Kingdom

85. Passion & Duty (10)

Make-up? Who cares about make-up? Why did Nori have to bring that up? Why!

She hurries after the King, cursing at herself for making that awkward remark for no reason.

Was he really going to kiss her? Or did Nori misinterpret the situation? It was dark inside, maybe she got confused. He has no reason to kiss her, it's not that they will be sealing the marriage in the closet before dinner. Yet...

She steps into the corridor. The King stands with his back at her, leaning his shoulder on a column. His clothes appear bright and colorful now that dozens of lanterns illuminate his figure. She sees him so clearly, yet it feels like she can't see him at all.Was he going to kiss her? And why?

The King turns over his shoulder to glance at her, stepping away from the column. "Hurry up, will you?"

She smoothes her dress and approaches him slowly, feeling extremely awkward. Her relationship with the King is so weird. Especially after last night. It feels like they got drunk together, did something very stupid and now both are acting as if nothing happened.

Nori should have a talk with him after dinner, or tomorrow for lunch. A calm, honest, reasonable talk. Because she is so fucking confused right now. And she doesn't like that. She is tired of feeling like a feather caught in a storm, tossed around by the wind, losing control of her life, her voice and her actions.

"We are so late, so late...." the King mumbles as soon as she reaches him. "Everyone is probably tipsy by now, so hopefully they will be in a good mood."

He turns on his heels and strides towards the end of the corridor. The dining room has many doors, but the King should always use the main entrance, facing the whole room when stepping inside. Making a grand entry is considered to be a Royal duty, but Nori is not fond of such forms of ostentatiousness. She is especially not fond of the idea of promenading in front of a room of strangers. Luckily for her, in Ilsan she never had to suffer the attention of everyone when arriving at dinner. But now everyone will be looking at her, top to bottom, examining each detail of her appearance. And his.

"Wait, your crown." Nori hurries after the King.

He stops and turns around. "What about it?"

"It's tilted." Nori steps towards him and raises on her toes, trying to reach out to the crown. He pulls back and fixes it by himself.

"Is that good?" he asks, avoiding her gaze.

Nori pouts. "Yes, kind of..."

"What is kind-of supposed to mean?"

"Let me fix it for you and it will be perfect."

She reaches out again but he flinches.

"Kind-of sounds good enough." He turns and resumes walking.

Nori bites her lips in frustration. Why does he have to be so petty!

"Wait." She tries to catch up with him but her dress slows her down. "We should enter together. Please, I can't keep up."

He stops but instead of turning around, he takes a few large steps backwards. As soon as he reaches Nori, he jerks his head sideways to look at her. "Maybe you can tell the magistrates that your dress obstructed you from arriving on time. Do you think they will believe it?"

Nori presses her lips in a straight line. Who cares if they believe her! The real question is - would the magistrates excuse her if she punches the King in the face? Because right now Nori really wants to introduce her fist to his nose. Not that she is the violent type but he makes her have very violent thoughts.