Became the Tyrant’s Pet

It was clear that bad people would pick a fight with Mia even if she were left in a remote place, let alone the dungeons.

‘….I knew it. I feel like I did something wrong. Since I have gone this far, convincing two more people should be easy, right?’

At least Ferdinand didn’t object to Adilott’s decision. Soon Adilott sighed and said.

“I’ll keep an eye on her. Follow me.”

“Yes? Yes!”

Mia wasn’t the only one surprised by the unexpected decision.

“Your Majesty? Where are you going?”

Adilott turned away and simply answered Joaquin’s question.

“My room.”

* * *

Mia was trying to follow Adilott’s steady pace.

After the ‘Follow Me’, Adilott’s steps weren’t slowing down. Before she knew it, the two were heading toward the Emperor’s Palace after passing through the central hall.

The Emperor’s Palace was the most secure place in the Imperial Palace. The number of people entering and exiting was also limited. Perhaps that was why, from some point on, the surrounding area was so quiet that she couldn’t hear any noise.

‘…What if he secretly takes me to a place where no one knows?’

Mia hesitated and opened her mouth.

“Your Majesty”?

“What?”

“Where are we going?”

“Sleep.”

“Me, too?”

“Yes.”

Mia looked at him blankly but soon bravely opened her eyes.

“So I have to be a dog that protects your house!”

Adilott stopped walking. Somehow he turned his head with a tired look on his face.

“Mia Célestiel.”

“Yes!”

“Is that, by any chance, your personal preference? I don’t care if you think of me as a tyrant, but are you trying to achieve something by staying next to me?”

Mia blinked blankly.

“What preference?”

“Answer my question first.”

“I don’t know about getting anything in return, but all I want is to live…”

Mia answered honestly while reading Adilott’s expression. Adilott looked at her still as she fumbled her fingers out of habit.

“… Don’t you like it?”

Mia shrank a little.

“…I don’t understand why you stayed behind when all you want so badly is to survive.”

After making a turn to where there was a crackling sound, Adilott started to walk again. As Mia started to wonder how much longer they had to walk, soon after, a large door appeared.

The door surface was covered with red velvet fabric, and a lion was carved on the golden knob. This door obviously led them to the Emperor’s bedroom.

There were two servants in front of the door. One was a man, and one was a woman. Adilott glanced at the maid.

“Jane, wash that.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What?! W-Wait a minute!”

A maid called Jane bowed her head.

“Please come this way, Miss.”

Soon, other maids appeared from only God knew where leading the lost looking Mia smoothly yet in an urgent manner. When she realized it, Mia had already sat in the bathtub.

“Jane! I think there is some kind of misunder–”

“Oh my, you have beautiful skin. How do you do your skincare routine?”

“S-Separately…?”

“You have calluses on your hands. You must be working on a lot of paperwork. If you apply this cream, your hands will get softer.”

“O-Oh, thank you….”

“Do you prefer the scent of citrus or roses?”

“Oh, Citrus?”

“Then I will put on citrus oil.”

Whether the way the maids talked to her in a professional manner or the mysteriously nimble hands, there was no room for Mia to interrupt.

“It’s over, Miss.”

“Gasp.”

Mia came to her senses only after the bedroom door was closed behind her back.

“Excuse me? I am still inside!”

No matter how much she knocked on the door, the door wouldn’t open. Mia looked down at herself with a frightened face.

Pajamas made of layers of fabrics as light as butterfly wings. She was barefooted. And the nice smelling oil.

And the bedchamber.

‘…Something is not right!’

At that time, Mia heard a voice behind her.

“I’m tired. Don’t do anything funny and come here.”

“But….”

Mia turned around with a tearful face. Adilott was half-lying on his bed with a glimpse of sunlight shining on him. It seemed that he also washed up since his silver hair was still wet.

A white robe flowed down Adilott’s perfect body. Through the loose robe, Mia could see his hard abs peeking, and she could no longer hide her trembling pupils.

‘O-Oh, my God. What should I do? I-I didn’t expect this!’

The novel never told her that Adilott had met a woman before Serenity.

Moreover, as the male protagonist, Adilott was neither prodigal nor promiscuous. So, he was neither a criminal nor someone who treated women carelessly.

That was why Mia confidently followed him to his bedroom. However, the situation was getting weird.

Then, Adilott said,

“Come here.”

“……Pets shouldn’t go up to their owner’s bed!”

Adilott grabbed the sword on the side of his bed instead of answering.

“But I’m a good pet!”

Mia quickly climbed up onto the bed.

Only at the end of the bed. At the very end.

Then she peeked at Adilott with anxious eyes.

‘If he tries to do anything weird, I have no choice but to cut off the future of Orquenina…!’

