Chapter 4 

“I’m really fine, Ys.”

Leira smiled brightly, trying her best to show she truly meant it.
But Heraise’s determination only hardened.

“Please wait a little longer. I won’t leave you alone here.”

“Don’t do anything reckless. I really am okay.”

She worried he might try something dangerous.
They still had so much to say to each other, but the ship couldn’t wait. It left Citadel behind.

Soldiers… in the duchy too…

Her gaze slowly sank as she watched the departing ship.

They had exiled her here, and the empire undoubtedly assigned guards to watch the island.
And yet Lloyd still sent troops to monitor the Foresteia Duchy.

…As long as I stay here, everything will be fine.

Lloyd had answered her that way.
If she lived here “as though dead,” he would leave the Foresteia family alone—as long as they didn’t act.

So as long as she stayed quietly on this island, nothing would happen.

Leira stood at the shore until the ship completely disappeared toward the Balua Empire’s harbor.

Then she took a deep breath and slowly turned around.

“…I should organize the supplies.”

They had brought enormous amounts of goods on that large ship—there would be a lot to sort through.

Leira quickened her steps toward the inner island.

Even though the meeting was short, seeing people again after so long made the solitude afterward feel heavier… almost like she had been cut off from the world.
Well—she really had been.

She sat on a large rock near her home and quietly looked up at the sky.
The night sky wasn’t fully dark yet, but the moonlight shimmered gently.

The silence didn’t feel bad.
Thinking that, she stood and began her tasks.

She spent the entire day planting the fruit tree saplings and flower seeds brought by ship.

She touched each sapling once, the soil where she planted the seeds once, and again stroked the vegetable patch with her slender hands.

Wherever her fingertips brushed, a faint teal light glimmered.

The light soaked into the soil and flowed into the seeds—like watching summer fireflies.

Sprouts burst forth, flowers bloomed, and trees grew tall.

Things that could never happen in a single night… happened.

Leira watched this miracle calmly, a smile on her lips.

Then she returned to her house, filled her small tub with warm water, and slipped in.

“Ah… this feels so nice.”

Her fatigue melted away.

Spending the day moving her body, breathing in the smell of earth as much as she wanted, then returning home and sinking into warm water—
Even though this place was an exile, life felt almost like a dream.

It was the first time she’d lived without anyone interfering in her every action.

She could even walk around with her hair still wet after bathing—something she never could do in the palace.
Leira enjoyed these small freedoms of exile in her own way.

In light, comfortable clothes and towel-dried hair, she wandered around preparing a late dinner.

Living alone here, she had tried cooking for the first time.
And surprisingly… it was fun.

Flipping through a recipe book and trying new dishes was exciting.

Hmm…

Standing in the kitchen, she touched her chin, debating.
Maybe because she worked extra hard today, cooking felt too bothersome.

Let’s just eat something simple.

Since Foresteia delivered supplies every fifteen days, she never had to worry about starving.

And today they had brought a huge amount, so she had plenty of food.
She simply lacked the energy to cook after organizing supplies and planting everything.

So Leira made a simple soup for dinner.

“Maybe tomorrow I’ll plant the sumil.”

She whispered as she ate her soup.
She didn’t want to rely too heavily on supplies—if they stopped coming for any reason, she’d be in trouble.

So she planned ahead, and that was why she requested sumil seeds.

Sumil grew well in barren soil and had a fast harvest cycle.

At first, it was said that anyone could grow it—so people planted it everywhere.
It could be eaten as-is or baked into bread.

But in reality, sumil was extremely difficult to cultivate.
Most people gave up.

But Leira could grow anything.
So she asked for sumil seeds.

After sipping the hot soup and cleaning up roughly, Leira fell into bed like she was melting.

“I love being tired…”

She chuckled at her own contradictory words and soon drifted off.

***

Morning air, a warm cup of tea, and peaceful walking around the island…

The quiet solitude—free from anyone’s interference—was one of the things Leira loved most about living on Citadel.

And while she lived here, the island slowly changed into something different.

The massive trees—huge but lifeless, sucking up all nutrients—began turning vibrant green.

