I’m Supposed to Be the Neglected Princess in the Future, but Something Seems Strange... - 20 - Letter 2
When they arrived at Huig Port, most of the passengers got off the ship.
The town with Huig Port is the biggest port town in the country of Seld. Many branch stores from the royal capital also have shops here, so it is a famous tourist spot.
If they weren’t searching for Lea, Raphael would have liked to invite Rose and enjoy sightseeing together. But unless they caught Lea, Rose wouldn’t be able to relax and have fun, so there was no choice.
Huig Port has a long pier that reaches far into the sea, so even big ships can dock directly without using small boats. Watching the line of passengers walking down that long path, Raphael asked:
“Any movement?”
“Yeah. Just like you guessed, he got off the ship.”
The one who answered was Count Sedoc Charleston Molt. Next to Sedoc stood Duke Roper.
Viscount Redondo, the son of Marquesss Endran, and the son of Count Faburmil were also in disguise and should be standing in line with the passengers getting off.
“As long as we know where he is, that’s enough. We’ll only move when they do.”
“You’re sneaky, Raphael.”
Duke Roper shrugged his shoulders.
“You already had an idea where Princess Lea might be, but you let her go on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Chasing after her on land is more fun than barging into her cabin.”
“That’s exactly why you’re sneaky.”
Duke Roper said with a sigh. He didn’t show it on his face, but Raphael was very angry at Lea. Not just because she ran away — he was especially angry about what she made her maid, Surin, do. Lea had used truth serum on Surin and forced her to talk.
“She’s been ignoring Rose all this time. She should pay for that, don’t you think?”
Raphael gave a thin smile. Sedoc gave a small, troubled smile in return.
“So that’s what this is. Well, yeah… for a princess who thinks the whole world should love her, this will be a real lesson.”
“After that, you plan to use Lea to threaten the country of Gridor too, right? If you push too far, don’t blame me when your father gets mad.”
“I’ll be careful. And if I bring back some nice gifts from Gridor along with Rose, he won’t complain.”
From the beginning, Raphael never planned to settle things by just switching fiancées. He would make Gridor pay for all the benefits and honors Rose was supposed to receive as a princess. And he would also use the change in fiancé — which to him wasn’t a problem at all — to pressure them into accepting all the trade deals that had been stalled. Then, he would say it was all thanks to Rose. That way, she would be welcomed in the great country of Martan without a doubt.
“But still… what kind of king refuses to accept his own child just because he didn’t like how the baby looked? And what kind of queen abandons her child?”
“The King of Gridor is one thing, but I think the Queen has some kind of secret.”
Raphael remembered the Queen of Gridor’s face, covered in heavy makeup, and smiled slightly. The Queen and Lea looked very similar. Lea also always wore perfect makeup — her face looked just like the Queen’s when done up.
“Did you know? The First Prince, the Second Prince, and Rose — all three of them look like the King of Gridor.”
He didn’t know what Rose looked like as a newborn, but even if Rose herself hadn’t noticed, she strongly resembled the King of Gridor, who was even called a national treasure for his beauty.
“If the Queen ever saw Lea’s bare face, she’d probably faint.”
Raphael laughed softly, narrowed his eyes, and looked out at the line of passengers getting off in the distance.