I don't want to be loved (Book II)

Chapter 222: A Farewell Letter

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The Port of Salerno remained unchanged. Tall, imposing walls surrounded the beach. There were numerous houses with scarlet-colored rooftops everywhere. A seemingly endless turquois-colored. Everything was as calm and beautiful as before.

There was only one ship resting on the shores. A white, modern, elegant ship.

When the Queen's carriage arrived to port, the usually hectic port city suddenly turned tranquil. The carriage's door opened and the Queen descended from her vehicle surrounded by her guards. She was wearing a thick coat, hat and gloves all made of silver fox fur, as though she was planning on going somewhere far colder than Arundell. A little while later, the ship's captain approached her.

He took out his cap and bowed to the Queen of Arundell.

"Greetings to the most honorable woman in Arundell, Your Majesty the Queen. May Elheim's light always shine upon you."

A smile came up to Lalisa's lips.

"Greetings, captain. I'll be under your care."

The captain pointed at the two uniformed men by his side.

"This is the first official who'll be piloting the ship with me, and this is our best navigator."

Both men took off their caps and bowed to Lalisa. Then, they both answered to the captain at the same time. "It is an honor to serve you, Your Majesty. We'll make sure you reach Chrichton safe and sound."

Lalisa looked at the two men. One of them, the one who'd been addressed as the best navigator, looked quite young, almost a boy. He could not be older than 20 years old. As Lalisa kept looking at his face quite intently, she suddenly had the thought that the boy looked very familiar.

Seeing that the Queen was eyeing him with interest, the boy smiled.

"Your Majesty, in the past you were onboard the 'Ataraxia', a ship sailing for Chrichton, right?"

Lalisa remembered him.

"Were you..."

"Yes. I was a novice crew member back then. I explained to you the origins of the Ataraxia statue that was in the ship. Do you remember?"

A bright smile adorned Lalisa's face.

"Of course I remember. You've become the top navigator around here in such short time?"

"Yes. I'm talented, so I managed to rise a little earlier."

The rest of the crew members surrounding them a little distance away looked at the boy with envy. They seemed to be wondering when and where on earth could he have met the Queen herself in person.

Lalisa laughed.

"Yes. It's nice to see meet you again in your new position."

"The pleasure is mine as well, my Queen. Then, could I salute you separately?"

Lalisa extended her hand. The sailor quickly kissed the back Lalisa's hand, who was still wearing her leather gloves. The rising jealousy wave coming from the crew members was almost tangible.

"In any case, what did I tell you back then? The bonds with Ataraxia are strong. I told you you'd end up coming back to Arundell, didn't I?"

"You were right... though I came back under different circumstances."

Lalisa murmured bitterly that last part to herself. The sailor didn't hear her and continued talking to her excitedly.

"Do you know how surprised I was when I heard that the girl I'd met had become Queen? I went around town bragging about how I'd met the Queen but nobody believed me. Now they will."