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Chapter 25
“To the Imperial Palace?”
The secretary looked startled.
“That is far too dangerous.”
“What could possibly be dangerous for me, the Emperor? If anything is in danger, it would be the one who entered the palace.”
“What I meant was…”
“We can simply enter without the appearance of a captain. If necessary, I could even shave off that ridiculously long beard.”
Captain Jin Blaske’s portrait had been posted many times before, so there were people who could recognize him. His long, thick beard was his trademark.
“I’m curious what kind of man is called the King of the Sea. And if he’s foolish enough to mistake the Imperial Palace for the ocean, it would be better to deal with him quickly.”
“…Understood.”
With a dark expression, the secretary bowed his head.
After all, carrying out difficult orders with ease was part of his duty.
When Angelina returned to the room, she was horrified all over again.
Even if they had discounted the price by twenty bart, this was too much!
A room covered in dust like freshly fallen snow?
Angelina immediately opened the window. Judging by how it shrieked every time she pushed, it clearly hadn’t been touched in ages.
After barely managing to open it a handspan, she gave up and looked around the room instead. The carpet was stained in every color imaginable, and clumps of hair rolled around like tumbleweeds.
It’s only for one night anyway.
Closing her eyes, Angelina flopped onto the bed.
“Cough, cough—hack!”
Dust billowed up from every direction, and she couldn’t stop coughing.
Even the cabin on that deserted island wasn’t this filthy.
Neither were the cheap inns she used during location shoots in her previous life.
Even the poor house she once lived in had at least been cleaned.
No matter if it was only for one night, she absolutely could not sleep in a place like this.
Angelina climbed out of bed and looked at the new clothes she had bought.
I’ll clean, wash up, and change into fresh clothes.
Resolving herself, she started cleaning.
Burning with determination to create a room even Cinderella would be impressed by.
“Foreigners must bring a travel permit.”
For the third time already.
Alexei had to hear the same thing from sailors preparing for departure.
He hadn’t even said he was a foreigner, yet they immediately recognized that he wasn’t from Tordi.
They all spoke the same Bowen language, and even their appearances were similar, so how could they tell?
Was it the same sense of unfamiliarity he himself felt toward the people of this continent?
“I’m traveling the world. Is there a passenger ship you would recommend?”
“I believe the Elas Hora travels through countries all over the world. It’s probably the route you’re looking for.”
“As long as it’s not heading to Latria.”
A sailor listening nearby cracked a joke and snickered.
“I know that much already.”
“If you didn’t, you’d have to be missing a few screws.”
“But there really isn’t one?”
Silence instantly fell.
As the atmosphere turned cold, Alexei laughed awkwardly.
“Hahaha…”
Only then did the sailors laugh along.
“Don’t make jokes like that elsewhere. You’ll get dragged away immediately.”
The sailor pointed at soldiers moving in the distance.
“They’re keeping watch for anyone talking about Latria.”
“Ahaha…”
Forcing himself to laugh made his facial muscles feel stiff.
“It’s been a long time since any Latrians came here, but they still patrol every now and then like that.”
“I see. I’ll watch my mouth.”
“Where are you from, sir?”
“The Kingdom of Rio.”
“Ah, Rio. Then go get a travel permit first. If you can prove you’re from Rio, getting one won’t be difficult.”
“…Right.”
There was no other option.
Coming to that conclusion, Alexei returned to the inn.
Angelina was asleep on the bed.
Alexei quietly shut the door and tiptoed inside.
As he approached the bed, he began noticing things he hadn’t before.
Her cheeks, warmed by sunlight.
Hair the exact same color.
Her pale neckline…
Hm?
Alexei flinched at the way his gaze dropped from her neck to her rounded shoulder.
The shoulder exposed above the blanket was bare skin.
Which meant…
He lowered his gaze further before startling himself and covering his face.
Startled by the sound, Angelina turned over. As the blanket shifted, he caught sight of her brea—
Alexei immediately dropped into a crouch.
Calm down. This isn’t the first time.
When she’d been imprisoned in the pirate ship’s storage room, she had even asked him to put his hand inside her dress against her chest.
