Chapter 24
“What? Wh-What did you say?”
“I said Her Majesty the Queen will not punish me in any way.”
“Y-You insolent wretch! You know what family I belong to, and you still dare spout such nonsense?”
“The mighty House of Heysen? So what? And what exactly is Garon Heysen, who was abandoned by House Heysen?”
“…”
“Think about it.”
“At least pretend to use that empty head of yours.”
“…”
“Even Her Majesty the Queen wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
“The crime of insulting a noble?”
“I’m the daughter of Duke Roserica.”
“Half the blood flowing through my veins belongs to a duke who stands second to none in this kingdom.”
“W-What ridiculous logic! By that reasoning, every illegitimate child in the world—”
“And above all, I’m a naval admiral coveted by the king of an enemy nation.”
“The one who holds every core naval strategy of Sepia.”
Hearing Elisa’s continued words, Garon had no choice but to fall silent.
Back at the military academy, he had clearly been the more promising talent!
Bitterness and resentment welled up inside him.
Of course, that too was nothing more than Garon’s delusion.
During their years at the military academy, Garon had never once surpassed Elisa in grades.
Not even in spearsmanship, the discipline in which he believed he excelled.
There was only one reason the academy instructors had paid more attention to him than Elisa.
Elisa was an illegitimate child.
He was the eldest son destined to inherit House Heysen.
But now, that dazzling halo had disappeared.
Once that was gone, he found himself in a position even worse than Elisa Shooter, whom he had once looked down on as lowborn.
“Who do you think Her Majesty the Queen would punish?”
“…”
“Me?”
“Or you, who was expelled from the military academy, abandoned by your family, and treated like an unwanted burden?”
“Which choice do you think Her Majesty the Queen and your father would make?”
As she spoke, Elisa pulled her dagger from the wall.
She slowly circled around the bound Garon.
Only then did Garon finally grasp the situation.
No one would make an issue out of what had happened here.
Not Her Majesty the Queen.
And not even… his own father.
Garon flattened himself against the floor.
He slammed his forehead toward the direction of the voice.
**Thud.**
Blood seeped from his forehead.
It was utterly miserable.
“I-I was wrong.”
“What were you wrong about?”
“I-I insulted you by calling you the prostitute’s daughter.”
“And?”
“A-And back at the military academy… I relied on Adrian Oberon and participated in that unfair bet about you.”
Elisa’s brow furrowed sharply.
There it was.
Everything Adrian Oberon had said the previous night had been a lie.
The memory of Adrian’s shameless face, insisting he was different from the others, made her anger surge once more.
Unable to kick Adrian Oberon, who wasn’t standing before her, she kicked Garon Heysen squarely in the torso instead.
“Ugh!”
With a revolting gasp, Garon curled up like a pill bug under attack.
“And?”
“I-I’ll never appear before you again.”
“And?”
“O-Of course… I-I’ll never tell anyone about what happened today.”
She had heard everything she wanted to hear.
The least troublesome option now was simply to let him go.
“If it were up to me…”
Elisa raised the arm holding the dagger high.
**Bang!**
She drove the dagger into the wooden floor just beside Garon’s cheek.
The sharp sound of steel piercing wood made Garon’s body tremble violently.
He couldn’t see it.
But he vividly understood how close he had just come to death.
“I wanted to drive it through your tongue.”
“I-I… I’m sorry.”
“I-I’ll never do it again.”
“P-Please… just this once…”
Now Garon trembled uncontrollably, tears and mucus streaming down his face as he begged for forgiveness.
Judging by the way he mixed formal and informal speech together, he didn’t even know what he was saying anymore.
“Good.”
“This is the last chance I’m giving you.”
“You’d better keep your word and never appear before me again.”
“If you fail to keep your promise…”
“The next thing to be cut off will be your tongue.”
“O-Okay!”
“I-I will!”
“T-Thank you for sparing my life!”
While Enoch and Nixon untied the ropes binding Garon,
Elisa suddenly turned around, as though she had remembered something.
“Oh.”
“One more thing.”
“W-Who?”
“Who else would I be talking about, you idiot?”
“That little gang who always trailed behind Adrian Oberon.”
“…”
“Tell them this as well.”
“If they ignore my warning and appear before me again…”
“They’ll end up just like you.”
“I-I will.”
“I’ll make sure to tell them.”
Watching him tremble uncontrollably, Elisa—who had emptied every last drop of Nixon’s treasured whiskey into her own mouth—looked at Enoch and gave an order.
“Untie him.”
Before Elisa had even finished speaking, Enoch and Nixon were already moving.
Perhaps because he had been tied up for so long, Garon’s body barely obeyed him.
Standing behind the limping Garon, Nixon suddenly kicked him hard.
**Thump!**
Garon, who had only just managed to regain his balance, sprawled across the floor once again.
“Can’t you move any faster?”
“Y-Yes, I’m sorry!”
At Nixon’s single remark, Garon hunched his shoulders and forced his stiff body to move.
Nixon’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of the son of a high-ranking noble bowing before him.
Soon, he began snickering in amusement.
It was something unimaginable for the usual Garon Heysen.
People like Elisa and Enoch, who had graduated from the military academy, made up only a tiny portion of the navy.
It couldn’t even be compared to the Royal Knights, where only nobles could be appointed.
Even compared to the Northern Knights, the proportion was extremely small.
The navy was filled with fishermen’s sons,
and with people who had sold themselves into military service because they had no money.
Nixon was one of them.
Nixon went to throw Garon among the crowd of thoroughly drunken guests.
Only Enoch and Elisa remained in the underground cabin.
“If you’re heading to your room to sleep, I’ll escort you.”
