The Tyrant's Pet

Curtis perched on the spot across from Abel inside the carriage. He kept his eyes on Aries, who was sniffling and hiccuping in Abel's arms. Meanwhile, Abel caressed her back to comfort her, but he fixated his eyes on the man sitting in front of him.

"You," Abel called, but Curtis, like usual, didn't respond as if he didn't hear him. He smacked his lips, gazing at Aries, who tugged his inner blouse to blow on it.

He sighed. "What a baby," he mumbled, patting her back as he didn't mind her action.

"You should rest, my darling." Abel placed his hand on the side of her head, resting it on his chest. "You're breaking my heart if you continue on crying."

"But I want to go home…" Aries sniffled as she gazed up at him. Her eyes were already swollen and her vision was flickering. The constant bounce on the carriage wasn't helping her.

"Can you take me home?"

Abel kept a straight face as he studied her swollen eyes. "Sure." And then said louder so the coachman could hear him, "take us to Rikhill."

"You're really taking me home?" she hiccuped.

"Darling, I always take you to heaven. What gave you the impression I can't take you anywhere else in this world?" he arched a brow, smirking when her face relaxed to the point her expression looked smug. "Now go rest. It will be a long journey."

"Your Majesty."

Suddenly, a knight in armor, who was riding a horse beside the carriage, turned up. Conan pushed his helm's visor up, only to reveal the dismay in his eyes.

"You can't go to Rikhill! Can you see the coachman in distraught at the order you gave!?" he harrumphed, pointing at the stunned coachman who was gazing ahead with blank eyes. "How can go to Rikhill without an hour of preparation at least?"

"But Conan, look at my poor darling. She's been crying so much she won't stop!"

Conan cringed as he peeked through the open window, only to see Aries blowing her nose with Abel's clothes once again. He was watching everything from the sideline as well, so he sort of knew what happened about Aries's slip up.

"She will spoil her plans if we're not here," he grumbled, keeping his nagging for later since there was no point in berating her in this state.

"Oh no, Conan. My darling will never spoil her own plans."

Conan frowned while Abel chuckled. The latter smirked knowingly before gazing down at Aries, who had finally calmed down while putting all her weight on him.

"She knew I was there," he continued, pulling her body closer as the mild bounce of the carriage caused her to slip slightly. "If Aries figured out the alcohol level, and she is all alone, she would drink more until she passes out, so there was no way she would speak the things she didn't want others to hear."

Abel lowered his head and sniffed the floral scent of her hair. "Even if it means leaving herself vulnerable for the night." His voice dropped as his eyes glinted, knowing Aries through and through.

"But Your Majesty, we're not going to Rikhill tonight, right?" asked Conan after minutes, since he couldn't argue with Abel if he put it that way. It sounded like Aries would totally do that to save her plan since she was already prepared for any setback, just like this.

"We are going to Rikhill." Abel raised his head and sported a dull expression. "I gave her my word."

"But —! Ughh…" Conan pinched the space between his brows but figured he was still wearing a helmet. "Lady Aries will catch a cold if she travels tonight. She needs to rest for a bit since she won't feel better tomorrow."

Conan had a lot of more logical arguments to use to stop Abel from his impulsive plans. However, none of them would matter to Abel. Therefore, he could only use his brain and use Aries as an excuse since it was her request in the first place!

"Huh…" Abel pressed his lips into a thin line as he considered Conan's argument. He had a point and Aries was only mumbling these things because she was drunk. Her heart was the one that was speaking.

"Make sense. I'll take her to Rikhill next time." Conan heaved a sigh of relief when Abel agreed. "It's not like she's crying anymore."

Abel gazed down at Aries and she already dozed off after crying her heart out. His eyes softened as he smiled subtly, securing her in his embrace, as it had been a while since he held her like this. If only he could confine her in his arms like this forever, he would've done it.

"My poor Aries. You truly break my heart and make me want to revive everyone," he mumbled, causing Conan's eyes to dilate as he looked at him through the window in disbelief. The second Conan's eyes landed on Abel's soft expression, he knew that moment Abel wasn't simply saying things in passing.

"Your Majesty, please don't say such things that defy the natural order…" Conan trailed off as he finally noticed the person inside the carriage with Abel. He didn't notice Curtis since the latter lacked a sense of presence.

"Who is this?" he blurted out, catching Abel's attention. Abel cast Curtis a look, and he finally remembered he was in here as well.

"She's my darling's friend," he answered, causing Conan to narrow his eyes as he studied Curtis.

"He's cursed," whispered Conan as he could sense a curse corrupting Curtis' soul.

"He is. The reason he could do nothing is that doing something hurts him like hell," Abel explained as he had already diagnosed Aries's friend as an expert. "It's already a miracle he could stand up and walk as my Aries wanted without knowing the problem doesn't lie within human comprehension. It seems the people in Rikhill had all strong willpower to keep their sanity despite the hell they all went through."

"It's interesting," Abel continued as he smirked, exchanging eye contact with Curtis. "Take him to Isaiah, Conan. My dearest friend here had been itching to curse the hell out of my lover's husband."