Free Web NovelChapter 169: The Beach
The group found themselves settled in the mansion prepared for them.
Unlike the main Lionheart estate, the guest mansion was surprisingly peaceful.
Well...peaceful by Southern standards.
The building still had black volcanic stone walls and glowing crimson crystals embedded into the structure, but the atmosphere here felt far more relaxed.
They had each retreated to their various rooms, but a certain someone had snuck into their Butler’s room.
Not that said, butler minded.
Adrian stood silently beside the balcony doors of his room while staring outside.
From here, he could see the distant ocean stretching endlessly beneath the orange evening sky.
The South truly was beautiful.
Behind him, Renelle sat on the edge of the bed while watching him quietly.
Unlike earlier, she had changed into even lighter clothes suited for the heat.
Which, unfortunately, meant Adrian was suffering internally again.
"..."
Tired of just watching his back, she then stood up and walked toward him slowly.
The moment she reached his side, she naturally wrapped her arms around his sides and peeked at the scenery from his shoulders.
"It’s beautiful."
"It is," Adrian responded, not minding the show of affection.
More than not minding it, he actually preferred it, but his Lady was quick to get embarrassed in front of others.
Speaking of others, the door to their room was suddenly slammed open, but the one responsible immediately lifted both hands and shouted, "I can explain!"
A cold sweat ran down Darius’s back as both an ice spike and a shadow spike stopped a short distance away from his neck.
He really had to learn not to barge into rooms when he was excited, else he’d one day end up dead because of that.
"You have three seconds," Adrian muttered with a smile that truly wasn’t one.
Sweat immediately formed on Darius’s face.
"The beach!" he shouted quickly, "we’re all going to the beach!"
The ice hanging close to his neck suddenly melted as Renelle asked, "The beach?"
"Yeah!" Darius nodded rapidly now that the threat to his life was gone, "The festival preparations don’t start in two, and the South’s beaches are quite famous, so I thought you’d like to go there."
The two were silent for a while, with Adrian wondering what his lady would look like in a swimsuit, and his brain immediately overloaded.
He quickly caught himself before he could experience another nosebleed, looking at the red-haired idiot.
For once, he seemed to come up with something useful, and Adrian genuinely appreciated it.
Renelle, meanwhile, placed a hand on her chin as she thought for a while before looking towards Adrian.
"But my dear butler still can’t swim," she muttered in concern, but Adrian immediately shook his head. freёwebnoѵel.com
"I’ll be fine," he said, "besides, I’d like to see what my lady looks like in a swimsuit."
Renelle immediately blushed at his words.
"So, beach?" Darius suddenly asked again.
"But I didn’t bring a swimsuit," Renelle muttered, clearly not having expected to go to the beach here.
Surprisingly, another voice came from the door,
"Then we’d better go shopping then."
"Headmistress?" Renelle was a bit surprised as she spotted Evelina leaning against the doorframe.
Beside her was Isla, who was looking at both Renelle and Adrian quietly.
It seemed the headmistress was definitely here for a vacation rather than the festival itself.
"The South also has excellent boutiques," she said, "and since we have two hours before the others are ready, I suggest we make use of them."
Renelle was silent for a while before turning towards Adrian, who still seemed eager to see her in a swimsuit.
She then let out a sigh before speaking in a tone low enough for only him to hear, "This is your reward for getting father to accept us."
Renelle then turned towards the headmistress before saying, "Let’s go then."
Adrian was about to follow, but the headmistress immediately spoke up, stopping him in his tracks, "This is a girls’ only shopping trip."
The butler wanted to argue, but after looking at Renelle, who just shook her head with a small smile.
[If I’m going to be putting on a swimsuit, then you’ll have to wait until we get to the beach to see it,] she mentally informed, and he had no option but to sigh.
Though he didn’t like being away from her, especially after what happened in the capital, this time they were with the headmistress.
So, they should be fine.
In the meantime, why don’t you three prepare snacks or whatever men do before going to the beach?" Evelina finished before turning around and walking off. "We’ll meet you at the beach."
Renelle followed after her, while Isla quietly waved toward Conan before leaving as well.
The moment the door closed behind them, silence filled the room.
"Well," Darius broke the silence as he muttered, "I’ll get the servants to prepare everything we might need."
With that, he walked out of the room, leaving both Adrian and Conan.
"I’ll go get changed." With that, Conan also walked out of the room, leaving only the butler to his thoughts.
With a small smile, Adrian muttered, "Well then, let’s get ready for the beach, shall we?"
***
Adrian stood on the beach sand, completely frozen as he looked at Renelle in a swimsuit before him.
The swimsuit was a black two-piece with a frilled skirt that stopped around her upper thighs.
Unlike the far more revealing swimsuits worn by some of the women across the beach, Renelle’s still carried a certain elegance to it.
The top wrapped neatly around her chest while exposing her shoulders and collarbone, and the dark color only made her silver hair stand out even more beneath the evening sunlight.
Renelle stopped directly in front of him before asking quietly, "Does it look strange?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Adrian immediately shook his head, snapping out of his frozen state.
"No," he answered honestly, "my lady currently looks dangerous to my health."
Renelle chuckled at that response before saying, "Then I guess I made the right decision."
Again, Adrian was very grateful for the fashion introduced to this world by Avera,
Its author.
