Side Story 1.

“Ashria, this is where you will stay from now on.”

With those words, Askaar opened the door to her bedroom with such nonchalance that the servants behind him were horrified, to say the least.

Young Ashria’s eyes widened at the sight of her room, so different from the basement that it glittered with ornate furniture, unaware that it was the Emperor’s bedroom.

“Wow…!”

Ashria let out a new squeal and darted into the room.

“This room is so big!”

She flailed about, trying to make circles with her short arms as best she could. A thin smile tugged at the corners of Askaar’s lips at the foolishness.

“Of course, it’s Emperor’s bedroom.”

Askaar said with a smirk in front of the tiny Ashria. Whether she did or not, it wasn’t his words that mattered to her.

The fluffy-looking bed and couch caught Ashria’s eye, and she ran over and plopped herself down on the couch, her cheeks flushed and her eyes twinkling as she marveled at the novelty of the fluffy sensation.

“Fluffy…!”

She poked at the cushions, puzzling over the unfamiliarity.

“Your bed could be softer.”

Askaar said playfully, straddling the bed and gesturing for her to come over. Ashria looked at him hesitantly.

“Why, you like the couch more than the bed?”

Askaar raised an eyebrow at her. Ashria wiggled with her hands.

“Oh, no… it’s not like that….”

“Okay then.”

He wondered when she had been running around the room like a puppy, and now she was sulking.

“I, I… I get scolded when I lie down to bed….”

The voice was as small as an ant’s crawl, and Askaar, who had heard every single word, narrowed her eyes and sighed.

“That’s the kind of shit that Antkal bitch says.”

Muttering to himself, he rose from his seat and swept Ashria into his arms. Then, as if there was nothing more to see, he laid her down on the bed.

“How dare anyone scold you.”

“………”

“Ashria.”

Ashria whimpered as if the fluffy blankets covering her body were unfamiliar to her. Askaar locked eyes with her and spoke softly.

“There’s no one would dare treat you carelessly.”

Even me.

Askaar clenched his fists hard as he muttered the last part. Ashria, still didn’t fully understand his words, was busy rolling her black eyes back and forth.

“But….”

“You’d better get used to the bed, because you won’t be sleeping on the floor anymore.”

With that stern statement, Askaar turned her still squirming body back into the soft futon. Feeling ridiculous, Ashria squirmed, unsure of what to do.

“Uncle…!”

He laughed softly as if he were shaken by the title.

“You can call me daddy not uncle.”

No matter how many times he’d told her to call him Daddy, she was still a little confused by her sudden appearance.

No wonder… Askaar thought, stroking Ashria’s head a couple of times.

“You are the only one in this world who dares to call me uncle, Ashria.”

She squirmed a little awkwardly but didn’t seem to mind the feel of the futon. It was cute to see her blush and rub her face against the blanket.

Then, she secretly glanced at Askaar and kissed his lips.

“Hey….”

It was funny how he switched from uncle just because she said it as if he was a little annoyed. She didn’t want me to call Dad that much.

” Uncle, Why are you so nice to me?”

Ashria asked, mumbling the uncle part very, very softly. If you didn’t listen closely, it was hard to tell if it was Dad or Uncle.

her eyes looking up at me were a mixture of wariness and curiosity.

As he looked at the young girl buried in the blankets, he suddenly felt uncomfortable as he remembered the Ashria of his past, living in a bed behind bars.

Askaar hung his head in thought, wondering what to say.

Then he poked her flour-white cheek and cautiously opened his mouth.

“..Because I love you.”

“Why?”

“…Why?”

“Why do you love me? I don’t love you….”

Ashria said apologetically as if she had done something wrong. Askar giggled and comforted her even when she said she didn’t love him.

“I don’t know, I don’t know why.”

At this point, I wondered if Ashria had some kind of illness because no matter what she did, she was beautiful and loving.

