I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep

Chapter 19 He’s the Crown Prince, but he’s wearing clothes and bathing by himself. Isn’t it too much like Floria’s situation, where even if she stays still, people rush around her to take care of her?Just then, Caesar emerges from behind the veil in his uniform, and when he sees me standing right in front of him, he stops in his tracks.“What, why are you here?”“I don’t think it’s necessary, the Crown Prince is wearing his own clothes.”Even I, whenever I go back to the mansion, I’m being served by a maid.“… I told you I don’t mind, I’m rather uncomfortable.”I folded my arms and looked at Caesar.“It’s because you’re not used to it, but once you get used to it, you’ll be comfortable. And look at this, this one is crooked.”I took a step closer and straightened out the crookedness. I patted his uniform, which was spotlessly wrinkle-free, fiddling with the epaulets and collar.“I heard there are several high-ranking nobleman attending the luncheon today, so it’s best to look presentable.”‘Why doesn’t he say anything?’Looking back on his personality, he should have said that he didn’t need it by now or told me not to touch him. I glanced up, puzzled, and realized that Caesar was covering his face with the back of his hand.His earlobes and the back of his neck were burning red.Ah… I took a step away from him.“Are you uncomfortable?”“What?”“I think Marriott was a bit older. So are the other maids. Because I am only two years apart from the Crown Prince… you might be embarrassed.”“What?”“So, I mean don’t keep biting male servants-”“No, wait. Two years?”“What?”“You’re not twelve, no, you’re a year older now, so thirteen?”“… Yes?”Thirteen? I rolled my eyes in disbelief.Caesar understood that there was a two-year difference and that he was two years younger than me.“Your Highness! I’m seventeen now! Not thirteen!”“What?”Caesar’s face grew even more contemplative as he shouted in embarrassment.“You mean you’re older than me?”“Of course I am, just by looking at it, you can see that! Do I really look like thirteen?”“… No, you don’t.”Yes, I was a little bit smaller than my peers and had a cute face, but I certainly didn’t look like I could be mistaken for thirteen, probably….“That’s not true,” I said, “I do look like seventeen, now that you mention it, but…”Caesar looked confused.“But why? What’s wrong with you?”“You’re saying… that you’re older than me.”“Yes. Why is that?”“I don’t know…….”“What?”“I don’t know. I don’t know why either, but something’s wrong.”“What?”“You, aren’t you going to be an adult next year?”Next year I will be eighteen, the age of majority in this world.“That’s right.”“Then you’ll have your debutante, right?”“I suppose so.”Caesar had a somewhat bewildered face.“Crown Prince?”“I’m a little… that you’re coming of age before me. It’s a little…”“Are you sad?”“What?”“Oh, no. Don’t you think you’re doing this because you feel like you’ve lost?”“You think I lost?”“Yes. I think it’s because I’m going to become an adult before you do. but what can I say, I already see you as my little brother.”Caesar’s face went white as if struck by lightning.“Little… brother?”I meant it in a cute way.I’ve never had a little brother, but he’s cute enough to make me think I would.Plus, he’s got a lot of scars, from his mother’s death, to being dominated by his stepmother, to being treated badly by a maid when he was a little younger.So I wanted to take care of you.“Little brother….”But Caesar must have firmly misunderstood my words.Because the next day, he suddenly started refusing all snacks. ***** Caesar had a sweet tooth, he just didn’t realize it until now because of Marriott’s distractions, but he’s had a sweet tooth since the first time I handed him a bag of cookies.He wasn’t overtly looking for it, but when I’d put a variety of treats on the table, chocolate or cookies would be the first to disappear.I was really proud of that fact.However, things have changed since I said he was my little brother. He didn’t even touch the snacks, he looked for bitter tea. He refused my help, but now he cringed at the mere mention of helping.He began to wear only stiff uniforms, and was unusually polarizing whenever there was sword training.He had always had a mature personality for a fifteen-year-old..