She could not help it. She desperately needed money.
Under different circumstances, she would gladly have spent the entire night drinking with these two newcomers to Bilgewater.
But her plan for revenge required money at every turn. Merely thinking about the daily expenses was enough to give her a headache.
Then, at precisely such a time, someone had appeared who might as well have written "I'm rich" across his face. How could Miss Fortune possibly resist teaching him a lesson about how cruel the world could be?
"I was born into a noble family in Demacia, but after a brutal struggle within the family, I was cast out. I escaped by ship and eventually found my way here..."
Luke's face was flushed with alcohol. He spoke as though the words had been weighing on his heart for years and he finally could not hold them back any longer.
He described how difficult and miserable his journey had been, emphasizing every hardship he had endured.
Miss Fortune cooperated perfectly, expressing outrage and sympathy on his behalf while silently reaching her own conclusions.
So he was an impoverished noble who had been driven from his family. The only question was how much money he had brought with him.
People from Demacia rarely came here, but they were usually stubbornly straightforward. To put it plainly, they were rigid thinkers and easy to fool.
What other kind of people would raise massive swords every day and shout, "For Demacia!"?
After clinking glasses with him again, Miss Fortune drained her wine in one swallow. A faint rosy flush had appeared on her delicate cheeks.
"I truly sympathize with what happened to you. But now that you've reached the Blue Flame Isles, you can relax. Stick with me, and you won't have any problems."
Luke looked deeply moved. His eyes warmed as he raised his glass.
"I've heard plenty about the Blue Flame Isles, but I never imagined I would meet someone as kind as you on my very first day here. Honestly, we didn't entirely trust you at first, but now you've earned my confidence, my friend."
"I'm honored."
Miss Fortune raised her glass again and emptied another serving of wine. Her tolerance was exceptional. She could drink almost anyone under the table.
"The Blue Flame Isles are filled with both danger and opportunity. Perhaps one day, you'll gain enough power here to return home and confront your family."
"You're right."
Ambition blazed in Luke's eyes as he declared with absolute confidence, "I'll make my comeback here and reclaim everything I lost!"
You might have one more thing to reclaim after tonight.
Miss Fortune laughed inwardly. Her red lips parted as she encouraged him.
"I'm sure you can do it. I rarely misjudge people. You have the potential to accomplish great things."
"I rarely misjudge people either," Luke replied with heartfelt sincerity. "You're truly a good person."
In a place like Bilgewater, calling someone a good person was practically an insult.
Miss Fortune scoffed inwardly. She would rather be the worst person alive than a good one.
Even so, she raised her glass with a radiant smile.
"To our meeting today!"
"Cheers!"
They drank several more glasses.
By now, many empty bottles had accumulated across the table.
"Why am I suddenly feeling sleepy?"
Luke began swaying in his seat. His eyelids drooped repeatedly, as though he could barely remain awake.
"Then you should rest for a while."
A smile curved across Miss Fortune's lips.
She knew Luke was not simply tired from drinking. While he had not been paying attention, she had slipped something into his wine.
With a thud, Luke collapsed onto the table. Yurna had already fallen into a deep sleep beside him.
"Don't worry. I reserved this room until tomorrow morning. No one will disturb you before then. You have my reputation as a guarantee."
As Miss Fortune spoke, she rose and approached them. She searched through Luke's pockets and eventually found two money pouches.
One contained the bounty for Borika. The other held Luke's own money.
When she opened it, she found it filled with glittering gold coins. She had always been fond of that particular color.
She did not spare Yurna either. After thoroughly searching her clothes, Miss Fortune found another pouch.
"You may be a fallen noble, but you certainly brought plenty of money."
Miss Fortune examined the contents and took several coins out, leaving them on the table.
"You should wake up within an hour at most. I hope you remember this lesson. I'm not a good person."
There was a substantial amount of money in the pouches, along with two gemstones. Miss Fortune was quite satisfied with her earnings.
By the time they woke an hour later, she would have vanished without a trace.
This would undoubtedly make enemies of them, but Miss Fortune already had no shortage of enemies throughout the Blue Flame Isles.
