Chapter 35 Summary and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
In the immediate aftermath of the monster attack near the railway station, Juliette Cai tries to get answers from her father, Lord Cai, at the Cai house. The house is in chaos, with Nationalists and Scarlet inner-circle members being summoned inward rather than preparing a defense. When Juliette presses him about the blackmailer, Lord Cai tells her it was never a single blackmailer—it was the Communists all along. He then shuts his office door in her face, refusing to let her in.
A young messenger delivers a note written in Russian, revealing that Rosalind has been found at the safe house. Juliette fetches Kathleen, and they rush to the location. Inside, Roma, Benedikt, and Marshall have Rosalind tied to a chair, gagged. Juliette questions her about the monsters retreating of their own accord, but Rosalind denies any involvement. Juliette produces a list of five names she found on Rosalind's desk—Pierre Moreau, Alfred Delaunay, Edmond Lefeuvre, Gervais Carrell, and Simon Clair. Roma, Benedikt, and Marshall recognize these as Dimitri Voronin's men. Juliette then pulls a necklace from Rosalind's neck, engraved with the Voronin name, confirming her connection.
Rosalind admits she was Dimitri's lover and helped him acquire Paul Dexter's remaining monsters. She reveals Dimitri's plan: he intends to take over the White Flowers by waiting for the Nationalists to purge Communists from the city, then stepping in as a savior with his guns, money, and allied Communists. Rosalind explains that she was a spy within the Cai household, listening to Lord Cai's secrets, and that she has been trying to find Dimitri herself but does not know where he has moved.
Juliette, furious and desperate, draws a pistol and demands Dimitri's location, but Rosalind insists she doesn't know. Before the situation escalates further, the door bursts open. General Shu arrives with a contingent of soldiers, announcing that he has come to retrieve his son, Marshall. The soldiers raise their weapons at Marshall, who greets his father with bitter sarcasm.
Key Events
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Lord Cai dismisses Juliette's questions, claiming the blackmailer was always the Communists, and shuts her out.
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A White Flower messenger delivers a Russian note to Juliette, leading her and Kathleen to the safe house.
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Rosalind is found tied up, and Juliette confronts her about the monster retreat.
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Juliette produces the list of five names from Rosalind's desk; Roma identifies them as Dimitri Voronin's men.
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Juliette discovers a necklace engraved with the Voronin name, confirming Rosalind's connection to Dimitri.
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Rosalind confesses she was Dimitri's lover and helped him obtain Paul Dexter's monsters.
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Rosalind reveals Dimitri's coup plan: he will wait for the Nationalist purge of Communists, then rise as a savior to take over the White Flowers.
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Juliette threatens Rosalind with a pistol, demanding Dimitri's location, but Rosalind says she doesn't know.
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General Shu bursts in with soldiers, declaring he has come to take Marshall back.
Character Development
Juliette Cai is pushed to her breaking point in this chapter. Her father's dismissal—closing the door in her face—reinforces her outsider status within the Scarlet Gang, even after Tyler's death. Her confrontation with Rosalind forces her to confront the parallels between her own love for Roma and Rosalind's love for Dimitri. Juliette's internal struggle is palpable: she recognizes that she, too, has betrayed her family for love, having killed her cousin for Roma. Yet she insists the situations are not the same, because Rosalind helped unleash destruction on the city. This moral complexity deepens Juliette's character, showing her capacity for both violence and self-reflection.
Rosalind is revealed as a tragic figure rather than a simple villain. She admits her love for Dimitri and her role as a spy, but she also claims she tried to stop the monster attack out of her own goodness. Her confession that she is a