he was confessing his love to her.

"Uhm.. I'm full. We should sleep now," said Emmelyn after she finished her meat and wrapped her coat more tightly. "We still have a long journey ahead of us."

Kira and Emmelyn decided to sleep on a thin blanket that they brought in their bags. Aslain had dried the ground with his fire, so they could sleep well. While they slept, the men decided to take turns being the watchmen to ensure no wild animals would disturb the girls.

***

They woke up in the morning and had a quick breakfast. They still had some decent food supply and decided to finish it before they reached the nearest town where they kept their horses.

After making sure that the king and his small entourage were fine on their own, Renwyck decided to go back to the capital on Aslain's back.

.

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From the author:

This is the third chapter today. I am challenging myself to publish 3 chapters per day for "The Cursed Prince" this week because I want to end this book, if possible, by October, and then focus on "The Cursed King", its companion book.

We still have around 150 chapters or less, I think. Crossing fingers.

As for Raphael, you are right when you think he wanted Harlow, but not in a bad way.

Raphael was a seer, and when he saw Emmelyn, he actually saw her adult daughter was beating him up and knew immediately that he and Harlow would meet in the future. So, he decided to help Emmelyn now and curry favor.

Emmelyn will forget about Raphael, until Harlow decided to run away from home twenty years later because she wanted to see the world and her overprotective parents wouldn't allow her.

Anyway.. that's some clues about Harlow in the future.  After "The Cursed Prince" ends, I might just write a short story about Harlow as a bonus story here. I will not write a separate book for her. I have too many books already. Sigh.

Btw, since this chapter explained Aslain's origin, I want to dedicate this chapter to Maude Fluckiger. THANK YOU so much for giving me my first DRAGON! 

Yes, the new gifts have been rolled out partially. Now, we have Ice cola, Pizza, Inspiration Pill, Mechanical Keyboard, Massage Chair, Luxury car, Dragon, and Magic castle instead of balloons, lollipop, grimoire crown, etc. 

You will all probably see the new gifts and many updates tomorrow, together with the Golden Ticket. Don't forget to vote your precious Golden Tickets on "The Cursed Prince" to motivate me to publish 3 chapters per day in September, like today. 

Love you lots! xx

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