Meanwhile, back at the palace—
Daniel lounged in the chair as though he owned the room, his gaze locked on Ariel, who met his eyes with equal intensity.
He was deeply curious. 'Was the Flamingo seated across from him truly capable of what he had discovered? And if she was, what was her reason?
How was she connected to the Phantom Eagles? Who was she within their unit?
Were they under her father's command? Was she merely a junior in command—or perhaps the future leader of the group?'
The questions swirled relentlessly in his mind as he studied her.
Ariel, on the other hand, felt as though she were burning under the weight of his stare.
He was clearly trying to intimidate her, hoping she might slip and reveal her involvement in the scandal that had shaken the palace earlier that morning.
The shadow's presence in the hallway had already signaled that he had uncovered information dangerous enough to corner her if she wasn't careful.
The Dragon was on her trail. He knew about the extra protection, and why his Dragonflies could not get near her or her father. It was only a matter of time before he pieced everything together—and discovered who she truly was.
That was the last thing she wanted. Especially since she had not yet been crowned. She needed him off her trail.
One way or another, she had to get rid of him. Otherwise, everything she had worked for would be in vain.
Ariel cleared her throat softly.
"Mmm… Well, Your Highness. You wanted us to talk. So let's talk. What do you want to know?"
Daniel's eyes never wavered. He continued to scrutinize her, the silence stretching endlessly until it began to gnaw at her composure.
'What the hell is he waiting for?' she thought. 'Can't he just ask what he wants, so I can throw him off my trail and out of this room? His presence is already domineering enough, and I don't want to be alone with him. Especially since we are not yet married. I cannot let what happened the day before yesterday repeat itself.'
Her gaze flickered toward the bed, unbidden memories rushing back—
That moment when they had stumbled, fallen against each other… kissed… and she had squeezed—
"Mmm!!" She forced the thought away, clearing her mind before it wreaked havoc on her body. She refused to let this arrogant, insufferable man see that the memory of that day still lingered within her.
Not after last night, when she had dared to dismiss him outright, telling him she wasn't interested in him in any way whatsoever. Yet she couldn't stop herself from wondering what it might feel like to belong to him.
To be owned by him.
To surrender to him.
To make love to him.
Would it be filled with a thrilling pleasure unlike anything she had ever known?
A pleasure that could lift her to the highest cloud of her climax and keep her suspended there forever.
Her thoughts spiraled—
How does he make love to his women? Is he gentle or rough? Soft or wild?
Almost without realizing it, her eyes began to wander across his body, drawn to the strength of the bulging biceps of his arms, the sculpted lines of his eight pack torso beneath the black shirt.
She remembered how firm and steady he had felt the times she had brushed against them and even squeezed. She hated to admit it, but the memory of those moments lingered, tempting her with the thrill of imagining her hands tracing those contours again.
Heat pooled within her, stronger than the fleeting sparks she had once felt when she fantasied being owned by Aaron. This was different—an inferno that blazed whenever Daniel was near.
Her teeth grazed her lower lip as her thoughts ran unchecked.
It wasn't until—
"If you want to explore your fantasies," Daniel's voice cut through the silence, low and deliberate, "why don't you just say so? We already have a bed. The only thing missing are the two bodies entangled upon it."
Ariel was jolted out of her wild thoughts by Daniel's remark.
She turned to him, only to find that dangerous, mocking, and seductive smirk etched across his face. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
Daniel caught the sight of her reddened face and his smirk deepened. Leaning closer, his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Don't worry—we can change that. We can redo today's scandal and turn it into something even bolder scenario. Because I can't promise I won't make you call my name loud enough to shake the palace walls, in thrilling pleasure."
For a fleeting moment, his eyes flashed crimson as his lips stretched into a broad, unsettling smile.
Ariel's blush deepened to a fiery shade. She shot up from her seat, as though the only option left was to flee.
"Huh!" She scoffed, averting her gaze. "Of all the shameless… perverts…" she growled, before sighing and turning back to Daniel.
"I am sorry, Your Highness. But if that is truly what you came here to discuss, then I must politely ask you to leave. I don't want to cause trouble. Or say things I'll regret later." Her voice dropped to a whisper on the last words.
Daniel snorted.
