The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

Raymond’s Memory

 

The day his mother died.

 

Unfortunately or fortunately, he was too young to understand death.

 

At only three years old, he was not smart enough to understand his mother’s absence right away.

 

But everyone was crying, and everyone was sad, so he just rolled with the emotions.

 

Especially his father, a big man who never cried before. He burst into tears.

 

It was like a big howling beast was going to crush the world.

 

His father would not even look at his young son and kept to his denial.

 

The servants who usually dressed him were grim.

 

The ‘side’ that was always there no longer exists.

 

Then a small ray of light came.

 

“This is the prince’s younger sister.”

 

A new family member lying in the cradle. Even in the eyes of a three-year-old child, a newborn baby is tiny.

 

A tiny little life, weighing less than six pounds.

 

“So cute!”

 

In the shadow of death, the new life, ‘Dorothea Millanaire’ was his only joy.

 

A miraculous being that brought a smile to his tear-streaked cheeks.

 

The baby made Raymond happy just by wiggling her little chubby hands.

 

His younger sister was unusually beautiful for a newborn baby.

 

She had a full head of hair, and her eyes could open clearly.

 

He knew. If there was a contest for the cutest and prettiest baby in the world, Raymond thought his younger sister would win first place.

 

“Baby, Are you my younger sister?”

 

The baby looked at him with blue eyes without a single cry.

 

With a newborn baby’s eyesight, she couldn’t even see him, but he was sure Dorothea was looking at him.

 

“Hmm, so pretty…”

 

Raymond stayed by the baby’s side while the Emperor stood by his wife’s side.

 

Raymond felt like he had a new toy.

 

A precious, toy you don’t want to throw, a toy that you don’t want to touch it carelessly.

 

He will be watching her with his chin on the cradle all day.

 

“I want to hold her!”

 

Raymond told the nanny who had finished feeding her.

 

“You have to be careful, the baby is weak.”

 

The nanny sat down on the floor and carefully placed Dorothea in his lap.

 

Raymond held Dorothea, unable to breathe.

 

Every time he took a breath, his body jerked, and he felt like he was going to hurt Dorothea.

 

“If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll send her back to….”

 

Raymond’s stomach hardened, and the nanny tried to take Dorothea back.

 

He shakes his head as she tried to take Dorothea.

 

The position was uncomfortable, but he didn’t want to let go of his lovely little sister.

 

He carefully bent down and kissed her soft forehead.

 

“Wahhh!”

 

Then Dorothea, who rarely cried, burst into tears.

 

Raymond flinched in surprise.

 

Eventually, the nanny picked Dorothea up again and placed her in the cradle. Then Dorothea went quiet again.

 

Raymond stared at the cradle with his mouth agape.

 

“I think Dorothea didn’t like me.”

 

“No, the only family little lady has is the Emperor and the crown prince.”

 

‘My mother is gone…’

 

Thinking of his mother again brought tears to his eyes, Raymond swallowed hard.

 

“That’s right. We are family.

I’m Dorothea’s only brother, and she’s lost her mother.”

 

“Now that the Empress is no longer with us, the Prince must love her very much.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Raymond nodded vigorously and smiled bashfully.

 

He already loves her a lot. More than anything else.

 

* * *

 

“Prince Ray, I think it’s time you stopped looking at ants and went to read a good fairy tales!”

 

Raymond was off before Minerva could finish her sentence.

 

The imperial family had forced him to read for an hour every day to develop his language.

 

The enforced reading bored Raymond.

 

“Prince!”

 

Minerva slapped her forehead as three-year-old Raymond ran away.

 

Raymond was already able to talk fluently. 

 

Of course, it’s not perfect, but compared to other kids

It was very fast.

 

Sometimes she felt like she was talking to a seven-year-old.

 

So, Minerva’s expectations for Raymond were high.

 

‘At this rate, he’ll be able to write letters perfectly before he turns five.’

 

He’ll be first in his class at Episteme.

 

The only problem was, when it came time to study, he’d drop out and run away.

 

“Prince!”

 

Minerva ran to catch little Raymond.

 

barely knee-high, it was amazing how fast he was.

 

She felt like she was chasing a squirrel.

 

He would have fallen, but Millanaire seemed to have been born with strong physical ability.

 

“Minerva!’

