North x Northwest

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“Psst Psst! Psst! Psst Psst!”

A hand sticking through the narrow bars was clutching some leftover food. However, the pigeon they were trying to lure merely waddled in front of it and tilted its head as if contemplating whether to eat it or not.

“Ah, come on Grandpa! Do it right!”

At the complaints from inside the bar, Alain pressed his lips even harder in an attempt to attract the bird.

“Psst Psst! You damn pigeon, Psst Psst!”

But while his hairy arm waved to urge the bird, the fluctuating food only frightened the pigeon instead. So after snapping at it once, the bird hastily flew away.

Frustrated, Alain forcefully threw the food down and grabbed the bars.

“Since when can’t birds be bothered to eat when they are presented with such an amazing feast?”

Sensing Alain’s failure, Joe, who was supporting Alain on his shoulders, tapped Alain on the ankle. Then another sailor shouted annoyedly.

“Just come down already, get down!”

The windows of the underground prison were as small as two palms, with hideous bars embedded in them. From the outside, they were in contact with the ground, but from the prisoner’s perspective, they were where the wall and the ceiling met, high up in a corner, appearing like a small moon in the dark sky.

Alain, who came down to the floor, smacked his lips and looked at the bars with regret. Words criticising his failure poured in as soon as he hit the ground.

“…Damn it! Forget escaping, we’d be lucky if we don’t starve to death before then!…”

“…Hey, who would’ve known that we would be born as a human and die as a grape?…”

“…Damn it. That vineyard reminder again…”

The sailors, who expressed their dismay in turns, quickly grabbed the forks and knives, and began poking at their own shackles, as if they were suddenly reminded of their vow to escape. The tableware was provided to Alain as a joke, but while the tines of the forks were already bent in all directions like the foot of an octopus, the knives had been bent beyond recognition after having been used as levers.

After being engrossed for a while, the guard’s footsteps began to echo from afar. Instantly the rattling noise of the irons stopped at once and someone belatedly hissed to warn the others. The sailors held their breath and waited for the jailer to pass. The sound of rats crossing the ceiling was particularly loud. In the dark, where there was only faint moonlight coming in, the white reflection of their eyes lifted up as they looked at each other alternately.

– Rumble, thump! –

The jailer who locked the iron door went away.

Sighs of relief flowed from everywhere. Just as the screeching of metallic was about to resume again, someone threw a fork away in a burst of displeasure.

“I can’t do this!”

The sailors, who had to work all day in shackles while eating only bread and soup, were extremely sensitive. Prior to this, when the utensils weren’t provided yet, it was only necessary to eat and sleep. But now that locking picking was added to their list of activities, the atmosphere in the cell became increasingly threatening. And now that today’s duty failed and they were unable to catch the pigeon, the grievances they thought they had buried poured out again.

“Who the hell was that bastard who shot first anyway?* He’s the reason why we’re all locked up here and having a hard time!”

“Why are you holding on to the past again? Who knows? It could be Julio or someone from the Navy for all we know.”

Another pointless debate was about to begin. For the past month, a fight between sailors was guaranteed whenever this subject was mentioned.

“Stop! Don’t start with this again!”

“…”

Alain became agitated.

“You morons! It makes no difference whether it was Julio or the Navy. What matters is that we’re in Gualtiero. And the longer we stay here, the smaller our chances of survival are. Even if the Navy opened fire first, we still won’t be getting a fair trial and are just destined to become one of those hanging grapes. That is our truth!”

“And how does Grandpa know that?”

A different voice intervened the irritated one.

“…Don’t you know? Grandpa used to work for the Imperial Merchant Marine, basically licking the Empire’s ass at that time. So he understands how the Empire works!…”

“…You crazy bastard! Don’t you know how many were rescued by Grandpa back then, so why do you even have the right to talk about asses in front of our old man here?…”

“…Those Empire’s bastards, the old men who worked under them, and the Black Whale are all the same! This Empire, this damn Empire!…”contemporary romance

“…Is this guy out of his mind, why are you dragging the Black Whale into this again?…”

The voice next to the sailor interrupted with a sharp blow.

“The Captain is dead, asshole. He wasn’t even given a proper funeral, so what are those insults for?”

“That bastard in a uniform as flashy as the Admiral’s pierced his stomach…”

At those words, silence shrouded the room. Even the sailor who insulted Lil couldn’t dare to resent Lil any more. Before long, someone muttered a prayer.

