Episode 56. Witherspoon’s Youngest Daughter (1)
“As I told you earlier, the Blue Cat cannot set sail until the heir is decided between me and Warak, Your Majesty. That is our way of doing things.”
He spoke cautiously with a cozily puzzled look on his face.
Thud thud.
The bloodthirsty siblings watched Rubin walk towards the railing. The rough waves accompanied by the red moon made Rubin stand unsteadily.
“Cozy, cozy.”
Rubin, who was looking at the red moon with indifferent eyes, then turned his gaze to A-Kuk and Warak.
“yes?”
“I have no intention of breaking the traditions of the Geoheul clan.”
“Then what did you mean when you said you would be able to arrive on time?”
“I mean it. If we don’t set sail tomorrow, this ship, the Blue Cat, could lose its owner.”
“…yes?”
The two siblings, who had been staring blankly, blinked as if they had no idea what was being said.
“What do you mean?”
“This ship will become property of the Empire.”
Although it was a statement that skipped over the explanation, the mere thought of losing their master and becoming property of the Empire was enough to send a chill down the spines of the two giants.
“Read it.”
“What is this?”
“What you need to know. Just look at the parts I highlighted.”
Rubin handed me a book. The top corner of the book was dog-eared, and there were lined sentences in the middle.
-According to Imperial law, the estate of a deceased Giant is automatically inherited by his children.
-The heir is decided according to the tradition of the great clan.
The tradition of the Geohyeol tribe was to see the competition. It could be a fight to decide the winner, like Awook and Warak, or it could be a game like Rock-Paper-Scissors. The Geohyeol tribe tradition was to divide the winner and the loser by any means.
After reading the text, Acook looked at Rubin. His eyes still had questions in them.
I read the part that said to check, but it didn’t seem to be a problem.
“It’s in the next chapter too.”
I flipped through the paper. There was another section with a line drawn in the middle.
Before reading it out loud, A-Keun read it with her eyes first. Her face hardened for a moment.
“… … !”
“Sister, what’s wrong?”
Among the siblings, only Aok could read. Warak, not knowing English, looked back and forth between his older sister and Rubin.
Rubin stepped forward towards them.
“According to the laws of the Lillic Empire, the only property you automatically inherit is ‘real estate owned within the Empire’.”
“Just real estate? Then our Blue Cat… … ?”
“Of course it is subject to confiscation. It is not your property, but is returned to the empire as property.”
“What is that?”
“That’s why there are no livestock among the giants. That’s because it’s not included in their property.”
The law was this: a vassal could not keep livestock, could not own a carriage, and could not leave the Imperial Territory unless he joined the Imperial Brigade. He could only stay in one city that he was permitted to stay in.
Warak shouted urgently.
“Your Majesty! The Blue Cat was recognized by the city as my father’s property! I even have the deed of ownership!”
“A certificate of title issued by the mayor? That is of no use. The laws of the city cannot take precedence over the laws of the empire.”
The expressions of A-Keuk and Warak were distorted again. The market certificate that they had trusted so much was nothing more than a piece of paper.
“Then what should we do? Huh?”
Warak began to cry. He had to lose the Blue Cat, which held so many memories. He was helplessly trapped in the swamp of the law.
Cozy also didn’t know the solution. All she could do was look at Confucius standing before her with earnest eyes.
“It’s not that there is no solution.”
“yes?”
“Really?”
“Actually, it’s a simple matter. You just have to report it yourself. Go to Philimond yourself.”
“Sister, where was Philimond?”
“It’s a large city located northwest of the Gray Harbor.”
“Cozy is right. The Imperial Code is enshrined there. It is also an Imperial territory. If we just set sail, we can go there on this ship right away.”
Rubin said matter-of-factly. The Giant Blood siblings were lucky if they were lucky. But there was another problem here.
“But… we are in a situation where we can’t leave the imperial territory, right?”
A law that states that as a member of a clan, one cannot leave one’s direct territory of one’s own free will.
Warak’s face crumpled again as he belatedly remembered this fact. The glimmer of hope that had been there seemed to suddenly disappear.
In order to claim ownership of the Blue Cat under Imperial law, you must go to Philimond, but Imperial law prevents you from doing so. What an irony.
Should I enlist in the Imperial Army right now? As Warak was pondering, Rubin gave him a clue.
“There is one way.”
“yes?”
“Think about it carefully, Warak.”
Rubin pointed to the Blue Cat, which was standing on its feet, with his index finger spread out.
“You are one of the few giants who can sail a travel ship within the Empire. No, as far as I know, you are the only ones. You are not like the other giants who live on land.”
“What do you mean…?”
“You can only leave the Imperial territory if you are carrying Imperial citizens. Isn’t this a privilege that only applies to you?”
As if they had realized it too late, Warak and Awook’s faces gradually brightened.
