Note:

This chapter is dedicated to Maude Fluckiger. Thank you, thank you for sending two castles to "The Cursed Prince" earlier today and boosted the book even more. Your generosity never ceases to amaze me. - Vina (MRB)

.

.

Maxim was feeling hopeful when he heard the knocks on the door and Renwyck's voice greeted him from outside.

"Your Majesty. Did you want to see me?"

"Yes. Please, come in," said Maxim.

Renwyck opened the door and entered the king's study. He was wondering what made the king suddenly call him. They just saw each other the day before when they arrived in Castilse.

He closed the door behind him and stood firmly before the king. "Is there anything you need, Your Majesty?"

Maxim got up from his chair and looked at Renwyck seriously. "Margueritte and Raphael seem to know the Leoraleis of Myreen. What about you? Do you know them too? If so, please tell me about them. How we can defeat them? How we can save Emmelyn from their curse?"

Renwyck went silent. He didn't expect the sudden question. He had heard of the Leoraleis, but only a little. The family was very reclusive and had been like that for over a century.

He suspected the reason why Margueritte and Raphael knew the Leoraleis was because they had encountered the Leoraleis somehow. Both Margueritte and Raphael seemed to keep secrets and mysteries of their own.

"I only know a little about them. However, if people said the Leoraleis is the most powerful wizard family on this continent, I believe them," Renwyck explained.

He added, "I might be able to face King Alexander Leoralei, but there is his mother too, Queen Dowager Myrcella Leoralei. And they have many other powerful witches and wizards protecting their kingdom. Otherwise, how would they be able to hide their kingdom for so long?"

Suddenly, the small glimmer of hope that Maxim harbored in his heart diminished.

Renwyck's words were honest and Maxim could see how small their chance was to confront the Leoraleies and come out victorious. If anything, they must exert all their power and resources to fight Myreen and finally forced the Leoraleis to break their curse.

There would be war and a lot of casualties if he chose that route.

Would it be worth it?

He loved Emmelyn, but he couldn't possibly justify sacrificing so many other people for his own benefit. He could sacrifice himself... but not other people. That's not what a good king would do.

"So... what's your suggestion?" Maxim asked Renwyck. He hid his distraught and maintained a calm expression.

"Well.. we will visit Myreen anyway. We should come to them in peace and ask to talk to the king. I heard King Alexander is quite a sensible man," Renwyck said.

He already knew that the reason they would be visiting Myreen soon was that Maxim wanted to help free Emmelyn from the curse that was said to be cast by a Leoralei.

Renwyck was in love once, and he could understand why Maxim wanted to do it. He, too, would do anything within his power to help Dolores if his wife got into trouble.

"Very well..." Maxim nodded. "I appreciate your honesty."

He tapped his fingers on the desk and thought about Renwyck's suggestion. He knew the wizard was right.

Well, his mother said the Leoraleis were good people. So, maybe, there was a possibility that it was a misunderstanding or... if the late Queen Catalina Leoralei cast the spell before she died, maybe her husband or mother-in-law could help cancel the spell.

He would never know if he never tried. Finally, the king nodded and looked at Renwyck seriously. "Then, I will do as you said."

"Your Majesty is very wise." Renwyck smiled.

"I have one more favor to ask you," Maxim said again. "This is regarding one of your dragons."

"What about them, Your Majesty?"

"I want to borrow one to send Emmelyn's friend to Terra. The journey home by land would take him four to five months and Emmelyn wanted him to reach home faster because he was tasked with bringing Raphael's scarf to revive her mother-in-law."

"Oh..." Renwyck batted his eyes in surprise. He didn't expect the king to ask him this favor. "Terra is quite far, but I think Sand can go if you need him to go."

"Thank you so much. I will ride Aslain with Emmelyn together when we go to Myreen. I hope it's okay. We will do it leisurely," Maxim added.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Very well. Then, Lord Edgar Chaucer will come here tomorrow morning and he will take Sand to go to Draec. A dragon can travel five times faster than a horse, and the passenger won't need to spend two weeks on the ship to cross the sea," Maxim tried to calculate the timing.

He added, "So, I assume he can reach Draec in one month maximum with proper rest and whatnot. Sand will be back here in two months. By then, hopefully, we have sorted Emmelyn's problem with the Leoraleis."

"Sounds good." Renwyck nodded. "I will talk to Sand tonight and bring him here tomorrow morning. I am sure he doesn't mind."

Maxim knew Renwyck treated his dragons like they were his own children and talked to them like he did to humans. Maxim suspected it was the reason why the dragons were so loyal to him even after his wife's death.

"Thank you, Renwyck. That is all for now. I am grateful for your help."

"When do we leave for Myreen, Your Majesty?"

"Let's rest for one week before we depart. Emmelyn had gone through such a long and arduous journey. I think she deserves a nice long rest," Maxim replied.

Renwyck smiled when he heard the king's answer. He could see how much the king loved that young woman. He showed so much care and support for Emmelyn. Everything that he did and decided all was for her sake.

The wizard only hoped his king would find his happiness in love.

"That's a good idea, Your Majesty. In that case, I will do as you said."

After they were done discussing, Renwyck took his leave.

.

.

----------------

From the author:

I have made videos for Emmelyn, Ellena, and planned to make one for Mars. However, yesterday I was so moved by Maxim's story that I decided to make his video first (Mars' next).

It was heartwrenching for me to make his reel because I know how heartbroken he must be when he had to accept the reality that he and Em are not meant to be together.

Looking back, I now think maybe, maybe the reason why Maxim only showed up in this book after 400 chapters was because he would take center stage and we will ship him and Emmelyn instead of Mars. I really like him and how much his character develops from this book to the other book.

You can watch the video on my Tiktok or Instagram account. I made those accounts mostly to share visuals about my books. Well.. sometimes I share a bit about myself too and funny things I encountered online.

Appreciation post:

I would like to thank you for your generous gifts from yesterday and today, so many colas, pizzas, massage chairs, and cars:

Mamabird, Beth Sabo, Jsreads Dirtybook, Nessy, Lovvelay, Natalie Grimes, Sunset Lubin, Lois McGee, Cspits29, Kay Rosano, KarenJ, Sakina Tyson, Lalove, and of course the lovely Kelly Goodwin.

You are all so generous. I can't thank you all enough.

As writers in digital writing platforms, we could only rely on the generosity of our readers because, unlike on YouTube or streaming platforms, we couldn't get any income from ads. So, thank you so much for your kindness.