novelraw Chapter 6: A Beloved Flower Already Has Its Owner
Chapter 6: A Beloved Flower Already Has Its Owner
Upon seeing the massive pirate ship, Fischer and the nearby merchant Laiba hurriedly walked toward their rooms. The captain’s announcement echoed repeatedly through the corridor, warning all passengers to return to their rooms immediately.
“What should we do? What should we do? We finally earned some money, and now pirates show up. Aren’t these crazy women supposed to be in the Northern Ocean? How did they suddenly appear here?”
Laiba wore a miserable expression. He didn’t even have the chance to lament his bad luck before he began scanning around, looking for a place to hide his cigarettes and money so the pirates wouldn’t find them. After working so hard for so long to earn a little money, he had no intention of returning to the Western Continent empty-handed.
Fischer, however, remained calm as he watched the pirate ship draw closer. Though he didn’t know much about the reputation of the major pirates, after hearing Laiba’s description of the Iceberg Queen’s crew and their deeds, and noting that they only targeted ships from Schwalli, Fischer felt the odds of them attacking their ship were slim.
Because the nations often interfered with each other, Arajina only robbing Schwalli’s cargo ships in the Northern Ocean without being punished must have her reasons. Fischer did not believe any pirate could resist Schwalli’s military with just a few stolen cannons.
Aside from some minor vassal states, there were three neighboring countries near the Northern Ocean. First was the Sarding Matriarchy, who were hunting Arajina and unlikely to supply her with resources; second was Schwalli, who was furious and dispatched naval patrols monthly to deter pirates, making it impossible for them to secretly allow merchants to supply Arajina.
So guess who the last neighboring country was?
That’s right—Nary.
Having just learned about the Iceberg Queen, Fischer, familiar with Nary’s political scene, immediately suspected that someone from Nary was backing this pirate ship, whatever the type of support.
Fischer guessed it was most likely supplies. After all, selling weapons to pirates was too obvious, but selling supplies could be seen as independent merchants’ actions beyond official control.Since pirates were raiding Schwalli’s shipowners in the Northern Ocean, why not let them?
“Well, I’ll take my leave first. Take care of yourself.”
“Ah, you too. May the Mother Goddess bless you!”
After bidding farewell to Laiba at his door, Fischer walked a bit further to his own room, only to find Renée wasn’t inside. Instead, she was standing by the window in the corridor, holding her face as she watched the pirate ship draw ever closer to the cruise ship.
“You’re back. There’s a ship approaching this way. Is it pirates?”
Fischer nodded and pulled Renée back toward the room.
“Behave yourself. Pirates only care about profit. If they find out you’re a witch, they’ll capture you and sell you to the Witch Research Society. They’ll make a fortune.”
The Witch Research Society was a religious organization founded in Cardu, considered a cult in both Schwalli and Nary. They believed witches held secrets to approaching the Mother Goddess and were frantically trying to capture them for study.
Renée let him hold her hand as they entered the room, but with her other hand she slyly tapped her lips.
“Will you protect me then?”
Without turning back, Fischer said, “I’ll give you half of what I earn from selling it. Consider it compensation for before.”
“Go to hell!”
The door closed, and from the deck outside came the occasional clang of iron chains thrown down by the pirates to wrap around the railings. Just in case, Fischer hid his unfinished thesis in a secret place, not wanting his research to be lost in vain.
He wondered how the cruise ship’s captain was negotiating with the pirates on the Iceberg Queen. When the cabin doors opened and the pirates came inside one by one, many passengers inevitably became anxious.
“Dear passengers, Captain Arajina is only here to search for thieves. Please do not resist. They will not harm you! Once again, they will not endanger the safety of passengers!”
The captain’s announcement was broadcast repeatedly. Fischer sat calmly in his chair, legs crossed, reading a newspaper. From a distance, he could already hear voices and the sound of doors opening, certain they would reach his room soon.
Renée didn’t seem worried at all. She boredly dipped her finger into some coffee and drew circles on the table.
Outside, larks fluttered up and down, tilting their heads as they examined the rooms inside the ship.
“Bang!”
After a while, the door was roughly pushed open. Standing at the entrance was the pirate first mate, a very fat woman with a hostile expression. She glanced over Renée and Fischer inside, her eyes shifting before beckoning the pirates behind her in. Then she said to Fischer and the others,
“You get up first. We’re just searching to see if any of our things are here.”
Fischer and Renée reluctantly stood. Just as they stood, Fischer caught sight of Arajina standing in the doorway. Her captain’s hat had been removed, revealing long silver hair.
Unlike the greasy, filthy faces of the other pirates, her cheeks were clean, as if she regularly maintained them. This made her look less like a pirate and more like a noblewoman.
Fischer sized her up and followed the pirates further inside. They planned to search their bodies too, separating men and women—women inside the room, men outside.
Fischer only carried a box of cigarettes and two completed manuals. He wasn’t worried about the manuals being discovered, so he let them search freely.
When he stepped out, a female pirate nearby seemed about to search him, but Arajina raised her hand, stopping her. The taller, slender captain personally approached Fischer and reached out her hand.
“Sorry, just a search...”
Her pale hands reached over, first fumbling through Fischer’s shirt pockets. After feeling the shape of the cigarette box, she paused briefly, then quickly moved on.
Fischer’s pants had no pockets, so she didn’t bother checking there. After a brief inspection, Arajina’s hand lingered on Fischer’s lower abdomen without withdrawing. Behind her, the other pirates silently closed their eyes, their breathing gradually becoming rapid.
Fischer started sensing something was wrong; his expression instantly turned blank and lifeless.
He had forgotten—these women were from the Sarding Matriarchy...
Just as he was about to react, the woman behind him inhaled sharply, breaking out of her trance, and asked Fischer,
“That frail, short... woman—is she your... wife?”
She glanced at Renée inside, seemingly disdainful toward such a woman, but her face was expressionless enough to make her tone ambiguous, as if she was simply expressing doubt.
After living twenty-eight years, Fischer was experiencing female harassment for the first time, leaving him speechless.
Due to geographical reasons, the Sarding Matriarchy didn’t have deep exchanges with Nary. When Fischer attended the Royal Academy, he once received letters from their school, which seemed normal. He never expected his first encounter with a woman from the Sarding Matriarchy to be like this.
“...Yes.”
To escape the strange woman’s harassment, Fischer lied to Arajina, feeling quite troubled.
Sure enough, upon hearing Fischer was already married, a crack appeared in her calm expression. She stepped back regretfully, no longer approaching Fischer’s body.
The men of the Sarding Matriarchy were conservative, and the women were no better. They were warriors of pure love, believing the power of loyalty in love was unbeatable. Naturally, they would not try to steal another’s partner.
Although this man was handsome and not as fragile as the men from her homeland, and his expressionless demeanor suited her tastes and stirred some feelings...
Unfortunately, he was already taken.
The pirates inside the room finished their search and shook their heads at the fat first mate supervising them, reporting nothing found. The fat first mate cast a knowing glance over and, seeing the captain calmly step aside, coughed and said,
“Then we’ll continue to the next room. Sorry for the disturbance.”
Arajina glanced at Fischer one last time, suddenly pointed at his chest. Before Fischer could react, she put her captain’s hat back on and walked toward the next room.
Watching her slowly walk away, Fischer reached into his pocket and found something new inside. He took it out and saw it was a pearl shimmering with a faint glow.
It was a gift from Arajina, a token of her favor toward Fischer.
“......”