Chapter 37

“So noisy, trash.”

A warm, rough hand reached out from behind and covered the Navigator’s eyes. Miguel instinctively stumbled back a few steps, his back hitting a solid chest—before he could even feel touched, the hand on his face yanked him backward without mercy. The next second, Miguel fell backward, and Caesar, who had stepped aside just in time, watched as the startled Navigator face-planted hard onto the deck.

Sitting on the ground, blinking in confusion, Miguel couldn’t decide whether to shout “That hurts!” or “Ghost!” or “Damn dog!”

With a loud bang, the man, who had woken up at some point, forcefully closed the window. His face was now filled with murderous intent. He glanced at Miguel, who was squatting on the floor, and snorted, “Speak of the devil. Why are you so unlucky?”

Miguel: “…What does that have to do with me? You’re the one who brought it up!”

Caesar ignored him, striding out of the Captain’s Cabin with his long legs. The moment he stepped out, the quiet night was shattered by the sound of gunfire. The crew on duty, who had been half-asleep, were jolted awake and began shouting, “What’s going on?” Rubbing his butt, Miguel stood up and made his way to the deck just in time to see Caesar grab the collar of the helmsman on duty and toss him aside, taking the helm himself.

Frowning deeply, Caesar said in a low voice, “Everyone, get up, you trash—tighten the ropes, raise the sails, hard to starboard, full speed ahead.”

The crew: “…”

Haven’t noticed it yet? Facing the crew’s blank expressions, Caesar sighed helplessly, “Look to your left.”

Everyone turned to look left.

Crewman A: “The fog’s so thick, I can’t see clearly. What’s that light? A lighthouse?”

Crewman B: “But there’s no lighthouse in the middle of the sea.”

Crewman C: “Shh, I think I hear the sound of a ship.”

Berry: “I… you… hard to starboard! Full speed ahead!—It’s the Lady Lovibond, that ghost ship with the bra-wearing captain is out for blood—we’ve seen a ghost, brothers!!!”

Berry’s words plunged the deck into a deathly silence for a moment. The next second, someone in the crowd let out a tearful shout of “Mom!” and chaos erupted on the ship. These superstitious sailors feared only three things—Caesar, ghosts, and being broke (…).

Caesar sneered, his face expressionless as he gripped the helm. The heavy wheel, which normally required a trained and strong sailor to control, turned effortlessly in his powerful hands. As the wheel was turned hard to starboard, the ship let out a deep groan, the wooden structure creaking under the strain. The Wind Fury turned its bulky bow with remarkable speed, shifting from running parallel to the Lady Lovibond to a thirty-degree angle—sixty degrees—ninety degrees—almost immediately putting a safe distance between the two ships.

On the Wind Fury, the usually fearless crew clung to the railings, watching as the Lady Lovibond gradually fell behind. At that moment, the moonlight illuminated the sea, and everyone saw the beautiful woman standing on the bow of the Lady Lovibond—she was dressed in the latest fashion, her white dress fluttering in the sea breeze as if dancing. She pursed her lips, her flawless face glowing, and she giggled at the stunned crew, her laughter sweet and ethereal.

The smile of a female ghost.

…The crew, who were already scared out of their wits, couldn’t appreciate it.

“M-mom!”

At the first sound of the woman’s giggle, one of the more cowardly crewmen started, and the rest of the crew exploded into chaos, crying and shouting as they scattered across the deck. Only the crewmen manning the masts and sails stood their ground with grim determination—

In the chaos, no one noticed the vein that popped on the Captain’s temple when the woman let out her first sweet laugh.

On the Lady Lovibond.

“…Oh, they ran away.”

The young woman sighed, propping her chin on one hand. She tilted her head, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the tall man standing at the helm of the Wind Fury, who was expressionlessly steering the ship. At that moment, a tall, lean figure appeared behind her, standing silently, as if waiting for her next command.

“I finally caught Little Caesar, I can’t let him get away,” the woman said lightly. “Extend the cannons, prepare to fire.”

“Yes, Captain,” the man said, bowing slightly before disappearing into the mist.

On the Wind Fury.

“They’ve extended their cannons, Big Dog,” Miguel said expressionlessly, lowering the telescope from his eyes and handing it back to the Captain. He then ducked behind the man with remarkable agility. “I feel like that woman is looking at you—did you mess around with her or something?”

“Shut up.”

At that moment, the Wind Fury was almost at full speed. In the Mediterranean Sea, this ship, once separated from its fleet, was one of the fastest. Yet, it seemed unable to shake off the Lady Lovibond, which followed at a constant distance, neither too far nor too close. The two ships engaged in a silent chase across the vast sea.

“They’ve extended their cannons!” a crewman with good night vision shouted tearfully on the deck. “Damn it, we can’t shake that ghost ship!”

