The Prince and His Warrior Wife (Joy x OC Version)

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Maddox awoke early with Sooyoung and headed down for breakfast, sitting down at the table as the food was served. Maddox gingerly cut a piece of his sausage with a knife and fork before putting it in his mouth. Movement to his right caught his attention and he turned to find Sooyoung eating her sausage with her bare hands.
He saw the disgusted expressions of his servants and made a mental note to teach her Nilfgaardian eating etiquette soon. One servant approached Sooyoung, intent on asking her to use the utensils but Maddox shook his head.

The servant threw him a questioning look but a furrowed eyebrow stare from Maddox caused the servant to retreat. As much as Maddox wanted her to behave like a proper Nilfgaardian princess, he didn’t want to fight his wife first thing in the morning.

After breakfast, Maddox got changed into something more presentable for the tour of the grounds by Se Jun. He headed downstairs to find his wife already all dressed up in a traditional Khuzait dress. He opened his mouth, intent on requesting her to change to one of the Nilfgaardian dresses prepared in the drawer but stopped himself.

It didn’t look lewd or unpresentable, exotic to be sure from a Nilfgaardian point of view, but nothing considered untoward.
Maddox decided to leave his wife be. He could be flexible on some things, although her table manners certainly had to change.
Together, they rode off with his bodyguard retinue and Se Jun, who took them around to show them the estate.

From the barracks, to the armoury, the riding/walking path in the mini forest, the training grounds, the garden and a tour of the house itself. Everywhere they went, Maddox and his bodyguards studied the area for any potential weak points and he was sure his wife did too.

After the end of the tour, they headed back into the mansion for lunch but Maddox pulled Sooyoung to the side out of the blue as the rest continued on their way.

“Sooyoung. There’s something we need to talk about,” said Maddox.

“What is it?” asked Sooyoung guardedly.

“Listen. About breakfast this morning, I need you to use the utensils while eating," said Maddox pointedly.

"I did use the utensils," said Sooyoung irritation evident in her voice.

"Only for the beans and eggs. I know Khuzaits use their hands to eat meat but its different here in Nilfgaard. Here we use utensils for almost everything, except bread," said Maddox.

"I am Khuzait. It is our way," said Sooyoung with rising anger.

"Which I need you to change when you're here in Nilfgaard. Imagine if other royals or nobles saw the way you eat," said Maddox with a sigh.

"Of course. You'd want me to change the way I eat and be less Khuzait. After all, it wouldn't do for your image as Prince of Nilfgaard to be seen with a barbarian like me," said Sooyoung sarcastically.

"You can eat the way you Khuzait do when you visit your homeland, but I need you to adapt to Nilfgaard customs while you're here. Look. I won't be a hypocrite and say I'm not asking you to do this for me. But think of both our empires," said Maddox, trying to appeal to her senses.

"Ah yes. Because Nilfgaard needs Khuzait warriors to die for them," spat Sooyoung.

That did it for Maddox.

He had tolerated her behaviour all this while but besmirching the bravery of Nilfgaardian soldiers was the last straw.

"Enough! We Nilfgaardians don't rely on others to fight for us! Our soldiers fight and die on the battlefield for our homeland just like yours! I have led men who fought and died as bravely as any Khuzait warrior! Do not EVER, defame our soldiers as cowards! Do you understand?", yelled Maddox.

Sooyoung was taken aback by his outburst, clearly not having anticipated that to set him off but she recovered quickly.

“I’ll use them,” she said with a nod.

“If you can’t do it for me, then do it for your people. They need our marriage and the treaty just as much as mine do,” reasoned Maddox.

With that he stormed off towards the washroom to freshen up.

Later

Maddox entered the dining hall after washing up but truth be told, he had gone to the wash room to calm down rather than wash up. Sooyoung’s goading had pushed his buttons too far this time and he had lost his temper.

He found Sooyoung already seated and waiting for him. Maddox paid her no heed, still slightly angry over her snide remarks earlier. He sat down and started eating, cutting up pieces from his roasted chicken to feed himself.

The sound of metal nearby caught his attention and he found Sooyoung using her knife and fork to eat, imitating his moves, albeit a bit awkwardly since she was not used to using forks and knives. Khuzaits at best used spoons while eating.
He silently thanked her for keeping her promise, hoping that she’d be more acquiescent to such requests without the need to start an argument.

They continued eating in silence, neither speaking a word to each other.

The sounds of metal striking metal grew louder as Sooyoung reached deeper into the recessed areas of the chicken, especially in between bones. But her inexperience was showing as she not only failed but ended up slipping and hitting the plate.

His retinue and the servants on standby stared at her, wondering if she would be able to master the art of using knives and forks.

Maddox turned his attention back to Sooyoung and watched as she continued to struggle. A moment of indecision clouded his mind before he sighed and moved his plate and chair beside her.
Sooyoung gave him a quizzical look before turning to alarm as he slipped his right arm around her to gently hold her right hand while his left did the same with hers.

“Relax. I’m going to guide you on how to get the meat out,” said Maddox.

He began explaining and guiding her hands to extract the meat. As he did, he found himself starting to breathe heavily at being in such close proximity to her. Feisty as she was, Maddox had to admit that she was drop-dead gorgeous, her beauty combined with her alluring figure triggering a primal lust within him.

Maddox released her arms and told her to give it a try, smiling as she successfully did so. She turned in her seat and bowed a quick thank you with a small smile on her face. That triggered even laboured breathing from Maddox and he steeled himself, willing himself to calm down. She was his wife, but there was no love between them and at this stage, she’d probably castrate him if he tried anything with her.

They continued eating as if nothing had happened, which Maddox was relieved for, hoping that no one had noticed his hormones working up.

Later that night

Maddox sat on a chair in his room reading through some reports on the current situation in the city. The city garrison had not been able to find any spies and the commandant had concluded his investigation that the assailants who had attacked him and Sooyoung had been operating without any help from the cultists within the city. Certain cities like Caledonia were plagued with underground cultists whose anarchic beliefs clashed with the government.

Maddox highly doubted that, but without any evidence there was little he could do.
He sighed and put the papers down, rubbing his eyes before opening them again, finding a shadow darkening the area around him.

He looked up to see Sooyoung standing before him.

“Did you need something?” asked Maddox tiredly.

“I would like to apologise for this afternoon. What I said was unacceptable and I had no excuse to say that,” said Sooyoung.

Maddox nodded before waving his hand dismissively.

“I forgive you this time. Just don’t do it again,” said Maddox.

Sooyoung bowed and left, leaving to head to bed early.

Maddox stared at her retreating form, admiring her lithe figure as she continued on to the bedroom. Maddox had seen his fair share of beautiful women, but Sooyoung was by far the most alluring woman he had ever met.

He averted his gaze and closed his eyes, not wanting his imagination to run wild to the point that he did something stupid.