The Tyrant's Pet

"Abel!"

Aries yelled through her gritted teeth, making Abel freeze on the spot. She balled her hand into a fist, storming in his direction while he shifted his eyes to her. As soon as she stopped several feet away from them, she darted her eyes between Abel and the woman kneeling before him to assess the situation.

How Abel was here and this woman was something she didn't know or even wondered. But this was akin to deja vu. The only difference was that Aries wasn't the person kneeling.

"Darling, why are you here?" he asked, putting down his sword while tilting his head to the side.

"I... does it matter?" she inquired back instead of answering him. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he arched a brow, casting the terrified woman kneeling before him an indifferent look. "I was about to send her to the pearly gates of heaven."

Aries's breath hitched while the woman spoke in a shaking voice. "Your — Your Majesty, please spare me. I — I didn't — didn't mean to... I didn't know you are the emperor and I... I... I deserve death."

Aries's heart broke watching and listening to the woman's stammering. In the end, the woman, even though she wanted to save herself, still succumbed to fear and accepted the swift release from this world.

"Mhm. I know." Abel rocked his head indifferently, arching a brow as he glanced at Aries. "If you don't want to stain your dress, go back."

"Stain...?" Aries kept her eyes on the woman, witnessing how the latter's face was filled with dread. "Your Majesty, does she deserve death?"

"She followed me and tried to get her hands on me. So obviously, she deserves it." He shrugged without a hint of remorse.

Her tight fist trembled, peeling her eyes away from the woman. This woman could've been her months ago. How could she forget? That Abel slaughter people without conscience? How could she get blinded by what he had been showing her so far?

Abel was and would always be a tyrant.

"What's with that look, darling?" he frowned. "Do you think I'm going too far? This? Far?"

'Of course, this isn't too far for him,' she thought, grinding her teeth secretly. She remained silent, holding Abel's gaze for a long time in silence.

When her lips parted, the space between his brows wrinkled. "I chose her."

"Hmm?"

"As my replacement," she muttered without looking away from him. "Don't you think this situation is eerily similar that night? I chose her, Your Majesty. She will be my replacement."

"Huh..." Abel let out a dry laugh, rocking his head lightly. He set his eyes on the woman on the ground, squatting down to take a closer look at her.

"Her?" he asked, lifting the woman's chin so she would look at him squarely. "She looks nothing like you, though."

"She's a different breed," she mocked, shrugging while staring at him. "Am I free now? Can I go?" her voice was laced with ridicule, chest moving in and out deeply.

Abel glanced up at her. Nothing, in particular, could be seen in his eyes. If anything, he appeared as though he didn't mind anything anymore. Still, he kept silent as he stood up ever so slowly.

"Isaiah, prepare a carriage for Lady Heathcliffe. She had served her duty as my pet properly. Thus, she deserves an honorable discharge. Give her the necessary rewards she deserved for her services," came out a stern order with his eyes fixed on Aries.

Aries glanced behind Abel and saw Isaiah bow in silence. Just like a shadow, he disappeared in the dark to execute his order. For reasons unknown, her heart was skipping a beat as she returned her gaze to him when he spoke again.

"You…" Abel trailed off, avoiding calling her name. "… better go as far away as possible. If you're going to leave, leave the continent — to a place beyond my reach. Hasten and never stop or look back, for I will turn the continent upside down in a month or so once I check this woman's grave and see it's not you."

Aries froze when Abel raised his sword and swung it down at the woman without a second hesitation. All she could do was watch the woman collapse with a thud, blood gushing out from the wound across her chest.

She was dead, just like that.

"Don't let me find you." A chill ran down her spine upon hearing Abel's chilly remarks, shifting her shaking eyes to him. Abel was still staring at the woman, lying on her pool of blood without showing a hint of remorse at his actions.

"Because if I ever see you again, I will lock you up to a place only I know. You will never see the daylight again and if I die, you will die because no one will ever find you." He paused, wiping the blood from his blade with his bare hands. "My new pet was a little flimsy. What a shame she didn't last a day."

Abel carefully cocked his head back, eyes on Aries' pale figure. "Go. Aries is dead," he remarked, calling his new pet — now dead — Aries.

Aries held her breath, staggering back with her eyes on him. This was Abel; how could she forget? How the hell did she think Abel was the man who would make her laugh and a shallow person to the point it was hilarious?

Everything… wasn't real, she thought. Everything was just a game to him, and he acted accordingly. So since he had fun playing with her, he granted her a reward; her freedom.

Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. In the end, Aries swallowed the frustrating tension in her throat and turned her back against him. She did her best. She gave him a replacement, and it was not her fault that she's dead now.

Aries did her part, and this was where they call it game over. She didn't look back and continued to march away, hands balled into a tight fist.

Meanwhile, Abel kept his eyes on her back in silence. He kept staring in the same direction until she was out of sight.

"It was fun while it lasted," he whispered, listening to the soundless sound of the night. "Well, I guess this is the perfect time for that."

When he peeled his eyes away and set them back to the woman lying in front of him, he stepped his foot on her head.

"Stop playing dead," came out a dark voice, watching her hand flinch while licking his growing fangs. "How dare you people target my woman, hmm? I'd like to see what you had in store for me."