Adelina stared at her husband in bewilderment, still reeling from the whirlwind that had just swept through their quiet afternoon.
"What happened? So suddenly?"
"I didn't expect Helena to appear here either." Alexio inclined his head slightly—the barest sketch of an apology. "Our precious honeymoon has been interrupted. For that, I apologize." His tone was measured, almost formal. "My cousin is rather impulsive. That's likely why even Mrs. Tiziana had no warning of her arrival. I'll hear what Helena has to say and send her on her way. There's no need for you to worry."
"It seems like something quite important must have happened."
"She's probably here to complain about her grandfather." The Duke's voice carried a hint of weary familiarity. "Helena cares for him deeply, but they're both short-tempered. It leads to constant conflicts between them."
"She cares for him?" Adelina's eyes widened at the unexpected detail. "Is your grandfather unwell?"
The Duke merely waved a dismissive hand, as though brushing away something insignificant.
"He's in remarkably good condition for his age. However, Helena uses his health as a convenient excuse to remain close by." A faint, knowing smile crossed his features. "Quite ambitious of her."
"Ambitious?" Adelina frowned, confusion coloring her voice. "She seems like a devoted granddaughter. What do you mean?"
"I mean she wants a larger share of the inheritance when her grandfather eventually passes." The words were delivered with casual frankness, as though discussing the weather. "Since she was adopted, Helena is at a natural disadvantage in such matters."
Adelina found herself momentarily speechless, blinking at the bluntness of his assessment. No appropriate response came to mind.
The man smiled at her reaction and shrugged one shoulder.
"Well, isn't a bitter struggle over inheritance rather common in high society? Especially within royal families?"
"It's true..." Adelina conceded slowly. "However, it's not customary to speak of such things so... openly."
"For the sake of *dignity*?" Alexio drawled the word with unmistakable skepticism, his hand sliding from her shoulder. Adelina sensed the irony threading through his tone and opened her mouth to object, but he continued before she could speak.
"In any case, Helena is part of the Crino family and therefore has the right to use this villa. Sending her away would prove... problematic. But if she remains in the guest house, she'll have little opportunity to cross paths with you, Princess."
"Very well." Adelina decided against pressing the matter further. There was nothing genuinely objectionable about the arrangement—certainly nothing worth an argument.
A brief silence settled between them before Alexio spoke again.
"Are you enjoying the honeymoon?" His voice had shifted, carrying a note of genuine inquiry. "Mrs. Tiziana has expressed considerable concern about you spending your days in solitude."
"I'm quite accustomed to spending time alone." Adelina kept her tone carefully neutral. "Neither you, Duke of Pembroke, nor Mrs. Tiziana need trouble yourselves over it."
In response to her composed answer, Alexio crossed his arms over his chest. A slight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Does that mean the honeymoon hasn't pleased you at all?"
"It's just..."
Adelina felt suddenly, inexplicably awkward beneath the weight of her husband's steady gaze. For reasons she couldn't quite name, she felt as though she'd transformed into a petulant child voicing complaints. Princess Adelina—thrust into adulthood far too early, conditioned to overcome every obstacle through her own efforts—found it deeply uncomfortable to express discontent so openly.
"Princess?" Alexio interrupted her spiraling thoughts, his voice softer now. "I'd like this honeymoon to be enjoyable for both of us. If something isn't to your liking, I'd prefer you tell me."
"It's just..." She hesitated, then committed. "I miss having a library."
"A library?" The Duke repeated the word with a slight frown, as if she'd spoken in a foreign tongue.
The girl gave a small, involuntary shudder under his intense scrutiny. Once again, she found herself marveling at how Helena had managed to say everything on her mind to this man without flinching.
"Yes. I enjoy reading." She pressed on, determined to explain herself properly. "I'd like something to read—not necessarily books. Sophie brought a few newspapers and magazines, but they're a week old, and they weren't nearly enough."
"So..." Alexio's brow furrowed deeper. "Are you telling me you spent the *entire* past week reading newspapers and magazines?"
"Yes."
"Is that typically how you spend your leisure time?"
