The Tyrant's Pet

"My lady, please get down there! It's dangerous!"

"My lady, please be careful!"

"The Marquess would be worried, my lady! Please get down!"

Aries gazed down at the servants below the tree she climbed up moments ago like a monkey. It had been a week since she last saw Dexter. He didn't come to her to appease his sister, which Aries already expected. Thus, she didn't have any option but to get his attention in another way.

"Don't worry! I won't fall!" she yelled, grinning from ear to ear as she looked up. The servants were still begging her to come down, calling for some knight's help, just in case. But Aries ignored them while enjoying the midday breeze.

'I used to climb trees back in Rikhill. The trees that grow in that land were far taller than this one,' she thought, retracting her hand from the trunk to balance herself on the thick branch.

"Kyah! My lady!!!"

Aries quirked a brow as she heard panic below. Looking at the situation, she grinned.

"I'll jump!" she yelled giddily, causing even more panic from them. Aries chuckled and shook her head. "I'm jesting! I'll come down, alright? So, don't worry too much..."

"Daniella!" Dexter's voice clapped like thunder, making her shift her eyes to him as he stormed toward the tree. "Come down there right this instance!"

She frowned, the playfulness in her visage gone. "No."

"Dan."

"I won't come down unless you leave, Marquess." Aries voiced out coldly, even though she was just about to go down before he came. The servants, who had been there since the beginning, could not help but notice how her mood changed.

"You..." he clenched his teeth, eyes bloodshot in anger.

"Marquess, you don't know this because you rarely visited me in that place, but climbing this tree is a piece of cake. You don't have to pretend you're worried."

There was a moment of silence in the surrounding. His hand slowly curled into a tight fist, expression dry as she peeled her eyes away from him.

"Call for knights and bring a ladder — no, bring someone to cut down this tree," came out a cold order, eyes fixed on the stubborn Aries standing on the tree branch.

"Yes, my lord."

As the servants bowed and executed the order, Dexter kept his eyes on her. Aries was ignoring everyone; she didn't even look at them anymore. Just when he thought she would behave, she would pull something like this.

Dexter ignored Aries even when he heard she barely left her room and was rebelling by eating less. Even the 'medicines' for her to recover her strength, Aries would give the servants a hard time. He ignored everything because he knew she was simply trying to get his attention.

But now, she took it to another level. If he didn't see the commotion here from the window on his way outside the mansion, he wouldn't even know. The servants were trying to resolve this without letting him know.

"My Lady, please come down, it's dangerous," spoke the maid in worry, clasping her hand together. But Aries continued to ignore them.

"Daniella, come down now. Then we'll talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." This time, Aries responded. Her tone was a mix of mockery and bitterness. She gazed down directly at Dexter, unable to conceal the pain filling her eyes, fist against the tree.

From Dexter and the few servants who remained under the tree, there were many things she wanted to say. However, she kept her mouth shut tightly. But her eyes were enough to speak thousand unspoken words. It was hard to distinguish whether it was real or a simple play pretend; even to Dexter since a person's eyes never lied.

"Why... do you only care when it's a matter of life and death?" came out a quiet voice, but he heard her clearly, causing him to freeze. "When I'm ill, you'll do everything and hire all the best physicians to cure me. But alas, you're never there to hold my hand when I need someone to hold me or rub my back when I'm retching everything that I ate."

"I always made an excuse for your lack of visit," she continued bitterly, hanging her head low. "I did everything to get better, brother. Everything... do you know why I fought death? Every time it hurts and my body burns from the inside, I always held onto the thought of you. I can't leave you behind all alone. If I died, who... would be with my brother?"

"My lady..." the servant — Aries's personal maid — called in a shaking voice, eyes stinging upon listening to the bitterness in Aries's voice. For her, Aries was someone who wasn't that kind. Actually, the lady of the manor had always kept a strong front to others. But in front of Dexter, she would remove that strong front.

The reason it was hard to dislike her was that Aries was only pitiful. A young girl who simply wanted her brother's attention.

Meanwhile, Dexter could not help but hold his breath as his heart thumped slower than usual. He knew Aries was simply trying to deceive everyone, including him. That everything she was spewing right now was all part of her plan.

However, her words and the expression in her eyes still got through him. It felt real. Or rather, those words sounded so familiar because, at one point, someone close to his heart spewed the same words in the past. The only difference was, the real Daniella never showed her emotions like this.

"Dan..." he muttered softly, spreading his arms a little. "Come down, please. We'll talk."

"No," Aries replied sternly. "What's the point? I already promised that I won't  --"

Just as Aries was about to argue with him, one step and she lost her footing. It wasn't intentional; Aries truly lost her balance as his vision suddenly zoomed in and out, causing her to lose her grip on the tree and fell down.

"Daniella!"

"My lady!!"

CRASH!