By Zephyria 
“I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”
At that, Aegis looked down at me with fierce eyes and said,
“So don’t even think about interfering with me.”
“……”
I had no intention of interfering at all. In the first place, I was just as much a victim, marrying someone I didn’t even know the face, name, or age of after only a week. But I couldn’t say that to someone who had come across the sea to a foreign land as a hostage.
“Aegis.”
I quietly looked at her before opening my mouth. As if she didn’t like me calling her name, sparks flew in her eyes.
“Don’t call my name without a reason.”
Then she said something strange. I said with a dumbfounded face.
“I called you because I have a reason.”
“Just say ‘hey’ or ‘oi’.”
“Well, we’re married, so isn’t it a bit much to call each other that? Other people might think it’s weird too…”
As I said with a reluctant face, Aegis said with a firm face.
“I don’t care about that kind of thing.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“What?”
Seeing the sparks flying in her eyes again, I couldn’t help but sigh. It seemed useless to keep talking, so I quickly got to the point.
“I’m not interested in you.”
At my words, Aegis’s brow unfurrowed for the first time since entering this room.
“That’s the most welcome thing I’ve heard.”
“To be exact, not you, but women.”
But at my following words, Aegis asked with a puzzled expression.
“Women?”
“Yeah, I only like men, so don’t be so sharp. I won’t lay a finger on you.”
“……”
I thought she would be happy, if not ecstatic, but the color was draining from Aegis’s already pale face.
“You’re a man too.”
Aegis looked at me with disbelief and asked. I nodded with a puzzled face.
“So?”
“But you like the same man?”
“……”
At those words, I naturally rested my chin on my hand and turned my gaze out the window. And without Aegis noticing, I bit my lip and tightly closed my eyes.
Of course, it was a lie that I only liked men.
In Actan, if people just loved each other, it was possible to date and even get officially married regardless of gender, but I don’t like men.
I’ve never felt my heart flutter or felt affection while looking at a man. Of course, that was the same with women, but anyway, if I were to fall in love, I would prefer a woman over a man.
But seeing Aegis hating me so much that she looked like she wanted to kill me, I impulsively said that, thinking it would be better to lie. There was no way Aegis, who had been taken hostage, would like me unless she was crazy, and I only hoped that we wouldn’t glare at each other when we met.
“Yeah.”
Having composed myself, I turned my head back to Aegis with an indifferent expression. Still seeing her gaze as if she were looking at a monster, I asked with a puzzled face.
“Why are you making that face?”
I couldn’t even grasp what part of me had offended her. Really not knowing, I asked, and Aegis’s lips twitched. For a brief moment, her trembling lips were tightly closed before opening again.
“You barbarian bastard…”
“……?”
At the unexpected vulgar words, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed again. Was I hearing things? Speechless, I could only blink before belatedly regaining my senses and asking.
“Why? Are you a barbarian if you like men in your country?”
“It’s not because you like men, it’s because you’re a man and you like men, so it’s weird.”
“What does it matter if I like them?”
Tilting my head and muttering to myself, Aegis’s brow furrowed again.
“Disgusting.”
“You’re narrow-minded.”
Reflexively, Aegis’s expression turned fierce at my words. But my opinion remained unchanged. And I also realized that my lie, which was meant to reduce hostility even a little, had completely failed.
I was just trying to eliminate one of Aegis’s many anxieties, but I never expected her to react like this.
“But what does it matter to you? You’re not a man, and it’s not like I said I liked you.”
The more I thought about it, the more absurd it was. I said it with good intentions, but I couldn’t feel good about being looked at like trash and even being called disgusting.
“I’ve never interfered with you.”
As I frowned and asked, Aegis said quietly in a ferocious voice. Hearing that, I snorted.
“Then just mind your own business. I just wanted to tell you that whoever I like, it’s not you.”
I felt that this relationship was now beyond repair. It was a marriage that neither of us wanted from the beginning anyway. It would be better to just meet briefly when necessary and then live our own lives.
Of course, I didn’t want to be close, but I didn’t want to be hostile to each other like this either. Anyway, it was a shame.
