"Go to your cabin. Why are you here?"
Hetor, leaving the pantry, apologized to Linel and Bellos and escorted Melanie to his cabin door.
"It's more comfortable here, closer to the deck. If something happens, I can jump right back up."
Melanie shook Hetor's pinky, reluctant to part with him.
"Do as you wish. Now, go in. I need to go up to the deck, too."
"Yes."
The moment Melanie nodded obediently, her attendant, Hedon, came running out of the hallway, panting.
"Oh, Your Highness! Where have you been? You don't know how long I've been looking for you!"
"I was somewhere dangerous yet safe."
"Huh?"
"I'll tell you later. Hedon, turn around for a moment."
Melanie gave Hedon a look and turned her around.
"...I'll just go in first, Your Highness."
Hedon, sensing what she was about to do, opened the stateroom door and went in first.
“What’s wrong?”
Hetor asked, nodding at the stateroom door.
It was as if he were asking why Hedon had let her in first.
“Because of this.”
Melanie grabbed Hedon’s face with both hands and slid down to kiss him.
Their lips parted, creating a space between them where they could meet eyes.
Hedon stared into Melanie’s eyes and said,
“This level of business is the only reason to catch a man going to fight.”
“Ugh!”
“Get back in safely.”
Hedon gave Melanie a deep kiss and quickly ran up the stairs to the deck, two or three at a time.
Melanie watched Hedon’s back with a bashful smile. Hedon pounded on the door from inside the stateroom.
“Yes. I’ll go in! Hedon, do you know how cool the back of a man going to fight is? I can’t miss that sight.”
Melanie also pounded on the stateroom door with her fist, muttering.
Thump, thump!
“Ah, I’ll go in. I’m going in. Why are you banging on the door like this?”
Inside Hetor’s guest room, Hedon banged hard on the door again.
It wasn’t a sound made by her hands, but as if she was slamming her whole body into it.
“Hedon, if you’re jealous, you lose, right?”
Melanie teased Hedon as she opened the guest room door and went in.
“Hedon?”
As she opened the guest room door and entered, Hedon was lying there, bleeding, a little distance away.
“Hey, Hedon! What’s wrong? Who told you to do this? Who did it!”
“Do you like kissing other men?”
“?”
As the guest room door closed, Roxana, who had been hiding behind it, locked it and said,
“Your servant might be dying because of you, but you don’t even know she’s banging on the door to tell you to run away.”
Roxana, holding a dagger, approached Melanie, who was sobbing and hugging Hedon.
Roxana was extremely anxious.
‘Hedon is alive.’
Hetor, leaving the pantry, apologized to Linel and Bellos and escorted Melanie to his cabin door.
"It's more comfortable here, closer to the deck. If something happens, I can jump right back up."
Melanie shook Hetor's pinky, reluctant to part with him.
"Do as you wish. Now, go in. I need to go up to the deck, too."
"Yes."
The moment Melanie nodded obediently, her attendant, Hedon, came running out of the hallway, panting.
"Oh, Your Highness! Where have you been? You don't know how long I've been looking for you!"
"I was somewhere dangerous yet safe."
"Huh?"
"I'll tell you later. Hedon, turn around for a moment."
Melanie gave Hedon a look and turned her around.
"...I'll just go in first, Your Highness."
Hedon, sensing what she was about to do, opened the stateroom door and went in first.
“What’s wrong?”
Hetor asked, nodding at the stateroom door.
It was as if he were asking why Hedon had let her in first.
“Because of this.”
Melanie grabbed Hedon’s face with both hands and slid down to kiss him.
Their lips parted, creating a space between them where they could meet eyes.
Hedon stared into Melanie’s eyes and said,
“This level of business is the only reason to catch a man going to fight.”
“Ugh!”
“Get back in safely.”
Hedon gave Melanie a deep kiss and quickly ran up the stairs to the deck, two or three at a time.
Melanie watched Hedon’s back with a bashful smile. Hedon pounded on the door from inside the stateroom.
“Yes. I’ll go in! Hedon, do you know how cool the back of a man going to fight is? I can’t miss that sight.”
Melanie also pounded on the stateroom door with her fist, muttering.
Thump, thump!
“Ah, I’ll go in. I’m going in. Why are you banging on the door like this?”
Inside Hetor’s guest room, Hedon banged hard on the door again.
It wasn’t a sound made by her hands, but as if she was slamming her whole body into it.
