<Episode 563> Execution Power Bey and Imagination
The cruise ship, having completed a full circuit of the island, docked at the old pier, and workers who had been nowhere to be seen disembarked in droves from the deck of the sailboat.
They busily set up facilities for the distinguished guests to enjoy an outdoor banquet, including barbecue areas, barracks, and fire pits.
"Young people go for a walk."
Rubina, the former Grand Duchess, made the suggestion, and Irene immediately raised her hand.
"I will go with you."
It was customary for a noble lady to always be accompanied by a chaperone. She absolutely could not be left alone with a man.
Rubina was slightly annoyed. This would interfere with her plans
"I'm not saying you should go boating alone; it's just a short walk, so what's the fuss about? Doesn't Manchike even give the Princess some breathing room?"
'Because you are free beyond the breathing hole, with no walls or roof, isn't that why you are here in this distant land, having crossed thousands of miles of water, Princess?' The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but Irene managed to close her eyes and smile.
"The road is rough, so I will help support you, Your Highness."
However, this was a bad excuse. This was because Rubina had launched an attack that could not be immediately refuted.
"Is my son really that untrustworthy?"
After insulting the mother, the hardest thing to answer is insulting someone else's child.
"Ah, no, of course it's not that I don't trust the Grand Duke... I'm just worried it might be difficult for the Princess. The road is rough, and there will likely be sections where I have to practically carry her."
Then, this time, Julia Helena flared up.
"Am I that heavy?"
"Th-that's not it..."
Irene was burning with frustration at the sight of her lord, with whom she had no coordination. Taking advantage of this, Rubina launched a fierce attack.
"I am heartbroken to see my son being treated like this. Grand Duke Cesare has been a gentleman among gentlemen all this time. Even Viscount Panamere cannot deny that fact."
Even Irene could not refute those words. Suddenly, she recalled the conversation she had shared alone with Cesare late at night a few days ago.
"Viscountess. Don't worry too much. I'm not that scumbag."
Cesare looked extremely weary that night. His retreating figure, weighed down by deep melancholy and sorrow, remained in Irene's memory.
The Grand Duke had countless opportunities to woo the innocent young Princess. However, he had never once crossed the line.
Just as the Viscountess began to waver, unsure whether to give in or not, Princess Julia Helena also joined the group, pressuring him.
"Irene, I'll be right back, okay?"
She reminded the Viscountess of their previous agreement in a meaningful tone
"You know the promise you made to me. That you wouldn't interfere."
She told the Princess to try to win the Grand Duke's heart while they were in Taranto. She said she would help her stay in Etruscan if she succeeded. The Viscountess let out a sigh without realizing it.
"Sigh."
In Irene's eyes, it was a lost cause no matter what she did. How could a Princess possibly win over that man whose eyes turned dead fish-like every time he saw Julia Helena?
'That bastard.'
Princess Julia Helena is inexperienced and knows nothing about relationships between men and women. She has nothing but memories of everyone doting on her and her racing hormones.
'Fine, do whatever you want.'
Irene let go of the Princess in her heart.
'Let's actually experience what it's like to be in front of that man wearing only a slip and writing your name with your butt without him even lifting a finger, and then give up cleanly.'
Julia Helena is the kind of person who has to taste it herself to know if it is poop.
Just then, Grand Duke Cesare made the first suggestion
"I will take the coastal promenade."
In his view, Viscountess Panamere was already unable to stop the rampaging Julia Helena and the steadfast-willed Rubina.
'Isn't it fine as long as I don't fall for it?'
He was confident about that much. Cesare stepped forward and reassured Irene.
"If you turn toward the coast, you will be able to see us clearly from the ship, won't you? You are keeping an eye on it, aren't you?"
Viscountess Panamere's face turned pale for a moment.
"...Here?"
She wondered if she could overcome her fear of heights. Cesare shrugged.
It was none of his business where the Viscountess of the Principality of Manchike was keeping watch.
"Do as you please. Whether you view it from the deck or from the mast."
She could have just slept in the cabin. After all, she wasn't going to be bothered anyway.
Irene hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the agitated Julia Helena, she realized that she had no real choice.
"If only for a moment..."
At Irene's reluctant agreement, Rubina beamed and pushed the two young men and women forward.
