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A small bird perched on young Latifa’s hand, chirping. Above the bird’s head floated a small silvery spirit, visible only to Latifa.

[It’s cold in the north with snow falling. The lakes are all frozen, so I came down here!]

As the tiny spirit spoke to her, Latifa excitedly turned to her mother with a big smile and said,

“Mom, this one came from the north. It says it’s really cold there now and the big lakes are all frozen.”

Her mother, who had been looking at Latifa fondly, suddenly stiffened and grabbed her young daughter’s shoulders tightly. She then looked around, as if worried someone might have heard.

“Shh. I told you not to say such things, Lati!”

“Huuung…”

As the bird flew away at her mother’s scolding, young Latifa puffed up her cheeks and looked at her with dissatisfied eyes. She had been enjoying the interesting story from the bird that had just come over the wall, so being scolded put her in a bad mood.

“Only witches can talk to animals.”

“But I’m not a witch…”

As Latifa grumbled, her mother quickly soothed her daughter gently.

“Of course you’re not a witch, you’re Mommy’s pretty daughter. But to other people’s eyes, you might look like a witch, so you shouldn’t say such things carelessly.”

“But…”

“Lati, my daughter. I don’t want to lose you. You don’t want to be called a witch by people, do you?”

“…”

“Promise Mommy one more time. You must never show or tell anyone else about your ability, okay?”

“Okay, I understand…”

Seeing Latifa’s pouting face, she gently stroked her daughter’s silver hair and smiled softly.

“And you might be mistaking that animals are talking to you because you’re still young. My lovely Lati, Mommy wants you to live a normal and happy life like other people.”

Cheered up by the soft voice and the nice scent from her embrace, Latifa smiled brightly and snuggled into her arms.

“I only need Mommy!”

Until she passed away from illness, her mother murmured like a prayer for young Latifa:

“Lati, you must live happily for a long, long time, okay? Normally. Like others. Dance the waltz with a kind man you like. Eat lots of delicious food. Be healthy, and live long. You must live for Mommy’s share too.”

Mom was a kind person, but not a smart one, Latifa later recalled.

Mom hadn’t foreseen the fall of the Tania Empire, nor had she known that Latifa would become a fugitive, wandering the empire like a beggar.

**

The silvery spirit that rose faintly above the dog’s head swayed gently as if greeting Latifa. Looking at it, a small joy blossomed in Latifa’s heart.

‘A spirit has appeared!’

“Lati, step back. Brenda is right. It’s a beast. It won’t listen to human words!”

Another woman from the group desperately whispered, trying to pull her back.

“Shh!”

Latifa raised one hand to stop her. The joy was short-lived; with the spirit out, there was no time to waste. She quickly addressed it before the silver smoke disappeared.

“I won’t harm you at all. I’ll give you this bread, so could you pretend you didn’t find us?”

“…Whine?”

The hunting dog tilted its head as if it understood her words. At the same time, the dog’s words, audible only to Latifa, began to transmit through the silvery spirit.

[I’ll get scolded if I don’t tell my masters.]

The hunting dog whimpered, seemingly conflicted as it glanced back and forth between the bandits’ direction and Latifa’s group.

The people crouched behind Latifa didn’t even dare to breathe, afraid the dog might start barking loudly at any moment.

“If you quietly pass by pretending not to see, no one will scold you. Here, eat this.”

As Latifa gently coaxed again, throwing the bread on the ground, the hunting dog whined once more and slowly approached her.

Then it flopped over, exposing its belly and panting in front of her.

“…Oh my!”

The people gasped in surprise at the hunting dog’s sudden friendly change, and Latifa also finally exhaled with great relief.

“Whew…”

[Then I won’t tell, so give me all that bread!]

“Okay. You eat it all. And I’m sorry for interfering with your job.”

She smiled slightly, then gently stroked the belly and head of the hunting dog that kept wagging its tail vigorously and snuggling into her arms. This time, she spoke to the dog in her mind.

‘Could you go in the opposite direction and divert those people’s attention?’

[That’s super easy.]

-Woof.

The now-docile hunting dog barked once briefly as if to say “leave it to me,” then immediately left the building with the bread in its mouth. Thanks to the hunting dog that quietly slipped away, the hidden group let out a big sigh of relief.

“I thought we were done for! Lati, you’re good at handling dogs. You saved us.”

Latifa also wiped away her cold sweat and quietly smiled as she looked at the now-relaxed expressions of the people.

