I always wanted to call you like this.It felt as though he whispered so in her ear.My Ro.She did not avoid Cardier’s gaze.

“Ro.”

His voice, filled with certainty, deepened further.When their eyes met, he smiled.Her stomach tingled, and she let out something akin to a laugh.His crescent-moon smile vanished like a sinking ship.Unable to face him any longer, she closed her eyes, and a pent-up tear fell.

Damn it, how could I not love a man like this?A man who had clung to a single word she uttered years ago, holding it close all this time.

“Rosetta.”

She barely managed a reply.

“…Yeah, you damned mongrel.”

Whether this feeling was love or obsession, she wasn’t sure yet…But a man who could look so ecstatic even after being cursed—there was no other like him in the entire continent.

She wrapped her arms around Cardier’s neck.It was Rosetta who first crossed the precarious distance.As she pressed her lips against his hesitant ones, she saw Cardier’s eyes widen in surprise.

She wiped her lips with the back of her hand, chuckling as if she’d just downed strong rum.

“You, no taking it back now.”

“That’s what I hoped for.”

His hoarse voice whispered.He pulled Rosetta’s waist close as she started to pull away.With trembling hands, he lifted her chin.His thumb pressed tenderly against her cheek.A deep possessiveness bloomed in his blue eyes.Rosetta froze, like prey caught by a hunter.He devoured her lips as they parted to speak.A lush, deep, relentless plunder.

Their tongues intertwined, making wet sounds.He swallowed her exhaled breath, and the breath she took in returned.His breath carried the cool scent of the sea.Tears rolled down her cheeks, adding saltiness.

He entered her tightly parted lips, binding her tongue with a tingling grip, then softly licked her lips with a molten gentleness.Damn it… her spine felt drained of strength.He pressed down on Rosetta’s trembling back with hands where veins stood out.

His restrained desire felt unfamiliar.As if he knew nothing of the clumsy mistakes typical men made, his face showed not a hint of disarray.To say he didn’t desire her body would be a lie—the heat from their closely pressed bodies was real.

Ro panted, her lips still pressed against his.His shirt crumpled under her hands.Cardier, letting out a soft chuckle, lightly bit her lower lip.Their lips parted reluctantly.

Only then did the frozen priest hurriedly tidy up.

“This, this, the vow is sealed with a kiss, so I, I, I’ll take my leave…”

With the sound of sand being scooped, the presence faded away.Only then did Cardier release her from his embrace.

“Breathe, you need to breathe.”

She was the only one panting.Damn it, when did he get so skilled at this?Damn it.The first time they kissed…Damn it, thinking about it now was just carving her own coffin.She wrinkled her nose.

“…When did you know?”

“It’s been a while.”

“…”

“Your accent is hard to come by.And the way you…”

He gently stroked her wrinkled nose with his finger.

“The way you wrinkle your nose, that’s just you.”

“…”

“That’s how I knew?Sensing her skepticism, he took Ro’s right hand and kissed it lightly, from her fingers upward.Heat bloomed like flowers along her skin.

“Ugh…”

“When you glare, you always tilt your head slightly and drag one leg a bit.When you grimace like now, you bite your lips as if sucking them in.”

“…Ah.”

“When you smile, your right eye narrows a bit more.When you lift something heavy with your right hand, you momentarily relax your shoulder and lower your hand.”

“…”

“Ever since you injured your shoulder back then.”

While gently biting the inside of her wrist, he cast his gaze downward at an angle.Most of what he said barely registered in her ears.More than that, he looked… damnably delectable.She forced herself to look away from him.

“Toulon…”

“I couldn’t find it.Only the capstan and figurehead were barely salvaged.”

She glanced instinctively toward the sea where waves crashed.She hadn’t seen it sink with her own eyes, but…If Cardier couldn’t find Toulon, it was likely submerged in the sea.Toulon’s structure was so unique that changing a few decorations wouldn’t have fooled Cardier’s eyes.

It was probably Nick’s doing.To forever hide ‘Rosetta’s’ body and cause of death, that would’ve been the easiest way.

