"I want to go out a little bit for a walk," Emmelyn turned to the side and notified the prince.

"Why do you want to go out for a walk?" Mars furrowed his brows. "It's really cold outside."

"I feel bloated and need to walk a bit to help with my digestion," replied the girl. She gave him a side-eye. "It's your fault. You put too much food on my plate."

"Didn't you say you were starving earlier?" Mars gave her side-eye too. "Why blame me now? I didn't force you to eat all of them."

Emmelyn pretended not to hear him. She got up from her chair and walked out of the small dining room. Before she reached the door, suddenly a coat was draped on her back. She looked back and saw the prince was wearing his own coat and got ready to go out with her.

"What are you doing?" She asked him curiously.

"I need to go out for a walk too," Mars responded. "Like you said.. it's good for digestion."

"Copycat," Emmelyn muttered under her breath.

She pulled her coat from her back and started wearing it. Once she was wrapped tightly by the warm layers, she walked out of the door. Mars followed her from behind.

Emmelyn regretted eating like there was no tomorrow earlier. Now, she felt bloated. She didn't know why she could finish that much food when she wasn't even feeling hungry. Now.. she was paying the price for her gluttony. Gosh... her tummy hurt.

She actually wanted to go from the man as far away as possible because she might... fart.

However, this hopeless guy just kept following her. How could she get her release conveniently without this man knowing?

Just now, she made an excuse to go out for a walk to help with her digestion. She hoped she could release the gas in her stomach quickly and discreetly and then went back inside.

She should have taken into consideration that this man would probably join her... Now, she had to think of a way to get rid of him so she could be free.

Alas! After raking her brain for a few minutes, she just couldn't think of anything.

"Why are you pursing your lips?" asked Mars who noticed the girl's upset expression. "Is there something wrong?"

Emmelyn shook her head. "No, I'm just feeling full and not in the mood to talk. Just enjoy the walk."

Mars couldn't help but think there must be something, but he couldn't guess what was the problem. So, he kept quiet and just walked beside her.

After five minutes, Emmelyn couldn't take it anymore. Fortunately, right at that critical moment, suddenly she got a brilliant idea to distract the prince and made him go away from her.

She grabbed his arm and pretended to squint her eyes to get a better look at the distance.

"I saw two shadows of people running," she whispered to Mars. "That way!"

She pointed in a random direction that was filled with many trees. So, she couldn't be blamed if the prince and his soldiers couldn't find the intruders because their tracks might be covered by trees.

Mars immediately turned to see what she was referring to. His face wore an alert expression.

"What did you see? Two people?" he asked her.

"I thought I saw two people sneaking behind those trees over there, and when I happened to catch sight of them, they immediately ran away." Emmelyn kept squinting her eyes. "Ah, forget it. I don't see them anymore. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me."

"Go in." Mars wouldn't take the risk. He pushed Emmelyn gently and urged her to walk back to the castle. "Don't stay here. Get back inside now. I will go after whoever they are!"

Emmelyn hid her smile when she saw the man dashed toward her imaginary intruders. As soon as Mars was out of sight, she could safely get her release.

Aaahhhh....

What a relief!

Now, she felt so much better.

Emmelyn walked back inside, humming, and immediately went to her chamber on the third floor. Once she arrived there, she laid her body on the bed and closed her eyes.

It was not yet time to sleep. So, the servants had not prepared the bathwater for them like usual. Emmelyn thought Mars would be busy for a while, checking his castle security and making sure the 'intruders' were caught.

***

"Did you find them or any leads?" Emmelyn asked Mars when they were taking a bath an hour later.

The man shook his head. Emmelyn pressed her lips, and feigned innocence, "Oh, maybe my eyes really did play tricks on me. I am sure if there were really intruders, you and your men could catch them."

"We did catch them," replied Mars.

The man's response made Emmelyn confused.

"Eh...? What do you mean?" She didn't understand what he was saying.

There were no intruders. Emmelyn made them up just to distract this man and left her for a bit. So, why did he say he and his men catch them?

"We caught the intruders, but they killed themselves before we can question them," Mars said.

Emmelyn batted her lashes when she heard his explanation. So, there really were intruders?

She accidentally alerted Mars to check his castle's security and, in the process, they found two suspicious strangers hiding in the stable. The two men killed themselves with poison before they could be brought for questioning.

"It's nothing new. As you might already realize, my family has a lot of enemies. I think you know this better than anyone," Mars smiled faintly.

His words subtly referencing the reason why he and Emmelyn could meet in the first place: Emmelyn wanted to kill him.

"Oh, I see..." Emmelyn suddenly felt bad. She was one of those people months ago. Only the last few weeks she started to get to know this man better and realized that she no longer hated him.

"So.. did you get attempted assassination often?" She probed.

"Yes." Mars nodded. "I can take care of myself. So, I am not worried about me. However..."

He didn't continue his words.

Mars was never worried about himself, but now he was worried about this woman before him and their future children.

.

.

>>>>>

From the author:

Yeayy.. Webnovel is throwing a Valentine's Event. Please share or recommend this book for Valentine and I will throw 5 chapter mass release on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2021, to celebrate love with you!