The Tyrant's Tears
My breath caught in my throat. The grip Reina had on my collar wasn't some childish tantrum from a little girl. It was a violent weight far beyond human limits, like an entire mountain range crushing down on me.
"Cadel. Huh? I like Cadel......"
Her whisper in my ear was so innocently childlike that it sent chills down my spine. Behind me, the soft mattress had completely caved in, and my vision was filled only with silver hair and glowing purple eyes.
No matter how much I struggled, no matter how hard I pushed against her arms, Reina's body didn't budge a single millimeter. If anything, the more I thrashed, the more her eyes lit up with the obsessive glee of a predator toying with an amusing plaything.
If this kept up, something irreversible—an "accident"—was bound to happen. My opponent was Reina de Astrea, the duke's daughter whom not even the empire's laws could bind. If she wanted, she could devour a lowly baron like me right here without a trace.
In that desperate moment, a cold realization flashed through my mind.
I could never win with raw strength.
This bloodthirsty girl had never been denied a thing in her life. Even her duke father gave her everything she wanted. She believed the world was at her feet, that everything could be seized by force. A monster convinced of her dominion.
My panicked struggles, my pleas for mercy—they were just perfect "prey reactions," fueling her conquest lust.
So, I had only one weapon left. The one I'd honed over a decade on the podium, dealing with countless delinquents who crossed lines: not physical force, but something far heavier and sharper—the adult's way of control.
I let my hands, which had been desperately pushing against her arms, go slack. I deliberately relaxed my rigidly tense shoulders. I steadied my ragged breathing in one breath and wiped all emotion from my distorted face.
As my resistance ceased completely, Reina's aggressive advance halted too.
"......Huh?"
She tilted her head slightly, clear confusion on her face. Why did the toy stop fighting? Why isn't it running? Pure, innocent questions.
I placed my limp hands obediently on the bedsheet and stared straight at her face. Gone was the gaze of the cajoling, scolding, exasperated "knight Cadel." Instead, I fixed her with an icy, emotionless stare that permitted no disturbance.
The room fell eerily silent. The fading red sunset stretched long shadows between us.
"Cadel......?"
She called my name, her voice no longer boldly defiant but laced with bewilderment at my unfamiliar demeanor. Her brows furrowed slightly, and the pressure on me lightened just a fraction.
I showed no expression. No anger, no sadness—just a ruthless blankness that treated her as a complete stranger.
Maintaining that impassivity, I slowly parted my sealed lips and called her name in a dry, chilling voice stripped of all playfulness.
"Reina de Astrea."
That low murmur made her shoulders jolt.
"......Cadel, what's wrong?"
Her purple eyes, which had burned to devour me moments ago, now cracked for the first time. I didn't answer, just kept staring.
Silence. My favorite tool for disciplining students. Heavier than a hundred lectures, this weighty quiet gnawed at their psyche from the roots, showing my deep disappointment.
Her gaze began to waver uncertainly. My use of her full name held no warmth or intimacy—just the cold formality of stranger to stranger, drawing an uncrossable line.
"Cadel......"
Her voice trembled faintly. Strength drained from her grip. The predator's claws retracted of their own accord.
Her eyes darted anxiously over my face. No trace of the indulgence she'd always gotten with a whine.
I met her uneasy stare head-on and held the heavy silence again. Only the clock's ticking mixed with her quickening breaths.
Ten seconds. Twenty. Her face paled visibly. The empire's arrogant tyrant was gone. Atop me now was just an eighteen-year-old girl terrified of losing her sole pillar.
"Cadel...... I'm scared......"
With trembling hands, she gingerly clutched my shirt. No longer dominating with force, but a pitiful plea not to be pushed away. Tears welled in her purple eyes.
Pity stirred inside me, but I couldn't stop. To teach this monster about boundaries and others' feelings, I had to drive the wedge deep.
With cold eyes, I looked up at her and hammered it home.
"Reina de Astrea, Your Ladyship."
That title shattered her completely.
"Ah......"
Her lips quivered, and a tear dropped onto my cheek—warm and wet. Then the dam burst.
"Hic...... Cadel, I was wrong."
She collapsed onto my chest, sobbing like a child unworthy of her great house. Clutching my shirt like a lifeline, her shoulders heaved.
"......"
I silently gazed at the crown of her head as she wailed against me.
"Sorry, Cadel...... It's all my fault......"
"Waaah......"
"Sorry, Cadel...... I was wrong....... Don't abandon me......"
Endless apologies. Her earlier ferocity—talk of turning misunderstanding to truth, pinning me to the bed—was gone. Only a pathetic child fearing my hatred remained.
Haa...... What sin did I commit in my past life to be guardian to this tyrant spawn?
Guilt and pity pricked my heart; my frozen face softened. I slowly raised my right hand from the bed.
And gently wiped the tears from her soaked cheeks with my rough fingers.
"......"
Her sobs stopped at the touch. She looked up, red-eyed and tear-streaked. Seeing my usual weary kindness return, she nuzzled desperately into my palm like a saved soul.
"Cadel...... Don't hate me......"
She mumbled into my hand, fear still lingering.
I let out a soft, wry chuckle. "Why would I hate you?"
"Really?"
She snapped her head up, tear-filled eyes pleading.
I brushed back her disheveled silver bangs and affirmed clearly. "Really!"
Only then did a radiant smile bloom on her face, pure despite the tear tracks.
