Part 3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
As the early spring social season that stirred the entire empire settled. Djerba was quiet for a while, but by midsummer, the entire empire was buzzing with activity. It’s the return of the Emperor’s birthday, the biggest event of the year aside from the founding of Hesseles. By this time, all the nobles who had been away from their homes had traveled to the capital, bringing gifts from acquainted countries and principalities. Foreign dignitaries also arrived in Djerba one after another, adding to the liveliness.
This year, however, was different from the usual birthdays the emperor had celebrated since his accession to the throne.
First of all, the Emperor Erhart Hesseles announced that he would be traveling down to Arhen for ten days around his birthday. The nobles, who had heard the news from their estates, made arrangements to travel to Arhen instead of Djerba, and Arhen was bustling with people because it coincided with the summer festivities.
Servants prepared the castle for the guests, and Marielle also seemed busy in various ways, welcoming distinguished guests as the only princess. Needless to say, the Emperor was also busy, but if there was one person who seemed to be the most relaxed, it was Rayan.
But he was busy in his own way. He had a lot on his mind, That was, about what kind of gift to give Erich for his birthday.
“Hmm.”
Surprisingly, in all the years he had known him, he’d never celebrated Erich’s birthday. To a mermaid, the day they were born was not a very important concept. There was only one year that held special significance, the day they came of age. Other than that, birthdays were just that, the day they were born.
It wasn’t until this time last year that he realized that birthdays were more important to humans than he thought.
‘What is Rayan going to do for Brother’s birthday?’
Marielle, who had come to play and chatter as usual, asked in passing, had he prepared for Erich’s gift? Rayan hesitated, unable to answer right away. Marielle tilted her head and laughed, covering her mouth with her hand asking if he was keeping it a secret from her too. Then she added, her eyes sparkling, that she would look forward to her own birthday in winter. It was then that Rayan fully understood the importance of birthdays to humans.
After much deliberation, he gave Erich a bouquet of flowers from the garden and the scales from his fin. Erich was overjoyed, as if he had the world at his feet, but Rayan was left with a feeling of regret and vowed to do better next time.
The day had come around again, but he was still at a loss, for he could not fathom what it was that Erich lacked. The Emperor had everything he needed, and everything he didn’t need, in his hands.
“Is there anything you like?”
He asked the other day, casually.
“You.”
He gave him an unhelpful reply, then leaned in to kiss him pressing his weight onto him. In the end, Rayan was left to wallow in his misery, unable to get what he wanted. And so it went on, until today. As the day approached, he grew anxious. He wanted to give Erich something that would please him, something that would surprise him, without asking him. Something nice, not tacky.
“Hmm…”
[The land of Elev Sea will sink at this rate.]
Unable to ignore his repeated sighs, Alle couldn’t help but scold him. Rayan, lost in his own thoughts, was suddenly aware of his presence. He smiled wryly, and Alle’s eyes softened.
[There’s no point in raising you.]
The words sounded familiar now.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“I’m sorry.” Alle clicked his tongue at the less-than-sincere apology.
[Do you really have to give him a gift? Why? Why should you, Rayan?]
Ciif rffwfv ab mbwqijlc jybea fnfgsatlcu.
Pc ojma, tf tfiv delaf j ugevuf jujlcra atja tewjc. Lf rtbeiv yf ugjafoei pera ab tjnf Ejsjc ys tlr rlvf, jcv ab atlcx atja rbwfatlcu jr rlwqif jr j uloa kbeiv mjerf tlw rb wemt agbeyif.
Ejsjc kjr j rkffatfjga, yea tf mbeivc’a yf vfrmglyfv jr vfilmjaf, fnfc lc atf clmfra kjs. Ktfs tjv cfnfg rffc tlw jubclhf bnfg ktja ab ufa obg atfw yfobgf.
Of course, to put them on the same level, he loved him more than anything. To the point of throwing his life away as if it had no value. So much so that Alle couldn’t even begin to fathom it. There were times when he wondered if he would grow tired of him and return to Atisa, but he knew it was a futile hope. Rayan would not return.
“It’s hard. Too hard, Alle.”
[Why don’t you bring me some of your favorite gems, there’s plenty sunk down there?]
Without a trace of sincerity in his eyes, Rayan stared at his old guardian petulantly.
“El has too many of those… But Alle, weren’t you supposed to help me think this through?”
[Me?]
“Yes.”
[Who knows more about the humans, me or Rayan?]
“…Me.”
Rayan sulked and rubbed against Alle’s back. Alle sighed heavily. The water rippled as the killer whale breathed heavily.
[Why don’t you stop sulking and get out of here.].
“Huh?”
[It seems your human is here.]
Alle said, glancing at the bracelet on Rayan’s wrist. The blue gemstone was glowing. Erich had designed it for him. He hadn’t finished thinking about it, but Rayan smiled as brightly as he’d ever smiled and pushed through the water to the outside. Alle shifted into his human form and followed.
“Erich!”
Rayan called Erich’s name with a wide grin. He got down on one knee and rubbed Rayan’s cheek. His clothes were a little disheveled from his work.
“Your maid was practically in a panic, saying you need to start getting ready so you won’t be late.”
“Ah.”
Erich’s birthday was still a few days away, but there would be a banquet in the meantime. Rayan would have to attend, of course he knew, but preparations like this often slipped his mind.
“I don’t really care what you do, really.”
It would be better if he just didn’t show up at the banquet. There was a hint of sincerity in his joking addition as he kissed his cheek.
“You don’t want me to go?”
“That’s not it.”
Erich replied vaguely, smiling sheepishly. Rayan tilted his head in curiosity.
“I didn’t mean anything by it, forget it.”
Erich slid his lips from his cheek and captured his.
“It’s like I’m invisible.”
The hard edge and sarcasm in his voice made him aware of Alle’s presence and he pushed him away slightly. He pressed his lips to his wistfully, then quickly gave in to his wishes.
“You looked like a decoration, so I didn’t think I needed to pay attention.”
“Aha?”
“I thought you were busy since you became the head of the clan…”
Erich stopped talking and looked Alle up and down.
“I guess not.”
Seeing him come around so often, Alle laughed with a smirk at Erich’s sarcastic comment.
‘Ah, that’s his angry face’, thought Rayan, looking at both of them with a troubled expression.
Their relationship, which had once seemed passable, has now clearly deteriorated. Every time they met, they snarled and made snide remarks, and although Rayan’s attempts to mediate brought temporary peace, the hostility resumed whenever they met again.
“You should be more concerned about Rayan’s well-being than your useless meddling. What are these marks?”
“Ah, Alle. This is…”
“Isn’t that right, Rayan? Even though you heal quickly, what are all these?”
Rayan, who was letting the argument slide since it wasn’t going to last long anyway, couldn’t hide his embarrassment at Alle’s outburst. He waved his hands, trying to stop him, but it was too late to take back what had already been said. His earlobes burned with heat. While Rayan was speechless, Erich intertwined his fingers and kissed the back of Rayan’s hand.
“That’s the disappointing part. Rayan’s body erases traces too quickly.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t last more than two days at most, even with all the effort I put into it every night.”
With that, Erich leaned down and sucked the back of his hand. It left a blotchy mark. Rayan pushed it away. Seeing Rayan’s increasingly sharp gaze, Erich finally eased off and looked at Alle.
“That…”
Alle was no fool. On the contrary, he was very clever. It was clear from his immediate reaction that he had picked up on Erich’s insinuation. Rayan had not stepped in and mediated between them, but they became peaceful. He doesn’t know if he can call it peaceful, though, since one of them was clearly upset.
“Bye, Rayan. See you later.”
Alle seemed to have chosen to leave for now. Wiping his forehead out of habit, even in the midst of a crisis, he disappeared under the water. Only then did Rayan bring his elbow up to nudge Erich.
“I was wrong.”
Erich was quick to admit fault.
“Are you angry?”
He wasn’t angry, rather… if he had to define it as an emotion, he was humbled. Alle had been with him since the moment of his birth. He was more like family to him than even Mer. He could talk about how much he liked Erich, but discussing more intimate matters felt embarrassingly awkward.
“No, it’s not that.”
Instead of explaining these feelings, Rayan simplified it to a simple denial and climbed ashore. Erich naturally supported him and checked his expression once more.
“I’ll be nicer to your guardian in the future. Rayan. Okay?”
Then he clung to him, swaying gently. It was obvious he wouldn’t keep this promise when the time came. Rayan looked up at Erich with a skeptical look, then shook his head and muttered softly.
“My Erich. You were so kind and gentle when you were younger.”
“…”
Erich didn’t agree, and had Alle, who was already deep underwater, heard this, he would have been flabbergasted and insisted that Erich had never been kind or gentle. Rayan, sincerely believing what he said, linked his arm with Erich’s. His dilemma was still unresolved, but since Sophia was reportedly in a panic trying to find him, he had to hurry back.
Editor: Raven
