He feared that the moment the words left his mouth, they would become seeds and blossom into flowers.

Knowing his heart, Duran solemnly said,

“That will never happen. Please be at ease, Your Majesty. Vanessa is not like that. Didn’t she save your life last time?”

These words brought great comfort to Karaf.

The decisive reason why he had come to trust Asha completely.

He couldn’t doubt that reason.

If he doubted that, too, he would have nothing left.

Seeing Karaf somewhat calmed, Duran handed him a report he had been hiding behind his back.

He asked as he looked at the report,

“What is this?”

“A request. After thoroughly searching the northern Herta region, we found someone who once hired Rikaion. He’s an ethnic minority.”

Karaf hastily read through it, his eyes quickly moving over the paper.

He spoke a bit despairingly,

“But the Rikaion scoundrels must have already moved. They clearly know we’re searching for them with eyes wide open; they won’t show themselves in the same region twice.”

“Yes. But on the other hand, if we make a request, we might be able to catch them.”

“…Make a request?”

Karaf looked up and asked in surprise. Duran answered seriously,

“Yes. The man we captured and interrogated said that Rikaion always used a falcon when taking a request. The bandits last time said the same, that Rikaion had sent a falcon to communicate with their comrades. What if we use this man to make a false request to Rikaion? If we offer him the condition that we’ll release him quietly if he cooperates, he’ll comply.”

“…Not a bad idea. But they’ll be busy running away now; will they have the mind to accept a request?”

Duran’s expression became serious,

“Rikaion may not, but Vanessa surely will.”

“Why?”

Karaf asked that and then, realizing something, his eyes widened slightly.

(This is a time separator.)

Asha told Jackal the story of what the ethnic minority spy had done.

When he learned that such a thing had happened to Asha without his knowing, and that she had been imprisoned in the room because of it, Jackal’s face hardened.

“…The emperor must be furious. To think there’s another flower in this damned empire…”

Asha asked him with a worried and anxious face,

“If we go to the monastery, you said I would instinctively know who he is. Should I find that man and enlighten him…?”

Jackal was silent for a while.
He had honestly returned to this place, hoping that she would now be freed from all the duties and responsibilities as a butterfly, and that she would truly be free.

He wished she would forget everything about the royal family, the empire, or the minority ethnic affairs and think only of her own life in her new home.

Just as he had come out of the minority ethnic village long ago and founded Licaon.

But Jackal knew she wouldn’t be able to do so, unlike him.

And just as he expected, Asha was still troubled, unable to calm down since she had come here, the spy’s words not leaving her mind.

‘If he blooms the flower, not only you but all the people of the empire will be hurt. And the minority will never escape this vicious cycle.’

Asha didn’t know exactly what that meant.

Somehow, she ended up fleeing from him as the spy said, but her heart ached when she recalled Karaf’s sad last face.

It seemed right not to enlighten Karaf for the sake of the minority and the imperial people.

But if she turned her back on him, who had become a tyrant after being betrayed by a trusted friend and cursed?

What would happen to him then?

Leaving him to wither would be the same as what his mother, the previous butterfly, had done to him.

As Asha was lost in deep thought, Jackal opened his mouth.

“I’ll follow your decision unconditionally.”

“……Pardon?”

“Do as you wish. Whatever decision you make, I will follow it.”

Asha looked at him a little surprised. Jackal spoke with serious eyes.

“I think even your return to the past reflects a tiny bit of your will. It’s your second chance at life. Do as you please.”

“Mr. Jackal…….”

“You saved me, and you saved our Licaon. My life is now yours.”

Jackal’s blue eyes looked even bluer as they were illuminated by the moonlight coming through the window.

Asha looked at his serious face with trembling eyes.

Jackal spoke calmly.

“Since ancient times, the Kelphi tribe, known as the warriors of horses, has been said to serve only one master.”

He bent one knee to the floor as if making a knight’s oath.

Asha’s eyes widened as she watched him.

“Whatever anyone says, my master, no, my king is Asha, you. No matter what happens, I will follow the king I have chosen.”

He lifted Asha’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it.

It was an act performed by the Kelphi tribe when swearing, a ritual passed down through generations.

At the touch of his warm and soft lips on the back of her hand, Asha’s heart raced wildly.