Sweetcrasy

Clink.

However, Cedar placed his glass back on the table and remained silent. I thought I was the only one feeling cold, but even the knights seemed to sense a similar pressure. The once lively chatter gradually faded away.

And then, the man who had imposed that silence finally opened his mouth.

“I’ll make this clear right now…”

“…”

“Milos will be utterly annihilated. Their language, their unique culture, and even the bloodline they take such pride in… all of it will be wiped out in my time.”

Within his cold tone, a cruel conviction was revealed. Yes… This was Cedar’s true belief, the thoughts he harbored at his core.

The sincerity in his words drew the attention of all the imperial knights. Lowering his gaze, Cedar continued speaking, almost as if talking to himself.

“So, what do we need for that? The people of Milos are fiercely loyal to their royal family. Would they willingly accept our rule just because we killed off the bloodline of the dragon? No. There would be intense resistance. And to suppress that resistance, countless imperial lives would be sacrificed…”

“…”

“What I ultimately want to eradicate from Milos is precisely that pride. Their pride is the biggest obstacle. The pride that makes them believe they are above humans, that the mythical dragon still protects them… But the cost is too great. That’s why I gave it a lot of thought.”

“…”

At that point, Cedar deliberately looked at me. He drew the attention of the other knights toward me as well. Then, placing a hand on my shoulder and hugged me in an intimate manner.

“Then what if… the revered descendant of the dragon were to fall? If he were defeated by a mere human, forced to yield, and yet clung pathetically to life, begging to survive?”

“…”

“The third prince of Milos understood my story very well. He said he’d give me anything, as long as I spared his life.”

We never had that conversation, but I matched the timing, shivering my shoulders and putting on an awkward expression. Cedar looked at me gently and smirked.

“Soon, Johan will learn as well. That the brother he loves most has already turned belly-up before me, licking soup like a dog just to save his miserable life. And this fact will be known to every citizen of Milos. From that moment on, the dragon will no longer be a sacred being of legend but a filthy beast groveling at the feet of humans.”

“…”

“We, the Empire… will become perfect rulers who have even the dragons beneath our heels.”

Having seized the room, Cedar stroked my cheek as if petting a beloved animal. That gesture instantly conveyed a message to all the knights. They now fully understood how to treat Louis from here on.

Gerard, looking deeply moved, was the first to bow his head.

“I was short-sighted.”

“Your Excellency is truly the perfect conqueror.”

Despite the flurry of flattery, Sider remained expressionless as he stood up. Then, grabbing my arm, he forcibly pulled me to my feet.

“Until I grow tired of you, you’ll live as my pet and cling to that pitiful life of yours.”

“… Thank you for your grace.”

“Yes, yes. I look forward to seeing more of your tricks in the future.”

After that, no one tried to stop us as we naturally left the banquet hall. Once we were far enough away from it, Cedar let go of the tight grip on my arm.

“Are you okay?”

His voice released me from the oppressive presence he had projected back in the hall.

Only then did I relax my stiff expression and smile brightly.

“Wow… damn, you were seriously… how are you that good?”

“Huh?”

“You were insane back there… acting like that.”

“Ah… haha.”

Cedar chuckled softly, acting humble,said.

“I think you were more amazing, though.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I never thought you’d actually lick the soup on the spot…”

To be honest, I also thought that was a brilliant move and felt pretty proud of it.

“Right? Even I was impressed with how quick I was…”

“Thanks to that, the buildup worked perfectly.”

“We really do make a great team, don’t we?”

“I think so too.”

Nodding gently, Cedar pointed toward a section of the palace. It was the main palace where the king usually stayed.

“From now on, you should stay there with me.”

“Can I?”

“Sure. If I say it’s because I cherish my pet and don’t want to keep him locked up in a prison, it’ll be convincing.”

“Ooh.”

The damp and gloomy prison had been quietly eroding my sanity, so the thought of escaping it was a huge relief. I followed Cedar into the royal palace.

“I’m using this as my temporary residence for now.”

The palace still bore the scars of war. Broken ornaments, empty corridors where portraits of former kings once hung, everything gave off a desolate air. I spotted bloodstains on the carpet but turned my head and looked around the bedroom instead.

“A bed…!”

The moment I saw the fluffy bed in the center of the room, I dashed over and collapsed onto it. After sleeping on stone floors for so long, the mattress was too tempting.

“Ahh… my back is melting…”

Cedar didn’t react much to my dramatic display. He went into the bathroom connected to the room and came back with a damp white towel.

“Shall I wipe your feet?”

“Huh?”

Only then did I realize I had been barefoot at the banquet and had walked back on the stone paths. In other words, I had just jumped into the bed with filthy feet.

I hastily dangled my feet off the edge of the bed and apologized.

“Ah, sorry… I should’ve washed first.”

“It’s fine.”

Cedar knelt by the bed and took my ankle. He began to wipe my soles with the lukewarm towel, and as I stared blankly down at him, finding the situation funny I suddenly burst into quiet laughter.

“What’s funny?”

“Well, outside I’m your pet… but here you’re kneeling and wiping my feet…”

“Ah. Haha.”

Cedar laughed along. But as he began to clean the other foot, it suddenly struck me that this wasn’t funny, this was weird.

‘Wait? Why is he wiping my feet?’

He had already wiped one foot, so I felt it would be awkward to stop him now, so I just stayed still…

‘…What a nice guy.’

Of course, I had no intention of returning the favor even if his feet were dirty. As I silently enjoyed the pampering, I remembered the almonds I had secretly pocketed earlier and took them out one by one.

“…Huh?”

Then, I felt his gaze and looked over at Cedar.

“Are you going to eat that in bed?”

His tone was polite, but… something in his voice felt oddly sharp.

Now that I thought about it, he had immediately wiped my feet the moment I jumped onto the bed, and now that I was taking out food, his expression darkened…

‘He really can’t stand the bed getting dirty.’

Reading the room, I quickly put the almonds away again.

“Ah, no! Eating on the bed is kinda… .”

“Right?”

Cedar finished wiping my feet politely and stood up, realizing I understood what he meant. I moved to the sofa and began munching the almonds one by one. Meanwhile, Cedar headed into the bathroom to wash up.

“Then, I’ll go wash first, hyung.”

“Sure.”

The door closed with a bang, and Cedar disappeared from view. As I recalled everything that had happened today, I felt truly at ease for the first time since waking up in this world.

‘I’m really glad Cedar is Haejin.’

But as that thought crossed my mind, another worry I had pushed aside resurfaced.

‘But still… are we really the only ones who transmigrated?’

If I were the only one, I might not have even considered such a thought…

‘There are already two of us. That means, it’s possible there could be others. Or new ones could appear…’

And those transmigrators would probably use their knowledge to their own advantage. After all, I, too, allied with Cedar to survive.

‘Then they might try to get in our way.’

Especially if someone transmigrated into one of Johan’s allies in the book… they’d obviously support Johan. That would render our future knowledge useless.

I told Cedar about my thoughts after he came out from washing.

“We have no choice.”

“What do you mean, no choice?”

“If they get in the way, we remove them.”