When Sophia came back alone, Erdene, who was lying in bed, jumped up and pulled back the sheets.
She was acting in case Arkan would come in without permission.
“What did you say?”
More, who had been hiding in a small separate room inside, quietly walked out with an innocent expression that belied her age.
Sophia looked at her and Erdene alternately and answered calmly as usual.
“His Majesty told me to send a message as soon as you wake up. He also said that you should have dinner together tonight.”
After hearing Sophia’s answer, Erdene collapsed back down and burst out laughing.
“Huh, that’s only natural. Didn’t he say anything else?”
Sophia thought about it for a moment and then said,
“His Majesty asked me what was wrong and asked if it would be resolved by just lying down without calling the palace doctor.”
Erdene snorted loudly again. Sophia continued,
“And he said he would just see your face for a moment.”
At this, More, who had sat close to the bed, made a face that seemed to be at a loss for what to do with amusement.
“Look, Your Majesty. His Majesty is getting anxious right away. Is it effective?”
“That kind of reaction is normal. How can I know if he is asking because he is anxious or because he is happy that I am lying down?”
It was a response that seemed to say that she was absolutely not satisfied, but there was a certain satisfaction in Erdene’s voice.
In any case, the fact that Arkan had come to see her first was enough to relieve her a little.
Erdene said,
“And what else did you want me to do, Viscountess?”
More answered with a flushed face.
“First of all, skip dinner tonight.”
Erdene raised her eyebrows.
“Are you really telling me to starve?”
“No! Didn’t His Majesty ask to have dinner with you? Just said you weren’t feeling well and had no appetite, so you declined.”
“Yes, what next?”
“Just said you would go to bed early tonight, and you would eat breakfast together tomorrow morning...”
“While doing that?”
“Shed a few tears.”
Erdene, who had been listening like an innocent student, suddenly furrowed her brow.
“Tears? How can I shed tears all of a sudden? I haven’t cried since I was four.”
More’s pupils shook violently in confusion.
“You, you don’t have to really cry. Just pretend to, Your Majesty. You don’t have to cry hard. Just sigh lightly...”
“It’s like this.”
More cleared her throat, then suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth with an expression that seemed to embrace all the worries of the world.
Perhaps because she was middle-aged, she looked even more gloomy with wrinkles between her eyebrows and around her eyes.
While Erdene stared in surprise at the tears quickly forming in her eyes that had been twitching shallowly, she let out a groaning sigh with a trembling sound.
“It’s like this, how is it?”
Erdene, who was just blinking, said.
“Like a goat with a stomachache.”
“Stomach... Ah, anyway, this is what you should do.”
“Sigh like a goat with a stomachache?”
“It’s a feeble sigh, but... Oh, anyway, trust me and try this, Your Majesty.”
“You always beat your husband with this method?”
“Of course. Now, he doesn’t even get to the point of sighing.”
Erdene slapped the sheet with her palm.
“Okay, I’ll do as you say.”
“You’ll definitely succeed.”
When permission to return was given, More hurried out, her face flushed like when she first came to the palace.
She was happy... In fact, she was happier than yesterday! It was because she thought she had helped both Erdene and Arkan.
Thinking about Erdene’s plan to ‘dry up your blood’ when Arkan was angry made her feel a chill down her neck.
‘I persuaded you well, I persuaded you well. If Your Majesty says ‘I will dry up your blood’, then it is true. But if you are that angry, then even His Majesty...'
“Lady Wickes.”
“Oh my!”
As Moore left the palace with much lighter steps, she staggered in shock.
Fortunately, the servant next to her had quickly supported her, otherwise, she would have broken her head.
No, would it have been better if her head had been broken? Moore's face was pale and he looked around.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. How is it...? Ah, no. I greet Your Majesty.”
She belatedly bowed as if nothing had happened, but her feet got tangled in the hem of her dress and she stumbled again.
Arkan crossed his arms, staring down at Moore, then narrowed his eyes faintly.
“You, were you at the Queen’s Palace just now?”
“Yes? The Queen’s Palace. No, yes. Ah, no.”
