The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 25

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 25
Dilshad approached and took my left hand, slipping a ring onto my finger.
“When exactly did you make this?”
“After the fight with Siren. I didn’t know what might happen, so I prepared it. Though I didn’t expect to use it like this.”
I spread my hand and examined the ring—understated, simple in design.
“But why a ring for me?”
“Your ears were healed. Would you prefer an earring instead?”
Since when was he observing me that closely?
“My ears healed? I’ve only just left the Empire. There’s no way they’d have closed up already. You must have pierced them long ago—you probably wore earrings almost every day.”
Perian was right again. It was infuriating.
“I have rather good regenerative abilities.”
“Looking at the wounds on your back, your healing doesn’t seem that remarkable.”
“Wounds on my back? What wounds?”
Pudding fluttered upward with a curious sound as Dilshad answered.
“This idiot took a whip meant for me instead.”
Pudding’s tentacles trembled with displeasure, as if dancing in agitation.
“You’re going to die saving those fools instead of becoming the master of the seas?”
“That’s not it. I have no special abilities—I was just using my body as a shield. Those two are far more remarkable than I am.”
Part of me worried Pudding might be driven away for his bluntness, yet I found myself pleased that he kept defending me anyway.
“Remarkable? Please. At least those two actually seem to know how to use their bodies, but what about that weakling?”
“He’s not a weakling, exactly.”
My dear one managed to crease Perian’s brow—the one who had feigned gentleness at our first meeting.
I stroked Pudding’s plump head as I spoke.
“So what do we do now? We don’t have the money to buy a new ship.”
“We take back our ship.”
Kiis’s eyes gleamed sharply.
* * *
From the prison break to the reunion.
A day packed with events drew to a close.
Berto, having given Tatiana her own room and agreeing to share quarters with Dilshad, entered the room where Kiis and Perian waited.
“Berto, are you certain we should travel with that strange jellyfish?”
Kiis asked.
“It’s not a Magical Beast, supposedly, but something feels off about it.”
“I’ve heard of that Divine Beast before. From what I’ve observed, it seems attached to Tatiana and unlikely to cause harm.”
“I’d like to know how you met it and why you brought it along.”
Berto looked at Kiis and Perian in turn.
Kiis felt confusion when it came to Tatiana. He was struggling to suppress the unease churning within him—the fear that he might be betrayed again.
Perian was a man naturally inclined toward distrust. He wanted to prove himself right, and he sought to see through Tatiana entirely, to lay bare her every secret.
Berto’s resolve was unwavering. He did his duty and cared nothing for the antics of a scatterbrain.
‘Or so I thought.’
Yet with her, Berto felt freedom. Liberation.
And then curiosity took root. First it was wondering what bizarre thing she might do next, then a single word she’d spoken, and now—what was she doing at this very moment?
Even as he could not fathom what lay beneath the surface, she sometimes seemed innocent as a child before his eyes.
Especially when she wept after saving him.
‘And when I saved her.’
An ill-timed thought, but the way she’d startled when he pulled her small frame close and kissed her was rather amusing.
The kind of thing worth seeing again.
“Berto?”
At Kiis’s prompting, Berto snapped to attention and began explaining the prison break.
From the moment Tatiana threw herself at him, down into the depths, the rescue of the jellyfish, and swimming out through the Tidal Cave.
Everything, save one detail—the strange transformation of Tatiana’s legs.
“Knowing the secret passages of the Naval Alliance Base… it seems certain now that she’s conspiring with the Empress.”
Perian spoke toward Kiis.
“If that were true, she would have killed me in the Tidal Cave.”
Berto shook his head.
Had she truly been after his life, she wouldn’t have denied him breath, nor would she have followed him into the deep, dark waters to save him.
“Besides, it’s strange that the Empress would even know of those passages. And it would be far too inefficient a method to kill me.”
Perian’s brow furrowed at Kiis’s words.
“You don’t still think the mad princess has been switched with someone else? The longer we spend together, the more suspicious she becomes?”
“I’m saying it doesn’t seem like she’s joined hands with the Empress to kill us. Not that she isn’t suspicious.”
“Sire.”
Berto opened his mouth as the two men bickered.
Out of habit—and the risk of slipping into formality—the three of them used casual speech even when alone.
