Chapter 26: 26

Right in front of her, there was a body that had been carefully sculpted like a statue. 

His white, muscular body gleamed in the sunlight. 

With a seductive and sensual body like a rose, he had the talent to seduce both men and women whenever he wanted. 

Seeing Asha’s reaction, Karaf lifted the corners of his mouth slightly. 

Asha quickly looked down at the robe. 

As an Emperor who loves luxury, even his bathrobe was as glamorous as a rose. 

But suddenly, Asha sensed the scent of pheromone emanating from his robe. She was startled and said sternly.

“The flower of the empire, how can you take off your clothes like this?”

Duran, who was standing around, looked at her a little startled. 

Karaf said, twisting the corners of his mouth.

“I’ve felt it since the first time I saw you, but you’re fearless. I want to see you tremble.”

“Please behave with some dignity, Your Majesty.”

“Why do I have to behave with dignity in front of you? You will see this body again and again in the future.”

As he smirked, Asha felt even more embarrassed and closed her eyes. 

Karaf asked, staring at her with his red, sucking eyes.

“How did you know I can’t sleep at night?”

Asha was slightly nervous, but Karaf asked again with a fixed gaze.

“Answer me. Did the servants tell you?”

“No. I just….As soon as I saw it, I knew right away.”

Karaf’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“How?”

Asha spoke in an effortless and sullen tone.

“It’s just my intuition. And I was convinced while organizing the bookshelf. People who can’t sleep often read history books at night.”

Karaf burst out laughing.

“That is an interesting logic.”

He said stroking his chin.

“There’s no better way to fall asleep than drinking and passing out reading a book.”

“It’s bad for your health. Instead of drinking alcohol, have a cup of hot tea before bed.”

Karaf was taken aback by Asha’s inadvertent remarks.

“Are you worried about my health right now….?”

The question ‘why?‘ surfaced on his face.

“Can I not worry? It’s only natural for butterflies to be interested in the health of flowers.”

Asha met his eyes. Her eyes grew bigger. 

Karaf looks a little bit shocked.

“….. It’s a bit refreshing, perhaps because I’ve only heard ethnic minorities cursing people. But it’s not bad at all that the butterfly takes care of me… … .”

As he said so, he looked at Asha with a slightly complicated expression on his face.

She was completely different from the ethnic minorities he had ever seen. 

Asha spoke softly.

“Sick and withered flowers are unattractive.”

Then Karaf’s expression loosened again as if he was enjoying himself.

“From now on, I will give you a reward every time you satisfy me.”

Asha’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped. She seemed to have succeeded in arousing his curiosity.

As she unknowingly stared dumbly at his robe in her hand and his naked body, Karaf said with an innocent smile.

“Wash my clothes clean. I just want to wear clothes washed by the butterfly.”

He spoke slyly and glanced sideways to see her reaction. 

Asha was afraid that he would order her to help him bathe or to satisfy his body, but she asked, feeling a little calmer.

“Laundry…. Do I just have to wash Your Majesty’s clothes?”

“Then what did you imagine?”

When Karaf said this sarcastically, Asha blushed.

He chuckled, got into the bathtub with his arms stretched out, and took a leisurely bath. 

Unlike Jackal, who had a body full of muscles like that of a horse, and his skin was tanned by the sun, Karaf’s body was pale white, with fine muscles carefully arranged like sculptural pieces. 

The Emperor’s bathroom was as luxurious as his bedroom. 

All kinds of flower petals were sprinkled in the spacious white marble bath, and various perfumes were prepared for him. 

The servants were carefully wiping his body with a towel as if they were handling a treasure trove, and next to him, they fanned him hard as the heat dissipated from his body, constantly serving drinks of various kinds.

Karaf took a sip of the wine from the goblet placed on the silver tray. 

He glanced back at Asha, who was still there.

“You still there? You can go back now. Or, you can come in and enjoy a bath with me.”

Asha couldn’t hide her disgusted expression causing Karaf to laugh again. 

He sounded like a naughty boy. 

However, it was embarrassing when he said those outrageous things.

Asha bowed and tried to quickly leave the uncomfortable place. 

But it was then. 

A calm voice was heard again.

“If you become my butterfly, you can stop doing chores right away. If you are by my side, you too can become a noble.”

Asha stood still. 

Karaf wasn’t looking at her, but his face was quite serious. 

