Chapter 77

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 77

Chapter Title: 5 Knights and Roxiana Franche (11)

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Floyd blinked slowly. He felt like he was the one sinking into her.

"I have you, Your Highness."

Those simple words clutched at Floyd's heart.

"As long as you're by my side, they won't devour me."

That mere whisper wore away at Floyd's steadfast resolve, shaking it to its core.

"Besides, at the end of my path, there won't just be those responsible for my family's deaths—there will be those who control your life as well. Under your clear light, I will confront them too."

Control my life? They do?

He wanted to deny it. He wanted to protest that no one controlled his life.

But Floyd knew that wasn't true.

The king's indifferent gaze, the queen's cloying voice, his mother's screams as she burned, and Lucas's mockery as he watched.

Floyd still remembered them all. Vividly.

Those gazes, that voice, those screams, and that mockery still dominated his life, gripping his ankles and filling his gut. He'd merely tried to ignore and turn away from them.

The realization unleashed a flood of emotions that reddened his eyes. Tension locked his jaw, teeth grinding with a heavy crunch. Blood drained from his clenched fists, and his enraged heart pounded like it might explode—thud, thud.

Even with her there, he couldn't suppress the rising blaze. Towering flames encircled Roxiana and Floyd.

Grass and trees burned away, and the pond's water evaporated in a hiss, but Roxiana and Floyd gazed at each other silently amid the inferno.

Roxiana, who had watched Floyd's turmoil without a sound, slowly reached out and stroked his cheek. The uncontrollable blaze died down in an instant.

"Your Highness."

Roxiana cupped his face with both hands and bent at the waist. From a distance close enough for their noses to touch, she whispered.

"I will annihilate the Pellur royal family."

Her voice burrowed into his ear like it had a life of its own—sweet as honey, yet brimming with a fierce will that set his heart racing.

Floyd rose from the half-charred bench, paced the blackened garden for a long moment, then snapped back to his senses and said.

"I'm sorry. The garden's a mess because of me."

"No. It'll recover soon enough."

As she said, new life was already sprouting from the ashes. Now she could nurture small lives without risking her own.

"So... you're going to destroy the Pellur royal family?"

"Yes."

"If you're making that decision because of me, then don't. Just get revenge on the crown prince and that princess's friend. I'll help you with her."

"No. Soon the entire Pellur royal family will be my enemies."

"What do you... Ah."

Floyd recalled what she had muttered in the dining hall.

-"To cover this up, they'll fabricate scandals about our Franche royal family and spread vile rumors. Dragging my family's honor even lower."

Floyd thought the same. Joseph V would drag the Franche royal family's reputation into the depths to bury Lucas's crimes.

"If Joseph V admits his son's wrongs and repents, I won't touch him. But somehow, I doubt he will. So my path—and its destination—will be the same as the one you wanted to walk in the past."

Floyd could hardly believe the woman standing before him was the same one who, just months ago, had begged him to kill her. He barely held back from blurting, 'Who are you? What did you do to the princess?' Instead, he said.

"Our destinations are the same... That won't be easy, then."

"It won't. I've never thought it would be. But if I take it step by step, I'll get there eventually. That's what destinations are like, aren't they? Always waiting right there."

"This destination moves. It has life and will. Do you think it'll still be in the same place years from now?"

"Yes. Because I'll bind it there tight."

Roxiana's eyes gleamed coldly. Floyd felt like he could drown in them, yet he couldn't tear his gaze from those forest-blue depths.

The girl from over a decade ago stood before him.

The girl who hadn't feared the cursed boy called Floyd, who had handed him an umbrella with clear eyes and told him not to get sick—now she whispered of revenge right in front of him.

After walking different paths for so long, the two now stood at the same point, facing each other.

Floyd had no choice but to admit it.

I can't stop this woman's revenge. Far from tearing down her path, no matter how dangerous, I'll end up following her just to walk it side by side. Like a moth drawn helplessly to a beautiful flame, ignorant of its heat, I'll leap into the fire at her lead.

Floyd slowly closed his eyes, then opened them. Her gaze shone brightly before him, unchanged.

"Do you have any plans in mind?"

"First, the seafood distribution network."

"Pardon?"

The words clashed so jarringly with the moment that Floyd was left bewildered. They were talking revenge on Gania, and suddenly seafood?

He wondered if the lobster they'd eaten earlier had been too delicious, leaving him baffled, when Roxiana smiled faintly and started walking. Floyd hurriedly followed.

She explained lightly as she strolled along the path between the flowerbeds.

"Countries in the heart of the continent have a hard time sourcing seafood. Only in the coldest weather, when salted seafood won't spoil in transit, can they barely enjoy it."

She was right.

Sometimes, for wealthy clients, massive tanks transported sea creatures, but even then, they couldn't match the freshness of just-caught fare. No matter how much seawater you added, the long journey stressed them or fouled the water, killing them more often than not.

"So the seafood central continent folk encounter is just dried fish or shellfish. And it's outrageously expensive."

Coastal people discarded seafood they didn't eat, while central continent folk treated it as luxury ingredients.

"Exactly. That's why we're trying to find ways to distribute it fresh, but it's not easy. Sure, commissioning the Magic Tower might yield a decent spell, but it'd cost a fortune. Plus, they'd demand a cut of the profits ongoing."

"Yes, I've heard the Magic Tower takes 50% of profits from magic use."

"Highway robbery."

"But I'll be different. 5%. That's all I'll take."

"...Can you use magic?"

Roxiana slowly shook her head, then raised her hand. As she moved it like an orchestra conductor, wind gathered at her fingertips, brushed past Floyd's hair, and faded.

"I handle spirits."

"..."

"Before, Dennis and Jewelry picked flowers for me, and I kept them in a vase. Even without changing the water often, they stayed vibrant for ages. So I thought—couldn't I use this power for seafood distribution? Couldn't fish stay lively longer in tanks filled with seawater touched by my power?"

While Floyd had been away from Torkan, Roxiana had been busy in her own ways. This was one of them.

"You may have heard from the knights, but the juice I made relieves fatigue and eases pain. Not just juice—food too."

"Hexston told me. Bragged like he'd made it himself."

"Even without risking my life like you worry, I can do plenty. So I'm planning to start a small guild. Under a pseudonym, not my name. It'll handle all sorts of mysterious feats by its unknown master. First: aiding seafood distribution. Second: opening a teahouse selling stamina-restoring wonder drinks."

"And what do you gain from that?"

"Guild fame and money. And Torkan's revival."

Seafood trade booming would certainly revive Torkan far beyond now. Fishermen had caught plenty of fish before, but distribution issues meant most got tossed.

But if they could sell it all? Or need even more than before?

They'd need more fishing boats—more jobs.

"Plus, I can help pave the road from Torkan to the central continent. I can soften or harden the ground as needed."

As if to prove it, the earth trembled faintly. Floyd felt it clearly.

"The guild will take that commission too. For you, Your Highness, at a very reasonable price."

Her playful tone brought a smile to Floyd's face.

He realized he'd been overly tense listening to her plans, hypersensitive because they involved her. Anxious she might risk her life again, he'd been ready to oppose anything.

But now he understood.

Roxiana Franche, who hadn't discarded her family or name, was no longer someone he needed to anxiously protect. No longer someone to fret over dying.

She could walk her path on her own, without anyone's support.

'Then my role is...'

Floyd grinned.

'Companion.'

A companion to walk that path side by side.