Arkan took a moment to compose himself. He had fully anticipated and could understand that Erdene would be angry with him.

Considering her personality, he might even have to be grateful that she was only being this sarcastic.

He let out a shallow sigh as if he had nearly fallen but barely regained his balance, and gave an awkward smile.

“Running away, me? How could that be possible?”

Erdene immediately replied.

“Since you were nowhere to be seen, I don’t think it’s an unreasonable thought.”

Nowhere to be seen. Arkan was dumbfounded by the vulgar expression that came out so casually. Moreover, he felt a bit wronged.

“If you put it that way, wasn’t the Princess also ‘nowhere to be seen’?”

“I’m still just a guest here. Isn’t that right? Besides, no one would like me running around stirring things up here.”

A gaze that seemed to ask if he was stupid for not even thinking of that much struck Arkan’s forehead.

Feeling as if he had seen a ‘1 win’ flag fluttering over Erdene’s head, Arkan raised his eyebrows dully.

“It wasn’t on purpose. Too many things happened in a week. I had to gather and organize supplies to send to the Princess’s home country, and I also had to attend several meetings about sending aid to the affected Kingdom of Vinotin…”

Arkan trailed off with a dismayed expression.

Erdene’s gaze, staring at him intently—or rather, glaring at him as if to devour him—was filled with reproach and anger.

“…I’m not blaming you, Princess Erdene.”

Erdene snorted.

“Who said anything? I wouldn’t mind at all even if you blamed me. But if you think I’m going to apologize for your workload, you’re greatly mistaken.”

This isn’t right. Arkan thought.

Something had gone terribly wrong, but he couldn’t understand exactly what had happened.

In his opinion, Erdene was unnecessarily angry.

For someone like him, accustomed to resolving conflicts calmly through dialogue, Erdene’s endless harsh sarcasm was extremely disconcerting.

“I’m truly sorry for leaving you alone for a week. I’m not trying to make excuses, but really… I didn’t have time to think about anything. And I didn’t mean to blame you…”

“Do you think I’m some child who cries loudly when left alone? Whether it’s a week or a month, what does it matter that you keep harping on about it since earlier?”

Unable to contain her irritation any longer, Erdene’s retort caused Arkan’s patience to snap as well.

“No, if that’s not it, then why are you so angry? I don’t understand.”

Erdene once again imagined crumpling Arkan’s face but… stopped herself.

Whether his face was crumpled or his nose crooked, they had to hold the wedding ceremony tomorrow, and unless she planned to bury him on the spot and flee in these uncomfortable clothes, it would be her loss no matter how she thought about it.

Standing with her arms crossed in a skewed posture, Erdene said.

“More than that, Your Majesty seemed to have great interest in me, even if you didn’t show your face. Wasn’t it Your Majesty who wanted to know my every move? Should I unpack and show you my meager dowry that I couldn’t even bring properly? Aren’t you curious how many well-sharpened daggers there are?”

“I’ll never be curious about that in my lifetime, so keep them packed. No, wait. What are you saying right now?”

Erdene and Arkan frowned simultaneously. Their expressions were a mix of suspicion and confusion.

Arkan said.

“I asked what you mean by that.”

Erdene immediately retorted as if dumbfounded.

“What do I mean? Did you imagine I would come empty-handed without even packing a few daggers? Like an obedient and sad hostage with empty hands…”

“No, I said forget about the daggers! Goodness! Knowing you, yes. Would you have only packed daggers? You’d pack sabers and broadswords, and maybe even a poisoned arrowhead! That’s not what I want to know. What do you mean I wanted to know your every move?”

Erdene’s eyes widened.

Even she was dumbfounded by the sight of Arkan throwing a tantrum like a five-year-old whose toy had been unfairly taken away.

Moreover, he was wrinkling his entire face as if deeply wronged and frustrated.

