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Meanwhile…

Isaiah sauntered through the empty and silent hallway leisurely. His steps slowly came to a halt, turning his head to the window on his left. The place outside the palace was quiet; there were no knights fighting to death nor there was a heavy stench of blood in the air.

It was just quiet — unnaturally quiet.

A shallow breath slipped past Isaiah, resuming his strides without a trace of a hurry. He would get to his destination, anyway. Even so, Isaiah listened to every noise he could hear through the thin walls lest he had to make an important decision.

As Isaiah waltzed through the hallway, his steps once again stopped. His brows slightly rose and deep lines appeared in between his brows.

"I knew it," he whispered, looking at another window on the wall again. "So that\'s how it was done."

This time, Isaiah idled, facing the window. He held his wrist on his back, tapping it, eyes in the direction of the banquet hall.

"He\'s not there, though…" he drew his lips into a thin line, wondering where this person he was searching for was hiding. "He could\'ve been a great necromancer… if only he chose the right people to surround himself for proper growth."

************************************** BREAK **************************************

[ BANQUET HALL ]

Aries was sitting down on the chair she originally sat on, sharing the table with Abel and Maximus. Her breathing was growing slower and heavier, barely keeping her eyes open.

"Hah…" she breathed out heavily, her nosebleed dropping continuously on her lap. "No, not yet…"

Aries trailed off as she heard the loud creak of the door ahead. She slowly lifted her gaze, and despite her blurring vision, she could see a figure standing by the door.

"You…" came under her breath, noticing the bright auburn hair of the man. She couldn\'t see him properly as her vision was blurry, but based on the man\'s statue, physique, and that long auburn hair, Aries recognized him almost immediately.

Joaquin. 

His light footsteps caressed her ears, and each time, they sounded clearer and more distinct. She slowly raised her head when his shadow stretched over her, standing before the banquet table that was separating the two.

"What…" Aries blinked ever so weakly, panting for air, gripping the armrest. "What are you doing here?"

Joaquin kept quiet, staring at her pale complexion. Her nose was bleeding profusely, and even if he strike her right now, she wouldn\'t be able to fight back.

"You… look pathetic," he pointed out, balling his hand into a tight fist. "Do you understand I can kill you right now without breaking a sweat?"

"Why don\'t you do it?" she taunted under her breath, making him laugh dryly.

"Do you think I won\'t do it?" he asked, raising his hand toward her neck. "Every single day, Aries. Every single day I cursed your name and wish you suffer a thousand times."

Joaquin\'s hand trembled as it approached her neck while she sat still, keeping her chin up. When he wrapped his fingers around her slender neck, his grip didn\'t tighten. Instead, he simply held her neck as his lips quivered.

"Is this… the life you\'re living?" his voice muffled as his eyes turned bloodshot, angry, yet doing nothing but speak. "What were you doing all this time while I was suffering?"

Out of anger, Joaquin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her up with all his might.

"How is this better than Maganti or Rikhill, Aries?!" he roared, gripping her shoulders while grinding his teeth. "They are slowly killing you!"

"What are you saying?" Aries weakly breathed out, blinking, until her vision grew clearer. "What are you doing?"

His breath hitched until his neck turned taut. "What am I doing?"

"Didn\'t you come here to kill me?" Aries blinked weakly. "Why do you sound like you\'re about to cry?"

"I —" Joaquin opened his mouth, but his voice was stuck in his throat.

That was right. He came here to kill her. He came to make her suffer. But alas, the second he laid his eyes on her, the grudge and anger he had bottled every second inside that dungeon disappeared without a trace. All he felt was his longing to hold her, embrace her, and the desire to take her away from here.

"I… missed you," he whispered, loosening his grip on her shoulders. "Let\'s go far away from here, Aries. Let\'s forget about the past and live somewhere far away from all this chaos, far from these thrones and rules, and away from everything."

His brows rose, forcing a smile out. "Don\'t live like this anymore, love. This is enough, and you got to rest."

Aries studied his eyes, which were coated with a thin layer of tears, asking her sincerely to leave this place with him. There was a part of her that wondered what made Joaquin think she would agree. After all that he had done to her, what made him think she would trust him?

But the dominant part of her brain, however, understood him one way or another. Joaquin was a man who believed in what he believe and stick to it regardless if it was wrong or right. For someone like him, hating her was far more difficult than deluding himself and believing in this love that caused his downfall. Because if Joaquin admitted this love was simply his own greed, it also meant his downfall was his own cause, not hers.

A person to blame and a reason. That was Aries to him. That was his concept of love.

"At this point, I don\'t feel sick about this anymore," she murmured, slapping his hands away from her shoulder weakly. "I have always known I have a place in hell, and that was the throne. If I were you, leave this place before they return. I can\'t stop you right now, but I will chase you to the ends of the world to put you back in that dungeon myself. You have a head start, go."

His face scrunched as his heart clenched in bitterness, watching her rest her palms on the table to stop herself from falling.

"You say that in such a state…" his voice was low and shaking, making her raise her head. "I\'m not going anywhere without you, Aries Aime Heathcliffe."

"Aries Grimsbanne. That\'s my name now."

His heart swelled with the unspeakable anger he held toward Abel; a man worse than him. Drown with sudden jealousy of how she speak her husband\'s name, which she now carried, Joaquin grabbed her biceps again.

"You will come with me whether or not you want to," he announced through his gritted teeth. "Thank me later. You\'re welcome."