“Episode 28”
Thunk.
The sound of his heartbeat under his ear seemed louder than usual today.
Near Celestian’s bed lay newspapers of all kinds, regardless of morning or evening editions. It had already been ten days, yet there was not a single article about her.
Not even about her, let alone the details of that day’s attack.
The room looked the same as when he last saw it before closing his eyes. Celestian glanced at his right hand out of habit. The wound was still there.
“I’m not dead.”
He stared at the geometric-patterned blue ceiling with his dull green eyes, then covered his eyes with his arm, groaning softly.
“I’m not dead, so why…?”
Thunk! Thunk!
“It’s noisy.”
It wasn’t the sound of his heartbeat but someone knocking on the door. Celestian wondered who could be pounding on the wooden door so fiercely, despite the bell being there.
“Oh…”
Perhaps.
He felt strangely excited. Perhaps it was the curiosity that drove him. With a swift motion, Celestian stood in front of the door and took a deep breath before checking the peephole. But the subtle excitement shattered like glass.
Celestian swung the door wide open. The hotelier, holding a master key, took a step back.
Perhaps thinking he had awakened her from a deep sleep, he started to apologize awkwardly.
“On the tenth day, after knocking ten times, and still quiet, I saw the note that said if it was quiet, I should open the door…”
Because of the blackout curtains, the room had been like midnight for days. Celestian furrowed her forehead as the afternoon sunlight poured into the room through the open door.
As dizziness crept up, Celestian touched her forehead. The hotelier couldn’t help but fidget. Celestian raised her hand to show she was okay.
“Oh, right. Thank you.”
The hotelier’s words were correct. It was a note Celestian had left at the counter on the day she checked in. Every time Daphne was shot, which happened more than once, she stayed less than a week and returned.
“Do you need a cleanup?”
The cheeky-faced hotelier asked boldly.
“I’m fine.”
Celestian replied softly. Then, brushing aside her golden bangs, she sighed lightly and checked the four newspapers tied with a string on the tray behind the hotelier.
“I’ll leave those.”
The hotelier quickly set up and disappeared. Celestian pushed aside a section of the blackout curtain completely. Her green eyes, now accustomed to the sunlight, gradually regained focus.
In the distance, there was a massive cruise ship and several small boats from other countries. Tiny workers were bustling around like ants.
Celestian hadn’t run far away. She had just waited for the right time to return to the traveler’s hotel at the port, where she could check in without a name.
She carefully read through three newspapers but still didn’t find Daphne’s name. Celestian chuckled. There had never been such a long period of silence before.
She quenched her thirst with a sip of coffee with two ice cubes. Then she unfolded a long tabloid vertically.
Sure enough, there was welcome news.
“Oh.”
The hotel manager with red hair, at the Alnong shooting range, had struck the head of the sugar distribution company’s CEO with a revolver.
Celestian noticed this small sentence. Skipping through the subsequent criticism, Celestian lightly tapped her finger on the ‘Yesterday’s Trouble’ section, where people’s names hardly appeared unless it was a significant issue.
❖ ❖ ❖
Back at work, Daphne was as busy as ever.
Despite Misha’s protests, she managed to leave on time, but there was still a mountain of work to be done when she got home.
Confirming the delivery date of goods to be loaded on the ship, checking the guest list, and even the preferred foods and allergies of the people on the list, as well as their favorite colors and interior preferences!
“It’s too diverse in taste.”
She muttered incessantly from morning till night.
“Should I fully entrust everything to you, Misha?”
Daphne murmured as she reached out through the wide-open car window.
“There might be more than one person to report to. It’s not just you hosting.”
“That’s something I could resolve in two days.”
“Double my salary, and then I’ll do it. And since it’s risky, put your hand in it.”
Daphne fell silent. Her hand still fluttered in the wind as they drove.
“But it’s still the Crown Prince’s wedding, isn’t it? Your boss has been longing for this happy ending, so please be patient.”
“It’s almost like it’s my wedding, really.”
Ahead, the emerald sea came into view. Massive clouds floated neatly above the horizon in the azure sky.
As soon as they got out of the car, the noise of people mixed with the cries of seagulls. The sunlight reflected off the sea surface was so dazzling it could be blinding, and the waves crashing against the breakwater resembled scattered soldiers.
And there it was, a cruise ship towering four stories high.
“It’s always so huge.”
Emblazoned near its waist was the name “Page-René” in giant letters. Those names were also the names of the future prince and princess.
“They’ve already named kids who haven’t even been born yet… What if it’s a daughter first?”
The royal family had already recorded their names in history.
“They’re heirs apparent, huh? What if I can’t have children? What if I have more children?”
Even Romeo was born with a predetermined name. Daphne found it difficult to understand the fate of royalty.
“It must have changed a lot because of Psyche. Or was it because of me?”
