The Tyrant's Pet

"Your Highness! Your Royal Highness!"

Aries groaned and opened her eyes weakly at the shaking of her body. The moment she opened her eyes, Gertrude's face was hovering over her. Her brows creased together, noticing the panic plastered on her personal maid's face.

"Gertrude?"

"Your Highness, we must evacuate at once," said Gertrude in panic. "I will call the knights to carry you."

Aries's furrowed brows creased even more as she propped her elbows against the mattress, while Gertrude sauntered off in a hurry. She tilted her head to the side, looking around her chambers in confusion.

'Right…' she thought, recalling falling asleep in Abel's arms. She didn't know what happened then, but he seemed he snuck in and brought her here. Until now, it amazed her how Abel could sneak around unnoticed under everyone's noses. But he could've asked Gertrude for help, so she didn't dwell on it.

"But why is Gertrude…" Aries trailed off as her eyes landed on the window. She narrowed her eyes. There seemed to have an alfresco celebration with the golden light outside. Only a second later did her heart thud against her ribcage upon realizing this sort of light wouldn't be something from a banquet.

And Aries was correct.

When Gertrude returned several seconds later, she brought a knight with her. Since Aries was injured, Climaco had to carry her so they could evacuate the Sapphire Palace. As soon as they went out, Aries got to see where that light came from.

A fire.

Knights and servants joined hands to put out the fire that broke out in the minor castle just right next to Sapphire Palace. Everyone was doing their best, running in the open space, carrying barrels of water, and doing the best they could so the fire won't spread. The Sapphire Palace was the closest to the inner palace, so if it spread, the imperial palace would be a disaster.

As more and more people came to help, Aries tapped Climaco's shoulder.

"Put me down," she ordered, eyes on a particular window of the castle.

"But Your Royal Highness —" Climaco bit his tongue when Aries glanced at him coldly. "Yes, Your Royal Highness."

Climaco carefully put her down, standing in the middle of the vast landscape near the open hallway connecting the Sapphire Palace and that small castle. Aries stood straight, eyes on the castle that was now on fire.

'Abel…' she whispered in her heart, eyes on the window where she was kept for months. Looking at the window from the outside brought this mixed emotion to her heart.

CLANG!

The gasp from the servants and knights resonated when the windows exploded, but Aries was unfazed. When she blinked, another window shattered and fire breathed out from it. That was that window she was looking at.

Her jaw tightened, keeping her eyes glued on that window, unable to discern which dominant emotion to feel. The tension in her throat continued to build up, watching how that fire devour everything.

But that room will always be there, she thought. That castle, although small, was a fortified structure. The fire could only burn everything, but the room would always be there. It wasn't like she was wishing for anything to happen or expecting anything at all. She already appreciated Abel for trying, but so long as that room existed…

<strong>BOOOM!</strong>

"Kyaaah!!"

Aries flinched and before she knew it, Climaco held her by the waist and carried her away as fast as he could upon the first explosion, causing the castle to shake. Along with the series of explosions, screams, and gasps, people yelling, and knights' armor clanging filled the air.

Her eyes remained on the castle while Climaco evacuated her to safety. She couldn't blink or take her eyes off the castle as a series of loud explosions flashed before her eyes, bringing light into the night. This was far worse than the fire in the eighth prince's quarters months ago.

This fire and the explosion… the person behind it definitely wanted it to raze it to the ground.

When Aries was already in the distance while still being carried by Climaco, her heart stopped beating for a moment. She held her breath, slightly deafened by another thunderous explosion, before the castle trembled, taking everyone by surprise as the foundation of the top floor connecting the roof fell.

For a moment, silence descended on everyone as they stared at the roof, which fell and smashed down the top floor, completely erasing the top floor from the structure, leaving three floors in the four-storey castle. It took everyone a moment to snap back to the situation, retreating as rubbles started to fall from the castle.

It was a disaster. An attack that bore a deep grudge. Something that everyone could attest to whoever was behind it planned to raze this castle to the ground. Or at least, that floor, but no one thought about that since there were more minor explosions inside before it stopped fueling the fire.

'Bean…' Aries's eyes softened, bouncing in Climaco's arms, eyes over his shoulder and onto that burning castle. 'Abel…'

She bit her lower lip to stop herself from crying, but tears filled her eyes and stained her cheek. The floor where she was kept, tortured, forced to do things she didn't want to, the room that held her secrets… was now gone. That window she used to sit all day while staring outside disappeared from the structure, pulverized, along with the entire room and everything that was in it.

'Tell me about him. I'll remember you two… forever.'

Abel's voice earlier today suddenly rang in her head, making her cover her lips to muffle her cry, eyes still on that burning castle. She didn't have to endure the pain of that room's existence because now… there was another person who remembered her child and his mother's lovely lullaby.

'Abel…' she whispered in her heart as she kept her eyes on the fire, relieved as if a crippling weight was lifted off her chest. 'Thank you… very much.'