The Tyrant's Terminally-Ill Childhood Friend (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 13
At the time, Peter had only just recovered from his illness. He was weak and, at the same time, frail. In contrast, the Former Emperor was a tall, robust man, so the boy looked as if he were barely clinging on.
Yet Peter’s eyes burned with a ferocity that seemed ready to tear apart the man who had just grabbed him by the collar.
The Former Emperor admired that side of his son. He took pleasure in that inhuman quality, in how madly it mirrored himself.
In an ordinary household, one might imagine a father sitting his son on his knee and telling him old tales, but the von der Leyen Imperial Family was different.
The cruel father, gripping his son by the collar, opened his mouth.
“If you understand, forget the dead. That is the only way you will survive.”
The way dragons chose their mates was very simple.
Imprinting.
Of course, there were formal procedures one had to undergo to officially claim a mate, so mere imprinting alone couldn’t be said to create a bond—but from that moment on, the dragon’s fate was essentially sealed.
And Peter had imprinted on Lowell. The sole tragedy of his life was that he had imprinted on someone who was about to die.
Thus, perhaps those words had been among his father’s few genuinely heartfelt pieces of advice—but Peter scoffed at his father.
“You, who went mad from being unable to forget your own dead mate, tell me to forget? How easy it is to speak.”
It wasn’t clear whether he’d actually voiced that thought aloud.
Even now, ten years later, that memory remained as vivid as a brand—but strangely, he remembered nothing that happened afterward. When he regained consciousness, he was suffering from a fever.
The diagnosis was a side effect of overusing magic.
At that moment, Peter had used magic for the first time—and simultaneously realized something for the first time.
The power to erase existence could also be applied to intangible beings.
It was a force that could be used on anything in this world, so long as it existed.
It could even erase one’s own memories or another person’s very existence from this world.
Thus, Peter gained the ability to use magic for the first time—at the cost of his memories.
Five years after returning to the Imperial Palace, Peter tried to find Lowell.
Two years after coming of age, Peter still hadn’t found Lowell.
Three years after becoming Emperor, Peter began erasing all traces of Lowell.
Ten years had changed many things. Even merely recalling the memories that remained was a painful ordeal.
If he didn’t forget, he felt he would die. The longing choked him until he could no longer bear it. In his desperate struggle to survive, he had no choice but to castrate that yearning. Not knowing how much of his longing he needed to cut away, he sliced into his own flesh and buried it in the earth. As long as he no longer dreamed of Lowell, it didn’t matter that his body was left with scarcely a spot untouched.
The first memory Peter erased was Lowell’s smile. Unable to bring himself to erase it with his own hands, he held out until he finally thought, “I must erase what torments me most”—and after that, he never again recalled Lowell’s smile.
Next went the image of Lowell asleep. Then her voice. Then the feeling of their hands clasped together….
Yet even after all that, the five years they’d spent together were so long that no matter how much he erased, Lowell never truly disappeared. He could have erased her completely if he’d wanted—but Peter couldn’t bring himself to do it.
‘The imprint won’t vanish until Lowell’s existence is entirely erased from this world.’
But if even he himself retained so little memory of Lowell, how could he possibly track down her traces?
More than anything, it was hard to imagine a version of himself in which Lowell didn’t exist. Whether or not she was his mate, the one he’d imprinted on was already part of him. Lowell’s existence was one of the very things that made him who he was.
Even though he could no longer recall her smile, even though he couldn’t remember what her face looked like when her eyes were closed, the emotions of those moments, the weather, the sunlight brushing his cheek—all remained vivid. So too did the depth of his love for her and how precious every moment with her had been.
It was clearly an imprint that would never leave his mind until Lowell’s existence was fully erased from this world.
Still, cutting into his own flesh hadn’t been entirely meaningless—Peter no longer dreamed of Lowell. He no longer needed to suffer, and the days he could pass without thinking of her grew more numerous.
Now, he had truly forgotten Lowell. Or at least, that’s what he believed.
Until Anette appeared before his eyes.
The buried memories returned in an instant. The memories he’d thought forgotten came rushing back with even greater force than when he’d erased them.
Thus, on the day Anette entered the Imperial Palace, Peter dreamed of Lowell.
As always, the two children sat leaning against the same tree’s shade.
“They say there’s something called black roses, Lowell.”
“Really? We should have some planted in our garden.”
