CH 24

Looking at her reaction, Karaf said with a cold expression on his face.

“Your people, no, can you abandon that man and become my woman? I hate women who are not chaste.”

Asha panicked and spoke without realizing it.

“I had nothing to do with that man. Our relationship is nothing more than a leader and a member of the organization.”

“Really? Then you wouldn’t mind if I told Duran to kill him and bring me his head right now.”

“…..”

When Asha bit her lips and couldn’t answer, Karaf’s red eyes grew even deeper.

“The knight commander was too weak-minded and did not carry out my orders.”

Duran, who was behind him, was startled. 

Karaf got up from his seat and gave him a hard look.

“I’m sure I ordered you to bring the ethnic minorities people to me.”

Duran bowed his head.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty…… The energy of the knights was greatly reduced due to the pursuit that continued until dawn. I decided that we would not have to fight unnecessary if we brought the butterfly.”

“……Who told you that you can decide that?”

Duran kept his mouth shut. 

Asha felt her chest tighten. But it seemed like it wasn’t just her. 

Everyone in the courtroom had a painful expression on their faces as if their chests were blocked by the pressure he exuded. 

Duran immediately lowered his gaze and knelt on the floor.

“…… Forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Karaf said coldly.

“I will give you a chance to make up for your mistakes. Duran, immediately follow Lycaon back and bring every single one of them to my feet. If you can’t catch a single dog, don’t even think about coming home.”

Asha looked at him with trembling eyes and said earnestly.

“Your Majesty……Please withdraw that order.”

Karaf glanced at her again and said calmly.

“Choose. Will you remain a person from an ethnic minority or will you live fully as my woman?”

Asha shivered. 

Although her goal was to become his butterfly and protect her people, he seemed intent on completely separating them so they couldn’t co-exist. 

Lycaon will not be spared even if she declares that she will become his butterfly 

They will eventually be subjugated by him and meet their death.

Her hands were shaking because she couldn’t do anything.

“Answer me.”

As Karaf stood fiercely without blinking, waiting for an answer, Asha quickly closed her eyes and answered him.

“…..Please give me some time. I need time to clear my mind.”

Karaf didn’t expect that kind of answer, but he just nodded as if he was satisfied with it.

“I’ll put the order on hold. I have no intention of taking the butterfly right now. The flowering ceremony is coming up soon, so decide until then. If you become my butterfly and make my flower bloom, I will let you enjoy wealth and glory for the rest of your life in this luxurious Palace. I will give you all the love that I can give.”

Asha got goosebumps all over her body at those words. 

He wouldn’t know for the rest of his life how much that love he was talking about had oppressed her in the past. 

He was a man who believed that obsession was love. He didn’t know how to give love. 

Then Karaf said quietly.

“You don’t know what my words mean right now. Let me help you understand which choice will benefit you.”

He said looking at the door.

“Chamberlain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The chamberlain bowed his head politely.

“From now on, the butterfly will serve me. Take her to the servant’s room. Let her do chores until the flowering ceremony, and keep an eye on her so she doesn’t escape.”

The chamberlain was slightly startled by his order and muttered to himself.

“What? How can the Butterfly do the chores of a servant…..”

Karaf’s red eyes shone.

“Before being the butterfly of the empire, she’s from an ethnic minority clan. The blood of those rebels runs through this woman’s veins. Treat her like a servant until I declare she will become my butterfly. In the meantime, I will make the butterfly pay for the sins committed by the ethnic minorities.”

Seeing his gleaming eyes, the chamberlain was sweating profusely and quickly bowed his head again.

“I will obey your orders, Your Majesty.”

Asha looked at him with trembling eyes. 

He liked the joy of crushing his opponent and receiving a declaration of defeat. 

Asha couldn’t forget the ecstasy smile he wore as his opponent knelt at his feet.

His brutal desire for conquest and domination placed him in the position of the most powerful tyrant in a short period of time. 

Karaf became more obsessed with opponents he couldn’t destroy and didn’t give up until his opponent succumbed.

It was obedience or death.

Asha was one of those who chose death over submission in the past. 

She followed the chamberlain and left the courtroom without hesitation. 

Karaf watched with interest as she walked with grace and dignity to the end. 

Her eyes seemed empty and sad the moment he first saw her. 

Her eyes held no expectations or ambitions. 

