Chapter 138 - Book Rabbit

Episode 138

Hilia snapped back to her senses and shook her head from side to side.

‘What on earth am I thinking! If I keep this up, I’ll be swept away before I know it!’

She tried to pull herself together sharply and took a few more steps inside.

She struggled to maintain her composure as much as possible.

“Why did you come in such a hurry? Your hair isn’t even dry yet.”

At that, Arpad lifted his head with a jerk.

His wet hair clung to his handsome forehead, cheeks, and jawline.

Water droplets beaded at the ends of his hair and then trickled, rolling down the contours of his muscles.

A few drops soaked into his red silk robe, darkening its color slightly.

Why was it? That sight looked strangely, sensually provocative.

Because of it, Hilia had to forcibly divert her gaze, which kept wandering on its own toward the wet robe, the exposed skin, and the water droplets tracing the curves of his muscles.

Whether unaware of Hilia’s state or simply unperturbed, Arpad replied nonchalantly.

“I wanted to come quickly, so I told them to make do and rushed over.”

“…I feel sorry for the attendants.”

Arpad chuckled at that.

“No. When I said I couldn’t wait and was coming like this, they were cheering me on.”

“What?!”

Hilia turned her head away in disbelief, then caught sight of Arpad’s usually pale face faintly flushed with a tinge of red and averted her eyes again.

Her head grew hot, and her thoughts tangled like a skein of yarn.

“Aren’t you going to ask what kind of cheering it was?”

“I’m not going to ask, so don’t bother saying it.”

“No, I’ll say it. I’ll explain. You just said, ‘What?!’”

“I said I don’t need to know!”

Arpad had barely taken a few steps, yet he was already within arm’s reach of Hilia.

He boldly thrust his face forward—excessively handsome and, today, peculiarly damp and tinged with a flush, making it all the more overwhelming.

‘Eek!’

“They said our marital harmony is excellent, so it’s desirable, and they’re cheering for ‘good news’ to come soon.”

In truth, Hilia had often heard similar remarks.

After all, one of the things she had actively emphasized to solidify her image and position was precisely that.

‘We are a lovebird couple!’

It was a good way to soothe her fear of Arpad and an easy method to quickly stabilize her position as Crown Princess.

Hilia had not foreseen that the image she had so actively utilized would become such a double-edged sword.

Arpad whispered in a subtly low voice.

“As I mentioned earlier, shouldn’t we live up to His Majesty’s expectations as well?”

Hilia thought,

‘Why does he have to lower his voice so unnecessarily? And why does he speak so… moistly? Excessively?’

She grabbed onto the fraying edge of her fleeing reason and cried out.

“Those expectations! Why on earth did you say such an unnecessary thing earlier?!”

“Well, isn’t ‘get closer to His Majesty’ something you’ve always said?”

“What does a father and son getting closer have to do with that?!”

“Usually, I’ve heard that even parents and children with poor relationships soften once a grandchild arrives.”

“Who said such a thing?!”

“My maternal grandmother.”

“…Isn’t that rather lacking in credibility?”

As far as she knew, the Grand Duchess had still disliked the Emperor even after Arpad was born.

Then Arpad said something unexpected.

“No, when I was little, she visited quite often to see me.”

“Really?”

Hilia soon understood.

‘Well, if it was Arpad as a child… I’m sure he looked just like an angel.’

It seems even that rigid Grand Duchess’s heart softened somewhat upon seeing her angelic grandson.

That must be why she caused such a scene at Arpad’s funeral.

Imagining a young Arpad, Hilia nearly drifted into a daze for a moment.

She almost found herself thinking, ‘If a child resembled Arpad, wouldn’t they be angelic?’

‘Pull yourself together, Hilia! You mustn’t just tumble over like this, all muddled!’

But Arpad remained the very embodiment of a straight charge.

“Moreover, according to my grandmother, that old saying is quite credible.”

“You actually asked about that?! When?”

“She stopped by my office today before leaving. She came and said something similar to His Majesty.”

“…!”

Hilia’s face flushed bright red.

‘Why is everyone causing a commotion from all sides as if they timed it?!’

Arpad’s handsome face, which seemed to Hilia to be wearing an unusually mischievous expression, filled her vision.

“Come to think of it, I’m half expectant and half worried that you’ll look excessively enchanting in the ceremonial robes. I mean, I don’t want to show other humans how you look wearing them.”

