Episode 108

Late at night, after Lothania had yawned her way back to her room, I wandered along the moonlit shore of Lake Beryl.

Though we didn’t hold hands, Aiden walked beside me, our shoulders aligned as we strolled together.

Stopping at a spot where the lake’s shimmering expanse came into full view, I gazed at its silver glow. It was breathtakingly beautiful—so much so it made me want to sigh.

“What in the world are we supposed to do?” I muttered, the sigh slipping into words. Aiden exhaled too, his breath visible in the cool night air.

He adjusted the shawl that had slipped from my shoulders, draping it back over me before extending his hand.
“The night breeze is cold.”

He was right. The deepening autumn night carried a sharp chill.

But I shook my head.

His hand would be warm, but the anguish he’d endure from holding mine would be far colder than the wind.

At my refusal, Aiden clenched his empty fist, his gaze turning toward the lake with a bitterness I shared.

We had tried everything to summon the lake spirit.

We’d shouted ourselves hoarse, threatened to drain the lake, even held a festival on its shores.

At one point, we had even submerged the marks of the oath in the lake, encased in a mesh net. I had been so nervous about dropping them that I could hardly breathe.

None of it worked, and the most promising clue we had was a local legend about a drowned noblewoman. Even the information Vitrain had painstakingly gathered from Lingrove was ultimately useless.

Staring blankly at the lake, I muttered, “It couldn’t be that it requires a sacrifice, could it?”

“If the drowned noblewoman was invited, that seems unlikely,” Aiden replied seriously, taking my half-hearted remark at face value.

He was right. As absurd as the idea of human sacrifice sounded, it was even less likely for a spirit to demand it.

Besides, the noblewoman wasn’t the only person to have drowned in this lake over the centuries.

And Barbados I had been invited while alive.

One had died, the other had lived.

One was a woman, the other a man.

One was middle-aged, the other a young boy barely past childhood.

What could possibly connect the noblewoman and Barbados I?

There had to be some reason they were the only two invited to the spirit’s festival. But what could it be?

Aiden, who had been silent for a while, tilted his head thoughtfully and said, “Could it have been something like… an entry fee?”

“An entry fee?” I asked, intrigued.

“Yes. It’s a festival for spirits and animals. If humans were to join, perhaps they had to pay some sort of price.”

It was a decidedly human perspective, but it was worth considering.

If the lake spirit required something in exchange for an invitation, what could Barbados I and the noblewoman have given?

It must have been something precious enough to move the spirit’s heart. But how could we possibly know what the spirit valued?

No, wait—how could we offer anything if we couldn’t even meet the spirit first?

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, an idea struck me like a spark bursting in the dark.

The noblewoman who threw herself into Lake Beryl…

Could the lake spirit have interpreted what she cast into the water as an offering to itself?

She was described as wealthy. Surely she would have been wearing at least some jewelry.

I removed the ring from my finger.

The large diamond caught the moonlight and glimmered brilliantly.

As the radiant gleam of the diamond caught my eye, I hurled it into the lake with all my might.

The diamond ring plopped into the water, ripples spreading as it sank. Moonlight settled onto the gentle waves, and the lake soon returned to stillness.

“Your Majesty?” Aiden tilted his head, calling out to me.

I must have seemed odd, tossing a perfectly good ring into the water without explanation.

I didn’t respond, keeping my eyes on the lake, hoping for a sign. But nothing happened—the lake swallowed the ring without a trace.

All I had done was lose a precious diamond.

“I thought it might work, but I guess not,” I murmured bitterly, turning away.

But Aiden was no longer beside me.

“Aiden?”

I spun around, searching the area, but there was no one—no Aiden, no sound, nothing.

The rustle of the wind, the chirping of insects, even the gentle lapping of the water had vanished.

It was as if my ears were submerged underwater, muffling the world around me.

Fear gripped me, and I stumbled back. Then, something rose from the moonlit surface of the lake.

A translucent, glowing figure—a young girl, her body shimmering with a bluish hue—walked lightly across the water toward me.

