Chapter 73

Adelina felt breathless.

She wondered if she could indeed find something useful to escape the pressure from Isabelle and Leophris.  

“An alternative… However, when I present the alternative, you must accept it.”  

“I shall. Now that the tea has cooled, let us move to the dining hall.”  

The Emperor stood up and extended his hand.  

“Tomorrow, I will present the alternative through Jaeyon.”  

Adelina also rose slowly and took his hand.  

A hand that felt different from Lexion’s, full of calluses.  

This hand, with its wrinkles, likely held wisdom that Lexion did not possess.  

+++

After finishing lunch, Jaeyon ran to meet Adelina as she returned to the Camellia Palace with the maids.  

“Jaeyon.”  

“Your Majesty… your complexion… I will prepare a digestive for you.”  

Adelina’s complexion was dark, suggesting the outcome of her meeting with the Emperor was not favorable.  

She even appeared pale, as if suffering from indigestion.  

“A friend is truly wonderful. To notice immediately. Then, I ask for the most effective digestive in the Tiola Empire.”  

“I will prepare it as a potion. Somehow… I feel you might not handle pills well.”  

“Haha. Thank you. Preferably a less bitter one.”  

Walking alongside Adelina, who finally seemed to relax and smile at his words, Jaeyon strolled through the corridors of the Camellia Palace.  

As soon as they entered the reception room, Adelina drank the digestive provided by Hailyn in one gulp, then popped a honey-made confection into her mouth before sitting on the sofa.  

Jaeyon, who had been guided to a seat earlier, watched Adelina as she sat at the head.  

“Jaeyon, guide me to the coasts and rivers of the Tiola Empire starting tomorrow morning.”  

“Are you looking for something?”  

“A ship as fast as a warship and as large as a merchant ship.”  

Jaeyon’s eyebrows twitched at Adelina’s words. It implied that the Emperor would not provide Ernst with warships or merchant ships.  

“We’ll have to go treasure hunting.”  

Would such a ship even exist…?  

Fishing boats would be difficult to use in naval battles…  

Jaeyon forced a smile, looking at Adelina, who pretended not to be disappointed.  

+++

“Hey there, pretty lady. Come and take a look at these fish. Their eyes are pitch black, very fresh indeed.”  

The merchants by the sea kept calling out to a pair of well-dressed man and woman passing by.  

To avoid the eyes of the Petrus people, Adelina wore a black wig and dressed in the attire of the Tiola Empire, wandering the coast with Jaeyon.  

Hailyn and the escort knights followed them from a distance, keeping an eye on their surroundings.  

“How did you know I am a pretty lady?”  

Adelina, caught by another merchant’s sales pitch, squatted in front of him.  

‘Amazing! It’s like an aquarium!’  

In her past life, she had never been able to visit one due to lack of money, but today she was seeing and touching everything.  

Adelina was fascinated by a giant octopus tentacle larger than her arm and poked it with her hand.  

“Ha… you’ll get eaten at this rate.”  

Jaeyon barely managed to detach the octopus wrapped around Adelina’s arm and naturally paid the merchant.  

The escort knight following from afar took it very familiarly.  

Today, there might not be a single merchant on this coast who didn’t sell them something.  

“This must be tuna. It’s huge. The tuna boats must be huge too, right?”  

“Hahaha. Yes, indeed. They’re the largest among the fishing boats! And the fastest!”  

The merchant pointed to a tuna boat anchored in the distance, as Adelina looked curiously at the tuna’s gills.  

“I see.”  

“Miss, I’ll give you something very special as a service. It’s something even regulars rarely get.”  

As Adelina curiously touched the eyes of a giant crab, the merchant shouted excitedly.  

Because that crab, too, would be paid for by the man next to her.  

“This is it. Though it looks like this, once caught, it’s presented to His Majesty the Emperor as a very precious item.”  

The merchant, looking around, secretly showed her a jar with a lid.  

When the lid was opened, there were long, intertwined brown and black objects inside.  

“I know what this is. It’s a dog thingy.”  

Adelina whispered as if making a secret deal.  

“The pretty lady is very smart. This is good for men. Just one… and…”  

The merchant spoke even more secretly, glancing at Jaeyon.  

“I’ll pack two for you specially.”  

“Why two?”  

Adelina followed the merchant’s gaze to Jaeyon.  

Her gaze moved downward… then she quickly turned her head.  

“If I eat this… how are you going to take responsibility?”  

Jaeyon, with his face flushed, squatted next to Adelina and whispered in her ear.  

“Ahem… let’s go over there.”

Adelina abruptly stood up and walked briskly to where the boats were docked, away from the merchants.  

Jaeyon followed her, a broad smile on his face.  

The merchant handed the item over to their escort knight.  

+++

“I’ll take those.”  

Adelina, having reached a place a bit away from where the fishing boats were docked, pointed straight at two massive sailing ships.  

“Your Majesty… those haven’t moved in over ten years.”  

Jaeyon, unable to hide his discomfort, lowered Adelina’s hand.  

