Moreover, it transmitted very little shock, so it seemed he could wield it for a long time without tiring.

Lucian smiled in satisfaction.

『Alright, master! Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to stay in this dark cave any longer!』

The holy sword whined in a boyish voice, causing Lucian’s newly risen smile to fade.

“Where does the voice come from? I’d like to block it.”

His cold gaze fell on the holy sword, and it clamped its mouth shut.

『Both of you are the same. I am a noble holy sword….』

The holy sword muttered in a very small voice. It was sulking but was afraid of both Adelia and Lucian.

Adelia had really tried to break it into pieces, and Lucian, as its master, couldn’t be disobeyed.

Surprisingly, no one paid any attention to the holy sword.

“Let’s go now. I think I can teleport us to the mansion because I drained the holy sword’s energy.”

Thanks to the energy she absorbed from the holy sword, her white magic was abundant. The combination of white magic and the holy sword’s energy made it more effective than usual.

Adelia extended her hand to Lucian. He looked down at the sight with calm eyes.

— Lucian, come here. Don’t go, come here.

A faint voice echoed from somewhere, and a hazy image overlapped. The lovely Adelia calling his name with a bright smile.

Lucian shook his head from side to side. Only then did he see Adelia’s face, adorned with a gentle smile.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Lucian took Adelia’s hand. He held the hand he couldn’t grasp before very firmly.

* * *

“Ah… I’m tired.”

Using teleportation, they arrived at the mansion in an instant.

Leaving the holy sword, which wanted to bask in the outside air, on the terrace, they entered the room. The cold cave air disappeared, replaced by the warm coziness of the room.

Thinking that all the work was done, her stress was gone, and her whole body felt languid and relaxed.

Adelia ran straight to the bed. She wanted to throw herself onto that soft bed and fall asleep immediately.

At that moment, Lucian grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

“What are you doing? I’m so sleepy I need to sleep.”

Adelia leaned her head back to look at Lucian. She pouted her lips and wiggled her body, asking him to let go.

“Aren’t you going to wash? You were just in a dusty cave, so wash up and then sleep.”

Lucian nagged, narrowing the space between his brows.

Adelia tucked in her pouty lips and gave a slight smile. Her eyes curved playfully.

“If it’s that, I can do this.”

Adelia brushed her body with her hand. Instantly, all the dust settled on her body disappeared.

It was a purification spell, a representative spell of white magic. It removed all unnecessary dust and particles from her body, leaving it cleaner than right after a bath.

Adelia spread her arms and said,

“See? Now I’m clean. Let me sleep.”

Faced with her confident assertion, Lucian had no choice but to let go of her.

Adelia flopped onto the bed. She wriggled across the white bed until she found a spot.

Although there was only one bed, it was spacious enough for two people with plenty of room to spare.

The bed was soft, the pillow was cozy, and the blanket was comfortably cool.

“Your Highness, go wash up. I’m too tired to purify twice.”

Adelia turned her back to Lucian.

She was too tired and had used a lot of energy, so she really needed to rest.

After being on the hard cave floor, the soft bed made her feel sleepy. Her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off to sleep.

Her even breathing filled the room.

“Are you really sleeping?”

Lucian asked softly. He ruffled his hair with a rather perplexed expression.

Even though it was a contract marriage, wasn’t she being too defenseless?

Lucian looked at her with confused eyes. The bed was so large that she seemed particularly small.

“I need to wash.”

Lucian moved his steps. He felt grimy all over from rolling around covered in dust. Even though he was the master of the holy sword, he couldn’t use purification like Adelia, so he had no choice but to wash.

Fortunately, there was a bathroom he could use without meeting anyone else.

The bathroom attached to the bedroom had a large bathtub. It was big enough for two people and was filled with warm water adorned with floating rose petals.

Amidst the steam filling the bathroom, a sweet rose scent wafted strongly.

“Why did it have to be the scent of roses?”

Lucian frowned. The heavy floral scent was his least favorite. It felt as though the invisible, untouchable fragrance was clinging stubbornly to his skin.

