Chapter 74

As they came closer, Adelina and Jaeyon pressed themselves further into the darkness, but the space between the wall and the tree had its limits.  

‘Staying here poses a greater risk of being discovered!’  

They went as far as they could, but it seemed they might be visible from the entrance of the wall.  

“Let’s go out.”  

Jaeyon whispered softly in her ear, seemingly sharing Adelina’s thoughts.  

Adelina nodded, took Jaeyon’s hand, and moved to the entrance of the wall.  

Now they just needed to pass by the tree and blend into the crowd.  

“You’ve arrived. I’ll guide you.”  

A person appeared in front of the building’s door, seemingly waiting for Leophris’s group, and grabbed the handle.  

Creak—. The sound of the hinges on the thick wooden door pierced through the noisy voices of the street.  

Through the slightly open door, quite a few men could be seen sitting in the first-floor dining area.  

“Wait.”  

Leophris seemed about to step inside but then turned his head abruptly to look where Adelina and Jaeyon were hiding.  

He squinted, trying to see the figures in the darkness more clearly.  

+++

“Close your eyes.”  

Jaeyon spoke quickly and quietly, pressing Adelina against the wall and cupping her face with his hands.  

He placed his lips over his hands.  

To avoid detection, he slipped her leg between his, pressing their bodies close.

‘We mustn’t get caught here!’  

Adelina hurriedly closed her eyes, hiding her golden pupils.  

To cover her face as much as possible, she wrapped her arms around Jaeyon’s neck.  

“Did you see anything suspicious?”  

“No. Let’s go in.”  

Just as the gazes of Leophris’s companions seemed to reach them, the sound of the door closing was heard.  

‘Thank goodness. We weren’t discovered.’  

Adelina released her arms from Jaeyon’s neck and looked up at his face.  

‘Jaeyon?’  

Jaeyon still had his hands cupped around her face, looking down at her.  

Even in the deep darkness, where the slightest light was blocked by Jaeyon’s back, she could see his lips curl into a smile.  

“Overtime pay.”  

Jaeyon’s lips slipped between his hands, producing a smacking sound as they met Adelina’s lips.

‘Hey! You crazy fool!’  

Adelina immediately swung her fist at his face, but Jaeyon caught her hand and quickly led her away.  

‘Don’t laugh! You fool!’  

Even as they ran, Jaeyon kept turning his head to look at Adelina’s face, smiling brightly as if absorbing all the lights of the market.  

+++

After running for about ten minutes through the streets lined with inns and taverns, Adelina and Jaeyon entered a three-story building.  

“Welcome. I am the sail technician.”  

On the first floor, alcohol and food were sold, while the second and third floors served as lodging in a mid-tier inn where Hailyn and the technicians were waiting in one room.  

“Finish by tomorrow night. I’ll provide everything you need.”  

“The time is too tight… but we’ll do our best.”  

The sail technicians initially expressed reluctance at the tight schedule but immediately stood up when they saw the jewels Adelina pulled from her pocket.  

They would have to work through the night to meet the deadline.  

“If only I could take five of them to Ernst.”

Watching the technicians leave the room, Adelina subtly suggested to Jaeyon.  

“That’s not possible. His Majesty will not allow any shipbuilding technicians to leave this land.”  

‘Tch. So strict. Even knowing Ernst must hold on for the Tiola Empire to be safe!’  

Adelina felt a twinge of resentment at Jaeyon’s firm words.  

The Tiola Empire rigorously protected and managed its shipbuilding technicians to maintain its superior technology over other empires.  

To officially meet them, people from other empires had to go through numerous procedures and wait several days.  

Thus, Adelina, needing to modify the sails quickly, desperately needed the help of Jaeyon and Hailyn.  

‘Wait… Leophris moved secretly… just like me…’  

Suddenly, she recalled Leophris’s suspicious actions.  

“Jaeyon.”  

“I know. I will thoroughly investigate the ships heading to Petrus.”  

Jaeyon, seemingly already aware, spoke with a serious expression devoid of his usual laughter.  

+++

Returning to Adelina’s terrace, Jaeyon changed clothes in her bedroom and confidently opened the door.  

“Your Majesty. Ladies. Please welcome me warmly tomorrow night as you did today.”  

Jaeyon, enjoying the curious gazes of the guards and the annoyed looks of the maids, smiled broadly as Seyra snorted and slammed the door shut.  

“Thank you all for your hard work. Please endure just a bit more until tomorrow.”  

Adelina, after ordering the maids who had anxiously guarded her bedroom until late to retire, washed up briefly.  

‘Ah. Ah. Lexion, come out. Over.’  

Leaning loosely against the bed in a thin nightgown, she lifted the hand mirror.  

“Adelina.”  

As if he had been waiting for her call, Lexion’s face appeared in the mirror with a bright smile.  

‘This guy seems to be living well even when apart from me… His face looks even more handsome…’  

While she had become haggard from working hard even at night because of someone…  

+++

“Alright. Adelina. The navy will depart on wyverns tomorrow night. By dawn the next day, they can set sail.”