Daphne smiled contentedly.
The sight of the massive ship, where the wedding of the “protagonists who changed their destiny” would take place, spread echoes of celebration. Moreover, it would tour the surrounding islands of Sèkradyon for two nights and three days.
Having thoroughly checked everything from the engine room to the various decks, guest rooms, and the banquet hall that would be used as the wedding hall, Daphne roamed the ship’s deck like a ghost.
Resting her feet on the white-painted railing, Daphne looked out to sea. She could see ships of various countries, each flying its national flag.
“It’s too easy if everything goes according to plan, but it’s not very fun.”
A suitable variable in one’s peaceful daily life added to the fun of life. However, the variable Daphne encountered this time was not pleasant.
“But this time, it really doesn’t seem fun.”
The real highlight of this wedding, as Daphne saw it, would be Celestian’s tearful face.
“Oh, damn. I thought about it again.”
As she thought about the forgotten names in the past few days, she recalled the elegant faces one after another.
The image of him standing below in the harbor was a bonus.
The billowing sea breeze would gently caress his damn golden hair, making even the scantily clad shirt he wore shimmer.
His fair and delicate face would have been wrinkled from the scorching sunlight.
So, if that pretty face had been wearing an unpleasant expression…
“Ugh. It’s annoying. I wish he were dead.”
She clenched her hair in one hand and chewed on her lips. The sudden utterance and the uneasy feeling that followed were because of the words she had just uttered.
“Really, what if he had an accident?”
By the time Daphne made up her mind to pick up the words “I wish he were dead,” Misha appeared unexpectedly from behind and gently pulled her waist.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean, especially when you’re most looking forward to it.”
The rough concern was a bonus.
“What about the finger foods and desserts? Just now, Dieter Keng sent a notice that he’s cutting off ties with us.”
Even rougher reports followed. But Misha’s expression seemed more relieved than regretful at missing the business.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
“In many ways… he’s really a clueless aristocrat who doesn’t know how to do business.”
Daphne clicked her tongue. Dieter had practically shot himself in the foot by rejecting the opportunity to supply the Crown Prince’s wedding.
“Did he do it on purpose? To change collaborators?”
“I didn’t know he’d give up so easily. Did it hurt to get slapped?”
“If he wasn’t hurt by the thick skull, then…”
“It’s not common for someone to get shot, you know.”
“Exactly~ What would someone who hasn’t fainted for three days know?”
Daphne joked playfully.
“He’s the only one distributing sugar. It was unreasonable to raise the ratio so high. It’s not even a complete monopoly.”
Misha nodded sympathetically as she lowered her gaze to the paperwork. Daphne turned her head again to survey the harbor spread out in the background. She spotted small boats flying flags of various colors.
Then, her gaze was momentarily drawn to a building she hadn’t seen before.
“When did a hotel like that appear in Pier 1? Didn’t Romeo say he wouldn’t allow any buildings here?”
It was rare for Pier 1, used for royalty and state visits, to see such occurrences.
“Boss, there’s a great sugarcane farm down south. Ah, it’s the one Narid recommended.”
A recommendation from both the dessert connoisseur and the efficient secretary was enough for Daphne to trust without further confirmation.
“It might be tight, but if we send out the contracts today, they should arrive in time for the wedding. Should we proceed?”
Daphne nodded, and Misha stood upright on the breezy deck, quickly jotting down the details to attach to the contracts.
“Misha.”
“There’s nothing more to check now. From this afternoon, you can go dress shopping and wait until the day of the banquet…”
“You like the sea, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been smiling the whole time.”
Daphne tapped her lips with her index finger. It was only then that Misha realized she had been constantly raising the corners of her mouth.
“I guess Kisha would like it more than me. She’s from a coastal town, after all.”
“Next time, let’s take a boat together. Once I achieve independence, I’ll sail around the world.”
The cruise route of the “Page-René” spanned the border between Ajen’tar and Rivian, so only those who were not disqualified from overseas travel were selected. Therefore, the Shasha brothers, who only held the Serenaide residency, could not board.
Narid willingly agreed to wait for Daphne on the mainland with them.
“I’d love to hear you say that after you’ve achieved independence.”
“Ah, do it first, then say it? That’s the most annoying thing.”
Misha laughed, feeling good even if it was just words. Daphne turned to pat his shoulder.
“You’re resting well in my absence.”
“It’s only been two days. You’re acting like I’m going far away.”
Misha tapped his glasses a couple of times before taking them off. The world became a bit blurry, but the woman’s hair in front of him shone like rubies.
“Misha, but…”
“Call me by my name, Boss.”
Daphne’s golden eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
“Lately, it seems like you can’t keep your eyes off your glasses. Especially when it’s just me.”
Misha liked that gaze, but sometimes it scared him. Like a snake with its prey in front of it.
“Have you ever lied to me?”
