The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

 

Dorothea quietly bowed her head.

 

Carnan glanced at her again.

 

Dorothea did not say anything before him and waited again.

 

It was long enough for her to open her mouth first.

 

Dorothea wanted to thank Carnan for lifting Ethan’s ban, or ask him if he was okay.

 

But the tightly closed lips didn’t open easily.

 

Come to think of it, when had I ever spoken to Carnan first……?

 

Her conversations with Carnan were always one-sided.

 

When Carnan speaks, or commands, Dorothea answers.

 

Her answers were usually defiant, so Carnan always didn’t like her answer.

 

The relationship between the two was like that.

 

Carnan, who looked at her without saying a word, struggled to move and picked up the paper and pen beside him.

 

“You’ve done a good job….There should be a reward for it.”

 

Even while sick, he did not forget what he had to do as an emperor.

 

“Tell me. The reward you want to receive.”

 

Carnan waited for an answer, but Dorothea didn’t answer.

 

‘I had never asked him for a gift. I don’t want expensive jewels, rare books, or spacious palaces.’

 

‘So there’s nothing to ask for…’

 

“hurry…”

 

When Dorothea was slow to respond, Carnan pressed her with a pan of eyes.

 

He thought this would be his last gift.

 

Dorothea saw the tip of the pen he was holding trembled and slowly closed her eyes.

 

There was only one thing she wanted.

 

“I want to marry… Ethan Bronte.”

 

She doesn’t need expensive jewels or affluent estates.

 

All she wants is Ethan Bronte.

 

Carnan looked at her.

 

Dorothea didn’t think it would matter if he refused.

 

She had no intention of arguing with the dying man over his stubbornness.

 

As Dorothea sat down with a blank expression on her face, Carnan looked at her silently and nodded.

 

“Do it…”

 

At his words, Dorothea raised her head and looked at him.

 

‘He’s giving me permission…… to do that?’

 

Dorothea looked at him in disbelief, but Carnan didn’t answer again.

 

Instead, he painstakingly moved the pen and wrote the letter.

 

[The Emperor of Ubera, Carnan Milanaire, allows the marriage of Princess Dorothea Milanaire and Ethan Bronte.]

 

He didn’t even have the strength to make up a sentence with rhetoric.

He wrote the most concise line of permission for Dorothea and Ethan to marry, and then put his signature at the bottom.

 

“I hope you like this gift…”

 

he already knew.

 

The gifts he sent to Dorothea are all unused and piled up in the palace warehouse.

 

Or that she gave it to others like a gift of wine.

 

Knowing that, he didn’t get angry or question her.

 

‘If I send a gift, will I ever be able to open that child’s heart?’

 

‘I knew I had missed the time, but I couldn’t give up.’

 

‘If I give up even that, I feel like I’m letting go of Dorothea completely.’

 

After finishing his last words, Carnan took a deep breath and coughed.

 

Dorothea hurriedly called the people outside, fearing that the incessant coughing alone would suffocate him.

 

The doctor rushed in, and the servants laid him on the bed.

 

It’s because he’s straining his lungs just by sitting.

 

Dorothea stepped back to let the doctor examine him.

 

Carnan handed the letter to Robert with a trembling hand in a constant cough.

 

Robert checked the letter and made eye contact with Dorothea.

 

Then, after confirming that Carnan nodded, he stamped the seal of the imperial family at the end of Carnan’s signature.

 

* * *

 

A few days later, punishments and rewards were given to the knights and soldiers who fought the war.

 

Dmitry, who sailed to Hark, was stripped of his title and lost his land.

 

Some nobles who ran away were also punished accordingly.

 

Jonathan Bronte, who was about to give up on Cerritian’s estate and run away, also lost his credibility greatly through disgrace, although it was not a big punishment.

 

On the other hand, Joy received a big reward along with the promotion, and another large medal was hung on Stefan’s chest.

 

The Greenwall family’s title was elevated from baron to Count.

 

Stefan was very embarrassed when they called him ‘Count Stefan Greenwall’.

 

It was so funny that Clara joked around a few more times.

 

And Ethan Bronte.