Hilia let out a shriek.

“That’s utter nonsense! The ceremonial robes are similar to priests’ attire, the very essence of asceticism!”

Earlier, she had checked the state of the ceremonial robes together with the Emperor and Arpad.

As Hilia said, the robes were based on priestly vestments and had an ascetic design.

Buttons fastened tightly up to the chin, covering everything except the face and hands.

Moreover, long, thick fabric repeatedly draped over the front and back of the body, hiding any curves completely.

The color was a simple white.

The entire garment was solemnly embroidered with the golden dragon symbolizing Artanus, the crest of the Earth Mother Goddess, and the crest of Despoina.

Arpad’s share of the robes had the same arrangement, with only the Earth Mother Goddess’s emblem replaced by that of the Heavenly Lord God.

In any case, it was a garment so densely embroidered with the names and crests of the ancestral dragon and various gods—a stark manifestation of the power struggle between the temple and the imperial family—that merely looking at it evoked solemnity.

And yet, looking at that, he had such lewd thoughts.

With a reddened face, Hilia vigorously rebuked him.

“Where in that dress design is there room for such preposterous thoughts? At that rate, wouldn’t you get excited just looking at a wall on a normal day?”

Arpad shook his head seriously.

“No. What’s important isn’t the dress design. It’s the contents.”

“The contents?”

“You.”

Arpad’s face drew close once more.

His hot breath tickled Hilia’s cheek and lips.

“Whether you’re wearing sackcloth or full-body armor, what matters is that it’s you.”

“……!”

“No matter what you wear, because it’s you, you can’t help but look seductive and enchanting.”

Just as Hilia was about to confirm that Arpad was undoubtedly a pervert, she was left speechless.

While she hesitated, Arpad smiled softly and lightly pressed his lips to the nape of her neck.

“Eek!”

Suppressing a sharp gasp, Hilia felt her legs go weak without realizing it.

It was Arpad who prevented her from collapsing right then.

He wrapped one arm around Hilia’s waist, supporting her so she wouldn’t fall.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

A crackling, tension that felt like flames might erupt.

Arpad slid his hands under his wife’s knees and lifted her up.

In a daze, Hilia clung to Arpad’s neck, and before she could regain her senses, Arpad walked while carrying her in a princess carry.

Then he carefully laid Hilia down on the bed as if she were a feather.

For a moment, Hilia wondered if the human soul wasn’t a liquid.

Arpad’s hands touching her, his body temperature, were too hot.

Just being held by him and laid on the bed made her whole body feel as if it were seething.

A foolish thought crossed her mind—that the soul inside might boil over and fly far away.

Lying down beside Hilia, Arpad whispered softly.

“Actually, I’ve been trying very hard for quite a long time.”

That the word ‘trying’ sounded extremely, extremely indecent was undoubtedly entirely Arpad’s fault.

“What I said to His Majesty was also sincere, and in fact, I’m still trying now.”

“What… kind of trying?”

He was speaking skillfully, as if urging her to ask.

Arpad grinned.

“Trying to enchant you, of course. Trying to win your heart. In fact, I’ve been trying quite hard ever since I presented you with this ring.”

With a flushed face, Hilia grumbled.

“…Does that ‘trying’ include deliberately waiting in the bedroom while wet?”

“I’m in no position to be picky about means and methods……”

Hilia suddenly remembered.

After the night of the Crimson Moon, they had grown quite close.

Arpad’s expressions of affection, of course, and their physical contact, whether day or night, had become quite unreserved.

It had grown more intense, too.

But crossing that final line… was harder than she thought.

It wasn’t that she disliked Arpad or that his attitude was problematic.

Even when he charged forward like a battering ram, seemingly trying to sweep her away with his charm in this dizzying manner……

If she showed she didn’t want it, he stopped right at that moment.

Just like now.

Holding Hilia in his embrace, Arpad kissed her forehead.

“So, let’s share sweet dreams again tonight.”

Hilia knew there was no force in Arpad’s hands holding her.

He didn’t try to probe into more intimate places either.

He was simply holding her with deep, warm affection.

So Hilia couldn’t help but ask first.

“Why aren’t you angry or irritated?”

Arpad’s eyes widened.

Hilia knew well that Arpad desired her.

But when it came to the decisive moment, her body would stiffen without her realizing it.

Because fragments of nightmare-like memories from before the regression would surface and pierce her.