The Tyrant's Pet

"So, you also like gardens?" Aries inquired as she peeled her eyes away from the garden to Ismael, who stayed sitting across from her in the pavilion. Ismael was leaning back leisurely, eyes on the flowers, oddly been silent.

"Not quite." He cast her an indifferent side-eye. "There are plenty of other things to look at — prettier ones at that."

Her lips parted, but she ended up pursing her lips and peeled her eyes away from him to the flowers nearby. She kept quiet, sensing his gaze on her side, which she ignored.

"Done playing with me?" he broke the silence after another minute of silence.

Aries smiled, closed lips. "I'm married." She glanced at him.

Ismael laughed as that sounded random. However, he also knew it wasn't random. He had been charming her, but they clicked one way or another. Not that everything could be associated with interest for a man to a woman, but more like… she was his brother's wife and everything Joaquin had, Ismael, vowed to take all of them.

"I didn't say you weren't." He shrugged, leaning forward to prop his arm against the edge of the table. "Your Highness, the crown princess, I admit you're quite the catch, but I am not as foolish as to cross the line."

He wasn't even concealing it, she thought, chuckling at his satirical sense of humor.

Aries faced him and tilted her head slightly, fluttering her eyelashes. Among the Imperials, there were two individuals who weren't on Aries's hit list. Ismael wasn't one of them, but he could be a good chess piece. After all, unlike others, Ismael didn't directly touch her or did anything to her.

If anything, Aries could still remember the time when this guy seemed to have helped her by throwing a huge tantrum. Either way, he wasn't safe either. If he was smart enough, he might survive.

Ismael posed a threat to Joaquin, and the latter was aware of that. The only reason those two hadn't killed each other was that they would be each other's primary suspects. They could get away from the trial, but they were actually individuals who were very concerned about their public image.

"Is there something wrong with my face, Your Highness?" he smirked, watching her snap her eyes after staring for too long.

"Nothing, third prince." Her lips stretched, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I just thought if my husband catches us, he might get the wrong idea."

"How devoted."

"What can I say? You're my husband's strongest opponent. If something happened to him, I can only expect for the worse."

Ismael rocked his head before he leaned forward once again. "I don't touch the innocent." He waggled his brows before planting his palm on the surface of the table, pushing himself up while Aries looked up at him.

"Your Highness, my doors are always open when things get too much on your end. Don't worry. I'm simply trying to be a good brother-in-law," he added. "I will have to leave you first since your company is already here."

He then walked back and beckoned a neck bow while Aries remained seated. She glanced at the entrance she came from, seeing Joaquin enter the scene only to stop at the sight of Ismael and Aries together.

"I enjoyed your company." She nodded.

"It's my honor, Your Highness," Ismael smirked as he turned around. The second he did, his lips stretched even broader, arching a brow when he locked eyes with Joaquin from a distance. Tilting his head down slightly, Ismael strutted towards the other exit while humming a tune in high spirit, knowing this meeting would eat the crown prince's mind.

This could harm Aries knowing the crown prince's temper, but that would be his advantage anyway. The crown princess on the third prince's side didn't sound so bad, after all.

Aries kept her attention on Ismael's back while aware of her approaching husband from her peripheral vision.

"That's a surprise." She snapped her eyes when Joaquin perched on the seat where Ismael sat on. "I didn't think I'd see you with the third prince when I was told you wanted to take a stroll after snacks."

"I didn't think I'd see the third prince as well." She smiled, showing zero hints that her meeting with Ismael was something worthy of Joaquin's attention. As if nothing happened and she didn't see the curiosity in her husband's eyes, Aries shifted her attention to the flowers surrounding the small pavilion.

Joaquin rested his leg over the other, blinking every so slowly while studying her side profile. "Stay away from him. The third prince is cunning and ambitious."

"Is that so?"

"You don't believe me?" he arched a brow, detecting the disinterest in her voice.

"Of course, I believe you." Aries set her eyes back to him and smiled. "However, I do disagree with your suasion, only because I feel you are undermining my judgments."

"Crown princess."

"Your Highness, my crown prince, with all due respect. I am the crown princess who knows not only how to arrange flowers." This time, her tone, although calm, it was firm. She stared at him dead in the eye and added, "as I had mentioned, I will always be on my husband's side. Your downfall will also be mine and even if you are capable, it worries me how the third prince had the gall to seduce the crown princess."

"He seduced you?" he cocked his head to the side while his eyes clouded with nothing but coldness.

"Jealous?" she smirked with an arched brow.

"Not really."

"Hah…" Aries simply shrugged as she averted her gaze. "Anyway, it's amusing, in a way. I would like to see how the third prince tries to lure me."

Joaquin observed how the corner of her lips curled up while gazing at the flowers. It was not the first time he warned her about the people approaching her. But unlike her reaction and defending Inez, it was easy to discern her opinions towards Ismael.

It pleased him and somehow she looked more attractive this way.

"Anyway, I had sent the invitation to the House Lloyd. They will not say no since I'm the one who sent it." He changed the subject and tossed the previous subject at the back of his head as it seemed he didn't need to worry anymore.

Aries smiled beautifully. "Thank you. I really appreciate that."

With that being said, the two seemed to have moved on. However, Aries was sure of one thing. Joaquin would try to eliminate Ismael as soon as possible. She just gave him that one light push he needed.