The Tyrant Won’t Let Me Go

☪

“Huh, yes…?”

“Yes, I mean it.”

That’s surprising…

Time could also change people like this.

“I didn’t know. You hated me so much back then.”

“Oh…”

Kashuel hesitated with a short sigh.

With his tongue wetting his lips a few times, he stared at me with a rather perplexed gaze.

“I’m sorry. I still feel sorry.”

“No, well, that’s possible ’cause you’re young. You showed that you didn’t like it, but when teased, you didn’t say a lot of hurtful things.” Ciel explained.

“I’d be happy if that was the case, but I’m still sorry.”

“It’s all right.”

Seriously, it was cute compared to what I had been through at the orphanage before.

Actually, when I think about it, he only had a high pride, and it doesn’t seem like he said a lot of things that demeaned me.

“And I know it’s hard for you to believe, but I didn’t hate you.”

“Well?”

Wait, what else was he talking about?

“I know. I deserve that kind of reaction. But it’s true.”

“Oh, really?”

“Then, I was a little…”

Kashuel sighed and touched his forehead.

“I must have been crazy. I’m sorry, but I didn’t really hate you.”

“Oh, yes, I see.” Ciel answered.

Let’s just say yes since he keeps saying those words.

It doesn’t matter if you hated me back then or not anyway.

“Actually, it was rather the opposite.” Kashuel continued.

“Opposite?”

“Yes.”

My mouth opened agape, but I couldn’t think of what to answer him.

Opposite of dislike…

‘Does that mean that you liked…?’

No, it couldn’t have been.

Absolutely, that high-nosed noble kid couldn’t have done that, and I looked at Kashuel.

“Hey, you don’t have to take it seriously. I just mean, I never hated you.”

“Ah yes.”

And the conversation didn’t last for a while.

Somehow the atmosphere seemed awkward, so I opened my mouth first.

“You must have studied really well at the academy because you were the first-class imperial wizard from the beginning.”

We had a conversation about what we had been doing for 8 years.

Kashuel said that he eventually gave up his dream of becoming a magic swordsman and turned to a wizard.

He added that he entered the academy to train wizards and took the Imperial Palace Wizard Exam right after graduating as the top student.

“How many years after I left, and you became a Knight Commander? The academy kept track of Deamant’s news.”

So for a while, the story blossomed with each other’s past stories.

When we first started the conversation, it couldn’t be that awkward, but by the end of it, we started talking to each other quite casually.

As a result, it was past 4 in the afternoon before I knew it.

“Oh, I guess I should go now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Kashuel nodded and rose from his seat.

“We can talk about it again next time.”

“Yes, of course.” Ciel answered.

“Are you going to see Cedric?”

Ciel paused a little and looked up at Kashuel.

It was a very brief moment, but at first glance it seemed that a light of regret passed through Kashuel’s green eyes.

“Yes.”

There was absolutely no reason to lie.

Because Kashuel already knew that I often met Cedric for magic and swordsmanship classes.

“Yeah, go ahead.” Kashuel said with a slight smile.

I tried to pack my things and organize the teacup, but Kashuel said again, “It’s okay, so leave it.”

In the end, as he said, I left the teacup and the table as it was.

“Well then, see you later.”

“Oh, wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

As soon as I was about to turn the doorknob, Kashuel called me.

“Excuse me.”

He strode up to me standing at the door. Then he extended his long fingers towards my hair.

“Where did you get this thread? I’ll take it off for you now.”

“Oh, thank you…”

“No, I…”

He smiled as he showed me the seams he had removed from the ends of my hair.

“By the way, your hair is still pretty.” Saying that, Kashuel’s eyes were fixed on my hair.

Seeing the mysterious color of his eyes that seemed to recall vague memories, I couldn’t say anything in the end.

“Now, you can really go. See you later.”

Leaving him behind with a bright smile, I headed out to the hallway.

‘Why did he say that…?’

I pondered over Kashuel’s words over and over again, but I couldn’t figure out the answer.

⚝

Crunch!

When I heard the sound of grinding teeth clearly, I let out a sigh.

‘What’s wrong with him again today?’

Cedric, who I met after talking to Kashuel, was visibly irritated.

As soon as he saw me, he silently grabbed one of my arms and clinged to me, and suddenly he began to grind his teeth.

Each time I looked back at him, he was staring into space with a ferocious gaze.

As if he’s going to kill someone with his eyes just by looking at them.

[Originally, the kids who were squeamish sometimes say that. There are days like that. On a rainy day or something.]

‘Caliberne, it’s not even raining today.’

[Well, maybe there’s something else. But you know that the reason that the Emperor is doing that is most likely due to something related to you.]

Yeah, that’s true.

But seeing that he was already showing such anguish like that, it was really annoying to ask.

‘Ah, maybe it’s because I came to meet Kashuel…’