The Veil, the Price, and the Sultan's Shadow
“Hey….”
“What is it?”
“Do I really have to wear that?”
Isabel stared at the cheap cotton cloth dump on the sofa, her face twisting into a scowl.
“If you’re in the Maghreb, you follow Maghreb rules.”
The cloth in her hands was no ordinary thing. It was the traditional Maghrebi robe called a djellaba and the full-body haik, the one that wrapped every inch from head to toe in heavy cloth.
“But I’m from Hawar…”
“If you don’t like it, just walk around naked. Actually, that might be better. The second you step outside, every eye will lock on you. Finding you will be a snap.”
“… I’ll put it on.”
“Just keep your eyes showing and wrap yourself tight. Follow exactly what I taught you.”
“That… I’ve already forgotten.”
Yeah, of course she had. I never intended to make her wear it in the first place.
“Then I guess I’ll have to remind you somehow. I can’t do it for you, can I?”
This stage was set in the medieval era. Even in a romance fantasy, the strict sense of holy purity and chastity ran deep through every bone.
Especially for someone raised as the princess of Hawar, the idea of a foreign pagan man’s hands on her would make her skin crawl.
“……”
But contrary to my expectation, Isabel pressed her lips together and looked at me with a troubled gaze.
“… Because of the laws of the Maghreb.”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask for help, so this poor girl who couldn’t even dress herself properly, her ears burning red.
“Hah. Wait here a second.”
I stood up from my seat.
“Stay still. This is the first time I’ve dressed someone else.”
“Y-yes…”
I picked up the haik from the sofa and circled it around Isabel’s back.
“Aah…”
Isabel made a small, uneasy sound.
She looked startled by the unexpectedly narrow gap.
Even I thought it was too close. And naturally, the scent of her body slipped into my nose.
It was like stepping through the hot, dusty air of the desert and catching the faint, sweet scent of spearmint.
Right. She had drunk three cups of atay.
“Swish.”
Every time my fingertips brushed her hair, Isabel’s long lashes fluttered.
“Eek…!”
“Stop making weird noises and just hold your breath.”
“…”
With her breath held, Isabel kept shifting her gaze around, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Once the thin cloth felt the tiny, warm body heat, something warm bloomed in my chest. Then I slid the brilliant blonde hair inside the fabric and tightly wrapped the strands at her chin and crown so they wouldn’t slip out.
“It hurts! It hurts!”
“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
I loosened it a little and tied it off again.
Stepping back, I gave her entire body a once-over.
The only exposed part now was those bright blue eyes.
“Hmm. Looks good enough.”
As soon as my okay signal dropped, Isabel finally let out the breath she’d been holding and looked up at me.
… The awkward silence hung in the room until I realized I had forgotten something.
“Actually, we didn’t need the haik at all. I lifted the mandatory wearing rule for women a while ago because it looked uncomfortable.”
“Hey!”
***
“Thank goodness the weather isn’t hot. You did a good job removing the haik, right? That thing is way hotter than I expected.”
“……”
Even out on the street, Isabel kept her lips puffed out and obediently followed behind me.
“We’ll reach the market soon. From here on, don’t get lost. Understand?”
“… Why do you treat me like a little girl? I’m an adult, you know. I know that much.”
“Adult, my foot. You’re blowing wind and talking nonsense. You’re going to blow up.”
“Who blew wind into you…!”
Even as I spoke sharply, Isabel flinched and jumped every time the rough pirates or desert warriors with scarred faces passed by.
“… Go a little slower.”
Saying that, she secretly followed and clutched the hem of my djellaba sleeve tightly.
“……?”
At the sudden weight, I looked back. Isabel flinched and turned her face away when our eyes met.
“Hey. This is expensive.”
“E-even this much won’t stretch! And it’s just an outer robe—how much could it cost?!”
From the way she talked, you’d think she thought Hawar wool was dirt cheap, but these were all handmade in a time when mass production didn’t exist, so the price was insane.
“Thinking about it, your body price is much higher, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Of course! If you want to receive my body price, you have to treat me a little more carefully.”
“Yes, yes. Two hundred and thirty thousand ducats. I shall receive you with the utmost respect.”
“Really, all I ever hear is ducat, ducat… Are you even tired of it?”
Isabel puffed up and poked my waist with her finger.
Whoa. Isabel was actually this lively a character?
“W-wait!”
