Chapter 188
Several days passed.
For those several days, Lloyd lived the same day over and over.
After dinner, he climbed onto a camel’s back.
He swayed along through the night.
All day, it was nothing but the same desert scenery.
Then, when the moon leaned west and morning arrived, he slid down from the saddle.
He ate breakfast half-asleep, crawled into a shaded camp, and slept.
And when evening came, he climbed onto the camel again.
Every day was identical.
Only after repeating that routine for several days did something finally change.
The desert he’d been staring at nonstop—
It shifted, just enough, to feel like a different world.
“This is Kandara, the central city of the Kandahar region.”
“……”
The female bodyguard personally assigned by the Sultan—
At Scheherazade’s words, Lloyd’s ears perked up.
He asked, unable to hide his excitement.
“Then does that mean we’ve arrived?”
“You could say that.”
“Hoo-ah.”
Lloyd let out a long breath.
Finally.
He had arrived.
He was glad. He was genuinely happy.
‘Now I can say goodbye to camel backs for a while.’
His mind flashed through the last few days.
Was it the morning after he’d signed the construction order contract with the Sultan in Ahinsa?
He’d had to greet the Sultan’s people at dawn, then rush straight into the journey to Kandahar.
On top of that, he’d had to explain everything to the special envoy, who had been completely lost about what was happening.
And that was how they’d left Ahinsa in a hurry.
Then came several days of exploring Antarctica from the back of a camel.
‘Even if desert nights are cold, I didn’t know they’d be that cold.’
Lloyd shuddered inwardly.
Desert. Camel.
Most people heard those words and pictured blistering heat.
Lloyd had too, once the Kandahar trip was decided.
Even on the day he left Ahinsa, he’d been worried about sunscreen.
Turns out that worry was pointless—no, it was as foolish as chugging cold kimchi stew straight from the pot.
Because the journey was the exact opposite of what he’d expected.
‘During the day, when the heat was at its worst, we camped in the shade and rested. Then once the sun went down, we set out and traveled all night.’
When the sun sank, the desert temperature dropped like a rock.
And at the same time, Lloyd’s happiness dropped with it.
It was cold.
Bitterly cold.
And the wind was relentless.
It reminded him of winter training in the army.
He even found himself missing the old long padded coat he used to wear every winter back in Korea.
‘Anyway, now that we’ve made it here safely, I can get away from that cold for a while.’
Lloyd had never liked the cold.
Just being able to avoid it was enough to make arriving feel like a victory.
“So are we staying here for a while?”
Scheherazade nodded.
“That’s right. This way. I’ll take you to your lodgings first.”
“Ah, over there. Then…”
“Do you have any questions?”
“Well… in the lodgings too, will you…”
“You can call me Scheherazade.”
“Ah. Then, Miss Scheherazade… in the lodgings as well, will you be guarding me?”
“That’s right.”
“Heup.”
“Surely you’re not saying we’ll be in the same room?”
“Of course not.”
“……”
“What’s wrong?”
Scheherazade had already fixed her gaze on him.
Those black, pearl-like eyes were honestly burdensome.
So Lloyd smiled bitterly and said what he actually felt.
“It’s a little burdensome. You’re a woman.”
“I’m fine with it.”
“……I’m not.”
His bitter smile deepened.
“I want to relax in the lodgings. I want to change comfortably. I want to stop being conscious of someone staring at me the whole time. If you’re there, it’ll be a little…”
“But the great and almighty Sultan entrusted me with your safety, Lloyd.”
“Asrahan will protect me.”
“…….”
Scheherazade’s gaze shifted.
To the silver-haired knight Lloyd pointed at.
Javier stood there.
“As I told you when we departed, he’s the knight who’s guarded me since my territory. Javier Asrahan. His personality is cold. He’s great at punching you in the solar plexus with words. And he’s only slightly better-looking than me. But he’s a pretty useful friend as a guard.”
“I know. It was an honor to accompany the rumored young Swordmaster. Although he seems far more handsome than Lloyd—hardly ‘slightly.’”
“……Yes. Anyway. Asrahan is here.”
“So?”
“I was hoping you could hand my guard over to Asrahan while we’re in the lodgings.”
“Are you forcing me to disobey the great and almighty Sultan’s orders?”
“Um, no. Not like that.”
Lloyd felt himself growing annoyed.
