Chapter – 46
“Miss!”
“Are you mad? How could you throw away such precious flowers!”
“Well, what of it? It’s not like Karnak flowers are rare on land.”
As if possessed, she turned the bow of the ship again and quickly approached the captain. Even as the flowers drifted far away, she showed no trace of regret.
“My flowers are my business, aren’t they?”
“Ah, even so! To suddenly stop selling and then abuse this sacred flower!”
“You’re not in a position to talk when you were trying to take those sacred flowers for free.”
“Ugh!”
“A word of advice—if you have time to stand around like this, you should move. By now, other trading ships must have arrived at Mare’s port. If you want to dig up Karnak flowers before they wither and return to your homeland, you should be running at full speed.”
“…….”
“It seems you might already be too late.”
Drip, her finger rolled over the next box. As if counting numbers, tension tightened around them. Instinctively, the captain reached out with both hands.
“S-Stop! You’re not planning to throw that again, are you!”
“The choice is not mine, but yours. Whether you buy even the remaining flowers while they are safe, or go to Mare and find nothing.”
“I-it’s fine! Fine! We believe you, not because we trust you, but because we’re busy and can’t help it—so we’ll buy them here today!”
The captain shouted irritably at the box lid fluttering on the railing. Though pride made him speak like that, he couldn’t just watch the flowers sink into the sea.
If he went to Mare as she said and found nothing, he would bear all the responsibility.
“You said twenty gold per box? It looks like about thirty boxes, so that would be six hundred gold in total, right?”
“Seven hundred gold.”
“What? Just a moment ago you said twenty gold! How did it suddenly go up by another hundred gold!”
“That was the price of your trust in me.”
Still standing on the boxes, she shook her head without changing her expression. Even as Kales hurried to gather the money with a frown, Evangelin looked as if she could see nothing.
“You wasted one box of flowers because you turned the ship around after not believing my words. When we prepared these flowers and came out to the sea, we had already invested that much time and cost, and we deserve fair compensation. If you had trusted me from the beginning, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Since when did we know each other that we should trust you right away!”
“In the future, we will see each other more often.”
“…….”
“All the Karnak flowers in Mare will soon grow only in my garden. Not only Karnak, but as sea levels gradually rise, the crops and medicinal herbs needed will increase. Wouldn’t you like to find a stable supply source?”
Along with the cold sea breeze dividing them, Evangelin’s hat flew far away. But now that she had proven her value, there was no need to force herself to retrieve it.
Shaking her abundant hair, brighter than sunlight, she extended her last hand.
“Just keep this in mind. Even now, time is passing.”
◇ ◆ ◇
“Your Grace, it is too late.”
In the harbor landing area, the chain of Michael’s pocket watch swayed in his hand. Amid the bustling trade city, the space where the duke stood was eerily quiet. Even merchants who approached without knowing who he was would instinctively feel intimidated and step back.
“Most of the ships have already returned. The merchants also seem to be closing their businesses.”
“…….”
“You should return to Roark now.”
Michael pointed to the carriage that had been waiting for hours. He could not dare rush the duke, but considering the work piled up in Roark, there was little leisure.
Before coming to Mare, they had already visited three other coastal cities, and the burden of the remaining work would fall entirely on the duke.
“You haven’t eaten a single meal today, have you?”
Because of the duke who stood at the port all day, all the attendants had gone hungry. They could have secretly eaten, but the chilling aura around him made it impossible.
Since early morning—more precisely, since they heard that a small merchant ship had sailed out at dawn—the duke had not left this place.
‘It must be because of her.’
Though nothing was said, Michael could guess the reason.
If it wasn’t that person, there was no way the Teze Duke would come down to such an unheard-of city, nor would he stop his entire schedule and stand at the port like this.
Despite the unusual deviation from his usual behavior, the duke’s face was astonishingly calm.
‘He should at least show some emotion.’
The lighthouse standing to guard the sea was not calmer than the duke.
There was no sign of impatience, not even a single frown. If anything, it almost felt like a faint, dangerous amusement, as if saying, “Let’s see how far you go.”
“Your Grace, let’s depart for Roark first. If it rains, we may not be able to leave today.”
“…It’s going to rain?”
The duke’s heavy voice responded for the first time.
Michael, who was somewhat from a coastal region himself, held out his hand to the wind before nodding.
“Yes. It won’t be a heavy rain, but given the humidity, there is a high chance of rain soon.”
“Call a ship immediately.”
“…Pardon? Why a ship all of a sudden?”
“Find the largest ship you can launch.”
Following the duke’s glance as he turned abruptly, his jet-black bangs scattered in the wind. His previously still posture broke.
If one looked only at his expression, it was as if a storm was about to break.
Startled, Michael shook his head.
“Your Grace. Even if it does, it will probably be just a drizzle. In Mare, heavy storms occur only once or twice a year; rain is very rare.”
“What if it isn’t?”
“…….”
“Can you guarantee that there will be no storm today?”
Dark, ominous light flickered beneath his lowered eyes. Overwhelmed by his sudden obsession, Michael instinctively lowered his body.
Even if he wanted to guarantee it, this was a situation where there was only one answer.
“I am sorry, Your Grace. I will try to find a ship immediately.”
“Huu.”
The duke stepped one more step toward the pier. There was nowhere further to go—the blue sea was right in front of him.
Raindrops began to fall one by one, drawing small concentric circles on the surface of the sea. Blue veins intertwined on the back of his clenched hand.
“Your Grace, you should at least use an umbrella.”
“Move it away.”
Even the umbrella hanging behind him was not tolerated.
It was not that he was usually so fussy about small raindrops, but this was not the reason.
His attention was focused not on the raindrops falling on his head, but on the raindrops that might fall somewhere on the sea.
Nothing else mattered.
“What is this? Why is it taking so long to summon a ship?”
“I sent someone, so please wait a little longer. The shipowners seem to be negotiating.”
“How can you waste time on such trivial things now….”
Haa, as if exasperated, the duke exuded chilling pressure and suddenly shifted his gaze.
Michael, who nearly suffocated alive, looked around and then brightened.
“Ah, I think a ship is coming in!”
“…….”
The light of the ship gradually entering the harbor grew closer. It was a small vessel, too small to be called a trading ship, but at this moment it was more welcome than any large transport ship.
And even more so was the person riding it.
“Your Grace, look there!”
“…….”
“There— the Duchess, no… Miss Ohara….”
Why was the former duchess, who he had been waiting for so long, smiling while holding another man’s hand?
Michael, unable to even guess the reason, froze. He no longer had the courage to look directly at the duke’s face.
Meanwhile, Evangelin, who knew nothing, had a smile overflowing with excitement.
I can guarantee that even before the fall of the Ohara Count family, she rarely smiled this brightly.
“Thank you so much! This is all thanks to Kales!”
“Seeing our young lady act like this means things are really finished, right?”
“Yes! Well… only today! Only today it’s finished!”
Her excited voice in the night sea wind sounded like a warbler’s song.
Even the hair scattered by the sea breeze seemed strangely lively.
Unable to think of wiping the damp hair from the drizzle, she faced Kales and clasped her hands as if in prayer.
“Honestly, I don’t know how nervous I was.”
“How can you act like that? When you suddenly threw away the flower boxes, I thought you had gone crazy.”
“Kales, really!”
Even after such blunt words, Evangelin laughed as if she were happy.
As her flushed cheeks were touched by strands of hair, Kales hesitated, as if trying to extend his hand, then took off his jacket.
