Episode 57. Outlaw of the Public Sea (2)
I was dazed and tore open the bread, and I no longer knew what it tasted like. Then suddenly I remembered what he had said.
'She entered the palace just to live. She wouldn't do anything foolish that would put herself in danger.'
'I know.'
He dared to stand up to His Highness Grayon for me and said that.
He wasn't wrong.
It was just that I was surprised and embarrassed that he had looked into my mind that much. It was even a little shameful.
Besides, why would he stand up to his master for me, someone he didn't even know? He should be called a crazy person.
I blurted out. I didn't know if it was a complaint or a grumble.
"What do you know, Your Excellency?"
"...?"
"You said that in front of His Highness Grayon, telling him to spare my life. 'I know.'"
"Did I do that?"
He pretended not to know. I was doing the same thing to him, but I couldn’t help but feel upset when it happened to me.
“Yes. That’s what happened.”
“I was in a hurry, so I said whatever I wanted.”
“...”
It seemed like it would be hard to hear his true feelings.
Thinking about it, the only way for me to be safe right now was for him to win this mysterious plot.
If I failed, I’d be hanged for treason!
I looked at him with eyes that looked like I was going to cry.
‘Eat well and come back victorious, you punk!’
Then he looked at me and snickered.
I averted my eyes and asked,
“Where is Highness Grayon?”
“He’s waiting with three other ships.”
“Six in total.”
“One is bait. Imagine what we’ll do.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Let’s have fun together.”
He was currently asking me to play a quiz.
I muttered blankly.
“Six sailing ships are not enough to fight the pirates of the high seas, let alone the two neighboring kingdoms. It seems like a large-scale security fleet for a trade, but since you said military action earlier...”
“...”
“And judging by the seasickness of the soldiers, they are not trained in sea warfare... Are they perhaps a vassal of the House of Kydel?”
He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, which was neither positive nor negative.
For a moment, an ominous thought struck the back of my head. This ship was clearly sailing for illegal activities. Illegal trade, perhaps.
“With pirates...?”
I gaped at the sight of Prince Kydel’s eyebrows slightly arching in delight.
‘This bastard is crazy!’
But what on earth is he trading...?
Then a newspaper article flashed through my mind.
The famous stolen jewel, the ‘Red Tears’. And Prince Kydel is showing up at Riley’s Auction House.
He wouldn’t have shown up at Riley’s Auction House just to buy a used ring...
But that jewel belongs to the Viscount Ankart...?
I looked at him with a face devoid of soul.
He was slightly embarrassed by my expression, then smiled back.
At that moment, footsteps came running down the stairs.
“Your Excellency! The ship has come into view.”
He smiled at me, wiped his mouth, and got up.
“You’ll be safe if you stay here. I won’t stop you if you come up to see it.”
On the deck, the soldiers’ urgent footsteps could be heard like the sound of drums.
I quickly moved my spoon, scraped the soup all the way to the bottom, and then poured it over.
What do you want me to do with that? I have to go up.
“Aww, sir.”
Up until now, the only battles I’ve experienced were fights with the children of the village below Mount Tunbar.
Everything else was individual battles. The Countess, Misha...
However, what I saw when I went up on the deck was on a different scale.
The deck was full of soldiers. Beyond where our bows were pointing, there was a pirate ship with yellow sails!
“Ugh!”
I looked around the sea, frightened by the pirate flag fluttering from the top of the mast. There were three pirate ships in a triangle, and three ships similar to ours touching each other across from them, forming a huge X formation.
I had a feeling that these ships were being led by His Highness Grayon.
The two ships in the middle of the X had their decks connected. It was clear that a deal was in progress on the ship in the middle.
And far behind the pirate ship, the shape of a pirate fleet was visible, but the ships were so tightly packed that it was difficult to tell how many there were with the naked eye.
Even if three of Prince Kydel’s ships had joined, they would have been at a huge disadvantage if they had joined here.
How infamous were the pirates of the high seas!
Looking at the distorted skull above the pirate ship’s sails, I thought that the owner of that skull must have been terribly ugly in life.
There was no way my reason could have remained intact in a situation where I was heading toward the pirate fleet with only this number of troops.
However, when I turned my head, Prince Kydel’s face was strangely calm.
‘Eat well and come back victorious, you punk!’
Then he looked at me and snickered.
I averted my eyes and asked,
“Where is Highness Grayon?”
“He’s waiting with three other ships.”
“Six in total.”
“One is bait. Imagine what we’ll do.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Let’s have fun together.”
He was currently asking me to play a quiz.
I muttered blankly.
“Six sailing ships are not enough to fight the pirates of the high seas, let alone the two neighboring kingdoms. It seems like a large-scale security fleet for a trade, but since you said military action earlier...”
“...”
“And judging by the seasickness of the soldiers, they are not trained in sea warfare... Are they perhaps a vassal of the House of Kydel?”
He shrugged his shoulders with a smile, which was neither positive nor negative.
For a moment, an ominous thought struck the back of my head. This ship was clearly sailing for illegal activities. Illegal trade, perhaps.
“With pirates...?”
I gaped at the sight of Prince Kydel’s eyebrows slightly arching in delight.
‘This bastard is crazy!’
But what on earth is he trading...?
Then a newspaper article flashed through my mind.
The famous stolen jewel, the ‘Red Tears’. And Prince Kydel is showing up at Riley’s Auction House.
He wouldn’t have shown up at Riley’s Auction House just to buy a used ring...
But that jewel belongs to the Viscount Ankart...?
I looked at him with a face devoid of soul.
He was slightly embarrassed by my expression, then smiled back.
At that moment, footsteps came running down the stairs.
“Your Excellency! The ship has come into view.”
He smiled at me, wiped his mouth, and got up.
