Chapter : 01
“Kyaaaah! Hold on tight, Roela!!”
A violent storm swept through, so strong that I could barely control my body. The massive cruise ship rocked dangerously.
The ship had already struck a reef, and the lower decks were flooding. The vessel was slowly tilting.
Roela clung to the railing, sobbing. Seeing that she was still okay, I gripped the railing tightly as well.
The lifeboats were slowly being lowered into the icy sea.
We just had to get on one of them!
I struggled forward, holding onto Roela. As we reached the rope ladder leading to a lifeboat, a crew member blocked our way.
“There’s only one seat left! Others will have to take the next lifeboat!”
“Milena, no! Let’s look for another lifeboat together.”
Roela clung to my arm. Her small, beautiful face was streaked with tears.
“Another lifeboat? No time for that. We have to get on one while there’s still a spot. What if the next one only has one seat too?”
Gritting my teeth, I pushed Roela toward the crew member.
“I’ll take the next one, you go first!”
“No, I’ll take another one instead, Milena!”
“Still insisting? You’re weak! Hurry! Your hesitation could endanger others!”
“That’s right, Miss Roela! You’ll be able to board another lifeboat shortly!”
“See? They said so!”
Hesitating, Roela grabbed the ladder down to the lifeboat. Tears streaming, she cried out desperately.
“Make sure to get on right away! Milena, we’ll meet below!”
“Got it!”
After sending Roela off, I turned around. Chaos reigned. I thought it was over, but I was in a 19+ romance fantasy world. I was the villainess who tormented the heroine and was destined to be executed.
I couldn’t just accept that fate.
I had worked hard behind the scenes to become the heroine’s closest friend, thinking that my path would finally be smooth from then on.
A decent family, parents who cared for me, and a talented older brother—even if annoying, he was capable.
I thought I could now meet a good man, fall in love, and live happily ever after.
But who could have predicted such a disaster during a cruise with the heroine, Roela?
“Focus, Milena. How did we even get this far?”
I shook my head and clung to the railing, looking for another lifeboat. The cruise ship suddenly tilted 90 degrees and began to sink.
“Kyaaaah!”
I didn’t want to die like this!
I thought I was going to die, but I survived.
That was three weeks ago.
I had been swept out to sea and stranded on an unfamiliar continent.
The place I arrived at was the Cyern Empire, completely opposite from the Luikaron Empire where I had lived.
The languages were different, the cultures different, and there was no contact between them. Even the distance alone was daunting, but the sea infested with monsters between them severed any interest in the other entirely.
I knew of the Cyern Empire’s existence but nothing in detail. My possession buff was completely useless here. Surviving in the Cyern Empire was like starting from scratch. At least I could speak Cyernese—thankfully. Otherwise… ugh.
And, fortunately or unfortunately, I wasn’t alone.
“……You got it all wrong, Duke Kaisa. You didn’t practice dictation, did you? I told you to write while I read it ten times. You didn’t do it, right?”
Hearing this, I wondered if it was misfortune. When I glared at him, Duke Kaisa glanced away, then moved his neatly handsome lips slightly.
“I was busy. The assignment was difficult.”
“Still, you should have made time. When will you ever improve if you keep this up?”
Watching Duke Kaisa puff his cheeks, I sighed deeply. He was a well-built, handsome man. Just looking at him made me feel warm inside. Even his expressions were kind of cute…
Focus. Is this really the important thing right now? No, when the hell can we get back?
I didn’t reunite with Kaisa in the Cyern Empire after the shipwreck.
A Cyern Empire ship rescued both of us while we were adrift.
The Luikaron and Cyern Empires were on opposite sides of the world, far apart with no contact.
Even organizing a long-distance voyage was difficult, but the bigger problem was the Monster Sea between them.
The sea, teeming with monsters, could only be crossed safely a few days a year.
Thus, few attempted the journey; there was no reason to risk one’s life for a single voyage.
And no one was willing to risk their life to save castaways. Doing so was basically a demand for payment in return.
We had no choice but to follow the crew who saved us to Cyern.
At that time, all I had were my clothes, earrings, and rings. Plus a few accessories attached to Duke Kaisa’s clothes. It was fortunate that these hadn’t been swept away by the current.
In an instant, I was destitute.
Returning to Luikaron required money. We had to cover basic needs in Cyern and find passage back to Luikaron.
For the first time since possession, I had to worry about money.
Fortunately, there was hope.
The crew who saved us told us that crazy people exist everywhere.
“There’s a smuggler’s ship that crosses between Cyern and Luikaron once a year. You might try to get on it, but the fare is quite high.”
I never thought I’d be grateful to smugglers.
Anyway, we had six months before that ship, so we needed to earn a lot of money first. But we had to secure basic needs before that.
“I’ll sell my sword.”
“No, you can’t!”
I stopped Duke Kaisa from giving up his sword. All he had going for him were his looks and his sword.
On the ship, I realized Duke Kaisa had no talent for languages. Learning Cyernese would likely be difficult.
“I’ll sell my jewels. They were expensive, so we should get enough to survive.”
“……I will repay this favor someday.”
“Please do.”
We gathered all the jewels and gold we had. Finding a place to live was no easy task either.
“Hmm. This gold is fine, but this gem may have been damaged by seawater. I can’t give full value for such pieces.”
“Please check properly. These are top-quality gems!”
“Unfortunately, gems like these are common in Cyern. Maybe they came from another country?”
The sparkling brooch on the jeweler’s chest was equivalent to the finest ruby I had insisted on.
At least they gave a good price for the gold, so we could get a house.
It was a tiny house with just a bathroom, a small room, and a compact living room-kitchen. The best I could get after a full day of running around.
With the remaining money, we bought a few clothes and some food, and that money quickly ran out.
It had been grim.
…And that was three weeks ago.
