Chapter 25

Empire, Maidin Port.

Elodia, Sierd, and Cesar arrived at Maidin Port, the closest port to the Capital, and let themselves drift in the wind. Sierd pressed down Cesar’s hat, which threatened to fly away, and spoke.

“The sea breeze is chilly.”

“It really is… Cesar, aren’t you cold?”

“I feel chilly.”

“Where did you learn to say that?”

“Grandma always says she feels chilly.”

“…….”

She wrapped the shawl Pedra had given around Cesar and grabbed the hem of her dress, fluttering in the wind.

‘It’s the first time in a while I’ve worn a dress, and it’s all wrinkled now.’

On days without outside appointments, she usually wore suspenders. Even on days with outside appointments, she tailored men’s suits to fit her, so she rarely wore skirts. She hadn’t considered that a flared dress wasn’t suitable for the seaside.

“Sigh……”

She held her bag close and walked on. Sierd glanced at her, then took off his coat. He draped the long coat over her shoulders.

“That’s the passenger ship we reserved. Let’s go.”

He started walking, holding Cesar’s hand. Behind them, Fernande ducal servants and Everdeen Merchant Guild staff followed.

‘It must be heavy, carrying the items for the King of Hillis…’

“Thank you. It must be heavy. Here—this is for your trouble.”

“Thank you!”

The accompanying servants eagerly accepted the tip and carried the luggage more energetically.

Feeling more relaxed, she walked close to Sierd.

When Sierd presented their first-class tickets, a sailor from the Imperial shipping company bowed deeply.

“Have a pleasant journey.”

Jack, who accompanied them in case magic was needed, whispered closely behind her.

“Don’t take off your earrings.”

It meant there were many mages boarding the same passenger ship. She glanced around and replied.

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

Jack, a tracking mage, was better at avoiding tracking than tracking itself. He made these earrings for her.

“Just don’t take them off without warning like last time. You didn’t even realize you’d bitten and broken them, but kept wearing them.”

Jack spoke through gritted teeth.

She made her best effort to apologize.

“Sorry. There were circumstances I couldn’t warn you about.”

“What if something comes up again that you can’t warn about?”

If the same thing happened?

“Hmm…”

“Forget it. Don’t even imagine it. Just focus on your safety for now.”

If she registered as a mage, she would be forcibly attached to the imperial court as an attack-type mage. Not all attack mages belonged to the imperial family, but unfortunately the amount of mana she could handle was enormous.

‘Not that I ever use it…’

Considering that magical ability was usually hereditary, she was lucky—even aside from the fact that her parents had supposedly been sl*ves.

If only she weren’t an attack-type mage.

“Since you’re already being tracked, please be careful.”

“Alright, alright.”

The Imperial Court had put a tracker on her. To avoid suspicion, she had no choice but to let them.

“When we arrive, their mana will be depleted. Just don’t cause trouble until then.”

Usually, Jack was the one causing trouble…

She nodded reluctantly.

“Don’t worry.”

This had happened before, when she first came into contact with the Emperor. He monitored her every move, but only for three days at most.

“I just have to survive three days.”

“Even after three days, it’s not safe.”

“Got it.”

Surely nothing would happen during a trip with the Duke Fernande…

‘It’s annoying that the only passenger ship available is the Imperial shipping company’s, but…’

The Emperor wasn’t desperate enough to do anything reckless yet. Since the Fernande duchy had grown significantly since the war, he wouldn’t risk ruining relations by acting rashly.

“Sudden departure must look suspicious. Just manage the confidentiality of business matters.”

Jack, dissatisfied, blended into the group of servants.

She fiddled with her earrings and headed for the first-class cabin. With these earrings, she could hide her mana, and if needed, Jack could cast anti-tracking magic so she could use magic safely. There would be no problem.

She held Cesar’s hand tightly. Feeling her grip, Cesar looked up at her and asked,

“Mom and Dad are sharing a room, right?”

* * *

“Those must be them.”

