Chapter 85
Jini's blood dripped onto the deck. Yet his eyes remained unwavering. Ann, who had wounded him, was the one who was shaken.
"Why—why would you go this far?!"
Ann cried out in disbelief. Jini's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...I'm sorry, Zeze."
The words were directed at Zeze, who was crouching behind Jini.
"What do you mean?"
Ann asked, unable to make sense of it, but Jini continued without regard for her.
"I knew, back then, that your father was beating you..."
Most people probably couldn't have understood what Jini meant. But I knew the circumstances, so I understood. As children, Zeze and his younger sister had been subjected to daily violence at their father's hands. As a result, Zeze's younger sister had died.
I heard this story from Jini, Zeze's childhood friend. In other words, Jini had known about the abuse Zeze suffered at his father's hands.
"I knew you were suffering, but I couldn't save you... I was a coward. If I'd had the courage back then, your sister wouldn't have died..."
Jini's voice trembled with remorse.
Of course, it would have been cruel to blame Jini. At the time, he had been just as much a child as Zeze. There was no way he could have stood against an adult's violence. But his inability to save his friend and his friend's sister had become a wound in his heart, tormenting him.
"Jini..."
Zeze had only now learned of Jini's suffering and stood there dazed, forgetting even his own wound.
Jini stepped forward on blood-soaked feet. Ann flinched as he advanced despite his wounds. The hatred in her eyes wavered, and the bloodstained sword trembled in her hands.
Ann had probably never cut anyone before. Even if rage had made her lose herself, once her hatred wavered, she shuddered at the sensation of a blade cutting into someone, the color of the blood, and its smell.
Ann looked to Mary-san behind her as if seeking help. Mary-san didn't know what to do; she tried to speak, then swallowed her words.
"Mary-san."
I glared at the hesitant Mary-san.
"If you're going to lead people, then issue the order yourself instead of making your subordinates do it. But if you order them to cut, I can't afford to lose my subordinate either. I'll order mine to do the same."
My gaze made Mary-san's whole body tremble. Then she looked at Ann's face as Ann clung to her.
Seeing the uncertainty in Ann's eyes, Mary-san let out a breath. Her expression softened.
"...Stop, Ann. You can stop now."
When Mary-san said this, Ann collapsed where she stood as though a taut string had snapped.
"Ann..."
Clutching the place where she had been stabbed, Zeze walked toward Ann.
Seated on the deck, Ann looked up at Zeze, then at his blood-soaked abdomen.
"Um, I-I..."
Ann's eyes wavered. Realizing what she had done, she trembled at her own crime.
"It's all right. I'm okay."
Despite his bloodless, ashen face, Zeze still smiled. That smile gently broke down the walls around Ann's heart.
Large tears spilled from Ann's eyes, tracing the burn scars on her face as they fell. Then she began to sob. The children who had continued resisting heard her cries and lowered their weapons. Nearby, the crew of the Lazybones were calling out to them. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the children they addressed threw down their weapons and stopped resisting. Some began to cry as well.
Most of the children aboard the Silverwing had been consumed by hatred. But sorrow was at the root of it. They should have cried before they became angry.
Someone came to comfort Ann as she sobbed. It was Mary-san. She put an arm around Ann's shoulders and gently held her close.
I stared in surprise. Until now, Mary-san had treated the children she led like her underlings, or like younger brothers and sisters. But now she was different. There was a mother's tenderness in the way she stayed close to protect Ann.
I had never expected Mary-san to change like this.
To be honest, I had disliked Mary-san. She was shallow and self-centered. More than anything, she couldn't see what was happening around her and was utterly unfit to lead people. But now, I sensed a greatness in her that I had never seen before.