The Tyrant Couldn’t Fall Asleep

How long has it been?

 

A large bed surrounded by relatives with gloomy faces, a father shedding tears, and an ill mother were seen in front of her eyes.

 

“Promise me. You will be a great duke after your father.”

 

“Yes… I promise.”

 

“Listen carefully to your father until you reach adulthood. Understand?”

 

Her mother was a strict person, and Izaya was a good daughter who faithfully obeyed her mother.

 

As she nodded her head, holding back her crying, her mother grabbed Izaya’s hand and said.

 

“I believe in you.”

 

Those were her mother’s last words.

 

Soon, the scene changed as if the stage of the play had changed.

 

“My daughter, I brought a new family for you.”

 

A beautiful stepmother and angel-looking stepsiblings.

 

Honestly, she wasn’t happy, but Izaya welcomed them.

 

‘Now I only have my father, and I have to obey him. I made a promise with my mother, didn’t I?’

 

And the result was neglect and harassment by her stepmother and stepsiblings.

 

However, Izaya couldn’t express her difficulty.

 

It was because she was afraid that her only family, her father, would be disappointed or sad.

 

‘Yes, I only need my father.’

 

Her father quit all her teachers, saying she didn’t have to study hard now, but Izaya taught herself alone.

 

‘I swore to my mother. I will surely be a great duke.’

 

Then one day.

 

“Congratulations, you were finally chosen as His Majesty the Emperor’s consort.”

 

Izaya became pale because of her father’s notice that was like lightning in the dry sky.

 

‘Married to the Emperor?’

 

Becoming a successor was a future she had taken for granted since she was young.

 

Like being pushed (It means like someone is pushing. It was used when someone did something unwillingly by circumstances.), she didn’t want to marry an emperor who had a lot of bad rumors.

 

“Father, I want to be with you rather than being the empress.”

 

When she spoke with courage, his father gently stroked Izaya’s head.

 

“This father prefers a daughter who is an empress.”

 

Izaya realized.

 

The fact that there was only one option in order to not be abandoned by her father.

 

“Yes, I understand.”

 

“That’s great. Now that my daughter is the empress, this father must have nothing to be afraid of! Hahaha!”

 

Izaya smiled.

 

‘Yes, my father gave me the best position because he loves me.’

 

Like that, Izaya decided to become an empress and a proud daughter as her father had wished.

 

Fourteen years old, she was so young that she hadn’t even held her debutante.

 

***

 

On the wedding day, people praised and sympathized with the beautiful bride.

 

“Oh my, she’s so beautiful, but pitiful.”

 

“Are you unaware of the curse?”

 

The emperor was cursed by the God of death.

 

His mother, his beloved pet, and the death of all members of the royal family except the emperor were proof of that.

 

Izaya was also concerned about the rumor, but she didn’t show it.

 

‘Because I’m more afraid of being abandoned by my father than of marrying the emperor.’

 

Izaya was suppressing her fear.

 

“Lady Izaya Cerneaz Lauchen, His Majesty the Emperor has arrived.”

 

Finally, the groom appeared. Izaya slightly raised her head and stared at him, then her eyes widened.

 

‘That kid is the emperor?’

 

A silver-haired boy stared at her with his purple eyes.

 

The 10-year-old emperor had a stunning appearance even for her who wasn’t interested in looks.

 

But she soon met his eyes. Lonely and desolate.

 

‘I heard that he was cold-blooded….’

 

She looked at him with shaky eyes for a while.

 

“You must enter now.”

 

At the urging of the servant, Izaya tried to stand up from the chair.

 

However, she could hardly get up because her legs were weak.

 

‘Please pull yourself together. This is the time….’

 

At the time when she was nervously biting her lips, someone reached out.

 

“It’s an order. Grab it and stand up.”

 

At that moment, rumors about him came to mind, and she didn’t want to hold his hand.

 

However, if she disobeys the emperor’s orders, she will be punished.

 

In fear, Izaya held the little hand.

 

Soon she was surprised by the unexpected sensation.

 

‘It’s warm and comfortable.’

 

An unfamiliar sensation she had felt for the first time tickled her chest.

 

Izaya grabbed the small hand tightly without realizing it.

 

***

 

The wedding was over.

 

The door to the shrine was closed, and when the two of them were alone, the emperor told Izaya.

 

“It doesn’t matter whether you act as an empress or not. But don’t stand out in front of me. It bothers me, so get out of my sight.”

 

The reality she had been ignoring for a while came to mind.

 

A political marriage out of duty and necessity rather than affection.

 

It was a natural reaction for him, who had been forced to marry.

