The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 56

 

‘No, why is he already here?’ 

 

My head rolled frantically as I looked at the large man, smiling shyly. 

 

In the original story, when Persephine was first captured by the Empire, she was a prisoner, nothing more, nothing less, so, of course, she didn’t have an escort knight with her. 

 

So Felix, the original male lead, didn’t come to Deamant until the war was in full swing. 

 

At this point, before the war, the two men had not yet gotten to know each other at all. 

 

‘Where does this leave Cedric?’

 

The original plan was to have Cedric and the female lead see each other before the male lead took the female lead. 

 

‘Is that difficult…? ‘

 

I don’t know what’s going on right now. 

 

After eight years of being in possession, the heroine seems a little different, and the male lead pops out of nowhere. 

 

‘It’s not just another knight, it’s the male lead…’ 

 

I shuddered slightly as I recalled the description of Felix chopping off the heads of the Deamant Imperial soldiers one after the other in the original. 

 

“Captain, are you all right?” 

 

“Eh? Yes, I’m fine…” 

 

Except that, a man was standing in front of me at the vanguard of the Ackeletta forces, destined to kill me in the first place.

 

[Hey, why are you all tense up like this?] 

 

‘Well, for a reason.’

 

[And what is it?] 

 

‘Don’t ask me, I’m freaking out…’

 

Caliberne had every right to find it strange that I was afraid of Felix.

 

Now, thanks to Caliberne, I have little chance of losing to Felix in single combat, and he has no chance of picking a fight with me, the head of the Imperial Knights, for no reason. 

 

But even that wouldn’t stop a furious Felix from charging at me, shackled and chained as a soldier of a defeated nation, with the sword of justice. 

 

‘Please don’t end up like that illustration…’

 

I pleaded, desperately trying to erase from my mind the illustration of Felix’s slaughter of the Deamant army. 

 

“I hope you don’t mind, but…”  Felix said, scratching his head. 

 

Seriously, it was so different from when he was in a state of rage. 

 

“Oh, I guess I’ve been holding you back too long, I apologize.” 

 

“No, not at all.”

 

I waved my hand and assured him it was okay. 

 

‘I don’t know why, but at least he’s looking at me favorably now…’

 

I decided that I should be nice to him. 

 

Who knows, maybe in the future, when the war breaks out, he might forgive me. 

 

Or better yet, maybe I could bring them over to my side before it happens. 

 

I’ve heard that the Royal Knights of Ackeletta are relatively free to retire and enlist.

 

I could offer him a generous salary, show him the finest training grounds, and entice him to try out. 

 

“In the future, feel free to let me know if there’s anything you’re uncomfortable with, and if the princess seems to be struggling with something, you can always give me a heads up.” 

 

I put on my best humane smile and held out my hand to Felix. 

 

“And I’ll do my best to make things right.” 

 

“Uh, thank you.”

 

Felix smiled, showing his white teeth. 

 

It was a much more natural expression than the smile he’d worn earlier. 

 

“Yeah. Most of the people here are good people, so I’m sure we’ll get through this in no time.” 

 

I said desperately, shaking Felix’s hand, which was interlocked with mine. 

 

“Even His Majesty, while he may seem a bit intimidating on the outside, he’s a very deep and warm person.”

 

I tried to convince him that Cedric wasn’t a bad guy. 

 

In the original play, Felix displayed greater hatred for Cedric than any other character, even Persephine. 

 

So the least thing I could do was make sure Cedric didn’t come into conflict with him. 

 

“I see. I had already assumed you were a good person, but…” 

 

Felix lowered his shaking hand and nodded, interrupting himself.

 

“Oh, and if you’re free later, I was wondering if we could talk about swords. I’ve never had the chance to meet knights from other countries besides those of Ackeletta, and I’d like to learn more about them…” 

 

It was a simple request, and I didn’t think I had to refuse. 

 

As a knight myself, I was intrigued by the Knights of other lands. 

 

Plus, while we’re at it, I might get to hear a little bit about how Persephine has been doing.

 

“Oh, sure, I’d love to—” 

 

Just as I was about to graciously grant his request, I looked up. 

 

Cedric standing in the corner of the hallway, staring at Felix with eyes full of resentment. 

 

‘…I’m screwed.’

 

⚔️

 

“You’ll be staying here from now on. Princess.” 

 

Persephine’s purple eyes, which had been staring at the floor the whole time, moved slowly. 

 

Her flowery hair rustled as she lifted her head. 

 

“You may change into something more comfortable and relaxed. I’ll send more maids if you need them.”

 

“…”

 

Persephine didn’t answer, but continued to look around the room. 

 

Paul felt very uncomfortable when she didn’t answer, but he remained professional and continued to address her. 

 

“If there’s anything you’re not comfortable with, you can always let me know. If you’d like to come down to the dining room we were in earlier for dinner, you can eat, or if you’d prefer to eat in your room, just let me know and I’ll bring it to you.” 

