If a Tyrant Becomes a Father

“Am I dead?

Yesterday, Collis undoubtedly pushed me into the sea and disappeared using the teleportation bead alone.

Why is she lying here now? If she intended to escape, she should have gone far away. I thought it was a good decision not to come out with Lucerne. If he had witnessed this scene, regardless of Collis’s life or death, he would have suffered. I cautiously approached Collis.

“Collis…”

I called softly, but Collis didn’t even twitch. Her face was so pale that it was impossible to tell whether she was alive or dead. I leaned in to take a closer look, but her breathing was so faint that I couldn’t discern whether she was breathing or not.”

I tried to feel her chest and back, but it was difficult to confirm movement with the waves crashing.

 I reached out and touched under Collis’s nose. At first, the touch was so cold that I thought she was dead, but after waiting for a moment, I could faintly feel her breathing.

 

I swept my hand across my chest and stepped back. ‘What should I do?’ Before Lucerne woke up, I wanted to move Collis to a safe place.

However, no matter how strong I was, I couldn’t lift the wet Collis and move her somewhere.

After thinking for a while, I remembered that Collis had taken out the teleportation bead.

Despite Collis’s likely displeasure, I cautiously felt around the hem of her clothes. Even if I faced her anger later, my first priority was to save her life.

“I found it.” Fortunately, there was one bead left in her pocket.

With this, I planned to take Collis to the Imperial Palace and then return here. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about Collis escaping once she woke up, and Lucerne wouldn’t have to see the fallen Collis.

“What did he say? Hold the bead in your hand and think of where you want to go?” It was nerve-wracking to do something alone for the first time.

 

I held Collis’s hand tightly to make sure she wouldn’t slip away. With the other hand, I gripped the bead that glowed blue and thought of the familiar Imperial Palace.

The beautiful but not extravagant decorations, the windows where light shone brightly, the cozy bed for sleeping and waking up, and the spacious living room where I talked with Lucerne—I recalled each one. As the surroundings glowed brightly, I closed my eyes, and when the light disappeared, I opened them again.

Collis and I arrived in my room at the Imperial Palace on Mount Taurus. Even though it was just a day, the various experiences made the scenery unfamiliar. The fireplace was lit, but I couldn’t feel any warmth.

Knowing that Lucerne was not there, I already missed him. I shook the bell prepared in the room, and shortly after, Asilis and Calib rushed in.

“Your Highness! What on earth happened? You didn’t return all night, and we were so worried. Goodness, Princess Collis!”

“I think she fell into the sea, but I’m not sure of the details. Calib, please call Dipeume, and Asilis, prepare some dry clothes for Collis.”

“Yes, yes!”

 

 

Asilis quickly brought warm clothes. In the meantime, the other maids arrived, and we removed Collis’s wet clothes, dried her, and dressed her in fresh, dry clothes.

Once we laid Collis on my bed, Dipeume and palace attendants entered. Dipeume looked concerned when he saw Collis.

“What happened? How did this occur?”

“Collis, Your Highness? She is one of the most skilled in various magicians in the Empire. It’s hard to believe that she could be in such a situation.”

“I don’t know. She used a teleportation bead in front of me, and she disappeared. When I saw her again in the morning, she was lying on the beach.”

“I hope Your Highness is okay.”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

 

“Thank goodness. Is His Majesty Lucerne alright as well?”

“Yes, he’s fine.”

“That’s a relief. I can’t even imagine the Emperor being injured or hurt.”

“Is that so?”

I awkwardly chuckled.

The vividly flushed face of Lucerne, moaning on the worn-out blanket, came to mind. I considered telling the story of Lucerne’s pain last night but decided against it. Right now, examining the more critical Collis took precedence.

I pointed at Collis’s stomach with my finger.

 

 Quick-witted Dipeume dismissed the maids and palace attendants, who then opened the blanket and clothes, examining Collis’s stomach. Although some of the wounds Lucerne had inflicted yesterday had partially healed, they were not completely healed yet, presenting an odd appearance, like an old, poorly managed injury.

I sat on a chair near the bed, watching Dipeume examine Collis meticulously, as if he were examining me. He scrutinized her from her fingertips to toes, paying as much attention as he did when examining me.

After finishing the examination, Dipeume let out a deep sigh. “Fortunately, there is no harm to her life. However, due to various complex issues such as the body being cold for a long time, unhealed stomach wounds, and depletion of magic, her physical condition is extremely weakened. It will take time for her to wake up.”

“I’m relieved there’s no harm to her life.”

I stood up from the chair. “You’ll take care of Collis. I need to go check on Lucerne.”

“All right, I’ll move Collis to the guest room in the palace. If there’s anything else you want to ask for, please let me know.”

 

“There is something I’d like to request. I need a teleportation bead to return to Lucerne. Do you know where I can find one?”

