After Emmelyn and Myrcella left, there was silence in the dining room. King Alexander looked deep in thought. He still couldn't believe what his late wife did before she died. It was horrific and cruel.
When he heard the story from his mother earlier today, he could only keep silent. This was something that his wife normally wouldn't do because Catalina was a really sweet person. But maybe being a mother changed her? He didn't know.
"Your Majesty," Maxim decided to break the ice and convey what he had in mind. "I have thought about this and I would like to ask your permission to marry Elise."
"What makes you change your mind?" the older king turned to Maxim and asked him.
His expression was flat and hard to guess. Maxim was wondering if King Alexander knew he had rejected the engagement years ago and even decided to leave home as a sign of protest.
Did his mother keep in touch with the Leoraleis and tell them everything? If so, maybe King Alexander would not like what Maxim did.
"Have you ever loved someone so deeply, that you want to do anything... anything to make that person happy?" Finally, Maxim decided to be honest.
He thought it would be disrespectful to lie to King Alexander as it means he thought the older king was stupid.
Since they were both men and understood what it was like to love a woman, he thought King Alexander would understand why he made such a decision.
The older king nodded. "I have."
"Then, you must know I only want to see Emmelyn happy," Maxim added. "I am a selfish man, but after I met her, I no longer care about what I want - only what she wants. Her pain becomes my pain, and her happiness becomes my happiness. So... since her biggest worry is the curse, I want to alleviate her worry so she could live peacefully."
King Alexander's mind went back to his lovely daughter who left home last month to find a magical artifact to help treat his internal injury.
His foolish daughter loved this man before him now who just openly and boldly admitted he was in love with another woman. If Elise heard what Maxim just said, she must be heartbroken.
"What makes you think I will allow you to marry my daughter when you are actually in love with someone else?" King Alexander asked Maxim this question as a matter of factly.
There was no hint of resentment or judgment in his voice, something that Maxim truly appreciated. Right at that moment, he realized his father-in-law-to-be was a wise man. Because of that, Maxim felt more comfortable sharing what he had in mind.
"Because your wife wanted me to marry Elise so badly that she had ruined someone else's life in order to make it happen," Maxim replied honestly. He, too, spoke in a matter-of-factly tone. "The least you could do is let me stop this madness by marrying your daughter. Emmelyn has suffered enough."
King Alexander let out a longs sigh. Maxim was straight to the point and he was right. King Alexander thought this whole thing was started by his late wife and it had taken a lot of lives and made an innocent woman suffer greatly.
However, if Elise married this man, wouldn't she suffer too? Unless Maxim grew feelings for Elise, then it would be a one-sided relationship and a loveless marriage.
King Alexander loved his daughter too much to let her go through such a life.
"My mother kept telling me that the Leoraleis are the kindest people she had ever met," Maxim continued his words. "Honestly, it's so hard to believe that now. However, I am willing to trust my mother's judgment and think that you will do the right thing."
His words were blunt and now laced with slight accusation. Maxim wanted to corner King Alexander to accept his proposal by making him feel guilty of his wife's action.
"You have a way with words," King Alexander commented. "You almost convinced me."
"I am stating facts. Not only you will be able to redeem your wife's mistake, but you will also gain a nice son-in-law," Maxim added. "I am no less powerful than you. My power expanded almost throughout the whole Atlantea and I can protect your daughter well. Anything she could ever hope for, I can provide them for her."
King Alexander looked at Maxim deeply. Everything this young man said was true, he thought.
Someday, his time would come and he would leave this earth forever. Before he died, he would want to see Elise found her happiness and have someone to care for her and protect her.
King Alexander was currently injured and didn't know if he could live for a long time. Who would care and protect Elise after he was gone?
Maxim stared back at the king. His gaze was filled with determination.
Both men were in a staring contest for some time, each trying to read each other's minds and thought about the matter on hand.
Finally...
"You are not allowed to take any mistresses."
After being silent for a long time, King Alexander spoke.
"For as long as you are married to my daughter, you will be faithful to her," he added.
This was not a difficult thing to say yes to, so Maxim nodded firmly.
He had only loved Emmelyn. So, after he married Elise, Maxim would be loyal to her because the only woman he wanted was gone.
King Alexander was satisfied when he saw Maxim's agreement. He cleared his throat and then added, "And one last thing... you will never tell Elise the real reason you married her."
Maxim furrowed his brows at the last request.
The real reason he would marry Elise was to free Emmelyn from the damn curse. Of course, he was not so heartless as to tell Elise the truth.
King Alexander explained what he meant, "Elise loves her mother so much. If she found out what Catalina did.. she would be heartbroken and blame herself. We have to keep the story about the protection spell from Elise. She must not know."
Maxim nodded. That made sense.
.
.
***************
From Missrealitybites:
I don't know why, but writing this chapter was so hard. I took maybe 5 hours just to write this part. I will write more for today and we can read how Emmelyn could see Harlow from the magic ball.
PS: I found a meme that really reminds me of Gewen and Edgar. See it in the comment XD.
PPS: I also found a video that reminds me of Mars and Snow, his horse. The resemblance is uncanny.. hahahah. Sorry, I cannot upload videos here, I'll just post the screenshots.. You can go to my Instagram account to watch it @missrealitybites.