Chapter 8 - The Potato And The Boy

"Does watching someone suffer make you happy, Your Majesty?"

As soon as Aries realized her question, she bit her tongue and held her breath. Her words came out of the spur of the moment as it was obvious Abel was having fun. He was like a devil enticing her to wallow in nothing but regrets, to carry the deaths of her people.

He didn't need to, though.

Aries already realized that a long time ago. Back when that crown prince gave her a special seat during everyone's execution. The crown prince made sure she will not miss a single death, etching that this wouldn't happen if she didn't think too highly of herself.

"Isn't it obvious, darling?" the side of Abel's lips hooked up into a smirk, arching a brow as he looked at her. "It just doesn't make me happy. I am over the moon!"

Abel bent over until his face was a palm length away from her. "Why, my pet? Do you think I am wrong? Twisted? And mad?"

"I didn't say that, Your Majesty." She averted her eyes, closed-lipped. "Everything His Majesty said was all facts." — that included his last remarks.

"Mhm? You're no fun, my pet. Just when I thought you will finally lose it… hah, how boring." He grumbled in disappointment, dragging himself away from her and lying on his back. Aries heaved a sigh of relief as it seemed he dropped the subject as soon as he thought it was pointless.

"Your Majesty," she called softly, knowing she couldn't let him stay silent for a long time, as that would grant him time to think about how to kill boredom. Abel replied with a disinterested grunt and didn't look at her, but that was enough for her.

"I was enslaved in Maganti for almost two years. If I reacted weakly, that is because I already used up all my energy and feelings regarding that matter in the past two years," she explained while scrutinizing his side profile cautiously. "Living is my punishment; my way to atone for everyone's death."

"Ah… meaning you're already numb? How boring." She didn't answer, but her silence was enough for an answer. Abel slowly closed his eyes and said nothing anymore.

'Is he going to sleep now?' she wondered after a minute, staring at his long eyelashes. Aries nearly jumped when he suddenly talked.

"Keep talking," he said lazily. "Let's hear what's on your mind. I hate listening to nonsense, though. Make it interesting."

Aries furrowed her brows as she looked up, ruminating on what sort of things he wanted to listen to. After a minute of contemplation, Abel spoke again.

"Wow… isn't that an interesting one?" he remarked sarcastically, making her panic slightly.

"Uh… Your Majesty, there is this interesting one I know…!" Aries cleared her thought, thinking of anything random that might suit his taste. "… it's a short story about a boy who whines about boredom until he meets a potato."

Aries bit her tongue as his eyes slowly opened. What did she just say? A short story about a boy who always whines about boredom? She wasn't being sarcastic, though. This story naturally came to her mind because Abel kept whining he was bored. The only scary part was, he might snap her neck because he had nothing to do.

"A boy who whines about boredom?" he repeated with an arched brow, setting his eyes on her. "And a potato?"

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish as she watched Abel lie to his side again, knuckles propped against his temple. "That's interesting, my potato. So, what happened with the boy and the potato?"

"Well." Aries gulped as she looked into his dark red eyes. She had noticed this before, that his eyes were deadly but beautiful. Up close, Abel was a gorgeous man — even more, gorgeous than any woman or man she encountered. If only he wasn't crazy.

"The potato argued with the boy about the fun of being outside, playing with children, and creating memories instead of being cooped up in his room," she muttered thoughtlessly, a bit distracted by the hidden glare hidden behind his eyes. "The boy is stubborn, so he continued to argue with the potato every single day. Little did he know, the potato didn't have a long life just like him. So, when the potato withered and died, only then did the boy realize how lonely it is to be alone again."

She took a deep breath before she continued. "Only then did the boy realize the potato stayed on his side, even though they only argued instead of going outside where the potato could enjoy the remainder of his days. Only then did he realize the potato was actually his friend. So the boy went out to prove that the potato is still wrong, but... the potato is right. The boy sees what it is like outside, to play with children, to be kind, and to accept that he is not always right."

"Hmm..." Abel rocked his head with a closed-lip.

"Apparently, it is already too late since the boy couldn't play with the potato anymore because he's forever gone."

"How sad..."

Aries studied his unchanging countenance. "It is a bit sad, but the boy learned and changed from then on. The moral of the story is... sometimes, being right is not what is the most important. Sometimes, the people around us are even more important than being right." Her voice grew soft as a shallow breath slipped past her lips.

In her previous life, before the disaster that befell Rikhill, Aries used to play with children and narrate children's stories. She liked children, so she knew a lot about children's stories. This story was one of her favorites. But Abel's reaction didn't change, so she didn't know how he found the story.

"Continue," he said, making her brows elevate in confusion. "I said to keep talking."

"But the story ends there, Your Majesty."

"Keep talking."

"..."

Abel's expression remained the same, but she felt a sense of dread creep down her spine. So, Aries cleared her throat as she rummaged through her memories for more stories.

"Have you heard about the red riding hood and the wolf?" she intoned with an awkward smile and continued to speak even though he didn't answer. "Red riding hood is a lovely young girl who met a handsome wolf..."

Aries kept talking until her throat was dry while he listened. In the midst of her third story, she thought Abel was just punishing her by making her lose her voice first. But who was she to complain? As long as this man was entertained, that was what mattered to her. His boredom meant bloodshed, after all. Aries didn't want to be his next victim.

"So, the frog -- "

"You talk a lot," he muttered in a dead tone, silencing her all at once. Her lower lip trembled, staring at him blankly. Who said to keep talking?! Aries was on the verge of tears as she was trying her best here.

Silence enveloped them as she ended up pursing her lips while Abel just stared down at her. No one could tell what he had in mind but Abel.

"Now you're too silent." He pointed out lazily, making Aries bit her tongue to keep her composure. She underestimated him. He wasn't just a cold-blooded tyrant, but he had more loose screws in the head than she thought. If he was like this, she would go insane before Abel snapped.

"Why don't you just cry?" he suggested in his deep baritone voice, pointing a finger to one of her eyes. "Use this one and cry."

"..." how could she do that?

"Boring." Abel scoffed, fluttering his long, thick lashes ever so slowly before he collapsed on his back once again. He closed his eyes without another word, making her study his side profile.

'Is he asleep now for real?' she wondered cautiously while clutching her chest. After several minutes, she could finally heave a sigh of relief. It seemed Abel had fallen asleep. Her tensed muscles relaxed at the thought of him sleeping, eyes on the ceiling.

'I thought I will serve him tonight, but I'm glad he just made me talk for a long time,' she whispered inwardly. Aries was prepared to give her body to him since she already deemed her body as worthless. But just like when they bathe together, Abel's touches didn't signal any malicious or sensual intent. It was more like... he was touching a pet.

'Was that it?' she wondered, casting the sleeping Abel a glance. 'Since he took me in as a pet, he doesn't think of touching me as a woman? Even so, I cannot let my guard down. This man is fickle, and his mood swings are crazy. I need to work hard so he wouldn't release his frustration and strangle me to death.'

Aries closed her eyes, unbothered by Abel's presence beside her. Her throat felt parch, but she just didn't want to move to salivate her throat — afraid any slight movements would wake him up. Before she succumbed to the darkness, her last thoughts were... 'I hope I will wake up tomorrow.'

Minutes after her breathing grew heavier, Abel slowly opened his eyes. He didn't move a muscle, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head to her after a minute and just stared at her in silence.

"How strange," he mumbled, eyes still on her. "How can she sleep unguarded with the person who thought about ten ways to kill her while she was spewing those nonsense stories?"