Chapter 18. What If I Had Eaten You Instead?
2016.03.03
The subtle whisper brushing against her ear was strangely embarrassing. Ilsia fumbled in flustered shame and said,
“W-why are you asking me? I’m the one who asked you.”
Hashar let out a faint smile.
Startled, Ilsia lost her grip on the knife in her hand. The knife that slipped from her fingers flashed sharply for an instant before cutting into her finger.
“Ow….”
Blood quickly welled up in tiny beads, and Ilsia frowned in pain. Hashar suddenly stood up and grabbed her hand.
“Are you alright?”
He examined her finger. Blood streamed down along her pale, slender finger. A sweet, fragrant scent spread through the air. It was so rich that it instantly overwhelmed even the saffron fragrance that had been lingering everywhere moments before.
At the scent, Hashar’s body flinched.
“……”
He furrowed his brows and leaned his head slightly back.
For those who possessed power beyond ordinary humans, Ilsia’s blood was especially alluring. The moment Hashar caught the scent of her blood, he must have felt an irresistible urge.
The deep crease between his brows clearly showed that he was restraining himself. Even if he didn’t drink it now, the scent of her blood would remain etched in his mind and torment him for some time.
After hesitating, Ilsia cautiously extended her finger toward him.
“Um… the blood that’s already spilled should be fine…”
Hashar looked at Ilsia. As if hearing the question in his gaze, she hesitantly offered an explanation.
“It’s… precious. It’d be a waste to just wipe it away.”
As Ilsia had said, Devaris blood—especially that of pure-blood royalty—was beyond precious, something no gold or treasure could ever buy.
“If you drink it today, you’ll be able to sleep deeply for several days.”
But despite her courage in offering her blood, Hashar showed no sign of moving. Just as Ilsia gave up and reached for a napkin—
“…!”
A large hand suddenly clamped tightly around her wrist. The abrupt motion was filled with suppressed excitement.
Hashar, who had been looking at Ilsia for a while, slowly brought her finger into his mouth. For a moment, an odd thought crossed her mind, and she swallowed unconsciously.
And the moment he tasted the blood, his eyes visibly wavered.
This was the first time he had tasted her blood, though they had had frequent physical contact before. Ilsia knew well what kind of shock he would feel.
Black smoke surged out abruptly as if a dam had burst. Even before that ominous energy, Ilsia didn’t feel afraid for some reason.
Gently stroking his shoulder, she whispered,
“Slowly…”
At her soft voice, the strength drained from Hashar’s grip. The writhing black smoke gradually calmed and faded.
Soon, his vivid red eyes turned to Ilsia. He licked her finger slowly.
“Haah…”
The sensation of his tongue, carefully licking away every trace of blood, was ticklish. Combined with the resonance between them, her body tingled uncontrollably, making it hard to endure.
“Hashar…”
She called his name, telling him to stop, but he showed no intention of stopping at all. The cut had been shallow, and the bleeding had long since stopped.
“Hashar…!”
In the end, only after Ilsia pushed him away did he finally pull back.
“Phew…”
He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply.
His red eyes were sharp and intense. Revealing his awakened instincts without hesitation, Hashar said,
“That was dangerous.”
He narrowed his eyes and asked Ilsia,
“What on earth gave you the confidence to offer that to me?”
The lingering scent of blood still remained in his mouth. Feeling it enveloping his tongue, he spoke seriously.
“What if I had eaten you instead?”
“I only offer it depending on the person, you know?”
In truth, when he had first taken her finger into his mouth and wouldn’t let go, she had been a little frightened… But she trusted Hashar.
“Because… I know you wouldn’t do that.”
After saying it, she felt the tone was a bit strange. Embarrassed belatedly, Ilsia flushed red. Her shy reaction to her own words was innocent.
Watching her quietly, Hashar murmured,
“You’re quite the fox.”
“Pardon?”
What’s that supposed to mean? Ilsia looked at him in confusion, and he replied,
“You certainly have a way of bewitching people.”
“Please stop saying strange things.”
Hashar slid his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“I’ll have to check whether you have a tail.”
His hand wandered below her waist. Then, when he subtly touched her backside as well, Ilsia yelped.
“Where do you think you’re touching!”
As she squirmed, Hashar let out a low laugh while holding her. His laughter resonated deeply in her ear, making her heart pound wildly, which she had to suppress so it wouldn’t show.
“Ilsia.”
He called her name in a low voice.
“About this matter… I’d like to resolve it for you.”
“No.”
Ilsia immediately refused.
“Then at least let me help?”
“I’ll think about that. But in exchange…”
Her pale blue eyes sparkled as she whispered,
“Only under the condition that you obey my orders.”
