If a Tyrant Becomes a Father

I ran. I ran and ran and ran some more. How long has it been since I ran like this? My breath came short to the tip of my chin.

The familiar landscape of Santuris flashed by in a blur.

“My lady? Where are you going alone? My lady!”

I heard Asilis’s voice but did not stop.

Geo disappeared?

My eyes were hot, and my nose itched. My heart hurt, and I was afraid.

Is it because of me? Did he hide himself in a place I can’t see because I pretended to be his mother? Did he run away? Go back? Leave?

All kinds of thoughts filled my head.

It must have been so hard for him.

Was he so sad that he wanted to disappear?

Because of me. Because I lied to him. Deceived him. Hurt him. Borrowed the body of the mother he loved.

I’m sorry, Geo.

Lucerne told me not to apologize, but I wanted to.

Geo.

The moment I stepped out of Santuris, I stopped walking. The weather was grim. Because I came out without Lucerne’s magic or coat, the cold wind touched my skin directly. My body shuddered. My head that had warmed up with shock cooled down, and thoughts crowded in.

If Geo disappeared because of me, will the child be happy if I go to find him?

Won’t he hide deeper if I approach?

I backed away from the empty air, seeing nothing.

Something touched my back.

“Are you alright?”

Lucerne’s voice was as heavy as dark clouds.

I didn’t turn around or answer that I was fine. I just didn’t move.

Lucerne looked up at the sky and grabbed my shoulder.

“It looks like it will rain or snow soon, so take a look quickly.”

“…… I don’t want to look,” I said.

“……What?”

It was a disbelieving tone. Lucerne was silent for a moment, waiting for my next words, before asking again.

“What do you mean you don’t want to look? Didn’t you run out because you heard that Geo disappeared?”

“That’s right. I ran out startled after hearing that Geo disappeared.”

“Then shouldn’t you run quickly to look for him? Why……”

I didn’t answer, and Lucerne turned my body. It wasn’t a forced gesture, but I moved like a thin sheet of cloth.

As expected, Lucerne looked puzzled, not understanding. He looked into my eyes and frowned.

“……Something’s not right.”

“It’s because of me…”

I took a deep breath not to cry. The cold winter air filled my lungs.

“Geo might have hidden because of me. Do I have the right to look for Geo?”

“Right? There’s no such thing.”

Lucerne’s voice was sterner than ever.

I lowered my eyes, feeling scolded.

“I killed countless enemies of the empire and became the Emperor. I killed Astia’s parents and hastened her death yet I wanted her. Did I have the qualification to be Emperor? Did I have the right to want Astia?”

I shook my head.

“Stop. I don’t need you to badmouth yourself to comfort me.”

“While your nature has changed, you’re still Geo’s biological mother. You have enough qualification now to worry about Geo and look for him.”

“But because of my lies, Geo…….”

“Get a grip, Hyerim!”

My spirit came to its senses.

As if time had stopped, I looked into Lucerne’s eyes, even forgetting to breathe.

“Don’t conclude that Geo disappeared because of you. Don’t conclude that the child was hurt because of you! The child must have been shocked to disappear, but at times like this, you must come to your senses!”

“Lucerne…”

Lucerne pursed his lips and seemed to repress something by breathing in and out his chest several times. His eyebrows that had lifted in anger or irritation slowly lowered down. His face glowed with disappointment.

“…It might not be because of you but because of my lady. We can’t conclude yet. So… don’t stop like you but run quickly to find Geo.”

I opened my eyes wide.

Collis!

That’s right, Collis was there.

I was so sorry for Geo that I only thought it was my fault and couldn’t think of Collis.

Drops of rain fell indifferently, deeply wetting the floor.

I twisted my body as if I would run out right now.

Lucerne glanced at the sky and shook his head.

“Though I said so, it’s too much to run in the rain. I’ll take you to the palace. It’s too strenuous to move a long distance at once, so we have to move in parts, so hold me tight not to let go.”

“Okay.”

I held Lucerne’s arm without a word.

Geo may have disappeared because of me. Or not.

The important thing was that Geo disappeared, and it might rain.

The important thing was that Geo disappeared, and it might rain. Now was the time to move rather than think. I had to find Geo.

After several instant movements, we arrived at the palace hall.

As Lucerne said, it was too strenuous to move a long distance at once. We had to stop between the path from Santuris to the garden, the middle and end of the garden, and between the garden and the palace.

When we arrived at the palace, our heads and shoulders were a bit wet. Lucerne, who would normally have dried us immediately with his power, just caught his breath roughly. Sweat instead of rain ran down Lucerne’s cheeks.

Was it because he moved two of us at once? There was no time to think deeply.

“Thank you, Lucerne.”

When Lucerne blinked his eyes, I ran up quickly to the 2nd floor of the palace where the children’s crying voices came from far away.

“Brother, brother! Waaah! Where did Geo brother go?”

“It can’t be that brother disappeared! Waaah! Waaah! He promised to teach me how to write the name of a gem warrior!”

