Charlize pulled herself together with effort.
"I want Your Highness to marry the young lady 'Remiya'."
Once again, she firmly asserted her opinion.
"…As expected, I got it."
Dylan answered in a little daze. Why does he look unhappy? Charlize closed her thoughts.
'I was determined not to go deeper.
'I'm gonna keep my distance from Dylan.'
The Crown Prince put down the document on the table. His fingertips trembled.
'As I thought, is he very sick?'
Perhaps because of the experience of nursing the 7th concubine until her death, back then Dylan tried to keep her healthy strictly, without concern for himself.
'That's why Dylan is in such a bad condition.'
"Let's end the class today, considering your condition."
"…Yes."
Dylan shut his mouth. As if he wanted to ask the question again, the beast was acting like a child.
But he couldn't get the words out.
'I have to show Dylan to the doctor first thing tomorrow morning,' Charlize walked out while thinking.
All the desires she shared became Dylan's desires. So, this time again…
The Crown Princess will be 'Remiya'.
She didn't see Dylan's eyes when she left,
… at least Charlize was so sure.
***
'But what is this all about…'
"…I, I'm actually…! There was a commoner man whom I love…! Well, I can't live without 'X'! I've already, I've already devoted my body and my heart to him…"
'X? Isn't it an excessively contrived name?'
Remiya was crying.
'I remember her with her ambitious eyes, but now they are full of tears.
'For power, I thought she would trample on love and laugh at it.
'Did I see the wrong person?'
Remiya had been begging with tears, without worrying about the mess that was her makeup.
"Young Lady. There's no way you haven't heard the news that the marriage was almost decided."
"I don't deserve to be the Crown Princess…! I realized! I don't need wealth, honor, or power."
Charlize blinked her eyes.
"I could throw my life away for the sake of my X, My love is noble, Grandmaster. Please trust me. Please let me go…"
If a stranger heart it, that person might think that she was forced into the marriage against her will and she was saying she hated it.
'Who was the one who strongly appealed to visit me first and wanted to become the Crown Princess?'
Charlize looked down at Remiya with a little absurdity.
She knelt down and sobbing as if she had nothing to show now.
Remiya was a young lady from the nobility.
It would have been more appropriate to spit out thorny words gracefully while gently fanning herself, but it was not natural to put her knees on the floor where even a maid would not sit so easily.
In Charlize's view, Remiya was a woman with high self-esteem, enough that she would bite her tongue rather than kneeling.
'What the hell…'
"X, X…! I love X…! I'd rather die without X!"
'Who the hell is that X?'
"Haa…"
It became difficult. Charlize was annoyed and frowned.
As the three candidates for the position of the Crown Princess confirmed 'Remiya', the other two had already sent a message to give up.
They had given up the Crown Princess's dream early on and were exchanging marriages with other noble families.
"Young Lady, do you intend to be swept away by a moment's emotion and ruin a great cause? Do you really not know what it means to be the Crown princess?"
"But."
Remiya bit her lips.
"Young Lady Remiya. It's an honorable position to be the empress in the future. Imagine, if the young lady became the empress…"
Remiya turned pale. Her face turned white and her mouth was shaking.
Her lips were blue as if she had been scared. The heavy eye makeup was a mess with tears.
"Empress! I don't deserve to be in such a scary position. A body that has already lost its chastity, how can it be the Crown Princess?"
Remiya shook her head.
"I dare to hide the fact that I have a lover, and I deserve to be condemned for treason, but I ask for your favor, Grandmaster. Please."
At that time, there was a scene before her return that passed through Charlize's head.
Dylan was the 13th Prince with no presence before her return. But there was certainly a noble young lady with a rational liking for him.
What was her ending?
Out of nowhere, she went abroad to study, met a man there, got married and settled, and never returned again.
'No way, Dylan.'
Did Dylan disobey her?
'No, Dylan can't do that. If it's me, he'll listen to me no matter what. If so.'
Remiya loved X so much that she gave up on the position of Crown Princess.
If it was true, Dylan didn't need to intervene. The imperial family didn't take a woman that others had loved as a companion.
'What is love actually…'
Charlize couldn't understand.
The desperate eyes were directed at her as if asking her to believe them.
The guard who was waiting for Remiya who clung to Charlize's skirt restrained her.
Charlize sighed and shook her head. The guard looked at Charlize and soon bowed to her before stepping back.
"Young Lady Remiya."
Charlize said, sitting at eye level with her with a sigh.
"You don't have to be so begging. I'm a reasonable person, so I don't force my support on things that the person doesn't want to do."
