#44. The Gentle Tyrant
Nikolai, who had been examining every inch of my body, suddenly froze.
He had just noticed the stab wound.
“Summon the court healer at once!”
Nikolai’s voice rang out.
It was calm yet commanding.
But the menace within it was anything but ordinary.
Even if the Reaper himself descended from hell, he couldn’t have exuded such a fearsome aura.
“I’m fine. I can get treated once we return to the palace.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s blood on your dress.”
“I may look delicate, but I’m sturdy, you know!”
I flexed my arms as if to show off muscle, pretending to be full of vigor.
At the very least, I wanted to ease Nikolai’s guilt.
Maybe it was because my tension had finally loosened.
Maybe it was because I was bluffing too much.
But then a searing pain shot up my back, as if my spine had been split in half.
“Ugh!”
“Elizabeta!”
Nikolai’s face drained of color as he hastily scooped me into his arms.
His scent enveloped me once more.
I had already grown used to it.
Just the touch of his body against mine melted away the knots of tension within me.
Before I knew it, the kind of childish whining I had never shown even to my parents slipped out.
“I don’t… think I’m okay, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t worry about anything for now. Rest. I’ll handle everything else.”
“Really…? Is that okay?”
“No one will ever harm you again.”
Nikolai’s embrace was warm and safe.
Perhaps that was why sleep gently overtook me.
From the moment I was kidnapped, I had wanted nothing more than to see him.
I wanted him to rush in and rescue me from danger.
Even though I could have handled it myself, just once—I wanted to be protected.
And if it was Nikolai… then that was enough.
I don’t have to keep struggling on my own anymore. Nikolai is by my side…
Murmuring that silently to myself, I lost consciousness.
And so, I never managed to tell him the one thing I absolutely had to say.
***
Marquis Pipe, his ten fingers glittering with rings, hunched his shoulders as he glanced nervously around a back alley.
His gesture of raising his coat collar was filled with irritation.
“Why meet out here? What if someone sees us?”
Count Blackfold, who had been waiting, irritably stroked his black mustache.
“Don’t you realize a mansion or a salon is more dangerous? We can’t let anyone see us together.”
“Damn fools! And to think they couldn’t even kidnap one girl!”
Unable to contain his fury, Marquis Pipe stomped his foot.
Count Blackfold’s eyes hardened.
“If things go wrong, everyone will blame you, Marquis Pipe.”
“You were the one who suggested hiring the Dark Guild to deal with the girl!”
“And had we moved our private soldiers at your whim, we’d all be rotting in prison by now.”
“Hrmm.”
“Don’t forget—you reported only one-tenth of your troops to the Emperor. That’s a greater crime than the kidnapping itself!”
Count Blackfold pressed down on Marquis Pipe mercilessly.
Pipe, his expression sour, quickly changed the subject.
“Should’ve listened to Duke Reimann’s advice… damn it.”
“That’s why—I have a better idea.”
“Go on, Count Blackfold.”
“We aren’t directly part of this wager, are we?”
“So?”
“Then let’s pin it all on Marquis Brendan. He has both motive and old grudges.”
At the word frame, Pipe’s eyes widened.
But soon enough, he smiled in satisfaction.
“You’re saying this is our chance to completely bring down Marquis Brendan?”
“Brendan has already sullied the honor of the four great houses with his vulgar words and shady dealings. He even has the audacity to boast that Simon is the empire’s strongest swordsman.”
“You speak truth. To gamble his entire fortune on a commoner girl—he should be ashamed. Tsk, tsk.”
“If we sway the Assembly of Nobles, Brendan will fall. Slipping out forged evidence about the kidnapping will help.”
“You mean let the Emperor deal with the aftermath?”
“He’s obsessed with that woman. He’ll leap at the chance.”
“So that’s where the Empress Shinsia got her wisdom—straight from her father, Count Blackfold!”
“Be careful around Duke Reimann.”
“Trust me. We’re in the same boat now, aren’t we?”
“Our friendship and prosperity shall last forever.”
The two men exchanged a firm handshake.
But Marquis Pipe did not know—
Count Blackfold had his own secret schemes.
Nor did Count Blackfold realize—
that the man he underestimated, Marquis Pipe, had already prepared his own escape plan.
That night, I couldn’t return to the Canary Room.
Nikolai had insisted that the carriage’s shaking might worsen my wound.
So, for the time being, I was placed in the guest chamber reserved for distinguished guests at the Emster Trading Company.
I only learned of this later.
By the time I regained consciousness, everything had already been decided by imperial decree.
“…Your Majesty?”
I tried to rise from the bed.
Nikolai, who had been sitting in a chair nearby, shot to my side in an instant.
“Don’t move. Your wound was only just stitched.”
He gently laid me back down.
His touch was so careful, so tender—it reminded me of a trained nurse.
If a nurse as handsome as Nikolai worked in a hospital, it would be overflowing with people faking illnesses.
“Have you been here the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Did you at least rest?”
“Drink water first. Thirst is bad for your health.”
Instead of answering, Nikolai handed me a cup of water.
On the nightstand, snacks, painkillers, and disinfectants were neatly prepared.
Beside them sat a damp cloth and a basin of cold water.
Nikolai carried me in his arms, didn’t he? What did they call it… a princess carry?
