Episode 3.
It was a marriage proposal from the king of a nation. No matter how much the Queen of Sepia wished to reject the marriage, a justification befitting the status of the opponent was necessary.
In the end, Elisa had no choice but to answer that day that she would follow the Queen’s command. And today, a letter from the Queen arrived at the Naval Admiral’s office, stating that the man had been appointed as the new Vice Admiral of her unit.
God had clearly abandoned Elisa.
If not, this could not be happening to her.
‘I am appointing Adrian Oberon as Vice Admiral so that the two of you can quickly adjust together and prepare for the wedding. I hope to hear news as soon as possible that the engagement ceremony is being prepared smoothly.’
Adrian Oberon. The son of Grand Duke Oberon, the overlord of the North.
Furthermore, he was Elisa’s classmate from the academy. That very Adrian Oberon, who had taken first place every single time and left Elisa with the dishonor of being a perennial second place.
Since he was naturally expected to lead the Northern Border Knights, she thought she would never have to see him again once she was commissioned into the Navy. However, he appeared before Elisa once more.
And as her partner in a sham marriage.
To Elisa, nothing could be more terrible than this.
Since morning, the knights were boisterously busy preparing to welcome the new Vice Admiral, but Elisa stayed holed up in her office, ruffling her hair or banging her head against the desk.
She had to think of something. Somehow, she had to stop him from setting foot in the Navy, which was Elisa’s domain.
However, how could she possibly block an appointment implemented by the Queen’s command? Thus, time passed steadily, and the day Adrian Oberon was to join the Navy finally arrived.
As Elisa let out deep sighs, Enoch glanced at the documents over her shoulder and asked worriedly.
“Are we doing a joint training exercise with the Northern Army?”
“No. Adrian Oberon is coming to the Navy alone.”
Enoch’s eyes widened at the mention of Adrian Oberon’s name.
“No, how can the person leading the Northern Border Knights be appointed to the Navy?”
But before Elisa could respond to those words, the outside suddenly became noisy.
The sound of horses neighing could be heard loudly. Due to the marching procession moving in perfect ranks and files, clouds of sandy dust rose outside the window.
Elisa reluctantly rose from her seat. She pulled on her dress uniform jacket and naval hat. She checked once more to see if the medals were properly attached to her chest.
She absolutely did not want to be looked down upon in front of him.
When she stepped outside, she saw a white horse wearing a golden helmet. And the man dismounting from that horse was even more spectacular.
A straight forehead half-revealed by black hair. Beneath it, his neat eyebrows and sharp eyes held red pupils, giving off an overwhelming presence as if he were piercing through people.
And a face that looked as if it were sculpted white and clean, unbelievable for someone who held a sword.
A solid, inverted-triangle body without a single ounce of fat, visible through the silhouette of his sharp uniform.
The man shining under the sun was her fiancé.
The only legitimate son of the Grand Duke Oberon family, known as the overlord of the North.
And that Adrian Oberon, who had entered the academy at the top of his class and graduated at the top of his class.
So, the very unlucky man who had terribly ignored her throughout their time as academy cadets stood before Elisa.
Five years ago, when Elisa graduated from the academy, the Sepian Navy was a place where no one wanted to be stationed. It was a unit where only those whose academy grades hit rock bottom and who
had no other choice were forced to go.
Among the pirates of Celeway, the names of Sepia’s southern coastal cities vied for first and second place as lands easy to plunder.
The Sepian Navy was that incompetent.
No matter how much she was overshadowed by Adrian Oberon’s shadow, it was not a place a talent who graduated second in the academy would choose.
Yes, Elisa Shooter’s volunteering for the Navy did not stem from a great mission to protect the southern cities, as the soldiers who admired her guessed.
It was simply because she could no longer be crushed by the shadow of Adrian Oberon, who was different from her—an illegitimate child—by birth.
Because she did not want to be involved with that terrible and unlucky human being anymore.
This was the real reason that the Southern Navy, who respected Elisa more than anyone in the world, did not know.
And yet, that man walked into her Navy on his own two feet.
“I am Adrian Oberon, appointed from the Northern Border as the Vice Admiral of the 1st Fleet of the Sepian Navy. Reporting to the Admiral.”
