"My lord, I have heard an interesting rumor."
Instead of answering, Behidat looked down at Nasir.
Nasir continued speaking with a truly ambiguous expression.
"Is it true that the woman in your harem right now is a white-skinned woman?"
No answer came.
Even though only cold gazes were directed at him, Nasir continued to talk without being discouraged.
"Where did that woman suddenly appear? Did Sihad really fall in love with her at first sight and take her into his harem, saying, 'You are my woman!' as the rumors say?"
Of course, Nasir did not believe the rumors.
That was the confidence of one of Sihad's closest confidants.
But knowing nothing about the situation other than what he had heard through rumors was a blow to Nasir's pride.
One day now.
Only one day had passed, but rumors had spread throughout the palace because of a woman the lord had brought with him.
Karim looked shocked when he heard this news.
He looked back at his master with an urgent look as if asking him to hurry up and refute him.
But what came out of Behidat's mouth was different.
"Then?"
"..."
The atmosphere has become tense in the still air. Nasir became more and more excited.
He was a little embarrassed when a person who doesn't joke started joking.
He knew Behidat was joking, but he couldn't take the joke as just a joke.
"Are you really in love? This is my first time seeing someone like this, so I'm really excited. But I think that a woman with white skin would have a lot of hardships."
"I see."
Behidat passed it by indifferently, but Nasir did not just let it pass.
"Of course, I already knew that wasn't true. If that were true, Sihad wouldn't be here with us now, would he?"
Behidat simply laughed at the obvious question of whether he was still doing such and such in the harem at this very moment.
Nasir stared at his master.
He was now seeing something very curious.
Behidat, who was he?
He is the ruler of this land and the master he worships, who received the name 'Ra' upon his ascension to the throne, which is given only to Kun, who is said to be the greatest in history, and who put an end to all the chaos in Pesian.
The King of Pesian received the names of Ra and Kun.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that he held everything in the world in his hands, and he was so perfect that it was impossible to imagine anyone who could defeat him.
Isn't he the kind of man who would accept that everything in the world flows through his hands?
Nasir was surprised that such a man was laughing now.
No, he can't even call that a laugh.
It was a faint smile, almost as if something funny had happened, but Nasir couldn't get used to it.
It was the first time he saw it. Isn't this beyond expectations?
"How long do you plan on sightseeing?"
The problem was that he was possessed without realizing it and was amazed for a long time.
Nasir smiled slyly and lowered his head at the cold reprimand that fell right on him.
"I didn't know. But, Sihad, you look happy."
"..."
Karim, standing next to him, froze with a look of shock on his face.
Reproachful looks were asking why he was asking such a thing, but Nasir paid no attention to it at all.
Behidat just smiled as he watched Nasir, who pretended not to know anything and had a serious expression on his face.
Even though he was aware of all the details, he just stood by and watched like an adult letting a child play.
"It might be because the cat I caught by chance was more interesting than I thought."
It's a cat.
Nasir wondered why it had to be a cat, but he didn't ask that question.
He was glad that he knew his subject well.
However, this was an incident that could not end as a one-time joke.
It was obvious that Kun, who had been unaware of the meaning of the harem that had been empty since his ascension to the throne, would soon be in an uproar because of one woman who had suddenly entered the harem.
Karim was also most concerned about that point.
"You were hasty. The Grand Chancellor will not remain silent. Hasn't he always wanted to put his daughters in the harem?"
Finally, Karim spoke up.
Behidat just gave him a glance and smiled again.
Nasir added a word to that.
"Yes, Sihad. Now that a precedent has been set, all the chieftains will want to send their daughter to the harem. Since it has come to this, I would like to include my sister as well. What do you think?"
"Nasir."
Although Karim tried to stop him, Behidat didn't show any reaction. Instead, he spoke in a low, languid voice.
"I met her in the desert on my way back from Ashmae."
The two people listened quietly and then soon made puzzled faces. At the same time, it was also a surprised expression.
"Jirda. So you met in the desert of death?"
"She asked for directions. I arrested her and threw her in the Jehenem prison, but for some reason, she was walking around the street."
