“That slave dares to have an adult ceremony like us! That’s the tradition of our desert people! Are you just going to stand there and watch?! Instead of blaming me, you should curse that woman!”

To Amirah’s words, Latifa inwardly sighed with relief.

The reason was pathetic.

It was even more pathetic because it didn’t look pitiful at all.

To those who didn’t know the circumstances, it seemed impossible for such a person to be pitiful.

“What is that? She is the goddess of Caleb.”

“It’s not the first time we’ve seen the deeds of General Hades. When the adult ceremony is held, we also have more things to watch and enjoy.”

As people passing by looked at Amirah as if she were a madwoman, making strange faces and shaking their heads, Amirah, feeling frustrated, began to shout at them.

“What goddess of the moon! Everything is fake! It’s all that woman’s fault! That slave woman! Ahhh!”

As Amirah raved and jumped around, her subordinate tried to calm her down, and in the meantime, Latifa approached the imperial people, carefully helping them up.

“Wh-who are you? Are you also an imperial? Have you also been captured?”

They asked Latifa with a puzzled expression, and she answered them in the imperial language so that the desert people couldn’t understand.

“I am also a slave in this house. I… have also been captured.”

Although the reality was a bit different, there was no sentence as simple as this to briefly explain her situation.

“…I see.”

Upon Latifa’s words, they sent her a look of resignation.

“I’m sorry. Your owner is angry with me, so she’s venting her anger on you. I’m really sorry…”

Latifa felt too sorry for them, so she couldn’t even meet their eyes properly. However, they, in turn, praised and comforted her.

“A beautiful young lady in nice clothes, what else could a slave do but work? It must be tough on your side too. My daughter…”

Suddenly overwhelmed by the scent of the empire and their consolation, Latifa choked up, her eyes reddening.

“Now that my cheek is bruised in the right place, I get more upset about being beaten in the streets at this age without even knowing the language. It would be better if I knew the desert language properly!”
Latifa untied the silk shawl draped over her shoulders and tightly bound it around the back of the man who was bleeding the most from being struck among the three.

Then, she discreetly unfastened her bracelets and earrings, quickly handing them over to the group while whispering.

“These. It will be more helpful if you sell them secretly later. I couldn’t help much. I’m truly sorry. Really sorry.”

“Wow! Thank you. The lady of this house, the slave girl, is much better than the princess who sticks to our king and lives in luxury!”

“Isn’t the lady going to get scolded by the owner because of us?”

“Don’t worry about us and take care of yourself. I’m sorry we couldn’t help you until the end.”

The imperial people expressed their gratitude to Latifa, warmly holding her hands.

Tap!

“Oops!”

Suddenly, Amirah, who had approached, firmly grabbed Latifa’s wrist and began to pour out vulgar words.

“So, you know the subject and are friendly with your kind! Yeah, you suit that appearance more, you lowly woman!”

Again, when Amirah raised her arm to strike her cheek, a loud roar echoed in front of the main gate.

Growl!

“Hwa, Golden Lion!”

‘Caesar!’

Caesar came out through the large orc door, shaking his sharp claws and roaring loudly towards Amirah.

Grind!

Although old, he still displayed sharp claws fluttering in the air, causing people to scatter in confusion. Amirah’s face turned pale as she trembled, quickly letting go of Latifa’s wrist.

Roar!

As Caesar raised his heavy body, lifting both front paws and threateningly growling, Amirah froze on the spot, unable to even scream.

“Caesar. It’s not worth dirtying your noble claws over.”

Latifa quickly reached out, speaking, and Caesar, even though he lowered his head onto Latifa’s waist, continued to growl threateningly towards Amirah.

Under Caesar’s momentum, the pressured Amirah hastily disappeared without even apologizing, and her subordinates, imperial slaves, followed her, dragging the imperial people with them.

Latifa thanked Caesar, watching as the imperial people retreated. She sighed deeply, looking at the deserted street, which had become quiet again even though there were only Caleb’s servants left, staring at her with eyes full of concern.

No, their gaze was shaking as they looked at Latifa’s red-cheeked face. It seemed as if they were thinking of Hades, who would cause a fuss for not protecting her.

‘Oh well.’

“It would be nice if you kept getting beaten for such a trivial thing in secret from Hades.”

Smiling gently, Latifa spoke to the Caleb people who were looking at her, petting Caesar.

“Trying to create secrets is foolish.”

Hades, looking at Yanan through the sun setting in the late afternoon, mumbled.

Shadi’s youngest daughter threw a tantrum, and Yanan was dumbfounded by the news that Latifa had been slapped. When he heard that she had asked to keep it a secret, he was even more bewildered.

From Yanan’s perspective, he couldn’t possibly handle that situation and had spoken out of frustration.

“A so-called goddess of the moon without any dignity, skillfully trying to hide things from her owner secretly.”

Hades wiped the hot marble railing with his palm, bathed in the afternoon sunlight, and slowly headed toward his bedroom, where he could prepare for the evening.

The slight burn on his palm was nothing to him, but, well, what about her, the one from the empire?