The Tyrant's Pet



"Sunny!"

Aries's heart thumped louder and faster, shouting for Sunny's name while searching for her in the queen's garden. The queen's garden was the most extensive garden not just in the palace, but also in the entire mainland. 

"Sunny!" Aries shouted again, feeling her blood boil with anxiety every second.

"Your Majesty!" 

Suddenly, Gustav's voice reached her ears, making her turn her head in his direction. As soon as she did, all she saw were Gustav and a few knights jogging their way to her.

"Did you find her?" asked Aries in a panic when Gustav reached her. 

"No, not yet, Your Majesty." Gustav shook his head, frowning. "However, I already deployed a search party. We will find her in no time, but you have to go back for your own safety."

"No!" her face darkened. "I will help in searching for her. Send out more people to search every nook and cranny — I don't care if you have to uproot the entire garden."

"But Your Majesty —"

"I brought Sunny out in this garden, and I will bring her back." This time, her tone was stern and adamant. "This is an order, Gustav. Wish that she only wandered off because god forbid if it was someone else's doing, I don't know what I'd do. I won't allow them to keep crossing the line."

Gustav's expression turned gloomy and dark, observing how Aries's eyes shake as the veins in her eyes turned red. 

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gustav bowed, swallowing down the argument he had as the queen's chief chamberlain. "I'll send out more knights to search for the little miss of the Grimsbanne."

With that being said, Gustav faced the knights who came with him. "You heard Her Majesty. Send out more knights to search for the young miss. Check every inch of the garden and don't leave any area unchecked! This is an emergency and a priority!"

"Yes, sir!" the knights saluted Gustav and the Queen. They didn't waste a second marching away to execute the orders. 

As the knights left, Gustav looked back at the queen once again. 

"Samael La Crox is also searching for his daughter," said Aries. "Don't worry about me, Gustav. Execute my orders while I look for her — I can protect myself if the situation calls it."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gustav didn't argue with her anymore, bowing. He cast Aries one last look before he excused himself to lead the search party.

Aries watched Gustav's back, balling her hands into tight fists. She ground her teeth and lifted her skirt, taking off her heels to move around comfortably. After that, Aries ripped the hem of her dress as it was touching the ground.

"Sunny!" when Aries was certain she could move freely, she shouted Sunny's name once again. "Sunny!"

She huffed heavily, looking around the hedges of flowers around. Her frustration was evident on her face before she ran, shouting Sunny's name. As Aries got further away from the main garden, she got closer to the labyrinth. 

"Sunny!!!" Aries shouted her lungs out, going through the path. The hedges were taller than her thus, she couldn't see past them. All she could do was raise her voice every time, hoping Sunny would answer. 

"Damn it, Sunny. Where did you wander off?" mumbled Aries, taking a pause after running around searching for Sunny. Aries didn't want to jump to the conclusion that Sunny was lured by someone or got abducted. 

After all, if someone approached Sunny, Aries and Samael would've felt the person's presence. But they didn't feel anything of the sort. Sunny just disappeared, and she wanted to keep an optimistic mind that Sunny just wandered off. 

No matter how dangerous the palace was, it wouldn't be easy to kill someone or abduct someone. Moreover, it was better to not jump to conclusions because if they did, forget about Aries's wrath. Samael wouldn't let this slide. Their enemies wouldn't want to trigger the Grimsbanne more than they already did. 

"Sun —" Aries nearly bit her tongue when she heard a faint rustle, turning her head to the end path of the maze. "Sunny?"

A sliver of hope peeked through the invisible clouds over Aries's head. Without thinking twice, Aries ran toward the end of the maze, following the rustle she heard just now. 

"Sunny?" she called once again, hearing a child's faint giggle. "Sunny! Where are you?!" 

Aries followed the faint giggle she heard, going deeper into the maze garden until she reached the center of the maze. The center of the maze had a beautiful fountain and enough space for people to go around and have some sort of privacy. 

As soon as she reached the middle of the maze, Aries's eyes fell on the little girl on the ground.

"Sunny!" she didn't have second thoughts, running toward Sunny's unconscious body. "Sunny!"

Aries squatted beside Sunny, cradling her in her arms. She immediately checked Sunny's pulse, heaving a sigh of relief when she was certain little Sunny was just unconscious. She then went ahead to check if there were any wounds or anything like that. 

Even though he couldn't smell Sunny's blood, Aries still wanted to be reassured. Another sigh of relief slipped past her lips, holding Sunny's body closer to her. 

"Goodness, Sunny," came out of her lips, embracing Sunny while her entire body was trembling nervously. "Why did you wander off here? I thought I was going to die of worry."

Her grip on Sunny's back tightened, feeling her heart race like crazy. It took some time for Aries to catch up to her breathing, calming herself down. What happened just now scared her. Aries was not scared of the dangers and thorny path she was treading. However, it was an entirely different case if children were involved. 

Sunny might not be any other children, but she was still a child. Aries wouldn't forgive herself if something had happened to little Sunny.

Just as Aries was calming her heart, body, and soul, and even convinced herself that Sunny simply wandered off, she heard footsteps behind her. Her body froze momentarily, wide-eyed. 

"Just now… I wished Sunny just wandered off." Her lips quivered, but her tensed shoulders relaxed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, but when she reopened her eyes, a glint flickered across them. "You shouldn't have shown up."