Chapter 373 - 168: Maid? Guard
"Ronan, can you tell which family these people belong to?" Clelia asked, her smile fading.
Ronan, with his remaining thirty-two pirates, stood behind her. He observed the ships for a moment before saying hesitantly, "They look like nobles from the Shetland Kingdom. As for which family from the West Coast, I’m not sure."
"Nobles from Shetland? No wonder..."
’No wonder they’re all so stupid!’
Clelia couldn’t help but feel amused. It seemed the incident at the Caster City State hadn’t made much of an impression on these nobles.
’I wonder what Wei’en will think when he finds out?’
’He’d probably be more than happy to slaughter them all, wouldn’t he?’
Soon, the two ships caught up to the three-masted sailboat in the lead. The relentlessly firing cannons riddled it with holes until it looked like a sieve.
Its hull and deck were covered in holes. Seawater poured onto the ship, carrying aberrations with it, which then clashed with the well-dressed guards.
"...Vian, you can’t escape. Just come with me quietly!"
"Don’t even think about it, Massimo! If I die, word of what happened today will surely reach the Northern Continent. You, and your entire clan, will pay the price for this!"
A clear, bright voice rang out. A young woman in a long, noble-style dress stood at the ship’s bow. She had a graceful figure and long, dark green hair that fluttered in the wind. One hand was pressed to her chest, while the other gripped the ship’s railing for dear life.
From a distance, you could see her silver-gray eyes filled with indignation and sorrow. Her delicate and frail appearance inspired a desire to protect her.
Not far in front of her, the five remaining guards, led by a blonde, blue-eyed female Extraordinary, were killing the aberrations that surged up from the sea one by one.
"Miss Vian, I’m sure you’re aware that the Soyel Clan sent you here for a marriage alliance with our Brand Clan. Even if I were to imprison you in my castle, no one would come to your rescue."
The young noble in the lead gazed at Vian with a pitying look, as if admiring a rare, wilting flower. He sighed, "We had such a wonderful afternoon together. Why must you reject my affections?"
Vian bit her lip, fighting back tears, and turned her head away in defiance.
"Why make this so difficult?"
The young noble named Massimo stared at Vian with a burning gaze and waved a hand to the men behind him. "Go get her. Be careful not to kill her."
"Yes~"
"Hm? Samantha, since when did your voice become so soft and sweet?" Massimo turned his head, his eyes flying wide. "You?!"
Clelia was leaning against the nearby railing, watching him languidly. She licked her lips and said, "Didn’t you invite me to dinner? Well, I’m here~"
"Where’s Samantha? What are you all standing around for? Seize her!" No matter how stupid Massimo was, he knew something was wrong. He looked at the guards on either side of him and snarled.
But no matter how much he yelled, all the guards on his ship—and on the adjacent one, where the cannons had fallen silent—stood motionless, staring at him with vacant eyes.
"You want them to seize me?"
Clelia chuckled and tapped her fingers on the railing. One by one, the guards beside her transformed into her likeness, their equally exquisite faces wearing the same seductive expression. "Go on, try~"
"You..." The young noble’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at the Clelias before him. "You did this to all of them..."
"What do you think?"
Clelia’s smile vanished, her gaze turning ice-cold as she glared at him. "There isn’t a single woman on this entire ship. It makes me question your status as a noble."
Huh?
’What does she mean, "woman"?’
"Forget it. You can just go die."
Clelia snapped her fingers. A few of the puppets behind her stepped forward, grabbed the young noble, and began dragging him toward the railing.
"Hey, what are you doing? Let me go! Let go of me! No! The Brand Clan will never let you get away with this! Don’t kill me!!!"
SPLASH!
The young noble, his face pale with terror, was thrown into the sea. Only a few desperate screams escaped before the aberrations lying in wait below tore him to shreds, staining a patch of the water red with his blood.
At that moment, the people on the other ship stared at Clelia, utterly astonished. They never expected the young noble to be the first one to die at sea.
"Vian, Vian..."
Hearing the voice, the young woman with dark green hair snapped back to her senses and looked at the blonde Extraordinary nearby. "Haisa, what’s happening..."
The blonde Extraordinary watched Clelia warily and whispered, "That woman over there is Thousand-faced Kreya of the Eternal Life Association. She’s a terrifying person. If she captures us, our fate will be even worse than being taken by Massimo. We might even be turned into her puppets."
"Listen to me. In a moment, don’t do anything rash. Just jump with me. I’m not a hundred percent certain, but with that Fine-grade Rune Equipment, we should be able to escape to the mainland."
"Haisa, you should escape on your own. You’ll have a better chance. If you take me with you, you might not make it either," Vian refused.
She looked at the subtly churning sea around them. Months of sailing had long since instilled in her a reverence for the Cordo Sea. Even the Holy Professionals of Lady Storm couldn’t handle the terrifying deep-sea aberrations, let alone the two of them.
"Listen, you have to do what I..."
"I say, is it really all right for you to just ignore me like this~?"
After dealing with the Extraordinaries and guards on the other two ships, Clelia flashed over to the three-masted sailboat, which was on the verge of sinking. She studied Vian and the others with great interest.