North x Northwest
Chapter 171

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‘It’s definitely Jericho’s voice…’

Jericho started to cut the rope from the other side of the post. Lil didn’t have the energy to feel disheartened about the fact that the rope was so easily cut, despite her having used all her strength to break free from them. Instead, she immediately fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes as soon as her body was released.

Jericho exclaimed in surprise from behind her.

“Captain! Are you… dead?”

“…”

Her body had been tied up for so long that it convulsed to the point of numbness. Jericho carefully pushed Lil and turned her body over. When Lil managed to look up, she gasped as she endured the pain.

“Oh! What’s this?”

“Ohhh, ughhh…”

“Tsk tsk. It’s a spasm. You’re having cramps!”

“…”

Jericho clicked his tongue and massaged Lil’s limbs.

“Your lips are all chapped, your nose is runny, and your hair is a mess. Your limbs are convulsing like this, too. Oh boy, Captain, you’re in terrible shape!”

“Sit… Situation… Agh! Agh!”

“Uhh, what do you mean…”

“Hurry up…”

“Well, to put it bluntly, the Captain is no longer the captain. Julio is the captain now. It was his condition for bringing in the Navigator… Please, don’t be too disappointed in us. He held us at gunpoint… And he was desperate enough to sail the ship over the reefs, all right? So what else could we’ve done? The one who values his life more is the one who loses. He was aiming for that from the beginning…”

“Damn it! So, he finally made his move.”

“…”

Her tightly clenched fist hit the floor. Lil opened and closed her fists multiple times in an attempt to loosen her stiff muscles. As time passed, her vitality gradually returned. Lil roughly wiped her face with the water Jericho had given her and began arming herself. As she stuffed a hard piece of bread, wrapped in a cloth, into her mouth, she spoke again.

“But is that really the only reason why Julio ran out of control? Damn, I thought he had a bit of sanity left… If he was always this reckless, Valtano wouldn’t have kept quiet about this but reported it. So, why didn’t he… If he has raised him from a young age, he should’ve known about Julio’s tendencies…”

“That’s part of it…”

Lil glared at Jericho, who chewed on his hesitant lips.

“What?”

“Mon…”

‘Come to think of it, when Alain whispered to Cesar, he also pronounced something beginning with ‘Mon blah blah…’.’

Lil slapped Jericho on the shoulder and demanded.

“What are you hiding? Out with it, right now.”

“Mo… the Mondovi fleet.”

“What?!”

“The Mondovi fleet has arrived. When Julio saw it, he went crazy and had us raise the anchor.”

Lil dropped the bread she was holding. She needed a minute to gather herself. In complete disbelief did she look down at the fallen bread before turning to Jericho. Soon, her wheezing breath rose to her throat.

“Why did you tell me this only now!”

“Alain said it would be better to take care of the Captain first before informing him.”

“As if that makes sense!”

Lil struggled to rise from her position. She didn’t have enough strength in her legs yet, but she managed to walk to the entrance of the cabin. Lil threw open the door and began running with a limp. She made her way through the tightly packed sea of hammocks. She passed white hammock after white hammock and even more hammocks swayed against the background of the dim deck. Despite seeing the same sight that wouldn’t seem to end in forever, Lil rushed towards her goal. She ran, locking her eyes on the stairs. Her head became dizzy as she ran out of breath due to her exertion.

Eventually, Lil found herself clinging to the railing while struggling up the stairs.

On the gun deck, anxious sailors huddled and whispered. They formed different groups here and there, but what was common among them was that they all had nervous expressions. Only Marenzio was leisurely leaning against a pole, trimming his fingernails. Lil didn’t stop and climbed further up until she stuck her head out onto the upper deck.

Up there, the pure white mist crawled across the wooden floor.

The Bell Rock had finally left the shallow waters and was sailing quietly. In the midst of all this, no one knew that Lil had stuck her head out. After all, everyone’s attention was fixed somewhere on the sea, giving Lil the opportunity to blend in. Wearing a hat with her hair tucked into it, she climbed the rest of the remaining steps. She calmly looked around her, replaceing the atmosphere as still as a mouse. The sailors were tightly clinging to the railings, masts, and rigging, keeping watch in all directions. Even the watchman, who stayed completely still while being entangled in ropes while holding up his telescope, looked more like a marionette.

