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"Your Highness!" Gertrude exclaimed as soon as she came closer to Aries, who was left sitting in the middle of the bed. Her eyes shook at the handprint around her neck, lips quivering as she hesitatingly sat on the edge of the mattress.

Aries was staring into nothingness, blinking ever so tenderly.

"Gertrude," she called, shifting her eyes to Gertrude only to see the latter\'s worried face. "Prepare me a dress that isn\'t too reserved. Just enough for someone to notice these marks."

"Your Highness…"

"It\'s nothing, Gertrude." Aries kept her cold expression as she looked away. "This won\'t kill me."

"But His Majesty…"

"Abel won\'t see me for days, so don\'t worry."

Gertrude pursed her lips into a thin line, staring at Aries\'s side profile in worry. That wasn\'t her real concern, but how Aries recklessly let herself get harmed. But then again, Aries didn\'t have that many options.

"I\'ll prepare your dress then." She bowed with a deep exhale, assisting herself out of the bed. As she walked away, Gertrude couldn\'t help but look back at Aries when the latter spoke.

"I just want to go home, Gertrude." Aries kept her eyes on the window as the side of her lips curled up. "Once I settled things in this place, I will surely rest and laze around."

Her remarks brought a subtle smile to Gertrude\'s face as Aries faced the servant. "Don\'t worry. I\'m not going overboard with my lover sniffing around."

"Yes, Your Highness."

With that being said, Gertrude walked away to execute Aries\'s orders while the latter watched her back. Aries smacked her lips when the door shut closed, breathing out heavily while gazing at the window. Her brow arched, flinging her legs out of the bed to walk to the balcony.

Standing on the balcony, Aries looked over the railings and furrowed her brows.

"How did he sneak in from here?" she wondered, recalling Abel\'s answer on where he came from. "Did he lie?"

It was impossible to jump from the ground to the balcony of her room. Climbing was also ruled out.

"Now that I think about it, Abel always sneaks in my room even in the marquess\'s estate," came out a mumble, leaning her arms against the railings, deep in thought. "And every time, he always says he came from the balcony."

The more Aries thought about this, her frown grew worse. She didn\'t think much about it in the past — although it sometimes crossed her — only now did this actually bother her. Even if she say Abel had his way, it was still impossible for him to intrude inside the palace of Maganti easily.

"I don\'t know what to think anymore." She sighed, shaking her head to rearrange her thoughts. "I\'ll just ask him once everything is over. I need to finish my assignment in here since it seems he wouldn\'t return to Haimirich alone."

Aries gazed ahead and nodded in understanding, tossing all other thoughts at the back of her head. Still, the questions and curiosity remained in her head.

"It\'s not like he can really fly, right?" she whispered.

***

Gertrude returned with three different pieces of dress for her to choose from. Aries simply picked the one that caught her eyes, letting the other servants help her get change, following her daily routine although a bit late for the day.

Despite Abel\'s presence in this place and where he could be \'hiding\' right now, Aries didn\'t allow that to distract her. She simply convinced herself that she would know if they captured Abel.

So far, she had heard nothing out of the ordinary. The inner palace was still the same, unsuspecting and unaware of Abel\'s presence. Aries was relieved about that, thinking that Abel found a good hiding spot. If only she realized sooner that the man wasn\'t really the type who would hide his beauty.

"I really appreciate this visit, ninth sister." Aries smiled at Inez, who was sitting across from her inside the crown princess\'s chancery. "I hope you do not mind the sudden invitation."

"Not at all, Your highness. When I heard you need my help, I rushed in here." Inez returned with a smile.

"Please. Enjoy the tea I prepared for you." Aries motioned her hand on the coffee table between them where the tea was placed at. "Anyway, I heard that the food storage and the mining area in the east ninth district used to be under your governance before they transferred it to me."

"That is correct, Your Highness."

"Apparently, several months ago, a fire broke out that engulfed the food storage in the east ninth district. I read the reports regarding the incident. However, there were things I couldn\'t understand, especially the start of the fire," Aries continued, keeping her eyes on Inez as the latter listened in silence. "Do you perhaps have any information that isn\'t written in the reports?"

Inez snapped her eyes as she pondered for a second. "Apparently, despite the investigation, we had conducted, we failed to uncover the cause of the explosion in the east ninth district."

Aries pressed her lips into a thin line as she rubbed her chin lightly.

"Although I was tasked to help the east ninth district recover the food storage, and this is out of my jurisdiction, it bothers me greatly. Even if I filled up the storage again, there is no telling if another incident like this would take place," she mumbled solemnly while Inez study the former\'s demeanor.

By the looks of it, Aries was undeniably concerned about this. Inez wasn\'t stupid not to get the gist of her underlying concern.

"Are you thinking this is a retaliation and a sign of an uprising?" she inquired without beating around the bush, watching Aries raise her gaze back at her. Inez let out a shallow breath as she sported a smile. "Accidents like that were common occurrences that happened every few years across the land. You do not have to worry. The Maganti Empire is peaceful and our people are happy. There\'s no other reason for a revolt."

"Is that so…?" Aries bit her inner lips and massaged her nape, stretching her neck slightly. The reddish marks around it peeped out of her slightly high collar, causing Inez to furrow her brows. Before the ninth princess could think about it, words already escaped her mouth.

"Your neck…"

Aries slightly froze before she clipped the collar up to hide her neck. "It\'s nothing, ninth sister." She forced a wide smile, clearing her throat before changing the subject.

Inez narrowed her eyes but didn\'t dwell on it; even though she couldn\'t mistake those handprints as if Aries was strangled. She shouldn\'t get bothered by it, knowing Joaquin\'s temperament. However, Inez couldn\'t deny the building concern from within with just the thought of what was happening behind the closed doors of the Sapphire Palace.