The Tyrant's Pet

Aries and Abel stayed in the carriage, as per Abel's request, only to make a stop in a town to rest in an inn. Meanwhile, Morro had already flown away when Abel told him to survey the capital, and if possible, stop Conan from approaching the emperor's chambers at all costs.

As instructed, Morro surveyed the movements in the capital as it would take Abel another day to reach the Capital via carriage. Until this point, Morro didn't understand Abel's lack of urgency when Conan and Dexter were alarmed by the force dwelling in the imperial palace. Not just that, but Isaiah had also retreated when he wasn't granted entry into a place that would open up even when the grand duke was still far away.

"Where did they..." Morro trailed off, catching Isaiah dragging Dexter and Conan out of the imperial palace from the west entrance. "My Lord!"

Without thinking twice, Morro descended at full speed, only to land on Dexter's shoulder, as Isaiah tossed them away.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Conan harrumphed, tugging the hem of his clothes to straighten it. "Why did you drag us out?! We need to see the situation!"

"Why are you still here? Didn't you walk away when you were refused entry?" Dexter backed up, a little miffed at how Isaiah came from behind them, and restrained the two of them, only to drag them out. It was already a challenge to infiltrate the imperial palace with its tight security.

"His Majesty will come later," said Isaiah with his usual stoic front. "Don't put yourself in danger until he comes in here."

"Don't put myself — wow! I never felt so insulted before!" Conan scoffed, almost out of words for the things this man had just said.

"They are talking about renaming the empire." Unlike Conan, who took it personally, Dexter was quick enough to understand this man had his reasons for dragging them out. It wasn't a pretty thing to remember, but Isaiah wanted nothing to do with them unless Abel said so.

"That's right! How the hell did those ministers come up with this ridiculous plan of renaming Haimirich to Chocolate Empire!? Didn't you put the entire imperial palace under the spell when we left? How come this is happening?" Conan nagged through his gritted teeth.

Back when they left the Haimirich Empire, Isaiah put a spell so everyone who would enter the Imperial Palace would do their job without slacking. The reason everyone in the palace — vampires and humans alike — would bear blank eyes and their memories for the entire day were hazy. It was the quietest months in the imperial palace with everyone just working to finish their mountains of paperwork and keep the empire running while they were away.

So how did this all happen?

"Did your spell expire or what?" Conan continued irritably, huffing.

"It's still there." Isaiah looked back at the palace behind him with the same stoic countenance. "It is just that... another spell is put up — a stronger one."

"What?" Dexter furrowed his brows.

"You wouldn't infiltrate the imperial palace if that person inside didn't grant you entry," Isaiah continued in a quiet voice, setting his sharp yet dull eyes at the two of them. "Morro, what did His Majesty say?"

"He will escort Lady Aries to meet Gustav." Morro was quick to answer, throwing Dexter and Conan in a river of confusion. "I think you should leave the imperial palace alone until His Majesty reclaims it."

"What?" Conan gasped in disbelief. "Are you seriously going to listen to him? He would burn Haimirich to migrate in Rikhill — oh! I should pack now if that is the case."

Dexter looked at Conan in dismay as this man suddenly changed his mind with a snap of a finger. He shook his head, casting the raven on his shoulder a look before setting his eyes on Isaiah.

"Do you know who that person inside is?" he inquired as if he hadn't figured out the answer.

"No." Isaiah held the marquess's gaze solemnly. "But I don't think this is a matter that we should be concerned about."

Dexter furrowed his brows, detecting the oddity in Isaiah's unchanging tone. He studied the duke and caught him staring at Conan while Morro flew and landed on Isaiah's shoulder.

'That's strange...' Dexter muttered inwardly but chose to bite his tongue to stop himself from prying. "If that is the case, then I'll go home."

"What — wait!" Conan gasped, watching Dexter turn around to leave. The latter stopped and cocked his head back.

"If the situation did not alarm the emperor's vassal and the emperor himself, then I don't see the need to get riled up. I'm going home, and prepare a banquet for my sister's return after getting caught up with a rebellion." Dexter waved nonchalantly as he sauntered off. "The aristocratic faction would surely cause trouble since it was His Majesty's idea to marry her off. You better prepare yourself for that."

"What..." Conan scrunched his nose up, watching Dexter's retreating back. "Tsk. He's back to being a dick."

"Sir Conan, you should take this time to have some rest," Morro advised, making Conan look at him with narrow eyes.

"Since when did you care about my well-being?"

"I saw the mountain of paperwork in your chancery — it's full of them," Morro explained in a knowing tone. "Not to mention the mountain of paperwork in His Majesty's office. He will pass them to you and you'll die because of it. I haven't considered what the marquess said just now."

Conan froze as he imagined the work he had left and had now piled after months of absence. He covered his gaping mouth with his palm while horror filled his eyes.

"But if you don't want to, we can go back and start now --" Morro halted, blinking, only to see Conan's figure disappear without a trace. "He's so fast. I guess he still got it."

While Morro was amazed at how Conan fled in a blink of an eye to enjoy the last day of his vacation, Isaiah walked in the same spot. He raised his head as soon as he faced the imperial palace, letting out a deep exhale.

"What else did His Majesty say?" he asked when he was certain Dexter and Conan had left without looking back.

Morro glanced at the duke and reported. "He said don't let Sir Conan set foot in the emperor's chambers."

"So he had already known..." Isaiah whispered, narrowing his as he recalled the memory he had seen when he walked into the emperor's chambers earlier. "... it's not pleasant news for him."