Sea Monster Stew Chapter 33

A chill shot down his spine. 

 

Kisa stared into Biche’s calm eyes and muttered in a trembling voice.

“You… What in the world…”

 

“My mother told me. She said that one day, I would become the master of this ankle chain.”‘

 

“…”

 

“I never dreamed… not even in my worst nightmares… that it would happen in a horrible pirate den like this… and that I would be wearing it in such a wretched state.”

 

Biche quietly climbed onto Kisa’s thighs, where he knelt, unable to speak. She cupped his cheeks with her hands, met his gaze calmly, and whispered.

 

“My name is Arcobicche Akstain, Muir.”

 

She locked eyes with his endlessly wavering amber eyes and whispered low.

 

“My hometown is the Fresia coastal village, once the most prosperous and beautiful in the Helio Empire.”

 

She stroked his cheek, carefully leaned in to kiss him, and vowed with a soft breath.

 

“And I… I will take my family’s relic and get us out of here.”

“…”

 

“It’s been a terrible life for you, and for me too. Surely, somewhere outside this pirate’s den, there must be happiness waiting for us…”

 

She licked his parted lower lip and gently entwined her tongue with his. Kisa’s hands, which had been fumbling in the air, too afraid to hold her, dropped powerlessly to his sides.

 

He felt a heavy, devastating weight settle in his chest.

 

 

* * * 

 

 

Hildert never wanted to utter the fact that Biche had left him. 

 

But the truth was cruel. 

 

No matter how much he denied it, the reality that she was gone would never change.

 

On the day Biche disappeared, the only ship docked at Mint Beach was a single trade vessel bound for the Helio Empire.

 

The pursuit team sank the trade ship and captured one half-dead sailor. The sailor’s voice, begging for his life, still echoed vividly in his ears. Whenever he recalled that desperate plea, his mind froze over.

 

“I-I saw the woman you mentioned at the Mint Beach docks! We thought she was a runaway from the brothel, a-and the captain tried to help her… But she refused and ran back toward the village!”

 

‘She refused a chance to safely escape Karabas?’

 

For Hildert, it was a series of utterly incomprehensible events.

 

Biche was a woman who had lived isolated in the castle, unable to interact with anyone but Hildert. 

 

That she knew the security at Mint Beach was lax, that a helpless woman had found her way all alone to that distant shore—none of it made sense.

 

Furthermore, the trade ship was headed for the Helio Empire, her homeland. 

 

Had she just boarded it, she could have enjoyed at least a brief sense of freedom before Hildert’s pursuit team arrived.

 

How could a woman who so desperately wanted to leave this place reject her chance to escape and return to the island? 

 

He couldn’t comprehend her caprice at all.

 

But the sailor soon provided the answer to that question.

 

“Well… that woman… It seemed there was a man she was trying to escape with… When that man didn’t show up at the beach, I think she ran back to the island to look for him…”

 

“A man?”

 

“Sh-she asked our captain about some man’s whereabouts… As soon as she heard the man had never come to the beach, she turned pale and ran back toward the village, sobbing…”

 

Hildert suddenly recalled Admiral Moose’s assistant. The young man with grey hair and a tall stature.

 

He let out a hollow laugh, amused by his own absurd thought. 

 

Hadn’t he heard that the bastard’s corpse had already been incinerated?

 

“…Don’t tell me there was another one.”

 

Hildert muttered, swallowing bitter saliva. 

 

A sense of emptiness was replaced by a raging fury that filled his chest.

 

He glared out the window at the sunset with blazing eyes. His tightly clenched fist trembled.

 

He himself didn’t know when the barely suppressed anger would finally erupt. 

 

He wanted to pour all his surging murderous intent onto the unknown man who had seduced Biche. 

 

He had to find that man.

 

The burning rage in his gut was heating Hildert’s heart. His patience was wearing thin.

 

Hildert silently stared at the sunset, then summoned Biche’s heart onto his palm. 

 

The vividly beating red heart twitched and squirmed on his palm.

 

An urge to squeeze it with all his might and make it burst surged within him. 

 

But he barely suppressed the impulse and relaxed the strength in his fingers.

 

‘Fine. Run away. If you can manage to leave Karabas without anyone finding out, I’ll let you go. If you can start a new life without being caught by me, then I’ll give up on you.’

 

Hildert stared at the red heart and slowly curled the corners of his lips upward.

