Chapter 6. The Empress’s Concubine Scandal: The Last Day

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and before we knew it, it was the last night.

The heated atmosphere on the ship had calmed down, and the deck, which had been filled with festive cheer, was quiet today. This was because all the merchants had withdrawn in the morning.

Most of the hired attendants were sent away, leaving only essential personnel, and after roughly selecting candidates I didn’t like and having them disembark, the cruise became incredibly sparse.

There were about a hundred concubine candidates remaining.

In fact, there were more soldiers than them.

“My lord, what are you doing? You’re not sleeping with your eyes open, are you?”

I, who had been leaning against the deck railing in a daze, barely regained my senses at Paivel’s call and raised my head.

“Have you gathered everyone in the banquet hall?”

“Yes. I’ve spiked the champagne with sleeping pills, so don’t drink it.”

If you hear a siren’s song, you’ll be enchanted. But there was no way to enchant someone who was asleep.

The soldiers had their ears firmly plugged with water-soaked cotton, and the knights were standing in their designated positions, waiting for the signal.

Mereum, standing at the bow, was using the power of the water spirit king to control his subordinate spirits like scouts, tracking the gradually approaching group of sirens.

‘I’ve only been here for a week, but why does it feel like I’ve been on this cruise for over a month?’

I sighed, pressing down on my throbbing chest.

Paivel, who had been watching me, casually opened his mouth.

“My lord. Did something happen with that desert guy?”

“…What do you mean, something happened.”

“Come on, it’s obvious something did. My lord, you’re weak to those who act cute, aren’t you? I’m sure Mereum must have acted all clingy, begging you not to abandon him.”

I wondered if that heat, that look in his eyes that seemed like it would devour me whole, bones and all, could really be called ‘acting cute’.

I had some doubts, but I didn’t have the energy to argue.

“If I had known I’d be eaten up after raising him like this, I wouldn’t have tried to keep him at a distance.”

“Oh?”

As I grumbled, Paivel’s eyes lit up.

“Have you decided to take the easy path? Has your inner turmoil ended?”

“He said if I want to kill him, I should try.”

“Wow, now that’s a statement I like.”

Paivel nodded in admiration. I pinched Paivel’s mouth for being cheeky.

“You, did you know it would turn out like this?”

“Zeugeutteukeugeuseuu.”

“What did you say?”

“How could I have known! Ouch, that hurts. You still have a strong grip, my lord.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

So Paivel already knew that Mereum would act like this.

I try to kill him, and he doesn’t easily die.

If I fail to kill him and grow old, then Mereum will hand over his life to me without resistance.

I didn’t know what to call this kind of love.

It seems to originate from attachment, but….

“He once said that for him, the world was filled with darkness, and he had to grope his way forward one step at a time, but after meeting you, my lord, that darkness was no longer frightening, but rather cozy.”

“Ah.”

I let out a short exclamation. Somehow, I felt touched.

Paivel grinned and added one more thing.

“No matter how much light you shine on it, darkness always lurks in the same place. To truly overcome the fear of darkness, one must become familiar with it.”

“It’s not bad that I’ve become such a pillar of support.”

“Yes. If you abandon him, he’ll crawl all the way to hell to follow you. He’s quite intense.”

His assessment of Mereum was quite harsh.

I silently raised an eyebrow.

But Paivel didn’t take back his words.

“You were the only one who didn’t know, my lord. Because he seems fine on the outside. But not in here.”

Paivel tapped his temple with his index finger.

“He’s Quan royalty. It’s not strange that he’s already mad, considering he should have gone mad long ago.”

“…Is Mereum that unhinged when I’m not looking?”

The Mereum I see is upright. He doesn’t swear, he’s always calm, his attitude is proper, and his demeanor is neat.

If anything, he gives off a strong impression of being a model student.

“He only shows you what you want to see, my lord.”

“Really…?”

“If you’re curious, try really sending him back to Quan. I guarantee he’ll start a war of conquest and invade within a year.”

I thought it was unlikely he’d go that far, but Paivel probably wasn’t making this up.

With my mind even more complicated, I took a shallow breath and listened to the sound of the sea.

Swoosh, swoosh.

A refreshing sound filled my auditory senses. It was a sound I could listen to endlessly.

“Then I’ll be in the banquet hall too. A masquerade ball, I can’t miss that.”

For the concubine candidates who remained until the end, a special party was held in the banquet hall today.

