Raqqa said he would report back if he found D’Artagno’s ship, so Randall and the others were told to wait until he reported back.
Just waiting absent-mindedly at the T inn was unsettling, so Randall headed to the coast almost every day to see the sea. The thought of Sophia somewhere in the sea and he couldn’t save her immediately.
made him feel bad
Waves reflecting the sunlight came and went, and the sound they made fell on his heart with a sense of desolation.
Randall sat down on the white sandy beach.
‘If only. . .’
‘What if the prediction that D’Artano is aiming for Selkie’s tears is wrong and he has already left the Alto Sea for the open land? Would Sophia be able to get it back again?’
‘They only had a formal marriage and now she is out of reach. What if they never finds her, without him being able to do anything for her, without being able to apologise for what had happened’
Randall was horrified and gripped the sand tighter. Randall pulled his hand up from the sand, brushed off the sand and stood up.
‘ I should go back to the inn’
If he stays here forever, Johannes will come looking for him, saying it’s time for lunch. Johannes has been through a lot, so Randall didn’t want to cause him any more worries.
However, Randall, who was about to turn on his heel, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
It was because he spotted a woman on the beach.
She had a strange hair colour, that looked like gold with a touch of blue.
She walked slowly towards the sea and then walked into the water, not minding getting her clothes wet.
Randall gasped.
“Hey! You’re not trying to kill yourself, are you?”
Randall rushed out when he saw the woman wading chest-deep into the water.
It’s hard to notice because it’s so transparent, but once you reach a certain point, the depth of the water suddenly deepens. As expected, immediately the woman’s body sank into the sea, up to the top of her head.
Randall immediately jumped into the water, helped the woman up and returned to shore. The woman was limp, but Randall was relieved to hear the faint sound of breathing.
With the unconscious woman before him, Randall was at a loss. He could not just leave her lying on the beach. He hesitated, but decided to take the woman back to the inn.
When he returned with the woman, Johannes was astonished to see that Randall, soaking wet all over, had returned with an unconscious woman who was also soaking wet.
“Sir, this is…”
“I’ll tell you why later, just call Orion and get him changed. I am going to bathe”
“In that case, I will ask the landlady to prepare some hot water for you.”
Johannes called Orion and went straight to the landlady.
After a while, the bathtub was filled and Orion wiped the woman’s body and changed her clothes while Randall took his bath.
The woman’s skin was remarkably white, and she was terribly slender. The woman still hadn’t woken up when Randall got out of the bath. Randall and the others decide to have lunch until she wakes up and left for the dining room.
“So, sir, who is that person?”
“I don’t know if she was going to kill herself or not, but she went into the water right in front of me and looked like she was drowning, so I saved her, but she was unconscious, so I just brought her here. I wasn’t going to leave her there on the beach like that. By the way, where is Prince Cyril?”
“His Highness Cyril was summoned by Viscount D’Silva.”
“Viscount D’Silva?”
“Yes. He’s the son of the duke who’s the lord of this area. The duke is in the capital, but I heard that Viscount D’Silva has been living in this town for the past six months, and he invited him to his house to say hello to Cyril-sama.”
“I see.”
Being a prince seemed to be stressful. Randall was also busy as the king’s nephew, but he’s not as busy as the prince. However, his cousin, the first prince of Glastona, is just playing around and doesn’t seem to be too concerned with government affairs. He is only 18, but Randall remembers the king telling him that it was time for him to think about getting involved. Randall felt a sense of disappointment that they were both princes but can be so different. Well Cyril is not perfect too, and he did some reckless things, such as setting up a false lover to avoid an engagement with Carnelia. Because of this, Sophia was involved, so Randall was not inclined to praise Cyril without giving him a discredit.
“So lunch will be at the Viscount’s then?”
“That’s what I’ve heard. He will be back in the evening.”
“I understand.”
When Randall and the others returned to their room after lunch, they found the woman awake. The woman, who was sitting up in bed, looked at Randall and the others, her beautiful sapphire blue eyes shimmering anxiously.
“This is where…”
“This is the inn we’re staying. I brought you here because you drowned in the sea and were unconscious. How are you feeling?”
As Randall spoke to her, the woman suddenly covered her face and began to cry. Randall was dismayed, wondering if he had said something wrong, but apparently he had not.
The woman sobbed and said, “I want to go back to the sea”.
As I was wondering what was going on, the woman suddenly collapsed onto the bed
Orion rushed over to her, but she was already unconscious and seemed to have fainted.
“She has a great fever.”
Orion touched the woman and raised his eyebrows.
Johannes nodded and went to the landlady to get something to cool her forehead.
The woman breathed heavily and repeatedly, occasionally moaning in agony. Even in her moans, the words ‘I want to go back to the sea’ are mixed in, and Randall twisted his head “What does she mean by going back to the sea…?”
At least this is a port town. There’s nothing to go back to, the sea is just around the corner. Where does she want to go?
Randall decided to call a doctor if the fever didn’t go down, and left the room, leaving Orion to take care of the rest for the time being.