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chapter 34
I was trapped in a dark, narrow place where not a single ray of light shone through. It was impossible to know how much time had passed. In that empty space, the only sounds were my breathing and the beating of my heart.
It was agonizing.
Terrifying, horrifying—and if I ever had the chance, I wanted to beg for forgiveness.
“…Hah!”
I woke up gasping for air. My body was drenched in cold sweat, and I felt unbearably heavy.
‘A d-dream.’
Thank goodness. I muttered without realizing it.
‘To think I’d have that dream again.’
Back in my navy days, I had it often. But ever since I returned to the past, I hadn’t dreamed it even once, so it had slipped from my memory.
That vivid terror from back then.
‘I’ve gotten too used to this life.’
No—more than used to it. I think I’d practically been living as if my previous life never happened. I shuddered and looked around.
I didn’t think getting used to this life was a bad thing. As a doctor now, I had incredible talent and knowledge. Even if people eventually grew secretly tired of me, they wouldn’t abandon me. My usefulness alone made me worth keeping.
‘Still, I don’t want to dream that again.’
Maybe because of the dream, all the childish words and actions I’d gotten used to spouting whenever I was hanging around Caelum lately… completely vanished.
Familiar yet unfamiliar…
Yes—just like I’d reverted to my navy-era self.
‘I hate it.’
Strangely, the more mature attitude should have been comforting, but instead it felt unpleasant. Maybe because my body was still a child?
“…It’s cold.”
All night the Caelum pirates had thrown a feast, eating every kind of food imaginable. And they shamelessly accepted even more food brought by the people of Odlo Island.
I was already full by then, so I didn’t eat anything.
“Uuurrggh…”
“……”
“Gurrrk, urk.”
“……”
“……”
“A-are they alive?”
“Drrrr…”
“Good grief.”
Smack! I slapped Nereus’s side with my palm. Still lying down, he merely rolled over a few times.
Judging by how he was sprawled next to me smacking his lips, I couldn’t even guess how many plates he’d devoured.
‘He definitely ate the most.’
It was like he’d been possessed. Normally he didn’t eat anywhere near that much, so it was strange.
‘Eventually everyone started getting sleepy and drifted toward the cabins.’
Normally Gilbert would’ve grabbed a few people to help clean up after he ate, but even he must’ve been tired today because he didn’t say a word.
‘Well, we did arrive at Odlo Island and then…’
…did nothing?
Camping preparations were only done when we had no lodging and the ship was far away. But with the ship right in front of us, everyone would normally sleep in the cabins. No need for camping at all.
But suddenly Nereus insisted, “Let’s camp today! I feel like having a barbecue party~” and nagged everyone until it happened. Sure, it was unnecessary work, but our monstrous family wouldn’t get tired just from pitching a few tents. And as for what else they did…
‘They really did nothing.’
They’d basically been playing for days. And now they were all passed out? What an easy life.
“Dad, dad.”
Judging from the sky, morning would come soon anyway. I tried waking Nereus—partly so he could help me clean up the mess from yesterday.
“Dad?”
“…….”
No response.
Well, it was to be expected. If he didn’t wake up even after I smacked his ribs earlier, calling him a few times wouldn’t do anything.
“Dad, get up. You promised to tie my hair every day. And help me clean.”
“…….”
Is he pretending to sleep? I checked his breathing just in case—perfectly steady.
‘How much did he drink yesterday…?’
I glared at Nereus, gave up, and went to wake someone else. But after checking a few more people, I noticed something strange.
‘…No one can wake up?’
It wasn’t just unusual—it was downright wrong.
Pirates never all slept at the same time. They weren’t exactly a respectable occupation. Hell, calling it an occupation was generous.
There must always be a few people awake in case of attack. That was basic.
And ordinarily, Caelum would party and drink all night until dawn.
They liked having fun. And we weren’t even sailing right now.
Sure, they held drinking parties on deck every night, but they still drank in moderation. And whenever we docked on an island, they would party until sunrise and then gulp down Gilbert’s hangover soup before getting back to work.
They usually had more energy than I did, even when I went to sleep before them.
‘But they all fell asleep before it was even 2 a.m.’
Because my body is young, I tired easily and didn’t notice earlier—but Caelum never slept all at once. No matter how much they partied, at least one or two people always stood night watch.
This was anything but normal.
‘Could there already be a spy among us?’
The moment the thought crossed my mind, my whole body went cold.
‘No, that’s impossible.’
…Or was it?
Before my regression, I was a completely useless kid. I wouldn’t have noticed anything even if it happened right in front of me.
But what if—just what if?
‘We didn’t even return to Odlo Island before.’
