But somehow, to Asha’s eyes, he looked like a pitiful puppy drenched in rain.

Asha turned her eyes and said,

“…I can at least sing you a lullaby to help you sleep.”

Karaf’s face lit up at those words.

“What a great expression! There’s nothing like having you by my side as a sedative.”

As Asha narrowed her eyes at him, Karaf came back with a brazen face and grinned.

He walked with a thrilled face.

He looked like a puppy that had persuaded its owner to take a walk on a rainy day.

(This is the time separator.)

At that moment, Jackal was alone in his room, looking out the window at the pouring rain.

He needed to quickly inform Sosa about what had happened in the palace and modify the plan, but he couldn’t send a message in this weather, as the rain would wet the note.

Hoping for the rain to stop quickly, Jackal turned back into a human and wrote a long letter to send to Sosa.

In the letter, he secretly conveyed that because of another minority spy, the palace security had become stricter and it would be more difficult to get Asha out; the emperor’s anger against the minorities had increased, so be more careful with your disguise and behavior on the day of enlightenment; and finally, to check the situation in the minority village.

‘What are these secrets…’

Jackal’s forehead creased.

He felt like the minorities were constantly getting in the way.

He felt he needed to find out why they were targeting Asha instead of assassinating the emperor.

But was he too lost in thought?

Jackal belatedly sensed someone’s presence and looked somewhere.

A servant hiding behind the door and watching him, met eyes with Jackal, and screamed in fright.

Jackal’s eyes widened too.

He was now a robust naked adult male.

It was the perfect situation to be mistaken for an infiltrating spy in the palace.

“The horse turned into a human…! I have to tell His Majesty about this!”

The servant turned and ran in a panic.

‘Damn it.’

Jackal’s head ached, and he grimaced, transforming back into a horse.

He left the room and quickly chased after the servant at full speed.

No matter what, a human could not keep up with a horse’s speed.

“Don’t, don’t come…!”

The servant tripped over his backside and fell, looking up at the wild horse charging towards him with wide eyes.

Jackal kicked his hind legs powerfully and leaped high over him.

At the terrifying sight of a large horse shadowing him like in the darkness, the servant closed his eyes and crouched, trembling.
But at that moment, Jackal, who had returned to human form in the air, lightly landed on the man’s body, striking the back of his neck and knocking him out.

Jackal looked at the unconscious man with a troubled face, his eyes rolling back.

‘How do I handle this….’

It was right to kill an opponent who had discovered his identity.

But here, even if he killed this man, it was impossible to perfectly dispose of the body without getting caught, and above all, he didn’t want to arbitrarily kill an innocent person.

If he were a tyrant, it would be another matter, but that was not his style.

Looking around, fortunately, there seemed to be no witnesses other than this man.

Cold sweat had formed on his forehead and neck without him realizing.

He would soon be discovered by other servants.

In the chaos, his heart pounded heavily, and his brain worked quickly.

A good idea suddenly came to Jackal, and his eyes widened.

(This is a time separator.)

Asha returned to the palace with Karaf, washed her body, and changed into fresh pajamas.

The servants, instructed by Karaf, were all more excited about the unexpected palace stay.

She had thought to just have a drink and then return, but somehow everything flowed ‘towards a confirmed palace stay’ and proceeded at a rapid pace, making Asha feel very uneasy.

In particular, the housekeeper, who had been notably loyal, was doing so excessively since the day Asha protected her.

She misjudged Asha’s anxious appearance as being tense about the upcoming stay with the emperor, and massaged her body with lavender oil to relax her.

They paid even more attention after hearing from Karaf that Banet liked purple flowers.

In the emperor’s luxurious bedroom, there was a terrace with a view of the empire’s night scene.

While Asha, dressed in a light yet elegant silk nightgown, was lost in thought as she looked at the night scene, the door silently opened.

With the strong scent of roses coming through the crack in the door, Asha was startled and turned around.

At the door stood Karaf, dressed as splendidly as a peacock.

“……?”

A question mark floated above Asha’s head.

She wondered what kind of bizarre outfit that was for bed.

Wearing a robe embroidered delicately with golden threads, he stood by the door, proudly smiling.

He had chosen the most splendid pajamas he owned because he wanted to look good for her.

Whether it was because of the rain or not, Karaf’s face was more glowing and glossy than usual.

He seemed truly like a flower, revived just by getting a little wet.

Behind him, servants entered, carrying trays with luxurious wines.

Karaf walked to the table, then leisurely opened the cork of a bottle.

Asha looked at him with slightly uneasy eyes and cautiously asked,

“Do you always…… drink alcohol before bed?”