The Pirate King's Daughter - Chapter 55

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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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Episode 55
“Kies…!”
Kies crumpled to the ground with a heavy thud, and when Tatiana reached out her hand toward him, he pulled her arm into his embrace.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. It’s my fault. Because of me, because of me. I didn’t even recognize you. I’m sorry.”
Kies muttered his apologies like a man possessed by a ghost.
His beloved had discovered the plan—that her own father meant to kill him—and so she had been imprisoned all this time.
While he waited for her letter on the battlefield, feeling neglected; when he came to the Duke’s mansion with victory bells ringing; even when he held the fake version close, overjoyed.
Below the ground he stood upon, she had been dying alone.
“No, no. Tatiana, please…”
His mind reeled.
The waist he held so firmly, the familiar scent of flowers—everything felt so vivid, yet as though it might vanish at any moment.
“It’s not your fault.”
Tatiana, bewildered, lifted her slender arms to hold him in return, and as her hand patted his back, her shoulder grew soaked with his tears.
“I… I…”
How could I not have recognized you?
He had no right to ask forgiveness.
“I’m sorry.”
Crushed beneath his guilt, Kies suddenly lifted his head at the quiet apology she spoke.
“Why would you…?”
“Because I thought I wouldn’t be able to hold on if you didn’t believe that either. I deliberately lied. I wish I’d found the courage to tell you straight.”
Tatiana spoke with an awkward smile, then reached up to wipe his face.
Yet her words only deepened his pain.
“It’s because of me. Because I doubted everything you said and did.”
“Honestly, I’d suspect too if I were in your—”
“Why are you doing this? Don’t. I’m already suffering enough as it is…”
Kies cut off her words, pleading, then his own trailed away.
“Kies…?”
“Tell me.”
His voice sank into the thick darkness.
“Everything. How much I hurt you from the day you were first locked away through the entire voyage. All of it.”
No matter how tight his chest became, he needed to hear it. Never again would he make such a mistake.
Kies picked Tatiana up in his arms.
“Wait, hold on.”
Then he laid her on the bed, fetched a chair, and sat beside it.
“If you get sleepy while talking, just sleep.”
At his firm tone, Tatiana had no choice but to begin, searching through her memories.
The past she had forgotten and now read had become completely etched into her.
“I couldn’t forget how you looked riding a horse at the military parade. I went out for a walk because I couldn’t sleep.”
Kies had woken before dawn that day, trembling through a terrible nightmare.
Yet he had barely managed to endure it because Tatiana didn’t pull away her hand but held his in return.
His eyes, which had been bleary, now closed entirely, hidden behind his lashes, and he remained motionless for a long while.
Swallowing all the words he wanted to say, he left only a brief kiss on her forehead, just as he had done that day.
* * *
“If I drink again, I’m a dog.”
After showering, I repeated to my reflection in the mirror something I’d said before.
Kidnapped on my first drinking spree, exposed my secrets on the second—that clearly meant I was not someone who should drink at all.
“The other three all heard everything from outside the door yesterday.”
Pudding said from where she sat on the sink.
“Really?”
I didn’t feel particularly bothered. If anything, it was convenient not to have to explain again.
“Did they seem to believe you?”
Kies had accepted it almost too easily for comfort, but Berto and Perian weren’t so certain.
Berto was supposed to be rational—though honestly, I don’t know anymore. He threw a punch the moment he saw Dilshard.
But the real problem was Perian.
“They all just listened in silence. Their expressions weren’t very good.”
“Kies was…?”
Would he be all right?
‘He looked quite shocked.’
It was my first time seeing him cry, and I was fairly startled. And, though I hate to admit it, my heart raced a bit.
Those sharp eyes below his radiant silver hair breaking, tears spilling freely—was there any woman alive who could resist comforting him?
“Want me to go scout things out first and report back?”
At Pudding’s suggestion, I pushed away the face occupying my thoughts and spoke.
“No. Nothing’s going to change.”
Just because the protagonists learned my secret didn’t mean my objective had altered.
Return the protagonists to the Empire within a year. Part ways with them at the final port.
My mission ended there, and after that I was free to live as I chose.
“But that bratty Noble Daughter looks exactly like you, right? They’ll definitely suspect—are you going to reveal the Demon too?”
