The Tyrant's Pet

It was already mentioned the laws on the Mainland were absolute. Even Maximus could barely break them. But now that the current talk in the royal court regards the person who would sit on the throne, it was a long discussion in the royal court.

If Maximus produced an heir, there would be no problem. Another case that would be in many people's favor would be Aries's death. If the Queen died, then the throne would naturally fall to the late king's sibling or those who were in line for the throne.

But the queen was alive.

Even if many people wanted to disregard it, Aries was still legally the queen. They couldn't just ignore that. It used to be an empty title when Maximus was alive, seeing Aries as nothing but a worker with a title too lovely for the ears.

That title wasn't as empty as before, though. Especially now that Maximus was already dead, and the queen was right in front of them, wearing a cunning expression no one had seen before. She looked like someone who had seen this coming, and thus, she endured the two years of being Maximus's wife.

Oh, little cunning witch.

"It seems many of you oppose the idea of my succession of the throne. I understand." Aries broke the brief silence before it could dominate the royal court. "I won't deny that I am but an outsider, who somehow captivated the eyes of my beloved Maximus."

Aries propped her jaw against her knuckles, keeping her eyes on the long table before her throne. "My dearest husband fought for this marriage and thus, I want to honor his death by protecting the land he governed almost all his life."

Nonsense.

Everything that came out of her vile mouth was nothing but bullshit. However, no one dared argue with her, knowing she could twist anything that they would say. Just like how she was twisting Maximus's sarcasm whenever he talked about their "lovely" marriage.

"Denying my right to the throne means the laws in this land have little to value," she continued, laying facts everyone hadn't forgotten. It was the reason they simply couldn't gang up on London because London was shielding his argument with the proper royal protocol.

Aries had every right to the throne, regardless if she just came here for two years. Disregarding this crucial fact would surely bring problems to the Mainland. It would only mean that the laws in this land were nothing and thus, it would fuel any troublemakers — for instance, the Grimsbannes — to have a reason to break the rules.

It was a tricky situation, making it hard for everyone to reach a conclusion.

"I am mystified at how this discussion came to a point where we couldn't discuss other important things just because you all opposed the idea of me being a queen." Her tone was calm, but the distinction in it was clear and firm. "There were many other areas in this court has to address, especially with the Grimsbanne in the mainland."

"You don't speak as though you are not on their side!" Augustine spat out in dismay. "The level of hypocrisy in this court turns my stomach —"

"The feeling is mutual, Augustine." Aries cut him off calmly, assessing the man who was the most hypocritical of all. "I had dealt with all of you for the past two years and let many snide remarks slide. If I am wicked, I would've ordered someone to silence your unnecessary songs. But I am not wicked… just unforgiving."

Augustine balled his hand into a tight fist as his face turned red. His nose flared, grinding his teeth, eyes burning at Aries. Meanwhile, Aries just offered him a raised brow before casting London a cursory look.

'Just right on time,' thought London, concealing the relief that resurfaced in his eyes. 'I didn't want to stain my newly trimmed nails.'

"Everyone can be handled accordingly if you keep an open mind. Forget about getting a large piece of the pie and cooperate all for the sake of the better Mainland." Aries planted her hands on the armrest. "I may be an outsider, but I am still the queen of the mainland. We can go on and on about this, but this will be an endless discussion. The longer this throne is empty, the more problems will arise. Not only in the Mainland but also from outside our territory."

"Everyone… knew that the Mainland is now in turmoil with no person on the helm. Do not underestimate the countries outside and the people who walked on this land during the summit," she continued. "Even if this land is reigned by vampires, there is no telling if we could stand against the world."

Aries paused, glossing her eyes over the faces in the royal court. "Do you understand how important this coronation was?"

Silence followed Aries's remarks as everyone cast each other a quick look before setting their eyes on her. It wasn't like they didn't know what she had mentioned. Of course, they knew about it. It was just that it would take a ton of their pride to agree an outside would reign over them… and she was a witch on top of that.

"It seemed Her Majesty isn't just a witch anymore." After minutes of nothing but silence, a minister who looked like he was in his early forties broke the silence with his calm voice. "I can smell the blood of Grimsbanne running in you."

"Is that a problem, Rothschild?" Aries arched a brow, tilting her head to the side.

"It is not. Even though Abel Grimsbanne was the one who took the life of the king, it all happened in a duel between vampires," said the man Aries called Rothschild. "Therefore, he wasn't held accountable in this royal court. All I'm saying is that since you had become one of us — regardless of who turned you — matters not."

Rothschild planted his hand across his chest, bowing slightly. "I, Cornelius Rothschild, pledged to support the Queen. Your words will be mine and your will shall be my will."

Aries smiled subtly, seeing Cornelius take the oath of supporting her as the new ruler of the land. Seeing this, confusion was apparent on some of the minister's faces. But those who wanted to be in Cornelius's good graces also pledged their oath to the queen until almost half of the twelve ministers bowed to her.

"I still see some people who didn't seem to share the sentiments like the majority at this table," said Aries with a subtle smile. "However, that is alright. Since the majority had already decided, the coronation would be held in two days."

"Two days?" Augustine gasped in disbelief.

"Two days is enough. This land hadn't had an official ruler for over a week and we don't know what was everything concocting. Moreover, aside from my coronation, I would like to hold a banquet for someone," she announced, causing deep lines to appear on everyone's forehead. They stared at her, watching how her modest smile stretch into a smirk. "I would like to hold a welcoming banquet for Prince Conan. Finally, after his long mission outside the Mainland, he returned."

Presumptuous, was the first thought that came to everyone's mind, knowing Conan wasn't anything she claimed him to be. But the problem was, Conan has never been declared a traitor. The king before Maximus IV only told everyone his son went out on a mission to protect his beloved son.

"Do not fret." Aries chuckled, noticing the slight fear that shone in their eyes at the mention of Conan's name. "Prince Conan might be a little… playful. But he used to be the second in line for the throne next to my late husband. Don't you think it's better to have him around since there's no guarantee the Queen wouldn't be in danger once she carries the crown?"

Her eyelids drooped as her eyes revealed a cunning glint that illuminated in the tint of red. "He is not an outsider like I am, and compare to me, he holds the blood of the royal family… don't you think?"

And just like that, Aries poked fun at their endless discussion about the fact she was an outsider. Having Conan reinstate his title and position was just as worse as welcoming an outsider as their sovereign.

This was bad.

A/N:

Happy new year everyone! How was your new year? I hope you had a wonderful time. 2022 was full of twists and turns for me, but I felt blessed for the opportunities that opened up for me. I remembered the time months ago when I felt hopeless and kept questioning my ability to write a story. But because of all of your support and encouragement, I kept going.

If not for your undying support and love, The Tyrant's Pet, wouldn't get a comic adaptation nor it would become one of the Books of the Year 2022!

Cheers to that! Read Author's Notes!!