Meanwhile, Arkan, who had a big fight with Erdene, had to attend a bureaucrat meeting without even having time to cool down his anger alone.

As it was an urgent meeting called to discuss tax issues, he couldn’t just dismiss it telling them to handle it themselves, so he sat down, but unlike usual, his mind seemed to be elsewhere entirely.

“Um, Your Majesty.”

Among the officials who were only eyeing each other cautiously due to Arkan’s unusual atmosphere, the oldest marquis carefully called out to Arkan.

However, Arkan’s gaze as he turned to look at him was uncharacteristically harsh.

“What is it?”

“No, well… Is there something bothering you? Or is there a problem with the budget…?”

Arkan let out a deep sigh.

The officials all kept their mouths shut, and even Platt, standing a little away from the throne, looked at Arkan with confused eyes.

“No, it’s not that. Proceed with the southern tax issue as discussed. And for the rest of the regions, we’ll make decisions later.”

“Ah, understood.”

After finishing his words, Arkan abruptly stood up without even declaring the meeting adjourned.

The noble officials, who had been wearing blank expressions as if possessed by ghosts, only began to whisper with puzzled eyes after Arkan’s figure had completely disappeared from view.

“What on earth is going on? Today…”

“I heard he came from the study, perhaps he read a book he didn’t like…”

“Are there books His Majesty doesn’t like? That’s nonsense.”

“Then why on earth is he acting like that?”

“How should I know.”

The officials, each lowering their voices to murmur, left the meeting room tilting their heads.

Arkan walked briskly down the corridor, leaving Platt to follow anxiously with hurried steps.

Platt tried to speak to him several times, but each time Arkan moved away as if escaping, causing him to miss his chance repeatedly.

‘This must have been how Lady Fiddlers felt recently.’

Platt recalled Arkan’s behavior of pretending not to hear Lady Fiddlers’ desperate voice.

He felt a bit upset thinking that he was receiving similar treatment as her, but anyway, there didn’t seem to be an opportunity to speak to Arkan at the moment.

It was the moment Arkan turned the corner heading towards the king’s quarters.

Suddenly appearing out of nowhere, Pellerhar swiftly wrapped his arm around Arkan’s stiffly frozen shoulder.

“Why the long face? Did someone eat something delicious without you?”

Arkan glanced at Pellerhar, moving only his eyes, and shook off his arm as if annoyed.

However, no sooner had his arm fallen than Pellerhar used the momentum to grab his shoulder even more firmly.

“Ah, stop being so annoying.”

Arkan, who had been keeping his mouth shut as if sealed with glue, finally spoke irritably.

Pellerhar grinned as if to say, ‘That’s more like it.’

“Why does a workaholic look like this after doing work? Are you finally taking your first step as a lazy bum?”

“Stop talking nonsense and go get more sleep.”

“Am I a bear? Even bears are out and about in this season. Platt, please bring some tea.”

Platt, who had been watching the two cousins with an anxious heart, quickly nodded.

“Understood, Your Highness Pellerhar.”

As Platt left, Arkan and Pellerhar went to the west living room where the afternoon sunlight slanted in and took seats on the sofa.

However, Arkan still wore a sullen expression, his lower lip jutting out in a way that clearly showed he was itching to grumble at someone.

Pellerhar, who had been staring intently at Arkan’s wrinkled brow as if finding it amusing, said,

“I can tell at a glance. You’ve had quite a marital spat.”

Arkan glared at Pellerhar with sharp eyes but soon sighed as if deflated.

Pellerhar, seemingly determined to tease him thoroughly, added with a grin,

“I bet you nagged a ton.”

Arkan flared up.

“What are you saying when you don’t even know?”

“So you’re saying it’s not true?”

Arkan, who had been pressing his lips tightly, slammed the armrest.

The young servant who was just entering with tea startled at the sound and nearly spilled the teapot.

Arkan said,

“If there’s any fault, it’s on her side. She has a foul mouth, resorts to violence at the drop of a hat, and she’s quite good at threatening too? Do you know what she said to me?”

Pellerhar, holding a teacup, chuckled in a low voice.

Slightly lowering his eyes to savor the aroma, he took a sip of the steaming tea, then placed a cushion that was behind him on his lap and leaned back.

“From Her Majesty’s perspective, she must be quite upset, why don’t you try to be more understanding?”

