The tyrant Wants To Live Honestly – Chapter 15

Author: Chewyy

A warning bell rang in my head, and I tried to turn around.

But I ended up seeing it. The clear, shining jewel at the corner of Ethan Brontë’s eye—no, a tear.

He was biting his lip and crying as if the world had ended, as if he were someone who possessed nothing at all.

But he couldn’t cry out loud. He was only sobbing quietly, like someone whispering to the waves.

That was the biggest problem.

Ethan Brontë—a man so handsome that even the nobles would click their tongues in amazement.

Ignoring his tears was like a hungry cat ignoring a fish.

‘Besides… this is the first time I’ve seen Ethan cry like that.’

He was someone who had been so close to me that people could call him my right hand.

Yet while he was with me, he had never cried so desperately even once.

Could Ethan Brontë—the man who was always confident, who shook people’s hearts with a smile, toyed with them, and controlled the whole world in his hands—really collapse like that?

I stood at a distance and stared endlessly at him as he cried.

Unlike the Ethan Brontë from my previous life, the Ethan crying on the sandy beach looked small.

Crouched before the vast ocean, he seemed weaker than anything else.

He didn’t look like the Ethan I knew.

The person over there was not the sly, smooth gold-eyed snake, but a child who had learned sorrow far too early.

‘Ethan couldn’t have been bad from the moment he was born.’

He couldn’t have started using people, throwing them away, betraying them, mocking them, and treating them like jokes from the time he was still in his mother’s womb.

Yes. No child is born evil from the beginning. Probably…

I wanted to believe that.

At least for my own sake.

‘If that’s why he’s crying… maybe…’

At Ray’s investiture ceremony before, the person I had clinked glasses of pomegranate juice with was Duke Brontë.

In other words, Ethan’s real father.

Someone like Ethan could have followed Duke Brontë to the capital.

And if a parent had such a handsome and talented child, they would naturally want to show him off in high society.

But he never came to the capital.

Because of Ethan’s long-held complex.

‘…He was an illegitimate child.’

Though they called him an illegitimate son, Ethan was actually a child the duke had fathered outside and later brought into the house.

Because of that, he couldn’t enter Episteme, and he couldn’t appear at any of the social events held in the capital.

The first time he appeared in the capital’s social world was after he became an adult.

Illegitimate son.

Not from Episteme.

A late debut.

Even so, to the people of high society—who loved issues and gossip—the sudden “descent of an angel” drew enormous attention.

Ethan used that attention extremely well and quickly settled into high society.

Looking at him like that, I felt something like shared misery.

I also hadn’t been able to enter Episteme.

I had always lived behind Ray’s shadow.

And yet, I still wanted people’s attention.

Perhaps the reason I was able to discover the twisted nature hidden behind Ethan’s brilliant mask was because, in some way, I was the same kind of creature as him.

‘Is that why he cried like that…?’

If his family had always tried to hide him because he was an illegitimate child, then it would make sense.

‘Because I was the same.’

Before my regression, I had cried countless times—because Karnen never acknowledged me, and because Ray had everything that I didn’t.

Watching Ethan curled up alone, pouring out tears, made my chest ache.

It overlapped with the person I used to be.

‘I should stay away from Ethan…’

He was the one who led me down the path of becoming a tyrant—and the one who eventually cut off that tyrant’s head.

Even though I knew nothing good would come from getting involved with him, I stood there with my feet buried in the sand, unable to move.

I already knew why I couldn’t turn my back on the crying Ethan.

If Ethan never stepped onto the path of evil…

If he could live kindly, just like I was trying to do now…

Then maybe my regression could give Ethan a new life as well.

With the sea breeze blowing, I waited for his tears to stop.

Only after crying until he was completely exhausted did Ethan finally calm down.

With red, swollen eyes, he looked out at the ocean.

I slowly moved the feet that had been buried in the sand for so long and walked toward him.

The closer I got, the clearer his sad beauty became.

“Hello.”

Hello, Ethan Brontë.

At my brave greeting, his golden eyes widened.

His bloodshot eyes, tear-soaked cheeks, and damp sleeves were clearly visible.

It seemed he hadn’t even noticed me approaching, because he was so startled he couldn’t say a word.

“Ah, ah…”

I thought he would say hello back.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Ethan jumped to his feet and stepped backward as if he had seen a monster.

Before I could say another word, he ran away without even brushing the sand off his clothes.

Like some princess fleeing a ballroom before a fairy’s magic could wear off, Ethan quickly disappeared completely behind the distant rocks.

“Ah…”

I shouldn’t have talked to him.

I should have just let him cry alone.

Was I trying to act kind or something?

As I stood there blankly, Stefan looked at me quietly.

His black eyes seemed to ask, “Shall I bring him back?”

So I shook my head.

* * *

As soon as the news spread that the imperial princess from the capital had come down, messages from nearby noble ladies flooded the villa.

