The Tyrant's Pet

"I warned you. Drinking poison will slowly damage you. You've been very distracted lately and I can't even pretend to get angry."

Aries pressed her lips into a thin. It was another day of her lesson in literature with Dexter in the study.

"I'm sorry." She sighed, dropping her hand on her lap as she leaned back. "Marquess Vandran, can we skip today's lesson?"

"And why should I agree?" his brow arched, noticing the gradual change of the meek Aries into something more... courageous. Not that she would demand anything from him. But rather, her occasional request out of nowhere still gets him off guard.

"Just because..." Aries lowered her eyes and smacked her lips faintly. "... I'm just wasting your time, I think."

"I agreed to be your tutor, knowing I am wasting my time teaching someone on death row."

She glanced at him, studying his demeanor before her shoulder relaxed. "Make sense."

"So... another love problem?" he chuckled dryly when she scrunched her nose up. "Forgive me. I just simply find it uncomfortable talking about His Majesty during his absence."

"It's alright, Marquess Vandran. He just gave me an assignment, that's all."

"And for the clever Miss Aries to mention this to me... I am intrigued." His lips stretched, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Another sigh slipped past her lips. Dexter was so sharp and straightforward; he was just like Conan, But the latter had his own way of delivering his thoughts. Also, Conan was easier to get along with. Even so, Dexter was not a terrible person. Although their relationship barely had development.

"Marquess Vandran, can I ask you something?" she inquired, watching him tilt his head lightly. "Do I look special?"

"Special? You?" he snorted, but she simply nodded and ignored the sarcasm in his tone. Seeing the seriousness in her eyes, Dexter cleared his throat and pondered for a moment.

"By appearance? A bit. Personality-wise, it suits a wise princess."

"I mean, what is your opinion about me?" she inquired because his answer was already generic and predictable. Of course, she would look different because she came from a foreign country and she was a fallen princess.

"Miss Aries, I do not mean to offend, but may I know the reason?" he asked, intrigued by this self-review survey she was conducting.

"Just..."

"Does this have anything to do with the task given to you?"

Aries reluctantly nodded with a frown. "Since I can't really tell what sort of person I am, I want to ask the people I am interacting with."

"Hmm. Is that so? Let's see..." She blinked twice, the wrinkle on her forehead resurfacing under his gaze. "You are smart. There are not many people who can keep up with me in a conversation. Although we usually keep our conversation within the topic, you were always on the same page as I am. So my opinion about you is you are a smart lady."

"Oh..." Aries rocked her head in understanding and then mumbled. "... she should be a smart one?"

"Who should be the smart one?" he quirked a brow.

Aries snapped her eyes at him, clearing her throat. "Aries." Her answer piqued his interest, which not many could do. Observing him, she weighed whether to give Dexter a hint or let it be.

"I'm looking for another Aries." That was all she said.

To her surprise, Dexter laughed, because that was enough for him to grasp the situation.

"You mean a replacement to your role?" her mouth fell open while he laughed. "That is the assignment His Majesty gave you? For you to find someone to replace you?"

Although she was surprised at how quickly he caught on, Aries didn't deny it or confirm it. Instead, she stared at Dexter, watching him lean to his side, elbow propped against the armrest.

"Considering it was His Majesty, that is something to be expected." He rocked his head, knowing this type of thing was Abel's game. "But Miss Aries, that is quite a hard task. If he gave you his word, then that only means he truly means it. However, I don't think you will succeed."

"How so?"

"Because it's His Majesty. Anything that catches his eyes are... let's just say rare. That book, for example." He pointed at the open book in front of her, nonchalance surrounding him.

"For you and I, it's a book in literature and we use it because it's informative and we need it for our lesson. So, more or less, it has some importance." He paused and chuckled briefly. "For His Majesty, however, that doesn't matter. If he said it is important, then it is important. If he likes it, even if he doesn't read it or know its content, then he likes it. For what reason? Perhaps it was because of how the pages smell? Or how the cover feels upon his touch? Or just how it appears in his eyes? No one knows exactly."

"..."

Deep down, Aries already knew this. But hearing it from the marquess's mouth still upset her.

"What I'm trying to say is, how I see you or how you view yourself is probably different from his perspective. So, instead of asking me or anyone else, why not ask His Majesty? I'm sure he is more than willing to help." His smile barely reached his eye, nodding encouragingly.

"I'll give you a hint, though. As a subject who had served the empire for a very long time, one thing I learned is that the first impression is always crucial. If his first impression on you left an impact, be it for a bad or worse reason, it'll always be there, like a curse."

Aries absorbed his words like a sponge, ruminating over them as if his words weren't as clear as to how he worded them. She snapped her eyes and set them at him again, seeing him check his pocket watch.

"Our lesson is over," he announced while putting back the pocket watch inside his suit. "I wish you good luck, Miss Aries. May you undo the curse that befell you. If you succeeded, please tell me the secret."