‘Ah, I can’t stand this unfairness.’
Her body was not in good condition, and her irritation surged as this difficult situation unfolded.
Arundel couldn’t hold back and asked Zion.
“His Majesty the Emperor told me not to touch him last time, didn’t he?”
“…”
“And very harshly at that!”
Zion just looked at Arundel with a blank expression.
“So, don’t scold me again later…”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“…What?”
“I think it’s okay if it’s you.”
Zion said calmly.
There was no hint of pretense or trickery in his expressionless face.
Rather, Zion himself seemed a bit confused.
‘…What did Zion just say?’
Arundel, taken aback by the unexpected words, unknowingly opened her mouth and stared at Zion.
Zion, who despises touching people to the point of washing himself alone, said it’s okay to touch…or even to touch him…?
Not liking the stunned Arundel, Zion frowned and said,
“Don’t make me say it again.”
…Although she didn’t feel like it, Arundel had no choice but to follow Zion’s words.
In the end, Arundel lay down right next to Zion. She felt tense, thinking that if she moved even a little, her skin would touch Zion’s.
“….”
“….”
Silence hung between Arundel and Zion.
‘What’s the matter with this situation?’
Arundel felt so uncomfortable that even swallowing was difficult.
Come to think of it, this situation is…similar to the moment before a man and a woman share love, isn’t it?
A spacious and soft bed, a space that is dark but where faces can still be recognized, and a man and a woman… a married couple at that.
Everything seemed to have been prepared for this… situation.
“Your expression is strange.”
“Yes… Yes?! I’m just… feeling a bit awkward in this situation.”
In the suffocating situation, Arundel spoke honestly about her feelings.
Zion’s expression seemed to stiffen for a moment at those words, but soon he put on a wicked smile and spoke.
“Awkward? Why awkward?”
“Just… the fact that a man and a woman are alone in bed together…”
As Arundel became more flustered and her face reddened, Zion’s smile deepened.
“I don’t understand what’s awkward about a married couple being in bed together.”
Zion was nonchalant.
He was like a snake that had regained its appetite before devouring the rabbit right in front of it. Zion was clearly enjoying the current situation.
“You’ve told me before.”
“…”
“That you want to be my only wife.”
Zion smiled as if he was enjoying himself.
“Then shouldn’t you fulfill your duties as a wife?”
“W-What?!”
“I’ll teach you how.”
Zion approached Arundel as if he was really about to do something.
“Just… wait a minute!”
Arundel felt like her head was about to explode. She had been feeling dizzy due to a cold since earlier, and she couldn’t even gather her thoughts with Zion’s sudden change in behavior.
Despite Arundel’s objections, Zion approached her without hesitation. His honey-colored eyes, which were facing Arundel, were languidly sunken.
It was so sensual that Arundel tried averting her gaze.
When she looked away, he saw Zion’s lips, which were harmoniously placed below his eyes.
Today, Zion’s lips looked particularly red and alluring.
The sound of her heart pounding in her ears was overwhelming. It would have been better not to look at him. Thus Arundel closed her eyes tightly.
But then he heard a merciless voice.
“Open your eyes.”
Arundel couldn’t resist and opened her eyes as if she was possessed.
Zion finally smiled as if he was satisfied. And he slowly approached.
Their breaths were almost touching.
“…I… I can’t do this…”
Arundel couldn’t bear this situation. Her toes curled up and her body felt like a burning coal.
She didn’t know if it was because of the cold or the unsettling situation.
Her vision became blurry.
As Arundel looked at Zion’s lips, which were getting closer and closer until she could feel his breath, her vision slowly turned black.
* * *
As the sound of chirping birds from outside reached his ears, Arundel gently opened her eyes. When she opened them, bright sunlight poured down onto the bed.
“Where am I?”
Recalling the events of last night, Arundel suddenly sat up.
Zion’s bedroom!
This was Zion’s bedroom. Looking around, fortunately, Zion was not there.
A strange and unsettling atmosphere had developed between them yesterday.
She didn’t know if Zion was trying to torment her again, but if she hadn’t fainted last night, she couldn’t have known what might have happened.
Zion had not spent the night with anyone, but that was due to his agoraphobia, not a functional… issue.
“I fainted at just the right time.”
She remembered how close Zion’s face had been.
Languid eyes, flowing soft hair, and… those red lips…
Last night, she had unconsciously swallowed at the sight of Zion’s sensual appearance.
“Come to think of it… Me, really?!”
Arundel, who couldn’t remember what happened later on, clenched her eyes shut and slowly, carefully lifted the blanket.
And then she gently opened her eyes to check inside the blanket.
Fortunately, she was dressed.
Arundel, who confirmed that nothing had happened, got up from the bed with a groan.
The only positive thing was that the fever that had risen like crazy yesterday seemed to have subsided.
Creak-
Arundel opened the door of Zion’s bedroom.
Then, a familiar-face aide came running.
“Are you awake!”
“…Yes.”
“His Majesty the Emperor has a schedule and has left first!”
…You don’t have to explain.
