Chapter 16: Ambush (1)

“So, shall we take these off now?”

The man flashed a suggestive smile, baring his teeth. Claire’s pale brow furrowed deeply in disgust.

“There’s no need. You look perfectly fine, so get out.”

“Hey now, how can you tell without looking? I’ve got a pretty deep wound right here…”

As the man snickered and began to undo his trousers, Claire let out a heavy sigh and pulled open a drawer.

“Do you know something?”

“What?”

“When there’s a wound on those parts, usually we have to amputate.”

As he spoke, Claire pulled out Elpian’s sword from the drawer and held it up to the sunlight. The well-tempered blade gleamed with a chilling, eerie light. The man’s swarthy face froze instantly.

“Ah, never mind, never mind. Come to think of it, I think I’m okay.”

“Why is that? Let me have a look. I might need to cut it off quickly before it rots.”

“I said I’m fine! There’s no wound!”

The man shoved Claire aside as he approached with the sword and scrambled out of the room. Mary Read, who had been sitting on a crate outside eating an apple, walked in cackling.

“Oh, look at you! Handling them like a pro now. Yesterday you were panicking and clinging to me.”

“I never ‘clung’ to you,” Claire replied stiffly, putting the sword back in the drawer. As he stepped out of the room, Mary Read followed.

“Are you giving up for the day?”

“This is a waste of time.”

Mary Read patted his shoulder as if to say ‘told you so.’ The two headed up to the deck toward the hammock where Giltre usually idled. That area was deserted and quiet.

“Hehe. See? I told you you’d regret it.”

“I didn’t think it would be like this. Aren’t there any… normal patients?”

“If they were normal, they wouldn’t be patients, Claire.”

Mary Read laughed heartily, satisfied with her own humor. Claire caught the apple she tossed him and plopped down onto the deck.

“In the end, I just got teased all day again.”

“Ahahaha. Honestly, we’ve already docked in Porto. Who’s going to get an exam from a pirate ship doctor when there are real clinics on land?”

“If you knew that, you should have told me sooner!” Claire protested, his face flushing.

It had been two weeks since they arrived in Porto. He had started his medical practice with such high ambitions, but almost no pirates sought him out. And even those who did weren’t actually sick.

They were either filthy men asking, “My back is itchy, can you scratch it?” or “My toes smell terrible, is this a disease?” or lewd bastards saying, “Take a look at this, what do you think?” or even, “Do for me what you did for the Admiral.” Claire was utterly repulsed.

“There isn’t a better doctor than me in all of Porto. I was a top-tier physician in the capital of the British Empire!”

“Sure, sure. Just eat your apple.”

Mary Read patted his back like one would soothe a complaining child. Biting into the apple with a sullen expression, Claire stared toward the harbor. Even though he tried to resign himself, it was agonizing to have the land of freedom right before his eyes and be unable to step onto it.

They had arrived in Porto the day after he stood up to Elpian. He had lingered around Elpian, hoping for permission to go ashore, but the only response was a cold: “Don’t try any clever tricks and stay put.” Then, without a backward glance, the man had left the ship.

“That damn bastard. Won’t even let me off the ship.”

“You talked back to the Admiral. Isn’t this actually quite a generous punishment?”

Mary Read lay back in the hammock and spoke cheerfully, but quickly added when she saw Claire’s miserable expression, “At least he didn’t tie you up.”

“Rotting in this cramped ship is no different from being tied up!”

Claire shouted loudly, glaring up at the crow’s nest where Miguel sat, eyes fixed on him like a hawk. Given the distance, Miguel surely heard him, but he didn’t move an inch.

“Still, you’re free to move around. Isn’t that better than his situation, having to sit up there and guard you?”

“What is he even guarding me for? It’s not like he cares if I leave or stay.”

“The Admiral’s orders are absolute. And he probably wants to see you beg him for permission to go ashore.”

“I’d rather stay locked up than beg for a favor.”

“That’s for the best. If you actually left the ship, he’d definitely try to ‘finish’ you somewhere quiet.”

