Kian’s eyes suddenly turned cold.

How sharp he was. Though Dante had merely mentioned her, Kian bristled like a beast whose territory had been invaded.

“I’m not asking anything strange. You remember what you asked me to look into, right?”

“Just tell me. Skip the introduction.”

He was urging Dante to continue despite being the one who created the tense atmosphere. Dante thought Kian was truly an unpredictable person.

“Don’t get upset when you hear this. First, I tracked down slave traders. Not because your woman looks like a slave, but because that seemed the most logical source given the circumstances.”

Dante recalled making the same argument when they first discussed the woman. Back then, Kian hadn’t reacted particularly, but now he seemed sensitive about even mentioning her. Better to be cautious.

Carefully watching Kian’s expression, Dante was relieved to see no special reaction.

“I thoroughly investigated every merchant ship from neighboring countries docking at Port Erich, but none had brought in slaves since last spring. I also asked around the slums and back alleys just in case. Found plenty of liars trying to make a quick profit, but triple-checking revealed they were all talking nonsense. Beyond that, I couldn’t find any connection.”

“That was fast.”

“Of course. This is my livelihood. Information lives and dies by accuracy and speed.”

Dante beamed proudly at the brief compliment.

“There were no missing person reports either. I checked the descriptions of women who escaped from convents and even reviewed wanted lists from neighboring countries just in case. She’s not an ordinary person—with such striking looks, something should have turned up. But it’s clean… suspiciously clean.”

“So you couldn’t find anything,” Kian said, raising his eyes sharply to meet Dante’s gaze.

“You really have a talent for dragging things out, don’t you?”

Clearly, he had intended to be sarcastic. Dante shook his head and sighed deeply.

“Is it a crime to give a thorough report? I believe reliable information requires detailed fact-checking.”

“Isn’t it basic reporting practice to lead with the conclusion?”

Though not wrong, they weren’t in the military reporting to a superior officer. Was such a rebuke necessary for being a bit long-winded? Dante suddenly felt newfound respect for the woman who managed to live with Kian’s temperament.

“Anyway, you’re impossible even when I’m helping you.”

“I’m paying you. Are you volunteering your services?”

“You really have a way of making everything sound unpleasant.”

“As your client, I think I’m entitled to point that out.”

“Yes, esteemed customer. Listen carefully. Since this lowly one is delivering a conclusion-last report, the part worth your money starts now.”

Why did I ever take this madman’s request? Dante grumbled to himself.

“While asking around, I heard about a very similar case.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s a rumor about someone who was found collapsed on the beach in exactly the same way as the woman you picked up, but it happened long ago.”

“What?”

“Now I’ve finally piqued your interest, haven’t I?”

As Kian’s eyes widened slightly, Dante confidently lifted the corner of his mouth.

“Well? Should we look into it further if you’re curious?”

* * *

“…Theo?”

Returning to the mansion, Vivianne unexpectedly encountered someone on the beach path.

I can’t let him see what Annabel gave me. Reflexively, she clutched the damp pouch tightly to her chest.

“Wh-what brings you here, Theo?”

“I couldn’t sleep… so I came out for a walk.”

“I see.”

“You must have felt stifled too. Did you dip your feet in the water?”

Vivianne nodded with wide eyes.

She had worried about him discovering the dagger, but fortunately, Theodore’s gaze was directed lower. Her skirt hem was completely soaked. She had tried to be careful, but meeting Annabel must have excited her too much.

“Oh, y-yes. I was just heading back.”

“Even if you feel confined, it’s dangerous to come out alone this late. Please don’t do this. If the master finds out…”

“I understand.”

Vivianne smiled brightly at him.

“It’s been a while. Are you doing well, Theo?”

“Yes. I’ve been busy with knight duties, but I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.”

“Is something happening with the knights?”

“Nothing special. The new recruits are all blockheads, so we’ve increased training intensity to discipline them.”

“Discipline?”

“Yes.”

“How do you discipline them?”

“Usually through repeated rewards and punishments. Pushing them to their limits, then easing up a bit. After several repetitions, they become obedient and quite useful.”

Vivianne felt a strange sense of déjà vu in Theodore’s words—the knights’ situation wasn’t much different from her own. So Kian really had been disciplining her all along. This realization, though not new, filled her with sadness.

The mansion appeared in the distance. Realizing she had little time left with Theo, she felt a sense of urgency.

“Um, Theo. I have something to ask.”

“Please go ahead.”

“Did Kian harm you in any way? He was so sensitive that day… I worried something might have happened to you.”