“This is me being understanding.”

“Huh, in the time I haven’t seen you, our once soft-hearted king has become a hedgehog. Why are you being so prickly? It’s not like you.”

Arkan, wearing an expression full of discontent, didn’t even touch his share of tea and was staring down at the table as if in a staring contest.

His mind, which had been tangled like knotted thread throughout the meeting, no, from the moment Erdene stormed out of the study, seemed to be shrinking more intensely with each word from Pellerhar.

Pellerhar, who had been quietly drinking tea, put down his cup and rested his chin on his hand at an angle.

“It’s largely Uncle and Aunt’s fault.”

Arkan glanced at Pellerhar as if to say, ‘What do you mean by that?’

Blinking slowly, Pellerhar moved the corner of his mouth askew and continued,

“They were so good to me that saying this makes me seem ungrateful, but… To be honest, they were too harsh on you. You always had to be polite to others, hide your true feelings, and couldn’t deviate even an inch from the image of the heir they wanted… While at the same time, you had to act lovable as their only remaining child.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Listen. It’s not like you don’t understand why the princess is throwing such a fit.”

Arkan scoffed, pretending to be cold.

“She’s not a princess anymore.”

“Right, whatever. Princess or Her Majesty. I don’t know why you fought, but I’m saying there’s no need to be this angry. You haven’t been married long, so who knows what will happen in the future, but haven’t you been getting along quietly so far? With her temper, that’s quite remarkable. I wouldn’t have been surprised if a few heads had already rolled. Especially Lady Fiddlers.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. This might be the case in the Empire, but this is Betor.”

Pellerhar’s shoulders shook lightly. Although Arkan spoke as if to drive home a point, there wasn’t much strength in his voice.

In fact, he couldn’t help but somewhat acknowledge that Pellerhar was right.

As he himself had said, Pellerhar had encountered Erdene on the battlefield face to face.

If it hadn’t been for a moment of chance, he might have lost his life by her hand and not be sitting here now. One might think his heart would shudder at the thought, but perhaps due to his personality, he felt no fear when dealing with Erdene.

He was only surprised that she was quietly playing the role of Betor’s queen like a bird with broken wings.

It wasn’t that Arkan didn’t understand what Pellerhar was saying.

He didn’t know how Erdene rampaged across battlefields and hoped he would never find out, but he wasn’t so blind and deaf as to be unaware of the gruesome rumors circulating among the people.

Moreover, when he decided to form an alliance between the inland and the empire through marriage with Erdene, the noble officials had even taken turns denouncing Princess Erdene’s brutality and cruelty in front of him.

And as Erdene herself had said, he knew that she was trying hard to accept the marriage, which must have been like an insult, and stay quiet.

“That’s why I’m even more angry.”

Arkan said irritably.

“I understand too. Do you think I’m a fool who wouldn’t know that? I’m angry because I understand. I’m trying to approach her with understanding, but she recoils, pushes me away, and only says harsh things. How can I not be annoyed? It wasn’t even me who took away the imperial throne in the first place!”

Pellerhar tilted his head, trying to suppress a laugh.

“That last bit sounds a bit childish, but well. Go on, keep talking.”

Arkan glared at him with a look that suggested he wanted to hit him, then sighed again.

“She probably didn’t want to marry me. Of course. But why can’t she think that it’s the same for me too? The situation is similar for both of us.”

“It’s not like you wanted to marry someone else.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Even so, I never thought about wanting to marry her. You say Father and Mother raised me wrong, but I think differently. Brother died young, so they had no choice. I… I don’t resent that. Besides, I love Betor’s delicate culture. I would have been much more at ease if the queen was someone who could appreciate inland music or poetry, rather than from the Empire that pours eight-tenths of its treasury into war and weaponry.”

“Then you should have married Sophia Fiddlers long ago.”

Arkan’s lips pressed tightly shut. Pellerhar, as if not wanting to miss the opportunity, smiled and spoke in a gentle yet pressing voice,

“Isn’t that right? There’s something you used to say habitually. That royalty is the most valuable commodity in the marriage market. You didn’t marry Sophia Fiddlers because you were considering how high your price could go, and by marrying the princess, you’ve fetched the best price, haven’t you? So why are you still dissatisfied, Arkan?”