The Tyrant's Pet

"I missed you so damn much."

When Abel yanked Aries onto his lap, her breath hitched for a second. But when she felt his arms around her, holding her tightly, she instantly knew he meant every word he just said.

A shallow breath slipped past her lips, raising her arms to wrap around him. The scent of burnt flesh wafted her nose, but the pungent scent didn't bother her. Aries glanced at Conan, her eyes almost glinting.

"Look what you've done," she muttered, causing the frown on Conan's face to deepen.

"Lady Aries, this is unfair…" Conan pouted, glancing down at Abel, and then shifted his attention to Dexter. Roman was adept in the device that was keeping Dexter in his seat, and he was able to free the marquess while Aries rushed to Abel.

"I'll kill you…" Dexter warned under his breath, resting his upper body on top of the desk. "Just you wait. I'll kill you."

Roman pressed his lips into a thin line, watching Dexter point a finger in Conan's direction before the marquess passed out. For a vampire to get this exhausted, they must've worked nonstop.

'So…' Roman raised his eyes and looked around. '... what now?'

The seventh prince came in here to report to his new emperor and master. However, it seemed that was impossible right now. The emperor wasn't in a better shape than Dexter, and he seemed to have also passed out in Aries's embrace.

The more Roman looked at Abel, the deeper his frown appeared. His eyes shifted to Conan, and now Conan had two people glaring daggers at him.

"Goodness! This is really unfair!" Conan gasped, darting his eyes between Aries and Roman. "Do you have any idea that —"

"The food is here."

Conan abruptly stopped when a little girl's voice came in. Aries and Roman slowly turned their attention to the door, and when they didn't see anyone, their eyes fell lower. There, they caught a trolley tray being pushed by a three-year-old girl.

Roman's brows instantly creased, while Aries's pupils dilated. This time, her eyes blazed as she glared at Conan once again.

​ "Sir Conan!" she called through her gritted teeth. "Don't tell me even Sunny — hah!"

"Wha — what? Hey, I'm innocent in this!" Conan took a step back, raising both his hands up. "Lady Aries, believe me! I can't do this to a child!"

"After torturing the emperor and the Marquess… I don't think you still have the credibility to claim innocence, my lord," Roman argued, as he couldn't take it anymore.

"That's right," Aries huffed, shaking her head in disappointment, eyes fixed on Conan. "I can't believe you."

Conan gasped before his eyes fell on Sunny, the one who did nothing for the past five days but eat! The second his eyes locked with the little girl, he noticed the slight smirk that appeared on Sunny's face for a split second.

<strong>'This little devil —!'</strong>

Sunny snapped her eyes and skipped her steps towards Aries. She didn't even cast Conan a look as she walked past him, standing beside Abel's chair.

"Grandmama, Grandpa had been waiting for you. Even Grandmama's brother had been crying because the Handsome Uncle bully them." Sunny pointed in Conan's direction. "Grandpa nearly perished from exhaustion and Handsome Uncle deprived him of food."

"Oy! What do you mean I deprived him of food?! He couldn't eat properly because you've been eating them on the way!" Conan defended himself in a hurry, unable to choose his words correctly, which led to a misunderstanding.

"And you dare claim you didn't force a child to work?" Aries barked back. Her disappointment towards Conan spiked, unable to believe how cruel Conan could be.

"What —" Conan gasped, looking down at Sunny in dismay. "You —"

"Grandma, Handsome Uncle will hit me." Sunny moved closer to Aries, clutching the hem of Aries's suit.

"Sir Conan…" Aries ground her teeth before she huffed. "Although I will never condone your cruel methods, I understand your reasoning why you had resorted to such actions. However, you had gone too far."

She shook her head. "I know you want to finish these workloads as fast as you can, but hurting my brother and my husband, not to mention you also practiced your power as to employ a child… I thought you're better than this."

"Lady Aries…"

"Please leave." Aries looked away, biting her inner lip so she wouldn't get swayed by Conan. "Roman, take my brother to one of the rooms so he could rest properly."

Roman nodded, casting Conan a quick look before assisting Dexter. The latter was too tired that he didn't even wake up when Roman carried him on his shoulder. As instructed, Roman left the chancery without a word.

"This is unfair. You didn't even hear my reasons," Conan mumbled, letting out a sharp breath. He gazed at Aries's side profile, clicking his tongue, before turning on his heel to walk away.

Sunny watched Conan close the door behind him, obviously upset by Aries's harsh remarks. She pursed her lips into a thin line, looking up at Aries. Even though the latter was visibly upset, she looked hurt, just like Conan.

"Grandmama, do you like Handsome Uncle?" asked Sunny without beating around the bush, making Aries raise her brows.

"Mhm." Aries nodded. "He's like a brother to me, but… he had gone too far this time. I can't believe he can do this to Abel and to my brother, and even force a child to work."

"But Sunny isn't serious." Aries furrowed her brows and gazed at Sunny's chubby, round face upon the little girl's response. "I told the lady that I will take the food here so I can eat it on the way."

"What??"

"And Grandpa wouldn't be tied in the chair if he only listened to Handsome Uncle." The lines between Aries's brows deepened as Sunny explained what had happened here. "Also, Grandmama's brother had been causing trouble, so he was forced to help instead. They were working because Sunny tried to change the empire's name and offended many kingdoms, and Handsome Uncle is trying to avoid further diplomatic dispute because Grandpa had a lot on his plate already. And they won't be able to help Sunny go home if they can't finish their task as fast as possible."

"Sunny… why —"

"Because Grandmama looks so sad when Handsome Uncle left," Sunny answered even before Aries could finish her sentence, smiling subtly. Her eyes then shifted to Abel, whose face was buried in Aries's arms. "Also, Grandpa doesn't blame Handsome Uncle."

"Is that so…?" Aries pursed her lips into a thin line, looking back at the shut door. "I think I misunderstood him and was harsh."

She sighed and then gazed down at Sunny. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I will apologize to him later."

Sunny nodded and blinked twice. "Grandmama, are you…" she trailed off and studied Aries's eyes. "... dying?"

"What?" Aries's breath hitched and her initial reaction was to look at Abel in a panic.

"Grandpa is sleeping deeply," Sunny reassured, watching Aries look back at her, wide-eyed. "Are you going to leave Grandpa?"

"What? No." Aries laughed awkwardly. "Of course not."

Sunny blinked twice before she nodded in understanding. "You are hurting Grandpa," and then she skipped her steps away, saying nothing anymore, leaving Aries speechless.

Aries pursed her lips and gazed down at Abel. Her eyes softened with bitterness, embracing him, and pulling his body closer to her body.

"Of course..." she whispered, resting her cheek on top of his head. "You already know, don't you?"

Abel slowly cracked his eyes slightly open but said nothing.