Finding Stardust

202 We Can Get Married Immediately

After Emma finished her soup and tea, Therius pressed a button, and soon Natan entered the room. He brought his medical equipment in a bag and checked Emma's condition. He didn't talk about Haoran at all because he didn't want to rub salt over the girl's wound.

He barely said anything to Emma. The doctor just nodded a few times, then gave the girl some pills to swallow.

"Your Highness, you must rest for one day, so this medicine can work. Tomorrow, you will be healthy again," he said quietly. The man then turned to Therius. He had prepared a funeral process for Haoran and was about to ask him what to do now.

He didn't want to talk about it in front of Emma. Therius nodded and gestured for Natan to go out.

"We'll talk about it later," said Therius. He could clearly read what was on Nathan's mind and understood what the doctor was trying to say even though he didn't say it in words.

Emma was grieving and made absolutely no effort to find out what Nathan was thinking. She immediately swallowed the medicine Nathan gave her and lay back on the bed. Slowly, she closed her eyes.

"Do you want to rest again? You better sleep now. I'll come to bring you dinner in the evening," Therius said softly. He patted Emma on the cheek gently and then closed the curtains on the window to darken the room, so she could rest again.

The man then walked following Natan out of the room and closed the door behind him. He would let Emma rest and calm down. He understood how badly it hit her. Emma just lost her father, and now she had to lose Haoran too.

***

At nightfall, Therius returned to the room where Emma was resting. He brought a tray filled with food and helped Emma to eat. He was feeding her patiently and waited for her to chew slowly.

"Aren't you eating?" asked Emma.

Therius smiled. "Ah .. I'm happy to hear that you are worried about me. I will eat after you finish eating. Right now, my priority is to make sure you eat and rest so you could recuperate. After you are better, then I can finally feel relieved."

Emma went silent. At times like this, she felt completely alone, and so she was grateful that Therius was beside her. The man was willing to help her and take care of her, so that she didn't have to struggle on her own.

"You better eat now too," said Emma. She took the spoon from Therius' hand. "I can eat by myself. You don't have to spoon-feed me."

Emma was determined to toughen up her heart. After all that had happened, nothing could hurt her anymore. She must be able to take her revenge on Queen Ygrit. That old witch was the source of all her sufferings.

Therius was stunned to see Emma trying to eat by herself. He could see the determination on the girl's face. Finally, he smiled and nodded.

"Very well. I'll eat here with you," said Therius. He touched Emma's hair and rubbed it lightly, then walked out of the room. Soon he returned with several servants bringing him food on trays.

They arranged all the food on the bedside table and pulled one more table close to it so all the food they brought would fit. After Therius nodded, they bowed respectfully and excused themselves.

Therius watched Emma and made sure she could eat by herself, then he took food for himself. The two of them then ate in silence. Emma forced herself to finish the food in her bowl. After that, she finished the drink in her cup.

"I'm done," said the girl quietly. Seeing Therius about to put his bowl on the table, the girl hurriedly shook her head weakly. "Don't stop just because I'm done. You just keep eating, I'll do the talking."

Therius finally nodded. He ate while observing Emma's lips, ready to hear what the girl had to say.

"Now ... I have no one in Akkadia," said Emma. "Haoran is gone, and my father is not here either. I just want to meet my mother and little brother. After that, I will help you to take over Akkadia. But you must promise to punish your grandmother ... and your grandfather."

"What do you want me to do to them?" asked Therius.

"You ... are a telemancer of the highest level, aren't you?" asked Emma. "Xion said you can kill people secretly."

Therius subconsciously halted lifting his spoon mid-air. He stared into Emma's eyes, which looked so much like his own. His chest suddenly pounded violently. He tried to guess what Emma meant by what she said.

"Who do you want me to kill?" asked Therius quietly.

"Your grandfather," said Emma firmly. "He's already old and sick, and no one should suspect if he suddenly died."

"Hmm .. you want me to kill my grandfather so I can immediately take the throne. Is that what you want?" Therius asked in confirmation.

Emma nodded. "Yes. But I want you to let your grandmother live. Let me take care of her. I'll kill her with my own hands. But first, I want to make her suffer."

Emma's face was darkened. Gone was the tenderness that was always shown on her graceful face. Apparently, Haoran's death had become the last straw that made Emma feel like she lost it all. She didn't care about anything anymore.

By marrying Therius, she would be able to help create peace between Akkadia and Thaesi. Her mother and brother would be able to live in peace. She could help Therius take the throne, and at the same time, get her own revenge.

After it was all over, Emma had no more purpose. After that, she would?leave everything to fate.

Therius nodded. "We cannot use magic in the palace. I have to find a way to meet the king outside the palace. Then I will be able to use telemancy to kill him."

Emma stared at Therius closely. She did not expect the prince would so easily grant her request.

"You don't love your grandfather?" asked Emma.

"I love you more," Therius replied firmly.

Emma was stunned. It seemed very difficult for her to accept this answer.

"Wasn't he the one who takes care of you since your parents died? Would you really have the heart to kill him?"

