3 bar menu

The Ghost Ship Queen Berry – Part 04

---

Translator: Kell

---

The five of them entered the original lounge.

The chandelier’s glow was too bright compared to the flooded lounge’s. It made them uncomfortable. They each took their seat and stared at each other’s faces.

Victorique looked at the wall with the bloody writing. Her gaze was sharp as a knife’s. She then pointed to the bar counter by the wall.

“Kujou, go take a look inside.”

“What…?”

“I have finished reconstructing the fragments of chaos. You will find the answer there. There should be something that wasn’t there before.”

Confused, Kazuya stood up. He went to the bar counter and, as told, peered inside. There was something rolled there, as if someone was hiding it. A large cloth? he wondered. No…

“It’s wallpaper!” Kazuya exclaimed.

His voice pulled Julie and Ned out of their seats. They peered into the counter as well.

“Ah!”

“Is this what I think it is?”

Rolled up in there was a wallpaper with the same pattern as the wall. It was crumpled and forcibly crammed inside.

Maurice approached as well. “I-It’s really a wallpaper!”

“Yes.” Victorique nodded coolly. “Allow me to explain, Maurice. It’s true that you can’t write a long sentence on a wall in just under ten seconds. But it’s enough time to remove the wallpaper plastered over the writing and hide it, wouldn’t you agree?”

Ned let out a sigh. “I see.”

Julie shook her head, fiddling with her pendant. Her long, raven hair bounced in the air. “Huh. It’s so simple once you figure it out.”

Ned started playing with the tennis ball again, and Julie resumed pacing back and forth every five steps. They probably couldn’t relax.

Maurice alone was glaring at them, his shoulders shaking. He was standing firm, looking at every person in turn, and then suddenly shouted.

“You bastards!”

Victorique frowned. “Where did that come from?”

Maurice retreated back to the wall. Fearfully, he regarded the faces of Kazuya, Ned, Julie, and finally Victorique.

“Who’s the Hare?” he asked in a shaky voice.

The other four looked at Maurice with puzzled faces.

“What do you mean by Hare?”

“It’s the children’s alias. That’s what we called them!” He was shaking. He put his back against the wall with the bloody writing. “I’m right, aren’t I?! If this isn’t a ghost ship… If this isn’t a curse, then what is it?!”

Everybody exchanged glances. Then Julie let out a gasp and brought her hands to her mouth.

“…Revenge?” she murmured.

“I-I see!” Ned said.

“Don’t play dumb!” Maurice yelled. “Who received the invitation? The adults from back then, including me, were gathered here. They all died, and I’m the only one who survived. But there are four youngsters here… Who are you?! You were not a part of us ten years ago. Then why did you receive an invitation?!”

“Not all Hares died,” he continued with ragged breaths. “The few who survived were freed. They were to be fattened up, so they were guaranteed a life of luxury after the ordeal. There’s a survivor among you. And after ten years…”

Julie was fiddling furiously with her pendant. Ned was clutching his tennis ball.

“They built this replica to take revenge on us!”

“You’re wrong,” Julie said.

“I don’t know anything,” Ned added.

The two shot each other confused looks.

“Then why do you have an invitation?!”

Kazuya fearfully explained himself and Victorique.

They were classmates at school. They had planned to go sailing on the weekend, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Bored and with nothing to do, they looked around the yacht and found the invitation.

Maurice’s face turned pale when he heard that the yacht’s owner was Roxane, a famous fortune teller, and that she had been killed.

“Madame Roxane was murdered?!”

“Did you know her?” Kazuya asked.

Maurice did not answer.

Ned then spoke up. “I was an orphan, no family. I was in an orphanage until I turned eighteen. Then I worked and trained to be an actor, and fortunately, I was able to get on stage. Before I knew it, I was a little bit famous. And this week…” He paused. He then slowed down, unsure if he really had to tell them. “A bouquet of flowers and an invitation were delivered to the waiting room where I was performing. Sometimes I get them from die-hard fans. I thought I could use the breather, so I accepted it.” He cast his eyes down after speaking.

Julie explained herself next. “Like I told you earlier, my parents are wealthy people who own a coal mine. I grew up in a large mansion doing whatever I wanted.” Contrary to Ned, she talked fast. She rambled on, like she wanted to finish her story right away. “The other day, I found the invitation in my car, even though it was locked. I thought it was a little odd, but my birthday was coming up and I figured it was just a prank by my friends. So I came over, chuckling to myself. I couldn’t be more wrong, though.”

