Seducing the Tyrant Instead of My Favorite (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Franz abruptly stopped crying.
He seemed unable to believe that his identity had been exposed.
“How did you find out? My shoes? Or my voice?”
“No. Thanks to the knights.”
“They treated me like a sack of luggage! Not even the slightest respect for the Crown Prince! How insolent…”
Franz tilted his head, seemingly having forgotten our squabble just moments ago.
Curiosity must have overwhelmed his resentment.
For the first time, he looked genuinely adorable.
“The knights didn’t even ask who you really were.”
“So what?”
“It means they already knew—you’re no ordinary valet, and it’s fine for you to wander the palace as you please. Who else but the Crown Prince would be a ten-year-old with that kind of freedom?”
“Hmm. Not bad. What else?”
Franz replied in a noticeably softer tone.
I added a few more clues.
“They didn’t even block the cat flap. That means they knew blocking it would be useless—you’d been sneaking in and out of here long before I arrived.”
“……”
“And that filthy uniform makes no sense. Cleanliness and neatness are basic duties for palace valets. Aren’t your attendants from noble families too?”
“I don’t want to talk about those idiots.”
Franz answered petulantly.
He tried hard not to show it, but he clearly wanted to hear more of my deductions.
“Any other evidence?”
“Your cheap hat doesn’t belong in the palace either. A real valet’s hat would’ve been confiscated immediately.”
“My hat is cheap?!”
“Isn’t it? I think I’ve seen something similar at the market.”
“Don’t insult my treasure!”
What nonsense—calling that worn-out hat a treasure.
He was just as inscrutable as his father, Nikolai.
“Your meal is ready, Lady Elizabeth.”
It was the lunchtime announcement.
Beneath the Canary Room door hung a small, flat secondary door.
Thanks to it, trays of food could be passed through without unlocking the main door.
Had whoever used this room before also been imprisoned?
It didn’t seem hastily built just for me.
“Today’s menu is butter-roasted duck, lavender jelly, salad, and creamy potato soup.”
Each dish, served on gleaming silverware, smelled fresh and savory.
I would’ve preferred something spicier, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
“I need to eat, so go away.”
I sat at the two-person dining table and spoke to Franz.
As I placed a napkin on my lap, Franz sulked.
“How rude! It’s common courtesy to offer food to a guest.”
“You’re hardly the one to talk. Besides, you’re not a guest—you’re just an ill-mannered intruder.”
“So you really meant it when you said you hate kids!”
“I appreciate you remembering.”
“And you still think you can become my tutor? Absolutely not!”
I lightly ignored Franz’s grumbling.
I spread a lettuce leaf wide, placed a slice of duck on it, and drizzled mustard-honey sauce over it.
It couldn’t compare to lettuce wraps packed with garlic and spicy paste, but the quality ingredients made it delicious nonetheless.
“The duck is especially tender today.”
As I chewed a full bite of lettuce wrap, a clear sound came from Franz’s stomach.
Gurgle.
Franz rolled his eyes, flustered.
I was just as embarrassed.
“Franz… are you hungry?”
“It’s not that!”
“But I heard your stomach growling.”
“It’s just… like whistling. Something I do when I’m bored.”
Franz made a whistling motion, offering this ridiculous excuse.
Gurgle again.
The sound of hunger was far louder than his clumsy whistle.
Franz’s cute face turned as red as a roasted sweet potato.
He might be the kingdom’s little rascal, but it was hard to ignore a hungry child—especially one so small and thin for his age.
“Want some? It might not suit your taste.”
I hadn’t expected him to actually eat.
After all, wasn’t this the boy who treated even the finest dishes from his personal chef like garbage?
Yet, to my surprise,
Franz’s lovely green eyes sparkled with delight.
“You’ll really let me eat?”
“Huh? Uh… sure!”
“T-then I’ll just have a little.”
Franz dashed over to the table with quick, eager steps.
He neatly tucked a napkin around his neck and began eating my portion.
Where was that wary boy from moments ago? Now he was thrilled over a single meal—truly just a child.
‘Is this really the picky eater? He’s not spilling anything and eating everything so neatly!’
His refined table manners exuded the elegance befitting a Crown Prince.
He ate so deliciously that even I, who hadn’t been particularly hungry, found myself salivating.
As I tore into a piece of white bread, I asked Franz,
“Why did you torment the valets?”
“I never tormented them.”
“I heard you stripped them and hit them with wooden swords.”
“It was karma. They deceived me.”
“How?”
“……”
“What was your reason for driving away your previous tutor?”
Franz looked up at me silently.
The hostility and mockery that once flickered in his clear green eyes had vanished.
He must have realized that arrogance and sharp words wouldn’t work on me.
“Want some advice?”
Franz asked in a serious tone.
How many faces does this boy have?
Why must he wear so many masks?
It sent a chill through my chest, just like when Nikolai had removed his Casanova mask.
“If you want to stay alive, behave yourself. Don’t assume you’re safe just because knights surround you.”
“Is that from experience?”
“Don’t pry into too much. Consider it my thanks for your advice.”
I was briefly grateful that he took my words as advice, yet saddened by his unnaturally calm demeanor for a child.
I’d told myself not to worry about celebrities or tycoons.
Yet here I was, fretting over a Crown Prince.
Though I thought it was none of my business, I couldn’t just leave him be.
Franz was sweating coldly again.
“Shall I call a healer?”
“No.”
“You’re practically flooding from your forehead, and you look awful.”
“I’ll be fine soon—don’t worry about it.”
“At least get examined. What if it’s something serious?”
“I know my own body best!”
Franz slammed his fist on the table with a loud thud.
It was a sensitive reaction unlike that of children merely afraid of injections.
I sensed deep-rooted fear and distrust toward healers.
‘Should I tell Nikolai? He wouldn’t care at all. Ah—but I have another idea!’
A clever plan struck me, and I slapped my knee.
Just then, a knight outside the door announced Nikolai’s arrival.
“His Imperial Majesty will arrive shortly. He has commanded that you remain awake this time.”
Franz and I stared at each other with startled rabbit eyes.
‘What do we do? There’s no time to run!’
Before I could decide, the lock clicked open.
[This is the timeline separator]Elizabeth spoke unusually quickly today.
She seemed both excited and anxious.
“I don’t understand why I must remain confined. Weren’t you going to appoint me as the Crown Prince’s tutor?”
Every time her lips fluttered, a sweet fragrance drifted out.
The tension that had kept me on edge all night began to ease.
Last night, too, the Wolf hadn’t let Nikolai go.
The women who had waited for the Wolf’s touch were no different.
Though the Wolf never allowed Nikolai to run his course, he relentlessly stirred Nikolai’s instincts.
“Enjoy life, Nikki. Make living a little more fun.”
Though Nikolai never showed it, he feared the Wolf coiled within him.
He dreaded the day he might fall for the Wolf’s schemes.
The women who became empresses believed they’d captured the Emperor with their beauty.
They didn’t know Nikolai barely endured their stench or how dreadfully he loathed this time—feeding the Wolf.
Amidst the women pawing at him, he’d restrained himself from rushing to the Canary Room.
He missed Elizabeth. He had this morning, too.
He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t help it.
After holding back again and again, he’d finally come under the pretense of inspecting the palace.
Less than a day had passed.
‘Does this count as enjoying life? It feels awkward and confusing, but…’
Of course, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Every time he bickered with Elizabeth, his face grew hot.
It was terribly hard to hide his pleasure.
“Tutors receive certain privileges. Free access to the palace is one of them. Though I can’t guarantee you’ll truly become his tutor.”
“So I must first win the Crown Prince’s heart.”
“That should be easy for you, isn’t it? You’re the one who declared you’d seduce the Emperor.”
“!”
“What’s your plan today, Elizabeth?”
Nikolai tucked Elizabeth’s loose hair behind her ear.
The Wolf, too, often excited women with such small gestures.
Each time Nikolai’s fingers brushed against her, Elizabeth flinched almost imperceptibly.
Her dark eyes trembled like those of a country girl unfamiliar with men.
She seemed unaware that feigning innocence only provoked Nikolai further.
‘She’s different from the women in the harem. I keep wanting to touch her—her hair, her neck, her lips.’
Elizabeth, shifting her eyes anxiously, murmured without parting her lips much.
“Please save such talk for later.”
“And why not now?”
“It’s broad daylight! Someone… might overhear.”
“So pretending to be demure is your new tactic?”
“I’ve always been reserved by nature.”
If it became known that Elizabeth Emster said such things, everyone would laugh.
Monopolizing attention, teasing handsome men, using affection to feed her vanity—
The Elizabeth who excelled at all these was utterly unlike this woman.
Could it truly be that she’d changed after the fever?
Her loosely tied crimson hair and simple dress didn’t seem like a deliberate act.
Unlike the rose—queen of flowers—whose beauty was flamboyant, she appeared natural and fresh.
Even Nikolai, ignorant of women, could see that this highlighted her innate beauty.
“Why wear something like that? I heard clothes were brought from the Emster estate by carriage.”
“All they sent were revealing, tight, and uncomfortable party dresses. I’ll need to summon a tailor.”
“I’ll have the Empire’s finest artisan attend you. I’ll buy you the finest silks and let you choose jewels as you please.”
“I have plenty of money.”
“Let me do it. I want to win your heart too.”
Elizabeth’s lips parted in surprise.
Her plump lips revealed small, pearly white teeth that caught Nikolai’s gaze.
Her repeatedly fluttering eyelids and long lashes, which seemed to whisper with every blink, captivated him just as much.
When first proposed the game of seduction, Nikolai had dismissed it as childish nonsense.
He’d signed the contract merely as a pretext to possess her mysterious fragrance.
He’d thought himself free of competitive urges—yet why did he keep growing more serious?
‘If I win the game, I’ll own everything about Elizabeth. No guilt necessary—whether it’s impulse or curiosity, it won’t matter to the victor.’
Nikolai didn’t understand meetings between men and women.
Love was no different.
Contracts felt far simpler and more beneficial than vague emotional games.
If the game required winning her heart, then winning was enough.
‘As long as I uphold the contract, does it matter what I do to win?’
Nikolai couldn’t even imagine what boomerang this might become.
Nor that Elizabeth would suddenly make such a demand.
“If you truly desire my heart, return the Nettleton family heirloom.”
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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MANGA DISCUSSION
1 Comment
Chapter Comments (85)
Oh my God, poor Franz! Nobody cares about him. The emperor is a truly despicable scoundrel.
What is this ability? It’s truly flawed and has serious side effects.
Hahaha, Elizabeth doesn’t miss any opportunity to make money.
Inline Comments (3)
Claudia had disliked Nikolai for a very long time.
Hahaha, how disgusting! She’s been completely manipulated for their own interests. I think there’s a group trying to get rid of Elizabeth and the Emperor.
It was astonishing that such a small, delicate girl had developed a medicine eve
What kind of medicine is it? It’s making me more curious
Nikolai, dressed head to toe in black, glared at her with eyes as cold as ice.
Oh my God, the hero has arrived! Hahaha, thank God! Thank you, writer! 🥺🤭💗
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Miioo
What?! Emperor Casanova, you’ve fallen under Elizabeth’s spell! 🤭💗