At the End of Ruin, There You Are (56 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 87

People crowded together at the harbor. The expansion construction had lost its novelty after a day or two of gawking, and now parents had to drag their children away before they wandered too close and got into accidents.

But the ship arriving from the distant south was different. Having only ever seen light longships rowed by foreign tribes, the sight of a vessel flying not just one but three sails drew everyone out to watch.

Yet even while gawking, they couldn’t escape the Lusenforders’ characteristic hostility toward outsiders.

Curiosity mingled with clear wariness. Though the Grand Duchess herself was from the south, the arrival of southerners still felt strangely awkward and unfamiliar.

The ducal carriage halted, and as the door opened, the Grand Duke stepped out first. The knights already waiting at the harbor bowed their heads respectfully. The Grand Duke turned and extended both hands into the carriage. The petite Grand Duchess was lifted gently by those hands and stepped down.

“Oh my, Your Highness!”

“Your Highness, the Princess!” Even those busy unloading cargo and the ship’s senior crew members instinctively cried out the name they hadn’t uttered in ages, rushing over in excitement. Everyone’s faces glowed with delight.

The Lusenforders glanced warily at the Grand Duchess. No one here had ever greeted her with such warmth.

“My lady! Oh, my dear girl!”

One voice stood out with especially heartfelt emotion. The man shouting “Oh my!” repeatedly as he ran forward was a massive ship captain—so broad and towering he’d intimidate most Lusenford men.

Years battling sun and storms had left his face deeply tanned and lined with age. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, about the same age as Duke Ostein.

“Journey?”

Pheon looked down in surprise, calling his wife by the affectionate nickname. Her pale, delicate face instantly brightened. How long had it been since he’d seen her so full of life? To Pheon, it felt like ages.

“Yes, it’s me, Journey! Oh my, my dear girl, oh my!”

The harbor’s commanding captain now ran toward the Grand Duchess—who, though petite, was unmistakably an adult—with such exaggerated gestures of endearment he resembled nothing so much as an uncle seeing his beloved niece, or perhaps a grandfather meeting his granddaughter.

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