The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go

Regardless, Cedric looked like he was having all the fun in the world.

 “But I didn’t say that as a joke, believe me.” “…What?” 

Wait a minute. Wasn’t it more dangerous if he was serious?

 “I really don’t mind being sick, Ciel. I’d rather be sick than see you get sick.” “No, but if you’re sick, the country will suffer…” “The ministers are competent, they’ll be fine.” 

Cedric leaned his head back on the bed and looked up at me, smiling softly.

 “How about it, you’re not going to give me your cold?” “…” “If it’s a cold I caught from you, I’ll be glad I did.” 

Caliberne was stunned by this outrageous statement, and she screamed.

 [Wicked, bad, what did I tell you, that wretch, I told you he’d be glad to catch a cold from you, no doubt! Oh, my withering hands and feet!] 

Cedric’s sneer was obviously distressing to hear.

 “Eh, Ciel.” “Even if you did, wouldn’t we all be worried if you caught a cold, even His Majesty?” 

Cedric’s face sparkled at the implied rejection, but quickly turned sullen.

 “Besides, His Majesty has only just gotten out of bed.” “Well, that is…” “Do you intend to make the doctors who worked day and night to heal His Majesty work overtime again?” “No…” 

Shaking his head, Cedric replied with guilt in his voice.

 “I’m sorry, I was just saying…” 

Caliberne said, dumbfounded,

[That look in his eyes was too sincere to be just a tryst, I thought he was trying to seduce you.] 

‘I’m inclined to agree with you, but…’

 

But I didn’t think it was necessary to point that out now.

 “And you don’t just go around smiling all pretty like that.” 

I sighed, running a hand through my silver hair.

 “What if they see that and think you’re looking out for them, and they cling to you?” 

To be honest, even after eight years of being together, there are many times when I find myself staring in awe.

 

Moreover, Cedric’s beauty was getting better and more beautiful with each passing year, renewing his legend every year.

 “Um, so don’t you usually cut them?” “No, I don’t cut people…” “I’m more worried about Ciel.” 

Cedric clenched his jaw and tilted his head to the side.

 “Well, I’d cut them up if they got their hands on Ciel, myself.” 

I spoke as if to admonish Cedric, whose blood-red eyes widened in horror at the murderous words.

 “I’m sorry, but people aren’t meat.” “Anyway, if there are any, I’ll take care of them, so Ciel can go in peace, and if you see any weirdos, tell me.” “Excuse me, are you listening to me?” 

So we’re going down this road again.

 

I sighed and looked into those bright red eyes. It was strange to see them still looking at me with such single-mindedness.

 

‘They say people don’t change, but…’

 

I couldn’t believe he still thought so fondly of me after eight years.

 

If he still thinks of me fondly after that long, I wonder if he will continue to do so.

 

‘…Will Cedric still think favorably of me after the ending?’

 

 

Although I was determined to give Cedric a different ending than the original, I hadn’t really thought about where I would go afterward.

 

It was unclear whether I would even stay in Deamant.

 

I thought to myself,

‘I hope we can stay on good terms.’

 

 

Taking that little wish to hear, I took Cedric’s hand.

 “I’ll hold yours for the day.” “Oh, thank goodness you don’t mind holding hands.” “But make sure you go back and wash your hands, you don’t get sick.” “I told you it’s okay to catch it from you.” 

Cedric smiled wryly and wrapped both hands around mine, squeezing.

 

The warmth of his hands and the same warm red eyes I’d seen eight years ago made me think.

 

Maybe it’s not so bad to catch a cold once in a while.

  

Persephine did not cry, even though the pain was like an awl piercing her body.

 

No more cries came out.

 “Ugh.” 

Her throat ached as if she had scraped it with a shard of iron as she coughed up the dark, thick blood.

 

Each time she coughed up more blood, the amount grew larger than the last.

 

Even after realizing this, Persephine thought nothing of it.

 [Why the hell haven’t I done something about this already?] 

A voice chided from the glowing locket in the darkness. Persephine wiped the blood from her mouth and replied in a faint voice.

 “If we are not careful, we will be suspected, so we should wait and see what happens-” [So, did anything good come of waiting like you said?] 

At the rising tone, Persephine pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead.