"You want me to leave? As if it's my fault for shamelessly having wild fantasies in front of the very person you're secretly thinking about like a lovestruck pervert. If that isn't downright shameless, Lady Ariel, then I don't know what else to call it. Perhaps… 'lovestruck foolishness'? 'Perverted love disease'? Tsk. And you said you had no interest in me. What a fake. What a liar." He muttered the last words under his breath.
Ariel's mouth dropped in disbelief. 'Lovestruck foolishness? Perverted love disease?' She seethed inwardly. 'The nerve of this royal jerk…'
Her temples throbbed as frustration surged. A migraine threatened to bloom.
And she knew she had no one to blame but herself. How could she have allowed her wild fantasies to run unchecked—especially in front of the king of all perverts? My goodness. And knowing him, he would never let it go. He would torment her with it until he was satisfied.
Oh heavens. Just her blimey luck. Again.
She needed to regain control of the situation—and get rid of him—before everything spiraled beyond her grasp.
Taking a deep breath, Ariel settled back into her chair. She turned to face him, her expression softening into something pitiful and apologetic.
"Mmm… my apologies, Your Highness," she began in a small, sweet voice. "I am sorry if I offended you with my uncouth behavior. The truth is…" She sniffed, making herself appear even more fragile.
"What happened today… it truly upset me. I never expected that some people would want to harm me and ruin my life in such a cruel way." Another sniff followed, her eyes glistening.
"You see… I think you already know that I was sick for most of my life. I was born a sickly child and spent nearly all of it confined to a treatment bed. I don't know much about the world. I was bedridden for eighteen years, so politics and the scheming of the royal court are foreign to me. I am still learning. But now I see that all those beautiful visions of rainbows and happiness were nothing more than childish dreams. Reality has struck me in the most painful way."
She paused, her voice trembling.
"I joined this competition to give myself a chance—a chance to finally live without bounds or limitations. To feel what it means to fight for something beyond mere survival. But before the competition has even begun, I have already become a target of evil schemes and political mayhem. This is not the life I imagined after escaping death's grip. Being used as a pawn in royal drama…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And mostly, it's your fault." She pouted briefly at him.
But to her annoyance, the jerk didn't even flinch. His face remained utterly expressionless.
She sighed, rolling her eyes quickly before continuing.
"Anyway… Mmm… I don't want to burden you with my life's story. Since that's not what you came here to hear, I'll get straight to the point."
She shifted in her chair, feigning a look of pain as her eyes locked on Daniel. "A maid came to look for me earlier this morning," Ariel began. "She told me that the King was seeking me, and that he wanted to meet me in the inner royal gardens. I knew it was odd—because, if I am not mistaken, the King is not permitted to summon Ladies participating in the competition personally. He must do so through the Queen or the Queen Dowager. So I grew wary. Something felt wrong."
She paused, her voice softening.
"To confirm my suspicions, I coaxed the maid into wearing one of my outfits. I convinced her that I wanted to see how it would look on someone else before I wore it myself. She agreed—and I persuaded her to keep wearing it as she escorted me to the inner palace gardens."
Her eyes flickered with unease.
"I knew it was a trap. I wanted to run the moment we reached the bend. But before we got there—near the hidden archway leading to the outer garden—we were seized by unknown figures dressed in… some kind of ninja combat attire."
At that revelation, Daniel's expression finally shifted. His eyes narrowed, and he leaned in slowly, listening with renewed intensity.
"They covered my mouth and must have given me a sleeping sedative. Because the next thing I remember… I woke up in the Queen Dowager's study. On the desk was the book of royal selection rules. Ah and this note."
Ariel rose from her chair, crossed to the dressing table, and pulled open a drawer. From within, she retrieved a folded note.
Ariel glanced at Daniel, who was now watching her with sharp, intent curiosity.
She hesitated briefly before handing him the folded note.
"I found this near the book," she said softly.
Daniel unfolded the paper and read:
"Deliver the book to the Queen Dowager at the inner palace gardens. Don't worry, we got your back. Just pretend like nothing ever happened and she was the one who instructed you to fetch it."
The words shimmered across the page in a ghostly, smoke-like script.
He studied the note carefully, then lifted it toward the light. His eyes widened slightly as a familiar symbol emerged—an eagle with a bold P at its center, glowing faintly as though carved from smoke itself.
Daniel's gaze snapped back to Ariel. Leaning in, his voice dropped low, deliberate.
"Did you notice any unique features of the attackers? The color of their clothes?"
Ariel squinted, struggling to recall the details.
