As Aisha’s silence prolonged, his expression gradually became more and more agonized.

However, as if making a quick decision, Aisha responded calmly.

“Yes. If you like the flower, I’ll probably come to see it often.”

A faint hope bloomed on Karaf’s face.

After pondering for a moment, he opened his mouth heavily.

“…I accept your proposal.”

Aisha’s eyes widened as she looked at him.

“Then…”

“Yes. If I break the curse on you and liberate you from this suffering, I promise to free you from all the things that bind you. I swear on my life.”

Aisha was moved and momentarily lost her words.

For someone who had been possessive and attached to the butterfly more than anyone else, making such a decision must have been truly difficult.

A lot had changed compared to the past life.

Aisha found herself choked up with tears without realizing it.

Noticing this, Karaf’s eyes widened, and he asked, “Are you so happy that tears come to your eyes…?”

Seeing the regret and bitterness quickly appearing on his face, Aisha burst into a small laugh with tears in her eyes.

Upon witnessing this, Karaf, with a more embarrassed expression, asked, “Are you so happy that you’re laughing…? Do you hate me so much, to the point of pinching the face of a sleeping person?”

Aisha opened her mouth without laughter.

‘Was he watching all along?’

Aisha blushed deeply, trying to justify herself stiffly.

“That was… just a joke.”

“No one, including the emperor, has played such a joke on me until now. Everyone knows that if someone played such a prank, their fingers would be cut off.”

“…”

Aisha closed her mouth firmly.

Karaf loosened his expression and said, “It was a joke, so rest assured. And compared to what I did, this is nothing… even if I scratched my face and tore off some flesh, I wouldn’t have had anything to say.”

Although Aisha shivered at the story, which was both a joke and truly cruel, the two of them now had faint smiles on their faces.

The thick rose vines that had blocked their way seemed to have peeled away a layer as a result of this incident.

“Stay by my side.”

“What?”

“I won’t do anything… just for tonight, be by my side. Please…”

As he finished speaking, he closed his eyes slowly.

His expression looked painful again, so Aisha nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be by your side. Rest assured and have a good sleep.”

Aisha gently stroked Karaf’s head as if putting a child to sleep.

Under her touch, Karaf fell asleep again with a fresh breath.

After the long and short nursing period, he regained his strength and returned to the palace with Aisha.

Jakkal had a secret meeting with Karaf in the imperial palace.

The meeting, which took place without anyone knowing, was extremely bleak and heavy, but there was still an aftershock lingering like the one after a major earthquake.
When the court eunuch opened the door to Ahn Hyunsil, Jakal walked in with determined steps.

Far away, seated arrogantly on the throne, was Karaf, with a remarkably unfamiliar face, looking down at him expressionlessly.

Next to him, Aisha was sitting, and below the table, Duran stood guard close to Karaf.

Upon seeing Jakal, Aisha’s face showed surprise along with joy.

He was the one who appeared after dressing properly, having healed his wounds.

Just by appearances, he looked decent and neat, resembling a noble from some distant province.

Even the palace people who knew Jakal’s face might not have recognized him, as if he intentionally chose such attire.

He nodded once at Aisha, then stood below the stairs, looking at Karaf.

Neither the court eunuch nor Duran kneeled to him, but they didn’t offer him a seat either.

Jakal was still the leader of the group suspected of rebellion.

After observing him like a criminal for a while, Karaf spoke.

“…You there, talker.”

Jakal’s expression wrinkled slightly.

“The one who’s here on the request of the empress to die, be grateful.”

As if emphasizing that she was his woman, Karaf addressed Aisha as ’empress.’

Feeling the tension between the two, Aisha swallowed her saliva and watched them closely from the side.

“Yes, I will help you to revolutionize me.”

“That’s right.”

Recalling what he had discussed with Aisha, Jakal calmly explained, “If you release me and the Lycaons, I plan to go to the minority villages to investigate your, no, your curse.”

“Aisha mentioned that you left the village a long time ago, right?”

“That’s right. For you, I mean, for you, I willingly go back to the village to investigate the curse.”

The term ‘you’ kept popping up, so Jakal corrected himself several times.

Although the court eunuch and Duran frowned at his behavior, Karaf, staying silent, did not intervene.

Normally, if someone referred to the emperor in such a way, their tongue would have been cut off immediately. However, the relationship between the two was indeed peculiar.