Regina knelt on one knee and met her eyes as she asked.

“What about your family?”

“My father, my husband, and my daughter… they’re all I have. My husband works in another region, and my father is here with me—so he’s safe. But my daughter… Marida… she went out to meet a friend, and… she never came back.”

“Oh no, that must be so worrying.”

Jennifer suddenly burst into loud sobs again. Regina patted her trembling shoulders as if to calm the waves.

“We’re preparing a lifeboat. We need a large vessel that won’t sway in the rough waves and that can safely rescue the missing. That’s why it’s taking so long.”

“You’re going to rescue my daughter, aren’t you?”

“As soon as it’s light out, we’ll start searching for the missing. If you want, you can come along. Let’s find Marida together.”

“Y-Yes… sniff Thank you. Thank you, my lady!”

Barbara, watching from behind, couldn’t hide the surprise in her eyes.

She and Regina had the same knowledge of the situation – yet a simple change in the way things were said had led to such a different outcome?

As the villagers rushed towards Regina as if they’d been waiting for her, Barbara felt a vague sense of hope.

Perhaps ruling a kingdom and being respected were two very different things.

‘It was a good thing she became my daughter-in-law.’

The day Grey had first brought Regina home suddenly came to mind.

“I am honoured to meet you, madam. I am Regina, eldest daughter of the Marquis of Odair.”

As the girl bowed and greeted her, Barbara had stared at her blankly, thinking, This girl, with my son?

Her manners were graceful to the point of suffocation.

Her face was pure and honest, without a trace of malice or shadow.

She was a young lady brought up with rare care and discipline.

And the way she occasionally looked at Grey – it was filled with such unfeigned affection that it couldn’t possibly be an act.

It was clear that she loved her son with all her heart.

After they had finished eating without saying a word, her son returned from taking Regina home. Barbara immediately grabbed him and ordered: “Set a date right away!”

Sure enough, it was the right decision to make things official.

Relieved, Barbara began to prepare to return to the mansion, but when it came time to leave, she hesitated.

“Are you sure it’s all right for me to leave you here alone?”

“Don’t worry, Mother. I slept in today, so I’m not tired at all.”

“If you collapse somewhere after saying that, just see what happens!”

Though her words were stern, concern flickered in Barbara’s eyes.

Her daughter-in-law’s sudden collapse – and the fact that she didn’t wake up for a whole year – had come as a shock to Barbara, too.

‘I should’ve done more for her.’

How lonely Regina must have been in that big house, when even her husband rarely came home?

Barbara had never resented her own cold personality as much as she did then.

“Go inside, mother.”

Regina smiled pale and waved. Only then did something resembling a smile appear on Barbara’s face.

“You are quite reliable. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Pardon? I didn’t catch that.”

“I didn’t say anything! See you tomorrow – if we do!”

Looking strangely flustered, Barbara hurried off.

But she left all the knights behind, including Kiers, to ensure Regina’s safety.

“You must be tired too. Are you sure you don’t need to go back and rest?”

“It’s no problem, my lady. It is our duty to protect the people of this land.”

The maids Regina had brought with her also stayed behind. Dain was one of them, of course.

Wherever she went, Dain’s constant watchful gaze followed her, and it began to feel like a burden.

But there was too much to do.

After calming the victims, treating the injured and setting up makeshift beds, it was well past 2 a.m. By then, her confident words to Barbara rang hollow – she was exhausted.

She wanted to get away from the noise and hustle and bustle, to get some fresh air.

“I’ll go outside for a moment.”

Taking advantage of Dain’s absence, Regina quietly informed the knights of her destination.

One of them volunteered to accompany her.

“I’ll escort you, my lady.”

“Thank you. What’s your name?”

“Fret, my lady.”

Regina readily accepted Sir Fret’s offer saying.

“It’s just up ahead, so there’s no need to come with me”

Who knows what might happen in such a short time – only God knows!

