I Wish I Had Explained It That Way to Arkin
If only I had been able to explain it to Arkin in that manner… how wonderful it would have been. Nefetia opened her mouth in surprise and, gazing at Shadia, began carefully walking through the words she had read aloud.
“…And the same applies to the king himself. Although he has been granted divine power, the king must still walk upon the earth and live among us. Therefore, if the king seeks his Hetasept, he should take that person to the temple and confirm their soul’s true match. In doing so, he would never need to take concubines or bed them at all, would he?”
“Oh my, Your Highness…” Shadia exclaimed in utter astonishment, pressing a hand to her forehead. Though the negative reaction stung her heart, Nefetia pressed on desperately, hoping for even one word of agreement from the aunt.
“So, meeting a Hetasept brings not only the person themselves but also the entire kingdom great blessings. Being with someone who can feel ultimate pleasure during intimacy means not only excellent succession but also the birth of very healthy and intelligent children, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Well… why suddenly are you interested in Hetasept? Who told Your Highness about such things?”
Nefetia’s delicate lips snapped shut without a moment’s hesitation. She could not say she had secretly entered her mother’s bedchamber and found a book hidden inside the wardrobe. After all, she had been prowling the bedchamber then because she hated her mother’s concubines and was trying to get them into trouble in some way.
“Yes. I would have found it no matter where or how, Your Highness. Who would stop you, indeed!”
Shadia clicked her tongue, frowning and sinking into thought. The expression on her face turned as if she were struggling to decide where to begin her explanation, and then she suddenly declared with finality, “That’s all just old tales. Like a fairy story far removed from reality.”
“First, I do know what a Hetasept is. That simply holding hands causes the chest to swell, the heart to race as if it might burst, and one cannot tear one’s eyes away until the emotion overwhelms one…” Shadia continued, raising her voice.
Nefetia remained silent, tightly clasping both hands. She rubbed the tips of her fingers, which had touched Arkin’s moments before, recalling that indescribable feeling. It was unmistakably real. Unlike herself, who was hardening her conviction, Shadia continued the explanation without linking Arkin Seilir or Nefetia’s “Hetasept.”
“First, to become a Hetasept, the two must share the exact same trembling and be completely seized by the same emotion, completely overwhelmed by that atmosphere. An ordinary person might experience something similar, but if the other party is the king, what man in the world could possibly dare take the princess’s hand and feel such trembling?”
I could simply take his hand first! Nefetia pouted, sticking out her lower lip. Moreover, Arkin Seilir was a prince. Since he was an equal, there was no hesitation in holding hands. What an ideal match, indeed!
“Even if a man who has bewitched Your Highness’s heart secretly whispers that he is Your Highness’s Hetasept, you should immediately expel him and punish him. He would be an evil being who disturbs the king’s heart and seeks to monopolize it through treacherous actions.”
“In ancient times, long ago during the ancestors’ era, there were supposedly thirty-two concubines. Among them were those who spread rumors of a ‘Hetasept’ in order to steal the young king’s heart. Yet when they went to the temple for confirmation, they were all proven false, and in the end the entire family was wiped out.”
“At the very least, among the sixteen concubines I will meet, there should be none of those people. I can be certain of that. Nothing will be felt from them. They will only exude a foul, rotten stench.”
“Your Highness…” Shadia began to say that she should at least try to form a bond with someone, but her voice suddenly died in her throat. Her heart clenched tightly; she wondered how she was supposed to get through this next hurdle. She had expected resistance, but not to this degree… Dressing or undressing would have been far easier!
Shadia fell silent for a long time before speaking heavily. “Your Highness, first, you must safely complete the training tournament. After it ends, we shall speak again.”
“Yes. All right.” Nefetia nodded. Six months lay ahead—admittedly not a short time. During that period, she must somehow draw closer to Prince Arkin. She would check whether he truly felt nothing or was simply hiding it far too skillfully…
***
“Prince, I… I’m sorry. I said something stupid…” Magnus trailed after Arkin, rubbing the back of his head in distress.
He had not heard the conversation between Prince Arkin and the Kepet princess clearly, but from what he caught, the final part about the succession to the throne had clearly upset the prince…
“Um, Your Highness?” He called out again, but Arkin’s long strides up the steep forest path swallowed the words without a trace.
Oh no, what am I to do? I’m such an idiot servant. The prince is already suffering enough, and now I’ve made things worse…
Guilt crushed Magnus, but in truth the prince walking ahead was boiling with other thoughts.
“Haah…” Arkin pressed his throbbing temple. He kept replaying the previous moment in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more absurd and humiliating it felt, and his heart refused to settle. Humiliation… yes, that was the emotion—humiliation.
Why was her touch so light?
The people of the forest kingdom Solinar valued the community but respected the clear boundaries of the individual within it. It was an unwritten rule not to enter another’s territory. There was even a proverb: “Under each foot lies each person’s root.”
Arkin had lived his entire life without anyone daring to touch his face with the same freedom as dough. Not even his mother or nanny had laid hands on him after he was five years old. In Solinar, children’s faces were not touched so freely!
…Was that why? The Kepet princess’s mad actions, as if carved into his mind with a knife, lingered there. Actions alone would be one thing, but even now, as he tried to shake off the sticky golden eyes, they danced round and round before him as he walked out of the forest.
What on earth was that? Was his training truly lacking? Arkin blamed himself, ruffling his hair. He had endured the kingdom’s rigorous mental training for so long, yet his iron-like composure… If he had stayed with her just a little longer, something embarrassing might have happened.
…Still, what exactly had that feeling been?
At the end of the long forest path, a completely different landscape appeared. The dark, damp, humid jungle gave way to the bright sun blazing down and bleaching the stony ground white.
“It’s so open and hot here. The mysterious island truly has varied terrain,” Magnus murmured as he walked beside Arkin. The only green was a few olive trees that had forced their way between the rocks on the sun-baked mountainside.
“Your Highness! Look there. Those are the very fruits that are as precious as gold in Solinar.” Magnus pointed to the tree rising between the rocks and glanced at it like a puppy rolling its eyes, checking for approval. Since Arkin had been downcast since earlier, the prince nodded without hesitation.
“Olives, huh. Go touch them.” Magnus let out a triumphant cry and darted toward the branches. He frolicked happily among the round leaves and ripe fruit swaying cheerfully in the breeze.
Arkin watched the tree with a distant gaze. In Solinar such wild branches were rare, and his eyes lingered first on their free-form shape. He watched the round leaves sparkle silver in the sunlight for a moment before shaking his head again. His chest grew tight and his breathing labored. These thoughts, which crept in whenever a gap opened, clung stubbornly to his mind.