In the royal palace opposite to the one where the trial against Latifa was in full swing, Luhan and Tarek continued their conversation.

“Persuade Iota so that Hades’ Frau won’t be punished in the trial.”

Tarek snorted in refusal.

“Hmph. I’m hurt in the shoulder, not in the head. Why should I? Is it because your mad dog told you to?”

“If you do that, I won’t do anything in this year’s Grand Bazaar Mercatus.”

Luhan cut to the chase and stated his proposition.

Mercatus was a ‘Festival of Merchants,’ a grand event that took place once a year in the Grand Bazaar.

For most desert dwellers, participating in Mercatus was a grand festival, a great opportunity for princes competing for the sultanate to win popular favor.

At the sudden, radical proposition, Tarek looked at him blankly, momentarily forgetting his anger.

“Do you know what you’re saying?”

Luhan then brushed aside the brown hair covering his ears and showed off ear cuffs studded densely with emeralds.

They were similar to the ones hanging on one of Tarek’s ears.

“I’ll stake it on the green emeralds symbolizing the Basili Dynasty. Of course, I’ll also write a contract.”

In the merchant kingdom of Grand Bazaar, a contract was even more sacred than a holy book, and a royal vow staked on green emeralds was as solemn as a vow unto death.

“So, you won’t do anything at Mercatus if I persuade Mother to not punish Frau?”

“Donation, patrolling, hosting events, and occasional deregulation. I promise I won’t do any of that.”

Tarek just chuckled as if flabbergasted. The deal seemed skewed in one direction to him.

“Does your mad dog know about this condition?”

Tarek asked Luhan, who replied nonchalantly, a relaxed smile on his face.

“Hades is just a close friend who serves me. Why should I look out for him?”

After some consideration, Tarek abruptly stood up and quickly fetched a quill.

“Fine. Bring the contract.”

Luhan softly smiled, fiddling with the bracelet he had been holding all along.

In the Sultan’s court, where the trial was in full swing.

Latifa glanced at Hades, but as usual, he said nothing.

‘What’s going on? Are you just going to stand there?’

Seeing no help would come from him, Latifa cautiously began to speak.

“I apologize, but that’s an entirely unrelated opinion to my charge of ‘taming a lion that injured the prince.’ What matters is whether I tamed the lion and hurt him. If there’s no evidence for that, it’s just speculation tailored to the situation.”

At Latifa’s words, Iota’s face hardened in an instant.

“Frau is correct. Iota, do you have evidence that she tamed the lion?”

The Sultan extended a gentle hand toward Iota.

“People say that despite the lion being extremely ferocious, it didn’t attack her. That should be evidence enough that she fully tamed it.”

Hmm.

Quite a valid point.

Latifa unknowingly nodded at her words. Then, General Hades poked her waist as if to snap her back to reality.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

While she was rubbing her sore waist, the Sultan extended his hand toward Latifa and many eyes were upon her.

“Fine. Then do you have evidence to prove that Frau didn’t buy the lion?”

Sweat trickled down her back as Latifa cautiously opened her mouth.
“I heard Prince Tarek rushed out with his sword to the lion himself. I planned for the lion to be displayed in the stadium, but Prince Tarek rushing in with his sword was not planned. How can you say the two are the same?”

At her words, a middleaged man who was watching the trial shouted.

“I saw it too, Sultan. I was there, and many were shocked when Prince Tarek suddenly drew his sword and ran towards the stadium. Nobody would have expected that situation.”

Then someone else spoke loudly from the other side.

“No. General Hades first shouted that Prince Tarek would catch the lion, and the Prince was pushed by that.”

At this, General Hades chuckled.

“Are you saying that Prince Tarek was trivially influenced by my words?”

“Yes, that’s underestimating Prince Tarek! It’s an insult to the royal family!”

Another person agreed with Hades.

“Speak sense! How is that an insult to the royal family?! Hurting the Prince is a greater insult!”

Yet another countered.

And the crowd began to murmur, debating who was right, who was wrong, causing temporary chaos.

Amid the confused atmosphere, Latifa looked puzzled, and Hades whispered to her.

“In times like this, don’t be vacant. Identify who my enemies and allies are, Latifa. This is politics. It’s also a fight between Luhan and Tarek even if the parties are absent.”

At that, Latifa also snapped to her senses, looked around, and whispered back.

“There seem to be quite a lot of forces supporting Prince Tarek.”

“Yes. They increased a lot while I was on expedition.”

In the midst of the commotion, Iota pleaded tearfully to the people.

“Any parent with children will understand my feelings. Even if you disregard the name of the Basil family, he’s still my precious son. How can any mother stay quiet when her child is hurt? Prince Tarek is injured. Does it make sense that there is no perpetrator?”