“Huh? Scouting?”

At that moment, a small girl ran up hurriedly and shouted loudly.

“Teal and black! Bluer than emerald and darker than turquoise! They say you’ll wear silver ornaments with aquamarine set in platinum and silver bands! The robe is completely black!”

“They say it’s blue! It goes so well with silver hair!”

“Did Hades deliberately choose that color?! It’s Amor!”

“Yes, this is Amor. It’s protected by Amor!”

The maids babbled incomprehensibly and bustled about, starting to select teal-colored clothes. They also took out silver accessories and dark blue jewels.

“It’s Calende and Ignis after all. They’ll be a beautiful pair.”

Yanan winked and put a pearl earring on Latifa’s ear.

**

“Do you really not need a carriage?”

“I don’t need it.”

Hades, wrapped in a black robe, stroked the head of a camel in front of the huge gate of Caleb’s private property.

“Frau is…”

As Luke Kwan spoke cautiously, Hades waved his hand in annoyance and swiftly mounted the camel.

“I’ll hold her as we ride.”

“Is this really Amor…?”

Luke Kwan muttered softly with wide eyes.

Until now, Hades had no romantic rumors with women. The rumors about Hades entangling with women were usually like this:

He threw dirt at women who looked at him, or sent a box full of snakes to the harem.

There were even rumors that he pointed a knife at the daughter of a huge merchant group who was passionately courting him. Her name was Amira.

With reddish-brown hair, she was the youngest noble daughter of the Shadi Trading Company, which mainly dealt in fragrances, famous for her stubborn personality (or determined, to put it nicely) along with her beautiful appearance.

Luke Kwan shuddered as he recalled the incident where Hades, annoyed to the tips of his hair, snatched the knife and pointed it at her neck when she cried and made a fuss, threatening to kill herself if she wasn’t engaged to Hades.

“Giddy up, desert dog. You’ve worked hard in this late hour as night approaches.”

Though the sun hadn’t set yet and it was still hot, it was almost time for dinner. Holding a trial at such an ambiguous time meant the situation was that urgent.

But Hades didn’t seem rushed, nor particularly troubled.

“I hope the trial ends well.”

“Those ridiculous fools are desperately trying to find fault. Iota, that old fox, I’ll see with my own eyes what tricks she’s played and catch her tail to skin her. Then I’ll give you the honor of tanning that hide.”

Luke Kwan handed Hades a small leather pouch filled with water and stepped back.

“General! Am I late?”

Behind Hades, a clear voice with an exotic accent unlike that of desert people rang out.

“Hmm?”

Along with the faint, fresh scent of forget-me-nots wafting up, Latifa came running with her young maids.

Hades and Luke Kwan were dumbfounded as they looked at her.

Her beautiful silver hair, shimmering and reflecting bright light, curled in soft waves, with small braids on both sides pinned with aquamarine-studded clips for accent.

Lustrous pearl earrings hung from her ears, and her lips and cheeks were tinged with a shy pink, giving a girlish impression.

Inside the fluttering black robe, she wore a deep turquoise garment embroidered with intricate black patterns, looking elegant and dignified, with a silk waistband woven with silver thread tied at the waist.

Of course, a large, clear aquamarine ornament matching her eyes dangled from the end of the waistband.

“Calende…”

Hades murmured quietly as he watched her approach.

“I’m sorry! Am I very late?!”

“…”

Hades, sitting on the camel, just stared at her silently with his lips tightly pressed.

“Is, is it strange? I thought it might be a bit much for going to trial. But Yanan said I must dress like this…”

Hades closely observed her embarrassed face as she crossed her arms.

“You.”

After a moment of silence, Hades opened his tightly closed lips.

“I can’t say you’re a peerless beauty, but you’re interesting to look at. I’ll admit that.”

At those words, Latifa slightly pouted her lips and turned her head a little.

‘Would it kill him to say I’m pretty, even as a white lie!’

At that moment, the loose evening breeze of the Grand Bazaar that had just started blowing touched her braided hair, swirling around her nape before tickling Hades’ bangs.

Hades’ black pupils seemed to tremble slightly at that small breeze carrying the scent of forget-me-nots.

“Wearing that deep turquoise dress, you look quite like a watermelon. I’ll grant a pouch of gold coins to you who worked hard to draw lines on a pumpkin.”

“We did our best not to bring shame to Caleb’s name.”

Yanan replied happily. In her arms was a desert fox, which she was holding a bit struggling as it kept squirming.

“Why is that one like that?”

Hades asked Latifa, not Yanan. Latifa answered with a slightly regretful expression.

“It’s scared of Caesar and doesn’t want to be with him. It wants to be with me, but since I can’t take it, I left it with Yanan, but it seems to dislike that.”

“Tch. Just bring it along.”

With those words, the desert fox finally escaped from Yanan’s hands and jumped onto Latifa’s shoulder.

“What? Can I take it to the palace? We’re going for a trial?!”

“What could be impossible for the goddess of Caleb?”

Hades retorted and somewhat arrogantly extended his hand to Latifa.

Latifa placed her soft, white hand on top of his large, dark one, and soon the man’s strong grip firmly grasped her hand.

“Ah, ahhh! There’s no stirrup!”

As she dangled unsteadily in the air without a stirrup, Luke Kwan quickly grabbed her waist and pulled her up onto the camel.

“You really are something else!”

Only after Hades pulled from above and Luke Kwan pushed her waist up a few times was Latifa finally able to settle onto the camel.

