Chapter 78

"U-um, I'm sorry..."

"Are you confident you can swim?"

Embarrassed by her own actions, she bowed her head and apologized, but the sailor tightened his arm around Lili and asked her a question. At the sound of his voice, Lili, who had been startled, looked up to see his narrowed, crimson eyes, which seemed to be both smiling and angry. Lili thought she might be dreaming, but the warmth of the arm around her waist told her it was real.

"J-Je—"

"Miss! What are you doing?"

"Man over there! Release my daughter immediately!"

Lili's choked voice was drowned out by the shouts of Morah and Saul. Despite this, Lili still looked up at the sailor—Jesalde—in disbelief. Jesalde, ignoring Saul and the others, tried to carry Lili away from the shore, but armed men blocked their path.

"Kill this insolent one!"

At Saul's command to "kill," Lili shuddered. However, Jesalde leaned in close to Lili's ear and whispered gently,

"It's okay."

Just those words made Lili forget the situation and turn bright red. She didn't understand why Jesalde was here, but she had no doubt about his words. The men with swords, now surrounding Lili and Jesalde, gripped their weapons at Saul's angry voice.

"You have the nerve to say that after kidnapping my fiancée? The insolent ones are you!"

Even surrounded by armed men, Jesalde remained calm and glared at Saul. The men, intimidated by his intensity, stopped moving, and Saul looked frightened and confused.

"Your Highness!"

A call echoed, and Jesalde caught the thrown sword. However, the momentum caused the cloth around his head to unravel, and his red hair fluttered in the wind.

"Y-You can't be the Red... Reaper! The Crown Prince!?"

Saul's near-scream made the other men uneasy. An older man shouted,

"Don't be afraid! He's practically shackled! The advantage is ours!"

This shout calmed the other men. From their demeanor and speech, they were clearly trained soldiers. Saul, however, remained cowering behind the soldiers.

(What a coward...)

Despite planning to kidnap the Crown Prince's fiancée, he tried to run away when the moment came. Lili, feeling a mix of disgust and amazement, glanced up at Jesalde. The older man's words about "shackles" referred to her. But Jesalde, keeping his eyes on the approaching soldiers, whispered again,

"It's okay."

A faint smile played on his face, and Lili pressed her bound hands against her chest under her coat.

(No, this isn't the time. But... he's so cool!)

Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe, and her face felt hot. She recognized this pain in her chest, but it had never been this intense.

(This... is love...)

Unfortunately, Lili didn't have time to dwell on her newly realized feelings. Jesalde, holding her firmly, spun her around and then did a half-turn. It felt like an intense dance, but the reality was different. Jesalde never let go of her, and Lili struggled to keep up with his movements.

In the corner of her spinning vision, the port men were also engaging the soldiers in combat. Before long, the clashing of swords stopped, and Jesalde halted. Lili was out of breath, but Jesalde's breathing was barely affected. The ten soldiers lay groaning on the ground, and the port men were efficiently tying them up.

"No... no..."

Saul, muttering in disbelief, took a step back, then another. Morah, who had collapsed on the spot, was also captured.

"Let go! How dare you! I am not someone you lowly scum can touch!"

Saul's cries made the other port men, who had been watching, tense. Lili, still dazed by the events, heard Jesalde sigh.

"Syrius, please arrange for the captured men to be taken to the capital."

"Yes! It's already done!"

The port man called Syrius was actually Jesalde's captain of the guard. The Crown Prince's guards, unlike the others, were not afraid of Jesalde but rather deeply devoted to him.

As Lili, still in a daze, thought about this, she heard unfamiliar footsteps. Turning her head, she saw Hans running from the shadows, but he looked very unsteady.

"Your Highness! I'm glad you're safe!"

"Hans..."

Hans was also safe. The moment she thought this, all the strength drained from Lili's body.

"——Lili? Lili!?"

In her mind, which felt foggy, she heard Jesalde's worried voice. But she couldn't respond. Lili fainted for the first time in her life.