Ara entered the bathroom and saw that Paige was running water in the tub. "Paige," she called her softly. "Why are you so angry? It doesn't matter what they think." 

Paige's anger hadn't settled. She was still reeling under the fact that her brother couldn't see how much she loved Ara. Was it so difficult for him to understand it? "I don't want to talk about it, Ara. We are leaving. I don't want to stay in a place where people don't have feelings." 

Ara walked behind her and curled her arms around her waist. "You are too impulsive, Paige. This is nothing. There is no point in getting angry. I am trying my best to get what rightfully belongs to you. And the path to get what is yours is full of thorny bushes. I am ready to walk over them and I am. All I need is that you stay calm." 

Paige looked at Ara as her heart melted. "Oh, Ara." She leaned into her. "You are so sweet. I don't want you to walk over thorns for me. I should be the one protecting you." 

"Why?" Ara said as she kissed her temple. "When you can support me, this is the least I can do for you." 

Paige sighed. "I can't stand it when they insult you…" 

"It is of no consequence to me. I want you to be happy and I will fight for you." At her words, Paige seemed to soften down. "Now take your time and take a nice bath. Wash away your negativity in that water and come back to me with love." 

Paige chuckled. "No one understands me more than you." She patted Ara's arms. "I will be right back." 

Ara kissed Paige on her cheek and then left. She closed the door knob behind her and took in a deep breath. She gritted her teeth as she walked back to the bed. She was actually pissed with Paige. The foolish girl was tampering with her plans. When Ara sat down on the bed, she rubbed her tummy and murmured, "I am going to take you down, Kaizan. Soon…" 

When Paige came out, she was more relaxed. The two made love and Paige melted down further. By the time she left for her duties, Paige was in a buoyant mood. She remarked, "It is wonderful when you are in such a lovely mood, Ara." 

Ara pulled up her sheet to cover her breasts. She smiled and said, "I will try my best to get over the depression, but you know how it is when I remember about my brother. He was a nasty piece of shit!" 

Paige pursed her lips. "Don't think about him, okay?" 

Ara nodded. "I won't." Paige gave her one more kiss and she walked out of the room, reassured. As soon as she left, Ara jumped out of the bed and went to her wardrobe. She opened it and took out a small box that was hidden below a pile of shirts. She opened it and a smile curled her lips, seeing a pair of panties that belonged to Olivia. She had stolen them from the laundry and poisoned them. The poison was so potent that if Olivia wore it, it would travel all the way up to her womb. And the… She giggled at her plan. She closed the box, stashed it where it was and then went for a bath. She was going to destroy Kaizan and Olivia. And she would use Paige for destroying them. The panties were just the first step. 

Ara took a long bath to give ample time for all men to leave the house. She knew that at this time only Ookashi was left and she usually went to the orchards to direct the servants and gardeners on what to do. She got dressed in a light blue cotton gown with floral prints that Paige had bought for her and then dabbed herself with a liberal amount of mint potion to hide her real smell. She had acquired this potion from the black market from a rogue witch. The witch had taken a hefty sum for it but assured her that it would hide her smell for the whole day if applied in the right quantities. 

Basically, when Ara came out, the house was empty, except for a few servants who were doing their daily chores. She had hidden the box under the shawl that she had wrapped around herself. Very slowly, she walked up to the main hall. No one was interested in her. She took the chance and then walked up to Kaizan's bedchamber. It wasn't difficult to locate Olivia's wardrobe where she placed the two panties right at the top so that she used them next. 

The reason why she asked about Olivia was that she wanted the first part of her plan to work out. She had provoked Kaizan just so that he could bring Olivia back from the palace. However, the General didn't fall in her trap. She closed the wardrobe softly and ambled out of their room humming a tune. When she came down, there was still no one. She chuckled. How easy it was to conduct her schemes in this house. All she had to do was to keep Paige in her control. 

Ara remembered the day when her brother had thrown her out of the house when he learnt her secret. He was so scared of her secret that he threatened her never to return and he was going to keep it discreet. After their spat, his lover, a young girl who he had fallen in love with, had come home. And for Ara it was easy to blame the two. She had held his lover responsible for all the miseries in her life in front of her brother. And her poor brother… he couldn't even deny it, because if he did so, he was risking her secret to be out in public. And if that happened, his lover would have left him. She took wonderful advantage of the situation when her brother threw her out. 

At the same time, Ara knew that a small troop of the king's army had come to their village. She had snooped around a little and came to know that Paige was their leader. She gathered information about Paige and the rest was easy. She manipulated her emotions to the extent that Paige was now in her control. She was so in control that she wanted to leave this house for her.

Ara giggled again. She gazed at the beautiful orchards from the window of the hall where she had stopped. She murmured, "I am going to take it all from you—this house, those orchards, your wife and also your position." Satisfied with herself, she sauntered to the dining hall to find food. Her morning breakfast was interrupted by a small drama which she took care of. The food was still laden with lots of breakfast. She sat down at the table and served herself a huge portion of rosemary seasoned chicken and broccoli salad in fresh cream. Life was… good. If everything went according to her ploy, Kaizan was going down within a few days. 

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Seething with rage, Kaizan strode to his room in the chancery and called Finn. 

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