The Tyrant's Pet

"Your escorts are waiting for you outside."

Aries nodded once again and smiled, seeing that Gertrude was wearing a simple yet elegant dress as the Queen's head maid instead of the usual maid attire. She didn't point it out, though, gazing back at Gustav.

The latter got her silent hint and assisted her towards the door. Once she was standing before it, Gustav carefully let her go to open it. As the loud creak of the door caressed her ears, two good and strong-looking knights stood before it, bearing their dignified demeanor.

Both knights wore the same uniform but carried different insignia. One wore the badge of the emperor's royal knight, and the other for the empress.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Climaco placed his fist across his chest and beckoned a neck bow.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Roman also performed a formal greeting.

"I'm glad to see you both doing well and here to assist me." Aries smiled subtly, watching the two straighten their backs. "Shall we?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Everyone had been waiting with bated breaths," Climaco responded with a tinge of humor, making her chuckle slightly.

"Let's go."

With that being said, Aries walked ahead while Climaco and Roman stepped to the side to give way to her. No one held Aries's hand to assist her, walking ahead, having two capable knights walking behind her. There were knights standing guards on either side of the hallway only to follow her tracks, walking on the back of the procession of knights escorting the empress to the great throne hall where she would wear her crown.

The procession to the coronation took time at Aries's snail-like pace. But no one told her to hasten, considering the amount of weight she was carrying. That dress and those jewelries would be just as heavier as a knight's full armor, and thus, everyone could only be patient.

No matter how long it took, they still arrived at their destination. As soon as Aries stood in front of the entrance of the throne hall, the knights following her dispersed to their posts, standing guard around the area. With such an amount of imperial knights guarding this place, it would be harder to crash the coronation without an invitation than going through the eye of a needle.

Aries glanced over her shoulders where Climaco and Roman were standing. The two of them didn't quickly move until the last knight on their backs left to return to their post. After that, both of them walked past Aries, holding each door for her.

"Tell us once you're ready, Your Majesty," Climaco remarked kindly, knowing his master and giving her time to process everything. If this was a different knight, they would've just instantly opened the door. Roman also didn't act hastily and simply gazed at the empress.

Her expression was unsmiling, gazing at the thick doors she hadn't entered before. She had been in the imperial palace, but Aries doesn't recall entering the throne hall through this door. The coronation wasn't just a coronation but also a wedding, legalizing her marriage with the emperor.

"Open the doors," she ordered. Her tone was soft but firm.

Climaco and Roman looked at each other and nodded. After a second, Roman knocked against the door. The person standing on the other side of the door announced the second he heard the knock, "the Lady of the House Vandran had arrived!"

The man's voice was loud, piercing through the thickness of the doors for Climaco, Roman, and Aries to hear. As soon as the man made his announcement, Climaco and Roman took a breath, pushing through the heavy doors with their strength.

The creak it made sounded louder in Aries's ears, keeping her eyes on the widening gaps of the door, until countless people came into her full view. Aries didn't waste a breath as she stepped foot inside, keeping her eyes ahead to the raised platform where multiple people stood around it.

Aries made a quick look and caught two familiar figures: Conan and Isaiah. Both of the king's hands were standing on the step-ups along with a few important figures of the empire. From her peripheral, many nobles whom she didn't know attended. It was a wedding and a coronation. What did she expect?

Her eyes then slowly veered up as she continued her slow steps.

There, on the raised platform, were two golden thrones. One was empty while the other, the bigger one, was occupied by the most powerful man across the continent: the emperor.

Abel fixed his eyes on the woman walking down the carpet. Her expression was solemn, but the fire in her eyes was brighter than the blazing afternoon sun during the summer.

"Will you look at that?" he murmured, simpering. "If this was someone else, she'd fall even before she could even reach this seat."

For the emperor, the look in her eyes and how she looked at him was quite… insulting. It was as though she was looking at her stepping stone. But well, his rotten heart was too weak to take offense.

His empress was dazzling, and even when this wedding leaned more on the coronation, he couldn't wait for the honeymoon.

Abel's eyes slowly lowered as she stopped in front of the step up. Aries slowly bent down to her knees, greeting him out of formality.

'Good work,' he commented in his head, rubbing the armrest of the throne before pushing himself up.

"Months ago, the empire had invited fifty remarkable ladies across the continent…" Abel started his sentiments as he stood on the raised platform. When the atmosphere felt right, he slowly descended the stairs until he was standing before her.

"... the lady of the House Vandran had proven herself time and time again she's capable, fitting for the title of becoming my wife and the empress, the mother of this nation." Abel glanced to his side, seeing Conan approach him with a cushion in his hands and a crown on top of it.

"Therefore, with a joyful heart, I bestow the crown which weighs the responsibility of countless lives..." He carefully placed the crown on Aries's head, and a round of applause instantly erupted in the air.

Aries didn't stand immediately as some chosen officials approached Aries, speaking their promise to assist her and such whilst wrapping the royal mantle around her. And then, rings and pieces of jewelry they put on her bearing the insignia of the empress. Lastly, the emperor offered his hand, which she clasped with reserved elegance, standing with his help.

His eyes shone with adoration as she lifted her beautiful gaze, smiling, handing her a baton. Once she received it, Abel took her hand, assisting her to the throne. But just as they reached the last step, Abel and Aries stopped and looked back at the hall.

People were clapping, bearing their welcoming smiles.

"Pay respect to the Empress," Conan shouted sternly, and everyone slowly went down to their knees; men bowing, women curtsying.

"All hail Her Majesty, the Empress! All hail His Majesty, the Emperor!"

Abel smirked and pulled her hand closer, only to whisper in her ear. "So? How's the view from here?" he teased.

Aries smiled, casting him a quick side-eye. "It's not bad."