The Tyrant's Pet

HOWL!

The corner of Aries’s lips curled up into a smirk because as soon as the last syllable rolled out of her tongue, a faint howl penetrated the thick walls of the royal palace. A howl. A sound that was known yet alien in the land of vampires.

The members of the Raven froze; Miguel and London’s eyes slowly went wide as soon as that sound caressed their ears. Their ears were keen enough to detect what kind of howl it was; wolves howl. 

“Don’t tell me —” London’s breath hitched, looking in Conan’s direction on instinct. Much to his surprise, Conan seemed he was also caught off guard. 

Meanwhile, Miguel’s heart suddenly thudded against his chest. The restlessness he had been fighting months ago resurfaced in his heart. When his eyes instinctively shifted at Fabian, Miguel balled his hand at the butler’s annoying smile. 

“Hah…” Giselle let out a short, dry laugh. “… you… brought the wolves into this land?”

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“Aries — no. Maleficent.” Giselle’s expression turned icy as the temperature dropped. “This land is your motherland. The land where you were born and raised. How dare you collude with the diabolical Grimsbanne and ruin this land?”

“You forgot one thing, Giselle. The Mainland might be my motherland, a place I was born and raised, and also the land where I and my children were persecuted.” Aries took a step back, scanning Giselle’s pair of white eyes. “I already put my grudges against this land and your kind in the past to attain the peace I deserved. I now live in solace, within the comforts of my new holders. Whatever happens here isn’t my problem anymore. It was a product of your decisions, Giselle.”

Giselle pressed her lips into a thin line, closing her eyes ever so slowly. Her breathing slowly calmed, using her clairvoyance to see the situation outside the royal palace. 

It was… bad. 

“Miguel.” Giselle slowly reopened her eyes, calling Miguel. “Mobilize your men. There are at least ten incoming ships from the Empire of Maganti, the Chivisea, and other kingdoms. Sink their ships before they can dock in our territory.”

“What?” Miguel hissed but held back his growing emotions. His eyes glinted in fury, nodding in understanding. “How dare they? Don’t worry about it.”

“London.” Giselle didn’t dwell in Miguel as she called London. “There are wolves that have entered the borders. Stop them from ravaging our people.”

‘Abel…!’ London ground his teeth, assuming how these wolves entered their territory was Abel’s doing. ‘No wonder he had been going to the fort. I knew he was planning something — how could he go this far?’

“As for the rest, assist those two,” she added and immediately, the members of the council bowed. 

“Yes, chief leader!” 

With that being said, Miguel and London prompted all the conscious members of the Raven to execute their task. However, that wasn’t easy.

“Who said you can go out?” Conan raised his sword to the side, blocking London’s path casually. “We’re not yet done, Leviticus. I mean, I think I’ve grown attached to you after all that quality time.”

London smiled irritably. “Your Highness, will you truly not let this go?”

“Never.” Conan shook his head. “If you want to get out of here, then kill me first.”

“You!” London ground his teeth in irritation. He didn’t have time to deal with Conan, especially if there were wolves in their territory. 

If their enemies were simply humans, they do not need to rush. Werewolves were a different case. Even a noble vampire couldn’t simply stay idle against a werewolf, for they were equally powerful. But what made the wolves even more dangerous was that their sharp teeth could hurt vampires. 

A war against the werewolf was something they weren’t prepared for. 

Meanwhile, Miguel only took a step before stopping. Fabian didn’t move an inch from his spot, but a line suddenly appeared on the marble floor. 

“This line…” Miguel trailed off, setting his sharp eyes back on Fabian. “… What will happen if I cross it?”

“You’ll find out if you do, Lord Miguel.” Fabian’s eyes squinted, smiling with his lips closed. 

The side of Miguel’s face twitched, stretching his neck from one side to the other. “You people are truly testing me, huh?”

The situation for the rest of the council was the same as Dexter stood in their way. At that moment, they all realized this wouldn’t be easy. If they wanted to go out and do what they had to do to protect this land, they had to go through these troublesome opponents. 

“Hmm?” Aries playfully cocked her head to the side. “It seemed things will not be easy for you, Giselle.”

“Maleficent.” Giselle’s voice sounded even colder the previously. “How much energy do you need to sustain that body?”

“Huh?”

“A dead can never come back to life,” continued Giselle. “For you to use the little bit of strength to extend it to her, I wonder if you have the power to protect everyone in this place.”

The cunning smile plastered on Aries’s face slowly faded.

“I am right, isn’t it?” Giselle’s volume went down. “All you can do is keep Her Majesty’s heart beating, that’s all.”

Giselle’s face darkened as she lifted both her arms to the side. “Everyone, do what you must do. I will deal with all these traitors. This place will be their graves.”

Miguel, London, and all members of the council looked at each other before setting their eyes on Giselle. Seeing the aura emanating from her, the trust they had built through the years swelled in everyone’s chest. They might have different opinions and methods, and they might not always agree with Giselle. But one thing was for sure, Giselle wouldn’t be the leader of this council for nothing.

“I’ll deal with you later.” London faced Conan squarely before taking an enormous leap, jumping over Conan’s sword. At the same time, Conan was about to jump to stop London, but he felt a sudden force pull him down to the floor.