Erdene laughed bitterly, still incredulous as she thought about it again.

“What do you mean it’s related to me? Are you saying even tripping over one’s own feet while walking backwards has something to do with me?”

“Ah, no, then… Are you saying Your Highness didn’t push Miss Zelma down?”

The wrinkles between Erdene’s brows deepened further.

“If I had deliberately pushed her down, would she have been able to stand up on her own?”

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

Maura nodded unconsciously, wearing a perplexed expression as if to say ‘what can be done about this?’

“Everyone mistakenly thought Your Highness had pushed Miss Zelma down…”

“Let them think what they want. What use would it be for me to declare that I didn’t push her? And even if it were useful, what reason would I have to do so?”

Erdene’s eyes flashed brightly. They seemed to spark with a pale fire.

Maura was not a particularly sensitive lady for her status. Nor was she the type to quickly read the mood.

However, in that moment, she thought Erdene looked like a fierce beast unjustly whipped while caged.

She appeared to know it was useless to roar and bare her claws, resigned to her fate, yet never forgetting her anger, storing it up bit by bit until it dried up her own blood.

‘Come to think of it, Your Highness shouldn’t have…’

Maura pondered deeply.

Though she swallowed her words, knowing Erdene would surely get angry if she spoke them aloud, Erdene’s situation suddenly struck her heart like a thorn.

“Of course not, Your Highness. Since I’m acquainted with some of the people who were… there, I’ll tell them that Miss Zelma fell on her own and was crying out of embarrassment.”

Though still frightened, Maura spoke more articulately and coherently than before.

Erdene wasn’t particularly pleased with that either, but she knew well that in high society, a single word could be terrifying.

In the Empire, it wouldn’t have mattered what false rumors spread about her, and there was no one bold enough to spread rumors about her in the first place, but everything was different here.

“Did Miss Zelma… behave rudely towards Your Highness? If so, I could report it to His Majesty…”

“Don’t even mention that person.”

Maura’s eyes and mouth opened wide simultaneously, deeply shocked. ‘That person’? She wanted to ask who exactly was being referred to, but… there was no need. Given the context, it was obvious whom Erdene was referring to.

“Did something happen with His, His Majesty…?”

But Erdene no longer seemed to be listening to Maura’s words.

Struggling to suppress her boiling anger, Erdene finally couldn’t hold back and raised her voice abruptly.

“So what if I lost my temper a bit? Who’s supposed to be so pitiful and distressing? If they find him so pitiable that they want to coddle him, he should have just married and become king in the first place! Why on earth are they trembling with concern over the king of a country as if he were a begging child?”

“Pi…tiful? Did they say that about His Majesty?”

“Yes!”

It was a voice loud enough to make the corridor resonate.

Though Maura was not only dull-witted but also faint-hearted to a degree unmatched elsewhere, as she listened to Erdene’s words, she could somewhat guess the circumstances.

“Your, Your Highness… The truth is, everyone tends to… overprotect His Majesty Arkan a bit, treating him like a child as you said. It’s not just Miss Zelma… You saw how Lady Fiddlers acted too, didn’t you? The Betor nobles are generally… like that.”

Having finished speaking with difficulty, Maura glanced furtively at Erdene’s expression.

Erdene had been listening with her arms crossed, but now she burst into laughter.

“Why do they do that to a grown man? Is he suffering from some fatal disease I don’t know about? Or does he scatter gold coins around from time to time?”

“No, no, it’s not like that. It’s not that. Well, young ladies first of all… since His Majesty is so handsome, they tend to blindly adore and worship him. It’s childish behavior, but how could it possibly threaten Your Highness’s position?”

The last words were clearly added to reassure Erdene, but her mood had already soured, and her reply was far from pleasant.

“It’s not like they can eat his face to survive. If that’s the case, he’d be better off as an actor. There are plenty of pretty-faced men among circus clowns too.”

These were ridiculous comparisons for a country’s king, but now was not the time to point that out.

Of course, if it were Lady Fiddlers, she would have been gasping for breath in shock, but Maura was more afraid of Erdene, who was close by, than Arkan, who wasn’t present.

