The Tyrant's Pet

<strong>[ Imperial Palace ]</strong>

Conan was running through the hallway in a hurry, panting for air, when he slammed the door open. His action, although abrupt, didn\'t startle the emperor.

Sitting behind the large desk to accommodate the mountains of documents, Abel slowly raised his head to the door. He tilted his head to the side, noticing Conan\'s ashen complexion.

"Bad news?" he asked, arching a brow.

"Your Majesty." Conan cleared his throat and hurriedly approached the desk, planting both his hands on the surface of the desk. "Morro returned."

Conan\'s shaking voice tickled a part of Abel\'s heart. His gut feeling told him to prepare for what his vassal hadn\'t said yet.

"And the Marquess?" Abel asked, observing the sudden fear that flickered across Conan\'s eyes. Right then and there, Abel had already guessed what Conan was about to say.

"There was an ambush. The reinforcement Your Majesty had sent met Morro on their way. They rushed to help the Marquess while Morro flew all the way here to report what happened," Conan summarized as he also hadn\'t gotten any detailed report, rushing to the emperor\'s chancery upon hearing the news.

Abel remained silent. His expression turned solemn, holding his hand on top of the desk.

"Did they find Isaiah?" he asked, and Conan just shook his head.

"Morro didn\'t say such a thing. He was injured, so I told him to get treated first."

"Lead me to Morro and prepare my shadow knights." Abel pushed himself ever so slowly. "Do not let anyone hear about this."

"Yes." Conan bowed and then let out another sharp breath. "Your Majesty, about Lady Aries…"

"Tell her to return at once."

"But —"

"My wife… needs to be promptly notified."

Conan pressed his lips into a thin line. Reluctance flickered across his shaking eyes, but he still bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then lead the way."

"This way."

With that being said, Conan led Abel to the infirmary where Morro was getting treated. Much to Abel\'s dismay, Morro\'s injuries weren\'t any simple injuries. They were fatal, and if not for Morro\'s years of experience, he wouldn\'t have reached the empire.

As Abel stayed inside the infirmary, waiting for Morro to regain consciousness, Conan executed the emperor\'s orders efficiently. He first sent a word to Aries, who was currently in the west district, to give out relief.

After that, Conan gathered another knight squad that was all part of the emperor\'s shadow knights. The emperor\'s shadow knights were the elites of the elites, and for Abel to deploy them, only meant the emperor needed this rescue to be faultless. The emperor would\'ve gone by himself, but if Abel left now, the word would come out.

However, when Abel and Conan had already thought of the worst, another surprise would come their way just an hour later.

Abel and Conan gazed at the person by the door, looking at him from head to toe. Conan had already sent the knights away — not wasting a breath because every passing second was important. Now, they were simply talking in the infirmary while waiting for Morro to regain consciousness until a loud knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

When the door creaked open, Conan\'s pupils dilated while Abel furrowed his brows.

"I was told to go straight in the infirmary to meet Your Majesty," Isaiah explained, tilting his head down slightly. "I have returned after finishing Your Majesty\'s order."

"You…" Isaiah furrowed his brows when Conan called with a shaking voice, pointing a finger at him. "... what are you doing here?"

Isaiah tilted his head to the side. "Did something happen?"

"Where have you been, Isaiah?" asked Abel. On the surface, the emperor kept his calm demeanor, but inside, his head was filled with questions.

"I went to execute His Majesty\'s orders."

"Yes, but why did you just arrive now?" Conan gasped.

"I was on my way to the empire when I heard a rumor. I made a detour to confirm whether this rumor had anything to do with the situation in the Heart\'s Kingdom," Isaiah explained monotonously. "There\'s nothing amiss about the Heart\'s Kingdom, aside from it following the reversal of time. However, I found strange movements in another Kingdom, and some people from the mainland scattered around the Haimirich Empire."

Abel and Conan remained silent, looking at each other before setting their eyes back on Isaiah. Since Morro and Isaiah parted halfway, Morro didn\'t know what happened to Isaiah. So, when Morro checked the area where he parted ways with Isaiah and didn\'t see the man, they assumed something happened.

Yet, knowing Isaiah, who would usually go away for several months without a word, Abel gave a grace period. Honestly, the grace period would have been a lot longer, if not for Conan nagging the emperor. Normally, Conan wouldn\'t care, but because of the current state of affairs, he allowed his impatience to get the better of him.

Now, they sent the Marquess, Dexter, to search for Isaiah, only for him to fall in danger and for Isaiah to return after a detour.

"Did something happen, Your Majesty?" asked Isaiah, seeing the complicated look across their faces.

"Yes," Conan answered with a sharp breath. "We sent the Marquess to search for you, but they were met with an ambush. Morro managed to return, but as you can see, he was fatally injured. We\'re still waiting for him to regain his consciousness."

Isaiah was confused. "Why would you send the Marquess to search for me?" — that was out of Abel and Conan\'s character.

"I…" Conan trailed off, lowering his eyes while balling his hand into a tight fist. "... it\'s my fault. Lady Aries will kill me."

"Since you\'re already here… I have another mission for you, Isaiah." Unlike Conan, Abel remained calm. "Make sure the Marquess returns alive and in one piece."

Abel slowly stood from the chair, facing Isaiah squarely. "Seeing Morro\'s situation, the enemies are capable people. I\'ll meet you there tonight."

​ Despite the brief explanation from them, Isaiah got the gist of the crisis. He wanted to raise more questions, but this wasn\'t the time for that.

"I\'ll hasten at once." Isaiah bowed; he didn\'t mind going out on a mission the moment he returned. He then glanced at Morro lying on the bed and understood the reason Abel planned to go himself once the night fell.

For Morro to be in such a state, whoever ambushed the Marquess\' group were capable people.

Dexter was in danger.