“They're praying for fertility.”
Arkan nodded fervently as if that was the problem.
“That’s the creepiest part! No, does a couple have to be just for that? No!”
“Of course, but it’s the first virtue.”
Arkan laughed in vain.
“You say that?”
Erdene retorted.
“Then what if I say I don’t want to have children even if I die? What if I grit my teeth and decide to end the Cyprus line?”
Arkan frowned and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. It wasn’t because he didn’t like or was offended by Erdene’s words.
Surprisingly—and to Erdene, really, incredibly—Arkan was thinking deeply and seriously about what Erdene had said.
He had never thought of a life without children, and it wouldn’t be easy, but if it were to become a reality...
Erdene's fingertips poked Arkan's neck.
"Ugh."
Arkan let out a short groan and looked at Erdene with a bewildered expression, holding hia neck.
"Were you trying to assassinate me?"
"I poked you because I was wondering what you were thinking so intently about. Isn't this usually called being cute?"
Then she immediately added,
"Of course, if you tell me to be cute or act cute, I might change your spine to a cute shape."
"What's wrong?"
Arkan quickly lifted Erdene, who was lying on top of him, and then jumped up himself. Erdene giggled as she picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, perhaps because Arkan's reaction of quickly getting angry and groaning was funny.
Arkan, who was putting on a shirt, watched Erdene's back as she got dressed. He didn't really mean to do it, but his eyes naturally went there.
It was a body that naturally blended solid muscles and soft curves.
Her legs stretched straight from her pelvis to her toes, were hidden under the skirt of her dress, and her neat shoulder blades, shaped like a bow, were hidden between the shirt and lace.
“Come here.”
Erdene approached, and Arkan pushed her hair over her shoulders and buttoned up the back of her shirt one by one.
While doing so, he could smell the fragrance emanating from her shoulders and the nape of her neck.
Arkan opened his mouth.
“If only.”
Erdene nodded once to show that she was listening.
Arkan held the last button with his fingertips and then said,
“If you really don’t want to have children, tell me.”
Erdene’s eyes widened slightly as she turned her head.
She was taken aback when Arkan seriously brought up the topic that had already begun to fade from her mind, even though it had been a brief joke.
“What are you going to do if I tell you?”
Arkan, who had been staring blankly at Erdene, tried to touch her cheek with his lips. However, he was blocked by a palm.
Erdene’s expression as she watched Arkan furrow his brow as if asking what was going on was strange.
She froze in an awkward position, not knowing whether to laugh or be serious.
“What are you going to do?”
Arkan shook his head and removed her hand.
“I should find an adopted son to inherit the throne. I..”
Arkan, who had kept his lips shut for a moment, tried to speak calmly as he buttoned up his shirt.
“...I think it’s worth putting my hopes in Pelarhar, but I’m not sure. He doesn’t like to stay in one place, so I don’t know.”
“You know that if other people hear what Your Majesty just said, the palace will turn upside down, right?”
“I know. But I can’t force you to have children if you don’t want to. Of course, I would like to have children, but as I said before, when I married you, I didn’t think of you as a pawn or a hostage, and I certainly didn’t think of you as someone who needed to continue the lineage of the Vetor royal family... or something like that.”
The smile on Erdene’s lips became even stranger.
“Our marriage was politically entangled from the beginning, and yet you thought that way?”
“The cause and the process don’t have to be on the same line.”
This is incredible. Erdene thought. There had been more than a few times when Arkan had said something incredible, but today was the best.
What was even more incredible was that upon hearing those words, she wanted to take off the clothes she had barely managed to put on.
Meanwhile, Luke and Bourne, the second-in-commands of the Knights of Vetor, who had crossed the border of Kensilom among the smugglers, were finally able to reach their destination after several days of suffering.
Although they were knights, they were not particularly good at long walks, so walking through the damp forests around the swamps for several days, especially in a state of tension where their lives could be threatened at any moment, was by no means easy.
Furthermore, they were still in the forest, and the place they had arrived at was a musty house that must have been built at least twenty years ago.
'It's called a house, but it's nothing more than a box made of cut wood,'
Luke thought. However, this was the very base of the smugglers in this area. Four guards were standing around the shabby house, and a large dog was tied to a large old pine tree.
Inside the drooping lips, there were large, vicious fangs, and bloodshot eyes, and at his feet, there were pieces of meat from a rabbit or fox that had been eaten.
“Wake up,” Luke whispered.
Bourne glanced at him as if to tell him to take care of himself and went inside.
The inside was as shabby as the outside.
The mud-colored floor felt strangely bumpy, but it turned out that there was a carpet laid out on the floor.
Of course, the only traces of the carpet were the thick, tangled threads that changed color with each footstep.
Inside, every stench imaginable was wafting out.
Bourne didn’t know what to do, but Luke gave up breathing through his nose for the time being.
“Surely the ‘higher-ups’ you speak of aren’t around here?”
The smuggler leader revealed his yellow teeth at Bourne’s question. He wiped the mud from his shoes on the worn-out chest and spat between his teeth.
