Where could Kian be?

Vivianne was about to head straight to Larson when she suddenly remembered what Kian had said.

“I’ll be staying at that townhouse for now. Tell Baron Grieam. Tell him you want to see Kian.”

It might not be valid now, but Baron Grieam and Kian were clearly in contact with each other.

When she said she needed to meet Kian, Matilda had also mentioned the townhouse. After leaving Larson and returning to Baldwin, it seemed they had been in touch until fairly recently.

‘I should start there first.’

Considering the time left until sunset, it was tight.

Vivianne immediately went to find Baron Grieam and requested to be taken to the townhouse where Kian had been staying. Just like she expected, Baron Grieam readily cooperated.

She was about to leave in the quickly prepared carriage when Theodore attached himself to her as an escort.

“It’s dangerous to go out alone.”

“Theo?”

“Please let me come with you.”

Matilda must have told Theodore that she would be going out.

“……”

“……”

On the way to Kian’s townhouse, an awkward atmosphere lingered inside the carriage.

Theodore sat across from her, observing Vivianne carefully.

She was looking out the window with anxious eyes. He had heard that someone from Larson had visited. What on earth had they told her to make her act like this?

He could see her fingertips trembling faintly on her lap.

Theodore had already noticed that Vivianne might be pregnant.

From her inability to eat and constant dry heaving to his mother’s attitude of mysteriously avoiding any mention of it. And seeing her heading to Kian today finally gave him certainty.

What should he say?

Should he ask if her body was okay, how she was feeling? No, he didn’t want to do that.

Should he ask again if she really had to go? If she couldn’t just not meet him? Should he throw a tantrum like a child?

…What good would that do?

He felt ridiculous for following her out when he couldn’t bear to just leave her alone.

The carriage slowed down and stopped in front of the townhouse where Kian was supposedly staying.

“…Theo.”

He was opening the carriage door to escort her when Vivianne called him cautiously.

There was something that had been bothering her.

“That time. When Theo returned my shawl to me.”

“Yes, Vivi.”

“If there was something you were hiding, you told me never to let Kian find out, remember?”

“I remember.”

“Theo was telling me not to let him find out I was a mermaid, right?”

Theodore slowly nodded.

“Why did Kian hate mermaids so much?”

It was a self-deprecating question. It would probably be difficult to ask the person directly.

When he saw Vivianne swimming at Coral Beach, he hadn’t wanted to believe it. Even when he saw her talking to mermaids. He thought she couldn’t be a mermaid. Because that would be unfortunate for both Kian and Vivianne.

No, perhaps he had been somewhat relieved that she was a mermaid. He had selfishly thought it would be nice if she came to him because she couldn’t be Kian’s match.

Happiness built on someone else’s misfortune. He felt sick at his own cowardice.

Only today did he realize that he lacked the courage to become a bad person himself.

And perhaps, between those two, such things didn’t matter at all.

“…He was the sacrifice.”

Theodore’s gaze sank low with resignation.

“Originally, Kian was supposed to be the sacrifice offered to the Mermaid’s Sea.”

And he confessed the truth just like it was. Looking into those deep blue eyes, he simply couldn’t lie.

Vivianne remained silent for a long time before bowing her head politely to him.

“Thank you, Theo.”

“……”

“For telling me. Thank you so much.”

When Vivianne finally entered the townhouse, it was already empty.

* * *

Kian stared quietly at her name he had written in the sand.

VIVIANNE VON LARSON

Vivianne von Larson.

He had written his own name next to hers, then erased it again.

VIVIANNE

Vivianne.

Yes, now it looked more like Vivi. He even drew a ribbon like he had seen in the diary she wrote before leaving.

Not even close. Laughter leaked out without resistance.

The sun was setting. The sky was stained red with fragments of the broken sun. Once the light passed behind the horizon, darkness would descend, and soon the red moon would rise.

Kian sat on Coral Beach, searching for traces of the moon that wasn’t visible yet.

Where would be good for the end?

His deliberation wasn’t long. No other place came to mind besides this one.

Because this was the very place where Vivianne, as a child, pulled Kian from being devoured by the sea.

Looking back, he had been afraid of the sea from the beginning. However, even though he nearly drowned in the sea, he never avoided it.

