I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart

As he asked me with a look on his face saying, ‘I’m glad Euseniel is interested,’ I almost wanted to say, ‘No.’ Still, I managed to come up with my intended answer.

“I was curious.”

“If you know why I was able to change like this, I think you should marry me.”

‘So, keep telling me you’re curious.; I turned away from that gaze.
I felt a little relieved, as the essence of his personality was still intact, but I deliberately turned my head to the side and spoke harshly.

“Alright, I’m not curious anymore.”

“Fine.”

Tess seemed unwilling to tell me truthfully why, and he backed away.
He must be hiding something.

“Oh right, Euseniel.
Can I go to Hardland? Just like it used to be.”

“No.”

I don’t even want to imagine what the rumors will be when he comes.
I’m sure the social gatherings will be in uproar for a while just because of what happened today.

“I knew it.”

Tess, grumbling, pulled something out of his arms.
It was a matte black stick that could be held in one hand.

“Is it a pass to the Imperial Palace?”

“Also accessible to the library.”

I’m trying to turn it down as the nuance was ‘So, you want to have it, right?’

“The library has been expanded.
It’s a lot bigger than the library Euseniel knew, and it has a lot more collections.
It can’t even compare to the library in the Concium.”

I have to say no, but my lips felt like they were glued together.

 

“Can I go to the forbidden zone?”

The pass that I received 14 years ago only allowed me to go to the general area.

“Books in the forbidden zone are not allowed, but you can borrow all the other books.
New publications are also allowed.”

“… thank you.”

Unfortunately, Tess knew me too well and the black pass was in my hands-

“Oh.”

The moment I thought I had grabbed the edge of the pass, my body staggered forward, and when I came to my senses, I was in someone’s arms.

“Euseniel.”

I could feel the cold imperial palace entrance pass in my hand, and at the same time, I could feel a firm chest touching me.

“My Euseniel.”

The faint sweet-smelling scent drenched my nose, and my will to push away the hard hands that was wrapped around my back and shoulders waned.

No, no.
Because it seems like he’s going to develop a bad habit.

As I raised my hand to push his broad shoulders away, a voice mixed with laughter came upon me.

“Come quickly.
Because my patience is short.”

When I came to my senses again, the arm that was holding me was gone.
There was no sign of Tess anywhere.

“… Teleportation?”

So, can he even use magic? Even the highest-level one?

“What the hell happened?”

* * *

The Emperor’s work is very simple.
All the Emperor has to do is work from early morning till late at night.
As usual, I woke up before the sun came up.

“Ah.”

By the time I unconsciously lamented, it was already too late.

I have a knack for sleeping late, but waking up early still feels bad, so I can’t control my strength right after waking up.

Bang!

It seems that the magical energy that jumped out of my body seems to have hit somewhere.

Crash!

Looks like something made of glass is broken this time.

“Your Majesty, a letter came late last night.”

After a while, the chief attendant came in and did not show any surprise when he saw the shattered pieces of glass.
I lifted the envelope he politely handed.

The sender is ‘Ethyl Bonart’.

“Why is this kid so persistent?”

The recipient is ‘Euseniel Hardland.’

The letter was intercepted in the middle, so even though there was no reply for several years, Bonart’s firstborn continued to send letters to Euseniel.

Roooar-

The letter at my fingertips burned.
Without smell or ashes.

Now, Bonart’s firstborn son will no longer send letters to Euseniel.
However, there is a problem if he goes to see her in person.

“Should I kill him?”

The chief attendant’s complexion did not change, but inside he was terrified.

“I should have killed him.”

I should have buried him in the ground before Euseniel came.
I could have disguised it as an accident.

After checking the paperwork briefly, I clicked my tongue and attended the morning meeting with the heads of each department.

“Your Majesty, this agenda is-”

“And this is-”

“In the province of Sar-”

The inquiries were so terrible that even the weather can be said to be very refreshing.

“I am in favor of the agenda that Your Majesty spoke of the other day.”

Marquis Xuen opens his mouth and plays with his tongue like a snake.
That person’s purpose is so transparent that it’s hard to not laugh in the face of it.

In reality, his heart was against the opinions I have expressed, yet he is saying things that he does not want to say because he wants to have a friendly relationship with me.

I pressed my temple to the disgusting color that took over my vision.

“I am against it.”

Duke Hardland opened his mouth.
As with 14 years ago, he has the same ‘consistent color’ and his face is very similar to Euseniel.

Like my Euseniel.

I listened to the Duke’s words.

“Your Majesty’s proposal is certainly persuasive, but we are not yet ready.
In addition to economic matters, human issues, and how will we supply materials?”

“Are you saying that our Northern Empire is only that much?”

The Marquis’ tone speaking plausibly, together with the behavior of other nobles pretending to agree with this made me laugh somehow.
But I pretended to be patient and listened to the meeting, trying to distract myself from the people as much as possible.

Because it is visible in my eyes.

A person’s soul.

It has been seen that way since the day I was born.
There was a square plate large enough to cover the upper body with the human heart as the center.

This is invisible to ordinary people, but it was only after I found out about this that I was nicknamed ‘crybaby’.

Obviously, everyone was wearing clothes, but strange plates would appear on top of them.
It even changed color from time to time, and I was terrified every time I saw it.

The most disappointing thing was that it was only visible to me.

“Do not obscure the essence, Marquis.”

The Duke’s intimidation stained the Marquis even more dirty.
How many times did I want to kill him because I couldn’t stand to see him?

If Aurin Xuen wasn’t Euseniel’s friend, that neck would have been cut off.

I covered my eyes with my palms and pressed hard on both temples.

“Are we going to stick with that policy for a year or two? No, we have to think about tens or hundreds of years.
In order to prepare for this, we have to convince the locals first.”

Befitting the nickname ‘Blue-blooded Hardland’, the Duke reproached Marquis Xuen.

When I lifted my hand that was covering my eyes, the Marquis’ color became even dirtier, and it was dyed so dark that I couldn’t even tell what color it was originally.

That’s outright anger and murderous intent.
Although ignored, it is clear that the Duke’s words cannot be refuted.

“Ah, I was in too much of a hurry.
It would be better to collect the Minister of the Internal Affairs’ opinions, and to make the details more specific.
Are there any further comments?”

No one answered.

“Then let’s move on to the next one.”

Boring.
It’s insanely boring.

If one lump of the same filth-color opens its mouth, another lump of filth-color opens its mouth again.
I want to pop those dirty lumps, but I have to be patient.

I have to think of Euseniel.
Her dark green eyes twinkled with gold.

Concentrating on the strong presence I had felt from the moment she entered the capital, I was able to calm my tumultuous mind.

“The famine in Sar is a problem.
It is believed that support is needed.”

Starting with the proposal, a lengthy debate ensued, and I couldn’t stand it, so I said a word.

“That’s a lie, right?”

The surroundings became quiet in an instant.

“Your, Your Majesty.
What do you mean-”

“- Count, you are lying.
Were you going to procure food for Sar and steal it in the middle?”

After seeing the recent report and seeing the color of the soul, the soul changes to a different color.

That’s right.

“Put that person in jail right now.
And search and confiscate the mansion immediately.”

When the order was finished, the waiting knights moved without hesitation.

“Your, Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

Contrary to the sinner’s voice, the conference room became quiet.
The plate of the soul that each of them possessed was gradually stained with astonishment.

I was used to this atmosphere, so I motioned for the meeting to resume.

“This is my next suggestion.”

Only the Chancellor was familiar with the situation, but he was not without agitation.

“Anyone want to say something?”