Sea Monster Stew Chapter 29

Biche walked cautiously down the dim corridor, sticking close to Muir’s side. 

 

She clung to his thick arm, squeezing it with both arms, and looked around warily at the corridor shrouded in a suffocating silence.

The security was far too lax for the castle of a 2nd Ship Admiral. 

 

Not a single pirate crew member walked the halls, let alone a night guard or servant.

‘What if we’ve both fallen into Admiral Kisa’s trap?’ 

 

Anxious imaginings swelled endlessly, burrowing into her mind. 

 

She couldn’t let her guard down for a single moment.

 

“Muir, isn’t this strange? Why can’t we see any pirates?”

“Probably all gone to sleep.”

Muir yawned as if bored and gave a half-hearted answer.

“Normal people sleep at this hour. I’m getting sleepy too…”

“Get a grip! We’re in the middle of enemy territory!”

“But Admiral Kisa is a good person who offered to help us, remember?”

Biche swatted Muir’s back as he subtly defended Admiral Kisa.

“Shh! Keep your voice down, Muir!”

“Your voice is louder.”

“And why are you so tall? Bend your waist when you walk! What if someone outside the window sees you?”

“This is the top floor, you idiot. Who’s going to be outside the window?”

 

Their bickering footsteps stopped simultaneously. 

 

An unfamiliar footstep was approaching from the other end of the corridor.

“Shh.”

Muir quickly covered Biche’s mouth and whispered.

“Stay still.”

Her stiffened body was lifted into the air. 

 

Muir, holding Biche, hid behind a corner pooled with darkness.

At that moment, two men passed perilously close to the corner.

 

“Doctor Foos. What’s the reason for searching the Admiral’s treasure vault in the middle of the night?”

Biche’s eyes widened as she saw the men holding lamps. 

 

The older one had a very familiar face. 

 

It was Doctor Foos, the surgeon from the 2nd Ship.

“If the Admiral finds out we’ve laid hands on the treasure vault without permission, both our heads will roll.”

“Nonsense! When the Admiral sees what I’ve brought him, he’s sure to praise me, saying, ‘This was just what I needed, well done!’“

“What is this item you’re looking for?”

“An herb said to be favored by Imperial nobles. If you brew and drink it, they say a woman won’t get pregnant no matter how many relations she has. It’s exactly what Admiral Kisa needs right now.”

 

From above, she heard Muir mutter, “That bastard, doing unnecessary things…”. Biche flinched in surprise and tightly grabbed Muir’s arm.

“Hehe… You should have seen the honey dripping from the Admiral’s eyes while he was nursing the ‘kitten’ hidden in the secret room.”

Doctor Foos moved slowly, a pleased smile on his lips.

“It’s only natural that once the kitten recovers, she’ll attend to the Admiral at night. We must prevent some woman of unknown origin from carrying the Admiral’s child.”

 

Goosebumps rose all over Biche’s body. 

 

In other words, the moment her body recovered, Admiral Kisa would immediately claim her.

‘Honey dripping from his eyes, my foot…! Was he curious about me, the one rumored far and wide to be the Vice-Captain’s lover, and that’s why he showed such disgusting favor?’

Her body trembled with anger and humiliation. 

 

Biche gripped Muir’s arm as if she wanted to tear it and turned her gaze to the shadowy wall. 

 

Her shoulders stiffened as soon as she saw the wall covered with a tapestry of a strange shape.

Instinctively, she burrowed deeper into Muir’s embrace. 

 

If Muir hadn’t been covering her mouth, she would have screamed right then and there, drawing the attention of Doctor Foos and the servant.

 

Muir, without taking his eyes off Doctor Foos and the servant, whispered quietly.

“Shh. Just stay still.”

Biche looked up with wide eyes at the object she had thought was a tapestry. It wasn’t a simple tapestry.

It was the massive hide of a land monster, its four legs spread wide. 

 

The hide was large enough to cover the entire wall, and its form was grotesque.

The monster, with a sharp horn sprouting from its forehead, resembled a reindeer, but its body was impossibly huge, beyond comparison to ordinary beasts.

Biche stared into the monster’s empty eye sockets, then quickly turned her head away. 

 

Burying her face in Muir’s chest, she let out the breath she’d been holding in a thin stream.

“Calm down.”

Muir patted her shoulder and whispered softly. 

 

Doctor Foos and the servant disappeared down the corridor, chatting noisily.

 

Muir watched their path with his eyes, then cautiously turned. 

 

He went straight across the corridor and back into the room where Biche had woken up.

“Phew, that was close. We almost got caught.”

Muir let out a sigh of relief and set Biche down on the bed. 

