Pr/Editor: Helen, Agneya
“… Rayan.”
Erhart gritted his teeth and swallowed back the name of the person who had disappeared.
“Jurgen!”
At the alarming sound, Jurgen, who had been waiting outside the reception room, came straight in. He glanced around and quickly realized why Erhart was looking for him.
“How on earth did this happen? Are the guards guarding outside blind?”
As Erhart glared at him harshly and asked why the one who should be in this room was missing, Jurgen bowed his head in embarrassment.
“He definitely never went out…”
“No need for excuses. Find him right away. If you don’t find Rayan, your life won’t be enough to hold you accountable.”
Erhart did not raise his voice, he was quite soft-spoken. However, if it were Jurgen, he would have been able to fully understand the anger that was contained within him. In fact, Jurgen left even faster than when he came in, rubbing his forearms where goosebumps had risen. Erhart, who was glaring at the spot where he stepped forward, immediately moved his magic.
He had no intention of sitting still and waiting for them to find Rayan, not knowing how long it would take. He didn’t believe it, or rather, he didn’t want to believe it. Instead, he felt numb. Erhart summoned his familiar. A golden butterfly flew through the air, flapping its wings lightly.
Erhart, who was about to instruct his familiar to find Rayan’s whereabouts as he had done before, listened to the faint sound of a stream of water. It came from the bathroom.
“Ah.”
Now that he thought about it, he was so panicked seeing no one on the bed that he didn’t even think about checking the bathroom. Erhart scattered the familiar away, telling it to go back. The familiar, who was dancing and fluttering in the air, lost its form and crumbled when he cut off its magic.
Erhart walked toward the bathroom, walking through the golden dust. The bathroom door was open. Drip, drip. The closer he got, the more clearly he could hear the sound of water drops falling.
“Rayan.”
Erhart pushed the door open, calling his name.
There was a lot he wanted to say. Rayan already washed everything before he fell asleep, so why did he go to the bathroom again? And if he really wanted to soak in the bathtub, he should have called an attendant outside and asked him to get the water. Why did he go through all the trouble himself?
“… Rayan?”
But Erhart fell silent.
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.
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“…”
No, can that be called legs…? A blue-green tail was visible. The limp tail was covered with shiny blue-green scales.
Erhart could not immediately accept this situation. This sight that filled his vision did not feel realistic at all.
Mermaid.
For some reason, a word that came up during the meeting earlier passed through his mind. This is also what he had read so much about in Arhen.
Mermaid. An ancient being. Ruler of the vast sea.
At the same time, a dull headache hit his head like a hammer. Erhart held his head and bent down on one knee, feeling the pain of being stabbed with an awl.
“Your Majesty. Are you there?”
“Don’t come in!”
Erhart finally came to his senses when he heard Jurgen’s voice calling out to him. If Jurgen came into the bathroom he would also see this scene. This appearance cannot be seen by anyone, he did not want it to be seen by anyone.
“Your Majesty? Are you alright?”
Jurgen astutely noticed that his voice was cracking as he swallowed his pain to answer him.
“No… And since Rayan has been found, there is no need to search for him.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. “I understand.”
“Step back. Do not come in unless I say so.”
As Erhart spoke firmly, Jurgen reluctantly withdrew. With the sound of the door closing, the other’s presence completely disappeared. Still unable to relax, Erhart set up a light barrier in the living room.
Only after he had relieved his pain, still with one knee on the ground, did he approach Rayan.
“Rayan… you?”
Even as Erhart approached, Rayan continued to lay there helplessly, motionless. Only when he came close did he see the dull, tired eyelids and pale skin. Irregular, weak breathing was heard.
His heart raced.
Whether Rayan was human or not didn’t matter right now. Erhart wrapped a large towel around Rayan’s body and lifted him up from the bathtub. He lifted his body, which seemed to be slipping, into his arms and carried him straight to the bed and laid him down.
The sheets that were pristine after drying under the sun were soaked with moisture that had not yet been wiped off and soon became damp.
