Plat was hurt once again by Arkan’s indifferent attitude as if he was dealing with an annoying nagging old man, but he tried to keep a calm expression.
“Your Majesty, there are concerns not only among the officials but also among the other nobles.”
“What?”
“Concerns about the royal descendants, Your Majesty.”
Before Plat could finish speaking, Arkan stood up, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt as if he had expected this.
Plat lowered his gaze and stepped back, and Arkan stared blankly at his face before suddenly pointing his finger at him twice as if to reprimand him.
“I knew you’d say that. I knew you’d say that. They’re also impatient. Plat, the officials you mentioned are mostly old men. Aren’t they? Do you get anxious as you get older? I’ve only been married for two months, so tell them to calm down.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course... Of course, if Your Majesty and the Queen were living normal... lives, neither I nor the other officials would have to worry about this. However...”
Arkan glared as he snatched the jacket that the servant was holding and put it on.
Plat knew that nothing had happened between the two.
When he heard that they had been living in separate rooms during the night and that Arkan had no choice but to live in separate rooms because it was Erdene’s initiative, the vein on the back of his head almost burst.
“Isn’t Her Majesty rejecting Your Majesty?”
When Plat said, Arkan finally looked angry this time.
The face he was looking back at was red.
“Don’t speak carelessly when you don’t know much, Plat.”
“Your Majesty, I am worried. I have no idea what Your Majesty is thinking. Why does Her Majesty issue an evacuation order whenever Your Majesty tries to sleep in the royal palace? Why doesn’t she even visit Your Majesty’s bedroom once...”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? Your meddling is getting worse and worse, but you don’t have to get involved.”
Arkan turned around.
Plat tried to follow him as he strode away, but Arkan stopped him.
“You don’t have to come. I’ll go to the Queen’s Palace and attend the meeting right away.”
Then, Arkan left Plat’s sight without looking back.
The other attendants, who had been watching Plat, who was standing there like a person who had lost his mind, scattered in fear of sparks flying. Plat sighed deeply and touched his wrinkled forehead.
“How on earth did His Majesty end up like that? It’s so annoying.”
When Arkan arrived at the Queen’s Palace, breakfast was already ready. Some of the food seemed to have already gotten cold.
“I’m late.”
Erdene glanced at Arkan’s face at his blunt tone.
She didn’t scold him, but told Sophia to reheat one of the pies, and then tore a small piece of fluffy bread with her hands and spread cream on it.
“It was close, Your Majesty. I was just going to eat alone, whether the robin flew away or not.”
Arkan, who was about to pick up the bread, glanced at Erdene.
“A robin?”
Erdene nodded out the window, frowning.
When she turned her head, she saw a small robin sitting on a branch, tilting its head. It had just fledged its nest and was looking sloppy, even though it had fully grown feathers.
Arkan said,
“You waited for the bird to fly away without clearing the table?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous. Am I worse than the robin?”
“You have to be on time. Isn’t that basic?”
I hate you so much.
Arkan licked his lips and dipped the bread into the soft soup, putting it in his mouth and wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“I was late because I was talking to Plat.”
Sophia brought a freshly heated pie. It had a sweet aroma, not knowing what it was made of.
Arkan suddenly felt suspicious.
He knew that Erdene didn’t particularly enjoy sweet pies or cookies.
“What pie?”
“It’s prepared for Your Majesty, so eat it. By the way, what did the old herring say? Did he tell you to kick me out and bring in a new Queen?”
Arkan, who had picked up a fork and knife to cut the pie, narrowed his brows slightly.
“Don’t call him that. I saw how Plat hated it when he heard that the other day.”
“What’s wrong? He’s not here right now. Now that we’re on the subject if I want to hate him, then hate him. I wonder if he wouldn’t hate me if I called him God instead of Old Herring.”
This is the problem. Arkan thought. The more Plat disliked Erdene, the more awkward his position in the middle became.
What kind of person was Erdene? If there was someone who disliked her, she would not embrace them but rather harass them by poking them.
