The Tyrant's Pet

It took minutes before Joaquin finally noticed Roman's presence. The moment he turned his head and caught the shock plastered on the seventh prince's face, Joaquin tossed the seal to him. Roman caught it on instinct even though his brain was trying to process how Joaquin got a hold of this seal.

"What do you think, Roman?" he asked, retrieving his feet on the desk to sit properly. "What should we do with this?"

Roman gazed at the seal in his hand. "Your Highness, how did you…?" he looked up with furrowed brows.

"Does it matter?" Joaquin laughed as he leaned back. "How I got it or from whom I got it does not matter, Rome."

Roman remained silent as he watched Joaquin hum. The latter was tapping his fingers against the armrest, lips pressed, pondering about something.

"I've been thinking of what I should do with it. The guerrillas in the Valiente region had been actively opposing the monarchy, but all those we captured would rather bite off their tongues or commit suicide than let us get anything from them," the crown prince remarked, thinking of how troublesome the guerrillas had been even during their father's time. "Although they'd been silent recently, it's more alarming since we don't know what they were up to."

"I was thinking Ismael could have some sort of connection with them with everything that had happened," he added while rubbing his chin. "Although I'm uncertain about that, it's still better to strike and put an end to them once and for all."

A smug smirk slowly resurfaced on the crown prince's face. "I need to clean the empire before I take charge, after all."

There was a thick silence that befell the crown prince's chancery as Roman kept his mouth shut. All he did was gaze at the crown prince, studying that confidence and the natural wickedness behind his pair of ash eyes.

"Your Highness, what are you planning to do with this seal?" he asked after minutes of silence.

Joaquin's lips stretched even broader with eyes glinting dangerously. That second, Roman was certain whatever would come out of the crown prince's mouth was something… dreadful.

"The hunting season is coming," he humored. "Do you understand, Rome?"

Roman breathed out faintly as he hung his head low. "Yes… your royal highness."

"Good. Now make preparation. I am still busy coaxing my wife." Joaquin waved, but before Roman could leave, a knock came from the door. When the two turned their heads in its direction, Hernan had already gotten inside with a letter in his hand.

Hernan simply bowed out of respect to the two of them before marching towards Joaquin. He bent over and whispered in Joaquin's ears, causing Roman to furrow his brows. Why would Hernan need to whisper things in the crown prince's ears if there were only the three of them?

Joaquin's smile stretched even wider as he nodded, accepting the letter Hernan handed him. He kept silent as he skimmed the letter, in high spirits as things were going out his way smoothly.

"How amusing. The Gods surely favor me." He chuckled as he folded the paper and gaze at Hernan. "We'll invite him over. Arrange a lunch with him."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

"For three." Hernan's brows knitted when Joaquin added. "I will invite Circe. She will be delighted."

Hernan gazed at Joaquin with conflict in his eyes, in disbelief at the crown prince's suggestion. But he bit his tongue and kept his disagreement with him since he was aware this may be a tactic for the crown prince to win the crown princess over.

With that being said, both Hernan and Roman bid their farewell and left the crown prince together. Standing outside the chancery, Roman kept his distant countenance.

"Are we keeping secrets now?" he asked without casting Hernan a look. The latter's brows rose as he glanced at the former.

"Your Highness, what are you insinuating?"

Roman didn't answer immediately as he slowly set his eyes back on Hernan, Joaquin's trusted aide. His eyes studied the latter's eyes before his lips parted.

"Never mind." He peeled his eyes away from him and walked away, leaving Hernan a little confused.

For Roman, it seemed they weren't keeping secrets now. Or... was he the only one who thought there weren't secret orders, to begin with?

As he waltzed through the hallway, Roman's eyes glinted. Ismael's words, during his questioning, hovered over his head repeatedly, causing his hands to ball into a fist at the thought of Violet. There weren't a lot of things Roman couldn't accept. Actually, there was only one: Violet's death.

Did Joaquin really set the fire in the eighth prince's quarter? Was he the man behind it? And Roman didn't know about it? Just like how he didn't know what that letter about that Hernan whispered in Joaquin's ears? Not just that, but no one knew about the plan regarding the eighth prince's death.

Roman didn't hear about it until he received a word regarding Carlos's attempt to flee, which led to his death. Although he was also confused about why Carlos got banishment instead of death, he didn't get to question the crown prince because the latter didn't receive an audience from anyone after the trial. Neither did Joaquin ever speak about it.

There were myriads of questions in the seventh prince's head, and there was no definite answer to any of them.

When the seed of doubt was planted, it would naturally grow. But if one nurtured it with the proper nutrient, its root would naturally crawl deep until there was nothing but doubt in one's heart.

*******

Back in the crown prince's chancery…

Joaquin was staring at the door where Hernan and Roman left. He narrowed his eyes, thinking of Roman's strange expression when they left. Until now, the crown prince had trusted his people because they already proved their loyalty to him through the years.

But his wife was correct. He shouldn't put all his eggs in one basket. He and Aries weren't still on good terms, but she would impart her wisdom to him every once in a while.

"Rome…" he whispered, leaning back and thinking of the crown princess' advice.

'Just like the third prince, do you think there wasn't a mole on your side? If there weren't… it's a little baffling how Ismael got out of the entire fiasco unscathed.' — were Aries's exact words and even when he didn't think about it that much at first, it still bothered him deep down.

"A mole, huh?" he chuckled in ridicule, smirking deviously. "Whoever it is… I'll make sure to disintegrate him."