What would happen if Nikolai knew about this situation?
Would Douglas strangle me?
He might do something even worse…
I shook my head, trying to dispel the ominous premonition.
It was futile.
Nikolai’s low, rumbling voice drowned out my thoughts.
“Who you meet, who you talk to, who you smile at—I must know it all.”
A shiver ran down my spine from the nape of my neck.
Nikolai’s breath tickled my ear.
Why was I so nervous when I hadn’t embarked on a secret moonlit journey with an outsider?
‘Nikolai and I aren’t really lovers, right? I’m not planning anything with Douglas, am I? So, what’s the big deal?’
If Nikolai met another woman, he wouldn’t feel a shred of guilt.
If he had genuinely considered me, he wouldn’t have come to talk to me with another woman.
A jet-black warhorse.
Short-haired, blond Huangbi, who clung closely to Nikolai’s front and back.
Every time I recalled that day, my chest fluttered.
Did Nikolai know about that loneliness of unrequited love?
‘Did I send a search party because I missed him? Even if it seemed sincere, I wondered if he really didn’t want to leave…’
Thinking of the man who was already pitifully beautiful, I tossed the hunting cap away.
I loosened my hair, which had been tied tightly enough to pull my scalp.
Cascading down to my waist, the crimson hair flowed like a waterfall.
‘Let’s wash and sleep. There’s no other way to stop thinking about Nikolai.’
It was somewhat tangled, but there was no foul smell.
Although I couldn’t bathe, I was fortunate to rinse my hair in the stream.
“Where’s the bathroom?”
I searched the narrow room.
With an awkward expression, Douglas replied, “In lodgings like this, there’s no separate bathroom.”
“So, you meant they provide a bathing tub?”
“Towels are here.”
Douglas picked up the towels that lay on the bed.
Seeing the large towel that could cover my body, my cheeks heated up again.
Douglas, who seemed to be examining my blushing complexion, chuckled as if finding it cute.
“Elizabeth, I’ll sleep in the carriage.”
“Don’t say such things.”
“After breathing the fresh air, I’m not tired at all.”
“Who would believe that?”
“It’s genuinely fine. Please rest comfortably.”
After reassuring me, Douglas tried to leave the room.
Instinctively, I grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“Elizabeth?”
Although I wanted to speak naturally, my voice cracked.
“Can’t you, just for tonight, sleep under the bed or something?”
The hand holding Douglas’s clothes trembled.
Whether he was a friend or a former fiancé, being alone with a man in the same room felt awkward.
But I couldn’t let Douglas be the only one to sleep rough.
It was not about etiquette; it was a matter of dignity.
“You’re continuously suffering because of me. You should sleep in a place with a roof.”
“It might make Elizabeth uncomfortable if I’m here.”
“It’s quite comfortable. Mr. Douglas is like family to me.”
Douglas made an awkward expression.
Did he catch onto my lie?
Or was it because of the mention of family?
“I’m scared. I’m afraid someone might come in.”
Hastily, I added, fearing Douglas might get off the carriage.
He paused for a moment.
“It should be fine if you lock it properly.”
“The door handle is too flimsy. With a bit of force, the lock will come off.”
It was just an excuse, but Douglas nodded reluctantly.
“Then, I’ll sleep under the bed. I’ll be outside while you bathe, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you for considering my request.”
I sighed.
Douglas’s gaze looking down at me became tender.
“Elizabeth. Are you worried about me?”
“Of course. I’m human too.”
“I’m scared.”
Douglas’s voice dropped low.
He opened his eyes wide and asked, “What are you scared of?”
“I’m afraid you’ll see me not as Elizabeth but as a man. But I’m scared I can’t be a man forever.”
Douglas’s gentle brown eyes were heavily distorted.
I didn’t want to be nervous, but I was.
I wanted to pretend I didn’t know what he was saying.
But…
Unconsciously, I became accustomed to the precarious warmth emanating from a man.
Not Douglas, but because of Nikolai.
[Knock, knock.]A knocking sound was heard.
It was rather fortunate.
“I think they brought bathwater.”
“I’ll go check.”
Douglas stepped forward, seemingly protecting me.
Being with him was both reassuring and confusing.
Like swallowing a time bomb that could explode at any moment, I felt uneasy.
I turned my gaze away.
The double bed placed there seemed to grip my heart.
‘What if I had to share a bed with Nikolai? Would it have been like this back then? Would I have been as uneasy as now? It’s too narrow to share with Nikolai. If we don’t stick together, we might roll off.’
While Douglas was told to sleep under the bed.
I contemplated sharing a bed with Nikolai.
When erasing embarrassing thoughts, Douglas opened the locked door.
“Thank you for your hard work. Please bring the bathtub this way.”
Before his polite voice finished.
A dull sound echoed.
“Oof.”
Letting out a short groan, Douglas staggered backward.
“!”
He covered his mouth with both hands.
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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