The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"You're right, Prince Fish."

When Fish asked the question in surprise, Mint, Ange's lady-in-waiting, answered for her. "Her Highness Ange is currently first in line to the throne. Therefore, if the current Grand Duke Fayun were to pass away, you would theoretically inherit the Grand Duke's throne and crown."

"Hmm...really? But what are the views of the nobles of Fayun on bloodlines..." Fish began to struggle.

"That doesn't matter. Although you may appear to be an 'unclean' being, you are in fact a 'chosen one'—according to ancient customary law, 'chosen ones' are not true nobles, but are treated as nobles in public because they are considered 'people born with a noble mission'."

"But...but I...I don't know anything...and you just put me in charge like this..."

"That's even less of a problem!" Mint seemed quite satisfied. "Didn't I tell you? Even if that day really comes, all you'll need to inherit is the 'throne and crown.' As for other matters, the well-educated Princess Ange will take care of them for you. You just need to follow her instructions."

"Hmph, these guys have a pretty good plan," Huang Yan muttered to Fish. "Finding a cute, cuddly mascot to sit on the throne and take the blame, while their master still holds power... Plus, this promise is enough to win over two powerful forces and get through the current crisis. What better deal could there be?"

"But if I have to sit in the palace, won't I be unable to go to farther and higher places?" Fish asked softly.

"It's alright, even if that happens, it will be a long time from now—and the Joint Operations Headquarters' plan will definitely be completed before then," Huang Yan said. "So there's nothing wrong with the deal itself."

"Really? That's good..."

"That's wonderful! It seems you've agreed!" Anjie raised her head and said with delight, "In that case, from today onwards, we will advance and retreat together, live and die together, and face all difficulties and obstacles together."

"Of course," Fish nodded quickly.

"Oh, right! So, may I ask if you can sign this document now?" Ange thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out to a maid, who immediately handed her a piece of paper and a quill pen.

Next, Ange quickly wrote a long string of words on the paper in elegant handwriting. Then, she had another maid bring out an inkpad box made of pearls the size of pigeon eggs. She dipped the red agate ring on her right middle finger into the inkpad and stamped her personal seal at the end of the document.

"What...is this?"

"The contracts between nobles, bearing the seal of my own blood, are the most solemn and sacred of all," Ange explained. "They contain only some... insignificant little requests. I believe that Lord Fish will magnanimously grant them all."

"Ah...uh...let me see first." Fish paused for a moment, then began to laboriously read the contents of the document—having only received basic literacy education in Oasis City, he even struggled to read everyday instruction manuals. This document not only contained many unfamiliar terms, but was also entirely written in beautiful cursive script. It looked more like a work of art than a document, and many parts were like gibberish to him.

Fortunately, Huang Yan once again took on the role of "translator," directly reading the contents to Fish through neural connections.

"Regarding the marriage vows between Princess Fish, the future head of the Lyndenhild-Fayun family, heir to the Grand Duke of the Duchy, the regent and honorary speaker of the Upper House of the Duchy, and Princess Ange Katrina Tipharisa Lyndenhild-Fayun."

"First, His Highness Fish swears, on behalf of his family and himself, that he will formally marry His Highness Ange Katrina Tipharisa Lyndenhild-Fayun when the time is right—currently tentatively set after the political order of the Duchy is restored to normal."

"Secondly, after the marriage, Princess Ange will become the only official wife. This position cannot be unilaterally revoked. The heir to the duchy will be designated by Her Highness, and unless otherwise designated, the eldest son or daughter born to Her Highness will be the first in line to the throne."

"Third, Princess Ange does not forbid Prince Fish from having lovers, but if Prince Fish plans to formally marry a concubine, he needs Princess Ange's permission and blessing. Only those who receive permission can be legally considered members of the Lindenhild family."

"Fourth, the joint property of the two shall be managed by Princess Ange or her appointed treasurer. Princess Fish shall have the right of use. However, the use of the property shall be subject to the approval of the manager."

