Chapter 32

“When the slave contract is void, what will you do? Will you stay at the Colosseum?”

Adela asked, entrusting herself to the gentle caresses in his arms.

“No.”

“Then?”

“What do you want me to do? Should I join the knight order?”

He jokingly referenced the content of the play.

“Trying to become the knight commander?”

Adela’s eyes were smiling too.

“Who knows? Maybe then I could really marry you.”

Braden gently stroked her face.

“To marry me? It’ll take a long time to become knight commander, you know?”

“You won’t wait for me?”

He gave her a playful look, and Adela laughed even louder.

When she first met him to stir up a scandal, she was determined. But now, her heart felt light. Even if he was only joking about marriage, his words made her happy.

She liked his free spirit. Being with him made her feel free, too.

“I’ll wait.”

Her answer was light and refreshing.

“You say you’ll wait so easily.”

“The gossip paper published in Lasve gets into almost every country. Who would want to marry someone who caused such a noisy scandal like me?”

“You think no one wants to marry you? You really don’t know men.”

He narrowed his eyes, looking down at Adela.

Melted in his arms, she was like fruit drenched in honey, the very essence of sweetness. Just looking at her made him want to taste her.

How could men just watch a woman like this?

“What don’t I know?”

“What’s a scandal to a man? Men don’t care about that.”

“No way. The Edel Kingdom values chastity so much.”

“It’s important, sure. But that doesn’t erase desire. Do you know how many powerful men take women who already have husbands?”

“I’ve heard that, even if it’s hushed up, there are nobles who do that.”

Joy was sharp about these kinds of rumors, always quick to pick them up and spread them.

“If they want something, they just take it. They’d even be proud to be the final winner.”

“Even so, you can’t erase the rumor completely. As long as you’re alive, someone will remember and keep talking about it. That’s why I chose the scandal.”

Others would try to hide it, but Adela would speak about it herself, reminding everyone.

“Shall we have a secret wedding?”

Braden sat up abruptly. His eyes, looking down at Adela, were full of excitement.

In the play, the two had a secret wedding.

Such a good idea—he should give the playwright a bonus.

“What for?”

“You said you’d wait for me. Was that just talk?”

“I’ll wait.”

“Then let’s do it. Secret wedding. As a promise that you’ll wait for me.”

“I don’t need that kind of promise. I’ll wait. Come find me. As long as you don’t end up with another woman.”

Adela laughed, patting his hand.

“What’s this? Are you assuming I might have another woman?”

“You never know what could happen. What if a secret wedding ties you down in the future?”

He was unusually passionate. Adela thought he wouldn’t be able to go long without a woman.

“At times like this, don’t be considerate. If you want me, just take me. Say ‘No other woman, only me.’”

Braden spoke as if coaxing a child who kept losing things to others.

“I’m not as self-sacrificing as you think. I’m a terrible egotist.”

A shadow passed over Adela’s face.

“How do you come up with logic like that?”

“If I were really self-sacrificing, I would have become king.”

Adela sighed softly.

“So, not for your brother, but because you didn’t want to be king, you planned the scandal?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“I realized how big the world is.”

Adela looked off into the distance as if dreaming.

“Where?”

“The academy. Seeing students from many countries, I realized how wide the world is. Their ways of speaking and acting, shaped by different cultures, provoked me. Told me to leave. To see the world for myself.”

“Is that worth giving up being king?”

“If my mother hadn’t passed so soon, maybe things would’ve been different. I would’ve stayed at the academy longer, traveled to other countries as an envoy or on trips.”

Adela sighed, regretful.

“If so, maybe some of the longing in your heart would have eased.”

“Right. But instead, I acted as queen in place of my late mother, and then as king in place of my sick father. That’s when I realized how heavy the responsibility for the people was.”

“Maybe it’s because you took on too much too young? Some want the crown so much, they kill their siblings for it.”

Braden’s voice was cold, thinking of his own sister.

“Even a crown gained like that is just as heavy. Maybe they regret it, too. If they’d known how hard it was, maybe they wouldn’t have wanted it. People only covet what they don’t know.”

“If a king doesn’t understand that weight, they can’t rule properly.”

“Exactly. They’re not fit for the throne.”

Braden paused in thought, then refocused on Adela.

“So, will you travel from now on?”

“Not right away. I’ll help until His Majesty’s position is secure.”

“I might not become knight commander after all.”

“Why? Didn’t you say you wanted to marry me? Did you change your mind already?”

Adela hadn’t taken his talk of becoming knight commander and marrying her seriously, but now that he said he might not, she felt a bit disappointed.

“Rather than that, I think you’ll be free sooner. Let’s travel together.”

“Without marrying?”

“Can’t I marry you unless I’m knight commander?”

It was a reasonable point. Even if she was a Princess shrouded in scandal, she couldn’t marry a commoner.

“Probably. Unless you don’t do it at all.”

“Then let’s not do it.”

“What?”

“Just keep me as your lover. I’ll guard you on our travels. You know my skills?”

“Wow, that’s bold.”

A woman traveling with her lover, unmarried.

“A perfect match for a scandalous Princess with a gladiator slave.”

Adela burst out laughing at his words.

Right, she wasn’t the Princess likened to a saint anymore.

She was a fallen, decadent Princess, embroiled in scandal.

She felt liberated. With the rules changed, her options and choices had widened.

“That’s right. It suits me perfectly. And I really like the man, too. His skills are reliable, and he’s excellent at making me happy.”

“Then I’m the perfect man.”

Braden pressed his lips to hers. It was time to make her happy again.

“Come here. I’ll prove it once more.”

Braden whispered sweetly.

“But I have something to ask.”

Adela turned her face slightly, dodging his lips.

“Do you have to know right now?”

Braden tempted her, kissing her cheek and jaw. But Adela blocked his lips with her palm, determined not to give in.

“I’ve wanted to ask for a while, but kept missing the chance.”

“What is it?”

With his lips blocked, Braden reluctantly looked up.

“When will you show me those underwear?”

“What underwear?”

He looked puzzled.

“The article said you bought some racy underwear at the boutique.”

“Oh!”

He finally remembered buying s*xy underwear at the boutique to stir up rumors.

“Want to see me wear it?”

Braden looked her over. He hadn’t really bought it to put on, but thought she’d look good in something s*xy.

“No, not me.”

Adela shook her head.

“……?”

“They said you bought some for yourself, too. I want to see that.”

“No.”

Braden refused flatly.

He had his pride as a gladiator. No way he’d wear such strange underwear.

“Why not?”

“That’s not for a man to wear.”

“A woman can, but not a man?”

Adela’s eyebrow rose.

“Ha!”

Here it was, stubbornness kicking in.

She was usually easygoing and didn’t crave things strongly. But once she wanted something, she was relentless until she got it.

“Braden. How about we both wear it? Fair and square.”

Adela fluttered her long eyelashes, acting cute. Just a little.

It was only a hint of cuteness, but Braden was swayed like a reed in the wind.

When someone who never acted cute did so, it was devastating. He’d never seen such a dangerous weapon.

“Don’t use your charms. Absolutely not. Let’s just both not wear it.”

“In bedroom arts, you’re supposed to use your looks, too. The point of bedroom arts is politics, after all.”

Adela sat up, grinning mischievously, and climbed onto him. She placed both hands on his chest, rubbing in circles.

“Sigh, don’t use bedroom arts on me.”

It was just rubbing his chest, but Braden’s strength melted away.

“Didn’t you ask me to? Said you were curious.”

She smiled so prettily. It made him want to do anything for her.

Braden gazed at her, entranced by her beautiful smile.