Her sensual body was clad in a daring and airy outfit that barely covered her chest and lower body with a striking red veil and thin scarlet silk fabric.

She tied up her flowing black hair into a single bun and ran her fingers along a scroll holder made of black ebony.

“This is the contract that Tarek and Prince Ruhan wrote.”

– If Tarek Basili succeeds in persuading Iota, he will give up participation in Mercatus in the name of Ruhan Basili.

It was a contract that had now become just a piece of trash since Iota was not persuaded.

“But was that trial really something Prince Ruhan had to intervene in? Anyway, Hades had the prescription as evidence to get that woman out, and he was planning to put on that ridiculous play. There was no need for Prince Ruhan to get involved.”

Iota muttered, quietly rubbing her forehead to organize her thoughts. There were two possible reasons why Ruhan got involved in the trial:

First, there was a lack of proper communication between Ruhan and Hades.

Second, Ruhan had a reason why he had to win that trial.

Iota stood there in the dark night holding the contract, pondering for a long time which one was correct.

And she eventually recalled Ruhan’s appearance on the day of the trial.

The image of Ruhan losing his composure and getting angry, which was rare for him, while embracing Latifa whose shoulder was bleeding.

“Oh my. This, this. Perhaps I could get rid of the two most troublesome ones at once. Indeed, there’s nothing better than using a honey trap throughout history?”

A smile more alluring and enchanting than the rose scent emanating from her body blossomed at the corner of her lips.

**

Shirak stood in front of a large warehouse located in a corner of the upscale district where decent and wealthy people often frequented, with an angry expression on his face.

Even today, he was wearing an elegant and sophisticated outfit with a bright orange silk dress and purple feathers, but he was raising his voice and scolding his subordinates.

“By now, at least 5,000 bolts of silk should have arrived! What’s going on?! Why have only 800 bolts arrived so far?! The day before yesterday and the day before that, all fell short of the transport quota!”

Shirak yelled at the warehouse manager.

Next to him, Sir Macalli, Shirak’s maternal grandfather, was holding his forehead and making groaning sounds.

“Not just silk, but we don’t have enough stock of other fabrics either. At this rate, we won’t be able to release new products in time for Mercatus!”

To this, the warehouse manager bowed his head and reported.

“I apologize! The number of carts we can rent has decreased, so we’re using as much manpower as possible. Usually, there can be a day or two of error in transportation, so we just left it alone, but we didn’t know it would be this severe!”

“Why has the number of carts we can rent decreased?! Where are the carters we mainly deal with?!”

“Recently, the crackdown on illegal carts for horses and camels in the market has become severe, so we can’t use about 80% of the illegal four-wheeled carts we’ve been using secretly. Using two-wheeled carts has lowered efficiency, significantly reducing the actual transport rate.”

In the Grand Bazaar, to prevent the congestion and accidents of carts, only officially permitted animals and carters could drive four-wheeled carriages and carts.

However, there was no limit to the number of two-wheeled carts that could be pulled by small donkeys, mules, or people, but they couldn’t carry much cargo and were slow due to their small size.

As large companies usually used cheap illegal four-wheeled carts secretly, the Macalli Company also profited by using them, but Hades limited the number of animals allocated to four-wheeled carts, and Ruhan strengthened the crackdown on illegal carts by deploying soldiers in the fabric market, quietly pressuring them.

The fabrics imported by the Macalli Company were piled up like mountains, but most of them remained in border warehouses far from the center, and only a portion of the fabrics had been transported to the Macalli Company’s warehouses within the kingdom.

Since the fabrics had indeed arrived at the Grand Bazaar, they were recorded as arrived in the ledgers they saw, so neither Sir Macalli nor Shirak could verify it properly.

“It’s the doing of Elder Brother Ruhan and Hades! Damn it!”

“Even if it costs a lot, bring all the remaining manpower from the labor market and move them. If we don’t bring in the fabrics quickly, we won’t have enough time to make the clothes. Hurry!”

In preparation for Mercatus, Shirak’s Artificium, the pride of the Macalli Company, had already taken pre-orders for tailoring from notable customers of the Grand Bazaar.

Trade in the Grand Bazaar was sacred.

Breaking that contract meant being subject to strict laws and irreparably damaging customer trust.

Moreover, it wasn’t just contracts between ordinary merchants, but they had taken on the clothes of quasi-royalty and tycoons, so Shirak didn’t even want to imagine how much pressure there would be and how much damage it would cause.

Rather, it was more important now to secure fabrics for customers and fulfill contracts, even if it meant using more manpower and incurring higher initial costs.

“You mad dog, Hades! How dare you think of ruining my company and works?! I will never forgive you! No matter how much you struggle, you will never get that Frau back!”

Shirak shouted, tearing apart the sparkling shawl draped over his shoulders.

**

Ruhan, wearing a light green indoor robe with a loosely tied belt made of gold-twisted rope, lay on a long sofa with one calf resting on the backrest, his eyes closed for a moment.

Although it might look a bit lazy and undignified, it was Ruhan’s favorite position to escape the heat of the Grand Bazaar.

Clink.

On the white birch side table next to him was a blue glass filled with his favorite mint tea, and just listening to the sound of the angular ice cubes slowly melting and sliding made his head feel cooler.

