At the sudden appearance of Zion, Arundel’s hairs stood on end.
“Your Majesty…”
“His Highness the Crown Prince, and even Miss Bianca.”
Zion seemed to be in a very bad mood.
Not only Arundel, but also Bianca, who was named, seemed very flustered. Bianca’s eyelashes trembled slightly.
Among them, the only person who was laughing without a clue was Hills.
“We happened to meet in the library. I also asked Her Majesty the Empress to guide me around the palace, and I heard that the garden of the Empress’s Palace is beautiful, so I stopped by for a cup of tea.”
At Hills’ words, Arundel also nodded her head.
Thinking about it, there was no need to be intimidated when she hadn’t done anything wrong. It’s not like the knight captain Royden, whom he told her not to meet here, is here.
Arundel thought so and questioned Zion.
“Why did Your Majesty come all the way here?”
“…Did you forget?”
Zion looked very uncomfortable. Arundel, seeing such Zion, rolled her eyes and thought.
“…Dinner?”
Arundel, who finally remembered, looked at Zion with a glance, but he didn’t say anything.
On top of that, Hills added a word without a clue.
“It’s already that time! Then we’ll join you…”
“His Highness the Crown Prince probably has someone waiting for him.”
Zion cut off Hills’ words and said. At his words, Hills frowned and said.
“Huh? I want to have dinner with Her Majesty the Empress today.”
“Our minister really wanted to see His Highness the Crown Prince, and he said he would like to have dinner together today.”
Zion was smiling beautifully, but his eyes were icy cold.
“Since you came as an envoy, it would be proper to meet others as well. Isn’t that right, Empress?”
Zion drove the point home. Suddenly hit by his arrow, Arundel swallowed and nodded.
Only then did Zion seem satisfied and smiled.
“Then we will go for dinner. Just the two of us.”
Hills also looked as formidable as a low pressure system. He was just staring at Zion and Arundel with a blank face.
But there was someone they had forgotten in this situation.
‘…Bianca!’
Because of the fierce atmosphere between Zion and Hills, Arundel hadn’t been able to pay attention to Bianca for a while.
She was hugging one arm with the other and hanging her head. She felt an unusual atmosphere from her avoiding gaze.
It was clear that something had happened between Bianca and Zion.
“I have a dinner appointment with His Majesty the Emperor, so I should get up first. See you in the library tomorrow, Bianca.”
Arundel gently smiled and spoke as if to comfort her, who didn’t look good.
As she turned around, Zion was looking at Arundel as if to say, why aren’t you coming quickly?
As she approached with quick steps, Zion also started to move.
They took a carriage and moved to the dining room of the main palace. It was a large and splendid space that never grew on her no matter how many times she saw it. But the food was the only thing that was artistic.
Arundel glanced at Zion before the food came out.
He had been exuding low pressure all the way here.
Thanks to that, they had come here in an awkward state without saying a word. She thought his personality had softened a bit, but when she saw him like this, he was no different from before.
‘Come to think of it, why is he in such a bad mood?’
Thinking about it, she hadn’t done anything terribly wrong. Arundel thought to herself.
Considering the people she was with, it was clear that Zion had something going on with Bianca, and he didn’t like Hills…
Arundel realized it. The problem was the people she was hanging out with.
Even if Bianca was like that, Hills wasn’t someone she wanted to hang out with, so she felt a bit aggrieved.
But it was better to try to soothe Zion’s mood than to get sick from eating in this state.
Arundel tried hard to turn her mind around and spoke to Zion in a gentle voice.
“You look very splendid today.”
There was no one in this world who hated compliments. Zion was a person too, so he would be the same.
Arundel thought so while smiling gently on the outside.
And it wasn’t a lie. He was a beautiful person whom she’ll never get used to seeing every day.
Especially his platinum blonde hair and deep honey-colored eyes that had a more alien feel because they were unfamiliar eye colors that humans didn’t have.
“It would be good to keep a distance from Bianca Hellen.”
At his sudden, out-of-context words, Arundel blinked her eyes.
“…Yes?”
“Bianca Hellen. I told you to keep a distance from that red-haired woman. It would be better not to meet her.”
It wasn’t that she had heard wrong.
Zion was looking down with a blank face. If he had wanted to torment or hurt her, he would have been wearing a pretty smile.
So he must have been quite serious when he said it.
“Why?”
“…”
Sion didn’t say anything. Arundel felt frustrated, but to avoid provoking him, she asked again in a gentle voice.
“Why, Your Majesty?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
Whether Zion didn’t intend to explain properly, or that he spoke so concisely that no one could understand.
Gradually, Arundel felt the limit of her patience.
“If you don’t tell me the reason properly, I won’t follow your words.”
“Why do I have to explain everything to you?”
He spoke quite coldly. Arundel flinched for a moment.
She remembered that Zion had been in a low pressure state all the way here. She should have been patient and kept coaxing him.
Arundel regretted being so bold just now.
Amidst such a cold atmosphere, the table in the dining room gradually became filled with food.
Steam rose from the freshly cooked food, stimulating Arundel’s nose.
‘Let’s think while eating.’
Arundel picked up her spoon. It was a really fantastic soup.
As the delicious food entered her stomach, Arundel’s brain spun rapidly.
Zion had been in a bad mood since earlier, and out of the blue, he told her to keep a distance from Bianca.
The fortunate part was, it didn’t seem like he was saying it to isolate Empress Irina like before.
To have a proper conversation, she had to soothe him first.
But what was the reason for his low mood since earlier?
“Did something bad happen today?”
“…No.”
Zion spoke without looking at Arundel.
From his appearance, he seemed…sulky.
No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed that Zion was in a bad mood because she was with Hills.
