After Vivianne disappeared, Kian von Larson’s first order was to seal off the territory. No one could leave Larson without being checked at the checkpoints. That wasn’t all—personnel at the harbor verified everyone boarding ships, and the same was done at the train station.

He commanded his knights to search every possible hiding place, deploying as many as possible. All establishments within the territory where guests might stay, such as inns and hotels, became targets for the search. Finding her was merely a matter of time.

In other words, this was a game that grew more favorable to him with each passing day. Like a mouse trapped in a cage with no way out, she would eventually be caught.

So all he had to do was wait—wait for her to be found.

Regardless of who Vivianne was with, that fact remained unchanged. Therefore, there was no reason to lose sleep or postpone his duties. If this was a battle of time, becoming impatient and withering away would only be detrimental.

Kian returned to his office to handle the backlog of work, and at night, he lay in bed attempting to sleep. Though his mind felt foggy and dazed, sleep wouldn’t come immediately. His heartbeat, something he normally never noticed, pounded loudly in his ears.

The left side of his chest seemed to throb faintly, feeling constricted at the same time. The suffocating sensation made him exhale shallow breaths repeatedly. He couldn’t tell whether the problem was his heart or the wound she had left behind.

What did it matter anyway? Once he fell asleep, everything would be fine. Kian stubbornly kept his eyes closed.

Even in his light sleep, one thought refused to leave his mind: Why did she have that compass? No, how did she come to possess it?

The compass Joshua had given him disappeared on the day the Mermaid’s Sea had swallowed the entire Larson family.

Was she truly a mermaid? Did she find it in the Mermaid’s Sea because she was a mermaid?

Whenever he encountered an unfamiliar mermaid in the sea, he killed them without hesitation. He would taunt them, saying their sacrifice was alive and well, daring them to try cursing him.

If Vivianne was indeed a mermaid, the curse placed upon him was clear.

Yes, that could be it. If so, why couldn’t he let go, knowing she was a curse? Was it because she was a sacrifice? Would this h*ll truly end only with his death?

But speculation was just speculation—useless. He would meet her soon enough and could ask her directly about everything.

It would be fine. He would find her soon, and then everything would be resolved. With time, he had no choice but to find her. So he needed to sleep. He needed to sleep quickly so tomorrow would come.

With these thoughts, he squeezed his eyes shut once more. He wanted to lose consciousness even briefly, to forcibly push time forward.

Despite his efforts, the more his thoughts spiraled, the more alert his mind became. His tightly wound nerves stretched to the breaking point.

Even with his eyes closed, her image remained vivid. Paradoxically, he felt every empty moment acutely, as though he didn’t deserve to escape that pain even for an instant. It was maddening.

* * *

“I apologize, sir.”

Allen, who had come to report on the knights’ search progress, bowed his head deeply. After more than two weeks, the search had yielded no significant results. Contrary to expectations of finding her quickly, Vivianne’s whereabouts became increasingly mysterious.

“Still nothing from the captain?”

“No, sir.”

Allen’s voice naturally grew smaller. As Theodore’s most cherished lieutenant, he still seemed unable to believe the captain’s absence.

Rumors spread throughout the mansion about the master’s woman running away with the captain of the knights. Of course, the same gossip circulated among the knights themselves. At this point, it was only natural that filthy speculations would arise suggesting the mistress’s child might not be the master’s.

Kian was well aware of this. Even if that were true, what did it matter? Regardless of whose seed she carried in her womb, the fact that Vivianne belonged to him remained unchanged.

“Expand the search to include more civilian homes and increase the reward. I’ll determine the importance and credibility of information myself, so if anyone has spotted Vivianne, bring them to my room immediately.”

“Yes, Master.”

“You may go.”

Allen gave a slight bow and left the office. Silence fell over the empty room.

Where could she have gone?

The shawl and single shoe found in the forest were the last traces of her. Kian pulled them out from his drawer and stared blankly at them for a long time.

The weather had grown quite cool—wouldn’t she be cold? How could she go anywhere with only one shoe?

Walking barefoot through the forest would result in thorn pricks and rashes from poisonous plants. Despite her having fled from him, he worried about her like a child left by the water’s edge.

Surely nothing bad had happened to her. It was strange that they couldn’t find her after such an extensive search.

No, if she was with Theodore, nothing would happen to her. Even as he kept reassuring himself, the thought of Theodore covering her with his jacket or carrying her because she had lost her shoe made bile rise in his throat.

Vivianne, where on earth are you?

Impulsively, he opened the compass lid. It didn’t move at all, perhaps broken.

* * *

In her dark room, Matilda, having finished her prayers before sleep, suddenly recalled that night.

Looking back, it was around this same time. After a somewhat hectic day, she had finished turning off the lights in the main building. She heard Vivianne’s steady breathing, locked the door from outside, and said her prayers as her final task of the day. Then she remembered the gift Vivianne had tearfully given her the previous day.

Upon examining it, she discovered something strange.

1. V. Larson

The initials of Joshua von Larson.

Vivianne had said she’d treasured it like a keepsake for a very long time. Though she claimed not to remember clearly, Matilda felt it would be wise to verify even the smallest details.

She said she was a mermaid. That she had obtained legs just to reach her master.

While her story seemed like a lie, her claim of “not being happy” appeared genuine. Thinking of the tears that flowed ceaselessly as she spoke made a heavy pain settle in one corner of Matilda’s heart.

So she returned to Vivianne’s bedroom, only to find the door open. Fearing the worst, she looked inside to discover the room completely empty. Even the puppy was gone, presumably taken along. With goosebumps rising all over her body, she hurried to the knights’ quarters and frantically knocked on the door.

“Theo, are you asleep?”

Theodore must not have been asleep yet, as he opened the door immediately. It was the bedroom used exclusively by the captain of the knights.

“What’s wrong?”

“Vivi has disappeared! What should we do?”

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Theodore immediately dressed properly and grabbed his sword.

“When did you last see her?”

“About an hour ago. No one knows yet except you and me. The bedroom door was open, so someone must have helped her.”

“If it’s been an hour, she couldn’t have gone far.”

As her son was leaving the room without hesitation, she grabbed his arm and implored him.

“Theo. Please bring Vivi back safely. I beg you.”

Theodore gave no particular answer. As he headed toward the stables, presumably to get a horse, she called out to him once more.

“I say this both as your mother and as a servant of Larson. If you’ve truly decided not to live like your mother…”

Theodore, who had been hurrying, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“Go to the orphanage in Arbe. Find Estella there.”

“…What about you, Mother?”

His gaze was full of concern. Running away with the master’s woman—he seemed worried about his mother’s well-being.

“Are you worried about your mother?”

Despite the urgent situation, she couldn’t help but laugh.

“If you get fired, leave with me. I can’t live without Matilda. Theo should come too.”

She recalled the day Vivianne had sobbed for the first time, and the ambitious plan she had proposed.

“Theo is strong. And he’s Matilda’s son. We should be on the same team.”

Her insistence that they were on the same team had been endearing. Even while wanting to protect that innocence, Matilda had simultaneously turned away from it. In the end, it had been hypocrisy.

“When things quiet down, I’ll follow you. I promise I will, so go ahead without me.”

* * *

Several more weeks passed.

“Have you been getting any sleep, sir?” 

Richard, who was pouring tea, tactfully inquired, seemingly concerned about his master’s condition.

“I’ve been lying down enough.”

One look at his hollow eyes made it abundantly clear that he hadn’t been sleeping well.

“You don’t look well. Shall I call the physician?”

“I’m fine. Nothing particularly hurts.”

After Vivianne became pregnant, the physician had been arranged to stay permanently at the estate. Despite his poor condition, Kian only accepted herbal remedies to help with sleep and refused to call for the doctor otherwise.

The veins and tendons on the back of his hand holding the quill pen stood out prominently. He had clearly lost weight. When meals were brought to him, he would mechanically force a few bites into his mouth but leave the rest untouched. Except for sleeping hours, he remained strangely confined to his office.

All the backlogged work had been completed. Then he began pulling out ledgers from years ago, reviewing them one by one. He looked like someone who consciously needed something to focus his attention on.

“I’ve brought what you asked for.”

What Richard handed over was mail addressed to Matilda.

The sender was the Arbe Orphanage, with a brief card attached expressing gratitude for the donation.