Emmelyn's life in the crown prince's castle was very good. Even though her pregnancy hormones became unbearable after her pregnancy entered the second trimester and she cried a lot, she could bear with it because the prince pampered her to no end.
He doted on her and their future child so much that everyone could see it from a mile away.
The Wintermere flowers on the castle yard were one obvious evidence of his love for his lady.
The crown prince's grey castle usually looked rigid and manly. However, with the white flowers all over the castle ground, it now changed into a more homely estate.
People could clearly see there was a woman inside the castle that changed the dynamics in the property.
Roshan also started hiring female servants to help with the work inside the castle. Since Emmelyn was pregnant and would need a lot of help from maids, Mars decided it was time to bring more women to work for them.
In the past, he only asked Roshan to bring some maids from the royal palace every now and then to help Emmelyn. If she wasn't here, no women were even allowed within the vicinity.
Now, since he was no longer cursed, Mars didn't see the need to keep having women stay far away from him. He thought they would need those women to help Emmelyn around.
It was also good for Emmelyn to have other women around so she could talk to them when Mars was busy outside.
He hoped, slowly Emmelyn could grow roots in Draec and when they finally got married officially and he could make her the queen, she would really have called this kingdom her new home.
***
"Your Majesty, when is the last time you saw Lady Emmelyn? How is her pregnancy going? Is everything okay?" Lady Athibaud asked the queen during their regular weekly tea. "I heard they start renovating the crown prince's castle to prepare for the baby. Ah.. I can't wait to see the little one!"
She looked sincerely excited about the monarch's future grandchild. Only the most elites in the capital knew of this baby's existence and how important it was for the royal family. The Athibaud family was one of them.
If the baby was born alive and healthy, it means the crown prince could finally have his heirs. It would confirm that the curse was truly lifted and he could then have as many heirs as he wanted.
Then, the question about his future queen would arise. Many people from the high nobility would want to give away their daughters to be his wife. Now, there was no more danger in marrying their daughters to him.
Those princesses and ladies could marry the crown prince and give birth to his children and become the queen. Soon, the man would become the most eligible bachelor in the continent.
They could imagine the competition to win his heart would be so fierce. So many ladies and princesses would want to take that position. That included Ellena, Lady Preston's niece, and even Lady Athibaud's own daughters.
In the past, Lady Athibaud didn't want to imagine her daughters pursued the crown prince because of the horrifying curse. However, now the prince was no longer cursed. So, it wouldn't be a problem anymore.
Her daughters were both of good age to get married and they were beautiful. Plus, their older brother, Gewen was close to the prince, and Lady Athibaud herself was the queen's lady-in-waiting.
So, if one of her daughters married Mars, their families could easily accept each other.
Lady Preston knew of this and she had always been hostile to Lady Athibaud after Ellena returned home. They only put up a facade and acted civil to one another in front of the queen.
"I am sure it's none of your business, Lady Athibaud," Lady Preston chided Lady Athibaud. She poured more tea into her cup and offered to do the same to the queen. The queen waved her hand and politely declined.
"Thank you, Lady Preston." The queen smiled. She then turned to Lady Athibaud. "I haven't seen Lady Emmelyn after the royal ball. She is healthy physically. My son takes care of her really well and he keeps updating me about her condition and the baby."
She added, "I actually wanted to visit her to the crown prince's castle or invite her here last week, but Mars said she isn't feeling well mentally with her pregnancy and I understand that. Pregnancy hormones can be a bitch."
Lady Chaucer and Lady Athibaud nodded in understanding. Only Lady Preston who never had a child on her own pursed her lips. She felt mocked even though it was unintentional.
As a childless woman, she was very sensitive to how other people talked about pregnancy and their children. However, since it was the queen who talked about it, Lady Preston could only keep her mouth shut.
"Ah.. that's true. I hope everything goes smoothly and we can have the baby born safely in summer," Lady Athibaud replied.
"I will come and bring some potion and gifts tomorrow for the baby. If you don't have anything to do, feel free to come with me," said the queen.
