The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go Chapter 95

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[You’re right. That Emperor is correct. You need to rest for a while.]  

 

Caliberne, residing within the sword, glowed with a blue light as she spoke in a serious tone.  

 

[If I tell you to rest, then rest. If something’s dangerous, don’t do it. You really don’t listen, do you?]

 

“What can I do? It’s my age, Mom.”  

 

[…If you pass out again and come to where I am, I won’t let it slide. Just you wait.]

 

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Caliberne’s stern voice.  

 

[Go ahead, laugh all you want. Once you get a beating, that smile will vanish.]

  

“Ah, alright. I’m sorry.”  

 

[Are you even listening to me? I said you need to rest for a while.]

  

“Yes, I’m listening.”  

 

[Good. Stay still like this for at least three days. Maybe do some sword practice, but that’s it.]

  

“What about the knight order duties? I have to handle those.”  

 

[Ugh, fine. Just do that. But don’t even think about that Tekarke guy or the mastermind behind all this for now.]  

 

Caliberne repeated her words, and I nodded, promising to do as she said.  

 

‘She’s probably acting like this because it hasn’t been long since I was attacked.’  

 

Even though Caliberne can read my thoughts when I’m awake, she seemed surprised that I was still worrying about the mastermind even after Tecarque’s death.  

 

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have told me so many times to rest without a care in the world.  

 

[You always said you wanted to retire and lie around without a care, didn’t you? Why not do that now? The Emperor even told you to.]  

 

“Yeah… you’re right.”  

 

💫

 

“Thank you for accepting the invitation, Princess.”  

 

“Not at all. I should be thanking you for inviting me, Your Majesty.”  

 

Persephine, who had just expressed her gratitude, smiled faintly and pulled a brown bottle from her pocket, pouring its contents into her teacup.  

 

“Princess, what’s in that bottle…?”  

 

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some homemade honey I brought from Ackeleta. It tastes great when added to tea.”  

 

Persephine answered Cedric’s question nonchalantly as if it were nothing.  

 

“Hmm, I see. Anyway, I called you here today because I wanted to ask you something…”  

 

Cedric, who hadn’t taken his eyes off the teacup, suddenly stopped speaking.  

 

Noticing this, Persephine quickly brought the cup to her lips and drank all the tea in one go.  

 

“Princess! Put that down right now!”  

 

But by the time Cedric stood up and reached out, it was already too late.  

 

The teacup fell from Persephine’s hand and shattered into pieces. Her face turned deathly pale as she looked at Cedric and smiled.  

 

“Thank you… for everything until now.”  

 

A trickle of blood seeped from her blue-tinged lips, and she collapsed to the floor, vomiting blood.  

 

“Paul!!”  

 

At Cedric’s shout, Paul, who had been hiding in the corner with a concealment spell, appeared and rushed to Persephine’s side.  

 

“I’ll call the medical team and the mages immediately.”  

 

At the same time, the door burst open.  

 

“What on earth is going on… Princess?”  

 

Felix, who entered first, was horrified to see Persephine collapsed and vomiting blood.  

 

Ciel, who entered next, looked at Persephine and then at Cedric, her voice trembling as she asked,  

 

“Your Majesty, what is this…”  

 

Then, seeing Paul’s retreating figure, she said, “You’ve called the medical team and the mages, right? I’ll contact the Magic Research Department and have them prepare all the remaining antidote ingredients.”  

 

“Yes. Please, Ciel.”  

 

“And make sure the Princess’s body temperature doesn’t drop. Cover her with this.”  

 

Ciel took off her jacket and draped it over Persephine.  

 

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. I’ll leave the Princess in your care, Your Majesty.”  

 

And with that, she dashed off like the wind.  

 

“Good heavens, Princess, she’s losing so much blood…”  

 

Felix, seeing Persephone collapsed, was beside himself.  

 

‘…We need to know what kind of poison it is to make an antidote.’  

 

At that moment, Cedric’s eyes fell on the brown bottle still sitting on the table.  

 

“Sir Flithia, hold the Princess for a moment. And wrap this cloak around her.”  

 

Cedric, after handing Persephine to Felix, carefully picked up the brown bottle from the table. He then waved his hand to create a breeze and cautiously sniffed it.  

