Roy felt as if she'd opened the door to a whole new world.

Beyond that door stood many familiar faces. They were friends she’d never forget, or bitter enemies from her voyages—but without exception, none of them recognized her anymore. They regarded her with eyes so unfamiliar they were almost cold, as if examining a priceless treasure with no warmth to it.

Except for one young man in an officer’s uniform. In his ocean-blue eyes, feelings like affection and tenderness still lingered.

It was as if he were the only one in the whole world who still remembered her.

“Captain?”

A familiar voice rang in her ear, jolting Roy awake from the strange vision that had suddenly appeared before her. The clamorous calls of street vendors on either side of the lane grew loud and real again.

“What’s wrong?” Kain asked with concern, looking at Roy’s bewildered face.

The moment he’d said those words, Roy had gone still as a puppet with its strings cut, standing motionless for a long while. She hadn’t come around until he called her name for the third time. It was almost as if she’d been bewitched by a siren.

“I… I don’t know…”

Roy rubbed the back of her neck. The memory of what she’d just seen quickly blurred, and where she touched, a pale golden mark was rapidly fading. Within a breath, it vanished without a trace.

The mark looked vaguely like a string of characters, but it was impossible to make out what they said.

“Maybe you haven’t fully recovered yet? The merchant ship had enough fresh water and food, but none of it was exactly fresh.” Her deputy frowned as he recalled the dried meat and hardtack aboard Eda’s merchant ship, wondering if that might be the problem.

“It’s not seasickness.”

Roy shook her head firmly. She tried to describe what she’d seen, but the only things still clear in her memory were her deputy’s face and his gently wavering blue eyes.

After a moment’s thought, Roy decided not to tell him about the strange experience. She figured she’d been through too many setbacks lately, and her mind was still exhausted—that must be why she’d slipped into such a bizarre dream.

“Maybe I just didn’t sleep well last night.” Roy gave her deputy a strained smile.

“Then let’s hurry. Once we’ve bought everything we need for the ball, I’ll take you back to the inn to rest.”

Seeing how ready her deputy was to sound the alarm, Roy waved him off and laughed. “Don’t worry. Your captain’s weathered every kind of storm. A little thing like this is nothing. Let’s just stick to your plan.”

Seeing that the captain seemed to have perked right back up, Kain didn’t press her. He simply nodded in silence.

“Then let’s get back to what we were discussing. You said nobody can recognize me. What’s that all about?” Roy looked up at her now-quiet deputy and asked in confusion.

As far as she could tell, even if she’d become a, uh, girl, she hadn’t lost any of her charm, presence, or force of character. And with those famous dark-gold eyes of hers, how could anyone who took a closer look possibly fail to recognize her?

“It’s simple. Soon, the whole world will know that the pirate Legend Captain Roy and the First Fleet, led by the Tyrant, were caught in an unprecedented storm—and not a soul survived.” Kain glanced at her, his tone as calm as if he were discussing some trivial matter.

Roy stared at him for a moment, then approvingly patted Kain on the shoulder. “Is that the false report you gave the military? Nice work. Staying hidden will make things a lot easier for us.”

“No.”

Kain fell silent for a moment, then said heavily, “I got that news this morning through a military secret channel when I went to the garrison. It came from… the Southern Islands.”

Roy thought it over, following Kain’s words, and quickly understood what it meant. Her lips curled into a cold smile. “So that brat Richie’s behind this. If the news came from the Southern Islands, that means the pirates have already accepted it as fact?”

“Yes.”

Kain looked at Roy with added concern. “And the Great Captain has accepted it too. He’s publicly handed your territory over to Richie. After all, you know your former deputy is a bona fide pirate Legend in his own right.”

“Of course I know. I watched him climb the ranks, step by step.” Roy’s smile faded. Her usually bright, confident eyes dimmed, and she recited the Legend’s name without a trace of emotion.

“The Blood-Eyed Butcher, Richie Quick.”

In the eyes of the Orlan Empire, Roy was a devil with dark-gold eyes like molten rock that had never cooled, a bold and formidable warlord who ruled the Eastern Sea Region. And hidden behind her, handling every filthy task, was Richie—the most terrifying killing machine at the captain’s command.

In a straight-up fight, Richie was no match for the Golden-Eyed Devil. But when it came to methods of killing and sheer efficiency, Roy’s former deputy—now Captain of the Mermaid—was far more skilled than she was.

Whether it was poison that made people keep their distance, a three-pronged dagger designed to draw as much blood as possible, or his uncanny secret arts for driving away insects, the frail young man was the one person both crew and enemies least wanted to cross.

And now, the trusted right hand who’d once served her so well had become the greatest threat to Roy’s return to power.

“Forget it. If he wants it, he can have it. When I get back, I’ll make him hand it right back to me.”

The gloom on Roy’s face soon vanished, replaced by an easy smile. It seemed this captain never stayed in the shadows for long.

Perhaps that was her greatest charm, Kain concluded silently. Whether she was on a deserted island or standing before more than thirty sailors who might become her enemies, this captain was always so confident, composed, and radiant.

With the risk of Roy being recognized taken care of, the jewelry problem didn’t get resolved as easily or as pleasantly as Kain had expected. The reason wasn’t a lack of money or a shortage of styles she liked. It was the captain’s downright excessive fondness for jewelry.

“Kain, let’s buy one more…”

Roy coaxed him like a kitten. Her deputy knew perfectly well it was a shameless act put on by a tiger, but he had to admit that in this particular area, the captain had reached the pinnacle of mastery. Every glance and smile of hers was so devastating that even the jewelry shop’s customers couldn’t look away.

“All the money we need for the voyage is already aboard the ship. So the money we’re using now isn’t ours—it’s public funds I drew from the Fran Island garrison specifically to buy the pendants we need for the ball, not for you to waste.”

Kain forcibly tore his gaze away from the captain, whose temperament had changed completely, and added helplessly, “We still have to pay back whatever’s left over.”

If it were my own money, why would I waste it on something so impractical and flashy?

Roy thought to herself, but kept looking pitiful. “How about just one more? Look how well this ring goes with the dress. If I wear it, it’ll definitely increase the chances of… succeeding.”

The word she hadn’t said aloud, only mouthed, was obviously “disguise.” Kain knew that without even looking at her.

“Exactly! Sir, just look at how perfect that ring would look on your companion’s hand. It’s as if it were made just for her!” The jewelry shop owner laid it on thick, and the customers, unable to bear watching a young girl beg so desperately, chimed in one after another.

Kain looked at the captain, who was clutching the ring and refusing to let go. Suppressing his displeasure, he gritted his teeth and said, “Fine. I get it. I’ll buy it for you.”