But now, as a marquis and as a loyal retainer, Berto spoke to his lord with gravitas.
“I follow you. And my judgment is that Tatiana is not a threat. Suspicion and danger are not the same thing.”
It wasn’t merely gratitude for her saving his life.
Over two months had passed since they’d begun traveling together. Wasn’t it time to abandon the suspicion that she meant to kill him?
Vigilance was crucial for a commander and marquis, but ultimately, one could only lead from such a position by understanding trust.
“That is all I have to offer.”
Berto rose to his feet.
“Wait, Berto!”
Perian called out, but Berto didn’t turn back. He left the room.
“Sigh……”
Perian dragged his hand roughly through his hair in frustration.
“I need some air.”
Kiis gathered his Robe.
“Do you share the Marquis’s thoughts, Sire?”
He paused as he was about to leave, turning back to face Perian.
“I do think I’m being ungracious to my lifesaver.”
Click—the door closed.
* * *
I opened the window wide, dragged a chair over, and sat with my elbow propped on the sill, resting my chin in my palm.
The night air was cool and refreshing.
“Not sleeping?”
Pudding flew over rubbing his eyes and settled beside me.
“Can’t sleep. You should go to bed first.”
“There’s something I’m curious about, though.”
“What?”
Pudding quickly banished the drowsiness from his eyes and spoke hesitantly.
“Why can I sense Demonic Energy from you?”
I’d expected as much—Pudding, like Popo, saw through it at once.
“It’s a long story, and it’s late now. Go to sleep first, and I’ll tell you slowly later.”
Strangely, despite having only just met, I felt bound to Pudding by an inexplicable trust.
Probably because we’d made a Contract.
“I can’t sleep when I’m curious.”
I rubbed Pudding’s face. My hand kept drifting back—it was addictive.
Pudding seemed pleased, pressing his face closer like a puppy.
“You’ll keep this secret, right?”
At my words, Pudding’s eyes widened like lanterns.
“Why are you saying something so obvious?”
The walls I’d thought so solid crumbled far too easily.
If a Contract felt like this, what criteria did Pudding use to choose a contractor?
“But why did you make a Contract with a human carrying demonic power in the first place? Did it really happen by chance when you handed over the treasure?”
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to make a Contract that way?”
“So you really did trick me into a Contract?”
I teased him with narrowed eyes, and Pudding quickly averted his gaze, words tumbling out in haste.
“At first, I was confused too. It’s not that I choose who to contract with—it’s a feeling. A sense that ‘I’ll make a Contract with this person.’ But I was shocked when I realized you were a demon.”
It’s like what people say about recognizing your soulmate the moment you meet them.
“So the moment you found out I was human, you just went ahead and tricked me into this Contract?”
As I continued to tease him, Pudding’s lower lip jutted out.
“Do you regret bringing me with you, Tatiana?”
Seeing his tentacles droop and drag limply across the ground, I couldn’t bear to tease him anymore.
“How could I?”
I leaned forward and whispered close, as if sharing a secret.
“In this world, you’re the one I love most.”
“Really? More than Mom and Dad?”
“Mom passed away so long ago I barely remember her, and I like you far more than Dad.”
“More than Berto, Kiis, Dilshad, and the weakling?”
“Of course. Why would I compare my precious one to anyone?”
Pudding’s pale sky-blue cheeks flushed pink. His tentacles rippled in a joyful dance.
“I would have made a Contract with you even if you were a real demon.”
“Really? Even though you were once called a Divine Beast?”
“Yes!”
Pudding nodded with solemn determination. It was more endearing than convincing.
“Then tonight, I’ll tell you a little of my story.”
I was about to begin when the sound of footsteps on dirt below caught my attention, and a dark shadow appeared beneath the window.
I stopped speaking at once and pressed myself against the wall, but upon recognizing the face of the person in the Robe, I released my hand from the Ring.
“Kiis? Why aren’t you asleep, and what’s with that getup……!”
I was about to warn him it was dangerous, but Kiis suddenly vaulted up in a single leap, scaling to the second floor in one fluid motion and crossing the windowsill.
“How dare you come in here! Get out at once!”
Regardless of what Pudding said beside me, Kiis crouched low and examined me carefully.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m not all right?”
“Want to go out and rest? If you fall asleep, I’ll carry you back to your room. Put on your Robe and let’s go.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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