Mary Read spoke casually, but a chill ran down Claire’s spine.

“Why does he hate me so much?”

“You defied the Admiral and lived. Plus, the Admiral clearly looks out for you, yet you despise him. He has plenty of reasons to hate you.”

“Who is ‘looking out’ for me? That bastard who threatens me, hits me, and keeps me prisoner?”

“That is looking out for you in his world. Anyone else who acted like you would have been shark bait or lost a limb or two by now.”

Mary Read flicked Claire’s nose as he continued to look unconvinced.

“Anyway, just stick close to me and Miguel won’t be able to touch you. Don’t go wandering off alone.”

“Sigh. I’m sorry for making you rot on the ship with me.”

“Don’t worry about it. I like being with you.”

She meant it platonically, but because Claire was so innocent, his face turned red. Seeing this, she burst out laughing.

“What’s this? Are you falling for me?”

“Of course not!”

“Good, don’t. You already have the Admiral.”

“I haven’t even seen his face in days! Stop trying to link me with that damn man.”

“I’m telling you, the Admiral is being nice to you. Just accept it.”

Claire snapped at her, but Mary Read stubbornly held her ground. As they exchanged idle chatter, the sun began to dip below the horizon.

“The sun’s going down. Giltre should be back soon. Let’s stop being angry and have a little party on this empty ship.”

As she predicted, about thirty minutes later, Giltre appeared on the gangplank. Claire expected him to look jolly and drunk, but unexpectedly, his expression was grim. As they approached, Giltre spoke immediately.

“I heard some things in Porto. The political situation is unstable. Apparently, there was a massive engagement near the Canary Islands.”

Claire knew the Canary Islands were near Las Palmas, off the northwest coast of Africa. It was the destination of this fleet and the place where they were supposed to rendezvous with Elkain. Mary Read’s eyes went wide.

“The Canaries? Who was fighting?”

“A Spanish fleet engaged a mysterious group of pirates. They say the Spanish were defeated and retreated.”

“The Spanish Navy? Defeated by pirates? That’s impossible!”

“You know very well it is possible,” Giltre said significantly. Mary Read’s face hardened.

“You don’t mean… the Captain?”

“Yeah. It looks like we aren’t the only ones who arrived early.”

Claire understood the implication even without them finishing the sentence. There weren’t many pirate groups capable of defeating the Spanish Navy. The King of the Caribbean, Elkain Capfrancis, was already close to the Mediterranean.

“Why would the Spanish fleet… were they after the tribute?”

“Probably. They likely had intelligence that we come this way every two years.”

“So they laid an ambush? Even for the Captain, fighting a warship wouldn’t have been easy. Is he alright?”

Giltre lowered his voice. “Rumors are spreading like wildfire in Las Palmas that Captain Elkain was wounded.”

“The Captain is wounded?”

“Yes. And they say it’s quite serious.”

Claire, who had been listening with detachment, opened his eyes wide at this. The news that the King of the Caribbean was hurt was massive, but the aftermath was the real concern. If he were to die and Elpian succeeded him, it would be a disaster for Claire.

“Then what happens to us now?”

“Who knows? We’ll likely have to rendezvous, so we’ll probably set sail soon.”

“What about the Admiral? Any word? When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know that either. He went out saying he had things to investigate and we haven’t heard from him since.”

Giltre shook his head.

The three of them forgot all about their “party” and went into the mess hall to talk seriously about what was coming. It was past midnight when a commotion broke out outside, followed by the sound of a group of people rushing in.

“What’s going on?”

“Is the Admiral back?”

Curious as ever, Mary Read jumped up and ran out. A moment later, a scream erupted from her.

Claire and Giltre bolted out of the room. They saw Mary Read running toward them, her large eyes brimming with tears, her face deathly pale. She grabbed Claire’s arm.

“Claire, hu—hurry! Come quickly!”

“What? Where?”

“The Admiral… he’s been ambushed.”

Claire’s lips parted slightly. In the familiar corridor, the metallic scent of blood stung his nose.