Jilted Guilt: the Mermaid and the Hunter - Chapter 2
“Making rather human-like sounds, aren’t you? Can you speak?”
Lavinia blanched and clamped her mouth shut, which only seemed to further provoke the queen’s mockery.
“You don’t even look human.”
She jabbed the mermaid’s back once again. Lavinia felt as if she was going to choke on the pain.
The queen clicked her tongue, looking at the mermaid’s eyes like a mirror, and saw her own black veil reflected in those innocent, otherworldly eyes.
“Your hair is to my liking. I wish I could make it into a garment.”
Lavinia’s shoulders slumped as the queen used her scepter to scoop up the sky-blue hair floating on the surface of the water like seaweed.
The smile that peeked behind the queen’s veil was indelibly branded into the mermaid’s mind. A chill ran down her stiff, fear-stricken body.
“It seems like you do have some wits about you.”
“…….”
“You may just prove to be more enjoyable to train than a dog.”
Dog. The way she pronounced that word sent shivers down Lavinia’s spine. She could hear footsteps coming from a distance.
“Isn’t that right, Lord Wayne?”
The queen’s voice rose slightly, and Lavinia involuntarily followed her gaze to the man.
As soon as she realized she wasn’t alone with the queen, she felt a strange sense of relief. She knew it was someone who would do the queen’s bidding, but still.
The man standing in the corner didn’t even have the accoutrements of a royal guard, but he was respectable in the way he carried himself.
Lavinia alternated her gaze between the queen’s dark gown and the man’s attire which seemed to be marred by dirt.
“Your Majesty, the princess is looking for you.”
“And the nursemaid?”
Without saying a word, the man standing still seemed to be urging the queen to leave the audience chamber promptly.
Even though the knight did not respond, the queen found something so amusing that she burst into hollow laughter.
“Did the princess annoy you again today? If you’re not blaming her for sending the nursemaid away, then stop that look. Ross?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
It didn’t seem like the first time she was asking this question. Suddenly remembering the nursemaid’s absence, the queen decided to show some leniency towards the knight’s impudence.
He may have crossed some lines, but he was carrying a heavy burden of responsibility. This much could be forgiven.
Lavinia, relieved that the queen’s attention had shifted elsewhere, took a deep breath. For today, she learned that being in the queen’s disfavor meant experiencing a pain worse than death.
She had been in life-threatening situations several times before, but this was the first time she had felt such a harsh sense of terror.
“No, it’s not that. Your displeasure about having more work is written all over your face.”
“No, it’s not.”
“But even a single day of observation makes it clear that Eizentine would rather have you than a nursemaid. It would be a waste for you to live as just a hunter now, wouldn’t it?”
Ross. Ross Wayne. Hunter. And a knight. Lavinia quietly mulled over the words describing the man, and she was startled when the queen lifted her veil.
Despite the harshness of her voice, she appeared so young and beautiful.
“Is that so?”
Lavinia absentmindedly watched the flutter of the queen’s veil. The knight who maintained a defiant attitude in front of the queen, who could erupt in anger at any moment, was truly peculiar.
Is he receiving more of her favor than it seems?
“My daughter has a talent for swordsmanship, and where else would we find such a mentor as you?”
“You flatter me.”
Lavinia, upon seeing the queen’s kindly smile with her veil removed, glanced back at the scepter supporting her body.
“The nursemaid was truly a wonderful person, you know. You won’t find another like her.”
The shadow that fell beneath his forehead made his face look tired, but it also gave his eyes the look of a predator on the hunt. His imposing figure, though somewhat subdued in the queen’s presence, was hard to conceal, given his tall stature.
“But a loose tongue always makes for unavoidable accidents. That’s why I like you, Rosander.”
Unlike the timid nursemaid, this knight knew how to keep secrets. The queen searched his green eyes as she recalled a prophecy that bordered on a curse. The knight, who once never showed his face beneath his helmet, now wore no armor. Yes, with those green eyes, the knight couldn’t kill her.
One side spins elaborate stories to elicit some kind of reaction, while the other blocks them like an impenetrable wall.
Lavinia, who had been tensely engrossed in this astonishing drama, started to feel bored. In a fleeting moment when Her gaze wandered through the air, catching the audacious knight’s, Ross’s eyes.
“What are you looking at, Rosander Wayne?
