"Madam Bintang the head maid? That does not make sense!" Prince Surya whispered more to himself than to Ara.

"I found it hard to believe myself. But she was the one that gave me the sapphire brooch."

"How does a sapphire have anything to do with this, Ara? Please do help me understand," demanded the prince.

Ara sighs and begins her hypothesis.

"Madam Bintang gave me this sapphire brooch with a pearl on it. Guntur, a friend of mine from Rama, also has a similar brooch as mine. He turned out to be one of the Neo Renegades. I think..I.. I think he was the one that poisoned you, Surya."

"The cleaner guy?" asked Prince Surya.

"Yes. He came into your room a few times when you were ill."

"Continue."

"I thought that this brooch could be a mark of the Neo Renegades. But I could not understand why Madam Bintang gave it to me. I was thinking that she might be one of them."

Prince Surya is calmer than Ara's expectation. There was no yelling or gasping. In fact, there was nothing but silence.

"So, you are saying that Madam Bintang, the head maid, is a Neo Renegade and she recruited you without you consent?" asked Prince Surya.

"That did not cross my mind to be honest. But now that you mentioned it, that actually could be one of the possibilities as to why she did gave this brooch to me," she said.

"I see."

Ara waits to see if the prince is going to say something else. But he did not. 

"Surya, say something please. You are not suspecting me, are you?" Ara begins to worry. 

Prince Surya is very sharp and it is proven by the way he thinks. He can think of something that others cannot. Like another hypothesis as to why Ara is given that blue brooch.

"No. Of course, not. You are in a more pathetic state than I am. How could you be one of them and get imprisoned here?" he said.

Ara feels like a heavy burden has been lifted of her shoulder. Yes, the guilt is still there. But at least, the prince is not putting the blame on her or accusing her of something she did not do. 

"Thank you," Ara said with a genuine smile. 

"It is getting late I think. We should get some rest."

"Is it? I can't tell if it is night or day in this prison cell." 

"I saw a clock on my way here. It was around 8 pm if I am not mistaken," he answered.

"Then, it must be around 10 pm at least now," said Ara.

"Yes. I will talk to you tomorrow morning then," said Prince Surya.

Ara can hear him walking away from the wall that they both leaned on. He must be on his way to clean up and get some eye shut. After being very certain that Prince Surya is not still sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall, Ara brought herself up to her feet.

To her surprise, Ara is able to get some rest. It was actually a very peaceful sleep now that heavy burden has been lifted off of her. She wakes up to the sound of breakfast again today. This time, the guard did not even bother banging on her door. He simply unlocked her cell, slide in her breakfast and closed it again. All while Ara is still lying on her bed, slipping between awake and asleep. 

"Ah, it must be morning then. Not knowing the time can really mess up someone's head so fast," she murmurred. 

Ara opens the box and it was the same unappetizing dark-colored porridge as the one yesterday. 

"With some floss meat today, huh? Fancy!" bitterly Ara shoved the food into her mouth.

No matter how disgusting the food is, she had to eat it because they only provided food once a day. If she does not eat this, then she will not get anything until tomorrow. Moreover, from the look of it, tomorrow will also be another black-porridge day. So, there is no use in getting her hopes up. 

"I am seriously curious what they made this hideous thing from," said Prince Surya from the other room.

Ara bursts out laughing. This is the first time she has laughed in a while. Hearing that, Prince Surya also chuckles on the other room. 

"I saw you have opened your breakfast box," said Ara in between her giggles. She laughs so hard that there are actually tears in her eyes.