Note:
This chapter is dedicated to Maude Fluckiger. Thank you, thank you for gifting another magic castle today. I am humbled by your generosity. xx
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Edgar let out a long sigh. Things started to become clear to him. He had known Ellena for a long time and if he wanted to be honest with himself, he could actually see Ellena did this to Emmelyn.
Ellena was obsessed with Mars and might try to do anything to sabotage any relationships he might have with another woman.
"Oh, Your Grace... I am so sorry that happened to you," Edgar looked at Emmelyn with pity. He could understand why she cried so much today when she saw him.
She must have experienced hell for the past few months. Edgar could only imagine.
"So, do you believe me that I was framed by Ellena?" Emmelyn asked the man. "You know her long enough. Can you see her doing that heinous crime?"
Edgar took a deep breath and nodded weakly. "Actually... I do, Your Grace. I am so, sorry..."
Emmelyn bit her lip. She was so moved by Edgar's words. It felt good to finally have someone take her side. It was true that Lily believed her, but she had always been on Emmelyn's side from the beginning.
Also, it didn't matter if Lily believed Emmelyn was innocent because she had no real power to free Emmelyn and clear her name.
However, Edgar was Mars' best friend, and he also knew Ellena from a long time ago since they grew up together. So, his opinion mattered so much in this situation.
It hurt Emmelyn deeply when she thought how her own husband didn't believe that she was innocent. Mars obeyed his father, the previous king, to find Emmelyn and punish her for killing Queen Elara.
What kind of husband was that? Even Edgar could see the truth and believed Emmelyn's innocence, but Mars couldn't?
Emmelyn was deeply disappointed by her husband.
"Oh, Edgar.. You have no idea, how much your trust in me means to me," Emmelyn wanted to cry again. "Even my own husband didn't trust me. He believed Ellena's lies that I killed his mother."
"What? No way!" Edgar was so shocked that he stood up suddenly. He looked at Emmelyn as if she just grew a second head. "What are you talking about, Your Grace? Mars loves you and he must know that you would never hurt his family."
"Lies. He said he loved me, but action speaks louder than words," Emmelyn scoffed. "I was there in the capital and I saw the new king's edict. He wanted my head. He set up a bounty for people to look for me. If I didn't disguise myself well and escape the capital as soon as possible, I might already be dead now."
"No... there must be a misunderstanding..." Edgar shook his head in disbelief. "Your Grace... I know Mars well. He couldn't possibly do that to you. Maybe there is a misunderstanding...."
Emmelyn smiled bitterly. She thought she knew her husband too, but the fact remained, he was hunting her like an animal and didn't believe that she was innocent. Even if he did, he was too weak that he listened to his father's order to punish Emmelyn.
In all cases, Emmelyn didn't want to be with a man who was weak and had disappointed her over and over again.
"Lord Edgar," Emmelyn raised her hand to motion Edgar that she didn't want to prolong the argument because she thought it was pointless. "In this box, I have a letter that I wrote for Queen Elara. Please give it to her when she wakes up."
Edgar wished Emmelyn would return with him and she could give the letter to her mother-in-law by herself. However, he understood the pain she was feeling and didn't want to add to her suffering by insisting on his opinions.
Finally, he could only speak weakly, "Understood, Your Grace."
"In this box, you will also find the scarf given to me by Raphael. He told me just to put the scarf on the queen's head. I am not sure if that can work, to be honest, but there is no harm in trying. He did look like he is quite powerful too..." Emmelyn opened the wooden box on her lap and showed the contents to Edgar. "This is it."
She then closed the box and handed it over to the man. "I am trusting you with this box. Please give it to my mother-in-law."
Edgar felt his chest tightened when he received the wooden box. He really wanted to persuade Emmelyn to come home with him, but he had seen how she was so stubborn and didn't want to return to Draec. Besides, he was also not sure of what happened back home.
If he forced Emmelyn to go back and her life was in danger, Edgar would feel guilty for bringing her back into the lion's den.
He could see that Emmelyn was treated really well in this kingdom and her safety was guaranteed. So, Summeria seemed like the best place for her to be at the moment.
Maybe, he should just go back on his own and found out what happened, before he could make a conclusion. He did still think that there was a big misunderstanding between Mars and Emmelyn.
"Your Grace..." Edgar didn't know what to say.
"Will you help me again this time, Lord Edgar?" Emmelyn looked at the man pleadingly. "I don't have anyone else that I can trust with this task."
"Of course, you can trust me with this," Edgar replied. "But... will you ever return? What will happen to your daughter?"
"Yes, I will come back for Harlow," Emmelyn nodded firmly. "I will finish my mission in Myreen and then I will get my daughter back."
"So, you will come back to Mars and Harlow?" Edgar asked again to confirm.
Emmelyn scoffed and shook her head in contempt. "No. I will only get my daughter. I have been hurt enough. I am not stupid to return to a husband who, not only didn't trust me, but he also wanted me dead."
"But, when the queen wakes up, she could clear your name..." Edgar was still trying.
"And what good would it do? If my husband couldn't believe me the first time, why would I give him a second chance?" Emmelyn laughed bitterly. "I am better of without him."
At that statement, Edgar really couldn't say anything.