Chapter 374 - 168: Maid? Guard
"How about I wait for this ship to sink completely, then come back and fish you out?"
CLANG!
Hearing the sound, the blonde Extraordinary, Haisa, fiercely swung her longsword at Clelia, roaring, "Vian, don’t hesitate! Use that piece of Rune Equipment and get out of here!"
"I..."
"I wouldn’t move if I were you~ You’ll die~" Clelia dodged the longsword, and with a light tap of her toes, instantly appeared beside Vian, a hand resting on her shoulder.
"I..." Vian stared at Clelia, who was now just inches away, and her hands fell uselessly to her sides.
Clelia shot her a satisfied glance, then turned to the blonde Extraordinary and chuckled. "Now, are you still planning on waving that worthless sword around?"
"You!?" The blonde Extraordinary glared at her in fury, but after a moment, she threw down her longsword. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Don’t hurt her. She’s just an ordinary person. If you want a puppet, use me!"
"A puppet?"
Clelia shook her head. "That would be such a waste. You both have a much greater use... especially you, an Extraordinary."
Haisa froze for a moment. Seeing that Clelia wasn’t harming Vian, she relaxed slightly. "Lady of a Thousand Faces, what do you intend to do with us?"
"Me?" A smile danced in Clelia’s eyes. "Why, to make you members of my guard, of course~"
"Your guard? Me? Her?"
Vian’s jaw dropped. No matter how clever she was, she had never imagined this terrifying Extraordinary would have such an idea.
"Are you sure?" The blonde Extraordinary, Haisa, gave Vian a slight shake of her head, then looked at Clelia and asked earnestly, "If we agree, will you promise not to harm us?"
"A promise? Do you really believe in something so cheap?"
"..."
A hint of impatience crossed Clelia’s face. "Either agree to become part of my Queen’s Guard, or I’ll throw you onto that ship to be maids!"
"I’m sure those pirates would be more than happy to welcome you aboard~"
"M-maids?"
"P-pirates?!" Only then did Haisa notice the *Ronan* in the distance. When she saw the lecherous, triangular eyes of Ronan the Second Officer on its deck, she agreed without a second thought. "We agree!"
Her face a mixture of anxiety and fear, she frantically motioned for Vian to agree as well.
Vian only needed one glance at the bare-chested pirates to nod frantically. "As long as you don’t hurt us, I agree!"
’How terrifying. How could people be like that?’
"Now, that’s more like it~"
Beaming with delight, Clelia led Vian and Haisa back to the *Ronan*.
"First Officer," Ronan said, sighing in relief at her safe return. "What about the other two ships...?"
"I still have a use for them. You just stick to our course. It’ll save me from getting chewed out by the Captain when he shows up."
"We should just ignore them?"
"Hm?"
Noticing her gaze turn hostile, Ronan hastily nodded. "As the First Officer commands."
With that, he herded the pirates, who were drooling over Vian, back to their posts.
Vian and Haisa exchanged a glance, clasping their hands together tightly and huddling even closer to one another.
’The people on this ship... they’re all so terrifying!’
"By the way," Clelia said, glancing at them, "there’s one thing I feel I must remind you of."
"What is it?" Haisa said through clenched teeth.
"You don’t need to worry about the others. But there is one person... Mmm, the captain of this ship. He’s very fond of... *bullying*... beautiful ladies like you."
"B-bullying?"
Vian’s mind couldn’t help but conjure images from the novels she had read on her journey: evil captains who imprisoned beautiful ladies, forcing them day and night to...
"That’s right! It’s exactly what you’re thinking right now!"
"Um, L-Lady of a Thousand Faces... as your Guards, we... we won’t be bullied by the captain, right?"
Seeing the expressions on their faces, amusement danced in Clelia’s eyes. "Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll ensure your safety. However, if you see a young man with long, red hair on the ship in the future, remember to keep your distance."
’Red hair? A young captain?’
Haisa looked at her in confusion. ’Why does that sound so familiar?’
"Come on, I’ll take you to meet the other members of the Queen’s Guard~"
Vian and Haisa exchanged a look and followed close behind, their hearts filled with terror and panic.
’They had no idea when they would ever be able to escape...’