Fool?

Elaine calling me a fool?

The word burned like salt rubbed deep into a fresh, open wound, her sharp scorn still hanging thick and heavy in the cool air of the moonlit chamber.

She rose slowly from the sofa without uttering a single word, the heavy door clicking shut behind her with a sense of cold finality—but wait, no, she didn’t actually leave the room at all.

Instead, she lingered right there by the threshold for a moment longer, her piercing eyes flicking back to me with that infuriating and familiar mix of condescending pity and outright disdain.

The pale moonlight catching the hard, sharp line of her jawline as she turned her full body around to face me once again with deliberate slowness.

"It’s no dream at all whatsoever—I’m absolutely going to achieve it no matter what, and I will change this whole rotten and unfair world for good," I growled fiercely to her directly now, my fists clenched so tight at my sides that my sharp nails dug painful crescents into the soft flesh of my palms.

My long silver hair swaying wildly back and forth with the raw force of my burning conviction as I paced back and forth across the smooth and cool marble floor, the loose silk robe swishing softly around my legs with each furious and determined step.

"Of course, what you’re saying is nothing but a ridiculous dream, Your Highness," Elaine said in her usual cool and detached tone from where she stood, her arms crossed firmly over her broad chest without moving even an inch from her spot.

"It’s not ridiculous!"

"Why don’t you just crawl into that big bed of yours right now and dream about all your grand ideas like all the other delusional omegas who come before you? It would save both of us a lot of unnecessary trouble and wasted time."

I glared at her intensely with narrowed eyes, pouting despite my best efforts to stay composed, my lips pursing tight together in a childish expression of frustration as a wave of heat slowly crept up my neck and flushed my cheeks red.

"Why are you still standing here in my chambers just to mock me like this?"

"Oh? And why exactly are you pouting at me now like some spoiled and immature child who didn’t get her way?" she snarled immediately after, her voice laced with a hint of mocking amusement that only made me angrier.

"Because I completely deserve to pout and feel this way! Why in the world did I even agree to marry you in the first place like some idiot?

"Forced marriage. Did you forget?"

"I should have simply bolted straight from the wedding altar no matter what the scandal would have been—let the entire empire whisper and gossip all they wanted about their so-called runaway princess!"

"Yeah? And do you know what would have happened then?" she shot back quickly, taking a deliberate step closer toward me with a cruel sneer twisting her lips, her striking ice-blue eyes rolling dismissively in exaggerated fashion.

"Why would I care?"

"Everyone from nobles to commoners would have branded the crown princess nothing but a pathetic coward and a runaway bride who couldn’t face his duties."

I flinched at her words. "It wouldn’t have mattered."

"There would be no dream knight coming to swoop in and save your fragile little hide from the consequences. You’d be utterly ruined and disgraced before you even had a chance to start anything."

"I don’t need some silly fairy-tale knight riding in to rescue me anyway—I’ve already handled far worse scum and dangers all by myself in dark alleys back in my old life!" I snapped right back at her sharply, pacing even faster now around the room.

"Your every action and tendency so far scream the complete opposite of what you’re claiming, little one," she pressed on relentlessly, her voice dropping to a low and mocking murmur as she smoothly stepped right into my pacing path to block me effectively.

"Don’t call me that!"

"Challenging Count Jennife of all people to a public duel? She’s one of the empire’s absolute best warriors without question—battle-hardened from countless years on the front lines, wielding the Greatsword like the grim reaper’s own scythe that cleaves through enemies without mercy."

"So what you’re really saying is that I’ll straight-up lose to her completely then? Is that your big prediction?" I whirled around to face her directly, my olive eyes flashing with a mix of anger and challenge.

"I’m simply stating the cold, hard facts as they stand, Your Highness," Elaine replied in a completely flat and matter-of-fact tone, towering over me physically with her height advantage.

"What?!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"You will lose that duel decisively—pinned helplessly under her boot in the arena sand before the roaring crowd’s cheers even have a chance to fully die down."

"Why can’t you manage to show even a scrap or tiny bit of trust or faith in your own nominal wife for once in your life?" I demanded hotly, stepping boldly into her personal space despite the intimidating height difference between us.

"Nominal—that’s the perfect answer right there to your question," she said with a casual shrug of her broad shoulders, remaining completely unyielding and unmoved. "A forced marriage—no real heart or bond whatsoever."

"You’re too much sometimes, Elaine—you’re absolutely insufferable and impossible to deal with!" Rage boiled over inside me like hot spilled venom flooding my veins.

For real this time, I jumped straight at her from the edge of the bed with a feral and primal yell escaping my lips—my fists flying wildly through the air toward her face.

She let out a low scoff of disbelief, her massive hands shooting out to catch both of my wrists effortlessly in an iron grip, overpowering me as easily as swatting away an annoying fly before slamming me back down onto the soft mattress with controlled force.

"Your Highness, your so-called ’strength’ right there is exactly like a small kid’s silly tantrum—it’s kind of adorable in a pathetic way, but completely useless in any real fight," she mocked me openly, keeping me pinned firmly down beneath her weight.