Marked as the Tyrant's Daughter-in-Law - Chapter 4

The male protagonist of <I will no longer be the tyrant’s lover> is the tyrant Parmes Aslet.

At the age of seventeen, his late wife died giving birth to a son, whom he named Briton Aslet.

Briton is described as a prince with a strikingly beautiful appearance resembling his father with a chillingly sharp intellect.

However, Briton Aslet is my fiancé?

I couldn’t believe I was going to be the daughter-in-law of the tyrant from the book.

Wasn’t I just some unfortunate Imperial citizen kid who wasn’t even an extra?

“Uncle. I think there’s a misunderstanding.”

I felt like I was going to pass out from the absurdity of the situation, but I pulled myself together and looked up at him.

I pulled my hand out of Briton’s, which was still squeezed so tightly around mine.

“So, Zimmer, or rather, Your Majesty. I don’t know how you became the emperor, but congratulations. The silver hair really suits you. You look handsome.”

To be honest, I didn’t know what I was saying. My head was spinning, and I was spouting nonsense. However, a smile gradually appeared on his lips as he listened to my rambling.

I don’t know if it’s the position that makes the man, or if he’s always been this way, but the innocent, and somewhat naive impression on his face has completely disappeared.

“But I have something to tell you. Your Majesty is no longer Zimmer, but I am still Arinel Mailirilia.”

My mind was in utter confusion.

Can I survive here? Why did the tyrant Parmes Aslet pretend to be Zimmer, and why did he bring me here? Could it be that the engagement announcement was not genuine? Could that scrap of paper really be considered a marriage contract….?

I have a million questions I can’t get out…….

’Let’s emphasize that I am harmless and have no greed.’

“It makes no sense for me to become the daughter-in-law of my uncle, no, His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore… … I’ll just go back home. Haha, you don’t have to lend me the carriage, I’ll take care of it…….”

“Arinel.”

As Parmes interrupted me, a heavy silence settled between us. Awkwardly glancing around, I noticed Briton’s blue eyes observing me from the side.

“Lady…”

What’s with that wounded expression from someone I just met?!

“Yes.”

Parmes withdrew his hand from where it briefly rested on his forehead and looked at me.

“It seems I didn’t provide enough explanation to Arinel. Arinel, you will not return to Galnem anymore.”

“Uh… What?”

“A great fire broke out in Galnem. It’s genuinely regrettable, but… that place is now just a useless wasteland.”

It was like being struck by lightning. A town burned down?!

The village where I had spent my entire eleven years of life!!

“Adam.”

When Parmes called someone’s name, a man standing behind responded, placing his hand over his chest.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

A familiar voice – it was the man who had kidnapped me earlier.

“Do your best to help Arinel adapt to the empire. You must explain things in a way she can understand.”

Uncle Zimmer ordered in a voice that had dropped so drastically that I couldn’t tell it was the same man who had spoken to me.

“I will follow your command.”

Adam, the man who had kidnapped me, accepted with a trembling voice. I was frozen, unable to speak, amidst the solemn atmosphere between the emperor and the knight.

Briton… his gaze was incomprehensible, and after observing me for a while, he smiled faintly.

“…I’ll be waiting, my lady.”

His calm and affectionate voice echoed in my ears. Even though his mere smile already gave him an otherworldly radiance, the abrupt goodwill toward someone like me, whom he had just met, felt suspicious.

“Don’t worry, Arinel. Everything will be fine.”

With a cold voice like a ruler giving orders to a knight, Parmes smiled cheerfully at me. Ugh! What on earth is supposed to be fine?!

My heart was pounding anxiously.

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

A few hours later.

I stared blankly at the enormous, magnificent mansion before me.

The mansion looked a little worn like it had been around for a long time, but it was still big enough to fit all the people of Galnem in.

“So, this is… my home?”

“It is my lady.”

“Do I have to believe this too?”

 “Yes, my lady.”

I had always thought of my parents as a minor estate manager and a former knight.

But Adam’s words came as a tremendous shock to me.

” The young lady’s father was the Marquis Heisen Macerne Mylar, the second son of the Grand Duke of the Northern Mylar Duchy, and the Empire’s sole Elementalist. Your mother, though from another country, was an extraordinary woman who became a promising knight of His Majesty the Emperor based solely on her skills.”

Listening to this unbelievable story, I followed Adam with small but quick steps.

When he saw it, Adam slowed down his pace.

