Now she thought she understood. Why Eleanor, who longed for a free life, gave up even the person she loved and boarded the ship to Eldos.

She must have known what would happen if she refused the proposal.

She felt no love for this country, but Canasia was still a princess of Hereis. She could not bring herself to trample Hereis’s future with her own hands. Tok. A dry tear fell onto the worn floorboards.

Canasia quietly left the inn. A familiar carriage was waiting in front.

“Come home, Cana.”

Her one night of escape ended just like that.

* * *

That was what she thought.

“Let go of me! I said let go!”

Canasia pounded on Aslan’s back and struggled as he slung her over his shoulder like a piece of luggage. Her hitting hand was starting to hurt, but he didn’t so much as flinch.

“Can’t you hear me? Hurry and─”

“Aaaagh!”

A scream that rang out across the open sea made Canasia’s expression go rigid. The sailors who lost the fierce battle fell into the water, and a black swarm of fish that were waiting for prey immediately closed in. The blue seawater turned red, and Canasia squeezed her eyes shut.

No matter how notorious a pirate, this was merciless. The screams that made her heart plummet continued without end, yet he spared them not a single glance and crossed the narrow plank connecting the two ships with light steps.

Thud! Aslan threw open the cabin door and dropped Canasia onto the hard bed.

“I let go. Happy?”

“Savage.”

Canasia glared at Aslan, clutching her crumpled dress. Unlike the first day they met, his hair was a deep black, but the languid way he spoke and the sharp look in his eyes were the same. He met her gaze and curved the corner of his mouth.

“Nothing to be anxious about. You’re safe here.”

“Safe?”

He brought her to the most dangerous place in the world and called it safe. Canasia let out a disbelieving laugh.

“You’re out of your mind.”

“Such rough language from an esteemed princess.”

Aslan brushed off her insult lightly and turned his gaze toward the porthole. A scene no sane person could watch was unfolding outside, yet he didn’t bat an eye.

“Looks like it’s almost done.”

Just as he said, no more screams came. Through the porthole she could see pirates crossing the plank carrying plundered goods. The cleanup was finished.

Roderick, what happened to Roderick?

Thinking of Roderick, Canasia watched Aslan carefully. She couldn’t ask outright, since carelessly bringing up Roderick’s name might put him in danger. Canasia chose her words with care.

“Are you planning to kill all those people?”

“Hardly. What a bother that would be.”

Aslan shrugged and smiled.

“I told them to smash the helm, so they’ll drift for a few days and either hit a reef and sink, or if they’re unlucky, starve to death.”

The casual tone left Canasia speechless. In the open waters of a sea like the Dead Sea, where currents ran irregularly, a ship with a broken helm had almost no chance of reaching land safely. Canasia pressed her lips together and asked the pirate who just slaughtered dozens of people.

“Then what are you going to do with me?”

“Hmm, what should I do?”

The man turned from the porthole and began walking slowly toward her.

“Maybe I’ll demand a ransom from the king of Eldos for the princess?”

Aslan stopped in front of the bed and bent one knee to bring himself to eye level. Canasia tried to avoid his intense gaze.

“I have no value as a hostage.”

“The wife of the king of Eldos has no value?”

A large hand brushed her cheek. He tilted her chin up, and Canasia shoved him away sharply. Aslan withdrew his hand without resistance.

“There’s no way the great Philkennon will sit still after having his bride stolen by pirates.”

“…….”

“If I can turn that bastard inside out with rage, that’s value enough for you.”

Beneath the calm tone was a hostility that ran deep. She suddenly recalled Jeff Dawson’s words, that Aslan went blind with fury at anything involving Eldos. Then perhaps……

“Did you approach me from the start knowing I was the princess?”

“Approach? Me?”

Canasia bit her tongue at his counter. It was a stupid question. She was the one who spoke first, so it was more accurate to say she had spectacularly bad luck. Aslan looked at her as she berated herself for picking the wrong person for one night, and asked.

“That day, why did you run?”

“…….”

“You begged me so desperately to take you with me, so why did you disappear without a word?”

The man’s eyes cooled and settled. Canasia looked down, not wanting to revisit the memory of that night.

“I changed my mind.”

“You changed your mind?”

“…….”

“So you left behind payment and walked out?”

Aslan frowned and dangled a familiar pouch in front of her face. It was the pouch she left at the inn that night.

“Or were you treating me like a male pr*stitute?”

“If I knew you were a pirate, I never would have asked you for that favor.”

“You seemed so desperate that day, yet you had the luxury of being choosy?”

His sarcastic tone put an edge in Canasia’s voice.

“I’d rather have died than share a bed with someone like you.”

“Then you should have died.”

“……!”

Canasia’s lips went white. His attitude, as though mocking her for thinking about it dozens, hundreds of times and never going through with it, felt like a blade through her heart. Hot drops fell onto her crumpled dress in the chaos. Aslan raised his hand to her wet eyes and whispered low.

“Don’t cry.”

“…….”

“It makes me want to take you.”

Crack. Aslan’s head snapped to the side. She struck him with enough force to leave her palm stinging, and a deep handprint remained on his face. Ptuh. Bloody saliva hit the floor.

“What gentle hands the princess has.”

“You f*cking bastard……!”

Canasia raised her hand to strike again, and a knock came at the door.

“Captain, we’re all done.”

“Come back in the evening. Stay put and don’t cause trouble.”

* * *

The Abyss was still noisy after the unremarkable battle. The pirates, returning victorious, moved in and out of the cargo hold with their plundered goods.

He knew it wouldn’t be difficult, but the skirmish was even more one-sided than expected. For a ship supposedly carrying the future queen of Eldos, the number of soldiers and the size of the vessel were both small. Dealing with the Victore’s crew, cowed by the name Aslan and the pirates’ ferocity, was child’s play for seasoned pirates.

There was one annoying bastard, though.

Thinking that raiding a sizable merchant vessel would have been more trouble than this, he watched the Victore, now a fair distance away.

Rammed through the hull and with its helm smashed, the ship spun in place, swept along by the current. It was how pirates dealt with a ship not worth capturing.

If you can fly, maybe you’ll survive.

Aslan smirked and headed for the meeting room. Inside, a group of talkative pirates were making a racket. The voices leaking out through the door made him narrow his brow.

Looks like they’re going to give me an earful again. He clicked his tongue lightly and pushed the door open.

“I’m saying, how long are we supposed to put up with this nonsense…….”

“You’re here, Captain.”

The Abyss’s bosun¹A senior crew member of the ship., Sean Walter, cut off his sentence the moment he saw Aslan and stood up. The eyes of the five men in the meeting room snapped to him at once.

Quite a few unhappy faces in here.

Aslan sat down, crossed his legs at an angle, and asked.

“The loot?”

“All moved. Not much worth keeping.”

“Our losses?”

“Three dead, nine seriously wounded. Two of them probably won’t make it through the night.”

Bjorn Russ, who also served as the Abyss’s doctor, said this while pushing back hair spattered with blood.

“That one bastard who was going wild on his own?”

“Yes.”

Sean Walter, who fought Roderick Ferdinand directly, answered for him. A large bandage now covered a face that was unscathed before, which suggested it was quite a struggle. Aslan gave a short nod.