Chapter 342 [Bonus Chapter]

With Curtis's appearance in the Jade Palace, Ismael had no other option but to return to his study with him. The third prince kept pacing back and forth, while Curtis was leaning in the corner of the room with folded arms, eyes on Ismael.

"Damn that woman…" Ismael cursed through his gritted teeth, running his hand through his hair. "What the hell is she up to now?"

Ismael, although never trusted Aries, knew she wanted Joaquin's demise just as much as he does. However, he shouldn't be that complacent. Aries would sacrifice him and use him as fodder for her convenience. If Curtis was here, then that answered Joaquin's change of plans. Aries used her sly mouth once again.

"Calm down —"

"Calm down?! How can I?!" Ismael roared at Curtis. "My damn brother is out there being tortured to death! You fucking know how far Joaquin can take this just to fucking get what he wants. It would be better if he just slit Rome's throat, but Joaquin wasn't that kind."

He huffed, his thoughts jumbled at the fact that things had turned once again and he had to start from scratch. An endless cycle, Ismael just wanted to get out of.

"Damn!" he clutched a portion of his hair with both his hands, having this urge to pull his scalp apart. "This is all her fault. No, it's mine. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off of that woman."

"You shouldn't have." Curtis agreed, nodding mildly, while Ismael gazed back at him. "If only you had monitored her movements, you wouldn't be in this situation."

Ismael scoffed at Curtis' calmness, but he couldn't really argue with him. What Curtis said was nothing but facts.

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"You've known she isn't your ally, nor she is your enemy. All she wants is the crown prince's downfall and she would stop at nothing to achieve that," explained Curtis to Ismael, which he didn't have to since Aries made it clear to the third prince. "Have you ever wondered why she gave you the power you are holding now? It's because she doesn't need it."

Curtis paused as he sized Ismael from head to toe. "You might have a common enemy, but your goals are different, Third Prince. The people in the Maganti Empire weren't her people, and thus, she had no obligation to protect them. After all, our Rikhill had suffered while the people in here rejoiced for every victory of their beloved crown prince."

"You can't blame Aime for what happened to the seventh prince. The blame is yours to take responsibility for being incompetent." Curtis' words stung like a powerful jab, but he said it anyway with a straight face.

? For reasons unknown, Ismael could only look at this man and calmed down slightly. Losing it would do more damage. What the third prince needed to do was to calm down and think of a resolution.

"Damn it…" Ismael ran fingers through his hair once again, defeated once more.

Curtis was right.

Ismael was incompetent. He thought he was decisive enough, but compare to Aries who could sell her soul and conscience, and Joaquin, who could take his cruelty ten times deeper than hell, Ismael had still a long, long way to go.

But then again, didn't Aries tell him not to change? Just what sort of thing he shouldn't change when his enemies always get the upper hand just because playing dirty never bothered them?

Curtis shook his head sideways, watching how Ismael came from an angry dog to someone who was having a mental breakdown. It didn't take long before silence reigned over them.

"She would've slapped you to your senses if she's here," he mumbled, but Ismael heard him loud and clear. Curtis tapped his temple mildly. "Use your head for once and not your heart. Why do you think she had to do this? The seventh prince is an asset for her and sacrificing him was a big, enormous loss to your side. Yet, she still did. Why don't you think about her reason if you are in her shoes?"

Curtis cocked his head to the side and let out a deep exhale. "No wonder Joaquin is always a step ahead of you. He always uses his head and not just his heart… I'm not sure if he has one, though. I'm saying always put yourself in your enemy's shoes when making a decision or trying to find answers to their actions. Compared to the powers in your grasp, Aime doesn't have those; she gave them all to you, remember? But why can she do small ripples and turn them into gigantic waves?"

"The answer is quite simply, Your Highness. It's just that she knew her enemies and uses her head over her feeling. Therefore, she can decide at critical times."

Ismael ignored Curtis's unnecessary remarks and absorbed the other pieces of information in his statements.

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"A trade," he breathed out and glanced at Curtis, seeing the latter rock his head. "And what did she trade it for?"

"What do you think that will equal this situation?"

The third prince held his breath before he curled his hand into a tight fist. What sort of trade was worthy of losing an asset like Roman? In the back of Ismael's head, he already got his answer. There was just one thing that Aries could gain from this more than what she had lost.

"Trust," Ismael whispered and closed his eyes.

Curtis smirked. "Correct. Unlike you, who didn't need the crown prince's trust with your deadlock relationship, Aime needed his trust. After all, you are after an empire and she… is simply after him."

Ismael and Curtis looked at each other in silence before the latter let out a sharp exhale. Ismael dragged his feet towards the armchair and plopped his butt down on it, reclining as if he had just run a marathon.

"For his trust… she will let Rome die?" Ismael inquired as he looked up at the ceiling. "I won't let that happen. Rome is the bridge I have to the Valiente Group. Those fools won't listen to me. Worse. They would attack with no concrete plan if Joaquin planned to execute Rome publicly. His people won't allow their leader to die right before their eyes. They would surely do everything they could, even if it means interrupting the execution, not knowing they were stepping into a giant trap."