The Little Merman Demands Legs from the Sea Witch - Chapter 14
Iko did want the scale, but she found Kashmir’s smug smile, as if he already knew everything, incredibly annoying. She snatched the scale from him and splashed water in his face as if she were watering a plant.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Kashmir sat up and shook his head vigorously. Water droplets cascaded down his face and neck, sliding over his firm chest.
“Have you finally decided to play with me?”
Kashmir asked with a wide grin, causing Iko to gasp in fear. That smile was a clear sign that his mischievous side was kicking in, and that was never a good thing.
Before he could do anything else, Iko tried to escape into the house, but Kashmir’s tail was faster.
“Ahhh!”
Iko screamed as a wave of water hit her. Kashmir seemed to take this as encouragement, diving back into the water and splashing her repeatedly with his tail.
“Stop! Stop it!”
Iko tried to shield herself with the watering can, but it was no use. In seconds, she was soaked from head to toe.
“I said, stop!”
Finally losing her temper, Iko threw the watering can at him. But Kashmir ducked under the water, and the can floated helplessly on the surface.
Kashmir peeked out from the water, laughing as bubbles rose around him, making Iko’s blood boil.
Slamming the door, Iko stormed back into the house. When noon came, she grudgingly brought out the sandwich with grilled bacon.
Honestly, she didn’t want to grill bacon for him. But grilling bacon and putting it in the sandwich was part of her plan for the day, and she couldn’t bring herself to break that routine.
“You’re supposed to grill it out here, not inside and then bring it out,” Kashmir complained, even though she had done exactly what he asked.
Iko shot him a cold glare and turned her back on him.
“Where are you going?”
Kashmir called after her, asking why she wasn’t going to eat with him. Iko glanced back at him over her shoulder, holding the sandwich.
“I’m going to eat alone.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want my precious time to be interrupted by you.”
“When have I ever interrupted you? Come on, eat with me. I’m bored.”
“Can’t eat by yourself like a proper adult?”
Iko retorted and walked back into the house without looking back. Finally able to eat alone for the first time in a while, Iko relished the peaceful moment she had missed.
After enjoying her solitude for a while, Iko mechanically prepared stew for dinner and brought it outside. As much as she didn’t want to see him, she couldn’t rest until her planned tasks were completed.
But Kashmir was nowhere to be seen.
“Prince!”
She called, thinking he might be in the water, but no face emerged from the surface.
“Kashmir!”
She called again, but still, there was no response. Just as she began to think he had finally left, she noticed small bubbles rising on the calm surface of the water.
It was clear Kashmir was underwater, pretending not to hear her.
Whether he was sulking or whatever else was going on, Iko didn’t care to find out. She had no intention of asking why or comforting him.
“I’ll leave this here. Eat it whenever you want,” she said, setting the dish on the beach and returning to the house.
Back inside, she slowly savored her stew, but for some reason, it wasn’t as enjoyable as her lunch had been.
Feeling uncomfortable, Iko peeked out the window. Kashmir was still nowhere to be seen, and the stew dish remained untouched where she had left it.
The dish sat there untouched for an hour, then two. Iko tried to brush it off, lying down in bed and pulling the covers over herself.
But her mind was restless, and she couldn’t sleep. Had he really just hidden himself out of a sulk? Or had he given up and returned to the palace?
Her thoughts chased each other in circles.
Finally, despite it being bedtime, Iko threw off the covers and got out of bed. There was no way she could sleep with this nagging at her.
‘I just need to see if he’s gone,’ she told herself, quietly opening the door and stepping outside.
On the beach, only the cold stew dish remained.
There was no sign of Kashmir anywhere.
“Kashmir!”
She called again, but there was still no response. Iko sat at the edge of the beach, watching for any bubbles to rise, but it was too dark to see clearly.
Had he really gone? As a last attempt, Iko lit a bonfire.
“If he shows up because of this, he really is a simpleton,” she muttered, sitting by the fire to wait.
After a long time, the crackling of the burning logs became a lullaby, and she drifted off to sleep.
When she suddenly woke up, Kashmir was there.
‘He really is simple.’
Iko thought to herself as she sat up. As she did, the blanket covering her slipped down to her legs. It was the blanket that had been on Dalibaya’s rocking chair.
“Why were you sleeping out here?” Kashmir asked, noticing her movement. Iko didn’t reply and simply pulled the blanket back over her shoulders.
“How did you get this?” she asked.
She hadn’t brought it out herself, which left Kashmir as the only possible culprit. But how had he managed it? Even with legs, he couldn’t walk, so how had he done it without them?
Iko soon figured out how. She noticed the trail on the beach where he had dragged himself to the house.
“You were shivering in your sleep, so I brought it out,” Kashmir said with a grumpy expression.
He tried to act indifferent, but Iko could sense his eyes flickering to her repeatedly.
