Episode 58. Outlaws of the High Seas (3)
“She even cheered on Your Highness’s ship. Didn’t you hear her screams?”
I came to my senses after hearing Prince Kydel’s witty answer.
His Highness Grayon said with a face that said my presence was truly annoying.
"Loire, consider it an honor to be with you today.”
“It is an honor!”
“But never let that out. If you do something foolish for Milliora, Locard’s head will be cut off.”
When I closed my mouth with a stern face, Prince Kydel motioned for me to shut up.
But I kept my face straight and said,
“I will help Her Highness be recognized for her own merits, not for slandering others, Your Highness.”
His Highness Grayon opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Prince Kydel.
Prince Kydel seemed to be searching for words, then turned away from me and smiled faintly.
Then Prince Grayon said.
“Maid Lorisha Loire.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You said you liked the Hotel Zebron?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s the first place I traveled with Count Loire, so it remains a precious memory.”
“Then you owe me a debt. I will repay it someday.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I actually wanted to say, ‘Even so, it’s only a debt for kidnapping me.’
But I still had a long life ahead of me to talk back to the royal family.
This pair really liked paying off debts.
His Highness Grayon ignored me again and gave a cheerful order.
“We’re going back.”
“To your positions! Return!”
The soldiers cheered at Prince Kydel’s order.
We returned to the ship, and our journey ended when he fired a fire arrow to set the negotiation ship on fire.
On the sea, the pirates who had captured the remains of the pirate ship shouted, but our ship was speeding toward the mainland.
Prince Kydel noticed my pitiful gaze and said,
“Pirates are all executed if caught, so there’s no point in saving them. And it would be embarrassing if this were made known.”
I couldn’t say anything and turned my head away from the sea.
When I thought it was all over, I felt an unbearable fatigue. I slowly went down to the cabin.
Now I could sort out the situation.
I don’t know how he got it, but His Highness Grayon had used the stolen ‘Red Tears’ as bait to lure the pirates to the negotiating table.
Since the amount of ‘Red Tears’ would be too much for one pirate to handle, it was likely that several pirates pooled their money to buy it.
However, pirates were similar to individual business owners, so they didn’t trust each other, and they probably came out to guard the transaction site in fear that the pirate who led the transaction would steal it.
Or they might have been circling around like hyenas to steal it.
What was important was that Prince Kydel and His Highness Grayon had anticipated this and prepared for it.
They had Director Royman use his skills as an alchemist to create an incredible weapon, and they used it to wipe out the pirates of the high seas with a meager number of people.
I curled up on one side of the cabin and slept, chewing over the hidden meaning of His Highness Grayon’s words.
If the pirates of the high seas disappeared, there would be no need for warships to be dispatched for the iron ore trade between Agael and Smailan.
Then the Empire would not need to establish a naval base at Cape Zebron.
Prince Kydel and His Highness Grayon wiped out the pirates that had been harassing neighboring countries for decades, while protecting the Zebron Hotel.
In just one naval battle.
What could be better as a birthday gift for His Majesty the Emperor?
I muttered as I fell into sleep.
“I lost. I lost.”
“Wake up, young lady. The Prince is looking for you.”
A man with a deep voice shook me awake. I roughly straightened my messy hair and went up to the deck.
“Why did you call me?”
I asked Prince Kydel, rubbing my eyes.
But when I rubbed my eyes and woke up slightly, the man holding the key was... He looked so damn handsome.
As I stood there with my mouth open, he handed the key over to his subordinate and approached me.
Then he gently grabbed my shoulder and turned my body to the other side.
“Look at this.”
“Ah...!”
I stood there, still with my jaw dropped. I thought I heard Prince Kydel chuckle softly. I also felt him put his cloak over my shoulders.
Zebron Beach is beautiful. But the open sea dyed in the sunset is incomparably beautiful.
I’m not saying that one is better.
I’m saying that the sight of the sea, half-embracing the giant fireball and shining red, is simply beautiful.
I leaned against the railing as the sun slowly sank into the sea and the cold, tough darkness covered the sea surface.
The night sea air quickly became chilly, but it was okay thanks to the cloak that Prince Kydel had put on me in advance.
