In that moment when I fell, it never occurred to me that I was pushed down.

When I drop into the sea headfirst, and my vision turns black, only then do I remember that there was only him behind me then.

Contrasting the turbulent surface, the depths of the sea is so quiet you can’t hear anything, and not just because my hearing is numbed.

The dark silent sea feels like s.p.a.ce as seen in the movies.

Even if my body is being sucked into the middle of a vortex, my heart remains very peaceful.

The miraculous thing is that I’m not at all afraid of death, just staring at the only hazy green patch in the darkness.

A few seconds ago, I was standing on the deck, thinking, ‘Anyone who falls into a sea like this will die for sure.’

Who would have thought that not only didn’t I die, I’m also surprisingly calm.

But just then, I feel an intense pain on my right arm, making me scream in spite of myself, I even thought that my arm would be pulled right off.

When I open my mouth, what flows in is seawater instead of air, not only choking my scream back in, but filling my throat and nose with salty water.

Now the pain is coming from my arm, then my throat and deep inside my nose.

Another force opposes the whirlpool, pulling me upwards. My own weight and the powerful force of nature trying to suck me up, all of it piles up on my arm. I pray to an unknown G.o.d non-stop, ‘I have to hang on’, ‘Just another second will be enough’, ‘Cut off this arm and be done with it!’

“…gah…”

When my face rises above the surface, all I hear is rumbling in my ears, and my body shakes violently with the waves.

I spit out the seawater, desperately opening my mouth like a dying fish, gulping in the air mingled with water spray.

Although I sink slightly several times, but I immediately float back up.

Because a wet rope is tightly wound around my right arm, someone is pulling me up.

“Your Majesty.”

“I hear… you.”

I do hear something, proving that I’m still alive. My eyes and ears work fine.

“Hang in there! Fix the rope on yourself and hold on tightly! Wind it around your waist!”

“Right!”

“I’m pulling you up, are you ready?!”

“Ye…”

I’m about to answer, and as a result seawater into my mouth together with the cough going backwards. Vomiting water unstoppably, I start suspecting how much water I actually drank, my entire lungs feel flooded.

The rope around my waist goes taut, and my body starts rising slowly. In the process, I hit the outer sh.e.l.l of the s.h.i.+p several times, the bruises on my back and waist increasing continuously, but I can’t complain about anything now, as long as I can get back onto the s.h.i.+p safely, that’s already the best thing that could happen in this string of bad luck. Surviving a fall into such a turbulent sea, that’s a miracle in itself.

No, I didn’t fall, I was pushed.

“Your Majesty!”

I’m practically carried over the deck rails. The word ‘Survival’ is spinning in my head to a cheering song, and the font is a very idiotic yellow Times New Roman.

I was on the brink of death just a second ago, so why is my brain reacting like this?

By now even Josak has forgotten his usual cheerful tone, grabbing my chin roughly. I use m=the hand that doesn’t hurt to touch his wet orange hair.

“Your Majesty?”

“Calm down, Josak… I’m fine; I can breathe on my own… You being clean-shaven made me think you were a girl, and I was so looking forward to CPR, heh.”

“Your Majesty… Young Master, phew~”

He releases a really long breath.

“Thank goodness, I even thought I couldn’t save you.”

“Don’t curse me, relax, I was only in for two, three seconds, and I didn’t drink too much water… I didn’t even get to see the Dragon Palace.”

Some of the crewmen who helped save me grab the rails and the rope, watching me closely, and when the s.h.i.+p starts slanting they quickly regain their balance.

This s.h.i.+p isn’t out of danger yet! They knew that I’m from an enemy country, but they still risked themselves to save me.

“Thanks, it’s all thanks to you that I…”

Seawater wells up as I cough, choking my throat and nose.

“Ah~ Young Master, just look at yourself, your entire face is covered with snot, your handsome image is all ruined now.”

“I was never handsome. Tissue, give me tissue!”

My hand wanders aimlessly looking for a luxury item that can’t possibly be found here, but all I see are those light brown eyes in front of me.

Even though the sea is turbulent, the sky is clear as can be.

The sunlight s.h.i.+nes on the water, making it sparkle, but those familiar eyes alone remain dark, clouded, even those irises and their silver glow can’t be seen.

His expression doesn’t reveal anything about his thoughts.

When our gazes meet, his mouth twitches a little, and he lifts a foot, ready to take a step forth.

“I prefer tissue, because toilet paper will melt and become sticky. But why did I fall? I had Conrad by my side, and I still…”

Although he didn’t understand yet, but Josak stiffens upon hearing that name suddenly and of course there’s no way he’ll pretend this never happened.

From between me and Lord Weller, he says the truth with a husky voice.

Undoubtedly, he is seeking confirmation.

“Was it you?”

The other man doesn’t answer, just grips his hands, and pulls back the feet that were stepping forward. His chin is slightly taut, his back against the wall.

“You wanted His Majesty’s life? Has your conscience been eaten by the dogs?”

The purposefully lowered voice is the more terrifying for it.

I’m just thinking that Josak’s speed, melding three steps into one, is so quick it’s worth admiring, but I didn’t think that in the next second he would pull out a small silver knife and hold it next to Lord Weller’s cheek.

When did he hide that thing on himself? And he can even reach it whenever he wants? He bring his face so close to Lord Weller he can feel the latter’s breath,

“Lord Weller, you listen carefully! I’m warning you, never get close to His Majesty again. If you don’t heed my warning…”

After a long and heavy silence, he says in a voice so quiet I can barely hear it,

“…Watch out for your little life!”

I force my wet and heavy body to stand, just in time to see them, standing diagonally in front of me, and their expressions.

But suppressing his anger, Josak actually smiles, that’s the beast-like smile I’ve seen before.

“I never dreamed that I would one day speak like that to you!”

And the smile of an intelligent beast, at that.

“No… It’s a misunderstanding, I must have gotten it wrong.”

Trying to calm this storm, I grab the spy’s sleeve even though I’m soaked to the bone.

The white cloth is even stained by the paint on the deck.

“It’s a misunderstanding, Josak. I wasn’t pushed, I accidentally slipped and fell.”

The waves were beating on the deck, making it wet.

I was walking on the edge, paying attention only to the color of the whirlpool, so it’s not surprising that an accident happened.

“Conrad wouldn’t possibly want to kill me, right?”

I’m begging you, just nod. It doesn’t matter if it’s real or fake, just nod.

But Lord Weller doesn’t smile, he just shakes his head softly in denial.

“You shouldn’t be… so stupid, right?”

Right now I feel all the blood vessels heading to my brain expand. My face is burning, and my vision has gone bright red.

Though the pain burning from my temple is quickly stopped, but my instantaneously escalated heartbeat just can’t be slowed.

There’s a sentence stuck deep in my throat that I really want to yell out.

And I even feel a ringing in my ears like the sound of metal.

“If so…”

I force out my voice.

I keep telling myself to keep my cool, but it’s never succeeded before.

This is also my fatal weakness, all the way until now.

Although the Shou s.h.i.+maron crewmen and the s.h.i.+nzoku man we brought up from the bottom of the s.h.i.+p are watching us, I just can’t control my own emotions.

“If so you shouldn’t have saved me back then!”

Back when I was jumping onto the cargo s.h.i.+p, you shouldn’t have caught me, you could have just left me to my own end.

That was all you had to do.

And when we were ambushed by the masked soldiers, if you hadn’t stuck yourself out for me in that church, your left arm wouldn’t have been cut off, and you wouldn’t need to keep getting hurt for me.

All you had to was abandon me.

But why only now…!

“…d.a.m.n!”

I grab the cold stone on my chest, snapping the leather rope and tossing it to the ground.

My numb right arm makes a piercing sound when it knocks into something.

The maseki flies in a misshapen curve then bounces, finally falling onto the wet deck.

Even though I used so much force to throw it, it still didn’t crack or break.

The stone glimmers on the sunlight.

Perhaps it’s psychological, but the color seems whiter than when I wore it on my chest.

We’re all waiting for the other to say the next line.