He looked down at his clothes for a moment, contemplating. His clothes, covered in dust, and his dirty hands caught his eye. He let out a low sigh.

“No choice.”

The scent was overpowering, but he couldn’t avoid washing.

Lucian began to take off his clothes one by one. The sound of water echoed through the bathroom.

After a while, the door connecting the bedroom and the bathroom opened. Steam billowing in the bathroom spilled over.

Lucian came out, toweling off his damp hair.

He was wearing a bathrobe hanging in the bathroom instead of a shirt and pants.

The black silk robe had a design where the front would open wide if the belt tied at the waist was loosened.

The deep V-neck design, plunging to his sternum, boldly revealed his chest.

“Is this the only clothing available?”

Fortunately, the robe was long enough to cover his thighs.

Droplets of water from his hair trickled down his well-defined chest muscles.

Lucian roughly wiped off the moisture and hung the towel on a nearby chair.

He walked to the bed and stopped, looking at Adelia.

Before he washed, she had been sprawled out carelessly on the bed, but now she was sleeping in a straight posture with her hands folded over her stomach.

Lucian averted his gaze from her. He was starting to feel sleepy. Just as he was about to turn his head, he heard a short sob.

“Ugh!”

Lucian’s eyes traced the source of the sound. Adelia’s lips, which had been peacefully asleep, were now twitching painfully. Transparent tears flowed down her face.

“Stop… I don’t want to….”

Adelia uttered a small, broken sound.

Since it wasn’t in the empire’s language, Lucian dismissed it as meaningless sobs.

Lucian watched the tears flow quietly. The tears that leaked from between her closed eyes ran down her cheeks and soaked the pillow.

Lucian took a step closer to Adelia. He intended to wipe away her tears.

Just as he was about to wipe her eyes with his sleeve, Lucian froze. His red eyes widened in the dark.

“What the….”

Adelia’s lips twitched as if smiling. Her previously peaceful eyes curved, forming a crescent shape along with her red lips.

The sight of her crying with a smiling face was disturbingly eerie. It was unclear whether she was trying to hide her sobs within a smile or if it was a habit of concealing her emotions thoroughly.

Before he knew it, Adelia’s tears had completely disappeared.

There was no trace of tears on either the pillow or her face.

Lucian couldn’t take his eyes off Adelia’s face for a while.

* * *

The night was short. When Lucian fell asleep, the sun was already peeking over the horizon. The process of finding the holy sword had been long and arduous.

“Ugh….”

Adelia turned over. Having gone to bed much later than usual, she couldn’t wake up easily.

Even though she usually woke up early, she couldn’t overcome the lack of sleep and physical exhaustion this time.

However, due to her usual habits, she tried to open her eyes even though sleepiness still lingered.

“I’m so sleepy….”

Adelia moved her body in search of warmth. Instead of fully opening her eyes, she relied on her sense of touch to burrow into something.

Sleep was Adelia’s fatal weakness. While she was completely asleep, it wasn’t an issue, but the problem arose when she was on the boundary between dreams and reality.

When drowsy, she couldn’t distinguish between what she should and shouldn’t say. The rationality that worked hard while she was awake took a break, and her true nature took over, controlling her actions.

After waking up, she wouldn’t even remember what she had said.

“I need to wake up….”

Adelia mumbled, burying her face in the blanket.

She clasped her hands tightly in front of her chest, breathing irregularly. It sounded like she was struggling to wake up.

For a moment, her hazy blue eyes, caught between dream and reality, slightly opened.

Through the narrow slit of her eyes, she saw something blurry.

The round, almost white peach color was her hand, but she couldn’t figure out what the darker peach color with a bit of black at the end was.

She became determined. Adelia gradually widened the narrow slit of her eyes. The blurry view slowly came into focus. When her blue eyes were half-open, she could clearly see.

Indeed, the best view wasn’t the ocean view, the Han River view, or the river view.

“Muscle view….”

Adelia’s lips curled up in satisfaction. At the same time, her eyelids closed again.