At dawn, all the servants who were sleeping suddenly woke up at the sound of a bongchan and gathered in the lounge.
T/N: The sound of knocking on a bongchan while sleeping (idioms) refers to a word that is used when someone suddenly makes a different sound, regardless of anything.
“Your majesty! What brings you here?”
They all stood behind Karaf, then he turned around in his robe.
All the servants flinched at his domineering gaze, and immediately bowed their heads.
Karaf looked around and spoke in a majestic tone.
“I came to see Asha. Where is she now?”
The maids were surprised that the Emperor personally visited one of the maids during the night, but no one answered the question.
As they looked at each other, he said terrifyingly.
“Guide me to her room right now.”
Upon arriving at Asha’s dormitory, Karaf slammed the door open without knocking.
He knew that she wasn’t in her room due to the reaction of the maids.
And his prediction was correct.
Karaf’s face hardened at the sight of the messy room.
No matter who looked at it, this room wasn’t her mess.
Just by looking at how she organized his office and bedroom, he could tell her neat and delicate personality.
Besides, she couldn’t have defiled the room he’d given her.
It was a clear sign of bullying.
Duran muttered seriously from behind.
“Where is she at this late hour…….”
“She…she wouldn’t have run away!”
A maid responded immediately.
The maid intended to calm their anxiety, but she didn’t know that it only aggravated his anger.
Karaf screamed out loud.
“Where is that maid now!”
Immediately after his harsh cries, a woman appeared in a hurry.
She was the woman who made Asha clean the bathroom before.
She had just woken up and her hair was a bit disheveled. She couldn’t help but look Karaf in the eye.
“Where is Asha now?”
“She….. Looks like she’s still in the outdoor bathroom.”
“Outdoor bathroom?”
When Karaf raised an eyebrow, her face turned pale.
Karaf didn’t look at her anymore and headed straight for his outdoor bathroom.
The maids followed him in terror.
When they got to the bathroom, they immediately froze.
In the distance, a woman could be seen cleaning the bathroom by herself until this late hour.
The figure of her on her knees and rubbing the floor with her thin arms looked somewhat pitiful, but her blond hair shone in the darkness.
Sonya covered her mouth with a face that seemed to cry, and was unaware that the head maid had done such a thing.
“….. What are you doing here?”
Asha raised her head and looked towards them.
In front of her was Karaf with a terrifying expression on his face, and behind him she could see the maids trembling in fear, looking down.
“Ah…..”
Asha, noticing the situation, spoke calmly.
“I’m cleaning the bathroom.”
“…. I can see that! I mean, why are you cleaning all by yourself in the middle of the night?”
Asha felt that he was now very angry.
But she couldn’t understand why he was angry.
Asha blinked and asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Isn’t this what I’m supposed to do?”
Karaf kept his mouth shut at her ridiculously, naive reply.
He knew the maids had done it, but he was more moved that she took her job seriously.
Asha casually asked.
“But what are you doing here, Your Majesty? Is there anything else you would like me to do?”
He had something to say, but after witnessing this, he was speechless.
“Is it urgent?”
“…… No.”
Asha hid her tiredness and spoke calmly.
“Then please wait a moment. I’m almost done.”
She started scrubbing the floor faster and faster.
Karaf found Asha’s tattered clothes soaked in water.
When he glanced down, her white hands were all swollen and frozen red from the cold.
Even though spring had arrived, it seemed that her condition worsened after working outside for a long time in the still cold weather.
His expression hardened even more.
Evidently this was what he wanted, for her to look ragged and suffer.
He thought that she would submit and surrender to him soon.
However, for some reason he felt very bad after witnessing it.
He felt miserable, as if something precious inside him had been destroyed by some mischief, as if something he owned had been snapped in half.
It certainly wasn’t the feeling he wanted or expected.
He never wanted to see this any more.
Karaf strode over and grabbed Asha’s hand.
Asha looked up in surprise, but he stared silently at the many calluses and blisters on her hands.
He spoke in a low voice.
“I told you to take care of me, but I never made you clean the bathroom by yourself. But….. What are you doing now?”