“He’ll be here soon, so just wait, lads.”
The smugglers dispersed, sitting or lying on the dirty floor, the tattered carpets, the moldy sofas.
Luke noted that they still had their swords strapped to their belts—there were probably more hidden ones—and said,
“How honorable of you to come to a place like this?”
The leader spat again.
“I’ll tell you the truth, you’d better watch your mouth. I could easily bury your two heads in here.”
“We came here to bargain, not give up heads.”
Just as Luke’s face grew red, there was a commotion outside.
The leader quickly lifted his butt from his chair and ran out the door.
Luke and Bourne could see his back, bowing repeatedly, through the open door.
Soon, with the sound of a cane, a middle-aged man in flashy attire entered the smugglers’ quarters with a frown on his face.
It was funny how he was forcing himself to breathe and flaring his nose as if he would get sick just by breathing, but Luke pinched his thighs to hold back laughter.
“These guys?”
The man said. The fierce-looking leader, like a bandit leader, nodded his head and said.
“Yes, Count.”
The man hissed at the leader’s words. He must have wanted to click his tongue, but it seemed that he was trying not to breathe through his nose.
The person the smugglers called “upper man” was Count Trivi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Kensilom.
Of course, Luke and Bourne had no way of knowing who he was, but they could tell that their ears perked up at the word “Count.”
‘Oh my, Count? A nobleman from Kensilom bribes smugglers and swindles other countries? This won’t do.’
Luke lowered his head and examined the man’s appearance from every angle.
Above all, it was important to memorize his characteristics...
“You ask such a worthless person to come to such a dirty place.”
The man, Count Trivi, said with displeasure. However, the fact that he had come to such a place was a welcome development for Luke and Bourne.
He must have been blinded by wealth, and if so, there were plenty of places to poke his nails.
Luke said,
“Oh, My Lord. If I had known it would be such a dirty place, I wouldn’t have bothered to ask to see My Lord. If I had known in advance.”
The smuggler leader glared at Luke.
That makes sense, because if we were to interpret Luke's words, wouldn't it mean, 'That's because your kids didn't tell you that this place was so dirty'?
Count Trivi looked down at Luke with an arrogant expression.
Luke then pretended to rub his hands together and smiled like an idiot.
“But since we have come this far and we have also gone through all the trouble to get here, shouldn’t we have some nice conversations? Now, My Lord. I’m sorry I don’t have a place to recommend you to sit, but please take a seat for now. If I had known I was meeting such a distinguished person as My Lord, I would have dressed up a little more. This is truly beyond my understanding.”
Arkan nodded fervently as if that was the problem.
“That’s the creepiest part! No, does a couple have to be just for that? No!”
“Of course, but it’s the first virtue.”
Arkan laughed in vain.
“You say that?”
Erdene retorted.
“Then what if I say I don’t want to have children even if I die? What if I grit my teeth and decide to end the Cyprus line?”
Arkan frowned and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. It wasn’t because he didn’t like or was offended by Erdene’s words.
Surprisingly—and to Erdene, really, incredibly—Arkan was thinking deeply and seriously about what Erdene had said.
He had never thought of a life without children, and it wouldn’t be easy, but if it were to become a reality...
Erdene's fingertips poked Arkan's neck.
"Ugh."
Arkan let out a short groan and looked at Erdene with a bewildered expression, holding hia neck.
"Were you trying to assassinate me?"
"I poked you because I was wondering what you were thinking so intently about. Isn't this usually called being cute?"
Then she immediately added,
"Of course, if you tell me to be cute or act cute, I might change your spine to a cute shape."
"What's wrong?"
Arkan quickly lifted Erdene, who was lying on top of him, and then jumped up himself. Erdene giggled as she picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, perhaps because Arkan's reaction of quickly getting angry and groaning was funny.
Arkan, who was putting on a shirt, watched Erdene's back as she got dressed. He didn't really mean to do it, but his eyes naturally went there.
It was a body that naturally blended solid muscles and soft curves.
Her legs stretched straight from her pelvis to her toes, were hidden under the skirt of her dress, and her neat shoulder blades, shaped like a bow, were hidden between the shirt and lace.
“Come here.”
Erdene approached, and Arkan pushed her hair over her shoulders and buttoned up the back of her shirt one by one.
While doing so, he could smell the fragrance emanating from her shoulders and the nape of her neck.
Arkan opened his mouth.
“If only.”
Erdene nodded once to show that she was listening.
Arkan held the last button with his fingertips and then said,
“If you really don’t want to have children, tell me.”
Erdene’s eyes widened slightly as she turned her head.
She was taken aback when Arkan seriously brought up the topic that had already begun to fade from her mind, even though it had been a brief joke.
“What are you going to do if I tell you?”
Arkan, who had been staring blankly at Erdene, tried to touch her cheek with his lips. However, he was blocked by a palm.
Erdene’s expression as she watched Arkan furrow his brow as if asking what was going on was strange.
She froze in an awkward position, not knowing whether to laugh or be serious.
“What are you going to do?”
Arkan shook his head and removed her hand.
