Erdene frowned and opened her lips, feeling dumbfounded. She must have put so much strength into her entire body that she could feel the thin fabric of her gown being pulled taut.
However, Arkan seemed unaware of this fact—or perhaps he was pretending not to—and spoke in a completely serious yet sly manner.
“Since you can’t answer, I guess I hit the nail on the head. You’re so worried, you really are cute.”
I can’t stand it anymore!
However, Arkan seemed unaware of this fact—or perhaps he was pretending not to—and spoke in a completely serious yet sly manner.
“Since you can’t answer, I guess I hit the nail on the head. You’re so worried, you really are cute.”
I can’t stand it anymore!
Erdene clenched her fist and slammed the armrest of the chair with all her might.
After a dull sound, a moment later as if he had forgotten, a cracking sound followed, and the sound of the solid wood splitting apart.
This time, it was Arkan’s turn to open his mouth.
He stared blankly at the armrest that had been hit by Erdene’s fist and was no longer functioning.
“No, now... What are you doing? Did you break the chair?”
“Cancel.”
Arkan blinked in bewilderment, forgetting what he had been talking about while staring at the broken armrest. His long eyelashes formed a thin, dense shadow as his eyelids moved up and down, then faded away.
Erdene said,
“Didn’t you hear? Cancel!”
“Cancel what?”
“You said I was cute or something. Cancel.”
Only then was Arkan able to put the mess he had made together in his head—but even when he looked again, he couldn’t believe it.
How on earth can you do that with a fist?—He immediately burst into laughter.
He knew that laughing wouldn’t make things better, but he couldn’t help it.
“What if I can’t? I didn’t say anything I couldn’t say, and I can’t even say cute?”
Erdene frowned and showed her teeth.
But it might be different on a battlefield armed with armor, swords, and fiercely heated spirits. In the dimly lit bridal chamber decorated with flowers and wine, it was difficult to fully reveal her appearance as a beast of a battlefield.
Arkan looked down at Erdene’s face with a look of astonishment.
What on earth was wrong with her? Did being called cute make a pimple grow under her tongue?
Erdene said,
“There’s no one in the world who would dare say something so awkward to me.”
It was almost a threat. However, Arkan, who had already gotten used to Erdene’s fiery temper, laughed back.
“Here he is. Your husband.”
“Are you really going to do it?”
At this point, Arkan also lost his composure, but he still maintained his calm demeanor and said.
“I don’t see why you need to get so worked up over a few words. When I said you were cute, it was just a friendly remark.”
After a dull sound, a moment later as if he had forgotten, a cracking sound followed, and the sound of the solid wood splitting apart.
This time, it was Arkan’s turn to open his mouth.
He stared blankly at the armrest that had been hit by Erdene’s fist and was no longer functioning.
“No, now... What are you doing? Did you break the chair?”
“Cancel.”
Arkan blinked in bewilderment, forgetting what he had been talking about while staring at the broken armrest. His long eyelashes formed a thin, dense shadow as his eyelids moved up and down, then faded away.
Erdene said,
“Didn’t you hear? Cancel!”
“Cancel what?”
“You said I was cute or something. Cancel.”
Only then was Arkan able to put the mess he had made together in his head—but even when he looked again, he couldn’t believe it.
How on earth can you do that with a fist?—He immediately burst into laughter.
He knew that laughing wouldn’t make things better, but he couldn’t help it.
“What if I can’t? I didn’t say anything I couldn’t say, and I can’t even say cute?”
Erdene frowned and showed her teeth.
But it might be different on a battlefield armed with armor, swords, and fiercely heated spirits. In the dimly lit bridal chamber decorated with flowers and wine, it was difficult to fully reveal her appearance as a beast of a battlefield.
Arkan looked down at Erdene’s face with a look of astonishment.
What on earth was wrong with her? Did being called cute make a pimple grow under her tongue?
Erdene said,
“There’s no one in the world who would dare say something so awkward to me.”
It was almost a threat. However, Arkan, who had already gotten used to Erdene’s fiery temper, laughed back.
“Here he is. Your husband.”
“Are you really going to do it?”
At this point, Arkan also lost his composure, but he still maintained his calm demeanor and said.
“I don’t see why you need to get so worked up over a few words. When I said you were cute, it was just a friendly remark.”
The moment he finished speaking, Erdene frowned with a different expression than before and said,
“Why are you suddenly talking about setting fire?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just said it was ignition.”
“What’s wrong with that...?”
Arkan’s face, which had been asking incredulously, suddenly flashed with the words, "No way.”
“Why are you suddenly talking about setting fire?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just said it was ignition.”
“What’s wrong with that...?”
Arkan’s face, which had been asking incredulously, suddenly flashed with the words, "No way.”
“Are you confusing ‘ignition’ with ‘arson’?”
Erdene’s shoulders flinched.
She made a bewildered expression as if she didn’t understand Arkan’s words, and then immediately turned her head away from him.
“Damn the common language. It’s confusing because the pronunciations are all similar!”
