The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go

 

As I skimmed through the pledge, a clause caught my attention.

 

「8. Other than Cedric Deamant, I would never share a room or use a separate bed with another.」

 

“What’s this?”

 

Surprised by the bizarre sentence, I was mesmerized as soon as I saw the last sentence of the pledge.

 

「 I, the bride, Ciel Minerva, swear to love Cedric Deamant forever.」

 ‘This madman…’ 

With the rushing anger of wanting to turn the table upside down, I stormed up and shouted.

 

“Thi-this! It’s a marriage vow!”

 

My voice filled with surprise and anger resounded throughout the office.

 

But Cedric looked me in the eye without batting an eye, as if he had expected this reaction.

 

“Oh, so you don’t want to retire or get married? That’s quite tricky, Ciel.”

(Cedric)

 

“What–? Wasn’t that obvious? They’re both life-threatening!”

(Ciel)

 

“But you said you’d grant me any wish first, didn’t you?”

(Cedric)

 

Cedric got up from his seat and said, walking closer to me.

 

“Even if it’s not an oath, as a teacher, you shouldn’t break your promise to your student.”

(Cedric)

 

“Don’t you think so?” He said, pushing his face closer and closer.

 

In that sense, was it okay for a disciple to make an unfair contract with his teacher?

 

I’ve never heard of marriage being an oath.

 

“Well, from the look on your face, I don’t think you’ve made up your mind.”

(Cedric)

 

“Honestly, it must take a long time. One was an eight-year slave contract, and the other was a lifelong captivity, right?”

(Ciel)

 

“A slave contract? There’s no slave who receives over a billion kertas a year, Ciel.”

 

Cedric grinned and took back the pledge that was laid in front of me.

 

“Then, I’ll give you three days of special time to think about it, and then choose between two options.”

(Cedric)

 

“Are there any options that I could choose?”

 

I thought about it one last time with a desperate heart, but Cedric’s answer was sharp like a knife.

 

“Ciel, do you want to live with a black pattern for the rest of your life? Well, if you want to, you could.”

(Cedric)

 

“No.”

 

He’s like an obsessive tyrant who won’t shed a drop of blood even if I stab him.

 

“Oh, and as I said before, the red marks won’t go away, so it’s no use if you’re trying to run away for three days, right?”

 

Cedric said, hoisting the pledge back on a silver plate that Paul was carrying.

 

“And if you get caught running away, you’ll be tied up in a dungeon, so keep that in mind.”

 

As I stared at Cedric with a cold smile and eyes shining dangerously, I could only sigh in frustration.

 

⚔️

 [Hey, what are you contemplating? You should choose the eight-year contract, of course, don’t you?] 

Caliberne, who was on the sword leaning against the sofa, gave the advice excitedly.

 

“No, who doesn’t know that? Who doesn’t know that he went too far with marriage to force me into an eight-year contract on purpose?” 

 [Then what’s the problem?] 

“I mean… An eight-year contract, a marriage, and being with Cedric are the same, right?”

 [Yes, but?] 

“No matter which option I choose, the result would be the same, so I don’t want to choose between the two, you know?”

 [No…] 

Caliberne, who had been silent for a while, began to pour words again.

 [What, because of the war you always talk about? Hey, there’s no time for that when it’s as peaceful as it is now. I don’t know where or what you heard, but there’s no war.] 

‘I couldn’t bring myself to refute that.’ (Ciel)

 

Even over the eight years, we were together, I never brought up the subject with Caliberne; yet, if I did, it would be clear that she was unlikely to accept it given the nature of the story or the tyrant’s possessiveness.

 

‘Actually, the story wasn’t in the same direction as in the original right now.’

 

It was true that the original was twisted from the moment Caliberne came into my hands.

 

It means that a very important bait-related story that determines the identity of the heroine has changed.

 

‘It would be nice if war didn’t happen just like it was now…’ (Ciel)

 [If you’re really worried, you could keep the peace and prevent war.] 

“Would it be that simple?”

(Ciel)

 [You’ll never know if you won’t try. If you don’t make the choice and run with a black pattern on your face, you’ll definitely regret it for the rest of your life.] 

Ciel knew vaguely that Caliberne was right.

 

Still, I wanted to convey the message that I had suffered for three days because of Cedric.

 

Ciel didn’t want to be told,

‘See, it was an easy decision,’

if she said that she made the decision a day after the grace of three days began.

 

“Phew~ I need to train.”

 

‘When my heart felt confused, I should swing my sword to lighten up.’

 

As she thought so, she grabbed the handle of the sword with Caliberne in it.

 

Just at that moment, a spark went up in her right hand that touched the handle.

