The Tyrant’s Tranquilizer - Chapter 115

The Count managed to get his act together. It was something to do with his precious daughter. No matter how much he feared Serwin, he couldn’t just get over it.

 

“What do you mean by that? What do you mean father-in-law? I know that my daughter and Your Majesty don’t have that kind of relationship.”

 

“Of course not yet. I’m in a position to beg her unilaterally.”

 

“Amelie, did Your Majesty force you? Is that why you cried?”

 

In the Count’s mind, Serwin threatened Amelie, so Amelie was frightened and cried. Yes, if he’s a tyrant, he’s left with that. He quietly gripped the knife. At this moment, whether he was the Emperor or anything, he could only think about punishing that brat who made his daughter cry.

 

“It’s not like that… I cried because of my mother. Your Majesty comforted me.”

 

“Really?”

 

“It’s true! Calm down.”

 

Amelie grabbed the Count’s arm and put him in a chair.

 

“Your Majesty comforted you?”

 

“Yes!”

 

The Count looked at Serwin suspiciously. He wouldn’t be the kind of person who would comfort someone. Despite his disrespectful gaze, Serwin didn’t get angry but rather smiled.

 

“And stop using honorifics, Your Majesty. My father is uncomfortable.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Of course, everyone will be frightened if they hear Your Majesty use honorifics.”

 

Amelie always nags Serwin. The smile gradually disappeared from Serwin’s face, and his posture became calm.

 

‘Oh my gosh. Did that scary Emperor become sullen because he was scolded?’

 

‘I’ve never seen Lady Amelie like that, but she’s amazing. Isn’t Your Majesty scary? I still get numbness in my hamstrings whenever we make eye contact.’

 

Servants kept glancing at the table as they picked up the dropped tray and tidied up the area. Even though they knew it wasn’t polite, they couldn’t move their eyes because the situation was so surprising.

 

“Haa.”

 

The Count sighed and lowered his knife.

 

‘When you sent me the wizard, I thought he cared a lot about Amelie, but….’

 

Back then, he was relieved to think that Amelie was being treated so well. But when she came back and looked again, Serwin’s feelings were unusual. Rather than getting angry while listening to the nagging, Serwin seemed to be secretly happy. Amelie seems used to that kind of reaction.

 

‘I can’t believe it, that cold-blooded guy to Amelie….’

 

To be honest, it wasn’t very good news for the Count. Even if Serwin was serious with Amelie, it was obvious that she would suffer.

 

“Hmm, anyway, father. I have something to tell you.”

 

Amelie grasped the atmosphere of the dining room a little late and hurriedly changed the subject.

 

‘Marriage?’

 

‘No way, are they really getting married?’

 

The servants opened their eyes wide.

 

“About mother.”

 

When Amelie added, the servants were greatly disappointed, and the Count was relieved. It’s not that far yet.

 

“…Can everyone leave?”

 

“Yes. Count.”

 

At the Count’s command, the servants quickly left the dining room. The door of the dining room closed, and the Count spoke again.

 

“The soundproofing here is fine. You can talk comfortably.”

 

“I will.”

 

Serwin returned to his usual tone. It was the first time he had used honorifics since the death of the Regent King, so it was awkward, but it was regrettable that he stopped. He was a father-in-law, so it stuck to his mouth. But when Amelie opened her axe eye and looked at him, he decided to stop playing around.

 

“How far does the Count know?”

 

“On the day Amelie and Your Majesty left, that’s all I heard from Renee.”

 

“Do you know the content of the prophecy that I told Renee? And the purpose of going to the palace?”

 

“Yeah. I couldn’t believe it, but you’re not the kid to tell a lie….”

 

“Then you already knew everything. The last time you came to the imperial palace, you didn’t show it at all, so I didn’t know.”

 

Amelie was slightly surprised. She hid it about the disaster on purpose in case the Count was worried, but he already knew it.

 

“It would be overwhelming just with what you’re doing now, but I didn’t want to put my worries on top of it.”

 

“Father…”

 

Amelie’s heart was moved. She didn’t expect her father to be so considerate of her.

 

“So what happened in the capital? You cried because of Hazel?”

 

“That’s—”

 

Amelie’s mouth didn’t move easily. It wasn’t easy for her to say that she was suspicious of her mother in front of her good father or that she had heard bad things about her mother. As she looked at Serwin, she made eye contact with him. At that moment, Amelie plucked up courage.

 

From finding a pendant in the lake to meeting Lira and hearing about the traitor Hazel, finding the owner of the ring, and meeting Caitlyn, Amelie told the Count everything.

 

“That’s why you cried. If I had known the situation, I would have told you in more detail. I told you what I wanted without knowing that, so you may misunderstand. You must have been very surprised.”

 

The Count held Amelie’s hand and comforted her.

 

“But Your Majesty told me that my mother couldn’t be a traitor.”

 

“Yes, I think so, too. Hazel is never the one to sell out other witches.”

 

“Is there a reason why you think so?”

 

Hazel was always talking, but when the witch story came up, she kept her mouth shut and shook her head firmly.

 

Because he was well aware of the closed nature of the witches, he would listen to every word of her instead of questioning Hazel. So even now, decades later, he could clearly recall what she said.

 

“She said her family had no interaction with other witches at all. She said she had never met any other witches besides herself and her mother. Maybe that’s why, when she met a witch her age for the first time in the capital, she was very happy.”

