The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

Dorothea was going out to lunch with Theon, but she didn’t look so excited

Just excited enough to get out, but also she was a little nervous. 

‘If he talks about spirits, what should I say?’

Dorothea was most worried about that.

‘If I get an engagement proposal, should I accept it or not?’

‘No. Maybe we really just eat to celebrate my debut and spirit awakening and then come back.’

“Huft….”

“You’re going out and you’re sighing heavily. It’s your first time going to a restaurant, right? Have fun and enjoy yourself. Don’t put any pressure on yourself.”

Clara said, gently relaxing Dorothea.

‘Princess sighs deeply when she meets Theon. It’s something I had never imagined.’

“Joy, protect the princess thoroughly.”

“Sure!”

Joy clenched her fists, saying that she would successfully take on her first escort.

* * *

When the carriage carrying Dorothea reached the restaurant Caro, Theon was already waiting for her in front of it.

He wore a black coat that matched him well, slung over his shoulders.

As soon as Dorothea’s carriage arrived, he gave Dorothea his hand as she stepped out of the carriage.

Dorothea took his hand and slowly stepped onto the footrest of the carriage and got down in front of the restaurant.

“Did you feel uncomfortable coming here?”

Theon asked kindly and led her towards the restaurant.

Restaurant Caro is more colorful than Dorothea thought… It was romantic.

Dorothea had expected a moderately old-fashioned building, but the restaurant was decorated with rose vines and statues of lovers.

In particular, at the entrance, there was a statue kissing with a bouquet hidden behind their back, which was quite embarrassing.

“Oh… It’s not often that we can get a private room, and I thought you might feel uncomfortable because all the other restaurants have open tables.”

Theon also felt uncomfortable with the decorations and explained why he chose Caro.

At the entrance, a waitress in a frilly maid’s outfit ushered them inside.

As Theon said, in Caro, they could have a private meal because all the tables are in the room.

In particular, the city view of Lampas that can be seen out the window from the room was the pride of Restaurant Caro.

However, the romantic decorations and lanterns still on the inside made Dorothea feel strange.

No matter how she looked at it, it was a place where lovers would come to enjoy a date.

“Julia said it would be nice here. The food is delicious, so the princess will like it…”

Theon also wet his lips nervously and muttered an excuse.

The waiter finally led the two of them into a spacious room inside.

Even the door handle was heart-shaped, which embarrassed Dorothea, but Theon and Dorothea went inside, pretending not to see each other.

And as soon as they enter, they are greeted with white lace and pink ribbons reminiscent of a wedding hall, a rose vase in the middle of the table, and sweet aromatic candles.

Theon and Dorothea felt something was firmly wrong, but they found it more embarrassing to go out now that they had already come in.

‘Theon didn’t choose this place on purpose…’

Even if Theon was going to talk about their engagement today, it’s not likely that he’s going to pick a restaurant with this vibe.

Besides, the embarrassment reflected on his face was real.

“Please sit down, Princess.”

Theon barely managed a smile over his puzzled expression as he pulled out a chair and offered her a seat.

In the chair he took out, a cushion embroidered with a heart pattern greeted her.

Dorothea made eye contact with Theon, and Theon quickly pulled out the cushion and threw it over the other decoration.

“I must say something to Julia.”

“No, I’ve never been to a place like this before, and I’m excited and…good.”

Dorothea sat down in her chair and smiled.

‘I thought that I had been to various places of the empire while living as an emperor before returning, but I had never been to a place like this.’

‘Do young nobles these days find a mate in this way?’

Although love marriages were on the rise, this new culture was astonishing, and Dorothea once again thought that she had lived an old-fashioned life.

Before returning, she was studying and training relentlessly to beat Raymond, and neglecting rest, play, and enjoyment.

Even after becoming emperor, luxury and pleasure were for public display, not real pleasure.

After returning, she was stuck in the palace saying she wouldn’t do anything.

‘I think I didn’t know how to live well as well as how to be good…’

Dorothea thought as she looked at the colorful rose-patterned tableware set on the table.

Meanwhile, Theon sat across from Dorothea.

Soon, a waiter brought warm water on a tray and a menu.

Dorothea was familiar with the menu, but it was the first time she tried it, so Dorothea opened the menu with excitement.

