Chapter 49

"Ah," Aristine yawned again and said, "I was about to go to bed, but Tarqan kept talking, so I had to keep answering."

Tarqan, who didn't seem particularly tired, was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at Aristine.

"Yes... you said it would become yours?"

"Mm-hm."

Tarqan wanted to grab Aristine's shoulders and shake her, wondering what she meant by that, what had happened, and who this guy was. But Tarqan couldn't do anything.

"What do you mean by that?"

After all, they were just business partners, even if they were married. It would be strange to pry into such matters.

'No, that's not right.'

Tarqan changed his mind. As business partners, he needed to know about the new guy... no, the new employee Aristine had hired.

Of course, this was Aristine's personal business, unrelated to Tarqan. But since they were politically intertwined, it would affect him too.

'This is just a check, that's all.'

He also needed to make it clear that personal feelings should not be involved in their professional meetings, to ensure their partnership didn't fail.

"He seems strange."

This comment dampened Aristine's satisfaction with her first employee.

Aristine, who had her eyes half-closed, opened them and looked at Tarqan.

"What do you mean?"

"Leaving the Kataraman forge to come to the palace?"

"No, not the palace, but to me."

Aristine said firmly. "This is my personal business, not related to the royal family."

For some reason, Tarqan raised an eyebrow, looking displeased.

"To you?"

"Yes, to me."

When he confirmed again, his expression twisted even more. No, it wasn't twisted; Tarqan was actually smiling.

"That's strange."

"Why? What's strange about it?"

Aristine was upset by Tarqan's words before her business had even started.

"Your business hasn't even started yet."

"Great people recognize other great people."

"Hmph," Aristine lifted her chin.

"Still, it seems suspicious. Leaving Kataraman to join your business... Is he interested in something else?"

"What?"

"Just an employee, right? What makes him yours? Did he say that? I bet he's planning something fishy. You're a married woman."

Aristine was speechless, her mouth agape.

Why was the topic of being a married woman coming up here?

Seeing Aristine's silent reaction, Tarqan leaned in, looking somewhat anxious.

The distance between them closed instantly.

His hair, like a lion's mane, fell over Aristine.

His upper body covered hers as if he were lying on top of her.

Their gazes met at close range, and his lips came closer to Aristine's.

He whispered near her ear, "You married me, didn't you?"

Aristine rolled her eyes and looked at Tarqan.

I don't understand why this man is acting like this all of a sudden.

"I know."

Tarqan lifted his face slightly from her ear and looked at her.

"Have I forgotten that we've been married for a few days?"

The small face beneath him spoke matter-of-factly.

"And don't talk about Liretren like that. It's completely wrong."

Tarqan's eyes sharply focused on Aristine's.

"Wrong?"

"Yes, because I said it, not him."

"What?"

Tarqan's face immediately became sharp.

If others saw him, they would have tensed up or knelt down immediately.

But...

Aristine pushed Tarqan's face away, as if she were frustrated.

"Let's go to sleep. You're making me lose my sleep."

Tarqan was pushed back by Aristine.

He was so flabbergasted that he didn't even think to resist or avoid it.

Even now, he couldn't believe it.

Her soft, white hand was pressing his face, as if she were annoyed.

When Tarqan sat up, Aristine's hand fell away.

Aristine really pushed Tarqan's face away.

This was the first time he had experienced such a thing, and he didn't know how to react.

His complex golden eyes looked at Aristine.

She seemed satisfied that the annoying person above her was gone, closed her eyes, and pulled the blanket up tightly.

Her warmth and weight were fully felt by Tarqan, who was in the same bed.

"...Well, it's fine."

Tarqan smiled and turned his head.

Then, the problem he had pushed to the back of his mind slowly resurfaced.

"Liretren, you said."

He didn't know the name of the blacksmith, so he probably wasn't very skilled.

"Maybe I should have asked Mucali to tell me more in detail."

But that wasn't the situation.

Tarqan recalled his encounter with Mucali earlier.

Tarqan was heading to the training ground when he met Mucali coming out of the palace.

"My lord."

"Isn't today your day off?"

"Oh, yes, that's right. I just returned from an outing with Her Highness."

"...With Bi?"

Aristine hadn't mentioned this to him.

Even when they slept together last night, she only talked about how delicious the dessert was.

Well, she didn't have to report every detail of her schedule to him.

He wasn't particularly interested either.

"Yes, I visited the forge."

"Really? What happened?"

"Nothing special."

It was a strangely firm answer.

Usually, Mucali would talk about the "Silvanus princess" in detail, but he didn't say anything.

When Tarqan looked at him, Mucali started talking about what happened at the forge.

What Aristine did at the forge, what items she liked, what she noticed, and her preferences.

None of that was mentioned.

It was all about the swords Mucali liked.