 

Having delivered his message, Paul bade the princess rest in peace and turned to leave. 

 

But just then, the voice of Persephine, who hadn’t spoken a word since leaving their country until she came to this room, stopped him. 

 

“Excuse me…” 

 

Turning toward the door, Paul turned back and smiled. 

 

“Yes, what do you wish to know?” 

 

“Oh, well…”

 

Persephine hesitated for a moment, then stammered. 

 

“I was wondering if you’d mind if I used this room….?” 

 

“Yes?”  Paul asked, taken aback by the unexpected question. 

 

‘Why would she say that…?’ 

 

Paul thought to himself, but then he saw the weariness in Persephine’s eyes and his mouth fell open.

 

Then he saw her dress, a stuffy-looking thing with flowers pinned to it. 

 

And the maid’s demeanor as she stood in the corner, watching her master with a detached gaze.

 

“…Of course, Princess. This room is for royalty from other countries visiting the Empire.” 

 

“Ha, but…” 

 

“Perhaps you don’t like the room?” 

 

Then Persephine shook her head in exasperation. 

 

“Oh, no, of course not, absolutely not…” 

 

“Well, then, would you mind if you stayed in this room? We would be very happy if you would.” 

 

Seeing Paul’s smiling face, Persephine finally nodded. 

 

Only then did Paul bow his head again to Persephine and leave the room. 

 

‘I never thought it was possible…’ 

 

Despite being royalty from another country, even a vassal country, Paul felt uncomfortable. 

 

Then he remembered Ciel’s words, urging his Master to be good to Princess Persephine. 

 

‘I wonder if she knows the princess’ condition.’

 

He knew it was a coincidence, but it was so like her, he thought. 

 

‘You’ve never been one to look past the weak…’

 

Paul smiled wryly, thinking that his lord had indeed chosen well. 

 

⚔️

 

“You said you were going to train.”

 

Cedric said, staring at me with blazing eyes. 

 

“Yeah.” 

 

But I didn’t mind and took his hand as usual. 

 

“…You said you were training.” 

 

The murderous look in his eyes made me realize that this was not the best time. 

 

There hadn’t even been a war yet, and I didn’t want the Sub-Male lead to dig his own grave by attacking the Original Male lead.

 

“So I headed straight to training.” 

 

“And you promised me eight years ago that you wouldn’t hold anyone’s hand but mine.” 

 

“No, you mean I can’t even handshake anyone…?” 

 

‘Oh, my gosh.’

 

How am I supposed to have a social life then?

 

“Well, if I’ve kept it for eight years, I guess it’s good.” 

 

“Just because you made a promise a long time ago doesn’t mean it’s okay to break it.” 

 

“Honestly, there’s no proof that I made a promise. It’s not like I wrote a contract.” 

 

“Oh, is that the problem?” Cedric chuckled. 

 

It was the look he gave when he knew he had a bargain. 

 

“You should have told me, so I could have prepared.” 

 

“Hey, hold on.” 

 

But he had already left the couch and gone to his desk. 

 

Opening a drawer, he retrieved ink, a quill pen, and a clean sheet of paper, then turned to me with a twinkle in his eye. 

 

“The contract, one more page.” 

 

“Say something that makes sense.” 

 

“You don’t want to?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Hmm, too bad,” Cedric said, taking a seat.

 

He held out his hand to me again, as he usually did, and I took it. 

 

“Oh, by the way, you can hold it for another seven minutes and twenty-one seconds.” 

 

“You’ve been counting?” 

 

What a scary guy. 

 

Thinking to myself, I looked down at the table. 

 

I looked at the rolling quill and ink and let out a small sigh, then looked at Cedric.

 

“I’ve never seen anyone bring a real piece of paper just because I mentioned a contract.” 

 

“Really?” Cedric replied with a languid smile. 

 

“Yeah. Everyone else just passes it off as a joke, but someone who does this…” 

 

“You know, I’m always serious about you. Unlike everyone else.” 

 

“Oh, that’s right.” 

 

I reached for the paper, trying my best to ignore Cedric, who was giving me an overwhelmingly eager glare that demanded I look at him. 

 

‘I’d better get this out of the way before you say something… Or whatever.’ 

 

Just as my fingertips touched the smooth paper. 

 

“Ow!” 

 

A sharp pain shot through my right hand and sparks flew, bright enough to hurt my eyes. 

 

Unable to hold it in, I pulled my left hand out of Cedric’s grip and wrapped it over the right. 

 

“…” 

 

“Ciel!” 

 

Cedric grabbed my right hand with an urgent look on his face, the smile he had worn just moments ago completely wiped off his face. 

 

‘It hurts, what the hell… ‘

 

A bloody drop of blood dripped onto the charred paper.