I stared, spellbound, at the girl who appeared to be Lothania’s age. Her mischievous smile and sparkling blue eyes were mesmerizing. She held out her hand, revealing the very ring I had thrown into the lake.

“Is this yours?” she asked playfully.

I nodded, trying to stay calm as I replied, “Yes, it’s mine. Would you like to have it?”

“Really?”

Her wide, curious eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Yes, it’s yours. But I have a favor to ask in return.”

“A favor? Hmph, I knew it! Humans are always so troublesome!”

The lake spirit’s face soured, and she stomped her foot.

A spray of icy water splashed over me, snapping me out of my daze.

As I gasped for air and tried to sit up, the first thing I saw was a pair of crimson eyes.

“Your Majesty!!”

“Aiden?”

“You’re awake! Are you all right?”

Aiden’s face was pale, his voice trembling. He looked as though he might cry.

The lake spirit was gone, and Aiden clutched me tightly, his voice quivering as he whispered, “I thought my heart had stopped.”

As I reached up to embrace him, I noticed how badly my hands were shaking. Though I was completely dry, I felt as though I had been plunged into freezing water.

It hadn’t been a hallucination. I really had met the lake spirit.

Realizing this, I knew there was no time to waste.

I patted Aiden’s back, calming him as best as I could. “Aiden, I’m fine.”

“You lost consciousness so suddenly. We need to summon the royal physician.”

“No, Aiden. I’m really fine. Let go of me for a moment, please.”

Reluctantly, Aiden set me down. His crimson eyes glistened with unshed tears.

Since Lothania’s awakening, we hadn’t been this close. It seemed even the power of the oath couldn’t reach him now.

As I stepped back, Aiden’s concern deepened. “Are you truly all right?”

“I’m fine, Aiden. Just now, I met the lake spirit.”

“The lake spirit?” he asked, blinking away his tears.

I reached out, brushing my hand against his cheek before turning to face the serene Lake Beryl. A smirk crept across my lips.

The spirit was as capricious as I’d expected.

After taking my diamond ring, she had simply vanished. Did she think I’d let her go so easily?

Removing another ring from my finger, I regretted not bringing a necklace. I pulled off my bracelets and earrings instead—pieces favored by the Empress of Belpator, each a masterpiece.

Even scouring the entire continent, you wouldn’t find jewelry as exquisite.

Clutching the jewels in my hand, I hurled them into the lake with all my strength.

“If I faint again, don’t worry too much, Aiden,” I said with a faint smile.

Aiden, still teary-eyed, looked ready to protest, but before he could, he disappeared once more.

Hearing the water ripple, I turned back to see the same blue girl smiling mischievously as she approached.

“Are these for me too?”

“If you grant my request, I’ll give you ten times as much.”

I dangled the bait.

The lake spirit’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the jewels in her hands. Pretending to hesitate, she finally asked, “What’s the favor?”

“Destroy the marks of the oath you gave to Barbados I.”

“The marks of the oath? What’s that?”

I couldn’t tell if she was feigning ignorance or truly had no idea. My frustration was mounting, but I spoke slowly and deliberately.

“The snake’s scale, the eagle’s feather, and the dog’s claw. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, those. The wolves left for the north because of them.”

The spirit pouted, her lips jutting out petulantly.

For a spirit, she was as capricious and unpredictable as a child.

“Can you destroy them? I want to free the snake, the eagle, and the dog from the oath.”

“They’re not a dog… well, I guess they are now? Ugh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t have agreed to help humans in the first place.”

The spirit splashed at the water, pretending to sulk. I worried she might disappear again, leaving me soaked and with nothing to show for it.

If I could, I’d scold her about answering questions properly. Moments like this made me appreciate just how polite and considerate Lothania was.

As I waited, trying to remain patient, the spirit held up the diamond ring and asked, “You’ll really give me ten more like this? Promise?”

“I’ll give them to you if you destroy the oath.”

The spirit’s discerning gaze lingered on the jewels, and then she broke into a radiant smile.