Emmelyn looked at the man intently and she found sincerity in his eyes. Ahh... she knew Maxim was a good liar, but he was not lying this time.

"Are you really going to give me Wintermere?" she asked him. "How?"

Maxim shrugged. "I will take it back, with interest. What do you think?"

Emmelyn thought about the offer and her mind went to her homeland. At the moment, Wintermere was ruled by Ethos Greenan, one of Mars' cousins. It had been colonized by Draec for almost two years now.

When Emmelyn passed through the area on her way to Atlantea, she saw the people of Wintermere already got used to living under the new government. Slowly but surely they would definitely forget the Rosehills at some point.

When Mars proposed to her and said she would get Wintermere back plus interest, which was the whole kingdom of Draec, Emmelyn felt so touched. He made her think she could even rule with him as the queen of his kingdom.

But what had come to that promise? Mars and Emmelyn were no longer together because of the tragedy that happened between them. Emmelyn could understand if her husband was devastated by his mother's death and couldn't think straight for a little while. She could forgive him.

However, when he released the bounty for her, Emmelyn realized that she had always been on the receiving end of injustice and suffering. She always had to be the one to understand him and forgive him. She realized she had done so much and received so little.

And even after everything that happened, she still chose to have Queen Elara revived when she had the chance. She was too kind and forgiving.

Maybe it's time to finally be selfish for once and took what she deserved...

"I want my kingdom back and my daughter," Emmelyn said firmly. She looked at Maxim intently. "Can you make that happen?"

"I can make anything happen for you," Maxim replied. "You just need to say the word."

Emmelyn bit her lip. She didn't know how powerful Maxim was. She had not seen the capital of Summeria but she had seen the extent of its power.

Even Belem here was almost as big and advanced as Kingstown in Draec. So, maybe Castilse was so much bigger and more advanced?

She had also heard about the oldest and biggest library in the world that became all scholars' obsession. It was located in Castilse. So, based on this information alone, Emmelyn could guess what Maxim was capable of.

He was not an arrogant man who would boast about his wealth nor his power, unlike some lowly nobleman who tended to think they were better than other people.

When Emmelyn met him for the first time, he acted like he was a poor traveler. So, when Maxim said he could make whatever she wanted happen... Emmelyn believed him.

"Why... would you do all that for me?" Emmelyn asked the man.

She could already guess the reason because Lyla said the king of Summeria was in love with her. Emmelyn didn't ask the question to fish a love confession from Maxim. She just wanted to hear it from himself and not hearsay.

"Emmelyn, If I fell on hard times and you have the means to help me... wouldn't you do the same?" Maxim replied Emmelyn's question with another question.

His words sounded clear and sincere.

"If someone attacked me, robbed me until I don't have anything left, and throw me to the street... and you found me, wouldn't you help me?" he asked her again.

Emmelyn's lips were trembling as she tried to form a response. The man's words deeply touched her heart. She muttered, "I.. I will definitely help you..."

"I know that. I know you will help me because I am your friend." Maxim touched her arm and looked her in the eye.

He said the next words slowly and clearly as if saying a solemn oath, "Emmelyn, you are my best friend. Anyone who offends you, they offend me too. Your war is my war. Your fight is my fight. If you are wronged by other people, I will make sure they understand what it's like to wrong me and receive the consequences."

He added, "I am sorry I couldn't come and help you sooner. I was such a bad friend. Please let me make up for it now that I have the chance."

Emmelyn was not a crybaby and the harsh life had made her become pessimistic in life. She also had turned aloof and didn't want to show her vulnerability in front of other people.

However, she had cried so much after she met Maxim.

When he found her with the animal trap near Lakeshire and Emmelyn told him what happened to her after she left him, Emmelyn was crying her eyes out.

After holding back her suffering alone for so long, she could vent and meet someone who knew her well and be there to help her. So, Emmelyn let her defenses down and she cried to him and told him everything.

Today, she couldn't help but cry again when she heard Maxim's words.

This man might be in love with her and he sent knights after knights after knights to look for her with the promise of great rewards.

However, the reason why he wanted to help Emmelyn and did so much for her was that he considered her a friend first, a woman second.

Maxim was here to defend her, to take what was rightfully hers, to punish those who had wronged her. And even if he wasn't in love with Emmelyn, he would still do it for her because she was his friend.

Emmelyn was moved and her body started to tremble. "Thank you... thank you, Max. You have no idea..."

She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged Maxim. The man was astonished by Emmelyn's reaction. He didn't know she was going to cry again. Did he say something wrong?

"I am here," he said gently. "You can rely on me. You are not alone anymore. Please trust me on this."

Emmelyn tried to regain her composure and finally stopped crying. She forced a smile and pouted as she pushed the man on the chest, pretending to be angry. "You made me cry twice already. How dare you."

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You are all amazing! Thank you for the Golden Tickets in August! This is the second chapter. I will write 3 more.

Let's have a weekly goal for Golden Ranking in September. If we can stay in Top 3 Golden ranking until Sunday, I will publish 3 chapters per day for the whole next week. If we keep our #4 position, I will give 2 bonus chapters on Monday (a total of 4).