How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending

“Anyway, we do not have the funds to cross the desert. That is an absurd claim.”

Someone cut in sharply, their tone forceful. Soon, the voices of the attendants began rising in disagreement.

Tristan, who had brought the matter to discussion, seemed to ignore the debate, lost in his own thoughts.

The image of Ruellin, lying under the dimly flickering light over the past few days, his pale face calm yet tense, came to his mind.

His damp blonde hair clung to his haggard cheek. His faint silver lashes trembled slightly. His fragile breath hung by a thread, barely holding on.

Ruellin seemed as if he might never wake again.

‘And the moment I try to get my mind in order, he spouts nonsense.’

Taking both Constantine and himself across the sea? The child could be dramatic yet fearless. Tristan let out a light sigh.

The alternative he had suggested was equally surprising. Though he first thought of Constantine, Ruellin himself was the bigger concern. Life at sea was not for everyone. A Grand Consort, raised in the refined comfort of a wealthy viscount family, could hardly withstand the harshness of the ocean.

‘It’s lucky if he doesn’t collapse. His body is far too weak.’

Tristan recalled last night, when he had pushed Ruellin’s frail body to its limits, and cleared his throat.

Still, the idea Ruellin had suggested was unexpectedly clever.

‘Trade, huh…’

The seas were changing, and that might present an opportunity. Tristan slowly closed his eyes and lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips.

“The Grand Consort…”

His low, resonant voice drew the eyes of all the murmuring attendants toward him.

He slowly lifted his gaze to sweep across the room, then continued in a calm tone.

“He mentioned the Northern Continent, not the Eastern Empire.”

The Northern Continent Union Kingdom.

The proposal was to sail beyond the rough Northern Sea to the land of barbarians, covered in ice and wilderness. A land with no unified state, where the so-called “union” was likely just a collection of tribal communities.

Immediately, the commotion that had filled the office fell silent. Even breaths seemed hushed.

❖ ❖ ❖

Hezekia encompassed the entire northern territory of the Rubyere Empire. To the north, across the Northern Sea, lay the Northern Continent. To the west stretched the vast ocean.

Being adjacent to the sea, Hezekia had maintained a strong naval tradition for generations. The Hezekia knights, known as one hundred against a hundred—or even a thousand—served as mercenaries, boarding ships instead of riding expensive warhorses to combat pirates. Hezekia’s fleet was thus both the Grand Duke’s most important asset and its primary field of operations.

So, he had expected a majestic fleet of large ships.

“……”

However, seeing the fleet before him, I was momentarily speechless. I only regained my composure when Tristan silently approached and stood beside me.

“Um… Your Grace?”

Tristan looked down at me, as if asking what the problem was. I closed my mouth, which had unconsciously fallen open, and turned my despairing gaze back toward the fleet.

The Hezekia Grand Duke’s direct fleet consisted of seven ships. For this era, a fleet of seven warships was far from ordinary. That was likely why they had earned their reputation as a mercenary group capable of clearing pirates.

…Or so I had thought. Until five minutes ago.

‘How have they even fought a naval battle with this?’

It was utterly shocking.

Despite being the Grand Duke’s fleet, every ship was old and shabby. They were small, and so many times patched that mismatched boards were nailed across the hulls.

Some were so worn that gaps at the seams were visible even from a distance. A strong wave could easily split them apart. One ship’s stern was noticeably sunken. It looked as if it could sink at any moment. Could they really be allowed to sail this?

I turned to Tristan in disbelief and asked,

“Your Grace. Is this really the official fleet?”

Tristan’s eyebrows twitched subtly. Eventually, he averted his gaze slightly.

“……”