The Tyrant's Pet

"Darling, meet my family," Abel remarked, standing near the garden table with Aries on his side. "This is Mathilda. The one I had been talking about."

Abel motioned his hand in his sister's direction before moving it to the other seat next to Tilly.

"That is Samael, Ameria's son. And that's his wife, Lilou. You might've heard about the Bloodfang clan over the past two years. She's the last one of them." He leaned to Aries's side upon adding the last two sentences, making Aries glance at him.

"Obviously, these two were Sonny's parents. That boy is Sonny's brother and the one next to him is Ameria's grandchild." Abel pointed at the young man standing next to Law. "Claude's parents were Ameria's son and daughter."

"Oh..." Aries rocked her head, cautiously peeking at Claude to see if the young man was irked since that sounded like a sensitive topic. Much to her surprise, Claude simply waved and grinned from ear to ear.

"And then..." Abel trailed off as he looked around, catching Rufus. "And that is Samael's son."

"Pardon?"

"Adoptive," Rufus corrected sternly, making Lilou chuckle. "It was a long story, Your Majesty."

"Ah..."

"And also, he is Fabian's brother," added Abel, making Aries look back at him with furrowed brows.

"What?" she asked.

"My lady, don't be surprised." Fabian kept his ear-to-ear smile that reached his squinting eyes. "You might hurt my brother's feelings."

"Don't worry. I was just as surprised as you, Aries," Lilou chimed in, offering Aries a warm smile. "I'm glad that you regained consciousness."

Aries just smiled at Lilou while scanning the faces around the backyard. All of them felt welcoming, but at the same time, emanated a natural intimidating aura they couldn't contain in their bodies. Standing before them, Aries felt like shrinking.

All of them... even Sunny... was intimidating. Aries never felt this before toward Sunny or even toward Conan, but now, she could feel this air breathing down her neck, telling her to stay on her toes. But the most dangerous of all was...

Aries glanced in Samael's direction and then at Fabian before moving her eyes at Rufus, and then her eyes landed on the man standing beside her.

Abel.

She had known all along that Abel was a dangerous man. But now, just looking at him was enough to make her heart thud nervously. Not just that, but this sense of subservience consistently grew stronger.

"Everyone. I know you heard about my wife, but I'd still introduce her to you. Her name is Aries, my wife," Abel spoke, snapping Aries from her momentary trance. "Be kind to her."

Aries forced a smile on her face under Abel's gaze and then faced everyone.

"I didn't know what to say, but I hope we get along," said Aries awkwardly, making them laugh mildly.

"Lady Aries, why are you so awkward?" Conan inquired, cocking his head to the side. "As far as I know, you're not so modest."

"She's meeting her in-laws," Claude chimed in, grinning. "So, of course, she'll want to leave a proper impression. Your Highness, you're the only one who doesn't seem to care about first impressions."

"Scram!" Conan growled, but the young man just chuckled mischievously.

"Don't worry." Lilou ignored their banters, eyes fixed on Aries. "Just feel comfortable with us since it seemed we'd be together for quite some time."

"That's right! Grandmama, don't be shy! You are grandpa's wife and also one of us!" Sunny jumped in, giggling before munching her food while still sitting on her father's lap.

"I don't have much of anything to say." Samael shrugged. "Just don't mind us. Instead of focusing on us, focus on the new blood in your veins. The only subservience I want is my wife."

His expression stiffened upon feeling his wife's gaze, turning his head only to see Lilou smiling warmly at him. Despite her soft expression, Samael still gulped. He cleared his throat, looking away from Lilou.

"Why are you always doing this to yourself?" Law mumbled to himself, shaking his head, knowing his father would be in trouble once no one was looking.

Aries observed them in silence until her shoulders relaxed. Although she still felt a little threatened by just their presence alone, her gut feeling told her they wouldn't harm her. Aries had thought of many scenarios and what sort of people Abel's family was.

However, after meeting Marsella and then another person from Abel's past, Maximus, Aries, didn't have high hopes. Considering Abel hadn't been on the mainland for a long time and only met his nephews and grandchildren, Aries expected the worst. In that case, she wouldn't get disappointed by her expectations.

'They seemed to be a bunch of good people,' she thought to herself, convinced of this matter. 'Still, I sort of understand why many people were after them. They might not mean harm now, but just the thought that if they meant harm, no one could ever stop them.'

Aries didn't know whether to sigh in relief or gulp nervously. Either way, she could only accept the situation and hope they wouldn't change for the worse.

"I'll keep that in mind, Samael," she spoke, but this time, her tone bore a tinge of confidence. "I hope we all get along well. There were probably many things that needed to be discussed after the death of Maximus, but I'm glad that you all arrived on the mainland safe and sound."

Her change of attitude brought a smile to their faces. Aries faced Abel, only to catch the proudness swirling in his eyes.

"Thank you for waiting for me, darling," she expressed, suppressing the fear crawling up her spine just by standing under his gaze.

"I'd appreciate it if you don't sleep that long next time." Abel winked meaningfully, making her chuckle.

"Since we're all here, why don't you join us?" Lilou suggested, watching Abel and Aries look back at her. "It hasn't been long since we arrive, after all. It's best if we all catch up over a good meal and wine."

Aries's lips stretched broader, staring at the stunning woman with hazel locks. "Sure."