The Tyrant's Pet

"You know it's not my idea," Aries mumbled, sitting in front of Abel on the steed. They weren't moving fast as they just left the imperial palace.

"Well, darling. It's not my fault that you keep on falling in Conan's scheme." The side of his lips stretched into a devious grin, gazing down at her. "And because of that, I have a reason to skip my work and spend it with you. It's a win for me."

Aries wasn't even concealing her lack of enthusiasm for this date. Why would she? Abel never failed to find new ways how to get into her head. She could only anticipate what sort of surprise he had in store for her.

"He doesn't need to rub it on my face," she blurted out.

"Internal dialogues should be kept in your head, darling." His grin stretched even broader until his eyes squinted into mere slits when her eyes dilated in horror. "Oh, don't worry. I don't mind listening to your rumblings. Do you want to badmouth Conan? I can tell you one or two things to put him under your thumb."

She looked at him, bouncing at every step of the steed. "What's the catch?" she asked without beating around the bush, knowing he wouldn't offer such a tempting offer with nothing in return.

"A second date." His face brightened up, wriggling his brows playfully.

'Can I refuse?' she wondered while staring at him dead in the eye. 'On second thought, it's not really a bad idea. I'm stuck with him, no matter what. So it didn't really matter since enduring another day with him is just another day in Haimirich.'

"Did you make up your mind?" he inquired, seeing that her eyes lit with life.

Aries drew closer to him to lend him an ear. "Can I negotiate?" she inquired.

"About?"

"Our second date."

"Depends on your condition." Her expression grew depressed. In the end, it was still up to him to decide, huh?

She cleared her throat, only having one condition in mind. "On our second date, please don't take me to somewhere dangerous."

"Can you, perhaps, read my mind?" he looked at her, wide-eyed, while her entire face distorted.

'So, he is truly thinking of taking me to somewhere dangerous?!' she gasped internally. Surely, she couldn't lower her guard around him. There was always a catch.

"Darling, you are so old fashion." He purred and sighed. "Sane is boring. Dates should be... memorable. It is only worth remembering if it involves life and death."

"Your Majesty, simple things can also be enjoyable and memorable as well."

"Like?"

"Like... this." Aries blinked twice while his brows furrowed. "We can enjoy this ride with just the two of us. I mean, I can tell my grandchildren things like, 'I can still remember the time I rode on the horse with a handsome man,' or something."

"Grandchildren?" Abel arched a brow while staring at her.

"Yes. I mean, the point here is..."

"Who is the grandfather?" he asked, rendering her speechless. Despite that, Aries sported a forced smile.

"That's not the point, Abel. What I'm saying is --"

"How can you have grandchildren without having children? To have children, you need a man's semen. It's not like you can get pregnant just by talking your way out." He shrugged, stuck in that context that wasn't even her point. "So, who is the grandfather?"

"..." How was she still surprised? Abel was talented at diverting a subject to something else that wasn't entirely important. How was she supposed to answer that now? She hadn't even fallen in love with someone, and Aries was now a tyrant's pet. A pet! Not even a lover!

Love was already out of sight, much less having a family. She barely has freedom, too.

Abel remained quiet as his eyes never left her. He was waiting for an answer; seriously waiting for an answer. His eyes narrowed when she was just staring at him blankly.

'What is he waiting...?' she wondered as this became a tough question now. His solemn stare was slowly putting pressure on her, making her open and close her mouth.

"I will grow old alone and lonely," came out a helpless mumble.

Abel furrowed his brows before rocking his head. "Good. Stay single forever."

"It's not like I have a choice." Aries looked away, hoping that went past his ear. It didn't. Abel heard her loud and clear, but he simply raised a brow.

He bent over to her shoulder, casting her a side-eye. "Of course, you have a choice, darling. Me." He pressed his lips into a thin line, blinking countless times to charm her. But it didn't work.

Abel ended up sulking as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Instead of focusing on maneuvering the horse, he let it be. Meanwhile, Aries tried to ignore him as much as possible, eyes at the empty wide street of the capital.

The imperial palace was situated at a distance from the capital. So heading to the heart of the empire would take them some time.

Silence enveloped the two of them as neither of them talked. Abel and Aries gazed ahead, letting the horse move at its own pace as if they all had the time in the world to waste.

"You're right." She glanced at him when he broke his silence. "Simple things aren't that bad."

"Huh?"

His long and thick eyelashes fluttered ever so slowly, moving his head so that his lean cheek was on her shoulder. He stared at her for a moment, watching her brows raise.

"I think I can tell my grandchildren things like, 'I can still remember the time I rode on the same horse with a beautiful maiden'." A charming smirk appeared on his face. "And then add, 'your grandmother is such a piece of work, but look, everything worked out.'"

"What?" she needed a minute to make sure she heard him correctly. But Abel wasn't that generous to let her question her hearing.

"Although I agreed, simple things aren't bad. They weren't as good as extreme things." He grinned evilly before he pulled the reins lightly, squeezing its sides with his calves to get the horse moving.

Before she could react, the horse galloped away. The sudden shift in their speed forced her to cling to him to avoid herself from falling.

His evil grin remained. "See? Extreme is better," he uttered proudly since she had no other choice but to cling to him. "Darling! Just look ahead and enjoy life with me, will you? Stop acting like a little girl!" he exclaimed as they galloped, making her peek ahead.

It was not like she was afraid of riding, but she nearly fell over because he caught her off guard. But the sight ahead and the harsh wind they were going against were liberating in a way.

Still clinging on to him, Aries smiled. "I am a little girl. And I think extreme isn't that bad too," she whispered. Little did she know, Abel also smiled when he glanced down at her.