Not just disliking them, but gritting her teeth and hating them.
Fortunately, Plat wasn’t to that extent...
‘Not yet.’
Arkan remembered what he had said, ‘When anger and disappointment overlap, it eventually becomes heartbreak,’ and cut off a large piece of pie and put it in his mouth.
“Ugh!”
Arkan’s expression crumpled in an instant.
Erdene, who had been watching him with interest to see whether he ate the pie or not, burst into laughter.
Arkan spat out the pie he had chewed and gulped down water before shouting.
“What is this! What on earth did you put in it?”
“Your Majesty told me yesterday. Where is a newlywed so sweet? So I added some sweetness to it, but you don’t like it?”
Arkan glared at her with eyes that seemed to be going crazy with hate. He had been upset when she had stayed in the Queen’s palace late last night and had said, “Why don’t you go to sleep?”
But to take revenge on her like this...!
“My tongue feels numb.”
“Well, it would have been nice if you had listened to me when I told you to go to the kitchen and have some sugar. Don’t you think so?”
“To be honest, I asked you what you put in it.”
“What? Jam and sugar. It’s a pie.”
Erdene added, her eyes wide open in a fake innocent manner.
“About five times the amount. How is it? Is it sweet enough for you? You must have had a lot of sugar, and you’re having a sweet breakfast with me, your wife.”
“Are you really going to do this?”
Erdene giggled slightly. Strangely, when she burst into laughter, Arkan lost his energy.
He wanted to get angry like a blaze, but his feelings subsided.
For a while, he suspected that Erdene knew about it and was taking advantage of it... But it didn’t seem to be the case.
“You try it too. Try it. It’s going to make your tongue spin, but it would be unfair if I were the only one to do so.”
Arkan cut off a large piece of pie and thrust his fork into Erdene’s mouth.
However, Erdene annoyingly avoided her head, then quickly pulled out the pie and stuffed it into Arkan’s open mouth.
“Ugh!”
“As you know, Your Majesty, I don’t really like sweets. However, when you eat sweets, your mind works better and you feel energized. Aren’t you going to have a meeting with those nit-picking officials all day today? Why don’t you stock up on some sweet pie?”
“Ugh...”
Unable to spit out the half-melted substance in his mouth, Arkan quickly ate it on his tongue. He wondered how much sugar she had scooped in—it was suspicious that he had scooped it up with a shovel rather than a spoon—and even the crumbly grains seemed to remain inside the pie crust.
His tongue was numb.
Erdene said,
“And if it’s sweet enough to make your tongue spin, I shouldn’t eat it either.”
Arkan, who had swallowed the pie with difficulty, tapped the table with a red face.
“Why? Why shouldn’t you eat it?”
“Well, one of us has to have a sound tongue to give orders and command the officials. Who would do that if both Your Majesty and I had tongues spin? There’s no regent in Vetor.”
Arkan was speechless, dumbfounded.
After he finished his meal—he hadn’t touched anything sweet since the pie—and left for a meeting of officials, Sabnake came to clear the table.
Sabnake, who had been watching Erdene, said,
“Your Majesty, why do you keep fighting with His Majesty?”
“Fighting? We didn’t fight today?”
“But you were raising your voice earlier...”
Erdene chuckled.
“Well, what can I do when he's the only one who’s angry? If I poke him here, he’ll groan, and if I poke him there, he’ll groan. I don’t know if I married a volcano or a person.”
Sabnake said.
“Um, Your Majesty. This pie... can I eat it?”
Erdene glanced up at her and tapped her forehead.
“You, you need to stop being so greedy. Everything else is fine, so why are you so greedy? Throw that pie away, it’s full of sugar.”
Sabnake sighed as she was putting the food and plates away.
“Yes, that’s right. But I’m not very good at it either, Your Majesty. I’ve been a big eater since I was little, and I’ve even been beaten up, but I can’t seem to get better.”
“Did you grow up starving?”
Sabnake pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders, making an expression that was similar to a bitter smile.
