The events that unfolded in the next moment seemed to stretch time endlessly before Rosetta’s eyes.Scylla’s tentacle, which had been reaching out as if to crush her, was suddenly withdrawn.As if it were coiling back to prepare for a leap.
Rosetta could vividly sense Cardier’s expression even from afar.The moment Scylla pulled away from her, his eyes softened with relief, his lips relaxed, and a faint, half-resigned smile appeared.
‘Damn it, Cardier. You did that on purpose, didn’t you.’
Seeing that expression, she was certain.He had acted knowing that raising his voice would make Scylla turn toward him.Using his life as a shield to buy her time to escape.But he didn’t need to do that.Rosetta could now hear the sea whispering within her when she closed her eyes.It was a very ancient sound.A sound that had been with her since the moment she first fell into the sea, learned to swim, and raised the sails for her first voyage.
Though it had been with her, dulled over time until she could no longer hear it…Rosetta now felt the waves surging powerfully within her.Only then did she fully understand what it meant to be Calypso’s saint.She was the sea, the waves.She might crash and shatter, but she would never bend, endlessly surging forward.
Rosetta gripped the hilt of her shamshir tightly.Then, with strength in her thighs, she sprang from her spot.Scylla’s speed was now nothing to her.In an instant, she reached where Cardier stood, positioning herself in front of him.In that fleeting moment, she saw the blue eyes she loved widen in shock.
Rosetta smiled.This was the kind of love she could give.Not being protected in a safe place, but protecting.Embracing.
“I’m sorry.”
As she spoke those words, Scylla’s tentacle came flying toward her.Arms, thighs, calves, shoulders, stomach…No part of her was left unscathed; every part was pierced.As a result, Scylla and Rosetta were pressed tightly against each other, with no gap between them.And in Rosetta’s hand was Pontos’ holy relic, the sharp shamshir capable of cutting even a god’s throat.
[No! No! No!]Sensing the horrific outcome, Scylla hurriedly tried to retract its tentacles.But Rosetta’s swing of the blade was faster.With strength she didn’t know she had, she severed Scylla’s neck in one stroke.From the severed stump, black liquid sprayed onto Rosetta’s body along with noxious smoke.She felt all the vile poison pouring into her.
Scylla’s head, separated from its body, rolled across the ground with a hollow thud.Its tongue, which had been cursing until the very last moment, suddenly stiffened, then shriveled up like a dried corpse.In an instant, it turned to smoke and vanished into the air.
Rosetta groaned and collapsed to the ground.She thought the impact would hit her again, but someone caught her before she could touch the floor.
Cardier. It was him.He was saying something, rubbing his cheek against hers.She wanted to hear it, but the ringing in her ears was too loud to make out his words.The sound of the waves, rising from her heart, drowned out even Cardier’s voice.
Rosetta smiled faintly.She was glad he wasn’t hurt.With effort, she grasped Cardier’s cheek.She didn’t know if her voice was coming out, but… there was something she had to say to him.Rosetta moved her lips.
‘I’m glad you’re alive.’
She had been calm when facing death before, but now the overwhelming emotions were too much.Her vision was blurring.Rosetta blinked to shake off the tears, trying to read Cardier’s lips.His trembling lips spoke.His face, always so perfect, was now crumbling pitifully.
‘Don’t die.’
‘As if that’s up to me.’
‘Damn it, are you going to break every promise you made to me?’
‘I’m sorry I could only love you like this.’
If she could have screamed with all her strength, she would have.She smiled faintly.Ah, this was her limit.She smiled, enveloped in a sensation more peaceful than ever before.
‘I’ll come find you again. Like when we first met, like when I saved you.’
Somehow, it didn’t feel like this was the end.
The turquoise eyes she had struggled to keep open disappeared behind her eyelids.Cardier held her body as tightly as he could.As if, by doing so, Rosetta’s soul within her wouldn’t slip away.Damn it, if his body weren’t trembling so badly, he would have held her even tighter.If he could just get her to the imperial physician, no, to Montrosa’s physician…
His thoughts wouldn’t flow properly.Rosetta’s limbs hung limply.Her heartbeat was fading.Her body temperature was dropping.
