The Tyrant's Pet

Once Aries finished helping bathe Abel, they headed to the emperor's chambers just right next to the bathing room. Abel remained silent all throughout because he was tired and a bit upset after that short discussion with her. Yet, he still dragged her onto the bed and confined her in his arms.

Aries laid on her side while Abel was lying on his tummy with his arm locked around her waist. The side of his head was resting motionless on the pillow, facing her direction, eyes shut.

She wanted to ask him a few questions, knowing he would answer even if he was deep asleep. But she already told herself multiple times to stop asking questions unless she wanted her brain to overheat.

'Since when… did you know?' she wondered.

Aries had always known there was something wrong with her back in the Maganti Empire. However, she shunned it and continued to proceed with her plan. Ignoring it didn't help because the headaches and dizziness slowly grew frequent, and now she was experiencing nosebleeds.

'Is becoming a vampire the only way?' she asked herself, letting out another sigh. Fortunately, Abel wasn't in her head at the moment. Or else he would be very upset.

Of course, she wanted to live for as long as she could and enjoy every second with her husband. However, the thought of forever… there was never such a thing to her. Just a few months ago, Aries had believed people only live and die once.

Therefore, it was impossible for someone to immediately accept reality when this reality was far too obscure and different from what she had believed all her life. Even if she had seen it herself, Aries needed time to get a good grasp of this reality.

'Death… is something I shouldn't celebrate about,' she thought.

One of the reasons she was conflicted about her health condition. If she simply accepted, they could easily solve her problem with a small sacrifice, then… she shouldn't be sad anymore, right? But that didn't sit right with her because she was a human and sadness, problems that seemed impossible to fix, and all types of emotions were normal to experience and feel.

That was the proof a person was alive.

Aries didn't want to make light of life and death anymore; not now that she had pledged to cherish this life in front of her family and in front of God.

"You said humans had always fascinated you," she whispered, playing with the tip of his hair with her fingertips. "Aren't we complicated beings?"

The side of her lips curled up subtly as her eyes softened. "I had always wondered what it is for you?"

Silence answered her, but her slight smile remained. She stared at Abel lovingly, wondering about his outlook on life. Although she already knew about it, she was wondering about the things she wasn't aware of.

"You must've been dumbfounded at human nature." She chuckled weakly, thinking Abel always had a different take on any situation. Aries moved closer to him, embracing him back with her forehead touching his.

She inhaled his deep breaths, closing her eyes to rest them for a bit. However, instead of sleeping, she started humming a soothing tune. Her hand caressed his back, hoping that would help him sleep deeply and peacefully.

Aries didn't plan to sleep as she didn't feel sleepy at all. But for some reason, while she was humming to lull him to sleep, she slowly fell asleep. When her humming stopped, Abel opened his eyes ever so tenderly.

His eyes moved up, seeing her shut eyes. "I was… indeed, very dumbfounded at first," came out a rasped voice. "Until now, I still am."

Not that Abel didn't understand her unwillingness to be turned into a vampire. Aries had never known about the other races who walked on the same surface as her. Accepting him for what he was and accepting to be one of them were two different cases. However, if she refused, that was probably the only time Abel would not honor her will. She could hate him for that, but he would rather have Aries hate him than lose her in this world, knowing there were ways to keep her alive.

"What a piece of work," he whispered, moving his face to plant a soft kiss on her lips. "You… make me sad."

For some reason, his lips curled up against her lips despite his last remarks. He didn't know why he was suddenly smiling or why he felt amused. Abel never felt such melancholy at the thought of death. Actually, he never felt the slightest sadness or anything at all.

But now… even when he knew there were ways, this distinct sadness he never felt in his entire life was reigning in his heart. Yet, he didn't know why that somehow made him feel relieved. Because at the end of the day, he shouldn't be this affected, since death had zero value in his eyes.

Death never made him feel anything, but this sadness was satisfactory. Maybe he was indeed crazy.

As Abel pulled her body closer to him, a sudden chill went up his spine. Abel shuddered, which he never experienced in the past, propping his elbow against the bed to look at the balcony behind Aries.

"Hah… did someone just curse me with such passion?" he muttered, shaking his head and lying down comfortably. His eyes fell on her and smiled subtly, patting her back gently.

"Five days…" he whispered, calculating the hour and second he didn't get to see her. "You'll stay here for ten days and protect me from Conan."

The initial sadness and frustration he bore previously slowly disappeared the longer he felt his warmth transferring to him. There was no point in dwelling in it, anyway. Aries had decided and Abel too. Their decisions might be different from each other, but even when they didn't specifically voice it out — or rather, Aries didn't — they were aware of how the gears in their heads turned.

It was just a matter if Aries could find ways to cure herself to keep living as a human or die for Abel to turn her so they could be together forever.