Chapter : 412
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Chapter : 412
Ken Eliot walked along the sandy beach. He kept his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He wore his usual navy blue suit pants. His white dress shirt hung completely untucked over his belt. He did not wear a tie. His black hair stuck up in messy spikes. He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go.
He dragged his shoes across the ground. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff.
"I really dislike sand," Ken complained to the empty beach. He stopped walking. He shook his left foot. "Sand gets everywhere. It goes right into my shoes. It sticks to my socks. It is extremely itchy. Walking on the beach is a massive chore."
Ken looked around the dark coastline. He just wanted a quiet place to sit down. He wanted a place far away from the busy hotel. He wanted a place far away from the noisy tourists. He needed some absolute peace and quiet.
He spotted a large piece of driftwood near the water. It was a thick, smooth tree trunk. The ocean had washed it onto the sand. It looked very dry and very clean.
Ken smiled a lazy, goofy smile. "Perfect," he mumbled to himself. "A natural couch. The ocean provides excellent furniture."
He walked over to the driftwood. He sat down on the smooth wood. He stretched his long legs out in front of him. He leaned back and let out a long, satisfied sigh. The cool ocean breeze blew across his face. The air smelled like salt and fresh water.
Ken stared out at the dark water. He did not think about the Succession War. He did not think about the corrupt politicians. He did not think about the crazy sea monsters. He just enjoyed the quiet moment.
He closed his eyes. He listened to the waves crashing. He felt very relaxed.
Suddenly, he heard a sound. It was very soft. It was the sound of footsteps walking on the sand. The footsteps were slow and careful.
Ken did not open his eyes right away. He just slouched his shoulders a little bit more. "I hope that is a vendor selling late-night snacks," Ken thought to himself casually. "If it is a bad guy, I am going to be very annoyed. I am officially off the clock. I refuse to do any cardio right now."
The footsteps stopped right next to the driftwood.
"Is this seat taken?" a soft, polite voice asked.
Ken opened his dark, sleepy eyes. He looked up.
Princess Iris stood next to him. She did not wear her strict, formal Royal uniform tonight. She wore a simple, light blue dress. Her beautiful silver hair was untied. It flowed gently down her back. The ocean breeze blew her hair around her face. Her violet eyes looked very calm. She looked incredibly peaceful.
Ken gave her a lazy, relaxed grin. "The seat is totally open, Princess. The ocean does not charge admission. But I must warn you. The wood is a little bit hard. It has zero lower back support."
Princess Iris smiled a warm, genuine smile. She sat down gracefully beside him on the driftwood. She smoothed out the skirt of her dress. She pulled her knees up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked out at the dark ocean water.
They sat together in complete silence for a few minutes. The waves crashed. The wind blew. It was a very comfortable, friendly silence.
"The ocean is very beautiful at night," Princess Iris said quietly. She rested her chin on her knees. "It feels very vast. It makes all our political problems feel very small."
"I totally agree," Ken replied lazily. He popped a small piece of strawberry candy into his mouth. He chewed it slowly. "The ocean is great. But I still hate the sand. It is a major design flaw of the beach."
Iris let out a soft, musical chuckle. She turned her head. She looked at him. Her violet eyes studied his messy hair and his untucked shirt.
"You always complain about the smallest things, Ken," Iris noted gently. "You complain about your shoes. You complain about walking. You complain about missing your naps."
"I am just expressing my true feelings," Ken defended himself. He shrugged his shoulders. "I am a very honest person. When my feet hurt, I tell the world."
Iris kept looking at him. Her expression slowly changed. The soft smile faded just a tiny bit. A look of deep, intense curiosity replaced it. She looked like she was trying to solve a very complex puzzle.
"You complain constantly," Iris said softly. "You act like you do not care about anything at all. You pretend to be a complete fool."
Ken stopped chewing his candy. He blinked his sleepy eyes. He looked back at her. "I do not pretend, Princess. I am a fool. A very tired fool."
Iris shook her head slowly. The ocean breeze blew a strand of silver hair across her face. She tucked the hair behind her ear.
"No, Ken," Iris said. Her voice turned incredibly serious. "I have watched you very closely. I have paid attention to everything you do. I see what you do for this unit."
Ken felt a tiny, weird feeling in his stomach. He did not like the serious tone. He preferred jokes.
"You always manage to influence our entire team," Iris explained. She kept her violet eyes locked onto his dark eyes. "You do it so effortlessly. You do it almost miraculously."
Ken swallowed his candy. He sat up just a tiny bit straighter.
"When Naomi gets too angry," Iris continued quietly, "you make a silly joke. You break her anger instantly. You make her laugh. When Sayma overthinks a strategy, you say something completely absurd. Your absurd comment forces her to look at the problem from a brand new angle."
Iris tilted her head. She looked deeply into his eyes.
"When the team feels scared, you do something clumsy," Iris stated. "You fall over. You yell about bugs. You make the scary situation look funny. You completely erase the fear in the room."
Ken tried to put his goofy smile back on his face. "I am just a very clumsy guy. It is a medical condition. I lack basic coordination."
"You direct the morale of this highly volatile team," Iris said. She totally ignored his excuse. "You guide us perfectly. You point us in the absolute right direction every single time. And you do it while always pretending to be a complete, useless clown."
Princess Iris took a slow, deep breath. She asked the ultimate question.
"How do you do it, Ken?" Iris asked softly. "How do you manage to do all of this so effortlessly?"
Ken completely froze.
His heart absolutely hammered against his ribs. It beat so fast it felt like a drum. A cold, sharp spike of internal panic shot directly through his mind. He stared at the Princess in pure, unfiltered shock.
The lazy, sleepy mask almost slipped entirely off his face.
"Oh no," Ken thought to himself frantically. His mind raced at blinding speed. "She knows. She actually knows. She figured it out."