The command this time was also likely an opportunity to test her.

He was a man who would rather hurt others first than be hurt himself.

And afterwards, he would judge whether that person would stay by his side until the end, even if pricked by thorns.

It was a very twisted and wrong way to build human relationships, but he must have had no choice but to adhere to it.

That must have been the only way for him to protect himself from all sorts of betrayals and threats around him….

Asha suddenly looked at Durian and asked out of curiosity.

“Then, Sir Durian, how did you gain His Majesty’s trust? They say His Majesty trusts no one, but I’ve heard that Sir Durian receives His Majesty’s love and trust.”

Durian was a character who had been supporting him from the beginning to the end, filled with doubt.

At Asha’s question, wondering how he had won Karaf’s heart, Durian replied with a bitter smile.

“In fact, I had once died.”

“…Excuse me?”

Asha’s eyes widened. It felt like she had misheard.

Durian spoke calmly as if such a reaction was expected.

“I died protecting His Majesty from that betrayer’s attack. I was certainly dead.”

“But how then…”

Asha couldn’t continue her words, staring at him.

“You must wonder how I am alive and well now.”

He looked at Asha with a bitter eye.

“His Majesty saved me. Even while cursed and suffering serious injuries all over his body, he gathered his strength and saved me with the life force of the flower. Hearing this, I realized that His Majesty’s ability is much greater than what the nobles can imagine. It’s something that can’t even be approached, let alone spoken of. But…”

Durian lowered his eyelids.

“That day, His Majesty, who had suffered physical and mental wounds that could never be erased, could not get out of bed for months.”

Asha lost her words at the incredible story.

She looked at the distant sky.

“Why did he use such great power to save someone like me… While His Majesty was asleep, I thought about it countless times. Maybe His Majesty feared being left alone without anyone by his side more than losing his life. If I disappeared from His Majesty’s side too, there would really be no one left beside him….”

His golden bangs, tinged with twilight, gently fluttered in the breeze.

“That day, I received a tremendous favor from His Majesty that I could never repay in a lifetime. A life already once lost, I swore, weeping, by His Majesty’s side, who lay as if dead, that I would now live only for Him. Lady Vanessa may not understand me. To the Cactus Knights, good and evil are not very important.”

He said, looking back at her with determined eyes.

“We are the thorns that protect His Majesty. If it’s His Majesty’s will, we simply follow. If I can lift the curse, and His Majesty is no longer in pain, I will do anything. I don’t care if I’m called His Majesty’s puppet or pallbearer, but protecting His Majesty without leaving His side for a moment is my mission.”

The relationship between Karaf and the Cactus Knights seemed much deeper than she had thought.

The members of the Knights were all knights who had caught Karaf’s eye since he was the Crown Prince, all of whom had received favors from him.

Durand was also a knight of common birth at the time, but after sacrificing his life to save Karaf, he was elevated to the rank of baron.

In the Etzahim Empire, the ranks of duke, marquis, and count were titles that could only be held by the founding meritorious families of the five great families, so the highest status he could attain was baron.

However, Karaf cherished him much more than other nobles, and placed him, who was merely a baron, in the position of the commander of the imperial knights.

The Cactus Knights were an elite force centered around Durand, truly dead bodies without loyalty.

In the past, Asha had been afraid of them, blindly following the emperor’s orders, but after hearing Durand’s story, her thoughts seemed to change a little.

“His Majesty is a lonely person. He just doesn’t know how to ease his loneliness, so he rashly hugs someone and then pricks them with thorns. Earning His Majesty’s trust is really difficult, but once He judges you as His person, He treats you more preciously and cherishes you than anyone else.”

Durand paused for a moment.

Asking her not to hate our emperor, who is called the worst tyrant in history, too much was somehow funny, so he cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“But you looked troubled earlier, so I’ll help you with anything.”

“Ah … then please just hold on tightly there so the clothes don’t fly away.”

Asha also turned the conversation around with sudden awkwardness, but soon she folded her hands like a gust of wind towards him, holding the clothes.

Durand lost his grip on the clothes in a tremendous gust of wind, and Asha shouted in surprise.

“What will you do if you drop the clothes! I told you to hold on tightly!”

“So, sorry! I didn’t know the wind would be so strong!”

As the two reached out side by side, running after the flying gown, in a comically absurd sight, one shadow leaning against the wall moved smoothly.

It was Karaf, who had come to watch Asha and had discovered her talking to Durand, hiding behind the wall and secretly eavesdropping on their conversation.

His red eyes, reflected in the sunset, seemed a little wistful.

After finishing the laundry, Asha headed to the public dining room used by the servants for a late dinner.

But as soon as she entered the dining room, numerous hostile young eyes were fixed on her, and Asha stopped at the door.

The servants, who had been chatting happily just a moment ago, simultaneously stopped talking and stared at her quietly.

Suddenly faced with a frightening silence, Asha felt cold sweat on her back.