"He's my first mate. You met him last night, Rafen."
"This is the ship's helmsman, Shabert."
"Our quartermaster, Dar."
"The chief steward, Karina."
"The ship's doctor, Judy."
Sarah introduced everyone in the meeting hall, allowing Luke to become briefly acquainted with them.
Nearly everyone present was highly capable. They were trusted assistants Sarah had recruited over the years, and every one of them was fiercely loyal.
The ship also carried many sailors, gunners, and harpooners. She had already gathered a considerable force.
"This is Luke, our new companion."
Sarah also gave them a brief introduction to Luke, calmly ignoring the peculiar looks passing among the people around the table.
Internally, she added this humiliation to Luke's growing list of offenses.
Had it not been for that bastard, her crew would never have mistaken her for someone keeping a pretty boy on the side.
Sarah had no intention of revealing Luke's identity as a prince yet. His reputation was frighteningly widespread. If anyone accidentally leaked the information, it would probably attract the attention of the entire Blue Flame Isles.
At such a critical moment, Sarah did not want any unexpected complications.
If the title of prince drew too much attention, all her efforts to remain hidden would have been wasted.
"He's the one who helped me kill Borika last night."
After speaking, Sarah sat in the captain's seat at the head of the table. She gave Luke a look, signaling for him to sit as well.
Luke casually dropped into the chair on her left. Rafen was seated opposite him, making it obvious that those positions were reserved for the captain's two closest officers.
No one present objected. Instead, they maintained a strangely understanding silence.
Their exchanged glances seemed to say that everyone already understood what was going on.
Sarah knew they had gotten the wrong idea again. She could only glance helplessly at Luke before calming herself and turning to serious business.
The main subject of the meeting was Borika.
Although he was dead, he had left behind a considerable group of followers.
Openly targeting them would inevitably arouse suspicion.
Gangplank might be away on a voyage, but Borika was far from the only subordinate he had left in Bilgewater.
They therefore needed a convincing reason for killing him.
Borika himself was not especially powerful, but he had a formidable master behind him. That was why no one had been willing to provoke him for so long.
Had he truly been easy to touch, someone would have thrown him into the sea for the sharks long ago.
To prevent perceptive observers from noticing anything unusual, they needed a story they could present to the outside world.
After everyone discussed the matter for some time, the ship's doctor, Judy, suddenly looked at Luke as he yawned.
"Don't we already have the perfect excuse?"
The room instantly became quiet.
"Ahem."
When Judy noticed everyone looking at her, she cleared her throat and turned toward Sarah.
"I mean, he and the captain are... you know. If someone went after your man, wouldn't that be the same as provoking you?"
Several people around the table suddenly brightened, as though a new path had opened before them.
Of course. The perfect excuse was sitting right there.
Borika had placed a bounty on Luke the previous day, while Luke and the captain were supposedly involved in that kind of relationship.
If Borika wanted Luke dead, then naturally he had offended Miss Fortune.
That gave Sarah an entirely reasonable motive to kill him.
Sarah froze when she heard the suggestion. Her first instinct was to reject it immediately.
She had been falsely accused!
Nothing had happened between her and this man.
Yet everyone was behaving as though everything had happened.
Worse still, if she personally announced the story, would that not confirm the rumors beyond any doubt?
"I have no objections. Sacrificing a little of my reputation is hardly important."
After listening for a while, Luke understood what they meant and nodded with a magnanimous expression.
Sarah turned toward him, anger flashing in her beautiful eyes as she clenched her teeth.
You're the one making a sacrifice now?
Were the rumors supposed to make it sound as though he were the injured party?
Once Sarah calmed down, however, she realized that it truly was an excellent excuse.
The rumor had already spread throughout the Blue Flame Isles. Even if she had a hundred mouths, she could never explain it away.
Since that was the case, they might as well make use of it.
They would announce that Luke was the pretty boy she had been supporting in secret. She had only just brought him to the Blue Flame Isles when Borika set his sights on him.
"We'll do it that way."
Sarah finally nodded and approved the plan.