He saw a lot of those eyes on the battlefield, as well as on slaves and prisoners of war. 

Karaf thought she would be easy to tame. 

He thought that if he gave her a chance to get out of her misery, she would simply take the bait and bow to him in gratitude. 

But she seemed to have a much nobler soul than he thought. 

He felt a strange excitement inside him as he looked into her eyes. 

His desire to conquer.

He wanted to tame those raw eyes entirely for himself.

* * * * *

The Flowering Ceremony was held for about a week and it was the largest festival in the Etzheim Empire.

Asha became a servant until the ‘banquet of flowers’, announcing the beginning of the flowering ceremony. 

Due to Karaf’s strict order, her identity was kept a complete secret from the moment she left the courtroom. 

Everyone was gossiping when a new servant occupied a private dormitory instead of a group dormitory.

Furthermore, all her duties were related to the Emperor. 

The servants murmured among themselves about the fact that she had become the Emperor’s exclusive attendant.

“It’s surprising that His Majesty…… is interested in a woman.”

Ever since Karaf ascended the throne, the position of Empress has been vacant for a long time. He has never taken a woman to the Palace or taken her to his bedroom. 

Rather, the noblewomen who threw themselves at him to have his heir met a shameful end. 

He expelled from his bedroom many women who came to him in the middle of the night.

No woman could approach him recklessly anymore.

Many women were wounded by his thorns, but many still thirsted for his love, especially his fame and wealth.

“There’s a rumor that she’s from an ethnic minority clan! They say at this time, the Cactus Knights went to subdue the ethnic minorities. Could it be that she is a slave brought from there?”

“I know right! The time she entered the palace also coincides. Now that I see it, he didn’t like her. He made her serve him to get revenge!”

The servants laughed openly and giggled so that Asha could hear them. 

The reputation of ethnic minorities in the capital was not very good. 

However, Asha didn’t feel much emotion after listening to their conversation. It was the same contempt and ridicule that she received in her previous life. 

It seemed that her emotions had really gone numb a lot. 

Asha was surprised at herself, and sad too. 

Asha deliberately avoided the servants so that they wouldn’t be rude to her. But they scowled at her again, knowing that she had ignored them.

“She’s from a minority group, she’s so inferior!”

“Let’s see how long she can survive in the Imperial Palace, though she’s a slave!”

Asha went to the Emperor’s office regardless of what they said. 

Karaf had gone to a meeting about the upcoming flowering ceremony. His office was empty.

Asha was captivated for a moment by the scenery she hadn’t seen in a long time. 

Karaf surprisingly enjoyed reading books and newspapers, contrary to his tyrannical side. 

The fact that he handled the affairs of the state very well without neglecting them was praiseworthy for a tyrant. 

If he had been drinking every day, squandering his treasury, and enjoying lustful games with women, the Empire would have been completely destroyed. 

The Etzheim Empire was a powerful country, so neighboring countries couldn’t beat it easily. 

It was because he made the entire continent disappear from the map…….

Asha shook his head, trying to erase the thought. 

Books were neatly arranged by size, color, and type in his office, where one wall was all made of bookshelves. 

His neat-freak personality was revealed. 

Karaf couldn’t sleep well at night, so he would read a book in his bedroom on the sofa wearing fancy gold-rimmed glasses until he fell asleep. 

Although he is ruthless and violent, women will fall for him with just his smart appearance.

Asha, who had changed into maid clothes, was wearing a white cap and gloves on her hands.

Karaf must have thought that working as a maid would make her feel embarrassed and frustrated. 

But it was nothing like this. 

Lycaon made her strong and gave her a positive mindset that she could do anything. 

Her goal is to make the Emperor withdraw his order to wipe out ethnic minorities. But first, it was important to make him like her.

Asha had been with him for three years in the past. She knew his tendencies to the point that she was tired of them. 

She had more confidence in her than anyone else, that she would do the cleaning the way he liked.

You’ll be very surprised!

Asha was fired up. 

She took out the books that Karaf frequently reads and cherished, one by one, disinfecting and dusting them. 

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

The fact that he likes this kind of frivolous book, Asha felt a little fresh. She opened those books a bit. 

But she immediately noticed something, and her expression hardened. 

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

She could feel the extent of his obsession with butterflies, and it gave her goosebumps.