If I Throw Myself into His Sea - Episode 2.14

Suddenly, Sipri, who was moving away from the chairman, turned his head. As if their hearts were connected, Irene was reflected in Sipri’s eyes as he turned around.

“Atina, Sipri did turn around just now, right?”

Irene waved her hand at his figure as if she was glad to see him. It was already too far to discern his expression or actions with the naked eye, but it was an action born from the belief that Sipri would recognize the greeting.

As Irene expected, Sipri, catching the greeting, smiled briefly. Thanks to his ability to manipulate magic, his senses were more developed than ordinary people, making the distance seem as if it were right in front of him.

Although Irene couldn’t see it properly, Sipri smiled brightly and bowed to the queen, who was waving at him. In fact, the purpose of this visit was not to see the chairman. It was to check on Irene Iphraim’s condition.

To see if she was afraid of the upcoming meeting with the Epin envoy, or if she was neglecting the preparations to welcome the envoy due to anxiety. He had been worried ever since he learned that there had been another conflict with Pereian, and that Irene Iphraim had been having a hard time in the process.

Sipri also tried to persuade Pereian to delay the visit of the Epin delegation as much as he could.

“I think we should think more about welcoming the envoy.”

“I clearly said that I have no intention of reversing my decision.”

The undersea kingdom’s monarch’s will regarding the envoy’s visit was firm. Of course, the meaning of the Epin envoy was politically significant.

It was enough to solidify the position of the current monarch, Pereian Richard, a little more with that one visit. Sipri, who had always served as a strategist, was aware of the benefits of this envoy’s visit, but he was just worried about Irene Iphraim.

However, even setting aside personal feelings, it was definitely an issue that needed careful consideration.

With Irene Iphraim under a silencing spell, and the truth she concealed beneath her tightly sealed lips still unknown, welcoming a land dweller was reckless. At least, that was his judgment. But Pereian rarely yielded his stubbornness when it came to matters concerning Irene Iphraim.

Though he was a long-time friend and liege lord, Sipri couldn’t understand that particular aspect of him.

“If the Queen is being threatened by Epin, how will you take responsibility!”

“Enough. If you add another word, I will consider it an overstep.”

Sipri recalled the moment he had to return to the Coral Palace without any results. He still found Epin’s sudden dispatch of an envoy suspicious, and Irene Iphraim’s condition worrisome.

Sipri closed and opened his eyes a couple of times, containing Irene in his gaze, and sighed deeply. At least for now, it was fortunate that the anxiety had disappeared from the Queen’s face.

Sipri, thinking that was enough, turned back and walked away, muttering,

“Just you wait. I’ll soon find out if this welcoming of the envoy is so great that it needs to be hidden even from me.”

He made a spiteful voice, but couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

***

Still a dim dawn.

“Lord Sipri visited the princess of the land yesterday.”

A confidant approached Pereian, who was attending to state affairs in the deep-sea palace, and reported. Pereian, who had planted his henchmen throughout the underwater palace to act as his eyes, grasped the movements of key figures in this way.

Sipri was his close friend, but as a monarch who had risen through rebellion, he was an individual who had to be watched carefully, and was of course included in the surveillance.

Pereian dismissed his confidant with a gesture, lightly tossed his pen, and ruffled his hair.

Pereian was aware that Sipri was curious about Irene’s story. As a long-time friend, he also knew that Sipri harbored either sympathy or pity for the queen, feelings that were advantageous to her.

“Sipri, you’re advocating for Irene Iphraim.”

However, visiting her in this way before the event had deep implications. Rumors might spread that Sipri, who had been a close aide to the monarch, had sided with the princess. If discord between Irene and himself were to surface later, Sipri’s actions could be exploited by the nobles.

‘Sipri wouldn’t be unaware of that.’

He shouldn’t have brought Irene into the underwater kingdom. She was indeed a princess, but then why was Irene sent here instead of the princess who was supposed to be betrothed? Neither Sipri nor he knew the story she was hiding, so why was Sipri helping her of all people? With his nerves on edge and everything irritating him, Pereian frowned.

‘Everything is grating on me.’

The land princess, whom he had bothered to seat on the queen’s throne, refused to fulfill her duties and pleaded to postpone the visit of the delegation, and his only friend joined in.

“…Pretentious woman.”

After encountering Irene in the greenhouse, it wasn’t as if Pereian had been indifferent to her circumstances. Irene, who seemed particularly terrified and showed aversion towards Epin, came to mind, and he checked the behavior of the Coral Palace dozens of times.

It was only after receiving news that she had started preparing to welcome the envoys that he had turned his attention away.

According to what he had been told by his confidant, Irene Iphraim had been walking around the palace with a bright smile.

The princess in the greenhouse, who had acted as if she would grab onto him and beg, had all been a lie, Pereian was convinced at that point. He hadn’t needed to pay her any attention from the start.

Yes, she was a woman who was used to lying. He couldn’t even count how many lies she had told since coming to this sea. Pereian swallowed dryly, feeling empty.

“Please. Just for a few days.”

Her voice, which had been so faint, and her shoulders, which had trembled so subtly. It had all been pathetic and clumsy theatrics. So now, he had no pity left for Irene.

Pereian, having finished sorting through the piled-up documents, called a servant and rose from his seat. He had been unable to sleep properly due to the overwhelming administrative duties, and he looked noticeably gaunt.

A servant carrying clothes entered the room, watching Pereian’s expression. Soon, Pereian, dressed in full uniform, left the office looking presentable.

The envoys were land dwellers, so he had to personally greet them and cast a breathing spell. Just like when he had taken Irene Iphraim as his bride. He had to leave now and wait if he wasn’t going to be late.

The underwater palace, at a time that was still too early to be called morning, had a cold and solemn atmosphere. Still with a frozen expression, Pereian reached out and sculpted a horse. He instantly mounted the horse, pulled the reins, and urged it to move.

It was time to prove to the envoys of the land, especially those from Epin, the queen’s homeland, that the ruler of the underwater kingdom was still in power.

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