“Aaaaaah, I never want to hear that woman laugh again! Captain, let’s fire back! Whatever it is, let’s blast it first!”

“Yeah! Blast it first!”

A chorus of chaotic agreement rose from the crowd.

Strangely, at this moment, Caesar fell into an unusual silence.

Miguel, standing beside him, gave him a strange sidelong glance, thinking that normally Big Dog would’ve ordered them to fire by now. Today’s “run first, think later” attitude was way out of character—wait, wait, wait, does that mean the delays these past few days were to avoid the Lady Lovibond?

Isn’t it a ghost ship? How does Big Dog know it would appear?

Kicking the silent man, Miguel opened his mouth, about to say something, when suddenly, a loud bang came from the bow, and the entire ship shook. The bow lurched, and the ship was pushed sideways for a short distance. Miguel, who hadn’t braced himself, almost got thrown overboard—

The reaction from the crew below was even more intense.

“We’ve been hit!”

“This is going too far! Captain, request to fire! We need to fight back—even if it’s a ghost, we’ll fight back!”

“I’ve never hit a beautiful woman in my life, but today I’ll make an exception—where’s my sword! Where’s my sword!”

“The lower deck is taking on water, a small team, follow me down to patch it up, everyone else, stand by!”

“Yes!”

Miguel steadied himself on the railing, his face showing undisguised surprise. In the entire Mediterranean Sea, no ship had ever dared to openly fire at the Wind Fury. Turning to look at Caesar, he saw that the man’s face was calm, showing no intention of fighting back.

With a calm expression, Caesar held the helm with one hand and a freshly lit cigarette in the other, focused solely on running.

Miguel: “Are you possessed by a female ghost?”

Caesar: “Shut up.”

Miguel: “Running away without hesitation, that’s not like you.”

Caesar: “If we stop to fire, we’ll get caught.”

Miguel: “?”

Caesar gave the Navigator a look that said, “You naive child,” and said, “You’ll know what ‘running away in terror’ really means when we get caught.”

The Wind Fury, like a strong young man, ran with all its might under Caesar’s lead. Behind it, the Lady Lovibond, like a lady in high heels, followed at a leisurely pace, the sound of cannon fire like her cooing, “Hee hee hee, don’t run, you little rascal.”

Strangely, after the first shot hit, all the subsequent shots from the Lady Lovibond missed the Wind Fury, exploding harmlessly around it.

Such terrible aim? For a ghost ship, that shouldn’t be the case.

Miguel turned back in confusion, and under the moonlight, the young man with black hair saw the beautiful woman standing on the highest point of the Lady Lovibond, her skirt billowing in the wind, revealing her pale thighs. She stood with one foot brazenly on the railing, and as Miguel turned to look, she frowned, a cigarette between her slender fingers, which she took a drag from, the ember glowing in the dark.

Miguel: “…”

I must’ve turned around wrong.

Miguel expressionlessly turned his head back: “Big Dog?”

Caesar, focused on steering the ship: “What?”

Miguel: “Turn around and look.”

Caesar: “No.”

Miguel: “Turn around, it’s amazing.”

Caesar: “…No, looking at her makes my head hurt.”

Below them, the crew of the Wind Fury wailed like ghosts and howled like wolves.

Behind them, the beautiful female ghost stood on the Lady Lovibond, her thighs exposed to the wind, smoking a cigarette with a domineering air.

The two ships chased each other flirtatiously for a full nautical mile before the woman on the Lady Lovibond finally called out in a coquettish voice—

“—If you keep running, I’ll get angry!”

The crew of the Wind Fury: Go ahead and get angry, but we’re still running, lady!

Caesar raised his hand and lit another cigarette, holding it between his lips.

“—I’m really getting angry now!”

The crew of the Wind Fury: Captain, keep going! Run, run!

Caesar extinguished the cigarette and expressionlessly let go of the helm.

The crew of the Wind Fury: …?!

Miguel: “Not running anymore?”

“Nope,” Caesar replied in a low voice, still expressionless.

The crew of the Wind Fury: …!!

Letting go of the helm, Caesar turned around with a hint of helplessness. The first thing he saw was the beautiful young woman on the Lady Lovibond, her hair slightly disheveled by the sea breeze. She raised her small chin proudly, one foot on the railing, and when she saw Caesar turn around, she gave him a sly smile.

The man’s brows furrowed slightly, and he spoke in a low, magnetic voice.

“Margarita.”

“Little Caesar.”

“Pull down your skirt, I can see your underwear.”

On the Lady Lovibond, the woman named Margarita was momentarily stunned, then quickly pulled her skirt back into place. Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone, she stood on the railing, the sea breeze blowing through her flaxen hair. She spread her arms wide, her face blooming with a radiant smile, and she said to Caesar—

“Son, mwah.”