“It suits you well.”

But Cecil seemed to think otherwise.

“If you give me a little time, I will find you something else to wear.”

Knowing Roelia’s station, Cecil could not imagine her walking the streets in clothes like these. Even on the battlefield, Roelia wore formal dress with a robe over it.

She always maintained her dignity as a member of the Wintergrass imperial family, and so Cecil was not pleased with what Roelia had on now.

“Do you feel the same way?”

Carlisle’s quiet question was directed at Roelia. But she did not hesitate.

“Getting out of here comes first.”

Cecil caught the meaning behind Roelia’s words, that things would have to be different once they were out, and broke into a bright smile.

“I’ll take your opinion into consideration.”

“Thank you.”

The thanks came from Cecil. But Carlisle did not even look at her.

“Shall we go, then?”

Carlisle extended his hand in the manner of an escort, and his knights, who had been moving busily about, drew sharp breaths of surprise. Roelia placed her hand in his naturally, and Carlisle walked forward with her.

* * *

After Carlisle and Roelia left the safe house, Russell arrived there. The hand gripping his sword tensed and irritation surged through him, but with so many watching eyes around him, Russell forced his emotions down.

He was not yet the emperor’s consort, so he had to hold himself a little longer.

“My lord! Someone was here until just a moment ago! There are signs that water was used!”

“Spread out and search!”

“Yes, sir!”

Once the knights scattered, Russell drew his sword without hesitation and swung. The table shattered to pieces, but his fury did not subside. He was sweeping his sharp gaze around the room when it happened.

“Found them! They’re heading toward the harbor!”

He had no idea what Silena would say if he let Roelia slip away again. She might even declare that she would not accept him as her consort.

“I’ll go myself.”

Convinced that nothing got done when left to others, Russell ground his teeth and set off.

* * *

The wind that swept across his skin carried the smell of salt. Roelia breathed in, taking in the scent of the sea that grazed the tip of her nose. She came to the sea many times before, but today the feeling was unlike any other. She came here to set out on a path of escape from the Wintergrass Empire.

“My lady.”

Roelia boarded the ship and stood staring blankly at the sea, and Cecil called out to her.

“What is it?”

“The owner of this ship is waiting in the cabin.”

“Tell him I’ll be there shortly.”

Roelia stayed where she was. Cecil saw where her gaze settled and said nothing more, quietly stepping back.

The hood of Roelia’s robe hid her expression from view. But the fingertips peeking out from the long sleeves of the robe were trembling. She gazed endlessly at the harbor of Wintergrass as it receded into the distance, and her eyes wavered only after a cloud of dust rose far in the distance.

“Russell.”

The traitor astride a white horse came into view. Roelia clenched her jaw and her hand formed a small seal. The magical energy that drifted out was so faint that no one could have detected it.

“Ugh!”

But using magic in a body not yet recovered made Roelia stagger. She grabbed the railing and sank down, gasping for breath, and in that moment a boom rang out from far away.

“Stop right there!”

A sailor who had been untying the harbor ropes to set off dropped the line in surprise at the sudden sight of a soldier thrusting a sword at him.

“Wh, what is the meaning of this?”

“We have received intelligence that a traitor is aboard that ship!”

The booming shout carried all the way to the deck. Roelia’s grip on the railing tightened. She confirmed that Russell’s knights pursued them all the way to the harbor and turned herself around.

“I told you to come in, and you’ve already gone and caused trouble.”

Carlisle spotted the flames burning in the distance and let out a short laugh.

“Even if he’s chasing us, he cannot touch this ship.”

“It’s not about the pursuit. I simply cannot stand the sight of him walking around without a scratch.”

Her voice grew smaller and smaller. Her mind was beginning to blur, but Roelia bit down on her lip until it bled.

“Fair enough.”

“I can at least vent that much, can’t I? After what he did to me.”

The corner of Carlisle’s mouth curved upward.

“Stop that ship at once!”

A knight who arrived late shouted, but the ship had already begun to move. The ropes mooring it to the harbor pulled taut, and soldiers rushed in to haul on them.

“This ship belongs to the Astrux Empire! Under international law, as long as it is at sea it is no different from Astrux territory, so Wintergrass has no authority to compel it!”

Carlisle’s subordinates shouted back without backing down. Roelia watched the scene from a place where they could not see her, unable to conceal her bitterness.

‘How did it come to this?’

