When The Silent Peony Blooms - Chapter 50

When was that? In the midst of her confusion, Erdene unexpectedly thought of the past.

Maybe when she was ten, or eleven…

It was during a conversation with her father in autumn, when the cold wind started to blow.

[Erdene, do you know the basics of defending a city?] [I know! Just kill all the guys outside!]

The emperor gently smacked his daughter’s small head.

[It’s to never let your guard down.] [Oh, come on! Forget about being on guard, just sweep them all away!]

The voices of her father and teachers laughing heartily seemed to ring vividly in her ears… then suddenly cut off.

“Are you listening to me?”

Snapping out of her reverie, Erdene looked at Arkan, who was standing there imposingly, with annoyed eyes and said:

“Everyone leave. Sophia, you too.”

The maids alternately glanced at the two of them and left the bedroom with hurried steps.

Feeling the door quietly close behind him, Arkan narrowed his eyes and made a sound like a snort.

“Go ahead if you have something to say.”

Erdene rolled her eyes, pushed away the table, and crossed her arms.

“You have a talent for siege warfare, Your Majesty. Although you’re a bit cowardly.”

Arkan retorted immediately.

“What’s cowardly about it? I’ve never actually conducted a siege, but all you need to do is open the gates by any means necessary. Isn’t that right?”

I’ve got nothing to say to that. Erdene thought.

While she was at a loss for words, Arkan annoyingly drove the point home once more.

“You let your guard down, I wasn’t being cowardly.”

As Erdene glared at him, Arkan said:

“Why don’t you wipe what’s on your mouth? Did you leave it there to eat as a midnight snack later?”

Erdene snatched up a napkin, rubbed her mouth area until it was red, then tossed it aside.

She was already irritated at letting him barge in, and now hearing “Didn’t you let your guard down?” made her about ready to sprout horns.

“Why did you suddenly come here?”

When Erdene snapped the question, Arkan let out a hollow laugh.

“You’re asking why? You can fool Sophia and the maids, but you even dragged the viscountess into deceiving me?”

Erdene’s eyes widened. Damn! So that’s where it leaked from!

“Are you saying Maura tattled to Your Majesty?”

Well, well. Arkan burst into laughter and stared at Erdene.

It was amusing and unexpected that she had become close enough with Viscountess Weekes to casually refer to her as “Maura”.

“Who’s tattling? I caught you myself.”

Arkan, with quite a triumphant attitude, laid out the process from suspecting Sophia to ambushing Viscountess Weekes.

Staring at him and listening intently, Erdene wrinkled her nose and turned her head to the side.

“Obsessive men are creepy.”

“What did you say?”

Erdene rolled only her eyes to look at Arkan.

“Didn’t Your Majesty just say so? You suspected I was lying about being sick, and ended up guarding the entrance to my palace.”

“How is that obsess… No, never mind. Fine, call it obsession or whatever. I don’t care what you think, I just came to clear up the misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?”

Arkan took a slow, deep breath to suppress his rising anger once again.

He realized he’d been doing this quite often lately…

Until just a couple of months ago, he used to hear Platt’s nagging: “Your Majesty is too calm and generous. Sometimes you need to show anger and be stern”…

No, that’s not the issue right now. Arkan tried to empty his mind that was becoming complicated again.

The impatient Erdene couldn’t bear even that brief silence and urged Arkan again.

“What misunderstanding, I asked?”

“What I said yesterday. Yesterday… saying that was a mistake.”

Erdene’s eyes narrowed.

“You always say that, Your Majesty. How many times do you intend to make mistakes? At this point, it seems like you’re making mistakes on purpose.”

There was a hint of a mocking smile at the end of her words.

Even the most composed person would be provoked by such a subtle sneer, and veins popped on Arkan’s forehead again.

Heaving a long sigh, Arkan said:

“I… didn’t mean that I spend all day thinking about how to upset you.”

“Then what did you mean?”

Arkan rubbed his face with his palms a few times. Then, like a tired person, he trudged over and sat down next to Erdene.

As the seat was rather cramped, Erdene unconsciously had to make room, but when Arkan’s hip bumped against her body, she couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“If not that, then what did you mean?”