“You’d look lovely with them.”
“Why? Because they’re black?”
Lowell’s voice carried an edge when she asked. Black was her sore spot.
But Peter would never have said that to hurt her.
“No, I just like their flower meaning.”
“What is it?”
“You are forever mine.”
Ahaha! Lowell burst into laughter—a laugh as innocent as her face.
“Yes, that’s right, Peter.”
But the expression on Lowell’s face as she spoke next was excessively cold. No, sharp. No, ruthless. No….
“Where else would I go if not by your side?”
Her face twisted cruelly.
“After you killed me and my family, where could I possibly go?”
Lowell poured out words of reproach with a distorted face. Her hands mercilessly tightened around Peter’s throat. They were no longer the hands of a young girl.
“If only it hadn’t been you, there’d have been no reason for me—or my family—to die…!”
Anette Martinek. With the memory of her strangling him, Peter awoke from his sleep.
Along with his memories, the madness he’d long suppressed invaded him more powerfully than ever before.
And so, several days later, in the present.
‘…I really need to stop thinking about Lowell.’
How many days had it been since Simoren left to guard Anette?
Unable to overcome the chaos in his mind, Peter finally rose from his seat. Outside the window, dusk had already fallen—the hour when one couldn’t even distinguish whether the shapes racing across the horizon were people or wolves. The same hazy confusion that filled Peter’s mind now blanketed the landscape beyond his window.
‘If I try erasing memories again, it’ll only backfire as long as Anette is here.’
If left alone, there’d be no controlling his madness.
Meeting Anette again in this state wouldn’t bring anything good. If he didn’t want to cause a disturbance at the Tillemann Memorial Banquet, Peter needed to find another way to rein in his madness before then.
Fortunately, he still had a method he’d used until three years ago—though he hadn’t used it since he’d started erasing memories.
‘I suppose it’s time to visit the garden again.’
Peter decided to open the door he’d kept shut for so long.
[This is the timeline separator]“I formally introduce myself. I am Simoren Lindel, assigned as your guard starting today.”
Watching the gray-eyed knight bow deeply, Lowell thought to herself,
‘…Perhaps my luck isn’t as bad as I thought.’
Just before Simoren arrived, Lowell had been lost in a single dilemma—as naturally as could be expected, it concerned what lay ahead.
‘So far, everything’s proceeding according to plan.’
Though things were fine as they were, Lowell preferred certainty whenever possible. Her habit of tapping stones before crossing bridges had been formed in Operta—because there, one wasn’t granted a second chance at anything. Only the single, meticulously calculated opportunity determined success or failure.
Thus, to increase her odds of victory, she couldn’t afford to overlook any means or method that might raise her chances of success. This time was no exception—quite the opposite, if anything.
She flipped through the document written in Operta’s cipher.
‘From what I’ve observed, the current Emperor’s madness hasn’t progressed as severely as I’d expected.’
This document was Lowell’s own work; she’d been diligently compiling reports and forming her final assessment. Among them, the most striking subject was, of course, Peter’s madness.
‘Other emperors without mates were already half-mad by Peter’s age.’
Since little was yet known about the progression of imperial madness, Lowell had to estimate whether Emperor Peter was in a similar state by consulting historical records. Through this, she’d discovered that Peter had retained his sanity far longer than any other emperor before him.
Given how dire the circumstances must be, how was this possible?
‘Madness isn’t something that can be halted by willpower alone…’
Lowell was certain Peter must have used some specific method—she just didn’t know what it was.
And this was something even the Martineks’ intelligence network couldn’t uncover. She’d casually probed Monique to see if she knew anything.
‘Even the Former Empress seems completely unaware.’
At this rate, uncovering the truth seemed hopeless. Just as Lowell was lost in this dilemma, Simoren came to see her.
Mabel’s face lit up brightly at the news that she’d be working in the same place as her older brother.
“Brother coming as my guard is perfect timing!”
“…I see.”
Lowell turned her gaze toward Simoren as she replied. It didn’t take long before she met his openly hostile stare. Looking into those cold gray eyes, she recalled visiting Simoren just the day before.
[I dislike you, Anette Martinek.]The person who’d said that couldn’t possibly have grown fond of her overnight.
Lowell subtly hid the upward curve of her lips by resting her chin in her hand.
“That works out well.”
What did the reason matter?
Now she could get closer to Peter’s secret.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
_____
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