Chapter 13

“Shouldn’t people have some fun, huh? Isn’t that how it should be?”

Not only did Serenia take over the work of Lucien’s subordinate who was on extended leave, she also tackled tasks that weren’t urgent and had been put off for later. And instead of relaxing when she had free time, she would train, leaving Lucien alone in his office more often than not.

Left behind in the office like an abandoned cat, Lucien growled with a sulky expression and suddenly shot up from his seat.

He couldn’t take it anymore. This wasn’t just following Serenia around—he was going to monitor her.

Muttering his own excuses to himself, Lucien headed for the training grounds.

A separate training facility for officers was located a little away from the main headquarters building. There was a scenic outdoor training ground near the beach, but because of the extreme difficulty of the sandy terrain, most people preferred the indoor training area…

“What? Why is no one here?”

The training ground, usually filled with the smell of sweaty men, was completely empty. Lucien looked around in confusion, when he suddenly heard raucous laughter in the distance. The laughter, from a group of men, gave him a bad feeling.

“These guys, skipping their training…”

Clenching his teeth, Lucien quickly made his way to the outdoor training ground. The closer he got to the beach, the louder the laughter became, and as soon as he stepped onto the sand, he finally spotted the person he’d been searching for.

“How are you so fast?”

“Really? I never thought I was that quick…”

“If you’ve beaten all of us here, what does that make us?”

“That’s right!”

“You’re truly worthy of being called the legendary top graduate!”

Lucien’s subordinates, shirtless and sweating, were rolling around on the sand with Serenia, who wore a short-sleeved shirt. The training dummies and various equipment scattered across the sand proved she hadn’t been joking about training. Several who had challenged her were already lying exhausted on the ground. Serenia, blushing at the flood of praise, awkwardly fiddled with her wooden sword.

“Those idiots, since when have they trained so hard…”

Serenia’s flushed cheeks, warmed by exercise, rose with a slow smile. Lucien felt a ridiculous urge to bite her cheek, his chest tingling, but he shook his head. Deliberately stomping through the sand, Lucien made his presence known.

“Commander, Sir!”

As soon as Lucien’s face appeared, everyone—whether sitting on the ground or standing beside Serenia—jumped up and lined up in formation. Serenia looked at Lucien in bewilderment at the sudden surge of military discipline.

“You’re here?”

“Why come all the way out here to suffer when there’s an indoor training ground?”

“The sound of the waves is nice. And training only means something if it’s tough.”

“You really enjoy sweating like this?”

Even as he scolded her, Lucien gently wiped the sweat from Serenia’s forehead. Serenia, flustered, tried to pull back, but Lucien naturally grabbed her arm to keep her from escaping.

“If you’re done making noise, go back to your duties.”

“Yes, Sir!”

Lucien’s subordinates, long tormented by the ‘Delaroz family’s mad dog,’ understood his order perfectly—even if they had nothing to do, they knew it was best not to be seen when the commander was this irritable.

Startled by the sudden dismissal, Serenia tried to stop Lucien, but the men quickly shook their heads and vanished from the sand in an instant. Serenia scratched her cheek awkwardly as she watched them flee without looking back.

“Was I holding up people who actually have work to do…?”

“Exactly. So don’t waste time playing with guys like that. Do you think I brought you here to train them?”

“But they all seem to like it. They said you’ve been too busy to watch them directly. You’re the commander, so you don’t have time, but I’m not, so I can help out.”

“Oh, they said that? Then I’ll personally supervise their training from now on.”

‘You’re all as good as dead.’

Lucien hadn’t supervised them because he was busy, but because he didn’t want to bother with it. Unlike Serenia, who was always eager to help, Lucien was determined to whip those pests into shape.

“If you’re human, act like it. Are they beasts? Why are they half-n*ked?”

“…It’s hot, and the sand gets their clothes dirty, so they take their shirts off.”

Even as Serenia defended them, Lucien’s fiery glare didn’t soften. He planned to find out if any of his subordinates had ulterior motives toward Serenia in the next round of training.

“…Why does this keep bothering me?”

Lucien was frustrated, unable to pinpoint the source of his anger. The only answer he could come up with was that he was upset Serenia wasn’t spending time with him, but with his subordinates—a childish jealousy more fitting for a teenager.

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t seen you in so long.”

“Huh?”

“Being close to you and training together like old times… It makes me feel younger, mentally.”

With a sigh, Lucien pulled Serenia in and rested his chin on her crown. Serenia, who’d just been rolling in the sand, worried about her scent and dirty clothes, but Lucien didn’t seem to care.

Gulping nervously, Serenia felt her sun-warmed skin grow even hotter from Lucien’s touch.

“It’s… it’s hot…”

“If you like training by the sea, we’ll do it here from now on.”

Pushing at his stomach with her elbow to get some distance, Serenia was swept along as Lucien, still holding her, led her somewhere else. His arm around her slender waist made it hard for her to breathe. It felt as if sand had gotten inside her clothes—her whole body was tingling.

With a comically awkward gait, Lucien brought Serenia to a private beach, accessible by a hidden path from the main building.

Unlike the wide-open outdoor training ground, this cove was surrounded on three sides by the sea, giving it a distinctly private feel. Large rocks and surrounding cliffs were cleverly carved so that the interior couldn’t be seen from the beach.

“This place exists?”

“Before headquarters was built, this was a noble’s private villa. It’s been turned into a personal retreat for the commanders, but it seemed a shame to get rid of it, so now it’s just a welfare spot.”

“If it’s your private spot, can I use it? Being your direct subordinate comes with more perks than I thought.”

“What are you talking about? I’m only letting you use it because it’s you. No matter how close they are, no other direct subordinate gets this.”

Walking along the white wooden path, Serenia’s heart raced at Lucien’s casual words. Like a frog hit by a stone thrown in jest, Serenia was always caught off guard by Lucien’s unexpected kindness.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s beautiful.”

She stopped abruptly, fanning herself and turning away. She was past the stage of hoping for something more from such small gestures, but she couldn’t help feeling nervous.