** This chapter is dedicated to Rose (Hollygolightly). Thank you so much for gifting a magic castle to "The Cursed Prince" yesterday. - xx MRB

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Mars and Gewen went to the lounge to meet his guests. They all came on time. When the king entered the lounge, he could see Ellena stood alone in a corner while Lily and Athos stood on the other end.

"Your Majesty," they all bowed down and curtseyed at the same time when they saw the king enter the room. Even though they were friends, the fact remained that Mars was now the king of this kingdom and they should pay respects to him.

"Please have a seat," Mars waved casually and motioned them to sit. They found a good chair for themselves and sat one by one. Soon, John came with several servants and brought cakes and tea for them.

"Thank you for having me today," Ellena said to Mars politely. There was obvious longing in her eyes but she acted reservedly, knowing that she was not as welcomed as she was years ago. Things had changed a bit in this palace.

She was also aware of the hostile gaze from Lily Greenan. At the moment, Lily's husband held quite an important title in the government and so they had some power that couldn't be undermined, even though Ellena's family was very influential.

Not only that, but the Greenans were also actually related to the king by blood. Athos was Mars's paternal cousin and they had a good relationship. All in all, Ellena shouldn't look for trouble.

She was very happy that Mars was finally willing to see her and even invited her to this tea today. She hoped it was because he finally realized that he needed his friends around, during the toughest times of his life.

"Thank you for coming,"  Mars nodded to Ellena, then he turned to Lily and Athos, "And you too."

Gewen took a cake and sat next to Ellena. "The only one missing is Edgar."

"Ahh.. that's right. I have been wondering where is Edgar. I haven't heard from him for a long time. Do you know what happened?" Ellena asked Gewen. "His sister only said that Edgar went on a mission."

"That's right, he is going on an important mission," Gewen replied. "In fact, I will go and meet him. I will leave in a few days."

"Oh..." Ellena was very interested when she heard Gewen's words. "Where are you going?"

Mars gave Gewen a side-eye and his friend immediately changed the subject. The flamboyant man realized Mars didn't like it if he talked too much about the 'secret mission' he was assigned to do. Gosh... he knew he talked too much sometimes.

"How are you?" Gewen poured tea for himself and asked Ellena back, changing the subject. "You lost weight. I have never seen you this thin before."

Ellena sighed and shrugged. "It has been a tough few months for all of us, I believe. I would be such a heartless person if I could eat well and sleep when the people I care about are going through difficult times."

Lily rolled her eyes so hard that it felt like they almost fell out of their sockets. She hated Ellena to the core and really didn't understand why Mars invited that woman to this tea party.

Wasn't this supposed to be for friends and family only?

So, did the king still consider Ellena his friend? Lily could imagine Emmelyn would roll in her grave if she knew about this. 

Lily was honestly disappointed. She thought Mars should have been better than this.

However, other than scowling, she didn't know what to say. She was nothing compared to the king and shouldn't try to interfere with his personal life.

"It was indeed a tough few months," Mars nodded in agreement. His expression looked flat.

Ellena looked at him deeply and smiled. "I hope you are doing better and will continue to do better. I was very worried about you and came to visit several times, but your butler said you didn't want to see anyone."

"It's true. He didn't even want to see me," Gewen chirped. He raised his teacup and downed his tea. "I only saw him yesterday when he came to Athos' home to pick up his daughter."

"Oh... how is your daughter now?" Ellena asked Mars attentively. "What's her name? Harlow, isn't it? I have never had the chance to see her."

"She is okay," Mars replied. "She is taking a nap now. Maybe someday, you can see her. I need her to get used to other people first."

"Who is taking care of her now?" Ellena asked again.

"She has her wet nurse, but John takes care of her when I am not around," Mars explained. He sighed. "John has too much work already, but I don't think I can trust her to anyone else."

"She is a princess. You should have a noblewoman around who could help take care of her," Ellena shook her head, looking so concerned. "John is a man, and he is a commoner. He couldn't possibly raise Harlow properly."

Lily coughed violently when she heard Ellena's words. She could kind of guess what Ellena was suggesting. Of course, this wicked woman would suggest that she took care of Harlow for Mars.

What? Did she want to be Harlow's stepmother? So very shameless.

"I can help with that," Lily said suddenly after she got over her disgust. "His Majesty invited us to move to the capital for that purpose. He wanted us to help with Princess Harlow. Isn't it true, Your Majesty?"

She turned to look at Mars, and daringly stared at the king, asking for confirmation. She added, "That's actually what the late Lady Emmelyn wanted too."

'Before you caused her death,' Lily added inwardly.

"How did you know that?" Ellena asked Lily. "Were you there when she died?"

"I was, yes," Lily retorted. "She asked for my presence when she was giving birth and I was there when she died. She asked me to take care of Harlow after she was gone."

Ellena scoffed when she heard Lily's reply. She turned to Mars and shook her head, looking disappointed. "She didn't know that your wife only faked her death, Your Majesty?"

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From the author:

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