We never stole the treasure from the Byr pirate ship and never attended an onboard auction. This was Caelum’s first time receiving information about “Angel.”
‘What changed?’
Why was I the only one awake?
‘Could there really be a spy already?’
I revived the thought I had dismissed earlier.
A spy feeding intel to the navy—about twenty years from now.
My plan had been to make Caelum strong enough that no faction would dare touch us by then. A spy or two wouldn’t matter at all.
The reason I believed the one who abandoned me alone and the one who later leaked information to the navy was the same person was simple: Nereus would never entrust my safety to some random sailor. Look at him—he adored me too much. If he wasn’t the captain, he’d have stayed behind with me himself.
Which meant the spy was someone who had a stable position in Caelum and knew exactly what happened after I was left alone on the island. Caelum didn’t know whether I lived or died, and even when I later served in the navy as Mare Acera, I never revealed any ties to Caelum.
Could some twisted lunatic really stay in Caelum for twenty years and only betray us when our notoriety peaked—?
‘Then… did they move early because of me?’
I was the only variable. My actions had made Caelum grow more quickly. If a hidden spy noticed that and decided to nip it in the bud twenty years early…
‘N-no.’
Even twenty years later, Nereus wasn’t unbeatable. And even then, he was captured in the end.
I ran barefoot, desperately searching for anyone awake.
‘Nobody!’
I yanked open every cabin door, shook everyone awake—nothing. Not a twitch.
‘W-why?!’
Just as despair overtook me, I sensed movement behind me. I grabbed a fallen stick and swung it toward the figure behind me.
“P-Polaris! Be careful.”
“E… Ethan?”
Ethan, in his usual neat attire, stared at me with a dumbfounded look. He seemed a bit surprised, then he crouched down.
“Were you very frightened?”
“……”
Ethan reached out and wiped near my eyes.
“Don’t cry. I’m right here, yes? Why are you crying so much?”
“E-Ethan. E-every… everyone w-won’t wake up.”
“…No wonder. The vice-captain didn’t get up either. I thought he was just sleeping.”
He looked around, then stood.
“Come, take my hand. Let’s look around.”
“Y-yeah.”
We walked around the eerily silent area.
‘Even the fire’s out.’
The bonfire that had burned brightly last night was completely dead—not even smoke remained. The strangeness of it all hit me harder.
“…?”
Then I noticed the stack of empty plates beside the fire.
‘That is…’
“Polaris? What’s wrong?”
When I stopped walking, I felt Ethan’s gaze. But I didn’t move, instead asking:
“E-Ethan. Last night… the food the Odlo islanders brought. What did you eat?”
“I ate, yes.”
“Do you remember what you ate?!”
His brows furrowed deeply.
“I don’t remember that far. You know my memory.”
“What’s the treatment for Tarhaki disease?!”
“Drink water steeped with Brewl tree bark and Zyu seeds for three days while keeping the body warm.”
“Did you eat ceviche yesterday?!”
“No. I don’t like raw fish very much.”
“Yes! Thank you! That helps!”
It worked.
Ethan often forgot things, but he never neglected his medical duties. The treatments he memorized stayed with him forever.
I wondered if asking rapid-fire questions would trigger the right mental pathways—and it did. Even he looked surprised that he could answer instantly.
‘I need to confirm.’
I let go of his hand and dashed toward the plates. A quick glance was enough to make it certain.
‘Forget a spy!’
Odlo Island had a warm climate—full of bugs. If leftover food wasn’t cleaned immediately, insects would swarm.
But aside from the first few plates they brought over…
Not a single plate had even a shadow of bugs.
‘They laced the food?!’
Judging by the dishes, it was the same sleeping drug I almost consumed at the auction. It had a bitter taste, usually mixed into tea to hide it. But another method to mask the bitterness was mixing it with animal fat.
However, if heated beyond a certain temperature, the drug lost its potency—so tea was the preferred method.
‘But ceviche made from fatty fish? That works perfectly.’
Ceviche isn’t cooked with heat. And the ones from Odlo Island used red meat fish—full of animal fat.
Then I recalled all the other foods they brought.
Every single one contained animal fat. They even brought tea “to help digestion.”
‘Good thing I didn’t eat any.’
I’d been too full. Ethan, too—he had a very small appetite.
Caelum pirates were sturdier than normal people.
‘They wouldn’t have known.’
The islanders couldn’t have known we were so healthy that even a potent sleeping agent wouldn’t work immediately.
So they panicked and kept bringing more food, waiting for us to eat it.
I stared at the spotless plates with disgust.
With this much drug, it was a miracle everyone was still alive.
