Chapter 40

“Did you bring it?”  

After the horse incident, Adelina painted portraits all day, claiming it was for her mental and physical well-being.  

“Yes. These are watercolor paints.”  

Jaeyon chuckled as he noticed Adelina welcoming the servant carrying the paints more warmly than him and Hailyn when they entered the room.  

‘She gets so happy just seeing paints.’  

Adelina, setting up an easel and placing a canvas on it across from him, shone more brightly than ever.  

“Then, Sir Jaeyon, please paint two with oils. I’ll also paint two for you.”  

Once only the three of them were left in the room, Adelina squeezed oil paints onto a palette.  

Hailyn, as if to keep watch, moved a chair to the door and sat comfortably.  

“It seems like I’m getting the short end of the deal.”  

Jaeyon also placed a blank canvas on his easel.  

“Sir Jaeyon, what I paint for you is also quite precious.”  

Adelina dipped her brush in paint and drew a line.  

Although Adelina glanced at the mirror on the dressing table several times, Jaeyon focused on his painting without much concern.  

Adelina’s head moved busily between the canvas and the mirror.  

‘Map of the Petrus Empire. Map of the Aslan Continent!’  

The map reflected in the mirror was of the Aslan Continent, entirely occupied by Petrus.  

During a military meeting, Evans was placing pins with red flags on the map while discussing with the Dragon Knights.  

‘I will memorize it all!’  

The map in the mirror disappeared in a few minutes.  

Adelina memorized the maps she saw in the mirror over several days and transferred them onto the canvas as best as she could.  

+++  

Taking a break to let the paint dry, Adelina sat on the sofa.  

Jaeyon also put down his brush and sat next to her.  

“I leave in three days.”  

Jaeyon’s voice was filled with regret.  

With a new brush, untouched by paint, Jaeyon traced Adelina’s face in the air.  

Her eyebrows, her pupils, her lips.  

‘Leaving…’  

Adelina’s eyes trembled.  

She must have unknowingly relied on Jaeyon in the palace, with Lexion and Stephan absent.  

“Miss Adelina, come with me. If the Emperor of the Tiola Empire formally proposes a national marriage, no one will be able to oppose it.”  

As a tear formed in Adelina’s eye, Jaeyon reached out and gently wiped it away.  

“You will be safe with me. You can paint whatever you desire.”  

Jaeyon’s sweet words warmed Adelina’s ears.  

Her eyes wavered, as if she might rise and follow him at any moment.  

“Sir Jaeyon…”  

Adelina lowered Jaeyon’s hand, which was touching her cheek.  

“I must wait for the Duke.”  

“Why?”  

A look of dissatisfaction crossed Jaeyon’s face.  

He turned his grip around and held Adelina’s hand tightly.  

“Because I said I would wait.”  

Adelina gave a faint smile at Jaeyon’s words.  

It was so subtle that it would be hard to notice without being close.  

‘If I’m not here when Lexion returns… he’ll be very upset… just like I was in my past life…’  

Her mother had remarried with her legal father when Adelina was just a baby.

And then, without even living a year, she suddenly died, leaving Adelina alone in that house.  

At six, returning home from a kindergarten picnic, there was no one in the house.  

Even if it was a brother who called her fake every day, she wanted him to be there with her.  

She waited, hoping he might return, hoping he might take her with him.  

Even without a kind word, she just wanted him to stay by her side.  

But her brother, who shared no blood, left without a word to his biological mother.  

It was two months after her legal father passed away.

+++  

“You don’t even love the Duke.”  

Jaeyon pouted like a sulky child and placed Adelina’s hand on his chest.  

“And it’s not like I love you, Sir Jaeyon, either, is it?”  

Adelina laughed softly and slapped Jaeyon’s chest. Let go of my hand, she seemed to say.

“I can wait too.”  

Jaeyon rubbed his chest and winked playfully.  

“Sir Jaeyon, even if you don’t take me, Ernst won’t betray you. And I’m always grateful.”  

“Is that all? If you’re grateful, shouldn’t you give something in return?”  

Jaeyon’s fingertips lifted Adelina’s chin.  

As he blatantly stared at her lips, Adelina discreetly covered her mouth with her hand.  

“Oh, between us, repayment is…”  

“What kind of relationship do we have, Miss?”  

“Um… friends? Be honored. You’re my first friend.”  

“Friends, huh… Are there friends who do this?”  

Jaeyon firmly grasped Adelina’s chin, tilted her head to the side, and leaned in toward her lips.  

“Sir Jaeyon.”  

Adelina’s breath tickled Jaeyon’s lips.  

“Adel… Ugh.”  

Suddenly, Jaeyon clutched his throat with both hands.  

“I told you. I know self-defense.”  

After mercilessly hitting Jaeyon’s throat with her fist, Adelina jumped up from the sofa.  

“Indeed.”  

Jaeyon pulled Adelina back onto the sofa and pushed her shoulder firmly.  

“Try escaping this time.”  

He laid Adelina on the sofa and pinned her wrists down.  

+++  

Bang, bang, bang. The door banged loudly three times and then burst open.  

“What is this rudeness!”  

Adelina, who had been painting in front of the easel, shouted angrily and glared at Leophris.  

Though it was unclear why he was so agitated, Leophris’s face, which had been flushed red, calmed down upon seeing the scene in the room.  

