Chapter 19

Ash-gray clouds had completely devoured the sky, eventually unleashing a torrential, unrelenting downpour since early morning. Blinding flashes of lightning and deafening thunderclaps violently rattled the capital.

Aiden stood perfectly still in front of the glass, silently watching the deluge hammer against the windowpanes. The fierce, howling wind violently rattled the frames, but he remained entirely unfazed.

“…”

The heavy, damp scent of wet earth seeped through the cracks in the window. The pungent, musty odor prickling his nose caused Aiden to scrunch his face in deep displeasure.

“Young Master Aiden.”

However, at the sound of the voice calling from behind him, Aiden instantly smoothed his features. Plastering a perfectly painted, flawless smile across his face, he slowly turned around.

“Has the guest arrived?”

“Yes, sir. He just arrived and has been escorted to the drawing room.”

Offering a slight nod, Aiden began walking toward the drawing room. With every step he took, the violent, rhythmic sound of the pounding rain followed him. Arriving at the heavy oak doors, Aiden issued a swift command to the butler.

“The absolute second the guest leaves, I will be departing for the Imperial Palace. Have everything prepared.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

With that confirmation, the butler pushed the doors open. Inside the extravagantly decorated drawing room, a highly familiar man was seated on the plush sofa. Hearing the click of the latch, the man whipped his head around and shouted enthusiastically.

“Aiden!”

“Julian.”

“When I got the letter saying you actually wanted to meet me first, I was so incredibly happy I literally bawled my eyes out! Hehe!”

It was a sickeningly childish, overly dramatic speech pattern that even his young nieces and nephews wouldn’t dare use. Aiden barely managed to suppress the violent urge to aggressively furrow his brow. He couldn’t exactly throw a tantrum at a guest who had braved a torrential storm just to see him. Instead, forcibly dragging the corners of his mouth upward, Aiden approached Julian and utilized the absolute friendliest tone he could muster.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea it was going to rain this heavily. The journey here must have been awful.”

“It’s perfectly fine! If my dear Aiden wants to see me, I’d come running anytime!”

Beaming brightly, Julian suddenly stuck his bottom lip out in a massive, exaggerated pout. The corners of his eyes drooped pathetically, making him look as if he were about to burst into genuine tears.

“Do you have any idea how incredibly hurt I was the other day?”

“About what.”

Despite his ironclad resolution to be a gracious host, an incredibly sullen, deadpan voice slipped out completely unbidden. Treating it as a completely standard reaction, Julian eagerly continued his whining.

“You let the Grand Duke hold your hand all he wanted, but when your precious Academy classmate tries, you pull a loaded gun on me and reject me…”

“I did?”

“Yeah! I was so unbelievably hurt that I just sprinted out of the conference room. Aiden, you can’t do that to me next time, okay?”

Dramatically heaving his shoulders up and down while making pathetic, fake sobbing noises, Julian wiped at his completely dry, tearless eyes. Watching the ridiculous performance, a hollow scoff escaped Aiden’s lips as he pressed a hand to his throbbing forehead.

“Anyway, the fact that you summoned me today must mean you’ve changed your mind, right?”

“My mind?”

“About seeking asylum! I am entirely serious.”

“I told you last time. I’m not doing it.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“Do I really need a specific reason to not commit treason?”

Delivering the dry, apathetic response, Aiden picked up the steaming teacup resting on the table. Blowing softly on the hot liquid to cool it, he took a slow, elegant sip.

Crossing his arms, Julian maintained a heavy silence, intensely staring at Aiden. As Aiden swallowed the tea, his Adam’s apple bobbed smoothly. Simultaneously, Julian’s own Adam’s apple bobbed in sync. His purple eyes glazed over with a strange, dazed intensity, and his mouth fell open slightly.

“Why are you staring? Do you want me to have them swap yours out for lemon tea?”

“Huh? Oh. No, I’m fine.”

You should have shown me a little more, what a shame. Muttering the highly inappropriate thought completely out of earshot, Julian awkwardly scratched his cheek and offered a sheepish laugh.

