Shrouded Seascape - Chapter 844: Margaret
“What?” Charles asked. Margaret’s words just now were so shocking that he thought he had misheard her. He put down the bottle of liquor that he had just brought to his mouth.
Having spoken her heart, Margaret no longer hesitated and took another step forward. She stared directly at Charles and said, “Charles, I know you know my feelings. I love you. I want you to become my husband.”
Hearing that, Charles chuckled and said, “You’re really direct this time.”
“Some opportunities are too precious to let go. One must seize every opportunity available as soon as possible,” Margaret said. Her eyes contained only her desire to achieve her goal, devoid of the shyness of a demure young girl.
Margaret leaned in and spread her arms to hug Charles, but just as her fair, clean fingers were about to make contact with Charles, she felt something invisible freezing her in place.
“Forget it. We could have talked about it before, but not now,” Charles said. He wrapped Margaret with his invisible tentacles and pushed her back to the door.
Margaret’s face revealed a strong unwillingness to yield. “Why? Is it because of the scar on my face?”
Margaret brushed her hair aside, revealing her hideous scar.
“No,” Charles said, shaking his head. “You’ve seen Anna’s true form. If I could stomach even her true form, do you really think I’m the type to care about appearances? If so, then you’re wrong. I don’t really care about appearances.”
“Then, what’s wrong?” Margaret asked.
The Adam’s apple halfway up Charles’ neck bobbed up and down as he took a big swig of the bottle of liquor in his hand. In no time, the bottle of liquor was half empty.
Margaret reached to her thigh holster, and the bottle of liquor in Charles’ hand shattered, scattering glass and the liquor all over Charles’ face.
“Give me a proper reason, or you won’t be able to get rid of me at all! I’m no longer a little girl,” Margaret warned.
Charles wiped away the liquor on his face and sighed. “Because I’m going to be extremely busy soon. I have no time to waste on something like that.”
Margaret clenched her fists, and her voice conveyed her tumultuous emotions as she exclaimed, “Just what exactly are you going to do soon? The death light is no more, the Fhtagn Covenant will soon be annihilated, and you’ve already destroyed the so-called Foundation.
“You’ve also become the Overlord of the Northern Seas! Just what exactly are you going to do next?!”
Charles didn’t respond to Margaret’s questions. His gaze was transfixed on the organs soaked in preservative fluid on the table across from him.
Margaret looked down slowly, and a teardrop fell from between her hair, disappearing into the slightly moldy floor. There was a slight tremor in her voice as she stammered, “You don’t have to spend too much energy on me. I just want to be by your side. Charles, I-I really miss you…”
Charles sprawled out on the bed once more before turning his back on Margaret. He sounded a bit weary as he said, “Go back and be satisfied with your position as the governor. You should focus on assisting the heir of the Cavendish family. What I’m about to do next has nothing to do with you, and there is no reason for you to get involved.”
Margaret gnashed his teeth at Charles’ words. She looked up, revealing her bloodshot eyes. “No, I’m not going to give up this time! I absolutely won’t give up!”
With that, Margaret turned around and walked down the corridor outside. When she left, the oil lamp went out again, and Charles was once again plunged into darkness.
However, the darkness was soon vanquished by Lily’s golden fur as the tiny mouse cautiously flew her way into the quarters.
Lily saw her captain curled up on the bed with both hands on his head. Lily’s heart inexplicably ached at the sight, and she immediately tossed aside the gossipy questions she wanted to ask him.
Lily flew toward Charles, and she landed on his head. Then, she grabbed Charles’ earlobe and spoke softly into his ear, “Mr. Charles, are you okay? Are you in a bad mood? Why don’t we go out and play? I heard there are roller coasters for adults in the newly opened amusement park in the southern part of the island.”
“I’m fine. Just go out, and leave me alone for now. I need some time to figure things out,” Charles replied. He was still curled on the bed despite Lily’s arrival; he didn’t make even the slightest movement.
“Are you missing Monster Sister? Then let’s find a way to bring her back here. I’ll help as long as it’ll make you happy, Mr. Charles,” Lily asked.
“No, you don’t have to find her. She must never return to Hope Island. Her desire for power has made her too obsessed with it. If she’s allowed to return, she’ll definitely harm the people on the island.”
“Then—” Lily started.
However, Charles quickly interrupted her, “Be obedient, Lily, all right? Go and play somewhere else. I want to be alone for now.”
Lily’s ears drooped. In the end, she rubbed her furry cheek on Charles’ face and flew out of the quarters.
Left all alone, Charles sat up on the bed. After a while, he walked up to the drawing board and started painting once again.
The paintbrush moved unceasingly across the canvas, and soon, the figures of his family members on the surface world, his classmates, and his friends appeared on the canvas. School buildings also filled the background until Charles’ school was eventually recreated on the canvas.
Charles also painted every single person he could still remember on the surface world, along with sceneries relevant to them. Eventually, Charles’ listless eyes became filled with vigor once again.
Just as Charles was about to run out of paint, he finally completed his final painting. It depicted the back profile of someone jumping onto a passenger ship with a sling bag.
The figure was a young man, and his face had to be full of excitement for the upcoming trip that was going to last for a few days.
“How nice. I really want to go back to those times,” Charles muttered to himself. He reached out and stroked the wet canvas; he didn’t care even though he was smudging his own work.
“So you’ve decided to escape? Your wish is to abandon everything in the Subterranean Sea and return to the surface by yourself? Fine, but that’s only one wish. What are your two remaining wishes?”
Charles looked up and saw 005 standing at the door. His cold gaze instantly returned as he replied, “No rush. I’m still missing one.”
“I’m not in a rush. I’ll take the others away first. Take your time looking for the remaining one.”
The black cat in 005’s arms jumped onto the table where the jars containing Charles’ organs were located. The black cat pushed the jars, and they swayed a few times before falling to the ground.
Just as the jars were about to hit the ground, they changed directions and flew to Charles. Clearly, Charles had wrapped the jars with his invisible tentacles before dragging them toward him.
“Since you’re not in a rush, then wait until I find the remaining one. I’ll give them all to you at once.”
005 stared quietly at Charles for a few seconds before her figure started fading away slowly.”Fine. The truth is I’m quite easygoing, especially when it comes to creatures I’ve grown fond of.”
Upon seeing that 005 was leaving, Charles quickly made up his mind and stepped forward, saying, “Please wait a moment. I have a concern about the wishes.”
005’s fading figure solidified once again. “What?”
“Tobba said the surface world hasn’t changed at all, but can you let me confirm it myself? I want to see what the surface world looks like right now,” Charles replied.