Became the Tyrant’s Pet

Adillot looked at the surroundings then lay back down.

There was loud breathing on his side, and the afternoon sun was soft. 

The incident was resolved, and his surroundings were surprisingly quiet, except for the occasional noise of the person next to him who was tossing and turning.

Adillot fell asleep. It was a deep and peaceful sleep after a long time.

* * *

Tweet, Tweet.

The moment she heard the birds, Mia was anxious. 

She needed to be alert, yet she woke up refreshed.

“……When did I fall asleep!?”

Mia got up. The morning sun was streaming through the window. Looking to the side, Adillot  was already gone.

Mia grabbed her head.

“How can I sleep in that situation! How could I do that!”

Mia groaned as she pondered whether she had slept well or not, or whether she had kicked Adillot in her sleep or not.

Then the door opened and Adillot entered the room. 

He was wearing a long white toga and had his waist tied with an embroidered string. 

There were water droplets on the tips of his hair as if he had just washed them.

When he saw Mia’s bewildered expression, he burst into laughter.

“How could the person who wants to guard the house sleep?”

“……!”

Mia struggled for a long time at the words and then cried out.

“……If it was a dog house, I could be a watchdog! Your Majesty’s bed is so soft, I can’t help but fall asleep!”

“Is it my fault?”

“It’s too late! Your Majesty’s pet has learned the taste of soft bed!”

At her spontaneous words, Adillot burst into laughter. 

Then he continued.

“More than that, prepare yourself and follow me.”

“……Where are we going?”

Mia, who was about to cry, asked. 

A smile appeared on Adillot’s beautiful face. It was a cold smile.

“Prison.”

* * *

Adillot took Mia to the very depths of the Imperial Palace. 

She doesn’t know how many times she passed through the heavy gates guarded by mages and knights.

Perhaps because of security issues, even the wall disappeared at some point.

Adillot strode across the darkness, holding a single small candlestick.

It’s just Mia was about to die because of her nervousness.

“Growl…….”

“Gasp!”

“Kreak, Kreak…….”

“Hey!”

Whenever she heard a sound from somewhere, Mia trembled.

“Hiing……. mom…….”

Adillot, who did not look back at her, said.

“It’s just a sound, what are you afraid of?”

“It’s terrifying! I don’t know what’s out there…….”

“That’s only prisoners.”

“But, what if the door where the murderer is trapped is slightly open…….”

“If it were me, I would be more afraid of the man with a sword next to you than a murderer who would be wearing chains.”

“But the man with the sword is a good man…….”

At those words, Adillot stopped walking. Mia stopped at the same time.

“Wh-why, why!? What is it!?”

Terrified, she grabbed Adillot’s sleeve, and after realizing what she had done, she backed away in shock. 

Even then, she blinked her pink eyes quickly as if she was anxious. 

Her tear-soaked eyes gleamed sadly.

Adillot let out a sigh.

“……Grab it and walk.”

“Thank you!”

Mia quickly clings to Adillot’s sleeve. Adillot twitched for a moment when Mia’s hand touched it, but then he calmly started walking again.

When they went down the spiral staircase and went downstairs, a large space appeared. 

A guard was guarding the space lit by several torches.

Adillot nodded as the guard saluted.

“The prisoner?”

“It’s inside.”

A shadow shuddered inside the prison as if he had heard it.

“Hey, hey.”

Mia said, hiding behind Adillot’s back.

“Hey, why am I here?”

“I have something to show you.”

“For me?”

Mia’s eyes widened.

‘Did Count Celestiel get caught?’

Adillot gestured without a word. Mia carefully looked inside the prison. 

A middle-aged woman with brown hair and a soft impression was sitting in the prison.

Mia’s mouth opened as she looked at her face.

“……Mary?”

Mia immediately ran to the prison bars.

“Mary! You’re Mary, right!?”

“……?”

Mary raised her head at the voice calling her. Soon her eyes met Mia’s.

“My lady……?”

Mary’s face, which was only full of fatigue, had a mixture of surprise and joy slowly emerge.

“My lady……? Am I really looking at the lady…?”

“Mary, didn’t you run away!? Why are you here!”

Mary was the maid of Count Celestiel. On the day Count Celestiel was in trouble, Mia sent her out of the castle early.

Mary wiped away her tears and prayed for Mia to survive. She ran away without looking back.

‘I thought she would have escaped well…….’

Mary’s condition was not good. It was clear that she had been treated harshly.

“She was caught early in the morning.”

Adillot, who was next to her with his arms crossed, said slowly. 

Mia bit her lip and turned her head to him.

“Your Majesty…….”

“What?”

“……Did you catch them all? The servants of Count Celestiel?”

“Not everyone. Only the people I need.”

“I can’t do it alone……?”

Adillot tilted his head without answering. She couldn’t tell if it was positive or negative. 

Tears welled up in Mia’s eyes.