"Tha, thank you…! Thank you so much…!"
Her eyes sparkle with hope and full of emotion. What had made Remiya like this?
It was difficult to judge in advance because it was a category of feelings that she did not know.
Charlize had never been in love.
Feelings that she might have shared with Kahu if she had lived a smooth life.
But fate had already been twisted, and looking back on the past was a waste of time.
Misjudgment of a person caused great damage. It was purely Charlize's fault. She decided to admit her mistake.
"Relax, the young lady won't be worried about anything."
"I… really, really thank you."
"I have a headache and want to be alone, so could you leave?"
"Yes, I will. Thank you, Grandmaster. Thank you so much!"
Remiya sounded brighter.
Charlize stared helplessly at Remiya, who was leaving. It was not just because the thread seemed to be loosening as well.
It was all tangled up. Now that things had come to this, the installation of the Crown Princess was off for the time being.
'It can't be helped.'
Charlize heaved a sigh. The damage lasted quite a long time.
***
"Do you have a lot of thoughts, Master?"
Dylan added, saying that her expression didn't look good.
Charlize suddenly raised her head.
It had been a long time since she last took a walk with the Crown Prince.
Dylan decorated the garden to Charlize's taste.
The beautiful flowers shook their bodies in the wind, hoping to catch Charlize's attention.
"I even recommended her to be a perfect companion for Your Highness, but I was messed up. I apologize. I will devote myself to be lower and more modest."
"How do you lower yourself to that degree, Master? It hurts my heart to see."
Dylan answered with a low voice.
Charlize didn't have the courage to meet Dylan's eyes.
She wanted to disappear because of shame while taking a full sigh, but Dylan didn't let her go, so she was walking like this.
Dylan suddenly stopped walking.
He looks closely at Charlize's complexion for concern.
"Master."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Can you swear only one thing for me?"
"Swear…?"
At the sudden question, Charlize opened her eyes wide.
'What is he trying to say?'
Dylan, who had grown to a good height, was obviously a man now.
Refreshing and covert are words that don't go well with each other. But for Dylan, both were suitable.
As beautiful as the dew of the dawn, but as creepy as the place of execution at night.
"No matter what I do, please swear me that you'll stay by my side."
All of a sudden…
It was a stifling remark.
'What is he trying to do, in such a stealthy tone?'
Charlize had been trying to give Dylan the maximum amount of trust she could have.
She couldn't openly refuse to make the promise.
But the back of her neck felt chilly. The feeling of walking into danger voluntarily…
Charlize tried not to stutter:
"No matter what Your Highness does, I will always stay by your side."
Dylan finally gave a gentle smile at her words. His lips softened and his eyes loosened gently.
It was a perfect and beautiful smile like from a picture, but it made her heart feel suffocated.
He stood with his back against the light. The sun shone all over his black hair.
"Thank you for swearing that."
Dylan's smiling face is incredibly beautiful.
It would suit him to receive the praise of all the world.
How on earth did he live a life without existence with such an appearance?
He was created by Charlize, and he was an orphan blooming flower. The beast spoke with his claws hidden,
"I would also like to swear to Master in return for your oath, but would you please listen?"
"With pleasure…"
Dylan held the back of Charlize's hand.
Charlize hesitated, but she did not pull her hand out.
The warm warmth tickled the inside of her chest. Dylan had been speaking with his lips pressed against the back of Charlize's hand.
"I want to cause rebellion."
Charlize stopped breathing. Dylan continued his words as if he had carved a knife into his mind.
"I will usurp the throne and sit on the throne."
This winter.
He had said it in a strange tone of voice as if to say today's dinner was steak.
However, the content of those words was not at all insignificant or usual.
It was a declaration that overturned the empire and heralded a bloodbath, and a pledge by those who would rewrite history.
Charlize took a breath. It was a slow and heavy breath.
Dylan spoke again while Charlize exhaled her breath,
"I will swear to give the world under your feet, Master."
He returned her oath.
However, this is not a fair deal at all.
The man who will become the sky in the future bowed his head in front of Charlize's eyes.
In the manner of a noble knight who swears his lifelong loyalty to a Lady.
"I'll give you the world."
Dylan was saying he would give Charlize an empire.
As if it were only up to her will to destroy and rule.
***
When her lips touched his lips,
Dylan finally opened his eyes.
A soft touch. Bedroom at night. It was on his bed.
It was definitely Charlize who grabbed him by the collar and pursed her lips.
Familiar scent. Intentional touch.