The Tyrant's Happy Ending - Chapter 11.5

There was no one capable of replacing Yuris. Working with another administrative official would have exposed that it was actually Yernen handling the duties, contrary to what many believed—that Yuris managed everything.

To prevent that, Yuris had specifically chosen Justin as his successor before leaving. However, Yernen hadn’t known then that it would be the start of his misfortunes.

Justin was, to put it plainly, spectacularly bad at his job. What was meant to reduce Yernen’s workload instead increased it, creating a maddening cycle.

And that wasn’t the only problem. Lyle Beltimore had left the administrative system on the brink of collapse with his incompetence. When Yuris had been present, he had tirelessly worked through the nights to organize everything, but now, working with Justin made the mess glaringly evident.

After two days of working with Justin, Yernen realized he couldn’t go on like this and needed to take on more work to restructure the chaotic system.

Even with the daily workload of imperial duties and handling war-related issues, the additional responsibility of reorganizing the system left him buried in never-ending tasks.
The more blunders Justin made, the more work piled up, and Yernen, unable to keep up, had spent night after sleepless night just trying to catch up. Yet, the work only seemed to grow.

“Hah.”

He let out a deep sigh. He was completely worn out.

“Let’s call it a day.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The tasks were still stacked high, but he had reached his limit. His mind had stopped functioning.

Hearing Yernen’s surrender, Justin’s face brightened obliviously. The sight made Yernen’s desire to slap him resurface, stronger than ever.

But that thought was soon replaced by the worry that had been weighing on him for days. There was a problem more troublesome than the endless stream of paperwork.

Ending work for the day inevitably meant returning to the Empress’s quarters. And that meant facing the deeply personal, unsolvable issue he’d been struggling with.

A deep frown appeared between Yernen’s brows.

“Did you really serve me this trash to eat? Take it all away.”

“Y-yes.”

Noah, the servant who had received the scolding, scurried off with a distressed expression, and soon the attendants began clearing the table. But Yernen, whose appetite had already soured beyond recovery, stood up before the table was fully cleared.

Melissa, visibly taken aback, quickly signaled to the head chef, who handed her a small basket of bread and jars of colorful fruit jams. Melissa tried to follow Yernen with the food, but he was not unaware of her intentions.

“Nanny.”

“Yes…! Y-your Majesty!”

“I’m not eating. Clear it all away and don’t let anyone follow me. I want to be alone.”

“But…! The Emperor commanded you stay with Sir Boer at all times….”

“Is that man still here?”

Before Melissa could respond, Yernen’s voice cut her off sharply.

“T-that’s because…”

“Get rid of him. I have no need for a dog that serves another master in my palace.”

“Your Majesty…!”

Ignoring Melissa’s desperate plea, Yernen strode out of the hall.

“Sigh.”

Deep sighs echoed around the hall after Yernen left. It had been a month since Lyle’s army departed the capital to quell the eastern rebellion. The icy winds of winter, once relentless, had begun to ease.

But while the chill outside abated, the tension within the palace only grew, making everyone in the Empress’s quarters tread as carefully as if they were walking on thin ice. Their master, who had barely glanced at the spread of food before issuing his harsh command, left as he had the past few days—with an imperious dismissal.

While most trembled in fear, only Melissa fretted, stamping her feet anxiously.

“Oh dear, if he keeps skipping meals like this, he’ll ruin his health.”

For days now, Yernen had subsisted solely on plain bread and a bit of fruit jam. Today, he had even refused the bread.
The young master, who had never been picky about food, left Melissa at a loss as to how to handle the situation.
Seeing Melissa’s concern, Noah spoke up hesitantly with a suspicion he had been harboring.

“Um, Melissa, do you think… His Majesty could be… pregnant?”

“What?”

“I mean, look at the signs. He’s refusing meals, only eating bread, and his temperament has become more volatile…”

“Hmm…”

Melissa pondered seriously. It was true that the young master she’d raised with love had never been fussy about food. But his temperament? That was another matter.

“But Noah, back when he was at the Fortnum Estate, he was even more high-strung than now.”

Melissa whispered so softly that only Noah could hear, wary that Yernen might catch her words.

“And didn’t we test for pregnancy over a month ago and it came back negative?”