 

Izaya smiled in vain.

 

‘But I can’t give up.’

 

Her father said he needed a daughter who was an empress.

 

The maternal side’s power came from the emperor’s favor.

 

So Izaya was going to try to get close to the emperor.

 

***

 

Because of her early marriage, she couldn’t even make her debut, and because she only studied since she was young, Izaya didn’t know how to get along with her peers.

 

The way she tried to get close to the emperor was to blindly chase him and talk to him.

 

“Your Majesty, are you going for a walk? I’ll join you….”

 

“Get out of my way.”

 

After a year of marriage, the emperor had consistently ignored her.

 

Everyone feared the young emperor as a tyrant, but Izaya thought differently.

 

‘Still, he doesn’t hit and insult me like my stepmother or step siblings.’

 

In addition, she followed the emperor tenaciously, but he didn’t dismiss her, contrary to his initial warning.

 

‘This much is kind enough. Besides…’

 

Before marriage, she was always lonely and empty. If she let her guard down, it felt like someone would strangle her.

 

However, after marrying him, her anxiety and loneliness have been surprisingly stable, she gradually found a sense of stability.

 

‘Honestly, it’s comfortable.’

 

Izaya, who followed the emperor with a smile, soon opened her eyes wide.

 

Apparently, a flowerpot placed on the railing on the building’s second floor next to the path where the emperor passed was swaying.

 

Her heart was pounding.

 

Just before the emperor was hit by the fallen flowerpot, Izaya hurriedly pulled him in.

 

Crash!

 

Thanks to that, they were safe, but the two fell side by side.

 

“Your Majesty! Are you hurt?”

 

The emperor was staring blankly at Izaya who was examining him, and soon distorted his face.

 

“What are you doing? You could’ve died!”

 

That was the first intense voice from him.

 

Only then could Izaya know why the emperor rejected her.

 

‘It was because of the false rumors. The reason why he has been rejecting people all this time.’

 

She always thought it was just a political marriage.

 

At the same time, she couldn’t leave her husband, the emperor, alone. Because the lonely and desolate eyes were always on her mind.

 

‘Yes, actually I don’t want you to be lonely.’

 

She was always empty and lonely because of her unfulfilled affection.

 

However, she gradually found a sense of stability due to the emperor, and his presence alone made her no longer lonely.

 

As a companion in name, she spent a lot of time with the emperor.

 

It was only after meeting him that Izaya knew what ‘family’ was.

 

‘Because you’re my family, the first to teach me warmth.’

 

He always spoke sharply, but his hands and eyes were warm.

 

When Izaya held his hand, the emperor asked sullenly.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“I will prove that Your Majesty is not cursed. If I continue to stay by His Majesty’s side, people will forget the false rumor.”

 

Soon Izaya smiled bitterly.

 

That was because the emperor’s expression was still expressionless.

 

‘It’s sad, but you don’t shed a single tear.’

 

But it wasn’t because he was strong.

 

Because there was no one who accepted it, he knew that crying was of no use.

 

Soon Izaya made eye contact with the emperor and opened her mouth.

 

“It’s okay to cry in front of me.”

 

“Why would I—”

 

The emperor was speechless, for Izaya suddenly embraced him.

 

“I’ll always be with Your Majesty.”

 

Still, the emperor didn’t cry.

 

However, Izaya patted his back slowly and caressed him as if comforting him.

 

How long has it been?

 

“Try it.”

 

“What?”

 

“You said you’d stay with me…. Try it.”

 

Izaya smiled at the blunt voice that sounded like a provocation.

 

“Yes, I will always be by Your Majesty’s side.”

 

Then, the emperor opened his mouth.

 

“Ernfried.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

To Izaya, who asked back, he spoke bluntly.

 

“When we’re together, call me that.”

 

Izaya stared blankly.

 

‘He gave me his name.’

 

She was thrilled to be close to someone for the first time. Izaya kept calling his name inside.

  

‘Ernfried, Ern….’

  

Then, she heard a whining.

 

“What are you doing? You’re not following me.”

 

The appearance of Ern waiting for her was unfamiliar, so Izaya hesitated.

 

His hand reached out before her eyes.

 

“Hold me. Don’t follow me around.”

 

Izaya held his hand and laughed.

 

‘He allowed me to be next to him. As expected, he’s sweet.’

 

After that, Ern gradually allowed Izaya to be by his side.

 

She was allowed to call him by nicknames, and were always together except for the time he had state affairs.

 

Izaya prayed earnestly because her daily life was so happy and precious.

 

‘May the two of us be happy for the rest of our lives.’

 

Then one day, Ern changed suddenly.