Crash.

The glass I dropped shattered into pieces.

My father, Baron Deli, had specially procured strawberries from the southern region, saying I needed to eat nutritious food, and the chef had carefully blended them into juice.

The dining room floor was soaked with a red, sticky liquid. For a moment, I froze with an eerie feeling.

“Oh my, I’ll clean it up right away.”

Anna hurriedly approached and began cleaning up the glass pieces. At my words to be careful not to get hurt, she nodded and moved diligently.

“Anna, when did it start raining?”

The sky had been cloudy since morning, and the sound of rain was noisy.

“The rain? I think it’s been raining since dawn. It was already raining when I woke up.”

“Is that so?”

It was strangely anxious to dismiss it as needless worry. The letter saying that things had gone well but the return would be delayed kept circling in my mind.

‘Didn’t they say it rains every time Askal goes beyond the border?’

At first, I didn’t believe it. It’s something that can’t be explained scientifically.

While Anna cleaned the floor, I quietly listened to the sound of rain beating against the windows. The dark sky with clouds completely obscuring the sun made me feel uneasy.

That’s when it happened.

“My lady, another letter has arrived from the capital.”

Gaven approached with a stiff face. Conscious of his state, I received the envelope, and saw handwriting that wasn’t Askal’s written on the outside.

“To Your Excellency… I hope nothing has happened?”

He rambled on anxiously, saying he had bad dreams. I took several deep breaths before carefully opening the envelope.

While reading the letter, the dining room was filled with the sound of rain hitting the windows instead of the clinking of dishes.

Baron Tirel’s hasty handwriting detailed what Askal had to deal with, and there were words assuming the worst-case scenario.

My arms went limp. I wanted to curse him for being a fool.

What was that man thinking?

Why should he die for his own karma?

My fingertips trembled. Thinking of the worst made my mind go blank. According to the baron, Askal would be in the middle of the sea with a gunshot wound.

It might be a medium-sized fishing boat, so he might have survived the emergency, but how nice would it be if things went as planned?

“Gaven, are there any clipper ships available for immediate use?”

“They’ll all be loaded with cargo as they’re scheduled to depart this afternoon.”

Rimon informing me of this situation by letter must mean he wants me to do what he can’t, right? Calming my anxious heart, I told Gaven.

“Even if we have to pay a penalty, find a clipper ship that can depart before lunch at least.”

“May I ask what this is about?”

Gaven’s face had turned pale as he cautiously asked. I didn’t bother hiding it.

“We need to bring Askal back immediately.”

Gaven read the letter I handed him and collapsed on the floor.

Just then, Rublion appeared in the dining room, drenched in sweat, asking what was happening as he surveyed the atmosphere, and Anna quietly took him out after observing the situation.

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“Absolutely not.”

When I suggested going myself, the butler, Anna, and even the head maid all spoke up in opposition.

“My lady, this is a time when you absolutely must rest. And you’re saying you’ll board a ship? To the middle of the Tide Sea, no less.”

It was true, so I couldn’t bring myself to argue. But I couldn’t let him endure for over two days in the vast ocean with a gunshot wound.

What if I lose him by a difference of one or two hours?

What if an irreversible situation comes while doing nothing but praying for his safe return?

It was terrible. Just imagining it brought tears to my eyes.

The sea was a place with many dangers. The weather’s influence couldn’t be ignored, and if we encountered pirates from the Eastern Empire, we might die helplessly.

My mind became complicated because this wasn’t allowed and that wasn’t allowed. The doctor who was called in paced anxiously.

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.

“Um… my lady. Baron Deli has come to visit.”

“Father?”

He’s not the type to come unexpectedly like this without an appointment.

Moreover, this wasn’t the situation to leisurely sit down and have tea with father. So I was about to politely tell him to send him back.

“Schmidt, I heard everything.”

Father entered the office pushing his wheelchair. Behind him, Rublion stood with a serious expression.

“The young master said he needs someone with sailing experience who has the authority to command the knights.”

The eyes of everyone in the office turned to Rublion. The child straightened his back proudly, as if confident his choice wasn’t wrong.

‘That’s right. I didn’t think of father.’

