Arkan, who was squinting, lightly touched Erdene’s nose.
Erdene noticed the sigh hanging at the end of the kiss, and as soon as their lips parted, she cupped Arkan’s cheeks with her palms.
“What’s wrong? Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Arkan, who didn’t press too hard but exaggeratedly stuck out his lips, mumbled.
“I guess I’m just worried.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think? You.”
Erdene looked at Arkan with a strange look for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Are you still thinking about that? I told you not to worry.”
He knows. But even so, Arkan couldn’t help but worry.
Every time this happened, he thought that he was a lot like his mother.
His mother was also a person who worried a lot and had a personality that worried about trivial things.
His father seemed to be similar, although he didn’t express it as openly as his mother.
“I see. I understand. Of course, there must have been a way to hide the cause of death itself, as you said. The reason why it wasn’t possible is because there were too many witnesses to do anything, or because rumors had already spread outside the duchy.”
Arkan’s head rose and fell a couple of times as he listened to her.
“So?”
Erdene crossed her arms with a thoughtful expression and tapped her forearm with her finger.
“Then they have no choice but to honestly reveal the cause of death, but as for why a person as worthy as a little Duke took his own life, well... As Your Majesty said, it would be much better not to reveal the reason...”
“Much better?”
Erdene’s shoulders, which had been silent for a moment, shrugged slightly.
“To borrow your words, I think it would be ‘logical’ and ‘reasonable.’ Little Duke Deger is a scoundrel who is not even close to his father, Grand Duke Joelvy, or even to his older sister? I heard that at that age, he did all sorts of bad things. Well, would someone like that really take their own life? Based on my experience, such people usually have long lifelines.”
A shallow crack formed on Arkan’s forehead again. He slowly chewed on Erdene’s words... and then suddenly came to a surprising conclusion.
It was hard to believe and highly unlikely, but it couldn’t be said to be completely impossible, so her guess could be true.
“Do you think the little Duke was killed by someone? Then that person...”
“I think it was only one person.”
“One person.”
Arkan repeated the same words in a whisper as if trying to organize his thoughts once more, and then let out a long sigh.
His expression, looking up at the ceiling, seemed as flat as a freshly painted mask or wall.
“Did the Princess succeed in her plan in the end?”
“In my opinion. Otherwise, such an absurd thing wouldn’t have happened overnight. If by any chance it is true that the one who fabricated the death of the little Duke was actually his contemporarie, Princess Limepale... “
Erdene, whose words trailed off, fiddled with the ends of her long, ornamented hair. She was repeatedly wrapping and unwinding it between her fingers, which was as smooth as silk, without a single tangle.
“Right now, not only the Grand Duke and his wife, but the entire Duchy would be in chaos, so it would be impossible to know, but if the Grand Duke discovers even the slightest suspiciousness in the death of the heir and starts to track it down, he will become persistent. Grand Duke Joelvy is neither stupid nor foolish, nor lazy. Princess Limepale is just like her father, so it won’t be easy to catch her, but there is a difference in experience. Even if they are soldiers with the same talent, the breathing sounds of those who have been through war and those who haven’t are different.”
Arkan still placed his hand on Erdene’s waist and looked straight into her eyes.
“So what do you want to do?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s time to do anything yet. If Princess Limepale finds it difficult to resolve the situation on her own and asks for my help, then I should help her.”
“Erdene.”
Arkan sighed again and tightened his grip on her waist.
It had been a long time since the two of them had been so close together and the atmosphere had become this heavy.
They rarely fought these days. They had only played pranks to get on each other’s nerves for a little fun in life.
But now, just by looking at Arkan’s eyes, Erdene could tell that he had no intention of playing pranks.
In fact, his expression was serious enough that anyone could tell.
“I know you promised to help the Princess. You told me so, and I didn’t really object at the time. Why? Because little Duke Degar of Stradhog is a total loser, just as you said and as rumored. It’s almost true that the duchy will fall into chaos the moment he takes the throne. I also agreed that it would be much better if the smart Princess pushed her brother out and succeeded the Grand Duke of Joelvy. However, no matter how much I think about what you just said, it’s not true. If it’s just forming a faction for the sake of a succession dispute, then it’s okay, but we can’t get involved in such a serious matter when someone who has held the position of a little Duke for over ten years suddenly dies.”
