CH 83

Seeing him seated in the front, he appeared to be the highest-ranked warrior among them.

Seeing him seated in the front, he appeared to be the highest-ranked warrior among them.

“Animals know how to eat with their hands and mouths. Am I wrong, everyone?”

He said confidently, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Sosa’s face hardened, but he kept his mouth shut, only looking at his plate.

Seriously, their treatment of the Kelpie clan was unacceptable.

Their treatment toward the Kelpie clan was unacceptable, despite their departure from the village.

The kelpies had been the strongest warriors of the minority village, and many warriors had sacrificed their lives for the village, earning them the title of a glorious clan.

Jackal casually interjected.

“I think you’re mistaken…none of them seem like normal humans. They all look like beasts, so I can’t tell them apart.”

Everyone who had been laughing suddenly froze at his words.

Sosa couldn’t help but cover his mouth and giggle.

“These people… still don’t seem to know their place.”

“It’s a good thing there’s a hierarchy.”

When Jackal said it so calmly, the man frowned.

“What?”

“That’s how we can get to the point.”

Everyone sprang to their feet.

“These bastards… how dare you traitors…!”

Sosa looked at him in surprise.

“Chief, isn’t this like a cowardly situation where it’s 10 against 2?”

“No, it’s an appropriate number with five people per person.”

Jackal spoke with a serious face, and all the men drew swords from their waistbands.

“Let’s see how far their arrogance goes!”

Sosa spoke perplexed.

“Chief, but I’m so hungry right now…”

“Fight first and then eat. Even if we eat all our food, there are still 10 more servings.”

As soon as Jackal finished speaking, the men shouted.

“Take them down!”

The men rushed towards them at the same time, but Jackal swiftly jumped onto the dining table.

With lightning speed, he kicked the head of the man sitting at the front, who had drawn his sword, and the man’s head spun around before falling to the ground.

The men hesitated for a moment, stunned at how easily their leader had fallen, and then Sosa began to swing plates from behind, shouting ‘Yeah!’.

Dishes were shattered and the dining hall descended into chaos.

Jackal dodged the men’s punches with quick movements and kicked them in the feet and stomach.

Even Sosa, who wasn’t typically good at fighting, became excited like a raging bull, grabbing the men’s heads from the side and hitting them with his fists as if he were a puppet being controlled.

Although he preferred peace, his nature was that of a wild horse, and his fighting instinct took over.

The men were no match for the ferocious attacks of the two, and they fell to the ground one by one.

Jackal, who had finally knocked out the last one, stood up calmly and brushed his hands indifferently.

“Sosa.”

“Yes, chief.”

Sosa straightened up and stood tall after vigorously beating someone up.

The man had lost consciousness in Sosa’s arms, so when he let go of him, the man fell to the ground lifelessly.

Jackal placed a handkerchief around his shirt collar and said.

“Let’s eat.”

“Great!”

Sosa replied with a bright face.

Jackal glanced down at the ground. All the men were lying on the floor, moaning in pain.

He casually stepped over them and took a seat at the head of the table.

Sosa sat calmly next to him, wiping the tableware with the clothes of the men lying on the floor, and politely placing it next to Jackal’s plate.

Jackal began to eat the meat as if he had been sitting there all along.

As Sosa ate hurriedly, he exclaimed with a pleased expression.

“This tastes even better after some workout!”

“That’s right. Not to mention the beautiful scenery, there’s nothing like a feast like this.”

Jackal said, dabbing butter with a knife and applying it to a large sliced baguette.

“I should do some finishing exercise after the meal. The dining hall looks so messy, so you need to clean it up. If you don’t tidy up, that’s not good manners.”

As Jackal finished speaking, he opened his mouth wide and chewed on the baguette, making a clear crunchy sound.

Sosa also dipped his baguette in strawberry jam, took a bite, and hummed with satisfaction.

“That’s right, chief. *A beautiful person makes even the place they leave.”

T/N: *This proverb implies that a person who is kind, considerate, and thoughtful can have a positive impact on the environment and the people around them. Even after they leave a place or situation, their presence will be remembered, and the effects of their actions will continue to be felt. In other words, it encourages individuals to strive to be kind, empathetic, and helpful to those around them, as their actions can have a lasting impact on others.

The faces of the men lying on the floor turned paler as the two continued their conversation.

* * * * * 

Asha was immersed in her reading until the sun had completely set. 

Despite being occasionally annoyed by Karaf’s constant chatter outside the door, Sonya trembled but defended her vigorously.

‘Lady Vanessa is busy looking for a way to break Your Majesty’s curse right now!’

With just that sentence, Karaf returned powerless like a puppy with its tail between its legs.

Asha felt a sense of pride knowing that she had taught him well enough that he had no right to disturb her.

As she gazed at the stacks of thick books that were piled up like mountains, and the piles of parchment papers, she realized that burying herself in books was not so bad after all.

Even when she cleaned Karaf’s office before, she never realized she had a talent for finding and organizing information.

