The Tyrant's Pet

<strong>[Haimirich Empire: the emperor's office]</strong>

"Conan!"

Abel tapped his fingers against the surface of his desk impatiently, watching the door fly open. But instead of Conan, it was Isaiah, who was by the door, strutting his way in as if he owned the place.

"Where is Conan??" asked the impatient Abel, frowning at seeing how calm Isaiah was. The latter perched on the settee leisurely, shooting Abel a casual look.

"He said he is busy. He molded a cork to fit his ears to deafen himself."

"Hah… is he stalling time? How competitive!" Abel scoffed in dismay, glancing at the door when an old scholar of the empire knocked and opened it.

The middle-aged man, Conan's proxy, entered. He was carrying a thin stack of documents, which was very unlike the usual amount of paperwork that would enter and leave the emperor's office every day.

"Your Majesty!" called the official and then gulped, fixing his posture as he bowed and went inside. "This is…"

"Come." Abel closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, crooking a finger, causing the old man to stiffen. "I don't need your formalities. Come and hand all of those to me. Waste another second of my time and I'll take the rest of your life."

The scholar walked like a wind-up toy and placed the documents in a hurry, jolting back when Abel impatiently snatched them away. His heart was too old for this as the emperor and his legal adviser, Conan, were too hyped in finishing all important and minor matters as if the world was ending tomorrow.

"I — I'll take my leave," came out a muffled and awkward voice only to be ignored by the emperor. He glanced at Isaiah, who didn't even pay him one glance while reading a book in silence.

"Alright…" the scholar tiptoed his way out, barely making a sound while he was unconsciously holding his breath.

Once the scholar was out of the emperor's office, he finally breathed out and in heavily, as if to catch up to his breathing. He looked back at the door once again, patting his racing heart.

"Just what is going on?" he muttered, dragging his feet away to the railings. When he gazed down on the ground floor of the emperor's palace, the scholar felt even more exhausted with a mix of relief at the sight of the people below that looked like a colony of ants, moving in each direction.

"At the very least, I am not the only one who were running errands since morning."

Currently, the traffic in the emperor's palace was something that had never happened before. It was hectic and one had to catch up to their breathing just so they could breathe. Yet, no one knew the reason Conan and Abel were going crazy!

If they worked hard, shouldn't they keep it to themselves? But who would have the nerve to ask that question?

'I envy Lord Isaiah… somehow,' the scholar thought before dragging his feet to run another errand Conan asked him to do.

<strong>******</strong>

Back in the emperor's office, Isaiah glanced at the door as soon as he heard the faint click. He then shifted his eyes at Abel, who seemed to have been devoured by an invisible flame as he was surely working hard than he ever did in the past hundreds of years.

Although Isaiah suggested he would have to go to the Maganti Empire himself, he wasn't in a rush. Even though Abel's care for Haimirich dwindled, Isaiah didn't wish for all of them to start over. It was too much work. So, he made an excuse that he would need a few days to set up some dolls so no one would notice their absence.

Because of that, Conan and Abel ended up killing time by working hard. It wasn't Isaiah's intention. He just thought they would only work on the important affairs, but the mountains of paperwork they kept complaining about all day and out continuously thinned out.

It was a miracle.

"Not a breath," Abel spoke just as Isaiah's lips parted, not even bothering to look at him. "Unless it's about my darling, then sing."

Isaiah blinked twice before he shoved his hand inside his suit pocket. One of the things he learned from Aries was that treats were effective on the emperor. Taking out a pebble, Isaiah tossed it to the emperor's desk, which landed perfectly near Abel's free hand.

"It was the pebble Lady Aries kicked…" he said, watching Abel pause as he gazed at the pebble. "… with passion."

"You collect her things too?" the emperor's brows furrowed as he frowned, picking up the pebble. "Tell me now so I can announce everyone to wear their black attires tomorrow."

"I thought it will come in handy in the future."

"Hah!" Abel looked at Isaiah with awe, holding the pebble in between his thumb and index, squinting his eyes as he appraised it like a piece of jewelry. "So, what do you need me for you to resort to such means?"

"This humble subject has a request to make before we set off to the Maganti Empire."

"Spare me the suspense, Isaiah." He bats his eyes lazily, setting them at Isaiah. "Every second counts. My darling will surely worry about the empire. I do not want to upset her during our grand reunion. Haimirich is not something I would like to discuss with her."

Isaiah pressed his lips into a hard line while scrutinizing Abel. So far, Abel had been sane ever since the thought of meeting Aries came to his mind.

"I would like to take someone on this trip." He announced in his same almost toneless voice.

"Oh?"

"Haimirich will be left with no one to look after it. But, since this trip is inevitable, it is also better if there was also no one vying for it."

Abel's lips curved downturn while rocking his head, playing with the pebble in his hand. "Well, I don't care if you bring your army to march to that wretched place. Do what you see fit as long as it doesn't interrupt my time with my darling."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Isaiah tilted his head down before setting his eyes back at Abel, only to see the latter smiling while looking at the pebble.

"My collection is growing. I will soon need a bigger room." Abel chuckled happily before snapping his eyes at his right-hand man. "Tell Conan to prepare a ring, a bouquet, and a basket of potato. I can't meet her empty-handed."