The Tyrant's Pet

"This way, please."

Aries smiled, watching Violet help the workers place the furniture. She looked around, shoving her hand inside her suit. Taking out the pocket watch, the side of her lips curled up.

"My lady, I'll step out for a while," Aries called to get Violet's attention. Seeing that the latter hurriedly dropped the cloth she was holding, Aries raised a hand. "You don't have to send me off."

"But my lad — my lord."

"It's fine. Climaco is outside and will escort you back to the estate." Aries smiled, waving. "I'll see you around."

Violet perked up, but Aries already sauntered off without looking back. A shallow breath slipped past her lips, but recalling how Aries looked like a young man, she felt slightly at ease. This world was safer for men, after all.

"Lady Aries is truly charming in her outfit," she mumbled, smiling. "And very charismatic too. I never thought she could pull off such a disguise flawlessly."

"My lady, where shall we place this painting?"

Violet snapped her eyes and turned in the worker's direction as they held a painting. "Please, placed it here," she instructed, approaching them and slowly putting the things regarding Aries's disguise at the back of her head.

<strong>Meanwhile,</strong> Aries stepped out of the establishment with a huge smile on her face. She looked back, chuckling.

"She can be a worrywart sometimes," she mumbled, recalling Violet's worried face as if she was a child about to get abandoned. "I'll just roam the capital, that's all."

Aries drew a breath and exhaled it sharply, looking from her left to right. "It's a nice weather to shop."

Her lips stretched from ear to ear, clasping her pocket watch, and walked away from the establishment. Since Dexter permitted Aries to check the shop after pestering him, Aries had to squeeze everything in a day.

It had been a while since she went out all on her own. Hence, her mood consistently rose. Aries roamed the capital, trying out street foods, watching people play arcades, and just a seemingly natural stroll.

"Ah…" Aries clicked her tongue, holding a chicken skewer while walking down the street. "It's pleasant weather and a good day. Ever since I started planning this boutique, I haven't been feeling unwell, and the physicians said I'm slightly improving."

She stopped in the middle of the street, closing her eyes as she breathed out. Aries then looked back, catching a figure hiding at the end of the street she came from.

"If they're going to spy on me… can't they do it in a more discreet way?" she grumbled through her gritted teeth, suspecting the people who had been following her since stepping out of the establishment were either Dexter's people or Abel's.

"Goodness. They're ruining my mood." Aries snapped her tongue in irritation once more, shaking her head. "Never mind. I'll just pretend I didn't notice."

Aries huffed, facing ahead. She shook her head once more, biting the meat on the stick.

"Ahh… they're so annoying," she muttered, but instead of confronting them or purposely losing them, she simply ignored them.

She couldn't be selfish; this was for whoever sent these people's peace of mind. Also, although it was annoying, it was also reassuring to know that if any mishap happened, someone would come to her rescue.

"It's not like I only went out to enjoy strolling. That's just the bonus." Aries stopped, facing another boutique's display. "Oh… this looks very nice. But why was the style of all boutique display has almost the exact design? Aren't they tired of this?"

Aries peered at the dress up and down. "This dress looks oddly familiar, though. I wonder where I had seen it?"

Aries studied the piece for another minute before walking away to the boutique just two blocks away. By now, whoever was following her would know that Aries wasn't simply strolling with all the destinations she went to.

Aries was surveying the current market. Although her plans were perfect, she still had to study the market not just by the books, but also in the field. So far, Aries was disappointed at the trend.

"I had ordered a few dresses that were on the current trend, but I didn't think all other shops were selling almost exactly the same designs," Aries mumbled to herself, rubbing her chin, treading carefully on the pavement. "It's not that they were impressive."

If anything, what she learned was that the dress was a bit easier to copy.

"If this had been going on in the industry, then…" Aries halted, eyes glinting sharply. "... I need to make sure people wouldn't dare copy mine."

The side of her lips curled up wickedly. "Should I ask Abel… ah, no, no. That's an abuse of power. Forget it." Aries shook her head, slapping her lips mildly for speaking a terrible suggestion.

"But still." She then pivoted on her heel to face a boutique, displaying almost the same design as the rest. Staring at the dress intensely, Aries narrowed her eyes. The dress was only in a different color, but anyone could tell they were almost uniform with a few tweaks here and there.

"Wait a minute." Aries arched a brow, folding her arms. Not long after, a smirk appeared on her face. "Any skilled seamstress can copy any dress if they want to. It's not about stopping them from copying my dresses, but giving it the authority to bring shame or power to someone."

As Aries's idea slowly concluded in her pretty brain of hers, her lips stretched wider until her eyes were squinting.

"I bet Abel would want to open my skull just to see how brilliant his wife's brain was." Aries chuckled happily, walking away in high spirit as if that concluded that her plans for today were fruitful. But just as Aries made a turn, her steps halted.

She raised her gaze, seeing quite a few people walking. Her eyes, however, lingered on the men walking in her direction.

<strong>[ If you ever meet her in the street, run as fast as you can. ]</strong>

Her brows furrowed, a bit confused why Abel's warning suddenly rang in her head. She kept her eyes on the three men walking and talking happily.

"Well." Aries shrugged, resuming her strides. However, just as she walked past the three men chatting loudly, her heart thudded as there was a woman walking behind the three men.

She looked back. The three men had already turned into the street where she came from.

"Mar… sella?"