As the water dried, the originally shiny scales quickly lost their shine. Soon, the beautiful turquoise caudal fin split in half and turned into a pair of human legs. It was a sight as unreal as the large-scale magic he often used. Although he could have been distracted by this, Erhart’s eyes were only focused on Rayan.
His complexion was pale, and his lips had lost their color. He didn’t look like someone who would fall asleep while taking a bath. When Erhart saw him earlier today, he didn’t look very good. The strength of his shove was also weaker than usual.
Regret suddenly bubbled up.
Rayan let out a faint sound of pain. Cold sweat quickly formed on his forehead. Erhart placed his hand on his forehead and swore softly.
“Damn it.”
The fever was rising.
“…Jurgen, Jurgen!”
Erhart lifted the barrier and simultaneously called Jurgen. Jurgen, who had been standing outside when told to step down, hurriedly came in at the urgent call.
“Right now, call the physician. Hurry!”
As soon as he finished shouting, he heard a running sound.
* * *
It was late at night. Even though he was on duty and tied to the imperial palace, it was time for a good night’s sleep. The physician, who must have been sleeping happily, was led by Jurgen’s hand with puffy, still half-asleep eyes. His attire was so sloppy that he would have been scolded, but Erhart had no time to worry about such things.
“Take a look.”
Erhart recklessly dragged the physician to sit next to Rayan.
“What’s the problem?”
The physician who was dragged out of his sleep felt like he was about to die. Even before examining the patient’s condition, the emperor was busy urging him harshly. If he didn’t give him an answer right now, the emperor would probably have his head cut off.
“He had a fever earlier, but now his body is cold again.”
“I will take a look at it, Your Majesty.”
The physician, who calmly advised the emperor who was anxious and didn’t know what to do, to wait a little longer, and regardless of his feelings, glanced at the unconscious person.
The physician thought, this man didn’t become the emperor’s paramour—if he could be called that—for nothing. His pale, bloodless face was frighteningly beautiful, to the point where he became conscious of even touching the flawless skin. But he was a patient, and behind him was the emperor, glaring at him with a terrifying expression.
He controlled his dithering mind and observed the man’s condition. He almost let out a sigh at the densely engraved marks, but managed to hold it back, checked his pulse and breathing, lightly touched his body, and then tilted his head.
“How is he? Is it a serious illness? He doesn’t even respond when I call him.”
“His energy is a little weak, but other than that, there is no real problem. If one doesn’t have a fever and the body temperature is low, it’s normal, Your Majesty.”
“He’s so thin that it looks like he’ll break if I hit him, but you’re saying his condition isn’t serious?”
“Um… yes. It’s probably because he’s exhausted, so he’ll regain consciousness soon after resting for a bit.”
Erhart could not believe the physician’s assurances.
In name, he belonged to the imperial palace. He may not be a quack, but Erhart found him very unreliable. For some reason, he felt like Rayan wouldn’t open his eyes like this. Moreover, Rayan…
“…”
He was not human. Maybe mermaids had a different body structure than humans, so they couldn’t pinpoint the actual problem.
“… Fine, you may leave.”
Instead of revealing the actual situation, Erhart sent out all the members, including Jurgen. Eventually, only the two of them remained in the bedroom. Erhart focused his gaze on the eyelids where bright blue veins had appeared.
“…If I’m not human.”
He remembered the voice and expression on Rayan’s face asking what it would be like if he were not human. At the time, Erhart thought he was just joking.
“Even if you’re not… It’s not bad.”
So what if he’s from a different race? It wasn’t anything that would be a problem. What happened in Arhen may really have been the mermaid’s doing, but it wasn’t Rayan’s doing anyway, and he himself had no intention of putting him under any burden by accusing him of guilt.
There was only one thing Erhart wanted.
“Wake up, Rayan.”
Open your eyes. Opening his eyes and looking at him with those sparkly green ones. Only then would this suffocating feeling he felt would be relieved a little bit.
Erhart held his hanging hand tightly.
When he grasped the hand, there was no surprised widening of the eyes followed by a warm smile nor the reassuring touch that used to be there.
And now his hand has just to turn transparent.
I wonder if it is that other merman’s work out there. I forgot his name lol The one who is responsible for all this drama here.
Thx for the ch ٩(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )و