Prologue
“Come here, Ayla.”
Rumble.
With a sky groaning as if it might pour down at any moment, Theodore reached out his hand.
Standing where his fingers pointed was Ayla Panopea—Queen of the Kingdom of Gaihern and a mermaid who once loved a human.
She stood perilously at the edge of a cliff, as if she might fall at any moment.
“Haah—”
A long sigh escaped from Theodore’s red lips.
How many days had it been since he scoured the entire kingdom looking for the queen who had vanished, leaving behind only a single note?
From the way his skin had gone numb in the bitter wind, it was clear—whether he admitted it or not—that quite a long time had passed.
Theodore withdrew his hand, which wouldn’t move properly, and ruffled his jet-black hair. His fingers trembled faintly, revealing his shaken state.
“I have something I need to say to you. And something I need to ask. So why don’t you come over here?”
“You… have something to ask me?”
“Yes. There’s something I must hear your answer to—”
“…No. Don’t ask. Whatever it is.”
“…What?”
“You’re not going to believe me anyway, are you? Just like always.”
At the exhaustion in Ayla’s voice, Theodore froze.
At some point, Ayla had lifted her head to face him. Her gaze was so lifeless that just meeting it made his breath catch in his throat.
Her once-transparent, sky-blue eyes—eyes that used to sparkle—were now hollow. Like a beautiful wax doll.
No expectations, no disappointment, not even the will to live. Looking into Ayla’s eyes, Theodore instinctively understood—
The reason Ayla had come to this cliff… was to end her life.
And as if to prove that his fear was not mistaken, Ayla held her now-flat stomach—having lost the child—and stepped back.
“…It should have been like this from the beginning. Because of my selfishness, everyone ended up unhappy. You… and our baby.”
Paralyzed by helplessness, the young king of Gaihern, Theodore Devonshout, stood there, his pupils wavering without direction.
“Don’t look at me like that. Your Highness always wished for this, didn’t you? That I would…”
“…Enough.”
“That I… should die.”
“Ayla, I—!”
He should have denied it. He should have said no.
But no sound came out.
The trembling that started at his fingertips spread throughout Theodore’s entire body.
Where had it all gone wrong?
Yes, there had been a time.
A time when he truly wished Ayla would disappear from his sight.
“Theodore Devonshout despises his queen.”
Even a three-year-old in the Kingdom of Gaihern knew that much.
“You say you love me? The niece of the man who slaughtered my family and people dares to speak of love? It’s not just laughable, Ayla Panopea—it’s repulsive.”
A princess of the enemy nation that trampled Gaihern.
With that innocent face, she dared to sit beside him under the guise of peace talks—a woman so disgusting it made his skin crawl.
To Theodore, this vile impression of Ayla had been an unchanging, absolute truth.
And yet—
Why is it, now that he might truly lose her, that fear is clouding his reason?
Huff.
Theodore gasped for breath.
“When I clung to you, you called me pathetic—and now you’re the one leaving? What, have you grown tired of your precious little game of love?”
At his low, snarling voice, Ayla’s eyes curved into a sorrowful shape.
“Yes. I’ve grown tired of it.
That’s why I’m quitting—quitting the act of loving you, Your Highness.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
Theodore spat the words like venom and took a step forward.
What a joke.
As if he would let her go like this.
“If you planned to run away, you shouldn’t have started anything in the first place.”
Was this hatred? Obsession?
He couldn’t tell what it was anymore.
All he knew was that this tangled mess of emotion was spiraling toward Ayla.
But before he could close the distance between them, Ayla’s body tipped backward—faster than he could move.
“…!”
Theodore lunged forward like a spring, just barely managing to grab Ayla’s wrist as she fell.
“I’ve got—!”
In that moment, he thought he had caught her.
But her slender wrist slipped from his grasp like mist.
Everything about Ayla—everything he had lost—was falling away, fast.
And Theodore… could do nothing but stare blankly at the scene unfolding before his eyes, as if his soul had left him.
She’s falling.
Ayla Panopea.
My… queen.
In that moment—BOOM!
A thunderclap roared, and cold raindrops began to pour down from above.
Just like that night 13 years ago, when a raging storm marked the beginning of this entire tragedy—
The night Ayla had saved him from drowning in the sea.
“No—Ayla!”
