Grand Duchy of Ronan.
There have never been so many guests who wanted to see the grand duke in the last three days. The country was turned upside down. The grandmaster became a person in power.
No one has called Charlize Ronan the youngest daughter of the grand duke. The situation was reversed. Now the grand duke was called the grandmaster's father.
"Did you receive forgiveness from the grandmaster?"
"The Ronan family didn't know until the day the rebellion took place, right?"
"Didn't the grandmaster say a word?"
The nobles were very interested in the relationship between Charlize and Ronan.
They used to talk about Charlize being cursed. Now, they thought that the grand duke had to curry favor with Charlize.
Because the grandmaster was truly a person who could start a new era.
Most of the nobles came to the grand duke to flatter him.
Their desires to douse themselves with the glory of the grandmaster was very obvious.
The grand duke was putting it off angrily every time, but he soon gave up because there were too many of them.
"Charlize…"
The grand duke sat on a chair, his palm on his forehead. A family meeting was held after a long time.
The firstborn son, Akan, and the second son, Dante, also attended.
"What do you think?"
The grand duke asked and heaved a sigh.
"What do you mean? Are you asking about the current situation in which people come and see us because they were not confident they could build a relationship with Charlize in person?"
Akan asked sarcastically.
The grand duke looked at Akan, but now he had no energy to get angry.
Considering Charlize, all three of them were guilty.
"And now what? She'll never believe us. Even if father visits the grandmaster now and apologizes with your knees down. She is already in doubt with your sincerity."
"Why did you come to see her now…?"
Dante supported the words of Akan. There would've been hope if Charlize was at least the grandmaster of the crown prince.
He hopes that if he approaches her sincerely, she will recognize his sincerity. But now, she is Charlize who has become the absolute person in power no matter what anyone says.
She gained authority as the grandmaster, so even if Ronan thinks they're lowering themselves, they have nothing to say.
"Listen to me first."
The grand duke said with a sigh. He lost a lot of authority in his family.
"A count came and said to me. Isn't the reason why Charlize sent the application for expulsion is because she was thoughtful of Ronan in the end?"
"?"
"Thank God for her success, but if she had failed to rebel, Charlize would have died of treason, but even if that had happened, Ronan would have survived."
"…Is it because of the application for expulsion?"
The grand duke nodded at Akan's question.
"If we, the Ronan, claimed to be innocent, we could not have been swept away by treason because we could submit Charlize's application for expulsion as evidence."
The grand duke's words were true.
"So, in the end, wasn't the reason why that kid was so cold is Ronan? The count said that."
"Father."
Akan feigned a smile.
"Pull yourself together."
It was a rude remark, but the grand duke only raised his head and did not point it out.
Akan still couldn't forget Charlize's bright appearance on the day of the rebellion.
Would you have done it for the sake of assuming failure? Charlize worked with confidence in success from the beginning.
"It was to save Ronan? No, it's just a desperate interpretation after the fact. From the beginning, the accurate interpretation would be that the grandmaster wanted to cut off the relationship with Ronan."
Dante stared at the talking Akan with a curious face. Not long ago, Akan was also not very different from the grand duke.
'Brother seems to have grasped the current situation a little.'
Dante thought and looked at the grand duke.
"I think so too, Father."
The grand duke was silent.
In fact, the grand duke thought like the two young masters, but since the count spoke so seriously, he only had a little hope.
"Then what should we do now?"
"…"
His heart was heavy.
"Will the time solve it?"
The two young masters remained silent at the grand duke's self-talk. He was in denial.
While blaming each other, they also blamed themselves as they suffered from regret even though Ronan gave Dylan power on the day of the rebellion, the significant undertaking.
In fact, it wouldn't have been necessary. Knowing this, Ronan stayed still despite receiving the least compensation for the official recognition of distinguished service.
Charlize no longer needs them. Charlize was intact alone.
"But even so…"
It was Dante who broke the silence. Akan and the grand duke looked at Dante.
"Rather than doing nothing and letting misunderstandings pile up, why don't we go to the grandmaster and apologize first?"
"Who's going to visit her?"
"All the three of us…"
Dante answered Akan's question. The grand duke could have called Charlize by name because of his high status, but the young masters had to respect her as the 'Grandmaster'.
Even if Charlize is their younger sister. It has now become such a situation.
"Do you think it makes sense?"
For the first time, Akan spoke sharply as if he were fed up.
"She hates to see Ronan, so she went down as the teacher of the 13th prince. She even left the maid to ignore me in midday. Dante, would you have been pleased if someone blocked your mana circle when you were younger?"
Dante couldn't say anything. Of course, he would have resentment.