“They were compelled to join my father’s rebellion…….please, be merciful…….”

“Mia Celestiel, you were the only one I offered to spare. Furthermore…….”

An eerie smile appeared on Adillot’s pretty face.

“I don’t know what you mean. Did he ‘forced’ them to help the rebellion?”

Mia blinked twice at the sarcastic voice.

“What does that mean……?”

“Mary Lehman, 56. Count Celestiel’s maid.”

Adillot spoke slowly and looked down at Mary. Mary flinched like a mouse in front of a snake and avoided his gaze.

“Behind the scenes, she is a member of an illegal organization that kidnaps people and sells them.”

“Huh?”

Mia doubted her ears. Adillot’s words continued.

“The reason she helped the Count Celestiel’s rebellion was that Emperor Adillot, unlike the former Emperor Ludwig, made slavery illegal.”

“…….”

“Of course, she is the main culprit who helped the treason without being forced. Is something wrong?”

“Ahh…….”

Mary frowned. Mia turned her stiff head to look at her.

“Mary…….really?”

Mary, who had a frown on her face, immediately opened her eyes.

“……I couldn’t help it!”

“What?”

“It was difficult to live and eat!”

“Hey, but you can get a lot of money from one person. It was the cost of living for a year of commoners…….”

“Well, that’s because… … !”

“Gambling debt.”

Adillot cut her off.

“She got into gambling and ran out of money, so she went on her own to a trafficker. She gambles with that money again, and when she runs out of money, she kidnaps children and gambles again.”

Mary bit her lip, but didn’t object. Tears welled up in Mia’s eyes as she watched it.

“Mary, how…….”

Mia took a step back from the cage. Fear appeared late on Mary’s face.

“Help me, my lady! I will never do that again! I wanted to quit too, but that’s what addiction is… !”

Mary exclaimed urgently. Yep, the opponent was Adillot Genchen Schröder.

This young and arrogant emperor was notorious for his ignorance of killing traitors and criminals. She did not know why, but he came to see her with Mia.

In this situation, Mia was Mary’s only hope.

“The children……, they are the children who originally lived without parents on the street! After I do it, they have a house, so that’s okay!”

Mia shook her head as if in disbelief. 

‘Please……!’

She spoke in a softer voice.

“My lady……! When you suffered from memory loss, I helped you a lot. Do you remember…?”

“That’s…….”

Mia’s expression softened slightly. She lowered her trembling eyes.

“Yes. I know… … . It would have been difficult without Mary back then.”

She remembers when she first entered the novel as Mia.

‘Where am I…? Why am I here… … .’

The world in the novel was difficult and unfamiliar. She couldn’t count how many times she cried every night as she remembered the family and town she left behind.

Still, Mia had to study and work to survive. No one helped Mia. And it was clear that no one would help her. It was after she accidentally overheard the servants’ conversations.

“Mia, hasn’t she changed a bit since she woke up?”

“Whatever it is, I wish she didn’t make extreme choices.”

“It’s a shame because the priest came so quickly, I thought she would really die that day.”

“If she’s not feeling well, she needs to just sit and wait in bed, so why did she  crawl into the courtyard and do that? Did she want people to notice her?”

Hearing the conversation, Mia could realize how the original ‘Mia Celestiel’ had been treated.

Looking at her diary, the guess became more certain.

Mia Celestiel suffered from a genetic disease inherited from her mother, and her diary was filled with sorrow as deep as the years.

So neither the servants nor the Count Celestiel said anything to her different attitude. 

It’s strange that a dead and resurrected lady had lost her memory, her behavior was strange, and her illness had been washed away.

However, that did not mean that they became interested in Mia.

The Count Celestiel had only had greed and was incompetent, even Countess Celestiel passed away due to being stressed. If the Count was like that to his wife, there was no way he would be interested in Mia. So the servants ignored her like that.

During those difficult times, Mary was the only one who showed even the slightest interest in Mia.

‘Lady, it’s okay. You may or may not be able to find your memory. But it’s still you, right?’

Mia relied on her a lot.

“Mary was just like a mother to me…….”

Mary’s expression brightened as Mia murmured when she recalled the past.

“Lady……, I also think you were just like a daughter……!”

Adillot, watching the scene, quietly drew his sword.

It was as he expected. Even the smartest people are sometimes swayed by emotions.

 And she always makes the wrong choice.

Such as defending criminals or sacrificing for people who don’t deserve it.

……like his mother.

Mia Celestiel was a person like that.

‘I knew she would be like this, but what did I expect…….’

When Adillot approached the bars to kill Mary…

“But Mary…….”

Mia whispered. It was not her usual cheerful voice.

Adillot stood still.

“Lady……?”

Mary also felt strange and lowered her voice. 

Mia, who had been keeping her head down the whole time, slowly raised her face. 

With a gentle gesture, she approached the bars.

And whispered with sad eyes.

“My mom won’t do something like human trafficking.”