Chapter 16

How far did they travel? The carriage quickly passed through the gates of Red Hall and stopped in front of the mansion’s grand entrance.

“Lady Jenna, His Highness Adrian Henrique is waiting in the reception room on the first floor.”

As Jenna entered the lobby, Magda hurriedly approached her and whispered.

“Adrian? Why?”

“Why else? He’s your fiancé. And… well, how could I know the minds of nobles? In any case, he’s been waiting for quite some time.”

Thinking that Magda usually understood the intentions of high-ranking people well, Jenna wondered why she was being coy today as she headed to the reception room, unable to change her clothes.

Adrian was pacing, unable to sit in a chair. Upon sensing her presence, he quickly turned around to face Jenna. His deep green eyes shone coldly.

“Jenna, did you just return from meeting the Emperor at the Imperial Palace?”

Only four months had passed, yet her fiancé had become sharply different.

“Yes, indeed. I briefly met him to finalize matters regarding White Bloom and discussed my future duties and position.”

Recalling the moment they met in front of Graham’s coffin, Jenna forced herself to ignore the aching heart and responded even more coldly.

“I’ve heard. Lady Whirlwind, famed and all. I felt quite proud.”

“Well, I’ve been trained as a strategist for a long time.”

For a moment, Adrian showed a breathtakingly enchanting smile.

“But what brings you here?”

“I’ve been ordered to go to the border defense in two days. My father, the Crown Prince, is in critical condition, so the Emperor commanded me to be a force guarding the border. It will take about two years, Jenna.”

It had only been a month since Graham’s funeral. He was being ordered to the front again without even fully healing from his shoulder injury.

Tears sprang up before she could swallow the lump in her throat. Jenna turned away, unable to face her fiancé directly. She didn’t want him to see her cry.

“Then why… why did you come here? You could’ve just gone…”

Adrian’s strong hands turned Jenna around as she was crying with her back to him. Without giving her a chance to gather her thoughts, he kissed her fiercely, his breath hot against her. Caught off guard, her lips parted involuntarily, and soon a soft, supple mass pressed in, brushing against her tongue.

Startled, she couldn’t even close her eyes, but Adrian didn’t care, focusing solely on sucking Jenna’s plump lips. As his firm palm wrapped over her rounded br*ast through her clothes, her n*pples hardened in surprise.

Ah, what is this?

For the first time, her br*asts were crushed in a man’s hand, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. When she pulled away in shock, Adrian did not press further.

“If I die this time, this will be my last kiss, Jenna. If I recall you accepting my lips at the moment my eyes close, I think it will bring me joy. That’s why I came.”

The man wiped Jenna’s tears with his thumb and approached, licking his moist lips with his tongue.

Crazy man!

She cursed, but tears fell. Probably because her lips, sucked by Adrian, were sore.

Throwing his grandson back into the battlefield, the old Emperor was out of his mind.

The Crown Prince Theodore could be a rival to the Emperor, Jenna thought. He was strong, appeared ungreedy to the people, and even participated in the White Bloom.

Even ministers and some nobles, tired of the Emperor’s greed, considered Theodore more fitting for the throne than the current Emperor. Thus, the Emperor, desperate to maintain eternal life and power, was determined to eliminate his own son, Theodore.

But was there a reason to get rid of his twenty-one-year-old grandson Adrian? Was he worried Adrian would grow up to be his competitor?

That was the only reason Jenna could imagine.

Even after their lips parted, Adrian continued to hold Jenna’s arm. As if she would fly away if he let go, he held her desperately.

“Jenna.”

She somewhat understood why Adrian’s attitude changed suddenly after Graham’s death.

“No. I know who you’re seeing. I know what you’re looking for in me.”

Jenna turned her head away so Adrian couldn’t see her expression.

“What?”

“You’re seeing Graham in me right now, aren’t you? We are twins, after all.”

His cold emerald eyes suddenly darkened. For a moment, his gaze wavered.

“What? Hah. That’s ridiculous, Lady Jenna Fleur.”

“Are you saying it’s not true?”

Jenna liked Adrian, wanted to have him, but if he was only looking at her because he missed Graham, because he couldn’t accept the absence of his friend—then she didn’t want that kind of Adrian.

“It’s not true! Of course not! You, seriously—what kind of thoughts are going on in that cute little head of yours?”

He shook his head vigorously.

