Chapter 90
Even though Rashid had clearly told everyone not to come near the door, she was still afraid that someone would walk by and hear them. So Rosetta bit her finger and covered her mouth. Rashid, seeing this, pulled her hand away and stuck his finger in her mouth instead. She shook her head, afraid it would leave a scar, but she couldn’t stop his fingers from digging in.
That’s when the world began to rock too fast. When she could barely breathe, she realized that his fingers were bitten off and covered in blood. She didn’t know what to do, but Rashid just licked the wound with his red tongue and smiled like a hungry cat.
“Anyway, don’t think anything strange, just let go of my ankles.”
Despite Rosetta’s protests, he leaned down and took her lips. Rosetta realized for the first time how different a man could be at different times. During the day, he’d listen to anything she said, but not in bed, and the contrast between the two had completely taken her breath away.
“…That’s what slaves do. It’s dirty. So please don’t do it….”
Eventually, Rosetta begged him. It was an old custom to make slaves kiss their masters’ feet. By having them kiss the dirtiest part of a person’s body, the feet, it was a deliberate way to make them thoroughly aware of their position.
Rashid, however, was unperturbed by her words and kissed her toes.
“Have you forgotten that I have already called you master before? And I will continue to kiss you, so that there is not a single place that my lips have not touched.”
The words sounded somehow meaningful. Rosetta pondered where he hadn’t kissed her yet, and then her mouth dropped open.
“You don’t mean….”
And with that, his lips were on her ankle this time. Contrary to what Rosetta had feared, Rashid didn’t look the least bit shabby now. No, he was the one who was in control here in the first place, not her. As the lord of this place, whatever he does is of his own volition.
“Hah….”
At the touch of his lips, Rosetta leaned back and inhaled deeply. The mere touch of his lips on her skin now made her hair stand on end and her body shiver. That wasn’t the end of the dizzying act that would drive her insane. His lips moved higher, and Rosetta shook her head in panic.
“Oh, no! Not there….”
But that wasn’t enough to stop him. No, with all reason already gone, all she could do was barely stifle a moan that threatened to burst out.
And that day, Rashid proved everything he said with his actions.
***
Rashid slipped out of bed, picked up his pants from the floor, and pulled them on. He pulled on the shirt next to them and pulled on his boots, then looked back at the woman on the bed.
She was lying on her stomach, sound asleep. Standing beside the bed, Rashid watched her for a moment, then gathered her disheveled golden hair to one side and pressed his lips to her back.
“Mmm….”
Rosetta responded as if tickled, wrinkling the bridge of her nose. Thinking her reaction was cute, Rashid reached for her face but pulled away and sighed. I’d better get out of this room before I wake her up and tire her out again again, he thought.
Pulling the covers up to her neck, Rashid left the room. As he walked down the hallway, he ran a hand through his hair and smirked at the bruises on his fingers.
He bumped into Benny, who was walking from the opposite direction. Benny looked at him a little puzzled, but then said a quick hello and continued on her way.
“Benny.”
Rashid called her name, and Benny turned around in surprise.
“Yes? What’s the matter?”
“When Rigaina wakes up, help her bathe and bring her food.”
Benny blinked, and then exclaimed, “So, can I go in the room now? Can I see Rigaina?”
“Yes.”
Rashid said sincerely, “I really appreciate what happened last time. Thanks to you running so fast, I was able to get to the forest in time.”
Benny’s expression became very strange. It was as if she were asking, “Who the hell are you?”
Rashid smiled and walked away. Somehow, Rashid could see why Rosetta liked her so much. She had a straightforward personality, and he was quite loyal.
“Riga.”
A soldier was waiting for him at the door when he arrived at the office. It was the messenger he’d ordered to follow the Basque delegation.
“Come in.”
The soldier entered the office and immediately began his report.
“I followed the delegation, as you ordered, but I did not find them.”
“You mean they returned to Basque more quickly than expected?”
“No. How could that large a group go any faster than I could at full speed on my own? They literally disappeared, evaporating on the road. I think….”
