Chapter 47

“Mother!!”

 

“Do not shout.”

 

“Did you ask the pirates to kill the young lady?!”

 

Rishana looked at Bastien calmly. She neither denied nor affirmed it.

 

“What is wrong with such a trivial concern?”

 

“The emperor must be perfect. Wise, and supported by the people. In that regard, the current emperor is useless to the Alterun Empire. You alone are my hope.”

 

“You say that, yet you don’t trust me? I am the crown prince. Then why…!”

 

“You are not emperor yet. Do as I say. The young lady is sacrificing herself for the empire. Sacrificing the few for the greater good is only natural.”

 

Bastien shot to his feet. He knew he couldn’t change Rishana’s firmly rooted ideology. He turned his body away, refusing to listen any further.

 

“I will pretend I did not hear what you just said.”

 

“…How could my son be so weak? Is this because of the emperor’s blood in you?”

 

Bastien ignored the empress’s muttering behind him.

 

Storming out, he dragged a hand down his face. Even after hearing an innocent person would die, he couldn’t do anything. He would rather not have heard. But he could not defy the empress, and her downfall meant his own. Their paths were already bound together.

 

“How did things end up like this…?”

 

From childhood, the empress had never been kind. But compared to the emperor, who didn’t even bother to look at him, she was better. She acknowledged him. Even knowing it was an investment for the future, Bastien couldn’t deny that she raised him this far.

 

He clenched his fist and punched the wall. The loud bang startled a passerby. He couldn’t lean fully toward either side.

 

 

***

 

 

“Father, what happened?”

 

Duke Weiss let out a dry laugh as he saw the son who had come all the way to his office.

 

“As expected, your appearance has caused quite a stir. Your uncle is visibly shaken. And so is the empress.”

 

“What I want to know is not my uncle’s situation. It’s about Lep. I’d prefer everyone stop paying attention to her—especially Her Majesty the Empress.”

 

Evan’s gaze instantly turned sharp.

 

“You told me it wasn’t time to move yet, so I stayed put. But if Lep gets endangered in the meantime, wouldn’t that defeat the whole purpose?”

 

“You little…”

 

“Don’t push the problem you failed to resolve onto me.”

 

“I am already keeping track of the empress’s movements. Don’t worry.”

 

Frankly, it had been surprising even to the duke that the current emperor won the succession war and ascended the throne. That was because of the empress. And there were those who feared her power—one of them being the duke.

 

“This wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t swallowed the poison in the first place.”

 

His tone was scolding, but Evan showed no trace of regret. They were a peculiar pair.

 

Liman, standing nearby, spoke with a polite smile.

 

“Count Peralt is moving in earnest, and most of the factions he approached have defected. But you could say the dirty water has been drained out.”

 

“Chaos everywhere. I suppose it’s about time to act. I don’t care about their succession war, but if the heir and my future daughter-in-law are in danger…”

 

Duke Weiss drummed his fingers lightly on the desk, deep in thought.

 

“Which side do you plan to take?”

 

Liman asked, but the duke only smiled without giving a straight answer.

 

“Evan, you decide.”

 

“…….”

 

Staring at the duke as if asking what that meant, Evan waited. The duke replied with a faint smile.

 

“I’ll keep the emperor and empress in check. So you choose the next generation. Decide who is fit to be the next emperor. Think of this as the practical test of all your training as heir. I want to see your judgment. Or at least turn him into a decent human being.”

 

At that provocation, Liman began sweating.

 

‘He always puts it that way…’

 

The duke already knew Evan was more than capable of succeeding the household. He simply had not appeared formally in public. Much of the duke’s work was already handled by Evan, especially anything involving the Grow Trading Company.

 

“…You want me to prove I’m worthy of inheriting the position of duke?”

 

“Yes, something like that. Did you think I would hand it over easily just because you’re my son?”

 

Their gazes locked in midair, taut and unyielding. Evan tightened his grip.

 

“My body will be back to normal soon, and the day I appear formally is not far off.”

 

After a brief moment of thought, he answered curtly.

 

“Understood.”

 

He nodded confidently. Even as his father, the duke couldn’t help but find Evan’s composure absurd.

 

“Good. Do well.”

 

At that moment, a servant knocked quietly. Liman opened the door and asked the purpose of the visit.