“…Lil Schweiz, the Black Whale, rest in peace forever…”

“…Wise and merciful. Rest in the arms of Mother Ocean…”

In the suddenly solemn atmosphere, everyone threw a eulogy.

“…To die before this old body… Killed by the damned Navy no less…”

Alain muttered with wet eyes. Alain, who had become a leader in the absence of a captain, felt the captain’s absence more than ever and gazed out the window… where Lil’s neck was most likely hanging…

***

As a bustling city, there were many luxury inns in Roahn. Although it was rare to have a place that would welcome guests after midnight, there were at least a few who did, so Lil was able to avoid homelessness.

After successfully renting a room, Lil opened a window and stretched out on the bed. The air in the room was still stuffy, despite the low temperature of the chilly autumn night. threatening dark clouds gathered as if it was about to rain. The dark grey mass covered the clear sky and was followed by a sound similar to the sky’s guts twisting. There was no rain yet, but the thunder had already started.

Lil took a deep breath. The resentment that had risen to the tip of her throat slowly descended.

‘I was the one who really wanted to cry, and the urge to scream “Why do you keep making me suffer?” boiled over. Ed has told me countless lies with a straight face, yet he dared to send me a letter… At the end of the day, whether we talked about it now or later, this relationship would’ve ended anyway…’

Lil had no regrets.

She shuddered, not in disgust but because she couldn’t get rid of her pouring thoughts.

‘Ed really cried like a child. Not to mention, he couldn’t control his breathing while shedding tears like that. His clumsy attempts to hold back by squeezing his eyelids only led to his tears flying through the air… It was a pitiful sight, especially considering he’s a head taller than me with a formidable physique…’

Lil turned over and buried her face in her pillow.

‘It would’ve been easier if Ed truly had been evil…’

***

The room’s only furnishings were a bed, a tea table, a simple desk, a bookshelf, and a chest of drawers. Because there was no suitable space, Lil spread Gualtiero’s blueprints on the bed. When the map was touched by her quill, the paper sank like it was going to pierce a hole through the spire of Gualtiero.

A knock was heard at the same time. But when Lil initially ignored it, a knock on the door was heard again.

‘I definitely told them the room doesn’t need any cleaning…’

Irritated, Lil opened the door as much as a span.

Levi poked her head out.

“Lil, good morning.”

“Levi? How did you…”

Levi laughed softly, and Lil abruptly opened the door. Entering the room, Levi placed her bag on the tea table. The bouquet she brought with her, was put in the empty vase already standing on that same table. She then proceeded with shutting the window and inspecting the furniture for cleanliness, as if she had come to look after Lil.

With no more outside air flowing through the window, warm sunlight could permeate the room.

“As you are aware, I currently reside in the Marquess’ residence. And because Edgar knows where you are, which can sound bleak and creepy, I know, he insisted on forcing me to pay you a visit, so he gave me your address… Remember, Lil, that this is his land. If you want to flee, you must travel far, far away… Of course, you couldn’t leave the city because you left after midnight the night before and even today…”

“It’s fine.”

Lil expected it anyway. She came out because she didn’t want to be in his space anymore, she never had the intention of hiding in a place that no one knew. In addition, she simply couldn’t afford to waste time by looking for a place like that. That was what she meant when she said it was fine. But Levi stopped unpacking the bag and looked back at Lil.

‘She’s probably thinking that it’s just another love fight and that I hope Ed will come after me…’

That was what Levi’s expression was telling her to some degree, but Lil was so accustomed to being misunderstood by Levi that she now lightly overlooked her gaze.

“Oh, is that so? I misunderstood.”

“…”

Levi saw the messy bed and led Lil to the tea table instead. Lil obediently sat across from her and noticed that the flowers Levi had bought gave off a pleasant scent.

“Then, if that’s the case, why did you simply choose to leave? What about your treatment?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’ve gotten a lot better, but you shouldn’t be leaving the house without medicine. Or else, your whole body will start to ache right away. What kind of recklessness is that?”

“…”

‘She’s right. I actually considered contacting just Levi separately.’

“…Anyway, so you two just don’t want to see each other for now… that’s what it looks like…”

Lil didn’t want to hear Levi’s murmur, so she only asked what she was curious about.

“Umm, Levi, could you prescribe some medicine in advance for me?”

Levi, who was carefully grinding the herbs, squinted her eyes at Lil.

References:

“Who the hell was that bastard who shot first anyway?*…” = Courant’s canon shot back in the battle between the Bell Rock and the Navy.

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