The Tyrant's Pet

Abel stayed in the same spot for minutes as his eyes watched Aries's carriage amble up the dirt road. The corner of his eyes slightly squinted, letting out a faint exhale.

"Your Majesty." He snapped his eyes when Isaiah called solemnly from his side. "It's time to return to the palace, Your Majesty."

"Mhm..." Abel rocked his head, keeping his eyes on Aries's carriage, which looked tinier every passing second. He stayed silent for a long time, and when his lips parted, an order came out.

"Isaiah, lower all protection spell across Haimirich." His order caused the lines between Isaiah's forehead to deepen. "Apparently, that spell in the palace last night wasn't this child's doing, but someone else."

Isaiah glanced down at Sunny, only to see the latter grin sweetly. "Someone else?"

"Marsella. She was here." Abel blinked ever so tenderly, setting his eyes on his reliable vassal. "And she will be back. I'd rather let her come without a problem."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Isaiah lowered his head without raising any questions. The duke had been following Abel for many years, and even though he didn't meet any of his family, Isaiah was somehow aware of Abel's reasoning. There were two reasons Abel would lower the security of the empire: one was if he wanted to have some fun and thrill, and the other was... he didn't want any expected visitors from causing trouble at the risk of endangering his own people.

In other words, this person Abel was expecting was someone the emperor would take seriously.

"And order Morro to make a trip to the Great Heart's Empire." Isaiah raised his eyes to face Abel as the latter raised a finger at the added order. "I need to hear the situation there."

Abel then glanced down at Sunny. "For Mathilda to leave the mainland in this child's care... there must be an even bigger problem." He sighed, looking a little irritated.

"Fix it if you can on your own..." he continued, keeping his eyes at Sunny's adorable doe eyes. "Hey kid, how many existing Grimsbanne are out there? From my count, there are six: you, your brother, your father, my sisters, and me. Was there another one?"

Sunny blinked and then smiled brightly. "Mother and Father often mentioned my cousin, and Tilly had always been worried about him! Though Sunny has never seen him."

As soon as Abel heard her response, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Seeing the slight distress coming from Abel, Isaiah couldn't help but knit his brows. The duke had forgotten the last time he had seen Abel react the way he was reacting now. Although the emperor remained calm, one could tell he received a piece of bad news.

"Seven," Abel whispered, letting out a shallow huff as he raised his eyes at Isaiah. "Isaiah, go and see the situation in that place yourself. Take Morro with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Isaiah bowed, but this time, he added, "will you be alright?"

Abel arched a brow, eyes glinting. "That question... should be asked to those who are about to cross me. I won't let them off."

Sunny grinned happily, now convinced Tilly didn't lie to her when she said her big brother was reliable. She jumped and clutched Abel's pinky when her grandfather sauntered off to the carriage Isaiah prepared for him.

As the two walked away, Isaiah looked back at them. His eyes lingered on Abel's back, and then on the little girl's skipping figure. Abel raised his pinky, but because Sunny had a tight grip, she left the ground like a balloon and entered the carriage like that. Abel followed without looking back, and soon the carriage proceeded to return to the imperial palace.

"Morro," Isaiah called under his breath, raising an arm to welcome the raven flying down at full speed from nowhere. When Morro landed on his arm, his eyes glinted. "His Majesty orders you to survey the Heart's Empire. Meet me halfway once you're done."

He then tossed his arm, making the raven fly away from the empire to execute the emperor's orders. Isaiah watched it in silence, lips drawn into a thin line.

"Seven..." he whispered, making his eyes sharpen. Isaiah wouldn't understand Abel's dilemma until the latter mentioned that number. After all, certain people knew that sort of number and the dark prophecy it carried.

"The seven seeds... each represent capital sin." Isaiah fluttered his eyelashes ever so tenderly, looking up at the clear sky with a tint of orange. "I should return before the next coven."

<strong>******</strong>

Meanwhile, far away from the land of Rikhill, was an isolated land not known to the people outside. Thick smoke and the pungent scent of blood fogged the air, blurring the silhouette of a woman in a thick, ragged cloak red cloak. The woman stood in the middle of the fort motionless, eyes narrowing ahead without a care of the bodies scattered on the damped, red ground.

When a mild gust of wind blew past her figure, the fog that was around her thinned out, revealing multiple people surrounding her. Her sharp pair of crimson glossed over her surrounding, catching more and more enemies appearing to subdue an intruder like her.

"That lying piglet..." came out a rasped, dangerous voice. Her red lips curled up into a smirk, licking her lips in amusement. "... she better start running away to the ends of the world now or I'll mince her alive."

The woman laughed with her lips closed, advancing to the nearest corpse. She carefully wrapped her fingers around the sword impaled on the person's back, pulling it out easily. Using a part of her cloak, she wiped the blade clean while looking around the people looking back at her warily.

"What a bother," she muttered in exhaustion. "I cannot believe you are pointing your toys at such a beautiful maiden. So rude."

She then raised the sword she looted, moving it across the audience surrounding her. Despite being surrounded, her crimson eyes never showed the slightest sign of fear. If anything, she looked a little bored.

"You came here to kill me?" she asked, smirking when she received silence as their answer. "How cute, but there's no need for such a heartwarming welcome party. Killing you all means less problem for them... I'm not that kind."

She smacked her lips as her eyes lit up. "But then again, don't kill all of them until I resolve my own issues, alright?" Her lips stretched from ear to ear as she added, "see yah!"

And without a moment's notice, the woman suddenly slit her own throat even before the people surrounding her could react. The only time they realized what had happened was when her body landed with a thud.