The Blue Rose and the Lord of the Ocean
Razetta was busy. So very busy.
She sat at the square table that dominated the spacious study, poring over columns of numbers with the intensity of someone who owned the largest merchant house in the world. Every ledger she touched made her smile wider. Busy, but happy.
The reason was simple.
“This year’s profits are going to be massive!”
De Marinda had begun manufacturing specialty goods for export, and the results were better than anyone could have predicted. The waters just off the city’s coast teemed with large, delicious fish, turning seafood exports into a roaring success. “Good thing I invested in shipbuilding when I did,” she murmured. “We’d have been in real trouble otherwise.”
Her steady investments in the industry had finally paid off. The result was De Marinda’s pride and joy: a colossal vessel large enough to carry entire wagons. And because a strong shipbuilding sector also meant stronger warships, the benefits were twofold. Razetta had every reason to be in a splendid mood.
She plucked another document at random. “Let’s see… more requests for fresh fish exports. Of course.”
The letter read as follows:
From Baron Rasmus Tehran, Lord of Tehran,
Esteemed Lady Razetta, Lord of De Marinda,
I have learned that you occasionally dispatch ships to export fish. Though my own lands border the sea, our waters are not rich in marine life, and we cannot catch enough to feed all our people. When I tasted the fish you exported, I found them to be of superb quality. The next time you send a shipment, I will pay a higher price. Therefore, I ask that you bring an even greater quantity and permit the fish we purchase to be sold in our territory’s markets.
— Baron Rasmus Tehran
Razetta’s expression turned strange as she read. She folded the paper with a sigh. What a ridiculous request. A mere baron had written without a shred of proper etiquette, and the content itself was absurd. She didn’t even need to think about it.
No point wasting time on this one.
Yet even as she thought that, the corners of her mouth kept rising. Higher and higher, until her smile turned positively wicked.
“Of course you’d want more when something’s selling well. No need to waste ink stating the obvious.”
She continued skimming through the pile, each new document feeding her happy daydreams about how much wealth the next expedition would bring. But whenever she came across suggestions from her own citizens, her face would freeze over and her temper would sour.
“What is this nonsense?”
One proposal called for expanding the adventurers’ guild.
“Do they think this city is De Meca? Why on earth would we expand a useless adventurers’ guild? Tell them to use their own money!”
No one else was in the room, but the mere thought of wasting coin made her spit venom anyway.
She was deep in that cycle of blissful calculations and nightmarish suggestions when a voice rang out from beyond the study door.
“M-My Lady Razetta! This person doesn’t have an appointment, but he claims to be the Lord of the Oceans. Ah, sir, you really mustn’t enter without—”
Razetta was far too busy to meet with just anyone. Yet the visitor waiting outside had introduced himself as the Lord of the Oceans. That was not a title one could ignore.
Quite the guest has arrived. I don’t know who he is, but I’ve run out of worthwhile documents anyway.
“It’s fine! Let him in!”
She had just finished skimming several worthless papers and her mood had soured. That irritation was still plain on her face when the guard opened the door.
With a long creak, a tall, powerfully built man stepped inside. His eyes and hair were a vivid blue. He wore a neat navy uniform, but the long hair cascading down his back and the elegant lines of his face gave him an almost feminine beauty. He was the complete opposite of Razetta, whose figure aside, looked rather boyish.
Razetta stared, momentarily dazed, until the self-proclaimed Lord of the Oceans cleared his throat.
“Ahem.”
“Ah, right. Since you’re a guest, please, have a seat.”
She had planned to treat him casually, but something about his presence screamed important, so she found herself speaking with unexpected politeness.
“Selena, are you there?”
Razetta called toward the open door. Selena, De Marinda’s Navy Grand Admiral, was working in the closest office to the lord’s study. She stepped out immediately, dressed in the elegant white-and-sky-blue uniform that perfectly suited the city’s maritime theme.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Come in and listen with me.”
Razetta wasn’t simply asking for company. Selena possessed sharper judgment than she did. Whenever a truly important visitor arrived, Razetta made sure to have her present. Selena took up position beside the desk, standing at perfect attention. She would not presume to sit in the lord’s presence.
“So,” Razetta began, “what brings you here today?”
“Hmm. You ask why this body has graced this place with my presence?”
“That’s correct. I need to know the reason before we can proceed.”
She had tried to be as courteous as possible, but the more she spoke, the more displeased the so-called Lord of the Oceans appeared. Finally he looked at her as though she had said something utterly ridiculous.
“Are you not polluting my sea?”
“Pardon?”
“This body is furious that you launch ships into my ocean without permission.”
What is he even talking about?
The man was seriously claiming ownership of the waters off De Marinda. Razetta’s opinion of him shifted instantly.
He’s not some big shot. He’s just a lunatic.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering where he had gotten such expensive clothes. The man continued.
“If you wish to use my ocean, you must first obtain this body’s permission. Since no proper greeting was sent, I came myself.”
