I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep Chapter 104

Using a teleport scroll, we returned to the Imperial Palace immediately. Caesar, Floria, Olche, and I all came together.

Floria, who had been missing for days, was sent to the princess’s quarters to rest. Of course, she was still insisting that she wanted to see Ian.

“What in the world happened?”

Caesar looked confused as he spoke. He and I were talking in his drawing room, trying to make sense of Floria’s strange behavior.

I was just as confused. I couldn’t understand why Floria wanted to see Ian so badly.

It’s like… she likes him or something.

I couldn’t help but think of the original story. Could it really be that the two were “destined” for each other? That they were drawn together?

“Ian seemed confident, like he knew Your Majesty would follow his lead.”

I said this to Caesar as I tried to organize my thoughts.

“He must’ve done something to her.”

“Exactly. But to win someone’s heart in just a few days…”

That’s when a chilling thought struck me—because of Ian’s ability.

“Don’t tell me… he created it. The love.”

“…What?”

“Ian’s ability is creation. If what he can make isn’t limited to physical things, then…”

I turned sharply to Caesar and asked,

“What about Your Majesty’s ability?”

“I can erase abstract things too. I haven’t tested it thoroughly, but I’ve always thought… love might be one of them.”

“Come to think of it, earlier—you erased the pain in my arm!”

Caesar nodded.

“If Ian’s ability works similarly, it’s possible he created those feelings—planted them in Floria. Affection, love, things like that.”

“But still, to do something like that…”

“No. Ian absolutely would.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell Caesar, but I remembered—Ian had done the exact same thing in the original story.

Even the love between the two characters in the novel… had been fake. Their meeting wasn’t fate. It had all been manipulated by Ian.

More than anything, Ian is someone who’s incapable of loving anyone.

“And if that’s true, it explains how Her Highness disappeared during the snow festival without a trace. She went after Ian willingly. Because she liked him!”

“…That’s horrifying.”

Caesar’s face twisted in disgust.

“But if we think of it differently, we might’ve just found the solution. You have your ability.”

“Right. If those feelings were created with a power, I should be able to erase them with mine. If I erase Floria’s feelings for Ian, maybe she’ll go back to how she was.”

“Then we should bring her here right away—”

I stood up quickly, but staggered as dizziness hit me. Caesar caught me by the waist.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah… Yes. I guess I’m still low on blood.”

Though I’d received emergency treatment as soon as we arrived, it clearly hadn’t been enough for a full recovery.

“You should go to your room and rest.”

“What? But—”

“Go on.”

He said it firmly, then added,

“I’ll send the physician to your room. I can take care of Floria on my own.”

“…Alright.”

He was right. There wasn’t anything I could do to help Caesar use his ability. And if I kept pushing myself in this state, I’d just be a burden.

I nodded, and Caesar called Olche, who had been waiting outside.

“You called, Your Majesty.”

She had temporarily taken over our security detail in place of Alvin, who was still unaware of everything.

“Take Eve to her room, and check on Floria’s condition. I need to speak with her.”

“Understood.”

Olche held out her arm to escort me.

“Then let me know right away if anything happens.”

I left the room after giving Caesar a small nod.

“Are you feeling very unwell?”

“I’m okay. I think I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.”

“That’s a relief.”

Olche supported me with one arm. Whether it was the seriousness of the situation or a growing sense of responsibility, she was far more composed than when I’d first met her.

“But Lady Eve—why did you give the signal to attack at that exact moment?”

“…Pardon?”

Surprised by the sudden question, I looked back at her.

“You were locked underground the whole time, weren’t you? You didn’t know anything about what was going on above.”

“That’s right.”

“Then you couldn’t have known whether Her Highness was in the cabin or not. So why did you signal the operation?”

“Ah…”

“Was it a desperate move, hoping for the best?”

“Of course not. I had a pretty good guess. That Her Highness was inside the cabin.”

“What? How?”

Olche stopped walking and looked at me. I shrugged and continued.

“This morning—just minutes before the infiltration—Ian told me he’d been conducting experiments here all night. Which meant he hadn’t left the cabin.”

“And?”

“If you had something extremely valuable, and someone was trying to steal it, what would you do?”

Olche blinked, caught off guard by the question.

“Well… I’d probably keep it close to me.”

“What if that wasn’t possible?”

“I’d store it somewhere safe… and guard it. …Ah!”

Her mouth opened slightly as if something had clicked.

“Exactly. To Ian, Her Highness was that precious object—essential to the success of his plan. That’s why I figured he would’ve kept her somewhere within sight. And why he hadn’t left the cabin.”

“That makes sense. Then… wouldn’t it have been better to move at night? A surprise attack under cover of darkness?”

“But Ian would’ve expected that. Striking during the day was the more unexpected move.”

Olche nodded in agreement. As we resumed walking, I added,

“And we didn’t have time.”

“Time?”

“I didn’t know how long my body would hold out. And I had a feeling Ian might try to relocate soon. It was only natural to assume he suspected he was being followed.”

“I see…”

Before long, we arrived at my room. Olche helped me to my bed and gave a short bow.

“Then please rest well, Lady Eve.”

 

 

****

 

 

 

I took the medicine and slept straight through the entire day. When I finally came to, Caesar was sitting by the head of my bed.

“…Your Majesty?!”

Startled, I tried to sit up, but Caesar gently stopped me.

“It’s alright. Just stay lying down.”

“But I’m fine now…”

“Still. The physician said you need to rest for several days. Don’t worry about anything happening in the imperial wing.”

“Alright… But, um—what about Her Highness? What happened to her?”

Caesar’s expression darkened in an instant. He spoke with a heavy look on his face.

“Your guess was right. As soon as I erased her positive feelings toward Ian, she went back to normal. She admitted that leaving her seat during the Snow Festival had been her own doing.”

“…She remembers everything that happened with Ian?”

Caesar let out a small sigh and replied,

“Not anymore.”

Not anymore? That meant…

“I erased all of her memories from the moment Ian created those feelings, up to now. She looked so confused…”

“Oh…”

“I don’t know if I had the right to do that,” he added quietly. He looked genuinely troubled. I gently placed my hand on top of his, which was resting on his knee.

“You did the right thing. Being kidnapped… those memories would’ve only been traumatic.”

Having your heart manipulated by someone else couldn’t possibly be easy to accept. Especially at her age—it might have only brought more confusion and pain.

Caesar clasped my hand in return and spoke again.

“I just… I don’t know. Using an ability like this to control someone’s heart…”

“It is… kind of strange, I guess.”

A brief silence passed before Caesar broke it again.

“And about that man—the one who was Ian’s guide.”

“Oh, right! What happened to him?”

“He’s recovering now. Looks like he’ll survive.”

“That’s a relief. Once he’s conscious, we might be able to learn more about Ian. Maybe even about everything he’s done so far.”

Then something else came to mind.

“By the way, what about Viscount Kraus? He’s the one who spread those rumors about you, but with no proof…”

Unless they caught Ian, there was no real evidence to use against the viscount.

But letting him go feels… wrong.

I sighed and muttered,

“It just feels so anticlimactic. Like… nothing’s really been solved.”

“You and Floria being safe is enough. Besides, there’s no way Ian’s backing down after this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

There was no way someone like Ian—who’d wanted the throne so desperately, who craved “a sense of achievement” more than anything—would give up now. Now that he knew what Caesar’s ability was, he’d be preparing for it thoroughly.

And eventually… he’ll come for us again, in some form or another.

Now that we knew he could manipulate feelings themselves, there was no such thing as “safe.”

We exchanged serious looks. Then—knock knock—a voice came from just beyond the door.

“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”