The Tyrant's Happy Ending - Chapter 7.1
The grand cathedral, built from pristine white marble, was a source of pride for the Empire’s citizens. Warm light filtered through the stained glass, adding a soft glow to the white space, while the finely carved statues imparted a sense of sanctity.
But today, to Lyle, the cathedral felt cold, empty, and unsettling.
“…I don’t like it,” he muttered.
His discontent likely stemmed from a certain “pest” hovering around his spouse, Yernen Fortnum Helio—the only remaining bloodline of the imperial family, and therefore, his omega.
With an irritated expression, Lyle slouched in his marble seat, casting a pointed glare at Yernen and Tenes Trizia.
Tenes Trizia.
To Lyle’s annoyance, his spouse, who was always distant and withdrawn around him, displayed a gentleness towards Tenes, someone they’d only met the previous day.
Lyle could hardly contain his displeasure.
Just yesterday, during a visit to the imperial tombs, Tenes had arrived from the East, bearing troubling news: remnants of the dissolved Eastern faction were rallying, gathering strength once more. This had led to an immediate council meeting.
But to Lyle’s surprise, Tenes seemed distracted throughout the session and soon excused himself, claiming he felt unwell. He didn’t return, and not long after, Lyle received a report from Russell that Yernen had decided to head back to the palace with Tenes’s escort, citing the chill in the air as his reason for leaving.
Lyle was convinced something had happened between them.
Why did this bother him so much? He couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, but the discomfort lingered.
As he brooded, a voice interrupted him.
“They seem rather close, don’t they?”
It was Iden Petra.
Whenever Lyle saw Iden, he couldn’t help but think that the man looked ill-suited for the pristine white robe and crimson biretta of his office. With his sharp, almost serpent-like features, Iden hardly projected a priestly image. Their relationship had always been cool and distant, even now that Lyle had returned to the capital.
One thing Lyle had noticed, however, was that Iden’s gaze often followed Yernen.
Iden occasionally spoke to Yernen, but he had never once addressed Lyle, and Lyle had dismissed him as irrelevant. So this was, strangely, the first real conversation they’d ever had.
“Who are you talking about?”
“Who else? The Empress and…Sir Trizia,” Iden replied, his gaze holding a knowing glint.
“…”
“It might be wise to tread carefully,” Iden continued.
“What are you getting at?” Lyle asked, his tone aloof, though his attention was now fixed on Iden.
“Be cautious around Tenes Trizia. That’s all.”
The suggestion seemed laughable. Despite Yernen’s standoffish demeanor, Lyle knew his spouse had a certain regard for him. An omega like Yernen had no reason to seek companionship with someone like Tenes.
The same went for Tenes. Lyle was sure that the reserved and honorable man would never pursue a married partner.
“Tenes isn’t the type to pursue someone else’s spouse… Or do you not know him very well?”
But Iden’s response was unexpected.
“Yet, we’re often drawn to what’s familiar.”
“Who resembles whom, exactly?”
“Her Majesty, of course. Doesn’t she bear an uncanny resemblance to the late Emperor? No…one might say they’re identical.”
Lyle’s expression hardened.
“I assumed you’d heard,” Iden continued. “The rumor that Sir Trizia was once…involved with the late Emperor, Yernen Helio.”
“…”
“Back then, the Emperor only permitted Sir Trizia into his chambers—no other attendants were allowed. For the entire two years of his reign, the palace laundry reported no bedding from his quarters. What could that imply?”
“A strange level of interest in other people’s private lives,” Lyle replied, his tone frosty.
He fell silent, tapping his fingers against the armrest. His voice might have sounded indifferent, but his fingers betrayed a sense of unease.
“…That still doesn’t mean they were involved.”
“Perhaps not. It’s just a rumor,” Iden conceded with a shrug.
Lyle’s gaze drifted back to the two in conversation.
Tenes, renowned for his stoicism, didn’t seem like someone who would crack a joke, and yet his spouse was smiling faintly as she listened to him.
Yes, she was smiling.
The very same person who always seemed so eager to leave whenever she was with him.
“It’s time to begin the service,” Iden announced, standing and making his way to the podium. But Lyle remained, his face set in a stony expression, all traces of his previous nonchalance gone.
“How was it?”
“Your Majesty the Empress… Is that what you’re asking about?”
“Yes.”