"We did more than that…yeah. We treated Charlize as a murderer."
Akan trembled.
"Will Charlize like us?"
Will she be happy? Will she forgive us? What nonsense. There were so many opportunities, but they have already been blown away.
They should have apologized right away when they thought it was unusual, but instead, they sent Charlize away because of their ego and pride.
At least she listened to him until she got the bouquet of flowers.
He realized that the time when she looked emotionless was rather good.
It's too late to know what to do.
Suddenly, Akan recalled what he said to Charlize when she was a child.
[No matter how hard you try, I'll never see you as my own flesh and blood.]
He shouldn't have said that. It became a thorn and came back late. Akan began to repent.
Only silence remained among the three.
***
The morning was bright.
Charlize opened her eyes.
Her spirit returned only when the alcohol had gone away.
'Yesterday. With Dylan at the drinking party.'
Charlize drank with Dylan.
And for the first time.
She began to suspect whether Dylan was in love with her.
'Love.'
The word revolved around her mind.
If she's right,
Charlize had to know how long and deep Dylan's love was.
That way, the plan can be modified again according to the context.
'The modified plan, at least, is not a good direction for Dylan.'
Charlize has changed. Since Dylan was so alert, he might have already noticed.
"Grandmaster, we're all ready to move."
Mary came and told Charlize who was deep in her thoughts.
Charlize was still staying at the crown prince's palace. Now that Dylan has ascended the throne, it was time to move to the imperial palace.
"Alright, Mary."
In principle, the teacher and the student were supposed to live in the same building.
Charlize nodded and followed Mary's guidance.
'It reminds me of the past.'
It was only half a year ago.
Charlize had already moved to where she lived when Dylan was crowned as crown prince.
'I moved from the 13th prince's palace to the crown prince's palace.'
She thought it would feel similar after going through it once.
'This is the imperial palace…'
No, it's not similar. She felt different. As she watched the imperial palace getting closer, goosebumps ran behind her back.
The closest palace to the imperial palace is the empress's palace. Charlize entered the imperial palace, passing through the empress's palace, which had no owner yet.
"I see the Grandmaster."
All the people who served the emperor came out and bowed their heads.
Did all of them wait for Charlize?
It's been a long time.
She also saw many murals painted on the high ceiling that she could memorize fluently. The splendor of scattering money was just so familiar to Charlize.
'I've spent 400 years in this place.'
The imperial palace, where she lived as Keira. It felt really strange when she stepped in as a person.
Charlize knew the building structure of the imperial palace too well. Even the system of the employees is well understood.
"This room is called the Lilac Room. The grandmaster will stay here in the future."
Said Mary.
Charlize looked around the Lilac Room. It was the most spacious and luxurious room in the imperial palace.
The imperial palace has many rooms to be free from the threat of assassination. The corridor was famous for being as complicated as a labyrinth.
The emperor was supposed to change his bedroom irregularly for safety reasons and the Lilac Room was the most secret room connected to any room in the imperial palace.
When it comes to castles, it's a fortress. In terms of the human body, it is close to the heart.
'He assigned me this place?'
Usually, the place where the emperor's grandmaster stays is on the first floor, but the Lilac Room was on the 10th floor, the highest floor of the building.
The bedroom was very spacious.
There was a separate reception room and living room to welcome guests. There were two bathrooms and a huge terrace for a fancy tea time.
The view was very good.
"It's beautiful."
The wide window was open and the curtains swayed to reveal a spectacular view.
The garden of the imperial palace was decorated splendidly nearby, and far from the inside of the imperial palace to the islands. The view of the flowing river was also visible.
Since there was no building higher than the imperial palace, she could see the center of the empire without hurdles.
"…Your Majesty."
Charlize moved her lips slightly.
"Please say thank you to him."
Even the best luxury room of a prestigious family cannot be compared to this place.
'Does Dylan love me?'
Surely. It was too much affection for his master.
It's better than the emperor's room.
"Yes, Grandmaster."
"And I have a question."
Charlize looked at Mary.
"In your opinion, what is my relationship with His Majesty?"
"…Pardon?"
"From what you feel, what's the relationship between His Majesty and me?"
Mary couldn't understand the intention of the question, so she opened her eyes wide.
The maid, with a gentle, puppy-like expression, hesitated for a while, then answered with uncertainty.
"You are very close, and you look good together. More than anyone else."
"…Is that so?"
Being close isn't enough.
Charlize recalled the rumors of the young nobles lady around the society. In society's eyes, Dylan has been involved in a relationship with Charlize since he was the crown prince.
But Mary, who watched them the closest, seemed to think they were just close.
'Has Dylan been hiding his feelings longer than I thought?'