"Mmm… I am sorry, but my memory is a little fuzzy. I do remember that the one who grabbed me had small, round eyes—like someone of Asian descent. He was wearing a black outfit… maybe with some gold or yellow. I don't know. I'm sorry, Your Highness, but my memory is groggy, so I really can't be certain."
Daniel leaned back, pondering her words. The description matched the shifter he had seen earlier.
Could it be that he was wrong? That his Flamingo wasn't involved with those people at all, but was instead a pawn in their game?
But then—what game was this?
What did they want?
Why had they helped him and Ariel?
What did they gain from driving Flavio to suicide?
Who were they?
Or… was Ariel the one playing him all along? His Flamingo was cunning—dangerously so. And not only that, she was also a Vulture.
He had seen how ruthless she could become when cornered. But was she truly involved with those people? If she was, then to what extent?
The questions swarmed through his mind as he studied Ariel intently, searching for a crack—a slip, a sliver of truth that might betray her involvement.
But his Flamingo's face remained perfectly composed, innocent and pitiful. Not a single fracture in her mask.
If she was acting, then she was a masterful actress indeed.
Ariel, meanwhile, could feel the weight of his suspicious gaze boring into her. She knew he didn't fully believe her story. He was still doubtful, still probing.
And she needed him not to be. Otherwise, everything would spiral out of control.
So she kept her mask firmly in place, feigning innocence and pain, hoping he might buy it—at least long enough for her to weave the story into something more convincing.
Daniel, however, still felt she was hiding something. He needed answers.
He was about to open his mouth and press her further when his phone buzzed with a message. Daniel glanced at Ariel briefly before opening the message on his phone.
'Her story checks out. They were indeed attacked by shadow ninjas. We believe they are the moles we need to find. They were Dragonflies.'
His hand tightened around the device, knuckles whitening.
He had been recording their conversation as evidence. So that he could catch her if she had lied to him.
So she is telling him the truth.
It was a relief because he didn't know what he was going to do to her if she was involved with those people.
It wasn't going to be pleasant that's for sure.
He still needed answers for other things, like the extra protection around her and her father.
He needed to know what was it for and who were they protecting themselves from.
However it was going to have to wait for another day.
Right now he had to deal with this situation.
And get his hands on the rats that infiltrated his Palace and kingdom.
'Damn those bastards!' he seethed inwardly. 'I swear I will not let them do whatever they please. This is my territory—and I will never allow them to run wild here.' Daniel rose from his chair, his gaze lingering on Ariel for a moment longer.
"Thank you for telling me about your ordeal, Lady Ariel. I will take everything you've said into account. I will investigate this thoroughly and hope that whoever helped us escape that trap are truly allies. So, I ask that you remain alert and safe. And if anything unusual happens again, please inform me immediately."
Ariel nodded softly. "Okay, Your Highness. I will."
Daniel inclined his head. "Good. Have a pleasant evening, Lady Ariel. I will take my leave now."
Ariel stood, bowing gracefully. "Have a good evening as well, Your Highness."
Without waiting for her to escort him, Daniel turned and strode out, his footsteps heavy against the palace floor.
Ariel watched him stomp out of the room, her heart still racing from the encounter.
She sighed, whispering under her breath, "That was tough."
She pulled out her phone and quickly dialed a number. The call was answered after three rings.
"Code Black! Tell the Phantom Spiders to act now. And instruct the Sparrows to pull away for the time being. The Dragon is onto us, so we must be cautious. Stand by for further instructions."
She ended the call abruptly, sliding the phone out of sight.
"I hope you get off my trail for now, Daniel. For both our sakes," she murmured.
Crossing to the bed, she sat down, her mind replaying Daniel's earlier cheesy, seductive words.
She snorted softly. "You really are a pervert, Your Highness. But… I am curious to know how it would be like."
Her lips curved into a smile as she brushed her hands on the sheets of the bed.
...
Meanwhile—
As soon as Daniel left the room, a figure stepped out from the shadows behind a pillar.
He watched his brother's silhouette fade down the hallway before turning his gaze toward Ariel's closed door.
"Is it really true? Have you charmed the beast… and entangled yourself with him? Do you have feelings for him? If so… then where do I stand now, my Moon?"
His whisper carried a tremor of conflicted emotion, black eyes clouded with turmoil.
After a long pause, he shook his head, the weight of doubt heavy upon him, and walked away into the silence of the palace corridors.