Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

SPECIAL CHAPTER 14

Part 136

 

Laurel said she was going to cross the border right away, so we left the room together to catch up. When she went outside the official residence, she saw a gorgeous carriage showing off the power of the Laurentian nation and the external administrative officers who followed Laurel to assist them. She heard that she was being considered as the next Minister of External Affairs, and the administrative officers of the External Affairs Ministry treated Laurel with such respect that she, as her friend, felt proud. Among them, the administrative officer she brings along as an aide is Laurel’s lover. He is in the same class as Nellia, and I heard that they are the same age, so he must be eighteen now. Laurel, who has everything as the lover of a younger subordinate, is awesome! After hugging Laurel for a while in front of the carriage, she saw off the long carriage and the procession of soldiers. Now that she had done all she had to do, Laurel would finish it off nicely, and the King would fairly dispose of the embezzlers and Philia who were sent to Midoc. And Adrian said that he also dealt with the corrupt executives caught yesterday in accordance with military law.

 

She felt the best when she felt like everyone was doing their job and she was doing her part with them. She was in a good mood and the weather was nice, and since she was already out of the official residence, she decided to take a look around the military town. How many times have you come to the border in your life? She thought it was a military city, so it would be a hard place with only soldiers, but when she left the official residence, she saw a variety of people walking around on the streets and shops lined up nearby. George bought a dress earlier, but she thought she needed at least a hat if she was going to travel to the hot southern part of the country, so she went to the shopping center. Since there were many stores targeting military personnel, she couldn’t find any stores specializing in women’s clothing. She saw a hat store selling wide-brimmed women’s hats, so she went in and looked around for a while. She was trying on a few hats when she heard something and turned around. Several short-haired young men, who were not wearing military uniforms but were clearly soldiers, were looking at me and talking among themselves. When she turned around, the commotion had become a little more commotion, and amidst the push of her colleagues, an innocent-looking young man turned towards her.

 

Her face turned bright red, she scratched the back of her head, and took a step towards her. She saw her colleagues cheering wildly behind her. Franz, who was far away, rolled his eyes and tried to approach her with a wave of his hand, and a young man with a red face who had no idea what was going on stuttered and spoke to her.

 

“Hey, my name is Jose.”

 

‘Hmm. Is this what it is?’

 

This had never happened in Midoc. Of course, who would flirt with a woman who was in a relationship with Duke Bigor? As she just stared at him without saying anything, the young soldier named Jose got even redder and spoke more stammeringly.

 

“Well, I know a good dessert shop. If it’s okay with you, would you like to go with me?”

 

‘Oh, that’s not bad? It’s a delicious dessert, and it’s a good military police officer.’

 

But what should she do? Outside the window of a large store, she saw black hair approaching very quickly. She couldn’t think of how to save Jose, who knew nothing, but Adrian suddenly appeared and placed his chin on his shoulder.

 

“Stand back.”

 

“What? You?”

 

Jose shook off Adrian’s hand and turned around curiously. He looked into his cold eyes and took a step back in despair. He then asked me if he didn’t want to just turn around.

 

“Are you part of the group?”

 

His fingertip pointed at Adrian. It was Adrian’s cold face that I had not seen in a very long time, and my husband was looking at it, thinking that he was beautiful even with a frown on his face. When their eyes met, Adrian smiled and called her.

 

“Ma’am.”

 

“Boo, ma’am?”

 

Jose looked at her and Adrian in surprise, and when he looked at Adrian’s eyes and hair, his eyes became colored with astonishment. His colleagues standing behind him also made similar faces and naturally straightened their backs and took a restful posture.

 

“Seconds, seconds, seconds, total—”

 

‘Commander, you are right.’

 

“Was the discipline of the Eastern Defense Force so bad that they were making fun of women?”

 

“Ugh no!”

 

Jose, with his military spirit in full control, screamed and responded. She was not crying. Since it wasn’t a particularly unpleasant fit of laughter, she decided to save this naive young soldier.

 

“Adrian.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“I want some cake.”

 

Adrian naturally held out his hand, and she placed her hand in his. As she left the store with his flowing escort, she saw young men stiffly saluting reflected in the window.

 

“Please don’t punish me.”

 

“…All right.”

 

The answer was a beat slow. 

 

‘Jose, I don’t know about you, but I saved you today. I hope you meet a good person and fall in love.’

 

With the cake in front of him, Adrian said with an excited expression that he was preparing for the trip. She didn’t know what would happen if they just left him alone, so she told him to prepare simply so that he wouldn’t find out who they were. Adrian, who solemnly nodded his head, went up to the room and wrote a letter to Ailene while preparing his carriage. He wrote about his time in the Viscounty of Blanca and what he had heard from Laurel. 

 

‘Since Laurel has gone, Coco’s kingdom will not be swept up in war, but if you tell her like this, she will prepare for it.’

 

Although she will not be able to meet her now because she is going on a trip, she asked you to deliver news to Duke Bigor once the wedding schedule is set. Ethan will tell her somehow. She also wrote a letter to Jenny, who was waiting for her with her head bent. It’s hard to say that she was a minister, but she decided to send Franz back to the duke’s residence, so she wrote that the two of them should have some private time together and that she supported Jenny’s love. In fact, it was Franz’s love who was rooting for him, but instead of going on a grandiose trip like the Duchess, Adrian and she wanted to have a simple time together without worrying about what other people thought, so we decided to send everyone, including the escort knights, away. Perhaps because he had to return suddenly, Franz’s face was not bright as he received the letter to deliver.

 

“Now that Franz is not behind me, I have to be careful.”

