Chapter 25
Adrian kept searching for Elisa after she stormed out of the room following their argument.
He wandered through the banquet hall over and over again, despite having already searched it several times.
In the meantime, he had to shake off countless young ladies pleading with him for just one dance, along with young noblemen desperate to snatch even a few crumbs of political influence from him.
No matter how many times he brushed them aside, they stubbornly clung to him.
Meanwhile, the one person he was searching for was nowhere to be seen—not even the hem of her dress.
The reason he kept lingering in a ballroom he had already searched countless times was simple.
He was certain that if he missed Elisa now, she would spend the entire night happily enjoying herself somewhere far away from him.
And Adrian Oberon would be left alone, waiting for someone who would never come.
If that was how it would end, then this was still the better option.
Perhaps his desperate wish was finally answered.
A short while later, Elisa appeared in the banquet hall.
However, someone had already taken the seat beside her before he could.
Leya Mitella.
What connection could a delicately raised viscount’s daughter, who had only recently made her debut, possibly have with Elisa?
Wanting to find out, Adrian quietly observed their conversation for quite some time.
The only thing he learned was that Leya adored and admired Elisa immensely—
and, in direct proportion to that, absolutely detested him.
That much, he could tolerate.
Even Leya’s assumption that Elisa might have to step down as Admiral if she married him was something he could endure.
But…
He absolutely could not stand watching her use her youth and innocence as an excuse to throw herself into Elisa’s arms.
Even if the other person happened to be another woman.
Adrian strode toward them.
Just barely—
he managed to pull Leya away an instant before she touched Elisa.
Yet Leya Mitella, whose shoulders Adrian had caught, immediately became wary of him and struggled to shield Elisa.
“I won’t let just anyone take our Admiral away!”
“Get away from the Admiral this instant!”
Watching her, Adrian slowly shook his head and sighed.
“I really do have countless rivals.”
“What did you just say?”
The eyes that curved into warm crescents whenever she looked at Elisa instantly narrowed into sharp triangles when they turned toward Adrian.
“If you didn’t hear it, then never mind.”
“More importantly, I believe the poker game at Viscount Mitella’s table is about to end.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to return to your cabin before everyone notices you’re drunk?”
“Ah!”
“That won’t do.”
“Admiral, I’ll be going first!”
“I’m sorry!”
Ignoring Adrian entirely, Lady Mitella bid farewell only to Elisa before dashing out of the banquet hall.
As Adrian let out a sigh of relief after finally driving Lady Mitella away from Elisa’s side,
he suddenly felt that something was off.
Something wasn’t right.
She was far too different from usual.
Normally, the moment Lady Mitella disappeared, Elisa would have exploded, demanding to know why he had interfered.
But today…
She was far too quiet.
Her posture remained perfectly straight, befitting a naval admiral,
yet her unfocused eyes stared blankly ahead.
There was no way Elisa could get drunk from nothing more than wine.
Even while doubting it,
Adrian gently let Elisa lean against him.
As expected…
She really was drunk.
There was simply no way she would lean on him without any resistance otherwise.
Feeling the soft, warm weight settling into his arms,
Adrian bit the inside of his cheek hard.
“What were you doing before you met Lady Mitella?”
“I was playing.”
“With whom?”
“With Enoch…”
“…Nixon…”
“…and Garon.”
Her speech was noticeably slower than usual.
But Adrian had no time to notice that change.
The moment Enoch’s name left her lips,
his expression froze.
When Garon’s name followed,
anger seeped into his face.
Just imagining what those fools might have said to her made Adrian feel sick.
Enoch Fitzgerald, at least, made sense.
Though Adrian hated to admit it,
Enoch was one of the very few graduates of the military academy whom Elisa genuinely trusted.
During the years Adrian Oberon had not been by her side,
Enoch had filled that empty place.
That alone was enough to make Adrian grit his teeth.
But why, of all people, was Garon Heysen’s name among them?
“What did you do while you were with them?”
Suppressing the fury boiling inside him,
Adrian barely managed to force the words out.
But no answer came.
Looking down,
he found Elisa completely limp in his arms.
Adrian carefully lifted her into his embrace.
“Elisa.”
“Can you walk?”
It was a rather shameless question considering he was already supporting her entire weight,
but Elisa gave no reply.
Her tightly closed eyelids showed no sign of opening again.
They were in almost the exact same position as they had been earlier in the banquet hall,
yet Elisa’s reaction was completely different.
Gone was the woman who had angrily demanded that Adrian put her down immediately.
Now she simply slept peacefully in his arms,
breathing softly.
What exactly Elisa, Enoch, Garon,
and that sailor Nixon had been doing together…
Adrian would have to find out himself.
But first,
he needed to take Elisa somewhere safe.
He had no intention of letting anyone else see her in such a defenseless state.
