“It’s okay, ugh, it’s okay...”
As I stepped on solid ground and felt the wind, my spirits quickly calmed down. As I took a deep breath, I could smell salt, fish, and wet mudflats.
I slowly straightened my back. It was the entrance to a small, poor village. Every house was drying fish in the sea breeze, and the flags hanging from the windows were fluttering.
Along the dirty stone path, the occasional lantern I had built dimly illuminated my feet.
“Sir Enoch, it would be best for you to wait here. Your Highness, please wear this.”
Jacqueline said, handing me a hood to cover my face. But Enoch was adamant.
“It is difficult to guarantee Your Highness’s safety. I cannot allow you to go alone to a dangerous place.”
Jacqueline swept his already flushed face once more.
“It’s more dangerous to be with Sir Enoch.”
“...”
“You know. Where is this place...”
A dreary wind brushed the back of my neck. In the distance, a flag painted entirely in black fluttered. The dock was a graveyard of half-broken ships.
I realized dimly that he had not come looking for a single pirate. He had come looking for a hidden pirate village.
Enoch gritted his teeth and held out the piece of paper I had previously given him.
“If there is danger, call me immediately. Please, Your Highness.”
“I will. Don’t worry too much. There was nothing serious last time.”
“It seems like you’ve been leaving so many times... I can’t wait any longer.”
“I’m sorry every time.”
That was all I could say. This was my stubbornness about a test whose results had already been announced.
You make a fuss about how hard it is to accept the result, and then you tell me to stay warm and safe? How could you be so irresponsible?
“Let’s go before it’s too late.”
Jacqueline urged. I was escorted down the stairs, which seemed to have grown out of control. The path was even more shabby and crooked than it looked from a distance.
The road seemed to have been that way because the village itself had built walls wherever there was space.
A damp, stale smell emanated from every corner of the town, like the slums of George.
“The road gets narrow from here.”
Jacqueline glanced back at me and said.
“If you take the lead, I’ll follow.”
Since the town wasn't that big, it didn't take long to get to the beach.
On the beach, there was a pier made of wooden planks, a patchwork of broken boats, and a shabby but fairly large inn.
I thought there was no sign of life, but judging by the noise I could hear, it seemed like everyone was gathered inside.
Judging by the pungent smell that grew stronger as I got closer, it seemed to be an inn that made and sold moonshine.
“Here it is.”
I almost bumped into Jacqueline's back when he suddenly stopped. He pulled down my hood, which had been pulled back halfway while I was walking.
“Even if it’s stuffy inside, don’t show your face.”
“I will do that.”
“Even if you hear rude words, just ignore them.”
"All right."
“Don’t even touch the food. Or the drinks.”
“Yes, no, why is that?”
“Because this food is not suitable for Your Highness at all.”
I ended up making a squeaking sound. Jacqueline should have known that I used to be a dishwasher at an inn.
At that time, I shared with Olga the food that the innkeeper had given me out of pity. It was food that was almost spoiled.
It was a very generous thing, considering George's kindness, and it was thanks to Olga's past when she had taken in the innkeeper's newborn child.
Thanks to that, I was safe in the inn... but that didn’t mean I could avoid seeing or hearing all the dirty things.
It seemed like I knew roughly what was going on inside there.
But I nodded obediently.
“If that's what you want, I'll do it.”
“Please don’t do anything dangerous.”
“Not at all.”
“No, if possible, don’t say anything.”
“...”
I was starting to get annoyed. But even after all the promises Jacqueline made, he still acted as if he didn't feel safe.
In his eyes, I looked like a fawn entering a lion's den. But I knew enough about the slums to understand them.
Since Jacqueline frequented this place, it was likely that they also knew about his identity.
That meant that as long as Reston held the East, and as long as Jacqueline was with me, I was safe anywhere in the East.
“Then let’s go in.”
Finally, I heard what I wanted to hear. I smiled and followed closely behind Jacqueline.
The door opened, and the first thing I felt was the damp, sour air that smelled of alcohol. The smoky cigarette smoke made it hard to see in front of me.
As I was talking, I suddenly heard a voice.
“Oh my. You’re alive. Who’s that girl next to you?”
Jacqueline answered shortly.
“I ended up serving her by chance.”
Jacqueline took hold of my struggling shoulders and sat down near the window.
When I finally opened my eyes, I saw a more neat interior than I had expected. I pretended to touch the hood and looked around.
There was a lot of laughter and singing. No one seemed to care about us, at least not on the outside.
“Mistress? Rosetta?”
