“Erich.”
Rayan widened his eyes and smiled, pulling him into a tight embrace. Instead of being shocked, Erich settled back into the familiar embrace.
“I was going to come and wait for you today.”
He took a step further than usual to do so. Rayan’s tone was sharp, but he couldn’t hide his excitement. Not a day went by that they didn’t miss each other. Always missed, always glad to see, and always affectionate.
“Are you well? Where are you unwell?”
“Am I the one who is unwell?”
With a peal of laughter, Erich asked about Rayan’s well-being. He boldly reciprocated, but there was really nothing to say.
“If you are going to say that, you shouldn’t have collapsed then.”
There’s no denying that the day he forced himself to climb up and miraculously found himself face to face with Erich, he was unconscious for a brief period of time in his arms.
But Rayan defended himself by saying that he had no choice. He had been in a coma for three years, and he came to see Erich as soon as he woke up, even when he was barely able to gather himself. It was a miracle that he made it through the depths to the surface unharmed. And he didn’t regret that choice in the slightest.
“I’m fine now.”
He wiped the tears from his eyes, not wanting to face them again.
“Only in the last few days?”
“Erich. What do you think my level of resilience is?”
“Don’t you think you know better?”
“…At the time, I really couldn’t help it. I don’t know about El, but I’m resilient.”
Now, he might not be able to compete with other mermaids, but he didn’t need to tell Erich that, and with a guardian stone, he was better than most humans.
Erich’s concerns were alleviated, and the man who held him said nothing as he grunted and flaunted his health. When he looked up in surprise, he found himself staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“Why?”
“…”
“El? …Erich?”
Erich blinked at the name. His unfocused eyes landed on Rayan.
“What were you thinking?”
“I suddenly remembered how your guardian looked at me like he was going to kill me when he chased you that day.”
Undoubtedly, Alle was the one who surreptitiously followed Rayan, who ventured outside with a body that barely moved properly. Rayan is oblivious to the events that transpired at that time. Alle was displeased, and Eric remained silent. That, too, needs to be unraveled, but it wasn’t an immediate concern
Rayan stared at Erich suspiciously. The emotion that flickered in his eyes was not at all what he had in mind.
“Just…”
Erich, unable to look away completely from Rayan’s suspicious stare, sighed and muttered. It was a whisper, fainter than a whispering breeze, but clearly audible to Rayan.
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.
“Pa’r pera… rbwfalwfr P kbcvfg lo P’w vgfjwlcu.”
Sglmt’r fsfr kfgf alcufv klat ecmbcmfjifv jczlfas. C yfijafv gfjilhjalbc oijrtfv atgbeut atf wlcv ilxf ilutaclcu.
Qtfc tf jkbxf jcv gfjilhfv atgff sfjgr tjv qjrrfv, tf kjr kbgglfv jybea Sglmt’r kjlalcu jcv wlrfgs. Dea bc atf batfg tjcv, tf tjvc’a cbalmfv atf ibcu ujq, jcv kjr rbbc lwwfgrfv lc atf pbs bo yflcu wlgjmeiberis jilnf jcv gfeclafv klat tlr ibnfg, rb tf mbeivc’a oeiis mbwqgftfcv Sglmt’r jczlfas ja tjnlcu ab fcvegf remt j ibcu qfglbv bo kjlalcu.
He had cried a little that day, and had not shown any emotion since, so ignorance was no excuse.
He knew the grief of those long days, how harsh the waiting can be… His heart throbbed. He bit the delicate flesh inside his mouth to keep from showing it.
When he finally managed to control himself, he reached out and cupped his cheek.
Erich bowed his head obediently.
Rayan’s lips touched his rather rough ones, then pulled away. It was strangely embarrassing, as if it were their first kiss, even though it wasn’t. Finally pushing the feeling away, he looked up at Erich coyly.
“Does this still feel like a dream?”
“…”
Erich didn’t answer. He didn’t seem to be able to keep the dumb look off his face.
Instead of waiting for an answer, Rayan let go of his cheek and climbed to the surface. Erich, who was in daze, blinked. He took in the sight of his nakedness, and quickly wrapped his cloak around him. Hot breeze lingered in the air, and it was as if he was afraid it might chafe his skin.
He pulled the cloak on as tightly as he could and stood up. It didn’t seem so long when Erich was wearing it, but when he wrapped it around himself, it fell off.
“…Is it okay to come out like this?”
“Why?”
Rayan, who had been fiddling with the cloak, looked at Erich, whose face was filled with concern, and answered,
“Because….”
“Because?”
“Because you collapsed from spending too long on the surface.”
He finished and grimaced as if it pained him to even mention it. He was worse than Alle, he thought. Putting Erich, who treated him like he was glass that could shatter at any moment, above Alle, who was more polarizing than anyone else about his health.
“It’s okay.”
It was only then that his life was slowly crumbling away. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t even close to what it could be now that the guardian stones existed.
“I’m staying with Erich tonight.”
Rayan reached out and intertwined his fingers with his. Erich flinched, but didn’t push away, leaning into him, feeling the warmth of his body.
He hoped it would ease Erich’s anxiety.
“Can’t I?”
He asked, looking up, and he shook his head, with a complicated expression on his face.
***
After three years of sleep, every memory was as fresh as yesterday, but so much had changed outside. It was unfamiliar, and yet so familiar. Perhaps because the places he had often walked with Erich had remained unchanged.
Erich tolerated their trip down the memory lane, sometimes smiling softly at Rayan’s words and occasionally agreeing with them.
However, the peace was only fleeting.. When the moon tilted about a hand’s breadth to the west, Erich subtly signaled to Rayan. Despite assurances that everything was fine, there was no doubt that some words had slipped out. Today won’t be the only opportunity, and it would be a good idea to return after the sun was hanging low. Besides, it’s late at night, and Erich needed to rest too. Rayan, grappling with regret, turned his steps toward the castle as Erich wished.
