Chapter 24

The passenger ship was currently enjoying a flawless voyage, completely unbothered by torrential rain or aggressively rough, nausea-inducing waves. Even for Aiden, who spent more than half the year deployed at sea, encountering weather this consistently perfect was a rare blessing.

“We are incredibly lucky on this voyage.”

Standing on the private balcony, Aiden grinned brightly at the breathtaking scenery unfolding before him. The ocean, blanketed in the soft, quiet glow of early dawn, exuded a calm, deeply mystical aura that was entirely distinct from its daytime appearance. It was likely due to the dreamlike sky, a breathtaking canvas of bleeding crimson and deep indigo.

Right on cue, a refreshing breeze heavily laden with the salty scent of the sea playfully tickled his nose. After standing there for a long time, soaking in the view until he was completely satisfied, Aiden finally turned and headed for the bathroom.

He had exactly two hours before the designated meeting time. It was time to start getting ready.

“Good morning, Admiral.”

Stepping out of the bathroom freshly showered and dressed, Logan was already waiting for him. Offering a brief nod of acknowledgment, Aiden joked.

“Logan. Should we completely change our careers? I’ll personally purchase a massive cruise ship, and you can focus entirely on seducing and recruiting top-tier navigators.”

“Haha, shall we do that, sir?”

Life aboard the luxury passenger ship was so profoundly peaceful that they could easily exchange lighthearted jokes like this. Spending his days with Clyde also wasn’t nearly as terrible as he had initially feared.

Ah, of course.

“You are on your honeymoon, yet you are completely abandoning your husband to go work… Admiral Rosley, you are truly a cruel man.”

“First I was forsaken, and now I’m cruel? You work as well, Your Grace.”

“Even when I work, I desperately try to stay by your side. But you explicitly rejected me, demanding I focus entirely on my own tasks.”

There was the distinct downside of having to endure this relentless barrage of absolute nonsense. However, despite his dramatic whining, Clyde always rigorously respected Aiden’s boundaries.

Furthermore, since they were practically glued together all day long, Aiden had successfully developed an immunity, allowing him to effortlessly ignore the drivel. It would be phenomenal if he could develop a similar immunity to Clyde’s devastating visual attacks, but that was proving significantly more difficult.

“By the way, Logan. How much longer until we arrive at the Trois Kingdom?”

“Assuming the wind remains favorable, we should arrive within five days, sir.”

“Is that right? We brought an absolute mountain of diplomatic gifts, so His Majesty the King had better be ecstatic.”

Snickering softly, Aiden ran his fingers through his slightly damp hair.

“Admiral. Will you be having breakfast with His Grace the Grand Duke again today?”

“You already know exactly what will happen if I don’t. He’ll throw a massive fit, dramatically complaining that I’m completely discarding precious bonding time with my husband.”

Though his tone was heavily grumbling, a soft, incredibly fond smile lingered on his lips. Logan desperately wanted to point out, ‘Despite your complaints, sir, you seem to be eagerly anticipating that exact time,’ but being a highly intelligent adjutant, he wisely kept his mouth shut and simply nodded.

“But didn’t we have a completely open schedule today?”

“Ah. A highly urgent request arrived, asking for an immediate meeting with you as soon as possible, sir.”

“Really?”

A wicked, deeply intrigued smirk slowly curled the corners of Aiden’s mouth.

“Where do I need to go?”

“Please head to the bridge, sir.”

Aiden glanced at the clock resting on the table. Because he had moved so efficiently this morning, he still had plenty of time to spare. At this pace, he definitely wouldn’t have to endure another dramatic performance from Clyde accusing him of being a ‘forsaken husband’ for being late.

Still, just in case the meeting ran long, Aiden quickly scrawled a short note and headed straight for the bridge.

“You have arrived, Admiral Rosley.”

As Aiden stepped onto the bridge, the Captain of the ship formally greeted him. The Captain was holding several sheets of paper. Aiden quickly scanned the documents. The handwriting was erratic and rushed, as if scribbled in extreme haste.

“You’ve had a busy morning, Captain. Are you receiving your salary properly?”

“Actually, sir, I fully intend to aggressively demand overtime compensation from my employer for this.”

“You absolutely should demand a hefty sum. Shall I assist you in the negotiations?”

