As the door opened, a cheerful bell rang. Nereus was grinning from ear to ear, carrying a massive pile of clothes he had packed.
‘Ugh…’
I couldn’t help but shake my head, thinking maybe this was a bit too much.
“My daughter sure is resourceful,”
Gilbert murmured softly.
“Thanks to that, we now have a lot of extra clothes, which will make sneaking around easier for a while.”
“Sneaking around? What do you mean?”
“…Oh, it’s nothing.”
Nereus had packed one set of each type of clothing in the shop—not just for my size, but for everyone. This meant there were clothes for men, women, children, and the elderly packed in that huge bundle Nereus was holding.
‘What would they have done without me?’
This maritime city had a naval base right in the center and was also a great place to repair ships, which is why pirates often visited. The pirates had an unspoken rule: ‘Don’t commit crimes here.’
No one wanted to ruin a place where they could walk around freely. The navy was always on high alert, ready to wipe out the pirates. It was better not to give them any reason to act.
But none of this mattered to Nereus. He was the type who would never forgive anyone who harmed his crew, even if it meant creating conflict with other pirates.
So, those people had truly been in danger.
‘I can’t believe it came to this.’
Nereus’ demand for them to hand over all their goods was more of a threat. In reality, he only intended to collect the money he had scattered, with interest.
Pirates being pirates, Gilbert and Nereus had taken even the clothes that were hidden in the Lunatic.
‘Still, it’s cheaper than losing their lives, right?’
Considering what they had done, they couldn’t exactly go ask anyone for help. At that moment, I overheard Nereus and Gilbert’s conversation.
“Come to think of it, weren’t we expecting another customer besides the people inside?”
“Good thing we finished before they arrived.”
“Yeah, otherwise we would have had to take care of them too.”
‘………’
Listening to their conversation, I didn’t ask, ‘How would you take care of them?’
“Oh, let’s stop with this useless talk and hurry…”
Just as I was about to stop their pointless conversation and urge them to hurry, my mouth shut.
‘Huh?’
Heading towards Lunatic, I saw a man who looked completely out of place.
With blue-tinged gray hair and amber eyes, the man had a sharp gaze. He looked younger than I remembered, but I recognized him immediately.
‘Ah, Father.’
It was my father, Dandel Akera. The moment I saw him, I froze, as if my feet had become anchored to the ground.
“Hey, kid, what are you doing in the middle of the road?”
“Oh, uh, that, uh…”
Was my father really here at that time? My tongue stiffened. I couldn’t let Nereus and Gilbert see this. What should I do? I never expected him to talk to me.
“Colonel…?”
“Hmm?”
When I called out to my father, he looked puzzled.
“I’m not a colonel. Are you confusing me with someone else? Oh, are you with the navy?”
“……..”
I was so flustered that I even forgot he wasn’t a colonel yet at this time.
‘Was he still a major back then?’
I wasn’t sure. My father never told me when he was promoted. We hadn’t had many personal conversations. He used to say sharing such things was pointless and preferred to teach me about navy duties instead of wasting time on trivial matters.
I had become a proper naval officer thanks to my father’s excellent teachings.
And there were two things I knew for sure about my father…
“Oh, sorry. This is my daughter. I couldn’t catch her because I was carrying too much.”
“Is that so? You must be cautious around here, as pirates are frequently spotted in this area. They are trash who would kidnap anyone, regardless of age or gender, if given the chance.”
“Of course, I know. We must keep our eyes wide open to ensure that my princess is never kidnapped.”
“…If this were my jurisdiction, I would have cleaned them all up already.”
He was the perfect embodiment of a navy man who loathed pirates.
“Oh, it seems you’re with the navy, but I’ve been holding you up, haven’t I?”
“No, not at all. It’s my day off today.”
“Oh, so you’re in civilian clothes? Where are you headed?”
“I’m going to pick up some clothes I ordered earlier.”
“……….”
“My daughter is about to become a naval officer, so I bought her a nice outfit as a congratulatory gift.”
“Oh! That’s definitely worth celebrating.”
“Indulgence may not be a good habit, but as a father, I want to gift her a few nice clothes.”
It was a fact that he had a daughter.
Her name was ‘Mare Akera,’ the name I had borrowed before my return.
***
“Why does Lala look so down?”
“I don’t know. Did the captain or first mate do something wrong? You know how sensitive girls can be. Clara, what do you think?”
“Hmm~ That may be true, but I think the other girls and I are more level-headed than you or Dexter, Gerard.”
I could hear the trio whispering as they looked over at me, lying sprawled on the sofa.
I glanced at them.
They flinched.
When I rolled my eyes at Gerard, Dexter, and Clara, all three of them flinched and clamped their mouths shut.
‘Idiots.’
I didn’t feel angry, yet I couldn’t shake off this sense of heaviness in my chest, as if it were weighed down by a lead block, leaving me feeling uneasy.
‘Where did Nereus go again?’
Ever since I met my father, I had become speechless, and the walk back to the lodging had been quiet. Suddenly, Nereus exclaimed, “Ah!” and dropped his bundle before rushing back outside.
‘Gilbert is busy organizing the clothes.’