A long scroll was unrolled from the sofa, reaching down to the floor, with forced administrative orders and rules for cracking down on illegal carts specified within.

Right next to it was a scroll entangled about the deployment of troops used for crime prevention.

As princes were given the power to adjust some administrative and military rights under the pretext of assisting the Sultan’s duties, they had strengthened the crackdown on the fabric market with military force.

Although Ruhan usually had reservations about using force to restrain people, this time he had stepped up and deployed troops himself.

“Hades is handling the permits for transport animals well, so we should be getting news by now… However, unlike Tarek, little brother Rashik is twice as sensitive and irritable, so I can’t be certain.”

Ruhan sighed softly and looked up at the ceiling adorned with harmonious intricate mandala patterns.

“Prince Ruhan. Princess Asti has come to visit.”

A palace maid politely informed Ruhan through a small gap in the large door.

Asti, who originally often visited the prince’s palace to annoy Irgos, had been coming to the prince’s palace frequently with Latifa in tow since Latifa’s arrival, so the news of her arrival was the same as saying Latifa had come.

“What?! Ack!”

Startled by the mention of Princess Asti, Ruhan got caught in the long hem of his robe and tumbled off the sofa onto the floor.

“Your Highness, I heard a loud noise. Are you alright? If you’re feeling dizzy, I’ll call for a physician.”

“No! Quickly, let them in! Ah, no, don’t let them in! Wait a moment! Tell them to wait in the reception room! Is Irgos at the palaestra? Ouch. Call him too.”

He hopped on one foot, grabbing this wall and that, hurriedly tucking one arm properly into his robe and fixing the hem of his trousers before tightening his belt correctly.

“Mirror, mirror!”

But this wasn’t a hammam, and there was no mirror to be found.

Ruhan, who had never looked in a mirror while working before, had never recognized the need for one.

He busily smoothed his brown bangs and quickly looked around the room, but there wasn’t even a shiny shield, let alone a mirror.

It also seemed strange to suddenly ask the maid to bring a mirror.

It felt like a waste of time to go wash up again when Latifa might be waiting in the reception room.

“Amor! If this isn’t your prank, then what is it!”

Ruhan quickly stomped his feet and, as a last resort, picked up the deep blue glass containing his mint tea and used it to fix his hair, reflecting his face this way and that.

After hastily gathering the cold water droplets beaded on the glass with his palm, he tried hard to hide his disheveled appearance.

Only after stalling for a bit could Ruhan finally leave the place and head to the reception room.

“Prince Ruhan!”

“Elder Brother Ruhan!”

Ruhan sincerely prayed that his legs wouldn’t give out as he rubbed his face with both hands.

A beautiful silver-haired goddess with a dazzling smile was looking at him with a bright grin, and next to her, the chubby but cute Asti was clinging to her, waving her hand.

Moreover, instead of their usual glamorous and pretty clothes, they were both wearing plain indigo kaftans with noticeable amateur stitching, as if they had sewn them by hand.

Ruhan, instantly flushed with heat, couldn’t say anything and didn’t know how to manage his expression, so he sat down in front of them with a slightly, no, quite stiff face.

“Elder Brother Ruhan, you don’t look well?”

“That’s right. Your Highness, did we visit at a bad time?”

Latifa, clever as she was, respectfully addressed him as ‘Your Highness’ in front of others, and only called him Ruhan when they were alone.

Ruhan couldn’t understand why he was even getting angry at her perfection, which extended to her intelligence.

If only she had appeared with hair half-soaked in sweat or with sleep in her eyes, eating loudly or doing something that would make people frown, it might have cooled his hot head and heart.

“Ah, no. It just seems that the sun in the Grand Bazaar is particularly harsh today. Asti, Irgos will be here soon, so take your time and enjoy yourselves. But those clothes…”

“Oh, come on, elder brother! Do you think I only come to the prince’s palace because of Irgos? Today is a day off from the madrasa, so Latifa and I made these! How are they?! Do you think Irgos will like them too?”

Asti spoke confidently, but her body was already twisted with shyness.

“We have a favor to ask today.”

Latifa smiled at Ruhan and handed him an empty scroll, saying awkwardly.

“Neither of us knows how to write in the desert language. We were wondering if you could transcribe for us.”

Latifa told Ruhan about Asti’s madrasa story.

And soon after hearing that she was planning to tell Asti the rest of the story in preparation for her return to Caleb’s private property when the one-month grace period ended, Ruhan’s face began to darken a little.

The fact that there weren’t many days left until she returned to Caleb’s private property meant that there weren’t many days left for her to stay in the palace either.

“Soon, when I can read, I’ll be able to tell my friends directly instead of Taskan. And this is kind of top-secret information, so not just anyone can transcribe it.”

Asti said, picking up a sweet dried plum placed on the reception room table of Ruhan.

“I can grant any request from you two.”

Ruhan quickly erased his gloomy expression and moved the fruit platter closer to Asti.

“Great. Then from now on, I’ll come every day to tell you the rest of the Harsept Hero story. Please tell me a convenient time.”

“Every day?!”

“There’s not much time left until I go back, so I’d like to start from today, actually.”

“If you don’t do it, I’ll tell Father!”

At those words, Ruhan’s fingertips began to tremble with joy as he moved the tray.