The reason he enlisted in the navy and obsessed over the sea to a terrible degree was probably because she, Vivianne, was there. He entertained such a trivial hypothesis.

Seeing how he met her like a gift in the end, it probably wasn’t entirely wrong.

She, who came onto land, always seemed precarious like a fish that had been pulled up.

From the moment Vivianne collapsed n*ked on the beach, walking around barefoot without shoes. The way she dragged indoor slippers around like a small animal with a sprained leg, or how she bandaged her heels after they got scraped by tall shoes. Even when she was tied up with shackles, crying like she couldn’t breathe.

Everything made him anxious. Not once had he felt at ease. That’s probably why he tried to squeeze and grasp her tighter.

When he saw her lying there with bandages on her wrists and a pale face, he couldn’t bear it because it seemed like he had finally broken her completely.

On the night of the full moon, this was also where he found Vivianne drenched in seawater.

When he first discovered that empty room without her, he couldn’t forget that feeling of losing her. His heart sank, and his vision grew dizzy.

He felt something was off seeing you trembling and making ridiculous excuses. But even while getting angry, he thought it didn’t matter since he had gotten you back.

On another full moon night, when he saw Vivianne walking into the sea, he thought his blood would dry up and drive him mad. This was also where he held her collapsed and sprawled on the white sand, begging her to please wake up.

In the end, he had returned to the starting point like this.

This wasn’t the first time he had tried to end his life.

When Vivianne was devoured by the sea and he finally wanted to believe she was a mermaid, when everyone said she who jumped into the sea must be dead, he had entered the sea.

He said he loved her but couldn’t reach her, tried to die but couldn’t die.

Just like young Vivianne had saved young Kian, perhaps she who had transformed into a mermaid had saved him once again.

He had entertained such shameless imaginings.

Vivianne was a ray of light reflected in the deep sea and living salvation to him.

While lost in various thoughts, the sun that had grown even larger was sinking into the sea. Before that sun disappeared completely, he had to stab his heart with the mermaid’s knife.

Anyway, the sacrifice that should have died in the Mermaid’s Sea that night was him.

It was her, Vivianne, who saved that, so Kian wanted to give his life entirely as her portion.

Perhaps that’s why he wasn’t afraid of dying. There was nothing particularly sad about it either.

Just like she came to find him even with a broken compass, the final destination of his life is her. Thinking that way even made him happy.

He had wandered off the path, strayed in the middle and walked places that weren’t paths, but he was simply grateful that he could reach Vivianne in the end.

However, the reason he had hesitated until now without stabbing his heart was purely personal greed, wanting to keep her in his sight even a little longer.

Vivianne. I want to see you.

If someone asked what he wanted last, he would say without hesitation that he wanted to see her.

If he met her now, would she smile at him one last time?

Even though she tried to take her own life because she resented him?

Now he knew it was all a futile wish.

Splash, whoosh—

Splash, whoosh—

When he closed his eyes, he could hear the sound of waves.

It was high tide. The sea came rushing in and devoured Vivianne’s name written in the sand.

Now the red moon would rise. There was no more time to hesitate.

In his will, he had written to cremate him after death and scatter the ashes in the sea.

Vivianne would become a mermaid and go to the sea, and Kian would become ashes and follow her.

When he unbuttoned his shirt, the scar where Vivianne had stabbed him was revealed.

Even though it was a wound that had healed long ago, it still throbbed occasionally.

Yes, I should stab here.

He thought it would be a shame to erase the medal Vivianne had made for him, but it was hard to find a more appropriate location than this.

Kian took the mermaid’s knife from his pocket. When he drew the blade from its sheath, the sharp edge gleamed red, holding the sunset glow. The hand gripping the sword handle trembled faintly.

Goodbye, Vivianne.

May you be free and at peace.

Wherever your compass points, I’ll be there. Even if just for a moment, may I see your smile.

After repeating his final words, he squeezed his eyes shut.

“…Kian!”

Then, he heard a longed-for voice in his ear.

It was probably a hallucination. Vivianne couldn’t be here now.

“Kian!”

Just like he thought that, the voice came again.

When startled Kian opened his eyes and turned around, he saw the face he had wanted to see in the distance.

He couldn’t believe it, just like a dream.

She was getting closer and closer.

“Wait a moment!”

It was Vivianne.