Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 336 Shard’s Gift
After leaving the pirate ship, Shard felt hunger, but his physical and spiritual energy had normalized within minutes. However, even with a fourth wish and the healing at the end of the Maze Lock, Miss Princess took longer to recover, and after swimming continuously for so long, the sorceress from the Five Rings looked strong but was actually near her limit.
The people on the small boat promptly noticed the floating plank and the two people swimming toward them, and they quickly converged.
The maid on the boat reached out to pull Miss Princess aboard, but the sorceress was too exhausted, so Shard had to support her into the boat first before he could clamber aboard himself.
Someone immediately handed him a dry towel and a blanket while, with a dull roar, the small steam engine at the stern began to operate. As the boatman added more compressed charcoal, the ignited flames warmed the surrounding air. Plumes of black smoke blended into the night as the boat, powered by the small steam engine, swiftly moved away.
The steam engine used for small boats was a unique product of the world’s steam industry development. This brass machinery, which required expensive compressed charcoal, had not been widely adopted due to its high manufacturing cost and complex maintenance—Shard had only read about it in the newspapers and never expected to see it here.
The cost of such a steam engine was probably equivalent to several hundred Mia’s.
Thinking of this, Shard greatly missed his cat, his warm four-poster bed, and the blankets at home.
Apart from Shard and Miss Princess, there were four others on the boat. Two dressed as maids, one appearing to be about thirty years old and the other about the same age as Miss Princess. The other two were an old boatman, busy steering the boat, and a middle-aged man with a determined expression, obviously with a military background. He held a gun and watched the surrounding navy ships, which, despite being lit, were too distant to be clear in the dark night.
"Your Highness, Your Highness~"
Miss Princess was supported by the older maid, wrapped in a blanket, while the younger maid tried to give her water.
"She’s hurt, let me do it."
Shard wiped his hair and moved closer, the maids uncertain whether to trust him, but Miss Princess’s pale lips moved slightly, she spat out the leaf in her mouth, then whispered:
"Let Shard come."
After taking the cup, Shard gently tapped it to make the silvery spiritual light appear, then drank a small half himself.
He was really starving, although the hunger had significantly decreased after leaving the pirate ship, so he hadn’t drunk seawater, but he felt uncomfortable not eating something.
The maids looked somewhat reproachfully at the "bold" Shard. He ignored them, as Miss Princess wasn’t much injured and had been continuously keeping an Ever-Youth Leaf in her mouth; she didn’t need Satiety Food.
"Don’t talk just yet."
Shard whispered urgently, reciting Spell Words after which a glimmer of Silvermoon light appeared on his palm—it was "Cyndia’s Silvermoon Blessing," specifically for healing spiritual injuries at night.
Carefully, he placed his hand on Miss Princess’s forehead, under the slightly awestruck looks of others on the boat. The redhead girl couldn’t resist sleep any longer and fell asleep.
Unlike Shard, she had stayed in the lower cabin for so long, even just standing had greatly affected her spirit, and coupled with the consumption of the food of Desire, only her strong spiritual power had allowed her to endure till now. Now nestled against Shard, as her physical and spiritual traumas were gradually healed, she couldn’t help but fall asleep.
When Miss Princess woke up again, they could already see the docks of Coldwater Port City in the distance; the familiar glow of civilization significantly eased the pent-up feelings of the recently adventurous princess.
Covered with a blanket, she opened her eyes to the vast, brilliant starry sky. Feeling the sea breeze, the rocking of the boat, the sound of the waves, she soon realized she was leaning on someone’s chest, then noticed it was very soft. On sitting up, she saw it was her maid.
The small boat had already entered the harbor area; the boatman held up a kerosene lamp, the signal boat immediately moved aside. But looking around, Shard was nowhere to be seen on the boat. She wrapped the blanket around herself, gesturing to the maids not to worry. After a nap, she felt much better.
"Where has Shard gone?"
Her expression was stern, her tone somewhat cold—not because she was angry at Shard’s departure, but because this was her usual demeanor in front of servants.
Having stood up, she gazed toward Coldwater Port City enveloped in the night. Despite the deep night, the harbor remained illuminated by gas lamps, and neither the shadows of the ships nor the buildings could obscure the blazing light of civilization under the starry sky; Coldwater Port City at this moment was utterly awe-inspiring.
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"Your Highness, that gentleman jumped into the sea and left five minutes ago. He said that disembarking there was closer to the direction he was heading. He also mentioned that he would come to see you the day after tomorrow, on Wednesday," said an elder Maid softly.
The sea breeze fluttered the young girl’s hair, her hair dyed gold by a Magic Potion had already completely returned to the Royal Family’s distinctive red.
The color of her lipstick had long faded in the water, her slightly pale lips moved, and her eyes, green as emeralds, turned toward the harbor:
"Did he say anything else?"
The boatman lowered his head, operating the boat with a middle-aged man. The two Maids glanced at each other, finally with the older Maid bowing her head and saying:
"He asked, Your Highness, to help renew the room at the Golden Rose Inn on Hoglenz Avenue, registered under John Watson, and to meet at the entrance of the inn on Wednesday morning. He asked you to have someone inform the church about the ceremony ’Sea Return’ and the affairs of the Evil God, and to keep the actions as concealed as possible... He will be attending the Holy Prayer Day activities tomorrow, so he won’t be able to come over."
Taking a deep breath, Her Highness the Princess couldn’t help but shake her head:
"That’s really in character for him, Shard..."
The older Maid hesitated briefly but still spoke her last line:
"The gentleman said that he knows who you are now. Also, he had a very pleasant day today and left you a gift..."
The Princess turned to her, slightly surprised:
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"A gift? The clothes he was wearing were given to him by me. What gift could he possibly have?"
The two men on the boat dearly wished they were not here at this moment.
The Maid lowered her head and carefully took out a small box from the pocket in the front of her skirt, whispering:
"The gentleman said that while at the souvenir shop, he bought shell bracelets for his friends and this for you. He originally planned to give it to you after the tour ended, as a memento of the meeting between two strangers in an unfamiliar city. You mentioned you liked it,..."
The Maid dared not look at the Princess’s expression, while Lecia Cavendish took the box, snapped it open, and inside were ruby earrings in the shape of a mermaid.
"He..."
Taking the earrings, she thought of the passionate encounter in the noon alleyways, the card games in the tavern, the casual chats by the docks, the sunset by the lighthouse by the sea, the stories blown by the sea breeze, the dance on the deck under the night sky, the look exchanged in the cold boat cabin, thought of...
The red hair fluttered slightly in the wind, her eyes narrowed slightly, dimples appeared on her fair face, and the corners of her mouth curled up.
Holding the earrings tightly, she stood on the small boat looking toward Coldwater Port not far away. Clad in a blanket, although her still damp dress clung uncomfortably to her body, Lecia Cavendish, the Female Sorcerer from Zaras Literary Academy, the Third Princess of the Empire, the Red Rose of Tobesk, Rossell’s eternal Guardian, felt very content at this moment:
"Dorothy, at least this time, I must admit your taste was really good. You won’t be angry because I fell asleep just now and didn’t ask you to temporarily take over for me, right?"
The boat quietly sailed into the brightly lit Coldwater Port. Despite the dangers encountered, for Her Highness the Princess, this was truly a "Coldwater Port Getaway" to remember for a lifetime.
Especially this story, rich in romantic colors, personally experienced by her, and not the kind of tragedy she abhorred.