Russell smiled awkwardly. He’d reached a point where he could tell exactly whom his lord was inquiring about from just a few words. Anyone would, after being asked the same question every few hours.
However, as a loyal knight, he was always committed to fulfilling his lord’s commands. So he began to detail what the Empress was currently doing.
“…So right now, she’s having tea with Lord Trisia.”
“Tenes Trisia?”
“Yes.”
Drawing from his experiences over the past few days, Russell could predict what was coming next: his usually composed lord would soon frown deeply in displeasure.
Just as expected, Lyle furrowed his brows, set down his pen, and said, “You may go.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Once Russell had left and Lyle was alone, he leaned back in his chair, turning it to face the window and gazed outside at the Empress’s palace.
“Hah.”
He let out a soft, incredulous laugh.
“So she’s meeting that Tenes fellow again?”
Stretching out his legs and slumping further into his chair, Lyle crossed his arms and tapped his elbow anxiously.
It had been three days. Three days since he’d heard from Eden about the past between Yernan and Tenes. And for those three days, that story had stayed firmly lodged in his mind. Every time he thought of it… it left a sour taste.
At first, he hadn’t believed the story.
Yernan had betrayed Lyle. Because of this, he figured he no longer harbored deep feelings for her. But still, he had never thought Yernan would love someone else—anyone other than himself.
After investigating following Eden’s account, however, he found something between Yernan and Tenes—something he couldn’t quite place.
According to the records, during Yernan’s short reign, Tenes had followed her around like a shadow, carrying out her commands to dispose of nobles. Tenes didn’t just follow her outside the palace; it was the same within. He was the only one permitted to enter and leave Yernan’s chambers freely and served her personally.
That was indisputable.
But the documents also contained unsubstantiated, outlandish rumors: that Tenes had attended to Yernan each night, that they’d planned to elope, that they’d killed Harriet and faced a public trial as a result.
Who was he supposed to believe? None of it made sense, no matter how he tried to piece it together.
“Ah.”
But there was one rumor that wasn’t entirely unfounded.
It was said that Yernan, in love with Tenes, destroyed her fiancé’s family, the Baltimores, and had manipulated Harriet into sending Lyle Baltimore away as a war slave.
It was true that Yernan had provoked Harriet into exiling him to the warfront as a slave.
He just couldn’t be sure about the details leading up to that.
Even though Lyle thought he knew quite a bit about Yernan, all of these stories were new to him. He suspected he hadn’t heard these stories before due to his subordinates’ misplaced efforts to shield him.
Yet, even after hearing these rumors, Lyle couldn’t easily draw conclusions about the relationship between Yernan and Tenes.
After all, he was the only one who’d witnessed Yernan’s final moments.
“I missed you.”
Before Yernan took her life, she had told him she’d missed him.
Her death was still shrouded in mystery. But after three days of reading about her alleged relationship with Tenes, he couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of uncertainty.
“Damn it.”
Lyle had to admit it—he was no longer in the right state of mind. He wasn’t just disturbed by thoughts of Yernan and Tenes’s relationship; there was another person occupying his thoughts.
His nephew, who shared the same name: Yernan.
Despite hearing hourly reports about Lord Fortnum’s whereabouts and despite living in the same palace, sleeping and waking up together, Lyle still couldn’t discern the true nature of the person behind Lord Fortnum’s face. The only thing he’d discovered was absurdly laughable—that he was increasingly drawn to this mysterious person he couldn’t comprehend.
Each time he thought of Lord Fortnum, his mind spiraled back to the day they visited the royal cemetery. On that day, instead of his usual lavish attire matching his striking face, Yernan had worn a solemn black robe.
Yes, damn it. He couldn’t deny it.
His heart had raced when he’d seen that fierce expression on that delicate, pale face.
Just as it had, time and again, with the Yernan of the past.
“Is it that face that weakens me, or his foul temper?”
Either way, it made no difference in terms of how pathetic it was. In front of that face, he was utterly helpless.
After only a few days together, Lyle found himself admitting defeat. He had once thought he could unravel this person’s identity, use him, and then discard him. But now, he knew he couldn’t follow through.
Thoughts of Yernen, Tenes, and the enigmatic Lord Fortnum churned through his mind, leaving him in a tangle. Rational decisions slipped further from his grasp. But one thing was certain: the presence of an unwanted pest lingering around his Omega deeply disturbed him.