The Unlucky Bride Is Loved by the Fortunate Desert King - Chapter 28 – The Desert Bride

“Lord Al! Something terrible has happened! We found a letter from Lady Yuzu!”
“What!?”

The Thousand and One Nights Festival—Alf Layla wa Layla—had come to its final stage. Only the king’s and Asaad’s closing speeches remained before the festival would reach its grand finale.

Just then, Ishaq, who had taken a short break from his duties to search the mansion with the guards, made a shocking discovery.

He led Asaad to Yuzu’s private room. On the bedside table sat a pure white Turkish lamp, quietly glowing.
Beneath its stand lay a folded letter.

To Lord Al,

I’m so sorry that our farewell has to be like this.
The time I spent in this mansion after you saved me… it was so precious to me, I wished it could last forever.

If I could, I would have stayed here with you.
But there’s something I must do.
I’m going to Lord Asaad.

Thank you—for everything.

P.S. The Turkish lamp is just a small token of my gratitude.
It isn’t much, but please accept it.

—Yuzu

Asaad’s hand trembled as he held the letter.

“This…! I will not accept such a farewell, Yuzu!”

His voice burst out like a roar of fire, his hair almost seeming to flare in the air.

“Ishaq! I’m withdrawing from the rest of the festival! Tell my father the same! I’m going to bring Yuzu back—no matter what!”

This time, Ishaq didn’t argue. “Yes, Lord Al! I’ll prepare a horse right away!”

“No need! I’ll ride Tama!”
“But—!”

Ishaq stopped mid-protest when he met the eyes of the man before him—eyes the color of dawn, filled with unwavering resolve.

Asaad’s voice rang out clear and firm.

“Tama is the fastest of all. Besides, Ishaq—you once asked me why I hadn’t simply gone and taken Yuzu for myself. I’ve thought about that for a long time.

Would it really be right… to make Yuzu like Tama? To keep her by my side for my own selfishness, even if it meant binding her freedom again? I wondered if that was something a man destined to be king should do.”

“Lord Al… so you’ve been thinking about that all this time.”

Tama was the lion Asaad had rescued when he was a child. A wild beast that should have lived freely in the desert—tamed and raised by Asaad himself.

The king of beasts, turned as gentle as a house cat. Since then, Tama had never lacked food or care, but he had long forgotten the instincts of the wild.

When Asaad found him, Tama had been injured, weak, and close to death. Saving him had also meant taking away his freedom.

That was what weighed on Asaad’s heart.

Ishaq thought to himself, (But if Lord Al hadn’t rescued Tama back then, he would’ve starved or been killed by predators.)

He could still remember clearly—the crows and hawks circling overhead, waiting for the right moment to dive down upon the dying lion. Had Asaad left Tama there, they would have devoured his body within moments.

“Lord Al…”

Asaad’s voice was calm, almost startlingly so.

“But… maybe I was just being cowardly. Trying to find a way around things—that’s not like me.
If that’s how it is, then let both Asaad and Al stand before her. Let Yuzu be the one to choose.”

“Lord Al—what do you mean by—”

Ishaq didn’t even have time to finish his question.

“Let’s go, Ishaq! To bring back my bride!”

Asaad Al-Aziz raised his voice to the heavens, shouting beneath the canopy of a thousand stars.