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[ PRESENT TIME ]

"Davien?"

Aries\'s eyes shook as she stared at the man standing before her. His hair and eye color were different, but she wouldn\'t mistake this face. This face who never shamed in expressing his emotions; someone she had seen wore a different kind of emotions.

Aries took a step back, but her body froze. Her body stopped her, as if saving her while her mind wasn\'t thinking straight.

"Davien?" the young Lord of the Rothschild furrowed his brows. "Your Majesty, it is I, Miguel Rothschild. I am honored to be in your presence."

The young Lord of the Rothschild clan, Miguel Rothschild, placed his hand across his chest. He bowed once again, this time as a gesture for his introduction. He kept his head down while Aries stared at him blankly.

\'Even his voice sounds the same,\' she whispered in her head, staring at his back while he was bowing.

She could feel her heart racing, making her catch her breath. Her eyes were still shaking as her face crumpled in confusion, lips quivering.

"Your Majesty."

Gustav\'s call put a stop to the confusion swelling in Aries\'s chest. She turned her head in his direction, only to see Gustav wearing a firm expression. He already entered the pavilion, standing by the entrance, shaking his head. He didn\'t know what was wrong with Aries, but he had served her for quite some time now to know that Aries was facing a dilemma and needed guidance to keep her on track.

Aries bit her lower lip, holding Gustav\'s gaze while mentally calming herself down.

\'This very land I am standing on is the Mainland.\' Her inner voice shook, peeling her eyes away from Gustav and to the young Lord Miguel. As soon as she faced him, the latter straightened his back. \'I… shouldn\'t let them shake me.\'

Aries gulped a mouthful of saliva, trying to stop her body from trembling.

Her lips quivered as they parted, but she managed to force her words out of her throat.

"I am pleased to meet you, Young Lord," she greeted, motioning her hand to the chairs and table. "Why don\'t we take a seat? I would love to get to know the young Lord of the Rothschild I heard so much about."

Miguel smiled warmly, chuckling with his lips closed. "I am honored."

With that being said, Aries and Miguel approached the tables and chairs. But as they drew closer, the latter jogged slightly to drag the seat for the Queen.

"I see that your head chamberlain had left the pavilion and there was no servant to serve the queen," he remarked with an amicable smile. "I hope I am not overstepping my bounds."

Aries stared at the smile before her, before she gulped. "I\'ll let this slip today, though I hope you wouldn\'t be so presumptuous the next time."

Aries avoided his gaze as she approached the chair, allowing him to assist her to sit down. Miguel then walked around the table, taking the seat across from her. As they sat across from each other, Aries couldn\'t help but observe him in silence.

"I am glad that despite your hectic schedule to lead the Mainland to greatness, you granted my request to see you, Your Majesty." Miguel broke the silence, going through the formalities.

As he talked, his voice sounded more and more distant until Aries could only hear silence. Her eyes, however, never left him. Even how he talked, how his lips moved, how his eyes twinkled in sincerity reminded her of Davien.

This was Davien.

Aries was aware that a stranger could look like someone. However, this wasn\'t just a slight resemblance. This was exactly her brother\'s face, voice, mannerisms, and gentle personality. This was him, no doubt.

Her hands on her lap slowly balled into a tight fists the more she stared at Miguel. Seeing her brother again, alive and well, made her remember a memory she tried to bury in her heart.

A memory where all she could hear was the screams of her people, smelling the thick smoke, gunpowder, and blood of her people. And then a head rolling until it hit her bloody and muddy boots, staring at it while feeling how her heart sink.

Unforgivable.

After painstakingly trying to heal the wounds in her heart just to move on from that painful and traumatic incident, her current enemies shamelessly used her past and weakness just to hurt her. Bringing back her trauma was something Aries had already expected. However, she didn\'t expect they would go this far.

Aries had no idea if this was some sort of illusion or if it had been a part of a deliberate plan. After all, they planted Maleficent\'s core in her without her knowledge. Who knew what else they did in the past for safety measures?

"As I was saying, the matters in the borders that the late King tasked our family —"

"I heard you are an excellent master swordsman." Aries cut him off with a topic that didn\'t have anything to do with what Miguel was talking about. "Would you like to be my sparring partner?"

"Pardon?"

"As a queen of the mainland, I acknowledge that there were still areas that I am lacking. I lost my beloved husband too soon. Rising to the throne wasn\'t in my plans just yet," she explained, holding her hand tightly to maintain a calm mien. "However, I am always willing to fill in where I lack. I am the queen and I have to learn to protect myself from danger. Therefore, I am asking if you would like to be my sparring partner."

Miguel stared at her with a little bit of surprise before he smiled, bowing. "It will be my honor, Your Majesty."

Aries kept a cold countenance as she gazed at him. She indulged with him for a while before Miguel bid his farewell to her, telling her he would visit her again once he settled his estate in the capital.

Aries sat on the same seat even when Miguel left. She stared at the spot where Miguel sat previously, bearing a blank expression.

"Your Majesty." After minutes of waiting for Aries, Gustav decided to approach her. "Is there something wrong?"

She kept quiet for a minute before she shook her head.

"No," came out a whisper, pushing herself up, only to realize her knees were still shaking. Thanks to Gustav\'s quick reflexes, he leaped to her and held her shoulders to stop her from falling.

"Your Majesty," he called worriedly, only to see Aries\' pale complexion when she gazed up at him. "I think you need some rest — Your Majesty!"

Panic swelled in Gustav\'s chest when Aries suddenly fainted, catching her body in his arms.