Extra Chapter 9.

The governor who had never shown a single strand of hair until now, the navy troops that merely sounded impressive but appeared to be an unruly rabble having never received any real training, and not even a single servant to attend to the residence—every minor suspicious detail up to this point suddenly made perfect sense if one considered it all a trap.

But who on earth would dare to pull off such a bold act? He was the eldest son of Montrosa. Killing him within the naval residence was just as difficult as assassinating him at the main estate in Cyclid. The loyalty of the navy toward the admiral and the Montrosa family bordered on absolute. Thus, the answer, as always, could only be one.

‘……My uncle.’

The image of another Montrosa with succession rights surfaced vividly—eyes burning with envy, wishing only for Cardier’s death or downfall. The betrayal of blood kin wasn’t something that could make him mourn for half a day, but the bitterness in his mouth was intense. Had his uncle orchestrated this from the beginning? Or had he intercepted the situation after hearing news of the kidnapping? Or was all of this merely a coincidence or misunderstanding?

“…….”

Cardier swept his gloomy gaze across the garden. He wished it were mere delusion or petty suspicion. But he had realized that most of the people present in the garden were likely his uncle’s men. A strange discomfort crept slowly up his spine. There was only one reason why he was still alive.

To be eliminated in utmost secrecy—so that no one in the world would know he had died here.

Despite it being spring, a chilly evening breeze made his body shiver involuntarily. He entered the bedroom and locked the terrace door from the inside. The sun was setting. A long twilight stretched across the room through the half-drawn curtains.

Tick, the second hand of the clock sounded like thunder. He had no time. He didn’t know when the enemies would strike. He had to find a way to escape before the sun fully set.

Tick, tick.

Even amid the chaos in his mind, his thoughts kept circling back to one person. Rosy dawn—Rosetta. The woman who had accompanied him all the way here. Was she also in league with them?

Knock, knock.

Cardier startled and lifted his head. At first, he thought it was the sound of water droplets colliding, but it was actually someone tapping on the glass door. Someone was on the terrace.

Knock, knock, knock.

As he hesitated for a moment, the sound grew clearer. After a brief pause, he approached the glass door. His hand gripping the curtain trembled slightly. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain aside. The instant he confirmed the figure before him under taut tension, a dazed voice slipped out.

“……Rosetta?”

Her crimson hair tied high, sharp cheekbones and lips, blazing eyes—every feature radiated intensity, even as backlight cast shadows across her face. Cardier absently touched his lips, still disoriented. The person who had occupied his thoughts just moments ago had now abruptly appeared in reality—it was slightly surreal, yet…

‘Open the door.’

She mouthed the words. Without thinking, Cardier reached out and unlocked the terrace door. If Rosetta had come as an assassin sent to kill him, there could be no more foolish act than this. As he stepped aside, the woman swiftly slipped through the opened gap.

After closing the door again and carefully drawing the curtains, a deep darkness fell over the room. Even in the dark, Cardier clearly saw the graceful curve of the woman’s alert lips.

“Hello, Marquis.”

The greeting and title, so out of place given the situation, felt almost mocking. Before he could respond, the woman scratched the back of her head and extended her right hand.

“Seems you’re in quite a predicament.”

“…….”

“Need help?”

Help? Cardier reflexively let out a hollow laugh. He had personally witnessed her abilities when escaping the pirate hideout, but the circumstances now were entirely different. Dozens of guards surrounded the residence.

Moreover, this pirate—Rosetta. While her skills might be reliable, trusting her intentions was an entirely different matter. She was, after all, the one who had brought him to this navy residence. There were dozens of reasons not to trust her, and only one reason to do so.

Because there was nowhere lower to fall from here.

No matter how many times he broke down the nonexistent options in his mind, the conclusion remained the same. He took Rosetta’s outstretched hand.

* * *

‘Time’s crawling like hell.’