Asha turned her back on him and also answered seriously.

“A butterfly is not bound by just one flower. And your worth is determined by yourself, not by others.”

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Asha walked proudly, saying the same words that Jackal had said to her before.

The knight commander Duran was standing nearby. 

Her pale yellow blonde hair shone like gold in the sunlight. 

Asha looked him in the eye, but she greeted him with a nod and walked gracefully past him. 

When she was completely out of sight, Karaf closed his eyes and absorbed the sunlight throughout his body, reflecting on what she had said.

     A butterfly is not bound by just one flower…… 

She was truly a peculiar woman. 

He was not familiar with the goodwill of others. 

People who pretend to be nice to him turn out to have wanted something or were hiding a dark heart that wanted to hurt him.

And he obviously thought her goodwill was because she wanted something, too. 

     If I don’t achieve that purpose, she will not be mine, and if I achieve that purpose, she will leave my side with no regrets. 

As everyone has done so far. 

So he had a mischievous desire to make her resent herself for faking her goodwill.

He didn’t know if he would feel more comfortable if she hated him. 

That way, he will be able to resent ethnic minorities to his heart’s content without any remorse.

Minorities deserve to be hated……. 

     But why? 

The thought of being hated by her made him feel numb and his heart ached.

Karaf’s face turned slightly bitter as he recalled his mother, who was a former butterfly.

To prevent the butterfly from leaving his side, he wanted to find a way to completely bind her to him. 

He slowly opened his eyes and said.

“…. Duran.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I have an order for you.”

Duran politely extended one arm forward and bowed his head.

“Please, give me your command.”

“Monitor every move the butterfly makes and report back to me. Investigate about her childhood, her likes and dislikes, her weaknesses, and anything else she might be tempted to do.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Duran didn’t know what he was thinking, but he could sense that his feelings for her had changed since the first time he saw her in the courtroom. 

Karaf narrowed his eyelids and scooped an icing topping with a cherry out of his wine glass and popped it into his mouth. 

His red lips gave off a strange humor. 

He is a short-tempered person, so normally he would have chewed the ice to get the content, but now he slowly sucked on the ice with his tongue and melted it bit by bit.

* * * * *

“Captain….”

Gabe, who entered the white tent, stopped at the door, looking sad.

Jackal was there in the dark, where no light entered. 

He was sitting alone in a corner, perched on a wooden crate, with his hands on his knees and his head down. 

He has been in that state since the day Asha was taken to the Imperial Palace. 

Gabe was standing with a bowl of food.

“You have to eat something.”

“…..Get out.”

His voice was low and dejected.

Gabe sighed once and spoke louder.

“You have to come to your senses so that Sosa will feel a little less guilty!”

Jackal paused for a moment, then jump up out of his seat. 

Watching him silently leave the tent, Gabe followed anxiously. 

As soon as he came out, he saw Sosa with his head down on his knees on the muddy snow field. 

Jackal just looked at him. 

Sosa was deeply remorseful for leaving her guard that day.

Fortunately, he wasn’t sound asleep, so he could quickly notice that Asha had disappeared, but it was also true that she was taken to the Imperial Palace by a narrow margin. 

Sosa rested his forehead on the ground and said in a tearful voice.

“Captain…..don’t forgive me….”

Gabe looked at him sadly from behind Jackal. 

Within a few days, Sosa’s face turned pale and his skin was rough, and the whites of his eyes were red and bloodshot with broken veins. 

Jackal with dark circles spoke heavily.

“….. come in. I need someone to talk to.”

Sosa flinched and slowly raised his head. 

Jackal trudged back to the tent without looking back. 

When Sosa tried to get up from the ground, he stumbled, but Gabe quickly came to his side and helped him.

Gabe silently patted him on the shoulder and walked back to his comrades. 

Sosa entered the tent, then Jackal looked at him with his exhausted face and said.

“I have no intention of blaming you. Even if you hadn’t changed the guard, Asha would have tried to leave us one way or another. She judged that she was only harming us and that the only way for her was to sacrifice herself. She’s that kind of woman who doesn’t realize that her life is also precious and takes care of others first…….”

When he finished speaking, Jackal’s face was infinitely more bitter. 

Sosa could not answer and just had his head down. 

“But I am responsible for not saving her. You and me too.”

Jackal raised his head and said determinedly.

“We will rescue Asha from that damned tyrant at the flowering ceremony.”

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