Just as she was about to leave with the money, completely satisfied with herself, a wave of dizziness suddenly struck her. She nearly lost her footing.
Did I drink too much?
She immediately dismissed the thought. There was no chance such a small amount of alcohol could overwhelm her.
As her vision grew increasingly blurred, she finally realized something was wrong.
Miss Fortune braced herself against a nearby chair, but her body went limp. Before losing consciousness, she saw Luke sit upright, his eyes completely clear and a faint smile on his face.
"It seems our little performance ends here, Miss Fortune."
Disbelief flashed through Miss Fortune's beautiful eyes. Then they closed, and she fell completely unconscious.
Luke's smile disappeared as he looked at her.
How could he possibly have failed to notice such an amateur trick? He had only wanted to let the performance continue so he could see her expression at the end.
Watching her go from absolute confidence to complete failure at the final moment had been every bit as entertaining as he expected.
Miss Fortune abruptly awoke.
The first thing she noticed was that both her hands and feet had been tied, leaving her completely restrained.
Her thoughts were initially chaotic, but she quickly regained clarity and reconstructed what had happened.
She remembered drugging the other two, only to somehow end up drugged herself.
Luke's face immediately appeared in her mind. Miss Fortune was both alarmed and utterly confused. When had he tampered with her wine?
How could the great Miss Fortune have been defeated by some nameless newcomer?
Once she fully understood the situation, she tried to assess the condition of her body. The tension in her heart eased slightly.
As far as she could tell, no one had done anything to her.
She had never personally experienced that sort of thing, but she was not completely clueless.
From what she knew, a woman's first time was supposed to be especially painful.
She felt no such discomfort, which meant the situation was not yet as terrible as it could have been.
"It appears you understand your situation."
Luke's voice came from nearby.
Miss Fortune turned her head and saw him sitting a short distance away. He wore a smile and watched her with open amusement.
The position in which she had been bound was deeply humiliating. She lay on her back with her hands tied over her abdomen. Her legs had been raised and bent at the knees.
As a result, the curves of her hips were perfectly displayed before Luke.
Miss Fortune had never been forced into such an embarrassing position before.
It was the greatest humiliation of her life.
"It seems I underestimated you. I never expected your true nature to be so different from your appearance."
Miss Fortune's voice was cold, stripped of its usual seductive lightness.
"Do you know me well enough to say that? You're the one whose true nature is different from her appearance." Luke smiled calmly. "Had you not tried anything underhanded, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Miss Fortune said nothing. The subtle movement in her eyes revealed that she had not given up. She was searching for a way out of her predicament.
Besides, Luke was right, and she had no argument against him.
Luke watched her think without interrupting. He simply waited at his leisure.
Miss Fortune soon concluded that escaping by herself was practically impossible.
She gave up and sighed.
"Release me. What do you want in exchange?"
"What makes you so certain I intend to release you?"
"There's a saying in Bilgewater that a dead person has no value. You outplayed me, and I accept that. But surely you don't need to kill someone just because she tried to steal from you?"
Miss Fortune blinked. She seemed to recover her composure, and her seductive charm returned to her beautiful eyes.
"That's difficult to say. I'm temperamental, and you're a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. Whether I decide to act depends entirely on my mood."
Luke's threat had no effect. Miss Fortune did not even blink and remained perfectly calm.
"In that case, you tell me," Luke continued. "What are you willing to offer in exchange for your freedom?"
A thief motivated by greed certainly did not deserve death, but Luke had no intention of letting her go so easily.
Miss Fortune considered the question.
"I have money."
"Do I look like someone who needs money?" Luke chuckled. "Besides, if you have money, why were you plotting to take someone else's?"
"Who ever believes they have too much money? Ask the people outside. Their greed is endless."
Miss Fortune spoke as though it were self-evident.
"Besides, having money doesn't mean I'm not short on it."
"Then tell me why you need it."
"Do I need a reason to need money?"
Miss Fortune answered with a question. When Luke merely sat there smiling, she sighed again and told him the truth.
"I support a large number of people, and their expenses aren't small. Practically everything I want to accomplish requires money. To establish yourself in the Blue Flame Isles, you need two things, money and strength."
