Before long, the rain stopped.

The sky, once covered in gray, was clearing as though the storm had never happened.

Shafts of sunlight spilled through the thick clouds, and the sea had grown so calm that the earlier chaos seemed almost absurd.

Isabel surveyed the scene.

A deep blue sea and white sand, palm trees swaying in the breeze, and unfamiliar tropical plants.

But she was not naive enough to pause and admire the beauty.

“That’s a fair amount.”

The makeshift water pouch she had fashioned from her petticoat had collected more water than she had expected.

Isabel gauged the quantity with her fingers.

“About three liters?”

Enough to sustain an adult woman for roughly two days.

But now that the sun was out, it would soon begin to evaporate.

The foundation of survival was preserving the resources she had secured.

She immediately entered the forest behind her and soon found plants with large, broad leaves.

She had seen this species countless times in the jungle during her mercenary days.

Isabel tore off several leaves, brought them back, and arranged them at an angle over the water.

She pierced their corners, secured the edges with twigs, and weighed them down with stones so they would not blow away.

The arrangement would preserve the rainwater while keeping out as much sunlight and debris as possible.

“That takes care of the immediate problem.”

Still on her knees, she looked down at her makeshift well.

Now it was time to assess her situation.

Isabel drew a simple map in the sand.

Bayel, where she had departed.

Oden, her original destination.

The Eil Strait between them.

And her approximate location.

“…It doesn’t look promising.”

The Eil Strait had always been dangerous.

Countless small islands and reefs dotted its waters, and the currents were complex.

Merchant ships kept to the central shipping lane whenever possible to avoid danger.

Fishing boats rarely came here, either.

This island lay outside the main shipping routes, which meant the chances of a ship passing within the next few hours were extremely low.

The chances of being rescued within a few days? Slim.

Within a few weeks… There might be some hope.

Perhaps it would take several months, or even half a year.

With a quiet sigh, she looked toward the horizon.

Across the endless expanse of sea, there was nothing even remotely resembling a sail.

But she felt no fear.

The Elias Mercenary Company she had belonged to was the finest on the continent.

Its mercenaries underwent brutal survival training from the moment they joined before being assigned to difficult field missions.

Surviving in a forest without food, crossing deserts, staying alive in frozen wilderness… Isabel had been through such missions many times.

It would not be easy, but she was confident she could survive.

Survival was an old habit of hers.

Then a memory from long ago surfaced.

“You always think you did it all yourself, don’t you, rookie?”

Parmel, her commanding officer. A man with white hair and a diagonal scar across his face.

A bear of a face, a shaggy beard, a perpetually scolding tone… And the man buried in that shabby grave.

“If your father hadn’t been who he was, you wouldn’t even have made it through the tryouts.”

Isabel’s clenched fists tightened.

What would he say if he could see her now?

“Do you have time to wallow in sentiment?”

She could almost hear Parmel’s voice ringing in her ears.

“No, Captain.”

Murmuring to herself, Isabel rose and swept back her wet hair, her eyes shining coldly.

Her next task was reconnaissance.

She needed to learn the island’s terrain.

She also had to find out whether there was fresh water, where best to shelter, and above all… whether she could escape on her own.

Breaking off a long branch to use as a walking stick, she headed deeper into the forest.

The slope was steeper than she had expected, and the undergrowth was dense.

She climbed for an hour, avoiding sharp rocks and exposed roots, until her vision began to blur.

Then, upon reaching a hill near the center of the island, Isabel stopped.

“…It isn’t that big.”

She murmured as she steadied her slightly labored breathing.

The entire island lay before her, an elongated oval stretching roughly north to south.

She could walk from one end to the other in three hours.

Broad beaches stretched along the eastern and southern shores, while cliffs dominated the north and west.

“Whew…”

Isabel frowned and sighed.

On her way up, she had examined the surrounding vegetation.

Fruit trees and vines, signs of wild animals… And above all, water.

But she had seen no stream or spring during the entire climb.

Even from here, there was no freshwater source in sight.

Still, the absence of visible water did not mean there was no fresh water.

“…It’ll be a nuisance, but I can dig for it.”

As she surveyed the island from a slightly raised rock, her eyebrows suddenly twitched.

“…!”

In the distance, among the reefs to the northwest, a huge shape lay half caught in the waves.

At first, she thought it was a large rock, but a closer look revealed a familiar outline.

“…A ship.”

Isabel’s lips moved.

She could see a hull lodged on a reef beneath a cliff, half submerged.

Debris washed ashore lay scattered along the beach below.

“Ha…”

The corners of Isabel’s mouth lifted.

It was her first smile since escaping the storm.

She had no way of knowing when it had been wrecked, but to a survivor, a shipwreck was nothing short of a treasure trove.

* * *

The next morning, Isabel set out for the northwestern shore as soon as the sun had fully risen.

She had to skirt dense forest and rocky terrain, so the journey took more than two hours.

At last, she stood before the ship lodged among the reefs beneath the cliff.

“…It’s bigger than I thought.”

Up close, it measured a little over twenty meters in length.

It was a medium-sized sailing vessel that could carry a crew of around thirty.

Rather than a merchant ship… it looked more like a private pleasure vessel used for long voyages.

The hull was damaged in several places, but it had not sunk completely.

Hopeful, Isabel carefully examined the vessel.

The flagpole caught her eye first.

Only a few strands of rope dangled from it, as though the flag had been torn away by strong winds. Beyond it, however, she spotted other clues.

Carved marble adorning the railings, brass ornaments set into the captain’s cabin door…

“A noble’s ship.”

Commoners would never go so far as to decorate their ships with brass ornaments.

It had to belong to a family of some standing.

Isabel ran her index finger along the lower part of the hull.

Then she raised an eyebrow slightly.

“…Hardly any algae.”

Her lips moved.

“Two weeks… Three at most?”

Had it been any longer, there would have been a thick coating of algae and signs of severe corrosion.

That meant the ship had been wrecked recently.

Very recently.

“…”

Isabel frowned and cautiously made her way inside, her expression guarded.

The wood groaned beneath her feet with every step, but it did not seem likely to collapse anytime soon.

Most of the cabins were in shambles, perhaps from the impact when the ship struck the reef.

Crates lay broken, chairs had overturned, and shattered glass littered the floor.

For better or worse, she sensed no one aboard the wreck.

“Plenty of useful things.”

Finding a large leather bag, Isabel began filling it with anything she could use.

First came the ropes scattered about.

Ropes of sufficient length would help her survive.

Then she pulled a small hand axe free from where it was embedded in a corner.

It was a little rusty, but it would come in handy.

In the galley, she also found two pots of a suitable size.

“A pity there’s no flint and steel, but this is quite a haul.”

Isabel murmured with satisfaction as she slung the heavy bag over her shoulder.

Still, something troubled her.

If the ship had remained this intact, there must have been people aboard.

Sailors, nobles, servants.

Yet she had seen no bodies inside or outside the vessel.

And all the food in the galley was gone. There was not a single piece of clothing left, either.

“…”

Some of the passengers might still be alive.

But having other survivors on the island would not necessarily be a good thing…

She would need to proceed more cautiously from now on.

‘They didn’t even touch the useful supplies… Slim chance they’d be any help out here.’

In any case, Isabel had packed everything she needed to survive. Just as she was about to return to the deck, her toe caught on something.

She paused at the faint metallic sound and bent down.

A gold ring lay on the floor.

She stooped and picked it up without much thought.

Her eyes narrowed.

“This is…”

A double-headed eagle with outspread wings, a crown, and a sun emblem at its center.

The imperial family’s crest.