The Tyrant's Pet

"Now that I think about it, Lady Daniella, you seem to be very familiar with the Inner Palace!"

Aries glanced to her side and smiled at Suzanne as they followed her around.

"I would visit my brother occasionally. So I had wandered around in the past," she explained and Suzanne, Veronika, and Sybil responded with a nod.

After sharing an afternoon tea, they decided to stroll. Ridiculous as it may sound, but since the selection, no one — even the candidates' instructors — toured them around. Or rather, they toured the candidates in the Hyacinth Palace. Most of the time, the servants would simply lead the way whenever they needed to go to another place.

"The Imperial Palace is huge," Veronika commented while she looked around the very long hallway. "I thought our Royal Palace was already luxurious. But now that I'm seeing the empire palace, I'm humbled."

"No wonder anyone wants to live in here," Sybil chimed in, holding Aries's arms sweetly and completely forgetting about the palace rules.

It was just them, so none of the three scolded Sybil for forgetting the palace etiquette. Moreover, they realized that the people in the inner palace didn't have the luxury of menial things, as everyone's hands were full.

Suzanne cleared her throat, hastening her steps until she was walking beside Aries.

"Lady Daniella," she called cautiously, making Aries raise her brows at this sudden discretion. "You said you've wandered the imperial palace in the past, correct?"

Sybil and Veronika, who were hearing Suzanne's cautious voice, furrowed their brows. Meanwhile, Aries walked slower.

"Yes."

"Was it true this place is haunted?"

"Pardon?"
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"I heard from the other ladies and even some rumors before going to the empire." Suzanne sighed, looking at Aries with intrigue as if the latter was the only person who could give her enlightenment. "They said because the emperor was a tyrant, people come in here but not everyone leaves this place alive. Is that true?"

"Ahh..." Aries let out a short laugh as she glanced at the three, only to see the deep curiosity in their eyes.

'Yes. That's definitely not a rumor,' was what Aries wanted to say almost immediately but had to bite her tongue so as not to scare the ladies. Death was a normal occurrence on the imperial palace grounds and Aries's theory for why they didn't tour the ladies in the palace was because of the horrors embedded in this seemingly glorious place. But she knew the parts she had shown them were still within the safe zones.

"I'm not sure," she replied, sporting an awkward smile. "I've been here multiple times with my brother, but so far, I haven't witnessed such an unsettling..."

*shoot*

Aries trailed off, freezing on the spot with her smile intact when an arrow suddenly came from the open window, crossing inches from her to the wall. She slowly turned her head towards the wall to confirm an arrow nearly struck her temple if she was a step ahead.

Meanwhile, Suzanne and Sybil, who were sandwiching Aries, bore an ashen countenance. They also turned to look at the wall, only for their pupils to double seeing an arrow embedded in it.

Did... someone shoot an arrow at them? Or was it a lost one?

"That..." Veronika's puzzled voice snapped Aries back to her senses.

"Haha... it seems there were some changes in this area and it was now a place for a training ground." Aries laughed awkwardly, tugging Suzanne and Sybil's arms to bring them back to their senses. "Let's go back."

Aries didn't give out a detailed explanation as she dragged Sybil and Suzanne, taking advantage of the fact the two were still in shock. She flashed Veronika an awkward smile, and the latter said nothing as she followed.

Their steps were quick, but not to the point they were running. More like they were in a hurry to distance themselves from that area because Aries said, 'it became a training ground.'

However, just as they were about to make a turn, they froze when the door at the end of the hallway opened from the inside. With wide eyes, they watched as two knights walked out of the room, carrying lifeless bodies on their shoulders.

Noticing the four figures several steps from them, the knights also froze the second they met the ladies' mortified gaze. The ladies and the knights stared at each other in silence for only three seconds, before the latter bowed and walked away.
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"..."

"La — Lady Daniella…? Are you sure you haven't witnessed anything out of the ordinary during your visits to the imperial palace…?" Suzanne muttered, staring blankly at the hands of the man on the knight's shoulder swaying sideways before they made a turn.

Meanwhile, Sybil's expression just totally went blank while Veronika's eyes swirled with complexity. The three, although aware what they just saw wasn't a figment of imagination, hadn't processed it well to reality.

"Ha ha… are those mannequins..?" Sybil laughed nervously, denying facts just so she could sleep later.

Aries's face contorted. "Well, I guess… they're preparing for the upcoming festival that honors the dead…?"

"Such a… festival exists?" Suzanne looked at Aries with brows raised, hoping for a 'yes' answer.

"I think I heard about such a festival," Veronika quickly backed up.

"Oh, so they're mannequins!" Sybil also turned to Aries, carrying deep hope that Aries would confirm their guess.

Darting her eyes between Suzanne and Sybil, Aries wept internally. Wasn't this area considered a safe zone?! These two, Suzanne and Sybil, weren't easy to fool but at this moment, it was obvious they would rather have Aries lie and live in the bliss of ignorance than live every second in fear.

"Ye — yes," Aries answered through her gritted teeth. "They're just… decorations. Mannequins that were made out of soft materials." — like real flesh and bones!

"That gave me a scare… haha!" Sybil patted her chest while Suzanne heaved a sigh of relief. "So it's really for the festival. What a relief!"

"Haha… let's return to the Hyacinth Palace. It seems there's a bit of change in here." Aries urged, tugging their arms.

With that being said, the four of them walked back to the route they came from. However, just as they reached the inner palace, they stopped when they heard someone call Aries from a distance.

"Lady Daniella!" The four of them slowly turned to their left. There, they saw Conan, the emperor's aide, jog his way toward them.

'Sir Conan?' Aries furrowed her brows as she watched Conan, taking a step back on instinct. 'Uh… for some reason, I don't feel good about this.'