Latifa’s closed eyelids trembled and her blue pupils were revealed at Hades’ murmur.

Hades spoke to her with a growl like a wild beast.

“Even if you say you dislike it. Even if you can’t bear it and shatter yourself, with the fragments piercing my palm, I will never let go again.”

Latifa heard his somewhat harsh yet somehow reassuring pledge and slightly raised the corners of her mouth, closing her eyes again.

“Alright. Let’s put that in the contract too.”

“You’ve become quite clever after being in the harem palace.”

“Too bad. I don’t think I’ll be able to go twice.”

“Right. It’s certainly not something to be done twice.”

As Hades spoke with feigned horror, Latifa burst out laughing, and Hades soon let out a small laugh as well.

The sound of the two chuckling leaked out beyond the bedroom, even turning back the footsteps of Yanan, who was walking with a late breakfast.

**

That day, the Caleb estate started the day from a late lunch.

The servants, who had been in a funeral mood just half a day ago, smiled brightly, and their footsteps going to work were full of lively energy.

The atmosphere had changed from the moment Latifa arrived at the Caleb estate riding a carriage from the royal palace late at night.

Unlike Hades and Latifa’s bedroom, which was filled with a quiet full moon at the time, cheers erupted from the servants’ rooms of the Caleb estate.

Yanan’s pork ribs and chestnut dish, generously poured with maple syrup, were exquisite, Luke Wan sang self-composed songs for Caleb’s calendar, and the maids laughed until they cried watching it.

Even the gatekeepers and guards who took turns standing watch each sipped a glass of fruit wine brought by the kitchen children, while diligently guarding to prevent anyone from coming near Hades and Latifa’s bedroom that past night.

Caleb’s moon goddess was no longer simply Hades’ frau.

She was now a true moon goddess who had achieved what even Hades couldn’t do and returned with recognition from the royal palace.

“Lady Latifa. How about some hummus with cranberry and sage? It’s not that pungent.”

Yanan pushed a plate of food on an elegant silver tray in front of Latifa, who politely declined with a bright smile, saying she was full.

Latifa didn’t seem to have noticed yet that Yanan was now using completely formal speech with her, unlike before.

[That male was wandering around like a dazed hyena for a while, but now he’s excited since you came.]

Caesar, who was chewing on a large bone at Latifa’s feet, pointed his muzzle at Hades and spoke. Latifa gently stroked Caesar’s mane and replied in her mind.

‘You’ve lost weight too, Caesar. Were you worried?’

[Well, with you gone, I needed someone to talk to, woof! I kept saying I wanted venison for a long time, but they only threw pork at me. If you had been any later, I might have bitten a few people.]

‘My, Caesar, do you know you have exactly the same personality as that man?’

[It’s not that I resemble him, but that he resembles me. Well, if he resembles me, I suppose it means he has the makings of an emperor too.]

Latifa burst out laughing at Caesar’s words, even his arrogant attitude resembling Hades, and took a sip of iced herb tea.

“How is it that you haven’t gained weight while being next to the piglet?”

Hades, sitting across from Latifa, asked as he piled cumin stew onto his pita bread.

“Piglet?”

Latifa tilted her head and asked.

“That fattest princess in the harem.”

Hades answered nonchalantly while generously sprinkling finely ground pepper on his bread.

Latifa spoke with a deliberately stern expression of dissatisfaction.

“Grand General Hades. Princess Asti is not fat. She’s so cute!”

“Cute is what you say about a woman when she has no other merits.”

Latifa was about to add ‘That’s exactly what Iota says’ but swallowed the rest of her words, not knowing when he might get excited and act up again because of Iota.

“Hmph, am I wrong?”

Hades asked for agreement with a triumphant expression, but Latifa just stared at him with a blank face without answering.

‘Grand General Hades sometimes seems like a child. No, his mental age might be even younger than Princess Asti’s.’

Yanan, who was pouring freshly squeezed cranberry juice next to such a Latifa, spoke to Hades.

“Come to think of it, a message for you arrived from Princess Asti this morning, Lord Hades.”

“Huh? For me? Not for Latifa?”

Hades opened his eyes wide as if surprised and looked at the small green scroll that Yanan handed him.

The use of a green scroll meant that it was not a simple telegram or message, but intended to convey words using the authority of the Basili dynasty, belonging to somewhat heavier messages.

Of course, since Asti doesn’t know how to write well, someone must have written it for her, but that didn’t change its importance.

“Sigh, how troublesome. May infinite glory be upon the Basili dynasty.”

Hades rose from his seat with an annoyed expression, bowed slightly bending his knee in respect, and received it.

As he unfolded and read it, Hades’ facial expression began to become a bit subtle. No, it seemed he might be getting angry as his face turned slightly red.

“This little pig princess…! I treat her like a princess and now she’s trying to climb up…!”

“What is it? What’s written that’s making you so angry? Am I being called back to the palace?!”

At Latifa’s urgent words, Hades waved his hand as if to calm her down and asked her with a slightly hardened face.

“How old are you? Haven’t you had your coming-of-age ceremony yet?”

Hades had a somewhat complicated expression.

“Huh? Coming-of-age ceremony?”

Latifa shook her head with a blank face at the sudden strange question.

“It was wartime, so there’s no way I could have had a coming-of-age ceremony. I just became an adult last year, but I couldn’t even properly celebrate my birthday because I was constantly on the run.”

In the empire where Latifa was from, it was common for noble ladies who had just come of age to have their debut as part of the coming-of-age ceremony in the spring of that year.

“I’ve brought in a youngster who hasn’t even properly had her coming-of-age ceremony and… Ha!”