 

“If it’s about that, you can ask Calib. I’ll take care of Collis.”

“Thank you.”

As I left the room, Calib was waiting. He greeted me as I walked out. “I was worried that you wouldn’t come back.”

“I’m thankful. Is Geo safe?”

“He is waiting in the anteroom. Shall I take you there?”

“Yes, please.”

We headed to the anteroom, and once there, I found Geo waiting. “Geo, are you all right?”

 

“Yes. I was brought here by His Majesty yesterday, and Dipeume took care of me overnight. Fortunately, there are no injuries, and I only seem a bit weakened due to lack of food and exhaustion,” Geo reported.

It was as Lucerne said. I nodded and sighed with relief. Although I felt an urgent desire to rush to Geo, I held back, afraid that Lucerne might be waiting for me if he had already awakened.

“Calib, I need to go to Lucerne. Can I use the teleportation bead?”

“Of course, I’ll prepare it for you right away.”

“Prepare two, one for going there and the other for returning to the palace.”

Calib swiftly brought the teleportation beads. As a precaution, he even placed three in my pocket. I expressed my gratitude and held the beads in my hand.

Thinking of Lucerne in the tiny, rundown house, with broken furniture and a bed made of straw, I envisioned him lying there. The vivid image in my mind included the small house and Lucerne, beautifully asleep.

 

Light seeped into my closed eyes, and soon the sound of waves reached my ears. Slowly, I lifted my eyelids. Beyond the broken window, waves gently flowed, and the sky, as blue as to be eye-stinging, was adorned with a few white fluffy clouds drifting slowly.

The scenery, the smell, and the sound were the same as last night, but Lucerne was nowhere to be seen.

Did he go out for some fresh air?

As I ran my hands over the floor where Lucerne had been lying, a sudden flash of blue light appeared from behind. Surprised, I widened my eyes and turned around.

Before I could understand the situation, Lucerne poured over me without a sound. There was no time to scream. His body was buried among the straw.

                                                             *****

When Lucerne first opened his eyes, it was a dark night. Surprised by the absence of anything in his field of vision, he was relieved to find Hyerim sitting by the bed, curled up in the corner, fast asleep. Seeing her shivering figure, one side of his chest ached.

 

Why is she like this?

Afraid she might wake up, he refrained from making any noise and instead sighed silently. Coming down from the bed, he straightened the blanket again and laid Hyerim down in the warm spot where he had slept.

Although he had only rested briefly and his body was not fully recovered, he was fortunate enough to be able to cast simple magic. Using magic, he warmed Hyerim’s body, got rid of the salt residue on his own body, and filled the old house with warmth.

Hyerim’s trembling subsided, and only then did he feel at ease. Relief washed over him.

It might not be worse than having nothing. Carefully, he covered Hyerim’s body with an old cloth. As he carefully arranged the fabric, he noticed that the edges of the cloth were damp.

“…I Hyerim. Surely she didn’t wipe me with a wet cloth or anything like that.”

There was no need for that. It would have been good once he had a good rest. Even thinking so, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It made him happy. The fact that Hyerim was worried about him, the fact that she made an effort to do something for him.

 

Ensuring that the straw bed did not collapse, he sat up slightly and looked at the sleeping Hyerim. His face was not clearly visible, so he tried to create light with magic, but it was in vain. Even a few spells drained his magic power considerably.

He smiled bitterly.

He missed her. He missed her.

He wanted to create light quickly. He wanted to dispel fatigue quickly.

To do that, he had no choice but to rest well, recover his magic power, even though he knew his body was sticky and couldn’t easily fall asleep.

“I’m not afraid. It’s a question that doesn’t require hesitation.”

“I won’t leave. If I can, I will stay by your side forever.”

 

Hyerim’s voice floated around Lucerne’s ears like a gentle breeze.

In the darkness, hallucinations embraced Lucerne like light.

He wanted to reach out and touch Hyerim. However, he knew that if even a fingertip touched her body, he would burn like paper soaked in oil, so he refrained from touching her. He simply stared into the darkness where she lay.

An unasked question wandered through the air.

“You said you’re not afraid of me. Does that mean you didn’t stay by my side because you were afraid? Moreover, your words about not leaving even if I don’t bind you. Could it be that I… no, that I…”

Is it because she likes me? Is it because she loves me?

He wanted to ask so desperately, but the fear of being rejected was so dreadful that he couldn’t even bring himself to ask the sleeping person.

 

He wished for that. Please, please, he hoped that somewhere in Hyerim’s heart, there existed a person named Lucerne. Preferably in a warm form.

But if Hyerim likes Lucerne, if she loves Lucerne, then why didn’t she smile at him all this time?

Why did she tell him not to shake her?

Why did she wear such a painful expression?

The unanswered question persisted until Lucerne fell into a deep sleep on the narrow floor.