Rotell entered the carriage, ducking down as she stepped inside. The enclosed space smelled faintly of fresh wood, raw herbs, and a familiar yet strangely stifling scent.
Theo followed her in, taking his place near the door out of habit, positioning himself sitting straight up and with a composed expression. Unlike the frighteningly feminine princess, he wore the uniform of the Royal Guard, a set of regal knight's armor, already polished and pristine, with a sword resting at his hip.
The moment the door closed—Poof! Rotell collapsed onto the cushion like a fat, defeated blob, and let out a long, frustrated sigh. She crossed one leg over the other, sitting crookedly, completely unlike a lady. The fabric of her dress stretched out, but she ignored it entirely.
There was already a driver seated outside, waiting patiently…
After the signal was given—
The carriage jerked forward as they set off for the day.
Rotell exhaled, shoulders finally falling as they distanced themselves from the Royal Palace.
Her eyes drifted, and—
Only then did she notice Arthur sitting across from her.
The scholarly engineer closed the book he had been reading and looked up at her with a strange expression.
Arthur was also dressed formally, though his thick goggles were still around his neck.
He blinked, clearly caught off guard by how forcefully she had collapsed back into the seat.
Rotell's face flushed red.
She quickly turned her head away.
They rode in silence as the carriage left.
The wheels clattered against the stone roads as they moved through the city, the steady rhythm and faint vibration carrying them forward. Through the small windows, Rotell caught brief flashes of life outside, with merchants opening stalls, guards patrolling city intersections, and colorful banners being raised in preparation for the arriving guests.
But still—
She sighed.
Something felt off…
The city was lively, busy in a way that bordered on festive, yet beneath it all still lingered a strange tension. It was different from the atmosphere during the First Calamity.
Behind their masks of contentment was a concealed emotion. They weren't desperate, no, not yet, but the shadow of calamity clung to all things, impossible to ignore.
From the moment the snow first fell, there was only one outcome.
It was death or survival, and they all were starting to understand that…
Arthur cleared his throat.
"You look… good," he said, his tone light, almost teasing.
Rotell stiffened and turned to him with a look of pure disgust. "…Good?" she repeated flatly.
He nodded. "I mean. The dress, it suits you—"
Her brow furrowed sharply.
Did this gearhead lose a cog? What the hell was he saying?
For a brief moment, neither of them knew where to look. The silence thickened, turning the carriage ride awkward and uncomfortable.
Why did he have to make it weird? Fiancé or not, even after a year, their relationship was still not too great.
Rotell huffed and turned back towards the window. "It's uncomfortable," she muttered. "And limiting…"
Arthur smiled faintly.
She wasn't wrong, that dress really didn't fit her at all.
Still, it did look good…
"Ahem!"
Theo chose that moment to lean forward and unroll their 'schedule'. "Your Highness," he said in a professional voice. "Once we arrive, you'll begin with..."
Rotell frowned but did not interrupt.
"After that," Theo continued calmly, listing one thing at a time, "you'll officially welcome the visiting delegation. More specifically, the Dragon Clan. You'll be expected to guide them through the empire, provide a tour of the capital, and assist them in settling down on the continent."
Rotell let her head fall back against the seat. "I know," she said. "Father explained all of this to me before we left."
"After a period of rest," Theo went on, unfazed by her 'resistance', "you'll escort them back to the Royal Palace for the 'negotiations'."
Rotell closed her eyes.
"I already feel exhausted just thinking about it," she sighed to herself in a low voice.
"…and the day's only just begun..."
Theo hesitated, studying the unreliable princess for a moment before continuing—
"There is also… Ahm, the 'unrest' to keep in mind."
One of her eyes twitched open.
That piqued her attention immediately, after all, it involved conflict!
How unreliable…
He lowered his voice. "The ban on the Mercenary Alliance hasn't gone uncontested, even after a full year has passed. Some of the city lords are still unhappy, and we've done nothing to help this. It wasn't obvious at first, but after a full year, the aftereffects are becoming more prominent, and their voices are getting louder with each passing day. This festival may be used as a platform for their objections, you must be careful, first princess..."
Rotell rolled her eyes.
For a moment, the laughter and music outside felt distant.