The strength of Wintergrass and Astrux was comparable. Even through the late emperor’s reign, the people of the Astrux Empire could not look down on Wintergrass so freely.

“If you do not release those ropes immediately, I will take it as a declaration of war!”

The Astrux knight’s shout made the Wintergrass soldiers and knights falter. Russell, the one who could give the order, had not yet arrived, and they were in disarray. The sight of it nearly drew a sigh out of Roelia.

‘If there truly is a traitor aboard, of course they should search the ship.’

She needed them not to board the ship if she was going to escape, but when she thought of the empire, she could not quite bring herself to feel that way. Roelia’s eyes wavered, her heart lurching back and forth with no way to steady itself.

Carlisle whispered quietly, as though he sensed the turmoil inside her.

“Let’s go inside.”

Roelia was staring at Carlisle as he tilted his chin, and she tried to turn toward the door leading to the cabin. But in that moment she swayed and lost consciousness.

“Tch. She has no idea what state her own body is in.”

Carlisle caught Roelia as she collapsed beside him and gestured to Kuz.

“Take her to the cabin and check her condition.”

“Understood.”

Kuz used his magic to lift Roelia slightly off the ground and carried her into the cabin. Once Carlisle confirmed she was inside, he gave Maili a quiet word.

“We need to depart before the Duke of Carpes arrives.”

Under international law, no one could board this ship, but it would be a problem if it came to light that the Emperor of the Astrux Empire was here. When a high-ranking noble crossed between empires, that empire had to be notified without fail. All the more so for Carlisle, who was an emperor.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Maili stepped forward. The knights moved in perfect order behind her and took up bows and arrows. In the midst of their swift preparations, Kuz came back through the door leading below to the cabin, his expression set.

“Kuz.”

Simply hearing his name was enough for Kuz to understand what Carlisle wanted. He moved his hand. Fire magic manifested from his hand as he formed the seal, and it burned through the ropes holding the ship in place.

“Stop them!”

Russell, arriving too late, shouted, but the ship had already departed. Standing at the stern of the ship, Carlisle locked eyes with Russell, who was glaring in their direction.

Carlisle wore a hood just as Roelia did, but Russell recognized with certainty that this was the most powerful person on the ship. The Sword Master’s blade swung, and aura came pouring toward the vessel.

“Pathetic……!”

Fwoosh.

Carlisle drew his sword and cleaved through the aura pouring toward the ship. Split cleanly without touching the ship, the divided aura shot out into open air. The wind it stirred howled and churned, but the ship did not shake and continued on toward its destination.

Carlisle already sheathed his sword again and fixed his gaze on Russell. The black eyes beneath the hood gleamed, and Russell’s shoulders flinched. Unable to admit that he was pushed back by the force of that presence, he forced his eyes wide open.

“So this is what it means to be a Sword Master.”

Carlisle scoffed.

Shing.

With a soft sound the sword was drawn, and he swung it from above downward. A tremendous gust of wind tore through the harbor, sending its fixtures flying, and Russell scrambled to beat away the objects hurtling toward him.

“Get down!”

Crates went flying through the air and Russell’s knights scrambled frantically as well. They forgot entirely that they were supposed to be firing arrows at the ship and ran in every direction to dodge the debris. The sight of them looking like a rabble made Russell grind his teeth. The wind battering the harbor made it impossible to even keep his eyes open, but Russell could not afford to hesitate. Convinced that letting them go like this would make him a laughingstock for years to come, he opened his mouth.

“Fire the flaming arrows!”

Feeling that if he missed them now there would be no second chance, Russell shouted without restraint. At the same moment he swung his sword once more, but the ship already pulled too far away for his blade to reach.

“D*mn it!”

Russell muttered under his breath and looked around. He barked at his knights, who still had not gathered themselves, and only then did he see them slowly raising their bows. But it was already too late.

Carlisle watched Russell make a fool of himself, and he stood on the deck until Russell’s expression was no longer visible before turning away. Once Carlisle disappeared from sight, Russell flew into a rage. The knights around him kept their distance and watched the scene from afar.

“There was definitely a mage on that ship. A fire mage.”

“W, well, they could be people from the Astrux Empire, couldn’t they?”

One knight offered the opinion timidly, but Russell did not listen.

“How many mages does that empire even have?”

The knight fell silent as Russell muttered that it was certain the traitor fled to the Astrux Empire. His sharp, gleaming eyes remained fixed on the direction where the ship vanished.