The Obsession of the Tyrant Sub-Male Lead is Unnecessary

Episode 6

“What? What!”

This wasn’t something he usually said. Verona vaguely understood her father’s intention. Warning bells went off in her head.

It seemed like he was trying to speak not as a king but as a father.

“It’s just my observation that he seems like a good person.”

“…”

Her father clearly had a significant misunderstanding.

“It seems like he cares a lot about you.”

“Father, what are you talking about?”

As Verona’s expectations were met, her heart sank.

Father, no. That man is just putting on an act. His true nature is terrifying and dreadful.

She couldn’t tell her father that the person who tortured and killed him was that man. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

Verona swallowed hard. Then, she spoke softly.

“I don’t want to get close to anyone from the Empire. My wish is to live quietly and peacefully in Waterfall.”

“But you can’t do that forever. And in this country smaller than the Empire, there’s no one suitable for you. There aren’t even proper nobles.”

“But he’s not the one.”

Verona firmly cut in. She knew her father would be hurt by her words, but she couldn’t help it.

“He would refuse in a heartbeat if you asked him to give up his imperial marquisate.”

Even if it were just his status as a Marquis, how much more so if it were the position of the Empire’s emperor?

The emperor knew she was the only successor to Waterfall. He was also well aware that her father was ill. And yet he insisted that I become Empress.

The king smiled bitterly at Verona’s words. It hurt to know that it was his way of comforting himself.

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

“I know my duty to Waterfall well. And most importantly, he doesn’t hold any feelings for me, Father. So, please don’t have unnecessary thoughts.”

Feeling like she had been too firm in her words, she gently comforted the king. And she watched over him as he went to bed. The king closed his eyes as soon as he lay down, but it took some time for his breathing to become steady.

Verona confirmed that her father had fallen asleep completely before leaving the bedroom. Then, she returned to her own room.

Although it was not a large castle, her steps felt heavy on the way back. Unconsciously, she sighed.

“Princess, are you tired? I’ve prepared bathwater in the garden.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Verona touched her throbbing forehead and changed her clothes with Marie’s help.

As usual, the maids only accompanied them to the entrance of the garden, carrying bath supplies.

“Princess, isn’t it uncomfortable to bathe in the pond?”

Marie asked cautiously. Verona’s concern stemmed from the chilly evenings when she might catch a cold.

“I’ve been used to it since I was young. This side is more comfortable for me. It’s okay.”

“But today, you seem paler than usual, so I’m worried. It would be much better for you to soak in a hot tub…”

Verona also strongly desired that.

If it were truly to alleviate fatigue, she wanted to do it right away. However, she couldn’t do that when her bath was actually an excuse for going out.

“After bathing late into the night, you won’t even sleep and will go straight to greet the queen in the morning. You mustn’t exhaust yourself.”

There was always the risk of being caught by Marie, who always stuck around whenever her nocturnal outings extended.

So Verona always claimed to be with her father whenever Marie came looking for her. Even though she was a princess’s maid, she couldn’t casually enter the king’s bedroom, so her father’s excuse served as a perfect alibi.

“Don’t worry, Marie.”

Verona smiled lightly.

“I won’t make you worry by falling ill.”

“That’s not what I meant, Princess.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll be back soon.”

She swiftly cut off Marie, who was about to start nagging, and reached the path leading to the lake, where she locked the iron gate. Access near the pond was restricted to the royal family, so even Marie couldn’t defy that rule.

As Verona set down the bath supplies on the tree stump, she pondered.

‘How can I separate the emperor from me?’

She needed to make a successor before her father passed away, as per the original plan. But her first attempt had been a failure, and she ended up catching a big fish, ruining everything.

It seemed best to wait quietly for him to forget about her before seizing another opportunity.

‘For that, I have to hide quietly.’

No matter how much she thought about it, that seemed to be the only way.

As she reached the lake, untying the white silk ribbon to undress, Verona made a resolution.

‘If I hesitate even a little more, I might become the one the emperor obsesses over, rather than the heroine.’

Just the thought sent shivers down her spine. The obsession of a sub-male lead was something enjoyable when one was the heroine, but even a mere extra like her wouldn’t be able to endure it.

Moreover, he wasn’t seeking simple affection from her; he desired a child he didn’t even know existed. No matter how she thought about it, running away seemed like the only answer.

Verona, in her nymph form, walked into the lake filled with transparent emerald-colored water. As the depth increased and her body submerged in the water, a bright light flashed from her lower half.