Her mind turned.
They had banned the Mercenary Alliance after the repeated assassination attempts during the Grand Gathering. It was such a small thing… but it had ridiculously disproportionate consequences. Regardless of who paid for them to do it, the Mercenary Alliance had proven they were willing to kill her for money.
That was unacceptable!
The alliance aside—
The problem was that many of the city lords under the Hellion Empire relied on mercenaries, often from the Mercenary Alliance, to act as their city's militia. Even the emperor didn't understand just how widespread this practice was, until after the ban! With that option gone, their control naturally weakened, and their dissatisfaction only grew in proportion to their lost men.
The most shocking part was that, for some cities near the border, this number was as high as 70%! Apparently, building an army from scratch was very expensive…
She clicked her tongue. She would deal with it when it came, but for now, they could only wait.
Her gaze returned to the window.
The carriage turned, and the road began to slope downwards.
As they neared the harbor, the sound of the festival finally reached their ears, with lively music carried on the wind, mingling with the scent of food and salt from the sea.
Rotell knew that today was going to be exhausting…
* * *
The 'Lularun River' was a vast, wide waterway that flowed from the heart of the southern region all the way out, meeting the southern sea. For centuries, this river had served as the primary artery linking the southern capital of Llynun to the outside world, carrying ships, goods, and people between the continent and the distant lands.
Through this river, the so-called 'overseas experts' could arrive directly by ship, docking at the Moonstone Harbor, which was along the outer ring of Llynun's south-east harbor district. From afar, the harbor dominated the artificial coastline, its scale apparent even before the city came into view.
The 'Moonstone Harbor' was shaped like a wide crescent, embracing the mouth of the river as it opened towards the distant southern sea.
A continuous stone wharf lined the inner curve of the harbor, forming the docking zone along the shoreline, and anchoring the harbor city to the waterway. From the center of the crescent, an enormous pier extended straight out into the harbor, splitting the crescent moon, and giving it the appearance of a drawn bow, with a nocked arrow aimed inwards towards the city.
The 'left half' of the harbor was dedicated to 'logistics and industry'. Cargo ships and massive transport vessels docked in orderly rows, all belonging solely to the empire, their hulls looming over the waterway like a series of steel walls. Along the shore, warehouses, cranes, and magically reinforced platforms lined the coastline in dense clusters, all operated by complex systems of magitech engineering. This level of infrastructure was unique to the Hellion Empire, and nowhere else on the Cross Continent possessed a harbor district capable of supporting sea trade on such a scale.
The area was alive at all hours of the day, filled with the constant motion of goods being unloaded, sorted, recorded, and sent into the empire every hour.
The 'right half' of the harbor was reserved for 'public use'. Passenger ships, merchant vessels, and 'foreign fleets', for whatever reason, docked along special stone foundations reinforced with runes and magic supports.
Flags and banners fluttered above the docks, while magical beacons marked the designated zones for different factions, dividing the harbor into neat, regulated sections designed to maintain order amid the constant flow of traffic.
Finally, following the inner curve of the harbor was a sprawling district, with Inns, taverns, halls, and various other buildings, all pressed together, interwoven with bustling markets and residential blocks.
Everything was crowded near the waterfront.
And lastly—
At the far end of the pier, surrounded almost entirely by water, like an island, stood a small harbor city. This was the 'back of the arrow'. It served as a gathering place for travelers and tourists who wanted to momentarily escape the chaos of the harbor city without leaving the coast behind.
Returning down the pier—
Where the stone pier met the wooden wharf, the transitional climb gave way to a broad beach that stretched toward the 'public half' of the harbor, and just beyond it, slightly inland, a massive plaza opened outwards, its scale rivaling a large city square.
The plaza unfolded seamlessly into the heart of the Moonstone Harbor, and during times like this, it became the fairgrounds for foreign arrivals and fervent festivals. Stalls, stages, and temporary structures filled the open space, transforming it into a vast celebration. From there, the crowds spilled outwards, drawing the entire harbor district, wharf, beach, and pier into the event, blurring the line between city, port, and festival.
