The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 232
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One of the two rooms was a single-person suite room, and the other was a double-person suite room.
It was when Tesagh, who had shoved Ailren into the single-person suite room and slammed the door shut, came out after finishing his shower.
“Tesagh, come here quickly! They’re doing fireworks instead of a meteor shower!”
I don’t think there was such an event when I looked at the festival schedule?
Tesagh’s puzzled thoughts scattered the moment he saw Elisha’s face brightening with joy as she watched the fireworks.
“It was such a romantic festival. So beautiful, right.”
“…Yes. It’s beautiful.”
Although he had traveled to many places with Elisha, it was all because of incidents and accidents.
Even though this time they had the goal of finding Father, being able to watch fireworks together without major worries made his heart flutter.
‘It’s almost like… we’re doing a honeymoon rehearsal.’
Just imagining married life with Elisha was exciting and overwhelming, and with the dreamy atmosphere, he couldn’t easily calm down.
Does Elisha feel the same way?
The fireworks were exploding loudly, but somehow his own heartbeat seemed louder.
Even the back of Elisha’s head as she leaned against him and quietly watched the fireworks was so lovely…
“Elisha.”
Tesagh, who had been gently calling her name while placing kisses here and there, paused.
Why is there no answer? Don’t tell me.
“Elisha?”
“Snore…”
I guess the fireworks weren’t that noisy after all.
Tesagh stared blankly at Elisha, who had fallen asleep snoring, and ended up laughing.
The reason was simple. Even that sight was lovely to him.
‘If I had my way, I’d want to hold the wedding ceremony as soon as we find Father tomorrow.’
However, Tesagh had momentarily forgotten.
That lately, nothing had been going according to his wishes.
***
The next day.
Having finished preparing to leave, we froze while examining the map for a final check.
“If Chloe didn’t make the magic device wrong.”
“And if my eyes aren’t mistaken.”
“…The location where Theodor is currently staying isn’t this village but…”
It was right in the middle of the sea.
Looking down at the red dot that had moved over the sea in just a few hours, Tesagh said seriously.
“Can’t we just get married without Father?”
Getting married once is really difficult…
However, since we couldn’t get married without Theodor, we hurriedly rented a boat.
Fortunately, unlike yesterday, the weather was good so there were no problems with sailing.
‘Of all things, it’s a guild that can’t use magic circles, so we have to travel directly again!’
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Theodor’s movement speed was slow.
It seemed we could catch up to him in about an hour by boat.
“Captain! Is there an island or reef at this location where this red dot is?”
“Hmm? There’s nothing like that! This part of the sea has nothing to get caught on! The waves are calm too, making it a perfect place to watch the sunrise.”
“Then there haven’t been any maritime accidents either? No shipwrecks either.”
“That’s right! This is where travelers come to spend a day watching dolphins and swimming turtles. It’s such a peaceful sea. But why are you asking about that?”
“I was wondering what reason an adventurer would have to come to such a peaceful sea. Anyway, thank you.”
Actually, since yesterday, I had been harboring some unease and several questions.
One of them was Theodor’s travel route itself.
How did the adventurer Theodor, who was exploring polar regions and pioneering new sea routes, end up visiting a small port city where a festival was being held?
It might be different if it were an area with many shipwrecks or treasures to salvage, but from what I hear, that doesn’t seem to be the case either.
‘…He didn’t really come to see turtles like the captain said, did he?’
As I was puzzling over this, I noticed Ailren’s expression was serious.
“Sir, are you alright? Are you seasick?”
“No, Princess. I’m just.”
Ailren, who had been staring at Tesagh standing at the bow looking alternately at the map and telescope, said quietly.
“I’m worried that something might have happened to Theodor.”
“Something happened, you mean?”
“Even though there was a broadcast yesterday, he didn’t appear, and no matter how much we inquired, no one had seen Theodor. On top of that, he suddenly moved to the sea.”
“Then, don’t tell me, kidnapping…?”
Ailren nodded gravely.
Oh my!
As I covered my mouth, Tesagh, who had approached at some point, looked puzzled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Tesagh, sit down. This might be serious.”
“If it’s about that, I already confirmed it with the mages from the Magic Tower.”
You can confirm whether someone’s been kidnapped?
