The Tyrant's Happy Ending - Chapter 14.3

Yernenne attempted to rise, his balance faltering as he slipped out of Lyle’s embrace. Lyle caught his arm to steady him.

Even when Yernenne tried to pull away, Lyle held on as if unwilling to let go.

Lyle wanted to ask. Desperately.

Why do you bathe so often? You already bathed this morning, before dinner, and before I came in. Why?

But he couldn’t voice the question.

“…What?”

Yernenne looked at him with eyes like a wounded animal hiding its pain, sharp and wary. Forcing a casual tone, Lyle asked,
“Want me to join you?”

Yernenne weakly shook his head.

“…No need.”

In the end, Lyle had to release him.

Yernenne stepped into the bathroom, turned on the water, and sat against the tub, his face pale. His hand, pressed to his forehead, trembled slightly.

What nonsense had he mumbled in his sleep this time? He couldn’t recall.

With a frown, Yernenne closed his eyes.

It had been three days since he received Yurice’s letter. For those three days, he had tried to act normal, as if nothing had changed.

He tried to dine with Lyle, read beside him, sleep in his bed—just as he had before Lyle learned the truth.

Day by day, pretending, faking normalcy, he hoped it might one day become real. That way, he could stay by Lyle’s side.
But… it was impossible. He couldn’t stay.

Lyle would pretend not to know as long as Yernenne didn’t speak. He would pretend not to know that he had uncovered Yernenne’s identity or seen the image sphere. Everything.

So Yernenne told himself to keep pretending. To act like everything was fine and stay by his side.

But… it wasn’t fine. He couldn’t even pretend anymore.
He found himself constantly watching Lyle’s gaze, dreading the sight of pity or compassion. Miserable and pathetic, he kept recalling the memories of the island, wondering what Lyle had seen in that sphere.

The more he thought about it, the more the memories he wanted to forget surfaced, gripping him tight and refusing to let go. Whether he was eating, walking, or even in dreams where he tried to escape…

The nightmares, which had quieted, returned to strangle him, waking him night after night in Lyle’s arms, shaken awake multiple times each night.

And every time he opened his eyes to see Lyle’s face, his pride shattered and scattered like broken glass.

He knew no one else remained to degrade him, no one else to know the shame of his past. Few who remembered those wretched days were still alive.

He knew he would never be trapped in that hell again.

Yet Yernenne couldn’t move on from that time. And he found himself, pitifully exposed before Lyle, showing this broken part of himself.

This version of himself, so different, so diminished from the confident prince Lyle once knew.

People long for their past lovers because they remain preserved in memory, unchanged.

He didn’t want to be remembered any more pitifully than this.
This was as far as it should go.

Justin, slipping into the room like a thief through the open window, was startled at the sight of Yernenne’s face, overacting with mock shock.

“Your Majesty, you look even worse than ten days ago. Did you sleep at all last night?”

Yernenne pressed his fingers against his temples in response to the annoying question and snapped, “Your introductions are always long. Spare me the small talk and get to the point.”

At Yernenne’s sharp tone, Justin straightened and nodded.

“Well… nothing too out of the ordinary. The most notable thing is that Tennes has approached the capital.”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

“Then…”

With eyes clouded, Yernenne spoke.

“Prepare.”

“…Pardon?”

“The night Tennes arrives at the capital, we leave for Fleur.”
Justin let out a long sigh. Avoiding conversation wasn’t a solution. But Justin, knowing Yernenne better than anyone, had half-expected this decision.

“If that is your wish, Your Majesty.”

Because Yernenne was someone who lived and breathed pride alone.

Moonlight poured over Yernenne’s pale face as he leaned against the windowsill.

Despite the dark circles under his eyes, there was a fragile, poignant beauty about him.

He twirled the wine glass in his hand slowly. The translucent purple liquid inside ran down in rivulets, leaving thin trails on the glass.

This should be enough.

Holding the glass up to the moonlight, Yernenne set it down on the windowsill and looked up at the sky.

Tonight, clouds were abundant. Even when the moon shone brightly, it lost its glow over and over as dark clouds passed by.

And tonight was no different. A thick cloud veiled the moon, dimming its light.

Creak.

At that moment, someone entered the room. Yernenne knew who it was. There was only one person who could move so silently.
Soon, the figure came up behind him, wrapped an arm around his waist, and buried his face in Yernenne’s neck, inhaling deeply. Yernenne caught the familiar scent of Lyle’s pheromones, now deeply ingrained in his memory.

“Wine? What’s the occasion?” Lyle asked, holding him close.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Yernenne picked up the glass again, swirling it so the substance inside mixed well.

It was laced with a sleeping potion, one so potent that an ordinary person would remain unconscious for three days. Tasteless and odorless.

“It tastes terrible, though.”

With a faint sound of irritation, Yernenne set the glass back down. The gesture was prickly, almost petulant. Yet Lyle looked down at him and chuckled quietly, finding even that endearing.
And why wouldn’t he? For the past week, Yernenne hadn’t let Lyle see his face, hiding under the covers. Seeing him outside the blanket like this was a rare sight for Lyle.

“So…”

That’s why Lyle wouldn’t refuse.

“Drink it all.”

No matter what he said.

Even if Yernenne were asking him to drink poison.
“If it’s the Empress’s command, I must obey.”

As expected, Lyle took the wine glass from Yernenne without hesitation and drank it down.

Fool.

Without even knowing what he was drinking, Lyle’s throat moved slowly as he downed the glass, finishing every last drop.

“I drank the Empress’s wine, so now I’ll stay by your side until you fall asleep.”