Even if she refused, the rumors throughout the Blue Flame Isles would not disappear.
The meeting continued.
Their next issue was dealing with Borika's followers, which would be relatively simple.
In addition to using Sarah's own people, they could redirect the remaining hostility toward other captains.
Borika had relied on Gangplank's protection and offended countless people over the years.
Now that Borika was dead and Gangplank was away, his followers would have an extremely difficult time surviving.
Even without Sarah deliberately arranging it, other captains would strike at them from the shadows.
Rafen then spoke.
"Captain, our new problem is that we're running low on money. We urgently need funds in several areas."
Sarah's expression darkened as she sank into thought.
She truly was desperate for money.
Otherwise, she never would have provoked that bastard Luke.
In truth, even if she had succeeded in stealing the money he carried, it would not have lasted more than a few days.
She was supporting a large organization now.
The Syren could not reveal itself around the Blue Flame Isles yet, which meant it could not begin making money.
They also urgently needed funds to purchase cannonballs and other supplies.
After thinking for a long while, Sarah sighed.
"I'll find a solution over the next two days. That concludes today's meeting."
The meeting quickly dispersed.
Once everyone else had left, Sarah stood and looked toward Luke.
"Didn't you say you were going to help me? You've seen the problem we're facing."
Luke smiled.
"I do have quite a lot of money. Unfortunately, most of my wealth is in Demacia. I have no problem funding you, but it would take at least half a month for the money to arrive."
Naturally, he did not carry his entire fortune around for no reason.
Whether he could even fit it all somewhere was another question.
Even for this journey, he and Yurna had only brought around a thousand gold coins. Unless something exceptional happened, that was already more than enough for their expenses.
"So much for relying on you."
Sarah snorted irritably, then sighed and leaned her shapely hips against the edge of the table as she continued thinking.
She still could not confirm Luke's identity as a prince with absolute certainty.
However, she was inclined to believe him.
That also meant she knew she could not depend on him for money she needed immediately.
Gangplank had already been away for some time. He might return before another half month passed. By then, what use would an enormous fortune be?
Sarah needed money now.
She required a massive amount of it to purchase equipment, gunpowder, and cannonballs for her confrontation with the returning Gangplank.
Unable to think of an answer, Sarah soon left the meeting hall. She gave Luke no instructions, apparently leaving to find a way to obtain money.
With nothing else to do, Luke wandered around the Syren and inspected the ship.
Everyone he encountered greeted him with broad smiles. The status of Miss Fortune's supposed lover clearly carried considerable weight.
Luke naturally understood that everyone in the meeting hall had misunderstood his relationship with the redhead.
He did not particularly care whether the misunderstanding was corrected.
Now that Sarah planned to use the rumor, there was even less reason to explain anything.
Two days passed in this manner.
The redhead eventually found Luke lying outside the waterfall and sunbathing, an obviously devious expression on her face.
Seeing him relaxing so comfortably immediately filled her with anger.
Her entire organization was so busy they could barely keep up, yet this man had arrived two days ago and had done absolutely nothing.
Did he truly think he was a pretty boy she was paying to keep around?
However, remembering that she needed his help, Sarah cleared her throat and spoke in a calm voice.
"I've found a way to obtain money, and we can strike at Gangplank at the same time."
Luke opened his eyes.
"What's your plan?"
"This method absolutely requires your participation." Sarah did not answer immediately and instead stared at him. "You've been here for two days. Isn't it time you contributed something?"
Luke instinctively sensed that the redhead was planning something unpleasant.
Suspicion entered his eyes.
"What kind of plan requires you to dance around the subject like this?"
Seeing that he would not be easily fooled, Sarah decided to explain directly.
"I received some information over the last two days. Gangplank has a second-in-command named Juarez. He's been following Gangplank since the early days, when he first began establishing himself in Bilgewater."
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him Gangplank's most trusted confidant. He has participated in countless atrocities committed by Gangplank."
Luke remained lying down but listened attentively.
Sarah had already grown accustomed to his lazy posture and continued.
