Finding Stardust

Emma knew that Haoran would be saddened if he knew Emma was sad. So, it was better for her to keep herself busy so that she wouldn't feel too sad.

"Good idea," Xion replied with a broad smile.

*** 

Therius was received by his grandfather in his marvelous study overlooking a small lake in the middle of the palace complex. The crown prince already requested a special audience with his grandfather, and King Cassius accepted it.

The king seemed to be getting healthier, and his movements were no longer as slow as a few nights ago when Therius met him at royal dinner. This made the prince feel somewhat uneasy. What if his grandfather fully recovered his health before Therius could kill the king? Won't people be suspicious of his death?

"You look like you have a lot in your mind," said King Cassius, moving Therius from his reverie. "You said you wanted to see me on a very important matter?"

Therius nodded immediately. "That's right, Your Majesty. Emma and I changed our minds. We want to get married as soon as possible."

King Cassius did not seem surprised at Therius' request. He knew that his eldest grandson was a very calculating man. Whatever he did was always very well thought out.

Certainly, he must have a good reason for wanting to formalize his marriage to Emma Stardust so quickly.

"When are you two getting married?" asked King Cassius calmly.

"Tomorrow," Therius replied. "Before we leave for Thaesi to meet her mother. Emma and I had already discussed this, and we are worried that Princess Arreya would oppose our relationship, or that she would think I am only using her daughter. Thus, us getting married BEFORE we go to Thaesi will force Princess Arreya to give us her blessings."

"Hmmm.."

King Cassius was momentarily in silence. He was very fond of Arreya, back then, when she was still living in the Akkadian royal palace. She was very close to Prince Darius, King Cassius' only son. Where there was Arreya, there was Darius too.

Darius didn't have any magical powers at all, but Arreya had never looked down him even though she had four—no, actually, five powers. That was what made King Cassius and his son so fond of the princess. She also had this bubbly personality, and everyone couldn't help but like her.

Arreya should have been the queen of Akkadia, not her daughter. The king was often sad by this fact.

King Cassius' thoughts drifted to Emma. Actually, the girl looked a lot like her mother, only her cold personality took after her father.

Luckily so, thought King Cassius. If her face resembled Kaoshin's, it felt like every time the King saw Emma, ​​his anger would rise.

"Are you sure you want to get married so quickly?" asked King Cassius, looking at Therius earnestly. 

The prince nodded firmly. "I don't want Emma to change her mind. So I guess the sooner, the better."

King Cassius tapped his bony fingers on the table and looked deep in thought.

"Actually, I also have something to tell you, regarding your marriage," said the king. "It's about Princess Yldwyn."

Therius frowned. "What about Princess Yldwyn?"

"You know, Terren is our most loyal colony. Your grandmother is also a princess from Terren." King Cassius looked at Therius closely. "She didn't really trust Emma, and rightfully so, considering we just executed her father. So, Queen Ygrit would have preferred that you marry Princess Yldwyn."

Therius showed absolutely no change in his facial expression. He still looked calm and unfazed.

"I know. But I can't, do it, Your Majesty. I only love Emma. And we have agreed that from a political point of view, I'd better marry Emma Stardust, than any other princesses."

King Cassius let out a long sigh. "Your grandmother was very adamant. She made a plausible argument too, that Terren would feel dissatisfied, and thus it might incite their anger and rebel. We will not necessarily get peace with Thaesi, with your marrying Emma. It's not guaranteed. While Terren will make this an excuse to rebel. It's going to be troublesome if we have two enemies who will attack from the right and left."

"Your Majesty, I only want to marry Emma Stardust," Therius said firmly. "If you do not approve of us, I will choose to resign from my position as the crown prince. It's better for me to be a commoner than a king but I cannot choose the woman I want to marry."

King Cassius hurriedly waved his hand. "Aish .. that's not what I mean. I've discussed this with Queen Ygrit, and your grandmother said it's okay if you marry both of them. That way, the two colonies would be calmed down. Besides ... it's not a strange thing for a king to have several wives."

Therius forehead twitched when he heard his grandfather's words. His thoughts drifted to the beautiful blue-haired girl who always looked at him adoringly, Princess Yldwyn.

He did consider marrying the girl before he ascended the Akkadian throne to gain support from Terren, Akkadian Empire's second-largest colony.

However, that was before he found out about Emma.

That was before he met Emma!

That was before he knew he loved Emma.

The girl was his first love. No one could ever fill her place in Therius' heart.

The young man shook his head firmly. "I can't do it. Grandfather, you must know having two wives is very troublesome. I can't allow myself to be bothered with the quarrels between women and the two colonies competing through them. I refuse."

King Cassius looked at Therius closely, and then he shook his head.

"If you don't want to marry Yldwyn, then I won't give you my blessings to marry Emma. You can choose. Whether you want both or neither of them."

Therius was furious at being blackmailed like this by his own grandfather. If only the palace didn't have anti-magic shields on, he would have killed his grandfather immediately by telemancy.

Unfortunately, he could only keep his anger inside his heart and still wear a calm expression on the surface.

"What if I refuse?" asked Therius again.

King Cassius folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. "Then, I won't approve of your marriage to Emma. She will never be the queen, and I will have to reconsider you as my successor."

Therius finally nodded, looking resigned. "Fine. I agree. But let me marry Emma first because the situation is more urgent. We want to go to Thaesi to see her mother immediately. I will marry Princess Yldwyn after I come back from Thaesi. Besides ... I guess, if I told Emma about me taking a second wife before I could marry her, she would be furious and refuse to marry me. I don't want her to leave."

"Hmm .. alright. Then, I agree," said King Cassius.

"All right. Now that Your Majesty has given me your approval, I will have my men prepare everything. We hope Your Majesty will come to witness our wedding in the royal chapel tomorrow afternoon," said Therius.

The chapel of the seven gods that the Akkadian people worshipped was located outside the royal palace complex. Therius had made a quick decision. In order for him to stop his grandfather from forcing him to have two wives, Therius would expedite his plan to kill King Cassius.

Tomorrow would be a perfect time.

After getting his grandfather's approval, Therius immediately took his leave. He asked his confidant, Avato, to take care of all the wedding preparations. 

He could not wait to return to his palace and meet Emma.

***

After Therius jumped off the travs, he walked with long strides to the west wing, where Emma's room was located. Before he arrived there, the man crossed the beautiful garden in the middle of his palace complex. There, he found Emma sitting, drinking with Xion.

With a face filled with smiles, Therius immediately walked over to them.

"You are here?" he asked in a happy voice. He saw Emma's face looked brighter than when he had left her. Even though Emma still hadn't smiled, at least now, the girl's eyes no longer looked as if she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Therius approached the girl and kissed her forehead. "I miss you."

Emma coughed a little at Therius' treatment of her. She couldn't blame the man for showing his affection openly, because Emma had agreed to marry him, but she also still hadn't got used to it.

Meanwhile, on the side, Xion looked away and suddenly seemed very interested in the small yellow flower growing beside him.

.

.

\u003e\u003e\u003e\u003e\u003e\u003e

From the author:

One of the requirements was the book cannot be published on other sites. It has to be exclusive on Wattpad. So, go find the book now before it's gone. The title is:

Ludwina \u0026 Andrea: A Love That Never Fails.