Chapter 42: 42

Asha was perplexed and quickly made an excuse.

“Sheppy is very shy.”

“…… Do you know about horses?”

When he looked at the servant in charge of the horses, the servant immediately bowed his head and replied.

“…… It’s true, Your Majesty. The horse does not even allow others to touch it.”

The servant was sweating a little as he struggled to prevent the stubborn horse from escaping.

Karaf didn’t say a word but just stared at him.

As if they were having a staring contest, Jackal met his bright red eyes with his cold blue eyes.

Jackal saw his proud eyes as if he knew he was an excellent horse, and then Karaf scoffed.

He tried to take Asha out on a date just for the two of them to curry favor with Asha, but was ungrateful and against her will.

Originally, he would have drawn a sword and struck Karaf in the neck, but he decided to put his temper aside just this time after seeing Asha.

“You managed to tame such a violent horse.”

“I’m flattered, Your Majesty.”

When Asha bowed politely holding the end of her dress, Karaf’s expression softened a bit.

     I didn’t mean to compliment you.….

Asha positively accepted everything related to Sheppy……

In any case, he seemed certain that he had gotten closer to her.

Confident, Karaf walked excitedly at the thought of going on a date with Asha.

Jackal put Asha, who couldn’t walk very well, on her back, and followed Karaf looking at him somewhat dissatisfiedly.

* * * * *

They enjoyed a quiet afternoon of tea in the heart of a secluded rose garden.

In the rose garden filled with the fragrance of flowers, only the chirping of insects, the chirping of small birds, and the sound of water from the fountain were softly heard.

A little further from the table, Jackal lay down on the grass and stared intently at them.

Karaf prepared the best food for horses, high-quality hay, abundant fruits such as carrots, corn, apples, and even sugar cubes.

Jackal pushed the hay aside and replenished his energy with fruit.

Since he has been living in horse form and eating very little, he had to supplement his nutrition sufficiently until the flowering ceremony.

Jackal ate the fruits and chewed on the sugar cubes, but he couldn’t take his eyes off them for a moment.

If the Emperor ever did atrocious things to her, he would jump up and break his torso.

He glanced at Asha to make sure she was alright, but strangely Karaf kept eye contact with him and not with her.

The horse looked at him with very fierce eyes.

That gaze felt like a ‘don’t cross the line with my master‘ warning.

Karaf was dumbfounded. How can I kill that bastard horse…….? He thought to himself.

Asha drank the tea in silence to calm her frightened heart.

Seeing this, Karaf raised his hand and called a servant.

“Put Vanessa a parasol so she doesn’t get sunburned.”

“Yes.”

When the servant politely retreated, Asha asked.

“Your Majesty, do you not need it?”

“I have to sunbathe regularly.”

When Karaf finished speaking, he languidly leaned back against the chair and stretched out his arms.

His appearance in the sunlight looked vivid and beautiful despite being a black rose.

Although he was cursed, he was also a flower. His pale skin, unlike humans, became healthier and more radiant as he received sunlight.

After closing his eyes and basking in the sun, Karaf suddenly noticed her gaze and opened his eyes.

Seeing the curious expression on her face, he said with a mischievous smile on his lips.

“…… It looks like it’s a little hot.”

He reaches up and undoes his tie, exposing his skin.

Asha sighed, then realized she was looking at him and averted her gaze.

Whether he was intentionally enjoying his gaze or trying to seduce her, he was just smiling.

As his bare skin was slightly exposed, his rose pheromone also grew stronger.

But it was then.

“…… Purung.”

Somehow, the horse sounded annoyed.

     Is that bastard crazy? Or is he an exhibitionist?

Jackal looked disgusted, and Asha quickly turned around and asked.

“Sheppy, is there something wrong? Or would you like more food?”

As the horse shook its head, Asha smiled.

“Take a break there. You should play to the max, okay?”

“Pureung.”

Sheppy put its head lightly on the ground, looked at Asha, and gently shook his long tail.

Karaf raised his eyebrows again.

     That horse is very coquettish in front of his master…….

They were unaware of each other, but they were two men who did their best in front of her and brought out their charms…….

Karaf tried to ignore him and turned to Asha.

“If you visit me in the future, I want to spend time with you here.”

Asha remembered those words from the past.

He once brought her here when she first came to the palace..….

