They were standing still in silence for half an hour, watching the sunset as the sun went down lower and lower in the sky. And now, the moon was slowly replacing the sun to decorate the sky.

Maxim then turned to Emmelyn and smiled. "I am feeling better now. Thank you."

"Huh? But I didn't do anything...?" Emmelyn rubbed her chin. "What do you mean?"

Maxim just patted her back and walked away. She didn't need to do anything to soothe his feelings. She just needed to be there with him.

That's what he wanted to say. However, he decided to just keep it to himself.

It was too cheesy, he thought.

"Let's eat dinner. I already asked Horatio to serve us Summerian's best dishes. You will like them," he spoke without looking back. Emmelyn quickly walked to his side and joined him to go to his private dining room.

Kira was already waiting for them to eat together. Horatio went to her chamber and took her there. The butler said the queen sent them her regard but she was too unwell to join them for dinner. So, she would eat in her chamber.

"Is your mother sick?" Emmelyn asked Maxim, looking concerned. She did notice how the queen mother looked quite pale when they had lunch together earlier.

Maxim nodded. "Yeah.. she has been sick a lot lately after my father and brothers passed away. I am her only reason to live."

"Oh... your brothers died too?" Emmelyn pressed her lips in shock. She knew Maxim had several older half-sisters which he hated, and two much-younger brothers from the same parents. She didn't know they died. "I am so, sorry to hear that."

"Thank you. One of my brothers died when I was away, and the other one died one year after I took the throne. I think my family is just unlucky with sons," Maxim replied flatly.

He added, "Now, I am left with this throne and big kingdom to take care of because my late father no longer has any more surviving sons but me. You know how I cannot let my sisters or their husbands fight over the throne... They will just destroy Summeria with their power struggle."

Emmelyn was in awe when she listened to Maxim talk about his kingdom and his responsibility. This man had truly matured since the last time they traveled together before she went to Draec. Emmelyn could sympathize with Maxim's situation.

The man was not interested in power and that was the reason why he left Summeria and saw the world. Maybe he thought one of his younger brothers would take over the crown when he was not around.

Who would have thought they both didn't live long enough for that to happen?

So, now Maxim was stuck to the throne if he wanted to prevent civil war between five different parties. A civil war would only make his people suffer and tear their country apart.

She remembered how the man looked happy most of the time when they were traveling from Lakeshire to Castilse. But now, he looked cold and unhappy.

Emmelyn felt deep sympathy for her friend. She hoped Maxim would find someone to help him and share this burden. So he could relax for a bit and enjoy life.

"What is that on your hair?" Kira's voice suddenly broke the ice. She was sitting across from Emmelyn and she pointed at Emmelyn's hair. "There... near your right ear..."

Emmelyn rubbed her hair to check but Maxim was faster. He reached out and took a jacaranda petal from Emmelyn's hair. He said, "This must be from the tree earlier."

The movement looked extremely intimate because he was sitting next to her and he leaned closer to get the flower from her hair. Their faces were only inches apart and Emmelyn was frozen in her place.

Her heart pounded and her eyes batted nervously when she saw how the man's gaze was filled with love.

Then she remembered that Maxim had indirectly confirmed that he did harbor romantic feelings for her, but he would wait until Emmelyn's problems were sorted.

Gosh... wasn't she just thinking about how much she wished Maxim would find someone to be by his side, so he could share the burden of being the monarch of Summeria?

What if... he wanted HER to be that person he would share his life with?

She was not ready to even think about such a thing. Her heart was still wounded and she needed to take care of so many things, But, seeing the pain in his eyes, Emmelyn felt torn.

She cared a lot about Maxim. She loved him because he was like a male version of herself. They were kindred spirits and Maxim had helped her a lot. She, too, only wanted to see Maxim happy.

"Th-thank you...." Finally, Emmelyn spoke in a stammer. She took the jacaranda petal from Maxim's hand and put it on the table. Then Emmelyn looked away and avoided his gaze. "The wind outside was quite strong."

"Yeah," Maxim nodded. He realized Emmelyn felt a bit uncomfortable because he was showing affection just now when they already agreed not to talk about it until... 

Well, until the dust settled.

"The flower is so pretty," Kira commented. She reached out and took the jacaranda petal. "Take me there tomorrow. I want to see it."

"It's over there near the lake," Emmelyn said. "We can go there tomorrow after we send off Edgar."

"Oh... We will see Edgar again?" Kira's face lit up instantly. "I thought he already left."

"No, he will come back here tomorrow morning to—" Emmelyn turned to Maxim. "To ride a dragon so he can reach home faster. Isn't that right, Max?"

The young king nodded. "Yes. I already talked to both Lord Edgar and Renwyck today. Edgar would use Sand, one of Aslain's sons. He could reach his country in four weeks."

"Oh.. that's wonderful. I hope everything will go well and he could see my mother-in-law quickly and revive her."

Emmelyn bit her lip. She missed Queen Elara so much.

"When do you want to go to Myreen?" Maxim asked her. He motioned Horatio to pour wine for them. "I am thinking of giving you enough rest in Castilse and taking things easy for a while before we go."

He added, "You have traveled almost without proper break for months. You need to be kind to yourself and let your body and mind rest. I think the only urgent thing, to revive your mother-in-law is done already. Now, you don't have to rush."

Emmelyn nodded. She didn't want to argue because, no matter what, Loriel was the king. She should respect his opinion when they were around other people so she could give him face.

She could argue with him all she wanted when it was just the two of them.

Besides, after she thought about it. She agreed with him. She was feeling physically and mentally exhausted. She must rest her body and soul before she could continue her journey and deal with the Leoraleis. She must not be weak.

"Very well. Let's rest and leave for Myreen in one or two weeks," Emmelyn said. "The Leoraleis won't go anywhere."

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This is the third chapter. I will publish the final two after I get some sleep. It's 6 am here... ahaha. And I forgot to do the quiz on Insta yesterday... gosh, my poor forgetful brain. I will do it later today.

PS: You can google Jacaranda trees. They are BEAUTIFUL!

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