Shrouded Seascape

Mithila didn't respond to Margaret's mushy words. Instead, she looked down and ate her food. When lunch ended, the Kings of Sottom walked out of the door, and a faint "thank you" reached Margaret's ears.

The Governor of Whereto revealed a faint smile. Mithila's demeanor gave Margaret the impression that she was like a pufferfish covered in thorns, ready to repel and injure those daring enough to approach her.

However, Margaret's interactions with Mithila had made it clear to the former that the latter's demeanor was a result of the deep scars in her heart. The truth was that a gentle and kind individual was hiding behind her thorns.

In the end, she was just a six-year-old little girl.

From the information she had gathered from the pirates of Sottom, the strength of the Kings of Sottom wasn't the only reason they had been able to run rampant out at sea. There was another reason behind it—Tobba.

Mithila and the other Kings of Sottom weren't strong enough to rule Sottom. It could be said that the deceased lunatic was the true "King" of Sottom. He was a lunatic, but whenever Sottom found itself standing before a major crisis, he'd be there to resolve it.

Fortunately, Tobba was dead. Margaret believed that she'd eventually have access to everything that Sottom had to offer as long as she invested a bit of sincerity and patience. This was a worthwhile endeavor.

Once Sottom was under her control, Whereto's military might would increase drastically.

Just as Margaret was thinking about the details of her plan, a letter floated into the reception hall through the window next to her.

The letter hovered in the air before her. Margaret cast an indifferent gaze at the letter before pinching it with two fingers.

"Go downstairs," she said to the empty air. She opened the letter and found that it contained information about Hope Island's new decrees. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but Margaret had to admit that Anna was better than her in this regard.

Margaret read each line carefully, and she stopped on the bottommost line.

The Narwhale's doctor was looking for a way to replace Charles' heart.

"There's something wrong with Charles' heart?! Is it serious?" Margaret muttered to herself, feeling a bit nervous for some reason.

The next moment, a self-deprecating smile tugged at her lips. Charles was no longer a mere captain exploring the seas. She reckoned that Charles wouldn't need her help at all.

He was the Overlord of the Northern Seas, so Margaret was convinced that he'd soon find a way to replace his heart.

That was what Margaret thought, but she kept glancing at the piece of paper on the table despite having a plate of food before her.

Margaret was pushing around the remaining few pieces of meat on the plate without eating them. Unbeknownst to her, her seemingly insignificant actions perfectly reflected her mood.

Just then, Margaret gnashed her teeth and stood up. She went straight into her office and took out a portrait of Sparkle from the bottom drawer.

Margaret called out softly, and Sparkle wearing a white dress appeared before her.

"Are you looking for my dad or my mom? Or maybe you called me here to ask about how their relationship is going right now? I think they're doing very well, and you definitely don't have a chance," Sparkle said bluntly.

Margaret cast a dumbfounded gaze at the girl suspended in midair before her.

Sparkle had changed so much from the last time they met that Margaret had no idea what to say.

"What's so shocking about this?" Sparkle said, circling around Margaret. "We all grow up. I just grow a bit faster than others. If you don't have anything to say, then I'm going back now."

Margaret snapped back to reality and asked, "Is there something wrong with Governor Charles' heart? Is it an old illness of his?"

Sparkle hesitated for a few seconds, but she ultimately decided not to tell the truth to the woman in front of her. "I guess so. Why? Do you have any solution to offer?"

"I don't, but I know people who might be able to help. I remember fighting a Navy officer of the Albion Isles, and his entire body seemed to be made from steel prosthetics, including his heart.

"I think a mechanical heart will help Charles, so you should go and seek out the people of the Albion Isles," Margaret replied.

Sparkle nodded and said, "I thank you on behalf of my father for your help. I will tell him that you provided me with that information."

With that, Sparkle turned around to leave, but Margaret hurriedly called out. "Wait! Don't tell him! Tell him that you discovered it by chance."

Sparkle carefully sized up the woman with a diagonal scar across her face and her right eye covered by her hair. "All right. I absolutely won't reveal a single thing to my father. Don't worry; I'm the best when it comes to keeping secrets."

"What? Margaret told you that?" Charles asked, staring at his daughter in surprise.

"Mmhm. And she specifically asked me not to tell you about it. Looks like she still can't forget you, Daddy."

Charles' brows furrowed in thought. He then looked up at Sparkle and said, "Go and thank her for me. The information she divulged is really helpful to me."

"I'm not going, and didn't I just say that I'll keep it a secret? Wouldn't it be awkward if I were to go there and thank her on your behalf? Besides, isn't that a telephone? Hope Island and Whereto have long been connected to each other, so you can just call her," Sparkle replied and vanished into thin air.

Looking at the brass telephone on the table, Charles fell into deep contemplation. A second later, he picked up the telephone. After dialing a certain number, he heard ringing on the other side, but no one answered.

Charles dialed three times before putting down the telephone. Margaret didn't want to get too involved with him, and Charles wanted to respect her decision. He decided to simply thank her in person the next time they met.

Clearing his mind of distracting thoughts, Charles focused on the information that Margaret had just divulged to him—the Albion Isles could create artificial hearts. In hindsight, it made sense. If they could replace virtually their entire body with steel prosthetics, then it made sense for the heart to be replaceable as well.

Soon, Linda and the person in charge of the prosthetics company on Hope Island appeared before Charles. He was a middle-aged man wearing a monocle and a top hat. He bowed respectfully to Charles and said, "You called, Esteemed Governor? Are you experiencing any issues with your prosthetics?"

Charles went straight to the point, wasting no words.

"Hmm... a prosthetic heart. I did hear that our parent company can make those, but the technology to do so is a core technology of the Albion Isles. It was also for the exclusive use of the Albion Isles' Navy and was not really commercialized.

"The Albion Isles and its navy are no more. Our parent company was also destroyed along with the Albion Isles. The technology to create prosthetic hearts can be considered lost. But if you're willing to provide the funding, then I'm willing to start from scratch for your—"

"Who said the technology to make one is considered lost?" Charles interrupted, raising his prosthetic hand. "The Albion Isles is right there. The island is gone, but what was on the island is still there."

A nautical chart was unfurled, and the Albion Isles—marked as a black dot—was marked on the chart.

"Governor… It isn't a very safe place, is it? The island was sacrificed to a Divinity, after all," the middle-aged man replied, looking quite uneasy.

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