Captured by the Desert Tyrant (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 8

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The procession continued like that for several days. By the time they reached the borderlands, where a slightly warmer wind blew, Latifa’s leg injury had begun to ease somewhat.

Perhaps it was thanks to the medicine Hades had given her. The throbbing pain had greatly subsided, the swelling had gone down, and she could now walk a little without Brenda’s help.

“We’ll only have to endure a bit longer. They say we’re almost there.”

“I still don’t know what we’ll eat or how we’ll survive once we reach the Third Nation.”

“…As long as we’re alive somehow, that’s good enough.”

“You really didn’t have anything going on with the General?”

She’d been sticking close to Brenda the whole time—surely Brenda knew nothing had happened. Yet she still seemed to hope Latifa would cozy up to Hades and squeeze something more out of him.

Latifa vaguely laughed off the situation and stroked the head of the brown horse standing beside her. Silver ripples shimmered above the horse’s head.

‘Good job. I’ll be parting with you soon too.’

[I don’t want to say goodbye. Latifa is light. Men are heavy.]

Latifa smiled happily at the horse’s words. Seeing this, Brenda, who stood nearby, suddenly burst into anger.

“You really only do useless things! I’m burning up inside while you’re like this!”

‘Eek. Here we go again.’

Brenda’s nagging had grown worse the closer they got to the Sort borderlands. Even though, thanks to Latifa, she’d been able to ride a horse and sleep warmly through the long procession, she kept demanding more.

“Bring more fruit,” or “I want to wash my face—bring more water.” Since she couldn’t speak Desert Tongue, she constantly badgered Latifa to relay her requests to the desert people.

Thinking it best to keep the peace, Latifa tried her best to fulfill Brenda’s demands whenever possible—but Brenda never knew when to stop.

At some point, even the black robe Latifa had received from Hades had long since fallen into Brenda’s grasp.

“If you stick close to the General, you can live really comfortably, right, Lat? Why don’t you go first and act sweetly toward him?”

‘Could you help me out?’

Latifa finally asked the brown horse for help. The horse bobbed its head, then lifted its front hooves high and let out a loud whinny.

—Heeeyng!

“Kyaaak!”

Startled by the horse’s sudden outburst, Brenda finally stopped her nagging in shock.

‘Thank you.’

Just as Latifa chuckled inwardly, Manut called out to her.

“Hey. Imperial woman. The General summons you.”

Latifa had a hunch. It seemed they were about to restart their deal.

**

Latifa limped after Manut and saw Hades reading a parchment scroll with a serious expression. Beside him sat a considerable pile of scrolls.

“General, I’ve brought her.”

“Good. Take this to the commanders of the 3rd and 4th armies, and this one to the 7th.”

As Hades handed over the scrolls, Manut quickly disappeared. Left alone together, Hades picked up another scroll, as if he still had mountains of things to read and tasks to finish.

His face, which she hadn’t seen properly in days, still looked sharp and resolute—but fatigue seeped through, something even Latifa could sense.

“Did they take your clothes too?”

“I-it’s not that they were taken. Brenda gets very cold easily… so we just swapped.”

“You’ve been together for days. I can’t tell if you’re naive or just foolish.”

Latifa thought she understood what Hades meant. She already knew Brenda was trying to use her.

But Brenda was still a fellow Imperial, while Hades was a desert dweller—so she didn’t want to admit his words outright.

“The day I brought her along, that greedy woman stuffed those tasteless apples straight into my pocket.”

“…I was starving. It wasn’t stealing—it was my share of apples anyway.”

“If you insist on defending her that much, I’ve nothing more to say. But if a superior mismanages their subordinates, the superior suffers the loss.”

Hades gave a faint chuckle and gestured toward a large chest in front of him, motioning for her to sit. As Latifa sat atop it, she asked,

“What do you need?”

“A deal.”

‘I knew it.’

The word “deal” weighed heavily on her heart. Why did he have to make it sound so serious when he could’ve just asked her to help with translation?

“What I want is your skill in Desert Tongue. What do you want?”

“…Will you grant what I ask for?”

“If it matches the value, the deal goes through. Otherwise, we negotiate.”

“I thought you were a General—but you sound just like a merchant.”

Trending

“Oh, thank you. Anyone from the Grand Bazaar has merchant blood running through their veins.”

‘Tch. That wasn’t a compliment.’

She’d called him a merchant just to prick his pride a little out of annoyance at his smug smile—but Hades seemed even more pleased.

“Oh right—in the Empire, merchants were considered lowly, weren’t they?”

Hades looked at her with an even broader smile. She couldn’t understand why his face looked so irritating.

She didn’t want to lose to that face. So she steadied her voice and spoke challengingly to Hades.

“What I want is gold.”

“Ah. It used to be cheap, but the price has gone up. How much do you want?”

A lot. The more, the better.

But saying that would surely earn another mocking laugh from him. The real problem was that she had no idea about market prices.

‘I don’t even know how much gold I actually need.’

Even as a neglected imperial princess, Latifa had never handled money herself. She’d never bought anything with her own hands or studied economics—so this ignorance was only natural.

He wasn’t even threatening her with a sword, yet cold sweat began trickling down her back. But she couldn’t afford to appear weak here.

“Enough gold… to establish myself after I go into exile in the Third Nation.”

“That’s absurdly expensive.”

Hades snorted, clearly signaling his refusal.

‘Maybe he thinks I’m bluffing. Don’t be scared, Lat.’

Latifa quickly gathered her thoughts and pointed to the pile of scrolls stacked beside him.

“You’ve got a lot of work, don’t you? You must want to finish quickly and return home.”

“So you’re not entirely foolish after all.”

“I’ll finish the work quickly. I’m capable enough for that.”

Wait. When in my life have I ever said something like that?

Latifa was even more shocked by her own words. She’d just claimed she was capable.

Suddenly overwhelmed with embarrassment, her heart pounded and her face flushed hot.

She could feel Hades staring silently at her blushing face. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the sensation.

Thump, thump. Her heartbeat grew even faster.

“Fine. Ten gold ingots.”

“……”

‘I don’t know if that’s a fair price! I wish Brenda were here.’

“Thirteen.”

“Uh….”

“Fifteen. I can’t give any more.”

When Hades crossed his arms firmly, Latifa finally gave a reluctant nod.

“O-okay! Fifteen!”

“Good. Let’s draw up a contract.”

Hades took out a piece of parchment and a quill from beside him and placed them on the flat chest.

“D-do we really need to write a contract too?”

“In the Grand Bazaar, contracts are sacred. Without one, no one can guarantee your rights.”

The Grand Bazaar must be a truly strange place—to require contracts even for something so trivial.

“Since you can’t write Desert Tongue, I’ll draft it and show you the contents. Read it carefully—you must scrutinize every detail so you can’t go back on your word later.”

He picked up the quill and wrote the contract fluently in elegant script. Then he paused, set down his hand, and looked straight at Latifa.

His black eyes, like dark flames, fixed solely on her—and heat rushed through her entire body.

“Lastly, I need your name.”

“…Ah. Latifa.”

It suddenly struck her that she’d never even told him her name. Not that anyone would know it anyway.

Back in the palace, as the 17th imperial princess, hardly anyone knew her real name—so how could commoners or, even less, a desert man from a distant land?

“What?”

“Latifa. Latifa Glacia.”

She deliberately omitted the imperial surname “Tania” at the end.

“What strange names you Imperials have—they’re far too complicated. Now read it over and sign.”

ads

She nearly blurted out, ‘Your names are even stranger!’

Latifa picked up the contract and read through it carefully. Surprisingly, it was quite detailed. It systematically listed the date, purpose, terms, and conclusion.

—Hades Caleb shall pay Latifa Glacia fifteen gold ingots as wages for her translation services until his departure for the desert campaign.

‘Alright. Seems fine.’

Having read the Desert Tongue contract, Latifa accepted the quill and signed at the very bottom.

“Latifa.”

As she signed, Hades murmured her name softly, as if memorizing it. It felt strangely embarrassing—this was the first time a man had spoken her name aloud.

“Latifa. Latifa, Latifa?”

‘Why do you keep saying it?! It’s embarrassing!’

After repeating her name several times, Hades extended his hand with a low chuckle.

“Latifa. I am Hades Caleb Ignite. Consider it an honor to have made this contract with me.”

What a truly odd name. Thinking this, Latifa took his outstretched hand and shook it.

“You’re not trembling anymore.”

With his satisfied smile, the rich scent of jasmine seemed to drift from somewhere nearby.

**

“Fifteen gold ingots?! For you?!”

Brenda was so shocked by the amount Latifa mentioned that she nearly toppled forward.

“I asked for enough gold to settle down after going into exile.”

Seeing Brenda’s astonished expression, Latifa smiled with a hint of pride. The fact that Brenda was so flabbergasted meant it must truly be a huge sum.

“My goodness, how much is that worth…! With that, we could live more comfortably than before the war!”

Brenda’s face was beaming with joy.

‘But… that’s my money…’

Latifa hadn’t planned to keep it all to herself, but she hadn’t even mentioned sharing yet—and Brenda was already dreaming happy dreams.

‘Then again… what would I even do with gold alone? Maybe Brenda would use it better.’

With that thought, Latifa shyly asked Brenda,

“Um, Brenda… now that I’ve earned this gold, could I possibly have back that jewelry box I gave you before?”

The jewelry box Latifa referred to was the only piece of jewelry she’d taken when fleeing the palace. Inside, the only important item was a decorative key made of gold—but the box itself was a great treasure to Latifa.

It was her mother’s keepsake. Crafted in the likeness of the blue shield that once symbolized the Glacia family.

Embedded on the lid was a blue gemstone shaped like a shield, and along one edge was an elegant silver engraving of a small beast’s claw mark.

‘Mother always said proudly it was the Blue Shield that protected the Empire.’

A small smile graced Latifa’s lips as she recalled her happy childhood. She’d entrusted that precious item to Brenda, asking her to accept it into the refugee group.

“Alright. But Lat.”

“Yes?”

“That General… isn’t he kind of like a goose that lays golden eggs?”

“A goose that lays golden eggs?”

“Well… if you cut open its belly, it won’t lay any more golden eggs.”

“…Are the ingots insufficient?”

“No. Think about it—why would he give someone like you this much gold?”

“I-it’s what I rightfully earned through my abilities! It’s payment for my work!”

“You’d like to believe that. But in my eyes, you could get even more. Did the General perhaps say he wants to take you with him?”

For some reason, talking to Brenda suddenly felt exhausting. Latifa quietly pulled the blanket over herself and turned away.

Why did speaking Imperial feel more tiring than the unfamiliar Desert Tongue?

‘Hades Caleb Ignite.’

The strange foreign name suddenly surfaced in her mind. Latifa repeated it softly and quietly closed her eyes.

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