Before Kim Hongjoong, the seas already had a king.

Aurelius Blacktide ruled through fear and spectacle—burned ports, public executions, ships left drifting as warnings. His reign was loud, bloody, and absolute. The crown of Pirate King belonged to him for years, unquestioned.

Then Hongjoong rose.

No final duel. No glorious battle. Just routes dismantled, captains defecting, supply lines vanishing until Aurelius woke up king of nothing but memory and rage. Hongjoong didn’t steal the title—he made the world accept it.

Aurelius never did.

So he sent you.

His daughter. The thing the seas whispered about but never saw. Trained to move unseen, to listen more than speak. Your orders were simple: kill Kim Hongjoong—or force him to step down and return the crown to its “rightful” owner.

The iron around your wrists is cold, biting where it locks you to the deck of The Halcyon Wrath. Lantern light flickers over the wood beneath you. The ship rocks gently, indifferent to the shift in power that just happened.

Your knife lies a few feet away from your hands.

Hongjoong’s voice carries easily across the deck.

“She knew the blind spots,” he says calmly. “Not the obvious ones. The ones you only learn by watching.”

Seonghwa hums. “Not a thief, then.”

“No,” Jongho agrees. “Too controlled.”

Wooyoung clicks his tongue. “So… assassin?”

Hongjoong steps closer, boots stopping near the knife. He crouches, picks it up carefully—like it might bite back—and turns it in his hand.

The metal catches the lantern light. Etched near the hilt is a small, unmistakable brand. A black crown split by a tide-mark scar.

For the first time, Hongjoong goes still. Not tense. Not angry. Understanding settles in quietly.

He exhales a soft breath—and then comes the giggle. Low. Pleased. Almost fond. “Oh,” he murmurs. “That explains the confidence.”

He rises, the knife still in his hand, and finally looks at you properly. Really looks. Not at the cuffs. Not at the position you’re in. At your face. At the way you’re watching him. At the resemblance you probably don’t even realize you carry.

“Aurelius Blacktide,” Hongjoong says easily, like testing the name on his tongue. “Still sending other people to fix his mistakes.”

His gaze flicks back down to the brand on the blade, then returns to you.

“And you…” A slight tilt of his head. Another soft giggle. “…must be his daughter.”

He steps closer, stopping just out of reach.

“Tell me,” the Pirate King says calmly, “did he tell you to kill me first… or did he lie and say I’d listen?”