Steel Empire
The journey of Honoria 2

On the night Honoria runs away, she finds a pel*cur who pityes her. Despite taking a huge risk, the woman promises to take Honoria to port and help her fulfill her wish. The desire was to escape her marriage to the French sissy prince and visit Austria, where she could finally get a chance to meet the man who could potentially be the destined partner for her.

With the guidance of the pel*cur, it did not take long for the two to arrive at the port where the merchant ship docked. It was a decent size ship and was fully capable of crossing a river like the Danube. After boarding the ship, the two saw a man resting on his bow, where he had a book placed on his head and a large jug of wine near his feet.

However, as soon as Honoria and pel*cur saw the man sleeping on his boat under the starry sky above, the woman accompanying Honoria kicked the man's shin and punished him as she did so. 

"Agnellus, awake!"

After receiving the impact from the woman's kick and hearing her shrill voice as she yelled at him, the man was instantly shocked; the moment he woke up, the book fell from his face and onto the deck of the ship. As he turned his head, he could see his little sister, whom he hadn't spoken to for a long time, glaring at him as if she was some sort of trash for only resting at night.

The man struggled to escape his drunken state and started rubbing his temples before he fully realized what was going on.

"Melissa? Been a long time... Why do I owe you displeasure?"

At this moment, the man noticed the beautiful young girl next to Melissa, and a perverted grin appeared on her face. However, after seeing the look on her face, Melissa snapped at him.

"Remove that disgusting expression from your ugly cup; he is not a piece of street meat you can buy for tonight! This is the noble lady who is looking for a way to Austria, and you should show her respect!"

When Agnellus heard that Honoria was a noblewoman, she quickly cleaned up her actions and lowered her head while apologizing.

"Sorry, Miss, it's just that with the company Melissa tends to keep; I assume you're in the same profession ..."

Agnellus was smart enough to realize what would happen if she dared to touch a noble woman and quickly acted. He may be drunk and depraved, but he's not stupid. Honoria simply nodded in response without saying anything. She was warned on the way by Melissa that the less she said, the better. 

Agnellus only realized that Melissa said the young girl wanted to travel to Austria and was immediately suspicious. Therefore, he voiced his concern.

"Austrian? It was a long journey; even if you paid me to take you there, I must first know why. There is no way a noblewoman like you would hire a mere jeweler like me to take you to a foreign country. What kind of trouble did you bring to my door, Melissa?"

Melissa folded her hands before criticizing Agnellus once more; she knew the man would never risk smuggling the princess out of the Empire; the risk was too significant. So, he concocted half the truth about his identity. 

"She came from a small noble family, and they wanted to marry her off to a freak. So he ran away; if you know what's good for you, shut up!"

Hearing this, Agnellus started scratching his naked chin. This was a complicated situation he was facing. However, when Honoria reached into her bag and took out a large gold bracelet inlaid with diamonds, the man's natural greed instantly overpowered her. 

Honoria struggled to find her voice amid her anxious state before speaking.

"I... I don't have any money, but I can pay you with jewelry, is this enough?"

Looking at such high quality jewelry, the merchant instantly stared back and forth between Honoria and her sister with a suspicious look before questioning Melissa's statement.

"Little noble house, huh? Something else is happening here ..."

Honoria had a worried expression in her eyes as she looked at Melissa with a pleading gaze. Upon seeing how desperate the girl was, the merchant known as Agnelli let out a heavy sigh before deciding. 

"Well, I'll take him, but it's only because I'm heading in that direction. There are many businesses to be had in this part of the world today. There should be a booming jewelry market in Kufstein with designs that no one has seen before. Get aboard; you can stay in the captain's room; I think I'll stay with the crew for the next few months."

Honoria quickly thanked the man before stepping up

"Thank you!"

after which, he started walking towards the captain's cabin. However, before she could do so, she ran back and grabbed Melissa where she hugged her as if she was a good friend while thanking her.

"Thank you, really from the bottom of my heart; I'm grateful for all you've done for me. I promise I will never forget your kindness as long as I take a breath!"

Melissa's cheeks began to blush when she heard such appreciation, and she immediately released the princess from him before replying.

"I only help the same spirit; go, get on the ship and get ready for the journey. One last piece of advice is to try to hide in the captain's place for as long as possible. The crew is not to be trusted."

