After leaving the pirate ship, Shade's body and mind returned to normal within dozens of minutes, except for the fact that he was still hungry. But even with Miss Princess's fourth wish and the healing at the end of the maze, she couldn't recover that quickly. In addition, after swimming in the water for such a long time, the five-ring sorceress looked strong, but in fact she was almost unable to hold on.
The people on the boat discovered the floating wooden board and the two people swimming over in time, and the two sides quickly reunited.
The maid on the boat reached out her hand and tried to pull Miss Princess up, but the sorceress was already a little exhausted, so Shad could only lift her up in the water and then climbed onto the boat himself.
Someone immediately handed him a dry towel and blanket, and at the same time, with a dull sound, the small steam engine at the stern began to operate. As the boatman added more small compressed charcoal, the burning fire heated up the surrounding air. Waves of black smoke merged into the night, and the boat started moving on the sea, relying on the small steam engine as power, and quickly moved away with a group of people.
The steam engine used for small ships is also a unique product developed by the steam industry in this world. This brass machine that requires expensive compressed charcoal has not been widely promoted due to its high cost and complicated maintenance. Xia De had only seen related news in the newspaper, and he didn't expect to see this thing here.
The cost of building just one of these steam engines would probably be several hundred Mias.
Thinking of this, Xia De missed his cat and the warm four-poster bed and quilt at home very much.
In addition to Shade and Miss Princess, there were four other people on the boat. Two of them were dressed as maids, the older one was about 30 years old, and the younger one was about the same age as Miss Princess. The other two, one was an old boatman who was busy operating the boat, and the other was a middle-aged man with a resolute expression, who was obviously from the military. He held a gun in his hand and looked at the warships surrounding the cruise ship in the distance. Because the distance was too far, even if the lights of those ships were on, they were not clear in the dark.
"Your Highness, Your Highness~"
Miss Princess was being held up by the older maid, a blanket wrapped around her, and the younger maid was trying to give her water.
"She's injured, I'm here."
Shade wiped his hair and moved over. The maids didn't know whether to believe him, but Miss Princess's pale lips moved, spit out the leaves in her mouth, and whispered:
"Send Shad here."
Taking the cup of water, Xia De lightly tapped it, allowing a silver light to emerge, and then drank a small half of it himself.
He was really starving. Although his hunger had decreased significantly after leaving the pirate ship, so he didn't drink sea water just now, he would always feel uncomfortable both mentally and physically if he didn't eat something now.
The two maids looked at the "bold" Shad with some blame, but Shad ignored them. Miss Princess' body was not seriously injured, and she had the eternal youth leaf in her mouth. She was just seriously traumatized mentally, so she did not need food to fill her stomach.
"Don't talk yet."
Xia De warned quietly, and after reciting the spell softly, a layer of silver moon light appeared on his palm. This was Cynthia's Silver Moon Gift, which was specially used to heal mental damage at night.
Carefully placing her hand on Miss Princess's forehead, the red-haired girl finally couldn't resist the sleepiness and fell asleep under the slightly awed looks of the others on the boat.
Unlike Shade, she had been in the lower cabin for so long that even if she just stood there, her spirit had been greatly affected. In addition, the food she had eaten showed that she was able to hold on until now, which showed that her mental strength was also very strong. At this moment, leaning against Shade, after the physical and mental injuries were wiped out one by one, she finally couldn't help falling asleep.
When Miss Princess woke up again, she could already see the dock of Coldwater Port City in the distance. The familiar lights of civilization relieved the depressed feeling of the princess who had just experienced an adventure.
She was covered with a blanket, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the vast and bright galaxy above her head. She felt the sea breeze, the swaying of the boat, and the sound of the waves. Then she realized who she was leaning on, and then she realized that it was soft. She stood up and saw that it was her maid.
The boat had entered the harbor area, and the boatman held up a kerosene lamp and shook it. The inspection boat immediately avoided it after receiving the signal. But looking around, Shade was no longer on the boat. She wrapped herself in a blanket and raised her hand to signal the maids not to worry. After a good sleep, she felt much better.
"Where's Shad?"
Her face was serious and her tone was a little cold. She was not angry about Xia De's leaving, but she was always like this in front of servants.
He stood up and looked towards Lengshui Port City in the night. Although it was late at night, the harbor was still illuminated by gas lamps. The shadows of ships and buildings could not cover the fire of civilization. Lengshui Port City under the sea of stars was extremely shocking at this moment.
"Your Highness, that gentleman jumped into the sea five minutes ago. He said that getting off the boat over there is closer to where he is going back. He also said that he will come to see you the day after tomorrow, Wednesday."
The older maid said quietly.
The sea breeze blew the young girl's hair, and her long hair, which had been dyed golden by the magic potion, had completely returned to the royal red color.
The color of the lipstick had long faded in the water. The slightly pale lips moved, and the emerald eyes looked toward the harbor:
"What else did he say?"
The boatman lowered his head and steered the boat with the middle-aged man. The two maids looked at each other, and finally the older maid lowered her head and said:
"He told you to ask His Highness to help renew the room in the Golden Rose Inn on Hoglundz Avenue under the name of John Watson, and to meet at the entrance of the inn on Wednesday morning. He told you to send someone to inform the church about the ritual sea return and the evil god, and to keep the action secret as much as possible... He has to attend the Holy Prayer Festival tomorrow, so he doesn't have time to come."
Taking a deep breath, Her Royal Highness the Princess couldn't help but shook her head:
"It really fits his character, Xia De..."
The older maid was visibly hesitant, but she still managed to say the last sentence:
"The gentleman said that he knew who you were. Also, he had a great day and left a gift for you..."
The princess turned around and looked at her with a hint of surprise:
"Gift? The clothes he was wearing were all given to him by me. What kind of gift could he have called it?"
The two men on the boat wished they were not here at the moment.
The maid lowered her head, carefully took out a small box from the front pocket of her skirt, and whispered:
"That gentleman said that he bought a shell bracelet for his friend at a souvenir shop (note), and bought this for you. He originally wanted to give it to you after the tour guide mission was completed, as a commemoration of the encounter between two strangers in a strange city. You said you liked this,..."
The maid didn't dare to look at the princess's expression, but Resia Cavendish took the box, opened it with a click, and saw mermaid-shaped ruby earrings inside.
"he... ... "
I took the earring and thought of the exciting encounter in the alley at noon, the gambling cards in the tavern, the casual chats on the pier, the sunset of the lighthouse by the sea, the stories blowing in the sea breeze, the dance on the deck at night, the gazes in the cold cabin, and...
Her long red hair was swaying slightly in the wind, her eyes were slightly narrowed, dimples appeared on her fair face, and the corners of her mouth were raised.
She held the earrings tightly, standing on the boat and looking at the cold water port not far away. Although it was uncomfortable to wear a blanket and a skirt that had not yet dried, Leicia Cavendish, the sorceress of the Zalas Academy of Literature, the third princess of the empire, the red rose of Tobesk, and the eternal guardian of Rothel, was in a very good mood at the moment:
"Dorothy, at least this time, I admit that you have good taste. But I hope you will not be angry if I did not ask you to take my place while I fell asleep just now."
The ship sailed quietly into the brightly lit Coldwater Harbor. Although there was danger, for Her Royal Highness the Princess, this was indeed a "Coldwater Harbor Holiday" worth remembering for a lifetime.
In particular, this romantic story that she had personally experienced was not the tragedy that she hated (note).