‘Hey, get on? She said that to him?’

“Hahaha.” I started laughing while looking at the main character’s imposing back. I was already hugging Demy and Tithé, so having Rhea, Perry, and Percy all coming on me made it quite chaotic. Furthermore, this was the pirate ship of our memories that Christelle had dragged over to Yvelines during our summer vacation. Frozen pillars of sea water shot up like waterspouts to support the deck. There was a burning bedroom above my head and waves crashing underneath the extremely high cliff below me.

This was the craziest night of my life!

“Have you been well? Did the crown prince-nim take good care of you?”

– Kiiiiiiiiiii, kiiiiiiiiii!

“Oh, I see. Why is your paw so dirty?”

– Whimper, whimper!

“Yeah, I’m sure our Percy suffered quite a bit. It must have been so hard on you, little guy.”

– Piiiiiiiiiiruuuuuuuuu, pipi!

I couldn’t help but chuckle while looking at the red pandas, who were dangling on my legs while greeting me and at the chimney bird that was complaining about all of the hard work he had done.

I knew I shouldn’t be laughing right now, but it couldn’t be helped. I was stupidly contemplating whether this was real or just a dream when Lady Isabelle and Christelle’s wet nurse, Ellen, covered us with blankets. Maria was especially excited.

“Bro, we got a ship! It happened exactly as I said it would!”

Captain Hervé laughed out loud while Marquis François kissed Isabelle and Ellen on the backs of their hands. This was an unbelievable development the more I thought about it. ‘How did the two of you end up, no……’

“Did you come all the way here because of us?” I did not hide my smile as I asked the man. The man who had fallen from the burning Casa di Corleone moments ago…

– Taaaat!

Had elegantly landed on the ship as if everything was a part of a play. All of our jaws dropped. I never expected to be so happy to see his demonic beast fur coat and black cape.

‘I was wondering how the Admiral’s room caught on fire, but I guess it was for him to save his teacher.’ I was so proud of the official couple.

“Didn’t you say that we should move around together?”

I took off his mask and he haughtily responded. His pitch black hair fluttered with the sea breeze while his orange eyes looked right at me through the darkness. There wasn’t even the slightest of movements in his sculpture-like face. My mind blanked out for a moment.

‘Let’s move around together from now on, your Royal Highness. We are partners.’

‘……Oh right, I said such a thing. He remembered.’

“I did, your Royal Highness.”

I had done it as an excuse for the couple to be together, but I was truly awed as a friend right now. I was thankful because not only did he believe in us, he came all the way to a foreign country in this cold winter. This kid had grown up in a noble family as the Imperial Crown Prince. That probably led to all sorts of troubles on his journey here, but he even took good care of the little troublemakers. I nodded my head with a bright look on my face.

“Thank you very much, your Royal Highness.”

– Craaaaaack!

An ominous sound echoed through the ship at that moment. The air between the crown prince and I instantly froze. Sir Johann, whose upper body was covered by a blanket, quickly looked up at the estate.

Christelle was standing at the bow of the ship fighting against Admiral Emma Corleone at the edge of the cliff. Water swirled out of the main character’s hands. The chilly sound effect continued. Ooooooooo—

“Huh? Is the ship tilting?”

Maria mumbled, “What a coincidence. I had the same thought.”

– Creeeeeeak……

“Holy shit.”

‘That wasn’t a coincidence! Everything is turning to the side!’

“Everybody be careful! That woman threw an axe at the pillar!” Christelle quickly turned around and shouted solemnly.

‘Thanks but can you tell us ten seconds earlier next time?!’

“Hey guys!” I hugged the group of divine beasts and urgently shouted.

‘Screeeech!’ Vines shot up like water from the red pandas’ feets. Shhh! Everybody was tightly bound to the ship with the vines.

The ship went past tilting forty-five degrees now……

“Sir Johann!”

“Your highness.”

– Creeeeeeeeeeeak……

I could hear the vessel starting to die out.

‘I know this feeling. Roller Coasters stop like this at the top. Right before they fall!’

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhh! Big sis! Thérèse!”

“Oh dear Almighty God!”

I screamed with my eyes closed, Maria called out for her siblings, while Ellen shouted the loudest. The bed then shot down toward the sea at an extreme speed!

– Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

“Ahaha!”

– Screeeech!

– Aaarf!

– Pipo!

Christelle and the little troublemakers also let out noises but I couldn’t tell if they were screaming. As the ship turned almost vertical and was about to hit the water…

– Swooooooosh!

An extremely strong gust of wind wrapped around the ship. I rapidly looked toward Sir Johann. His drooping corners of his eyes gently curled up. The pirate ship turned unbelievably gently, before….

– Chhhhhhhhhhhh!

Before safely landing on top of a field of buckwheat flowers above the night sea.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- The sea water slapped my cheeks and hair as if I was on a log flume ride.

“Pffft.” I couldn’t overcome the overflowing adrenaline and sense of relief and ended up laughing.

‘I almost went nuts despite knowing Gerrit’s father would help us out!’

“Wow, that was so fun! I want to ride it one more time!”

“Maria.”

The completely drenched young lady stomped her feet with joy while François fixed his sister’s hair as he caught his breath.

I petted the divine beasts once before quickly looking around at my friends. The couple, the Duhem siblings, of course Sir Johann, Isabelle, and Ellen. Everybody was safe. Percy, who had been anxiously flailing around, quickly dug into my clothes.

Christelle pulled the vines off and stood up before standing in front of us with the cliff to her back. Her front hair, which was stuck to her forehead like seaweed, looked very cute.

“Everything is settled now! There should be no issues getting to the Empire because teacher and I are here while his Royal Highness being here means we will have no issues with temperature management. Please don’t worry about the ship. I had it modified to be very strong while it was back home. It cost a ton of money. Of course, this is my first time bringing it out, but… Why don’t we forget about the portal and ride this out to the Imperial Capital……”

The corners of our lips sank the more she spoke. It wasn’t because of her but because of the figure behind her.

– Splash!

We heard an unexpected noise. Christelle quickly turned around. We all stood up, grabbed onto the railings, and looked at the other side. Bubbles were rising out of the sea that was visible because of the fire.

“What is it, your highness? What was that?”

“The Admiral jumped off the cliff.”

“Hooo.”

“Let’s go now.”

The crown prince sharply ordered. His voice sounded a bit rushed. The Duhem siblings pushed Maria behind them and started scattering their mana.

I looked toward the two of them and asked, “I know the Admiral is even scarier than pirates, but can a person follow a large ship like this?”

“You don’t know that woman’s specialty.”

‘……Specialty? Is she a mage?’ Christelle and my face stiffened up.

“Ellen!”

“Leave it to me, Baby miss!”

Ellen seemed to be the helmsman. She rushed over to the key and Isabelle started to pull at the mast. Maria ran over to help her. I tried to help as well but…

– Splash!

“Eek!”

A ghost-like figure shot up from under the ship. The drenched reggae hair looked so scary. Tithé flailed and cried. ‘Big bro almost had a heart attack too!’

“It has finally appeared. The one to give me an eternity of bliss!”

The Admiral wiped her face and her dark green eyes sparkled. She looked at least ten years younger with her eyes wide open like this, and she looked extremely happy, which did not fit the situation very well. Even her voice sounded clearer than usual. ‘Wait, what did you say just appeared?’

“My mermaid.”

The middle-aged woman looked at Christelle with a piercing gaze as she whispered. She looked like she was in love. Her beautiful teeth sparkled as she smiled and let out white condensation as she breathed. She seemed smitten at Christelle’s water attribute ether and how free she looked while using her Divine Power. But to me, the Admiral looked like a beautiful and dangerous siren. I got chills thinking that she might make our ship sink at any moment.

The main character looked at me profoundly.

“She must really like you, your highness. I heard she also demanded that you attend to her.”

‘Don’t try to push it off to me. You know she is talking about you!’

“I will create an aquarium for you in the estate. But I will place golden crowns and diamond anklets in place of coral.”

Chhhh! The Admiral said that before taking a step on top of the water. Christelle and my jaws dropped. This was hard to believe despite seeing it with my own eyes. Someone who lived 20,000 leagues away from the concept of religious belief was leisurely walking on water!

“Your Royal Highness…… What is going on?”

‘Can you believe this?’

“Buoyancy.” The young man gruffly answered. ‘Holy shit.’

“It makes sense how she could lead such a large fleet at a young age. The madam is a Grade 8 mage who can run amok on both land and sea as well as a skilled fighter.” François smiled bitterly as he explained.

