My grandmother didn't answer for a couple of seconds and I thought, she got intimidated but when I looked at her, my lips parted in surprise. She still looked calm as if everything was still under her control. Well, I've never seen her get intimidated by someone before.

"Are you trying to blackmail me in front of my own people? Remember where you're stepping at right now, King Giuseppe." Yes, she looked calm but she uttered those words sternly.

"Of course, not, Your Majesty. I am merely telling everyone about it. I'm sure, I didn't do anything wrong because that was the pact between our nations."

"Good because I would never tolerate anyone who has the guts to blackmail me and the nation of Costavia, especially from another country at that."

"Well, Nuevo Imperio is not just another country to Costavia. Aside from the long history of friendship between the two nations, my son will be marrying Princess Athena soon. It's like, Costavia and Nuevo Imperio will become one too." He answered with that small smirk on his face and my anger within me intensified.

He was obviously mocking and underestimating us.

"If Prince Franco and I marry, it's got nothing to do with both nations. Maybe, it will tighten the relationship of Costavia and Nuevo Imperio but that's just it." I couldn't take it anymore and butted in.

He chuckled. "If that's what you think, Princess Athena, then so be it. The important for us right now is for us to fulfil the pact." I was about to answer again when my grandmother interrupted me.

"We should discuss about the wedding when Prince Franco is here, Your Majesty. I'm sure that my granddaughter here would eventually marry the heir to the throne of Nuevo Imperio, so there's nothing to worry about. She has a word of honor. Besides, that's her responsibility to begin with, right, Athena?" My fists tightened.

"But, nonna—"

She gave me warning look. "Right, Athena?" She repeated sternly. I wanted to shout what I was really feeling but the look that my grandma was giving me told me to just say yes.

"Of course, I would." A smile appeared on King Giuseppe's face upon hearing what I've said.

"I'm glad to hear that, Princess Athena. There's nothing to worry about then, so we should discuss about the wedding now. Franco isn't here but it's okay. I'm sure, he would want the same thing as what I've just said just now if he was here."

"Okay, then." I looked at my nonna in disbelief and was about to protest once again but she shook her head, silently telling me to just keep quiet and it only just made me more frustrated.

After that, they talked about the wedding and everyone agreed to be held next month, except me. I just remained quiet on my seat while trying my best to control my anger from bursting.

"Why did you agree to that wedding just like that, nonna?! King Giuseppe was obviously trying to blackmail us!" I couldn't hold back my frustration when we reached my grandma's room. The meeting was just finished.

"Didn't you hear what I've said, passerotta? You will marry the rightful heir to the throne of Nuevo Imperio."

"Yes, I heard that and—"

"—Trust me on this, passerotta. Everything will be okay; I assure you that." My jaw flexed in frustration and anger and exited my grandma's room without answering her because I didn't want us to fight because of it. I decided to go to the garden to relax and calm myself down.

That was when I remembered to go to the gazebo to see my painting place. I looked around and saw my mother's portrait.

I touched it gently as I suddenly felt emotional. If my mother was here, she surely wouldn't allow this to happen o me.

"I wish you're here with me right now, mamma." I whispered as my eyes watered. I looked up to stop my tears from falling. My heart felt so heavy. I took a deep breath and decided to paint. Maybe, I would feel better if I'd do that. It has been so long since the last time I painted something anyway and I was right. I felt a lot better while painting.

But then, I was in the middle of painting when someone spoke behind me.

"I didn't know that you're good at painting, Princess Athena." I gritted my teeth upon hearing his voice. Just when I finally felt calm down. I huffed and stood up.

"I didn't know that you're still here, Your Majesty." I said formally and King Giuseppe smiled.

"We'll depart in an hour. I just need to do something first before that."

"Okay." I answered simply and was about to go back to what I was doing when he spoke again.

"You're so lucky that my son loves you, Princess Athena, even though you appear to love someone else." My body went still and met his gaze with furrowed eyebrows.

"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

He laughed. "C'mon, Princess Athena. You know what I'm trying to say. My son is the heir to my throne and he deserves the best." My eyes squinted in anger.

"Then, you shouldn't let your son marry someone who's in love with someone else." There was a hint of sarcasm in my voice even though I was trying to sound casual. I noticed his jaw clench but I didn't back down. I'm tired of just staying quiet about all this.

