Prologue 0-2: Rosalind C. Bathory

Somewhere out at sea, a girl in a white dress was standing aboard a pirate ship.

“...Hmph.”

The girl—Rosalind C. Bathory—sighed as if she was bored. She was surrounded by men lying on the deck. They were the pirates who owned this ship.

These pirates were ruffians who made their living by plundering, kidnapping, and sometimes looting valuables from sunken ships. But right now, every one of them was lying unconscious on the deck.

It was almost as if they’d fallen at the frail, tiny hands of this little girl. It seemed impossible, but given that the girl was unhurt and every last pirate was out cold, there was hardly any other conclusion that could be drawn from this scene.

“...”

Rosalind raised her right hand. She curled each finger in turn, slowly forming a fist... and then sadly let it go. She drew her hand back to her chest.

There was a tear there in her dress like a blade had cut through it, complete with the smear of a bloodstain around it. But the blade that must have pierced her chest had left no scar behind, and the bloody stains on the white fabric were faded, indicating that a long time had passed since they were made.

“...Re...”

Rubbing the bloodstains, Rosalind’s mouth moved just a little... before breaking into a bitter sigh.

“Even this small bond is to be taken from me?”

Heh...

She tried to laugh, but her voice stuck in the back of her throat and disappeared.

“...!”

Then her eyes shot wide open as if she’d just realized something. She patted down her clothes before dropping to the deck on all fours, kicking and pushing the unconscious men out of her way as she crawled around.

“It’s not... It’s not here!”

The air of boredom about her just moments ago was gone now as she searched frantically.

After she’d spent some time scouring the deck, she suddenly raised her head as a new possibility occurred to her. She ran across the ship, again knocking the unconscious men aside as she made her way to a rectangular box.

The soaking wet box was covered with algae and barnacles. It looked like something the pirates had brought up from the bottom of the sea. Although the cover had been removed, she could see that the inside of the box was completely dry. It must have been sealed very carefully.

The girl stuck her head inside the box and ran her hands from one corner to the other, checking every inch of it. Her eyes lit up when her tiny hands touched something small.

“!”

She took what looked like a single piece of paper out of the box and sighed with relief. It was an old photograph, torn in the middle just like her dress. The damage made it impossible to see the face of the boy standing next to her in the picture.

“...”

She was disappointed, but still she held the photo close to her chest as if it was very dear to her. As if it was the most important thing she’d ever owned.

“I hate you... Namidare...”

Drops of clear liquid began to fall from Rosalind’s red eyes.