At Rashid’s question, Latifa shook her head slightly with flushed cheeks.

“We, we’re not that kind of relationship.”

“Is that so?”

At Rashid’s seemingly mischievous reply, Latifa felt her face turning completely red as she lowered her head and responded softly.

“I, I am General Hades’ Frau… but that’s all. Really, that’s all, Sultan.”

Even though she tried to act nonchalant, her heart started beating rapidly.

The kiss she shared with him at the appointment ceremony kept coming to mind, and Latifa tried not to think about him by looking around aimlessly.

“Hades told me he doesn’t have any special feelings for you.”

“…!”

At Rashid’s words, Latifa suddenly felt a pang in her heart, as if something had fallen inside.

“He said you were a rough gem he discovered, but that he didn’t have any feelings for you as a woman.”

At this simple and clear conclusion, Latifa felt her nose stinging as she closed her mouth.

‘So it really was nothing…’

The thought that she meant nothing to Hades made all the experiences she had with him feel distant.

‘Right. That’s correct. He’s the Great General, and I’m… What was I expecting?’

Latifa felt embarrassed for having momentarily felt strange emotions like a naive girl.

As Latifa hung her head slightly depressed, Rashid asked her in a kind voice.

“Do you know what an oasis is?”

‘An oasis… a small spring?’

“An oasis is like a small hope for us desert people. Caravans (groups of merchants crossing the desert) can carry goods across the harsh, hot desert for many days because of the oases.”

The Sultan sat down on a square rock nearby and soon invited Latifa to sit beside him.

As she sat down awkwardly next to him, a faint scent of jasmine wafted from nearby.

‘It’s similar to the scent General Hades often uses.’

“Oases are quite mysterious. Right above is the cruelly blazing sunlight, and all around is dry sand where everything has crumbled, yet ice-cold spring water gushes forth, creating all life. Palm trees with large leaves provide cool shade and gently comfort weary merchants with sweet fruits.”

“…How can that be in the middle of the desert?”

“Oases are the hope bestowed upon us by the desert’s guardian spirits. The reason merchants can take steps without hesitation as they traverse the unpredictable, barren desert.”

“…”

“Because they know there’s an oasis there.”

“…So they take a step forward because they know there’s hope.”

“Yes. That’s why desert people always know at least one oasis nearby. They seek out these sanctuaries whenever they’re tired. Physically or mentally.”

“That’s profound.”

Whether it was really about oases or a metaphor, Latifa smiled slightly at the sincere advice that vaguely resonated with her.

“Now that you’ve come to our kingdom, Grand Bazaar, I hope you find at least one oasis. This is a harsh place where the intense heat never subsides throughout the year.”

Oasis. A sanctuary for body and mind.

As Latifa quietly pondered those words, she looked at the beautiful garden nearby and murmured.

“Then this must be your oasis, Sultan.”

The beautiful shaded garden had a small spring, large blooming flowers, and a cool breeze blowing gently.

“For me, every part of Grand Bazaar is an oasis. However…”

The Sultan trailed off, then smiled and stood up.

“However, a place with a bunch of jasmines blooming would be even better. Oh, here comes our candy! Isn’t she a pretty child?”

Behind Asti, who was approaching confidently, a familiar face that Latifa knew well appeared.

“Lati! Are you alright? I told the physicians to spare no expense for the best medicine!”

Soft brown hair shimmered in the dazzling sunlight. And Ruhan, with a smile even brighter than his shining hair, was approaching them.

“Prince Ruhan!”

Seeing Ruhan’s face brighten upon seeing Latifa, Rashid glanced at him and muttered with a somewhat playful smile.

“So it was an oasis after all.”

As soon as he arrived, Ruhan greeted Latifa politely as usual, asking about her well-being.

Latifa returned his greeting just as formally, glancing slightly at the Sultan, as Ruhan’s excessive politeness towards a subordinate seemed inappropriate.

“Prince Ruhan! I still can’t move freely, but I’m managing. Thank you for your concern.”

“I called my son for our candy’s sake.”

The Sultan chuckled, while Asti blushed and couldn’t say a word.

‘He asked if she looked pretty earlier, could it be that the princess…for Prince Ruhan?!’

With some doubt, Latifa looked at Princess Asti, and goodness, her eyes were burning not towards Ruhan, but towards Irgos standing beside him.

Irgos seemed very uncomfortable with Asti’s gaze, furrowing his brows and just keeping his head down while standing quietly next to Ruhan.

‘It’s not Prince Ruhan, but Irgos!’

As Latifa blinked in surprise at this unexpected love line, Rashid patted Irgos’ shoulder as he passed by.

“It’s too early for a son-in-law. Come, Irgos. Join us for a moment. But remember, I’ll be watching with both eyes wide open, so there better not be any funny business. Candy, there’s pita (flatbread) with fig jam, let’s have some before you go.”

“Wow! Father, you’re the best! Does Irgos like fig jam too? Hehe. But what do you mean by son-in-law, Father?”

Rashid quickly grabbed the princess’s hand. And Irgos gave Ruhan a pleading look to save him.

But Ruhan somehow cleared his throat dryly and pretended not to notice, looking at flowers nearby or running his hand through his hair.

In the end, Rashid, Asti, and Irgos disappeared to the far side of the garden along with the rest of the guards.

“They’re a close family.”

Left alone in the garden, Latifa spoke softly as she looked in the direction they had gone.

“…What about Lati’s family?”

Ruhan asked awkwardly as he approached Latifa’s side.

Ruhan’s eyes were slightly downcast, as if the sunlight was too bright, and his long dark eyelashes seemed to tremble finely.

