I’m the Only One Who Can Guide the Tyrant to Sleep - Chapter 9
When I thought about how Caesar had deliberately said hurtful words to Floria, so she wouldn’t come back to him, it pained my heart.
“Your Highness.”
With a compassionate heart, I called out to Floria. Perhaps because of the unpleasant memories that resurfaced, she still had a teary-eyed expression.
“Truthfully, you want to play with His Highness the Crown Prince again, right?”
“Yeah…”
Her face seemed on the verge of tears.
“But my brother hates me. Mom hates my brother…”
“But you still want to see him, right?”
Gently, I stroked Floria’s hair, and she buried her face in my chest.
“I haven’t seen him since then. We never met again. I could only see him from afar… and I couldn’t even talk to him…”
Floria must know the truth as well. She must know that Caesar doesn’t dislike her.
Children are astute observers, especially when it comes to emotions. Despite the complicated politics of the court, Floria could sense her mother’s and Caesar’s emotions.
‘She must’ve realized that everyone won’t like it if she played together with Caesar.’
The current power dynamics were divided between the former Empress’s faction and the current Empress’s faction. Power struggles were inevitable for those born into the aristocracy.
“Your Highness, how about doing it this way?”
But that didn’t mean we should just sit back and do nothing.
“Hmm?”
“I have an idea. You might be able to meet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
I whispered my plan to Floria, who was nestled in my arms.
***
“Your Highness, please accept this!”
“Sure!”
My plan was very simple. I would go to the training grounds at the same time Caesar had his swordsmanship training and play with Floria there. We would engage in a game of catch while Caesar practiced his swordsmanship.
The training grounds were a vast open space. On one side, there were swords and straw dummies set up for swordsmanship training, but the rest of the area could be considered a sports field. Floria and I were playing catch on the sports field.
Both Floria and Caesar were members of the aristocracy, and they might even inherit the throne someday.
Therefore, they had to attend various classes, from basic etiquette required for social life to politics, imperial studies, and military strategy.
Caesar’s swordsmanship training was also part of his education. If Floria were a little older, she might have been required to take similar classes.
‘So, this is essentially advanced training.’
Sitting down to study every day could make one stiff. Playing catch helped improve Floria’s basic physical fitness and reflexes.
…which was my excuse in case someone questioned this game.
The bouncy ball didn’t hurt, no matter how hard it was thrown. Dangerous weapons were kept far away. Moreover, there were well-trained knights all around, making it a safer place than one might think.
‘There’s a valid reason.’
Before long, following my plan, Caesar appeared in the training grounds. He was accompanied by a knight who appeared to be around his age.
Initially, Caesar didn’t recognize us, but he soon couldn’t hide his surprise.
‘He must be wondering why we’re suddenly here.’
We acted as if we were engrossed in our game, pretending not to notice the arrival of the crown prince.
As a knight attempted to greet us, Caesar couldn’t hide his perplexed expression.
The crown prince and the princess couldn’t officially make appointments to meet, but they had no reason to prevent such chance encounters.
Soon, Caesar began his training as if we weren’t there. He repeatedly struck the straw dummies with his sharp practice sword.
Floria and I had been playing catch, and when we got thirsty, we sat at a nearby table, sipping refreshing drinks and subtly watching Caesar’s training.
“It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen him up close like this,” Floria whispered as she bounced the ball on the ground.
“What do you think when you see him up close?”
“I’m not as scared as I thought, and… he’s even more handsome.”
Pfft.
I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her candid words.
“It must be tough for him to play with us, though.”
“For now.”
At that moment, we saw Caesar preparing to finish his training.
“Your Highness, can you pass me the ball?”
“Hmm?”
I pretended to accidentally drop the ball that Floria handed me, making sure to roll it toward Caesar.
The ball stopped near Caesar’s feet. Floria covered her mouth with both hands, and my heart raced.
‘How will he react…’
I had acted on impulse, but I was confident that nothing serious would happen. Although we had only met once, I didn’t think Caesar was a bad person.
“It looks like the princess’s ball.”
A knight standing by Caesar bent down and picked up the ball.
“I’ll bring it back…”
“No, I’ll take it.”
“Sir?”
Caesar took the ball from the knight’s hand and approached us. Floria and I quickly stood up.
“Greetings to Your Highness,” I said, offering a respectful greeting as I curtsied.
Beside me, Floria trembled and froze, fearing that Caesar might forbid her from appearing in front of me again, just like last time.
Caesar held the ball in his hand, and then he looked at it, then at me, and finally at Floria.
“The ball… rolled there.”
He commented as he handed the ball back to me. There was an undeniable awkwardness between Caesar and Floria, who had not been able to interact for so long.
