Chapter 5

The intruder tried to hide but it was stupid to think he could trick Charlize. Chang! Swords clashed with one another. Her dark blue eyes were cold. She was ruthless to her enemies. Her dagger penetrated the intruder’s throat. It was the a.s.sa.s.sin. Char’s blue eyes were still cold. He soon spilled blood.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Charlize asked without emotion.

“I…was definitely told that you were just an honorary knight…”

As he lost to an underestimated enemy, he looked shocked. She took out her dagger and the intruder closed his eyes for the last time.

“An honorary knight is still a knight.”

The a.s.sa.s.sin took his last breath. Charlize stepped away from the cold body. She was already accustomed to killing someone but she still felt somewhat weird. It actually felt like she murdered someone for the first time.

‘Never thought the fight for the throne was this compet.i.tive.’

It was much more than she thought. She never thought she would encounter an a.s.sa.s.sin just after becoming the Prince’s master. Charlize hid her true skills. It was just like how Dylan who pretended to be normal during his cla.s.ses. She was also hiding her talent. The reason why she didn’t show her skills was to  draw attention toward Dylan. But now, she had to display her own skills.

‘Who ordered the a.s.sa.s.sin?’

It must be someone among the royal family. She would soon know the answer. The only problem was that there were too many suspects among the royal family. Dylan was the thirteenth Prince. Later, he becomes a dangerous man but now he isn’t a threat. Before her return, he was the same. He had no master and he never had such ability as a member of the royal family. So he could now survive without any threat. But yesterday, Charlize became his master, and the 13th prince decided swordsmanship as his ability.

‘This means he is going to challenge the throne.’

Because of this, he is going to be threatened from now on. He accepted Charlize as his master. This was the first thing different from the original history.

‘There will also be an a.s.sa.s.sin sent to kill Dylan.’

There’s been an a.s.sa.s.sination attempted on the master. Therefore, the prince would also be threatened. She raised her head. She should go save the prince in any minute but she hesitated. It’s too early to show her real skills.

‘He probably could handle himself.’

He was always mysterious but she came back from the future. She knew the future. There’s been dozens of people who studied him after he died. She also read many books about him. He was a genius in diverse fields. He was also talented in swordsmanship. At least he can protect himself. The window the a.s.sa.s.sin entered from was open. Moonlight was shining on her. There’s a dead a.s.sa.s.sin. Drops of blood was stained on the blanket. She wiped her palm. There was blood on in.

‘Guess I’ll have to use mana.’

She couldn’t just leave the body by itself. As she used her mana, black swirls emerged in the room. She threw the body inside it. The black swirls disappeared soon. Charlize bit her lips lightly.

“I won’t be able to sleep now.”

“Argggh!”

Charlize’s hearing was very sensitive. She could clearly hear the scream of the a.s.sa.s.sin from his room. It seemed that he killed the a.s.sa.s.sin. She was nervous. She wiped the blood off her by using the towel. He opened the door. The Prince carried the body and ran across the hallway. His steps stopped in front of her room. She stopped breathing for a moment.

But soon, he was gone and she breathed again.

The Duke was feeling strange. He hadn’t seen Charlize for a while. She was a girl who struggled to meet him by any means. Of course, Charlize was different now. She didn’t beg for love from the family. Duke called the maid. He asked about Charlize.

“I have something to ask.”

“As you wish, My Lord.”

At that moment, Duke was clearly confused. Charlize, that very simple p.r.o.nunciation  of her name was suddenly too hard for him.

‘Did I ever call my daughter’s name before?’

Never. Not even once. The name Charlize was from Rachael. After the d.u.c.h.ess conceived the third child, she was very delighted. If Rachael never died, our family would have been happy. As Rachael died during delivering Charlize, this a.s.sumption was all meaningless.

“Lately…”

Duke said the word uneasily. What Duke said wasn’t her name, but her t.i.tle.

“I haven’t seen the little lady lately. Is there something going on?”

“Hadn’t you heard?”

The maid seemed quite surprised.

“What?”

“Oh you never heard, My Lord? Lady Charlize is now the master of the prince. She will be staying in the Imperial Palace. She said she will never return to this castle.”

The maid tried to remain calm and replied politely. Duke seemed quite frustrated.

