"All ships, hoist the sails! We're setting sail!"

"I'm the captain now!"

"...?"

At that moment, identical question marks appeared on the faces of Nikephoros and Haakon. The two looked at each other with raised eyebrows, then Haakon tilted his head and spoke.

"Are you perhaps feeling nostalgic for your days with the Anna Pirates?"

"Not really. Hearing 'setting sail' just made it slip out naturally."

It was a game that had dominated most of my middle school life. Obviously, I couldn't play Europa on a mobile phone.

"Setting sail?"

Haakon scratched the back of his head, deep in thought. Nikephoros, who had been watching him, stepped forward and broke the silence.

"We expect the journey to our destination to take approximately two weeks. We plan to briefly stop at Heraklion for supplies along the way."

"So there are no changes to the plan?"

"No, there aren't."

"Alright."

Perhaps it was from forcing myself to greet the faint dawn light, but a heavy fatigue weighed on my shoulders. I nodded briefly and made my way deeper into the cabin.

While everyone else remained at their posts on deck, only Nikephoros followed me into the cabin like a shadow. Then he carefully began to speak.

"If you wish, I can take command of the fleet for a few days."

"Is there anything special that needs commanding in the early stages?"

"Even if there isn't, someone should remain by the commander's side."

Nikephoros answered stiffly as always. I turned to look at him with a slight smile.

"What good is a commander who just stays put? Nikephoros, you don't know anything about the navy."

It went without saying that Nikephoros was a complete landlubber who not only had no experience commanding a fleet but had never even spent more than a week on a ship.

At my amused gaze, he responded with an awkward smile.

"I've completed sufficient preparation."

"Oh, really? Then would you care to explain our current operation?"

"Gladly, if you wish."

With a confident expression, Nikephoros nodded and began speaking without hesitation.

"Our fleet has two main objectives before reaching Alexandria. First, to secure safe passage for the slower transport ships so they can travel without enemy interference. Second, to locate and destroy the Fatimid navy's main force that might be hiding somewhere waiting for us."

"What will you do if we encounter the Fatimid navy's main fleet?"

"I'll immediately raise the flag to position the Greek fire-equipped chelandia in the vanguard from the center of our fleet. While they drive deep into enemy lines to create chaos, our nimble galeai will spread their wings to form an encirclement. Once the encirclement is complete, we'll deploy our dromon ships in full force to annihilate the enemy."

"Impressive!"

He was rattling off the operation plan that I'd never even taught him. Well, he must have heard it from Uncle John before we set sail.

I feigned surprise and nudged his arm.

"Then I suppose you also know what actions we should take in the waters off Alexandria?"

"Of course."

Nikephoros nodded again with a confident smile, without a moment's hesitation.

"First, we'll aggressively maneuver the First Fleet toward Alexandria's main harbor to divert the enemy's attention. Taking advantage of this confusion, the Coptic Christians within the city will stage a major uprising. Meanwhile, our main force will secretly move to the western part of the city, to the Eunostos Harbor, to begin our full-scale landing operation."

"And if the enemy doesn't fall for our deception?"

"We'll deploy our elite marines from the First Fleet to support the Coptic rebels. This will create a situation the enemy defense forces can't ignore."

"Correct. You really have prepared thoroughly, haven't you?"

Well, if I were to be picky, there were some minor details lacking, but he seemed to have the overall big picture of the operation perfectly mapped out in his head.

I patted his shoulder lightly in praise and reached for the cabin door. Leaning against the doorframe, I turned back to look at him and continued.

"Still, I'll take command this time. Right now, I'm just a bit tired from having to get up so early."

If this had been an army base, I would have handed the command to Nikephoros without hesitation, but the navy was a different story.

The navy was like a child I had raised with my own hands. The disappointment of having the Smyrna offensive—the navy's debut battle—taken away by Uncle John still lingered in a corner of my heart. So I wanted to at least start and finish this landing operation with my own hands. You could call it a mother's heart.

"Understood, Princess."

Nikephoros bowed his head without objection. I briefly replied "Thank you" and turned to enter the cabin.

"Huh?"

But at that moment, Nikephoros followed me into the cabin as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He closed the door with a familiar touch, pulled a thick book from the bookshelf, and plopped down on a small chair next to the bed.

"What are you doing?"

I asked with a puzzled voice.

"Pardon?"

Nikephoros paused as he was about to open the book and looked up at me, blinking his large eyes.

"I said I was going to get some sleep?"

"Yes, I clearly received that message."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Pardon?"

He still looked back at me with a confused expression.

"Well, obviously... I was going to rest as well..."

"But why are you trying to rest here specifically?"

"Um... because this is my room."

Nikephoros pointed at the bed as if stating the obvious. There was a king-sized bed so large it seemed impossible to imagine how it had been moved here.

"...?"

A feeling like an ominous premonition struck my mind. I stood frozen for a moment, processing the situation. Then I carefully opened the cabin door and went out to the corridor to check the nameplate, which read "Fleet Commander's Quarters" in bold, large letters.