Arkan’s eyes narrowed even further.
“You were, or weren’t you? Which way?”
“T, uh, uh. Come, see Her Majesty... That’s not right, Your Majesty, but Her Majesty is sick...”
“Hmm, really? That’s strange. I stopped by the Queen’s Palace a little while ago and heard the same thing and was kicked out without even seeing the Queen’s face. Not even ten minutes had passed and I was still standing here, and when and where on earth did you try to enter the palace? Was there a secret passage that I don’t know about?”
This is impossible! Moore shut her eyes tightly. She was not the type to lie. She was not shameless, nor was she that bold. It was also clear that further excuses would be useless.
“Your Majesty... Well, uh...”
Arkan smiled.
“Follow me, Viscountess Wickes. Let’s go and have some tea.”
“Yes? Tea, tea.”
“Yes, don’t you think there’s time for tea? Then you can go back with Viscount Wickes. I have more than a few questions for you, but it won’t take long.”
Erdene decided to have dinner earlier than usual, not even dreaming that Arkan, who had been standing guard on the way out of the palace, had grabbed Moore.
Since she was planning to lock herself in the room under the pretext of being sick from early evening, she decided that it would be better to fill her stomach early and close the palace tightly.
“This is my first time defending a castle.”
Erdene said with a very happy expression while eating a honey-glazed minced meat sandwich with sweet and sour onion.
Sophia poured sauce on it little by little and filled her glass whenever it was empty.
“Sophia.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What do you think the Viscountess’s plan is?”
Sophia’s eyes moved slowly.
“Well, I have never experienced this kind of... the tug-of-war between lovers, so it’s hard for me to say. However, I think this is better than what Your Majesty originally thought.”
The strategies Erdene came up with to ‘dry up’ Arkan were all brutal.
Among them, some things made it seem more humane to really 'dry' Arkan, so Sophia had no choice but to agree to Moore's obvious strategy, even though she hesitated.
If she was not careful, Arkan might end up dried out and turned into jerky covered in herbs and salt.
'Your Majesty owes me one thing.'
As Sophia thought with a calm expression, Erdene said with a dissatisfied expression.
"The problem is tomorrow morning. How on earth can I cry? I can only make a sound like a goat with twisted intestines."
"Tears, I wonder if you really need to shed them. It's not unusual for Your Majesty to sigh like that, so I think His Majesty will be able to understand it."
"Yes, that's right."
Erdene nodded and popped half of a plum with the pit removed into her mouth.
If there was one good thing in the Kingdom of Vetor, it was plums.
She loved summer fruits like plums, apricots, and peaches, but sweet and juicy fruits like these were hard to come by in the empire.
The harvest was poor, so only the imperial family could taste the good ones, but one out of three was either underripe or sour.
However, Vetor’s plums were juicy and fine-grained, and when you bit into them, their sweet flavor soaked your tongue so much that your mind would spin.
“The plums are sweet and delicious.”
“Their harvest is almost over, but the plums from this year’s harvest are still fresh. The remaining ones will probably be made into wine or honey preserves in the kitchen.”
“Plum wine! That would be delicious too. Is it still available?”
“Sabnake?”
Sabnake, who was cleaning a vase in the living room at Sophia’s call, immediately ran over.
“Did you call?”
“Her Majesty is looking for it, so, go to the kitchen and ask if there’s any plum wine left. I’ll make it the year before last or the year before that.”
“Yes, I’ll be right back.”
Sabnake hid the dry cloth in her apron pocket and ran outside again.
It was the moment when Erdene smiled happily at the thought of tasting the first drink.
“Gah!”
It was Sabnake’s scream.
Erdene put down her spoon and stood up, and Sophia was also startled and tried to look outside.
Erdene’s eyes widened when she saw Arkan, who had pushed open the door and entered.
“What the heck...”
Erdene trailed off without realizing it.
Arkan looked back and forth between her, Sophia, and the table where dinner was almost finished, then frowned and placed both hands on his waist.
“You said you were sick and lying down, but it seems like you’re feeling better now?”