Or maybe she was sleepy, as she curled up like a caterpillar on the blanket in contrast to his seriousness. Askaar patted her as if to soothe her sleepiness.

Ashria’s eyes lowered slightly as she seemed to relax under his stroking at regular intervals.

“Mmm… I haven’t finished looking at the palace yet….”

As our eyes locked, I could tell she felt bad that she hadn’t seen more of the palace.

“You can take your time, it’s okay. If you get tired, you can rest your eyes.”

That was it. The corner of Askaar’s mouth twitched upward as he sprayed, and he placed a pillow under her head. He looked at her tiny hand, less than half the size of his, and touched it curiously.

“I’ll wake you up before dinner.”

Ashria nodded sleepily, then drifted off completely into the bed. The sunlight pouring in through the wide windows pleasantly washed over her.

Suddenly, Askaar remembered Ashria who was lying helplessly on the same bed, stretched out limply, her eyes like a return letter on the verge of death.

Unlike then, she now had a lively expression, flushed cheeks, and a face full of life.

“…I will live as your sinner for the rest of my life.”

Askaar kissed her forehead briefly and rose from his seat.

* * *

Ashria clutched one of Askaar’s fingers in her tiny hand and quickly moved her legs to follow him.

“Uncle, uncle.”

“… I’m not your uncle.”

It had been a week since she’d entered the palace, and he still hated Ashria for calling him uncle, so he furrowed his brow and glared at her.

But unlike before, there was nothing vicious or threatening about it, just a hint of disappointment.

Ashria must have noticed because she scratched her cheek and spoke awkwardly.

“Mmm… but my mom said I don’t have a dad or anything.”

“It’s not true, that as$hole is lying.”

Askaar swallowed the profanity he almost used at the moment and looked back on what his nanny had said recently.

“Your Majesty, it’s best not to use harsh words in front of the young Empress. That includes sissy, this as$hole, that as$hole.”

“so, my mom is lying and hiding you from me?”

“don’t even call her mom.”

“Ugh….”

Askaar scooped her up, barely able to carry her with one arm, and walked away. Ashria rolled her eyes and mumbled something about feeling bad about being held by him with only her left arm.

“Oh, you don’t have to hug me….”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

“No… it’s not like that….”

Askaar giggled out loud as he watched the little mouth wiggle and squirm.

“Why, I don’t think it’s going to be this hard for you.”

“…….”

Despite the tic-tac-toe tone of her voice, her expression was gentle. Ashria, aware of this, didn’t seem offended.

“But where are we going?”

Ashria shook her head as she watched him head deeper into the artificial forest located within the palace.

“…A picnic.”

“A picnic?”

“Yes.”

Her wide eyes narrowed a couple of times at the word picnic. Then she shook her head as if she didn’t understand.

“You don’t like it?”

Askaar was a little embarrassed at her unexpected response. He thought she’d be happy if he let her run around on the lawn to her heart’s content….

“If you don’t feel like it, we’re not going.”

He muttered awkwardly and clicked his tongue slightly.

“Ashria.”

“Oh….”

“Huh? You’re asking me if I don’t want to go on a picnic.”

Even though he’d been working overtime for the past few days just to have this one day to spend alone with her, Askaar forced himself to answer, hiding his inward annoyance.

“You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. You don’t have to force yourself to go.”

This was the moment when Askaar’s early morning sandwiches went to waste. Granted, he’d merely stuffed vegetables, ham, and cheese between slices of bread that the kitchen maids had prepared for him, but the mere fact that he’d done it himself was a step up.

I never thought I’d be born into royalty and do the lowly things, he thought as he spread the jam on the bread.

One of the maids, trotting along with a picnic basket of sandwiches and her favorite orange juice, glanced over at Ashria, waiting for her answer.

Knowing how much of the Emperor’s time and attention had gone into this mere picnic basket, he was nervous that he would be angered by Ashria’s refusal.

“Ahh….”

