If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 1.8

The presence wasn’t from Irene.

At a sound like a puppy whimpering, Irene moved her head, looking left and right to find the source of the sound.

It clearly came from nearby, but there was nothing to her left or right. Only the rear remained.

As she moved her body to face backward, something entered her vision.

“A whale?”

“Kkiiiiing!”

As if to answer, the whale nodded its head and let out a cry. Previously, her wet nurse, who had moved to the port city, had conveyed her experiences there to Irene through a letter.

Among them, Irene had also heard about whales that leaped out of the water’s surface as if taking a stroll.

Irene’s eyes widened at the fact that a creature she had only heard about in letters was right before her eyes.

A baby whale, with a shiny head and a small, sleek, slender body, circled Irene and floated nearby. As if it had been waiting only for Irene to look at it, the whale nudged its head into her chest.

Feeling just like a child whining and wanting to be held, Irene hugged the baby whale tightly.

“Are you a child who lives here too?”

She hadn’t asked expecting an answer.

“Kkii!”

The whale let out a cry again and shook its head up and down. The first time it nodded, she thought it was a fluke, but when it happened twice in a row, her surprise grew.

“Are you answering me?”

Without any reply, the whale stared intently at Irene. ‘That’s impossible. There’s no way an animal can talk to me.’

Just as I was self-deprecatingly thinking it was a wild goose chase, something extraordinary happened.

A baby whale, which had created bubbles by moving its tail, rushed into Irene’s arms with a whoosh and was embraced again.

As I looked at the whale with a bewildered face, the whale poked Irene’s thin arm gently with its fin, drawing her attention.

“Huh?”

When Irene, not understanding the reason, asked again, the whale moved away from Irene’s embrace and pointed to the bubbles it had created with its tail. The bubbles the tail pointed to were heart-shaped.

“You wanted to show me this?”

The whale, as if expressing gratitude to Irene who quickly understood the meaning of its actions, opened its mouth wide and turned its body as if dancing. It seemed to be expressing gratitude.

Every time its tail moved, bubbles were continuously created in heart shapes.

“Do you like me?”

The way it nodded its shiny head was very cute.

“I like you too.”

The whale, rubbing against her like a child showing affection, had no intention of leaving Irene’s embrace.

Although we didn’t have a conversation, somehow holding this young whale made me feel like we could communicate. Every time the whale’s head touched my cheek, I felt my heart grow calm.

This peaceful communion was broken when the shouts of soldiers searching for Irene echoed. Only then did Irene remember that she had come outside the underwater palace without permission, and she quickly got up.

“People are looking for me. I have to go now.”

The whale, sensing the farewell, whined with a dejected look. Then, it grabbed the hem of her dress, preventing Irene from leaving.

From being affectionate to being mischievous, a smile naturally spread across my face.

“I’ll come again next time. Don’t get sick, and grow up strong.”

“Kkiiing……”

As she said goodbye and stroked its head once, the whale made a sound like a mournful cry and moved away from Irene’s side.

Leaving the open space, Irene, feeling inexplicably sorry, turned her head to look at the whale every three steps she took.

The whale remained motionless in the spot where it parted with Irene, watching her.

It was the first time. Since coming down to Ian’s sea, that young whale was the only one who had shown her affection.

‘That whale is missing me.’

If it were up to her, she would have wanted to return to the Coral Palace with the whale, but she felt she shouldn’t increase her household while the attendants harbored ill feelings towards her.

Irene recalled the attendants who had approached her on land. At first, she felt their affection warmly, but as she grew older, she began to refuse them first. It was unavoidable, as everyone who had been kind to Irene had suffered humiliation.

And though perhaps not as much as on land, this place seemed no different.

When even people suffered harm, it was obvious what would happen if she brought the young whale into the undersea palace, which already disliked her, and formed a bond.

‘Next time, I’ll give it a name.’

If it were usual, she would have given up without even hoping for a reunion, but for some reason, this time she didn’t want to let go of this mysterious connection.

Pereian had already ordered Irene to live as if dead within the undersea palace, specifically the Coral Palace. However, to reunite with the whale and nurture their bond, frequent outings would be necessary.

This was an act that violated the Undersea Lord’s command. Irene was not unaware of this fact.

‘Ian, please permit this much.’ It wasn’t like meeting people; it was merely going to care for a young animal.

In Irene’s memory, Ian was not the type of person to stop her.

Irene calmly moved her steps, imagining the day she would meet the whale again. Her destination was a place that appeared to be the village entrance.

She intended to grab a passerby there and ask for directions to the Undersea Palace.

‘My legs hurt.’

Upon reaching the outskirts of the village, Irene sat down on a rock and massaged her legs. Her lower body ached all over from walking so much.

As she stretched her stiff legs, she took a rough look at the village, which seemed quite large.

Consequently, many people passed through the entrance, and some looked at Irene, with her unfamiliar appearance, with curiosity.

The Undersea Nation was a thoroughly insular community.

Although it had developed through maritime trade, that was solely trade. From ancient times, their ancestors’ lives beneath the sea had left them with a mystical power to breathe and live underwater, but that power could sometimes be a poison.

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