CH 31

‘This is crazy. This is really crazy…’

Adeline covered her face with both hands and muttered to herself, her body immersed in hot water.

It would be better if all the memories disappeared when she opened her eyes.

Last night came vividly to her mind with a splitting headache.

The memory of taking a sip of the northern wine in front of Kael and throwing off his uniform jacket was too vivid.

‘How did I get to the bed? Did something strange happen in the meantime?’

But she couldn’t remember anything after that.

No matter how much she tried to remember how she ended up lying on the wide bed, she could hardly come up with anything.

She was more anxious because she didn’t know.

She was so drunk, to the point of losing her memory, that she was worried she might have acted boldly in front of Kael.

“Your Grace. We’ll give you a massage…”

As she closed her eyes tightly to the overwhelming wave of thoughts, the maids in charge of serving her came to give her a massage.

“No, it’s alright.”

“But your muscles are too stiff. How about relaxing your body before going to the north tomorrow?”

“They’re not stiff at all…”

The moment she tried to send the maids back, saying her muscles weren’t stiff, she felt a strange atmosphere coming from them.

Adeline immediately looked at them. The maids were exchanging glances.

‘Ah. They’re thinking there’s no sign of us spending the night together.’

The meaning of their secret gaze was clear.

Adeline showed no sign of having had her first night.

It was natural that she didn’t.

But for those who didn’t have that inside knowledge, it was a situation they could hardly understand.

Having shaken the whole empire with their love story, spending a hotter night than everyone else was obvious. But strangely enough, it did not look like that.

‘How am I going to make an excuse for this… No. That can’t be. I think I can use this.’

Adeline’s eyes had a strange light as she touched her forehead, saying something else had happened.

‘It will be easier to shake up this marriage if there is a rumor that the Grand Duke and his wife, who have turned the capital upside down, don’t even spend the night together.’

Rumors had to flow from the most secret places to be effective.

‘Vanessa also said that Kael was being forced to marry me because of my threats. If the suspicion that our marriage is a lie begins to spread, it will be a good opportunity for Vanessa.’

Although Vanessa’s words were false, if the situation turned out like this, her lies could turn into truth among the people.

If that happened, Vanessa would get a sympathy vote because she was being unfairly accused, and it would be much easier to push Adeline away and take her place.

“You don’t have to give me a massage. But there are too many bubbles. Just remove some of the bubbles.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Adeline ordered the maids to remove the bubbles to make it easier for them to check her body.

Vanessa had even handed her a meaningful gift.

As things became more and more confusing, Adeline wanted to unravel this thread that had been twisted as quickly as possible.

***

“How long are you going to keep looking at me like that? If you have something to say, you can say it.”

“Ah…”

Kael made eye contact with Adeline, who was sitting across from him inside the carriage.

Adeline, who was looking at him and wondering what to say first, was slightly surprised and blurred her words.

The day after the wedding, Kael said he had urgent business and didn’t show his face not even once.

Thanks to that, the question she wanted to ask about what the hell happened last night had been hanging on Adeline’s tongue for a full day.

“Did something happen yesterday?”

“Reports have come in that the Corrupted have crossed the border. I was dealing with that.”

“Aah. Yes.”

Kael stared at Adeline, who nodded quietly.

It was actually half a lie.

It was true that there was a Corrupted intrusion and he had to look into it, but it wasn’t something that would take an entire day.

However, Kael shut himself in the mansion’s office the whole day, using the Corrupted as an excuse.

He avoided Adele on purpose.

‘I can’t believe I spent the whole night looking at her face.’

Watching a sleeping woman and staying up all night was something that could never have happened in Kael’s entire life.

That was certain.

But Adeline shattered that conviction.

The woman he married because she would never love him was shaking Kael.

After feeling a tremendous shock, he couldn’t face Adeline.

“By chance, did I do something weird?”

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“On the night of the wedding. After drinking a lot of wine.”

Although he was still in shock, Adeline didn’t know what Kael was thinking, so she asked what happened that very night.

Her face showed the feeling that she had been wondering about it the whole time.

“You don’t remember?”

“No. I remember.”

“Then why are you asking?”

After seeing the expression on her face, Kael became a little mischievous without realizing it.