"Fifth, all of Prince Fish's future concubines will be managed by Princess Ange. Princess Ange may, when there is a proper reason, terminate the marriage between Prince Fish and a concubine. All concubines shall swear allegiance to the Lindenhild-Fahrenheit family and to Princess Ange herself, and shall never covet the position of principal wife."

"Sixth, if His Highness Fish has a child out of wedlock with his lover, he must report it to His Highness Ange. Whether the child out of wedlock is entitled to the right of succession to the Lindenhild dynasty is entirely up to His Highness Ange."

"what……"

"Waaah..."

After reading the entire document, not only Fish, but also a small voice exclaimed in surprise—out of curiosity, Xiaoxing had also secretly read through the entire document. Unlike Fish, who had received a decent education, she didn't need Phoenix Flame's assistance to understand what was written inside.

"Wait a minute, is there anything you can't accept?" Ange asked hurriedly. "Considering my... no, I mean the noble position of Fayun, the conditions I can offer are already the most generous. Otherwise..."

"No, no, no, what I mean is, why does it have to be with marriage in mind from the start?" Fish quickly shook his head. "We've only just met, okay? Even if it's love at first sight, this is way too fast..."

"What does this have to do with love at first sight?" Anjie frowned, looking like she was talking at cross purposes. "Didn't I tell you? You're going to inherit the position of Grand Duke of Fayun. Although as a 'Chosen One,' you're different from ordinary 'unclean ones' and can enjoy treatment equivalent to a noble, you're not a true noble. This means you can't gain inheritance rights by being adopted as the former head of the family's son or brother. There's no other legal way to inherit except by marrying me."

"Huh? Is marriage something you can just say so casually?!"

"Otherwise what? In our aristocratic world, marriage for political purposes is very common." Ange shrugged.

"But...uh..."

"In short, under the current circumstances, I have done my best to offer you favorable terms," ​​Ange continued. "Miss Xiaoxing, please also help me persuade Mr. Fish. If he agrees, I will agree to you marry him as a concubine!"

"Ah...I..." Xiaoxing's face instantly turned as red as a ripe persimmon in early winter, almost as if steam was about to rise from it. "Concubine...Mr. Fish...that..."

"I can make you my first concubine, with a status higher than all other concubines and lovers. And I'll even grant you the title of viscount!" Ange continued to entice her. "If you don't believe me, I can provide a formal oath!"

"I...I don't care about that!" Xiaoxing suddenly covered her flushed face like a frightened little animal and ran into the bushes nearby.

"What...what's wrong with her?" Ange, who had made a fool of herself, was dumbfounded. "Does she think a viscount title isn't high enough? But directly granting someone without an official title a Count or higher isn't very traditional. Maybe I could promise her an annuity? But how much...?"

"This isn't about money or titles!" Despite trying to remain polite in front of Ange, Fish finally couldn't help but yell, "Xiaoxing's only been a teammate of mine for less than a month. We do have a little mutual attraction, but talking about marriage..."

"Absolutely no problem," Ange said. "In this world, marriage is a very efficient way to establish close relationships between people. At least among us nobles, even if there's no mutual affection, shared interests are enough to justify an engagement. Someone as reliable, intelligent, and capable as Xiaoxing—if we don't win her over as soon as possible, it'll be too late to regret it if she gets poached by someone else later..."

"I'd regret it if I married someone for that reason!" Fish scratched his furry ears, realizing for the first time how different the logic of aristocratic society was from that of someone like him. "Anyway, not now! And I don't think Xiaoxing would ever betray us!"

"Ah... since that's your judgment, then fine. You can maintain your current relationship with Miss Xiaoxing for now." For some reason, Ange seemed somewhat... regretful when she said this.

"Well done, kid! This time, I'll give you 100 points!" Unlike Ange, who looked displeased, when Huang Yan's voice rang in Fish's mind, he felt approval. "Sacred love cannot be tainted by dirty interests. This world is already bad enough; if even love and marriage can be traded so easily, what kind of world is this?"

"right!"

"However, if it's just a formal engagement, that's... no problem," Huang Yan added after a while.

"Meow?!"

