The pirate captain grabbed my head and face, forcing me to watch Keith and Berto.

"Keep going!"

At his booming command, heavy blows rang out.

"Ugh!"

"Keith!"

He fell.

The protagonist had fallen.

I'd become a burden.

If only I were a better shot, none of this would have happened.

I struggled, but it was useless.

The pirate laughed down at me as if I were pathetic.

Biting the soft flesh inside my cheek until it hurt, I spat out the words.

"I'll do anything you want. Just please stop."

"Hahaha! That's exactly what powerless people always say."

The pirate captain turned me around so we were face-to-face.

"Anything I want, huh..."

A filthy look filled his eyes as he licked his lips.

But seriously, even if I looked easy to handle, he was far too careless.

Both of my hands were free.

I pulled the dagger Keith had given me from my holster and, without hesitation, drove it into the pirate's chest with all my strength.

"Urgh—!"

"Ugh!"

The moment I hit the ground, I sprang back up.

Then I grabbed the revolver I had dropped and loaded it.

"Hey, pirates. The hostage has changed now, so we're done here, right?"

Keeping about a meter of distance from the pirate captain, I aimed my gun at the pirates who had been freely trampling Keith and Berto.

"Y-you bitch...!"

The pirate captain doubled over in pain, cursing.

One pirate tried to rush me, but Keith instantly stopped him with a sword thrust.

"Tch... W-we'll retreat."

"Don't you remember what you said earlier? There's no way I'd believe that."

The pirate captain spoke through clenched teeth, humiliated.

Without hesitation, I tightened my finger on the trigger.

Bang!

He collapsed instantly without even managing a scream.

His eyes, still widened with rage, remained fixed on me even after death.

My arm slowly lowered.

"Captain...!"

The remaining pirates were quickly dealt with by Keith and Berto.

I gripped the revolver's handle tightly with trembling hands and extended my arm once more.

Where's Perian?

The final male lead, Perian, was a doctor.

Unlike the others, he had no combat ability.

The pirate captain was dead, but it would be a problem if Perian got taken hostage by someone else.

As I cautiously backed away while scanning my surroundings, something touched my back.

My heart nearly stopped.

A pirate...!

I absolutely couldn't get captured again.

I spun around and aimed my gun.

But after seeing the face of the man standing there with both hands raised, I lowered it.

"I'm not a pirate."

A gentle voice.

The eldest son of House Orde.

"Perian?"

"So you know my name."

He smiled softly.

Why was he talking like that?

Perian and the delinquent noble lady already knew each other.

No, now isn't the time to think about that.

I started to raise the revolver again when someone suddenly grabbed my arm.

"Tatiana!"

"Keith? The pirates—"

Looking behind him, I saw that every pirate was lying on the ground.

"Damn it."

Keith examined my neck.

Seeing the red handprints left there, he couldn't even bring himself to touch them.

All he could do was curse.

"We got them all. We're going to a clinic immediately."

The revolver that I had been clutching so tightly my hand hurt slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground.

Thank goodness.

Then a thought suddenly struck me.

I froze.

I killed someone...

So why don't I feel guilty at all?

He deserved to die. What would have happened if I hadn't pulled the trigger?

Not feeling anything was probably normal.

And yet...

I couldn't forget the pirate captain's eyes.

Even after his breathing stopped, they had remained fixed on me.

"Tatiana? What's wrong—?!"

Comforting myself with the fact that I had saved Keith, I closed my eyes.

* * *

Thanks to Tatiana, the pirate crew had been defeated safely.

Among the villagers, only one child—the boy who had been taken hostage—had been injured, suffering nothing more than a scrape from being thrown aside by the pirate.

"I never imagined Her Ladyship would step in. Things could have turned disastrous."

The doctor, Perian, treated Keith and Berto's injuries at a small clinic in Hibery Village.

Tatiana, who had collapsed unconscious, was receiving IV fluids in another room.

"...To be honest, I'm still surprised myself. Anyway, I'm glad both of you managed to cross the Black Sea safely."

"The Black Sea?"

