She was pleading with someone, her brows deeply furrowed.

Hades soon realized that she was dreaming of the day she confided her secret to him. With her silver hair trembling like moonlight, Latifa shivered.

Hades laid beside her head, lying down, twirling the silver hair with his finger, and smiled.

“Yes. Let’s keep it a secret between us that I’m not a mad dog, and that you can talk to animals, Latifa.”

“…Ah.”

Her silver eyebrows trembled, and her small lips moved slightly.

Then her eyes, like flawless blue jewels, looked at Hades.

“Ugh. General Hades…? Where is this…?”

Latifa, still weak, mustered her strength to ask in a voice as small as a mosquito’s.

To that question, Hades gently closed her eyes with his large palm and whispered softly.

“Shh. The darkness of the Grand Bazaar is short.”

Soon, the night of the Grand Bazaar was waning, along with Latifa’s constant breathing.

“You said you’re going to make that woman your Frau.”

The maids of Caleb’s estate were chatting as they ground fragrant powder into water.

“Can you make a person a Frau? Wouldn’t it have been better to demote her to a concubine? That way, her later years wouldn’t be miserable.”

One of the maids spoke with a worried expression.

“Occasionally, there are eccentrics who make people Fraus. What’s so surprising about Hades, the mad dog of the Grand Bazaar? And that woman isn’t even a desert person but a prisoner of the Empire. Oh, isn’t this blend of narcissus and pomelo too strong?”

A maid with long hair cutely braided said, sniffing the fragrance, just then.
“Yes. It seems a bit strong.”

They were startled by a black shadow suddenly casting over them from behind and hurriedly knelt.

The owner of that voice was Hades.

Hades began to walk around, sniffing the spices placed on small bowls one by one.

“Is this a rose species? It’s been put to good use, but it’s too common. Is this star anise? Quite unique. Add mint, Daphne. It’s fresh and has a tangy scent, but it doesn’t suit her.”

Hades went on to sniff the spices one by one, even tasting some by dabbing his finger in them, giving his opinions.

But for the maids, it couldn’t be anything but a disaster…….

The fact that if he didn’t like the mixed spices the maids had worked hard to create, he would throw them on the floor right away, made it nothing less than a disaster.

The turquoisecolored tile floor of the spicemixing room was emitting a beautiful yet strong scent, mixed with broken ceramic pieces and fine spices.

“No, this is far from enough. Truly lamentable. Has the standard of Caleb’s maids fallen to the ground while I was away? Or has respect for me decreased?”

“Ignite, sir, we sincerely serve you, the flame of the Grand Bazaar!”

The maids immediately bowed their heads to Hades’s dissatisfaction.

Hades, who had started scolding the maids, sniffed the red spice next to him and opened his eyes wide.

“Musk (civet)? Are you trying to make me a trivial man who falls for a woman and flounders around?”

Hades eventually drew his scimitar and forcefully stabbed it into the long wooden table in front of him.

Although it was a rather large wooden table, it could not overcome the center where the sword was stuck and split in half, collapsing.

“Does the scent of musk resonate in Caleb’s territory? Nonsense!”

“I tried to create a charming scent that would suit Hades’ Frau. Please forgive us.”

The maid who made the musk scent bowed to the ground in apology, and then Hades calmly said to her.

“Do you wish my Frau to be an entity that enchants men?”

At that time, the old head maid Yanan appeared and politely raised her voice.

“I apologize, Lord Hades. That child has not been in Caleb’s territory for long, and she is poorly trained. I will retrain her properly, so please curb your anger.”

At Yanan’s answer, Hades drew a small sigh and sheathed the sword that he had stabbed into the table.

“Enough. What I want is the scent of a goddess. How would mere humans like us know what a goddess’s scent is?”

“I apologize, Lord Hades.”

“Yanan. I trust only you.”

As if without a trace of regret, he turned his back and left, and the maids began to busy themselves cleaning the messy spice room.

“Lord Hades is as terrifying as the rumors say. It’s so hard to please him.”

The scolded child pouted, and Yanan comforted her with a gentle voice.

“He doesn’t scold indiscriminately. He’s a person who rewards and punishes distinctly, so just do your role well.”

Wise head maid Yanan knew.

Though it was about spices, Hades had helped establish discipline among the new servants while he was away and increased the young maids’ respect for Yanan.

Hades couldn’t be called a merciful and kind ruler, but he was better than anyone at handling people.

Latifa could only stare blankly out the window at the unbelievable scene.
Clearly, before closing her eyes, it seemed like she was in the midst of a desolate desert, but now when she looked out the window, there were tall ramparts, and beyond them was a bustling desert city.

“This is Grand Bazaar……!”

Not just the scenery outside the window, but even the room exuding a deep jasmine fragrance was filled with strange and mysterious things.

Blue, red, and various colored glass crafts, or vibrant geometric patterns embroidered on tapestries, cushions adorned with golden fringes, and oddly shaped pipes.

Everywhere her eyes landed, there was not a single familiar thing she knew.

Beautifully curved silver trays and goblets with leaf patterns, strangely shaped fruits that she couldn’t even name.

Even her reflection in the hand mirror placed beside her seemed somehow awkward and strange.

She had been sick for a few days and then woke up, so her appearance should have been a complete mess, but apart from her pallid face, it was as white and smooth as if she had received a massage, and her hair was combed as soft as silk.

Furthermore, instead of her torn skirt and robe, she was wearing a very expensivelooking silk fabric dress.

The sleeves were short, but the side slits were very long, so her body could be exposed if not careful. The only thing that secured the dress was a silver silk ribbon around her waist and a brooch decoration, so she could only move awkwardly.

“Is this a bed? Or not……?”

She didn’t know whether to call it a bed, but where she had been lying continuously was more like a low marble platform, and above it, there was a splendid purple carpet laid out.

Stacked with several sizes and vibrant colors of cushions and silk quilts, she could barely guess that this was a ‘desert dweller’s bed.’

“It’s completely different from what I only read in the Harushept Heroic Tales!”

While she was frantically looking around the room, someone suddenly came in through the large window.

“What are your thoughts on arriving in Grand Bazaar?”