The Tyrant's Happy Ending - Chapter 11.1

“Yeah.”

Lyle’s low, quiet voice whispered in Yernen’s ear, filling the silence with an unexpected weight. In that brief pause, Yernen’s heartbeat quickened. The unexpected response threw him off, and he found himself staring blankly at Lyle’s face.

“What do you mean, it smells different?” Yernen’s voice trembled slightly, tinged with confusion. But then Lyle’s hand moved away, and their eyes finally met.

Those eyes were deep and dark, unlike their usual coldness—now filled with anxiety and repressed emotions. Lyle continued, his tone measured and unnervingly calm.

“I was just wondering… how you’re really doing,” he said. The chill in his voice sent an eerie shiver down Yernen’s spine.

Yernen’s mind churned over Lyle’s words. For a moment, anger and doubt tangled within him. It must have been suspicion that made Lyle mention the scent earlier. But what had prompted this sudden shift in his demeanor?

“What do you mean, ‘how I’m doing’? I haven’t done anything,” Yernen replied, his voice firmer, adopting a defensive stance.
Instead of answering, Lyle’s gaze softened as he looked at Yernen with a melancholy expression. After a pause, he spoke again, his voice lower than before.

“Sometimes, you feel so far away, Yernen.”

Yernen’s breath caught in his throat. It was rare for Lyle, who usually sought to control and restrain him, to speak in such a soft, vulnerable tone. “…The Eastern rebels are gaining momentum.”

It was a statement about the Eastern insurgents.

“…?”

Yernen blinked rapidly. He was somewhat surprised.

And rightly so, for Lyle had never brought up politics with Yernen before. Even when there was an unexpected meeting held in the grand temple, Lyle ensured that a place was set aside for Yernen, but still didn’t allow him to attend.

This was a stance Lyle always maintained because he could never be sure whether Yernen, the Duke of Fortnum’s body, was friend or foe.

Even after their physical relationship began, Lyle still hadn’t trusted Yernen enough to speak of political matters—not even mundane administrative affairs.

But now, here he was, speaking of politics.

Despite Yernen’s shock, Lyle didn’t stop talking.

“So, there was a meeting about it all day today. The main issue was one thing: who would lead the vanguard in suppressing the Eastern rebels.”

Yernen pressed his lips tightly together, looking up at Lyle. He had an inkling of what was coming next. It was obvious; the most qualified person was practically predetermined.

“And it was decided that I would go.”

“…….”

The Emperor of the Helio Empire was always a figure who must be protected above all else. For the imperial knights, the greatest duty was to guard the emperor. But in their era, it had changed. Lyle was an emperor but not of divine bl00d.

Lyle was a war hero, the greatest knight of the empire, and a strategist. He had to constantly prove himself and defend an unstable throne with grand feats.

“So, I’ll be busy from now on. I also have to catch up on work that’s piled up while I’ve been indulging in our newlywed phase.”

Yernen spoke with a disgruntled tone.

“…It’ll be nice with you gone. No more annoying clinging every night.”

That’s good.

Originally, Yernen hadn’t planned to see Lyle often. He thought he’d meet him once a month at most, spend the night, part ways, and minimize their encounters.

Of course, nothing had gone according to plan. Not a single one of Yernen’s original schemes had stayed intact.

It was as if Lyle had no home of his own, constantly spending his nights at the Empress’s palace, working, eating, and even training there.

Yernen had long since stopped trying to resist. Even when he shouted at Lyle to leave, the man didn’t listen. If anything, he clung harder.

It was going to end within a year at most, anyway. Yernen decided to let Lyle do as he pleased.

Still, he couldn’t waste all his time. Yernen needed to prepare for life after leaving the palace. He’d been trying to figure out how to shake off the man who stuck to him like glue, and now, Lyle was choosing to leave on his own.

It was a relief.

…

It really was.

But why did it feel so strange?

Something about today’s Lyle felt… off.

Yernen couldn’t quite pinpoint where the prickle of discomfort at his fingertips originated.

“So, I should go now to catch up on work. Looks like you’ll have to sleep alone tonight.”

