3
Chapter 3
I shifted my gaze to the bed.
Cold metal handcuffs dug into her slender, pale wrists.
And below those, her ankles were marred by red marks, looking as if scabs had formed and then been torn open again.
"...."
While sailing the seas on pirate ships, I had seen countless corpses.
Through that process, I learned a bitter lesson about the commonality in the eyes of those dying.
Either they struggled desperately, fighting to survive.
Or... they were filled with a vast void, having lost all desire and longing.
The woman before my eyes seemed to fall into the latter category.
"...Hey."
"...."
At my call, her head turned very slowly.
It was an unnatural movement, like a creaking doll.
Her emerald eyes, reflecting my image, were as murky and still as the deep sea.
"...."
She said nothing.
She simply stared at me, as if she were a machine waiting for an input.
"...Who are you?"
Wondering if my approach was wrong, I asked again.
"...Ines."
She gave a short answer, providing only her name.
The strange part was that she didn't include her family name.
Whether she refused to say it out of hatred, or simply couldn't, I didn't know.
I didn't care for psychological warfare or unnecessary chatter, so I asked her bluntly.
"What happened to the name Silva?"
"...I have no right to it."
...Hmm. How interesting.
Leandro Silva had clearly told me he would give me his daughter.
And by all appearances, this woman was that daughter.
Yet, she herself didn't want to be associated with the name 'Silva'?
How peculiar.
"So, are you indeed Leandro Silva's daughter?"
"...Yes."
"Biological?"
"...Yes, of course."
The only saving grace was that she really was the daughter.
Though it was a bit odd that she wasn't blonde and didn't have tanned skin.
However, she possessed the same rare green eyes as the Admiral of the South.
In the end, I concluded that she was indeed his daughter.
Then, a natural question arose.
'...Why is he treating his daughter like this?'
I scanned the room once more.
First, there was the fact that she was kept in an annex so far removed from the main building.
Furthermore, it was far too modest to be the room of an Admiral's daughter.
Fancy furniture? None, obviously.
Clothes? Obviously none of them were expensive.
At most, there was a single necklace...
'...It felt like he gave her just this one thing because she is, nominally, his daughter.'
And come to think of it, why were her arms tied?
No matter how I looked at it, it was clear this was not a normal environment.
"Do you know who I am?"
But what choice did I have?
The territory and the title offered in the Admiral of the South's deal were far too attractive to refuse.
And so, I naturally decided to continue the conversation with her.
"...I don't know."
...Hmm, she doesn't know me.
"Have you never heard the name Haydam?"
"...No."
To be honest, I'm not one to brag, but my reputation is quite formidable.
Wanted posters with my face plastered on them in huge print were distributed across various nations.
The number of troops deployed to capture me is countless.
With twenty years of piracy, merchant ships would line up to pay tribute just at the sight of my Jolly Roger.
And she doesn't know my name?
'...That means she's been stuck in this small room her whole life.'
This, too, was clearly abnormal.
"Well, fine. Nothing will change what's already happened anyway."
"...."
"As of today, I am your husband, Ines."
"Husband...?"
The corners of her lips twisted.
A sneer, or perhaps a sense of futility.
With a mocking laugh containing such emotion, she continued in a cracked voice.
"...Haha, I see. I knew it would end up like this. A bastard wouldn't have a choice."
...A bastard.
Hearing that word, a sentence Leandro had mentioned suddenly flashed through my mind.
—Her position within the family is precarious. She'll be perfect for a man like you to keep under your thumb.
'...Aha.'
Only then did the puzzle pieces begin to fit together.
She was too low-tier to be sold to the nobles of the Empire.
But she was still his daughter, so he couldn't just kill her.
So, he gave his bastard daughter to a pirate with some power, intending to use her and then discard us both as pawns.
It became clear that this was the plan devised by Leandro Silva, the Admiral of the South.
"...I'm sorry, Lord Haydam. That you have to marry someone like me."
Her pupils trembled slightly as she spoke words laced with self-derision.
Seeing how her self-esteem had already hit rock bottom, it seemed she hadn't lived in very good conditions in the South.
"What's there to be sorry for? This is... perfect."
I grinned and took another step closer to her.
A bastard.
And a stain so hated by the family that she was kept tied up like an animal.
Leandro Silva, that cunning Admiral of the South, is a merchant more ruthless than any pirate.
He pretended to give me grand rewards: a 'territory,' a 'title,' and a 'daughter.'
In reality, he had simply bundled up the troublesome debris and dumped it on me.
If I were to abuse or kill her? That would be nothing to the Admiral.
Rather, it would only give him a justification to pressure me, calling it 'the tragedy caused by an outlaw pirate son-in-law.'
On the other hand, even if I settled in the South with her.
He would have essentially hired the most capable hound to guard the Southern seas at the lowest possible cost.
The phrase 'easy to keep under your thumb' wasn't just referring to her.
It meant that he could easily manipulate me, now that I had her in my hands.
That... was likely the Admiral's intention.
Well, that leaves me with two choices.
Either abandon her and return to a life of piracy.
Or... use her as a shield and feast on the crumbs provided by the Admiral for now.
Naturally, the answer among these two options was already decided.
"Hey, Ines."
Unfortunately for him, I didn't like doing what others told me to do.
Why?
Because since I woke up in this world, I've almost died more than a few times by following other people's orders.
"It's just not in my nature to let things go exactly as the Admiral of the South wants."
With that, I pulled the dagger from my waist and slid it into the gap of her handcuffs.
—Krak...!
Simultaneously, I infused the dagger with Aura and shattered the restraints.
"Join forces with me."
"...What?"
I then took her hand, pulled her up from the bed, and whispered into her ear.
"The territory, the title your father gave, and this entire South."
"...W-what do you mean—"
"—Let's swallow it all whole."
"T-that's impossible. No matter how powerful you are, there's no way you can bring down my father's forces...."
"Think long-term. Long-term."
I sat beside her and draped an arm over her shoulder.
Then, gesturing in the air as if painting a grand picture, I continued.
"Both you and I are disposable pawns. Let's say I just decide this marriage is off and go back. Then, what happens to you?"
"...."
"Well, nothing might happen immediately, but your life would stay exactly as it is. You'd just keep living here, neglected like livestock."
"T-that's...."
"Now, let's say you become my wife. Things would be better than now, right? But how long do you think that would last?"
I was certain of it.
Probably once the pirates had been sufficiently crushed.
Once the South had regained its stability.
"Ten years at most. And that's assuming I provide the maximum possible benefit to the South and the Admiral."
We would be discarded immediately.
"And if I fail even once during that time? We'll be driven straight into a death trap and forced to die."
Wasn't it the same for Francis Drake?
He plundered Spain in the Caribbean and brought in immense profits.
It was all well and good when he earned a year's worth of England's budget by circumnavigating the globe.
And even after he wiped out the Invincible Armada, things were fine.
But after the failure of the Lisbon expedition, he was completely abandoned by Elizabeth I.
And what kind of man is Leandro Silva?
If anything, he's more insane than Elizabeth I.
From his perspective, giving away a territory and a title is already a massive investment.
He won't provide a single cent for the numerous land reforms and settlement processes that follow.
So, the proposal I'm making to her is simple.
"You secure your survival, and I settle safely in the South. Let's just use each other."
Mutual benefit.
It's not as if she and I met out of love anyway.
Even for a lowly pirate, protecting one woman's life isn't that difficult.
"B-but... I don't think I have anything to offer you...."
"What do you mean you have nothing? You have 'legitimacy'."
"...Legitimacy?"
"Even if you're a bastard, you're still a Silva."
"...Ah."
"I'll definitely protect your life. But later, when we take the South... when we take this place, I'll install you as the next Female Admiral of the South."
"...!"
"Well, if you hate the idea, you don't have to. I'll just go back, and you can slowly wither away here."
"...I see."
"Now, let me ask again. Do you feel like joining hands with me now?"
"...."
Ines remained silent for a moment after my question.
Perhaps there was some shred of family affection left.
She didn't make her choice as easily as I expected.
However, her eyes shifted from her reddened wrists and gradually met mine.
"...Do as you wish. I have no choice anyway."
Then, she took my hand.
Her cold hand met my rough palm.
Cruelly pale, it was a hand that could never be called warm.
Yet, the faint warmth I felt in that hand seemed to be mixed with a sliver of a will to survive.
Right then.
'...Hmm, just in case.'
I briefly channeled Aura into my hand.
Then, I used the Aura to slowly scan various parts of her body.
Like taking a pulse, I swept through everything to check her health.
'...Hah.'
Interesting.
This was no ordinary body.
It felt as if the inside of her was empty, absorbing my Aura completely.
If I hadn't possessed an overwhelming amount of Aura, she had a constitution that could have easily devoured a person's entire energy.
"...Hng."
And whenever I poured Aura into her, a spark of life returned to her.
How could such a constitution even exist?
'...I'll have to take her to a shaman once I'm back on the ship.'
But I couldn't keep holding her hand forever.
I immediately quelled my Aura and ended the handshake.
"Good choice."
I stood up and draped my coat over her shoulders.
"Now, let's go."
"W-where are we going...?"
"Where else? I can't leave my wife in a dump like this now that her husband has arrived."
I wrapped my arm around the hesitating woman's waist and walked toward the door.
There, the soldiers and maids guarding the outside blocked our way with expressions mixed with shock and fear.
"L-Lord Haydam...! The young lady cannot leave this annex without the Admiral's permission—"
—Tap.
Instead of answering, I lightly touched the hilt of the sword at my waist.
—Whoosh....
Even then, as a thin sliver of Aura swept through the corridor.
"Ugh...!"
The soldiers gasped and recoiled.
"Go tell Leandro that from today, Ines is under the protection of my fleet."
I walked past the frozen guards and stepped confidently out of the annex.
"Tell him if he's unhappy, he can either come to the ship or visit the territory our 'Excellency' the Admiral gave me. My crew... hm, no, my residents now? Anyway, they'll give him a very friendly answer."
"...!"
Cradled in my arms, Ines looked up at me in disbelief.
I didn't avoid her gaze and smiled toward the Admiral's lavish main building in the distance.
'You know it too, right? That we won't last long together.'
The Admiral of the South and I are in a sort of temporary alliance.
We are simply joining forces because there are areas where we can utilize each other.
So for now.
'I'll play the part of the hound, Admiral of the South.'
First, I'll focus on burning down the Southern waters.
Ensuring that no other pirate dares to bare their teeth at the South.
Thoroughly.
"Ines, what are you doing? Keep up. As for the wedding... well, let's do it the pirate way. It doesn't seem like your family ever intended to hold a real ceremony anyway."
With those thoughts, I left the South.
Now... let's go see the territory the Admiral of the South bestowed upon me.