 

It was just something she said to appease Franz, whose face was darkening with worry. She thought he was worried because he couldn’t escort her, so she said, ‘No! I will be safe with our lord!’ Well, she thought the answer would be something like this. But Franz said something strange.

 

“You can rest assured that the special forces will be within 30 steps.”

 

“Special forces?”

 

“Yes, this is the Secret Service unit that George has been working on since last year. It looked like they were already here.”

 

“Secret Service? Me? There’s a unit protecting me?”

 

“That’s right. Their unit’s name is ‘Madam’s Shadow’.”

 

‘What shadow? Secret security within 30 paces? No, what am I, no… it’s okay. I’m tired of reacting to the bizarre things these people do. Yes, I am a bit precious. If something goes wrong, it can be a big problem, but isn’t it still a bit like Madam’s shadow? It’s okay.’

 

She decided to send the escort drivers back, so she was naive in thinking that it was just the two of them on their honeymoon.

 

“But why is your face so dark?”

 

“I think the miss will be angry if I go back alone…”

 

‘Hey, Jenny might be like that, yes, I guess so.’

 

Jenny would grab Franz by the collar and ask him if he had come here alone after getting it and selling it. Franz must also be watching this scene that is clearly depicted in his eyes. She patted Franz’s arm.

 

“I told you to persuade me well and get permission to marry me, but I kept getting rejected, saying there was no way I would do it before I got married.”

 

When she brought up the topic of marriage, Franz’s once sullen face lit up with enthusiasm.

 

“Yes! I will definitely get married within this year!”

 

“Okay, cheer up!”

 

Franz, who looked like his fists were clenched, went down to the front of the carriage where Adrian was waiting. She had made it clear that the carriage advertised as being ridden by the duke and duchess was not allowed, so she found a carriage that was exactly what she wanted, and Adrian was standing there with a look on his face, looking for praise. Although it looked a bit big for two people to ride around, it was a large wagon that was commonly seen.

 

“Do you like it?”

 

Adrian asked as he opened the carriage compartment.

 

“Yes! This is exactly the carriage I was talking about! With this, no one would recognize who we were…”

 

As she climbed into the carriage while talking, she couldn’t stop talking after checking the inside. She thought it was a bit big. From the outside, it’s clearly a wagon, but inside it’s a room. What if there is a sofa/bed in the carriage that is large enough for two people to lie down on? There was a blanket-like carpet spread on the floor that seemed to wrap you comfortably even if you fell face down on the floor, and cushions were sitting side by side according to size. Since this was the carriage she was riding in and Adrian was the one who prepared it, I figured he would do something. The fact that she thought this was good enough was a sign that she, too, was becoming Bigor in Wonderland. She shrugged, held Adrian’s hand, and got into the carriage. Adrian checked the cushioning of the carpet on the floor with his hands and nodded his head in satisfaction. And the blankets brought by the drivers were neatly arranged.

 

As she watched Adrian stuffing blankets into the carriage, she remembered someone who had done something similar. Now that she thought about it, she wondered if Homer was doing well. Anyway, if she went south like this, she would pass by the County of Beelzeb, so she should go see Homer’s territory as well.

 

* * *

 

The carriage departed as we were greeted by the Maltese commander and the National Guard, who seemed to sincerely welcome our departure. Franz and about 150 other knights of Bigor, who had to return to the Duke of Bigor’s residence, followed him a long way and persistently guarded him. Then, under Adrian’s glare, he saw his shoulders droop and his horse’s head turn. Only George, who was sitting in the coach seat, was holding the reins triumphantly. In fact, he was going to go without a coachman, but when Adrian said that he would sit next to him while he drove the carriage, his face became serious. And when she saw that they were planning to put cushions on the coach seats and install an awning to block the sunlight, she ended up asking George for a favor. Surprisingly, it seemed that there were many applicants for the coachman position, but in the end, he took the coachman seat due to George’s threats to keep everyone quiet under her.

 

Their first destination was the County of Vinis, three days south of the border from Malta! It was said to be an international city with a large market where goods from many kingdoms in the southeast of Laurentine and distant southern empires were traded. Visiting the market is always fun. It was midnight when we arrived at the small village after a day of comfortable and comfortable travel. George apologized to me, saying he had driven the carriage in a hurry because he was in a hurry. She was in that soft carriage, and it couldn’t have been uncomfortable if she drove it a little hastily.

 

She said to Adrian as she watched George run to the only inn in town to somehow get her to sleep in his bed.

 

“I don’t mind camping out.”

 

The starry night sky, a blazing bonfire, sizzling grilled skewers, and falling asleep snuggling with Adrian in a bunk, it’s romantic. But Adrian shook his head and answered.

 

“We can’t let Damian fall asleep on the street.”

 

“Why? I’m fine. I just wanted to give it a try.”

 

When she urged him again, Adrian made a perplexed face and muttered thoughtfully.

 

“You can use a carriage for a bed, but how about a bathtub, a sink, and a bathroom? Well, it’s in the mountains, so there’ll be a lot of bugs, but if you’re in the south, where there are a lot of Eupentus trees… then you’ll have to have a simple bathtub.”

 

She hadn’t thought about toilets and bugs, but romance was a dog’s horn and camping was reality, but she still wanted to try it at least once. After thinking for a long time, Adrian spoke with a serious face.

 

“If you want, I can take a day or two. I will prepare.”

 

She couldn’t ask him what he was going to do and how he was going to prepare because she was embarrassed, so she just added that he didn’t have to do it if it was difficult.

 

—————————————————————

Translator Note: