I’m the Only One Who Can Guide the Tyrant to Sleep - Chapter 5

* * *

It was finally time for the original story to begin. With that intuition in mind, I paid close attention to the activities of the crown prince.

‘If my assumptions are correct, he’s at least a supporting character. That means events should start happening around him.’

I needed to keep an eye on him. It was the only way to find out what kind of novel this was and where I had been reborn.

It was also important to know what might happen in the future. At the very least, I needed to understand the genre of this world. Was it a family-friendly story or an adult-oriented one?

‘If it’s the latter… my life might be in danger.’

In adult-oriented stories, supporting characters were sometimes sacrificed to create a dark atmosphere, to showcase the cruelty of the main character.

“Is tomorrow the day I’m having lunch with Mom?”

While I was lost in thought, Floria asked, munching on a cookie.

I immediately raised my head.

We were sitting at the tea table in the garden, sipping tea. We had been admiring the blue flowers in the flowerbed for a while.

“Yes, Her Majesty the Empress has a lunch appointment tomorrow with you. Have you decided what dress you’ll wear?”

“Uh-huh, I’ll choose it later with Evelyn.”

Floria cutely laughed, her mouth full of cookies.

“Her Majesty the Empress prefers dresses that aren’t too extravagant, right?”

“Umm, yeah. She said something about liking simple and neat dresses.”

Floria pouted as if she didn’t like it.

I smiled at her reaction and then suddenly remembered something, trying to sound casual.

“Um, Your Highness, do you happen to know anything about the Crown Prince? Like, what kind of person is he?”

“Huh?”

Floria’s eyes widened as she stopped munching on her cookie.

“Why are you suddenly asking about my brother?”

“Just curious. I haven’t heard much about the Crown Prince, and I was wondering if you knew anything about His Highness’s preferences when it comes to dresses.”

I casually took a sip of tea, trying not to appear too strange.

I naturally expected Floria to be the person around me with the most information about the crown prince. So, asking her was the easiest way to gather information.

Floria tapped her foot back and forth.

“Um, well…”

Now that I thought about it, it was a bit strange. I had been working here for almost a year, and I knew almost nothing about the crown prince. I had only seen his face for the first time last night.

Floria often talked about her family. She would share stories about getting scolded by her mother or worrying about her father’s health. We spent almost the entire day together, so she didn’t leave out any small details.

However, she had never mentioned her brother.

“Brother is… handsome.”

Floria, who had been pondering, suddenly blurted out.

I nodded in agreement. If I were to ask anyone about him, that would probably be the first thing they’d say.

“And he’s a little scary.”

“Scary? Even though he’s your brother?”

“Uh-huh.”

Considering how much time we spent together, she would have mentioned her brother at least once if they were close.

“And to be honest, Mom… kinda doesn’t like him.”

“Doesn’t like him?”

“Yeah.”

She glanced around as if she didn’t want anyone else to hear.

Floria’s mother, the current empress, was the second empress. The first empress, who was the crown prince’s mother, had passed away, and the new empress had taken her place.

I had heard that the first empress had become weak and died due to childbirth complications while giving birth to the crown prince.

‘Could it be that she doesn’t like him because he’s not her biological son?’

Despite becoming the empress, someone had already been chosen to be the next emperor. The more I thought it through, the more convinced I became.

‘In an empire, the Crown Prince’s birth mother dies, and the new mother despises him… It’s a perfect setup for a male lead’s story.’

I heard he’s just fourteen.

‘The reason nothing has happened so far is clear.’

It was undoubtedly a case of being reincarnated into the childhood of the main characters before the original story began. At fourteen, it was a good time for events to start unfolding.

Something was bound to happen around him. If I could just figure that out, I could easily determine where this place was.

‘Please, let it not be a depraved novel with a dark and twisted plot.’

I prayed fervently.

* * *

A week passed like that, and nothing happened.

I thought events would explode at any moment, but my energy waned. The only thing I had newly discovered was his name.

Names of the nobility were not publicly disclosed, especially not for a crown prince who had not yet become emperor.

However, it was not an insurmountable secret, and considering I was the closest confidant of the imperial princess, I had my ways.

His name was Caesar Dietrich.

‘Caesar, Caesar…’

I thought that once I knew his name, I could quickly identify the original story, but inspiration eluded me. It felt like a name I had heard before but also like one I hadn’t.

The only Caesar I could recall was a blond duke who was not the same character.

‘A crown prince in a serene garden. Hmm…’

It wasn’t an entirely uncommon setting, which is perhaps why it hadn’t come to mind more readily.

Lost in thought, I strolled through the garden. For the past few days, I had been staying late at work in the hopes of running into the crown prince.

That day, the crown prince was seated in the garden again, just like last time, quite late into the evening. If it was the same time and place, the odds of running into him should increase. That’s what I thought, but so far, it had been in vain.

So, today was unlikely to be any different… Or at least, that’s what I thought, but I couldn’t help but glance towards the garden with a glimmer of hope.

‘Oh? Ohh?’