[Chapter 160] Downpour

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"Your Highness, the shadow has returned."

Several letters were placed on the hand that was extended silently. Roardnes' cold eyes scanned the seemingly scribbled letters.

In reality, it was a report disguised as a letter. A report from the shadows monitoring Noebian Trovica.

"They ask if they should continue to follow. There are no other particular points yet, only information that he has created a new name."

"Don't approach. Just keep following."

"...What about just leaving him alone?"

Vincenzo hesitated before asking. Roardnes skimmed the next letter without answering.

"The Emperor wants to hold another funeral for Her Majesty Empress Retina."

"Is there anyone who has two funerals?"

"He wants to hold it briefly and reverently, not according to the royal tradition."

"It's not good to hold on to the dead for too long. Should I still thank him for asking my opinion?"

Despite the indifferent tone, his sharply honed eyes did not rest. Vincenzo sighed deeply and left the tent.

Roardnes finally opened the letter at the bottom. As soon as he opened the letter, his sharp eyes drooped.

It was a letter from Adriene.

Roardnes let out a groan and buried his face in his hands. The clear, bright smile of Adriene lingered in front of his eyes, making him feel miserable.

He had been handling urgent state affairs on behalf of the Emperor, who had locked himself in the imperial palace, hugging the coffin of his mother, Empress Retina.

Grabbing the collars of the attendants who came to his chambers with an armful of work with a rotten look, he would be quiet for a day or two.

But subduing monsters was a different story.

'Madness will disappear if you cut off your obsession. Those who have powers beyond the normal human range need a place to continuously pour their power.'

Lottie's voice seemed to ring clearly in his ears. He clutched Adriene's letter in both hands and buried himself in the chair.

'If Adriene is the cause of the thirst the prince is experiencing, it's because she's so special. Since she's the object of all his focus, it's understandable that he considered Adriene as the object of his madness in his childhood. The reason why the madness is triggered when he sees the blood of a monster is that he has not yet fully accepted his power as a beneficial force.'

'Then what should I do?'

'Since Adriene has found her own magic, you don't have to suppress her power. Her magic will accept your magic. If you want to see the monsters and eliminate them with a clear mind, you just need to fully accept that your power is beneficial and willingly use it.'

A rare voice filled with sympathy wandered through his mind.

'The prince seems to have endured everything for so long.'

As Lottie said.

He finally used the power he had been trying to hide and control.

The effort of the soldiers participating in the short battle was reduced by half, and he no longer fought like a monster craving blood as before.

The madness created by the obsession of wanting to be with Adriene.

The madness created by the desperate attempt to control the power because he was afraid that the ominous creature would take away the attention he should have received from his brother.

All of that could be solved simply by not enduring it.

Wasn't it a ridiculously simple solution?

Roardnes lay on the makeshift bed with a bitter smile.

In the hearts of the monsters he had killed, there were turquoise jewels that looked exactly like Adriene's eyes. They were gorgeous, precious gems filled with pure magic. Ah, Adriene...

Roardnes kissed the letter he was holding so dearly. He felt like he was going crazy wanting to see Adriene.

The monster extermination, which was scheduled for a month, was coming to an end in almost two weeks. At night, he would wipe out the monsters that appeared, and during the day, he would search the corpses of the dead monsters, pull out their hearts, and obtain the jewels.

Lottie, who followed the extermination battle, saying that he was studying monsters, said that the value of one of those jewels was worth about two huge castles.

But Roardnes didn't hear those words at all. As soon as he saw the jewel that resembled Adriene's eyes, he immediately imagined putting it around her white, slender neck.

Putting on that necklace and biting and licking her delicate nape where the blood vessels were visible... Roardnes gritted his teeth and came to the conclusion that he should return to the imperial palace tomorrow evening, which was originally scheduled for three days later.

Even though everyone was already sleep-deprived because they had already advanced the schedule as much as possible, since they had killed all the monsters, they could leave the aftermath to the lord of this territory or Vincenzo.

He had been enduring it as long as he could because he was afraid of hearing rumors that he had been neglecting his work and was wrapped up in the skirt of the Crown Princess.

He had spent most of his time since getting married rolling around in bed, and not even having a single portrait drawn made longing for Adriene in the air like torture.

Roardnes kissed the letter, which smelled of Adriene, for a long time, and then tore it open while lying down.

Unlike what he expected, the contents of the letter were very short.

His eyes, which had drooped with disappointment, immediately sparkled when he checked the contents.

"Vincenzo!!"

"Yes, Your Highness-!"

"Now that all the monsters are dead, you take care of the rest. I'm going straight to the imperial palace now."

"Yes?"

Vincenzo was dumbfounded by his lord's sudden change of heart. Ignoring the surprised eyes of his officer, Roardnes shouted for someone to bring him his words outside the tent like a ferocious tyrant.

There was no time to catch him after that. It was because Roardnes, who had wrapped his cloak around him, immediately left the tent with an emergency bundle that he had loosely placed on a temporary desk on his waist.

From the moment he left the palace, Vincenzo had been coaxing and soothing the lord who seemed to want to die to return to his wife.

It was also Vincenzo who had held him back for so long, watching Roardnes wash himself compulsively as if he were going to run to his wife right away after finishing his work.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!!"

Vincenzo pulled his hair.

