Karaf watched her graceful, dignified walk with an intrigued face until the end.

He thought her eyes looked empty and immersed in sadness when he first saw her.

Eyes without any hope or ambition.

He had seen such eyes often in the defeated soldiers on the battlefield, and in slaves or prisoners.

So he thought it would be easy to tame her.

If he gave her the opportunity to escape her miserable situation, he thought she would simply be grateful and eagerly take the bait, bowing down to him.

But she seemed to possess a much more noble soul than he thought.

Looking at her wild eyes, he felt a strange excitement inside.

He wanted to tame those wild eyes and make them entirely his own.

The Blossoming Festival was the largest festival in the Etzheim Empire, lasting about a week.

Until the “Flower Party” that signaled the beginning of the festival, Asha lived the life of a servant.

Karaf’s order kept her identity a strict secret from the moment she left the audience chamber, but everyone murmured when a newly arrived servant, not staying in the communal accommodation, took possession of private quarters.

Moreover, all the tasks she was assigned were related to the emperor.

The servants murmured among themselves about the fact that she became the emperor’s exclusive attendant as soon as she entered the palace.

“It’s unexpected of His Majesty… He has never shown interest in women like this.”

Karaf had left the position of empress vacant since he ascended the throne, never bringing a woman into the palace or calling her into his bedroom.

On the contrary, the noble women who dared to woo him as his consort all met with a shameful end.

Because he had many precedents of driving women who came to his bedroom at midnight out, now no woman dared approach him.

Though many women were hurt by his thorns, many still thirsted for his love, especially the honor and wealth he possessed.

“I heard rumors that she’s a minority tribe? Didn’t the Cactus Knights go to subdue the minority tribe recently? Maybe he brought a slave from there?”

“You’re right, yes! The timing of her entry into the palace matches exactly. Now I see that he didn’t take her into service because he liked her, but because he wanted to take revenge!”

The servants laughed and snickered at Asha, loud enough for her to hear.

The evaluation of the minority tribe in the capital was not very good.

But as Asha had always received such contempt and ridicule in her previous life, she did not feel any emotion hearing their conversation.

She seemed to have become much more numb to emotion during that time.

Asha was both surprised and bitter about her own self.

Asha intentionally avoided the servants so they wouldn’t be rude to her, but they scowled all the more, thinking she was ignoring them.

“Look at her, acting as if she has no rank whatsoever, like a minority!”

“Let’s see how long a slave can last in the imperial palace!”

Asha, paying no heed to their words, headed to the Emperor’s office.

Karaf was away attending a meeting concerning the upcoming opening ceremony, so his office was empty.

Asha was momentarily captivated by the familiar scenery after a long time.

Contrary to his frivolous appearance, Karaf surprisingly enjoyed reading books and newspapers.

He handled national affairs firmly, and it was commendable for a tyrant.

If he had squandered the national treasury every day by drinking and indulging in hedonistic pleasures with women, the empire would have collapsed long ago.

The Etsahime Empire was a superpower, so neighboring countries could not look down on it easily.

Anyone who dared to do so was wiped off the map by Karaf himself….

Asha shook her head, trying to erase the thought.

One wall of his office was entirely composed of bookshelves, with books neatly arranged by size, color, and type.

His obsessivecompulsive nature was evident.

Karaf often couldn’t sleep at night, so he took books to his bedroom. He would wear expensive goldframed glasses and read, reclining lazily on the sofa.

His demeanor in bed might have been violent and reckless, but this image alone was intellectually charming enough to win over women.

Asha, dressed in a servant’s uniform, put on a white hood over her head and gloves on her hands, her face stern.

Karaf probably thought she would be disheartened and frustrated working as a servant.

But this was nothing to her.

Since she entered Rickaon, she had truly become strong, and she had a positive mindset that she could do anything.

In any case, her goal was to make him withdraw the order to eradicate the minority, so it was crucial to please him first.

Asha had spent three years with him in the past, so she knew his preferences almost annoyingly well.

She was confident that she could clean to his taste.

“I’ll astonish him beyond belief!”

Asha was fired up.

She took out the books Karaf frequently read or cherished, one by one, disinfected them, and wiped off the dust.

They were mainly books related to the history of the empire, but surprisingly, there were also stories of myths and legends mixed in.

Asha felt a bit of freshness at the fact that he liked such frivolous books and slightly opened one to read.

But she soon discovered something and her expression hardened.

Now that she saw it, these books were all about butterflies.

The feeling of his obsession with butterflies was so intense that she involuntarily felt chills.