Yes. Arkan thought. That’s the problem.
That was exactly the problem.
The biggest problem was the fact that Erdene and Pelarhar were somewhat, no, definitely not wrong.
Pelarhar lowered the corners of his lips and drove in a wedge.
“Honestly, isn’t that right?”
Arkan, who had been furrowing his brow furrowed fiercely as if he had bitten something bitter and was biting his lips, buried his face behind his palms. His tightly bent shoulders shook, and his heavy breathing escaped for a moment.
Arkan muttered.
“I think I made a mistake in getting married.”
Pelarhar let out a hollow laugh.
“Are you suddenly regretting it at this point?”
His rasping breathing stopped. And...
“Damn it! I’m going crazy!”
The shouts of anger filled Pelarhar’s dwelling and spread throughout.
He couldn’t see them, but the servants and maids who were standing in their places must have fallen backward in surprise.
Do you understand? Arkan thought, grumbling.
No one had told him, “Why are you yelling and making a fuss?” but he felt as if someone had said something like that.
No, he wished someone had come and started a fight like that.
Arkan, who had suddenly lost his temper after yelling, looked into the air and said,
“This isn’t me. Like this...”
Arkan frowned and covered his face with both hands again.
Then he let out a long groan as if someone had grabbed his side and twisted it.
Pelarhar, who was watching this half-laughing and half-pitying, said as he shook the ash from his cigarette case.
“If you’re going to go crazy like that, then get a divorce.”
Arkan’s eyes appeared between his fingers. His glaring gaze was so fierce that it felt like a cold wind was blowing through him.
“What did you say?”
Pelarhar shrugged.
“You two should just be a couple in name only, right? On New Year’s Day, birthdays, holidays... Well, just showing up together in public places like that. I heard that your grandfather and grandmother did the same thing.”
“Thank you for the helpful advice.”
Arkan’s pronunciation sounded awkward because his face was buried in his palms.
There was a moment of silence.
Pelarhar, ignoring both the unfinished chessboard and Arkan, continued smoking his cigarette, then raised his eyebrows slightly.
“If you do that, and if it’s okay with you, I’ll be Her Majesty’s mistress.”
Arkan’s hand that had been covering his face suddenly dropped. Then, his gaze, fiercer than before, pierced Pelarhar.
Even if Pelarhar had said, “Give me the crown on your head,” he wouldn’t have looked at her so fiercely.
“I’ll stab you in the eye.”
“I don’t feel like listening to nonsense.”
“Who said what? I wasn’t talking nonsense either. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I’m better than some punk who rolls in from nowhere.”
At that moment, Pelarhar’s thoughtless words once again brought an unpleasant scene to Arkhan’s eyes.
The scene of Erdene tightly embracing some ‘punk’ from the empire came to mind endlessly, spinning around and around. It spun around like a ride that children ride at a festival, spinning faster and faster, making him dizzy.
And then another, more shocking thought hit the back of Arkhan’s head.
“Pelahar, you. You knew that and didn’t tell me anything?”
Pelarhar looked at Arkan in bewilderment.
“What are you talking about? What do I know, and what don’t you say?”
“The Queen. I think she has a lover she left behind in the empire. You, you know this and are telling me indirectly?”
“This is serious.”
Pelarhar clicked his tongue internally and leaned toward Arkan, biting his tongue between his teeth.
“What are you talking about? The lover she left behind in the empire? Her Majesty? Who are you talking about?”
“How would I know? They all look the same.”
Arkan grumbled and thought for a moment.
That bastard—he wanted to curse more harshly, but his last bit of morality prevented him, and he grew even more annoyed—what did he look like? He couldn’t see his face.
But he looked short...
“The short one. The shortest one.”
“Short?”
Pelarhar asked back incredulously and suddenly thought of Thelma.
If there was one shortest knight commander from the empire, it would have to be Thelma.
“Thelma? Are you talking about that guy? The adjutant of Her Majesty?”
“Huh, did you even give your full name?”
