To ensure the next year would be as stable as possible, she had to establish her place on the ship first.
"There are bullies everywhere. He's just trying to scare you," advised Song Feiya, one of the ship's Mechanicians she was studying under. "Once you become a full-fledged Mechanician in your own right, what will Dao Mingke have left to say?"
She seemed to be right, but a month later, Milady discovered that things in this world were rarely so simple or reasonable.
As Milady's understanding of the ship's mechanisms deepened and her skills grew, the hostility she faced only intensified. Her quiet forbearance was like hot oil, fanning the flames and making them burn even brighter.
"She knows her place, that's why she doesn't dare make a peep."
Milady didn't even have to guess the reason; Dao Mingke would announce it to her loudly. "The Tower? Means jack shit at sea. Just looking at that blank, high-and-mighty expression of hers all day is annoying. She used her family name to get on this ship and only then started leisurely messing with mechanisms. What gives her the right to enjoy special privileges at sea?"
No one is born in the sea, and everyone has a first time—but Milady knew very well that reasoning with him was pointless.
When she had some free time that day, she sat on the deck, toying with a small piece of raw material for a mechanism. She let its texture and temperature seep into the lines of her skin; it was a habit she had developed recently when she was deep in thought. With these unconscious movements, her mind slowly settled, focusing on Dao Mingke.
When she was truly angry, Milady became exceedingly calm and restrained, even a little gentle.
Besides, what she wanted was far more than simple revenge. She needed to establish her status. She wanted people to pay attention when she spoke, to respond when she acted, and for her presence to linger in their minds even when she wasn't there. 'Perhaps I should thank Dao Mingke,' she thought. 'Because of him, I have a chance to use him to raise my own flag at sea.'
No matter what she did, she liked to be thoroughly prepared. Her ideal approach was to strike with careful planning against an unsuspecting opponent. It was true when she sent letters, and it was true now as she planned her resistance.
「On the day Milady had been on the ship for a full month, her chance arrived.」
To celebrate Milady's progress, Song Feiya and a few other veteran crew members had specially asked the ship's cook to bake a small cake, which they brought into the small hall where the crew ate. At sea, eggs were a precious resource—each person was allotted only one every four days. This single, palm-sized cake had used up several people's egg rations.
After it was carefully divided, each person's share was only a mouthful. But Milady hadn't even had her bite—she couldn't bring herself to eat it right away and left it on the table. When the women were ready to return to work, she walked them to the door. It only took a few minutes, but when she returned, the cake on the table had been smashed into a muddy pile on the floor.
Two other crew members, who happened to be on their break, were also in the dining hall, looking rather awkward.
"Milady," one of them, an older crew member, said in a low voice, "we tried to stop him, but..."
Milady looked at the muddy mess, then at the group of men gathered in the corner of the dining hall. It was the time Dao Mingke and his cronies ate lunch, so they must have come in when she had stepped out. They were half-turned away, their gazes sweeping past Milady as if she didn't exist, or as if she were just another table. They continued to chat and laugh among themselves, as if nothing had happened.
When she walked up to Dao Mingke, she noticed a small crumb of cake stuck to the toe of his leather boot. The men close to him saw her approach, and though they tried to act nonchalant, they were visibly suppressing their laughter.
When Milady spoke, she didn't ask about the cake at all, as if she had already forgotten about it.
"Dao Mingke, let me ask you something. What exactly is your job on this ship?" she said with a smile. "I see you lounging around all day, doing nothing. I really can't see what use you are at all."
The smiles on the faces of the men across from her froze. They were all stunned.
Dao Mingke slowly stood up and took a step forward. His mountain-like body cast a shadow that completely enveloped Milady. He lowered his head and bared his teeth in a grim sneer, the muscles and veins in his neck bulging.
"What did you say?"
They were both human, but standing before Dao Mingke, Milady felt as if she were made of gingerbread—loose and brittle—while his bones and muscles were heavy, forged iron.