As Lil glanced up at the stern, she saw Cesar holding the steering wheel.

‘It’s been roughly half an hour since Cesar took over the helm. That’s not enough time to predict Mondovi’s route… It was Julio who spotted the fleet and moved us recklessly… Although we’re still near shallow waters, it will be extremely difficult to not only locate the enemy’s ship but also our own because we didn’t move under thorough calculation…’

With the feeling of grasping mere straws, Lil looked up at the sky. Unfortunately, the sun was only visible as a halo. With even their shadows being nothing more than blurs, she had no choice but to admit it.

‘…The Bell Rock is at such a disadvantage. No, Cesar is too disadvantaged. The Navy, on the other hand, must’ve stayed on course. Besides, that ship surely won’t be alone. There will be two or even more battleships that can gauge each other’s position by exchanging signals with their stern lights…’

Along with a feeling of despair that clouded her mind was the feeling of cold fog tickling her back.

‘In a case like this, we have no choice but to wait for our enemy to show up first.’

Her eyes, blinking nervously, kept looking up at the stern. Although it was the hourglass that she wanted to check, Lil met Cesar’s eyes and saw that he had already been staring at her. It was the first time she had seen his face after they exchanged their goodbyes. His hazy face in the hazy air gave her the impression that he was crying. Similarly, she felt like he saw her the same way.

Lil eventually lowered her head and moved to a different position. Even without looking, she could feel Cesar’s gaze, his damp gaze. She wasn’t sure if there were truly tears in Cesar’s eyes or if it was a trick by the dampness of the mist, but Lil tried her best to think of something else.

‘Anyway… The Bell Rock has no choice but to wait for the Navy to show up. I need to come up with a trick that will persuade these sailors to surrender. That trick is…’

“…Aahh!”

“..?”

Searching for the source of the short scream, everyone turned their heads. The sailor, who was hanging from the main mast, pointed somewhere on the starboard side.

“O… Over there!”

When they saw a bony and thorny figure floating through the mist, the Bell Rock’s sailors gasped and collectively pointed their fingers there. Their opponent ship’s sails were white, and such whiteness extended to its mast and bow frame, making it look like a skeleton. Lil estimated it to be less than a hundred morts away…

“Move!”

“..?”

The shout raised Lil’s eyes back to the stern. The voice belonged to Julio, who pushed Cesar away and grabbed the wheel.

“Now that we’re out of the reefs, we don’t need you anymore. I won’t ever trust you.”

The fuss was loud enough for everyone to notice. The officers exploded due to Julio’s act, which was nothing short of a declaration of breaching their agreement.

“…You madman! Hurry up and hand the steering wheel over to the Navigator!…”

“…We voted for you on the condition that you bring in the Navigator!…”

Shortly after, one of the sailors close to the rear deck drew his sword and sprung up the pike of the ship. But Julio was the quicker fellow for immediately drawing his gun and shooting him without delay.

– Bang! –

All movement stopped at once. The sailor’s body, which had been hit in the chest, rolled down the stairs. And then, even before everyone’s shock was over, Julio unhesitatingly pointed his gun at Cesar’s head.

“This guy is next.”

Lil screamed in agony.

“No!”

Julio’s eyes found her.

“Who’s that?”

“…”

Julio wasn’t threatening at all, so Lil only looked at the gun barrel pressing down on Cesar’s temple. The blood in her body pulsated and raced through her veins. After Julio’s men kicked the back of Lil’s knees and made her kneel, a cold piece of metal touched the back of her head.

“Right, I’d rather it be you, Lil Schweiz. At least he’s still useful.”

Lil put strength on her neck and tried hard not to lower her head. But then, she instinctively felt that their right side became empty. Her head, despite having risen in temperature, instantaneously cooled down.

‘Shit! The battleship is gone…’

“…It’s gone again!..”

“What?”

“The Navy battleship is gone!..”