Whether she realized it or not, Ashria could only gape like a fool. Ashria’s hesitation would have been frustrating, but Askaar, whose patience had grown considerably, mercifully waited for her to answer.

“He, I, he….”

“It’s okay, make yourself comfortable.”

“…I’m sorry, I, I can’t go on the picnic.”

It’s not that I’m not going, it’s not that I don’t want to go, it’s that I can’t go. Askaar frowned at the strangely strange answer.

“You can’t go? But why?”

“…because my mom said so before.”

For a moment, the mention of Mom reminded him of Lourrane, and his mood dropped.

“She said picnics aren’t for kids like me….”

The natural condescension in her tone made Askaar sigh inwardly.

“…that woman says a lot of things that don’t even make sense.”

It was obvious, she was lying to cover up for Ashria, who was eager to get outside.

“Ashria.”

“…Yes.”

“You need to be more certain of whose daughter you are.”

Ashria, still too young to understand, hung her head. Her fingers nibbled at the hem of her robe, making her blush.

“But… I can’t go because I’m kinky and ugly, and my mom says picnics are for pretty noble girls.”

“What, kinky and ugly?”

Askaar repeated, his voice rising in exasperation, and Ashria, startled, squirmed and burrowed further into his arms.

“That’s not even funny. Ashria, if you were ugly, all the women in the world would be pumpkins.”

She was a pea-sized woman now, of course, but Askaar still remembered her vividly, her dark hair hanging down to her waist.

He could no longer speak in Moorish, and the slightest movement in her arms frightened him into silence, and his anger only increased.

What a bunch of bullshit to tell someone else’s precious daughter.

It wasn’t something Askaar would say, of course, but he gritted his teeth as he thought it. Ashria was clinging to him, fidgeting with her tiny hands.

“Ashria, it’s a picnic, and you can go whenever you want.”

“But….”

“You don’t have to pay attention to what your mom says, because it’s worthless.”

Despite his firm words, Ashria only rolled her eyes and looked away.

Finally, with a sigh, Askaar spoke up.

“Ashria, I made the sandwiches because I thought you might like it.”

At those words, Ashria’s eyes widened and she looked up at him.

“I like to eat sandwiches, Daddy”

For a moment, Askaar looked dumbfounded at the sound of a clear voice calling him Dad, which he hadn’t expected.

It was a title he’d heard countless times before, but he couldn’t figure out why it felt so strange.

He felt a lump in his throat, so he nodded instead of answering.

Another moment passed before he finally managed to spit out a small, muffled sound.

“…Okay.”

‘Part of me wanted to gush about how I’d spent an hour in a kitchen I’d never set foot in my life, spreading jam on every slice of bread and carefully piling on vegetables, cheese, and ham to make this, but my mouth was strangely unable to open.’

He blushed unnecessarily with embarrassment. Unlike him, Ashria’s face brightened a bit.

Her Dad’s homemade sandwich, she thought, and she wanted to try it.

“So… if I don’t go on the picnic, the sandwiches will be thrown away right?”

“Probably so.”

“Oh, but my dad made it with love…!”

“…….”

“…Dad will be sad if it’s thrown away.”

She said, ruffling Askaar’s hair as she assumed his sadness.

“Then I guess I have no choice but to go on a picnic… ”

Ashria was adorable like that, and he nodded with a wry smile.

“Yes, Ashria, if you had told me you weren’t going on the picnic, I would have spent the night in tears.”

He said brazenly, his expression never changing, and he sped up his steps at Ashria’s permission.

“So come on, let’s go get some sandwiches.”

* * *

The maids found an even patch of grass to lay down a mat, and Ashria trotted over to it, wincing as she did so.

“I don’t want you to fall if you run like that.”

“Wow… the grass is so fluffy!”

Ashria crawled to the edge of the mat and poked at the grass and dirt, wondering what was so exciting about a simple picnic. Her hands quickly turned to knots.

How can you eat a sandwich like that? Askaar grinned and walked over to sit next to her

“Your hands got dirty.”

