The Tyrant's Happy Ending - Chapter 13.8

But then, one day, an event occurred that would bring massive upheaval to Hans’ life.

The new emperor cut off the lord’s head.

Isn’t this guy absolutely crazy?

Word of the new emperor began to spread like wildfire among the people of the land. They had heard that he was a tyrant, but they had no idea that he was so insane, that the empire was in complete disarray, and that all the rumors were true.

And then, the Emperor’s army, the Knights of the Bl00d, came to the territory where the most sinister rumors were circulating. They annihilated the lord’s family and his vassals, and hung their heads at the castle gate.

Everyone trembled, thinking that a greater disaster was about to strike. But, incredibly, from that day on, a new life began for Hans.

The lord’s men who had been coming to demand payment of money every day had stopped coming, and the officials of the lord’s castle who had been harassing him for collecting taxes had disappeared. He and his neighbors had unexpectedly found freedom.

And a few months later, an official was dispatched from the central government.

A woman who appeared to be the leader of the officials, who introduced herself as Rosi Velika, told them that by order of the Emperor, all usury had been abolished, and that all the money and land that the lord had taken from the people of the fief had been returned.

Hans and his family, who had been reduced to serfdom and treated like livestock, were given land to farm and money again.

It was, really… magical. For him and for his neighbors.

Under the administration of Logi Velika, the territory where he was born and raised and the East slowly began to regain stability, and the hearts of those who had been rough for a while gradually became peaceful again.

Of course, that did not mean that everything would return to its original state. The world was still extremely dangerous. Rebellions were constantly occurring here and there, and it was said that the capital was covered in bl00d by the emperor who carried out a reign of terror to silence him.

Lyrics criticizing the emperor and inciting the people continued to be created, and children roaming the streets still recited the lyrics as if they were having fun.

But as he gazed at the golden wheat fields, ripe and golden, bathed in warm sunlight and plenty of rain for the first time in a long while, Hans began to wonder if the new emperor, Jernen, was really a villain.

Maybe Yernen is not a villain, but a savior sent by God… I thought.

The three years he lived under Yernen’s reign were so peaceful and happy that it seemed as if they were comforting him for all the misfortunes he had experienced.

And then, one day.

“… … .”

The emperor is dead.

It is said that the one who killed the Emperor was the Emperor’s former fiancé, the Grand Duke of Beltymour. He ascended to the throne as the fiancé of the Emperor’s nephew, Prince Fortnum, and became the new Emperor.

The storytellers who had been passing down the Emperor’s denunciations now began to tell tales of the exploits of the Duke of Beltimore, and thus his Emperor was once again vilified, ridiculed, and sold as a petty joke.

Still, Hans lived on as if nothing had happened.

He still tended the fields, harvested the withering grain, and lay on his rich straw bales, looking up at the sky.

The Duke of Beltimore’s ascension to the throne did not bring back the troubled days of Harriet’s reign. His life continued peacefully. As if… nothing had happened.

Then one day, a small stone tower appeared in the corner of the square in front of Yeongju Castle.

There was a chrysanthemum with a pure white stem there.

“… … .”

Knock knock.

My heart was pounding wildly.

‘Hans, can you help this flower grow bigger?’

He knew that flower. It was a southern chrysanthemum that he had grown at Rosie’s request. And because he had grown it for days on end, he knew how its stems would change color at sunset.

There was only one person in this domain who could take that flower and place it in front of the stone pagoda.

Hans ran in a hurry and knocked on the castle door. After begging to see Rosie, he was finally able to get to her.

“Haa, haa.”

And before Rosie could speak, startled by his sudden visit, she gasped for breath.

“That stone tower…!”

“Ugh, phew.”

He continued, trying to catch his breath.

“Did the manager make this?”

“… … .”

Rose just looked at him without saying anything.

“You put down that flower. I know because I grew it.”

Hans strained his lips to open them, but it was no use.

“That stone tower is his tomb.”

His wrinkled face was already soaked with tears. Rose let out a small sigh as she looked at his face.

“That’s right. I wanted to show you.”

“What?”

“…you who have found peace, just as he wished.”

Tears flowed ceaselessly down the old man’s face. Those words were a confirmation of some suspicion he had been having for some time.

Hans held back the things that were coming his way, his throat groaning harshly.

“In fact, I think he knew he wouldn’t live long.”

He, who was criticized by many as a tyrant, actually gave wheat fields to him and his neighbors. The land the lord had been so desperate to take away.

There was no way he could live long after he had given the land back to himself, his neighbors, and countless others.

Hans was a man who had never set foot outside the territory where he was born and raised, let alone been to the capital once.

Also, because he was an ignorant worm, he had no idea what was happening in the capital city, even if it was a lie, unless the storyteller told him the story. The capital city was too far away for him, and the castle was even farther away, as unreachable as the sky.

