Days had passed since winter came. Everyone was busy changing everything to make every room warm and bearable to be in. Thanks to the crown princess, the maids in the Sapphire Palace had enough warm clothes and extra blankets to keep themselves warm even at night.
Aries had also recovered well from that incident with Inez with enough rest before she returned to her crown princess's duties. Joaquin would frequently visit her every single day, but he wouldn't stay overnight with their preparations to end the Valiente Group.
The tension in the empire continued to increase, yet no one seemed to have addressed it publicly. Some didn't even notice that blood would soon spill as they would enter the darkest and hottest winter in the empire.
"Something is amiss..." Aries narrowed her eyes, listening to the consistent tap of her fingers against the armrest. "Why do I feel so restless?"
She closed her eyes and cocked her head back to think. The more distinct this brewing tension and the louder the silence continued, her heart had been restless. It was only a matter of time before Joaquin and Ismael make their move, and although Aries was confident in her bet, her gut feeling told her she was forgetting something.
'Joaquin is cunning and he wouldn't fall easily...' She opened her eyes slowly, catching the intricately decorated ceiling of her chancery. 'I know that already. But... why do I feel like I'm missing something here?'
This gut feeling in her heart consistently blossomed with every passing day. She couldn't help but doubt Ismael. Not that she didn't trust his capabilities, and she made sure he had all the tools he needed. But this gut feeling told her it was another futile attempt.
Why?
What was the source of this restlessness?
Aries was certain it wasn't because she knew what was about to happen. It was something else and she couldn't continue ignoring these danger signs.
"I need to look around," she mumbled, and then pushed herself up from the oak chair. She grabbed her fur coat and wrapped it around her while she sauntered off to the crown prince's chancery. She stopped by the door and glanced at the knights guarding it from the outside.
"I'll visit the crown prince. Don't let anyone inside."
The knights bowed but didn't follow her. The crown princess's chancery and the crown prince's office were in different buildings, but it was close to each other. So Aries only took no less than fifteen minutes to reach the floor where Joaquin's office was at.
Waltzing through the empty hallway leading to the crown prince's chancery, Aries slowed down. Her footsteps echoed, resonating in her ears. Her heart, for some reason, thudded, and her breathing grew heavier. For a moment, her eyes zoomed in and out, making her steps falter as she closed her eyes. But when she reopened them, her vision was clear.
She shook her head mildly. 'Not now,' She told herself. 'I can't get sick or exhausted now.'
Aries cleared her throat and resumed in her tracks. When she turned in the corridor and Joaquin's chancery came into sight, Aries slowed down seeing a person exit the office. Her breathing grew slower as the man walked in her direction. She kept her chin up, walking with poise, ignoring the man's eyes.
Time seemed to slow down the closer she and the man approached. Aries blinked ever so tenderly and for the briefest second, she held her breath when she was about to walk past the man. However, a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her pace.
"Greetings, Your Royal Highness," greeted the man with a devious smirk.
Aries arched a brow and glanced down at her right arm before raising her eyes to meet the pair of silver, mirroring her unsmiling countenance.
"Kindly let me go, Fifth Prince." Her smile didn't reach her sharp eyes.
"My apologies. It seemed I had forgotten my manners." Javier, the fifth prince, smirked and let her go, raising both his hands as he stepped back. "Your beauty simply mesmerized me. I thought it would be a shame not to greet you."
Aries narrowed her eyes, walking in the same spot to face him. Her eyes scrutinized his face and his cunning aura.
Javier Imperial, the fifth prince. This man had been behind Joaquin since the beginning. Aside from Roman, the seventh prince, and Hernan, the crown prince's legal adviser, Javier was one of the people Joaquin trusted.
'Or maybe, I just didn't know, but it is possible he trusted this man more than he trusted Hernan and Roman,' was what crossed her head while studying this man who stayed out of her sight ever since she stepped foot in this land. 'I knew it. Something is amiss. Oh, Joaquin... you are such a wise man. If only you have the slightest bit of humanity in you, this Maganti would be great.'
"Fifth Prince, it seemed my husband trusted you so much you are bold enough to touch me without my consent." The side of her lips curled up as she took a step forward, making Javier's brow arch. She clipped her fingers on his cravat, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly.
"I wonder if he is generous enough to share his wife with his brother?" she cocked her head to the side, smirking back at him. "Would his trust in you salvage you? I'm intrigued. Shall we test it?"
Javier chuckled with his lips closed. "Are you testing me, Your Royal Highness?"
"No, of course not." She laughed, pulling down his cravat slowly. "I was simply being nice to you since my husband seemed to trust you so much. And I'm quite a jealous woman. I do not want my husband trusting anyone else more than me."
The smile lines in Javier faded as he studied those pairs of emeralds mirroring him.
"You do not have to worry about that, Your Royal Highness. I was gallant, for I was naturally haughty. I had forgotten my place," he expressed as his eyelids drooped, but it wasn't enough to hide the contempt hiding within. "Apologies."
Aries smacked her lips lightly as she rocked her head, releasing his cravat. She took a step back, eyes on him.
"It was fine, Your Highness. I won't take it to the heart... but I hope this is the last you forget your place." A faint chuckle came out of her closed lips before she turned on her heel. As soon as Aries advanced in Joaquin's office, her eyes glinted menacingly.
'This is not good,' she told herself, jaw clenching at the sudden dread that crept up her spine.
Meanwhile, Javier stared at her retreating figure silently. When he walked away in the opposite direction, the side of his lips curled up.
'Such a dangerous woman... cannot be trusted.'
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