 

‘Odorless.’  

 

Without a precise analysis, it was difficult to determine what kind of poison it was. His fists clenched in anger, and his crimson eyes burned like flames as he watched Felix, tears streaming down his face, calling out to Persephine in desperation.  

 

‘To drive your own flesh and blood to the edge of a cliff…’  

 

At that moment, Paul returned with the medical team, the mages, and Ciel, who rushed into the room.  

 

‘Worse than a beast.’  

 

Cedric muttered to himself.  

 

If left unchecked, the claws of that beast would extend to Deamant and even to Ciel.  

 

‘I won’t let that happen.’  

 

His fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood. But Cedric paid no heed and made a vow.  

 

‘I’ll tear them apart before that happens.’  

 

And he repeated it to himself.  

 

He must never forget the rage burning in his chest.

 

💫

 

“By the way, why aren’t that escort knight and the maid showing up at such a critical time?”  

 

Rukia asked, visibly agitated and confused.  

 

Beside him, on a velvet-covered bed, Persephine lay breathing weakly, her condition clearly poor at a glance.  

 

While I didn’t know the whereabouts of the maid, I was aware of Felix’s condition and cautiously spoke up.  

 

“Sir Flithia isn’t in a state to come right now. After the Princess was moved here, he broke down in tears and was taken away due to dehydration.”  

 

“Ah, I see… What a mess this is.”  

 

Rukia scratched his head and let out a sigh.  

 

“Her condition… it’s really bad.”  

 

Rukia, looking at Persephine lying on the bed, spoke softly.  

 

“Even if she hadn’t been poisoned, she wouldn’t have lasted more than a few months because of those curses.”  

 

“I heard the Princess has been frail since she was a child.”  

 

I stared at Persephine, her face ghostly pale, breathing faintly as if on the verge of fading, and spoke.  

 

“Was the weakness the Princess felt not due to an actual illness, but because of the curses?”  

 

“Yes.”  

 

Somehow, it made sense.  

 

In the original story, there was no mention of Persephine being born frail. It turned out it was all because of curses someone had deliberately placed on her.  

 

“The oldest curse was placed about 15 years ago. If she’s been living under curses since then…”  

 

Rukia trailed off, sighing and shaking his head.  

 

“I really don’t understand how someone could do something like this. To dare do such a thing to a princess of a country is unbelievable.”  

 

Cedric, who had been silent amidst Rukia’s agitation, finally spoke, “I couldn’t have imagined it, either. I never thought someone would place such powerful curses on a person, let alone multiple ones.”  

 

Most of the curses placed on Persephone were designed to make the cursed person feel pain.  

 

So, all the pain she had felt wasn’t due to illness but because of the curses.  

 

“The only people who could do something like this to royalty… would have to be other royalty, right?”  

 

“That’s the most likely possibility.”  

 

Cedric nodded slowly.  

 

“The Ackeleta royal family is probably involved in this.”  

 

The first curse placed on Persephine was activated about 15 years ago. Who in the world would place such cruel curses on a child, and for what purpose?  

 

“The most recent curse, as you can see, is different from the previous ones. It’s presumed to have been activated using dark magic, the same kind of black mana we’ve seen over and over again.”  

 

Rukia flipped through the examination papers as he explained, “The poison the Princess ingested also had a spell cast on it, though it wasn’t a curse.”  

 

“There was a spell on the poison too?”  

 

“Yes. If a certain amount is injected into a person, it sends a signal to the one who casts the spell. Though, given the current situation, we can’t tell who that person is.”  

 

At Rukia’s words, Cedric’s expression shifted as if he had realized something.  

 

“So, the Princess was under pressure to use the poison on someone.”  

 

“Could she have been pressured to take her own life…?”  

 

“It’s possible, but not necessarily.”  

 

Cedric spoke in a troubled voice.  

 

“She might have been ordered to assassinate someone else. Unable to carry out the order, she might have taken the poison herself.”  

 

“Ah…”  

 

“And if it wasn’t an order to take her own life but to assassinate someone, the target was most likely me.”  

 

Ackeleta had sent Persephine to Deamant as a substitute for tribute, almost by force.