She was acting in case Arkan would come in without permission.
“What did you say?”
More, who had been hiding in a small separate room inside, quietly walked out with an innocent expression that belied her age.
Sophia looked at her and Erdene alternately and answered calmly as usual.
“His Majesty told me to send a message as soon as you wake up. He also said that you should have dinner together tonight.”
After hearing Sophia’s answer, Erdene collapsed back down and burst out laughing.
“Huh, that’s only natural. Didn’t he say anything else?”
Sophia thought about it for a moment and then said,
“His Majesty asked me what was wrong and asked if it would be resolved by just lying down without calling the palace doctor.”
Erdene snorted loudly again. Sophia continued,
“And he said he would just see your face for a moment.”
At this, More, who had sat close to the bed, made a face that seemed to be at a loss for what to do with amusement.
“Look, Your Majesty. His Majesty is getting anxious right away. Is it effective?”
“That kind of reaction is normal. How can I know if he is asking because he is anxious or because he is happy that I am lying down?”
It was a response that seemed to say that she was absolutely not satisfied, but there was a certain satisfaction in Erdene’s voice.
In any case, the fact that Arkan had come to see her first was enough to relieve her a little.
Erdene said,
“And what else did you want me to do, Viscountess?”
More answered with a flushed face.
“First of all, skip dinner tonight.”
Erdene raised her eyebrows.
“Are you really telling me to starve?”
“No! Didn’t His Majesty ask to have dinner with you? Just said you weren’t feeling well and had no appetite, so you declined.”
“Yes, what next?”
“Just said you would go to bed early tonight, and you would eat breakfast together tomorrow morning...”
“While doing that?”
“Shed a few tears.”
Erdene, who had been listening like an innocent student, suddenly furrowed her brow.
“Tears? How can I shed tears all of a sudden? I haven’t cried since I was four.”
More’s pupils shook violently in confusion.
“You, you don’t have to really cry. Just pretend to, Your Majesty. You don’t have to cry hard. Just sigh lightly...”
“What do you mean sigh?”
“It’s like this.”
More cleared her throat, then suddenly furrowed her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth with an expression that seemed to embrace all the worries of the world.
Perhaps because she was middle-aged, she looked even more gloomy with wrinkles between her eyebrows and around her eyes.
While Erdene stared in surprise at the tears quickly forming in her eyes that had been twitching shallowly, she let out a groaning sigh with a trembling sound.
“It’s like this, how is it?”
Erdene, who was just blinking, said.
“Like a goat with a stomachache.”
“Stomach... Ah, anyway, this is what you should do.”
“Sigh like a goat with a stomachache?”
“It’s a feeble sigh, but... Oh, anyway, trust me and try this, Your Majesty.”
“You always beat your husband with this method?”
“Of course. Now, he doesn’t even get to the point of sighing.”
Erdene slapped the sheet with her palm.
“Okay, I’ll do as you say.”
“You’ll definitely succeed.”
When permission to return was given, More hurried out, her face flushed like when she first came to the palace.
She was happy... In fact, she was happier than yesterday! It was because she thought she had helped both Erdene and Arkan.
Thinking about Erdene’s plan to ‘dry up your blood’ when Arkan was angry made her feel a chill down her neck.
‘I persuaded you well, I persuaded you well. If Your Majesty says ‘I will dry up your blood’, then it is true. But if you are that angry, then even His Majesty...'
“Lady Wickes.”
“Oh my!”
As Moore left the palace with much lighter steps, she staggered in shock.
Fortunately, the servant next to her had quickly supported her, otherwise, she would have broken her head.
No, would it have been better if her head had been broken? Moore's face was pale and he looked around.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. How is it...? Ah, no. I greet Your Majesty.”
She belatedly bowed as if nothing had happened, but her feet got tangled in the hem of her dress and she stumbled again.
Arkan crossed his arms, staring down at Moore, then narrowed his eyes faintly.
“You, were you at the Queen’s Palace just now?”
“Yes? The Queen’s Palace. No, yes. Ah, no.”