“No, I just heard it from the side. But that guy is Her Majesty’s... What? Her lover? Are you sure about that?”
Arkan’s lips twitched quietly. It was obvious that he wasn’t sure.
Pelarhar, who had been frowning as if he found it strange, said.
“Her Majesty beat that adjudant half to death and smiled as if three years of indigestion had gone away.”
Arkan’s lips twitched again. But this time, his expression was a little different.
It was as if Pelarhar had tickled the tip of his nose with a thin feather... a twitch.
“I guess that’s an expression of affection in Hirschsten.”
“If Her Majesty expresses affection twice, she’ll die and not meet her again.”
Arkan pursed his lips and tightened his brows. As he thought about it, the scene came to mind.
It was as if he had seen it himself. Erdene happily beat up an adjutant of similar build to him and smiled proudly...
At that time, Pelarhar said,
“But, if Her Majesty left a lover behind in the empire, why would you be so angry?”
Arkan glared at him again.
“Why would I be angry, seriously? She’s the one I married.”
“Yes, that’s true, but... Leaving someone behind in the empire means she dated someone before you married her. Why are you angry about that? Didn’t you have a secret crush on someone before you got married?”
“Where would you find someone like that? What on earth are you talking about?”
Pelarhar replied leisurely as if he was deliberately trying to provoke him.
“Why are you jumping up and down like that? It could happen for a night or so.”
“I’m not that promiscuous.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with having a night with two adults, Your Majesty.”
Pelarhar snickered as Arkan’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, our careful Majesty might think that way.”
“You get out. I’ll clean up this room and turn it into my storage.”
Arkan kicked Pelarhar’s ankle under the table and sank deep into his chair. He felt exhausted and weak as if he had not rested for three days.
Arkan, who was slowly moving his eyes as if counting the dust floating in the air, grumbled.
“Every day has been chaotic since we got married. This isn’t me. I can’t be myself.”
“Like you?”
Pelarhar snickered.
A calm and rational King in all things, the pride of Vetor, who was wise, generous, and well-behaved.
He couldn’t help but laugh when he thought that this was what Arkan meant by ‘my own way.’
When he was young, Arkan, who grew up rolling around like a twin brother with Pelarhar, was never that kind of child. He was stubborn, hated losing, and was quick to pout. He was also good at playing pranks.
At that time, Plat, who was young at the time, was the one who got the most out of their pranks.
'But all that disappeared overnight.'
Arkan's world changed completely when his older brother, Iris, died at the young age of ten.
Arkan and Pelarhar were seven at the time. Arkan became the new Crown Prince the following year, at the age of eight.
Iris's death confused many people.
The previous King, Arkan's father and Pelarhar's uncle was a wise man, but he lost his wit, generosity, and judgment after his eldest son's death.
He acted as if he had never had a child named Iris, but when he would admonish Arkan, he would say, 'Your brother.'
Then, he would surprise himself and explode with unnecessary anger.
The reason Pelarhar was able to escape from such a precarious situation was probably because the previous King loved his older brother so much.
Why couldn’t he show such generosity to his own son?
‘This guy is just like that. He’s been living with a mask all this time.’
Pelarhar thought. However, he couldn’t tell Arkan that. He just felt sorry for him. And he felt a little complicated jealousy.
“Arkan, listen to me. You and Her Majesty grew up completely differently in different countries. Isn’t that right? Then one day, you became a couple, so wouldn’t it be stranger if you didn’t clash and get confused? Just accept this crazy time happily.”
Arkan grumbled.
“You know so well, an unmarried guy. There’s something else to accept happily. How can you accept something like this happily? My head is so complicated all day that you can’t even do my work.”
“If His Majesty, a workaholic, can’t even do his work because you think about Her Majesty the Queen, then that’s a big deal.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Pelarhar grinned, holding the pipe in his mouth.
“Look, you’re not even denying it?”
Only then did Arkan think back on what he had said.
Pelarhar chuckled and said,
“You’re saying you can’t do anything because you’re thinking about the Queen all day, right?”