The sudden tickle in my side made me dash forward, and Isabel, ears bright red, chased after me urgently.
“We’re almost there. From here on, hold the leash tight. If you don’t want to get dragged to the slave auction yourself…”
“… Okay.”
Isabel slipped behind me again.
She poked my side when I told her to grab somewhere else so the clothes wouldn’t slip.
Sorry, but your attacks have already become useless.
***
We arrived at the slave auction area of Meknes Market.
The dull eyes of the slaves locked in iron cages, bodies half-dead, and the strong, vile stench that made faces scrunch up all assaulted us.
And faced with that gruesome scene, Isabel pressed herself completely against my back and hid.
“Hic….”
Was this the first time a princess from a neighboring kingdom had seen a slave market?
Even though Hawar Kingdom had slaves as well, she hadn’t managed to hide her discomfort at all.
“If you can’t stand it, I can cover your eyes with cloth.”
“… That’s not necessary. I just… realized this kind of place exists.”
“Yeah. Um… ah, here.”
“Bang!”
An ornate room set aside in a corner of the slave market.
Without knocking, I strode straight in, and Isabel startled and followed.
“Damn it! Who in the world barged in without a care… Prince Ismail, Governor-General! What brings the honorable master to this filthy place?!”
The slave trader leaped up from his camel-leather cushions where he had been lounging with a water pipe.
“Aigoo! The bloodline of the noble prophet and the master of Meknes, Governor-General Ismail! What brings you to this wretched place?!”
The slave trader bowed flat on the floor, palms slapping together frantically.
“……”
Since I said nothing, he cautiously raised his face and glanced at the small figure hidden behind my back, tongue flicking out.
“Oh-ho… A tempting little thing. Shall I sell it to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Ye-yes…?”
Isabel, face twisted like Caesar betrayed by Burutus, nodded at the slave trader’s affirmation.
“Did you trick me?”
“Yeah. Actually, it was a joke.”
Isabel frowned and backed away with a scary glare.
“Too bad. With that face, you could easily fetch ten thousand ducats.”
“Sorry, but I’m selling at a much higher price than that.”
“Looks like a noble young lady. … Forgive me.”
The slave trader apologized with cloudy eyes to Isabel.
Isabel flinched at his gaze and hid behind my back again.
“Then, not a worn-out product from the palace. What business brings you here today?”
“I’m here to entrust you with something special.”
“What is it? If you’re looking for a runaway slave, it would be better to leave it to the Governor-General’s personal guard.”
“I’m looking for one person. Probably… I think they became a slave.”
“A slave… Is it a woman?”
I nodded.
“Then it’ll be easy to find. At least, they haven’t been dragged into the civil war.”
“Civil war…?”
Isabel turned to me and asked.
I decided to answer kindly.
“The Sultan is busy right now. So the eastern army commander, who wants to inherit the Sultan’s throne, has raised an army and is threatening the capital and the governors.”
“What?! Then… is Ismail… all right?”
“Well, it’s a family quarrel. You know Meknes is a border city in the west, right? Since I’m the Sultan’s youngest son, I’m a bit distant from this fight.”
“Still… family members arguing, it must hurt your feelings.”
Isabel looked at me with worry.
Something strange stirred in my chest, so I ruffled her hair.
“Don’t worry about it. Just keep covering my back.”
“Aigoo, really…!!!”
“And anyway, I don’t consider those people my family.”
Other sons of the Sultan probably saw me the same way.
Being pushed to the side was actually lucky.
“By the way, about two months ago, slaves captured by pirates on the southern coast of Hawar. Do you know where they went?”
I urged Isabel to describe her mother’s appearance.
“Someone like me, with brilliant blonde hair and blue eyes, and who knows holy magic to heal wounds! And her name is….”
“M-magic, you say?”
The slave trader’s tone and manner had suddenly turned polite.
“At least, no one has heard or seen a slave who uses magic. But Hawar…”
At Isabel’s desperate cry, he stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.
Then he shouted outside to bring the ledger.
“Swish.”
A short while later, the subordinate who brought the slave ledger looked it over, tilted his head, and his eyes widened.
“Governor-General! I found the whereabouts of the Hawar slaves sold!”
“Really? Then where are they now?”
Isabel’s eyes widened at the mention of her mother and she stepped forward.
“There… that is…”
The slave trader looked back and forth between me and Isabel as he answered.
“They were sold to a slave merchant who came from another city recently.”