The Tyrant's Pet

Life was not about winning or losing. As long as the person was happy, then that was all that mattered. But, by Abel's peeved expression, he was definitely losing at the moment... and the people cramped inside the tiny space in the carriage only had one thing in mind: he would throw a tantrum.

Inside the carriage was Abel with his leg resting over the other and his arms folded under his chest. Across from him was his beloved wife, Aries, smiling awkwardly at him, and then Dexter, who was sitting beside her. Conan, on the other hand, sat beside Abel and was observing the latter from the corner of his eyes.

The carriage Dexter bought for Aries was comfortable enough for two people to travel in. Having the four of them inside and on a rocky road brought a minor discomfort, with their shoulders bumping into each other. But that wasn't the main source of this awkward air inside the carriage.

"Therefore, she stays in the Vandran residence," Dexter concluded with a triumphant smile, enjoying pressing Abel's nerve.

"I see... no wonder you've been so tamed lately. I should've known you were devising a meticulous and devious plan to take my wife away from me." Abel chuckled with his lips closed, making Aries shudder. When he raised his eyes at her, Aries immediately looked away and glared daggers at Dexter.

'Gosh... I told them to distract him, not to dig our own graves!' Aries clicked her tongue while Dexter cast her a sidelong glance. 'Tsk. He will get us killed!'

"But that makes sense." Conan chimed in while rubbing his chin. "Lady Aries married Abel Grimsbanne, and not Eustass or Silvestri. Everyone will be shocked if we suddenly announced you have a wife and there's already an empress. The Imperial faction will be nettled if they come to know that His Majesty married the Marquess's sister, while it will fuel the aristocratic faction's greed."

He snapped his eyes and looked up, darting his eyes between Abel, Aries, and then at Dexter. "Everyone already knew Lady Aries as Lady Daniella, and I think it is best to keep it that way. In that case, we'll save ourselves from explaining the reason and she can continue the life she had built in Haimirich."

"The point here is, Lady Aries had to live normally and peacefully. If we reveal she was a fallen princess held captive for years, then... even the aristocratic faction would be displeased. After all, Haimirich is full of hypocrites. It is better if the nobles curry favor to her, although it was annoying than them ostracizing her and making things hard for her," he added in the same knowing tone, agreeing with Dexter's argument of Aries returning to Haimirich as Daniella Circe instead of Abel's wife. "I agree with the marquess this time, Your Majesty. And I'm talking from your legal advisor's point of view."

"Wow..." Aries could not help but clap at Conan's remarks. "The original image I had for you is slowly recovering, Sir Conan."

"Hehe..." Conan rubbed his finger under his nose.

During the first several days of their journey, Conan's respectable image in Aries's mind was shattered, pulverized by Conan's own doing. No one could blame her, though. Conan was still intoxicated when they started their journey and he had motion sickness. It was the worse day he had ever experienced in his years of existence. So now, he was trying his best to recover his honor since he couldn't stand Aries and even Climaco looking down on him!

"She will stay in..." Abel arched a brow as he glanced at the window. "Alright."

"Huh?" Aries blinked twice, tugging her earlobe, wide-eyed. "Did he just agree?"

She looked at Dexter, only to furrow her brows. Her eyes shifted to Conan and saw him looking in the window with furrowed brows.

"Uh... is there's something wrong?" she asked, looking out at the window they were staring at, only to see the glorious Haimirich from afar.

They had been traveling for almost a month now. Although Aries requested to journey using a carriage because she didn't want Abel to use his wings, these men still argued they had to return to Haimirich as soon as possible. So, to compromise, they would travel by carriage in the morning, and by foot at night, when everyone was fast asleep in their homes.

Thus, their travel time was shortened by months, since their speed was beyond human comprehension. Even Aries was in disbelief. Abel didn't need to use his wings because he was fast, even by running. Now, here they were, about to enter the borders of Haimirich.

If they continued traveling by carriage, they would reach the Capital in less than two or three days. But if they travel by foot again, they would arrive at the Imperial Palace tonight.

"Huh?" Aries furrowed her brows as she sniffed hard. "What is that smell?"

Aries sniffed hard a couple more times to discern this familiar but faint scent. The answer was already at the tip of her tongue, but she just couldn't say what it was.

"Bullshit."

"What?"

"That's what I smell, darling. It smells bullshit." He winked, making her frown.

"Chocolates?" Dexter mumbled to himself, but Aries heard him.

"Yes!" Aries clapped and raised her head at Abel. "It smells like... chocolate."

The side of Abel's lips curled up into a cunning smirk, keeping his eyes on the window before blinking to Aries. The latter tilted her head to the side, picking up the slight excitement in his eyes. Abel had never failed to express how disheartened he was to return to Haimirich and have to split his time with the mountain of work waiting for him in his office. This was the first time he looked a little... amused?

"My instincts were correct," he crooned with a smile. "It seems Haimirich is now growing cacao and had been the main source of income during my absence."

Abel then glanced at Conan. "Didn't I tell them to focus on growing potatoes?"

"Hehe... that's not my fault." Conan awkwardly laughed while scratching his temple. "I'll go and check myself. Hey! Stop the carriage, I'm going out!"

Conan slammed the wall to catch Climaco's — the coachman throughout this journey — attention. The carriage slowly came to a halt after a minute.

"See you in the capital!" Conan waved happily before hitching outside without a lot of ceremonies.

"I'll see you in the capital." Dexter tapped Aries's shoulder to get her attention. "I had already sent a word to Gustav. He will wait for you in the capital. He'll lead your knight the way home."

"Oh..." Aries rocked her head, still baffled, while watching Dexter leave the carriage. The latter offered her a smile as he stood outside before closing the door.