In retrospect, the reason Prince Kydel suddenly looked like a peerless handsome man was that he was covered in the beautiful sunset light.
The deck was now bustling. The soldiers who had won an easy victory were sitting and drinking. It seemed that they no longer needed motion sickness medicine.
“Do you drink?”
When I came back, I suddenly came to my senses at Prince Kydel’s voice. It seemed like he was saying this when he saw me staring at the soldiers with envy.
“Oh, no. I quit drinking.”
“...!”
I saw Prince Kydel’s eyes waver and thought I had inadvertently sworn. But I was certain that it wasn’t.
I thought about it for a long time in my mind before finally saying,
“Thank you, Prince Kydel.”
He was always a person I didn’t like, but before I could vent my anger, the number of things I had to be thankful for would increase.
I hated that more and more.
However, after he showed me the sunset over the ocean, I couldn’t remember such trivial things anymore.
He answered simply,
“No way.”
When my hood was removed in the carriage heading to the palace, the night streets of the capital were spread out outside the carriage window in front of me.
My teeth chattered as I suddenly realized reality.
“I... I... I was absent without permission! Her Highness Milliora will try to kill me!”
“Tagars usually enjoy trying to kill their maids.”
That was a joke!
I turned my head and glared at Prince Kydel.
He had transformed from a sinister assassin’s outfit to a proper nobleman’s appearance, and I couldn’t hate him that much.
“You’ll laugh, Prince! But I... snicker.”
“Will you help me?”
I opened my eyes and looked back at him.
The single word “will you help me” made me realize the difference in our positions, and I felt irritated.
I’m not bragging that I have the absolute trust of my master.
You must be so easy. Everyone admires you, respects you, and loves you so much that everything must be easy.
But now I knew I shouldn’t get angry at him for that.
Because I had witnessed that the favors he seemed to receive from people so easily were not obtained for free.
He had risked his life and taken responsibility for the lives of countless people.
So the vast difference between him and me was real and justified.
I asked, refreshing my mind.
“By the way, why did you refuse the last tea party and come? Do you know how much trouble I had then?”
“Wouldn’t it have been difficult if I didn’t go?”
“Yes. Yes...!”
Looking at his smirking face, I was convinced that he was doing this knowingly.
“Is it fun to crowd people?”
“Yes.”
“Ha!”
I was already exhausted after being defeated by Prince Kydel, so I said,
“Don’t say anything to Her Highness the Princess. It’s really difficult.”
“If you want.”
I muttered, banging my head against the carriage wall.
“Should I say I was sick? No, she must have noticed that my room was empty. The palace is so big, so I guess I got lost?”
But he slyly interjected.
“What if you said that there was a problem with the donation you gave to a daycare center near the capital, so you went there in a hurry, and the kids caught you and came back to sleep?”
“Ah!”
Prince Kydel awkwardly followed my reaction, not understanding it.
“Ah... ah?”
You smart bastard. You ugly bastard.
Not only did you prepare such a huge competition gift, but you also solved my problem right away?
I answered very unnaturally.
“Ah... That’s a good idea, I mean.”
“Of course. It was my idea.”
“Yes, thank you...”
Now I was tired of feeling bad for him.
I looked out the window in a state of despair and said,
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations?”
“You won the first contest.”
“Well.”
I slowly understood why he had answered that way.
“Still.”
Only then did he smile sincerely.
“Thank you.”
Before I knew it, the Third Palace building came into view.
It had been two days since the article had been published, and the pirate group of the high seas had self-destructed after internal conflict. Since the ship that Prince Kydel had taken had been burned cleanly, that was the only way to assume the cause of the pirate group’s destruction.
I stared down at the letters on the page and felt dazed. Reading the article that reconstructed what I had witnessed vividly in someone else’s voice, it felt like a completely different, unfamiliar event.
And it felt strange that I was the only one in the palace who knew the truth about this enormous historical event. I probably would never have the chance to say, “This old lady personally saw the pirates of the high seas being wiped out! Hong hong hong!”
“She even cheered on Your Highness’s ship. Didn’t you hear her screams?”
