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(371)
Naseria sighed deeply and boarded the boat with her maids.
I almost fell down several times because the fluttering white hem kept getting dragged.
From what the warriors had to say, this hunt for the alien beast would be quite long.
“He said we have to reduce their numbers before going on a campaign.”
“If we gather public opinion, there will be less backlash when we issue conscription and draft orders.”
“You said you were going to go almost all the way to the sea. I have to manage these slaves well.”
The thought of wearing the earrings and bracelet Alceste had given me all that time gave me a headache.
The craftsman who made this had clearly never made earrings before.
'If you make the ring this big, it will be so heavy that I don't know how to carry it.'
The heavy gold earrings made my earlobes hurt as if they would fall off just by wearing them.
Alceste, standing on the bow, shouted loudly.
“Set sails!”
Flutter!
Colorful sails made of colorful cloth were spread wide, the Imam recited a spell, and soon the 60-meter long sailboat began to sail down toward the river mouth.
A cool river breeze blew, blowing away Naseria's veil.
The maids grabbed her veil, screaming as if her head was going to fly away.
“Your Highness!”
“I got it!”
“Here it is. Use it quickly. You might get sunburned.”
Naseria took the veil and put it back on, wondering how nice it would have been if it had just flown away.
'My skin might get tanned?'
She was also innocent.
I've also heard many times that if you really wanted to be a warrior, you would have been a pretty good warrior.
The healthy, tanned skin that I had under the sun was the result of my efforts and something to be proud of.
But Alceste didn't seem to think so.
He found something so funny that he laughed heartily with the warriors on deck.
“Hahahaha!”
“So I grabbed him by the throat and said, ‘Get back in your hole before I burn your beard off!’”
“So what happened in the end?”
“It was quite a sight to see him run away, clutching his chin, which had become numb.”
“Belisarios! Don’t you find this story interesting?”
“Your Majesty, I don’t have a beard.”
“Oh my. Then think of it as hair.”
“When you think about it that way, it’s really funny.”
It was somehow annoying to see Belisarios right next to me and beating me on the back.
Naseria slowly approached her fiancé.
“Marshal Alceste.”
“Princess, what brings you to this deck? Please return to the safety of your cabin.”
Alceste looked at her with pleased eyes and said.
It was a gaze that seemed to be looking at a top-notch work of art.
“Isn’t that so? I don’t see many foreign beasts today-”
Saaaaah.
Then the strong wind tried to blow her veil away once more.
Naseria pulled her veil down without difficulty, but her large hoop earrings fluttered in the wind and tangled, pulling at her earlobes once more.
She groaned and put her hand to her ear as soon as the wind died down.
Then a thick hand grabbed her arm.
A low voice rang threateningly in my ears.
“Princess. Do you intend to insult me by taking away the gift I gave you in front of me?”
Naseria bit her lower lip.
'I'm right next to you, what more do you need?'
The words were stuck in my throat.
Then Belisarios shouted at the top of his voice.
“It’s a fish race!”
It was a voice loud and clear enough for everyone on the ship to hear.
* * *
"what?"
“What are you talking about? Why are those who live in the ocean coming out here?”
“We haven’t even reached the river mouth yet!”
The warriors ran to the deck railing in terror and looked out into the river.
“Shiieeek!”
A head resembling a sea bass, with bulging eyes, thick blue-green scales, sharp teeth, a translucent dorsal fin, and long spines along the spine.
It was definitely a fish race.
"human being!"
“Tender meat!”
It wasn't like one or two of them came inland by chance.
——————
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Choaaaak! Choaaaak! Choaaaak!
Dozens of fish-man warriors were swimming alongside the boat.
A broad, white shell like a rock rose and fell repeatedly to the surface of the water, and above it stood a giant sea snail with purple tentacles hanging down like a castle tower.
A warrior muttered, his voice dripping with laughter.
“The fish tribe’s crab warrior.”
“High-level entity! Prepare for battle!”
Belisarios shouted casually and picked up his javelin.
Alceste also picked up his javelin and threw it at the fishman closest to the boat.
“Kill all these fishheads!”
puck!
One of the fish-men who was trying to get onto the boat was hit in the chest and fell into the water.
As the sound of the splash rang out, the sailor who had climbed up the mast shouted.
“Look ahead!”
“!”
Naseria doubted her eyes.
Choaaaah!
A huge wave, almost a tsunami, was coming up the river.
A crimson shape was visible within the waves.
Choaaaah!
The octopus guardian of the fish tribe roared as he leapt out of the waves with his tentacle whiskers extended.
“Whoaaahhh-!”
It was so huge that the part exposed above the river seemed to be over 30 meters high.
“Abandon ship!”
“That monster!”
"princess!"
Screams of all kinds rang out from all directions.
thud!
The octopus guardian and the bow collided directly, the boat rocked violently, and the octopus guardian grabbed the bow with both arms and lifted it into the sky.
Phew!
The next moment, everything seemed slow to Naseria's eyes.
The maids and warriors fell into the river like overturned chess pieces.
“Naseria!”
Belisarios ran towards her, Alceste grabbed his spear and dove towards the bow, and in her sight the blue waters of the river grew closer and closer.
with a plop!
The cold water soaked my whole body.
Naseria opened her eyes and slowly waved her limbs.
'I have to go up.'
The big river wasn't fast, and I had learned how to swim well enough, so I wasn't worried about drowning.
But contrary to her thoughts, her body continued to sink further.
'Don't make a splash. The fish people… … Ah.'
The flowing fabric absorbed water and became insanely heavy.
No matter how hard she tried to tear the clothes, the tightly wrapped cloth and strong strings did not let her go easily.
'no.'
The purple eyes trembled.
My breathing was slow but definitely choking.
Choaaaah!
At that moment, Han In-yeong hugged her tightly, cutting through the water.
It was a feeling I had felt before.
'Belisarios?'
The last time I saw his face in the blue water, it seemed like he was smiling.
* * *
-!
–!
Naseria slowly opened her eyes.
'My head hurts.'
My chest hurt as if I had been hit by something, and I felt a sweet, refreshing scent and hot breath in front of me.
Her golden eyes were so close that her eyelashes almost met mine, and her lips felt soft and firm.
Only then did Naseria realize what was happening.
“You! What are you doing? A man and a woman who are neither married nor engaged-.”
She sprang to her feet and struck Belisarios in the side with her fist.
Belisarios took the blow as if nothing had happened, then reached out with both hands and held her arms tightly against his torso.
“Your Majesty Naseria. Please calm down.”
"profit!"
My body felt as if it was locked in place, unable to move.
“You were teasing me while I was unconscious!”
Belisarios spat out quickly.
“I gave you artificial respiration and chest compressions. Your ribs will hurt a little. As far as I know, the scriptures say that medical procedures are not considered sexual procedures, so there is no need to worry about Your Majesty’s chastity.”
Naseria felt a deep sense of relief and the strength left her body.
Then Belisarios also immediately released his hold on her body.
She looked around briefly.
“Where is this place?”
The sun was already halfway down.
The view was filled with dense trees, and the surrounding area was a mixture of sand and mud, with tree roots growing high above the ground, covering the ground tightly like a net.
Belisarios answered, guiding Naseria to the campfire.
“It’s a mangrove forest near the delta. It’s not too far from where we sank. We ended up here trying to avoid the fish people and rescue your highness.”
“Then what about Marshal Alceste?”
“I only saved Your Majesty. I don’t know the fate of the rest of the people. I cut down a tree a little way away and lit a signal fire, so if a rescue team comes, they’ll be able to see it right away.”
Naseria felt a strange sense of relief at the words, “I don’t know.”
If he lived, he would get married.
If he had died, she might have been married to a man twenty years older than her, or perhaps the Sultan might have realized that he had no other choice and changed the law.
The uncertainty of possibility gave me a feeling of freedom.
Belisarios held out a fish on a wooden skewer from the fire.
“Once you’ve calmed down a bit, take your time. Since you’re still shocked, you should eat little by little.”
"thanks."
Naseria took a bite of the skewer.
It was delicious.
* * *
It was late at night, but sleep did not come.
Knock, knock.
The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of a campfire.
Naseria looked at Belisarios who was putting in new firewood.
I don't know if it was an ability he developed while on the run or an ability he originally had, but he seemed pretty good at it.
There was still a confident smile in his amethyst eyes.
“Belisarios.”
She opened her mouth slowly.
'What are you going to do by saying this?'
The question came back to me from within, but I ignored it.
It was also important to look after myself, and I wanted to confide in someone.
To a person who is not from this country, to a person who does not have the common sense of this country.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I wanted to live my life too. No. I still want to live my life.”
She spoke in Imperial language.
Belisarios was taken aback for a moment, then answered in the same Imperial language.
“You live a challenging life.”
Naseria nodded.
I couldn't stand it without challenging it.
No matter how much I thought about it, it seemed like I could have it.
She seemed like she could do it too.
“I heard that women can also inherit the empire. Is that right?”
He nodded.
“Yes. To be exact, the first child. The right of succession is granted in order of birth, regardless of gender.”
“Was that system actually well-executed?”
Belisarios nodded.
“The second emperor who immediately opened the expansion period, ‘Deuktoje’, was also a woman. Others who made their name during the expansion period include ‘Hyeolrinje’ who founded Wyvernpit, ‘Cheongyeonje’ who was a master of fire magic, and ‘Shin Silje’ who was posthumously honored as a saint of the Gwangmyeong Church.”
"ah."
“It’s a bit complicated during the civil war. At that time, there were times when the emperor changed more than five times in a year. If we put that aside and only consider the emperors who properly ascended to the throne… Yes. It’s almost 5 to 5.”
Naseria smiled faintly.
“It’s like a dream.”
Belisarios gave him a look of affectionate and sympathetic gaze.
“Your Majesty, is that a sweet dream? Or is it a nightmare that continues to torment you?”
She thought about that for a moment, then shook her head.
“I think they’re almost the same. It’s just that right now is the time when I’m the most free. I feel like I’ll be broken if I ever settle down. And I don’t want to think later on, “If only I had done it back then, maybe I could have done it then…”
“What I mean is-.”
“Dreams are painful, Belisarios. Excitement and fear always go together.”
Belisarios nodded as if he understood.
“I understand now that you say it. Yes. Excitement and fear always go together.”
His clear, amethyst eyes suddenly hardened like gold and then returned to their original state.
He said, hesitating a little.
“If you wish for something alone, it’s a dream. If you wish for something together, it’s hope.”
“That’s interesting.”
“The brothers who ran away together said that.”
"sorry."
“No. That’s not it… Let’s just hope that the rescue team will come quickly.”
Naseria burst into laughter.
“What is that?”
Belisarios added and said:
“I also hope that the princess can become the Sultan of Amir’s Emirate.”
His red lips held a dangerous and alluring smile as always.
* * *
match!
The sound of a cheek being slapped rang out loud.
Naseria stumbled and Alceste shouted.
“You’re exposing your body like that in front of a stranger! Princess. What are you doing!”
“Your Majesty! Why are you treating your fiancée like that in front of another man?”
Belisarios stood between her and Alceste.
Alceste shook his hands, pushed Belisarios away, and dragged Naseria onto the boat.