Arkan looked very excited and asked for agreement as if to say, "Isn't that so?", but Erdene's reaction was lukewarm.
If it were normal, she would have immediately thrown a tantrum and retorted childishly, but she seemed to not care at all because she was so happy.
"Isn't this a place that makes you full just by looking at it?"
"Isn't it like I married a cricket?"
Arkan's brow furrowed slightly at Erdene's merciless retort.
"Food for the soul! It means that your heart will be enriched. A cricket? How absurd. Who lives by eating books?"
“Your Majesty, I think it would be easy for you to eat one or two. Anyway, I’ll go. Just reading books makes me sick to my stomach instead of filling me up.”
Arkan turned around and blocked her path as she tried to leave.
It was quite funny to see a man with his arms outstretched, but... Erdene bit the inside of her cheek and made a deliberately fierce expression.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“You can’t go.”
“Can’t go? I have legs too.”
“I let you beat up Belen Wiziard. So you should make one of my dreams come true.”
Erdene snorted in shock.
“What kind of dream is that?”
Arkan smiled. It was a gentle smile mixed with excitement.
He hugged the books he was holding in both hands and spoke in a serious voice.
“I dreamed of a life where I could read books with my wife and discuss them without realizing it.”
Erdene nodded.
“It’s a wonderful dream. Keep dreaming. Dreams are happiest when they don’t come true. Then I’ll leave...”
Arkan’s sharp words flew at the back of Erdene’s head as she took a big step forward.
“You know it’s so funny when you say that, right?”
Damn. Erdene stopped walking and twisted her lips with an expression of suppressed anger.
‘Isn’t there a big book somewhere? Threaten me by putting it in between and crushing it.’
Unfortunately, among all those books, there weren’t any huge books that could be of any use to Erdene.
There were some that were so big that you wondered if they were books or just models, but they seemed like they could crush Arkan’s face.
And Erdene didn’t really want his face to be crushed...
‘I told you, the only thing I could look at was his face.’
Without knowing what Erdene was thinking, Arkan took the two books he had chosen and sat down on the soft sofa.
The cushions were slumped comfortably, probably because it was where he always sat.
“Come and sit down instead of standing. Oh, right. I have something you might like.”
Arkan rang the bell and a servant came in with a small box. It was simply wrapped in paper, and a ribbon decoration was attached to it, making it look cute. Erdene, who always backed away from cute and adorable things, frowned as soon as she saw the box.
“What is it?”
“I said it’s something you might like. Can you guess what it is?”
Erdene strode over to Arkan with a helpless stride and plopped down next to him.
This time, too, she was so focused on the box that she didn’t notice Arkan’s suspicious smile again.
Erdene, who had been staring at the box for a long time as if he were having a staring contest with it, said,
“The things I like won’t fit in a box this small, Your Majesty. My distribution is a bit big.”
It was a sarcastic remark that meant, “You must have brought me something small as a gift because your distribution is small.”
A blue vein appeared on Arkan’s temple, still smiling suspiciously, and quickly disappeared.
“Size isn’t everything. Don’t you know what rarity is?”
Erdene snorted.
“Did you catch a talking toad somewhere?”
“Oh, I’m still raising that one. The tadpoles aren’t growing at all.”
Erdene sighed and finally opened the box’s packaging—or rather, tore it—. Erdene threw the soft ribbon across the table and opened the lid by carelessly ripping through the paper. Her expression became indescribably strange.
“...What is this?”
Inside the box was a rubber dragon toy that Arkan had stolen from among Pelarhar’s otherworldly memorabilia.
Erdene stared into the box for a while as if she couldn’t believe what she saw, then looked at Arkan, then looked at the box again.
In the meantime, one question was growing in her head.
What on earth did he do to be smiling so proudly?
“Did the mole you raised bring it to you? Are you saying thank you for feeding it and putting it to bed?”
“I don’t raise moles. The nose is disgusting. It’s quite fun. It’s disgusting, but I keep pressing it.”
Then Arkan took the rubber dragon out of the box and pressed it hard.
Erdene’s expression became even more bizarre as its two eyes and tongue swelled and popped out.
“Try it.”
“Why did I... No, don’t squeeze it. Oh, damn it. It’s squishy!”
When she forcefully put strength into her hand, the dragon’s eyes popped out again. Erdene frowned and looked at the dragon in her hand, then squeezed it again.
And once more...
“See, isn’t it fun? I thought you’d like it.”
Arkan said calmly and placed a thin book on Erdene’s lap.
“Let’s start with this.”
“How can you read something you don’t even know what it’s about? Have you already forgotten? I didn’t learn the characters used in the inland.”
“I knew you would, so I prepared something easy. It would be good to start with the basics, so read this. It’s a great book for learning characters. I read this when I was two.”
Erdene felt the urge to squeeze Arkan’s smiling face like a rubber dragon...
As she thought about it, her hand must have tightened without her knowing.
The rubber dragon’s eyes, which had been bulging precariously, suddenly burst with a bang!
Arkan looked at the dragon, who could not open his eyes for a moment, with a shocked expression.