‘This is crazy. Not only can she control buoyancy, she is a Grade 8 mage? A mage who is a great fighter too?’

“……Parabarabarabam!” Christelle sang an old song as she ran to the bow of the ship. Splash! The height of the waves suddenly became higher and the ship sped up.

I took a step back after seeing the Admiral start to run. There were soldiers with torches at the shore preparing speedboats. I felt a sense of crisis and thought that I should row with an oar or kick my feet or do something. The crown prince, who had been letting the wind hit his face, looked at me and scowled.

“Your ether is not stable.”

‘How would you know the anxieties of a regular person? Miss Ga-in!’

“Let’s go together!”

I could hear Sir Johann laughing.

*

December 26th passed by. The sun was starting to rise in the east. Elise Venetiaan smiled while looking at the people passed out in the ballroom. Maartje, who drank so much last night, was sleeping underneath the platform. Her mother was on the silk bed at the top while the lovely Cornelisse was in her arms. There was a purple tulip within a magic glass cover by their heads. The crown princess silently and resentfully looked at that thing before covering her coachman with a blanket and mumbling to herself.

“……This is nice to see.”

It really was.

Her thirty-first birthday celebration had been simpler than ever before. Although one of her two beloved younger siblings was not present, her mother had attended with her mind in a healthy state. Nobody from her father’s family, the Duke’s House of Sneijder, attended. The nobles who supported her mother did show up and some of them spent the night before returning early in the morning.

Elise felt happy and satisfied for the first time in a long while. The luxuriously dressed narcissists close to her father as well as her future fiance that her father had chosen for her had not been present. It had been simple and peaceful. The celebration that she had prepared suited her perfectly.

“It would have been great if Jesse was here as well.”

‘I hope he is well. He should be.’

Elise thought about the pink-haired child of water and calmed herself. That Cardinal, Johann Geens, should be a reliable sword for her brother as well since they managed to safely send his son to the Empire. Maybe Jesse would be spending peaceful days where no swords were needed.

“Should I take you with me to go see him after the new year?” The crown princess kissed her sister’s cheek as she whispered.

The child had yet to ever leave the Royal Capital. This girl would jump up and down with joy if she was told she would go to see the Empire. They might be able to come up with an excuse if they used the Vatican. She was worried that the Imperial Crown Prince would restrict her brother’s movements, so she needed to force her way in to see him at least once a year……

– Click.

“Your highness.”

Jeanine, the crown princess’s attendant, opened the door and entered. Her usually calm face was completely pale. An ominous feeling pierced at Elise’s heart.

“Jeanine?”

“We have received urgent news from Riester, your highness. H, h, his highness…” ‘Mmph.’ The middle-aged woman covered her mouth before barely managing to move her hand away to speak. “There was a terrorist incident aiming for the crown prince of the Empire and Prince Jesse has been suspected as the mastermind behind it.”

“……What?” Her voice was extremely loud. However, she had no time to think about that. The crown princess’s fingertips started to shake. “What do you mean by that? He is not someone who would do something like that. Who would speak such nonsense?”

“Nothing seems to have been verified, your highness. However, Prince Jesse happened to be away from the Imperial Capital when the incident happened……”

Elise’s eyes opened wide. She madly ran over to Jeanine.

“Why? Why was he out of the Imperial Palace?”

“I’m not sure, your highness. The Imperial capital is still quite chaotic because of the incident and the Empress has given orders to arrest Prince Jesse.” Jeanine held back a gasp and bowed.

The crown princess’s sapphire-colored eyes quickly started to move. There was no way that the Imperial family did not know about her brother’s character. Elise clearly remembered the summer farewell party where everybody worked together to rescue the young hostage of her father.

But if this was a cleverly plotted out trap…

If even the Empress had no choice but to suspect her brother and he was cast out or punished by the Empire……

“My goodness.”

It was Maartje’s voice. The two women quickly looked at the ground. The battle priest was gasping in astonishment as she looked up at the crown princess. Her aged lips started to shake.

“Your highness…… Your highness, you can’t. His highness’s memory is not completely intact. He is in danger like that!”

“What did you just say?”

– Clang!

All three women gasped. Elise quickly looked toward the bed. Her mother’s peach-colored eyes were full of fear. Her hand was bloody as she held onto the purple tulip.

The old glass cover had broken.

—
Translator’s Comments

Ohhhhh snaaaaap!

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