Chapter 1

My wife was the king of the Radiant Empire's most cherished princess. She was truly of royal blood, noble beyond compare.

But for three whole years, she chased after me, a young general from a fallen family, banished to the cold northern frontier.

My manor was packed to the brim with exotic foods and priceless treasures.

"Tristan, I won't marry anyone but you," Princess Adelina whispered, her voice gentle but unwavering as she grabbed onto my armor.

As I gazed into Princess Adelina's tender, watery eyes, my heart, cold for years, finally felt the warmth of the sun in winter.

I thought to myself, maybe this was a path worth taking after all.

Just then, the system activated. "Warning, warning, host! Complete this battle mission, and you can return to your original world. Are you really going to stay in a world that isn't yours, just because of Princess Adelina?"

I closed my eyes and nodded to myself. In my old world, there was nothing left for me. No home, no family.

If Princess Adelina was willing to be my family, then maybe this world could be my home.

"Yes, I want to stay," I replied.

But in just three months, I ended up as nothing more than a total joke.

*****

When Princess Adelina came back, her clothes were a mess, her gaze wandering, and the heavy scent of incense and alcohol clung to her.

The maid was kneeling, shaking with fear.

She stammered, "My lord, you... You returned early?"

My face was ashen, and I didn't say a word. I just stared at Adelina, waiting for her to explain herself.

As if she could feel my stare, Adelina locked eyes with me.

For a moment, a trace of contempt flashed across her face, but she quickly hid it away.

She said, "Tristan, I was feeling down today, so I just went to Luscious House to enjoy some music. Don't tell me you're jealous, are you?"

With that, she acted cute and playfully threw herself into my arms.

The heavy scent of alcohol, mixed with traces of another man, washed over me, and my brows furrowed instinctively.

Seeing that I stayed silent, Adelina twisted around in my arms, her voice flirtatious and sweet.

"Tristan, even though I went to Luscious House, I swear I only listened to music. I didn't do anything else," she said.

I still kept quiet, and Adelina started to get nervous. She turned to the maid and called out.

"Hurry up and bring the cakes I brought back from the restaurant for the general. He loves these the most," she said.

The maid scrambled to her feet and quickly handed the wrapped cakes to me.

Adelina's slender fingers picked out a piece from the oil paper and brought it to my lips.

"Tristan, this is your favorite. See? You're always the one I think about," she said.

I forced a smile, looked down, and took a bite.

Seeing me finally give in, Adelina let out a sigh of relief.

"I knew you wouldn't hold it against me, Tristan. You're different from everyone else," she said.

Before she could finish her sentence, she slumped to the ground, completely drunk.

The servants were thrown into chaos. Some rushed to help her, others hurried to call for the royal physician.

The system's icy voice rang in my ear.

"Didn't I warn you? Don't trust this woman. You could've gone back to your original world after finishing the mission, but now you're just letting yourself be made a fool of," it said.

I gave a hollow laugh. "Well, at least she remembers what I like, right?"

The system stayed quiet for a few minutes before finally sighing.

"I wasn't going to tell you, but you need to know the truth. Don't let your feelings blind you. She actually brought those cakes for William," the system said coldly.

My blood ran cold. William was the pet dog Princess Adelina kept.

The next morning, the sunlight was blinding.

Adelina was still out cold from last night's drinking.

Someone kept pounding on the door, and the servants were all trembling in fear, not daring to make a sound.

I called Rowan over and told him to go check out what was going on outside.

Rowan came back, looking downcast. He opened his mouth a few times, but couldn't get the words out.

After I kept pressing him, Rowan finally burst out, "My lord, Princess Adelina is really pushing it! She got wasted at Luscious House last night.

"And now her consort, Lionel Oswald, showed up, making a scene and demanding Princess Adelina make him official! It's like they don't even care about you!"

As soon as he said it, Rowan seemed to realize he'd gone too far.

Rowan shot me a worried look. "My lord, Princess Adelina is taking advantage of the fact that you've got no one on your side. Let me deal with that shameless Lionel for you."

Deal with him? The servants had been trying to get rid of him for ages, but he was still hanging around. Clearly, Lionel wasn't just some nobody.

Even before we got married, there were rumors that Adelina was pretty close with a male companion from Luscious House.