Dylan held on to Charlize at first.
It was sudden. His mind hadn't come back yet.
However, even though he tried to push Charlize's shoulder away, she randomly rubbed her lips against his. Dylan blinked.
Light hair. He could grab her slender waist in one hand.
'It's light.'
Even if he stayed still, he could smell the unique lavender scent. Although he was definitely mature, he felt somewhat youthful at the same time.
Charlize's face with her eyes closed somehow seemed nervous.
Dylan slowly loosened up and no longer pushed Charlize away.
Charlize was glad that Dylan did not rebel, and she climbed him more strongly. And the kiss continued…
Lips gently meeting lips… It felt soft and dizzying.
But it was a little vague. It wasn't vivid but like a haze.
Dylan asked in a strained voice,
"… Master?"
"… I want to do it," Charlize said while caressing his cheek with the back of her hand.
Dylan muttered somewhat slowly,
"It's a dream."
Otherwise, Charlize wouldn't be doing this. She wouldn't talk down to Dylan.
The reason that he was sure that it was a dream is that the background was very far from reality.
There should be one moon in the night sky, but three were currently floating there, and the hour hand of the clock turned randomly like a pinwheel.
"Hug me."
Charlize's voice was infinitely sweet.
'What do I want to do that made her appear in my dream?' Dylan looked up at Charlize and thought.
No one would know even if he hugged her here. Even if he hugged her, Charlize would not get hurt.
It was only his dream. When something isn't real… You can put aside your guilt for a while.
"How dare I to Master… what an imagination."
"…"
"To do this."
Charlize's fingers slowly caressed Dylan's lips.
Dylan laughed when he remembered that he had taken the lint off of her, saying that she would get it back.
In fact, that was an excuse. This was Charlize who is always clean. There was no lint on her mouth.
He just wanted to touch it, so, naturally, he lied about it.
'Yes. It's a dream, what is the problem with whatever I do?'
Dylan almost couldn't breathe.
"… Charlize."
This name he wanted to call to death.
However, he couldn't pronounce her name alone because he didn't dare to put her precious name in his mouth.
He felt like he was tearing his heart out and placing it in Charlize's hands.
If there was any power in calling her name, Dylan was now clearly bound to Charlize.
He was so overwhelmed just calling out to her. His breathing slowed down. It sounds ironic, but it really did.
"Everyone called you Charlize, I envied them. But it was a waste, I couldn't call you that easily. It was so precious, so very precious. Because I was so busy with my anxiety."
Charlize was quiet.
Dylan moved like a faithful believer who visited a priest to confess.
"I'm afraid that I might even resemble it. There's an old saying that if a child is too precious, it doesn't even have a name. You were like that to me. Because you are more precious than my family to me. Because I have nothing more precious than you."
A quiet whisper is heartbreaking.
No matter what he said, his feelings could not be conveyed. They were too much. No matter how much he explained them, it would just be a part of them.
Charlize stroked Dylan's cheek. It was a gentle touch that made him breathless.
"Your Highness."
She raised one corner of her mouth. It was a dazzlingly beautiful smile. It is a beauty that cannot exist in the world.
Dylan suddenly realized:
The reason Charlize in his dream sparkled so unrealistically was that his eyes looking at her were already able to see her beauty.
"Hug me."
Charlize came first, and Dylan did not rebel. He just accepted it.
No. Soon he reversed his position. The lead actually was more comfortable.
Dylan's touch was as careful as handling a fragile porcelain cup.
However, the hand holding Charlize's wrist was strong enough to break it.
"Do you know how much I want you, Master?"
He didn't let Charlize go so he wouldn't miss it, even though it was a dream that might disappear.
Dylan hugged Charlize tightly, revealing a desire that would never be revealed to Charlize in real life.
***
As far as he remembered, the first time he'd seen Charlize, she had not seemed impressive at all.
Dylan was skilled in a slightly different way than the other princes.
The boy was a real genius, and he had a much sharper and faster brain than the average person.
If another person felt as much as 1 wavelength even after the same incident, Dylan had received 1000 wavelengths.
'I was tired.'
The fact that he had to react to every single thing only made Dylan tired.
So, he deliberately closed his senses. Stopped the world.
He set a pattern to react automatically without judgment, and he lived according to it.
His real consciousness was buried beneath the surface and sealed completely.
[How long are you going to live like that?]
At the time, when someone threw a rock…
[In fact, I think you're boring and not fun.]
He felt like there was a crack in the world.
Only the girl at that time, his teacher, Charlize, touched Dylan with a sense of color.
For the first time in a world full of black and white, it shone brightly alone.
As Charlize pointed out, Dylan had no fun in life.
Being strong alone without someone's recognition meant 'I know my dignity' without trying hard.
'What's this person?'
