Navy Marigold

16.

“Make way! It’s Lancel Dante, the master of the island and the new leader of the Blue Curtain Pirates, and Mary!”

How did it come to this?

Lancel and Marigold were riding in a bamboo palanquin, heading deep into the island.

When they were just taking down the first pirates who attacked, Lancel thought they were just some riffraff who had drifted in from somewhere.

But when the number exceeded fifty and approached a hundred, Lancel realized that something was amiss.

“We surrender! We surrender! We lost!”

The eyes of those who eventually surrendered and prostrated themselves were filled with awe.

They were unlikely to have the opportunity to see a ‘knight’ single-handedly defeat hundreds of pirates, so Lancel figured he could understand their trembling with helplessness.

The situation took a bizarre turn after that.

“Blackbeard! Please lead us, the Blue Curtain Pirates! We are just poor vagrants of the sea! Blackbeard!”

“Black…beard?”

Lancel then realized that it had been a while since he had shaved. Stiff stubble had grown from around his mouth to his neck.

Lancel turned to Marigold, who had been taking care of his hair.

“It must have looked unsightly. You could have told me to shave.”

“Lancel looks handsome with a beard too.”

Marigold, you’re too smitten.

“Our base will be coming up soon. We’ve built something splendid, so you’ll be satisfied.”

The guy with a bruise covering one side of his face said with a smile. It was a mark he had received in the fight against Lancel.

Even though they had been fighting with swords just a little while ago, it was hard to find any resentment or desire for revenge.

In this sea where might is law and power, Lancel’s strength may have been enough to captivate them.

In the first place, most of the combatants had been wiped out by Lancel. There was no other way but to submit.

“This way.”

Soon, as they reached deep into the jungle, the scenery began to change.

“When did they build this…?”

“I didn’t know at all since it’s on the opposite side of the island.”

Newly built watchtowers and spires were erected everywhere.

A little further in, bamboo houses ranging from three to five stories high were revealed one after another. It was a scale large enough to house hundreds of people.

“We’ve been building it up little by little for the past six months.”

Lancel and Marigold had been living here for three years, so that meant they had secretly crept in and settled down while they were filming their deserted island survival story.

“The new leader of the pirates! Everyone, memorize his face!”

Before they knew it, the deserted island had become a haven for outlaws who lived by wandering the sea.

“The old boss became fish food because of a woman, so we were at a loss, but I guess we’re not meant to die. He was a good boss, but a damn fool.”

“A woman?”

“Ah…! Hey! Show them the women the boss had!”

At those words, a hunchback scurried over.

“Come this way. I was going to return them if the boss, who must have become a water ghost, came back alive, but consider them a gift since things have turned out this way. Like someone who couldn’t live without women, he gathered all the beauties in this sea.”

“No. Lancel doesn’t need women.”

“Shall we take a look?”

“Lancel?!”

Marigold was flustered, but Lancel had a strange premonition.

Pirate crew. Boss. Woman. It was a combination of information he had heard somewhere before.

‘Could it be.’

Feeling Marigold’s gaze pricking the back of his neck, Lancel entered deep into the pirate base.

“This is it.”

When the door opened, a sweet scent of incense filled the air.

The space was unexpectedly carpeted. Silk tents were draped everywhere, making it quite luxurious for a pirate fortress.

In front of them were nearly twenty women. Yes, women of the Southern Lands, dressed in revealing clothes that exposed their bodies without restraint.

“The boss would make such a fuss if you even made eye contact, so we didn’t touch a hair on their heads. Since he’s dead anyway, feel free to play with them as much as you want until we put them up for auction.”

Marigold lightly pinched Lancel’s arm. He could see a sulky look on her face.

Of course, Lancel’s interest was not in the women. He looked around, searching only for a familiar face.

‘As expected. There’s no way she’d show up so conveniently.’

He gave up his expectations and turned around.

“Have you seen everything already?”

“Yes. I’m not interested, so you guys take care of the women.”

“……!”

Marigold’s expression brightened.

“……Just in case, would you like to take a look over here too?”

At that moment, the pirate pulled back the curtain of the hidden space.

“Shall we just take a look?”

Marigold’s eyes narrowed sharply in an instant. How venomous.

Lancel followed the pirate into the hidden room.

“This is the woman. The woman who dropped our boss overboard. When she was put up for auction, her price went up to fifteen gold coins. She’s said to be as beautiful as a legendary mermaid.”

It was a room with a teardrop-shaped iron cage, as if it were a birdcage.

-Screech!

It was then that Pia, who was on Marigold’s shoulder, began to screech and thrash about.

“……Is it real?”

Lancel chuckled in disbelief.

“This woman can’t speak. She used to be so scared that we couldn’t even get close to her… By the way, be careful because she’ll scratch you if a stranger goes in.”

Blue hair, sapphire-colored eyes. A cold-looking face. Snow-white skin.

-9 points. Out of 100.

“Claria.”

Third Princess Claria was there.

==========

—Encounter Event! You have met Third Princess Claria Arild Phrygia (True Form). Rescue her now!

※If you bring the bird (Pia, Red Coral Parrot) close to the true form, their souls will return to normal.

==========

“…….”

Lancel’s thoughts stopped.

-Screech! Screech! Screech!

Bird.

Pia.

Red Coral Parrot.

And the Soul Flower.

-Screech!

“Wait, Pia, why do you keep trying to run away?”

For some reason, she was struggling to escape as soon as she saw the Third Princess’s true form.

“Mary, I’ll borrow her for a moment.”

