Since the selection had started and Aries made acquaintance with Suzanne, Veronika, and Sybil, she only then felt stuck in a cobweb of lies. She was no saint, and lying for her own good was never a problem. Even when she deceived not just the entire Haimirich Empire for claiming to be Daniella Circe Vandran, Aries never had a problem with it.
It was the same when she returned to the Maganti Empire as Daniella Circe Vandran, betrothed to the crown prince, Joaquin Imperial. Aries was one of those who weaved all these webs of lies to be told in the history for the next generation to know.
But now… these lies had been prickling under her skin. The princesses were good to her; they might not be perfect and they might have different opinions on different matters, but Aries considered them her friends.
Therefore, the guilt weighing her heart down whenever she would have to lie right in front of their faces was paralyzing. But she didn't have a choice.
"For a second, I thought Lady Daniella and Duke Hakebourne were friends," Sybil remarked with a chuckle, walking beside Aries. "Even so, the duke is too considerate to remind us where to go because he's worried about the changes in the palace."
Aries chuckled weakly. "The emperor's aide is known to be considerate, even though our house always clashes with the emperor." She secretly bit her tongue, although she wasn't entirely lying because Conan was considerate to her.
"But isn't that strange?" Suzanne rubbed her chin, walking slowly beside Aries. "He sounds really close to Lady Daniella."
"That's right." Veronika, who was walking beside Sybil, tilted her head forward to look at Aries over Sybil. "He said something like, he told you multiple times to take care."
"Oh, right!" Sybil intoned, looking back at Aries.
"Ahh… that is because Sir Conan reminded me multiple times on the first day of the selection for the empire's sake." Aries lied again, secretly fidgeting with her fingers. "As I've said, my brother was worried about my participation in the selection. Anything can happen within the palace grounds, so to prevent any internal conflict from arising, he told me to take care."
"Ohh… that makes sense." Suzanne and Veronika nodded in understanding, knowing Aries was that precious to the Marquess Vandran. After all, Dexter was very influential in the empire and was also famous in other lands. Telling Aries to take care of herself and stay alert at all times was better since she was Dexter's bottom line.
"Hehe… apologies, my lady. I thought you have some sort of special relationship with Duke Hakebourne." Sybil giggled playfully, hooking an arm around Aries. "He is charming. It wouldn't be a surprise if he ends up sending your house a marriage proposal."
'Oh, my lord! Please have mercy on me!' Aries secretly looked around nervously, knowing what Sybil said just now could lead to Conan's execution! If Conan got in trouble because of this harmless teasing, he would surely forget his friendship with Aries and drag her down with him.
Suzanne's eyes lit up, gazing back at Aries as if an idea suddenly crossed her head. "That's not bad. I heard the emperor's aide hadn't gotten married. I know Daniella is a candidate for the empress, but it was obvious the duke was rather comfortable with you."
"I don't want to tease you, but my first impression of him was that he was a very intimidating man," Veronika chimed in while Sybil and Suzanne nodded in agreement. "Even earlier, he carried an air of a royal, but in front of Lady Daniella, he was like an infatuated man."
"..." Aries walked slowly, lowering her eyes, horrified at where this discussion was leading. Wherever this would go, she felt like having a glimpse of the guillotine.
[ Little did they know, the man, and also the subject of this discussion, kept sneezing. Conan kept shivering, telling himself someone was badmouthing him, only to blame the innocent Isaiah for it. ]
"Looking at the two of you from a distance, I can see the chemistry," Suzanne chuckled, interested to see more of Aries and Conan's interaction. "I won't be surprised if Duke Hakebourne sends a marriage proposal for Lady Daniella, lest she wasn't chosen to be the empress."
"From a political point of view, a marriage between the House Hakebourne and the House Vandran isn't so bad. After all, the House Hakebourne had always supported the royal family for generations while the House Vandran was leading the aristocrats. Tying both families in a marriage will surely cease His Majesty's worries," Veronika concluded solemnly, nodding, convinced at this route.
'Oh, god…' Aries's mouth fell open, looking back at them in horror. 'Please don't make it sound like Sir Conan and I are in love with each other! We both want to live!'
"Daniella, don't get us wrong. It's not like we're saying this because we don't want you to become an empress. However, we are so fond of you ?that we wish for you to live a good life with the man you love. After all, you went through a lot during your betrothal with that mad tyrant in the Maganti Empire," explained Suzanne lest Aries would misinterpret their intention.
"That is right." Veronika nodded, although her opinion about this was quite different.
Veronika had heard a lot of stories regarding the emperor of the Haimirich Empire. People said the tyrant in this empire was sick in the head, and whoever his empress would surely live a lonely life. The reason Veronika wasn't aiming to catch the emperor's eyes or heart but to get in his good graces to swear allegiance with the Chivisea Dynasty.
"Lady Daniella," Sybil called, holding Aries's' hand gently. She stopped and faced Aries squarely, smiling subtly at her. "We heard the Emperor of the Haimirich Empire could be very extreme. We all have our reasons to be in here, but you… we are aware you were forced to take part in this selection. If you need us, remember we're always here to support you. I really like Lady Daniella, and I don't want her to live a lonely life with the emperor."
"..."
'You... are all getting this wrong.' Aries was about to weep internally when she caught a figure approaching them from ahead. She snapped her eyes and looked ahead, only for her face to contort, seeing Roman, in his royal knight suit, along with two other knights, walking in their direction.
"Huh?" Suzanne furrowed her brows, narrowing her brows. "Isn't that the knight who helped us yesterday?"
"Oh…" Veronika rocked her head, sizing up Roman from head to toe. "But wasn't he a knight in the Marquess' knighthood brigade?"
"That's strange… why is he wearing a royal knight suit?" Sybil wondered, and then the three of them gazed at Aries, only to see the latter look ahead blankly.
'This…' Aries whispered in her head. '... is just a coincidence, right?'
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