CH 271

There was a bit of an argument before they arrived, but they have now docked safely in Cobenhaven, a town with a unique landscape. It is also different from Steltin who they just left the port of. Karl and Marianne make their home inland and are unfamiliar with the sea, harbors, and ships. However, it is clear from the reaction of the surroundings that the policies of Cobenhaven have changed.

Before coming here, they thought that they shouldn’t carelessly approach the capital of Del. But none of the crew of this ship were frightened or backed down, and were imposing themselves instead. Karl feels embarrassed for having been afraid and fearing for his safety.

“With that out of the way… let’s enjoy the Kingdom of Del,” Flora said.

When they finally got to the shore and were finally able to dock, even the girls around Karl proudly declared that they would get off. And yet, even though Karl was formerly a marquis, there was no way he could say that he would stay on the ship out of a sense of self-preservation. Above all else, it is unlikely that the Kingdom of Del will harm them at this time, as everyone had concurred.

If there were to harm them here, it would affect the honor of the entire Kingdom of Del. That’s they should guarantee their safety since they declared that they would guide them. Rather, they will protect them even if someone were to try to attack them on the docks as they disembarked. With all that in mind, Karl and his wife Marianne got off the ship.

“This is amazing,” Karl said.

“I agree,” Marianne said.

They disembark from the galleon and proceed through the town’s waterways aboard a small boat. Waterways run through the city, and it seems like you can go anywhere by boat. Since they were guided directly by Del, they didn’t mind being surrounded by soldiers if they thought of it as a sightseeing tour with a strong escort. If they’re safe no matter what, it’s better to enjoy sightseeing to the fullest.

“That building is interesting,” Karl said.

“Indeed. Oh! It’s beautiful over there,” Marianne said.

The couple enjoys the scenery as the boat rocks. It’s like traveling together when they were young. The two of them enjoyed sightseeing in Cobenhaven, forgetting about the eyes surrounding them.

After returning to the ship after dark, Maria and Dorte, a female knight of Del, started drinking.

“Wha?! What is this alcohol!? I’ve never had this kind of alcohol before!” Dorte yells.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?” Maria said. “It’s my favorite. To be honest, Mother wants to drink more of it, but I can’t drink much because Flora dear refuses.”

Karl is very interested in their conversation. He has eaten good food, drank good alcohol, and exhausted the extent of fine dining in Ploiss. Yet Karl had never seen or heard of the clear alcohol just served. It was an unreasonable order to tell him to stay his interest.

“Houh. Is it that rare?” Karl asked. “I would like to join you.”

“Oh my?” Maria said. “Then have a drink.”

“Oh, thank you very much,” Karl said.

It’s like he blatantly asked another noble to give it to him, but his curiosity won over. What kind of taste is this unfamiliar alcohol that even a female knight from a foreign country raves about? He wants to drink it even if you say it’s unbecoming of a former marquis.

He takes the offered glass and checks the scent. It smelled like something unfamiliar, but it had a mellow aroma. He tilts the glass and puts a little in his mouth to check the taste.

“Delicious! I’ve never had a drink like this before!” Karl yelled.

It’s not that strong and it’s very easy to drink. Still, it has a rich and fruity aroma, a good taste, and is very delicious. Karl had never heard of this kind of alcohol, let alone drunk it. He was told that it was an imitation of Demon Country alcohol, but he didn’t care about that.

It is true that the Demon Country is a natural enemy of the Kingdom of Ploiss, but it does not mean you should forsake everything about them. It’s important to recognize what things that are superior in the Demon Country and what good there is from it. And this alcohol is definitely better.

He’s not demeaning the alcohol of Ploiss. The beer and wine are both good. But this alcohol was another kind. It resembles wine with a little less acidity but is also different from wine. Karl fell in love with this alcohol with just one sip.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it? Even so, my Flora dear only serves a little at a time,” Maria said. “But today is a special day. Let’s all drink together~!”

“Ooh!” Karl cried.

Karl was ecstatic and drank as much as he could, after being served this delicious “sake” by the beautiful older woman, Maria.

