LIGHTNOVELSTORY The Nerd Turned Out To Be The Tyrant
Chapter 125
The Prince, who had been looking at him with eyes like a blazing flame, turned and walked away without leaving a word.
Radanum, who seemed somewhat disappointed, licked his lips and put down the red orb. Darkness was engraved on the tip of his empty hand. Radanum, who was observing the torn void that was his personal space, stepped into it. A maze-like, densely packed room unfolded before his eyes, but he knew the way to his destination. “Can a person without guilt have regrets?” Although no one was listening, it seemed as if he was asking someone. Of course, no answer came. Radanum didn’t even glance at the first room filled with jewels and gold. He also ignored the second room, packed with precious books and lost documents. He passed through the room filled with decapitated corpses, the one full of shimmering orbs, and the room where people screamed with their eyes rolled back. Finally, he reached the last room. A woman with black hair was sitting. She was looking out the endless dark window as if it were a beach. The woman’s posture, which didn’t turn away from the sound of people, was strangely stiff. It was like a doll made of melted wax. “Anais.” Calling out the name of the long-dead mistress, Radanum leaned against the wall. “You know, don’t you? What the thoughts of the son you entrusted to me in exchange for your soul are like.” The woman’s small back is fixed on him. “I will make a wish, wizard. Please save Revinas, my son… Please save him. Please let him live.” “Don’t you know what it means to make a wish?” “I know…I’m willing to endure whatever it takes to make it happen. So please, I beg you.” With tearful eyes, Anais spoke earnestly yet firmly. Anais lived her entire life in the eyes of others. Sometimes because of her beautiful but different appearance, sometimes because of her rapidly rising status, sometimes because of her son, who didn’t resemble his father at all, it was a prison of gazes piled up layer by layer. To Anais, this was an eternal refuge. The woman who had decided to swallow the harsh punishment that some people would find sweet as nectar would say her last words to her son before her soul was taken away. “Thank you, wizard. You are so generous.” What a strange thing to say. How can she say he is generous when she will be reduced to a situation where she will not be able to see her son, whom she had sacrificed her soul to protect? After a long time, Radanum thought. What if she had abandoned her son instead of protecting him? The poor prince had been abandoned by both his parents. Maybe this woman wanted to run away forever. Maybe she felt a bit guilty and left her son to him. However, Radanum was always kind to uncertain and interesting things. Even if she was trying to use him, he could forgive her for giving her something this fun. “So.” Radanum’s lips lifted as he looked at Anais. “Just let him live, right?” It was a happy smile without a single shadow. * * * It was the day of the hunting festival. Luce, who woke up at dawn, moved the medicine to the cart. Isaac tried to stop her, but she stubbornly pulled the cart in front of her. She could easily pass through the main gate of the palace after showing the pass that the knights who paid the fee had given her. “The entry procedure is surprisingly lax. The pass doesn’t even have a date written on it, so they’re letting me pass after just looking at it roughly.” Isaac’s tone as he pushed the cart was just like usual. He seemed to be trying not to burden me. Luce, who remembered his words about being good at waiting, tried to answer calmly. “That’s right, the entry procedure for the palace library was very strict.” “I can’t believe that the librarian is more sensitive to security than the knights. What would happen if someone with bad intentions sneaked in?” It was really strange that even Isaac, who must have been the kindest of people in the palace today, said this. It seems that Elaine’s claim about the knights being lax in their duties is true. It’s hard to believe that they could be so negligent without some kind of assurance. ‘Perhaps that point of trust is Radanum.’ Of course, the knights probably don’t know about Radanum’s existence. It seemed that they had learned from the complacency of their predecessors, but truly, the service attitude of the palace knights was no different from the guards of Rodante. It was the moment when the small illusion she had about knights was shattered because of Franz. 『Hello, Lucette. This is Yohan, writing from Rodante. I stopped by the county and checked on Franz’s family. They didn’t know anything about Franz’s whereabouts. Instead, they asked me what was going on, and I had to brush it off. It seems like something serious is happening. I should inform the Lord. P.S. You said you didn’t get a reply from Angel, right? That’s strange, Angel said he never received a letter from you. Come to think of it, the friends I made in the county also complained that letters were often missed. Most of them were the children of the knights. Phew. Do you know what I mean?』 ‘They’re censoring the mail.’ As promised, Yohan wrote a letter updating on what he had learned about Franz. She could sense the underlying intent behind his unfinished words. Despite its outwardly respectable appearance, there was no doubt that Menelik County was rotten at its core. She was worried about Angel, Franz, and even Baron Felice, who was probably bedridden after hearing the news by now, but the contents of the next part of the letter were enough to make her forget all of that for a moment. 