The picnic basket opened to reveal the frighteningly neatly arranged sandwiches. Ashria shuffled her feet with flushed cheeks, forgetting that her hands were covered in dirt, and she couldn’t wait to eat.

“No, no, you can’t eat with your dirty hands.”

“Ha, but….”

“Then you should have washed your hands first before you eat.”

Deep in the basket was a wipe to clean her hands, but Askaar, in her playfulness, purposely didn’t mention it.

The sight of Ashria with her mouth hanging out in a pout was too cute to let her know about the wipes.

Then, as if on cue, Askaar picked up the sandwich and held it to her mouth.

“Since you have dirty hands, I’ll feed you myself.”

And then her grim face lit up again. Ashria nodded eagerly and took a large bite out of the sandwich Askaar held out to her.

She squeaks like a squirrel as the sandwich is stuffed into both of her juicy cheeks.

“…Pretty.”

Her eyes, which had always been sharp, sparkled with a myriad of lights, at odds with her past.

There was no trace of her usual stern expression, either. Unlike in the past, the corners of her mouth turned up and never came down.

As she ate the crumbs, Askaar couldn’t hide his adoration as he smoothed the corners of her mouth. Her soft cheeks felt like pudding under his fingertips, and he wanted to pinch them.

Ashria giggled and rubbed her cheek against his hand, not liking the touch either.

“Hehe.”

“How’s the sandwich?”

“Ooh, yeah, it’s so delicious!”

“Good.”

As he watched her devour the sandwich in my hand, Askaar smiled pleasantly.

He wondered to himself when he’d gotten to the point where he could make such expressions, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it.

Askaar stared at her, his round eyes twinkling like the Milky Way in the night sky as she wore a myriad of expressions before him.

Her cheeks are chubby, her skin is flawless, and her eyes are large and round. And a slightly comical mouth with one front tooth missing.

She looked like an innocent child.

Ashria ate her sandwich and gulped down her orange juice until her throat was full, then flopped down on the mat in a heap.

Judging by her stupidly relaxed demeanor, she must have enjoyed the breeze of spring.

“I’m full.”

Having never been taught manners, she rolled over and over on the mat, playing with the hem of Askaar’s robe. But that didn’t stop him from reprimanding her for her undignified behavior or teaching her manners.

He didn’t want to try to restrain her in any way.

Especially not with courtly etiquette that would surely suffocate her.

Askaar gladly offered her the hem of his robe and smoothed Ashria’s tousled hair. His touch was so gentle.

Feeling the breeze on his face, he began to pluck nameless wildflowers that had sprung up in the lawn from nowhere, fiddling with the delicate flowers with one hand as he tried to figure out what to do with them.

“Ashria.”

“Yes?”

Then, after a while, Askaar, who had made something, called out to her.

“This.”

He handed her a flower ring made of wildflowers woven into a ring. Askaar laughed as he playfully slipped the ring on her hand.

“Later, when you’re older, I’ll get you something nicer.”

“Wow….”

Ashria stared at the ring he made for her, trying to decide if it was good. It was shabby, as a few petals had fallen off during the making process, but she was pleased nonetheless.

“Then I’ll give you one too!”

After fiddling with the flower ring for a while, Ashria jumped up and started running around the lawn, plucking a few colorful flowers along the way.

“Ashria, don’t go too far.”

“Yes!”

Askaar watched the tiny body bustle after her, not taking his eyes off her for a moment.

After wandering around the lawn for quite a while, Ashria brought back a bunch of yellow and red flowers.

“These flowers are for you Daddy!”

Askaar giggled as he looked at the bunch of flowers in her tiny arms.

“This all?”

“Yes!”

Ashria beamed as she stuck one in his ear and one in her.

“I brought a lot of them because Dad is so incredibly grateful to me!”

Unlike her, who smiled brightly, Askaar couldn’t help but laugh.

