I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 231
“It seems like that woman was the only one affected by the magic, and Count Daidi doesn’t appear to be involved. Still, he won’t escape punishment for what his daughter did.”
An attempted assassination of the Emperor—too blatant to ignore.
Even if the entire family is executed, there’s little to argue against the charge.
My mind, which had been a bit exhilarated, grew heavy. After a moment of thought, I asked the waiting General Panet at the entrance for a favor.
“Please…bring a blanket for Ruby.”
The general acknowledged with a nod and quickly gave the order to the nearby knight. The prison was extremely cold and eerie, and it felt too harsh to leave her without anything to endure the night.
Ah, Ruby. My dear friend.
She tried to kill Tess, so she’ll have to face the consequences, but why did it have to be Ruby? If she was just a stranger, it would have been easier to turn my back on the situation.
“Usually, the lasting effects of magic related to the mind or soul are short-lived. This necklace was likely given to compensate for that, but even so, it’s still a pretty strong spell.”
“Hmm.”
“Mind control is much easier when there are lingering thoughts, and it seems the daughter of Count Daidi had a lot on her mind.”
“Isn’t there a way to avoid being affected by that?”
“It doesn’t work on people with a healthy soul like Euseniel.”
I remembered when Tess tried to charm me when I was young, but I managed to shake it off, or when Prince Cardo tried to cast a suspicious spell on me in the imperial palace, but failed.
“Maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“You’re tired, right? Let’s go rest.”
I pulled Tess’s cheek as he tried to mumble.
“I wondered if the Emperor of the Southern Empire purposely chose someone close to me.”
“Why?”
“To make things difficult for me.”
I was startled by the words he added, about tormenting the most important person in his life.
“Can you investigate that far?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that I care about you? Except for the stupid Duke Liesl, of course.”
Tess seemed to know a lot about the Southern Emperor as well.
“He’s around my age, and honestly, he’s annoying.”
“I know about his age.”
It occurred to me that there was almost nothing known about the Southern Emperor. Everyone knew what Grand Duke Flora looked like, but we didn’t even know the Southern Emperor’s hair color.
“He’s physically capable, similar to me, but opposite in nature. He’s human, but strengthened by the blessing of the God of Light.”
“Anything else?”
“Are you seriously taking an interest in someone you don’t even know yet? His eyes and hair aren’t even black, Euseniel.”
“I’m not interested.”
I stared directly into Tess’s eyes.
“To ruin someone using such perverted methods. It’s disgusting.”
That bastard. I’ll make sure he gets punished.
I’ll capture him and expose what he did to Ruby.
“I don’t like that crazy bastard either, but Euseniel, I just hope he doesn’t take up more space in your head than I do.”
“…Is that what’s important right now?”
“Alright, let’s go in.”
I sighed deeply at Tess’s nonsense, which seemed to pop up every time I started to forget about it.
“But Euseniel, could you say it again?”
“What?”
“You said you loved me earlier.”
“What, what!”
Even though it was night, the heat rose to my neck from embarrassment.
“My beloved Euseniel, do you love me?”
At night, the darkness can hide my flushed face and trembling eyes, so it’s easier to express my true feelings. But it’s a little difficult when the lights are still on and Tess is looking at me with such clear eyes!
“Oh, I guess I got rejected.”
“That’s not it!”
I snapped, and Tess laughed again.
His white, delicate fingers, which had been holding mine, moved up to my cheek. Then, he gently brushed his lips against it.
“Your lips are hurt, Euseniel.”
“What?”
It didn’t seem like it could be true, but when I checked, I was surprised to feel a scab.
“You must have bitten your lip. You must have been really nervous.”
Tess slipped his hand under my arm and picked me up effortlessly. His movements were like handling a baby, but I eagerly wrapped my arms around his neck.
I leaned my head against his broad shoulder.
After going through so many big events, I hadn’t even realized that my legs were shaking.
“I was scared.”
“Huh?”
“I didn’t want to show it because I thought you’d tell me not to go, but I was scared.”
I didn’t want to die again.
I don’t have nightmares, but I can still vividly recall the cold sensation of death.
The soldier who collapsed beside me had been stabbed in two places at once and died immediately. His body was retrieved without issue, but I couldn’t even bring myself to look at his face.
When monsters or enemies died, I felt nothing, but when our soldiers died, it was different.
“Good job, Euseniel.”
Tess held me tightly and patted my back. The familiar warmth and sweet scent melted away the emotions I couldn’t show outside.
“If I tell you not to go, will you not go?”
“No.”
Tess laughed briefly, as if he knew what I would say. I clutched his clothes tightly.
“I’m scared. I’m scared, but I want to end this war quickly and go back to Alin.”
Leaving made me realize just how precious the peaceful daily life is.
“I want to go to Alin and marry you, Tess.”
His hand, which had been patting my back, stopped. I raised my head to look into his dark eyes, and a light sigh escaped his red lips.
“Euseniel always surprises me.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t say you love me, but now you want to get married. Wasn’t it just a few months ago when you said we should date first, not get married?”
Tess is usually like a child, but when he teases me, he’s very composed.
I chose silence, and Tess laughed aloud. I forgot to be shameless when I teased him, but I gave him a soft glare.
Then Tess smiled the way I liked.
“Alright, let’s wash up and go to bed. You look really tired.”
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