Honoria looked at Melissa with a questioning look; she had no idea what the woman meant. However, he quickly nodded and smiled before saying goodbye.

after doing so, Honoria entered the Captain's cabin, where she lay in bed while Heraclius perched on the table, watching over his master. Outside the house, Agnellus begins to interrogate his sister in search of the truth. He had a lot of suspicions and needed to know the level of risk he was taking by smuggling the girl out of the Empire. 

"Who is he? What kind of shit are you doing?"

Melissa immediately tried to dodge the question.

"I told you he's a little noble-"

However, before he could finish his sentence, Agnellus cut him off.

"Omong empty! Have you forgotten that I am a merchant specializing in Jewelry trading? The bracelet he showed me was precious! At the very least, she had to be the daughter of the extremely wealthy Strategos to buy such jewelry. Tell me what I'm up against and the level of risk I'm taking for smuggling it out of the Empire!"

After thinking about it for a while, Melissa sighed before revealing the truth.

"She's Princess Honoria, and she's trying to escape from the wedding. The part was genuine; she told me that she would rather die than marry the prince who was engaged to the pillow-biter. You must protect him, Agnellus! At least as long as he's on your ship... 

He had no idea how the real world worked! He runs away from home to escape to Austria, hoping to meet Prince Tyrol because he has heard some good stories about him and thinks he is some kind of prince charming! He had never even met that man!"

Agnellus could instantly feel a headache forming on his head, and because of that, he placed his forehead on his palm before silently scolding his sister.

" God! You want me to smuggle the Empire's fucking princess out of her borders? Are you crazy!?! Do you know what the palace guards will do to you when they find out you helped him escape? You will be lucky if all you get is a quick beheading! Why would you want to help him?"

Melissa began to pout for a while before revealing her reason.

"Partially because I feel sorry for her ..."

Agnellus looked at his sister carefully before asking for the rest of the reason.

"And the other part?"

Melissa immediately stomped her feet in protest before telling her the real reason for helping Honoria.

"Again, I'd like to see a girl not bewildered by her family. Is that too much to ask?"

Agnellus was confused when she heard this; she was well aware of the reason why Melissa worked as a prostitute, and it basically had something to do with their parents. She rarely spoke to her sister, not because of her profession but because she could not look him in the eye properly after learning that she had done nothing to stop her fate. Therefore, he let out a heavy sigh before agreeing to his sister's request.

"Well, I'll take her to Kufstein, and as long as she's on my ship, you hold my word, I'll protect her. However, once he was in Kufstein, he was alone. I suggest you get out of here." City before people realize he's missing! He wasn't very conspicuous; he must have left a trail in front of your door!"

Melissa almost jumped in joy as she clung to her older brother and hugged him tightly. Shortly after realizing what he had done, he let go and coughed to avoid the awkward atmosphere that had occurred.

"Thank you! I'll owe you!"

Agnellus, on the other hand, only scoffed as she responded to his statement.

"You can repay me by staying safe, seriously getting out of town! Go to Athens! or Antioch, but whatever you do, don't stay in Constantinople!"

Melissa nodded and smiled before leaving. After he left, Agnellus sighed before thinking to himself.

"Fuck me; I was too kind in my old age..."

By the standards of the medieval era, he was actually quite old; he was currently in his mid-thirties, and he had seen too much in this life to be considered young. Despite this, she still had a good nature and thus agreed to help Honoria. Partly because of the wealth he would gain from doing so, but more importantly, he also felt sorry for the girl. 

Therefore, Agnellus quickly began to gather his crew and prepare to sail. After realizing who he was smuggling out of the city, he had no desire to stay within his borders any longer than necessary. After an hour of preparation, the ship departed, and for the time being, the crew did not realize that a beautiful young girl was staying at the captain's place. 

It will be a long trip to Kufstein, with many stops on the way. During this time, Honoria must have had some adventures of her own; when she finally reached Kufstein, she would be surprised to learn that Berengar had risen from the position of Count to Duke in such a short time. Perhaps Berengar would elevate his title to King then; the future was uncertain. 

By the time the imperial family of the Byzantine Empire realized that Honoria was missing, she would be long gone, and their only clue was that Melissa would long disappear. Where he ended up, no one knows. One thing is certain, however, that he would be better off there than if he had stayed on the borders of Constantinople.