The blood-red setting sun finally sank completely into the horizon.
The last trace of the sunset glow in the sky, like blood spilled by a martyr, tragically and magnificently dyed half the sky red.
The evening wind grew colder.
It blew Symboli Rudolf's magnificent long brown hair, and also stirred the corner of Kaito's slightly thin clothes.
Kaito still maintained the posture of extending his hand.
His gaze was soft and firm, full of the most extravagant patience in the world, as if he were willing to wait there until the end of time.
Meanwhile, Rudolf lowered her head slightly, letting the shadow cast by her bangs hide her eyes, which always contained a myriad of thoughts.
No one could discern her expression at that moment.
But her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed the tempestuous unrest in her heart.
In that moment, time seemed to stretch infinitely.
In the air, only the mournful sound of the wind and the almost inaudible breathing of the two people could be heard.
This was a sacred and solemn moment.
An "Emperor" was about to decide whether to personally descend from her lonely and elevated altar.
In Rudolf's mind, countless images appeared at the speed of light.
They were moments of glory, standing on the highest podium countless times, bathed in thousands of cheers and honor.
They were countless nights spent as the student council president of Tracen, exhausting herself and staying awake for the future of all Umas
And, above all, they were the moments of immense, unintelligible, and unbearable loneliness for anyone else, when she stood alone in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the Student Council, looking at her solitary reflection in the glass.
Her hand, at her side, clenched unconsciously and then released weakly.
When it clenched, it was the responsibility and pride of the "Emperor," tearing at her with a desperate cry.
When it released, it was the girl deep within her, longing to be loved and understood, who called out with all her strength.
With the corner of her eye, she secretly looked at Kaito's extended hand.
That hand did not belong to a king, nor to a powerful person.
It bore no ring symbolizing authority, nor the accumulated scars of victory.
It was simply an ordinary hand, belonging to a "mortal"
But it was precisely 그 avoidable "ordinariness" that provided her with an unprecedented sense of security, which almost made her cry.
Because she knew.
This hand did not intend to hold back the undefeated "Emperor"
But the "Rudolf" who felt tired and alone...
"Ha..."
After an unknown time, Rudolf suddenly let out an extremely soft laugh, tinged with a deep self-mockery.
This soft laugh, like a stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly broke the solidified air.
Slowly, she raised her head.
Her amethyst eyes were slightly reddened, but clearer and brighter than ever.
She looked at Kaito and, speaking in a low voice, as if addressing him, but also her own stubborn past, said:
"I have always been waiting for someone to appear who could surpass me, hoping to personally hand over this heavy responsibility..."
She paused, and her tone became incredibly soft, with a nuance of sweet and resigned acceptance that she herself had not noticed.
"But I never thought that what I was waiting for was not a new and stronger 'Emperor'"
"But a... mortal who dared to look directly at my weakness and wanted to share the weight of the 'Crown' with me"
This sentence was her last goodbye to her past, to her lonely pride.
It was also her greatest recognition of the deep and core understanding offered to her by the man before her.
Then, slowly and solemnly, she raised her own hand.
This action no longer had the majesty and poise of an emperor, but was filled with the modesty of a young girl and a trace of poignant shyness, difficult to detect.
The tips of her fingers, with a slightly cold touch, softly and tentatively touched Kaito's warm palm.
That touch, like a slight electric current, also made Kaito's heart tremble.
After feeling the unshakeable warmth in her palm, she no longer hesitated.
She placed her entire hand gently, but with immense confidence and fullness, into Kaito's hand.
This silent action surpassed all the vows in the world.
She was declaring: "Yes, I do"
The moment she grabbed his hand, even before the system notification sounded...
Kaito gave his answer.
He did not utter another word, he simply followed that impulse, using an irresistible delicacy to pull her, lightly but incredibly firmly, into his embrace.
This embrace had no trace of lust or the possessiveness of a conqueror.
It was full of tenderness, understanding, and a solemn, unspoken promise.
Kaito's arms firmly encircled her slightly trembling body, seemingly building an eternal harbor where she could shed all her defenses and weariness.
His chin rested gently on the top of her head, which smelled of roses.
Leaning into Kaito's embrace, which was not particularly wide but incredibly stable, and inhaling the fatal body scent that seemed to calm all weary souls...
Symboli Rudolf, the undefeated Emperor, the symbol of Tracen, finally and completely let go of all her pretenses, all her pride, and all her heavy burdens in this moment.
She closed her eyes.
Like a lost child who has walked alone through wind and snow for too long, finally finding the way home.
She buried her face deep, deep into his warm chest, greedily and almost choked with emotion, drawing in that warmth that had arrived much, much too late.
In the depths of the embrace, in that quiet world that belongs only to the two of them.
In Kaito's mind, the most pleasant notification sounded, like a divine blessing descending:
"Ding—!"
"The Emperor has bowed her head to you!"
"Congratulations, host!"
"The trust level of the target Symboli Rudolf has reached 100%!"
"The target is completely healed!"
"The Emperor's loneliness has completely ended thanks to your gentleness!"
"You have obtained her unique and highest approval in this life!"
"Epic-level bond passive acquired: Aura of Emperors LV1 (Passive effect: when facing any opponent, you naturally exude the pressure of a superior, making the opponent feel reverence and reducing their will to fight"
"Active effect: can be temporarily activated to imbue your words with undeniable persuasion and leadership, significantly increasing the morale of all followers and having a certain probability of making the target 'surrender'!)"
Long, long after.
Only then did Rudolf slightly lift her head from his embrace.
The majesty and aloofness in her eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a complete and youthful trust and an unshakeable, deep attachment.
She did not speak, but simply extended her Emperor's hands (the hands that had signed countless documents and issued countless orders) and wrapped them around Kaito's neck, pressing herself even closer to him again.
With an embrace, she completed her silent yet poignant confession.
"From now on, you are my empire"
"From now on, you are my home"
The night finally fell completely.
The stars began to appear.
On the empty track, where only the evening wind and silence remained, the Emperor and the mortal embraced tightly.
As if they wanted to merge completely into each other's lives.
This scene was quiet, yet eternal.
At the same time.
By the window of the Student Council office, the "Front Row Spectator Group" formed by the harem group remained steadfast at their posts.
TM Opera O looked at the two people embracing in the distance, who seemed to form a world of their own, and the magnificent feather fan she held in her hand snapped, broken forcefully by her grip.
Biting her vivid lips, she muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear, sounding both envious and emotional:
"Ah... ah... our most powerful 'enemy', that most solid and indestructible fortress, finally..."
"Fallen"
Slowly she turned around and showed her "comrades," whose expressions were so complex they could organize a facial acting convention, an extremely dangerous smile full of great fighting spirit.
"Everyone, it seems our 'Alliance to Protect Kaito's Purity' needs to immediately convene an emergency meeting to discuss a new battle plan"
"After all, our opponent has gone from being that high and mighty 'Emperador'..."
"To a foolish woman whose head has been clouded by a false love"
"This, compared to before... is ten thousand times more troublesome!"
An unprecedented Asura Field pitting the "Elder Faction" of the harem against the newly promoted "Official Wife (Self-Proclaimed)" has just begun...