The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 29

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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 29
An awkward silence hung between us, and I pushed gently away from Berto’s chest.
“Thanks for catching me.”
He stumbled back lightly, picked up the torch, and offered me his arm.
“Now that I’ve been a woman for a bit, I get why an escort is necessary. Even without heels, it’s uncomfortable—the clothes are cumbersome.”
I was wearing comfortable shoes and trousers now, but his show of consideration left me no choice but to take his arm.
As we made our way out of the Cave, I spoke what I knew from the source material.
“Berto, didn’t you have quite the reputation? Blunt, no tact, incapable of indirectness.”
The young ladies who had directly requested him as a partner for the ball all apparently said the same thing.
That he was absolutely not husband material.
“Other people weren’t enjoyable.”
“And I am funny?”
“You’re delightful,” he said.
While I was about to argue the point, we had already reached the Cave’s entrance.
“It’s deeper than I thought—we’ve been walking forever. Ah—!”
Suddenly Berto clamped his hand over my mouth. Then I heard voices.
“Didn’t you hear someone talking?”
It was the Navy. They’d already sent search parties this far.
We retreated back into the Cave, and Berto removed his hand from my mouth.
“We need to hide.”
He looked around.
But if the Navy discovered the Cave, there was nowhere to conceal ourselves. The water had multiple passages, but we couldn’t breathe underwater; above ground, there was only the single path we’d walked.
“Berto, change your appearance first.”
He pressed the Piercing and transformed into the short-haired woman I’d seen that morning.
And I, now the smaller man, grabbed his collar and pulled him close. My back pressed against the stone wall.
“Do you have Lipstick?”
Bewildered, he lowered the hand he’d been bracing against the wall and fished a Lipstick from his pocket—something Dilshad had thoughtfully provided, knowing at least how to apply it.
“Hold still.”
I painted his lips with the red Lipstick, then smudged it with my fingertip.
What was on my thumb, I rubbed all over my own mouth.
“What on earth—!”
“Shh.”
I pulled him even closer.
“You’re still taller, so I can’t hide your face otherwise. Bend your head toward me and press close.”
Berto’s face flushed as he grasped my intent. Hot breath touched my cheek.
“There’s a Cave here!”
We were caught. Even with our altered appearances, being discovered here would raise suspicion if the report reached the Commander.
“Move in quickly!”
My shoulders tensed with dread. I had no desire to be locked in prison again.
“Tatiana, it’s alright.”
Berto covered my ears with both hands and lifted my face. Our noses nearly touched.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and he pressed no further, only cupped my ears more firmly.
The Navy’s voices weren’t completely muffled, but it was far better than before.
“You there—who are you?”
Berto startled and pulled away from me. Simultaneously, my vision brightened.
“I, I don’t—how did we—”
I feigned panic and shielded Berto behind me like a man would, though his broad frame was hardly concealed.
The Navy officer cleared his throat awkwardly. “We’re searching for pirates.”
His gaze fixed on my lips, smeared with Lipstick. He coughed and looked away.
“No one’s come through here.”
“I see… yes, quite so.”
For whatever reason, we now appeared to be a couple enjoying a secret tryst away from prying eyes.
“What shall we do?”
The officer ahead approached what seemed to be a superior and whispered in his ear.
“We should verify their iden—”
“This person has done nothing wrong,” Berto suddenly blurted out.
The officer’s superior looked startled.
“Pardon? I’m not certain I follow—”
The Navy men were flustered, and so was I.
By the third act of this performance, he’d grown far more natural, and I felt inexplicably nervous about what he’d say next.
“I asked him to do this. I told him I’d be content living in shadow forever. And I’ve resolved to spend my life atoning to my wife, and gladly accept damnation in hell after death.”
We had tried to murder each other at the start of our Midnight Escape, and now we were committing Infidelity.
‘That’s quite the melodrama.’
I had become a scoundrel who abandoned his Wife of Long Standing to keep his wife’s handmaiden.
My next line was predictable.
“Gentlemen, shall we keep this between us? Love is hardly a crime, is it?”