An arrogant gaze came down on the two people, saying, 'Is this enough of an explanation?"
The two men, who had been needlessly worried about how foolishly the Supreme Ra Kun would act, quietly kept their mouths shut.
Jehenem, that place was a notorious prison.
How on earth did she escape from a place from which no prisoner had ever escaped?
Nasir suspected that there might be a mistake in the information, but he was not stupid enough to ask about it.
For a moment, his mind snapped to its senses.
Although the enemies within were not a concern, the enemies outside Pesian always existed.
"Could she be a spy from Cromwell?"
If her skin is white, there is only one place she comes from. That's the North Continent.
Since the Pen tribe, which is extremely
weak to the heat, would not come down here, the only thing that naturally narrows down is one thing.
An empire on the northern continent facing each other across the Mediterranean Sea.
"She claims to be a traveler."
"Traveler?"
Judging from her actions, she was by no means an ordinary traveler.
Behidat chuckled as he remembered the little woman he had thrown back into his harem just last night.
The two men were taken aback by the owner's sudden smile.
Karim frowned as if he found it ridiculous, and Nasir's eyes sparkled.
His curiosity grew stronger and stronger.
"I'll leave it to you to figure that out, Nasir."
Somehow Nasir thought that his master seemed happier than usual.
"Find out. Who that woman really is.
"Yes, Sihad."
***
I sometimes thought of what my mother used to say.
If you keep living like that, you'll definitely die young.
Could Mom be a prophet?
I felt such admiration for just a moment.
"I feel like I'm really on the verge of death."
The string of beads hanging from the ceiling swayed gracefully.
I was just playing around to kill time, but somehow I found myself thinking about something I hadn't thought about in a long time.
I just wanted to see the desert...
I can't even figure out where it all started.
It was natural that I wanted to come to the Southern Continent in the first place.
After touring all the countries of the Northern Continent and even exploring the prehistoric civilizations before history, wasn't it after all those rugged ruins?
Having visited the Pen people living in Siberia, there was no place in the Northern Continent that I had not set foot on.
So I came down to the Southern Continent.
Who knew that would be digging my own grave.
"The problem was that I met that man there."
I nodded, resting my chin on my hand.
I never thought I would meet people in the desert.
I was already thirsty and so tired, so it was nice to meet someone in the desert where there was no one.
So was it a problem that I greeted him so brightly?
If I had asked in a voice that seemed a little tired and dying, wouldn't I be in this mess now?
Many thoughts were going through my head, but I neatly put them all away.
"Oh my, that's meaningless."
It's already happened.
I tried to act as if I had regrets without answering, but I, as usual, decided to remain calm about what had already happened.
What's important is from now on.
Because human history doesn't always go the way I want it to. That makes it even more fun.
I concluded with my arms crossed.
Stay here quietly until I get my luggage back.
In fact, it was a decision close to gambling, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't just throw that burden away and leave it alone.
Oh, and what on earth is that little pocket?
It was frustrating, but there was nothing I could do.
Yes, I could give up the collection of portraits of pretty boys, but I absolutely had to get back the book of misfortune.
If I go home without any plan, I will have nothing left.
All that remains is a terrible future where I am locked in the mansion for the rest of my life.
Yes, I could take that into account, but the problem was that I had to live as the elegant and careful lady my mother wanted me to be.
Ugh, that's horrible!
I reaffirmed my resolve as I imagined my future self living a cautious life.
No matter what happens, I will definitely get my money back!
Escape could have been done at any time after that.
"Lady Ashina, would you like some water?"
"Huh? No, I don't need it."
I got up, waving my hands.
I took a bath in the morning and I took a bath in the afternoon too.
There was no need to bathe so enthusiastically.
Of course, I knew that bathing was essential in this country because it was so hot and the wind blew a lot of sand, but being stuck in the harem, bathing any longer was a luxury.
My personality of not liking to dress up also played a part.
No, actually, I couldn't just casually say that I was going to take a bath because I was afraid that after I came out of the bath I would be wearing clothes that would reveal my stomach again.
