Chapter 46
Ahan's beach was mysterious and beautiful, befitting a renowned tourist destination.
Beneath brilliant sunlight and a clear sky,
listening to the sound of white foam bursting and sand and stones rolling, as they walked along the curving path where blue waves met the soft sand,
a breeze carrying the salty scent of the sea along with the cries of seabirds gently wrapped around visitors before drifting away.
The destination was the sealed-off beach to the north.
The quickest way to get there was to follow the coastline north from the south.
“Are you sure it’s all right for just the two of us to go?”
Fulcare's voice was thick with concern as he walked along the coast.
That was understandable: when he had gone to find Blanc that morning, Vieta had stopped him.
Though they'd argued a little, Fulcare had planned to go with Blanc.
Since Contium, the three of them had traveled together the entire time, so he naturally thought they'd go together this time too.
“Yeah, it’s really fine.”
“Captain, you’re hiding something.”
Fulcare looked at Vieta strangely as he spoke, and Vieta faltered. Since they'd spent so many years together, it was a problem that they knew each other's habits and behavior too well.
“Nothing.”
Vieta deliberately pretended nothing was wrong and walked ahead. Although Blanc's attitude had changed, she had no intention of abandoning the investigation.
Quite apart from feeling hurt, she was currently carrying out the emperor's commission and the goddess's commission at the same time.
Besides, whether she liked him or not, she couldn't simply leave Blanc alone.
“If you put it that way….”
As soon as they returned to their lodgings, Fulcare decided to visit Blanc. Although he worried that he might be overstepping by interfering between the two of them, misunderstandings only grew with time.
It was a truth he'd learned from the painful experience of fighting with Vieta.
Theodor and Iseria had not understood Vieta's behavior when she fell into a depression after the goddess disappeared.
Because Theodor and Iseria had lived by conventional rules, they expected Vieta to maintain the minimum decorum expected of a hero, and Vieta could only resent their expectations.
Fulcare understood both sides, but he merely watched, thinking things would work out if he left them alone.
As a result, Vieta went completely off the rails, and her companions only drove her further.
Perhaps because they'd fought each other bloody, things eventually worked out, but the memory was so terrible and painful that Fulcare never wanted to recall it.
‘…What does she like again?’
Still, after having fought with her, he felt awkward showing up empty-handed.
Hoping not to become the shrimp caught between two timid whales, Fulcare followed Vieta.
*
They searched every inch, but they could not find a single clue at either the ordinary beach or the sealed-off beach.
Fulcare suggested waiting for the fog, as the rumors suggested, but Vieta refused. They did not have much time left in Ahan, and she was reluctant to return without checking one more place.
“Let’s look around that spot one last time before we go.”
Vieta pointed to the sheer cliff along the northern coast.
At the foot of the towering cliff, huge waves rushed in incessantly.
“…You want to go there now?”
Fulcare slightly furrowed his brow.
“Why? It’s much better than the Demon Realm. And don’t you think a ghost would be more likely to be in a place like that?”
It was a reasonably valid point.
The most effective way to hide from people's eyes was to make a hideout in an unexpected place.
The problem was that it was so treacherous that not even a ghost, much less a person, could enter and come out with their bones intact.
“Take a good look, Captain. You really mean to enter a place where whirlpools are raging like that?”
“What’s stopping us?”
When Vieta shrugged, Fulcare realized she couldn't be stopped and shook his head.
She wasn't human to begin with, so clearly he was the one at fault for trying to think by human standards.
If the captain was going, so was he.
As Fulcare quietly removed his outer clothes, Vieta stopped him.
“I’m going into the sea. Fulcare, look around on top of the cliff.”
“Why? Why not go together? If we're splitting up, I’ll go in instead.”
His abilities were far inferior to Vieta's, but if he used all the magic at his disposal, he thought he could somehow hold his own in the sea.
“What are you talking about? I’m far better suited to going than you are. Who knows how many magical devices are inside? Why would you go in?”
It was uncharacteristically sound advice, but Fulcare felt deeply uneasy about sending Vieta alone into the sea.
After a moment's thought, he raised his hand and gave her shoulder a light tap.
“What’s this?”
Vieta asked, looking at the golden thread connecting her shoulder to Fulcare's fingertip.
“What do you think? If that ghost drags you away, I'll have to find you.”
