North x Northwest

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“So, do people paint their faces throughout the whole festival?”

“No, only on the festival’s eve. According to the superstition, painting one’s face on the eve of the festival warns the storm to not approach during the rest of the festival.”

“Interesting superstition. As expected, everywhere you go, sailors have thin ears*.”

‘The South also has many superstitions related to the sea and sailing. I, too, entrusted my life to Mother Ocean again and again. My ears were normally thick when I was on land but naturally became thinner whenever I got on a ship…’

Lost in thoughts, Lil’s hand was gently nudged by Ed’s, which had grabbed hold of hers.

“Why? Don’t you like it? It’s nice that you don’t have to worry about covering your face, don’t you think?”contemporary romance

“Is this why you were quite confident in asking me to go out?”

Ed laughed without answering, causing the red wings on his face to move along with his squinting eyes. Meanwhile, Lil looked over her shoulder. The rest of the festival-goers, standing in queues to receive their snacks from the street vendors, similarly had their faces painted with various colours and patterns, ranging from a few crude straight lines to pictures as colourful and detailed as Lil’s.

“Sir? You ordered two, right?”

The owner of the stall gave Ed two pan bagnats*. Lil just learned that this was a more modern meal, with fish and vegetables sandwiched between two slices of bread.

‘Apparently, it’s currently a trend in Roahn to eat light meals as everyone is living such a busy life.’

Ed looked disapprovingly at Lil who took a big bite of the bread.

“Are you sure that’s all you want? It’s not nutritious enough.”

“There’s fish stuffed in the bread.”

“So?”

“If it had been plain ham or vegetables, I would’ve passed over it even if it was my first time seeing it, but this is grilled fish. Can’t I be curious about what it tastes like?”

Only then did Ed raise his eyebrows and take a bite of his own.

“So, you were curious about this.”

“It may not seem like it, but I like to eat and I’m curious by nature. Of course, till now I didn’t exactly live a life where I could leisurely explore such things, so I can’t even remember when or what I was last curious about. But since you’re setting the table for me like this, I now can think about it again. Didn’t you bring me here to simply look around and talk about trivial matters?”

“Exactly.”

Seeing Ed smiling happily, left Lil a little regretful.

‘If I had known he would like it this much, I would’ve agreed for us to wander around sooner.’

Lil finally understood that when someone adores someone, they would want to share even the most insignificant elements of their daily lives with them. And as if to prove it, on their way to the dock, Ed and Lil kept themselves busy by eating coloured sugar skewers that turned their tongues blue, popping the bubbles floating above their heads periodically, and picking five random numbers in the lottery. As well as other insignificant things, such as hitting a target with a hammer.

Meanwhile, it became harder and harder for Ed to disguise his joy due to the overall vibrant mood and he eventually even joined a group to dance and laughed until the last song played. Ed wasn’t the only one who was ecstatic. Lil was on the other side, fluttering her arms…

***

“Let’s eat here!”

“Okay.”

The docks were filled with stalls of food and small tables lined up between the stakes. Because the crowd was packed, it became a real task to find a seat. After Lil and Ed bought two small bottles of wine, they managed to sit down at one of the vacant tables. However, the place was so dense that two men squeezed themselves in and took the seats next to them.

Ed paid them no mind and poured wine into Lil’s glass first. Lil’s eyes widened and asked if he was serious about giving her a drink, but Ed didn’t seem to hear her because of the loud conversation next to them. The men were lamenting about their situation but suddenly changed their subject and neither Ed nor Lil could ask them to be quiet.

“…Where the hell did our Admiral go?…”

Ed lowered the brim of his hat for no reason, while Lil looked around the table in surprise.