Besides, I’d acquired a girlfriend that morning.
“My wife is waiting at the Plaza. We planned to go sightseeing today, and if I don’t return soon, she’ll grow suspicious again.”
The Navy men reacted to the word “again.”
Their expressions split cleanly in half—those barely concealing disgust, and those watching with unseemly interest.
“May we take our leave?”
All eyes turned to the superior, a middle-aged man who waved a dismissive hand as though exhausted by the sordid sight.
“Thank you.”
I took Berto’s hand and bowed as we left.
Playing a scoundrel was surprisingly fun. The lines came naturally.
“My wife leaves tomorrow morning, so I’d appreciate your discretion until then.”
I’d just mentioned sending the wife away and openly enjoying time with his mistress—a fascinating detail, now exposed.
This ought to buy us enough time to escape, even if the Commander heard about it.
“Wait.”
As we passed beside the superior, he stopped us.
My heart lurched. Had I overplayed it and aroused suspicion? But a scoundrel’s excuses came too easily to mind.
“You should wipe your face before you go. For the sake of domestic peace.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I rubbed my mouth clean, then did the same for Berto’s face.
“I understand the impetuousness of youth is unavoidable, but it’s best not to do things you’ll regret later.”
Uncertain how to respond to his sincere counsel, I left the Cave with Berto in silence.
We walked without speaking for some time.
“Pfft.”
“Haha!”
The moment we were far enough from the Cave, we looked at each other and burst into laughter.
* * *
Deep in the night, a suspicious group slipped into the Detention Harbor.
The woman at the front bound her luminous silver hair tightly and flicked her fingers; the figures behind her in single file moved forward with careful steps.
‘I was terrified when I infiltrated the Pleasure Cruise alone.’
Keith and Dilshad ahead, Perian and Berto behind, and Pudding perched on my shoulder.
We were up against an entire Naval Alliance Base, yet I felt no fear.
“Dilshad.”
At Keith’s call, Dilshad stepped forward.
He cast Magic toward the Navy men guarding one of the buildings.
Creeping vines approached without a sound, binding their mouths and the arms gripping their weapons before they could notice.
The Navy men collapsed.
We quickly approached the building, and Dilshad remained behind to keep watch.
Inside was a warehouse crammed with goods—Seized Goods being stored here.
“We look exactly like thieves right now.”
Watching everyone pull out bags and open them was somewhat amusing.
The protagonists who seemed so magnificent in the novel were down here in the murk, scrambling desperately—that was the realization.
“I’m weak, so I can’t carry much. I’ll focus on small, valuable items,” Perian said, exchanging Gold Coins for gleaming Jewels into his bag.
His pleasant facade never quite slipped.
‘He’s kept it bottled up the whole time.’
Even his appearance of gentleness couldn’t hide how much he loathed being called weak.
“You’re handling the money, right, Berto?”
“Leave it to me.”
Berto scooped up Gold Coins by the handful and shoved them into his bag.
I decided not to dwell on how the most principled Berto had ended up acting as an Infidelity suspect and looting with a smile.
‘I need to gather my things quickly too.’
When the Navy seized a pirate ship, certain goods were confiscated—perishable food and everything labeled as contraband, including Sea Charts.
Our ship naturally had nothing of value left, so we were now busily sweeping everything we could.
“The Sea Chart doesn’t seem to be in here.”
Keith set down the bag of provisions, surveyed the room, returned, and reported.
The primary reason we’d come was the Sea Chart.
The World Map existed, but it only showed the larger continents in rough outline, so the Sea Chart was invaluable.
“Berto, is there a separate place where they might keep the Sea Chart?”
“Since this is just a temporary holding area, I doubt they’d keep it separately.”
At Berto’s response, Keith pointed to one corner.
“There’s a suspicious room over there, but the door won’t open. It looks like it needs a key.”
I walked toward the door.
“Couldn’t Dilshad open something like this? He was a con artist, after all. Hm?”
I turned the handle downward, and it clicked open.
And with a sharp metallic sound, something cold pressed against my forehead.

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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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