“Yeah? Then go.”

“…Alright.”

Lyle’s response was strangely muted.

The large, warm hand that had been resting near Yernen’s face moved away, and soon after, the sound of the door closing reached him. Lyle had left.

…

As always, Lyle’s steps were silent, even the softest brush against the carpet unheard.

Only then did Yernen stare at the spot where Lyle had been sitting, his expression serious, lost in thought. He couldn’t pinpoint why, but Lyle had definitely been different today. Unlike the usual demeanor he showed Yernen, there had been something sharp in his gaze.

A thought crept into Yernen’s mind: perhaps Lyle had discovered something. And that something was probably.

No, that’s impossible.

Yernen pushed the rising suspicion out of his mind.
The truth of his identity being revealed… It couldn’t be.

Only Tenes, Yuris, and Justin knew Yernen’s true identity. And they weren’t the type to reveal it anywhere. It was just paranoia. Knowing Lyle’s temper, he probably had another clash with the court nobles.

Yernen brushed aside his thoughts, convincing himself it was over. That nothing more would come of it.

But contrary to Yernen’s expectations, Lyle began acting strangely from that day on.

The man who used to practically live at the Empress’s palace was now nowhere to be seen from dawn till late night. He would only come in when Yernen was deep asleep and leave before he woke.
In the predawn hours, when Yernen would wake up and reach for the tangled sheets next to him, only a trace of warmth and a faint scent of pheromones lingered.

And their nighttime encounters had stopped. But perhaps due to the toll taken on his body from a month of constant strain, Yernen found himself perpetually tired.

So, on mornings when he woke like this, he would pull the sheet, still holding Lyle’s fading warmth, close and breathe deeply before slipping back into sleep.

A week passed without a single word exchanged between them.
And then, news arrived that shook Yernen to his core.

“What?”

Yernen’s brow furrowed deeply as he echoed the words, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Justin interjected from the side.
One positive thing about Lyle’s absence was that Yernen could meet with the knights freely. Whenever the water-blue butterfly appeared as a signal, he sent away the attendants and headed to the glass conservatory to meet them.

Many conversations had taken place in that time.

After contacting Illian through the communication orb, he informed them that he would head to the Fleur territory as soon as matters in the capital were settled. Yernen also received reports on how far the tasks he had assigned to the knights before his supposed death had progressed.

Today, during his fourth meeting with the knights, Yernen heard shocking news from Tenes.

Leaning lazily against the armrest, Yernen looked at Tenes and spoke.

“Why on earth are you the one being assigned to deal with the last crown prince of a fallen kingdom?”

The matter at hand was about Tenes’s reassignment.

While his position hadn’t changed on the surface, meaning it wasn’t officially a demotion, the mission given to him suggested otherwise. Lyle had tasked Tenes with tracking and assassinating the last crown prince of the fallen northern kingdom of Kylan.
Yernen couldn’t understand it. This type of work was usually assigned to those who handled the Empire’s dirtiest, most covert affairs—individuals without official ranks or names.

Under Yernen’s rule, the Empire had unified the northern continent, but the work was not yet complete. One of the unresolved issues was the elimination of the former crown prince of Kylan.

Although the majority of Kylan’s citizens no longer supported their royal family, some still revered them. Among these loyalists, the radicals argued for reestablishing a kingdom for Kylans, centered around the crown prince. To prevent this, the Empire had been relentlessly pursuing the prince.

Only recently had they discovered why the powerless prince had managed to evade capture for so long: Kylan’s greatest knight was protecting him. No ordinary knights could match this guardian, making the hunt fruitless until now.

Thus, Lyle had ordered Tenes to the north to handle the troublesome task that could take years to complete.
It was absurd.

“There are plenty of others who could do it.”

Though Tenes was among the strongest in the Empire, Lyle had subordinates with comparable prowess. Sending Valen, one of Lyle’s closest aides who always shadowed him, would have made more sense. Valen had fought alongside Lyle throughout the northern conquest, which made him more suited to the mission than Tenes, who had never set foot there. Valen would have had information on that formidable knight as well.