“It’s not just because of His Majesty’s looks, it’s because… he shoulders so much responsibility alone, not just for Betor but for all the inland kingdoms, so everyone worries about him. And because the late king and queen were so…”

As Maura’s voice trailed off, Erdene turned her gaze sharply, as if irritated.

“Why do you stop mid-sentence? What did the late king and queen do?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing. I don’t think it’s my place to say… More importantly, Your Highness, could the reason you’re upset be because you had an argument with His Majesty?”

“Do you think I’d be losing my temper alone after coming out laughing and smiling?”

“I, I suppose not. Um…”

Erdene pressed her forehead as if terribly frustrated and muttered:

“Why is he so picky about everything? He acts like he’s about to go crazy because he doesn’t like each and every one of my actions. Did he expect me to suddenly become demure just because he made me the queen of Betor, his wife?”

“I’m sure that’s not the case. Well… His Majesty’s strict adherence to etiquette and cautious speech, though partly due to his innate nature, is also because the late king and queen treated him somewhat… strictly.”

Hearing this, Erdene’s expression changed slightly.

She didn’t know to what extent ‘strictly’ meant, but it was unexpected, as she had thought he was just a pampered only son raised in his mother’s embrace.

Maura glanced around as if someone might be listening, then hesitantly continued:

“I shouldn’t speak so freely about this, but… um, the late king and queen originally had another prince besides His Majesty Arkan. He would have been His Majesty’s elder brother if he were alive. He was exceptionally clever from a young age, but unfortunately fell ill and passed away at ten years old. Perhaps because of that, they placed all their expectations on the second prince… that is, the current King Arkan. They treated him very strictly. Of course, they didn’t severely abuse him, but His Majesty Arkan, having lost his brother overnight and become the crown prince, losing his carefree life, was always dejected for a while. If the late king caught him like that, he would be scolded again…”

Though she said she shouldn’t speak of such things, Maura’s rambling words were unexpected.

Apparently, the late king and queen usually treated Arkan very strictly, emphasizing his conduct as crown prince to an excessive degree, while at other times they were incredibly lax, embracing him as their precious child no matter what he did.

“The late queen was especially like that. She loved her firstborn son dearly, having given birth to him after a difficult labor, but when he passed away, she said she would follow her son, forgetting to eat or sleep for days and months, becoming weak. At that time, Lady Fiddlers, who served the queen, briefly took care of His Majesty Arkan. But when the queen did dote on His Majesty Arkan, she did so excessively… She would harass the servants to bring all sorts of luxurious imported goods. And His Majesty Arkan had to personally open each item as it arrived, thank the queen, and act cutely, or else…”

As she quietly listened to her words, Erdene suddenly felt nauseous and uneasy.

It was an unexpected shadow, difficult to find in his usual carefree face with its sly smile or childish arguments.

However, a knotted heart could not be easily untangled by one or two sad childhood anecdotes. Erdene, arms still crossed, snorted loudly enough to be heard.

“Why should I care? I was about to hit him but held back.”

Maura, fidgeting nervously, forced an pitiful smile and carefully replied:

“Since you’re newlyweds, of course you’ll clash often… but conversely, being newlyweds, it should be easy to make up too.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Ah, well… um, when you’re close… anger tends to dissipate naturally.”

Erdene raised one eyebrow sharply.

“What do you mean by ‘close’?”

“No, that… that thing…”

“That thing?”

How frustrating! Maura wanted to beat her own chest but restrained herself, leaning close to Erdene’s ear.

“Well, Your Highness. I’m talking about… marital relations.”

Only then did Erdene understand her meaning.

Although the ‘marital relations’ Maura spoke of had never actually occurred, not even once.

“Ah… you mean that.”

Maura’s face brightened.

“Yes, yes! That’s it.”

“How would that change anything?”

“It changes a lot. I can guarantee it, having lived with my husband for 24 years.”

Erdene, who had been frowning for a moment, puffed out her lips with a ‘phew’ sound.

“Fine. I’ll think about it.”

“I’ll escort you back to your chambers.”

Maura followed beside Erdene, attending to her with an unusually bright expression.

Though rumors of her lack of eloquence and dullness were so ingrained that even she didn’t consider herself particularly witty, this time Maura couldn’t help but smile, confident that she had resolved the problem well.