Damn liar, damn Rosetta.He clenched his teeth.He couldn’t cry.If he cried, it would feel like admitting that Rosetta was truly… gone.He shouted for the imperial physician.But unable to wait even for that, he lifted her in his arms and started to move.
In that moment, it was as if the world stopped.Not metaphorically, but truly—everything.People froze, even the blinking of their eyelashes halted, and falling leaves hung suspended in the air.Amid it all, an old woman with a cane approached alone.White eyes, matted hair, wearing a hood, her fingers gnarled and bent.
[The situation doesn’t look good.]Cardier instinctively stepped back, still clutching Rosetta.He didn’t ask foolish questions like who she was or why she acted like she knew Rosetta.Calypso. The strange sea witch Rosetta had mentioned in passing.In truth, it was impossible not to recognize her.Who else but a god or a witch could stop time and speak with a voice that split into many?
[I stopped time for a moment before her breath ceases.]“…”
[Scylla’s poison has overtaken her body. There’s no time. We must hurry to the boundary between life and death.]At those words, Cardier felt a spark of hope.He urgently asked,
“If we go to the boundary, can Rosetta be saved?”
[I can’t guarantee it. Nor do I know how long it will take.]“Then I’ll go with her.”
[Impossible. Human time is but a fleeting moment… and this one is no longer a being you can call ‘human.’ That’s why she can enter the boundary between life and death.]No longer human?Perhaps sensing the question in Cardier’s expression, Calypso cackled and elaborated.
[Saints are born with the qualities of a god. When their name is called and their fame spreads among people… they can become a god.]“…”
[Well, unless she absolutely refuses, of course.]“…”
[So, human man, choose before time runs out. Will you let her die as your human lover, or live, even as a god?]“That’s the end?”
Turner slammed the table in disbelief.The young woman sitting across from him burst into clear laughter.
“Not satisfied with the ending?”
“It’s not about satisfaction… What happened to the lady? Damn it, they both completely disappeared without a trace!”
“Well, you know where the young duke went, don’t you? They say he headed east.”
“Same difference, damn it.”
Turner scratched his head furiously.Pity, affection, pain, sorrow, despair, and hope flickered vividly across his refined face.The woman smacked her lips and smiled.Ah, this is why I like humans.But Turner soon glared at her with narrowed eyes.
“You. You sent me to the capital for this kind of errand, didn’t you? Knowing I’m connected to fourteen of the capital’s newspapers.”
“Maybe.”
“You knew I liked the lady. You blackmailed me with her safety, and now all sorts of weird things are happening in the capital. Damn it…”
He clutched his head.
“I should’ve been born into a much higher status.”
“Want me to order you another drink?”
“No thanks.”
Turner sat with a heavy expression for a while, then sighed deeply and rubbed his face with dry hands.
“Is Scylla really dead?”
“Yes. Unless people worship her as a goddess, that is.”
“Then can I spread the rumor that Scylla wasn’t some divine being but a human woman turned into a sea monster by greed?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“And…”
Turner, with a look that suggested he couldn’t believe he was saying this, spoke resolutely.
“The ending of the story is cliché, but I’m going to end it with ‘they lived happily ever after.’”
“Curious about why? You liked that woman, didn’t you? Couldn’t you write something more sensational, like her settling down with you?”
“No, no. I’m done falling for people above my station.”
Turner gave a faint smile and continued.
“And… they say words carry their origins. If that rumor spreads, maybe she’ll be a little happier.”
“Good guy.”
The woman laughed and stood up.
“Leaving already?”
“Yeah. I’m a busy person, you know.”
“Come back sometime. I’ll give you info at half price, special for you.”
“No need.”
The young woman laughed heartily, her throat visible, and said,
“Calypso knows everything, and everything is Calypso.”
Turner thought to himself: Always such a crazy woman.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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