A very grateful man. He couldn’t even jokingly respond to that.

“Hehe, ever since I met you, Dad, I’ve seen a lot of fun things and had picnics… so it’s good.”

Ashuria, who did not know her true feelings, kept talking and chattering. Most of them were words of gratitude to Askaar.

The more she thanked him, the more he felt uncomfortable. He felt like he had a rock in his stomach.

“I like the fluffy bed… and the cake… and the cake… and the cake… and the… um… the room has a lot of windows, so that’s nice too….”

Ashria, in all her innocence, folded her tiny fingers together, one by one. Askaar remained still, listening to the words, the corners of his mouth turning up bitterly.

You were always such a bright and talkative child, he thought and chewed his lip hard at the thought.

Regardless, Ashria giggled as she lay back down on her back from her playful romp. She couldn’t stop giggling at the sight of a passing leaf.

As she watched, Askaar reached out and pecked her cheek. She giggled and played with his fingers, wondering why he was poking her.

“Ashria.”

“Yes?”

“…I’m not a good person.”

I felt overwhelmed by the way she looked at me, her eyes searching my face without a hint of emotion. As she returned her gaze, as if she were seeing a savior, he felt a stabbing pain, as if he were being stabbed by countless blades.

“So you don’t have to thank me.”

She could only shake her head, still too young to understand.

“But I like my dad the most.”

“… “I am not the kind of man you would like.”

“Even so….”

What kind of facial expression would you make if I told you the truth?

I locked you up in a palace while you lay dying of black magic, r*ped you, forced you to be molested by countless men, copulated with horses, had a pharynx pressed against your forearm, chained you to a cage, and, if that wasn’t enough, f*cked you over your dead body.

I wonder if you can still talk to me like you do now.

I could still see her face, the way she’d given up on life, the way her eyes were empty and she’d spread her legs like a doll whenever I ordered her to.

“You look like a s*x slave.”

“Yeah… I’m just acting the part.”

He averted his gaze guiltily as he saw the smile on Ashria’s face, unlike before.

“You’re so pretty when you smile.

Askaar had no intention of letting her go this time.

He was simply trying to forget the past and not take her heart unscrupulously.

As long as he held her gently enough that she didn’t get hurt, that would be fine.

Unaware of his ghastly thoughts, Ashria merely hummed into the breeze as she nuzzled Askaar’s leg against her head.

* * *

“Daddy, Daddy.”

“Yes, Ashria.”

Askaar replied, patting her stomach, which was refusing to sleep for the first time today.

“Go to sleep, you’re growing.”

In her last life, her lack of proper nutrition and exposure to black magic on a cold cellar floor had left her short for an imperial woman.

Normally, imperial women were 168-174 centimeters tall, but in her past life, she had barely passed 155 centimeters, so her growth had been very poor to begin with.

Remembering that she was nearly two heads shorter than me, Askaar clicked his tongue.

This time, he was going to feed her plenty of nutritious food and let her grow up in a good environment.

With that thought, Askaar touched her forearms, which had grown fat in recent months.

“I can’t sleep.”

I think drinking tea mixed with coffee during the day played a role. Askaar scolded her, asking her not to drink because she couldn’t sleep. However, he did not get seriously angry or raise his voice.

“Tell me about the Onion Princess.”

The Onion Princess was a fairy tale from a neighboring country that Ashria had been reading over and over again lately.

With Askaar reading it to her, she had gotten to the point where she could recite the story without a book.

“Do you find the story of the Onion Princess so interesting?”

“Mmm… yes, it’s funny.”

Ashria snuggled into his arms, urging him to tell her the story. At the sound of her pleading voice, he finally opened his mouth.

“Once upon a time, there lived a lily of the valley princess named Maybell….”

Askaar began to speak, his voice soothing and slow. Ashria lowered her eyes, listening to his voice with bated breath.