At her words, Hashar looked momentarily as if he had been struck, then shook his head and muttered,
“…You really are a fox.”
“I’m not a fox!”
Ilsia protested, but Hashar only laughed.
After finishing an unexpected meal with Hashar, Ilsia returned home with Shukri.
“How was it with Alsned?”
While Ilsia had been dining with Hashar, Shukri had eaten with the chancellor, Alsned. Shukri replied calmly,
“He was someone I could communicate with.”
“Pfft!”
His blunt evaluation made Ilsia burst into laughter. Someone she could communicate with—the entire sentiment seemed packed into that one sentence from Shukri.
Shrugging, Shukri added,
“Well… he wasn’t bad.”
“Yes, there’s no harm in building a connection with him.”
It seemed the two had had an enjoyable conversation. Ilsia wondered what they had talked about.
Perhaps they complained about their difficult bosses? Given their positions, that might have been the only common ground. Ilsia briefly imagined Shukri complaining about her and chuckled.
“Would you like to change into casual clothes?”
“Ah, yes.”
After changing into comfortable clothes, Ilsia sank into a large chair in her study. Leaning against the soft cushions, she began to reflect on the day’s events.
Her memories didn’t flow smoothly; instead, they felt uneven and fragmented, as thoughts of Hashar kept intruding.
“Ugh, why do I keep thinking about that man…”
Ilsia fidgeted with her fingers. Only faint traces of the cut remained.
After staring at her finger for a moment, she leaned back into the chair again and fell deep into thought. It was Shukri who broke the silence.
“You’re not thinking about something strange, are you?”
As he said, she was indeed thinking about something unrelated.
“Hashar wants to help us.”
“Isn’t he already helping us?”
“More than that…”
Sensing her hesitation, Shukri grew serious. Ilsia asked quietly,
“If we borrow his power, wouldn’t things be solved faster and more easily?”
“……”
Shukri didn’t answer. That silence already indicated his disagreement. Smiling, Ilsia said,
“I already refused. From the beginning, I only intended to obtain information from him.”
Regarding the secret auction, she had decided to get only information from Hashar.
Although Shukri’s personal dislike for Hashar played a part, the decisive reason was that he was a sultan.
Given that slave traders annually offered tribute to the emirs, Hashar’s freedom to act was limited.
If he acted recklessly, he might provoke backlash from the emirs.
Both Shukri and Ilsia agreed that Hashar should be kept as a card to use against the Caliph.
“After deciding all that, why bring it up again?”
“Since Hashar keeps insisting on helping me, I wondered if he had his own reasons.”
At her words, Shukri muttered,
“Seems like he just wants to impress you.”
He remained biased whenever Hashar was mentioned. Ilsia had long since gotten used to it and let it pass.
“Have you looked into a way to infiltrate the auction?”
“Yes. I selected several Dekarim to scout the auction site in advance to get a general sense of the environment. We also obtained new information.”
“New information?”
“Talamakan only provides the venue for the auction. It does not store slaves inside. On the day of the auction, slave traders bring the slaves themselves.”
“Hmm… so we can only confirm Devaris on the day of the auction.”
“That’s correct.”
“Has the auction date been set?”
“It’s tomorrow night. It has also been confirmed that Devaris will be listed.”
“Tomorrow night…”
Ilsia bit her lip tightly. Her head ached.
Originally, the plan was to confirm whether Devaris was inside the auction, locate her, and quietly extract her.
Of course, she had intended to kill at least one slave trader in the process.
“Given the current situation, participating in the auction is the best option—but we have no way to do so.”
“Why not?”
“There isn’t enough time, and disguising ourselves as guests would be too difficult due to strict identity checks. If we attend under the Dekarim name and successfully win Devaris, it would draw unwanted attention when we later eliminate the slave traders.”
Slave traders formed guilds. Drawing their attention—who even the emirs had to be cautious of—was not desirable.
“So we’re still looking for another way to enter the auction, but nothing suitable has been found…”
“A way… hmm.”
After thinking for a moment, Ilsia spoke.
“Then we’ll go in as slave traders.”
“Pardon?”
Shukri’s eyes widened.
“The slave traders already know that Dekarim has a white-skinned woman, don’t they?”
The merchant Pashad, who had spread rumors about Ilsia during the banquet, had talked about her to other traders.
Because of that—and thanks to Shukri eliminating him—the information had spread widely. No slave trader was unaware of the white-skinned woman associated with Dekarim.
“If I’m put up for auction as merchandise, they’ll take the bait.”
“That may be true… but for you to become a slave, my lady—unthinkable.”