The next day, Karl wakes up in a bad mood. His head hurts and he feels nauseous constantly. His body was too lethargic to move. And more than anything else… his head hurts. He says it over and over again, but his head hurts. His head hurts regardless of what he does.

“Uuu…” Karl moaned.

“Are you okay, Darling?” Marianne asked.

“Aah……” Karl groaned.

Karl’s morning starts being cared for by Marianne. Even if you have a hangover, a former marquis can’t sit around forever.

“Goodness… it’s because you drank so much,” Marianne said.

“Uhm…” Karl grunts in agreement.

It’s true that he drank too much last night. He got carried away. When he was a marquis, he would not have shown such folly. However, he has also retired from the position of marquis, and the Bayen Faction is in trouble, but after being released from the chains of society, Karl has gone a little too far.

Above all, there is no man who does not get excited when he is served delicious alcohol by a beautiful woman. Karl excused his actions. Marianne stares at him, but he pretends not to notice. He doesn’t need to pick up chestnuts from the fire by himself. They went up on the upper deck and saw off the town of Cobenhaven.

“Oeeehh…!” Karl retches as he sticks his head out to sea.

“Haah…” Marianne sighs. “Are you alright?”

Karl was in terrible shape with a hangover and seasickness on top of it. Marianne rubs his back and touches his heart. She was still a good wife even after he let himself be deceived by that vile temptress’s charm. He was delighted with his wife’s care and kindness.

The seasickness measures that Marianne had asked Flora about seemed to have little effect. It was only natural. The cause is clear. She warned that it is easy to get seasick when you are sleep deprived or have a hangover. If you unmistakably have a hangover, it’s only natural that you’re prone to seasickness. And because they know the cause, they can’t help it. There is no way to cure the hangover other than getting rid of it over time and getting off the ship when it arrives at its next port.

You could say the voyage from hell finally ended when they arrived at one of the Ports of Carruthers Territory. After Karl let out what he needed to let out, he felt refreshed and composed himself a little. It was originally caused by a hangover. He vomits, and as time passes and his hangover subsides, his physical condition recovers.

“That’s Cien,” Flora said.

“Oh… ooh…! That is…” Karl gasps.

It’s still a long way off, but it’s still clearly in view. The port they see now is different in scale from the ports they have seen so far. Karl thought Steltin was a fine port. Cobenhaven is also big, and he thought it was a wonderful port that used boats to reach the town inside. But this is nothing like those.

The port that they can see ahead is huge. Too huge. Everything is huge and non-standard. And neatly designed. The closer you get, the more clearly you can see it. There is also a mysterious enclosure that protrudes beyond the sea. They passed through it and entered the harbor.

“Why is the entrance so narrow?” Karl asked Flora.

“Oh… that’s right,” Flora said. “It’s so the rough waves of the sea don’t enter the harbor. By deliberately enclosing it like this, the waves that enter the harbor are calmed.”

“Huh… it seems that there were no such things in the ports of other towns?” Karl asked.

He can’t recall seeing anything like this in Steltin or Cobenhaven. But, the answer Flora came back with surprised him.

“No, there are ones at other ports as well,” Flora said. “It’s just that they’re made differently than the breakwaters in our territory, so you couldn’t have noticed they were the same thing.”

“Is that so……?” Karl said.

The so-called “breakwater” in the town of Cien has a very unique structure. No other town had anything like this. However, if it was made to have the same function, they may have all had one. However, the “breakwater” here is too drastically different from the other ports. This is some other word entirely.

“It’s a splendid port town… and also… I didn’t know there were so many ships that were the same as or similar to this galleon…” Karl said.

“Thank you very much,” Flora said.

A port that is too huge is lined with a number of ships that are also too huge. Although House Reingen had no connection to the sea or harbor, there are still things they can understand. A ship is your naval force. There is not much difference between merchant ships and warships. The number of ships and their capabilities determine the outcome of naval battles. Your total ships are your total naval power.

And what about the ships lined up here? How many gigantic ships are moored, where even just one seems to be an unstoppable force against any number of other smaller ships? If this is all about the power of the navy, then House Carruthers might have the strength to fight the Kamaal Alliance alone.

