The procession continued in this way for several days. By the time they reached the transition zone where slightly hotter winds blew, Latifa’s leg injury had somewhat improved.
Was it thanks to the medicine Hades had given her? The throbbing pain had significantly eased, and the swelling had reduced to a point where she could take a few steps without Brenda’s help.
“Just a little more struggle. We’re almost there.”
“I don’t know what to do to survive even if we go to the third country.”
“…as long as we live, that’s good.”
“You, did you really not have any incidents with the general?”
Considering she had been stuck with Brenda all along, Brenda should have known that nothing had happened. Still, she seemed to wish that Latifa had gained more from sticking to Hades.
Latifa awkwardly laughed off the situation and patted the head of the brown horse standing next to her. As she did, silver sparks rose from the horse’s head.
‘You’ve worked hard. We will be parting ways soon.’
[I don’t want to say goodbye. Latifa, you’re light. Men are heavy.]
At the words of the brown horse, Latifa laughed pleasantly. Then, Brenda next to her started to get angry.
“You really only do useless things. My insides are burning like this!”
‘Oh no. Here we go again.’
As they neared the Salt Desert, Brenda’s nagging got worse. Even though they had crossed the long procession, riding a horse and sleeping warmly thanks to Latifa, Brenda kept asking for more.
She asked for more fruits, for more water to wash her face. Unable to speak the desert language, she kept making demands and asked Latifa to convey them to the desert people.
Latifa, being nice, tried to meet Brenda’s demands as much as possible. But Brenda didn’t know when to stop.
Before she knew it, the black robe that Latifa had received from Hades had long been in Brenda’s hands.
“If you side with the general, you can really live comfortably, right, Latifa? You should go first and butter him up.”
‘Can you help me?’
Eventually, Latifa asked the brown horse for help. The horse shook its head and began to neigh loudly with its front hoof raised.
“Kyaaak!”
Startled by the horse’s sudden outburst, Brenda stopped her nagging.
‘Thank you.’
While Latifa was laughing silently, Manut called her.
“Hey, imperial woman. The general is calling you.”
Latifa had a hunch. It seemed like he was about to start the trade again.
[Star Icon][Star Icon]As Latifa hobbled following Manut, she saw Hades, with a serious expression, reading a parchment scroll. Quite a lot of scrolls were piled up next to him.
“General, I’ve brought her.”
“Alright. Give this one to the commander of the third and fourth armies, and this one to the seventh army.”
As Hades handed over the scrolls, Manut quickly disappeared. Only the two of them were left, but Hades, having a pile of things still to read and deal with, picked up a new scroll and spoke.
His face, which she hadn’t seen for a few days, was still sharp and resolute. However, a sense of fatigue that even Latifa could feel seeped through.
“Did you also lose your clothes?”
“Not, not stolen, Brenda just feels the cold so much…. so we just swapped.”
“Having spent a few days together, you should have realized. I can’t tell if you’re naive or just foolish.”
Latifa seemed to understand what Hades was talking about. She had already realized that Brenda was trying to use her.
However it may be, Brenda was a fellow imperial, and Hades was a desert dweller, she didn’t want to readily accept his words.
“The day you brought her, that greedy woman was stuffing my pocket with those tasteless apples.”
“…I was starving. It wasn’t theft, it was my share of apples anyway.”
“If you are so inclined to take her side, I have nothing more to say. But if the subordinate behaves incorrectly, it’s the superior who suffers the loss.”
Hades gestured for her to sit on the large chest in front of them, chuckling. Latifa sat on it and asked,
“What’s the purpose?”
“A trade.”
‘As expected.’
She felt an unreasonable heaviness at the word ‘trade’. Why did this simple request for translation assistance weigh so much?
“What I want is your ability in desert language. What do you want?”
“…Will you grant what I want?”
“If it’s worth the value, the trade is made. Otherwise, we negotiate.”
“I thought you were a general, but you sound just like a merchant.”
“Ah, thank you for the compliment. If you are from the Grand Bazaar, everyone has a merchant’s blood in them.”
‘Tsk, that wasn’t a compliment.’
She tried to slightly dent his pride by calling him a merchant, as he was laughably proud of himself. However, Hades seemed to take more pride in it.
“Ah, in the empire, being a merchant was a lowly profession, true.”
Hades looked at her with a smug grin. She didn’t understand why his face looked so vexing.
She didn’t want to lose to that face. So, she steadied her voice and challenged Hades.
“What I want is gold.”
“Ah. It used to be cheap, but the price has gone up. How much do you want?”
A lot. The more the better.
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.
