Due to lengthy investment discussions in the office, they arrived a bit late for lunch. As soon as the two sat down, Richard prepared the aperitif.

“Richard.”

“Yes, master.”

“About Vivi. Make sure she doesn’t leave her room until dinner.”

“Understood.”

Richard handed the wine bottle to a maid serving the meal and left the dining room.

“Keeping her hidden away, I see.”

Dante, who had been watching for an opportunity to comment like someone who’d discovered something fascinating, grinned.

“No wonder the entire social circle is in an uproar. I missed the opera that day, so I was the only one who didn’t know about this entertaining situation.”

Kian had no particular response. Dante didn’t mind, as usual. Kian von Larson was a cryptic man who never spoke first unless persistently questioned.

Dante set his empty glass on the table and requested another champagne. When the serving maid filled it about one-third full, he asked for more, seemingly parched.

“I heard you shared quite an intense kiss in the box. With the curtains left open, no less. I thought, what remarkable restraint, but seeing her in person, I understand why you’d be captivated.”

“Go somewhere else if you want to ramble drunkenly.”

Kian snapped, moistening his lips with champagne. Unlike Dante, he had barely touched his drink.

The man, who seemed impenetrable, remained stiff even in front of his closest companion.

But Dante wasn’t deterred. Paradoxically, this was why he could maintain a close relationship with that cold-blooded man.

“Is it good?”

“What?”

“What do you think I’m asking about?”

Kian, who had avoided eye contact throughout, sharply raised his eyes. His gaze was filled with disdain.

“Oh, I’m just envious. It’s the first time I’ve seen such a beauty in my life. She’s quite talented too. Enough to make even a wooden block like you bite and suck.”

“Shut it.”

Attempts to lighten the mood were futile. Seeing the murderous aura emanating from Kian, Dante decided it would be best not to provoke him further.

“Terrifying. It was a compliment. No matter how crazy I might be, I wouldn’t touch your woman. I love money more than women. That’s why I love my fiancée’s department store. Unlike some people, I’m being a faithful fiancé, so don’t worry.”

Dante smiled gently. An awkward silence followed. Kian seemed to have little appetite, sending back his appetizer untouched.

“But isn’t it strange? A uniquely beautiful woman like her, without any connections or even a single acquaintance?”

“Get to the point.”

“What I mean is, someone that memorable would be hard to forget once seen. How could no one know her?”

Dante’s eyes sparkled as he held his fork and knife.

“Unless she really emerged from the sea and washed ashore.”

Kian, who had been cutting his sirloin steak, abruptly stopped. Their eyes met in midair.

“Hmm? I think with a little digging, we could quickly find out where she’s from. Interested?”

Kian set down his knife and fork and quietly lifted the corner of his mouth.

“Go ahead and find out, then.”

After much encouragement, he finally seemed interested. Dante’s lips also stretched into a smile.

“Should I take this as an official request?”

“Whatever works for you. Official or unofficial, use every means at your disposal. Show me what you can do.”

Dante’s family ran a media company, making their information network unparalleled.

They had connections not only to official information channels but also to shadowy routes like secret information guilds.

“Fine. But let me ask one thing.”

Dante rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin.

“Why are you suddenly curious now?”

It was quite a sharp question.

“Well…”

A faint smile scattered across Kian’s lips.

“Because now I want to know.”

Back then, he hadn’t cared about her identity. Now he did. That was the only reason.

* * *

In the early evening, Kian was looking through backlogged documents before giving up and lying down on the long sofa. He recalled the strange experience he had recently.

Being gripped by a fear so intense it felt suffocating.

It wasn’t something he experienced every time it rained heavily, but it happened occasionally. Cold sweat would seep out, dizziness would set in, and it would often lead to a seizure.

It was a terrible experience, but it didn’t last long. There was no other way to deal with it. Even herbs with calming effects couldn’t guarantee relief. The only coping method was to hide somewhere alone and endure until it passed.

But the two recent episodes were truly strange experiences. The distant sound of a mermaid’s song reaching his ears. He had vaguely heard it before. At first, he thought it was just another symptom he was experiencing, but in the lighthouse, he clearly heard a mermaid’s song.

After forcibly sending Vivianne away despite her offer to help, he sat leaning against the door. He heard frantic knocking but ignored it. He didn’t want to show his uncontrollable fear a second time.

Above all, he could have hurt her. Unlike his spacious bedroom with escape routes, the lighthouse was a confined space. That’s why he sent her out. But the woman was quite persistent.

What power did she think she had?

Perhaps she was just letting her heart lead because she didn’t know her place.

It was laughable.