Razetta grew more curious by the second. She wanted to know exactly how long he would keep spouting such nonsense.
“Then where exactly do you live? You keep calling yourself the Lord of the Oceans and demanding we hand the sea over. Where have you come from that you would visit such a humble place?”
She played along while lacing her words with heavy sarcasm. Selena’s expression had grown openly displeased, as though she regretted allowing the stranger inside. But the man’s next words carried real weight.
“What dragon would reveal the location of his lair? Let it be known only that I came from the distant sea. And yet you still do not beg to be allowed to use these waters?”
He was growing angry. A faint aura of power began to leak from him, and Razetta felt it on her skin like static before a storm.
“D-Dragon…? If you are the Lord of the Oceans, then… are you the Blue Dragon, Lord Cyron?”
“How perceptive. It was wise of me to seek you out. You carry the scent of our kind, after all.”
The Blue Dragon. A reclusive being who had built his lair in the deepest parts of the ocean. He rarely showed himself to the world, so sightings were far rarer than those of other dragons. He was also the source of the bloodline Razetta had inherited. And now that very dragon had used polymorph to take human form and walked straight into her study.
“If… if you truly are Lord Cyron, what must I do to earn the right to use the ocean?”
If he turned out to be a temperamental dragon who refused permission, De Marinda might suffer a curse upon its waters forever. She asked with extreme caution.
But Cyron simply laughed as if the whole thing amused him greatly.
“Kahaha! Were you deceived? In truth, it does not matter. Though this body is indeed the Lord of the Oceans, I have no intention of forcing such trivial matters.”
Razetta felt the tension drain out of her. Yet she still needed to know why he had come.
“Then… why did you visit this humble place?”
“I sensed your aura. Though faint, it reached all the way to the distant sea. I have never felt anything like it before. Reberius’s aura is filthy. Reberion’s is unbearably hot. And Kepherika’s is utterly dull.”
“What exactly… are you trying to say?”
Razetta could not shake her growing anxiety. Selena looked equally uneasy. Cyron’s expression had slowly turned strangely affectionate.
“Follow me. You must become my mate.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Both Razetta and Selena—who had maintained perfect military composure until that moment—let out strange, undignified noises. Even Cyron looked momentarily flustered by their reaction.
“Did you not hear? Though it is embarrassing, I shall say it again. You shall become this body’s—”
“No, no, no! There’s no need to repeat it!”
“Why not? Would it be so difficult to become one with this body? I would cherish you greatly.”
He said it anyway. The words hung in the air.
Slap!
The crisp sound of a palm striking a cheek echoed through the study. Cyron’s face turned bright red, and clear, unnecessary tears welled in his eyes.
Selena stared at him in shock, her breath catching. But the next surprise came even faster.
“Ugh… my hand hurts more than I expected. Anyway, Lord Cyron, that’s enough, isn’t it? I’ve heard all dragons are eccentrics, but to enjoy this kind of game…”
“G-Game?! This body has never once played such games since the day I was born! Every ounce of love I feel for you is completely sincere!”
Cyron’s pathetic desperation pushed him over the line. Razetta raised her aching hand again, but Selena caught her wrist. When Razetta turned, the admiral was shaking her head with deadly seriousness.
“Hmph. If I were struck by someone I admired, I would never set foot here again,” Cyron declared.
Wouldn’t that be perfect? Razetta thought. What good could possibly come from letting a pervert like him visit?
But his next words shattered that hope.
“Ah, so you’re saying you’ll keep coming?”
“Indeed! I shall return to gaze upon your beautiful face. Ah, my blue rose! You release a fragrant scent, yet you cannot hide your thorns. To become my woman, you must show at least this much spirit!”
He was now completely lost in his own fantasy. Razetta’s hand twitched like a whip ready to strike, but Selena still held her back. She took a deep breath and spoke as calmly as she could.
“I am very busy. Please refrain from visiting if possible.”
“If this body cannot come to you, then you must come to me. My lair is quite far, so I shall send my servants to guide you across the distant sea.”
“Your… servants?”
“You shall be escorted by my loyal Leviathan and Kraken.”
Razetta’s head began to throb. If those two monsters appeared in the narrow waters off De Marinda, every fish would flee. Quality seafood exports would become impossible. Worse, if they couldn’t tell friend from foe and attacked her own ships—
But she couldn’t exactly refuse him. Doing so might genuinely anger a dragon and bring the wrath of the sea down on them.
Behind her, Selena whispered, “Just say you understand for now.”
Razetta nodded. “I understand. I will visit you. However, I cannot come often. I will come myself when I am not busy, so please wait patiently.”
Cyron’s face lit up as though he had conquered the world.
“Kahahaha! Very well! Then this body shall depart without regret! There is no need to see me off!”
He rose from his chair at once and left the study with light, bouncy steps. The moment he was gone, Razetta and Selena stared at each other.
“Is this a dream?”
“Is this a nightmare?”
They both sincerely hoped it was. Because if it wasn’t, the blue dragon had just declared he would keep visiting their city forever.