Ro glanced at the clock and clicked her tongue. The mercenary she had hired from the village still had thirty minutes before detonating the bomb. The waiting was tedious, and combined with the anxiety before a major event, it was unbearable. Ro picked at the hangnail on her fingernail, crossed her legs the other way, and finally propped her chin on her hand, studying the young marquis seated across from her.

‘He’s calmer than I expected. Extremely so.’

He was so composed that he had even immediately taken her hand when she offered it. At that point, it was Ro who felt bewildered. When she snapped at him, demanding what he was basing such blind trust on, he merely shrugged and smiled. His expression and demeanor seemed to say there was nothing worse that could possibly happen here.

‘Still, it’s a hundred times better than whining about distrust and demanding proof.’

Yet, seeing the boy so relaxed that he even closed his eyes made her want to laugh bitterly. Since things had come this far, Ro decided to deliberately scrutinize his face in detail.

Delicate features as if drawn with fine brushstrokes, slightly parted lips, the shadow of eyelashes across his cheek, and eyes tinged with the melancholy typical of his age… The signs of a beauty that would shake the empire, no, the world in five years’ time, were already not just sprouting but dazzlingly evident. Ro let out a silent, bitter laugh.

‘So that’s why I’m meddling in things so unlike me. It was because of his face. His damn face.’

Yes, letting someone like him die would be nearly a loss to all of humanity. As a pirate and guardian of wealth redistribution, she had a duty to protect such a brilliant human heritage.

‘And if I can coincidentally give that old bastard Kirgos a little taste of revenge along the way, well, that’s even better.’

While indulging in such pointless thoughts and chuckling to herself, the sound of the clock tower’s chime rang out. Dong, dong, dong… Ro waited until she counted seven chimes, then swiftly stood up and grabbed the boy’s forearm.

“Time’s up. Get up.”

“Ah…….”

He stirred drowsily. Ro snapped her knuckles sharply right in front of the young marquis’s nose.

“Snap out of it. I’ll explain one last time. When the first gunshot rings out, the explosions will begin—five in total. During that time, you’ll circle around to the west side of the mansion. Climb over the wall and there’ll be a carriage waiting. Meet me there.”

“Meet you there? But you—”

“I’ll draw their attention at the main gate. If I don’t arrive within thirty minutes, leave without me.”

“Leave? For the dock?”

“No. The dock’s out. Head down to the cliffs. Our ship will be there.”

“Our ship?”

“The one we arrived in.”

Cardier’s compliant expression instantly turned strange, as if recalling the last memory of their vessel half-submerged at the dock.

“……You mean it’s still floating?”

“I patched up the major damage, but it’s leaking a bit. I left a bucket inside—empty it when you get there. And take this.”

Ro unholstered one of the two pistols at her waist and handed it to Cardier.

“Use your sword as much as possible and avoid using the gun. If it makes a loud noise, those bastards will swarm in like sharks catching a whiff of blood.”

“Got it.”

His answer was prompt. Ro didn’t hide her skeptical gaze as she looked Cardier up and down. Just as she was about to add a few more warnings, a gunshot echoed from afar.

Bang!

With that sharp sound, a heavy explosion erupted from the east side of the mansion, flames shooting into the sky. It was the promised signal. Just before leaping down from the terrace, Ro reached out with her right hand and briefly, firmly pressed down on Cardier’s shoulder before letting go.

“Then let’s meet alive.”

* * *

As soon as Rosetta released the railing she had gripped, her slender figure vanished swiftly beneath the terrace. It looked almost like a fall. Cardier stood frozen in shock, then rushed to the terrace and grabbed the railing. Leaning over to look down, he saw Rosetta had already landed like a cat and skillfully hidden herself among the dense trees in the garden.

“…….”

Dazed, he raised his hand to his shoulder—the very spot where Rosetta had pressed. Over the coarse fabric, he strangely felt as if the lingering warmth of her body remained, like residual heat. Though it was impossible.