Milady's trembling hands knocked and pried at the wooden coffin; she was vaguely aware she might be losing her composure. But she still wanted to see her mother one more time. At least one last look before they parted—
In the most difficult of times, one must never lose control.
Hearing Yidan's voice again, Milady jerked her hands back and closed her eyes.
Between shuddering breaths, she found the handle and quickly pulled it up. The mechanical sound of the plank rising instantly echoed through the night, creaking loudly. When she opened her eyes, she saw the coffin sliding silently off the plank.
Once the waves had settled and the night was quiet once more, Milady stared motionlessly at the surface of the sea where Yidan had vanished.
'Of course, Mom couldn't become a sea-maiden. She was already dead. Her once-warm flesh and blood would only rot and dissolve, becoming food for fish, and finally, a part of the ocean—all except for that pair of crystal lungs.'
'The world is so broken and empty. Has no one else noticed?'
She stared blankly at the sea, her vision blurring in and out of focus. It wasn't until some time later that she slowly realized she was staring at the distant silhouette of a ship, completely dark.
It was very far from the funeral boat, appearing no bigger than a fingernail. Had her gaze not lingered for so long, anyone would have likely missed it.
'Is that a ship in trouble, waiting for rescue? Why is it all the way out here? And I thought I'd found a quiet place for Mom.'
Milady was exhausted, body and soul. The questions flashed through her mind, but she couldn't be bothered to dwell on them. She turned to find the boatman.
At the stern, the boatman was also staring at the same ship.
"Looks like they're in trouble. It's completely dark, and not a stir." The small, thin boatman had come to the same conclusion. "Miss, if you don't mind, we could head over and take a look..."
Humans, who endlessly fought and competed on land, cherished chance encounters with other vessels on the boundless ocean. Even bitter rivals would lower a rope ladder to rescue survivors spotted on a small lifeboat—this was not only a sacred duty in the eyes of the Haidu People, but also an international treaty.
"Let's go see," Milady heard herself say, though she truly didn't care about anyone else tonight.
As the old-fashioned funeral boat rumbled to life and set off toward the ship, Milady sat numbly on the deck, watching the dark silhouette grow steadily closer. When they had covered more than half the distance, a beam of white light suddenly pierced the darkness, and someone yelled from afar, "Who goes there?"
The voice was muffled, but it was too strong. Definitely not someone who needed rescuing.
"W-we're a funeral boat..." the boatman answered. "We just came to take a look."
"Get lost," the voice yelled from afar. "And take your bad luck with you!"
The boatman was used to being bossed around, so he quickly started to turn the rudder, but Milady stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Keep talking to him," she said in a low voice. "Get one more response out of him, and I'll add twenty copper coins to your fee."
The boatman froze. After a moment's thought, he shouted again, "Is... is everything all right with your ship?"
"Cut the crap. Your ship is the one in trouble. Now get lost!"
"Then why are your lights out...?"
"Who gave you the nerve to be so nosy? If you don't leave right now, don't say I didn't warn you." The threat in his tone was heavy this time, and the boatman didn't dare say another word.
Hearing that, Milady was sure.
She remembered the day she had won the Shadow Appearance Mechanism. Several of her cousins had cornered her, and one of them had snapped, "You think you can say whatever you want and not get taught a lesson just because you're a girl?" His tone then was exactly the same as the voice from the ship—filled with menace.
Everyone knew that those cousins were the Clan Leader's trusted cronies. Which meant there was a very high chance this ship belonged to the High Tower Clan Leader's family.
'In the wee hours of the morning, on a remote stretch of the open sea, why would a ship from the Clan Leader's family be parked here, motionless, lights out, and forbidding anyone from getting close?'
Milady knew perfectly well which direction the Tower Clan's shipping routes were in. The shipping lanes and industries that the Judgement Family allocated to newly-ascended families like Sea Wave Concerto were fixed. They were forbidden from pioneering new sea routes without permission; by the same token, they were also forbidden from operating new industries.
Milady remained motionless for a while, thinking.
"Miss," the boatman said, a little hesitant. "Should we be leaving?"
"Just a moment," Milady said. "You have oars on this boat, don't you?"
Most old boats kept oars on board as a backup, even if they had an engine.
"Y-yes..."
"Good," Milady said, lifting her chin to gesture for him to get them. "First, make a wide loop away from them. Then, kill the engine and the lights. We're going to row back under the cover of darkness."