"However, Juarez isn't the key person in our plan. His lover is."
"His lover?"
"His woman. Her name is Marsili." Sarah explained slowly, "Marsili has been with Juarez for many years and holds a fairly high position within Gangplank's organization. However, she caught a severe chill recently and became seriously ill, so Gangplank didn't bring her on this voyage."
"And?"
"Now we reach the important part." Sarah watched him as she continued, "Over the years, Gangplank has burned, killed, and plundered his way to an astonishing fortune. He couldn't possibly spend all of it, which means he must have hidden it somewhere. His second-in-command, Juarez, would almost certainly know where."
Luke understood where she was going.
"So you believe that if Juarez knows the location, his lover Marsili might know as well?"
"Exactly." Sarah nodded, her beautiful eyes gleaming. "I've investigated Gangplank for years, and I'm certain he has a vast fortune hidden somewhere. He couldn't have moved and concealed everything alone. If we use Marsili as our way in, we may be able to discover the location of his treasure."
Luke nodded in understanding.
"What role am I supposed to play in this operation?"
Sarah looked at him. A seductive curve appeared at the corner of her lips as she blinked.
"According to my information, Marsili is extremely fond of men. She secretly supports three handsome young lovers..."
"You want me to sell my body?"
Before Sarah could finish, Luke had already understood what she appeared to be suggesting.
His eyes widened slightly as he stared at the redhead in disbelief.
He had never imagined that a distinguished prince like himself would one day be asked to trade on his looks.
"What are you thinking?"
Sarah rolled her eyes. She had clearly phrased it that way on purpose and found Luke's reaction highly entertaining.
"I arranged the meeting under the pretext of discussing Borika. You'll accompany me in the role of my... whatever everyone currently thinks you are."
"She genuinely likes handsome men, but all I need is for you to use the same method you used to drug me that night. Once she's unconscious, we can take the opportunity to discover the treasure's location."
Sarah had personally experienced how sophisticated Luke's methods were.
He had managed to catch even her off guard that night. Dealing with someone like Marsili would undoubtedly be much easier.
"This is the only method currently available to us. If it fails, we'll have to obtain money through other means, and that will greatly increase the risk of exposing ourselves."
She sighed helplessly.
"All right. We'll try it your way first."
After thinking briefly, Luke agreed.
"Good. Get ready, and we'll leave."
Sarah nodded immediately.
She had never actually considered asking Luke to sacrifice his body.
Even setting aside whether he would agree, Sarah herself would not permit it.
The two soon prepared for the meeting.
Sarah applied beautiful makeup. She was already naturally gorgeous, and the cosmetics made her appear even more captivating.
Luke changed into an attractive set of clothes. Merely standing there made him look exceptionally handsome.
Even Sarah could not resist taking several extra glances at him.
"She may try something with you once we arrive, so be careful."
While they were walking, Sarah moved closer to Luke until she was nearly pressed against him and whispered the warning.
Luke nodded to show that he understood.
After that, Sarah spoke very little. She was clearly preparing herself for what came next.
Marsili represented a crucial part of her plan.
If they could use her to discover the location of Gangplank's treasure, it would deal him an enormous blow.
Sarah could resolve her shortage of funds while simultaneously inflicting a devastating loss upon him.
Night was approaching. The sun was almost entirely beneath the horizon, and its final rays spread across the sky, creating a broad twilight before darkness descended.
They passed through one Bilgewater street after another as night finally arrived.
Marsili lived in an expensive shiphouse, though it would be more accurate to call the place a hideaway for the handsome men she supported.
When the two arrived, lights glowed only inside the shiphouse. No one could be seen anywhere around it.
"What did you tell her? She doesn't seem wary of you at all."
Luke could not help asking quietly.
The redhead had only recently killed another of Gangplank's subordinates, Borika.
Now she had come to meet Marsili, yet the woman had apparently made no defensive preparations.
"I actually know her fairly well. We've met several times." An elegant curve appeared on Sarah's lips. "I'm the one who found all the pretty boys she keeps here."
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