“A witch’s curse turned the princess into Tsubibel, the onion peeler maid: ‘Maybelle is me, I am the real Maybelle.’ The lily of the valley princess who became Tsubibel cried out at the top of her lungs that she was Maybelle, but because of the witch’s curse, no one would believe her….”

Now he was spitting out lines with aplomb. Askaar felt out of place, but Ashria, in his arms, seemed to like the story of the Onion Princess.

That was enough. Askaar thought to himself and told her the story of The Onion Princess until she fell asleep.

He didn’t close his mouth until he heard her breathing softly in his arms.

Brushing back her disheveled hair, he whispered in a very small voice.

“…I love you, Ashria.”

‘This time, you would not dare to leave my arms, and I would cherish you as if you were a precious jewel.’

‘In the winter, we’d go up north and build snowmen with you, and in the spring, we’d pack a picnic with lots of sandwiches, just like today, and then in the summer, we’d go swimming in the ocean… and then in the fall, when you left…’

As he continued to think, Askaar squeezed his eyes shut and hugged her hard with his one remaining arm.

“…I love you.”

‘This time, I was going to paint her little world with me. I was going to give her everything she hadn’t had in her last life, and I was going to hold it in her tiny hands.’

* * *

“Is that what you want to do?”

“Yes.”

Ashria’s deer-in-the-headlights eyes narrowed at Askaar’s question, and she thought for a moment.

“Is there something you want to learn or something?”

“Something I want to learn….”

The question made Ashria ponder for a moment. But it was short-lived. It must have come to Her mine quickly.

“Drawing!”

Ashria was still Ashria.

“I want to draw.”

I remembered her once asking me if I could give her a pen and paper, and Askaar smiled bitterly.

“…Yes, I’ll give you a painting teacher.”

* * *

Ashria has been quite busy lately.

After a teatime filled with sweet treats and a long nap, she began taking painting lessons.

Askaar had brought in the most famous painter in the empire to teach Ashria.

She’d gotten so into it, that she’d stopped going for walks to paint.

“Ashria.”

“Ah! Daddy, are you home?”

Ashria was sitting at her easel again today, drawing something on a large piece of drawing paper, and she put down her brush and ran over to him.

“What did you draw?”

Askaar looked at the paper curiously, but Ashria had already covered the drawing with a cloth.

“Hehe, it’s a secret.”

“And why do you have so much paint on your face.”

He chuckled and touched Ashria’s flushed cheeks. Up close, it wasn’t just her cheeks. Her dress and hands were covered in paint, too.

“I need to wash.”

Askaar made a gesture, and the maid went straight to the bathroom in the bedroom and began running warm water.

“How about the painting teacher? Do you like him?”

“Mmm… yes, I like him.”

“And he’s not being rude to you?”

“No! Not at all!”

“Good, then.”

Kissing the top of her head, he peeled off her paint-splattered dress, piece by piece. It was a deft touch, even with one hand.

“Let’s go wash up.”

“Yes!”

Carried to the bathroom in his arms, Ashria soaked in the fondant warmth of the tub, and it wasn’t long before Askaar joined her.

In his arms, she bounced and splashed a few times as if she enjoyed the water in the tub, and then leaned back against his chest.

“Why, you don’t want to play anymore?”

“Uhm… no.”

“Maybe I should buy you a floating toy.”

Ashria’s eyes lit up at the mention of a floating toy.

“A toy that floats?”

“Like, a model boat or a stuffed duck or something.”

Ashria nodded enthusiastically.

“I want one!”

“Okay, I’ll have it ready by tomorrow.”

After soaking her hair in warm water, Askaar picked up a bar of soap that lay nearby and lathered it up.

“Ashria, hair.”

“Hair!”

At his words, Ashria jerked her head back quickly. Askaar laughed softly as he watched the tiny woman squirm.

“Close your eyes, you might get soap in there.”

“Yes.”

With one arm he had left, Askaar tousled Ashria’s hair with the utmost care. She didn’t mind his touch either, humming a tune and letting her hair fall still.

