The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 136 - Side Story 20 - COMPLETE

 

💫

 

“Mmm….”  

 

When I opened my eyes, bright sunlight streamed through the semi-transparent curtains.  

 

And beside me—  

 

“Hello, long time no see.”  

 

Cedric, now back to his original form, was smiling brightly.  

 

“Long time no see? We met just yesterday.”  

 

“But in this form, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”  

 

“It was just a day apart, really.”  

 

I cupped Cedric’s cheek, still playfully grinning, with my hand. It was warm.  

 

“So it’s not a dream.”  

 

“Nope.”  

 

They said the magic would last at most two days, but he returned even sooner than expected.  

 

“I thought you’d stay in your younger form for at least half the day today.”  

 

“Right? I woke up and found myself back like this.”  

 

Cedric curled the corner of his lips into a smile as he spoke.  

 

“Maybe it’s because I desperately wanted to return.”  

 

“I guess it worked, then.”  

 

“Well, they say magic is influenced by people’s hearts, after all.”  

 

Cedric sat up, kissed my cheek, and continued, “Anyway, after experiencing it, I think it’s best to retrieve the Stone of Youth as soon as possible. Doesn’t seem like a good thing.”  

 

“Hmm, what exactly made you feel it wasn’t good?”  

 

At that, Cedric pondered for a moment before smiling with his crimson eyes curved.  

 

“The fact that it makes people dwell in the past?”  

 

“Dwell in the past?”  

 

“Wanting to return to your past self means, in a way, longing for the past itself—the situations you were in back then.”  

 

“Like the happiness or glory you could only feel in the past?”  

 

“Yeah.”  

 

Cedric nodded and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear.  

 

“Honestly, I also have so many happy memories from when I first met you, Ciel, at twelve years old. Thinking back on them now, some are so precious they could bring me to tears.”  

 

I felt the same way.  

 

Seeing Cedric as a child had brought back many memories from that time.  

 

“But even so, the present I share with you now, Ciel, is even better than those days.”  

 

Amid the scattered sunlight, Cedric beamed.  

 

At this moment, as if he were the happiest person in the world.  

 

“And I’m really looking forward to the future I’ll share with you, too.”  

 

Bathed in that radiant smile, I smiled back.  

 

“I feel the same way.”

 

Even though there were good memories in the past, I had never once wished to go back. Perhaps it was because both Cedric and I were happy in the present.  

 

With a faint smile, I looked at Cedric and asked, “You’ll stay with me from now on too, right?”  

 

At that, Cedric burst into laughter.  

 

“Ciel, ‘stay with me’? You know I wouldn’t stop at just that. After knowing me so well, you still ask that?”  

 

Cedric poked my cheek and teased,  “I’ll treat you so well you won’t even glance at anyone else.”  

 

Come to think of it, he was already doing a great job at that.  

 

Honestly, every day with Cedric was so wonderful that there was no room to think about or look at anyone else.  

 

“Well, not that I’d ever let you go anyway. I’ll hold on tight so you won’t slip away.”  

 

“Yeah, I guess so.”  

 

I nodded playfully, and Cedric stretched out his long arm, gently taking my hand and interlacing our fingers tightly.  

 

That’s right. Cedric had never once let go of this hand.  

 

And he never would.  

 

Lost in that happy thought, I closed my eyes for a moment. But when I opened them again, I noticed something strange.  

 

“Hmm?”  

 

“What is it, Ciel?”  

 

“Uh, well…”  

 

Last night, Cedric had definitely fallen asleep wearing long-sleeved pajamas. But now, the arm he extended toward me had not a single scrap of fabric on it.  

 

‘Then, under the blanket…’  

 

My gaze drifted toward Cedric’s neck.  

 

Now that I looked, even the bit of his neck peeking above the blanket had no trace of clothing.  

 

“Cedric, are you wearing anything right now?”  

 

At my question, Cedric smirked, as if he’d been waiting for it.  

 

“Want to check for yourself?”  

 

“The fact that you’re telling me to check means you’re not, right?”  

 

“You know me so well. Then I guess there’s no need to hide it.”

 

With that, he flung off the blanket wrapped around his body.  

 

Even after all these years, I still couldn’t get used to the provocative display of bare skin and averted my gaze.  

 

“Why on earth are you lying around naked in the morning…?”  

 

“Well, I can’t help it. My body returned to its original size, so the clothes I was wearing yesterday got torn to shreds.”  

 

Cedric pointed to the cabinet beside the bed.  

 

Only then did I notice the pitifully shredded remains of his sleepwear, which I hadn’t seen until now.  

 

It was torn to such tatters that I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity.  