“Did you kill the dragon just now?”
“Thank you for making me a dragon slayer.”
Erdene threw the dragon with its eyes burst out and shook the book Arkan had handed her.
“Are you kidding me? You want me to read the book that Your Majesty read when you were two?”
“No, why are you getting angry? I heard that you’ve been practicing your handwriting hard lately. That’s why I’m trying to help you, so why are you getting all angry all of a sudden?”
“This is really useless help.”
Erdene slammed the book down on the table and tried to get up.
But at that moment, Arkan wrapped his arms around her waist and sat her back down.
No one had ever hugged Erdene like this before, so she couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Arkan said,
“You can’t go. Aren’t we a married couple? A married couple enjoys each other’s hobbies together.”
“This is unbelievable. When did you share my hobby with me?”
“Didn’t you know? When you were beating up Belen at the parade grounds earlier, I was cheering you on instead of Belen getting beaten up.”
Then, Arkhan held Erdene’s waist tightly with one arm—ready to grab her if she flinched—and began reading a book.
"Isn't this a place that makes you full just by looking at it?"
"Isn't it like I married a cricket?"
Arkan's brow furrowed slightly at Erdene's merciless retort.
"Food for the soul! It means that your heart will be enriched. A cricket? How absurd. Who lives by eating books?"
“Your Majesty, I think it would be easy for you to eat one or two. Anyway, I’ll go. Just reading books makes me sick to my stomach instead of filling me up.”
Arkan turned around and blocked her path as she tried to leave.
It was quite funny to see a man with his arms outstretched, but... Erdene bit the inside of her cheek and made a deliberately fierce expression.
“What is it, Your Majesty?”
“You can’t go.”
“Can’t go? I have legs too.”
“I let you beat up Belen Wiziard. So you should make one of my dreams come true.”
Erdene snorted in shock.
“What kind of dream is that?”
Arkan smiled. It was a gentle smile mixed with excitement.
He hugged the books he was holding in both hands and spoke in a serious voice.
“I dreamed of a life where I could read books with my wife and discuss them without realizing it.”
Erdene nodded.
“It’s a wonderful dream. Keep dreaming. Dreams are happiest when they don’t come true. Then I’ll leave...”
Arkan’s sharp words flew at the back of Erdene’s head as she took a big step forward.
“You know it’s so funny when you say that, right?”
Damn. Erdene stopped walking and twisted her lips with an expression of suppressed anger.
‘Isn’t there a big book somewhere? Threaten me by putting it in between and crushing it.’
Unfortunately, among all those books, there weren’t any huge books that could be of any use to Erdene.
There were some that were so big that you wondered if they were books or just models, but they seemed like they could crush Arkan’s face.
And Erdene didn’t really want his face to be crushed...
‘I told you, the only thing I could look at was his face.’
Without knowing what Erdene was thinking, Arkan took the two books he had chosen and sat down on the soft sofa.
The cushions were slumped comfortably, probably because it was where he always sat.
“Come and sit down instead of standing. Oh, right. I have something you might like.”
Arkan rang the bell and a servant came in with a small box. It was simply wrapped in paper, and a ribbon decoration was attached to it, making it look cute. Erdene, who always backed away from cute and adorable things, frowned as soon as she saw the box.
“What is it?”
“I said it’s something you might like. Can you guess what it is?”
Erdene strode over to Arkan with a helpless stride and plopped down next to him.
This time, too, she was so focused on the box that she didn’t notice Arkan’s suspicious smile again.
Erdene, who had been staring at the box for a long time as if he were having a staring contest with it, said,
“The things I like won’t fit in a box this small, Your Majesty. My distribution is a bit big.”
It was a sarcastic remark that meant, “You must have brought me something small as a gift because your distribution is small.”
A blue vein appeared on Arkan’s temple, still smiling suspiciously, and quickly disappeared.
“Size isn’t everything. Don’t you know what rarity is?”
Erdene snorted.
“Did you catch a talking toad somewhere?”
“Oh, I’m still raising that one. The tadpoles aren’t growing at all.”
Erdene sighed and finally opened the box’s packaging—or rather, tore it—. Erdene threw the soft ribbon across the table and opened the lid by carelessly ripping through the paper. Her expression became indescribably strange.
“...What is this?”
Inside the box was a rubber dragon toy that Arkan had stolen from among Pelarhar’s otherworldly memorabilia.
Erdene stared into the box for a while as if she couldn’t believe what she saw, then looked at Arkan, then looked at the box again.
In the meantime, one question was growing in her head.
What on earth did he do to be smiling so proudly?
“Did the mole you raised bring it to you? Are you saying thank you for feeding it and putting it to bed?”
“I don’t raise moles. The nose is disgusting. It’s quite fun. It’s disgusting, but I keep pressing it.”
Then Arkan took the rubber dragon out of the box and pressed it hard.
Erdene’s expression became even more bizarre as its two eyes and tongue swelled and popped out.
“Try it.”
“Why did I... No, don’t squeeze it. Oh, damn it. It’s squishy!”
