The Tyrant's Pet

"This is my father\'s workshop!"

Aries smiled and looked around while Sunny spread her arms wide open. She looked around the room almost exactly the same as the other rooms. Sunny had named each room differently than Abel\'s, and it sounded like it was an even fun home.

"But it\'s not like Father\'s workshop because it was clean." Sunny frowned and sighed. She then dragged her feet towards the wall, touching it, and let out another sigh. "Sunny\'s drawing is not here too."

"Sunny…" Aries sauntered towards Sunny and squatted beside her. "Do you miss your mama and papa?"

Sunny looked back at her and nodded. "But Tilly said Sunny can\'t go or Sunny will die."

"What?"

"Sunny used to join Papa whenever he paints and played with his materials." Sunny ignored Aries as if she didn\'t just drop a bomb, staring at the wall she was touching. "Mama, Sunny, my big brother, and Papa painted on this wall, so Papa will not feel sad if he lacks inspiration."

"But Tilly\'s house is empty now," she added with another sigh.

"Wait, Sunny." Aries held Sunny\'s arm and carefully guided the little girl to face her. "Did you say Tilly told you to go here because you\'ll die?"

"Mhm."

"How?"

"Because Sunny is a demon born in the future." Sunny blinked. "Sunny doesn\'t exist now."

"What?"

Sunny tilted her head to the side when Aries cocked her head. She blinked and blinked, keeping her mouth shut while Aries just looked back at the little girl with myriads of unspoken inquiry.

"Grandmama, do you want to meet Tilly\'s friend?" Sunny offered after a minute of silence.

"Oh…" Aries cleared her throat, wanting to ask many more questions, but she felt like Sunny would only leave her with more questions than answers. "Tilly\'s friend? You mean… the king on the mainland?"

Sunny nodded and reached for Aries\'s hand. "He would like to see you."

"Would like to see me…?" Aries furrowed her brows, but before she could think anything further, Sunny tugged her hand. She smiled and followed Sunny\'s guidance, holding the little girl\'s warm hands to a particular room on the second floor.

When they stood in front of a shut door, Sunny stopped and looked back at Aries. She pointed at the door.

​ "He\'s inside," said Sunny, making Aries\'s brows raise before the latter gazed back at the door.

Aries took a deep breath and took a step forward, still holding Sunny\'s hand. She knocked on the door thrice, but silence was what she heard from the inside. She looked down at Sunny once more and then nodded slightly.

Aries announced her arrival politely before pushing the door carefully. When she took a step inside, her eyes fell on the man lying on the bed. Aries\'s steps grew cautious the closer she approached the bed, and the lines on her forehead deepened as she stood on the side of the bed.

The man lying motionless on the bed was a middle-aged man. His hair was copper with a streak of ash — almost like Sunny\'s hair, but Sunny\'s hazel streak was much lighter in comparison. Even when the man had his eyes shut, Aries could tell he was charming despite the visible wrinkles under his eyes, forehead, and the side of his lips.

"This is the king?" Aries breathed out and gazed down to her side, where Sunny stood. The latter nodded.

"He\'s Tilly\'s friend."

Aries looked back at the king of the land of vampires with conflict in her eyes. "He\'s Sir Conan\'s father?"

"They look alike." Sunny blinked back to the king, who was in a deep slumber. "Grandpa told me not to tell Handsome Uncle about the sleeping grandpa. But sleeping grandpa is kind even when he was awake."

"Sunny, is he…?" Aries trailed off, biting her tongue to stop herself from asking. But Sunny willingly continued it for her.

"Dead?" Sunny shook her head. "Grandpa is just sleeping because he was fighting everyone in his house, even if it was already on fire. Sunny came to his rescue and brought him here because Tilly will be sad if he died."

"Ahh… will he wake up?"

"He is in a slumber." Sunny looked up at Aries with her clear doe eyes.

"Slumber?"

"But not in an eternal slumber. He won\'t wake up if he was forced to enter an eternal slumber," she clarified, which apparently clarified nothing for Aries. "A vampire enters a slumber when he goes beyond his limit or forced himself to enter a slumber. When he will wake up is unknown, perhaps, if he recovers."

"I see…" Aries rocked her head in understanding, trying to put everything in proper order so they would make sense. She fixed her eyes on the man lying on the bed and could tell he truly resembled Conan, even though he had his eyes closed.

\'I don\'t think he\'s an evil man,\' she thought and let out a faint sigh. \'I wonder… what did he exactly do for Sir Conan to hate this man?\'

Aries was curious, but she had already decided to let things come her way instead of seeking the answers herself. She had a personal dilemma to resolve. For as long as Abel and Sunny don\'t mention this man\'s presence in this place, there wouldn\'t be a problem, right?

"Right… Sunny, Abel will be upset if we don\'t return." Aries faced Sunny once more after minutes of idling in the room. "Shall we go back and ask him to treat us to a grand dinner?"

"But Grandpa left."

"What?"

"He left long ago."

Aries furrowed her brows, looking at Sunny with genuine wonder in her eyes. "How did you know that?"

"He told me," explained Sunny, without much change in her expression. "And I felt him leave Tilly\'s house earlier."

"Is that so…?" Aries could only trust Sunny\'s words, knowing it was already strange Abel didn\'t show up until now or followed them. "Then, let\'s return and have some snacks, alright?"

"Sunny is hungry."

Aries\'s smile stretched wider as she nodded. "Shall we?" she squeezed Sunny\'s hand, and with that being said, the two of them left the chambers where the king of the mainland was sleeping.

Little did they know, as soon as Aries closed the door behind her, the eyes underneath the King\'s lids flickered.