The Tyrant's Pet

Conan stopped at arm's length from Aries and Roman. His lips were stretched from ear to ear as if he wasn't executing mass torture in the emperor's chancery. Aries's eyes bore disbelief while Roman was looking at Conan in a different light.

"I heard the seventh prince had arrived in the palace, so I went to check. But it seemed Lady Aries had already shown you the way," explained Conan, which wasn't the explanation Aries and Roman had sought.

"What… is this?" Aries trailed off, pointing at the inside of the chancery. Conan's brows rose, taking a step, and taking a peek inside. His smile brightened even more as he faced her squarely.

"That is teamwork."

"..."

"They left me with no choice and planned to throw all the work for me to finish. Hah! The nerve!" Conan scoffed, eyes glinting with motivated fire. He folded his arms under his chest, proud of the action he had taken.

"You… are torturing the emperor," Roman breathed out, unable to discern which emotion was dominant.

"He's torturing me!" Conan yelled angrily. "Do you see the documents inside? We already halved it. If I didn't do this, do you think they would get anything done?"

He huffed, planting his palms on his hips, chin raised. "The answer is definitely a no! His Majesty will continue sneaking out and will return only to wait for nighttime."

"What is my brother got to do with this?" Aries gasped in disbelief, making Dexter rock his head.

"That's right, Dani," Dexter mumbled, hearing the conversation outside. He wearily stared at the documents he shouldn't be working on, but was forced to. "Save your big brother, please. I feel like I'll die soon if I keep looking at these things."

Dexter thought he was already considered a workaholic. But the past five days had completely changed his views. He was forced to sit on this chair, electrocuting him if he ever nodded off. His movements were limited to an extent he could only write things down and pass them to Abel to read and sign.

This was hell. 

"The Marquess can sort out important and unimportant things quickly!" Conan intoned. "If not for him, we wouldn't make such progress! No, actually, we wouldn't make any progress at all!"

Aries and Roman were rendered speechless once more, staring at Conan blankly. Both of them weren't sure if Conan deserved an award or be angry at him for resorting to the extreme. However, Aries knew Conan and his action only meant an action taken by a desperate man who wasn't afraid of death anymore.

"Give them some rest," she mumbled, walking listlessly in the same spot to face the open chancery. Her gaze first landed on Dexter's pale complexion, staring at the papers on the desk lifelessly, and then at Abel, who was signing a document with great difficulty since his arms were bound on the armrest.

"My poor husband…" she whispered, and then glanced at Dexter once more. "My brother…"

,m Bzzt bzzt!

"Ugh…" Abel ground his teeth, tossed the pen, and glared at the minister, who held the document while he signed it. "You better not show your face to me when these…"

Bzzt bzzt

"... If I freed myself from these, I will kill you." Abel breathed out as smoke came out of his gritted teeth after being electrocuted every time he would exert force.

The minister who had garnered threats more than a person should have received in his lifetime shuddered in fear. He might not be as physically exhausted as everyone, but his mind and heart were definitely beyond depleted.

At this point, it was better to be physically tortured than to stay in the same room with the emperor. It was the same, or maybe a swift release from the mortal realm was better.

"Ugh… Conan…" Abel leaned back, calling Conan huskily. "Let's take a break, shall we? You are literally frying my brain."

Aries bit her quivering lips, turning her eyes back to Conan. "Stop this madness now."

"But —"

"Sir Conan." Aries balled her hand into a tight fist while grinding her teeth. "This is enough for now. They will all die at this point."

Conan frowned, thinking to himself that these people wouldn't pity him if the situation was reversed. But then again, they had finished two months of work in just five days, and giving them a break was earned.

"Fine." He huffed, clicking his tongue mildly. Conan advanced in Aries's direction while the latter took a step back, making a way for him.

"Alright, everyone. Good work!" Conan clapped. "Take a two-day rest and then come back here, alright?"

His lips stretched from ear to ear, but the ministers were too tired to even celebrate this temporary liberty. Conan waved, urging everyone to leave.

Aries and Roman looked at each other before entering the chancery. The two of them stayed on the side, watching the ministers drag their feet outside.

"This is too much," she mumbled, pitying these officials for the hell they went through over the past five days.

"Too much is an understatement," Roman blurted out.

When the last official left the chancery in a daze, Aries snapped her eyes and rushed to Abel. However, just before she could touch him, Abel snapped his tongue aloud.

"Don't touch... me," he warned wearily, perking his chin towards Conan. "It's still on."

Aries furrowed her brows before Conan's voice came from behind her.

"Excuse me." She instinctively stepped aside, watching Conan wear gloves as he approached Abel. Only then did Aries realize the entire chair was grounded.

"I can't believe you could do this to him," Aries huffed, making Conan pause as he looked back.

"Lady Aries, how can you make me sound so bad? If I didn't do this, do you think you'll be able to see me again after all that work? No! I'll die! And he won't even lose a wink of sleep if that happened!" Conan barked, having a glaring competition with Aries. "Ugh! I'm just doing this so I survive! It's not like I am slacking all this time; the only reason they look so distraught is that they're not used to it! I am!"

Conan went on and on as he worked on the switches to turn off the source. He continued complaining about his woes and how unfair this world is to him while unlocking the chains. The second the chains landed on the floor with an echoing clang, Aries shoved Conan away as she rushed to Abel's side.

"Abel!" she bent down, checking him with shaking eyes. Abel wearily opened his eyes and smiled subtly.

"Ahh… I missed you so damn much." He reached for her arm, yanking her to his lap. Before she could even process what was going on, Abel wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder.