It had been a week since Aries started taking a little amount of poison daily. Even so, she still hadn't gotten used to the strong bitter taste of Abel's tea. Yes. He still send the same teacup he had used instead of transferring it to another cup.
It has also been a week since Abel kept dragging her wherever he was. After her lesson, Conan would fetch her to the bustling emperor's palace.
Today was no different. Aries was sitting on the same settee with Abel inside the emperor's office. With his arms draped across the backrest, he was casually stroking her hair while reading a document in his other hand.
Aries glanced at him curiously, having nothing to do but sit and keep quiet. Still, her time with Abel gave him a different light.
"Huh... so there is a huge possibility of the lack of harvest this year in that wretched kingdom?" Abel rocked his head, glancing at Isaiah, who was sitting across from them.
As the two engaged in a conversation, Aries gazed down. She thought Abel was nothing but an unreasonable tyrant who only wanted chaos. However, Abel was more than his atrocities and sinful lifestyle. He was smart; sometimes even Aries was in awe.
Abel doesn't just attack a kingdom or nation on a whim — although that was what it looked like. He would study their kingdom, the current state of affairs, and consider all the pros and cons.
"Shall we attack them before the year ends, darling?" she snapped her eyes when he cocked his head to her, eyelashes fluttering ever so tenderly. "You were listening, correct? What do you think?" f reeweb novel.com
Her breathing slowed down. Why was he giving her the power to bring suffering to other people? Although conquering wasn't new to her, she didn't have the heart to decide for that.
"Darling, what are you so reluctant about?" he tilted his head, staring at her with wonder. "You heard about their king — who is, by the way, as huge as a pig — and his disgraceful ruling."
"Attacking a nation, even though their ruler was terrible, wasn't an excuse to victimize the innocent," she voiced out bravely, staring at him with caution. "I'm not saying you're a bad person or anything, though. I'm just saying..." she added, just in case she stepped out of bounds too much.
"I know, right?" Abel sighed and clicked his tongue, casting Isaiah, the Duke, and his righthand man a nasty look. "Isaiah is such a vicious man. How can he suggest we attack a nation so easily?"
"..." Isaiah, who was already used to Abel's side comments throughout the years serving him, remained silent. Instead, he raised his sharp eyes to Aries. The latter hung her head low, sensing a chill down her spine.
"Oh, Isaiah, don't look at my Aries like that." Abel frowned, pulling her head close to his side protectively. "You're scaring her."
"Your Majesty, I don't think Lady Aries should be hearing this."
"Why not? Are you afraid she will sell this information?" he inquired, glancing at her.
This time, Aries lifted her head in panic. "How could I?" she blurted out her defense. But to her surprise, Abel grinned and patted her head gently to soothe her.
"It's alright, darling. No need to panic. You'll make a lot of money if you sell the information you hear from here. You'll be wealthy in no time. Once you build your wealth, you'll be the one providing for me."
For a second, Aries's mind went blank. All she could do was stare at him until he peeled his pair of delighted eyes away to Isaiah. Abel, as if he didn't give her a dreadful idea, continued his discussion with him.
Meanwhile, Aries didn't know whether to heave a sigh of relief or be scared. Abel took her opinion and changed plans. Instead of conquering a land through fear, he already made up a scheme to absorb a kingdom under the empire without too much blood.
'Well, Haimirich Empire will not be one of the prosperous empires in history if the emperor just knows how to terrorize his subjects.' She mentally nodded. 'As an emperor, Abel is perfect. But as a person... never mind.'
As the meeting of the two came to an end, Isaiah bowed. But instead of standing up, he remained seated with his eyes on Abel.
"Your Majesty, do you plan on bringing Lady Aries to the meeting with the aristocrats?" Isaiah's sudden inquiry caused her breath to hitch. Abel, on the other hand, simply arched a brow.
"Is there something wrong with that?"
Isaiah stared at his emperor for a second in silence. "Nothing, Your Majesty."
"I'll go see them in a while. They can wait. My little darling is a bit tired, so she needs rest." Abel waved nonchalantly, dismissing his sword. The latter left silently after bowing with his arms across his abdomen.
As the duke left, Aries could only stare at his back. Tired? She wasn't tired. Was Abel using her just to annoy the people he wanted to meet?
When the door closed, Abel leaned back with a frown dominating his face. "Darling, you should pretend you collapsed, so I have a reason not to attend to my next agenda." Aries gazed at him, wide-eyed.
"Those in the aristocrat faction will surely give me a headache. I would've silenced them all if not for Conan," he continued irritably, showing his reluctance to attend. "Do you know why I don't want to attend?"
"Uh... no?"
He sighed, gazing at her rear while tucking her hair behind her ear. "They always bring up the talks of my marriage. Even when I already told them I won't be taking an empress, they just won't give up. I can't stand them." His eyes narrowed, shifting his gaze to meet her eyes. freewe bnovel.com
"Should I marry you?" he inquired — more like a suggestion.
"Pardon?"
"Will you marry me, darling?" he asked, rendering her speechless — almost leaving her breathless — because of how abrupt it was. "If you marry me, you'll be the empress. If you become one, you will hold power the same as mine in this empire. You'll gain the power to kill me."
"Your Majesty, do you think I want to kill you?" she blurted out.
"No. I'm simply selling myself. Being an empress is still far better than being known as a princess from a fallen kingdom and a mistress, don't you think?" he cocked his head to the side, eyelashes fluttering ever so tenderly.
"Are you… serious?" her question already left her lips even before she could think about it.
With his eyes holding hers, he asked. "Do you think I am joking?"
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