The Tyrant's Pet

Meanwhile, in the crown prince's chancery…

Joaquin was sitting on the chair behind the desk, his feet on it. He was holding a glass of rum, gripping it until ripples appeared on the surface of the alcohol inside.

"Inez…" he narrowed his eyes, which emanated killing intent.

The thought of Inez brought this unspeakable anger to his chest. His breathing grew heavier as his mind drifted back to the occurrence last night.

"Give me your word, and I will tell you who exactly took him, brother."

Joaquin squatted down to look Inez in the eye. She had this wicked smirk on her dirty face and the mockery in her eyes was apparent.

"And what do you want in return?" he asked. "What sort of promise would you want from me, Inez? I'm sure freedom isn't the only thing you would want in return."

The side of her lips stretched broader. "Your arm, Joaquin," she dawdled, moving her face closer to the metal bars between them.

"Give me your arm, and I will tell you who exactly took him. I swear this information will be useful… and worth a limb."

Joaquin chuckled with his lips closed, amused by her condition. "I knew you'd ask such a thing."

"Oh, Joaquin, our dearest crown prince, and soon the emperor of this rotten land…" Inez caressed the metal, moving her face closer to get a better look at his dashing face. "Not only he is charming, but he is also wise and untouchable."

She studied his facial structure and smirked. "It never crossed me how much of a coward you were, Your Royal Highness. You always carry yourself with pride of nobility, but now that I think about it, you are nothing but a coward."

"Dearest sister, try harder next time." Unfazed by her taunting, Joaquin flashed her a smile. "You can say anything you want, but alas, they were simply empty noises barked by a dog."

"It was fun, though," he added, lips stretching from ear to ear. "Watching you fight and gained a footing in the royal court, only to lose your control and get framed by the type of person you loathed the most. It wasn't in my plan, but my wife is impatient to get you out of the picture. Do you want to take revenge on her? I might help you put her in her place."

Inez's smile line faded, blinking twice, cocking her head to the side. "You are… afraid of her?"

"Me? Afraid?"

"Hah…" a laugh broke out from Inez, looking back at him in amusement. "How amusing, Your Royal Highness. You want your wife, but then, you disliked the sheer thought she might pose a threat to your power in the future? She'll be heartbroken if she realized her husband only wants to suppress her radiance."

Inez moved her face closer until it was touching her hands that were holding the metal bars, eyes on him. "Oh, Joaquin… aren't you a pathetic little thing? You should marry a doll if fucking is the only purpose of having a wife. But well, your wife isn't foolish to believe you — at least, she would realize it sooner than you can. I am waiting for that to happen and laugh in your face while saying, what does it feel to give your all, only to get defeated by the type of person you loathed the most?"

Her lips stretched in excitement, making her eyes squint. Watching his smirk fade was just the cherry on top.

"I underestimated your sharp tongue. I thought after going through hell, you'd be tamed. But it appeared… I was being too lenient." He scoffed, watching her shrug nonchalantly. Joaquin studied the triumphant grin plastered on Inez, making his skin crawl in irritation, but on the surface, he remained calm.

"Don't blame me, Inez. I tried to negotiate in peace for the sake of the blood running through our veins." Joaquin pushed himself up and glanced at the knights on standby. "Make her talk."

"Hah!" Hearing metals grazing each other as the knights moved, Inez laughed. Joaquin ignored her as he marched away. However, just as the cell creaked open and they dragged her out, Joaquin stopped and looked back at her.

"Manuel will always be the rightful heir of the throne, Joaquin," Inez spat out, ignoring the arms holding her shoulder. She kept her eyes on him whilst shaking her head.

"For the sake of the blood running through our veins? Hah… don't make me laugh, Joaquin. A lowborn like you will never be worthy to even compare to Manuel. You can't even compare to his ghost."

The sound of the sword being unsheathed echoed the moment Inez's words slipped past her lips. The knight flinched, seeing that Joaquin drew his sword and was now marching towards Inez.

"Hahaha…! Kill me, Joaquin. I want to see you try —" Her breath hitched, mouth open, and her voice disappeared in a snap of the finger.

Everyone could only hear the blood spurting and covering the damp, dirty concrete floor.

THUD!

The knights holding Inez were too shocked they loosened their grip on Inez's arms, making her collapse on the floor, face first. Blood soon pooled underneath her body, with the slash across her face down to the center of her body. Joaquin struck her from the head, almost splitting her head in half, which instantly led to her death even before his sword reached her navel.

She's dead.

Joaquin looked down at her, eyes clouding with anger. "Now that's better," he muttered emotionlessly, not even batting an eye.

"Laugh again, Inez. I want to see you try." He smirked, sending a chill to everyone who witnessed his action. Joaquin tossed the sword to the side, letting it ring for everyone to hear. Without a second hesitation, he turned on his heel and walked away.

"Feed her to the vultures. She doesn't deserve a proper funeral." He glanced over his shoulder, seeing knights bow, while his steps didn't falter.

Joaquin smirked as he recalled Inez's demise. Although he didn't get to hear any information from her, he already knew Inez wouldn't talk.

"Pathetic bitch." He downed the rest of the rum in the glass in his grip, hissing, before throwing the glass which shattered against the wall. "How dare she compare me to that damn Manuel…"

His eyes oozed with killing intent. "I'll fucking kill her again if I can."

Knock Knock

Three knocks came from the outside of the chancery before it was carefully opened. Javier peeked his head in and carefully tiptoed his way in.

"Well, I hope I won't die with the news I'm about to tell you," he chuckled awkwardly, closing the door behind him.

"You didn't find Roman?" Joaquin didn't look in Javier's direction, still seething in anger.

"No. We didn't. But the Minister of Justice raided one of your casinos, and everyone is now talking about the human trafficking they had uncovered." Joaquin's eyes darkened as he slowly set his eyes on Javier.

Javier raised his hands. "Don't kill me, because I prepared good news so I can leave this room in one piece." He cleared his throat, taking advantage of the situation before Joaquin get eaten by anger.

"Here." Javier took out a small bottle and placed it on the desk, grinning wickedly. "It's done, Your Majesty."

Joaquin's eyes fell on the small bottle that contained red liquid. He reached for it and kept it in between his thumb and index.

"Modesto Vida…" he smirked, eyes on the small jar. "He'll regret siding with Ismael."

His eyes glinted as he held the bottle within his grasp, raising his eyes at Javier. The two of them smirked and held each other's gaze.

"The throne is all yours, Your Majesty."

"This world is," Joaquin corrected.