Chapter 26
The training ground, even smaller than the naval base, had already closed for the day, leaving it shrouded in darkness. Dressed in a naval academy cadet uniform, Elisa gripped her sword and swung her arm over and over again.
Her imaginary opponent was Adrian Oberon.
Adrian, a little leaner than he was now, with less developed muscles. He was not wearing a splendid suit or a naval dress uniform. He was the heir to Duke Oberon, dressed in the same earth-colored academy uniform as Elisa, an illegitimate child.
The only opponent she had failed to defeat in this swordsmanship evaluation.
She raised her blade along the path his sword had taken.
She knew the route of his attacks.
Yet her reactions were always slower than his.
His posture was flawless, his arms stretched out elegantly, and even his sparring looked beautiful.
But Elisa, who stood against all of that, was different.
Sweat poured down like rain, and despite exerting enough strength to make her face burn red, she could not keep up with his power or speed.
Step. Step.
Completely absorbed in swinging her sword, Elisa did not even hear the footsteps approaching from behind.
Her knuckles could no longer endure the relentless training, and the blisters and wounds burst open.
Bright red drops of blood trickled from the torn wounds and dripped down her pale arm.
Drip.
Drip.
Then someone seized her arm.
They forcibly pried open the gap between her hand and the wooden sword.
Thunk.
With that sound, the wooden sword rolled across the floor.
“What on earth do you plan to do with hands like these?”
The lingering image that had been floating through Elisa’s mind all this time took physical form.
Adrian Oberon appeared and trampled on her pride.
“Let go.”
Elisa said as she tried to shake Adrian off roughly.
However, the grueling training had already drained every ounce of strength from her body.
Adrian restrained her with ease.
No.
Perhaps even without the training, Adrian would have subdued her just as effortlessly.
At least now, she had training as an excuse.
Elisa sank down onto the floor.
She found herself utterly pathetic.
At that moment, a gentle voice fell over her head.
“You’re much better with a gun than with a sword.”
As he spoke, Adrian took Elisa’s hand.
Using a white handkerchief, he carefully wiped the blisters and wounds on her hand.
It felt as though the skin where their hands touched had caught fire.
The warmth seemed ready to spread from her fingertips through every nerve in her body, dyeing her whole body crimson.
Her heart pounded as though it were lodged inside her ears.
She feared Adrian might hear it.
Her blood raced so quickly that she felt she could no longer remain by his side.
As Elisa tried to pull her hand free from his grasp, Adrian suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
His shoulders instantly broadened, and his frame grew larger.
Before she knew it, he had shed the yellowish cadet uniform and was dressed in a navy-blue military uniform adorned with magnificent golden decorations.
Having completely returned to the Adrian she knew, he leaned close to Elisa’s ear and whispered teasingly,
“Did you enjoy kissing me that much? Enough to dream about it?”
☆☆☆
Elisa bolted upright.
Acting on instinct, she hurled her pillow toward where the dream-version of Adrian had been standing.
But, of course, no one was there.
Only the innocent pillow tumbled across the floor.
Elisa got out of bed to pick up the pillow she had thrown.
The moment she bent over, her head throbbed as though it would split apart.
It was a hangover.
Yet despite all the alcohol she had drowned herself in, the memory of kissing Adrian remained uselessly vivid.
“Damn it.”
It had been such a miserable dream.
A horrific nightmare that had dredged up both the dark history of her past and the brand-new dark history she had created yesterday.
How could I even think of kissing that bastard?
“I completely lost my mind. I must have gone insane at that moment. Otherwise, there’s no way I could’ve done that.”
The shame that had been buried beneath her anger toward him yesterday finally came crashing over her.
She had kissed Adrian Oberon.
Elisa Shooter herself.
She raked her fingers violently through her long crimson hair.
It had no effect, of course.
It could neither erase what had happened nor make her forget it.
Knock. Knock.
The person who entered after the brief knock was Adrian.
She still was not ready to face him, but Adrian gave Elisa no time.
“You’re awake. I was worried you might still be asleep.”
