Chapter 81 - A Deer In The Headlights

"Why is your face like that?" asked Emmelyn, frowning. She touched Mars's nose with her wine cup and narrowed her eyes. "You are quiet today."

Mars touched the cup and lowered it from his nose. "Since when did I talk so much?"

"Ahh .. that's right. You're not a man who talks a lot. You are not Gewen," muttered Emmelyn, realizing her mistake.

Ahh .. actually, she wanted to dig what was in Mars's heart and find out what made him look like he was lost in thoughts after they returned from the tea at the palace. But then she realized that she was using the wrong tactic.

Mars never talked much. The one that talked a lot was Emmelyn herself. Mars was the one who listened to her babble.

"Why did you mention Gewen's name?" asked Mars in a slightly displeased voice.

He still remembered that Gewen used his name to escape from his obligation to get a wife and have children to continue his family lineage.

Now, even Emmelyn mentioned Gewen's name. This made his chest burn with jealousy. Mars knew that Gewen was very handsome, and he was famous among women. The opposite of Mars, who always made any woman who saw him tremble with fear.

Did Emmelyn like Gewen too? Did something happen while they were training archery today? Should he stop letting her join their training?

"I was just drawing a comparison between you and Gewen. Compared to you, Gewen sure talks a lot. That's all," said Emmelyn as she took her cup and sipped the wine while frowning, trying to find a way to find out what was on the prince's mind.

She was dying to know how he actually felt about Lady Preston's advice.

"Then, from your comparison, who is better? Gewen or me?" Mars asked, looking closely at Emmelyn.

Emmelyn snorted. "None of you is better. You both are my enemies."

She blurted out the words automatically. Even if Emmelyn regretted saying them, it was too late. The words had already left her lips.

"Hmm .. is that so?" asked Mars. He shifted his gaze from Emmelyn's face to the cup in his hand. He recalled the incident of Emmelyn's drunk confession. He already knew how the girl saw him.

Emmelyn actually liked him back, but the girl's heart was torn between her love for Mars and her grudge over her family's demise.

Until the end of time, this problem would always be there between them, unless Mars could bring back the dead.

Ugh...

Emmelyn lowered her head. She didn't say another word. Deep in her heart, she felt crushed. From what she had witnessed so far, Mars was not a bad person, as many people thought. The prince was a fair man.

He was also selfless and didn't just randomly kill people just to check whether he was still under the curse or not...

This made Emmelyn find it difficult to hate this man and make him the target of her revenge.

Besides... if she killed Mars, what would happen to their children? They would lose their father.

And if they found out that Emmelyn was responsible for his death ... they would surely hate her.

[Gosh .. what was I thinking?]

Emmelyn was surprised by her own thoughts. She pinched her hand. She didn't know why she was thinking about her children with this guy.

Hey .. she's not pregnant yet, okay? And she wouldn't necessarily give birth to this scummy prince's children. If Emmelyn managed to get her revenge first, she would die before she could bear any children.

Why was her mind wandering and thought about children? Dammit.

Maybe, because she spent too much time with Prince Mars, Emmelyn became like this. Mars was the one who had a habit of talking about their future children as if they would definitely come to this world.

Now, that stupid habit of his had infected Emmelyn.

"Why did you pinch your own arm?" asked Mars in puzzlement. 

The girl hiccupped when she realized Mars caught herself pinching her own arm. Apparently, nothing she did escape his attentive eyes, no matter how small

"I just pinched it because it's itchy. I think I got bitten by a mosquito," said the girl coolly.

"Are there mosquitoes here?" asked Mars in surprise. He looked around the dining room as if trying to locate the evil mosquito who dared to bite his Em.

The man's attitude fascinated Emmelyn. Somehow, she only started to realize that this man really cared about her. Even for the little things, nothing escaped his attention.

This made Emmelyn feel even more upset. She knew that Mars was very caring toward her because this weird man cared about his unborn children that he wished to be born by her.

He didn't want anything bad to happen to Emmelyn, no matter how small, because he didn't want it to affect his future children. After all, Emmelyn was the only woman who could bear children for Mars, to be his heirs.

But ... oh, what if he didn't need Emmelyn anymore? If the curse was gone, Mars would be able to sleep with any woman and have children with them, wouldn't he?

Emmelyn could imagine that so many women would be willing to bear children for Prince Mars Strongmoor. He wouldn't even need to force them or bind them with a stupid contract like what he did with her.

