Special Side Story 4

Some pirates held daggers to the necks of dozens of women inside the tent, while others pointed guns at the knights.

“Ridiculous! Release the women immediately!”

The knights shouted boldly, aiming at the pirates. However, when the pirates drew blood by lightly cutting the women’s necks, the knights hesitated.

Rose quickly hid a crossbow within the folds of her dress. Felix had always prohibited hunting and even restricted her from wearing riding attire, but now, that decision proved useful.

“Tie up all the men! If anyone resists, these women will die!”

At the pirate leader’s command, the knights had no choice but to lower their guns. The time it would take to reload and aim was enough for the pirates to slit the women’s throats.

“Over there. Take those women standing idly as hostages, too. K*ll all the men!”

“You despicable scoundrels! How can you kill prisoners?”

The women who had been captured protested fiercely against the pirate leader’s words, but the pirates aimed the butts of their guns at the knights’ heads.

“Lady Rose, do you really know how to shoot a crossbow?”

Cecilia, who was heading toward the tent with Rose, clung tightly to her, her face pale with fear. Yet, despite her expression, Cecilia discreetly lifted her dress slightly, revealing a gun at her feet.

“No, Lady Rose. It’s too dangerous.”

The head maid, who was the only one left to protect Rose after all her escort knights had been captured, shook her head firmly.

“We need to buy time. Felix will be here soon.”

Rose nodded toward Cecilia and cautiously loaded an arrow into her crossbow.

Meanwhile, the remaining pirates, holding long ropes, approached them with sinister grins. Their eyes gleamed like hunters cornering a helpless deer.

“Now!”

Rose raised her crossbow and shot the pirate approaching Cecilia in the forehead. At the same time, Cecilia crouched down and loaded her gun with a click.

“D*mn it!”

A pirate rushing toward Rose swung his dagger threateningly.

Bang!

The smell of gunpowder filled the air as Cecilia fired, and the pirate collapsed on the spot.

“We don’t have time. Keep going!”

Rose immediately aimed her crossbow at the pirate leader.

Thud!

The arrow left her hand and struck the leader in the torso. Enraged, he pulled the arrow from his abdomen.

“K*ll that woman! That witch!”

At his command, the pirates unsheathed their swords and charged toward the women.

“They won’t shoot their guns!”

“Exactly! If they do, Felix and His Highness the Crown Prince will hear!”

Cecilia fired her reloaded gun at the pirate leading the charge.

***

“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Gunshots are coming from the base!”

At the sound of two consecutive gunshots, Felix called for Douglas. He had left knights capable of shooting at the base just in case. They wouldn’t fire recklessly, so something must have happened.

“Immediately! Return to the base!”

Douglas and Felix, along with the knights, galloped toward the location where the women were.

Gunshots meant either an uncontrollable beast had appeared or they were facing an even greater danger.

Bang!

Another gunshot echoed. Each successive shot made Felix and Douglas’s hearts burn with urgency.

“Cecilia, the one in front!”

Rose aimed her crossbow at the pirate standing right in front of Cecilia but hesitated for a moment.

“Rose…”

Cecilia froze in mid-action, holding her gun’s barrel open to load ammunition.

Click. Click.

The pirates pointed their guns at the sides of Rose and Cecilia’s heads.

“Drop the crossbow and gun. While I’m asking nicely.”

The pirates growled through gritted teeth, and the head maid collapsed to the ground, sobbing.

Rose and Cecilia exchanged glances.

Though brief, their mutual trust shone in their eyes once again.

They raised their right hands to the side, letting the crossbow and gun dangle from their fingertips.

“That’s right. Be grateful you’re the daughter of Earl Bettran. Otherwise, you’d already be dead.”

“And you, redhead. Count yourself lucky you’re the Duke’s mistress. If you were just a commoner, you’d already be gone.”

As the pirates sneered and reached for the weap*ns dangling from their hands, Rose shouted,

“Now!”

At her signal, Rose and Cecilia fired at the pirates on the opposite sides.

***

Thud!

With a dull sound, a deafening gunshot rang out right beside them.

Before the smell of gunpowder dissipated, two men approached them.

“Looks like you didn’t need our help, Cecilia.”

“Rose, are you all right?”

Douglas and Felix nudged the fallen, bloodied pirates with their boots.

“Yes, we’re fine.”

Rose smiled at Felix as she rubbed her ringing ear. But she quickly reloaded her crossbow. Many women were still held hostage, and there were many pirates left.

“Drop your guns! If you don’t, I’ll kill all the women here!”

As Felix and Douglas descended and surrounded the tent, the pirate leader screamed furiously.

Things had already gone awry. But with hostages, he could still secure an escape route.

“The daughter of the Minister of Finance is here! If you act rashly, she’ll die first!”

The pirate leader grabbed Iliana by the hair and used her as a human shield.

“Iliana!”

Cecilia cried out in horror.

Seeing blood trickle from Iliana’s neck, Cecilia, who had been so composed, trembled in fear.

