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Before the trial began, and also the same day Joaquin beat Curtis and Gertrude, Aries made a surprise visit to the chief justice\'s office. It was her first time meeting Modesto, and since she was the crown princess, he didn\'t dare reject her request.

And if Modesto could change his decision back then, he would\'ve done it. Because that visit still bothered him today.

"I hope my sudden visit doesn\'t inconvenience you, minister." Modesto raised his head at the woman sitting across from him.

"Not at all, your royal highness. I\'m just a little surprised," said Modesto. "What do I owe this pleasure?"

Aries pressed her lips and smiled meekly. "In a rush, are we?"

"No, it\'s just…"

"It\'s alright." She chuckled, waving mildly. "The purpose of my visit is regarding my husband, the crown prince."

"Ye — yes?" His brows knitted in puzzlement.

"Yes, the crown prince." Aries rocked her head and then flashed him a kind smile. "I had been watching the untold unfold from the sidelines and I had been noticing some alarming concerns. It had been bugging me and my heart had been in unrest because of it."

"Your Royal Highness, what are you —"

"Will you lend me an ear, minister?" she cocked her head to the side, keeping her amicable smile. "I\'m certain once you hear it, you\'ll also feel concerned. We are in the same boat, after all. My husband\'s downfall will also be mine… or not. But I sort of grown fond of him."

Aries leaned back and propped her elbow on the armrest. "Give the eighth prince a lighter sentence if he confessed."

"What —?" Her request rendered him speechless momentarily. "Your Highness, with all due respect, the verdict for the trial would be deliberated —"

"Give him a lighter sentence." She cut him off as she repeated with a meek smile. "Minister, let me tell you why you should listen to my suggestion."

"My husband\'s plans had been foiled when the third prince was questioned instead of put behind bars. No one expected him to leave this fiasco unscathed, but he did. That only means one thing. Everyone made a miscalculation and compromise is just another word for failure."

"Sure, convict the eighth prince and get nothing from it aside from the little possibility of crippling the third prince," she continued with the same air of nonchalance. "But there was a more roundabout way to gain from this failure of a plan."

The corner of her lips hooked up slyly. "It\'ll be a shame to leave everything as it was."

Modesto furrowed his brows, studying the confidence dominating her face. The next second she opened her mouth, his eyes dilated ever so slowly and his jaw fell ajar. The way he looked at her changed, feeling his heart thumped against his chest.

That very second, one thing had grown clear to the minister. Joaquin… married a powerful ally or a possible threat to the crown prince\'s influence. She didn\'t even need to threaten him for him to fear this woman who would also become the empress in the distant future.

*

PRESENT TIME…

Joaquin cocked his head to the side after listening to Modesto\'s explanation, blinking countless times. A faint scoff suddenly slipped past his lips, amused at what he heard.

"Hah… that\'s interesting." He rocked his head with his lips closed. He then glanced at Modesto\'s pale complexion before withdrawing the sword at the latter\'s neck.

"Although I must admit what you said just now is interesting, it won\'t save you if it failed."

"Your Highness." Modesto pressed his palm against the side of his neck, watching Joaquin calmly put his sword back in its sheath. "You must acknowledge the crown princess. She\'s a Vandran and although the Vandrans\' don\'t have influence in the Maganti Empire, they were well respected in Haimirich. She\'s better off being your ally than your enemy."

Joaquin frowned as he nonchalantly glanced up. "She\'s better off being my ally?" he laughed in ridicule.

"You\'re correct. However, a woman like her will eventually craves power."

"However, this… she —"

"Minister, you survived today because there\'s some relevance to your reasoning. However, once this has proven a failure, I will make sure you and the church would be persecuted accordingly." Joaquin raised his chin and smirked. "I\'ll let this one slide, but do this again, and you\'ll face consequences."

With that being said, Joaquin turned around to leave. All Modesto could do was stare at the crown prince\'s back while putting pressure on the slash on his neck.

\'Your Highness…\' he clenched his teeth and secretly thought of Aries. \'Once this was proved effective… you have my word.\'

A determined glint flickered across his eyes, staring at the door that slammed closed. Everything he told Joaquin was all the truth… but that wasn\'t all. There were things Modesto kept to himself.

\'I\'ll pledge allegiance to you.\'

They said cornered dogs could only know how to bark. However, they weren\'t dogs but actual men who held the slightest bit of power. They would cower and abide by the man in power, but if someone who could challenge the person in the highest escalation appeared… that would leave more options to people.

And Aries… just made that declaration not just to Modesto, but to others as well. It was no longer the third prince and Joaquin anymore. It was now three of them and the new participant was not to be underestimated.

******

Meanwhile, in the Lazuli Palace…

"So, the eighth prince\'s got a lighter sentence?" Inez arched a brow after receiving the report regarding the trial today. She leaned her side against the divan set in the famous enormous greenhouse.

"First, Ismael came out of this fiasco unscathed, and now Carlos got a lighter sentence. Joaquin wasn\'t someone who would do this." She narrowed her eyes before the corner of her lips curled up cunningly. "This is quite interesting, indeed. I wonder if this was Ismael\'s doing or… someone else."

She glanced up at the knight standing near the divan. "Monitor the situation. I don\'t know what sort of scheme everyone had in mind, but surely, this doesn\'t seem it\'ll end in that trial."

"Yes, your highness."

As the knight bowed and walked away, Inez\'s eyes glinted in amusement. Things had been unfathomable ever since that fire which made her wonder what was going on?

"I have a bad feeling about this."