 “Ow-ouch!! It stings!!” 

Eventually, the sword she was holding slid out of her hand.

 Clank~

The sword fell to the marble floor, making a sharp metallic sound.

 [Hey, what are you doing? No matter how dirty I am, wasn’t it a bit too much to throw me on the floor?] 

“No, it’s not like that…”

 

Ciel grabbed her tingling hand, grunting, and reached for the sword again.

 

“It was because of the spark. It’s been like that these days.”

 

Even though it’s not winter, I don’t know why this spark occurs so often.

 

I felt something hot flowing through my wrist as soon as I picked up the blade, believing it wasn’t a major concern at the time.

 

“Huh?”

 

Blood was dripping from my right hand.

 

The very flesh that held the handle of the sword was open, and the palm turned a little black as if it had been covered with ashes.

 

Dark red blood flowed through the wounds and soaked the floor, and I stared into my palm for a while, unable to close my mouth.

 

“Aw…”

 

‘What the hell’s going on here?’

 

It’s definitely not normal to bleed from a spark, right?

 [Hey, what are you doing? You have to stop the bleeding, why are you standing just watching your hand bleed out?] 

Caliberne, who saw what happened, began to squeal.

 

Caliberne rarely uses a frantic tone, but because she was taken aback by the situation, she did in this instance.

 

Only then did I realize that there was a wound on my palm. It’s tingling, but it felt more like my skin was burnt.

 

Although it was a sensation I occasionally felt when dwelling as a magic swordsman, no matter how many times I experienced it, the agony always seemed extremely painful.

 

‘I’m sure we’re out of bandages in the dormitory.’

 

I quickly wrapped my hands in a handkerchief and went outside.

 

It was necessary to get bandages from the people of the Imperial Palace. As I was walking down the hallway as fast as I could, taking care not to let the handkerchief come loose and drip blood on the floor, I ran into someone in the corner.

 

“Oh my! Ciel. It’s been a while.”

 

It was none other than Cedric’s nanny who greeted me with a warm smile.

 

“Oh, hello, Marian.”

 

“But where are you going in such a hurry?”

 

Her eyes, looking around at my complexion, stayed in my right hand wrapped in a handkerchief.

 

“No, what happened to this hand? You look like you’re seriously hurt—”

 

Just as the nanny was startled and was about to grab my hand and examine it, a faint blue spark flew from the tip of my finger.

 

“Ahhh!!”

 

The nanny, who was holding the cloth, screamed and let go of my hand. My heart pounded at the tearful scream.

 

“Mi- Marian!”

 

Colorful fabrics scattered on the floor, and Marian grabbed her hand tightly and frowned painfully.

 

Still, she didn’t blame me…

 

“It’s okay, I’m fine, Ciel. Don’t be too surprised.”

 

Fortunately, there was no blood on her hand.

 

But I knew it deep inside… If the spark was a little stronger, something terrible could have happened.

 

‘Why the hell is this happening…?’

 

Ciel thought, looking down at her trembling hands.

 

It was a magically electrified blue spark that only appeared when I wielded a blade.

 

What wounded Marian as well as myself…

 

All of it was because of me.

 

⚔️

 

“Ciel?”

 

Cedric turned to face me in shock as I walked into the office.

 

Paul, who was pouring tea in the corner, also glanced at me in surprise, and I gave him a light greeting casually.

 

“Oh, no. I’ll bring more tea.”

 

Having regained his composure as a veteran servant of the Emperor, Paul quickly left the room to remove the embarrassment he had just experienced and prepare for more tea and snacks.

 

“… It hasn’t been three days yet.”

 

Ciel walked into the room silently and didn’t respond to Cedric.

 

And naturally, she dragged a chair across from the desk where he laid out the papers and documents.

 

When Ciel didn’t say anything until she sat on the chair, Cedric felt something was wrong and spoke first.

 

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t grant you a change of wish,” Cedric said, as he put down the documents he was holding.

 

“No matter how cute, pretty, cool, strong, gentle, and sharp Ciel may be, I won’t do that. So stop and go back.”

 

“No, it’s not that.”

 

Cedric paused as he turned over the documents at the words I brought out.

 

“What?”

(Cedric)

 

“I didn’t come here for that.”

(Ciel)

 

Ciel raised her head and said, looking into Cedric’s slightly enlarged eyes in surprise.

 

“Then why?”

 

“I’ve made up my mind.”

 

Those sharp eyes didn’t waver and nor discouraged in front of the numerous ministers who resembled the political arena. 

 

At the words I spoke, his red eyes began to tremble.

 

“Which of the two options would you choose?”