That was exactly the problem.
The biggest problem was the fact that Erdene and Pelarhar were somewhat, no, definitely not wrong.
Pelarhar lowered the corners of his lips and drove in a wedge.
“Honestly, isn’t that right?”
Arkan, who had been furrowing his brow furrowed fiercely as if he had bitten something bitter and was biting his lips, buried his face behind his palms. His tightly bent shoulders shook, and his heavy breathing escaped for a moment.
Arkan muttered.
“I think I made a mistake in getting married.”
Pelarhar let out a hollow laugh.
“Are you suddenly regretting it at this point?”
His rasping breathing stopped. And...
“Damn it! I’m going crazy!”
The shouts of anger filled Pelarhar’s dwelling and spread throughout.
He couldn’t see them, but the servants and maids who were standing in their places must have fallen backward in surprise.
Do you understand? Arkan thought, grumbling.
No one had told him, “Why are you yelling and making a fuss?” but he felt as if someone had said something like that.
No, he wished someone had come and started a fight like that.
Arkan, who had suddenly lost his temper after yelling, looked into the air and said,
“This isn’t me. Like this...”
Arkan frowned and covered his face with both hands again.
Then he let out a long groan as if someone had grabbed his side and twisted it.
Pelarhar, who was watching this half-laughing and half-pitying, said as he shook the ash from his cigarette case.
“If you’re going to go crazy like that, then get a divorce.”
Arkan’s eyes appeared between his fingers. His glaring gaze was so fierce that it felt like a cold wind was blowing through him.
“What did you say?”
Pelarhar shrugged.
“You two should just be a couple in name only, right? On New Year’s Day, birthdays, holidays... Well, just showing up together in public places like that. I heard that your grandfather and grandmother did the same thing.”
“Thank you for the helpful advice.”
Arkan’s pronunciation sounded awkward because his face was buried in his palms.
There was a moment of silence.
Pelarhar, ignoring both the unfinished chessboard and Arkan, continued smoking his cigarette, then raised his eyebrows slightly.
“If you do that, and if it’s okay with you, I’ll be Her Majesty’s mistress.”
Arkan’s hand that had been covering his face suddenly dropped. Then, his gaze, fiercer than before, pierced Pelarhar.
Even if Pelarhar had said, “Give me the crown on your head,” he wouldn’t have looked at her so fiercely.
“I’ll stab you in the eye.”
“I don’t feel like listening to nonsense.”
“Who said what? I wasn’t talking nonsense either. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it? I’m better than some punk who rolls in from nowhere.”
At that moment, Pelarhar’s thoughtless words once again brought an unpleasant scene to Arkhan’s eyes.
The scene of Erdene tightly embracing some ‘punk’ from the empire came to mind endlessly, spinning around and around. It spun around like a ride that children ride at a festival, spinning faster and faster, making him dizzy.
And then another, more shocking thought hit the back of Arkhan’s head.
“Pelahar, you. You knew that and didn’t tell me anything?”
Pelarhar looked at Arkan in bewilderment.
“What are you talking about? What do I know, and what don’t you say?”
“The Queen. I think she has a lover she left behind in the empire. You, you know this and are telling me indirectly?”
“This is serious.”
Pelarhar clicked his tongue internally and leaned toward Arkan, biting his tongue between his teeth.
“What are you talking about? The lover she left behind in the empire? Her Majesty? Who are you talking about?”
“How would I know? They all look the same.”
Arkan grumbled and thought for a moment.
That bastard—he wanted to curse more harshly, but his last bit of morality prevented him, and he grew even more annoyed—what did he look like? He couldn’t see his face.
But he looked short...
“The short one. The shortest one.”
“Short?”
Pelarhar asked back incredulously and suddenly thought of Thelma.
If there was one shortest knight commander from the empire, it would have to be Thelma.
“Thelma? Are you talking about that guy? The adjutant of Her Majesty?”
“Huh, did you even give your full name?”
“No, I just heard it from the side. But that guy is Her Majesty’s... What? Her lover? Are you sure about that?”