“Felix, I’ll shoot them. Guns are too powerful and might harm the hostages.”

“Understood. We’ll handle the others.”

“I’ll shield Rose.”

Hearing their conversation, Cecilia steadied herself against Rose’s unusually calm voice and stood in front of her. Feeling Rose load an arrow behind her, Cecilia swallowed nervously.

“Despicable scum! Release the women immediately!”

While Douglas distracted the pirate leader, a few knights discreetly moved to shield the others.

“Now!”

At Rose’s signal, Cecilia bent over. At that moment, Rose’s arrow flew straight into the pirate leader’s forehead.

“Fire!”

At Felix and Douglas’s command, the knights who had been secretly preparing fired their guns at the pirates.

The fleeing pirates were struck down by the knights’ bullets.

Felix relentlessly tracked down and hit every pirate hiding behind objects or trees. Even the birds in the forest, startled by the gunfire, took off in flocks.

By the time the overwhelming smell of gunpowder, which was enough to make one cry and sniffle, subsided, the metallic scent of blood had taken its place.

“Arrest all these scoundrels! Interrogate them to find out their base! This time, we’ll wipe them out completely!”

Douglas, without even glancing at Cecilia, tossed her a handkerchief and began organizing the situation with the knights.

“Rose, stay with the women. Don’t act alone.”

Felix tried to take the crossbow from Rose’s hands, but when she hid it behind her back, he let out a small sigh and approached Douglas.

Cecilia, catching the handkerchief Douglas had thrown, stared blankly for a moment before leading Rose toward the women.

“You two were amazing!”

Iliana, who had been crying uncontrollably in fear, wiped the blood running down her neck with a handkerchief as she spoke. Her voice trembled, and her raised hand shook as if she had a tremor, still affected by the lingering shock.

Cecilia held Iliana’s hand. She knew Iliana was deliberately exaggerating her reactions to calm the other women’s frightened hearts.

“Now that I think about it, we were kind of amazing.”

Cecilia’s playful arrogance made the women chuckle softly, gradually easing their anxiety.

“Rose, I underestimated the crossbow. Now I see it’s truly an excellent weapon.”

“Your shooting skills were remarkable as well, Cecilia.”

Cecilia looked at Rose with a surge of overwhelming emotion. For the first time, she realized how thrilling it was to trust someone and entrust her life to them.

***

“My name appeared less often than Cecilia’s!”

When they returned to the Duke’s estate after the two-day hunting competition, countless invitations and bouquets had been delivered to Rose.

For two days straight, the newspapers dedicated entire second pages to the heroic exploits of Rose and Cecilia.

“Haha. That’s how it works. When unexpected people perform unexpected feats, they naturally draw attention.”

Rose began moving the flower baskets, which had filled her bedroom to the point of suffocation, one by one out the door.

Having just finished his shower, Felix sat on the sofa, watching her actions with feigned indifference.

‘Finally, I can breathe properly.’

As the steam and heavy floral scent from the baskets dissipated, Rose’s natural fragrance filled the room.

When she opened the window slightly to air out the space, the soft spring breeze ruffled her hair.

“It’s a bit warm.”

Felix loosened the tie on his bathrobe and slightly parted the lapels.

“Is that so? Shall I open the window wider?”

“No, this is enough.”

Felix dropped two ice cubes into a glass on the table and poured cherry eau-de-vie. Seeing the bottle of cherry eau-de-vie prominently displayed on the table, it was clear the Empress had sent it after hearing the rumors.

“Pour me a glass too.”

“No.”

When Rose reached out her hand from the sofa, Felix pushed the cherry eau-de-vie bottle just out of her reach.

“Why not? Is it because it’s expensive?”

Felix almost choked on his drink but managed to swallow it down.

“I’m a Duke. I could give you rubies and diamonds if you wanted.”

“Then why won’t you give me even a single glass?”

“This was sent by Her Majesty the Empress.”

Felix grabbed another bottle of liquor from the shelf and poured it into Rose’s glass. When she clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, he added two ice cubes to her glass.

“Is it because it’s a rare gift from the Imperial Family?”

“No, it’s because I don’t know what the Empress might have put in this drink.”

After clinking his glass against hers, Felix downed his cherry eau-de-vie in one gulp. Rose followed suit, taking a sip of her drink. It lacked any sweetness, but the subtle aroma of apple blossoms spreading in her mouth was pleasant.

“Then why are you drinking it?”

“I’ve built up immunity. I drink it often.”

When Felix poured himself another glass of cherry eau-de-vie, Rose shot him a suspicious look.

“I’ve built up immunity too.”

Before Felix could lift his glass, Rose quickly snatched it up.

“Rose!”

Startled, he reached out to grab it, but she had already downed the drink in one gulp.

“This is the taste!”

Rose closed her eyes in delight.

She had once consumed deadly poison; how could her body react to something as mild as a spiked drink?

***

“Ah… Felix…”