C95
The largest and most beautiful building in Ashtar, called a palace by the commoners, was proudly traversed by the man who made it a reality. His red hair trembled in the cool wind, and a smile hung around the man's mouth. It was a face that looked very happy.
"Mr. Hamad, will you see her again?" asked a servant working in the palace, bowing his head. The man with the Alpaca mask, Hamad, raised his eyebrows as if there was something wrong with it.
"Yes, why?"
"No, never mind, hehehe!"
The servant smiled cheerfully. A knight who was not usually interested in women suddenly saying that he was in love with a woman he had seen in the capital or wherever.
Hamad smiled and continued walking. Shortly after arriving at the annex, the maids guarding it quickly fled from their positions. After entering the room with the slightly ajar door, Hamad immediately approached the bed.
On the bed lay the woman he had dreamed of for months. It was Lariette, who was sleeping quietly with a pale face as if she were dead.
Hamad confirmed her breathing, leaning closer to her nose because he was concerned that she might have difficulty breathing. He felt her weak breath.
Lariette had not woken up for two days. She felt relieved that as soon as Hamad authorized her to enter Ashtar, she immediately collapsed on the ground.
After going several days without eating anything, she lacked mana, and to think that until recently she looked like a noble.
"Hey, when are you going to wake up? I'm dying to know how you got here."
Hamad sat on the overturned chair and muttered with his arms resting on the backrest. The councilor said there was nothing wrong, but seeing that she still couldn't get up, he became anxious.
He was very curious about Lariette. What kind of person is she? What circumstances brought her to the desert and specifically to Ashtar? Did she break up with that lover back then? There were a mountain of questions to ask her.
"I hope they broke up."
If so, I will seduce her. Hamad was eager for something after a long time. And as if to answer his questions, Lariette began to move her lips.
"Ah..."
"Did you break up?"
Hamad stood up and stared at Lariette. Then he rang some bells hanging from the ceiling to alert the maids to attend to her. Hamad really wondered what she would say if she saw him as soon as she woke up.
Would she be surprised by this strange relationship? Or would she want to thank him for saving her life? He didn't care either way, but he hoped she would be as happy as he was.
"No... I didn't get it...!"
"Eh? What didn't you get?"
It was an incomprehensible murmur, and Hamad leaned closer to her. And a loud unexpected roar resonated in his ears.
"No, get out of here!"
Hamad clutched his ear and wondered if this was a new form of assassination.
He felt like his eardrum had been torn. His heart, which was expected to greet her, seemed to be torn as well. Lariette, who raised the upper part of her body with harsh curses, breathed heavily.
It was she who dreamed that the Duke of Blanche would capture her again. Lariette soon came to her senses and looked around with wide eyes, an exotic-looking room came into her view.
"This is..."
Lariette furrowed her brow and recalled her memories before fainting. Walking through the desert, killing monsters, walking and killing more... in front of a large wall. It was a wall that surrounded a desert city.
"No way. Is this Ashtar?"
"Yes, it is Ashtar."
"Ahh!"
The sudden intervention of the man's voice startled Lariette, and she screamed. As she lowered her eyes, a man was kneeling by the bed, holding his ears. It was a face she had seen somewhere.
"Oh... it's you..."
Lariette involuntarily pointed a finger at Hamad. He, who was eagerly awaiting what she would say with a pounding heart, was thinking that she would see him as a benefactor.
"Alpaca Man?"
Why am I an Alpaca Man? Hamad was dumbfounded and opened his mouth wide. He had already forgotten which mask he was wearing at the time of their first encounter.
"Why are you here... Oh, you let me in, right? I'm sorry, I fainted and lost my memory."
"Even if you say that now..."
He had already been hurt. Hamad tried to say. In principle, he allowed her entry during the 'Month of Wind,' despite not allowing anyone else, he embraced her when she fainted, and even a royal councilor checked on her condition.
But she screamed as soon as she saw his face, pointing a finger at him and calling him Alpaca Man. There were already many reasons for him to feel hurt.
"Thank you for keeping me alive."
But when he saw her smile, his troubled heart faded away. The hair resembling pink flowers and the gently narrowed eyes were very impressive, just like the first time he fell in love with her.
"I'm Hamad. And you?"
"What? Oh, I'm Lariette."
"Larie... Larie... I'll just call you Lari. Is that okay?"
Her birth name was unnecessarily long. Even though it was just one syllable more, Hamad complained that it was difficult. Lariette easily allowed it. There was no reason why she couldn't allow a nickname, considering he was her savior.
"Yes, Lari. That's enough for your troublesome name. Come with me. I have the obligation to keep you alive as your temporary guardian."
"I have many questions, but this will be the first." Hamad added briefly, then walked away. Watching his back as he passed through the cloth door, Lariette hurried and followed him.
She was so hungry when she woke up.
The sound of her growling stomach, she grabbed her hungry stomach and walked quickly. Before stepping out the door, she looked at the mirror on the wall, seeing an unfamiliar pink color after a long time.
"I guess the magic trick is over."
Where had the bright blonde hair gone? Now, bright pink hair fluttered down to her waist. There was no need to hide her hair any longer, so Lariette moved it back without much excitement.
Hamad looked back and glanced at the woman following him, perhaps because she is small, but her steps are short. The height difference was more pronounced because he was the tallest of the Ashtars.
"It's like a rat following me."
Hamad slowed his pace, thinking he would be surprised if Lariette heard him. Soon they walked down the hallway and arrived at the living room. Lariette was surprised to find the table full.
"Lari, this has been prepared for you. Eat."
Hamad spoke wonderfully in front of dozens of food. Of course, a capable man thinks he should give food to a woman, but it was as if he were feeding a beast.
-----------------
Lariette ate too well. She had been fed while sleeping, but it was something she didn't remember, all she remembered was the hunger, like a tearing in her stomach. Therefore, Lariette was frantically busy putting food in her mouth, whether there were people in front of her or not.
If other nobles from the capital saw her, she would be pointed at, in general, if you were an ordinary person in the capital, you would shake your head and wonder what kind of lady she is.
Unexpectedly, Hamad saw Lariette eating with a smile of happiness, it was very satisfying to see her eat the food he had prepared for her, to be precise, the food prepared by her maid.
"You eat well, considering how thin you are."
In Ashtar, where strong women are considered beautiful, Lariette was too thin. The figure was beautiful to Hamad, but he was more concerned about whether she could survive in this harsh world. He vowed to adapt her as long as she was by his side.
"You said you were in trouble?"
"Oh, yes, I was kidnapped and simply escaped into the desert."
Lariette calmly responded after chewing and swallowing the last piece of chicken. Still, when she thought of Doha, she felt like there was a flood and a fire at the same time in the corner of her chest, but she tried to erase that unpleasant feeling. Then Hamad's face darkened in an instant, he frowned, and his intense fighting spirit burst in his silver-gray eyes.
"Kidnapped? How dare they..."
Kidnapping a woman. If it were in Ashtar, he would have caught the criminal, cut off their limbs, and exposed their head. But Lariette, who had been kidnapped three times, was indifferent. Hamad regretted her calmness and distanced himself. Because he realized that he didn't want to talk about this topic anymore.
"How did you manage to cross the sandstorms and face the monsters to get here? That's amazing."
"Oh, thanks..."
It was an unexpected compliment, Lariette responded with a shrug. As she was hungry to some extent, her mind began to clear up, now was not the time to talk about that.
"I... I need help."
Hamad, who sat across from Lariette and had been drinking beer since noon, raised an eyebrow at the unexpected plea for help. Due to his large size and short hair, he looked like a tough boss.
"What kind of help?"
"I need to return to the capital as soon as possible. Is there any means of transportation or any shortcut?"
Her purple eyes shimmered with desperation. Hamad felt embarrassed by her intense gaze and avoided eye contact. Why are you so beautiful? He calmed his pounding heart by scratching his short hair.
"I'd like to help you with something, but I don't think you can reach the capital right now."
"What? Why...?!"
Instead of immediately responding, Hamad stood up. He then pulled the crackling fabric over the large window and pointed to a distant place.
