Chapter 99
Ah, so that’s why Yasamin likes books.
The realization struck her suddenly.
She had been in his room once before.
The shelves had been filled with books, all worn with use.
Proof that he had read them over and over again.
Hadn’t he even set aside a separate collection of books he particularly liked? The rest had been stored in abundance in the Saam estate’s library.
“Read and learn. Books are the only way to understand the world you’ve never lived in.”
“Why should I?”
“Well, let’s see. I can’t love you as you are now. There’s nothing at the bottom of you. If there’s nothing to lick, what’s there to look into?”
“There has to be something to look into?”
“Yes. Emptiness is boring. Regret, anguish, pain—when those build up and then transcend, that’s the process. Even in despair, humans seek hope. I like that.”
Yasamin looked as though he didn’t fully understand.
But after a long pause, he murmured as he massaged the goddess’s foot.
“If I become human… will you love me then? Will I be enough on my own?”
“With a single human life? I don’t know. I can’t give you a definite answer. Maybe if you lived ten human lives.”
“Then, if I build that up… if just looking at me is interesting enough…”
The goddess was playful, and the beast was relentless.
Blind obsession. A gaze pleading endlessly for love. The void within.
Siren—or rather, Aquafuran—parted her lips.
“If I ever want to lick your wounds, then I’ll look only at you. Though that will never happen… Unless you ripen just for me. But can you endure that?”
Ah, did Yasamin understand what that meant?
At this moment, Siren understood what Aquafuran had been thinking. She knew—she couldn’t help but know.
A thousand years of waiting. That was…
It had all begun with this conversation.
And the story continued beyond this.
Siren took a step back and watched, only to find herself slowly sinking into it. In the end, she felt as if she were Aquafuran.
“Ah…”
She awoke without even realizing when she had.
Bathed in the morning sunlight, Siren silently shed tears.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t something worth crying over. And yet, her chest ached.
A lock on her memories had come undone.
And by noon that day, Siren realized something else.
Casting spells had become much easier.
As if a forgotten memory of the body had been restored, Raksha danced at her fingertips.
There was one more thing that had changed.
Something feels…
As she gazed into the mirror, Siren tilted her head.
It was an almost imperceptible difference.
Her face was the same. Her body had not changed.
And yet, she somehow felt like someone else.
The reflection in the mirror felt strangely unfamiliar, yet at the same time, it seemed like this was how it was always meant to be.
“This is me.”
Siren ran her fingers down the mirror, then straightened her back and lifted her chin.
It suited her much better than keeping her head down and curling in on herself. She liked this far more.
“Madam, madam! An invitation has arrived!”
Just then, Pamilla came bounding in excitedly.
The sender was the priest, Hies.
It was an unexpected invitation to tea.
‘I knew this would happen.’
The tea was to be held in Hies’s residence.
To the east of the royal capital stood a temple dedicated to the Sun God. The priest, Hies, resided in an adjoining chamber and was said to pray there frequently.
According to Eltan, the oracle had also been received during one such prayer session at the temple.
‘It’s all so predictable, I can’t even be bothered to yawn.’
The spacious bedroom had a central area that functioned as both a parlor and a reception space.
Before each seat, tea and refreshments had been arranged. Since it was a floor-seating setting, there were no chairs.
There were seven cushions in total.
Aside from the spots reserved for her and Larisa, the remaining five had already been taken by other guests.
“Welcome, Your Eminence.”
Seated at the head of the gathering as the host, Hies greeted her with a soft smile.
“I wished to have a private conversation with you, so I arranged this meeting. I also invited esteemed guests from Wilkeron to join us for a pleasant chat. I hope you don’t find it uncomfortable?”
“Thank you for the invitation. I should have called for you first.”
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