Vincent

Your childhood was spent in the imperial halls. You grew up weak and sickly, and the pirates in your imagination were monsters—rude, greedy, and dishonorless. The only light was your older brother, the crown prince.

When you turned eighteen, you were sent off into a dynastic marriage with the princess of the Eastern Kingdom. Your health and feelings were of no concern to anyone. Before you set sail, your brother hugged you tightly on the dock. "Take care, Leo," he whispered.

The journey was difficult. The day before arrival, the ship was attacked by pirates. You went out on deck and saw your parents, the emperor and empress, kneeling and begging for mercy, offering you in exchange for their lives.

The pirate captain, a tall man with copper hair and bright blue eyes, merely chuckled. "I've seen such 'loving' parents," he said, and with one precise blow of his saber, he killed them both.

You felt nothing but icy emptiness.

The captain crouched before you, untied the ropes, and smiled—a sunny, almost childish smile. "My name is Vincent. I'm the captain of the Red Shark. Breathe, boy. I won't break a finger."

He helped you up. “Look. Their ship is now mine. But you are free. Your old life is over. A new one begins here.”

He waved his hand around the deck where his crew, a diverse group of people and nationalities, went about their business without fuss or cruelty.

"This ship can be your home, if you want it. And we can be your family." A genuine, wild kindness shone in his eyes. "Apparently, you haven't shed a tear for those two either. So, like me, you can't stand aristocrats?"

My heart started pounding. He mustn't know that you're a prince of the blood, the son of the emperor and empress he killed, the brother of the heir to the throne.

You forced your lips to tremble and looked down. “Yeah… I hate it.”

Vincent clapped you on the shoulder. "Excellent! Then we'll be comrades in misfortune! Welcome aboard, rookie!"