Just as when crossing the desert, Latifa sat up straight, nestled in Hades’ arms, and only after securely holding the fox in her arms did she let out a small sigh of relief.

“Whew.”

Hades sniffed at her nape, which was just below his chest, then raised his head sharply and said to Yanan.

“You, reduce the proportion of lily fragrance a bit here. And you.”

He suddenly pointed at Luke Kwan and lowered his voice coldly.

“Who dared say it was alright to touch my Frau? Know that if you do so again, I’ll have your neck.”

“How, how could I dare?”

Luke Kwan made an aggrieved expression but answered submissively.

“Luke Kwan was just trying to help me.”

“Hyah!”

Hades lightly ignored Latifa’s words and pulled the camel’s reins.

“We bid farewell to Hades.”

The household members at the main gate bowed and paid their respects as they saw him off.

Only after Hades’ figure on the camel became a small dot and disappeared did the servants breathe a sigh of relief, and Luke Kwan grumbled as if wronged.

“Sister, what did I do wrong…?”

Yanan gently patted him and smiled.

“Firstly, you carelessly touched the goddess’ body. Secondly, how could you not be scolded for grasping Hades’ happiness without a word?”

“Goodness. Is that woman really Amor? Kids, is what I’m seeing really reality?”

Luke Kwan asked the young maids behind Yanan, and the children started giggling.

“If the youngest daughter of the Shadi Trading Company finds out about this, the spice market will be turned upside down again.”

“For now, praying for the trial to end well comes first.”

Yanan said worriedly as she dismissed the children.

**

Thump, thump.

Latifa tried her best not to be conscious of Hades’ heartbeat coming from behind her as she looked straight ahead.

Unlike the Empire where horses were commonly ridden, camels were more frequently used in the desert.

The desert people’s mode of transportation was to spread a tapestry over the camel’s wide hump and attach handles and reins.

“What should we do about the trial?”

Latifa broke the sound of wind-cutting first.

“Shh. You have nothing to worry about.”

“But I heard I have to defend myself without a lawyer. I heard the concubine Prince Tarek was badly injured.”

“He’s exaggerating.”

Hades replied nonchalantly.

“Caesar promised not to harm people, but he got excited and swung his claws because the prince provoked him first. What if he’s really badly hurt?”

Latifa spoke with genuine concern.

“His claws did pierce the prince’s shoulder a bit deeply, but he was born with tough bones, so he’ll be fine. His mother Iota must have told him to exaggerate. Don’t worry about his health at all. Desert men aren’t as weak as imperial men.”

“Um, General Hades… I’m sorry.”

Latifa apologized to him in a small voice, somehow feeling dejected.

“For what?”

“Things have gotten so complicated because of me. I was trying to help you, but I didn’t know I’d end up hindering you like this. It wasn’t intentional, but I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“Hah.”

He snorted briefly at Latifa’s apology, as if dumbfounded.

“Even if it’s the Grand Bazaar, it won’t be that different from the Empire. Regardless of how deep the wound is, the crime of injuring royalty will be severe.”

“No.”

Hades sighed deeply and lowered his posture a bit to whisper in Latifa’s ear.

“Now that you’ve become my Frau and jumped into this place, such a soft attitude is no longer acceptable. You are not guilty.”

-Crunch.

As he whispered in her ear, Hades suddenly bit Latifa’s earlobe with a crunch.

A stinging pain passed through her earlobe, but somehow it felt like her drooping spirit perked up.

“Ouch! That hurts!”

“Did you cut Prince Tarek’s shoulder with a knife? Or did you shoot him with an arrow? Oh ho, did you actually order the lion to attack Prince Tarek?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Right. So you haven’t committed any crime. Keep that in mind and enter the palace with your head held high. I’ll be behind you.”

“But they say the concubine Iota has set the stage. Even if I say I didn’t harm him, there won’t be many who believe me.”

Because that’s how the power struggles of the powerful are.

“No matter what anyone says, you keep your back straight and move forward. If there’s anyone who criticizes you…”

Hades paused for a moment, seeming to contemplate.

“If there is?”

When Latifa asked again, he answered in what seemed to be a sincere tone.

“Should I cut them with a sword, or stab them? Or perhaps it would be good to put them in a sack alive and throw them into the river.”

Even in this serious situation, Latifa couldn’t help but laugh at his outrageous words that he chuckled at.

“Hahaha. You’re really something. You do everything you want to do.”

“Not necessarily.”

Hades shrugged and gripped the camel’s reins again, making the gold bracelets on his wrist jingle.

“In any case, I am your master and have a duty to protect my property. I will fulfill my duty as your master.”

It would have been quite heart-fluttering words if not for the fact that Hades and Latifa were in a contractual relationship.

Like a knight’s vow to protect his lady, that sort of thing.

‘But it’s far from anything romantic. We are… we are nothing.’

The kiss from before flashed through her mind, but Latifa deliberately ignored it again and said,

“Alright. Then I should fulfill my duty as Frau. Though I’m not sure what I should do.”

“Ending this miserable trial quickly. That’s what I want right now. But everything will work out fine. Behind you-”

“Yes. It’ll be okay because you’re protecting me.”

Along with Latifa’s words, which were a bit more confident than before, the camel lightly jumped over an obstacle and turned a corner.

-Thump!

Her body floated for a moment. Then she felt a strong, firm arm tightly embracing her lower abdomen.

At that sensation, it felt like a small spark ignited deep in her core.

“Latifa. Look. That is the palace of the Grand Bazaar.”