Maelstrom - Chapter 1

【 The Hound 】

Do you know?

That the emotion called love is so vicious that it can completely change a person’s life.

Ernest Farrell was currently experiencing that very vicious thing firsthand.

“Oh my, thank you.”

That woman who had just boarded the ship.

Just looking at him secretly sneaking onto a pirate ship to see that woman, crammed inside a fish crate reeking so strongly it stung his nose, was enough to show just how powerful that emotion was.

“I-It’s nothing really….”

The sailor who had helped her aboard by taking her hand scratched his head, his face as red as a rotten tomato crushed to a pulp from a single smile from her.

Watching them silently from inside the fish crate, Ernest Farrell clenched his fist tightly.

That fucking bastard.

Whether the woman’s coy tone escaped him or not, seeing that lightweight face looking completely smitten with her just like everyone else made Ernest grind his teeth, but he had to endure it.

That absurdly sensitive woman would definitely get startled and run even at the slightest sign of him. Didn’t he already know that from countless past experiences? He couldn’t lose her again this time.

His life depended on it.

“What the hell, why is there a woman here?”

One of the executives of the Red Flag pirate crew, the ship Ernest was hiding on, frowned the moment he saw her. Judging from the way his lips moved, he looked ready to start spouting some ridiculously outdated superstition.

“Bad lu….”

“That’s enough.”

The ones who stopped the moronic believer in superstition were the people who had boarded the Red Flag pirate ship alongside the woman.

“But…!”

“If you want this deal to end safely, you’d better stop.”

Weapons smuggling.

Pirates needed weapons to engage in piracy, didn’t they? Normally, they looted what they needed, but weapons were an exception.

Even if they got lucky and managed to obtain some, they were always crude, outdated junk that stood no chance against the navy that would chase them to the ends of the earth. They’d get subdued without even putting up a proper fight and dragged back to shore like mangy dogs.

That was why those with enough money always secured weapons first.

“No matter how desperate our situation is, this is absolutely unacceptable!”

The people glaring at the Red Flag pirate executive as he screamed in protest. The woman’s companions.

“Let’s keep our agreements, Angelos!”

Angelos.

The trading company that had recently been growing at a terrifying pace, Angelos.

There were exactly two reasons they were famous.

One was their ability to procure absolutely anything.

And the other was.

“Superstitions… really are fascinating.”

The beautiful woman opened her mouth, and her companions’ shoulders instantly stiffened.

“Throw that bitch off our ship right now!”

Despite the bastard’s shouting, the woman’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Without replying, she merely extended her slender arm gracefully.

Click.

It was obvious where the smooth barrel, as sleek as her face, was pointed.

“You crazy fucking bitch…!”

The chilling sound of the safety being released aimed itself at the bastard spewing vulgar curses. The gun she held carried none of those soft emotions like hesitation or guilt.

Bang!

Once she made a decision, she never looked back.

“….”

Red blood splattered across her pale, smooth face like that of a noble young lady.

The second reason the Angelos Trading Company was famous.

It lay in their merciless methods.

The body with its head blown apart slowly collapsed to the floor. A heavy silence settled over the deafening gunshot.

Ernest Farrell stared at the woman smiling calmly with a gun in hand, his face flushing red.

“If you meet a woman at sea, you’ll have bad luck.”

What a pleasant voice. Sweet.

Right this instant, he wanted to kick apart this stinking fish crate, wrap himself around the woman’s hot tongue, and drink down that sweet saliva.

“There’s nothing wrong with believing in superstitions. Right?”

As if on cue, the wind blew through the woman’s wavy red hair. Her beastlike black eyes curved pleasantly in the cool breeze as well.

Barbara Miller. Owner of the Angelos Trading Company.

The woman who had completely changed Ernest Farrell’s life.

“Just get rid of them.”

At Barbara’s indifferent command, cruel gunshots exploded once more.

This time, the noisy gunfire erupting from other people’s hands made Ernest frown as much as possible.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Barbara’s footsteps were drowned out by those goddamn gunshots.

He’d spent two whole days crammed inside this filthy crate just to see her!

As the situation around him descended into chaos, Ernest finally lost patience and kicked the fish crate open.

“Barbara!”