As I stepped on solid ground and felt the wind, my spirits quickly calmed down. As I took a deep breath, I could smell salt, fish, and wet mudflats.
I slowly straightened my back. It was the entrance to a small, poor village. Every house was drying fish in the sea breeze, and the flags hanging from the windows were fluttering.
Along the dirty stone path, the occasional lantern I had built dimly illuminated my feet.
“Sir Enoch, it would be best for you to wait here. Your Highness, please wear this.”
Jacqueline said, handing me a hood to cover my face. But Enoch was adamant.
“It is difficult to guarantee Your Highness’s safety. I cannot allow you to go alone to a dangerous place.”
Jacqueline swept his already flushed face once more.
“It’s more dangerous to be with Sir Enoch.”
“...”
“You know. Where is this place...”
A dreary wind brushed the back of my neck. In the distance, a flag painted entirely in black fluttered. The dock was a graveyard of half-broken ships.
I realized dimly that he had not come looking for a single pirate. He had come looking for a hidden pirate village.
Enoch gritted his teeth and held out the piece of paper I had previously given him.
“If there is danger, call me immediately. Please, Your Highness.”
“I will. Don’t worry too much. There was nothing serious last time.”
“It seems like you’ve been leaving so many times... I can’t wait any longer.”
“I’m sorry every time.”
That was all I could say. This was my stubbornness about a test whose results had already been announced.
You make a fuss about how hard it is to accept the result, and then you tell me to stay warm and safe? How could you be so irresponsible?
“Let’s go before it’s too late.”
Jacqueline urged. I was escorted down the stairs, which seemed to have grown out of control. The path was even more shabby and crooked than it looked from a distance.
The road seemed to have been that way because the village itself had built walls wherever there was space.
A damp, stale smell emanated from every corner of the town, like the slums of George.
“The road gets narrow from here.”
Jacqueline glanced back at me and said.
“If you take the lead, I’ll follow.”
Since the town wasn't that big, it didn't take long to get to the beach.
On the beach, there was a pier made of wooden planks, a patchwork of broken boats, and a shabby but fairly large inn.
I thought there was no sign of life, but judging by the noise I could hear, it seemed like everyone was gathered inside.
Judging by the pungent smell that grew stronger as I got closer, it seemed to be an inn that made and sold moonshine.
“Here it is.”
I almost bumped into Jacqueline's back when he suddenly stopped. He pulled down my hood, which had been pulled back halfway while I was walking.
“Even if it’s stuffy inside, don’t show your face.”
“I will do that.”
“Even if you hear rude words, just ignore them.”
"All right."
“Don’t even touch the food. Or the drinks.”
“Yes, no, why is that?”
“Because this food is not suitable for Your Highness at all.”
I ended up making a squeaking sound. Jacqueline should have known that I used to be a dishwasher at an inn.
At that time, I shared with Olga the food that the innkeeper had given me out of pity. It was food that was almost spoiled.
It was a very generous thing, considering George's kindness, and it was thanks to Olga's past when she had taken in the innkeeper's newborn child.
Thanks to that, I was safe in the inn... but that didn’t mean I could avoid seeing or hearing all the dirty things.
It seemed like I knew roughly what was going on inside there.
But I nodded obediently.
“If that's what you want, I'll do it.”
“Please don’t do anything dangerous.”
“Not at all.”
“No, if possible, don’t say anything.”
“...”
I was starting to get annoyed. But even after all the promises Jacqueline made, he still acted as if he didn't feel safe.
In his eyes, I looked like a fawn entering a lion's den. But I knew enough about the slums to understand them.
Since Jacqueline frequented this place, it was likely that they also knew about his identity.
That meant that as long as Reston held the East, and as long as Jacqueline was with me, I was safe anywhere in the East.
“Then let’s go in.”
Finally, I heard what I wanted to hear. I smiled and followed closely behind Jacqueline.
The door opened, and the first thing I felt was the damp, sour air that smelled of alcohol. The smoky cigarette smoke made it hard to see in front of me.
As I was talking, I suddenly heard a voice.
“Oh my. You’re alive. Who’s that girl next to you?”
Jacqueline answered shortly.
“I ended up serving her by chance.”
Jacqueline took hold of my struggling shoulders and sat down near the window.
When I finally opened my eyes, I saw a more neat interior than I had expected. I pretended to touch the hood and looked around.
There was a lot of laughter and singing. No one seemed to care about us, at least not on the outside.
“Mistress? Rosetta?”
The man who had been asking curtly slammed down two glasses on the table where we were sitting and asked,
“This is the mistress, Rosetta is the leash.”
