114.

What do you want? Ro nearly doubled over laughing, almost crying from the absurdity.

In the past, their bond had been deeper than blood; they were the only ones who truly understood each other. They had shared ideals and sympathized with each other’s causes—especially the naive, youthful cause of never creating orphans who, denied Deus’s baptism, had no choice but to be driven into piracy.

There was a time when a single glance revealed everything inside the other’s mind. Whether they were happy, sad, hungry, in pain, desiring, or tormented… each other’s entire being had lain open like a book, legible in every detail. At least, that’s what Ro had always believed.

But after his betrayal, everything changed. Though it happened four years ago, to Rosetta, who had been dead all that time, that day remained thick and vivid, like the damp stench of blood.

On sleepless nights, Ro often recalled that day, savoring every bitter fragment of betrayal. Yet one question remained, unsolved no matter how deeply she analyzed it: the very first moment he betrayed her, and why. That was the one thing she could never answer herself. And that was precisely why seeing Nick again had stolen her breath.

“Why…”

Ro moistened her dry lips with her tongue. Her mouth refused to open. Was it fear? Or the tension of revealing herself to him? Only after swallowing hard several times could she finally force the words out.

“Why did you betray me?”

Her voice trembled weakly, contrary to her intention to confront him boldly. It was hoarse, broken, and utterly pathetic—damn it, completely undignified. But in the next instant, she flinched at the sight of Nick smiling brightly, as if he had forgotten the gun pointed at his forehead, wearing a smile that seemed to claim ownership of the entire world.

“It’s you.”

Suspicion melted from his face, gradually replaced by ecstatic joy. Warmth seeped into his pale cheeks and cold eyes. He whispered,

“Rose, it really is you!”

Rose. The old nickname, spoken so shamelessly, was so brazen it left her speechless. She bit down hard on her trembling lip, trembling with rage—or something she couldn’t even name. Damn it, Nick. Why aren’t you shocked? The woman you killed has returned, completely changed.

Nick reached out a trembling hand, as if to touch her cheek… After the stark contrast of just over ten minutes ago, this sudden pretense of gentleness was too much. Ro struck his head with the gun barrel. His head snapped sharply to the side. She grabbed his hair with the hand opposite the one holding the gun and yanked his head back up.

“Stop the nonsense and answer me.”

His neck stretched taut backward. His distorted eyes twitched. He didn’t utter a single groan despite obvious pain—stubborn, perhaps even admirable. He spat blood pooled in his mouth onto the floor. His lips were split and smeared with blood, yet his face wore the dazed expression of someone lost in a hallucination. He smiled.

“Oh, Rose. If you knew how much I’ve missed this.”

“…”

“I thought everything was ruined. I thought I’d finally lost you forever.”

“…”

“I regretted not keeping even your corpse. I should never have abandoned you. Even if it meant making enemies of the seventeen pirate captains who put a bounty on your head, even if it cost the lives of everyone in Toulon. Maybe it would’ve been better to just cut off your limbs and hide them where no one could find you, to keep you safe myself.”

“What… the hell are you babbling…”

His words weren’t human speech—they were closer to excrement. Brutal without reason, devoid of context. The raw possessiveness and desire within them were blatant. Her stomach churned so violently she nearly vomited. At the sight of her disgusted expression, his face turned desperate for the first time.

“No, Rose. It wasn’t my fault. I wanted to save you. That woman lied to me.”

“…What?”

She shouldn’t have shown curiosity. It was a brief lapse, a moment of carelessness. Her mind had raced ahead, fitting the pieces together too eagerly. In that instant her finger loosened slightly on the trigger, Nick seized her wrist like lightning and twisted it mercilessly.

“F-Fuck…”

Amid the agony that felt like her entire forearm might be torn off, Ro quickly pulled the trigger. The gunshot cracked loudly, splitting the air. As the gray smoke settled, a thin wound appeared on Nick’s cheek. Unfortunately, it wasn’t fatal. Still, a steady stream of blood trickled from the gash. Nick made no attempt to staunch it, instead tightening his grip on her wrist even more.

“Now it doesn’t matter anymore. You’re finally here.”

Ro struggled to keep hold of the flintlock, but against the force twisting her wrist toward breaking, she was powerless. He acted as if losing one of her arms meant nothing. And his voice—so sticky, so darkly obsessive—made her clench her teeth to resist giving in to the pain.

“You… worthless, filthy… idiotic bastard…”

“Shh, Rosetta.”

He tightly gripped her struggling body and forced her head roughly onto his shoulder. A sharp sting prickled at the back of her neck. Then, in the next moment, her entire body went limp. Her mind clouded instantly, and the movements and words of people around her seemed to slow to a crawl. Her last memory was Nick’s voice, hissing like a snake by her ear.

“Rest a little. When you wake up, everything will be better.”

* * *

“Haaah!”

Ro snapped back to consciousness with a single scream. Her head throbbed, her limbs felt heavy, her eyeballs ached, and her vision was hazy. Even her memories were jumbled. W-where… where am I exactly…?

Everything was blurry. She vaguely remembered meeting River, that bastard, and being in the ballroom. She boarded a sloop, collided with a fishing net… and met Nick!

Yes, Nick. The moment the final piece clicked, all her memories flooded back. Ro jolted upright in panic. She’d been arguing with him when she suddenly blacked out. He must have used some despicable trick.

Ro raised her hand to touch the back of her neck where something sharp had been injected. At the same time, she realized something heavy was pulling her wrist downward.

Every time she moved, something clinked and rattled. Her vision was still foggy, as if a gray mist had settled over her retina, so Ro strained every sense to figure out where she was.

Her fingertips felt a thick fabric, like a blanket. It seemed she was on a bed, made of wood. Faint cries of seagulls, the salty scent of the sea, and—chains… chains?

Damn it, which prison am I locked in? Ro strained her eyes, forcing tears to clear her vision. Fortunately, after about thirty minutes, her sight began to return gradually.

First, she realized she wasn’t in a prison, but in a lavishly decorated cabin. A couch, a long table with a nautical chart pinned down by a dagger, a bed engraved with intricate leaf patterns… It looked as if an entire noble’s bedroom had been transplanted here.

Her limbs were shackled with chains, and the leg chains were fixed to the bed. She looked around and spotted a mirror leaning diagonally against the wall. Dragging the chains behind her, she stood before it.

“Damn… it…”

Her torn dress and dirty hood were gone—when had they changed her clothes? She was now dressed in nothing but a thin slip. From her nape down to her cleavage and thighs, angry red marks stood out—traces of Cardier’s relentless biting, making her feel even more humiliated. What the hell is going through Nick’s deranged mind?

Creeeak, crrreeeak.

Then, she heard footsteps approaching down a makeshift wooden corridor. Light, and utterly careless. The steps grew steadily closer. Ro quickly scanned her surroundings, but saw nothing usable as a weapon—except the chains binding her limbs.

She pulled the chain taut and hid herself behind the door, ready to strangle whoever entered. But the one who opened the door was a seemingly defenseless young girl. The girl looked around the bedroom and seemed startled to find Ro missing. Her eyes followed the long chain stretched across the floor. And then, in that instant, her gaze met Ro’s from the shadows.

“Kyaaa…!”

The girl’s face turned deathly pale at the sight of Ro, her eyes glowing menacingly in the dark. Ro swiftly clamped a hand over the girl’s mouth and slammed her hard against the wall, gripping her neck. The tray the girl was carrying clattered to the floor, water splashing everywhere. Wide, terrified eyes stared up at her. Ro growled darkly,

“Keep your mouth shut. Just nod when I speak.”