Part of it was Scheherazade’s unshakable attitude.
But the bigger reason was something else.
‘That Sultan is shameless in a way that doesn’t match his face. He just openly stuck his daughter to me as a ‘bodyguard.’’
Scheherazade.
The Sultan had introduced her as a first-rate guard.
A woman, yes—but one of the finest swordsmen in the desert, someone he could trust with Lloyd’s safety.
He’d praised her sharp swordsmanship, and the delicate, meticulous attentiveness women were said to have.
But Lloyd knew the truth.
Because he’d read Iron-Blooded Knight.
Among the Sultan’s daughters, there was someone named Scheherazade.
Just before the Sultan’s death, she was one of those who fought to defend the besieged tower.
The novel called her the most talented female swordsman in the desert.
And unlike the palace-bound princesses, she’d been allowed to come and go from a young age under the Sultan’s special permission.
At the same time, the novel said that no one outside the Sultan and his closest aides knew she was his daughter.
‘So that’s why she can walk around using her real name. Nobody would even think to question it. Especially not a foreigner like me.’
In general, desert princesses were thoroughly veiled.
Not only their faces, but even their names were never known outside the palace.
‘But what can I do? I’ve read the novel. The moment I met her, I knew she was the Sultan’s daughter.’
The Sultan assigning his daughter as a guard.
The daughter insisting on guarding him even in the lodgings.
Lloyd could practically hear the message behind it.
‘Ah, here we go again. I can feel it. This is exactly that.’
You. Become my son-in-law.
And it wasn’t even Lloyd’s first time dealing with this.
‘Cremo. You, become my son-in-law. Namaran too. You, accept my daughter. If Her Majesty the Queen’s sister had a daughter, I probably would’ve heard it there as well. You, take my daughter. Hoo-ah. Now even the Sultan of an enemy nation is joining the ranks of enthusiastic prospective fathers-in-law.’
It was absurd.
The daughters themselves didn’t seem interested.
So why did every middle-aged man with power suddenly become passionate about making him family?
‘Am I the type that middle-aged men love?’
A bitter realization bloomed.
Why did it feel like tears were about to gather at the corners of his eyes?
Lloyd smiled as if shaking off an unknown sadness and looked straight at Scheherazade.
“Yes. It means disobeying the order.”
“…….”
“It’s fine. When I return to Ahinsa, I can just lie to the Sultan. Tell him you devoted yourself day and night to protecting me.”
“Of course…”
“Please don’t refuse.”
“…….”
“I’m an Intermediate Sword Expert right now. Honestly, it’s not like you have to force yourself to guard me.”
“But I…”
“I know. You’re an Advanced Sword Expert, so your senses are at their peak. But what can I do? Asrahan here is a Swordmaster.”
“…….”
“If you can prove you can protect me more thoroughly than a Swordmaster, you can stay in the lodgings. If not, I want freedom in the lodgings. I don’t want to trouble you either.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m serious.”
“…….”
Scheherazade’s black, pearl-like eyes flickered.
Not tears.
Anger.
And Lloyd felt satisfied inside.
‘Good. Hate me more.’
She needed to hate him.
That way, the Sultan’s plan to make him a son-in-law would collapse cleanly.
From the beginning, Lloyd had no interest in a desert princess—or in becoming the Sultan’s son-in-law.
‘I just want to live a prosperous, ordinary, simple life while sucking honey for the rest of my days.’
Lloyd smiled, the desire burning in him like a hot iced Americano.
He brazenly accepted Scheherazade’s glare, shrugged, and ended it.
“Now please guide me to the lodgings. And you’ll need to find a separate place for Miss Scheherazade to stay.”
“…….”
The desert princess turned away without answering.
She led him toward the lodgings as requested.
Her steps looked rougher than before.
Lloyd didn’t care.
He unpacked in his room—
And before Scheherazade could follow, he quickly moved to leave with Javier.
Or rather, he tried to.
“Surely you weren’t trying to ditch me?”
“……Oh. Um. Hahaha.”
Scheherazade stood right in front of the door, in the hallway.
Had she predicted it and waited?
It looked like she had.
Lloyd asked with an awkward smile.
“Have you been waiting long?”
“No. I just arrived too.”
“Then… are you planning to accompany me from now on?”
“Yes, of course.”
She answered as if it were obvious.