While I slumped in place, I could hear hushed voices nearby.
“Polaris, why are you looking so down?”
“Ethan.”
A dignified old man looked down at me. Blinking up at him, I saw Ethan smile softly.
“I don’t know, I just don’t feel great…”
“Oh dear, if you feel bad, then the rest of the crew will feel the same. After all, the princess is feeling blue.”
“Ethan, you too? Even you’re calling me ‘princess’ now?”
It was a nickname that had obviously started as a joke. Now that even Ethan, the most serious and gentlemanly person on the ship, was calling me ‘princess,’ it made me feel even worse.
“Why? Do you dislike being called princess?”
“Umm…”
As I tossed and turned slightly on the sofa, Ethan promptly sat down near my feet. He casually lifted my legs onto his lap.
“Honestly, it feels like everyone is teasing me.”
“It’s not teasing. They call you that because they care about you.”
“……….”
I stared at the ceiling in a daze, then suddenly asked,
“Do you care about me too, Ethan?”
“Of course.”
“Even though I’m a troublemaker, can’t do anything right, know almost nothing, and don’t live up to expectations?”
“I’d still care about you, but it would be nice if you lived up to expectations.”
“What do you expect from me, Ethan?”
“Polaris, I hope that you stay healthy and never get sick.”
Ethan’s voice was as gentle as could be, and I could feel that he truly meant it. Something in my heart stirred with emotion.
Even before my return, I had always been particularly close to Ethan. Since I was often ill, I spent a lot of time by his side, and while Ethan didn’t treat me as warmly as my other family members, he was still a kind and caring adult.
Creak—Bang—!
At that moment, someone barged through the door with loud, heavy footsteps and walked straight towards me.
“………”
“Look at that pout on your face.”
“I’m not pouting.”
“I’m back~!”
The neat face I had seen earlier in the day had disappeared without a trace. Nereus looked like he had been out somewhere.
“Where have you been looking like that?”
“Listen to how she talks~ Ugh, what a daughter, I don’t know why I adore her so much when she’s always like this~”
“So, you hate it?”
“No, I love you to death. Seriously.”
He was definitely bewitched. Muttering to himself, Nereus placed a box on my body. It was quite heavy.
“What’s this?”
“It’s yours, open it~ If you don’t like it, I’ll take it.”
“How could I say I don’t like it when I don’t even know what it is?”
Nereus kept grinning. Finally, I sat up and opened the box, only to stupidly gape.
“……….”
“Oh? I didn’t forget this earlier. I just couldn’t carry it because I had too much stuff. So don’t hold this against me and complain for the next ten years, okay?”
Inside were two kinds of chocolate cake, an orange mousse cake, a strawberry cake, cream puffs, and a set of five macarons.
“I can’t eat all this.”
“That’s why you’re so skinny. Eat two, and save the rest for tomorrow.”
“Won’t Gilbert scold us?”
“As long as we don’t skip dinner, he won’t.”
“Can I eat cake before dinner?”
“Today, Gilbert gave special permission.”
I glanced toward the kitchen, where Gilbert was, and saw a man with a gloomy face staring at me. When I looked back at him, as if to ask if what Nereus said was true, he gave me a thumbs-up.
‘What in the world is going on?’
“Well…”
Since there was no need to refuse this act of kindness, I picked one of the chocolate cakes, a cream puff, and a macaron.
“Gerard can have the rest.”
“…….!”
“That’s enough for me.”
To be honest, even this felt like too much. I wasn’t someone who enjoyed indulging. Gerard, eyes wide, glanced between Nereus and me before grabbing the box with the remaining treats.
The trio, who had been whispering earlier, gathered together and started sharing the cakes. Watching them, Nereus commented.
“My daughter is too kind, it worries me. She should have grown up to be a greedy, arrogant child.”
“Hmph.”
As I bit into the macaron, the sound of the crispy shell breaking echoed.
“So, you’re not giving any to your dad, only to your brothers and sisters? But I was the one who bought it!”
Nereus grumbled and plopped down beside me. The force made me bounce slightly in my seat.
“You probably already ate somewhere else, right?”
“Yup. The chocolate cake was delicious.”
“But you chose the exact same ones I picked. How did you manage to pick the tastiest ones?” Nereus said, his tone full of admiration.
“Polaris, hold still for a moment.”
Ethan pulled out a handkerchief and began wiping my cheeks. It seemed some crumbs from the macaron had stuck there.
“Don’t forget to brush your teeth after you finish eating. Got it?”
“Of course. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“………..”
Ethan’s expression looked a little odd, but I decided not to ask why.
“By the way, Ethan, why are you here? Shouldn’t you be over there by now, wherever you’re supposed to be?”
“Oh, right. I forgot to mention something important.”
“You really need to fix that forgetfulness.”
Unfortunately, there’s no cure for forgetfulness. Ethan chuckled softly.
“It’s about that orchard keeper. Something seems off.”
“Something off?”
“Off? How?”
“It’s like he’s experiencing withdrawal symptoms…”
“What? That guy—wait, was he using drugs?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
Ethan continued with a troubled look on his face.
“It looks like he was manufacturing illegal substances again, probably cheaply.”
