I’m the Only One Who Can Put the Tyrant To Sleep

Chapter 44 “So what happened?”As soon as we entered the crown prince’s palace and were finally alone, I asked the question I’d been holding back the entire time.“What did the Duke of Briden say? What else does he mean he will contact you soon?”Caesar, sitting on the couch, pulled my hand. Caught off guard, I stumbled down to sit beside him, and he took both my hands in his. We looked like we were about to play a clapping game.“Finally, I can breathe.”Caesar stretched his tense body. The icy Crown Prince who had just faced down the ministers was gone, replaced by what looked like a sulky fifteen-year-old boy.Though his posture, with his eyes shut tight, made him look pitiful, my curiosity came first.“Your Highness, aren’t you going to tell me?”When I tried to free my hands, Caesar slowly opened his eyes.“You were the one who held onto me first…”“That was a compliment!”“A compliment?”“… I heard from Erinne that you’ve been studying hard.”“Then praise me again. I’ve been diligent with both my studies and my sword training. I worked so hard I thought I was going to die.”Caesar grumbled and grabbed my hands again. I didn’t dare pull my hands away again..“Yes, you did really well. So… Now tell me what happened with Duke Bryden.”“I don’t even know where to begin.”“Everything!”Caesar chuckled at my over-excited tone.“Well, I think it went well.”“That mean….”“A matter that has been handled well at the political meeting goes to His Majesty the Emperor. I thought it would be like this too.”“You’re going to tell the Emperor about what happened today?”“Yes. And if he approves, we’ll begin serious discussions.”I opened my mouth slightly, feeling the scale of the situation grow larger than I expected.“And the Duke of Bryden… seemed like he wanted me to take charge of this project and push it forward. He will tell Your Majesty the same thing.”“That’s mean….”My mouth opened even wider, but I couldn’t stop it as Caesar grabbed both of my hands.“That’s so great!”“Are you… okay?”“Me? Why me?”Why me?“You came up with the whole thing in the first place….”“What does that have to do with it! I did it all for you! None of this would have been possible without how brilliantly you handled things today. It’s all thanks to you! So, when is Duke Bryden planning to meet His Majesty? Is that what he meant by contacting us?”I was very excited and poured it out. This really wasn’t normal.Once you’ve fully partnered with the Imperial faction, you can give the nobles the image that the Emperor believes in Caesar, and if it goes well, the treasury will be full!He would have two of the three things he needed to expand his power: people and capital.But unlike me, Caesar looked disturbed.“The Duke said he would see His Majesty first and then contact me, and…”“Yes, and what else?”“If His Majesty is positive about the project, we’ll propose a pilot project first. We’ll sell lucky tickets to a small territory first and see what happens.”“Good idea!”“So I suggested negotiating with the lord of a specific territory to collaborate on the project.”I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration. Was this what people meant when they said someone could learn ten things after being taught just one?“That way, you could forge a partnership with that noble. Or you could use one of Duke Bryden’s territories! That would strengthen the negotiation terms even more.”When forming alliances, it was always better to base them on mutual benefits rather than personal feelings. If we collaborated with the Duke, he’d have every incentive to ensure the project succeeded.“No, I’m not going to use Bryden’s estate.”“Ah, so you want to convince other imperial factions? Well, that one too-”“Not that one either.”“Yes?”Then… was he planning to recruit someone from the aristocratic faction? Could he be aiming to ally with the Empress? But it won’t be easy…Caesar, who was hesitant to answer, pulled my hand a little closer to him. Naturally, my body leaned forward.“I plan to do the pilot project in the Summerhill area.”Summerhill? The unexpected answer left me speechless.“That’s the territory of Baron Chester.”“… Pardon?”Caesar delivered the finishing blow as if to seal the deal.“That’s right. My business partner will be Baron Chester.”Baron Chester… My father?! ***** “Half of the sales revenue will be allocated as prize money… Truly, it’s an excellent way to make people willingly contribute to the treasury.”The Emperor barely managed to finish his words, suppressing a cough. The Emperor, Caesar, and the Duke of Bryden were gathered in the Emperor’s bedroom.Normally, it was right to greet people in the drawing room, but it was because the Emperor’s condition was getting worse. Even sitting upright in a chair seemed to be a struggle for him.‘He didn’t seem this weak during the banquet not long ago…’Across from him, Caesar thought to himself that it might not be long before the throne would be vacant, as Evelyn had said.His mother was already gone, and now his father seemed on the verge of following. Yet Kaisar felt little sorrow. Perhaps it was because he couldn’t fully grasp the reality of it.“Yes, Your Majesty. So, as I said before, I’d like to propose a pilot project.”The Duke of Bryden, who was sitting next to him, answered. This position has been arranged by him, and in fact, he was the only one who could suggest something to the Emperor.Caesar’s job was to sit still and nod his head.“A pilot project. How?”“We’ll start by selling lucky tickets to one small estate, ah, lucky tickets, as His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has named them. His Highness suggests….”As the Duke of Bryden reiterated what he had already discussed with Caesar, Caesar stared blankly out the window, thinking back to a few days ago, when he had spoken with Evelyn about this very thing.When he announced that he would do a pilot project in the Summerhill area, Evelyn was very surprised. It seemed to be something she had never imagined. ‘But, it would be more beneficial for you to join forces with other nobles to grow your power. My family will not be of much help…’ Even at that moment, Caesar was glad that Evelyn was concerned about him.He knew it was important to build power, but he could not compromise on this issue. Caesar wanted to make friends with Baron Chaster somehow.Baron Chester was not a central noble. He wasn’t a very powerful family, and he was not greedy for power, so he was free from Imperial intrigue and the power struggle between the Imperial and aristocrats factions.That’s why he could be trusted.If Caesar were to try to join hands with another central aristocrat here, many would be wary of him. Maybe the emperor wouldn’t even allow this project.Caesar wanted to avoid any significant scrutiny until he was powerful enough to satisfy himself; he wanted to remain silent, pretending to be a prince with no interest in the throne.Of course, this was not the only reason. Caesar had been studying the central noble families and their estates at Evelyn’s urging.As a result, I was naturally curious about Evelyn’s family, and learned a surprising fact.Baron Chester was far from incompetent.He stood out with excellent grades from the time he attended the Central Academy, but he went down to Summerhill because he refused all offers from the Imperial family and other nobles to continue the family business. Since then, he has revitalized the Summerhill area several times more than before. He was a man with no ambition for power but remarkable ability.Given this reason, Evelyn quickly understood Caesar’s thoughts.‘And above all, it’s Evelyn’s family.’He was thinking of the future he wanted with her—a future where they loved each other, raised children, and grew old together. In other words, marriageHowever, marriage was not possible only with the hearts of two people. It was necessary to further revive Baron Chester so that marriage with the royal family wouldn’t feel awkward.‘Even if Evelyn belonged to a different family, or wasn’t a noble at all. I wouldn’t give up on marrying her.’Caesar was gradually learning the power structure of the imperial palace. He realized how painful it is to have a seat with no backing.Those without support, like himself and his mother, were easy targets for others who coveted their positions. Caesar didn’t want Evelyn to suffer the same fate.He wanted to give Evelyn the position of Empress, a position that no one else could claim.