Despite Hades sending the signal to call the Sultan’s bloodline, Ruhan stood frozen in place.

“Your Highness. Now is the time. General Hades is giving the signal! You must go out now!”

Irgos, standing next to Ruhan, began to urge him.

But Ruhan could not easily move his body because of one word stuck in his head.

“Hades’ frau…”

Latifa was now about to become the happiness of his close friend, Hades.

If Ruhan were to walk out there now, reveal his identity, and accept the Golden Lion’s greeting, Latifa would surely be remembered as Hades’ frau by everyone in the Grand Bazaar.

He knew she would be a slave on Caleb’s private property, but frau?

Ruhan’s plan to bring Latifa back by handing over a few gold coins had gone up in smoke.

Even with a mountain of gold coins, he couldn’t buy the happiness of his close friend.

No, before that, would Hades even think of selling her?

“Ugh!”

Ruhan suddenly covered his mouth as a wave of nausea hit him.

“Your Highness?! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine, Irgos. It’s just the stench of blood that’s nauseating.”

Convinced that the delicate prince couldn’t handle the smell of blood flowing from the Golden Lion’s wounds, Irgos supported him while looking down at the stadium with concern.

“Your Highness, I think you should still try to go out now, despite this.”

Staggering with Irgos’ support, Ruhan put his hand into his robe pocket and fiddled with the bracelet inside.

It was a gift Ruhan had prepared to give Latifa when they met again.

It was a silver bracelet with a small but beautiful peony pattern decorated with white diamonds and opals.

“Your Highness. Don’t forget that Prince Tarek is also here.”

Irgos said regretfully, looking at Ruhan’s pale face.

If Ruhan didn’t go out now, there was no telling when Tarek, struggling with a shoulder injury, might jump out and snatch that position.

At the mention of Prince Tarek, Ruhan looked up in surprise.

Ruhan was the legitimate prince expected by all and the future Sultan.

He looked down at the stadium where Hades and Latifa were, fiddling with the bracelet in his robe pocket.

It was only a few seconds, but it felt like eons had passed for him. Ruhan slowly parted his lips, sweating.

“Irgos.”

Ruhan turned his head, barely suppressing another wave of nausea.

The smell of lion’s blood didn’t matter anymore.

But seeing Hades and Latifa standing below like Ignis and Calende, he couldn’t help feeling sick.

It somehow resembled the despair of losing in a competition between males.

Ruhan could only make Latifa a ‘palace maid’ of imperial origin at best if he took her.

But Hades?

He was already making her a ‘goddess’ worshipped by the desert people.

“Your Highness!”

He had never wanted to hear that ‘prince’ so little before.

What good was royal blood? When he couldn’t even offer a single flower to the woman he desired.

Gritting his teeth against the dizziness, Ruhan muttered.

“Irgos. Am I, so weak… truly fit to be Sultan?”

At those words, Irgos bowed formally and said.

“Wasn’t it you, Your Highness, who always emphasized that mere physical prowess is not true strength? Under the protection of the desert guardian deities, only you, Prince Ruhan, can look after all the people of the Grand Bazaar with wisdom, knowledge, generosity, and kindness.”

At the loyal Irgos’s words, Ruhan’s eyes flashed as he slowly rose.

“…That’s right. Only me. Who else could there be?”

**

Latifa anxiously looked at Hades.

Before coming out to the stadium, she had glimpsed General Hades and Prince Tarek sitting in the upper seats, but now Prince Tarek was sitting on the ground after being struck by the lion’s claws.

‘Isn’t that prince the one General Hades is supporting?’

Latifa was puzzled by General Hades calling for the Sultan’s bloodline while looking at the audience, not even glancing in that direction.

‘Then there must be another prince, but why isn’t he coming out?’

It hadn’t been more than a few minutes, but it felt like eons had passed. Cold sweat was already seeping into her hands.

In fact, her legs had long since lost their strength, and she felt like she would crumble at any moment if she didn’t focus all her mental energy on standing.

And then, a large torch moved somewhere in the upper seats.

“The Sultan’s bloodline is here, Hades!”

A man wrapped in a dark robe from head to toe was walking towards Latifa and Hades, holding a torch and speaking in a resonant voice.

A gentle breeze blew towards that figure as if the hot sun had subsided, causing his hat to slip off.

As his dark brown hair was revealed underneath, along with the soft yet dignified expression unique to royalty, and above all, a handsome face that would make women cheer, all the onlookers shouted in excitement, calling out his name.

“Ruhan! Ruhan! Ruhan!”

“It’s Prince Ruhan! Prince Ruhan was here too?!”

“He’s so handsome! If it’s the Sultan’s bloodline, it has to be Prince Ruhan, no matter what anyone says!”

While everyone was shouting in excitement, only Latifa could stare at him blankly.

‘Is that…? Ruhan?! Is that really Ruhan? The man who saved me in the market is a prince of the Grand Bazaar?!’

As Latifa was inwardly astonished, Hades joyfully ran out and knelt before Ruhan, paying his respects.

“Only Prince Ruhan Vasily, born of the noble queen with legitimacy and a role model for all princes, is this imperial bloodline!”

Looking dignified and majestic, unrecognizable from the man she had seen in the market, Ruhan placed one hand on Hades’ black hair.

‘My goodness, is there someone who can so arrogantly place their hand on General Hades’ head?!’

And that’s Ruhan?

Latifa recalled his kind and polite smile from their meeting in the market, comparing it to his current appearance.

But no matter how many times she looked, last time he had seemed like the son of a wealthy and leisured noble family, while now he truly exuded the air of a monarch like the top imperial families of the empire.

