Chapter 68

"Why aren't you coming out?"

At the lazy voice, Rosaline turned back, thinking, "Could it be...?"

Sure enough, Tarkan was leaning against the wall with his arms casually crossed.

His appearance was so cool that it made her sigh.

"Oh, sorry. The conversation took longer than I thought."

Aristine got up from the sofa.

Rosaline's eyes wavered.

'What, did you have something to do with Tarkan His Highness?'

What was the point of saying they were distant or whatever?

'No, why did you say you were worried about the relationship between husband and wife?'

Did you lie to me?

Why?

"Sorry every time. For bringing you here."

"Since that happened, there was no choice."

Rosaline's mind raced.

'Is His Highness Tarkan personally bringing you because of the Brodie incident?'

It can only be thought that their relationship is good.

Rosaline's eyes were filled with suspicion as she looked at Aristine.

"Just bear with it a little. Since you saved me from almost getting hurt, all the newspapers are calling it the romance of the century, so I have to play along for a while."

Hearing Aristine's words, Rosaline realized.

'You're just pretending to care for and protect the princess for political reasons.'

A satisfied smile appeared on Rosaline's stiff face.

On the contrary, it's for the best.

Tarkan was a free person.

'He wouldn't like being forced to bring the princess around.'

Indeed, Tarkan's expression was not good after hearing Aristine's words.

He frowned in annoyance, then paused when he saw Rosaline.

Rosaline quickly drew the most beautiful smile she could.

To her, it was as fresh and bright as a May rose in full bloom.

'How about it? I'm much better than a vulgar princess who speaks rudely or grumbles.'

"What?"

Tarkan's voice had a sharp edge.

Rosaline's face, still smiling, froze.

Tarkan strode over to her.

Thanks to his long legs, it only took a few steps to close the distance.

Rosaline felt a mix of fear and excitement as she looked up at Tarkan.

Standing so close, his tall stature and solid build were evident.

His firm muscles were visible through the open part of his chest.

The smell of hot iron and the wind sweeping across the plain filled the air.

It was a scent that she kept inhaling unconsciously.

"Your Highness..."

Without realizing it, an excited voice escaped her lips.

Tarkan's large hand reached out to her.

Rosaline was willing to entrust her body to that hand...

"Ouch!"

Rosaline screamed as a rough hand grabbed her necklace.

Her body swayed, but Tarkan paid no attention.

Instead, he looked down at her with a menacing air.

"Why are you wearing this?"

"A, ah, I, I..."

Rosaline trembled as she met his fiercely glowing golden eyes.

Her mind felt as if it had been frozen.

Cold sweat began to seep through her back.

At that moment,

"I gave it to her."

Aristine grabbed Tarkan's arm.

The oppressive aura around Tarkan disappeared as if by magic.

"You did?"

"Yeah, it stood out among the necklaces I received as a wedding gift."

"Would you give something that stands out to someone else?"

Tarkan asked, clearly exasperated.

"Well, what."

Aristine shrugged.

'I'll get it back later.'

It was a look that clearly revealed her thoughts.

"Huh."

Tarkan let out a breath that could be either a sigh or a laugh.

Aristine was the princess of Silvanus and the bride of the second in line to the throne of Ailugo.

Moreover, this marriage brought peace to the continent.

Naturally, an enormous amount of wedding gifts, whose value was astronomical, were sent from all over the continent, including the vassal states of Silvanus.

Tarkan recalled the countless treasures that couldn't even fit in Aristine's dressing room.

Aristine, who loved money, was strangely indifferent to these treasures.

She looked at them as if they were someone else's.

'Among these, this one stood out.'

"Does standing out mean you liked it?"

"Yeah."

'Because it looked incredibly expensive.'

Aristine thought.

Money is the best.

"Ahem."

Tarkan, who had turned his gaze away, cleared his throat for no reason.

Despite feeling annoyed, he felt a strange sense of pride.

'She doesn't know I gave her this necklace. Still, I'm a bit angry. But, she did like it.'

If he had given the necklace to Aristine directly instead of secretly placing it in her dressing room, he wouldn't have given it to a maid.

Thinking about it, he felt more pride than annoyance.

'But.'

"Give me something else."

Tarkan roughly pulled the necklace from Rosaline.

Rosaline barely managed to keep from falling over again.

This was the first time she, a noble lady, had been treated so roughly.

Aristine looked at Tarkan with a puzzled expression and then nodded.

'Even if I'm going to take it back, it's too expensive to give for a short while.'

She should have chosen something more appropriate.

At Aristine's nod, the palace attendants who had entered with Tarkan quickly approached and removed the necklace from Rosaline's neck.

Rosaline instinctively rubbed her bare neck.

"A..."

Her neck felt lighter.

It was so empty.

A sense of loss enveloped her.

Her eyes were drawn to the necklace.

But the attendants coldly gathered the necklace and placed it back in the box.

Rosaline clenched her fists as she watched the necklace disappear from her sight.

"Shall we go?"

"Yeah."

Aristine nodded and linked her arm with Tarkan's.

Rosaline stood there, staring at the tightly closed box, then slowly lifted her head.

She saw the two of them walking side by side.

'Aristine...!'

Her face twisted in a vicious expression. Her teeth ground together.

