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SALEILLES—the kingdom where Sara had spent eighteen years of her life. When she stepped onto its soil after a nearly six-month absence, the harbor felt different from what she remembered.
After Sara and Richard walked off the ramp, they were greeted by a large, bearded man.
“Oh, Prince! Princess! We’ve been awaiting your arrival.”
The man wore silver armor, and from the crest on his chest, Sara could tell he was a member of the Ferrier army. He was massive—he looked like he could mow down his enemies with his brute strength alone, no ability necessary.
Behind him stood about twenty Ferrier troops wearing the same silver armor. When they saw Sara, they fell to one knee in unison.
She looked at Richard, who whispered, “He’s the commanding officer of the advance party.” Then he looked down at the soldiers and gave a composed nod. “I appreciate you welcoming us. And you’ve done very well in securing the harbor town.”
“It wasn’t all that much work, Your Highness,” the commander said in a low voice. “I was fully prepared for a battle at first, but perhaps the memory of their defeat last year was too fresh, because we were able to subdue the town without much resistance at all.”
Then the officer looked at Sara, and his grim face relaxed into a smile.
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Highness. Don’t worry about a thing—the civilians of your homeland all accepted our persuasions very sincerely.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well. Thank you very much for securing the harbor town, but…there weren’t many injuries, were there?”
“There were not. His Highness drilled the order into us that we were not to harm the general public or soldiers who didn’t want to fight, so we were able to keep injuries on both sides to a minimum and succeed in securing the road to the royal capital.”
He—he said that so indifferently, but it must have been quite difficult…
Sara suddenly looked at the harbor town more closely. Some Ferrier soldiers were scattered around the downtown area, but they were few in number. There were about twenty people gathered in front of her, and according to what Richard had told her beforehand, there was supposed to be around fifty in the advance party.
This is Saleilles’s top naval port… Even with the troops permanently stationed here, they couldn’t win against a few dozen abilities…
It was easy to see how reckless the war Saleilles had waged against Ferrier one year ago really was…
Just as the bearded commanding officer had told her, there were barely any signs of a struggle around her and not a trace of black smoke anywhere. Seeing Ferrier’s national flag hung from the spire of the lord’s manor in the middle of town indicated that the Ferrier army had secured the port with virtually no bloodshed.
Maybe the Saleilles troops barely exerted any effort to defend it… Maybe the deep-seated fear lingering from their previous defeat was too strong…
That had been a wise decision of the lord and the soldiers. This bearded commander was probably incredibly skilled—and then there was Richard, who had killed many Saleilles soldiers in the last war. Sara was very grateful that the ocean of the seaside town was not dyed red.
Before long, a middle-aged man walked up to them, accompanied by more Ferrier troops. He was reasonably well-dressed, so Sara assumed he was probably the lord who presided over this harbor. His face was pale, but there was no evidence of assault. He had likely prioritized the civilians’ safety over putting up a fight, even if that meant giving up his town to the invaders.
Seeing how the lord trembled before the prince of an enemy kingdom, Sara lightly pulled at Richard’s sleeve. Richard nodded, seeming to guess her intentions, and so she walked forward and curtsied before the lord.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Hermine, the consort of Prince Richard.”
“Hermine… Princess Hermine?!”
“Thank you very much for your decision to surrender the harbor.”
Sara gave the wide-eyed lord her most princess-like smile and gestured toward the Ferrier troops, with the bearded commander standing in front of them.
“As I’m sure they told you, the Ferrier army is only after the king. I promise they will not raise a hand against you or your people.”
“P-Princess… Is it really true? Ferrier and you…against King Saleilles…?”
“Yes, of course it’s true. I also have one correction for you.”
Sara tilted her head, took the folding fan from her waist, and snapped it open.
“I am not your princess. Address me as ‘consort of the prince of Ferrier.’”
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“YOU were quite the actress back there,” Richard teased.
The harbor town had been totally surrendered, and Sara and Richard were currently sitting in a carriage that was taking them to the royal capital.
Sara huffed and gave him a sideways glare. “You know I’m the last person who would want to do that. But I had to put pressure on him…”
“Yes, of course. What you did was a huge help, Sara,” Richard said, cheerfully wrapping his arms around her and rubbing his cheek against the top of her head.
He nuzzles my head like that a lot… I wonder if that’s a behavior influenced by the Black Beast?
For now, Sara just stroked his soft hair. He snuggled closer to her, seemingly in an even better mood. If she had to pick an animal to describe his beast form, she’d say it was closest to a dog, but this behavior was much more like a cat.
But Richard must be worried, too.
Just as that thought crossed Sara’s mind, Richard straightened slowly so he wouldn’t accidentally push her arm away.
“And it made me happy…what you said before,” he said softly. “When you told him you weren’t the princess of Saleilles, but the consort of the prince of Ferrier, you were so dazzling.”
“I-I’m sorry…did I go too far with that?”
“No! Our marriage may be a lie, but to everyone else, you are a foreign prince’s consort, so it was just a little reminder, right? Although…it didn’t exactly feel wonderful, hearing him call you Hermine,” he added a little sulkily before facing forward.
Sara mirrored his movements, sitting up a little straighter and looking out the window at the road.
The road they were on was a trade route, stretching north from the harbor town to the royal capital of Saleilles—and the castle. Sara had been born and raised in the royal capital, but she was really keeping an eye out for the castle, where she had spent many years as a maid.
“In any case,” the queen mother had told her after revealing the truth, “please do whatever you think is best. I know your parents are watching over you from heaven, hoping you’ll live your life with your eyes set on the future.” Then she had given Sara one final hug.
Sara could never have expected that revelation, and it only added more fuel to her desire for revenge against the king of her homeland.
But there is a slight possibility that the queen mother misread the corsage’s memories… So I have to hear and see the truth for myself.
Richard’s eyes softened, and he watched Sara as the flame of determination burned brightly in her brown eyes.