The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 37

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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 37
“Ugh…….”
My head felt like it was splitting open.
“If I drink again, I’m a dog.”
I made that half-hearted vow and was hauling my heavy body upright when I heard it.
Clink. The sound of metal made me look down, and there were shackles wrapped around my ankles.
“What is this…….”
Before I could even process the situation, Dilshard burst through the door without knocking.
“You’re awake?”
He set a tray on the side table and offered me Honey Water.
But there was no way I was going to drink it willingly in this situation.
It was pretty clear he was the culprit.
“Explain.”
At my demand, Dilshard sat on the edge of the bed, and his composed face opened its mouth without shame.
“Given your personality, I figured you’d panic and jump into the sea, so I had no choice.”
“And what exactly would make me panic and jump into the sea?”
“I left those men—the ones who posed a threat to you—on the Uninhabited Island. They’ve probably woken up by now.”
My head had felt like it would split, but Dilshard’s matter-of-fact explanation doused it with cold water, and my mind suddenly began racing clearly.
So after the Mermaid incident, he’d been learning navigation from Berto. Was this planned from back then?
‘Where is Pudding?’
He wouldn’t have left Pudding—who knew my location—on the Uninhabited Island.
‘Surely he didn’t kill him.’
I hadn’t even heard what happened to Pudding yet, but fire ignited in my chest.
‘I can’t get worked up.’
If I lost my temper, there was a high chance I wouldn’t be able to break free from the shackles.
I exhaled a long breath and parted my lips.
“Did you drug us?”
“I had to. Your physical abilities are too good—alcohol alone wouldn’t keep you unconscious long enough.”
“What’s your goal?”
This was the most important question.
I hadn’t realized Dilshard was insane enough to actually imprison people, but to devise an escape plan, I had to know his purpose clearly.
“To protect you. I don’t think I can keep my promise to send you back to the Empire. Instead, I’ll make sure you live without any want. If you wish, I’ll even secure a Nobility Status for you.”
Dilshard had apparently judged that the protagonists and the Empire posed a threat to me.
‘I need to play along first.’
Breaking free from the shackles came before anything else.
“Then…….”
Just as I was about to open my mouth with that resolve—
A dark crimson light flashed from inside Dilshard’s clothes.
‘What is that?’
As I stared at it half-mesmerized, Dilshard took my hand.
“Tatiana, I understand you’re angry. I brought you without saying anything. But I couldn’t stand by and watch you—who saved me—walk straight into danger.”
I tore my gaze from that suspicious light and looked at Dilshard.
“Then Keese won’t be able to chase me?”
“Right. No ship, and no Pudding. Ah, don’t worry about Pudding. I’m keeping him safe somewhere.”
What you call protection is just imprisonment.
Fury made my breathing waver. My expression control frayed; if this continued, I’d grab Dilshard by the collar.
“Does he mean……!”
I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around Dilshard’s neck.
“Thank you.”
“Thank me……?”
Even for a madman, it was an unexpected thing to say—Dilshard looked bewildered.
“You know Keese and I dissolved our betrothal, right?”
I felt Dilshard’s body stiffen slightly.
“But he brought it up recently. Asked if I’d like to meet him again.”
“He wouldn’t…….”
Dilshard’s heartbeat quickened, and something thumped against my chest. It was where the dark crimson light had flashed.
“He was trying to satisfy his own selfish desires under the guise of saving me.”
“I never wanted to go back to that terrible past. But Keese has high status, so I couldn’t refuse.”
I held Dilshard’s neck tightly and buried my face against him.
Then his hand, which had hesitated as if gauging the situation, came up and wrapped around me in return.
“I’m really grateful. For getting me away from Keese.”
“……But didn’t you say before that you trusted him? That’s why you were traveling with him.”
That level of suspicion couldn’t be easily dispelled.
“No matter how good someone’s reputation is, romantic matters are separate, you know? Keese is that kind of person. I was really…… suffering.”
I lifted my head and met Dilshard’s gaze. And I smiled so brightly that my lips trembled.
“I said I saved you. It’s the same for you. You’re my savior. We’ve saved each other.”
“Are you serious……?”
