Erdene’s hand, which was about to dip bread into the soup, stopped abruptly.

Then, as if Sophia had said ‘What you’re about to eat is not bread but a stone’, she looked down at her hand once, and then looked at Sophia with an even more confused expression.

“Aromatic bath?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You mean bathing in water mixed with fragrant oils? But I do that every day.”

Sophia calmly explained.

“No, Your Highness. It’s a bit different from that. An aromatic bath is… putting various dried herbs in hot water, and bathing in that water.”

Erdene suddenly fell into deep thought. She was still holding a piece of bread in her hand.

After a while, Erdene nodded.

“Ah, come to think of it, we had something like that in the Empire too.”

“Have you tried it before, Your Highness?”

Erdene glanced at Sophia, shook her head, and stuffed the bread into her mouth.

“No. It’s something pregnant women do. I only know it exists, but I’ve never actually seen or tried it. I heard it’s good for the mother and fetus because it warms the body. It has nothing to do with me.”

“It’s similar. In Betor, pregnant women often take aromatic baths too. But it’s not just for health reasons. Many people do it for various reasons. There are many types of herbs, so there are just as many uses.”

“I suppose so. But why suddenly bring up aromatic baths?”

For a moment, Sophia’s lips quivered.

It was the first time she hesitated to answer quickly when Erdene asked a question.

She wasn’t completely ignorant about matters between men and women, nor was she the type to make a fuss at the mere mention of sexual topics, like her mother, Lady Fiddlers.

“Sophia.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What’s wrong? If you’re not feeling well, you can rest early today.”

Considering there had been a commotion in the corridor earlier, Erdene’s mood didn’t seem particularly bad.

Well, she was the type to open up to some extent when dealing with Sophia.

Sophia said,

“Your Highness, thank you for your concern. I’m not sick, I was just thinking.”

“What were you thinking so deeply about? Is someone troubling you?”

“No. Um, I mentioned the aromatic bath because I heard something from Lady Weekes. Among the herbs used for aromatic baths, there are some that newlyweds often use, which help blood circulation and warm the body, aiding in… marital affairs.”

Erdene, who had been blinking while listening to her words, made an “Ah” sound.

“I see, I see. I understand what you mean. Well, I’m not sure if that will solve anything, but do as you see fit.”

“I’ll prepare it right away.”

Sophia quickly disappeared with a few maids.

Erdene stopped chewing the soft bread and looked out the window. The sun was setting and the twilight was falling.

The dusk slowly, slowly covered the roofs of the distant city along the mountainside.

“In my country.”

As Erdene muttered to herself, a maid who had remained to serve looked up with a slightly surprised expression.

She seemed to be struggling with whether to respond or not, but Erdene, oblivious, continued muttering as if in a dream.

“By this time, the stars would already be rising. It’s a vast place, but the houses are low, and most have roofs made of wood or dried grass. I’m talking about where the commoners live. Just a little beyond that, an endless plain stretches out with nothing on it. Have you ever seen the sun slowly disappearing into the long-drawn horizon and darkness surging up? Sometimes, watching that made life seem futile. Even the blazing sun that scorches the earth cools down and fades at night, so how could humans or countries be any different.”

“Um, Your Highness…”

“But I didn’t know I would cool down this quickly.”

Erdene put down her spoon with an expression of complete loss of appetite.

After drinking the last of the wine left in her glass, she instructed to clear the table, looking somehow drained of energy.

The hesitating maid tightly gripped her sleeve cuff as if wringing it out.

“Your Highness, though it may be presumptuous of me to say… doesn’t the sun always rise anew?”

Erdene, who was about to get up and leave, turned her head slightly.

The maid’s face flushed even redder. Embarrassed and afraid, she lowered her head, causing a lock of hair to slip down from behind her ear.

“Go on.”

Erdene’s voice was unexpectedly calm.

But the maid, still unable to calm down, took a deep breath before she could continue speaking.