 

Minerva turned around from chasing after Raymond at the sound of someone’s call.

 

“I’m done preparing for the class.”

 

“I don’t think the prince is ready, first of all the prince….”

 

Minerva turned back to the direction where Raymond had run.

 

But Raymond was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Prince Ray!”

 

You should never take your eyes off children.

 

* * *

 

Raymond ran away from Minerva who told him to read a book.

 

The story in the book is definitely interesting, but reading a book

He hate it.

 

‘I can’t even read the book I want!’

 

“I’m going to see Dorothy.”

 

Raymond knew the shortcut to Converta’s palace.

 

When it rains, the hole that they drilled to drain the water was just right size to pass.

 

It was quite a distance, and his feet ached, but he was willing going a long way to see Dorothea.

 

And when he had barely reached the palace of Converta.

 

“It’s been a hundred days already, and the king hasn’t come to see her once.”

 

“We can’t tell him that…”

 

“Who’s going to speak up?”

 

He heard Dorothea’s maids talking.

 

Raymond could understand what they were talking about.

 

Since his mother’s death a few months ago, his father, Carnan Millanaire, had changed.

 

The smiling father was gone.

 

His father looked at him with a stiff, hard face, frowned, and then stroked his hair wordlessly.

 

Even Raymond didn’t see him as often as he used to.

 

Raymond was not the only one who’s scared of Carnan.

 

It was taboo for anyone, whether a courtier or a palace servant, to speak of the day’s events in his presence.

 

Naturally, mentioning Dorothea in connection with that day was also difficult.

 

There were no many servants to care for Dorothea.

 

Just a nanny and a few maids guarded the Converta in a corner of the palace.

 

“I don’t think you realize yet that that there are no guards for Converta’s palace. Only the patrolling knights who come and go as they please…”

 

“I’ll have to put in a request for one with the next budget.”

 

“Eh, what’s the use of a knight for a child? Rather than that, We’d be better off asking for a new palace.”

 

“The Empress is dead, and there’s no one to take care of her….. Poor princess.”

 

At the mention of the Empress, his mother, Raymond felt like he was going to cry.

 

It had been three months since his mother’s death, and he was feeling her absence acutely.

 

But he shouldn’t cry. He had a sister.

 

‘Dorothy hadn’t even seen her mother…’

 

He wouldn’t be a brother if he cried in front of her.

 

Raymond wiped his eyes with his sleeve and then he entered the palace gardens.

 

“Prince Ray!”

 

The maids who had been chatting were surprised to see Raymond enter the palace of Converta.

 

“Where’s Dorothy? I’ve come to see her!”

 

“The prince is the only one who comes to see her.”

 

The maids smiled and greeted him.

 

They were going to keep him until until his personal servant came for him.

 

The maids took Raymond and led him into the palace.

 

Even to young Raymond’s eyes, Converta was small.

 

It was less than half the size of his own palace.

 

“Can’t Dorothy and I live in the same palace?” he asked.

 

‘Then we could see each other all the time. We could build sand castles together, show each other ants we caught, and If I find a perfect maple leaf that’s clean and flawless, I will Give it to her as a gift.’

 

“Isn’t it nice to have a big palace all to yourself?”

 

“I’m bored!”

 

“There are many fun toys in prince’s palace.”

 

“What do I do with toys!”

 

The maids laughed at young Raymond’s response.

 

Young Raymond would say one thing after another.

 

He was so cute, the maids looked forward to him coming to Converta’s palace to play.

 

“Prince Ray is a big fan of Princess Dorothy.”

 

“Yes! Dorothy is my treasure number one!”

 

“Treasure number one! I can’t believe you’ve already said that.”

 

The maids applauded Raymond, who was improving day by day.

 

They washed Raymond’s hands and face, which were covered with dirt.

 

And carried him to Dorothea’s room.

 

“Dorothy!”

 

Raymond exclaimed as soon as he entered the room and ran to Dorothea’s cradle.

 

“Baby, my sister!”

 

He held his heel up to see inside of the cradle, which was a little bit high.

 

His sister was still tiny, even though she had grown so fast in recent months.

 

Her skin is fluffy and her eyelashes are long, It became clearer, and her eyes became more round.

 

Just looking at her made Ray smile.

 

“Good morning, baby, I missed you!”

 

* * *