Time seemed to stop. Vivianne sat up, trembling uncontrollably.

“…You knew too, didn’t you?”

What should he say? His mind felt numb, like he’d been struck in the head. Should he admit he knew? Or claim ignorance?

He was confused whether the stark truth or a pristine lie would save her. Words simply refused to leave his mouth.

“You must have known. After all, you asked me to create a baby with you.”

“……”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me anything? Do I look like a fool? Don’t I deserve to grieve? Everyone knew… How could you all do this to me…?”

Vivianne burst out, pouring forth her anguish.

“My baby died. My own baby. It was inside me. I was the only one who didn’t know it died…”

Her voice caught with sobs before she finally broke down, wailing loudly.

“How could you…let me not know? I, at least I should have known… This makes no sense.”

Vivianne curled up, clutching her stomach. Though she cried so hard her body swayed, she couldn’t bear it, dropping her head from side to side while sobbing violently.

“And there I was, eating good food, wearing pretty clothes, laughing carelessly without a thought, living so thoughtlessly… Saying I’d marry you. Letting you hold me… I must have gone mad!”

She was consumed by grief that crashed over her like a tidal wave, leaving no room to resist. Watching her, even Kian’s strong shoulders began to tremble.

He thought it would be better if she didn’t know, since she couldn’t remember. Despicably, he believed that was the best path for her. Not just Kian, but everyone who knew the truth thought the same. Her smile amid beautiful lies was so pure.

Perhaps revealing the truth was more difficult because they didn’t want to taint that transparent smile. Despite knowing, they covered it up, embracing cowardice once more.

“I killed the baby. I killed our baby… our baby.”

“No… it wasn’t your fault.”

“I j-jumped into the s-sea… Our baby, our b-baby died. I killed it. Our baby!”

She wailed like her insides were being torn apart, pounding her chest violently with her fists.

“It’s not true, s-stop it. It’s not. Vivi…”

“My chest feels like it’s going to burst. It hurts so much… so much… I c-can’t breathe.”

Kian forcibly embraced her to prevent her from hitting herself. Bound in his arms, she struggled desperately, thrashing about.

“It’s not your fault… It’s all my fault.”

“I’m…sorry…”

She didn’t seem to hear his denials. Like a wildflower with its stem broken in a storm, Vivianne collapsed, withering, unable to hold herself up.

* * *

In the basement of the annex, two maids bound and trembling knelt before their master. In stark contrast, Kian sat with his legs crossed, his face expressionless, merely toying with a pistol like a plaything.

“Was it fun?”

A bitter smile crossed his otherwise dry expression.

“I suppose it was entertaining enough to wag your tongues so freely.”

When no answer came, Kian drew his own conclusion, never really needing a response in the first place.

A gold coin dropped onto the stone floor with a thud. It was a coin Kian had thrown. After rolling for a while and spinning in place, it finally stopped. Kian stood up and stepped on the coin with his shoe.

“Now. Heads or tails. Each of you choose one.”

The command was terrifying in its unclear intent. When the gun barrel pointed at their heads, the maids’ faces turned pale.

“I guess my words don’t sound serious enough.”

“H-heads, sir.”

One maid quickly chose heads. The other was automatically tails. Kian removed his foot and nodded, prompting one of the knights to pick up the coin.

“It’s tails, Master.”

“So tails was you. Then let’s start with you. Cut out this one’s tongue, and rip open that one’s mouth. Begin.”

Kian ordered the knights standing beside him.

Perhaps because the punishment was more severe than expected, the surprised knights looked at each other.

“P-please spare us, M-master.”

“We’ve committed a mortal sin… w-we were wrong.”

The two maids, panic-stricken, began crawling on the floor. Kian crouched in front of them and met their eyes with a gaze like he was looking at insects.

“No need to weigh which is better, compare, envy, or feel disappointed. You’ll all be the same once you’re dead anyway.”

They saw raw murderous intent in their master’s black eyes.

“When it’s done, cut off their heads and hang them at the entrance. The other maids should see too. What happens when they speak carelessly about the mistress.”

* * *

The herbal tea didn’t help. Though her mind was foggy, trying to sleep only brought more suffering. Vivianne sat blankly on the bed before taking out her notebook and quill pen.

Perhaps it was the memory she most wanted to forget, so she had postponed even recalling it. She hadn’t even remembered it on her own, but heard it from someone else’s lips. It was her baby she had carried, yet she alone didn’t know.

That fact not only made her feel more miserable but plunged her into an abyss.

– I definitely had a tail then.

Cowardly, she could only ruminate on meaningless excuses. What good would that do now?

– All because of me.

– Ran away without the strength to protect.

She wanted to live. Her actions to escape from him killed the baby.

– If I had taken Kian’s outstretched hand then.

– Would the baby still be alive now?

She listed useless hypotheticals that even she knew were pointless.

“Stab this into that male’s heart. The contract will be nullified, and you can return to the sea as a mermaid again.”

Annabel’s words echoed persistently in her ears.

“I understand you love this male, Princess. But does he love you too?”

“Humans cannot love mermaids. They only imprison and possess them.”

She clearly knew. Despite knowing…

“But, Annabel, I… want to make that male happy.”

“Anyway, I want to try working through this myself without giving up. So please believe in me, Annabel.”

Her useless stubbornness even killed Annabel.

“I’ll try my best to be happy here.”

No matter how she thought about it, happiness seemed impossibly distant.

– I should have stabbed Kian with that knife then. The contract would have been nullified.

– The baby would never have been conceived, never have died.

A teardrop fell onto the notebook, smearing the ink.

– I couldn’t have killed him anyway.

– I loved him enough to offer my soul.

– How stupid, how pathetic.

Tears fell endlessly. Her vision blurred, making the writing appear smudged.

– In the end, it’s all my fault.

With no strength left to write more, she put down the quill and closed the notebook.

[That’s right, Princess.]

A voice she had always missed echoed in her ear.

[How clever of you.

[This is all because of you, Princess.]

It was Annabel’s voice.

[Didn’t you hear? Vivi, it’s all your fault.]

[You should have listened to me.]

[Because of you, I died. The baby died too. You’ll end up k*lling everyone.]

Words she couldn’t even fully respond to poured out all at once. Her vision spun, and her breathing became rapid.

[So please, just die.]

* * *

“Um, I’d like some chocolate and champagne.”

“Champagne? Do you even know how to drink that, Vivi?”

Matilda knew she liked chocolate, but champagne was a first. Matilda, who was helping Vivianne undress, asked in surprise.

It had been a long time since Vivianne had voluntarily said she wanted to eat something. That made it impossible to ignore.

“I want to have them while bathing alone. Please draw the bath for me too.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, I’ve come to enjoy doing that lately.”

She was definitely different from usual. Though her face showed no excitement or anticipation as she spoke, Matilda brought what Vivianne wished for.

* * *

Vivianne had been in the bathroom for quite some time without coming out. Meanwhile, Matilda had restocked missing supplies in Vivianne’s bedroom and tidied up the room.

Could she have fallen asleep in the bath? She might catch a cold.

“Vivi, aren’t you finished yet?”

There was no answer to her call. Suddenly, an ominous feeling flashed through Matilda’s mind.

“Do you need help?”

The moment she opened the bathroom door, the fragrant scent of flowers mingled with the strong smell of blood.

Matilda froze in place at the sight of Vivianne slumped in the bathtub.