The Tyrant's Pet

Although Climaco, the new captain of the second squadron, was newly appointed as the captain, he was a knight for a long time. He had friends and connections among knights. So, using that, he arranged the crown princess's meeting with the eighth prince's prison cell in secret.

Aries walked through the cold and narrowed path in the prison where they locked Carlos. Although it was broad daylight, the only light that shone on her path was the torches attached to the rough walls.

Glancing to her right, Aries caught a few prisoners hugging their knees in fear. To her left were prisoners who were either unconscious or barely alive; their wounds and mangled faces were enough for Aries to know they were tortured.

Yet her expression remained aloof and cold.

She didn't come for these felons who could be innocent or convicted accordingly. Her agenda was something else.

Aries kept her eyes ahead, listening to the sound of her footsteps clip-clopping on the ground. The sound of water dripping onto the concrete floor and faint grunts echoing barely made this entire maze-like prison from total silence. It was chilly and anyone who was inside this place would feel claustrophobic, but not Aries.

When she stood in front of the darkest end of the prison, Climaco, who was following behind her, lighted up the torch near the cell. The second the light fought the heavy darkness reigning over this area, Carlos squinted his eyes and shielded them with his arms.

She kept quiet, glancing at the knight. As if on cue, Climaco bowed and, without speaking a word, he marched away to give the two some privacy. Still, he was curious. What was the crown princess up to? Why would she secretly meet with Carlos?

Carlos also thought the same when he looked up and saw the pair of cold emeralds gazing down at him from beyond the metal bars. What was she doing here?

"What are you doing here?" he asked without beating around the bush, knowing he wouldn't get answers by just wondering internally.

"To check up on you." He sneered at her reply. "You don't seem well, Your Highness, the eighth prince."

"Is this some sort of mockery your husband made you do to make sure I know he is making fun of me?"

"No —"

"Hah!" Carlos laughed in mockery before wincing in pain, clutching his chest as if that would help him soothe the striking pain across it. Aries pursed her lips while studying the disheveled eighth prince.

Although he still looked a lot better than all the prisoners she saw on her way, Carlos had fallen from his grace. He didn't look as respectable with that ragged and dirty uniform, bruises across his face, tousled hair, and the speck of blood on his skin and clothes. He looked like someone who wrestled with someone in the mud.

What a pitiful sight to behold.

"This is fucking amusing… that bastard. What are you looking at? Are you having fun that your husband —"

"Princess Violet is dead." Her eyelashes drooped until they were partially closed as he froze. "A fire broke out in the eighth prince's palace last night. Princess Violet, the two young princes, and almost everyone in the palace didn't make it."

"What…?" His eyes were blank, mouth left ajar, trying to process the news she broke to him.

"You heard me, right, Your Highness." Aries tried to sense if there were other living beings around that were listening and continued when she was certain it was just the two of them. "The reason you're being held in here longer is that everyone is still settling the problem regarding the fire."

There was a very long and sniffling silence after her explanation. Carlos kept his blank eyes on the crown princess' emotionless countenance. Her expression didn't even change while relaying the news to him, as if lives weren't involved.

"No…" he shook his head when he recovered, gazing downward. "… can't be. My sons… Violet… why…?"

Aries watched him run his hand through his hair, mumbling words but unable to complete a sentence. Although Carlos wasn't a good person and he was a terrible husband, one thing was for sure: he adored his sons and they admired their father. One of the reasons Violet had endured all the pain and sacrificed her happiness was for the sake of her sons as well.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Your Highness."

"No!" he yelled, grinding his teeth while glaring daggers at her. "It's you, isn't it!? No, I mean, it's your husband who burned my sons alive, isn't it?!?"

She remained silent as his fury continued to increase, spitting his hateful remarks toward her. Yet, her expression didn't change, and she let him release his anger until he was panting.

"The cause of the fire is still unknown, and the incident is still under investigation." He scoffed, but she ignored it and continued. "I am simply doing my job as the crown princess since I am the one who had spare time to break the news."

"Don't make me laugh! You?! An outsider? Hah! I'll make that fucking bastard and everyone who is involved in this pay. How dare they…"

"How?" he trailed off when she raised a question, tilting her head to the side. "How are you going to make the person behind the fire pay if you're locked inside this cell, Your Highness?"

There was a moment of silence at her blunt inquiry as his mouth opened and closed. Of course, he knew he wasn't capable of doing that and he was only saying things an angry person would say. She didn't have to point it out.

"Right now, no matter how angry you are, all your words are nothing but empty. You are no more than a crippled man. To be frank, it's pathetic." His face instantly turned red at her remarks, but Aries simply let out a shallow breath as she shook her head slightly. "Your Highness, crippled people only have one thing they can do in this world."

Aries paused, fluttering her eyelashes ever so tenderly. "They beg for help."