Ruel chuckled to himself. He briefly went upstairs due to seasickness, feeling as though he might freeze to death. The sea breeze seed more like a whip than a re slap to the face.
“Leo, shield from the sea breeze for now.”
—Ahem. Leave it to this body.
Leo stretched his short legs to their limit and lifted his nose proudly.
***
“Ugh.”
Leaning against the watchtower, the soldier idled away his ti staring out at the sea as usual. Despite the prevailing peace, recent unsettling rumors hinted at the Tonisk Empire’s movents.
Rumors spreading suggested the empire might soon open its doors wide and invade the Kran Kingdom, yet the soldier’s reality remained unchanged. Most of what could be seen far and wide in the sea were fishing boats, and the occasional pirates that popped up were nothing more than a nuisance.
‘The captain wanted to keep an eye on the largest ship, but why bother?’
The soldier, not naive, knew the captain likely went down the watchtower for a drink.
Sigh, this is my fate.
He had joined the army to beco a valiant general one day, but now all he did was stare at the sea. Shivering from the cold, the soldier suddenly straightened up.
‘…?’
Sothing black rippled in the sea’s middle, so vast it montarily stunned the soldier. A sharp gust of wind snapped him back to reality.
“Telescope, telescope!”
Scrambling on the floor for the usual rolling telescope, he hunted for it.
“Where the hell is it!? Co on, show yourself…”
Then he suddenly rembered that he had put it under the blanket he had laid down to take a nap. He hurriedly retrieved the telescope from the blanket, propping himself against the railing as he scanned the sea.
‘It’s a massive ship.’
A creeping sense of unease dried his mouth. What he saw through the telescope was a disastrous and bizarre sight. The large ship had its mast severed, engulfed by an unknown black entity akin to flas. His hands trembled at the unprecedented sight.
“C-c-c-captain!” The soldier rushed down the ladder with the telescope in hand.
“Hiccup.”
The captain reclined in his chair, legs over the desk, a bottle in hand. Normally, he would find this life content, but now his mind was blank.
“Captain! The ship, the ship is under attack!”
“What? Are those pirate scum back again? Didn’t they learn their lesson last ti?”
“N-no! It’s not them! The large ship you asked to watch…!”
The captain suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Are you drunk, hic? What kind of ship is that? It’s covered in black magic, and there’s a Blue Knights order on board, and it’s attacking a ship with so guy nad Setiria or Sipiria or whatever? Who’d dare do that? What a fool!”
“Captain! This is serious! It’s really under attack!”
The captain stopped laughing and stared at his subordinate. No matter how good he was at slacking off, this was not sothing one would joke about.
Whoosh.
Suddenly, a chill ran down the captain’s spine, and his face went pale in an instant.
Crash.
He threw away the alcohol bottle and scrambled back up the ladder.
“Crazy….”
Upon reaching the watchtower, his legs weakened. Despite the alcohol clouding his vision, a massive ship under attack couldn’t escape his notice.
“T-telescope!” The captain’s urgent command spurred the soldier to swiftly retrieve the telescope.
“A, a warlock!”
The captain’s shock nearly caused him to drop the telescope. Who else could command such dark and terrifying flas? But that was only for a mont. As his reason slowly returned, the captain gave orders to his subordinate.
“Ring the bell! Summon reinforcents! Wake everyone below deck and inform them to contact the castle!”
“Y-yes, understood!”
As the subordinate hurried down the ladder to carry out the orders, the captain stood motionless, gazing out at the sea, his hand rubbing his forehead.
“Oh, Goddess Hela. What is happening?”
The unfolding horror prompted an instinctive plea to Hela.
***
Bang!
Huswen slamd his arm against the chair’s armrest.
“Does that even make sense right now? An attack? Did you just say there’s an attack?”
In the midst of a eting, Huswen vented his frustration at the knight who brought the urgent news.
The knight flinched and swiftly bowed, stamring, “I-I apologize.”
“Apologize? No. This is not the ti for apologies. Today’s eting is over!” Huswen gestured roughly at the nobles.
Interrupting a eting was bad enough, but now it has abruptly ended. Huswen was known to be a relentless king, capable of keeping people awake for days to get answers. Despite the confusion, the nobles understood the situation and hurriedly withdrew. They would need to investigate the matter further.
“Summon the knight commanders imdiately!” Huswen ordered the knight.
“Yes, Your Majesty! I will carry out your command!” The knight hurried out of the eting hall.
As the room cleared, Huswen leaned back, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
***
A day later, news of a ship sinking in the sea between the Cyronian Kingdom and the Kran Kingdom rapidly spread across the land. Though it was just one ship, it carried none other than Ruel Setiria.
As this incident occurred while traveling from the Kran Kingdom to the Cyronian Kingdom, during a ti when discussions about alliances were taking place, the relations between the two kingdoms grew icy once again.
Ruel, while hearing about the ongoing situation from Cassion, popped a delicious piece of at into his mouth.
“Oh, food tastes the best after you move your body.”
“It was who did all the work,” Cassion corrected Ruel. There was no way Ruel could have crossed that sea on his own.
—Ahem, it was this body who made the biggest contribution!
Leo stopped licking his ice cream and smiled bashfully. Leo had received a large serving of ice cream from Cassion as a reward for doing his part well. Strawberry flavor. Chocolate flavor. Vanilla flavor. They were all great.
“Right, Leo? If it weren’t for you, we would have failed.”
The sea between the Kran and Cyronian Kingdoms was vast and desolate, a place where carelessness could prove costly. Yet, Ruel and his group opted for the simplest, albeit risky, thod.