“But if it isn’t about the asylum, why did you call me here?”

“Ah, it’s because out of everyone I know, you seem to be the most knowledgeable about this.”

Aiden set his teacup down. Clink. The crisp, clear sound echoed pleasantly between them.

“Because I’ve spent my entire career subjugating pirates, I’ve virtually never traveled strictly for leisure.”

“Right, of course you haven’t…”

Because you are so terrifyingly, obsessively in love with the sea and hunting pirates. As Julian mumbled the bitter addition under his breath, Aiden let out a soft, exasperated chuckle. I mean, yes, I absolutely love the sea, but it’s not severe enough to warrant that kind of reaction.

“Regardless, unlike me, you are a merchant who has traveled extensively across the globe.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Therefore, I want to ask you for recommendations on the best destination for a honeymoon.”

“…What?”

As Julian stared at him in blank, uncomprehending shock, Aiden repeated himself with crystal-clear, deliberate enunciation, acting as if it were the most mundane request in the world.

“A honeymoon destination. I am asking you to recommend one.”

Grind. 

The terrifying, violent sound of teeth gnashing aggressively against each other sliced through the elegant drawing room.

“Is forcing you into a marriage not enough for that damn Emperor?! Now he’s making you do the research for your own honeymoon too?!”

“I assume he believes he is being considerate.”

“Then what about the Grand Duke?!”

“He stated he is perfectly happy to go absolutely anywhere I wish to go.”

Julian’s already tightly clenched fists tightened even further, trembling with suppressed rage. Thick, pulsing blue veins—entirely unsuited for his conventionally attractive, soft features—bulged violently across his knuckles. Keeping his eyes locked onto that furious display, Aiden added in a dry, warning tone.

“Ah, and drop the asylum nonsense. No matter how many times you ask, the answer is no. Regardless of the circumstances, I am going through with this marriage.”

It was a blunt, aggressive warning explicitly telling him to stop interfering in Aiden’s life. Julian viciously bit down on the tender flesh inside his cheek. The metallic, bitter tang of blood instantly flooded his mouth.

Aiden Rosley was a deeply oblivious, infuriatingly apathetic man who completely failed to recognize Julian’s true feelings. Yet, despite that apathy, he was maddeningly, agonizingly kind. During the war, when Julian had foolishly fallen for an enemy provocation, Aiden had taken a bullet to the right shoulder to save him. Despite bleeding profusely, Aiden had simply smiled and said, ‘I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.’

Even when Julian intentionally clung to him and aggressively invaded his personal space under the guise of being ‘Academy classmates’ just to feel his touch, Aiden’s face and actions would scream with pure annoyance, but he never once actually got angry. Aiden himself likely didn’t even realize it, but he was incredibly, devastatingly soft toward the people he placed inside his inner boundary—his comrades-in-arms who had shared life and death with him.

To think that such an incredible man was being forced into a marriage simply because he wrecked a single ship made Julian’s blood boil with unadulterated fury. Aiden belongs to me. How dare those worthless bastards try to take him.

“Your Majesty. I will extract Admiral Aiden Rosley from the Celton Empire and bring him to you.”

“Hmm? Didn’t you explicitly state previously that while smuggling trade goods out of the Celton Empire is child’s play, extracting a high-ranking military officer would be exceedingly difficult?”

“The Celton Empire bastards abandoned him first.”

“Is that so? Excellent. To secure absolute victory in this war, I desperately need an Admiral of his caliber.”

The absolute second he heard the news of the forced marriage through Raymond, Julian had ruthlessly and rapidly finalized all the necessary preparations for Aiden’s extraction. He’s a naive fool who knows absolutely nothing but the sea, so I have to be the one to save him.

Julian had fully expected Aiden to initially express intense irritation at the asylum proposal before eventually conceding. After all, Aiden was a man with immense, unyielding pride as a naval officer. But what was this? Asking for a honeymoon recommendation? And actively taking the side of that damn Emperor and the Grand Duke?!