Hearing Latifa’s answer, Hades furrowed his handsome brow as much as he could and brushed up his bangs.

While he was holding his head and groaning alone, Latifa quietly asked Yanan next to her.

“Do desert people also have coming-of-age ceremonies?”

“For desert people, the coming-of-age ceremony is important both legally and mentally. The treatment changes a lot before and after the coming-of-age ceremony.”

For some reason, Yanan answered with an expression that couldn’t hold back laughter.

“What on earth did Princess Asti say? Can I see that too?”

Latifa picked up the green scroll with her face full of question marks and started reading its contents, and soon her face also started to turn slightly red.

　

−I hear Latifa hasn’t even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet. So you must not kiss her yet. Do you understand, mad dog of the Grand Bazaar? Be sure to invite me when you hold her coming-of-age ceremony. I shall bestow the royal family’s blessings! Asti Basili.−

　

**

Latifa held a sleeping desert fox in her arms, stroking it as she watched him swinging his sword in the middle of the stadium she had made before.

She wasn’t out here in this scorching sun voluntarily, but because Hades had insisted that she count the number of times he swung his sword.

Something about the goddess watching bringing blessings.

‘The inauguration ceremony was supposed to be just once, but it’s quite whimsical to build such a large stadium in the annex.’

On top of the stadium covered with fine desert sand, he was training with a strangely curved sword, shirtless, disregarding the blazing sun.

Transparent beads of sweat slid down his dark skin and muscles, but Hades continued to swing his sword without showing signs of fatigue.

‘He’s truly a soldier through and through.’

Looking at those taut abs and back muscles that seemed like they wouldn’t tire even if he ran barefoot through the desert for a week, Latifa momentarily lost herself.

“How many times have I swung my sword?”

Suddenly, Hades, who had been swinging his sword, called out to Latifa, and she was taken aback and at a loss for words.

“Uh, two hundred and fifty… plus five more, I think.”

“Good heavens. Can’t imperial people even count properly?”

Hades threw his sword on the ground with a clang and brushed back his sweat-soaked bangs with his palm.

His brushed-up bangs remained standing like horns in the shape he had parted them, looking just like a black stallion with a well-combed mane.

‘He really seems closer to a beast than a human.’

Looks like a stallion, personality like a mad dog.

Latifa watched him approaching the stadium seats in a slightly heat-dazed state.

“I seem to have given you a truly difficult task, Latifa.”

“I’m sorry. I was counting, but I got distracted for a moment and lost track.”

“Huh, what on earth is there to get distracted by in this wide stadium besides me?”

Hades had somehow come right up close and was looking up at Latifa with his arms resting on the barrier separating the stadium and the seats.

For some reason, Latifa’s heart started pounding at his dark eyes looking up at her with his bangs swept up.

‘How can I say I got confused because I was admiring his good body?’

“I’m not known for my patience. Let’s hear your excuse quickly.”

“Uh, an eagle was flying overhead and greeted me. I couldn’t coldly reject its greeting, right?”

Even to herself, it sounded like a lame excuse, and Hades chuckled and said,

“My goddess dares to lie.”

“It’s not a lie.”

Latifa gently stroked the desert fox’s fur and smiled slyly.

“You shouldn’t be looking at anything but me, your master. Even if someone calls you, don’t pay attention and just look straight at me, that’s your job.”

‘Well, I lost count because I was looking at you.’

With a slight sense of unfairness, Latifa pouted a little.

“Even if the one calling you is… the Sultan, never look back.”

At the mention of the Sultan, a sigh naturally escaped Latifa’s lips.

“Sigh. I don’t want to hear the Sultan’s words anymore either.”

“First you ignore your master, and now you’re ignoring our kingdom’s leader, what impressive guts.”

Hades picked up the leather pouch he had set aside and took a drink of water. Latifa’s blue eyes naturally turned towards his lips.

‘C-crazy. Latifa!’

Unable to look at Hades’ face in the end, she stopped her gaze around his neck, and she saw his wild Adam’s apple moving prominently as he gulped down water.

‘Really, even unnecessary parts are so manly!’

Barely calming her cheeks that instinctively flushed at seeing something good, Latifa replied as nonchalantly as possible.

“It’s not that I’m ignoring him. At first, I thought the Sultan was a fair and kind person. But now that I think about it, he seems like someone whose true intentions you can never know.”

“Hmm.”

Even while drinking water, Hades nodded his head and wiggled his finger as if in complete agreement with Latifa’s words.

“Ahem. You may not be able to count, but you can read people. You must have realized from this incident. If there are people you should never trust in the Grand Bazaar, it’s the Basili dynasty. So, don’t trust them completely.”

“Our imperial family was too stupid to be a problem, and your dynasty is too smart to be a problem. But isn’t it blasphemy for you to say such things, Grand General?”

Latifa giggled as she took the water pouch Hades offered, and he changed the subject instead of answering.

“There wasn’t even an eagle’s shadow up there, so what were you looking at that made you unable to count properly?”

‘He’s persistent!’

Tired of his unnecessary persistence, Latifa finally spoke in an exaggeratedly polite tone, whether he believed it or not.

“Actually, the eagle was a lie, and I was captivated by how splendid Grand General Hades’ body is.”

“I see. Since it’s a valid reason, I’ll accept your mistake.”

“Eek!”

Latifa felt a surge of annoyance at his quick acknowledgment, which came less than a second after her answer, but she couldn’t refute it.

He chuckled and lightly touched the corners of Latifa’s slightly pouting mouth.

“Well. It’s annoying to keep hearing ‘Grand General’ even at home, as if I’m still on the battlefield. So just call me by my name. I’ll specially allow it.”