Chapter 54
“Elshunine!”
At the desperate shout echoing once again, Elshunine looked up from beneath the lake’s surface.
Through the rippling water, a face came into view—someone staring down at her with urgency written all over his expression.
The instant she realized their eyes had met—splash!—he dove into the lake.
‘Huh…?’
Gurgle.
Elshunine, startled, opened her mouth. Tiny bubbles scattered upward toward the surface. That slip left her short of breath, her lungs screaming for air.
‘Ugh. Times like this, I wish I were still in spirit form…’
She kicked furiously, trying to break out of the water.
But seeing her distorted face beneath the lake, the man swam toward her in haste, as if deciding something.
‘Eh?’
In a single motion, he wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her above the surface.
“Cough, cough!”
“…Are you all right?”
It was Killian. He swept her dripping hair back from her face as he asked.
His hand felt hot—perhaps only because her body had gone cold.
“Y-Yeah… Killian? What are you doing here?”
She said she was fine, but in truth she wasn’t.
If Killian hadn’t called her name just now, she might have ended up crying out Elraim’s instead—revealing her secret.
‘I almost let slip that I was looking for Elraim…’
Suppressing her panic, Elshunine forced an awkward smile.
Seeing her smile made Killian’s expression cloud.
“Is it because of your memory loss?”
“…Huh?”
Memory loss? Where did that come from?
She blinked at him in surprise, but Killian only bit his lip and gazed at her.
“You said yourself you can’t return to spirit form anymore. And yet you dared to dive into a lake? What were you thinking?”
“Ah…?”
Elshunine blinked slowly. What on earth was he talking about?
As she fumbled for words, he gave her the answer himself.
“When you’re in human form, you can’t swim.”
“….”
She stared blankly at him.
What nonsense. She was the Water Spirit! Even in human form—
Wait!
A flash of memory struck her.
“Waaah! No fair, Elshunine! I wanna play in the lake like you!”
It had been when Killian was a child, back when they lived together in the forest.
“Killian, I’m a water spirit, so it’s fine for me. But you’re human—you can’t.”
“But you can turn into a human too! I saw you swimming then!”
“N-no… Killian, you didn’t see me swimming. You saw me flailing when I fell in! I almost died that time.”
“…Really?”
“Yes, really! Even I, a water spirit, can’t swim when I’m human. So you must never jump into the lake, understand?”
“Okay!!”
That’s right. She had lied to him back then without batting an eye.
“Haha… Y-Yeah… I guess that’s true.”
“As I thought. Since your memories were erased, even things like this must’ve been forgotten. Elshunine, you almost drowned in this very lake once.”
Dripping wet, Killian looked at her with grave seriousness. Elshunine bit her lip and nodded, guilt prickling sharp in her chest.
“Pfft.”
“…?”
A laugh rang out from somewhere. Killian whipped his head around.
“Just now—did you hear a squirrel coughing?”
“A… squirrel?”
Had he been studying zoology behind her back? How could he tell it was a squirrel from just that noise?
Elshunine laughed awkwardly and subtly untangled herself from his supporting arm.
“In a place like this? You must’ve imagined it.”
“…Maybe.”
But Elshunine knew—it was Ashuray, the dragon, stifling his laughter nearby.
‘Damn dragon. If you get caught…’
Grinding her teeth, she forced a bright smile.
“Anyway, thanks, Killian. You reminded me I can’t swim. Ha… imagine, a water spirit drowning! Haha, I could’ve died!”
“…Enough.”
Killian turned away, loosening the top button of his soaked shirt. The fabric clung to him, outlining firm muscle.
Elshunine, catching the sight head-on, flushed faintly.
“Ahem. Maybe we should sit down for a bit.”
Though sworn enemies in a way, he had rushed here the moment he sensed she was at the lake—for her sake. The thought moved her, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
‘Did he fly here using the bracelet’s power?’
The faint glow trembling on it suggested so.
“You used the bracelet?”
“Yeah.”
He answered while staring down at his hand, absentmindedly rubbing his own head as if patting it. It was oddly unnatural, but Elshunine, still rattled, didn’t notice.
