“Ugh, why are all of you from the royal palace so annoying? Didn’t I say I’m busy?”

Frustrated by the servant’s persistence, Hades let out a long sigh.

“Prince Ruhuan will be visiting the Bazaar.”

“Just tell him no.”

Unmoved by the servant’s despair, Hades briskly dismissed him.

“But, but, the prince said you must not refuse this time, and to spare a moment unless you have a specific reason!”

“Then tell him I have a horrible hangover from drinking too much at the feast.”

Turning his back abruptly, Hades started to walk away.

“The message is from the Basilis dynasty…!”

Halted.

Turning back, Hades glared at the servant.

“Is this really a message from the dynasty, or just something between friends? How dare you impersonate the Basilis dynasty to manipulate me.”

The air thickened with tension, causing servants passing by to scuttle away.

“Eek…”

Confused, the servant was trembling. Hades had never refused a visit from Ruhuan before.

Wasn’t Prince Ruhuan not the ‘Mad Dog of the Grand Bazaar’? Wasn’t Hades someone who could even pretend to die to please Prince Ruhuan?

Rubbing his forehead, Hades finally yelled at the servants passing by.

“Bring me my sword! These palace messengers impersonate the dynasty to threaten others. Such nonsense tarnishes the honor of the Sultan. What else could it be?”

Hearing Hades’ outcry, the surrounding servants began scrambling to fetch his sword.
Then, from within the swirling pillar, a silver wave caught the morning sun and dazzled brilliantly.

“Hades General…? What’s the matter?”

Latifa Glaesia’s deep blue eyes blinked towards Hades Caleb Ignite, and soon she walked out slowly, unwrapping her long, thin, creamcolored robe that had trailed across the marble tiled floor.

“Latifa?”

Still somewhat sleepy, Latifa took cautious steps on the floor and let out a small yawn.

Hades’s pupils dilated and then slowly contracted, but he stood silently, gripping a pomelo lantern.

“Lord Hades! We’ve brought them here.”

Prince Khaled’s servants rushed ahead of Latifa, laying out the various knives they’d brought before Hades.

“…….”

Latifa glanced back and forth between the strange tools, the trembling man lying prostrate on the ground, and Hades standing there with a rotund expression, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Um… what is this? What’s going on?”

“…I was about to kill this man for not doing his job properly.”

Confused by Hades’s flat tone, Latifa stood dumbfounded, wondering if she had misheard the desert language.

The foreign language spun around in Latifa’s still sleepy mind.

Hearing only the word ‘kill’ in what Hades said, Latifa questioned him.

“…What? Kill? You mean, serve porridge? Here?”

Even if she was sleepy and the language was not her native tongue, who would talk about ‘killing’ someone on such a bright and refreshing morning? She naturally assumed he meant serving ‘porridge.’

“…..Heh.”

At Latifa’s absurd comment, a small laugh finally burst from Hades. He kneeled before the prostrate man and locked eyes with him, then spoke in an exaggeratedly generous tone.

“You’re quite lucky. The Moon Goddess has appeared to save your life. I’ll serve you some hot porridge with lentils, barley, and sage. Eat it here and leave.”

He then stood up as if nothing had happened, wrapped his arm around Latifa’s waist, and whistled cheekily.

After the Frau appointment ceremony, Hades always treated her like a real goddess in front of others.

“How can I ignore a goddess’s words? Serve porridge, hahaha!”

“What are you talking about? Who is that man?”

Still not understanding, Latifa was being pulled back to their room when Hades turned back to the still prostrate palace servant and said,

“Go eat the porridge, and tell Prince Luhan that there’s no need for him to come, as I will soon meet him in person.”

“Thathank you for your mercy! May the desert gods bless General Hades!”

The man continued to express his thanks, while Latifa kept glancing back, curious about what was happening.

Hades then pulled Latifa strongly and pushed her back through the archway of his bedroom.

“You should sleep more, what made you come out? You’re still sleepy.”

He sat her down on the wide pile of cushions and blankets atop the carpet.

Although they shared a bedroom, Latifa didn’t actually sleep next to him; she merely slept under his platform or at his feet.

“I heard you shouting in the corridor. All the doors and windows here are open, so everything is heard quite clearly.”

To block the pouring morning sun, thin silk and hemp cloths of light colors were hung by the large windows.

The scorching sunlight that entered the room turned into soft shades of pink, yellow, and gray as it passed through the cloths, filling the room with warmth.
The array of beautiful and dazzling colors that appeared not only in the bedroom but in all other places wonderfully showcased the lively and spirited disposition of the desert people.

“Ah, it seems I’ve woken you up. Since you’re awake, eat this and go back to sleep. Ha, I can’t help but envy your life of just eating and sleeping.”

‘From what I see, you also seem to do nothing but eat and sleep?’

After the formal appointment ceremony, Hades had leisurely spent his time in Caleb Estate reading books or sipping tea.

Occasionally, Latifa would go out to the courtyard to tend to Caesar’s wounds or play with the desert fox. Hades would follow and watch but didn’t really do anything else.

Hades handed a large pomelo to Latifa, then took a small fruit for himself and sat on a large windowsill.

“Ah, thank you!”

Latifa really seemed pleased as she sat down and began to peel the pomelo with her small, pale fingers.

In the brief silence, Hades tossed a small fruit up and down in the air, catching it while looking at Latifa with a somewhat strange expression, then seemed to make a small resolution.

“What does ‘Lati’ mean?”

“Chuckle—!”

While savoring the sweet pulp of the fruit, even licking her fingers, Latifa began to chuckle at the nickname that came from his mouth.