 

“That outfit was cute, though…”  

 

“Did you like it that much? Then let’s buy something similar later and have Ciana or Caspian wear it when they grow a little bigger. How about that?”  

 

“Hmm, okay. But…”  

 

“Yeah, what?”  

 

Cedric, who had asked in return, was grinning from ear to ear. Without a hint of shame, he trapped me between his arms, his body fully exposed.  

 

“Why aren’t you putting clothes back on?”  

 

“No need to.”  

 

“And why are you sneakily unbuttoning my sleepwear?”  

 

Instead of answering, Cedric leaned in and kissed me.  

 

Only after a long, deep kiss did our lips part, and before me was Cedric, wearing a mischievous smile.  

 

“Actually, there was one more downside to being small.”  

 

He buried his face in the nape of my neck and whispered, “Not being able to do things like this… and that.”  

 

At his words, I let out a sigh.  

 

“Do you not remember what state I was in just the other day?”  

 

“But I’ve been holding back for so long—it’s been tough.”  

 

Cedric’s gaze grew intense as he pressed his lips to my wrist.  

 

“We still have work left. You need to save some energy for that.”  

 

“Want me to handle it for you?”  

 

“Be reasonable.”  

 

“It’s a holiday today—can’t we make an exception?”  

 

But I already knew. The moment Cedric started showering me with kisses, the answer was already decided.  

 

“…Fine. But be gentle.”  

 

Finally having gotten my permission, Cedric smiled in satisfaction.  

 

“Gladly, my queen.”  

 

With a sweet, tender kiss on the back of my hand.

 

💫

 

And so, another day had passed.  

 

Yesterday, I spent most of it practically living in bed.  

 

Only by the time the sun was lazily setting could the maids enter our room, teasingly laughing about how well the imperial couple got along before leaving.  

 

They told us to continue having a good time together.  

 

Cedric listened awkwardly to those words as he fed me water and food while I lay in bed. Like that, under Cedric’s care, talking with him, night fell once again.  

 

I barely even remembered how long we had talked. I simply dozed off and then woke up to find myself lying on Cedric’s arm.  

 

‘His arm must be sore…’  

 

Feeling sorry for him, I tried to sit up and move toward my pillow, but Cedric wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back to his side.  

 

“What, sleep here a little longer.”  

 

My reflection shimmered in his drowsy, half-lidded red eyes.  

 

‘Even though we were already so close yesterday…’  

 

Yet it seemed he still wanted to keep me near.  

 

“Does your arm not hurt?”  

 

“No. Not at all.”  

 

Pretending to give in, I lay back down using his arm as a pillow and noticed a faint ray of sunlight peeking through the dark curtains.  

 

‘The sun must be rising soon.’  

 

For some reason, sleep wouldn’t come again.  

 

And strangely, I felt the urge to watch the sunrise.  

 

So I got up and approached the window. Carefully parting the curtains just a little so as not to wake Cedric.  

 

“Ciel, do you want to watch the sunrise?”  

 

As if to mock my efforts, Cedric, still half-asleep, jolted awake the moment I got up and followed me to the window.  

 

“You’ll get cold like that, and then you’ll catch a chill.”  

 

He brought the entire blanket from the bed and wrapped it around me before pulling me into a tight embrace—an added bonus.  

 

Touched by Cedric, who was still holding me with his eyes half-closed, I gently stroked his black hair.

 

Meanwhile, the crimson sunlight, now slightly stronger, was splitting the dark indigo sky.  

 

“Another day called ‘today’ is beginning.”  

 

Once again, I recalled the battle in Ackeleta.  

 

Back then, all I thought about was changing the original ending, concluding this story in a different way.  

 

I never imagined there would be something beyond that ending, that another story would begin after the conclusion.  

 

Perhaps that’s why I was willing to throw my life away.  

 

Changing the ending that Cedric was supposed to face— At the time, that was all that mattered to me. I believed achieving that goal would be enough.  

 

But only after altering the original ending did I realize, ‘Even after the ending, the story doesn’t truly end.’

  

We still live on, facing new days.  

 

“Ciel, the sun has fully risen.”  

 

And we greet a sun that is dazzling and new each day. I gently took hold of Cedric’s hand resting around my waist.  

 

Understanding my intention, Cedric withdrew one hand to hold mine, then covered it completely with his other hand.  

 

“Your hands are warm, Cedric.”  

 

In response, his firm arms pulled me into an even tighter embrace.  

 

“I’ll keep them warm for you, always.”  

 

I knew exactly what those words meant.  

 

That he would never let go of my hand—that he would stay by my side for the rest of his life.  

 

And ultimately, it meant our story would continue.  

 

“Always, forever.”  

 

And within that story, we would never let go of each other’s hands, just as we never had before.  

 

《Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go – Completed》