The Tyrant's Pet

"Ah!" Aries squealed when Joaquin tossed her inside one of the sitting rooms near the dining hall in the inner palace. She raised her arm, which hit the coffee table, to protect her head from hitting it.

"Hah…" Joaquin ran his fingers through his hair, looking down at her. He sneered when she glared back at him. "Aren't you amazing, my love? Those men… really admired you."

He laughed in ridicule, recalling his last memory in the dining hall. When he glanced at the dining hall for the last time, all he saw was not helplessness. What he saw were people with burning eyes, looking back at him with murderous intent.

In other words, he didn't kill their spirit. But instead, their morale only peaked in such a cornered situation and that was all because of her.

"Everyone is just plain stupid." He chuckled, shaking his head mildly. He marched towards Aries, squatting down in front of her. His arms rested on his bent knees, eyes glinting at her.

"How annoying," he continued in a quiet voice. "Everyone is just so annoying."

She sneered, but only answered him by spitting on his face. Joaquin closed one of his eyes, wiping the red sticky liquid on his cheek with the back of his fist calmly.

"You're always amazing, isn't it, Aries?" he uttered, ignoring her repulsive action just now. "You always have a way with people, which is quite amazing. I give that credit to you."

"Do you want to find out my secret, Joaquin? Why did those people get angry in my stead, and how they were willing to fight for me at the cost of their lives? I can open a seminar for you since that never happened on your watch," she mocked with a grin. "Your men… are only there for you because they were scared of you. They were not loyal to you, but they were loyal to the fear that was grabbing them by the neck. So, when an opportunity open up and they can take off their collars, they would flee without looking back."

Aries's eyelids drooped. "Pity."

"I don't need their loyalty, my love." He smirked back. "If fear is what keeps them on my side, then they would live in horror and carry that fear to their graves."

He raised his hand, only to stop when she turned her head to avoid his touch. He scoffed and ignored her until the back of his fingers was caressing her cheek.

"Thing is… this was what drove your people in Rikhill to their graves," he remarked under his breath. "The resemblance of the situation is uncanny, don't you think, my love? Despite the threat of my troops marching to your small, insignificant kingdom, your people didn't back down. Instead, you waited for us on that ridge with your metals on, singing your battle cry."

His lips stretched as he recalled the amazing spirit of the warrior of Rikhill, which reminded him of the tension in the dining hall. Just like the soldiers in Rikhill, the face of a formidable foe didn't faze them. Instead, they kept their chin up and shouted proudly.

Even to their last breath, they didn't submit to the flag of the Maganti Empire, nor did they bow in Joaquin's presence. They were the type of soldiers Joaquin would want on his side, but alas, she was correct. His people weren't loyal to him, but they were loyal to their fear of the crown prince.

He didn't mind, though. However, it was still annoying. Looking at Aries, Joaquin couldn't understand just what charm did this woman had that he didn't have? Was it the pair of breasts? Her genitalia? Her irresistible body? Or that beautiful face of hers? But then again, Manuel, the deceased crown prince, had the same way with people.

"You did a good job capturing my heart, Circe," he purred, raising his eyes to meet her placid ones. "I love you so much I would keep you. Even if you spit on my face and curse the life out of me, I'll still accept you. That's love."

"That's sickness," she corrected, but he simply shrug.

"I really want to have a child with you, though. Just the thought of starting a family with the woman I love, yearned, and ache for gives me this… inexplicable peace." He smiled, cupping her cheek with gentle hands. "You don't have to love me back, my love. It's alright. I had longed to accept anything from you; love, hate, disgust, or whatever. Anything, my love. I will accept anything you give me."

Aries laughed tonelessly. "You are mad."

"I never said I wasn't." His brows rose briefly. "But at the end of the day, I will still get what I want while you have no choice but to choose from those limited options."

Joaquin let out a quiet sigh, casually brushing her cheek with his thumb. "I won't make you happy. I will make you the most miserable woman, Aries. And that is a promise." His eyelashes fluttered ever so tenderly, observing the undying flames in her eyes.

Hatred and disgust condensed in her eyes, but she never showed the slightest fear of him. Maybe that was the reason he was so obsessed with her. Because Aries… was the only woman who never feared him from the very start.

She hated him; he disgusts her. But she doesn't fear him. And he was fine with that.

Joaquin cupped her face with both his hands and looked at her face up close. "Just like how I slaughtered your family and people, those people will share the same fate, my love," he remarked before releasing her carefully. He held his knees and pushed himself up. He looked down at her silently before turning on his heel and walking away.

"Summon the royal physician to treat her back and raise the security in this room," he ordered as soon as the door opened from the outside. "Block the windows as well and keep all sharp objects."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness."

Joaquin looked back into the room, and his gaze instantly locked with hers. The side of his lips curled up before he marched away.

Aries kept her eyes on the door, watching it shut closed. Her cold countenance remained, seeing shadows underneath the door. Minutes had gone by when the side of her lips curled up triumphantly. But it was short-lived when Abel's voice echoed in her head.

"Not a sound, darling. Not a breath."