The Tyrant's Pet

"My lady, I brought you water so you can wash --"

"No!" Aries raised her hand to stop the maid in panic, making the little servant freeze whilst holding the ceramic basin and ewer.

"My lady?" called the servant with genuine wonder in her voice.

"I mean..." Aries cleared her throat, turning to the bedside table on the other side of the bed opposite where Abel was. Her eyes lit up, pointing a finger at it. "Put it there."

"But my lady --"

"Now! Just placed it there." Aries bit her tongue when she raised her voice, reminding herself she wasn\'t in the Maganti Empire anymore. "I mean... I don\'t really feel good and I would like to rest more."

Worry resurfaced in the maid\'s eyes as she nodded slightly. She said nothing further, following Aries\'s instructions, and placed the ewer and basin on the bedside table. When she straightened her back and faced Aries once again, the servant pursed her lips.

"My lady, are you in pain anywhere? Should I bring you medicine or tea meant to soothe your worry?" the servant suggested worriedly, assuming Aries\'s actions resulted from her experience in the Maganti Empire.

"Pardon? — I mean, no, you don\'t have to." Aries chuckled, waving weakly. "I just need more rest. The situation in the Maganti Empire was not that bad. I mean, it was, but I needed rest. I\'ve been on the road for months."

"I see..."

"Don\'t worry about me. Tell my brother I\'ll join him for lunch later."

"The Marquess had already left for the fort this morning and said he would return before dinner."

"Then dinner! Tell Gustav I will have my meals in my room." Aries bit her tongue again, wincing mentally at her unnatural act. She wanted to make the maid leave, but alas, she sounded more suspicious with every passing second. A deep exhale escaped her mouth as she looked down. Why was she even doing this?

"Then I will inform Sir Gustav." Aries looked up at the young servant, who flashed her a gentle smile. "Please call for me if you needed anything else, my lady."

The servant bowed deeply and when she straightened her back, her smile grew even gentler. She looked at Aries in understanding before turning on her heel, sauntering away wordlessly. She looked back at Aries when she was by the door, offering her a kind smile before leaving.

Aries let out a deep exhale when the faint click of the door caressed her ears. "What was I doing worrying everyone?" she mumbled, running her fingers through her tousled hair. Her brows rose, glancing at the green strands of hair in her hand.

"Right..." she sighed once more. "Should I dye my hair gold again? Weren\'t they suspicious?"

Aries weighed whether to dye her hair gold to match the Marquess\'s hair or leave it like this. She pondered about it for a minute before she perked up, realizing Abel was still in her room. Aries immediately jumped to the other side of the bed, looking over, only to wince seeing Abel had his eyes closed.

\'Goodness... he must be surprised I kicked him out of panic,\' She stressed, sighing for the umpteenth time. "Da — darling?" she called cautiously, watching his eyes crack open.

"How many servants does the marquess have in his estate?" his voice was low and almost rasped, holding the eyes hovering over him.

"Around... a few hundreds...?" she answered in the same cautious tone. "Why are you suddenly asking?"

"In the Imperial Palace, there were several thousand. A few hundred... that means it will still not matter if one had gone missing, right?"

Aries\'s pupils instantly went huge, and without thinking twice, she jumped out of the bed. Her feet landed on either side of him, sitting on top of Abel with her hands on his chest.

"What are you saying now? She doesn\'t know that my husband is here!" she exclaimed ghastly. "It\'s not her fault that you are now lying here. I mean, even if you\'re my husband, they were still shocked at the news of my return. They know I barely survived the revolt, thanks to my brother. They were still worried about whatever trauma I carried and I — they\'d been very considerate."

Aries let out a sharp breath and bent over until her face was a palm length away from his. "I\'m sorry I kicked you out of the bed, hmm? I just acted on instinct and I won\'t do it again."

"You will do it again." He narrowed his eyes. "This isn\'t the only time you kicked me out of the bed and told me the same thing."

"What?" she scrunched her nose up and sported an ugly frown when a memory crossed her head. \'Right... this isn\'t the first time.\'

Abel let out a shallow breath, studying her somber countenance. He raised a hand, burying it in her tousled hair, only to still his palm on the back of her head. His action caused her brows to raise, observing his unchanging visage.

"Uhm..." she cleared her throat, crawling her hand from his chest to his shoulder. Her eyes lit up when an idea crossed her head, leaning down, closing the gap between their faces, and claiming his lips with a soft peck. Aries planted five consecutive light pecks before drawing her head back to see if his mood had gotten better.

Abel\'s expression was still the same, but even so, she had been with him to understand the slight difference. She smiled, relaxing her body on him, and kept her face at a close distance from his face.

"Don\'t be angry anymore," she crooned, patting her chest reassuringly. "If you still are, you shouldn\'t shift the anger to the servant. She\'s not the one who kicked you, but me."

"I see... so I should get angry at you?"

"Mhm." She nodded profusely. "It\'s my fault."

Abel narrowed his eyes as the side of his lips curled up, making her instantly regret her sentiments just now.

"I mean, you\'re right, darling. With so many servants in the estate, no one will notice if one had gone missing." Aries laughed awkwardly, planting her hand on his chest to push herself away from him. However, just as she did, Abel held her wrist to still her on her spot.

"My husband, my love, my savior, my sun and moon, my shiniest star in the night sky..." Aries listed down all sorts of flattery in her head, but to no avail. She froze on the spot when Abel moved up his hip, making her flinch when his hard manhood underneath his thin trousers touched her rear.

"Continue, darling," he mused, propping his elbow until he was sitting up, keeping her on his lap by snaking his arms around her precious body. He cocked his head to the side, clutching the sides of her nightdress, only to raise it to expose her thigh. "The laundry ladies will be surprised if they see traces of semen on the sheet."