What kind of bath is so torture that it makes your chest swell?
It was a thrill that could only be felt in a foreign country, but I wanted to quietly decline.
There's no need for that kind of thrill.
"Shall we go for a walk?"
I woke up and stretched.
"Again?"
Nur made a face that said she couldn't understand.
Instead of explaining, I ended up just smiling.
It was annoying to have to explain everything in detail.
I had already taken a tour of the prison-like harem under the pretext of a walk.
I went in and out of what was presumed to be someone else's room without hesitation, and no one stopped me from pressing the door strangely.
Even if someone had told me not to, I would have done it anyway.
Anyway, there was one thing I learned while doing that.
Surprisingly, not a single person lived in this harem.
Except for myself. No, how?
How on earth can no one live in such a huge space?
If this harem was empty all this time, doesn't that mean that it was a huge waste of space?
I thought that even if I died and came back to life, I would never be able to understand a culture that was tolerant of such a waste of space.
Well, it's comparable to Cromwell's dirty big restaurant.
It's a two-top, a two-top.
"Yes, let's go for a walk."
The rooms and terraces connected by arches and corridors had quite an organic pattern, which I didn't notice when I first arrived.
The harem was divided into sections so that the lives of the people inside were as invisible while still making it clear who lived where.
The structure of the harem was so unique and fascinating that I wish I had some architectural knowledge.
No, it was mysterious.
I didn't like the fact that the place I had to stay was the deepest part of the harem.
"Press."
"Yes?"
After watching the woman for half a day, who I couldn't tell if she was a guard or a helper, it wasn't too bad.
If I, who is proud of her ability to at least judge people, say something like that, then she really is a good woman.
I looked back at the woman who had let down her guard in half a day and asked me what I had been wondering all along.
"I've been wanting to ask this for a while now. What is that building over there?"
It was the building I went to secretly yesterday and got caught by Ra Kun.
The white building shone in the warm sunlight and seemed even more magnificent than it had been at night.
It was beautiful at night, but during the day it was just as good as Cromwell's palace.
There must have already been a certain number of people who would live in a building like that, but there was always that 'maybe not'.
At my question, Nur looked back at me as if he was a little puzzled.
"This is the palace where Ra Kun resides.
"... Over there?"
Somehow.
I groaned quietly inwardly.
It was somehow quiet but ominous.
The view of the palace that I had seen when I sneaked in last night still left a deep impression on me.
I bit my lip, thinking that I should have just stayed quiet and acted out for no reason.
That meeting yesterday was definitely not a coincidence.
I crawled into the tiger's den on my own two feet.
Even though I was crazy, I didn't do anything crazy.
"I really need to be quiet."
Let me say this in advance, it wasn't because I was scared of Ra Kun, really.
No, actually it's really scary.
What if I get my throat cut like this?
Still, I was a little scared because I knew very well that my life was precious.
The fact that I might not be able to return home like this was already a second thought. Judging from his actions up to now, I was in a situation where I would have died without a fight even if I was told to.
I'm crazy.
How dare I touch such a big thing.
In fact, if he had given me the chance right now, I could have gotten down on my knees and begged.
I'm sorry, I was wrong, so please forgive me just this once.
But that guy won't give me that chance.
The problem was that, more than anything. I felt rebellious just by looking at that man's face. I sighed quietly.
Is the seed of rebellion planted in my heart?
Or is it a time of storm and stress?
But when I looked at that human" I couldn't help but say something!
"Ha..."
The woman who was suddenly holding her head and crying in pain watched silently with a curious look as if she was wondering why she was doing this.
I seemed like I could shed tears at the painful reality, whether that was true or not.
No, if I think about it, it's all that guy's fault!
If you just quietly tell me the way to Kracha, wouldn't you arrest me and throw me in prison, or lock me up in the harem?
Ha, it wasn't easy to live quietly in life.
"As expected, I'm a pretty girl. Even when I'm still, my beauty shines so much that men can't leave me alone. Ah, this is the fate of a beauty."
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment