tyrant chapter 21

“…I was just worried about you, Karta. Do I seem that selfish?”

“Don’t misunderstand.” Karta murmured. Fiogen’s mind raced, torn between confessing her newfound desire to live and keeping it hidden.

“Misunderstand?” Fiogen averted her gaze from Karta’s approaching stare. Honesty felt like a blow to her pride. After all her talk of wanting to die, pleading for her life now felt unbearably awkward. What if Karta’s crimson eyes suddenly flashed and he declared, “Oh? Then shall we make your death entertaining?” The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

Karta, gazing at her tenderly, reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Nothing you say could ever be selfish.”

“What do you mean?” Fiogen frowned, and he chuckled. His already pale skin seemed almost translucent, enhancing his ethereal beauty. With that breathtaking face, he softly murmured, “It’s I who am selfish, begging you to live when you want to die. You don’t need to feel sorry for me.”

Karta’s words made Fiogen flinch. She couldn’t comprehend his perspective. “No, I’m selfish. I could have ended my own life, but I forced you, someone who didn’t want to, to kill me. I’m the truly selfish one, Karta.”

Karta hesitated, then closed his eyes, avoiding her gaze. The sight of him like that sent an unexpected pang through her heart. She couldn’t understand why he looked at her with such a wounded expression. Even though this world was real, she thought she knew everything about Karta from the novel. But faced with the real him, she found herself struggling to find the right words of comfort. Instead of offering empty platitudes, Fiogen decided to share her own experience. “Karta, if it’s because I resemble your mother, think of it this way: if I saw someone about to die in front of me, I would have stopped them too.”

She meant it. The traffic accident in her past life had unfolded exactly like that. She’d shielded a child from an oncoming car with her own body. It was *her* foolish act. Her regretful murmur hadn’t been about dying, but about her body moving reflexively, even when she knew the likely outcome. Even given a second chance, she would probably do the same. A wry smile touched her lips. It echoed Karta’s own words to her. She had, in essence, given her life to save another. At her words, Karta opened his eyes.

“Fiogen, you’re not like her.”

At Karta’s sudden shift in opinion, Fiogen nodded. One moment she was similar, the next she wasn’t. Her heart pounded. She hoped this didn’t mean he was thinking, “On second thought, you’re not like her, so die!”

“Ahem. Let’s take your medicine now. Ah.” Fiogen offered him the pills, but Karta adamantly refused. His gaze, fixed on her, was steady.

“Don’t disappear again without a word.”

His anxious eyes left Fiogen speechless. She didn’t want to hurt him with lies. But confessing everything and then disappearing felt wrong, especially considering the Emperor. Karta could kill the Emperor at any moment, but Fiogen could just as easily be killed by him.

Seeing her hesitation, Karta spoke first. “I was so scared I wouldn’t see you again.”

Hearing the word “scared” from the tyrant’s lips felt strangely novel. Karta was the obsessive second male lead. Now that this was turning into a BL novel, perhaps he was becoming the obsessive, dominant type? She entertained these amusing thoughts to calm her nerves, while Karta continued to study her, as if trying to read her mind.

“Fiogen.”

“Yes.”

“Promise me. Promise you’ll never run away from me.”

Perhaps it was the fever, but Karta’s lips were unusually red. Looking at his chapped lips, Fiogen silently picked up the water glass, offering it to him along with the medicine. But Karta stared at her, refusing to swallow anything until he heard her answer.

“Ha… Take your medicine first.”

“Promise me first. Promise you won’t disappear.”

At Karta’s stubborn gaze, Fiogen sighed. Watching her, Karta’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. Fiogen held her ground.

“If you don’t take it now, I’ll drink all the water.”

“I don’t care. Just promise.”

At his words, Fiogen gulped down the water. She planned to leave in six months. With Duke Delcart entering the picture, she wasn’t worried about leaving Karta. If he were to be left alone and miserable, she might reconsider… but for now, that was her plan.

“Karta.” Fiogen’s lips were moist with water. Karta’s, in contrast, were dry as a desert. He needed water, and they both knew it.

“Yes.”

“This is the last of the water. If this is gone, you’ll have to swallow the pills dry.” Only a single sip remained in the glass. Despite her threat, Karta shook his head. Fiogen parted his lips and pushed the pills inside. He didn’t even flinch at the bitter taste. She found his stoicism impressive, but she wouldn’t back down.