“Yes, I would greatly appreciate that, Admiral.”

Responding smoothly to Aiden’s playful, mischievous tone, the Captain unfolded the papers. With a subtle look asking for permission to begin, Aiden nodded. The Captain maintained a perfectly calm, neutral expression as he read the contents aloud. The longer he spoke, the deeper and more genuine the smile on Aiden’s face became.

“Right. I understand completely.”

As the Captain concluded the report, Aiden offered a highly concise, decisive response. His tone was perfectly balanced—neither overly serious nor dismissively light. The Captain folded the papers and tucked them securely into his pocket.

“Then, Admiral, I hope you have a truly wonderful day today.”

The exact second Aiden accepted the greeting and stepped out of the bridge, a searing, intense heat wrapped firmly around his wrist. Having perfectly anticipated the approaching hand, Aiden didn’t attempt to dodge; he simply allowed himself to be caught. Maintaining a completely dry, emotionless expression, he spoke.

“There are exactly thirty minutes remaining until our designated meeting time, so any dramatic complaints about being neglected, abandoned, or lonely are strictly prohibited.”

“You really are far too cruel.”

A bright, ringing laugh melted into the ocean breeze. Exhaling a tiny, fond sigh, Aiden lifted his head. As their eyes met, Clyde wore a light, breathtakingly gentle smile. The way his eyes curved into sharp, happy crescents was incredibly refreshing.

“Good morning, Aiden.”

While he strictly adhered to using ‘Admiral Rosley’ during the day, Clyde religiously insisted on using Aiden’s first name exclusively for their morning greetings. Every single time he heard it, the intense, fluttery sensation in his chest was so overwhelming that Aiden instinctively scrunched up his face in defense.

“Why are you making that face again? I’m quite hurt.”

Using a long, perfectly straight finger, Clyde gently pressed between Aiden’s furrowed brows. The more his finger lingered, the more intensely Aiden scowled, but Clyde completely ignored the lethal glare.

“…Are you having fun, Your Grace?”

A terrifying, violent sound of teeth grinding aggressively together slipped from Aiden’s lips. Only then did Clyde finally retract his hand and take a half-step back.

“If I offended you, I sincerely apologize. Won’t you forgive me? Hmm?”

For someone claiming to be begging for forgiveness, the blue eyes staring down at him were absolutely overflowing with wicked, unapologetic mischief. Furthermore, knowing exactly what Aiden’s critical weakness was, Clyde intentionally curved his eyes into a devastatingly soft, beautiful smile.

It was an incredibly lethal, highly dangerous visual attack to face first thing in the morning. Suppressing a deeply defeated internal groan, Aiden responded in a flat, apathetic tone.

“Ah, yes. I generously forgive you.”

Clyde immediately whined that the forgiveness lacked any genuine sincerity, but Aiden completely ignored him, letting the complaints go in one ear and out the other as he simply nodded.

“Well, I suppose since I am the one hopelessly in love with you, Admiral, I have no choice but to surrender.”

Muttering the brand-new variation of his usual nonsense loudly enough to ensure Aiden heard every single word, Clyde let out a heavy, dramatic sigh and asked his question.

“More importantly, Admiral. Why were you on the bridge so early in the morning?”

Ah, right. Letting out a short gasp of realization, Aiden addressed Clyde.

“Your Grace. Would you care to join me for a light stroll before breakfast?”

“A stroll?”

The blue eyes blinking down at him shone with innocent, unadulterated curiosity.

“I would love to.”

As Clyde eagerly accepted, Aiden immediately took the lead, heading out toward the open deck. Using his long legs, Clyde effortlessly closed the distance in seconds, falling perfectly into step right beside Aiden.

The refreshing citrus scent effortlessly riding the ocean breeze was agonizingly, intoxicatingly sweet. Aiden. Do you have absolutely any idea what kind of dark, desperate emotions are swirling inside me as I walk beside you right now? Do you have any idea how much I am violently suppressing myself just for you?

A dark, incredibly complex storm of emotions raged within Clyde’s blue eyes, but Aiden, who was marching straight ahead with singular focus, remained entirely oblivious to the terrifying gaze.

“Your Grace.”

Aiden, who had been walking at a brisk, urgent pace that hardly qualified as a leisurely ‘stroll,’ abruptly halted his steps. In a fraction of a second, Clyde completely erased the dark storm in his eyes, perfectly replacing it with his flawless, painted-on smile. It isn’t time yet.

