Gewen's heart dropped to the floor when he heard Mars's question. This was the question that he dreaded to answer. This was the bad news that he obtained in Loche… and now he had to convey to the king.
"Gewen, why are you silent?" Mars narrowed his eyes dangerously and looked at Gewen intently. "Answer me! Did a cat get your tongue?!"
Mars was almost at the brink of lashing out. Gewen swallowed hard and took a deep breath. The man gathered his courage and finally shared the bad news.
"I am so, sorry…" His voice was hoarse and his eyes were filled with deep sympathy. Gewen touched Mars's shoulder and spoke haltingly, "Your Majesty, Emmelyn is dead."
Mars thought he had misheard. Maybe he was too upset and angry that he didn't pay attention to Gewen's words. So, he asked Gewen to repeat. "Come again?"
"Emmelyn is dead." Gewen looked at Mars with sorrow in his eyes. Even though he didn't really like Emmelyn, but he knew how much his friend loved her. Gewen had seen how devastated Mars was when he came home from Wintermere and received news of Emmelyn's death.
At that time Emmelyn's death was fake. She did it to escape from her imprisonment. Mars only mourned for one day, because the day after he found out that Emmelyn actually did not die.
However, it was different this time.
Gewen had confirmed it himself and he realized this time Emmelyn was really dead. The dead body found in the forest near Loche had Emmelyn's ring on her finger.
Gewen knew exactly what the ring looked like because he witnessed the wedding between Mars and Emmelyn in Southberry. He also had seen the king wear his ring around his neck and knew exactly what it looked like.
The woman's face was unrecognizable because she had died for weeks when the body was found. Some small animals had bitten the corpse here and there. The weather had also made the condition worse.
The woman wore men's clothes, and it was the first thing that alerted the officials. They knew the woman that the king was after often wore men's clothes too.
Upon closer inspection, they found that ring, which Gewen confirmed to be Emnelyn's wedding ring.
Gewen was convinced that the body was Emmelyn's after he saw the ring. He realized the reason why the king's bounty didn't bring any results was because Emmelyn was dead.
Even if Mars was willing to give up half of his kingdom to reward the person who could bring Emmelyn back to him, there was no use if the woman was dead. No amount of money and other rewards could bring back the dead.
"I am so, sorry, Mars…" This time, Gewen couldn't stop his tears from falling down his cheeks as he recounted what happened and how he found out about Emmelyn's death.
Mars listened to his friend's story with disbelief. No, this couldn't be, he thought. Maybe Emmelyn did it again, to trick him. Maybe she thought Mars was truly after her and she was mad at him for doing it. So, she did her old trick and faked her death again.
Right?
"I became convinced not only because of the ring… but also because of Edgar's letter," said Gewen with a low voice. "Apparently, we are not the only ones who are looking for Emmelyn. Maybe… maybe the other person wants her dead."
"No…" Mars shook his head aggresively. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes. He looked very frustrated. "It could be any ring. You know it's not too special. Anyone could have the same ring."
That was what Gewen told himself too. The ring must not be Emmelyn's. It just looked similar. However, when he checked, he realized it was really the same ring.
He knew Mars was a romantic at heart and he had asked the ring maker to engrave his and Emmelyn's initials on the inner side of their rings.
This was too much of a coincidence to have a ring that was similar to Emmelyn's ring and had exactly the same initial on it.
"I have checked it…" Gewen replied haltingly. "It's the same ring."
"What do you mean it's the same ring?" Mars snapped at him. "Don't spout nonsense!"
Gewen slowly took out the ring from his pocket and handed it to Mars. While doing so, tears started dripping freely from his eyes. The man didn't feel ashamed by his tears.
He didn't even make a point to wipe it and pretended to look tough. He had been holding back his feeling of distraught after he found out about Emmelyn's death.
Gewen focused his mind on going back home and reached the capital as soon as possible to share this news with the king. Now that he already conveyed the bad news… he felt that his dam of emotion crumbled and his sorrow overflowed.
He felt truly sad for his friend. He watched Mars's expression changed from surprise to denial, and finally realization, as he took the ring and checked it carefully.
Gewen knew from Mars's expression that he was right. The ring did belong to Emmelyn. The corpse that they found in Loche was none other than Emmelyn's dead body.
As to how and why she died, there could be several possibilities. She might fall ill during her journey and ended up dying in the woods, without anyone to help her.
Or, she might be killed by people who wanted to get the bounty. Either way, it was such a tragedy and Gewen could imagine how heartbroken Mars would feel.
Mars gripped the ring tightly as his jaws clenched and his eyes turned bloodshot. It took him a while to get his mind to think properly. When he saw the ring that Gewen gave him, his brain refused to work.
It was as if there was a cloud that blocked his mind from processing the information. No… this couldn't be Emmelyn's ring, he kept telling himself.
Emmelyn was going to find Myreen. She must want to get her curse broken. That woman who died must be some woman who just happened to have a similar ring to hers.
However, just like Gewen, as soon as his eyes caught sight of their initials inside the ring… Mars broke down and cried.
