I quickly covered his mouth and clung to him.

“The truth is, I’m practically half-dead right now. Can’t you make an exception? I promise to be quiet and behave. Please.”

“What are you talking about? A corpse and a half-dead person are entirely different.”

I took an ornament from my dress and slipped it into his pocket. Living with Seren for a long time made me good at things like this.

“Let’s be reasonable. One extra person won’t make much of a difference, right? Please?”

The ferryman opened his pocket and examined the ornament.

Seeing the expensive jewel, he began to hesitate.

“Haa, technically, it’s not allowed.”

It was too much money to refuse.

While he hesitated, the man who had boarded first quickly pulled me onto the boat by my collar. The ferryman, seeing this, reluctantly began to row.

“I guess it can’t be helped. Tell the King of the Underworld you swam across.”

“Don’t worry.”

Even though I’m surrounded by ghosts, I wasn’t scared. My heart was filled with anticipation of meeting Shahar soon. I felt that once I met him, everything would be resolved.

After crossing the river, the souls each took a sip of the river water.

Only then did I realize that this was the River of Forgetfulness I had heard about.

I pretended to drink the water but then spat it out discreetly.

Even after crossing the river, we had to walk a long way.

The Underworld had no sunrise or sunset, so it was hard to tell how much time had passed.

I began to worry about whether Pinion was handling things well by now.

After walking for a while, staring at the ground, the scenery suddenly changed.

I found myself inside a massive castle.

In the vast and grand hall, only a few candles were lit. The other souls who had come with me were nowhere to be seen.

‘What’s this?’

Only after my eyes adjusted to the darkness did I realize there was someone else in the hall besides me.

At the highest spot, there was a large throne, and a man was sitting there.

Feeling intimidated, I couldn’t look at him directly and lowered my gaze.

For some reason, my scalp tingled, like the man was staring at me.

Then it occurred to me that he might know Shahar.

Summoning my courage, I finally lifted my head.

He was a stunningly handsome man who could blind you just by looking at him. But his beauty didn’t register because his presence was so overwhelming. The shadows cast by the darkness and candlelight made his features appear even more severe.

His indifferent eyes, resembling the night, were fixed on me.

To such a handsome man, I must have seemed like nothing more than a passing ant. Knowing this, my face still turned red.

Eventually, I looked away, mumbling.

‘No, I mustn’t.’

I had to speak to him somehow. I was certain he would know where Shahar was.

I decided to ask only what I needed to know and leave quickly.

Clasping my sweaty hands tightly, I spoke,

“Um… by any chance, is Sha—”

“How did a living person get here?”

The moment I heard that voice, I froze. Despite my shocked expression, he didn’t move an inch.

His demeanor was so cold that if it weren’t for the familiar voice, I would never have recognized him as Shahar.

“Only the dead can be judged for their sins. Go back.”

“Shahar?”

Then, a whip immediately flew from behind.

[How dare you utter such a noble name so carelessly!]

“Ouch!”

I was struck just once, but it hurt so much that it felt like my back was being torn apart.

Having been raised delicately like a precious gem, it was the first time I had ever been hit by someone. I was so stunned, hurt, and aggrieved that tears welled up in my eyes without me realizing it.

If this were above ground, I would have thrown a fit, but right now, I was the one in need.

I rubbed the sore spot and watched out, afraid of getting hit again.

‘My situation….’

Then I looked up at Shahar again. He looked extremely displeased.

“Sha—no, King of the Underworld. You have no idea how shocked I was when you suddenly disappeared… So I came to find you.”

Shahar descended from his chair without a word. As he approached me, my lips went dry, while my palms became sweaty.

Perhaps because I had just been whipped, I flinched involuntarily when he reached out towards me.

Fortunately, what I feared didn’t happen. Instead, as soon as his hand touched me, the pain vanished.

“Th-thank you.”

But I still couldn’t understand why he was being so cold.

“Um—”

“Go back. Our bond has already been severed. You are no longer my mate.”

“What? Just like that? Without saying anything to me—”

Before I could even finish my sentence, I found myself back at the entrance to the Underworld.

