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"Thank you for accepting my request despite the short notice."

"Drop the pretenses, Lord Miguel." Aries maintained a stony countenance while keeping her eyes locked on the person sitting on the divan on her right. "I might\'ve accepted your request for a private audience, but I don\'t have the spare patience to indulge in flatteries and formalities. That would be a waste of my time."

Miguel pressed his lips into a thin line, eyes on the woman on the one-seater couch by the end of the rectangular center table. 

"Aggressive," he commented under his breath. "But you are right, Your Majesty. Flatteries and formalities were simply a waste of time. Though you cannot blame me for you are still the sovereign of the mainland and thus, I cannot skip the formalities without your permission."

"I know." Aries leaned back, arms on the armrest, eyes on him. Her brows rose, motioning her arm for him to speak. "What is the urgent matter that you want to discuss with me? I\'m certain you wouldn\'t request a private audience with the sovereign on short notice if it wasn\'t important."

"You\'re right, Your Majesty." Miguel breathed out, clearing his throat. His expression turned solemn, locking his eyes with him. "Are you working with Abel Grimsbanne, Your Majesty?"

"No."

"Then why did you open the fort for anyone to come in and out of the mainland?"

"I thought you requested a private audience to discuss things that are essential to both of us and this country. I didn\'t know I was in for an interrogation." Aries let out a snicker, ridicule clear in her eyes. "I think I already told you the reason not just once, Count Miguel. Whether or not you believe me is on you, but I won\'t repeat myself. It seems my leniency on you made you forget who is the person a mere count like you are talking to. I would let this slide for now, but I guarantee you the next time you forget your place will be the time the Rothchild will grovel on my feet."

She tilted her head to the side, eyes colder than a second ago. "Is that all you need?"

"Apologies, Your Majesty." Miguel lowered his head mildly. "I might\'ve lost my mind and forgot I was talking to the person leading this great nation."

eαglesnᴏνel "Apologies accepted, but never forgotten." Aries shrugged. "Raise your head and tell me if that is all you need to know. I don\'t want to waste my time, Count."

Miguel slowly raised his head. As soon as he did, his eyes instantly met hers. 

"Please reduce the number of ships that go in and out of the Mainland\'s territory." Miguel didn\'t go around in a circle and delved into this main agenda. "I understand that the imports and exports and trades were set to keep our diplomatic relations with nations that benefit the mainland. However, I\'m afraid some people are taking advantage of this to hurt this land."

"Please hear me, Your Majesty." He bowed, hands curled on his lap.

"On what grounds are you basing this, Count?" Aries cocked her head to the side while Miguel lifted his head again. "Didn\'t I give you authority to oversee the fort for your peace of mind? Did something happen or have you seen anything suspicious about the goods that are entering the Mainland?"

Miguel kept a tight mouth for a moment. "I bumped into Abel Grimsbanne the other day."

"And?" her brow arched, aware that Abel and Miguel had met the other day. After all, Abel came to her that night. Although Abel didn\'t detail everything, he answered all of her questions. 

According to Abel, he simply bumped into Miguel. There weren\'t any conversations or anything that occurred. Abel wasn\'t even sure if Miguel recognized him.

"And… I think he is taking advantage of the trades."

"You think?" Aries repeated. "So you requested a private audience, tried to interrogate the sovereign, and now you are requesting to reduce the number of ships entering our territory based on a hunch?"

Miguel\'s jaw tightened. Of course, he knew how stupid that sounded even before he came in here.

"Lord Miguel, I considered you as someone better than this." Aries let out a dry laugh, resting her jaw against her knuckles. "I assumed you already thought about how to salvage this discussion before you came in here, yes?"

Silence descended on them after her remarks. Aries waited, giving him a minute to give her a satisfactory answer. But when a minute passed with silence, a loud and dry laugh escaped her lips.

"You don\'t?" ridicule shone in her eyes. "Are you trying to waste my time, Lord Miguel? Or do you think I am incapable of making sensible decisions for this country?"

"That is not what I intend —"

"Count Miguel Rothschild!" Aries\'s voice thundered as her eyes shone in bright red. "You came in here, requesting something that could affect the country\'s progressing economy based on a hunch, and you are telling me that undermining my authority and decisions is not what you intend to do?"

She shook her head in disappointment. "How amusing."

"Apologies, Your Majesty. I am simply saying that if someone from the outside came to know what sort of market we have in the Mainland —"

"Say no more." Aries cut him off mid-sentence with a stern voice. "Be grateful I haven\'t called my knights and sentenced you to death."

Miguel\'s breath hitched, assessing the coldness dominating her face. From the first time he met Aries, Miguel had many things to describe her. One personality in particular that stood out to him was her aloofness and the longing that would peek into her eyes from time to time.

But now, she felt like a stranger. 

The line between them felt wider and clearer. It was obvious Aries had drawn the line as the sovereign of this land, while Miguel was one of her subjects. 

He thought they had gotten closer, but it seemed he was wrong. She would never let him in.

"It was disappointing. I thought you were better than this, Count Miguel." Aries calmed down, but her expression was still unmoved. "Get out of my sight and don\'t ever show your face to me unless it is necessary. If you come here to waste my time again, I assure you... you won\'t leave the palace in one piece. Mark my words."