They kept sending visit letters again and again, using greetings as an excuse just to become acquainted with the princess.

It wasn’t like getting close to someone like me would be useful for anything, but for provincial nobles, a connection with the imperial princess was a relationship worth boasting about.

A storm crashing into the quiet life I wanted.

‘Fine. I’ll greet them once and end it there.’

Equipping myself with the heart of a kind person, I invited the noble ladies to the villa.

But I soon realized again just how difficult it was to live kindly.

“Goodness, how adorable!”

Who said that? Who just called me cute again?

I swept a sharp gaze across the noble ladies surrounding me, but they were so excited about this special moment in the villa that they didn’t care about my glare at all.

“Oh my, you look just like a doll!”

“I heard you were sick, but you’re so thin. Please eat a little more of this.”

The noble ladies spoke in cooing voices as they looked at me.

They seemed to think of me as something like their niece and were dying to touch me.

Curly blond hair, round blue eyes, and a body a little small for my age.

Looking at me in my full, fluffy dress seemed to delight them greatly.

All kinds of food they served piled up high on my plate.

“Please try some of this too.”

“Thank you for your concern, but I can eat on my own.”

I had to refuse their excessive care again and again.

To clearly show that I wanted them to stop putting food on my plate, I picked up my fork myself and stabbed a button mushroom, chewing it demonstratively.

“My, how capable you are! And you’re not even picky with food… You were truly raised well in the imperial family.”

“Oh my, look how proper our princess is. She chews her food so well.”

All I did was eat one mushroom, yet the noble ladies burst into giggles.

Ah, I’m exhausted.

It felt like being surrounded by a hundred Rays.

“For such a young princess to come all the way here alone.”

“I would love to invite Your Highness to my home sometime. It may be humble, but you wouldn’t feel lonely.”

No, I came here to enjoy being lonely.

“Really, Your Highness. How about staying at our house for a few days?”

They spoke excitedly, as if they wanted to play the role of my mother.

It seemed my background—losing my mother from birth—was stirring their sympathy.

To them, the image of a young girl who had grown up without a mother’s love, living alone in a vast palace, must have been more than enough to pity.

And a perfect piece of gossip to chew on as well.

“Thank you for the offer, but it’s alright, madam. I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”

“Oh my, trouble? Having Your Highness visit would be an honor!”

No, what I meant was you would be the trouble. Not the other way around.

Trying hard to maintain a kind heart, I forced a smile.

“It must be lonely and boring living alone in the villa, isn’t it?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“My, how mature you are for your age… So composed.”

No, I’m really fine. I mean it. Please take my words exactly as they are.

“You’re at the age when you should be running around and playing with friends.”

No. I’ve passed that age long, long ago.

“My child is about the same age as Your Highness. I should bring them to greet you sometime.”

What?

I lifted my head sharply and glared at the lady who said that.

But the other ladies began chattering that it was a wonderful idea, saying they should bring their children too so they could play with the princess.

‘What nonsense are they talking about?!’

I imagined children around ten years old running around the villa and clinging to me.

I could already picture the garden full of energetic, immature kids who hadn’t even gone through puberty yet but had endless stamina.

Terrifying!

My peaceful palace would turn into chaos, and I’d end up becoming their babysitter!

Handling just Ray had already been hard enough—and now several kids like that?

“Right now I’m recovering, so it would be difficult to run around together. When I feel better, I’ll invite them separately later.”

Hiding my clenched fists, I politely refused with a gentle smile.

The villa’s peace had to be protected at all costs.

“At this age, not even being able to go out and play… how unfortunate! I should at least send you some medicine that’s good for your health.”

“No, it’s alright. I’m not sick enough to need medicine.”

I waved my hands quickly.

Please don’t send that either. My illness is the kind that can be cured simply by leaving me alone.

“Hoho, even though our princess is so mature, she really is still a child. You don’t like medicine, do you?”

“Children always try all sorts of tricks to avoid drinking bitter medicine, after all.”

The ladies burst into giggles among themselves again.

The more we talked, the more misunderstandings piled up.

I turned my gaze toward Stefan and Clara, silently sending them a desperate plea to rescue me from this situation.
But Clara simply watched with a warm, pleased smile, while Stefan—as always—stood silently like a statue.

In fact, Clara seemed to think I had regained my energy.

Seeing me talk more than usual—though I was really just defending myself against the noble ladies’ relentless attacks—she clasped her hands together and nodded happily.

‘Good heavens, I have no one on my side!’

Right. Life was lonely to begin with.

The world was a solitary road where one is born alone and dies alone.

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, a noble lady who had been sitting gracefully to the side called out to me.

‘The Duchess of Brontë.’

“Someday I would like to invite you to our home as well. Would that be alright? I promise we won’t serve you any bitter medicine.”

The duchess asked in a voice overflowing with elegance.

The House of Brontë. Ethan Brontë.

The image of Ethan crying the other day flashed through my mind.

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“I would be grateful for the invitation.”