Having listened to Adelina’s story, Lexion gently stroked the surface of the mirror, where her face was reflected.  

‘I’ll lose sleep again tonight.’  

Seeing her silhouette through the thin nightgown made him want to dive into the mirror.  

“Just wait a little longer. I’ll come to get you soon.”  

The painkiller’s effect had worn off, and his right arm holding the mirror throbbed.  

‘Perhaps it’s fortunate that you’re in the Tiola Empire…’

High-ranking nobles had sent their daughters as maids with Adelina’s delegation.  

It was an excuse to protect Adelina, but the nobles also wanted to send at least one child to safety.  

“Don’t cheat. Wait demurely. Though there’s no way you would, leaving someone as perfect as me.”

He wanted to make Adelina smile, even with such jokes.  

He wanted to see her shocked expression whenever she heard such remarks.  

‘Th… then.’  

What was that? Did she just stutter?  

Adelina in the mirror lowered her eyes and touched her lips with her hand.  

At the same time, her cheeks turned slightly red.  

‘She cheated.’  

The hand holding the mirror trembled.  

The bandages meticulously wrapped showed a hint of red.  

+++

The next night, Jaeyon stood on Adelina’s terrace, holding a carrier pigeon in his arms.  

Carefully unwrapping the cloth from its leg, Jaeyon released the pigeon and closed the terrace door.  

“We’re a bit behind. It seems it will be completed by dawn.”  

The message from Hailyn, who had been working with the sail technicians all day, stated that the work would be finished by 6 a.m. the next day.  

“It’s fine. Ernst must have just set out. Let’s set sail at 8 a.m. tomorrow. When everyone can see. So Leophris can laugh as much as he wants.”  

Adelina took the message from Jaeyon and handed it to a maid.  

Watching the maid throw it into the fireplace, burning it black, she looked at the moon through the terrace window.  

‘A half-moon. When this moon becomes full, and a few days pass…’  

“Your Majesty, you must wake up at dawn, so try to get some sleep.”

Seyra, draping a triangular shawl over Adelina’s shoulders, subtly hugged her.  

Whenever Adelina looked up at the sky, it seemed she might vanish into that silver moon.  

“Yes. Everyone, get some rest. Jaeyon, come again at dawn.”  

Turning around, Adelina softened her lips into an elegant smile.  

After everyone left, Adelina lay on the bed, looking at the mirror wrapped in cloth.  

‘Should I… not video call Lexion today? Should I just say I’m tired, greet him, and put the mirror away?’  

• Don’t cheat. Wait patiently.

Lexion’s voice from last night lingered in her ears. She had brushed it off yesterday, but…  

‘Well, it was just a kiss. The kind you give to dogs or cats.’  

Swallowing hard, Adelina unwrapped the cloth from the mirror.  

‘What. It’s not like I’m really his wife!’

She had nothing to feel guilty about.  

The one at a disadvantage now was Lexion, not her.  

‘Ah. Ah. Lexion, come out. Over.’  

She called Lexion confidently.  

‘Hey! I’m the boss here! You’re the one who should be trying to impress me!’  

But… no matter how long she waited, there was no answer from Lexion.  

‘What the… Is he asleep? Without waiting for my video call?’

Unbelievable!  

Adelina wrapped the mirror in cloth again and tossed it into the bedside drawer.  

Lying sideways on the bed, she pulled the blanket over her head.  

‘Don’t think I wanted to see your face! I don’t want to see it at all!’  

Bad guy. Bad guy. Bad guy…  

The blanket covering her shoulders shook.  

‘Oh… Is it the wind? Did Jaeyon not close the terrace door properly earlier?’  

Feeling a chill, Adelina rubbed her eyes under the blanket and discreetly pulled out the dagger hidden under her pillow.  

‘If anyone touches me, I’ll kill them! I’m in a very bad mood right now!’  

A presence entered the room with the cold wind, approaching her face.  

“Did you cheat?”  

A chill stronger than murderous intent pierced through the blanket to touch Adelina’s face.  

+++

“Lexion!”  

Adelina threw off the blanket and sat up abruptly.  

“Were you about to sleep?”  

Lexion, dressed entirely in black, sat beside her and took the dagger from her hand, placing it on the nightstand.  

“Did you come to get the ships yourself?”  

“I came to see you.”  

‘When did he learn to speak so sweetly?’  

Seeing Lexion, who seemed relieved and let out a small sigh, perhaps pleased she had woken up to greet him, Adelina felt her anger subside a little.  

“Liar. You came to get the aircraft carriers.”  

“I don’t lie like someone else. I wait patiently for my wife.”  

‘Lies? Who?’  

Adelina stared blankly at Lexion, who removed his gloves and unbuttoned three buttons of his shirt, saying it was stuffy.  

‘Could it be… he found out about the kiss with Jaeyon?’  

When Lexion frowned and pressed her lips with his hand, Adelina, feeling a little guilty, stretched her lips to the side and smiled with her eyes.  

“Since you cheated, you must be punished.”