The Cursed Prince

Mars made sure Edgar got the help he needed with his wounds before he went to see Killian. He needed to talk to the man and sort some things before his parents caught wind of the situation in his castle, which would be soon.

"Please get yourself treated, Edgar. I will go see the man and talk to him," Mars said before he left his friend.

"Go ahead. Don't worry about me. Gah.. this is nothing," Edgar said. He winced in pain and leaned his back on the wall. He motioned to a servant to come closer. "Get me wine, will you! It's boring to wait empty-handed."

The servant bowed down and left. He returned in five minutes with wine for him as Edgar requested earlier. Mars only shook his head to see it.

"See? I'm good," said Edgar with a chuckle.

Edgar was truly one of a kind, Mars thought. He smiled in relief and patted Edgar's shoulder gently before he left the man to see Killian.

Edgar Chaucer drank his wine calmly, then get one of his men to clean up his wounds and apply the medicine.

***

Mars arrived at the room in the servant's quarter where they held Killian. He motioned the two soldiers keeping guard outside to open the door for him. They obeyed and let him enter.

When he stepped inside, Mars found Killian sat on the floor with his leg chained to iron railings in the window.

The prisoner looked disheveled and dirty, probably from the fight he was on with Edgar earlier. His shirt and pants were stained with blood, but he didn't look badly injured.

Mars was relieved when he saw him. It meant Emmelyn wouldn't be upset because Killian was not hurt.

But then again... was this man really Killian?

If only Mars had a way to find out. He didn't remember the faces of the other Rosehill princes when they attacked Wintermere two years ago. It was war and they were not really prominent during the battles.

Actually, their father stood out more as he was leading his army together with his best generals. Now that when he remembered those days, Mars felt his chest become heavy.

It was he who actually killed the king.

And Edgar probably killed the princes.

"I am surprised that your man didn't kill me," Killian looked up when he heard footsteps entering the room. His face showed a mocking smile. "Why? Is it because of that woman?"

Mars crouched down and take a good look at Killian's face. The man looked nonchalant, unlike someone who was trapped in the enemy's den.

Secretly, he admired Killian's guts. This man seemed not scared of anything.

Hmm.. Maybe he was really feeling really confident after realizing the fact that Edgar intentionally tried not to hurt him? He must think that they wouldn't do anything to him because of Emmelyn.

"Do you know her?" Mars asked Killian flatly.

Killian only shrugged nonchalantly. "I already told you that she is not my sister. Apparently, you are too dumb to comprehend such a simple answer."

Mars was not provoked by Killian's response. He looked at the man, dead in the eye. "You do know that admitting to being her brother is the only way for you to keep your head, don't you? So, I wonder what makes you intentionally want to court death?"

Killian didn't say anything back. He closed his eyes and pretended there was nobody in the room with him.

"If death is what you want, for whatever reason, I will not give it to you," Mars continued his words calmly. "I can lock you up for years until you are old and grey, with barely minimum support to stay alive and tell my wife that you escape. She would trust me. She always does."

"I'm telling you, losing your freedom forever, and getting used to befriending rats in the dungeon is... really unpleasant." Now, it was Mars' turn to mock Killian. "Even if you want to die, you can't. I will make sure of that."

After he said that, Mars rose and turned around to leave. As he walked and almost reached the door, suddenly Killian's voice stopped him in his track.

"Wife... you said?" His voice sounded interested.

Mars turned around and see Killian had opened his eyes. They stared at each other and seemed to assess what the other person was thinking about.

"That's right. Does that make any difference if she was my wife?" Mars asked back.

Killian clenched his jaw. "No, it doesn't. I just thought I misheard. Weren't you supposed to marry Ellena? She did all those stupid things just to get you your freedom, but apparently, you married another woman. I can understand why she is so upset."

Mars walked to him again. "It seems like you and Ellena are close. Do you happen to harbor any romantic feelings for her?"

Killian smiled when he heard his words. "Why? Do you want to toss her to another man so you can be free of guilt for not keeping your word to marry her?"

Mars wanted to smack Killian's mouth, but he held back.

First, he was worried that this man was really Emmelyn's brother. He had promised not to hurt Killian. Second, he felt like they were going somewhere now with Kiliian started to talk about Ellena.

Maybe he could give the information that he needed, which Ellena refused to give. The location of the witch.

So, Mars thought he better talked to Killian calmly, and tried to get some information out of him.

"No, I care about Ellena. She is like a sister to me. So, I am concerned if any man is interested in her," Mars replied. "Maybe you don't know this, but Ellena and I were good friends before she went to find the witch. We grew up together with Edgar and Gewen, the two men from earlier."

He was happy to see that he slowly got Killian's attention. The man looked at him and listened. Maybe he also wanted to get information from Mars.

The prince continued. "I did ask Ellena to be my nominal wife six years ago. I figure you already know about the curse since you went with Ellena to meet the witch. Back then, I had no choice. I couldn't touch any woman and produce an heir. Ellena was my best friend. I thought she would understand my situation and agree to my request."

"She did agree, but without my knowledge, she suddenly took matters into her own hands and went to look for the witch," Mars added. "The rest, I think you know what happened."

Killian didn't say anything, but from the look in his eyes, Mars knew Killian listened to his every word. He slowly had the suspicion that Ellena might not tell the truth to Killian about the real nature of her relationship with Mars.

Perhaps, Ellena told Kilian that she and Mars were in love and promised each other to get married, and thus explained her determination to find the witch and begged her to lift the curse.

So, he repeated his words to Killian, in a hope that the man would understand the situation better if Ellena did lie to him.

"I have never been in love with any woman until I met Princess Emmelyn Rosehill from Wintermere," Mars told Killian. "She is the only one for me and we are already married."

"I never have any romantic feelings for Ellena and I definitely never asked her to sacrifice so much to get my curse lifted. I am grateful for what she had done, but I don't love her as a woman."

Killian took a deep breath when he heard Mars' explanation that he loved Emmelyn and they were already married.

Now, this small gesture managed to convince Mars that Killian might actually know Emmelyn.

Even if he might not be her brother, surely he knew her from Wintermere, right?

Asguay was close from Wintermere and Killian already said that his family helped the Bellevars settle down in Wintermere. So, he must know the princes and princess of Wintermere too.

If Killian was deceived by Ellena into thinking that she was the real victim, surely he could have the common sense to know that Mars's love for Emmelyn was sincere.

So, that would be the approach that Mars decided to take.

"You are right. The only reason you are still breathing now and not hurt is because of Emmelyn's request. My wife thought you are her missing brother," he said to Killian. "Emmelyn has lost her entire family in the war and I don't want to see her lose another family member."

Seeing how Killian wanted to argue that Emmelyn was not his sister, Mars quickly added, "Even if you are not her brother, if she wants you alive, I will make sure you stay alive. So, you don't have to keep arguing."

He cleared his throat and stated everything he needed Killian to know.

"Now, my family wronged the Bellevars and we have paid the price. There were four deaths in my family, all the children that my mother gave birth to were either stillborn or died in infancy. I also was cursed for 27 years. I believe that should settle the score with Lady Marielle's death," he spoke calmly. "At this moment, I wish to see Duke and Duchess Bellevar and apologize on behalf of my parents."

"If what Ellena said earlier today was true, the Bellevars also wanted to end the grudge between our two families. So, I believe, it is finally time to meet and make amends, don't you think?" Mars asked his prisoner with a very serious tone.

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