On the handkerchief was a small black rose that Asha had personally sewn on.
She learned from Ella to embroider point-to-point with her own inexperienced hands.
Asha then tied a knot around Karaf’s wrist.
“Please come back safely.”
Karaf’s eyes flickered slightly.
The palace was a place he didn’t want to return to every time he went to war with Duran.
He had always left without any regrets, prepared not to come back, thinking that no one was waiting for him.
But now that there was someone waiting for him, he wanted to come back.
He finally had a reason to return.
Karaf grinned.
“Don’t worry. I’ve securely fastened the suncatcher you gave me under this armor.”
Hearing that, Asha flinched. Karaf, upon seeing her reaction, burst into a small laugh.
“Okay then, be safe. I hope the empress enjoys a moment of peace in my absence.”
Instead of answering, Asha slightly bowed her head.
Despite their comfortable conversation, both carried heavy hearts as if they were carrying a burden.
The instability in the empire was because of them, and it was painful to think that the emperor himself had to go on a pilgrimage to calm things down.
Karaf silently captured Asha’s appearance in his eyes, then shouted as he rode his horse.
“Let’s go!”
He set off on his horse and led the procession with dignity.
Asha stood in front of the palace gate and watched the procession for a long time until Karaf was no longer visible.
* * * * *
Karaf and Dart arrived at a small village.
The priests had bestowed their blessings mainly in places where the eyes of the Imperial Family and the Temple would not normally reach, not in cities with large downtown areas.
The village they arrived at had recently suffered severe damage from monster attacks, but it was so small that it did not receive any support from the Imperial Family.
From the entrance, Karaf could see tattered tents, broken bricks, and devastated lands with deep hollows here and there, all of which broke his heart.
The harvest season was coming soon, but he could feel the villagers’ despair in the ruins of their crops, which they had tended to all year round, now in disarray.
When the colorful and long procession arrived at the village, everyone rushed to the entrance with wide eyes, not expecting the emperor to come to such a humble place.
They stared at Karaf, who shone brightly at the front of the procession as if it were a dream.
However, they soon remembered his nickname, ‘Bloody Tyrant’, and their faces turned pale as they belatedly fell to the ground.
“Your Majesty, the Flower of the Empire, we welcome you!”
Karaf accepted their greetings with grace, but inside he was a little shaken.
It was also the first time he had ever seen the people of the empire up close like this, except during his Coronation Ceremony or the Blooming Ceremony.
“Since Your Majesty has come to bless us personally, our village can now survive…!”
The villagers exclaimed tearfully.
But that was when a woman came out of the crowd with tears in her eyes and knelt before him.
“Your Majesty, please save my son….!”
“Insolent!”
The knights tried to block her, but Karaf raised his hand to stop them.
The woman, dressed in shabby clothes and a headscarf, sobbed as she spoke.
“My son was injured by a monster and he won’t heal… Please, Your Majesty, help him so he doesn’t suffer anymore….”
The knights tried to refuse her request, fearing that the Emperor might get sick.
Karaf stood silently, without saying a word.
The woman’s cries became louder, and murmurs could be heard from the surrounding crowd.
Dart watched Karaf from behind with cold eyes, as if he had expected this outcome.
But then…
“…Lead the way.”
Everyone was surprised by these words, but Karaf remained composed as he waited for the woman to guide him.
The woman, who seemed to have no idea that her request would be granted, quickly got up and bowed deeply.
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty!”
The woman hurriedly led him to her house.
They came to a house that was too dilapidated to be visited by the Emperor.
As soon as they entered the house, they could feel the uncomfortable and stifling air of a sick person’s dwelling.
However, Karaf did not show any signs of discomfort and followed her inside.
One of the knights called him with a worried look from behind.
“Your Majesty…”
“It’s okay. I am the Flower of the Empire. If I fall sick, this empire will perish but remain.”
Upon hearing those words, the knight’s face turned pale, realizing he had unintentionally disregarded him. He bowed his head in shame.
Indeed, there could be nothing more ridiculous and dishonorable than for the Flower of the Empire to be afflicted with a plague.
As they arrived in a small room, they saw a young boy lying in bed, writhing in pain.
Everyone who saw the boy’s face involuntarily frowned.
The boy’s face was covered in black spots, like a diseased plant.
The woman took the boy’s hand and cried.
“Son, His Majesty the Emperor came to see you in person.”
The boy breathed out a faint sigh and opened his eyes.
When the boy met his red eyes, he was momentarily overwhelmed with fear, causing his eyes to widen.
The boy tried to quickly sit up in bed, even though he was sick, but Karaf said calmly.