“Then what? What about rolling around with Lady Curzette at our engagement ceremony? You came back with grass all over your ceremonial clothes! We were supposed to greet the guests until they left! But you… then…”

She wanted to ask why he disappeared with Lady Curzette before the day even ended. But as she spoke, she felt too pathetic, so she closed her mouth.

“Jenna, wait a moment. Lady Whirlwind, could you just give me a moment to explain?”

“No. I have nothing more to say. I don’t want to be treated as a substitute for Graham. I don’t want to be someone you’re marrying out of political convenience just to save your own life.”

Tears welled up from the injustice. However, Adrian asked very calmly.

“Really? Then tell me. What kind of woman do you want to be to me, hmm?”

What kind of woman? Do I even look like a woman to you?

“I…”

“…”

“I’m not thinking of you as a replacement for Graham, Jenna Fleur. If I had felt this way about you because I was seeing Graham, then I really…”

“…”

“At Graham’s funeral not long ago, when I saw you—I realized. I… I… Jenna Fleur, listen to me carefully. Wait for me. I will return to you without dying, without being hurt, just as I am. I promise. And Lady Curzette! She’s really nothing! I can’t explain everything now, but…”

Without dying, without being hurt, just as he is…

A stream of tears fell across her cheek.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You completely ignored me at the engagement ceremony, and now you suddenly act like this? Do you really think I can believe you?”

As Jenna was about to curse, Adrian, without warning, pressed his lips to hers again. His intent was clearly to stop her words, and she had no real way to escape.

As she gasped in a sharp breath, Adrian’s sweet scent flooded her entire body. The moist softness inside her small pink lips was quickly overtaken by his rough, unrelenting tongue.

Moments later, when she had sunk so deeply into him that she could hardly remember where she was, Adrian released her, loosening his grip on her arms with a sigh.

“If I had shown my feelings for you at the engagement ceremony, the Emperor wouldn’t have just sat back and allowed us to be engaged. Jenna, the moment he realized there were real emotions behind our superficial engagement, he would’ve nullified it. I couldn’t let that happen. Because I really liked you. For a very long time. So wait for me, Lady Jenna.”

After saying everything he wanted to say, he tousled her hair like one would a child’s and walked out laughing! Jenna, dazed from two kisses and a one-sided command to wait, was left utterly bewildered.

Adrian, you…

The memory of touching Graham’s cold cheek returned. If she went back to the Imperial Palace and asked to remove her fiancé Adrian, the Emperor would use a more despicable method to take him away.

Jenna pondered for a long time on how to reclaim Adrian. If her heart didn’t race at his confession of having liked her for a long time, it would be a lie. Though resentment remained, she intended to decide whether it was affection or friendship later, once he was safe.

The Emperor’s vile schemes all originated from Lady Evelyn. She needed to shake her.

Jenna called Magda while pacing the reception room in thought.

“Magda! Magda, send someone immediately to bring Lady Biona Fleur here. Tell her I have something to ask!”

Biona Fleur always hesitated as if she had something to say whenever they met at the Lion’s Stone. She would talk about Evelyn Fleur. Magda quickly went out and conveyed the lady’s message to a swift-footed attendant guarding the lobby.

Quite some time passed. Jenna, who had grown hungry, had bread and soup brought to her for a quick snack, yet no sound of a carriage was heard. The anticipated carriage noise came only when Jenna was brewing tea from her mother’s tea set.

Soon, an attendant guarding the lobby politely helped the elderly lady out of the carriage and escorted her, then quickly reported.

“Lady Biona Fleur has arrived.”

Jenna stood up from her chair, bent her knees, and greeted politely.

“Lady Biona! Thank you for responding so kindly to my sudden request!”

Although she greeted politely, Lady Biona was not a particularly gentle grandmother.

“Hmph. At this point, it seems the only thing anyone in Helibet talks about is you, Lady Jenna Fleur. How could I possibly refuse an invitation from such a lady? What else does an old woman like me have to do besides gossip, anyway?”

She replied in a most disagreeable manner. But Jenna had no choice but to stay in this lady’s good graces. She had too many questions to ask.

“Please, have a seat. Do you enjoy mint tea?”

The teapot contained fragrant mint tea imported from the Duchy of Fargone.

“What could you be curious about to serve such expensive tea? Our Lady Whirlwind?”