In that moment, Rosetta was enveloped in an odd sense of relief.Cardier wouldn’t know he’d been betrayed by Nick.The task of cutting ties was hers alone.Finding Nick, plunging a blade into that bastard’s neck—that was her burden.

The goddess of vengeance is lenient with repaying a stabbed blade, but for Cardier to do it would be purposeless killing.Especially now that she had come back to life.

As if reading her complacent thoughts, Cardier twisted his lips, then softened his face just before Rosetta looked up.

“If you want, I’ll move you to Montrosa’s castle.”

“…No, it’s fine.I don’t have a use for it right now.”

“Is it okay to leave it here?”

Ro scanned the beach once more.A serene shore where the Lia current flowed.With few people around and well-maintained palm trees, it seemed to be one of Montrosa’s private estates.For a pirate’s grave, it was almost excessively elegant.Their bodies often served as warning signs, hanging from ropes.

“This is… enough.”

Instinctively seeking warmth, she grabbed his hand.Cardier firmly clasped her delicate fingers.

“One more thing.There’s something I wanted to show you.”

“…This is what you wanted to show me?”

Ro asked, bewildered.Her face clearly showed she didn’t know how to process this situation.And no wonder—they were standing in front of an inn.

Though it was a bit removed from the festival square, making foot traffic sparse, the occasional bursts of laughter from inside suggested plenty of people were drinking.

The inn… well, from a pirate’s perspective, it was charming.A clean exterior, a well-kept garden, a round wooden door.But no matter how generously she looked at it, it didn’t seem like a place the Montrosa ducal couple would casually enter.In that brief moment, countless thoughts crossed Ro’s mind.

Is the food here good?Or does he want to spend the night here together?Instead of their lodging?Really?Her head was spinning.Regardless of her tangled thoughts, she let Cardier lead her inside.

“Welcome!”

As they approached the door, a dozing waiter quickly stood and guided them inside.The inn was slightly more spacious inside than it appeared, and judging by the food’s aroma, it wasn’t bad—only one table was empty.Cardier deftly took a seat and ordered two drinks and some side dishes.

“…You’re awfully comfortable here?”

“I’ve come here often.”

He propped his chin, speaking casually.Soon, a boy in an apron came running from the kitchen, clattering dishes.A cheerful, oddly familiar voice.

“Your order is here!”

Ro suddenly looked up.A freckled, youthful face smiled brightly at her.

“Enjoy your meal!”

Even after the boy left, Ro remained dazed for a while.She craned her neck toward the counter and spotted two more children of similar age.Well-fed and well-dressed, they were almost unrecognizable.She stammered out her question.

“Those…”

“You’re right.The pirate orphans you took care of.”

“…They’ve grown a lot.”

She let a strange emotion fill her entirely.The time that had passed since her death hit her vividly.Her mood felt buoyant, yet her voice oddly sank.

“You… took care of them?”

“Strictly speaking, I appointed someone else as their guardian.”

“…”

“You wanted to give them a different future.”

He was right.Pirate orphans were listed in the navy’s registry from the moment they were born.Once listed, their future was one of two paths: becoming a pirate or a pickpocket preying on drunken port vagrants.Escaping the pirate registry required an enormous bribe.Or becoming the navy’s dog.

Everything ‘Rosetta’ had struggled to achieve was far too easy for Cardier.She etched the faces of the now-grown children into her memory, then downed the glass of liquor in front of her in one gulp.

“Let’s go.”

Ro remained silent the entire carriage ride back.As they left the square and entered a quiet residential area, the surroundings grew dark, save for the hanging lanterns.Ro carefully examined why her mood was sinking.She envied his power, his strength, and damn it, even his height.Jealousy felt petty.She knew it was petty, so petty it was downright pathetic.But…

“I never thought I’d be jealous of you.”

As she stepped out of the stopped carriage, Ro blurted it out.Cardier, paying the coachman, half-turned around.From those words alone, he seemed to understand what she meant.

“It’s all yours.”

“It’s not something I grasped with my own hands.”

“With those hands, you saved me.”

He held her hands, palms up.He pressed his lips to her palms.His shadowed face, catching the moonlight at an angle, quietly smiled.

“You’ve always been my savior, Ro.”