I came to my senses after hearing Prince Kydel’s witty answer.
His Highness Grayon said with a face that said my presence was truly annoying.
"Loire, consider it an honor to be with you today.”
“It is an honor!”
“But never let that out. If you do something foolish for Milliora, Locard’s head will be cut off.”
When I closed my mouth with a stern face, Prince Kydel motioned for me to shut up.
But I kept my face straight and said,
“I will help Her Highness be recognized for her own merits, not for slandering others, Your Highness.”
His Highness Grayon opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Prince Kydel.
Prince Kydel seemed to be searching for words, then turned away from me and smiled faintly.
Then Prince Grayon said.
“Maid Lorisha Loire.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“You said you liked the Hotel Zebron?”
“Yes, Your Highness. It’s the first place I traveled with Count Loire, so it remains a precious memory.”
“Then you owe me a debt. I will repay it someday.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I actually wanted to say, ‘Even so, it’s only a debt for kidnapping me.’
But I still had a long life ahead of me to talk back to the royal family.
This pair really liked paying off debts.
His Highness Grayon ignored me again and gave a cheerful order.
“We’re going back.”
“To your positions! Return!”
The soldiers cheered at Prince Kydel’s order.
We returned to the ship, and our journey ended when he fired a fire arrow to set the negotiation ship on fire.
On the sea, the pirates who had captured the remains of the pirate ship shouted, but our ship was speeding toward the mainland.
Prince Kydel noticed my pitiful gaze and said,
“Pirates are all executed if caught, so there’s no point in saving them. And it would be embarrassing if this were made known.”
I couldn’t say anything and turned my head away from the sea.
When I thought it was all over, I felt an unbearable fatigue. I slowly went down to the cabin.
Now I could sort out the situation.
I don’t know how he got it, but His Highness Grayon had used the stolen ‘Red Tears’ as bait to lure the pirates to the negotiating table.
Since the amount of ‘Red Tears’ would be too much for one pirate to handle, it was likely that several pirates pooled their money to buy it.
However, pirates were similar to individual business owners, so they didn’t trust each other, and they probably came out to guard the transaction site in fear that the pirate who led the transaction would steal it.
Or they might have been circling around like hyenas to steal it.
What was important was that Prince Kydel and His Highness Grayon had anticipated this and prepared for it.
They had Director Royman use his skills as an alchemist to create an incredible weapon, and they used it to wipe out the pirates of the high seas with a meager number of people.
I curled up on one side of the cabin and slept, chewing over the hidden meaning of His Highness Grayon’s words.
If the pirates of the high seas disappeared, there would be no need for warships to be dispatched for the iron ore trade between Agael and Smailan.
Then the Empire would not need to establish a naval base at Cape Zebron.
Prince Kydel and His Highness Grayon wiped out the pirates that had been harassing neighboring countries for decades, while protecting the Zebron Hotel.
In just one naval battle.
What could be better as a birthday gift for His Majesty the Emperor?
I muttered as I fell into sleep.
“I lost. I lost.”
***
“Wake up, young lady. The Prince is looking for you.”
A man with a deep voice shook me awake. I roughly straightened my messy hair and went up to the deck.
“Why did you call me?”
I asked Prince Kydel, rubbing my eyes.
But when I rubbed my eyes and woke up slightly, the man holding the key was... He looked so damn handsome.
As I stood there with my mouth open, he handed the key over to his subordinate and approached me.
Then he gently grabbed my shoulder and turned my body to the other side.
“Look at this.”
“Ah...!”
I stood there, still with my jaw dropped. I thought I heard Prince Kydel chuckle softly. I also felt him put his cloak over my shoulders.
Zebron Beach is beautiful. But the open sea dyed in the sunset is incomparably beautiful.
I’m not saying that one is better.
I’m saying that the sight of the sea, half-embracing the giant fireball and shining red, is simply beautiful.
I leaned against the railing as the sun slowly sank into the sea and the cold, tough darkness covered the sea surface.
The night sea air quickly became chilly, but it was okay thanks to the cloak that Prince Kydel had put on me in advance.
