How the Villainous Consort Avoids His Death Ending - Chapter 86.1
I slumped down, covering my face with both hands. Cheers echoed from all around the lifeboats. Everyone had begun hurrying to return to the fleet. The sounds of activity and joyful voices filled the air. My nose tingled and my throat stung. Soon, tears poured like a waterfall.
“You cry a lot, Grand Consort.”
Tristan pulled me into his arms as he spoke. His tone was unusually light, almost like a joke.
“How… huh, ah, you are not crying? Huh, Your Grace… this is… strange.”
I protested without lifting my head, and a laugh reached me from above. Tristan’s chest was damp with my tears. It was bad enough that it was tears, but even my runny nose had soaked him.
“Stop crying. Your face will swell up.”
“I-it’s f-fine, huhuh… wet… someone… huhu… sees…”
“Your clothes are all wet too.”
“I, huh, will wash them. No, huh, I will buy new ones…”
“We must be careful with drinking water. If you collapse from exhaustion, it will be serious.”
“Huh, be quiet, huhuhu, please…”
Every sailor’s face was soaked. Even so, Tristan, still perfectly composed, seemed almost unnatural.
❖ ❖ ❖
The sailors brought the lifeboats one by one close to the ships and began boarding. Their hands, gripping the ropes to climb onto the decks, were full of bruises and blisters, yet no one showed signs of fatigue.
The fleet was safely guided out of the deathly sea. That alone was enough to make them forget exhaustion.
Of course, that was only for the healthy, normally fit sailors.
“Didn’t I tell you to put down the oars? Your whole body is on fire.”
“I-it’s fine… huff…”
“Where is fine? You can barely hold your body. This will not do. You will collapse before reaching the ship.”
Uncharacteristically talkative, Tristan clicked his tongue and scolded me for a while. Then he slid his left arm under my hips and lifted me effortlessly. His right hand gripped the rope coming down from the ship firmly.
I panicked and clung to his neck, shouting.
“What are you doing? Put me down. Surely you are not going to board the ship like this?”
“How else would you get onto the deck alone?”
“But…”
Even considering my weak stamina, it was pushing too far.
My head was dizzy from the sudden fever, and I had been fainting repeatedly even before being moved to the lifeboat. It was inevitable.
But relying on a rope to climb onto the flagship while Tristan carried me with one arm seemed impossible.
“Do you think we moved like this when transferring to the lifeboat?”
“….”
It seemed plausible. Even then, Tristan must have carried me with one arm.
I lowered my head, resting my forehead against his shoulder, gripping his arm tightly. If I fell from him, I would have ended up broken in the middle of the open sea.
Tristan smiled faintly, seemingly satisfied, and began boarding the ship. He moved so quickly that it felt like I was clinging to a five-year-old child rather than the Grand Consort.
“Grand C-Consort, stick closer! Wrap your legs around me too, okay!”
“Yes, Your Grace…”
Constantine, seemingly taking this as an exciting adventure, interjected in a cheerful voice. Meanwhile, the little child hung drowsily at one side of Gehardt.
‘If I cling like this… something might touch in the wrong place…’
Despite feeling awkward, I wrapped my legs around Tristan’s waist. I could feel him flinch slightly.
“….”
“…Is it too close? Should I let go a bit?”
“It is fine. You should just be careful since it is dangerous.”
“Yes…”
Tristan, pretending to be indifferent, had his neck flushed. Even the cool, fresh scent of his body drifted on the breeze.
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