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"Allen Boreas Greyrat"
The name of the man who yearned to return to the royal capital lay on the exquisite paper.
Half of it bathed in moonlight.
And half in candlelight.
The boundary between the moon's white and the flame's orange flickered, pulled and torn by the wind, white and orange wrestling.
Click, the pendulum clock swayed.
Deep night—12:00 AM.
After the ding-dong of the clock chimed.
Less than thirty seconds later.
"Eh..."
A soft sigh echoed in the Princess's private cabin on the third floor.
At the table, Ariel's eyes, moments ago a vibrant cerulean, gradually grew somewhat vacant and lost. The standard smile on her face also became less animated.
After a long while, she finally shifted her gaze to the candlelight. The orange flame danced in her pupils, dyeing the cerulean a bright yellow.
Her gaze drifted aimlessly.
She stared blankly at the candlestick before her, letting her hand, holding the pen, unconsciously rest on the paper, making a rustling sound.
Ariel was indeed a person of action. Today's sudden assassination had thrust her into the fires of the succession struggle, and she had reacted quickly, immediately throwing herself into the power play. Even after a day of public appearances, despite being utterly exhausted, she immediately set about planning her future recruitment strategy.
But with one matter pressing upon another, a person ultimately needs rest.
Ariel wore a mask every day, and the time she took it off for herself was in the early hours of the morning.
The moment the clock struck midnight, she could temporarily set aside her rationality.
However, today, it replaced her usual entertainment of playing with her maids.
Instead, she sank into a daze of confusion.
Just like on that night in the original story when she boarded the Sky Fortress and was rejected by the Dragon King.
Rustle, rustle...
"When an unexpected event arrives without any preparation, there's no time to react at all..."
Rustle, rustle...
"I never thought that I... who always deliberately avoided the struggle for the throne, would be forced to face it early in such a way..."
Rustle, rustle...
"...Assassination... recruiting strength... power..."
Rustle, rustle...
Rustle, rustle...
"...The end result for one who holds power disproportionate to their own is..."
"Destruction?"
Only a few minutes passed, and the murmuring, deliberately meant to empty her mind, to vent, to relax, to 'lie down a bit,' ceased.
Silence returned to the cabin.
"Hoo..."
Ariel let out a long breath, her eyes gradually regaining their sparkle. She shifted her gaze from the candlelight, put down her pen, and gently patted her cheeks.
"...I'm a bit tired. I'll have the maid attend to me for a while, then I'll sleep. We'll be in Asura first thing tomorrow morning, and I'll still need to invite Allen and his companions to be guests at the royal palace."
She stood up from the chair and reached for the notebook on the table.
"It would be best to invite them to dine at the mansion. The back garden is also suitable for conversation, such a..."
Her words abruptly stopped.
Ariel had already stood up. Her carefully styled braid from the day, tucked behind her ear, had been undone by her maid before her bath. Because of the blood that had gotten on it today, she had washed it especially thoroughly an hour ago, and it was still damp.
It lay draped over her light pink silk open-front nightgown, looking even smoother than the meticulously tailored, soft fabric.
Her hair swayed.
Ariel tilted her head, looking at the notes in her hand, her eyelids lowered.
She put down the notebook.
Her gaze wasn't fixed on the scene before her, but rather she seemed to be lost in thought.
A gust of wind blew in through the window, making the candlestick's flame on the table waver.
She suddenly smiled.
She stood up and walked towards the maid's quarters.
The maid beside her froze for a moment, then followed closely at Ariel's heels.
"Your... Your Highness?"
Ariel ignored her, walking straight to the maid's quarters, opening the door. Inside was a small bed.
And next to it was a row of hangers, holding several outfits Ariel had prepared for this trip. Ariel's eyes swept over the hangers, her finger lightly tapping the air, as if choosing something. Finally, her lips curled, and she pointed to a red, open-front, coat-like, cinched-waist jacket.
Then, her nightgown slipped from her shoulders, pulled down by her, and casually tossed onto the maid's lower back.
She stepped her legs into a pair of lace-up boots, steadying herself.
She turned to face the mirror.
In the mirror, Ariel stood clad in red. Her shoulders, upper body, and waist were taut against the fabric of the clothes, her silhouette appearing even softer in the dim light. Her curves were subtly hinted at, easily overlooked if one didn't look closely. The jacket's lower hem stopped mid-thigh, revealing a stretch of fair skin on her legs, then ended abruptly at her knees.
