Chapter 1433: Ordinary People of Brest
Queen Mary's eyes widened. "It's like magic!" she exclaimed.
"That's incredible! How did you do that?"
The boy shyly held up the yellow powder in his hand.
"Just use this, esteemed lady. Razor clams don't like it."
"Is that some kind of alchemy?"
"Uh, it's just salt..."
"Salt? Shouldn't it be white?"
"You're thinking of table salt, madam. We can't afford that for catching razor clams. These are 'stink salts'."
"'Stink salts'?"
"It's made by drying seawater, isn't it?"
"Yes, esteemed sir. When you dry seawater, you get this bitter, foul-smelling salt."
As the boy spoke, he carefully pulled the razor clam from its hole. It was as long as a spoon.
He instinctively moved to toss the razor clam into his basket, but the girl beside him quickly tugged his sleeve.
The boy immediately understood, holding the large razor clam in both hands before Queen Mary.
"Esteemed lady, this is for you."
Queen Mary happily accepted it, turning it over and over in her hands like a child who had just received a cherished toy.
"Um, esteemed lady, I'd like to ask..."
The boy was just about to ask if he and his sister could pass through this stretch of beach when Queen Mary suddenly remembered something, her face flushed with apology.
"Please forgive me, I was so thrilled I completely forgot my manners."
She casually plucked a pearl ornament from her hair and pressed it into the boy's hand.
"This is my thanks. You see, I came Foraging the Sea, and this is all I have on me."
The boy startled, wanting to return the hair ornament, but he didn't dare touch Queen Mary. He frantically waved his hands.
"This... this won't do, esteemed lady, this is far too precious. Ten thousand razor clams couldn't buy something like this..."
Joseph offered a faint smile.
"Please don't refuse. Consider it payment for teaching us to catch crabs."
Queen Mary nodded in agreement.
"And catching razor clams. I'd like to try as well. Could I borrow some of your salt? Oh, right, I'm Marie, and this is my son, Joseph. How should I address you both?"
"I'm Roan Morvan, and this is my sister, Karine. Esteemed Lady Marie." The boy glanced at the pearl hair ornament in his hand, then, with a surge of courage, tucked it into his pocket. He then pointed to a large expanse of reefs to the south. "If you want to catch little things from the sea, I can take you to a much better place.
"My sister and I call it our 'secret treasure trove'.
"There, you'll find not only countless razor clams, conchs, and barnacles, but you might even stumble upon blue lobsters and eels."
"That's absolutely wonderful!" Queen Mary was so excited she nearly bounced. "The Virgin Mary must have sent you to save me."
Twenty minutes later, Joseph and his party followed Roan and Karine to the heart of the reef cluster.
The terrain here was lower, and after the tide receded, a layer of seawater just deep enough to cover their calves would accumulate, along with a multitude of marine creatures.
Karine deftly hopped down the reef. With a casual sweep of her hand through the water, she held up an octopus the size of an adult's palm.
"Look how plump this fellow is!"
Queen Mary lifted her skirt and hurried over.
"How did you catch it?"
"See that crevice in the rock?" the girl said, pointing to the base of the reef. "Madam, do you see that tentacle?"
Queen Mary impatiently reached in to grab it, but only retrieved a handful of murky black ink.
Roan retrieved a wooden fork from his wicker basket. Instantly, Clauzel took two quick steps, positioning himself beside the boy.
The boy carefully offered the wooden fork to Queen Mary.
"Please try using this."
"You're truly a thoughtful teacher."
With the "divine tool" in hand, Queen Mary's confidence soared. She tiptoed to where three reefs connected and thrust the fork forcefully at a grayish-black object nestled in a crevice.
"Look! I caught an octopus too!"
Joseph followed the sound, only to see a spotted, gray, half-meter-long peculiar fish impaled on his mother's wooden fork. It was clearly not an octopus.
"That's a catshark, madam," Karine whispered. "They're very nimble; we rarely catch them."
Queen Mary nodded, beaming with excitement.
"Thank the heavens, I finally have a grand haul today!"
Before encountering Roan and Karine, her and the Crown Prince's greatest success had been a mere few walnut-sized scallops.
Joseph, for his part, had caught a light gray lobster, larger than his hand.
This shallow stretch of beach truly was a 'treasure trove'; various fish and shellfish were practically swarming, easily caught.
Queen Mary, meanwhile, quickly discovered a new pastime: continuously tossing starfish of various colors into the wooden basin held by her lady-in-waiting. These creatures didn't run, making them effortlessly easy to catch. She collected over a dozen in a short time.
"Look! There's a sea eel here!"
Roan's voice called out, and the others immediately gathered around, eager to observe how the "master" would hunt this most elusive fish in the shallow waters...
As dusk began to settle, Joseph instructed Eman to light a bonfire on the beach. He arranged the day's Foraging the Sea bounty on an iron grill and began to barbecue.
Queen Mary glanced at the last sliver of sunset and asked Roan and Karine.
"Dears, if you don't head home soon, your parents will start to worry."
"It's quite alright, madam," Karine said, waving a hand, now much more at ease with the Queen. "My brother and I often come here. Even if it gets completely dark, Mother will, at most, send Uncle Pierre to look for us."
"Uncle Pierre?" Queen Mary noted, a shrewd look in her eyes. "What about your father? I mean, usually a father would be the one to come looking for you."
"He's out at sea with the other adults from town," Roan replied. "The Stadtholder of the parish said that the British fleet has all gone to the Bay of Cádiz, so as long as they're careful, merchant ships should be able to reach Santo Domingo without trouble."
As the boy spoke of going out to sea, he grew noticeably more excited.
"You know, our town used to have a brig, but because those blasted British warships kept cruising offshore, that vessel hadn't been used for years.
"This time, the Royal Insur-whatsit..."
Karine whispered a reminder: "The Royal Insurance Company."
"Oh, right, the Royal Insurance Company. They said they'd provide insurance for the voyage for only half the usual fee. If anything happens, each sailor's family will receive 1,600 francs."
Karine immediately corrected him. "No, Dad will definitely come back safely!"
"You're right. I was just explaining about the insur-whatsit company to the madam."
As Roan spoke, his eyes began to sparkle.
"Dad said that when he gets back from Santo Domingo this time, he'll be able to renovate the house and buy new beds for me and Karine.
"They're the most fashionable kind in Paris, supposedly made with some amazing technique. The nails won't loosen for over a decade, and no woodworms will get in! But they're very expensive..."
The boy puffed out his chest, his expression filled with yearning.
"In a few more years, I'll go with them to the Caribbean Sea, just like Captain Jack!"
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