Ruhan, without even looking at Latifa, said to Hades.

“In the name of the desert guardian deities, I, Ruhan Vasily, shall bestow upon our loyal General Hades Caleb, who reveres loyalty, fidelity, and the honor of the Sultan, a precious box of pearls brought from across the distant seas!”

The people’s cheers at those words were so loud that Hades’ response was drowned out and inaudible.

Suddenly, the cheering became so overwhelming that her ears were ringing, and she felt a sense of detachment from reality, as if her mind was drifting away.

Pretending to be a goddess with Caesar, being the focus of hundreds of eyes, and reuniting with Ruhan – everything suddenly felt like burdens she couldn’t bear.

‘How did I even get this far! I can’t faint now, Lati!’

When she had collapsed on Hades’ chest earlier, she couldn’t faint even if she wanted to, but now she felt like she would collapse immediately if she loosened her tension even a little.

Her eyes felt like they were burning, her legs were trembling, and her insides were churning as if filled with lava.

Latifa tried to ignore all of this, biting her lower lip hard and widening her eyes.

Then she felt an intense gaze from somewhere nearby. Glancing to the side, she saw Hades at the end of that gaze.

– Are you alright?

General Hades, kneeling before Ruhan, was looking at Latifa instead of Ruhan right in front of him, mouthing the question.

Watching the lion’s blood dried on his lips move oddly along his manly lip line, Latifa tried to smile slightly to indicate she was fine.

But as if her whole body was paralyzed, she couldn’t move easily, and her hands and feet had long since frozen with tension, regardless of the stadium’s hot air.

He mouthed again.

– Just hang on a little longer. If you do well, I’ll feed you pomelos until your stomach bursts.

What? Pomelos all of a sudden? Did he just say pomelos?

He smiled mischievously, raising the corners of his mouth even in this situation.

At the unexpected mention of pomelos, Latifa couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

The sudden thought of pomelos brought to mind their tangy-sweet juice, making her mouth water and causing her stiff face to relax.

As she swallowed her dry saliva while imagining the taste of fresh pomelos, a spark of thirst seemed to ignite somewhere inside her, and a faint warmth began to envelop her hands and feet.

As strength gradually returned to her arms and legs and her expression softened, he mouthed to Latifa again.

– Smile.

‘Smile? Me?’

What am I supposed to smile about?!

As Latifa quickly raised her eyebrows to express her confusion, Ruhan’s stiff and tense voice was heard.

“Hades. Ask them if they are ready to greet the imperial bloodline.”

At those words, Hades’ black eyes turned back to Ruhan, and he respectfully stood up and positioned himself in front of Latifa and Caesar.

‘To make the general such an obedient person. What kind of person is Ruhan?’

Is the appearance she saw in the market real, or is this current appearance real?

“The Moon Goddess who has become my frau and the King of the Savanna greet Prince Ruhan. May the blessing of the desert gods be upon this glorious one. And may infinite glory be upon the Grand Bazaar, the home of all desert people!”

Hades once again knelt down very respectfully to pay his respects, and Latifa also knelt right next to Hades, assuming the same posture to pay respects to Ruhan.

Caesar inwardly mocked him, but outwardly, he lowered his head and bowed his upper body flat to Ruhan.

Although the reunion with Ruhan was chaotic, Latifa sincerely prayed for Ruhan’s glorious future as she listened to the unending cheers of the people and the sound of long horns.

Now the play was coming to an end.

**

The sound of musicians playing joyful music and dancers performing could be heard from just behind the inside of the stadium.

As the sacred play ended, colorful and large peacock-feathered female dancers, musicians, and male dancers performing sword dances who had been waiting behind entered the stadium.

General Hades was holding Latifa’s hand tightly with his large, hot hand, hiding their bodies in the crowd as they entered the back.

“Haaah!”

As soon as the large oak door connecting the outdoor stadium and the inner waiting room closed, Latifa slid down with her back against the door.

Having used up the last of her mental strength, her legs had completely given out. Her legs were trembling, and large beads of sweat were rolling down her forehead.

“Latifa!”

But as if not allowing even that brief moment of weakness, Hades tightly embraced Latifa’s waist as she collapsed and began excitedly chattering.

“Damn it! That was amazing! This was damn amazing!”

“G-General Hades…!”

But Latifa had no strength to push him away and was just dragged along as his arms led her.

Not content with just grabbing Latifa’s waist, Hades lifted her high like an adult playing with a child and began spinning her around.

“This will go down in the history of the Grand Bazaar as the biggest story ever! Haha! You should have seen the face of that stupid Tarek! It was so funny! Hahaha!”

“Ugh, stop! I’m dizzy! Ugh, I feel like I’m going to throw up!”

“You tamed the Golden Lion that everyone fears! And it’s Calende! Everyone will think of you as the Moon Goddess Calende! Hahaha! Did you see people’s expressions?! Everyone is praising you!”

“I understand you’re excited, but please stooop…!”

As he laughed heartily and spun Latifa in the air, her dizziness doubled, and she had no choice but to tightly hug his neck and burrow into him.

Along with the vibration of the pulsing carotid artery on Hades’ sweaty neck, a thick male scent strongly hit her nose.

Thump.

She felt like she might faint at any moment, but why was her heart beating fast and her whole body becoming sensitive to the intense male scent rising from the tip of her nose?

Thump. Thump.

After spinning Latifa around excitedly for a while, Hades properly embraced her as she clung tightly to his neck, and then cupped her cheek with his hot hand.

His black eyes looked calm, but behind them, undeniable excitement and elation seeped through.

“Frau. That means my happiness.”