“Charte? Is that really you?”

“What nonsense. How common do you think a handsome face like mine is?”

Though she couldn’t touch him, it was the first time they could converse since he had appeared in her dreams.

Tears burst forth suddenly.

When she suddenly started crying, Charte reached out his hand, but he seemed to be blocked by some invisible curtain and couldn’t cross over.

“I can’t even wipe away your tears.”

Seeing that Charte’s face looked more upset than her crying one, she raised both arms and quickly wiped away her tears.

“It’s okay. Just being able to see your face and talk like this is enough. And it feels like we’re really talking, not just in a dream.”

Charte smiled gently, and when she woke up, she was all tears.

And since they had spoken, she hoped they might be able to touch soon.

As she went to work, she prayed for the day to pass quickly.

She desperately wished for each day to become night.

She thought that if she could only see Charte in her dreams, she wouldn’t mind never waking up.

But she couldn’t make her family suffer again.

Still, not wanting to give up seeing Charte, she took a sleeping pill she had been prescribed and fell asleep.

“I’m so happy to be able to meet you every night like this. These days, I only look forward to the nights.”

Just as she reached out her arm, wanting to caress Charte’s face even if only on the transparent wall, she felt his face.

Startled by the unexpected situation, she quickly withdrew her hand.

Charte also looked surprised, then stepped closer, and they embraced each other without either of them needing to make the first move.

“It’s finally open. Yun-ah, I want to go to your world. Will you invite me?”

“Of course. Absolutely.”

She opened her eyes to the feeling of someone stroking her head, and saw Charte in front of her.

She looked at Charte’s face and slowly closed her eyes, determined not to be surprised.

Afraid that the dream would end if she was startled, she acted carefully, pretending not to be flustered.

“I thought I had woken up, but I must still be dreaming. That’s fine too.”

The stroking touch was warm, and perhaps because she could feel his refreshing scent, her mood improved, and the corners of her mouth turned up involuntarily.

She tried hard to fall back into a deep sleep.

And as she did, she thought.

Why am I trying to fall back asleep when this is already a dream?

Though she didn’t understand herself, she reached out and took Charte’s hand that was stroking her head, bringing it to her face.

When Charte’s warmth directly touched her cheek, she felt like she had the whole world.

Today’s dream was particularly vivid.

“To think it’s this vivid. I hit the jackpot!”

“What is a jackpot?”

“It’s when you match numbers and turn your life around.”

“But how long are you going to stay like this? Shouldn’t you get up? You’ve become quite lazy.”

“I hate that. If I get up, you’ll disappear. But your nagging makes it feel even more real.”

When she nuzzled her face against Charte’s hand, a “pfft” sound like air escaping was heard.

“Do you still think this is a dream?”

“Of course. I’m never going to wake up.”

“Will you believe me if I do this?”

“What did you—”

She couldn’t finish her sentence.

Because Charte’s lips overlapped with hers.

She opened her eyes in surprise, and Charte pulled his face away.

Even in her half-asleep state, she regretted the separation and closed her eyes again with the sole intention of continuing the dream.

Then she pulled Charte’s neck, embraced him, and bit his lip.

Stimulated by the provocation, Charte came in deeper and poured out a passionate kiss.

Strangely, even though it was a dream, her breathing became rapid to the point of suffocation, and she pulled Charte’s face away.

“I like it. It’s so vivid. But am I sexually frustrated? Having a dream like this.”

“How about really waking up now?”

Charte’s hands opened both her eyes.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

She sat up with a start.

“Charte?”

She looked at Charte with a blank face, and he was smiling with a smile softer than cotton candy on a spring day.

“This isn’t really a dream? This is reality? How are you here?”

“You invited me, didn’t you? You said I could definitely come.”

Gasp! She nearly died of suffocation at the incredible reality.

“Kyaa!”

Finally recognizing reality, she let out a shout of joy.

Hearing her mother’s footsteps running toward the sudden scream, she hurriedly made Charte lie down on the bed and covered him with the blanket just as the door opened.

“Yun-ah, what’s wrong? Are you in pain somewhere?”

“No. No. I had a dream.”

“A nightmare? Are you okay?”

“Yes! I’m completely fine. Totally fine. I want to sleep more, so please close the door.”

Her mother looked at her with a disbelieving face, so she smiled broadly to show she was fine.

“I’m sleepy. It’s Sunday. I want to sleep in.”

When she closed her eyes, her mother quietly closed the door.

She jumped up and looked at Charte again.

“Charte, is it really you? How is this possible! It’s unbelievable! No way.”

Still unable to believe it, she pinched her cheek hard in a daze, and it hurt so much that she quickly rubbed it with her hand.

Watching her, Charte’s eyes curved like half-moons as he smiled broadly and reached out his hand.

Charte touched her as if confirming, starting from her head, then her eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips in order.

She also wanted to confirm the Charte in front of her, so she stroked various parts of his face to verify.

“How is this possible.”

Her voice choked up as her emotions intensified.

“Charte, how are you here? It still feels like a dream. I can’t believe it.”

“I missed you so much, I couldn’t bear it anymore.”

Unable to take our eyes off each other, we embraced again without words.

In the silence, only the sound of rapidly beating hearts echoed quietly.

It really was the living Charte.

But before we could feel the atmosphere, the sound of someone else’s approaching footsteps was heard.

Charte’s sensitive gaze had already turned toward the door, and she quickly put him back under the bed covers.

