Supporting Characters Also Need Some Love

SPECIAL CHAPTER 18

Part 140

 

They arrived in the Vichy of Theodora just in time for the first day of summer. The shores of Lake Upor are lined with luxury inns, as was the best summer resort in Laurentyne, and they rented one of them in its entirety. Perhaps Sir George had sent someone in advance to make a reservation. There was no way there would have been an empty inn with no one staying in a place full of people enjoying summer festivals and the lake. As soon as she unpacked, she opened the large window and went out to the terrace to see Lake Upor. 

 

‘Oh, it’s a lake! Can you see the horizon?’

 

It was a lake of a slightly different size than the lake she remembered. But it looked like there were waves right now. Was it really a lake? There’s even a white sand beach. It’s the perfect beach. Ah, it’s a proper summer vacation. In this world, choosing a swimsuit may be difficult, but there were sandy beaches, the sun was shining, and the days were hot and exciting. 

 

Adrian asked, kissing the back of her neck as he hugged her waist overlooking the lakeside.

 

“Don’t you think you should get some rest?”

 

He seemed like a scrawny man. He said he was considerate of me because she was tired from a long carriage ride and said, “Look at my red eyes.” A few nights ago, on a wild night, he was so cool from the moonlight and his smile… so she pressed the switch a little too hard and spent the next day lying down in the carriage. After that, the bed at the inn she stayed in in a small town wasn’t comfortable, so she slept for a few days holding hands, and then he started flirting with her in broad daylight.

 

She got out of his arms and smiled brightly.

 

“I heard today is the first day of the festival and it’s the most fun day, right? I have to go see it!”

 

Adrian smiled and nodded as if he had no choice. As she stepped out onto the street, she felt an excited atmosphere. The streets and the lakeside were filled with people with bright faces and casual clothes. She was wearing a light dress, but there were women playing in the water with their knees and shoulders exposed. Among the men who almost exposed their upper bodies, Adrian also wore his shirt longer than usual. 

 

‘As expected, my man stands out the most.’

 

His shoulders were square due to his tall height, and his arms, which were revealed by rolling up his sleeves, were strong. It’s inevitable that he would get eyes from all over the place. As more and more women turned to Adrian with blushing faces, she went down to the lakeside, holding Adrian’s arms tightly.

 

“It’s a really sandy beach. Ard!”

 

It was a truly sandy beach, with your feet sinking into the fine sand. The sand warmed by the sunlight tickled the tops of her feet and entered her shoes, so she took them off. As she stepped on the sand with her bare feet, holding her shoes in both hands, Adrian smiled and took her shoes. She gently pushed her foot into the gently rippling lake. It still seems a bit cold to take a dip, but there were many people jumping in and having fun in the water. The water was clear enough to reflect the bottom, and the sand felt good under her feet.

 

“The water is so clean!”

 

Adrian just nodded and smiled at what she said. 

 

‘Look at the lake, not me. The water is jade-colored.’

 

She dipped up to her ankles, lifted her skirt, sat down, and dipped her hands in it. As she was splashing around, she lightly sprinkled water on Adrian. Even though there were water droplets on his pants and shirt, he laughed.

 

“Hahaha!”

 

A sense of fun arose and she sprayed water again. Even though water splashed on his face and he took a step back, he just smiled. After a few more sprays, Adrian bent over and lightly flicked the surface of the water with his fingers, and she splashed the water on his face. Most of the time, she missed, but with one flick of her finger, she guessed she hit him in the face. She released her hand that was holding her skirt, filled both hands with water, and threw it at Adrian’s face, who was bending over. Adrian, who was wet from his face to his hair, wiped the flowing water with his hand.

 

“Huh, what do you think?” she laughed triumphantly, then stood up when she saw Adrian grinning dangerously. 

 

She turned around and ran because she felt like she would get hit by water if she didn’t run away, but Adrian followed her at full speed.

 

“Kyahahahahaha.”

 

As she ran away excitedly, she got tangled in his feet alone and just before she fell face first into the lake, Adrian, who had closed the distance, hugged her around the waist. With both his arms and legs hanging down toward the floor, he was hugged around the waist and lifted up, and when he raised his head and looked at Adrian, he smiled brightly and asked,

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I’m okay.”

 

When Adrian gently put it down and stood on the floor, the skirt that had been in contact with the water was already more than half wet. He was in trouble, so he grabbed both ends of her skirt and tied them up. As she tied the knot on his lap, her calves were exposed. Was it because she jumped? The water was so cool. As they walked a few more steps into the lake until his knees were submerged, Adrian followed with a worried look on his face. She poured a lot of water on her worried husband’s face once more and ran again. Then they got caught and had to stop by again and ride the Adrian ticket carousel, but they had so much fun that it seemed like it was their own world. When she came to her senses after wandering around the lake, there were people openly looking at them. It’s been a while since she played in the water, and she was so excited.

 

“Damian, we’d better just leave.”

 

Was Adrian also conscious of the gaze? He looked up and brushed his thumb across her lips.

 

“Your lips have changed color. Are you cold?”

 

“No? It’s hot. Do you think you could take a dip in the water?”

 

“It’s better to wash with hot water.”

 

Adrian brushed her lips once more, lifted her up, hugged her, and walked out on the sandy beach. Although there were many couples here and there who looked friendly, it was a little embarrassing to be hugged like this. There were still many eyes looking at them.

 

“I want to walk.”

 

“You have sand on my feet.”

 

“I’m okay.”

