88.
Flap flap.
At the sound of something flying in the darkness, Cardier immediately reached for the sword at his waist. But he quickly realized it was a messenger bird and stretched out his hand. Curiously, this kind of bird rarely appeared in the vicinity. Judging from the crude note tied to its leg, it didn’t seem to be a military messenger bird after all.
Cardier calmed the bird and untied the message from its ankle. The sentence and handwriting on the note were painfully familiar to him—so familiar it made him suspect a trap.
“The wind’s direction has changed.”
Ro. He instinctively glanced around. At that moment, a faint smell of gunpowder reached him from afar, followed by a sharp whistling sound. Cardier reflexively pulled the nearby admiral close and ducked his head.
Whoosh—BOOM!
The deliberately aimed cannonball narrowly missed the mast, leaving a long gash along the ship’s side. The impact caused the vessel to shudder violently. Amid the chaotic sounds of sailors rushing about, two or three more cannonballs soon struck. Only belatedly did someone’s cry rise above the chaos.
“W-We’re under attack!”
* * *
Ro waited, a leather bag packed full, for Melvin. But Melvin, who had left early in the morning saying he’d finish the departure preparations, still hadn’t returned well past lunchtime. She grew increasingly anxious.
A sense that something was terribly wrong rose like bile in her throat. Her mind raced, yet nothing was resolved—she was on the verge of losing her mind.
After waiting another two hours, she finally made up her mind. This wouldn’t do. She’d have to go look for him herself. If Melvin had disappeared, she’d simply find out which ship was departing today and buy it outright. That would leave her with a very long trail to cover, but… she couldn’t just sit here any longer.
Just as Ro clenched her teeth and stood up, she heard someone running toward her. Judging from the clumsy footsteps, it could only be Melvin.
“It’s me, young mistress.”
Before Melvin could even finish speaking, Ro swiftly flung the door open. Melvin nearly got hit in the nose and dramatically recoiled, but Ro was faster—she firmly grabbed his arm and yanked him inside. She stretched her neck to check the corridor, confirmed no one was there, then quickly shut the door. Almost growling, she whispered:
“You damn bastard I’d tear apart and pickle in brine! What am I supposed to do when you vanish like that?”
“N-Not now! This is serious!”
“What? What’s going on?”
“I’ve nearly finished the departure prep, but a real crisis has happened.”
“What crisis?”
“It looks like the port’s been blockaded.”
“What?”
For a moment, she felt as if all the blood had drained from her body. Shocked, she nearly screamed out loud before quickly lowering her voice to a whisper.
“You said ‘it looks like’? Tell me exactly—tell me everything.”
“As I said, Captain. I don’t even know what’s what…”
Melvin scratched the back of his head and continued.
“Apparently, every ship requesting departure clearance has been denied. For a whole week now.”
“I’ve heard rumors it started about a week ago, but even then, some ships still got clearance occasionally. This suddenly?”
“Yes. From today, they’re saying it’s absolutely impossible. Everyone’s in chaos. Strangely, incoming ships are still allowed…”
Melvin brought the back of his hand to his lips, lowering his voice even further.
“And… there’s something else, I think.”
“This is just a rumor circulating among fishermen. But they say people are arriving on those incoming ships.”
For a moment, Ro couldn’t grasp Melvin’s words. What was wrong with people being on a ship? Seeing the confusion on her face, Melvin quickly added:
“It’s been a week since departures were blocked. Fishermen who relied on fishing for their livelihood started fishing near the back of the harbor at dawn, since their work was cut off. You know, that abandoned harbor? Down below the cliffs.”
“The one pirates sometimes use for backdoor deals. I know. What about it?”
“They say ships arrive at dawn, packed with people—all tied up. Like slaves. And every one of them has a blank, dazed expression.”
“But slave trading is… illegal?”
“The problem is, the carts carrying them seem to be heading toward Marquis Blake’s estate.”
Damn it. If it involved Marquis Blake’s estate, then Nick was definitely involved. Ro bit her lip. She had no idea what was really going on, but it clearly wasn’t good.
Nick, you bastard. Raiding’s already pushing us to the brink of war, and now you’re trafficking slaves too? Wait—what’s this intel about Nick siding with Tilsen? Tilsen openly conducts raids, and behind the scenes, they’re supplying slaves to Marquis Blake?
Damn it. As if expecting honor from pirates wasn’t pointless enough. These scum would sell their own eyes for money—what’s one more crime?
“Are there no carts leaving the estate? Nothing going out—only coming in?”
“Well, it’s just a rumor… But apparently, nothing’s coming out. And lately, that area’s been under extremely tight guard. I had to beg and pay to get even this much.”
“What about people entering or leaving the estate? New maids, or recurring carts—any patterns?”
“That, I still don’t know…”
Ro opened her jewelry box and handed Melvin a necklace with a large sapphire.
“Place someone. Find out who goes in and out. Or where people leaving the estate go.”
“It’ll be tough with such tight security, so I can’t promise much… But I’ll place one person.”
“And place someone at the port too. In case the blockade lifts, we need to depart immediately.”
After Melvin left, Ro sat biting her lip in anxiety. She couldn’t calm down. She knew there was nothing she could do at the moment, yet the moment she let her guard down, her thoughts spiraled into worst-case scenarios.
And it was two days later that the navy came looking for Ro.
* * *
The naval officers arrived at Montrosa Manor early in the morning. Coincidentally, Ro was having breakfast with Louise and Jo-van when she received them. Louise, who had been enduring constant anxiety since the admiral and Cardier left for the campaign, fainted upon seeing the officers dressed in black.
“Missing… they’re missing.”
Ro received the news with a pale face, managing to remain relatively composed.
“That’s correct.”
“When did you find out?”
“They’ve been out of contact for five days.”
“If it’s just that they’ve gone silent, couldn’t they have cut contact themselves? Maybe they’re hiding because the mission’s dangerous?”
A faint look of surprise flickered across the officers’ faces.
“That’s a fair point, and certainly possible… But debris like this washed ashore along the coastal villages near the mainland.”
One of them opened a box he had brought. Ro had to reluctantly accept that what lay inside was Cardier’s banner. With trembling hands, she smoothed the fabric. There was no blood, but clear slash marks from a sharp blade were unmistakable. Ro clenched her teeth, then barely pulled herself together to ask:
“Is a missing person report filed just from losing contact and finding this banner?”
“One of the wrecked ships arrived at the harbor this morning. And several of the injured survivors reported the same account.”
“What did they say?”
“They said the lieutenant stayed behind on the sinking ship, fighting the enemy to the last moment to cover the retreat of the wounded.”
“…”
“May fortune favor his journey. He is a man who has brought no shame to Montrosa’s proud honor.”
“Of course, search efforts will be carried out to the fullest extent…”
Ro already knew what came next without hearing it. Of course they’d search—but don’t expect much.
“At least, it’s fortunate that no one has reported actually seeing the lieutenant injured.”
Damn it. She wanted to rip apart the mouth that dared call that “fortunate.” But Ro quickly nodded with a pale face. If she could gain even a little goodwill, extract more information—even if it meant emptying her entire treasure chest of jewels, she’d do it.
“When will the search party be assembled, then?”
Ro naturally expected an answer that it would be formed within two days. But the look that appeared on the two officers’ faces was unmistakably one of discomfort.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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