Because it was an Artenbach matter, I tried to resolve it within the family. I felt ashamed that I had subconsciously recognized father as an outsider.

“Father, Askal is now at sea…”

“I know. The young master already told me everything.”

Father looked back and forth between Rublion and me, smiling broadly.

“This father will go. So you stay here.”

“But…”

Two feelings swirled. The guilt of sending father on a dangerous sea journey, and yet the relief that there was someone who met the conditions.

“When it’s none other than my son-in-law in danger, how can a father-in-law sit idly by?”

Father laughed heartily. Then he came to me, took my hand, and said.

“I’ll go and return safely. So take good care of the young master and the child in your womb.”

“…Thank you.”

The swirling emotions merged into one and flowed out as tears. Father told me not to cry and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. It was the handkerchief I had embroidered with clumsy skills when I was young.

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Unlike the heavy rain in Artenbach, the weather at sea wasn’t bad. It was weather where docking at the island to change ships wouldn’t be much trouble.

After getting up from the bed, Askal first asked what Aron was doing. The sailors informed him that he was struggling to undo the iron chains tied to his wrists.

“How long until we reach the transfer point?”

“If there are no other events, it will take about ten hours.”

Askal carefully felt the bandaged side with his hand. It was rough, but this much meant he had overcome the crisis. However, Aron was the wild card.

“First, imprison him so he can’t do anything reckless. Don’t give him anything except meals and water.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

“And there might be a bullet in the cabin where I was treated. Look for it right away.”

In his hazy memory, he heard the sound of Aron running and a metal falling at the same time. If that metal was indeed a bullet, it could be a good weapon to put the crown prince in the palm of his hand.

The sailor went out to carry out the order, and after some time passed.

Another sailor came to find Askal and carefully reported the situation. Aron was being treated after scratching his arm on the door while struggling not to be imprisoned, and he would be imprisoned in the warehouse as soon as the treatment was finished.

After the report was over, Askal, left alone in the captain’s cabin, calmly organized his plan.

It would take a day and a half more to reach the destination, Roded Island, and he chose to change ships on an uninhabited island not on the map to avoid leaving evidence.

Everything is proceeding steadily according to plan. There is the variable of being shot, but he decided to believe that Rimon had handled it well.

‘As long as my wife and Rublion don’t know.’

Not knowing it was already too late, Askal went out to the deck to get some air. It was because his body was a little hot.

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A clipper ship was docked at a rocky island just big enough to tie two ships together. The captain of the fishing boat docked right next to it with godlike skill.

“Shouldn’t I know where I’m going? Just tell me that!”

That was what Aron said as soon as he came out of the cabin. Askal frowned and gagged him with a cloth-wrapped bit. Aron struggled, but he cowered when pushed by the strong sailors.

There was a bit of commotion, but they safely transferred to the clipper ship and headed for their destination, Roded Island. It was an uninhabited island owned by the imperial family, small enough to circle in an hour.

If you walk a little up from the beach, there’s an old villa called the imperial family’s place of exile, and it’s a place where you have to live relying on support supplies sent just four times a year.

Of course, luxury is unthinkable, and it’s a place with no people and no law.

Askal intended to leave Aron on that island.

“Your Excellency, are you alright?”

After locking Aron in the warehouse, the clipper ship captain came out to the deck and asked Askal with concerned eyes. When he asked what he meant, the captain handed him a small note and said.

“We received contact from the capital. They said you were shot.”

Askal chuckled at Rimon’s scribbled writing and replied.

“I’m fine, so tell them we’re proceeding as planned and will return.”

“Yes. I’ll reply as such.”

The captain let out a sigh of relief. Then he pulled out another note from his pocket.

“Is there more?”

“Yes, there’s one more.”

Askal tilted his head. There’s no one else who would send it if not Rimon.

Even rubbing his eyes and looking again, it was clearly Schmidt’s handwriting. Askal felt like his heart had sunk to the bottom of the sea. Like being caught doing something wrong.

“There’s… more written on the back, Your Excellency.”

Askal turned the note over. Then he clutched his forehead as if it was troublesome.

There was a single line written by Rublion in tiny letters.