Looking at Aesha, who seemed anxious, Karaf spoke calmly to reassure her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll just hold your hand, and you’ll sleep well. How can a flower disturb a butterfly first?”

Aesha still looked dissatisfied, but Karaf avoided her gaze and looked through the books she had brought.

“Oh, really. You picked a bunch of boring history books. How can anyone not fall asleep with these?”

“I’m really fortunate.”

“It is fortunate, but I’ve already read all these books.”

“What? Really?”

Aesha asked in surprise.

The books he picked up were records of past emperors.

Karaf sighed and said, “Well, it’s boring, but I’ve already read them all.”
“Okay. These books are essential readings from a very young age for anyone aspiring to become an emperor. You need to know how the past emperors messed up in politics to avoid making the same mistakes.”

Aesha chuckled.

Karaf glanced at her.

Although he didn’t intend to make a joke, he felt proud and pleased because she laughed.

Aesha said, “Then, to help you understand me, try reading this book.”

The book she handed him was related to minority groups.

With a mocking smile, Karaf said, “I wonder if I’m such a minority enthusiast. If I could only lift my curse, I once collected information like catching mice.”

“Really?”

Aesha turned her head, but suddenly she noticed a book on the table.

“Huh? What’s this…?”

Without realizing it herself, she was about to grab the noticeable hot pink book, but Karaf, shocked to the point of jumping up, shouted.

“You shouldn’t look at that…!”

Suddenly, as he reached from behind, it was as if his body was covering hers.

Aesha, with wide eyes due to his intense reaction, looked up at him.

Even in the shadow, Karaf’s face was clearly flushed.

Fortunately, he quickly got up, put the pink book in the drawer before Aesha, and hastily locked it several times.

Not only that, but as if he had suffered something terrible, he shivered as if he were kicking the drawer with his foot.

“…There were pretty hearts drawn on the outside.”

At Aesha’s words, he stopped kicking abruptly and stiffened.

“…Did you see it?”

He asked in a terrifying manner, turning his head slightly.

Aesha, with wide, frightened eyes that seemed to come straight out of a horror novel, quickly bowed her head.

He seemed unaware of how much he looked like a grim reaper crawling out of the fiery pit of hell.

And it didn’t go well with the cute heart-decorated pink book.

Quickly wiping away her expression, Aesha spoke with a stern face.

“I only saw hearts on the cover. It was so big that I couldn’t help but see it.”

“…”

Karaf turned his embarrassed gaze away. His ears were red.

“…Well, that’s fortunate.”

Aesha pretended to speak casually, unable to tell him that she had seen the title.

With a rather timid appearance, Karaf turned away from her, lying somewhat sideways.

Aesha secretly covered her mouth and chuckled.

She never dreamed that he would try to win her favor by using such a love book.
The more I think about it, the more amusing the series of actions he showed earlier seemed, making me burst into laughter.

Karaf felt the bed trembling slightly as Aesha suppressed her laughter, closing his eyes in embarrassment.

Aesha mischievously tapped his arm and asked, “Did you fall asleep already?”

“…….”

“Then, it seems okay not to read you a book tonight.”

As if Aesha was about to leave, Karaf, feeling uneasy, turned his head to look back.

Aesha immediately pushed a quaint-looking picture book in front of him, asking, “Since you said you’re a minority enthusiast, have you read this too?”

“That’s a children’s fairy tale book, isn’t it? I wouldn’t have read it.”

“Shall I read it to you?”

Smiling, Aesha asked, and he quickly nodded.

The book she chose was a fairy tale about spirits, a children’s story that was easily accessible to children in minority cultures where shamanism was prevalent.

There were rumors that the minority had many spirit contractors who could use mysterious powers, but since they were a race rejected by the royal family, it was challenging to find information about them in the royal palace library.

Although most of it was exaggerated because it was a myth, Karaf still seemed interested.

Aesha cleared her voice and began reading the book in a gentle tone, like telling a fairy tale to a child.

“Once upon a time, in the Etzheim Empire, there were five spirits.”

Karaf chuckled at the quaint first sentence, but he listened attentively, enjoying her pleasant voice.

“They were the spirits of fire and water, wind and earth, and finally, the spirit of flowers. These five spirits supported and protected the Etzheim Empire by helping each other because they couldn’t live without one another.”

Aesha read the story with a hope that any negative feelings about the minority would soften a bit.

“But fire and water always struggled and argued whenever they met. Wind and earth were the furthest apart. Earth, alone, envied the vast sky that wind occupied. They started to divide into factions and fought each other to expand their influence. Meanwhile, the flower gradually withered. Although the spirit of the flower had the most vital force among the five spirits, it was the only fragile existence that couldn’t survive without everyone’s help.”

Karaf was now completely immersed in the story.

His forehead had a wrinkle, showing how deeply he was concentrating.

Aesha continued reading the next chapter slowly.
“To make the flower bloom, sunlight and water were needed, and air and soil were absolutely necessary. However, while your four spirits fought, the flower burned in the fire, drowned in the water, couldn’t extend its roots deep into the soil, and swayed violently in the wind… and thus withered away.”

“…No!”

Suddenly, Karaf shouted in a scream, causing Aesha to pause the story momentarily and look at him with slightly widened eyes. Karaf, too, seemed to have shouted involuntarily, as his eyes trembled, and he breathed heavily.