Arundel felt strange at the aide’s attitude, as if to say, don’t be upset.
He might be overreacting, but hearing that made it seem like she really spent the night with Zion.
“I will escort you to the Empress’s Palace.”
****
Arundel got into the carriage prepared by the aide. The carriage departed after a while.
Arundel, who was blankly looking out the window, remembered yesterday’s situation.
‘I think it’s okay if it’s you.’
It was the answer that came back when she asked about the thing he said not to touch.
‘Was he teasing?’
There was a good chance. Looking at his attitude towards her yesterday, it seemed like he was enjoying the situation very much.
‘…But is this change a good thing?’
Arundel suddenly had a question.
Even if his pathological touch phobia was cured, the problem was that it was ‘limited’ to her.
‘No way… he likes me.’
Arundel laughed at her own thoughts.
Who would that cold-blooded emperor like?
It was nonsense. It was unrealistic and an example that should not happen.
Arundel shook her head.
‘Then what is it really?’
Well, because he was such an unpredictable person, it would take time to understand his behavior. She had to watch a little more.
“We have arrived.”
Arundel, who was lost in thought, got up from her seat at the aide’s arrival notice. When she got off the carriage, Belle appeared.
“Your Majesty the Empress! Congratulations!!”
“What…?”
Arundel paused and asked at Belle’s expression, which seemed to shed tears at any moment.
“Oh my! You spent the night with His Majesty yesterday!”
“…”
“What a joyous occasion!”
Arundel held her forehead.
As expected, the aide’s words were uncomfortable, and it seemed that her hunch was right.
Yesterday, Arundel and Zion disappeared like that, and all the insiders who found out that they did not return to the Empress’s Palace seemed to misunderstand that there was such a thing(?).
“…No.”
“You don’t have to be shy! How happy it is!”
“It’s really not.”
She wanted to explain this misunderstanding to Belle, who was like a younger sister, more than anyone else.
Belle, who confirmed Arundel’s dark expression, blinked her eyes and asked.
“…Really, it’s not?”
“…Yeah.”
“…Really…?”
“No…”
Arundel denied it again. But Belle spoke with a somewhat awkward expression.
“But everyone else will probably think so, right?”
She had expected it, but Arundel’s head spun again at Belle’s candid opinion.
Seeing Arundel swaying, Belle quickly approached and supported her.
“By the way, how is your fever?”
“The fever has almost gone down.”
“That’s really a relief!”
“But Belle, didn’t you hear any strange noises at the party yesterday?”
Arundel asked with a nervous heart. It would have been a headache if the fact that Zion and Hills had fought spread again.
People are curious about Zion’s story. Some of them were people looking for something to pick on Zion.
If it becomes known that he lost his reason and had a dogfight with a foreign crown prince, Zion will also be criticized.
And if it becomes known that the reason for the fight was nothing…it was dizzying.
He was so angry just because the posture of leaning on Hills with a sprained ankle looked affectionate.
Of course, the fact that Hills had added fuel to the fire also contributed.
‘Besides, Zion is…’
He was still obsessed with Empress Irina.
Even if you just looked at him yesterday, he was. He wasn’t hugging or kissing. He just had his arm around her neck…
People don’t change easily, but she still sighed at his frustrating obsession.
Arundel looked at Belle, who was thinking deeply.
“Strange noise…?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… I heard something like an explosion.”
“Do you know the cause of that noise…?”
“According to Lord Royden, there was a landslide yesterday because lightning suddenly struck.”
He really covered it well.
As expected, the only one I could trust was Royden. He found a reason covering that chaotic situation.
Arundel sighed as if relieved.
When Belle left, Arundel jumped into bed.
‘Even if it’s small, my bed is the best.’
Arundel thought, rubbing her face on the pillow.
The bed, bedding, and surrounding environment were all much better than Zion’s, but now there was no place as comforting as here.
Rather, if she thought of that spacious bed, she felt like she would feel lonely.
She even thought that Zion, who sleeps there every day, was a little not good.
‘He’s alone like you. If the lady approaches warmly first, he won’t be able to refuse.’
Suddenly, the old woman’s words flashed through her mind.
‘Really, the old woman’s words might be right…’
In Arundel’s judgment, Zion’s life was really loneliness itself.
He had everything, but in the end, there was no one left by his side. Zion, who even hates touching people, will die lonely without ever realizing the emotion of love in his lifetime.
He really needs someone to hug him affectionately like a family.
If he really allows skinship to himself, it might have been a really good thing.
Skinship softens a person’s heart. It’s not easy to spit out bad words to someone who hugs you warmly.
And skinship is…
‘You should do your duty as a wife, right?’
‘I’ll teach you the way.’
Suddenly, the conversation she had yesterday came to mind. When she thought of the strange situation last night, Arundel felt like her head was going to explode again.
‘…I need to sleep quickly.’
Thinking about it, it seemed like her heart would only beat tiredly, so Arundel entrusted her body to the cozy blanket.
And she fell asleep…
“Your Majesty the Empress! Guests have come.”
But as if not to leave Arundel alone. A disturbing voice came from outside the door.