“Waaah, Brother Geo! Brother Geo! Waaah!”

Good heavens.

The fact that Geo disappeared felt real to my skin. My heart fluttered endlessly like a stormy sea. My hand holding the doorknob was cold. I couldn’t tell if the door was cold or my hand was frozen.

I took a deep breath to calm my trembling breath and opened the door.

“Kids!”

“Mother!”

The kids ran to me and hugged me. As expected, their faces were tear-stained.

The servants who had been fidgeting, not knowing what to do beside me, breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of me.

I knelt on the floor and hugged the kids in my arms.

“Are you okay? Oh my goodness, you cried so much.”

“M, y, y, y, m, mother. G, Geo brother disappeared!”

“He wasn’t there when we woke up! He promised to teach me how the name of a gem warrior is written today but he disappeared!”

“Waaah! What happened to Brother Geo?”

While telling the story while hiccuping, Rie began to shriek. A servant quickly brought water and gave it to the child. When Rie’s voice disappeared, Marley spoke in a loud voice.

“I didn’t want to learn, you know?

 Studying stuff like that is totally out of my alley. But last night, Geo brother said it would be cool if he wrote the name of a gem warrior on my toy! That’s why I agreed to learn it though I didn’t want to! He promised to teach me first thing in the morning but he disappeared!”

“What? What happened?”

“Maybe he went to the bathroom or somewhere like that?”

A servant who was standing beside me shook his head and answered. He looked at me furtively and quickly nodded his head.

“That’s not it. We searched the entire palace but couldn’t find him.”

“He didn’t go out of the palace?”

“The knight guarding the door said no one had come out. We looked around the garden nearby just in case but couldn’t find him.”

“How can brother break his promise and disappear like this! It can’t be!”

“It can’t beeee!”

Behind, a sighing voice was heard.

“……As expected.”

Marley stopped her scream, and Seti stopped crying. Everyone’s gaze fell on Lucerne.

Lucerne, leaning against the open door, put his large hand on his face.

“It wasn’t because of you.”

I thought the same.

Last night, before going to bed, Geo was still trying to teach Marley how to write. Despite being sad and hard, the child tried to do his duties diligently. He tried to live hard.

I had time to think. If he disappeared on his own because he was depressed and sad because of me, he would have prepared for it. Then he wouldn’t have made appointments to study with Marley.

The fact that the child disappeared so suddenly meant that something big happened overnight to change his mind, or someone forcibly took Geo away.

Since nothing happened last night, only one thing was left.

Kidnapping.

Who. Who took our Geo.

My face grew hot with anger. My eyes were hot.

“Rie, Marley, Seti. Did anyone come into your room last night?”

“Ye…no. I didn’t see, but…”

“I don’t think anyone can come in here, right?”

Rie and Marley shook their heads.

Seti, who I thought would shake his head the most firmly, approached me falteringly.

“Seti?”

“Um. Seti saw. Ghost saw.”

Lucerne, who had been standing by the door, came quickly. He looked into Seti’s eyes as if to confirm something.

“Ghost? Did you see that last night?”

“Yes! Big ghost took Brother Geo!”

It was shocking news.

A big ghost took Geo? I held Seti’s shoulder.

“Seti, did a real ghost really take Geo?”

“Yes! Seti saw. Not fake! Came and took Brother Geo! And gone!”

“Came suddenly? Not opening the door?”

“Yes!”

“What did it look like? What did the ghost who took Geo look like?”

“Big! Big ghost! Hot ghost!”

Seti hugged me in my arms, saying the ghost was hot.

What on earth happened for a big ghost to take Geo?

I looked at Lucerne for help.

Lucerne patted Seti’s shoulder gently.

“Seti, I’m sorry, but I have to read your memory. I don’t want to, but the situation calls for it. I’ll reward you later.”

“Reward? What reward?”

“Uh… A gift?”

“Wow! Any gift I want!”

As soon as he allowed it, Lucerne stroked Seti’s head.

Seti smiled with a tear-stained face, happy from the gentle touch.

Lucerne’s hand touching Seti’s head moved away, and where his hand passed, a blue light made a screen. The scene that the child saw last night played on the screen.

In the quiet room, light flickered and suddenly a silhouette appeared.

Lucerne whispered.

“Instant movement…”

The silhouette looked around briefly and approached Geo’s bed. It lifted the child wrapped in the blanket.

“Eep, eep!”

“G, Geo!”

The sound of the blanket flapping and muffled breathing was heard. Even though I knew I was seeing a memory, I wanted to run up and grab him.

The silhouette took out a blue bead from its pocket and disappeared in a flash of light.

“The g, ghost w-was hot…”

Seti cried and hid quietly under the blanket.

When the memory replay ended and the light disappeared,

Lucerne closed his eyes tightly.

“Ah, my lady…”

Tall and curvy body, long black hair, able to use instant movement beads though not the Emperor. I knew without seeing the face clearly. It was Collis who took Geo.