Chapter 98

How to Tame My Beastly Husband — Chapter 98. Tattoo (2)

What the hell does that mean?

Raphael was confused. No one could miss the black spider tattoo on Arjen’s cheek. Was it somehow visible only to him? Was it magic?

There was a moment of heavy silence as the two men stared at each other, and then Annette sighed and laid her hand on Arjen’s shoulder.

“Please don’t tease Raphael,” she said. “He doesn’t like it.”

“Tease?” Raphael repeated, and she looked up at him apologetically.

The tense atmosphere vanished.

“I’m sorry,” Arjen said, with a shrug and a broad smile as he apologized. “Claire has been talking so much about you, I got jealous.”

Yet small and slender Arjen dared to tease the tiger on first introduction. Looking at his diminutive stature, Raphael wondered if he might be crazy. Or maybe he just trusted his intellect and the status he had attained in the Empire. Otherwise…

…Arjen must trust Annette, the most beautiful woman in the world. Raphael’s anger cooled quickly when he saw her looking at him anxiously. And besides, he should not be angry with his brother-in-law. Even without Annette’s intervention, he had to restrain himself.

“I hope I haven’t offended you…” Arjen clicked his tongue as he saw Raphael restraining his temper. He was being strangely provocative, and at that moment, Claire stepped to his side and elbowed him in the ribs.

“What’s wrong with you?” She asked. “Do you have a crush on Raphael, too? I admit, I’m at a disadvantage because of my natural talents, but you still have your own physical strength to recommend you…”

“I understand that you are a woman who only thinks in terms of weapons,” Arjen retorted. “But it’s been five days since we last saw each other, is it really necessary for you to praise another man in front of your husband?”

He faced his wife with a shy smile and kissed her cheek, a surprisingly affectionate display. Claire was taller than most women, nearly his height, and her strong jaw gave her an almost masculine beauty, a sharp contrast to Arjen, who shared his sister’s delicate features. The only masculine thing about his appearance was that spider tattoo.

“I suppose anyone would wonder about it,” He told Raphael. “It’s been a few years since I got it, but most people in Deltium haven’t heard of it. They’re always surprised, every time I come back. In the Chapelle Empire, the spider tattoo is considered taboo.”

His eyes met Raphael’s again, his tone enigmatic. The explanation itself was a form of apology for teasing him, and as he spoke, Raphael noted the fatigued shadows under the other man’s eyes.

“There’s a certain superstition related to some of the Empire’s oldest myths. They are all very afraid of black spiders, because they believe they are messengers of death, a warning that their god sends before he punishes them. They are afraid even speaking of it will bring down his wrath. Which is why no rumors of it have spread to Deltium,” he complained.

He was too busy to show his face in Deltium himself, to the point that he had missed his only sister’s wedding. He could only return home once every few years. The people of his own nation only knew him by his fame, proud that a citizen of Deltium had achieved such success in the Empire.

His name was often spoken in aristocratic society, but few people actually knew him. Every time he came home, he endured the stares of others, as shocked as Raphael at his tattoo, because of all the stories the people of the Empire told of him, no one ever mentioned the large black spider on his face.