Chapter 18: Ambush (3)

Elpian regained consciousness toward dawn.

Claire had been sitting in Elpian’s armchair, reading a book by the light of a lamp. He happened to turn his head just as Elpian opened his eyes.

Even in the dimly lit room, those green eyes were as vivid as if they were emitting their own light. Encountering them triggered a strange rush of emotions in Claire: futility, regret, hatred—and, to his own surprise, a sense of relief so immense it threatened to overshadow everything else.

Claire was startled by his own reaction. Was it simply a physician’s instinct? It seemed he had been secretly hoping for this enemy to wake up.

Elpian blinked a few times before noticing Claire. Without showing any sign of surprise, he opened his dry lips and spoke in a rasping, cracked voice.

“Why didn’t you let me die?”

He spoke as if he had witnessed Claire saving him. Claire hadn’t expected a thank you, but it was hardly the first thing a man should say upon waking.

Elpian didn’t seem to care for an answer; he turned his head away from the silent Claire. Gazing out the window at the breaking dawn, he murmured softly.

“I thought I was dead.”

He was so composed that he didn’t seem particularly pleased to be alive. The attitude grated on Claire’s nerves, making him scowl.

“If you want to die that badly, I can still—”

“Admiral!!!”

Claire couldn’t finish. Miguel, who had been sleeping at the foot of the bed, scrambled up at the sound of voices.

Miguel looked ready to burst into tears of joy at the sight of his awakened leader, but Elpian’s expression remained curt.

“Are you alright? Does anything hurt?”

“Don’t make a scene. My head is throbbing.”

“I’m sorry. Then… would you like something? Anything to eat?”

Elpian shook his head dismissively, but Claire cut in.

“Bring some very thin soup.”

Though he looked displeased, Miguel grumbled and obediently left the room. Seeing the hierarchy shift so naturally, Elpian let out a low chuckle.

“It seems you’re more useful than I thought.”

“Are you just realizing that now?”

Claire answered haughtily, setting his book down and rising from the armchair. He approached the bed, lifted Elpian’s arm, and said, “Try to move your hand.”

As Elpian raised an eyebrow, Claire added coldly, “I was hoping you might have luckily turned into a cripple.”

Elpian smirked and wiggled his fingers. Judging by his reactions, his nerves seemed intact. Claire grumbled with a look of disappointment.

“Damnably fine, aren’t you? Since I’ve done this much for you, I assume you’ll repay the debt?”

“Now that I know how useful you are, I have no intention of letting you go.”

At the sharp reply, Claire’s face contorted.

“I really should have just let you die.”

“You should have finished me when you had the chance.”

“The chance is still ongoing, you know. Right now, at any moment, I could take your neck—”

Before the sentence was finished, Claire was grabbed by the arm and pulled down. In an instant, Elpian had pinned him beneath his body, looking down at him with amusement. Despite his severe injuries, his grip was as powerful as ever. Moving like that must have caused agonizing pain in his abdominal muscles, yet he showed no sign of it.

“You have no chance, brat.”

“You monster.”

“A monster you brought back to life.”

“Shut up. More importantly—let go, you idiot! You’re bleeding.”

Claire snapped, looking at Elpian’s shoulder. The sudden movement had reopened the wound, and blood was seeping through the clean bandages.

Pinned as he was, Claire reached out and grabbed a wet towel draped over the water bucket. Even as he wiped the blood and reapplied medicine to stop the bleeding, Elpian didn’t flinch. Seeing the man actually looking intrigued, Claire shook his head in disbelief.

“Are you paralyzed to the sensation of pain?”

“Does screaming and twisting my face make the pain go away?”

“You’re not human. It’s almost funny that a beast like you actually bleeds.”

“Every man is half beast and half devil.”

“…Don’t quote Whitefield, you’re a pirate.”

“You’re half beast too, and the rest is devil.”

The emerald eyes looking down at Claire held a strangely sentimental light, perhaps due to the injury. He was much paler than usual, but there was a certain vitality in his expression that made him seem like a different person. Claire felt an unfamiliar sensation.