One area now had fruit trees, heavy with ripe fruits.
Another area bloomed into a colorful flower garden.

More birds came, resting in the now-green trees, bringing cheerful morning birdsong.

There were no proper benches, so Leira often sat on a large rock near her house—but she liked it better that way.

She would sit there frequently, enjoying tea with the scenery.

Anyone who saw her like this would never think she was a criminal in exile.

Neither Leira nor anyone from Foresteia considered her guilty anyway—it was a false accusation.

Today, I’ll pull the weeds… water the flowers…

Feeling the cool breeze, she closed her eyes, calmly planning her day.

Sniff, sniff—
She sensed something in the breeze. Was that… rain?

Her eyes opened.

The sky above her was unusually dark with storm clouds.

Citadel hardly ever got rain.

Is it going to rain?

She hurried into her house.

Just as she expected, rain began to fall.

Since rain was rare here, she thought, “Good.” The island needs water.

But only at first.

“It won’t stop…”

Standing near the window, Leira muttered as she looked up at the pitch-black sky.

The rain had started around noon—and it did not stop.

She wondered if Citadel always got this much rain.
At this rate, she’d have plenty of water for a long time.

But as the rain continued into the late afternoon, that thought vanished.

The wind grew strong—strong enough to yank out the fruit trees she’d planted.

Even though it was not yet night, the sky was as dark as midnight.

The vegetable garden and flower beds she had lovingly tended were washed away into mudslides.
Some fruit trees snapped.

The cliffs surrounded the island, leaving only one exit—but with endless rain pouring from above, water levels rose quickly.

“No…”

Shivering as her body chilled, Leira reached out desperately toward the flowers being carried off by the water.

Just then—
KWAANG!
A wave smashed into the cliff walls with a thunderous sound.

The ground trembled beneath her feet. Leira instinctively raised her head.

A monstrous wave surged over the cliffs and crashed toward Citadel Island.

Her face turned pale.

She knew instantly—if that wave hit her, it was over.

She squeezed her eyes shut.

And the wave struck.

Icy water engulfed her body in an instant.

And everything went black.

***

Leira floated in the sea, soaked and ice-cold, her lips blue.
She drifted amid the flowers she had grown.

Anyone who saw her would assume a corpse had washed ashore.

Even as the wind tossed them and their petals fell away, the flowers seemed determined to keep her alive—pushing her away from Citadel.

If she stayed in the ocean much longer, hypothermia would kill her.

Carried by the plants she had raised on the island, Leira drifted until she reached a nearby coastline.

The exhausted flowers pushed her onto the sandy shore… and finally fell apart.

Her body temperature had dropped severely; life flickered faintly within her.

As if trying to save her, the sun shone brightly on the beach.

A weak teal light seeped into Leira from the ground beneath her.

With time, she slowly opened her eyes.

***

Her eyelids lifted, and the bright sky blurred into view.

With a quiet groan, she raised a hand to shield her eyes.

Citadel had been swallowed by the waves.

I somehow survived…

Thinking that, she let out a helpless laugh, assuming she was still on Citadel’s shore.

Her body still had no strength. She remained lying on the sand, unable to move.

Footsteps approached.

She flinched slightly and lowered her hand.

“Hey, are you okay?”

A man in a hooded robe crouched beside her, his voice concerned.

Of course he was—finding a strange woman lying unconscious on the beach would alarm anyone.

“…”

Leira stared at him with wide, blank eyes, unable to speak.

She didn’t think she was lonely enough to hallucinate people…
But perhaps the isolation had affected her more than she realized.

Annoyed at her silence, the man sighed and pulled down his hood.

“What, did you lose your memory from shock? You didn’t wash up from the sea, did you?”

His hair was a deep ocean blue, like the deep sea, and his silver-gray eyes were sharply shaped.

Who… is he? A sea spirit?

Leira just stared dreamily.
There had never been other people on Citadel.

Seeing her blank stare and no response, the man frowned.

Behind him, another person—probably part of his group—peeked over curiously.

Then the man suddenly cupped Leira’s chin and leaned in quickly.

“You’re not a mermaid… Do I need to give you mouth-to-mouth?”