16 – Dock
Extra mooring lines. Poles and screws. Dozens of containers with unidentified drugs.
The reason I considered this equipment storage room safe is that all of these things are ‘necessary but not commonly used’ items.
Even though it’s uneasy right below the deck, the actual probability of being discovered is very low.
It’s dark under the lantern, they say.
Even if I hide under the faint hull, the chances of being caught by the crew are very slim.
Therefore, I believe I made the best judgment.
“……What are you looking at?”
Except for one miscalculation, that this place turned out to be a meeting point for the renegades, everything else went as expected.
Two women. One man.
It’s quite a crowd to hide in this narrow storage room.
But there’s nothing as foolish as rushing out of the warehouse door right now, when the passengers are at their peak.
People’s thoughts are all somewhat similar.
The woman with a plain appearance smiled gently.
“Um, excuse me. Can I ask for your names?”
“I don’t want to.”
“Uh…?”
“What’s with the names? We’ve only seen each other’s faces for a mere half-day.”
“…Half a day, I suppose. We are, metaphorically or physically, companions on the ship of destiny, aren’t we?”
As she spoke, the woman turned her gaze towards me. Is that right? It felt like she was asking with her eyes.
I nodded quietly.
“Tsk.”
The sharp-tongued woman clicked her tongue, but two out of three agreed.
The logic of majority rule was absolute.
“I’m Yujin.”
“I’m Lanya Diemani.”
“Liz.”
Lanya was a typical imperial woman who was more fittingly addressed as “Madam” than by her name.
It meant she was malnourished.
In terms of being typical, Liz was not much different from Madam, but objectively and subjectively, she was extremely beautiful.
Just as I observed them, they began to scrutinize me from head to toe.
Soon, Liz furrowed her brows.
It’s strange why someone like me would want to cross the sea.
Thanks to living with the Oslo family for three years, my nutritional state was much better compared to the federal average, although it couldn’t match up to that of an imperial.
Just by looking at the disgusted glances, it seemed certain that her reason for wanting to cross over to the federation was not a dream.
After a brief exchange of identification and mutual exploration, a chilly silence fell upon the equipment warehouse.
– Oh. Is this the room? Not bad at all.
– Your room is one floor down.
– Bang! Silence!
There’s a commotion outside.
The footsteps of passengers and crew members are mixed up in confusion.
Several times, I heard voices coming from the vicinity of the warehouse.
If I were to raise my voice carelessly and get caught, I would not only be taken away immediately, but I also wouldn’t know what would happen.
At the very least, I would never set foot on federal soil again.
“….”
Anxiety was escalating.
Mrs. Dieman’s complexion gradually paled, and Liz compulsively twisted her hair with a neurotic obsession.
I remained nonchalant; that must have been a lie.
Even I secretly stroked the spellbook inside my pocket, striving to ease the anxiety.
How much time passed like that?
Kururur, the engine of the colossal airship roared to life.
“Set sail!”
Whooohooo—
After the sound of the ship’s horn announcing departure washed away all other noises, the three of us finally found solace.
To my right, there was a very small window.
Through that gap, I could see it.
The land where I was born and raised.
The empire getting farther and farther away.
*
The sounds of waves parting and the hum of the engine became loud enough to erase at least some of the whispers.
We exchanged a few words.
But an unexpected threat began to torment me.
“Ugh.”
Instinctively, I raised my hand to cover my mouth.
In that state, after repeated deep breaths, I barely managed to suppress the urge to vomit.
“I never knew I’d get seasick.”
That’s quite serious.
You have to experience it by sailing.
For several hours after departure, I experienced an unfamiliar kind of hardship, with nausea and a headache. It was the first time I had experienced such a thing.
But there was someone comforting me.
“Are you okay?”
“…I’m fine, Mrs. Dieman.”
It seems that my choice of title was correct.
Wiping my sweaty forehead with a cloth or comforting my back seemed to be quite skilled in taking care of a sick child.
Perhaps it’s motherly.
It is one of the virtues that is hard to find in the empire after the war.
Unlike Liz, who fell asleep while ignoring my pain, Mrs. Dieman patted my back until I stopped trembling.
“I’m fine now. Thank you so much.”
“Don’t mention it.”
A gentle smile.
Mrs. Dieman also had a beauty that could rival Liz’s appearance, but her dark black hair was disheveled and her pale complexion emitted an unmistakable scent of illness.
Suddenly, curiosity arose.
“Why does Mrs. want to go to the Federation?”
Her eyes widened slightly and then gradually narrowed.
“…To meet my family.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Your family?”
“Yes. My husband is from the Federation.”
Confirming that her motion sickness had improved, Mrs. Diana slowly began to unpack her story.
Twelve years ago.
During a time when the Empire and the Federation were not on the best terms, but still maintained some interaction, Lanya, a bank employee, happened to meet her husband, who was in the Federation army.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this…but it was a fateful encounter. The local men weren’t interested in me, but a handsome man from another country? How attractive must I have seemed to a young girl like me?”
Even a tragic drama couldn’t have stopped the two of them.
Lanya fought against her family and their objections to the Federation, and eventually left to live a proper life there.
And so, she became Lanya Diana.
It was a happy household.
With a newborn son and capable parents, their home was harmonious to the extreme.
However, reality was not as rosy as it seemed. Just as Lanya’s family rejected her husband for being from the Federation, his family across the sea did not warmly embrace the daughter-in-law from another country.