"Outside the city walls, do you see?"
Lariette approached his side and looked out the window. Beyond the far wall, a storm was swirling frantically. It was a storm more powerful than anything she had encountered while walking in the desert.
"This is the period of the Month of Wind, which means we are in the month of wind. In the latter half of the storm, people born and raised their whole lives in Ashtar don't venture outside the walls. That's how dangerous it is."
As he said, venturing out there seemed like suicide. It was fortunate that she wasn't wandering in the desert at the worst time of the storm.
"There's a strong barrier in Ashtar, so no storm will enter. In a week, the Month of Wind will be over, so why don't you wait here safely?"
"A week..."
It was too long for Lariette, who wanted to see Asrahan at this moment. But she would die without seeing him if she ventured into the desert. Lariette nervously sighed, fiddling with her nails.
"Hmm."
Hamad looked at Lariette. He wanted to somehow erase the anxiety from her face. Normally, he didn't even pay attention to women, but he was very concerned about the reaction of a woman, which was incredible even to himself.
"Ashtar is a beautiful city. Moreover, two days from now, there will be a festival to commemorate the end of the Month of Wind. I'm sure it will be a lot of fun."
She couldn't enjoy it. Lariette thought that way, betrayed by her friend and not apologized to by her lover. In this situation, how could she enjoy the festival? Lariette smiled at Hamad's kindness, but she felt powerless. Realizing this, he scratched his forehead again and asked.
"Is there something you have to rush back to the capital for?"
"... I have to go see Asrahan."
Asrahan. She had never heard that name before. Judging by her sullen face and wistful voice, she seemed to be talking about the lover she saw back then with a high probability.
"Perhaps, they haven't finished yet."
Hamad's mood quickly calmed down. It wasn't his preference to get involved with a woman who had a lover, but he couldn't easily give up either.
"Tsk, I don't like a man who can't protect my girl."
Allowing his lover to be kidnapped under any circumstances made him unworthy of his trust. In fact, it was just that his first love felt sorry for the sadness of failing again.
"Hamad, can I see the lord here? Oh, I heard they call him the king here."
Lariette asked if there was any way to get in touch with Asrahan. She was told that apparently, in Ashtar, the lord ruled as a king and held strong power, so he might have some connection to the capital. She assumed that Hamad was the one who had something to do with the lord, as he had the authority to allow her entry, and the dignity she felt from his confident and relaxed speech did not belong to ordinary people. But she didn't even dare to predict this.
"You're looking at him."
"... What?"
"Let me introduce myself again."
Hamad continued with a languid smile.
"I am Hamad Krishna Atul Ashtar. I am the king of Ashtar."
So, you said my name is so long? Lariette thought so amidst her surprise.
----------------
"Sir, seriously, do we have to come all the way here?"
At the entrance of the desert with wild winds, Gerard shook his head and spoke with a despondent voice. The wind was so strong that his voice was buried, but Asrahan managed to understand and respond.
"Go back to the capital first."
Asrahan firmly ordered the knights to return. It was a matter of routine. No matter how strong his knights were, he couldn't order their lives to be risked for his love.
"I will be with Lariette."
Of course, he could dedicate his life to her a hundred times. After speaking, Asrahan entered the Desert of Death alone, desperately relying on the uncertain speculation that she would be at the end of this desert. His blue eyes looked even more desperate at the distant sky. This morning, the news that Hallstein delivered through the magic communication channel kept swirling in his head.
"—I found the notebook that belonged to the lady."
He was talking about the notebook where he wrote a list of things he wanted until the date. But Asrahan didn't quite predict it, he didn't expect such a terrible story to be written in the notebook.
"—The lady... She is... I think she has heard about the time limit."
Three months. He said three months. Only then did Asrahan realize why she had left him. He also knew why she sent such a harsh letter; it was the first time he had the fortune of having such a prodigy by his side.
"My Lariette, I have no intention of letting you go away from me."
Walking through the sandstorm that was thrown against his skin, Asrahan whispered in a terribly low voice.
"Even if I die."
Tags:
ITDHL (Novel)