Chapter 405: Heart of A Man

The issue wasn"t that Eleven swung that way, but that of all people she could flirt with, she chose the coldest person in existence. Dia seemed unaware of the pirate"s feelings, but she still scowled at her for approaching. 

"Get away from my path," the princess almost spat the words. "Unless you want me to make an ice statue out of you," as she said so, Diana waved her hand, and frost danced following it. 

"That would be terrible," Eleven took a step forward, and the gloves on her hand protected her from the frost as she held the princess"s hand. "Allow me to escort you out, then." 

Arthur and Dia were both stunned by her smooth and intimate actions. The pirate guided the princess outside before the latter could snap out of it and slapped her hand away. 

"You insolent...!" Dia began, but Arthur hurried to step in lest she kills his next captain. It seems the pirate was surprised by the princess"s att.i.tude but amused nonetheless. 

"Okay, that"s enough," Arthur said as he tried to separate the two, standing between them. "We"ll take the gifts you offered since we wanted to buy some things as well," he said, facing the pirate. 

"As you command, My Lord," the pirate grinned and bowed comically. Of course, the n.o.bility could see her actions as disrespectful, but Arthur only found them amusing. 

"I don"t want her gifts," Dia said, glaring at Arthur, and he felt like he was placed in front of the muzzle. "You two can have fun by yourselves. I"m leaving." 

From the princess"s back sprung out wings of her blue flames, and she soared into the sky straight toward the west harbor. Arthur and Eleven both stood there stunned by the development of the event, as it seems Dia misunderstood the situation. 

"Is she jealous?" Eleven scratched her head with confusion as she turned toward Arthur. "I guess we are rivals now, My Lord," she said with a grin. 

"Shut up and stay away from her," Arthur sighed exasperatedly, pondering chasing after the princess. He didn"t want her to freeze the west harbor in her rage, but it might be better if she calmed down first. 

"No can do, My Lord," Eleven wore her hat and threw her scarf over her neck. "The wheels of love are unstoppable, and not even the G.o.ds dare to interfere."

"If I knew you had eyes for her, I wouldn"t have agreed to let you be my captain," Arthur sighed as he started walking toward the west harbor. "If you want to die, then suit yourself." 

"How can I not fall for her? Have you even seen her, My Lord? I swear to the sea that I"ve never met someone as beautiful as her," the pirate sounded helpless. "If we weren"t on land, I would have thought she was a mermaid luring me to my death. Ah, how beautiful women are." 

"Are you including yourself?" 

"It"s wrong to consider me as one," Eleven grinned. "For my body might be of a woman, but my heart is forever that of a man.  That"s the only way to survive in the sea, and no one dares to refute my claim." 

"Your heart will be forever frozen if you get too close to her," he said as they pa.s.sed through the streets, the chilly breeze of the sea kissing their skin. "And I"m not talking literally: the princess isn"t as emotionally available as you are." 

"We are all of the broken hearts, but have you seen the way she looks at you?" Eleven sighed with such emotions that Arthur suspected she fell for Diana ages ago. "I want to have someone who looks at me in such a way, for her eyes soften when she looks at you as if there"s no other in the world." 

"You are more of a poet than a pirate," Arthur didn"t want to comment on her words, but he clearly understood them. "If you know as much, then back away." 

"Pirates and poets seek freedom just the same, but in different ways," Eleven said as she skipped toward the harbor. A few of her crew came forward, but she simply waved them off. "I have the feeling that you aren"t solely committed to her, so I"m taking my chance." 

"Committed..." Arthur repeated the word, unable to refute her observations because he didn"t want to lie. They were intimate with each other, but were they anything more than a platonic friendship? 

"I can make her happier, but I don"t know if she would choose anyone but you. Ah, how unfortunate that I didn"t meet her sooner," the pirate seemed to blame her stars. 

"How did you know her ident.i.ty?" Arthur was curious, but the pirate shrugged as if it was apparent. 

"There"s no one of her beauty and no other who can use flames and ice of that kind. If you didn"t stop her in time, I would have truly been frozen. Although," she grinned. "it wouldn"t be so bad to die by her hands." 

"You are a helpless romantic," Arthur shook his head. "Do you want me to address you as a man since you have the heart of one?" 

At his words, the pirate stopped walking and turned to face him. He could tell her surprise at his unexpected consideration, as no other gave much thought about her words before. 

"This is truly a first," she sighed. "If all men were like you, I wouldn"t have hated them as much as I did," she curled her hair around her finger. "But no, I don"t think I"m ready to be seen as such by the world." 

"As you wish," Arthur nodded and looked at the harbor and the infinite ships lined side by side. He looked around for Dia and hoped that she didn"t destroy anything in her rage. 

Despite having been long since he severed the b.e.s.t.i.a.l Order, a part of his powers remained within her, allowing him to tell of her general location. 

"How did you find me?" 

"I sensed the unique quality of your energy earlier," Eleven smilingly said as she followed after him toward the street by the harbor. "I asked my nearby crew to stall for time, but the fools thought I wanted to rob you." 

"You are a pirate, after all," Arthur nodded as he finally found the princess standing by a vendor of pearls. As they got close, they got to hear the price the vendor gave. 

"A hundred golds," the vendor said as he gestured to the pearls in front of him. Arthur was speechless, as there was no way such pearls could cost that much. 

"Reasonable enough, here you go," Dia took out two pouched and handed them to the vendor, who seemed ecstatic. However, the pouches never reached his hands, and they hovered above them instead. 

"What?!" the vendor was confused until Arthur grabbed the two pouches with a sigh. He looked at the clueless princess, who glanced his way with an upset expression. 

"Who are you trying to scam, old man?" Arthur looked at the pearls. "Even if these pearls were handcrafted by King Solomon himself, they wouldn"t cost that much." 

"Don"t ruin my business, boy! I wa..." the vendor stood up to threaten Arthur before he glanced at the person behind him. Seeing Eleven"s face, the vendor began shaking. "I want to apologize for my behavior! But, please, take these pearls as a gift." 

"No need," Arthur glanced at the pirate, who simply grinned at him. "Just stop scamming people who aren"t knowledgeable enough," he returned the pouches to Dia, who s.n.a.t.c.hed them with a huff. 

The princess walked away without speaking to him, and Arthur had to follow after her. He understood that she thought Arthur took the pirate"s side, but that was never the case. 

"Are you mad?" Arthur walked behind her. "Let me explain. I stopped you because I knew she has something valuable to offer. After all, you wanted pearls, right?" 

It seems his words managed to convince the princess, who stopped to glance at the pirate. Eleven flashed her brightest smile as if she wanted to dazzle Dia into falling in love with her. That, in turn, only made Dia furrow her brows. 

"She doesn"t look reliable," the princess was ruthless as always, and her words almost tore the pirate"s heart to pieces. However, Eleven"s long years of sail made her patient. 

"Let me show you my gift," she bowed down elegantly. 

*** 

True to her words, the pearls looked nothing this world could or should create. Arthur would have thought they were underwater because of the ripples that danced around the pearls. He turned to look at Dia, who was mesmerized by the pearls. 

"I found these pearls in the darkest corners of the sea, protected by a giant. They are the manifestation of affinity to the two elements you hold dearest." 

There was a blue pearl and a red one, and Arthur found it suspicious how it fit Dia perfectly. 

"They should enhance your powers if you use them," the pirate grinned. "But there is a price."