Episode 19: History at night (4)
–
[I, I knew it. There’s a problem because of me…]
Reflected on the water surface was Ritlen’s face. His gentle eyes were filled with tears.
‘What’s going on?’
Aristine couldn’t understand what was happening right away.
Ritlen bit his lips and his voice raised.
[Because I made the scalpel wrong…!]
Aristine’s eyes shook as she stared at the water surface.
‘Don’t tell me there’s a problem with the scalpel business?!’
Her heart sank.
‘That makes no sense. There should be no element for failure…’
Unlike Aristine who was panicking in reality, the Aristine in the mirrored surface was calm.
[No, Ritlen. This is all my fault.]
Aristine’s expression was solemn as she said that.
[I should have thought about this issue beforehand, but I was over-confident. It seems I was too excited. It’s not like this was unexpected…]
Aristine’s face reflected in the mirrored surface was slightly pale. Her face was filled with disappointment and regret for her shortcomings.
Seeing that, Ritlen began to whimper like a puppy seeing its sick owner.
[No! It’s because Your Highness used someone as unworthy as me to…]
[No.]
Aristine cut Ritlen off, firmly.
[You did a good job. You exceeded my expectations.]
[Princess Consort.]
[The failure of this scalpel is completely my fault.]
–
And that was it.
The water surface shook and began flowing along the waterway again. Neither Ritlen nor Aristine were reflected in the clear water, just the blue sky and the trees in the courtyard.
‘But why?’
Even though the Monarch’s Sight wasn’t showing anything else, Aristine kept staring at water surface.
There was an unconcealable ripple in her eyes.
‘It can’t possibly be made wrong…?’
It was possible that it doesn’t sell well if she compromised on a lot of aspects. But that shouldn’t cause any problems.
She wasn’t developing a new drug nor was she creating a completely new medical instrument.
She was only improving on the shape of the current scalpel so how would that be a problem?
“…Aristine?”
Tarkan called out to her, when he saw her looking at the waterway with color drained from her face.
He looked at the flowing water, thinking something was up but there was nothing odd about it.
Aristine was still staring at the water, as if she hadn’t heard his voice.
Her long lashes cast a shadow over her eyes which were in deep thought.
‘I have to think.’
Her future self said it clearly. That it wasn’t something unexpected. That she was too conceited due to her excitement and didn’t consider it beforehand.
‘Which means I can do it.’
Her first outside experience, human interactions, things she was achieving by herself, and a business plan that was proceeding step by step.
For Aristine who had lived in confinement and never experienced any of this, all of it was unbelievably thrilling. She couldn’t help but be excited.
When you think everything is going well, you tend to ignore obvious signs.
‘But now, that illusion is gone.’
Aristine’s head began to spin.
Her excellent memory vividly replayed everything she had seen and heard while trying to establish her scalpel business.
A scalpel that was drawn exactly like she wanted.
With a light and sharp feel to it.
《This is really revolutionary! Why didn’t I think of this before…?!》
An experienced and excellent surgeon speaking with admiration.
And a bunch of the current scalpels piled up like a mountain.
《Rather than the blade being the problem, it’s more like it’s hard to use while trying to take care of it.》
After saying so, Umiru asked Aristine to prepare as many scalpels as possible.
Then that must mean that the new scalpel had the same problems as the current standard scalpels.
‘Ah…!’
Aristine was hit with a flash of realization. Her head sprang up.
She wanted to get immediately and go to the forge.
But when she raised her head, she was greeted with the sight of Tarkan and Nephther looking at her with confusion.
‘Oh no…’
She was so taken aback by the unexpected development that she forgot the gazes in her surroundings.
She had never had to consider anyone’s gaze when her Monarch’s Sight manifested because she had lived alone until now.
To the two of them, it must have seemed like Aristine suddenly blanked out, staring at the flowing water.
‘Although seeing through the Monarch’s Sight is more like perceiving it with my senses so not much time passes in reality.’
The scene reflected on the mirrored surface was quite short since it only lasted for a few minutes. Which meant it must have only been a few seconds since the Monarch’s Sight manifested.
That was not bad.
‘The problem is that I looked too agitated after that.’
She couldn’t help it because she saw a future she had never even imagined.
‘I’ll have to be careful from now on.’
Right now, it was okay since the only people here were Tarkan, who was on her side, and Nephther, who was fond of her.
But if it was the queen or any other hostile party, they would certainly try to attack her for this.
“I’m sorry. The flowing water was so beautiful that I got mesmerized without realizing it.”
Her blanched face didn’t exactly read mesmerized but the two of them didn’t ask further questions.
But they looked at Aristine with sympathetic eyes.
A princess who was mistreated and even imprisoned since she was a child. Knowing that, they could understand even if Aristine suddenly seemed agitated.
‘Something must have triggered bad memories of the past.’
As that thought crossed their mind, they wanted to help Aristine feel a little more comfortable.
To know that there was no one here to mistreat her or confine her.
Nephther was taken aback by himself for feeling this way. It was natural for conflicts to arise in the royal family which held the concentration of power. Inevitably, a time will come when you are persecuted or cornered by your political opponents.
‘I used to think overcoming that was growth.’
Regardless of what the two of them were thinking, Aristine smiled and hid her nervousness. She wanted to test her new findings right away, but she couldn’t get up first.
‘I am Tarkan’s political partner; I can’t act recklessly.’
The king’s favor lied with Tarkan but there was no guarantee that it was absolute and would last forever.
The King of Irugo was a cool-headed and wise politician.
That could be seen from how he didn’t actually elevate Tarkan to the position of crown prince and was merely watching Tarkan and Hamill.
‘However.’
She wanted to deal with the issue as soon as possible. This was also for Tarkan’s sake.
Aristine looked at Tarkan and unconsciously grabbed his arm.
Her eyes akin to the dawning sky looked urgent and desperate.
Seeing this, Nephther went ‘Hoh?’ and raised a brow.
Aristine, who felt turmoil after the resurgence of her past wounds, grabbed Tarkan’s arms and looked at him anxiously. As if no one else could soothe her wounds.
‘Indeed, a true couple is one that depends on each other.’
Then again, Tarkan and Aristine were newlyweds who created sparks just by locking eyes on the dining table.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the bed was broken on the first night.’
As a married man, Nephther knew the best way to offer comfort in times like these.
“I’ve gotten more tactless the older I get.”
“Huh?”
“You may leave now.”
Nephther said and Aristine tilted her hand. Of course, she wanted to leave but so suddenly?
She hesitated, not knowing what to do, but Nephther got up first as if to put an end to her worries.
“Nothing says history can only be made at night.”
Nephther mumbled and patted Tarkan on the shoulder. The king’s eyes were full of pride as he looked at his son. In truth, Aristine was his first daughter-in-law.
Amongst his many children, Tarkan was the only one who was married. Since he was also a human being, he honestly wanted to see a cute little grandkid too.
“Take it easy.”
Tarkan frowned when he heard that statement, “That’s not it.”
Despite his protest, Nephther only smiled cheekily and nodded his head.
“Yes, of course. But you know your wife is weaker that Irugoians in general so you should take care…”
“I just said that’s not it.”
“You punk. No need to be embarrassed.”**
The King of Irugo gazed at his son and his son’s wife, looking pleased.
Tarkan was speechless.
Nephther didn’t even look this pleased when Tarkan returned from slaying the great demonic beast, Murzika.
But now, what kind of nonsense misunderstanding was he having?
“It’s not like that at all.”
“Right, I shall not meddle in your couple business anymore. I’ve been too senseless.”
No, you’re still being senseless.
Tarkan shut his mouth and held back what he really wanted to say.
