She was, after all, the Empress of the Empire, the ruler who had personally pulled the Empire back from decline and restored its prosperity. What had she not seen? How could she embarrass herself like Galahad had?
"We're docking!"
With a loud shout, several sailors tossed mooring lines toward the shore, and the steam engine beneath the deck slowly stopped turning.
The prince also emerged from his cabin.
He remembered Galahad mentioning that he had once seen an ironclad warship sink here.
But since ships could now sail to Blood Port, Castel's shipbuilding technology must have matured. Ships probably did not just sink at random anymore. The steel for an entire ship would be an astronomical expense even given Castel's productivity, would it not?
Standing at the bow, the prince scanned the surroundings. Sure enough, he saw no other vessels. Only a lighthouse rose from the empty sea, so Castel's shipyard was presumably located elsewhere.
A long plank had been laid from the ship to Castel's pier. A clearly newly built platform stood on the dock, raising the section by the sea and making it easier for people to disembark.
The prince's gaze fell upon the platform. It was made of steel, likely commissioned by Theus specifically to flaunt his wealth.
Using valuable steel to build a platform would indeed have been extravagant in the Empire. But the prince had already seen an ironclad warship, so it did not strike him as particularly impressive.
Still, he did not dislike it. Castel was his ally, and the stronger his ally became, the more at ease he would be.
Theus himself had come to greet him at the harbor with several others. The prince was, after all, the head of the Duchy of Tis. Since he was visiting Castel, Theus naturally had