Whether he could read Mia’s thoughts or not, Adilott only picked the grapes one by one from a silver tray. Then their eyes met.

Adilott, who seemed a little hesitant, asked.

“Why did you stay behind?”

“What?”

Mia’s eyes became round at an unexpected question.

“You wouldn’t have thought Count Célestiel had fled alone. Did you think someone would compliment you if you die alone?”

Mia blinked foolishly at the bitter fact. But then, a thought soon popped into her mind.

‘Is he thinking about his mother, Empress Leah?’

Empress Leah sacrificed herself on the condition that the late Emperor accepted the people of Gentaria as the people of Orquenina.

And young Adilott who had to watch that.

In the original book, it was definitely Adilott’s trauma, but it was hard to guess what he was thinking with his poker-faced expression. Therefore, Mia decided to answer him honestly.

“That’s because I didn’t ask anyone to compliment me!”

“Is meaningless death also one of your hobbies?”

‘This punk..’.

Mia endured the profanities that were about to come out of her mouth and drew her inner patience.

“Why do you think of it as a meaningless death? Anyway, I saved people!”

“Even if all of them live, it would be meaningless if you die.”

“At least there is something left.”

“That’s where you were wrong. There would be nothing left when one sacrifices oneself and jumps into a meaningless death.”

At the sarcastic remark, Mia stared at Adilott. To Mia, his words sounded like self-criticism.

‘He must hate how he survived while his mother sacrificed herself.’

Mia wanted to say something, but they weren’t really closed enough for her to have a say. So Mia opened her mouth carefully.

“Your Majesty, no matter how many times you say that, I will make the same choice if I’m in the same situation.”

“Seems like you don’t value your life at all.”

At that, Mia paused and smiled.

“I value my life. There is no one I value more than myself. That’s why I hope other people live that way too.”

“They won’t appreciate you.”

Mia shrugged.

“I’m so selfish that I don’t need to hear that I’m nice. It doesn’t matter.”

Adilott seemed to have forgotten what he was saying in the first place. He looked at Mia for a long time. Then, he shed a meaningful smile and lied down the first word. He looked at Mia for a long time. Then, he shed a meaningful smile and lay down.

“I heard Count Célestiel’s daughter was smart….. I see that those are all false rumors.”

“I could hear you, Your Majesty.”

“However.”

Adilott’s red eyes slowly blinked and soon closed them altogether.

“Is it because you’re stupid…? It doesn’t feel bad….”

Adilott said so and fell fast asleep. Mia was confused.

‘Didn’t he have insomnia?’

Healing insomnia was also an important event in the book in which Adilott became fond of Serenity. Originally, female protagonists in novels often exuded a strangely good scent from their bodies that made people fall asleep.

It was natural that Adilott couldn’t even sleep properly until he met Serenity, but…

Even though Mia waved her hand in front of his eyes, Adilott did not wake up. Mia tilted her head.

“Is there something else that….?”

At that moment, Mia was thinking about whether she should run away or not, but she decided to throw that thought away. But, first, Adilott got a sword at his bedside, and it was the infamous-and-legendary-something Xangus-Equion, Adilott’s most-favorite sword.

‘If he is just pretending to sleep, the moment I try to run away, he will wake up.’

Since Mia wasn’t the female protagonist, she thought it would be better for her to stay calm for now.

“I have to pretend to be a dog guarding the house to gain his trust so that he won’t kill…..”

Mia muttered and yawned.

‘Come to think of it, it’s been a long day for me, too.’

Perhaps because she was finally relaxed after a long day, Mia was getting sleepy.

“I shouldn’t be sleeping…”

As Mia mumbled so, she fell asleep.

* * *

Not long after Mia fell asleep with a mumble, Adilott’s eyelids opened. He hurriedly raised his body and covered his mouth.

“…She really slept?”

Adilott was overwhelmed. He was just going to pretend to sleep and look at what Mia would do, but she really fell asleep.

He was barely asleep at dawn, and now there was a suspicious woman next to him.

It was ridiculous. The suspicious woman was sleeping well next to a man that people called a tyrant.

Mia sobbed with a tearful face in her sleep.

“No, I can’t eat anymore…..”

“….What are you dreaming about?”

The scene of a nonchalant woman who seemed like she was chewing something in her sleep made Adilott fluster. Every time she breathed, her pale eyelashes wavered. The white and soft cheeks also flinched.

Before he knew it, Adilott, who was watching her sleeping, stabbed Mia in the cheek.

“Hehe…”

Mia giggled with a strange sound, and then she began to breathe regularly again.

“…..”

She didn’t wake up and laughed.

In the lulling afternoon, Mia, who slept defenselessly, surprisingly soothed his mind. Yet, somehow, he felt how foolish he was to be wary of such a woman.