North x Northwest

Side story 1 – Cesar’s Chapter: Gust of Wind

The door opened wide and Mireille barged in, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Cesar standing in front of his seat and clicked his tongue.

“Is her hospitality that bad? Did she perhaps offend you in any way?”

“It’s not like that.”

Mireille gestured using his chin and Liloa hurriedly walked out the door without saying a word.

“Just a minute.”

Then, the Duke who was supposed to come in disappeared behind the closing door.

Cesar could hear the conversation through the door even if he didn’t try to eavesdrop.

“…What did you do?..”

“…I didn’t do anything…”

“…Then why isn’t it the scene I wanted?..”

“…”

“…Answer me…”

“…Will Sir Cesar come more often?..”

“…Why, don’t you like him?..”

“…”

“…Ha! Look at this…Look at this! Why don’t you just get over it and do your job? If you insist on being a little more comfortable and have some authority in this house, you need to make yourself useful…”

“…”

“…So, what is with this attitude? A woman can earn money too, right?..”

“…”

“…What’s the reason you won’t? You could make a fortune by smiling sweetly and selling your body…”

“…”

“…But that’s exactly why you let me earn it, right?..”

“…”

“…Don’t forget, you’re here to entertain the men and put your smooth face to good use. That’s how you get your allowance…”

“…”

“…This necklace, this is what I gave you as your share last time, don’t you remember?..”

As Mireille’s voice got louder and louder, Liloa stepped in.

“…Quiet down, Sir Cesar will hear…”

“…The door between us is as thick as a wall, who could hear us? Besides, I know everyone in Sesbron, so what are you worried about now?..”

Hearing that, it seemed that Liloa’s last string of patience broke.

“…Is it satisfying to subdue people with contempt and ridicule? Does your body shiver with pleasure every time you see my expression after enduring those unbearable insults? Don’t you have any dignity left that you must go through such a petty process of facing someone who already bowed their head? Am I right?..”

“…This… bitch!…”

Then came the noise of the attendants stopping him. Cesar could tell what had happened without looking.

‘He must have tried to slap her. It’s not surprising that a narrow-minded human like Mireille doesn’t know any different ways to crush others. However, his easily chosen ‘violence’ won’t subdue someone like Liloa. So, I guess that’s why he uses some other means to make her miserable…’

Cesar was lost in agony when he returned to his mansion.

‘Liloa was so cold. This must be going on for a while, how else could such a lively person wither like a dying flower? Her bright smile feels as distant as the remnants of ancient times…’

When he relived an old memory, he saw her riding on Koud Bhan. After replaying that scene in his head numerous times, he suddenly thought that he would like to see it in real life again. It was an unexpected thought, but the more severe it grew, the more it eroded his mind. The desire, he never felt before, was boiling over and he couldn’t stop it.

‘What should I do? Unfortunately, since René Mireille is the head of Mireille, all rights including the residence of Liloa belonged to the Duke. Soon he will have full control over Liloa.’

Then there was only one possible way. Cesar was in conflict. He had a lot to bear, and he would have to bear a lot more to save her alone.

There was a second round of negotiations.

For some reason, all of it seemed insignificant compared to her smile.

Then, came the third round of negotiations.

‘Many other young people show talent in the Navy. Sir Edgar of Roahn, for example. Except for his eccentric personality, his skills are one of a kind. In addition, there are plenty of people who could take over my part in the family business. In fact, when I went to war, the family had run smoothly without any problems…’

Before Cesar knew it, his position felt very insignificant. When he was younger, his frail older brother relied heavily on him, but now his brother was a count with authority and popularity. He has vassals, a wife and children who look up to him with respect. There was no longer the former Count who considered Cesar as his whole world and as the only successor. Cesar did have some lovers, but if it wasn’t for him, they’d find a decent husband and gradually forget about him. Besides, none of the women looked at him with the same intensity as Liloa did.contemporary romance

The fourth round of negotiations.

Cesar wanted to throw all the meaningless things surrounding him away. The dreadful emptiness he had lived with by clinging to such pointless things grabbed hold of him. He wouldn’t even think about this if it gave him a chance to revive Liloa.

The fifth round. He remembered what Liloa had once said.

{ “Why Koud Bhan, you ask? A literal blast. I like the wind on my cheeks when I ride. I feel a great, endless freedom. The kind of freedom that runs through my body. Do you know that feeling that is too hard to let go? Running on my own two feet just isn’t enough. So, I have to ride a blast. To embrace a blast.” }

In the last round of negotiations, Cesar whispered to Liloa.

