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Days later…

Everything slowly returned to normal as everyone was preparing for the hunting season in the empire. It was one of the most important seasons in the empire and since it was the first hunting season for the crown princess, everyone was handling it delicately, as per the crown prince\'s orders.

Aries\'s life had also been mostly recurring events of indulging with Joaquin as he tried to win her over. She would then teach Curtis to read again. However, he hadn\'t spoken a word ever since that time and then fulfilled her duties as the crown princess.

Her search for Abel wasn\'t fruitful as well, because the man seemed to have vanished from the inner palace. It was the same with Conan and Dexter. Aries never got to see even their shadow, leaving her with a question: did they leave?

For her, that was impossible, knowing Abel. Her anxiety about this odd behavior from those men increased by the day. So, just like the past several days, Aries would walk around the inner palace to search for them under the facade of \'taking a casual walk.\'

\'Just where are they hiding?\' she wondered as she walked through the west wing of the inner palace. \'Are we playing cat and mouse now? Abel wouldn\'t be this silent if he wasn\'t planning something evil.\'

Aries bit her lip, keeping her poise. Her footsteps were light and echoing against the silent palace walls. She had also noticed that there weren\'t knights around and the number of servants the more she ventured into this part of the palace decreased significantly.

\'Sir Conan also didn\'t show himself after that night… although he told me he will always be there whilst enjoying his vacation time —\'

Her thoughts suddenly halted when the door she was passing by opened. She hadn\'t even grasped the situation when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her inside the door.

SLAM!

Out of instinct, the second her back was pressed against the door, she raised a finger and placed it on the person\'s lips. Her eyes gleamed with seduction, only for them to dilate the moment she realized she made a mistake.

Ismael looked at her with furrowed brows to what seemed to be a sensual reaction from her before she retrieved her finger from his lips as if she was scalded.

"What the hell was that?" he blurted out, receiving a glare from her.

"Don\'t do that!" she seethed, clicking her tongue as she pushed his chest away. "Don\'t drag me just anywhere. Goodness!"

Aries looked around the lodging room while brushing her arm with the back of her hand. She walked in the middle, ignoring Ismael\'s gaze on her back.

"What, Ismael?" she asked, looking back at him when he said nothing for a full minute.

"It\'s you, isn\'t it?" he queried back, causing her brow to arch. "That seal from the resistance group in Valiente. It\'s you who handed that seal to Joaquin, isn\'t it?"

"And if I am?"

"You!" Ismael ground his teeth as he clutched his hand into a tight fist. "What are you thinking about giving that power to him? I don\'t care how you got it in the first place, but why?! What will you gain by giving him that seal?"

Silence fell on them before the corner of her lips curled up into a smirk. Aries sauntered towards the nearby armchair, motioning her hand towards the seat across from her.

"Why don\'t you calm down and take a seat, my dear brother-in-law?" she tipped her head in the chair across from her and then added when she noticed his dismay at her invitation. "I don\'t talk to someone who is standing while I am sitting down… I hate the thought of being looked down on."

"Hah…" he scoffed in irritation, but he still reluctantly sat down across from her. His eyes glinted once again when he locked his gaze with her.

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked to break the ice. "Are you really against your husband? Or were you sick enough to sort of like him despite the hell he put you through?"

Aries only laughed as she shook her head. As far as she knew, no one knew about that seal aside from Violet. Princess Violet was smart and kind, but her kindness also had its \'downside.\' It was just as Aries said. If Violet was a little bit ambitious, she could have Carlos by the neck.

She couldn\'t blame the princess, though. Violet wasn\'t strong enough to let others know she held such a good card, or she would be Joaquin\'s target.

In other words, Violet kept this possession a secret even from her husband. So Ismael also didn\'t know about it and she could only guess that Joaquin also knew little information regarding the matter. His reaction when Aries handed the seal to him was enough for her to confirm that.

"Your Highness, you need to keep calm at all times," she advised with a subtle smile. "I told you, your Highness. Everything is about trade. The seal was, indeed, important since Joaquin would use it to its full potential."

Aries leaned back as she pondered for a moment. "If I guessed correctly, he would probably use the seal to create yet another drama and paint the guerrillas as the evil forces. The empire had been lenient to this group since the people backed them and they were troublesome barbarians who had no regard for their life." She stated the obvious since there were many reasons the guerrillas persisted this long.

"Joaquin just needs more solid reasons to justify his actions, your Highness. And I simply gave him that reason," she added as a matter of fact. "Having a hold of the seal will do us nothing since we don\'t need to hold on to it."

"Then what did you trade that seal for?" he asked under his breath, studying her confident smirk.

"A person worth more than the seal."

"What?" his brows furrowed.

Aries laughed in amusement. "Your Highness, if you\'ve done your role well, you\'ll soon figure out our gain in this trade."

"How would I know if that is our gain?" when Ismael raised his head, Aries was already standing. She then walked over to the side until she stood near his chair, planting her hand on his shoulder.

"You can appraise it." Aries squeezed his shoulder lightly and smirked. "Keep doing what you\'re doing. It\'ll come to fruition soon. I\'ll see you on the hunting grounds."