The Tyrant's Pet

Abel idled in the carriage for a good hour until Isaiah and a few imperial knights arrived at the borders of the capital with a carriage. The people of the Marquess remained outside without a word of complaint, making Climaco's anxiety spike at the odd silence from inside the carriage and outside.

Climaco raised his head at the group, approaching their vantage point. His brows furrowed, recognizing the person leading them. For some reason, the anxious knight heaved a sigh of relief at Isaiah's presence, only to feel his heart thud as soon as Isaiah and the imperial knight halted.

"Huh?" Climaco blinked, rubbing his eyes to see. He darted his gaze from the imperial knights and the knights from the marquess's knight brigade. As a knight himself, Climaco instantly sensed the hostile air between the knights, making him gulp a mouthful of his own saliva.

'Right... I heard the Marquess, and the Emperor wasn't really on good terms,' he recalled, keeping his silence but raising his guard lest a fight broke out.

Isaiah jumped from his steed, passing the reins to a knight who came with him. He approached Gustav's side, keeping his chin up. The two didn't exchange any words as they simply cast each other a brief look before Isaiah faced the carriage.

"Your Majesty, I brought a carriage for you," announced Isaiah to the people inside the carriage. "The Marquess will be worried if Her Ladyship's arrival is further delayed."

Silence was the only response Isaiah got, and just like Gustav, the duke stayed rooted on his spot with his eyes glued on the carriage. Seeing this, Climaco gulped. Would they have to wait for another hour?

Just as Climaco was wondering whether or not Abel would hitch outside, Isaiah took a step forward and opened the door ever so slowly. For the obvious reason, the knight held his breath lest Abel kicks him for suddenly intruding. To his relief, when Isaiah opened the door, Abel immediately hitched outside.

"Good to see you again, Gustav," Abel greeted the old butler, making the latter bow slightly. He let out a dry laugh and then offered his hand to Aries to assist her down.

"It's good to see you again, Gustav," Aries greeted with a smile.

"I'm glad that you were alright, my lady." Gustav smiled, glancing at the little girl still inside the carriage.

"Darling, I told you you do not have to come down."

Aries snapped her eyes at Abel and smiled upon seeing his somber front. She turned and offered her hand to Sunny, which the little girl clasped before jumping out of the carriage.

"I want to see my husband off," Aries explained when Sunny landed on the ground safely, looking up to face Abel. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"But I plan to see you off." He smiled, tipping his head at the carriage behind her. "Go in. I'll go once you do."

"No, Your Majesty. That is very rude of me. We will leave once you set off."

"How sweet, but I'll be fine."

Aries shook her head mildly. "I know you will be fine, but it is still impolite."

"Then shall I say it's an order from the emperor himself?" His brows rose, keeping his bright smile. Irritation fastened across her eyes, but she kept her smile intact.

Meanwhile, the people who were around, listening to them, could only dart their eyes between the two. Gustav handpicked the knights from the marquess's brigade, and thus, was trained not to pry and simply see the situation as it was since it involved the young mistress of the Vandran. It was the same as those from the imperial palace.

Those who knew about Aries and Abel's relationship barely had any thoughts about this dilemma between lovers. The only person who had more say in it was Climaco, since he couldn't believe his master was flirting like a young maiden with the emperor.

Things were still different when they were back in the Maganti Empire and during their journey. Climaco had always known Abel was an emperor, but now that he was seeing the emperor's insignia on the knight's uniform and how these knights carried themselves, did he actually comprehend Abel was, indeed, an emperor and a tyrant.

"Alright, then." Aries mentally threw her hands in the air, but physically curtsied. "Thank you for your help, Your Majesty."

"Anything for you, my darling."

She raised her gaze to him and nodded slightly before glancing at Gustav. The butler smiled, walking to her side to assist her back to the carriage. When Aries sat down inside the carriage, she cast Abel a smile and then waved at Sunny. Her heart warmed up when Sunny held Abel's pinky and waved back.

"My lady," Gustav called, signaling her to give him the go signal before he closed the door.

Aries bit her inner lip, staring at Abel and then at Sunny. She clutched her skirt as she had a long eye-to-eye contact with Abel. When he smiled reassuringly, Aries nodded.

"Let's go, Gustav." She cast Gustav a look, and the latter carefully shut the door.

Gustav didn't idle as he signaled the knights to prepare, after bowing at Abel. Everyone moved efficiently, riding their steeds while Gustav entered another small carriage. When the horses' neigh erupted in the air, Aries's eyes softened, still looking back at Abel standing outside the carriage.

<strong>'See you tonight,'</strong> Abel mouthed carefully, making her smile.

<strong>'I'll wait for you.'</strong> Aries then waved as the carriage moved slowly, keeping her eyes on him as the distance grew farther. A deep exhale slipped past her lips when she could no longer see Abel's figure without peeking her head out of the window.

"I feel sad," she mumbled, touching the spot where Abel had perched previously. "But then again... he'll surely visit me tonight."

A subtle smile replaced her frown, looking out of the window to see the gorgeous capital of Haimirich. Her lips stretched wider as the luster in her eyes grew clearer.

"I'm back..." she whispered with a light heart, having this sense of liberty returning to this place after almost a year of staying in another empire.