Secrets of the Azure Sea

 

Floria had slipped out of the castle and down to the sandy beach, wanting to be alone with her thoughts. She had left a pillow under the blanket on her bed, so if Aura peeked in, she would likely think she had just fallen asleep, tired.

 

Fortunately, perhaps because it was a busy evening, no one paid much attention to Floria as she quietly descended the stairs, her head covered by a large linen cloth.

 

When she reached the beach, she stumbled toward the shore. Occasionally, a scuttling hermit crab would cross the beach as the peaceful evening started settling over the sea.

 

‘I wonder if the hermit crabs are also returning home.’

 

But Floria did not know where her own home was anymore. She crouched down on the sand, leaning against the trunk of a palm tree, silently wiping away her tears.

 

She still couldn’t believe what Kirie had told her. And yet, deep down in her heart, she knew Kirie was telling her the truth.

 

Franz had deceived her. Not only her but also deceived Zanarf and the people of this island.

 

Despite their great victory in the recent naval battle, thanks to Zanarf, Franz had betrayed them using the most cowrdly and dishonest means possible, and had not paid them for the work they’d done. Even though their island was struggling.

 

And in their home country, he had boasted of the victory as his own accomplishment.

 

It was heartbreaking to realize she had trusted such a man enough to take him as a husband.

 

Having believed Franz to be the prince among princes, her heart now felt shattered into pieces.

 

Floria pulled her knees to her chest and continued to weep bitterly, when suddenly a heavy weight descended on her right shoulder.

 

“Kyaa! What is it?!”

 

She stood up quickly in surprise, and a yellow thing flew up from her shoulder. The yellow thing began circling around her.

 

‘It’s a parrot.’

 

The parrot had a white crest flowing behind its head, and round, orange-red markings on its cheeks. Its long tail fluttered gracefully.

 

The parrot landed on the bow of a small boat on the shore, and looked at Floria with a curious gaze. It bobbed its head repeatedly, as if dancing.

 

“What is it? Where are you from?  Do you want to play with me?”

 

Floria hurried to the shore and cautiously boarded the small boat.

 

The parrot, seemingly used to people, did not flee as Floria approached, but came closer.

 

“How cute, your feathers are so fluffy. Your long tail is the most beautiful I have ever seen.”

 

Sitting in the boat, Floria held the parrot to her chest. As she stroked the parrot’s tropical fruit-like yellow feathers, it made a contented humming sound in its throat.

 

Absorbed in petting the wonderfully soft feathers, Floria suddenly felt the boat sway.

 

“Eh…? No way?”

 

Startled, she looked up to find the small boat had drifted quite far from the shore.

 

It seems it has been swept away by the evening tide. Perhaps the mooring rope connecting the pier and the small boat had come undone. Or maybe it came loose when Floria jumped aboard.

 

To her surprise, the tide was moving quickly, and she was being swept out to sea in no time at all.

 

“What should I do?”

 

As she drifted away from the sandy beach, the rocking of the boat grew stronger. Occasionally, the boat would sway greatly as it met the waves. Floria clung tightly to the edge of the boat. She could not swim.

 

If she were to be swept out to sea in such a small boat, she would surely die.

 

Is it that God wanted to punish her by putting her through so many trials? For being unable to see the truth and blissfully immersing herself in the idea of getting married.

 

“—Ah”

 

The parrot that had been sitting on the boat flew off somewhere. She has been abandoned. Surely, it probably had no intention of sharing Floria’s fate. Now that she was all alone, she felt more and more anxious.