Completely in the dark, the crewmen decide to continue watching, and the s.h.i.+nzoku man we brought out is just scared he’ll get caught in the mess.

Surrounded in the middle, the three of us want to make our own escapes, but we limit each other as we wait to see who will break the silence.

Just then, the one that breaks the silence is the creak of a door opening, and Saralegui, wearing a smile completely out of place in this mess.

In the corner of my vision, the s.h.i.+nzoku man shudders violently, even backtracking to the wall.

His golden eyes are wide and round with fear, his filthy forehead drenched in a cold sweat.

Looks like he knows that this boy with the n.o.ble aura, is the very mastermind behind their imprisonment at the bottom of the boat.

But the king doesn’t even look at the s.h.i.+vering man.

“Yuuri, the shaking seems to have calmed down a bit, maybe this is something like the eye of the storm…”

Poking his head out from the control room, Saralegui continues to consider the maseki on the ground and my expression.

“What happened?”

Not caring if his long robe will get dirty, he walks up to the stone, picking it up unhesitatingly with his white fingers.

“It dropped?”

Not by itself.”

“Then why… So beautiful, it’s really very beautiful. I say, Yuuri, do you want to trade with me for it?”

The young king says innocently, a childish desire rising on those petal-like lips.

I desperately swallow the words, ‘If you want it, you can have it’.

“I wonder what I have on me… to compare to this beautiful stone?”

As though picking out the snacks for a long trip, Saralegui starts searching his front and pockets.

Lord Weller warns his current employer,

“You can’t trade.”

“Why? This is proof of our friends.h.i.+p!”

Saralegui replies, tilting his head to a side. Even in such a horrible situation, his beautiful hair can still flow down his face and rest on his shoulders.

The movement he makes, pus.h.i.+ng the stray hair back behind his ears with a fair slender finger, is still so graceful.

And then, when he sees his right hand in front of his eyes, his face blossoms into a smile.

“Right, this should do. This is a precious gem that can only be found in Shou s.h.i.+maron, it’s the parting gift my mother gave me before we separated when I was a child.”

He takes off the light red ring on his ring finger, trying to pa.s.s it to me. Instead of calling it light red, it’s more towards pale pink.

“I can’t accept that, I can’t take something so precious.”

“It’s okay, I want to give it to you.”

“Waa~ It’s so pretty, let Gurrier touch it, please~?”

The man who stands in between us speaking in a woman’s tone, puts both his hands together next to his face.

Perhaps happy that someone understands the value of the ring, Saralegui puts the ring on Josak’s large palm.

“…It’s really very pretty, too bad it’s just too small for Gurrier.”

He thoroughly checks out the inside and outside of the ring in record time, trying to determine if there are any traps on it.

I can’t help but admire him again, as an excellent soldier.

Saralegui doesn’t notice the way the adult world thinks.

Those beautiful fingers of his that never lifted anything heavy, touches my right hand gently.

Those nails filed until they looked like sakura sh.e.l.ls hold the tiny circlet, and I notice that they’re all the same color.

There seem to be some words engraved on the inside of the ring, but they’re not clear because the writing is too thin, and the outside of the ring is engraved with twining rose vines and quite a number of suns.

He takes my calloused finger, trying to put the pink ring on it.

“Ouch!”

The ring gets caught on my ring finger joint, breaking the skin and causing me pain.

A king’s ring won’t fit these rough hands used for plying baseball at all. The Shou s.h.i.+maron king hmphs mischievously,

“…Looks like you can only wear it on the pinky. After all unlike me, your hands look a lot stronger and braver.”

“There’s no such thing!”

If I really was a brave man, I wouldn’t have been scared witless upon falling into the sea.

“Are you s.h.i.+vering, Yuuri?”

Saralegui hugs me suddenly, he seems to be fonder of skin contact that his appearance would suggest.

And yet, since I’ll start crying if I have to open my mouth again, his actions are exactly what I need.

“Poor thing! You must be so cold, you should get into the room for warmth now.”

That’s what I want to do, right now I’d rather hide under the cover immediately. I wish to take a hot soak and wash off the seawater on my body, then immediately lie on the soft bed and sleep all I want.

