Tamed or Captured

Jackal blinked like a tame horse that knew nothing, went to a nearby watering hole, and began to drink as if thirsty.

And while he was at it, he started mumbling the straw next.

“Hey, look carefully. Does that look like a person? No matter how you look at it, it’s not a horse.”

“This…this is strange! It can’t be……!”

“You’ve seen nothing, you were drunk!”

The man hit the servant on the head.

“Please pull yourself together! Drunkard.”

“No, what I’m trying to say…….”

The servant took his hands to his head as if it was unfair, but the man spoke harshly.

“How dare you drink so much in front of Lady Vanessa’s favorite horse? Thank God you didn’t report this to His Majesty. Because it was me, you’re saved, but if anyone else saw it, you’d be fired. You understand?”

The servant frowned and glanced at Jackal unhappily.

But Jackal closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

The servant cocked his head, trying to recall if he had been drinking, but backed away, wondering if he really saw anything.

As soon as they closed the door and left, Jackal returned to his human form and spit out straws.

He let out a sigh of relief, rubbing his chest.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to have been caught.

A while ago, Jackal dragged the passed-out man into a room and headed to the storeroom where the servants kept the alcohol.

Fortunately, the warehouse was not far from the stable.

It was a very lucky time to learn a bit about the palace’s complicated structure before infiltrating the palace.

Jackal came back with a bunch of bottles and poured one into the mouth of the passed-out man.

     I’m sorry.

He poured the entire bottle, then emptied another bottle, and with another bottle, he poured half of it on his clothes to make it look like he was drinking it.

He barely got through the crisis with his wit, but he thought he had to be more careful now that it was dangerous to turn into his human form.

He was sure that the servant would keep an eye on him.

Jackal pushed back his sweaty hair.

He had to meet Asha before the flowering ceremony and reveal his identity to her, but it was difficult to do so.

* * * * *

At dawn, when everyone was asleep, Asha suddenly opened her eyes in the dark.

When she woke up, Karaf had moved to the sofa to sleep, and there were bottles of medicine and alcohol on the table in front of him.

He seemed to have not slept for a long time, even after she fell asleep, and seemed to have taken too much alcohol and medication.

Asha glanced slightly at his sleeping face.

Seeing him sleep and breathe regularly without moving, he seemed to be truly fast asleep.

He is a tyrant when he is awake, but he looks like an innocent child when his terrifying face is relaxed.

She felt a little sad.

Suddenly, she remembered the black-haired boy she had met when she passed out.

A child who is not loved by his mother and is covered in thorns.

Somehow Karaf looked as sad as the little boy.

     The cursed flower…….

The nickname Karaf was given must have meant more than just being unable to bloom.

Asha did not yet know the details of the curse placed upon him.

She feels sorry for him, so she reached out to him, but her hand stopped in midair without touching his body.

Asha’s eyes widened a bit.

Suddenly it occurred to her that this was her chance.

All the servants were asleep, and Karaf was drunk and sleeping more soundly than usual.

She had something to ask the spy.

Maybe Karaf didn’t get any information from him.

That’s why he had a nightmare and looked so anxious when she disappeared. 

The man would be tortured to death, but he would never tell Karaf how to break the curse.

But maybe she didn’t know if she could get a little clue out of him.

Because she also comes from a minority clan.

The spy was obviously aware of this and approached her, not to kill her, but to kidnap her.

Asha wanted to know why.

If Karaf, enraged by this incident, ordered the subjugation of the minorities, then it would really be bad.

Only the timing was slightly different, but it would be the same ending as in the past.

And Asha could never let that happen.

Asha tied the towels and clothes carefully to the window.

Karaf would never allow her to come into contact with the man under the guise of danger, so she had no choice but to escape.

Landing safely on the grass like a butterfly, Asha looked up.

Her purple eyes glowed brightly in the dark.

Asha learned in her spare time the structure of the palace, so she used the shortest passageway to the dungeon.

When she suddenly appeared in the middle of the night, all the knights guarding the dungeon were shocked.

“Pardon me, Lady Vanessa. What are you doing here at this hour?”

“I’m here to see the spy.”

The knights murmured helplessly.

