Anyway, we should go to sleep, I'm confident there won't be any more attacks tonight"
His words immediately interrupted Esme's curious thoughts about monsters and brought her back to reality. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, Her face displayed a clear and determined frown.
"Why did you let me make that decision?"
Her naturally soft voice, to a sharp dive, taking a more serious tone, at first Arthur raised an eyebrow in slight confusion, that was an odd question however he was quick to understand what she was referring to.
"Isn't it natural for a husband to want his wife's input on something important?"
He answered with his own question, he could truly get why she was against something so mundane, he got that it wasn't something common in this kingdom in particular but it was ridiculous how she seemed to be hostile to the idea.
This discongruence between them was apparent in their expressions, unlike Esme who displayed a face of seriousness, he in contrast was more relaxed, showing that to him it wasn't something he considered to be all that serious.
"I'm a woman, I have no business making decisions that could get you seriously injured or worse, I cannot handle being burdened with something like that, that is why it's a man's duty, It's up to you to provide and protect and my role is to take care of the home and make sure you're fed, rested and healthy, anything that has to with protecting our home is completely up to you"
She did her best to keep her voice even so as not to appear like she was shouting at him, however that was easier said than done, the frustration in her voice slipped with every word.
To her, a man had his duties and a woman had her duties, that is how things were, how they should be and she was completely happy with that arrangement, she did not want to make decisions that would put people in harm's way. If Arthur had not been strong, the decision she made would have had him killed and that would have been her fault.
"Sorry Esme but I will not make decisions about your safety without having your input. This marriage was something you did not ask for and I don't plan on forcing things like that on you"
Although the marriage ended up being a happy coincidence, it still didn't change the fact that Esme did not choose this by her own will.
Her voice was completely disregarded in the matter. If he had been a little more educated on how things worked in this kingdom maybe things would have happened differently but unfortunately, he cannot change the past and so the best he can do is not repeat the same mistake.
Esme gave him a disapproving stare, almost as if he had grown a second head. She was in disbelief at what he just said but also did not agree with his words in general.
Had she had the gall, she would have said his words were utterly ridiculous. What he was objecting to was just how things were.
Seeing her face display her displeasure Arthur found himself realising that he did not like her angry face and that he would much prefer a different expression on her.
"Are you saying that you are not competent enough to make the right decisions to protect your wife?"
She hoped the question did not come off as disrespectful, since it was a genuine question, she softened her face, however her brows remained creased, showing that she was still displeased, his words could only lead her to that conclusion.
Why would a man, a protector, need a woman's opinion on how to do his job? Not unless he was incompetent and could not fill his role correctly.
That was the conclusion Esme had come to, it was the only possible conclusion in her mind, her experiences and what she had been taught informed her of that conclusion
Arthur found himself resisting the urge to sigh, she was misconstruing his words and coming to ludicrous conclusions by herself.
However, if he had to answer that question, his answer would be "yes" mostly because he's never had to protect someone before so he technically did not know how to properly protect someone, aside from just making sure no harm comes to them.
Although thinking about it now, he hasn't argued with someone in quite a long time, most Explorers never travel with other people as Once an apprentice finishes their training under a mentor and becomes full full-fledged Explorer they more than likely won't have any friends or companions.
So things like arguing are things Explorers don't experience often, not unless they decide to stay in a single location for too long.
"Esme, I was not the person in danger, you were and because of that I needed to hear what you wanted because you're the one whose life was at risk, If I chose not to pay the fee that would put your life in danger so I had to ask what you wanted because it was your life on the line, and you happened to choose something I already agreed with."
He could have made the decision as stated before he was not the person in danger as he could protect himself, the decision to pay the protection fee or not was something that mattered to Esme more than it did to him, so ultimately her voice was necessary.
If he had just done what he wanted and chose to not pay the protection fee, he puts her life in danger, while he believes he could keep her from being hurt he's not omnipotent as such he can't be everywhere at all times and he didn't know what extents would Bulat and his men resort to in order to get him to pay the fee.
Risking Esme's life just because he thinks he can handle everything would be stupid.
Sure they ended up not paying the fee and Esme's life was at risk regardless but at least now, she's the one who made the choice and that choice just happened to coincide with what he wanted to do as well.
"I see…"
That was all she said mostly because she had no rebuttal to his words and could not form an argument against his words. However, she still couldn't find it in herself to say what he was saying was correct.
"I apologise, I was a little overwhelmed by the–"
The only thing left to do since she could think of nothing else to say, was to apologize to him.
"No, I understand, there's no need to apologise, I guess we should have discussed the matter at length so that you wouldn't feel like the decision was solely on you."
He placed his hands on her shoulders to help calm her down a little bit. Looking at it from her point of view, it may be a little scary to think that the decision you made put someone in danger.
Not only that but she was not used to such things so the whole ordeal must have been overwhelming.
'Now that I think about it, it's barely been two days and we're already dealing with thugs and underground criminal bosses'
In hindsight, that was kind of crazy for a normal person to deal with, especially for a newlywed couple that was expecting to have a peaceful slice of life.
'Should have done more research when buying this place'
He thought inwardly, reprimanding himself. It was appalling how reckless he had been, perhaps the lack of danger to his life made him a little careless.
"Anyway for the time being let's go to bed, I feel a little sleepy right now."
Esme could only agree to his suggestion, there was no more she could say.