“Ah.”

Karaf, just now recalling the decision for the nobles to have lunch together, furrowed his brow slightly. He wanted to enjoy some private time with Aisha, engage in conversation freely, but once again, it felt like an intruder had appeared.

The court official, bowing politely, addressed Aisha, “Baronetsa also joins for lunch. Everyone is waiting.”

A sudden wave of old memories hit Aisha at those words, making her feel uneasy. Not long after the Enlightenment ceremony, she had dined with the nobles for the first time. However, at that time, being almost like a commoner entering the palace, she lacked proficiency in royal etiquette and court manners, leading to subtle ridicule from many nobles.

Seeing Aisha’s expression turning pale, Karaf observed and said gently, “It feels like an imposition, so let’s skip lunch today.”

“What? B-but, Your Majesty. All five noble families are already gathered in the dining hall…”

The court official, flustered and sweating, didn’t know what to do. Even if the Emperor was capricious, not inviting the five distinguished families to a meal would harm his reputation.

Karaf sighed with an expressionless face, saying, “Being an Emperor means doing things you don’t want to do. But, our Empress doesn’t have to. I’ll ensure you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do in the future.”

At his words, both Aisha and the court official widened their eyes. Karaf, looking at Aisha, added, “But if it’s unnecessary protection, just let me know. I don’t want my arbitrariness to become a discomfort for the Empress.”

Aisha, momentarily taken aback by Karaf’s surprising change, stood there in astonishment. Surely, in her past life, he would have tried to present her as elegantly as possible, especially in a formal introduction of Baronetsa.

Remembering the mockery of the nobles directed at her in the past, Karaf pledged inwardly not to expose Aisha to them as much as possible. During the last tribute ceremony, he unintentionally forced her to attend, but recalling her pale face at that time strengthened his resolve.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

With a determined face, he left the room as if heading to a battlefield.

In the last tribute ceremony, unaware, I forced her to attend, but recalling Aisha’s pale face at that time allowed me to strengthen my resolve even more.

“Well then, I’ll be off.”

As if heading to a battlefield, he left the room with a determined face.

Once Jakal had recovered to some extent, he immediately prepared to leave the hideout. It was to keep the promise with Aisha. As Jakal was finishing the preparations to leave together, Sosa, who was ready to depart, knocked on the door.

“Commander, preparations are complete.”

“Yeah, I’ll be out soon.”

Jakal, now tying up his hair that had come down to his shoulders, wrapped his waist with a bandage and hid a dagger inside it. Similarly, he concealed thin iron spikes under the soles of his shoes that could be used to cut ropes.

This was because if they were ever taken alive, they must escape at all costs. His expression was very serious as he firmly tied the laces of his leather shoes.

The two of them were planning to visit a minority village. Since they had left the village before becoming adults, it was truly a long-awaited return to their hometown. However, Jakal and Sosa felt as if they were entering enemy territory rather than visiting their beloved hometown.

The sky, which was bright with sunlight, seemed to be clouded over, and the wind blew vigorously as if something was about to happen.

As they were about to leave, Geb, who knows when he finished preparing, emerged from behind.

When Jakal and Sosa looked at him with surprise, he said with a determined face, “I’m going too.”

“What?”

“I’ll feel relieved only if I beat that traitor to death. Please don’t stop me.”

While they were seeing him off, the Licans peeked out from the back. Geb, during his time in the imperial prison, had been incessantly cursing the two people: Karaf and the treacherous Nasan clan.

Cursing the Emperor was a serious offense, so Sosa worked hard to prevent him from causing a bigger problem. In front of the knights guarding the prison, cursing the Emperor was a truly dangerous act.

Then Geb, further fueling his anger towards the Nasan clan, continued to chew out curses, saying that if he got out of here, he would kill half of them again. Sosa couldn’t bring herself to stop him.

Various insults against animals spewed out of his mouth, but here it was a hideout, not a prison. Thinking that, at least, he was lucky in his misfortune, Jakal stared at him and, blocking his way, said, “You stay here.”

“Commander!”

Geb, with a large backpack hanging on his shoulder, looked at Jakal with eyes that seemed to say, “Where were you when I was loading all this?”.
Geb, with a large backpack on his shoulder, looked at him with eyes that seemed to say he felt unfairly treated, opening his eyes wide.