Men in Black

And there, not far away, stood Alice—graceful and composed, her clothes perfectly undisturbed.

Her brow was slightly furrowed as she listened to the captain,who was bowing deeply while reporting something.

Not a single scratch marred her person.

Did I overreact?

Black thought to himself.

Alice didn’t look like she’d been attacked at all.

“Your Highness, are you alright?”

Black approached her, eyes scanning her up and down,his voice still edged with lingering anxiety.

Alice lifted her gaze to him.

Seeing his flustered expression,the tension at the corner of her mouth softened just a fraction.

Her tone remained cool, though.

“It was just a malfunction during the test-firing of a new cannon—the propellant ignited prematurely, causing a minor explosion.”

“The rounds were only for testing; the blast was weak.

I wasn’t injured.”

“But you… why are you so frantic?”

At that, Black finally exhaled in relief—though his back was already soaked in cold sweat.

On his way here, he’d already imagined the worst:

Alice’s lifeless body lying cold on the floor.

Thankfully, nothing had happened.

“I saw a suspicious figure on deck.

I followed him, but lost track—then the explosion went off, and I thought…”

“You thought there was an assassin on board?”

Alice arched an eyebrow, her eyes flickering over him—a small, hidden warmth blooming in her chest.

She was glad that, in a crisis,

Black’s first worry had been for her.

“Protecting those you’re sworn to guard—that’s what a proper guard should do.”

“You may return to the deck. We’ll handle this.”

Since Alice was unharmed, Black nodded and made his way back to the deck.

Leaning against the railing,he stared out at the distant sea,the image of the black-clad man refusing to leave his mind.

Could it really have just been his imagination?

Imagination?

No—that didn’t make sense.

If the man had nothing to hide,why flee so quickly?

Why act as if he feared being caught?

In truth, Black had considered telling Alice about the Draconic Parliament’s infiltrators.

But this was no small matter—especially during such a volatile time.

Without concrete proof,accusations like that could be labeled “spreading panic”—a crime punishable by confinement.

Even though Alice now treated him with more trust,she might still doubt him on something this grave.

After all, he’d already drawn suspicionby revealing intelligence about Jörmungandr.

If he dropped another bombshell like this,they might just lock him up “for his own safety.”

As he sank deeper into thought,a sudden commotion erupted on deck.

“What in the world is that?!”

A Dragon-Slaying Guard pointed toward the distant horizon,his voice trembling with disbelief.

Black followed his gesture—and saw that the far-off sea had turned an unnatural black.

A massive wave churned violently,rushing toward them at terrifying speed.

From afar, it looked as if countless colossal creatureswere thrashing beneath the surface.

At first, he thought it might be a migrating whale pod.

But as the distance closed,

Black clearly saw the monstrous heads breaking the surface:the hammer-like skull of the Hammerhead Sea Dragon,the thick, muscular arms of the Sea Lion Dragon,and the jagged dorsal spines of the Spineback Sea Dragon!

“Another Dragon Tide?!”

Black’s pupils contracted sharply,his throat bobbing hard.

They’d just survived one tide yesterday—how could another strike so soon?

And this one was just as massive!

“Alert! Full alert! Dragon Tide incoming!”

The deck commander reacted instantly,his voice cutting through the air.

Shrill alarm bells blared across the vanguard ship—then rippled outward through the entire royal fleet.

In an instant, every Dragon-Slaying Guard snapped into position!

Ballistae, cannons, arcane artillery—all loaded and primed.

The entire ship surged into battle readiness.

“Another Dragon Tide?!”

Alice and the captain rushed back onto the deck,both stunned by the sudden turn of events.

“Your Highness, you must return to the Hodyr immediately!

It’s far safer there!”

The captain’s face was ashen as he barked orders to his crew,urgently urging Alice to leave.

He wasn’t wrong.

The Hodyr had Pascal—a Dragon-tier expert—on board.

If Alice faced danger, they could protect her.

But this vanguard ship had limited combat strength.

They couldn’t guarantee her safety.

If anything happened to such a high-ranking princess,how could they possibly explain it to Empress Elizabeth?

At his words, Alice’s expression hardened.

She immediately drew her longsword,her crimson eyes locked onto the approaching tide.

“There’s no time. The Hodyr is too far.

If we try to retreat now, the sea dragons will intercept us—that would be even more dangerous.”

“And if I abandon you all just to save my own life…then I don’t deserve to be a princess of this empire!”

Her voice rang out—firm, resolute—echoing across the deck.

The crew and guards fell silent for a beat—then their faces lit with fierce emotion.

“For Princess Alice! For the Empire!”

“For Princess Alice! For our homeland!”

Morale surged instantly—the entire ship now burning with unified resolve.

Wise choice. No wonder she’s the princess.

Black watched Alice—radiant in this moment of crisis—and felt an urge to applaud.

This princess was growing faster than he could have imagined.

Everyone now stood ready, weapons drawn,prepared to fight the sea dragons to the death.

What they didn’t notice, however—was a cluster of malicious gazeslurking in the shadows of a rear cabin.

Eyes fixed especially on Alice… and Black.

There, huddled together,were several figures in identical black garb—and among them was the very man Black had chased earlier.

“Heh… what luck.

Not only did we catch the princess off the Hodyr,but a Dragon Tide shows up too.”

The leader of the group stroked a black dagger in his hand,chuckling softly.

“If we’d only planned to kill Alice,now we can wipe out everyone on this shipand blame it all on the sea dragons.

No one will ever trace it back to us.”

If Black had seen that dagger,he would’ve recognized it instantly—this was Black Dragon,the leader of the Draconic Parliament’s current operation.

Black Dragon hadn’t anticipated the Dragon Tide.

His original plan had always been to assassinate Alice.

The reasons were simple:

First, she was a high-value imperial target.

Second, compared to other nobles,she ventured outside the Hodyr far more often—making her easier to isolate and eliminate.

But the Hodyr was crawling with high-tier experts.

Any move there would’ve been suicide—the Dragon-Slaying Guards would’ve crushed them instantly.

So they’d waited…and today, when Alice came to inspect the vanguard ship,they seized the opportunity, slipping aboard unnoticed.

Away from the Hodyr’s defenses,their chances of success had skyrocketed.

Moreover, after that mysterious intruderhad breached their ranks twice before,they were now paranoid—on high alert.

Hence, six elite assassins had been deployed just to kill one princess.