I got up from the chair and started walking to leave the room. And I was about to open the door and go outside. I should have, but no matter how much I thought about it, this didn’t seem right.
I understood that she was upset because she had suddenly come across the sea to marry a man and found out that he was a barbarian, but if she continued to act like this, she would not live to her full life and would die.
Of course, Aegis was now as good as my possession, so no one would touch her without my permission, but if, just if, she were to run into Mahir or the Emperor and act like this, it would be troublesome.
I was just feeling bad, but that didn’t mean I wanted Aegis to die, so I couldn’t leave like this.
Turning my head, I saw Aegis standing with her back to me. She looked no different from when I was sitting in the chair.
No, someone’s leaving and she’s not even turning around? Of course, I didn’t say I was going, but still, if someone suddenly gets up, shouldn’t you at least look at them for a moment, wondering where they’re going?
I stared at Aegis’s back with a dumbfounded face before opening my mouth. And just as I was about to call her name, I suddenly remembered that she had told me not to call her if I didn’t have a reason. But looking at Aegis’s actions, it seemed like I shouldn’t call her name even if I had a reason.
The words ‘hey’ or ‘oi’ also came to mind at the same time, and suddenly I felt a sense of rebellion.
“Aegis.”
I called her name, knowing she would hate it. Sure enough, Aegis, who had been standing motionless with her back to me, quickly turned her head towards me.
She looked ferocious like a beast, but even in this situation, she was still too beautiful, and I couldn’t help but click my tongue inwardly. So I said in a slightly subdued voice.
“You don’t have to be so annoyed and angry, I’m not interested in you anyway. Of course, I won’t make any unfair demands either. So let’s not get angry with each other. That doesn’t mean we have to get along well, and we can’t undo the marriage, so we can’t keep doing this every time we meet.”
“……”
Aegis’s expression seemed to have softened a little. It was such a subtle change that I doubted whether it was just my imagination, but I thought it was better than nothing. At least it meant that Aegis agreed with what I said.
“We both have our situations, so we can’t live without seeing each other for the rest of our lives. There are events that we have to participate in together… well, things like that.”
“……”
When I spoke again, Aegis’s expression changed noticeably this time. She wasn’t frowning or glaring at me like she wanted to stab me to death.
She was just staring at me silently with her jewel-like eyes.
“As long as you show the appearance you have to show in official settings and say the words you have to say, I won’t care what you do.”
“What kind of appearance and words do you want?”
Actually, I didn’t know that well either. That’s because I haven’t been to many events that I had to officially participate in. That’s why Mahir always scolded me, but I couldn’t tell her to do the same just because I did.
Now that I was married and almost seventeen, it was true that I had to grow up too.
Thinking for a moment, I recalled the Crown Prince couple and said with a slightly unsure expression.
“Well, we have to look like we’re getting along well.”
“How?”
Aegis asked with a reluctant expression. I recalled Mahir’s actions again and opened my mouth.
“Smile when our eyes meet… or you offer me a drink.”
“I can offer you a drink, but I can’t smile when I see you.”
“……”
At her firm words, I shut my mouth tightly. And I forced a smile and said.
“I don’t want to smile when I see you either. But if we don’t even make eye contact and don’t say a word to each other, who would think we’re getting along well?”
“You said it would be enough to offer a drink, right?”
I couldn’t understand her psychology of objecting to even just smiling.
Judging from the way she didn’t grasp her own situation and the surrounding circumstances and spoke recklessly, and from her tone and behavior, it was clear that she had grown up undisciplined and arrogant without receiving proper education.
Surely someone must have explained her situation to her when she crossed the sea. Of course, they may not have explained it in detail for fear of upsetting the princess, but there was no way they wouldn’t have told her the reason she came here just because she might feel a little bad, when her life was at stake.
“What are you looking at?”
Look at that. Just look at that.
As I was lost in thought and staring blankly, Aegis picked a fight like a thug from the back alleys.
At this point, I wasn’t even angry. She’s not that young, so is she just a little lacking in intelligence? She’s so beautiful, so even if she’s a little stupid, it wouldn’t be a flaw.