After the Destia siblings left the dining hall, the feast continued as per usual. I was not able to eat after hurling out some of the food I have just eaten, and so Regaleon and I excused ourselves early.

"This is a good time to visit the seashore." Regaleon said while escorting me in the hallway.

"Is that all right?" I asked. "We have just excused ourselves because I was not feeling too well."

"They cannot question our actions." Regaleon gave me a wink and smiled. "This is a privilege only us monarchs have." He said playfully. I giggled with his remark.

It is somewhat disrespectful to excuse yourself from the host because of feeling unwell and then they see you up and about some place at the same time. But as Regaleon has said, as monarchs, they will not question our intentions.

"Then please lead the way." I said with a smile. Regaleon displayed a wide grin.

"Come, follow me." Regaleon said and pulled me gently.

Regaleon lead the way in the duke's estate. He led me to a path from the steep cliff where the mansion was standing, and down to the seashore below. The beach near the mansion was still inside of Duke Destia's estate, hence it was still private property.

"How did you know that there is a pathway here?" I asked in wonderment.

As I know, this was Regaleon's first time in Duke Destia's estate. Even I do not know of this pathway when I visited here before because I was not permitted to go out of the mansion. Regaleon said he did not leave the room the whole afternoon I took a nap, and it puzzled me how he knew about this passage.

"Have you forgotten that I have another pair of eyes." Regaleon pointed upwards and I saw Tempest hovering above us.

"Oh, silly me." I giggled, forgetting about Tempest.

I had the experience of using Tempest's eyes back in the lake when the sirens attack. It was rather exhilarating, feeling as if I was the one flying in the sky.

Not long, Regaleon and I reached the seashore. I can feel the sea breeze blowing on my face and I can smell the scent of the sea. The sound of the waves splashing along the shore was so calming.

I took of my shoes and felt the sand under my feet. It was my first time to feel them and I was happy that I was experiencing this first time with Regaleon.

Like me, Regaleon took of his shoes and reached out his hand and took mine. Both of us were walking barefoot on the sand. The surroundings were rather calm and peaceful that it made my heart feel at ease.

From a distance, I saw something glowing. It was lined up neatly just along the shore, just a shy away from the waves. It had lit the shoreline rather enchantingly.

"What are those?" I asked rather curious.

"You will know once we come closer." Regaleon smiled.

Both of us walked hand in hand towards the glowing orbs, and when we were near, I was amazed to see that they were pearls. The glowing orbs were huge pearls the size of a ball. Many of them were lined up along the shoreline, illuminating out path.

"The are beautiful." I complimented.

"These are night pearls." Regaleon muttered. "Courtesy of our siren friend over there."

Regaleon pointed out on the open sea. I squinted my eyes to look more closely at a distance, and I think I saw someone out in the open sea waving.

"Is that… Anatalia?" I asked, not sure if it was really her.

Then the waving figure quickly swam towards us. I was amazed on how fast she swam that in no time she was just a few meters away from where Regaleon and I were both standing.

"Alicia…" Anatalia said in a cheerful voice. "I cannot believe it. I was able to swim in the open sea. I never thought I would be able to do this in my lifetime." Her voice was full of excitement and happiness that it made me smile.

"So, it was you Anatalia." I said and giggled. "Do you like the feeling of swimming in the open sea?" I asked in delight.

"Do I like it? I love it!!!" Anatalia said with a beaming face. "Oh, and did you like my presents?" She pointed to the lone line of night pearls.

"You found these?" I asked in astonishment.

"Uhuh." Anatalia nodded. "When I was swimming a while ago, I came upon giant clams. They were astonished to see a siren after such a long time that they gave me gifts. I thought that it was all thanks to you for letting me come, so I decided to give them all to you." She grinned.

"Thank you. I love them." I said and smiled from the bottom of my heart.

"Well, have fun in your walk." Anatalia said. "I still have many spots to explore. See you tomorrow." Anatalia waved goodbye and dived after. I saw here glistening pink tail before it plunged into the water's surface.

"It looks like someone is being adventurous." I giggled.

"We have her to thank for illuminating our pathway." Regaleon said. "And do you know how much a night pearl costs in the market?"

"No, why?" I looked at Regaleon questioningly. "Do not tell me it is worth a fortune?" I asked.

"One night pearl can buy a big piece of land." Regaleon said as a matter of fact.

"It is that expensive?" I said with shock and amazement.

I started to count the night pearls lined up on the shoreline, it was at least more than a dozen.

"Night pearls are rare, and it is a rather well sought material for foreigners from Rabansi." Regaleon said. "We will make quite a fortune selling it to them." Regaleon winked.

The currency used between Alvannina and Rabansi in trade is gold coins. Gold, which is rather rare here in our continent is rather abundant from the lands in the east. Gold currency is a universal currency in all countries, and because Grandcrest have most of the gold mines under their jurisdiction, it made it the most powerful and rich country here in this continent. Alvannia's trading with Rabansi made its economy grow more, making it second richest in this continent.

'This was all thanks to my father who made such a good decision.' I thought to myself.

Father may have used such underhanded means to get the throne of Alvannia, but at least he made good decisions for the country to flourish.

"I guess we can keep one and sell the others." I said. "And let us donate the money to the Alvannian funds."

I am sure that this money can be of use in the future. After this war is over and the empire has been established, Richard will take charge of Alvannia as Grand Duke. This money could help him once the need of it arises.

"The let us do that." Regaleon smiled sweetly.

We continued our walk on the shoreline hand in hand. The peaceful night made me feel at ease and happy. I wished that the war would end sooner and all of us can feel this peace.

From a distance, I saw Snow playing tag with the waves. I let go of Regaleon's hand to go to her and play in the shallow water. The feeling of the sea water on my feet was cold but refreshing. I giggled while playing with Snow. I waved to Regaleon to come and join us. He waved back and headed our way.

As the sea breeze blew softly into my ear, I thought I heard a whisper.

'Come to me, oh chosen one.' A voice murmured so lowly that it can be mistaken as the wind.

I stopped playing and looked over the sea curiously. I was not sure if it was just the wind playing tricks. But then I felt my tummy ache. I flinch from the pain and held my tummy.

"What is it?" Regaleon was holding me carefully. "Does it hurt." His voice was filled with worry.

"I felt some pain just now." I said truthfully. "But it is okay now, it has passed."

The pain had gone just after a few seconds.

"I will not take any chances." Regaleon looked up and made eye contact with Tempest.

Tempest shifted into his phoenix form and swooped down into a landing.

"Come, let us go back so you can rest." Regaleon carried me on to Tempest's back in no time. "Snow, please tell Anatalia to head to our room to check on Alicia."

"Copy that." Snow said.

After that, we flew on top of Tempest back to the estate.

Iedited by: nalyn

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