Chapter 383: Claire’s Anger

Serena, hearing this incredibly honest answer, smiled warmly.

"I did not expect anything less from you, Lord Adrian," Serena said softly.

She took a really deep, trembling breath.

Her hands shook as she made direct eye contact with him. She suddenly stood up from the bed, only to immediately sit right back down on the floor directly beside his runic plate.

"What do you think about me, Lord Adrian?" Serena asked nervously. "Do you think I can fit the role you just described?"

Before he could even process the sudden question, she kept talking.

"But before you say anything, I would like to finally tell you that I’ve liked you for a very long time. For months... and in fact, more than a year. You are a really good person who a lot of people look up to, and Aria is someone I have already grown deeply attached to. I really, really like you for who you are."

She took another shaky breath.

"On top of that, you’re really attractive. You’re kind... you’re incredibly considerate. You’re funny, you’re goofy, and you’re unlike a lot of the men that I’ve seen in the capital. And I..."

She started to stammer nervously. "I... I... I..."

Unable to get the words out, Serena suddenly raised both of her hands and slapped both of her own cheeks at the exact same time. The sharp smack magically gave her the courage she needed.

She looked at Adrian in panic before immediately averting her gaze.

She stared down at the floor and whispered softly.

"I think I have completely fallen in love with you."

Adrian just looked at her. He didn’t say anything for a few long seconds.

"Well," Adrian started slowly. "I honestly never really considered marriage because of Aria. I didn’t really know whether she wanted a mother, or whether she was even okay with me remarrying or getting into a romantic relationship in the first place. So I will have to talk to her before I make any sort of final decision on this."

He let out a soft sigh.

"But I would like you to know that I have always considered you to be a very kind lady," Adrian admitted softly. "Your etiquette is pretty much perfect. Though, obviously, I’m not exactly someone who cares about etiquette, manners and all those things. And since you’ve kept an eye on me for a while now, you should already know that my own mannerisms and way of speaking is close to that of a commoner than a noble for the most part."

He paused and smiled faintly.

"And you are very, very attractive," Adrian confessed. "I cannot really talk deeply about ’love’ right now, considering the fact that whenever I feel mildly attracted to anyone, I do my best to just kill off my feelings. You are a very special case, Serena. Your father is a really close friend of mine, and I did not wish to make things awkward between our territories by pursuing his daughter."

Adrian’s smile widened just a fraction.

"But you did make my heart flutter quite a few times over the time you’ve been living with me."

The two of them just sat there, staring at each other in the quiet tent.

Adrian had a faint, slightly pink blush on his cheeks, while Serena’s face was completely red, making her look like a perfectly ripe tomato.

But even though her face was completely red, slowly looked up at Adrian. She hesitated for a split second before she spoke again.

"Claire also..." Serena started quietly.

But before she could finish her sentence, the tent flap swung open suddenly.

A few minutes earlier. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

Claire watched helplessly from the safety of the medical wing as Kaelen carried Adria directly into his private command tent.

And Zara on the other hand, picked Claire up and gently carried the general into another medical tent located directly opposite of Adrian’s.

Claire didn’t fight back, so she just let herself get carried.

Zara took her to a cot and helped her lie down on the thin mattress. Claire didn’t say a word. With her head tilted to the side against the stiff pillow, she just stared blankly out of the open tent flap, her eyes completely locked onto the entrance of Adrian’s tent across the path.

A few minutes later, she watched as Serena nervously walked up to the command tent and slipped inside.

Claire immediately sat up on her cot.

An apothecary who was currently mixing a poultice in the corner, looked over in surprise.

"General Claire, you need to lie back down," she warned. "Your ribs are fractured."

Claire just looked at the doctor.

"I must go," Claire said firmly. "I have something to take care of."

Without waiting for permission, she pressed her hand against her bruised ribs and simply walked right out of the tent.

As she slowly approached Adrian’s tent, she began to hear their muffled voices drifting through the thick canvas. She stopped just outside, intentionally standing away from their line of sight, and just listened.

As the minutes ticked by, her expression rapidly shifted.

It went from mild curiosity, to absolute shock, to sadness, to even more sadness, and then finally to a sudden, overwhelming sense of urgency and astonishment.

That was because she had distinctly heard her own name being mentioned by Serena.

She didn’t hesitate. She immediately pushed the tent flap aside and rushed inside.

She watched as both Adrian and Serena simultaneously turned their heads to look at her in surprise.

Serena’s face immediately contorted into a look of deep, complex guilt. It looked almost like she didn’t know what to do, but at the same time, it looked like she had genuinely wanted to do it, even though she knew it was slightly wrong.

Claire didn’t even look at Adrian. She just glared directly at Serena.

"You are so unfair," Claire said bluntly.

Serena immediately stood up from the floor, looking incredibly guilty.

"I didn’t mean to!" Serena stammered defensively. "I just... I just thought that I had to do it today! I tried confessing to him multiple times over the last few months, but I always froze up and couldn’t actually say the words. So I just finally made up my mind to force it out. I’m sorry I did it before you."