“I’m really glad we made it through safely. We were lucky.”

Despite the people’s sincere gratitude, she humbly bowed her head without getting cocky and curled up against the wall. She wondered if people would still offer her sincere gratitude if her true identity was revealed.

But Latifa soon shook her head and brushed off these meaningless doubts. There would never be a chance for her identity to be revealed now.

‘Everyone who knew about me must have died in the imperial palace…’

She leaned blankly against the wall and closed her eyes. Hoping that the faint shouts heard from beyond the wall were the sound of the bandits retreating.

Her real name, with the special secret of being able to talk to animals, was Latifa Glacia Tania.

The daughter of the powerless emperor who was the cause of the empire’s downfall, and the 17th imperial princess.

**

A man wrapped in a black robe from head to toe was observing the dusty chaos from afar, atop a sleek black horse with well-groomed hair.

“To dare to commit unauthorized thievery where I am present. What a disgrace to the desert people.”

It was their virtue, law, and way of survival for the groups scattered across the harsh desert to join forces and live together.

But thievery? That was breaking the trust between desert people and, furthermore, disrupting the market order of the Grand Bazaar where the Sultan resided.

Especially to Hades Caleb, the Grand General who didn’t hesitate to use rough methods for the sake of order and control, it was an even more unforgivable act. In the desert, where unpredictable gusts and unforeseen dangers lurked, disorder meant death.

“That disgrace will have to be paid with death.”

As Hades was estimating the number of bandits based on the amount of dust rising, a hunting dog behaving strangely caught his eye.

“Hmm?”

-Yap!

While most of the hunting dogs were chasing people in the chaotic residential ruins, only that dog was running around alone in a separate area.

There didn’t seem to be any place for people to hide, nor were there any birds or prey around, so Hades wondered why the hunting dog was wandering there and quietly rode his horse towards that spot.

“Thieves should be thieving, and hunting dogs should naturally be hunting.”

Sensing something odd, he dismounted and whistled to the hunting dog as he slightly pulled back the hood of his robe.

Jet-black hair flowed out, revealing attractive bronze skin underneath.

Under thick, manly black eyebrows were sharp eyes with dark pupils that scanned the surroundings, and below them was a straight, handsome nose bridge along with attractively upturned lips.

“Come now. There’s nothing here, yet you’re acting like this.”

“Whine…!”

The hunting dog that had been running wild suddenly sensed a threat from the unfamiliar human male and tucked its tail between its legs, lowering its head.

After looking around and confirming there was nothing, the man patted the frightened dog’s head.

‘A hound from the southern Shell region of the desert. Known for their excellent sense of smell and sight, they never lose prey once they’ve spotted it. Quite clever creatures…’

“Are you a rare dumb one among them?”

Suddenly, the man’s nose twitched slightly.

Hades bent down and sniffed around the dog’s neck, then quietly muttered about the faint unfamiliar scent.

“Jasmine scent… Tsk, and the worst quality at that. If they put this out as merchandise in the Grand Bazaar, they’d be cursed for three generations.”

The faint jasmine scent that drifted in between the dog’s odor and the earthy smell was crude enough to make him frown, but somehow Hades was on edge because of it.

Not only was the isolated hunting dog strange, but the jasmine scent commonly used by desert women wafting from the outskirts of the imperial capital was also odd.

‘It’s not a scent thieves would use. Perhaps there are desert women kidnapped by the bandits.’

Bandits often kidnapped innocent people and kept them as menial laborers, so Hades let out a small sigh as he stroked the hunting dog’s nape.

“Retreat quickly! Before the mad dog catches you!”

Hearing the distant shouts of the bandits, Hades, who had been gently petting the dog, smiled coldly.

“Now I should see the faces of your unprincipled masters. Crushing bandit gangs is my original job, after all.”

**

The sound of horse hooves echoed through the ruined suburban residential area as two companies of desert warriors with dark skin marched in formation.

But the ruins, now eerily quiet with only the scent of blood lingering thickly in the air, implied that everything had already been settled.

“Ignite, the Flame of Flames.”

A young commander dismounted tensely.

He knelt and paid respects to the black-haired man, Hades Caleb, sitting alone arrogantly on the ruins of a broken fountain in the residential area.

In front of him was stuck a large scimitar, with several ownerless hounds sniffing at the bloodstains dripping from the sword.

Undoubtedly, it belonged to the bandits who had been causing trouble in this area.