It was amazing. Even though the strategy of inducing attention, without properly touching off unpleasantness, was clearly discernible…
Interest arose just like Charlize had intended.
It felt like his stopped heart was beating again.
Everyone said they like a good person. A gentle, well-behaved, and obedient one.
He didn't hate himself for sinking without a presence. He thought it was better not to stand out like that.
So, he lived with his senses deliberately closed.
It was shocking that there was a person who saw the fact that no one had noticed.
[You can be wary of me. And you can ignore me like any other person.]
Dylan thought it was natural to live like this. Because he needed to look good. But Charlize…
She was the one who told him that it was okay to be wary and that it was okay to behave badly.
She showed the colorful paint he had never seen before. Dylan wasn't dyed right away, but at least he knew that such a color existed.
[If it is hard for the prince to be ambiguous, you can only choose to be completely indifferent or obsessed.]
That bright laugh…
[I don't mind being obsessed with the Prince.]
It was surprising.
'How can you grasp me so deeply?'
After the funeral of the 7th concubine, Charlize taught Dylan wholeheartedly.
It was the same for Charlize who hid her identity, so Dylan was not surprised more than once when she began to show off her skills.
The maturity of the opinions that did not seem to belong to a 15-year-old young noble lady.
Dylan knew. Charlize's teachings were not a way to rule a country as an emperor, but a way to rule as a tyrant.
'Then it doesn't matter.'
As even the smart Charlize had to work for months to tear down Dylan's walls because they were very high and solid.
This is because he knew himself that he was someone devoted, someone with the tendency to give everything to those who entered behind the line once the walls were torn down.
It didn't matter who Charlize was from the moment she entered because he accepted the existence itself.
Not because Charlize was noble.
Not because Charlize was a woman.
Not because Charlize was outwardly captivating.
Not because Charlize was smart.
No matter what shape Charlize was or where she existed, he would follow.
It was blind respect. It was an idealistic sound that could only be made on a religious level.
Dylan didn't even think he had to fix Charlize. That was no judgment that he should make.
The wheel of destiny began to move for Charlize, and Dylan willingly left himself to the flow.
'I could give you everything.'
It wasn't just a string of words that would be scattered in vain, but also the ability to do so.
If Charlize was happy, he could endure anything… But marriage…
He couldn't.
'Why?'
Dylan had a relationship with her in his dream, knowing that that Charlize was not real.
Dylan was sexually attracted to Charlize. He sees her as the opposite sex.
He hoped they could have an exclusive relationship with each other.
He didn't want to hug any other woman besides Charlize; and he also wanted Charlize to have no other man besides himself.
'This feeling.'
To define it as love, the word felt too light.
That's why he didn't name his feelings.
He thought love was a feeling that was too common to express his heart.
But if this wasn't love, then what was love?
'I love you.'
He loved his teacher who leads him to walk on the path of destruction more than anyone else.
Coming to the end of cold-blooded domination would be good.
'Even in the midst of the disparaging words and criticism that will remain in history, and the pouring curses and resentment of evil. If only you are by my side…'
Dylan opened his eyes in the dark.
***
It was a beautiful night of a full moon.
Charlize was alone in the green meadow. With a long sword… A white dress with long sleeves…
When she was alone, she usually made her mana circle lighter. Now the need to do that was gone. Instead of that…
'After a long time…'
She was going to perform a sword dance.
It didn't matter if there was no one seeing it. Because she wanted to do it.
Charlize began to dance. Sword dance may be an acrobatic movement to others, but to Charlize, it meant a blade that cut people off the moment it entered them.
At first, it was a slow and calm dance. Whenever the moonlight shone on the blade of the silver sword, a chilly murderous aura flowed.
The strange color is eye-catching because it reflects the light. The movement became more and more intense.
Perhaps for wielding a dangerous blade, it was breathtaking and provocative.
Reaching out her white hand, grabbing the tip of her sword, she made several turns.
Her dress fluttering like a butterfly fell into the open air… A cool design with open shoulders…
Woosh.
The sound of the blade cutting through the air was clear. Charlize's sword dance began to get faster and faster.
There was only Charlize in the forest. Dark trees surrounded the meadow. Even at dawn, the owl that couldn't sleep cried.
The sword had been turned a few times in the air. The rapid movement was surprisingly beautiful. The sword was being sublimated into art.
The long sword seemed to sweep up Charlize's legs.
"…"
Charlize's hair also glistened with moonlight. For a long time, Charlize focused on the sword dance.
She just wanted to rest alone. No matter how wide the bedroom was, it did not give her the fullness of nature.
Gradually, the sword began to capture the full energy. Saint's aura. However, Charlize's sword dance suddenly stopped.
Charlize looked at the empty, dark forest. As if she could see something…
Then she slowly blinked once and said,
"Come out."
Because she knew someone was there.