When she forcefully put strength into her hand, the dragon’s eyes popped out again. Erdene frowned and looked at the dragon in her hand, then squeezed it again.
And once more...
“See, isn’t it fun? I thought you’d like it.”
Arkan said calmly and placed a thin book on Erdene’s lap.
“Let’s start with this.”
“How can you read something you don’t even know what it’s about? Have you already forgotten? I didn’t learn the characters used in the inland.”
“I knew you would, so I prepared something easy. It would be good to start with the basics, so read this. It’s a great book for learning characters. I read this when I was two.”
Erdene felt the urge to squeeze Arkan’s smiling face like a rubber dragon...
As she thought about it, her hand must have tightened without her knowing.
The rubber dragon’s eyes, which had been bulging precariously, suddenly burst with a bang!
Arkan looked at the dragon, who could not open his eyes for a moment, with a shocked expression.
“Did you kill the dragon just now?”
“Thank you for making me a dragon slayer.”
Erdene threw the dragon with its eyes burst out and shook the book Arkan had handed her.
“Are you kidding me? You want me to read the book that Your Majesty read when you were two?”
“No, why are you getting angry? I heard that you’ve been practicing your handwriting hard lately. That’s why I’m trying to help you, so why are you getting all angry all of a sudden?”
“This is really useless help.”
Erdene slammed the book down on the table and tried to get up.
But at that moment, Arkan wrapped his arms around her waist and sat her back down.
No one had ever hugged Erdene like this before, so she couldn’t hide her bewilderment.
Arkan said,
“You can’t go. Aren’t we a married couple? A married couple enjoys each other’s hobbies together.”
“This is unbelievable. When did you share my hobby with me?”
“Didn’t you know? When you were beating up Belen at the parade grounds earlier, I was cheering you on instead of Belen getting beaten up.”
Then, Arkhan held Erdene’s waist tightly with one arm—ready to grab her if she flinched—and began reading a book.
Erdene sighed and opened the book, unable to just sit there blankly, but unable to mourn the poor dragon whose eye had burst out either. He’d read it when she was two, so it must have been written in large letters on every page for toddlers, and there were illustrations of cheerful-looking earth nymphs chattering nonsensically like “apple,” “mom,” and “be quiet.”
"This is going to drive me crazy.”
While Erdene was receiving Pelarhar’s rubber dragon as a gift, Belen, who had fainted, woke up.
It was hard to open his eyes as if someone had placed a rock on his eyelids, and his vision was blurry.
But strangely, he felt that someone was sitting next to him.
He mustered up all his strength to lift his eyelids and try to see the face of his special subordinate who was guarding him.
But it wasn’t his subordinate. The person guarding him was Sophia Fiddler.
“No, I...!”
Belen, who was trying to get up in surprise, let out a groan.
His back and shoulders were all sore. While his entire body was screaming as if it was going to die, Sophia lightly touched Belen’s shoulder.
“Just lie down. The doctor said that you’d be in so much pain that you’d rather die than walk around on your own two feet for about five days.”
“T-It’s not that bad.”
He tried to cough, but it wasn’t easy.
Belen crouched down, clutching his aching abdomen and rib cage, and swallowed a groan.
However, even in that much pain, it was impossible not to be aware of Sophia Fiddler’s presence.
Belen could smell the faint scent of lilac and wisteria coming from her.
He couldn’t believe that a clean, small white hand as if it had never even been cut on paper, was patting his shoulder.
“Would you like some water, Sir?”
Belen looked up, startled.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Why bother the Marquis’s daughter...”
Sophia smirked at his flushed face.
Then, as if she had prepared it in advance, she immediately brought a cup of water and a spoon.
"This is going to drive me crazy.”
***
While Erdene was receiving Pelarhar’s rubber dragon as a gift, Belen, who had fainted, woke up.
It was hard to open his eyes as if someone had placed a rock on his eyelids, and his vision was blurry.
But strangely, he felt that someone was sitting next to him.
He mustered up all his strength to lift his eyelids and try to see the face of his special subordinate who was guarding him.
But it wasn’t his subordinate. The person guarding him was Sophia Fiddler.
“No, I...!”
Belen, who was trying to get up in surprise, let out a groan.
His back and shoulders were all sore. While his entire body was screaming as if it was going to die, Sophia lightly touched Belen’s shoulder.
“Just lie down. The doctor said that you’d be in so much pain that you’d rather die than walk around on your own two feet for about five days.”
“T-It’s not that bad.”
He tried to cough, but it wasn’t easy.
Belen crouched down, clutching his aching abdomen and rib cage, and swallowed a groan.
However, even in that much pain, it was impossible not to be aware of Sophia Fiddler’s presence.
Belen could smell the faint scent of lilac and wisteria coming from her.
He couldn’t believe that a clean, small white hand as if it had never even been cut on paper, was patting his shoulder.
“Would you like some water, Sir?”
Belen looked up, startled.
“Oh, no. It’s fine. Why bother the Marquis’s daughter...”
Sophia smirked at his flushed face.
Then, as if she had prepared it in advance, she immediately brought a cup of water and a spoon.
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