Became The Tyrant’s Pet - Chapter 5

“… What?”

 

Mary asked blankly, and Mia turned around.

 

“Do what you want, Your Majesty. I will not care.”

 

Her eyes lit up, but it was not a lie that she had been sobbing. Her face was in tears.

 

But she was as firm as her voice.

 

“I thought Mary was innocent. But gambling and trafficking… I don’t think it’s my business anymore.”

 

Adillot held up his sword and looked at Mia once, Mary once, and Mia once again.

 

“I’m not going to stop you.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Ah, my lady!”

 

Confused, Mary raised her voice. Mia only shook her head with a tender gaze.

 

“Mary, thank you so much for all this time… Live well… Oh, wait. You’re going to die…”

 

“H-How could you do this to me!? I’ve taken care of you so much!!”

 

“What should we do… Mary is in prison, and she’s alrady out of her mind…”

 

Mia again covered her mouth with her fist and cried out.

 

“Mary, it was your job to take care of me… If you say it like that, I can’t…”

 

“There were so many servants who didn’t even do it! I was the only one who comforted you!”

 

“Mary, I wasn’t going to say this…”

 

Mia said with sad eyes.

 

“Before I lost my memory… The budget book assigned to me didn’t quite match the expenditure book…?”

 

Mary flinched greatly.

 

“I-Is that so? I-I don’t know…”

 

“Mary… Could it be that you said it doesn’t matter if I don’t get my memories  back because you were embezzling something…?”

 

“… I don’t know!”

 

Mary’s scream echoed through the prison.

 

Mia closed her eyes.

 

“Actually, I have all the evidence, Mary… I was just asking for confirmation…”

 

At that moment, Adillot almost laughed.

 

Mary blushed, feeling that she had been teased, but she managed to pull herself together.

 

“I’m sorry about that, my lady. But I haven’t done anything since you woke up!”

 

“It’s not because I woke up, it’s because I checked the books thoroughly…”

 

“My lady… I think I was at fault! Really! Please give me another chance—!”

 

But Mia shook her head with sad eyes.

 

“Mary, if you were going to do something bad, you should be prepared to be punished for it…”

 

“I-I feel so wronged! It was the count who tempted me!”

 

“You’re saying you were tempted…? Did you really think you would succeed? Ayy, no way…? Were you that stupid…?”

 

Mary, in tears, pointed at Adillot.

 

“But there are rumors that he enjoys killing people!”

 

At that moment, Mia changed her complexion for the first time and shouted loudly.

 

“It can’t be!”

 

Mary flinched at the intense reaction.

 

“Adill is not like that!”

 

Mia cried. She seemed to have no doubt about what she had just said.

 

Adillot’s eyes widened as he watched it.

 

Mia knew that Adillot was looking at her, so she could speak with more confidence.

 

‘Adillot is not that kind of person.’

 

Adillot has always worked hard to make the country a better place for people to live. It was true that he dominated the political world by force.

 

However, it was inevitable. Because Adillot wasn’t originally the crown prince.

 

After the death of Prince Claudio, Adillot was driven out of the capital and forced to roll on the battlefield for several years.

 

In the meantime, he was threatened with assassination several times. He later became the emperor safely, but because he lacked a support base, the nobles often revolted no matter what he did.

 

‘His mother was dead, and his mother’s country was completely destroyed, so no one was on Adillot’s side.’

 

The only thing Adillot had was the knights he had obtained by rolling himself on the battlefield. So he was forced to instill fear around him.

 

To survive.

 

In other words, it was the strengthening of the imperial power based on military power.

 

‘But he’s never killed or oppressed innocent people!’

 

The problem was that the people didn’t know it.

 

It was because of the villain in this novel.

 

Empress Dowager Chrysor Kraus.

 

Empress Chrysor hated Adillot, so she continued to spread slanderous rumors. In the midst of malicious incitement and fabrication, Adillot became a formidable tyrant who killed people at the slightest eye contact.

 

The rumors said that he killed people as a hobby, and that he had no interest in the people because he enjoyed pleasure.

 

This was the part that made Mia anger the whole time she was reading the novel.

 

“Why do you slander others when you have never seen it with your own eyes!?”

 

Mia was bursting with that anger right now.

 

“My lady doesn’t know because you lost your memory…!”

 

“What do I not know!? I know better than you! I can even tell you about Adill’s waistline!”

 

Adillot looked down at his waist involuntarily.

 

“Also!”

 

The next moment, Mia’s head turned suddenly.

 

“Your Majesty as well!”

 

Eyes like blazing flames contained Adillot.

 

“Me?”

 

Adillot straightened his posture at the unexpected mention.

 

“Yes! Your Majesty! If you know that rumors like that are circulating, you have to tell them they are all lies!”

 

“… Mia Celestial. Are you crazy?”

 

“You’ve been staring at me like I’m crazy, but you only know now?!”

 

Oh, so you knew.

 

And you just admitted it?

 

Adillot’s face darkened.

 

On the other hand, Mia’s face showed a little more resentment and regret.

 

“Why on earth did you let a thing like that go like a fool? You’re the emperor! My heart almost burst when I heard about it!”

 

“… Why did your heart almost burst when I was the one being blamed?”

 

“That’s because—!”

 

Mia stopped.

 

‘I know how hard your past was!’

 

… But I can’t say that.

 

“Uuugh!”

 

Mia clenched her fists as she groaned. After holding her breath for a while, she crossed her arms and turned her head quickly.