"So... you're saying you share this room with me, Nikephoros?"

"Yes. That's what I was told."

"By whom?"

"By Megas Doux John."

"..."

Megas Doux John, aka Uncle John. The reason he was my uncle was quite simply because he was the Empress's older brother.

At that moment, I recalled the meaningful greeting the Empress had given me just before departure, with a slight wink: "Do have a pleasant voyage."

"Sigh."

A hot emotion—whether embarrassment or anger, I couldn't tell—welled up inside me, but I managed to suppress it with a deep breath. Having regained my composure, I looked directly at Nikephoros, who was still blinking his large eyes at me, and said firmly:

"You're sleeping on the floor."

"...Pardon?"

The fact that he knew everything but deliberately didn't tell me meant that this seemingly innocent man was also a perfect accomplice.

Instead of answering, I grabbed a soft wool blanket that was neatly folded on the bed and tossed it onto the floor. Then without hesitation, I threw myself onto the middle of the plush bed.

Ten suns had already risen and set on the vast deck. We had glided as if on an enormous lake, without encountering a single violent wave or enemy ship.

"Hey, Haakon."

"Yes, Princess."

"Switch rooms with me when we return."

"...Yes?"

The ship's rocking had become much gentler than a few days ago, signaling that we were approaching the end of the vast ocean. Haakon scratched the back of his head with wide eyes at my sudden proposal.

"Did His Excellency do something improper?"

"Improper? Nikephoros would never do such a thing."

I shook my head with a deep sigh.

"It's just... the bed is too narrow for both of us."

For the first three nights after setting sail, Nikephoros had slept on the floor without a single complaint. But I'm not a devil, and I couldn't keep ignoring him as he groaned every morning, clutching his waist as if his lifespan was being shortened.

Finally, on the fourth night, I reluctantly allowed Nikephoros to come up onto the bed, and he lay down beside me with a bright smile as if he had gained the whole world.

And then, the daily routine that followed every night...

"...Snore."

"Ugh!"

Every dawn, I would barely open my eyes, crushed under his weight.

The palace beds were at least twice as large, so it never showed, but sleeping this close together revealed that Nikephoros had quite terrible sleeping habits.

"If even you find it narrow, Princess, how could I possibly..."

"No, you'll be fine. If Nikephoros sleeps with you, he'll be careful."

"Careful?"

"Well... it's not so much that the bed is narrow, but Nikephoros keeps rolling toward me in his sleep. He didn't used to do that."

He used to sleep very quietly in the past. Sometimes when I woke up at dawn, I could see him precariously perched at the edge of the bed.

"I'm sure it's because he's gotten used to sleeping next to me."

Of course, I could understand reasonable sleeping habits. I couldn't complain too much since I also had rather terrible sleeping habits myself.

But when we tossed and turned in the narrow space, I always ended up underneath. No matter how strong I was for my size, pushing away a sleeping Nikephoros was no easy task.

"A suddenly developed sleeping habit..."

Haakon seemed deep in thought as he stroked his chin. Eventually, he glanced sideways at Nikephoros, who was talking with John in the distance, and made a meaningful comment.

"A person's sleeping habits don't change that easily."

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, His Excellency might be consciously..."

"Princess! A messenger ship is approaching!"

Just then, an aide's booming voice rang out. Startled, I looked up and said, "I'll leave it to you then," before quickly approaching John and Nikephoros.

"White flag and green flag. It matches the signal we arranged in advance. It's definitely the messenger sent by the Coptic Christians."

John reported the situation with a respectful bow as he spotted me. I nodded and looked beyond the railing. A small messenger ship, seemingly converted from an old fishing boat, came into view.

"Are you certain the surrounding waters are secure?"

"Yes, Princess. There isn't a single vessel within a radius of dozens of stadia."

John answered with a confident voice. Indeed, even to my eyes, the horizon was so clear that not even a common merchant republic ship could be seen.

I nodded with satisfaction.

"The white and green flags definitely signal that the operation is to proceed, correct?"

"That's right. White means the believers inside the city are ready, and green means the Fatimid navy's main force is not in the waters near Alexandria."

The absence of the Fatimid navy's main force nearby meant they had completely abandoned interception at the coastline. In other words, it was good news that our landing operation would be much easier.

The best-case scenario we had planned had become reality. I looked at John with a bright smile.

"Excellent. Order the fleet to proceed at full speed toward Alexandria. How long until we arrive?"

"At our current speed, we should arrive around seven this evening."

"Seven in the evening... perfect timing for a surprise attack."

An arrival four days ahead of schedule, and the situation unfolding according to plan. A smile of joy spread across my face involuntarily.

Seeing my bright expression, John also smiled warmly and carefully asked:

"Do you have any special message for the soldiers?"

"Of course I do."

Until now, I thought the timing was a bit awkward, but with the schedule moved up, there was no need to hesitate.

I raised my right fist high into the air and shouted:

"The Princess's birthday in Alexandria! Christmas in Cairo! And... Easter in our homeland!"

It was an ambitious plan that would naturally follow our large-scale landing.