Chapter 85

Tarkan didn't hear Umiru's words.

Share body heat with Aristine?

He took off his clothes and embraced her naked skin with his entire body, just like that...

"Will Your Highness do it if you don't want to? I can do it."

In an instant, Tarkan's gaze turned to Umiru.

His golden eyes flashed like lightning.

"Well, since she's a woman. We have to treat her anyway."

Umiru's long eyes curved into a half-moon.

Tarkan, who had been looking down at Umiru with a burning gaze, finally spoke.

"I'll do it."

His voice was low.

With a thud, the leather belt around his waist came undone under his hands.

The fabric slipped, revealing his broad shoulders and firm pectoral muscles.

"Everyone, leave."

The palace attendants and Umiru bowed deeply and quickly left the room.

Tarkan, now alone with Aristine, looked down at her for a moment.

Then, everything he was wearing fell to the floor.

The lazy afternoon sunlight swept over the contours of his muscles.

His black hair tumbled down along the broad shoulder blades.

His sinewy, firm arms reached out to Aristine, who was lying there.

With a rustle, the sound of fabric brushing against skin was particularly loud.

As he untied the belt of the bathrobe that was closed in front, it naturally opened slightly.

Tarkan's hand froze in mid-air.

His breath momentarily stopped.

But in the next moment, he completely pulled open the collar of the bathrobe.

The pale, flawless skin revealed in the sunlight was blinding.

Slowly, the large, rough man's body overlapped with the delicate, slender woman's body.

Tarkan, who was embracing Aristine, frowned.

Her body was cold enough to chill the bones.

He tightly wrapped her in a thick blanket and held her close.

Her face was right in front of his nose.

They were so close that he could feel her breath.

The fine eyelashes, each strand, and even the soft downy hair were visible.

Tarkan, who had been looking at her face for a moment, grabbed Aristine's hands.

Her hands were as cold as ice, and he frowned.

He rubbed her hands and blew hot breath on her cold fingertips.

Then, his lips touched her fingertips.

"......"

Tarkan didn't pull away.

He looked at her face while his lips were still on her fingertips.

It seemed that she had a slight flush on her cheeks, or maybe it was just his imagination.

He never thought he would end up lying like this with another person, a woman.

It felt strange.

Aristine would draw a line, push him away, and never allow him to cross it.

She never even considered the possibility of him crossing the line.

Even though they slept side by side every day, ate together, drank tea, and shared stories and glances.

In the end, she treated him as a complete stranger at the most important moments.

But when he held her in his arms like this, feeling his body heat warming her up.

It felt like he was inside the line.

In the narrow space under the thick blanket, he held her tightly, just the two of them.

* * *

"Ugh, it's hot... It's suffocating."

Aristine groaned.

It felt like a large rock was pressing down on her entire body.

She tried to push the rock away with her hands but stopped, puzzled.

"It's soft... firm and soft. Hot..."

She moved her fingers to feel what it was.

"It feels good? It fits perfectly in my hand."

It was so firm and elastic that she wanted to keep touching it.

She moved her hands more actively.

"Huh? Something is touching my palm?"

It was soft yet firm, protruding from the middle of the soft rock, brushing against her palm.

"What is it?"

Aristine grabbed it with her fingers.

The rock trembled.

The rock tried to move away, so Aristine slapped it.

A wet sound echoed.

Stay still for a moment.

"Huh? But the rock is moving?"

Something was strange.

Now that she thought about it, wasn't it strange that the rock was soft and warm?

The demon that had been clouding her mind like a thick fog instantly dissipated.

Aristine's eyes snapped open.

In front of her was Tarkan, his neck and chest flushed red.

She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.

Seeing her hand on Tarkan's chest, Aristine was flustered.

What she had been enjoying and feeling was Tarkan's...

"Th-Then, the thing that was protruding..."

Aristine's fingers, which were tightly gripping it, made its identity clear.

"Oh, my goodness."

Aristine forced a smile and said, "Um, good morning?"

"Take your hand off."

"Yes."

Aristine quickly removed her hand.

But in doing so, her fingers brushed against Tarkan's firm, rippling abdomen.

Tarkan gritted his teeth and groaned, growling.

"Don't go any lower."

"Ah, okay. Sorry..."

Aristine's hand, not knowing where to go, fidgeted on Tarkan's abs.

Tarkan's abdomen trembled and tightened even more.

"Then, what should I do?"

Since their bodies were pressed together, she couldn't pull her hand back.

They were tightly wrapped in a thick blanket.

"Huh? Wait, wait, wait."

Aristine, feeling flustered, checked her situation.

She was completely naked, tightly embraced by Tarkan, who was also naked, and wrapped in a blanket like a crepe.

"Why am I lying naked with you? And we're so close, under the same blanket?"

Aristine's purple eyes flashed with shock, embarrassment, and disbelief, finally settling on distrust.

"I thought you were a pervert, but at least a pervert with some morals."

To do this while someone is sleeping?!

Aristine glared at him coldly.

Tarkan's brows furrowed.

"Who's the reason for this?"

Honestly, he was the one suffering the most in this situation.

He had been lying there for almost half a day, pressed against Aristine's soft, smooth body.