“Sis, Mom says to eat before going back to sleep.”

“No. I just want to sleep. Get out quickly. Close the door right now.”

“Look who’s acting like a master now. You’re not sick anymore. How long are you going to milk that patient card? I’m already sick of it. You’re going to get scolded by Mom if you keep this up.”

“I’ll be the one getting scolded, not you. Don’t worry about it and just close the door.”

While arguing with Yun-seo, she felt Charte’s hand tracing along her body’s curves under the blanket, making her navel area ticklish.

The strange sensation made her feel oddly guilty, and she glared at Yun-seo.

“Just a few words and your face is already turning red, what kind of sister are you!”

Needing to get rid of Yun-seo who was still standing there, she shouted loudly.

“Hey! I’m tired! Close the door!”

“You’re just being irritable for no reason!”

As soon as Yun-seo slammed the door shut, she slightly lifted the blanket to find Charte looking up at her with a mischievous face and a playful smile.

“What are you doing here?”

“Then is it okay to continue like this if not here?”

She felt like she absolutely couldn’t stay at home.

She needed to go outside.

But look at Charte’s imperial clothes!

People would definitely glance and take pictures, thinking he was going to a costume contest.

She quietly went to the master bedroom and secretly brought back some of her dad’s clothes.

“Change into these.”

“What is this?”

Charte’s expression was dissatisfied as he looked at the clothes she handed him.

“You can’t go outside dressed like that here.”

When she spoke sternly, Charte began to undress as if he had no choice.

Her mouth involuntarily fell open as she saw Charte’s upper body, which was more beautiful than a sculpture with its firm, toned muscles.

“Wow.”

“Empress, wipe your drool.”

Only then did she notice Charte’s triumphant gaze, so she closed her mouth like a clam and put on a prim expression.

“No. I wasn’t looking, I was just wondering if there was anything I could help with.”

“Instead of just standing there, you really should help. How do I put this on?”

Charte was looking at her with a perplexed expression, holding her dad’s t-shirt.

Charte, who had changed into her dad’s clothes for both top and bottom, looked perfectly…… ridiculous.

It was very funny seeing Charte, who was well over 185cm tall, wearing clothes meant for her petite dad who was about 165cm.

The top looked like it might burst due to his tightly curved muscles, and because his legs were so long, the sweatpants had become awkward three-quarter length pants.

When she kept laughing without reading the atmosphere, Charte’s face frowned slightly.

“How long are you going to make fun of me?”

“I’m sorry. But it’s too funny. We need to buy clothes as soon as we go out.”

But she was worried about how to leave the house.

In the end, since they couldn’t go through the door, she told Charte to climb out the window, which made him look shocked.

“Yun-ah, I think you might have forgotten something.”

“What did I forget?”

“That I am an emperor.”

“I know that, but it still won’t work. Absolutely not! If my mom catches us, we could both die. Absolutely not.”

Charte reluctantly climbed out the window, and she quickly went outside.

“I’m going to meet a friend!”

She heard her mother calling from behind, but she pretended not to hear and left.

Charte was standing right in front of the window, looking around.

His face showed not just surprise but awe.

“So this is the world you live in.”

“Yes. This is the world I live in.”

She hurriedly took Charte’s hand and led him away.

First, there was the urgent matter of buying clothes.

Since he was an emperor after all, she couldn’t take him just anywhere, so she went to a department store.

A distance that should have taken only 10 minutes took over an hour.

Charte couldn’t take his eyes off everything that fascinated him – cars running on the road, tall buildings, and electronic billboards with constantly changing screens.

It took a long time because she had to keep pulling along Charte, who kept stopping.

While Charte was too busy marveling at how amazing her world was, many people living here couldn’t take their eyes off Charte’s face, marveling at him.

Women who had been laughing at his strange outfit couldn’t close their gaping mouths after seeing Charte’s face.

To block people’s gazes, she linked arms with Charte and turned his face toward her.

Charte responded with a bright smile, gentle like a large dog.

Charte was also very excited at the department store.

Her heart nearly shattered at how adorable it was to see the emperor, who had once wielded power, or rather, swords, as a tyrant, beaming with joy because he found the escalator fun.

No, it did shatter.

Gathering the pieces of her broken heart and holding them together, she barely managed to reach the men’s clothing section.

Each outfit he changed into suited him so well that her painstakingly gathered heart shattered again.

She felt she could die of heart disease today without regrets.

Every outfit looked perfect on him, so she couldn’t help but buy them.

Seeing how he could make even terrible clothes look perfect, it was clear that the true completion of fashion was a face and body that could kill mannequins.

“You’re too perfect! These clothes seem like they were made for you, sir!”

The staff’s praises were endless, and they brought so many clothes that after trying on about twenty outfits, Charte came out with a cold expression.

But even that coldness looked like charisma, appearing as a different charm, and squeals of “Kya!” could be heard from all around.

“Yun-ah, did we come here to buy clothes……”

“You look great. Everything suits you so well, it’s hard to decide.”

When she blocked his lips with her index finger and complimented him, he smiled as if he had no choice.

Then the numerous women surrounding the store let out exclamations.

After leaving the store wearing the new clothes, they went back in.

They had left the shopping bags behind.

When she handed Charte the shopping bags, he looked at her with a puzzled face.

“What are you doing? Carry these.”

“Are you talking to me right now?”