Chapter 1: Elpian Temike Capfrancis (1)

“Are you planning to keep rolling around on the floor like that?”

The person speaking in English with a heavy foreign accent was a woman with dark, tanned skin.

The reason Claire couldn’t even think about getting up despite her remark was that he was too shocked.

‘A woman on a pirate ship.’

According to the common sense he knew, such a thing was impossible.

While Claire held onto a flicker of hope that this might not be a pirate ship after all, she continued to chatter as she stepped into the room.

“Now that you’re awake, you should be quick about finding a way to survive; you ended up in that state because you were just dazed. No one looks after a kidnapped brat like you.”

As she spoke, she set something down on the table.

It was a loaf of black bread and a dirty water bottle.

It seemed she had brought them for him to eat, but Claire had no appetite whatsoever.

Instead of approaching the table, he asked a question.

“Who are you? And where on earth is this?”

“Seeing as you’re more curious about that than food, I guess you haven’t starved enough yet.”

She spoke harshly, but she was smiling.

After perching herself on the edge of the table, she gave the only chair in front of her a light kick.

It seemed she was telling him to sit.

While it wasn’t a time to worry about appearances, he felt it was unsightly to remain sprawled on the floor in front of a woman.

Claire forced himself up and sat in the chair across from her.

And instead of eating the bread, he began to observe her.

She was a woman with large eyes and a sensual look, appearing to be of Latin descent.

The arms revealed by her white shirt were toned and firm, and they were marked with small tattoos.

Her dark skin was rough, but her age seemed to be in her early twenties, likely similar to Claire’s.

“What are you staring at? Hurry up and eat. I have to take the water bottle back.”

She urged him, but Claire didn’t even glance at the food before opening his mouth.

“Rather than food, I want to grasp my current situation and location. I need to figure out a way to survive without losing my mind.”

The woman made a strange face and stared at Claire.

Then, she suddenly said something quite unexpected.

“I thought this while you were unconscious too, but you’re quite pretty.”

He knew he had good features, but he hadn’t been called “pretty” since becoming an adult.

Moreover, being told so directly by a woman he was meeting for the first time left him flustered.

“Pale skin and blond hair that looks like it could melt. Besides, I’ve never seen such vivid blue eyes before. You’re like a high-bred cat. You must have made quite a few noble ladies cry.”

She leaned her face close to Claire’s, scrutinizing him carefully.

As she said, he had received more than a few courtships from women, but Claire, who was still naive in such matters, felt his face turn red.

Seeing that innocent reaction, Mary Read burst into a fit of giggles.

“Fine, I like you. I’ll save you some time. You said you wanted to know your situation and location?”

Claire forgot his pride and nodded quickly.

After laughing a bit more, she spoke plainly.

“This is the North Sea, and in two days, this ship will arrive at Plymouth Harbor.”

According to her, he wasn’t completely far from London yet.

However, his relief was short-lived as devastating words reached Claire’s ears.

“And I’m Mary Read. A pirate of this fleet.”

“A pirate?”

“That’s right.”

She spoke firmly.

He had heard stories of female pirates, but he had thought they only existed in tales.

Claire murmured in despair.

“Then I…”

“You were kidnapped. The medical officer on our ship died suddenly because his frostbite turned for the worse.”

If pirates kidnapped someone instead of killing them immediately, there was usually a chance of being released for a ransom.

However, if he had been kidnapped to serve as a medical officer, that hope was finished.

A medical officer on a pirate ship—it was a pirate ship with strange standards.

Mary Read’s story continued to flow into the ears of the despairing Claire.

“Our Admiral has a rule about not sailing without a medical officer. So, we stopped at London thinking we might pick up some back-alley quack if necessary. And just then, a man carrying a medical bag came wandering into a tavern at the docks.”

Entering that place had indeed been his fatal mistake.

He should never have gone into such a filthy tavern.

Claire felt a deep sense of regret as he asked another question.

