Chapter 45

Adela stayed up all night with her eyes open and went to Braden’s residence early in the morning.

“I was just about to leave. Did you miss me that much? Couldn’t even wait for me to come?”

He smiled sweetly, the smile that always made Adela’s heart race. This would be the last time she saw that smile.

Would her heart ever race again?

Sadness surged, tightening her chest and making it hard to breathe. So Adela spoke even more dryly and briefly.

“I came to say goodbye.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“That’s the plan.”

“What did the Marquis say yesterday to make you do this?”

“I got what I wanted.”

“If he threatened you using me as bait, ignore it. Those small fry are nothing.”

“No, I’m just tired. I don’t want any more power struggles. There are things I need to check back in the Kingdom.”

Adela planned to dig deeper into Adamante once she returned to the Kingdom.

Now that she knew he could be a threat, she couldn’t let him go unchecked. She only hoped it wasn’t something she couldn’t handle.

If she’d known Adamante was so dangerous, she wouldn’t have used such shallow tricks as scandals.

Then she wouldn’t have put this man in danger.

But Adela was glad she’d met him. She was happy.

She was selfish.

Even after putting him at risk, she couldn’t give up the happiness and joy he’d brought her.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No.”

Adela shook her head.

“Let me rephrase. Is there anything Duke Shutal can do?”

Braden was just a gladiator slave in Lasve. He wasn’t someone Adela could ask for help.

“You want me to drag Duke Shutal into this? This is my Kingdom’s business. I don’t want to involve foreign powers.”

Seeing Adela’s firmness, Braden was reminded again that she was a true Princess.

The Kingdom mattered deeply to her. She might have created a scandal to avoid becoming king, but in the bigger picture, she’d acted to solidify the current king’s position.

In the end, it was all for the stability of the Kingdom.

“Alright. If you must go, go. But don’t forget our promise.”

Braden tousled his hair.

“Promise?”

“Did you already forget the promise we made? You said when you’re ready to leave, you’d go on a trip with me.”

“Hm…”

She hadn’t thought he took that promise seriously.

“It wasn’t really a promise.”

Adela gave a vague smile.

Even if it was a real promise, it should be broken.

She’d seen him attacked by assassins with her own eyes. He said it was nothing, but Adela disagreed.

Even if he’d been healed, the moment his flesh was cut by a sword, the pain and blood were real.

If she stayed involved with him, he might face such danger again. Knowing that, how could she include him in her life? She simply couldn’t.

“If I’d known, I would have made a magical contract.”

He grumbled in frustration.

“Wait a minute.”

Braden went to his dresser.

“Where did I put it…”

Braden pulled out the entire drawer and dumped its contents onto the floor.

“Is this all there is?”

Objects were being tossed one after another behind Braden.

“This won’t do. It’s shabby, but we don’t have time, so let’s just use this.”

Braden handed her a magic scroll.

“What is it?”

Adela took it, a bit bewildered.

“When you’re ready to travel, tear this. I’ll be summoned right away.”

“It’s a scroll with a summoning spell?”

“Yeah.”

“No matter how far away?”

“Distance doesn’t matter. Wherever you are, I’ll be summoned unconditionally. But you can only use it once. There’s a return stone that can be used several times, but I can’t find it.”

“Why do you have so many magical items? Did Duke Shutal give you this too?”

He called it shabby, but a scroll with a summoning spell was no small thing.

It was a teleportation magic, so of course, it was expensive. And there was no distance limit. This was a truly overpowered item.

“It’s left over from when I used to hunt magical beasts.”

“Oh.”

Adela nodded and carefully put the scroll in her pocket.

“And this too.”

Braden pulled a ring from his pocket. It was an antique design, quite old.

But the teardrop-shaped ring was set with a rare, large pink diamond.

“Is this a magical item too?”

“No, this is a real ring. My mother gave it to me before she passed away.”

Braden suddenly slipped the ring onto the fourth finger of Adela’s right hand.

“It fits perfectly.”

“If it’s your mother’s keepsake, you shouldn’t give it away to just anyone.”

“Why would you be ‘just anyone’? My mother told me to give it to a woman I truly liked. Take it. You’re the woman I like.”

“This is a wedding ring.”

Adela spoke as if frustrated.

It was probably a ring passed down to daughters-in-law for generations. Even if it wasn’t a family heirloom, it was still significant.

And yet, how could he hand it over so carelessly?

“I know.”

“You know and you’re still giving it to me?”

“You gave me a magic mine, your dowry, didn’t you?”

“That was in exchange for the scandal.”

“Still, it’s a dowry. So I’ll give you a wedding ring too. If you say you won’t accept it, I’ll refuse.”

“Braden.”

“If you really want to return it, give it back when we meet again.”

“Haa.”

Here was another person she couldn’t communicate with.

“Adela, I know I’m being unreasonable.”

Braden gripped her hand tightly and met her eyes.

“…….”

“Telling you ‘I love you’ and giving you a wedding ring isn’t to burden you. You don’t have to accept my love or this ring. But please, meet me just once. You promised to tell me if your feelings for me were love or not.”

“It’s not love. There’s no need to meet again to confirm it.”

Adela tried to remove the ring from her finger.

She loved him. But she couldn’t say it. Not now, not ever. They couldn’t meet.

Braden stopped Adela’s hand as she tried to remove the ring.

“No. Think about it more. If you’re sure you don’t love me, even after thinking and thinking, call me and return the ring. Just meet me once more, please.”

His eyes were so desperate.

Leaving this man behind to return to the Kingdom weighed heavily on her. She’d tried not to cry, but her eyes stung.

Adela hugged him.

“I regret it a little. I shouldn’t have chosen you.”

“I told you, I was the one who chose you.”

He kissed the top of Adela’s head.

“Thank you for everything. I’ll never forget the time we spent together.”

“Promise me. Promise you’ll call me.”

But Adela never said, “Alright.”

***

“How long are you going to be like this?”

Shutal spoke to Braden, who looked as if his soul had left his body, leaving only a shell behind.

“Has Adela left?”

“She’s arrived at the last warp magic circle.”

According to Braden’s orders, an informant was secretly tracking Adela.

“Already?”

“Already? It’s been half a day since the Princess left.”

At that moment, a large snowball appeared in the air.

“Where is she?”

It wasn’t a snowball. It was Liber, the Grand Mage with hair as white as snow.

“Ugh! Why are you popping out of there again?”

Shutal clutched his chest in surprise.

“The Captain has a woman now? Is she pretty?”

He must have come straight from an experiment; his white clothes were stained and dirty.

“You smell. Go wash first.”

“Clean.”

Liber spoke.

With a clean spell, his filthy body and clothes became instantly clean. His hair, though, was still messy, but his whole body sparkled white.

He was strange, but his abilities were overwhelming.

With a clean face, his handsome features were revealed.

That face was unfair. He looked like a boy in his mid-teens, but no one knew Liber’s real age. Probably not even himself.

He looked the same now as he had ten years ago when they first met.