“Hedon, if you’re jealous, you lose, right?”
Melanie teased Hedon as she opened the guest room door and went in.
“Hedon?”
As she opened the guest room door and entered, Hedon was lying there, bleeding, a little distance away.
“Hey, Hedon! What’s wrong? Who told you to do this? Who did it!”
“Do you like kissing other men?”
“?”
As the guest room door closed, Roxana, who had been hiding behind it, locked it and said,
“Your servant might be dying because of you, but you don’t even know she’s banging on the door to tell you to run away.”
Roxana, holding a dagger, approached Melanie, who was sobbing and hugging Hedon.
Roxana was extremely anxious.
‘Hedon is alive.’
Roxana, who had been hiding in Hetor’s guest room, knew she was alive when she heard Melanie’s voice outside the guest room door.
She staggered and placed her hand on the door.
She had to unlock it again.
If the door didn't open, Hetor would surely find it strange and come inside.
Just then, Melanie's servant, Hedon, entered first.
Roxana hid behind the door, then covered Hedon's mouth and stabbed her with a dagger. Even as she lay dying, Hedon desperately tried to warn Melanie outside, pounding on the door with her hands and legs, warning her of the danger.
Panicked, Roxana had no choice but to abandon the fight with Hedon.
Remaining calm would have eased her suffering.
Roxana whispered to Hedon, her last breath still in her throat, "It's your fault I missed my chance to end your life cleanly." Even in her dying moments, Hedon gazed at the door, reaching out with a hoarse voice, "Your Highness Melanie..."
"Was Nancy like that?"
Logan, who had hidden his dagger and entered his own room, would surely have killed Nancy, wearing the Empress's dress and crown.
"Nancy would have worried about me like that the moment she died."
That child would have been enough.
Nancy's face overlapped with Hedon's as she died.
"I'm sorry,"
Roxana blurted out to Heddon without realizing it.
But it couldn't be helped.
She hypnotized herself, repeating that sacrificing oneself for the master one serves was the fate of servants.
She re-strengthened her weakened heart.
But Hetor's presence disrupted her plan.
Her mind was in disarray.
"What's going on?"
Roxana recalled her last conversation with Emperor Adrian.
Thinking back, she remembered Emperor Adrian's ambiguous response to her question about whether he had killed Hetor.
She'd been tricked!
Emperor Adrian hadn't killed Hetor.
"What was his plan, keeping him alive?"
Anger welled up at Emperor Adrian for breaking his promise.
Barely regaining her senses, Roxana considered whether Hetor's survival would be beneficial or detrimental to her.
If she could silence Emperor Adrian, she could bury the fact that she had attempted to kill Hetor.
Couldn't she still cling to him, refusing to listen to what Emperor Adrian had already said, and perhaps even save her life?
"Because I'm pregnant with his child."
Besides, Hetor's forces had seized control of this ship.
She had no choice.
She had to rely on Hetor for her life to survive.
Even if Hetor was a ruthless barbarian, he wouldn't kill a pregnant woman with his child.
As she finished thinking that, Melanie entered the room.
Roxana felt jealous of her after she had kissed Hetor.
It was an emotion unbecoming of someone who had even asked him to kill her.
"Do you like kissing another man?"
Roxana shouted again, venomously.
She couldn't understand why the words had spilled out twice.
"You, you did this to Hedon?!"
Melanie shouted, ignoring Roxana. She couldn't bring herself to ask if she had killed her.
Hedon's pulse had already stopped, but she didn't want to admit it.
Melanie hugged Hedon, still warm, and burst into tears.
"How dare you... to the Empress!"
Roxana watched Melanie sobbing for a moment, then, seeing Nancy's reflection in the dead Hedon, she quickly spoke up.
“What about the Empress? The servant’s attire suits you so well!”
“!”
Only after hearing Melanie’s sarcasm did Roxana realize she was wearing Nancy’s clothes.
“You’ve lost your sense of fear, Melanie.”
“Ha, do you think I’m just fearless? You’ve lost your sense of reason, too? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”
Melanie glared fiercely, her lips trembling.
“Just because one servant died, do you dare to speak against the Empress?”
Roxana aimed her dagger at Melanie’s neck and asked.
“That servant?”
Melanie closed Hedon’s eyes, unable to bring herself to close them, and then stood up.
“Hedon wasn’t just a servant. She was my best friend, my protector, and sometimes like a mother... warm!”
Hedon was growing cold.
Melanie’s throat was choked, and she couldn’t continue.
It was a loss she had never experienced in her life.
“She was like a sister to me! Do you understand?”
“Oh, Melanie. Your servant was like a sister to you, but she’s not a sister.”
Roxana retorted coldly.
Melanie looked at Roxana with disgust, asking,
“How could you be so shameless after killing someone... If you were after me, there was no need to kill Hedon!”
“Let’s leave what’s already happened. If she's like sisters to you, I’ll let you go together. So Hedon won’t be lonely.”
Roxana tightened her grip on her dagger.
Melanie quickly searched Hetor’s room for a weapon, but sadly, there was nothing that could match the dagger Roxana was holding.
Roxana began swinging the dagger recklessly at Melanie.
Melanie, who tried to avoid the sharp blade flying at her, lost her balance and fell on her butt.
As she fell to the floor and reached for the chair next to the table, something touched her hand.
It was the wooden sword Hetor had used against her during their swordsmanship training.
Melanie stood up, gripping the wooden sword, and stabbed Roxana in the arm. It wasn't a cut, but the force was enough to make Roxana groan, causing her to scowl.
Encouraged by Roxana's pained groan, Melanie struck first again.
"Keep practicing. Your body will move without you even realizing it. That's why you keep repeating the same movements."
Hetor was right.
Her body was much faster than she thought.
Melanie found it strange that her body moved reflexively without her knowledge.
Taking advantage of the moment when Roxana staggered in confusion, Melanie struck her leg again with the wooden sword.
“This crazy...!”
Roxana ducked down to block with her hand, but the tip of the wooden sword stabbed the back of her hand.
A sharp pain stung her hand.
“If I can’t avenge Hedon, it’s not Melanie, it’s Melon! You know what? You die by my hand today.”
Roxana flinched at Melanie’s roar.
The concubine’s declaration of war, threatening to kill her, seemed to be no exaggeration.
“I have to get out of here to get rid of that crazy bastard.”
Melanie’s eyes were half-rolled.
Roxana opened the guest room door without turning around and fled outside. Melanie snorted and ran after Roxana, wooden sword in hand.
Roxana was quite surprised by Melanie.
Even with her ignorance of swordsmanship, she was confident she could easily defeat someone as weak as Melanie, but she was surprisingly agile. She hadn't planned on going up to the deck, but Melanie was chasing her so fiercely that she found herself stepping onto the stairs leading up.
Before dragging Emperor Adrian back here, I had to assess the damage to the celebratory delegation, the knights, and the attendants.
First and foremost, I needed to identify and recover those who had fallen to Galaco.
Fortunately, thanks to the wyverns' help, the damage was less than expected.
The deck where the party had been held was littered with the corpses of the Galacos and the ruined food.
As I looked around, a familiar voice rang out sharply.
"I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!"
She staggered and placed her hand on the door.
She had to unlock it again.
If the door didn't open, Hetor would surely find it strange and come inside.
Just then, Melanie's servant, Hedon, entered first.
Roxana hid behind the door, then covered Hedon's mouth and stabbed her with a dagger. Even as she lay dying, Hedon desperately tried to warn Melanie outside, pounding on the door with her hands and legs, warning her of the danger.
Panicked, Roxana had no choice but to abandon the fight with Hedon.
Remaining calm would have eased her suffering.
Roxana whispered to Hedon, her last breath still in her throat, "It's your fault I missed my chance to end your life cleanly." Even in her dying moments, Hedon gazed at the door, reaching out with a hoarse voice, "Your Highness Melanie..."
"Was Nancy like that?"
Logan, who had hidden his dagger and entered his own room, would surely have killed Nancy, wearing the Empress's dress and crown.
"Nancy would have worried about me like that the moment she died."
That child would have been enough.
Nancy's face overlapped with Hedon's as she died.
"I'm sorry,"
Roxana blurted out to Heddon without realizing it.
But it couldn't be helped.
She hypnotized herself, repeating that sacrificing oneself for the master one serves was the fate of servants.
She re-strengthened her weakened heart.
But Hetor's presence disrupted her plan.
Her mind was in disarray.
"What's going on?"
Roxana recalled her last conversation with Emperor Adrian.
Thinking back, she remembered Emperor Adrian's ambiguous response to her question about whether he had killed Hetor.
She'd been tricked!
Emperor Adrian hadn't killed Hetor.
"What was his plan, keeping him alive?"
Anger welled up at Emperor Adrian for breaking his promise.
Barely regaining her senses, Roxana considered whether Hetor's survival would be beneficial or detrimental to her.
If she could silence Emperor Adrian, she could bury the fact that she had attempted to kill Hetor.
Couldn't she still cling to him, refusing to listen to what Emperor Adrian had already said, and perhaps even save her life?
"Because I'm pregnant with his child."
Besides, Hetor's forces had seized control of this ship.
She had no choice.
She had to rely on Hetor for her life to survive.
Even if Hetor was a ruthless barbarian, he wouldn't kill a pregnant woman with his child.
As she finished thinking that, Melanie entered the room.
Roxana felt jealous of her after she had kissed Hetor.
It was an emotion unbecoming of someone who had even asked him to kill her.
"Do you like kissing another man?"
Roxana shouted again, venomously.
She couldn't understand why the words had spilled out twice.
"You, you did this to Hedon?!"
Melanie shouted, ignoring Roxana. She couldn't bring herself to ask if she had killed her.
Hedon's pulse had already stopped, but she didn't want to admit it.
Melanie hugged Hedon, still warm, and burst into tears.
"How dare you... to the Empress!"
Roxana watched Melanie sobbing for a moment, then, seeing Nancy's reflection in the dead Hedon, she quickly spoke up.
“What about the Empress? The servant’s attire suits you so well!”
“!”
Only after hearing Melanie’s sarcasm did Roxana realize she was wearing Nancy’s clothes.
“You’ve lost your sense of fear, Melanie.”
“Ha, do you think I’m just fearless? You’ve lost your sense of reason, too? Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?!”
Melanie glared fiercely, her lips trembling.
“Just because one servant died, do you dare to speak against the Empress?”
Roxana aimed her dagger at Melanie’s neck and asked.
“That servant?”
Melanie closed Hedon’s eyes, unable to bring herself to close them, and then stood up.
“Hedon wasn’t just a servant. She was my best friend, my protector, and sometimes like a mother... warm!”
Hedon was growing cold.
Melanie’s throat was choked, and she couldn’t continue.
It was a loss she had never experienced in her life.
“She was like a sister to me! Do you understand?”
“Oh, Melanie. Your servant was like a sister to you, but she’s not a sister.”
Roxana retorted coldly.
Melanie looked at Roxana with disgust, asking,
“How could you be so shameless after killing someone... If you were after me, there was no need to kill Hedon!”
“Let’s leave what’s already happened. If she's like sisters to you, I’ll let you go together. So Hedon won’t be lonely.”
Roxana tightened her grip on her dagger.
Melanie quickly searched Hetor’s room for a weapon, but sadly, there was nothing that could match the dagger Roxana was holding.
Roxana began swinging the dagger recklessly at Melanie.
Melanie, who tried to avoid the sharp blade flying at her, lost her balance and fell on her butt.
As she fell to the floor and reached for the chair next to the table, something touched her hand.
It was the wooden sword Hetor had used against her during their swordsmanship training.
Melanie stood up, gripping the wooden sword, and stabbed Roxana in the arm. It wasn't a cut, but the force was enough to make Roxana groan, causing her to scowl.
Encouraged by Roxana's pained groan, Melanie struck first again.
"Keep practicing. Your body will move without you even realizing it. That's why you keep repeating the same movements."
Hetor was right.
Her body was much faster than she thought.
Melanie found it strange that her body moved reflexively without her knowledge.
Taking advantage of the moment when Roxana staggered in confusion, Melanie struck her leg again with the wooden sword.
“This crazy...!”
Roxana ducked down to block with her hand, but the tip of the wooden sword stabbed the back of her hand.
A sharp pain stung her hand.
“If I can’t avenge Hedon, it’s not Melanie, it’s Melon! You know what? You die by my hand today.”
Roxana flinched at Melanie’s roar.
The concubine’s declaration of war, threatening to kill her, seemed to be no exaggeration.
“I have to get out of here to get rid of that crazy bastard.”
Melanie’s eyes were half-rolled.
Roxana opened the guest room door without turning around and fled outside. Melanie snorted and ran after Roxana, wooden sword in hand.
Roxana was quite surprised by Melanie.
Even with her ignorance of swordsmanship, she was confident she could easily defeat someone as weak as Melanie, but she was surprisingly agile. She hadn't planned on going up to the deck, but Melanie was chasing her so fiercely that she found herself stepping onto the stairs leading up.