"......"

Tarqan looked at Mucali, who was happily chatting, with a disapproving gaze.

He should have talked about what Aristine did at the forge.

But he felt awkward asking first.

Would it make him seem too interested in Aristine?

'But.'

Aristine and he were political partners.

Some information was necessary.

This wasn't prying.

He was whispering this to himself when he was about to speak.

"But, my lord."

"Why?"

Seeing Mucali's serious expression, Tarqan inwardly smiled.

Finally, he would stop talking about himself and start talking about Aristine.

However...

"May I ask what you meant by hiring a patissier who makes good scones?"

What came out of Mucali's mouth was completely different from what Tarqan expected.

And it wasn't in his favor.

Tarqan closed his mouth at the sharp question.

Being simple and hot-tempered didn't mean he was ignorant.

Mucali was quite smart.

He just lacked awareness and didn't care about it.

Tarqan didn't know how to respond.

"I thought you were developing a new combat ration..."

"Combat ration?"

He couldn't understand how Mucali came to that conclusion.

'What kind of crazy person would make combat rations out of scones?'

Tarqan canceled his earlier thought that Mucali was quite smart.

Mucali, unaware of the impression he left on his respected lord, spoke innocently.

"Yes, I wasn't at the meeting that day. The others said you ordered a patissier to develop combat rations using scones."

Tarqan sighed.

He thought only Mucali was a fool, but everyone was a fool.

"But it doesn't seem to be that. I must have failed to understand your intentions. Please enlighten me."

Tarqan remained silent. What could he say?

"I must have forgotten about the meeting."

He had to leave the conversation there.

He didn't get to ask anything about Aristine.

"Liretren..."

Tarqan muttered softly after finishing his recollection.

He would have to order a report on this guy as soon as possible.

Of course, this was only to ensure that his business partner wasn't being scammed in her other business.

"Why are you so defensive about him?"

Thinking about how Aristine had defended Liretren, calling him "mine," made his head hot.

Aristine opened her eyes and looked at him.

'Why are you mumbling in the middle of the night without sleeping?'

She was still suspicious about Liretren.

Thinking about it, it was understandable that Tarqan, who had been confined and was unaware of the world, would be anxious about his wife starting a business.

"It's fine. He's a really good guy. Even if he isn't, I'll do well, so don't say bad things about him."

"Why are you so defensive?"

Did you like him?

The words almost slipped out.

"He's my employee."

Aristine smiled.

It was a typical thing a boss would say.

Aristine was very satisfied with herself for saying it.

'Hmm... an employee.'

Tarqan's expression relaxed a bit at Aristine's clear statement, despite the possessive prefix.

He was also bothered by the proud look on Aristine's face when thinking about Liretren.

"I have to take good care of him. He's my first employee!"

"...First?"

"Yes, first."

Tarqan's hand clenched the blanket.

My first.

It irritated and annoyed him.

And he couldn't understand why he felt this way, which made it even worse.

Pah, Tarqan roughly pulled the blanket away.

The blanket flapped as if it were screaming.

Aristine, who had been lying quietly, was startled and looked at him.

Tarqan felt a bit better.

He didn't know he had such a mischievous side.

"What, are you going to sleep? Come in nicely."

Aristine pulled the messy blanket up and looked at Tarqan, slightly lifting it.

As if saying, "Come on, get in."

Tarqan, his mischievousness gone, lay down next to Aristine.

The warmth of her body reached his left side in the blanket.

Aristine's hand grabbed his.

Soft, warm, and smooth.

It wasn't just the touch, but it seemed to reach his heart.

"By the way."

Lying side by side, Tarqan broke the silence after a moment.

"Isn't your first business partner me?"

"That's right."

Aristine answered casually with her eyes closed.

It wasn't the same feeling as when she had said, "My first employee," with shining eyes.

Tarqan looked at her with a slightly displeased expression and asked subtly.

"Then, will you take good care of me too?"

At this, Aristine opened her eyes and looked at him.

Why was this husband, who usually required a lot of effort, acting like this today?

She turned to face Tarqan.

Her silky hair fell over Tarqan's neck, cheek, and shoulder as she moved.

Aristine's fingers, intertwined with Tarqan's, twitched.

He glanced at her face and then fixed his gaze on the ceiling.

Lying side by side and facing each other, the view was strange.

"I think I'm doing my part quite well."

No?

Aristine asked. Tarqan slowly nodded.

"...Yes, you are doing well."

Hmph, Aristine snorted.

'Of course. I work hard and take good care of things!'

She looked at Tarqan with a sly eye.

"You need to try harder."

She said this and then lay down straight, closing her eyes.

'Try harder...?'

Tarqan's pupils, left alone, wavered.

Try harder?

Try harder?

What does that mean?

Forget being a husband, I just want to make money.