Chapter 05
“The… Mermaid’s Tear!”
The reason Duke Victuar was able to find me wasn’t only because he searched for the land where the divine voice was heard. In the end, the real reason I couldn’t escape his grasp was the Mermaid’s Tear.
“We need to check whether the Mermaid’s Tear, the heirloom, is still here!”
“You little brat, how do you even know that’s an heirloom? And what do you mean, ‘check’?”
“There’s a spy inside the Grand Duke’s residence.”
I knew exactly who the spy was—the one who had stolen the Elphiers family’s heirloom and handed it over to Duke Victuar.
“It’s not too late yet. So we have to check quickly.”
“A spy? There’s no way someone like that exists in the Grand Duke’s residence.”
“Do you really think so?”
I met his gaze head-on.
Seeing that his eyes didn’t waver, it was clear he truly trusted the people of his household. Unfortunately, there was something the Grand Duke had overlooked.
Duke Victuar was handsome enough to charm women easily, and he was the kind of man who could put on any mask and act however he needed to for his own benefit.
“The maid named Rainy is Duke Victuar’s spy.”
I folded my fingers one by one, counting the years.
“I’m four years old now, so… Rainy must have been here for about three years. When Duke Victuar was selecting a spy, he excluded maids who had worked here for a long time.”
Rainy was the person I had locked eyes with just before I died—when the Mermaid’s Tear was shattered.
“Albert. Check it.”
Albert immediately left the room.
I felt tense.
What if the information I remembered was wrong? But I was sure. Back then, I had clearly seen Rainy, a maid from the Grand Duke’s residence.
If nothing had changed, then I was right.
Gulp. I swallowed dryly again and again, staring fixedly at the door.
After a while, Albert returned to the office.
“Your Grace. The child is correct. I confirmed with the head maid—Rainy entered service three years ago.”
“Rainy is the spy. Duke Victuar tempted her to switch the Mermaid’s Tear with a fake.”
The Grand Duke’s eyebrows twitched.
“Switch it with a fake?”
Now he looked interested. Seeing my chance, I nodded vigorously.
“Yes.”
“You’re certain?”
I nodded hard again.
I had arrived here earlier than the time when Duke Victuar originally found me. That meant he hadn’t been able to take the heirloom yet.
The Grand Duke looked at me with sharp eyes, then brushed his hair back.
“Who else knows about this?”
“Only me.”
He tapped the armrest of his chair a few times, then stood up.
It looked like he was going to check immediately.
“Wait here quietly. Albert, keep a close eye on her.”
“Yes. Ariel doesn’t have anywhere else to go anyway.”
I neatly folded my hands and smiled up at the Grand Duke.
***
The Grand Duke ordered the head maid to search Rainy’s room.
Among her belongings, they found a pearl that looked exactly like the Mermaid’s Tear.
“I-I just wanted to show it to my lover! He said he’d return it after borrowing it for a bit—that’s why I did it!”
She clung desperately to them, saying she had been too scared to actually replace it and had only been hesitating. Her records showed frequent outings.
She claimed she went out to meet her lover, but she refused to reveal who he was.
Given the circumstances, everything was unfolding exactly as Ariel had said. That lover was most likely Duke Victuar.
Even if they forced her to talk, he would surely deny everything.
Rainy was dealt with quietly.
She disappeared without a trace, as if she had never existed.
The Grand Duke looked at Ariel, who had curled up on a chair and fallen asleep.
Many people knew that the Elphiers family was protected by the Sea God, but very few knew about the existence of the divine token that served as proof.
The fact that Ariel even knew about the spy made her existence suspicious. Still, it was hard to immediately believe a child’s claim that she was the Sea God’s daughter.
People with blue hair didn’t exist—but she could have dyed it.
The Grand Duke recalled Ariel’s face as she struggled desperately not to cry.
It bothered him.
If she was a child, she should have cried like one. Instead, she looked as though she believed she must not cry, forcing herself to endure.
Even his own son, Tirier, had cried constantly when he was young.
The more he thought about it, the stranger the child seemed.
“Albert. Why is that little one sleeping here?”
“It seems she took Your Grace’s words seriously and didn’t move at all.”
No way.
“Wait here quietly. Albert, keep a close eye on her.”
It had been something he said casually before leaving the office.
Yet even though the investigation took quite a long time, she had waited for him right here.
“She’s truly a strange child.”
Her blue hair was spread messily over the chair.
As he watched her hair ripple like waves and her small body curled up without moving, he bent down to look at her face.
Her pale cheeks were plump, and her tightly closed lips twitched slightly.
She looked so fragile that it made him wonder whether she could even survive in this place.
A faint breathing sound reached his ears—so quiet it would be easy to miss.
“Your Grace. What should we do?”
Albert asked carefully, worry filling his face.
“You’re not thinking of throwing out a sleeping child, are you…?”
“And just what kind of person do you all think I am?”
“Well… someone cold, heartless, and cruel enough to chase away such a small, cute, and lovable child…”
…Cruel? Heartless?
Just what kind of image did he have?
The Grand Duke stared at Ariel in silence for a long time.
***
“Huk!”
My eyes flew open.
Everything was dark. Before I could even panic properly, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Mmmph!”
It’s suffocating. I can’t breathe!
Am I dying? Am I going to die again? I don’t want to—dying is scary…!
The sensation of something pressing down on me filled me with terror.
Or maybe they had locked me away because I was useless.
Terrifying thoughts flooded my mind.
“I-I don’t want to die… please save me…!”
I stretched out my arms and legs, struggling to escape the darkness, but it was useless.
Whatever was trapping me didn’t budge no matter how much I struggled.
“P-please save me…! Ariel is useful! Please…!”
I’m scared. Please help me. Anyone, please.
Was I going to die again like this after finally being reborn?
No. I hate that!
This time, I wanted to live. I wanted to stop what happened before.
“…Or maybe not.”
Since I never fell into Duke Victuar’s hands this time, things were already different. Maybe disappearing now would actually be better for everyone.
Maybe stopping everything from happening would be better than taking revenge.
No one would grieve for me if I died. Only the people in the Grand Duke’s residence even knew I existed.
If I was useless anyway, maybe vanishing would help everyone.
My struggling slowly weakened.
But I still didn’t want to die.
“I’m scared…”
The horrible memories of my last moments crept back into my mind.
“Sniff… h-hic… I want to live.”
At that moment, the weight pressing down on me suddenly disappeared.
My vision brightened, and through my tear-blurred eyes, I saw blue eyes staring down at me.
A tall figure, broad shoulders, golden hair—it looked like he was glowing.
“…Good grief. No—wait. Are you crying?”
The Grand Duke looked flustered.
Seeing me sobbing pitifully, he panicked for a moment, then suddenly scooped me up.
“Waaah!”
The moment I felt his warmth, the tears I’d been holding back burst out.
“Crying for your life just because you were stuck under a blanket…”
…Huh?
Only then did I sniffle and look down.
On the floor lay a thick blanket.
“I thought… you locked me up because I wasn’t needed… that you were going to throw me away without anyone knowing… hic…”
“I’m not throwing you away, so stop crying.”
The Grand Duke held me tightly.
As he patted my back, relief washed over me, and I cried even harder.