My hair, now dry, keeps tickling my nose, even I know that I’m dead tired now.

But I desperately resist the aching in my sore muscles, and leave Saralegui’s embrace.

“I can’t yet, I found someone with navigation experience among the s.h.i.+nzoku in the bottom of the boat, and he even has experience crossing this part of the sea.”

“You released the slaves?!”

“No, Sara. He’s not a slave, but an experienced crewman. He can help steer, y’know! So I have to stay by his side and watch him, after all I have a responsibility to look after him.”

Because I was the one who took him away from his companions, and brought him to a place where people looked at him as a slave.

So I have a responsibility to look after him.

“Regarding that matter, I also…”

“Didn’t I tell you not to get close?”

The loyal spy in the long-sleeved ap.r.o.n, holds the tip of a knife at Lord Weller’s throat when the latter tries to approach us.

“Don’t, Josak! He…”

For some reason, Saralegui is waiting for me to finish that sentence with bated breath, only my throat hurts as though it’s swollen.

“‘That person’ is the Shou s.h.i.+maron king’s escort, and the amba.s.sador from Dai s.h.i.+maron. I do not wish to create tension between countries over such a trivial matter.”

My spy nods lightly, and withdraws his sword unhesitatingly, then turns around to ask me what I plan to do next.

“Although we’ve entered a temporary respite, but we’re not out of the danger zone yet. Telling me to wait in the cabin and wait for it patiently… That’s impossible~”

He shrugs his shoulders in surprise.

“I know, I know. Please bring my clothes and a woolen blanket, we’ll coop up in the control room together, and carefully watch him steer the s.h.i.+p.”

“I’m staying in the cabin.”

Maybe feeling a little cold, Saralegui rubs his hands and s.h.i.+vers.

“I’ve had enough of being drenched by seawater, I’m going back to the room and hugging a pillow to prevent any more damage to my body. I’ll get someone to serve you some hot drinks, Yuuri. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

Josak gives Saralegui an appreciative look, because he can use this as an excuse to chase away Lord Weller.

Different babysitters have to stay by the children they’re in charge of.

My right arm supporting my weight is a little painful, though.

Maybe I strained a tendon, everything from the nerves in the muscles outside to the joints on my pinky is numb.

“My arm hurts, if only Wolfram or Gisela were here now~”

“Can’t you heal it yourself? Young Master, isn’t your maryoku really strong?”

“I heard it was dangerous to use maryoku on human lands, and we’re approaching the country of the s.h.i.+nzoku no less! Murata and Wolf keep telling me again and again ‘don’t push yourself’, I’m sick and tired of hearing it.”

“Is that so~ Well, that’s inconvenient, huh~”

To test exactly how painful it is, I use my thumb and pointer to rub my arm a few times, and then force myself slightly to sway back and forth, left and right, if I’m just a bit off controlling the force used, an intense pain will attack me immediately.

The agonizing pain puts tears in my eyes, but I don’t tell anyone about it.

Still, if it can move, then that means it’s not a sprain. I’m actually quite lucky, I just need a muscle pain plaster and some bandages for this degree of pain.

“You won’t cry, huh.”

“Me, cry?! I won’t cry over a little bit of pain!”

“Then that’s good. Though since half of that was my fault, let me lick it a little!”

“No thanks! I’m not a puppy, it won’t get better even if you do lick it.”

Just imagining the spy who was crossdressing for a mission sticking out his red tongue, makes me smile bitterly.

Meanwhile, Josak closes the control room door with his back, making the room feel warmer.

“I wonder if there are painkillers on board?”

“Come on~ I’m an athlete, y’know! A baseball boy! A little injury like this is nothing to me. My body can take a lot of wear to begin with, just leave it and it’ll naturally get better. Right, let’s get ready to ask that s.h.i.+nzoku.”

I spread open the nautical map directly on the wet floorboards, and stare at it with the sailors.

“Remember to signal with your hands!”

This pain probably can’t be suppressed with any kind of medication, I know that better than anyone.