At Keith's words, Perian and Berto looked at him in confusion.

"You didn't know? We're beyond the Black Sea."

Seeing their shock, Keith explained everything Tatiana had told him, along with everything that had happened so far.

The moment he finished speaking, Perian spoke while suppressing his anger.

"You're not planning to take the lady with us, are you?"

It was an unusual reaction from him.

Perian normally maintained a gentle demeanor because of his reputation.

Even in front of Keith and Berto, who knew his true nature, he rarely showed such open displeasure.

"Until we know whether the lady joined hands with the Empress or is another victim herself, traveling together is the correct choice."

At Keith's firm declaration, Perian frowned.

"Didn't Your Highness say it yourself? That she became a completely different person? That she even lied about having amnesia to change her behavior? Doesn't that clearly mean she has an ulterior motive?"

Perian had a point.

The Tatiana they knew would never sacrifice herself for a child she despised.

But Keith couldn't properly explain it.

He had said she was different.

Yet what he truly felt was that she had somehow returned to the way she used to be.

"Have you still not suffered enough because of that delinquent?"

"Watch your words."

Berto, who had been silently listening, finally stepped in.

"Marquis, surely you don't believe that troublemaker has actually changed?"

"I merely follow my lord's orders."

"Sometimes loyal advice is necessary."

"Enough."

Keith stopped them with a deep sigh.

Realizing he had become overly emotional, Perian calmed himself.

"I'm only worried about you. You know better than anyone what kind of woman she is."

Keith's eyes lost focus as memories surfaced.

After he left for war, Tatiana became seriously ill and disappeared from public view.

One year later, the very first thing she did after recovering was send him poison.

Then came her endless atrocities.

Bullying noble ladies was among the mildest of them.

She lived extravagantly and indulged in endless debauchery.

Keith had broken because of her.

Even when he committed his first killing.

Even when he was betrayed by a trusted comrade and nearly died.

He had endured.

But Tatiana had shattered him completely.

And just when he thought he had finally buried his first love in his heart...

They had all been abandoned in this place together.

"Perian, I understand your concerns. You've suffered because of her as well. But right now, as Crown Prince, my responsibility is to protect the Empire's citizens."

It wasn't lingering affection.

It was precisely because he had killed those feelings that he could give her a chance.

"If she crosses the line, she will receive the punishment she deserves. Whatever that punishment may be, I will carry it out myself."

Perian could say nothing more.

Keith was declaring that he would even take Tatiana's life if necessary.

"However, given her history, surveillance is necessary. Both of you keep a close watch on her. If anything suspicious happens, report it to me immediately."

The emotionless red eyes of Keith flashed coldly.

* * *

"Where am I...?"

"You're awake?"

Still groggy and blinking blankly, I turned toward the gentle voice.

Perian Orde.

Soft brown hair.

Warm green eyes.

A hypocritical, scheming man.

"How long was I asleep?"

Trying to remain calm despite the appearance of the person ranked number one on my list of people to watch, I asked casually.

"Hmm... about twenty hours?"

After checking a clock, he answered cheerfully.

"...What?"

"Twenty hours. Thanks to you, the pirate crew was dealt with safely. It's the next day now."

I immediately asked again.

"Why?"

It made no sense.

I hadn't been hit on the head.

I'd only gotten my hair yanked.

How had that led to twenty hours of unconsciousness?

"'Why?' You're asking me why?"

Perian laughed in disbelief.

"I'm the one who should be asking questions. Malnutrition. Anemia. Lack of muscle mass. Actually, it would be faster to list the things you're not deficient in."

That wasn't my fault.

It was all because of that fake angel.

If he was going to give me a mission to save the world, the least he could do was make sure I was healthy.

Perian frowned while examining my chart.

Looks like he still hadn't completely dropped the mask.

He was still pretending to be a concerned doctor.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For examining and treating me."

Perian stared at me silently.

Then came an unmistakable sneer.

"You must be terrified."

Never mind.

I'd been mistaken.

He had thrown away the mask long ago.

The expression he showed now was one of pure disgust.