176 – Memory Gaps
“It’s the same.”
“How many days has it been?”
“About three days.”
“You can’t expect a wound to heal in three days. If it’s a wound, you would have seen much worse, so what are you talking about?”
“…Well, that’s true.”
As he retorted and clicked again, Scarlett, who had been terrified, smirked.
A little later, Viktor called a doctor to rewrap the bandages. After the doctor left, Viktor said to Scarlett, who was shivering.
“For a while, I’ll assign several guards around you. Don’t worry too much.”
“Thank you.”
Scarlett got up.
Viktor watched Scarlett’s back quietly. He hadn’t known at all the emotions Scarlett had been feeling by his side all this time. She had always been smiling.
It was natural to feel relieved when you saw someone smiling.
If only he had looked a little more closely at the fact that she had been taking care of his younger brother since she was twelve. If he had, then he would have known.
♔♔♔
Viktor parted his lips.
“Tell the Earl of Crimson to come collect you.”
“…. Okay.”
Scarlett responded quietly, as if her strength had waned, and settled into the chair. Her face still held a pallid hue.
Three days had passed, but she had been unconscious during that time, so it was no different from being kidnapped until just a moment ago.
Her delicate shoulders faintly trembled as she took a seat on the sofa.
As Viktor knelt by the sofa, Scarlett looked at him with surprise.
Viktor spoke up.
“Should I kill them?”
“….”
“All of the pirates.”
At his words, Scarlett remained silently staring at Viktor. He continued.
“Should I just eliminate them all?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
“You laughed last time too. After I punished Abel Crimson.”
“….”
“If I eliminate all those rascals and return, will you smile?”
A blend of uncertainty and perplexity clouded Scarlett’s eyes.
There was no trace of amusement in Viktor’s words. As Viktor waited for a response, Scarlett reluctantly began to speak.
“Oh, no…”
“Don’t want me to?”
“Yes. Not all the pirates agreed to the kidnapping.”
“I see.”
“And there’s this guy named Sean and about three others my age.”
“You prepared a list?”
“Uhm, I don’t want you to kill them. Some seemed good.”
“Good people can be found anywhere.”
Viktor nodded.
After a moment, he spoke to Pallin as he left the room.
“Bring in Sean Westland and the three others involved. The rest we’ll handle through negotiation.”
“Just those three?”
“Yes.”
“Will you let the others go?”
“If Scarlett doesn’t want us to take action otherwise, there’s no choice.”
“Yes, understood.”
Pallin answered, but a hint of puzzlement remained on his face. He went downstairs to the lobby and woke up a slumbering Evan.
“Let’s go.”
“What’s going on?”
“They only want Sean Westland and the three involved.”
“Why?”
Viktor’s unusually straightforward stance took Evan aback.
Viktor Dumfelt and the pirates had a relationship of mutual hatred, yet they understood each other better than anyone else. Viktor had never shown any mercy to pirates. They always ended up defeated and outnumbered against him.
Evan had witnessed the rational Viktor Dumfelt grow increasingly angry at pirates as he engaged in battles. Whenever a pirate ship was raided, there were always more horrifying things inside than expected.
Now, those once infamous pirates had all been executed, leaving only their families behind. While the royal family also insisted on their execution, ironically, it was the Navy that opposed and stood up against it. Hearing from a distance, one might think of them as irredeemable villains, but seeing them up close reminded everyone that they were still human.
The anger towards the pirates was undoubtedly stronger in Salantier than anywhere else, but at the same time, the Navy held sympathy for those who had fled from Vestina after their homeland was occupied. The opinion within the Navy was that while the criminals themselves should be executed, their families should be spared if they posed no threat. This viewpoint was accepted.
And now, it had come to this, the Navy’s suggestion leading to the kidnapping of Scarlett Crimson, the ex-wife of Viktor Dumfelt, the leader of the Navy.
Initially, Evan had thought it wouldn’t be odd to wipe out all the pirates right away. He found it surprising that there was unexpected clemency as he set out to capture the four pirates.
Upon arriving at the factory where Scarlett had been taken, Pallin spoke. “They must have fled far away by now, right?”
“Who knows?” Evan shrugged. As the Navy entered the factory, the pirates reacted with caution and tried to escape. Evan spoke.
“Where is Sean Westland?”
Upon hearing this, Harold stepped forward and spoke.
“What did the captain say?”
“He ordered us to capture only those four.”
“Is that so?”
Harold lowered his head.
“Thank you.”
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