Jilted Guilt: the Mermaid and the Hunter - Chapter 14
“Elaine, what an unexpected visit.”
“It has been a while indeed.”
The king drew back the banner to welcome her. He gestured towards an untouched goblet, offering her a drink, but the queen declined.
“The banquet for you is well underway. Are you curious about it?”
“No, it’s best to keep secrets as secrets.”
“Well, then, seems your mind is made up.”
As the queen calmly took her place beside the king, he downed his drink in a single gulp.
If Rosander Wayne frustrated people by his silence, Xenon I had a knack for angering them with his words. Today, however, she was in the unfortunate position of not being able to speak, so she decided to let it slide.
“Linton hasn’t been looking for you?”
“What about Linton?”
“Nothing. Perhaps I misheard.”
The king had not yet been made aware of the Viscount’s visit. The queen didn’t want to unnecessarily pique the king’s interest in the mermaid, wanting to keep it a secret until the banquet.
When she absentmindedly fiddled with the amulet around her neck, the king snapped his fingers in understanding.
“Didn’t I say I could always give you a new necklace?”
With a flick of his finger, the king summoned an attendant who stood nearby. They had already prepared the gift.
At the king’s signal, the attendant stopped in front of the queen, holding a jewelry box in each hand.
“Shall we open it?” the king urged.
Queen Elaine eagerly opened the jewelry box, which was decorated with worn gold. From the iridescently gleaming box, she pulled out the first thing she could find.
“It was found in the nets of a fishing boat,” the king said, “and they said it was overflowing with precious swords, gold coins of the ancient empire, and ah, the mermaid you took with you.”
“What?” The queen shot back, her voice sharp. She hadn’t expected him to know about the mermaid or Viscount Linton.
“Don’t look so serious now—it’ll crease your pretty face.”
The king clumsily wiped the queen’s face with his other hand. She reluctantly eased her stern expression, selecting a silver pendant from the box and handing it over to the king. If he began to suspect and question, there would be no end to it.
“…You can’t put it on by yourself?”
“Will you lend me a hand?”
He didn’t say yes right away, but the queen knew from his playful tone that there was no need to ask twice. She swept her loose hair over one shoulder, exposing her neck. The king kissed the exposed nape of her neck and took the pendant from the queen’s hand. After what had happened earlier, the king’s kiss was quite passionate.
She accepted it, knowing she couldn’t always act like royalty in front of the King of Tiernan. Somehow, she had become the man’s second wife and had to live on as Teirnan’s queen, no matter what.
* * *
“How is it? Is the lake comfortable, Lavinia”
The queen, sitting by the water’s edge, addressed the mermaid who had been admiring the moon. She froze in anger at the queen’s presence.
The Viscount had not been entirely wrong. The mermaid’s presence in the fish-filled lake made it unrecognizably beautiful. Her hair glistening brilliantly in the moonlight and the eyes resembling the rippling waves added an extra layer of mystery to the lake.
“I’ve heard stories from my daughter, so I feel like I’ve become accustomed to your presence. Though that might not be the case for you.”
Lavinia nodded slightly and dipped back into the water. The queen chuckled at the mermaid’s unwavering caution. Had she known that the mermaid could speak human language, she wouldn’t have been so intimidating from the start. With a fleeting sense of regret, the queen moved closer to Lavinia.
As she nearly approached the water’s edge, Lavinia recoiled.
“I don’t want you to kill yourself.”
“…What do you mean?”
Lavinia appeared more innocent than expected. Her young face, barely twenty, didn’t seem to hold any malice, so the queen comfortably settled by the waterside. The bluish-green hair definitely confirmed her lineage as Dianta’s child. Moreover, giving the princess her name – she recalled the recent events. How sweet the word “dream” sounded. The signs of new life on the wand must have come from touching the mermaid’s body. Had it not been for the princess’s words, she might have dismissed the evidence.
Repeating “Lavinia, Lavinia” to herself, the queen felt a surge of delight. What was thought to be a mere insignificant creature turned out to be Dianta’s offspring. The children of the sea goddess must be worth something. A drop of their blood is said to calm the seas in sorrow, their tears heal wounds, and their hair holds an unknown power. The power that could fulfill her wishes. Lavinia possessed that power.
“There are so many people who don’t know how to properly use you.”
Once the queen learned of Dianta, she couldn’t let go of Lavinia. Luck is only good for those who know how to use it, and the last thing she wanted to do was display her mermaid in public. In less than a week’s time, the country’s nobility would gather for the upcoming birthday celebration. It would be impossible to hide the mermaid at that time.
“I wonder what would happen if everyone knew what you were capable of.”
There are no eternal secrets in this world. If there are those who hide something, there will be those who seek to uncover it. If someone reports that the queen has been in and out of the royal library lately, the king will eventually learn the secret about the mermaid too.
“Do you also know that I can curse you?”
Lavinia’s voice was sharp as ice.
