Hades cut off Latifa’s words.

“It’s fine. People won’t actually believe you’re a goddess anyway.”

‘What? Then why make me do this?’

As Latifa gave him a dumbfounded look, Hades ruffled her hair and walked toward the lion’s cage.

“It’s all about increasing the product’s value. We are accomplices in increasing the prince’s worth. We’re enhancing our own worth.”

—Growl.

The lion growled cautiously at Hades, but he looked back at Latifa with an unflinching expression.

“One week. You have one week to tame this lion.”

“…!”

“Go ahead and prove your worth to me. Become my deserving Frau. Something ‘beyond human.'”

Upon hearing those words, Latifa was dumbstruck. How could she tame a golden lion in a week?

“That’s impossible! That’s a wild lion! I can’t communicate with such a ferocious wild animal, let alone control its behavior!”

Latifa protested, feeling her mind go blank. However, Hades replied nonchalantly.

“If you’re my Frau, you can do it. I believe in you.”

[Star Icon][Star Icon]

Grand Bazaar Royal Palace. In Prince Tarek’s lavishly decorated palace, Iota was visiting his son Tarek.

“Hades, that madman, sent an invitation? And what? A Frau ceremony? Ha! Inviting a prince of the kingdom for such a thing?!”

Iota complained to Tarek with a scornful tone, as if his pride was wounded.

Tarek’s pride was also hurt. The ‘master’s happiness,’ or Frau, was generally something trivial.

Usually, rare pets or expensive gems received the title of Frau, making the ceremony inherently personal and petty.

If one were to categorize it, perhaps it would be akin to a birthday party for a pet dog they’d been raising?
Inviting a figure as notable as Prince Tarek to such a place was an affair that could only injure Eiota’s pride.

“But we must go, Mother. That madman has invited most of our allies to the banquet. Count Serz and Count Bader have also been stung. It’s clear he’s using strange methods to win them over to Prince Luhan.”

Tarek’s explanation was met with a snort from Eiota.

“Ha! Prince Tarek. They’re already on our side. What’s the point of showing our desperation by attending?”

Eiota gave Tarek sagely advice, but the fierytempered Tarek didn’t take it well.

“We must attend. We haven’t properly won those targets over yet. We must leave no room for my brother Luhan. Becoming a sultan isn’t so easy.”

“So you will attend…?”

Eiota lifted the end of her sentence, hinting that Tarek should not go, but this time, Tarek spoke quite firmly.

“We have no reason to refuse the Frau appointment ceremony, even if it’s just one of that madman’s antics. This is a matter among men. Don’t interfere, Mother.”

Tarek didn’t want to be the “momma’s boy” that Luhan had accused him of being last time.

“If you mess things up later, don’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m going back to the harem.”

Eiota shot Tarek a harsh look and stood up abruptly.

Tarek, a towering figure, wavered for a moment under her piercing gaze but soon steadied himself and didn’t see her out.

[Star Icon][Star Icon]

Meanwhile, Latifa was sweating profusely in an open field within Caleb territory.

“So… you’re a good boy?”

[Dash]Roar!

“Mommy!”

Latifa hurriedly tossed the bloodsoaked meat into the golden lion’s cage and quickly backed away.

The lion let out a terrifying roar and started chewing the meat with its large fangs.

It was the first time since arriving at Grand Bazaar that she wanted to cry this much.

She didn’t feel this overwhelmed even when Brenda woke up to see the desert, or when she first laid eyes on the grand city upon arrival at Grand Bazaar.

‘Only five days left…’

For two days she’d been trying to familiarize herself with the lion, but she was still stuck in the same place.

“I can’t even make eye contact, let alone tame it!”

Just as she was about to give up and sit down, Hades’ face and voice came to mind.

‘He said he trusts me… so I can’t give up.’

Hades’ words of trust anchored her more powerfully than any threat or persuasion.

‘Right. Only two days have passed. Maybe if we build a little more rapport, I could see its spirit.’

She clenched her fists and stood up. The key issue was how to build a rapport with this terrifying lion.

“Sigh… How can I get close to you? How can I make you open up to me?”

Latifa looked warily at the lion in the cage. She couldn’t go too close because the lion would get agitated and potentially break the fence.

She had no choice but to keep her distance and spend the entire day with this lion. That was all she could do.

She sighed deeply and mumbled to herself.

“Besides, even if I tame you, what comes next is the issue. Become a goddess, they say? Is that even possible?”

Being a goddess was something she couldn’t even do as a princess, let alone in a foreign land.

The growing frustration made Latifa tear at her hair.

[Dash]Meow, meow…!
Latifa looked despondent as the desert fox beside her playfully rubbed its body against the sand and wagged its tail.

The cautious little fox had been reluctant to communicate, but it seemed to have finally warmed up to Latifa enough for awkward conversation.

Of course, the problem was that if the fox attempted conversation, it only chirped incessantly about what it wanted to say.

“You must be content. Why are you so happy alone? I’m about to die because of a lion.”

Latifa puffed her cheeks as she lightly tapped the excited desert fox on its head.

[Good! Good, good! Like tree!]

As she focused on the desert fox, a faint voice reached her, and she smiled broadly, embracing it.

[Tree! Tree!]

‘So you’re an unintelligent animal, just like General Hades said. Sigh.’

The little desert fox didn’t seem particularly intelligent; its spirit just chattered about whatever it wanted to say.

Distracted by the incessant chirping, Latifa withdrew her focus and shooed the spirit away with her hand.

The desert fox continued to roll on the sandy ground, kicking its legs. Stuck in its mouth was a thick wooden stick.

“What are you doing? You’ll get sick if you eat something like this.”

When Latifa tried forcibly to remove the stick, the fox growled and bared its teeth at her.

Then, a peculiar inspiration flitted through her mind.

“Uh… this wood… Yes! Could this work on the lion?”

Having thought of a way to befriend the lion, she hastily got up to find Hades.