At the sound of someone calling for help, Vivianne instinctively grabbed the doorknob.

‘But Kian told me not to enter this room.’

Her hand paused as she was about to turn the knob.

When he had warned her not to enter this room, he hadn’t been particularly angry, but she knew he wouldn’t like it if he found out she had gone in without permission.

‘Still… what if it’s an emergency?’

Whoever it was might be in danger. Once that thought crossed her mind, she found it difficult to ignore the plea.

The conclusion was simple: better to be caught by Kian and get scolded than to let someone get hurt.

Vivianne hastily opened the door. However, the room was completely empty, contrary to her expectations.

‘Did I hear wrong?’

The voice had been too clear to be a mistake.

Unlike the fourth floor with its two large rooms, the third floor had only one room. With no one in the corridor, the sound must have come from this room.

Holding her breath, Vivianne looked around the room once more.

The neatly arranged room showed no signs of anyone having been there, let alone currently occupying it.

Perhaps her restless sleep had affected her mind. Still, it was fortunate that nothing seemed amiss.

‘But why did Kian tell me not to come in here?’

She hadn’t gotten a good look before because Kian had immediately led her out when she entered last time. It seemed like an ordinary room with nothing particularly special about it.

When she had asked Matilda, she’d merely said it was Kian’s childhood room, without elaborating further.

‘I suppose he might not want people seeing traces of his childhood.’

Vivianne thought of her own childhood diary. The mere thought of someone reading it was mortifying. The idea of Kian seeing it made her shudder—she would want to keep it hidden away.

She looked down at An, who was nestled quietly in her arms. It would be better to stop poking around and go back upstairs to bed.

[Help me!]

As she turned to leave, the mysterious voice called out again. Her shoulders jerked in surprise. The tone sounded even more desperate than before.

“Where are you?”

She called out, but there was no answer.

“An, I’m not the only one who heard that, right?”

An’s dark eyes glinted in response.

She couldn’t have misheard twice. Looking toward the source of the sound, she noticed that one entire wall was covered with bookshelves.

Could someone be in there?

There didn’t seem to be any space for a person to hide. Vivianne approached the bookshelf and placed her hand against it.

Clunk!

When she pushed hard, the bookshelf shook with a rattling sound. Unlike the bookshelf in her room, this one didn’t appear to be fixed to the wall.

So, could it open?

Vivianne felt around the bookshelf until she discovered it could slide sideways. Eventually, a hidden door was revealed behind it.

Click—

She grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it only spun uselessly without opening.

“Is anyone in there?”

Still no answer.

Perhaps whoever was inside couldn’t respond. Besides, this was the only place left to check.

“Hold on, I’ll open it for you!”

She had broken through a locked door before. On a day with heavy rain, when Kian was sick, she had urgently broken through to get to him.

Anxiously looking around the room, she found something similar to the stool she had used then.

Bang! She struck the doorknob with all her might.

Crack! The doorknob broke off, and the wooden door creaked open.

Beyond the door lay another room. The interior was dark, making it difficult to see clearly. Despite her bold action of breaking the doorknob, she felt a surge of fear at the thought of entering.

“An, stay here quietly since it might be dangerous. Understand?”

Having confirmed that the exit door was closed, An wouldn’t be able to escape again. Vivianne left these instructions for An and carefully stepped forward.

The room was dark and silent. There was an eerie chill in the air.

“Hello? Are you alright?”

Her mouth went dry with fear. Though her hair stood on end, she clenched her fists tightly. She lowered her head slightly and tiptoed in.

When she finally reached the center of the room, she froze at the unbelievable sight before her.

Vivianne stood motionless for a long while.

Surrounded by sisters covering the walls.

The moonlight was dim but sufficient to illuminate the room.

Sisters hung on the walls. Like the bird she had seen earlier that day, they were plastered against the walls, surrounding her.

What have I just seen? No, what am I seeing?

Her mind felt numb, as though she had been struck hard on the head.

They looked so lifelike, so vivid. It seemed they might reach out to her at any moment, begging to be saved.

Unable to believe the sight before her eyes, she reached out to touch them.

Cold. Like ice. The once smooth, glistening scales had hardened and dried up.

So the sisters… weren’t alive. They were dead.

“It’s when something dead is preserved with chemicals to prevent decay, making it look alive.”

Already dead, yet made to look alive—this seemed even more hellish.

“It’s made and kept as a memento of a successful hunt.”

Someone had hunted mermaids and preserved them as trophies.

Why?

For what purpose?

“People who enjoy hunting take pride in capturing impressive game.”

In other words, the human who captured and killed her sisters took pride in this. Her entire body, which had been frozen in shock, began to tremble violently as though she had been struck by lightning.

[Help me…]

[Help me.]

[…Help me!]

[Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me.]

Were these pleas for help from the vengeful spirits of the taxidermied sisters? Their voices calling for help echoed in her ears.

They weren’t her blood sisters. Her older sisters were all confined within the palace, unable to come ashore because of their father.

But they were still mermaids.

All mermaids are sisters.

If she hadn’t gained legs, perhaps… she too might have been displayed here as a trophy for disobeying her father and wandering around.

The thought drove her to the brink of madness.

“…No.”

Tears streamed down her trembling cheeks.

This must be a dream.

…Surely, it’s just a dream.

This can’t be real.

She took hold of a dangling hand. It was hard and alien. Like an object, completely devoid of warmth.

No.

So this…

This was no dream.

“Feel free to wander around the mansion. Just don’t enter this room.”

Kian had known. He knew she shouldn’t enter this place.

“That can’t be…”

…It couldn’t be Kian.

He simply didn’t want to show his childhood room. That’s why he told her not to enter. Kian couldn’t have known about these horrors behind the bookshelf.

The cruel person who hunted these mermaids might not be Kian. Yes, it couldn’t be Kian.

Someone else did this long ago.

Poor, pitiful sisters.

Unfortunately, you encountered evil people.

Perhaps Kian’s father, or grandfather. Some terrible person hunted mermaids. The same heartless people who didn’t want Kian to be born.

It wasn’t Kian.

Despite shaking her head repeatedly, her chest felt tight enough to burst. Something seemed to be blocking her throat, and she pounded her chest hard with her fist.

Why did I have to fall in love with Kian of all people? Out of so many humans, why one from a family that hunts mermaids?

…I had no idea this would happen.

Is ignorance an excuse?

It’s not like I did this on purpose.

Does that make it okay?

…No,

Of course it’s not okay.

“I’m, I’m sorry…”

She wailed uncontrollably, her face drenched in tears. She felt dizzy, about to collapse.

As Vivianne caressed each sister’s hand one by one, she suddenly froze in place.

A pale wrist.

And tied neatly around it, was a white lace ribbon.

No, it can’t be.

It mustn’t be.

Vivianne forced herself to raise her trembling head.

It was Annabel.

“Ahhh!”

Her legs gave way, and her knees buckled. Her fragile body swayed precariously. Sobs overwhelmed her until she could barely breathe. After weeping for a long while, Vivianne clung to the taxidermied Annabel, choking on her tears.

“Annabel, wake up. This isn’t true, right? You’re not dead, are you…?”

Despite her breathless questioning, no answer came. Even when she grabbed and shook her, there was no response.

“…I know. You’re just cold. That’s why your body is frozen stiff? If I cover you with this, you’ll be fine. Come on, let me wrap you up, okay?”

Vivianne spread out the shawl she was wearing and tightly wrapped it around Annabel’s body. The shawl kept falling to the floor, so she hugged her with her entire body to keep it in place.

“You need to wake up. Get up, please.”

Even on tiptoes, she couldn’t cover the blue shoulders or the pale nape of Annabel’s neck.

The eyes that had always watched over her warmly now held nothing. It was impossible to meet her gaze or help her close her eyes.

“Please snap out of it and answer me. Please…”

They had been together since childhood. She was precious—someone who had sacrificed her cherished hair for Vivianne’s sake.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Annabel.”

She had met Annabel not long ago.

So this couldn’t be from the distant past.

If Annabel hadn’t come ashore to help her, she would never have come up to land.

“Feel free to wander around the mansion. Just don’t enter this room.”

Kian had known. He knew she shouldn’t enter this place.

“No, no…”

Her strength gave out, and her body collapsed. Her vision blurred, and her insides felt like they were being torn apart. The pain, unlike anything she had ever experienced, nearly made her faint.

Just then, along with the sound of An whimpering and scratching at the door, familiar footsteps drew closer.

Yip! Whiiine!

Pat pat pat, pat pat pat pat—

She still couldn’t raise her head.

Please, she prayed it wasn’t him.

It couldn’t be.

If there was a God, shameless as it might be, she begged for this one last wish to be granted.

Please, please…!

Vivianne remained seated before Annabel’s taxidermied form, her head bowed.

She heard the door open and footsteps approach, stopping right in front of her.

She could see well-polished shoes. Above her head, a soft sigh scattered.

“…I warned you.”

Her head jerked upward, and tears flowed from her heavy eyes. Her blurred vision cleared.

“I told you not to enter this room.”

It was Kian.

—

T/N: And here it is, the (probably) most awaited chapter in the whole novel 🙂