Episode 2

2.

Rosetta pulled her hand back, feeling an incredibly strange sensation. Her hands were on the larger side, and so having them completely engulfed like that—this was a first.

And... what? Did she just say Lea? That wasn’t her name.

There could only be one conclusion: Ollivander, the captain of this ship, had mistaken Rosetta for someone else.

Of course. The entire Maritime Alliance was out for her head... If that greedy bastard Ollivander had actually recognized her, she wouldn’t be breathing right now.

Most likely, her body had swollen so much from seawater that she was unrecognizable. That made sense. She accepted it quickly enough.

Anyway, the coughing was starting to subside, and her blurry vision was gradually sharpening. A good sign—it meant her body was on the mend.

“P-please wait just a moment. I’ll go call the butler and the head maid. And the Duchess as well.”

...The Duchess? Rosetta quickly bit her lip. She nearly burst out laughing.

So Ollivander—madman that he is—actually calls his wife the Duchess? Whatever look she’d given, the woman clearly misread it, because she kept pleading even as she left the room.

“You must stay awake! Don’t fall asleep again!”

Pressed by that strange urgency, Rosetta nodded, and the door closed. In her mind, she counted to ten. Then, she kicked off the covers and tried to sit up.

All three brave attempts failed. Her arms couldn’t hold her weight, and she collapsed back into bed each time.

“Damn it.”

Rosetta buried her face in the blanket and muttered curses. Judging by the state of her body, she must’ve been unconscious for at least a month. No wonder everything felt so stiff, like a dry, ungreased capstan... Every bit of muscle had probably wasted away while she was out.

Still, after struggling for quite a while, gripping the bedpost with all her strength, she finally managed to stand on both feet.

And just as her vision fully returned, a chilling sense of unfamiliarity crept over her.

‘…Was I always this short?’

Had she shrunk while unconscious? Or were the objects in the room all just absurdly large? Her field of view had dropped by at least a good three hand spans.

And that wasn’t the only odd thing. The bed was too antique, the goose-feather duvet was made of royal-grade silk, the rug was from Broutenne, and outside the window... was a vast garden.Wait a minute. A garden? This wasn’t a ship?

“What the hell...?”

She muttered without thinking—but then immediately slapped a fist over her mouth. A shiver ran down her spine. Her voice was akin to that of a birdsong. Rosetta’s voice had always been hoarse and soaked in rum.

“Lea!”

Just then, the door burst open and a woman rushed in to hug her. Who the hell was this, hugging her like they were old friends...? Even in her confusion, Rosetta coolly scanned the woman from head to toe. A top-tier dress, high-end perfume, luxurious jewelry—she looked like an actual duchess.

That thought alone made Rosetta drop flat onto the floor without hesitation.

“Ohh, madam!”

It was thanks to this exact kind of quick thinking that Rosetta had climbed to captain faster than any other fool in the Maritime Alliance.

She could feel the air in the room go cold, but she only raised her voice even louder.

“Madam, you saved me! You’re the one who brought me back to life! Oh, what an enormous favor this is—I don’t even know how to repay it…”

She pinched just beneath her eye and dabbed at a fake tear with her sleeve, pretending to sniffle.

“Lea, w-what are you saying, repay...?”

Rosetta answered swiftly.

“So you mean to say I don’t need to repay it? How can someone be so kind—hmm? So soft and lovely, just like the silk you’re wearing… Truly, among madams, you are the madam of them all.”

She decided to let the woman’s mistake—calling her Lea—slide. A mild error, surely. Rosetta was already building a whole story in her head:A pitiful woman. Must’ve grown attached to her while caring for her. Even gave her a name of her own.

“Call the royal physician!”

At that near-scream, the frozen people in the room suddenly snapped into motion. Maids rushed over, grabbed her arms, and helped her up. An old man with a monocle wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, muttering excuses as if trying to justify something.

“It seems… due to the sudden awakening, the young lady’s mind is not quite sound…”

“You! Are you saying my daughter’s gone mad?!”

“I believe… it’s likely a temporary condition…”

Rosetta watched it all like she was seeing a play unfold on stage. It all felt absurdly surreal.

‘Huh?’

She’d been feeling a weird ache in her shoulder—and as she ran her hand over her body, something heavy bumped into her palm. Her chest. And not just a chest. A big one. Was this a dream? That couldn’t be right. Her chest hadn’t grown a bit since she was fifteen.

She groped at her chest again, then froze. She saw a small, pale-white hand. Unbelievably… it was connected to her own arm.

That was when the real dread sank in. Something was very, very wrong.

Cold sweat began to drip down her back.

With bloodshot eyes, she frantically scanned the room—then spotted a full-length mirror and stumbled toward it.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Pale—no, ghostly white skin. A body so frail there wasn’t a single visible muscle.A petite frame. Wavy, light-brown hair falling to the waist, and soft teal eyes.

There was not a trace of Rosetta, the sea pirate she’d known in the mirror. Not one.

She screamed with everything she had.

“WHAT THE HEEEEEEELL IS THIIIIIIS?!”

---

As Rosetta stepped closer to the mirror, the woman inside did the same. She raised her right hand—the reflection did, too. She tilted her head—the reflection followed.

If this was a dream, she begged it to end now. Please.

For one last test, she slapped both cheeks as hard as she could. It hurt like hell—enough to make her eyes water.

Only after slapping herself two more times did she finally, reluctantly, accept it.

That thing in the mirror… was her.

When something this twisted happened, it was usually one of two things:Either a curse that changed your appearance…Or your soul had been shoved into someone else’s body.

Rosetta had seen the sea witch Calypso wear the sea god’s form with her own eyes, so she couldn’t even scoff at how ridiculous this was.

And then—

“Lady Valdemore, your water is ready.”

Yes. That. Lady Valdemore.

As if soul-swapping alone wasn’t confusing enough, the body she’d ended up in just had to belong to the Crown Prince’s fiancée.

Even someone like Rosetta, who never cared for noble gossip, had heard the name Lea Lennox Valdemore so many times her ears bled.

Since regaining consciousness, she’d half-listened to the maids chatting and pieced things together: the engagement was already broken.

Damn it—how much time had passed since she blacked out? If it had been recent, even the Eastern seas would’ve been buzzing with the news.

Either way, it was a painfully typical story.

She’d been betrothed around age seven, showered with attention as the Crown Princess-to-be, and then dumped by the prince a month before the wedding. The Emperor, who’d always disapproved of her reserved personality, had welcomed the breakup with open arms. The young lady, unable to bear the disgrace, had apparently attempted suicide.

Rosetta glanced at her reflection again.

Tch. With a face like that, she could have anyone kneeling at her feet. Hold someone’s hand once and they’d pledge loyalty for three generations.

Clicking her tongue, Rosetta gave the mirror a sour glare, then accepted the bowl of water a maid held out. She was thirsty anyway, so she gulped it down like it was rum.

With a satisfied “Khh,” she wiped her mouth with her sleeve and lowered her head—only to see the maid staring wide-eyed, completely flustered.

“Um, my lady… That was… the wash water…”

Oh. That wasn’t for drinking?

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