The Tyrant's Pet

"Sir Conan, you will not hear from me until you come clean."

Aries rolled her eyes and cast Conan, who was walking beside him, a look. Conan had been nagging her since this morning, berating her chosen attire, and sometimes would compliment her whenever his attention was diverted. Honestly, she was considering dressing up as a man just to make fun of Conan. 

"Lady Aries..." Conan whimpered, frowning at her indifference. "You should've influenced him instead of letting His Majesty influence you."

This time, she stopped in the middle of the hallway, facing Conan squarely. "And what gave you the impression His Majesty has anything to do with this idea? Sure. He allowed me to be anyone I want to be, but dressing up as a man is my decision."

"But Lady Aries... I mean, Ariel, do you have to take it this far?" Conan helplessly sighed, studying her appearance. She only needed a beard and no one would know Aries was a she!

"What do you mean this far?" she crossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. "I haven't tested my manly charms yet."

"Manly... what charms???"

Aries shook her head, exhaling faintly. All she said until that point was utter crap, but she didn't want to explain herself to Conan repeatedly. She was simply toying with his head; consider it as her revenge because Conan kept pushing her to Abel. 

"Sir Conan, do you think His Majesty will treat me the same if I was a man?" she inquired, ignoring their previous topics. "No, I mean, if I was a man, would I be here in the first place? Would I become a war trophy?"

"What..."

"I won't." She shrugged nonchalantly. "I would've died when Rikhill fell into ruin. The more I think about it, my main problem is my face and gender. I will correct that."

With that being said, Aries sported a knowing look before resuming in her strides. Meanwhile, Conan stayed at his standpoint for a moment, eyes on Aries's back. 

He sighed before jogging to catch up to her. "Lady Aries, are you sure this is just a problem you need to address?" he asked, gazing at her rear. "Or... are you trying to distract yourself from another problem?"

"Who knows..." she paused, giving him a side-eye. "Maybe both. This is your fault, Sir Conan."

"What? How was it my fault now?" he gasped as they continued with their steps once again.

"That date wasn't my idea," came out a sarcastic tone. "Now everything is a blur."

"Huh?" Conan raised his brows and blinked cluelessly, but Aries kept her stoic countenance. "What blur?"

She glanced at him and shook her head lightly. "You should just tell me why the sudden change of heart. Instead of trying so hard to lie. Things like this are always bound to doom."

"Lady Aries..." he frowned, scratching his temple. How would Conan tell her 'to like Abel?' He already told her this in passing, but her argument was strong. Abel was a fickle man. Hence, the line Aries had drawn was to protect herself. 

The emperor, although this was the first time he had shown such leniency to someone, was still unpredictable. The reason, although Conan was certain Abel was fond of Aries, he didn't know how fond he was. Maybe letting her go was the best option. 

But then again, how about Abel? 

That was right. Before Conan became Aries's partner in crime, he was one of Abel's loyal subjects. They had been together for a long time, and Conan only wished for Abel to be happy. Even if it was only for a short time, it was good if Abel had wonderful memories he could think of. 

He hung his head low, being sandwiched in this situation. "Lady Aries, can you stay in Haimirich?" his question completely made Aries halt. Conan raised his head and sighed when meeting her eyes. 

"I heard His Majesty left you that day, but you didn't run away. Can I ask why you didn't run away?"

"Because there's still no replacement for me and that just doesn't sound right."

"Are you sure that's the reason?" he inquired, making her bit her tongue but maintaining her expression. "If you think I am trying to match you with His Majesty, then you're not wrong. I wish Lady Aries will change her mind and always choose His Majesty."

There were many things Conan wanted to add, but he only spoke about what was important. Abel might be crazy, but only recently did he start practicing patience. God knows how many deaths were reduced and all that, thanks to Aries. 

Aries lowered her eyes and sighed. "Sir Conan, we already had this conversation."

"Yes, I know, but I --"

"Then I don't understand why we're having this conversation." She cocked her head to the side, eyelashes fluttering ever so slowly. "I just had one question, Sir Conan. Until you can answer that clearly, then let's not talk about this again. Also, until your intentions are clear, let's put our alliance on pause. I think we both benefited from that alliance, anyway."

With that being said, Aries huffed as she continued to waltz through the hallway of the inner palace. She didn't look back, nor did she slow down to wait for Conan. He was a great help to her, but since Conan's intention changed, it was just Aries again. 

'That's right. I should just trust myself...' Her thoughts trailed off when she took a left turn, stopping to avoid bumping into a person. But the latter didn't notice her, making her jump back and lose her balance. 

"Oh." Aries acted on instinct, reaching for the beautiful lady's hand to stop her from falling. Thanks to her adrenaline rush, Aries found the strength to pull the lady up, causing her to land on her chest. 

Everything happened so fast that the lady was in a daze momentarily. She only snapped her eyes when Aries lowered her head, looking at her worriedly. 

"Are you alright?" asked Aries, modulating her voice to sound different for reasons she didn't know herself. She raised her brows, seeing that the flustered young lady just stared at her, wide-eyed. 

"Uh... yes." The lady nodded and blushed when Aries smiled. It made her wonder who in the world was this dashing 'young man'. 

"That's a relief then." Aries rocked her head, helping the young lady stand properly. "My apologies for appearing like that."

"No, it's alright. It was me who wasn't looking!" 

As Aries and the young lady engaged in a conversation, mainly about what just happened, Conan, who followed the former, could not help but gasp in dismay. Wasn't that young lady the daughter of the Viscount in the southern region? Who was also Abel's number one admirer? 

'Why was she blushing?' he wondered, darting his eyes between the young lady and Aries in disguise. 'Is this the experiment she is doing?! Seducing women?! Just how is this not being influenced by His Majesty?!'

Before Conan could react, he froze when a figure stood beside him. Like a rusting robot, Conan turned his head to his side, only to see Abel smirk at the sight before them. 

"Huh... interesting." Abel let out a low chuckle, ignoring Conan as he strutted towards Aries and a nobleman's daughter.

"Your Majesty..." Conan tried to reach Abel dramatically but was unable to do so.. All he could do was watch Abel and Aries seduce an innocent young lady as if their life depended on it.