Emmelyn nodded and smiled at his words. "Thank you. I will use the money wisely."
"I know you will," Mars replied. "Do you want to get some now?"
Emmelyn nodded. A little gold never harmed anyone, she thought.
She decided to take 10 gold coins and keep them in her coat pocket. She could use it to gift the cooks who had worked hard to always prepare the dishes she liked.
She wanted them to know that she appreciated what they did. She was a foodie and had never felt lacking in food once she gave them the list of her favorite foods.
"Are you sure ten coins is enough?" Mars asked her when he saw her take only a few coins. He thought she would take more.
"I can always get more if I needed them," said Emmelyn with a smile. "Or.. do you want the key back?"
Mars shook his head. "Of course not. You can keep it. Just make sure you store the key properly so nobody will steal it from you."
"I understand," she replied joyfully.
Emmelyn was in a really good mood. She thought money had that effect on anyone. Knowing they had access to gold for whatever their needs would give people the feeling of security.
Now, she knew she could get anything she needed without having to worry about money. She was so damn happy.
Meanwhile, Mars actually felt relieved that Emmelyn asked him for money.
He had been thinking of ways how he could give her gold without offending her. He didn't know how she would respond if he suddenly gave her gold.
That was the least that he could do, actually. Mars realized that Emmelyn became homeless and an orphan because of the Strongmoor family.
Emmelyn was a princess with such an easy and happy life before Wintermere was conquered by Draec.
Of course, Mars should take responsibility and provide for her. He hated to think that she needed something but couldn't afford it and was too proud to ask.
However, he didn't dare to just give her money without her asking. She might be offended.
Fortunately, while the crown prince was racking his brain on the best way to give money to her, Emmelyn asked. So, it became win-win for them.
He really loved how they were so in tune with each other.
"All right. I will go now to meet my friends. If you want to go out shopping or anything, just ask Roshan to go with you. He can show you places where you can buy anything you like."
Mars finally closed his chest and gave the key back to Emmelyn. The girl accepted it and kept it in her pocket.
The crown prince went out to see his friends and Emmelyn decided to visit the kitchen and meet the three cooks who had worked hard all this time, getting all those delicious dishes on her dining table.
"Good evening, your highness," one of the cooks greeted Emmelyn politely. He and his friends looked visibly surprised to see the lady pay them a visit. "Is there anything we can do for you?"
Emmelyn shook her head. She took a chair and sat gracefully. She smiled at them and waved at them to come closer.
"No, I don't need anything. Actually, I come here to say thank you," she chirped.
The three cooks exchanged confused glances.
"Th-thank you?" the fat cook with oily face batted his eyes, looking very confused.
They acted like she was talking to them in a foreign language when they actually spoke the same language all over Terra.
Emmelyn crossed her arms on her chest and nodded. "Yes. I want to thank you for your hard work. Every meal is special. I always get the food I like and it helps me with my appetite. I know you all have been working hard in the kitchen. So, I want to let you know personally that I appreciate it."
All three of them were quiet. They really didn't know how to respond to this. Nobody had ever thanked them for doing a good job.
Usually, it was the butler or soldiers who got the recognition for doing excellent work.
They, the cooks, were never even considered to exist. As if food just magically appeared through the kitchen door.
The fat cook unknowingly shed a tear as he replied in a stutter. "Th-thank you… Your Highness… We are just doing our job."
"Even so, I want you to know that you did a great job, and I hope you will continue to do such excellent work in the future." Emmelyn smiled.
She forked six gold coins from her pocket and gave each of them two gold coins. "This is a token of my gratitude. I hope you can use it to buy nice things for your family."
The three cooks were understandably shocked. Their salary for a year was one gold coin, which they received per month in the form of one silver coin. So, this amount that they received was really a lot for them.
With this, they could buy anything they ever needed and wanted.
Now, all three of them couldn't help but cry. They felt so grateful that this lady apparently paid attention to their hard work and appreciated it.
Internally, they all had the same thoughts, they were happy that the crown prince chose such a great woman to be his wife.
Well.. she would be his wife soon, wouldn't she? They were not blind. They could see how much the prince doted on her.
They actually suspected that the gold must come out from the prince's pocket which he gave to her to use however she pleased.
And she chose to spend it on them.
They loved her to be their lady. She would be such a wonderful queen for this kingdom.
Inwardly, they prayed that this lady and his highness would make their relationship official soon and get married.
This kingdom needed something to celebrate. It had been a long time since they had a wedding or births within the royal family.