The Fernande couple and their son stood out even from afar. Especially Cesar Fernande, who was famous for not attending outside events—yet here he was on a family trip…

‘That man wouldn’t miss this opportunity.’

The child toddling along with his hat pulled low looked extremely precious as his parents held his hand or picked him up. The scene looked very harmonious.

‘Not only is he the son of a noble house, but he really seems to be their child.’

Kelvin, a senior mage from the Mage Tower, brushed aside his ashen hair covering one eye and grinned. Now that he had found the target, all that remained was to eliminate them.

He was willing to do any dirty work for money. Especially jobs commissioned by the Emperor were risky but paid well.

While the Tower Master stayed locked in the Mage Tower, babbling about his daughter being alive, Kelvin’s actions became increasingly bold.

‘If I pull off this job, I’ll leave the Mage Tower and build an organization to oppose the Tower Master. Heh.’

“May I see your ticket?”

“Here.”

“Confirmed. Have a good day.”

“Yes.”

Kelvin rested his head on his hands and whistled as he climbed the stairs. Instead of heading straight to his cabin, he went up to the deck and inhaled the salty sea air. The sea was his stage.

‘No matter how skilled a knight, no one can match me at sea. Heh.’

The passenger ship floating on the waves was now like an isolated prison. At least for the Duke Fernande. Unless one was a Tower Master-level mage, no one could stop Kelvin’s rampage.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman with a faint, unremarkable appearance brushed past Kelvin.

“Oh.”

Kelvin raised his eyebrows as he looked at the paper in his hand.

In an instant, the woman who handed him the paper vanished completely.

Kelvin hummed as he unfolded the folded note.

[First Class, 102R.

Sink them all.]

“Sink them… That’s not hard. But two more people have been added.”

The note listed the room number where Duke Fernande was staying. Memorizing the number, Kelvin tore up the note and tossed it into the sea, then turned around. He stuffed the extra check he’d received into his pocket.

Having reserved a first-class room with the Emperor’s money, he naturally headed to the first-class corridor. But as he entered the hallway, Kelvin felt a chill down his spine and stopped.

“Are you sure this is the place? Maybe you got it wrong, Tower Master. Why would she even board a ship? What, is she traveling around the world or something? Get a grip. The coordinates you calculated were far from here. Why are you so obsessed with water?”

This annoying, chatty voice was unmistakable…

The backs of two men walking ahead looked familiar. Kelvin instinctively stepped backward.

“Poo tue. (Hurry up.)”

But the foreign couple behind him trapped him in the narrow corridor.

‘D*mn it. Why are those guys here…’

No, it couldn’t be. 

Kelvin tried to calm his heart, which was pounding out of rhythm.

He lowered his head and walked slowly, trying to put distance between himself and the men ahead, but every time he slowed, he was bumped forward by the burly man’s belly behind him.

“Ugh…”

Kelvin grabbed his bruised shoulder after hitting the wall and listened closely.

‘Now that it’s come to this, I might as well find out why they boarded this ship…’

A tall man with white hair pointed to a cabin.

“My room is here.”

“And mine?”

He pointed to the floor with his long finger.

“You’re down below.”

“…Are you kidding me?”

Judging by the way he only spoke normally when angry, the talkative man had to be Thierry. Thierry, who was always loud, turned around at the Tower Master’s direction.

“Go. Third-class cabin.”

“Third class? Hey… third class? You think I’ll go down there willingly?”

Kelvin edged along the wall like a crab during the commotion.

‘Whatever reason they boarded, I just need to do my job and leave.’

They wouldn’t interfere with each other, so there shouldn’t be a problem. Officially, he was on outside business, so it was best not to run into them…

Just as he relaxed, a soft voice rang out.

“If you absolutely must stay in first class….”

Kelvin was suddenly grabbed by the back of his neck.

“You can share it with him.”

Just like when Thierry was turned around by the Tower Master, Isaac spun Kelvin’s shoulder around.