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The recording officer fixed his glasses and sat down in front of his desk again.

“The Central Office of Marchand, as well as several of the Legardon ships, will now be requisitioned under the command of the Mondovi fleet. The Southern Legardon fleet, which is undeniably imputable for this major incident, will aid Mondovi in resolving the case promptly. The matter is regarded as kidnapping. To find the hostages, we will search every ship and every uninhabited island. If the victims cannot be located, we will scour the waters. Anyone who neglects his duties, from sailors to officers, will be severely punished.”

[ Vice Admiral Viktor Sagastar of Mondovi. ]

Sagastar put his signature under the completed document. Lieutenant Eme was wondering why the commodore was wearing the title of Vice Admiral, but came to his senses and approached Sagastar when Captain Long pushed his back. The lieutenant, who was only in charge of managing the military officers until his senior would return from the Legardon headquarters, had an internal conflict over whether he could sign to such an important task. But now that he was standing near Sagastar, he felt pressured into signing it. He reluctantly took up the quill and wrote his name.

[ Lieutenant Dilière Eme of Legardon. ]

Immediately after, the recording officer quickly made two copies of the document and handed it back to them. Sagastar only signed one of them, and then took the lieutenant’s quill as he was about to sign the second paper.

“We will delay our reports to Sesbron for about 30 days at the discretion of the Mondovi fleet. In other words, the time given to you is a month. If the hostages are not rescued by then, His Majesty will be directly involved in this matter.”

“…”

When he slowly turned, Sagastar looked around the crowd and declared.

“If it happens to come that far, you’d better be prepared to die.”

***

Ed was walking over the market when a sudden chill made his body shiver. 

“Hm, I’m feeling a rather strange chill.”

‘I usually feel this kind of chill as a warning just before Sagastar explodes, so I can always take cover before it’s too late. But why now?’ 

Ed tilted his head and gently stroked his arm. As he made his way out of the market, he looked around him. Children with palm fruits were running around the edge of the market. The streets were buzzing with the mixed sounds of carts rolling over with loads and the voices of men and women of all ages. Ed passed a woman walking in haste while carrying a large basket.

‘If a week has passed and the wind has been good, the fleet might have arrived at the coast of Marchand by now. I ordered them to leave Sagastar out of it, but I can easily guess that Sagastar would somehow stick to the Visha. They probably didn’t even try to land in Amiaeng. In fact, even if I did say, ‘Do whatever you want,’ it wasn’t an order, so Sagastar couldn’t annihilate the pirates even if he wanted to. That stubborn man is a human being who can read between those lines… So, he must be on the Visha. The reason for the Visha is obvious as that ship is much faster than the Grignard. He’s most likely dragging my medium-sized sailing ship in the hope to catch me much quicker. Moreover, he’ll definitely get off the yacht and spy on Marchand without quietly waiting in the waters of Marchand as I told them to. If so, that naval officer..!’

Ed recalled a fact he’d forgotten. Sergeant Sorola. The young officer had run away after witnessing Ed lying on the ground. At the time, Ed introduced himself as a second lieutenant from the Navy, so there’s a great possibility that a search would have taken place to rescue him. 

‘If that’s the case, Sagastar, who would’ve heard about it in Marchand, could very well suspect my kidnapping or death. Whether I lived or died, Sagastar is a man who could only be convinced by seeing it with his eyes.’

“Well, then…”

Ed entered the inn, took the stairs, and walked down the creaky hallway on the second floor. Lil went into the last room earlier. So Ed knocked on the door of the room next to it. Hearing the sound of a sigh, it seemed to be that someone was inside.

“It’s me.”

Judging from the lack of response and the following silence, the room seemed to be right. Ed waited a little longer. After a while, Cesar appeared through the open door. He just stood there quietly without telling him to come in or asking why he came. As he’d never seen him so gloomy, Ed opened his mouth first.

“Is this a bad time?”

“…”

“Well, personally I like to solve this matter the sooner the better. So, I’ll keep it brief. How did you track me and Liloa?”