"Oh, I would love that. I will also bring some gifts for the baby," Lady Athibaud chirped. "My sister just sent me many nice things from Glendale and I think Lady Emmelyn would appreciate some things from her hometown."
"Ah, okay," the queen could only nod.
She was the only one who knew that Emmelyn was not original from Glendale but Wintermere, but she couldn't reveal that information to other people. At least not until Mars married Emmelyn publicly.
"My son told me the crown prince's castle is so beautiful now. Prince Mars brought this special flower that can bloom in winter from a province far away by the sea. Now the whole castle front yard was filled with this lovely flower." Lady Athibaud smiled broadly when she explained what Gewen had told her. "I think the crown prince's castle is getting ready for a wife and children in the future."
She added, "I am so interested in seeing it with my own eyes. And if His Highness didn't mind, I would like to get some of them to plant in my own castle."
"Is that so?" Lady Preston furrowed her brows when she heard Lady Athibaud's words. "A flower that can bloom in winter? I have never heard of it."
"Me neither, but Gewen told me there is such a thing. He plucked one to show me because I didn't believe him." Lady Athibaud looked offended because Lady Preston doubted her words. "You can see for yourself when you go there."
"That is very interesting indeed. I would love to see it with my own eyes," Lady Preston replied. She then turned to the queen and said, "If Your Majesty don't mind, I would love to go with you. My husband and I have some gifts as well."
"I will send someone to notify the crown prince later today so they could prepare. We can go there tomorrow after lunch," the queen replied. "I will be waiting for you in the royal palace at 1 pm."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lady Preston bowed her head slightly.
Her mind went to work immediately. She could tell that the crown prince's relationship with that woman who was carrying his child must not be as simple as he tried to make others believe.
From the moment he brought Emmelyn to meet the queen for tea, Lady Preston could sense how much the prince treated Emmelyn differently. He even objected to checking the status of his curse in front of her.
He also refused to honor his promise to Ellena six years ago by giving a bull crap argument that he already entered a new agreement with Emmelyn, and he wanted to see it until the end.
Bull shit!
If he didn't love that woman, he wouldn't have planted those flowers for her around his castle. She was just a baby machine.
Lady Preston wanted to know more about Emmelyn and find out how she could get rid of that wench. She made a mental note to send someone to check her story about her family in Glendale.
If Lady Preston could find more information about Emmelyn, she could help Ellena to get the upper hand and kick that shameless woman out of the crown prince's life.
Emmelyn was just a mistake. Ellena should have been the one who carried the crown prince's baby and became his rightful queen.
Prince Mars Strongmoor made her a promise six years ago. Their agreement was older and carried more weight than what he had with Emmelyn.
***
Mars read the letter with furrowed brows. His expression piqued Emmelyn's interest. She hugged his waist and asked him softly, "What are you reading?"
"My mother will come to visit tomorrow. She will bring her ladies-in-waiting since they all want to give you presents for the baby," Mars replied.
He had wanted to bring Emmelyn to the royal palace and see his parents. However, in the past months, her mood swings were terrible and Mars was worried Emmelyn would be agitated when she saw the king. That's why he refrained from doing that.
He could understand why his mother now just decided to come and visit them.
"Her ladies-in-waiting? Ah, you mean those three women?" Emmelyn asked.
"Yes. Are you okay? If not, I will decline their visit and ask my mother to come alone or come some other time," Mars said.
Emmelyn thought for a moment. She didn't like Lady Preston, but she was quite fond of Lady Athibaud. She also had never met Lady Chaucer, Edgar's mother.
And it's been so long since she had been in the company of other noble ladies. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to have them here.
She could also talk to them about pregnancy and giving birth since three of the women had the experience.
"Well… I think I will be fine. We haven't had any visitors to this castle," Emmelyn finally decided. "Let's welcome them tomorrow."
"Are you sure?" Mars asked to confirm.
Emmelyn nodded. "I am sure."
"All right, then."
