Once you're dead, you're dead.

"Pfft —!"

Aries cautiously opened her eyes. What she saw was Abel laughing until he hunched in and his hands on her shoulders. Her brows rose in confusion, watching the man lose his mind as he wheeze.

'What is so funny?' she wondered, pressing her lips into a thin line while watching him. Did she read his intention wrong? But she was certain Abel meant to kiss her but changed his mind midway. She wanted to know what made him change his mind so she could use it for future purposes.

"Your Majesty?" she called in a soft voice when his laughter subsided.

Abel wheezed, wiping the corner of his eyes with his finger joint. "Oh, darling. How can you be so amusingly boring?" he set his eyes on her, shaking his head lightly.

"Boring...?"

"Yes, you're so boring. It's so funny! The irony, right?" the side of his lips stretched into a grin, pushing her on the bed without short notice. Aries's eyes expanded when her back hit the soft mattress, realizing what he had just done.

He stayed standing on his spot, staring down at her with his arms crossed. "Darling, if I asked you to undress right now, will you do it?"

"Yes." Her answer was surprisingly quick as if her tongue already know the answer before her mind could process his question.

"See? This is why you're boring!" He sassed before pivoting on his heel, collapsing beside her until his back hit the mattress. "No challenge at all! If I fuck you, will you even make a sound?"

Aries glanced at him warily. "If His Majesty wants me to stay quiet, I will not make a sound."

"How hopeless, my darling. You will die early." Abel cocked his head to her, studying her frozen expression. "I mean it."

"Then..." she took a deep breath, mustering a lifetime of courage and leaving none for her next life. "... how can I live longer?"

"Hmm. Let's see..." Abel peeled his eyes away from her and set them on the ceiling. "I always end up silencing a woman when her moans are so loud and hate it when they barely make a sound. So, out of the goodness of my heart, I also let them stay silent forever. I dislike it when they act like whores, but being too reserved also irked me..."

The more Aries listened to his list of dislikes and likes, she realized one thing. Abel doesn't know what he liked. Or rather, he disliked everything. If someone gave him one minor reason, he would deliver them to hell like a maniac.

'He means he will kill me either way, right?' she looked at him helplessly, swallowing down the frustrating tension in her throat. 'It doesn't matter if I'm submissive or defiant, the ending will still be the same. But at least, being submissive right now earns me more time to live.'

"... are you still listening?" Aries snapped out of her thoughts when Abel set his eyes back on her.

She nodded, closed-lipped. "I understand now."

"Really? What did you understand?" his brow quirked, rolling to his side to face her and propped his temple against his knuckles. "Care to share?"

Aries took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it through her mouth. "His Majesty will kill me if I'm too much."

"Darling, you make me sound like an unreasonable man."

'You are, though — perhaps, even worse,' she replied internally but bit her tongue to suppress herself from saying it aloud. "Anything too much irked His Majesty. I will try to balance it."

"Really now?" Abel smirked while studying her alluring face. "How will you balance it?"

"I... will have to figure that out. If I stay long enough with you, I will surely figure it out." Her gaze lowered, as this was a tricky situation. The current data she has for Abel was insufficient to be the perfect pet for him.

"Aren't you good with your words, darling?" His smirk stretched even broader, pleased at her wise words. "So, you are asking me not to kill you just in case I lose my mind tonight?"

Aries glanced up at him, not confirming or denying it. Her hidden message was already obvious, but saying it directly could have a different outcome.

"My pet..." Abel raised his finger and poked the apex of her nose. "... you are certainly clever. No wonder you survived, but your kin didn't."

His brow elevated when he noticed her breathing suspend. He knew this was a sensitive topic to her, but he didn't care. Actually, it was on purpose just to see what she would do or say.

"Say... you didn't sacrifice your kin just so you will survive, right?" his eyelashes fluttered ever so slowly, smirking at her.

Aries stared at him and in a split second, her clear emerald eyes glinted with malice. She was aware he was pressing her nerve so he would have a reason to kill her. Surely, this man was more wicked and sick in the head than she thought.

"The crown prince of Maganti... I refused his marriage proposal and my father refused to be absorbed by their empire knowing they simply want to exploit our land." Her voice was soft, albeit firm, while maintaining her eye contact with him. "It was stupid to resist an extensive empire like the Maganti, but we take pride in our beliefs and want to protect the land our ancestors protected."

"And in turn, you neither saved the land nor its people. So yes, it's not just stupid, you're the worst."

"They died fighting for what they believe and with honor."

"There's no honor in death, darling." Abel clicked his tongue continuously, twirling the tip of her emerald hair around his index. "Once you're dead, you're dead. I didn't know the Rikhill Kingdom is full of numbskulls with pride bigger than their heads. The king is no king if he can't sacrifice for his people."

Abel chuckled in ridicule as he continued to press her nerves with the truth. "He didn't want to sacrifice his daughter's happiness, so he refused the alliance. What a dumb fool. In the end, not only did he deliver his people to their deaths, but his poor daughter also had to carry the burden of being the sole survivor of the royal family."

Aries opened her mouth to argue with him, but her voice wouldn't come out. What he said was offensive and unforgivable as he doesn't know her father or how Rikhill Kingdom was like. But alas, she couldn't also deny that the reason his words hurt like a dagger slicing through her chest was that they were some truths in it.

"Do you understand my point, my darling?" Abel leaned forward. His smirk was akin to a devil attempting to ruin her pitiful soul.

"Don't cry." He clicked his tongue in a consistent rhythm, even though she wasn't. Stroking her cheek with a finger. "The truth always hurts, but wallowing in despair is useless since the sun will still rise tomorrow with no condition. It's your decision if you rise along with it or… get devoured by the darkness. Whatever decision you make, I can help."

Aries stared at him and let out a shallow scoff. "Is watching someone suffer makes you happy, Your Majesty?" — she's dead, was what instantly hovered over her head as soon as those words slipped past her lips.