Maelstrom - Chapter 4

The intimacy that had begun on top of the table finally came to an end at dawn, on the bed.

Maybe because it had been so long since she’d tangled bodies with Ernest, the insides of her thighs trembled weakly. But despite her body feeling limp and heavy, her mood itself felt refreshed, so Barbara, who only woke around midday, couldn’t help letting out a dry laugh.

It had been a long time since she’d spent a night free from the curse. After leaving Ernest, she’d once again been forced to endure her nights alongside it.

“I told you. Why be so stubborn?”

Ernest, who had been quietly watching the faint smile mixed with relief on her face, lightly tapped the tip of Barbara’s nose as he spoke.

Even when she tried to hide it, the emotions honestly slipping through were unbearably lovable to him.

“Because I never intended to rely on you forever.”

Under the compass of the night sky engraved by God for those drifting like buoys across the sea, during the hours when the beautiful clusters of light shone brightest against the darkness.

Ever since receiving the Siren’s curse, Barbara had hated that time most of all.

The manifested curse squeezed at her heart until it seemed ready to burst it apart. Painful pounding spread through her entire body, and together with the terror of losing her senses, the scent of death seeping into her nose drove Barbara to the edge of a cliff.

It was such a powerful curse that even Barbara, who refused to depend on others, had searched only for Ernest for days on end.

But in the end, Barbara pushed him away. She didn’t want to lean on another person. She didn’t want to become weak.

The sea showed no mercy to the weak, and the only thing waiting the moment one let their guard down was death.

She had no intention of stepping into the jaws of that pitch-black abyss. So she had to become fierce and strong. Even if the curse slowly devoured her.

“That’s part of your charm, though.”

Ernest buried his nose against the crown of Barbara’s head and inhaled deeply. The familiar scent filling his lungs reignited a desire hot enough to burn through his lower abdomen.

The arm wrapped around Barbara’s body began moving with clear intent.

“Stop.”

Barbara coldly slapped away the hand that had grabbed her breast before slowly sliding downward.

“Ahh, I’m willingly letting myself be used for the sake of your curse, so why can’t you take what’s being offered?”

“I’m full. I don’t overeat.”

Barbara cut off his regret-filled voice mercilessly before slipping out of bed. Her slender naked body, not covered by a single thread, shimmered beneath the midday sunlight.

Momentarily captivated by the perfect curves that could stir any man into a frenzy, Ernest’s gaze eventually dropped to the pale fluid thickly dripping between her long legs, and he let out a deeply satisfied sigh.

“Looks like it.”

It was disappointing, but if she said she was already full after taking so much of him, what could he do?

Still, separate from that, the situation below his waist wasn’t very good, so Ernest had no choice but to forcibly divert his attention elsewhere.

“Barbara, what’s the plan for today?”

Barbara, casually wiping herself down before getting dressed, glanced back at Ernest and replied, “Nothing in particular.”

“Good. Then let’s go to Zelia.”

“Why there?”

Springing up from his lazy sprawl, Ernest followed Barbara toward the tea set and wrapped his arms around her from behind as he muttered, “You said you wanted revenge.”

He could feel Barbara’s shoulders stiffen for a moment.

“What does my revenge have to do with going to Zelia?”

Zelia was a small, beautiful port city. Its only pride was its flour-soft sand and transparent emerald seawater. And saying it was its only pride also meant there wasn’t much else worth boasting about.

The peaceful, quiet city was suitable enough for vacations, but not for business. Compared to its beauty, it simply wasn’t very famous.

That was why Barbara herself also hadn’t visited it very many times.

“Because I can find out where those rats are hiding.”

“In Zelia?”

“Yeah.”

So either there was someone in Zelia personally supplying Ernest with information, or there was a navy lighthouse there, an intelligence organization operating beneath the surface.

From Ernest’s brief answer alone, Barbara made a deduction close to the truth and nodded.

“As it happens, we were planning to stop at the port for maintenance anyway.”

“That works out nicely.”

After kissing Barbara on the cheek, Ernest let her go and turned away. Casually rummaging through her wardrobe with practiced familiarity, he found the clothes he’d left behind before and put them on while asking lightly, “Is the map here?”

At his question, Barbara, who had just taken a sip of the tea that had gone completely cold overnight, smiled faintly.

“Wherever it is, one thing’s certain. It’s in my possession.”

“And you don’t intend to hand it over right away.”

“Of course not. You’re not going to tell me why you want it either.”

After fastening the last cufflink, Ernest walked over to Barbara and held out his hand. She obediently handed him her teacup. It was a natural action born from long familiarity, one neither of them consciously noticed.

“I can’t carelessly leak navy information to outsiders.”

Ernest drank the cold bitter tea without even the slightest change in expression.

“That’s disappointing to hear. After you spent all that time chasing after me.”

Watching Barbara pout as if genuinely hurt, Ernest froze with the teacup still in hand. His expressionless face instantly flushed red.

Strength gathered in his lower abdomen, and what had softened immediately stiffened again.

