If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 1.23

Atina repeatedly bowed her head, feeling guilty for making her master sick. Her cold skin was now feverishly hot, and her groans were mixed with a worn, rusty sound.

“Atina, tell His Highness that something has come up and he won’t be able to visit.”

Irene managed to say with difficulty before collapsing weakly again. Pereian had even ignored her request to have a meal together, so this permission for a visit was a significant event for Irene.

She had worried about buying a gift and not being able to give it to him, but she was delighted to hear that he would visit in person. Now, even after receiving approval, the fact that she couldn’t meet him filled Irene with disappointment.

A sense of helplessness suddenly washed over her. She had thought of melting away her fatigue with sleep, then waking up and writing a letter to go with the gift. She never dreamed that a fever would strike as soon as she opened her eyes in the morning.

“Also, tell His Highness that I’m sorry.” Irene was about to add when, “There’s no need to convey those words.”

Pereian’s voice cut her off easily. Startled by the unexpected appearance of the monarch, the attendants of the Coral Palace hastily cleared the way.

“It seems I’ve been waiting for quite some time.”

He approached through the cleared path, looking displeased as he examined Irene’s unsightly appearance.

“I came to see if Your Majesty was standing me up, or perhaps trying to retaliate against me.”

Pereian trailed off, chuckled, and then continued, “If you wither away this quickly, the fun will be completely.”

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Atina, who had been watching the mood, took the maids and left the bedroom. She wanted to stay by Irene’s side, but as the head maid, she could not disobey the monarch. Only after sending the maids to various parts of the Coral Palace did Atina nervously pace in front of Irene’s bedroom.

Meanwhile, Pereian observed Irene’s bloodless face. He had deliberately thrown harsh words, but the queen who heard them showed no reaction. Rather, the person who was supposedly sick staggered out of bed and held a box on the table in her arms. That nonchalant attitude further irritated Pereian.

“Pereian, I bought it because I wanted to give it to you.”

Irene, who seemed embarrassed by the sweat she had shed from the fever, straightened her appearance and handed the box to Pereian.

To smile even when he was acting like a jerk. Was she stupid, or did she have no pride?

Without any expectation, Pereian immediately tore open the box and hardened his expression. Pupils, as calm as the stillness before a storm, filled with the conch shells inside the box.

“…Are you giving this to me now?”

“I heard they were precious. As soon as I saw them, I thought of Pereian.”

Pereian clenched his fist tightly. His pale fist trembled slightly. It was insulting. Of all things, conch shells.

It symbolized his connection with Ruine. The woman who had squeezed into the place that should have been Ruine’s had given it to him as a gift.

Pereian bit his lip. He couldn’t bear the rising sense of insult, and the corners of his eyes trembled. A stupid and ignorant princess. What would someone who grew up so nobly like you know?

‘What would someone like you know to give this as a gift?’

His hand moved on its own. Before he knew it, the gift the Queen had given him was lying on the floor.

The conch shell, weakened by time, cracked easily even with a small impact. To suppress his anger, Pereian surveyed Irene’s bedroom. There were no luxuries anywhere. Looking only at the interior, it was hard to believe it was part of the underwater palace.

When there was nothing to criticize about her extravagance, his gaze fell on the table where Irene had dragged her sick body.

There was a glass bottle there. He could feel the magic that Sipri had cast. She probably intended to use that glass bottle to send that letter to her first love last time.

“Still dreaming of communicating?”

Then he strode towards the table and grabbed the glass bottles in one hand. It was a distinctly different pace from Irene’s difficult movements.

“This glass bottle, I mean.”

Glass bottle. To him, this glass bottle was tiresome. The people of the Epin Kingdom sending him scandals in glass bottles still reappeared in his nightmares. A glass bottle was found in the Queen’s bedroom from Epin, huh.

“No wonder it felt familiar; the criticism sent from your country was contained in there.”

A strange light flashed in his red eyes. Now he swung the arm holding the glass bottles and threw them to the floor. With a burst of noise, broken glass shards flew up around Pereian’s feet. Irene, who had been watching the situation from a distance, ran into the field of shards and shouted.

“I, Ian! Stay still!”

She reached out to clear the broken glass shards from around Pereian, but he moved first. Pereian, with a gesture devoid of consideration, picked Irene up and dropped her onto the bed.

“You stay there.”

“…You’ll get hurt if you step on them.”

“Exactly. If that precious body of yours gets even a scratch, your country will be back to their tiresome antics.”

“That’s not it, I was worried about Ian.”

A fierce gaze and a worried look intersected. Worry is always followed by affection. No one would throw themselves onto shards of glass for someone they don’t feel affection for.

This was a fact that Pereian also knew. And undeniably, Irene’s hand was already bleeding from being cut by the fragments.

Pereian, who deliberately turned his head to avoid seeing the blood, said nonchalantly,

“You keep saying Ian, Ian. I don’t recall ever allowing you to use such a term.”

Having finished speaking, Pereian glanced at the woman’s face. He thought that by now, the princess of the mainland would reveal her temper, but Irene Iphraim, on the contrary, seemed hurt and on the verge of tears.

“Yes, Pereian. I keep making mistakes.”

“…If you know, then be careful.”

“But do you know what?”

The woman, who shed a single tear, continued in a tone that was calm in contrast to him.

“You’ve finally come to my bedroom.”

Even when you left me in front of the coral palace, knowing nothing, I believed that you would come on our wedding night.

Her voice gradually intensified. Irene, who was moving her lips with difficulty as if spitting out a lump of blood, revealed a completely detached face.

“Now I’ve finally become a true queen. The bedroom is a mess, and we’re having conversations like this.”

“……”

“I’ll be careful not to displease you. So please don’t hate me too much.” Don’t look at me as if I’ve committed an unforgivable crime. Her pitiful voice reached Pereian’s ears.

Pereian pushed Irene’s shoulder, knocking her onto the bed. Without a word, Pereian climbed on top of her, glaring at Irene with bloodshot eyes. He lightly grabbed the struggling woman’s wrists and said in a hoarse voice, “Do you even have the right to cry in front of me?”

“Pereian, let go of me.”

“I can’t stand to see that, even if it’s unfair. Because of whom, because of your kingdom, I…”

“……”

“I couldn’t bring her to my side.”

The hateful Epin Kingdom and its princess. The king cherished you, didn’t he? His eyes, filled with regret, cut and stabbed Irene over and over again.

Pereian stared silently at the dazed Irene before getting up and leaving the bedroom. Irene tried to follow, but she was delayed by having to avoid the shards of glass on the floor.

“You too, slowly lose everything in my palace.”

Still with his back to Irene, Pereian recited a curse instead of a farewell.

“…I’ve given up everything with this marriage.”

The end of his sentence trembled sharply.

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