Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
“Ugh…”
Dawn began to break.
In bed, Adelle buried her face in the pillow and started pounding on the mattress with her fists. How had she ended up in this situation?
It was definitely that man’s fault.
During their tea time, Adelle had wanted to fluster Abel. She was curious to see how his perpetually calm expression would change when thrown off balance. She wanted to test him, even if just a little.
However, it turned out she was the one who ended up flustered.
‘How on earth could he say such cheesy things?!’
Even more perplexing was that he said them to her – the infamous villainess. How could he speak like that to someone like her?
“Thus, would you not also call me Abel, my beloved Adelle?”
As if hearing his voice from earlier, Adelle sighed and sat up.
‘I could never say something like that.’
Who were these romance novel protagonists that could exchange such words?
“Oh, right. This is a light novel world.”
Therefore, it wasn’t entirely strange. Such cheesy lines were probably common in the light novel realm.
So, she should try to calm down.
No matter what, continuing to be flustered by this wouldn’t befit someone who had regressed in time. Thinking about her past life started to make her feel uneasy.
The pain of slowly dying from poison, the agony of being instantly killed by a stab to the heart, the suffocating end from having her neck squeezed shut—those memories haunted her.
“Phew…”
Finally regaining her composure, Adelle sighed and checked her mana reserves.
She could cast about five shielding spells in an emergency – not many, but sufficient.
Besides, she had Evan, the bodyguard knight Abel had assigned to her, making her situation quite secure. Evan had shown remarkable skill.
While contemplating this, there was a knock on the door.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
Wondering why Lily was arriving so early, Adelle was startled to see who stood beyond the door.
Silver hair, gray eyes.
The man standing there was none other than Adelle Hardenberg – the same person who had ruined her sleep the night before.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“…His Grace.”
Upon hearing her address him as such, he frowned and questioned her.
“Hmm? My dear Adelle, why do you address me like that?”
‘Ah, that’s right…’
Adelle recalled her words from yesterday. After their first meeting, they had agreed to call each other by their first names since it was love at first sight.
What had she been thinking when she said that?
“Abel… Your Grace.”
“Drop the ‘Your Grace.’ Say it again.”
“…Abel.”
“Hmm, that’s good enough. You’ll get used to it over time.”
Then, Abel looked at her and continued.
“It’s about time for breakfast. Your maids have been woken, so please prepare yourself and come down.”
“Understood.”
“Even if it’s hot, please ensure your buttons are fastened properly. It’s quite unpleasant for others to see such things if not me.”
Realizing her buttons were undone, Adelle quickly covered herself.
At her reaction, Abel smirked and said,
“Well, I shall take my leave now.”
Click.
Watching him close the door and leave, Adelle hurriedly fastened her buttons.
She felt her face heating up and sighed again.
He was truly unpredictable.
Initially, she had been extremely nervous because he was known as the mastermind in the original story. Their first meeting had confirmed that impression.
However, since their contract, he only ever showed her this annoying side.
His ability to continually fluster her while remaining unfazed himself irritated her.
“Whew…”
‘How did I end up with such a man?’
The thought crossed her mind, prompting Adelle to bury her face into the pillow in frustration.
*
“…That was close.”
I nearly lost my composure.
I had no idea that when I went to wake Adelle, I would see her in such an unguarded state in her nightwear.
Fortunately, my years of inadvertently practicing poker face as a child paid off. At least, that’s what her irritated expression when I left suggested.
“Not good for my heart…”
I sighed and sat on the chair at the dining table.
Shortly thereafter, the maids and butlers arrived with trays of food, beginning the setup for breakfast.
Just as the breakfast setup was finished, Adelle appeared in the distance, wearing a fresh dress, and sat across from me.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Thanks to you, there was no assassination threat, so I slept well.”
“I thought you might have been sleepless due to yesterday’s events. Seems like my worry was unnecessary.”
“Ugh…”
My words caused Adelle to momentarily falter, trembling slightly with her fork.