“…”
“Drink.”
In his hand was a cup of warm milk mixed with honey.
It was what Elisa often drank whenever she got drunk.
Back in the navy, Enoch was usually the one who prepared it for her.
Then how does he know about this?
As Elisa looked at Adrian suspiciously, Adrian looked back at her.
“Hurry and drink it. Colonel Fitzgerald is looking for you. The ship will be departing soon.”
No wonder Adrian Oberon was wearing a naval dress uniform instead of a tailcoat.
“You should’ve led with that.”
The moment Adrian finished speaking, Elisa set the cup down on the table with a thud and stood up.
His gaze lingered for quite some time on the untouched milk.
But Elisa never noticed.
Even if she had, she probably would not have cared enough to wonder about his intentions.
Elisa did not spare so much as a glance at the extravagant dress she had carelessly discarded the previous night.
Instead, she picked up the neatly hung naval uniform.
“Aren’t you leaving?”
Holding the uniform in her hands, Elisa looked back at Adrian.
As if the thought had never even crossed his mind, Adrian’s ears flushed red, and he hurriedly stumbled out of the room.
☆☆☆
Adrian Oberon waited for her outside the cabin.
Since it was nearly dawn, most of the cabin doors were shut, and the corridor was deserted.
Perhaps it was because there was no one watching.
Perhaps it was because Elisa was wearing her uniform instead of a dress and carrying out her duties as an admiral.
Or perhaps he also regretted the kiss they had shared yesterday.
Whatever the reason, Adrian no longer escorted Elisa as naturally as he had done out of habit all day yesterday.
Instead, he followed silently one step behind her, suppressing even the sound of his footsteps.
“Admiral, Vice Admiral, you’ve arrived.”
Elisa nodded and received the perfectly disciplined salute.
The moment she entered the cabin, some of the tension left her body.
This place, filled with the familiar scent of the sea mixed with the sweat of rough men, belonged to Elisa.
Not one of them brought up yesterday’s kiss.
Nor did anyone casually ask what had happened between her and Adrian during their academy days.
To these men, Elisa Shooter was not someone whose name could be casually tossed around as idle gossip.
Admiral Elisa Shooter was a living legend.
There wasn’t a single person wearing a naval uniform who did not admire her.
Anyone who had seen her fire a gun from the deck even once could not help but admire her.
“Visibility?”
“The fog is fairly thick, but it won’t interfere with navigation.”
“The wind?”
“A northwesterly. At this speed, we’ll reach our destination well before noon.”
“Then let’s depart.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The ship slowly began to move.
The salty scent of the sea and the cool air before dawn rushed into the ship all at once.
☆☆☆
The voyage, damn it, went flawlessly.
Just as the helmsman had predicted, the fog completely disappeared as the sun began to rise.
The wind gently pushed their ship forward, and the waves shimmered beneath the sunlight, as though blessing their path.
Because of that, Elisa and Adrian were forced out of the cabin.
It seemed the Queen and Duke Roserica had decided to use this opportunity to impress the two’s engagement upon as many people as possible.
Elisa’s ambitious father kept Adrian close to his side while formally introducing him to his vassals.
Within that picture-perfect scene, the Queen assigned Elisa only one role.
*”You don’t have to do anything. Just look at your lovely fiancé with a satisfied smile. Simple enough, isn’t it?”*
As she said that, the Queen smiled slyly as though she were the playwright of a grand performance.
Though it was an outrageously disrespectful way to describe Her Majesty, there was no better word for the expression on the Queen’s face.
She behaved as though she were putting on a puppet show using Elisa and Adrian.
Elisa had no choice.
She quietly bowed her head and answered,
“I shall obey Your Majesty’s command.”
Thus, Elisa leaned against the ship’s railing.
The sea breeze tousled her crimson hair.
She fixed her gaze on Adrian as he moved among the nobles alongside her father.
But a loving gaze could not be created overnight.
“Are you planning to bore a hole through your fiancé just by staring at him like that?”
Schultz Tugrahan approached her.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