It was a peaceful end to the day, as usual.

“I want to shower quickly and go to dinner!”

“Are you hungry?”

“A little bit. Hehe… I hope they’re serving grilled sea bass for dinner tonight.”

At the mention of grilled sea bass, Askaar’s brow furrowed slightly. Ashria had always loved grilled sea bass with plenty of lemons.

In the past and now.

Biting his lip hard at the memory of a day he doesn’t want to think about, Askaar pulls Ashria into his arms.

Ashria tilts her head at the sight of him hugging her out of nowhere.

“Daddy?”

“…….”

“Dad, you don’t like grilled sea bass?”

He didn’t answer her question for a long time, and then, after quite a while, he finally managed to squeeze out in a gruff voice.

“…No, I like it.”

“Whatever you like, I like it too”

 Askaar muttered and smiled bitterly.

* * *

“Dad!”

After finishing his work, Askaar turned to look at Ashria, who had come running out with something hidden behind her.

“Ashria, you must have been painting.”

He looked at the scattered paints and gave a small smile.

“I’ll have to give you an atelier sooner or later.”

Inwardly, I hadn’t made one for her on purpose because I didn’t want her to be in the bedroom when I returned from work.

Seeing her smiling from ear to ear made me feel like I wasn’t so different from before.

“An atelier?”

“I mean a place to paint. You can’t paint in your bedroom forever.”

Ashria looked a little surprised at the idea of a drawing room. She seemed excited. She even looked excited.

“I can just imagine!”

“I’ll make it as soon as I can.”

“But it’s okay.”

Ashria, who was bouncing on her feet with excitement just a moment ago, shook her head slightly at the idea of making one.

“I like to draw in my bedroom.”

“Why not? It’s a bit of a hassle to go back and forth, but it would be nice to have an atelier.”

“Mmm… but then the room would be empty when Dad comes home from work.”

Her answer seemed to see right through him for a moment, and Askaar gave her a dumbfounded look.

“I like it now. Hehe, I’ll be drawing a picture so I can know right away when Dad comes.

”Saying that, Ashria ambitiously held something she had been hiding behind her back in front of Askaar.

“Poof!”

She held up a picture of herself and Askaar on a blank sheet of paper. Of course, her drawing skills were as bad as ever. Looking at the pouty, ugly drawing of the two of them, Askaar couldn’t help but giggle.

“It’s my dad and me!”

Ashria giggled excitedly, and Askaar thought to himself that she must like to draw, but she wasn’t very good at it.

Still, it was cute in my eyes, so I’ll take it,” he said and patted Ashria on the head.

“I will give this to you Dad!”

“Really? You’ve been drawing pretty hard these past few days. Are you sure you will give this to me?”

“Yes! I drew this for you.”

Taking the drawing, Askaar raised a brow.

“I should hang it on my office wall.”

“Hehe.”

Askaar said, looking at her hands, which were a mess of paint again today.

“Since you’ve given me a gift, I suppose I should return a favor.”

“a favor?”

“Yes. Is there anything you’d like to have? Tell me anything, and I’ll listen.”

The words made Ashria ponder quite seriously. The way she furrowed her brow slightly, puffed out her cheeks and made mmmm’s and hmmm’s as she pondered was quite adorable.

Resisting the urge to poke her plump cheeks, Askaar waited patiently for an answer.

Then Ashria clapped her hands and spoke.

“A painting!”

“A painting? Yes, a painting by a certain painter.”

And Askaar stiffened at the answer.

“A painting by my dad!”

A painting by me. Embarrassment washed over Askaar’s face.

“…There are many better painters than me.”

“Mmm… but I still want the picture you painted for me! Please paint my portrait, okay?”

Ashria wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled him, causing him to grunt and whimper in frustration.

A portrait of Ashria by me, I couldn’t imagine.

But the moment he saw those round eyes looking up at him, expectantly, he couldn’t resist.