 

Biche remained crouched exactly as he had placed her, staring blankly into space.

‘We must prevent some woman of unknown origin from carrying the Admiral’s child.’

Doctor Foos’s words kept circling in her head. 

 

‘I barely escaped Hildert’s clutches, only to end up as another pirate’s possession, or worse, a plaything.’

 

“Scared, huh? This castle usually has a lot of busybodies.”

Muir clicked his tongue briefly and sat down comfortably beside her. 

 

Biche, remembering the land monster with nails in its four legs, muttered.

“Muir, back there on the wall… there was a monster hide displayed…”

“Ah, that? Probably one of Admiral Kisa’s collectibles.”

“Collectibles…?”

“You’ve heard the nickname ‘Live-Skinner Kisa’, right?”

Muir lay down, using his interlaced fingers as a pillow, and grinned.

“The rumor that he skins his prey alive is false, but the rumor that Admiral Kisa has a nasty hobby of collecting hides of various species is true.”

“…So, the one I saw isn’t the only one?”

“If you go to the Admiral’s collection warehouse, there must be hundreds of hides from various species.”

“What does he even use them for…? Surely not just for display.”

He silently shrugged his shoulders. Biche muttered with a stiff face.

“Are there any sea monsters among them…?”

“Impossible.”

Muir sat bolt upright and shook his head. 

 

As if the mere thought was disgusting, his brow furrowed fiercely.

“Admiral Kisa detests sea monsters to an extreme degree. He probably doesn’t even want their filthy hides within his domain.”

 

Biche’s hands twitched involuntarily. 

 

She stared blankly at her own hands, which sprouted turquoise webbing and became covered in shimmering scales the moment they touched seawater.

‘He doesn’t even want filthy sea monsters in hide form within his domain? Then, what would his reaction be if he knew a woman with sea monster blood runs through her veins was here at the top of his castle?’

Biche hugged her knees and recalled the monster hide she had seen earlier.

 

She pitied its plight, not even free in death.

She felt her own situation was no different from that displayed monster. 

 

Even without nails in her legs, she was trapped on this pirate island, helplessly deprived of her freedom.

 

“Since Doctor Foos made the first move, let’s plunder Admiral Kisa’s treasure vault another time.”

Muir sighed and gently patted Biche’s back. 

 

Biche stared dazedly at the tender light in his eyes.

The warmth of this man, who had suddenly appeared one day and stayed by her side, felt unfamiliar. 

 

No, not entirely unfamiliar. 

 

Even as a grey-haired boy, he had always been warm like sunlight.

It was just that her life had been submerged in loneliness for so long. 

 

So long that the warmth of her long-yearned-for first love felt strange…

 

“…What are you staring at so intently?”

Muir avoided Biche’s gaze, rolling his eyes around. 

 

The sight of the giant man blushing to the tips of his ears like an awkward boy was strangely endearing.

“Don’t think that just because you’re making that pouty face with your swollen, ugly mug, I’m going to say you’re pretty…”

Impulsively, Biche pressed her lips against his, which only seemed to utter nasty words. 

 

A hot heat surged immediately from his body, which had frozen for a moment.

His tongue urgently pushed into her mouth, and Biche quietly closed her eyes.

She desperately pushed Hildert from her mind—the disgusting man who treated her like a filthy monster yet deeply desired her.

She was just too tired now. 

 

She wanted to escape this pirate den as soon as possible with this man who had come to her like a gift in her hopeless life.

If she was to start life anew, it had to be now.

 

“Hey, wait a minute… You’re a patient.”

Muir gently pushed her chin away and muttered in a voice straining to suppress desire. 

 

Biche wrapped her arms around his thick neck and slowly shook her head.

“It’s okay now…”

The strength gradually drained from Muir’s hands holding her chin. 

 

His gaze remained fixed on her eyes, unmoving.

As if waiting for Biche to give a definite answer, he stared at her intently, not even breathing.

“Muir. I… I think I love you.”

“…What?”

“That’s why I want to be with you. Not with a man who treats me as dirty, but with you…”

 

It was a statement she had mustered all her courage to utter. 

 

Muir looked at her silently for a moment, then slowly traced her jawline with his rough, calloused fingertips. 

 

A ticklish shudder ran through her wherever his gaze touched.

He enveloped Biche softly with a hot, deep gaze. That look wasn’t unpleasant in the slightest.

Even as another’s touch seeped through her clothes, even as she lay on the bed slowly being covered by his heavy body. 

 

She wasn’t afraid at all. Only overwhelming ecstasy filled her entire being.

 

‘Hildert, you and Muir are different… So very different.’