* * *
Rotell stepped down from the carriage, the hem of her dress brushing lightly against its sole step as she alighted. For a brief moment, the wind picked up, ruffling her dress, its fabric catching the sun and reflecting softly as it settled back into place.
The servants paused, several of them staring in silent awe.
This was a side of the princess that was rarely seen.
Rotell, however, was already looking ahead…
Now that she was outside, she finally had room to breathe. She stretched without restraint, arms lifting up high as she arched her back and cracked her shoulders. "Hmmm—!"
Arthur watched her from the side, shaking his head.
Even when she didn't act like a princess, she still had the face of one, and there was no denying it—
She was indeed beautiful…
"Hm?"
His gaze dropped to the short sword resting at her hip—At the same time, Rotell glanced his way. Arthur turned aside with a small chuckle. That sword was definitely not part of the outfit.
Rotell rolled her eyes and walked around the carriage.
There was still a distance to go before they reached their destination.
This section of the city was clearly layered. The upper district marked the edge of Llynun's southern city, followed by a long, steady descent down the hillside, and finally, the lower city, where the stone roads gave way to the harbor district.
Beyond that sat the Moonstone Harbor.
As Rotell reached the far side of the carriage, the last obstruction fell away, unblocking her view, and the curve of the descending road revealed itself.
Ahead—
The road sloped gently along the hillside, winding down towards the harbor below.
From this height, the vast view of the harbor city opened up all at once…
The lower streets were alive with people—
Large banners and magic-beast-shaped paper lanterns marked the fairgrounds, their colors rippling in the wind. Farther out, the docks extended from the wharf, stretching towards the Lularun River, already crowded with ships and fluttering flags. Beyond even that, countless foreign vessels filled the water, actively awaiting their clearance to dock.
From here, Rotell could see everything—
The Harbor City, the ongoing festival, and the Moonstone Harbor in all of its glory!
She stopped.
Her eyes widened slightly, trembling.
The sight of the city, the clear sky, and the endless expanse of water, it was breathtaking, no, it was—
'freedom'
Her hair fluttered in the wind.
The Moonstone Harbor looked like a living mural. The water below shimmered with layers of blue and silver, broken by a forest of white masts, hundreds, no, thousands of ships, each bearing a different banner or affiliations. Music rose from the plaza below, blending with laughter, shouted greetings, and the steady rhythm of waves against stone.
The scene was overwhelmingly alive!
-
The Moonstone Harbor had not been built all at once…
After humanity's arrival on the Cross Continent nearly a thousand years ago, the first harbor had been crude and insufficient. As trade expanded over the years and contact with the overseas powers stabilized, the harbor grew piece by piece. Generation after generation added to its foundation, expanding and reinforcing what came before them.
Eventually, the current Moonstone Harbor was produced…
What began as a necessity became a legacy.
As for other 'harbor cities'…
Across the Cross Continent, only the southern region and eastern region possessed the economic foundation needed to build one, and even then, the eastern port remained young and underdeveloped, leaving the Hellion Empire as the only node in and out of the continent.
In addition, for many centuries, the Moonstone Harbor had served another purpose as well!
Every ten years—
It became the 'departure point' for the Hellion Empire's 'expedition' back to the main continent.
These 'expeditions' were not simple journeys. Scholars, soldiers, adventurers, mercenaries, and special envoys all gathered here, then carefully selected, lavishly supplied, and were then sent across the sea as representatives of the Cross Continent.
Many never returned, either from an accident or their own greed.
Those who did come back came back different, changed in an 'imperceptible' way….
When one widens one's worldview and witnesses the wonders of the wilderness beyond one's own walls, it was only natural that the outside world would do 'that to you', or so, Rotell had been told.
Her dream, like many other young princesses, was to leave the continent one day and explore the world.
Her gaze drifted toward the far end of the pier, where ships large enough for such an expedition sat anchored in silence. Those vessels formed the core of the Hellion Empire's navy, currently focused on preparing for the third calamity rather than the next voyage. Soon, that ten-year cycle would turn again, and whether it would happen this year, she didn't know—
But, it was unlikely…
Rotell pursed her lips and stepped forward. Arthur followed, then Theo, then a few servants.
She cleared her mind—
Behind them, the carriage door shut with a soft click, before driving away…