“You’ll be safe if you stay here. I won’t stop you if you come up to see it.”
On the deck, the soldiers’ urgent footsteps could be heard like the sound of drums.
I quickly moved my spoon, scraped the soup all the way to the bottom, and then poured it over.
What do you want me to do with that? I have to go up.
“Aww, sir.”
***
Up until now, the only battles I’ve experienced were fights with the children of the village below Mount Tunbar.
Everything else was individual battles. The Countess, Misha...
However, what I saw when I went up on the deck was on a different scale.
The deck was full of soldiers. Beyond where our bows were pointing, there was a pirate ship with yellow sails!
“Ugh!”
I looked around the sea, frightened by the pirate flag fluttering from the top of the mast. There were three pirate ships in a triangle, and three ships similar to ours touching each other across from them, forming a huge X formation.
I had a feeling that these ships were being led by His Highness Grayon.
The two ships in the middle of the X had their decks connected. It was clear that a deal was in progress on the ship in the middle.
And far behind the pirate ship, the shape of a pirate fleet was visible, but the ships were so tightly packed that it was difficult to tell how many there were with the naked eye.
Even if three of Prince Kydel’s ships had joined, they would have been at a huge disadvantage if they had joined here.
How infamous were the pirates of the high seas!
Looking at the distorted skull above the pirate ship’s sails, I thought that the owner of that skull must have been terribly ugly in life.
There was no way my reason could have remained intact in a situation where I was heading toward the pirate fleet with only this number of troops.
However, when I turned my head, Prince Kydel’s face was strangely calm.
He looked forward, looking excited and expectant about this fight.
That strength and boldness must have been there from the beginning under the face of a lion cub.
I clenched my mouth tightly and held onto the helm railing, feeling unfamiliar with him. I had to be alert for whatever was about to begin.
A moment later, smoke began to rise from the connected ship in the middle.
“Full speed!”
At the command of Prince Kydel, the sailors and soldiers dispersed and lowered all the sails.
The old man who held the helm seemed to be a real sailor, and he glared in the direction of travel with his forehead full of sinews.
As our ship passed Prince Grayon’s ship and went behind the pirate ship, fire arrows flew out from Prince Grayon’s ship.
They were the invention of the alchemist, Chief Royman.
The fire arrows flew straight to the pirate ship and exploded with a loud noise when they hit the ship. The firepower was terrifying.
‘Alchemy was a scary thing...’
The pirate ship was instantly engulfed in flames, and the pirates, sensing the danger, abandoned the ship and jumped into the sea. Prince Kydel’s ship passed the negotiation ship in the middle and headed toward the pirate fleet at full speed.
The pirates were also forming a line and approaching us.
Prince Kydel gave the order.
“Prepare the fire arrows!”
As the ships approached and the soldiers fired explosive arrows, smoke rose from the pirate ships in an instant.
In the meantime, the fleet of His Highness Grayon, who had destroyed the negotiation ship and its escort, immediately caught up with us and joined the attack.
The pirate fleet numbered a dozen or so, but they were easily destroyed by the fire arrows of the Tagar Imperial Alchemist.
As several ships in the rear began to flee, two nearby ships increased their speed and pursued them.
All the while, I held on to the railing and heard Prince Kydel shouting orders.
Fire! Fire! Surround the right side! Fire!
I was speechless as I watched the burning pirate ships sinking one by one into the sea. The pirates jumped into the sea and colored the water surface.
Prince Kydel’s voice, the noise of the battle, the peculiar smell of smoke, and the vibration of the ship simply overwhelmed me.
“Speed up! We can’t miss!”
As our ship caught up with one of the pirate ships, Prince Kydel pulled me into his arms and swung his sword.
“Ah!”
As I screamed in pain at the force of his grip, the pirate’s axe sank into the rudder railing with a bang.
The old sailor who had been holding the rudder glared at the axe that had slashed at him and began to curse.
It was... a double curse that made my bones tremble.
I was in the same place as a true master.
However, it was a tragedy that I was not in a situation where I could ask him for guidance right now. My stomach ached.
“Miss Loire?”
I raised my eyes, dumbfounded in surprise. Then I flinched and pulled my arm away, stepping back and holding onto the railing.
“Command, please.”
Then he swept my body sharply and shouted again.
“Fire to port!”
I could see flames rising from the pirate ship that had fled far away. Then the trumpet sounded.
Prince Kydel saw this and said with a satisfied face,
“Turn the ship around! We will join His Highness’s ship.”
'Is it over...?'
I slowly sank down on the railing, watching the last pirate ship slowly sink.
Prince Kydel knelt down in front of me and gently lifted my chin from where I was sitting blankly.
He looked into my eyes and said,
"You were brave, Miss Loire."
Our fleet soon joined forces and formed a line. We boarded the negotiation ship, and so did His Highness Grayon.
I almost screamed there, because the middle of the deck was littered with pirate corpses.
A few of Prince Kydel's men were injured, but at least there didn't seem to be any deaths.
I looked around and met His Highness Grayon's eyes.
My mouth was dry. The fighting was over, and I might just become a dot on the sea like the pirates.
But he seemed to have no interest in me as he looked around the deck with a pleased face.
He turned over the corpse of a pirate and found a bright red jewel necklace in his bosom.
The necklace on His Highness’s finger emitted a brilliant red light that I had never seen before.
His Highness Grayon laughed cheerfully.
‘Is that the ‘red tears’...?’
He said to Prince Kydel, who had a very dissatisfied expression.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it this time.”
Prince Kydel finally nodded with a satisfied face.
It was then that His Highness Grayon looked at me again.
He came up to my nose, stared at me, and said to Prince Kydel,
“Has the maid Loire been kind here, Locard?”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment