Episode 35: Why is Brother here? (2)
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“Princess Consort, you’re up early.”
Aristine ran out of the bedroom as soon as dawn broke.
The court ladies greeted her with smiles as always. However, Aristine couldn’t face them like always.
Aristine stomped over to the court ladies, and with her eyes aflame, she spoke, “Give me back my bedroom.”
“Oh dear, you didn’t like it?”
“Ah, perhaps it’s a little too much for sleeping alone.”
The court ladies nodded in understanding.
Aristine’s neck hurts. “Alone or not, who can sleep in that room?! The bed moves! The bed!”
“Huhu, it was custom-made by us with great care.”
“This is the result of our meeting on how to better support His Highness Tarkan and Your Highness.”
The court ladies said proudly with a smile.
Aristine felt dizzy and held her forehead. It seemed they had very different definitions of the word ‘better’.
When the court ladies saw Aristine stagger, they rushed up to her and seated her in her chair.
Then they quickly brought a wet towel and lukewarm water.
“Are you okay, Princess Consort?”
“Your body is already weak and the hot night…I mean, the demonic beast plains must have exhausted you.”
“You also have low blood pressure, so be especially careful in the morning.”
‘No, my blood pressure is definitely not falling right now; it’s rising.’
Aristine looked at the culprits of her high blood pressure and inwardly sighed with exhaustion.
It was hard to get angry after seeing their worried face.
“Either way, I cannot sleep there so bring back my original bedroom.”
“I agree, it will be better to use that bedroom after His Highness Tarkan returns.”
‘No, even if Tarkan is back, I don’t ever want to use it though.’
Aristine took deep breaths and tried to lower her once again rising blood pressure.
The court ladies took good care of her so that she didn’t need to take extra medicine.
“Don’t worry. It was Your Highness’s newlywed room so of course, we didn’t get rid of it altogether.”
“The old bedroom was relocated to another room. Everything is the same as before, starting with the bed.”
“We thought it would be nice to relive the memories of the first night from time to time since we know there can only be one first night.”
The court ladies looked at Aristine with their faces full of pride.
Their expression clearly demanded praise.
Aristine was about to say something, but clamped her mouth shut. After a while, her tired voice spilled from her lips.
“…Right, that’s good. Let me sleep somewhere else…”
She just came back from the Demonic Beast Plain, so why was she even more tired?
‘Let me have something sweet and go to bed.’
With the situation being as it was, she couldn’t sleep properly last night. Hence, her body was feeling heavy this morning.
Right after Aristine decided to sleep and was earnestly increasing her sugar intake with a warm apple tart topped with ice cream…
“Princess Consort.”
Another court lady entered the room, separate from the court ladies who were already waiting on her.
It was clear that she had something to discuss.
“What is the matter?”
“His Highness Prince Hamill requests a meeting with you. Here…”
Aristine accepted the white invitation from the court lady.
Upon opening the card, she was met with an elegantly written invitation to have lunch together.
‘He even sent an official invitation so it’s harder to refuse.’
But that was none of Aristine’s business.
“Send word that it will be difficult to attend due to the fatigue of my travels.”
“Pardon? Then your reply…”
Since Hamill wrote the invitation himself, it was basic etiquette for Aristine to send a written response herself.
“I’m afraid I have no energy so it’s hard to write anything.”
Aristine spoke shamelessly while diligently stuffing her mouth with her fork.
The combination of hot tart and cold ice cream was extraordinary.
‘He must have thought this method would work since I am a princess of Silvanus, which values etiquette more than Irugo. Well, I can just ignore it too.’
Unlike other Silvanians, Aristine was not obsessed with etiquette.
Hearing that, the court lady smiled and bowed her head.
“Understood, Princess Consort.”
She quickly withdrew from the room.
When the door closed, the court ladies who were serving her, broke into chatter with bright faces.
“You did great, Princess Consort.”
“After that, I doubt His Highness Hamill send anymore invitations.”
“Everyone knows His Highness Hamill and His Highness Tarkan are not on good terms, so why does he keep doing this to our Highness the Princess Consort?”
At those words, Aristine stopped digging with her fork. “What does Prince Hamill keep doing?”
The court ladies didn’t know what had happened between her and ‘Lu’. They also didn’t know what happened in the rain the day that Tarkan left.
On the surface, Aristine and Hamill should have no connection so what were they referring to?
It’s no different, but what are you talking about?
The court ladies went ‘oh no’ as they met Aristine’s eyes but they couldn’t deliberately mislead their mistress after saying it.
“That, well, when His Highness Hamill heard that Your Highness went to the demonic beast plains, he was a little…”
“He said he would go to the plains himself too and once Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness Yenikarina heard, it was utter chaos.”
“Even us, we were asked why we didn’t dissuade Your Highness, and why we didn’t provide proper support, otherwise Your Highness wouldn’t have gone…”
“Yes, it was quite the commotion.”
Aristine nodded her head and dabbed her mouth with a napkin.
‘…Just to irritate the Queen, it wouldn’t be too bad to meet Hamill once.’
Most of all, there was something that Aristine wanted to confirm about the disruption with the military transmission stones.
However, she didn’t necessarily have to get this confirmation through Hamill.
‘Because Khan will be jealous.’
Her husband was unexpectedly the jealous type.
He was already that jealous when Aristine grew close to Hamill, unaware of his true identity, so imagine how sour he would feel if she got close to Hamill again after knowing.
‘Hah, I am truly suffering with a jealous, perverted husband.’
Aristine groaned and patted her waist before standing up.
It seems the travel was not the only reason why she was tired.
‘Seriously, my body feels so sluggish. Is it usually like this for everyone?’
She tilted her head in confusion and walked in the direction that her court ladies guided her.
‘Well, since I couldn’t sleep properly, let me get a good night’s sleep and some rest, and I should feel better.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, being away from Tarkan allowed Aristine to rest in peace without any disturbance.
Her condition seemed to be improving.
Hence, Aristine was not expecting it at all.
The refusal of Hamill’s invitation and thinking that her physical condition was okay.
What the outcome of these two choices would be.
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