When The Silent Peony Blooms - Chapter 52

Rolls’ head, which had been lowered due to intimidation, tried to stiffen and raise again.

However, before he could fully lift his head, Arkan’s rebuke continued.

“Wasn’t Betor a country that served the Hirschsten Empire?”

A clearly flustered expression appeared on Rolls’ face.

As he turned his head towards Erdene again, she let out a loud snort as if for him to hear.

“You’ve been doing foolish things since earlier. Why are you looking at me? Can you not hear His Majesty’s question?”

Arkan’s gaze flickered briefly towards Erdene.

Though he didn’t know her exact intentions, it was clear she had decided to take his side over this hesitant imperial subject.

Arkan almost unconsciously smiled with satisfaction, but he pretended to rub his mouth and deliberately widened his eyes.

“Though Hirschsten has declared itself an empire, not all inland allies have submitted as vassal states. We have formed mutual alliances, not master-servant relationships. It would be good to remember that well. Or should I take your current attitude as the will of the Hirschsten Emperor? Is it the empire’s intention to tell Betor, and all inland allies, to bow their heads as vassal states?”

“Th-that’s not… That’s not it. Absolutely not…”

“Platt.”

Platt, who had been waiting at a distance glaring at the imperial envoy as if to devour him, strode over.

It felt as if he was ready to throw that insolent fellow in prison the moment Arkan gave the order.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Escort the imperial envoy away. He must be weary from his journey, so have him rest early tonight, and have the guards watch well so that no one disturbs him.”

Rolls’ eyes grew wide.

While it sounded like extreme consideration, it was essentially no different from confining and monitoring him to prevent him from wandering around freely.

“Understood. What are the soldiers doing? Not escorting the imperial envoy away.”

Flustered that things weren’t going as planned, Rolls left, practically dragged away surrounded by guards and attendants.

Even after the door closed, Arkan maintained a cold, expressionless face for a while.

Then suddenly, he slapped his forehead with his palm and slumped his body.

“I’m sorry,” Erdene said.

Arkan, removing the hand that had covered his forehead and eyes, turned sharply to look at her.

“Why are you apologizing?”

As if to say ‘good question’, Erdene rolled her eyes and replied indifferently.

“For the sin of attaching the head of an arrogant and endlessly greedy elder brother.”

For a moment, Arkan gave a bitter smile.

Platt again made a gesture as if to fall backwards at Erdene’s blunt expression, but unfortunately, neither of them paid him any attention.

Arkan said,

“As I said before, you are now my queen. You are no longer an imperial princess, so no matter what rudeness the empire commits or what they do, it’s not your responsibility.”

Erdene’s gaze stared blankly at Arkan’s face.

It was the first time she had looked at him so calmly, without boiling hostility, childish quarrels, or irritation.

As that thought occurred to him, suddenly an indescribable emotion welled up, making the inside of his throat tickle.

Then Arkan said,

“Apologize for hitting my side. Don’t apologize for unnecessary things.”

The tickling in his throat immediately subsided. Erdene frowned as if she had just heard the most ridiculous thing.

“That was because you were acting so frustratingly.”

Just as Arkan exaggeratedly twisted his lips to refute, the closed door swung open with a clatter, and one of the guards who had taken Rolls out came running into the audience chamber, making clanking noises.

“How dare you, when His Majesty is present!”

Platt, who was already seething, bellowed. The soldier frantically shook his head.

“Your Majesty, right now, right now the soldiers from the empire are causing a riot.”

This time, Erdene had no choice but to stand up abruptly.

“Ah, where is our Imperial Princess? Why is no one answering when a person asks? Really, is this how Betor treats guests?”

In front of the palace courtyard, the gaze of Knight Commander Wizard glaring at the armed imperial soldiers was very fierce.

However, except for him, the other commanders were furtively glancing at Telma, who was acting like a thug in front of them, pretending to step forward but repeatedly retreating.

“Telma, just wait a bit.”

Knight Commander Merton, who was relatively more composed, stepped forward to stop Telma.

But Telma was already infuriated by the weak appearance of the Betor soldiers cowering before him.

From not being told where Erdene was, to none of them even making a gesture to draw their swords when he was openly causing trouble right in front of the royal palace, it irritated him even though it was a foreign country.

“Step back.”

Only Bellen repeatedly warned Telma.

The Betor soldiers were those trained primarily for defense rather than offense.