Gradually, her legs transformed into a golden tail, and Verona completely submerged herself underwater. As a mermaid, she swiftly swam out to the sea beyond the castle.

* * *

‘Hmm, where was it around here?’

Verona poked her head out of the water and circled around the castle’s perimeter from the sea. Since she followed the current that originated from Waterfall, she couldn’t have lost her way.

The castle she was looking at wasn’t fancy or large. It was an adequately sized castle that one could easily pass by without paying much attention to it. It was quite ordinary and unremarkable.

The deep trench surrounding the castle was connected to the North Sea. In case of emergencies like war, her father had intentionally created such trenches to escape with his retinue.

The construction itself wasn’t impossible. Of course, it cost quite a bit to build them like this.

Verona had found treasures several times from shipwrecks sunk in the sea and sold them to buy land adjacent to Clowrence and Waterfall’s outskirts. It was the result of her efforts every day for a staggering eight years.

This place, located in an ambiguous position not quite in Clowrence or Waterfall, was suitable as a hideout.

The problem was that it was too remote, and this was Verona’s second visit. It had been so long since her first visit that her memory was hazy. Although she had memorized detailed maps of the inside and outside of the castle, there was a big difference between seeing it in person and knowing it in her head.

Moreover, it was her first time swimming rather than walking through the castle gate. It wasn’t easy to find the intentionally hidden door.

The servants might have thought of it as a drainage hole and made it hastily.

‘If it’s according to the map the servants gave me, there should be a door here, right?’

Verona felt along the wall with her hand. She had demanded a sluice gate leading to the garden, so it should be there, but she couldn’t see it. Since it was always kept open, it should have been visible if it wasn’t locked from the inside.

‘Ah! Is this it?’

Unlike the smooth surroundings, a slightly protruding stone wall was visible. As she approached that side, she saw a handle.

However, the sluice gate was closed.

‘Did I not examine it for too long, so it closed on its own?’

Verona pressed the hidden button underwater in puzzlement. Fortunately, perhaps because it was tied from the outside, the sluice gate opened slowly. Verona smoothly swam inside.

“Phew!”

She entered the lake through the waterway and raised her head. Then, she saw a garden full of blue leaves.

As she had requested, tall and lush trees were densely planted. It was so dense that the sky couldn’t be seen clearly. She could also hear the chirping of birds building nests and living there.

Proudly looking at the scenery, Verona circled the lake once.

“…Huh?”

However, something seemed odd. Something caught Verona’s eye that she didn’t want to see.

Verona approached the bushes near the lakeside. Something was abundantly spread out. Verona opened her mouth in bewilderment.

‘What’s this? Blueberries and cranberries?’

Sitting by the lakeside, Verona picked the fruit from the bushes that were open. They looked very fresh and tempting, but Verona was not happy at all. Instead, she was perplexed.

These didn’t seem to have grown wild. That was the problem.

No matter how hard she tried to recall, Verona had never planted anything like this in the garden.

Why would someone plant edible plants when they might not be here to harvest them?

If fruit-bearing trees were planted, animals would surely be attracted. No matter how high the walls were built, birds would inevitably fly in, but it was fine since they were small in size.

However, planting edible plants that humans could eat, especially ones with such a sweet fragrance, would surely cause trouble.

From the perspective of preparing the castle for emergencies rather than for residential purposes, these were things that had never been considered even once.

The garden of this castle was filled only with inconspicuous things. Verona deliberately did not plant ornamental plants like roses. She only planted trees with large and lush leaves that would be helpful for concealment.

Come to think of it, a sweet scent was now wafting through her nose. It smelled like delicious bread.

‘Someone is here.’

Her spine tingled.

She had never brought in an oven or flour. After all, it was a place prepared to stay in case of an emergency.

Those of merfolk descent could survive without food for about ten days without dying.

But the smell of bread. Someone was here. It was time to get out immediately.

“Aaah!”

With a sound of something breaking behind her, a delicate woman’s scream echoed. Verona immediately turned around.

“W-who’s there?!”

Oh…

“Whoa. An… an… mermaid? Are you… really a mermaid? Is what I’m seeing real?”

I should be the one saying that.

‘Is it really you that I’m seeing?’

Verona closed her eyes with irritation and then opened them. The eyes fixated on the sparkling tail were shining purple.

Her silver hair, tied with a ribbon, looked tantalizing.

Verona instantly recognized who she was.

Olivia Merelton.

She was the protagonist.