“I have a question.”

“Ask away. I will gladly answer absolutely anything.”

“Do you happen to possess an excellent sense of balance?”

“My sense of balance?”

Clyde tilted his head in genuine confusion.

“Because…”

As if it had been waiting for that exact cue—BOOM! A deafening, thunderous explosion violently shook the air. A massive geyser of water aggressively erupted from the ocean, instantly followed by the massive passenger ship pitching violently to the side.

“I was wondering if you could maintain your footing in a situation exactly like this.”

Despite aggressively stumbling and looking as if he were about to be thrown to the deck, Aiden’s facial expression was more terrifyingly calm and serene than ever before.

“I am perfectly fine since I deal with this specific situation constantly. But since this is your first time, Your Grace.”

If you feel dizzy and end up throwing up, I’ll completely understand. The playful, utterly nonchalant addition was completely devoid of even a microscopic trace of tension or panic.

“Admiral Rosley. Was that an actual cannonball that just flew at us? Meaning, a pirate ambush?”

“Yes, exactly. The projectile that just missed us was a Kali shell. It’s enchanted with high-tier magic specifically designed to artificially generate massive waves, making it incredibly expensive.”

As Aiden delivered the tactical analysis in a deadpan, clinical tone, Clyde burst into genuine laughter.

“Well, we are in massive trouble, aren’t we?”

“Yes. We are in massive trouble.”

For two people casually discussing how they were in ‘massive trouble,’ their faces were absolutely beaming with bright, excited smiles. Soon, the violent, aggressive rocking of the ship finally subsided, and several imposing pirate vessels that had been cloaked by the artificial waves fully revealed themselves.

“A-A-Ahem!”

A massive, magically amplified voice boomed across the open ocean. Aiden casually turned his head toward the source of the noise. A massive black flag bearing a violently red skull came into sharp focus.

“Can you hear my voice?!”

The aggressively grating, heavily distorted voice sliced through the air once more. Sensing the anomaly, the nobles who had been resting in their suites immediately poured out onto the open deck. It was an incredibly dangerous, highly volatile combat situation, yet Aiden made absolutely no effort to stop them. Clyde followed his lead, remaining perfectly still.

“Passenger ship of the Celton Empire! We are pirates! Terrifying, aren’t we?! So hand over absolutely everything of value before we sink you!”

The pirate cackled maniacally, delivering a painfully cliché, horribly unimpressive line that sounded like it was ripped straight from a third-rate dime novel.

“Admiral Rosley. Are pirates normally this incredibly lame?”

“Yes. However, there are significantly worse bastards out there.”

“Is that so? My poor husband really suffers so much.”

Clyde gently, affectionately stroked Aiden’s hair. The sensation of Clyde’s fingers slipping smoothly through his strands tickled pleasantly, drawing a soft, genuine laugh from Aiden’s lips.

“So, what is our brilliant Admiral going to do now?”

What am I going to do? Right as Aiden smirked wickedly, another voice echoed from the pirate ship.

“Captain! That black-haired guy standing on the deck over there… doesn’t he look incredibly familiar?!”

“Where?!”

“The one standing right next to the blond guy!”

Clyde dramatically scrunched his face into a look of profound annoyance.

“Hmm. It seems they are referring to you, Admiral.”

In stark contrast, Aiden aggressively tried to suppress the massive, triumphant grin spreading across his face.

“It certainly seems that way.”

“Hmm? Why do you look so happy? Are you actually thrilled that a bunch of filthy pirates recognized you?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s absolute proof that my glorious reputation strikes terror even among these pirate bastards.”

Aiden confidently planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin with aggressive pride. He looked exactly like a wildly arrogant, utterly fearless kitten who knew it was fiercely loved and protected by its master.

Chuckling softly at the adorable display, Clyde gently pinched Aiden’s cheek. Ow. Right as the highly exaggerated, pathetic whine slipped from Aiden’s lips, the pirate’s voice boomed across the sky once more.

“…Isn’t that Admiral Aiden Rosley?!”

“Wait, Admiral Aiden Rosley?! Isn’t he the terrifying psycho who ruthlessly slaughters pirates without mercy?!”