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Chapter 26
“Oh, really?”
Angelina watched Alexei sit down with narrowed eyes. She had thoroughly dusted the bed sheets, but she hadn’t touched the chair at all.
Meaning, of course, that it was covered in dust.
Sure enough, the moment his weight hit the chair, dust exploded into the air like flurries of snow. Alexei coughed violently, waving his hand around.
Serves him right.
“You missed that spot?”
Alexei stopped coughing and glanced sideways at Angelina.
I can see your lips twitching. And I can tell you’re lying.
Every time he moved, more dust billowed up. His throat started itching again.
Cough, cough.
“Come up here. This side’s clean.”
Angelina patted the space beside her.
Her face showed not the slightest hesitation. She simply didn’t care, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.
Alexei took a deep breath and climbed onto the bed. Then he lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
“Better?”
It was not better.
“Yeah.”
At least no dust flew up when he moved.
“Now tell me what happened out there.”
Unlike him, whose heart was beating unnaturally fast, Angelina looked completely at ease.
This really isn’t okay, Alexei lamented inwardly.
“…Nothing special. Just what we already knew. There’s no direct route to Latria, and if we want to board a ship, we need a travel permit as foreigners. No exceptions.”
“And your plan?”
“We go to the Kingdom of Rio and call in the Imperial Guard.”
They could board a ship to Latria from Rio, but they would still need permits there as well. Latrians who crossed the Tordi continent were reported as illegal immigrants and eventually handed over to the Tordi Empire. The Tordi Emperor had demanded that absurd clause in exchange for recognizing Rio’s sovereignty.
“How are we getting to Rio?”
“By horseback. Crossing borders means renting one will probably be difficult. But with the money we have now, buying a good horse won’t be easy either.”
“Then just buy the cheapest one.”
“Then we’ll probably end up holding a funeral for the horse halfway there.”
And that would be the best-case scenario.
“To carry two people over a long distance, we need a sturdy horse.”
So in the end, the world revolved around money, money, money.
The bitter taste of capitalism suddenly filled her mouth.
“Why doesn’t money ever just fall from the sky?”
She never thought she’d still be saying the same things in this life that she used to say constantly in her previous one.
“Money isn’t rain. Why would it fall?”
“And yet you’re the one who said love is like rain because you can’t see it.”
“That…”
His blue eyes wavered like restless waves.
“Why?”
“….”
“You talked so smoothly when you were with Naomi. Why not now?”
“…Forget it.”
Alexei folded his hands behind his head and turned slightly away.
A playful mood struck Angelina. She edged closer and whispered teasingly,
“Where did you hear that? A poem? A novel? Don’t tell me it was a romance novel.”
“….”
“My father was obsessed with romance novels too. Hobbies aren’t something to be ashamed of.”
“I didn’t read it somewhere.”
“Then what? You heard it?”
“No. It was my thought.”
Alexei turned back onto his back and lowered his gaze diagonally. Beneath his arm, Angelina stared up at him with widened eyes.
“A thought I once had.”
Silence settled between them.
Angelina had only meant to joke around lightly, but somehow the mood had shifted into something strange.
She couldn’t think of anything appropriate to say.
Nothing that could break this awkward silence.
“S-so you used to think things like that. That’s surprising. I didn’t expect you to.”
It had absolutely no effect.
If anything, it made things worse.
Alexei, who had been glancing at her from the corner of his eye, shifted and looked directly at her. His calm, deep gaze made her inexplicably nervous.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Alexei’s eyes drifted downward.
“It suits you.”
“You mean this is better than pretty clothes? Well, it is more comfortable.”
“You looked good in dresses too. Especially the wedding dress.”
Gulp.
She absolutely, absolutely could not endure this any longer.
Angelina hurriedly shoved him in the chest.
“Go wash up.”
“Hm?”
“You smell.”
Unaware that she was making excuses, Alexei immediately turned bright red and climbed off the bed. As he fled in confusion toward the bathroom, Angelina shouted after him again.
“Take your clothes with you!”
A deep night without moonlight.
A pirate ship reached the docks.
The moment people recognized the Devlon, the ship of the Jin Blasque pirates, they quietly slipped away.
They might act like tame cats on land, but nobody knew when they’d suddenly turn into tigers and rip someone’s throat out.
Watching the sailors jump off the ship, the tavern owner let out a long sigh.
