The Crown's Seduction-Chapter 44: Reinforecements

With the attack of the Sirens on the Valcrez ship, those that got left behind had no other choice other than to weather out the attack. Thankfully, the attack seemed to weaken the moment Mineah was removed from the ship itself.

This was something that Dani couldn't help but find suspicious. But unfortunately, she couldn't think about it too hard at the moment as she focused on more pressing matters.

"How's the ship?!"

"We're holding strong! We've taken on a lot of water, but it's nothing that a bit of elbow grease can't solve!"

Standing by with her fellow Shadow Maidens, Dani was still on high alert even as they watched the entire crew do their best to keep their ship afloat.

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Of course, the three of them still helped where they could, but they'd already explained that their talents at keeping the waters calm around them using their magic would be a better use for them instead of putting them to task with bailing out the water that was coming into the bottom half of the ship.

"H-How much more do we have to do this?" Krisha strained as they kept up the meager barrier preventing much of the more dangerous waves from impacting the ship.

"J-Just a bit more," Dani replied, her own hands outstretched as she put her own effort into the barrier. "Reinforcements are coming."

At least, that was what Chancellor Abel told her. They only had to hold out long enough for one of Valcrez's other ships to save them before they could finally drop their hands and get some rest.

Unfortunately, said help didn't seem to be coming in the next minute or so.

"When are they coming?!" Zaila complained with gritted teeth. "My arms feel like they're about to fall off!"

"Just a bit more," Dani grumbled. "And don't you two dare complain. I'm the one putting in most of the work right now!"

While she wasn't on to brag about her contributions, Dani just couldn't help but do so during this one incident. After all, most of the barrier was linked to her with her fellow Shadow Maidens simply supplying her with enough energy to keep it up. If something ever happened to it, she'd be the one to suffer most of the backlash that-

"Look out!"

Dani didn't have the time to turn around before she felt something massive crash against the barrier. It was so sudden, in fact, that the impact shattered it almost immediately, causing the three of them to feel the backlash as the energy they imparted on it came back to them with a harsh thud.

"Nggh!"

"Ahh!"

Krisha and Zaila grunted in pain as they fell to the deck of the ship, their arms burning as they felt the impact of the spell. Dani, however…

"Dani!"

The two screamed as they did their best to assist their leader but to no avail. Being the focus of the spell, she felt the barrier fall even stronger than her fellow maidens. Her body skidded across the slippery deck, her head spinning as she struggled to right herself before she felt her legs dangling off the edge of the ship. Already, she told herself to get ready to hold on for dear life if only to buy herself some time.

But thankfully, someone else had already gone to her rescue.

"I got you!"

Looking up, Dani was surprised to see none other than Chancellor Abel holding onto her hand. Wincing, she pulled herself up with his assistance, heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Are you alright, milady?"

"I-I'm fine," she weakly replied. "T-Thanks…"

Somehow, a part of her couldn't help but look at the man in front of her with both suspicion and gratitude. The latter was easy. He had just helped her, after all. But the former… She just couldn't think of why such was the case when he was simply another Valcrez official to her.

She shouldn't be feeling suspicious of things that he was expected to do, but somehow, especially, that one scene where he saw him carrying Rosela around that breaking down kept replaying itself in her head.

Rosela was obviously someone they should watch out for. She already heard and learned a few things about the woman. And this man seemed involved with Rosela in a more…

'I shouldn't even be thinking about this,' she inwardly chided herself. 'Focus, Dani. You have a job to do.'

Giving the man an appreciative nod, she moved to return to her fellow Maidens, only to stop when the shadow of another massive ship suddenly appeared right beside them.

"Hail!" another man shouted from the other ship. "Come aboard! We're here to evacuate the ship!"

Dani couldn't help but mumble as she asked, "What the… Is that-"

"That's Admiral Sixto's ship," Abel explained beside her even as he moved to escort everyone off the ship. "And we should leave. With the waves coming, a ship as damaged as ours is doomed to sink."

Nodding, Dani gestured for her fellow Maidens to follow the crowd evacuating to the larger ship. Soon enough, they were being ferried to safety, the ship's size keeping them safe from the waves that all but consumed their former vessel that Sirens destroyed.

Finally allowed to rest, Dani let herself sink into the nearest seat she could find. Still, despite her tired body, the reprieve also let her think about the circumstances of the sudden attack.

"Have something in mind?" Abel asked as he sat beside her. "You look like you have a few ideas."

"This… A Valcrez ship had never been attacked by Sirens before, right?"

"Indeed," Abel hummed. "The Admiral already has similar thoughts. We've come to believe that this was a deliberate attack."

Dani couldn't help but nod in agreement. "It's too convenient for the Sirens to suddenly change their course the moment Her Majesty left, wasn't it…"

There was just no other explanation she could think of. Why else would an attack like this happen now? Especially when they were currently ferrying the royals of Valcrez? Thankfully, King Nikolai wasn't present, but what if he was? This would've wiped out Valcrez's leadership in one fell swoop.

"Something is afoot, don't you think?"

"Yes," she nodded. "The question now is what, or who did it…"

Dani let out a tired sigh. It would seem that no matter what happened, their work as Shadow Maidens would never get easier.