Welcome to the Demon’s Cabin - Chapter 54

‘Because it is this kind of place, I cannot speak to Mr. Idris.’

The depth is secondary, and there is no way to explain coming out after being for a long time in a place where one cannot breathe. What on earth would I say as I dive? That I can breathe in water? No, that actually, fundamentally, I have a body that does not even need to breathe?

[You think so too, Marina?]

Irene’s voice spread beneath the lake that was nothing but silence. Even though it was clearly underwater, it is a voice without even a slight difference from usual.

Around her lips, there was no air bubble of any kind.

[It is me. Irene. I came a bit early this time.]

Irene, who delivered words in the language of the siren which she was using after a truly long time, lightly caressed the wall.

She did not deliberately stretch her hand inside the space or anything of the sort. She merely looked at it from right in front of her nose.

That small, tool-like small urn brought about wretchedness whenever she saw it. A corpse that was dismembered so that it could not even be entirely found. The bone powder was also that small. It is truly an event she does not want to recall.

That she was asleep inside a lake that was at least similar to the sea was the sole consolation.

[Looking at it like this, it brings back old thoughts again. Because you have no legs, you were always inside the sea, and I always lived while moving back and forth between the sea and a small island. It is still vivid how you chided me asking why my swimming was so slow.]

Irene, who laughed small, began the main subject while her eyes shone.

[By the way, you see. What I saw today, I mean……!]

* * *

Irene, who was listing stories about the white owl at length for a long time, shook her head at a speed perfectly identical to usual.

[Mr. Idris is really good in every way, but that he is an Imperial person is the flaw. Sometimes words do not connect and the culture is too different. He does not seem to particularly like Orihen either. If he were at least a Barkan person like his name, would it have been a bit better? Because that is so, Barkan does not have a bad relationship with our Orihen.]

Irene’s fluttering hair brushed against the necklace that was hanging in a countless count upon the pillar.

[Still, it would have been of no use, right? I talked about it frequently. People of other countries can never understand us, Orihen. They can become either enemy or ally, but they truly cannot be together, that is how the law goes.]

A white finger taps the wall of the lake for no reason.

She had an illusion that the pearl necklace placed next to the red urn shone white for a moment.

[No matter how much one tries to adjust and exerts effort, it is too different. There is also the fact that a very old grudge is entangled, you see.]

That is right. Eventually, all things go that way.

[Thinking about it, you and I were like that too. Eventually, it is all something that cannot be helped, right?]

Hmm. One can never understand, nor truly be together, is it…… chewing over it now that it has come to this, it is a statement that makes a strange sentiment arise.

Irene’s eyeballs rolled slowly. The inside of the darkness was filled with only quiet and cold water just like earlier. It is a natural thing by now. Repeating that to herself, Irene smiled faintly.

[It is a relief that I did not become too sad today. It would be good if it were always like today, but it would be something that cannot happen, right? Then Marina, I will go now. See you again before long.]

Irene, who waved her hand lightly for her, stretched her hand straight upward without hesitation. She began to ascend while cutting through the water with her straightly extended hand.

‘The first meeting was truly the worst, but to think it would be missed this poignantly.’

After slaughtering the village people, Irene was in a state where she lost her mind due to shock. No matter how much it was said to be for her to survive, there was no way she could be composed. Her feet that were fleeing aimlessly like that finally reached right in front of the black sea.

And in that place, she met someone who was violently snatching another’s wrist.

[You! You! You know me!]

To that child who grasped herself with hands where scales and webs grew while shining bright red eyes, what did she answer? It seems she made a fuss because she was surprised, but she does not remember well.

But Marina’s appearance and voice alone were still distinct.

[My words! You know my words! You can hear them! Right?]

As she smiles brightly, her round eyes curve. The bizarre green scales attached thickly to one side of her face move together with her cheek when that child speaks.

[I remember you. I certainly saw you! The sister who disappeared! It is certain! Eventually, I found you!]

Since then, how many times did she do thoughts such as, ‘If I had not been dragged into the sea without knowing anything at that time, would something have changed?’

In fact, it was a natural thought. The life with Marina, who was crazy for blood and flesh. Because for Irene at that time, it was an event she could not bear.

Animals, magical beasts, and even humans. Marina attacked and devoured all of that at random. Among them, what Marina liked most was humans, and that was a large misfortune for Irene.

That merciless slaughter and feeding, she thinks that it would be a bit difficult even if she faces it again now. Still, if they were together, she would be happy though.

‘Because she died anyway, something like what if is meaningless, but.’

Irene, who was recollecting the past that had now become missed, rowed her arms powerfully as the surface of the water was seen.

As she poked her head above the surface of the water, a light and familiar sensation of air was felt. She closes her eyes and wipes the moisture full on her face a little, when suddenly, the sound of something breaking was heard.

As she turned her head swiftly toward the direction where the sound occurred, a small lamp was shattered to pieces and broken. Next to it, black shoes and the hem of pants were seen. As she raised her gaze slowly upward, Idris, who wore a black coat over his shirt, was making an expression of being struck with horror. He, who possessed a face she had never seen until now, looked down at her whose shoulders were exposed above the water.