My plan was this.
After William becomes Emperor, I would suggest he take in a companion Omega. As Emperor, he wouldn’t be able to refuse anymore.
Of course, I would thoroughly hide the fact that I had experienced heat cycles until then. I had already asked Erica to secretly obtain heat cycle suppressants in advance, so hiding it wouldn’t be difficult.
After establishing William as a stable Emperor, I would escape from the anxious position of a concubine who never knew when she might get pregnant and live a true second act of life.
That was my plan so far, but every time I thought about, revised, and mulled over this plan, my chest ached.
It seemed I had grown too attached to William. It would be good to gradually practice detaching myself from him.
***
Time passed again and we turned twenty. As expected, heat cycles came every few months until I turned twenty. If it weren’t for the medicine I had obtained in advance, William might have discovered it long ago.
For me, who had memories of my past life, this was my second time turning twenty.
Thinking that I had to overcome another renamed life crisis in another place right after overcoming life’s trials that all men in their twenties must face—military service, civil service exams, or job hunting—gave me a headache.
If there was one joy in my life, it was that William, who had been the seed of a tyrant, had become the Crown Prince most loved by the empire’s citizens since the founding of the Stamili Empire. The empire’s citizens praised William with the nickname “Crown Prince of Light.”
“It’s still far from night, isn’t it?”
It seemed he had noticed me stealing glances at him when I thought he was looking at documents. Even though I had heard William’s words, I pretended not to know and turned the page.
“I thought that fox-like behavior would lessen when you turned twenty, but it seems to be getting worse.”
That was what I wanted to say to William. When he was young, he was at least like a cute kitten, but now he was like a fox, no… a tiger.
I pretended not to hear William’s words and said something else.
“By the way, I know the neighboring countries’ political situation wasn’t normal—how did that turn out?”
“Suddenly?”
“Isn’t this work time? His Majesty has passed on so much work that if we don’t handle it quickly, we’ll have to work late again. I’m an Omega, so I don’t have stamina like Your Highness…”
“Ah, forget it. Stop it. You’re being incredibly sensitive over one joke I made to clear my head!”
Exactly. It wasn’t like William was doing this for the first or second time, but I had been particularly sensitive lately.
These days, when I woke up in the morning, I would have no energy in my body for no reason, and my mood would repeatedly go from good to bad several times a day.
So I sensed that I didn’t have much time left and tried to distance myself from William. I believed that from now on, even if things went slightly wrong, the probability of him becoming a tyrant would be significantly low.
“I’m tired. Finishing even a little bit earlier would be doing me a favor.”
Seeing William focus on work again at my words from the corner of my eye, I shifted my gaze to the papers.
At that moment, at the sound of the door opening with a clatter, William and I simultaneously looked toward the door.
“Y-Your Highness… s-something terrible has happened.”
Behern, pale as a sheet, entered and announced that something terrible had happened.
“Your Highness, right now, to His Majesty…”
And even Aren, who wouldn’t blink an eye at most things, came in following Behern, speaking in a rarely flustered voice.
Sensing that the situation was serious, I asked Behern.
“What happened?”
“H-His Majesty… is said to be gravely ill.”
William, shocked, dropped the documents he was holding and couldn’t continue speaking, then quickly came to his senses and followed after Aren.
I pretended to be surprised outwardly, but inwardly I thought, “What was coming has come.” Of course, since I had spent considerable time here, the Emperor wasn’t just a character from a novel to me, so hearing he was gravely ill gave me a strange feeling, but only those who knew the future could change predetermined fate.
I was newly grateful for my existence, which could change fate simply because I had possessed someone’s body.
The time of turning twenty and twenty-one…
This was when all events would explode at once in the original work.
Tyrant William took in a companion Omega, misunderstood the relationship between that Omega and a knight, became obsessed and confined them. A year later, the companion Omega escaped with the knight’s help, and William, unable to contain his rage over this incident, took it out on Daniel Lambert, who was the 9th Omega, and trampled him to death—all of this happened around this time.
If I had become Daniel Lambert without knowing my fate, I would have died around this time. In other words, my fate was no different from the currently gravely ill Emperor.
I sincerely prayed for the Emperor, who had to leave first without knowing his fate, to go without pain.
