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Chapter 7
It was cold, they were hungry, and their strength was running out.
Franz pulled out a compass.
“There are some small islands northwest of the Isty Strait. For now, heading there is our best option.”
“But that would take us farther from Latria.”
“When we attacked the ship, I saw an island in the distance.”
Naomi cut in.
“What do you mean, we?”
Angelina snapped back irritably.
“When the pirate ship attacked the passenger liner you were on. I was on the other side of the deck and saw it. It was tiny—about the size of a finger joint?”
“So?”
“So if we keep going in one direction or another around here, we’ll probably find an island.”
Naomi’s finger wandered vaguely across the sea as she pointed around.
“Anyone could say something like that.”
“The Aurora was headed toward Rio Kingdom, and the pirate ship rammed it from the left, so the island Naomi saw was probably near Winterland.”
At Alexei’s serious deduction, Naomi smugly shrugged her shoulders.
“Kid. Did your father order you to lure us there or something?”
“No! And stop treating me like a child, okay? It’s annoying.”
“Then what are you, an adult?”
When Angelina scolded her, Naomi could only huff in frustration without replying.
How wonderful it was to have already gone through her coming-of-age ceremony.
Angelina hummed inwardly with satisfaction.
Even afterward, the two women continued bickering, while the men silently rowed. The boat kept moving forward.
Toward the island that had to be somewhere out there.
“Uh, over there!”
How much time had passed?
Franz narrowed his eyes at one spot before suddenly standing and pointing.
“There!”
Alexei hurriedly moved the oars and looked where Franz pointed.
A triangle rising from the dark blue sea.
An island.
“At this rate, we can get there in about an hour.”
“Looks like it.”
Would they even have enough strength left to last another hour?
The sea wind was bitterly cold, but Alexei barely noticed it. Sweat beaded across his forehead.
“Should I take over now?”
Perhaps because the oars had slowed, Angelina spoke up. Alexei tightened his grip.
“I’m fine.”
“Then at least him…?”
Angelina gestured toward Franz, whose breath came out white like winter frost.
“N-no, it’s okay.”
He clearly looked like he wanted to shove the oars at someone else and collapse, but he held back. Angelina stood there for a moment before returning to her seat. The rowing briefly became more vigorous before slowing again.
She wanted to reach the island as soon as possible. Sitting still made the cold worse. And staring down a bratty teenager was exhausting too.
Trying once more to persuade him, Angelina called out to Alexei.
“I’m fine.”
Even though his face was pale as the full moon, practically screaming I’m dying here.
“I said I’ll do it.”
And still he sat there with that stubborn back of his.
Did he have some disease that would kill him if he let go of the oars?
“So you really are a princess, huh?”
“What?”
“A princess who just sits around and gets fed without doing anything.”
After a long silence, the middle-school-syndrome girl started another fight.
Angelina tried very hard not to think about the gun lying beside her.
“I heard noble ladies can’t do anything on their own. They just wear pretty dresses and dream about marrying princes.”
“Who told you that?”
“Everyone I know.”
“Oh, pirates?”
Angelina mocked her, and Naomi’s eyes sharpened.
“So what’s your problem with that? Did some useless noble lady personally ruin your life?”
“…”
“If you’re jealous, just admit you’re jealous instead of picking fights.”
“That’s not it!”
“The more you act like this, the more pathetic you look.”
“…”
“Speaking from experience.”
“Yeah, right.”
Naomi sneered. Angelina turned her head toward the sea.
Would a child even understand if she said she’d once lived a dirt-poor life too?
A previous life where she’d had nothing but dreams.
Days where dreams she believed she could reach through hard work alone slowly turned into despair, one by one.
And just when she thought she had finally achieved her dream, her life had abruptly ended. As if she had accidentally swallowed some stolen pill of good fortune that had never belonged to her in the first place.
How could this happen? It’s so unfair.
Even while bleeding from smashing her head badly, she had thought:
I was born to be unhappy until the very end.
It had been a pitiful death, just as pitiful as her life.
But then she was born again.
In a country she had never heard of before. Whether it was real or fictional, she didn’t even know if such a place had ever existed on Earth.