Fine. If you’re going to be this incredibly stubborn, Aiden, I suppose I have no choice but to drastically accelerate my plans.

“…The Trois Kingdom would be an excellent choice.”

“The Trois Kingdom?”

One of Aiden’s eyebrows and the corner of his mouth twitched upward in a highly subtle, almost imperceptible micro-expression. However, completely consumed by his own boiling fury and dark plotting, Julian entirely failed to notice the shift.

“Yeah. They have this incredibly famous beach with pure white sand that is absolutely breathtaking. Furthermore, they are globally renowned for their exotic fruit desserts. You absolutely love sweet things, right?”

“Right. Thank you. It seems I made the correct choice in asking you rather than anyone else.”

“Not at all. I’m just thrilled I could be of help.”

Flashing a brilliant, perfectly innocent smile, Julian masterfully concealed his true, treacherous intentions. Now, the only thing left to do was to completely dye Aiden’s honeymoon in blood. Naturally, a substantial number of innocent casualties would occur during the extraction process, but well, it couldn’t be helped. If Aiden was incapable of making the correct, logical choice on his own, forcing him to learn through a brutal, traumatizing experience wasn’t a terrible alternative.

Besides, if he meticulously orchestrated the ambush, he could swoop in as Aiden’s ultimate savior. In the long run, this might actually be the vastly superior outcome.

“Ah, Aiden. I actually have a highly pressing engagement today. Would it be alright if I took my leave now?”

“Of course.”

Nodding easily, Aiden stood up from his chair.

“Are you going to see me out?”

“Yes.”

“Are you doing it because I said I was hurt earlier?! Oh my gods, I’m so touched I think I’m actually going to cry!”

“Stop spouting absolute nonsense. I do this for every single guest.”

Looking utterly repulsed, Aiden yanked the drawing room doors open. Giggling gleefully, Julian walked alongside Aiden toward the grand lobby.

“Wait here a moment.”

Upon reaching the lobby, Aiden excused himself and briefly stepped away. A moment later, he returned holding a large, sturdy umbrella.

“It’s raining heavily outside. I’ll walk you to your carriage.”

“Aiden! You really were keeping my feelings in mind…!”

“I told you, no. I explicitly said I do this for absolutely every guest.”

As Aiden’s face aggressively contorted in pure, unadulterated exasperation, Julian burst into bright, ringing laughter.

“Let’s go.”

As Aiden snapped the massive umbrella open, Julian happily trotted over to huddle underneath it. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Aiden, a crisp, refreshing citrus scent effortlessly pierced through the heavy, metallic smell of the rain.

“Thank you, Aiden.”

“Have a safe trip.”

The moment he climbed into the carriage, Julian immediately shoved the window open and waved enthusiastically.

“Let’s meet again soon!”

“The rain is getting inside. Shut the window.”

“No it’s not!”

“Haa… Do whatever you want.”

Accompanied by Aiden’s exhausted sigh, the carriage carrying Julian slowly rolled away into the storm. Aiden stood perfectly still under the umbrella, watching until the carriage completely vanished behind the torrential curtain of rain. The moment the faint, polite smile was entirely wiped from his face, the butler, who had been quietly observing from the doorway, approached him.

“Young Master. The preparations for your departure are complete.”

“Excellent. I will depart immediately.”

After changing his damp clothes, Aiden climbed into the carriage bound for the Imperial Palace. Outside the window, the violent downpour showed absolutely zero signs of stopping.

Huu.

Exhaling a long, incredibly deep breath, Aiden slowly closed his eyes. As darkness consumed his vision, the conversation he had just shared with Julian began violently tearing through his mind.

Julian. Asylum. Honeymoon. And the Trois Kingdom.

Objectively speaking, they were completely mundane, unremarkable words. Yet, every single time he mentally pronounced them, a horribly bitter, metallic taste flooded his mouth. It felt as if he was preparing to plunge a knife into his own chest and violently carve out a deeply embedded, precious memory with his own two hands.

***