“…”

“Oh, really. You’re so frustrating.”

Erdene’s fist jabbed at Arkan’s side.

Although she hadn’t hit that hard, it must have struck a weak spot, as Arkan let out a groan and clutched his side.

Startled, Erdene quickly withdrew her fist and blinked.

“What are you, made of straw? Just from that…”

Arkan, who had been groaning and holding his side, whipped his head around and glared.

“Did you just hit me?”

Erdene’s lips twitched as she pushed against his thigh with her foot, as if trying to shove him out of the cramped space.

“How is that hitting? It barely counts. If anything, it was more like a caress! Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Ah! Look at this! You’re kicking me now!”

“That’s because Your Majesty is sitting in my spot! It’s so cramped I’m dying! Ack!”

As Erdene was repeatedly kicking Arkan’s thigh, one of her ankles was suddenly lifted up.

As her leg rose, Erdene reflexively pressed down on her dress that was about to lift up, and looked at Arkan with fierce eyes.

And she tried to ‘really’ kick his knee with her other leg, but Arkan’s hand was just a little faster in blocking her ankle.

“What are you doing!”

“Let’s address this, shall we?”

Arkan, holding one of Erdene’s ankles in each hand, furrowed his brow with a serious expression.

As he leaned forward, Erdene’s legs spread apart, almost hanging over Arkan’s shoulders.

“Why are you so violent?”

Erdene, who had been rolling her eyes in embarrassment at the awkward position—she would have had to hit Arkan with all her might to shake him off from here—clenched her molars.

“Didn’t you come to explain yourself, Your Majesty? And what did you say? Violent? Do you want to see what real violence is?”

“See! Every word out of your mouth is a threat!”

“This isn’t a threat. I’m just stating facts and asking you a question.”

Arkan’s upper body leaned in a bit more.

The hands that had been holding Erdene’s ankles moved up to her knees, gripping near her shins.

As his face suddenly drew closer, Erdene’s lips parted slightly, taking in a sharp breath.

His curly bangs cast soft shadows over his straight nose bridge and the rim of his eyes.

His face, with deeper contours than usual, was so handsome it was impossible to look away. She wondered if this was how it felt to be enchanted by an incubus.

Arkan spoke:

“You get upset and lie to avoid me. Why are you so aggressive about everything instead of trying to have a conversation?”

Erdene, who had been captivated by Arkan’s face that looked different from usual, quickly shook her head.

“What conversation can I have with someone who says they spend all day thinking about how to mess with me?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

“Then what did you mean when you said that? What on earth are you thinking about all day?”

Arkan swallowed hard and leaned over Erdene’s body, planting his hand next to her head.

“I didn’t mean that I spend all day thinking about how to torment you. I…”

Erdene’s eyes widened. Arkan felt his thoughts becoming a tangled mess.

He couldn’t quite understand the meaning of the words coming out of his mouth.

What am I trying to say right now? This is just like…

At that moment, there was an urgent knock on the closed door.

Arkan and Erdene’s heads turned simultaneously, and before they could say “Come in,” the door flung open.

“Your Majesty, right now, ack!”

A flustered Platt, grabbing the doorknob, quickly turned his head away. Only then did Arkan grasp the situation and release Erdene, rising to his feet.

In contrast to Arkan, Erdene got up rather slowly, but her fingertips brushing back her disheveled hair clearly betrayed her irritation.

Arkan stood up abruptly with an annoyed expression and sighed, lowering his gaze.

“Platt.”

“Yes, yes… Your Majesty.”

“Where is this place?”

Platt stared at him blankly. Then he looked at Erdene’s face, who was expressionlessly avoiding his gaze.

“It, it’s the palace where Her Majesty the Queen resides.”

“And is it proper etiquette to fling open the door before receiving an answer?”

“Ah, that, that is. Your Majesty, it was… it was such an urgent matter.”

“Urgent or not, go back and write it a hundred more times today. ‘I will always knock, even at Her Majesty the Queen’s residence.’ Repeat after me.”

Beads of cold sweat appeared on Platt’s wrinkled forehead.

“I, I will… always knock, even at Her Majesty the Queen’s… residence.”

Erdene let out a soft laugh, making a sound like a sigh.