Chapter 72

“So, how is the wyvern training going?”  

Lexion, visiting the training ground with Marquis Stephan, pressed his left chest with his right hand.  

Since Adelina left, it had become a new habit for him.  

“Your Majesty, you must not develop habits. They can become targets for the enemy.”  

Stephan, standing beside him, started nagging in a low voice again, but Lexion pretended not to hear, pressing his palm firmly as he looked at the wyvern knight commander.  

The wyvern knight commander demonstrated the training with the two smartest wyverns.  

“They fly well, but it seems too much to command them to attack. They might get scared since they are over three times smaller than dragons.”  

“Wyverns are creatures with low intelligence. Train them to drop large stones rather than follow complex commands.”  

At Lexion’s words, the wyvern knight commander immediately began training.  

“Your Majesty! That stone seems to be quite a plausible weapon.”  

Stephan, observing the training with excitement, brightened his eyes.  

The stone, about the size of a human forearm, had considerable destructive power when dropped from a high altitude.  

“Your Majesty… again… you must not develop habits…”  

Stephan nagged once more at Lexion, who was pressing his left chest, but Lexion chuckled and headed to his office.  

“I’ll finish the rest in my bedroom.”  

Leaving only documents that needed his signature, he hurriedly gathered the papers and entered his bedroom.  

As someone who had never taken work into his bedroom, his aides looked at him curiously, but they bowed their heads again, focusing on their own documents since they had work to do overnight.  

+++

Upon entering the bedroom, Lexion took out something wrapped in cloth from his bosom and draped his jacket over the sofa.  

Sitting on the bed, he carefully unwrapped the cloth and looked at his face reflected in the princess-style hand mirror.  

“Adelina.”  

He called her name.  

While training the wyverns, Adelina’s voice had clearly lingered in his mind.  

‘Lexion?’  

Hearing his voice, Adelina’s face appeared in the mirror.  

+++

‘Oh my! What is this! Is it a video call instead of a walkie-talkie?’  

Adelina, who had been rolling around on the bed looking at the mirror, suddenly sat up, brushing her messy hair with her hands.  

‘I removed all my makeup because I was going to sleep!’  

Her skin had suffered after several days on the ship…  

Though she felt upset, she was more delighted to see Lexion’s face in the mirror.  

‘Lexion, can you see me?’  

She asked just in case.  

If he could see her, she would only take out the mirror when everything was set.  

‘No, I can only hear your voice.’  

Is that so? Then why does he touch the mirror?  

As if stroking a face?  

‘Since there are two mirrors, this is possible! Let’s talk like this every night from now on.’  

She matched her fingertips to Lexion’s on the mirror.  

‘I saw the wyvern training earlier. If you mix horse dung powder with mud and connect it with a cloth, you can create a time bomb. Two people can ride a wyvern, one to steer and one to drop the bomb. It would be much more powerful than stones.’  

As time seemed to be running out, Lexion’s face gradually faded.  

‘Got it. Always be careful.’  

Realizing time was up, Lexion furrowed his brow.  

‘Goodnight, Lexion.’  

Dream of me.  

She gently closed her eyes, pouted her lips, and lightly touched the mirror surface.  

‘Goodnight, Adelina. See you in my dreams.’  

Though her lips touched the cold, hard mirror surface, it felt as if she had touched something hot.  

+++

Today, Isabelle, wearing the imperial knight uniform of the Petrus Empire, climbed the coastal observatory and raised her telescope.  

“Are the preparations complete?”

“Yes, Princess. We will soon reach the waters in front of Ernst. The size has decreased, and the speed has become much faster. They won’t be able to prepare in time.”

The naval officer’s words made Isabelle grip the telescope tighter.  

‘Adelina, you went to the Tiola Empire? While you’re stuck there, all the wyverns will be killed by the dragons.’  

In the distance, five artificial islands, reduced in size, floated between Ernst and Petrus.  

Dragons flew there, folding their wings as they glared at the skies of Ernst.  

+++

“It’s a surprise attack! Wyvern units, attack the dragons!”  

Seeing the smoke from the beacon lit at the royal palace of Ernst, the soldiers on the coast immediately evacuated the people.  

The wyvern unit, scouting along the coast, tangled with the dragons, covering the sky.  

“Damn it! Isabelle made artificial islands again!”  

Lexion and Stephan, who had rushed out from the palace to provide support, cursed as they saw several artificial islands floating on the blue sea below.  

“They’re really fast!”

Stephan shook his head while luring the dragons with five other wyvern knights.  

They had been pleased to destroy two artificial islands yesterday…  

It turned out they were bait.  

“Avoid the arrows!”  

The dragon knights had evolved.  

Dragons, which used to carry only one person, now carried two, one shooting arrows from behind.  

“Damn it!”  

The wyvern, not yet trained to carry two people, flew to avoid the arrows while continuing to lure the dragons higher into the sky.  

“Your Majesty! Evade!”  

Recognizing Lexion, the dragon knights shot arrows at his chest in unison.  

‘Adelina!’  

Lexion twisted his body to the right, deflecting the arrows flying towards his left with his sword.  

“Your Majesty! Why on earth!”  

Simultaneously with Stephan’s shout, two arrows pierced Lexion’s right arm and shoulder.  

