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[ FLASHBACK ]

"He asked my hand for marriage…." Aries\'s voice shook, turning her head in her brother\'s direction. Davien was standing in front of the window with his back facing her while sitting on the divan in the prince\'s palace sitting room.

Aries stood from her seat. "Despite my refusal, he still went to Father to ask for his permission. Davien, I refuse this proposal."

"I know." Davien slowly turned around to face his sister. As soon as his eyes met hers, all he saw was the desperation and hopelessness in her eyes.

He walked towards her and stopped when he stood in front of her. Davien placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them mildly.

"I know," he repeated under his breath. "Accepting his proposal means you have to give up the title of the crown princess or… we have to let the Maganti Empire absorb the Kingdom of Rikhill. It\'s a tough decision, considering the military power and influence of the empire\'s crown prince."

Her lips parted as her brows rose, waiting for what he would say next. But Davien didn\'t say anything anymore; rather, he couldn\'t say anything with certainty to reassure her. This was a problem — a huge one.

Turning down the offer of Joaquin Imperial would only lead to one thing, and that was the worse. However, accepting his offer wasn\'t any better. Unless Aries would give up her new title or the king of Rikhill would give Aries up. In that way, the kingdom and the empire would be allies instead of the empire conquering this small nation.

Seeing the conflict pooling in his eyes, Aries\'s heart sank. Of course, she knew what was going through his head. She wasn\'t so oblivious to political affairs. She bit her inner lower lip until the tang of iron filled her mouth.

"It\'s fine," she breathed out, forcing a smile on her face. "It\'s fine, Davien. If there\'s nothing we could do, then I\'d forgo the title and be his… mistress."

"Aime." His eyes lit up as his grip on her shoulder tightened, shaking his head. "No. Don\'t do that."

"What else can we do, Davien?" Aries slapped his hands away from her shoulder while keeping her eyes on him. "I hate it as much as you do, but we are talking about the Maganti Empire here. Resisting them will not benefit us. If anything, we are only giving them enough reason for their soldiers to march in this land."

"Aime, can you hear yourself?" Davien argued, grinding his teeth. "If you think women in this kingdom weren\'t given equal opportunities as men, the empire is way worse. You won\'t be treated as a human being."

"Then what do you want me to do? Turn a blind eye and wait for the worse?" Aries shook her head. "I can\'t do that to our people, Davien. I do not want to watch them slaughter my people."

"Aime." Davien took a large step, holding her by the shoulder. "Let me handle it."

"No."

"Aries Aime Heathcliffe!" His grip tightened as his voice thundered, taking her by surprise as this was the first time he called her with such a strong tone. "Don\'t you trust me anymore because I lost to you?"

Her breath hitched at his abrupt question, eyes shaking.

"Aries, I… you don\'t have to make this sacrifice." His voice calmed down a bit, but his eyes were still fiery. "Please, just this once. Trust me."

Aries\'s face crumpled, holding her brother\'s gaze. Her brave front slowly crumbled down, reaching into his clothes to keep herself from falling.

"I\'m scared… Davien." Her lips quivered, expressing her honest heart.

"I know." His heart sank, seeing the layer of tears illuminating her eyes. Davien sighed, pulling her into his embrace. "I know, and I won\'t deny that this scares me as well."

He patted her back gently to soothe her trembling body. "But… give me some time. Give me a chance, Aries. I will settle this matter."

Aries whimpered, keeping her mouth shut to muffle her cry. When another minute had passed, she gazed up at him, teary-eyed.

"What will you do?" she asked with a shaking voice. "How will you settle this matter, Davien? I don\'t think they will listen to us."

Davien sported a reassuring smile. "I believe we can resolve anything with a rational discussion. We will negotiate; the Land of Rikhill had been relying on trades, and thus, we know how to negotiate."

"I believe if we\'re sincere enough, it could even move the immovable mountain," he continued, drawing back to have a better look at her. "Do you trust me?"

Trust… wasn\'t the issue, was what Aries wanted to tell him, but she couldn\'t bring herself to say it. In the end, Aries could only nod at him since she trusted Davien. But then she clutched his arm and squeezed it.

"If all things fail, just tell Father to give up on me —"

"If all things fail, I\'d stay by your side." He cut her off with a reassuring smile, holding her hand. "Don\'t think too much about it and allow me to do this as my last task as the crown prince and as your big brother."

"Your happiness is more important to me." He cupped her face, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "Give me some time… and I\'d bring the good news."

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[ PRESENT TIME ]

Aries was dipped in the tub, looking at the wall with blank eyes. Miguel\'s words reminded her of Davien\'s remarks before the fall of the Kingdom of Rikhill. When the negotiation failed with the Maganti Empire, Aries requested an audience with the king, only to be welcomed by all the ministers and Davien.

They were all optimistic, telling her they were ready to fight the empire to protect the crown princess. Back then, Aries was moved by their enthusiasm and sincerity. She was optimistic. But now…

"Sincerity… isn\'t enough to move the mountains," she whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek, recalling the sincerity and optimism in Miguel\'s eyes earlier today. "We learned that the hard way, Davien. You\'re foolish to believe it will move me."

When Aries blinked, a mirage of the young Davien was dipped in the same tub opposite her. "I hope you listened to me this time. I am not the same… don\'t put too much faith in me. You\'d be disappointed, Davien."