The Tyrant's Pet

"Trust him."

Aries raised her brows in disbelief at Leon's response.

"If you promised to trust him and not do anything stupid. I'll grant your request to go inside without being noticed." Leon observed her expression, and even without speaking, it had already devastated her. "If you trust him, you'll listen to me. Whatever you see inside, don't shout, don't make a sound, or do anything stupid. Grit your teeth and trust him. Give me your word."

Aries clutched her chest, but she was unable to look away from him. "What do I have to expect?"

"The worst."

"And you want me to grit my teeth?"

He nodded once. "Only then will I give you the opportunity of how you… made his life complicated."

"Me?" Aries let out a dry scoff, but she didn't have the energy to argue with him. She glanced at the door for a minute, pursing her lips into a thin line. When she looked back at the man, Aries nodded in agreement.

"You have my word," she breathed out heavily. "I won't do anything stupid… and will trust him. Unless I know for sure he needs help."

The two of them looked at each other for another minute. After that, Leon slipped his hand inside his coat. He took out a handkerchief, which she accepted in puzzlement.

"Hold on to that. As long as you hold it, they won't notice your presence. You can say you'll be invisible," he explained, making her look up at him. "And stay close to me. It'll be more effective if you're within my reach."

Aries clasped the handkerchief tightly and nodded. "Understood."

"I can only deceive a person's eyes, not their ears. But since their focus was on His Majesty, they might not notice your footsteps. Still, don't make the slightest noise if possible."

"Understood."

Leon observed her before he turned on his heel. Standing in front of the door, he opened it as silently as possible, instantly hearing a person's preaches. He walked in casually while Aries took a large gulp before following him.

The second Aries stepped her foot inside, she ignored everything and everyone around and searched for Abel. It didn't take that long before her eyes fell on the person chained, kneeling in the middle of the great hall.

Blood pooled underneath Abel's body, surrounded by candles. Her heart instantly sank as she held her breath, looking around at the people in the great hall, wearing robes with hoods over their heads.

Aries covered her mouth as tears instantly pooled in her eyes. Just seeing Abel's side profile with his hands bound by a chain attached to either side of the wall was enough to break her heart.

'This… is far crueler than an execution.' Aries raised her other hand over the one that was covering her mouth to muffle any noises she would make. 'What… is this coven, Abel?'

Aries couldn't move from her spot, eyes fixed on Abel's figure. He was bleeding from head to toe, almost like he had dipped in a tub full of blood. She had never seen him so weak and defeated. The Abel she knew was untouchable, unpredictably dangerous, and just someone no one would ever imagine ending up in such a state.

This wasn't Abel, was that she wanted to tell herself. However, her heart, mind, body, and soul knew it was him.

Hence, she couldn't help but wonder, how come Abel was chained and was on his knees whilst bleeding heavily? How did things come down to this situation? What was this coven? And who were these people?

There were so many questions that came into her head, but she didn't have a single answer. She couldn't use her mind to put the pieces all together. She didn't have the time or leisure. Stopping herself from rushing to him already took all of her energy.

Aries felt her knees wobble, slowly losing their strength until she was on the floor. She was still covering her mouth, crying as silently as possible.

'Trust him, trust him. He must've got a plan.' She told herself repeatedly, doing what she thought she would never ever do again. To grit her teeth and not make a sound.

Meanwhile, Abel kept his head hanging low. His eyes were barely open, staring at the little ripples on the pool of blood underneath him from the droplet of blood dripping from the turfs of his hair.

The great hall was quiet. It was so quiet he could hear someone's muffled cries.

"That little pig…" he muttered to himself. "... amusing."

SPLASH!

Abel ground his teeth when blood suddenly squirted from his back as if a sword slashed him. But no. No one had approached him, but there was one, among the night councils, who smirked at the fresh wound that appeared on Abel's back.

His mouth fell open, breathing through it. Abel blinked weakly, holding onto the chains. When he raised his hand slightly, Abel caught Conan crawling onto the floor. A person was stepping on Conan's back, keeping the latter still.

Conan was beaten. A sight Abel hadn't seen for a long time.

"Your Majesty."

Suddenly, a solid voice erupted in the great hall. One of the night councils, Firion Viscardi, stood in front of Abel, blocking the latter's view of Conan.

"We had finally found something that could fulfill Your Majesty's lifelong wish," Firion sneered, causing the curl of his mustache to raise. He then spread his hands open to the side, and another night council, wearing a similar robe, handed him a sword. "We, the night council, had mutually agreed that tonight's coven is the last coven… with you as the Emperor."

Firion wrapped his fingers around the sword's handle, only to immediately point it at Abel.

"May you find the rest you had sought, Your Majesty. We had been grateful for the blood that sustained and nurtured us. This is our gift." The side of his lips curled up wickedly as ridicule flickered in his eyes. However, his smirk faded away just as fast as it appeared, narrowing his eyes, noticing the tremble on Abel's back.

"Pfft --" Abel laughed under his breath, which soon grew into much louder waves of sinister laughter, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

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