I’m the Only One Who Can Guide the Tyrant to Sleep - Chapter 14
“Is that true?”
Caesar pursed his lips. I looked into his eyes and nodded firmly.
Yes, we needed to find a Guide. Only then could he survive, and I could survive too.
“But there’s another problem.”
The problem was that we didn’t know who his Guide was.
In the original story, the heroine was the Guide for the male lead. It was a contrived plot device for a happy ending, so it made sense.
‘But who is the Guide for the Crown Prince? Does such a person even exist?’
The original story didn’t provide a single line of explanation about that.
‘But still… I have no choice.’
If it was the only thing I could do, then I had to do it.
“I will find that person for you.”
“…Why are you doing this? Why are you doing something like this for me?”
Perhaps it was because he had been hurt so much. His gaze remained guarded.
There were many reasons. I didn’t want to see this young child die in front of me. I didn’t want to see Floria suffer when the Empress and Emperor died.
And most importantly…
“So that I can survive.”
“What?”
I wanted to live. Desperately.
“I can survive only if Your Highness ascends to the throne.”
I grabbed Caesar’s hands firmly. He was my only hope.
“I will save Your Highness. In return, you will save me.”
Caesar didn’t pull his hands away, nor did he hold mine. He just stared at me with a bewildered expression.
“We have to survive together.”
I squeezed his hand. After a brief silence, Caesar suddenly asked,
“Is your arm injured from yesterday?”
“Huh?”
Caesar’s gaze turned to my arm. There was a long, jagged wound from my wrist to my elbow, which I got from catching him when he fell yesterday.
“It’s okay, it’s just…”
“Fine.”
“Huh?”
Fine, what?
Caesar looked at me with a puzzled expression, his gaze meeting mine.
“I’ll trust you, your story.”
“Really?”
My explanation didn’t seem very believable, and besides, we had only met recently.
“I still don’t fully understand what you’re talking about, but… I’ll believe you.”
Perhaps the few times we played together with Floria had helped build some camaraderie between us. No, he hadn’t seemed like a bad kid from the beginning.
“Yes! I will definitely help!”
Whatever the case, I was relieved. I squeezed Caesar’s hand with determination.
***
Since that day, I tirelessly frequented the Imperial Records Office and the library at the palace.
I was hoping to find information about Awakened individuals or Guides, even if it was just a small hint.
I couldn’t rely solely on information from the original story anymore. I needed to take matters into my own hands and find information directly. Even the tiniest clue could be useful.
For instance, cases where someone died from an unexplained fever, or experienced seismic waves similar to an earthquake.
In reality, such information was more likely to be found in hidden texts than in verified documents, so I wasn’t counting on finding it in the palace library.
People in this world knew nothing about Awakening. There was a possibility that deaths due to Rampage were simply dismissed as baseless rumors or attributed to dark magic.
‘Anyway, I have to find something.’
Right now, I had absolutely no clues.
Caesar was now fourteen. In the original story, Caesar died a few days before his fifteenth birthday.
In other words, his next birthday was our deadline.
‘Caesar’s birthday… it’s in February, right?’
It was currently November. So, in just four months, he would reach the fateful day.
‘It’s so frustrating.’
Not only did I need to find a Guide, but I also had to figure out how to make contact between the Guide and Caesar. Time was of the essence, and I couldn’t afford to waste it with mere speculation.
“Another futile day.”
I muttered to myself as I returned to the princess’s quarters after finding no useful information at the library.
“Evelyn, where have you been?”
Floria puffed her cheeks and rushed towards me as soon as I entered the reception room.
She was supposed to have a lesson with her tutor, and I assumed she would be occupied until later. However, it seemed she had finished early and waited for me.
“I went to the library for a while. What’s going on?”
“Just give me advice on choosing hair accessories!”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Hurry!”
Floria grabbed my arm and led me to her dressing room.
Although we were already close, Floria had become even more reliant on me since I helped arrange her meeting with Caesar.
“How about this? Which one looks better, this white ribbon or this red one?”
Floria asked while holding up a white ribbon and a bright red one.
“Since my hair color is light, wouldn’t it be nice to go for a brighter color?”
“Hmm, maybe a harmonious color combination would work better? For instance, if you tie your hair with this white ribbon…”
I lightly braided Floria’s hair and secured the white ribbon at the back. It was the same hairstyle I had been fond of ever since Floria had given me the ribbon as a gift.
“How’s that?”
“I look like Evelyn!”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“Yeah! I’m saying that you’re pretty! Alright, then today I’ll go with the white ribbon too!”
We exchanged smiles when suddenly, a sharp knock echoed through the room. It was an unusually swift and sharp knock.
“Who is it?”
“Your Highness!”
The door swung open without even waiting for an invitation.
It was a handmaid I hadn’t seen before. Her face was pale, and she clutched my dress tightly.
“His Majesty the Emperor! His Majesty is gravely ill!”