***
Before dragging Emperor Adrian back here, I had to assess the damage to the celebratory delegation, the knights, and the attendants.
First and foremost, I needed to identify and recover those who had fallen to Galaco.
Fortunately, thanks to the wyverns' help, the damage was less than expected.
The deck where the party had been held was littered with the corpses of the Galacos and the ruined food.
As I looked around, a familiar voice rang out sharply.
"I won't forgive you! I'll kill you!"
"Is that Melanie?"
I said, turning to the group. As I spoke, the group all ran towards the source of the voice. Hetor was the first to run ahead. Melanie and Roxana were facing off in front of the bow. It was dark and hard to see clearly, but Roxana seemed to be holding a dagger, and Melanie seemed to be holding a wooden sword.
They needed to be separated immediately. Anyone could tell that Melanie was in more danger. Roxana threatened Melanie with the dagger without hesitation. But surprisingly, Melanie barely managed to dodge by turning to the side and stabbed Roxana in the side with the wooden sword.
“Ah! Not my stomach!”
Roxana quickly covered her stomach with both hands this time. There was no blood, but the bones in her wrists, where the wooden sword had stabbed her twice, throbbed.
“Who deserves to be stabbed in the stomach? Not even Hedon’s stomach! She shouldn’t have been stabbed by that sword!”
Melanie, remembering Hedon’s death from multiple stabs in the stomach, raged and raised the wooden sword at the fallen Roxana. Roxana spat out urgently.
“I-I’m pregnant!”
Roxana cried out, clutching her stomach in a desperate struggle.
“!”
Melanie froze. The people on deck were also frozen. Everyone's eyes turned to Emperor Linel. But Linel, me, Prince Norton, Raphael, and Bellos's gaze was fixed on Hetor.
"Where did you get the lie! His Majesty has never slept with the likes of you!"
Melanie, who had hesitated, spoke in a tone of disbelief and raised her wooden sword again. Roxana said something to Melanie in a small voice. She could read the expression on her lips.
"Hetor's baby."
Melanie's head automatically turned to Hetor. Her eyes begged for him to deny it, but Hetor remained silent. Melanie collapsed to the ground at Hetor's silence. Roxana, taking advantage of this gap, quickly reached out and stabbed Melanie in the stomach. The people approaching the two of them all stopped in their tracks.
"Ha, haa..."
Melanie panicked. Red blood was spreading across her pink dress. Roxana didn't stop there, but drew her dagger again and aimed it at Melanie's throat.
"Melanie, get out of the way!"
I called out to Melanie, lighting a spark from my fingertip and quickly throwing it at Roxana's hand, which was holding the dagger.
"Ouch!"
The many sparks coalesced into a small ball, sticking to Roxana's wrist and then falling. Roxana, burned, let go of the dagger, but she grabbed it again, her hands shaking with pain. Roxana's tenacity, having reached a dead end, was terrifying.
“You have to die, Melanie.”
Roxana climbed onto Melanie’s gasping body.
I threw the flame again, rapidly heating the hilt of Roxana’s dagger.
“Ahhh!”
Roxana, startled by the red-hot dagger's handle, dropped the dagger and shook her hands violently.
But instead of the dagger, she picked up a piece of a broken plate that had fallen nearby.
The moment Linel and I took a step back, someone appeared a step ahead of us.
The stranger's sword suddenly shot out of nowhere, causing Roxana to fall sideways, clutching her stomach.
"Ah, no...! Ugh, my baby!!"
"A baby when you've never been pregnant?"
The man, with the hood of his black robe pulled low, muttered mockingly.
"...W-what?!"
“You have to die, Melanie.”
Roxana climbed onto Melanie’s gasping body.
I threw the flame again, rapidly heating the hilt of Roxana’s dagger.
“Ahhh!”
Roxana, startled by the red-hot dagger's handle, dropped the dagger and shook her hands violently.
But instead of the dagger, she picked up a piece of a broken plate that had fallen nearby.
The moment Linel and I took a step back, someone appeared a step ahead of us.
The stranger's sword suddenly shot out of nowhere, causing Roxana to fall sideways, clutching her stomach.
"Ah, no...! Ugh, my baby!!"
"A baby when you've never been pregnant?"
The man, with the hood of his black robe pulled low, muttered mockingly.
"...W-what?!"
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