I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 235

To emphasize being a child of the Light, it was almost laughable.

I continued pretending to be angry, as though I hadn’t noticed.

“So, why exactly did you kidnap me? Care to explain, Your Majesty Emperor of the Southern Empire?”

“Euel, call me Miel. We’re of the same kind, blessed by the Light, aren’t we?”

The Southern Emperor’s excessive obsession with the ‘Light’ gave me chills.

“Look, Your Majesty, I really don’t appreciate you calling me by my name so casually.”

“Hey, please don’t be so cold to me.”

The Southern Emperor pretended to be hurt, but I felt no sympathy. He was obviously doing it on purpose.

“Oh, so my face doesn’t seem to work on you, Euel?”

If your face could have charmed me, the war wouldn’t have happened. Tess would’ve lived his life just as he was born.

“You didn’t bring me here just to send me back quietly, did you?”

Now, I wasn’t just a half-elf. I was the fiance of the Northern Emperor and the Lady of Hardland, so asking for help from the elves would be impossible.

“You knew, Euel.”

He answered, and though his words were accurate, the way he responded was maddening. I’m certain now — he’s insane.

“So, what do you plan to do with me?”

The goal was clearly to kidnap me and drive Tess mad. Or maybe to use me as a distraction in the fight…

“I want you to become the Empress of the Southern Empire, Euel.”

…Or was it?

“I know it’s sudden.”

When I raised an eyebrow, he grinned. The more I looked at him, the more irritating he became.

Unable to endure it any longer, I tried to sit up, and the Southern Emperor quickly supported my upper body. His arms around me were warm, but it made my skin crawl.

It felt as though he was chaining me down.

He continued.

“There are no elves among the upper class of the Southern Empire. No, there are no high-ranking elves.”

I understood that elves were considered without rank. While they had a king, they were equal in status, and decisions were made collectively. If there were unresolved matters, older members would be consulted.

In the elven world, my mother, or even an elf from a commoner background in the Empire, would be seen as equal. This man was treating those elves like mere humans.

And yet, he claimed to follow Lux, the god who considered everyone equals.

“But Euseniel is a high-ranking noble. The daughter of a Duke, no less. And on top of that, you’re the perfect fit because you’re of elf descent.”

“I’m from the Northern Empire, though.”

“The Empress of the Southern Empire must be of noble blood.”

“I am the fiance of the Northern Emperor—”

“—And soon, the Northern Emperor will be dead, so it won’t matter, will it?”

The urge to punch the face of the man who was smiling so brightly, bubbled up inside me.

But I was too exhausted to defeat him. I didn’t even know where I was. There could be countless knights outside as well.

Attacking the enemy without any information was a foolish move.

“Euel, it’s cute seeing you think things through.”

I expected those words, but pretended to be flustered.

“Hahaha, it’s cute how your face turns red.”

The Southern Emperor, who had been laughing for a while, suddenly leaned forward and asked.

“So, Euel, do you really like that filthy devil contractor?”

“What?”

“I understand why that disgusting devil likes you. You shine so brightly. But I don’t think you’d like him back.”

“……”

“Is it because he’s the Emperor?”

I was taken off guard for a moment, struggling to keep my composure.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t become his fiance for such reasons.”

“Oh, Euel. How could you like someone who reeks of that stench? I’ll be the one and only Emperor of the continent soon, so come to me. That way, both you and I will be happy!”

I wanted to rip that mouth apart.

I did my best to hide my anger and summoned every ounce of strength not to show it, while the Southern Emperor stood up from his seat.

“I see this gem is important to you, Euel, so I’ll hold onto it for now.”

The Southern Emperor held a red lump in his hand — Tess’s heart.

“Give that back!”

I tried to snatch it, but the damned Southern Emperor was faster.

“Eek.”

He stepped back with a playful laugh, which only fueled my anger.

“Wow, you’re not normal, are you? To move that quickly…”

He tilted his head, as if realizing something, then clapped his hands.

“Or is it that this is that important?”

I didn’t know what he knew or how much he understood. He was quick to pick up on things, so it was best not to get caught up in his words.

He might even have some special ability to see souls, like Tess.

“Please give it back.”

“If I give it to you, I feel like Euel will just run away, so I won’t.”

My anger and anxiety surged to the point that it felt like they would explode from my head, but I couldn’t show it. I couldn’t let him realize how important it was to me.

“By the way, that bracelet controls your magic, so you should forget about trying to escape.”

“What?”

Then the damned Southern Emperor threw another bombshell.

“I saw Euel using magic.”

He figured it out.

I had gathered magic into my sword to kill the dragon after seeing Ber use it on the dragon named Hills and he taught me how to use it. The effectiveness had been good, so I kept using it, but he noticed.

“When I saw you before, I thought you were just a physically capable half-elf, but you’ve grown quite splendidly.”

He grinned and walked toward the door.

“Wait.”

I stopped the Southern Emperor, who was about to leave through the door.

“You’re not getting this. I’m not taking off the bracelet either.”