The Tyrant's Pet

"My, my… what a dilemma on the early period of the Summit."

Everyone gradually set their eyes on the entrance, only to meet an imposing 'woman' joining the conference hall.

The moment Maximus's eyes landed on the figure by the door, his anger was taken over with nothing but cold irritation.

"It seemed a conflict had gone out of hand. Fortunately, my queen is here to settle the matters."

The person flashed everyone a smile, placing a hand across her flat chest as she lowered her head.

"It's a late introduction, but allow me to present myself formally. My name is London Leviticus, the chief deputy of the summit." She uncoiled her back while preserving her smile. "My apologies for my late attendance. I was settling some matters, but now that I am here, I'll take this from here."

Not just Maximus, but Abel also glowered at the sight of London Leviticus.

"Now, now, who is causing trouble in this sacred place?" London beamed until her eyes were squinting.

To everyone's surprise, Maximus and Abel looked away from each other.

"I demand a chair to sit on, or perhaps I can just sit on the queen's chair and provide my lap for her." Abel leisurely turned around, facing Aries to cleanse his eyes and alleviate his mood. Meanwhile, Maximus just clicked his tongue in annoyance before sitting down.

"How boring," mumbled Maximus, crossing his arms as his frown progressed to deepen.

With their immediate withdrawal from this matter, everyone — even Aries, Ismael, and Veronika — was stunned at how those two, specifically Maximus, backed down so quickly.

"Oh?" London's lips stretched, darting her eyes between Maximus and Abel's back. "It seemed the misunderstanding had been settled even before I came?"

"What is going on?" Ismael mumbled to himself.

Up until just moments ago, Maximus was throwing a huge fit and even strangled a marshall. If not for Aries, everything would have been a mess, with no routes of return. Things weren't settled — at least, not yet.

"Go." Aries, although surprised at the sudden calm that took over, didn't dwell on it. Instead, she cast the royal knights a look. "Go to your barracks and do a thousand laps. Reflect on your actions. I would gather all of you once things here are settled."

The knights, who did nothing but follow Maximus's orders, scrutinized Aries. Seeing her sharp countenance, the knights carefully yielded their swords and took a step back. They hung their heads low, not even casting Maximus a look to get his approval.

Even if they pledged their hearts to Maximus, Aries was still the queen. If Maximus already kept quiet, that means the queen's orders were absolute.

"Oh, before you all leave…" London stopped everyone with a clap. "... how about they undergo our disciplinary action?"

"Do not push your luck, viceroy." Aries raised her chin, maintaining her stony countenance. "These men are still under me. Even if they disregarded my orders, it should be me who should discipline them."

She paused, looking around at the people around the table. "Since that is the case, I'd naturally take responsibility for their actions just now. We'll have a word later, viceroy."

London's lips stretched into an understanding smile, pleased at Aries's attitude despite all that happened.

"My respect for the queen just leaped to a hundred levels," mused London, nodding in understanding. "Then, this case is settled? If anyone is still displeased about it and has complaints, please do so, so we can address it before resuming the important talks."

Silence followed London's remarks while the latter scanned the conference hall. Aries also swept her gaze across the rooms with those sharp eyes. However, it was obvious that there was another reason for this silence and not because no one had other concerns anymore.

No one wanted to push their luck, after all.

It was already good that this case was put to rest. Prolonging it with their 'petty' complaints wouldn't benefit anyone. It was not like they could kick out Maximus, especially since Aries had deemed it as a mere misunderstanding.

"Since no one raised a follow-up concern, then we'd take it as a case closed." Pleased, London broke the silence. "However, we'd still impose fines and apology —"

"Don't push your luck, that is my fiancee's…" Maximus repeated what Aries just said, stressing each syllable to get his point across. "... I am not in the wrong and I won't apologize. Ordering my people to retreat is already a consideration, even though some of my men lost their lives in vain."

Abel let out a chuckle, shaking his head, only to poke the tip of Aries's nose to get her attention.

"Shameless isn't it?" He grinned. "How can he just call someone else's wife his bride just like that?"

Aries bit her inner lower lips, stopping herself from speaking anything that would cause more chaos. The root problem between Abel and Maximus wasn't resolved, but at least, the dilemma just now was.

Maximus snickered, eyes glinting with malice. "How surprising, Emperor. Don't you know she is currently the queen of the mainland?"

"But wasn't she my empress before being a queen in this small kingdom?" Abel cocked his head to the side, eyes falling on Maximus's contemptuous face. "I know the mainland approved of polygamy. However, it is not the same in my empire. The rules of marriage are simple, and that was the husband must devote everything to their wife. If they ever separate, the husband must forfeit everything he had to his wife. Of course, there were conditions, but I will not bore you with the clauses I had approved before going on a long vacation."

"The bottom line is…" Abel pushed himself from the table, facing Maximus for the first time squarely. "... don't covet what's mine, Maximus. You don't want to anger me more than you already did."

Just when everyone thought everything calmed down, the initial tension in the conference hall returned just as quickly. But this time, everyone felt literally suffocated after the last syllable rolled out of Abel's tongue. Only then did Aries notice that the inks on Abel's body that would usually reach to his neck and peek over his collar were nowhere in sight.

Only a few knew about those inks on Abel's body that appeared more like body art; they were his countless seals.