Heat flooded my cheeks.
My chest tickled strangely.
Embarrassed, I hurried to change the subject.
“Is the healer gone?”
“They’re waiting in another room.”
“I’ve troubled so many people… it’s not even a serious wound.”
I pulled the silk gown tighter across my chest.
A thick bandage was wrapped around the wound.
It didn’t hurt much—just a bit stiff when I moved.
“You fainted, and yet you call that not serious? The wound was this deep!”
Nikolai raised his voice.
But the space between his fingers was only about one centimeter.
That was it? No wonder I’d been able to endure it.
I felt embarrassed, as though I’d made a fuss over nothing.
But Nikolai clearly thought otherwise.
As if he had never seen such a horrific injury, he shut his eyes tightly.
“The bloodstain was the size of a coin.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You nearly lost your life, and you call it a relief?”
“No one dies from a wound that small.”
“…What?”
Nikolai’s expression darkened instantly.
Fearing a night of endless nagging, I quickly apologized.
“My mistake. I wasn’t thinking.”
But it was too late.
Arms crossed, Nikolai unleashed a torrent of scolding.
“You actually provoked the kidnappers? Talking about a hundred million gold?”
“I had no choice…”
“Even if you’re fearless, how could you? You even offered to stow away with them—what were you thinking?!”
“You heard that far? But I—”
“Don’t bother making excuses. I heard every detail of what you did from beginning to end.”
Nikolai bore down on me with terrifying force.
I swallowed hard, recalling the kidnappers who had collapsed.
Surely… he hadn’t killed them all?
“Were any left alive to confess?”
“One mistake is enough. This time, I’ll uncover the mastermind for certain.”
“You spared them?”
“I only kept them alive until their execution, as law dictates.”
Nikolai answered primly.
I clapped my hands in delight.
“Well done! I forgot to remind you not to kill recklessly.”
“You think I’m some kind of murderer?”
“You’re far more dangerous than that.”
This time, even Nikolai didn’t deny it.
The Emperor was not just a ruler—he was the law itself.
If he chose to act with malice, he was far more dangerous than any common criminal.
“Elizabeta. Why are you defending the kidnappers?”
“I’m not defending them. I just don’t want you to be treated like a tyrant because of me.”
“So my honor matters more than your life?”
“You already have a fearsome reputation—you should at least manage it a little.”
I said it lightly, like a feather blown on the wind.
But Nikolai’s eyes sank into a deep, dark teal.
“Honor means nothing. Your safety is all that matters.”
“Of course my life is most important.”
“Then why do you keep taking risks?”
Veins bulged along Nikolai’s clenched fists as he struggled to contain his anger.
I averted my gaze.
“Because I don’t want to be branded a villainess.”
“Then I’ll simply get rid of everyone who dares call you one.”
“The more you do that, the more people will call me a villainess.”
“Is that why you approached the fugitive, Owen Black?”
My breath caught.
He knew even that?
Reading my reaction, Nikolai shrugged as if it were trivial.
“No need to be surprised. He confessed it himself.”
“Owen?”
“He said you tried to protect him even while being kidnapped.”
“…What?”
“He was on the verge of tears, calling you his savior. Pathetic.”
“Why pathetic?”
“Why not?! Infuriating!”
Deep wrinkles formed between Nikolai’s brows.
Frustration gnawed at me as I bit my lip.
No wonder he’s angry—I secretly met with a traitor. I had hoped to persuade Nikolai with Franz’s help. What now? I need to restore Owen’s status somehow.
I wanted to explain how invaluable Owen was.
But once again, Nikolai’s words veered far beyond my expectations.
“To seduce another man without my permission… utterly disgraceful.”
What on earth?
I blinked several times before asking,
“Seduce?”
“What else would you call it? That man already looks ready to lay down his life for you.”
“So you’re not upset that he’s a rebel?”
“Rebel? Hardly.”
“…?”
“The former Empress crushed a promising painter. Owen wasn’t the only victim whose future she destroyed.”
“You investigated him?”
“Do you think I’d just ignore a man hanging around you?”
His shameless tone implied he had only done his duty.
Normally, I’d have clutched my neck in exasperation, but I couldn’t waste this golden chance.
“Owen is a genius painter. If we invite him to teach art, Franz will be thrilled.”
“His powers of observation are impressive, I’ll give him that.”
“Observation?”
“He was the reason we tracked the carriage. He remembered the shape of the coach, the size of the wheels, even the body types of the masked kidnappers—perfectly.”
Owen had been attacked and collapsed.
And yet, he still recalled every detail of the kidnappers and their carriage.
It was nothing short of astounding.
“If not for you, Owen would have died on the spot. Of course he’d call you his savior.”
“He only got caught up because of me. He has every right to resent me.”
“That’s irrelevant.”
Nikolai cut the words sharply.
To him, it didn’t matter—Owen was useful, and that was enough.
His focus was elsewhere—on the true mastermind behind the abduction.
“Once the Dark Guild broker is captured, the whole plot will be exposed.”
“Do you really think he’ll talk?”
“That’s what the interrogators of the underground prison are for.”
“You already have a guess, don’t you?”
“……”
“You know, don’t you? Who it was that targeted me.”
