I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep Chapter 115

Even with the quickly drawn conclusion, Caesar couldn’t be sure.

‘Could it be that Evelyn… likes me?’

He had never let himself imagine that possibility, afraid that getting his hopes up might only lead to a crushing disappointment.

But what if it wasn’t true? What if he was just mistaken? Caesar stared at Evelyn, then asked as if testing her.

“The urgent matter was just an excuse, wasn’t it? You came because you were worried about me?”

“……What?”

“Worried I might marry that author?”

“What?! Are you really going to marry her?!”

Evelyn’s eyes went wide as she burst out with words in a rush.

“Marriage, I mean, Your Majesty’s marriage should be considered much more carefully! Of course, the Benshy Count’s family is somewhat of a high-ranking noble house, but if you just wait a little longer, you could definitely find a far greater one. As you know, Your Majesty’s popularity is only growing day by day!”

“So what you’re saying is, you did come because you were worried about me? The urgent matter was just an excuse?”

“Your Majesty’s marriage is an urgent matter! To go through with it so hastily—”

“You’re the one who first suggested I seek a match publicly, Eve. You were also the one who suggested exchanging letters and inviting her to lunch at the palace.”

“That was only for appearances’ sake! To suppress those ridiculous rumors about you being a tyrant! And honestly, the letters and the lunches weren’t even my idea, they were Duke Bryden’s! I never meant to take it that far….”

Evelyn trailed off, sounding wronged.

“……Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why didn’t you want to take it that far? Didn’t you want me to get married?”

“Well…….”

Evelyn’s lips parted as if to answer, but then she closed them again, unable to find the words. The carriage filled with awkward silence.

Caesar didn’t press her for a reply. He was just as tense as she was.

“Um…… Your Majesty.”

At last Evelyn spoke again, asking quietly.

“Do you truly like her? Do you really want to marry her?”

Her voice was completely drained of strength.

Instead of answering, Caesar stared at her intently. She no longer seemed to be trying to hide her sulky expression.

Alongside hope, fear welled up inside Caesar’s chest.

Evelyn’s reaction was unmistakably jealousy. But even so, that didn’t necessarily mean it was love.

‘Maybe she’s just like a child jealous of a toy being taken away, feeling envy toward Lunabelle. Maybe Eve herself is mistaken about her own feelings.’

Perhaps it was only something fleeting, destined to vanish without a trace.

Was it because he had longed for this so desperately? Now that he was standing before the possibility of it becoming real, Caesar found himself afraid.

But of course, that didn’t mean he intended to let this chance slip away.

‘If Eve really is mistaken right now, then I’ll just make sure she stays mistaken forever. To do that…….’

“Your Majesty?”

Evelyn frowned slightly at his silence, sensing something was off.

“You don’t mean you really—”

“Who knows.”

“……What?”

Caesar turned his gaze away from Evelyn’s startled face.

“I’m not sure.”

Though he pretended to be calm as he looked out the window, his eyes burned with an intensity he couldn’t hide.

 

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

In the dark basement where only a single candlestick was burning, a man suddenly appeared.

The teleportation scroll he had just used crumbled into dust in his hand.

“Haa……”

Letting out a low sigh, he pushed back the strands of snowy white hair that had grown long enough to brush against his eyes.

The man, Ian Bryden, walked toward the corner of the basement. There stood a desk and a cabinet that seemed far too fine for such a shabby place that must once have been used as storage.

The cabinet was filled with glass bottles of all kinds, along with unused teleportation scrolls.

Ian glanced at them briefly, gauging how much suppressant was left inside the bottles.

‘There’s still plenty for now.’

Next, he sat at the desk and unrolled a large scroll.

It was a map, not only of the Dietrich Empire but also the surrounding nations. Though not detailed, it gave a wide, sweeping view of the entire region at a glance.

From a drawer, Ian took out pins and stuck one into the paper. The map was already covered with them in many places.

“Not here either. Then next……”

His gaze slowly traveled over the map. Among the many pins surrounding the Dietrich Empire, his eyes moved toward the few places still unmarked.

At that moment—thud!—a noise sounded above, like something heavy falling. Ian frowned.