In retrospect, the reason Prince Kydel suddenly looked like a peerless handsome man was that he was covered in the beautiful sunset light.
The deck was now bustling. The soldiers who had won an easy victory were sitting and drinking. It seemed that they no longer needed motion sickness medicine.
“Do you drink?”
When I came back, I suddenly came to my senses at Prince Kydel’s voice. It seemed like he was saying this when he saw me staring at the soldiers with envy.
“Oh, no. I quit drinking.”
“...!”
I saw Prince Kydel’s eyes waver and thought I had inadvertently sworn. But I was certain that it wasn’t.
I thought about it for a long time in my mind before finally saying,
“Thank you, Prince Kydel.”
He was always a person I didn’t like, but before I could vent my anger, the number of things I had to be thankful for would increase.
I hated that more and more.
However, after he showed me the sunset over the ocean, I couldn’t remember such trivial things anymore.
He answered simply,
“No way.”
***
When my hood was removed in the carriage heading to the palace, the night streets of the capital were spread out outside the carriage window in front of me.
My teeth chattered as I suddenly realized reality.
“I... I... I was absent without permission! Her Highness Milliora will try to kill me!”
“Tagars usually enjoy trying to kill their maids.”
That was a joke!
I turned my head and glared at Prince Kydel.
He had transformed from a sinister assassin’s outfit to a proper nobleman’s appearance, and I couldn’t hate him that much.
“You’ll laugh, Prince! But I... snicker.”
“Will you help me?”
I opened my eyes and looked back at him.
The single word “will you help me” made me realize the difference in our positions, and I felt irritated.
I’m not bragging that I have the absolute trust of my master.
You must be so easy. Everyone admires you, respects you, and loves you so much that everything must be easy.
But now I knew I shouldn’t get angry at him for that.
Because I had witnessed that the favors he seemed to receive from people so easily were not obtained for free.
He had risked his life and taken responsibility for the lives of countless people.
So the vast difference between him and me was real and justified.
I asked, refreshing my mind.
“By the way, why did you refuse the last tea party and come? Do you know how much trouble I had then?”
“Wouldn’t it have been difficult if I didn’t go?”
“Yes. Yes...!”
Looking at his smirking face, I was convinced that he was doing this knowingly.
“Is it fun to crowd people?”
“Yes.”
“Ha!”
I was already exhausted after being defeated by Prince Kydel, so I said,
“Don’t say anything to Her Highness the Princess. It’s really difficult.”
“If you want.”
I muttered, banging my head against the carriage wall.
“Should I say I was sick? No, she must have noticed that my room was empty. The palace is so big, so I guess I got lost?”
But he slyly interjected.
“What if you said that there was a problem with the donation you gave to a daycare center near the capital, so you went there in a hurry, and the kids caught you and came back to sleep?”
“Ah!”
Prince Kydel awkwardly followed my reaction, not understanding it.
“Ah... ah?”
You smart bastard. You ugly bastard.
Not only did you prepare such a huge competition gift, but you also solved my problem right away?
I answered very unnaturally.
“Ah... That’s a good idea, I mean.”
“Of course. It was my idea.”
“Yes, thank you...”
Now I was tired of feeling bad for him.
I looked out the window in a state of despair and said,
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations?”
“You won the first contest.”
“Well.”
I slowly understood why he had answered that way.
“Still.”
Only then did he smile sincerely.
“Thank you.”
Before I knew it, the Third Palace building came into view.
***
It had been two days since the article had been published, and the pirate group of the high seas had self-destructed after internal conflict. Since the ship that Prince Kydel had taken had been burned cleanly, that was the only way to assume the cause of the pirate group’s destruction.
I stared down at the letters on the page and felt dazed. Reading the article that reconstructed what I had witnessed vividly in someone else’s voice, it felt like a completely different, unfamiliar event.
And it felt strange that I was the only one in the palace who knew the truth about this enormous historical event. I probably would never have the chance to say, “This old lady personally saw the pirates of the high seas being wiped out! Hong hong hong!”
When I appeared in the reception room. Her Highness, the Princess, glared at me with a sharp look in her eyes.
“Excuse me!”
“Excuse me!”
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