Chapter 87
‘At this rate, I’ll end up wanting to kill her someday. That woman.’
She wasn’t unaware that this was madness. She knew—but she was closer to not caring.
So what?
There was one absolute law in the South.
All acts committed for survival were forgiven.
Hies loved Yasamin to stay alive. Love was the force that kept her breathing.
It didn’t matter if it was a one-sided love. In fact, she preferred it that way.
As long as the one she longed for remained just as he was.
‘But I can’t stand seeing him cherish someone else like this.’
How could she slowly strangle her to death?
‘The blue-eyed women from Wilkeron. I think I heard that some of them utterly despise Princess Siren. They even came all the way here to argue about it.’
What was it they had said? A secret? That they would expose a secret?
Hies had many ears.
Most things that happened within the royal court of the South reached her within a day.
“You there, summon someone for me.”
Holding the doll close to her chest, Hies regained her usual composure before she knew it.
“Yes, High Priestess!”
She had left the door open, drawing the curtains so she could summon her attendant priest without issue.
Hearing her voice, the attendant priest hurried inside and bowed low.
“You called for me?”
“Yes. The blue-eyed women from Wilkeron—gather the noblewomen among them. I wish to treat them to Southern tea.”
“Understood!”
No matter how much he protected her, he couldn’t possibly interfere in the affairs between women.
‘A little mischief like this should be fine, shouldn’t it?’
Hies gently stroked the doll with a soft smile.
The longing for something she could never have was driving her mad.
A little more—losing herself a little more wouldn’t be so bad.
The sunlight brushed softly against her cheek. Resting her head on a firm arm, Siren slowly blinked awake, realizing she was held in Yasamin’s embrace.
“Did you sleep well?”
A gentle voice echoed in her ears. He had been awake for quite some time, and yet he hadn’t let go of her. It was—how should she put it—a habit of his.
“I slept soundly.”
“You were tossing and turning all night.”
“I did fall asleep a bit late….”
She had been thinking about the future.
She couldn’t tell him that she had struggled to sleep because she was contemplating the day she would leave his side.
“You were lost in useless thoughts again, weren’t you?”
“Ow.”
“I wonder what’s inside this tiny head of yours. Sometimes I want to crack it open and see.”
Yasamin pinched her cheek before letting go.
Only the absolute strong could afford not to think. The weak had to constantly strive just to survive.
But Siren didn’t say that.
How could a predator understand the sentiments of a mere creature?
He would never empathize, not in his lifetime. Explaining it would be pointless.
“Look at that. You’re making that face again—lost in useless thoughts.”
“How do you know…?”
“Like I wouldn’t recognize what’s mine.”
Yasamin scoffed. The sight of his face in the morning was breathtaking enough to make Siren stare blankly.
‘So I’ve really kissed this man every day… and shared my body with him.’
It still didn’t feel real. Was this truly reality?
The lingering sting on her cheek from his pinch suggested that it was.
It still felt like a dream.
“What? Speak. What are you thinking about?”
“…It’s just, you’re handsome.”
“That’s a given.”
Yasamin arched his brow as he looked down at her.
“You were thinking about something else too. Spit it out. Don’t swallow it.”
“It’s nothing much….”
“If it’s nothing much, then you can say it.”
That… also made sense.
Siren found herself smiling without realizing it. She reached out and gently caressed his cheek.
“When I wake up, I still feel like I’m in Wilkeron. Being called a monster, being despised, in a land where not a single person loves me….”
“That place is gone. Why waste your thoughts on it?”
“I guess I haven’t completely escaped it. Maybe that’s why I can’t awaken Aquafuran’s power. I want to be useful.”
Even if it didn’t lead to a solution, talking about it felt good.
Being able to share even a fraction of her thoughts was a comfort.
In this vast world, where she was utterly alone, the only person she could lean on was paradoxically Yasamin—the very one who had taken her family.
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