“What are you talking about?”
Arkan replied bluntly, turning away from Pelarhar as if he would listen to all his useless words.
“Thoughts are thoughts. Do you think I like thinking?”
Pelarhar reached out to the chessboard. A pawn fell from his fingertips. Another one, and another one...
Arkan watched him knock down all the pawns in a row with a displeased expression. He seemed to know what he was going to do. It was obvious just from the smile on his lips. It seemed that no matter how much Arkan tried to refute him, he would not listen.
Just as the pawns fell, it meant that no matter how much Arkan tried to hold on, it was useless.
Pelarhar, who had knocked down all the pawns, pushed the King and Queen to the center and grinned.
“Whether you like it or not, the fact that you spend all day thinking about one person shows that you have a tremendous amount of interest. Isn’t that right?”
“I’m going to stop caring.”
Pelarhar, who was grinning, placed the bishop next to the Queen.
“Does that mean I can sneak a peek at Her Majesty?”
Arkan, who was furious, grabbed the Queen from the chessboard and held it tightly in his hand.
“Say that one more time. It’ll really kick you out. Just stop joking.”
If it’s not a joke, what’s the point of doing this? Pelarhar thought. But he was relaxed. At least for now.
Pelarhar, who was staring blankly at the King and bishop standing with a gap of the same distance as the Queen, quickly put all the pieces and the board away.
“Come on, talk to Her Majesty. The parties should resolve this between themselves. How can you solve it by coming to me?”
“We can only talk if we can communicate. We can’t communicate.”
One of Pelarhar’s eyebrows went up.
For a moment, it seemed as if he was six or seven years old overlaid on the face of Arkan, who had grown into a handsome young man.
The youngest Prince would immediately get angry if anything didn’t go his way.
At that time, Pelarhar thought he was just a guest who was living in the palace, so he would watch Arkan’s every move. He almost always did whatever Arkan asked.
“Go ahead and blow your head off.”
Pelarhar said, his temper rising slightly.
“Then go hard.”
Arkan, who had been thinking about something on his own, looked at him with a calm expression.
“Go hard?”
“You’re the King of Vetor, and also her husband. Follow Vetor’s rules.”
Arkan raised his eyebrows as if he was ready to hear all sorts of mean things. However, there was no answer. He simply moved his tightly shut lips occasionally, lost in his own thoughts.
Meanwhile, Erdene remained locked in her study for hours, not moving a muscle.
It was an unfamiliar form of protest for her.
As the sun was setting in the west, Sophia, who was worried, called her several times and told her that she had to have dinner, but Erdene simply shook her head in response.
Then she sent Sophia away and was alone in the study.
The scenery had not changed at all since Arkan left, except that two books had been moved onto the table.
'Let's see how it turns out.'
Erdene thought.
The more she thought about it, the more she could not understand Arkan from a few hours ago. She considered various possibilities as to why he had become so angry, but it was a meaningless attempt for Erdene, who had not developed the habit of carefully examining other people's feelings and affectionately touching them.
Erdene crossed her arms and pondered for a moment.
What did Arkan say? Didn’t he say that he would bring his adjutant and read a book with him or something?
‘Do you think I can’t do it if you tell me to?’
Erdene jumped up and motioned for the servant standing outside the door.
“Go and find the Knight Commander of Hirschsten, Thelma. When I call, bring her right away.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
The servant ran immediately. Erdene sat down on the sofa where she had been sitting the whole time and looked around for a moment.
At that moment, she seemed disarmed.
An expression that seemed to be unsure of what was happening, an expression like a child who had suddenly fallen into an unfamiliar place...
Not much different. Erdene readily admitted. She had to recognize every morning that her situation had changed overnight.
An unfamiliar bedroom, an unfamiliar view outside the window.
The authority to look down on the endless plains, mountain peaks, and valleys was now out of her hands.
But as the days passed, Erdene gradually adapted to the unfamiliar landscape. That’s just how people are.
The prisoners she had captured were the same.
At first, they would panic, cry, and sigh, but after a few days, they would start to accept it.
They would scream that they would rather die, but after three days of not eating or drinking, they would stick out their tongues and crawl like a dog even at the sight of a bucket of water.
‘Then what about me?’
Was she ready to crawl like a dog? Or was she already crawling?
A bitter smile passed over Erdene’s lips. There was no need to think about it. She had already gotten down on all fours.
And she buried her face in the bottom of the bucket to lick the water that had accumulated.
She had not sworn to obey, but she had become obedient. By her standards... That was it.
Whether it was her anger at Tenek or Atelgadis, wasn’t she now planning to win the war against Hirschsten?
In this peaceful and noble country where even the Knight Commander is not trustworthy, isn’t she thinking of raising new soldiers and winning the war that will come someday?
‘But this stubborn man...’
Erdene frowned and twitched her lips as she recalled Arkan’s face.
She glared at the book Arkan had thrown away as if it were his own persona, and then she hit it with her heel. She thought that would make her feel better, but it didn’t. Instead, all she could think of was Arkan’s bewildered expression, his handsome and straight eyebrows furrowed, and his forehead cupped.