Arkan’s lips twitched quietly. It was obvious that he wasn’t sure.
Pelarhar, who had been frowning as if he found it strange, said.
“Her Majesty beat that adjudant half to death and smiled as if three years of indigestion had gone away.”
Arkan’s lips twitched again. But this time, his expression was a little different.
It was as if Pelarhar had tickled the tip of his nose with a thin feather... a twitch.
“I guess that’s an expression of affection in Hirschsten.”
“If Her Majesty expresses affection twice, she’ll die and not meet her again.”
Arkan pursed his lips and tightened his brows. As he thought about it, the scene came to mind.
It was as if he had seen it himself. Erdene happily beat up an adjutant of similar build to him and smiled proudly...
At that time, Pelarhar said,
“But, if Her Majesty left a lover behind in the empire, why would you be so angry?”
Arkan glared at him again.
“Why would I be angry, seriously? She’s the one I married.”
“Yes, that’s true, but... Leaving someone behind in the empire means she dated someone before you married her. Why are you angry about that? Didn’t you have a secret crush on someone before you got married?”
“Where would you find someone like that? What on earth are you talking about?”
Pelarhar replied leisurely as if he was deliberately trying to provoke him.
“Why are you jumping up and down like that? It could happen for a night or so.”
“I’m not that promiscuous.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with having a night with two adults, Your Majesty.”
Pelarhar snickered as Arkan’s eyes narrowed.
“Well, our careful Majesty might think that way.”
“You get out. I’ll clean up this room and turn it into my storage.”
Arkan kicked Pelarhar’s ankle under the table and sank deep into his chair. He felt exhausted and weak as if he had not rested for three days.
Arkan, who was slowly moving his eyes as if counting the dust floating in the air, grumbled.
“Every day has been chaotic since we got married. This isn’t me. I can’t be myself.”
“Like you?”
Pelarhar snickered.
A calm and rational King in all things, the pride of Vetor, who was wise, generous, and well-behaved.
He couldn’t help but laugh when he thought that this was what Arkan meant by ‘my own way.’
When he was young, Arkan, who grew up rolling around like a twin brother with Pelarhar, was never that kind of child. He was stubborn, hated losing, and was quick to pout. He was also good at playing pranks.
At that time, Plat, who was young at the time, was the one who got the most out of their pranks.
'But all that disappeared overnight.'
Arkan's world changed completely when his older brother, Iris, died at the young age of ten.
Arkan and Pelarhar were seven at the time. Arkan became the new Crown Prince the following year, at the age of eight.
Iris's death confused many people.
The previous King, Arkan's father and Pelarhar's uncle was a wise man, but he lost his wit, generosity, and judgment after his eldest son's death.
He acted as if he had never had a child named Iris, but when he would admonish Arkan, he would say, 'Your brother.'
Then, he would surprise himself and explode with unnecessary anger.
The reason Pelarhar was able to escape from such a precarious situation was probably because the previous King loved his older brother so much.
Why couldn’t he show such generosity to his own son?
‘This guy is just like that. He’s been living with a mask all this time.’
Pelarhar thought. However, he couldn’t tell Arkan that. He just felt sorry for him. And he felt a little complicated jealousy.
“Arkan, listen to me. You and Her Majesty grew up completely differently in different countries. Isn’t that right? Then one day, you became a couple, so wouldn’t it be stranger if you didn’t clash and get confused? Just accept this crazy time happily.”
Arkan grumbled.
“You know so well, an unmarried guy. There’s something else to accept happily. How can you accept something like this happily? My head is so complicated all day that you can’t even do my work.”
“If His Majesty, a workaholic, can’t even do his work because you think about Her Majesty the Queen, then that’s a big deal.”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Pelarhar grinned, holding the pipe in his mouth.
“Look, you’re not even denying it?”
Only then did Arkan think back on what he had said.
Pelarhar chuckled and said,
“You’re saying you can’t do anything because you’re thinking about the Queen all day, right?”
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