“Teo, could you relax that face a little?”
Hayden pressed the deep frown between his younger brother’s brows with a sigh.
The boy, cheeks puffed out in irritation, glared up sharply in response.
“You’re the guest of honor at tonight’s banquet. Are you really going to sulk the whole time? Come on, smile. It’s your birthday.”
“Would you be smiling if you were stuck in a backwater like this?”
He answered flatly and then leaned against the railing with crossed arms.
Each time the ornately decorated ship swayed, the damp sea breeze slapped against his face.
“There was a rain warning for tonight… maybe that’s why.”
There wasn’t even time to be annoyed by the salty air before a group of nobles approached them.
“Second Prince, happy birthday to Your Highness.”
“….”
That’s right.
This lavishly decorated ship, out of place in a coastal village far from the capital, was hosting a banquet—
A celebration for the birthday of Theodore Devonshout, second prince of the Kingdom of Gaihern.
When the charming boy with jet-black hair and striking violet eyes gave no response, Hayden stepped in with a sheepish smile and answered on his behalf.
“Haha, thank you, Count Kalman. Please enjoy the evening.”
Once the nobles had moved on, Hayden ruffled Theodore’s hair playfully.
“‘Stuck’ in the countryside, really? Teo, you know this is all for your safety.”
“Then why is it only me? You get to stay in the palace.”
“Because you’re still young.”
“Twelve is plenty old.”
Though people didn’t talk about it openly, the atmosphere in the royal palace of Gaihern was more tense than ever.
Amid endless wars, the power struggle between the ever-strengthening royal authority and the noble houses—those so-called founding families—was reaching a boiling point.
The nobles, desperate to keep the king’s power within their grasp, were doing everything they could to restrain him.
The king had sent Theodore here out of concern that the political fallout might reach his young son.
Hayden, on the other hand, was in a different position—being both the crown prince and nearing his coming-of-age ceremony.
Of course, Theodore understood all of this… but it still left a bitter taste. It still annoyed him.
“Well, there’s a rumor that a mermaid lives in this village. Aren’t you at least a little curious?”
“Not interested.”
As if he were still a child.
Thud.
Theodore lightly kicked a loose floorboard and turned around.
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“Not telling.”
“See? So much for being all grown up.”
Hayden’s laughter rang from behind him, but Theodore ignored it and pushed through the crowd.
However, it wasn’t long before people started to gather around him again.
“Oh my, it’s the Second Prince!”
“Your Highness, a rare mineral was found in our mine. We’d love to offer it as a gift to you—!”
It was obvious what the attending nobles were after.
They were likely hoping to win his favor and use the opportunity to reclaim the influence their families had lost with the royal court.
Knowing their true intentions, Theodore could only find it all exhausting.
“Isn’t there anywhere around here that’s quiet enough and has fewer people?”
With a look of frustration, Theodore glanced around—
And before long, he found the perfect spot.
But it didn’t take long before people once again began to swarm around Theodore.
“Oh my, it’s the Second Prince!”
“Your Highness, a rare mineral was discovered in our mine. We’d be honored to offer it as a gift—”
It was easy enough to guess the intentions of the nobles attending the banquet.
They were clearly trying to win favor and reclaim influence lost by their families’ estrangement from the royal court.
Knowing that all too well, Theodore found it all incredibly annoying.
“Isn’t there somewhere quieter and less crowded around here?”
With a weary expression, Theodore scanned his surroundings—
And soon, he found a suitable place.
“Phew. Finally, some peace and quiet.”
Entering a makeshift space at the stern of the ship, Theodore shook the water droplets from his hair.
He’d already suspected the wind felt odd—and sure enough, raindrops had begun to fall one by one.
Just as he was brushing the moisture off his shoulders, a rattling noise echoed nearby, accompanied by a faint voice.
Theodore’s dark brows furrowed. He had just managed to be alone, and now—another interruption?
Annoyed, he walked toward the source of the sound and found a large iron cage covered with a heavy cloth.
Next to it were several stacked gift boxes—likely one of the presents brought by some foolish noble.
The luxurious silk cloth bore the emblem of a weasel—
The seal of the Evans family, lords of this village.
That reminded him: the lord’s son had been strutting around earlier, boasting about having prepared an “interesting gift.”
“…Surely it’s not something alive.”