“Mostly.”
“Your Majesty, there are concerns not only among the officials but also among the other nobles.”
“What?”
“Concerns about the royal descendants, Your Majesty.”
Before Plat could finish speaking, Arkan stood up, pulling up the sleeves of his shirt as if he had expected this.
Plat lowered his gaze and stepped back, and Arkan stared blankly at his face before suddenly pointing his finger at him twice as if to reprimand him.
“I knew you’d say that. I knew you’d say that. They’re also impatient. Plat, the officials you mentioned are mostly old men. Aren’t they? Do you get anxious as you get older? I’ve only been married for two months, so tell them to calm down.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Of course... Of course, if Your Majesty and the Queen were living normal... lives, neither I nor the other officials would have to worry about this. However...”
Arkan glared as he snatched the jacket that the servant was holding and put it on.
Plat knew that nothing had happened between the two.
When he heard that they had been living in separate rooms during the night and that Arkan had no choice but to live in separate rooms because it was Erdene’s initiative, the vein on the back of his head almost burst.
“Isn’t Her Majesty rejecting Your Majesty?”
When Plat said, Arkan finally looked angry this time.
The face he was looking back at was red.
“Don’t speak carelessly when you don’t know much, Plat.”
“Your Majesty, I am worried. I have no idea what Your Majesty is thinking. Why does Her Majesty issue an evacuation order whenever Your Majesty tries to sleep in the royal palace? Why doesn’t she even visit Your Majesty’s bedroom once...”
“Didn’t you hear what I said? Your meddling is getting worse and worse, but you don’t have to get involved.”
Arkan turned around.
Plat tried to follow him as he strode away, but Arkan stopped him.
“You don’t have to come. I’ll go to the Queen’s Palace and attend the meeting right away.”
Then, Arkan left Plat’s sight without looking back.
The other attendants, who had been watching Plat, who was standing there like a person who had lost his mind, scattered in fear of sparks flying. Plat sighed deeply and touched his wrinkled forehead.
“How on earth did His Majesty end up like that? It’s so annoying.”
***
When Arkan arrived at the Queen’s Palace, breakfast was already ready. Some of the food seemed to have already gotten cold.
“I’m late.”
Erdene glanced at Arkan’s face at his blunt tone.
She didn’t scold him, but told Sophia to reheat one of the pies, and then tore a small piece of fluffy bread with her hands and spread cream on it.
“It was close, Your Majesty. I was just going to eat alone, whether the robin flew away or not.”
Arkan, who was about to pick up the bread, glanced at Erdene.
“A robin?”
Erdene nodded out the window, frowning.
When she turned her head, she saw a small robin sitting on a branch, tilting its head. It had just fledged its nest and was looking sloppy, even though it had fully grown feathers.
Arkan said,
“You waited for the bird to fly away without clearing the table?”
“Yes.”
“That’s ridiculous. Am I worse than the robin?”
“You have to be on time. Isn’t that basic?”
I hate you so much.
Arkan licked his lips and dipped the bread into the soft soup, putting it in his mouth and wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“I was late because I was talking to Plat.”
Sophia brought a freshly heated pie. It had a sweet aroma, not knowing what it was made of.
Arkan suddenly felt suspicious.
He knew that Erdene didn’t particularly enjoy sweet pies or cookies.
“What pie?”
“It’s prepared for Your Majesty, so eat it. By the way, what did the old herring say? Did he tell you to kick me out and bring in a new Queen?”
Arkan, who had picked up a fork and knife to cut the pie, narrowed his brows slightly.
“Don’t call him that. I saw how Plat hated it when he heard that the other day.”
“What’s wrong? He’s not here right now. Now that we’re on the subject if I want to hate him, then hate him. I wonder if he wouldn’t hate me if I called him God instead of Old Herring.”
This is the problem. Arkan thought. The more Plat disliked Erdene, the more awkward his position in the middle became.
What kind of person was Erdene? If there was someone who disliked her, she would not embrace them but rather harass them by poking them.