“What, what’s this?”

Realizing that Shahar had sent me back just like that, I felt a surge of defiance.

I started the long journey back to the river once more.

This time, the ferryman didn’t even look at me.

I managed to cross the river again only after paying twice as much bribe as before.

“Shahar!”

I called out to him without thinking, then remembered the whipping and quickly looked around in fear. Fortunately, no whip came flying.

Seeing me, Shahar sighed.

“Stop being a nuisance.”

This cycle of going to the castle and being sent back to the entrance of the Underworld repeated several times.

I ran out of money for the fare and was now really considering swimming across.

But swimming across a river so wide that the other side wasn’t visible was nearly impossible.

I turned around with slumped shoulders… but decided to give it a try anyway.

First, I removed the remaining ornaments and took off my shoes.

The souls glanced at me with vacant eyes as they boarded the boat.

I was trying to pull my arms out of my dress when suddenly, the ferryman threw down his oar and ran away. The souls who had been boarding the boat screamed and scattered in an instant.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I couldn’t miss this chance.

I hurriedly got on the boat without even thinking about adjusting my clothes.

Just as I grabbed the oar, someone gripped my arm forcefully.

It was Shahar.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to cross the river.”

“In that state?”

“Well, I was originally going to swim across, but suddenly there’s a boat and an oar.”

“Why the river?”

“To meet you.”

For the first time, an expression appeared on Shahar’s face. Though it was one of bewilderment rather than joy or welcome, it was better than his cold expression.

“I told you to go back.”

“And I said no.”

“I don’t understand why you’re being so stubborn. You don’t need to come here. Aren’t there already many who love you?”

Shahar was right. Gined, the Crown Prince, and Iscallion all loved me. All I had to do was change my mind by next year.

They were all handsome, so loving them wouldn’t be that hard. I didn’t even know why I was so fixated on him.

“You left without even saying goodbye.”

Tears I had been holding back suddenly poured out.

“You called me your mate, and after all the trouble I went through to get here, you didn’t even offer me a glass of water and just kicked me out… You’re the only one who treats me this poorly, Shahar. You lied about liking me, didn’t you? You just played with me, didn’t you?”

Shahar seemed flustered by my tears.

“Don’t cry.”

Telling a crying person not to cry only makes them want to cry more.

When I couldn’t stop crying, he took the oar from my hand.

Shahar sat me in the middle of the boat and began to row himself. The boat glided smoothly across the river.

I forgot my tears and smiled broadly.

I knew I was acting shamelessly, but it felt like we were on a boat ride together. I decided not to dwell on the fact that the river was the River of the Underworld.

“You row well. Have you taken anyone else across besides me?”

I picked a fight, still holding a grudge from earlier.

“I have not taken anyone else but you.”

His indifferent reply made my smile widen.

When Shahar took my hand and led me back to the castle, astonished eyes followed us.

Shahar dismissed everyone around us and asked,

“Why are you closing your eyes?”

“You’re too handsome. It’s overwhelming to look at you directly.”

This wasn’t flattery. It was a fact.

While Pinion, Gined, and Iscallion were all handsome, Shahar had a transcendent aura that made me feel small every time I met his gaze.

Above all, when I closed my eyes and listened to his voice, it felt like he was back to being the one I knew.

Not the great King of the Underworld, but my cute and lovable mate stone.

Suddenly, a cool hand touched my cheek. Then, I felt a damp sensation. I must have started crying again.

“Don’t cry. I was wrong. I apologize.”

I pretended to cover my face with my hands and smiled triumphantly.

“Then can I stay here?”

“That’s difficult. The Underworld is not a place where the living can stay at will.”

As expected from the Underworld’s stern judge, it was hard to sway him with just a few tears.

“It’s not just because of you, Shahar. I have my own reasons.”

I showed him the soul fragment of Iscallion.

“Leon’s body is still alive. If I find all the soul fragments and return, I can revive him, right? I can’t leave until I find them all.”

Shahar looked at me with an expression as if he was dealing with a stubborn child, then eventually sighed.