The Duchess's Dangerous Love Life

chapter 23

What should she say? Should she say that she felt shy as his knights had their tops off? First of all, there were a lot of eyes on them, so she had to tell him to let go of his embrace. As Adele panicked, Noah looked to where she had escaped from.

He saw the knights who had their who had their clothes off and were in a stance for greeting. Noah instantly figured out what had happened and burst into laughter, he whispered in her beet red ears.

“It seems like you were too busy crying and m0aning all night long that you must not have seen my naked body. That’s why you’re this shy, like a v!rgin.”

Too cute.

At Noah’s whisper, Adele’s face turned red.

What was he saying? The others could definitely hear his voice! Adele tapped him with a small fist and slapped him on the shoulder. Noah grabbed her hands and he kissed her immediately.

Adele hurriedly broke the kiss in case the knights behind her saw it. Noah no longer teased her, he thought her face would explode so he decided to let her go.

Even her lively little face was so adorable.

To the extent that he wanted to hide her from the gaze of crowded men. He struggled to hold in his desires and commanded the knights in a loud voice.

“Wear your clothes and train! Proceed!”

“Proceed!”

The knights began to get dressed at the same time they answered. Adele looked up at Noah who was looking at his men. A deep sense of responsibility and determination emanated from his gaze as he commanded the knights.

She hasn’t seen everything of him, perhaps what she knew was only a small portion of him.

It was different from his always cold and sharp appearance. When her eyes met Noah, who turned his head, she quickly avoided her gaze. She felt bashful, like a girl with her first love. He then asked why she came here.

“So why are you here?”

“Ah…”

Adele signaled towards Lina, and she handed the basket she was carrying to Noah. He stared at Adele and carefully took the basket. When he opened the lid, there were sandwiches made of rye bread, duck meat, and sliced oranges.

“I wanted to thank you.”

“Hm?” He wondered if he heard wrong.

“About you helping my household. They have sent some good things, so I prepared lunch for you.”

Noah stared at Adele as she finished talking. There was a bandage wrapped around her left index finger.

Tsk.

He turned his face away and frowned. Adele widened her eyes when she saw Noah seemed to be unhappy with it.

“If it doesn’t suit your taste, you may… throw it away.”

Instead, he asked, “Have you eaten lunch yet?”

Her eyes widened at his unexpected words, and she pursed her lips. It was Lina who hurriedly gave an answer in her stead. “Milady has been busy preparing food, so she has not eaten yet.”

Noah stared at the basket and then gestured to the park. “Let’s eat together.”

She fixed her eyes on him.

“Do you have time?”

Adele nodded her head hesitantly. Noah stared at her and smiled kindly. Philip and the knights who saw it were horrified.

When the Second Squad Commander saw this scene, he rapidly came to his senses and promptly spoke out. “Commander! Err—how should we train today?”

Noah frowned in irritation. “Train however you want.”

After saying these words, Noah and Adele left. The knights standing in front of the tent knelt down in a praying position.

“Oh, thank God! We don’t have to do the battle simulation training!”

As the knights were relieved, Philip raised his chin and smiled. “Know that it was all thanks to me. I brought the lady here.”

He couldn’t help but feel smug about it and it showed in his face.

“I’m just glad that we haven’t done that kind of training these days.”

“You’re right, this feels like heaven in comparison to two years ago—wait a second.” Philip narrowed his eyes as he recalled the training they did all the while. “We never did the battle training after his marriage, right?”

“Ah? Yes. He has always been in a good mood after his marriage.”

Another one chirped, “I feel like he’s been odder than usual lately! I spilled water in front of him and surprisingly, he just ignored it!”

The knights shared their experiences. Phillip ran his finger across his chin. “Then since when have we started this training?”

“Two years ago.”

“It was in summer, right? When he started torturing us with those kinds of training?”

They all nodded in assent and echoed their sentiments, “It was hell.”

Philip tilted his head and tried to recall the events during summer two years ago, but he couldn’t come up with an answer.

“What in the world happened in two years ago?”

No one could give an answer to Philip’s question, but he swore to find the answer someday.

***

The garden connected to the back door of the castle was suitable for a walk. The presence of neatly trimmed grasses, lush evergreens, and a diverse range of colorful flowers dotted the landscape, making it even more pleasant to gaze at.

“Such a… nice weather.” Adele commented tentatively.

“Right.” The man walking next to her, replied briefly. She lowered her head at the awkward atmosphere. How could a person who was so vocal at night become so quiet during the day?

Adele didn’t like the awkward silence, so she decided to say something. While thinking of what story to tell, she saw a small child about seven years old standing in front the roses.

She exclaimed, “Oh my, Peter?”

“Milady!”

It was the chef’s son, Peter. Because of his cute appearance and behavior, Adele and everyone else in the castle adored him very much. She bent her knees and beckoned for the child to come to her.

Peter ran as usual, but then stopped abruptly.

Adele was bewildered, “Why did you stop?”

“Oh, uhm I…” Peter wanted to talk but then he started to cry when he saw Noah looking down at him. Adele saw Noah scowling and smiled reassuringly at the child.

“It’s okay. Come here!”

Noah glared at him.

“Hing…” Peter cried and ran to the other side. Seeing Adele sitting with her arms still outstretched, Noah let out a small laugh.

“You must be so kind to your employees.”

“He’s still a child.”

“Can’t you be at least half as kind to me?” He grumbled.