Volume II

Chapter 5. Honeymoon? Trip!

Lucian, who had been sleeping soundly with one hand supporting his head and his body turned sideways, opened his eyes wide at the sign of Adelia waking up.

Being a light sleeper, he quickly regained his senses without groaning. The first thing he encountered with a clear mind was the sight of Adelia whimpering.

Adelia had fallen asleep with her hands clasped tightly in front of his chest while moving on the bed.

Every time her steady breath touched his skin warmly, Lucian’s face hardened.

‘This is troublesome. She’ll be surprised when she wakes up.’

Because the robe was easily loose, the belt that had been tightening his waist during sleep gradually loosened, causing the front to open.

The robe, which had been cut down to the solar plexus, opened up to his lower abdomen, revealing the pectorals and abdominal muscles clearly before Adelia’s closed eyes.

Lucian tried to move his body slightly but froze. Just by pulling back a little, the waist belt that had been hanging slid down with a swoosh.

‘This is a bit dangerous.’

Even with a slight movement of his arm, the waist belt seemed about to come undone precariously.

Adelia’s breathing became increasingly irregular. Judging by her frowning and relaxing her face repeatedly, it seemed that she’s about to wake up soon.

He had to prevent Adelia from opening her eyes while trying to close the front of his robe.

Unable to move his body, Lucian barely lifted his head. He stared intently at her, thinking that if Adelia fell back into a deep sleep, he would quickly tidy up his clothes.

A faint image seemed to overlap on her snow-white face with her eyes tightly closed.

Her smiling at him with a disheveled face, opening her beautiful blue eyes.

— Lucian, did you sleep well?

It seemed like he was hearing an auditory hallucination again.

Lucian closed his eyes completely, creating a deep furrow between his eyebrows. When he slowly opened his eyes again, neither the faint image nor the auditory hallucination was present. Instead, he saw Adelia’s blue eyes.

The eyes visible between her half-raised eyelids were still dripping with drowsiness.

‘That’s a relief. I’ll tidy up my clothes when she wakes up.’

Lucian let out a sigh of relief and waited for Adelia’s drowsiness to fade away.

He looked into her eyes, hoping she would wake up quickly and turn her head away.

The hazy eyes became clearer over time, as if filled with moisture.

Through the slightly open gap, the blue eyes rolled lightly up and down.

“Muscle view…”

The red lips uttered an incomprehensible sound and curved into an arc.

The eyes that had briefly scanned the view in front disappeared behind the eyelids with a swish.

Adelia’s body heaved steadily in rhythm with her even breathing. She fell back asleep with a peaceful face.

Lucian stared at Adelia with a dumbfounded expression.

“What are you doing?”

Lucian’s low voice, which sounded as if they were in a cave, echoed in the room.

Adelia seemed nonchalant, making his worry seem unnecessary.

She must have seen his chest with open eyes.

Lucian’s eyes narrowed.

“Shouldn’t you normally be surprised?”

“It’s good to be good… Very excellent…”

Adelia answered unconsciously in her sleep. After finishing her words with a slurred pronunciation, she smacked her lips and made sucking noises.

Although Adelia, drunk with sleep, had blurry consciousness and vision, she clearly remembered that the apricot-colored scene that filled her view just moments ago was a spectacular sight.

Lucian, befitting someone who wields a sword, had well-developed muscles throughout his body. Particularly, the ab muscles and pectorals that stood out were divided into gentle curves as if God had carefully combed them.

“The muscles are more defined than my future…”

Adelia smiled broadly with her eyes closed.

With those words, Adelia turned over and buried her face in the bed. Her silver hair was disheveled in the white blanket. Her back heaved regularly, and her breathing became quiet.

“What is she trying to do?”

As Adelia fell into a deep sleep, Lucian carefully got off the bed. The completely untied waist belt fell to the floor with a thud. As the front opened wide, he tightly closed his clothes.

He retied the fallen waist belt and tilted his head to both sides as if pushing it out, stretching his body.