It was a place he had wandered through many times while waiting for Erich, so he held his hand as they walked. Soon the gates came into view. Their united hands grew stronger. It wasn’t Rayan, so there had to be someone else. He looked up and saw Erich staring down at him. His cheeks, to be exact.
“…”
An untangled hand hovered in the air, then touched Rayan’s cheek. His hand trembled slightly. A deep regret was etched on his face as he touched his now unmarked cheek. It didn’t take him long to realise what he was thinking about.
“Erich.”
He wanted to tell him that he remembered something other than the bullet that had grazed his cheek.
Things like when he sang to Erich to keep him awake at night, when he bailed him out of trouble in the tavern, or when he waited all night for him to wake up and made sure he had something to eat.
“Let’s go in.”
He called his name and locked eyes with him, even though he decided not to. His clenched hands intertwined more firmly, pulling Erich toward him. It wasn’t much of a pull, but Erich obeyed.
Rayan had only been in the castle for a day, and even then, he hadn’t had time to look around. His steps became more and more hesitant, and suddenly Erich was leading the way. Their firmly intertwined hands were still linked.
“But why is it so quiet?”
The castle was silent. The clock ticked. Even the sound of their steps against the marble floor returned as a clear echo. At first he wondered if it was late at night and everyone was asleep, but there was no sign of them.
“Where is Jürgen?”
In his ignorance of the outside world, Rayan knew quite a bit now. For instance, no matter how annoyed Erich was with being followed, there was no way he could have been left unattended.
Jürgen was Erich’s chamberlain, and he often told him that he was supposed to serve the king closely, but that he was at Rayan’s side at his command. It’s not so much that he was flattered, but that he wanted him to know that Erich was devoted to him.
“Hhm.”
Erich cleared his throat, his expression somewhat nonchalant.
“He will be here soon.”
Then he said something unintelligible. Rayan scratched his head, but quickly withdrew his question. The silence made him wonder, but it wasn’t a question that mattered.
Their steps soon reached the bedroom.
He opened the door to the bedroom, and through the small gap he could smell Erich’s scent. Somewhat cool, but warm. The room was dimly lit. It was smaller and more modest than Djerva’s bedroom, which had been opulent and majestic.
“…”
Something caught Rayan’s eye.
A tapestry hung on one wall. A sea of blue, with rocks in the middle, and a crystal ball rolling on top of the rocks. It seemed like a commonplace scene, but it was the first time they shared their name. Rayan stared at it for a while, then muttered.
“I lost this one…”
It wasn’t the only one. The entire collection was gradually lost. Or more accurately, the Mer had destroyed all traces of it since Rayan left.
Everything else was still there, but he was saddened by the loss of the crystal ball Erich made for him, which contained the world of daylight. He reached out absentmindedly and lost his balance as he approached, his attention focused on the crystal that hung on the wall, which was out of reach.
But before he could set right his swaying body, he was lifted up. A pair of legs flailed in the air. Rayan looked up at Erich, his mouth slightly open. He was cradled up in his arms.
“…”
He had only lost his balance for a moment. But the look on Erich’s face as he looked down made him wonder if he had broken both of his legs. The words to put him down lingered in his mouth, then he swallowed hard.
While Rayan searched for the right words, Erich strode. Reaching the front of the bed, he carefully lowered him down. A fluffy sensation enveloped his back.
“Rest.”
The words were spoken softly, but he could tell they were meant to be comforting. From the moment Rayan came to the land, he felt restless inside, so how can he not know?
“…”
He watched Erich stroke his hair as he sat on the bed, intent on watching him fall asleep, and quickly remembered his purpose. Why did he come up here and stay with him all night? Rayan rolled over and patted the spot next to him.
“Come on, El, lie down.”
The bewildered expression was rather short lived. Erich did exactly what was told. Rayan waited for him to lower himself, then sank into his arms. Erich hugged him back.
Thump.
He listened, and could hear their hearts beating in the space between them.
It was the embrace of a being he craved so fervently.
The one who remembered him, the one who stayed in the history of all his memories. His heart raced, and he burrowed himself deeper into his embrace. Erich was staring at him with eyes that never wavered in their sleep.
He needed to sleep. As expected, Rayan made eye contact with Erich, who had just woken up, and had something he wanted to say, such as ‘see, it’s not really a dream right?’
“El. Do you want me to read you a story?”
As he wondered how to put him to bed, he remembered what Marielle had said. When she goes to bed, she says her nanny reads her a story at her bedside. Though Erich had drawn the line at fairy tales being read to children, it seemed to be limited to young humans like Marielle.
“No.”
Erich’s response was more firm in revealing that he was not a child.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
He looked distressed for some reason. Rayan didn’t dare ask why, so he patted Erich’s chest and slowly unravelled the story of his time in Atisa.
It had been his daily routine since he woke up. As a result, his experience at Atisa was more like saying the same thing over and over again, but Erich didn’t showed any signs of getting tired of it. Instead, he answered, pointing out the differences. Rayan, quickly amused by the diligent listening, chimed in with his own gossip about Ayla and what other former guardians had said about him.
As the conversation continued, Rayan’s voice became increasingly slurred. He was trying to put Erich to bed, but it seemed he had fallen asleep first. Erich must have noticed the sleepiness in his voice, because he patted his back affectionately and whispered, “Good night. Sweet dreams.” Rayan burrowed into the embrace and closed his drifting eyes.
Their intertwined breaths ebbed and flowed in a stillness that mirrored the calm of the night.
Editor: Raven
Thanks for the update 🌹