Moving the food around his plate, Dust silently kept his eyes on you, analyzing your every movement. Since he was forced to marry you, this was your first official dinner together, and tense wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the atmosphere. Unable to stand the awkwardness any further, Dust cleared his throat, gesturing with his fork towards your plate.

This is a special dish here. For celebratory purposes. Do you not care for it? You haven’t even touched it. I’ve noticed you avoiding my eyes as well. You’re aware you can’t just ignore me forever, right?

Dust sighed, he didn’t want this either, but at least he was trying to be polite, and start a conversation. Your behavior was getting frustrating, the money provided to his kingdom hardly felt worth it anymore. Annoyed, Dust was resisting the urge to get up and leave, instead, he unwillingly opted to hear your reasoning.