When Karaf finished speaking, he looked at the maids with terrifying eyes.
Seeing his red eyes flash, they flinched and bowed their heads.
They all trembled for fear of being killed.
No matter how hated minorities were, it was clearly negligence when they handed over their assigned work to others.
Karaf never forgives anyone who was negligent while living in a luxurious palace.
The head maid, who made the most decisive mistake among them, tremble pitifully and even had tears in her eyes.
When she, who had been venomous and arrogant, looked like this, she felt sorry for her.
Duran closed his eyes as he sensed that blood would be spattering at the Imperial Palace at dawn.
But it was then.
“I told them I would clean by myself, so everyone should go in and rest first.”
“……What?”
Karaf’s eyes widened slightly and he turned to Asha.
Suddenly, Asha had a subtle smile on her lips.
“Didn’t you tell me to indulge you, Your Majesty? So again, I tried to satisfy you. I love to clean.”
Karaf looked at her with a slight frown.
It was a well-intentioned lie, but he could hardly believe the situation.
Lady Vanessa…… She is a good person.
Recalling what Duran had said, Karaf clenched his fists out of her sight.
“….. As you said before. Your worth is determined by yourself. But look at you now. Is this what you are talking about?”
“……”
“A person’s worth depends on where they stand.”
Asha looked at him and said.
“Do you really think so?”
Karaf paused.
“I am very sorry if you think so. In Your Majesty’s eyes, do you see me as a worthless woman now?”
He was unable to answer that question.
Vanessa was a noble being.
She was the only woman in this empire who could make him bloom.
Even though she was wearing a shabby maid outfit, she did not lose her worth.
Then Asha said with a subtle smile.
“It’s always worth helping someone. I am very happy to be able to ease the work of the maids on my own.”
Karaf’s eyes widened.
Since he was cursed, there hasn’t been a single day that he hasn’t resented minorities.
But she was different.
She was a completely different being.
Karaf soon relaxed his fierce eyes and looked down.
“…..Don’t do what I haven’t ordered you to do in the future. No, just don’t do it.”
Asha looked at him curiously, but Karaf jumped up and turned his head.
“You did a good job cleaning today to my satisfaction, so I’ll give you a reward.”
When he finished speaking, he walked past the servants.
Duran made eye contact with Asha, nodded once and followed him.
As the two disappeared, the maids rushed to help clean up, but Asha stopped them.
“I’ll finish it, just go back and rest. You must have been very surprised today.”
They opened their eyes wide open.
Even though the Emperor was out of sight, Asha still didn’t say a word of resentment to them.
Her slender back looked reliable as she quietly organized the cleaning tools.
They returned feeling sorry.
However, it was difficult for everyone to fall asleep again in the middle of the night.
They almost lost their heads, but there was no way they could go back to sleep peacefully as if nothing had happened.
Moments later, they poked their heads out the bed.
When their eyes met, they quickly got off the bunks and gathered around.
“What the hell happened……?”
They chattered about what had just happened.
This was the first time that Karaf showed mercy to someone.
After being cursed, he gets easily tired of everything, and never gave a second chance to anyone who made a mistake or let him down.
But to change him like that……
His eyes when he looked at Asha did not contain hatred, but regret and guilt.
The maids made a ruckus about it and talked excitedly.
“His Majesty must really like her!”
Sonya worked hard to tell good stories about Asha with hype.
All the maids had drooping eyebrows and blamed themselves for being too harsh on her.
“I guess not all minorities are bad people……”
“I think we misunderstood. I felt sorry……”
They talked all night about Asha and Karaf.
Countless rumors arose about their relationship, but Asha’s reputation rose like a mountain.
* * * * *
Late in the morning, Asha returned to her quarters, but fell sound asleep as soon as she lay down on her bed.
Suddenly, the sound of birds chirping and the sunlight shining on her face, Asha frowned a bit and slowly opened her eyes.
The moment she realized that she had slept until noon, Asha jumped out of bed in shock.
As she hastily prepared to leave, she stopped when she noticed something on the table.
