CHAPTER 44…………
“Rejected.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said all of these documents are rejected.”
The stack of papers Arpad threw fluttered down in front of Yulken, who looked utterly dumbfounded.
“But you said before that handling it this way was perfectly fine!”
“That was then. This is now.”
In the end, Yulken stayed up all night, painstakingly rewriting every document to bring them back.
And then—
“This time too, rejected.”
“Why?! I corrected everything exactly as you pointed out yesterday!”
Arpad smirked and came up with the most ridiculous excuse.
“I don’t like the texture of the paper.”
“Have you finally lost your mind?!”
Anyone could see he was nitpicking on purpose just to torment him.
Sure, Arpad was eccentric, maybe even a little unhinged, but he had never gone out of his way to bully like this before.
No matter what mistakes Yulken made, he’d never been treated like this.
Even when other subordinates committed grave errors, it wasn’t like this.
‘Back then he would’ve just killed them outright!’
But deliberately tormenting someone with pointless nitpicking, as if to wear them down—that had never happened.
‘And yet that’s exactly what he’s doing now!’
And not just to anyone, but to Yulken, universally acknowledged as Arpad’s most capable man.
“If Your Highness gives in to mania right now, it will be disastrous!”
“Why? Worried you’ll lose your job?”
Usually, whenever Yulken shot Arpad a “Have you lost your mind?” kind of remark, Arpad would respond in a predictable way.
But this time, his reaction was completely different.
Yulken’s ill-aimed jab only fanned the flames of Arpad’s bad temper.
“You don’t seem to understand—it wouldn’t do for our Lady Consort to become a widow right after the wedding!”
“…!”
Fwoosh!
The perfect stack of documents Yulken had slaved over caught fire in Arpad’s hand.
“Eek! What are you doing?! That’s the blood, sweat, and tears of my sleepless night—!”
“I told you. I didn’t like the paper.”
“That’s absurd!”
“Enough. Rewrite them.”
“Aaaargh!”
Neither the tormentor nor the tormented knew the real reason for this nonsense. The chaos dragged on for days.
Only the true cause of it all remained blissfully oblivious.
‘Good. I’ve even won Yulken’s goodwill, so now I can focus solely on preparing for the banquet. What a relief!’
* * *
Three days after returning from Delphinger—
Sir Beltane, having received emergency treatment and a short recovery period, finally entered the palace.
Of course, it was in his official capacity as my guard knight.
It wasn’t the usual kind of circumstance, but I personally went out to greet him.
I even paid extra attention to my attire and brought Annie along, as well as a retinue of palace attendants.
The reason was simple.
‘Sir Beltane thinks I was really dragged into a forced marriage, so I need to show him I’m being treated well and kept safe.’
Only then would he be reassured.
He must have been terribly worried.
According to Annie, he was one of the only two who had genuinely worried about me.
“Everyone else only fretted about the Archduke. Sir Beltane alone blamed himself for failing to protect you… and he even bore the Archduke Ludwig’s wrath for it!”
And Annie herself, who returned to the palace with me, adapted astonishingly quickly.
It hadn’t been long, yet with her usual charm she had already made friends among the palace staff.
She even passed along bits of gossip she heard.
‘Once Sir Beltane takes his place as my knight, I won’t have to worry about those two at least.’
Heart fluttering with anticipation and relief, I headed toward the Crown Prince’s Palace entrance.
But midway, an unexpected intruder appeared.
“My bride, as always, your beauty is dazzling enough to hurt the eyes.”
It was Arpad, reciting such cringe-worthy lines as if they were natural.
He was dressed in a resplendent ceremonial robe of crimson silk embroidered with golden threads.
The cloak embroidered with a golden dragon gleamed so brightly it was almost oppressive.
‘What the—? He looks like he’s headed straight for a banquet.’
Startled, I paused in my tracks.
Arpad approached smoothly and held out his hand.
“Will you grant me the honor of escorting you?”
“….”
What on earth was this?
I couldn’t help but be flustered, though I was also aware of all the watching eyes.
So, feigning shyness, I placed my hand in his and replied loud enough for everyone nearby to hear:
“My hand belongs to Your Highness, now and always.”
Ugh. Even saying it myself made my skin crawl.
While I suppressed a full-body shiver, Arpad swiftly seized my hand.
His grip was unusually tight.
‘What’s this about?’
I had no intention of pulling away, but the firm determination in his grasp was unmistakable, as if he wouldn’t allow me to.
As I quickened my pace in confusion, Arpad whispered low.
“Do you know something?”
“What?”
“You have too many men.”
“…Excuse me?”
The sheer absurdity of it made me doubt my ears.
For a moment, I nearly forgot the time and place and almost shouted.
Instead, I hissed back under my breath.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Why such baseless slander all of a sudden—?”
Arpad only pulled me closer, so that we were practically walking embraced rather than escorted.
This was far beyond “escorting.”
But I had no room to fuss about appearances.
Because his nonsense wasn’t finished.
He raised his hand and folded down his thumb.
“First, me.”
That’s when I realized what he was doing.
‘He’s… counting my supposed “men”?’
And putting himself first was utterly ridiculous.
‘Well, technically he’s my legal husband, so not entirely wrong, but still…’
He folded down his index finger.
“Second, that bastard Ludwig.”
“Have you forgotten why I turned to you in the first place? To escape that man! Why even bring up Ludwig?”
But Arpad shook his head.
“When I saw him in Delphinger, his lingering attachment to you was pouring out of him.”
“That’s not me he’s clinging to—it’s the Delphinger title and fortune.”
He’d leeched sweetly off me for three years. No wonder he regretted losing it.
But Arpad refused to agree.
“You don’t understand men’s possessiveness and obsession.”
“And why should I care to?”
At that, Arpad’s expression shifted subtly. Then he nodded to himself.
“Well, maybe it’s better you don’t.”
Why is he rambling such nonsense?
Meanwhile, he folded down his middle finger.
I asked first.
“Why that finger? There’s no man left to count.”
“Yulken.”
“…Huh?”
Arpad lowered his voice.
“How did you manage it? He turned into a loyal hound overnight.”
“Calling him a hound is an exaggeration, don’t you think?”
But Arpad was dead serious.
“Not at all. It takes a lot to surprise me. But you tamed Yulken in an instant.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
The “one of my men” part was absurd—but the admiration in Arpad’s voice when he said I’d tamed Yulken was genuine.
“Why? Are you impressed by my ability?”
“…Excessively so.”
With that, Arpad folded down his fourth finger.
He then pointed to a familiar figure standing at the entrance of the Crown Prince’s Palace.
“And the fourth… obviously, the one knight who actually drew his sword against me for your sake.”
There stood Sir Beltane, leaning on a crutch.
* * *
I wanted to run to him in joy, but I failed.
Arpad wasn’t just holding me firmly—he was practically keeping me in his arms.
I didn’t have the strength to break free.
So instead I whispered urgently.
“Let me go.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Arpad looked at me with a baffled sort of expression.
“You really don’t know?”
I tilted my head.
No matter how I thought about it, nothing came to mind.
So, I deliberately teased him by naming a feeling I thought he’d never have toward me.
“Don’t tell me—you’re jealous?”
I was certain he’d scoff or sneer.
Then I could lighten the mood and slip free of his grasp.
But I never imagined he’d nod seriously.
And answer like this:
“Don’t I have the right to be jealous? I am your rightful husband.”
“…Your… rightful… husband?”
For a moment, I thought my hearing had betrayed me.