After that, I carefully thought about what would happen next.
After the funeral, there would be an emperor’s coronation ceremony, and when the emperor changed, the country would be unstable both internally and externally, so the nation needed to be stabilized. After that, I would have to speak to William step by step.
Whether he would listen was uncertain, but since William had sometimes shown reactions I hadn’t expected, I had no choice but to hope he would do so again this time.
That’s when it happened.
Behern, who had left the office earlier, came running back in a hurry…
“Behern?”
“J-just… huff… gasp.”
“Catch your breath and tell me step by step.”
“Right now His Majesty the Emperor… whew…”
To summarize what Behern said next: The Emperor, who had suddenly collapsed from an unknown illness and been unconscious, had opened his eyes. So while everyone was relieved and patting their chests, the first person the awakened Emperor looked for wasn’t William, but me.
The Empress, William, and several nobles including Aren who were watching the situation tried to pretend they hadn’t heard it, worried about the Emperor’s mental state, but the Emperor spoke again.
‘Bring Daniel! I am giving this order with a completely clear mind. Hurry! There isn’t much time left.’
Hearing those words from Behern, I got goosebumps thinking something was strange. Though I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason, I felt like the Emperor knew something.
While I was confused and hesitating, Behern urged me.
“Daniel-nim, there’s no time to think and analyze now. His Majesty is desperately looking for Daniel-nim to the point where he said he would come find you himself if I didn’t bring you.”
“Yes. Let’s hurry.”
***
Following Behern, I found the Emperor lying in bed, surrounded by people.
“Your Majesty, Daniel Lambert has come to have an audience…”
Before Behern could finish announcing my arrival, the Emperor’s hand appeared through the curtains, gesturing for me to come quickly.
“Come here.”
As I approached, William and Aren made room for me. The Emperor’s face, seen up close, was deeply marked by illness but wore a gentle expression, creating an somehow incongruous feeling.
“Daniel Lambert, concubine of Crown Prince William McCurren, greets His Majesty the Emperor.”
The Emperor reached out toward me again as if the distance was still too far. I sent a troubled glance to William, and he nodded.
As I approached, the Emperor took my hand and commanded the others.
“Everyone withdraw except Daniel Lambert.”
I answered in shock.
“Your Majesty, that cannot be.”
I refused not out of courtesy or propriety, but because I was afraid. The Emperor looked so weak that it wouldn’t be strange if he died at any moment. If he were to die while I was having a private audience with him, I could be suspected as the Crown Prince’s concubine who assassinated the Stamili Empire’s Emperor.
In short, not only would all the merit I had built up until now crumble, but my life couldn’t be guaranteed either.
“Your Majesty, please withdraw your command. Having everyone leave except Daniel is something that should not happen. At least His Highness William should remain by your side.”
Though wise Aren opposed it, the Emperor wouldn’t bend his position.
“Did I not say it was an order? Do you intend to rebel against what might be my final command?”
At his angry voice, Aren closed his mouth. With the Emperor going this far, there was no way anyone else would step forward. However, I couldn’t just stand by when my life was at stake.
“Your Majesty, please have pity on me…”
While I was speaking in a groveling voice, the Emperor whispered quietly so only I could hear.
“I won’t die right now, so set aside your worries.”
Startled, I closed my mouth. Seeing him say this much, the Emperor definitely knew something. I was beginning to become curious about what the Emperor knew.
What on earth did the Emperor know? They said he had been to death’s door and back. Had some divine power awakened?
“If Your Majesty wishes it, we shall withdraw.”
William, noticing that the situation wasn’t normal, said this and went outside, followed by the rest.
Once everyone had left, the Emperor began scolding me as if he had been waiting.
“You cunning fellow! If you knew, why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
Though it was a scolding tone, he didn’t seem angry. However, I trembled with fear. In a situation where I couldn’t even guess what was happening, anxiety made it impossible for me to speak properly.
“There’s no need to tremble like that. When a person’s time to die approaches, wisdom comes. No, to be precise, it’s not that I’ve approached death but that I’ve already died and come back to life.”
“Y-Your Majesty…”
“Since there’s no time, I’ll get straight to the point.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
