The Cursed Prince

Chapter 906: Doctor Gerald's Advice

The yellow light reminded Julian of Rowena's hair and the purple coral of her eyes and Julian thought of what she might feel. She might have not loved him in the same way as he did, but Rowena still cared about him.

That thought shook away the emptiness in Julian's heart and he immediately looked up to the surface. Before the eerie light in the water drew closer to him and revealed its true nature, Julian quickly swam up, forcing his legs to move in the deep waters.

Move!

Julian's heart beat wildly into his chest as he thought that the 'Deep Shallows' may have actually been more of a 'Swallow', the opening of the lagoon actually looked like it was closing and wanted to swallow him alive.

But he made it.

Julian reached the surface and threw himself out of the water, he started to choke up the water as his vision grew dark and blurry. He thought he saw a shadow come its way towards him.

The royal doctor, Gerald, arrived in the Wishing Mermaid Lagoon and saw a young man on the ground. At first, he was afraid that the man had died and accidentally drowned, but then he saw the man's chest rise.

Julian was completely drenched and had suffered from resurfacing... but the thing that worried Gerald as he drew closer to check on the young man was his face.

It reminded him so much of both King Xander in his youth and Prince Liam as well. It even shared similarities with the first and second queens as well.

The royal doctor helped resuscitate him.

Soon Julian sputtered out the water in his chest, sat up, and coughed away the rest. He looked around the place and saw the elderly man check on him.

"Are you alright, boy?"

"I'm fine, sir." Julian grinned warily. He was unsure who this person was or if he could be trusted. He clutched the satchel tied around him and held onto it securely.

"I'm your client, by the way, I see that you've obtained both the coral and seaweed after much difficulty." Gerald said as he motioned to Julian's satchel.

"Oh, yeah, I did." Julian sighed in relief. He was worried that he accidentally dropped it along the way and everything would be for naught. "Here you go, sir."

The royal doctor stared at Julian who offered up the bag filled with the poison and couldn't help but choke a little. Tears pricked his eyes.

"Sir? Is there anything wrong?" Julian was supposed to be the one more bothered but it seemed like the older man seemed more frail than him.

The royal doctor waved a hand and looked away. He didn't know if this was the god's test for him... his entire family's life was at stake and yet the person who obtained the poison—was none other than the same person that Queen Serena wished to kill herself.

Gerald was face to face with the late Queen Gabrielle's son and it put him in a much more difficult position.

"Please don't die on me, sir. I still need to get paid for this." Julian said as he took off his gloves and earned a look from the royal doctor.

The royal doctor checked his bag and pulled out a heavy pouch, its drawstrings looked heavy as he tossed it over to Julian who immediately checked it.

It was filled with an enormous amount

of gold coins that filled it to the brim and surprised Julian. "Is this how much I get paid? Whoaa...!"

Gerald couldn't help but feel saddened even further. Verona was a rich kingdom, and to see the person who was supposed to be the royal crown prince be in awe of the amount of gold that a mere royal doctor gave to him was quite pitiful.

"Y-yes... what do you intend to do with the money?" he asked.

Julian looked up in surprise, but then shyly scratched his head. "Oh, you know... stuff? Hehe..."

"..." The royal doctor stayed silent.

"Fine!" Julian couldn't take the silence and sheepishly looked up. "I'm going to impress someone I've cared about deeply... and this will help me a lot. Far more than I expected. So, thank you!"

"What if you take her someplace else?" the royal doctor said. "There are other far more romantic places than Verona."

"I wish I could, maybe I could do that—"

"You need to leave right away," the royal doctor said.

"Woah, gramps. What's the rush?" Julian raised a brow. "Are you doing something nasty with the corals and seaweed and need me to get out of your sight?"

"...something like that." the royal doctor admitted. "I... I would also like to research a cure for it, but it has proven to be quite difficult."

"I see. Well, good luck with it." Julian stood up and nodded discreetly. "I'll consider your words, but we also have some business here."

***

Rowena couldn't help but look at King Xander carefully and then back at Prince Liam. There was an unresolved tension in the air that she couldn't quite point out because she was a stranger in this arrangement.

However, the more that she looked at King Xander, the more she saw the resemblance between him and Julian. When she looked at Prince Liam, the resemblance was even greater... as if their mothers were the same as well.

However, before Rowena could say anything about the genealogy books—Queen Serena arrived at the royal library.

"I've heard that all of you are gathered here." Queen Serena smiled warmly at her husband and son, and even at Rowena. "What seems to be the occasion? I heard that you skipped the meeting with Duke Loce."

"We've rescheduled it to another day." King Xander spoke calmly. "I explained that there were some royal matters I needed to attend to."

"I see, I see... it's related to our two guests." Queen Serena's gaze focused on the stack of books with King Xander before it fell on Rowena. "Where is your friend?"

"He's not here," Rowena warily said.

"Mhmm, a pity."

"If I may be so bold, could I perhaps ask why?" Rowena asked.

Queen Serena batted her eyes and so did the other two men in the library. However, Queen Serena only looked apologetic and averted her gaze.

"Well, I am a bit embarrassed about the display I've shown earlier. It would be awkward to meet with him now, and you as well when I'm planning a small dinner banquet as an apology for my disturbance. As you can see, both my husband and son are the friendlier type of people—but I'm the one who's more wary and frantic than them."

;

"Oh." Rowena was impressed that it was believable. "If you put it that way, Your Majesty. I'm sure that our arrival has caused quite a stir in the royal palace. Your reaction seems quite... apt for the situation."

Compared to Rowena, Queen Serena had been acting as a royal member of the family for twenty years, so it was difficult to detect the truth between the lies. She seemed very genuine and had actually mastered how to fool other individuals from both the royal and noble courts.

"Ah, you're quite well-versed in diction and vocabulary. My son is quite lucky to have met someone like you." Queen Serena smiled. "Tell me, dear... how long have you been away from Ashland?"

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