Kain froze.

He gazed silently at the captain, who was so utterly convinced she was in the right. In her fair cheeks, he saw the virtues the Church’s archbishops preached with all their might: conviction and courage. And framed by the light streaming through the cave entrance, her fearless, resolute expression looked just like the valkyries depicted in holy scripture.

It was just that these virtues seemed to be put to the wrong use.

“Don’t go making things up.” After a brief moment of shock, Kain came to his senses and pointed a trembling finger at the girl right in front of him.

Though this officer had prepared himself with near-cold resolve to face this great enemy of The Empire, he’d clearly underestimated how difficult she’d be to handle. At least the other pirates called Legends didn’t resort to such low tactics.

“I’m not making anything up,” Roy declared righteously.

“Get off me first, then we can talk properly.” Kain took a deep breath, tamped down his irritation and anger, and tried to reason with her as calmly as he could.

“No. You have to take responsibility for me.” The captain didn’t get off him. Instead, she edged even closer, looking ready to wrap herself around him like an octopus.

“Stop, stop, I get it! Don’t come any closer.”

The calm the naval officer had maintained ever since waking finally broke. He grabbed Roy by the wrists and pleaded in a low voice with the pirate, who was flailing wildly. By then, the two of them were almost lying flat on the damp ground, their position looking incredibly intimate.

“So you’ll be my first mate?”

“Get up first, and we’ll talk.” Kain had a terrible headache.

After finally escaping Roy’s clutches, Kain sat upright and leaned against the cave wall. He brushed down his tattered uniform, now crumpled from being grabbed. His expression was as sour as a politician who’d been pelted with eggs—though his own situation wasn’t much better.

Seeing that the naval officer was genuinely angry, Roy wisely stopped provoking him. She just sat beside him with her arms around her knees, gazing at him with big, pleading eyes. If her former crew had seen this, they would’ve given their captain a thumbs-up and said her acting had reached a whole new level.

“Look, we just slept in each other’s arms for one night. I was sick and barely conscious. How could I have done that kind of thing to you?” Unable to bear Roy’s pitiful gaze, Kain furrowed his brow slightly and asked her, equal parts exasperated and amused.

“On a deserted island, with the sky for a blanket and the earth for a bed, sleeping in each other’s arms for a night means we went to bed together, doesn’t it?” Roy was back to her usual shameless sophistry.

“What kind of logic is—” Kain pressed a hand to his forehead and instinctively tried to refute her, but Roy cut him off, her voice much softer than before.

“You held me last night and kept calling my name. And now you’re going to deny it?”

Kain fell silent. He vaguely remembered calling out a name. It had been when his fever left him drowsy and muddled. He’d opened his eyes in a daze and seen that peaceful face in sleep. He’d thought he was back in his carefree childhood, back beside his… little sister.

The name had been Elizabeth, but he hadn’t been calling to the captain in front of him.

“You weren’t calling for me. I know that.”

Roy sat up and stretched her limbs slightly. The trace of hurt on her face vanished like a bubble, as if it had never been there. In its place came a carefree smile. “Never mind. If you’re that unwilling, I won’t force you.”

She lowered her head slightly and looked at the charred remains of the stick. “I don’t want your merchant routes, either. Just don’t turn me in as soon as you get in touch with the Imperial Navy—if we ever manage to leave this place.”

It was obviously another attempt to get inside his head. In Elfie’s eyes, who’d been watching the show from the side for ages, this “Mambo” was simply pitiful. The captain had been playing him for days. Even a naval commander seasoned in dealing with pirates would probably have let his guard down—let alone some nobody she’d never seen before.

Of course, under the captain’s murderous glare, Jackdaw didn’t screech like usual and embarrass her. The bird knew perfectly well which things mattered and which didn’t. After a few ingratiating chirps, Elfie fled the scene.

Only the two of them remained in the little cave, lost in silence.

Some time passed. When Roy realized the naval officer still wasn’t reacting, even she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.

She was sure she had plenty of charm. The noble young ladies who’d been utterly infatuated with her were proof enough. Now that the Devil had turned her into a woman, her looks hadn’t lost any of their appeal.

Or, to put it another way, becoming a woman might have made her social weapons even more powerful. It was easier now to play the pitiful, lovable role that made people want to protect her. The thought made her feel sick, but she couldn’t deny the enormous benefits it might bring.

But all those rules seemed to fail in the face of this mysterious young officer.

Roy sighed softly and crawled toward the little cave’s entrance. “I’ll go get today’s food and fresh water ready. Your injuries haven’t healed yet, so don’t wander too far from here. There aren’t any beasts on this island, but still…”

“Why?”

“Huh?” Roy nearly bumped her head against the top of the entrance. She looked back at Kain in confusion, only to find nothing but seriousness in the naval officer’s blue eyes, as if he were asking a philosophical question about existence itself.

“I want to know why you want me to join you so badly.”

At that simple question, the dark gold in Roy’s eyes gradually brightened. She smiled. “Why else? Even if my crew betrayed me, I’m still the captain. But a captain on her own isn’t much of a captain, is she?”

“Right. Just like an officer without an attendant.”

Kain closed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. The smile was tiny, but Roy’s keen eyes didn’t miss it.

She stared at him in astonishment. Ever since she’d rescued him, that face of his had always seemed perfectly calm. She’d never seen an expression like this before. It was as if he simply didn’t know how to smile.

Soon, Kain opened his eyes again, his face returning to its usual calm. He looked at the captain, who was still slightly dazed, as though she’d witnessed a rare spectacle. Then, as if ordering an attendant to pour him a glass of red wine, he said, “I’ll follow you for now, Captain Roy—so long as you don’t do anything that crosses my line.”

Only then did Roy come back to herself. She gave a whistle and replied with a smile, “You finally came around. Then tell me, my dear first mate, what’s your name, young master of House Howard?”

During the long time the two of them spent on that deserted island, they’d talked about the tragic circumstances of the little girl named Elizabeth Howard—and nothing at all about their backgrounds or pasts. So Roy didn’t even know the young man’s name.

“Kain,” he answered formally. “Kain Howard.”