After hearing everyone’s story, Maurice hung his head, deep in thought. His brows furrowed, and he wore a grim look.

He then lifted his head and pointed at Ned and Julie. “It’s one of you, isn’t it?”

“Wh-What?! Of course not!”

Maurice glanced over at Victorique. “I can attest to this girl’s identity. She’s a daughter from a noble family. She wouldn’t do this. Neither would her friend. And they’re too young. Ten years ago, both of them would have been only five years old. There were no five-year-old Hares back then. They were all in their early teens.”

“How can you be so sure? You only have their word to go on. She could just be some random kid!”

“Nonsense. I know a noble when I see one. The air around them is different from the common folk. As the daughter of someone who just struck it rich, you might not know this, but I’m a Viscount. I’ve been interacting with the elite for a long time. I can assure you that this child is of true noble blood.”

“S-Struck it rich?!”

Julie lunged at the man, but Ned stopped her. “Don’t!”

Maurice stared at them with disdain. “The Hares were orphans. I know a lowborn when I see one. An actor and a rich man’s daughter. I wonder, which one of you is the filthy survivor?”

The man looked up at the ceiling and started laughing. Like a beast, Julie went berserk and tried to attack Maurice. Ned called Kazuya for assistance, and he quickly helped keep her in check.

Julie let out an animalistic snarl. “You’re just as suspicious yourself, Maurice!”

“…What?”

Julie had stopped flailing about, so Ned and Kazuya let her go. She glared at Maurice with the dangerous, cornered look of a wounded beast. Maurice had his back against the wall, looking at Julie with frightened eyes.

“Maybe the Hare had parents,” Julie said. “Or guardians. Someone who took care of them. Ever thought of that?”

“…”

“Ten years ago, you’d be in your mid-thirties. A child born in your twenties would be in their early teens then. The same age as the Hares, as you said.”

“My daughter goes to a school for nobles.”

“All this talk about you being a noble and a foreign affairs official is just you saying things. As long as you’re on this ship, there’s no way to confirm it. Maybe you’re just a crazy parent who built this ridiculous ship to avenge your dead child. That’s right. Maybe you’re a crazy father who lost his kid!”

“Ridiculous.” Maurice guffawed. He glowered at Julie. “I will not stand for such slander!”

Looking at the man’s face, Kazuya was convinced. Maurice was a nobleman. He had the pride and refined mannerism characteristic of the nobility that he had seen so much of since coming to this country. This man would not lie about his identity.

“That’s right,” Maurice said. “This young detective mentioned something. She said there was an extra person. I was close, so I could hear her. There were eleven of us at the dining room, and when we woke up in the lounge, there were twelve. One person more. The one who wasn’t in the dining room is the culprit. They’re blending in with the rest of us, watching us get scared to death while deep inside they’re laughing.”

“What?!”

“The actor was definitely in the dining room. It was so dark that I couldn’t make out his face, but I heard him rambling on and on about some boring story from his career.”

Ned’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Julie bit her lip and glared at Maurice.

“You, however, weren’t there, were you, little lady?”

“I was there!” Julie snapped back.

“You have no proof.”

“I could say the same about you. No one saw your face. So it’s either me or you.”

The two scowled at each other.

“Another thing, Maurice.” Julie’s voice was shaking with rage. “Why didn’t you board the lifeboat?”

“B-Because…”

“All your buddies scrambled to get away from the ship and onto the boat. Weren’t you the one who suggested the lifeboat? But when it was lowered, you alone didn’t get in.”

“B-Because you said it was dangerous!”

“So you, a nobleman, listened to a lowborn like me?”

This time Maurice pounced on her with clenched fists, breathing hard. Ned quickly inserted himself between them.

Julie gave a sudden jerk. “Ssh!” She put her index finger to her lips and strained her ears.

“What is it?” Ned asked.

“…Water.” Julie’s face scrunched up in horror. “I hear water!”

She opened the door and ran out into the hallway. She then stopped and listened carefully.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

There was a faint sound of water coming from down below. As she stood there dumbfounded, Maurice groaned, “A flood!”

He fell to his knees. Ned shook him by the shoulders. “What do you mean?! Hey!”

Maurice did not answer. Ned shook him back and forth. Maurice opened his tightly-closed eyes, his face contorted in fear.

“You drill small holes at the bottom of the ship to submerge it little by little, creating a time limit,” he said, finally.

“What…?”

“It was my idea…”

“What?!”

Maurice was silent for a moment, his shoulders shaking. After a while, he lifted his head.

“Quick, to the radio room!” he cried. “The ship’s sinking!”

---

---