Chapter 32
The necklace Adrian had picked up was the most valuable piece in Kosia’s entire collection. Standing behind him, the owner silently admired Adrian Oberon’s discerning eye.
More precisely, he was already admiring the amount of money the young Duke Oberon was about to spend.
Holding the necklace in his hand, Adrian Oberon walked behind Elisa.
Then, as though embracing her from behind, he gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and neck.
The cool touch of metal rested against Elisa’s collarbone.
Adrian’s fingertips brushed the back of Elisa’s neck.
“It may not be enough as a gift for you, but this suits your taste more than that malachite jewelry, doesn’t it?”
Malachite?
For a moment, Elisa tried to remember what malachite jewelry Adrian was referring to.
In the end, she could not recall anything.
Seeing Elisa tilt her head in confusion, Adrian added an explanation.
“It’s a much higher-carat diamond than the ring Schultz Tugrahan gave you, isn’t it?”
At Adrian’s words, Elisa paused to think about when exactly Schultz Tugrahan had ever given her any jewelry.
No matter how hard she thought about it, the only thing he had ever given her was gunpowder….
Right.
That gunpowder had arrived inside a large jewel box together with all sorts of expensive jewelry.
Through the mirror, she saw Adrian Oberon’s expression as he anxiously waited for whatever answer she was about to give.
Adrian fastened the necklace around her neck.
Then he kissed the back of her neck.
A very light weight touched the back of her neck for a brief moment before pulling away.
The soft, yielding sensation of lips against her skin felt unfamiliar.
When Adrian raised his head, the man reflected in the mirror was still looking at her.
At that moment, his crimson lips curved into a smile.
Adrian Oberon knew perfectly well that Elisa was watching him through the mirror.
Even so, he did not pull his lips away from the back of her neck.
Closing his eyes, he lightly bit the back of her neck.
He caught her pale skin between his teeth and slowly licked it with his tongue.
He sucked gently at her white skin as though determined to leave a kiss mark there.
The tingling sensation concentrated at that single spot became too much for Elisa to endure.
She abruptly sprang to her feet.
“Elisa? What’s wrong?”
Before she realized it, Adrian had already erased every trace of heat from his crimson eyes.
He looked up at her as though nothing had happened.
As though he knew absolutely nothing, with perfectly innocent eyes.
The moment Elisa jumped to her feet, the chair behind her toppled over with a loud Crash.
The employees all turned to look in their direction.
“No, it’s alright. Adrian was just teasing me.”
When Elisa said that to the employees, they returned to their work.
As soon as they disappeared from sight, Adrian Oberon buried his face against the back of her neck once more.
His warm breath tickled her collarbone.
Elisa felt as though she could count every single breath he took every few seconds.
“If you react this much over something so small, what are we going to do, Elisa?”
“…”
“We’re really going to be married, after all.”
To keep her from pulling away again, Adrian tightly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
Unlike his heat-filled lips, his hands were surprisingly cold.
Each time his fingertips, slightly cooler than her own body temperature, brushed against her shoulder, goosebumps spread across her skin, making her shiver.
“Get off.”
It felt as though she could force Adrian Oberon away with a kick from her heel.
As if reading her thoughts, Adrian quietly lowered one hand and caught hold of Elisa’s arm.
“Don’t.”
“The employees are still watching us.”
At Adrian’s words, Elisa tightly shut her eyes and forced herself to be patient.
“Elisa, you still haven’t answered my question.”
“What question?”
At Elisa’s indifferent reply, Adrian tightened his arms even more.
Elisa was now practically buried in his embrace.
“Do you like the malachite necklace Schultz Tugrahan gave you more?”
“…”
“Elisa, answer me.”
For an instant, an absurd thought crossed her mind.
It almost seemed as though Adrian was genuinely jealous of Schultz Tugrahan.
Even though it had been her own thought, Elisa could not help laughing inwardly at such a ridiculous assumption.
Because the condition that had to be true before Adrian could possibly be jealous of Schultz Tugrahan was this—
Adrian liked Elisa Shooter.
As if.
There was absolutely no way.
There absolutely…
could not be.
“Yes, I like it.”
Since the employees were still secretly glancing in their direction while pretending not to, Elisa answered like that.
But then why…
was Adrian Oberon smiling like that while gently caressing the jewelry he intended to give me?
☆☆☆
After leaving the jewelry store, Elisa and Adrian climbed back into their luxurious carriage.
