Hilane felt her body slowly sinking downward. She mustered her strength.
Stopping her movements, she carefully scanned her surroundings. She was underwater.
‘I lost consciousness in the duke’s arms… so why am I here?’
Hilane couldn’t understand why she was submerged. She started swimming upward.
But no matter how much she moved, she couldn’t reach the surface.
‘How deep am I? Was the sea of Oskwaltz always this deep?’
Bubble—
As time passed, bubbles escaped from her nose and mouth. She was running out of oxygen.
‘If I stay here any longer, I won’t be able to breathe. What should I do?’
At that moment, a deep ultrasonic sound echoed through the water.
A beluga whale was approaching Hilane.
As she lost more strength and began sinking, the beluga lifted her up.
Then, it carried her on its back and swiftly swam somewhere.
‘Is it taking me to shore?’
The beluga headed toward a swirling vortex and let out the same cry as before.
“!”
A bright light suddenly radiated from the necklace around her neck, forcing her to reflexively shut her eyes.
“My child.”
A woman’s unfamiliar voice echoed from somewhere.
‘Child…?’
At the same time, Hilane, struggling for air, clutched at her tightening throat.
“Oh dear. Even though I only brought your soul here, it seems this is your first time meeting me, so breathing underwater must be difficult.”
The moment the woman kissed Hilane’s forehead, she was suddenly able to breathe with ease.
Feeling much more comfortable, Hilane could finally see who was in front of her.
“You are…?”
Silver hair identical to her own, soft green eyes…
“Amphitrite?”
Though this was their first meeting, Hilane instinctively knew.
The woman before her was a nymph—Amphitrite.
“How lovely. Among all my children, you are the most beautiful. I was so happy when I created you.”
Amphitrite giggled and kissed Hilane’s cheeks.
“Feel free to call me as you wish. You are my child, after all.”
“Where… is this place?”
“This is your dream. I asked the beluga to bring you here. I hope you understand—I had no other choice. I cannot exist outside the sea.”
“Ah…”
“I wanted to talk to you at least once.”
Wearing a bittersweet expression, Amphitrite gently stroked Hilane’s hair.
“The first time I saw you… was that day. The day you tried to die. It still feels like just yesterday. I was watching over you, wondering what would happen.”
“……”
“Fortunately, you only dipped your feet in—you didn’t step all the way in.”
Amphitrite continued speaking.
“This time, you came with your partner. Well done.”
Like a mother praising her child, Amphitrite spoke kindly.
She didn’t resemble Empress Millet, yet she somehow felt like a mother.
“By ‘partner’… do you mean the Duke of Belzette?”
“Yes. The master of that beluga.”
Following Amphitrite’s pointing finger, Hilane saw the beluga nodding lightly.
‘Is it greeting me?’
Amphitrite patted the beluga as it approached, then furrowed her brow.
“My child, you seem troubled about your partner.”
“…How do you know that?”
“You and I are connected in consciousness. I can feel your thoughts.”
Amphitrite pulled Hilane into a tight embrace.
“Trust your partner. I’ve been watching over him long before you were bonded through the beluga.”
“?”
“He has lived in deep loneliness. You two are the only ones who can fill each other’s emptiness.”
Hilane thought of Aachen at Amphitrite’s words.
As she pictured him, a dull ache formed in her chest.
‘If he’s all I have, and I’m all he has… then we truly are each other’s only one.’
“Of course, under normal circumstances, you two could never have been together. Your partner is a sorcerer, after all.”
Even as she spoke, Amphitrite looked amazed.
“You two defied fate and met—a precious bond.”
At the weight of those words, Hilane clenched her hands tightly.
“It’s time for you to go back. I wish we could stay together longer, but if you remain here too long, it will be dangerous for you.”
Amphitrite bestowed a blessing upon Hilane as she whispered:
“You’ve worked hard living as ‘Hilane’ all this time.”
“…Amphitrite…”
Hilane recalled the memories of imitating her aunt and living under a borrowed name.
Just as Amphitrite said, ‘Hilane’ was never truly hers.
“From now on, live as ‘Esh’ with your partner. With him, you can be completely yourself.”
“Esh… that name…”
Hilane hesitated before speaking the name from her childhood.
“Yes. The gift I gave your mother.”
Amphitrite smiled warmly and placed her hands over Hilane’s eyes.
