Tame or Be Captured (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 005
In pitch-black darkness where she couldn’t see even a finger’s length ahead, Asha wept alone.
Even as they lay bare-skinned against each other, exchanging body heat, she felt utterly alone—as if she were completely by herself in that space.
Once every month, on their designated union night, Karaf summoned her to his bedroom.
It resembled how a flower lured a butterfly to itself, yet unlike a butterfly that merely lingered before flying away, the flower refused to let it go all night.
It truly was an excruciatingly long night.
Each time she united with him, Asha felt lonelier than ever before, as though both her body and soul were pierced by thorns—but she could never speak of it to anyone.
After all, the union of flower and butterfly—the ritual of blooming—was considered sacred.
She struggled to adjust to life in the palace.
Though Banetsa held a position nearly as exalted as Empress and Saintess, no one in the imperial court treated her with respect, for she had arrived not as a formally crowned butterfly through the Blooming Ceremony, but as a slave sold into the palace.
And the Emperor himself was no different.
Asha had tried to love him, but Karaf did not love her.
He kept her close like a preserved golden butterfly specimen, using her merely to solidify his position as Emperor.
Rumors quickly spread throughout the empire that she was unable to make the Emperor bloom.
Over time, Karaf’s gaze toward her grew increasingly cold.
Of course, it hadn’t been that way at first.
Whether out of pity for her enslaved state or simply an attempt to mold her to his liking, Karaf had at least pretended to care for her in his own way.
Asha had mistaken that for affection, but he was a man who knew nothing of love.
True to the meaning of the black rose, he pursued obsession to its extreme—a tyrant who armored himself in thorns and crushed others with forceful embraces, wounding them without realizing it.
He even grew angry when they failed to accept what he believed was his love.
Once he realized she could not make the flower within her bloom, his attitude changed noticeably.
He didn’t hesitate to threaten or hurl insults; if she defied his will, he’d lock her in her room or punish her.
They barely spoke beyond the conversations their bodies enacted, and Asha lived in utter isolation, trapped in a lonely existence within the palace.
As a foreigner who could never fully belong in this aristocratic world…
She eventually attempted to flee the palace, but that day, as always, knights seized her by both arms and dragged her back.
Kneeling on the crimson carpet, Asha lifted her trembling face to look up at him.
Karaf smoothly drew his sword from its scabbard and, without even glancing at her, calmly inspected the blade as he spoke.
“…Just what are the palace servants and maids doing? A butterfly keeps attempting to escape at every opportunity—how is it that not once have they anticipated and stopped her?”
His tone sounded leisurely at first listen, yet a storm raged beneath the surface.
Everyone in the room braced themselves, sensing that a bloodbath was imminent.
Karaf ordered the knights to bring forth all the servants who usually attended to her.
Like Asha, they knelt on the carpet before him, shivering uncontrollably and unable to lift their heads.
He calmly turned to the knights and gave his order.
“Kill them all before the butterfly’s eyes—for failing to stop her escape.”
Asha’s face turned pale with shock.
The mysterious violet eyes filled with bloodshot veins, as if ready to shed bloody tears.
“Please… just kill me instead.”
Karaf rested his chin on the armrest of his chair and looked at her indifferently.
“How can a flower ever kill a butterfly? What are you knights waiting for? Begin executing them one by one.”
Immediately, one knight dragged forward a servant girl who usually tidied Asha’s bedroom.
She had been the first person in the palace to show Asha kindness out of pity.
“Lady Banetsa…! Lady Banetsa…!”
The girl screamed in a raw, tearing voice, begging desperately for her life.
Asha finally collapsed at his feet, tears streaming down her face.
She didn’t care about her own pain anymore.
Being ignored and trampled upon had become far too familiar.
But she could never grow accustomed to precious lives being heedlessly crushed because of her.
Gasping for breath in her shock, Asha stammered out her plea.
“I’ll do anything… please… just spare that girl’s life… Your Majesty…”
She knelt at his feet, bowing her head deeply.
Hot tears dropped, one by one, onto the toe of his military boot.
Karaf wordlessly bent down, gently grasped her chin, and lifted her face to meet his eyes.
Gazing at Asha’s tear-streaked face, he lowered his eyelids slightly and spoke with infinite tenderness.
“Never try to run away from me again. Never ask me to kill you. Instead, beg me to spare your life as you just did—it hurts my heart less that way.”
With his thumb, he tenderly wiped away her tears and whispered softly into her ear.
“You are mine forever.”
*** *** ***
Asha’s eyes snapped open.
When she came to, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar bed.
A dull feverish ache throbbed in her head, and when she tried to raise a hand, her limbs—frozen stiff for too long—refused to respond.
Neat bandages wrapped around her body suggested someone had treated her while she was unconscious.
Had night already fallen?
