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"Inez."

"Inez..."

"I... nez..."

Inez gasped for air as her eyes popped open, clutching the sheet as she was on her elbow. She was sweating buckets, her complexion pale, and blood pumping through her veins twice faster than usual.

"I hate this," she whispered when she recovered slightly, closing her eyes as she collapsed back on the bed. When she reopened her eyes and gazed at the high ceiling, she breathed out sharply through her mouth.

"I hate her," she added, but the emotions in her eyes said otherwise.

Ever since she visited Aries after the opening banquet for the season, she had been having \'nightmares.\' She would constantly dream of Aries and hear her voice calling her name over and over and over that even during the day, she would zone out.

"Don\'t misunderstand her." Inez placed her arm over her eyes while her other hand crept to her chest and clutched it. "Circe... stop giving me mixed signals. I\'m not... like that. I\'m not a freak."

Knock knock...

"Your Highness, are you awake?"

Inez remained silent even when she heard her personal maid outside the door. When she peeked through her one eye, she finally gave permission to the maid to enter, which the latter did. Carrying a basin and ewer to wash the ninth princess\'s face, the servant placed it on top of the stand while Inez was lying flat on the bed.

"Where is it?" she asked, making the servant turn her gaze on her with her brows raised. "The trinket I made the other day."

The servant smiled as she walked over to the desk in the corner of the chambers before she returned and stood beside the bed.

"Here, Your Highness." The servant offered the handmade trinket Inez had been crafting for two days. It was no secret that Inez was one of the best princesses the empire could offer. Her contribution warranted her liberty of choosing a partner she fancied.

However, Inez fancied no man — although many tried. But since she had been busy crafting a trinket meticulously and delicately, everyone in the Lazuli Palace was thrilled.

Why? Because in the empire, every hunting season, ladies would give out handkerchief or trinket to the man they fancied or the knight of their choosing as a lucky charm to bring them their hunts. It had also been an indirect method of confessing or answering someone\'s feelings. Thus, the season had also become a season for love and not just for hunting.

In other words, everyone in the Lazuli Palace could already hear imaginary bells ringing.

Inez held the trinket that had a combination of purple and light pink — very ladylike colors and the colors that were not her cup of tea. But her eyes softened as she gazed at the trinket she made herself for reasons she couldn\'t understand.

"It looks like lavender and hibiscus..." she whispered as that was what she had in mind when making the trinket.

A lavender scent that had been the brand of the crown princess. Just the whiff of it and she would know Aries was just around the corner. The hibiscus, on the other hand, represented... the giver was acknowledging the receiver\'s delicate beauty.

"What am I thinking?" she breathed out sharply as her hand that was holding the trinket collapsed to her side. "I think I\'ve lost my mind at making such a stupid thing."

<strong>*********</strong>

Later that day...

"And Joaquin?" Aries turned to Climaco, the captain of the second squadron in charge of the crown princess\'s safety.

"His Highness gave a word. He will come into your tent after his meeting with the officials."

She rocked her head, fixing the wristband. She glanced at the knight before she waved.

"I will come out before the event begins."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

Climaco bowed with his fist across his chest and left the crown princess tent without saying a word. Aries kept her mouth shut before she cocked her head, hands on her hip, eyes on Curtis. Gertrude and Curtis would stay in the crown princess\'s tent while Aries would take part in the hunt.

"Are you sure you\'ll be fine in here?" she asked Curtis, who was sitting on the oak chair before glancing at the entrance of the tent. "Although no one will touch you while I was gone, things can still be very dangerous."

"It\'s alright." Curtis smiled warmly. "Gertrude will be with me."

"We should let her know about your condition," Aries suggested, but he simply shook his head. "Why? Gertrude is nice, and she really cares for you — for us. We can trust her."

"Aime." Curtis let out a weak sigh as he gazed up at Aries. It wasn\'t unusual to see her in a man\'s outfit and her hair tied up in a high ponytail. What Curtis wouldn\'t get used to were the color of her hair and her aura —- she just felt different. Even if her face was the same with a fake beauty mark, it wasn\'t enough to connect her to the Aries he knew.

Aries felt like a different person from the look in her eyes, her aura, demure, the way she talked, and everything. He couldn\'t blame the people in the Maganti if they had fallen for this disguise. It felt too realistic not to believe what they could see and feel.

"It\'s not a matter of trust. I know you trust your personal maid and I do, too. I think she\'s a good person who only bore goodwill, but it\'s safer if she only knew a little," he explained after several seconds of studying Aries, sporting a meek smile to reassure her. "It\'s not like it will make a difference if she knew or not. Moreover, it —"

Curtis abruptly stopped when Aries put a finger in front of her lips. She then walked towards him. Standing before him, Aries raised her hand and ruffled his hair.

"Wish me luck, Curtis." He looked at her and blinked twice and, from his peripheral vision, he noticed shadows outside the entrance of the tent.

"Your Highness, the ninth princess is here and requests an audience," Climaco announced from the outside.

The side of her lips curled up into a smirk as she exchanged looks with Curtis. The latter was rather amused at how keen she had become and how different she was when it was just the two of them, and when she was in the presence of the enemies.

Aries would just become an entirely different person.

"Come in," Aries ordered and her eyes glinted, retrieving her hand from Curtis while facing the entrance. A gentle smile replaced her smirk when her eyes landed on the stunning Inez.