The Tyrant's Pet

"What are you… ugh!" Roman grunted when Aries held his shoulders to lift him up. The latter clicked her tongue in irritation when Roman collapsed on the concrete floor, just when she lifted him slightly.

"Get up, Rome. We don't have time." Aries's voice sounded solid as she held his arm and hooked it over her shoulder. "You need to endure the pain if you want to save Violet."

Roman looked at her, studying her for a moment before clinging to the metal bars. He didn't know why the crown princess was helping him, but he needed to go out of this place. It might be impossible to reach Violet now, but he could do something else if he was outside instead of staying in this damn cell.

"Ugh…" Aries ground her teeth, carrying a grown man's weight. "Damn it…"

The seventh prince tried to watch his weight, but they broke his leg on top of the other injuries across his entire body. All he could do was touch the wall of each empty cell and the hallway, his feet sweeping the floor, while Aries basically dragged and carried him.

Sweats broke out on her back and forehead, but she kept moving forward even though Roman was heavier than her. She didn't know where she got her strength, but the adrenaline pushed her forward. It didn't matter if they were slow, so long as they had progressed.

With that setup, they soon reached the narrow hallway leading to the only exit and entrance of the prison. As they did, Roman glanced at her. Her face was red, but her eyes were burning with determination, looking ahead. He wanted to ask her many questions, but in this situation, he knew she wouldn't answer him. She was focusing, and she wasn't in the position to answer questions right now.

Hence, Roman reached for the other side of the wall. He ground his teeth at the crippling pain across his arm. Blood oozed from his wounds once again. He did everything he could to lessen the weight this woman was carrying. It was already a miracle she was able to drag him this far.

When they reached the shut entrance, Aries let him rest against the wall as she peeked outside.

"You don't have people on the lookout?" he asked, eyes up on her.

"Would I carry you by myself if I had one?"

Roman scoffed and winced at the pain in his legs. "You understand anyone can just barge in there and see us, right?" he queried once again, gazing up at her while she was shutting the door slightly, but still kept peeking with her eye.

Seeing her action, the seventh prince could not help but shake his head. For him, her action was beyond reckless. How could she drag him with her with no one watching the door for her? This place only had one entrance and exit; it was designed so anyone could see who was leaving and entering.

In other words, if someone came in here right now, they were the ones they would first see. Roman hadn't stored enough energy to lift his arm, much more to wield a sword.

"It's clear." He snapped his eyes and saw her squat down beside him, holding his arm over her shoulder once again. "We need to move."

Roman winced when she squeezed his hips while standing up.

"Help me here a bit, will you?" she snapped her tongue in irritation, only to get a glare from him. "What? You don't want to save Violet?"

"Curse you…"

"I've been cursed long before you did. You should pray your curse is effective." She rolled her eyes and took a heavy step. Just like how she carried him, Aries opened the door wide with her foot.

But as soon as they crossed the threshold, he saw two knights on the side of the door, dead. Despite his swollen eye, he clearly caught the blood coming from the knight's neck and the other had an arrow in his chest.

"What…" he looked at her. "Did you…"

"I had no choice." Her voice was cold, dragging him to this seemingly endless, unfurnished hallway. She didn't even bat an eye at those knights lying dead in their own pool of blood.

"I'm barely sane, Your Highness. I'm really not in the mood right now," she added coldly, grinding her teeth as he felt heavier and heavier. However, she didn't complain. Carrying Rome somehow helped her forget about 'unnecessary' thoughts right now.

It was also one of the reasons Aries executed this plan alone. She needed to do something that was extreme enough for her to force her brain to focus. However, she wasn't being reckless, unlike what Roman and others would think.

Aries… wasn't being reckless and knew she would succeed.

"Ugh…" Roman's fingertips bleed as he clawed the wall in hopes of helping her for a bit. They left trails of blood behind them and blood from Roman's fingertips on the wall.

The two continued with great difficulty until they finally reached another door. It was the back entrance of the castle where Roman and Inez were kept. The castle was also Joaquin's playground, where he would keep people to play with.

Once again, Aries put him down near the wall where he sat down and rested. Roman was catching up to his breathing, wincing as his biggest wound in the leg bleed generously. He pressed it and ground his teeth to put pressure on it to stop the bleeding.

Meanwhile, Aries checked the situation outside. Unlike last time, she was more careful now. She caught a few knights walking in the distance, but since the guards were changing at this hour, there weren't many knights outside. Moreover, the darkness was thicker with the season.

When she was certain they could use this chance to escape, Aries rushed back to Roman. Like how she carried him here, she held his waist with his arm over her shoulder, and then dragged him outside.

However, just as she opened the ajar door, Aries stopped and raised her chin at the blade pointing at her neck.