"No.. I want to stay here with you," Lily insisted. "My husband can handle the kids for just one night."
Emmelyn felt so touched by the friendship and support that Lily Greenan was showing her. She felt grateful that, even though her life was wretched with an evil curse, she was still blessed by the heavens with a friendship as beautiful as what she received from Lily.
If she could free herself from the Leoralei's curse, she would pay back Lily's kindness. If not, she hoped there would be another life where she could be a good friend again to Lily. She would make up for everything.
Emmelyn finally realized it was futile to send this woman away. Her excuse wouldn't work on Lily. It was clear that Lily just wanted to stay by her side and help as much as she could.
Fine. Maybe Emmelyn should just be honest to Lily and told her she needed to talk to Mrs. Adler in private. She believed Lily would understand as much.
"Lily..." she smiled sweetly despite her pain. "You should at least rest on the couch. Mrs. Adler will wake you up when Harlow is about to be born. Please... do this for me. I need you to be healthy for Harlow."
"Ah..." Lily nodded absent-mindedly. She knew Emmelyn was right. Also, based on her own experience after giving birth to three babies, Emmelyn might only deliver her baby many hours from now.
Lily agreed that she must rest. She had a big responsibility after Harlow was born. She needed to make sure Emmelyn get proper rest after working hard to deliver her baby.
Therefore, Lily would take responsibility for Harlow while Emmelyn was resting and recover her strength.
Yeah.. that's the reason. Lily refused to think of the worst possible scenario that Emmelyn would die during childbirth.
It was simply unacceptable!
"Please, Lily..." Emmelyn whispered to Lily and encouraged her to rest. She would need private time to speak to Mrs. Adler. And at the same time, Lily could rest too.
Emmelyn didn't have the heart to see her in that condition. Lily had done so much for her.
"Okay, I will rest. You don't have to worry about me," said Lily. "Just focus on yourself. You should rest too."
Mrs. Adler came between them and said, "Your Grace, you should rest. I will help Princess Emmelyn. She will be fine."
Lily nodded haltingly. She finally relented. She washed her face with the water in the basin and dried it with a towel. Then she went to the couch and lay down. She knew she must force herself to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a really long day.
"Mr. Vitas, I am also worried about your health," said Emmelyn. "Please rest. If you don't want to stay far away from me, I am sure these maids could prepare a chamber for you to rest next to this chamber."
Mr. Vitas initially wanted to refuse, but Emmelyn insisted. "Tomorrow will be a long day. After Harlow is born, he will need all your medical care. Remember, my baby is a premature baby. We will have to work hard to make sure he will be healthy."
The old physician realized Emmelyn was right. He finally nodded and got up from his chair. He motioned to one of the maids to stay behind if Emmelyn needed anything.
And to Mrs. Adler, he said, "Thank you for coming here. I hope you can help Her Highness during the delivery. If you need me, I will be next door."
Mrs. Adler just nodded. She didn't know the old physician that well that exchange a lot of words with him.
If anything, she actually felt inferior because she was just a village witch, while the old man had been a royal physician for decades.
After Mr. Vitas left with one of the maids, Emmelyn told the only maid left to rest in the far corner. That way she could talk to Mrs. Adler. There was so much she needed to ask and discuss.
When her contraction came again, Emmelyn had to bit her lip and endured it until it was over. Then she could continue talking.
"Grandma, what happened to the thug I brought to your home?" Emmelyn asked Mrs. Adler. She had been wondering about what happened to the man.
When she left him two weeks ago the man was on the brink of death. She was not sure the man survived. Well, she hoped he would, so Emmelyn would at least have a witness.
Unfortunately, there was no way to find out since she couldn't contact Mrs. Adler.
Now that the witch was here, Emmelyn thought she might as well find out what happened.
"Oh, he left two days after you went back to the castle," Mrs. Adler pursed her lips. She looked annoyed by the fact that the thug snuck out while she was looking for medicinal herbs, thinking the man was too sick to leave.
"How was his condition? Do you think he would be okay or...?" Emmelyn didn't continue her question. She was sure Mrs. Adler knew what she wanted to ask.
"He lost a lot of blood, but I think he will be okay. I had treated his injuries properly," said Mrs. Adler. An expression of guilt was shown on her face. "I am very sorry, Princess. I lost him. He could have been your witness."
Emmelyn gritted her teeth. She was so angry, but she didn't show it on her face. The woman kept a calm expression. She shouldn't make Mrs. Adler feel guilty. It was not her fault that the thug ran away.
Mrs. Adler was just an old witch. Aside from her herbomancy and seer skills, she didn't have any powers.
"It's okay. Even if you can hold him in your home, I am sure the Prestons will find him too and kill him to cover their tracks," Emmelyn said. "Besides, at this moment, I don't need a witness. I need your help to fake my death."
Mrs. Adler's eyes widened. She looked at Emmelyn intently, trying to see if the princess was serious or...
Well, she looked dead serious.
Did this mean, Emmelyn would use her sleeping potion?
The witch was confused. "What will happen to your baby if you faked your death?"
Emmelyn lowered her face and hid her sadness. "My baby will be fine."