There were several course dishes presented. The price for each menu was not written, probably because the nobles who visit this place don’t care much about the price anyway.

Dorothea and Theon weren’t really interested in the price of the meal.

Dorothea thought, ‘I think I can understand why the high-end restaurant business is starting to flourish.’

‘There is a sufficient system in place for this.., No, it’s not the time to think like this.’

Dorothea shook her head to clear her thoughts.

The two of them choose their courses and options, a process that was unfamiliar to Dorothea and a little tiring.

As soon as the order was finished, the waiter brewed a cup of hot tea and told them to pull the string and ring the bell if they needed anything, and left the room.

While enjoying the appetizers in turn, the two had a light conversation.

They chatted about Raymond, whom they both knew well, about the embarrassment of the restaurant’s atmosphere, and about running a support center for the disabled.

In the light talk, Dorothea was nervous. She wondered when Theon’s main point would come out.

Soon the first course was over and the main course was served.

Browned steak with grill marks, the colorful side dishes, and the sauce were a combination that would not fail.

Whether Julia’s recommendation was completely wrong, the food was all of high quality.

And along with the main course, their stories flowed into the main topic.

Theon, who was slicing the steak, hesitated and looked at the interior decorations, then turned to Dorothea.

“Princess…What do you think of me?”

He carefully opened his mouth, wondering if it would sound strange to ask such a question in a place like this.

At that, Dorothea stopped the moving knife and made eye contact with him.

There was tension in his red eyes.

Dorothea thought it was coming. Even though she had expected it, his question was very difficult.

‘It was more comfortable in the past when I could say “I love you” simply.’

Dorothea remembered the spirit stone brooch hidden inside her sleeve.

“What do you think of me…?”

Dorothea answered the question with a question.

Then Theon put down the knife and fork he was holding and looked at Dorothea.

And when he was about to open his mouth…

“kyaaak!”

With a high scream, the door they were in opened, and a woman’s body tilted as if to fall.

However.

“Hey, you have to be careful.”

A seductive voice that catches a woman who almost fell.

When Dorothea and Theon looked at the door in surprise at the same time, there was Ethan Bronte.

For a moment, Dorothea trembled as if she had done something wrong.

Ethan’s golden eyes glanced at the two people sitting opposite each other in the room, slicing steaks.

“What a coincidence. The Princess and Master Theon Fried are here.”

He smiled beautifully, but his narrowed eyes were sharper than a knife.

“Oh, Ethan. Why are you here?” Dorothea asked.

* * *

The day Ethan received a letter from Monica.

He came up with two ways to prevent the war that Monica could cause.

The first is that he doesn’t accept her at all. He could be cold to her, giving her no room to enter.

The second is to help Monica early so that she doesn’t even get engaged. Unlike before his return, Monica is not yet formally engaged to Nereus, so that’s enough if he breaks things down before the engagement.

In that case, Nereus and Monica have nothing to do with each other, and Nereus won’t attack him because of Monica.

‘I don’t think stopping this one won’t prevent me from going to war, but…’

At least Ethan Bronte won’t be mentioned as the one who started the war. Dorothea would recognize his efforts.

Ethan pondered between two ways and finally came to a conclusion.

* * *

Finally, the date Monica had written on the letter came.

Before going to meet her, he pulled out some decent clothes from his closet and dressed himself up in front of the mirror.

But his expression was not bright at all.

‘Did the princess forget me after that day?’

The princess, who hadn’t contacted him for over a week, didn’t seem to know how to find Ethan Bronte first, as always.

‘Are you spending time with Theon Fried?’

‘She didn’t use the power of the spirit stone, but I don’t know if it is bad or good.’

Blaming his impatience, he calmed himself and headed to the meeting place with Monica.

The restaurant Caro is located not far from Ethan’s Bronte mansion.

He knows what the restaurant Caro is like. Because even before his return, many women had invited him to meet them in Caro.

Although the romantic decorations were too much, it was a restaurant that Ethan wanted to visit with Dorothea because the food and service were excellent.

‘Of course, the princess wouldn’t like a place like that.’

‘She would never come with me.’

He could only think that he would like to come with her, but in the end, he would bend to her tastes, her moods, and her heart.

And when he arrived at Caro, he saw the royal carriage near Caro.

‘Why is that carriage here…?’

* * *