“Would you like to come with me? I will give you a blast again…”

End of side story 1 – Cesar’s Chapter: Gust of Wind

***

Ed opened his eyes.

‘…I’m alive?’

As soon as he realised that fact, his throat felt a little itchy because of the joy that had sprung up. While the dull muscles of his mouth began to twitch, Ed, with the instinct of a doctor, traced his wound by poking it with his weak finger. He wanted to check it up close, but he couldn’t.

‘It doesn’t seem to be infected because I have no fever.’

It was somewhere between dawn and dusk as he barely managed to turn his head and the rising sun caught his eye. Through the window, shadows of palm trees and tents of a marketplace were visible.

‘So, we landed on an island.’

Ed tried to figure out the date.

‘How many days have I been lying in bed?’

But he had no sense of time.

He carefully moved his toes. At first, it didn’t go as easily as he wanted, but he still did his best. It was necessary because he needed to start walking as soon as possible. Simultaneously with his little exercise, Ed began to roll his brain which seemed to slowly come to its senses.

‘To be honest, I never planned to get shot instead of Liloa. I just followed her, without knowing what would happen, because she ran off to a place where she wasn’t supposed to go. And because she froze and didn’t answer my call, I pushed her out of the way. Never for a moment did I think ‘she could be shot or stabbed soon, so I should take the hit instead’. It just happened… somehow…But how did it happen?’

Ed chewed on his bizarre remark. There was no word that didn’t match him as much as ‘somehow’. Some may dismiss his style as acting without thinking, but he has always been a man that meticulously planned his next step. He has lived his whole life under the burden of being exposed to high risks due to the nature of his job and hobbies. However, he had no intention of dying, so he had made every effort to prevent death. This was also the reason why he had studied medicine.

‘Then why?’

He wanted to hold his complicated head, but unfortunately, he couldn’t do that, too. His arms weren’t strong enough to reach his head yet. Instead, Ed closed his eyes tightly, feeling the need to change his priorities. There were other things more urgent than questions that could not be answered correctly. First, his plan had to be revised completely .

‘I don’t know about Liloa, but Cesar was behind me, so he must have seen it. I probably looked like someone who was about to throw his life away for Liloa… I was able to embark because I threatened to kill Liloa, but that threat I used on Cesar is no longer guaranteed to work. He probably wants to get out of it.’

Ed contemplated what to use for his next threat. In fact, there were many other considerable resources besides Lil. He rummaged through the potential possibilities like a wealthy man looking at his affluent safe.

Then, it suddenly crossed his mind that if Lil reveals her true identity, he won’t have to undergo all these troublesome processes. He was reminded of the mistakes he made when he didn’t know that ‘Liloa’ was ‘Lil Schweiz’. If he had kept his mouth shut, he would have been able to come up with the perfect script.

Ed sighed.

‘Anyway, at the time, I didn’t associate Liloa with piracy, so I made too many remarks that would now be suspicious when I think about it. It would be perfect if I could wash away all of Liloa’s doubts with my dedication alone… Hm, could it work? Liloa is the Captain. Besides, even if she doesn’t say it, she cares for her crew more than I thought. She didn’t want her people to fight the close-range and hand-to-hand battles, so she was dead serious when she thought about jumping into the sea. This ridiculous act of piracy is not just a play for Liloa, but a part of her life. That’s also why Liloa wasn’t able to easily tolerate my existence, I was not only a threat to her, but to the Bell Rock as well…

I guess that’s why she wanted to get rid of me at first. She needed to take measures to end the tracking from the Navy or to prevent the possibility of being tracked in the future. Naturally, she would have tried to eliminate me the moment I boarded the Bell Rock. But with Cesar on my side, that couldn’t happen… Killing me is out of the question. Liloa may not know that I’m the Admiral, but Cesar knows it very well. As a former Navy Captain, Cesar could guess the kind of backlash they would be swept away in if they were caught. Besides, now that I’ve saved Liloa’s life, taking me out will only add to her guilt. Considering this, I don’t think Liloa has any plans to kill me. If so, what exactly are they planning?’

Without difficulty, an alternative crossed his mind and Ed felt the blood in his face draining away.

‘No way!’

– – – – –

TN: Hi guys! We hope you’re enjoying this novel just as much as we do! We’re excited to see we’re nearing the end of volume 2 and thereby surpassing the Manwha!

For now we have a little sidenote; during the translating and editing of this chapter we came across a fact we misjudged in chapter 54. In that chapter we stated that Liloa was already married to the Duke, now we know they were engaged and about to marry. We’ll rectify this in the previous chapters.

Happy reading!

Pru and Formidable

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