The day of judgment arrived.
A ship, bigger than the one they were on, sailed next to them. The men on the decks had a sinister smile on their faces, ready to plunder and pillage.
"We're not alone!" the fake lord yelled, voice cracking with panic. "There's a whole bloody flotilla behind us! They'll butcher you all. You're dead men, every last one of you!"
He barked desperate orders while clashing with the incoming pirates, having no idea where Lord Arclight and his crew had disappeared to.
The pirates were none the wiser, and they boarded the ship as soon as the fake lord surrendered.
The moment they saw the riches that were stored below, their eyes lit up like children that had discovered a hidden treasure. They started to laugh, cheer, and even dance.
The loud noise attracted more pirates below the deck, and one after another, their throats were sliced open as they passed by the ship's corridors.
There were no screams. Just the sound of steel cutting through flesh, accompanied by the pirates' wild cheers. It was as if the slaughter in the background was part of a twisted show.
Lucian's crew moved like shadows through the maze of dark passageways and concealed crawlspaces. The ship's special layout gave them the perfect cover to strike and vanish without a trace.
The first pirate to realize something was amiss was the one who was standing guard on the pirate ship, and the moment he tried to warn his companions, someone tapped his shoulder.
"Shh," Lucian whispered, his voice as smooth as silk and just as deadly, weaving through the deafening sound of the sea. "You'll spoil the surprise."
With a snarl, the pirate lunged, his blade slicing through the air, aimed for Lucian's chest, but the later was already moving.
"I'm a businessman, you see. I don't like to kill, it's bad for business," Lucian raised his hands, palm outward in mock surrender, "Loyalty is a different matter, though. I like it. You must have been loyal to your captain to follow him through the storm and calm seas. Now, that he is dead, would you consider being loyal to me?"
The pirate snapped at him, "We pirates follow a code! A new captain is chosen by the crew. By vote! We follow the one who earns it! Someone who─"
"─who you could trust with your life. Fair enough," Lucian finished for him. People like these lived on their terms, by their own set of rules. They took from the weak, from the rich, but they didn't turn on their own. Not unless they wanted the whole damned crew coming after them, "I suppose that means you're not interested in joining me. What's your name?"
"Alphonse," the pirate gulped when he saw his comrades being dragged outside, bound and helpless. The grim reality hit him like a punch to the gut, and his bravado crumbled. "T-they c-call me Al, for short."
The faint trickle of cold sweat running down Alphonse's neck didn't go unnoticed.
"Your crew attacked and killed some of mine," Lucian said, watching Alphonse's gaze flicker nervously. "That puts us at odds, doesn't it? But I'm not here to kill, Al. I'm here to make deals."
He continued, "I'm short on crew members, while you are short on a captain. You won't survive the sea with the Royal Navy on your tail, and I won't survive the sea without a proper crew. Do you see where I'm going with this?"
"I do," Alphonse nodded, "But that doesn't mean I'm not suspicious of you and what you're after. Why would a rich lord want a crew of pirates?"
"You saw for yourself," Lucian pointed at the corpses of people who backstabbed him again, "I would rather hire someone who would not benefit from betraying me. It's in your best interest to follow my orders and cooperate, unless you want to share the fate of the fools who thought they could play both sides."
Alphonse looked down at the water where the heads and bodies of his former comrades were floating. The eerie silence that had replaced the cheerful shouts made him shiver. His crew, what remained of it, was being swayed by Lucian's men into joining them. His fate, their fate, already sealed.
"Take your time to mourn, Al. But don't take too long," Lucian's voice broke the silence as he walked back to his cabin. "Your future won't wait."
Lucian had come to believe that the only way to stop betrayal was to kill it before it could breathe. By sealing off every path, silencing every doubt, and cutting off every chance someone might take to turn against him.
It wasn't trust.
It wasn't loyalty.
Just control.
Cold, quiet control…
It was the only way he knew how to keep himself safe.
The only way he could protect what was his.
Whether it was a piece of rotten bread, or a vault filled with gold, the only difference was the price he had to pay to keep it.