“This is a petition from Viscount Noirmont, it includes a promise to stand as a guarantee for the identity of the Bell Rock crew.”

Lil put her fork down and accepted the envelope that was extended to her. She took the papers out of it and carefully read through them. When Cesar saw her seriousness gradually fading, he felt a bit more relaxed as he had been desperate to give her even the smallest favour.

“How did you prepare all this?”

“It’s what kept me here in Roahn. It was fortunate that this agreement with the Viscount was concluded before any trial could take place.”

“I had no idea you were planning something like this. Thank you.”

“However… The sailors belonging to Jarles and Valtano aren’t on this list… Because they weren’t part of the Bell Rock crew to begin with, even the Viscount, who’s aware of the battle, can’t guarantee for them as much as he did for the Bell Rock’s crew. Also, the Navy will never let all 200 of them go, so only half of them can be saved…”

“By the way… what or how much did you trade for this?”

“…”

“If you got the Viscount willing to bear this burden, what did you pay for it?”

“Please just accept it.”

“I can’t accept this without knowing.”

“The Bell Rock… I feel deeply responsible for what happened. If all two hundred men belonged to your original crew, the battle would never have happened in the first place. I was the one who sent them off the ship with the deal of the severance pay. You never reprimanded me for what I did, but I know you resented me. I can acknowledge that much. I’m not trying to put you in a position where you’d be indebted to me. It’s me who’s trying to clear my debt. So, will you let me help you? Liloa…”

“…”

Lil put a hand on her forehead, covering half of her face. Her fingertips rubbed her skin meaninglessly. Cesar was quick to recognize it. He still remembered every single one of her habits and every single thing she would do to conceal whatever ailed her. During this agonising time, Cesar was drawn into all kinds of recollections and he opened his mouth awkwardly.

“…The battle ended while you were in surgery.”

Lil didn’t answer. Instead, she looked through the viscount’s documents while absentmindedly rummaging through her food. 

Cesar continued his story regardless.

“At that time, I was in the Captain’s office, destroying any evidence that would link our identities to the Bell Rock. Right after I got rid of everything, I saw you being brought in as a patient. That… Seeing your blood on the Commodore’s dagger… it nailed me to my spot. Commodore Sagastar eventually recognized me, and I was dragged out of the captain’s room, which had become an operating room…”

 – – – – – – – – flashback* – – – – – – – –

After the battle ended abruptly, the Bell Rock’s deck was in absolute shambles. The acrid smoke still lingered around and the mist that had gathered once more encircled everyone. Sagastar’s sudden order to stop the battle left the officers confused, however, the victory had already been handed over to the Navy. 

Meanwhile, Cesar hadn’t yet escaped the shock caused by witnessing Lil’s state. 

‘…She was covered in blood from head to toe, and a dagger had pierced her abdomen completely…’

His breath caught in his throat just by thinking about it again.

Out of nowhere, Sagastar grabbed Cesar, who was leaning against the entrance of the captain’s office and shook him wildly.

“Sir Cesar!”

“…”

“What the hell is going on here? How can you possibly be here… with her?!”

“…”

Cesar didn’t answer, instead Captain Long intervened in the, till then, one-sided conversation.

“…Sir Cesar? By chance, were you the one who sent the telegram?”

“What are you talking about, Julbert?”

“The coordinates were written in the Officer’s Mandus code, Commodore! Is there anyone on this ship besides Sir Cesar, who could’ve sent that?”

“What the hell is going on… Sir Cesar, say something!”

None of their words reached Cesar though. He only breathed heavily for a while when suddenly letting out an inexplicable roar.

“…Who?! Who the hell did that?!”

“…”

The sight of Sagastar holding the dagger flashed through Cesar’s exploding mind. 

‘The fact that he was securing the hilt is a clear indication that he was the one who had stabbed Liloa…’

Cesar forgot his rank and grabbed Sagastar by the collar.

“Why did you stab Liloa?!”

“..!”

Sagastar was visibly startled upon hearing Liloa’s name and became equally distraught, causing him to not even think about stopping Cesar. Captain Long, unaware of the situation, came between them.

“Hey, what’s going on?!”

Even though Long only barely managed to separate the two, Cesar couldn’t attack Sagastar anymore and even if he could, Sagastar didn’t have the energy to fight back as he knew he was at fault. It was all because of the navy surgeon’s hopeless tone right after coming out of the captain’s office.

“…The suturing has been completed, but there isn’t enough blood left… Even if she wakes up, she won’t be fine. She’ll either be crippled or live the rest of her life in a vegetative state. I predict it to be one of the other…”

Because Sagastar and Cesar were standing next to each other in front of the captain’s cabin, it allowed Cesar to overhear Guiadé’s report to the commodore.

