Empress of the Sea|✔️

Chapter 19

Rewritten
***

Sixteen hours after his meeting with Aeryn was the engagement party. Which seemed pointless to Sehyun considering their marriage was already set in stone. What was the point of a party meant only for the couple to exchange rings?

Uncomfortable with all the people around him, he wiggled his way through the crowd to the food area. He picked up a plate meant for the main course and shimmied down to the dessert area, leaving behind the luxurious food items.

Servers passed him by, offering him delicacies, but he refused every single time.

Dumping heaps of strawberry cake and other such sweet pleasantries onto his plate, Sehyun smiled at the pastries.

Until he spotted a lemon cake. Disgusting. Why ruin such wonderfully sweet things with sour...anomalies?

He turned away from the lemon cakes. He would have to discuss this with Maya. She'd promised there would be no trace of lemons at any of the functions. And she'd broken her promise. Not for the first time, that's for sure.

He still had to meet her. He'd been the Arce Ace for three days and he still hadn't managed to exchange greetings with her. Not even a glance or a chance collision in the hallway. Nothing! It's as if she were a spy, hiding from him until the best moment to strike him with a hug or something else equally as repulsive.

As he ate, his eyes scanned the room, looking for Suzy. Instead, he found white pillars decorated in gold ribbons. The marble ballroom floor beneath him had such intricate patterns that he refused to look at.

Moments later, the band started playing music louder than necessary. Sehyun winced at the music. It was loud, and on top of that, it was a romantic song. A song that dripped of happiness and the need to cling to another human being. He'd only experienced that feeling once and it wasn't with a human. It was with Maya's dog.

Daze had died shortly before Sehyun left Tereline for his adventures on the Black Egret.

Han had been off the grid for four years. He rarely replied to any letter he'd gotten. At first, he wouldn't know how to reply. Then when the answer came to mind, it was too late to answer without it becoming awkward. The messenger owls sent his way slowly became fearful of the Black Egret. Many owls sent his way got shot down by the British Navy or other pirates. It was another curse in and of itself.

Simply existing ruined Sehyun's soul.

The reek of alcohol clogged his nostril as people from the bar passed by him. What comfort do people find from downing shots of vodka? If you were going to drink, you might as well be classy and have an elegant glass of champagne or wine.

Suddenly aware of the people in the room, the heat and invasion of space crowds created, Sehyun flinched. His limbs felt sticky and he got the urge to go home.

Despite the fact his home was a ship in the middle of the ocean that would come to pick him up once the wedding was over, Sehyun daydreamed of the wonderful things he would be doing on the Egret.

He would be reading stories and researching every little detail he found. He would be sleeping, having a battle of wits with Suzy's unexplainable ability to memorize everything and his own ability to understand everything.

Everything except romance. That was the one thing he feared.

With the thought of romance in his mind, Sehyun was quick to notice the couples making their way to the dance floor.

Parties were disgusting.

Maya, or Mayal as he liked to call her, and the prince were both seated on thrones, their seats small in comparison to King Fiore and King Djord's thrones.