Of course, at the time, she was so scared that she couldn’t look at him properly, and couldn’t answer his questions well, so he quickly lost interest.

“Is this Your Majesty’s favorite place?”

“Yes. It has been my only refuge since childhood. Neither my mother nor the previous emperor could find me.”

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His eyes darkened.

Asha realized that he had called his father by a distant title, ‘the previous emperor‘.

Asha asked a little curious.

“But it’s a rose garden, and I don’t see a single rose here?”

“Well, it’s because I cut them off.”

“…… Why?”

Asha’s eyes grew bigger.

Karaf replied calmly.

“The day I ascended the throne, I cut all the roses here because I no longer needed to hide. I have a lot of roses here, do I really need more roses?”

Asha kept her mouth shut.

What he had said had a double meaning.

It was nothing more than a bloody declaration that whoever was aiming for the throne, he would cut them all off.

As Karaf recalled his blood-stained coronation ceremony, he muttered bitterly.

“Even though it’s the same rose, I somehow don’t want to look at them anymore. When I look at the colorful roses, it feels more real that I am different from them…….”

It was the first time he had spoken openly about this, so Asha was a bit surprised.

He didn’t trust others, so he never brought up stories that would be his own weakness.

Duran was the only one who occasionally listened to his concerns, but he seemed to trust her.

Karaf saw Asha saddened and quickly changed the subject.

The Pink Book said that a man who confided his worries to a woman, even during a date, was unattractive.

“In the capital, there are desserts that can only be eaten at the festival. I prepared some because I wanted to eat it with you, so feel free to enjoy it.”

He snapped his fingers, then a servant quickly brought something.

There were candies made from fresh flowers neatly packaged in a pretty wooden box with separate compartments.

Gorgeous flowers were inside the candies like amber jewels glistening in the sunlight.

When Asha’s eyes grew slightly bigger at those beautiful candies, Karaf asked with a smile.

“What do you think? Doesn’t it make you want to put it in your mouth just by looking at it?”

“Yes…… indeed.”

Asha took a candy with a red flower inside and popped it into her mouth like she was possessed by something.

Looking at her plump red lips, Karaf sighed involuntarily.

He quickly picked up his teacup to hide his feelings and took a sip of the fragrant flower tea, but his gaze turned to her lips again.

Asha said, who dazedly put a sweet candy in her mouth and rolled it around with her tongue.

“It’s so sweet……. It’s my first time eating something like this.”

“Really? I’m glad you like it.”

He couldn’t believe that she became happy just from sweets.

Karaf wanted to show her what true happiness was, that she had nothing.

“…… But Your Majesty.”

Then, at Asha’s words, Karaf came to his senses.

“Yes?”

“I understand that Your Majesty is between a flower and a human.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But is it okay for you to have a family feud?”

Karaf spat out the tea.

Duran, who was nearby, thought he had drunk another poisoned cup of tea, so he let go of his hands that were behind his back.

Another unfortunate incident occurred at the Imperial Palace, so he left the interrogation to his subordinates to protect Karaf.

Karaf chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand.

“As a flower, isn’t it too weird to eat flowers?”

“Ah…… I apologized. I’ve been rude.”

Asha had asked that question out of curiosity, but her face flushed with embarrassment.

“You are such a strange woman.”

“Then why do Your Majesty give such precious time to a strange woman?”

Karaf looked deeply and said.

“It was a compliment, but you must have got it backward. I really like special things. And for me, the butterflies are as important as the Empire.”

Then this time Asha spit out the tea.

In the distance, Duran looked at them again with wide-open eyes.

He couldn’t figure out what they were talking about, the two of them took turns spitting out tea like that…….

Jackal, who was quietly listening to their conversation, thought to himself.

     Should I chew on his hair and pretend I mistook his hair for grass?

Asha cringed at his strangely romantic words.

     Was Karaf always like this before……?

It was really strange.

The man in front of her didn’t look like the man she knew.

Asha turned her head abruptly, only to find Sheppy standing up.

“Sheppy, do you want to eat one too?”

Jackal looked at Karaf with piercing eyes and snorted.

Karaf smiled and said generously.

“Horses like sweet things. Let’s give him one too.”

Karaf picked the ugliest flower he didn’t like among the fresh flower candy and threw it on the ground.

Jackal just stared at him without looking at the candy, then Karaf said relaxed.

“Eat it.”

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