"Go quickly."
At this, the mast swayed, and not only Irene but also Cesare and Julia Helena turned pale and clutched the railing of the Top Castle.
Rubina chuckled.
"Oh my. The stomach is a bit light, more than I expected."
Rubina was simply delighted, even atop the swaying mast. She felt full without having to eat.
***
As Julia Helena disembarked from the ship supported by Cesare, she felt as if an electric current ran through her entire body the moment their fingers touched, even through thick winter gloves.
She had to take a deep breath to suppress the urge to immediately pull his hand under her armpit and scream.
In that ticklish atmosphere, a suffocating silence from one's perspective, they disembarked at the pier, crossed the old wooden dock, and stepped onto the sandy beach where snow-white sand rippled.
Throughout this entire process, Cesare did not say a single word. He merely walked mechanically, leading the Princess like a court attendant escorting a lady on duty.
Julia Helena was so excited by the mere fact of physical contact that she had no time to pay attention to the lack of conversation, but even she found it somewhat strange that only silence had persisted for so long.
Gradually, she began to think that this was a breach of etiquette and even suspected that Grand Duke Cesare was treating her poorly.
She had witnessed many unpleasant things since coming to the Etruscan Kingdom. She was on the verge of developing a victim mentality she hadn't had before. She was just about to protest to the Grand Duke.
"Hmm?"
Cesare, who had been merely walking beside her, was the first to make his presence known.
This was the chance. Julia Helena spoke rapidly to Cesare.
"Grand Duke. Do you dislike speaking with me?"
"Princess, that's not it..."
He turned toward Julia Helena, but did not look at her properly. Cesare was frantically staring over her shoulder at something else behind her.
"Look at this! You aren't even making eye contact with me right now."
"Princess. What is important right now is...!"
"What could be more important than the fact that the Grand Duke is being rude to me?"
Cesare pointed toward the coast. However, this enraged Julia Helena.
"
"Even pointing fingers!
"Princess, that's not it...!"
"Does that mean I did something wrong? What do you think will change just because you point your finger at me?!"
Cesare had to commit a far greater act of rudeness to explain that what he was just doing was not rude.
He stretched out his arms and grabbed Julia Helena's shoulders. The man's large hands covered the woman's slender forearms.
Then, he forcibly turned her around.
"Ack! What are you doing?"
Julia Helena, who had been screaming, had her jaw drop.
"What is that right now?!"
While Cesare could not bring himself to answer, the clever Princess found the answer on her own.
"The ship is leaving us behind right now!!"
***
"Are you out of your mind?! Are you out of your mind, former Grand Duchess?"
"Watch your words and actions, Viscountess Panamere!"
Irene was standing on the mast when she felt a strange swaying sensation.
At first, she thought it was just her imagination. No matter how big the ship was or how anchored it was at the dock, waves were bound to crash. She was prone to seasickness and disliked heights.
'Should I go down... and check?'
However, the Viscountess felt dizzy at the thought of crawling down the mast alone. Moreover, if she went down, the eyes that had to keep an eye on Grand Duke Cesare and Princess Julia Helena would be empty.
Irene deceived herself until as late as possible, telling herself that the rocking of the ship was just waves.
'Let's concentrate, let's keep a close eye on the Princess...'
It was only when Cesare and Julia Helena, who looked like two ants in the distance, lurched violently that Irene realized for certain that something was wrong.
The ship had raised anchor and was leaving the dock!
What she felt was the sound of the anchor coming up onto the deck and falling.
It had been a fatal mistake to stubbornly insist on staying alone on the mast to keep a close watch on Grand Duke Cesare and Princess Julia Helena.
She shouldn't have been staring so intently at the two small dots walking along the shore.
If only she had noticed the laborers boarding the sailing ship again, she wouldn't be this late!
Viscountess Panamere, trembling with a desperate effort, crawled down the mast and immediately went to find Rubina to protest vehemently.
"Turn the ship around immediately, immediately!"
"How dare you give orders right now!"
Marchioness Ceppinelli physically blocked the space between the late Grand Duchess Rubina and Viscount Panamere.
The imposing Marchioness was quite physically intimidating. She roared with a powerful voice emanating from her large frame.
"I spoiled you because you were foreign guests, and now you have no regard for others!"
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