This man is not a good match.

Erdene couldn’t stop the thought that suddenly popped into her head.

Looking at Arkan, who was still smiling without realizing what she was thinking, she felt a chill run down her neck and her palms start to sweat.

For a moment, heat rushed to her forehead, and she had a strange urge to hit him!

“Is something wrong?”

Arkan finally looked at Erdene’s expression with confusion.

However, as soon as his face came closer, Erdene stepped back almost in horror.

She realized it was extremely rude behavior only after she had moved…

‘Smiling so sweetly. These types always have ten snakes hidden in their belly. Absolutely detestable.’

Even the smooth tone typical of the inland common language – nothing about him appealed to Erdene.

Perhaps because of this, the heat that had risen to her forehead showed no signs of subsiding, and Erdene unconsciously took a deep breath and exhaled.

“Thanks to your consideration, the journey was uneventful.”

Erdene replied curtly, and after surveying the now awkward atmosphere, added with a reluctant expression:

“I express my gratitude.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Arkan responded with a grin, but as soon as he closed his mouth, an unapproachable silence fell between the two.

Erdene knew that this young king of Betor found this marriage as unpleasant as she did.

Whether he actively didn’t want it or not was yet unknown, but…

Arkan, who had been silent, suddenly made an “Ah” sound as if he had just come to his senses.

“Let me show you around the castle.”

Erdene shook her head reflexively.

“No, I don’t think you need to do it personally.”

At her cold response, murmurs spread among the onlookers.

Some even openly cleared their throats at Erdene’s attitude.

What do I care. Erdene inwardly scoffed.

Everyone would think of her as a princess sold off. But Erdene didn’t think of herself that way.

She convinced herself that she wasn’t just exchanged for some grain and chunks of fatty meat.

She couldn’t accept such a thing. Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

Arkan, who had been staring at her with a perplexed expression, said:

“Then I’ll assign someone to attend to you.”

Saying that, he called for Duchess Fiddlers. That’s when Erdene interrupted again.

“Viscountess Wickes would be better.”

Arkan looked at Erdene.

“Any particular reason?”

For a moment, Erdene made an expression of utter annoyance and glared straight at Arkan.

Arkan’s eyes narrowed as he met her crystal-clear, deep blue gaze.

Erdene said:

“Yes. I prefer younger women.”

An indescribable look crossed Arkan’s face at her reply.

He fell silent again—it seemed that when faced with something baffling, his approach was to keep his mouth shut rather than get angry first—and turned his head back towards Viscountess Wickes.

“Viscountess, please guide and attend to the princess.”

Poor Moa Wickes barely managed to nod, her eyes wide open.

After giving her the order, Arkan glanced briefly at Erdene and then turned away without hesitation, his face strangely cold, unlike when they first met.

Erdene openly snorted behind Arkan’s back.

The sound was loud enough that several people turned to look at her in surprise, then looked up at Arkan again.

However, Arkan disappeared into the castle with large strides, without so much as blinking an eye.

And Duchess Fiddlers hurriedly followed after him.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

She called out to Arkan in an almost breathless voice as she ran across the corridor.

It was an incredibly fast pace for someone well past middle age and approaching what could be called old age.

Arkan deliberately pretended not to hear the Duchess’s voice, and only turned around after rounding two more corners, almost reaching the King’s quarters.

By then, Duchess Fiddlers was completely out of breath, her face flushed red as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Why are you running like that, Duchess? Not considering your age.”

“Your Majesty, goodness… Did you not hear my voice?”

I did. Arkan thought.

He simply didn’t want to answer readily. The words were about to burst out of his lips, but he swallowed them back with a smile.

“I must have been too deep in thought. Let’s go inside. You look like you might collapse right away if you don’t have at least a glass of water.”

The attendants opened the doors with respectful attitudes.

Arkan entered the living room of his quarters and told Platt, who served as both the head servant and the King’s personal secretary, to bring tea and water.

“Sit down, Duchess.”

