"Can we wait until tomorrow to discuss this?" Mars asked his father politely. "It's been an awfully long day."

The king looked at Mars deeply. He, too, could see the same pain in his son's eyes. So, to Mars' surprise, King Jared nodded. He gave back the letter to Mars and sighed.

"Fine." The king took something from a box on his desk then turned around. Mars realized it was a bracelet that his mother often wore. Was that the item that his father forgot?

He only watched his father's back view as the king left his study and disappeared from his sight.

He suddenly felt so much more tired than before. The man sighed deeply then put the letter back into the scroll and kept it in his pocket.

***

Lily Greenan was so surprised when her servant told her that the crown prince came to visit. She furrowed her brows and stretched her back. It was already really late. She woke up her husband and together they came to the front door and welcomed Mars.

"Can I stay here for the night?" Mars asked them in a low voice. "Can I sleep in Harlow's room?"

"Oh, absolutely," said Lily. She motioned Mars to enter and led the man to go to a chamber across from her own chamber. "She is sleeping here."

"Thank you."

"Do you need anything? Have you eaten dinner?" Lily asked worriedly. "I can have the servants prepare supper or provide whatever you need."

"Hmm.. just water, please. I will wash up before I sleep. My face is dirty," said the prince. He rode his horse here in a hurry and didn't have time to clean up. He was so sad and just wanted to see his daughter.

"All right." Lily nodded and instructed a servant to help Mars with everything he needed. "Harlow is such a good baby. She will only wake up twice or thrice at night time. A wet nurse usually sleeps with her here, but I will ask her to come out and wait outside. You can just call her when Harlow wakes up."

"That will be good. Thank you."

"Well, then. Have a good night, Your Highness. I'll see you in the morning," said Lily. She bowed down her head a little and got out. She made a sign to the wet nurse who sat in the corner of Harlow's room to come out with her.

Mars closed the door after they left. The man walked slowly toward the beautiful wooden crib in the middle of the room. He made a mental note to ask Roshan to prepare his personal chamber to fit a baby's crib.

Once he returned to his castle, he would bring Harlow with him. For now, he would stay in the Greenan's estate until he could resolve all the mess in his family.

He initially thought he should take over power since people said his father had gone mad. However, tonight, after he met his father personally, he could see that his father's condition was not as worse as what people claimed.

He decided to let the king rule longer. Mars was not interested in the throne anyway. He assumed that all the madness the king showed was just his way of grieving.

King Jared was a ruthless man, to begin with. So, it was not surprising that his cruel actions when he was in deep sorrow would be seen as madness.

And his decision not to hold a funeral for his wife... was somewhat understandable. If you could have the power to keep your loved ones with you after they died, even though only in physical form, wouldn't you do it?

Mars heard how his father ordered the most beautiful glass casket to put his wife in. He could see her every day, looking like a sleeping beauty. He could lie to himself, saying his wife was just sleeping.

People's way of dealing with grief and losses was different from one to another. Mars hoped, over time, his father's grief would subside and they both could move on with life.

He stood by the crib and watched his sleeping daughter. Harlow looked so cute with her fists balled and her mouth was slightly opened.

Mars raised his hand and touched her hair gently. This baby had a lot of hair for a newborn, he thought. He was wondering what she would look like when she was older.

He hoped, over time, Harlow would take after Emmelyn. He missed his wife so badly.

***

"Good morning," Lily smiled when he saw Mars entered the dining room, looking slightly fresher than last night. She hoped the prince had a good sleep. "Did she wake up often?"

Mars shook his head. "No, just twice. She was very calm and happy."

"Yeah... Harlow is a good girl," Lily praised the baby. "What's your plan for today?"

"I will have to go to the royal palace. I plan to bring Harlow with me to introduce her to my father."

"Oh... that's a good plan." Lily nodded in agreement. "The king was mourning in the ice cave for weeks and he has not had the chance to see his granddaughter."

Mars wanted his father to see Harlow to console the king, and at the same time, he also hoped King Jared's heart would soften.

This might just be his wishful thinking, but that's how he felt when he saw Harlow. Mars was conflicted and angry at the possibility that Emmelyn schemed him to get closer to his mother and kill her, since Thessalis said so.

However, after he laid his eyes on his baby, the daughter that Emmelyn had given him, his anger subsided a little.

And then, after thinking about it for a long time, and realized how much he was hurt and in pain after losing his mother, Mars also started seeing things from Emmelyn's perspective.

He could imagine how much she must have been hurt and aggrieved when she lost all her family in a single night.

Even if Emmelyn did kill his mother for revenge... he couldn't really blame her.

Like she said in her letter, now they were even.

--------------------

From the author:

I have an interpreting gig all week this week, but I still manage to publish 2 chapters per day for both TCP and TCK.

This makes me feel so excited. It means, once my job is done tomorrow, MAYBE next week I can publish 3 chapters per day for both books.

Crossing fingers!