The night passed, and the sun rose.

Warm sunlight streamed into the bedroom through the window.

Leopold stroked Ariel’s sleeping head gently, then got out of bed.

She would probably feel unwell when she woke up.

‘A hangover cure. She’ll need a hangover cure. What kind of food should I make?’

He entered the dressing room to change, without even calling for Richard’s assistance, and took off his pajamas.

As he changed into a simple outfit of a white shirt and black slacks, his mind raced.

Should he peel potatoes and make a warm soup?

Or should he make a refreshing stew with clams and crabs?

‘She’ll probably feel unwell, so it’s best to prepare something easy to digest.’

Leopold returned to the bedroom and stood by the bed, looking down at Ariel.

She was still asleep with her eyes closed.

He pulled the blanket up to her shoulders and left the room.

He went into the kitchen to see what ingredients were available.

Unfortunately, there were no seafood ingredients, probably because there was no place to store them.

“I’ll make the seafood stew when we return to the palace.”

Clap-!

He clapped his hands together as if concluding his thoughts.

“Let’s make a potato and mushroom soup.”

He took out potatoes and mushrooms from the pantry and placed them on the table with a thud.

***

“Ugh… My head…”

Ariel clutched her head with her eyes closed.

How much did she drink last night?

She had drunk recklessly, intoxicated by the atmosphere, and ended up completely passed out.

‘I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble…’

She worried that she might have behaved badly at the party hosted by the Empress of another country.

Ariel’s emerald eyes trembled slightly.

“Sniff sniff. What’s that smell?”

Still lying down with her eyes closed, Ariel opened her eyes wide at the smell wafting into the room.

She quickly turned her head to the side.

Leopold, who had been lying next to her, was nowhere to be seen.

Until she confirmed that Leopold wasn’t there, she thought May had come to cook.

‘Where did Leopold go? Could he be the one cooking…?’

Ariel got up, tidied her hair, and walked out of the bedroom, opening the door slightly.

‘Hmm. That smells good…’

She poked her head out at the fragrant smell coming through the crack in the door.

No one was in the living room.

She couldn’t hear any voices, only the clattering of cooking sounds.

Ariel tiptoed towards the kitchen.

As expected.

It was Leopold.

He stood in front of the stove, wearing a pink apron over his white shirt.

‘W-what… He’s so cute…’

Hiding behind the wall, she blushed as she peeked at him.

The apron was too small for Leopold’s large frame. He couldn’t even tie it around his waist and had just draped it over himself.

Could it be…

Is he making hangover food because he’s worried about how much I drank?

He stirred the pot with a ladle and then brought the ladle to his mouth to taste, using a tasting spoon.

In his large hand, the tasting spoon looked like a teaspoon.

Leopold tasted the food and nodded in satisfaction.

‘It must be good.’

She saw his profile as he walked to the sink to put the spoon away.

The corners of his mouth were gently curved upwards.

Unable to hold back any longer, she tiptoed towards him.

Just as she was about to raise her hands to surprise him from behind, he spoke.

“Ariel.”

His voice was sweet, with a hint of laughter.

“You seem to have forgotten that I’m a Swordmaster.”

Ariel stuck out her tongue halfway, embarrassed, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

She felt his rock-hard abs beneath her arms and pulled him closer with more force.

“I guess I’m still not fully sober.”

“When did you wake up?”

Leopold gently loosened her arms, turned around, and faced her.

Her hair was tousled, and her face looked rough. Anyone could see she had been heavily drunk the night before.

Yet, how could she still look so lovely?

He gave a faint smile, bent over, and gently hugged Ariel. Then he walked over and sat her on the table.

Ariel had a good idea of what he was going to do next.

‘I haven’t even brushed my teeth or rinsed my mouth…’

Her jade-colored eyes filled with embarrassment.

He rested his arms on the table, with Ariel between them. As if he already knew her worries, he lightly kissed her red lips.

“Don’t worry. You have a refreshing scent.”

A refreshing scent, he said.

If anything, it would smell like alcohol.

Ariel raised her eyebrows. Leopold lifted his right hand from the table and brushed her tense eyebrows with his thumb.

“I mean it.”

Slowly, his face drew closer to hers. Ariel felt a thrill as if she could hear her heart pounding.

How could she resist this man?

‘It’s just a light kiss.’

At a distance where their noses could touch, Ariel gazed into his crimson eyes with trembling eyes.

His hand, which had been touching her eyebrows, wrapped around the back of her head, tousling her soft hair.

Then finally, his lips gently descended on hers. His red tongue moved along the edge of Ariel’s lips, stimulating them.

As his white teeth grazed her lower lip and his tongue softly soothed it, Ariel finally exhaled deeply.

“Haah…”

Leopold didn’t miss that brief moment and pushed his tongue inside, exploring every corner of her mouth.

It was getting harder to hold back.

In the end, Ariel accepted Leopold’s lips as if entranced.

***

By the time they finished the potato soup that Leopold made.

A knock was heard from outside.

“Your Majesty, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

May, Solviche, and Richard entered, looking neat and tidy.

It seemed they had already packed up and were ready to leave.

“Oh. You’ve already had your meal?”

May said as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Yes. We ate something simple. Is everything packed?”

“Yes. Once we finish tidying up here, we can leave immediately.”

As Ariel stood up, May followed her.

“Since you’ll be traveling for a long time in the carriage, how about wearing something comfortable?”

“Alright. Let’s wash up first. I don’t remember much, but I think I just fell asleep last night.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll prepare everything.”

May gathered some clothes and escorted Ariel to the bathroom.

Leopold sat on the sofa in the living room and started reading the newspaper.

“Evan Clark and his wife also said they could leave soon.”

“Is that so? Tell them to return to Atlan first. We need to take Hyle with us.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for Your Majesty to return first as well? After all, Ron and Hyle took a separate carriage, didn’t they?”

Richard, who was tidying up the house, cautiously asked Leopold. He thought there was no need for the Emperor to return to Kolnman.

However, Leopold looked away from the newspaper and shook his head at Richard.

The plan was to stay for a month, but it had been cut down to a week.

Hyle, who probably didn’t know this yet, might want to stay longer in Kolnman…

“It’s not something I can decide alone. Hyle is very important to the Empress. I’ll discuss it with her and then decide.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

***

“Ariel.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ariel, having finished her bath, was drying her hair with May’s help. She felt refreshed, shaking off the lingering discomfort.

“What about Hyle and Ron?”

“What do you mean?”

May was rummaging through Ariel’s long hair to dry her scalp thoroughly. Ariel squinted her eyes at the fluttering hair and answered Leopold’s question.

“We told them to stay in Kolnman for a month until we finished our trip. But since we’re returning to Atlan in a week, I’m asking what you plan to do with them.”

“So… I was going to ask them and then decide. This might be the last visit for my teacher.”

A long journey could be physically taxing for an elderly person. However, Hyle was still a Swordmaster.

Thinking he might not be able to visit again, he might want to stay in Kolnman as long as planned.

“Yes, that makes sense.”

Leopold nodded. As May brought the clothes for Ariel to change into, he left the room and went to the living room.