The Tyrant Wants To Live Honestly

When Dorothea looked back, Ethan was at the door.

 

As soon as Dorothea saw his face, her eyes grew hot.

 

“Are you okay, Your Majesty?”

 

Ethan ran over and grabbed her shoulder, examining her.

 

Dorothea nodded, barely holding back tears.

 

“What the hell is going on?”

 

“I think Prince Luheit’s coffee was poisoned. Fortunately, it’s not fatal, but…”

 

“Poison? Your Majesty, are you okay?”

 

Ethan took a deep breath as Dorothea nodded.

 

“More than that, we need to deal with this, Ethan.”

 

“Since it happened in the imperial palace, I will also help.”

 

Ethan held Dorothea’s hand tightly.

 

* * * 

 

“So, no poison was detected in my coffee cup?”

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

The only place on the table where the poison was detected was in Luheit’s glass.

 

‘If that’s true, then it means that the poison had been aimed at Lüheit in the first place, but who on earth was targeting the head of the Mulkybell delegation?’

 

While Dorothea was deep in thought, the servant knocked and came in.

 

“Your Majesty. Sir Lahas, the deputy head of the Mulkybell delegation, requests to see you.”

 

Dorothea thought for a moment and then nodded.

 

“…..Okay.”

 

Dorothea made her way to the living room where the deputy head of the delegation Mulkybell was waiting.

 

As Dorothea reached the living room,  Lahas stopped after wandering around the room.

 

Lahas met Dorothea with angry eyes. 

 

“Your Majesty the Emperor!”

 

Lahas walked towards her, his voice furious.

 

“What the hell is going on! Poisoning?! How is the Ubera Empire being managed?!”

 

Dorothea closed her eyes tightly at the sight of Lahas’ angry appearance, then opened them again.

 

“Let’s sit down and talk.”

 

‘I think this story will be long….’

 

“Why are you sitting down now? The prince is in such a state!”

 

Lahas’ spit splattered on Dorothea’s cheek.

 

Dorothea stared at him silently, her mouth tightly shut.

 

Lahas, who had been spouting off, soon began to lower his voice in response to her cooled reaction.

 

Dorothea waited for a long time with her mouth shut.

 

Only after Lahas calmed down a bit did Dorothea open her mouth.

 

“We’ve gathered here to solve this problem. If we’re going to catch the culprit, I need sir Lahas’s cooperation. Of course, I believe sir Lahas will need my cooperation as well.”

 

As Dorothea silently pointed to the chair with her eyes, Lahas gritted his teeth, snorted, and sat down.

 

Mulkybel’s attitude was rude, but Dorothea had nothing to say about it, now that Luheit was in such a state.

 

Only after Lahas had sat down did Dorothea sit across from him.

 

“What kind of trouble is this when we come to the empire?”

 

“I’m very sorry, too.”

 

“Is this something that can be resolved after you regret it?”

 

“I will apologize to Prince Luheit when he wakes up. But before that, shouldn’t we have uncovered the truth about this matter first?”

 

“The truth? Hah, didn’t you try to kill Prince Luheit in order to keep  Mulkybell in check in Ubera?”

 

Dorothea frowned at Lahas’ words.

 

Of course, she expected to be suspected like that, but it still feels bad to be falsely accused.

 

“Why would Ubera want to kill Prince Luheit?”

 

Dorothea retorted, calming down her anger.

 

She had put in a lot of effort to welcome the Mulkybell delegation, and even took time out of her busy schedule to give it to Luheit. In Ubera, Mulkybell was never ignored even once.

 

“Then who would have done that to Prince Luheit? Are you saying that the prince was trying to commit suicide or something?”

 

“Nothing has been revealed yet. I will also do everything I can for Prince Luheit.”

 

“Besides, I heard that Duke Ethan Bronte was displeased with Prince Luheit?”

 

Lahas crossed his arms defensively and looked at Dorothea.

 

Dorothea’s expression hardened coldly, but Lahas paid no attention to her and continued speaking.

 

“During the last dinner and banquet, he looked at Prince Luheit with a very unpleasant gaze.”

 

Lahas seemed convinced that Ethan had done this to Luheit.

 

“Just think about it. How many people would be able to bring such poison into this palace?”

 

Lahas’s reasoning was not entirely wrong.

 

Didn’t Dorothea hear it from Luheit?

