The Mad Commander is Obsessive (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 16
Delia pouted, irritated by Aaron’s relaxed smile.
“Then let me ride another horse.”
“If I had, you wouldn’t be alive in this world anymore. How many times did I catch you just before you tumbled off your horse while dozing?”
“I’m ‘sooo’ grateful you saved me.”
Delia muttered quietly, then lifted her gaze to take in the clear Iorenti forest.
“This is the most boring hunt I’ve ever been on. Don’t you need weapons to catch something? Just give me a sword.”
“Why? Planning another assassination attempt?”
“Of course.”
Aaron burst out laughing at the prisoner’s answer, delivered without the slightest hesitation.
“Then go find yourself a blade cleverly. Acquiring a weapon is part of an assassin’s skill.”
Delia stuck out her lips in annoyance at Aaron, who didn’t so much as blink at her assassination threat.
He was so infuriating.
“Then why bring me along if you won’t even give me something to hunt with? Just leave me back at the tent to sleep.”
“To show them.”
Surprised by the unexpected answer, Delia looked up at the commander with wide eyes.
Unable to contain her curiosity, Delia asked the commander.
“What?”
“To show your men that you’re in my hands. If I keep provoking them, they’ll react somehow.”
“That won’t do you any good, provoking my men like that.”
That commander—he was sly, she’d known that, but now he’d turned outright underhanded.
Fuming with dissatisfaction, Delia puffed her cheeks by filling her mouth with air.
“Your true identity intrigues me so much. Watching your men’s reactions might give me another clue.”
“It’s a waste of time.”
“Then perhaps we’ll just stay together until the war ends.”
Delia jerked away in alarm.
Even the little squirrel, startled as well, scurried up a tree.
Amused by the vivid reaction he felt against his chest, Aaron suppressed a chuckle.
“By the way, what should we eat? What will help you put on some weight? Rabbit? Deer? Wild boar?”
Each time he raised his voice at the end of his questions, the rippling air gently brushed Delia’s hair.
Delia deliberately looked away toward a distant tree and grumbled.
“Do you really think the elite troops of the Empire would be satisfied hunting something as trivial as a rabbit?”
“Then what should we catch to satisfy you?”
“We should at least hunt a wolf.”
“Prisoner, do you want to eat wolf? You don’t need to go far—here’s one right now.”
Aaron grinned and pulled Delia even closer.
“If you desire it, I’ll gladly sacrifice this body of mine.”
That shameless rascal.
Delia clicked her tongue and straightened her waist.
But the more she struggled to break free from him, the deeper she sank.
Eventually, Delia resigned herself and surrendered her uncooperative body to him.
“Commander, I have refined tastes. I don’t eat just anything carelessly.”
“If you truly knew me, you wouldn’t be able to refuse.”
Grand Duke Aaron Stilietz Bergen.
He was the heir apparent of the Stilietz Empire, famously known as the Silver Wolf.
The only legitimate son born to the Empress recognized by the Pope, he also headed a family wielding immense power and influence second only to the Emperor himself.
And on top of that, he was strikingly handsome and unmarried.
He was the ultimate prize every noble household with a daughter in the Empire eagerly coveted.
Unaware of all this, Aaron’s prisoner simply wore an expression full of discontent.
“To me, you’re just a mad commander I want to get away from.”
After grumbling silently to herself for a while, Delia surveyed her surroundings with eyes as blue as the clear sky.
The scent of flowers, carried on the refreshing breeze, washed away Delia’s frustration and anxiety.
She extended her slender finger straight out, pointing to a spot.
“Stop your useless chatter and pick that for me.”
Aaron’s gaze followed Delia’s outstretched finger.
He scanned the area she indicated with sharp eyes.
Wildflowers danced lightly in the mountain wind.
It was away from where his subordinates were, and there didn’t seem to be any unusual geographical traps.
Nothing suspicious—just like yesterday.
“Look, those irises are so pretty.”
Watching the prisoner smile innocently, Aaron clicked his tongue.
To Aaron, who had no interest in flowers, the prisoner’s obsession was incomprehensible.
Glancing briefly at her sparkling blue eyes, he called to his aide-de-camp.
“Dyke.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Go pick some. And don’t forget to survey the area thoroughly.”
Dyke and the soldiers spurred their horses into swift motion.
The sight of their well-trained warhorses galloping toward wildflowers was truly magnificent.
The Imperial Soldiers returned proudly, bearing irises and surrounding wildflowers.
Dyke presented the flowers with the solemn expression of someone offering an enemy’s head.
“Anything unusual?”
“Nothing at all.”
Frowning, Aaron took the flowers.
Just what is she up to?
He handed the flowers to Delia, scrutinizing her with sharp eyes.
Delia simply smiled brightly.
“Oh, they’re lovely.”
She brought the bouquet to her nose.
The sweet floral scent and fresh grassy aroma seeped into her with every breath.
Feeling calmer, Delia placed a violet iris petal between her lips.
Her lips curved softly, soothed by the flower’s tranquility.
“You’re eating flowers again.”
Aaron frowned down at Delia as she nibbled on the flower.
“If it’s pretty, look at it with your eyes; if it smells nice, smell it with your nose.”
“But eating it makes me appreciate it more.”
“Just how damaged are your senses…? Don’t eat such strange things.”
“Commander, try eating one yourself. Then you’ll understand what I mean.”
“Prisoner, I have refined tastes. I don’t eat just anything carelessly.”
Hearing her own words thrown right back at her, Delia shook her head.
“Tsk tsk, you hopeless imperial bumpkin.”
With a light click of her tongue, Delia plucked another petal with her lips and chewed slowly.
Like a butterfly sipping nectar.