"This place consumes wealth like an enormous whirlpool. Everything goes in, and nothing comes back out."
After saying all of that in one breath, she began panting slightly. Maintaining her awkward position had left her chest rising and falling visibly.
Luke remained unaffected by the alluring sight. He even took a leisurely sip of tea.
"Why are you supporting so many people? What are you planning to do with them?"
"Could you at least let me sit upright first?"
Miss Fortune could pretend not to care, but she did not want to remain in such a disgraceful position before a man.
Luke glanced at Yurna.
Yurna stepped forward and helped Miss Fortune sit up. She remained tied, but at least she was now sitting upright and facing Luke.
Her gaze sharpened when she noticed the two pistols on the table before him. Those weapons were the foundation that allowed her to survive in Bilgewater.
She had no choice but to admit that Luke had completely defeated her.
She had been far too confident in herself. She had not noticed how or when Luke had acted.
Even now, her body remained weak and limp, without the slightest strength.
"Who in Bilgewater doesn't have ambitions of their own? Do you think I'm content to remain an insignificant bounty hunter forever?"
She inhaled, slowly exhaled, and fixed her almond-shaped eyes on Luke.
"Release me now, and I'll remember the favor when I rise to power in the future."
"Do you really think your words still sound sincere?" Luke calmly sipped his tea. "Besides, I want to hear the truth."
"The truth?"
Miss Fortune paused and studied Luke closely before answering naturally.
"I am telling the truth. My dream has always been to become the Pirate King."
Luke smiled.
"To be honest, I've always wanted to become the Pirate King's man."
Miss Fortune did not understand him at first. However, no one who had survived in Bilgewater could remain innocent for long.
After a brief pause, realization struck her, and irritation flashed through her eyes as she stared at Luke.
She wanted to become the Pirate King, while he wanted to become the Pirate King's man?
Miss Fortune took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm.
"What exactly do you want? My people know I came to this tavern. If I don't leave within the next half hour, I imagine they'll become anxious."
That was not an empty threat. It was the truth.
For the sake of her revenge, she had cultivated a group of loyal followers. If she failed to emerge from the Nine-Roar Hydra soon, someone would come to check on her safety.
Luke remained perfectly calm.
"I already told you. I want the truth. Your real objective. You didn't bring us to meet Borika tonight merely for the bounty, did you?"
Miss Fortune's pupils contracted slightly. Her expression changed before she could control it, and she stared at Luke.
Had he not arrived in Bilgewater only today, she might have suspected that he already knew something.
For all these years, she had hidden her identity. She never spoke of what had happened in the past and had never revealed her true intentions.
Was this man simply that perceptive? Had he actually noticed that she possessed another motive?
When she continued hesitating, Luke guided her forward.
"Let's begin with your name. What is your real name?"
"Sarah."
After two seconds of silence, Miss Fortune finally answered, slowly speaking a name she rarely used even in her own thoughts.
No one in all of Bilgewater knew her true name, not even the subordinates she trusted.
One day, that name would return to the light, but not yet.
For now, she wanted people to know only that her name was Fortune.
The man before her had completely overturned her original impression of him. His foolish behavior had clearly been nothing more than an act.
Only now did Miss Fortune finally realize that Luke was far from simple.
After all, no one in Bilgewater could have silently neutralized the drug she had used and then drugged her in return without being noticed.
That meant all the tragic stories he had told were probably fabricated as well.
Thinking back on it, Miss Fortune felt utterly blind. She had truly allowed herself to be deceived by his absurdly handsome face.
She was not normally someone who lost her judgment over appearances. No matter how handsome a man was, she should never have become this careless.
But the fact remained that she had been completely outplayed.
"I suspect every story you told us was fabricated. Miss Fortune, why don't you explain the grand plan you're plotting?"
Luke finished the tea in his cup and smiled. Yurna immediately refilled it for him.
Sarah watched Luke, conflict passing through her eyes. In the end, she spoke.
"My true objective is to kill Gangplank and overthrow his rule. I want him to die in disgrace before the eyes of everyone."
As she spoke, every trace of seduction and gentleness vanished. Only intense hatred remained on her beautiful face and within her striking eyes.
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