Chapter 80. What I really wanted was you
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"Lady Ihedia, you should eat something today."
Sawana said worriedly to Ihedia, who was staring blankly out the window, but she didn't seem to hear.
"Lady Ihedia?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don’t want to eat."
Ihedia belatedly realized Sawana’s presence and waved her off.
Sawana couldn't help but feel strange seeing Ihedia acting like she was out of her mind all day.
Ihedia insisted that she had no appetite , but Sawana couldn't quite believe it.
After the woman who claimed to be Elmir’s handmaiden left, Ihedia began to change.
She was quiet when spoken to, and she stopped visiting her favorite greenhouse and just stayed in her room.
Sawana didn’t know what they talked about, but she did notice that after that, Iheda's behavior became increasingly strange.
But Ihedia wouldn't tell her why, so even today, Sawana had no choice but to turn away.
The way she saw it, Kayan had to come back sooner rather than later if it was going to ease Ihedia's gloomy mood.
But things seemed to be taking longer than expected, and the black wolf's return had been delayed.
Despite the ominous premonition, Sawana shook her head and continued walking.
The moment Sawana left and the door closed behind her, Ihedia closed her eyes and sank deeper into thought.
Now she really had to make a decision.
Ihedia had been thinking about the letter all day, and she couldn't do anything about it.
If she left Kayan's manor, Kayan would be used against her by the Emperor, but the moment Evan was caught, she lost all hope.
It was like being trapped in Elmir’s North Palace, being the plaything of Patrick and Lena.
When they asked her to do something, she had to comply.
It was no different now.
Except that instead of the King and Queen of Elmir, they were now the Emperor of Anut.
‘There is no time to hesitate any longer.’
Determined, Ihedia made her way to Kayan's office before Hashad's appointed time, unnoticed.
The light from Sawana's bedroom door had completely turned off, and the guards were unable to enter the mansion.
Ihedia nervously scanned Kayan's space.
The Black Wolf's seal must be here somewhere.
Her hands shook as she frantically rummaged through Kayan's desk and chest of drawers.
At the bottom chest of drawers, she saw a seal made of jade.
The symbol of a black wolf was engraved on the bottom.
Ihedia carefully pulled it out.
For a brief moment, she paused, remembering the hurt in Kayan's eyes, but then she composed herself.
Kayan had traveled west to dig up the dirt on Hashad.
She didn't know the details, but she'd heard from Kayan the other day that he was close to finding conclusive evidence that would neutralize the Emperor.
In the course of her research into the poison that killed the hut's corpse, she also discovered the home base of the Emperor's corruption.
Given that the Emperor had asked her to bring the Black Wolf's seal, he seemed to be planning to use it to forge evidence against Kayan.
But it was a flimsy ploy, to say the least, to use a mere seal to bring down Kayan.
Ihedia would stall until Kayan returned, at least long enough to keep Hashad's mind off the matter.
‘I must distract him until then.’
She slipped out of Kayan's office, hoping that when she saw him later, she could explain why she had to do this.
The letter told her to leave the mansion at midnight.
But Kayan's bodyguards were stationed all around the compound.
Hashad was not going to fight the Black Wolf's soldiers in the middle of the night.
He might be the Emperor of Anut, but raiding a public official's residence for no reason would be an affront to the other wolf families who had sworn allegiance to the imperial family.
How was she supposed to get out?
But that question was answered the moment Ihedia made her way through the gardens and out the front door.
The guards were sprawled on the ground.
At first she wondered if they were injured and unconscious, but they were merely sleeping.
Ihedia couldn't figure out how Hashad had gotten so many men to fall asleep, but with the Emperor's storeroom filled with all sorts of magic relics, it was probably a small feat.
Ihedia muffled her footsteps and made her way out of the mansion, avoiding the sleeping men.
It wasn't long before she was stopped by guards from the palace.
Ihedia followed them, clutching Kayan’s seal tightly.
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Hashad sniffed the hypnotic incense that had traveled with him from the continent of Rizvisa.
It was a seemingly ordinary scented candle, but it was a rare magical tool that could manipulate a person's mind.
It could warp a person's mind to draw out and instill any information it desired.
If it worked well, it would make Ihedia say what he wanted her to and never say what she was forbidden to say.
If only it could be used indefinitely, it would be perfect.
The number of times it could be used and the effectiveness of the spell was limited, making it a precious commodity to be used only for the most important occasions.
It was not the cure for infertility that he had hoped for, but it certainly had its benefits.
It had already passed through many hands, and there was only so much of it left, but Hashad intended to make the most of it.
Tap.
A knock sounded on the door, announcing the arrival of a visitor.
A curious gleam flashed in Hashad's auburn eyes.
It resembled the fierce gleam of a predator's eyes when it spots a coveted prey after a long hunger strike.
"Let her in."
Ihedia forced down her nervousness and approached the Emperor.
In her arms, she held Kayan’s seal that the Emperor had demanded.
Hashad was quite content with that for now.
His eyes slowly swept over his beloved possession.
Hashad rose from his seat and took one step, then another, toward Ihedia.
She must have seen the human flesh and ghastly blood strewn about the room now.
Hashad tilted his head and laughed coldly, surprised at the calmness of the day.
"You're bolder than you look."
Surrounded by fresh curiosity, Hashad closed the gap between him and Ihedia.
Ihedia flinched, but she didn't lose her steadfastness.
Somehow, it was tempting.
And the fact that she had seduced that stoic Kayan Bayate piqued his interest even more.
If only Hashad himself could get his hands on her.
Hashad's eyes traveled to the other half of her face.
It was covered in scars, but when she was whole, her beauty would be the talk of the land.
Hashad started to move closer, but Ihedia gently stopped him, holding out what she was carrying.
"I have what you want."
Hashad smirked and grabbed Ihedia's hand.
"What I really wanted was you."
"...."
"The seal was a bonus."
Meeting Hashad's despicable gaze, a great turbulence stirred within Ihedia.
His slimy, unpleasant voice continued.
"You are well versed in poisons, aren't you? You're so good at it that as an Elmir’s slave you became a doctor in Anut."
"..."
"I've often wondered how Kayan has managed to snoop around behind my back without falling for my tricks, and now I know."
Hashad's hand ran through Ihedia's hair.
"I can't leave something this useful anywhere near Kayan."
Hashad smiled a grin that sent a chill down her spine.
Ihedia read a certain madness in the Emperor's eyes.
She tried to remain calm, but her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.
It was clear now what a true barbarian was like.
Hashad called for the servants, and they rushed in.
They placed Ihedia in a chair and bound her so that she could not move.
She struggled and struggled, but it only delayed the process for a short time.
The servants left, and Hashad picked up a nearby candle, lit it with hypnotic incense, and placed it near Ihedia.
"We will resume our conversation a little later."
Hashad tilted one corner of his mouth upward wickedly and disappeared from the room.
Ihedia, intoxicated by the thick smoke, fainted.
***
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