Having concluded that, Arundel opened her mouth, watching Zion’s mood.
“Is it because of me…? Because I was with His Highness the Crown Prince? I couldn’t help it. We met in the library and it was so chaotic. But he’s a foreign crown prince, I can’t ignore him.”
At Arundel’s rapid-fire explanation, Zion stopped eating and stared at Arundel.
“You are…”
Zion started to speak and then stopped.
“What I? Why have you been in a bad mood since earlier! You have to talk for me to know!”
At Zion’s frustrated appearance, Arundel finally pounded her chest and blurted out.
She had tried to soothe him and have a good conversation, but the situation was so frustrating that she couldn’t stand it.
“Ha, you were the one who suggested having dinner every day, and you forgot in less than two days. If you want to blame someone, blame your memory, which is incredibly poor.”
“You…?”
Zion let out a short sigh and fired back. He was drinking water over and over again, as if he was embarrassed by what he had said.
Arundel was taken aback for a moment. The reason for his low mood was something she hadn’t thought of at all.
He was really upset… because she had forgotten the promise to have dinner every day.
Arundel held back her laughter and looked at Zion.
“I’m sorry. Actually, I’ve been waiting for this moment all day. Do you know how much I look forward to having someone to have dinner with these days because I’ve been alone for a long time?”
“…”
“But today, His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly appeared and I was out of my mind…I wanted to avoid His Highness the Crown Prince because he was so burdensome since yesterday.”
Arundel explained the situation in a rather pitiful expression. She did her best to make it not sound like an excuse.
Whether Arundel’s soothing had an effect, Zion, in a slightly relaxed atmosphere, looked down and spoke.
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. He will be busy meeting people in the palace from now on.”
It seemed like he had done something to get rid of Hills, whom he didn’t like, from his sight.
‘Well, whatever happens to Hills, it’s none of my business.’
For now, Zion’s mood had softened a lot. Now she had to change the subject and lead to another conversation.
“When did Your Majesty learn magic?”
Arundel decided to ask a question that she had been curious about.
She had heard that it was not common for humans to be able to use magic.
Moreover, since the use of magic was largely hereditary, there were many cases where the family was a magician for generations.
“…Probably since I entered the palace. The slums were not an environment where I could learn magic.”
Damn, she chose the wrong topic.
Arundel despaired inwardly. She had let out a word hse never wanted to bring up from her mouth.
She checked to see if his mood had deteriorated again, but surprisingly, Zion seemed calm.
“I see! I heard that Your Majesty is a great magician, what kind of magic can you use?”
In case she would bring up a deeper and darker story, Arundel quickly asked.
She also flattered him to keep the atmosphere from sinking, but she was genuinely curious.
Since angels used divine power, magic was like an unknown territory to Arundel.
“Well, something like this?”
As Zion, who had been resting his chin, flicked his finger, Arundel’s body stiffened.
“Uh, uh. I can’t move.”
“I know. Because I did it.”
Zion spoke with a low laugh towards Arundel, who was stiff.
Like a puppet tied with ropes, Arundel couldn’t move an inch in her chair. Suddenly unable to move her body, she just rolled his eyes around.
‘He wouldn’t do anything strange, would he…?’
Suddenly, Arundel realized that this situation was not good.
Right now, Zion could do anything to her and she wouldn’t be able to resist.
And because they had a fight before, this situation was very nerve wracking. She didn’t know what he would do if he thought this was the time.
For example, he could play a prank on her… or… or…
As Arundel was looking at him with anxious eyes, Zion spoke towards Arundel with a laugh.
“Why are you making that face? Are you scared that I might do something?”
Zion flicked his finger lightly.
‘Uh… uh? My body?’
With Zion’s gesture, Arundel stood up like a wooden puppet being manipulated by someone from behind.
Then, regardless of Arundel’s will, she plopped down in the chair next to Zion.
Arundel looked at Zion with a wary look.
“What are you doing…!”
“Well.”
Zion kept a languid smile, as if this situation was very amusing. His appearance was somewhat sensual.
She had to get out of this situation before something happened.
“Let me go…!”
“If you listen well from now on, I’ll think about it.”
“What…what!”
His face came close enough for his breath to touch her.
“I won’t let it slide if you forget our promise in the future.”
“…”
“And don’t associate with His Highness the Crown Prince. The same goes for Royden.”
Zion’s eyes were cold as he laid out the conditions.
Arundel didn’t like the conditions, but she had to nod for now. Getting her body released was the priority.
“Answer.”
“I understand! So please let me go.”
“Good girl.” (TL: it’s actually “Good boy” but since Arundel isn’t a boy so I just left it as “Good girl”)
Only then did Zion smile satisfactorily. And his hand approached Arundel’s face.
As his palm was about to touch Arundel’s cheek, Zion hesitated and put his hand down.
A moment of confusion was seen in his expression.
But as if nothing had happened, Zion returned to his usual expression and with another flick of his finger, Arundel was free.
****
After finishing the meal and returning to the Empress’s Palace, Arundel thought.
Zion had changed a lot compared to the beginning, but he was still far off. His obsession and possessiveness towards Empress Irina were still there.
‘Good girl.’
His words echoed in her ears. As she recalled the words, heat rose to her face.
Was he originally a person who said such things…?
She wondered if he had originally spoken to Empress Irina in that way, but she couldn’t remember well.
Anyway, it was true that she was momentarily flustered by such a sight of Zion.
Seeing his cold and indifferent appearance every time, she didn’t know how to react to such an approach, which was rather too unfamiliar.
The sound of insects crying came from beyond the window. It was a night when thoughts grew more than the quiet and peaceful outside.
“Good girl” i— 🫠