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Chapter : 24
Enoch bowed slightly toward her, who had sunk deep into thought.
“May I help you?”
“It’s fine. The governor should have prepared most of it anyway. You’re the one who needs to go out to sea to receive the prince—are you sure you’re all right?”
Enoch also had to direct the navy and the knights to properly prepare to welcome the delegation.
He would even need to board a ship and escort them in.
“Greeting envoys was something I did constantly on the battlefield.”
His eyes curved faintly as their gazes met. Agatha, caught by the unexpected eye contact, stared at him as if spellbound.
She quickly gathered herself and replied.
“That’s reassuring. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Do not overexert yourself. Huber will lead the knights assigned to your escort.”
“Yes, understood.”
The ship entered the dock and dropped anchor. On the pier, the governor and the retainers of Nobilis were already waiting.
Knights poured first from the large vessel that had arrived at the main island. Securing the area swiftly, they raised a collective salute.
Clack!
At the top of the stairway, a tall man emerged first.
The retainers immediately straightened up and adjusted their ceremonial garb.
Step—
The approaching footsteps seemed to echo directly in their eardrums.
As Agatha stepped down the stairs holding Enoch’s hand, the retainers bowed respectfully.
“Welcome, My Lord, My Lady. We greet you to Pallaby Island.”
The governor offered the greeting on everyone’s behalf. Agatha smiled brightly.
“It’s good to see you, Governor. I’ve received reports every year, but I think this is the first time I’ve personally come since my coming-of-age ceremony.”
“That is correct.”
“Oh—allow me to introduce someone. This is my husband, Marquis Enoch Aratus. Enoch, this is Pallaby Island’s governor, Phil Butler.”
“A pleasure.”
The governor bent at the waist so deeply he almost touched the ground.
“I have long heard of your renowned name. It is an honor to finally meet you, my lord.”
While the officials of Pallaby and the retainers from Aratus and Nobilis exchanged greetings—
Agatha surveyed the harbor, drastically changed since seven years ago. Two months of construction were already showing results.
The port was expanding massively, surrounded now by inns, restaurants, and shops.
“Not bad.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
Reading her mood, the governor bowed quickly. Agatha turned to Enoch.
“I’ll go look over the construction sites and head to the castle first.”
“Very well. I’ll speak with the navy briefly and follow.”
He likely intended to examine defenses and escort formations once the delegation arrived.
The Eastern Imperial Navy commander, Count Caello, who had just disembarked, was approaching with his officers.
Meanwhile, Assistant Ethel inspected the horses the governor had brought and nodded.
“No issues, my lady.”
Governor Phil Butler had secured every available horse nearby—even those meant for the knights.
“I thought a horse would serve you better than a carriage if you wished to move quickly.”
“You’ve worked hard, Governor. Let’s depart.”
Ethel handed her the reins of the gentlest horse. It was about the size she was accustomed to riding.
Just as she hesitated, hindered by her long skirts, a hand at her side lightly steadied her waist.
“I should have had riding clothes prepared.”
Enoch lifted her effortlessly into the saddle. His brow furrowed ever so slightly.
Agatha closed fingers trembling with nerves around the reins.
“It’s fine. I’ll only take a quick look and then head back to the castle.”
Her face felt a bit hot. Her maids hurriedly tucked and straightened her dress, flustered.
“My lady, shall we bring your parasol?”
“Well… it might be too much to ride sideways and hold an umbrella.”
It was midsummer—wearing a hat over her high-pinned hair was impossible.
Nor could the maids—none of whom could ride—trail alongside with a parasol.
Enoch glanced up briefly at the blazing sun, then gestured behind him.
“Huber.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He took the parasol from the maid and handed it to Deputy Captain Huber.
“Do not leave her side.”
After a short pause, Huber saluted with a barely steady hand.
“Yes, my lord!”
Enoch nodded and looked up at Agatha.
“I’ll see you at the castle.”
Above her head, the parasol Huber held cast a cool shadow.
As relief spread across her skin, her chest tightened unexpectedly.
When had it become a husband’s duty to whisper warmly, meet her eyes, and worry about her comfort?
On impulse, Agatha leaned down and kissed his cheek.
“Yes. See you soon.”
Without checking his reaction, she nudged her horse forward.
“Move out.”
“Forward!”
With the lead riders and Ethel at the front, roughly fifty knights followed, Huber among them.
Agatha did not look back.
The horse she had never ridden before behaved politely enough beneath her.
The midsummer sun beat down, but the parasol kept it tolerable.
Soon the construction site she’d seen from the ship came into view.
“We’re preparing to accommodate at least ten ships moored at once,” Governor Phil Butler explained at her side.
The harbor was being expanded to handle the future influx of trade, clearly longer and wider than the old docks.
Even to Agatha, who knew little about construction, it looked nearly finished.
“You said it would be done within two weeks?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Then I’ll get to see it completed before I leave.”
Warehouses for trade goods were rising further in, and beyond them inns, shops, and eateries were being reorganized and expanded into proper districts.
“The consular residence is already complete. Would you like to see it?”
“Lead on.”
When Agatha stopped before the administrative district’s consulate building, a servant rushed out from within.
“Greetings, my lady!”
Naturally, no envoys were staying there yet—the treaty was not signed.
“How is maintenance handled?”
“We’re using staff from the trading company for now.”
Since the Nobilis merchant guild would eventually trade here, workers had already been dispatched.
Satisfied after checking their work, Agatha nodded.
“Good. I like it. Now I’ll circle the island and return.”
She glanced up at the sky—about noon.
“We’ll go quickly and return to the castle.”
“Understood.”
Deputy Captain Huber tipped the parasol carefully and spoke.
“My lady, if you are only surveying lightly, may I suggest a carriage? Even with a parasol, the heat may exhaust you.”
A carriage bearing the Aratus crest followed at the rear—clearly prepared just in case.
Whatever reluctance Huber had felt earlier vanished, and he now worried earnestly for his lady despite the blazing heat and their forced pace.
A knight does take after his lord, it seems.
Agatha smiled, taking the parasol from him.
“You’ve worked hard, Sir. I’ll take the carriage.”
The ship had docked in the morning, but by the time she reached the castle, midday had long passed.
Pallaby Castle was old and rugged, but its spires, terraces, and balconies held their own charm, looking as though they surveyed the entire island.
At the gate, the castle’s butler and servants awaited their arrival.
“Welcome, my lady.”
Agatha acknowledged with a small nod and glanced to Ethel. He responded immediately.
“The Myneukor delegation is expected to arrive in roughly three days, in the morning.”
“So I hear. Governor, how are preparations?”
The butler answered at once.
“The kitchen is preparing the dishes for the diplomatic banquet—you may taste them shortly if you wish. The banquet hall and the envoys’ chambers have been cleaned and decorated as best we could, however…”
As he trailed off, Governor Phil Butler stepped in nervously.
“As you know, my lady, I rarely travel to the capital outside of annual reports, so I fear some details may fall short.”
“It’s fine. The cleaning alone is a relief. Well done, Governor.”
After praising him lightly, Agatha led the retainers and knights inside.
Past the first-floor hall lay the grand banquet room, and the second floor housed the delegates’ quarters. Both the hall and rooms, decorated by Phil Butler, lagged far behind the fashions of the capital.
There isn’t enough time to do it properly.
It was a moment for choices. Agatha decided to focus solely on the banquet hall and the prince’s chambers, leaving the rest clean but plain.
With resources scarce, it was impossible to recreate the splendor of the capital everywhere.
