Note:

This chapter is dedicated to Kelly Goodwin, for gifting this book castle and boosted it so much that we are now so high in the Golden Ranking. Thank you!! ^^

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"Hey, where have you guys been?" Ellena quickly rose from her seat and walked to welcome Edgar and Gewen. 

The two men looked at her with conflicted emotion. They had not seen Ellena this week, before the royal ball.

Edgar was recovering his strength after the long trip from Summeria, while Gewan was still feeling devastated after he found out that Queen Elara testified how Ellena was the one who killed her.

He couldn't believe the sweet and gentle Ellena that he knew, could do something so wicked toward the kind queen. The man needed several days just to pull himself together and accepted the fact.

He didn't want to see Ellena before the royal ball because he was worried he would not be able to hide his disappointment when he saw Ellena eye to eye. So, he decided to just avoid her and said he was unwell when Ellena expressed her desire to see him before his upcoming mission.

Ellena didn't think too much about it. She thought maybe the men were hiding something because they were planning a surprise at Mars' birthday party.

She decided to come to the Chaucer family castle to deliver some gifts and tonic to help Edgar recover faster. She understood when Lady Chaucer told her Edgar couldn't see anyone yet.

"Have you recovered well, Edgar?" Ellena asked Edgar Chaucer when she reached them. "I hope you received the tonic and other gifts I gave to your mother."

"Yes, I did. Thank you," Edgar replied politely. He looked away and pretended to check the crowd. He didn't want to talk with Ellena more because he was worried his countenance would betray him.

"Ah.. that's good to know," Ellena smiled sweetly. Then she turned to Gewen. "What about you? Are you okay now? Your mother said you were unwell for several days. Are you healthy enough to do your mission?"

Gewen nodded flatly. "Yeah, I am."

"You haven't told me about this mission you will undertake. I heard from other people that you will go to Summeria. Isn't that really far from here? What do you want to do there?" Ellena asked again.

"Well... it's a secret mission, Ellena," Gewen replied tactfully. "If I told you, it wouldn't be secret anymore."

"Ahh.. sounds mysterious..." Ellena commented with a smile. "Well... I hope your trip will go smoothly and you can accomplish your mission well."

Gewen forced a smile when he heard Ellena's reassuring words. He was not so sure about it. He actually believed he would go to Summeria only to deliver his head on a silver platter.

Well.. at least he hoped he could get a chance to meet Emmelyn and talked to her first before he died. Otherwise, all his effort would be for naught.

The last few days, he had been thinking about Edgar's words and realized his friend was right. It's good that Gewen didn't have a wife and children, so he wouldn't make them suffer when he died during the mission.

Well... his mother would definitely feel devastated, but he was sure that Mars would take good care of his mother for him.

"I want all of you to sit at my table for the night," Mars said to his friends. "As you know, I have an important announcement to make."

His massive table looked very empty with only him and his father sitting there. So, Mars thought it would be good to have Gewen, Edgar, and Ellena joined him. Besides, when his mother appeared, seeing Ellena's reaction from up close would be priceless.

"Yes, yes... definitely." Ellena smiled sweetly and went to the chair beside Mars and sat there elegantly.

Her eyes lit up and her face was beaming in excitement. Being invited to sit next to the king was such great honor, and she could see so many jealous eyes were gazing in her direction.

She didn't care about what other people think and how many women in the ballroom were feeling envious of her. This honor was well-deserved, she thought.

She had been Mars's friend for almost two decades. She was also his savior. Without her, Mars would still be cursed and couldn't live his life like any normal man.

He wouldn't have his precious little daughter because he wouldn't have been able to touch Emmelyn and have sex with her to get his heir.

Ellena sacrificed so much for so many years by going to Thessalis's place and did whatever the wicked witch asked of her, so Mars could be free from the damn curse.

So, of course, Ellena felt she earned this spot, to sit beside the king. Those jealous noblewomen didn't do shit for him. They had no right to be jealous.

Those women could only stare and pursed their lips when they saw Ellena smile sweetly and sat very close to the king. She intentionally leaned her upper body toward  Mars whenever she wanted to say something to him, making them look extremely intimate.

"Do you think the king will really marry her? Look at their gesture. They look so intimate," one of the gossip girls said to her friends.

"Sigh, maybe you are right. Why would the king ask her to sit at his table if they didn't have any romantic relationship?"

"Gosh.. I can't take this. I am fine with anyone but Lady Ellena Greystorm."

"Me too..."

Ellena realized so many people were gossiping about her. So, she intentionally pretended to accidentally touch Mars's arm or shoulder when she spoke to him. This made the other girls roll their eyes harder.

Meanwhile, Gewen and Edgar took their seats too and started enjoying wine served by the servants. They tried to focus their attention on the audience. The royal ball was officially starting.

Mars kept counting the time to make his announcement and to bring in the queen to the royal ball. He could sense his father was getting anxious. Jared Strongmoor was dying to see his wife. He kept looking at the entrance.

After a beautiful performance by two opera singers, Mars rose from his seat.

It was time.

When he stood up, the guests instantly went quiet and paid attention to him. They knew the young king wanted to say something important.

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Yes!! It's about to go down!!

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