Finding Stardust

Only then did Emma turn and stare at the doorway with narrowed eyes. She wanted to see for herself how the evil king who had ordered her father's execution looked like. Subconsciously, her hands balled into fists tightly to her sides as her beautiful eyes caught the figure of three people coming into the dining room.

King Cassius still looked impressive even though he was over 75 years old. His face didn't have too many wrinkles and his body was well-built. The only thing that made him look old was his slow steps. But the truth was, he wasn't slow because he was old, but he was sick.

Next to him was a graceful old woman with silvery hair fashioned into a beautiful bun and decorated with an intricate headdress filled with precious jewels. Her face still retained the beauty of her youth. Her pair of eyes looked so much like Therius' eyes, except the color was green.

This woman must be Queen Ygrit, Emma thought.

Alongside the queen was a stunning young girl with long bluish hair. Her hair was styled very attractively with various accessories and precious jewels that made her look enchanting. Her style was similar to the queen's.

Emma couldn't guess who the young woman was since she was walking with the king and queen and looked like she had a close relationship with them.

This girl had a beautiful, egg-shaped face, with big droopy emerald eyes and thick curly lashes that immediately attracted males to protect her as the damsel in distress. Her eyes were her most attractive quality followed by her cute nose and tiny red lips that never stopped smiling.

While walking, the girl chatted about something with Queen Ygrit and they seemed to be smiling at each other. Somehow Emma could guess that the queen liked the younger woman.

"Good evening, Grandftaher and Grandmother. Thank you for inviting me to dinner here," Yared said excitedly. He walked over to them and stretched out his hand to embrace the queen. When he saw the girl beside his grandmother, his smile grew wider. "Princess Yldwyn ... nice to meet you."

Emma looked at the girl called Princess Yldwyn and frowned. Wasn't this the name of the princess from Terren that Therius once considered marrying?

Subconsciously, she glanced at Therius to see how the man reacted when he saw Yldwyn's presence. 

Ah, Therius smiled. 

"Good evening Grandfather, Grandmother. Good evening Princess Yldwyn," said Therius kindly.

Emma could see that Yldwyn's face was immediately beaming when Therius addressed her. This girl's face and expression reminded Emma of Bianca, her old schoolmate.

Emma smiled faintly when she realized Yldwyn had a crush on Therius. How interesting!

So, if Emma wasn't in the picture, Therius would probably have married Yldwyn.

She got up and walked to Therius's side to face the three who had just arrived. Therius quickly understood that he had to formally introduce Emma to them.

He cleared his throat and put his arm around Emma's waist. This time Emma didn't dodge him.

"Grandfather and Grandmother ... this is Princess Emma Stardust," said Therius in a happy voice.

King Cassius looked at Emma attentively, while Queen Ygrit acted as if there was dirt in the room. Emma frowned in surprise at the realization that the queen did not like her presence.

Ugh. At times like this, she really wished she could use telemancy to read the old woman's mind.

Shouldn't I be the one to hate you, not you who hate me? Crazy! Emma muttered inwardly to herself.

"You ... look a lot like your mother," said King Cassius to Emma. His voice was filled with nostalgia. For some reason, Emma felt that King Cassius liked her mother. The king signaled for them all to sit back at the dining table and started dinner.

"You don't want to show respect to us?" Queen Ygrit asked Emma. Her eyes glint dangerously. She refused to sit down before Emma bowed respectfully to her and her husband.

"Grandmother ... Emma is not used to the customary in the palace. Please forgive her," Therius said quickly. "I will keep teaching her. Soon, she will be able to behave properly as a princess."

Emma did not smile at all nor show an expression of respect for the Akkadian rulers. Instead, she rolled her eyes when she heard Therius say that he would teach Emma court manners so that she could act like a princess.

"Hmm .. you already have a lot of work. You do not have time to educate a woman about manners," commented Queen Ygrit. She glanced at Yldwyn, who was standing gracefully next to her. The old woman took the princess' hand and narrowed her eyes. "Yldywn has perfect manners. Nobody needs to teach her anything."

King Cassius cleared his throat and walked toward the chair at the head of the table. He didn't want to prolong his wife's complains, which blatantly show favoritism to the other girl.

Since the king was already seated, inevitably, the others followed. Queen Ygrit sat on the chair closest to the king and Yldwyn sat beside her, putting the girl across from Emma. Next to her sat Yared. Therius then sat next to Emma. He sat opposite his cousin.

The servants quickly came to serve them. Plates of appetizers and glasses of the best wine were served.

At first, no one said a word. They waited for King Cassius to speak.

"Seeing you and Emma sitting in those chairs reminded me of Arreya and Darius when they were your age. I miss them both," commented King Cassius. His voice sounded sad. This made Emma even more convinced that the king really liked her mother.

She heard that Arreya lived in the Akkadian palace since she was a child as a hostage princess and became close friends with Darius. From among the many noble daughters and hostage princesses in the palace, Darius chose Arreya as his future wife when they were still little.

Emma could imagine how their relationship was over the years until finally Arreya went to the academy, met Kaoshin, and fell in love with him.

Prior to that incident, it seemed that Arreya had a pretty good relationship with Prince Darius and his family. Perhaps King Cassius had considered Arreya as his future daughter-in-law for many years.

So, when Arreya suddenly eloped with another man, naturally, the royal family felt humiliated and hurt. Maybe that's why Queen Ygrit seemed to hate Emma now.

With this in mind, Emma finally decided to show understanding and not acted coldly toward them.

"I miss my mother too," said Emma in a sad voice. She looked at King Cassius earnestly "If Your Majesty missed my mother and Prince Darius, I am sure you understand what I feel. I have lost my father, and I am missing my mother very much."

King Cassius looked stunned for a moment. He then nodded.

"How have you been? Are you all right?" he asked Emma attentively.

"I'm not all right," Emma answered simply. "But I survived."

"Hmm .. you look like a brave girl," said King Cassius. For the first time, he smiled. "I'm glad Licht brought you home."

"I am grateful that Your Majesty is willing to see me tonight," said Emma politely. "I actually wonder why you sent Prince Licht to take me back to Akkadia. I want to hear it from you, that's why I asked to meet you."

"Hmm ..." King Cassius sighed at Emma's words. He finally answered and his words completely took Emma by surprise. "I do miss Arreya. I once considered her like my own child for all the years she lived in this palace. I thought she would marry Darius, become the queen of Akkadia and give birth to grandchildren for me who are handsome and beautiful ... like you. Unfortunately, we all know that didn't happen."

Emma bit her lip when she heard King Cassius talking about her mother as if Arreya were his own daughter. This was not at all like what she imagined the evil and cruel king was like.

"My mother loved my father deeply. If she married Prince Darius, they would not be happy," said Emma firmly.

"Hmm .. maybe. Maybe not. Obviously, now we will never know," said King Cassius. "Her elopement with General Kaoshin Stardust gravely tarnished my family's reputation and made me feel betrayed. Darius also sincerely loved her. He was hurt, and so were we. It took me 20 years to finally forgive Arreya for her actions."