He wasn’t sure how he endured. When he opened his eyes and left the lighthouse, the sky already had a dark blue hue. It was the color of dawn, where light and darkness sharply intertwined.

He thought she had returned to the mansion because it was quiet. But the woman was huddled up, completely soaked in the rain.

Was it his imagination? When he lifted her wet body, the scent of the sea wafted strongly. Only then did he suddenly realize. In his distant consciousness, he had heard a mermaid’s song. Today was the second time. And each time, this woman had been by his side.

“…That can’t be.”

Kian kept muttering to himself.

Of course, he might have been hearing things. He hadn’t seen anything directly. It was also ridiculous to assume some connection based on just two experiences. But the inexplicable sense of discomfort he kept feeling wasn’t solely because he had heard a mermaid’s song.

While walking along the night sea, he had once made eye contact with a woman hiding behind rocks. She disappeared into the water in the blink of an eye.

Platinum blonde hair with a hint of pale pink and eyes sparkling with intelligence. Though it was just a moment, what he saw under the moonlight was supernaturally beautiful for a human.

Just like a mermaid.

No, he had never seen a mermaid that beautiful.

Kian thought he had simply seen a mirage and forgot about it.

Surprisingly, he met her again on that same beach. When he saw the woman collapsed n*ked, she definitely had legs.

What on earth was she?

Kian felt compelled to pick her up.

When he asked her directly, she said she had no memory. There was nothing more to learn from a woman who only knew her name.

Thinking rationally, it was highly likely he had been mistaken on the day he discovered her hiding behind the rocks.

Even if he hadn’t been wrong, to conclude that she was a mermaid was a stretch since only her shoulders were visible above the water.

Besides, a mermaid coming fearlessly to the shore?

The more he thought about it, the more nonsensical it seemed.

Initially, he had picked her up out of curiosity. What exactly was she? It was intriguing, and he felt he needed to confirm or it would bother him.

But picking up a n*ked woman from the beach quickly became a topic of gossip. The timing was perfect, and he thought she could be useful in getting rid of his fiancée.

No, perhaps that was just an excuse. Being a man, he couldn’t deny feeling desire for that defenseless woman, but he never imagined it would turn out like this.

Because of that woman, he kept becoming impatient, losing his reason. In the end, he was completely at her mercy.

And now a mermaid’s song?

Vivianne. What exactly was her true identity?

Now he truly didn’t know.

“This is absurd.”

He stated decisively.

“She’s clearly human. Rationally speaking, it’s just a pointless delusion.”

Anxiety consumed him.

Uncertain and uncontrollable things were what Kian hated most. At the core of this aversion always lurked a foggy anxiety.

But as much as he wanted to know, he also didn’t want to know.

Thinking about the woman who would be waiting just to hear his footsteps on the stairs, he didn’t want to return to his room.

His head throbbed.

Kian squeezed his eyes shut.

* * *

Richard delivered the message. Kian wanted her to stay in her room until dinner.

Though she felt like crying, Vivianne silently obeyed. What had made Kian so angry? Was it because she visited without notice? Because she persisted when he told her to leave the lighthouse?

Did seeing that vulnerable side of him, which he wanted to hide, make him feel his boundaries were violated? Or had it started before that?

Because she refused to mate?

Or perhaps because she ate the chocolates he had told her to limit to two? If not that, had she unknowingly done something wrong?

She didn’t know. She couldn’t figure it out.

Perhaps it was because she felt intimidated by his suddenly cold attitude.

She kept going over everything, wondering if she had done something wrong.

When night fell, she thought he might come to her, whether to get angry or scold her. Give some indication. Half of her thought this, half wanted to run away.

Vivianne forced herself to sleep.

When she opened her eyes again, it was completely dark.

Seeing the cookies and card on the bedside table made her feel even more desolate. Earlier, she had been too shocked to give them to him.

‘Maybe I should have asked Richard to deliver them. Or perhaps I could ask Matilda tomorrow morning.’

No, that wasn’t what she wanted.

She wanted to deliver them personally and see if he was alright.

It was already past midnight. She headed to his bedroom, planning to leave the cookies and card at his bedside. But the bedroom was eerily empty.

On a hunch, she went to his office.

Sure enough, she saw Kian asleep on the long sofa, his arm covering his eyes.

This man whose inner thoughts were impossible to read.

If only he would tell her what she had done wrong, if anything. She felt resentful, but catching a cold would be serious.

Vivianne placed the cookies and card on the table, then spread wide the shawl she had brought.

She was about to leave the study after covering him with it when it happened.

“…!”

Her heart seemed to drop when her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

“Vivi. Tell me honestly.”

His voice, so low it sent chills down her spine, penetrated her ears.

“Have you… seen me somewhere before?”