"Leisure..." Adelina's voice trailed off, something wistful flickering across her features. "I've never truly had a proper holiday."
Watching the faint flush creep across her cheeks, the Duke realized he'd asked a rather pointless question. *Of course* a girl who had spent years managing her father's debts could hardly afford the luxury of genuine rest.
*Tch.*
Alexio clicked his tongue softly and reached out, taking his wife's hand in his. Adelina flinched at the unexpected contact, her eyes darting to where his fingers wrapped around hers—but she didn't pull away.
"Princess, why do you suppose there's no library here?"
"Perhaps..." She considered the question carefully. "Perhaps your grandfather, who designed this villa, simply wasn't fond of reading?"
"Perhaps you're right." A slight smile crossed the Duke's face as his gaze held hers. "Why bother with books when you're surrounded by the sea, sandy beaches, hot springs, and dense forests?"
His grip on her hand tightened gently, and he drew her closer. The distance between them shrank to almost nothing.
"A body should *rest* in such a place, Princess."
---
Adelina stared at the water's surface with fierce concentration.
The bobber attached to the end of her fishing line danced upon the waves, rising and falling in a rhythm that seemed almost mocking. Fear of losing a potential catch made her palms slick with sweat. She swallowed hard.
"Are you certain there's actually anything to catch here?" she asked Alexio in a hushed whisper, afraid that speaking too loudly might frighten the fish away.
The Duke sat nearby in a comfortable chair positioned on a small rocky outcrop overlooking the water. He cast his own line with practiced ease and nodded, a faint smile playing at his lips.
"Of course. Sometimes you encounter specimens even larger than expected."
"I've only ever seen fish on a plate," Adelina admitted, her voice carrying a note of wonder. "Oh—and little goldfish in bowls."
She had never seen a live sea fish. *Never.*
And it wasn't just that. For a girl who had spent her entire existence within the confined world of the Roche estate, everything beyond those familiar walls remained foreign territory. She gripped the fishing rod with both hands, white-knuckled, while the sea breeze caressed her face and tugged playfully at loose strands of her hair.
Alexio, by contrast, held his tackle with casual indifference—one hand, barely any grip at all. In truth, fishing held little interest for him. He would have far preferred reviewing another investment document to sitting here, leisurely waiting for something that might never bite. Under normal circumstances, the Duke would have chosen swimming or a visit to the hot springs.
But when he'd mentally surveyed his options for entertaining the elegant princess, he couldn't conjure anything more suitable than this.
He glanced at his wife's profile and exhaled quietly.
_This isn't why I came on my honeymoon._
The decision to go fishing had been impulsive—born from the image of Adelina's face when she'd confessed her disappointment at the lack of books. The vast ocean had stretched before her, endless and magnificent, and yet she'd seemed to suggest there was nothing here worth enjoying.
The Duke knew she hadn't meant it that way. But still.
He swung his fishing rod in a lazy arc, his attention fixed on studying his wife rather than the water. From their very first meeting, he had recognized her beauty. But dressed in the light, flowing clothes appropriate for a seaside resort, the girl seemed even more radiant than she had in the capital. In the palace, there had been something dejected about her—a heaviness that weighed down her features. Here, though, her eyes sparkled with anticipation. She was as transparent as crystal glass, every emotion visible on her face.
"Oh!"
Adelina shot upright from her chair, her attention snapping away from her own bobber. She turned to Alexio with wide, urgent eyes.
The Duke, who had been watching her with shameless intensity, flinched—caught entirely off guard. But fortunately, the princess's gaze wasn't directed at him.
"It's biting! *Your* line!"
"What?" He blinked, momentarily failing to process her words.
"You'll lose it!" Seeing his complete lack of reaction, the princess abandoned her own rod and rushed toward him. "Allow me!"
She reached his side and wrapped her hands around the fishing rod alongside his, gripping it firmly. Only then did she feel it clearly—the unmistakable tremor running through the line.
The fish had taken the bait.
Alexio, belatedly coming to his senses, tightened his hold and pulled upward. Adelina, who had been struggling to manage the rod on her own, gasped in astonishment as it rose effortlessly into the air under his strength.
It happened in an instant.
---