The Tyrant's Pet

"Come on… you're making my machete tremble."

Joaquin's throat bobbed, studying the arrogant air exuding from the woman's back. She was only alone and her opponent was four grown men. Although Joaquin was certain he could knock them out without breaking a sweat, a man's base strength was still different from a woman's.

She could be agile, he thought, but when he glanced at the machete the woman was tapping against her shoulder while her other hand was on her hip, Joaquin cocked his head to the side. For such a petite person, he realized that under that petite physique hid trained muscles. She couldn't be carrying that machete like it weighed nothing.

"Run!"

Joaquin nearly flinched when someone shouted and the four men sprinted away. Much to his dismay, the woman clicked her tongue continuously before she leaped forward.

'She's fast,' he thought, lips falling open.

The four men had a five-second head start, but the woman still caught up to them. She was akin to a shadow. If Joaquin slightly slacked off in his training, he wouldn't even catch how the woman knocked them out using the handle of her machete.

He thought she would butcher them, as that was what her aura gave off. However, she didn't. For the next two minutes, only the grunt of the men was heard, followed by the noises of their bodies made upon landing on the ground with a thud.

"Amazing…" he whispered when the last man hit the ground while the woman pinned his back with her foot.

"Tsk! You're lucky I didn't mince you like a piece of onion!" the woman kicked the man, frustration apparent in her voice. No one could tell if she was frustrated about the bandits being bandits, or that she wasn't able to use her machete for its proper purpose.

"Hah…" Joaquin let out a dry and short laugh, eyes fixed on the woman. However, even before he could call her attention, people suddenly came to the other end of the alley and behind Joaquin's. He looked back only to see some men riding their steed with torches to light up the dark surrounding.

"Aime!" An angry voice rang out like a clap of thunder. The voice was so loud Joaquin was certain the entire town heard him.

Joaquin turned his head and searched where the voice came from. His eyes landed on the man riding a steed, along with the people who were coming from behind him. The man jumped out of his steed, stomping his way past Joaquin.

Joaquin stepped back on instinct, blinking twice, taken aback at the air the man was carrying.

When he turned his head back to the dark alley, he saw a light on the other end of the alley where the woman was standing. Because of the torches, Joaquin was able to see everything, albeit dim.

The angry man stopped several feet from Joaquin's vantage point, crooking a finger at the woman called Aime.

"Come here, you little shit." The man tried to suppress his anger but to no avail.

"I didn't kill them, Davien!" Aime, or what everyone knew was Aries, exclaimed in panic. "I just knocked them out!"

"Come!" Davien's breath hitched, pounding the bottom of his fist against his shoulder. "Here."

Aries's face froze, imagining Davien's shadow grew bigger like a devil. Her brother would kill her this time, making her take a careful step to run back to the palace to hide behind her father's back. Much to her dismay, when she took another step back, an arm sprawled over her shoulders, causing her to bend over at the person's weight. The shawl over her head that was covering half of her lower face fell to her shoulders, revealing a peerless beauty.

"Haha! Where do you think you're going after running off like that, eh?"

Aries turned her head and winced as soon as she saw Curtis' grin plastered across his face. "Curtis, weren't we friends…?"

"Hehe... You're dead, my friend." Curtis smirked, dragging the reluctant Aries to Davien, stepping over the unconscious bodies on the ground.

"I hate you!" she spat out through her gritted teeth, only to receive a devious chuckle from Curtis. Aries nearly wept and ran away when they stood in front of Davien.

"Brother…" came out a small voice, totally different from the bloodthirsty woman just moments ago. "… you love me, right?"

"Haha! The nerve of this lady…" Davien laughed, making Aries gulp while he cracked his knuckles. She shut her eyes when he raised a fist, only to feel a painful flick on her forehead.

"Ouch!" she barked like a dog, grinding her teeth. "I told you if you're going to punish me, it should be enough to knock me out!"

Aries harrumphed on and on while Curtis chuckled, head locking her still. Davien clicked his tongue in irritation, looking at her with utter disdain.

"You should be thankful I just flicked your forehead instead of smacking your head," Davien huffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "How can you run off like that all alone, huh? And with that machete? Did you think you were going to a slaughterhouse? There's a limit to your recklessness, Aime. What do you think will happen if they were more here?"

"Then more bodies to collect — ack!" Aries frowned as she rubbed her forehead when she was once again rewarded with a flick on her forehead. "Davien!"

"Aime. Another word and I'll sew your mouth myself." This time, Davien's eyes darkened, making her purse her lips. Her brother this time was serious and the next time she would open her mouth, he would surely stitch her mouth closed.

"Haha! Why are you so stubborn when you can't even continue pressing Davien's nerves?" Curtis laughed, warranting a glare from her.

"I hate you." She clicked her tongue while he released her. Aries rolled her eyes in irritation, but Curtis simply laughed happily. "I'm going to kill you someday, you!"

"Dealing with you makes me feel ten times older than my age." Davien let out a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose in distress.

Watching this from the same spot Joaquin was standing on, he cocked his head to the side. Aime? Davien? He narrowed his eyes, recalling where he heard those names. It didn't take long when Joaquin realized who that woman was and that other man named Davien.

'That's strange…' Joaquin thought, observing the two silently. 'Weren't they fighting for the title of the heir? Why do they look… close?'

As Joaquin mulled over this 'strange' relationship, Aries peeked her head to the side to see past Davien. That second, Joaquin locked eyes with those beautiful and clear green eyes with a beauty that could make anyone's mouth fall open.

'How stunning…' Joaquin whispered in his head, having this foreign insecurity in his heart, a little ashamed to present himself wearing such plain clothing before her. But alas, Aries grinned at him and waved as if they were friends.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, almost yelling to make sure Joaquin hear her. At the same time, Davien turn his head and Curtis straightened his back until both men were staring back at Joaquin.

"Uh." That was all Joaquin said; a brief sound that barely reached his own ears under the attention of those three people, intimidated by them, which he never felt before. Surely, Rikhill was different from Maganti and Joaquin had experienced things he had never experienced in the past.

For example, this feeling of retreating in the presence of the royalties of the land of Rikhill and that other person with them.