Chapter 142 - North Korean rabbit

Chapter 142

The cup Arpad dropped struck his knee once before falling to the floor and shattering into pieces.

"Ah!"

Naturally, the tea splashed onto Arpad's clothes and the surrounding area. Fortunately, it seemed it wasn't a full cup, but it still left a mark.

While I was preoccupied with the broken teacup and the wet clothes, Arpad was silent.

"……."

I had been looking at the stain on his knee, but his utter lack of speech made me lift my head.

And I was met with the most foolish expression he had worn since we first met.

Arpad was frozen, his face looking as if he had become the world's greatest fool.

'This wasn't among the reactions I imagined.'

Suppressing a slight urge to laugh, I asked.

"Who told you to use the world's most handsome face like that?"

"...!"

At these words, Arpad's eyes flew wide open.

It was a reaction as if he had briefly fainted and come to.

Arpad's urgent hands carefully grasped my shoulders.

"Did I just dream?"

Ah, this was one of the reactions I had imagined.

So I could give the answer I had prepared.

"What if it is a dream? You just wake up and it's over?"

Though it was more of a question than an answer.

Arpad began to ramble incoherently.

"It must be a dream I really don't want to wake from. But if I don't wake up, I can't see the real you... Ah, but I really don't want to wake up."

The person who had just been clearing away the pastry crumbs I spilled and feeding me chocolate had completely lost his wits.

I had a servant bring ice water.

"Drink this and get a hold of yourself. It's not a dream."

Arpad gulped down the rather large cup twice, emptying it completely, and crunched on the ice.

"It's cold. Strange that such a sensation could be felt in a dream……."

A light began to swirl in Arpad's red eyes.

"...So it's not a dream."

His red eyes, which seemed ready to blaze up at any moment, were fixed on me.

He set the glass on the tray with a clatter and dismissed the servant. Once again, we were left alone.

In the meantime, I had returned to my seat and sat down, but Arpad slid forward and knelt before me.

The way he placed his hands and face on my knees and looked up... seemed so desperate.

"Did I hear correctly?"

Before I could even answer, Arpad pleaded once more.

"Please say it's true. Otherwise, I think I'll go mad."

"You said you could endure and wait well, didn't you?"

I could feel fragments of laughter mingling in my voice.

"I thought that was the case regarding you... but it seems not."

He looked so desperate, as if he would truly go mad if I left him hanging any longer, that I gave up on tormenting him.

I lowered my head, pressed my lips lightly against Arpad's in a brushing kiss, and whispered.

"It's true. You heard correctly. I said I like you."

"...!"

Just a moment ago, I had commented that he was misusing the world's most handsome face.

Now, Arpad wore an expression of happiness on that most handsome face.

To a slightly infuriating degree.

I wasn't given the leisure to dwell deeply on that thought.

Because our breaths had mingled, we were so close.

Just before confessing, because I wanted this, I deliberately gave Arpad a light peck on the lips.

'If he doesn't kiss me after this, he's not a man.'

Arpad was indeed my man.

"Mmph!"

A fierce, world-melting kiss ensued, long, very long.

* * *

After the authority over internal governance was taken from the Crown Princess, the Empress's Palace had become quite quiet.

However, in the days leading up to the Harvest Festival, the number of people entering and leaving the entire Imperial Palace had increased.

Thanks to this, one person, specially summoned by the Empress's call, was able to slip into the Empress's Palace without raising much suspicion.

Of course, it was also because she possessed a magical artifact that secretly dulled the perception of those sent from the Empress's Palace beforehand.

The woman, dressed in the ordinary attire of a palace maid, looked with displeasure at the bracelet-shaped magical artifact on her wrist.

'Still, to order me to enter using such a wicked object... even if she is the Empress...'

This elderly woman was one of the several high-ranking priestesses of the Earth Mother Goddess.

Empress Isabel had held her position for over a decade and had extended her reach into quite a few places.

Among them, naturally, was the Temple of the Earth Mother Goddess.

Since the Empress always had to attend the Harvest Festival, it was natural for her to become acquainted with the goddess's priestesses.

Of course, among them, few were as brazen as to not only greedily accept the Empress's gestures of goodwill but to demand more.

