Sea Monster Stew Chapter 74

Biche blinked blankly, feeling his warmth. 

 

Kisa’s body heat transferred to her like a gentle wave.

She cautiously tried to push his thick left arm away. 

 

Even without using much force, Kisa’s arm slid away without resistance. 

 

She stared blankly at the wristless arm for a moment, then slowly turned her head.

Kisa was still breathing evenly without moving a muscle. 

 

He was clearly sleeping more deeply than she had thought. 

 

Biche slowly turned her body to face him.

His face, devoid of its usual sharp intensity, looked as peaceful and soft as a young boy’s.

 

The moonlight falling on his forehead and the bridge of his nose accentuated his distinct features.

 

‘When did he get back…?’

 

Biche stared at Kisa’s long eyelashes, trying to recall. 

 

After finishing her bath, she had waited for Kisa but grew tired and fell asleep first.

Right before falling asleep, the innkeeper Tusa had visited her room with an awkward face and unexpectedly offered an apology.

 

“I’m sorry. I was thoughtless.”

 

‘”About what?”

“Since you’re from a Helios Empire noble family, I thought you’d be used to it…”

“So? Used to what?”

 

“…Well, there’s that. Admiral Kisa’s tantrum—no, his pressure is scary, so I can’t say more.”

And then Tusa immediately left the room. 

 

She even discounted a week’s worth of the pirate crew’s lodging fees, calling it part of her apology.

Biche stared blankly at Kisa’s deeply sleeping face. 

 

A cool, sweet scent clung to his body, clad only in pajama pants. 

 

It was the scent of the soap the familiar had brought with the tub.

During her bath, she hadn’t found the scent particularly impressive. 

 

But the fragrance emanating from Kisa’s body was pleasant. 

 

Biche buried her face in his broad chest and unconsciously let out a deep sigh.

A sudden impulse to touch him passed through her heart. 

 

Biche carefully raised her upper body and stroked his firm cheek.

She gently brushed over his peacefully closed eyelids, prominent nose, and soft lips in turn, committing each one to memory.

 

His moonlit face was nothing short of admirable. 

 

It was hard to believe that this man, who lacked nothing, had seduced her while hiding from Hildert’s eyes.

‘Even putting aside that he didn’t know I was a half-breed… Why me of all people?’

She wanted to recover the memories Kisa had erased. 

 

She felt a wistful curiosity about that time, so thoroughly wiped from her mind.

How did a man worthy of being a captain’s successor come to notice a pitiful dockhand?

She resented Kisa for unilaterally erasing her memories and smuggling her out of the pirate island. 

 

It might have been to protect her, and perhaps it was the best option at the time. But…

‘If you were going to erase them, you should have erased Hildert too.’

She hated that her lover had disappeared from her memory, leaving only someone as hateful and frightening as Hildert behind. 

 

But her irritation, hurt feelings, and resentment lasted only a very short while.

‘They say if your lover has a handsome face, your anger just melts away…’

Looking at his splendid face, all the sharp emotions that had been stirring within her until just moments ago melted away smoothly.

“You definitely must have bewitched me with this face on the pirate island too.”

Muttering quietly, she softly caressed his cheek.

The great Live-Skinner Kisa cut off his own wrist and returned to the sea for her. 

 

Even for a woman with the blood of the sea creatures he so detests.

Every time she dwelled on that fact, her heart churned with anxiety and fear. 

 

But at the same time, a sense of exhilaration bloomed.

“…Kisa.”

Her voice settled softly in the quiet room.

 

“I know you’re awake. You can stop pretending to sleep now.”

He had already woken up the moment Biche buried her face in his chest. 

 

Kisa, with his eyes still firmly closed, raised the corner of his mouth.

 

“I feel a bit wronged by what you said earlier.”

 

“What did I say?”

“That I bewitched you with my face.”

He wrapped his warm arm tightly around her waist, pressing their bodies together seamlessly.

“No matter how much I shoved my face in front of you back then, you’d push me away in disgust.”

“Didn’t you approach me with your giant face? That’s a bit scary.”

Kisa let out a short laugh and pressed his forehead against hers.

 

“I always took off the giant’s skin when I approached you as ‘Muir’.”

 

“…Why did you approach me back then?”

He finally opened his eyes slowly. 

 

Within her dark-accustomed vision, his amber pupils shone distinctly. 

 

His eyes, which had been staring intently at Biche, suddenly darkened.

“…The moment I say it, I feel like I’ll get claw marks on my face.”

“What is it that makes you say that?”

After hesitating briefly, he pulled her waist even tighter and whispered.