And if the wedding had gone as planned, he would already have seen every—
What the hell am I thinking?
Alexei shook his head.
Since Angelina had no interest in him, he had sworn to himself that he would never lay a finger on her.
Producing an heir was one of an emperor’s duties, and he understood why his mother was rushing the marriage, but Alexei had every intention of keeping that vow.
Yet seeing Angelina sleeping so carelessly left him dumbfounded.
What exactly does she think of me, sleeping completely naked in this room?
And she didn’t even lock the door.
Does she have no sense of danger at all?
Suddenly irritated, Alexei walked back to lock the door before returning to stand with his back to the bed.
“Angel, wake up already. Angel.”
He heard rustling behind him.
“Oh, Alex. You’re back?”
It sounded like she was stretching.
“How did things go?”
“Not well.”
“Then why are you standing like that?”
“You know why.”
“How would I know wh— Kya!”
With a short scream, Angelina dove under the blanket, leaving only her face peeking out.
“Why am I naked?”
“That’s what I’d like to ask.”
Angelina gathered her thoughts.
After cleaning, she remembered happily whistling while taking a shower.
The attached bathroom had been the room’s only redeeming quality. Its hygiene was no better than the room itself, but at least the plumbing and toilet worked properly. For that alone, Angelina had thanked God.
Then, while changing clothes, she had apparently slipped under the blanket and fallen asleep immediately.
“Just put your clothes on first.”
“Hand me my clothes. They should be on the table over there.”
Without turning around, Alexei grabbed the clothes and tossed them behind him. They landed right in front of the bed.
“How could you throw them there?”
“I can’t see.”
“Just stay like that.”
Pulling the blanket tightly around herself, Angelina climbed out of bed.
Though he couldn’t see her, Alexei could vividly imagine every movement. He took a shaky breath.
“Did you run here?”
“No.”
“Then why are you breathing so hard?”
Behind him came the sound of rustling clothes. Then a stumble, as if she had tripped over something.
“…Just put your clothes on. Please.”
The sounds stimulating his imagination finally ceased, and silence fell behind him.
“Angel?”
A pair of small feet entered his field of vision fixed on the floor. Alexei slowly lifted his head. Angelina, still slightly flushed, crouched before him and met his eyes.
“Why are you breathing so hard?”
The moment her reddish-brown eyes looked at him, he abruptly shot to his feet.
Maybe that was why.
The emotions he had kept tightly locked away suddenly burst free.
“B-Because I’m angry.”
Seeing Angelina’s confused expression only made him angrier.
“Do you even think at all? What were you planning to do, lying there completely defenseless with the door unlocked? What if someone else had come in?”
“But nothing happened.”
“You got lucky this time, but that doesn’t mean next time—”
“I won’t do it again.”
“…”
“Then that’s fine, right?”
Angelina rose to meet his eye level again, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him.
Her tone and gaze were light, lacking any real sincerity.
And yet Alexei felt utterly powerless.
“I was just really tired.”
Unaware of Alexei’s inner turmoil, Angelina spun around him and headed back to the bed.
“You know I cleaned this whole place by myself. For the first time in twenty years—”
Oops.
She wondered if she had made a slip of the tongue, but Alexei showed no reaction.
Well, he probably just assumed she meant it was her first time cleaning.
“…Anyway. So after washing up, I meant to rest for a bit, but I fell asleep right away. And I’d been drinking wine too.”
“You were like that before too. Back at the villa.”
Bringing up the past out of nowhere is cheating, you know?
“Well… I didn’t know I was such a lightweight back then.”
“You drank an entire bottle of wine.”
“You should’ve stopped me. Why did you just sit there and watch?”
“You drank it too quickly for me to stop you.”
There was no way he could understand how miserable she’d felt waiting for money to fall from the sky.
Pouting, Angelina retorted,
“My heart was burning up. I couldn’t stand it. Though I doubt you’d think it was your fault.”
“I don’t know… I only remember being kind to someone who came asking to borrow money.”
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of guilt on Alexei’s face.
Seeing that shameless expression, Angelina truly found herself speechless.