“Well, Your Highness… you may think you’re already a setting sun, that you’ve cooled down… But after the night passes, morning always… comes again, that’s the natural order. Of course, some people say that yesterday’s sun is not the same as today’s, but even so, doesn’t sunlight always shine on the whole land in the same way? So, Your Highness, you can’t say you’ve completely… completely cooled down, and, well, you might see good days again…”

The maid trailed off, closing her mouth tightly and squeezing her eyes shut with an expression that said ‘I’ve ruined it’.

Although Erdene had never gotten angry at Sophia or the maids of the Queen’s chambers, knowing her fiery temper, the maid belatedly regretted her unnecessary words.

As she trembled, waiting for lightning to strike, she was startled by a light snort and looked up in surprise.

“Your, Your Highness. I’m sorry. If I said something I shouldn’t have…”

“No. You’re one of the girls Sophia brought, aren’t you? What was your name again? Was it Anne?”

“Oh, no. Anne went with Miss Sophia earlier to prepare the aromatic bath. My name is Savnake. Miss Sophia is my distant cousin sister.”

“A distant relative.”

“Ah… very distant, actually. Even though we’re called relatives…”

Savnake’s forehead flushed even more.

Erdene stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to do, then chuckled and waved her hand.

“Alright, I understand. Thank you for your kind words.”

“Not at all, Your Highness.”

“Now, clear the table.”

Savnake quickly moved to clear the dishes one by one.

Erdene noticed her hastily putting one of the remaining biscuits into her mouth, but pretended not to see.

It was natural and not particularly blameworthy for servants to eat the leftovers of their masters, which would be shared among the kitchen maids and servants.

Of course, doing so openly was punishable, but Erdene was generally lenient towards her subordinates and servants, as long as it wasn’t a direct challenge to her authority.

“Your Highness, everything is ready.”

Sophia returned to deliver the message.

She glanced at Savnake, who was clearing the table and eating the leftovers one by one, but like Erdene, pretended not to notice and looked away.

“Let’s go.”

Erdene stretched her arms and moved her head from side to side.

“Good, it’ll be even better after loosening up my body. Tell me, Sophia. Your husband candidate wasn’t crushed, was he?”

“Your Majesty, even though His Highness Pellerhar said so, I don’t think you need to go this far.”

Platt, who had been pursing his lips the entire time following Arkan, finally spoke up.

Although he knew he would be ignored, he couldn’t help but say something. As expected, Arkan didn’t even bother to glance back, which made Platt feel even more frustrated.

“Your Majesty.”

“Platt, you must be very busy these days. Being my secretary, the head servant, and even trying to play the role of Lady Fiddlers.”

Platt’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

“It’s not like that. I just think that always… bending first like this isn’t necessarily the best approach.”

“To Her Highness.”

Platt blinked in confusion.

“Pardon? What did you say?”

Arkan turned his head to look at him.

“Bending to Her Highness. Say it once.”

Platt’s face, which rarely showed embarrassment, flushed red.

Arkan clearly knew that the reason Platt had trailed off mid-sentence was because he was reluctant to refer to Erdene as ‘Her Highness’.

“To, to Her Highness.”

“Good. Go home today and write that a hundred times.”

Leaving behind a stunned Platt at the sudden order, Arkan opened the door to the bedroom that had been their bridal chamber.

He flung the door open himself before the servant’s hand could even touch the doorknob, as if he were about to face an enemy general rather than meet his wife.

“Good heavens, I might have to retire soon. Come to think of it, he’s become this picky ever since the princess entered…”

Platt, who had been grumbling under his breath, bit his tongue in surprise at the loud bang of the closing door.

Arkan clearly hadn’t heard—if he had, he wouldn’t have let it slide—but Platt’s old heart pounded violently as if it might flip over even at the sound of the closing door.

After passing through the small living room and rooms, three or four arched corners and entrances, Arkan stopped abruptly as soon as he entered the bedroom.

Similar to their wedding night, candles were lit everywhere and the entire room was filled with fragrance. But that wasn’t the reason he stopped.

What made Arkan immobile was Erdene.

In a dark corner where the light barely reached, she was crouched down silently.