Oh, damn it.

Seeing his lord already become a dot in the distance, Vincenzo picked up the letter that he had dropped, with hollow eyes, to check what exactly the Crown Princess had said to make him run like a mad dog.

"...Damn it, Roardnes."

For the first time in years, my cousin's name, the lord, came out of Vincenzo's mouth along with a curse. The only words written in the letter that moved Roardnes were:

'I miss you so much today, my dear.'

As always, the clean-up was Vincenzo's job.

****

The greenhouse, which had regained its vitality since the new Crown Princess entered the imperial palace, was busier than usual.

It was because of the messenger sent by Viscount Vincenzo Winston with the news of Roardnes' return.

"I'll do it myself, so now you all go out."

"But..."

"I'm not made of glass."

The servants of the Crown Prince's palace were so anxious that Adriene might get hurt that they couldn't even stand still when she walked.

But knowing that Adriene didn't like being treated like a sick person, they followed the order without a word.

Yona, the maid that Blier had stubbornly placed there, firmly guarded the front of the greenhouse, ready to jump out if Adriene showed any signs of difficulty.

Adriene enjoyed her freedom for the first time in a long time in a space where all the servants had disappeared.

The cold of the late winter was easily overcome in the greenhouse, and the interior where the eastern flowers were transplanted boasted the best freshness in recent years thanks to Adriene.

As soon as Adriene heard the news of Roardnes' return, she placed a basket of freshly baked cookies on the table from morning.

A few days ago, she had impulsively written a letter to Roardnes, missing him so much after hearing the news of her pregnancy.

It wasn't meant to interfere with his work at all. She thought of exchanging letters like she used to when she was a child, and if he replied that he missed her too, she would tell him that she had a gift for when he came back.

"Adriene!"

While she was touching her lower abdomen with complicated feelings, wondering how to bring up the subject and whether the imperial physician's words about her pregnancy were actually wrong, a thunderous male voice cut through the peaceful greenhouse.

"Roan!"

Before she could even ask how he was, a familiar scent soaked her nose, carried by the stiff collar of his clothes that had returned with a cold chill.

Roardnes, who had run up and hugged her tightly, immediately showered her with kisses on the top of her head.

She saw the maids who had come to make warm tea startled and leave the greenhouse. Adriene barely managed to pull Roardnes away.

"I missed you, Roan."

"Is that all?"

Roardnes' eyes were very busy.

His warm hands grabbed her clear face.

Roardnes, who seemed to want to swallow her eyes, nose, and mouth that he hadn't seen for almost two weeks, kissed her deeply with a groan.

There was no room for relaxation in his body, which was bent towards her.

Roardnes' eyes, usually so focused and intense, were now wild and ferocious, though his long eyelashes remained lowered, as if not even noticing.

The waistband of his pants, which had been pressing heavily against Adriene's belly since a while ago, made it difficult for her to breathe.

Suddenly, the tablecloth on the wide outdoor table was grabbed by his restless big hand, and the dishes on it fell with a loud clatter.

Adriene was pushed back involuntarily and sat down, leaning against the table.

She instinctively reached out to grab the basket of cookies that had slid to the edge of the table.

Fortunately, the basket didn't fall, and her outstretched hand was caught by Roardnes.

"Roan!"

"I thought I was going crazy missing you, but I can't waste time just drinking tea."

A low voice warned her fiercely in Adriene's ear.

Roardnes, seeing Adriene's flushed face, hurriedly pulled up the pink dress with his urgent hands.

His hot palm ran up her soft thigh, and a huge male body suddenly entered between her parted legs.

Then, Roardnes' eager lips touched her exposed collarbone.

Suddenly, Adriene came to her senses and pushed Roardnes away hard.

Roardnes, who was quick to understand her mood, easily stepped back.

However, the speed at which her body rejected him was different from the speed at which her mind accepted it.

Roardnes, who was pushed away pitifully in an instant, looked at her like a wounded beast.

Adriene pulled down her dress that had been rolled up and fastened the slightly disheveled front, warning him.

"From now on, for at least two months, I won't even touch you."

His fierce eyes lost their intensity in an instant.

It seemed as if his invisible ears were drooping instantly.

He looked at her with a pitiful face, like the sound of a puppy crying when its favorite toy was taken away.

"What... did I do wrong?"

Roardnes asked pitifully.

"I brought back several monster hearts to give you, and I'll arrive with a box full of jewels and gold coins, Lien."

He rambled on and on as if to make up for a mistake he hadn't made.

Adriene looked at Roardnes with strange eyes, whose eyes were bloodshot.

"Whatever you give me, it's not as good as what I can give you."

"...You? Are you talking about yourself?"

"I've already given myself to you."

Adriene said with a slightly softened expression.

Roardnes, whose anxiety was slightly calmed by that brief tenderness, cautiously approached Adriene like a beast that had been abandoned and then picked up.

Adriene silently embraced him, confirming that his heavy pants were still there but in a slightly calmer state.

"I don't need anything else but you, no matter what you give me."

Roardnes took a deep breath and kissed Adriene's forehead gently.

Adriene smiled softly and gently stroked her lower abdomen with both hands.

"You're a heartless father, baby. You don't need anything but me."

The lips that had been messing up her golden hair a moment ago stopped abruptly.

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