Therius shrugged. "It's like you said. He's old and sickly. I'll only help him get out of suffering faster if I kill him."

This answer made sense to Emma. She nodded with satisfaction. "Then we can get married."

Emma's words made Therius' face lit up at once. "When?"

Emma bit her lip and answered firmly. "Immediately."

At that moment, Therius felt like he wanted to bounce and hug Emma and then pick her up and kiss her face. But he held back. He knew that Emma would not marry him that easily. There must be something on the girl's mind.

"But?" asked the man, frowning. He knew there must be 'but'. He wanted to know what else Emma wanted.

"We can get married as soon as possible. I want to kill your grandmother's last hope. She would know that you are mine, and nothing she could do would make you marry her pet, Yldwyn. However, I would like to ask you to please give me one year for mourning. After one year, I'll give myself up to you and become your real wife," said Emma. She looked at Therius with earnest eyes. "What do you think?"

The young man was so fascinated by Emma's words that he forgot to reply. Only after she pinched his arm, he smiled and then nodded.

He could wait another year, provided that Emma was already his wife. He was not a man controlled by his sexual desire. Therius understood that supposedly, after Haoran died, Emma would mourn for a long time before opening her heart to another man.

However, because their situation right now was very unusual, Emma deliberately wanted to formalize their marriage quickly. Queen Ygrit would get the slap in the face when she realized that her efforts to match Yldwyn with Therius were in vain.

"I'd like that," Therius confirmed. "You can take all the time you need."

He had waited for twenty years. So, another year was nothing.

"Can... I kiss you? I am so happy beyond words, and I want to share this happiness with someone." The man pleaded. "I understand that you are still mourning."

Emma closed her eyes. Her loss... was Therius' gain. That was the hard truth. However, she couldn't blame the man for feeling happy that the girl he loved finally accepted him.

Emma didn't nod, but she also didn't shake her head. Therius took it as a sign that he could kiss her. And so, he did.

He moved closer, cupped her face, and kissed her lips tenderly.

"I will make you happy. That is a promise," he whispered.

.

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From the author:

I would like to discuss a little bit about Haoran's death. I know some of you are hit hard by his death. I don't do it for the sake of getting Emma with Therius. If you read the synopsis, I already mentioned that this novel has several male leads.

#This novel has several male leads and they will shine in their own time.

"A man should have a bucket list, don't you think? It'd be nice to see 24 sunsets with you one day." - Haoran Lee

"Do you want to see how I would light up the sky for you?" - Crown Prince Therius

"I will be there till the stars don't shine." - Xion Draconi the Time Master

I always postponed and postponed, until finally the inevitable happened.

Why does this book have to have several male leads? Why not make a book with OTP (one true pair)?

Well, I did that in my previous books. However, even though this story is fantasy, I want to make it as close as possible to real life, in terms of our feelings, human natures, and love life. I almost never met anyone who is married to their first love. They met when they were young, fell in love, and have been together until they are old.

If there are such couples, they are the exception.

The rules are: You fall in love when you are young, you experience your first love or puppy love, you grow up and want different things, so you broke up. Then, you fall in love again as you are older. Your first mature relationship might work, it might not and will give you lessons in the end. Finally, after so many failed relationships, you find your final true love.

You see, I don't believe in ONE true love. I believe in final true love. Even if the relationships or marriages didn't work, it doesn't mean the love was not true when the relationship was still working.

That's why this book has several men who came and went, and filled Emma's life in one way or another.

In fact, did Haoran really pass away naturally because the treatment didn't work, or did Therius kill him with telemancy out of panic when he realized his competition suddenly showed progress?

Xion had fallen in love with Emma after spending so much time together. However, he is a gentleman and a good friend. He would never approach the woman his best friend fancy, so he kept his feelings to himself.

Everything he did so far was to help unite the two. But what will happen in the future if he saw Emma suffer being with Therius? Will he still look the other way?

Also, will Emma finally be happy with Therius, become the queen of Akkadia, and build a family together? Or will she find dark secrets and realize her husband is not who she thought he was?

There are so many possibilities. I am not giving away spoilers or forcing what I want for this story. I am just explaining the bigger picture. Emma might end up happy with Therius, or she might switch loyalty to Xion. There MIGHT be another male lead coming and take center stage. I don't know.

I don't really control the story. The story controls me.

That always happened with my other books. In my first book, I intentionally created the perfect man for the female lead. He is as perfect as you want a man to be. Warm, extremely good looking, generous, smart, etc. etc.

However, bam.. she suddenly ended up with a former assassin who hated humankind. The latter guy suddenly came out of nowhere and took center stage. The man was cold, overbearing, ruthless, everything I don't like from a man, yet she fell hard for him. No matter how hard I tried to separate them, they always come back for each other. Even after being separated by death or ten years of suffering, they stuck to each other.

If Haoran's death affected you too much and you can no longer find joy in reading this book, I understand. Thank you so much for your support all this time. I hope my other books and my future books would bring you joy.