Almost one year was definitely a lot of time, but not for Aries. In the past ten months, she had undergone intense training and absorbed all the knowledge taught to her like a sponge.
She didn't waste a day adjusting her schedule and adapting to the current to blend in. On top of her training under Isaiah, her lesson in the greenhouse with Dexter, readings with Conan, and passionate nights with Abel, Aries also blended in in the upper echelon.
She gained a few influential noble ladies as friends, captured the support of the many, and gained recognition and respect from men and women.
"Nervous?" Aries snapped her eyes when Abel squeezed her hand as they walk into the garden. "Have I ever told you to never space out whenever you're with me? But you keep doing that."
"I was just thinking I will miss you once I spoke my marriage vows." She sported a meek smile, swaying their entwined hands back and forth lightly. "I mean, you and my brother's banter delayed this wedding from happening. But we all knew this would come."
"Even when we spent more time than always, it just doesn't feel it's enough," she continued and smacked her lips bitterly. "I don't want to leave you."
"You're not leaving me." He stopped treading and faced her while blinking countless times. "Should I change my mind, darling? I will immediately give my decree that the Maganti Empire is an enemy. Therefore, they must cease to exist. The ending will be the same, but it will be more convenient for me."
"Just for you?"
"Why, darling? Do you feel like this is an inconvenience for you? Think twice before you answer. I am an easy person to talk with."
Aries pressed her lips and sighed, staring at the knowing look he was sporting. Abel had been vocal about his dislike for his own plan, but he never stopped anything solely for Aries. He let things go on and even exerted an effort to exchange formal letters with the Maganti Empire without taunting them.
'Between him and I... Abel is also working hard for me.' She smiled at the thought, reaching for his other hand which she clasped gently.
"Honestly, I will miss you, but I won't miss this opportunity, Abel." She looked at him straight in the eye, showing a clear resolve in them. "Not in this lifetime. I promised you, didn't I? I will return the pain a hundredfold. Haimirich will certainly win against the Maganti Empire, but a quick death is not what they deserve."
Abel caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. "That's what I've been telling myself every time I speak your name during your absence."
"I will return with glory." She leaned her cheek against his palm, holding it still. "I will not let every single one of them go."
"That's my girl." The corner of his lips curled up into a sinister smirk, brushing her lips with his thumb.
Oh, how can she be so gorgeous? Even more mesmerizing now whilst hiding her tumultuous heart behind her calm front.
"This will be fun," he remarked, chuckling with his lips closed.
"The best is yet to come."
"And I am looking forward to it."
"You must." She grinned, biting her lips to hide her giddiness. "Bit by bit... I'll have my fun this time around."
"Don't forget about me, you." He bent over until his face was a palm length away from her.
She shook her head. "Never."
"Good." His smirk stretched wider as he drew his head back, looking around at the beautiful scenery of the garden."I won't be attending your wedding ceremony, nor do I plan to send you off personally."
"It's fine. I'd rather not see you on the altar speaking my vows to a stand-in."
Abel smacked his lips as he hissed, resuming in their stride, hand in hand. "I will visit you, though."
"You will? In Maganti?" she chuckled, knowing the travel from Haimirich to Maganti would take months back and forth.
"Obviously!" he snickered, casting her a side-eye. "I can't survive months of not seeing your face or feeling your curves, darling. You already know that I'm a needy person. I need to see you every once in a while, else, I'd snap and before you know it, the Maganti is already on fire. I don't want you to get caught up in fire."
"You should send me off. I'd ride in your carriage." She tugged his hand, skipping her steps so she was ahead of him. Aries walked backward, facing Abel while holding his hand. "Sir Conan might throw a huge fit, but he always throws a huge fit anyway before getting things done."
"My, my... you shouldn't be so hard on him."
"Don't speak as if you don't bully him on a daily basis!"
"Oh, darling, I don't! That's slander!" Abel chuckled, smiling from ear to ear as they simply spent the rest of the day talking, making love, joking, and just playing. "Don't run away. I won't be nice once I caught you."
He squeezed her hands, staring at her mischievous grin while she was walking backward, facing him. Aries surely knew how to calm his heart. Just this simple walk, where she wouldn't care of what was ahead just to walk whilst facing him, was enough to fill his heart with nothing but warmth.
Well, Aries trusted him. She knew he wouldn't let her crash into something and if she would trip, he would catch her. Wasn't that how it had always been? They wouldn't stand with their back against each other just to protect each other's backs.
They would face each other and watch each other's back. That was the kind of trust they built throughout their time together. The trust they had painstakingly built after driving each other to madness was now just as solid as a diamond.
"Aries," he called after a moment of silence, stopping in the middle of the garden. Her brows rose, tilting her head as he pulled her hands gently to cup her cheek.
"Don't... let them hurt you. If you did, make sure it's not something I will see even when you're naked," he warned under his breath, staring at her straight in the eye without hiding the gravity of his warning. "Heed my warning."
"I've been warned then." She smiled, fluttering her eyelashes beautifully. "But I can't promise. I need to improvise, so practice compromising a bit."
"I always compromise."
"I know, but do it anyway." She chuckled and stood on her toe, tilting her head to plant a kiss on his lips. "It won't be fun if you say the party's over."
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