Unbeknownst to her, she accumulated stress.
Arguments with her husband became frequent.
To make matters worse, when she received the news that her impulsive decision to come to the Empire had caused her mother, who had been left behind, to collapse, Lanya half-impulsively boarded a ship bound for the Empire.
“That’s when the war broke out.”
“Ah.”
“And so, more than eight years have passed since then. hahahaha, by now, my son must be around the same age as you, Eugene….”
Mrs. Diana looked into the air with eyes moistened with nostalgia.
“I really want to meet him.”
*
The ship arrived at another harbor about five hours later.
“It’s the arrival!”
Passengers, delighted to have reached their homeland, began to step outside one by one for disembarkation.
In my heart, I wished to join the ranks of those joyous celebrations, but there was no room for indulging in romance.
Arrival meant confronting the final obstacle.
Nadine Madame Reese.
With everyone awake, ears perked, we focused on the happenings outside.
My plan was simple.
Casually blend into the crowd.
Madame Reese mentioned waiting for the broker. I was a bit concerned about passing the identity check, but unfortunately, that part was beyond my control.
It was the moment we had been waiting for.
Step by step.
Amidst the commotion, a somewhat peculiar footstep began to be heard.
Most of the noise was either fading away or coming from a distance. After all, to disembark, one had to go up on the deck.
But those footsteps were different.
They were getting closer.
“Ah, Lord, oh gods.”
“….”
Madame Reese shivered, then clasped her hands together and began to pray.
I’m not sure who the prayer was directed towards, but one thing was certain: it was desperate.
I felt the same way.
Finally, I arrived at the Federation.
Now, if I just disembark and pass the inspection, my long-cherished wish will come true.
Is it possible that trouble arises when everything has been quiet until now?
If necessary, I’ll have to use magic. It was the moment when I would fix the spellbook after getting up.
“Shh.”
Liz restrained me.
Thump. The sound of footsteps stopped right in front of the warehouse.
My anxiety reached its peak, but she only mouthed the words.
“Close. The. Book.”
She was right.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Three knocks.
-Liz.
And as the sound of voices came through, Liz turned pale and rushed out of the warehouse door.
“Just a moment.”
Before I could stop her, the door opened.
Standing in front of the door was a blond crew member.
While I remained buried in darkness with Dianne and only my hands visible, Liz, unlike us, embraced the crew member in the light that poured through and shared a deep hug.
“We should start moving slowly.”
“Mm. Got it.”
“…Who are those people?”
As Seungjowon spoke, Liz fell into a momentary silence, then soon broke into a bitter smile.
“People we don’t know.”
“Really? Well then, let’s go.”
With a cheerful humming and the sound of footsteps, they gradually moved away.
Leaving only the two of us behind.
I turned to Mrs. Dieman.
She was sitting on the floor as if her leg strength had given way. I couldn’t carry her, and going outside like this might raise suspicions of being an unauthorized person.
A smile of resignation lingered in her eyes.
“The broker isn’t coming. It seems like it was a scam.”
“Mrs. Dieman…”
“Don’t worry. Edington Hotel usually takes extradition measures for those who follow all the way to the Federation. More than that.”
Mrs. Dieman rummaged through her belongings and handed me a piece of paper.
It looked like a letter.
“Eugene, you always seem calm. Maybe you have a place you trust?”
“…”
“I have a favor. Please accept this letter. Even if you don’t deliver it to your family, just take it, okay?”
She said that and Mrs. Dieman collapsed on the floor.
After receiving the letter, I helped her up.
“I will make sure it’s delivered.”
“…Thank you. Really.”
She took off her hat and placed it on my head. Thanks to that, my grey hair, barely noticeable if not closely examined, was covered.
“It’s a gift.”
*
So, I too set out towards the light.
After passing through several alleys, passengers and crew members came into view in earnest.
In the midst of that crowd.
“Joshua. Explain. Who is this woman?”
“Sir, it’s not what you think.”
“Explain. I’ve heard rumors about you working in maritime brokerage lately.”
The restrained Liz and Joshua, known as ‘the Bonded’, looked flustered.
And there was a middle-aged man with a splendid mustache and a luxury suit, leaving a strong impression.
No doubt. It was James Edington.
I struggled to calm my pounding heart.
So what if the author is the captain and the boss?
Whatever the sight before me meant, it didn’t matter.
I just walked.
Thud. Thud.
It was just as I was brushing past Sir Eddington.
“Wait a moment.”
He reached out an arm to stop me.
“What is it?”
“Excuse me, but could I see some identification?”
“……”
Silently, I pulled out my ID from my bag.
[Eugene Oslo / 1880. 3. 14]
“Here it is.”
“Hmm.”
He looked back and forth between the ID and my face a few times before slowly opening his mouth.
“Welcome to the Federation.”
I responded with a smile and hastened my steps.
“That bastard! He’s an illegal stowaway too!”
I ignored the shrill cry that came from behind.
I walked along the corridor and then up the stairs.
Standing on the deck, I looked around.
The first sight of the Federation.
Not a single building was broken or collapsed.
The towering buildings seemed countless, forming a unified artistic spectacle with the city and its streets.
Above all, there was no night there.
It was because the stars that embroidered the sky were also embroidering the ground.
Adjusting my hat against the chilly sea breeze,
“At last.”
It’s the Federation.
