The Tyrant's Pet

Abel stood still on his spot, glancing down to his side where Aries was crying her heart out. He arched a brow and glanced to the other side, tilting his head at the person yelling in a hushed voice.

'Huh? What is he doing now?' he wondered, watching Conan mouth something.

"Console her!!" Conan yelled in a hushed voice so as to not interrupt Aries's moment. He ruffled his hair in irritation when Abel just cocked his head to the side, forcing Conan to hug himself to show Abel what he needed to do at this moment.

"Hug her!" he mouthed whilst hugging the air. "And act as her angel! This is your time to make her crazy in love with you!"

While Conan was embracing the air and doing all this sort of action, the people trekking on the incline from behind him could not help but scrunch their noses up.

'What is he on about now?' Dexter wondered in dismay, taking an enormous step to the ascent of the ridge.

'I guess she had already seen it.' Curtis was walking not far away from Dexter and also saw Conan acting funny. He then glanced to his side and caught Climaco taking giant steps without a word. It didn't take long when the three of them reached Conan's vantage point and saw Abel and Aries not far away.

Curtis' eyes instantly softened seeing that Aries was weeping in front of the newly grown trees. His lips curled up subtly. He had already expected this much reaction from her because he also had the same reaction. Although Curtis managed to keep it a secret because he didn't have an audience.

"When did he even get the time?" Dexter murmured, looking around the meadow on this ridge. He heard this was the battlefield where the people of Rikhill welcomed the soldiers of the Maganti Empire to not damage their kingdom. If this was originally a battlefield, Dexter was certain Abel had prepared this place for this very day for at least a year now.
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"His Majesty went straight here when he visited the Maganti Empire a year ago." A raven suddenly landed on Dexter's shoulder, and his voice was heard in their heads. Curtis and Climaco's eyes slightly dilated, turning their attention to the raven talking in their heads.

"And since he had already stolen the identity of Baron Albe, he used it to bribe the ones in charge at Rikhill. I think one way or another, he secretly controls it now since the slaves didn't seem as terrible as a year ago," Morro added as he had flown a few times around the Land of Rikhill to see the situation. "At least they weren't dying in the mines out of hunger. Mining and agriculture had become the primary source of income in this place and the people were being paid for it."

"Where did he get the money?" asked Dexter. It might've sounded stupid since Abel was an emperor and using the royal treasury to sustain a country was easy, but that would surely be something the marquess would hear since it could've affected Haimirich in a way.

"He sold opium," Morro kept his answer short, but Dexter was quick enough to grasp the entire case. The latter gazed at Abel, who didn't know how to console Aries as he just kept standing whilst watching her cry.

In the Marquess's mind, Abel was surely resourceful. The Emperor of Haimirich was undoubtedly a cunning and wise man. To sustain the land of Rikhill, Abel didn't need to use the wealth of Haimirich. Instead, he sold drugs to the Maganti Empire to corrupt its people, and use the profit he gained in this place. Abel only needed to keep the flow of money in doing all illegal trades with the Maganti without care if all his goods would eventually kill the said empire.

"Surely, that crown prince is foolish," Dexter murmured and shook his head. "He was poisoning his own country and slowly reviving the land he ruined himself. Funny enough, he didn't know about it. The downfall of that regime is his own doing."

Curtis glanced at Dexter and the raven on his shoulder and let out a shallow breath. He peeled his eyes away from them to Abel.

"He didn't even have a chance," he chimed in under his breath, fixating his eyes on Abel's figure. "Even if he fights him on equal footing, Joaquin would still lose," — because at the end of the day, Curtis believed Abel wasn't just a monstrous vampire to be reckoned with, but the emperor of Haimirich was respected by his people, despite being a tyrant for a reason aside from fear.

Abel wasn't just strong, he was also smart with strategic decisions worthy of respect. He didn't need to force things to make it work. He would make it work on its own with a perfectly devised plan.

"Argh... this is so frustrating!" Curtis' train of thought halted when Conan grumbled in frustration. "Why do I even need to coach him?"
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"Because you're afraid Lady Aries might change her mind and tell him she wants to stay in here?" Morro replied, speaking the words Conan had uttered last night.

"Ugh..." Conan clasped his hair in distress, expecting the doomsday of Haimirich. Not that leaving Haimirich was that much of a problem, but he still had his valuable things there! If Abel decided to reside in Rikhill now, of all time, Conan would be too busy and he wouldn't have time to retrieve his valuable things from the Haimirich Empire.

Curtis chuckled upon hearing their dilemma, but at this point, he somehow got used to them. So, he shifted his attention to Aries and Abel. Aries was already sitting up, wiping her tears while Abel stood still on his spot.

"Darling, do you need a hug?" Abel asked out of plain curiosity, blinking with genuine wonder in his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't understand Conan's coaching, but for him, he should let Aries cry her heart out. His wife had bottled everything in for years, and he deemed Conan's idea unnecessary.

Aries shook her head as she wiped her eyes with the bottom of her palm. When she looked up, her eyes were already swollen, but the luster in them illuminated relief.

"Help me stand," came out a rasped a voice from all that crying, stretching her hand up to him. Abel unhesitatingly held her hand and pulled her up with care until she was back on her feet. But he didn't let her hand go and simply held her while staring into her eyes.

"They're swollen." He pointed out, using his thumb to wipe the lingering tears from the corner of her eye. "I hope it at least made you feel better."

She nodded. "A lot better, yes."

"Glad to hear that."

Aries squeezed his hand mildly and flashed him a subtle smile. Looking at him, she couldn't express how much she loved him. There were many questions in her head regarding how did this ridge turn out to be a beautiful place, but right now, that wasn't important.

"Come," she urged gently, tugging his hand and tipping her head in the trees' direction. "I'll introduce you to my family. I can't wait to brag about my husband."