Beneath the Surviving Princess's Joyful Facade - Chapter 132

“Why is it, when I’m the queen, that you keep telling me I can’t do anything?”

“I’m not telling you that you can’t do anything. I’m merely explaining things you might not be aware of.”

“And what exactly do I not know?”

“I heard the conversation. Certainly, it wasn’t fitting to say such things to the monarch of a nation, but here’s the context of their actions.”

Eirik explained calmly. Having been taken to gatherings of ladies by his mother after her recovery, he could guess what had happened.

“Indeed, it was something they shouldn’t have said. But they’re unfamiliar with Your Majesty and merely sought to win your favor.”

“……”

“Once again, I urge you, it’s not wise to make enemies of the nobility when the royal authority is still unstable.”

But Miesa didn’t hear his words as he intended them.

“If I were Vermel, would people have spoken that way about Anika?”

“…Your Majesty.”

“If someone had said to Vermel that the king’s woman was so lovely he’d want to dedicate his fortune to the temple to have her, would that person still be alive?”

Eirik was at a loss for words.

Seeing him speechless, Miesa found it astonishing. She realized now she was right, and he was wrong.

It was hard to believe that someone who had always been right was now trying to restrain her by siding with those who were wrong.

The grievances she had silently harbored finally erupted. She looked up at him with eyes full of indignation.

“You always promised to be on my side, yet you always consider the perspective of others.”

“I’m merely trying to offer another viewpoint to ensure Your Majesty makes the right decision.”

His continued calm and rational responses only fueled her anger further.

“Tell me, have I ever truly had you to myself?”

“What are you imagining now, on your own?”

“You always act as if nothing happened, putting on an unruffled face―”

Miesa grabbed the lapels of his clothing. His always neat attire was disheveled, but this was not enough to quell her anger. Her mind was a whirlwind of past events tangled together.

Would he just laugh it off if someone expressed their desire for her in front of him? Come to think of it, he had only been upset about her concealing things during the Tilburg incident.

And now he was on good terms with Tilburg, fully aware that Tilburg had once intended to take her as his wife.

“It’s always just me who’s strange. You are perfect in every way, and I’m the only one who gets worked up.”

The incident at the hunting tournament also crossed her mind. Remembering Eirik’s intention to send her away with Cullen, Miesa’s mouth fell open as she realized the implications.

“No, truly, you are just…”

“What on earth are you talking about, Your Majesty?”

His question didn’t reach her ears anymore. Miesa concluded that he truly had no sense of possession over her. Because she, in contrast, felt her breath being choked at the mere thought of him alone with some noblewoman.

Between the two, it was always her who was agitated. She alone was the one who fretted over his reactions and showed her unattractive side in wanting to win his heart. He always stood there with ease, laughing off her efforts.

“Your Majesty.”

Eirik sighed, trying to calm her, but Miesa glared at him with eyes full of resentment.

A sudden wave of sadness hit her, seeing him not loving her as much as she wanted. Even when she swung between heavenly blessings and hellish curses with his every meaningless word, the man before her always watched her with calm eyes.

Why, when this matter involved them both, was it only her emotions that ran wild?

Miesa clenched her teeth. He had shown her a new world. In contrast, she had shown him only clumsy, grotesque, and abnormal things. The disparity in the emotional warmth they felt for each other was inevitable.

After reaching this sad conclusion and feeling a moment of bitterness, Miesa tightened her grip on his lapels. Although she might only possess a small part of his heart, she was still the ruler of this country and the only woman tied to him in marriage.

Having rationalized her feelings, Miesa began to roughly unbutton his shirt. She paid no mind to the fact that they were in the study or that the sunlight was streaming through the windows in broad daylight.

“Your Majesty. Please, wait a moment.”

It wasn’t desire that drove her. She simply wanted to see him lose his composure once more. If he could lose his senses and cling to her like a madman, it might temporarily quench her thirst.

“……”

By the time his shirt was fully unbuttoned, Eirik understood what she intended. So, when she pushed him onto the sofa, he allowed himself to be pushed back.

He remained silent as Miesa straddled him. But when she began to lift her skirt, he raised a hand to cover his eyes and finally spoke.

“Your Majesty.” His voice was heavy with distress. “Are you taking my body to vent some anger?”

“Vent?” Miesa retorted fiercely, but he still didn’t raise his voice. Instead, the strained tone revealed he was holding back.

“Then is this a punishment?”

His eyes were hidden by his large hand. She could only see his handsome jawline, the lips from which his deep voice emerged, the masculine Adam’s apple swallowing something down, and the broad chest exposed through the open shirt.

A belated, abnormal excitement swelled within her.

What should I do? I must be truly mad. Even in this situation, Miesa desperately wanted him. It was pathetic and absurd that she could think of no other way to satiate her insatiable hunger.

As Miesa sat silently on top of him, Eirik slowly sat up.

“Stay still.”

Even though she gritted her teeth and tried to push his shoulders back down, he didn’t budge.

He simply looked at her and asked, “What is it that makes you so anxious? I don’t know how to ease your worries if you won’t tell me.”

Miesa was embarrassed by his earnest gaze. Even though his breathing was heavy, he was focused solely on calming her without a single heated word.

When Miesa turned her gaze away without answering, Eirik asked again, “Tell me anything. I’ll listen.”

That single sentence made Miesa’s face twist.

Her emotions, which calmed so quickly at his soothing words, felt pitiful. Her heart was entirely with him, yet she feared he might be startled or burdened if he noticed the sticky, dark love she harbored.

“I just want to see you lose your composure…”

She didn’t know why she said that, but it was her truest desire. Yet, there was no response. When Miesa glanced at him unintentionally, she saw his face change abruptly.

“Lose my composure, you say.”

His expression seemed both angry and, perhaps, smiling. The calm look he always had was now one that seemed like he was about to devour her with his eyes.

“If showing you my strange side is all it takes,” he murmured, standing up and looking straight at her while he tidied up his clothes. Miesa was taken aback by the sharpness that had never been in his gaze before.

“I told you to stay still.”

Before she could reach out to stop him, Eirik swiftly lifted her into his arms. He walked briskly out of the study.

Miesa couldn’t comprehend what was happening as he carried her away. All she could do was clutch his clothes in shock at the suddenly changed atmosphere.

The palace staff were equally bewildered. As Tilburg followed them with hurried steps, Eirik only gave a cold command.

“I’ll deliver the punishment in the morning. For now, confine those who are guilty.”

“Sorry…?”

Leaving behind the bewildered Tilburg, Eirik wasted no time descending the stairs and heading to the royal bedroom on the second floor. He also gave instructions to the maids he encountered along the way.

“Everyone, leave the hallway. Do not come near the bedroom until morning.”

Once inside the bedroom, he supported Miesa’s waist and legs with one arm and locked the door with the other.

Miesa, who had been burying her face in his chest, felt something was going wrong. She couldn’t see his face, but she sensed he was quietly laughing within.

“So you want to see the part of me that isn’t right, that’s strange.”

He set Miesa down in front of the bed. As she stood there blankly, he quickly stripped off his shirt and threw it to the floor. He sat at the edge of the bed and pulled her closer.

As he tugged down the dress covering her shoulders, he muttered, “I had planned to show you after we had a child or two.”

With those words, Eirik began to hungrily kiss her exposed skin.