The fight was a foregone conclusion; he had never defeated Ashria.

* * *

Trembling, Askaar sat down at the easel and stared at the pure white canvas. The painter, who had come to his command to help him through couldn’t even open his mouth and just trembled.

Ashria was the only one who was excited in the frozen atmosphere.

Sitting across from her, Ashria sat on a high chair and played with her feet, wondering why they weren’t touching the ground.

“Dad, are you okay?”

She asked, glancing over at Askaar. Askaar’s drawing paper was still fresh. But he couldn’t bring himself to spit out the humiliating words that he hadn’t drawn a single line in nearly an hour in front of Ashria, so he gave a small nod.

“…Of course.”

“Hehe, I can’t wait to see it.”

Askar, who didn’t even know the ‘him’ in the picture, was just confused. Although he was familiar with the sword, he was not familiar with the brush at all.

Thinking he couldn’t wait any longer, he finally plucked up the courage to start brushing. Ashria giggled as he frantically teased her hand.

“Dad’s good at everything, so I’m sure you are good at painting, right?”

“…….”

Askaar had no answer. The more I painted, the worse Ashria looked. He cursed his hand. Askaar wanted to tear up the paper.

“…I’ll just pretend it’s a mistake and pour water on it.”

But looking at those eyes full of expectation, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“I’m going to frame the picture you drew and hang it in my bedroom, and I’m going to look at it all the time!”

Askaar imagined the horror of having this gruesome portrait in her bedroom and then shook his head in disgust.

“…Damn.’

The painting had fallen into disrepair. If it weren’t for the black hair, no one would recognize the portrait’s owner as Ashria.

“…Damn it.”

Askaar cursed, causing the painter next to him to flinch in surprise.

Ashria was the only one who still looked amused.

“Daddy, Daddy.”

“…Yes, Ashria.”

“Are you finished?”

“…Not yet.”

“When will you finish?”

“…In a little while.”

The hand that hadn’t trembled when he’d cut off a person’s breath had trembled like a man with epilepsy when he’d drawn Ashria’s eyes.

Askaar took a slow, deep breath and pressed hard against the brush.

“Relax, Your Majesty….”

“…….”

“I beg your pardon, my lord… I think… I think you should stop painting here….”

In short, the more you brush, the more the painting gets ruined, so stop.

Frustrated, Askaar couldn’t argue back.

Eventually, he had no choice but to put the brush down.

“Wow! Are you done?”

“…….”

The answer was a resounding no.

‘It’s not too late.’

If I tore up the picture or dropped it in the water even now…

“Daddy, Daddy, show me, I want to see it!”

No, I’m not going to do that to a kid who’s looking forward to seeing it….

‘So it’s okay to show a picture like this to a kid who’s looking forward to it?’

He conflicted with himself. ‘Should I show this to Ashria?’

Askaar sighed and thought to himself.

Ashria must have gotten all her terrible drawing skills from me.

“…I’m sorry, Ashria.”

Half-heartedly, Askaar jerked his head as if to say, “Come and see.” Suddenly, Ashria jumps out of her chair and rushes over to him.

“Ooh, ooh…wow….”

Ashria’s voice faded as her excitement grew. Askaar wished he had a rat hole to hide in.

“Wow….”

“…….”

“There are some things even Daddy can’t do.”

What’s wrong with a portrait of me drawn like a pretzel? Ashria even took the messed-up painting and hung it on her bedroom wall.

Much to the chagrin of Askaar, who had to look at it day and night.

“You know, Dad.”

“…Yes, Ashria.”

“By any chance… I don’t look like this, do I?”

“Of course not, you don’t look like this at all.”

Askaar told her firmly.

“It’s just… my drawing skills suck.”

“Ugh….”

“Ashria, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

So don’t think such useless things like that.

The words made Ashria scratch her head. Most beautiful. What did he mean? Curious, but unable to find an answer, she could only lick her lips as she looked at Askaar.