 

“No matter! In any case! Nevermind, I will take my hands off this!”

 

Adillot came to his senses belatedly and cleared the situation.

 

“You mean you don’t want to save her.”

 

“That’s— Ah!”

 

Mia had a pouty look on her face, then hurriedly released her arms.

 

“But I have a favor to ask of you…”

 

Where did the momentum that rose like lightning from that small body go? In an instant she returned to the frightened figure of a baby rabbit.

 

“A favor?”

 

Adillot’s red eyes shone meaningfully.

 

“Don’t tell me not to kill her.”

 

“No, it’s not…”

 

Mia shook her head. Then she wiggled his fingers depressedly..

 

“I-If I see it, I think I’ll remember it when I eat… Can I leave…?”

 

“…”

 

“I can’t see anything scary…”

 

Adillot made a blank face again. He shook his head after a moment.

 

“Do you have a big gut or a small one?”

 

“I’ve never open it so I don’t know…”

 

“Do people normally have to open it to know?”

 

Adillot, who muttered as if it was ridiculous, nodded.

 

“You can go up there. Take the guard.”

 

“T-Then, excuse me…”

 

“My lady! No way, my lady! Help me! Help me…!”

 

Mia left Mary’s cry behind and came up from the prison with her ears covered. She didn’t know what happened to her after that, because she didn’t see it.

 

***

 

“Why would you do such a bad thing… Stupid Mary…”

 

Mia was sitting at the entrance to the dungeon and sighing. There were several knights guarding the entrance to the prison next door, but all of them were so disciplined that they didn’t even look at Mia.

 

‘As expected, Adill’s army is amazing! It’s best if they don’t kill me.’

 

Mia waited for Adillot with such thoughts. Soon Adillot came up. He looked calmer than before.

 

Mia glanced at his sword as it entered the sheath again.

 

“It’s done?”

 

“Yes.”

 

At that determination, Mia became pale.

 

“I hope she’d be a good person in her next life…”

 

Adillot opened his mouth as if he found it ridiculous.

 

“… She’s not dead yet. I let her off the hook because she’s going to get hanged.”

 

“Aha…”

 

“…”

 

And silence followed.

 

Mia tilted her head as she looked into the eyes of her picky owner.

 

“Aha? I see? Okay? Great?”

 

“… Are you done?”

 

“What more do you need?”

 

Mia asked with an innocent face. Adillot said after a while, sarcastically.

 

“You’re a little strange…”

 

“…”

 

I don’t want to hear that from you…

 

Mia dodged his gaze, secretly thinking of blasphemous thoughts.

 

“Don’t you regret it?”

 

At that moment, Adillot asked abruptly.

 

“What?”

 

“Some of the people you saved are like that.”

 

“Mm! I wish I had known in advance!”

 

“… Is that all you have to say?”

 

Mia paused for a moment, then smiled.

 

“What more should I have felt?”

 

“Aren’t you glad that I didn’t kill you? You could have been killed for scum like that.”

 

“But I survived!”

 

Adillot frowned at the mischievous remark.

 

“Ahaha! I’m kidding!”

 

Mia smiled broadly, brushed off her dress and stood up.

 

“Your Majesty.”

 

She spoke after a moment of silence.

 

“Do you think that Consort Leah’s sacrifice was in vain?”

 

The expression on Adillot’s face disappeared at the unexpected words. It was because Mia’s words pierced him precisely. Adillot recalled Consort Leah’s final moments as if attracted by a magnet.

 

It was a gallows. He could still vividly remember hsi mother, who was sweet and wise, wearing a hood.

 

The charge was defamation.

 

It was said that she had encouraged Gentaria, her native country, to start a war with Orquenina, thereby damaging the honor of the imperial family. Even in the eyes of Adillot, who was nine years old, that was absurd.

 

Besides, Adillot knew.

 

‘Prince. You don’t have to see the end of Mother’s life. The stage that I’ve been looking forward to is here.’

 

The culprit behind all this was not his mother, but Empress Chrysor sitting next to him.

 

On the day of the execution.

 

Empress Chrysor deliberately sat next to him. She then said in a sneering voice to Adillot, who trembled with his eyes closed.

 

‘A place to kill the sassy bitch who separated Orquenina and Gentaria, who were allies. If you don’t open your eyes, everyone will have no choice but to think that you’re a traitor’s bloodline and you’ll be sent there.’

 

Embarrassingly, Adillot was afraid of the threat. So he turned away from his mother.

 

‘No… Please, please don’t send me over there…’

 

Even knowing that it was all Chrysor’s work.

 

He was afraid to die, so he turned away from his mother and survived.

 

‘Then open your eyes and look carefully. How those who stand in my way are dying.’

 

‘…’

 

I shouldn’t have done that.

 

Since then, Adillot has never forgotten that day’s conversation. The most terrifying thing was that at the cost of his wise mother, only he survived.

 

But he’s been doing well, covering it up.

 

The moment he first met Mia Celestial, memories of his past had been revived. He had been horrified at the suggestion that she would die so that the others would live. He had also been furious.

 

So he wanted to tell her.

 

Your death is of no use. Even if people like you make sacrifices, only cowards like will survive.

 

“… Of course. My mother’s death meant nothing.”

 

The moment Adillot said so, a warm feeling touched the back of his hand. As he lowered her head, he realized that Mia Celestial was holding his hand.

 

The moment she lifted her gaze a little more and saw his face, a sigh escaped from Adillot’s mouth.

 

“… Why are you crying?”