“But His Majesty ordered us not to let anyone in here…….”

“That’s why I came here at this hour on purpose. If I get caught, you and I will be in big trouble.”

As Asha smiled, her beautiful face made them dazed.

“I came to see if I could find out how to break His Majesty’s curse. It will take a minute.”

Since they were still hesitating and refusing to move, Asha added earnestly.

“Don’t worry. I will not feel any compassion for someone who almost killed me. But I need to know why he tried to kidnap me. Think of it as a different kind of interrogation.”

At last, they sighed.

“……I understand. Instead, you must be quick. If you don’t, we’ll be in big trouble!”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind. Thank you.”

Asha smiled at them, and as soon as she entered, her expression hardened and she made up her mind.

As she was walking down the corridor, he finally found the spy in the innermost room.

Inside, the spy was drenched in blood, with his arms tied up.

The clothes he was wearing were in tatters and stuck to his wounds.

Asha bit her lower lip and walked slowly toward him.

The man slowly raised his head when he heard footsteps approaching. His eyes widened and he screamed.

“You…!”

“Shh.”

Asha put her index finger to his mouth and said calmly.

“Listen carefully from now on. I am here to save you.”

The man looked at Asha’s face as if he couldn’t believe it with his swollen eyes.

“If you tell me how to break His Majesty’s curse, I will do my best to save you. I came to the Imperial Palace on my own to save minorities.”

The man started laughing.

Asha frowned and asked him.

“Why are you laughing?”

“……You came here for the same purpose as me. Although the method seems a bit different.”

“What does that mean?”

“I also want to save our people. That’s why I did it.”

Asha said very seriously.

“If you thought that assassinating the Emperor was the way to save minorities, you are wrong. The more you provoke the Emperor, the more the minorities will be persecuted than they are now.”

“……No. It’s not me who’s wrong, it’s you, Vanessa. This is just for you, so listen carefully from now on.”

The man forced his immobile body to lean as far as he could and whispered in a somber tone.

“Don’t even think about breaking his curse. When he blooms, you die.”

Asha’s face paled.

“What the hell…. do you mean?”

Her voice trembled.

He said with more determination.

“The curse on his body is not just a curse. If he blooms, it will hurt not only you but everyone in the Empire. And minorities will never be able to escape from the vicious circle.”

“What are you talking about…..”

“This black rose is our last chance for our people. It’s not too late yet, so run away from him as soon as possible……!”

His voice became more and more intense, and at the end, it sounded like a scream or a shriek.

Asha was confused and couldn’t answer.

She came to ask him how to break the curse, but only got an answer not to break the curse.

“Vanessa, there is another man who needs to bloom, please enlighten him for our people. If you can’t kill the Emperor, then that’s the only way to stop him.”

Asha was even more surprised.

“I can’t believe there’s another man…… Who the hell is that?”

“Go to the temple. Your butterfly intuition will recognize him immediately. He’s also the embodiment of a flower like the Emperor.”

Asha looked at him with trembling eyes.

“And don’t worry about me anymore. Since I failed to kill him, all I have left is death.”

He looked down and put on a calm expression as if he knew he was going to die.

Asha suddenly wondered if the reason had something to do with the manifestation of another flower he was talking about.

She got goosebumps.

But then, a loud noise came from outside.

Thinking it was a sign to get out quickly, Asha walked back the way she came in a hurry.

Looking back while running, the man looked at her with resignation.

When she was completely out of sight, someone appeared as a shadow from behind the wall.

Red eyes glowed like blood in the dark.

It was Karaf…….

After tossing and turning all night because he couldn’t sleep, he saw her escape in the middle of the night and secretly followed her.

He didn’t want to doubt her anymore, but seeing her escape through the window seemed so suspicious that he couldn’t help it.

His face hardened as she headed for the dungeon.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her.

But he had to know what she was going to talk about when she met the spy secretly at night.

He was wearing a thick cloak so she couldn’t detect his scent. He sucks into the dungeon through a secret passage known only to the Cactus Knights.

And thanks to the rain, the scent dispersed and he was able to chase after her without being caught.

And Karaf, who had just overheard their conversation, had bloodshot eyes.