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Getting along well with Maximus IV meant Aries had to put up with his habitual nonsense and schemes. Working and living with him gave Aries the chance to study Maximus. To be deeply truthful, Maximus wasn\'t so evil as a king. He wasn\'t kind, but he was exceptional and adept at what he was doing. 

All his personality and sinful mind aside, Maximus was a genius. He wasn\'t strong; even before Aries turned into a vampire, she was certain she still had a chance to win against Maximus in a duel. His only advantage was his mind. Not that he was completely nonsense or mad; he was surprisingly balanced.

A little bit of goodness and madness. 

"Won\'t you ask where I am taking you?" Aries didn\'t react to Maximus\'s question, staring at the window of the carriage. "I get sad whenever you ignore me."

"Aren\'t we on the way to purge the south?" she answered, blinking ever so tenderly before setting her sharp eyes on the man sitting opposite her. "I heard witches and outsiders were now flocking the borders in the South. You opened the gates and lowered the security and now the king and his troop, along with his queen, were on their way to burn the entire place."

Maximus smiled. "That is classified information. I wonder how the queen knew about that." He cocked his head to the side while Aries simply shrugged. 

"Fabian." Maximus rocked his head, guessing how Aries got her intel. "That man… he\'s always been a reliable person. Even when the Grimsbanne were still in the Forbidden Forest, that man gained my interest."

"And to think a mere butler of the Grimsbanne already alarmed you only makes me wonder where did your courage to wage war with the Grimsbanne come from?"

"I think you heard me wrong."

"No." Aries shook her head mildly while keeping her gaze on him. "You were scared of them, Your Majesty. You were scared of them and yet you dared cross the line. I wonder why."

Maximus smirked. "Wasn\'t it obvious?"

"I thought it was." Aries slowly set her eyes back on the window, keeping her unchanging, cold countenance. "But after months of getting along with you, I can\'t help but wonder what was your real motive."

"Haha. You have a vast imagination, my queen."

"I wish I was." Her voice was low and quiet. "I really wish I am, Maximus."

"And why is that?"

"Guess."

Maximus pressed his lips while his brows rose. However, he didn\'t press on the matter and allowed silence to dominate the carriage. Meanwhile, Aries kept her eyes on the window but observed him from the corner of her eye. 

\'I wish it was just me,\' she told herself. \'Because it would be terrible if you have a different motive other than wanting to massacre the Grimsbanne Clan.\'

Aries and Maximus didn\'t speak with each other throughout the ride for the day. The south was quite far from the capital; they would take at least two nights before reaching their destination. However, they could reach the place if they rode horses or simply went on foot. 

Vampires were fast, but because Maximus took Aries with him, they had to slow down. She could always ride a steed, but he didn\'t want to, for a reason she might run away. Both of them knew that was nonsense, knowing Aries was bound to him with a contract. 

Still, Maximus had the final say and so they rode to the south for two nights, taking a rest to sleep before continuing on their journey. She could say Maximus was being considerate to her. They could always just camp, but he prepared mansions so she could rest in comfort. 

****

Two days later…

"Drag them all inside!" 

Aries stood from a distance, watching the fire slowly devour the town while everyone was trying to save everything they could. Some people tried to flee the town with their children, only to realize there was no way they could save themselves. 

Royal knights surrounded the town, not allowing a single soul to step out of the burning village. 

Even from this distance, she could hear their screams, the children\'s cries, and the chaos, along with the quiet laughter of the fire. 

"Heh." Maximus sneered, crossing his arms under his chest. Satisfaction shone in his eyes as they mirrored the flames crawling across the town while the smoke slowly reached the sky. "This is what you do to sneaky rats who didn\'t know their place."

Aries maintained her expression. No one could tell what she was thinking, as her countenance was just stoic. There was no sympathy or anger in her eyes, nor did she bear the same excitement and satisfaction as Maximus. 

"What do you say, my queen?" Maximus cast her a knowing look, smirking. "Were you surprised? Angry? Or saddened? You\'ve been quiet and I\'m intrigued. Your thoughts matter to me, after all."

Aries didn\'t answer immediately, taking her time before she cast him an indifferent look. "Why would I be surprised? Angry? Or saddened? This wasn\'t the first time I\'ve seen people suffer because of one person."

"Right." He smacked his lips, nodding in agreement. "Rikhill, Maganti, and then Haimirich fell right in front of you. Are you saying you\'re immune now?"

"I\'m saying I was expecting more from you, but it turns out a genius like you still ran out of ideas on how to make people suffer." Aries let out a disappointed sigh, tilting her head to the side. "However, that wasn\'t the main reason I was neither surprised nor angry."

Aries raised her chin ever so slowly. "Back then, I had no power to stop the war in my land. Meanwhile, the fall of Joaquin Imperial was my doing and so was the situation in Haimirich."

"Do you understand where I am going, Maximus?" she continued with genuine wonder in her voice. 

Maximus narrowed his eyes suspiciously before he turned his head back to the town, only to see the thick clouds forming over the town. In a blink of an eye, rain pour, distinguishing the fire that was mercilessly burning the town. 

"The only time I was powerless was when I was in Rikhill, Your Majesty." Her voice stole his attention, making him look back at her with a frown. "The question you should\'ve asked me was not if I am surprised, angry, or sad. It should\'ve been whether or not I would turn a blind eye about it."

The side of her lips curled up, hearing thunder from a distance. Her eyes were taunting. Aries didn\'t meddle because she thought that was the right thing to do, but she did it to annoy Maximus and show him she wouldn\'t simply follow everything just as he pleased. 

Little did she know, among the many victims who could\'ve died in the fire, was the woman standing before her two years later.