The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go

“I’m sure everyone would like it, right?”

Cedric smiled brightly and looked around the lounge

“Oh, of course. It’d be great if the Commander could keep working for His Majesty.”

“The same goes for me.”

Rukia and Hefan nodded in agreement.

“Well, our Knights…”

Shera tried to raise her hand and speak, but James, who was next to her, quickly lowered her hand and covered her mouth.

“Is that so?” Cedric turned to me with a triumphant smile.

That bastard, even after 8 years of hard work, it wasn’t enough, you plan to roll 5 more years, and then I’d have to work more.

Are you trying to dry me to death?

“Well, I’m not asking you to renew the contract, I’m just saying.”

“Oh, yeah. I see.”

I answered in a voice without hesitation, pretending nothing was wrong.

“Or, even if you don’t work, you could just stay in the Imperial Palace. Still, people would love it.”

Then the ministers began whispering to each other again.

“Hey, aren’t he asking her to be the Empress and be with him in the imperial palace?”

“That’s right. He’s secretly proposing secretly.”

“Aha, we might be able to hold a wedding sooner than I thought.”

Instead of whispering to each other and agreeing with each other, it was absurd to even listen, but because there were so many eyes watching, they couldn’t openly discuss it.

“Well, I have a lot to take care of, too. Someday, I’ll have to go back to my territory.”

When Ciel hinted that she would not remain in the Imperial Palace, the ministers became noticeably depressed.

“But what did your Majesty come to see me for?”

“Oh!”

Cedric let out a sigh and exclaimed.

“I just wanted to see you on my way to the office.”

At every word he said, the ministers screamed silently.

They didn’t scream as if they had had mute magic, but seeing them embracing and dancing while silencing the sound was nothing less than a festive atmosphere.

“I guess it’s to the point where he misses her for no reason! This is love!”

“We need to push them a little bit more. To help His Majesty who’s anxious about love as soon as possibleㅡ”

Seeing those ministers, Cedric had a very satisfied expression on his face.

And I had to process paperwork with my hand on my aching forehead all day that day.

✿

“While she was away, I had so much fun…”

When I stared fiercely at Hillac, who was laughing while holding his stomach, James, who was next to him, poked him in the arm.

Feeling my gaze, Hillac turned around in a cold sweat.

“…I was very surprised that there was something to be lamented about.”

“Hillac, do you want to go back to self-defense training with the newbies?”

“No, boss!”

I sighed as I watched Hillac shaking his head hard.

“By the way, Commander…” Shera spoke carefully.

“Do you hate renewing the contract so much?”

“Shera, I have been living in the Imperial Palace for eight years. I’ve been here for almost 10 years.”

“Well, I have no intention of stopping the Commander from retiring, doesn’t it make a big difference if you stay another 10 years after you’ve been there for close to 10 years?” Then James said, scratching his head.

“What’s wrong with you?”

‘Yeah, the commander has been here since she was little, so I don’t think there would be any big problems. She has an estate, but she doesn’t stay there long.”

At James’ words, Hillac nodded and added.

“And if you think about His Majesty’s personality… Even if you retire, you probably won’t be as free as you think.”

At his words, both James and Shera nodded their heads violently.

“Even if you retire, He would still visit the Commander at least once a day.”

“Right, with the contract renewal.”

“Or a wedding ring.”

“Right!”

Seeing the successors applauding each other and admiring, I felt really exhausted.

‘How did I end up like this?’

While staring blankly into space, Shera secretly spoke to me.

“Commander, I’ve been thinking about this…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“I heard this contract would end in five years.”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re only 25 years old… You’re very young.”

“Never mind. There won’t be any left, Shera.”

When I turned my head and got up from my seat, Shera grabbed my arm and clung to it.

“Oh, Commander! Can’t you stay with the Knights for a bit longer?”

Shera, who was hanging on my arm, said with eyes like a puppy in the rain.

‘Ugh…’

I’m weak in these eyes, but I was tricked.

