Chapter 583: Wendy

“Didn’t I tell you that you shouldn’t be here?”

With that single sentence, Jane snapped out of her emotional daze and quickly turned her head.

In the direction of the voice, Fen was there, sitting leisurely on a tree branch.

A brief silence followed as Jane and Fen stared at each other.

Jane, who was older than the previous Wendy, and Fen, who blended a child’s face with an adult’s.

An awkward silence passed between them, and Jane was the first to break it.

“Hello, Fen.”

Jane greeted Fen naturally, as if they had run into each other by chance.

Fen smiled with a face lined with crow’s feet, seemingly pleased by Jane’s brazen attitude.

“Yes, hello. But why are you here? I told you on the first day not to come here, and I’m telling you again now.”

Indeed, Fen had told Jane from the very first day, when he kidnapped her and appointed her as the new Wendy, explaining her role and specifically instructing her not to come to this forgotten warehouse.

‘Never come here. Don’t mind the things in that warehouse either. It’s just a storage for useless junk.’

‘What’s useless?’

‘Trash that can’t fulfill a role, or random junk. If a spot opens up among the existing members, those things might get a role, but until then, they’re just trash.’

Such an overly kind and detailed explanation.

Jane felt something was off.

If Fen really didn’t want her to come, there was no need to show her the place and explain it.

Fen’s behavior strangely didn’t add up.

So Jane tied together her role as Wendy, the mother of Neverland, and the ban on entering the forgotten warehouse to come to a single conclusion.

“A mother is someone who takes care of the children.”

“…”

“And the forgotten children are also those I need to take care of. I was just doing my job, Fen.”

“…Kek.”

After a long silence, Fen let out a small laugh.

It was uncertain whether it was a positive or negative reaction.

Fen often laughed when he was pleased, but sometimes he also laughed when he was displeased.

‘Maybe he’s annoyed…’

Jane guessed.

Fen was a warlock who could see through people’s emotions. One of the best.

Of course, he would know that Jane was lying.

Because Jane didn’t truly believe that a mother is meant to take care of her children.

‘If that’s what a mother really was, she wouldn’t have sold me to the Sisterhood.’

Her mother, who sold her body to Edith because of debt, was treated like a prostitute and eventually became a real one.

To Jane’s surprise, the wound that had seemingly healed began to sting again. She thought she had come to terms with it, but here it was, hurting her once more.

Jane quickly steadied herself, glancing at Fen.

Though she wasn’t unafraid of the little tyrant, Jane tried not to be more scared than necessary.

Even if she was lying, she knew Fen wouldn’t kill her right away.

After all, this was all just an act.

A performance for Fen, who wanted his own little world.

And above all, Jane had been aware that Fen knew she would continue to visit this place.

Now Fen was only messing with her to see how well Jane could mimic the role of Wendy.

Fortunately, Jane’s prediction wasn’t wrong.

“Correct! Just as you said, a mother is someone who takes care of the children. So even if I told you not to come, you still had to take care of the ones here. There are too many fools in the world who don’t understand something so obvious.”

Jane felt relieved inside, but at the same time, she was shocked.

How many of those hanging dolls in the forest were hanging there because they failed to see through this trick? It was like having a paranoid husband.

A pervert who digs a hole, traps his wife in it, and then watches to see what she’ll choose.

That little paranoid signaled Jane out again with praise.

“Wendy, among all the Wendys I’ve seen, you’re one of the closest to being a true Wendy. You genuinely care for the children and you’re good at cooking too. Most Wendys didn’t measure up. Their cooking skills were awful, and their patience even worse.”

“Thank you for the compliment… I learned when I was young.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Jane nodded. At the Sisterhood, they taught the children many things.

Cooking and childcare were just a couple of them. They also taught how to smile sweetly to attract men, body movements, persuasive speaking, spotting clues, even how to slip drugs into drinks. Really, they taught everything.

Young Jane didn’t waste any of it, absorbing everything to make it hers.

Just in case, she’d be able to survive with nothing but her body.

And now, Jane intended to use those abilities in this very moment.

“More than anything, I wanted to be a good mother.”

Jane lied through her teeth, trying to win over Fen, trying to get information.

She had never once thought about becoming a mother, but considering this Neverland’s obsession with the figure of a mother (Wendy), she spoke accordingly.

Sometimes, men chose to believe a lie, and Jane judged this to be one of those times.