“Did you kidnap me from there?”

“Yeah. We knocked you out while you were swaying from the drink and loaded you onto the ship. But someone must have hit you in the wrong spot, because you were unconscious for two days; there were a lot of rumors that you were going to die. If you hadn’t come to today, you would have been tossed into the sea as fish bait by tomorrow.”

Mary Read continued speaking nonchalantly, regardless of whether Claire’s expression grew dark.

Claire suddenly remembered Henry and asked urgently.

“Then Henry… what happened to Henry?”

“Henry? You mean the man who was with you?”

She scratched her cheek disinterestedly and spoke.

“That man was probably dragged along too. He’s likely tied to a post somewhere on the deck.”

“What do you plan to do with him?”

“How should I know? Since they tied him up instead of killing him right away, I guess they’re planning to release him for a ransom or something.”

It was a relief that he wasn’t dead, but if he had been tied to a post for days, he would be physically weakened.

Worrying about Henry, Claire became completely dejected.

Mary Read spoke as if to comfort him.

“Still, you aren’t tied up, and your limbs are intact, right? Consider yourself lucky. Besides, there’s a line of guys who are dying to get on this ship.”

Claire had absolutely no intention of becoming one of the fools who wanted to be a pirate, so he spoke stiffly.

“I’m lucky to be kidnapped onto some pirate ship?”

“This isn’t just some crude pirate ship. Watch your mouth.”

Mary Read’s friendly attitude turned fierce as if she were about to pounce.

“We are pirates, but this ship belongs to a privateer fleet that has received a letter of marque from the Queen of England. If you call it ‘some pirate ship’ again, I’ll break those thin fingers of yours one by one.”

At the phrase “privateer fleet” from Mary Read’s mouth, Claire’s face froze.

There was only one privateer fleet that had received letters of marque from the Queen of England.

The name Claire thought of was voiced directly by her.

“Because this is the fleet of Capfrancis, the King of the Caribbean.”

After Mary Read left, Claire remained locked in that dim room all day.

Just in case, he cautiously pushed against the door, but naturally, it didn’t open.

That didn’t add any more despair to Claire’s heart.

If what Mary Read said was true, he was in the middle of the sea anyway, so he wouldn’t be able to escape.

He remained sunk in gloomy thoughts.

‘The Capfrancis fleet. Then is this ship headed for the Caribbean?’

If he were dragged all the way there, it would be the end.

He knew well from various accounts about the rough security and savagery of the New World.

Currently, Claire’s only possessions were the shirt and pants he was wearing; even his shoes seemed to have been stolen, as they were nowhere to be found.

Even if he managed to escape in the Caribbean with nothing, he could see no future other than being sold to s*ave traders, starving to death, or being captured by pirates again.

‘Somehow, I have to escape before being dragged to the Caribbean.’

If he escaped while still in Europe, there would be a way to contact England.

His deep contemplation for an escape led to one conclusion.

‘I must save Henry no matter what.’

Unlike Claire, who had never held anything sharper than a scalpel, Henry was a soldier who had gained fame in India.

He wasn’t just an ordinary soldier; he was a brave man whose hobby was hunting wild beasts and who had become a major before the age of thirty by achieving brilliant feats in battle.

The medals he had received were innumerable, and several taxidermy pieces he had sent were decorating Claire’s house.

If he could save him, a path to escape might open somehow.

That was the only hope in his current state.

‘Once the sun sets, let’s try to get out of this room somehow.’

There would be an opportunity when it got dark.

Claire forced himself to chew the unappealing bread to build up his strength while listening to the sounds outside.

Occasionally he heard the sound of people passing by, but for the most part, it was quiet.

Whether it was because he had woken up in the morning or because of the boredom and anxiety, it took a very long time for the sun to set.

Finally, it was when the sunset began to dye the room red through the small crack.

The door to the room opened, and Mary Read entered.

“Get up. The Admiral told me to bring you.”