The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 93

With a cold expression, he walked in, and as soon as the door opened, the sound of Tekarke’s voice made him frown deeply.  

 

“Your Majesty.”  

 

“Ciel, did that guy insult you again?”  

 

“Hmm, no. Not yet.”  

 

At Cedric’s appearance, Tekarke openly gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound.  

 

I looked down at him with icy eyes and drew my sword, pointing it at his neck.  

 

“How insolent. Even as a prisoner, you dare not bow your head before His Majesty? What kind of attitude is this?”  

 

“Shut up. I’d rather die than bow my head to that so-called Emperor.”  

 

Then Tekarke began thrashing around and shouting.  

 

“Just kill me! Kill me! Cut my head off in one go, like you want!”  

 

Cedric silently looked down at the flailing Tekarke. His pair of crimson eyes, as if stained with blood, emitted a chilling coldness.  

 

Tekarke, who had been writhing and screaming, locked eyes with Cedric.  

 

And at that moment, he stopped shouting.  

 

Those unmoving red eyes felt like those of a demon, utterly terrifying.  

 

“…Just as we expected.”  

 

Cedric, looking down at the frozen Tekarke, spoke in a low voice.  

 

“Ciel, what do you want to do?”  

 

At Cedric’s question, I sheathed my sword again. This man needed something else.  

 

“As I mentioned before, we should give him what he fears the most.”  

 

“What?”  

 

Tekarke, sensing that things were taking a dangerous turn, retorted.  

 

From behind him, Rukia appeared, holding Verdaconfession, the most potent truth serum.  

 

“Here, Verdaconfession.”  

 

“W-wait, what are you—”  

 

“Inform the situation room. Deploy it immediately.”  

 

At Rukia’s words, the burly men waiting outside, having heard the situation in the interrogation room, entered and forcibly lifted Tekarke to his feet, prying his mouth open.  

 

“W-wait—”  

 

“You’ve always hated pain more than anyone. Even when you lost your hand before being exiled.”  

 

I approached Tekarke, who was kneeling with his mouth forced open, and spoke in a low voice.  

 

“You’d rather die quickly, wouldn’t you? Because suffering is what you fear the most.”  

 

At those words, Tekarke’s pupils began to shake.  

 

“I heard you’re under a curse too.”  

 

His pale lips started trembling.  

 

“A curse that burns your tongue with fire if you reveal the name of those who cooperated with you, right?”  

 

With his head held by the burly men, Tekarke’s face turned deathly pale, and he desperately shook his head.  

 

“P-please, not that…!”  

 

“It’s not just ordinary fire, but flames ignited by your dark magic. It’ll be excruciating enough to drive you mad.”  

 

I whispered softly to Tekarke, who was trembling and crying.  

 

“We’re going to give you this truth serum now and ask you who’s behind all this.”  

 

“I-I don’t know! Asking me is useless—”  

 

“I know I won’t be able to hear the name because of the curse. But it doesn’t matter.”  

 

I smiled coldly and spoke chillingly.  

 

“As long as I can give you the pain you fear the most.”  

 

“Please, just once, I’ll do anything, have mercy—”  

 

And then his voice was heard no more.  

 

💫

 

After drinking Verdaconfession and becoming powerless, Tekarke answered Rukia’s interrogation truthfully.  

 

The interrogation lasted quite a while, and during that time, I stepped out briefly to handle some knight order business.  

 

Then, before Rukia asked the final question to execute Tekarke, I returned to the interrogation room.  

 

Under the watchful eyes of Cedric and me, Rukia asked Tekarke one last question, who was behind all of this? And Tekarke met his end.  

 

Like my birth mother, writhing in pain, slowly.  

 

It was the end of a long, bitter connection.  

 

‘In the end, I couldn’t hear the name of the one who provided the dark magic-infused mana.’  

 

I expected not to hear it due to the curse, but thanks to the truth serum, I managed to catch a part of the name just before the curse activated.  