Elisa smoothly avoided Adrian’s hand as he naturally tried to escort her.
After deliberately avoiding him, Elisa carefully observed his reaction.
Adrian hesitated for only a brief moment before quickly composing himself and climbing into the carriage.
For that fleeting instant—so brief that she normally would never have noticed—Adrian’s expression stiffened.
“So it’s over now?”
“Would you like it to be over?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
What kind of expression had Adrian been wearing as he silently watched Elisa rub her face in exhaustion?
It was exactly the same expression he had worn when he hesitated after she rejected his escort just before boarding the carriage.
It was also the same expression he had worn not long ago in the underground prison when he had asked why she had summoned Garon there.
He had worn a similar expression during the party aboard the ship as well.
Why?
At that moment, a single suspicion crossed Elisa’s mind.
Throughout every moment they had touched each other today, he had genuinely seemed happy.
What if…
What if none of it—not even the party aboard the ship, nor today—had been an act?
Surely…
The suspicion bloomed in her mind for only a fleeting instant.
☆☆☆
Early that morning, Queen Anne Marie visited the residence where the Shulid delegation was staying.
“King of Shulid, Roserica is every bit as beautiful as the sea you admired during your voyage. Sepia’s diplomats will personally guide you, so why not spend today enjoying Roserica?”
What was she plotting?
There was no way the Queen of Sepia would offer kindness so willingly.
With that suspicion filling his mind, he set out on the tour.
However, Sepia’s diplomats were genuinely enthusiastic about showing off the beauty of their homeland.
As a result, Schultz Tugrahan had no choice but to watch Lujan and the rest of the Shulid delegation stare around with wide eyes like country bumpkins.
The first destination was the coastal road.
Their carriage traveled along the wide-open roadway.
Whenever they reached a place with a particularly beautiful ocean view, the diplomats deliberately opened the carriage door so they could enjoy the cool sea breeze.
Then one of Sepia’s diplomats spoke.
“That shop across the street is the most famous dessert shop in Roserica. Is there any dessert you would like? If you see something you like, I’ll buy it for you.”
At the diplomat’s words, Schultz Tugrahan naturally turned his gaze toward the dessert shop.
The scene visible through the glass made his eyebrow twitch.
The first thing he noticed was crimson hair tied high into a ponytail.
She was dressed in a neat yet comfortable shirt.
She looked far more relaxed than when she stood in military uniform with her back perfectly straight.
Several small, brightly colored sweets were arranged in front of her.
No, perhaps they weren’t sweets.
Were they bread?
Does she like food like that?
Just as Schultz Tugrahan was about to tell the diplomat that he wanted some of them as well, he realized she was not sitting alone.
Her fiancé was seated across from her.
The man sitting beside her was feeding the small desserts into her mouth one by one.
Without realizing it, Schultz Tugrahan pulled the carriage window shut.
He even forgot that he had wanted those desserts himself.
Was my judgment mistaken?
Did those two truly share a bond so strong that no outsider could ever come between them?
The next destination was the opera.
Then, once again, he spotted Elisa and Adrian Oberon entering the jewelry store across from the opera house.
Even then, Schultz Tugrahan thought it was merely a coincidence.
It felt somewhat unsettling for a coincidence, but Roserica was not as large as Berinka, the capital of Sepia, so he dismissed it.
Then finally, for the third time, just as the opera was ending.
When he saw the two of them choosing bread together at a nearby bakery, Schultz Tugrahan became certain.
The Queen of Sepia had planned all of this.
As expected, her kindness had never been kindness at all.
A faint smile slowly spread across Schultz Tugrahan’s face as he realized everything.
That old fox of a queen had fallen into her own trap.
“All of you, return.”
That was all he said.
He had no time to explain what he intended to do.
Schultz Tugrahan untied the horse harnessed to the carriage he had arrived in.
Before the Sepian diplomat could stop him, Schultz Tugrahan swiftly mounted the horse.
“I have urgent business to attend to, so I’ll be leaving first. My apologies. I’ll be sure to compensate you for borrowing this horse.”
Sepia’s guards hurried after him from behind, but the crowded streets and complicated layout of the city made pursuit difficult.
Besides, he was a warrior of Shulid.
The cavalry of Shulid feared no Imperial army.
He was confident that no one in Sepia could match Schultz Tugrahan’s horsemanship.
Urging his horse to full speed, Schultz Tugrahan began chasing after the carriage carrying Elisa and Adrian Oberon.
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