“Said who?”

The Duke’s words silenced the maid. That question probably wasn’t for the maid. After the d.u.c.h.ess died, the Duke always remained calm. Only the grief had overwhelmed him. Any kind of stimulus was useless. But something was strange. Right now, he was feeling really strange.

‘What does Charlize not coming back to this castle have to do with me?’

The Duke now really was upset. It’s not that he never heard she was employed as Dylan’s Master but there’s home for her here. She could commute to and from work. He felt frustrated. Even though it wouldn’t bring her back, he clenched his fists in frustration.

“What are you guys so serious about?”

It was the first young master. He resembled the Duke perfectly. He was the successor of the Ronan Family. The maid avoided eye contact with him. The Duke hid his confusion and replied:

“No, it’s nothing.”

Charlize should have meant nothing to him at all. The Duke stopped thinking about her and tapped the young master’s shoulder.

———

It’s already been a week since Charlize became Dylan’s Master. First, she wanted to observe the situation of the Imperial Palace. Now, she felt good as she had some accomplishments. She knew he was thought highly in this palace. To someone who asked about the prince, everyone would say he is kind.

“He is easy to serve.”

“He is kind and warm-hearted.”

“He isn’t greedy. He never asks for something and he is also comfortable to be around.”

“He is naïve.”

Of course, Charlize couldn’t agree. He is naïve? People who had no clue what  the prince was doing at midnight is naïve.

“Master, I am tired. Could we rest for a while?”

“As you wish, Your Highness.”

She replied demurely. It was the middle of the swordsmanship cla.s.s. He still hid his true skills. After that night, there hadn’t been any a.s.sa.s.sination attempts but they seemed to be always nervous in the breakfast table. He thought she might ask him about his swordsmanship skills. If he was that smart, he would also have predicted there’s also been an a.s.sa.s.sination attempted on her. However, he never asked her anything.

‘Now I get it.’

Dylan was completely ignorant to Charlize. It meant complete ignorance. It’s okay to be wary. She wanted to draw his attention onto her. Instead, there was always silence in the end.

“Sorry Master, I am out of breath.”

Although he acted as though he was tired, he actually never was. He laid back onto the tree to avoid the sunlight. He sat down right away and took a breath. There’s a cool shed.

Why does he look clean even though he was full of sweat and his hairs were are all messed up? Maybe it’s because his blue eyes were so silent? The sound of his breathing was provocative. She straightened her face.

“It looks as if he’s acting all the time.”

Isn’t he tired? She was curious. Of course, she was also hiding her skills too. Still, she didn’t hide her true character.

‘That’s strange.’

Before her return, he would always play with the royal family as if they were merely his toys. He also killed so many people. He never cared about people’s lives and would kill anyone who was on his way to the throne. Apart from his dark and evil character, all he showed was kindness and respect.

‘Why? Why is he acting like this? Why isn’t he showing his true character?’

She was curious. She had lived a long life. She looked like a fifteen year old young lady but inside, she had hundred years of experience. She knew how the emperors’ thoughts better than anyone. He wiped his forehead. He sure was handsome.

“Your Highness.”

She squatted down and looked directly at his eyes. He suddenly stopped breathing. She wasn’t aware but she was certain that she had an attractive appearance. Her smile in her eyes was beautiful. She was just breathing but she was s.e.xy and attractive.

‘I think I know why now.’

As far as she knew, people who had ruled others in the highest position sometimes pitied themselves. They only felt the pain that they would never be understood by others. They never told others about this because it was a little embarra.s.sing. They felt they had to maintain elegance in front of others. They kept it to themselves and stood up dangerously.

They might have felt they lived as a human among goldfishes. She wasn’t expecting much. All she wanted to do was to throw a small stone that could impact the surface of the calm lake.

“How long will you act like that?”

Her voice was sweet.

“I know you are already bored with this.”

Her calm face was shining. Her soft voice melted like honey. Dust was floating in the air reflected in the sunlight. Even under the shed, his black hair was surprisingly dark. His blue eyes were clear. It was like a ma.s.sive sea that she could never grasp what he was thinking about but there was one thing she was sure about. Unlike how this little prince was like before, he was now becoming interested about Charlize Ronan.