His hair, which had been curling softly like a puppy’s belly fur, was now disheveled in a mess, and suddenly she thought he looked pitiful and amusing.

‘I must be going crazy.’

Erdene, calmly misjudging her own state, crossed her arms even tighter.

“I’m talking about Lady Fiddlers. Are you saying it wasn’t your idea to conspire with that stubborn and detestable woman to monitor me?”

“What nonsense is this? Are you trying to make my insides burst and then see what’s inside my body?”

This time, Erdene’s face crumpled mercilessly.

“That’s something I’ll never be curious about in my lifetime. And I already know what’s inside a person’s body…”

Arkan shouted with a pale face.

“No, that’s enough! I understand. I get it sufficiently that the Princess is well-versed in anatomy, so just answer the question. Why is Lady Fiddlers being mentioned here? What do you mean I conspired with her?”

He spoke almost without breathing, and Erdene vaguely realized that she and he were focusing on different points of the argument.

Not that she was the type to immediately withdraw her suspicions…

At that moment, Arkan’s mouth fell open.

It seemed as if she had realized some enormous secret, and to some extent it was true, but Erdene was just thinking, ‘In my life, I’ve never seen such a foolish face since Telma.’

“Don’t tell me Sophia Fiddlers was brought by the Marchioness?”

To his question, Erdene replied accusingly.

“I don’t know what kind of trick this is. Are you trying to play innocent? Or…”

“This is truly frustrating. What do you mean by playing innocent? Is it true that the Marchioness brought Sophia? What exactly did she say when she brought her?”

“She said the person who should be standing here, wearing this ceremonial robe, was supposed to be Sophia. Claiming her youngest daughter was to become the queen of Betor, she said even if one searched the entire continent, they wouldn’t find a lady as perfect as her daughter, and told me to keep her as my close attendant. And from what I heard, let me be clear, she said you had permitted it.”

Arkan’s lips parted a bit more.

“You’re saying I allowed Sophia Fiddlers to become your close maid and serve you?”

Erdene remained silent, neither confirming nor denying, but that silence was no different from affirming Arkan’s words with all her might.

Seeing her cold gaze, Arkan finally clearly understood how things were unfolding.

Arkan suddenly adopted a solemn expression and asked Erdene.

“When she told you that story, did you see Lady Fiddlers’ face?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Did you see it or not? Truly, you never answer a question directly even once.”

“I’m just curious why that’s important.”

How much longer could he hold out without bursting before this conversation ended? Arkan took a deep breath, tensing both his abdomen and chest simultaneously.

“Didn’t her expression seem strange?”

To his question, Erdene answered with a face full of derision.

“She looked as displeased as a duck that had eaten rotten millet porridge.”

Although he had never seen rotten millet porridge, nor a duck that had eaten it, Arkan could somehow vividly imagine the scene Erdene was describing.

He could picture Lady Fiddlers’ small lips comically puckering, protruding outward and then drawing inward.

Arkan sighed and touched his forehead.

“That’s a lie.”

Erdene glanced at him and rolled her eyes in displeasure.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a lie. Lady Fiddlers has a few habits. Of course, habits she’s unaware of herself. One of them is that when she lies, she always purses her lips.”

Then Arkan tilted his head as if lost in thought for a moment. After that, he added one more thing.

“Like a coin purse.”

Erdene’s expression became indescribably strange.

Hadn’t she thought exactly the same thing when she saw Lady Fiddlers’ face?

It was to the point where she wondered if Arkan had looked into her mind, so she readily admitted.

“It looked like if you squeezed and pressed it, cream would ooze out. Just like…”

“That’s enough detailed explanation. What you said earlier is enough to put me off cream for a while. Anyway, I’ll tell Sophia Fiddlers to go back. I was planning to have a formal discussion about your close attendants after the wedding ceremony. Absolutely…”

“Just leave Sophia be.”

Arkan raised one eyebrow. His expression said, ‘What is this about now?’