Chapter 18: 18

“What about Sister?”

“She was rushing around in her room. She’ll be down soon.”

Simeon nodded as he took a sip of tea.
Unlike Leo, who had just come down, Enoch was reading a letter with news about their land, and Simeon was concentrating on the tea.
It was just a calm and serene morning for the others, but it wasn’t for Leo.
This morning of the Tien family was a time of tremendous nervousness.

“The image of Adeline kissing his cheek is still…”
“Don’t speak about it.”
“Don’t speak about it, Brother Leo.”

As expected, they reacted immediately when he poked them.
As Kael noticed yesterday, the three brothers secretly watched Kael and Adeline.
It would be obvious if there was a mixture of falsehoods, so they wanted to check that.

[Oh, no!]
[Dear heavens.]
[Oh my God.]

Contrary to the expectation that they would discover the secret of their marriage that Adeline was hiding, what the brothers saw was Adeline kissing Kael’s cheek first.
Enoch was greatly shocked and went straight up to his room, and Simeon also left with a dark face.

 

“I thought about it all night.”

Enoch, who had put down the letter he was holding, started speaking.

“Don’t you think a kiss on the cheek would be enough? If they did make a deal.”
“Brother Enoch. Let’s not talk about the kiss on the cheek.”

When Leo closed his mouth, Enoch thought about yesterday’s scene with a serious face.
When the frightened Simeon told him not to talk about it, it had no effect on Enoch right now.

“Isn’t that right? We give kisses, too. It’s just a greeting.”
“It was a bit different from a greeting kiss. It didn’t have that kind of light feeling…”
“Leo. Stop.”
“Why do you only say that to me?”

Leo raised his voice as if it was unfair.

“It was on a different level from a greeting kiss. And I saw one more thing.”
“What did you say?”
“What thing?”

Unlike the two of them who left right away last night, Leo watched Kael and Adeline until the end.

“Well, the Grand Duke kissed Adeline…”
“Stop.”
“No. I don’t want to hear it.”

Leo stared at Enoch and Simeon with a ridiculous face.
He only answered, but they were constantly being hard on him.

“I mean, the atmosphere was really weird, right? There was definitely something between the Grand Duke and Adeline. If Adeline really loves the Grand Duke…”
“Leo! Stop!”
“Ah, Brother!”

Enoch and Simeon raised their voices because of Leo, who continued to speak without hesitation.

“Why are you making such a fuss in the morning?”

At that moment, Adeline appeared.
The three pairs of eyes turned to Adeline in unison.
The brothers would have greeted her right away had it been a normal day, but today, they looked carefully at her as if trying to find something.

“… Good morning, Brothers. Simeon.”
“Ah, yes. Did you sleep well, Adeline?”
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Sister.”

Feeling a strange atmosphere, Adeline greeted them first, and the three brothers came to their senses.
However, their searching gaze remained.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Hm? It’s nothing. You’re particularly pretty today, Adeline.”
“Haha. That’s right, that’s right. I was going to say that, too.”
“Brothers are right. You’re shining even more today.”

Adeline looked at the brothers strangely with disbelieving eyes, and the brothers, noticing that something had gone wrong, then turned their eyes away.
They tried to find out if Adeline had anything different than usual.
Signs of being unable to sleep because of an unwanted kiss, a displeased look, or the scent of a woman whose heart is beating with excitement in a slightly different way.
They intended to invade Kael’s mansion immediately if they could see any signs of discomfort, and if they could see any excitement, they would quietly cry.

However, Adeline was as calm as usual.

“I don’t know what happened, but everyone, stop acting like this and get ready. It’s the day of the martial arts competition. We can’t be late.”

While Adeline thought calmly about their schedule for the day, countless assumptions crossed the three brothers’ minds.
Among them, one very desperate assumption rose the most.

‘It isn’t one or another. She doesn’t look uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean she is excited either.’
‘She’s just acting normal as if it was nothing…’

‘Does that mean they kiss often? No way.’

As they all reached the same thought, all the things in the three brothers’ hands broke with a crack.

 

***

 

[Send me off like this the next time. Adeline.]

Adeline climbed on the carriage to the imperial palace and remembered Kael’s appearance from like last night.
Although she was calm and behaving like someone who had wiped out the kiss from her mind, Adeline was actually thinking about it the whole time.
She couldn’t say she was unable to sleep because she was feeling restless. She fell asleep very easily.
However, she kissed Kael again in her dream.

‘… I’m annoyed.’

After seeing it in a dream, the sensation of the moment when they kissed came back to life very clearly.
It wasn’t a deep kiss at all. It was awkward to even call it a kiss, their lips just touched for a moment and parted.
Besides, it was just a measure to deceive her brothers, so she could just brush it off right away.
But it kept hovering again and again in her mind.

‘… His lips were very warm.’