 

“It seems that the Duke of Bronte doesn’t like me.”

 

It seemed clear that Ethan did not look kindly on Luheit.

 

Moreover, it is clear that the power of someone of high status would have been involved in sneaking such a dangerous item into the palace.

 

“Actually, I was waiting for Your Majesty earlier, and the Duke of Bronte passed by here. I felt a little embarrassed when I said hello to him and he ignored me and left.”

 

‘Come to think of it, I sent Clara to inform Mulkybell after Luheit fell, but Ethan arrived before the Mulkybell people.’

 

Dorothea bit her lip as she recalled the series of events.

 

‘But there’s no way Ethan would do that…’ 

 

She truly believed in Ethan, but she also recognized that this blind faith could be wrong.

 

‘Even before the return, didn’t he commit sins due to blind faith and love?’

 

Whatever her beliefs, it was clear that Ethan could not be completely free from suspicion.

 

“….I will look into the matter of the Duke of Bronte.”

 

If no investigation is conducted into Ethan, the Mulkybell side will truly suspect that the Imperial Family is behind it.

 

She had to suspect Ethan. As the emperor, and also as the person who trusted Ethan the most.

 

* * *

 

“Your majesty.”

 

That night, while she was still in her office, lost in thought, Ethan came to see her.

 

Dorothea looked up and looked at him.

 

His eyes, always focused on one person, were directed at her.

 

Beautiful golden eyes. And his eyebrows, which don’t move at all.

 

“First, I looked into where the poison flower might be distributed. I also looked into the area around Prince Luheit.”

 

He showed Dorothea some of the documents he had brought with him.

 

“I found out that flower is also used as a dye, so it is easier to obtain than I thought. Moreover, it is said that it can be obtained from mountainous areas all over the continent.”

 

Ethan gave Dorothea a brief information about the poisonous flowers.

 

It would be difficult to pinpoint the culprit since they are so easy to obtain, but Ethan’s suggestion was to first find and filter out those who had recently purchased that flower.

 

“And after looking around the area Prince Luheit—”

 

“Ethan.”

 

Dorothea called out to Ethan, who was pointing to the letters on the paper with a serious face.

 

Then Ethan looked up and looked at her.

 

“Mulkybell is suspicious of you.”

 

Ethan’s eyes fluttered as Dorothea locked eyes with him.

 

“Me? Do you think I…… made Prince Luheit like that?”

 

Ethan’s hand, which was holding the document, dropped down.

 

“In Mulkybell, that’s what they think.”

 

Ethan averted his gaze and lowered his head at Dorothea’s firm words.

 

He couldn’t make excuses in front of Dorothea.

 

Objectively speaking, he was worthy of suspicion.

 

Besides, didn’t he commit all sorts of evil deeds without hesitation before his return?

 

He dug a trap and waited for Theon to die. He killed Julia and the other Milanaires.

 

Killing anyone who got in his way was a simple task for him.

 

And Dorothea knew Ethan well.

 

“It’s only natural that I’m suspected….”

 

Even if he was suspected, he had nothing to say. He had already thought about killing Luheit.

 

“But I am innocent,” Ethan said.

 

It was true that he wanted to kill him, but he hadn’t really killed him. He can swear before Dorothea. 

 

“Yeah. I trust you too, Ethan.”

 

Then Dorothea grabbed Ethan’s hand, which was clenched into a fist.

 

“There’s no way you’re the culprit.”

 

Dorothea lifted his head and met his eyes.

 

Ethan’s lips trembled at that.

 

“If you’re trying to protect me, you don’t have to. Your Majesty is the Emperor. Even if you treat me coldly, I—”

 

“That’s the conclusion I reached after thinking calmly.”

 

Dorothea smiled faintly and leaned back against the backrest.

 

“Ethan I know would never kill Luheit in such a shallow way.”

 

Ethan’s eyes widened at her words.

 

Dorothea smirked at the sight of Ethan like that.

 

‘Yes, we can suspect Ethan. Some circumstances point to him as the culprit. But no matter how much I thought about it, it didn’t seem like it was Ethan’s doing.’

 

The Ethan Dorothea knew would not kill Luheit in that way.

 

Wouldn’t it be foolish of him to poison Luheit to death in the presence of Dorothea, in a situation where he was easily suspected?

 

* * *