“Then do you have a better idea?”
“…No.”
“If you have an alternative, I’ll follow it. But right now, we don’t have any better option.”
Ilsia calmly persuaded him.
“We’ll only participate in the auction. We’ll identify which slave trader has Devaris and who they’re dealing with, then withdraw. After that, we can track down the buyer and retrieve Devaris.”
“……”
Her plan was to enter Talamakan as a seller. It was a good strategy. They would only pretend to participate, then withdraw immediately after identifying Devaris.
However, Shukri strongly disliked agreeing to her idea and continued to object.
“Do you think the slave traders will take such a risk? And the other Dekarim will also oppose you going in personally.”
“Shukri. They’re people who follow money.”
In the light, Ilsia’s pale skin glowed.
“Would they not covet such a rare item?”
With her white skin, beautiful appearance, and clear eyes, Ilsia was the kind of prize any desert man would desire.
Shukri shut his eyes tightly and muttered,
“Is there really no other way? If we had more time to think…”
“There’s no time. The auction is tomorrow night. We need to make a decision quickly to prepare.”
Shukri tried to think rationally.
She was right. Although Ilsia had never personally gone on missions before, she was a trained Dekarim.
Moreover, with Shukri accompanying her as a seller, she wouldn’t be alone. Entering under the Dekarim name meant others wouldn’t easily mistreat her.
Ilsia’s plan was both safe and the fastest, most practical option. And Shukri couldn’t find a better alternative.
After struggling internally for a long time, Shukri finally gave in.
“…Understood. We will prepare.”
Just as Ilsia was about to smile in response to his difficult decision, she suddenly felt a strange emotion rising in her chest.
It was unease.
And then came thoughts of the Caliph. Why would she suddenly think of him when there was no connection?
Imagining his cold gray eyes made her feel a chill, as if her stomach had frozen.
“Lady?”
Shukri’s concerned voice snapped her back to reality.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah… no, it’s nothing.”
Why was she feeling this way? The vague sense of foreboding was hard to explain. Ilsia simply shook her head.
“Your Majesty.”
At Alsned’s call, Hashar only nodded slightly. It was a silent signal not to interrupt him while reading important documents, but Alsned had no choice but to speak.
“It’s about Devaris.”
And the moment the word “Devaris” was mentioned, Hashar looked up.
It would be nice if he responded this quickly all the time. Alsned lamented inwardly as he reported the newly received information.
“Devaris will be auctioned tomorrow night at Talamakan.”
Hashar’s brows furrowed.
“Hmm…”
“No unusual activity has been detected around the Dekarim estate.”
Sensing the situation quickly, Alsned added the report, but Hashar raised his brows and said,
“You still don’t understand what kind of people Devaris and Dekarim are.”
“Pardon?”
Adjusting his glasses, Alsned blinked. Hashar, though looking slightly annoyed, explained,
“They are people who stake their lives on their own kind. Their mutual bonds are beyond comprehension. And at the center of it all is Ilsia.”
“Ah…”
“She is the one who revived a race that had been driven to near extinction. Do you think she would remain idle upon hearing that Devaris has been captured?”
Alsned, realizing what he had overlooked, nodded in understanding. Smoke drifted from Hashar’s fingertips, taking the documents from Alsned’s hand.
Flipping through the report on Dekarim surveillance, Hashar gave an order,
“Do not monitor Dekarim. Instead, observe Talamakan.”
“Um… Your Majesty.”
Hesitating, Alsned already knew what he was about to say. And, as expected, his words matched Hashar’s expectations exactly.
“In my humble opinion, it would be wiser not to intervene in the affairs of Talamakan.”
“I understand what you mean, Alsned.”
Alsned was concerned about provoking the emirs.
Caliph was currently staying in the capital, Aslan. With the possibility of full-scale conflict looming, it was best to remain cautious and not expend energy unnecessarily.
Leaning back into his chair, Hashar said,
“For now, we will watch.”
But at his words, Alsned asked with disbelief,
“Will you truly only watch?”
Filled with doubt, Alsned was already convinced Hashar would intervene. Smiling as if unaware, Hashar replied,
“Well, if necessary, I may intervene a little.”
“Your Majesty…!”
As Alsned prepared to protest, black smoke sealed his mouth shut. Struggling and muffled, Alsned could only flail as Hashar continued leisurely,
“Don’t worry too much. I don’t intend to act unless absolutely necessary. I’ll only check whether Ilsia is safe. It seems likely she can resolve this on her own.”
Recalling her steady, pale blue eyes, Hashar murmured with a faint smile,
“Though she may appear delicate… she is the leader of Dekarim, after all.”