Because of Aristine, she had become the target of Tarkan's frustration.

Unable to vent his annoyance at having to guard her for political reasons on Aristine, he had taken it out on her.

She kept rubbing her now empty neck.

The touch and weight of the diamond necklace were still vivid.

The loss of something she had once possessed made her heart ache.

'It was mine.'

The diamond necklace, the beautiful silk dress Aristine was wearing, this elegant and luxurious room, and even His Highness Tarkan!

Her emerald eyes glared at the couple's backs.

* * *

After safely delivering Aristine to the forge, Tarkan attended to his afternoon duties.

His brow furrowed as he checked the graph of the trend in injuries.

'The number of injuries has suddenly increased explosively.'

It didn't gradually increase but suddenly spiked on a certain day.

Needless to say, the day Aristine visited the training ground was the turning point.

Aristine had only visited the infirmary a few times since the day she first met Umiru and gave her the scalpel.

Even then, it stopped after she mentioned improving the scalpel.

But the warriors were in a frenzy, thinking they might be the lucky ones to meet the princess.

They were demanding hospitalization for even minor injuries that wouldn't have required it before.

'You damn... No, what can you do about these great warriors?'

Umiru had come and huffed a few moments ago.

'How great they are, even their fussing is the best in the world!'

Of course, Tarkan didn't feel any regret towards her.

'You say you're busy, but you have time to run around?'

'The fact that I'm here now is purely to report the situation, an extension of my duties.'

Umiru waved the file she had brought.

'Who said I came to see you now?'

At this, Umiru, who had been looking at Tarkan with a puzzled expression, opened her mouth wide.

'Could it be...?'

Her thoughts were clearly visible.

'Are you still upset about the last time I went to see the princess?'

Tarkan didn't answer.

'No, when was that... A month ago?'

'Exactly 29 days ago.'

'Really!'

Umiru, looking like she was about to go crazy, ruffled her hair.

'I didn't just go, it was because of the scalpel...'

She was speechless with exasperation.

Of course, she wasn't entirely selfless.

She could have sent a report or a subordinate, or even just waited, but she used it as an excuse to meet Aristine.

It was something she could do.

But to get such a reaction...

'Is His Highness such a childish person... No, is his brain development at the level of a child?'

Umiru, who had known Tarkan for quite a while, was not someone who saw him every day.

Still, she prided herself on knowing him for a long time.

What was Tarkan like all this time?

A man who didn't even blink at any woman, even the legendary courtesan who had charmed everyone regardless of gender or age.

It was amazing how uninterested he was in women.

'Sometimes I wondered if he was impotent.'

Umiru shook her head, thinking it was a rude thought.

Even if he was impotent, he would probably be more interested in women than Tarkan.

'But now, what?'

The way he acted, as if love and romance were never part of his life, gave her chills.

She remembered how she had reluctantly followed and interfered when Aristine went to the training ground.

How lonely she had felt when she left.

'I should have kept my mouth shut.'

Umiru left again, feeling lonely.

At least, the fact that Tarkan was always reliable in handling his duties was a comfort to her.

As she thought, Tarkan was now looking at the graph with a serious expression.

She knew the infirmary was quite busy, but seeing the numbers made it seem worse.

'If this continues, the infirmary will become inefficient.'

Fortunately, they weren't currently engaged in large-scale battles, and only minor injuries from encounters with demons during reconnaissance were being treated, so there were almost no serious injuries.

They were just faking it because they knew this.

'But if the doctors don't get enough rest and become fatigued, it will be difficult later.'

And, most importantly,

'They are all faking it to see Aristine.'

All these warriors.

It was good that they followed and respected Princess Aristine.

But,

'It's annoying.'

For some reason, it was incredibly annoying.

She remembered Aristine coming to the training ground to see Mucali, not her.

Tarkan couldn't even take a bite of the spring strawberry cake she had brought.

'The lord doesn't like sweets.'

Because of that one sentence from Mucali.

'Everyone else ate it!'

He didn't particularly like sweets, and he usually didn't even look at cakes, but for some reason, he felt dirty.

Tarkan's eyes sharpened as he quickly read through the documents about demon sightings.

'Is there a long-term mission I can give to Mucali? Preferably one that would take him far away from the capital.'

He was thinking this when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Mucali, who had just been assigned a long-term mission, appeared.

Along with him were other warriors, including Jackalren.

Mucali, who had no idea what was happening, smiled innocently and offered Tarkan a suggestion.

"Lord, how about taking a short break and having some refreshments?"

"No."

Tarkan firmly refused.

He didn't usually enjoy refreshments, and seeing Mucali's face now twisted his mood.

"But, still, I brought some chocolate fudge. At least try it..."

Mucali, who would have normally backed off, hesitated and suggested again.

Tarkan, clearly displeased, frowned and looked at him.

"Chocolate fudge? You want me to eat something so sweet it will rot my mouth?"

The warriors flinched at the low, reprimanding tone and looked at each other.

Then they whispered quietly.

"See? I told you he wouldn't eat it."

"But still..."

"He doesn't look in a good mood. Let's go. We're just getting in the way of his work."

"What will you tell the princess?"

'The princess?'

Tarkan's ears twitched.

'He's a husband now, and he wants to make money.'