 

‘Ja…y…’  

 

‘Jay…’  

 

The problem is, this could be part of a first name or a surname.

 

The thought crossed my mind that the name containing the sound ‘Jay’ was too common to be of much help.  

 

‘Who could it be?’  

 

Someone who, without hesitation, revealed their intent to bring down the Empire by luring Tekarke into their schemes and even resorting to the use of dark magic that demanded immense sacrifices.  

 

“Ciel, what are you thinking about?”  

 

Cedric, who had taken my right hand in his, asked in a soft voice.  

 

The moment I met his clear, crimson eyes, I smiled gently.  

 

“It’s nothing.”  

 

“Really?”  

 

Cedric looked at me with disbelief.  

 

‘Honestly, his intuition is uncanny at times.’  

 

Sometimes it felt like he could read my mind.  

 

“You seem worried about something.”  

 

Cedric placed his hand on my cheek and spoke. The calloused hand from sword practice slowly brushed against my cheek.  

 

It was as if he were handling something precious, so very careful.  

 

“I was just thinking about who could be behind Tekarke.”  

 

“I see.”  

 

“You heard it too, right? Tecarque said ‘Jay’ earlier.”  

 

Cedric nodded calmly at my words.  

 

“It would’ve been better if we could’ve heard more. Then we might’ve caught the culprit sooner—”  

 

“Ciel.”  

 

Cedric called my name in a calm voice.  

 

I stopped speaking and turned to look at him. His crimson eyes, curved like a crescent moon, were smiling.  

 

“You don’t have to rush.”  

 

“Huh?”  

 

“You’ve had a lot going on yesterday and today. From capturing Tekarke to interrogating him.”  

 

“Ah, that’s nothing.”  

 

I answered with a bright smile. I did it because I thought it would reassure Cedric.  

 

But that didn’t mean my smile was fake.  

 

“My body might be a little tired, but my mind feels somewhat lighter.”  

 

“Because you won’t have to deal with Tecarque anymore?”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

“I understand. You’ve been through a lot because of that guy.”  

 

Cedric nodded and wrapped both hands around my right hand.  

 

“But that’s why I’m saying this. You’ve been through a lot of emotional strain lately.”  

 

He was right. That’s why I felt so relieved when we caught that man.  

 

“Ciel, I hope you can take it easy, even if it’s just for today. No, at least for the next few days, without worrying about anything else.”  

 

“Your Majesty…”  

 

“I’ll definitely catch the one behind this. I’ll prepare so thoroughly that you won’t have to worry, so you can rest easy.”  

 

Cedric said with a smile.  

 

“So take a break. Do what you want to do, okay?”  

 

Does Cedric know?  

 

‘That’s what I wanted to say to him.’  

 

I wanted to tell him the same thing. I thought I’d be able to say those words once I successfully changed the outcome. 

 

‘I didn’t expect him to beat me to it.’  

 

I thought to myself as I watched Cedric approach me. He pulled me tightly into his embrace and spoke in a gentle voice.  

 

“You’ve worked hard, Ciel.”  

 

Warmth radiated from the arm wrapped around my shoulder.  

 

“From now on, nothing like this will ever happen again.”  

 

It felt like my heart was calming down in that warmth.  

 

‘Ah, I shouldn’t let this happen.’  

 

But maybe it was okay to find comfort in this warmth, just for today.  

 

Maybe, just for today, I could take it easy, as Cedric said.  

 

‘Well, seeing this…’  

 

I must truly be weak to this being who looks only at me.  

 

Quietly smiling, I also wrapped my arms around Cedric’s shoulders.  

 

“Your Majesty, you’ve worked hard too.”  

 

“No, I haven’t done much.”  

 

“And thank you.”  

 

Even though I didn’t specify what I was thankful for, Cedric seemed to understand perfectly.  

 

And without a word, he held me even tighter.  

 

Even if I hadn’t been overflowing with mana, and even if he hadn’t been lacking in it.  

 

We probably would’ve still held each other like this, comforting one another, just as we did today.