“It seems I was blinded by jealousy because Miss Adelina was with Sir Jaeyon for too long.”

Leophris approached Jaeyon, glanced at the painting, and then moved towards Adelina again.  

“Sir Leophris, it seems you are greatly mistaken.”  

Adelina spoke irritably, shielding the painting with her body. She could no longer stand watching Leophris act as if he were her man.  

“Mistaken, you say.”  

“Yes, Sir Leophris. I am to become the wife of Duke Lexion. In 20 days, I will be the Duchess.”  

As Adelina raised her head haughtily, Leophris stroked his chin, looking intrigued.  

“Well. You never know with weddings until the day they happen. Who the groom is. Who the bride is.”

“That may be. But I’ll bet on the possibility that my husband won’t be you, Sir Leophris.”

“Oh dear. I’m betting the opposite.”

With his composure fully regained, Leophris smiled softly and looked coldly at Jaeyon across the room.  

“I heard you are returning to your country in three days. I wish you a safe return, Sir Jaeyon.”  

“Thank you. Now, could you step aside? I need to paint diligently if I am to return in three days.”  

Jaeyon sneered at Leophris and waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.  

“Ahem. I’ll sit here to prevent any bad rumors from spreading about Miss Adelina.”

Leophris glared at Jaeyon with a furrowed brow and plopped down on the sofa.  

‘Thank goodness for Hailyn…’  

Adelina sighed with relief inwardly and dipped her brush in watercolor paint.  

Earlier, when Jaeyon had pinned her wrists and laid her on the sofa,  

– “Someone’s coming!” –  

At Hailyn’s urgent shout, they both jumped up and rushed to the easel.  

‘That guy is always playing around!’  

Jaeyon, across from her, kissed his brush and winked at Adelina.  

‘Ugh… so cheesy. Well, I should return the favor.’  

Feigning to adjust her composition, Adelina extended her brush forward and stuck her middle finger to it.

‘That guy… doesn’t seem quite right either…’  

In the Tiola Empire, perhaps that gesture had a different, positive meaning, as Jaeyon smiled even more brightly.  

After over two hours of painting, Leophris, unable to bear the boredom, left the room.  

+++  

“From now on, practice with a bastard sword. To get more accustomed to the swords here.”  

Once Leophris left, Jaeyon showed Adelina a bastard sword.  

“Right. Since I can’t carry a sword, I’ll have to use an enemy’s sword.”  

Adelina reached out to take the sword, but Jaeyon hid it behind his back.  

“Then, try to take it.”  

Jaeyon tilted his head provocatively and looked at Adelina with lowered eyes.  

“You think I can’t take it?”  

“Hahaha. Oh my, don’t hug me, take the sword instead.”  

“Shut your mouth!”

As they wrestled over the sword, Hailyn moved to a chair by the door.  

‘Should I do some embroidery?’  

With three days left, she might be able to complete a handkerchief.  

After tumbling around the room, Jaeyon finally pinned Adelina on the bed and pointed the sword at her throat.  

“If this were real, Miss, you’d be dead.”

‘Ugh! So annoying!’  

Adelina glared at Jaeyon with frustration and anger.  

No matter what, the difference in strength was too great.  

This wasn’t something that could be resolved immediately, making her even more anxious.  

“Hailyn! What would you do in this situation?”  

She asked Hailyn, hoping for a good solution, as she was said to have swordsmanship skills on par with any knight.  

“Miss, then I’ll demonstrate for you.”

“Ah… Hailyn, you?”

As Hailyn approached, Jaeyon seemed quite flustered, awkwardly clearing his throat and looking around.  

Hailyn lay down in the spot where Adelina had been released from Jaeyon’s grip.  

“What are you doing? Go ahead. And say the same lines, if you will.”  

At Hailyn’s bold request, Jaeyon’s face turned crimson.  

‘What is this! This position is so suggestive! It’s hilarious!’  

Adelina sat in the chair Hailyn had been in and watched their role-play unfold.  

“If this were real, Miss, you’d be dead.”

Hearing Jaeyon repeat the same line, Adelina covered her mouth with both hands.  

‘I’m going crazy! It’s so cringeworthy!’  

Jaeyon, having to repeat the same line, looked incredibly embarrassed, his face about to explode.

“Jaeyon…”  

Finally, as if about to reveal her secret move, Hailyn called Jaeyon’s name and moved her hand.  

“Oh… Ha-Hailyn… If you do that… th-that place…”  

Hailyn’s hand, which had touched Jaeyon’s chest, slid down his abdomen as if exploring, moving lower and lower.  

“Ugh!”  

“If this were real, Sir Jaeyon, you’d be dead.”

Hailyn kicked Jaeyon off the bed, where he had collapsed clutching his groin, and handed the sword to Adelina.  

“Miss, this is how it’s done.”

“I… don’t think I can…”  

Adelina grasped the sword where Hailyn’s hand hadn’t touched much. If she had a handkerchief, she would have wrapped it around.

“Why not? Is it because you’re embarrassed?”  

“No… I’m afraid my hand will rot…”  

Seeing Adelina shiver as if disgusted just by the thought, Hailyn chuckled softly.  

“Hailyn! Go back to your homeland right now!”  

Still crouched on the bed, Jaeyon shouted, but Hailyn elegantly sat back in her chair after casually picking his ear.  

<To be continued in Volume 2…>