There goes business for the next few days.
Whenever pirates stayed around, every tavern and restaurant near the docks emptied out. But no one dared complain. All they could do was stay quiet and pray the pirates would leave soon.
The owner noticed the sailors heading toward his establishment. He spat on the ground and headed inside.
Unlucky as it was, customers were still customers.
At least the Jin Blasque pirates didn’t dine and dash.
And if he wanted to make even a single coin during dead business hours, he couldn’t stop them from entering.
“Welcome!”
The tavern owner shouted loudly as Jin Blasque entered. The pirates occupied the large table in the middle. Tonight’s business was definitely ruined.
One sailor flipped through the menu and shouted,
“Captain, should we order one of everything?”
The captain glared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Well, our pockets are full, and everyone worked hard.”
“…….”
“And, uh, if you want your wounds to heal faster, you should eat well—urk!”
Captain Blasque suddenly grabbed the sailor by the throat. Only after the sailor’s eyes rolled white did he release him.
“Order. Reasonably.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
The sailor rubbed his neck and nervously read through the menu. Even the tavern owner had grown tense from the murderous atmosphere.
“Recommendation.”
“R-Recommendation?”
The sailor subtly pushed the menu toward the owner. Jin Blasque pulled out a wad of cash and tossed it onto the table.
“Bring whatever seems appropriate.”
“Y-Yes, sir. Please wait a moment.”
The tavern owner’s face brightened instantly at the sight of the thick stack of money, and he hurried into the kitchen.
“Do we really have to catch the hostage we lost?”
“We’ve already got stolen ships and plenty of hostages. Why not just stop here—”
Blasque’s venomous gaze turned toward his crew again.
“We lost the most important hostage.”
“How much’s the reward? More than all the other hostages combined?”
“Probably.”
The sailors let out low whistles.
“But how are we supposed to find them? Let’s just give up. Before we lose the other hostages too, we should collect the ransom and prepare for the next voyage.”
That came from the helmsman. To him, it was more important not to lose the fish already caught than to chase one that had vanished into the sea. And if word got out that their anchored ship was full of Latrians, they’d lose both the hostages and probably their lives.
“Even if I give up, they won’t.”
“They?”
“The one who commissioned the kidnapping.”
“Who’s that?”
The door opened.
A man approached the pirates’ table.
“He is calling for you.”
His low voice carried a heavy sense of intimidation.
“It’s only just begun. At least let me have a drink first. Hey!”
At the shout, the tavern owner hurried out from the kitchen.
“Bring the alcohol first.”
“Ah, yes, right away.”
Backing away nervously, the owner glanced at the man standing stiffly like an old tree. Judging by the neat suit, he clearly wasn’t a sailor, and anyone unfazed by pirates was definitely no ordinary person.
Ah, forget it. Just serve the drinks.
The owner quickly brought over an entire oak barrel of liquor. He reached for cups, but Captain Blasque lifted the barrel itself.
“Uh…”
Liquor poured straight into the captain’s mouth. After draining the very last drop, Jin Blasque slammed the barrel down and rose to his feet.
The man expressionlessly offered him a handkerchief. The captain wiped his mouth and casually draped an arm over the man’s shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
Emperor Raoul Garcia stared with interest at the bandages wrapped around the captain’s hand. He called over the attendant standing guard by the door.
“Who do you think put a hole through that man’s hand?”
“Pardon?”
“Guess.”
“U-Um, I…”
“If you’re wrong, you die. If you’re too slow, you die.”
Quietly counting three, two, one, Raoul Garcia suddenly drew the sword hanging from a retainer’s waist and slashed downward at the attendant in one clean motion.
Slash.
Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering even onto the approaching captain’s clothes and hands.
“A gift.”
The emperor smiled with satisfaction at the red stain spreading across the white bandages.
“That’s quite the excessive welcome.”
“This is normal for me.”
The emperor grinned.
Unlike him, Jin Blasque’s face was stiff as stone.
Trying to establish dominance, huh?
He had met all kinds of scoundrels while sailing the seas, but the emperor was different from the rest. Not frightening exactly, but undeniably terrifying.
“I gave you a gift, so I should get something in return.”
“Not right now.”
“Not right now?”
Emperor Raoul toyed with the bloodstained sword. The blood spreading across his hand looked chilling.
