Chapter 227
Heavy Shower (2)
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‘I have to choose the best location.’
To do that, she needed Tarkan’s opinion, as well as the opinions of the warriors who had fought the demonic beasts directly.
Aristine headed straight to the training hall.
* * *
“Our subjugations usually proceed like this. Since it’s a long-term expedition, we set up a base and make it our center of focus.”
When Jacquelin said that, Aristine stroked her chin.
“Hmm, it might be called a base, but it’s actually not safe at all. The defenses are bare since we are on a plain, and considering we have to move around, there’s a limit to the number of walls we can build.”
“I see.” Aristine nodded her head.
“But fear not!” Mukali confidently proudly drummed his chest. “Princess Consort, there is no need to worry! I, Mukali, will slaughter all those beasts!”
“I don’t think you should be talking about slaughter before Her Highness.” Durante mumbled.
Mukali was stunned and tried to explain himself to Aristine. “Uh, no, that’s not what I meant…”
“I know.” Aristine gave Mukali a smile.
She was talking with Jacquelin, Mukali, and Durante because Tarkan was currently occupied with overseeing the warrior’s progress.
She was here because it sounded like a good idea to designate a test area and set up barriers using the movement routes of the warriors and their battle patterns.
Aristine gazed at the map of the vast demonic beast plains.
Signs of thought-out strategy lingered over the map. Traces of the battles that the warriors would fight.
“You all are amazing. Demonic beasts are really…terrifying.”
Her last word came out as soft as a whisper.
Durante gazed at Aristine’s darkened face and furrowed his eyebrows. Of course, everyone thought demonic beasts were scary. But there was something strange about Aristine’s reaction.
It was akin to someone who had experienced demonic beasts firsthand…
‘No, that’s impossible.’
That idea was too far-fetched.
Aristine has been imprisoned in Silvanus. Not abandoned in a wasteland surrounded by demonic beasts.
“By the way, is it okay to show me this strategy? Isn’t this usually a secret?”
At those words, Jacquelin, Mukali, and Durante looked at each other. Now that they thought about it, she was right. Even if this didn’t concern anti-personnel warfare, this was top secret.
However, they showed it to Aristine very naturally. Not only that, but they even offered friendly explanations.
But why?
It didn’t even occur to them that it might be a mistake.
The eyes of the three men turned back to Aristine.
“Because you are our Princess Consort, not anyone else.”
“That’s it?” Aristine chuckled.
“No, really.”
“There’s nothing classified before the Princess Consort.”
“Tch, you say that, but you were always wary of me before.”
“That was so long ago.”
“Now you are our Princess Consort.”
Hearing them say that, Aristine couldn’t help but laugh.
She didn’t realize that trust built over time could make you feel so warm.
As they smiled at each other, a voice as cold as ice landed in the room without warning.
“What’s so funny?”
The warm atmosphere froze over in an instant.
The warriors creakily raised their heads and looked at the source of the voice.
“I would love to hear it too.” Tarkan said with a lazy smile drawn on his face.
“M-Milord.”
The warriors trembled. To be honest, they were more afraid of Tarkan than any demonic beasts.
Tarkan’s eyes coldly scanned the warriors.
He hurried over after hearing that Aristine was here, but the sight he was greeted by…
It was the scene of his wife smiling brightly among the semi-nude warriors.
Indeed.
Because of training, Durante, Mukali, and Jacquelin were shirtless. They had great pecs and great abs, like the great warriors that they were.
Aristine’s smile while surrounded by such pecs and abs was incredibly warm.
Veins popped on Tarkan’s forehead.
‘I thought you were only obsessed with my chest.’
Tarkan felt betrayed by his wife.
Aristine didn’t even care that the warriors were bare-chested, and she certainly wasn’t smiling because of that, so his sense of betrayal was unnecessary, but he didn’t know that.
“Tarkan!”
Aristine happily greeted him.
When he saw her smiling face directed at him, the feeling of betrayal that clogged his heart, swiftly dissipated.
His wife wasn’t the problem.
It was the ones who were half-naked in front of a married woman that was at fault.
“Put on your clothes.”
“Yessir.”
The warriors quickly threw on their jackets.
Honestly, they felt wronged since they weren’t even conscious of the fact that they were half-naked but it was best to not even reason with Tarkan who was blinded by jealousy.
Tarkan walked up to Aristine and wrapped his arms around her waist. His firm chest pressed against Aristine’s back.
Aristine leaned into his arms, and Tarkan rested his chin on her shoulder.
It was a very natural flow of events.
The fully clothed warriors watched this with dim eyes.
This was honestly eye-gorging.
For some reason, it felt like the skinship between these two had deepened lately.
So far, they had been acting blind, and pretending like nothing was going on, but today, they had to say something.
If you’re going to control other people’s clothes, shouldn’t you also control yourself?
It was definitely not because they were single and envious.
It was just to promote good manners in a public place.
Jacquelin cleared his throat and spoke audibly, “Recently, it seems like Your Highnesses are always glued together.”
“We have to be.” Aristine nodded, talking as if it couldn’t be helped.
“You have to?”
“Mhm, because of body-obsession.”
She spoke in such a calm tone like she was talking about the weather, but her words caused a huge ripple.
The warriors couldn’t react right away because they felt like they had misheard.
After 3 seconds of silence, someone finally spoke.
“What?!”
“Body…!”
Now what are you doing to our thumb princess! Mukali cast a reproachful glance at his lord whom he respected.
Tarkan averted his gaze, blushing slightly.
‘Why, why are you blushing?!’
The warriors couldn’t bring themselves to ask aloud.
Their eyes shook like a small boat in a tsunami.
Regardless of whether they liked it or not, the royal couple remained stuck to each other.