A place where everyone wears masks and dances sensually to a slow beat.

As they eat, drink, laugh, and chat at the party, they’ll eventually fall asleep. And they’ll greet the morning without knowing what happened.

They didn’t need to know about the threat of the sirens.

“By the way, how many concubines should we take in? There were about three humans with good stamina.”

“You can handle that. Give them rooms in the Empress’s Palace, but as far away from the knights as possible. Try to keep them from running into Mereum as much as possible.”

“I’ll do that.”

Since I said I’d choose concubines, I have to bring someone into the Empress’s Palace, no matter who it is.

That’s also part of the Empress’s authority, who would dare say anything?

Whether I actually like them or not, the truth doesn’t matter.

What’s important is showing my power.

‘By the way, Enrique hasn’t shown up even today.’

Back then, I didn’t know Enrique was this cowardly.

No, even if I had known, I would have found it cute.

I would have thought it was lovable, saying he looks like a baby lamb and acts like one too.

I would have told him it’s okay for him to be timid since I’m bold enough, it’s fine for him to be afraid as much as he wants since I’m fearless.

I would have held him in my arms, comforting and soothing him.

‘But now it’s just irritating.’

If he has something to say, he should come out and say it to my face.

As I was roughly tucking my hair behind my ear, I suddenly opened my mouth.

‘Wait a minute, isn’t there a masquerade ball going on in there?’

Maybe Enrique might be mixed in with the people in the banquet hall.

With that thought, I immediately stood up.

I thought I should go in, find him, and have a conversation even if I had to grab him by the collar.

“Did I come at just the right time?”

At that moment, glittering particles of light fell as if stardust was exploding in mid-air.

The light particles on my shoulders were the familiar color of the midday sea. Looking up, I saw Shailo coming down step by step against the night sky.

On his last step, he jumped down at once and stood in front of me.

He was holding the teddy bear he had won at the dart competition.

“Here’s a present for you.”

“Ah, come to think of it, we were supposed to have a date.”

“That’s cruel. You forgot, didn’t you?”

If Mereum’s intention in pressuring me was to make me forget about Shailo, he succeeded.

The memory of planning to have a date with Shailo on the last day had evaporated from my mind.

“I came back from scouting, but there’s no big movement yet.”

“That’s a relief.”

The teddy bear was soft.

Holding it made me feel unsure of what to do.

Why do humans hold things like this?

No, what’s the meaning of giving this?

Unable to understand, I stared intently at the teddy bear’s round eyes, and Shailo burst out laughing.

“Are you having a staring contest with the doll?”

“These eyes…”

I almost said ‘don’t blink’ without thinking.

Since boarding this ship, I’ve found it a bit difficult to distinguish between my true self and myself as the Empress.

‘I should get off soon, really.’

After clearing my throat, I put the teddy bear back in Shailo’s arms.

His silver hair and milky white face were clear even in the darkness. His pretty pink lips matched well with the cream-colored teddy bear.

“It’s better if you hold it.”

“I’m honored. Can I hug it while sleeping, pretending it’s you, Your Majesty?”

Is this what they call flirting as naturally as breathing?

As I was admiring how impressive it was, Shailo smiled, crinkling his eyes, and snapped his fingers.

“I heard there’s a masquerade ball going on. I’d like to dress you up.”

Sea-colored particles swirled around me, giving a cool sensation. Then in an instant, they created a voluminous dress and mask.

Finally, after creating blue shoes, Shailo knelt on one knee in front of me.

“Let me put them on for you.”

As I slipped my foot into the shoe, Shailo made a satisfied sound.

“As I thought, it suits you perfectly.”

“Does it?”

“Yes.”

Was it because of the lantern light? His face looked slightly flushed.

He seemed pleased to have wrapped me from head to toe in what he created.

‘Surprisingly, he seems to have a desire for control.’

This type was new to me, so it was intriguing.

‘Well, there’s no reason I can’t play along.’

I placed my hand on Shailo’s arm.

However, before entering the banquet hall, my gaze briefly turned to the bow of the ship.

It was too dark to see, but I could clearly feel Mereum’s presence.

The inside of the banquet hall was sparkling all over.

I had already warned Shailo not to touch the champagne.

Since Shailo would be a great help when the sirens appear, we couldn’t let him fall asleep.

While Shailo would deal with the sirens and protect the ship, I planned to enter the sea with Mereum to meet their leader.

“Would you grant me the honor of a dance?”