The Tyrant's Pet

It was no secret that the Queen and her husband-to-be had a strange relationship. Aries and Maximus had activities that were for lovers, such as tonight's romantic dinner in the pavilion. At least a couple of times a week, Maximus would arrange dinner or tea time to spend with her. However, those who were serving them — although they feigned deaf and mute and even blind — were aware that no matter how loving the two had appeared, their conversation wasn't anything close to that.

Aries and Maximus never failed to press each other's nerves. There were also times they just wouldn't speak to each other at all. Mostly, it would be Aries who wouldn't speak a word. And those times, that meant Maximus touched something that didn't please her.

Strange, indeed, but then again, the two didn't go through the concept of courtship. They just arrived in here with Maximus abdicating the throne and making Aries the queen, giving her full control of the mainland.

"It's not a talent, my fiance. I just don't like you."

"Pftt —!" Maximus snorted before he burst out in laughter, holding his stomach.

"My… surely, it's always fun to tease you." He wiped the corner of his eyes with the side of his index. "There's never a dull conversation with my beloved queen."

The side of Aries's lips curled up, which resembled a smirk. "The wedding arrangements will be over soon. I'm definitely not looking forward to it."

"Come on, darling. Why do you always make it sound like I forced you into this marriage?"

"Didn't you?"

"As far as I remember, I didn't." His lips stretched until his teeth were showing, motioning his hand over the table. "Let's dig in. The food with turn cold if we keep humoring each other."

"I don't remember ever having an appetite to dine with my fiance, but I'm only human."

He smirked. "The best human there is."

"Flatteries will not save you." As soon as Aries picked up the cutleries, a servant came to her side to remove the cloche. "I'm certain you are aware of the current news. How strange that you had been going around in a circle before you go straight to the point."

Maximus chuckled as he also picked up his cutlery while a servant took away the cloche covering his meal.

"I'm not going around in a circle. I just don't see the point of even wasting the slightest energy on your former husband." He cast her a quick, knowing look. "Don't tell me you are still hopeful. Do you think he will let it slide that you forced him into a slumber for years?"

Maximus lowered his eyes as he started slicing through his steak. "I don't think he will accept the reasoning that you are simply trying to protect Haimirich. It sounds heroic that the empress chose to trap everyone's soul to bring them all to life lest the worst happen and married her worst enemy."

"What's the other reason again?" His fork, which had a piece of meat, hovered before his lips as he hummed a tune. "Right. That's because in every land you ruled, you're like a plague that brings it to ruin. Hopeful, are we?"

He shoved the piece of meat inside his mouth, smirking. Meanwhile, Aries chewed hers slowly while holding his mocking gaze.

"Two years…" Aries reached for the glass of wine to wash down the meat in her throat. She licked her lips, putting the glass back on the table. "… of being with an insufferable man… I learned that you and I truly are a match."

"Heh. Are we?"

"You cannot stand that I stood beside Abel. His smile, those loving eyes, and his attention… it's really something that makes one envious. Poor Abel." She lifted her eyes up to him, fluttering her eyelashes coquettishly. "If you cannot keep him, you'd rather take everything he has and drive him to the corner. The only thing I took from him was his soul and forced him to sleep, but you… you took more than that, Maximus."

Aries paused and leaned forward, propping her arms against the edge of the table. "Between the two of us, Maximus, who do you think he will come at first? Me? The woman he loved, married, and trusted? Or you? Who came out of nowhere to steal everything he has?"

"Even if I sit daintily on my bloody throne, I will be safe for the time being. How about you?" she cocked her head to the side. "Can you take on the entire Grimsbanne Clan without my help?"

"We are on the same boat. It is not like you have a choice."

"I always have a choice, my dearest fiance. I just chose to be with you two years ago, knowing I cannot control my witch if I came face to face with Wrath or any of those demon seeds." Her eyes glinted as the corner of her lips curled up into a mocking smirk. "Maleficent is born to take every single one of them, and you used that to bargain with me. However, are you sure that's the reason I agreed with this setup?"

Maximus' smile slowly faded, assessing that deceiving confidence plastered on her face. At this point, he learned that this woman knew how to bluff people and no one could tell what was in her mind if they just studied her expression.

"I told myself I'll spare you thirty minutes of my day, and it's already a minute past that." Aries grabbed the cloth on her lap, placing it on the table beside her plate.

She barely took a bite of the meal he prepared and was already considerate of that. She pushed herself up slowly, raising her chin, eyes down at him.

"Thank you for the meal, my dearest." Aries smiled, sauntering away from her chair, and approached him. Her fingernails caressed the edge of the table and his arm as she stood behind his chair.

Planting her hands on his shoulder, she bent over to whisper in his ear. "The next time you call me darling, I might forget about our alliance. I have no one to protect anymore. You do not want me flipping before you get a proper body."