Crossing the sea wasn’t impossible because both he and Leo were there. He could see spirits, and thanks to the power that Jan possessed, he had inadvertently beco soone who attracted spirits. Above all, Leo was a spirit. Leo acted as the translator, and the spirits of the sea helped guide them to the Cyronian coastline.
“Well then, the food always tastes best after going through hardships,” Ruel said and grinned, gesturing to the IV drip in his arm. After all, he had just been in the cold sea, so it was natural that his body couldn’t hold up. He could vaguely see his late father waving.
‘Oh. I completely forgot to ask about the magic circle because I was so out of it.’
Ruel looked at Aris, stabbing at a juicy piece of at with his fork. Aris appeared preoccupied, barely touching his food. What burden weighed on his mind?
“Ruel-nim, um…” Aris hesitated, fidgeting nervously.
“Go on, speak your mind.”
“I… I hope I eliminated all traces of our magic.”
When they had destroyed the ship, traces of the magic they had cast would surely remain, not just from Ruel but also from Aris.
“Perhaps?”
“It’s a crucial task, and I’m anxious.”
“Don’t dwell on it now; focus on your al. You must be exhausted, having crossed the sea yesterday and erasing traces of magic.”
Unlike the worry etched on Aris’s face, Ruel looked entirely at ease. To anyone looking at Ruel, it would simply seem like he was enjoying a normal al in an ordinary setting. Aris finally began eating.
“I’ve always admired your composure in tense situations.”
“Do I seem that way?”
Ruel gazed steadily into Aris’s eyes. His gaze was like that of soone standing at the crossroads of life and death. Aris realized he had misspoken.
“Enjoy your al while you can. You might not have als like this in the future.” Ruel’s gentle smile reassured Aris.
“Yes, I will eat a lot,” Aris replied, finally engaging in his al. He recognized Ruel’s hidden anxieties and felt a pang of regret for not understanding sooner. Ruel was just skillful at hiding his emotions. He was soone just like Aris.
“His Majesty Huswen is approaching,” Cassion announced as he placed his plate down.
Right now, they were in one of the many mansions owned by Huswen. It was one of the reasons why Aris couldn’t compose himself. How could they be in the king’s residence? Aris, who had just taken a sip of soup, quickly got up.
“Stay relaxed, Aris,” Ruel said and chuckled softly.
Even though Huswen hadn’t arrived yet, Aris looked completely tense. But Ruel understood his feelings. It was probably the first ti seeing a king so closely.
“I’ll try,” Aris replied, though his discomfort was evident, akin to sitting on pins and needles. He couldn’t even hold his spoon when he jumped up at the sound of the door opening.
“You’ve worked hard.” Huswen entered with a smile.
As the door shut, Aris respectfully bowed. “I greet the sun of Cyronian. I am Aris, Lord Ruel’s escort knight.”
“No need to be anxious. Ganien has spoken highly of you. Relax,” Huswen reassured, settling down casually. He looked exhausted, perhaps from yelling and running around for a performance after a long ti, but it was amusing to him. At this point, the nobles who were presumably trying to find out what was happening would spread rumors, making the incident appear even bigger.
“You seem to be in a good mood, Your Majesty,” Ruel said with a smile.
“In my view, the one who seems the most excited is you.”
“How could I not be?” Ruel’s excitent was palpable.
“Shall we say Ganien was discovered at dawn tomorrow?” Huswen proposed.
“Yes, that timing sounds fitting. Two days might be too long, don’t you think, Your Majesty?”
“Indeed. I seem to have coincidentally arrived during alti.”
“Was it not deliberate?” Ruel teased.
As Aris listened to their banter, his complexion grew paler, troubled by the jests aid at a figure of such prestige. Concern gnawed at him, fearing repercussions for Ruel’s audacity.
“Aris, His Majesty is understanding. Relax,” Ruel reassured, sensing Aris’s discomfort.
“As Lord Setiria said, I’m a forgiving man. Don’t be so stiff, eat comfortably.”
Aris, feeling his stomach churn with unease, nodded in acknowledgnt. “I understand.”
Huswen turned to Cassion who was standing. “You should eat too.”
“Thank you for the offer, but it’s alright.”
Cassion politely declined and stepped back so as not to interrupt the conversation.
“Your Majesty,” Ruel addressed Huswen, signaling towards Aris.
“Please proceed,” Huswen permitted.
“There is sothing that needs to be confird with the royal family.”
“What is it?”
“There is a hidden magic circle sowhere in the royal palace.”
Huswen’s countenance darkened at the ntion of a magic circle. “Explain this further.”
“It’s a magic circle that creates black water.” Ruel ntioned the magic circle alongside the barrier of the Tonisk Empire.
“Hah.” Huswen chuckled, surprised by the new information. He realized that the Great Man was indeed cunning.
“Aris,” Ruel called out to Aris.
“Yes, yes!” Surprised by his na being called so suddenly, Aris jumped.
“You said you found sothing about the magic circle.”
“Y-yes, I have,” Aris responded, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
“However, Your Majesty, I would like to ask for permission to see the hidden magic circle in this royal palace before I share my findings.”
“Very well. Do you know its location?”
“I’ve identified a possible location through the warlock.” As Ruel spoke, he pierced a piece of at that he had cut earlier with his fork and took a large bite. The flavor lted in his mouth like candy, prompting a smile to bloom on his face.
“Alright, then let’s go after dinner. I’ll give you an order to make it easier for you to move around. You should eat a lot. Aren’t you growing?” Huswen looked at Ruel with amusent, impressed by his ability to eat so calmly in front of the king.
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