Doing something she had never done in her past life always brought her joy.

Asha comfortably leaned back on the bed and opened the book given to her by Dart.

The book contained information on all the butterflies that had been associated with the flowers of the Imperial Family throughout history.

Even their abilities and awakening conditions were meticulously recorded in the book Asha was reading.

The abilities of the past Vanessas varied greatly, from healing and attack abilities to clairvoyance and telekinesis.

Asha was amazed by the relationship between these abilities and the awakening conditions of the butterflies.

She suspected that her own ability to ‘regress’ was due to her awakening condition of ‘going to the brink of death.’

As she delved deeper into the book, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by some of the unbelievable awakening conditions.

For instance, some butterflies awakened only when they were burned, prompting them to sneak into the kitchen and burn themselves as children.

In the case of that butterfly, it was written that she had been supported by the Imperial Family, allowing her to live in the palace until the emperor became an adult.

Other unique awakening conditions included getting pricked by thorns, spending several days in a dark room, eating something forbidden, being completely alone without any family or friends, and discovering minerals underground.

To Asha’s surprise, the awakening condition for Karaf’s mother was finding a romantic partner.

Asha was filled with bitterness about the romantic awakening condition.

Because the former empress’ love was never fulfilled……  

She felt even more sorry for the former empress as it was said that the former emperor did not love her.

If she hadn’t been chosen as a butterfly, could she have lived a happy life with another man?

Suddenly, Jackal came to mind, and Asha felt even more trapped.

She wondered if he was doing well and if his wounds had healed.

“I miss you, Jackal……”

As she murmured, Asha looked around in surprise.

If anyone heard her, it would spread another bad rumor, so she had to be careful in the palace.

Asha regained her composure and started reading the book again.

If the chosen butterfly does not awaken until they reach adulthood, its unawakened butterfly qualifications will be quietly revoked and given to another woman.

That is why there were no records left for women whose butterfly qualifications were revoked.

Because they would not even know they were a butterfly if they did not awaken.

However, as Asha traced back through history, she stumbled upon a peculiar condition for awakening that left her feeling embarrassed and red-faced. This condition was none other than having sexual intercourse for the first time.

However, fulfilling this awakening condition would prove to be a challenge since it was impossible to know if the person she would engage in relations with was a butterfly.

The historical records revealed that the man who met this condition was a commoner who was already married to a butterfly and had a child with her.

However, the outcome for the husband and child was…..death.

In the imperial court, it was unacceptable for an empress to be a married woman with another man’s child, and as a result, innocent people were put to death.

Asha’s expression became grave as she realized the gravity of the situation.

But then, at that moment…

“…… Lady Vanessa, this is Sonya. May I come in for a moment?”

“Sure, come in.”

Asha briefly closed the book.

Sonya approached Asha and handed her a golden invitation.

“The Duchess of Lilac has sent an invitation.”

“The Duchess of Lilac?”

As she opened the invitation, she found a formal greeting and a request to attend a tea party.

The purpose of the party was to choose a lady-in-waiting from among the noble ladies to celebrate the month of Flower Arrangement, now that Asha had become Empress.

Sonya had a lot of work to do, and she also felt the pressure of being under the scrutiny of the noble ladies.

No Empress in history had ever been without a lady-in-waiting by her side.

Traditionally, when someone became Empress, noble ladies were invited to the palace to select the ladies-in-waiting.

She had done this in her past life, following the chamberlain’s advice.

However, not only had she been ridiculed by the nobles, but the selection of the ladies-in-waiting was ultimately controlled by the nobles’ will, not her own.

It was a power struggle disguised as a goodwill gesture since she had only recently entered the palace and was unfamiliar with their ways.

Even Asha, who was also unfamiliar with the nobles’ lifestyle, could sense the subtle power struggle.

She had even thought about making friends with girls her own age, but after being betrayed by them, she had concluded that being alone was better.

As Asha thought about the tea party and how much envy and ridicule she would face, her head felt like it was about to explode.

In the past, she had been insulted at social gatherings and wanted to decline the invitation, but as it was hosted by the Duchess of Lilac herself, it was difficult to do so.

Last time, she had used the excuse of being ill to avoid attending the lunch with the five noble families, but she knew that the same excuse would not work again.

I have to see their faces at least once anyway…..

Asha held her forehead with one hand.

If she continued to avoid them, eventually the arrows would hit Karaf.

The nobles have a habit of creating bad rumors, and there are rumors that Vanessa was *made emperor by not showing her to anyone and wrapping her tightly, or that she was locked in the palace to avoid a scandal.

T/N: * Often used to describe someone or something being treated or considered in an overly grand or exaggerated way, similar to how an emperor would be treated with great pomp and ceremony.

Either way, it was a headache-inducing situation.

But then, Sonya exclaimed excitedly.

“Lady Vanessa! You have to go and wipe them all out!”

“…… What!”

Asha looked at Sonya with widened eyes, wondering if she had misheard her.