Maxim could guess what was on Soren's mind and he didn't blame the young physician for giving him an accusing gaze. No, actually, he didn't really care. Soren could think all he wanted, Maxim would not pay him any heed.

"So, what happened to Emmelyn?" Maxim asked Soren. "Can you do anything to help her?"

Soren's knitted his brows. He tried to maintain a civil attitude when he spoke. "Princess Elise is really kind and sweet. Please don't marry her if you don't love her."

"I think it's none of your business," Maxim raised an eyebrow. "We are betrothed by our mothers before we were born. This is what her late mother wanted before she passed away."

"Princess Elise is the jewel of this kingdom. If you hurt her, you will hurt everyone in Myreen and we don't take too kindly on being offended." Soren was stubborn. "Killing a butterfly is an unforgivable sin."1]

Butterfly was a small, beautiful, and harmless creature. All they did was flying from flower to flower and help plants with reproduction. Their beauty brought so much joy to the people who saw them.

To kill a butterfly was to destroy innocence. Only people with evil minds would do such a thing.

Even though the saying was from Myreen, Maxim understood what Soren meant. He said Maxim was an evil man if he hurt their innocent princess, and the people of Myreen would never forgive him.

Tch... Even the king, Alexander Leoralei, didn't say anything like this to Maxim, yet Soren dared to be disrespectful toward him? Maxim didn't take this too kindly.

"Soren, you are just a physician. Can you do your damn job and not pry into other people's business?" Maxim said coldly as he closed his eyes and winced in pain.

He added, "You don't know who I am, so I will forgive you this once. I am the king of Summeria, the biggest kingdom on this continent. I am also Elise's fiance. You should really watch your attitude when you talk to me."

I don't need this shit, he thought.

Maxim just needed to know Emmelyn's condition. Yet, all Soren talked about was their stupid princess. Maxim didn't want to hear about Elise at this time. He was worried about Emmelyn.

However, Maxim was careful not to be hostile toward the royal physician who was taking care of Emmelyn.

He kept his cool when he talked, because, who knew what Soren could do to her? Maxim didn't want to take any risk.

"Oh..." Soren looked conflicted. He was very surprised to know that the man before him was actually a king? Nobody told him who Loriel really was. He realized he had acted presumptuously to a king.

Gosh... he really liked their princess and didn't wish to see her hurt. Everyone in their kingdom loved her and adored her. If this man before him couldn't see Elise's value, he didn't deserve her. Being a king didn't give him a free pass to hurt a woman.

"Soren, you haven't answered my question. What happened to Emmelyn and can you do anything to help her?" Maxim repeated his question impatiently. "How is my friend?"

Finally, Soren responded. "She doesn't want to wake up. I have never seen anything like it before, Your Majesty. I am sorry. There is nothing we can do."

Maxim rubbed his temple in frustration. The pain in his head returned with a vengeance and he growled. 

"Oh, Emmelyn..." He muttered in frustration.

Maxim was feeling really guilty and upset over what happened. He wished he had made a different decision before it became too late like this.

If only he had said what he needed to say to her... she might have chosen life. If she didn't wake up for the next few days... she would die, wouldn't she?

"Then... what should I do now?" Maxim asked Soren. "We came here because she needed help to free herself from a curse that has destroyed her life. She just wanted to be with her daughter again..."

Soren's heart seemed touched when Maxim mentioned that Emmelyn had a daughter. He lowered his head and sighed. Lady Emmelyn had a daughter? So, maybe he was wrong about King Loriel's and Lady Emmelyn's relationship?

Soren suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He was too impulsive when it came to protecting their princess. Maybe he shouldn't judge Loriel too soon.

"So, have you tried anything to wake her up?" Maxim asked again. "Anything at all?"

"We did. Nothing worked." Soren shook his head. "We can only wait. However, the queen mother said that it seemed a magic crystal shard entered Lady Emmelyn's system when it broke last night."

"Magic crystal?" Maxim furrowed his brows. "What is it? Did it hurt her?"

Soren shook his head again. "No, it doesn't hurt her. It's actually the opposite. The magic in that crystal shard will keep your friend alive, even though she doesn't want to wake up. Without it, maybe she would have died this morning."

"How could the magic crystal entered her system?" Maxim asked curiously. "What is that thing?"

"Our queen had a magical artifact, a crystal ball, which she could use to 'see'. She let your friend use it last night but she ended up breaking it... And the queen now thought one of the shards must have entered Lady Emmelyn's body because she found a cut wound on her chest."

"I saw her after she met Queen Myrcella, but she was fine. I took her to her chamber and made sure she was okay," Maxim said. "Don't lie to me."

"I am not lying. Maybe she was already hurt and the crystal already entered her body when she saw you, but she didn't realize it. I can cut her open to check, but the queen told me not to. She thought the crystal actually keeps her alive."

Maxim looked at Soren intently, trying to see any trace of lies, but he couldn't find any. Maybe Soren was telling the truth?

.

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1] This is tweaked from "It's a sin to kill a Mockingbird because they are innocent. They don't do anything but provide pleasure and enjoyment for others, so they don't deserve to die."

PS: I am writing the next chapter and will be able to publish it in half-hour.. I will make up for the lack of chapters the past two days by giving a small mass release today. ^^

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