Their opponent was a ghost, and the sea was rough. Nothing would likely happen, but taking precautions so either of them would immediately know if something happened to the other seemed sensible.
“What if you’re the one who gets taken?”
“If I get taken, aren’t you supposed to come rescue me? Don’t tell me you’re planning to abandon me?”
“What a drama queen….”
At Fulcare's response, Vieta grinned and took off her shoes.
***
Marlene sat alone in the guard post by the wooden barricade sealing off the beach.
Fool, fool, fool.
Marlene's clear gray eyes clouded, and tears began to fall.
She was ashamed and furious with herself for wasting the precious chance she'd obtained only after begging for two full days, all because she'd wanted to look pretty.
This morning, Marlene went to find the prince at the appointed time.
If she went on like this, she was bound to become just another of the many maids, so she wanted to make sure he took notice of her.
“I distinctly recall refusing.”
“I know it is improper, Your Highness, but I cannot send you alone to such a place.”
She knew it was rude and undignified, but Marlene was confident she could win the prince over.
After all, she was unquestionably the flower of high society in the Dikram Empire.
Moreover, Prince Roen was her first love.
She had only ever had eyes for Prince Roen since childhood, but the difference in their status was so great that she had not even dared speak a word to him.
When the prince left for the Kingdom of Madak, an indescribable emptiness overwhelmed her, and she even stopped eating and drinking.
‘I should have spoken to him first….’
Endless regret clawed at her heart day and night.
Just as the scars had begun to fade with time, Crown Prince Gabin died—as though heaven itself had helped her—and Prince Roen returned to the Empire.
When she heard the news that Roen was returning, she made up her mind.
This time, she would never merely watch from the sidelines.
And following through on that resolve, she joined the pilgrimage, even going against her father, who supported Prince Charles.
This time, she absolutely did not want to leave any regrets behind.
“…Ha. All right, I’ll go with you.”
Although Prince Roen frowned, securing his permission was a major victory in itself.
She had carefully planned how to act and what to say once they reached the coast.
She had prepared for everything, but….
Her shoes ruined it all.
Since this was an investigation, she couldn't wear anything too flashy.
She kept her dress practical for ease of movement and her jewelry as simple as possible, but Marlene grew a little uneasy.
‘Maybe it’s too plain.’
Marlene thought of the maid who was always at the prince's side.
Despite her odd green hair and lack of jewelry, she wore only a maid's uniform, yet somehow kept drawing the eye.
Compared with that woman, who was always smiling brightly with clear pink eyes, Marlene—who was supposedly the flower of high society—looked utterly drab.
“Bring me another pair of shoes.”
“These shoes will be the easiest for you to move in.”
The maid tried to stop Marlene, but she even rummaged through her luggage herself and laid out the shoes.
Among them, she chose a pair with low heels for mobility but lace along the sides to make them look fancy. She wanted even the shoes that peeked out when she got in and out of the carriage to look pretty.
Marlene's plan had been perfect, but the sandy beach was an unforeseen variable.
As she walked over the sand, which swallowed her feet, her body tilted; the lace tore, and her shoes were ruined.
The sand filling her shoes made it uncomfortable to walk. Prince Roen waited several times when she stopped, but apparently he couldn't keep indulging her.
“My lady, you'd best wait at the guard post.”
The maid would be bringing new shoes any moment now.
Despite Marlene's pleas, Prince Roen merely told her to wait and hurried away.
*
Blanc heard Marlene's sobs, but forced himself to turn away.
Something more important than comforting Marlene demanded his attention.
He had to find Fulcare and Vieta.
In truth, he was still a little bitter toward Fulcare and Vieta.
It was a childish feeling born from thinking that, although it was his own fault, they could have cut him a little slack.
Nevertheless, it was clear that they were still scouring the coast for his sake.
From the moment he heard from Anatole, whom he happened to run into, that Anatole had sent the marquis's request to Fulcare as well, Blanc could no longer stand being apart from Vieta and Fulcare.
They were out there throwing themselves into the search for his sake, even after fighting with him.
That was why he'd left Marlene behind so coldly, though he normally would have waited for her.
There had to be a reason Fulcare had deceived him and Vieta had stood him up.
He could hear those reasons first and get angry and argue afterward; it wouldn't be too late.