Those ships were built by the Tiola Empire over a decade ago to showcase their military and economic power after Petrus took over the Aslan Continent.  

They were massive and drew immediate attention, but their size made them slow, and they had not been used since, only displayed.  

Performance aside, they had been neglected for ten years, and taking them would only invite ridicule.  

“Prepare those and fifty tuna boats.”  

Adelina insisted stubbornly.  

“Tuna boats… they’d be about the size of small warships.”  

Jaeyon nodded at the mention of tuna boats.  

They might be slower than warships, but they could be somewhat useful.  

They were the sturdiest and strongest among fishing boats.  

“Modify the sails of those boats to Cutty Sark sails. Secretly.”  

“Cutty Sark sails…?”  

Though the sea breeze ruffled her black wig, Jaeyon seemed to see Adelina’s silver hair.  

‘How does she know about this? It’s something only sailors would care about.’  

Cutty Sark sails were structured to make the most of the winds on the open sea.  

They required so many sails that they were only used on the highest-class merchant ships transporting expensive goods over long distances.  

“Yes. As soon as His Majesty grants permission, I will prepare them immediately.”  

“His Majesty will permit it. Leophris will laugh if I take those old ships and fishing boats.”  

Had she given up?  

In her self-mocking tone, Jaeyon stood still, watching Adelina.  

‘Looks like she found a treasure.’  

Amidst the sunset turning the sea red, Adelina’s lips gradually curled upwards.  

+++

As soon as they returned to the palace, Jaeyon immediately prepared the documents and presented them to the Emperor.  

Having received the Emperor’s permission, Jaeyon confidently visited Adelina’s bedroom that night, handing her the documents.  

“Adelina, didn’t you say you’d take responsibility for me?”  

Along with the claim that he had already eaten it for dinner.  

The maids in the bedroom quickly closed the door and surrounded Jaeyon.  

“She is Her Majesty. Please address her properly. Always. Everywhere.”  

Seyra, among them, snatched the documents from Jaeyon’s hand and glared fiercely at him.  

“I didn’t expect such an excessive welcome. Lovely maids.”  

Jaeyon raised both hands to shoulder height and winked playfully at the maids surrounding him.  

Adelina took the documents from Seyra, checked them, and handed them back.  

Despite the late hour, Adelina was dressed in black shirt and pants, not pajamas.  

“Jaeyon, let’s go out immediately.”  

“At… this hour?”  

Jaeyon checked the clock on the wall as he watched Adelina put on a black wig and long black coat.  

The clock chimed nine o’clock just then.  

“Since you asked me to take responsibility. Exercising under the moonlight is most effective.”  

As Adelina’s gaze momentarily dropped, Jaeyon cleared his throat with a small cough.  

“Hailyn must have gathered the people. We must begin before Leophris notices.”  

Jaeyon donned the black coat handed to him by a maid and closely followed Adelina as she opened the terrace door.  

“You seem to be using Hailyn quite freely.”  

“Everything is for the sake of Ernst and the Tiola Empire.”  

After ensuring the maids secured the door tightly, Jaeyon stepped onto the terrace and wrapped his arm around Adelina’s waist, pulling her close.  

To avoid pressing against his chest, Adelina inserted both hands between them, pressing gently against Jaeyon’s abdomen.  

“Later. You must give me overtime pay. In my preferred way.”

Jaeyon took Adelina’s hands and wrapped them around his waist.  

“Mm!”  

Before Adelina could respond, Jaeyon covered her mouth and leaped off the terrace with her in his arms.

+++

‘Oh my! I almost had a heart attack!’  

Having descended from the terrace in Jaeyon’s arms, Adelina calmed her pounding heart and blended into the darkness.  

“Even at night, it’s quite lively. The people seem energetic too.”  

The streets outside the palace were bustling, as if a night market had opened, with numerous merchants selling food and goods under bright lights.  

“His Majesty’s birthday banquet will be held soon. This time is always lively due to the nobles from various regions and envoys from different countries. In fact, His Majesty holds the banquet this year because of this.”  

“I see.”  

Holding Jaeyon’s hand, Adelina navigated through the crowd towards the area dense with inns and taverns on the outskirts.  

‘The Emperor of the Tiola Empire… truly not an easy opponent.’  

Even knowing a war might break out, the Emperor insisted on holding a birthday banquet.  

It was likely for the merchants and farmers who prepared supplies for this banquet, which could last from six months to a year.  

“Wait a moment!”  

As they nearly passed through the densely packed skewer stalls, Jaeyon suddenly pulled Adelina between the wall of a shop and a tree.  

‘Leophris!’  

Adelina and Jaeyon hid deeper between the wall and the tree, watching Leophris in a black coat.  

Leophris, accompanied by a few escort knights, looked around and then moved.  

“We leave tomorrow morning.”  

“Yes, gather as much as possible.”  

They were so close that their whispered conversation could be heard.  

‘Damn it! They must be coming to this building!’  

Leophris and his party continued moving closer to where Adelina and Jaeyon were hiding.  

‘We’ll be discovered at this rate!’