Contents
Chapter 36
Overview
In Kenta’s abandoned pigeonry, Jovie finds a Maile-bound bird and sends a brief letter to her mother. She and Acker then weaponize the remaining birds with forged messages proclaiming Captain Wren as Kenta’s new king, aiming to fracture Edmond’s support. Their charged intimacy collapses when Acker tests Jovie’s feelings, prompting her to stop, strike him, and reject his possessive claim, sharpening their political alliance yet personal rift.
Summary
In Kenta’s deserted message tower, Jovie and Acker search the pigeon cages. After finding only one Maile-designated bird, Jovie writes a terse letter to her mother and attaches it. Acker inspects and releases the small pigeon, despite the risk of its youth, giving Jovie a fragile channel to Maile.
On their descent, Acker begins freeing the remaining birds to spare them from dying in their cages. Jovie pivots the idea into a stratagem: they attach forged messages and send the farthest-flying birds first. The notes declare, “All hail Captain Wren, the new king of Kenta,” designed to force Edmond either to defend Wren and seem weak or to disavow him and lose his army. Acker calls Jovie the “queen of deception,” acknowledging her political acuity.
Amid cleanup, their longstanding attraction resurfaces. Acker flirts, admits he wants rulers to bow to Jovie, and claims he seeks to rule with the wife he truly wanted. He presses for intimacy, pushing Jovie to deny her desire aloud. When he demands she confess love mid-act, Jovie recoils, stifling her response and then punching him when he smirks, ending the encounter.
Angry and hurt, Jovie challenges his motives and any oath-leveraged retribution over her past with Fredrich. Acker counters with possessive certainty—that fate and their Match bind them and that there is no other ending for them—intensifying their unresolved conflict even as their joint deception campaign is set in motion.
Who Appears
- Jovie (Jo)Sends a Maile-bound letter, masterminds forged Wren proclamations, resists and then halts Acker’s manipulative intimacy, asserting boundaries.
- AckerAssesses the pigeon, aids the deception campaign, professes intent to elevate Jovie, presses intimacy, is punched, and asserts possessive claim.