‘Do you really not want to lose to me? You don’t have to.’I felt bad that I’d said the wrong thing and robbed him of the opportunity to make a fool of herself.I looked at Caesar.He was drinking tea with a frown on his face. Too bitter and tasteless tea.“What are you looking at?”He’d been unusually blunt with me lately.‘Have you hit puberty already?’To my relief, his skin was still clear, without a single pimple.Contrary to my concerns, he was going through puberty well. In fact, he was going through it a little too well. He was growing taller by the day, and he was starting to gain muscle.His face, which I vaguely thought was going to be handsome, was becoming even more gorgeous as he lost his baby cheeks and his bones thickened.‘It’s like I’m watching him grow into a complete man in real time.’“What are you looking at?”“Can’t I take a look at your handsome face?”“Handsome…”The nape of Caesar’s neck heated up a bit at my bluntness. In contrast to his usual chilly demeanor, he was weak to compliments.I stared blankly at the veined nape of his neck and opened my mouth.“I, Your Highness.”“Why.”Caesar’s blunt reply made me wonder, for a moment, if we were too familiar with each other, too comfortable with each other to be called a Crown Prince and his maid.Actually now, I was sitting across from him and drinking tea together.‘Of course it was the same with Floria, but…’I’d read her stories, talked about the state of the world, and listened to her problems.But Caesar was silent for most of the time we sat together unless I spoke to him.“Why are you calling me and not talking?”“Ah…”‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’It’s better to be close than distant. We were a community of destiny, not the usual prince and maiden.“I have something to ask you, you’re still getting sick once a month, aren’t you?”“What?”“That thing before, the one I called a rampage.”“Oh…”He blinked, guessing.“That’s weird, because the time has passed….”“You didn’t?”“Hm. I think that was the last time.”“The day I saw you?”“Yeah.”By that time, it had already been almost two months. I got my posture right.‘You must have gone on a rampage at least once, right?’“That’s weird.”“Isn’t it just a natural cure?”“It’s not a disease. It can’t be cured until a Guide is found.”Caesar raised an eyebrow, then lifted his teacup again.“Then perhaps you have found the guide.”“Yes. If they did, it would be different.”“What would be different?”“You’ll be able to feel it, Your Highness, because you’ll be able to use your abilities.”“What abilities?”“I don’t know about that. By the way, I don’t know why the rampage….”At that moment, lightning flashed in my head.‘The rampage has stopped. Could it be…’I asked urgently.“Your Majesty, have you had any contact with anyone in the past two months?”“Contact?”His brow wrinkled as if he was hearing all sorts of disgusting.Suddenly the rampage stopped. Maybe that means he had already made contact with his guide.‘And yet your powers haven’t manifested because you haven’t… awakened?’The original story didn’t give a detailed description of the moment of awakening, so I wasn’t sure, but I knew there had to be a reason for this sudden stop.My memory of the original had already changed a lot.‘What if that led to Caesar making contact with the Guide? Even the smallest contact…’“It doesn’t have to be a great contact. Even if it’s just your fingertips… Naturally you wouldn’t remember it, would you?”There was no way he could remember that, given how many people he’d passed in the palace alone.“I remember them all.”“What? Really?”Did Caesar have such an amazing memory? I stared in amazement, and he shrugged.“Everyone who touches my body is authorized. Tutors, knights who help me train, bodyguards, servants, maids….”“Ah!”I let out a stupid sigh.He was the crown prince. Not many were allowed to touch him without his permission.“But the others have been by my side since I was a child.”“Indeed.”“The person who has recently changed… ah!”I covered my mouth with both hands.It was about a month ago that Caesar’s rampage stopped.It was also around that time that I came here, that is, when all the handmaidens of the Crown Prince’s palace were replaced.‘That means….’At that time, there was a high possibility that there’s a guide among the four new maids.The four maids who came in as exclusive maids with me, Erinne, Devit, Mamid, and Hannah.One of them might be Caesar’s guide. This was great news. It meant that the suspects had been narrowed down to four.