Chapter 28: Just The Two of Us
“Your knight, why does he look like that?”
The Lion King arrived at the hotel before Adeline. He burst into laughter upon seeing Richard’s expression as he returned with the carriage. Richard’s face was twisted in a scowl, glaring at her as if she were an annoyance he wanted to scold. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“I plan to seduce you with my body,” she teased.
“What? Is that part of your plan today?” His face remained innocent, untouched by the joke.
Such a boring man. Adeline clicked her tongue, grabbed his arm, and led him into the hotel. “Let’s go eat.”
The Lion King’s expression hardened, his demeanor growing more serious as he followed her into the restaurant. She rushed to order food as soon as they sat down. Once the waiter left, he quietly asked, “It seems another assassin appeared. Was there poison in your food?”
“Huh? No, it wasn’t that. The chef just doesn’t know how to cook. He made a lot of things, but they were inedible, so I decided to eat out.”
“What? Chef?” He looked baffled.
Adeline explained the situation with Ringo, the fake chef, while they waited for their meal. However, to her dismay, the Lion King sided with Ringo.
“I think he’s right.”
“What?”
“After the knights and maids, the chef is another person you should be careful about. Of course, you should fill that position with someone trustworthy. Even a good person might falter when faced with a large bribe. At least with Ordo, he won’t be bought off with money. For now, you should eat whatever he prepares.”
“Why is my life so miserable?”
The hotel food turned out to be delicious, and Adeline had no suspicion it might be poisoned, given her unplanned visit. Even so, the Lion King took her fork, tasting the food first before returning it to her. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Where do you plan to go after this?” he asked mid-meal, despite having claimed earlier that he wasn’t hungry. Yet he was eating more than she was.
Adeline quickly grabbed the tastiest dish before he could snatch it away. “I know where the gypsy is being held, but I can’t rescue her. The trafficker running this slave auction is too powerful…”
“And that person is?”
“I only know they’re a southern noble.”
The gypsy they intended to rescue was imprisoned in the basement of an auction house, guarded heavily. The place was a secret playground for nobles. Even with all the desert warriors the Lion King brought, it seemed impossible to take on all the guards.
But the Lion King had a different view.
“Numbers don’t matter. Killing them all isn’t difficult. But if we do that, our true purpose will be revealed.”
“Yeah. So we’ll have to try something different.”
As Adeline explained the layout of the auction house, the sweet lemon meringue pie vanished into the Lion King’s stomach. She glared at him, her dessert stolen, feeling like a predator whose prey had been snatched by a hungry lion.
There wasn’t a single dish the Lion King couldn’t devour. He had a particular fondness for sweet, soft, and fluffy foods—things most men avoided. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Are you that starving?” she asked.
“What?”
“Stop eating. I have nothing left.”
“You barely eat anything anyway. Just… eat as much as you can, then send me whatever’s left.” He swallowed her remaining meat without even chewing.
“You actually want my leftovers?”
“You’re already eating the food I tasted first.”
Come to think of it, she had done exactly that.
Adeline laughed heartily.
After the meal, they headed to the VIP room deep inside the hotel. They didn’t bother hiding their faces or disguising themselves. They walked confidently, heads held high. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Oh, my!”
“Isn’t that the princess?!”
Nobles who had come to enjoy their midday trysts with lovers flinched and trembled upon recognizing her. Some seemed eager to approach, but when they noticed the Lion King beside her, looking relaxed but imposing, they took a deep breath and quickly looked away.
“I’m already curious about the rumors this will spark,” Adeline mused.
“I told you I’m against this,” he replied, clearly not thrilled about being part of any potential scandal.
She shared the contents of the emperor’s letter and tried to persuade him to go along with her plan, promising unexpected rewards. However, he remained uncomfortable with the situation.
“Do you have a jealous lover waiting back in the desert?”
“Don’t talk nonsense,” he grumbled. “Now that we’ve come all the way to this hotel, as you asked, isn’t it time you tell me your next plan?” Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
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