+++

Two hours later, the sky, now free of dragons, was peaceful and clear, showing no traces of battle.  

Stephan, sitting inside the coastal barracks, looked at Lexion, who had received rough first aid, with a deeply furrowed brow.  

“Your Majesty! Why on earth! That mirror could have been a shield!”  

Now alone, he finally exploded in anger.  

He knew that since Adelina left, Lexion had been carrying that hand mirror in his left chest.  

‘I naturally thought you’d block the arrows with that mirror!’  

“The mirror must not break.”  

Lexion, joking about the bandage being wrapped tightly, stood up.  

“I need this mirror… to see Adelina.”  

Stephan pretended not to hear Lexion’s mumbling at the barrack door, standing behind him.  

“From today, wear armor 24 hours a day. Otherwise, I will tell Her Majesty everything that happened today.”  

“Let’s do that.”  

Seeing the blood-stained bandage, Stephan could not scold him further and silently followed Lexion back to the palace.  

+++

The birthday banquet for the Emperor of the Tiola Empire would be held in five days.  

Envoys from various countries hurried to arrive, aiming to conclude practical discussions before the banquet.  

Thanks to Isya’s consideration, Adelina had a relatively early audience with the Emperor.  

However, Leophris, who arrived two days earlier than them, had already had dinner with the Emperor last night.  

“Can we find out what they talked about?”  

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. It was a private meeting with His Majesty the Emperor.”  

Upon waking in the morning and preparing for lunch with the Emperor, Adelina subtly asked Hailyn, but she seemed to know nothing. 

“I present myself to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tiola Empire.”  

The place Adelina was guided to was the Emperor’s reception room.  

After a private meeting here, she would move to the dining room with the maids.  

“I am pleased to meet you. I have heard much about the Queen of Ernst from many people.”  

The Emperor, said to be ten years older than Isya, invited Adelina to sit with a gentle expression.  

‘I must stay alert! Don’t be fooled by that face!’  

The Emperor’s nickname was the Tiger of the Continent.  

He was the one who had ruled the vast Tiola Empire for over 30 years, eliminating all political opponents with that gentle smile.  

“I hope you’ve only heard good things.”  

As a chrysanthemum-shaped teacup was set before Adelina, the maids and attendants all left the room.  

“So.”  

The Emperor, seated at the head, turned his head to scrutinize her.  

“I have always wondered what aspect of you caught Isya’s interest.”  

“I have always wondered what aspect of me you have viewed favorably.”  

Adelina also turned her head to meet the Emperor’s sharp gaze.  

Her heart felt like it would burst.  

She wanted to burst through that door and take a deep breath immediately.  

“So far, I only see an unusual appearance.”  

“That’s fortunate. If you were to see my unusual inner self, even Your Majesty might overestimate me.”  

She didn’t clench her fists. She didn’t swallow.  

Maintaining eye contact with the Emperor, she feigned composure, forcing her voice to be steady.  

“Is that so?”  

Seeing the Emperor’s sharp gaze soften, she felt a bit relieved inside.  

“I brought the Titan technology of Ernst as a birthday gift.”  

She wanted to take a sip of tea to moisten her lips, but she feared her hands would tremble if she picked up the cup, so she just looked at it.  

“Titan technology? Hahaha. To offer what Prince Evans has painstakingly smuggled over ten years as a gift. I wonder what you want in return.”  

In contrast, the Emperor leisurely lifted his teacup, took a sip, and leaned back in his chair.  

“I expect you already know.”  

Feigning composure, Adelina smiled as she leaned back in her chair.  

Her dress felt slightly damp where it touched the sofa, likely from the cold sweat she had shed.  

“Warships are not possible.”  

As the Emperor set down his teacup, Adelina’s smile broke.  

+++

Adelina quickly regained her composure, lifting her lips into a smile.  

‘Get a grip! I am the Queen of Ernst!’  

She had to at least secure merchant ships.  

Though inferior to warships, they might somehow be outfitted with cannons.  

Even in a melee battle, soldiers needed ships to fight.  

“Your Majesty.”  

“Merchant ships are also not possible.”  

Though she called out to him, trying to hide her dismay, the Emperor leaned back against the sofa, dashing her hopes further.  

“I believe there must be a reason Your Majesty summoned me as an envoy.”  

Beyond dismay, Adelina felt irritation rising.  

The Emperor surely knew that ships were what she needed at this moment.  

“That’s true. However, I have no intention of getting involved in your war right now. I hear Princess Isabelle came up with the artificial islands? If I provide warships or merchant ships, the dragons will fly here immediately.”  

She could see the tension in the Emperor’s clasped hands.  

‘Yes, the Emperor must be anxious too, fearing that the freely moving artificial islands might appear in front of the Tiola Empire, and that dragons might ravage his people.’  

Leophris likely pressured the Emperor during their private meeting yesterday, urging him not to provide any warships or merchant ships to Ernst, using the artificial islands as leverage.  

‘It’s not like I can secretly take a massive warship or merchant ship!’

Ships were needed.  

With just the ships in Ernst, they could never win a naval battle.

“Your Majesty, if Ernst falls, the Tiola Empire will not remain peaceful either.”  

“So, think of a solution. I am sure you, as the Queen, will find an alternative.”