“Of course. But I don’t need a Nobility Status or anything like that. I’m tired of all that now. Let’s just go somewhere Keese can’t find us and live peacefully together, what do you say?”
A calm smile bloomed across Dilshard’s face.
“Sounds good.”
“We’ll settle in a quiet village not far from the city. That way, it’ll be easier for you to earn money with Magic. Oh, and you have to keep your promise to provide for me.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you never have a hard time.”
How reassuring that sounded.
I wondered if he knew how precarious I felt right now.
“Give me the Honey Water now. My nerves are settling and my stomach’s upset.”
“You kept drinking that liquor the pirate kept offering, one cup after another. Do you have any idea how worried I was?”
Dilshard handed me the Honey Water he’d placed on the side table.
“From now on, I’ll only drink with you. That’s enough, isn’t it?”
I held my breath and drained the Honey Water in one go. My throat burned.
“Now I’m going to wash up, so move!”
As I tried to get out of bed, the shackles pulled tight and my body lurched.
“Be careful……!”
As expected, Dilshard caught me right away, so I didn’t fall.
I stared silently at the shackles for a moment, then spoke.
“I won’t jump into the Sea. Why would I go back after escaping? So take these off now.”
“…….”
He hesitated. He still didn’t fully trust me.
“Dilshard, it hurts.”
His gaze shifted to my ankle below the shackles, where red marks from the metal had rubbed raw.
I knew it. Protecting me was all a lie.
“Are you going to hurt me too?”
Dilshard’s slate-grey eyes trembled faintly.
“Like Keese? If I don’t obey you, you’ll threaten me, beat me, and finally imprison me until I’m half-dead?”
I must have been too engrossed—a tear rolled down my cheek.
‘I feel a bit sorry for Keese.’
The hesitation vanished from Dilshard’s eyes, replaced by fury.
“He did that to you?”
I nodded, and more tears spilled down.
“Don’t cry. I would never hurt you. I’ll definitely make you happy.”
Dilshard’s hand cupped my cheek, and he wiped the tears from my eyes.
I leaned my face into his hand.
“Really? I don’t have to be afraid of you, right? I can trust you, can’t I?”
“Yes. I’ll bring the key.”
Dilshard kissed my forehead reassuringly and left the room.
And after quite some time had passed, he returned and unlocked the shackles.
Under the hot cascade of the shower, I began formulating a plan.
Dilshard had probably eliminated every means of escape while he was supposedly getting the key.
Right now, I couldn’t act recklessly.
Even if I succeeded in subduing Dilshard, it would only leave me adrift in the middle of the Sea again.
‘If I became a Mermaid again, I could swim to land, but……’
If that happened, it would be difficult to reunite with the protagonists.
―And don’t be reckless going forward.
Berto’s worried voice echoed in my head. And then—
―If you know anything, be careful. Even if you just call my name without doing anything, I’ll come save you.
Keese. True to being a protagonist, he had such a good character that he’d come to save me again this time too.
‘Then I really need to find Pudding first.’
I had to send Pudding to the Sea to ask the protagonists for help.
I turned off the tap. Water droplets fell—drip, drip—from the showerhead.
‘I shouldn’t keep relying on them.’
A sigh escaped me.
I dressed roughly and left the room. I could quickly guess where Pudding was.
‘It must be there.’
The door to the Navigation Room on the second floor was tightly bound with Dilshard’s vines.
It was a way to prevent me from interfering with steering while also imprisoning Pudding.
I didn’t head straight to the Navigation Room but toward the dining hall instead.
I couldn’t move carelessly. I had to wait for a moment when Dilshard let his guard down.
“Dilshard.”
“You’re here? I’m almost done with…… Why didn’t you dry your hair?”
“I’m hungry. I wanted to eat quickly.”
“You’ll catch a cold. Dry it properly and come back.”
“It’s bothersome.”
Dilshard shook his head as if there was no way around it, then fetched a towel from the bathroom.
“Suddenly I find myself with a lot to do.”
While Dilshard dried my hair himself, I sat in a dining chair and relaxed against his hands.
“Do you dislike it?”
“Not at all.”
“In that case, I’ll dry your hair for you later too.”
“Sure.”
I caught a glimpse of the pleased Dilshard and carefully broached the subject.

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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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