Luckily for Gewen, even though he could be annoying at times, he knew when to speak and when to shut up, most of the time. So, he didn't say anything about the baby being ugly.
He tactfully kept his thoughts to himself.
"What do you think?" Mars looked up from his baby to Gewen. His eyes were gleaming with tears. However, this time, it was obviously not tears of sadness, but happiness.
Gewen was astounded. How could someone who was grieving so despondently last night and early this morning, suddenly could smile so happily? What magic was this?
"What do I think?" Gewen repeated Mars' question. He was wondering what his friend wanted to know. "About what?"
"Harlow," said Mars. "Don't you think Harlow is the most beautiful baby in the world?"
Gewen nodded vigorously. "Yes. Absolutely."
Maybe deep grief had turned the prince face-blind, Gewen thought. You know, Mars could no longer tell beauty from ugly.
This made Gewen feel very sorry for his friend. However, the flamboyant man was not so heartless to say it in Mars' face. He chose peace and just pretended to agree with the new father.
"She looks a lot like me," Mars gushed.
Aside from the hair color, Gewen saw absolutely no resemblance between the crown prince and the ugly baby.
"Yes, she does," Gewen lied. He was quite good at lying, fortunately.
Harlow pouted and kept trying to reach out for something, and when she didn't get it, she burst into tears and cried so loudly. Mars immediately went into a panic. He turned to Lily, asking for help.
The woman facepalmed herself and made a sign to get Harlow back. "I am sorry, Your Highness. We will have to feed her. She just woke up and is usually hungry after her nap. I will give her to her wet nurse so she can eat."
"Ah, okay." Mars gave the baby back to Lily. With a longing expression, he looked at Lily bringing his daughter inside the chamber and then disappeared from view.
This felt surreal, Mars thought. For a moment, he could forget about his sadness and pain. Seeing Harlow, his flesh and blood in his arms, he felt as if all his worries mean nothing.
"She will be done very soon," said Athos to soothe him. "Babies, especially newborns, have a really small stomach. They only eat a little."
Mars believed his cousin because Athos already had three children of his own. Louis, his oldest one was walking toward them and then bowed down his head to the crown prince.
"Father, mom said she already asked the cooks to prepare lunch," the young boy reported to his father. "They are almost ready."
"Ah, that's right. It's almost lunchtime. Would you like to have lunch with us?" Athos turned to Mars and asked him.
There was so much to talk about regarding the royal affairs. Athos thought it would be better to have the conversation over lunch, where the atmosphere would be less formal.
Mars nodded. He thought the same thing as Athos. He wanted to know everything that had happened in the capital during his absence. Once he got all the information, he would know what to do.
"Yes," Mars replied flatly.
"Then, let's head to the dining hall."
Athos led the way with his son, while Mars and Gewen followed. One by one, the servants of the castle who saw the prince bowed down as he walked past them.
They all arrived in a big dining hall and took their seats. Soon, the servants came with dish after dish and served them lunch. Athos was right. It didn't take long for Harlow to eat. She came with Lily ten minutes after the men arrived in the dining hall.
Lily carried Harlow in her arms, while two servants brought a small basket and baby blanket. She put Harlow on the basket and wrapped her up with the blanket. The baby was sleepy again after she was fed.
Soon, she already dozed off in her basket. Lily motioned the servant to bring the basket and placed it next to the prince.
"I figure you want to have Harlow close to you, Your Highness," said Lily with a smile.
Mars smiled back. Lily was right. That was what he wanted.
He looked at the small baby's face in awe. Harlow was so adorable. She slept with her fists balled tightly and her mouth opened, showing her pinkish tongue sucking something.
"Is she still hungry?" Mars asked Lily.
He was worried Harlow was not fed enough.
"Ah, no. She ate a lot just now. She is just sleepy. I think she is dreaming that she is eating," Lily explained. "Babies do that. Their minds are very simple. They only think about eating and playing, and those are the thoughts that come to their mind during sleep too."
"Ahh.. very simple, indeed," Mars nodded in understanding.
Gewen raised an eyebrow when he heard that.
So, babies only thought about eating and playing? How boring, he thought.
Mars touched Harlow's hair lovingly and smiled. He actually hoped his baby would take after Emmelyn, so he could see her face again as Harlow grew older. But it looked like his wish was not granted.
Harlow looked a lot like him. He was just so unlucky. Even a wish as simple as seeing his wife's face in his daughter was too much to ask.
He tried to get rid of the thoughts and now focused on other more important things, what happened in the capital during his absence.
How did his mother die and what happened afterward?
Everything that happened was all connected. So, he needed to know the details and take action.
"Can you tell me what happened exactly to my mother and how they ended up accusing Emmelyn of the crime?" Mars asked Athos and Lily.
He trusted these two because he was close to them. They had no conflict of interests in the queen's death and Emmelyn's imprisonment, unlike some other people.
Mars wouldn't even trust his father on providing an unbiased account since he knew how much King Jared disliked Emmelyn.