Jacqueline smiled and replied, The man chuckled at her words.
“I don't like dogs without knowledge.”
“Tell him that once he bites you, you can’t turn him away even if you don’t like him.”
Contrary to their initial wary appearance, they seemed quite comfortable with each other. Just from that alone, I could guess how often Jacqueline used to frequent this place.
As I got used to the spicy, sour air, other things slowly began to come into my consciousness, like the smell of grilled fish and warm soup.
The man seemed still curious about who I was but didn't do anything rude like forcing me to take off my hood.
Instead, he held out a handful of nuts and dried fruit that I had never seen before in a flat wooden bowl.
“I don’t know if it will suit you, young lady.”
“Don’t worry about this. I came here because I have a favor to ask.”
Jacqueline said, putting the bowl away out of my reach.
“...That crazy guy.”
The swearing came from somewhere else, behind the sacks of potatoes that were stacked haphazardly. The voices weren't very loud, but everyone could hear them.
The noisy inn suddenly became quiet. Although the voice was hoarse and hoarse, it was clearly a woman's voice.
Jacqueline turned white and red as if he had heard a ghost's voice.
Soon a copper-colored hand appeared like a ghost between the potato sacks, and a woman, holding onto the sack, rose up, struggling.
Red hair, strangely black eyes. When she finally raised her head, her face was fierce yet delicate.
“You came to me all of a sudden after six years and asked me to do something?”
Her eyes were half-open as if she was very drunk, and her hands were pressing down on the head of her enemy with a sack of potatoes without mercy...
I knew at a glance that she was Rosetta because she was exactly as Jacqueline had said.
Although she was not as pretty as the picturesque beauties of high society, she was a woman who deserved to be called stunning rather than beautiful.
Jacqueline was frozen the whole time. As I watched, there were many changes, not just movement. His uneven breathing stopped, then paused, then stopped again.
I was starting to get worried that Jacqueline might faint.
Rosetta managed to stand up, though she stumbled. I don't know if I should say she stood up or she lay down against the wall.
“Did you say you can't bite the hand that feeds you?”
“...”
“Whatever it was, by that time it had already sunk into the salty sea, and not even a bone would remain you little brat.”
Rosetta spat on the floor, letting out a “Keuh!” sound. Her bloodshot eyes made her look like she wasn’t in her right mind at all.
She came to our table halfway, as if waiting, and sat down haphazardly on an empty chair.
The inn, which had been quiet as a mouse at first, was already bustling as if it was accustomed to this kind of noise.
She raised her arms and shouted.
“Benzo! Here, drink!”
“Then you die, Ro.”
“Oh my god. Then mix it with some water. Please.”
Please. That once confident and free-spirited woman suddenly became mean in front of alcohol.
I forgot that Jacqueline had told me not to come forward and pushed the glass in front of me towards her. Rosetta's eyes widened.
“Drink.”
Rosetta glanced at the glass I offered her and grumbled.
“What? Benzo, do you know who this person is and are you selling such cheap stuff?”
I was becoming more and more intrigued by this situation. I asked tentatively.
“Then do you know who I am?”
“I know.”
Rosetta stared at me with only one eye open, then accepted the glass I offered her. She seemed to have forgotten that she had called it cheap and emptied it in one gulp.
“Ugh,” Rosetta said with a thick sound as she wiped the foam from her mouth with the hem of her sleeve.
“Because there aren’t many people that would take care of that useless, noble brat.”
“...”
“If she’s young, female, and blonde.”
She shrugged. I glanced at Jacqueline, not knowing whether to confirm or deny it. But instead of stopping the situation, he seemed half-souled.
Even if I saw the saint jumping out of the Holy Fire, it would be difficult to look at her with such passion. Since he didn't seem to have any intention of stopping me - or perhaps he didn't have the presence of mind to do so - I decided not to pretend not to see her.
“I’ll get to the point first. I need help.”
“First of all.”
Rosetta wiggled her fingers threateningly.
“Don’t expect manners from me.”
“To...”
Perhaps because she thought that it wouldn't work, Jacqueline called out to her weakly. She looked back at Jacqueline with a fearful expression.
“And you, you, this dog.”
It was a look that almost sparkled. At that moment, I knew that Rosetta was treating me exceptionally gently. At least her voice was gentle in front of me.
She growled and grabbed Jacqueline by the collar.
“You ran away like a bum because of that incident six years ago, so how can you shamelessly show up here?”
“But, Ro...”
“What do you miss and die."
“That incident?”
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