In This Life I Will Be The Lord Novel - Side Story, Chapter 15

“I-inspection?”
The commotion spread among the people like wildfire in a dry forest.
“Halt the ship at once!”
The soldier’s stern command, echoing loudly over the quiet river, froze the atmosphere on deck.
Only the torches illuminating the Sheshou warship blazed menacingly.
“D-drop anchor!”
“Prepare the ladder!”
The cruise ship’s crew seemed completely unprepared for the Sheshou warship’s appearance.
Their movements, scurrying around the deck, were filled with panic.
Meanwhile, the cruise ship was slowly reducing speed, but the warship, as if unable to wait even a moment, pressed dangerously close.
“Oh, oh, isn’t this dangerous?”
“They’re going to collide!”
People cried out, their faces pale.
To make matters worse, the river, which had seemed as wide as a small sea just moments ago, was gradually narrowing.
A narrowing section of the river located within the Sheshou family’s territory.
A familiar piece of information brought a place name to mind.
“This is… Tamal.”
It was the place where Chanton Sheshou had failed to open a port, and had recently begun construction to narrow the river even further.
Of course, its purpose was to increase Sheshou’s influence over the eastern trade led by Lombardi.
“Aargh!”
“Kyaa!”
In the end, the cruise ship had to abruptly slow down, causing it to lurch, and surprised screams erupted from passengers everywhere.
However, the Sheshou soldiers, the cause of all this, showed no sign of apology.
Instead, at the command of the soldier standing at the bow, they quickly tied their warship close to the cruise ship and one by one, agilely boarded the deck.
And the last one to come aboard, who appeared to be in charge, shouted loudly.
“An inspection will be conducted from now on, so everyone cooperate! Any resistance or uncooperative behavior during the inspection will be considered defiance against Lord Sheshou!”
Such thugs.
I had never heard of such a thing.
Stopping a perfectly fine tourist ship without asking for permission and suddenly conducting an inspection.
If the river in the Tamal region were to narrow further as Chanton Sheshou intended, and such incidents became frequent, the cruise business would undoubtedly suffer a huge blow.
“No, really…”
“How can they be so high-handed!”
The surrounding nobles voiced their complaints, but that was all.
Although it was clearly unfair treatment, the Sheshou soldiers’ atmosphere was so menacing that even they were afraid to step forward.
“Larita, stand behind me for a moment.”
Perez called me by my alias and hid me behind his back.
At the same time, I saw him instinctively reach for his waist, then subtly frown.
It was because he had left the sword he always carried in the cabin.
I stood behind Perez and looked around.
As each person’s identification was checked, the atmosphere grew even more ominous.
But strangely, I wasn’t scared or anxious.
It wasn’t an unfounded sense of peace.
There was no way the fake identity Violet had gotten me would be so easily exposed.
And even if the wanted person they were talking about was us, and our identities were somehow revealed…
‘What are they going to do?’
Even a single touch on Perez’s fingertip would be an act of treason.
Of course, my plan to move secretly in the East would be disrupted, but that would be all.
Moreover.
‘Perez is protecting me.’
His large back shielded me from the soldiers’ gazes.
It was just one person’s back, but I felt like I was hiding in the safest place in the world.
I unconsciously grabbed Perez’s clothes, thinking thoughts unsuited to the situation, and how he took it.
Perez reached one hand back and firmly grasped mine.
Instead of saying I was fine and pulling my hand away, I just peeked my head out to assess the situation on deck.
Behind the soldiers, who were spread out everywhere, sternly checking IDs, I saw a group of about twenty people break off and rush down towards the cargo hold.
It was strange.
Searching even the cargo hold?
Did they think we were smuggling something?
I tilted my head in question when.
“Ah, I said I’d go to my cabin to get my ID!”
A man nearby shouted loudly.
Everyone’s gaze, including mine and Perez’s, naturally turned towards him.
The man’s face was flushed, and it seemed his anger wasn’t solely due to the inspection.
He was confronting a Sheshou soldier under the influence of alcohol.
But his courage didn’t last long.
“Then I shall accompany you to your cabin.”
The Sheshou soldier said, placing his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
“F-fine, then.”
The man swallowed hard and replied, his face instantly sobered.
But no one laughed at him.
Few people could remain bold and dignified in front of numerous soldiers who looked ready to draw their swords at any moment.
And then it was Perez’s turn.
“Show me your identification.”
A short Sheshou soldier held out a hand to Perez.
His other hand gripped the scabbard.
“Here it is.”
Perez calmly handed over the ID of ‘Chaser Gloe’.
“Hmm.”
The Sheshou soldier looked at the ID more closely than I expected, and I unconsciously gripped Perez’s clothes tightly.
Even though I knew his hair color had been dyed and there was nothing wrong with the ID.
My heart was pounding, which was a separate issue.
Rustle, rustle.
The soldier carefully examined the pages of the small, book-like ID.
It was a procedure to confirm the authenticity of his eye color, which couldn’t be artificially changed, and the seal of the issuing office.
“Where are you from?”
“Langt, in Lombardi territory.”
The previous people didn’t take this long.
The soldier began asking Perez various questions.
Of course, Perez answered without hesitation.
The problem wasn’t Perez.
“Wait, who is that hidden behind you?”
The soldier pointed at me and asked sharply.
“She is my wife.”
“Wife?”
The soldier narrowed his eyes, then frowned and said,
“I need to confirm her face, so step aside.”
“…”
But Perez didn’t move.
Instead, he tightened his grip on my hand and simply looked down at the Sheshou soldier.
The atmosphere instantly turned hostile.
“Hey, are you daring to refuse the inspection?”
“From what I’ve observed, the wanted person seems to be an adult male. Women are not even subject to inspection.”
“I’m saying I need to confirm whether the person you claim to be your wife is a woman or a man in a dress!”
“Confirm?”
Perez, who had maintained a relatively polite expression until now, suddenly became fiercely intimidating.
Perez took half a step towards the soldier and asked in a low voice,
“Tell me, how do you intend to confirm?”
“Th-that…!”
The soldier stumbled backward, overwhelmed by Perez’s sudden, overwhelming aura, as if he had drawn a sharp sword.
Perez stared at the Sheshou soldier with cold eyes for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
“I have confirmed that there is nothing wrong with my identification and that I am not the wanted person you are looking for. Let’s not waste any more time and move on to the next person.”
His tone had returned to polite, but his expression remained impassive.
“…H-here you go.”
In the end, the soldier, unable to withstand the silent pressure, returned Perez’s ID.
It was then.
Someone shouted loudly from the stairs leading to the cargo hold.
“Catch him! He’s the wanted man!”
“The wanted man is escaping!”
Soon after, a loud clattering noise grew louder and louder from the stairs.
And a moment later, the figure that burst out from downstairs was…
“That man is definitely…”
He looked familiar.
Although his current shabby appearance, with disheveled hair and torn clothes, was vastly different, I knew what he looked like a few years ago.
“Clus.”
The man who, at Lavini’s single command, had tried to storm the Lombardi mansion to chase after Clerivan.
The Angenas knight commander who had desperately tried to break Lavini out of the imperial prison until the very end.
“Ethan Clouse.”
His name slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it.
It was a very small voice compared to the shouts of the Sheshou soldiers, surely.
But at that moment, Ethan Clouse’s movements stopped as if by magic.
He froze, just as he was about to jump off the ship.
“C-caught him! Tie him up immediately!”
The Sheshou soldier, not missing the opportunity, quickly tackled Ethan Clouse to the ground and shouted.
But Ethan Clouse didn’t look at them.
His bloodshot eyes, through his disheveled hair, were fixed on only one place.
Me.