If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 2.13

It was covered in sand. Tiny droplets of blood beaded on the scratches from scraping against the pebbles. Atina looked up at her delicate mistress. Still with a frightened look on her face, Irene relayed the news her husband had delivered to Atina.

“They’re sending an envoy from the mainland.”

Sending an envoy from the mainland. The preparations were the Coral Palace’s responsibility.

As a member serving the royal family, Atina knew that receiving envoys was the queen’s duty. But she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

In the beginning, not long after hearing the news, she called Sipri to complain. Wasn’t he her friend before he was king? She even urged him to persuade Pereian Richard. Sipri, knowing Irene’s circumstances to some extent, went to Pereian, but to no avail.

After sending Sipri back empty-handed, Atina, for the first time, resented the laws and the monarch of Deltia.

His Majesty, Irene’s husband…

Because he doesn’t know her circumstances.

Because he’s never seen the scars on her back.

But Atina knew, in a vague way, what the mainland meant to Irene. That’s why she wanted to help Irene even more.

Using her position as the head lady-in-waiting, she wanted to do everything she could to ensure that the queen she served would no longer tremble because of the mainland.

She immediately began gathering information and analyzing precedents for how previous queens had prepared to receive envoys. That tireless effort would end today. Atina smiled confidently.

“I can do it, Irene.”

Atina, having finally laid all the groundwork, reached out her hand to Irene. Irene slowly took it. She felt Atina’s passion flowing through her hand, and her eyes widened.

Irene had been filled with dread at the thought of facing the envoy from Epin, but now, for the first time, she felt like she could do it. Irene was no longer the illegitimate daughter trembling alone in the basement of Epin Castle. Though the marriage was not of her own choosing, she had Atina, and even Sipri, after falling into the sea of ​​Pereian.

Her own people were by her side. So now…

“…I’ll be okay.” Irene whispered, a faint smile on her lips.

“Irene, what did you just say?”

Atina, who had been flipping through documents with fervor, stopped and asked. Her eyes held pure concern.

Reading the worry in Atina’s gaze, Irene smiled even more deeply. This time, it wasn’t a whisper, but a clear declaration to herself.

“I’ll be okay, I will.”

She wouldn’t be frightened even when facing the land. This courage wasn’t just for Irene herself.

Knowing the hard work Atina had poured in over the past few days, and having helplessly watched all that effort from the sidelines, Irene wanted to speak bravely in front of Atina.

“…Yes, you’ll be okay.”

Fortunately, Atina smiled back. She seemed relieved, as if she had realized that Irene’s condition had improved.

“Let’s start by looking at precedents.”

Irene, holding up the documents Athena had sorted, shone with anticipation. Only a few days remained until the delegation’s visit. As the Queen of Deltia, she had to welcome those sent by Epin’s king in a grand manner.

***

Banners welcoming the Epin envoys were hung throughout the underwater palace. Thanks to the busy movements of the Coral Palace’s servants under Irene’s leadership, Deltia was filled with vitality.

When Pereian officially announced Epin’s visit, everyone in Deltia was excited.

Due to the geographical characteristic of being underwater, it was extremely rare for a foreign land to send envoys, so everyone welcomed it. In the hundreds of years since the birth of the Deltia royal family, the official visit of land envoys could be counted on one hand.

Although magic that allowed breathing underwater certainly existed, everyone avoided it due to a vague fear of the underwater space. Who would have predicted that such an auspicious event would occur during Pereian’s reign? Whatever the true intention, Epin’s visit had instantly eased the atmosphere of the underwater kingdom, which had been rigid ever since Pereian killed the former king and his half-brother and ascended the throne.

The people of Deltia spoke of the Epin delegation with excited voices wherever they went.

“The King of Epin must cherish our Queen very much.”

“We are so grateful!”

Dismissing the rumors circulating, it was said that the King of Epin loved his daughter, who had become the Queen of Deltia, so much that he was sending envoys.

Ironically, Irene, who had lived in hiding in the Epin royal castle, had become, through the gossip of the people, the most precious princess whom her father cherished the most.

It didn’t take long for this story to reach Irene’s ears. She was initially horrified when she first heard it, but Irene was soon relieved.

The people of Deltia, that is, this sea ruled by Pereian,

The fact that the people no longer suspected her identity gave her a sense of relief.

Moreover, she didn’t have time to worry about rumors. Because of the time wasted searching for precedents for the envoy welcoming ceremony, which was originally scarce, the full-scale preparations had to be carried out urgently.

While agonizing over each arrangement with clumsy skill, Irene kept recalling Pereian’s words. Do your job properly.

Irene wanted to show Pereian her usefulness. She hoped that if he recognized her usefulness, Pereian might treat her a little more kindly.

The desire not to cause trouble for Pereian, who had ascended the throne with difficulty, also played a part. Fortunately, even though Irene had lived in the dark basement of the royal castle, she knew more about the land than the people of the underwater kingdom.

Irene took advantage of this and decorated the assigned hall to evoke the greenery of the land. Sipri occasionally visited to watch, but in principle, only members of the Coral Palace and royalty were allowed to enter until the envoys’ visit, so he was not given the opportunity to examine the interior of the hall.

“No, are you even kicking me out? How much have I helped you so far?”

Today, the day before the visit, was no different.

Sipri, who had been turned away by Atina, came and playfully caused a ruckus. He shrugged his shoulders and went back the way he came, shouting as if disappointed in a voice loud enough for Irene to hear.

“Did Lord Sipri leave?”

Irene, who belatedly received news of the situation outside, asked Atina and the servants.

“I feel bad…”

Since coming to Deltia, Sipri had been the one who had helped Irene the most diligently. Irene was particularly bothered by the fact that she couldn’t show him the hall she had created right away.

“Just a moment.”

After asking the servants for their understanding, Irene slightly lifted the curtain that covered the window and peeked her head out. She couldn’t welcome Sipri, but she wanted to respond to his sincerity in visiting her.

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