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Chapter 35
The Rogue of the Rough Seas.
Those who live for freedom, yet sometimes cannot tolerate injustice and rise to fight.
That’s what I mean—this was the kind of romantic image I had of pirates.
And that romance was shattered into pieces just an hour ago.
“There’s no way the pirate I admired could be like this—!”
For me, who had only known pirates through movies and comics, this was a reality I didn’t want to face.
Trapped inside a cage like a wild beast, I looked at Pirate 1 outside the bars with despairing eyes.
“A real-life pirate is a human trafficking ring….”
“Well then, have fun.”
The short, stocky pirate with a large scar on his face locked the cage with a padlock.
Then, humming to himself, he climbed the ladder leisurely and went up to the deck.
Thud.
The wooden hatch in the ceiling closed, and darkness fell.
I leaned against the bars and slumped onto the floor.
“Ugh… I got caught up in something weird again….”
Glancing up, I could barely make out the silhouettes of the others trapped in the cage with me.
When Pirate 1 came in, I counted the people: the seven who had already been imprisoned, and the five of us who were newly captured.
Thirteen in total, including me.
Faint breaths, uneven breathing, dry coughs…
Some seemed fine, but a few were in poor condition.
And the worst off was… of course…
I placed my hand on the forehead of the child collapsed next to me, panting.
It was burning like a fireball.
“Seongnyeo… Seongnyeo-nim…”
“Poin, are you okay?”
Why I ended up captured on an illegally anchored pirate ship, behind a steep cliff on a remote coast…
I had parted ways with Showen.
And then I heard the voice in the alley: “…Seongnyeo-nim.”
Hearing a familiar title, I wondered if someone from Zendal had come looking for me.
So, holding onto that faint hope, I entered the alley, only to be met with:
“What are you looking at? Scram.”
A rough-looking man bared his teeth and growled.
A suspicious carriage with an arched frame at regular intervals, draped with cloth.
In front of the carriage, three men glared at me, radiating a threatening presence.
Unfortunately, all unfamiliar faces.
Hmm, better not get involved. I’ll just go back and steal some snacks from the captain.
I was leaving for Zendal tomorrow; I didn’t want to bother with anything suspicious.
My body alone barely managed as it was…
“Seongnyeo…nim.”
Just as I was about to turn away, my finely-tuned ears caught that voice again: “Seongnyeo-nim.”
A faint child’s voice from inside the carriage.
If it were calling someone else, I would ignore it, but Seongnyeo refers to me.
Ugh. I couldn’t just pass by.
“Let me check inside.”
I strode forward and lifted the cloth of the carriage. A few days of familiarity later, I recognized Poin’s orange hair sprawled on the floor.
And there were people sitting listlessly too.
For a moment, hope flickered in their eyes, but upon seeing me, it faded.
I wasn’t an armed knight.
The ordinary me couldn’t possibly save them, and they must have realized that quickly and given up.
Wise choice.
I didn’t know their situation, but my abilities were far too limited to help everyone inside.
If I could at least use a ring, maybe—but impossible.
Perhaps it was on cooldown; since leaving the villa, I hadn’t had any response at all.
In any case, unlike the others huddled together, Poin was alone, teetering between life and death.
No one paid attention to the fevered Poin.
If left like this, the child would die.
I decided I had to save him and tried to take him with me, but:
“Are you his guardian? If so, you should stay by his side. Heh heh.”
They laughed and tossed me into the carriage.
They must have planned to do this the moment I peeked inside!
No wonder they didn’t stop me despite me lingering.
While eavesdropping on the conversation outside from inside the carriage, I learned that the pirates did everything for money—from human trafficking to plunder.
No wonder they were happy to have “another slave to sell” after tossing me inside…
I couldn’t believe my life got tangled with pirates.
“Leaving home is always miserable, huh.”
I lifted Poin’s head onto my thigh.
“Seongnyeo-nim…”
From Poin’s lips came a weak moan, accompanied by the words “Seongnyeo-nim.”
At first, I wondered if he recognized me, but that wasn’t it.
Even when I held his hand and spoke, Poin didn’t acknowledge me.
Clearly, “Seongnyeo-nim” was Poin’s habit of repeating the words, searching for someone to rely on when in pain, not because he knew I was truly the Seongnyeo.
Poin, next time, try “Princess” instead of “Seongnyeo-nim.” Sob sob.
“Your forehead is burning hot.”
Not just the forehead; Poin’s entire body was a lump of heat.
I wanted to ask him why he got scolded by the Princess for running away, or why we were caught by the pirates, but conversation wasn’t possible.
“Maybe he caught the flu…”
“It’s a curse.”
I looked up.
My eyes, now accustomed to the dark, quickly found the speaker.
