North x Northwest

et was covered with dark blood stains.
The stains weren’t just on the bed and blankets.
The blood that had been spilt, flowed and swept was entwined in various forms.
It was cruelty that Lil couldn’t fathom so quickly.
She simply couldn’t grasp how brutal it must have been for Ed that his blood left such gruesome traces.
Her eyes hardened as she examined the floor.
A round paperweight was lying between the stains.
Lil only then realised what Courant had used to smash Ed’s head in.

In an instant, the fishy smell of blood hit her nostrils. 

‘All of this shows how desperate Ed must’ve been before he helplessly shut his eyes.’ 

A sob boiled over as Lil’s throat was being torn apart. 

‘…All the while, I had no idea… I can’t forgive myself for not knowing how horribly a person has been crushed while I was sitting in the Captain’s office, trying to hate him…’

Lil picked up some of the charcoal crumbs that had fallen to the floor and rolled it between her fingers.
She then took out the crumbling chair and sitting on it, staring at the empty bed right in front of her.

 – Bang! –

Lil looked up in surprise as the door kicked open and someone tumbled in.
Her eyes scanned the person from head to toe.
His clothes were mud-soaked, his hair messy, and the exposed skin was covered with wounds.
Their eyes met as the guy held his head wrapped between his forearms.
Lil recognized the messed-up face in an instant.

As soon as Courant saw Lil, he grabbed her trousers’ hem and clung to it.

“Captain! Cap…”

Seeing his swollen cheeks, chapped lips, sweat, and bloodstains, she could roughly estimate what had happened to him. 

‘You fool…’ 

Looking down at him coldly, Courant twitched his shoulders.
Eventually, Lil raised her eyes and glared at the man who had picked up the boy and thrown him through the door.
Julio stood briskly in the opening with dozens of sailors lined up behind him. 

‘Perhaps Courant made the first move.
Otherwise, this kind of situation wouldn’t have happened.’

Julio pointed his finger at Courant.

“Weren’t you looking for this guy?”

Lil quickly examined Courant’s condition again.
There were clear rope marks over his cheeks and on his wrists. 

‘Tying him up wouldn’t have been necessary for a mere interrogation.
In addition, they beat him up good… So, if they tied him up and kept him hidden, it was done to buy time to spread the information they just gathered… to sway public opinion… and looking at the confident Julio, he seems to have ample support behind him.’

“What did you do?”

“Nothing.
He actually came to see me first, he then told me something very interesting.”

“…”

She understood it without the need to hear the rest.
It was easy to guess just by looking at Courant, who couldn’t bear to meet her eye out of shame.
Lil’s throat chilled.
It felt like her head had been put on a guillotine and she was now waiting for the blade that could fall at any moment.

Julio roared loudly.

“I heard there was a rat on board?”

A sharp, piercing sensation sliced her spine.

Lil calmly examined the movements in front of her.
The entrance to the cabin was crowded with sailors as Julio walked in with his chest puffed out like a sail pushed out by a tailwind.
He was followed by a sailor who raised a lantern high, revealing the unconcealable scene of a tragedy.
The sound of water dripping from dozens of clothes soaked the floor as thunder in the distant sky sounded like a warning.
The conflict already ensued, so now there was nothing she could hide anymore.

“Did I hear that right? What was it again?”

“…”

Julio spoke again, while looking around the cabin.

“There was nothing wrong with what the kid said, right? What the hell? A suicide attempt? That’s what I heard at first.
But I’m sure he couldn’t have done all this by himself.”

Julio’s feet that were pacing the floor kicked the paperweight that had fallen, making the blood-stained object roll to the other side.
It reminded Lil of Ed’s forehead that had burst open and bled.
Trembling with belate rage, she clenched her fists.
However, she tried her best to ignore the dull sound of it rolling into the corner of the cabin as she simply couldn’t lose her temper here.

“Ed… he has been dealt with.
Didn’t Courant tell you that too? It was over before we even determined the charges.”

At the mention of his own name, Courant crawled behind her and hid.
Lil shook his hands off her boots and brushed her legs.

“That’s not the point, is it? Lil Schweiz…”

“Call me Captain.”

“The point is… Lil Schweiz here tried to conceal the fact that we had a spy on board.”

“I told you to call me Captain.”

“Lil Schweiz.”

“I never knew that Valtano was lazy enough to not teach his dog manners.”