If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 1.18

I even thought perhaps Sipri might have been mistaken, but as he was the most competent Sipri in magic, there was no way his guess could be wrong.

If that’s the case. ‘Lady Irene is….’

It was just as she was trying to organize her thoughts. “Atina.”

Irene’s voice drifted from the front of the residence.

Thinking she might have heard a hallucination, she didn’t reply, and soon a knock was heard.

“Lady Irene!”

In her haste, Atina dropped the teacup she was holding and rushed out, still wet, to open the door.

A kind face. A person who bore scars that contrasted with it.

“If you had called, I would have come, so for you to come all this way yourself.”

Perhaps those scars were left by the royal family who cast a silence spell on this person.

Since she was young, Atina had envisioned the future mistress of the palace she would serve. And now, the mistress she had finally met was Irene, standing before her. The princess of the land, who was said to have grown up showered with all sorts of love.

But she was not arrogant, and she showed courtesy even to the servants of the Coral Palace. Even when she heard the gossip of wayward children, it was said that Irene didn’t scold them but instead left the palace as if fleeing.

Her guess turned into certainty. Now, Atina reached one conclusion.

‘The Princess of Epin’s claim of being loved must have been a lie.’

Her mistress’s life was far from a life of being loved.

“Atina, I’m sorry for visiting so suddenly. Did I surprise you a lot?”

“That she cast a silence spell to hide it.”

“You know, Atina. You saw my scar, didn’t you?”

She probably didn’t receive fair treatment even from her subordinates on land.

“I feel like I should be honest with Atina.”

And that’s why, even here, she treats even subordinates like herself with utmost respect.

“As you might have guessed, I’ve lived a life like that scar.”

And the last remaining conviction for Atina was:

“So, I might not become the queen that Atina envisions.”

“…….”

“You might not be satisfied.”

Irene Iphraim, a bride from the land. This was the master she had to protect. She vowed to shield her master from being worn away by the tides of the monarch.

“No, Irene. That’s not true.”

Not satisfied? Could there be a head maid who judges the person she serves according to her own standards? Of course, the world is vast, and somewhere, such a head maid might be brazenly alive, but at least that wasn’t Atina.

“Scar or whatever, whatever life you’ve lived. Irene, you are the mistress of the Coral Palace.”

That’s why Atina shook her head and took Irene’s hand.

“I will protect you.”

“……”

“I will protect you, Lady Irene.”

The end of his sentence trembled. Irene, seemingly momentarily taken aback by her hand being held, captured his figure in her pupils, still filled with worry. After a brief silence, Irene opened her mouth.

“……Thank you for stepping up in the matter with the servants today.”

“Should we just send those kids all away?”

I should have just sent them to the manpower-strapped Deep Sea Palace. In a fit of pique, Atina muttered, and Irene patted Atina’s hand a couple of times before quietly replying.

“Don’t do that. When I think about it, what they said wasn’t wrong either.”

“Even if those kids spoke the truth, the problem is still a problem.”

Releasing Irene’s hand, Atina patted her chest with a slightly relieved expression. It meant she felt stifled.

“If you keep coddling them like that, they’ll become arrogant like Sipri!”

“Atina too?”

“Not me!”

Laughter bloomed in the exchange. Sharing glances several times in the noticeably more comfortable atmosphere, Irene spoke softly.

“You know, I’m glad I seem to have gotten closer to Atina.”

This time, it was a face filled only with a bright smile, devoid of worry.

“Everyone, gather ’round!”

It was a bustling morning in the Coral Palace. Adding to the commotion, Atina busily moved about, gathering the servants in one place.

Among them were the servants who had been caught gossiping about Irene. Once she confirmed everyone was present, Atina held up a whip made of woven seaweed and spoke threateningly.

“To disgrace the mistress of the Coral Palace is to disgrace ourselves.”

She then swung the whip once through the air.

“Seri, Duan, Zaina. The three of you have disgraced the Queen.”

Atina abruptly approached the three, who were trembling with fear from the whipping, and glared at them with fierce eyes.

“I intended to cut out your tongues, but Lady Irene herself dissuaded me.”

Of course, it was an exaggeration. She had planned to send them to the Deep Sea Palace to suffer, but she never intended to cut out their tongues. She merely wanted them to realize they had committed a grave offense.

“So, the lives of you three are now bound to Lady Irene.”

Atina whipped again, then included the other servants in her gaze as she spoke.

“The rest of you are to serve her with utmost devotion. That is our pride in upholding the Coral Palace.”

She put down the seaweed whip and dismissed everyone with a calmed demeanor. As she turned away, thinking it was a rather successful warning, judging by how quickly they moved— “Your scolding could reach the land.”

Sipri, who had begun to frequent the Coral Palace as if it were his own home, was there, clapping his hands.

Inside the Coral Palace’s greenhouse.

Irene, who had come to the greenhouse with Atina after receiving Sipri’s summons, greeted him blandly.

“It seems like I’m seeing you often these days, Sir Sipri.”

“Perhaps you’re disappointed it’s me and not Pereian?”

“That’s not possible.”

“Seems like it is.”

Sipri pouted as if expressing his hurt feelings. Irene smiled at the comical sight.

For the past few days, Sipri had been making his presence known at this Coral Palace, which even Pereian didn’t visit. So, the distance between them couldn’t help but shrink.

As Irene sat down, Sipri, who had been watching her, followed suit and sat next to her.

Only Atina kept her back straight and poured tea. Irene, listening to the sound of the tea filling the teacups, patted the seat next to her, offering it to Atina.

It was an invitation for her to sit down.

“Lady Irene, I’m…”

“You’ve been standing since a while ago. Atina, sit down and rest too.”

A gentle voice. Even Atina, who wouldn’t have yielded her position before, sat quietly as if unable to resist that voice.

“You’ve become surprisingly close, Atina.”

… Making only me, who was told to be wary, feel awkward.

Sipri looked back and forth between Irene and Atina and said brusquely, “You came to visit again because you were bored, right?”

When Irene asked as if it were obvious, Sipri, who had already become accustomed to the routine of the Coral Palace, shook his head and replied,

“I came with a purpose today.”

“What purpose?”

“I heard from Pereian. That you have a first love you left behind on land.”

Atina kicked Sipri’s leg under the table.

No wonder, Atina avoided talking about the monarch in front of Irene. She seemed worried that being rejected from the palace entry ceremony to the wedding night would remain a wound for her master.

It was unavoidable, as she didn’t know that her master still hadn’t forgotten her first love, and was constantly anxious because of him.

‘Pereian told him…’

Irene thought of Pereian again.

Suddenly remembering him while going about her daily life.

This was something she couldn’t stop, and at the same time, it was a routine.

But that indifferent Pereian had said something about her to Sipri.

That in itself was a fulfilling thing.

‘Ian remembered me.’

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