Click—Vivianne returned to her room and locked the door immediately.

Though no one was watching, she felt too anxious to leave it unlocked. Her legs weakened as the tension drained from her body. Slumping against the door, she recalled Theodore’s words.

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

At first, she thought Theodore hadn’t wanted to be close with her, and that she had forced a friendship by persistently talking to him. She felt sorry and embarrassed for troubling him without noticing his discomfort.

“As the master said, I too am male.”

But his subsequent words were completely different from what she had imagined. Of course, she knew Theodore was biologically male, but in her classification system, Kian was a “male” while Theo was a “friend.” The distinction came down to “mating.”

Theo… likes me? Not as a friend but as a female?

So Theo… wants to mate with me?

Her face burned so hot she thought it might explode. Oh please! She hoped she had misunderstood. If it were true, it would eventually come to light. That would validate Kian’s somewhat blind suspicions, and since her heart belonged to Kian, it would be unfair to Theodore as well.

Unaware of his feelings, she had cheerfully fluttered around him—how much must he have wanted to mate with her? Why hadn’t she noticed? She felt like a fool.

She remained dumbfounded, truly unable to imagine it before now. She wanted to question him thoroughly about what he meant, whether it was true, and how it had happened, but his gaze had looked so lonely that she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Above all, she understood too well the feelings Theodore harbored—loving someone alone, yearning for them. That’s why she couldn’t carelessly speak and risk hurting those feelings.

Moreover, what did his last words mean? “If you’re hiding something, make sure the master doesn’t find out.”

He spoke like someone who knew she was hiding something.

Could he have seen her with Annabel?

“…Oh my goodness.”

The moment that thought occurred to her, Vivianne covered her mouth with both hands, feeling goosebumps rise all over her body. This must be the source of her inexplicable anxiety. She remained seated for a long while, her face blank with shock.

What troubled her most was his warning not to let Kian find out. Why would he say that? Was there some reason Kian shouldn’t know?

Her head felt ready to burst with tangled threads of thought. This wasn’t a problem she could solve immediately by thinking about it. She needed to focus on what she could do now.

“Right. Let’s change clothes first.”

Vivianne changed out of her ruined negligee and quickly washed herself. Then she took out the dagger and compass from the damp pouch Annabel had given her.

“I need to hide these first.”

Where would be best? After brief consideration, she hid them deep in the wardrobe containing her elaborate dresses. She rarely wore those dresses except for outings, making it a relatively safe place.

After hiding the dagger, she was about to put away the compass when a memory suddenly surfaced.

“…My treasure.”

She carefully held the compass in both hands and kissed it. If there was an object she felt inexplicably attached to, for Vivianne it was this compass.

The golden compass with a lid had a string attached so it could be worn around the neck. Vivianne carefully placed it around her own neck.

She had always carried it like a charm since learning it was something that showed humans their way. Having a path to follow meant having somewhere to go—for Vivianne, who had always been confined to the mermaid palace, it represented the possibility of one day freely going outside.

That’s why she loved this object. She always carried it when meeting Kian on the night of the full moon once a month. She had thought it was broken because it didn’t move, but whenever Kian approached, the needle would tremble delicately, which fascinated her.

Of course, it might have been her fingertips trembling, or perhaps the waves causing the movement. But she liked to believe the compass pointed toward her magnificent male, that he alone was her destination. Assigning such personal meaning made her heart flutter pleasantly.

Yes, there had been such times. Perhaps because her current reality was so different, those memories felt strangely distant now. This feeling intensified as she alternated between looking at the compass and the dagger she had received to stab him.

Just then, the compass needle began to quiver slightly, and familiar footsteps approached—thump, thump.

“…!”

Those were definitely Kian’s footsteps. The compass needle pointed precisely toward the corridor.

The footsteps drew steadily closer. With no time to marvel at the compass, Vivianne hurriedly hid it away.

This was trouble—Kian would expect her to be sleeping in his bedroom. Rushing to the door, she opened it to find Kian standing there, his face expressionless.

Was he angry because she had moved rooms on her own?

As their trembling gazes met, he pulled her into an embrace. Surprised by this unexpected action, Vivianne’s eyes widened slightly.

“I’m back, Vivi.”

* * *

“What is this?”

Kian had brought Vivianne to his bedroom. She had expected they would mate immediately, as usual. Instead, he presented her with something she never imagined.

The tiny creature in his large hands looked fragile and small.

“A puppy.”

“A puppy?”

She had never seen one before. This “puppy” was truly small and adorable. The furry creature looking at her with shining black eyes wore a cute ribbon around its neck.

“It has a ribbon too?”

“It’s a gift for you, Vivi.”

“For me?”

“Yes. Hold it.”

Vivianne carefully took the puppy. It looked just like a baby. When she hugged it to her chest, it seemed pleased and began nuzzling and licking her chin.

“That tickles.”

Whether from the tickling sensation or something else, her face bloomed into a smile. How could such a harmless, insignificant creature exist? Her heart melted.

“How is it?”

“It’s so cute. I want to hug it tight and cover it with kisses.”

I brought it because it reminded me of you. I wonder if she realizes that.

Seeing her genuine delight, Kian felt he had made the right decision in getting the puppy.

“So… we’ll live with the puppy?”

“Yes. Why don’t you name it?”

“Would you… name it for me?”

There she goes again, looking at me with those pleading eyes. It reminded him of when she asked him to choose a dress for her.

Was his nature fundamentally flawed? When he saw those eyes, rather than feeling pity, he wanted to tease her mercilessly.

“Vivi.”

“Yes?”

“I like ‘Vivi’ for the puppy’s name.”

“…But that’s the same as mine.”

“What’s the problem? It resembles you.”

“You’re teasing me.”

“Yes.”

When Kian readily admitted it, Vivianne’s face turned sulky.

“Then choose a name you like. Unless Vivi wants to raise Vivi.”

“I’ll call it Kian.”

“Go ahead.”

Realizing her attack had no effect, she sighed deeply with her small lips.

“Never mind. That would be too cruel to the puppy.”

“Why?”

“Because even a puppy would want its own name.”

As if a puppy could have such thoughts. Looking at her closely, she certainly had peculiar aspects.

“I’ll name it ‘An.’ The ‘an’ from Kian, the ‘an’ from Vivianne. The part where our names overlap.”

Ladies typically gave their pets grand, old-fashioned names like Elizabeth or Beatrice, but her naming style was certainly distinctive.

Whether the puppy was named Vivi, Kian, or An—whatever it might be—seeing her carefree self after so long put Kian in a good mood too.

* * *

“…And the trap?”

The voice echoing in the gloomy darkness was chilling.

Inside a cave densely overgrown with seaweed, the witch sat atop a tall altar. She gazed with expressionless eyes at the mermaid prostrating before her.

“I confirmed it.”

“How was the situation?”

“She seemed unstable, but showed no intention of giving up her resolve. I don’t think she’ll fulfill her role.”

“I see.”

The witch nodded, treating it as nothing significant. Then she continued fidgeting with the teardrop-shaped jewel in her hand.

“It’s so beautiful. Makes me want another one.”

The jewel contained the deep blue light reminiscent of the deep sea. Gleaming mysteriously, capturing a ray of sunlight, it became more coveted the longer one looked at it.

“Anyway, we must separate personal matters from duty. You’ll need to help again.”

“It would be my utmost honor.”

The mermaid bowed her head respectfully. The ribbon tied around her wrist rippled like a dance following the water’s movement.

“Then I wish you luck, Annabel.”

—

T/N: I have been tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly: bamboozled.