Saito was shocked.
“Don’t you care about Louise’s safety one bit?”
Saito sank in despair and remorse. I’m useless. I can’t ever match up with this guy. Louise... will be better off marrying with this guy. He thought.
“Alright, boys, take them all away. We can get a hell lot of ransom for this!”
Chapter Seven: The Prince of a Dying Country
Saito was caught and imprisoned by the pirates. It seemed like the Marie Galante's crew had helped to take over the ship.
Since Saito's sword and Wardes and Louise's wands had been taken, they were allowed to keep their hands and feet unrestrained. Without their wands, mages, just like the weaponless Saito, were harmless. Though the same could not be said about Louise.
In the background, one could see wine barrels, cereal sacks and gunpowder casks disorderly thrown around. Heavy cannonballs were piled up in the corner of the room.
Wardes explored the cargo with a great interest.
Saito sat down in the corner of the hold, frowning because of the pain in his injured arm.
Louise looked at Saito with a worried expression after seeing him in such a state.
“...What? Just as I thought, the injury hurts after all.”
“It's nothing.” Saito said snappishly.
“It's not nothing - show me!” Louise forcefully gripped Saito's arm and tucked up clothes.
“Kya”
It looked really awful. The Masked Man's lightning spell had inflicted a severe injury going from shoulder to wrist on his left arm. More so it seemed to be getting worse; his shoulder was having awful convulsions.
“Is that not awfully burnt?! Should I feel relieved now?!” Louise shouted. She stood up and started knocking on the door
“Somebody! Somebody come!”
The guardian stood up.
“Eh?”
“Water! Is there a mage? We need a water mage! There is an injured person! He needs to be healed!”
“There is no such person.”
“Lies! It is so!”
Wardes, who was taken aback, watched Louise’ dumbfounded. Saito gripped Louise's shoulder.
“Be obedient. You are the prisoner here.”
“No! I won't, you are injured!”
“Stop saying that!” Saito shouted. Louise cringed because of his threatening attitude, and her pupils started getting moist. However, she gulped down her saliva and tried to fight back the incoming tears.
“D-don't cry.”
“I am not crying. There is no master who would cry in front of her familiar!”
Saito turned his face away.
“I see.”
“I would never cry in front of you.”
Louise walked towards the other wall and sat down facing away from Saito, her body shivering. Saito headed towards Wardes and tapped his shoulder.
“Please comfort her”
“Why?”
“Aren't you Louise's fiancé?”
Wardes nodded and turned towards Louise, and hugged her shoulders from behind, comforting her. Saito collapsed on the ground, averting his eyes from Wardes and Louise. The pain in his arm kept on getting worse. It was his own fault for stopping Louise from helping him.
It's a suitable punishment for such a worthless being like me.
“My punishment... doesn't hurt that much. Uwaa—”
His muttering was interrupted by the door opening as a fat man with a plate of soup entered.
“Rice.”
When Saito, who was near the door, tried to take the plate of soup. The man suddenly lifted the plate up.
“Only after you have answered a few questions.”
Louise, whose eyes looked puffy, stood up.
“Ask.”
“What business do you have in Albion?”
“Travelling.” Louise said with a decisive voice, putting her hand on the waist.
“Tristain's noble, why would you travel to Albion? Why would you be sightseeing in such place?”
“I do not have to tell you such things.”
“Still pretending to be tough, despite being scared and crying?”
Louise turned her face away as the pirate started laughing. She grabbed a plate with soup and water to throw at him, but...
Saito took it from her.
“Hey!”
“I cannot eat a soup made by such people!”
Louise turned her face away again.
“It's not healthy to stay hungry.”
When Wardes said so, Louise took the plate of soup with a pouting face.
Three people ate the same soup from one plate, though in normal circumstances that would never happen.
Wardes leaned onto the wall with a tired expression on his face.
Louise tore up the sleeve of her shirt and soaked it in water, trying to cool down Saito's wound with it.
“It's alright.”
“It's not alright!” Louise stared firmly at Saito with her puffy eyes. “Because, you are my familiar, you have to listen what I tell you!”
Saito averted his face. Louise, who was treating his arm softly, looked up at him.
“What is it?”
“You have more important duties to care about.”
“I do, but an injury is also very important! Is that clear?!”
Saito kept on looking away, before noticing the barrels with gunpowder.
“We could escape by using that.”
“Eh?”
Louise suspiciously followed Saito's look. Saito opened the barrel and filled the plate with gunpowder.
Wardes muttered tiredly.
“And where would you run? Only emptiness surrounds us.”
Saito sat down again with a thump.
“...but, sitting like that and doing nothing...”
At that time, the door opened again. This time it was a thin pirate standing before them. The pirate looked at the three with piercing eyes and asked.
“Good evening, are you the aristocrats going to Albion?”
Louise did not answer.
“Oi oi, judging from your silence it's true. Although we do not look like that we respect nobles, thanks to the aristocrats our business goes well.”
“But, isn't this a warship of rebels?”
“No no, though we are employed, we are involved in the fifty-fifty relationship with both sides. We are related to both factions. So how is it? Are you nobles? If it is true, then you will be let go free in the closest port.”
Saito felt relieved. Since Louise was an aristocrat everything could be settled peacefully then. Also, they would be taken to the closest port.
Louise, however, did not nod her head in agreement and kept on glaring at the pirate's forehead instead.
“How dare you have anything to do with those dirty rebels? Do not disregard Albion nobles. I myself am one of the noble families. Albion is still a kingdom, as the royal family is still a legitimate government in Albion. Because I am an aristocrat who comes here on behalf of Tristain, I am, in other words, an ambassador. Therefore, I demand an ambassador's treatment from you.”
Saito widely opened his mouth and muttered. “Are you an idiot?”
“Who are you calling an idiot? The idiot is you! Trying to act cool while being injured this badly!” Louise angrily turned to Saito and shouted.
“But! You should choose the time and place for your straightforwardness better!”
“Shut up! You are my familiar and you should listen to what I say! Anyway, show your arm! Hey!”
The surprised Saito clasped his arm, while Louise tried to pull Saito's arm with a jerk.
The pirate laughed after seeing such scene.
“Honestly, you should stop doing that!”
“You're wrong, I can't let you get hurt so carelessly.” Louise asserted.
“Eh?” Saito said in a surprised voice.
“It's because you are my familiar... t-that's why...”