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Ed struggled to raise his body and lowered his numb legs to the floor, they felt as if they were someone else’s. 

His sword was obliquely leaning against the bedside table. He grabbed it with his trembling hand, shifted his weight on it and got up. With his other hand, he leaned against furniture and the wall as he moved step for step. When he barely made it to the door, he slammed it open. There was not a single mouse in the corridor of the inn. While Ed hastily looked around him, he found a staircase leading up to the rooftop.

Climbing the stairs in this state was complete madness. So, Ed decided to climb the stair seated instead of overusing his legs and let himself fall backwards on the steps. His wound, that had not yet healed, throbbed with shock. He clenched his teeth and endured the pain. 

Ed crawled up the stairs and pushed the roof door with his sword. The old wooden door opened with difficulty. Sweating profusely, he grabbed the door frame to raise his body. He once again used his sword as a cane and crossed the roof, then grabbed the railing to support him as he lost his balance.

‘It’s not here.’

Ed double-checked the shore beyond the marketplace. There was no port and the shallow water was not suitable to dock a ship like the Bell Rock. They had to drop an anchor in the middle of the sea and then go back and forth on a boat. However, no ship was seen anywhere near the shore, let alone the Bell Rock. His cold sweat evaporated.

Ed recalled the conclusion he reached moments ago.

‘If she can’t kill me, she’ll leave me behind…’

A warm wind blew and messed up his hair. The unpleasant lukewarm temperature wrapped around him and Ed shook his head in annoyance. The empty coast came into sight through the cracks in the hair that pierced his eyes. The clear and calm sea had a beautiful light green colour as if it was pressed from green grapes. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

‘Did she really leave me? After I almost died for her?’

“Damn it!”

His fist hit the railing hard. 

‘Liloa is sensitive when it comes to her secret… Normally, in order to block the leaking of information, it’s the most ideal to eliminate the informed, but if that isn’t possible, abandoning them and thereby cutting off the trail was the second best option. From a rational point of view, it’s reasonable to get rid of what had split to ensure the future. So, it’s only natural that she chooses the second option, when she wasn’t able to go through with the first. And as a result, I’m abandoned…’

“****!”

‘How do I find her now? And how many opportunities like this would I get? I should have shattered the iron-walled doubts she had about me, but I didn’t. How dare she leave me like this? She was within my reach but disappeared when I tried to grab hold of her…’

He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth in anger. 

‘Mireille’s useless search log didn’t help at all.’ 

Ed, who had studied everything from the first to the last chapter, resumed the search from scratch. It took him about two months. From Sesbron through Malus, the Gulf of Gardel, Carducho, the Ingres Sea and various southern islands to Amiaeng. It was not a complete coincidence that Ed met Liloa in Amiaeng. As he pursued her activities with a basis close to conviction, it was only a matter of time for him to find her. If it wasn’t Amiaeng it would have probably been anywhere close by. He may have met her in unexpected clothes at an unexpected time, but Liloa was bound to get caught in the net woven by all her traces.

‘But how could I lose her again like this?’

In the past, when the sculptures Ed had been painstakingly collecting were stolen, the West Anatole Sea went into chaos. They searched countless pirate ships to only end up finding three pieces of wood the size of a palm. The resulting oceanic peace was only a by-product. Ed was always very obsessive about his interest and he had his reasons. For him, those were both significant and invaluable. Consequently, the anger and deprivation he felt when he was robbed of his ‘interest’ or when it slipped through his fingers transcended that of ordinary people. And his out-of-control rage always produced extraordinary results.

Ed was a man who couldn’t bear loss, especially if he had to sacrifice himself or if it threatened his survival to get it. In addition, this had been a sacrifice without a guaranteed outcome as Ed had yet to make his judgement concerning Lil. Because of Mireille, he got the opportunity to see a glimpse of her past, but there were still too many pieces missing to complete the puzzle. Making his actions even more incomprehensible.

Out of nowhere, the part of the clay railing Ed was holding crumbled into pieces. He had no idea how this happened, but his hand was suddenly full of crushed sand. Agitated by the feeling of loose sand slipping through his fingers, Ed picked up a lump of dirt and threw it away. 