The noise was surely the struggling of this house’s owner.

An old man living in seclusion with no contact with anyone else—his house made the perfect hideout for Ian.

Just in case he needed him later, Ian had chosen to lock him up instead of killing him. But if the man kept making a nuisance of himself like this, it would be troublesome.

“Maybe I should just kill him.”

Muttering indifferently, Ian’s gaze shifted to the cabinet.

With practiced ease, as if he had done it countless times before, he picked up a teleportation scroll. Without the slightest hesitation, he ripped it in half—shrrrk!—and in an instant, Ian’s figure vanished from the basement.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

A few days after his visit to the Benshy Count’s estate, Caesar went to see Katana for the first time in a while.

“What brings you here?”

Katana asked curtly as he set down a glass of water out of courtesy.

“I have a few things I want to ask you.”

Caesar spoke as if Katana’s tone didn’t bother him at all.

“Have you talked with Eve about me lately?”

“Huh?”

Katana’s face scrunched up as if he had just heard something strange, then quickly lit up in realization.

“Oh, I get it! You came for love advice, didn’t you?”

“What?”

The mischievous grin tugging at Katana’s lips gave him away. Caesar almost denied it on reflex but changed his mind. If he wanted honest answers, he needed to be honest himself.

“That’s right.”

“Whaaa—”

Katana made a bizarre noise, twisting his body in excitement.

“See! I knew it! But Evelyn keeps saying no, no!”

“What did Eve say no to?”

“You know, when you announced you were looking for a marriage match the other day. I asked her about it. Asked what was going on—wasn’t Caesar going to marry Evelyn?!”

“And she said no?”

“Yeah! She said you two weren’t like that. And even if you were, she said it would be hard to actually marry. But that’s not true, right? You are going to marry Evelyn, right?”

‘Even if we were like that, marriage would be difficult…….’

Caesar repeated Katana’s words in his mind. Just as he suspected.

Ever since the thought that Evelyn might be jealous of Lunabelle crossed his mind, Caesar had been growing more certain.

Right now, Evelyn believed she liked Caesar.

It might be a mistake, it might be a fleeting feeling, but at the very least her feelings in this moment were real.

And to turn those passing feelings into something eternal, Caesar had no intention of letting this chance slip by.

To make it impossible for her to later dismiss it as just a mistake—he would make their relationship official in front of everyone.

Marriage.

For this day, he had built up the imperial authority and strengthened the Chester Barony. Marrying Evelyn was not an impossible task.

‘The problem is… Eve won’t welcome it.’

Such a marriage would never secure her heart.

“Tell me exactly what Eve said.”

“Uhmm……”

Katana thought for a moment, then glanced at Caesar nervously.

“Is it okay for me to say this……?”

“Tell me everything. Leave nothing out.”

“Well, she brought up your father and mother…… Said they married for love, but because of that the imperial authority weakened. And in the end, even their love faded…….”

Katana looked away apologetically, maybe because he felt bad for mentioning Caesar’s parents.

“Evelyn said that. She said no one would be more concerned about that than you, Caesar.”

“I see……”

In a way, it was true. Having seen his own mother abandoned in that manner, Caesar didn’t take marriage lightly.

The problem was that his feelings for Evelyn had grown far too strong to worry about such things.

Caesar frowned. Evelyn’s resolve seemed firmer than he had thought—almost as if, even if their hearts aligned, she was determined never to marry.

‘That won’t do.’

For days, one image had lingered in Caesar’s mind without fading.

Evelyn in a wedding veil and dress, looking at him with unmatched beauty.

A vision he had imagined long ago was slowly taking clearer form.

Caesar clenched his fist. He would never allow anyone else to take that vision away from him.

There was only one way to persuade Evelyn. He had to make her believe that their marriage would be blessed by everyone and seen as the most rightful choice politically.

‘But how? How can I possibly make that happen?’

Simply granting her a title wouldn’t be enough. He needed greater legitimacy than that.

At that moment, something Evelyn once said resurfaced in his memory.

‘You know, like if a crisis struck the Empire, and Your Majesty overcame it with your annihilation ability.’

Caesar’s eyes gleamed.

‘If I become a hero…….’