‘Is he feeling unwell somewhere? I heard Prince Ruhan was quite frail.’

Latifa answered his question with slight concern for him.

“My mother passed away before the war, and my father… died during the war, but we weren’t close.”

I had at least twenty siblings, but besides Princess Aris who was said to be here, no one knows their whereabouts.

Unable to say the last part, Latifa just smiled slightly. Ruhan looked very flustered and stammered.

“Ah, I, I apologize…! I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Prince Ruhan, you’re really very thoughtful. Even when we first met, you tried hard to reassure me, didn’t you?”

Remembering how he had waved his hands frantically in the market saying he wasn’t a dangerous person, Latifa laughed, “Huhuhu.” At Latifa’s laughter, Ruhan spoke to her in a slightly sulky voice.

“Oh my, Lati. I was going to show you my prince’s quarters… But if you just keep laughing like that, I can’t.”

“Ah. Then this time I’ll apologize first. I humbly beg your forgiveness, Prince.”

As Latifa barely held back her laughter and bowed her head, kneeling down, Ruhan spoke to her in an even more flustered manner.

“No, no. A man who demands forgiveness from a woman can hardly be called a man! How, how could I… Pl-please stand up. Quickly! Lati, you’ll hurt yourself, quickly!”

Contrary to expectations, seeing him so flustered, Latifa felt a bit mischievous and said without getting up.

“I won’t get up until you say you’ll show me the prince’s quarters.”

“Oh heavens, guardian spirits! I was going to take you even if you said no! Please get up quickly.”

“I was just joking. If it were General Hades, he would have forcibly made me stand up, but you’re different indeed, Prince.”

Ruhan was helping Latifa stand up, but when she mentioned General Hades, he slowly removed his hands from her body.

Then, in a somewhat deflated state, he said.

“Lati. I am the same man inside and out as when we met in the market. Just as I was simply ‘Ruhan’ then, I am still just ‘Ruhan’ now. Somehow, hearing even you call me ‘Prince’ is tiring.”

He seemed a bit hurt by Latifa continuously using the title ‘Prince’.

“Please, call me Ruhan.”

“But you’re the prince of Grand Bazaar! And later, General Hades might scold me for not showing proper respect to the prince.”

Ruhan made a slightly subtle expression, then smiled and extended his right hand to her, showing the back of his hand.

‘That gesture… Princess Asti said that when royalty shows the back of their hand while speaking, it’s to speak with royal authority.’

Ruhan spoke to Latifa in a solemn male voice, just like at the Frau appointment ceremony.

“It’s an order. You, call me Ruhan.”

“…Oh.”

Ruhan’s dark eyes were unwavering and very calm as he said this.

Rather than blazing flames like Hades’, they seemed like they would always be calm, no matter what happened.

Like the vast sand dunes of the desert that would cover everything if you buried yourself in them. Maintaining a gentle texture, calm and dependable.

Is it an illusion that my heart is fluttering slightly at Ruhan’s gentle eyes?

“…Then I shall obey the order of the Basil dynasty. Ruhan.”

Latifa responded, perfectly executing the etiquette she had learned while staying with Asti.

Ruhan’s face turned red at the casual address, but Latifa didn’t see it as she had slightly lowered her head in respect.

**

“She is Hades’ Frau. You all know how to treat her, I’m sure. Hades is my close friend and he is the flame among flames.”

Upon arriving at the prince’s quarters, Ruhan instructed the servants with a stern expression, and they bowed their heads, saying they understood.

“There’s something I want to show Lati. This way. If you feel unwell at all, you must tell me right away, alright?”

Ruhan, seeming a bit excited, guided Latifa, and she followed him down a long corridor to a small room.

The room with a large dark green tapestry embroidered with golden cobras and silver scorpions looked more like a storage room than a living space.

Ruhan rummaged around in a corner and then held out something that looked like a white ball of fur to her.

Soft down, two perky ears, and a tiny twitching mouth.

“Wow! It’s a rabbit! So small too.”

Latifa carefully took the rabbit Ruhan handed her. It was a very small baby rabbit.

The slightly silver-tinged rabbit looked quite intelligent, and its white, glossy fur made it clear that it was receiving plenty of affection in the prince’s quarters.

“Where did this rabbit come from? Are you raising it, Ruhan?”

“It seems a wild rabbit snuck in, and the young students at the Palaestra found it and brought it to me. I didn’t know what to do with it, so I just kept it, but the maid girls said it was cute, so it ended up staying here – a creature with good fortune.”

Ruhan spoke softly while stroking the rabbit in Latifa’s arms.

“Palaestra?”

“Ah, the Palaestra is a place where… this. Where they learn things like this.”

When Latifa tilted her head and asked, Ruhan demonstrated holding and swinging a sword with both hands.

“Ah, I see. It’s like a sword ‘academy’.”

When Latifa said the word in the Imperial language, he burst into clear laughter, saying her strange Imperial pronunciation was cute.

“Haha. What did you say? Acade-my? The Imperial language is quite an interesting language.”

“The desert language is more interesting. Ah, look how soft this fur is. Ruhan, what’s its name?”

As Latifa stroked its back, the rabbit twitched its ears as if pleased.

“Um… Na-name. That is, Ra, Rahim. No, I mean Lime.”

“Lime! What a cute name! You adorable ball of fur. Nice to meet you. Where did your family go, leaving you here alone?”

When Latifa asked, the baby rabbit perked up its large ears and tilted its head. Curious about its expression, Latifa focused slightly and observed the rabbit’s spirit.

Indeed, the cute baby rabbit with no wariness soon showed a small spirit and conveyed its voice.