Only an old priestess like Malia Ka was.

The Empress had fed this greedy old woman ample bribes.

To use her in a situation like this.

At first, Malia Ka did not budge at the Empress's summons.

'Why should I heed the summons of an Empress who has lost all her real authority anyway?'

'It would be better to align myself with the rising sun, the Crown Princess.'

But she belatedly realized the reason why the Empress had, without a word, slipped gold coins into the folds of her priestess robes all this time.

'She threatens to expose all the bribes she gave me if I don't come. Has she gone mad since being relegated to the back rooms?'

The Empress would also suffer a blow.

Unable to completely ignore the threat, she ultimately entered the Empress's Palace.

Pouting her lips, Malia Ka gave a slight bow of her head before the Empress.

"It has been a long time, Your Imperial Majesty. Your divine fortune seems very bright."

A blatantly mocking and sarcastic remark.

The Empress gave a short laugh and spoke coldly.

"It seems you still don't know your place. Judging by your attitude."

Countess Ephial, standing beside the Empress, spoke as if scolding.

"You are before Her Imperial Majesty! Show proper respect!"

"I am a body dedicated to the gods. Therefore, forgive me for only being able to show this level of respect to secular power."

In principle, she was correct.

But the Empress, who knew Malia Ka well, could only snort.

She didn't bother to mock Malia Ka further or say anything more.

As the Head Lady-in-Waiting, Countess Ephial, approached and began to whisper in Malia Ka's ear, the atmosphere changed completely.

The priestess's complexion turned ashen, and she had no choice but to kneel before the Empress, on the knees she so cherished.

"Y-Your Majesty!"

The Empress's threat was real.

She had a list, records, and evidence of the precious metals that had entered Malia Ka's back pockets over the years.

She knew all about the mansion, land, and slaves Malia Ka had secretly acquired under an alias.

Most temples held poverty and frugality as their most important precepts.

Privately extorting money from believers to build wealth was an unforgivable sin.

If exposed, she would not only be expelled from the temple but have all her property confiscated.

The Empress's threat boiled down to one thing.

'If you don't obey me, you will lose everything.'

Who would have thought the money she happily accepted all this time would now tighten like a noose around her neck?

The Empress handed a small pouch to the priestess, whose body trembled with fear and dismay.

The priestess's wrinkled hand received it.

Seeing it was excessively light, it wasn't something like precious metal.

As the Head Lady-in-Waiting stepped back and the Empress approached to whisper directly to Malia Ka,

the old priestess's wrinkled face began to tremble with fear.

* * *

After my confession, nothing passionate or decisive happened between Arpad and me. Unfortunately.

...No, that's not right. I wasn't disappointed. Not one bit!

In any case, the biggest reason was that we simply didn't have the physical time for it.

Because we had to immediately begin preparations for the Harvest Festival.

Arpad, having made my lips swollen, was very regretful.

"Sigh, if it were a schedule that could be postponed, I would have postponed it for a week."

"A, a week?"

My whole body stiffened with tension anew.

What does he plan to do if he postpones it for a week?

'No, before that... for a whole week? Is that even possible?'

Especially since, before presiding over the rite, I had to purify my body as much as possible, and when I began the ritual bathing and purification at the temple on the Artanus plains,

I had already experienced one embarrassing situation because of Arpad.

When the priestesses, saying I had to bathe in the pure spring inside the temple, began to help me undress, they were startled.

"Ah! This is……!"

"What's the matter?"

"Th-that is……!"

Only after seeing my reflection in the mirror did I understand why the priestesses' faces had turned strawberry-red.

There were vivid red marks like flower petals on the nape of my neck.

'This man!'

Arpad's voice, which he had whispered in my ear before we parted, came back to me with startling clarity.

"Tonight, at the temple."

It was a voice so low it made my stomach tingle. Heat rushed all over my body.

Then, the priestesses attending my bath asked in confusion.

"Goodness. Your face has turned so red. Was the water too hot?"

"Shall we mix in more cold water?"

It felt strangely familiar.

Straining to cool the heat in my cheeks, I shook my head.

"No. No. It's fine."

Holding a feeling I couldn't tell was anticipation or fear.

Finally, the Harvest Festival rite began.

Romance, Fantasy,