"After all, engagement is not the same as marriage, and there's no set date. You can postpone it as long as you don't like it. You can even back out later," Huang Yan said. "And in my judgment, if we can establish this...special relationship with Princess Anjie, it will definitely be a huge help to our future missions for the Joint Operations Headquarters!"

"So you mean..." Fish's furry ears perked up—a sign that he was feeling uneasy.

"I'm sorry, kid, but considering the potential benefits of doing this, let's... sign it anyway."

"Hey, you can't do this!" Although Fish tried to struggle, in the end, Huang Yan forcibly took control of Fish's arm through the neural connection, forcing him to sign his name at the bottom of the document and draw a Q-version fish pattern as his monogram.

"How fortunate I am!" Anjie carefully put away the document as if it were a precious treasure. "In this way, we can share joys and sorrows in the future, my future husband."

"Y-yes..." Seeing that the die was cast, Fish, who was covered in a cold sweat, had no choice but to nod. "So... what are you planning to do next?"

"Of course, I'll be traveling with my husband," Ange said, omitting the adverb "future." "After all, to be honest, we were in such a rush during our escape that we didn't have time to develop any further plans."

"Escape? What exactly happened in the Duchy of Fayun? Why are you fleeing?"

"It's like this." Anjie sighed softly and took out a map. By the standards of this era, the map was quite well-made, and it also bore the "secret" seal of the Duchy of Fayun, clearly indicating that it was not something an ordinary person could obtain. "Your Highness, this is the current Duchy of Fayun..."

"Don't call me 'Your Highness Husband,' it sounds weird," Fish protested.

"Yes, Your Highness." Ange completely ignored Fish's words. Seeing this, Fish had no choice but to give in for the time being. "As everyone knows, since my great-great-grandfather, Elon I, the Duchy of Fayun has been expanding into the region formerly known as the 'Indochina Peninsula' to accommodate the growing population. The newly established Western Expeditionary Governor's Office there is a training ground for nobles who are expected to become heirs, such as myself."

"Uh... is this it?" Fish pointed to a large landmass on the west side of the map. He had seen this long, narrow peninsula in the mosaic map on the medical center wall before. However, the Indochina Peninsula in that mosaic was a full third larger than the one on this map.

“Yes. A month ago, I received the appointment as acting governor from my father and officially took office,” Ange nodded. “At that time, my retainers and I left the principality’s core territory in Kalimantan aboard the luxury passenger ship ‘Mission’ under the protection of the escort ship ‘Triumphant Assistance’, but we encountered an accident in northern Java.”

"Was it an enemy attack?" Xiaoxing asked curiously as she quietly slipped back from the bushes. Fish noticed that her cheeks were still as red as ripe plums, and she always subconsciously avoided making eye contact with Ange.

"No, it's actually a storm. Our fleet has stumbled into the eye of an extremely powerful storm." Ange shrugged.

In this era, the significantly increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to extremely high temperatures on the tropical ocean surface, making storms more frequent and terrifying than in previous civilizations, causing widespread devastation. However, Fish still found it somewhat strange: logically, experienced seafarers should be very sensitive to storms, so why would they still head straight into them?

"As expected of my husband, he noticed the problem immediately." After noticing the change in Fish's expression, Ange smiled and nodded in praise, "Under normal circumstances, the navigator and captain wouldn't be foolish enough to risk approaching a storm, let alone charging into it—but on our ship, some people were clearly eager to do so. And their purpose..."

"Is it your life?" Fish asked.

"This is the only possibility," said Mint, kneeling beside him. "Before abandoning ship, we discovered that the first mate and navigator had deliberately tampered with the navigation data, and I personally dealt with them on His Highness's behalf."

"and then?"

"We boarded my small yacht, the 'Lucky Star,' which I had stored on the ship, and escaped before the 'Mission' capsized. Fortunately, the storm suddenly subsided afterward, allowing us to escape," Ange said, spreading her hands. "However, when we arrived at the nearest port city, Rainfall City, and prepared to transfer to another transport ship to continue our journey, those guys refused my request."

Why?

"Because they said I was already dead." Ange bared her sharp canines angrily.