“Do I look insane enough to walk into a room where Adrian Oberon is obviously waiting?”
“Then where are you going?”
“I’m going to rebel against my father.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said I’m going to rebel.”
☆☆☆
Leaving behind Enoch, who watched her with worried eyes because he had no idea what she intended to do,
Elisa headed to the banquet hall, where the party was in full swing.
Her Majesty the Queen and the King of Shulid had long since left their seats.
The older high-ranking nobles had already finished the formalities and gone upstairs to rest.
Now the true celebration of the young noble ladies and gentlemen had begun.
Large sums of money were being wagered at the poker tables.
Champagne corks popped like celebratory fireworks.
Blending into the crowd that had already lost itself to alcohol and festivities,
Elisa picked up a bottle of champagne and settled into a suitable seat.
She intended to pass the time here until dawn,
then immediately change out of this cumbersome dress into her naval uniform and head down to the cabin.
A long, trailing dress.
Hard, high-heeled shoes.
Heavy jewelry.
And thin white gloves so delicate that she couldn’t even move her hands freely for fear of tearing them.
Today’s outfit had only been useful once.
When she stomped on Garon’s thigh.
That was the only moment she appreciated the high heels.
Aside from that,
Elisa would have much preferred wearing her decorated military uniform.
Several people approached Elisa as she spent time alone.
One drunken fool was so intoxicated that he failed to recognize Elisa—the very star of this shipboard party—and flirted with her while asking her name and family.
Those who still had some sense about them openly asked where Adrian was, making no effort to hide that they wished to become acquainted with him.
Elisa politely dismissed those who hesitated over whether they should address her as Lady Roserica by telling them to send her an invitation after the engagement ceremony.
“Admiral!”
See?
Calling me that sounds so much better.
“Admiral! It’s me!”
Soft brown hair swayed before Elisa’s eyes.
A petite, fair-skinned girl who had only recently made her debut stood before her.
“Lady Mitella?”
“Why are you being so formal?”
“I’ve told you so many times to just call me Leya.”
As she said that, Leya’s cheeks flushed bright red.
Several years earlier,
after Elisa and the navy rescued Viscount Mitella from pirates who had taken him hostage,
Elisa had become nothing less than a legendary hero in Leya’s eyes.
“Why did you come so late?”
“I thought you’d already gone to sleep, Admiral.”
“I didn’t.”
“I’ve been here at the party the whole time.”
Elisa lied with a perfectly straight face.
But Leya, who firmly believed Elisa would never tell a lie, merely tilted her head.
Her beautiful brown hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
“Maybe Leya was too drunk to notice me?”
“I-I guess that’s what happened!”
“No, that must be it!”
Everything the Admiral said was absolutely, unquestionably correct.
Her cheeks were already adorably flushed from the alcohol,
and she answered with a cheerful giggle.
Leya ordered a bottle of wine from a passing waiter.
A moment later,
she proudly held out the wine she had received.
“This is your favorite, isn’t it?”
Although Elisa had already drunk plenty of whiskey,
there was no reason to refuse.
Elisa firmly believed that alcohol should always be drunk whenever it was available.
Before long,
more and more wine bottles began accumulating on their table.
Elisa’s face looked unbelievably unaffected for someone who had been drinking,
but Leya’s ears had long since turned crimson.
“You’re already drunk?”
“Nooo!”
“I’m not drunk at all!”
“Want me to prove it?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
With that, Leya abruptly tried to stand up.
Elisa grabbed her shoulders and forcibly pulled her back down.
“Sit down.”
“What exactly are you trying to do?”
“B-But…”
“There were people over there saying that you shouldn’t marry Young Duke Oberon.”
“They were saying awful things about you, Admiral.”
“I’ll go teach them a lesson instead.”
However,
there was no one where Leya’s drunken finger pointed.
Only an empty table remained.
“It’s fine.”
“There’s no one there anymore.”
After that,
Leya repeatedly sprang to her feet, trying to pick fights with anyone nearby.
Their crime?
Insulting Elisa.
While Elisa was struggling to calm her down,
Leya suddenly asked,
“By the way…”
“Are you really getting married, Admiral?”
“If I’m getting married, then I’m getting married.”
“Is there such a thing as a fake marriage?”
Of course,
Elisa was more convinced than anyone that this marriage was fake.
But there was no reason to shatter the romantic ideals of a young girl who dreamed of love.
What Leya said next, however, was unexpected.
“That’s not good.”
“Our Admiral deserves to marry someone truly wonderful.”
“Isn’t Young Duke Oberon more than a good enough match for me?”
“That’s what everyone says.”
“Of course not!”
Leya grabbed Elisa’s arm and declared firmly.
“Don’t ever say something like that again.”
“And don’t associate with anyone who says things like that either.”
“Understand?”
Adding a little, “Hmph!”
while drunkenly scolding her,
Leya made Elisa press a hand against her forehead.
What on earth was she supposed to do with this little drunk?
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“All the other young ladies say they’d love to dance with Young Duke Oberon just once.”
“Don’t you?”
“Young Duke Oberon is from the North.”
“Then someday you’ll go north too, Admiral.”
“And then…”
“You won’t be our Admiral anymore.”
“…”
“You’re the most wonderful when you’re out at sea.”
“So…”
“Young Duke Oberon isn’t acceptable.”
“…”
“B-But…”
“Since you said you love him…”
“And since you said he’s a good person…”
“I’ll overlook it just this once.”
Having finished speaking entirely on her own,
Leya, overcome by alcohol, began to collapse toward Elisa.
At that moment,
someone suddenly reached out an arm,
stopping Leya from falling against Elisa.
“Adrian Oberon?”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