“…No. If that happens…”

‘Sir Victor’s nervousness only seems to stem from his concern about his soon-to-be-ending career… It fills me with rage knowing that he’s actually preoccupied with his own success at the expense of others dying. It’s astounding that a man like him could bring Liloa’s demise… I can’t believe that this is truly the reality of the situation…’ 

“Who the hell is that patient, anyway? The Admiral is completely losing his mind in there. With all due respect, I think this whole ordeal is just utter madness.”

“She has to wake up. Definitely, it’s a must.”

“What kind of situation is this, huh… I’m pessimistic, though. The Admiral, however, seems to be holding on to a sliver of hope…”

“…Hope? What hope?”

Guiadé lowered his voice and brought his face next to Sagastar.

“…He’s performing a blood transfusion. He’s doing it as we speak…”

“…What?!”

“…Shh! This should remain an absolute secret. I’m worried about it, too! It’s been 20 years since this practice was banned because it meant saving one person while killing the other…”

“Shouldn’t you stop him?!”

“Who can stop him? He’s completely blinded. Even though his own blood is draining out, his eyes remain bloodshot and steadfast… It’s terrible! I’ve never seen anything like this in the 10 years I’ve served as a doctor in the Navy…”

“…No. There are so many corpses here, why bother with the transfusion himself…”

“The infusion should come from the blood of a living person*.”

“Damn it! What a terrible idea!”

‘Blood transfusion…’

In his time, Cesar had also seen dying sailors secretly receiving blood transfusions. 

‘This madness is unbearable. A blood transfusion is a kind of treatment that provides no guarantee to be a cure and can even lead to sudden death within a few days if not immediately…’

His fingertips began to tremble at the thought of it.

Cesar then took advantage of Sagastar’s mental confusion and entered the captain’s office again. The smell of blood engulfed him as soon as he shut the door and turned around. Not only his nose but his entire body was pressed and pushed as if suffocating.

Cesar examined the captain’s conference table, which was lit by a few lanterns. A large pool of blood had formed on the white surgical bedspread. It was the same for the white cloth that covered Lil’s body. Blood stains painted the arms and her face above it a bright red. Cesar couldn’t believe it was the blood of just one person.

Cesar stumbled his way towards the operating table. Lil looked more like the spitting image of a terrible tragedy than a living person. Clear marks on her abdomen indicated where the flesh had been torn open and sewn up again. 

Nausea set in as his breath quickened. Cesar couldn’t bear to look at all the black threads tied in tight knots resting above Lil’s dried blood.

Without looking at Cesar, Ed spoke.

“Stay there. If you come any closer, she might get infected.”

Cesar stood at a distance and looked for Lil’s face. However, as it was covered in blood, hair, torn pieces of fabric and intubation tools, it was hard to make out her features. So he turned to Ed, who was standing across from him. Ed, too, stood with a blood-stained face and appeared as if he was on the verge of collapsing. He held desperately onto a chair and staggered occasionally, making it clear to Cesar that Ed’s body was becoming more and more difficult to control. 

Cesar murmured while looking at the dark red tube connecting Ed’s arm to hers.

“…What… what are you doing?…”

It was a question that had already lost its purpose.

“…Can’t you see this massive bleeding? If I leave it as it is, she’ll die. With this, perhaps, by some miracle, she’ll survive. I have to take the risk.”

“I’d rather do it.”

“No, you can’t. The more people are involved, the lower the chance of success.”

“…”

Cesar’s outstretched arm fell helplessly. There was nothing he could do now as the damage had already been done. He felt like a coward upon acknowledging that he confined himself to the captain’s office out of fear of being accused of something. An unforgivable feeling of disgust welled up within him. 

‘Had I been on the deck with Liloa, I could’ve prevented this accident where she would be stabbed by Sagastar’s dagger… Simply staying by Liloa’s side would’ve been enough to save her. Why the hell didn’t I realise what was truly important in that moment? Why did I waste my time in the Captain’s office, trying to create a trouble-free future?’

Ed’s voice broke Cesar’s train of thoughts as he spoke calmly.

“There’s only one reason I’m keeping you alive. Liloa will definitely wake up, and when she does and you’re not there, she’ll hate me. That’s the only reason. So, don’t delude yourself and just focus on preserving your life.”

Lil, however, didn’t wake up even after several days…

– – – – – – 

Footnote:

The flashback is a continuation of the scene in chapter 177, the end of volume 5.

“The infusion should come from the blood of a living person.”

Explanation: There are some contradicting statements about blood transfusion/donation from a corpse. But considering the time (somewhere in the 18th century) and the situation (on a ship in the middle of the sea). We found 2 possible reasons why it wouldn’t be possible. 1) when a person dies, their blood circulation comes to a stop too and the blood will clot, thus making it unsuitable/unusable for transfusion. 2) without a heartbeat to pump the blood around, it’s actually really difficult to get the blood from the body to the patient.