Barbara acting spoiled toward him. What an affectionate and blessed thing that was. Forget the map and everything else, he wanted to throw her down right now and carve himself into every single tooth, every single finger she had. The lower lips he’d spread open so thoroughly throughout the night probably still hadn’t closed yet, so right now….

“What are you thinking about?”

Barbara, who interrupted Ernest’s fantasy, was staring at his lower half as if he were pathetic. The small dark spot dampening the fabric was gradually spreading.

“I’m thinking about throwing you down and fucking you.”

Barbara’s mind usually worked quickly, but at moments like this, she genuinely couldn’t follow his thought process. She couldn’t understand what part of this had gotten him so worked up.

“Hm…. And you still don’t intend to tell me?”

“I may be crazy about you, but I still know how to separate business from personal matters.”

“That’s disappointing.”

“Very disappointing.”

After finishing the last sip, Barbara set the empty teacup down on the tea table and said, “I’ll give you the map once my revenge is safely over.”

And by then, she would probably know. Why the Siren’s curse placed on her only disappeared whenever she was in contact with Ernest.

Since Ernest wouldn’t tell her no matter how much she asked, she had no choice but to figure it out herself. After all, he wanted to keep looking at her for as long as possible.

“But Barbara, don’t you want to take your clothes off again? If it’s too troublesome, then at least the pants.”

Barbara coldly cut off Ernest as he obediently nodded and spoke.

“No.”

Leaving behind the sound of him smacking his lips in disappointment, Barbara stepped out of the captain’s cabin.

For now, revenge came before the curse.

On the deck, she called out to Alfredo, who was chatting with the sailors.

“Alfredo, over here.”

The chief executive of Angelos, Alfredo Grant, immediately climbed up onto the quarterdeck where she stood.

Barbara looked Alfredo over. Even though he worked for a trading company, he carried himself with the immaculate, perfectly composed appearance of a nobleman.

“Did you buy more clothes again?”

The perfectly tailored three-piece suit he wore was so extravagant he could’ve attended a banquet immediately without looking out of place.

“No. I stole them.”

“….”

“You remember those pirates we traded with last time? The ones who kidnapped that noble. I swiped them from there.”

Barbara genuinely didn’t even know where to begin criticizing him.

What kind of merchant stole goods from his own trade partners?

But even if she lectured him, the only answer she’d get back would be something like, ‘Those bastards stole them through looting anyway, so does taking a few really count as a crime?’ Pointless arguments like that would only leave both their mouths tired.

“Right. They look good on you.”

The cravat wrapped tightly around his neck looked suffocating even to the people seeing it, so Barbara tore her gaze away from him and headed toward the quarterdeck.

“But did something happen?”

Unable to hold back any longer, Alfredo, following behind her, finally asked.

“We’re going to Zelia.”

“Why there?”

At the puzzled voice, Barbara turned to look at him.

“To get revenge.”

Alfredo’s eyes widened at the casually tossed-out answer.

“What?”

Barbara smiled as she met Alfredo’s gaze when he asked again as though he couldn’t believe what he’d heard.

“To get revenge.”

“Those bastards are there?”

Unlike before, when he had merely repeated the question, his lowered voice now carried clear anger.

Seeing him like that, Barbara relaxed the tension in her body and leaned against the stern railing. Her long hair fluttered in the warm breeze.

When emotions too overwhelming to handle swept over her, Barbara occasionally let herself relax like this instead. Because there was no one she could completely pour those cruel emotions onto.

“No. We’re going there to get information on them.”

“So the admiral’s helping.”

Quick-witted Alfredo seemed to understand the situation from just that short explanation.

“A hound helping hunt pirates. There’s nothing more reassuring than that.”

“That’s true. But do you really think we’ll be able to find those bastards?”

A long time had passed already. Considering how hard they’d searched without finding even a trace, maybe, being pirates, they were already dead and gone from this world. Crushed beneath the navy’s hands, or killed fighting amongst themselves….

But for some reason, Barbara felt those bastards were still alive and well. Perhaps the poison-like hatred she’d carried for so long was what kept them vividly alive inside her.

Even if Barbara saw their corpses with her own eyes, she probably still wouldn’t believe it.

“Even the dealings with pirates were all to find those bastards, so if they really….”

“Stop, Alfredo.”

Barbara cut him off.

“If they’re dead….”

I can’t breathe.

The moment she imagined those bastards no longer existing in this world, it felt as though the massive stone she’d hidden deep inside her stomach rose up and suddenly crushed her throat shut.

No matter how desperately she gagged and tried to spit it out, only thin saliva came out. A huge black stone.

The moment she tightly shut her eyes, the faces that surfaced became even clearer, so Barbara opened them again and stared out across the endless sea.

“Well, we’ll find out once we get to Zelia.”

Without a word, Alfredo remained beside Barbara.

Barbara running barefoot down the hillside. That sunset-lit day when the fear and despair mixed on her face had given him a chilling feeling briefly surfaced in his mind before fading away.