Indeed, instead of getting angry and accusing her of lying, Fen played along.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

The papers hidden throughout the forgotten warehouse must belong to Fen.

Jane decided to try needling that weak spot.

If she was lucky, Fen might reveal something, but at worst, he might give her information.

Fen couldn’t kill her easily until he brought in a new Wendy, so it was worth a shot.

‘If I can pass that information to Dave when he arrives—’

“—Do you believe that?”

Jane was lost in thought when Fen interrupted.

In a strange, almost mind-reading way, Jane flinched, and her guess proved correct.

“Do you really think that if you play the obedient child and hold out, your prince will come and rescue you?”

Fen’s words pierced Jane like a dagger, and she couldn’t respond.

The sole reason Jane was barely holding onto her sanity on this bizarre, uncharted island called Neverland was because of Dave.

The belief that Dave would rescue her… Ha! The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.

How could she believe something like that? Even she didn’t understand.

She had already learned how empty men’s promises could be. Yet she believed without a doubt that Dave would rescue her. He hadn’t even promised.

Was it because they were friends? No matter how close, no one searches for a friend who’s been kidnapped without knowing where they went.

This had been proven time and again by the countless children who vanished from the slums each year, and by the parents who went on with their lives despite their children’s disappearance.

Still, even at this moment, Jane believed that Dave would rescue her. Because he was that kind of person.

Not a normal person, but someone like a fairytale prince or a mythic hero, someone so far away.

Maybe that’s why? Jane stopped playing the role for a moment, and instead of gently appeasing Fen to gather information, she spoke her honest feelings.

Not even in her act did she want to lie about Dave.

“Yes, I believe he’ll rescue me… But I don’t see him as my prince.”

“Ho… That’s genuine, isn’t it?”

Fen gave a characteristic smug smile, as if surprised.

“I’m well aware of my status. Claiming Dave as my prince would make my conscience bleed.”

Jane again spoke the truth, without a single lie.

There was a time when she saw him as a prince.

When he stood by her even after Duncan betrayed her.

When he accepted her even at her worst.

When he solved everything on his own so she didn’t have to owe the Sisterhood.

“…”

But that foolish fantasy didn’t last.

It shattered when Dave ignored her back at the hotel.

That’s when Jane realized that Dave was looking far ahead, running too fast to be her prince.

“So… I wanted to succeed. To earn the right to stand face to face with him.”

Jane confessed her feelings for Dave honestly to Fen.

“I envy that… Most people would just look for ways to exploit a talented friend. Why couldn’t I have someone like you?”

Jane lacked Fen’s ability to read emotions, but having seen so many types of people, she could tell Fen was speaking from experience.

Fen shrugged, as if it no longer mattered.

“Well, who cares now? It’s irrelevant.”

“…What?”

“Once I kill him with my own hands and become the true prince, you’ll become the true Wendy who’ll follow me… Then everyone will be happy, right?”

Fen’s sudden, incomprehensible words made Jane tilt her head in confusion.

She understood the part about killing Dave, but the talk of becoming the true prince was baffling.

‘Wait a minute…’

Jane recalled a word that had occasionally come up during meals with the children.

The mention of Fen as a prince. At first, she thought they just called him that because he ruled Neverland, but it seemed it was more than that.

If those children were right, then Fen killing Dave to become the true prince didn’t make any sense.

‘What does becoming the true prince have to do with Dave?’

Since it seemed related to Dave, Jane became interested, and Fen didn’t miss that chance.

“Ah! Are you curious about what a prince is?”

After a moment of hesitation, Jane nodded.

“…What is it?”

“A prince… is the most noble being, born at the highest place in the world. A unique, chosen existence. No one similar, no one that can be replaced. A prince possesses the most noble blood, and everything in the world trembles in fear and bows down to them. That’s what a prince is.”

As soon as Fen said that, the trees in the Forest of the Hanged lowered their branches toward him, as if agreeing that Fen was such a being.

But instead of marveling at how the entire forest was bowing, Jane thought of someone else.

Someone she knew, dogs, cats, and even parrots would cower before, sensing their presence.

“A prince is a blessing just by being born, an achievement, and naturally has the right to enjoy all of life’s pleasures and beauties. And they judge. They judge the world to see if it is a truly beautiful place, who deserves to be saved, who holds value. Naturally, to be saved, everyone kneels and bows their heads to the prince, begging for mercy. That’s what a prince is. A true prince of hell.”

