I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 138

“Rain…”

Even the light impact from the heavy and thick downpour felt painful to my skin. The lightning was so intense that several trees surrounding the palace were engulfed in flames.

The situation, getting onto the carriage with my soaked clothes felt all too familiar.

Fumbling through my hazy memories, it reminded me of the day when a young, agitated Tess had fainted after a tantrum. I couldn’t see him for a while after that.

Even now…

Could there be something I missed?

“Euel, what was that earlier, huh? You were trying to jump off the railing?”

My father, who had been escorting my mother, was sitting beside me. He looked visibly pale.

“Oh, Father…”

“Euel, ah, my goodness. Are you planning to make Dad suffocate?”

“Millen, that height is nothing for Euel.”

Father was visibly relieved as Mother interjected. Father then tightened his grip on my hand and glanced sharply at me.

“What did His Majesty do wrong to you, Euel?”

I had resolved to be honest with my family, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about Tess, who had decided to marry me, went out strolling with another woman and was acting close to her.

I could easily anticipate what Father was about to say. It was alright for me to blame Tess, but I didn’t want my parents to blame me.

“Te, no, His Majesty offended me. He was trying to apologize for that.”

“Offended? Offended, you say? What kind of offense, exactly?”

“Can’t I keep that a secret?”

Avoiding Father’s intense gaze seemed to only further fuel his agitation.

“Surely it has something to do with the rumor that my daughter will become the Empress!”

“…what?”

Father gripped my hands tightly as I was unable to confirm or deny the unexpected story.

“Dad has eyes and ears, Euel.”

His tone was affectionate, yet it carried the authority of the Minister of the Internal Affairs.

“His Majesty has only one thing that would make him kneel before you and apologize.”

Father, who had never intruded into my private life, was now earnestly reprimanding me.

“If I were to list His Majesty’s virtues, it would be his unwavering single-mindedness, that is unrivaled even by Dad, but that is even absent now. I’m against it!”

“I don’t want it too.”

Gael, who had been silent, suddenly intervened.

“I heard it all too. That His Majesty cheated on Sister!”

Gael, clenching both fists, spoke with considerable harshness.

“And that, that funny looking Louise Hitty too doesn’t have a great personality.”

“What did that woman say about me?

“Not that. She didn’t say a word about Sister. Instead, her friends acted as if something had happened.”

I had felt it before, but Louise Hitty was quite smart. She achieved what she wanted without personally stepping forward, using others as her tools.

“She was pretending to laugh while trying to stop them. I thought I wouldn’t know, acting all triumphant as if she were the Empress herself.”

Steam seemed to be spitting out of my younger sister, who had grown somewhat more assertive in the past three years.

“She acted so superior at Duchess Lantia’s salon that Ruby said something because it was too unsightly to see her showing off.”

“Euel, even Gael speaks like that. Do you really want to forgive His Majesty? Right? Ciel, what do you think?”

“I’m always on Euel’s side.”

The three pairs of eyes remained unwavering and unaffected by the thunder and lightning.

While it was true that Tess was at fault and that I was hurt because of it, I had begun to defend him almost out of habit.

“Even though His Majesty kneeled in front of the people?”

Father hesitated for a moment.

“But still, no. I am against it. Absolutely against it.”

Father, who had chosen his daughter over loyalty to the imperial family, shook his head.

But the next morning, he went to the palace at dawn, only to return home in the afternoon with a pale face.

“Millen, what’s going on?”

“Oh, Ciel. I really respect the Chancellor.”

“What’s all this talk about suddenly, Millen?”

“I can’t even imagine how he managed to handle His Majesty for the past ten years.”

“Is His Majesty planning another incident?”

“Yes, Ciel.”

As I overheard the conversation while heading down to greet my father, I reflexively hid myself.

“I have to stop His Majesty.”

Tess? Why?

“His Majesty declared that he would annihilate the Hitty family.”

“What did you say?”

“During the Xuen incident and now, this is clearly an act of revenge and venting anger.”

“Because of the rumors about the affair with His Majesty?”

“Exactly, Ciel. While Hitty didn’t directly meddle, it seems that negative rumors about Euel have spread. Gael heard about it too. It seems that this led His Majesty to the decision to get rid of Hitty.”

A deep sigh escaped my father’s lips along with his concern for me.

“How much it will hurt Euel if she finds out…”

“Euel had a hard time even when there was an issue with the Gilbert family. This is a big problem.”

“Yes, Ciel. Even when His Majesty wanted Gilbert’s magic stone processing rights, Euel blamed herself for a long time as if it was her fault. I’m worried about how guilty she will feel if she finds out about Hitty’s situation.”

“First, try to stop that damned Majesty, Millen. I’ll do my best to make sure nothing gets to Euel’s ears.”

Mother’s tone was sharper than usual.

“Understood. And I also need to repair the collapsed watchtower to the west. I might not be able to come in for a few days.”

“I’ll take care of the packing, so rest for a while.”

Sensing my parents’ movement, I quickly went up to my room.

What was more shocking than the crisis that hit the Hitty family was the fact that my parents knew me too well. I didn’t want to worry them any further.

“But still, I can’t just sit still.”

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