I knew my mother had no relatives, but the identity of my father was a shock beyond words.

“I followed him as a knight until he left. I’ve been with him since his time at the duke’s estate.”

“Wow…”

The man who kidnapped me turned out to be my father’s knight! I stared at him in astonishment.

Adam, with curly brown hair and emerald, green eyes, looked like a handsome man in his late twenties.

He opened the heavy door with a light flick of his hand, and it swung open in a cloud of dust.

Inside the open door, an old-fashioned hall, like something you’d see in a movie, was visible, and a man’s portrait was hanging between the arched stairs on either side.

I knew who he was without Adam having to explain.

“Grand Elementalist is a title reserved for only the most powerful of the Empire’s Elementals. You, my lady, are a noble individual who has inherited the lineage of such a person.”

Dad’s face in the portrait was similar to the image Mum had described to me when I was younger.

A strong jaw and clear green eyes. And gently shaped eyebrows.

Somehow, he looked a lot like me.

There was something I didn’t understand, along with a strange feeling.

“But…… why did I end up growing up in Galnem? Why did my dad die so young, and why didn’t my mum tell me the truth, and why am I here again…….”

Adam stared at me for a long moment, looking like he had a lot to say.

Was this a difficult question to answer?

As I nervously awaited his answer, I was stunned. He got down on one knee and leveled his gaze with mine.

“You will learn later why the emperor and the lady ended up in Galnem. But even if you don’t know everything, you must remember one thing. The young lady’s father, the Marquis Mylar…….”

There seemed to be a mix of sadness and overwhelming emotion in his eyes.

“He is a benefactor to the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.”

I was captivated by the assurance in his words, caught in an indescribable emotion.

My father… a benefactor to Parmes?

‘ Guess there are stories I don’t know about.’

“The young lady, his daughter, is precious to all those who followed him. Including me.”

Adam continues. His eyes, which I had only ever known to be those of a vicious kidnapper, turned to me with warm affection.

“…….”

With that, he turned away from the portrait and headed back towards the door.

As he naturally opened the closed door, about ten people were lined up inside.

Half of them were women in maid uniforms, and the other half were men dressed as servants.

Adam said to me.

“After Marquis Mylar passed away, we lost contact with the Grand Duchy, but they’ve been informed that the Lady has returned, so someone should be here soon.”

“Ah…….”

“In addition, His Majesty the Emperor has sent employees to help rebuild the Mylar estate. They will be working for you and the mansion from now on.”

Treating me with the respect reserved for someone of higher standing, they greeted me.

I was still a child wearing a messy dress, and I was embarrassed by the greetings of adults who were much older than me and tried to return the greeting. However, Adam smiled and shook his head.

He looked at me with a surprised expression, as if finding me cute, and spoke.

“You are the rightful heir and owner of the marquisate. You do not need to bow your head to them.”

Seeing the confusion in my eyes, Adam spoke reassuringly.

“It must be very confusing for you. However, every step you take forward, I will stand by your side and help you.”

At the sincerity in Adam’s voice, I looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I have been waiting for you to come back all this time.”

Adam told me, his face beaming with renewed hope for Mylar.

Everything that had happened today seemed like a dream.

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

The dark night fell, and I hadn’t yet adjusted to my new room at the Marquis’s, which must have been several times the size of my house in Galnem.

The bed was large enough for three adults to lie down, but even this spacious bed seemed ridiculously small compared to the room.

It’s like a playground for my small body.

I sat awkwardly on the wide bed, looking out beyond the window, which seemed distant.

“…It’s hard to fall asleep. Anyone would feel the same after experiencing such things.”

To think that Uncle Zimmer, the ruthless tyrant from the original work I read, was here.

And my father, who passed away, is the Grand Elementalist of the Empire, Marquis Mylar!

From a rural girl to the heir of the Marquisate, my fate had completely changed in just one day, and it was confusing. But anyway, I had to find a new direction.

If I couldn’t go back to Galnem, this place would be my new home.

It was a time to trust in the survival skills I had honed and to rely on my determination.

Tap –

I heard a sound as if something was touching the window.

As a result of being startled, my body tensed up with tension. It was inevitable since my room was located on the third floor.

Unlike the countryside where everyone knew each other, the city was said to be full of thieves.

Anxiously, I searched for something like a bat around me, but the window creaked open.

And following the end of the shadow that appeared in front of me.

“……!”

I froze in place, unable to move for a moment.