Jane, while both surprised and oddly calm, accepted the tale, feeling that he could actually be such a being.

“…And that prince is Dave?”

“No, it’s me! It must be me! Even if it’s not, it’s me!!”

Fen shouted, eyes burning with obsession. His gaze held a madness close to an obsession.

Like in the diary, where the idea of royalty seemed to have consumed him, his son was obsessed with the idea of being a prince.

It was truly perplexing.

“…How are you so sure?”

“Because everything is going according to my will. Dave… That fool has stepped into the sea.”

“Ah…”

“So it’s time for the next part of the plan.”

Even before Jane had time to feel the emotional impact of knowing Dave had come to rescue her, Fen moved on to talk about the next step.

When Jane was about to ask what that was, she sensed someone behind her.

When she quickly turned her head, a black silhouette was there. A shadow, burned into the size and shape akin to Fen.

The shadow cocked its head like a mischievous child when it locked eyes with Jane, then stepped on Jane’s shadow. Jane’s shadow rose from the ground and swallowed her.

Jane couldn’t even scream before being engulfed by the shadow.

***

Swoooosh—!

A brig was sailing across the western sea, where the cool waves and the sound of wind blended together.

“Right within this Sea of Oblivion lies Neverland.”

On the deck of the Wendy among the surrounding mist, Captain Hook spoke up.

Having been horribly injured by Oliver earlier, he had now fully recovered thanks to potions and Oliver’s help.

“You can speak comfortably. And please, have a seat. You’ll tire your legs if you keep standing like that.”

Oliver said, sitting across from Hook, feeling uneasy about how the captain treated him like a superior.

Hook shook his head.

“No, I prefer to stand and speak formally.”

“Ah…”

Oliver let out a small sound of surprise. Hook was too earnest, too firm.

So Oliver decided not to pursue that matter further, and returned to the main topic.

“So, this area is the Sea of Oblivion?”

“Yes.”

Hook pointed with his hooked hand at a part of the map on the table.

The spot was right in the middle between the New Continent and the Old Continent.

This area was littered with numerous islands, and the map warned that it was a dangerous sea area.

“Why is it called the Sea of Oblivion, and why is it dangerous?”

Being the Oliver that he was, he asked the most basic question that others might not have bothered with. Hook answered earnestly.

“There are two major theories. The first is that all the ships that enter vanish as if they’ve fallen into oblivion, and the second is that once inside, the compasses stop working and people lose their sense of direction.”

Hook explained not only the origin of the name but also why the Sea of Oblivion was so dangerous.

This explanation alone was enough to understand why not just regular merchant ships but even warships avoided this area, taking a longer, roundabout route.

“It’s no wonder. The interior of the Sea of Oblivion is like a maze of interconnected islands, so if you lose your sense of direction, you’re done for. On top of that, it’s filled with all sorts of monsters, turning it into something like a demonic terrain for most sailors.”

A demonic terrain indeed…

“Are those monsters, like fish-men, or birds with women’s faces?”

“We mustn’t forget the man-eating mermaids and cannibals. The mermaids lure sailors with their beauty and song and devour them, while the cannibals attack and eat them. Naturally, they’re all Fen’s creatures.”

As expected, Hook revealed that all the creatures haunting the Sea of Oblivion were Fen’s creations.

Already somewhat expecting this, Oliver wasn’t shocked, nor was he particularly worried.

It wasn’t that he was being complacent, but he had prepared as much as possible. But still, the unknown terrain did cause him some stress.

First, they had to reach Neverland before they could do anything, whether it be negotiating with Fen or rescuing Jane.

When he expressed this concern, Hook brought out an old sea chart from the table.

“You needn’t worry too much about that.”

“How so?”

Instead of answering verbally, Hook unfurled the chart he had taken out.

To Oliver’s surprise, the map intricately detailed the interior of the Sea of Oblivion.

It showed the location of every island, their names, available freshwater and fruits, and even the most recent marks of where and when certain creatures appeared.

“Did Captain Hook draw this?”

“Only the locations of the creatures. The rest was already there, probably made 30 to 40 years ago. I bought it on the black market.”

“30 to 40 years ago? But the Sea of Oblivion is known to be dangerous…”

Oliver halted mid-sentence. He felt he understood where Hook was going.

“Just as you’re thinking. The Sea of Oblivion got its name roughly 30 years ago. And it was around that time that Neverland was created.”