 

Her vision was blurry, and she could hear a ringing in her ears.

 [The hunt for the Deamant is in full swing now, and the palace has tightened its defenses.] 

The chilling voice from the locket pressed against Persephine.

 

It was always there, always in her head. She couldn’t keep her head up.

 [And all the while, you were stupidly unable to get anything done.] “I’m sorry.” [If you’re sorry, at least explain]. 

An irritated voice lashed out at Persephine.

 [What have you done so far that the head of the Imperial Knights has more time with the Emperor than you do?] “…” [Speak up, I sent you to seduce the Emperor, why are you in this shape!] 

Persephine did not respond to the fiery exclamation. Her violet eyes slowly lost their luster.

 [Don’t just say no, you should at least use that face of yours, or that head instead!] 

Persephine thought it strange.

 

Back in Ackeletta, I was terrified of that voice.

 

Now I didn’t.

 

Behind closed eyes, the silver-haired woman held out her hand gently, and the dark-haired man looked at her lovingly.

 

‘Not again.’

 

Persephine’s hands tightened on the bloodstained sheets.

 

‘No matter what, I will protect you.’

 

With that, she opened her tightly closed mouth.

 “I’m sorry, I’m sure I’ll carry out my plan sooner or later, so let go of your anger.” 

Now she had nothing to fear anymore.

 “Brother.”  

Thanks to the medicine Cedric gave me, I recovered quickly.

 

As soon as I was well enough, I returned to work, and within a few days, I was assigned a mission.

 “Ciel.” 

As I stood at the gates, fully armed, a familiar voice called my name as I led my knights.

 “Your Majesty.” 

I knelt before him and bowed my head.

 

Cedric kissed the palm of his hand and brought it to my forehead.

 

It was a ritual to pray for the safety of a knight on a long journey.

 “Have a safe trip.” 

He smiled kindly, and I could see the golden sun rising behind him.

 

‘Finally.’ 

 

The beginning of my journey to the southern end.

 

It was refreshing to be out on an expedition after so long.

 

This expedition was quite a bit of work compared to the others, but it was still refreshing to be out in the open, away from the palace.

 

As we rode across the open plains and came to a large forest, I stopped my horse and called out to the group.

 “Let’s stop here for a while. I want you all to feed yourselves and your horses and get them tended to.” “Yes, Captain!” 

There were seventeen of us in this expedition, quite a few more than usual.

 

This was because the expedition involved dragons, the most difficult beasts to subdue.

 “Captain.” 

I was tying my horse to a tree when James came up beside me, carrying his lunch.

 “James.” “May I eat next to you, Captain?” “Uh, sure.” 

As James sat down next to me and began to unpack his satchel, I began to eat the lunch I had brought with me.

 “I’m assuming Deputy Captain Turka is fine?” “Yes, I’m sure he’ll be fine, Lord Turka’s always been good at taking care of things.” “It would have been nice to have him with us on the expedition, but it’s a shame it wasn’t strategically feasible.” 

Truth be told, I would have preferred to have Sir Turka with me on any mission.

 

He’s been in the Knights longer than anyone else left in the Order, so he’s had a longer period to come to terms with me.

 

However, if the Knights were given two missions, Sir Turka and I could no longer work together.

 

We need to spread out our core forces so we don’t neglect our defenses.

 “Well, I suppose it’s inevitable. It would be inefficient to send the two seniors of the Order on an expedition.” “That’s true.” “Of course, it’s a shame that I haven’t gone on an expedition with Sir Turka since I became a captain.” “Yes, because one man must remain to defend and command the palace.” 

James sighed and picked at the hard bread with his teeth.

 “Come to think of it, it must be a long time since you’ve been away.” “Yeah. I think it’s been a year.” “That’s right, but when you were gone a year ago, I wasn’t assigned to an expedition.” 

James said, chewing his bread with a loud crunch.

 “So it’s been almost two years since I’ve been on an expedition with you.” “That’s a long time.” “Yeah. The captain rarely goes on expeditions, except when there’s a special first- or second-class beast, or when there’s a conflict.” 

The defense of the capital and the imperial palace came first, so as the head of the knights, I had no choice but to stay in the capital most of the time.