How did you know?!!!
Looking at the man who guessed her identity and destination after asking just two questions, the rmaid widened her eyes in astonishnt.
Upon realizing that her identity was supposed to remain a secret, and seeing the understanding expressions on the young couple's faces in front of her, a hint of regret appeared in the rmaid's eyes.
Judging by their expressions, they obviously already knew the answer, and it's probably too late to try keeping it a secret now...
"Yes...
Giving up and admitting Leon's deduction, the rmaid said with slight regret:
"I am the new Queen of the Kingdom of Saio, just ascended at the Moon Concealing Sea the day before yesterday... but it's enough that you two know this; please don't let anyone else know!"
"?"
After exchanging a glance with Leon by her side, Queen Veronica asked, sowhat perplexed:
"Why can't it be disclosed? Are the other branches of the Thousand Sails Mariti Country also vying for the throne and pursuing you?"
"How is that possible."
The rmaid chuckled softly upon hearing this, and waved her hands repeatedly:
"I am the newly recognized Queen; no one's pursuing ! Besides, I'm very strong; even if an entire fleet was sent after , they might not be able to defeat ..."
"But you almost drowned in wine after colliding with a ship?"
"..."
"Seriously, when I pulled you out, I felt you were practically marinated in grape and cinnamon inside..."
"Leon!"
Watching the rmaid's proud expression suddenly freeze, Queen Veronica, unable to hold back her amusent, pinched Leon lightly in the side and opened her mouth with a suppressed smile:
"The Moon Concealing Sea is extrely far from here, at least two to three thousand nautical miles, and the gathering ti is almost here. Your Majesty Wendy must have been worried about missing the eting, thus hurrying day and night, which led to the collision with our ship, right?"
"Yes, yes! That's exactly it!"
Taking the excuse kindly provided by Veronica, the rmaid nodded repeatedly, feeling relieved as she said:
"That gathering is very important, yet the ship they prepared for was too slow, so I left them behind, intending to quickly get there myself for the gathering.
The problem is, I was hurrying from the sea bottom, but they gave sea charts ant for the surface, so I had to occasionally surface to check the markings and confirm the route, and just as I surfaced, I collided with you guys."
"So the accident happened because you were driving fatigued, right?"
"???"
Although feeling it might have sothing to do with her emblem, and recalling lanie sobbing in Anna's arms, the always protective Leon couldn't help but resent slightly and asked for compensation:
"Our ship and goods suffered significant damage. How do you plan to compensate for that?"
"..."
This isn't right, is it?
Seeing Leon, facing her dual identity as Sea Race Queen Sayo, still straightforwardly demanding compensation, the rmaid blinked and helplessly looked toward Veronica, who couldn't help but laugh at the side.
"Your Majesty Wendy, please don't mind. My husband... he likes joking around with others."
Offering a saving face, Queen Veronica smiled and said:
"There's no need for compensation. Inside the iceberg you used to travel, there's a lot of fish frozen, many of them are rare deep-sea fish.
Before you woke up, I had the bosun calculate their value, and found that after deducting the repair costs and compensation for the goods, there's still profit, so let's just settle the matter that way, without needing further compensation, is that okay?"
"Oh, oh, that's fine, that's fine!"
Upon hearing Veronica's words, the rmaid spontaneously breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly in agreent with this form of compensation.
While she felt fortunate for hastily freezing so schools of fish in before departing for so fresh food, Queen Veronica curiously continued:
"Your Majesty Wendy, since it's not about safety issues, why can't your identity be revealed?"
"This..."
Upon hearing Veronica's inquiry, the rmaid hesitated slightly, seemingly unwilling to answer this, but recalling the kindness shown twice during her difficult tis, she finally responded:
"Because I am a rmaid..."
"?"
"People in the Thousand Sails Mariti Country, although they nominated as the new Queen Sayo after confirming my bloodline, actually don't know about my rmaid identity, only thinking I traveled around the world previously, and they... probably cannot accept a rmaid as their queen."
Ah, I see...
Despite the identity exposure reason, casually revealing such important details to a couple of "passers-by," and even unable to refute because of the compensation conversation, it seems this new Queen Sayo is rather naïve and sweet.
With a brief assessnt of the rmaid's Heart Lake and soul status, Leon unexpectedly found her character quite good, exchanging a knowing glance with Veronica beside him, who responded with a smile:
"Rest assured, I will keep your secret... Additionally, Your Majesty Wendy, since your iceberg has been damaged, how about letting us give you a lift?"
"Can you do that?!"
Receiving Veronica's promise of confidentiality and invitation to board, the rmaid's eyes instantly lit up with delight, her gaze suddenly filled with warmth toward her.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
"No need to ntion it."
Though her primary aim was to win over a potential ally, Queen Veronica genuinely found affection in dealing with this straightforward little queen. Supporting the slightly tottering rmaid, she said with a smile:
"Our destination is the sa as yours, Kingdom of Morna's Golden Village, perfectly on your way... Besides, the fish frozen in your iceberg can count as your fare, so I won't return the excess money, is that okay?"
"Oh! Alright, alright! It's all yours!"
Delightedly nodding, the rmaid reached into the shell at her chest, pulling out an exquisite little pocket watch to check the ti and date, then hesitantly requested:
"Um... if it's alright, I have a tiny request... would you mind if I summon so waves to speed up your ship?"
Speed up?
Exchanging a glance with Leon, Queen Veronica nodded and said:
"Certainly, we wouldn't mind; having the ship move faster is welco. But why the hurry? At our current speed, you shouldn't be late for the eting, right?"
"Well..."
Biting her lower lip slightly, the rmaid's eyes flashed a trace of caution as she muttered:
"I want to avoid soone... This route is a must-pass from the Western Continent to Golden Village and could easily encounter him. I rushed overnight, almost dozing off, just to reach early and hopefully avoid him."
"Who?"
With slight hesitance, the rmaid finally raised her right hand to shield her mouth, leaning close under Leon's curious gaze to whisper cautiously:
"Have you heard of the Food God from the Clearance Bureau?"
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