 

“Well, the young master told me to deliver letters from the young lady with highest priority above all else…”

 

At the servant’s words, Evan immediately approached and took the letter. When he turned it over and saw the sender’s name, his eyes softened.

 

“I’ll be leaving now.”

 

He looked as though he wanted to read it immediately, so they let him go.

 

“Is my daughter-in-law extraordinary, or is that boy simply strange?”

 

“Likely both.”

 

Liman answered quietly, and the duke chuckled.

 

 

***

 

 

“Hm…”

 

I spread out the map and checked it again. Just as Apol said, the medicine Elsa gave me worked on a different level. I wished I could learn how she made it. Thanks to it, no matter how much the boat rocked, I didn’t get seasick. Of course, I had to take another when the effects faded.

 

“Yes, don’t worry.”

 

—But you must stay cautious. Just because you’ve been safe until now doesn’t mean you’ll be safe today or tomorrow.

 

My father’s stern face flickered in the projection sphere. I nodded silently.

 

He then ordered Fran, who stood beside me, to protect me with his life.

 

“You don’t need to give your life. You know that, right? If things get dangerous, ask someone else for help.”

 

“I cannot! What if something happens to you while I do that?! I would die!”

 

Father’s intensity had clearly been passed directly to Fran.

 

“Well, we just have to return quickly.”

 

I looked out the window. The same vast sea spread out, but this place was different. This was where the moonlit lily was said to bloom only on a full moon night.

 

The merchant’s words echoed in my mind: on a rock among the reefs, a small yellow flower shimmered like earthly moonlight, glowing like a lantern.

 

Just then, with the sound of the ship’s bell announcing arrival, Ben opened the door.

 

“We’re here!”

 

I put away the projection sphere and went outside.

 

“All right, everyone, look hard! If you find even the smallest sprout, report to me immediately!”

 

We all raised our hands energetically and searched in all directions with binoculars.

 

At first, spirits were high. But an hour passed, then two—and nothing. With no real information, the anxiety grew quickly.

 

“I guess expecting to find it fast was a mistake…”

 

I slumped against the railing. The sea looked endlessly regretful. I did spot some moss and a few tiny flowers sprouting on the rocks, but none were yellow.

 

Even the yellow ones didn’t resemble moonlit lilies. When I asked Patt whether they smelled poisonous, some did, some didn’t.

 

This sea was full of salt. The wind was too strong to even smell properly. Patt scratched his head in frustration.

 

“It has to be here…”

 

I spread the map completely and checked again. No matter how I flipped or rotated it, the location was right.

 

“Arriving early is useless if we can’t find the thing…”

 

We had arrived in five days and had been circling the same area over and over because we couldn’t find our target.

 

Naturally, suspicion toward the informant crept in.

 

“You didn’t misunderstand, right?”

 

I narrowed my eyes at Ben, half-asleep with exhaustion.

 

“I checked! Multiple times! Not just that merchant—several travelers confirmed it!”

 

Seeing him fluster, I raised my hands.

 

“Okay, okay. Calm down. Maybe you can only see it under the full moon…”

 

We came fully prepared to stay until we found it. Everyone was helping so hard—I couldn’t be the only one losing morale. I scanned the area more intently than ever.

 

After a long while, without finding any moonlit lily, I ate my bread with slumped shoulders. Ben and Patt tried to comfort me.

 

“Don’t worry. We’ll find it. I can smell a hint of something.”

 

The mercenaries must’ve noticed my gloom, for they encouraged me too. I smiled and apologized.

 

“I’m sorry. Aren’t you all tired? The full moon night is coming soon—let’s hang in there. We’ll definitely find it then.”

 

Thankfully, they laughed it off, insisting it was nothing. Grateful, I shouted that I would give them bonuses later.

 

“Tomorrow’s the full moon, so let’s work hard!”

 

And finally, the night of the full moon arrived.

 

Despite the exhaustion, everyone worked harder than the day before. Searching at night was even more difficult due to poor visibility.

 

And at last, our effort bore fruit.

 

In the distance, something gently swaying caught my eye—something that resembled a shape I had seen long ago, buried deep in memory.

 

“There it is!!!”

 

With bloodshot eyes, I pointed toward the reef.