‘How dare you try to slip out of my hand…’

Still, the tickling sensation between his fingers remained. Displeased, Ed roughly shook his hand.

‘I’ll turn the southern seas over to find her, if that’s what it takes…

Fortunately, the fleet is already in the South and it can move at any time. My pigeon would have arrived in Carducho two or three days after I sent it out. After receiving it, they would have set sail towards Marchand. So, if it had been more than a week since I lost consciousness, the Visha would have arrived at its destination by now…’

“Who did this? This crazy *******!”

Something like an argument could be heard from below the building, snapping Ed back to reality. He looked up and saw that the sky was already getting brighter. 

‘The morning is the time for people to wake up.’

Considering his location close to the market, he thought that this street would become noisy soon. Ed, who was not happy with the upcoming disorderly commotions, thought about going back to his room. But someone was running up the stairs leading to the roof. The stomping feet came closer at a tremendous speed. Ed was ready to give up the roof to anyone who so desperately wanted to occupy it, so he prepared to take a small step back.

The roof door opened with a bang.

“You crazy..!”

“…”

The door, woven from the branches of an old tree, opened with such a great force that it fell off the hinges. Normally, Ed would have refuted first, but he couldn’t effort to waste his energy with the current state of his body. So, he quietly took a step with his sword raised.

“Was it you?!”

“…”

A loud, anger-filled breath could be heard as Ed turned his head slightly. Lil was standing at the entrance looking like she had been hit in the head by a lump of dirt.

“What kind of crazy thoughts did you have as soon as you woke up? You threw this on my head, didn’t you?”

After she closed their distance, Lil grabbed Ed by the collar. She dragged his face close to hers and began to shake out her hair.

“Huh?”

There was no way he could avoid it and was hit by the sand falling from various directions. To make matters worse, he was also struck by her sharp hair. Whip-like sounds were heard in front of his nose.

“Uh, Captain, you’re killing me!”

“I’m really gonna kill you!”

“…”

Lil almost lost her balance but continued to empty her hair over his head. A lump of dirt tangled in her hair shattered into sand and slapped on his face. Ed, who couldn’t even open his eyes properly, coughed constantly, stuffed his nose and flounced his arms.

“I heard that some crazy guy has been throwing dirt from the roof since dawn! It was you! You *******!”

“Uck! Ugh!”

“Did you purposely throw it? Huh? Otherwise, it wouldn’t be this accurate! Die!”

“Cap… Captain! Captain?”

When the sand that had been pouring like a fountain finally ran out, Ed spit out a handful of dirt from his mouth and opened his eyes.

“Captain… Cough! Captain?”

“I can’t even beat you up in this state, argh.”

Bewildered, Ed looked up at Lil, who was beating the air instead of him. Since tears were rolling down his face, his vision was blurry, but he could still recognize her. He stared blankly, as if he was seeing an illusion. At the same time, Lil was venting her anger by kicking the air, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed stare and asked.

“What are you doing?”

Her temper, which had been fluctuating like a furnace, calmed down without a trace. Ed was about to say something but ended up giving a big sneeze.

“Achoo!”

“Ugh, gross.”

When something resembling saliva splattered, Lil frowned and creased her forehead. Ed shouted sullenly, wiping his face, which had been covered with his tears and runny nose.

“I thought you had left me!”

“What?”

“Didn’t you try to throw me away?”

“That’s true.”

“What?”

Lil scratched the back of her head and gave a very annoyed but regretful expression. She then shrugged her shoulders at Ed’s displeased glance.

“I was going to leave you behind, but we couldn’t sail because we didn’t have enough sailors. It’s sad, I know.”

“Why is that? My contract hasn’t ended yet, so why are you gonna leave me? Besides, my wages!”

“Did you read the contract carefully? Your contract lasted until this voyage. Besides, even if you had good intentions, when half of the crew was injured, you didn’t work but just lay there. Consider yourself lucky I didn’t sell your sword.”

“…”

“You should be thankful that we were able to move you here in good condition without the help of another doctor.”

“Then why didn’t you kill me?”

“What kind of stench is it to kill a human that saved your life by allowing himself to be shot to death? I think this is really regrettable, so it would be better not to get impulsive.”