Breeding Season - Chapter 17
So that’s why you spared my life. Yasamin frowned and threw more firewood onto the campfire.
“Actually, I wasn’t planning on rushing things like this, but your father, as expected, rushed things and attacked before finishing the wedding.”
“Ah…”
She had no words to say about that.
In fact, what Yasamin had done could, in a way, be considered self-defense.
Ten knights who were pretending to be witnesses to the wedding suddenly attacked all at once, and she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing.
‘Besides, if it were him, he probably noticed the moment he stepped into the Great Temple.’
The uneasy air from that day.
“Anyway, if there are no more blue-eyed women…”
“…”
“It means the owner of the prophecy is you.”
At the absurdity of his words, she almost let out a laugh.
There are stories that sound plausible enough, and then there are stories that no matter how much you think about it, just aren’t true.
Her being Aquafuran was the latter.
“I don’t know about the south, but in Wilkeron, there are many women with blue eyes.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you can just drag every single one of them and make them touch the holy relics. Then you’ll know who’s the real one.”
“Holy relic?”
“The sapphire circlet of the goddess Aquafuran. If you’re the owner, you should be able to touch it. It’s a ridiculously stubborn item; if there’s even the slightest trace of water energy, it’ll repel them. Only the true owner can wear that circlet.”
He spoke as though the circlet, a headpiece, had a mind of its own.
“You thought it would be faster to bring the circlet to the palace instead of moving people to the south, didn’t you?”
“…!”
“If that were possible, I would have done it.”
“Does… does the circlet reject it?”
The question felt childish and laughable. It felt like she had entered a mythical and fairy-tale-like world. In this world, the impossible becomes possible, and what should be possible doesn’t happen.
The south was truly a place that defied all the common sense she knew.
“You’re quite perceptive. That’s right. The circlet didn’t move an inch from the spot where its owner dropped it. I had to coax it, but I managed to move it to the relic storage. But that’s as far as it goes.”
“…”
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“No, it’s not that. I… I believe you.”
He had no reason to lie.
‘Still… hearing such a story has made me feel better.’
Maybe he had deliberately guided the conversation in a playful tone. If that was the case, it was a kind gesture.
Before she knew it, her tears had vanished, and only exhaustion remained. Siren quietly watched the burning firewood and then gently spoke.
“What the Kalik tribe wants… is for you to rule this entire country, isn’t it?”
“Well, that’s about the gist of it. I’ll even pick up the crumbs that fall from there.”
From what she had heard so far, the south wasn’t the lawless wasteland she had imagined. It wasn’t a place without any order; rather, it seemed that they had built their own society.
“If the water goddess returns to the south, will the infection really disappear?”
“Well, who knows. That’s just an old myth.”
Yasamin let out a chuckle and flicked his hand. It seemed like he was signaling for her to come closer, so Siren slowly rose, struggling with her heavy body, and timidly approached.
“Stop thinking too much and just lie down.”
“Then… What kind of ritual are you performing?”
“Hm? Ah, did I not explain that part?”
Laying her down on his lap, he slowly began to stroke her head, as if petting a puppy. Knowing what those hands were capable of, she flinched, but she didn’t try to pull away or run.
She didn’t want to upset the mood of the seemingly content predator.
“To explain it simply, as the King of the Desert, I lead the rituals alongside the priests, honoring each god. We beg the gods for their mercy. Even though the gods have done nothing for the desert… apparently, it must be done.”
A sneer curled on his lips, as if he found it amusing.
A sharp thud.
The crackling of the fire mixed faintly with her breath. Aside from that, for a brief moment, no other sounds were heard.
After a while, he continued speaking slowly.
“Every four months, we take turns holding the rituals. This time, it will be Aquafuran’s turn. We’ll perform a prayer for rain.”
“To ask for rain… is it to make it rain?”
“Even then, the rain will never come.”
It was such a strange thing.
Why had the skies of the south run dry?
It would be great if there were some sort of spell to summon rain clouds.
“That… I’ve heard that the ruling class has monopolized a very limited water source. Even though it doesn’t rain… do they still have a water source?”
“Ah, there’s underground water. But generally, we desalinate seawater. The desalination machines are made by the Aquafuran clan and sold. They hold the monopoly on the technology, so if the machines break, only their engineers can repair them.”
“Do they… break often?”
“They say it’s because of the saltwater. They always creak.”
As she listened to his explanation, Siren thought to herself. That, too, would ultimately be the privilege of the wealthy.
To provide abundant water to more people, it would have to rain. For rain to fall, Aquafuran would need to return to the south…