Erdene stopped tapping her fingers on her arm and eventually uncrossed her arms. Then she grabbed Arkan’s strong wrist that was resting on her waist.
She rubbed the rounded, protruding wrist bone in a circular motion—a habit she had developed recently—and said,
“We should not get involved, Your Majesty. What are you saying? Vetor will not get involved in this matter. But we promised the Princess and owed her a debt, so if she asks for help, we must do it. But no one should know that we were involved. It's like unleashing a tactic on the enemy and then spreading false information to make them waver before they even fight."
Erdene noticed the sigh hanging at the end of the kiss, and as soon as their lips parted, she cupped Arkan’s cheeks with her palms.
“What’s wrong? Tell me what’s bothering you.”
Arkan, who didn’t press too hard but exaggeratedly stuck out his lips, mumbled.
“I guess I’m just worried.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think? You.”
Erdene looked at Arkan with a strange look for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Are you still thinking about that? I told you not to worry.”
He knows. But even so, Arkan couldn’t help but worry.
Every time this happened, he thought that he was a lot like his mother.
His mother was also a person who worried a lot and had a personality that worried about trivial things.
His father seemed to be similar, although he didn’t express it as openly as his mother.
“I know. It’s my heart, and I can’t do what I want.”
“Yes, I know. But calm down.”
Erdene, who had been trying to comfort him half-heartedly, patted Arkan on the back.
Erdene, who had been trying to comfort him half-heartedly, patted Arkan on the back.
“Since you’re so restless, Plat must have been emotionally unstable, too. I was surprised at how big his smile was.”
“Does it matter whether Plat was laughing or crying? Can you comfort me a little?”
“I know you like novels that make the ending even more tragic with the death of one person, but novels are novels, not reality.”
“I forgot. You still don’t know the meaning of comfort.”
Erdene giggled like a mischievous child and pressed her lips to Arkan’s forehead for a long time, then removed them. Her fingers, intertwined behind his neck, moved slowly as if playing a trick.
“You’re cute when you act like you’re being annoying, but now is not the time to be doing that.”
Arkan, who was pressing his lips to the inside of Erdene’s wrist, moved his eyes first to look at her. He slowly raised his head and carefully grabbed Erdene’s arm with a serious expression.
“What happened?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not about Vetor.”
Arkan let out a short sigh and his shoulders slumped. He said.
“Then what happened?”
“The duchy. The duchy of Stradhog.”
Suddenly a duchy?
Arkan was puzzled for a moment but soon remembered. Princess Limepale, hadn’t he heard about her hidden ambitions?
Arkan also knew that she had come to Erdene with a bright smile as if she were an innocent Princess who knew nothing, and asked her to help her when she woke up. Compared to the Kings of other countries, Duke Joelvy of the Duchy of Stradhog was still young. Arkan has not heard any news that he has a chronic disease that could lead to sudden death.
In that case, the only news that could be quickly transmitted from the duchy to here would be Princess Limepale.
“Is it about the Princess?”
Erdene tilted her head, slightly twisting one side of her lips.
“It is about the Princess, the Grand Duke, and the little Duke.”
“Why are you beating around the bush like this? It’s not like you. Just tell me. There’s nothing more to be surprised about.”
“In fact, it’s not something that would surprise or shake Your Majesty. I heard that the little Duke, the successor to Grand Duke Joelvy, committed suicide.”
“What?”
Just before Arkan suddenly stood up, Erdene, who had been leaning against him, quickly took a step back. For a moment, Arkan realized that Erdene was making an expression he had never seen before. If it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t a positive expression, he would have definitely felt a sense of wonder at Erdene’s new appearance.
“I wonder why it happened...”
Erdene shook her head before Arkan could finish speaking.
“The news hasn’t reached there yet.”
Arkan slowly rolled his tongue in his mouth and nodded.
“Well, they must be in a panic, too.”
“I think it’s either that or they can’t tell, I think.”
Arkan flinched as if he was startled by something. His eyes, staring intently at Erdene, were a mixture of strange suspicion and faint anxiety.
“I can understand disguising someone’s own death as illness or an accident. But it’s not someone else, but a little Duke... who did something like that, and I don’t understand why they can’t tell you why.”
