What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 299

“……”

Kazhan remained silent. So still that Ysaris wondered if he was even breathing—but she didn’t press for an answer. Instead, she shifted the topic again, determined to lay bare every thought she’d carried.

“I’ve been acting according to the will you left behind. Thankfully, you weren’t truly dead, just in hibernation, so I had time. I thought you were gone when your heart stopped, but Lena explained everything. At least I didn’t bury you alive.”

Even the macabre detail drew no reaction. Kazhan simply listened, leaving Ysaris to near-monologue, but she pressed on.

“While I was figuring out how to wake you, Duchess Blake came to me. She claimed she could intervene in dreams, so we tried it on you. Things got tangled, and instead of her, I ended up here. But maybe it’s for the best. I understand you better now.”

“…You used Mukeon’s power?”

“Ah, so the Emperor does know. She said even her husband, Duke Blake, was unaware.”

Kazhan fell silent again after that single question. The posture was hardly conducive to conversation, but Ysaris, understanding his turmoil, let it pass. This way, she could pour out her thoughts uninterrupted.

“And Kazhan—to correct your misunderstanding, unlike in your nightmares, the real me doesn’t wish for your death. That’s why I’m scrambling to save you. No matter how resentful I am, knowing you’re Cain means I could never want you gone. You know how deeply I loved you.”

“So you do still resent me.”

Of all the sentences to latch onto. Ysaris thumped his back in exasperation.

“Even if I resent you, don’t take it so seriously. No one feels only goodwill toward another person forever. Especially not people like us, with so much pain between us.”

“……”

“And if we’re being honest, other feelings outweigh the resentment. Guilt, for one. Pity. Or…”

She trailed off, burying her face in his shoulder.

She hadn’t faced him directly this whole time—partly because she didn’t want him to see her expression. She had no idea what look she was wearing.

“…Things like ‘precious.’ That kind of feeling.”

She couldn’t bring herself to call it love.

Affection? Fondness? The hollow ache of his absence? The ache of seeing him suffer?

Any of those were too shallow to be love, yet too deep to be mere liking. Like their relationship—complicated.

“That’s why I said it. I’ll live by your side.”

Ysaris knew, whether she liked it or not, Kazhan would forever be etched into her consciousness. The price of feeling the most intense love, hatred, grief, and guilt toward one person.

If she couldn’t escape him, she’d choose to stay. That was her decision.

“So Kazhan, look at me properly. Even if I still don’t know how to face you, I won’t run anymore. And you—stop seeing me as some nightmare phantom. Recognize me.”

Silence.

The stillness after her words was absolute. Even the birds that had chirped earlier were gone, leaving a vacuum Kazhan slowly breached.

“Ysaa, you don’t realize—agreeing to leave this place with you already demands more courage and resolve than I thought I had left.”

Here, he was free. No headaches, no whispers of curses in Ysaris’s voice.

The heart that had ached at every provocation was quiet. No irritating people, no stressful duties—just a peaceful world with Ysaris asleep in his arms.

Paradise. His only sanctuary.

It was everything he’d ever wanted.

“You’re right. Part of me wants you to be a fake. Then I wouldn’t have to risk hurting again.”

Leaving this paradise was one thing—but if the destination was the reality that had been hell for him, hesitation was natural. Kazhan would rather embrace a perfect death now than risk being abandoned by Ysaris again.