 

He was given the territory that Hark had given him as reparations for his defeat and a small position in the imperial court.

 

Dorothea, who was not allowed to receive titles or lands by rule, was given expensive gifts.

 

But the greatest gift of all was given to Dorothea…

 

“Ethan!”

 

Ethan came to visit after the awards ceremony.

 

In his hand was a small dessert box.

 

“I bought it from Po’s dessert shop. I haven’t had madeleine cake there for quite some time.”

 

As soon as he handed the box to Clara, Dorothea hugged him.

 

“I miss you.”

 

It wasn’t the right thing to say after she saw him yesterday, but she missed him.

 

“Me too.”

 

Ethan looked at Dorothea like that and kissed her.

 

A sweet smile spread across their lips.

 

Dorothea felt as if her body were tickled with the slightest touch with him.

 

They hugged each other and shared bird kisses over and over again.

 

Their little kiss ended only after Clara brought Madeleine to the plate.

 

“The two of you seem to have gotten better with each other ahead of your engagement.”

 

Clara smiled as she put Madeleine and their teacup on the table.

 

At the suggestion of Raymond and others, the two decided to get engaged before Carnan became more critical.

 

Because it was decided in a hurry, it will be held briefly without calling anyone separately.

 

Raymond told her if he was dissatisfied with the engagement ceremony, which will consist of nothing more than an exchange of rings.

 

But neither Dorothea nor Ethan cared about the formalities of an engagement.

 

It’s enough if they are together.

 

“It’s an engagement, and you haven’t even gotten a new dress.”

 

Clara said sullenly.

 

It would take another few days to get the dress fitted, and with Carnan’s condition, they couldn’t afford to waste time on fittings.

 

So Dorothea and Ethan didn’t care.

 

Dorothea decided to wear the blue dress that Carnan gave her as a birthday present.

 

And Ethan decided to wear the blue vest and tailcoat he wore on Dorothea’s birthday.

 

It was an old outfit, but it was meaningful to the two of them.

 

“It still feels like a dream.”

 

After Clara left, Ethan said, holding her hand.

 

“Me too, Ethan.”

 

Dorothea’s hand also interlocked with Ethan’s hand.

 

“Thank you for this opportunity you gave me.”

 

Dorothea lightly pressed her lips to the back of Ethan’s hand.

 

Ethan’s fingers tickled.

 

Then Ethan’s gaze fell on Dorothea’s desk.

 

Various documents and materials were laid out on the desk as if they were about to start a new job.

 

“You just came back, have you already taken on your job now?”

 

“Actually, Ethan…”

 

Dorothea confided in him a thought that had been bothering her lately.

 

“I…I still want to be emperor.”

 

Dorothea said while fiddling with the Spirit Stone.

 

Raymond was waiting for her to make up her mind about the throne.

 

And Dorothea still hasn’t made up her mind.

 

She showed determination in many things, but she was not ready to make up her mind on this one.

 

‘I was pathetic and timid.’ thought Dorothea.

 

“You want to be emperor?”

 

Again, Ethan’s eyes narrowed significantly.

 

“Coming back from the war, it felt weird.”

 

“If it’s weird….”

 

“People are happy, feeling proud as an Ubera people, being happy, personally… It felt good to feel recognized.”

 

‘I was so happy and full of tears.’

 

Unlike Raymond, who found such moments overwhelming, she felt alive from them.

 

“Of course, when I become an emperor, I don’t just have days like that…”

 

Surely there will be days when you will be pointed at and there will be days when you will be criticized.

 

You won’t always be able to win, and you won’t be able to please everyone.

 

“But I want to try to make a day like that.”

 

‘For just one day, to make people happy and happy.’

 

‘Maybe not overwhelmingly happy, but at least a little less unhappy.’

 

A smile spread across Ethan’s lips.

 

From a very long time ago, he knew well where Dorothea’s heart was headed.

 

He took Dorothea’s hand gently in his and kissed the back of her hand.

 

“For me, the only emperor was the princess.”

 

His only ruler and master.

 

The one person he would serve with his life.

 

“Whatever path you take, I will follow you.”

 

* * *