The breeze swept between them. They sat side by side at the water’s edge, feet dipping into the lake.
‘When will I get the chance to search for Elraim again?’
Her plans had been disrupted, thanks to that old lie.
“…But how did you know I was here?”
“Mikhail said you weren’t at the mansion. I figured you’d be here.”
“I see…”
So he had caused a fuss after she ditched him.
“Why did you go into the lake?”
“…Eh?”
“This lake.”
He pointed at it with his finger.
She scrambled for an excuse.
“Haha… I told you this is where I was born. I just got curious.”
“…So even that memory is gone? You must’ve gone in because it’s connected to me somehow.”
He murmured under his breath.
“Did you think something would happen if you entered?”
“Haha, of course not…”
She quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, Killian, Mikhail said you’ve been busy lately. Is it okay for you to be out here like this?”
“…It doesn’t matter.”
“I see.”
Their words petered out, leaving awkward silence.
Then, Killian, staring at her bare feet in the water, suddenly spoke.
“…Wanna go?”
“…Go?”
“To the Haron Bay.”
He pulled a glossy slip of paper from his soaked pocket. Despite the wet fabric, the ticket shone intact, with only faint blotches.
—Haron Bay Liner, VIP Boarding Pass.
“…Huh?”
“This time, the Haron Bay liner is opening a museum of ancient magical relics.”
Elshunine blinked. She’d heard that name before.
“Haron Bay…?”
“Yes. His Holiness began building it in his youth, and the Crown Prince completed it recently.”
‘No way. This event… is happening now?’
Her thoughts spun. This was supposed to occur much earlier.
‘Is it delayed because Arwen never returned?’
In the original flow, the Haron Bay incident happened almost immediately after Arwen’s reappearance—certainly before the New Year’s Festival.
But something had twisted.
“It was held last year too, but I couldn’t attend.”
“…I see.”
“This time I wanted to. And you always loved that sort of thing—ancient magic.”
“…Yeah, that I remember.”
Not so much love as necessity—for Arwen’s resurrection, she’d poured herself into studying such matters.
Killian, of course, didn’t know that.
“Then let’s go together. Thank you, Killian.”
She smiled gently.
He must have sought her out just to give her this ticket—only to find her in the lake by chance.
‘Haron Bay, huh. Does that mean I’ll have to take Arwen’s role again?’
The thought left a bitter taste.
But suddenly—
Thwack!
“Ow!”
Killian’s face went pale. He seized her wrist hard enough to make her flinch.
“What are you doing? That hurts! Let go!”
“…Ah.”
He narrowed his eyes, staring at her hand. Shaking his head, he peered again intently.
“Just now…”
“What?”
His grip weakened. She yanked her hand back. Pain throbbed where his fingers had clamped—sure to bruise.
Scowling, she glared at him.
“What was that for?”
“….”
“Killian?”
He looked fixedly at her hand before finally tearing his gaze away. His crimson eyes trembled faintly.
Like that day long ago—when she had abandoned him at the castle and vanished with Arwen.
“…Killian?”
Sensing something wrong, she called softly. He startled, then rubbed his face with one hand, waving the other dismissively.
“No. I must’ve imagined it.”
“What did you see?”
“…Your fingertips.”
“…?”
She looked down. Her slender fingers looked perfectly normal.
“They looked… as if they were fading. Becoming transparent.”
“…Huh? Hahaha. Killian, you must be exhausted.”
Elshunine forced a laugh and patted his shoulder with feigned cheer. Normally she would never dare, but she didn’t have the presence of mind to care.
“Let’s head back. We’ll need our strength to visit the Haron Bay museum. The ticket says it’s next week, right?”
She stood and held out her hand.
Killian stared at her intact, flawless fingers for a long moment before taking her hand and rising.
“…Yeah. Let’s go back.”
She beamed.
But as she walked behind him, her smile froze. Her green eyes dropped again to her fingertips.
‘Not yet.’
“Phew.”
Back in her room, Elshunine sighed. From her hood, a squirrel darted out—then shifted into human form with a gust of wind.
Ashuray glared at her.
“…What was that, back there?”
