Chapter 30
“What do small boats like this usually do?”
“This one’s just for sightseeing. Carries passengers on short tours. Judging by how empty it is today, I’d say the captain’s grumpy nature scared them all off.”
“I can hear you, you know!”
The sharp-eared captain shouted from the helm.
“Hahaha.”
The Duke turned to me with a playful glint in his eye, deliberately avoiding the captain’s glare.
“That lovely sail over there? That was a gift from me.”
I followed the direction of his pointing finger.
A crisp white sail, stretched taut, was decorated with a delicate pattern.
“A dolphin?”
A charming little dolphin, painted in a soft blue dye. It looked cheerful and lighthearted.
The Duke walked toward the bow of the ship, eyes closed, facing the distant sea.
As I watched him quietly, the sea breeze seemed to wrap around me too.
Then, he turned and pointed out a direction to the captain sitting in the wheelhouse.
Was that some kind of signal?
Everything felt unfamiliar and fascinating to me.
Before I knew it, the boat began to turn.
“How does it feel to be out at sea?”
“I can definitely feel the rocking beneath my feet.”
Why does the uneasy feeling that I might get seasick always hit after I’ve already left the harbor?
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“A bit late to be asking that, don’t you think?”
“It’s just… standing here on the water, you look so small. Like the wind might carry you off. I was wondering if I should hold on to you.”
“No need, thank you.”
I firmly declined the Duke’s… offer-that-wasn’t-quite-an-offer.
“Well then, good. Try standing over here and hold on to that.”
As I followed his gaze and grasped the railing, a gust of wind came right on cue.
I worried I might stumble—but before I could even sway, a firm hand gently pressed against my back.
I hadn’t even noticed it until I felt the support.
“Look there. That direction.”
I turned to follow where the Duke was looking.
The sea shimmered under the light.
“Why do you keep closing your eyes?”
He’d just told me to look, and yet he was the one standing there with his eyes shut. It felt strange.
“I’m listening to the sea. You should try it too—close your eyes and feel the wind.”
“You must get called a weirdo quite a lot.”
He let out a silent chuckle at that.
But Duke Lahan had a strange kind of power.
He made you want to do the things he said.
So, I closed my eyes.
Seagulls. Waves. Fluttering sails. Wood creaking against wood.
So many sounds, overlapping and colliding. A chorus of noise that somehow felt peaceful.
“It’s a beautiful sound.”
“I thought you’d like it.”
The sea’s deep resonance felt so much greater than the quiet chaos inside me. It grounded me in a way nothing else could.
Then, among all those sounds, a sharp squeal pierced through.
What was that?
“You should open your eyes now and take another look.”
At the Duke’s words, I opened my eyes—and saw something leaping from the water where he’d pointed.
“…Is that…?”
The source of the sound—dolphins.
“You only get to see them if you’re lucky. But when you’re with me, luck seems to come easier.”
There were several of them, jumping in smooth, graceful arcs across the water’s surface.
It was almost as if they were trying to greet me, leaping again and again.
I couldn’t control my expression for a moment.
The corners of my mouth lifted before I even had the chance to stop them.
“It’s really amazing.”
“…I think so too.”
For me, the sea itself was amazing. But for the Duke—someone who lived beside it every day—what could possibly surprise him? Curious, I turned my head… and found his eyes on me.
So he wasn’t looking at the dolphins—but at me?
“Seems like Your Grace is watching something else entirely.”
“I’d like to keep watching.”
“Excuse me?”
“That joyful smile.”
I was at a loss for words.
Why would anyone say they want to see someone smile again…?
Quickly, I pressed my lips together and tried to hide it.
“What would it take to make you smile again? More dolphins?”
“Why are you so eager to see me smile?”
“Hmm… Because it suits you better?”
“…”
Doesn’t he realize that reacting like this only makes it harder to smile?
Just then, the dolphins’ cheerful squeals rang out louder than before.
The sound was comforting enough that I closed my eyes.
So this was what he meant by listening to the sea.
Even though I knew the Duke was still looking at me, I couldn’t stop my lips from curling upward again.
“…Only on the boat,” I said softly.
It wasn’t my place, after all. What power did I have to stop it?
And in that moment—on unfamiliar waters, far from the ground—I tasted a freedom both thrilling and uncertain.
I think I finally understood why the Duke loved the sea so much.
* * *
“I still feel like I’m on the boat.”
“Some people get dizzy after coming back on land.”
“Nothing ever comes easy, does it?”
Even though I’d stepped off the boat, the nausea hadn’t left me. In fact, it had started after I was back on solid ground.
Maybe I was just not built for land either.
“I’ll get you some medicine.”
The Duke chuckled as he looked at me.
That man’s smile had barely left his face all day.
Honestly, his face must’ve been sore from how long he’d been smiling.
His hair was only half-dry, lazily swept back, yet somehow he looked more put together than I did—despite me not having touched a single drop of water.
“My lady, are you alright?”
Elliot came rushing up as soon as he saw me.
I gave a small nod.
“With your health, why would you suddenly go out on a boat…”
“I have a habit of overestimating myself.”
As I waved my hand dismissively, Elliot bowed to the Duke beside me.
“Your Grace.”
“Well, I’m glad I’m not a ghost. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“Yes, while I was assisting Lady Deborah. We’ve crossed paths a few times.”
Duke Lahan folded his arms and gave Elliot a slow once-over.
“Was he always this handsome?”
At his words, I turned to look at Elliot.
This… is what he calls handsome?
“My lady, that look is a little too obvious.”
“Ah—sorry.”
Embarrassed, I quickly turned away.
The Duke let out a loud laugh beside me.
“You two still get along, I see.”
“It’s not really a matter of getting along or not. She’s the one I serve.”
Elliot’s answer was calm, proper.
I waved my hand again, silently telling him let’s not go there.
“Your Grace, thank you for everything today.”
“The sun’s still up—bit early for goodbyes, don’t you think?”
His voice was filled with disappointment.
“My body just doesn’t run that well, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t Mergen’s doctors know what they’re doing?”
“It’s probably because they’re too good at what they do.”
The real problem was that all that skill had been used for Chloe.
“Your Grace!”
From a distance, the Duke’s attendant called out.
It seemed they, too, had been searching for their suddenly vanished master.
“Looks like I’ve caused trouble for more than a few people.”
“I live like a wanderer anyway. This sort of thing is just part of the routine.”
Lahan shrugged shamelessly, as if none of it truly mattered.
“I’ll be going now.”
I let out a small chuckle and gave a polite nod.
“Next time, how about we meet with an actual appointment?”
The Duke said to me with a faint smile.
An appointment?
“Are we… the kind of people who make those with each other?”
“It’s just—being suspected of following you every time is starting to hurt my pride.”
“…”
I briefly wondered if I had been too rude—but then remembered he’s the one who’s been buying information on me.
“You do things that make it hard not to be suspicious.”
“Even if it’s my fault… doesn’t mean it doesn’t sting a little.”
I still couldn’t quite understand why the Duke showed me kindness.
But I had a small, naive belief—it wasn’t out of malice.
He had given up his time just to show me some dolphins, after all.
No, I don’t like the Duke.
I didn’t before, and even now, standing here face-to-face, I don’t feel much different.
It’s not that I disliked him as a person.
It was that he possessed so many things I never had—and it made me jealous.
Now, I finally understood where that vague sense of envy came from.
Freedom. Romance.
Even after dying and coming back to life, those were things that would never be mine. Things that shone too brightly to touch.
“Well… I suppose that wouldn’t be so bad.”
But now, the fact that I didn’t see him in a negative light anymore probably meant I’d grown a little attached to him.
This is exactly why you shouldn’t owe people—not even emotionally.
“If you ever need advice about ships, come to me. Not anyone else.”
“I’ll be sure to repay the kindness you’ve shown me.”
As I replied, Lahan looked at me with a strange, amused expression.
“Oh dear… I think I’ve finally figured you out a little.”
“Pardon?”
“That means I will be collecting that debt.”
His response made no sense.
Isn’t it only natural to return a favor when someone helps you?
“Well then, let’s meet again sometime.”
Lahan walked past us, and the sea breeze followed in his wake.
“Elliot.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Is the ocean breeze… always this warm?”
At my question, Elliot waved his hand vaguely through the air.
“Wind is wind, isn’t it? It’s all the same.”
Maybe that warmth… was meant only for me.