"Now that you mentioned it, you're right. Franco has the right to ask for another Princess of Costavia to marry if he wanted to. I'm sure, that would be a lot easier than to force you into it." I suddenly got alarmed of what he said.

Just thinking that Amelia or Aria would marry Franco scared me.

"I already agreed to marry Franco so don't you dare even think of involving my sisters in this sick pact."

The corner of his lips twitched. "You're a feisty one, Princess Athena. I can see your late mother in you. Even my late wife. They were the same. My wife ruled the whole Nuevo Imperio with such feistiness and bravery. She never let anyone intimidate nor put her down that's why everyone loved her." I caught a strange emotion passed through his eyes and it gave me cold chills.

I could sense the danger in those eyes of his but I knew that I shouldn't let him scare me in anyway.

"Even if I've never met the late Queen of Nuevo Imperio, I know that she was a kind yet wise ruler. It's just a pity that she was gone too soon."

"You're right, Princess Athena. Because of that, I had to be the king of Nuevo Imperio even though I've never really planned to be one. Well, Franco will be the one to continue the legacy of his mother the moment you two marry." My forehead crinkled.

"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"

"Haven't Franco mention anything to you, Princess Athena? He will be the new king of Nuevo Imperio after your wedding. By then, you will stand by his side and rule the whole Nuevo Imperio with him. Isn't that great?" I was about to answer when his personal butler came.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty Queen Isabella is waiting for you." He informed him.

"Well, there goes my call. See you at the wedding, Princess Athena." I just nodded my head and didn't say anything more.

"You will never succeed on what you're planning, Giuseppe. Never." I mumbled to myself while watching him walking away from me.

I then brought out my phone and dialed Maximus' number. I had to tell him about this but to my dismay, his number was out of coverage area. I tried for a couple of times but it was the same.

I heaved a sigh and then sent him a message, informing him about what happened today. After that; I continued painting for about 30 minutes but I couldn't concentrate at all, so I decided to just go to my room. I was in the hallway when I saw King Giuseppe and my grandma come out of the visitor's lounge.

"Glad to see you again, Princess Athena. I have good news for you." The king said with a smile on his face.

"About what, Your Majesty?" I tried to act as formal as possible.

"Well, your grandmother and I thought that it would be best for everyone if we hold the wedding two days from now. Everything's long overdue anyway. It has been delayed for two weeks already so we thought that why not hold the ceremony earlier than planned, right?" I gasped as I looked at nonna.

"What is the meaning of this, nonna?" My voice raised an octave.

"Let's talk about it later." She answered dismissively and then walked past met. I caught King Giuseppe smirking before he walked past me, following my grandmother.

I shook my head while looking at them walking away. I dialed Maximus' number again but unfortunately, it was the same as a while ago.

"Dolce metà, please, I need you right now." I said, beginning to panic. I suddenly felt trap. I came home because of Íñigo. I planned to talk to Franco as well so that I could personally tell him my decision about the wedding. But now, this happened.

I gritted my teeth. No! I will never marry him! Not now that Maximus and I got back together!

I angrily marched my way towards my room and stayed there. I then called Íñigo and surprisingly, he managed to answer his phone. Apparently, Sita was the one who answered it for him. We talked for a couple of minutes and I sighed in relief when he told me that he's slowly getting better. The doctor said that if this continues, he would recover in no time.

I felt relieved. When I heard that he was in the hospital, I was so worried and scared. Now, I could finally focus on what I'd do next.

After my conversation with my little brother, I made up my mind. I had to see Maximus. I looked at the time and it was 6:30 pm already. I took my car key and then carefully went out of my room through the secret passage of my room that leads to the different parts of the house like the garage.

I knew that there were guards there but they were fewer there compared to the other exits. When I got out of the garage, I quickly got in my car and then started the engine before maneuvering it out of there. When I reached the back gate, I saw that the two Royal Guards were quietly standing on their spots like statues.

I looked around and I sighed in relief when I saw that no other person was there.

"Good evening, Your Royal Highness." They greeted me in unison as one of them opened the gate for me. Normally, there were at least five guards on this part of the palace but the three might've taken their break to eat dinner.