“I didn’t want to burden you who are tired from conquering the empire, so I was dealing with the petty thieves alone, but…”

As he heard the soldiers swallowing dry saliva, the man slowly stood up, leaning on the sword stuck in the ground.

“Still, you’re too late for the assembly? Has discipline loosened after victory in the war?”

“We apologize for being late, Grand General Hades!”

The soldiers all knelt down and bowed their heads to Hades in unison. But the man didn’t even respond to them.

Because there was something more important than dismissing his late subordinates.

He kicked away the gathered hunting dogs and pulled out the sword, then wiped the still-wet bloodstains on his black robe.

“There seem to be captured desert people nearby. I’ll quickly look around, so gather their spoils.”

There was an unwritten rule that desert people should help each other. Moreover, it didn’t suit his temperament to just ignore it now that he knew.

He took out a piece of white linen used for stopping bleeding from his robe’s inner pocket and wiped it on the dirt ground to remove any scent that might have gotten on him.

“You, come here. Yes, that’s right. You.”

He called the hunting dog that had shown strange behavior earlier, rubbed the linen on its neck to transfer the faint jasmine scent, then threw it to the other dogs.

The hunting dogs that smelled it started running somewhere, and Hades mounted his black horse and ordered his subordinates.

“There might be more bandit stragglers coming, so stay alert at all times. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, Grand General Hades.”

The subordinates, who had been prepared to face the wrath of the notorious mad dog, Grand General Hades, were inwardly relieved and bowed their heads.

**

The shouts of the desert people and the howling of beasts that had been heard in the distance for a long time had long since stopped. The women in the group of refugees cautiously looked outside as they loosened their stiff bodies.

Most of the refugees were women, children, and the elderly, as the men had long been conscripted and taken away due to the prolonged civil war and conflicts.

And thieves and slave traders were swarming everywhere to capture them.

“It’s quiet now. Have they all withdrawn?”

“Um… There might still be thieves around, so I think it’s better to wait until nightfall.”

Latifa timidly answered a woman’s question.

The situation seemed off to venture outside now. It was extremely calm and quiet, but there was no sound of receding hoofbeats, and it felt somewhat unsettling to assume the bandits had retreated.

“Don’t talk nonsense. We don’t have time to dawdle here.”

“But it’s still dangerous…!”

“Lati. It’s getting dark soon and we haven’t even found firewood. I don’t know what noble work you did before, but stop being childish!”

Brenda yelled at Latifa, seemingly having completely forgotten the help she had received from her just moments ago.

“If you don’t like what I’m saying, go out on your own and survive by yourself!”

“Ah, no… I just…”

Latifa eventually trailed off, unable to retort anything under the pressure of the strong-willed woman. Even when she was a princess, she had never properly expressed her own opinion, so what could she do now?

‘Right. Even if I step up, there’s nothing I can do…’

There had never been a time in her life when she felt useful. After years of clinging to the empty title of 17th princess, the accumulated sense of incompetence and self-loathing was no longer new to her.

‘I should go out and at least gather some dry twigs.’

Just as she was about to move, thinking she should lend a hand, she felt a throbbing pain in her ankle again.

“Ugh! My ankle hurts so much…”

Her ankle was visibly swollen and red, obviously abnormal. Knowing that if Brenda saw it, she would only get scolded for bringing back another useless injury, Latifa quickly lowered her skirt to hide her ankle.

‘If I become more useless here, Brenda might really abandon me.’

Just then, the sound of horse hooves began to be heard from somewhere.

-Clop, clop.

As the sound of hooves hitting the ground and hunting dogs barking came from behind the wall, people were startled and huddled together in a corner again.

“Don’t just stand there stupidly, move!”

“Ah!”

Sensing someone approaching, Brenda forcefully pushed Latifa aside and quickly slipped into the crowd of people.

As Latifa, who had fallen, was hurriedly trying to get up, the wall behind her collapsed with a loud noise.

“Ugh!”

Cold wind rushed in through the collapsed wall, accompanied by the sound of barking hunting dogs.

‘This is really the end now.’

She swallowed hard at the sound of footsteps approaching, crushing the fallen rubble. The footsteps came closer and closer, then suddenly stopped right in front of her.

With death’s shadow looming so close, she trembled, covering her mouth with both hands and squeezing her eyes shut.

And then, tap.

“…!”

Startled by someone gently touching her bangs, she suddenly raised her head.