The Tyrant's Pet

Since all the seats were occupied, Abel kicked Conan out of his chair to offer it to his wife. Conan naturally harrumphed, rambling on and on about how easy it was to ask nicely. While Conan went to a full concert, Fabian and Claude returned with chairs so everyone who wanted to sit could sit down.

In the end, Conan huffed angrily and plopped his butt down. Not everyone sat down, though. Around the table were just Samael, Tilly, Abel, Aries, Conan, and Claude. The rest were helping Fabian prepare the food, and as they waited, Abel and Samael casually chatted and drag Aries into their conversation from time to time. They would also talk to Tilly, but the latter seemed she wasn't hearing them.

"Here." After some time, Aries gazed up when a plate landed in front of her, only to see the stunning Lilou smiling at her. "Fabian and I prepared it for you. I hope you like it."

"Thank you." Aries's voice sounded slightly awkward, feeling a bit embarrassed about Sunny's mother.

"You're welcome." Lilou's smile brightened up, raising her palm as a gesture for Aries to try it.

"Oh…" Aries rocked her head, picking up the cutlery to eat the piece of meat Lilou was already sliced before serving. But just as she held the cutlery, Aries paused and gazed up. Her brows rose, seeing that every single one of them was looking at her with anticipation.

'Uhm…' Aries instinctively cast Abel, who was just right beside her, a look.

Abel smiled, nodding reassuringly. "They want to know your taste buds because I told them mine."

"Pardon?" Deep lines appeared between her brows, confused. But Abel seems he didn't want to reveal more details.

Aries gazed down at the plate once again, gulping nervously for a reason she couldn't understand. The cutlery in her grasp shook slightly, forking out a piece of meat and guiding it to her lips. As she did so, she could feel their gazes intensify, making her shrink.

Why were they watching her so intensely? Aries wept internally. Even before she could put the meat inside her mouth, she felt like having indigestion already.

Aries's confusion didn't last long when she shoved the meat inside her mouth, only to spit it out.

"Pfft—" Claude and Sunny covered their mouths to suppress their laughter while Lilou cast them a warning look.

"Haha!" Meanwhile, Abel let out a short laugh, eyes on Aries. "How cute."

Aries looked back at him in embarrassment before shifting her attention to Lilou, as if the latter had wronged her. But before Aries could ask why Lilou would pull a prank on her, Abel spoke.

"Don't misunderstand, darling," said Abel, watching Aries look back at him. "Lilou didn't pull a prank on you. In fact, she had given you the best meat we have tonight."

"What?"

His lips were curled up into a warm smile. "It's just your taste buds are different. They're like mine now."

Confusion replaced Aries's frown, assessing Abel's countenance. Although what he said was clear, she seemed to not understand it clearly.

"It's common for vampires, you know?" Samael casually jumped in, snatching Aries's attention as he had assumed Abel wouldn't explain it properly. "When you turned from humans to vampires, your taste buds will change since your body will crave blood instead of food when you were human. Vampires had different taste buds — if you hadn't noticed, it was the reason vampires prefer to live in nobility since we have sensitive taste buds."

"Although being born as a vampire and getting used to it is a different case from a human turning into a vampire," he added, keeping it short and simple for her to understand it quickly. "My wife experienced the same, although it wasn't a big deal to her since she would eat anything."

"I was a peasant." Lilou shrugged, leaning against her husband's chair. "So even if it doesn't taste good, I will gobble it up to survive."

Aries darted her eyes between Samael and Lilou and then gazed at the rest around the table. They were all smiling at Aries. Some of them, like Claude and Sunny, were enjoying their food.

"You've been eating…" Aries trailed off, setting her eyes back on Abel. "... with this taste bud?"

Abel nodded without a second hesitation. "You'll get used to it, darling. It's not that bad; it's just that it's your first meal. Soon, you'll enjoy the exquisite foods."

Her lips parted, but her voice didn't come out. All she could do for a moment was stare at Abel, discovering another part of him that she didn't know. The things that she didn't know about him just seemed to be countless; things that she didn't know were important or something so simple.

No wonder Abel only ate the most exquisite wines and dishes. It wasn't because he had too much money — well, Abel was probably the wealthiest emperor she knew, but that wasn't the point. His meticulousness in foods was because he had a cursed tastebud.

The meat she just ate tasted like a lump of rotten raw meat and its texture in her mouth felt incredibly unbearable. To think Abel could eat something like… Aries felt sorry for him. Even if he said this was because it was her first time, the experience was enough to traumatize her. It was way worse compared to the pigs' food when she was a captive in the Maganti Empire.

"You should try more, Grandmama!" Sunny interrupted Aries's thoughts, making the latter look in her direction. "It takes patience and practice to get used to it, but don't worry! The reward is worth it!"

Aries's eyes softened as she smiled subtly, rocking her head.

"I'll try my best." She turned her head in Abel's direction. "Do you enjoy it now?"

"Yes." Abel glanced at Lilou and then at Fabian. "I never had such a good meal in a long time. It was nice."

Warmth swelled in Aries's chest, sensing how warm the atmosphere around these people was. She forked out another piece of meat, lips quivering as she anticipated a rotten taste that would explode in her mouth. Much to her surprise, the meat didn't taste as terrible as the first one, gazing up to see them smiling at her proudly.

'Ahh…' she thought, setting her eyes back to Abel. '... it's not that you'll get used to it, huh? It's just more bearable to eat with the people you like.'

Her eyes landed on the food, smiling gently. 'No wonder he used to drag me around and dine with me back in the empire. The food just tastes better with the company.'

Again, Aries discovered something about Abel. However, this time, she didn't feel like she lacked. Rather, she felt excited about what to discover about him next.