Something that is supposed to come has come, Charlize felt.
'He said Kiera. Definitely.'
But Dylan's question was just asking because he really didn't know.
Charlize saw and heard so many things besides the emperors. To the extent that there is no knowledge that she doesn't know.
It was natural for Charlize to know what Dylan didn't know. Charlize, ridiculously, knew art, architecture, engineering, and even astronomy.
It was also a hobby of the emperors of the past.
Dylan waited for an answer.
'He's not looking away.'
Charlize thought for a moment.
She was able to keep her emotions extremely cold in the moments she wanted. When she felt that she shouldn't be shaken, she didn't really budge an inch.
At the most important moment, more sharply than anything else, on edge. She could have been more nonchalant.
Charlize has strong guts. Those who know the truth might have been suffocating at this sight, and rather worried.
Charlize's voice flowed without a hitch.
"Do you know about the humans who fed by Ehyrit's pieces, Your Majesty?"
Dylan nodded slowly.
"Yes, Master."
Only Charlize felt the tension in the air.
Dylan pondered what Charlize had said. He, too, had already discovered it in theory.
[Ehyrit's piece is fed to rebuild humans into living gods. Create a new being that deserves to be called transcendence.]
It was written as if humans would gain transcendent power by feeding them pieces.
Not only a dead letter theory, but also first-hand witnesses.
A close example is Dietrich in a dungeon.
The former Emperor is not dead.
He was alive even though he didn't eat and barely slept. Without even going crazy.
"If you feed a piece, that person becomes a metal."
Charlize said with her own mouth.
'Metal?'
Dylan paused at the gruesome story, but Charlize was extremely calm.
As usual, the atmosphere was comfortable and soft. Dylan paid attention to Charlize. Charlize opened her lips.
"But, as everyone knows, Ehyrit's piece is the core that comes from the corpse of a monster."
"…Yes."
"The pieces have evil energy. Because they can't stand it. Everyone dies."
This part, Charlize, too, knew only after reading the books she had discovered in the underworld.
[Ehyrit's piece contains dark energy, a so-called Magi or evil energy. A human who ate a piece could not stand it and died.]
Charlize's eyes sank.
[The only thing that can respond for a long time is innate mana. But in the end, it depends on your mental strength.]
Charlize was able to memorize every verse of the book perfectly. Suddenly, a scene from the past flashed through her mind.
'Everyone is dead.'
When Charlize was kidnapped before her return, many people had already been tested and suffered before her.
'The children, they couldn't overcome the energy contained in Ehyrit's piece.'
Dylan looked at Charlize. He frowned and asked.
"So, what if we overcome the piece of Ehyrit?"
Charlize smiled brightly.
"When absorbed, that person becomes a monster."
That's right.
As Charlize has researched so far, Ehyrit's pieces had energy so powerful that it was called the power of God.
However, the absorbed life was unconditionally stained by evil energy. Charlize continued.
"Even if he overcomes the evil energy, as long as he has absorbed a large amount of Ehyrit's piece."
"…"
"He becomes a metal with consciousness, Your Majesty."
It was a strange story.
Dylan believed in Charlize, although it was a story that would never be accepted by common sense.
Dylan, who had been listening in silence, slowly accepted.
"Is that so?"
In fact, the result Charlize said was the underworld. Wizards too. All the humans of this era who were working on the Kiera project did not know.
Because Charlize had suffered for 400 years and finally realized by making a wish to turn back time.
Dylan, who had been thinking for a while, said.
"Master, this is a personal question."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"If you make a sword. In theory, doesn't that mean that there are humans who survive by continuing to eat pieces?"
"…That's right."
Charlize was calm. She had long, drooping eyelashes.
"The one who overcame the pain of eating the pieces and became a sword then… Is he losing his ego, or is he getting stained with evil energy?"
"…"
"What do you think the essence of that sword is, Master?"
He was a man who could only be described as a genius. Charlize tried not to get caught up in it, facing Dylan, who got to the point at once.
She has to smile.
As she whispered in his head, a plausible smile crossed her lips.
"Probably, it's a monster."
Their eyes met in the air.
The fact that Charlize was exceptionally good at demonstrating her powers against monsters. The scent that can only be found in Ehyrit's pieces is also exuded from Charlize.
In the end, the essence was tainted with evil energy, so the word monster was not wrong.
Of course, there is no such thing as an intelligent monster. Although Charlize never lost her ego for a moment as Kiera. She did not reveal this only.
But obviously, it's not a lie either.
"Master."
As soon as she tried to control him like that, Dylan looked at Charlize.
It was the first time that Dylan's blue eyes felt hot. His eyes were always refreshing.
"I'm on Master's side."
What is he trying to say?