Arkan’s eyes narrowed even further.
“You were, or weren’t you? Which way?”
“T, uh, uh. Come, see Her Majesty... That’s not right, Your Majesty, but Her Majesty is sick...”
“Hmm, really? That’s strange. I stopped by the Queen’s Palace a little while ago and heard the same thing and was kicked out without even seeing the Queen’s face. Not even ten minutes had passed and I was still standing here, and when and where on earth did you try to enter the palace? Was there a secret passage that I don’t know about?”
This is impossible! Moore shut her eyes tightly. She was not the type to lie. She was not shameless, nor was she that bold. It was also clear that further excuses would be useless.
“Your Majesty... Well, uh...”
Arkan smiled.
“Follow me, Viscountess Wickes. Let’s go and have some tea.”
“Yes? Tea, tea.”
“Yes, don’t you think there’s time for tea? Then you can go back with Viscount Wickes. I have more than a few questions for you, but it won’t take long.”
***
Erdene decided to have dinner earlier than usual, not even dreaming that Arkan, who had been standing guard on the way out of the palace, had grabbed Moore.
Since she was planning to lock herself in the room under the pretext of being sick from early evening, she decided that it would be better to fill her stomach early and close the palace tightly.
“This is my first time defending a castle.”
Erdene said with a very happy expression while eating a honey-glazed minced meat sandwich with sweet and sour onion.
Sophia poured sauce on it little by little and filled her glass whenever it was empty.
“Sophia.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“What do you think the Viscountess’s plan is?”
Sophia’s eyes moved slowly.
“Well, I have never experienced this kind of... the tug-of-war between lovers, so it’s hard for me to say. However, I think this is better than what Your Majesty originally thought.”
The strategies Erdene came up with to ‘dry up’ Arkan were all brutal.
Among them, some things made it seem more humane to really 'dry' Arkan, so Sophia had no choice but to agree to Moore's obvious strategy, even though she hesitated.
If she was not careful, Arkan might end up dried out and turned into jerky covered in herbs and salt.
'Your Majesty owes me one thing.'
As Sophia thought with a calm expression, Erdene said with a dissatisfied expression.
"The problem is tomorrow morning. How on earth can I cry? I can only make a sound like a goat with twisted intestines."
"Tears, I wonder if you really need to shed them. It's not unusual for Your Majesty to sigh like that, so I think His Majesty will be able to understand it."
"Yes, that's right."
Erdene nodded and popped half of a plum with the pit removed into her mouth.
If there was one good thing in the Kingdom of Vetor, it was plums.
She loved summer fruits like plums, apricots, and peaches, but sweet and juicy fruits like these were hard to come by in the empire.
The harvest was poor, so only the imperial family could taste the good ones, but one out of three was either underripe or sour.
However, Vetor’s plums were juicy and fine-grained, and when you bit into them, their sweet flavor soaked your tongue so much that your mind would spin.
“The plums are sweet and delicious.”
“Their harvest is almost over, but the plums from this year’s harvest are still fresh. The remaining ones will probably be made into wine or honey preserves in the kitchen.”
“Plum wine! That would be delicious too. Is it still available?”
“Sabnake?”
Sabnake, who was cleaning a vase in the living room at Sophia’s call, immediately ran over.
“Did you call?”
“Her Majesty is looking for it, so, go to the kitchen and ask if there’s any plum wine left. I’ll make it the year before last or the year before that.”
“Yes, I’ll be right back.”
Sabnake hid the dry cloth in her apron pocket and ran outside again.
It was the moment when Erdene smiled happily at the thought of tasting the first drink.
“Gah!”
It was Sabnake’s scream.
Erdene put down her spoon and stood up, and Sophia was also startled and tried to look outside.
Erdene’s eyes widened when she saw Arkan, who had pushed open the door and entered.
“What the heck...”
Erdene trailed off without realizing it.
Arkan looked back and forth between her, Sophia, and the table where dinner was almost finished, then frowned and placed both hands on his waist.
“You said you were sick and lying down, but it seems like you’re feeling better now?”
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