Chapter 85

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 85

Chapter Title: I Am Hilia's Husband

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Arpad had called Sir Beltein aside?

When I looked a bit puzzled, Annie spoke up as if to reassure me.

"He said he wanted to discuss matters regarding Your Highness the Crown Princess's protection."

Normally, I would have worried right away.

What's this guy up to now? Is he trying to mess with Sir Beltein again?

But recalling Arpad's hurt expression from yesterday made me feel guilty for suspecting him.

I was still a little uneasy...

But there are eyes watching everywhere, and it's not like Arpad's going to devour Sir Beltein or anything.

I tried to settle my mind with those thoughts as I polished off the soup and medicine.

To cut to the chase, Hilia's decision to trust Arpad's character had been betrayed.

He was glaring at Sir Beltein with eyes sharp as blades in the study.

This had been the situation ever since he was summoned.

"...".

Sir Beltein asked his question for the third time.

"What business do you have with me, Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

"...".

But Arpad's red eyes continued to burn fiercely at Sir Beltein without a word.

A normal person would have been trembling in fear, collapsed on the floor by now.

But Sir Beltein was the strongest knight in the Delphin ducal household.

He was among the elite even among the imperial knights attached to the Crown Prince's Palace.

He felt tense and uncomfortable, but it wasn't enough to instill outright terror just because the Crown Prince was in a foul mood.

With that, Sir Beltein mustered his courage and made what amounted to a final warning.

"If Your Highness has no separate orders or questions for me, may I take my leave?"

These were the first words from Arpad since summoning Sir Beltein.

"Because you have to guard Hilia's side?"

"...?"

The content was nothing special, but the tone was utterly bizarre.

Each word seemed laced with rage, murderous intent, and jealousy.

Sir Beltein flinched in surprise.

Jealousy? No way.

He knew Arpad and Hilia as a happily married couple.

There was no reason for him to be jealous of a mere knight like himself.

As his thoughts reached that point, Sir Beltein felt a faint prick of pain in his chest, like a needle's jab.

And at the same moment, memories surfaced.

Hilia's scream when Arpad abducted her in the bride abduction marriage.

And the feelings he had when he later saw Hilia in the Crown Prince's Palace, openly showering Arpad with affection without a hint of shame.

He should have been relieved then.

His lady wasn't unhappy—she was joyful. He should have been glad for that.

Yet even so... gazing at Hilia smiling like a flower, Sir Beltein had chewed on an undeniable bitterness.

This rigid, principled man didn't know exactly what emotion it was.

This stiff man firmly believed there was no way Arpad—who had Hilia's affections all to himself—would be jealous of a lowly knight.

But the reality was...

Arpad was gripped by a ferocious jealousy the likes of which he'd never experienced in his life.

Last night, when a sleeping Hilia shed tears and murmured Sir Beltein's name.

His mind had gone blank.

"Sir Beltein..."

Even if that sleep-talk had ended there, it would have twisted his guts.

But it hadn't ended with that.

"...You can't die, Sir Beltein... I have to protect you... What do I do..."

Hilia had wept so sorrowfully.

As he wiped her tears, Arpad spent the entire night tormented by impulses that made his head throb.

Should I kill him?

And the conflict raged on even now.

Should I just kill him after all? There are plenty of ways to make it look like an accident or mishap.

But Arpad couldn't bring himself to act on that intense urge.

He'd agonized over it endlessly, and even with Sir Beltein standing before him, he couldn't kill him or lash out.

He couldn't even voice the question boiling up to his throat.

What's your exact relationship with Hilia?

Until now, when he'd called Sir Beltein Hilia's "lover," half of it had been a joke.

He'd misunderstood at first, but when Hilia vehemently denied it, he'd realized it wasn't true.

Later, during his background check on Hilia, he'd secretly confirmed there were no rumors linking her to Sir Beltein and felt relieved.

She was devoted to her fiancé, after all.

Of course, even that fact had been displeasing.

Whatever the past, Hilia now despised Ludwig.

She hated him more than a filthy bug or a sewer rat.

But Sir Beltein was different.

Before entering the palace, she'd checked on his safety first.

The moment she arrived, she'd rushed to save him. (The part about checking on Annie too had already slipped from Arpad's mind.)

On top of that, this man had even sworn a knight's oath to her.

Every single detail grated on him and churned his stomach.

Arpad knew his current state was utterly abnormal.

Why am I like this?

This hesitation didn't suit him at all.

Once he'd summoned Sir Beltein, he should hear the answers and then...

Bite him to death and be done with it.

That was more like him.

But.

...I can't.

It wasn't affection for Sir Beltein or regret over wasting talent.

There was only one concern.

If I kill this guy, she'll definitely cry.

Even if it was illness or an accident, she'd grieve and shed tears for sure.

He didn't have the confidence to witness that.

Just seeing her bawl in her sleep last night had driven him to the brink of madness with anxiety...

She'd only just started showing him soft smiles and gentle gazes.

If he did something like that, those eyes—like spring meltwater—would freeze into winter's glacier.

The mere thought made his heart sink.

But he couldn't ignore Sir Beltein's name emerging from Hilia's sleep-talk either.

It was bound to haunt his thoughts constantly.

He couldn't bring himself to ask because he dreaded the answer.

If, by some chance, she said they were lovers or paramours... the very idea was horrifying.

Arpad's mind swirled wildly with emotions he'd never felt before.

In the end, he reached an uncharacteristically timid conclusion and tossed out a single line.

"...I am Hilia's husband."

"...?"

Sir Beltein nodded, puzzled but agreeable.

"Yes, of course you are."

It was an obvious fact.

But even as he replied, Sir Beltein couldn't understand why the words "Hilia's husband" stuck in his ears like that.

Or why he felt a sudden melancholy.

On the other hand, Arpad's expression softened a bit.

"Now that you know, you're dismissed."

"...? As you command."

It had been one hour and thirty minutes since Arpad had summoned Sir Beltein.

And Yulken, who had to watch the two men's awkward, prickly standoff the entire time as the Crown Prince's secretary, was beyond frustrated.

As silences clashed like spear and shield, he held back the urge to shout aloud by himself.

Just say it! Why can't you speak up! 'Do you harbor feelings for my wife?' That's all you need to ask! Then he'd answer, 'Yes, I do!' and be done!

It was plain as day to a third party, but the two men—both equally inept with their emotions—were oblivious.

So Yulken's frustration festered alone.

And the first thing Arpad said was "I am Hilia's husband."

Yulken, who had been downing cold water out of sheer exasperation, nearly spat it out.

Arpad looked faintly but unmistakably smug after that line, which was ridiculous.

The dejected Sir Beltein was even more absurd.

After withdrawing with Sir Beltein.

Yulken went to the waiting room and punched the sofa silently, laughing his head off.

"Pfft! Khh!"

What to do. Our sin-laden Crown Princess.

He immediately retracted his earlier thought of dying from frustration.

This is gold!

Creating such an entertaining dynamic for her suffering secretary. The Crown Princess truly was the best.

Of course, the million kastels stung a bit.