Those women would do so willingly since their children could become the next king. Perhaps, they would even fight each other or queue to volunteer... 

Thinking of this, Emmelyn bit her lip restlessly.

And if these women knew how well this man would look after them and spoil them... of course, they would be scrambling to throw themselves at him and asked him to choose them to be the mother of his children.

This made Emmelyn feel even more frustrated.

Why did she feel angry??? Didn't she have no right to be angry? In fact, she should be happy that this scummy prince was freed from his curse because that meant Emmelyn would also be freed from him.

It would be a win-win for both of them.

Emmelyn could go back to her life before she was trapped in this crown prince's castle. She could go on adventures and start a new life...

"I don't find any mosquitoes here," Mars muttered after investigating every corner of the room with his sharp eyes. "Maybe the mosquito is gone now."

"Hmm ... that's good," said Emmelyn in an indistinct voice. She downed the wine in her cup and then deftly took the wine jug to refill.

This time, Mars didn't stop her. He thought Emmelyn really felt safe drinking around him, to the point of getting drunk.

He would let her be this time since she looked quite upset. Tomorrow, he would talk to the girl so as not to repeat it in his absence.

"Why do you like to drink so much?" asked Mars in astonishment. "I've never met a woman who drank as much as you."

"Ahh .. it's because you haven't met many women," said Emmelyn. She knew that the myth about women couldn't hold their liquor was spread by men to prevent women from finishing their wine. Men were greedy creatures.

Emmelyn wouldn't be fooled. She had met many women who could really drink, like herself. Most of them work in taverns and brothels because they were more honest. Many women from the upper class held back in front of others and pretended they could only drink a little.

"Is it true that many women like to drink like you?" asked Mars, sounded very interested.

Emmelyn was right when he said Mars had not met many women to make a fair comparison.

"That's right," said Emmelyn. "I think it won't be long before you find out for yourself."

"How would I find out for myself?" asked Mars in amazement.

"Well.. after you are free from the curse, you will be able to go out and meet lots of women," Emmelyn said while pursing her lips. "You'll even be able to sleep with them after drinking together."

"How can I be free from the curse?" asked Mars, not understanding. "My family hasn't been able to find the witch who cast the curse on me. It's the only sure way to know whether I'm free from the cursen or not."

"But, what Lady Preston said is true, right? You can check for yourself whether you are free from the curse or not by touching a random woman. If she didn't die the next day, it means the curse is broken. However, if she died ... that means you're still under the curse."

Mars crossed his arms on his chest with an irritated expression at Emmelyn's words.

"I already told you, that method is very risky. There's a 50% chance I'm still under the curse, and if I touch an innocent woman, then she will die ..." the man said firmly. "I don't want any more women to die from this damn curse!"

The prince's voice and expression were very serious, and for a moment, Emmelyn was stunned. The warm feeling that filled her heart earlier as they were enjoying tea with the queen slowly crept in and filled her heart to the brim...

Suddenly, Emmelyn dropped her cup to the floor and wrapped her arms around Mars's neck.

In the next moment.... she kissed his lips tenderly. 

Mars gasped, and his eyes went round like a deer in the headlights. Emmelyn's action was so sudden and unexpected, and for a few seconds, he didn't know what to do.

This had never happened before.

The girl suddenly took the initiative and kissed him passionately.

.

.

>>>>>

From the author:

FINALLY, our prince gets his well-deserved kiss, from Emmelyn! This is her first time to take such initiative. Will she go further than a kiss? hehehehe... we'll see.

By the way, if you REALLY LIKE this story and are mesmerized by shameless and doting male leads like Mars, I think you will like Caspar Schneider from my other book "The Alchemists" who is just as shameless.

Or London Schneider from the same book who is so, so devoted to his woman (and just as clueless about women like Mars).

And, I cannot think of a more doting husband than Prince Therius from "Finding Stardust" to match Mars' adorableness. If you haven't read those books, and you like "The Cursed Prince", I think you will like them too.

"The Alchemists" is completed with 3 different/standalone stories in that one book, and "Finding Stardust" ended in chapter 250. So, there is no need for you to wait for chapters every day. You can just jump ahead and binge them.

PS: As usual, this note is written AFTER I published the chapter, so it doesn't affect the coin price (in case you're wondering).

This is Caspar Schneider, the immortal patriarch of the Schneider family, from "The Alchemists".

This is Prince Therius, who later becomes the king of Akkadia from "Finding Stardust".