Chapter 108

“Everybody freeze.”

In an instant, chaos erupted inside the ship.

The nobles could do nothing but stand there in shock.

“What are you doing?!”

“What’s with that dagger? Did you not search her properly earlier?!”

All they could do was shout in voices filled with shock and irritation.

One by one, they belatedly drew their swords and cautiously approached, but—

“S-Stop! I’m the one being held here!”

The captured Viscount Areti raised both hands with a flustered expression.

Among the nobles, frustrated voices rang out.

“Damn it. I never heard that Rodella was any good with a sword.”

Her training could only have been the basics she’d learned back in her academy days, right?

Rodella didn’t bother telling the startled nobles that this—right here—was the only trick she actually knew.

She hadn’t expected to ever use it for real.

Rodella’s trump card—

It had been taught to her back in the academy by none other than Aivert.

“What would I ever use this for?”

One day, he had offered to teach her some self-defense, and this was what he’d shown her.

“In an emergency.”

At the time, the academy life had been peaceful and uneventful, so she’d asked in disbelief,

“What kind of life are you living?”

Why would holding a dagger to someone’s throat be considered “self-defense”?

Was this even self-defense in the first place?

Aivert had only laughed at her question.

Then, on the day of graduation—when that carriage accident happened—he had cut down people without hesitation.

Perhaps he had been living a bloodstained life much earlier than she had realized.

Or maybe the “peaceful” academy life she remembered had only been peaceful because he had kept it that way from the shadows.

Aivert wasn’t the type to do anything without a reason, so he surely hadn’t taught her this for nothing.

“Drop that dagger at once!”

Anyway, there was no time to get lost in her thoughts.

Now that she had drawn the dagger, the situation was rapidly changing.

“Of all the people…!”

The nobles were clearly flustered.

After all, the person she had taken hostage was the only one aboard who knew how to sail the ship.

If something happened to him and he couldn’t steer the ship?

Even if the threatening whirlpool outside disappeared, who would navigate them to safety?

That meant their escape plan would be ruined.

That was exactly why Rodella had chosen this man over easier targets.

“…”

She watched the situation unfold exactly as she’d intended, pressing the dagger even closer to the man’s neck.

She remembered Aivert’s instructions when he’d taught her this.

“Bring the dagger closer to my neck.”

“What if I actually cut you?”

“When you do it for real, you need to be ready to cut without hesitation.”

The dampness she felt on her fingertips was likely exactly what she thought it was.

Biting her lip, Rodella forced herself to look straight ahead.

“Doesn’t seem like we can talk things out nicely.”

Her voice came out steady and confident—because if she lost her nerve, this hostage act would crumble.

“W-What is it you want to talk about?”

The nobles looked deeply unsettled.

The dagger she held was already pressing threateningly into skin—one wrong move and it seemed like death would come instantly.

She was serious.

They swallowed hard.

Rodella glared at them coolly and said,

“The people here, hostages included—you’re all members of the Kelia Social Club’s circle, aren’t you?”

The nobles visibly froze.

“I saw the missing persons list. Some names are missing from it, which probably means they’re already dead.”

They had likely needed such an example to force everyone into this reckless scheme…like the way shards flew from the wine glass that had shattered in Duke Benerix’s hand.

Pushing that vivid image from her mind, Rodella continued, “I know who you are. If you tell me the real reason you staged this hostage incident and cooperate with the Azure Knights, I promise to do everything I can to protect you.”

One noble frowned deeply.

“Is that something you say while holding a hostage?”

“Well, if I wait until we’re all stuck on the boat you sent to kill us, will it work better then?”

The swift retort left the noble speechless.

“We’re both in a hurry here.”

Rodella’s voice rang clear.

“I know this kidnapping wasn’t your idea. From the way you were captured so easily—”

She glanced at the “hostages.”

“—and the fact that the noble-faction hostages have their hands loosely tied and show no signs of struggle, it’s obvious they’re in league with the kidnappers.”

“…!”

The expressions of the noble-faction hostages and the neutral-faction hostages were completely different.

“I-Is this true?”

After all, the neutral-faction nobles really had been kidnapped without knowing anything.

The nobles who had been pretending to be hostages gave awkward coughs.

“It’s obvious someone ordered you to stage this hostage situation. If you tell me who it was, I promise I’ll protect everyone here from them.”

Confusion flickered in the nobles’ eyes.

Some of those who had been acting threatening began to relax their posture—clear signs of wavering.

But others…

“Stop spouting nonsense and put that dagger down!”

…snapped sharply.

Just then, another noble—one who had been quietly watching—spoke up.

“Are you certain about what you’re saying?”

“Viscount Areti!”

It was none other than the man Rodella was holding hostage.

The fact that the viscount seemed to be listening to her made the others uneasy.

She had expected some division, but it was clear this group was even less united than she’d thought.

Even when the Azure Knights had arrived earlier, they had been in disarray.

Clearly, they hadn’t staged this willingly.

In fact, they might have been told this was merely to help improve the Red Knights’ performance record.

“Yes. Whether the one threatening you is from the imperial-faction nobles or the noble-faction nobles, you can’t ignore Duke Royden out there.”

That much was true, and the nobles exchanged glances.

“Besides, I heard the Red Knights were supposed to come, but there’s been no contact with them. Only the Azure Knights are here.”

“That’s impossible…!”

The nobles protested.

“That’s reality. If they were coming, they wouldn’t still be absent by the time I boarded this ship. The Red Knights’ branch is closer than here.”

“…”

Left without an argument, the nobles bit their lips.

Finally, one of them clutched his head.

“They said they’d let us go once this was over…”

One by one, others began to speak up.

“I told you it was suspicious from the start!”

“What if they decide to kill us too?”

The moment she heard ‘us too’, Rodella knew for sure—

The nobles who were on the Kelia Social Club list but hadn’t shown up here had been killed as examples, and the person behind it was—

“You’re being threatened by the noble faction, aren’t you? More specifically, by Duke Benerix.”

The nobles froze at her words.

“Then there’s only one answer. The only ones who can protect you in this empire are us—and His Majesty the Emperor.”

Glances flew back and forth rapidly.

“If the noble faction is threatening you, then it’s wiser to side with the imperial faction, represented by us, than to trust Duke Benerix.”

Her words nailed the point home.

The nobles knew better than anyone that Duke Benerix didn’t value human life.

They had, for some reason, fallen out of his favor—likely after the recent revelations about Royden’s growing power had shaken things up.

From the way they’d mentioned the Red Knights, they’d probably been given the excuse of helping improve the order’s achievements.

But Duke Benerix’s real aim wasn’t records or prestige—

“You don’t have time to think. This ship will be destroyed soon.”

“W-What?”

“Because the goal is to kill you—and me.”

At her unexpected words, the nobles’ eyes went wide.