Chapter 42
The Pirate King, rewarding and praising those who participated in the mission.
Watching this, Ambasha began to feel a sense of anticipation.
Though she couldn’t compare to the adults who had spoken earlier, she too had successfully infiltrated the auction hall where the Grand Auction was taking place and stolen a considerable number of auction items.
Even in a situation that could have turned into a major crisis, she had devised her own plan and executed it herself.
Although things hadn’t gone as smoothly as Franklin had suggested, she had still managed to use her wits to create an opening and succeeded.
Thinking that this would surely make her father proud, Ambasha quietly waited for their turn.
But then…
‘…Huh?’
As Franklin’s turn came, the atmosphere suddenly shifted strangely.
Having spent over 90% of her life as a slave, Ambasha instinctively knew.
This kind of atmosphere was similar to when someone had made a grave mistake.
‘What… what’s going on…? Why…?’
She could sense it intuitively, but at the same time, she couldn’t understand the situation from her perspective.
Elkana, standing beside her, felt the same.
The only ones who seemed to understand were Franklin, the person directly involved, and Magellan.
As Ambasha and the others stood there in confusion and doubt, the Pirate King spoke in a calm voice.
“Explain yourselves. Why did you leave your assigned post? Why were you in the auction hall instead of the warehouse area at that time?”
“!”
There was no anger in his voice.
But the coldness in his tone, as if he were interrogating them, made Ambasha’s tongue stiffen, and she couldn’t say a word.
This felt so different from the kind father she knew.
Suddenly, she began to worry that there might be something wrong with what she had done.
Ambasha couldn’t figure out what to say or how to explain herself.
At that moment…
“Well… you see…”
Elkana, sensing the unusual atmosphere, spoke up cautiously on behalf of Ambasha, who was at a loss for words.
“Actually… while we were carrying out the mission, we happened to run into Admiral Arcroyal. I had a past connection with her, and since she didn’t know our true identities… I thought we could use her to our advantage.”
Elkana glanced subtly at Ambasha.
Seeing her still looking uneasy, Elkana continued, omitting some details.
She explained how they had manipulated Arcroyal and used her to infiltrate the auction hall, stealing the auction items in the process.
She didn’t mention the arguments they had along the way.
“With Ambasha’s help, we managed to infiltrate the auction hall. Though the security was tight and it was quite difficult… we eventually stole the auction items and were on our way out when we ran into you, Pirate King.”
“…”
Elkana finished her explanation.
The Pirate King remained silent for a moment.
Then…
“So, in other words… you acted out of greed for glory, doing something that wasn’t part of the plan. And in the process, you got injured, which delayed your escape.”
Remine spoke in a cold, hard voice.
The icy anger beneath her words made Elkana feel as if her entire body had frozen.
“Well… that’s true, but… we did succeed in stealing the auction items. Even though we took some damage, it was a small price to—”
“Elkana!”
Remine’s aura flared, sending a chilling sensation through the air.
Despite her nature of healing and protection, at that moment, her aura felt like thousands of needles flying toward them.
“Did you just say it was a small price? Let me ask you this. What if the Pirate King hadn’t found you? Could you have escaped Arcroyal while injured?”
“Well… that…”
“Even if you had managed to escape, what if we had already left by the time you got out? Or worse, what if Arcroyal had caught you and tortured you, uncovering our entire plan? Would those auction items, which weren’t even part of the original objective, have been worth risking everything?”
“…”
Elkana and Ambasha had no response to Remine’s words.
Though they had come up with their own plan, it had only worked because the situation had gone favorably.
If things had gone even slightly wrong, they could have fallen into a bottomless pit.
In fact, they had almost done so.
Arcroyal’s instincts were sharper and more ruthless than they had anticipated…
Moreover, the injuries they sustained had caused trouble not only for Franklin and Magellan but also for the Pirate King and Remine.
No matter how good the outcome, considering the countless traps they had narrowly avoided, as Magellan had said earlier, they truly had no right to complain if they were scolded.
Only now did they realize this.
As they hung their heads in shame, Remine turned to the Pirate King, who remained expressionless.
“As you’ve heard, their reckless actions nearly ruined everything. Please pass judgment.”
“Hmm…”
The Pirate King seemed uncomfortable.
It seemed he was hesitant to punish those who had just become pirates.
However, Remine spoke firmly.
“Pirate King, rewards and punishments are the way of the world and the rules you’ve set for this ship. They’ve made a mistake, so they must be punished. If we don’t correct this behavior now, they’ll cause even bigger problems later.”
“…Sigh…”
The Pirate King let out a deep sigh.
Though he was reluctant, he couldn’t go against the rules he himself had set.
For the sake of order on the ship, and for their own education, he had to do what needed to be done.
“We are pirates. Surrounded by enemies, every mission is like going to war. The most important thing for a soldier in war is to faithfully carry out their orders. If they disobey, they must be punished.”
“…”
“Ugh…”
The Pirate King’s words about punishment.
At this, the two of them… especially Ambasha, who had initiated the whole thing, began to tremble, regretting her recklessness.
There was nothing unfair about it.
This was entirely her own doing.
Because she had ignored Franklin’s warnings and acted out of foolish greed, Ambasha began to blame herself, tears welling up in her eyes.
At that moment…
“Wait… please, Captain…”
Franklin stepped forward, shielding the two of them.
Remine asked coldly, “What are you doing, Franklin? You’re not thinking of breaking the rules out of mere sympathy, are you?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just that I have something to say…”
At that moment, Franklin felt her words catch in her throat.
She was honestly afraid.
Afraid of how she would be treated after saying this… or rather, how the Pirate King would view her afterward.
Her heart felt like it was being squeezed, but she pushed down those feelings and spoke.
“I… I was the one who ordered it. The idea to use Arcroyal, to send them into the auction hall… it was all my decision as their leader.”
“!…”
“Wh…what…”
Franklin’s trembling voice fabricated the truth.
Ambasha and Elkana, their faces frozen stiff, tried to say something, but Magellan stopped them.
Meanwhile, Remine, watching the situation, asked in a cold, calm voice, “Is that… really true?”
“…Yes. They were just following my unreasonable orders. I should take full responsibility.”
“But why? Knowing your usual personality, that doesn’t seem…”
“It’s… I was also greedy for achievements… It was such a rare mission. I thought it would be a waste to just carry out a diversion… so… I made a mistake.”
“…Is that… really all?”
“Yes, that’s… all.”
“…”
Franklin’s declaration was final.
Seeing this, Ambasha and Elkana were struck with an even deeper shock than when they had started being scolded.
Franklin had taken full responsibility for their mistakes.
Even though she had opposed Ambasha’s plan from the beginning and tried to stop her, Franklin’s actions now filled the two with a deep sense of guilt.
But Franklin herself felt strangely at peace.
“…What will you do… Pirate King?”
“…You said it yourself. No exceptions. Carry it out.”
The Pirate King spoke in a hard voice.
As Franklin prepared to be whipped as part of her punishment, held by the others, she quietly smiled at Ambasha and Elkana, who were looking at her with worry and guilt in their eyes.
—
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