A few moments ter…

  "My Lord, w-what's the meaning of this?!" the mercenary group asked, shocked by the sheer number of men who still remained on the ship. They were suddenly dragged inside of the cabin, held down by the men Lord Arclight called 'simple sailors and fishermen'.

  "Your debt. I'm cashing in your debt," Lord Arclight answered casually. He was sitting comfortably on an ornate chair in front of them, going over some paperwork. "I want you to be my bait. Your job is to be a good fish and draw in the bigger fish.”

  His crew clothed the mercenary leader in rich silk and jewelry, making sure that he looked the part of a rich lord. Then, they stripped the ship of everything that could reveal its true identity and changed the fg.

  "My Lord, please, I'm begging you. I won't betray you again. Have mercy!" the mercenary leader pleaded, the rest falling to their knees.

  "Act your part, or die, gentlemen. It's that simple," Lord Arclight's voice sounded gentle, hauntingly so, "You just need to pretend to be the lords of the ship. And when the big fish comes, you'll need to scream and shout, and then surrender exactly like you rehearsed with the Rochefort army."

  The terror and confusion in the mercenaries' faces grew with each passing second, "M-My Lord, what are you saying? You just said that you won't kill us!"

  "I'm not killing you," Lucian crified, "Whether you live or die is up to your acting skills. Best of luck trying to switch sides again, my friends. You’ll need it."

  "My Lord!!" They tried to plead with him some more, but he continued to drill the script into their minds and nothing more.

  So that's why Lord Arclight summoned all these debtors to begin with. It was not to protect him, but to serve him as his scapegoats. The chance to clear their debt was just a sweet lie to lure them in, a bait to keep them from running away!

  One could not accumute this amount of wealth through honest means. Eventually, they would be corrupted by the power that came with it, and then use that power to get more of what they desired. Lord Arclight, it seemed, was also not an exception.

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  "What if it doesn't work? What if they will be set on killing us?" The mercenary leader asked when the crew handed him a sword and an empty gun. He had no problem with killing other people, but he had no intention of dying himself!

  "Then I'll mourn your loss and collect a nice profit from your death," Lord Arclight smiled, the crew ughing at his joke.

  "Please, don't do this to us! We swear we will never betray you again!" the rest of the mercenary group begged as he left them to their fate.

  ‘Of course you will not,’ Lucian thought to himself, ‘You will never have that chance again.’

  · · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·

  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 pilge.

  “We’re not alone!” the fake lord yelled, voice cracking with panic. “There’s a whole bloody flotil behind us! They’ll butcher you all. You're dead men, every st one of you!”

  He barked desperate orders while cshing 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 ugh, 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 sughter 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 yout 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 bde slicing through the air, aimed for Lucian’s chest, but the tter 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 py both sides."

  Alphonse looked down at the water where the heads and bodies of his former comrades were floating. The eerie silence that had repced 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.

  ╔═══ Author's note ════╗

  Lucian wasn't born a yandere per se, and he is still a work-in-progress as of the moment. It's not an insta switch. The same goes for Celine. That being said, I hope you're excited to see their transformation as the story progresses! ??

  ╚═════════════════╝