“Promise you won’t get angry.”

“I can’t promise that.”

 

“Dammit. You’re disgustingly honest. Then I can’t lie either.”

He let out a grunt of a groan and lightly kissed her cheek. 

 

Then, as if to evade an answer, he stole a kiss on her lips.

Just as the kiss was about to deepen, Biche shook her head and pushed his face away with both hands.

“Aren’t you going to tell me?”

“It was the Captain’s order. He told me to keep an eye on you, from close by.”

Her eyes widened on their own at the completely unexpected answer. 

 

Biche blinked her round eyes slowly.

“Captain Hawk… me?”

 

“Yeah. Although I doubt my foster father anticipated his one and only successor would fall in love in the process.”

“I don’t understand. Captain Hawk, why would he want someone like me watched?”

“Because he considered you Hildert’s only weakness. My foster father planned to use you to keep Hildert in check.”

He slowly raised his upper body and continued in a sighing voice.

“And my foster father’s intuition was accurate…”

 

A large hand gently slipped inside her nightgown skirt. He carefully caressed the bumpy brand covering Biche’s back.

“You were the only one who made that cold-hearted bastard lose his mind and run amok.”

“……”

“Well, though I lost my mind too, for that matter.”

Kisa let out a soft laugh, lifting his left arm with its neatly severed wrist. 

 

But his relaxed smile was short-lived. Uncharacteristically, he watched her reaction, licking his lower lip.

“Are you… angry?”

Biche shook her head blankly. It was shocking, but she wasn’t that angry.

Kisa already had a history of defying the Captain to smuggle her off the pirate island. 

 

She couldn’t easily condemn him, who had tried to protect her even by betraying his foster father.

But the question remained. Was Captain Hawk’s order really just that?

A foreboding feeling suddenly struck her. The reason Kisa had smuggled her off the pirate island…

It might not have been solely because of Hildert. She felt certain Captain Hawk was also involved in that matter.

“…Was that all of Captain Hawk’s order?”

 

Biche asked, stroking Kisa’s cheek.

“That person gave you another order, didn’t he? That’s why you secretly sent me back to my hometown.”

 

Kisa, who had been anxiously licking his lips, suddenly furrowed his brow.

“How do you know about that…”

“A pirate wouldn’t give up a treasure that fell into his hands without a good reason.”

“Haha, are you saying you’re my treasure? Quite the conceit, fitting for a ducal lady.”

He deliberately raised the corner of his mouth playfully, as if to lighten the serious mood. 

 

Biche scowled and pinched his cheek hard.

“Stop joking. Tell me. What order did Captain Hawk give you?”

“…Actually.”

Kisa gently removed her hand and let out a deep sigh.

 

“I still don’t understand my foster father’s final order.”

“What was it that…”

 

“He told me… to kill you with my own hands.”

 

Biche flinched, her eyes widening in shock. 

 

For a moment, an image of Kisa’s large hands choking her neck flashed through her mind.

“Me…?”

“Yeah. He kept adding that absurd reason, that it was all for my sake.”

He carefully pressed his forehead against hers again and muttered.

 

“Rather than killing you with my own hands… it was better not to see you for the rest of my life.”

Biche blankly chewed on his words. 

 

The cold order that Arcobicche Akstain must be killed by Kisa’s own hands. 

 

The flimsy reason is that it was all for the sake of his successor.

But Biche easily discerned Captain Hawk’s intention.

‘That person… he knew I was a half-breed. That’s why he gave Kisa that order…’

He must have thought it was the only way his foolish successor could forgive himself for loving a hybrid.

At the time, Captain Hawk was trying by any means to give his foolish successor a chance.

 

That’s why he didn’t choose the easy path of taking Biche’s life himself.

 

But Kisa had kicked away that chance. And he had taken the daughter of the sea creatures he so detested back into his arms.

 

“…I don’t want to die.”

Hot tears were already streaming down Biche’s cheeks. She whimpered weakly and muttered.

“I’m not scared of dying at all… But I don’t want to die by your hand…”

“Say something that makes sense.”

Kisa, seemingly flustered by Biche’s tears, hurriedly pulled her into a tight embrace.

“You’re the treasure I found. How could I possibly take the life of such a treasure with my own hands?”

 

“…Funny. A treasure you found on the Captain’s orders.”

“Our lady holds a bit of a grudge, I see. Didn’t you just say you weren’t angry?”

Kisa wiped her tears with his large right hand and laughed playfully. 

 

Biche didn’t leave claw marks on his annoying face.

Instead, she pushed down his large shoulders, wiped her tears, and climbed onto his firm thighs.