As soon as she recalled the dignified knight who had been by her side since before she came of age, Roxiana couldn’t hold back her tears.
“Robert!”
Overwhelmed by the sorrow of losing her family, she hadn’t even thought of the absence of others. She hadn’t even mourned the deaths of those who protected her and those loyal to the Franche royal family.
What a selfish princess she was.
How many people had died simply for being loyal? How many people had lost their families?
She remembered the faces of the employees and knights who smiled at her whenever they encountered Roxiana in the Ider Palace. Robert’s meaningless death and the sight of Marsha being dragged away suddenly clawed at Roxiana’s heart anew.
The water in the bathtub rippled with Roxiana’s sobs, but she cried for a long time without realizing it.
“Lady Roxiana. Are you alright?”
When Roxiana didn’t come out no matter how long she waited, a worried Petria knocked on the bathroom door. Roxiana, who had been crying with her face buried in her hands for a long time, hurriedly scooped up water to wash her face.
“I’m fine. I’ll be out soon.”
Roxiana sank deep into the bathtub, then got up and dried herself with a dry towel. She put on the new clothes Petria had prepared and came out of the bathroom. Petria was waiting with a comb in front of the dressing table.
“I’ll brush your hair, Lady Roxiana.”
“It’s alright. I can do it myself.”
Seeing Petria’s awkward expression, Roxiana added.
“Petria, I’m not a real princess. His Grace the Grand Duke just calls me that on his own, so you don’t have to treat me so well. I’ll tell His Grace that Petria is treating me very well.”
“But Lady Roxiana.”
“Every time Petria treats me well, I feel like I’m a princess again. That’s really hard to bear.”
Roxiana carefully took the comb from Petria’s hand.
“So Petria, you can treat me comfortably.”
Petria didn’t answer, seemingly perplexed, and Roxiana felt sorry for her.
She must have dreamed of serving noble people when she became a maid in the Grand Duke’s palace, but now she was in a position to take care of a mere slave, which must be bewildering. Yet she always treated her politely and kindly, which made Roxiana feel embarrassed.
Roxiana didn’t want to see her face reflected in the dressing table mirror, so she took the comb and headed to the window of the reception room. From the reception room window, she could see the garden of the Lily Palace.
The Lily Palace garden was beautifully decorated, befitting a palace that hosts distinguished guests. There was a fairly large pond, and in the center of the pond was an artificial island with a pergola big enough for two people. Thin lace curtains were draped around the edges of the white-roofed pergola.
A white-painted bridge connected the center of the pond to the land, and two children were on that bridge.
Roxiana stopped combing and stared at the children.
The children were hanging on the railing of the bridge, throwing stones into the pond and playing, and the moment she saw that, Roxiana was pulled into the past.
‘My nephews…’
Roxiana threw down the comb and turned around.
‘They’re my nephews.’
Roxiana ran out of the room and down the corridor, not hearing Petria calling her. Even though she hadn’t fully recovered yet, she somehow found the strength to run down the stairs and sprint towards the garden without stopping once.
She ran through the wide garden, between the long flower beds. As she got closer to the pond, the children’s figures became clearer.
“Lady Roxiana!”
Petria called out as she followed, but Roxiana didn’t hear. All of Roxiana’s attention was focused on the children on the bridge.
A boy teasing a girl who seemed to be his younger sister.
My young and lovely nephews.
“Prisin! Winiel!”
The two children turned to look at Roxiana, who had stopped in front of the bridge and called out. The moment she saw the children’s seemingly confused expressions, the harsh reality struck Roxiana.
The familiar scenery surrounding Roxiana scattered and disappeared, and a completely different sight from the Ider Palace was etched into her eyes.
They weren’t Prisin and Winiel. The children by the pond looked a little older than her nephews. They were taller and looked different.
Only then did Roxiana strongly feel the absence of her nephews.
‘Ah, my nephews are dead. They were killed by cruel blades and thrown into a well. They died without knowing anything and fell into that dark, damp place.’
The moment she realized the reality, Roxiana crumbled. Petria quickly ran over and supported Roxiana as she collapsed, unable to stand. The children who were on the bridge also ran over and grabbed Roxiana’s other arm.
Roxiana looked down at the children who were trying to support her.