There, she cried her first cry again and relearned everything from the beginning. Twenty peaceful years passed safely, and not long ago she even celebrated her coming-of-age ceremony.
A life completely opposite from her previous one.
A life where she possessed more than she wanted. A life overflowing with affection and attention she hadn’t even asked for.
Death had been a reset button for a new life.
She had realized it, rejoiced in it, believed in it.
The pages of her second life would be many, and every single one of them peaceful.
But then—
Damn it.
A husband who didn’t even love her, and now pirates too?
One page of her life had simply been inserted incorrectly. Just one page.
That had to be it.
It had to be.
“We’re almost there now.”
While Angelina was lost in thought, the boat finally reached its destination.
The long-awaited land lay before them.
The moment they got off the boat, the four collapsed onto the sandy beach. After catching their breath for a while, Alexei and Franz tied the boat to a fallen tree. Naomi hopped around the beach energetically.
“You.”
Naomi ignored Angelina when she called her.
“Naomi.”
But the moment Alexei called, she came running back like a boomerang.
“We can’t stay together from here on.”
“Why not? You said you’d let me join you.”
“We said until we reached land.”
Angelina answered for him. Alexei calmly added,
“We have to return to the mainland. Our paths are different, so it’s better we part ways here.”
“No.”
“Stop being childish.”
“You called me a child. Children throw tantrums.”
Naomi stuck out her tongue at Angelina again when she interrupted.
“I’m being serious, so don’t treat this like a joke. We can’t be your guardians. If Captain Blasque finds out you’re with us, he won’t stay still either. We can’t take you along while risking that danger.”
“I could be your shield.”
Despite Alexei’s stern words, Naomi shot back stubbornly.
She had a point. Angelina thought it might actually be better to keep Naomi with them as a bargaining chip in case the pirates pursued them.
But even that didn’t sway Alexei.
“We’ll handle that ourselves.”
“I really could help. I even have this.”
Naomi hurriedly pulled out a telescope from her sack.
“It’s one of my dad’s treasures. You can see things far away like they’re right in front of you. It’s really valuable.”
She peered through the extended telescope at the sea and even let out a dramatic little gasp.
Despite the exaggerated performance, the three of them remained unimpressed.
She rummaged through her sack again.
Then triumphantly revealed her second card.
“Ta-da! I even have water. You need water, right?”
As she shook the canteen, the three inhaled sharply. A flicker of hesitation crossed their faces.
This time they’ll give in…
“May God’s blessing be with you.”
Alexei coldly turned away, and the other two slowly followed.
No. This couldn’t happen.
Naomi hurriedly grabbed Alexei by the collar.
“Wait, there’s still one more thing.”
“Let’s just go, Alex.”
Ignoring Angelina urging him on from the side, Naomi pulled out a piece of paper from her clothes. Reflexively, Alexei reached for it, but she quickly snatched it back.
“Promise first. Promise you’ll let me join your journey. Then I’ll give this to you.”
“What is that?”
“It’s not important to me, but it’ll probably be very important to you.”
“Don’t fall for it, Alex. She’s scheming.”
Alexei stayed silent. He couldn’t immediately decide whether he should give in to a child’s negotiation.
“I told you, my dad’s going to keep chasing you. Even if I’m not there. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to bring me along and use me as a shield?”
“No. The pirates won’t chase us. They may regret losing us, but they already have plenty of high-value hostages, and taking the passenger ship alone is enough. I don’t believe Captain Blasque is foolish enough to forget what truly matters over a personal grudge.”
“That’s not it.”
Naomi beat her chest in frustration.
“You two were the target from the beginning. That’s why they attacked the passenger ship.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll understand if you read this. But promise me first.”
“…Fine.”
When Alexei nodded, Naomi immediately held out the paper. He unfolded it.
—
March 25th.
Kidnap the bride and groom aboard the Aurora.
They must be captured alive.
Reward: 30,000 bart.
Franz, peeking over his shoulder, froze when he saw the signature at the bottom.
“Raoul Garcia… if that’s the one I’m thinking of…”
“The Emperor of the Tordi Empire.”
Alexei’s eyes turned cold.
