Canasia met the probing question with a steady gaze. There was no reason to be bothered. They were using each other equally.

If Aslan died at Philkennon’s hands, it would be revenge for Roderick. If Philkennon died at Aslan’s hands, it would be revenge for her sister and for Hereis. Either way, it wasn’t a total loss for Canasia.

She sidestepped the question and changed the subject.

“What will you do with me after the revenge succeeds?”

“Well.”

Aslan fell silent briefly, as though he hadn’t thought that far ahead, then let out a short laugh.

“After that, it’s up to the princess. Go back to Hereis, or live freely somewhere no one knows you.”

A fleeting emptiness passed through his red eyes.

“You can kill me if you want.”

“Hah.”

Canasia let out a short laugh.

“You’ll have to pay properly for using me.”

“As much as you like.”

Aslan answered lightly and got to his feet. He spoke with a noticeably easier expression.

“To celebrate the deal, shall we have lunch together?”

* * *

It was the first meal in a while that actually tasted like something. The cutlets that were always burnt or undercooked, the soup that reeked of fishiness no matter how many spices were added, all of it seemed reasonably decent today. Canasia finished off a freshly baked loaf of bread and cut into her cutlet with a blunt knife.

Timo, serving the meal, poured wine into her empty glass. Whether it was because he was a sailor who went mad for anything alcoholic despite his young age, he filled the glass until it nearly overflowed. Canasia looked at the dangerously sloshing cup with a troubled expression.

“That’s too much……”

“Swap it with mine.”

Aslan took the wine bottle from Timo’s hands and poured directly into the glass that wasn’t yet filled, then held it out to her. Canasia took it naturally, and Timo, watching the exchange, snickered.

“You two got really close overnight.”

The hand holding the fork stopped in midair. Timo, not noticing that Canasia’s expression had gone stiff, continued cheerfully.

“I thought you seemed to hate him so much. Captain, what’s your secret……”

“Get out.”

Aslan fixed him with a cold look and dismissed him. Timo realized he crossed a line, dropped his smile, and backed away.

“Oh…… enjoy your meal.”

Bang! The door slammed shut, and Aslan turned his head with a frown. Canasia kept her eyes fixed on her plate and said nothing. D*mn kid. He clicked his tongue briefly. It was obvious without asking how insulting Timo’s words must have sounded to her. Aslan searched for a way to ease the awkward atmosphere and spoke.

“I’ll apologize on his behalf.”

“You don’t need to.”

Canasia answered, forcing down the humiliation. Her lowered lashes trembled faintly. She pressed her quivering lips together, then released them and spoke.

“I have a request.”

“Say it.”

“I want to formally introduce myself to your crew. As the Princess of Hereis, not as a prisoner.”

Her pride thoroughly wounded, the princess looked at him with unwavering eyes. It was a sudden demand, but Aslan understood clearly what she meant: now that she chose to join hands with him, she would no longer be locked in the cabin and treated like a kept woman.

And beyond the matter of pride, it was also true that she had been cooped up in the cabin far too long. She hadn’t stepped outside even once since boarding the Abyss, so her complexion, growing more wan by the day, wasn’t solely from the distress in her heart. He hadn’t been able to let her out until now because of that damned superstition the pirates clung to so fervently.

Gunther Burke in particular was a problem. For now, with Canasia staying in the cabin, he hadn’t openly shown his displeasure, but knowing his temperament, he would throw a fit the moment he caught even a glimpse of a woman’s hair. He could stay by her side all day if he was determined to protect her, but the problem was that doing so would only make her position more difficult.

How do I shut those bastards up?

While he sat lost in thought, Canasia, tired of waiting for an answer, spoke.

“Can’t you do it?”

Not ‘Is it not allowed?’ but ‘Can’t you do it?’ The phrasing scratched at Aslan’s nerves in just the right way.

“Get up. Let’s go.”

Canasia curved her lips at the simple reaction and pointed to her rumpled dress.

“You want me to face your crew looking like this?”

“What does it matter, you look beautiful.”

Aslan shrugged and answered. Was that meant to make her feel better? Canasia looked at her haggard face reflected in the gleaming spoon and smiled bitterly.

“If I go out like this, what are those people going to think of me?”

“Does it really matter what those bastards think?”

“It matters. I’m the Princess of Hereis.”

She was going out not as a prisoner but as the Princess of Hereis, so she didn’t want to look shabby. That was what she was saying.

Aslan looked steadily into her unwavering gaze. He recognized that she was a woman who appeared fragile but was not simply weak, and gave a willing nod.

“All right. Do as you wish.”

* * *

Canasia gently ran her hand over the box Aslan brought her. It was the box of cosmetics and jewelry she brought from Hereis.

She thought it sank to the bottom of the sea when the Victore went down. Someone must have thought it was worth something and moved it onto the Abyss.

She opened the box to find the jewelry all jumbled together. The pieces, hastily assembled for the wedding, were ostentatiously ornate. Among the expensive gems, Canasia found a simple necklace and picked it up with a conflicted expression.

‘Happy eighteenth birthday, Cana.’

It was a gift Roderick gave her on her first birthday without her sister, when she was feeling lonely. The pendant was the same shade of purple as Eleanor’s eyes, and she knew right away that it was a gift he originally prepared for her sister.

Canasia put on the necklace. Pull yourself together. She reminded herself there was no time to be sentimental, steadied her resolve, and picked up the powder puff. The face powder, shut inside the box for so long, was damp with moisture. Canasia worked the clumped powder apart with her fingers and spread it carefully over her face.

It would have been nice if the mirror were intact. Whoever handled the box had been rough with it, and the only hand mirror inside was broken into several pieces and useless. Even so, she could tell her face looked terrible.

Sunken cheeks, dull skin, darkened circles under her eyes. She sighed at the sorry sight and dabbed at her face with clumsy hands. Makeup was always her maids’ job, so she was hopelessly unskilled, but it was enough to cover the worst of it.

Once she finished, Canasia picked up the dress draped over the bed. The dress she prepared to wear upon arriving in Eldos was elaborate and heavy. She barely managed to push her arms through the sleeves and was struggling to tighten the laces at her back when the cabin door opened.

“Not ready yet?”

Aslan poked his head through the gap, saw Canasia wrestling with the laces in her hands, and walked slowly over.

“Let me.”

Aslan moved behind her and tightened the laces with practiced ease. He pulled them as tight as her hands could have managed, yet the dress still hung loose where she had lost weight. He tied the knot firmly, then gathered her long trailing hair and let it fall over the back of the dress. Through the rich golden waves, the sharp lines of her thin back showed faintly.

“Turn around.”

Canasia, who had her back to him, turned carefully. Aslan looked at her face in silence. Against her snow-white skin, rosy cheeks and red lips drew the eye. The heavy makeup was unfamiliar on her, but not unpleasant. 

Canasia asked with barely concealed anxiety: “Does it look strange?”

“You’re beautiful.”

He pulled her slender neck close and leaned down. A rush of warm breath hit her ear.

“Part of me wants to forget the introductions and everything else and take you right now.”

Tap. Canasia knocked his hand away coldly.

“Shut up and open the door.”

He burst out laughing and said lightly:

“They’re rough sailors, so their mouths won’t be pretty.”

“I know.”

“Tell me if you can’t take it.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t run off crying.”

“Good. Shall we go, Princess?”

Aslan threw the door wide open. Canasia stepped out of the cabin. Brilliant sunlight poured down over her.

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tap. Bang! Gunther Burke, who had been knocking on the table with an old pipe, finally let out a curse.

“D*mn it, I don’t know what the hell this is supposed to be.”

“Gunther.”

“A prisoner ordering people around, and now making us wait for hours.”

“It’s only been twenty minutes.”

“Whether it’s twenty minutes or two hundred, it’s all the same b*llshit!”