“Willingly.”

Already, several people were dancing to the slow waltz tempo. I took Shailo’s hand and slipped in between them, and as soon as I did, it was as if the sea was parting.

‘Oh, did I get caught?’

Well, with twelve empresses already here, suddenly appearing as the thirteenth, it’s reasonable for them to doubt if I’m genuine.

With one hand on Shailo’s shoulder and the other facing him, I moved smoothly.

It had been a while since I enjoyed Shailo’s lead skills.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never taught dancing to Mermem.’

I should teach him when I go back.

Since he moves well, he might dance nicely too.

‘But why is teaching music and art considered such a great thing, bestowing so much meaning?’

I couldn’t fully understand all the affection Mermem had for me. It’s not like I’ve destroyed a country, adorned him with a crown made of gold, or given him a cloak made of doe leather.

I haven’t given Mermem anything material.

But he says he’s satisfied with intangible things.

Perhaps it’s because his soul is noble, but as someone who has never been noble all her life, I was full of doubts.

It’s strange that I mean so much to someone…

‘Then, will you betray me?’

I promised Enrique that I would give him everything, but I was betrayed.

It’s because there was something more important to Enrique than love.

‘Do you have something more important than me, Mermem?’

Right now, he probably doesn’t.

However, it’s uncertain what will happen in the future.

Unlike demons, which are not significantly different from yesterday, 10 years ago, or even 100 years later, humans change countless times within a single day.

While raising Mermem, my deeply wounded heart has somewhat healed.

Living as an empress and meeting genuinely kind humans made me stop hating the entire human race.

Therefore, I hesitated even more.

If I were betrayed once again, I couldn’t even predict how I would react.

“Think about something else.”

That was the moment.

With the violin making a sharp sound and stopping abruptly, Shailo tightly embraced my waist and pressed his body against mine without any gap.

“What were you thinking?”

The corners of his lips rose sweetly, but there was no hint of laughter in his eyes.

Shailo gently pressed his forehead against mine as if wanting to scrutinize me. Since there was no reason to avoid his gaze, I looked back at Shailo with a slightly raised eyebrow.

How many seconds passed like that?

Shailo let me go and let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Arti. I got jealous because you were thinking about someone else even when I was right in front of you.”

“What can I do, Shailo? You’re not mine; I’m yours.”
“That’s right. I suppose I wanted to be the prettiest among them.”

With such a strong desire for exclusivity.

I didn’t mind, although I clicked my tongue.

This is why appearance is important.

If a cute deer like Shailo is standing out, it looks cute in its own way.

I didn’t say I wasn’t thinking about anything else.

Instead, I brought up a topic that would keep Shailo’s attention.

“Do you have a plan on how to deal with the Sirens?”

“Of course. I’ll use wide-area attack magic.”

Eventually, we stood in front of a table full of desserts.

While Shailo scooped chocolate-covered strawberries onto a plate, he continued talking nonchalantly.

“I want to show you lightning magic. The sight of lightning striking down from the clouds is truly enchanting. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

He extended the plate of strawberries towards me with a playful twinkle in his eyes. Absently taking it, I recalled that I had seen lightning magic a very long time ago.

It must have been extremely powerful…

“Wait. Are you randomly striking lightning into the sea?”

“That’s right. If we can’t aim at each Siren individually, we can just fry them all at once.”

With such immense magical power, it’s a crude method but an effective tactic.

Since we couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of the Sirens in the sea, it was better to roast them all at once than to aim precisely.

Moreover, with lightning, we could penetrate attacks below the surface of the water. If there were any.

‘The problem is, do I have to go into that sea?!’

If I mistimed this, I could get seriously hurt.

Even though Mermem has a water elemental king, as known, water and lightning are terribly incompatible.

“I think it would be better to take a little more time and aim at them one by one rather than using wide-area magic. Soldiers submerged in water will die together.”

I opened my mouth calmly. Shailo, in response, tilted his head.

“Why go back when there’s a faster way?”

In a moment, I realized.

This one sentence marked the difference between Mermem and Shailo.

If it were Mermem, he would never have said that.

‘Maybe it’s also because of the difference between someone who has lived in low places and someone who has only lived in high places.’

Anyway, I had to stop Shailo here and now.

I could tolerate myself getting hurt, but I couldn’t afford anything that might endanger Mermem.

“We can’t allow casualties.”