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Suddenly, a strong vibration traveled through the hull.
"Letizia!"
Idris quickly grabbed me as I staggered from the sudden impact.
But there was no time to be surprised.
Idris and I got up and headed for the lounge door without a word.
And just as I was about to grab the doorknob.
"Your Highness? Are you inside?"
An employee's voice came from outside the door.
Idris opened the door and asked.
"What happened just now?"
"It seems there's a problem with the engine room... We've sent people to assess the situation first."
Idris and I exchanged uneasy glances at the employee's report.
'If it's the engine room... that's where the mana stone is.'
After a moment of thought, Idris made a quick decision.
"First, gather the passengers at the escape pods."
"Excuse me? But we haven't even assessed the situation yet, isn't it too hasty...?"
"We haven't assessed the situation, but that loud of a noise means it's definitely not a normal occurrence."
"..."
"The safety of the passengers is the top priority in any situation. We must always prepare for the worst."
"...My thinking was short-sighted. I will follow your orders."
The employee relayed the orders to the employees who had followed him and immediately ran towards the banquet hall.
As I anxiously watched him go and turned to Idris, he spoke.
"Letizia. You go to the escape pods with the others."
"There's an escape pod for personnel in the engine room, too. Let's go together."
But he grabbed my hand and stopped me as I tried to lead the way.
"I think it might be dangerous."
"..."
"I just... have a feeling."
Hearing those words, the situation at the hunting festival came to mind.
Idris couldn't fight properly because he was protecting me even in the face of Paydan's threats.
I hoped it wasn't that kind of danger, but if it was something similar...
'It's better if I don't go with him.'
But even though I knew it in my head, I was afraid to let him go.
I hesitated, unable to let go of him, and asked with difficulty.
"What about you? Are you... going to be okay?"
My voice trembled.
Idris looked at me for a moment, then cupped my cheeks and said.
"Did you forget? I survived on the battlefield. To meet you again."
Yes, that's right.
Idris had won and survived many wars, becoming a war hero.
But would the goddess of fortune be on his side this time as well?
As I hesitated with lingering anxiety, Idris let go of my hand first.
"See you later."
The moment the warmth of his hand disappeared, I remembered something I hadn't said earlier.
I hurriedly grabbed Idris's hand.
"Idris."
Then he turned around with the same playful look as usual.
Faced with his heart, trying to reassure me, I eventually swallowed the words I was about to say and smiled.
"See you later. Definitely."
Idris chuckled, nodded, and turned away.
I never got to answer his confession.
Because if I answered, I was afraid he would never come back.
Come back safe, even if it's just to hear that answer.
I desperately prayed as I watched Idris walk away.
If God exists.
If he sent me back to the past out of pity.
'Please return that man safely to my side.'
Soon, Idris's figure disappeared completely at the end of the hallway.
Composing my uneasy heart, I turned and headed for the banquet hall.
"Hey, get out of the way!"
"Wait, just a minute! Don't push!"
"Don't push! It's faster to go down slowly in order!"
The banquet hall was in chaos with people panicking and trying to evacuate, and employees trying to control them.
I approached to help them as well.
"Kyaa!"
A woman, pushed by the crowd, fell in front of me.
I quickly hugged and supported her.
"Are you okay?"
"Th, thank you..."
"There's another path to the escape pods this way, so please move this way."
I guided people to another evacuation route that I had identified while looking around the airship.
But the anxiety planted in their hearts was about to explode at any moment.
I had to calm people down so that the chaos wouldn't cause a bigger accident.
"Everyone, please don't push, and keep the order. There's plenty of time to evacuate. It's not an emergency yet."
I reassured people and guided them to the evacuation route, then went down to the floor with the cabins.
The employees who had checked the cabins were coming back out.
"There's no one here."
"Here's the last passenger!"
The last employee who came out brought a woman holding a sleeping child.
As I came down with them to the escape pods, someone pushed through the crowd and ran towards me.
"Lady!"
It was Erin.
"I was waiting for you in the cabin, but the employees told me to evacuate quickly. So, I came down first, and..."
She was relieved to see me, as if she had been worried about evacuating alone.
"Yes, you did well."
I stroked Erin's shoulder and looked around.
For some reason, many people were still milling about without getting on the escape pods.
It felt like something was wrong.
I pushed through the crowd and approached the employees.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, Lady Letizia. Well... it seems an intruder has passed through here."
"An intruder...? We definitely verified everyone's identity, how...?"
"Judging from the remaining evidence, it seems they were hiding in the lower part of the airship rather than boarding in disguise. It seems they know the structure, so there seems to be a spy among the employees."
At that moment, Deon reflexively came to mind.
'But that guy should be locked up in the Imperial Palace prison...'
But the immediate problem wasn't the identity of the intruder.
"More importantly, they damaged one of the escape pods while entering the interior through here."
Only then could I understand why people were milling about without immediately boarding the escape pods.
The fact that one escape pod was damaged meant that the remaining escape pods had to accommodate more passengers than originally planned.
"Can the remaining escape pods accommodate all the personnel?"
"We're loading as many people as possible for now, but we'll have to check. Lady Letizia, please hurry and board."
The employee guided me inside the escape pod.
But...
'Everyone is worried that there won't be a seat for them.'
I could clearly see the shadows of fear and anxiety on the faces of the people waiting in line.
Seeing that, I couldn't get on the escape pod first.
"Load the people first. Don't worry about me."
The employees looked at me with surprised eyes, but since it was a matter of life and death, they soon agreed and moved.
But in the end, there were not enough seats to board.
"The rest of you, let's move to the engine room with us!"
"Lady Letizia, you need to get on now..."
The employee urged me to board the escape pod.
The escape pod was shining brightly.
If I boarded this escape pod, I would surely survive.
But the answer that came out of my mouth was completely different.
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