Although Charlize was wary and looked at him, Dylan was calm.
"No matter what Master says, it's all true to me, and it's the sweetest truth."
"…I know, Your Majesty. I am always grateful."
"You're welcome."
Dylan took a step closer to Charlize.
It was a garden full of yellow roses.
Since it was the middle of winter, the world was dazzling with white snow.
But Charlize and Dylan both know how to deal it with their mana. They didn't get cold. Nevertheless, Dylan took off the emperor's coat.
"Master doesn't know."
Dylan silently wrapped his coat over Charlize's shoulder.
Charlize was dazed for a moment.
Dylan's scent comes in an instant. The coat is too big to realize that he has become an adult. His warmth remained intact, so she felt as if she were being hugged by Dylan.
Dylan said, looking into Charlize's eyes.
"I like you, Master."
"…Me too, Your Majesty."
"No."
Again, it was negative.
Dylan fastened the first button on Charlize's coat over her shoulder. He's close. Close. Charlize was slowly feeling strange.
Dylan's fingers vibrated slightly. His breath tickled Charlize's lips slowly.
"You still don't know."
"…"
"Master, I. I believe in you. Whatever you do. Whatever you say. To me, it's the truth, it's the law, and it's my world."
"…"
Why do you keep saying I don't know?
Charlize looked up at Dylan, clutching the cloak with both hands.
Dylan was the emperor. Actually, Dylan is a genius, so there's no way he didn't notice. Every time she sees the imperial emblem carved on his coat. Charlize's eyes are getting colder.
The hatred and anger towards the Empire were real. It was a cold but deep murderous look that could not be hidden.
Dylan became the master of the empire that Charlize wanted to destroy so badly. That's what Charlize wanted, and Dylan was willing to turn into black.
That's it. He already knows without appealing to know. But Dylan's voice is hot. He was calm.
"There was nothing I wanted. It was a life without even hope. As Master pointed out in my childhood, I was living in boredom, but it was as if I was dead."
"…"
"When you approached me. I knew maybe this would happen. I couldn't open my heart from the beginning. But, Master."
Dylan placed the back of his hand on Charlize's cheek.
The cold skin is warmed up.
"Do you remember?"
Maybe it was because Charlize had a heart that beats like this, and Kiera was the topic of conversation. Or maybe it's because Dylan is close. She was confused for a while.
"If you can only choose obsession or indifference,"
"…"
"You said it's okay to be obsessed with you."
"I, remember, Your Majesty."
Dylan laughed openly.
"If there's anything wrong with what I'm saying, please point it out. I've been working nonstop since that day. I internalized Master's desires and eventually ascended to the throne."
"…Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Master, I."
Dylan's voice sounds shaky. It was too obvious to believe it was an illusion.
Since Charlize faced Dylan, he has seemed most emotional.
'Why?'
What drove him so emotionally?
"There was not a single moment that I did not tell Master."
"…"
"I did everything I could for Master, and I gave everything I could to Master. For the word dedication. Not a single moment was embarrassing for me."
It was dedication.
It was respect. It was trust.
Even in the face of Charlize's denial, even in the face of Charlize's suspicion. Apostle of the boundaries of Charlize. Even under Charlize's test.
He never wavered and always gave it away.
Because that was Dylan's heart.
He wasn't afraid to get hurt. The only thing he's afraid of is being abandoned. But even now. It's okay.
It was even more painful that Charlize didn't recognize him. So.
"Was there a moment when I didn't deliver my heart, even for a moment?"
"…"
"Just because I don't force it. Just because I don't show jealousy. How can that feeling disappear? To avoid possession. To be valued only. How can you not recognize me who tried."
Charlize's lips were finally sealed.
Dylan didn't want to consider anything now. He couldn't endure without revealing any more. It became so big. The abandoned house was burnt down.
No matter how much Dylan agonized, the conclusion was always the same.
"What is this feeling, Master? I know it as a disciple. But, you still don't know, Master."
A friendly and gentle voice.
But he wasn't just friendly. It was overflowing with love and lust.
Dylan's fingers slowly moved from Charlize's cheeks to near her lips. His fingers that touched slightly were long and hard. Charlize's breath spitting out into the air was white.
Charlize blinked her eyes. His voice penetrated her ears like a divine word.
"Once again, I'll tell you."
Thud.
Her heart sank.
"Master, I like you."
It's a calm voice, but it sounds like a scream to see. It was just a man's courtship. The snowflakes began to fall one by one.
Dylan's black hair was exceptionally dark. Her ears were tingling.
Unknowingly, Dylan's fingers swept Charlize's lips open. He sees her as a woman, not a teacher. A blatant cry.
The heat melts the winter away.
"I love you, Master."
It was Dylan's confession of love.