With gentle ease, Lyle lifted Yernenne and placed him on the bed, smiling like he couldn’t be happier. He lay beside him, pulling up the covers and patting him, just as he used to when they were children.

“This way, you won’t have nightmares.”

Yernenne felt the steady rhythm of Lyle’s touch, listened to the low voice telling little stories, slowing and finally stopping as sleep overtook him.

“……”

When Lyle’s voice fell silent, Yernenne, whose eyes hadn’t closed once, sat up. He changed out of his nightclothes and put on the prepared attire, grabbing the documents hidden nearby. There was nothing else to prepare. The knights would have readied everything.

Dressed and ready, Yernenne stepped out of the alcove and stood by the bed, staring at the figure peacefully asleep.

“There was no other way.”

A hesitant hand ruffled Lyle’s hair.

“If I told you I was leaving, you’d never let me go.”

Foolish Lyle Beltimore, tricked and smitten, gazing at his master like a devoted hound.

He truly… liked him. And that was why he couldn’t stay.

Yernenne picked up the pen from the side table and wrote on a slip of paper.

Don’t look for me.

He placed the note on his pillow.

“Have you said your goodbyes, Your Majesty?”

Yernenne’s gaze shifted to the window, where Justin stood, leaning in a relaxed manner.

“…Yes.”

“Then let’s leave.”

With that, Justin hopped down from the windowsill and draped a cloak over Yernenne’s head. He secured Yernenne’s waist with one arm.

“Hold on tight, Your Majesty.”

Yernenne cast a last glance at the figure sleeping on the bed, then turned away. Justin lifted him and leaped out the window.
The cool night air brushed against their cheeks, the breeze fluttering their cloaks. When they finally landed safely on the ground, a hand reached out to Yernenne. He looked up at the owner of the hand.

It was his loyal knight, Tennes.

“It’s been a while, Tennes.”

Yernenne took his hand and stepped out of Justin’s hold.
After ensuring that Yernenne had his feet firmly on the ground, Tennes bowed and kissed the back of Yernenne’s hand.

“I’ve returned, Your Majesty.”

A kind smile, as familiar as ever, spread across Tennes’ face. In another time, Yernenne would have shared the joy of reunion, but there was no time for that now.

“Here’s the permit for the teleportation array.”

Yernenne handed Tennes a document bearing the imperial seal.

An imperial permit was needed to use a teleportation array.

The arrays had initially been developed on Bainon’s orders after Yernenne suffered an attack while traveling to the Portnum Duchy as a child. To use one, imperial approval was required, and Yernenne knew Lyle would never grant such permission.

Fortunately, Yernenne had taken charge of the state in Lyle’s absence as acting emperor. It had been easy enough to create the permit under those circumstances.

“I’ll go ahead and set things up so we can depart immediately.”

“Let’s get moving.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

With their brief exchange over, Yernenne pulled his hood low and walked. He mentally reviewed their route.

The plan was simple. First, they would use the Papal teleportation array to reach Baron Velika’s territory. From there, they would travel northeast on foot for a week until they arrived at the Marquessate of Trizia, where a temporary teleportation gate had been set up to reach Fleur.

Directly using the array to teleport to Fleur would be too risky. Lyle would be able to reverse-calculate the coordinates and catch up quickly. However, erasing their trail by traveling part of the way by foot would buy them more time.

Once they used the temporary gate in Trizia and dismantled it, it would be impossible to trace them, making the plan foolproof.
After hiding out for a few months, they would be safe. The Fleur territory was vast, and Yernenne’s refuge lay deep in the mountains, where no search could reach.

There was just one more task to complete: destroying the crystal of Ithana, an artifact that revealed the location of imperial bl00d.

The empire had several sacred relics, and the crystal of Ithana was one of them.

It was simple to use: a drop of royal bl00d on the crystal would reveal the royal’s location.

The crystal had long been forgotten, tucked away and rarely used. Most people didn’t even know it existed. But not anymore. Most of the empire now knew of it because it was rumored Yernenne had used it to eliminate members of the imperial family.

Lyle surely knew about it too.

If the crystal fell into Lyle’s hands, with Cecil’s help, he could locate Yernenne as early as the next day. But if the crystal was destroyed… Yernenne’s whereabouts would remain hidden.

Lost in thought, Yernenne found himself at the grand entrance to the Papal Palace.

“Your Majesty, pull your hood down further.”

“Understood.”

At Tennes’ prompt, Yernenne adjusted his hood and lowered his head, following Tennes closely as if he were his squire.

It was late at night, and the palace corridors were sparsely populated, with those present looking fatigued. Fortunately, they managed to climb the stairs unnoticed.

Finally, they reached the landing between the third and fourth floors, where Yernenne and Justin exchanged a glance with Tennes before parting ways.

Using a teleportation array took time. Setting new coordinates, filling the array with magic stones, and activating it all required the effort of wizards. And wizards were inherently curious beings.

If they stayed around them too long, their identities might be discovered, and if that happened, it would cause a significant disturbance. No one would stand idly by while the Empress tried to flee.

Thus, Tennes went ahead to prepare the teleportation array while Yernenne and Justin made their way to deal with the Ithana crystal.

The Papal Palace was unusually quiet, making it easy for Yernenne and Justin to reach the hallway where the sacred room was located.

But their luck ended there. At the far end of the corridor, someone they least expected appeared, walking toward them.
Yernenne bit his lip.

“W-What do we do?”

Justin whispered anxiously. Yernenne couldn’t answer. He didn’t know what to do either.

Of all places, why here?