Lucian walked to the window with heavy steps. It was the window he had used as an entrance yesterday. He pulled back the curtains that were blocking the sunlight, squinted at the sunlight cast on the windowsill, then slowly raised his eyelids.

The sun had already passed its zenith.

“It’s been a while since I woke up this late.”

Lucian’s mornings were usually early. He was a light sleeper, and being sensitive to movements, he would wake up around the time the palace people got up.

There was no sign of other people, as no one would dare disturb the first night of the Crown Prince and Princess. Having gone to bed late last night and with nothing to disturb them, naturally, they woke up late.

Lucian leaned against the window, basking in the warm sunlight, and stared intently at Adelia.

“You’ve overslept.”

Adelia, who juggled the duties of a merchant guild leader and the Crown Princess, was always buried in paperwork.

Her desk was always full of documents and books, and every time he visited, she had papers in her hands.

“Well, it’s a honeymoon after all, so oversleeping should be fine.”

Lucian pulled the bell rope next to the bed. Instead of waiting in the room, he walked to the door with heavy steps. As he opened the door wide, he saw a servant hurriedly climbing the stairs. Lucian leaned slightly against the doorframe and lowered his eyes.

The servant, who had been running up breathlessly, was startled to see the Crown Prince outside and bowed his head deeply.

“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

The servant barely managed to show respect, even experiencing his voice cracking while speaking loudly. Even though they were in an imperial villa, being in such a remote area meant that none of the villa’s staff had ever encountered a member of the imperial family.

Faced with the Crown Prince, who was rumored to be ruthless, the servant shrank his body and broke out in a cold sweat.

Lucian frowned at the unnecessarily loud voice.

“How dare you raise your voice in front of the bedchamber. Are you in your right mind?”

“I… I have committed a mortal sin. Please forgive me, Your Highness.”

“Sending a servant to the newlyweds’ room, I can see the state of education in this villa.”

The servant prostrated himself flat on the ground, begging for forgiveness as if his hands were his feet.

The Crown Prince’s notoriety grew the more remote the area is, turning him into a tyrant who killed anyone who displeased him.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, but he wasn’t a madman who would draw his sword for something like this.

‘Is that right?’

Lucian found himself unconsciously feeling for his waist. It was the place where he always carried his sword.

He raised his hand to fold his arms and then glanced at the servant with a cold gaze.

“The Princess dislikes noise, so I’ll let it slide this time. But if you make such a mistake one more time, your head will be the first to fly, so be careful.”

“Understood!”

“Go and bring some light breakfast and clothes to change into.”

“Yes!”

At Lucian’s sharp voice, the servant hurriedly went downstairs.

The short sound of clicking tongue that followed revealed Lucian’s displeasure.

Lucian stood there until the servant returned.

The maids who brought the meal and clothes all trembled alike.

They were surprised by his handsome appearance as he was only wearing a robe, surprised by his large build, and finally surprised by the ominous killing intent emanating from him.

Lucian snatched the meal and clothes as if plundering them, then went back into the room.

He placed the meal on the table and put the clothes on the sofa.

Lucian’s clothes consisted of a dark gray vest and pants, a white button-down shirt. A red tie and handkerchief for added color, along with a collar pin set with diamonds.

Adelia’s was a white dress made of light fabric. Except for the lace around the neck and colorful embroidery, it was a simple design to the point of being plain.

“A dress with a clear purpose.”

Saying it was a simple design meant that there would be no need to assist her when putting it on or taking it off. It wasn’t difficult to arrange similar elaborate dresses with layers of thin fabric, and there was no corset, so it could be easily taken off just by zipping up the back.

It was a very suitable outfit for newlyweds.

Lucian took his clothes and went into the bathroom. Because the small window was left open all night, the intense rose scent had completely disappeared.

He threw off his robe and changed into the newly brought clothes. He buttoned up his shirt to the neck and put on the vest as well.

“This is uncomfortable. Is it a bit small?”