The Departure

Theus watched Jeremiah's expression shift with some amusement. He didn't even have to guess what Jeremiah was imagining. The title of Border Count certainly sounded impressive; in truth, its greatest purpose was to intimidate people.

The Empress tacitly allowed them to use that title to seek advantages, and the Empire could naturally take its share in the process.

But Theus hadn't expected a title alone to solve every problem.

"Steel and timber are out of the question, at least openly. But I can get you things that will satisfy you." Theus calmly flipped through the ledger. "Of course, you can keep collecting your sea taxes. Let me see... fifteen baskets of fish? Thirty crates of Sweet Fruit Wine?"

He smiled and shook the ledger. "You can't even collect much gold rum. You can only settle your accounts with a few goods."

Jeremiah glanced gloomily at the ledger in Theus's hand.

He wasn't wrong. Castel was a poor place—or rather, the islands in the Storm Ocean were all equally impoverished.

If this place were prosperous, why would there be pirates? Who would risk their lives when they could make money honestly?

It was the region's poverty, coupled with storms that could descend without warning and destroy everything, that had made the Storm Ocean a pirates' paradise.

And the choice Theus had offered him... Damn it, was that even a choice? It was an outright threat.

He was definitely taking revenge—revenge for their attack on his territory, and for the Tattooed Man going after his secretary.

But the terms he'd offered were impossible for Gem Bay to refuse. No wonder he was so confident.

Looking at Theus's smiling face, Jeremiah knew he was going to have to swallow this loss.

Could Gem Bay turn down those scarce resources? Of course not. Jeremiah knew better than anyone how desperately the pirates needed ships and weapons.

The Black Sail Fleet had dominated the Storm Ocean, never meeting a match. They'd won every battle, yet survival had become increasingly difficult. They were nearly at a standstill.

Ships were hard to replace, and the Empire on the mainland had placed an embargo on resources. They were like rats trapped in a pot, forced to watch as the Empress smirked and boiled the water away.

As long as Theus could produce the resources, Gem Bay would immediately make room for him—even a position higher than Jeremiah's as captain.

"What resources are we talking about, and when will they arrive?" Jeremiah asked stiffly.

"You'll see them at the port in a month."

Jeremiah's cheek twitched. The other man wouldn't even tell him what he was getting. He wasn't showing the slightest bit of sincerity.

But Jeremiah had no choice. He glanced unobtrusively at the Tattooed Man nearby. Although the man had come with him, he only followed the Pirate Governor's orders. He was there to keep an eye on Jeremiah, too.

There were plenty of pirate captains. If Jeremiah ruined this deal, the Governor would simply find someone else and leave him to feed the Horse-faced Fish.

Jeremiah took a deep breath, unhooked the scimitar at his waist with its sheath, and solemnly placed it on the table in front of Theus.

It was pirate custom. When both sides reached an agreement, they exchanged an item. Offering one's weapon meant the agreement was solemn—and carried a threat.

If the other party failed to keep his promise, Jeremiah would hunt him for the rest of his life, until his head hung from a ship's mast.

Theus accepted the scimitar without a care, then casually pulled a small seashell tangled in his hair, still coated with sand, and handed it over.

An insult. A complete and utter insult!

Jeremiah took a deep breath, thought about it, then took another deep breath. He snatched up the shell, said nothing, and turned to leave.

In a month, he'd bring his fleet himself to collect the goods... No, starting tonight, he'd arrange for men to watch the sea and make sure Theus didn't sneak back to the mainland.

When the delivery date came, if Theus had nothing to offer, the Black Sail would hang his head from the tallest mast.

Jeremiah sneered.

Let's see you fly away with the whole island.

At the dock, Alexei watched the dinghy carrying the two pirates pull away from the island, then looked at Theus with a complicated expression.

Today had completely overturned his impression of this lord.

To be honest, he hadn't dealt with Theus much. Before this, Theus had practically left the territory entirely in his hands and stayed out of sight at the manor.

He'd thought Theus was just another useless noble. He'd been utterly wrong.

Picking a fight with pirates was easy enough, but forcing them to negotiate was no simple matter.

Alexei knew he couldn't have kept his composure under the Tattooed Man's pressure. Even now, the thought of that strange man made him uneasy.

The bargaining chips Theus had put on the table had also impressed him.

Every one of those scarce resources struck precisely at the pirates' weaknesses, forcing even the arrogant Jeremiah to compromise.

As for whether Theus could actually deliver, Alexei wasn't too concerned.

Who could say what would happen in a month? With Alexei there, they could get some covert help from the royal family. Besides, this count was Duke Cohen's illegitimate son. He might really be able to come up with the goods.

What's more, Theus had been appointed to this place, so he was bound to clash with the pirates eventually. A month wasn't long, but it was enough time to get a lot done. Alexei didn't know what Theus had up his sleeve, but as a graduate of the Royal Army Academy, he was sure he could be of some use.

Alexei realized he actually admired his lord a little.

He'd been hawkish even at the military academy, and naturally respected leaders who acted decisively. The way Count Theus handled things suited him well.

As expected of a Border Count. He wasn't useless; Alexei had simply been too arrogant.

Wait!

If that was true, then when Theus had sent him to negotiate with the pirates before...

Alexei smacked his lips.

He'd assumed the lord was too timid to show his face.

But now it was clear he'd been utterly wrong. Theus had even dared to withhold the sea taxes. How could he possibly be afraid to negotiate with pirates?

So back then, when Alexei thought he understood Theus's intentions and went to pay off the pirates...

Alexei gritted his teeth.

And when Theus had come in person today, besides getting Alexei out of trouble, perhaps he'd also meant to show him how it was done.

He hadn't just avoided taking a loss. He'd put the two pirates in their place and secured an extra month.

Alexei felt ashamed. He really hadn't done well enough. He lacked Theus's finesse and hadn't been able to bring the pirates under control by force.

Alexei had risen from an orphan to a seventh-rank civil official through hard work, but also because he was the kind of person who admitted his mistakes and corrected them.

He really hadn't done well. If Theus scolded him for it, he wouldn't complain.

Alexei straightened up.

But then he looked at his lord in surprise—

Theus handed him a scimitar.