“That’s enough. Just lie down.”
The boy looked up at him with a pale face.
Can you show me your wound?”
The woman quickly removed the blanket and lifted her son’s shirt to reveal the wound on his stomach.
The flesh around the monster’s teeth marks had rotted and was filled with blood and pus.
It was a horrible sight.
“The monster sucked the blood from my son’s belly… and since then, the wound has not healed….”
The priests who stood behind them were silent.
The child’s condition was practically as good as death.
If it was Asha… would she have saved this boy?
Karaf’s face twisted with guilt as he remembered Asha when she had healed him from his pain on the day of the New Moon.
The child, however, smiled at him, as if to say that everything was going to be okay.
“I am so happy that Your Majesty came….”
Karaf’s eyes grew slightly.
The boy’s eyes were dark under his eyes, and his lips were white, but he was trying to smile brightly.
He felt a pang of guilt, realizing that he had been so consumed with his own curse that he had not thought about the pain of his people.
It was as if the pain the boy was experiencing was suddenly transmitted directly to his heart.
Karaf clenched his fists, feeling pathetic and ashamed that he could do nothing even after going on a pilgrimage.
Everything felt like his fault
“Your Majesty, it’s dirty!”
Suddenly, Karaf began to wipe the boy’s body with a towel soaked in holy water, and the mother next to him was startled and did not know what to do.
Karaf asked the boy in a low voice.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
The child hesitated to answer but eventually nodded slightly.
“If you bear with it a little, it won’t hurt anymore. I will bless you.”
He placed his hand on the boy’s forehead and sincerely prayed for the wound to heal.
The tense boy eventually fell asleep, with Karaf’s cold hand still on him, which helped to bring down his fever.
Although Karaf’s hand was cold, to the boy, his touch felt warmer than any other touch.
Even after the child fell asleep, Karaf continued to care for him before finally standing up.
“I will provide the best medical supplies from the Imperial Palace.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you so much!”
The woman bowed down several times to thank him.
However, Karaf felt grateful to the boy instead. He realized that if he hadn’t met this child, he would still be the selfish tyrant he had known himself to be.
I’m glad I came on this pilgrimage…
He had always hidden in the thorn bushes, but now he wanted to become an emperor who was no longer ashamed in front of Asha and his citizens.
Dart was looking at him with a strange expression from the door.
The priests purified the village all night long with holy water and prayer.
Since it would take a long time to search every corner of the empire, they couldn’t stay in one village for long.
Karaf also stayed up all night and prepared to leave for the next village the next day.
But then, someone called out to him.
“Your Majesty….! Your Majesty….!”
It was the mother of the boy who had received his blessing the day before, running towards him with her eyes wide open.
“My son’s wounds are healing…!”
Everyone, including the priests and villagers, was surprised by her words.
Karaf quickly followed her to her house instead of leaving.
He saw the boy he had met yesterday waiting for him in front of the house.
“Your Majesty!”
The boy’s face was visibly different from the day before.
His face had regained its vitality and many of the scars on his body had disappeared.
Karaf’s eyes widened slightly, but he greeted the boy with a friendly smile.
People around them were surprised and whispered among themselves when they saw the scene.
They had thought of Karaf as a tyrant without any mercy, but seeing him like this made them realize that they had misunderstood him all this time.
“What would a commoner like us know? We just believe the rumors we hear.”
“That’s right, that’s right.”
They murmured to each other.
Their eyes were now full of respect, unlike before when they were terrified and wary at first.
Karaf pretended to be calm, but he was actually quite surprised.
He had nothing else he could do, he just cared for the boy with all his heart, but it really seemed to have worked.
“Your Majesty’s power must have worked for the child.”
Duran was deeply moved, his eyes slightly reddened.
Duran had been saved by Karaf before and therefore he had absolute faith in Karaf’s power. He was convinced that Karaf had worked another miracle this time too.
The boy wanted to express his gratitude to Karaf and held out a basket of fruits and vegetables.
“These are the crops we grew at our house. The monsters destroyed all the fields, but this is what we harvested before the attack. Thank you for treating my injuries.”
The basket showed evidence of an effort to include only the best and freshest fruits and vegetables.
Karaf felt a lump in his throat as he looked at it, having already seen the fields and farms in complete disarray.
He realized that the food he always ate in the palace was no less than a precious life to these people.
Karaf looked away and said.
“… put it away. You have to eat well to get healthier.”
“But…..”
The boy looked around anxiously, unsure of what to do.
He felt in debt, but he couldn’t help but pay it off.
“Please wait a moment!”
The boy hurriedly ran back into the house.