That was right. It was just that I had been doing sea work unconsciously, thinking of it as a mission, so I didn’t realize it. It was a problem that could be easily solved by just taking on passengers of imperial status.
but.
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“How can we get passengers to Philimond? With the red moon making it so no one is coming?”
“Don’t worry about that.”
Rubin’s index finger, which had been pointing towards the ship just a moment ago, was now pointing at himself.
“Yes? Wasn’t your Majesty going to Capotini?”
“It’s nothing much, I’ll just stop by Philimond for a bit. I have some business to attend to there.”
The moment those words fell out, Awoo exhaled roughly. Suddenly, her stiff body felt like it was melting away.
At the same time, Warak rushed to Rubin and grabbed his hand.
“Thank you, Prince Luden! I really appreciate it!”
“We should hurry. As far as I know, you have to report within 120 days to get your assets recognized.”
“Oh, then… there’s about 20 days left. Don’t worry! If we go at full speed, we can get there in ten days.”
Only then did I understand what Rubin had said when he first appeared. He had said that he would be able to arrive on time because of the deadline for being recognized as property in Philimond.
“Let’s get to work on maintenance right away so we can set sail before daybreak!”
“Cozy, I’m making an exception this time. You’re co-captains.”
“Okay. Just this once.”
The problem that had been like a thread was cleanly resolved. Warak hurried. He immediately began to inspect the condition of the deck, and went inside to start making knocking, knocking, knocking sounds.
“You’re coming just in time.”
Rubin said, looking over at the dock. He could see Kuze walking hurriedly along the darkened road.
The person who followed him was a broker who was dragged out without knowing what was going on.
* * *
“Hello, nice to meet you! What’s your name?”
Rubin looked down at the girl’s hand as she offered to shake his hand, but did not respond.
I didn’t expect to have a passenger. It was unexpected. I didn’t know there would be other passengers on the Blue Cat.
The siblings, who were both very ill, were also in a difficult position.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. The broker complained so much… … .”
“And… you are the one holding the highest level of identification.”
The whispers of coziness and commotion alternated. If it was the highest level of identification, it was two levels higher than the Imperial Pass.
There was nothing higher than the highest level of identification. Above that was only the Lilic Imperial Clan.
That meant that the girl who was smiling brightly and shaking hands right in front of me was a member of a family whose name would be known anywhere in the empire.
“This princess is said to be a magic student.”
Even a magic cadet. Most likely, she’s the reckless daughter of a wealthy family.
There were many such incidents even before the return. Aristocrats who had amassed enormous wealth would buy the highest level of identification and pretend to be royalty.
Rubin scratched his head, leaving the princess’s hand outstretched for a handshake.
“Don’t you know what a handshake means? It means that I don’t have a weapon, so let’s check to see if you don’t have a weapon either.”
Although he was around the same age as Rubin, his every word was full of confidence. That would be expected of a magic student from a prestigious noble family.
“Tch, you’re a boring kid, aren’t you?”
The girl quickly lost interest in Rubin, so she got up from her chair and walked over to Acook, who was holding the key to the Blue Cat.
“Wow, I read this in a book and I was so curious about it!”
The girl shouted with her eyes sparkling.
“This Blue Cat, you know it’s incredibly famous? It’s even in the ‘Imperial Ship Review’.”
The Blue Cat was now about to depart.
It seemed obvious that I couldn’t let that noble magic student off the ship, so if I didn’t want him on board, I had to get off now.
“Your Majesty, what should I do?”
“It might be a bit noisy, but I guess we have no choice but to go together to Philimond.”
After Rubin’s decision was made, Kuze entered his assigned room without saying a word and unpacked his luggage.
Puuuuuuuuuuu.
At that moment, the horn signaling departure blew. The Blue Cat quickly left the port and headed out into the middle of the sea.
“Do you know what the horn of the Blue Cat is made of? It’s the claw of Actonia, one of the sea monsters. Of course you know Actonia, right? It’s a very famous story, but you don’t know it? Strictly speaking, it’s made of claws, so it can’t be called a horn… … .”
The blonde girl who had been wandering around the ship sat down across from Rubin again and excitedly showed off her knowledge.
Rubin pretended not to listen, resting his chin on his hand and looking away.
at that time.
The blonde girl offered a second handshake. They had to make sure that neither of them had weapons. Rubin slowly raised his arm and shook her hand, seemingly annoyed.
“By the way, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Chloe Witherspoon.”
“what?”
Rubin asked back in surprise. He thought he had misheard, but the girl’s smug expression said otherwise.
“I knew you’d react like that. That’s what happens when you hear my family name.”
“Are you really the Witherspoons? Really?”
“And most of them ask me back, ‘Are you really the Witherspoons? Really?’ Do you know how boring that is?”
Chloe then ran her right hand down her left forearm. There was evidence of Witherspoon blood running through her veins.
Phew.
On Chloe’s left forearm, the symbol of the Witherspoon family, the greatest magical family in the empire, twinkled like starlight.