He continued cautiously, “Maybe they were attacked by a monster on the way?”
Rashid thought for a moment. A highly trained soldier would not be easily defeated by a monster. But it could be different for a Lysan who had never faced a monster before. The last delegation must have included many of the group that had escorted Rosetta.
Furthermore, when they traveled here with Rosetta, they were attacked by a monster in an area not normally inhabited by monsters. If they were caught off guard and attacked unexpectedly, it was not impossible that they would have been killed.
“…I’ll send more people to scour the area for any signs of monster attacks, and if you find anything, report back to me immediately.”
“Yes!”
After sending the soldier off, Rashid fell into deeper thought. If they hadn’t been eaten by the monsters and hadn’t returned to Basque, what had happened to them? What would they do next, having failed in their negotiations to retrieve the princess?
That many people couldn’t have suddenly taken to the skies above the road, so they must have been headed somewhere. Either they went somewhere other than the Basque or….
“Or they came back here.”
In recent days, Edirne had been swarming with merchants looking to trade goods and people looking for work, so it was free for all but the most suspicious to come and go. If they were determined to infiltrate, it would not have been difficult to do so undercover. And if they were indeed infiltrating Edirne, their purpose would surely be to sneak Rosetta away.
Rashid’s jaw tightened. A deep darkness settled over his heart at the thought that Rosetta might have gone with them to Lysa. Perhaps she would be persuaded by those who had known her for so many years, and even if not, it would not be difficult to drag her away by force, as she was a woman of no power.
It would be better if they were eaten by a monster.
If everyone who knows Rosetta is dead and no one even knows she’s here….
Rashid soon shook his head with a faint sigh. His obsession with her had grown stronger and stronger, to the point where he was now thinking these grim thoughts. If Rosetta ever found out about this, she would surely recoil in horror. The Rashid she knows would never be like this.
So she must never find out that he wished for a moment that everyone was dead, even Allen, who was like an old friend to her.
Lately, Rashid had been coming to a new realization about himself. He had allowed the arrogance of Elder Perce and his son Krell to remain unchecked, partly because they posed no immediate threat and partly because he didn’t want to upset the unity of the tribe, but most of all because removing a great power like the Elder Perce would be a great risk. Rashid weighed the benefits of leaving them in place versus removing them, and decided that the former was preferable. He didn’t want to take any chances.
But the moment he realized that the Elder Perce had tried to kill Rosetta, and that his very presence would harm her, he began to wield his sword mercilessly.
Rashid had heard all the reports from Elder Calante as he rode back to the castle from the Monster Forest. While he and Rosetta were in the forest, Calante and Thelma had already made many preparations. That morning, a monster hunter sneaking out of the Monster Forest had been captured by Calante, who had gained conclusive evidence.
Thelma had searched the monster hunters’ homes the day before and found a substantial amount of gold in one of them. After confirming that the owner was the same as the hunter captured in the forest, Calante questioned him about the source of the money. The moment the words “Grand Elder’s butler” came out of the hunter’s mouth, it was all over.
[Quietly, prepare the soldiers, so that they can strike at Grand Elder at my command.]
While he was with Rosetta, his orders were carried out. Leaving Rosetta asleep, Rashid left the room and sent the soldiers straight to Elder Perce’s mansion.
As the soldiers rushed into the mansion, the most surprised was Elder Perce, who hadn’t expected Rashid to be in such a hurry. He knew Rashid well, just as Rashid knew him well. The Riga he knew was never one to risk everything on a rash gamble.
To capture and imprison the leader of the elders was an act that could turn all the other elders against him. If Rashid showed the slightest sign of weakness in this endeavor, it would be Rashid, not Elder Perce, who would fall by the sword.
So Rashid did his best to show no weakness. The longtime Elder Perce’s mistakes also served Rashid well. Krell had tried to terrorize his wife and had tried to kill him in the name of ritual. Rashid spared Krell’s life when he could have killed him. No one could deny that Rashid had been extremely generous up to this point. His accumulated rationale and patience became a sharpened blade, and he plunged it into Elder Perce.