“What on earth are you reading so diligently? Every day.”
She grumbled as if Arkan was right in front of her, and reached out to pick up the book.
The cover was beautifully decorated, and the title was written in a fancy cursive font in the middle.
《Residual Heat》
Erdene opened a random page.
A figure, probably a woman, was desperately appealing.
<This is probably not love. You can’t call this feeling love. Oh, don’t do that. Don’t look at me with those eyes! I’m just confessing my true feelings. This isn’t love.>
Sbe turned a few more pages.
<Not looking at her, not imagining those faint, delicate shadows and silhouettes with his eyes... It seemed like it would be like that. It had to be like that. But her hands were still touching his body. Her sweet and bitter touch, like ecstatically ripened wine.>
“What the hell are you reading, anyway...”
Erdene let out a hollow laugh.
Now that she realized that what he had been reading with such a serious expression was a romance novel, it was infinitely funny, but on the other hand...
<You really are a cute guy. Even misunderstanding me, shedding tears, and kicking rocks! Don’t be jealous. I only have you. I love no one, nothing. Oh, but you. You are the exception.>
And then the man and woman in the book hugged each other and kissed passionately.
That was the end, and when she glanced at the beginning again, there were ten full pages of dialogue where they fought each other as if they were going to kill each other.
“That’s my taste.”
It was a concise and sharp assessment.
However, Erdene’s gaze was fixed on the end of the novel, and on the descriptions and dialogue that stood out here and there.
The man and woman who misunderstood each other fell in love but then poured out criticism on each other, which gave her a strange sense of unease.
“Wow, what is this place? This is amazing!”
Erdene was startled by the reckless voice that came to her ears and put the book down.
Thelma, her mouth open in bewilderment, looked around like an inexperienced country bumpkin.
Arkan replied bluntly, turning away from Pelarhar as if he would listen to all his useless words.
“Thoughts are thoughts. Do you think I like thinking?”
Pelarhar reached out to the chessboard. A pawn fell from his fingertips. Another one, and another one...
Arkan watched him knock down all the pawns in a row with a displeased expression. He seemed to know what he was going to do. It was obvious just from the smile on his lips. It seemed that no matter how much Arkan tried to refute him, he would not listen.
Just as the pawns fell, it meant that no matter how much Arkan tried to hold on, it was useless.
Pelarhar, who had knocked down all the pawns, pushed the King and Queen to the center and grinned.
“Whether you like it or not, the fact that you spend all day thinking about one person shows that you have a tremendous amount of interest. Isn’t that right?”
“I’m going to stop caring.”
Pelarhar, who was grinning, placed the bishop next to the Queen.
“Does that mean I can sneak a peek at Her Majesty?”
Arkan, who was furious, grabbed the Queen from the chessboard and held it tightly in his hand.
“Say that one more time. It’ll really kick you out. Just stop joking.”
If it’s not a joke, what’s the point of doing this? Pelarhar thought. But he was relaxed. At least for now.
Pelarhar, who was staring blankly at the King and bishop standing with a gap of the same distance as the Queen, quickly put all the pieces and the board away.
“Come on, talk to Her Majesty. The parties should resolve this between themselves. How can you solve it by coming to me?”
“We can only talk if we can communicate. We can’t communicate.”
One of Pelarhar’s eyebrows went up.
For a moment, it seemed as if he was six or seven years old overlaid on the face of Arkan, who had grown into a handsome young man.
The youngest Prince would immediately get angry if anything didn’t go his way.
At that time, Pelarhar thought he was just a guest who was living in the palace, so he would watch Arkan’s every move. He almost always did whatever Arkan asked.
“Go ahead and blow your head off.”
Pelarhar said, his temper rising slightly.
“Then go hard.”
Arkan, who had been thinking about something on his own, looked at him with a calm expression.
“Go hard?”
“You’re the King of Vetor, and also her husband. Follow Vetor’s rules.”
Arkan raised his eyebrows as if he was ready to hear all sorts of mean things. However, there was no answer. He simply moved his tightly shut lips occasionally, lost in his own thoughts.
***
Meanwhile, Erdene remained locked in her study for hours, not moving a muscle.
It was an unfamiliar form of protest for her.
As the sun was setting in the west, Sophia, who was worried, called her several times and told her that she had to have dinner, but Erdene simply shook her head in response.
Then she sent Sophia away and was alone in the study.
The scenery had not changed at all since Arkan left, except that two books had been moved onto the table.
'Let's see how it turns out.'
Erdene thought.
The more she thought about it, the more she could not understand Arkan from a few hours ago. She considered various possibilities as to why he had become so angry, but it was a meaningless attempt for Erdene, who had not developed the habit of carefully examining other people's feelings and affectionately touching them.
While she was holding on, she glanced down at the thick book of tactics that she had already finished reading.
As she read, she could see that it was a very old book.
It was probably completed around the time Hirschsten had just declared themselves as Empire and taken his place before the Inland Alliance had even gathered around Vetor.
After reading the book, she looked around the bookshelf a few more times, but there weren’t many books on tactics that she could find.
Furthermore, the condition of the books wasn’t particularly good.
