The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 39

 

As I whirled around, I noticed a stranger wearing a black robe.

 

“What? Who are you?”

 

Even the gender of the person was concealed by the thick robe, which fully hid its face.

 

“Hey, k-knight!”

 

The robe was draped, so I couldn’t see a single hair when I peered down and spotted a bare finger peeking out from between the sleeves.

 

“Knight, have mercy on me.”

 

It was the shrill voice of a woman who seemed rusty. I scowled as I smelled booze wafting through heavy robes.

 

“Here…”

 

As a result, I threw a penny of gold coins into her hand, which she collected, simply because I couldn’t ignore the person pleading for relief.

 

As I was ready to turn around and return to the carriage, the woman again grabbed my clothing.

 

“Knight, it’s just one. Knight?”

 

I frowned and dropped in another gold coin, since I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

 

“Hey, why only two?” said the Woman.

 

Speaking while holding the gold coin in her palm, the woman’s voice had the sound of iron being scuffed.

 

“You’re so cold-hearted. Was that the mercy of the person who protects the Empire?”

 

The woman’s attitude, as if it were natural for me to give her more gold coins as she desired, irked me, and I grumbled.

 

Caliberne also expressed her dislike for the way she spoke.

 

[Oh, didn’t she cross the line already?]

 

“You’re talking nonsense.”

 

The woman then added while grinning enthusiastically, “You have the audacity to think you could wash away your sins for eight years with only two gold coins?”

 

At this point, I had a feeling that she wasn’t simply a vagrant who came to beg.

 

‘Eight years. Do you know anything about me?’

 

I found it difficult to bring up that particular eight-year period.

 

Only eight years have passed since I first met Cedric and began residing as an Imperial Knight.

 

“But what do you mean by sins?”

 

As I joined the Imperial Knights, I lived a neat life than anyone else, far from committing any sin.

 

Of course, due to the hard training and preparation for Cedric’s class, I was forced to live like that.

 

In any case, I didn’t do anything to commit an unlawful act because I was too busy and couldn’t.

 

I cast a glance at the woman in the black robe, since I didn’t like the idea of acting odd in any manner whatsoever.

 

But with the worn-out robe and the thin wrist seen between the sleeves, it was completely impossible to figure out who she was.

 

“What do you want?”

 

Her mouth, which was just visible under the hem of the robe, smiled when I asked in a stern voice.

 

An unpleasant, evil smile.

 

“Huh?”

 

Then I know for sure. I remember those dry… parched lips.

 

“I can’t believe it.”

 

At that time, the wind was blowing, the robe covering the woman’s head tilted.

 

As a result, her rich silver hair, which was hidden by the black robe, swayed in the wind.

 

Silver hair, just like Ciel.

 

A face that looks just like her, except for the wrinkles.

 

Black eyes that looked dead.

 

“How dare you treat your mother like this! Ha, even if you ask for forgiveness.”

 

A white snowstorm struck my eyes as soon as I realized who she was, and I suddenly had a recollection of that day when the icy wind seemed like a blade brushing against my cheeks.

 

“You think that after entering the Imperial Palace, you’ve changed your roots, which used to roll like a bug in the slums.”

 

I took a deep breath without realizing it when I remembered the moment I first arrived in front of the Herselie Orphanage eight years ago.

 

A swirling snowstorm.

 

An old orphanage that looks like it would crumble.

 

My mother left my hand without turning around. That feeling of being left alone in a pure white, empty space.

 

Just the thought of it was such a painful memory.

 

“Yeah, even if the people around you find out whom you really are, do you think they’ll stay by your side?”

 

“What?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

 

“What I meant, if they knew your secret, would they still be by your side?”

 

“Secret? What do you mean secret?” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

 

“You asked what I wanted earlier.”

 

She spoke with a smirk around her lips, “It’s simple. I want you to do what I tell you. If you do that, I’ll keep your secret.”

 

“If you refuse, I’ll let the world know your secret, okay?” the woman added.

 

“Okay.”

 

A yellowish tooth could be seen between the lips of the silver-haired woman who was smirking.

 

“Then you’ll be abandoned by those great Imperial Palace people.”

 

The person who abandoned me, the one who made me feel as though the entire world had left me, appeared to be happy that I would be forsaken once more.

 

“Everything will come back to its place. You’ll roll desperately down the ground again. You should have done that in the first place.”

 

“What nonsense…” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

 

“That’s how it works. You’re no different from me. Wasn’t it unfair that you’re the only one that rose?”

 

As she spoke, blood was rushing in her eyes as she took a deep breath, most probably from excitement.

 

At that very moment, as I was biting the inside of my mouth, I observed the visible wrath in her eyes.

 

Immediately, I could smell blood in my mouth.

 

“It was astonishing to learn that you played and ate by yourself, acting like a noble, all the while not giving your birth parents a second thought. Well, this mother could still be able to pardon you. Because a parent and child share a special bond.”

 

The woman said as she reached out her hand.

 

“If you listen to this request of mine, I can cover up your secret.”

 

“I don’t want to.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

 

She frowned at my firm answer without hesitation. Then she took a step closer and she asked in a sarcastic voice.

 

“Are you crazy?”

 

“No, I’m sane.” ᶜᶦᵉˡ

 

“You’ll regret it. Aren’t you scared?”

 

The bloody-dark eyes stared intently at me.

 

As if trying to find weakness, desperately.

 

Well, I expected my mother to return not long after I was abandoned.

 

A few weeks later, when I found out that it wouldn’t happen, I had come to hate her.

 

But sometimes, I defended her, telling myself, ‘Maybe she lived a difficult life.’

 

And now, I only knew it when I looked into her eyes, which were busy finding my weakness.

 

While standing there, she must have been waiting with bloodshot eyes, trying to pull me down.

 

There was no happy ending like those fairy tales that reunited with their child they abandoned, sought forgiveness, and looked lovingly at the child who grew up and begged for forgiveness.

The only thing that caught her eyes was not longing and tears, but also a bitter greed.

 

Staring straight into her eyes, and said, “Are you afraid of ants on the street?”

 

In an instant, her face turned cold.

 

“What?”

 

Nodding to myself, still staring at her, who looked as if she didn’t understand what I said.

 

“Before being my parent, I can’t be afraid of you, who can’t act like a human and just crawl on the floor like an ant.”

 

The hand sticking out through the robe was shaking.

 

As if she couldn’t stand my words.

 

“You’re ungrateful!”

 

A small knife was in her hand as she rushed forward without hesitation.

 

And I quickly took out the dagger I was wearing on my waist and hit the knife flying towards me.

 

The moment my dagger and her knife collided, a dazzlingly bright spark splashed.

 

“Argh!”

 

Drops of blood fell on the floor along with the scream.

 

The knife flew out of her hand and struck my dagger before deflecting off.

 

When she realized she couldn’t get to her knife, she swore in a wicked voice.

 

“Ugh, damn it!”

 

I wrapped her right hand around and pointed my dagger at her neck as she glared at me fiercely.

 

A blue spark erupted at the tip of the dagger.

 

“How dare you say that to your mother…!”

 

She muttered like a supporting villain and reached out towards Ciel.

 

Although you wouldn’t be able to reach me if you used that knife to attack me, it appeared as though you were furious and out of your mind.

 

Just then, a sword popped out of all directions and aimed at her neck.

 

Cedric’s guards, including Sera, were aiming at her coldly.

 

“Don’t touch her.”

 

An overbearing voice with a clear warning was directed at the woman.

 

Cedric’s red eyes, growling like a beast and aiming a sword at the woman, flashed with an eerie hue.

 

“If you don’t want your neck to be cut off.”