However, with so many Hirschsten soldiers gathered, and three people bearing the Knight Commander’s flag…

‘It’s best to stamp out the spark before the fight spreads.’

Bellen was making quite a cold calculation.

Telma too, while endlessly provoking, had no intention of causing a truly serious conflict.

But the atmosphere between the opposing soldiers of both countries was becoming increasingly hostile.

“Ah, how many times do I have to tell you to step back? I said I want to see our Imperial Princess. Huh? What kind of person is our Imperial Princess, she might suddenly turn around if she’s playing house in such a cute place…”

Telma, who had been swaggering like a hoodlum while patting Bellen’s shoulder, suddenly stopped his rambling. As he raised his head, Bellen Wizard also turned around with a puzzled expression.

What the two saw was a dress flying towards them at an unbelievably fast speed… no, a person wearing a dress.

Just as it entered their field of vision, in the blink of an eye, she was already right in front of them.

Even Bellen, a seasoned military officer, felt chills run down his spine.

At that moment, there was a loud ‘thwack!’ sound. It was a thunderous noise like a whole log breaking.

“Ugh…!”

Telma, who had been pestering Bellen and picking fights just moments ago, flew backwards.

Erdene, who had struck his abdomen below the breastplate where only a wide leather belt was worn, with all her might, bared her teeth and growled.

“This bastard must be crazy.”

The mouths of the soldiers, though belonging to the Knights, all sons of noble families, gaped open at Erdene’s rough words.

However, Erdene couldn’t care less about their shock.

“Can’t you get up?”

At that, Telma, who had been lying down as if unconscious after flying quite a distance, got up with lightning speed.

Just as Erdene was about to swing her fist again.

“Wait!”

Telma, who had been scrunching up his entire face in anticipation of the next punch, cautiously opened one eye.

Then he stared blankly at the man who had stopped Erdene with a surprised expression.

‘Is that man the king of Betor?’

At that moment, with a sound of air being sharply cut, Telma’s neck bent downwards with a crack.

“Aaagh! Imperial Princess, ow! I, I bit my tongue! B-blood is coming out!”

It wasn’t a lie.

Telma, covering the blood trickling out of his mouth with his hand, raised his head with an aggrieved expression, and Erdene slowly rolled her bulging eyes.

“It’s His Majesty the King of Betor. Immediately bow… greet him.”

The quick-witted Merton bowed his head first.

Then the imperial soldiers, who had been maintaining a fierce battle stance, finally paid their respects to Arkan.

Arkan, who had witnessed this entire scene—including Telma getting hit squarely on the crown of his head and biting his tongue—was somewhat nauseated by this violent master-servant relationship he had never seen before.

The fact that he was able to not show it was because of Erdene.

Erdene, who had stomped on Telma’s foot with all her might as he grumbled while bowing his head, turned to Arkan and smiled sweetly.

‘Pretty, but gives me chills.’

That was Arkan’s honest thought.

Erdene said,

“Your Majesty, these insolent ones are causing a disturbance in the royal palace of Betor. What should we do?”

At her words, not only Telma but also Knight Commander Merton, and even the potato-headed Aiman, turned as pale as if they had seen a ghost.

Had they ever seen Erdene speak so respectfully to anyone other than the late Emperor and late Empress?

‘Have we?’

‘No.’

‘If we had, I’d gouge out my eyes right now.’

The three exchanged glances that roughly conveyed such thoughts.

Arkan looked alternately at the three flustered commanders and then smiled brightly at Erdene as if not to be outdone.

‘Handsome but annoying.’

That was Erdene’s honest thought as well.

Arkan cleared his throat lightly and looked down at the imperial soldiers with narrowed eyes.

“Well, my Queen. While I acknowledge their efforts in safely escorting the envoy, their behavior cannot be said to be anything but presumptuous. Would you like to handle this yourself?”

“If that’s alright with you, I shall do so.”

The color drained from Telma, Merton, and Aiman’s grim faces.

Arkan said,

“Commander Wizard.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Provide empty barracks in the military camp for the imperial soldiers to stay. The kitchen is preparing meals, so you should control them in an orderly manner.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Bellen Wizard squared his shoulders and began to move the soldiers.

Over the clanking footsteps of the soldiers moving like an ebbing tide, Arkan and Erdene’s gazes briefly met.

“I’ll leave the rest to the Queen.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Erdene, who had bowed her head with a smiling expression until the end, turned her head with a fierce glare as soon as Arkan disappeared.

“Follow me.”