It was probably Matilda.

After all, Matilda was the only person who ever came in and out of this room. Vivianne opened the door without thinking. Then she found an unexpected visitor at the door.

“…Theo?”

Vivianne’s eyes widened.

“Ah, hello.”

Theodore seemed flustered.

Unable to decide where to look, he suddenly turned his head away.

Why is he acting like that? Like someone who saw something they shouldn’t have? His face was bright red as though he were embarrassed about something.

“You were sleeping, I see.”

“It’s fine. I was already awake. But why are you…”

“I apologize for the intrusion. I’ll come back another time. Goodbye then.”

Seeing how he was hurrying to leave as quickly as possible, he seemed quite uncomfortable about something.

Vivianne glanced down at where his gaze had fallen.

“……”

Oh no. She was wearing only a thin negligee. Having slept continuously since the doctor’s visit, she hadn’t properly dressed. When that thought hit her, her face flushed hot.

“Ah, no. Wait a moment!”

She barely managed to stop Theodore as he was about to leave. Though he stopped, he awkwardly stared at the floor, seemingly too embarrassed to look at her.

“I’ll get dressed and come out. It’ll just take a moment. Please wait!”

Perhaps because she was too flustered. She slammed the door shut with a bang.

Nothing was going right.

She should have either not asked him to wait, or not slammed the door. She should have done just one or the other. Theodore must think she was acting strange.

After their first meeting, since he became her guard, she had only met him through Matilda, which might have made her let her guard down.

Vivianne leaned against the door and let out a deep sigh.

‘This is no time to be like this.’

She quickly put on a simple indoor dress. She was glad she had paid attention to some designs she could put on by herself when Matilda was dressing her.

After roughly tidying her appearance, Vivianne opened the door again. She had worried he might have left, but fortunately, he was still waiting there.

“Please come in.”

“No, I…”

“If you keep standing there, it’ll make me feel more uncomfortable. Please.”

He reluctantly entered the room. Despite his large build, his hesitant behavior made him look like a scolded child. The contrast made her laugh involuntarily.

He never visited her room except when coming to escort her for walks. Even then, he usually waited outside the door.

What could he want?

“I’m happy you came, Theo.”

She smiled brightly, intentionally trying to make him feel at ease.

“Since only Matilda and occasionally the doctor visit, it gets a bit lonely.”

Perhaps thanks to her honest confession, Theodore’s expression seemed to soften a bit.

“Well, the reason I came is… I thought you might want to go for a walk around this time.”

“A walk?”

“Yes. You usually went out at least once a day, but there was no word today. I wondered what happened.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, she had been so troubled today that she’d forgotten about her daily routine.

Having even skipped lunch and slept all day, she hadn’t had time to feel bored. Though she hadn’t been in any state to go for a walk, Theodore wouldn’t have known that, and it made sense that he might have been curious.

“I stopped by just in case. You might have wanted to go out but couldn’t tell Mother about it. So I thought, maybe…”

Since becoming her guard, there had actually been more distance between them. It had been somewhat awkward, and though she tried to get closer, he seemed uncomfortable, which had made her a bit sad. But now she realized he had been thoughtful of her in his own way. She felt grateful.

“You’re right.”

Vivianne answered kindly.

“I was so caught up in sleeping today that I couldn’t mention it. Thank you for being so considerate.”

“No need for thanks. It’s my duty after all. But are you perhaps not feeling well?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Vivianne shook her head.

“Let’s go out together. Shall we go to the beach?”

Yes. They decided to walk for now.

It seemed like it would be good to breathe some outside air and escape from complicated thoughts, even if just for a moment.

* * *

When they were about to leave, the sunset should have been ending. The sun set in an instant. Darkness had already settled around them.

Perhaps because of yesterday’s rain? The sand was still damp, but the air was crisp. The night sky was perfectly clear without a single cloud.

Maybe that’s why the moonlight seemed brighter. And the stars – Vivianne let out a small gasp of wonder at the stars dotted across the pitch-black sky.

She thought it was really good that she came out. When she was a mermaid, she had been too busy secretly watching Kian to notice, but the night sky was this beautiful.

Right. Perhaps it was natural that she hadn’t known. Because in front of that male, everything else lost its luster and became trivial. That’s how cruel unrequited love was.

She had thought she would be able to look at him all she wanted if she stayed by his side, but somehow, she felt more at ease during those times when she could only secretly glimpse him once a month. The thought made her gloomy.

Theodore had fallen silent again. As was his habit, he walked a little distance away. Only the sound of their footsteps in the sand could be heard along with the crashing waves.

Vivianne deliberately slowed her pace and then suddenly turned around. She could sense Theodore hesitate behind her.

“You’re still keeping the gift I gave you well, right?”

It must have been quite an unexpected and random question, as a nearly reflexive smile broke out.

Theodore pulled the seashell from his pocket to show her.

“I deliberately tested you without warning, and you had it with you. Good.”

“If I had known you would test me so severely, I wouldn’t have accepted it.”

She tried making a joke, and fortunately, Theodore played along lightly. The tense atmosphere softened a bit.

Vivianne intentionally matched her pace with his to walk slowly, trying to make conversation.

Perhaps because they were in the middle of talking, Theodore didn’t particularly try to avoid her.

“Actually, I gave one to Matilda too. I might test her suddenly like I just did with you. Even though she’s your mother, you absolutely can’t warn her beforehand. Understood?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Though it wasn’t much, it felt nice to be able to share even a brief laugh with someone.

“I’m joking. Giving something so insignificant… I was just showing off, wasn’t I?”

“Not at all. How could any gift be insignificant?”

“Still, something like a seashell is useless anyway…”

“It’s not useless at all. Thanks to it, we’re laughing like this now. I’m sure Mother laughed the same way.”

That’s right. Matilda had smiled brightly when she received the seashell too.

“If it can make someone smile, that’s enough. A heartfelt gift doesn’t need to be grand.”

Perhaps because he was her son? Theodore’s smile looked exactly like Matilda’s.

Vivianne somehow felt a sense of comfort in that smile. She returned a bright smile in response.

“…Did you give one to the Master as well?”

“Um, that…”

Though it was probably a casual question, somehow it made her feel a bit lonely. When she didn’t answer, Theodore didn’t press further.

Speaking of gifts, she thought of the bundle of newspapers she couldn’t even show to Kian. She had prepared them thinking he might have missed reading them for several days because of her.

The gift she thought would be needed now felt too humble to even mention.

That aside, if she gave him something like a seashell, would he smile like Matilda and Theodore did?

Far from making him smile, it was hard to even understand his true feelings. No matter how hard she tried, she always seemed to be standing still. Even though he was close by, he felt as unreachable as the moon in the sky.

The night air was quite cool. As a mermaid, she hadn’t noticed because she was in the water, and since getting legs, she had never been out at this hour.

Even though it was summer, it got cold at night. Having come out in thin clothes, she felt a bit chilly. Vivianne unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.

Just then, a soft fabric settled on her shoulders. Theodore had taken off his outer garment and placed it on her. When Vivianne looked up at him with round eyes, he smiled sheepishly.

“Please wear it. The night air is cold.”

“It’s okay. You’ll be cold too, Theo.”

“I’m not cold. I run hot. I was feeling a bit stuffy anyway, so it’s better if someone who needs it wears it.”

He was only wearing a thin shirt now. That couldn’t be true. Yet Theodore made a show of fanning himself.

“Still…”

“And I’m giving it entirely because of myself.”

“Because of you?”