The Tyrant's Pet

"What did the zero say to the eight?" Aries furrowed her brows at the message sent to her from an unknown source. "That belt looks good on you."

"…"

Aries blinked cluelessly, staring at the piece of paper with a dead expression. Minutes ago, while she was sitting in her room, thinking of what was happening currently, a bird came knocking on her balcony. It wasn't Morro, so she cautiously received it after making sure no one was around.

However, now that she had opened the context of the letter, Aries figured out this came from Abel for sure. Where he got the bird who sent it was not important.

"Is he trying to make me feel better?" she murmured, laughing weakly at this silly gesture. She read the joke once again and then noticed the last part.

[ Smile for me if you do not wish for the whiny boy to whine. ]

"He probably heard what happened." A deep exhale slipped past her lips as she dragged her feet to the futon where she was sitting previously. "Hah… he always wastes papers."

The side of her lips curled up as she shook her head. Her weak laughter was a little delayed the more she thought about the pun. It was so unfunny, it was funny.

"Seriously… how can he joke at a time like this?" she exhaled deeply, leaning back, raising the letter to look at it once more. "But then again, they were here for vacation purposes while I planned to ruin this empire. Things like this shouldn't surprise me anymore."

Her eyes softened as she pressed her lips into a thin line. "I have so many things to thank him for. I feel better now, Abel. Thank you."

Aries dropped her hand and gazed up at the dim ceiling that the lights from the candles barely reached. Ever since she returned from her visit to Joaquin's chancery, Aries had been restless. She was aware Roman was being tortured now and Ismael had probably heard about it.

She trusted Curtis and his ability to stop Ismael from letting his emotions take over him. Still, sitting in this room, waiting for the sun to rise, increased the restlessness in her heart. Aries couldn't just sleep, knowing she had to strike while the iron was hot, but not tonight when Joaquin's attention was on Roman.

It was a delicate matter and one wrong move or word could spoil everything she worked hard for.

But thanks to Abel and this letter he sent her, she somehow calmed down.

"He won't kill him…" she told herself, reminding herself of the reason she shouldn't hurry to Joaquin and gain his attention. "Knowing him, he is probably quenching his anger. But he wouldn't beat Roman to death; he isn't that kind."

If kindness for others was sharing their portion of food with others, Joaquin's kindness was killing someone in an instant without going through torture. Everyone was aware of how Curtis had become after being with Joaquin; the crown prince had killed Curtis' spirit until he was nothing but a dog who would bark at his behest.

But since this traitor was Roman, the seventh prince, Joaquin couldn't kill him easily. There were many secrets the seventh prince knew, but more than that, there were people Joaquin wanted dead. But now, their deaths were now a blur, since Roman was the person who did most of his dirty work.

"Now that I think about it, Joaquin is someone who divides his trust," she mumbled, blinking weakly. "He trusted Roman with his dirty works, Hernan to all his illegal businesses, and Javier…"

Aries narrowed her eyes, wondering what sort of secret Javier knew that those two didn't. Joaquin was the person who wouldn't put all his trust in one basket. There were things Roman knew that Hernan and Javier would know; it was the same with Hernan and Javier.

'I need him to tell me what those three knew…' Aries raised her finger and bit the nail of her thumb. "Especially, what that Javier knows." — because if she couldn't, Joaquin would always have a card she didn't know about that could possibly save Joaquin at the last minute.

At this point, Aries couldn't afford Joaquin having more cards to play. She couldn't let him turn things around once Ismael started his fight. Aries was here to make sure Joaquin would never sit on the throne and watch everything he had worked hard to be claimed by someone else.

"I hate him," she whispered, gazing at the darkroom with sharp eyes as she soon remained silent for a long time. She didn't move from her position, watching the candles on the stand melt as time passed by.

The night was oddly silent, but she could hear Roman's screams in her head. All night, while others were fast asleep and others were busy doing the task they were given, Aries sat in that chair without a wink of sleep. Yet, she didn't feel sleepy at all.

Even when the window from behind her showed some light as the dark sky turned to a deep blue, which slowly changed into a lighter shade. When Aries finally turned her head around, it was already morning, but the sun hid behind the thick clouds.

Just the sight of the morning winter felt chilly, but her eyes were already icy.

Knock knock…

"My lady, are you awake now?" asked a female servant from the outside, and when she heard the crown princess's voice, the servant entered discreetly with a basin and pewter. When the maid placed them on the table in front of Aries, she took a step back and bowed.

"Your Royal Highness, a word from the inner palace came today. The crown prince is inviting you to the inner palace for breakfast."

Aries paused from reaching for the water and arched a brow. She glanced at the maid, who replaced Gertrude.

"Hah… how amusing," she whispered and smirked. "After an adventurous night, he still had energy for breakfast."

"Prepare a pleasant dress. I will join him shortly."