CH 274

Chapter 274: At the Port

The scenery of Sallerno port was no different than the last time. Tall sturdy walls that went around the beach, with numerous houses with scarlet roofs all over them. Winter turquoise sea stretching out endlessly. It was still peaceful and beautiful like it was.

In the coastal waters of the port was a single boat in the water. The white boat constructed with the latest design and functionality was unblemished, showing off its nimble appearance while waiting for the departure signal.

As the queen’s company arrived at the port, the noisy and rumbustious port city became immediately quiet. The door of the carriage opened, and the queen stepped off with the escort of the soldier. She was dressed in a heavy thick coat and clothing along with a hat and gloves made with silver fox’s fur as if she was getting ready to move to a place much colder than Arundel. Soon after, the captain of the ship came to her. He doffed his hat and showed proper manners to the royal queen.

“Greetings to you, the most honorable of Arundel, queen majesty. May the blessings of Elheim always be with you.”

A smile formed on Rihannan’s lips.

“Greetings, captain. I’ll be in your care.”

The captain pointed at the two men standing with him that was wearing uniforms.

“This is my first mate who will be running the ship with me, and this is the number one navigator.”

The two-ship crew also doffed their hat to show their manners to the queen. They then yelled out in a loud voice together.

“It’s an honor to serve you, your majesty. We’ll make sure to safely bring you to Chrichton!”

Rihannan’s gaze turned towards the two crewmates. Among them, the one who was called the number one navigator looked quite young. Even if she was off the mark, he looked no older than mid-twenties. Rihannan gazed with interest as he was named the best navigator at such a young age, and for some reason, she felt that his face was a little familiar to her. Realizing that Rihannan was staring at him, he smirked.

“Your majesty, in the past, you had taken the ship Ataraxia to go to Chrichton, have you not?”

Then Rihannan was able to remember who this crew mate was. A visage of him with his tanned skin and pearly white smiling teeth in the sea wind overlapped his face in front of her.

“Were you back then…”

“Yes. I was the rookie crewmate that explained the origins of the statue of the ship Ataraxia to you back then. Do you remember?”

A bright smile came over Rihannan’s face.

“Of course. Have you became a number one navigator in this short amount of time?”

“Yes. I had some pretty good talents so I ended up being successful a bit early.”

The crewmates that were lined up around him all stared at him with jealousy in his eyes. Their glares looked as if they were asking how he was able to personally know the queen herself. Rihannan let out a laughter.

“It seems that I wasn’t able to tell that I talking to a future navigator in the past then. It’s nice to see you again like this.”

“Yes, the pleasure is mine as well, my queen. And for that, may I give you a separate greeting then?”

As Rihannan stretched out her hand, he quickly snatched it up and kissed on the back of Rihannan’s hand that was still wearing leather gloves. Yet another wave of jealousy came over him, yet he only looked even more pompous.

“In any case, what did I say to you back then? I said that a bond with Ataraxia is very strong, have I not? I’ve told you that you’ll end up coming back to Arundel again. In the end, I was right, wasn’t I?”

“You’re right, seeing as how I came back here like this.”

Rihannan bitterly mumbled to herself, while the navigator talked loudly, all excited.

“Did you know just how much I was surprised once I heard the news that the young lady like you had turned into the queen? I even went around the whole town boasting that I had talked to the queen directly. No one believed me, and now everyone will.”

The silver-tongued navigator once again asked Rihannan a question with a smile still on his face.

“But why is it that you are going back to Chrichton again? Are you going there to see your cousin?”

Rihannan’s face became stiff a bit. Seeing her reaction, the captain gave an order even though he was a bit late.

“Stop there. How could you act like this to the queen? Step back.”

The navigator immediately closed his mouth and stepped back. Seeing him completely lose his smile and become scared looked pitiful to Rihannan, but as she was troubled by his question, she was actually thankful for the captain’s interruption.

“Then, your majesty. It’s time to get on the boat.”

Hearing the captain’s words, Rihannan looked at the soldiers that had escorted her all the way here. They were now planning to return to the city Edinere from here after Rihannan left. Then Rihannan will be getting on the boat that Dimitris had sent to her, and leave for Chrichton. If she reaches the port over there, Dima and her uncle would be there waiting to welcome her.