Her fist struck the poor armrest once more. The splintered pieces of wood could no longer hold out and fell down with a thud.
Erdene was muttering something in a slur, which seemed to be a curse word used in the empire, a dialectal one at that.
At that moment, Arkan noticed that Erdene’s ears, which were stubbornly turning away from him, were slightly red.
Seeing the small ear with a thin scar turned red, Arkan was once again overcome by the strange feeling from before.
The strange excitement and impulse that ran from the back of his knees to the inside of his thighs and up his spine made his fingertips twitch.
However, before Arkan’s hand could touch her hair, Erdene suddenly stood up without warning.
“What are you doing?”
Erdene turned around to Arkan as if asking a question.
“I’m going to bed.”
“You do know that today is our first night, right?”
Erdene’s lips closed silently.
She glanced at Arkan’s hair, which was much softer than usual, his face, which was faintly flushed—due to the argument—and his body, which was covered in clothes that showed off his flesh.
‘I thought he would be lean and muscular because he was always at his desk, but he’s not like that, surprisingly.’
Erdene’s shoulders flinched.
She made a bewildered expression as if she didn’t understand Arkan’s words, and then immediately turned her head away from him.
“Damn the common language. It’s confusing because the pronunciations are all similar!”
Her fist struck the poor armrest once more. The splintered pieces of wood could no longer hold out and fell down with a thud.
Erdene was muttering something in a slur, which seemed to be a curse word used in the empire, a dialectal one at that.
At that moment, Arkan noticed that Erdene’s ears, which were stubbornly turning away from him, were slightly red.
Seeing the small ear with a thin scar turned red, Arkan was once again overcome by the strange feeling from before.
The strange excitement and impulse that ran from the back of his knees to the inside of his thighs and up his spine made his fingertips twitch.
However, before Arkan’s hand could touch her hair, Erdene suddenly stood up without warning.
“What are you doing?”
Erdene turned around to Arkan as if asking a question.
“I’m going to bed.”
“You do know that today is our first night, right?”
Erdene’s lips closed silently.
She glanced at Arkan’s hair, which was much softer than usual, his face, which was faintly flushed—due to the argument—and his body, which was covered in clothes that showed off his flesh.
‘I thought he would be lean and muscular because he was always at his desk, but he’s not like that, surprisingly.’
She could see his well-proportioned chest, his strong stomach, and his shoulders, which were straight and straight.
Erdene felt her mouth dry without realizing it, and she turned her head, biting her tongue.
“Let’s just move on. I’ll sleep in the other room, so Your Majesty, you can sleep here or whatever you want.”
As she started to walk away with long strides, Arkan, bewildered, chased after Erdene.
“No, wait a minute. What are you doing?”
“Let’s sleep apart!”
“Are you going to give me my blessing right now? Since our first night together?”
“Oh my God, did I kick you out? I’m just saying we should sleep apart!”
The voices grew louder.
If anyone had been passing by outside, they would have thought that the newlywed royal couple had been waging war since the first night... but neither of them paid any attention.
“What I mean is, why are you sleeping separately?”
Erdene looked at Arkan’s face once more.
Suddenly, she remembered the day she first saw him.
The feeling of wanting to punch that smooth and clean face that was rarely seen in the empire...
Right now, she was feeling the same.
For some reason, her whole body was ticklish, her forehead was burning and cooling repeatedly, and she couldn’t breathe naturally, so she wanted to beat him up right in front of her...
“Why, why! I just don’t want to sleep with Your Majesty!”
Arkan finally became angry and shut his mouth tightly before turning around.
His back rose slightly as he turned around without any regrets, then slowly sank as if trying to calm down.
Arkan said,
“If you don’t want to, then I understand. I won’t be sharing a room with you again. Please go and sleep comfortably alone.”
With that, he strode to the wide bed and lay down without even covering himself with a sheet.
The fragrant flowers, the wine, the candles that chased away the darkness with their cozy swaying. Was it because all of that was useless? Arkan’s back turned away from Erdene, looked lonely for some reason.
Erdene unconsciously felt a little sorry upon seeing that, and then turned her head away in annoyance, startled by herself.
‘Damn it, this isn’t something I should do! Sorry? Me sorry? Who on earth am I apologizing to for what!’
There was a sound of the door closing.
Arkan, who had been stubbornly keeping his eyes closed, jerked up.
“I’m going because you told me to.”
After that fiery first night—of course, not in the universal sense—Erdene was completely out of her mind due to the myriad of things that swept in like the winter north wind.
Born and raised in the imperial palace, she spent her childhood in the parade grounds rather than by her mother’s side, so she didn’t really know what the Empress or Queen did all day.
Often, when she ran in to see her mother covered in dust, her mother would sit quietly sewing or reading a book, or sitting and drinking tea and chatting with the ladies of various noble families.
“Oh, how wonderful it would be.”
“What are you talking about, Erdene?”
“We can play together. I’m going to be an Emperor like Father, but Father is always busy.”
When she was a child who didn’t know what was going on, she had said such things without a care in the world.
