I Became the Tyrant's Beloved Omega

Emperor Jeremis had to let out dozens of sighs inside the carriage returning to the imperial palace. At the council held this time, the emperor had done nothing but confirm once again that his standing had narrowed far more than before. His mouth felt as though it were drying out.

The region where this council was held was not the capital Kalis, where the imperial palace stood, but Basto, the territory of Grand Duke Humore. It was nominally to accommodate Grand Duke Humore, who had led countless wars on the border to victory, but he could not shake the feeling that most of the nobles had sided with Humore rather than the emperor.

“Charlie Owen Vertex.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Have you still not found Aiden?”

The emperor could not hide the irritation surging up amid the fatigue that rushed over him.

“Th-that is….”

“The reason I keep you alive is one thing alone.”

“…….”

“You haven’t forgotten that it is because of Aiden, have you?”

“I am aware.”

Emperor Jeremis was so frail that he spent more time lying in bed than discussing state affairs with the nobles. And so frail an emperor had not a single heir. He judged that he could no longer leave the position of crown prince vacant, even for the sake of his weakening imperial authority. Only then did the emperor seek out his sister, Zoe.

But by the time he found Zoe, the only princess of the Liber Empire and Aiden’s mother, her illness had already worsened. Zoe’s sickness had grown so severe that she could barely voice her own thoughts, and she was already hovering between life and death. Only after seeking out Zoe in that state did the emperor learn that her son Aiden had gone missing. The emperor of the empire could not have been more incompetent.

The emperor was greatly troubled by the fact that Aiden had disappeared. For he had to keep in check Grand Duke Humore, who had become first in the line of succession after Zoe and Aiden were set aside. From then on, the emperor desperately searched for Aiden, whose place in the succession stood ahead of Grand Duke Humore.

“If it were not for Zoe’s dying wish to spare you….”

The emperor could not bring himself to finish his wrathful words, and only coughed repeatedly as though he would spill his insides. Only after receiving treatment from the court physician did the emperor, who had barely held onto his hazy senses, slowly open his mouth.

“Duke Vertex, you know that the high priest’s oracle can be received only by the imperial family, do you not?”

“Of course, I am aware.”

“It is said that when one lays a hand on the forehead of a newborn who has inherited the imperial bloodline, the child’s future is drawn in the high priest’s mind.”

“Yes.”

“Therefore, a child who has not received the oracle is not a child who has inherited the imperial blood.”

“That is so. The oracle has been a deep-rooted tradition of the imperial house ever since the Liber Empire was founded.”

“Do you know what Aiden’s oracle was?”

“Ah… th-that is.”

“It is said that a brilliant throne dyed in gold was seen.”

“…….”

“It was on an entirely different level from Grand Duke Humore’s oracle, which showed nothing but gold, silver, and jewels.”

“I-is that so?”

All the while, Duke Vertex could neither search for Aiden nor leave him unfound. For it was he and his lover Magna who had abandoned the child in the Betrani Forest, where orcs often appeared.

Duke Vertex had fallen in love at first sight with an omega who had grown up in some brothel and had just turned twenty. As Zoe wandered at death’s door from illness, Magna played the lady of the house of the Vertex ducal house, and in doing so began to abuse the son Zoe had borne.

Then the emperor suddenly appeared and sought out Aiden, second in the line of succession. Duke Vertex, knowing where the child was, stalled for time and watched the emperor’s reactions. But the emperor, who had waited patiently until now, began to press Duke Vertex very hard. Threatening his life. Duke Vertex felt his mouth go dry and his heart race at the thought that he might die if he failed to find the child.

“Right now, Aiden is the only one who can protect my throne. If I raise Aiden to the position of crown prince and secure the heir, Grand Duke Humore will not be able to treat me with disrespect.”

“Understood. I will surely find Aiden within this summer.”

‘Now that Zoe is dead and the emperor will take Aiden away… I need only find the child and offer him to the emperor.’

Even in this situation, Duke Vertex was turning over in his head how to turn things to his own advantage. The emperor had seen through Duke Vertex’s cunning inner thoughts, but he did not rebuke or punish him. Frankly, the emperor was desperate for even a single noble on his side. Instead of punishing Duke Vertex, the emperor began to press him.

“Until this summer. Do not forget that if you fail to find Aiden this time as well, your life is already forfeit.”

“Yes, I will surely find him.”

Duke Vertex, cunning beyond measure, bowed his head at the emperor’s threat and professed his loyalty.