[The Execution Date for the Leader of the Caelum Pirates Has Been Set!]
I looked down at the newspaper in my hand.
The execution was scheduled for three days later. Considering the notoriety of the Caelum Pirates, it was quite a swift decision. The high-ranking naval officers seemed eager to showcase their strength and eliminate the pirates as quickly as possible.
“Isn’t this is a great day, Dr. Akera?”
Said the naval ensign next to me. And I nodded absentmindedly.
“Starting with Caelum, then all pirates will be eradicated, and this age of darkness will come to an end.”
The ‘age of darkness’ referred to the present time when pirates were rampant. It was no exaggeration to say that every ship encountered at sea could be a pirate ship.
“Dr. Akera, are you feeling unwell?”
“Yes? Not at all. How could I didn’t feel good on the day the ‘Tyrant of the Sea’ was captured?”
How could I didn’t feel good? That wretched man was finally caught and would soon meet his end. Today was the best day except for the actual day of his execution.
“Just thinking about the end of that detestable Caelum makes me feel so relieved. They were like cockroaches of the sea.”
“Well, I thought they were the closest to reaching ‘the end of the sea.’”
“Are you saying you regret it?”
“No, of course not! It’s a relief that such trash didn’t get there!”
“…Then please watch your words.”
I was sure that no one in the navy was happier about the downfall of the Caelum Pirates than I was. It was only natural.
‘That’s what you get.’¹
Within the navy, I was known as Mare Akera, daughter of Colonel Dandel Akera and a naval physician with the rank of warrant officer. But in reality, I had a secret: I was once ‘the child of Caelum.’
To be precise, I was an abandoned child who, up until ten years ago, had been with the Caelum Pirates.
‘No, I’m not really their child. I was the only one foolish enough to think of them as a family.’
Since I was about four years old, I had been with the Caelum Pirates. I was incompetent, but the crew accepted me, promising to always be together no matter what.
But ten years ago, I learned that was all a lie.
They abandoned me on a remote island as soon as I caught a contagious disease that was plaguing the entire Western and Eastern continents. Given that there was no cure at the time, I understood their actions to some extent. It would have been better if they had left me the first time I told them to abandon me.
“What are you talking about! We would never abandon you!”
In truth, I feared they might truly abandon me. I couldn’t forget their rough but warm hands that comforted me as much as my fear of abandonment. The wounds they left behind were as deep as the comfort they provided.
They left me on an uninhabited island, where only traces of human life remained, without saying a word.
‘Yet, here I am, alive, proving that life is unpredictable.’
With nothing to do but await death, I was lucky enough to discover a cure for the disease and was rescued by a navy ship after recovering.
The man commanding that ship was none other than Dandel Akera, my adoptive father.
He seemed to value my knowledge of the cure and adopted me, giving me the name Mare.
After that, I joined the navy without any exams, thanks to my discovery of the cure, and received medical training.
‘I learned a lot here. Previously, I was definitely incompetent, which is probably why those people discarded me so easily.’
Being useless means there’s no value in keeping you. They must have secretly resented my inability to contribute. As I grew older, my presence must have been more irritating to them. Ten years in the navy made me realize this bitter truth.
The Caelum Pirates, after I was gone, thrived and became the worst pirates of the time, even burning the Jolly Roger of Dunkin Knut, who was known as the king of the sea, proving how much of a burden I was to them.
‘Well, it’s amusing that those people who flourished have fallen so quickly.’
The Caelum Pirates were one day captured and brought to headquarters, with their ship half-destroyed and only the captain surviving.
Just as I folded the newspaper and placed it on the table, a naval lieutenant approached me.
“Dr. Akera, it’s an order from the Admiral. You are to immediately diagnose the condition of the Caelum captain, Nereus Caelum.”
“…From the Admiral?”
The navy had many ranks, but there was only one person in the Western Continent who could be called an Admiral.
The Sixth Family. Nobles who have been part of the Western Continent’s history since the beginning, they were called kings, distinct from the emperor. One of the Sixth Family once protected the land bordering the sea, which is said to be the foundation of the current imperial navy.
It was said that anyone with the blood of the Sixth Family inherited special powers. This was unusual, as such powers were typically not hereditary. Furthermore, in that family, there was always a seer with the power to control water or the sea.
‘So they say the Admiral who captured Captain Caelum is such a seer, one who can command the sea.’
I couldn’t understand why such a person would want me to diagnose his condition. Although I was a naval doctor, I wasn’t the most skilled one. Even though I was from the Wittar Medical Association, my rank wasn’t particularly high.
‘Could someone have discovered my past connection with that man?’
That would be unfair. I did have a connection with them in the past, but it was just that—past. I truly hated them now.
‘No, there’s no way. No one has noticed for ten years….’
With mixed feelings, I accepted the task. Not that I had the right to refuse anyway.
Nereus Caelum was imprisoned in the basement of the headquarters. Pressed by the urgency of the situation, I immediately headed for the underground prison.