 

After setting me down on the bench, Adrian knelt down in front of her on one knee and took out her shoe from his back pocket. Then he patted her feet with both of his hands and then took his right hand to his left shoulder and lifted up her entire sleeve.

 

“Adrian?”

 

“Your feet are cold.”

 

Since I soaked them in cold water, my feet will get cold. Why did he tear his clothes? Adrian carefully cleaned her feet with his torn sleeve and put on her shoes. He exposed his left shoulder and smiled brightly as he looked up at her.

 

‘I guess I should have just hugged him.’

 

He must have had too much fun with her wet dress. When she returned to the inn, she was cold and hungry. Adrian told her to get some warm water and soak him, but after pouring the hot water on him, he said he didn’t mind being cold, but she was so hungry that she just took a quick shower. After she changed her clothes, it was dinner time, so she eagerly left the room. She heard that there was a crayfish dish, which was a specialty of Lake Upor. According to Adrian’s explanation, it looked like lobster, so she grabbed his hand and told him to go eat, and when they arrived at the restaurant where the line was long, they went straight to their reserved seat.

 

She couldn’t quite remember the taste of the lobster, which she had only tried once in Korea, but she was sure it tasted better than that. It was much bigger than she thought, but Adrian only sliced the meat, so she ate it until her stomach was full. The pilaf, which was made with crawfish meat and rice stir-fried in butter, was also incredibly delicious. With a swollen stomach, she watched the festivals taking place throughout the small town and entered a noisy bar late at night. She didn’t really enjoy the alcohol in this world because it had a strong alcohol flavor, but it was perfect for feeling the atmosphere of a summer resort. After taking a seat at the participation table, Adrian went to the bar to catch his breath. In the corner, a female singer holding a tambourine-like instrument in her hand sang a cheerful song and she heard pleasant laughter coming from all over, which made her feel very excited, but the moment she saw Adrian coming back with two glasses of alcohol, her mood took a turn for the worse. A slender beauty in a fancy dress, burning with the will to enjoy this summer, came up to their table, right next to Adrian, and looked her up and down and made a snort.

 

“What, did you have company? Since you didn’t respond, I thought you were asking me to follow you…”

 

Adrian set down the unusually shaped glass in front of her without even looking at the woman. Either way, she continued talking to Adrian.

 

“Did you like this cute girl?”

 

“He doesn’t just like me, we’re married, so why don’t you just leave?”

 

“Oh my? Are you married? What? I don’t know why decent men get married so quickly.”

 

She told her to leave because this man was hers, but she continued to mutter with a regretful look on her face and then subtly extended her hand onto Adrian’s shoulder. As Adrian slowly turned his body to avoid her hand, wondering how she knew without even looking, she smiled and stretched out her hand again. She couldn’t bear it anymore so she jumped up and grabbed his hand.

 

“You wouldn’t carelessly touch someone else’s husband, right?”

 

“I think it’s a neighborhood where it’s common for people to come and go and go on their way together.”

 

“Stop talking nonsense and go somewhere else to find out. There’s no way around it.”

 

What happened when they came? What kind of nonsense was this for the newlyweds who were planning to make Laurentine with sesame oil?

 

“Bullshit? Hey, cool brother? Honestly, don’t you think I’m more interesting?”

 

She twisted her waist and spoke in a seductive pose, and Adrian, who had treated her as a non-existent person until then, finally turned his head and looked at the woman. And with a very displeased look on his face, he shook her hand away from mine. Adrian, who had put her hand away as if it were something ugly, placed his hand in her hand instead, fixed his gaze on Damian again and smiled brightly.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

“Oh, my God? Hmph, it’s so weird, will you be happy forever?”

 

Fanning herself with her outstretched hand, she said something that Damian couldn’t tell if it was a curse or a blessing, and disappeared. Looking at Adrian, who was smiling sweetly, she was dumbfounded but also understood. Her feelings were complicated. Why was this man so handsome? Was it because he was her man? She couldn’t make an official announcement all over the country and say that this person was hers, so she sat down and took a sip of the drink Adrian had brought her, pledging to herself that she would have to be a good guard from now on.

 

Her eyes widened at the refreshing taste that made her forget about leaving the house.

 

“Is it tasty!”

 

It seems to be some kind of cocktail that tastes like tropical fruit juice. The sour aftertaste was intoxicating.

 

“The alcohol content is quite high. Take it slowly.”

 

‘It doesn’t smell like alcohol at all?’

 

She could drink ten cups of ramen-size. She came to this world and forgot about alcohol, so in Korea, two bottles were easy. After emptying her glass, she took Adrian’s drink and drank it, and Adrian brought her another drink with a worried look on his face as she shouted for another drink. After drinking the magical fruit juice, or rather alcohol, again, she had no memory of it.

 

* * *

 

Damien, who had finished four cocktails while being told to drink slowly because it was strong, began chattering in a tone-up voice.

 

“That’s what Adrian said back then. He asked me to date him. How surprised I was back then. The brooch was broken, my hand was numb, and Adrian suddenly asked me to date him. He said he was officially applying, but I was worried about how to turn him down. I did a lot.”

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Of course! I thought he was a scary person, but he’s really kind, smiles, and even cuts meat. Oh, that’s right, why is Adrian so good at cutting meat?”

 

“I just do it as hard as I can.”

 

“With all your might? Well, Adrian is strong. Is he the strongest among our knights? Can he win in arm wrestling? Try it with me.”

 

Damian rested her elbow on the table and held out her hand. Adrian became embarrassed when he saw Damian asking for arm wrestling with a serious look on her face.

 

She was completely drunk.

 

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Translator Note: