If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 1.11

Irene also knew that the former king had frequently summoned Ian’s birth mother and treated her as if he would kill her, and after Pereian was born, he had used their child’s life as collateral to prevent her from leaving the sea.

And that when the object of his venting, whom he had managed to keep, escaped, the former king’s rage was directed entirely at Pereian.

Irene knew all these facts. What she had been ignorant of, however, was Pereian’s accession speech.

Irene, who had repeatedly denied the ruler’s infamy spat out by the residents, waited for the story that would follow after she was seventeen.

“By embracing the child of a fugitive, I was stabbed in the back.”

“They killed all the innocent princes, you see.”

So, they said Pereian had killed his father and brothers to ascend the throne.

It was strange. She hadn’t known they were royalty, but how had Pereian, who had been ostracized in his household at the very least, become the monarch of the undersea kingdom?

Irene knew that Ian had been constantly tormented by his father, and that his father had a separate child he cherished greatly. Why would such a father have any reason to abdicate to Ian? No, he did not.

There was a question I had harbored deep in my heart.

I was curious about how Ian became the King of the Sea, but it was a question I had only kept to myself, for if I were to confront the person himself and ask, our past relationship would be revealed.

In a way, the residents had provided the answer to that question. Ian killed his father and ascended the throne.

This was the unadulterated truth. It was the only fact within the accession story circulating among the populace.

Amusingly, Irene, upon hearing the malicious rumors about her husband, smiled softly with a sense of relief.

The residents, too busy slandering their monarch, had no time to catch that smile.

‘It’s a relief.’

Unlike herself, who had been thrown into the sea after enduring mistreatment, Ian had struggled and survived. He had freed himself from violence by his own power. Covered in the blood of his father and brothers who had always tried to kill him, Ian must have declared himself a tyrant.

‘That’s why public sentiment is so harsh.’

Regardless of the circumstances, people knew Ian as a bastard who had started a rebellion. A cruel man who, despite being loved as a bastard, was not satisfied and coveted the throne. That was the world’s overall assessment of Ian.

‘Ian is accepting it without any explanation.’

Why didn’t he reveal his injustice? Irene felt wronged, even though it wasn’t her business. As Irene remained silent without a reply, the residents, sensing her mood, started murmuring again.

“That’s strange. I thought the rumors had spread to the mainland too.”

Someone’s muttering ignited the murmuring.

“Right. The mainlanders wrote pages and pages of insults in glass bottles and sent them floating, causing us trouble.”

“Damn it, we collected hundreds of those bottles back then.”

Irene, her mind suddenly jolted awake at the mention of “land,” parted her lips. Should she lie and make an excuse, claiming she had naturally known about Ian’s ill omen? How would the legitimate princess have acted? Had the King and the legitimate daughter known about these rumors all along?

Only then did it feel like the puzzle pieces were falling into place. Deltia was a powerful nation. The reason Father had avoided the marriage proposal sent by the monarch of such a powerful nation, and the reason he had ordered Irene to act like the legitimate princess, now became clear.

‘Sister, and Father, they knew everything about Ian. They knew, and sent me, into this sea.’

Irene mulled over the villagers’ words. She felt she understood what the glass bottles they often mentioned were.

Once, her wet nurse had told her that when news of the undersea kingdom’s former king taking many concubines reached Epin, its citizens wrote critical letters and sent them floating into the sea. Those glass bottles they spoke of must have been of that kind.

“You knew nothing of His Majesty the Monarch’s affairs?” A woman broke the silence with a question. Irene quietly scanned the villagers, then nodded.

“I knew something was strange. It seems the news didn’t reach the royal family. Oh dear, oh dear.”

“What a tragic marriage. Anyone can see it was a betrothal arranged with the Epin royal family to erase the ill omen!”

It was back to square one. Irene hadn’t even known the reason for this marriage. But now she understood.

‘Pereian arranged the betrothal with the royal family to pacify the land.’

What had been held as collateral to secure the betrothal, and why Father had sent her instead of her sister. Her vision, which had been so limited from spending all her time in the basement, felt like it was finally opening up a little.

At the same time, her heart felt heavy. She felt guilt. She had already realized that Ian did not want this marriage, but the fact that it was the rumors from the land people that had driven him to choose marriage was something she was hearing for the first time.

Her breath caught in her throat.

“Then Ian, because of the scandal, was forced…”

A realization, unsoftened by any euphemism, burst from her lips. Fortunately, few were surprised that she had referred to the monarch as Ian. Instead, they looked at the shocked Irene with pity. Irene stammered, unable to breathe properly.

‘This marriage has held Ian back.’

The betrothal to Epin was a result of Ian’s scandal. And the source of that scandal, which would have caused no trouble had it remained at sea, was on land. The Kingdom of Epin. Irene’s homeland. The King of the Sea, Pereian Richard.

Ian had traded the scandal for the position of Queen.

“To be clear, I have a woman I hold in my heart.”

On their wedding day, he had indeed said this to Irene. Her head was spinning, but her thoughts raced. Now, Irene had reached one conclusion. Ian had taken a land-dweller as his queen, pushed by scandal, while leaving behind the woman he loved. And that queen was herself, Irene.

‘Have I truly become his shackle?’

A deep sigh spread from her feeling of guilt.

‘If I hadn’t been here.’

No, if such a scandal had never spread in the first place, perhaps Ian could have been with the woman he truly desired. Thinking this, Irene could not easily lift her head.

Her emaciated shoulders trembled, spasming finely.

“Your Highness, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

The gazes of the people became a catalyst for instability. Unable to breathe, her vision turned black, and soon cold sweat poured down. With the suffocating, nauseating sensation tightening its grip by the second, Irene stumbled, gripping a rock.

She wanted to leave this place immediately. But that didn’t mean she wanted to return to the palace. She had realized why Pereian avoided her, and she wasn’t so thick-skinned as to return knowing that.

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