Chapter 7: I’m Back
Richard returned before sunrise, looking the same as when he left. It was obvious that he had been in a rush, as he had not washed his dirty body or changed his clothes. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Adeline regarded him with red, bloodshot eyes.
“His Majesty has ordered you to return immediately.” Richard suddenly stretched out his hand. Even when he saw Adeline on the verge of collapsing from her injuries, he didn’t show the slightest sympathy.
Adeline was curious about who had given Richard the order. “Cesare? Or did Father do that?”
“I heard that His Majesty the King himself spoke to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
‘I see’. Adeline nodded slowly. Richard’s words were somewhat predictable, considering how hard Cesare had trained this man.
‘Okay.’ She had to go back. Her destination was not the Lion King’s arms, but Marma’s royal palace.
Adeline naturally reached out her damp hand toward Richard. However, before she could rise, the Lion King suddenly stepped between them and grasped her hand instead of Richard’s. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Where are you going?”
“That… Your Highness?” Richard looked up at the Lion King, embarrassed.
The Lion King’s green eyes burned with anger. He groaned in frustration while holding Adeline’s hand. “The Princess is in critical condition,” he said in a very serious tone, as if her condition were a natural disaster.
Richard hastily retracted the hand he had subconsciously extended a moment ago. “Your Majesty, but…”
“The Princess is in critical condition, Knight of Marma.”
Richard, unable to confront him, looked at Adeline.
‘What are you looking at?’ she mouthed silently.
Cesare had told her to leave immediately, whether she was hurt or not, and here was the Lion King, worried about her and trying to protect her, despite it being their first meeting.
Adeline shuddered at the rough palm of the Lion King’s hand that encircled her own. His hand was as coarse as desert sand, especially since she had never encountered such rough hands before. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
‘This man was dangerous.’ He was, at least for her. The heat of the desert was enough to warm her cold body. If she tried to rely on that warmth, she would die. Adeline Vita was a woman colder than the ice in a distant glacier. Her body felt like a stiff corpse, and her heart had long been frozen.
“I’m going back.” Adeline raised her head, taking control of Richard’s awkward situation. She twisted her palm with her feeble strength, and the Lion King’s large grip easily fell away. She wiped her wet face with her long sleeve, threw off the blanket, and grabbed Richard’s hand.
Richard was startled, alternating his gaze between Adeline and the Lion King. He did not seem to expect that Adeline would attempt to move toward Cesare.
However, Adeline stood up. Despite the excruciating pain and dizzying heat, she bravely placed her feet on the floor.
“Adeline.” The Lion King’s voice, dissuading her, held a deep reprimand and heavy concern.
Adeline shook her head emphatically. Her long hair fluttered in disarray. “Don’t interfere.”
“And then you could die.”
“Even then, I still have to go.” There was a good reason why she risked her life to return. “Thanks for your help and concern, but that doesn’t mean I have to obey you. If you want compensation, come to the royal palace.”
“Are you serious?” The Lion King looked at her with blazing eyes, anger simmering beneath the surface, making no sense to her. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Adeline, who had been staggering, clung to Richard’s forearm. She had felt fine when she woke up, but now she lacked the strength to support her own legs.
Richard reflexively stretched out his hand to catch her as she began to fall.
The Lion King’s eyes focused on their hands. His gaze was fierce.
Richard flinched and narrowed his shoulders.
“Adeline.” The Lion King called her name again.
Adeline swallowed a sigh while still cradled in Richard’s arms. She issued a warning. “Don’t call my name.”
‘Never again with that hot voice.’
***
The Crown Prince Cesare did not allow Adeline to enter the royal palace through the main gate. Instead, she had to sneak in through the back door used by the servants, covering her face like a stray cat. Even without resorting to such measures, Adeline had long known that Cesare was ashamed of her. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
The physician wore an indifferent expression as he prescribed medicine she had no desire to take. The Lion King had been so adept at providing first aid that she didn’t even need to tend to her wound for some time.
Later, Adeline was placed in a small annex attached to Cesare’s palace. That night, her father, the King, came to visit. “Welcome. My precious daughter.”
A benevolent smile accompanied the kind wrinkles on his face, as if he were about to be painted on a canvas.
The maids watched the king and princess, who had reunited after eleven years, with thrilled expressions. However, the older maids—those who remembered the seventeen-year-old Adeline—glanced in that direction with anxious eyes, worried that she might be as vicious as she once was. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Adeline found it amusing.
“Why are you standing there like that? Call me father, Adeline,” the King said.
He had said the same thing long ago on the day she was adopted. Back then, Adeline had dared to scream at the King of Marma and burst into tears, begging to be sent home. Even as she cried until she lost her breath, she never uttered the word “father.” The king smiled kindly, but that night, she had been beaten until she lost consciousness. She was only nine years old.
Adeline became the King’s adopted daughter in Marma, living a life like a doll. And when she turned seventeen, she was sold to the king of the enemy country. Now, at twenty-eight, she had finally returned.
As Adeline took cautious steps, everyone in the room focused their eyes on her. She walked slowly and precariously until she stood before the king, catching a glimpse of petty impatience in his aging eyes.
Thump-thump. Her heart was seething.
“Father.”
As Adeline bent her knees and placed her forehead against the back of his hand, gasps echoed throughout the room.
The king trembled and stroked her cheek with a deeply moved expression. “I missed you, Adeline.”
“Father, you have no idea how happy I am to be back.” Adeline smiled brightly at the King’s somewhat anxious eyes, causing him to tremble even more. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Adeline smiled cheerfully, genuinely happy to be back. She had expected the resentment in her heart to overwhelm her, and she thought she might break down and cry when she met him. She had imagined herself screaming, getting angry, and throwing a fit: ‘Look at me. Now I am an adult who can smile like you.’
But everything had changed. Eleven years was a long enough time. ‘Now is the time to repay the same amount that was done to me.’
***
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