[Arthdal Chronicles] Fight for freedom

CHAPTER 19: Bringing back the calm in the Union.

The High Priestess spent the morning listening to the people who had come to ask for her prayers. Yangcha wasn't far and she could hear in his thoughts how he calmly analyzed every single one person who came in and out of the room as he anticipated all the potential dangers. She wondered if he was that focused on his job when he was by Tagon's side too but that was the moment he chose to complain in his mind about how bored he was. It was as if he was waiting for someone to attack her so he would actually have something to do and before she realized it, Tanya turned her head and gave him a dark look.

"Is something wrong, Niruha?"one of her attendants asked, surprised by the High Priestess' reaction. 

She couldn't explain to them that she was hearing the warrior's thoughts so she felt embarrassed by her reaction which only made Yangcha internally laugh at her. "He is too loud, that's all," she mumbled.

"Am I, Niruha?"  the warrior asked in his mind with a mocking tone.

"What do you mean, Niruha? He didn't say anything or do anything. How could he be loud when h-"

"He is breathing too loudly. I can't concentrate," she interrupted, looking at the warrior.

He couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow, surprised by the quite stupid answer she had given them and he thought she would have to learn how to lie better if she wanted to protect the secret of her ability. 

"Should I stop breathing for you to be able to concentrate, Niruha?"  he questioned.

"Make sure to be quiet from now on or else you'll wait outside."

If Tanya wasn't a Niruha, he would have probably rolled his eyes but the warrior just bowed his head before he went back to stare at the opposite wall, the time for another person to enter for an audience. It wouldn't have bothered him if she had sent him outside, being bored inside or outside didn't make a real difference to him. It was actually hard for him not to roll his eyes or sigh at all those people who asked the High Priestess for her prayers over things he judged stupid most of the time.

The attendants exchanged questioning looks but they didn't comment on what they had witnessed. They thought the High Priestess was probably tired because they wondered how she could find him noisy when he was just a quiet shadow. 

Tanya didn't hear his thoughts again and she felt a little bad for having reacted that way but that wasn't the first time she was hearing the warrior complain about how bored he was. She knew she shouldn't take it personally since she could understand standing next to her all day was not that amusing but it wasn't like she was the one who had asked to have him by her side. She just thought that, for a warrior who wasn't supposed to talk, he was quite loud. And yet, even if she had been the one asking him to be quieter, now that he was, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his mind at the moment. She doubted he had just stopped thinking and she wondered how he was successfully hiding his thoughts from her before she realized she actually didn't like the fact she wasn't hearing him anymore.

The people went by her and she tried to listen to every single one of them with attention but she knew she wasn't as attentive as when she had started, it had already been a few hours she had been doing that and it was becoming hard to stay focused. While waiting for someone else to enter, she glanced outside and sighed, she wasn't used to being between four walls all day.

"You should take a break, Niruha."

She glanced at Yangcha discreetly and she didn't know why she felt relieved to hear him again. "I can't take a break, many people are still waiting," she murmured to him.

"You are a Niruha, you can do whatever you want, and you need a break."

Even if she didn't want to recognize it, she knew he was right, she needed some fresh air. When one of her attendants announced the next person who wanted an audience, Tanya quickly stood up from her chair and told her attendants she was going to take a short break. They didn't oppose and she headed for the door, Yangcha slightly behind her. Her maids were all about to follow when she told them it was unnecessary.