"Hehehe......"
A foolishly clear, innocent laugh. This beast who could end worlds melted at one touch and kind word, wagging her tail.
I wiped her cheek once more, then moved to her crown, stroking her hair gently.
Yeah. Gotta nurture her like this, mold her into a person. What choice do I have? It's my fate.
Her breaths evened out peacefully against my chest. The tense, perilous 19+ atmosphere dissolved into warm, fluffy afternoon glow.
---
Reina's breaths steadied against my chest. Occasional hiccups lingered, but the suffocating pressure was long gone. I sighed softly, sweeping her damp silver hair back.
"Alright, stop crying and go to your room. It's past midnight already."
As I tried to rise, her hands clamped my waist.
"No. I wanna sleep here."
"Reina. You said you were sorry earlier......"
I lowered my voice, but she looked up urgently, swollen eyes and red nose proving her earlier breakdown.
Terrified I'd call her "Your Ladyship" and push her away, she pleaded desperately. "I won't bother you. Just sleep, promise."
"Dorm rules forbid boys and girls sharing a room. And look at that wrecked door handle. What if someone sees?"
"I'll chase them away. I wanna sleep in Cadel's room. Please?"
Her purple eyes begged, no trace of the beast—just an abandoned puppy in the rain.
Haa...... How many countries did I sell in my past life?
I pressed my throbbing temple. Forcing her out now would reignite the storm. My ex-teacher ethics surrendered to her tearful stubbornness.
"Fine. But conditions."
"What?" Her eyes sparkled.
"One, no breaking in without permission."
"Two, no crossing lines with brute force like before. Got it?"
"Yeah, got it."
"For real? Break it again, and you're out—no mercy."
"I won't! Promise!"
She nodded vigorously, burrowing into my bed's inner side, curling up and hugging my arm to her chest tightly.
"......Hey. Isn't this crossing the line?"
"This is just hugging to sleep. Different from 'adult studies'."
Where did that brazen logic come from? Tempted to flick her forehead, but exhaustion won; I closed my eyes.
"Whatever, do what you want. I'm dead tired."
"Goodnight, Cadel."
Rubbing her cheek on my shoulder, she was out in under a minute, deep breaths signaling total fatigue from the emotional rollercoaster.
Moonlight filtered through the broken door, illuminating her tear-streaked, serene face—a beautiful, innocent eighteen-year-old girl. Hard to believe this was the tyrant who half-destroyed the training grounds and terrorized Class 1.
Yeah...... It's not the kid's fault. Blame the doting duke dad.
Cursing her father inwardly, I let her heavy warmth lull me to sleep, oblivious to tomorrow's hell.
---
"Ugh......"
I groaned upon waking. Reina had slung a leg over my stomach, koala-clinging to my neck.
As I clutched my back and sat up groaning, she rubbed her eyes and stirred, her eyes and nose still puffy from last night's sobs.
"You slept great, huh. Go wash up and change through the connecting door. Time for breakfast."
Perhaps my stern lesson worked; she nodded obediently, no usual whining.
Good girl, listening like this.
Feeling smug, I quickly changed my wrinkled shirt.
Moments later, in the dorm cafeteria. Entering, noble students' gazes snapped to us mid-elegant breakfast.
Normally, Reina would strut ahead or drag me. Today, I limped forward, hand on my aching back, while she meekly followed half a step behind, lightly holding my hem.
The empire's beast trailing like a obedient lamb, minding her master's mood. The room froze. Utensils clattered to silence.
As we walked to an empty table, whispers erupted in the deathly quiet.
"Is that the rumored baron?"
"Oh my god, look at Her Ladyship's face......!"
"That's post-crying puffiness! Eyes and nose bright red!"
"No way...... He made the empire's sword cry? That baron?!"
......Wait, hold on.
I paused mid-pull on a chair. Dread crept up my spine.
I sat; she settled lightly beside me, gently sliding a warm soup bowl my way with a docile, clueless voice. "Eat first, Cadel. Tasty?"
Her innocent question before I even tasted it drew my sigh and nod. Just a normal breakfast scene.
But the room had exploded.
"Serving him so meekly, watching his mood......!"
"What did he do to tame her overnight like that?!"
"Look at those dark circles and his hand on his back. Rumors were true—total alpha stud......!"
No, not alpha stud—just a tired ex-teacher! Yeah, I made her cry, but with words, you idiots!
My silent scream of injustice fell on deaf ears. In their minds, I was the "night dominator" who bed-conquered the haughty duke's daughter into tearful submission.
Julian stared in awe from afar; Leonhardt trembled, fork to mouth; Chloe blushed to her ears, avoiding our gaze.
"Cadel, why aren't you eating? Want me to feed you?"
Reina speared a sausage and held it to my lips, blinking innocently. Her puffy eyes and submissiveness screamed "conquered female's devotion" to everyone.
Shouting "Misunderstanding! I just disciplined her!" would twist into "pervy wordplay masking a shameful night."
"......No, I'll eat."
Chewing blankly into the void, my adult boundaries from last night meant nothing. From this morning, my peaceful, sane academy life was over—permanently.
I abandoned futile hopes of clarification, gazing at the clear sunlight outside, entering quiet enlightenment.
......Fine, think what you want. As long as I'm in the right.
Amid awed stares and murmurs, Cadel Evans's pitch-black breakfast began.