☆☆☆
Adrian carried her straight to the guest room and gently laid her on the bed.
Aside from the faint redness around her ears,
her face looked so clear that no one would ever think she was drunk.
For a long time,
he simply watched her sleeping face.
Adrian knew all too well that,
unless she was asleep,
he would never have an opportunity like this.
Elisa shifted in her sleep, seemingly uncomfortable, and turned onto her side.
Adrian carefully gathered the crimson strands of hair tickling her neck and chest and brushed them aside.
Only then did her expression relax slightly.
“Elisa.”
“Mmm…”
Elisa answered his call so gently.
Even that…
was something he could only experience while she slept.
Perhaps…
only once in his lifetime.
Still…
that had to be enough.
It had to be.
“But, Elisa…”
“Have you really forgotten everything?”
“Am I nothing more than that horrible memory in your mind?”
His expression twisted in anguish.
In contrast,
Elisa’s lips remained peacefully curved,
without the slightest crease between her brows.
She looked utterly at ease.
“Do you truly not remember any of the promises we made before that?”
Even as pain filled his face,
Adrian reached out and gently stroked her smooth forehead.
As though he simply couldn’t bear not touching her.
She remained asleep.
His fingers slowly brushed past her soft cheek
until they reached her crimson lips.
Adrian quietly rose from the bed.
He had never intended to spend even a single night in this room.
As long as he remained here,
Elisa would never willingly fall asleep in it.
☆☆☆
Adrian closed the door as quietly as he possibly could.
He didn’t want Elisa to wake up.
Although he had only stayed in that room for a moment,
he felt as though the scent of cigars had already clung to his clothes.
The thought disgusted him.
His feet naturally carried him toward the deck.
He wanted the sea breeze to blow the smell away.
However,
when Adrian arrived,
someone was already there.
Someone he least wanted to encounter.
He was about to quietly turn around before the man noticed him.
“Young Duke Oberon.”
“Why are you leaving without a word?”
“Your Majesty, the King of Shulid.”
“I did not wish to disturb the peaceful time Your Majesty was enjoying.”
“Disturb?”
“Not at all.”
“Come over here.”
At Schultz Tugrahan’s invitation,
Adrian had no choice but to walk onto the deck.
“What brings you out here at this hour?”
“Elisa became tired and went to sleep first.”
“I merely came out to get some fresh air.”
“A naval admiral who spends her days chasing pirates grows tired from nothing more than a shipboard party?”
“As Your Majesty surely knows…”
“For soldiers like us, social gatherings are far more exhausting than battlefields.”
“It was only natural for her to grow tired.”
Adrian answered every question as smoothly as though butter coated his tongue.
Schultz Tugrahan studied him carefully before asking another question.
“Young Duke Oberon.”
“Do you truly love Admiral Shooter?”
The moment he heard it,
Adrian understood.
The question carried hidden intentions.
It was as though the king were saying,
‘I already know your relationship with Elisa is not a good one.’
So Adrian merely smiled as though he had no idea what the king meant.
“If it weren’t love…”
“Why would I remain by her side and promise to marry her?”
“If you truly love the Admiral…”
“Shouldn’t you send her to Shulid?”
“What kind of man would watch the woman he loves leave with another man for a foreign country?”
Up until that point,
Adrian’s expression remained composed.
There was no reason for it not to.
Elisa wanted neither Adrian’s side—
nor, even more so, did she wish to set foot in Shulid.
That was precisely why she had agreed to act as his fiancée,
whether by royal command or by force.
But the moment he heard Schultz Tugrahan’s next words,
Adrian could no longer conceal his expression.
“But if she remains by your side…”
“Won’t she forever be nothing more than the prostitute’s daughter who seduced a duke with her body?”
“How can the king of a nation say something so vulgar—”
“Isn’t that exactly the position of an illegitimate child in Sepia?”
“She herself seems to understand it better than anyone.”
“And wherever you are absent…”
“Everyone speaks of her in exactly that way.”
The moment Schultz Tugrahan finished speaking,
the flawless glass mask worn by Adrian Oberon shattered.
“…”
“But if she comes to Shulid…”
“I guarantee she will be treated as a noble queen from a foreign land.”
“Shulid has no concept of illegitimate children.”
“A king’s son is simply the king’s son.”
“And a noble’s daughter is simply a noble’s daughter.”
“…”
“So think carefully.”
“If you truly love her…”
“What decision should you make?”
Having said only that,
Schultz Tugrahan turned and walked away.
Then,
after quietly observing Young Duke Oberon standing frozen in place for some time,
he muttered in the Shulid language,
“Interesting.”
“Young Duke Oberon is sincere.”
The future master of Sepia’s Northern Knights—
a force said to rival even the Imperial Knights—
was making such an expression over a single red-haired woman.
He found himself wanting to know a little more about what kind of person she truly was.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