When he frowned as if he didn’t understand, Adeline’s lips moved.

“… I don’t remember what happened after.”

To find out the truth, she had to be honest.

Seeing Adeline’s face flush with embarrassment, the corners of Kael’s mouth slightly raised without him realizing it.

“Hmm. I saw a new side of you.”

“… In what way?”

“I don’t want to tell you.”

As Kael withdrew, Adeline’s light green eyes trembled.

“Did I make a huge mistake or…”

“You did.”

“I did?”

Adeline’s big eyes grew even bigger as he deliberately stiffened his expression and talked.

Seeing how she looked uncharacteristically embarrassed, the smile on his mouth grew bigger and bigger.

“I’m kidding. You didn’t do anything weird. You said you were sleepy and fell asleep.”

“… Please. Didn’t I tell you that you don’t seem like you’re joking even when you are?”

Realizing that she had been defeated by Kael, Adeline immediately looked away.

A genuine annoyance lit up on her pretty face.

Kael looked at Adeline, thinking that her expression was quite interesting.

“But you should adjust the pace from now on. Even if it’s not northern wine, but ordinary wine, you’ll get drunk quickly if you drink at that speed.”

It was sincere advice. Adeline understood his intention right away.

She briefly lowered the thorns she had erected and nodded calmly.

“It will take about three weeks. We plan to find accommodation on our way and stay there. It will be more tiring than you think. And cold.”

“…”

“If you want to go back, tell me now. We haven’t crossed any major borders yet, so you still have a chance.”

Kael was still skeptical of Adeline’s journey to the north.

There was no way she would be able to handle it, but she didn’t have to in any case, so it was natural.

“I have prepared myself. It’s no use scaring me like that.”

But, as if to make fun of Kael, Adeline remained determined.

She said it was useless to say anything and quietly looked out the carriage window.

After that, while the carriage was running, there was silence inside it.

Kael focused on the newspaper, and Adeline only engraved the scenery in her eyes.

Then, after a while, when Kael looked up for a moment, he couldn’t take his eyes off Adeline again.

“…”

“…”

Suddenly, Adeline, who had closed her eyes, was nodding and dozing off, leaning against the carriage.

Whenever the carriage shook because the road was not smooth, she woke up a little, and then went back to sleep as if it had never happened.

“You look very uncomfortable.”

Adeline’s sleeping posture seemed very uncomfortable.

Whether she bumped her head hard or bent her neck, it kept bothering Kael.

Kael let out a small sigh and eventually moved to Adeline’s side.

As soon as Kael sat down next to her, Adeline’s shaking head touched his shoulder.

“…”

As if she had found the right place to lean on, Adeline leaned back on Kael’s shoulder and let out an even exhale.

Kael stared blankly at Adeline, who was leaning on him.

But at that moment, the carriage suddenly stopped, and an astonished Zion opened the door and pushed his face inside.

“Your Grace! I apologize. Suddenly, the carriage wheel…”

Fortunately, Adeline didn’t wake up, but it was enough to embarrass both Kael and Zion.

Zion stared at Kael blankly as if he were dreaming, then, his expression changed, and he looked at him slyly.

“I’ve never had a tactician who stops his reports halfway.”

“I apologize, Your Grace. There was a problem with the wheel, and we will have to replace it. It will take 15 minutes.”

“Alright.”

Kael hid his embarrassment as much as possible and purposely treated Zion even more harshly.

But it was of no use.

Zion still looked like he was teasing Kael.

“Go away with that annoying face.”

“Haha, yes, Your Grace. The annoying face will step back.”

Zion, who didn’t seem to have taken a blow at all, closed the carriage door with a grin.

Kael laughed as if it was ridiculous.

He turned his gaze again and looked at Adeline, who was leaning on his shoulder.

In fact, even Kael was amazed.

Adeline was the first woman to make Kael care about her like this, and to even make him feel unfamiliar.

The moment he laughed again, thinking if it was that big of a deal, he suddenly heard a familiar voice with a tremendous tinnitus.

It was a terrible voice that Kael could never forget.

[… until then, struggling with the pain… will not be allowed easily.]

Kael clenched his teeth and tried to erase the sudden rushing moment of pain.

His heart, which had been melting a little with Adeline, turned cold again.