The outline of her boots encased her calves, covering the skin below her knees.
Ariel looked up at the writing in the mirror, the smile on her face deepening a few shades.
She truly resembled an Oriole Flower about to bloom.
With a barely audible creak, Ariel's cabin door on the third floor slowly opened.
Ariel stepped out of the cabin and walked quickly to the spiral staircase. She turned her head and glanced at the night below.
The guards on duty on the first-floor deck were diligently at their posts, and because they needed to avoid suspicion at night, their standing positions were mostly along the ship's rail, looking out at the night scenery of the river.
Ariel turned her head. Even if a guard could see her, it didn't matter. From the angle looking up from below, one could only see Ariel from the shoulders up, not even the exposed skin on her legs.
The night breeze brushed her face. Ariel quietly watched the river for a long moment.
She closed her eyes.
Then opened them again.
In the depths of the night, her cerulean eyes actually held a hint of inexplicable anticipation and excitement.
She turned and began to descend the spiral staircase.
The staircase wound downwards in a zigzag pattern towards the second floor. Ariel's steps were light, yet exceptionally soft.
Then, with a turn.
She suddenly stopped.
The night breeze brushed Ariel's face. Her expression was clearly startled for a moment.
And right before her, at the end of the second-floor spiral staircase, a figure leaned against the railing.
Clad in a black dress, her black hair fluttering in the night wind, she watched the swaying moonlight on the river.
Isolte turned her head, looked at Ariel, and smiled, tilting her head.
"Good evening."
"Your Highness."
The pleasure boat, built on the specifications of a warship for royal travel, was incredibly luxurious. Even this small branch of the fleet that Ariel was on was no exception.
The ship's cabins below deck housed the crew and sailors and served as food storage.
The first floor consisted of quarters for the guards and maids.
From the second floor upwards, the ship's layout gradually narrowed in a trapezoidal shape, marking the private spaces prepared for royal travel. Upon ascending the spiral staircase, the first cabin on the left was the dining room. Further on, there was a row of six spacious cabins.
Of course, none were as grand as Ariel's cabin on the third floor, which even came with a spacious 'nanny's room.'
Even so, each cabin still covered about forty square meters, with a small bed and a small bathroom.
And in one of these cabins, late at night, Sylphy, who had bathed but not yet fallen asleep, stood by the window with a troubled expression.
On the bed:
A nightgown.
Hair clips adorned with various beast-folk ear decorations.
High heels strung together with silver chains and pearls.
It was the familiar cat-girl outfit, but unlike the one at the Water City Inn.
—A fluffy decorative 'tail' lay beside the cat-ear hair clips.
Sylphy was stiff, standing rigid like a stick, and had remained in this state for a full hour.
The origin of this situation dated back to dinner, when Isolte had pulled her aside.
It was a small proposal titled "The Senior Brother Defense Battle."
The reason?
It was an unspoken understanding.
Princess Ariel's appearance today had caused both of them a sense of crisis. Sylphy, who had been quite confident in this timeline, had managed to hold her composure even in front of Isolte, a tall girl raised with a noble education who carried herself with grace and poise.
But in front of the Princess of Asura, she completely revealed her true nature.
She had felt a sense of crisis the first time she heard at Mortalit that Allen knew Ariel. This sense of crisis deepened with the reality of Ariel's second 'descent from the heavens,' reaching its peak during Ariel's incessant attempts to recruit Allen after he saved her.
Then, instigated by Isolte, who had already witnessed Ariel's subtle actions, Sylphy immediately decided to make her move tonight!
Of course, not that kind of move.
It was more like...
...Hmm...
...Should she just stay with Allen...?
No. No, what she meant was, she had to keep Allen within both their sights for the next 24 hours.
Only then could they firmly 'capture' Allen's eyes.
Because Isolte had said that Princess Ariel was too charming, so she had to showcase her own charm even more, assert her presence, and not give Princess Ariel an opportunity... well, not let Allen's gaze linger too much on Princess Ariel!
If he really became a consort...
Slap, slap, Sylphy patted her cheeks!
A determined expression appeared in her red eyes.
So, according to Isolte's suggestion.
Tonight, it was Sylphy's turn to stand guard!
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