The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

“Princess Dorothea Milanaire!”

 

Dorothea was walking through the Imperial Palace with Ethan, who was coming to piano lessons when someone called her up.

 

When the two stopped and turned around, there was Marquis Dmitry.

 

“I enjoyed the Light Ceremony last night. It was great.”

 

Dmitry praised Dorothea.

 

Dorothea smiled moderately and thanked him.

 

Dorothea didn’t like Dmitry very much.

 

Before her return, she didn’t have good relations with most of the nobles, but among them, Dmitry was one of the worst.

 

Dorothea hated him because of his arrogance.

 

Similar to the wealthy Count of Duncan, who owned the mines, he owned the large port city of River South.

 

Riversouth was the center of shipbuilding, so he had great influence over the Imperial Navy.

 

They also rented ships to merchants and made huge profits in return.

 

Closest to him was the Hark, who served the water spirit above all else.

 

River South, located on the coast, had a very good geographical condition for having a relationship with Hark.

 

The capital of Hark, a city of water, had many exchanges with River South, famous for its shipbuilding industry, and he had a pretty friendly relationship with Hark.

 

Therefore, he was one of the main aristocrats who insisted that friendship should be made rather than keeping Hark in check, even though Hark’s power was growing.

 

Dorothea felt that Dmitry was like Hark’s minion, so she couldn’t help but resent him as a representative nobleman who kept the imperial power in check.

 

She also didn’t like the way he held his head high and smirked from his vast wealth.

 

‘In the end, he also betrayed Hark for his interests.’

 

Always attached to Hark, he opposed Dorothea most fiercely when she insisted on war with Hark.

 

However, when she defeated Hark and drove up the army to Lampas, he opened the door for her without hesitation.

 

‘Since Hark was ruined, he needed to change his attitude quickly.’

 

When Hark, the side he believed in, collapsed, he chose Dorothea, the winner, as his new ally.

 

In particular, the existence of Dorothea, who was in conflict with Raymond and disturbed the internal affairs, would have been good for him to use.

 

As an anti-imperialist, he grew ambitious while accumulating enormous wealth, he thought that Ubera was going to collapse and that a new imperial family could be established.

 

He had a delusional dream that he, not Dorothea, might become emperor.

 

He has tried to drive Dorothea into a tyrant, and he predicted that Dorothea, whose roots are weak, would not last long.

 

However, Dmitry’s life was killed before that.

 

Dorothea didn’t like him, who had been ambitious in the anti-imperial faction from an early age.

 

However, it was not easy to hit because he had the credit for opening the gates of Lampas.

 

So Ethan made his move. He had someone to kill Dmitry.

 

So Dmitry was closely related to the sins of the two people in the past.

 

“You two are always together.”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“I have a son, too, and he graduated from Episteme…”

 

Dmitry bragged about his son in front of Dorothea.

 

Even though he knows that Ethan is with Dorothea, the reason he brags about his son is obvious.

 

As Dorothea listened, she looked at Ethan.

 

Ethan contorted one eyebrow in a somewhat displeased way, but that didn’t mean he wanted to fight Dmitry.

 

“When my son comes to Lampas, I’ll make plans for the two of you to meet.”

 

‘I hadn’t even said I wanted to meet him, but Dmitri had made an appointment that I couldn’t possibly keep.’

 

Perhaps because he lived so well, he never imagined that someone would reject his offer.

 

“Okay.”

 

‘I might go and say no then.’

 

Dorothea nodded, not paying attention to his words.

 

“Hahah, then the princess must be busy too, so I’ll go now…”

 

Dmitry glanced at Ethan once, then smiled and walked away.

 

Ethan stared at the back of Dmitry’s head as he walked away.

 

“The princess saved his life.” Ethan said softly.

 

If it hadn’t been for Dorothea’s wish, Ethan would have used his hands to kill him in advance.

 

“This year, the Emperor’s health will deteriorate rapidly, and that will cause unrest.”

 

Nereus also descended to Hark and inherited the throne.

 

He stabilized the throne by making women other than Monica queens, but at the same time, he also brought down Monica’s family.

 

‘It’s hard to get revenge.’

 

Ethan felt a little responsible for Monica in that regard.

 

“Will there be another war?”

 

There was no more Dorothea, the greedy Princess who threatened to destabilize the throne.

 

The Farming method that Raymond had promised was more effective than expected, food production more than doubled, and the empire became rich.

 

Also, minor reforms made the empire more stable.

 

Getting rid of Monica early also saved Ethan from being a direct target of Nereus’ retaliation.

