Chapter 6

At his command, the soldiers waiting quietly in the woods began to move, clearing the area. But then, from behind them, a sudden disturbance broke the stillness, disordered voices, rustling undergrowth, and the erratic sway of torchlight cutting through the darkness.

“Ha… This just became a real nuisance.”

“…What do you mean?”

Leon, who had been silently staring at Adeline’s innocently questioning face, had a change of expression.

“There is a way to shut those noisy bastards up.”

“What do you—”

Her question dissolved into a muffled sound.

The man lowered his head, capturing her lips with his own. His mouth crashed against hers as his hot tongue pushed in with rough, almost brutish force.

Her eyes widened in shock at the kiss, something she had never experienced before. A warm sensation spread through her, and her heart began to beat roughly. Startled, Adeline pushed against his shoulders and chest, but his arm only tightened around her waist, drawing her more firmly against him until she was held completely in the cage of his strength.

“Mmph—”

“Quiet.”

Even her frantic struggling was subdued by his grip. He pushed his tongue in ruthlessly and deepening the kiss.

Smack, slurp.

Wet sounds spilled from their joined lips. He showed no mercy to Adeline, who was gasping for breath, and devoured her lips greedily. The slick heat of his tongue tracing along the tender inside of her mouth sent a shiver racing down her spine.

“Who’s there?!”

At the shouted command from the group rushing toward them from behind, he finally drew back. In that small break, Adeline gasped for air, her chest rising unevenly.

“State your name and affiliation.”

The men who arrived belatedly were dressed differently from Leon’s own subordinates. Their uniforms bore the marks of Molton, the neutral nation in which Adeline currently stood.

Leon’s brows drew together in a hard line as he faced them.

“Are there people here who don’t know who I am?”

“Gasp, Supreme Commander Rübenhart!”

The soldiers, having finally recognized his face, snapped to attention, pressing the edges of their hands to their foreheads in a perfectly disciplined salute. Leon answered their formality with a brief, upward jerk of his chin.

“What’s the matter at this hour?”

“We received a report that someone was attempting to flee through the mountains under cover of night. But why would you be here, my lord… No, more importantly, Princess Velasque has gone miss—”

“The princess is right here.”

Leon turned slightly to the side, revealing the woman still held in the circle of his embrace. The soldiers’ eyes widened in stunned disbelief.

“If I may be so bold, might I ask what you are doing here?”

“As you can see. I was enjoying a private rendezvous with my soon-to-be wife.”

“…Are you saying you were simply out for a night stroll together?”

At the doubtful tone, Leon stepped forward once. The pressure radiating from his tall, imposing frame was formidable enough on its own, but it was his eyes, that unmistakable cold, cutting gaze, that made speaking in his presence feel nearly impossible.

“Are you suggesting you don’t trust the word of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces?”

“N-No, it’s not that.”

It was the middle of the night. Accepting at face value that their Supreme Commander had brought subordinates into the mountains to enjoy a clandestine tryst with the princess was, understandably, difficult. Unease spread across the soldiers’ faces.

Then one of them caught sight of the hound lying dead on the ground and recoiled with a startled gasp.

“The foolish thing tried to bite someone belonging to its master.”

“Ah… I see.”

The soldiers made faces of distaste at Leon replied with a faint, snorting laugh.

But to kill it over that…

The soldiers found it hard to accept the explanation of a clandestine tryst with the princess in the mountains at night, even with his subordinates present. Their faces showed displeasure at his callous attitude and the distasteful scene of a rendezvous before a dead hound.

Yet as they recalled the rumors that at merely twenty-nine, he commanded the armies of three nations without dissent, ended a continental war in record time, and rumors that he wasn’t exactly in his right mind, a kind of grudging understanding spread across their faces.

Seemingly deciding there was no other way, a man who appeared to be their superior removed his cap and bowed.

“Our apologies for the mistake.”

“Not at all. It’s important to perform the duties assigned to you with diligence.”

Leon placed a firm hand on the officer’s shoulder as if in praise.

“Our mood’s been ruined, so we’ll take our leave.”

With that terse farewell, Leon stepped forward, still holding Adeline in his arms. As they disappeared into the darkness, shouts rose once more behind them, orders barked loudly to continue searching for the suspicious fugitive.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Bang!

The door burst open, slammed inward with such force that the maids screamed and scrambled back in fright. Suitcases hastily packed for escape were kicked aside by the soldiers’ boots, tumbling across the floor like discarded scraps.

“What’s the meaning of this insolence…”

The maids, who had been rolling their eyes anxiously at the soldiers who had stormed in the middle of the night, stared in disbelief when they recognized Leon standing before them. Then, their mouths fell agape as they saw Adeline appear behind him a moment later.

“Y-Your Highness, why are you still here…”