He needed to look at her a little longer. He wanted her to moisten the thirst that had dried his chest rough.

“D-Damn it, it’s Admiral Farrell! Get back! Protect Lady Barbara!”

Instead of gunshots, frightened voices rang across the bloodstained deck.

“Barbara! My goddess!”

The love he’d desperately held back for her inside the fish crate burst out all at once. It felt like his cock would explode. The emotions filling his body rampaged wildly, making him lunge forward on instinct.

“H-He’s insane…! He’s hard again! He’s hard again!”

“That fucking lunatic pervert!”

Ignoring the horrified stares around him, Ernest leapt toward Barbara.

At moments like this, he appreciated the physical abilities that far surpassed ordinary humans.

“Ernest Farrell! You disgusting bastard!”

The face that had been smiling brightly like a young girl twisted the moment she saw him. But Ernest wasn’t hurt. Instead, he flushed red with delight like a child who had received an unexpected gift.

“Barbara said my name!”

Ernest stared at Barbara as she drew closer and closer, breathing heavily.

This time, he’d finally burrow into her hot body and….

Bang!

A meaningless gunshot tore through his eardrums.

The acrid smoke dispersed weakly.

He thought it might explode, but to think it really would.

Pushed slightly backward by the small explosion, Ernest groped at the gaping hole in his chest.

“Hmm?”

There was nothing there. Just emptiness.

But it didn’t matter.

Ernest once again chased after Barbara as she headed back toward her own ship instead of the Red Flag pirate vessel. With every step he took, the blood pouring out violently began to lessen.

It was a rather eerie sight, but his windswept blond hair and refreshing blue eyes were so beautiful they inspired awe. His handsome features, neat yet cold in impression, blended with those radiant colors to create an almost godlike atmosphere.

“Barbara.”

“….”

Even the way she deliberately ignored him was unbearably cute….

“Haah….”

A languid sigh slowly slipped past Ernest’s lips. But unlike that lazy sigh, the hand grabbing the small trembling shoulders moved swiftly.

Ernest pulled Barbara tightly into his arms and buried his face against her delicate neck. The hole that had been blown open in his chest was already sealed shut again, firm as ever.

“I missed you. If I’d been even a little later, I would’ve crushed that trading company you love so much….”

“Don’t threaten me.”

Ernest pressed his lower body tightly against Barbara’s as he responded to her words with feigned playfulness.

“A threat? How could I ever do something like that to you?”

“What a hypocrite.”

Ernest had been smiling pleasantly now that she was finally in his arms, but suddenly he lifted his head sharply.

“Wait. I almost forgot.”

His expression turning frighteningly cold, Ernest looked around the deck littered with corpses as if searching for something.

“If you’ve got business to take care of, let go of this first.”

“I can’t do that.”

After placing a brief kiss on Barbara’s cheek, he turned his body as though he’d found what he was looking for. Because of that, Barbara, still trapped in his grip, was forcibly turned along with him.

“S-Spare me… please spare me….”

What Ernest had been searching for was a person. The sailor who had held Barbara’s hand and received her lovely smile.

Somehow, he had managed to survive and was hiding among the pile of corpses.

“I can’t do that.”

It was the same repeated phrase, but the emotions behind it were different.

Ernest raised the hand holding Barbara’s gun.

“Please… please…!”

The barrel pointed directly at the sailor’s head.

“Shoot him, Barbara.”

Ernest’s hot breath spread against Barbara’s ear.

Eyes filled with jealousy stared down at the sailor pitifully begging for his life.

“That bastard touched you. I feel like I’m going insane. Kill him and make me feel better.”

“….”

The eyes of Barbara, who never wavered even when committing murder, flickered with an unreadable emotion the moment they landed on Ernest.

It passed by far too quickly. Even Ernest, who looked at no one but her, and Barbara herself failed to notice it.

“Barbara.”

At Ernest’s urging, Barbara pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Bang!

The final gunshot of the day rang out.

Ernest’s cheerful laughter slid strangely across Barbara’s body.

“Ahh…. I’m so excited.”

Ernest Farrell trembled violently once as if overwhelmed with pleasure.

Admiral Farrell of the navy, infamous for his cruelty. He loved Barbara Miller, owner of the Angelos Trading Company, with a terrifying obsession.