Petria said,
“Lady Roxiana, are you alright? You shouldn’t run like this when you’re still unwell.”
The children were staring up at Roxiana. In their eyes, there was both concern for Roxiana and anxiety about being caught playing in such a place.
Looking at them closely and slowly, their appearance was so different from her nephews that she couldn’t understand how she had mistaken them. Her nephews’ skin was so pale it looked almost white, but these children had tanned skin from the sun.
“I’m sorry…”
Then, the boy said,
“We’re sorry for sneaking in here.”
Thinking she had misunderstood the reason for their staring, Roxiana quickly replied.
“It’s alright. You can play more.”
“Really? Dad said we shouldn’t come in here carelessly.”
“It’s okay. I’m staying here now.”
She wasn’t curious about who the children’s father was. Seeing the children grinning at each other when given permission, she felt her chest open up for the first time in a very long while.
After the children returned to the pond, Roxiana sat on a bench a little distance away. The stone bench was cold.
“Lady Roxiana. The wind is chilly. I think it would be better if you went inside.”
Petria said anxiously, but Roxiana replied with her gaze fixed on the children.
“Just a little longer. I’ll stay here just a little longer.”
“Then I’ll bring a blanket for you to wrap around yourself. We can’t have you catching a cold.”
Even after Petria left, Roxiana couldn’t take her eyes off the children. Watching the children throw stones into the pond, pick flowers, and bicker with each other, she thought of her nephews.
Sibling relationships at that age were mostly similar, playing well together and then suddenly fighting. In all those scenes, she could remember her nephews, and herself and her older brothers when she was young.
Petria wrapped the blanket she brought around Roxiana’s shoulders. Roxiana, pulling the edges of the blanket together, said to Petria,
“Petria, you sit comfortably too.”
Petria couldn’t even imagine sitting next to the princess, but fearing that Roxiana would be distressed if she refused, she obediently sat down next to her.
This was the first time Roxiana had moved on her own after living like a soulless doll for so long. Not knowing whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, Petria kept glancing at Roxiana.
Giloa, the elderly maid she had encountered last evening, had nodded repeatedly, saying that Roxiana had started eating.
“That’s fortunate, truly fortunate. As her health gradually recovers like that, she’ll start to notice other things too. At first, she’ll only see what she’s lost, but she’ll begin to show interest in other things as well.”
They said that although sorrow occupies everything now, as new things gradually push out the sad memories, the time spent dwelling on painful thoughts will decrease.
Hearing those words, Petria recalled the time when a man she once had unrequited feelings for ended up with her friend. Back then, Petria cried as if the sky had fallen, and her mind was so full of that man that she thought her heart might tear and she would die.
But as she ate with her family, took care of her annoying siblings, ran errands, and watched jesters while eating street food at festivals, there came a moment when she no longer even thought of that man.
‘The princess’s experience must be incomparably sadder than my heartbreak, but…’
Still, she hoped that Roxiana could gradually escape from her sorrow, just as she herself had done.
“I had nephews. They were a bit younger than those children.”
At that moment, Roxiana murmured in a thin voice. Petria was glad that Roxiana had first spoken about herself, so she quickly asked,
“Where are those nephews now…?”
Petria closed her mouth after saying that much. She remembered hearing what had happened to Roxiana’s family.
Roxiana neither cried nor laughed, nor did she answer. She just quietly watched the children.
Petria, berating herself for her foolishness, pondered how to recover from this ridiculous slip of the tongue.
Just then, the children who had been playing while glancing this way from the flower bed suddenly stood up and ran over. In the hand of the younger girl was a bouquet of wildflowers tied together with grass stems.
The girl, with her chubby cheeks flushed pink, held out the bouquet.
“Fairy lady.”
Roxiana’s eyes widened at the child’s words.
“It’s a gift.”
Her eyes, which had been wandering in a different time even while looking at the children before her, finally turned to the bouquet in front of her. Her emerald-like eyes, ringed with gold, rippled.
Roxiana raised both hands. Her thin fingers trembled slightly. Those hands hesitated for a moment before grasping the small, sparse, yet incredibly lovely gift before her.
Something warm flowed in through the broken flower stems.
Roxiana buried her face in the bouquet and silently shed tears.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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