 

‘But that man is different. The one who ran away with you… I will find him without fail, and I will tear him to pieces.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

A fire was burning softly in the fireplace. 

 

The crackling logs cast long, dancing shadows of crimson flame on the wall with each tap-tap of the burning wood.

 

Biche stood on the balcony, quietly looking down at the scenery of Ire Island. 

 

The vast blue sea stretched out distantly between the towering buildings, and the morning sunlight was slowly spreading across it.

 

Leaning on the balcony railing, she let out a troubled sigh. 

 

Ever since the day she had revealed her lineage, she couldn’t stop worrying about Muir, who seemed somehow subdued.

 

He didn’t laugh as cheerfully as before, and he would often fall deep into thought, silently staring at the ceiling.

 

It was the same now. 

 

Muir was leaning against a mountain of cushions piled in front of the fireplace, quietly looking up at the ceiling. 

 

His expressionless face felt unfamiliar.

 

Seeing Muir’s cold face sent a chill through a corner of her heart. 

 

Was the fact that she was a noblewoman captured from the Helio Empire really that shocking?

 

‘…Should I not have told him…?’

 

In truth, it was only natural for Muir to be shocked by her origins. 

 

The Helio Empire’s notoriety for waging wars of aggression and threatening the peace of the seas was as high as any pirate’s. 

 

The gaze toward a noble who had grown up in luxury in such an empire could hardly be favorable.

 

‘And if… he finds out I’m also a half-monster…’

 

If he saw her skin covered in slippery scales and the hideous webbing between her fingers upon touching seawater, would Muir still look at her as lovingly as he did now?

 

Anxiety seeped deep into her heart. 

 

Biche hunched her shoulders and slowly walked over to the carpet where Muir was lying.

 

She cautiously crouched beside him, but he just stared silently at the ceiling, using his interlaced fingers as a pillow. 

 

Biche deliberately tugged hard on the cushion he was leaning against.

 

“…Muir, why do you look so upset?”

 

Her voice came out smaller and thinner than she intended, making her face flush. 

 

Muir, his face still blank, stared at the ceiling before replying shortly without even turning his head.

 

“Nothing. I’m just a little tired.”

“Tired…?”

“I guess I’ve been pushing myself too hard these past few days.”

 

Biche narrowed her eyes and glanced at him skeptically.

“Pushing yourself? All you’ve done for the past few days is play with me.”

 

Muir gave a short laugh, shrugging his shoulders slightly. 

 

His gaze finally shifted slowly toward Biche. A subtle playfulness seeped into his deep eyes.

“Yeah. That’s exactly the problem.”

“What problem? All we did was laze around all day.”

“Laze around? That’s harsh. I worked hard to serve our young lady properly.”

“Serve…?”

 

Muir pointed between his legs with a mischievous look. 

 

His direct gesture made her face burn hot. Biche avoided his teasing gaze and grumbled under her breath.

“You really… have no filter.”

“And why is our young lady, so uncharacteristically, trying to read my mood?”

 

A large hand crept slowly up her back. Biche pinched the back of his hand and frowned.

“Well, it’s because you seem angry, Muir…”

 

“I’m not angry.”

“Be honest. Is it because you dislike that I’m a noble from Helio?”

“It’s not that. It’s just…”

 

Muir stared intently at Biche, then moved a little closer.

“…I’ve just been thinking that I’m too shabby a man for a young lady who was raised so preciously.”

“I-I wasn’t raised that preciously, either.”

 

Biche shook her head, slightly flustered.

“You know. I was kidnapped when I was young and lived as Hildert’s assistant.”

“But before that, you were the daughter of a Duke, raised with abundant love, right?”

 

Muir raised a hand and gently smoothed Biche’s hair. 

 

A self-deprecating smile spread across his lips.

“You’re not the kind of person who should be stuck in a dirty pirate den like this.”

 

The fireplace light cast their long shadows on the carpet. Biche fell silent for a moment, feeling his gentle touch.

 

She was flustered by his reverence, treating her like some precious noble lady. 

 

It was embarrassing, but it also secretly felt good. 

 

It really felt like she had become someone precious, just as he said. 

 

It was touching, but also brought a deep sense of guilt.

 

She was in no position to be putting on airs as a noble lady. 

 

A bastard born between a sea monster slave and a human woman. 

 

A shameful secret her family wanted to hide. 

 

That was the life of Arcobicche Akstain.