Even though I knew that she was a child who normally cuts logs with bare hands and wields a heavy sword that even men find difficult to lift, when I looked into these eyes, my heart weakened somewhat.

“Former Commander Parbe has been here for almost 40 years and retired! You can stay a little longer, too!”

“Right, stay longer! You’ve been working for eight years. Why can’t you do it for another 20 years?”

“Shera and Hillac are right. Let’s just settle down in the Imperial Palace, right?

Three pairs of eyes looked at me at the same time.

Looking at those eyes still, I soon shook my head.

“No!”

“Why?”

“You also need to get promoted.”

I looked back at them with a faint smile.

“I have to leave so that you can go up. You should also hurry and become vice-commander and Commander.”

Then Hillac said with a puzzled expression.

“No. Commander, if we were people who were so obsessed with rank and positions, we wouldn’t have joined the Knights in the first place.”

“That’s right. I can’t believe you still see us as such a snob. You’re so mean.”

James pretended to wipe away his tears and acted with exaggerated gestures.

“The only snob out of these three is Hillac, who likes gold.”

“That kid is framing me, Commander! What do you mean snob?”

“Hillac, I heard the reason why you respected the Commander last time was because she gave you precious stones.”

“Oh, Shera. Be quiet.”

Seeing the three quarreling made me laugh.

It feels like watching my younger brothers bickering with each other.

“Anyway, you might think it’s a miracle from the perspective of the Commander… We want to stay with you for a long time. I just wanted to say that.”

Shera spoke with a bright smile.

When I saw it, I smiled and hugged the three at once.

“Yes, thank you.”

The warm sunlight and the laughter of the knights seemed to warm my heart.

✿

“So, have you ever seen the boss who ordered you?”

Rukia asked the tousled silver-haired woman who was staring blankly at the table with her dead eyes.

Upon being asked by Rukia, the woman raised her head and opened her mouth with a sharp movement like a creaking wooden doll.

“Yes.”

Cedric, who was looking at her, frowned. He thought it was terribly bad.

“What’s that person’s name?”

“I don’t know.”

‘As expected, it didn’t reveal its name.’

It was highly probable that it was an alias if they told her the name.

Given that he has handed over drugs that are difficult to get, there must have been some quite powerful people behind this.l incident.

It was unlikely that such people would inform a commoner of their real names.

“What does that person look like?”

“He was wearing black.”

The woman answered in a dry voice.

“And one of his hands was a prosthetic—”

Her words stopped right at that point.

After she stopped talking, she kept her mouth open and didn’t speak.

“What?”

Rukia got nervous and stood up.

“There is no way that the effectiveness of the confession drug would decrease already. What…”

“Argh!”

It was that time…

The sound of an ear-tearing scream resonated in the interrogation room.

“Huh, what…”

Surprised, Rukia mumbled as she stepped back.

The woman, who was struggling with pain and screaming under the restraint, eventually lost her balance and fell behind the chair.

Even in that state, she was weeping and screaming madly.

Cedric saw that her tongue was burning black.

As if engulfed in black flames.

“It’s a curse.”

It was clear that the person who bought her had placed a curse on one of her keys to keep her from revealing information about him.

“Ha, there are cases like this, so I asked about the guy who ordered her last. I really didn’t know it was going to be like this.”

Rukia clicked his tongue and ruffled her hair.

At their feet, the woman trembled, and spoke,

“Sa… Save me…”

Perhaps because of the curse, the effect of the confession drug had been broken, and the woman cried and begged for her life.

“I’ll do it right away. We have to keep it alive to get more information.”

“No.”

“Yes?”

Leaving behind Rukia, who questioned in surprise, Cedric approached the woman.

‘I hope she suffers this time. As much as I’ve been through.’

Ciel’s voice resonated in his head.

Her voice was calm but filled with anger as calm as a wave just before a storm.

“Don’t do it. Don’t give her treatment.” Cedric spoke dryly.

Now not only the woman’s tongue, but also her whole mouth was burning black.

“Let her die painfully like that.”

An ice-cold voice echoed through the interrogation room.