It was a marriage proposal from a king. Even if the Queen of Sepia had rejected the offer, she needed justification appropriate to the suitor’s status.

In the end, Elisha had no choice but to answer that she would obey the queen’s command. And today, a royal decree arrived at the naval admiral’s office announcing that the man would be assigned as the new vice admiral to her fleet.

Clearly, the gods had abandoned Elisha.

Nothing else could explain such cruelty.

“To allow the two of you to quickly adjust and prepare for marriage, I am assigning Adrian Oberon as vice admiral. I hope to hear that preparations for the engagement ceremony are proceeding swiftly and smoothly.”

Adrian Oberon. The Northern Conqueror, son of the Grand Duke of Oberon.

He was also Elisha’s classmate at the military academy. The same Adrian Oberon who always ranked first and forced Elisha to live with the disgrace of being second.

Naturally, she assumed he would lead the Northern Border Knights, and once assigned, she’d never have to see him again. But now, he had reappeared before her.

As her fake fiancé.

Nothing could be more appalling for Elisha.

Since morning, the corps had been in a noisy flurry preparing to welcome the new vice admiral, but Elisha remained holed up in her office, either ruffling her hair or slamming her forehead against the desk.

She had to think of a way. Anything to prevent him from setting foot in the navy, her domain.

But how could she possibly stop a royal appointment issued by the queen? Time ticked steadily by, and at last, the day arrived: Adrian Oberon would be joining the navy.

While Elisha heaved heavy sighs, Enoch glanced over her shoulder at the papers and asked with concern, “Are we conducting joint training with the northern army?”

“No. Adrian Oberon is coming alone, as a member of the navy.”

At the mention of Adrian Oberon’s name, Enoch’s eyes widened. “What? How does the commander of the Northern Border Knights get reassigned to the navy?”

But before Elisha could answer, a commotion erupted outside. Horses neighed noisily. A marching procession stirred up thick clouds of dust beyond the window.

Reluctantly, Elisha rose from her seat. She straightened her dress uniform and pressed down her navy cap. She double-checked that her medals were properly in place.

She absolutely would not let herself look lesser in front of him.

Outside, she saw a white horse wearing a golden helm. And the man dismounting from it was even more dazzling.

Black hair and a clean, prominent forehead. Beneath it, sharp brows and piercing red eyes gave off a pressure that felt like being stabbed straight through.

His face, impossibly fair and flawless, looked as though sculpted by a divine hand for the sole purpose of wielding a sword.

His crisply tailored uniform revealed a fit, inverted-triangle build with not a trace of excess.

The man standing radiant under the sun was her fiancé.

The sole heir of the Grand Duke of Oberon, known as the northern conqueror.

And the one who had entered and graduated from the academy as top of his class—Adrian Oberon.

The same insufferable man who had looked down on her with contempt throughout their cadet years.

Five years ago, when Elisha graduated, Sepia’s navy was the last place anyone wanted to be assigned. Only those with the lowest scores and no options ended up there.

Among the pirates of Sellaway, Sepia’s southern coastal cities ranked first and second as prime targets for plunder.

The Sepian navy was that incompetent.

Even if she had graduated second, no one expected a talent like her to choose such a place.

The truth was, Elisha hadn’t volunteered for the navy out of some noble sense of duty to protect the southern cities, as her admiring subordinates liked to believe.

It was simply because she couldn’t bear to be crushed any longer by Adrian Oberon’s shadow, the man whose very birth was worlds apart from her own as an illegitimate child.

She had wanted nothing more to do with that wretched, arrogant man.

That was the real reason, the one even her most devoted southern sailors didn’t know.

And yet, that man had walked into her navy of his own accord.

“Adrian Oberon, appointed from the Northern Border as vice admiral of the Sepian Navy’s First Fleet. Reporting to the admiral.”

Adrian Oberon strode across the sandy shore and came to stand before her. He placed his gloved fist over his chest and bowed in salute.

“Rise.”

Utterly revolting.

Just seeing that smooth, pristine face, she couldn’t think of anything else.

Adrian Oberon was the only person whose mere existence could provoke such disgust from Elisha.

But what he said next made Elisha realize she had judged him too soon.

“Elisha Shooter.”

Suddenly, he called her name.

Not ‘Admiral.’ Not even ‘Admiral Shooter,’ but Elisha Shooter.

Even though he understood better than anyone the strict hierarchy and discipline of the military. Even though he knew that the Sepian navy would lay down their lives at her single command.

Adrian Oberon so easily, so carelessly, trampled her authority into the ground.

Elisha was about to whirl around and ask him where he had tossed her rank as admiral, but—

He was right in front of her. Far too close.

In that moment, Elisha couldn’t help but catch the scent of the north wafting from him.

Adrian, not missing her brief moment of imbalance, grabbed her wrist in a swift motion. The moment her face was pulled into his chest, the coarse smell of salt and sand and sea vanished. In its place, the crisp wind of the northern mountains and the scent of pine teased at her breath.

Even beneath the southern sun, Adrian Oberon carried the scent of the north.

Of course, Elisha didn’t like that either.

As she staggered from the recoil of his strength, Adrian didn’t miss his chance and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“Careful now.”

The moment Adrian whispered by her ear, a sharp tingle shot through her earlobe, and her back straightened reflexively. Elisha instinctively pushed against Adrian’s solid waist with both hands. Through his uniform, the feel of his firm abs was more distinct than she expected, and just from that sensation, her ears burned even more. She yanked her hands away in a fluster.

Adrian, unfazed by her blatant rejection, only released his arm from her waist after confirming she could stand on her own.

Then he immediately dropped to one knee. As the sea rushed in and receded, sand clung to his trousers, and the hems soaked through with brine, yet he paid no mind.

“Adrian of Oberon formally proposes to Elisha Shooter. Will you accept my proposal?”

As he spoke, Adrian presented a ring from a small, dazzling box—a large diamond glittering atop it.

In that moment, Elisha vividly recalled the Adrian Oberon from their academy days.

Adrian Oberon had always been that kind of man.

Whatever Elisha had scraped and fought to obtain, he had been born with. And with that lofty birth, he had always looked down on her from above.

Yes, what heir to a grand duke would ever care about a mere bastard?

She could understand it. If she were Adrian Oberon, Elisha Shooter wouldn’t have even entered her thoughts either.

And yet, realizing that on her own, Elisha felt her pride sting.

That was why she had buried her academy days deep within her and run away to the sea.

But this wretched man had followed her all the way to the sea, just to humiliate her.

Adrian Oberon, the conqueror of the north, didn’t even acknowledge Elisha Shooter as a naval admiral. He looked down on her navy and sneered.

Otherwise, there was no way he would treat the naval hero revered by all of Sepia’s navy like a joke on his very first day.

Her jaw clenched tight with rage.

Elisha plucked the diamond ring from the small box Adrian held out. His red eyes followed her intently. More precisely, her left ring finger. As if wondering whether she’d slide the ring onto it. His crude curiosity showed plainly in his eyes.

Elisha had no intention of indulging Adrian Oberon’s vulgar curiosity.

She opened her hand before his eyes.

Adrian Oberon’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected her to actually accept it. His fox-like red eyes glimmered for an instant.

Just as Adrian reached to take her hand, Elisha snatched the ring from his palm without the slightest hesitation.

Before he could even grab her in surprise, she turned away and hurled the ring straight into the sea.

Clatter, plop.

The ring sparkled as it rolled across the sand, then was swallowed by a small wave with a faint splash.