Chapter 19

Then Ejed, who took out the gold-rimmed glasses from the eyewear shop, wore them.

His face was so small and fair that the glasses felt quite big to him.

“What about the roses?”

“Yes, we proceeded as you commanded.”

“After that…”

A sweet, yet cool voice that caused chills.

Doher trembled. It’s a voice that he never gets used to every time he hears it.

When he lifted his head, he saw Ejed seriously thinking, holding his chin with his hand.

It seemed like he was wondering whether to send the prisoners on death row to the guillotine or to give them poison.

Fiz had the same imagination and lowered his head with a solemn face.

“What should I do?”

For the two, the last question was automatically interpreted as ‘kill if there was no good opinion.’  Doher, coughing, said as calmly as possible.

“Since you have provided an excuse, you can speak naturally. First of all, to find common ground with Your Majesty is the best…”

Something in common with the tyrant. Was there such a thing in the world?

Doher laughed awkwardly because he himself was in doubt as he spoke.

Then, Fiz, who was standing next to him, began to speak.

“Lady Dsev loves lemon tart the most. Also, they say that her hobbies are travelling, flower arrangement and knitting…”

As he knew everything, Ejed just listened quietly.

Two of his aides flinched as he remained silent with an expressionless face.

Now, when Ejed was like that, they needed to beg to save themselves.

The two aides asked carefully.

“Your Majesty… What do you think?”

“Dry.”

Do you mean dry them and kill them?

Doher and Fizz gulped.

They couldn’t imagine anything other than the appearance of themselves drying and dying tied to a tree in the sun.

As they shuddered, Ejed’s eyes drooped slightly.

Having little experience in conversing with people other than Robby, it was common for people to misunderstand him.

Ejed, who swallowed a sigh, added an explanation.

“I’m going to dry the rose.”

“Ah… ah, yes. Okay. I will have the imperial gardeners and wizards do it.”

As soon as his words were over, Ejed stood up.

He ordered his bewildered aides to call each of the top wizards and gardeners of the imperial family. And he told them to keep all the steps at bay.

Ejed took a deep breath, entered the secret garden of the imperial palace.

He bowed to his waist and carefully looked at the wooden pedestal where the rose was to dry.

“Go ahead.”

Now, at Ejed’s signal, the imperial wizard moved their hand. Then, on the wooden pedestal, a huge amount of roses began to appear terrifyingly.

Ejed’s expression was very grim when he went there with a pair of scissors for flower arrangement. It was an atmosphere that wouldn’t be strange even if they made tens of thousands of troops to the field right now.

However, Ejed’s fingertips were very fine. He carefully groomed each rose, and the process lasted for several hours or more.

In the same posture, he bled. His bent back would ache, but his face stood with a faint smile.

‘If Annie liked it…’

It was like a killer on the verge of killing a man.

As Ejed smiled coolly, the gardeners sneakily moved.

It was to the farthest place from him.

***

On the morning of the bazaar, Annie ran into a nightmare.

[It looks delicious.]

Her throat closed up from the tyrant’s gaze as he sat with his legs crossed in the reception room.

Gulp.

She couldn’t tell who gulped.

The tyrant watched Annie openly with his freakish eye smile, then sat up and approached her as she sat on the couch.

Terrified of him, she tried to run away, but her body didn’t move like her mind.

Only the white moonlight shone on the two people comfortably.

Annie, who had only her back on the sofa, was blankly looking up at the tyrant. His skin, which was also like white jade, was pale, and he seemed not to be human.

Annie stared at Ejed as if she was possessed. With his slightly lowered torso, he pulled Annie’s chin with his beautiful fingers, like a sculptor’s work of art.

Close enough to feel each other’s breath.

The tyrant asked slowly.

[How can I eat you?]

[I… I… have fatty liver…]

[It’s okay.]

The tyrant smiled strangely.

[I’ll dry it up and eat it.]