“I see. I understand. Of course, there must have been a way to hide the cause of death itself, as you said. The reason why it wasn’t possible is because there were too many witnesses to do anything, or because rumors had already spread outside the duchy.”
Arkan’s head rose and fell a couple of times as he listened to her.
“So?”
Erdene crossed her arms with a thoughtful expression and tapped her forearm with her finger.
“Then they have no choice but to honestly reveal the cause of death, but as for why a person as worthy as a little Duke took his own life, well... As Your Majesty said, it would be much better not to reveal the reason...”
“Much better?”
Erdene’s shoulders, which had been silent for a moment, shrugged slightly.
“To borrow your words, I think it would be ‘logical’ and ‘reasonable.’ Little Duke Deger is a scoundrel who is not even close to his father, Grand Duke Joelvy, or even to his older sister? I heard that at that age, he did all sorts of bad things. Well, would someone like that really take their own life? Based on my experience, such people usually have long lifelines.”
A shallow crack formed on Arkan’s forehead again. He slowly chewed on Erdene’s words... and then suddenly came to a surprising conclusion.
It was hard to believe and highly unlikely, but it couldn’t be said to be completely impossible, so her guess could be true.
“Do you think the little Duke was killed by someone? Then that person...”
“I think it was only one person.”
“One person.”
Arkan repeated the same words in a whisper as if trying to organize his thoughts once more, and then let out a long sigh.
His expression, looking up at the ceiling, seemed as flat as a freshly painted mask or wall.
“Did the Princess succeed in her plan in the end?”
“In my opinion. Otherwise, such an absurd thing wouldn’t have happened overnight. If by any chance it is true that the one who fabricated the death of the little Duke was actually his contemporarie, Princess Limepale... “
Erdene, whose words trailed off, fiddled with the ends of her long, ornamented hair. She was repeatedly wrapping and unwinding it between her fingers, which was as smooth as silk, without a single tangle.
“Right now, not only the Grand Duke and his wife, but the entire Duchy would be in chaos, so it would be impossible to know, but if the Grand Duke discovers even the slightest suspiciousness in the death of the heir and starts to track it down, he will become persistent. Grand Duke Joelvy is neither stupid nor foolish, nor lazy. Princess Limepale is just like her father, so it won’t be easy to catch her, but there is a difference in experience. Even if they are soldiers with the same talent, the breathing sounds of those who have been through war and those who haven’t are different.”
Arkan still placed his hand on Erdene’s waist and looked straight into her eyes.
“So what do you want to do?”
“It doesn’t seem like it’s time to do anything yet. If Princess Limepale finds it difficult to resolve the situation on her own and asks for my help, then I should help her.”
“Erdene.”
Arkan sighed again and tightened his grip on her waist.
It had been a long time since the two of them had been so close together and the atmosphere had become this heavy.
They rarely fought these days. They had only played pranks to get on each other’s nerves for a little fun in life.
But now, just by looking at Arkan’s eyes, Erdene could tell that he had no intention of playing pranks.
In fact, his expression was serious enough that anyone could tell.
“I know you promised to help the Princess. You told me so, and I didn’t really object at the time. Why? Because little Duke Degar of Stradhog is a total loser, just as you said and as rumored. It’s almost true that the duchy will fall into chaos the moment he takes the throne. I also agreed that it would be much better if the smart Princess pushed her brother out and succeeded the Grand Duke of Joelvy. However, no matter how much I think about what you just said, it’s not true. If it’s just forming a faction for the sake of a succession dispute, then it’s okay, but we can’t get involved in such a serious matter when someone who has held the position of a little Duke for over ten years suddenly dies.”
Erdene stopped tapping her fingers on her arm and eventually uncrossed her arms. Then she grabbed Arkan’s strong wrist that was resting on her waist.
She rubbed the rounded, protruding wrist bone in a circular motion—a habit she had developed recently—and said,
“We should not get involved, Your Majesty. What are you saying? Vetor will not get involved in this matter. But we promised the Princess and owed her a debt, so if she asks for help, we must do it. But no one should know that we were involved. It's like unleashing a tactic on the enemy and then spreading false information to make them waver before they even fight."
Comments
Post a Comment