The Tyrant's Pet

The crown prince chancery…

"Your Highness…" Hernan called as soon as he closed the door, watching Joaquin pace back and forth while running his hands through his hair. "The third —"

"Find out what he knows." Hernan abruptly stopped when Joaquin set his pair of menacing eyes on him. "Squeeze out every information you can from him. I don't care if you sever a finger or all of them. Break his bones and cripple him, if you must."

"But Your Highness, if we do that, it will put you in a bad light."

"Fuck!" Hernan flinched when the crown prince roared, pacing away only to kick the stand nearby. "That damn nuisance!"

Joaquin slammed his palms on the desk as hard and as strong as he could, panting for air at the building fury inside his heart. His eyes were bloodshot. Seeing the documents on the desk, he felt this sudden disgust. He clenched his teeth and swung his arms, causing the documents to fall over the desk along with everything that was on it.

"Fucking Ismael!! I'm going to fucking kill him!!" he growled, throwing a huge fit to release the anger filling his heart. Meanwhile, Hernan pressed his lips, flinching every time something broke on the floor.

It had been a while since Hernan witnessed the crown prince get this angry. Joaquin was the person who hated losing control over things. What happened in the royal court was something they didn't fathom — ever. How could they?

Who was in their right mind would use the emperor's name? Hernan and Joaquin were certain Ismael was lying through his teeth, but that made Joaquin even madder.

Why? Because despite knowing Ismael was lying right in front of their faces, they couldn't do anything about it. The emperor wouldn't make an appearance in the court just to confirm or deny this fact. Hell. He wouldn't make any appearance since the emperor was nothing but a mindless monster now.

The empire and the royal family would be doomed if this gets out. Everyone would think their bloodline was cursed, inciting anger from the public and just everyone.

In other words, Ismael pulled out a golden card at them and used it at the perfect time.

How? That was the question that they needed to answer.

"There's no way he is only acting alone," Joaquin muttered when he calmed down slightly, still having his hands planted on the desk. "If this is all his idea, he would've been gloating about it. There must be someone… someone I don't know about who is helping him in the shadows."

Hernan nodded. That was the only logical answer to all of this. Ismael wouldn't be this smart and confident.

"Who?" Joaquin glanced back at his aide, eyes full of murderous intent. "Find out who is secretly helping him. Once you find out who it was, drag him to me. I'll punish him myself."

A chill ran down Hernan's spine when the corner of Joaquin's lips hooked up dangerously. He had served Joaquin for years to know the man. He could only think of the worst things that could happen to those who made enemies with Joaquin.

"I will employ your elite soldiers." Hernan lowered his head, trying to keep his trembling knees still.

Joaquin peeled his eyes away from his aide before he huffed. He remained silent for several minutes, getting a grip.

"Where did they take Ismael?" he asked without looking back.

"He was brought in with the seventh prince for questioning. Although… he might get released earlier than expected."

"That bastard…"

"Your Highness, although the situation is something we didn't expect, I don't think the third prince had more cards up in his sleeve." Hernan mustered his courage to speak his thoughts despite knowing speaking unnecessarily could anger the crown prince. "He is probably buying some time. The third prince, although a little foolish, isn't completely stupid. It could be he was getting help, but we also cannot rule out the option that he might simply take a gamble in bringing up His Majesty's name."

"No." Joaquin huffed, eyes glinting dangerously. "I know Ismael, and I knew when he is bluffing and when he knew something."

There was a momentary pause between them before he added. "It was neither." This time, Hernan furrowed his brows.

"There's certainly someone… that bastard had given up his power to someone else and is now working for that person." As if he knew it already, Joaquin spoke with certainty while recalling the taunting smirk plastered across Ismael's face this morning.

Although the two of them weren't close since the beginning, they've been rivals. It didn't have much of a difference. Therefore, Joaquin could speak with conviction that Ismael was getting help.

The question was: who was it? Who was his enemy? Fighting someone powerful was troublesome, but it was even more troublesome when they had no idea who or what they were fighting.

"That stupid fuck," he spat out, getting more annoyed the more he thought about the third prince. "His stupidity is surprisingly convenient sometimes."

His eyes glinted, even more, when a sudden knock came from the door. Joaquin glanced at it when the knight stated his identity and reason for interrupting the crown prince.

"Let him in," ordered Joaquin, which Hernan executed almost immediately. He didn't move from his spot in front of the desk, palms glued on the top of it, bent over. He simply glanced at the knight standing next to Hernan when the two entered.

The knight bowed and greeted the crown prince politely, unbothered by the broken and scattered stuff on the floor, knowing the crown prince's temperament.

"Your Highness, I received a report from the prison where the eighth prince is locked in," reported the knight, causing Joaquin's brow to arch while Hernan's crease. They waited for the knight to continue but noticed how he slightly hesitated for a split second.

"Climaco, the newly appointed captain of the second squadron, arranged a secret meeting with the eighth prince. We looked into the matter and… we figured out it was the crown princess who met him in secret."

"Oh…" Joaquin scoffed, which sounded like a brief chuckle, pushing himself away from the desk as he faced the knight and Hernan.

"Circe?" he smirked and rocked his head, pondering, before the corner of his lips curled up into a smirk. "That's interesting."