Even this galleon ship “Santa Maria” surprised him. It’s not just Karl’s perspective. Even the full-time soldiers of the naval superpower, the Kingdom of Del, were stunned by this galleon. And now so many of them are at the port here. And probably not only here, but also many other such ships have left for the Kingdom of Polsky.

The feeling of patronizing was long gone. But that wasn’t the end of the story… seeing this, everything makes sense. He’s still looking at the harbor from afar, but he can clearly see it. No wonder the Kingdom of Polsky surrendered in a month.

House Carruthers… it’s extraordinary among others. It would be a big mistake to think that it was one of the small countries like a principality or principality. This place is now worthy of being one of the world’s great powers all to itself. In front of the Kingdom of Frasia and the Demon Country, there is a country called the Carruthers Margraviate. Thanks to that, the Kingdom of Ploiss is protected from threats from the northwest. He has to think so.

It was a stroke of luck that he was able to forge a connection with House Carruthers right now. Karl is glad, from the bottom of his heart, that he didn’t object to Christa’s engagement. If House Reingen was still in its prime, they would have despised House Carruthers and asked if they really thought they would marry off their daughter to a viscounty. Tides of good fortune upon winds of good luck overlapped and brought them here now. And he had to thank his daughter, Christa, for bringing these good tidings to Karl.

“Now then, we’ve arrived. Let’s prepare for landing,” Flora said. “Welcome to the Caan Knighthood, Lord Karl von Reingen and Lady Marianne von Reingen.”

“Oh, thank… hm?” Karl went.

He tried to return his gratitude to Flora welcoming the two of them with grandeur but stiffened for a moment. Pardon……? Did he mishear? Ultimately he decided this was no time to pause and proceeds to return the greetings. And they landed in Carthar’s Margrave territory. It took only this long to arrive at the Carruthers Margraviate, which should have been far into the northwest of the country.

In addition, he had a hangover, which made him feel seasick, but the trip itself was very comfortable. Normally, moving to a place like this would have been a life-threatening decision. He was able to move comfortably, safely, and quickly. If they can come and go so easily, even if Christa is married off, they can easily meet each other.

“Lord Karl is still not feeling well, is he?” Flora said. “Let’s rest at the mansion today, we can leave sightseeing and travel for tomorrow.”

“Ah, yes,” Karl said. “It would be helpful if you could do that.”

Come to think of it, he was still unwell. Even though it’s gotten a lot better, it’s still not cured. If he can take a rest somewhere, he really wants to take a rest. If he could, he thinks he’ll go sightseeing in the town, but he really doesn’t feel like he could. They boarded a carriage with the same structure as the one he rode from the royal capital to Steltin and then headed for House Carruthers’ mansion.

Today they will drive leisurely without taking shortcuts and observe the townscape along the way. Although the population is small, the town is full of energy, and the streets are clean and orderly. People’s faces are bright and cheerful. He could see that the security and governance of this town were good.

“Well, we’ve arrived. Please rest at this mansion today,” Flora said.

“………… Huh?” Karl went.

“Oh my……” Marianne said.

When Karl and Marianne got off the carriage, they saw… a royal residence… a palace… an overwhelmingly splendid and luxurious building compared to the mansions where the royal family lived.

Karl has been in various places, including mansions and palaces, because of his relationship with the Bayen Faction. That’s why he was invited to the Bayen Residence, as Duke Bayen was Head of the Faction. But the mansion here is nothing like that one. You can tell just by looking at the exterior. This place is better than the royal palace.

“Is… is this the main residence?” Karl asked. “As far as I know, I was expecting it to be further inland, but…”

“Right, this is a villa in Cien,” Flora said. “I don’t know why you’d think it was the main residence, but it’s based in another town.”

Gokuri, Karl gulps. A mansion of this scale and such elaborateness is a villa… he can’t believe there are so many mansions like this. There are so many ships, prosperous port towns, and many luxurious mansions… Karl already had the urge to run around screaming.

But… Karl’s screams now were mere echoes of the sound he would be making moving forward.