『PS2. The floor of your house has been fully repaired. However, the worker who did the construction showed me some broken stone tablet fragments that they found while clearing the dirt. That person said… (I still get goosebumps) that it’s the kind of stone used for tombstones. What on earth is going on? Next time you find a house, please consult a fortune teller, Lucette.』 The fact that there was a grave under the house was more horrifying than the fact that there was an attempt to take it. ‘What on earth would need someone else’s remains?’ What other reason could there be besides black magic or a curse? Reburial after exhumation? DNA testing? One thing’s for sure—the red-haired man is definitely not just a loan shark. It’s not even a case of mistaken identity. The man was definitely searching for her. With everyone’s memories distorted, including her own, he had been waiting for the right moment. A shiver ran down her spine. “Oh, you’re here. You can leave the medicine over there.” Luce, who was still looking down at her beige hair, came to her senses at the voice of the supply officer. She helped her carry the medicine and spoke to her quite gently. “You’ve been to the Imperial Library before, but this is your first time here at the Eastern Hunting Grounds, right?” “Oh, yes. I never imagined there would be such a large forest within the Imperial Palace grounds.” “His Majesty the Emperor enjoyed hunting so much. He even moved the Empress’s Palace to create a hunting ground.” It’s in the past. Just as Angel had said. Luce asked lightly. “It seems he really enjoyed hunting, considering he went so far as to create this within the palace.” “Well, I haven’t seen him hunt myself, so it’s just something I’ve heard.” The supply officer appeared to be in her early to mid-20s. Since she likely hadn’t been in her position for long, it meant that the emperor had not visited the hunting grounds for at least a few years. “Then what about the Empress’s Palace, which was originally there?” “It moved to the center where the Emperor’s Palace is. Well, it wasn’t that inconvenient since it was a palace without an owner anyway.” “That’s right, now only the Empress is here.” The supply officer was quite chatty. It seemed she was happy to meet someone her own age among the older and blunt knights. Thanks to her, Luce was able to learn more about the palace’s layout. “There’s nothing much to the north except the Imperial Library and the Tower…and a small villa.” “A villa?” Was there a villa? All Luce saw from the north was a small house that was on the verge of collapse. The supply officer tapped her lips as if she had said something she shouldn’t have said, then whispered while checking the atmosphere. “That, I heard that it was where the Emperor’s mistress used to live.” Luce was shocked to learn that the house covered in rust and weeds was a villa. The supply officer, who had never imagined Luce had ever seen a villa, added her own explanation. “It’s a bit shabby because there’s no one to manage it. I wish they’d just demolish it.” While helping Dietrich, he learned that the empress died without leaving an heir, and that the current empress came in a few years later. The male lead is older than Prince Delmar. Therefore, it would make sense that the mistress entered the palace after the empress’s death. So, that kind of treatment was not due to the Empress’s jealousy, but the Emperor’s will. ‘How could you put the person you love in such a place?’ She didn’t understand. According to the supply officer, there are quite a few places within the palace that could be called a ‘palace’ even if they aren’t very grand. Yet, the place they assigned for her to stay is just a small, run-down house in a corner. According to the supply officer, it would have been better to demolish it. By leaving that house, it felt like they were condoning all the mocking gazes toward the mistress. ‘The Emperor is not in his right mind. Did the male lead grow up like that because that was all he saw and learned?’ It seemed like there was a lot more information to gain from this supply officer. It was almost a pity that she had to leave before the hunting festival began. Just as Luce was about to ask more about the tower in the north, she shook her head. A few days ago, the vice captain, whom she had seen, stopped the supply officer. When the man who had been speaking with a fierce expression left, the supply officer sighed deeply and approached me. “I’m really sorry, but could you possibly stay just another hour or two? You see, our vice captain is quite cautious… Phew, I can’t do this.” The supply officer frowned and changed her words. “Since he’s naturally very suspicious, he wants someone to be responsible in case there are any side effects with the medicine. So he asked us to monitor the situation and report back.” “He’s full of suspicion, but has no manners.” Isaac smiled brightly and hit the nail on the head. The supply officer nodded slightly. Hello! You can also buy the advanced chapter in Ko-fi now, just click the ko-fi button and look for the title of the novel in shop. Thank you for your support!
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