The Empress, who was generous to her children and others, only pretended to give her daughter a hard time for her stubborn words, but Erdene herself couldn’t do it.
Erdene felt her mouth dry without realizing it, and she turned her head, biting her tongue.
“Let’s just move on. I’ll sleep in the other room, so Your Majesty, you can sleep here or whatever you want.”
As she started to walk away with long strides, Arkan, bewildered, chased after Erdene.
“No, wait a minute. What are you doing?”
“Let’s sleep apart!”
“Are you going to give me my blessing right now? Since our first night together?”
“Oh my God, did I kick you out? I’m just saying we should sleep apart!”
The voices grew louder.
If anyone had been passing by outside, they would have thought that the newlywed royal couple had been waging war since the first night... but neither of them paid any attention.
“What I mean is, why are you sleeping separately?”
Erdene looked at Arkan’s face once more.
Suddenly, she remembered the day she first saw him.
The feeling of wanting to punch that smooth and clean face that was rarely seen in the empire...
Right now, she was feeling the same.
For some reason, her whole body was ticklish, her forehead was burning and cooling repeatedly, and she couldn’t breathe naturally, so she wanted to beat him up right in front of her...
“Why, why! I just don’t want to sleep with Your Majesty!”
Arkan finally became angry and shut his mouth tightly before turning around.
His back rose slightly as he turned around without any regrets, then slowly sank as if trying to calm down.
Arkan said,
“If you don’t want to, then I understand. I won’t be sharing a room with you again. Please go and sleep comfortably alone.”
With that, he strode to the wide bed and lay down without even covering himself with a sheet.
The fragrant flowers, the wine, the candles that chased away the darkness with their cozy swaying. Was it because all of that was useless? Arkan’s back turned away from Erdene, looked lonely for some reason.
Erdene unconsciously felt a little sorry upon seeing that, and then turned her head away in annoyance, startled by herself.
‘Damn it, this isn’t something I should do! Sorry? Me sorry? Who on earth am I apologizing to for what!’
There was a sound of the door closing.
Arkan, who had been stubbornly keeping his eyes closed, jerked up.
“I’m going because you told me to.”
***
After that fiery first night—of course, not in the universal sense—Erdene was completely out of her mind due to the myriad of things that swept in like the winter north wind.
Born and raised in the imperial palace, she spent her childhood in the parade grounds rather than by her mother’s side, so she didn’t really know what the Empress or Queen did all day.
Often, when she ran in to see her mother covered in dust, her mother would sit quietly sewing or reading a book, or sitting and drinking tea and chatting with the ladies of various noble families.
“Oh, how wonderful it would be.”
“What are you talking about, Erdene?”
“We can play together. I’m going to be an Emperor like Father, but Father is always busy.”
When she was a child who didn’t know what was going on, she had said such things without a care in the world.
The Empress, who was generous to her children and others, only pretended to give her daughter a hard time for her stubborn words, but Erdene herself couldn’t do it.
“If I were in front of you back then, I would hang you upside down, shake you, tie you to a tree branch, and beat your butt.”
As she wrote the reply, which was already several pages long, she ground her teeth at her past self.
When she was told that she had to write a reply to each and every congratulatory letter from all over, Erdene felt like fainting.
“His Majesty is probably writing the reply himself. He is a very good writer, but it will take him half a day to think about the right words and sentences.”
Sophia said, but it did not comfort Erdene at all.
Besides not wanting to write, she had another serious problem.
“I don’t know the script used in the Kingdom! Damn it, I’ve never written a report from a battlefield!”
“Then who...”
“The adjutants will write it!”
Erdene slammed the table.
Sophia absentmindedly and quickly put away the open inkwell and the most expensive ornaments.
“I can tell you the text, Your Majesty. If you tell me how Your Majesty would like to reply, I can write it down and show it to you.”
“Don’t show it to me, just send it for me, Sophia. You want to write it. I’m not good at fiddling around with a pen.”
“That won’t do.”
Erdene immediately turned sour when Sophia answered firmly.
As she wrote the reply, which was already several pages long, she ground her teeth at her past self.
When she was told that she had to write a reply to each and every congratulatory letter from all over, Erdene felt like fainting.
“His Majesty is probably writing the reply himself. He is a very good writer, but it will take him half a day to think about the right words and sentences.”
Sophia said, but it did not comfort Erdene at all.
Besides not wanting to write, she had another serious problem.
“I don’t know the script used in the Kingdom! Damn it, I’ve never written a report from a battlefield!”
“Then who...”
“The adjutants will write it!”
Erdene slammed the table.
Sophia absentmindedly and quickly put away the open inkwell and the most expensive ornaments.
“I can tell you the text, Your Majesty. If you tell me how Your Majesty would like to reply, I can write it down and show it to you.”
“Don’t show it to me, just send it for me, Sophia. You want to write it. I’m not good at fiddling around with a pen.”
“That won’t do.”
Erdene immediately turned sour when Sophia answered firmly.
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