“No, Your Majesty. I have an urgent matter to discuss, so I’ll remain standing.”

“The content of what you have to say won’t change whether you’re sitting or standing. Do as you please. Well then, what’s the matter?”

Duchess Fiddlers’ cheeks trembled slightly.

Her already thin face, devoid of any excess fat, developed deep wrinkles, giving her an even more irritable impression.

“Your Majesty, you must reconsider.”

“Reconsider what?”

“How can you marry such an utterly disrespectful woman!”

Arkan almost nodded.

Not because he agreed with the Duchess’s words, but in the sense of “I knew you would say that.”

From the moment he heard the Duchess chasing after him as if her skirt was on fire… Arkan had anticipated it would come to this.

Completely unaware of what Arkan was thinking, Duchess Fiddlers continued to plead.

“Your Majesty, you are not just the pillar of our Betor, but of all the inland allied countries. How can you take as queen a woman who is poorly educated and has nothing to boast of but her fists and spears?”

While the Duchess was pleading, the head servant brought the tea.

Arkan inhaled the aroma of the pale golden tea, took a light sip, and then looked up at the Duchess again.

“Duchess, we’re talking about an Imperial Princess. And if it weren’t for her brother, she would likely be sitting on the Emperor’s throne by now. Even in the King’s quarters, there are many ears listening, so it would be best to mind your words.”

The Duchess looked quite shocked at his admonition.

“Your Majesty.”

“And she doesn’t seem as ferocious as the rumors suggest, so I don’t think there’s much to worry about.”

Arkan said in a nonchalant manner. The Duchess’s complexion had now turned almost skull-like in its paleness.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Arkan himself had no concerns at all.

Who was Erdene Baad? There wasn’t a person in all the inland kingdoms who didn’t know her name.

So many vicious rumors had spread that parents in the inland regions would always scold their children with words like this when they threw tantrums or didn’t listen:

‘And they say she’ll eat you with alcohol and whatnot, all sorts of nasty things. Hmm…’

Duchess Fiddlers took a deep breath.

She was about to launch into a full-scale attack—in this case, meaning a plea accompanied by tears.

“Not ferocious, you say? You speak that way because you don’t know, Your Majesty. You should have seen and heard it yourself!”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

“As you know, Viscountess Wickes and I went to the border area to welcome that wo… Her Highness the Princess, didn’t we?”

“Yes, you did. And?”

The wrinkles around the Duchess’s eyes began to glisten.

“Her Highness the Princess hurled unspeakable abuse at me!”

Hearing this, even Arkan, who had been indifferent until now, straightened his upper body slightly.

The Duchess, emboldened by this subtle change, began to make sobbing sounds while forcing out tears that barely came.

Arkan waved his hand.

“Come now, what’s there to cry about? You say she verbally abused you, but why? What exactly did she say?”

The Duchess replied.

“It was merely because Her Highness the Princess’s words towards the Kingdom of Betor and Your Majesty were so frivolous, I, as a future subject, offered some words of advice in keeping with my duty. But then…”

“But then?”

“She said if I spoke like that one more time, she would kill me! Your Majesty, how can such a thing happen? Is the Hirschsten Empire such a barbaric place that they eliminate all subjects who offer honest advice? If so, there must not be any proper officials there! Her Highness the Princess must have grown up without ever hearing a word of proper guidance. To have such a person as…”

The Duchess, who was about to launch into a full-fledged complaint, clamped her mouth shut when she saw Arkan raise one hand.

However, she didn’t forget to tense her stomach muscles, ready to start again at any moment.

Arkan, who had been rubbing his forehead for a moment, looked at the Duchess.

“First of all, Duchess. Let’s set aside the matter of the Hirschsten Empire for now. It doesn’t seem to be the time to discuss that issue with you. Is it truly a fact that Princess Erdene said such things to you?”

Duchess Fiddlers’ lips tightened.

“It is the absolute truth, without an ounce of falsehood, Your Majesty.”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.