And that was exactly the problem.
‘Ah. This is annoying.’
If possible, he wanted to shake her off.
Especially because he needed to start surveying immediately.
‘I don’t like her hovering around. It’s burdensome.’
Whether she was truly guarding him—
Or trying to build familiarity under the Sultan’s orders—
Either way, it was burdensome.
He had no interest in getting close to her.
And if she kept hanging around while he was surveying, she’d distract him and ruin his focus.
‘With Javier, I’m used to it. When I’m surveying, he reads my gaze and positions himself so he never gets in the way.’
But Scheherazade?
She didn’t have that experience.
She probably didn’t even know what surveying was.
Expecting consideration from her was pointless.
‘I don’t like that.’
He wanted to finish the construction the Sultan had commissioned as soon as possible.
Then the special envoy and the Sultan would negotiate.
And Lloyd could finally return to Frontera Estate—
And begin the true second act of his life: sucking honey.
‘So I have to finish the Qanat quickly. Surveying too. I have to do it fast.’
But if someone hovered and interfered?
Everything would take longer.
The day he returned to Frontera Estate would be delayed.
The day he could enjoy a life of honey-sucking to his heart’s content would be delayed.
‘I hate that.’
Lloyd shook his head inwardly and racked his brain.
How could he get rid of Scheherazade?
Have Javier knock her out?
Lock her up somewhere?
‘No. That’s too much. If she tattles to her father later… contract or not, he might have me killed quietly.’
A chill ran down his shoulders.
Then, after a moment, a brilliant idea struck him.
“Miss Scheherazade. Can we talk for a moment?”
“What about?”
“This isn’t something to discuss standing in the hallway. If it’s alright with you, could you come inside for a moment?”
Lloyd smiled deliberately and guided her into the lodgings.
Doubt surfaced in her eyes.
Until a moment ago, he’d been desperate to keep her out.
Now he was inviting her in to talk.
“…….”
She still entered.
And as she did, she noticed Lloyd gesture to Javier.
A clear order to wait outside.
‘Hmph.’
Scheherazade sat on the sofa as Lloyd motioned.
Her eyes deepened slightly.
Her father’s order came to mind.
He wanted that man as a son-in-law.
So by any means necessary—by finding weaknesses if needed—she had to capture him.
The opportunity had come sooner than expected.
A private conversation, without others interfering.
Scheherazade braced herself.
A chance to be recognized by her father.
A chance to make up for the sorrow of not being born a prince.
‘If I can make that man mine.’
She would accept a friendly conversation.
Fix the awkwardness between them.
Win his favor.
She was fully prepared.
And then—
“Concrete must use high-strength concrete with high compressive strength to improve adhesion with PSC members and reduce cross-sectional dimensions, and for this purpose, the water-cement ratio should be minimized and workability should be improved as much as possible.”
‘……Huh?’
Lloyd opened his mouth.
And suddenly started spouting strange, incomprehensible sounds.
‘What is he doing?’
She wanted to ask.
But she couldn’t.
“The maximum size of coarse aggregate used in the production of PSC must be determined within the range that allows concrete to be densely filled around PS steel, sheaths, and reinforcing bars, and in most cases, 20mm or 25mm is used as the standard.”
“…….”
Without realizing it, her mind started to drift.
She was only listening.
Yet her eyelids grew heavy.
‘What is this…?’
Was it exhaustion?
Lately, she hadn’t slept properly at all.
After reaching the level of an Advanced Sword Expert, her senses had grown too sharp. Every sound kept her awake.
With poison, with willpower, she endured.
Had she endured for so long that she’d forgotten what real sleep felt like?
‘No… I can’t fall asleep now.’
Her body went slack.
Lloyd’s bizarre incantation—like a song from heaven—fluttered faintly into her ears.
“The compressive strength when introducing prestress should be 350kgf per square centimeter or more in pretension, and 300kgf per square centimeter in post-tension… in both methods… blah blah… at least 1.7 times the maximum induced stress… yally yally yalla shung… the compressive strength after 28 days must be 350kgf per square centimeter in pretension members… blah blah…”
“……Snore, snore.”
In the end, Scheherazade couldn’t hold out and fell asleep, snoring.
A satisfied smile spread across Lloyd’s lips.
‘Operation to ditch her: success.’
Now sleep soundly here.
I’ll be going.