Soothing Adelia (1)
“Dana.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think about taking Adelia as a concubine?”
“Do you see her as a woman, or is this purely strategic?”
“If I accept King Mikelan’s proposal, we’ll inevitably become enemies with both the Hildegart and Penclow families. To prevent that, I need to bring the Hildegart family onto our side. My plan is to use Hildegart to keep Penclow in check, and Adelia is essential to that.”
“One love marriage is enough for me. But if it’s a political marriage, do as you wish, Hyun-woo. I’m fine with making Adelia your concubine.”
“Thank you. I love you.”
“Me too. Kiss me.”
I stood before Adelia’s residence, ready to meet her. Normally she lodged at the Lion Heart Unit’s headquarters, but she had temporarily relocated to this mansion to attend to her father, Marquis Gregory. A wide garden stretched between the gate and the main building, making the distance considerable. Even so, the moment I rang the bell, a maid hurried out from inside.
“What brings you here?”
“Please tell Lady Adelia that Kang Hyun-woo has come to see her. I have something urgent to discuss.”
The maid went inside and soon returned with a gloomy reply.
“The young lady says she is unwell and cannot meet you today.”
Adelia was angry with me. The illness was clearly an excuse.
“Go back and tell her it’s something I must say in person. I need to see her now.”
After my second request, the reluctant maid dragged herself back inside. When she returned, the answer was the same.
“The young lady says she does not wish to meet you. Please leave.”
I turned away, pretending to give up. But I had no intention of quitting. If Adelia refused to meet me, I would simply go to her. I circled the mansion until I found a tree growing close to the wall, then climbed to its top. The inner garden spread out below me. Maids watered flowerbeds, servants picked vegetables for the kitchen, knights patrolled with hunting dogs, and girls carried laundry baskets toward the well. Everyone moved busily about their tasks.
I leapt from the treetop, cleared the wall, and landed softly. Keeping low, I sprinted to the building and pressed myself against the wall. Voices drifted from somewhere nearby. I froze, thinking someone had spotted me, but they were calling for someone else. Looking up, I saw countless windows on the second and third floors. I had no idea which belonged to Adelia. All I could rely on was my sense of smell. I remembered the fresh, pleasant scent that always clung to her and hoped following it would lead me to her room.
Clinging to that faint hope, I wedged my fingers and boots into narrow gaps in the wall and began to climb. I slipped through open windows when guards passed below, narrowly dodged a maid emptying a bucket of dirty water from above, and finally reached the third floor. There I found a room whose open window carried Adelia’s familiar fragrance on the breeze. I vaulted inside in one motion.
Kneeling on one knee, I scanned the room and saw a woman lying face-down on the bed, sobbing into a pillow. It was Adelia. She had not noticed my entrance. Dressed in a nightgown that reached her ankles, she wept without restraint. Her golden hair, left uncombed, tumbled wildly down her back.
“Adelia.”
At my low call from the window, she finally lifted her head, spotted me, and bolted upright. Her eyes widened as she prepared to scream, so I quickly pressed a finger to my lips and gestured for silence. Thankfully, she held back the cry. Instead she scowled and shook her head.
“I don’t want to see you!”
Adelia’s voice trembled with tears. Her eyes glistened, and through the loose neckline of her nightgown a single rosy nipple peeked out, drawing my gaze. The moment she noticed where I was looking, she yanked her top closed and pulled the blanket over herself.
“Go! I won’t see you! I’ll never see you again! Leave before I scream!”
“Hear me out, Adelia.”
“No! I know what you’re going to say! You don’t want to marry me!”
“That’s not it.”
“Stop! Just stop! I don’t want to see you happy! I’ll marry you and torment you for the rest of your life! I won’t let you live peacefully with Princess Dana!”
Still buried under the blanket, Adelia burst into loud sobs. I walked quietly to the bed and sat on its edge. She thought I had come to refuse marriage? There seemed to be a serious misunderstanding. Her shoulders trembled faintly beneath the covers. I stroked her back through the blanket and asked in a calm voice.
“Do you really think I don’t want to marry you?”
“You hate me because I lied about being pregnant at the banquet!”
Adelia shouted through her tears. Her usual dignified tone had vanished, replaced by something almost childlike. It was oddly endearing. A gentle smile tugged at my lips.
“I was certainly surprised at the time.”
“You must have called me a wicked woman in your heart!”
“I didn’t. I only wondered what you were trying to achieve.”
“Liar! Don’t try to deceive me! You love Princess Dana! You love someone who isn’t me! You humiliated me and made me feel ashamed! That’s why I was so angry!”
Unable to contain her fury, Adelia flung the blanket aside. The sudden motion sent a wave of her sweet scent toward me. At the same time she clenched her fists and began pounding on my back and arms.
“I hate you, but I’m still going to marry you! I’ll torment you for the rest of your life! You have no choice! You’re a commoner and my father is a marquis!”
I simply let her hit me. Her strikes were fierce but not painful. I hoped the act would ease her heart, even a little.
“You’re truly a terrible man! I should have whipped you to death the day you came to make that contract!”
Tears streamed down Adelia’s cheeks. Deciding enough was enough, I caught her wrists and stopped the blows.
“Let go!”
“Stop and look at me.”
“I said let go!”
I tried to meet her eyes and speak seriously, but she kept her gaze lowered and struggled to free her arms. I tightened my grip and spoke more firmly.
“Look at me. I have something to tell you, and it isn’t that I don’t want to marry you.”
“Y-you don’t… not want to marry me…?”
She froze, then slowly raised her eyes. At last I could look directly into them. I needed to stay calm and persuade her carefully.
***
The instant Adelia lifted her head and met Hyun-woo’s gaze, she realized she had made a grave mistake. Faced with his sculpted, handsome features, she found it impossible to hate him. His sharp jawline, striking features, and fair skin, combined with hair darker than midnight that carried an exotic, masculine air, and those brown eyes that sparkled brighter than starlight, left her breathless.
“Ah…”
While she stared at him in a daze, Hyun-woo seemed to be saying something earnest, yet none of it reached her ears. Lost in the sight of him, she only snapped back to reality when he shook her by the arms.
“W-what?”
“Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
“W-what did you say?”
“Why are you suddenly spacing out? I’ll say it again, so listen carefully.”
“All right…”
Adelia met his eyes with an anxious look. If he told her he did not want to marry her, she felt she might throw herself from the window on the spot. Hyun-woo took her hands and composed himself. Wearing a gentle smile, he gazed at her with the tender expression of a man who saw only one woman in the entire world.
“Adelia, I’m sorry for making you sad.”
His voice was as soft as a sweet kiss.
“I was already fond of you, yet I was seeing Princess Dana. Still, you are very beautiful. I don’t want to lose either of you. I want to marry you as well. Can you forgive this selfishness of mine?”
“Really?”
Adelia felt a surge of surprise and joy. She had expected him to dislike her, yet here he was proposing. A shy smile formed on her lips as she answered in a small voice.
“When such a wonderful man stands before me, how could I refuse to forgive him…?”