Left alone, Rayan became depressed. He rubbed his covered and now invisible ankle in the silence. This, he thought, was the result of his assuming too much goodwill toward the humans; a mark of foolishness.
But at the time, it was understandable. The only human he knew was Erich. Erich was a human inside and out, he never lied to him once, and he never did any harm. So he thought all humans were like Erich.
‘Why are you here without a home? An orphan? Got nowhere to go?’
With his back to the sea, Rayan really didn’t know what to do.
His knowledge of the outside world was still shallow, and even that was all that was ineffective at the moment. Someone noticed him and offered him a favor. Rayan, who didn’t know what to do, accepted it without hesitation.
The trust that arose from his ignorance eventually had to be paid for with the brand on his ankles.
He didn’t remember very well what happened that day. He ate without question when he was offered something, and when he opened his eyes in pain, red marks were etched on his shackled ankles.
In the midst of his pain and haziness, the instinct to escape even without hesitation struck him in the face and so he ran away. He was shackled, but it came loose with a few hard kicks to his legs.
All he could remember clearly was the dumbfounded look on their face as they held their bleeding nose.
He found out later that it was a ploy to lure ignorant youth, kidnap them, and then sell them into slavery. And then he also found out that the traces left along with the pain on his ankle were those of slaves.
“I should have hit them harder…”
If he had known that the marks lasted this long, he would have hit the person harder to teach them a lesson. Or throw them to the sharks. No, that was a bit cruel, so maybe he should have dumped them in the sea. Anyway, he regretted letting them off the hook now. Though, not that he wanted to go back and untie the loose ends.
“…”
Rayan rubbed his ankle and stood up.
Erich had left, and insisted that they should never see each other again. He didn’t intend to listen to those words any time soon, but it wouldn’t do any good to stay here today though.
He also needed time to clear his mind. Enduring the unexpected coldness of Erich was quite difficult and burdensome. He would feel better if he went to the cave and reflected on his past with Erich, tracing his tracks.
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.
He opened the door that Erich had exited earlier. The red carpet stung his eyes. As he stumbled out, those who had been waiting for him to come out looked at him. Before leaving the room, he pushed down the deeply draped robe and retraced his steps under their gaze.
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“…”
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It was an unfamiliar face. Anyway, any face would be a face he would be seeing for the first time here. A person who seemed to be the same age as Erich looked over Rayan. It felt obstinate.
“Are you that bard?”
Rayan, who didn’t know what to do with that gaze suddenly became uncomfortable at the statement that was disguised as a question. Rayan turned his head unnecessarily, looking everywhere. He thought no one would recognise him because he wrapped his whole body all around so that his face would not be revealed after the incident in the past.
“Lord Canavan says that bards always wear dark robes.”
“Ah.”
He didn’t realize it was so specific. He thought it was just a matter of not showing his face, but he had been too simplistic. No wonder. When he stopped by the fruit shop in the square, they were kind to me. Sometimes they didn’t even take the gold coins. It was all goodwill for a reason.
“If one really listens to your song,”
The man hesitated for a moment.
“Will they be able to sleep well?”
This time, it was Rayan’s turn to hesitate. Even though he may have lost his source by losing his guardian stone, he still had his own innate power. Just as Asha could heal, Rayan could bring peace. And originally, mermaid songs had the power to mesmerize humans. Perhaps because of the mixture of all those things, there were people who listened to Rayan’s song and sought peace, even if he didn’t have to put magical energy into it. But he was reluctant to openly affirm it.
Taking his hesitation as a silent affirmation, the man’s complexion brightened.
“Could you stay here and help me?”
“…”
Erich had told him to leave. And wasn’t he the person with highest authority on the land? Rayan swallowed hard, and when the other realized the reason for Rayan’s hesitation, the man waved a hand, saying there was nothing to worry about.
“I am Karel Isaac. It’s going to be two days at most anyway, and I’ll take responsibility for anything that happens while you stay. I will explain it myself to His Majesty.”
“…”
“You may be offended, but if your song really works for insomnia, as Lord Canavan said… I want His Majesty to be at peace for the few days that he stays here.”
The last words were close to whispers, but Rayan heard them clearly. The mention of leaving after only a few days’ stay bothered him, but he put it aside. The other words were more important to Rayan right now.
From Karel’s words, it sounded like Erich couldn’t sleep well. Rayan thought of Erich. Earlier, he was vaguely happy to see him, so he was too busy looking at his grown self, so he had not taken a good look at him.
Perhaps because he had crossed the threshold of death, Rayan, who was unusually sensitive to Erich’s health, grew impatient.
“How about it? I will pay you for it generously.”
“Okay.”
It didn’t matter what the pay was. Anyway, human money didn’t mean much to him.
“…”
When Rayan readily accepted, Karel looked at him as if he was surprised by Rayan’s voice, and his smile on his lips was like a mockery on the other hand. Understanding human emotions was still difficult.
“This way. I will guide you where to stay.”
Before Rayan could fathom his expression, Karel turned away, and Rayan followed suit.
***
Rayan, who had been walking after Karel for a while as he stopped once in a while in confusion, arrived in front of the door not long after. As soon as he opened the door and entered, his eyes widened. It wasn’t as grand as Atisa’s palace, but it was spacious and cozy.
“You can sing out on the balcony. Then His Majesty will be able to hear it too.”
“…”
“And if you need anything, just shake the bell over there. Also, I’ll put up a guard out front for you, but this is just in case, so don’t worry too much about it.”
Karel, not paying attention to the stares, told him that if he needed anything uncomfortable or needed, he could just shake the bell, and he left right away. After he left, Rayan, who had been looking around, headed straight for the balcony. He could see the wide open sea at a glance. The moonlight shone on the ripples in the sea.
Always beautiful, always beloved.
However, Rayan raised his head instead of being sentimental in the sight of the sea he had turned his back against.
The view here was familiar. Because it was the sea where he stayed whenever he waited for Erich. That meant that Erich’s bedroom was also near here, and could possibly be above.
If he was listening, he wanted to talk to him.
Why he could not sleep. If there’s a reason for that.
Now that he was freed from everything that has been bothering him, why was he so tense when he should have been at peace. Could something be bothering him again?
“…”
Rayan closed his eyes and took a long breath. After breathing hard enough to make his chest swell, he slowly opened his mouth. The mermaid language broke into melodic fragments from between his lips. A clear, rich voice carried calmness through each note.
“ɮהזתעמ …הװשףד…”
Creak~ There was the sound of a window opening. ‘Haa,’ as well as the annoyed sigh.
He wondered if he was going to come down. Or maybe he would point it at him from upstairs, where he did earlier, in annoyance.
He was nervous inside, but Rayan didn’t stop singing. The windows upstairs did not close again until the emanating sound of singing had completely died away.
Rayan hoped that Erich’s night would be peaceful.
Thanks for the chapter 🌹
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)