Chapter 124: Book

Second Princess Emma had vomited on the deck.

If she had done it over the railing, it could simply have fallen into the sea, but now the sailors had to clean it up.

Fortunately, neither Emma nor I had to do so ourselves. Leaving it to our subordinates, we returned to an office inside the battleship.

“Ugh…”

“Please don’t vomit in here.”

I sat at the desk with a book open in front of me and looked at Emma, whose face was still pale.

If she vomited in this enclosed room, it would be far worse than on the open deck.

“I-I won’t. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“That isn’t very convincing.”

“But I want to stay with you, Noah! I’ll remain all the way over here, so please forgive me.”

Emma had placed herself in the far corner of the room.

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“Really? Then may I sit beside you?”

“That isn’t what I said. Wouldn’t the fresh air outside be better for your seasickness?”

“I would rather feel sick than be away from you.”

“Ugh…”

Emma hurriedly covered her mouth.

“What are you doing?”

After settling down, she looked at the book in my hands.

“Let’s talk about something else. What are you reading?”

“This? It’s a book about the War of Independence on the New Continent.”

The Kingdom of Superia had once ruled the entire New Continent and enjoyed a golden age. After its decline, the Kingdom of Friez established an incomplete rule over the region.

The people of the New Continent eventually rose against Friez. Their war for independence lasted more than ten years, and with support from the Lunoa Kingdom—particularly General Newsbeck—they finally drove Friez from the continent.

“This book describes what happened after independence.”

“Is it interesting?”

“Very. It’s also instructive.”

Only ten years had passed since independence, yet the new nation was already powerful enough to rival the Lunoa Kingdom.

It was a democratic republic—the equivalent of America in this world. Unlike the America of my previous life, however, it had remained a colony long enough to expand across the whole continent before becoming independent.

The war had weakened it, but it had recovered with remarkable speed.

“The book explains the strengths of democracy.”

“Wasn’t democracy simply the only system available to them?”

“That’s partly true. They call themselves a democracy, but in practice a small number of wealthy merchants control the country.”

“So it’s a merchants’ country.”

“Exactly.”

“Then is it similar to the former Poln Kingdom?”

“That’s a good comparison.”

But that wasn’t the most important point.

“This book was written in the Lunoa language.”

“Ah…”

Emma understood.

The book’s existence showed how widely our language and influence had spread.

“This war greatly reduced the number of nobles. In the past, nobles were the ones who fought and died on the battlefield. This war was different.”

The privileges once reserved for the nobility were beginning to fade.

Perhaps it was time to accept that change.

“Is that the future you want, Noah?”

“Who knows?”

At the very least, such a future might offer me possibilities beyond merely becoming the head of House Willard.

“How do you feel now?”

Emma’s complexion seemed to have improved while we talked.

“Ugh…”

The moment I asked, her face turned green again.

“The nausea I had forgotten about came back.”

“…Let’s go outside.”

I helped the miserable Second Princess to her feet and took her back to the deck.