Adrian Oberon strode across the sandy beach and stood before her. He then placed a fist clad in a leather glove against his chest and bowed his waist to show respect.
“Stand up.”
The worst.
Looking at that smooth and handsome face, that was the only thought that came to mind.
Adrian Oberon was the only person who could receive such an evaluation from Elisa just by existing.
However, at Adrian Oberon’s next words, Elisa realized she had made her judgment of him too early.
“Elisa Shooter.”
Suddenly, he called her name.
Not Admiral, not even Admiral Shooter, but Elisa Shooter.
Even though he knew better than anyone the military, where hierarchy and discipline are everything. Even though he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the fact that the Sepian Navy would sacrifice their lives at a single command from Elisa Shooter.
Adrian Oberon very easily, and as if it were nothing, threw her authority into the dirt.
It was when Elisa, dumbfounded, whipped around to argue where on earth he had sold off her rank as Admiral.
He was right in front of her nose. He was too close. In that instant, Elisa could not help but catch the scent of the North wafting from him.
Without missing the gap where she momentarily lost her balance, Adrian suddenly grabbed and pulled her arm. The moment Elisa’s face was buried in his chest, the smell of dry sandy dust and the salty sea breeze vanished, and the fresh scent of the northern mountain range’s biting wind and conifers tickled her breath.
Even under the southern sun, Adrian Oberon carried the scent of the North.
Of course, to Elisa, even that was displeasing.
The moment Elisa staggered from the reaction of the force, he did not miss the opportunity and wrapped his arm around her waist.
“My, you should be careful.”
The moment Adrian whispered that in her ear, her earlobes tingled and her waist straightened reflexively. Elisa unknowingly pushed against Adrian’s solid waist, which was pressed against her, with both hands.
Feeling the touch of firm abdominal muscles more clearly than expected even through the clothes, her ears felt like they were burning again, and she snatched her hands away in surprise.
Adrian was not surprised by the blatant rejection and only released his arm from her waist after checking if she could stand properly on both feet.
Then, he immediately knelt on one knee. He did not care that sand stuck to his trousers between the ebbing seawater or that his pant hems were getting soaked by the incoming waves.
“Adrian of Oberon formally proposes to Elisa Shooter. Would you please accept my proposal?”
Saying so, Adrian held out a ring with a large diamond embedded in it from a small, brilliant box.
In that moment, Elisa clearly remembered Adrian Oberon from their academy days.
Adrian Oberon was always like that.
A man who already held in his hand from birth the things she had struggled and exerted every ounce of strength to barely obtain. So, that Adrian Oberon, who had always looked down upon her as if crushing her from above.
Yes, why would the legitimate son of a Grand Duke care about a mere illegitimate child?
She could understand. Because even if she were Adrian of Oberon, she wouldn’t have given a damn about someone like Elisa Shooter.
Realizing that fact on her own, Elisa’s pride was wounded.
So, she buried her academy days and fled to the sea.
But this damn bastard had followed her all the way to the sea to humiliate her.
Adrian Oberon, who had become the overlord of the North, did not even recognize Elisa Shooter as a Naval Admiral. He looked down on Elisa’s Navy with contempt.
If not, there was no way he would make a naval hero, respected by all of Sepia’s sailors, look ridiculous in this way from his first day of appointment.
She was so resentful that she ground her teeth.
Elisa took the ring with the large diamond from the small box Adrian held out. Adrian’s red gaze followed her obsessively.
To be precise, her left ring finger.
Wondering if that ring would be placed on her finger. Blatantly revealing such pathetic curiosity.
Elisa had no intention of satisfying Adrian Oberon’s low-grade curiosity.
Elisa spread her hand before his eyes.
Adrian Oberon’s eyes widened as if he truly
hadn’t expected her to accept it. His red eyes, with their sharply drawn tails, sparkled for a moment.
The moment Adrian tried to take her hand, Elisa snatched the ring that was sitting in his palm without a moment’s hesitation.
Then, before the startled Adrian could catch her, she turned around and threw the ring straight into the sea.
Roll, splash.
The ring sparkled as it rolled across the beach and was swallowed by the incoming ripples with a small echoing sound.
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