Prologue – Lawless Island 

The pirates’ resting place, Lawless Island.  

Here, fists are more familiar than words, and blades more accustomed than fists; it is a place where trash gathers—those who are weak to the strong and strong to the weak.  

The thing they react to most keenly is sizing up the other person’s level. ‘I can stomp that guy, I won’t lose to that bastard.’ Only then can they steal something, and if luck is on their side, maybe even snatch a ship.  

So when the young man, with the sunset at his back, set foot on the harbor, everyone on the island shrank away.  

What was more impressive than the platinum hair visible beneath the deeply pressed hood or the elegant lines of his face was his eyes. The deep green eyes, as if imbued with verdure, held a sharpness that could only belong to someone who reigns over many.  

Though he had arrived on a ship with no flag, dressed in colorless clothes that hid his identity, his high rank and distinguished position were clear from his unhesitating stride and noble posture.  

When he entered the tavern and took a seat in the corner, not even the most common provocations occurred—thanks to the survival instincts of Lawless Island. Everyone who survived this chaotic isle knew instinctively to bow their heads to those stronger than themselves.  

The man crossed his legs and rested his chin on his hand with an indifferent expression. His gray-haired deputy, following closely behind, lowered himself and whispered cautiously.  

“Your Grace, it seems you’ll have to wait a little. They say they’re on their way…”  

“If they don’t arrive in ten minutes, tell them I’ll blow this island to pieces.”  

At the cold look in his eyes, the deputy broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly withdrew. As soon as the deputy disappeared, the man ran his hand through his hair in frustration.  

Ten minutes of waiting passed, and just as he began to seriously consider ordering a fleet bombardment as he had warned, someone sat at the table behind him and, with an overly cheerful attitude, waved at a staff member standing at a distance.  

“Excuse me, aren’t you taking orders here?”  

At the voice from behind, the man’s shoulders stiffened.  

“Why is everyone so nervous? Is some famous naval admiral coming or something?”  

Only after hearing the familiar, sunlit voice and the laughter that brushed by like a bright warmth did the man turn his head in disbelief.  

The woman’s golden eyes met the man’s wavering gaze head-on.  

His eyes shook, and his tightly closed lips trembled violently. The woman’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at him.  

The man stood up, slamming the table.  

“You!”  

At the same time, the woman jumped up in surprise. With only a table between them, the attention of everyone in the tavern was drawn to the pair.  

The woman avoided his gaze, bowing her head slightly.  

“It’s… been a while…”  

“Yes, it has. Two years, right?”  

At the man’s growling voice, the woman shrank her shoulders.  

“I searched the whole country and couldn’t find you… You were out at sea?”  

The man’s elegantly curved lips twisted upward.  

“So I went through hell because of you.”  

At the end of the time he had desperately longed for, he finally recited the name of the one he had found.  

“Hailey.”  

The woman, biting her lip with a complicated expression, finally spoke.  

“Latrian.”  

He lowered his head to hide his stinging eyes.  

There was much to say.  

But before that, taking her back to her homeland came first. This place was too dangerous.  

Thinking of what was to come, Latrian raised his head. And his face twisted fiercely.  

Hailey was already sprinting away to the other side.  

“Hailey!”  

Latrian shoved the table aside and dashed after her.  

Hailey flung open the tavern door as if to break it, and Latrian, chasing after, kicked it down without hesitation.  

As they ran through the streets, all sorts of smells swirled around—the salty dampness of the sea, the stench of fish, and even the faint scent of blood. Even as his breath caught in his throat, he clenched his fist tighter.  

Arriving at the dock, Latrian saw Hailey boarding a ship and was overcome with dismay. She was escaping again. If he wanted to slow her down, even a little…  

Latrian pulled his hand to his mouth and loudly proclaimed a truth from two years ago—a single event that defined their relationship—to everyone present.  

“You dare run away after taking my first time?!”  

The man holding the rope froze, and the woman leading her to the ship staggered. In that sense, Latrian’s strategy was a success. The startled Hailey nearly fell overboard in her flustered struggle.  

But, being pirates accustomed to ships and the sea, they quickly recovered.  

Hailey made it safely to the deck and, her face flushed red, protested.  

“Say it properly! It was mutual consent!”  

Though she seemed slightly vindicated, her companions still looked on in shock.  

Latrian, not to be outdone, shouted again with wild eyes.  

“You did run off after sleeping with me!”  

“By that logic, you took my first time too!”  

“That’s right. So…”  

A salty wind blew, whipping off his loosely worn hood. His platinum hair, like wheat, fluttered behind his neck, and the red glow of the setting sun colored his face.  

“I searched for you this much…”  

Suppressing his pain, he reached out toward Hailey.  

“Come back, Hailey.”  

His trembling eyes were desperate, his shaking fingertips urgent. But in the end, she turned away coldly.  

“Hailey!”  

With the sun at his back, the wind blew behind him. Bitterly, that wind pushed the ship carrying her further out to sea.  

Latrian stood at the harbor, watching the ship fade into the distance. His teeth ground together, and his clenched fist trembled.  

His deputy arrived late, panting heavily as he approached.  

“Your Grace!”  

Still, Latrian watched the ship disappear beyond the horizon. His tightly closed mouth finally opened.  

“Deploy the fleet.”  

His frosty command rang out across the harbor.  

“Search the entire sea and find her!”  

A red flag embroidered with a golden lion and a silver serpent rose above the sailing ship he had arrived on.  

It was the flag of the great maritime empire, the Mart Republic.  

The head of state of the Republic, President Latrian Akrender, had declared total war on the pirates of the Wibad Sea.  

Hailey Perlo—if she was not handed over by tonight, he would wipe out every pirate on the sea.  

The master of the seas and the infamous lady pirate—their story began two years ago.  

Of course, even that beginning was far from ordinary.