"Good evening." I greeted them back simply and then drove past the gates. I was determined to go to Maximus. I couldn't contact him at all and I felt so worried. Not just that, I needed to inform him about the wedding.

Just as I passed by the gate, my phone beeped. I stopped my car to check who sent me a message, expecting that it was from Maximus. But I felt like my head doubled in size upon seeing its content. It was a picture of Íñigo with a taint of blood all over.

The beating of my heart became fast as unexplainable fear crept within me. I changed my mind. I had to go see him and make sure that he's fine.

But hasn't been ten minutes yet since I left the palace when I noticed a black car tailing me. I initially thought that it was from the Royal Guards of Costavia but then, I noticed that it wasn't. All of the cars in the palace that we use has a small flag sticking out next to the left side mirror. This one doesn't have one.

I picked up my pace but they accelerated their speed as well, matching mine. I clenched my teeth as my hands tightened around the steering wheel.

I was about to step on the gas to add more speed when I screamed as the car that was following me hit the rear of my car which made me almost lose control of the car. Looked like they wanted to harm me.

"Cazzo!" I panicked but I didn't let that rule over me. I must do everything I could to get out of that situation.

I tried concentrating on driving with one hand as I reached for my phone with my other hand, wanting to contact the police but the car behind me managed to hit my car once again and this time, I lost control even though I tried my best to gain back control.

I tried to step on the brake but the car wasn't stopping. Looked like the brake wasn't working!

My car headed to the side of the road and I thought, it would plunge off the cliff but thankfully, the roadside barrier managed to stop it from happening. Because of the impact, my head hit the steering wheel.

I didn't know why the airbag didn't deploy either. I tried to move and get out of there but my vision was blurry and my head was hurting so much.

I could feel warm liquid coming from my forehead and I could tell that it was blood.

I didn't know what was happening anymore. I suddenly remembered what happened before. This exact same thing happened to me before and that was when my mother died. I couldn't save her back then and now, looked like I wouldn't do something to save Íñigo too.

My eyes brimmed with tears of that thought.

I then heard someone open the door of my car. I looked at the person but I couldn't see him properly. I felt so weak and on the verge of losing consciousness. Everything felt really the same as that time...

"W-Who are y-you?" I asked with a faint voice.

"You're still alive, huh? You're really a tough one. Tsk tsk. I can't believe that he wants to get rid of you now. Well, if you've just been a good girl and did what they needed you to do without asking, then none of this would've happened. I guess he's right. You're better off dead. You're too hardheaded and smart. Maybe the other two princesses are less handful than you." I heard him cock his gun and then pointed at me.

I felt my whole body shiver in fear. Is this the end of me? I closed my eyes and to my surprise, the handsome face of Maximus popped up in my head. I wanted to see him one last time but I couldn't...

"D-Dolce metà..." I called for him before I heard a gunshot. I thought, it was really the end of me but I heard the man groan before he fell on the ground. Then that gunshot was followed by another series of gunshots.

Even though just a little bit more and I would lose consciousness, I refused to give up and persevered. I had to get out of there. I would never allow them to kill me because I knew that Maximus needs me.

I tried getting out of the car but unfortunately, I fell on the ground. It hurt. My head and body hurt so much. Darkness was slowly engulfing my senses when I heard a voice.

"Ath! Oh, God, Ath!" I tried to open my half-closed eyes as the person who was calling me took me in her arms and hugged me.

"No! Wake up, Ath! Please, no!"

"Signora, they're all dead. We already contacted the police. We should get out of here as soon as possible before they arrive. Xerus is waiting for you." Another voice said.

"No! I won't leave her here without making sure that she's okay! I will never do the same thing again!"

She touched my cheek and called for my name once again. I could tell that she was so worried and already crying. I could see her face but it was so blurry. Two drops of her tears fell on my face. For some reason, my heart ached knowing that she was hurting for me. I tried my best to raise my hand and touched her cheek. That familiar warmth and scent...

"Andrà tutto bene, te lo prometto, vita mia." That was the last thing that I heard her say before I lose my consciousness but when I woke up, I was already at the hospital and the woman that was with me before I lose consciousness wasn't with me anymore.

But the thing that shocked me was the news about King Giuseppe that my family told me. Apparently, he was now wanted by the law in Nuevo Imperio and Prince Franco was killed.