Chapter 272
"Ch- checkpoint?"
A commotion among the people spread like flames in the dry forest in an instant.
"Can"t we stop the ship now!?"
The atmosphere on the deck froze as the soldier"s shout resounded over the quiet river.
Only the torches that lit up the Sushou warship burned horribly.
"Everyone, lower the anchor!"
"Get the ladder ready!"
It seems that the crew of the cruise did not expect the appearance of the Sushou military ship at all.
Their behavior running around on the deck was full of embarra.s.sment.
In the meantime, the cruise was slowing down, but the military ship threateningly drove the ship as if it could not wait for even a moment.
"Uh, isn"t this dangerous?"
"They"re going to b.u.mp into us!"
Everyone shouted with their pale faces.
To make matters worse, the width of the river that was wide enough to be a small sea a while ago was getting narrower.
A terrain where the river narrows, located within the domain of the Sushou family.
The name of an area popped into my mind at familiar information.
"Here... it"s Tamal."
After Chanton Sushou"s failed attempt to open the port, it was the place where the construction of narrowing the river was started recently.
Of course, the purpose is to increase Sushou"s influence in eastern trade led by Lombardi.
"Argh!"
"Oh my G.o.d!"
In the end, the cruise had no choice but to slow down to the point of tilting once, and screams of startled pa.s.sengers erupted here and there.
However, the soldiers of Sushou, who were the cause of all this, showed no signs of apologizing.
But, according to the command of the soldier standing on the head of the boat, the military ship was tied tightly to the cruise and climbed onto the deck one by one. (TN: What? Isn"t this piracy? They act like a thief!)
And the soldier, who seemed to be the last person in charge, shouted with a loud voice.
"There will be a checkpoint from now on, so everyone please cooperate! If you rebel or come out uncooperatively at the checkpoint, I will dismiss it as a protest against Lord Sushou!"
Such a gangster.
I"ve never heard of anything like this.
A checkpoint that is suddenly enforced by stopping a pa.s.sing tourist ship without asking for permission.
If the river in the Tamal region became narrower and more frequent, as Chanton Sushou intended, the cruise business would be hit hard.
"No, that"s..."
"How can you be so reckless!"
The aristocrats around made dissatisfied voices, but that was all.
Although it is clearly unfair treatment, the atmosphere of the soldiers of Sushou is so ferocious that it is scary for them to even step forward.
"Larita, stay behind me for a moment."
Perez called me under a pseudonym and hid me behind his back.
At the same time, I could see him putting his hand on his waist like a habit, then hardening his impression.
It was because he left the sword he was always carrying in the room and came out.
I stood behind Perez and looked around.
As the ID checks progressed one by one, the atmosphere was getting worse.
But, strangely, I wasn"t scared or anxious.
It was not a groundless peace.
The fake ident.i.ty saved by Violet has never been so easily revealed.
And even if the wanted people they are talking about are us, and our ident.i.ties are discovered by chance.
"What will they do?"
Even if you touch one of Perez"s fingertips right now, that would be treason.
Of course, my plan to move secretly in the East would go awry, but that"s it.
Besides.
"Perez is protecting me."
A large back was covering me from the eyes of the soldiers.
It was only the back of one person, but it felt like hiding in the safest place in the world. (TN: Ofc. It"s the back of the emperor of the empire.)
I inadvertently grabbed the hem of Perez"s clothes with thoughts that were not appropriate for the situation, how did he accept it?
Perez reached back with one of his hands and held my hand firmly.
Instead of pulling out my hand saying it"s okay, I just stuck my head out to figure out the situation on the deck.
Behind the soldiers, who spread here and there and checked their ID cards with strict eyes, I saw a group of about 20 people were seen separately moving down toward the cargo compartment below.
It was strange.
Searching for the cargo compartment?
Hopefully there was smuggling. Is that what they think?
It was time as I tilted my head in doubt.
"Oh, didn"t I say that I would go to my room and get my ID!"