“My precious child. Let’s meet again someday.”
***
“……!”
With Amphitrite’s farewell, Hilane’s eyes flew open.
She tilted her head slightly and realized she was lying on a bed.
“Why is she not waking up? Could there be something truly wrong…?”
“P-Please calm yourself. Her Grace is simply resting.”
“She was perfectly fine, and then suddenly collapsed. It’s been an hour, and she still hasn’t woken up—how can I be calm?”
“That… is not my fault…”
“Do you wish to be hurled into the sea?”
Beside her, Aachen was shaking the long-bearded old man by the collar, interrogating him.
“…Duke. I-I’m fine.”
She didn’t feel any pain, but her voice was hoarse, barely audible.
“…Hil?”
At first, Aachen had been too busy arguing with the old man to notice, but now he caught on.
“Duke.”
Hilane chuckled softly, trying to calm Aachen down.
“Are you alright!”
“Your Grace, the Duchess! You’ve finally woken up! Thank goodness!”
Aachen quickly approached the bed, checking Hilane’s condition.
“Yes. I woke up.”
Aachen grasped her hand, repeating how relieved he was over and over.
“I’m so glad… I thought something had happened to you. No, when you collapsed on the cliff, I was truly terrified… Thank goodness.”
His face looked even paler than hers.
“I’m alright now. Maybe I just overexerted myself for a few days.”
Aachen let out a sigh of relief.
‘He must have been really worried.’
Hilane struggled to lift her hand and grasped Aachen’s arm.
“Duke, can you help me sit up?”
“Of course, Hil.”
Aachen adjusted the pillow against the headboard before carefully helping Hilane sit up.
“The Duke acting like this… This must be the end of Requier. Tsk, tsk. You live long enough, you see everything…”
Hilane stared at the old man, who clicked his tongue in shock.
‘Who is he?’
The old man cleared his throat and straightened his posture.
“It is an honor to meet you for the first time, Your Grace.”
“…?”
“I can’t even begin to describe how much His Grace the Duke pressured me to save you. I was peacefully napping at the Mage Tower when I was summoned here. My name is Got.”
As their gazes met, Got smiled kindly.
“Enough nonsense. Stop talking and get out.”
Aachen glared at Got and immediately ordered him to leave.
Got, looking dejected, turned back to Hilane and bowed politely.
“My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Got, the Tower Master of the West and a Grand Mage.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Got.”
As soon as Hilane responded, Got’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
“…Your Grace. Is there someone around you with a chronic illness?”
“A chronic illness? Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“Because… I just saw you, Your Highness, clutching onto someone’s coffin and weeping. I couldn’t see the face of the deceased, but…”
Hilane didn’t understand why Got was suddenly saying such things.
“This man has the ability to see the future. He must have caught a glimpse of your future.”
Aachen explained kindly, and Hilane nodded in understanding.
“Please don’t worry. It’s merely one of many possible futures. There’s no guarantee it will happen.”
“…I understand.”
The future Got described was far too heavy to take lightly, and Hilane’s expression darkened.
“Ah, right, Your Grace.”
Got suddenly ripped a scroll from his robe and shouted,
“Please tell His Grace to stop throwing people into the air!”
By the time Aachen turned to glare at him, Got had already disappeared.
“…Duke, do you… usually throw people?”
Seeing Hilane’s amused expression, Aachen broke into a cold sweat.
“T-That aside, Hil. Are you sure you don’t want to rest more?”
Trying to change the subject, Aachen’s awkward reaction made Hilane chuckle.
Ever since her conversation with Amphitrite, being with Aachen had felt much more comfortable.
‘She said I can be my true self when I’m with the Duke.’
She no longer had to fake her expressions.
She could still vividly remember the terrified look on his face when she collapsed.
“You’ve had a hard time because of me today.”
“No, Hil. Please don’t say that. I’m just grateful you’re safe. When we return to the castle, I’d like you to have a proper examination.”
Seeing Aachen shake his head so sincerely made Hilane feel even guiltier.
She wanted to do something for him in return.
“The villa, everything… I want to repay you somehow. Is there anything you need?”
“…Anything at all?”
Aachen’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Is there something he wants?’
Hilane tilted her head, wondering.
“If it’s something I can do.”
Aachen hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…My name.”
“?”
“Could you… call me Aachen from now on?”
***
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