“I should find an adopted son to inherit the throne. I..”
Arkan, who had kept his lips shut for a moment, tried to speak calmly as he buttoned up his shirt.
“...I think it’s worth putting my hopes in Pelarhar, but I’m not sure. He doesn’t like to stay in one place, so I don’t know.”
“You know that if other people hear what Your Majesty just said, the palace will turn upside down, right?”
“I know. But I can’t force you to have children if you don’t want to. Of course, I would like to have children, but as I said before, when I married you, I didn’t think of you as a pawn or a hostage, and I certainly didn’t think of you as someone who needed to continue the lineage of the Vetor royal family... or something like that.”
The smile on Erdene’s lips became even stranger.
“Our marriage was politically entangled from the beginning, and yet you thought that way?”
“The cause and the process don’t have to be on the same line.”
This is incredible. Erdene thought. There had been more than a few times when Arkan had said something incredible, but today was the best.
What was even more incredible was that upon hearing those words, she wanted to take off the clothes she had barely managed to put on.
***
Meanwhile, Luke and Bourne, the second-in-commands of the Knights of Vetor, who had crossed the border of Kensilom among the smugglers, were finally able to reach their destination after several days of suffering.
Although they were knights, they were not particularly good at long walks, so walking through the damp forests around the swamps for several days, especially in a state of tension where their lives could be threatened at any moment, was by no means easy.
Furthermore, they were still in the forest, and the place they had arrived at was a musty house that must have been built at least twenty years ago.
'It's called a house, but it's nothing more than a box made of cut wood,'
Luke thought. However, this was the very base of the smugglers in this area. Four guards were standing around the shabby house, and a large dog was tied to a large old pine tree.
Inside the drooping lips, there were large, vicious fangs, and bloodshot eyes, and at his feet, there were pieces of meat from a rabbit or fox that had been eaten.
“Wake up,” Luke whispered.
Bourne glanced at him as if to tell him to take care of himself and went inside.
The inside was as shabby as the outside.
The mud-colored floor felt strangely bumpy, but it turned out that there was a carpet laid out on the floor.
Of course, the only traces of the carpet were the thick, tangled threads that changed color with each footstep.
Inside, every stench imaginable was wafting out.
Bourne didn’t know what to do, but Luke gave up breathing through his nose for the time being.
“Surely the ‘higher-ups’ you speak of aren’t around here?”
The smuggler leader revealed his yellow teeth at Bourne’s question. He wiped the mud from his shoes on the worn-out chest and spat between his teeth.
“He’ll be here soon, so just wait, lads.”
The smugglers dispersed, sitting or lying on the dirty floor, the tattered carpets, the moldy sofas.
Luke noted that they still had their swords strapped to their belts—there were probably more hidden ones—and said,
“How honorable of you to come to a place like this?”
The leader spat again.
“I’ll tell you the truth, you’d better watch your mouth. I could easily bury your two heads in here.”
“We came here to bargain, not give up heads.”
Just as Luke’s face grew red, there was a commotion outside.
The leader quickly lifted his butt from his chair and ran out the door.
Luke and Bourne could see his back, bowing repeatedly, through the open door.
Soon, with the sound of a cane, a middle-aged man in flashy attire entered the smugglers’ quarters with a frown on his face.
It was funny how he was forcing himself to breathe and flaring his nose as if he would get sick just by breathing, but Luke pinched his thighs to hold back laughter.
“These guys?”
The man said. The fierce-looking leader, like a bandit leader, nodded his head and said.
“Yes, Count.”
The man hissed at the leader’s words. He must have wanted to click his tongue, but it seemed that he was trying not to breathe through his nose.
The person the smugglers called “upper man” was Count Trivi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Kensilom.
Of course, Luke and Bourne had no way of knowing who he was, but they could tell that their ears perked up at the word “Count.”
‘Oh my, Count? A nobleman from Kensilom bribes smugglers and swindles other countries? This won’t do.’
Luke lowered his head and examined the man’s appearance from every angle.
Above all, it was important to memorize his characteristics...
“You ask such a worthless person to come to such a dirty place.”
The man, Count Trivi, said with displeasure. However, the fact that he had come to such a place was a welcome development for Luke and Bourne.
He must have been blinded by wealth, and if so, there were plenty of places to poke his nails.
Luke said,
“Oh, My Lord. If I had known it would be such a dirty place, I wouldn’t have bothered to ask to see My Lord. If I had known in advance.”
The smuggler leader glared at Luke.
That makes sense, because if we were to interpret Luke's words, wouldn't it mean, 'That's because your kids didn't tell you that this place was so dirty'?
Count Trivi looked down at Luke with an arrogant expression.
Luke then pretended to rub his hands together and smiled like an idiot.
“But since we have come this far and we have also gone through all the trouble to get here, shouldn’t we have some nice conversations? Now, My Lord. I’m sorry I don’t have a place to recommend you to sit, but please take a seat for now. If I had known I was meeting such a distinguished person as My Lord, I would have dressed up a little more. This is truly beyond my understanding.”
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