Book One, Chapter One: Tiger, Tiger

The comic opens with characters discussing a map of the world as they know it being ostentatiously painted high above a grand hall at a party. The focus quickly moves to other guests, who disparage the host and the food before talking about a dear sensitive friend of theirs, Ludovica, who patronizes the arts, and who has gone missing, along with her fiancé Jamis Arlesi.

It transitions to a man - who is later revealed to be Jamis Arlesi - helping a ship through a raging storm. While the other crewmates wonder at their captain's absence from the deck he reassures them that all is well and that it's not necessary for the captain to help them. He commands the ship with ease and confidence, until he arrives at the Captain Remy's quarters and frets over the captain, revealing them to be a sea sick Lady Ludovica in disguise.

The title card is shown, and we flashback to three days ago, when the real Captain Remy docked in his home city of Lucentia with his first mate Jamis Arlesi. While discussing the possible invention of fancy #2 pencils, Remy notices Jamis seems ill at ease because he's worried over how Ludovica will receive the gifts he's brought back for her. Remy is quick to poke holes in his worries, especially since he helped pick them out for his sister and he only picks out the best for her, eyeing Jamis knowingly.

A non sea sick Ludo is revealed, draped elegantly across a couch and dressed in all sorts of finery, pretty as a picture. She is in fact posing for a portrait and chatting about her special interest, sea sponges, to a tolerant if reticent painter, only to be interrupted by the arrival of her brother, much to the painter's frustration. In contrast to her over eager and excited response to Remy's arrival, Ludo is cool and formal towards Jamis. While Remy leaves them alone to talk, they converse awkwardly, ill at ease with each other, and Ludo says as much to her maid later while she dresses for dinner with Remy and Jamis, professing him a stranger, and she doesn't have one nice thing to say about him.

Ludo clearly has something planned, disparaging Jamis' presence as a hindrance to her plan, though she decides to proceed with it anyways, her maid and painter procuring tools for some kind of forgery. She shows off her scientific knowledge over the sea creatures Jamis brought back as souvenirs, indicating her interest in sea sponges is not merely superficial. Remy quickly shuts Ludo down when she expresses a desire to see them in their natural habitat, vis a vis coming along on Remy's ship, but their banter devolves into name calling and fighting. Ludo's maid comes in to the middle of this, dramatically exclaiming that someone has broken into the Bonnaire home. Remy takes pursuit and Jamis discovers that Remy was right that this was a plot of Ludo's, specifically to steal her brother's identity and his ship to study sea sponges.

Not all is lost for Ludo as she manages to trick Jamis into letting her continue with her plan by allowing her to accompany him, after her previous attempt to simply sneak away by taking advantage of his bashfulness fails.

Setting sail, Jamis reflects on his poor life choices and Ludo sends up a prayer to the god of the sea for a safe voyage.