Some of the books—she guessed that they were probably books that Arkan cherished—had been newly bound in leather or cloth, but the books on tactics and war were just sitting in a corner.
‘Hirschsten’s military and knightly order have changed... If the knightly order is the same, it would be better to select and train the spearmen first.’
Even while sitting in the study, Erdene was thinking about how to reorganize Vetor’s knightly order and how to organize it.
‘We also need archers... Damn, Thelma is better suited for this than I am.’
As she read, she could see that it was a very old book.
It was probably completed around the time Hirschsten had just declared themselves as Empire and taken his place before the Inland Alliance had even gathered around Vetor.
After reading the book, she looked around the bookshelf a few more times, but there weren’t many books on tactics that she could find.
Furthermore, the condition of the books wasn’t particularly good.
Some of the books—she guessed that they were probably books that Arkan cherished—had been newly bound in leather or cloth, but the books on tactics and war were just sitting in a corner.
‘Hirschsten’s military and knightly order have changed... If the knightly order is the same, it would be better to select and train the spearmen first.’
Even while sitting in the study, Erdene was thinking about how to reorganize Vetor’s knightly order and how to organize it.
‘We also need archers... Damn, Thelma is better suited for this than I am.’
Erdene crossed her arms and pondered for a moment.
What did Arkan say? Didn’t he say that he would bring his adjutant and read a book with him or something?
‘Do you think I can’t do it if you tell me to?’
Erdene jumped up and motioned for the servant standing outside the door.
“Go and find the Knight Commander of Hirschsten, Thelma. When I call, bring her right away.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
The servant ran immediately. Erdene sat down on the sofa where she had been sitting the whole time and looked around for a moment.
At that moment, she seemed disarmed.
An expression that seemed to be unsure of what was happening, an expression like a child who had suddenly fallen into an unfamiliar place...
Not much different. Erdene readily admitted. She had to recognize every morning that her situation had changed overnight.
An unfamiliar bedroom, an unfamiliar view outside the window.
The authority to look down on the endless plains, mountain peaks, and valleys was now out of her hands.
But as the days passed, Erdene gradually adapted to the unfamiliar landscape. That’s just how people are.
The prisoners she had captured were the same.
At first, they would panic, cry, and sigh, but after a few days, they would start to accept it.
They would scream that they would rather die, but after three days of not eating or drinking, they would stick out their tongues and crawl like a dog even at the sight of a bucket of water.
‘Then what about me?’
Was she ready to crawl like a dog? Or was she already crawling?
A bitter smile passed over Erdene’s lips. There was no need to think about it. She had already gotten down on all fours.
And she buried her face in the bottom of the bucket to lick the water that had accumulated.
She had not sworn to obey, but she had become obedient. By her standards... That was it.
Whether it was her anger at Tenek or Atelgadis, wasn’t she now planning to win the war against Hirschsten?
In this peaceful and noble country where even the Knight Commander is not trustworthy, isn’t she thinking of raising new soldiers and winning the war that will come someday?
‘But this stubborn man...’
Erdene frowned and twitched her lips as she recalled Arkan’s face.
She glared at the book Arkan had thrown away as if it were his own persona, and then she hit it with her heel. She thought that would make her feel better, but it didn’t. Instead, all she could think of was Arkan’s bewildered expression, his handsome and straight eyebrows furrowed, and his forehead cupped.
“What on earth are you reading so diligently? Every day.”
She grumbled as if Arkan was right in front of her, and reached out to pick up the book.
The cover was beautifully decorated, and the title was written in a fancy cursive font in the middle.
《Residual Heat》
Erdene opened a random page.
A figure, probably a woman, was desperately appealing.
<This is probably not love. You can’t call this feeling love. Oh, don’t do that. Don’t look at me with those eyes! I’m just confessing my true feelings. This isn’t love.>
Sbe turned a few more pages.
<Not looking at her, not imagining those faint, delicate shadows and silhouettes with his eyes... It seemed like it would be like that. It had to be like that. But her hands were still touching his body. Her sweet and bitter touch, like ecstatically ripened wine.>
“What the hell are you reading, anyway...”
Erdene let out a hollow laugh.
Now that she realized that what he had been reading with such a serious expression was a romance novel, it was infinitely funny, but on the other hand...
<You really are a cute guy. Even misunderstanding me, shedding tears, and kicking rocks! Don’t be jealous. I only have you. I love no one, nothing. Oh, but you. You are the exception.>
And then the man and woman in the book hugged each other and kissed passionately.
That was the end, and when she glanced at the beginning again, there were ten full pages of dialogue where they fought each other as if they were going to kill each other.
“That’s my taste.”
It was a concise and sharp assessment.
However, Erdene’s gaze was fixed on the end of the novel, and on the descriptions and dialogue that stood out here and there.
The man and woman who misunderstood each other fell in love but then poured out criticism on each other, which gave her a strange sense of unease.
“Wow, what is this place? This is amazing!”
Erdene was startled by the reckless voice that came to her ears and put the book down.
Thelma, her mouth open in bewilderment, looked around like an inexperienced country bumpkin.
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