Not just disliking them, but gritting her teeth and hating them.
Fortunately, Plat wasn’t to that extent...
‘Not yet.’
Arkan remembered what he had said, ‘When anger and disappointment overlap, it eventually becomes heartbreak,’ and cut off a large piece of pie and put it in his mouth.
“Ugh!”
Arkan’s expression crumpled in an instant.
Erdene, who had been watching him with interest to see whether he ate the pie or not, burst into laughter.
Arkan spat out the pie he had chewed and gulped down water before shouting.
“What is this! What on earth did you put in it?”
“Your Majesty told me yesterday. Where is a newlywed so sweet? So I added some sweetness to it, but you don’t like it?”
Arkan glared at her with eyes that seemed to be going crazy with hate. He had been upset when she had stayed in the Queen’s palace late last night and had said, “Why don’t you go to sleep?”
But to take revenge on her like this...!
“My tongue feels numb.”
“Well, it would have been nice if you had listened to me when I told you to go to the kitchen and have some sugar. Don’t you think so?”
“To be honest, I asked you what you put in it.”
“What? Jam and sugar. It’s a pie.”
Erdene added, her eyes wide open in a fake innocent manner.
“About five times the amount. How is it? Is it sweet enough for you? You must have had a lot of sugar, and you’re having a sweet breakfast with me, your wife.”
“Are you really going to do this?”
Erdene giggled slightly. Strangely, when she burst into laughter, Arkan lost his energy.
He wanted to get angry like a blaze, but his feelings subsided.
For a while, he suspected that Erdene knew about it and was taking advantage of it... But it didn’t seem to be the case.
“You try it too. Try it. It’s going to make your tongue spin, but it would be unfair if I were the only one to do so.”
Arkan cut off a large piece of pie and thrust his fork into Erdene’s mouth.
However, Erdene annoyingly avoided her head, then quickly pulled out the pie and stuffed it into Arkan’s open mouth.
“Ugh!”
“As you know, Your Majesty, I don’t really like sweets. However, when you eat sweets, your mind works better and you feel energized. Aren’t you going to have a meeting with those nit-picking officials all day today? Why don’t you stock up on some sweet pie?”
“Ugh...”
Unable to spit out the half-melted substance in his mouth, Arkan quickly ate it on his tongue. He wondered how much sugar she had scooped in—it was suspicious that he had scooped it up with a shovel rather than a spoon—and even the crumbly grains seemed to remain inside the pie crust.
His tongue was numb.
Erdene said,
“And if it’s sweet enough to make your tongue spin, I shouldn’t eat it either.”
Arkan, who had swallowed the pie with difficulty, tapped the table with a red face.
“Why? Why shouldn’t you eat it?”
“Well, one of us has to have a sound tongue to give orders and command the officials. Who would do that if both Your Majesty and I had tongues spin? There’s no regent in Vetor.”
Arkan was speechless, dumbfounded.
After he finished his meal—he hadn’t touched anything sweet since the pie—and left for a meeting of officials, Sabnake came to clear the table.
Sabnake, who had been watching Erdene, said,
“Your Majesty, why do you keep fighting with His Majesty?”
“Fighting? We didn’t fight today?”
“But you were raising your voice earlier...”
Erdene chuckled.
“Well, what can I do when he's the only one who’s angry? If I poke him here, he’ll groan, and if I poke him there, he’ll groan. I don’t know if I married a volcano or a person.”
Sabnake said.
“Um, Your Majesty. This pie... can I eat it?”
Erdene glanced up at her and tapped her forehead.
“You, you need to stop being so greedy. Everything else is fine, so why are you so greedy? Throw that pie away, it’s full of sugar.”
Sabnake sighed as she was putting the food and plates away.
“Yes, that’s right. But I’m not very good at it either, Your Majesty. I’ve been a big eater since I was little, and I’ve even been beaten up, but I can’t seem to get better.”
“Did you grow up starving?”
Sabnake pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders, making an expression that was similar to a bitter smile.
“Mostly.”
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