On the garden bench, Merlin sat casually, his arms resting along the backrest.

He closed his eyes and hummed softly, as if waiting for something.

"[Master, do you think the heroine Charlotte will come looking for you?]" the system asked.

Merlin opened his eyes and let out a deep sigh. "System, how long have you been following me?"

"[Um... about two years. Why do you ask?]"

"Two years, huh? Then why are you still so stupid?"

System: "..."

"Can't you see how much Charlotte loves me?" Merlin rolled his eyes and shook his head. "It's already at ninety-five points. There's no way she wouldn't look for me after coming out of seclusion—especially when she didn't find me standing with her father and siblings at the door."

He had deliberately left earlier, right after Charlotte emerged. His goal was to find a quiet, comfortable place to talk.

Another reason was to give her and her family time to reunite.

No matter what, he was still an outsider, and Merlin was too lazy to witness such a sentimental scene.

"[You're right, master. Please forgive my stupidity,]" the system apologized dejectedly.

"Oh? You're finally admitting your mistake? I didn't expect that." Merlin chuckled.

The system ignored his teasing and changed the topic.

However, not long after they became engrossed in conversation, footsteps approached from ahead.

Merlin immediately disconnected from the system and looked up.

"How are you?" he asked, a faint smile on his lips.

Charlotte smiled back, walked over to his side, and sat down gracefully.

"I'm fine. How about you? Have you enjoyed your seven days at the palace?" She turned to him with a curious look.

"Yeah, I did." Merlin nodded casually. "Your father treats me well. Your brother, your mothers, and the servants are all very attentive. Well… there is one small problem with your brother, Lucas."

"A problem?" Charlotte's eyebrows lifted slightly. "What happened?"

Merlin shook his head. "It's not a big deal. We just had a small disagreement because…"

He then recounted what had happened between him and Lucas.

A few minutes later, Charlotte understood, and her expression darkened.

"He really does like to cause trouble," she muttered. "Do you want me to teach him a lesson?"

There was hope and confidence in her eyes.

After gaining power from Calystron, she was no longer the shy and insecure girl she once was.

Now, she was calm—but she could become aggressive if anyone provoked her or those she cared about.

"No need. I don't want your relationship as siblings to be ruined," Merlin said, refusing gently.

Lucas might be annoying, but he was still a prince. If Charlotte beat him up, it would only worsen a relationship that was already fragile.

Merlin didn't want that to happen—at least, not yet.

"You're too kind, Merlin." Charlotte complained, but she didn't push the matter further.

Since Merlin had already said that, Charlotte naturally complied.

"By the way, how are you?" Merlin changed the subject. "Did you obtain the power of the Dragon of Light, Calystron?"

Of course, he already knew the answer. He brought it up deliberately, wanting to hear her experience firsthand.

Charlotte's face lit up at once. Her voice brimmed with joy as she began recounting everything to him.

Half an hour later, she finally finished and was left slightly out of breath.

Merlin chuckled softly and snapped his fingers. In the next instant, two bottles of water appeared in his hands.

He handed one to Charlotte, and she took it without hesitation.

She twisted open the cap, took a large gulp, and felt completely refreshed.

"It's delicious…" she said with a sweet smile.

Merlin took a sip from his own bottle before asking, "How strong are you now?"

He tried to gauge Charlotte's strength with his vision, but he couldn't perceive anything at all.

"I've reached the Sixth Stage of the Spirit Core!" Charlotte clenched her right fist in excitement.

"What? The Sixth Stage of the Spirit Core?" Merlin was stunned.

Without delay, he summoned Charlotte's status panel.

[Status]

Name: Charlotte Solayne

Age: 13

Identity: First Princess of the Kingdom of Aldoria, Dragon Maiden

Talent: S

Guardian Spirit: Dragon of Light Calystron (???)

Rank: Sixth Stage of the Spirit Core

Bloodline: Blood of the Dragon of Light [100%] (Gold)

Favorability: 95

When he saw it, Merlin drew a sharp breath.

'She really did reach the sixth stage. Incredible. Is this the benefit of receiving power from the Dragon of Light, Calystron?'

What intrigued him even more was the Guardian Spirit section. He remembered that Charlotte had previously only possessed a four-star guardian spirit called Thunder Snake.

However, her guardian spirit was now Calystron himself—just like Arthur and Gabriel Solayne in the past.

"[Tsk! I'm sure Calystron did that on purpose, Master. He probably wants to use the heroine Charlotte to get closer to you and make you indebted to him,]" the system joked.

Merlin considered its words and felt they made sense.

After recognizing his potential, Calystron would never let this opportunity slip. He would definitely try to curry favor with him.

But how?

Merlin already had Lyserra by his side, so he had no need for Calystron's power.

The answer was simple—get close to and help the person closest to him, which in this case was Charlotte.

Thinking about it, Merlin couldn't help but smile.

He had to admit that Calystron was indeed clever, but Merlin felt no anger at all.

In fact, it was beneficial for Charlotte to have Calystron's support. With that, she would become a powerful backing for him in the future.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Merlin let out a deep breath and praised her. "You're truly amazing, Charlotte. I'm only at the eighth stage of the Spirit Core. That means you're two levels above me. That's impressive."

Charlotte felt embarrassed and looked away.

"It's all thanks to you, Merlin. If it weren't for you, how could I have achieved this?"

Merlin simply smiled and said nothing.

They continued talking, as if trying to make up for the time they had spent apart.

Suddenly, Merlin looked at her seriously and asked, "Which path did you choose?"

"Path?" Charlotte was startled, then paused for a moment. After that, she lifted her head and replied, "The path of the sword."

Earlier, the Dragon of Light, Calystron, had given her two choices—the path of the sword and the path of the spear.

Because she had loved swords since childhood and was more skilled with them, she chose the path of the sword.

"Good." Merlin nodded in satisfaction.

He opened his right palm. In an instant, golden light gathered and condensed into a sword in his grasp.

The blade was beautiful and awe-inspiring. Dragon scales adorned the hilt, while lightning patterns were engraved along the blade.

Charlotte's heart raced at the sight of it.

"Merlin, that—"

Before she could finish, Merlin had already placed the sword in her hands.

"This sword is for you. Take it."

Charlotte swallowed hard and accepted it with trembling fingers.

"This sword is incredible! What rank is it?"

"Hmmm…" Merlin pretended to ponder. "If I'm not mistaken, it's a legendary weapon. And not just any legendary one—this sword can be upgraded to the mythical tier."

Charlotte: "..."

Legendary weapons were unimaginably valuable—so rare that they couldn't even be measured in gold coins.

Such weapons could only be obtained by hunting in special regions or forged by master smiths of extraordinary skill.

And now, Merlin was giving her one for free.

Her emotions surged, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"Thank you… Merlin."

"[Ding! Heroine Charlotte's affection has increased by 5 points! Current affection: 100!]"

"[Congratulations to the master for conquering heroine Charlotte! Reward: 35,000 system points and 1x Cloak of Invisibility (Legendary) have been awarded!]"

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