Surely, she didn’t stay up all night over that?
Come on, even if she did, it’s unlikely she couldn’t sleep over something so trivial.
Besides, it’s strange to lose sleep in an engaged couple just because they called each other by their first names.
Fortunately, she negated my thoughts with a resolute expression.
“…Would I really do that? How about you, Abel?”
“Hmm? Ah, don’t worry. I always sleep well.”
“That’s fortunate…”
With that, we focused on our meal.
Since it was breakfast, only soup, bread, and bacon were placed on the table instead of anything too heavy.
It’s been a while since we’ve had a meal without the maids and butlers present.
The constant need to mind our etiquette while they were around was tiring.
And since they often pointed out even minor breaches of etiquette, eating comfortably was impossible.
After all, Alan was known to be lenient in most areas but extremely strict about etiquette.
Nonetheless, with just Adelle and myself now, we didn’t need to pay attention to minor etiquette details.
Since she too was from the modern era, I didn’t expect her to care much about such formalities.
I felt satisfied with the rare chance to enjoy a relaxed meal, and a content smile bloomed on my face.
“Abel?”
“Hmm?”
“May I ask why you’re smiling?”
“It’s just satisfying to have breakfast alone with you. Is there a problem with that?”
“…I see.”
In response to my words, Adelle hung her head and started muttering something. Did my statement contain something strange?
Can’t I say such things to my fiancée? After all, it wasn’t false.
“How are your recent lessons going?”
“Let’s just call them classes.”
“Hmm? Are you embarrassed?”
“Not at all. But isn’t it a bit strange to refer to them as marriage lessons when it’s just the two of us?”
It’s not just the two of us, but no need to tell her that. Thinking so, I continued.
“It’s not strange at all. You’re clearly taking marriage lessons, aren’t you?”
“…Sigh. Understood. The lessons are going well.”
Defeated, Adelle nodded and answered my question.
“I’ve heard you’re receiving quite high evaluations.”
“By accident… Yes.”
“Seems like you’re quite serious about your lessons.”
“T-That’s not true.”
“Is it so hard to admit? Surely a couple who fell in love at first sight would do no less?”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
With that, our conversation ended. We simply focused on our breakfast.
After some time,
“Thank you for the meal.”
“How was the meal at the duke’s residence?”
“It was satisfying.”
“Good. I’ve been worried about what to do if it didn’t suit your taste.”
“I’m thankful that you always have me in mind.”
“Of course. Thinking about your fiancée is only natural for a fiancé, isn’t it?”
Smiling slightly, I said that, and Adelle sighed before nodding.
“Is that so? Whoever she may be, Abel’s future wife will have quite a tough time.”
“Perhaps it could be you.”
“That remains to be seen.”
“Hmm. That’s disappointing.”
To be honest, I’m considering even marriage as a means to keep Adelle close. Her existence is vital to my plans.
Her ability to infinitely regress is an extraordinary power.
Even considering the disadvantage of random save points, I think Adelle alone could potentially bring down an entire kingdom.
“Planning to use marriage as a means…”
My past self would probably have foamed at the mouth hearing that. Back then, I had a certain romantic notion of marriage.
Even now, I’m not entirely without such romantic ideals…
However, having met numerous women, I decided to give up on marriage based on love. Neither our values nor personalities matched well.
Not that the personalities of noble young ladies raised in luxury varied much.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Alright. Be careful, Adelle.”
“…I will. Abel.”
With that, Adelle left. Alone, I rested my chin in thought, closing my eyes to review my plans.
Though we’ve only been living together for less than a week, it’s unrealistic to expect a solid establishment of trust.
This is something that time will resolve, so I’ll set it aside for now.
On the other hand, I haven’t seen any movements from the royal family yet. They must be aware that I’m acting discreetly.
Their lack of action suggests my current activities remain within their expectations.
Thus far, there have been no hindrances to my plans.
