Chapter 21
Yes, that was it. She favored the kind and benevolent crown prince. But that was all. She was impartial, treating the esteemed youngest son of the Duke’s house, the next heir of the Count’s house, and the remarkably talented Baron, who had earned his title alone as a boy, with the same even courtesy. The ever-smiling, driven girl seemed focused on some unknown goal, oblivious to everything else.
He doubted he could evoke any romantic feelings from a girl who approached every moment of her life with the fervor of fulfilling a mission. And that angered him.
‘Who are you to act like this? A mere common-born orphan. Why do you bother me so much?’
‘Seikan Perdian, Helion Ziek, Reynard Mason… countless men are obsessed with you, yet you remain unaware. If only you would choose one of them and leave the temple, then I could finally give up…’
‘No. Choose no one. Live your whole life in the temple, so I can see you whenever I visit. Don’t become someone I can only meet with a husband’s permission.’
His fluctuating emotions made Clovis irritable. This irritability reached its peak when a subjugation force was assembled to eliminate the Demon King. His powerful rivals departed on a journey with no certain return. The Grand Temple was located not far from the Imperial Palace.
Hestia frequently summoned Adelina to the palace to share her worries about the Demon King subjugation expedition. Adelina, now a fully matured woman, was constantly within reach, flitting around him. Clovis didn’t hesitate to disparage and mock her with vile words.
Tired of his relentless and unfounded criticisms, Adelina declared she would enter a fasting prayer for the expedition’s safe return, refusing even Hestia’s summons and confining herself to the sanctuary.
A month passed. At the triumphal ceremony for the three paladins who returned after vanquishing the Demon King much sooner than expected, Clovis felt a deep sense of frustration. He had anticipated they would make their move upon a successful return.
With public opinion at its peak, backed by the title of heroes, they could take a common-born orphan as a wife with little backlash. Some might even celebrate it as a fairytale romance. However, he hadn’t expected all three of them to invoke Adelina’s name so publicly, at the ceremony itself.
Seeing Adelina dallying with Seikan at Hestia’s mansion, Clovis felt genuine regret.
‘If I had known it would come to this, I should have confined her to the palace sooner.’
‘Well, it’s not too late to confine her to the palace now,’ Clovis concluded, coldly glaring at Helion. Helion, who had been close to Adelina, their faces almost touching as if about to kiss, straightened up with a startled expression, shielding her.
Adelina stiffened the moment she saw Clovis. Her rigid expression revealed the depth of the shock she had experienced, despite her spirited nature.
‘It wasn’t even my first time with her,’ Clovis thought, suppressing his bitter resentment as he stepped forward.
“Your Highness.” Helion blatantly blocked Clovis’s path to Adelina. “Lina doesn’t seem to want to see Your Highness right now.”
Clovis laughed at Helion’s words, his youthful face openly displaying his wariness. “Sir Helion Ziek. Where have your manners gone? Is that how the Duke’s house teaches etiquette?”
Helion’s violet eyes wavered, yet his gaze met Clovis’s golden eyes directly. “My apologies. My concern for Lina led me to be disrespectful to Your Highness. Forgive me. Your Highness.”
Clovis found Helion’s deliberate use of Adelina’s nickname irritating, a clear provocation. Ignoring the greeting, Clovis looked past Helion’s broad shoulders at the shrinking figure of Adelina. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself.
The sight evoked both pity and a surge of desire, reminding him of the sensation of holding her in his arms. The soft touch of her bare skin, usually hidden beneath layers of loose clothing. The fullness of her bre*sts, surprisingly ample beneath her baggy attire. The thrill of suckling her rose-petal n*pples, the maddening pleasure of penetrating her, still wet with another man’s s*men and blood.
As he gazed at her, recalling the memory, Adelina, seemingly uncomfortable under his intense stare, bit her lower lip and turned away. Her pale lips, the result of three days spent in bed, regained a touch of color as she bit down. Seeing the flush return to her full lips, Clovis realized, ‘I was too impatient then. I didn’t even kiss her.’
The realization sparked an overwhelming urge to seize her and ravage her mouth. Clovis reached for Adelina without hesitation. He had wasted enough time hesitating and behaving foolishly, even witnessing her surrender herself to another man.
He would hesitate no more. He would embrace her again and again, until her hatred, however strong, dulled with time.
“Your Highness.” But once again, Helion blocked his path. “What is it, Sir?”
Helion, now openly hostile, glared back at Clovis.
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