But he seemed to know one thing.

That the emperor that everyone thought would be the worst emperor, the emperor who would destroy the empire, the emperor that everyone called a mad tyrant, was actually… the one who cared about them more than anyone else.

Hans still swept the stone tower, the corners of his mouth raised bitterly.

Since then, stone towers have appeared in his territory, the next territory, and the territory next to that. Maybe even further away… but I haven’t been able to go any further, so I don’t know.

Anyway… I had built a stone tower again, so I thought I should hurry up and offer chrysanthemums before that new emperor came.

Thinking so, Hans turned his head to call his son. But somehow, he felt a cool sensation on his neck… He thought that the surroundings had become quiet for some reason.

Gulp.

Hans swallowed deeply and looked down diagonally. Then he found it. Right next to his neck… a sword.

“Eww!”

Hans screamed in surprise. Then an ominous voice came from behind him.

“Don’t move.”

Somehow I felt like I knew who the owner of the voice was. It was the voice of the new emperor who had suddenly barged in and driven out all the rebels…!

“Save me, save me, save me!”

Hans’ face turned pale. Perhaps the new emperor had figured out that this stone tower was a stone tower honoring the former emperor. If so, then he was a dead man.

“Why was this stone tower built? What do you know?”

And his prediction was right on the mark. The identity of the stone tower was revealed.

“Ugh… .”

I felt a prickling sensation in my neck. It felt like it would cut me if I moved even a little.

“Tell me now!”

“Eww!”

Hans shut his eyes tightly. Now he would die, and this cairn, the cairn in the next estate, and the cairn in the estate next to that would all crumble.

But then, a voice came to save Hans.

“your majesty!”

“Manager… Manager…!”

Hans spoke in a tearful voice as if a savior had come, and Lyle turned around upon hearing his voice.

“under.”

There was Rosie and Yuris with a very hardened face. Yuris spoke in a voice full of anger.

“Your Majesty, what are you doing…!”

But Lyle didn’t even respond to Yuris’ words, and instead threw something.

widely.

Yuris glanced at Lyle with a faint hint of disgust, as if he were looking at a thug, then looked at the object in his hand.

“…!”

Then, unlike before, he looked at Lyle with a pale face.

“This is…!”

“You probably don’t know what the video is in there, but you react as if you knew.”

Lyle said with a crooked smile, one corner of his mouth lifting.

“I guess there have been more than one or two videos like this before?”

Lyle’s sword was taken from Hans and pointed straight at Yuris’s neck.

“You’d better tell me everything that’s happened right now. Unless you want to see me go crazy.”

Yuris bit her lip, her brow furrowing. She thought she couldn’t keep it a secret forever… but she got caught way too soon.

Yuris sighed softly and closed her eyes. Her thin eyelashes fluttered.

“… There are many ears to hear here. Let’s go to the castle.”

There’s nothing I can do about it. Now that I know this much… I can’t hide it any longer.

“There, I will tell you everything.”

Two teacups were placed on a mahogany table of rich color.

“There are still many places that have not been restored, so there are not enough hands to help. So I will prepare them for you.”

As she said that, Rosie poured transparent vermilion tea into their cups. The fragrant aroma of fermented tea spread along with the dripping tea.

After a while, Rosie filled both cups and put down the teapot wrapped in a thick cloth.

“Then let’s stop talking now.”

After saying that, Rosie left the room so that the two could talk comfortably. However, even after Rosie left the living room, the two just stared at each other as if they were confronting each other and did not open their mouths.

“… … .”

Finally, Yuris, who had been looking at Lyle without saying anything, opened her mouth as if she had given up.

“…Before I begin my speech, I have one question for you.”

“what?”

At that declaration of surrender, Lyle then looked down at Yuris with his arms crossed and asked.

“That video from a little while ago. Where did you find it?”

Although she tried to sound calm, her tone could not hide the underlying anxiety. Lyle looked at her and leaned back loosely as he spoke.

“What would you do if you knew?”

“We have to break it. Everything.”

“That’s okay. I’ve already taken care of everything. That’s the end.”

“Okay… let’s go.”

Yuris held the sphere in her hand tightly as if she was going to break it.

“But please tell me. I need to know who has been hiding it until now.”

“Don’t even think about touching him. I’ll finish him off.”

Lyle warned Yuris in an icy voice.

“I guess you have nothing more to say. Then speak now.”

“… … .”

Yuris’s eyes grew cloudy. She knew she couldn’t hide it any longer, but she still couldn’t decide whether she should tell Yernen or not.

‘But….’

In fact, in a corner of Yuris’s heart, there was a desire for Lyle to know what had happened to Yernen.

Yuris straightened her wavering mind and began to speak in a trembling voice.