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Chapter 932: It Is All In Vain

Rowena smiled worriedly but then followed the royal bodyguard and they were taken to the royal infirmary. Although Julian woke up during the banquets right before Rowena left, the bodyguard explained that his condition still ended up worsening especially when Rowena left.

"He must have only tried to stay strong for my sake." Rowena pursed her lips and tried to blink back her tears. "Stupid."

After what seemed like such a long time, she was finally reunited with her friend.

True to the bodyguard's words, Julian was not awake, and instead, he simply rested on the bed. Both the King and the Second Prince were present, with the former standing around Julian's bed and Liam in his own chair, covered in blankets.

The bodyguard spoke up. "His Highness, Princess Liam tried to chase after you—"

"Julian!" Rowena rushed to her friend's bed and knelt down at his side.

"You are back, Princess." the king looked up weakly. He hadn't been able to sleep.

"Rowena?" Liam asked in surprise.

She ignored the two of them and quickly grabbed the bottle in her hand and uncorked it. "I have the cure, so you'll be okay now, Julian."

Raphael only stood by the door, he wasn't given passage to the room, and could only watch as Rowena fed her friend the potion.

As he watched, the only thing he couldn't help but notice was the gentleness that Rowena portrayed and how fiercely she ignored everyone to get the cure for her friend.

"Julian!" Rowena called out to her friend as she watched the vessels on his face clear up.

"Rowena?" Julian's eyes blinked open as he called out to her weakly.

Rowena's eyes stung with tears as she threw herself into Julian's arms. "Please don't ever leave me again—I should have listened to you."

The embrace between Rowena and Julian was filled with so much emotion. It was an odd thing to feel so insecure about in Raphael's eyes.

Based on his conversation with Rowena, this Julian was someone who had been there for her in the past years. So it made perfect sense why Rowena cared so much about Julian.

Raphael kept his expression calm as he watched both the king and prince of the kingdom look towards Julian's bed. The king looked so happy and the other one also looked relieved.

Raphael quickly shook his head. He felt bad for his jealousy, seeing the closeness between Rowena and Julian. He couldn't feel this way, he should be happy that Rowena was relieved.

"Ow, ow, easy there, Rowena, you might crush me." Julian laughed weakly as he hugged her back.

"I'm sorry, I just missed you so much." Rowena looked at him teary-eyed. "I thought I would lose you."

"Aw, come on don't cry." Julian chuckled as he wiped away her tears gently. "Even when I'm gone, you'll be okay. You're okay, aren't you? It even seemed like you brought a new friend."

Rowena threw a look at Raphael, and the king and Liam also seemed to have realized that Raphael was there.

"He's someone who helped me bring back this panacea," Rowena explained. "Without his help, I would be stuck in the Merfolk jail."

"Oh wow... sounds like you have one hell of an adventure," Julian commented. "I'm jealous."

He smiled broadly but his voice was weak and Rowena could see that he was still not well.

Rowena smacked his arm lightly, she didn't want to hurt him. "You're going to live for a long time, Julian. You have to smack some sense into your brother even."

"Oh, right. He's my brother." Julian cast a look at Liam and scrunched up his face. "Can I now say that you look like a pale version of me?"

Liam choked a little and then smiled weakly. "I… I guess you can say that."

The Crown Prince, no, the Second Prince was expecting hatred to come from Julian and yet there was no hostility in his tone.

"My son," the King of Verona smiled and was also in tears. He looked over at Rowena and said. "I am in your debt, child."

"Please, don't feel indebted to me," Rowena told him. "If there's anyone that you should feel the need to be indebted to–you need to make up for the lost time you have with your son."

"I will. But I still have to thank you and your companion as well." The king of Verona looked over at Raphael and nodded his head. "If there is anything that you wish for, ask and it shall be given to you."

Raphael waved a hand. "There is no need to thank me, I did it for my own reasons."

Even if the entire kingdom of Verona was given to him, it wouldn't really compare or make up for what King Urther owed Raphael. However, he didn't think about the cost.

"Probably because you saw Rowena and fell for her, huh?" Julian laughed and met his gaze. "And you want to save the damsel in distress."

"Julian!" Rowena frowned at him. "I am not a damsel in distress."

Raphael liked Julian's sense of humor and the fact that the man could still joke even when he was really sick. Raphael thought he hid his feelings well, so slightly impressed, he finally stepped into the infirmary.

"A pleasure to meet you, I've heard a lot of good things about you from Rowena," Raphael said. "You are her friend."

He emphasized on the word friend. He did it subtly but Julian took the hint.

Julian chuckled and sat up. "Well, they're only probably good because half can be attributed to Rowena over here. She's my partner in crime. My name is Julian, and you are?"

"I am Raphael."

"Nice to meet you, I would stand up and shake your hand but—"

"Julian, don't force yourself." Rowena scolded him.

Raphael simply approached and took the other man's hand in his. "Nice to meet you, Julian."

While it was clear and visible on Julian's face that the poison had been cleared away, when the two of them touched hands—Julian's hands were cold and cl

ammy.

Raphael's eyes widened momentarily. He refrained from using his powers out of respect that he was in the presence of humans, but as he made contact with Julian…

The Seventh Prince realized that while the poison was cured and Julian's entire body freed from the I'll effects—the damage had already been done.