The duchy’s mages are amazing, I was thinking.
“There’s nothing wrong with Father’s life. They said his vital signs are continuously being observed.”
“What kind of scary thing are you saying?!”
“…You said it was serious? I confirmed it in preparation for any emergency.”
“It’s not that serious…!”
Strangely enough, after talking about life and death, trying to discuss kidnapping doesn’t feel as serious as I made it out to be.
Anyway, even after we finished talking about mine and Ailren’s speculation, Tesagh’s face remained calm.
“Kidnapping. Actually, if it’s kidnapping, I’m not that worried.”
Ailren had an expression like he didn’t know what to say.
“Duke, how can you say such a thing.”
Of course, I was a bit flustered too.
It wasn’t that I was shocked by his character, but because I hadn’t heard that way of speaking that cuts off context and causes misunderstandings in a very long time.
Tesagh seemed to realize it belatedly too. He cleared his throat and continued.
“I mean this isn’t the first time Father has been kidnapped or detained.”
“Not the first time?”
“From what I know, it’s happened about seven or eight times. Pirates, highway bandits, even revolutionary forces from countries completely unrelated to the Moro Duchy. He got caught after infiltrating because he was curious about what treasures the royal family that the revolutionary forces claimed had legitimacy possessed.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Since he’s returned alive and well every time, I suppose it’s okay.”
Ailren’s face became one of not knowing what to say in a slightly different sense.
“So Father is, if you think about it, an experienced hostage. But even aside from Father’s experience, it doesn’t seem like a particularly dangerous situation.”
Tesagh handed me the telescope he had been holding.
When I turned the telescope in the direction he was pointing.
“They wouldn’t put a kidnapped person on a cruise ship.”
In the distance, at the point the map indicated, I could see a white cruise ship floating.
***
There was quite a commotion because of three uninvited guests who boarded the cruise ship on the sea as if it were a carriage.
“Wh, who are you?!”
“…I’m curious, but in situations like this, don’t people usually say what are you trying to do, or please spare us?”
“Tesagh.”
“Duke.”
“Anyway, sorry for startling you. I’m Tesagh Alister Moro, Duke of Moro. I came to find a passenger who boarded this ship, so I ask for your cooperation.”
We began searching the ship while constantly apologizing to the crew members.
Tesagh’s intensity was particularly impressive. His expression looked like he was hunting down a family enemy, so people naturally stepped aside to avoid him.
Since I was too busy showing photos and conducting inquiries to tell them ‘that’s just how he normally looks,’ the ‘Theodor’ we were searching for inadvertently became the mortal enemy of House of Moro among the crew members.
“Did you find him?”
But to cut to the conclusion, this search also yielded no results.
“No. We searched everything down to the potato sacks in the docks, but there was no sign of Father, let alone any communication devices.”
“We asked for permission and searched all the cabins as well, but there were no traces of Lord Theodor.”
Another dead end.
“At least one thing has become clear. I’ll need to transfer the mages from the Magic Tower to the frontier district soon.”
“Do you think it’s an error with the magical device?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any other way to explain it. Unless Father is hiding somewhere stuck to the bottom of this cruise ship like a barnacle.”
Tesagh pressed his temple and asked seriously once more.
“Are you really sure we can’t just get married without Father present?”
Just as he said those words, a dolphin passed behind Tesagh’s back, making me burst into laughter.
We were currently on the cruise ship stern terrace decorated with flowers and balloons.
This was probably the most inappropriate place in the world to have a conversation about whether or not to exclude Father from a wedding.
“Sorry, but I’m being serious, Elisha.”
“I know. But the scenery around us is unnecessarily too beautiful.”
I paused mid-sentence as I was speaking with a smile.
But wait…
‘Both the festival where we could watch fireworks and the cruise where we could watch dolphins together.’
Aren’t they both too romantic to be mere errors?
Tesagh said there was no other explanation besides a magical device malfunction, but in my opinion, one possibility remained.
Connecting all the strange feelings I’d had so far, I nodded my head.
“Yes. Let’s stop looking for Lord Theodor now.”
Tesagh shrugged his shoulders, while Ailren looked somewhat confused, wondering if that was really okay.
Looking at those two, I smiled mischievously.
“Instead, how about we make Lord Theodor come find us?”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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