I tore into a piece of bread that had now lost all flavor, lost in a daze. Suddenly, I remembered what he had said.

“She’s only doing it to survive. She won’t take any reckless actions that would put her in danger.”
“I know.”

He had dared to say that to Lord Greyan on my behalf.

He was not wrong.

It was just surprising and awkward that he had looked so deeply into me. It was even a little embarrassing.

Moreover, why did he confront his lord for someone he barely knew?

That would certainly make people call him crazy.

I blurted out, not sure if it was a protest or a tantrum.

“What do you know, Duke?”

“……?”

“You told Lord Greyan to spare me. ‘I know.'”

“Did I say that?”

He played dumb. I had been doing the same to him, but it felt annoying when it happened to me.

“Yes. You did.”

“I said it because I was rushed.”

“……”

It seemed difficult to get the true intentions from him.

Upon reflection, the only way for me to be safe was for him to emerge victorious from this unknown scheme.

If he failed, I’d be charged with treason!

With teary eyes, I thought, ‘Eat a lot and come back winning, you bastard!’

Then, he looked at me and grinned.

I averted my eyes and asked,

“Where is Lord Greyan?”

“He is leading three other ships and waiting.”

“Six in total.”

“One ship is a decoy. Try to imagine what we’re about to do.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Let’s enjoy it.”

He seemed to be proposing a quiz game to me.

I mumbled reluctantly,

“Six warships aren’t enough to wage war against two neighboring kingdoms, let alone fight the pirate bands in the open sea. They look more like a large escort fleet for trade, but then again, you mentioned military action earlier……”

“……”

“And the soldiers seem seasick, they’re not trained naval forces… Are you by any chance the envoy from Kaidel?”

He shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

A sinister thought struck me. This ship was clearly sailing for illegal activities. Probably illegal trading.

“Are you with the pirates…?”

I saw Duke Kaidel’s eyebrows cheerfully arch and my mouth gaped open.

‘He’s crazy!’

What on earth are they trading…?

Then, a news article flashed across my mind.

The stolen famous jewel, ‘Red Tear,’ and Duke Kaidel appearing at Riley’s auction.

It wouldn’t make sense for him to show up at Riley’s auction just to buy a second-hand ring…

But that jewel belongs to the Ankart Duke…

I looked at him with a soulless expression.

He replied with a slightly awkward but warm smile.

Then, the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs echoed.

“Duke! A ship has entered our view.”

He wiped his mouth, stood up, and smiled at me.

“You’ll be safe here. You’re welcome to come up and watch.”

I heard the urgent footsteps of soldiers above, like drum beats.

I hurriedly scraped the last bits of the soup with my spoon and set the bowl down.

What’s he trying to imply with that statement? I should go up then.

“Ah, shit.”

Until now, my experience with combat had been nothing but brawls with kids from the village below Tunbar Mountain.

Everything else was one-on-one. Countess, Misha…

But the spectacle I saw when I went up to the deck was of a different scale.

The deck was packed with soldiers. Beyond where our ship was headed, I saw the yellow sails… of a pirate ship!

“Ah!”

My spirit sank as I looked around the sea, seeing the pirate flag fluttering at the end of the mast.

Three pirate ships forming a triangle, and on the opposite side, our ship and three others, forming a large X shape.
I sensed that those ships were led by Greyon Jeonha.

Two ships in the middle of the X were connected by their decks. It was evident that a deal was taking place on the ship in the center.

And far behind the pirate ships, the shape of the pirate fleet was visible, but the ships were packed so closely together that it was hard to tell how many there were with the naked eye.

Even if the three ships under Duke Kaidel joined in, we would still be vastly outnumbered if they all assembled like this.

How infamous the pirates of the open sea were!

Looking at the distorted skull painted above the pirate ship’s sail, I thought that the owner of that skull must have been terribly ugly when he was alive.

It was impossible for my sanity to remain intact in a situation where I was heading towards a pirate fleet with just this much force.

But Duke Kaidel, looking back, had an oddly composed face.

He who was staring ahead seemed rather excited and filled with anticipation for this battle.

That ruggedness and audacity must have been there all along beneath the face of a young lion.

I clenched my mouth shut and grabbed the ship’s railing. I had to stay alert for whatever was about to start from now on.

Soon after, smoke began to rise from the ship in the center that was connected.

“Full speed ahead!”

At Duke Kaidel’s command, the crew and soldiers scattered and lowered all the sails.

The old man holding the helm looked like a real sailor; he furrowed his brow as he eyed the direction we were going.