Chapter 23
Wriggle.
Suddenly, I felt something squirming inside my pocket. It was the one where I had put the jelly.
‘What’s going on…?’
I quickly shoved my hand inside, gently wrapping around its body to keep it from slipping out. The jelly was trembling, unlike usual.
“Mas—”
“…Shh.”
The jelly finally wriggled free and looked up at me with eyes full of some sort of emotion. This little thing… it must have gotten the wrong idea.
‘You know that’s not what this is about.’
I silently mouthed the words. Even if everyone else misunderstood, at least you should know the truth.
This was just about using the title of “fake lover” to give Lev a taste of his own medicine.
Look at that shocked expression. Lev, who had been nothing but pretentious for so long, actually showed a face like that… It was like clearing out a blockage I’d had for years.
“…Ha.”
Lev let out a hollow laugh and stared blankly into space, as if his mind had gone blank after being struck with a hammer.
It was a face I’d only seen when I used to prank him as a child.
But it didn’t last long.
“…Fine. Let’s say that’s possible.”
He soon ran a hand down his face and regained his usual composure—though it looked as fragile as a mask that could shatter at any moment.
“You were always like this. I thought I knew everything, but you’d always go off in directions I could never predict.”
“And you’d always get caught up in it?”
“Yeah… I suppose I did.”
Lev gave a powerless smile. It was an empty conversation, and I could feel that it was coming to an end.
“You should know why I came here.”
“…Kanoe.”
“Don’t ever come looking for me like this again.”
I stepped back from him.
A chilly air cut through the space between us. It felt like I could almost see the line dividing us—a line that could never be crossed.
“What are you doing all this for?”
There was a time when I tried to understand. When I thought Lev would surely understand my injustice.
“For the honor of the family? For order and justice? Or is it just that you think I need to pay for my sins?”
But the answer was always the same.
“You’re the one who didn’t trust me.”
I thought of him as family.
He was the closest person to me, the one I trusted most.
But now, we understood each other the least.
“Don’t ever look for me again.”
“Kanoe. You know this isn’t right.”
Lev let out a sigh but then instinctively closed his mouth. He reached a hand toward me.
His fingertips hovered in the air before pulling back. He clenched his fist so tightly that veins bulged with suppressed emotion.
“I’ll help you. Let’s do this by the book. You can’t live anywhere in the Empire like this. You’re not planning to spend your whole life on the run, are you?”
I tilted my head in silence. Lev’s calm voice began to rise with agitation.
“If you’re really innocent, then prove it. Stand trial. Running like this is as good as admitting guilt!”
“…”
“Why do you think I called you out here!”
I slowly shook my head. Lev’s eyes wavered as they met mine.
“If you care about me even a little, don’t say things like that.”
You don’t listen. You don’t even ask what I want.
You’re the same as ever.
“That’s just what you want, isn’t it?”
Lev’s lips pressed tightly together.
And then—
Bang!
A thunderous crash shook the ship violently. I lost my balance and grabbed the table for support.
“What the…?”
I glanced at Lev, wondering if it was the pirates’ doing, but he looked just as clueless.
In those few short moments, the ship rocked several more times. I thought I heard screams somewhere. Urgent shouts echoed down the corridor.
“Intruder! There’s an intruder on board!”
A bad feeling crawled up my spine.
Southern waters of Aquilaea. In these seas, where small pirate crews sprang up and vanished like weeds, earning infamy was a mark of pride for a pirate.
And among those infamous crews, one stood out—the Raging Wave Pirates, based on the island of Muia.
“…The taste of my drink just soured.”
Grimbold, captain of the Raging Wave Pirates, slammed his mug down so hard the table nearly splintered.
Something—or someone—had stirred chaos aboard his ship.
“Captain, the deckhands were seen bawling their eyes out and running below decks.”
“What the hell were the sentries doing?”
“They just collapsed, foaming at the mouth… without a sound.”
Crash!
Grimbold shot to his feet, kicking his chair back, and grabbed a nearby pirate by the collar.
“What kind of joke is this?!”
Pathetic fools.
Grimbold clicked his tongue in disgust.
On the open sea, a man who grows soft sinks beneath the waves.
Grimbold was a merciless captain. Among his crew, he was both feared and revered.
They trembled, yet they followed. They grumbled, yet never defied him. Because on these waters, the strong survive—no one knew that better than they did.
It was why the Raging Wave Pirates had grown so powerful.
Grimbold was strong. They said that when he swung his massive warhammer, it could split a ship in half.
That reputation became their greatest weapon. With Grimbold’s name on their backs, his men had carved their dominance across the sea.
But now, that hard-won infamy was being shattered—by a single man.
“Hey, hey. Who the hell is that guy?”
“Beats me! Isn’t he from a rival crew?”
“One guy storming a ship? What kind of lunatic does that?!”
“Someone go ask him! We need to know what the hell’s going on!”
As the pirates whispered nervously among themselves, the man walked in silence.
From the deck to the lower cabins, it had taken him less than five minutes to reach the crew quarters. Pirates stood frozen, staring blankly at their crumbling ship.
He should be here somewhere…
The man muttered under his breath as he flung open cabin doors one by one, knocking aside anyone who got in his way.
And then—
A massive figure blocked his path. The man narrowed his eyes. Unlike the others who had cowered at a mere gesture, this one was different.
“An uninvited guest, huh?”
The giant, Grimbold, swung a warhammer larger than his own body with a menacing grin.
“…The captain, I assume.”
“No need for words!”
His thunderous roar shook the cabin walls.
Grimbold raised his massive arms and hurled himself at the man like a raging beast.
“You set foot on my ship, and now you die here!”
The enormous hammer came crashing down.
The floor splintered, wood shards flew. The man slipped aside effortlessly, his voice calm and low.
“Dangerous, isn’t it?”
A faint breeze stirred around him.
What began as a whisper of wind soon swirled into a vortex, lifting dust and sea spray into the air.
His shirt flared. The straw hat perched on his head blew away. Golden hair turned back to its original black.
“…I was holding back so no one would get hurt.”
Wind coiled around him, spinning in widening circles.
“T-the Lord of Storms…!”
One pirate whispered in terror. Grimbold wiped the cold sweat from his brow and tightened his grip on the hammer.
Amid the howling wind, a pair of golden eyes glimmered like a predator in the dark.
“Doesn’t look like you’re planning to step aside.”
With a deafening sonic boom, the wind exploded outward. A gale too swift for the eye to follow ripped through the cabin—and in an instant, Grimbold’s spine snapped under its force.
“…Ian Frederic!”
The giant captain who had once swung his hammer with ease now collapsed to his knees, blood flooding his mouth as he spat the name.
And then his massive body hit the floor.
Crash!
The ship lurched violently, timbers creaking as pirate flags tore and fluttered away like dead leaves.
“Intruder!”
“There’s an intruder on board!”
The thunder of footsteps filled the air as chaos erupted among the pirates.
Amid the clamor, someone shouted—
“The Lord of Storms has come for his lover!”