After she regained some body heat, she started to toss and turn occasionally...

Just a slight movement, but it felt like death to him.

Why did a human body need to be so soft, smooth, and supple?

When she moved her hand and touched his chest, it was almost too much.

Just touching it was bad enough, but she even...

"Can you call me a pervert?"

Tarkan ground his teeth and asked.

Aristine, who felt guilty, was flustered but soon regained her composure.

"If you hadn't been like this, I wouldn't have touched your chest. Who told you to undress and hold me?"

"Even if I save you, you still complain."

Tarkan's words made Aristine frown.

"Save me?"

"I had to hold you because of hypothermia."

He emphasized that it was not by his own will.

Aristine blinked.

'I had hypothermia?'

At that moment, she remembered the incident in the bathroom.

Using the Emperor's Eye to find the exclusive solution for the steel, and then Tarkan calling from outside...

After that, everything went black. She had no memory.

"Did I faint?"

"Yes."

'Was I out for that long?'

Using the Emperor's Eye was a matter of sensory perception, so it felt faster.

But it took a long time in real time too.

'I must have been really focused and worked hard.'

"Now you understand."

Tarkan looked at Aristine with a confident expression.

"I'm doing this purely for medical reasons."

"Ugh......"

"You're the pervert."

Tarkan looked at Aristine with a triumphant gaze.

Annoyed by his gaze, Aristine narrowed her eyes and pouted.

"Show me what a real pervert is?"

Her fingers, which were touching Tarkan's abs, moved up and down.

His firm abs tensed and contracted.

"Really, don't do that."

"Why? You called me a pervert. Perverts do pervert things!"

Aristine laughed and tickled Tarkan's side.

"Stop it."

Tarkan grabbed both of her wrists with one hand.

The blanket that had been holding them tightly together loosened.

"Oh... Right, I'm naked."

Aristine, realizing the implications, quickly pulled the blanket over herself and muttered.

"Let's put some clothes on first."

Her face was hot.

* * *

The couple, who had caused a commotion in the middle of the night, sat side by side on the bed, dressed in their nightgowns.

Though they tried to act normal, both were subtly keeping their distance.

Unable to bear the awkward silence, Aristine spoke up.

"How long did I sleep?"

"About ten hours."

"That's a lot."

"Sleep more."

That wasn't possible.

She couldn't afford to waste time.

Wanting to escape the tense atmosphere, Aristine tried to get up but stopped when she saw Tarkan.

"It's still early morning."

Going out now would be pointless.

Aristine sat back down on the bed.

Silence fell again.

Though she wasn't looking at Tarkan, the slight tilt of the bed made her aware of his presence.

The image of Tarkan's body from earlier came to mind.

His body, marked with small scars, was made of tightly packed muscles.

The sensation of touching his chest with her palm lingered.

'Extremely elastic... No!'

What am I thinking!

Aristine clenched her empty fist and cleared her throat.

"I didn't expect to faint in the bath. Getting hypothermia because the water was cold..."

"It's because you were overworked. Your body was in bad shape, so it was worse."

"Overworked?"

Aristine tilted her head.

Was I working that hard?

"Yes, overworked. You've had a low-grade fever for a few days, didn't you know?"

"No, I didn't."

Tarkan looked at Aristine with a disapproving expression.

"Tell me if you're sick."

"No, I wasn't really sick. I just felt a bit heavy-headed."

To Aristine, being sick meant getting burned or being on the brink of death.

After being confined and living alone, a low-grade fever didn't even count as being sick.

"That's being sick."

Tarkan stated firmly.

His large hand touched Aristine's forehead.

"From now on, tell me if you even have a hangnail."

"You're so considerate."

Aristine laughed and swallowed the rest of her words.

'To someone who annoys me.'

She bowed her head and shook off Tarkan's hand.

Somehow, the more she became aware of Tarkan, the more the words she heard earlier echoed in her mind.

"Considerate?"

Tarkan repeated, dazed.

He had never heard such a compliment before.

The only time he heard it was when Aristine sarcastically called him considerate.

This was the first time he heard it with genuine sincerity.

After all, it was the first time he had been so worried about someone being sick.

When he saw Aristine collapse right in front of him, his mind went blank.

Tarkan wasn't a cruel master to his subordinates.

But earlier, he almost drew his sword at the palace attendants for not properly attending to Aristine.

However, the person he was most angry with was himself.

Why didn't he notice Aristine's condition earlier?

"Tell me if you feel heavy-headed. I told you to rely on me."

"I'm relying on you enough, right?"

Aristine tilted her head.

She had relied on him for the merchant guild and the forge.

"Everything is calculated and paid for cleanly?"

As if drawing a line.

"No, even if you take care of everything without any loss, why would I want to run the forge and the merchant guild without paying a cent?"

Yes.

That's what I want.

How would Aristine react if he said that?

He wasn't curious. She would look at him with incomprehension and ask, "Why?"

"I'm your husband."

Tarkan grabbed Aristine's arm and pleaded.

"That's true, but..."

Aristine trailed off, avoiding his gaze.

"What's the problem?"

"Well, we're not really a married couple, are we?"

Aristine smiled.

Forget being a husband, let's just make some money.