Just around the corner, a man shouted loudly.
Everyone"s eyes, including me and Perez, naturally turned to that direction.
It seemed that the man"s face was not just because of dissatisfaction with the inspection.
He is fighting against the soldier Sushou in drunkenness.
But that courage didn"t last long.
"Then I will accompany you to your room."
Soldier Sushou said as he placed his hand on the handle of the sword hanging from his waist.
"Y- yes, then."
The man who swallowed his saliva replied with a face that quickly ran away from alcohol.
But no one laughed at such a man.
Because there were few people who could stand proudly in front of so many soldiers who seemed to draw their swords right away if they made a mistake.
And it was Perez"s turn.
"Show me your ID."
The short soldier of Sushou said, reaching out one hand to Perez.
The rest of his hand held the scabbard.
"Here it is."
Perez showed the ID of "Chaser Gloa" with a nonchalant face.
"Hmm."
As soldier Sushou looked at his ID card more closely than expected, I clenched Perez"s hem without realizing it.
I changed my hair color by dyeing it, and I know that there is no problem with my ID card.
It was a different matter from being nervous.
Flap, Flap.
The soldier looked quite carefully at the page of the ID card, which is the same as the small booklet.
It was a procedure to check whether the eye color that could not be changed artificially and the seal of the government office that issued the ID were genuine.
"Where are you from?"
"It"s Lombardi region."
The people in front didn"t take this long.
The soldier began to ask Perez some questions.
Of course, Perez answered without hesitation.
The problem wasn"t Perez.
"Wait, who"s hiding behind you?"
The soldier pointed at me and asked sharply.
"She is my wife."
"Wife?"
The soldier squinted and soon frowned and said.
"I need to check her face, so get out of the way."
"......"
But Perez did not move.
Rather, he just held my hand tighter and looked down at Soldier Sushou.
Then the atmosphere quickly turned b.l.o.o.d.y.
"Hey, are you daring to refuse the checkpoint now?"
"From what I"ve seen so far, the wanted person seems to be an adult male, but women aren"t even the subjects of inspection."
"I"m going to check if the person you claim to be your wife is a woman or a man in a dress!"
"Check?"
Perez, who had maintained a respectful face until now, suddenly changed violently.
Perez took a half step towards the soldier and asked in a low voice.
"Tell me, how are you going to check?"
"Oh, that"s...!"
The overwhelming energy of Perez, which started to come out at once, as if he had pulled out a sharpened sword, made the soldier hesitate and take a step backwards.
Perez, who had been staring at the soldier with cold eyes for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
"I have confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my ID and that I am not the wanted person you are looking for. Stop wasting any more time and move on to the next person."
It was a polite way of speaking again, but the expressionless face remained the same.
"...He- Here you are."
Eventually, the soldier, who could not overcome the silent pressure, returned Perez"s ID card.
It was then.
Someone shouted loudly from the side of the stairs leading to the cargo compartment.
"Catch him! He"s wanted!"
"The wanted person is running away!"
Soon after, a loud banging noise started to get louder and louder up the stairs.
And after a while, the one that appeared as if jumping out of the downstairs.
"That man must be..."
I"m familiar to it.
His hair was messy and his clothes were torn apart, but I know the man"s appearance a few years ago.
"Klus."
The commander of the Knights of Angenas, who tried to escape Lavini from the Imperial Palace prison until the end.
"Ethan Klus." (TN: FYI, he appeared at chapter 160.)
Without realizing it, his name leaked out of my mouth.
It was a very small voice compared to the shouts of the soldiers of Sushou. Clearly.
However, at that moment, Klus"s movements stopped like a lie.
Just as he was about to jump under the ship right away, he stood tall.
"Come on, I got him! Grab him right now!"
The soldier Sushou, who did not miss the opportunity, quickly knocked Klus to the floor and shouted.
But Ethan Klus did not see them.
There was only one place where the blood-stained eyes went through the scattered hair.
It was me.