Royal Princess of Blood

When it was time to set out, it was nighttime. Which was quite expected, so we’d have the cover of darkness and prevent us from easily being seen in the distance. But considering that they were coordinating with their contacts within Hokunoa’s navy, they must be planning gaps within the perimeter, then using that to sneak through.

Their connection must be someone with authority, or someone who knew the movements of ships that could help make the trip safer. I reckon it wouldn’t be that difficult if they’d just focus on this region of the island. Now, what I was interested in was the Nishinoan part of the territory. If they also had connections within the Nishinoan navy, that would absolutely make Miyako furious as hell. They’ve been working to get rid of the bad stuff, and their own forces were helping the criminals.

Hm, it was surprising Kazuhiko really went out of his way to accept our paid request, considering that the literal daughter of the Nishinoan lord was with us. Hm, perhaps they ‌never intended to tell us anything about how their operation worked. But it would seem I was messing up that plan a little bit.

And I’d keep doing it for fun, just for the purpose of bothering them.

The team and I stepped onto the ship as the crew got busy while we prepared for departure. The ship’s deck was clear of any product. If I were basing it on the slave ship I was in, they’d have a compartment for the slaves and their drugs below. This was a ship designed for smuggling stuff and people in mind.

I observed as the criminal supervisor walked up to the ship captain, looking up at him. “Are we ready to go?”

“Crew’s here, ship’s ready! I should be asking you that, you loaded everything?!”

The captain was quite loud himself, as if his default voice volume was set to high. Could be because he was used to shouting orders at his crew.

“Yeah! We’re good. Time to move out!”

With that announcement, the crew scrambled into action. They untied the mooring line and started pulling up the anchor. As the crew continued ‌working, the criminal supervisor walked up to us.

“We’ve prepared a room for you. But you’d have to share. There’s only so much space I can give on a ship.” He looked around and whistled at one of the men. “You, take them to their room.”

I turned towards Hartwin and Velar. “Can you leave the bags there? I’ll stay here on deck.”

As the two went downstairs to leave our bags, I sat down on the side of the ship, taking it ever so casually. The sails were opened and let loose, and they spread out in the wind. With the wind, the ship began to shake and started to gradually move away from the port.

As we went, I noticed Miyako looking intently ahead. Staring into the pitch-black darkness of the unseen horizon.

I formed a smile. “Excited?” I asked her.

As she turned towards me, she gave a conflicted smile. “Yeah, but I am a bit frightened. Once I arrive, things will completely change. I fear what my family will say to me after what I have done, and what I seek to do.”

“... It’s natural.”

Besides, what can they do if they don't want to do what she wants? Her father was sick anyway. She could take the throne anytime she wanted. With that said, she had no choice but to go on, even if her family would go against whatever actions she’d take. After all that she went through, the hard choices she had to make, the costs, there was no stopping it now. No hesitating. Because if she stopped, once the civil war ends here in Hokunoa, something far worse might take its place…

It might get worse for Miyako and her island.

“Natural, huh…”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid to face forward.” I giggled, as if making the mood lighter. “In that case, why don’t you just run away? Would make things easier. Nothing bad about running away from everything.” If one had the option, if one was willing, one could always choose to run away. Screw what other people would think. All that mattered was what mattered to you.

“What a funny idea.” She smiled slightly. “But… I do admit, the thought had come to mind.”

“... For all its issues, the continent where I’m from is quite vast. Lots of magical stuff. You might like it there.”

She slowly sat down on the side of the ship with me. “What kind of magical stuff?”

I was a bit excited to talk about that. “Well, for starters, we have a garden of wisterias.”

“Wisterias?”

She didn’t know what wisterias were. She knew my kingdom’s name, but not what it was based on. Understandable, they had no nature here in the first place. “Wisterias are a cluster of purple flowers hanging on trees. They’re so magnificent that they might crawl on anything they reach, and they can cover as wide as this ship.”

Her eyes widened, shining with curiosity and fascination. “They must be very beautiful.”

“Yes, they are. But that’s only one part of them. At night, under the light of the moon, they radiate a beautiful glow. Each and every petal.” I smiled. “The first time I saw them, I was enthralled.” Indeed, they were absolutely mesmerizing. The ‌first most magical thing I saw upon arriving in this world.

“Sounds like it really left a mark on you.”

“Yes, it is quite memorable. Even more so with our vast garden. My kingdom loves wisterias, as perhaps you may have noticed from its name.”

She briefly laughed. “Yes, it is very obvious.”

A warm smile lifted on my lips. “Aside from our wisterias, one servant of mine discovered some sort of lake where, when moonlight touched it, points or balls of light appeared. Which were like spirits, floating all over the place. I’m looking forward to actually seeing more magical events.”

“You were a sheltered princess, and you never saw much of the outside world.”

“Yeah.”

“... The continent truly sounds beautiful… I do wonder if we’ll ever get the same here on our lands.”