Raphael was in the face of a dying man. He could feel Julian's soul slipping and barely holding on. The young man may have made a recovery in terms of physical state, but he was already fading away.

Raphael didn't know what to feel.

He needed to tell it to Rowena right away, but then Julian's hand gripped tightly against his.

There was an awareness in Julian's eyes.

"You know, it must have been quite a pain to deal with Rowena's antics," Julian said with a light in his eyes.

"Antics? What are you talking about?" Rowena pouted at Julian. She sat down at the side of his bed. "Aren't you the one who gets into wild shenanigans and I play along with them?"

"Don't act like you haven't done crazy stuff too." Julian chuckled. He didn't let go of Raphael's hand and explained. "She's quite a handful."

"Julian, just because you've recovered recently doesn't mean that I'm not going to hit you."

"I know, I know." Julian laughed and relaxed slightly as he leaned back against his bed. He met Rowena's gaze. "I'm incredibly lucky to have met someone like you."

Raphael's words were not even necessary anymore, Rowena realized her best friend's tone.

"Julian, don't speak like that." Rowena scolded him lightly. "You're going to live for a long time. The cure I got you—"

There was a hitch in her throat.

"Yes, I know." Julian smiled, his eyes never left hers. "I think I'm just going to close my eyes and take a nap, Rowena."

Rowena smiled and patted his arm. She thought he needed the rest to recover. So, it was better if she let him. "Fine. Rest well. I will be just right here when you wake up."

Julian stole a glance at Raphael and the seventh prince could see his pain that he was trying to hide. The panacea didn't work. She was too late. All Rowena's hard work was in vain.

Raphael instinctively touched Rowena's arm and then held her hand.

.

.

.

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From Missrealitybites:

Recently, I receive some comments from readers who don't like Rowena and want me to skip her part and just go back to Harlow.

Yes, it happens AGAIN. Some readers become impatient when a storyline doesn't meet their expectations and so they protest. They want it to go this way, instead of that way.

It happened when I was writing "The Alchemists", "Finding Stardust", "The Cursed Prince" and by now, I think I am used to it and no longer take it personally.

Those who can be patient until the end usually will LOVE the endings and how the stories turned out and they wouldn't have it any other way.

Those who stop midway will never see how the story will end and only keep the bad memory of how much the lead character has suffered, or why bad things happened to them. They only witness the struggle and suffering endured by the lead characters but didn't witness when the characters rise from their bad situation.

I have mentioned this and I will say it again, I am just a storyteller or fancy reporter and I don't decide on what happens with the story. SERIOUSLY. I am just a writer.

This might be hard to understand if you are not a writer. Some people call it being pantser, writing from the seat of your pants, not knowing what will happen next in your story, but I am not sure if that's the right analogy for my case.

Some writers do plan their stories and they make a detailed outline (they are called the plotter), while some writers have the beginning and the ending and then they fill the rest as they type (pantser).

For me, writing stories is spiritual. Hear me out. This is what usually happens BEFORE I can even write a story.

The characters would come to me out of nowhere, sometimes when I was driving, when I was daydreaming, when I was cooking, or even taking a bath.

Sometimes I see the couple. Sometimes, just one person. sometimes only the colors of their hair (like I did with Sophie Hansley), or their favorite flowers. Sometimes, I 'saw' the first scene, like when Emmelyn was trying to kill Mars.

Oftentimes, the characters never appear again. But sometimes, they come back and I start seeing them everywhere. So, I focus and try to get to know them. Once I do, I will start writing about who they are and what happened to them.

Why did Emmelyn want to kill Mars? I kept asking this question and tried to get to know her and I finally got her back story. Then, I also got Mars' side of the story. I tried to make Mars and Emmelyn see the other's perspective, and while I do it, you get to read the story of The Cursed Prince.

As I think about them more, I get to know more about their story and so do you. So, I don't immediately see everything from beginning to ending.

Sometimes, in the middle, their stories become so hard to stomach, that you just want to hug them and tell them everything is going to be okay. Finally, in the end, everyone gets the ending they deserve.

Rowena's story is a bit complicated. Some people dislike it, some people LOVE it. Obviously, I cannot please everyone. So, if this storyline bothers you or bores you, it's okay. You don't have to read it and I won't feel offended.

It's okay to have preference. It's okay to like me but not like this story.

I also need to explain why I put the sequel under the same book, and not make a separate book like "The Cursed King".

1. Not all readers are tech-savvy. Some still don't know how to search for a book on this platform by the title even though I have gi

ven A LOT OF INSTRUCTIONS on how to find "The Cursed King". Still, many can't find it. Well.. it is what it is.

2. As a writer, we are only given a max slot of 30 books to write our stories on. I have used 22 slots in just three years. I am a prolific writer. It sucks that put that ceiling. I think it's stupid, but again, it is what it is.

If I keep using a new slot for every new book or sequel, I am sure by 2023 I would have exhausted all 30 slots and I won't be able to write another book under my pen name. I don't want that.

So, now I treat my remaining 8 slots like Gollum treated Sauron's ring. So precious. I hope this explains things for you.