Cesar became very annoyed by how Ed referred to her as ‘Liloa’. Lil didn’t know any better than that Ed saw her as a man, so she didn’t give an extensive explanation for the wound on her neck. Cesar, however, was very suspicious about Ed’s intention to leave such marks on her body. He heard her vague explanation, but he didn’t see it in person, that’s why he thought there would’ve been enough other ways to fight back. But his pride wouldn’t let him ask Ed directly, so Cesar examined Ed’s face carefully, looking for the sign of a man in love, like himself.

“Hey, aren’t I supposed to be an uninvited guest? Why are you looking at me like I’m the one you miss so much?”

However, Ed’s face was only light, and there was no sign of jealousy or vigilance at all.

“…I overheard a conversation of the Marchand Navy.”

“What was it about?”

“…”

“Answer me quickly, Sagastar may have already started to go crazy.”

“It was said that the person claiming to be Commodore Sagastar’s brother was kidnapped and that the suspects were dressed in the same manner as those who stole Erimyan from a farm. No lockdown was issued, instead, they forced all vessels leaving Marchand to go through a checkpoint. There were rumours that the Erimyan was stolen to be sold, but since the robbery was impulsively executed, I assumed that it was stolen in preparation for a long voyage. After that, we simply followed the route to the ocean.”

“Did those officers believe that the Sagastar family has a second son?”

“It seemed so that evening, but it’s probably only a matter of time before they discover the truth.”

“I see…”

“Is the fleet in Marchand?”

“It’s either arriving soon, or it has already been there.”

‘It’s been a week since Cesar left Marchand, so the information Sagastar will receive will be more accurate. Maybe the situation is even worse than I initially thought.

“All right, I’ll take my leave now.”

Ed waved his hand and walked back down the hallway. As for now, delivering a message became his number one priority.

‘I have to send word that I’m alive and well. Otherwise, Sagastar will start looking for a needle in a haystack…’

Ed returned to his room, locked the door and opened the medicine box that someone had left on the table. 

‘I’m glad someone brought it here, it would’ve been troublesome if the incense was still on the Bell Rock…!’

In a panic, Ed rummaged through the medicine box with his hands. Empty bottles were everywhere. The missing oil was the first thing that caught his eye. Normally, various goods were perfumed during his outing, but he sealed the oil safely away in a small bottle as his pigeon wasn’t supposed to arrive at an unexpected time. Without the scent, his pigeon, which had left the fleet by now, wouldn’t be able to locate Ed. Ed doesn’t know where on the map the island of Panichi is located, thus he has no idea how close or distant his pigeon is. In the face of this possible problem, Ed rolled his head with heat.

 – Knock, knock – 

A knock interrupted Ed. He ignored it at first, but after some time had passed, he heard the same sound again. 

 – Knock, knock – 

Twice at intervals. Ed knew who was standing in front of the door without having to check. He swung the door open, and as he expected, it was Cesar standing in front of him, waiting.

“I have something to tell you.”

Ed was sure Cesar had taken the oil and his other medicine bottles.

“What do you want? You want me to get off the Bell Rock?”

Cesar entered the room without answering. Ed, who frowned, took a few steps back and waited for Cesar to carefully shut the door behind him. Cesar looked at the open medicine cabinet and spoke. 

“I’ll send a letter for now as Sir Viktor might be moving the fleet. I don’t want any unnecessary problems to occur.”

“…”

“What kind of password or code do you use?”

Ed snorted, walked to the bed and flopped down. He sat so heavily that his wound ached. Ed almost screamed, but he held back with all his might and ended up swallowing his groan while looking at Cesar.

“Since the fleet is in Marchand, I know what you’re thinking, Captain¹, but I just want to keep the Visha close, I have no intention to attack the Bell Rock.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“So you think I’ll just give you the password?”

“I can’t write something I don’t know. I need to write something convincing.”

“Then do you think Sagastar will believe that the sender is me?”

1. It may sound like a mistranslation that Ed is calling Cesar ‘Captain’, but Cesar is a former naval captain. So Ed is addressing him by his former rank. He also did this in their conversation held in the inn after their fight in the count’s house (chapter 17-18, vol.1).