A woman, holding the child in her arms.
She opened her mouth, exhausted.
“Even though he was born with divine power, his cursed body rejects it.”
“Cursed body?”
“You must be from across the continent. Here, even local children know this story.”
“Yes. I came from somewhere else. Could you tell me in detail?”
I asked, thinking it might help later when treating Poin.
“Fine. There’s nothing else to do here.”
“Thank you.”
“Such children experience periodic, terrible fevers when their bodies can no longer withstand divine power. To bring the fever down, they must go to a cleric for stabilization—”
She paused, sneering.
“It costs far too much for people like us to even consider. Their lives are practically on borrowed time. This will probably be his last fever, now that he’s been caught like this.”
“Last?”
She exhaled in a mock gasp.
“He’s going to die.”
“Then—”
“What a fool. Why he had to go to Zendal and cause all this trouble.”
An elderly man, listening to the conversation nearby, interjected.
“Poin tried to go to Zendal? Why?”
“Why? Haven’t you heard the story that Zendal summoned the Seongnyeo?”
“I know that.”
I am the Seongnyeo, after all.
But if I spoke, they’d probably just think I was a crazy impersonator.
Better keep quiet, me.
“That fool thought if he asked the Seongnyeo, she would cure his illness, so he tried to go to Zendal.”
The old man angrily continued.
Apparently, Poin had planned to come to Zendal to see me.
He trusted the promise of three gold to get him to Zendal, paid the fare, and followed Pirate 1—
Only to find out they were actually human-trafficking pirates.
“Grandfather, did the same happen to you?”
“Do you think I was the only one? That one, this one… all of us were tricked.”
“Bonia Kingdom is hard for foreigners to live in, so he tried to start anew in Zendal. He heard there’s no ethnic discrimination there… didn’t expect to end up a slave, though.”
Her last words cast despair over us inside.
Occasionally, sobs could be heard.
“….”
I gently placed Poin’s head on the floor and stood up.
Clatter clatter.
“Solid.”
I grabbed the bars with both hands and shook them.
The locked cage could only be opened with a key.
“…What are you doing?”
The woman asked, curious.
I silently raised my head and looked at the ceiling.
“Guard the ship well~”
“You’re really leaving me alone?”
“You drew the short straw yourself.”
“I’ll come in the morning, so don’t fall asleep tonight. Watch properly.”
“Hey, hurry up. It’s already midnight. Midnight. All my alcohol is going to disappear—”
I could hear the pirates on deck laughing.
Even a pirate human-trafficking ring doesn’t skip out on late-night drinking.
“Midnight?”
The Deydern’s departure was at 7 a.m.
To get to Zendal, I had seven hours to reach the shipyard.
Things were complicated, but I had to board that ship.
“…Excuse me.”
I turned around.
“Looking for members for a pirate ship escape party.”
“…?”
“Anyone willing?”
“Showen. Still waiting?”
A sailor asked as Showen opened the wooden door of the tavern.
Past midnight, the tavern was almost empty, with only the Deydern crew and a few guests left.
That didn’t mean it was quiet.
The drunk were rowdily talking.
Showen sat down and answered the sailor.
“I was worried. The child who followed because he was hungry disappeared all of a sudden.”
“He appeared suddenly too. He could’ve changed his mind and left. That’s life, man. Drink up.”
Showen reluctantly took the cup pushed toward him.
“But he wouldn’t leave without saying a word—”
“Tsk tsk. Love, huh?”
Another crewman, flushed from alcohol, grinned.
“Guys! Our young master has fallen in love!”
“No! That’s not it!”
“Isn’t it? Look at his red face. Haha. Love, love!”
Whistle whistle.
The crew started teasing Showen with whistling.
His face red to the ears, Showen stood up and shouted.
“I said no! I’m not like Riri!”
“Rang? Riri-Raang?”
“Already confessed? Wow, Showen, you like Riri that much?”
“Everyone stop… What?”
He frowned and turned his head.
Someone grabbed his arm.
Wearing a robe with the hood up, the person’s face was hidden, but judging by height and build, probably a knight of some sort.
At a nearby table, two others wearing the same robe were nervously watching him.
Acting alone, perhaps.
“Why are you grabbing someone else’s arm?”
Showen tried to pull his arm free, showing displeasure, but it was not easy.
“What strength is this…?”
Showen, confident he could beat anyone in strength, wasn’t drunk, yet he couldn’t overpower this person?
He swallowed hard.
“Not a normal person.”
The aura emanating from them was unusual.
I don’t know why, but it seemed even faintly murderous.
Showen’s back instantly became damp with sweat.
A low, deep voice emerged from the hood.
“…Did you say ‘Riri’?”