“Nothing happened.”

“I explained you were just a friend, but he said I shouldn’t be friends with males. Why is that? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Vivianne chattered on, seemingly relieved to finally express her thoughts.

“I think he was angry because he told me to wait in the room, but I went out on my own. I thought it would be fine since it was just for a moment… I’m sorry that my mistake caused trouble for you.”

Half her story was about Kian, and the other half was self-blame. Left alone, she would continue to blame herself, turning it over and over in her mind.

It seemed time to draw a clear line through the truth he had wanted to avoid.

“Am I really… blameless? You’re the innocent one, Vivianne.”

“What?”

“I never wanted to be just friends from the beginning.”

Was this an unexpected answer? Vivianne’s eyes widened in surprise.

Theodore unfolded the shawl he was holding and wrapped it around her frozen, stiff body. Her blue gaze trembled uncertainly.

“This is…”

“I saw you leaving by chance and followed you to return it.”

He tightened the shawl more firmly around her.

“As the master said, I too am male.”

Vivianne remained silent.

“See? Unnecessary honesty can sometimes destroy trust.”

Her trembling eyes couldn’t seem to find their bearing. She truly didn’t know. Or perhaps she didn’t want to know.

Theodore smiled sadly, “So if you’re hiding something, make absolutely sure the master doesn’t find out.”

Theodore was the first to break their entangled gaze.

“You’ll catch a cold. Please go in first.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll go now.”

Her apologetic voice was tinged with a sob. With a quick bow, Vivianne hurried away with small, rapid steps.

Theodore simply stared at her retreating figure.

He should have returned that shawl long ago. No, he shouldn’t have accepted it in the first place. What good were such thoughts now? It was maddening.

The day he was dismissed from guarding her, he went to the main building intending to return the shawl. He hadn’t planned to give it to her directly since she would be with her master. Instead, he wanted to find his mother and ask her to deliver it, but she wasn’t around.

SLAP!

When he entered the fourth-floor corridor wondering if she might be there, he heard the sound of something being struck.

Could she have been slapped? Because of what happened earlier? He had thought the master wasn’t the kind of trash who would hit a woman. Alarmed, Theodore quickly walked to the inner corridor, in front of Vivianne’s room.

“At this rate, when will we ever finish?”

What did I just hear? Theodore stopped dead in his tracks.

“I-I can’t live without Kian… Please, Kian… put it in. Please.”

A voice desperately pleading. He should have turned away then, but his feet seemed frozen to the spot. Perhaps he wanted to believe he had misheard something.

His tightly clenched fist trembled.

Soon after, the expl*cit sounds of a man and woman coupling began to leak through the door. The rustling of movement, afraid their sounds might escape. The wet slapping of flesh against flesh. The sounds of biting, sucking, and devouring skin.

Those sounds were so unbearable that he fled, forgetting all about the shawl.

Even after returning to his room, those sounds continued to ring in his ears for a long time.

Vivianne was the master’s woman. In a way, it wasn’t surprising that a mistress would have s*x with her master—it was expected. But still, was she always treated so roughly? While worried about her wellbeing, he also made somewhat presumptuous assumptions.

If it were me, no matter what wrong she had done, I wouldn’t push that fragile woman so far.

What would it be like if it were me? If I were the one embracing her…

“I’m male too,” he had said, and as soon as such filthy thoughts entered his mind, blood rushed to his groin. He hated the idea of pleasuring himself to those thoughts more than death. In the end, he couldn’t sleep at all that night.

With such thoughts, could he really claim to cherish her more than his master did? Friend? What a joke. He was just another male, no different. No—harboring such thoughts behind everyone’s back made him even more base than his master. When his thoughts reached this point, he wanted to die from self-loathing.

Then tonight, he saw Vivianne leaving the mansion alone and followed her with the shawl he had meant to return. From atop a rock, he watched her speaking with someone who quickly disappeared into the water.

The image overlapped with the memory of Vivianne swimming like a mermaid in the sea on the night of the full moon, raising ominous questions.

Vivianne, who are you really?

If you’re a mermaid… you absolutely must not become Kian’s woman. The Larson ducal family had been swallowed by none other than “the mermaid’s sea.”

He knew he should stop interfering, but her small retreating figure looked as fragile as a candle in the wind, and he simply couldn’t leave her alone.

Theodore began to follow Vivianne, keeping his distance behind her.

—

T/N: The revelation made me go, “OH SHEESH!” Things are getting interesting!