The jubilation outside seemed false; as I descended, the cheers and lively atmosphere vanished, replaced by darkness, dampness, and a chilling cold reminiscent of winter.
In the darkest and coldest corner, at the lowest level of the prison, he was there. Bound in chains, barely breathing.
“Nereus Caelum.”
“………….”
In my memory from ten years ago, Nereus was always an imposing and robust man. He was the kind of man who would look at the world with a relaxed smile, never bending or breaking.
‘How pathetic.’
It served him right. I inwardly mocked him with all my might. I had watched to see how happy he would be after abandoning me, but in the end, he ended up like this.
I couldn’t even muster a smile.
‘What am I doing, to someone who won’t even recognize me.’
“…Lala?”
“…..…!”
However, a voice betrayed my belief that he wouldn’t recognize me. ‘Lala’, that was my old nickname. The Caelum pirates had shortened my four-syllable name to the two-syllable ‘Lala.’
‘But you never called me that. Even when everyone else did, you….’
His fading eyes focused on me.
“Ah, it can’t be….”
“………….”
“There’s no way our princess would be in a place like this….”
My mouth felt dry. I stepped back from the cell door and addressed the guard.
“His condition is worse than expected. He might not make it to the execution. Could you fetch some medicine from the infirmary?”
“What? But Dr. Akera, it’s dangerous to be alone with that trash.”
I nodded towards the bound Nereus.
“He’s practically a corpse.”
Convinced by my words, the guard agreed to leave briefly. Once alone in the corridor, I opened the cell door and slowly approached Nereus.
“Polaris Caelum.”
His eyes widened in shock at the sound of that name from my lips.
“Why? Now that you’re about to die, you finally think of me?”
I sneered at Nereus with all the contempt I could muster.
“Yes, I’m that wretched ‘Lala.’”
I wondered what kind of expression he would make, what kind of emotions he would feel upon hearing this. Would he feel betrayed?
‘No, he abandoned me. He wouldn’t feel betrayed.’
“Lala….”
Nereus extended his bony hand. But I stood just beyond his reach, wary of a possible attack from the chained man.
“You’re alive. I knew it… I knew you’d survive.”
“………!”
However, his words and expression were so unexpected that I was left breathless.
“Yes, I knew it… Even when you weren’t there when we returned, I believed you’d still be alive.”
“What are you talking about?”
“…Didn’t anyone… tell you anything?”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
His voice grew weaker and more labored. I recognized that sound; it was the sound of someone nearing death.
I quickly closed the distance between us and grabbed him by the collar.
“Speak clearly, what are you talking about?”
Gasping for breath, Nereus opened the locket he wore around his neck and handed me its contents.
“I found this for you… but now it’s useless… it cures all diseases….”
“Nereus…!”
He smiled and caressed my cheek with his cold, skeletal hand.
“At least I can brag this to those who went ahead….”
He couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed. The sound of his fall was pitifully weak, not fitting my memory of him at all.
‘So, you didn’t abandon me?’
But why did it happen this way? Why did I live ten years consumed by self-destructive hatred, and you searched for me?
I looked down at the ‘herb’ in my hand and laughed bitterly.
‘This isn’t a medicinal herb….’
It wasn’t an herb but the extremely poisonous plant ‘Belsomnea,’ which supposedly brings instant death upon ingestion. It was so rare that it had become a legend, existing only in texts today.
‘What a foolish man.’
He likely heard some tale about this being a treasure or a cure-all and chased after it recklessly. Nereus always charged ahead if the crew agreed.
While I stared at what was in my hand, I heard hurried footsteps approaching from a distance.
“Mare Akera! It’s has been discovered that you were a member of the Caelum Pirates! Surrender with your hands up!”
Somehow, they had found out. The navy officers, armed and threatening, confronted me in the prison. I looked at them blankly and then chuckled.
‘So this is how it ends?’
It seemed the Admiral had suspected the connection between Nereus and me, which was why he specifically summoned me.
‘Maybe someone had tipped him off.’
With Nereus dead before the execution, I could foresee them using me as a replacement for their purposes.
But I had no intention of complying with their wishes.
“R-raise your hands…!”
Pretending to comply, I slowly raised my hands, then slipped what I held into my mouth and swallowed.
Gulp.
I heard their shocked voices as my vision turned black and everything went silent.
‘It deserves its legendary status.’
I always wondered what would happen, and now I found it to be a painless, sleep-like death. In a way, it could be considered a miracle, contrasting sharply with the ten years of meaningless hatred and self-inflicted pain.
It was a peaceful, sleep-like death.
‘I want to see them again.’
I couldn’t be sure if I could love them as I once did after ten years of hatred.
But I wanted to see them again. This time, I wanted to hear their true feelings until I could believe them. I wanted to act like a spoiled child and demand answers.
But I shouldn’t expect any more miracles.
I was foolish. I accepted this fact as I succumbed to the sleep that called death.
🍓 :
¹ Sarcastic or Mocking: often implying that the person deserved the outcome, usually a negative one.