Watching her, Aaron grumbled.
“I really need to feed her some meat soon. At this rate, she’ll just fly away eating nothing but flowers, and I won’t be able to take my eyes off her.”
It would be troublesome if she flew away before he uncovered her true identity.
Aaron tightened his grip on the reins and urged the horse faster.
The sunlight was warm, and the breeze created by the horse walking through the forest felt refreshing.
The sharp pain in his arm gradually faded, diluted by the scent of flowers.
While Delia was engrossed in nibbling petals, Aaron suddenly halted the horse.
“What? Giving up on the hunt already?”
“Shh.”
A warm breath brushed against her ear.
Unconsciously, Delia gripped Aaron’s strong arm wrapped around her waist.
With his left arm firmly supporting Delia, Aaron extended his right hand sideways.
A nearby cavalryman promptly handed him a loaded musket.
His steel-gray eyes gleamed as he took the musket from the soldier.
Sensing Aaron’s sharpened intent, Delia warned softly.
“If you lay a finger on my men, I won’t let it go.”
Delia’s subordinates still lingered around her.
They couldn’t abandon their captured leader, yet they also couldn’t attack for fear of harming her.
An almost suffocating tension permeated the forest.
“Under no circumstances are you to shoot my men.”
Aaron gently curled one side of his lips upward and raised the gun.
He settled the loaded musket on his right shoulder and gripped the handle.
With his left arm wrapped broadly over Delia’s shoulder, he steadied the barrel.
Click.
“I have no interest in those minnows. As long as you, my prisoner, stay right here beside me…”
Delia was trapped between Aaron’s arm and the gun.
The thick, powerful arm before her blocked any forward movement.
Behind her, Aaron’s broad chest prevented any retreat.
His breath, flowing over his finely chiseled jawline, tickled the shell of her right ear.
“I won’t be shooting them.”
Delia turned her head without realizing it, looking directly at Aaron.
His sharp gray eyes followed the barrel, fixed intently on his prey.
The sharp bridge of his nose cut the light cleanly.
His brow was slightly furrowed in concentration, his lips pressed firmly together.
From him, who held even his breath, emanated a physical presence more intense than the irises.
In that moment before the hunt, Aaron concealed all movement—only his forcefully beating heart remained alive.
Everything about him, intensely overwhelming, drew close enough to make her dizzy.
Bang.
The recoil from the shot shook them both simultaneously.
Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, Delia blinked.
The pungent, sharp smell of gunpowder strongly assaulted her nose.
Thud.
From afar, a faint sound signaled the success of the hunt.
Aaron smiled contentedly and lowered his head slightly to meet Delia’s gaze.
Blue eyes, holding the sky itself, looked up at him from within his embrace.
“This is the true thrill of the hunt.”
The feeling of having the sky beneath his feet.
Aaron’s entire body thrilled with electric pleasure.
Of all the things he’d hunted, nothing had ever been this reckless and fierce.
Yet nothing had ever been this beautiful.
Though it had fiercely resisted being caged after roaming freely, it was well worth taming.
“Bring it here.”
Two Imperial cavalrymen swiftly passed by the smugly smiling Aaron.
While the elite troops went to retrieve the game, Aaron whispered to Delia, who sat dazed.
“Prisoner, if you want to play with me, you must eat well and recover quickly.”
His hot breath, still charged with the heat of the hunt, grazed Delia’s ear.
“I’ll hunt for you. Tell me anytime what you’d like to eat.”
Aaron’s lips curved upward in a faint smirk.
As the sun set and darkness enveloped the forest, an eerie atmosphere emerged.
Shadows of leaves cast by moonlight deepened the gloom, and the chilling hoot of an owl echoed from the heart of the mountains.
Yet the warmth before her made even the forest’s darkness feel cozy.
“Prisoner, what are you thinking about so deeply?”
Before her, a dry log burst into a beautiful blossom of fire.
The flickering flames cast dancing shadows across Delia’s face as she stared blankly into the fire.
It was a fierce blaze, resembling the fire that had spewed from the gun barrel at the hunting grounds that day.
“Thinking again how you’ll kill me?”
Crackle.
The pleasant sound of burning wood reached her ears.
It tasted sweet, like flower nectar.
It felt dreamlike and distant.
Delia stared blankly at the mesmerizing sparks drifting through the air.
“Prisoner?”
“Hmm?”
Was this a dream?
Drawn back to reality by Aaron, Delia turned her head toward him.
“What were you thinking about that you didn’t hear me calling?”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
Delia gave a careless, meaningless reply.
She turned her head again, sinking once more into the thoughtless world created by the flames.
It was a captivating realm that even made her forget the bleak reality of her captivity.
“Snap out of it and eat quickly, will you?”
Aaron watched Delia, who sat dazedly staring at the fire.
She looked as if she might burn away into nothingness within the flames.
Delia and the fire seemed to sway together.
“I went through all that trouble hunting just so you’d recover quickly.”
Aaron sliced the venison he’d hunted into bite-sized pieces and placed them on a plate.
Only when the savory scent of meat reached her nose did Delia finally emerge from the illusion of flames.
Pulled back into the reality she wished to escape, Delia frowned.
Did that commander take pleasure in tormenting his prisoners?
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
Good job Del! Looks like in the end she has won the wager.
If the fate of the crown prince is unknown, why would they send away the only other heir?
Does the queen really think Delia would be better off in Boswell? She should know better. Whether enemy or ally, Delia would be treated as an object and used for her relation to the throne and ability to bear children. At least this way Delia can not only be happy but retain her dignity. Or is the queen perhaps grieving that her son will be deposed and wants to send Delia away so there is noone to replace the crown prince?