“Yes?”

Lancel immediately grabbed Pia with both hands. Then, he strode towards where Claria’s true form was.

-Screech!

Without a moment’s hesitation, he threw the creature, who was filled with fear for some reason, into the spindle-shaped iron cage.

The next moment.

“I hate it!”

Third Princess Claria’s mouth opened.

The hunchback pirate who had been guiding them widened his eyes in shock.

“T-That woman is talking! She’s speaking human words!”

“Let me go back!”

Ignoring the reactions of the surprised people, Third Princess Claria lay down and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Only the Red Coral Parrot, once called ‘Pia,’ tilted its head and fluttered its wings.

“I hate it!”

What kind of reaction is this?

17.

“Didn’t you say it was somewhere around here?”

“Yes, Rox Ruwen. You’ll see the island if you go a little further.”

Rox Ruwen tapped his fingers anxiously in front of the helm of the ship.

‘I have to find her first. I can’t look any more incompetent to my father than this. If I hear that I’m worse than my younger siblings, I have no future.’

As soon as he heard the news about the Third Princess, he set sail faster than anyone else. He had so little time to prepare that he didn’t even have much supplies.

‘Find the Third Princess. Receive the title of Hero of the Empire. Become the heir to the Count’s family. Enter the Imperial Capital. Enter the Imperial Palace. Become the Third Princess’s fiancé. Become the Emperor’s son-in-law?’

A broad smile spread across Rox Ruwen’s face as he spun his fantasies.

He didn’t think of this as a delusion. It was something that could become a reality if he actually rescued the Third Princess. At least, Rox Ruwen himself believed so.

“It’s much better to court the Third Princess than that damn Miss Iceford.”

Until recently, his target had been Miss Iceford, who had been badgering the navy for the past three years.

Even though she had a terrible personality, she was still the daughter of a Count Palatine family and the precious daughter of the Imperial Chamberlain.

Even powerful Duke families couldn’t easily speak out in front of them, so it was clear that she came from a great background.

As befitting the rumor that she was one of the three great beauties of the empire, she was a woman who was worth marrying, except for her dog-like personality.

That’s why the Ruwen family had been cherishing and appeasing her for the past three years, providing her with every convenience.

But what if the Third Princess became the target?

‘Miss Iceford, I’ll definitely put you under my feet and make fun of you!’

Rox Ruwen gritted his teeth. He had already built up a lot of resentment towards Miss Iceford, who wouldn’t fall for him no matter how many times he tried to seduce her.

“Rox Ruwen! There! I see it!”

“What? Where is it!”

“Southwest! I see an island! It’s a pretty big island!”

“Bring that pirate here!”

“Yes!”

Soon, the captured pirate was dragged in.

“Is that the island you said you were on?”

“Yes, yes, that’s right, that’s the one.”

“You said there was a woman there, right?”

“Yes, I remember her clearly because she was the boss’s favorite woman!”

“Is that so? If it’s a lie.”

He raised his knife to his throat.

“Hic! It’s true! How could I lie in this situation! So please, spare my life…”

“Of course, I have to keep you alive. Because if it’s a lie, I’ll have to throw you to the octopus.”

Rox Ruwen smiled.

He had a good feeling about this.

“Bring the ship closer! Everyone disembarks and searches the island!”

18.

“Pia… Your Highness…?”

Marigold had been unable to shake off the shock for hours.

She couldn’t quite accept the fact that the bird she had been raising for the past three years was actually a princess.

For reference, the Red Coral Parrot, which was the bird’s true form, was now in a small birdcage, nodding its head in peace.

“Mary, you won’t hate me, will you? You’re the only one I have! Please take me with you! I only have you as a friend and family now, Mary, please!”

“Pia, no, Your Highness…?”

“You can call me Pia, Mary. I’ll give you special permission! Call me Pia! Stroke my hair and kiss me like you always did, and go to bed with me, Mary!”

“H-How could I dare?!”

“It’s okay. I’ve given you permission! Especially for Mary!”

For some reason, Third Princess Claria was clinging to Marigold and begging her.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Lancel looked around to see if anyone could hear them from outside.

As soon as the Third Princess’s mind returned, he had chased all the pirates outside.

It wasn’t a sight that was good to show anyone.

The ignorant pirates had retreated with nonsense like, ‘I guess you’re already thinking of having fun.’

“First, explain what’s going on, Your Highness.”

Lancel couldn’t stand it anymore and intervened.

The Third Princess’s gaze flew sharply.

“I don’t like Lancel. He’s going to take Mary away from me.”

“…….”

“No, Pia! Don’t be rude to Lancel!”

“……! That’s too much, Mary……! I’m more than a man like Lancel!”

“If I have to choose one, it’s Lancel.”

“E-Even though I’m begging like this…?”

“What’s not allowed is not allowed. More than that, you have to answer Lancel’s question quickly. Pia.”

Is this really a conversation between a princess and a soldier? Lancel was dizzy from the role reversal he was facing for the first time in his hundreds of years of life.

The Third Princess lowered her head with a very subdued face. Then, she opened her mouth, mumbling.

“……If I go back to the Imperial Family now……I’ll be killed by my sisters or brothers.”

Her face turned pale.

“I… I just wanted to live, so I ran away. It was unexpected that I became a bird, but when I met Mary, I thought it was better, and I thought I could live like this.”

The image of the villainous princess who used to spew ridicule at everyone was long gone.

“There’s no place for me in this crumbling empire. I’m just a pitiful loner.”