My Face Was Watched with Greed by Every Concubine of My Mother
Nefetia’s voice trembled.
“It’s so irritating and unpleasant to see them staring at my face every time they meet my mother’s concubines, wondering who I look like. Do those people truly dedicate themselves to me with their hearts? I don’t think so.”
Arkin lifted his eyes and met Nefetia’s gaze. What words could he say? His chest felt constricted to the point of pain.
“I learned it on the day I set foot on this island. It seems the selection of the concubines has already been completed.”
“I haven’t even ascended the throne yet, and the moment the tournament ends, I’m supposed to start living with them. Mother is hurrying me along. She says I need to get to know a man’s body properly if I want to see my heirs succeed.”
“What…?”
Arkin couldn’t continue. The situation felt far more cruel and wretched than he had imagined, and the blood in his veins ran cold. Only six months left, then. That was why he had been so desperate….
Arkin barely managed to speak, hiding his complicated feelings.
“Then… you mistook me for your Hetasept… the one fated soulmate in Kepet lore. The one who supposedly brings supreme pleasure….”
“Yes, Hetasept.”
“So if he serves the king and produces heirs, he becomes the father of the next ruler?”
“That… he has no authority over it.”
Nefetia bit her lip hard.
“What matters is the king’s body, not his. He simply spreads ‘fertilizer’ on the king’s body by giving it the supreme pleasure he enjoys in the bed.”
“…That’s all?”
“…That’s all.”
“Then… you don’t love him? You could be lovers.”
Arkin’s voice came out heavy as solid ice.
“The ruler of Kepet….”
Nefetia answered softly, hesitating.
“No one can love you, Arkin. He only takes the body.”
“Poor man.”
Arkin gave a bitter smile at Nefetia’s words.
“…In the end, you won’t be loved, you won’t become the king’s consort, and you’ll just be a bed slave who brings the king supreme pleasure. A man who gets a woman pregnant and then discards her.”
“That’s….”
“Nefetia. You wanted to bring me there. The moment I accidentally learned I had no claim to the throne, you looked so relieved….”
“…I’m sorry.”
Nefetia’s face flushed red; she didn’t know what to do. In the awkward silence, she spoke softly.
“I shouldn’t have brought you like that. I… I was too hasty….”
The sound of the waves grew louder. The eastern sky was slowly brightening. Red and purple light spread across the horizon.
“So… then, I understand why you got angry at me back then, calling me rude.”
“Yes, now I understand.”
I understand, but….
Nefetia avoided Arkin’s eyes. Nevertheless, she was certain he was her Hetasept. No matter whom she touched, the body’s reaction was never so clear as it was at his side. She had only just realized she couldn’t force him to come….
The two stood silently on the sand beach, gazing at the sea. Cold water lapped at their toes and then receded.
“Well, shall we go see the elephant?”
Arkin turned to Nefetia and smiled faintly.
***
Just as the surging waves entered their view, both of them halted their steps at the same moment.
In the middle of the shallow sea stood something enormous, like an island. At first glance it looked like a rock. But when it moved, Arkin instinctively grabbed Nefetia’s arm.
“That’s it?”
An elephant. He had thought it would be small because it was female, but it was anything but. Its presence was overwhelmingly grand.
Every time its huge ears flapped in the wind, water droplets scattered in every direction. Its long trunk curved gracefully, scooping up seawater and then blasting it powerfully toward the sky. Droplets caught in the first dawn light sparkled briefly in the air before falling back into the sea.
“It looks like it’s playing,” Nefetia whispered.
It really was. The elephant was playing with the sea. When the waves came, it used its front legs to splash water; when they receded, it followed. The stream of water it blasted from its trunk rose toward the sky that was just beginning to brighten, then fell in hundreds of tiny droplets.
“What do you think, seeing it with your own eyes?” Nefetia asked softly.
“Beautiful… and mysterious.”
Nefetia glanced sideways at Arkin. Her gaze kept returning to his face, where wonder filled his beautiful blue eyes.
The two stood side by side and watched the enormous creature lost in play under the dawn light.
Reverence, fear, and a strange familiarity all struck at once. It was several more moments before the elephant noticed them and turned its huge eyes toward the pair.
“Let’s go, let’s take it.”
“Yes.”
They crossed the sand beach slowly toward the elephant. It had looked beautiful from afar, but as they drew closer, a bit of fear crept in.
“Whoa. It looks like it has eyes like a person’s.”
Arkin murmured, overwhelmed by the elephant’s size and presence. Nefetia waved her hand.
“Hey! Get the fruits from the bag.”
Arkin reached into the bag, bewildered. There were fruits he had never seen before.
“I’ve seen this one before. I don’t know the name.”
Nefetia spoke confidently, then spread the bag’s mouth open and pulled out the bright-yellow fruit.
Arkin reached out and touched it too. Beneath the thin, velvety skin was soft, ripe flesh. The sweet, fresh scent wafted up strongly.
“I’ll try it.”
Nefetia placed the fragrant fruit in her palm and walked cautiously toward the elephant.
“Be careful, Nefetia.”
The elephant stared at Nefetia approaching from afar. The giant beast’s eyes blinked slowly, then shifted between Arkin and Nefetia. It seemed like a clever creature.
Tap, tap. Its massive feet carved through the water and came forward. Nefetia lured it while slowly backing away. The large footprints began appearing on the sand. She stopped beside Arkin.
She held her breath and watched as the long trunk gently curved, snatched the fruit she was holding, and carried it off. The elephant opened its mouth slightly and gobbled up the yellow fruit in an instant.
“Wow.”
Both of them opened their eyes wide. The elephant, as if begging for more, began to turn its whole body toward them. Nefetia and Arkin stepped back in unison.
“It seems like we can keep luring it with this.”
Arkin pulled out another fruit and, confident, stepped forward and extended his hand.
“Here, try it.”
Fwoosh. The sound of blowing came out, and the elephant stretched its trunk to grab the fruit. But it didn’t stop there. The elephant blasted seawater toward them and leaned its body closer.
“This guy… seems like he wants to play with us.”
Water droplets splashed onto their faces and clothes. Nefetia laughed while swallowing her scream. Arkin brushed wet hair from his face and laughed awkwardly too. The elephant shook its trunk happily, as if enjoying the game.
But something strange began to happen.
The giant trunk gently touched Arkin’s golden hair, then started stroking his shoulder.
“Eh…? Why…?”
Arkin stepped back in surprise, but the elephant’s actions grew bolder. The long, flexible trunk swept down his back and even lightly brushed his waist. As if welcoming an old friend….
“What? It seems you’re good.”
Nefetia giggled. But when she watched quietly, something felt… off somewhere.
“Th-that… Nefetia. Elephants don’t usually get friendly like this, do they?”
The tip of the elephant’s trunk started rubbing Arkin’s chest. Arkin’s face turned bright red.
“Something’s weird. Are elephants like this normally?”
Arkin quickly grabbed his clothes, but the elephant paid no attention and continued to paw at his body. It flapped its huge ears and even made happy sounds.
Arkin tried to pull away from the trunk, but he couldn’t escape the strength of the giant animal.
“What? This thing is completely perverted!”
Nefetia wrinkled her face in disgust.