Kael’s lips, which she had suddenly touched, were warm. It was a warmth that contrasted with the chill of the night.
The sensation was also vivid. It felt like that soft sensation had remained on Adeline’s lips ever since the kiss.

‘Is it because it’s so conflicting with his usual atmosphere?’

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Although ‘Ruler of the North’ was his most commonly used nickname, Kael’s other nickname, which was equally well-known, was ‘Walking Winter’.
The energy he exuded was so cold that there were jokes that if winter were to be shaped as a person, it would be Kael.
He was the Grand Duke of the North, famous for his coldness and harshness, and it was far from the kindness and warmth that Adeline had been experiencing.
However, the lips that touched Adeline, and the kiss that was given at a moment’s notice, were incredibly soft and sweet, as if it was unbelievable that they belonged to Kael.

‘No. Stop thinking. I don’t even care about the Grand Duke. What am I doing on my own? Like an idiot.’

Adeline shook her head and tried to shake off her thoughts.
She didn’t want to get caught up in Kael’s actions like this.

 

“We have arrived.”

Just in time, the carriage arrived at the imperial palace.
Adeline was escorted by her brothers, and they headed for the huge central garden of the imperial palace.

Today was the day of the biggest martial arts competition held since the coronation ceremony.
Flags, drums, and even a podium in the middle of the central garden for sparring. The atmosphere of the imperial palace was completely different.

“It’s the day of the only event held in the imperial palace that doesn’t get boring.”
“Leo.”
“What? I can say this as the commander of the knights.”

Enoch scolded him to spare his words, but Adeline agreed.

Except for Simeon, who had returned to the temple, the three siblings of the Tien family sat in line next to each other.
Waiting for the beginning, Adeline glanced at the spot Kael was sitting.

‘His title is high indeed.’

The seats were arranged according to one’s title, and the seat where Kael was sitting was the closest to the Emperor.
He was wearing a dark green uniform.
As he felt a gaze and tried to look at Adeline, Adeline immediately turned her gaze away.

Just then, the Emperor appeared, and the drumming sound announcing the beginning of the martial arts competition rang loudly.

***

“Sona’s Utah advanced to the finals!”

The competition progressed quickly, and the finalists were determined.
As a martial arts competition held under the name of the imperial family, the skills of various knights and mercenaries who participated were outstanding.

Adeline sharply examined the participants’ faces, feeling as if she was on a bright battlefield.
Thanks to that, Kael’s kiss was erased from her mind.

“Adeline. Let’s make a bet on who looks likely to win.”
“I don’t make a bet when only one person is standing out.”
“Oh my. I thought I was going to make some money today.”
“If you cheat on your sister like that, you’ll be punished.”
“Haha. Didn’t you notice Sona’s Utah?”
“Yes. Very much. But…”

Adeline blurred her words, and Leo gave a slight nod as if he knew why even if she didn’t say anything.

“The finals will start!”

The finals had just started, and the participant who Leo and Adeline were watching rushed in fiercely.
The other opponents in the finals did not possess average skill either, but the movements of ‘Utah’ were too overwhelming.

“Brother.”
“That’s right. He’s too fast and impressive.”
“Yes. Surely…”

“As if he wasn’t human.”

While Leo and Adeline were feeling suspicious, the finals came to an end.
It was Utah’s victory.

“The winner is Sona’s Utah!”

The audience, bewildered by his spectacular movement, applauded with a cheer.
The Emperor also smiled and went up the podium, directly praising the winner.

“You have outstanding skill. Really outstanding. I’ve watched a lot of martial arts competitions in my life, but it seems that you, who won today, have the best skill.”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”
“Your inner strength isn’t average. It’s like I’m looking at a piece of art. You were perfect.”

The Emperor clapped his hands repeatedly with a face that seemed to be greatly thrilled, and held the winner on the podium even after giving him the prize, a fine sword.

“A sword like this isn’t enough. I want to give you something more.”

Then, he suddenly looked at Kael.

“Grand Duke Inver.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Why don’t you give the winner here a chance to spar against you?”

Kael, who had watched the competition without changing his expression, crumpled his face slightly for the first time.

“Aren’t you the best commander of the Empire? Other people wouldn’t be a match for you, but wouldn’t this much skill be enough to compete with you?”

The Emperor laughed and continued.

“The best winner of the best martial arts competition emerged to celebrate my coronation. Give him a chance to compete with you. I want to have some more eye candy, too.”
“…”
“Did you say your name is Utah? What do you think? Are you ready to compete with Grand Duke Inver?”

The Emperor asked Utah, completely dismissing Kael’s thoughts.

“It’s an infinite honor, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. Then it’s settled.”

The Emperor smiled with great satisfaction and looked at Kael.

 

In an interesting development, all nobles looked at the podium with anticipating eyes.
However, Adeline was different.
She clenched her skirt tightly, even without realizing it.

She had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling.

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