Elpian raised a slender white finger and traced a line down the center of Claire’s face, as if dividing it. The gesture was oddly suggestive; embarrassed, Claire turned his gaze away. Elpian then grabbed Claire’s chin, tilting his head as if admiring a piece of art, and chuckled.

“For the beastly side, the pretty side is better. I prefer the right.”

Claire’s face flushed at the sensual tone. Between the touch on his lips and those suggestive eyes, he suddenly thought the man might kiss him. Claire hurriedly turned his face away and spoke in a deliberate, harsh tone.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Has the blood left your brain? Have you lost your mind?”

Elpian chuckled, let go of Claire, and lay back down beside him.

“You really are a man with no sense of romance.”

“Did you honestly think I’d try to set a ‘mood’ with a piece of trash like you?”

As Claire growled while gripping Elpian’s shoulder, the door opened. Miguel, entering with Mary Read, saw the two of them and cried out, his eyes wide.

“What! You! What are you doing to the Admiral?”

“I wasn’t doing anything! I was checking his wounds!”

Answering bluntly, Claire climbed off the bed. Unlike Miguel, Mary Read smirked as she placed a bowl of soup on the table next to Elpian’s head.

“Did we interrupt a private moment?”

“Stop talking nonsense! I’m warning you!”

“But your face is so red.”

While Claire was being teased by Mary Read, Miguel was attempting to spoon-feed Elpian, only to be rejected.

“Do I look like a corpse that can’t move an arm? I’ll call if I need you. Get out.”

At the cold dismissal, Miguel retreated outside, dejected. Claire was about to leave as well when Elpian directed a question to Mary Read.

“We are at sea. Where are we?”

“Yes, Admiral. It’s been about twelve hours since we left Porto. We are near Lisbon, but we’re staying further out from the coast than usual.”

“I see.”

“Shall we proceed directly to Las Palmas?”

Elpian’s expression hardened, but he nodded reluctantly. Even after Mary Read left to relay the orders to Giltre, Claire remained.

“Hey.”

When Claire called out, Elpian glanced at him. Sensing the look that asked why he was still standing there, Claire grumbled internally about the man’s cold-blooded ingratitude and asked his question.

“Who attacked you?”

The slightly softened green eyes turned icy once more.

“There is no need for you to know.”

“Why? Are you afraid that if I find out, I’ll contact them and form a revenge alliance?”

Claire approached the mocking Elpian and thrust out an object he had pulled from his pocket. Elpian stared at it with a cold expression.

“This is the bullet I took out of you. It’s British made.”

“…”

“You just need to confirm it for me.”

“Confirm the safety of the rat?”

Claire’s expression froze. While looking at the bullet earlier that morning, he had speculated whether Henry, instead of going to London, had crossed into Portugal to organize people to ambush Elpian. If that were the case, it would have been better not to save him. But having already done it, he felt stuck, so he had waited for Elpian to wake up to verify his fears.

He knew the man had many enemies, so the probability of it being Henry was low, but Elpian’s cold smile made his heart sink.

“Did you… kill Henry?”

“Do you regret saving my life now?”

Claire felt something snap inside him. He immediately screamed, drew the dagger he had been hiding, and lunged at him. In an instant, however, his arm was caught and the dagger was snatched away.

Pinning the struggling Claire down, Elpian said icily, “If you don’t use a chance when you have it, you end up regretting it.”

“…”

“Since you saved my life, I will forgive you for pointing a blade at me—just this once. But there will never be a second time.”

As tears welled in Claire’s beautiful eyes, Elpian wore a look of annoyance before speaking softly.

“When you meet him again…”

When you meet him again? Did that mean he was still alive? Claire’s trembling subsided slightly. As he listened intently, Elpian continued, stroking Claire’s cheek.

“You won’t be happy to see him at all, Claire.”

The way Elpian said his name for the first time left a strange lingering feeling. Claire was shrouded in confusion by the cryptic words, but Elpian closed his mouth as if he had no intention of explaining further.