 

“From what I heard, Hazel told the King Regent of the witches’ hideout. According to my father, that would be nonsense. She doesn’t even know who lives where, so how can she know the hideout?”

 

“Yes, I heard that the witches of the Bourbon family lived a closed life like monks, not meeting anyone other than family members for generations.”

 

Amelie suddenly remembered Lira’s reaction to her last name.

 

“Then I understand that Lira said she was hearing my last name for the first time.”

 

Since the Witches of the Bourbon family did not interact with other witches at all, the name of the family disappeared from the list. One of Amelie’s longstanding questions has been solved.

 

“Tell me more about mother.”

 

“When Hazel came to the capital, it was around the time of the chaos after the death of the Emperor.”

 

Hazel took advantage of the confusion and easily got a job as a maid at the palace. She was nineteen years old at the time.

 

“Did she come to the capital when she was young?”

 

“Yes, the first time I saw her was when she was nineteen.”

 

The first time the count saw Hazel was outside the imperial palace. He got lost while looking for a place to stay and was caught by thieves who wanted money. Then Hazel appeared and rescued him. He was greatly appreciated, and Hazel marveled at the Count not strangely seeing her as witch.

 

After that meeting, the two quickly became close. When he told her about the atmosphere in Dellahaim where he respected the grandmother witch or witches, Hazel would listen with interest. In the meantime, Hazel also began to tell her own story little by little, and a special feeling gradually began to sprout between the two.

 

Then one day, a scandal broke out between Hazel and Regent King. It was only after Hazel was ripped off by Caitlyn that the Count learned about it. She visited the Count herself and pleaded her innocence.

 

“When her hair got messed up, I nailed it so I wouldn’t get the wrong idea because we were meeting to do something together.”

 

At that time, the Count was rather pleased that the scandal had broken out. It was because he found out that Hazel has the same feeling as himself.

 

However, Hazel was severely harassed for her business with the Regent King. Since Caitlyn, who led the Marquess Lewin, was determined and led the bullying, there was nothing the Count could do. To make matters worse, the day the Count was supposed to return to the estate arrived.

 

“I asked her to go with me to Dellahaim. But she refused, saying she had work to do here. Harassment was nothing compared to her mission.”

 

Eventually, the Count returned to the manor and received the terrible news.

 

“It was a witch hunt.”

 

It was a crazy time. The state encouraged witch hunts, and the weary in a series of bad years blamed all the blame on the witch. The Empire was quickly engulfed in madness. The Count was so worried about Hazel that he was going crazy, but he had to protect his territory from the flames of the witch hunt. To make matters worse, even grandmother witch had virtually left the forest, so there was nothing he could do but hope she was safe.

 

Soon after, the grandmother witch returned and the South found stability. It was around that time that Hazel came to Dellahaim.

 

“I met Hazel again, and she was a completely different person to what had happened.”

 

Her unique liveliness and self-confidence had disappeared, leaving only a cynical and melancholy figure. It seemed that her heart was deeply wounded. She wanted a place to rest, and the Count gladly accepted her into the mansion. But even though she was safe, she continued to suffer.

 

“Do you know what happened to mother?”

 

The Count shook his head. All he knew was that what she was trying to do had failed. He stayed by her side silently without asking further questions. Then they got married, and gave birth to Amelie and Renée.

 

“Did Grandma Witch know that mother came to Dellahaim?”

 

“I didn’t tell her, but she knew.”

 

“Has mother ever met the grandmother witch?”

 

“It’s about when we have a baby. I wanted Hazel to get along well, relying on grandmother witch, but she was uncomfortable. At that time, I thought it was a consideration not to ask, but now that I think about it, I regret asking why.”

 

The Count laughed bitterly.

 

“Count, when did your wife die?”

 

“When Amelie was about five years old.”

 

“Isn’t it similar to when I become a witch?”

 

“That’s right, Hazel left in an accident the year you awakened as a witch, and I sent you to grandmother witch.”

 

She was choked up. Even though it had been ten years, she still felt heartbroken when she thought about that day. It was an accident that no one expected. But while preparing for the funeral, he discovered that Hazel had made her robe in advance.

 

“I think she knew her future ahead of time.”

 

Hazel was calm about everything. Even when she had a child, when she was born, when Amelie awakened, even when she found out she was an idiot. Come to think of it now, she might have already known what was going to happen to her. Including her own death.

 

“So she was expecting Amelie to be a witch?”

 

Serwin asked.

 

“Yes. I think it was. When the children were born, she told me that of the twins, Amelie was the only witch.”

 

“I see.”

 

Upon hearing the Count’s answer, Serwin was lost in thought.

 

“Did mother say that?”

 

“Yes, there was a time when Hezel took you alone and Renee went into the forest crying and got lost. The grandmother witch found it.”

 

The Count recalled nostalgic memories. It was short, but it was also the happiest moment of his life. At the time, he believed that happiness would last forever, but in an instant everything was gone. His eyes were wet.

 

“Father….”

 

“I’m sorry, I showed you an ugly side.”

 

The Count squeezed the two eyes with his fingers. Amelie leaned her head against the count’s back.

 

‘What did my mother go through?’

 

It was a moment when she missed her mother, whom she couldn’t even remember her face.