At Pudding’s words, the day I first saw the Demon came back to me.
After a year of confinement, already worn down, I received a solo visitor. To mimic my appearance.
—So you’re the Noble Daughter? What’s this crow doing here?
I shook my head.
“I don’t think there’s any need to tell them that yet. Unless we put them side by side to compare, they won’t know they’re identical. I’m planning to tell them later, before we part ways.”
In the Empire, there were likely Demons wearing the faces of Kies, Berto, and Perian as well.
If the protagonists were to save the world safely, I’d need to give them a few hints.
Growl—
Just then, a signal sounded from the ship.
“Why is my stomach always hungry the day after drinking?”
“Dilshard made tomato stew.”
“Let’s go.”
I immediately flung open the door to head to the Dining Hall.
“Oh…?”
Rain.
Raindrops bounced off the Deck, creating an irregular rhythm—patter-patter-patter.
The Dining Hall was just ahead, but I disliked getting wet at all, so I was turning back to fetch an Umbrella when a shadow fell over my head.
“Your eyes are swollen.”
Kies held the Umbrella over me and rubbed the corner of my eye with his other hand.
“You…?”
Aside from him suddenly appearing and touching my face, I was startled by how battered Kies’s face had become overnight.
“You didn’t sleep at all?”
“No.”
Raindrops periodically tapping the Umbrella streamed down, soaking his shoulder.
“I was anxious.”
About what?
I couldn’t ask. It had to be because of what I’d said yesterday.
“Duke Fray is the one who locked you up, and I’m the one who didn’t handle it wisely.”
He was telling me not to feel guilty because it wasn’t my fault at all, but Kies lowered his eyes like a criminal.
“…We should eat.”
That expression didn’t suit him. He was much better when he acted like his imperious Crown Prince self.
“I have no intention of forgiving whoever made me this way. Whether you become a victim or a perpetrator is your choice—you’re free to decide.”
I stepped out from under the Umbrella. Raindrops pelted my face.
We’d almost reached the Dining Hall when I reached for the door handle, but a large hand covered mine, blocking it.
“Just a moment.”
I turned around to see Kies, who had thrown down the Umbrella and rushed over, speaking through the rain.
“Give me a little time. It’s not comparable to your suffering, but right now I can’t quite…”
His voice trailed off.
Frustration welled up inside me. Why did we, the victims, have to struggle like this because of some man?
“I’ve never resented you, not once.”
Those bloodshot eyes turned toward me.
“I was just… worried. War was dangerous enough, and then the Empress and Duke Fray were trying to kill you.”
Kies looked down from above, shielding me from the rain with his body. Thanks to him, I stayed dry, though droplets falling from his wet hair dampened my cheek.
‘While smiling.’
He’d meant to say it while smiling, not crying.
“I’m just glad you came back safely. I desperately hoped I’d be able to say this.”
“…”
Those violently wavering eyes stilled. Then Kies pulled me into his embrace.
He’d been out too long; his body was cold. The rain transferred between us, leaving my clothes damp.
“…Thank you. For waiting.”
Lifting his head, Kies smiled softly, his face noticeably lighter.
“I had so much I wanted to say to look cool, but now that I think about it, I’m nothing but a foolish boy trying too hard.”
“Well, I can’t promise I won’t tease you, but give it a try.”
Just as Kies opened his mouth to speak, looking intently down at me—
The door I’d been leaning against swung open. My body lurched, and I was caught by hands from both sides.
“Stop your chattering and get inside, will you?”
Dilshard spoke in a thoroughly irritated voice.
“Did you hear all that?”
I straightened myself and asked, to which he grumbled.
“Your voices were louder than the rain—how could I not? I warmed up the stew, and now it’s getting cold again.”
“Sorry. Kies, did you eat?”
Kies, who had shifted from gentle young master back into fierce Crown Prince when Dilshard appeared, softened his gaze as he spoke.
“I ate earlier. I should go sleep now. Eat your meal and rest. Tell me if you get scared.”
For those words to come from Kies’s mouth—so he’d stopped picking fights with me after all.
“I’ll be awake, so don’t worry and get out of here.”
Dilshard slammed the door right in front of Kies’s face and promptly headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal.

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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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