The sea had always been a strange, unfathomable place. It wasn’t the sky, and yet it stretched out in one seamless expanse, day or night. Only the silver dust of moonlight scattered across the waves marked where the dark ocean ended and the night sky began.

How small – how powerless – human beings were in the face of such vast, merciless nature.

‘Where could the missing be now?’

Although the worst of the season had passed, the night air was still bitterly cold. And if they were soaked to the skin… their body heat would evaporate even faster.

Even experienced fishermen, accustomed to the cold and diving deep beneath the waves, might not survive until morning.

“Please… let them find our daughter, Marida.”

The sound of the waves pounded in her ears, blending with Jennifer’s sobs until they became one.

Just as she let out a weary sigh, the knight walking behind her spoke softly.

“My lady.”

“Hm?”

“There’s someone over there.”

He was right.

Out in the sea, at a considerable distance, was the back of a woman, her body submerged, only her shoulders and head visible.

“She could be one of the missing. Should we call for her?”

“Let’s.”

With permission, Fret cleared his throat and called out.

“Hey! You there! What do you think you’re doing out there? It’s dangerous – get back inside!”

It wasn’t until he’d shouted several times that the woman finally turned around.

Skin as clear as rain-soaked petals, and white hair so drenched it was almost transparent.

Her beauty was delicate, yet there was something fierce about it that held the eye.

‘She somehow resembles Nadeira…’

It must be her imagination.

In any case, the girl seemed to be about the same age as Jennifer’s daughter.

Regina called out, just in case.

“Are you Marida?”

The woman tilted her head slightly, then looked straight at Regina.

As their eyes met – eyes like sparkling pearls – she smiled softly.

It was a smile like a cluster of tiny bubbles bursting all at once.

And there were sharp teeth gleaming in that smile.

Just as a shiver ran through Regina, the woman began to hum a tune – a melody so sweet it seemed to melt her ears.

Clatter.

Regina turned to see Sir Fret hastily unbuckling his sword belt and kicking off his boots.

Startled by his sudden attempt to charge into the sea, Regina cried out in alarm.

“Sir! What on earth are you doing?”

Without even glancing back at her, Fret shouted, his face blank and dazed.

“Just a moment! I’m going to save you!”

‘Save her?’

The woman lay on the dark, rolling waves like a soft blanket, humming a tune as she swam gracefully.

She looked more like a child playfully splashing in the water than someone in need of rescue.

“What are you doing, sir? Don’t tell me you’re actually going into the water like that?”

Although he had shed his sword belt, Fret was still in full armour.

And yet, step by step, he waded into the sea.

In a panic, Regina grabbed his arm to hold him back, but his strength overwhelmed her and she was dragged along.

“Please! If you go any farther, you’ll drown!”

The water was already up to her waist.

An unpredictable wave crashed into her chest, almost knocking her over.

Beyond the sound of splashing, the once gentle melody had become eerily cold.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

Fret continued deeper into the sea as if possessed.

She did her best, but with arms like twigs it was impossible to stop a boulder rolling downhill.

Before her eyes, Fret’s head slipped beneath the surface with a sudden plunge.

The sight of bubbles rising from the black water sent a shiver down her spine.

‘I can’t die here too!’

She turned to swim back – only to have something pull her ankle out from under her.

“…!!”

In an instant, Regina was pulled beneath the surface of the sea.

She flailed desperately, but having grown up in the wheat fields, she had never learned to swim.

Though not as heavy as armour, her voluminous dress had absorbed so much water that it weighed her down like iron.

As she struggled upwards, something cold and slippery wrapped itself around her lower body, pushing her towards the surface.

Cough, cough!

Regina barely managed to lift her head above the water, gasping desperately for air.

They say drowning people cling to even a straw – and in that moment of panic, she instinctively reached for anything she could grab.

But the sensation in her hand felt… strange.

‘Seaweed? …No, hair?!’

God!

She flung it away in a panic – only to see a head suddenly emerge from the dark water.

It was unmistakably the same woman she had seen gliding through the waves earlier.