CH 96.1

Katarina glared at me with narrowed eyes. I held out a pacifying hand forward.

“Katarina, let’s calm down and let me do this talkin—”

“Talking to her?”

Her cold voice cut off my words.

For some nagging reason, I felt the talk I was meaning wasn’t going to be the same as hers.

“Cloud?”

After hesitating for a while, Katarina called my name as if urging me on.

“Yes. Talk.”

“Right? As you said, if it’s a misunderstanding, will it be resolved through dialogue?”

“Of course. Yes. I mean, we can always try.”

I replied with a quick nod of my head. In my experience, if you hesitate at this point, you’re screwed. And there is no need to hesitate because now there is nothing to hold back.

Katarina’s expression relaxed a little, as if well satisfied with my quick response.

“I see now that you are a very jealous woman. They say one get frustrated of jealous women quickly… I will recommend fixing it quick.”

Oh. Shit.

I hurriedly covered Katarina’s ears, but judging from the frown deepening between her eyebrows, it was already too late. She slipped out of my arms and trudged towards Leslie.

“What did you just say?”

“A concubine getting jealousy is honestly ugly, so I advised her to fix it quickly, well?

“Wh..? Concubine? Concubine!?”

Katarina’s voice contained suppressed anger, like a balloon about to burst at the slightest touch.

“Yeah. Concubine.”

Leslie didn’t care and poked her with a needle.

“Who told I am a concubine!”

Katarina, who finally exploded, shouted out loud. Leslie replied with an expression expressing as if why she was being made to say such an obvious.

“Well, I am an aristocrat, and you are a commoner, no? Surely, the original wife is a commoner, but a noble cannot marry as a concubine under her, now, can she? That is an act that will disregard the authority of the whole noble community.”

“That…”

Katarina couldn’t bear the accusation of undermining the authority of the nobility. She bit her lip tightly in resentment, then pursed her lips. However, it wasn’t long that she remained unresponsive.

She instead turned her head and glanced at me.

Huh? What, me? I had to rebut? Me?

…yeah. She surely meant me. Yeah, why not.

“Katarina is not a commoner. She is the only daughter of a Count family of the Kingdom of Alitia.”

“Oh, are you? Sorry. I did make a mishap.”

Leslie’s apology did not improve Katarina’s expression. Maybe because of internal conflict? Because now she had to use her enemy’s family name just to win a verbal fight. And she couldn’t refuse the win either.

After taking a few deep breaths, her expression improved a little. Recovering her composure, she said to Leslie.

“Do you hear? I am not a concubine.”

“Yeah?”

Leslie tilted her head.

Then she said, ‘Ah’, before smiling with a sound as if she realized something.

“I think you misunderstand something. Even if you are the daughter of a Count, nothing changes.”

“What?”

“Why are you making that puzzled face? No way… do you put a Count of a kingdom on the same line as the Archduchess of the only Principality who can very well match the Empire’s Duke in status?”

“…”

Once again, Katarina was speechless.

As she rolled her eyes on me to come with a new counter, she suddenly narrowed her brows and put on a bewildered expression.

“Wait a minute. A concubine or anything, why does it even matter when you relate as of nothing to Cloud? It hasn’t been long since you met Cloud, either, right?”

“Because my father wants me to be with Cloud.”

“… Is that all?”

Leslie shook her head.

“Of course, that’s not all. Cloud-sama has a status that cannot be replaced by anything else: a hero, and he is braver and stronger than anyone else. In addition, he has an excellent appearance and is even very kind.”

Leslie touched the top of her head for a moment, then cleared her throat as she spoke.

“Isn’t it enough to want him as a prospective spouse?”

“What the hell. So, you want Cloud because of conditions, not love.”

“I like Cloud.”

“Like? Then it is not love.”

“I love him too.”

“Are you trying to play puns with me!?”

“It’s not a pun, it’s truth. And who are you to arbitrarily judge my love?”

“Huh? Okay, that was not nice of…”

“Apologize for the offense.”

“I’m sorry… no, not. Why should I apologize? You are the thieving cat who covets other lady’s man!”

“Isn’t he mine now as well?”

“Our conversation ends here!”

The tone of their voices, Katarina’s to be exact, went up, and the atmosphere also became stern.

I’d wondered if there was a possibility of them talking down the situation, but it appears that my expectations were placed too high.

So, I quickly intervened between the two.

“Both of you, calm down. This will be a real fight.”

“It’s Katarina who needs to calm down, not me…”

“Duchess.”

“…yeah?”

“Quieten down.”

“…yes.”

Leslie blinked her eyes and then bowed her head in response. With a wronged expression. Sorry, Leslie. I need to do this hard to ease Katarina’s mood.

I turned to look at Katarina.

As I thought, she was hoisting her chest up with a triumphant face. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

“I must apologize, but I have to step out and talk to Leslie for a while.”

Katarina’s expression, which was cheering bright, hardened.

“…just the two of you? You serious?”

“It will really take only a moment. I won’t do anything weird. Promise.”

I held out my pinky finger.

But Katarina only had her eyes quivering with betrayal on her face.

“Do whatever you want! Whether it’s the two of you making rice cakes [1] or jumping into a river, do whatever you want!”

She huffed and went back to bed and laid down on her face.

I scratched my head and motioned Leslie out of the room.

* * *

“You bastard… you really left me alone just because I said you to…”

""

Katarina muttered, voice weak. Tears streamed down her pillow.

“It’s been a while since we met, when our eyes meet…”

He had been with her for months. And had he even known that girl for over a month?

So why?

Did he really get sick of her jealous nature, like that woman said?

Jealousy, or nagging?

Just when Katarina, whose sadness exploded, was crying alone.

There was a knock and the sound of the door opening.

‘What, how?’

How was he back so soon?

Embarrassed, she took a deep breath and stopped crying. Simultaneously, the sound of footfalls came closer, and she felt the bed shake and him lying down.

“Dear?”

Cloud asked, placing a hand on her waist. She pondered dozens of times whether she should answer. As his hand gently stroked his waist, weight tipped to one side.

“…sit down.”

“I see.”

Cloud sneaked up on her.

Her heart pounded at the familiar male touch that hadn’t taken hold of her waist in days.

Not same for the troubled mind.

[1] Korean idiom for seggs.