“But that was more than a month ago! My sister says that early tests aren’t always accurate. You have to wait at least three months for reliable results.”

“Is that so?”

Melissa touched her lips thoughtfully. It wasn’t an implausible notion. But…

After some contemplation, Melissa shook her head.

“No, I don’t think it’s that.”

“Why not?”

Noah looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Because even in the Emperor’s absence, His Majesty seems fine.”

“Uh… does that make a difference?”

“Of course. An Omega who is pregnant can’t go without an Alpha’s pheromones. They become instinctively anxious and sick without them, driving them to seek the father of the child. This is especially true in the early stages, though it can ease later on.”

Yernen, though rejecting food, hadn’t shown any signs of nausea or sickness that would indicate pregnancy. Pregnant Omegas often had extreme reactions to unpleasant smells, but Yernen had not exhibited that behavior.

Moreover, a pregnant Omega, in the absence of the Alpha, would be constantly drawn to them. But since Lyle’s departure, Yernen hadn’t sought him out even once. Melissa was certain that no Omega could resist that compulsion. Thus, it couldn’t be pregnancy.

Melissa nodded slightly to herself before turning back to Noah.

“Anyway, we need to make sure he eats something tomorrow. I’ll need to talk to the chef. Maybe I should cook something myself. Noah, tell the others to make sure not even an ant approaches His Majesty’s quarters.”

“Yes!”

With that, Melissa bustled off to the kitchen, while Noah, watching her retreating figure, tilted his head in doubt. To him, all signs pointed to their master being pregnant.

Bang!

Yernen slammed the door shut behind him and locked it, storming into the bathroom to lean over the toilet.

“Ugh…!”

From experience over the past weeks, he knew nothing would come up no matter how he retched. Still, he couldn’t stop himself.
This was the biggest problem Yernen had been facing lately.

“Hah, hah. Damn it.”

He didn’t know why this was happening, but recently, certain food smells had been making him feel ill. The nausea was usually bad, but today was particularly severe. He had barely managed to keep his composure in front of the servants.

Cold sweat dripped from Yernen’s forehead as he struggled against the wave of nausea. The throbbing headache that had been plaguing him for days flared up again, making his head feel like it was splitting apart.

He had no idea what was causing this. Was it the retching?
After dry heaving for what felt like an eternity, his head ached so badly that his vision blurred.

Releasing his grip on the toilet, Yernen placed a hand against the wall and slowly stood up. He felt as if he might die from the relentless pain. If there were any way to alleviate this torment, he would do anything.

As he left the bathroom, something caught his attention—a scent wafting from somewhere, triggering an almost primal response.

“……”

Drawn as if hypnotized, Yernen followed the source of the scent. His footsteps halted in front of… Lyle’s dressing room.

In Yernen’s quarters, there were three dressing rooms. He used the two closest to his bedroom, while the smallest, most tucked-away room had belonged to Lyle.

Even though Lyle hadn’t entered Yernen’s room for weeks after their argument, he hadn’t taken his clothes with him when he left. As a result, Lyle’s belongings still filled the space.
Yernen pushed open the door to Lyle’s dressing room and stepped inside. He approached the neatly arranged rows of Lyle’s clothes and, no longer able to hold himself up, collapsed to the floor.
Thud, rustle.

Lyle’s garments slipped off their hangers and fell onto Yernen. Surrounded by the soft fabrics, he curled up like a bird in a nest.

The room was saturated with Lyle’s pheromone scent, enveloping him as if he were nestled in Lyle’s embrace.

It was strange. The nausea that had been churning in his stomach subsided as he inhaled deeply, and the persistent, inexplicable anxiety that clouded his mind seemed to vanish completely. In its place, a different emotion swelled, one he had been trying to ignore for the past month.

I miss him.

Even though he knew that Lyle’s return would only bring about a cascade of complications, Yernen couldn’t deny the truth. Yes, it was easier if Lyle stayed away.

But still, he missed him—desperately so.

It was such a foolish feeling.

Perhaps it was because the room felt like a place where he was safe. For the first time in what felt like ages, Yernen breathed freely, as if he were a mermaid who had finally returned to the sea after being stranded on land.

For a fleeting moment, all his worries and fears seemed to dissolve into nothingness.