 

Now Nereus couldn’t destroy the empire easily.

 

“It has changed a lot from the past, but it’s better to be wary.”

 

Carnan is going to die, and Nereus has been making fun of Raymond since the days of Episteme.

 

Nereus was very proud of Hark and dreamed of a second empire beyond Ubera.

 

Besides, there are a lot of people like Dmitry, so it’s hard to know what’s going to happen in the future.

 

Because there are times when a huge thing like a war can become a spark when it’s trivial than they think.

 

“Of course, even if a war breaks out, Nereus’s army can be stopped by the princess alone, but it’s better if that doesn’t happen.”

 

“Even if not, you have told Raymond that he should always be careful with Hark.”

 

Dorothea nodded her head.

 

* * *

 

Dorothea was quite accustomed to sitting in front of the piano.

 

She had struggled to read sheet music, but now she can read difficult sheet music.

 

‘Of course, I couldn’t play difficult songs because my hands didn’t follow it, but I was able to play simple songs quite skillfully.’

 

And the more she learned, the more she realized that Ethan’s skills were unusual.

 

‘How difficult it is to press distant keys quickly and accurately, and how twisted your fingers and cramps feel when going from one note to another.’

 

Someone said that when you look at the hands of someone who plays the piano well, each finger has a soul, so it looks like it moves skillfully.

 

“It’s such a waste.”

 

“What?”

 

“Your talent.”

 

Dorothea said, listening to Ethan’s performance.

 

“I’m using my talent to the best advantage right now.”

 

Teaching the princess, seducing the princess.

 

Ethan smiled and kissed Dorothea lightly again.

 

at that time.

 

“Princess!”

 

The door to the piano room swung open.

 

The two kissers jumped back in surprise.

 

It was none other than Joy who opened the door.

 

Joy, who would normally have a distasteful expression on seeing the two of them in love, ran to Dorothea with an urgent expression today, not paying attention to their actions.

 

“Princess, Po, Po is being punished!”

 

Joy’s face was full of worry and fear.

 

“Po?”

 

“They said he stole things from the imperial family…!”

 

Joy’s voice trembled with tears.

 

Ethan and Dorothea made eye contact at the same time.

 

* * *

 

Ethan and Dorothea followed Joy to the main kitchen of the imperial palace.

 

The head chef in charge of the imperial kitchen was looking down at Po, who was kneeling on the floor with his arms crossed, crying and begging.

 

“Stealing imperial property is a great sin, Po Greenwall.”

 

“Sorry, Head Chef…”

 

“Didn’t you know that was a sin, Po?”

 

“…..”

 

“Renier. Did you know that Po stole the royal food?”

 

“Oh, no! Renier didn’t know at all. I did it alone.”

 

Po shook his head violently.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Dorothea approached the place where the chefs gathered.

 

The chefs greeted Dorothea with courtesy, and as soon as Po saw her, he bowed his head and avoided her gaze.

 

“Princess, this is the kitchen’s business.”

 

“I asked what was going on.”

 

Dorothea looked at the head chef and repeated, and the chef finally opened his mouth.

 

“Po Greenwall stole the imperial food.” said the head chef.

 

“Is that true, Po?”

 

Dorothea turned her gaze to Po. Then Po, who had his head bowed, opened his mouth after a long silence.

 

“Yes.”

 

Dorothea and Ethan’s eyebrows wrinkled at Po’s answer, who admitted his guilt.

 

“Po, really?!”

 

Joy, who was beside him, was also surprised and asked.

 

Po then nodded and wiped away tears.

 

Dorothea couldn’t believe it. It was Po who always loved kitchen work and was always grateful that such a precious opportunity came to him.

 

He came to the kitchen before anyone else and worked diligently, and his skills steadily improved, becoming the sub-chief of the dessert part.

 

‘Then why did he do this?’

 

“I’m sorry, but could you give me some time to talk to Po?”

 

“I know that the princess is close with Po, but if you cover up like this, it negatively affects other kitchen people.”

 

“I won’t do that. I just want to know the exact situation.”

 

‘If that’s true, I’m very disappointed.’

 

As Dorothea spoke coldly, the head chef pondered for a moment, then nodded.

 

“Ethan, I’m going to talk with Po for a moment. Joy, wait here.”

 

Dorothea looked down at Po, and Po, who was kneeling, trembled and stood up.

 

Dorothea took Po to a small resting room next to the kitchen.

 

Throughout the journey, Po sobbed, holding back not to cry.

 

The sound made Dorothea’s heart throb.

 

* * *