Chapter 64

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

Adam’s voice came from behind her, his tone light with curiosity.

She must have been lost in thought—he had probably called her name a few times before she even noticed.

Quickly gathering her thoughts, she blurted out, “I was just thinking that you and His Highness, the Crown Prince, look alike.”

“…….”

Since he was seated behind her, she couldn’t see his expression.

Before she could turn to check, Adam spoke first.

“Is that so?”

They looked so similar that they could almost be blood relatives.

Judis and the emperor resembled each other, and since Adam also bore a resemblance to the emperor…

‘Wait, does that mean Adam is part of the imperial family? Haha, that’s ridiculous.’

If Adam really carried imperial blood, wouldn’t the emperor have done something when he was being mistreated as a commoner warrior?

She let out a breathless chuckle.

If he were a royal, his life wouldn’t have turned out like this.

Her thoughts had gone too far.

Adam, unaware of her musings, continued speaking in his usual calm tone.

“Do you know much about the founding festival?”

“Of course! I heard it’s even more beautiful at night!”

Excitedly, she started rambling about everything Abraxas and Ben had told her about the festival.

Adam listened attentively, occasionally chiming in or chuckling at her exaggerated enthusiasm.

“Unfortunately, there won’t be any dragons.”

“What? Ben told me there would be! Wait—do dragons even exist?”

“I’ve never heard of any in the current empire. This country has enough trouble dealing with just the Demon King. A dragon on top of that would be…”

Adam shook his head in exasperation.

She felt his movement behind her and couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Right? Just one Demon King gave us enough trouble as it is!”

The empire had been plagued for centuries, and even the founding festival had been affected by the Demon King’s reign.

Before Adam defeated him, most major events had been canceled out of fear.

It wasn’t even an exaggeration to say that people had been too afraid to breathe too loudly, lest they provoke the Demon King.

‘No wonder this year’s festival is going to be huge!’

When they finally arrived in the capital, she let out a small gasp.

Compared to the small villages she had seen before, this city seemed endless.

The buildings were pristine, crafted from bright materials that made them look both clean and grand.

And there were so many people!

The main part of the festival wouldn’t even begin until nightfall, but the streets were already overflowing with crowds.

She eagerly tried to dismount from the horse but froze halfway.

It was much higher than she had expected.

A soft chuckle came from behind her, but she didn’t notice.

Adam effortlessly dismounted, then turned toward her with his arms open.

After a brief hesitation, she jumped into his hold.

As expected, he caught her with ease, setting her down gently before tying the horse to a tree.

Now freed from duty, the horse lazily began munching on grass nearby.

After giving it a quick pat, Eveline eagerly dove into the crowd.

Adam followed closely behind her.

“Wow…”

It had been so long since people had a festival to enjoy, and they were making the most of it.

Many were dressed in lavish, colorful outfits, clearly going all out for the occasion.

She turned to look at Adam.

Something suddenly felt off.

Not his appearance—he looked the same as ever.

In fact, he looked too good.

People who didn’t even know he was the warrior kept stealing glances at him.

No, the issue wasn’t his face. It was his clothes.

All he had on was a simple, lightweight shirt, the same one he always wore around the Demon King’s castle.

She glanced around, spotting a man dressed in a ridiculous outfit that looked as if it had been covered in peacock feathers.

It was clear that status and appearances mattered here.

And her warrior would not be outdone by anyone!

With determined resolve, she spun toward Adam and declared, “As long as I have eyes wide open, I won’t let our warrior be outshined by anyone else!”

“…What?” Adam blinked. “Do I look strange to you? If you’re fine with it, I don’t care what others think of me.”

She shook her head firmly.

His face was practically a gift from the heavens—wearing plain clothes all the time was practically an insult!

Grabbing his wrist, she dragged him toward a tailor’s shop.

The moment the staff inside saw his face, they became frantic, bringing out outfit after outfit for him to try.

Even those who weren’t working in the store poked their heads out just to catch a glimpse of him.

Seeing him in something different for once, Eveline beamed with satisfaction.

Then, out of nowhere, Adam dropped a bombshell.

“You should get something, too.”

“Huh? I’m fine!”

She hurriedly tried to refuse.

But Adam only grinned mischievously.

“I can’t be the only one getting dressed up.”

“But I really don’t nee—”

“It won’t feel right if just me.”

“…….”

She groaned.

This was unfair.

Whether he had overheard Adam’s words or simply sensed an opportunity, one of the shop attendants approached her with a bright smile.

“This way, please! Since it’s the founding festival, we have a selection of famous outfits available.”

Before she could protest, the staff began enthusiastically showing her a variety of dresses.

And to make matters worse—Adam, completely serious, began picking outfits and suggesting that she try them on.

“Wait, but…”

“Come on, try them! Your lover is waiting so eagerly.”

“A—Ah! We’re not like that!”

The attendant merely chuckled, lightly patting her shoulder as if she found Eveline’s flustered reaction amusing.

In the end, she was swept away by their enthusiasm, trying on outfit after outfit.

It didn’t take long for exhaustion to set in. After just a few changes, she collapsed onto a small chair, drained of energy.

By then, she was wearing the outfit Adam had finally approved.

One of the staff members approached her with a knowing smile and whispered,

“You two seem like such a sweet couple.”

“What?! No, that’s not—”

Before she could finish explaining that she was merely a maid serving the warrior, the attendant had already walked away.

Great. Now the misunderstanding would spread.

If Adam heard such a thing, he would surely be flustered—and worse, he might start keeping even more distance from her.

But as she glanced at him from afar, his expression remained perfectly neutral.

Perhaps the staff hadn’t said anything to him.

She glanced down at her feet, tapping them lightly against the floor in her unfamiliar new shoes.

Between Adam and the attendants fussing over her, it felt like she had tried on every single outfit in the shop.

At last, she had settled on something, and when she looked outside, the sun had already set.

‘We came here to enjoy the festival…’

She already felt drained before the festivities had even begun.

Did Adam regret dragging her out here?

“I guess we shouldn’t have spent so much time picking outfits.”

“But I had fun.”

She blinked up at him in surprise.

Did he actually enjoy festivals?

His expression was much lighter than it had been in the Demon King’s castle.

And he hadn’t stopped smiling.

“If anything, I now understand why you never leave me alone.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That’s a secret.”

Adam placed a finger over his lips in a playful ‘shh’ gesture, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

“You enjoy teasing me, don’t you?”

“I never realized it before, but… I think you might be right.”

“You’re supposed to deny it!”

Adam chuckled.

Then, looking past her at the attendant, he casually stated,

“I’ll take everything from here to there.”

He gestured to all the outfits she had tried on.

The shopkeeper beamed and immediately went to wrap them up.

Meanwhile, Eveline stood frozen, mouth hanging open.

He had stolen the exact line she had always dreamed of saying.

More importantly—all of them?!

“W-Wait a second!”

But Adam wasn’t joking. His expression was completely sincere.

Panicking, she grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Is there something else you want?”

Rather than reconsidering, he seemed to think he hadn’t bought enough.

Was he really trying to buy out the entire store?!

“Why would there be anything else?! I’m fine, so there’s no need to buy all this!”

“But everything looked so good on you that I couldn’t help myself.”

Wait. That was supposed to be her line.

‘This isn’t how it was supposed to go!’

She had planned to use this chance to dress Adam up—

But somehow, the roles had been completely reversed.