33.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

With the sound of droplets bursting against her ears, icy river water poured violently into her. The current was so strong that even opening her eyes seemed impossible. The freezing torrent pierced through her clothes like thousands of blades. Had she not reflexively covered her head upon hitting the water, she would have been swept away unconscious in an instant.

Rosetta thrashed to distance herself from the schooner. When falling from a ship, the worst accidents occur from colliding with the hull. Yet the more she struggled, the more her white dress tangled upward, wrapping tightly around her limbs.

Damn this cursed cloth. No wonder I didn’t want to wear it from the start. Rosetta clenched her teeth, straining to keep her eyes open.

Fortunately, she soon sensed the flow of water. Though in Lea’s body, decades of surviving on saltwater remained ingrained in Rosetta’s mind. She tried to drift downstream as diagonally as possible, floating with the current.

When she curled her body like a shrimp, she felt her back slowly rise toward the surface. With great effort, she reached out and kicked off her shoes. Next came the damn dress.

She clawed at the ribbon choking her breath, fighting desperately to untie it. The fabric wrapped around her body billowed like a wind-filled sail, hindering her movements. After several failed attempts, she barely managed to loosen the ribbon. But her stamina drained far faster than anticipated.

Swimming through rough waters without a single buoy was a task even seasoned pirates found difficult. At first, she surfaced with frantic kicks, but past her limit, her body weakened as if weighted at the ankles. Air escaped through the gaps in her clenched teeth.

Breath—running out.

Her body sank endlessly downward. Her mind, constantly alert to danger, dulled from lack of oxygen. Her heart pounded painfully; her lungs burned as if split in two. Rosetta barely suppressed the instinctive urge of her nose and mouth to gasp for air. This time, real death seemed imminent.

Then it happened—the moment she sensed the current shift. Cutting through the foamy spray, something solid wrapped tightly around her waist. Short, disheveled blonde hair, deep blue eyes gazing directly at her…

At that moment, Rosetta thought she must be hallucinating. In the darkness, such clarity was nearly impossible. Yet the arm gripping her firmly was undeniably real.

Soon, she felt Cardier pulling her close as they ascended toward the surface. Her blurry vision gradually sharpened with light. Each second felt as long as minutes. Just a little more. Just a bit faster. Finally, the cold river wind poured over her wet face. She frantically expelled something—whether cough or water, she couldn’t tell.

Cardier swam toward the lifeboat, holding her tightly from behind. As they approached, arms reached out from the boat, pulling them upward.

“……!”

“…….”

People seemed to be shouting, but her muffled ears heard only a dull buzzing. Soon, she saw strong men hauling the lifeboat up onto the ship. Meanwhile, Rosetta lay collapsed, lifeless as a fish just pulled from the deep. Every painful movement brought water trickling from her nose. Her head throbbed as if splitting open.

“Uuuh, uh…….”

“Damn it, Ro.”

Cardier shrugged off the fussing attendants and lifted the limp Rosetta into his arms again. Ro clung to his chest, gasping. She could hardly remember how to breathe.

He swiftly cut every suffocating ribbon on her dress with a sharp dagger.

“Breathe, please…….”

“Uuuh…… hah, hih…….”

Cardier pressed hard against Rosetta’s solar plexus. Rosetta convulsed like a beast with its throat pierced. Even with her flickering consciousness, she knew this wasn’t a typical reaction. Even among those rescued from drowning, she’d rarely seen someone suffer both breathing difficulty and convulsions simultaneously. Perhaps it was less a physical issue and more psychological.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her muscles twisted uncontrollably. Cardier’s desperate face flickered in and out of her vision before blurring. Deciding it wasn’t working, he firmly supported the back of her neck.

“Hah…… uuuh…….”

Ro dug her fingernails into his forearm, gripping with all her strength. A gut instinct told her that losing consciousness meant the end. Like a final struggle, she opened her mouth to breathe.

At that moment, Cardier tightly pulled the thrashing Rosetta to him and lowered his face. His rough lips met her cold ones, forcing open her sealed breath. Something hot slipped between her lips, twisting open her airway. Faintly, air began to seep through. Instinctively, Rosetta clung desperately to him, pressing her lips tightly against his firm ones.

Everything blurred. Nothing existed except the sensation on her lips and the breath passing through him.

At first, she coughed up half of the incoming air. But Cardier persistently drew back the breath she expelled and returned it to her. It was relentless, tenacious, yet tender.

Like rain soaking parched earth, breath slowly flowed in. Gradually, Rosetta escaped the terror of suffocation. Her pulse, regaining composure, began to steady. As she inhaled on her own and her shoulders heaved, their lips parted.

He pressed his forehead to hers, gently stroking Rosetta’s glistening lips with his finger, whispering softly.

“Now, slowly exhale.”

“Huhh, hah…….”

Breath. Breath returned. Rosetta clung to his shoulder, panting. He rubbed his nose against hers with a handsome smile.

“That’s it. You’re doing well.”

At Cardier’s gesture, someone quickly approached and handed over a thick blanket. Cardier carefully wrapped Rosetta tightly in it and lifted her gently. As her feet left the ground, Rosetta reflexively wrapped both arms around his neck. Firm. Warm.

Only then did it truly sink in—she was alive. Overwhelmed by surging relief, the rigid tension released all at once, and her vision turned completely black.

Rosetta lost consciousness.

* * *

“Your Excellency.”

The woman’s face was pale, trembling so violently it was pitiful. Yet Cardier didn’t spare her a single glance as he rose to his feet, cradling the noblewoman of Valdemore.

Utterly ignored, the woman lightly bit her lip. Then, as if making a firm resolution, she quickly stepped forward and grabbed the sleeve of his coat.

“Your Excellency.”

“……What is it?”

His tone hovered somewhere between “What are you doing?” and “Who are you?” His fierce presence resembled a predator whose territory had been invaded, causing the woman to hesitate and take a step back.

Yet Cardier’s face was too dazzling to remain merely terrifying. His cold gaze sent chills down her spine. For a moment, the woman forgot her own plight, dazed.

“Can’t you hear?”

“I, I was worried, so worried about the noblewoman’s condition…….”

The woman finally stammered, snapping back to her senses. Her words sounded caring, but if she truly cared, she wouldn’t have dared to stop Cardier. Despite being wrapped in a warm blanket, the noblewoman’s face remained deathly pale.

Cardier’s sculpted lips twisted into a chilling smile.

“You’re not concerned about Youngae’s family, are you?”

At those words, the woman’s face turned ashen—paler than it could possibly go.

“It was truly, just a minor, s-s-small mistake…….”

Stammering, the woman suddenly dropped to her knees and bowed her head at his feet.

“Please believe me. I never truly intended to harm her. It’s just that the noblewoman completely ignored our warnings…….”

“I have no interest in Youngae’s petty excuses, and your pitiful innocence ceased to matter the moment this woman fell into the water.”

“…….”

“What you must firmly engrave in your mind from now on is this: Youngae’s family will never set foot in the capital again. All because of that ‘minor mistake’ you claim it to be.”

Shock and terror slowly crept across the woman’s face. Cardier looked down at her coldly, then nodded toward the sailors standing awkwardly nearby.

“Take her away and lock her up.”

* * *

When consciousness returned, Rosetta first clasped her hands together before even opening her eyes. For the first time in her life, she devoutly prayed to God.

‘Please let everything that happened until now have been a dream. I’ll donate money, help people, ruthlessly ruin every cheat and swindler, and tear that bastard Nick apart from shell to bone—yes? I’ll live earnestly, as if reborn. Please, just this once, let me live.’