I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart

“Really, I hate going to parties.”

“Gael wants to go, but I can’t!”

Gael, who has grown up a lot these days, complained for the first time in a while.

“Yes, Gael.
It is better not to go.”

I stroked my sister’s head, cursing the New Year’s ball inside.

At the beginning of the new year, there are many things.

During these times the various social gatherings such as the New Year’s ball held by the imperial family and prayer meetings hosted by the Lux Temple, one of the great powers of the Northern Empire, are prevalent.

The New Year’s ball is not an event that takes place right after the New Year.
I’ve heard that on New Year’s Day, the Emperor has an unofficial schedule to tour the tombs of the previous Emperors.
But the official ceremony itself changes every year.

The Northern Empire gets colder towards the end of the year, and many people die at this time.

After the fifth Emperor, famous as an inventor and wise man, the death rate has decreased significantly.
But people still spend the end of the year quietly.

Instead, the new year is spent lively.
At this time, the imperial family distributes candles, oil, and various foods to the people who have difficulty surviving the cold winter.
I heard that sometimes clothes and bedding are also distributed.

During this time when everyone is excited, festivals are held in the imperial palace as well as everywhere throughout the capital and the empire.

It’s a new feeling to properly welcome the New Year’s ball.
But thinking about the party that will last for a few days makes my head hurt.
The reason I don’t like the event even more is that the opening ceremony is my birthday!

I don’t really celebrate my birthday, so I was going to give myself a break.

To think that I had to strain my body again after the project was over.
I’m not tired enough in terms of physical strength, but it’s mentally tiring.

Leaving behind Gael, who couldn’t go to the ball because she wasn’t old yet, only me and Mother headed to the imperial palace.

“Hoho, your father was very spirited today, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Father is going to come directly from the palace to the banquet hall.

“Euel, isn’t it time to start dating soon?”

“I am not interested.”

I should focus my everything on going back to my previous world.
I took a deep breath to suppress the memories of my previous life that suddenly came to mind.

These days, a lot of research has progressed, so the outline is slowly showing.
It was also nice to have a lot of data.
I’ll have to go to the imperial library again soon.

“Still, there are healthy young men like Ethyl and Nus around you, so it’s a waste to leave them alone.”

“If you put it like that, Mother also kept rejecting Father, who was a healthy young man, at first.”

It was a secret story that I heard after unintentionally drinking with Father one day.

“Millen is, um.”

“Could it be worse than Ethyl or Nous?”

I guess Mother couldn’t bear to say that Father wasn’t good in front of her own daughter.
Mother shrugged her shoulders with a look of defeat.

“And me and them, it’s not like that.”

“Hmm? There’s no way my daughter, Euel, didn’t notice anything.
Since she pretends not to know, she must be quite dissatisfied.”

I just laughed.

 

We soon arrived at the palace.

“Ciel, Euel.”

Perhaps Father had arrived beforehand, so as soon as the carriage door opened, I saw Father.

“Whose wife and daughter are so beautiful? Oh my God, Euel.
Even with that expression, Dad can’t help it.
How can my daughter be so lovely?”

Father, now quite able to read my expression, jumped at me before I could say anything.

“…… thank you, Father So stop staring and why don’t you go ahead and escort Mother?”

“Of course, Euel.”

Even if not as much as Mother who seems to deflect the flow of time, Father’s smiling face is cool.
Maybe, now it looks like that because I admit that the affection in those blue eyes is sincere?

My father in my previous life didn’t love me.
But now I feel Father loves me very much.
To the point where I smile when I think of Father.

“Duke Hardland’s family enters!”

My family came late, so the hall was already full.

Ah, attention.
After living in Varen where there were few people, these many gazes became very unfamiliar.

I didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone I didn’t know very well, so I averted my gaze and looked up at the ceiling.

It’s nice to see the ceiling of the central hall after a long time.
The Empire’s creation was still majestic and beautiful.

Who is that black god? Lux is represented in white, so it wouldn’t be Lux.
There are no other famous gods besides Lux.

“Euel.”

“Ethyl.”

After greeting his parents, Ethyl dared to approach me even while receiving Father’s stinging gaze.
Aurin should appear in a little while, right?

“Hi.”

I knew it.
Nus appeared too.

“Euel, the first dance is with Dad.
You understand? Is that okay, Ciel?”

And third in line, Father intervened.
He was intent on glaring at Ethyl and Nus with burning eyes.

No, Father.
Isn’t it time to stop?

“Um, not okay.”

“Ciel!”

“Even Euel has the right to hang out with cool guys her age.
Are you trying to ruin the mood by interfering?”

“But I do too!”

Father took my right hand and held it, not paying attention to the gaze of the people around him.

“Please think of me, who always lives anxiously.
Even today is our Euel’s first ball, isn’t it?”

He reacted as if I was going to change into something else right now.
As always.

“Um…….”

What was more embarrassing was that Mother was also in a positive mood towards Father’s reaction, unlike usual.

“So, shall we? Euseniel’s first dance should be with Millen.”

“Great.
Did you hear that, boys? Run along now.”

I was speechless seeing Father waving his hand.
Father seems to be running rampant like this because of the popular belief that something will happen with the person who danced for the first time at the New Year’s ball or debutante.

I didn’t have any intention of dancing in the first place, but the path laid down itself.

“His Majesty enters!”

The appearance of my childhood friend I haven’t seen in a long time gave a much stranger feeling than expected.

The suit with silver decorations on a black background was too good, and the slimmer chin made his beauty shine.
Most of all, he was terrifyingly overbearing.

The more I looked at him, the more I could feel that he was far away from the past.