CH 50

The time for the effect to manifest would vary from person to person, but as long as they drank the water, they would fall asleep. After all, it was a race against time. With a little bit of luck, Rosen could win.

She had to endure, at least until everyone on this ship was asleep. So, without rebelling, she followed Henry into the prison, quietly took off her dress, and changed into the prison uniform that had been thrown at her.

The moment the iron door opened and closed again, someone spoke. It was a familiar voice.

“Rosen?”

“Yes. I’m back.”

It was Maria. Rosen smiled bitterly and shrugged. The other prisoners also stared at her as she entered. Maria looked between her neat appearance and Henry in contemplation and asked with a chuckle.

“Did you end up sleeping with that kid? Why are you back? Did you get caught? Or did it not go well?”

“I’m attracted to someone higher than him.”

“Who else but him? Maybe Ian Kerner?”

“Yes. I was thrilled, really.”

Henry sighed, wiping his face with his hand. Maria gave Rosen an exclamation of approval and smacked her on the shoulder.

“Good job, Rosen. I knew you’d be able to do it. I told you. But why did you come back? I told you to cling to the noble war hero and beg him to get you back on trial.”

“…Things in this world are not that easy. Now people are looking for me. I have to stay where I belong.”

“Why?”

Rosen briefly explained her situation. Maria was stunned.

“Seriously? They don’t believe a single test they’ve done? Is that why Ian Kerner put you back here? Tsk. A man of no loyalty.”

Henry didn’t think it was worth responding to Maria’s words, so he sat down outside the cage and bit his lip. Knowing what Maria was expecting, Rosen grinned. But that was completely separate from Ian Kerner’s affection for her.

“That only happens in fairy tales. Ian Kerner is a war hero, not a prince.”

Whatever form of affection he had for her, Ian Kerner wouldn’t let that one feeling control any part of his life. Even if he were broken, he would repeat the same actions as before, like a machine. That’s how he’s lived.

Rosen was able to knock him off guard by weakening his mind. But she didn’t expect for a second that he would be able to release her himself.

“So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay here?”

“That’s right. Until the people get a little quieter.”

‘Until they fall asleep.’

Henry was listening, so she couldn’t give Maria a specific answer. But she had really done everything she could. Now she had no choice but to pray, hoping everything would go according to plan.

“What if they come all the way here?”

“We’re locked up, what are they going to do? The only key to the prison is with him, Ian Kerner, and the Captain. The three will never open the prison door, even if people beg for it. It’s important for Ian Kerner to bring me safely to the island.”

“…That kid is protecting you now?”

“Yes. Though he’s not a kid. His name is Henry Reville. He’ll be guarding the prison.”

“That’s very reliable…”

Maria didn’t like the way Rosen was leaning against the prison wall as if she had given up, so she pulled out a cigarette and leaned towards Henry.

“Soldier boy. Lend me a light.”

“I don’t have a lighter… Hey! How the hell did you get that thing while you were locked up?”

“Oh no, no. Answer me. Kid, can you keep Rosen safe?”

“I have a gun. No matter who comes, it won’t matter.”

Maria’s face crumpled with anxiety and she asked Henry again.

“If she falls into the sea, will she die?”

Henry laughed bitterly as if he had just heard the stupidest question in the world.

“Walker, can you swim?”

Rosen shook her head. She had never left Leoarton until she was imprisoned. The biggest body of water she had seen before getting on this ship was a stream for washing clothes.

“My father has been on ships for 40 years and is a dolphin in terms of swimming skills, but if she falls in without equipment, she will die within minutes. Not to mention the waves, and even if she’s not eaten by a marine beast, she will die due to hypothermia…”

Henry couldn’t continue.

It was because the inside of the prison, which had been engulfed in darkness, was filled with a light so bright that it burned their eyes. It was much brighter than Henry’s gas lamp.

When she closed her eyes tightly and opened them, all she saw was the silhouette of Henry with his hands raised. A pistol was held against his head.

“You’re not the only one with the pistol, Henry Reville.”

The face of a man with a mean smile was slowly revealed in the light. The man wouldn’t recognize her, but she knew the man’s face clearly. Because he was the j*rk who left a deep impression on her last night.

Joshua Gregory.

“I can’t give you the prison key.”

Henry gritted his teeth and shouted. Henry had to take back what he said before that he was less brave than Lyla. Very few people could say that with a gun pointed at their head.

“I don’t need it. I’m going to break the lock. I thought that this cage needed a new lock anyway.”

Men with crowbars stepped forward. 

She was dragged out as quickly as the breeze.