The attention of those attending the hunting festival was focused entirely on who would win between Emperor Ferus and the divine dragon Orbis.

Whether he deliberately lost or was originally not interested in winning, the hunting festival ended with Ferus winning by catching the black lion.

But that wasn’t what was important.

It was because Herna, who had gone out hunting, fell off her horse while chasing prey and injured her leg.

Since her body was already weakened due to long confinement, people worried about Herna, saying she shouldn’t have been allowed to participate in the hunting festival when her physical condition was poor.

There were also rumors that the misfortune had shifted to Princess Herna since Litania, who had been chased by a black leopard and gone missing two years ago, and was kidnapped and nearly died last year, did not attend.

‘I thought Herna would do something.’

They say one should have good intentions, but hearing that she tried to do something at the hunting festival only to fall off her horse and get injured, Litania felt a bit dumbfounded.

‘I guess I was being oversensitive.’

Ferus won the hunting festival, and Herna was injured. The unsettling speculations surrounding Litania and Orbis also subsided considerably.

‘Well, it turned out well for me.’

Litania breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that the tumultuous spring festival had ended.

And finally, the day came for the Emperor of Beriberbium and the third princess of the Kingdom of Nobus to be married.

“Wow…”

Litania marveled at the massive ship before her eyes, as large as a castle.

The waves of the river rippled in the direction of the rising sun. On those waves floated a huge pearly ship.

The curved lines and agile masts were as elegant as a work of art, and the trumpet sounds echoing from both sides blended with the waves, sounding like echoes of happiness.

“What are you standing there with your mouth open for?”

Vapor, dressed in formal attire, approached and lightly touched Litania’s hand.

“I’ve never seen a ship this large before.”

“While Beriberbium has no sea, Nobus is a country surrounded by sea on three sides.”

Floating a ship on the river and holding the wedding ceremony on board was said to be a gesture of respect for the princess familiar with ships and water, and her home country of Nobus.

“Well, it’s also for safety.”

“Safety?”

“If the wedding is held on a ship, no one but invited guests can enter.”

“Ah, I see.”

At a place like a wedding where many outsiders come and go, it’s easy for foreign spies to hide disguised as guests.

It’s said that several families were displeased that the Emperor took a princess from another country, not a noble of Beriberbium, as his companion.

Like when Litania was kidnapped during last year’s hunting festival, it was to prevent hiring foreign assassins and then cutting off ties to hide.

“Vapor, you know a lot.”

“…Who do you think planned this shipboard party?”

“Hmm. The person who suggested changing the spring festival ball into a masquerade ball?”

As Litania smiled brightly and shrugged her shoulders, the corners of Vapor’s eyes reddened.

“Are you mocking me now?”

“I didn’t say anything particularly mocking, though? Vapor.”

“You were quite enthusiastically enjoying the party, changing men with every dance.”

It was a misunderstanding that Litania had danced while changing partners, as she had never changed partners, but there was no way to correct it.

“Did you act so impulsively because you were provoked by what I said about being popular?”

“This misunderstanding needs to be corrected even if it can’t be.”

“What?”

“First of all, my dancing had nothing to do with you. Besides, I didn’t even know where you were that day.”

“What, how…”

“I didn’t know you’d worry this much about a sister who was mistreated and even divorced.”

“Are you crazy? When did I ever…!”

“Thank you.”

“…”

Although he tended to lose favor by saying things that didn’t need to be said, Vapor was naturally a very worrisome character.

It was like that when he kept reaching out to help Litania even while seeming to disregard her.

At first, she wondered why he acted that way, but thinking that he did it because he was concerned about his sister, even his rude way of speaking began to seem oddly cute.

He’s completely different from her younger brother Han Liu, who treated Han Ria like a child.

Is it because they’re half-siblings, even if only half-blood related?

As Litania looked at him with a smiling face, Vapor’s face gradually reddened.

Seeming quite pleased to be praised by her, Vapor couldn’t hide his rising smile and bit his lip while trembling, then cleared his throat.

“Ahem. That’s enough.”

This part resembles his older brother Ferus. Vapor was still fidgeting with his lips, then blurted out words while not making eye contact with her.

“You look pretty.”

“Huh?”

“The dress, it suits you.”

“Ah.”

Litania was wearing a gorgeous rose-colored silk dress.

Around her neck was a red ruby necklace that accentuated her clear skin, and the upper part of the dress was decorated with intricate embroidery and gold thread.

From the waist down, the skirt part formed abundant layers, reminiscent of the red roses that bloom at the end of the spring festival.

Under the sleeves that flowed generously from the shoulders and tightened at the wrists, thin ribbons were hanging, creating a wave-like shape with every step she took.

This dress, designed to show the dignity of a princess while perfectly suiting the late spring in full bloom, and created with a completely different design from the wedding dress to be worn by the new bride who was the star of the shipboard wedding, was the confident work of Raven, the tailor of the Dragon City.

Knowing that Litania would reject it if sent in Orbis’s name, Raven cleverly arranged for this dress to be delivered through Snow.

“My attendant has a crow friend, you know.”

“What?”

“He says your eye for fashion is excellent.”

“That doesn’t connect with what you just said.”

Vapor tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

Litania smiled and lightly twirled, causing the red skirt to flutter elegantly. It was designed with just the right weight to not appear too light.

“Anyway, it’s a compliment. Thank you for noticing.”

“…Hmm. Is that so?”

Vapor climbed the stairs with a very proud posture. Litania also laughed brightly at his pretentious appearance as she boarded the ship.

The ship set sail towards the boundary where the blue waves meet the sky.

Litania closed her eyes and felt the gentle late spring breeze caressing her face. The cool scent of river water carried on the wind calmed her heart.

There, and here, her parents had abandoned her.

But here, she has real siblings.

She’s not alone. She has her own place.

Only now did she realize that she could feel so fulfilled just by that fact.

Under an arch decorated with white flowers and silver ribbons, the Emperor of Beriberbium and the Princess of Nobus exchanged marriage vows and rings. As it was a wedding held on a ship, the wedding procedure was rather simple.

As the two shared their vow kiss, applause of congratulations rang out. Litania also sent applause sincerely cheering for their happiness.

‘Now that Ferus is married and my relationship with Vapor has improved, I should be able to live more peacefully now.’

Although the peace wouldn’t last long due to rejecting all the marriage proposals that came flooding in, at least she could enjoy freedom with peace of mind until the ship returned to the capital and docked.

‘May this peace continue in the future.’

Litania prayed so as she looked up at the sunset beginning to beautifully color the sky.

Litania, who had been enjoying the shipboard party disguised as a wedding reception held inside the ship, came out to the deck to catch her breath.

The interior was quite bright with the lighting fixtures lit, but coming out to the deck felt much darker, perhaps due to the sky dyed indigo and the black waves.

As Litania was cooling her flushed cheeks in the night breeze while holding onto the railing, she suddenly turned around at the sense of someone’s presence.

There stood Herna, leaning on a cane.

“…Your body must be uncomfortable, why don’t you rest in a separate room?”

Without answering Litania’s words, Herna approached, limping while leaning on her cane.

Once to the left, another time to the right.

Herna, who approached tilting her body off-beat, pressed the tip of her cane firmly onto the deck floor.

“Do I look uncomfortable to you?”

“Herna?”

“That’s good. It was worth acting.”

“What?”

Herna, who had been staggering as she walked, straightened her body and stood upright, then twisted the handle part of the cane.

A sharp blade gleaming silver under the moonlight revealed itself.

“I spread rumors that my body had weakened considerably during confinement. Thanks to that, no one paid attention to me even at the hunting festival.”

“Herna, you. Your injury was…!”

“Since accidents always happened at the hunting festival, everyone believed it was just that this time too, without any suspicion.”

Herna grinned and pointed the knife towards Litania.

‘No way.’

The moment she met those strangely gleaming ashen eyes, Litania realized.

Herna’s claim of falling off her horse and injuring her leg at the hunting festival was actually to smuggle in a weapon disguised as a cane.

“My hunt begins now.”