“…Where is he, huh? It’s been a while since the fleet returned, but we haven’t seen any traces of him…”

“…How could I know? Only the high-ranking officials are aware of the situation…”

“…The non-commissioned officers who said they were going to make a fortune in the South also came back disappointed. How many months did they spend there? Huh? But the only thing that they received was their salary…”

“…It’s also a shame that no merchant ships followed. At the beginning, it looked like this expedition was set up to clear the trade routes, so a lot of merchants invested. But now that it’s obvious that the docks remain empty, I won’t be surprised if those misinformed investors go bankrupt one after another…”

“…That’s right! But do you know what everyone keeps talking about? They say that the Admiral didn’t fail the southern expedition, as he, in fact, had no intention of subjugating there in the first place. That could be it, huh? Rumour has it that before setting sail for the South, the Merchants’ Guild over there on Goeden Street grabbed the hem of the Admiral’s trousers and begged him to let them trail behind the fleet, but he firmly refused…”

“…No way, then why did he lead the fleet all the way to the South?…”

“…Well, what do people like us know about his intentions? Nonetheless, even if there are harsh words about him being the ‘Bastard of the Peninsula’ and things like that, he’ll never do anything that will cause harm to Roahn…”

“…Come on, man. How can you say that so confidently after seeing what Sesbron has been doing to Roahn for the past half year? Not only have the taxes gone up, but according to the guy working at the government office, Sesbron is even trying to have Roahn pay a toll for using the Saint-Viève Canal which leads to the capital… But if the Admiral stays away like this, who will take care of all that?…”

“…His Majesty is the richest person on the continent, but he still seems not satisfied. He’s sitting in his palace in Sesbron, where gold coins and treasures are being piled up like mountains, yet he covets the pennies of a distant western canal?…”

Lil intently listened to the conversation without realising it. It was mainly about the interests of Sesbron and Roahn, but it was all new information that even Ed had not told her yet.

‘Why is Philip II showing interest in the West?’

“…Are you not planning on managing your territory any time soon?…”

Lil whispered as she took a sip of her wine. No, after tasting it, she realised it wasn’t wine. It was just grape juice.

‘Well then. I guess Ed is indeed not the kind of person who will easily give me a drink.’

“Linhardt is in charge of administration. He’s the governor of Roahn. My situation is no different from any other lord. Only the privileges remain, the actual authority has been transferred to the governor.”

Lil laughed at Ed’s honest assessment of his own situation.

“I’ve never heard before that a relative of a lord is serving as the governor of their territory. Isn’t a governor appointed by His Majesty’s edict? Because a governor is an official of the capital.”

Ed shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his wine.

“…”

“The governor is supposed to be His Majesty’s appointee, but Linhardt doesn’t seem to have any attachment to the Empire, let alone to His Majesty. Just by looking at this, anyone can tell that Roahn is a land run by Eichendorff.”

“I’ve never been interested in running it. It’s the same with being an admiral. My only interest was finding relics, but now that I’ve collected all the clues scattered across the seas, it’s time to turn my attention inland. It’s difficult to do that as an admiral.”

“His Majesty would issue an edict before that happens, right?”

“I signed a deal which makes it able to retire soon.”

“And His Majesty agreed to such a contract?”

“To be honest, he doesn’t like me very much. He’s probably hoping to kick me out of Sesbron as soon as possible.”

“That couldn’t be the only thing, you must’ve offered him something in return.”

“I told him I would return the fleet’s strength to what it was before the conquest of the Monferrand Strait. You remember that one, right? The 3rd Prince led the expedition as the Captain and the fleet was almost completely destroyed.”

Lil nodded her head.

‘The Monferrand Strait only opens to Admiral Retiro.’

Although it was a tragedy that occurred only a few years ago, that phrase spread like a legend. When Lil first heard it, she thought it was a ridiculous exaggeration, but now, the legend himself was filling her glass with juice right under her nose.

Lil changed her opinion.

‘Ed’s a very capable navigator and captain, knowing that, it doesn’t sound like an entirely absurd story that the safe passage to the Monferrand Strait is secretly passed down from generation to generation.’

“By the way, why are you fighting His Majesty?”

“I’ve never done that.”

Footnote:

To have a thin ear: Korean proverb; to be easily influenced by other people’s opinions, to easily believe what others say.

Pan bagnat: This is a sandwich that is a speciality of Nice, France. The sandwich is composed of pain de campagne, a whole wheat bread, enclosing the classic salade niçoise, a salad composed mainly of raw vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, anchovies and/or tuna, and olive oil, salt, and pepper. Sometimes vinegar might be added, but never mayonnaise. It has historically been prepared as a use for day-old bread. [WIKI]

TN: Happy new year everyone! 🙂

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