The cabin was softly lit by the firelight spilling from the hearth.
The warm air and the plush, soft feel of the blankets made her feel as if she’d entered heaven itself.
But Asha soon spotted a man seated by the hearth in the distance, tending the fire, and jumped in alarm.
His blue eyes, fixed on the flames, burned with quiet intensity.
Flustered, she awkwardly tried to sit up, but he didn’t even glance her way as he said,
“Don’t move. Just stay lying down. The physician said your body is barely more than a corpse resurrected from death.”
His words made her wince slightly.
She truly must have grown weak after nearly dying twice.
“Where… am I?”
“My home.”
Only then did clarity return to her mind—and with it, a sudden wave of embarrassment.
The bed she lay in was likely his own; it carried the faint trace of his scent.
The aroma resembled the musk she remembered from horses.
“Thank you for coming to get me.”
She pressed a hand to her chest and bowed her head politely.
He glanced at her briefly.
Her whole demeanor radiated elegance and grace—truly, a woman out of place in this setting.
“…While you were asleep, you desperately called out for someone.”
Asha blushed slightly and asked,
“Was I… talking in my sleep?”
“Yes. You were begging for forgiveness.”
Not knowing what she might have said, Asha could only open and close her mouth wordlessly.
Then suddenly, his expression—previously unreadable—twisted fiercely as he turned sharply toward her and demanded,
“What’s your motive?”
“Excuse me?”
“What exactly is your scheme for approaching me? Are you the Emperor’s spy?”
At the word “Emperor,” Asha’s eyes widened even further.
His blue gaze had turned as cold and sharp as a finely honed blade.
When she couldn’t answer in her shock, he gave a cynical snort, as if he’d expected nothing else.
“Well then—did the Emperor promise to forgive you if you seduced me and reported back?”
“I… I don’t understand what you mean… There must be some misunderstanding…”
At that moment, he abruptly rose from his chair and stomped toward the bed.
Fearfully, Asha pulled the blanket up in defense—but Jackal was faster, climbing atop her before she could react.
He caged her between his arms, his shadowed face looming over hers.
It was the stance of a beast pouncing on its prey.
Overwhelmed by his intimidating presence, Asha’s body—already weak—stiffened further as old memories surged back.
She had no strength left to resist.
Yet she held his gaze without flinching.
At her calm reaction, Jackal’s brow furrowed slightly, and he spoke in a low voice.
“You surely know the Imperial Court issued a minority hunt across all regions. Among them, the Lycaon are the most troublesome group for the Empire to deal with.”
“…”
“But how is it that someone who should be running for her life has already met the Emperor?… Just who are you? A minority who was captured by the palace and released on the condition of cooperating with the Emperor?”
As he finished, he studied her face with a conflicted expression. For the first time, his blue eyes trembled faintly.
Minorities were forced to live their entire lives in hiding, unseen by the Emperor’s eyes—
Because the one rumored to have cursed the Emperor’s heart was, in fact, a member of the minorities…
If she wasn’t the Emperor’s spy, then her knowledge of him—and her safe escape from the palace after meeting him—made no sense.
“…Answer me. Surely you didn’t plan the whole thing—the hiding in the snow to evade bandits—just to meet me.”
Asha couldn’t answer.
Because she wondered whether it truly might have been orchestrated without her intent.
After all, her regression itself had happened unpredictably—so this possibility was entirely plausible.
Seeing her silence, Jackal’s expression hardened further.
He trusted no one.
Years of experience had taught him that humans—even blood relatives—would betray anyone to save themselves.
Yet, for some reason, he hoped she would be different.
Though he deliberately spoke harshly—weighed down by his duty to protect his comrades—he secretly prayed his judgment would prove wrong.
He felt confused by his own contradictory emotions.
Then, Asha quietly opened her mouth.
“If I told you I ran away from the Emperor… would you believe me?”
He stared at her wordlessly. Her eyes held a bitter sadness.
Jackal suppressed his emotions and grunted flatly,
“So you’re admitting it’s true—you really were taken by the Emperor. That’s why you told me earlier you needed strength to protect yourself.”
“…Yes.”
A faintly mischievous smile tugged at his lips as he said,
“So your claim about falling for me at first sight was a lie after all, reckless lady.”
For some reason, his smile felt bitter, and Asha felt a twinge of flustered unease inside.
Just then—
“…Boss! Everyone’s waiting for the feast—why are you so late…?”
One of his subordinates burst through the cabin door, then froze in the doorway.
Jackal and Asha on the bed turned their heads in unison to stare at him.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
No way…did Karaf set up this situation with the assassin or kidnapping attempt to earn points?
Not practically, it is a form of torture. Jackel didn’t jump into the water on his own while tied to the boulder.
It seems backward that the Empress is invited to a Duchess’ tea party.