“... Maybe, maybe not. The future is uncertain. Maybe, in time, there will be some kind of ‌magical event that will restore your islands.”

Miyako snorted with a brief chuckle. “As if things are that convenient. But it wouldn’t be bad to hope. If it happens, it would be a miracle. By the way, are you not going to sleep?”

“I already slept during the day earlier.” I already expected that we’d move out during the night, as it was the most viable and safer option. Therefore, I took the chance to get some rest and sleep before night. “So I have plenty of energy. I can still go on for maybe a couple of hours. You should go ahead. You’ll need it.”

Besides, there was something else I had to do.

Miyako nodded. “Okay.” She stood up. “Let’s go, Satomi.”

With that, the two of them went down the stairs.

“What are you planning to do?” Taneva asked as he stepped in before me.

“Unlike on the road, anything could happen on the water. We might get attacked in this pitch-black darkness.”

“That’s not something you have to worry about. So, what’s really the reason?”

This guy really was trying to read me. And it was annoying to have someone sharp observing me. “... I just want to watch how things go out here. Want to see how they’re gonna do it.”

“Curious or something?”

“... Yeah.”

He frowned. “Sounds like that’s not it.”

“It is it.”

“No, you’re trying to study their operation,” he whispered.

“If you say so.” I was acting a bit cold, he was reading a bit too much.

“You’re trying to help Miyako, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. “The criminal supervisor and I still have something to talk about. But whatever, Taneva. Now stop talking before you cause some problem and hinder me.”

He chuckled and ‌walked away, doing whatever the fuck he wanted.

Some time passed, and a person on top of the crow’s nest, who was using binoculars, suddenly whistled loudly for the crew to hear. Everyone looked up, and the man on ‌top pointed in a particular direction.

“Light over there!”

“Good, as expected, they’re out of the way!” the ship captain said. “Shut off all the lamps!”

It was then that the crew snuffed out all the light on the deck and the lights below. Completely covering ourselves in darkness. With the light of the moon vaguely giving us light. But more darkness took over when a thick cloud moved below it, blocking its rays of illumination.

I noticed the criminal supervisor clinging to the railing below the ship’s wheel, staying still. Must be because he could barely see anything in this darkness.

I swiftly came up beside him. “So you’re just gonna go straight.”

“— Holy shit…!” He recoiled away, caught off guard by my arrival. “H-How the fuck, you’re just gonna sneak up on me like that?”

“... You still have to keep it stealthy, that means not every single one of those ships is on your paycheck. Too much, heh?”

He frowned. “That’s none of your business.”

“I’m just curious, that’s all. But then again, I suppose it saves a lot of money if you’d just pay some of the high-ranking officers or officials. Particularly those in this sector. So they could rearrange their ships, leaving a gap for you to go through.”

He had an uncomfortable look on his face.

“The coordination is astounding. I never expected you would be capable of something like this.” Truly, it was a surprise. But perhaps they had been doing this so many times now that they’re basically used to it now. “But I wonder what happens when we get on the Nishinoan side of the water.”

“Why are you always poking your nose in, huh?”

He looked annoyed, and it was amusing.

“I’m just trying to guess. What you’re doing, perhaps it’s what I would have done. But to see it working well, it’s interesting. Further proof that such a method could work.” Nothing beats an actual, real-world example. But then again, this was not exactly for me.

“What would you have done?”

“Don’t know. I know nothing about the affairs of Nishinoa.”

“... Hokunoa and Nishinoa are not so different.”

“What? Both corrupted to the core?”

He looked away.

I glanced upward. “Connection on both sides.” With Miyako here, there was no way they’d show who their connections were specifically. However, based on Hokunoa's side of things, the same thing might be happening in Nishinoa's navy. Miyako would have to investigate which one.

However, in the current situation, directly executing a highly influential individual might become counterproductive. You should punish transgressors, but you’d also weigh their value. They might be more useful alive after all. If not, then you could cast them aside. But personally, I’d get rid of them once everything is over and they've served their purpose.

“Well, I hope I'll be awake when we reach Nishinoan waters.” I casually sat down on the stairs. “But that aside, let’s now talk.”

He frowned. “About what?”

“Have you forgotten already? I told you we’ll talk about those slave ships taking people from the continent.”

He clicked his tongue. “Right now? Really? When we can barely see shit?”

“You think I’d let you slip away in this?” This was my main interest on this ship, information about those who imprisoned me in their fucking ship. “If we delay, we might not get another opportunity.”

He seemed hesitant. “I’m sure you’ve already guessed they are also kind of our allies. Or some kind of business partners.”

“I know, but not completely your allies, right? Besides, I just want to know about them. You think my crew and I can actually fight against a whole group of criminals and wreck an entire criminal operation?”

“...”

Well, we could. But we just didn’t have the time.

“Now then, start talking.”

Left with no choice, and at my insistence, he blabbered.