Secrets of the Azure Sea

After Zanarf left the room, the only people left inside were Kirie, Floria and Aura.

Floria later asked about this room and Kirie explained that this bedroom belonged to Zanarf, the king, but since they had performed the marriage ceremony and become a couple, Floria would be using it together with him.

However, Floria was still married to Franz in her own country. On the ring finger of her left hand, an emerald wedding ring, given to her by Franz as proof, sparkles.

Is there any way to let people know that she was here?

Floria tightly squeezed the ring on her ring finger.

“Kirie, I’m sorry. I don’t think it’s necessary to apply the ointment.”

Despite being just a tiny scratch, Zanarf seemed surprisingly anxious.

“It seems that Lord Zanarf is particularly concerned about you. It’s something unprecedented.”

Kirie said bluntly, wiping the wound with a clean cloth soaked in water, then silently applied medicine.

“…That’s not true. He was probably just curious.”

“Lord Zanarf has never abducted women before. Yet, he saw you and immediately took you and made you his own.”

Upon hearing that, Aura, who was standing nearby, trembled slightly.

“Oh, how barbaric. Attacking a ship and kidnapping a woman.”

“No, Lady Aura, Lord Zanarf does not recklessly attack other ships. Normally, he imposes passage fees on the maritime areas he governs to protect the livelihoods of the islanders.”

“Then why did he attack the ship? Surely, he was dazzled by the treasure aboard Prince Franz’s ship.” Aura, with a hint of contempt in her voice, turned back to Kirie retorted.

“You know nothing, do you?”

Kirie sighed and began explaining.

“…For the past year, this area has been struck by more storms than ever before, and the number of ships traveling through the sea has drastically decreased. The income from tolls alone was not enough for the islanders to survive. We also suffered significant damage from the storms. It was at such a time that Prince Franz requested our participation in the war. He promised to pay a large reward upon victory. To protect the islanders, Lord Zanarf agreed to Prince Franz’s request. They exchanged proper pledges, and it was a promise to pay a huge reward, and he even signed a written contract to do so.”

“S-So, was the reward paid?”

When Floria asked, Kirie slowly shook her head.

“No. The reward has not been paid. The islanders have been eagerly waiting for the reward to be paid. In many islands, fishing boats were washed away and destroyed by the storms, causing significant damage. The reward that Lord Zanarf won was supposed to be distributed. But it wasn’t paid.”

“There must have been some kind of mistake. Because Prince Franz said the reward was already paid.”

Upon hearing that, Kirie smiled thinly.

“The advance payment was indeed made, but it was a meager amount. And of course, we won the battle thanks to Lord Zanarf’s efforts. Lord Zanarf even got injured while protecting Prince Franz at that time, but Prince Franz was cowardly and stayed holed up in the cabin until the end of the battle.”

“That’s a lie! Because Franz said, he led the vanguard and fought, leading the barbarians.”

Floria couldn’t stay silent at this. Franz wouldn’t tell such grandiose lies. She didn’t want to believe that the man she married would do something so despicable.

Then Kirie burst into laughter.