Die Melusine - Chapter 61

Melusine’s body was cold—ice cold.

On the morning of the emperor’s birthday celebration, Kieron had held her until dawn. She had fainted in his arms, and after laying her down and making only minimal preparations, he had returned to check on her.

He had just wanted one more look at her sleeping face. But something felt off.

When he touched the back of her neck, her skin was so cold that his own hand felt hot against it.

“Mel.”

He gently shook her.

“Mm…”

Her lashes trembled slightly, as though she might wake, her eyelids fluttering open a fraction—only to shut tightly again. The hand she tried to move dropped limply onto the sheets.

Her breathing, faint as it was, came out rough and uneven through parted lips.

Kieron immediately summoned an attendant to bring a physician.

Ian, who had been waiting outside the door, took the opportunity to step into the reception room, though he dared not enter the bedchamber itself. He called out cautiously.

“Your Grace, is something—ah!”

He flinched as Kieron appeared before him, like a ghost out of nowhere.

“What.”

“I was surprised to hear you called for a doctor. I thought perhaps you were unwell…”

In all the years he had served him, Ian had never seen Kieron so much as bedridden with a cold. The fact that this was the imperial palace, not the Grand Duke’s estate, added another layer of concern.

He didn’t know the full story, but he’d sensed something was different. He had even been present once when an assassin attacked—and while Kieron had never once left such things unpunished, he always handled it with eerie calm, never revealing the true mastermind.

“It’s not me. Melusine’s… not right.”

“Pardon? Ah…”

Ian sighed in relief—though his eyes still darted to the Duke’s face.

Kieron raked back his short bangs with a rough hand. His complexion seemed no different than usual, but something in him felt subtly… unsettled. A kind of quiet urgency Ian had never seen—not even before going into battle.

“Was it like this on the way back from the Duchy of Bartone?”

“Is she cold again? Like someone burning with fever who can’t stop shivering?”

Kieron gave a small nod.

“Then I’ll have the maids prepare a warm bath right away—”

“I already ordered it. Just tell them I won’t be attending the morning banquet. Or better yet, tell them I won’t be attending at all.”

“Understood. Then I’ll—wait, what?”

Ian, who had turned to go, stopped and turned back.

“Surely… you’re not serious?”

“If I weren’t, would I say it?”

Kieron replied flatly as he pulled off his cravat without the slightest change in expression. Ian nearly choked in shock.

“But the morning event is reserved for your closest allies! Skipping it would—”

It was guaranteed the emperor would take it as a personal insult. Especially since Lady Estelle of House Hesnal had surely been invited—if she found out why Kieron didn’t attend…

Ian’s head already throbbed just imagining it.

This wasn’t like Kieron. He wasn’t the type to skip protocol just for convenience—he normally avoided drama not out of politeness, but because it was simply too bothersome.

So where had it all started to unravel?

No—who had started it?

Click, click. As Ian stood there, wondering how to change his superior’s mind, his gaze fell to the large hands unfastening the buttons of his frock coat.

Sigh. In the end, Ian took Kieron’s coat and let out a long breath.

Once the Grand Duke made up his mind, there was no changing it.

“You’re really… not going?”

As expected, there was no reply.

And regrettably, because of the Duke’s absence, Ian—Count of Luthern—would have to attend the banquet in his place. Everyone would smile as if nothing were wrong, but the atmosphere would be thin as glass, and he’d have to shoulder every sharp, silent glance on his master’s behalf.

Just then, the maids informed them the bath was ready.

Ian watched with a troubled look as Kieron turned and disappeared back into the bedroom.

Once the room was cleared, Kieron stripped off the rest of his clothes, lifted Melusine into his arms, and stepped directly into the bath with her.

Still trembling, her small, pale body was cradled in his from behind. He poured warm water over her shoulders again and again, trying to ease the shivers from her chilled frame.

By now, she should’ve stirred—but whatever dream had its grip on her, it held tight.

Even as she trembled in his arms, Melusine didn’t wake.

***

It was a night with a full, round moon—bright, beautiful, and unusually large. Under its glow, Melusine swam through the shimmering waters.

How long had it been since she’d felt the sea? The soft ripples at her fingertips, the salty breeze brushing her nose—it all made her giddy with joy.

As she sliced through the water with her tail fin, the gentle pressure of the ocean wrapped her in a familiar, comforting embrace.

How far should I go? she wondered. But then, out of nowhere, a frozen mountain appeared nearby, and the water grew shockingly cold.
This couldn’t be the seas of Vercez—it was never this frigid.

“Ugh… it’s s-so cold…”

Her hands trembled; her breath came out in visible wisps.

Panicked by the sudden chill, Melusine tried to swim away. Just then, something floated to the surface.

A… seashell? Here?

It was large—almost the size of her palm—and stunning, with delicate white ridges.
She opened it, expecting meat inside, but found instead a pearl—a large, softly glowing orb, smooth and faintly pink.

It reminded her of the ones that formed from her tears when she spent the night with Kieron.

But this one was larger, more radiant, more beautiful than any before.

Even while shivering violently, Melusine clutched the shell to her chest as if it were the most precious thing in the world. She didn’t want to let it go.

It was the first time she’d ever felt this kind of yearning—an ache in her chest so gentle it almost hurt.

“Ah—”

When she finally woke up, it was with the sensation of a strong warmth wrapped around her body from behind.

“You’re awake now?”

“My… shell. The pretty shell…”

Still dazed, she started reaching around in the bathwater, searching. Watching her flail, Kieron let out a low, soft laugh.

She might not have noticed—still half-asleep—but it was unmistakably a laugh. Short and quiet, but real.

“Dreaming about food, were you?”

She’s not a child.

“No, no—it wasn’t food. I was swimming, and I—oh… a dream. It was just a dream…”

Her shoulders slumped as if disappointed, and she curled toward Kieron.

“It wasn’t food. It was a pearl.”

At the word pearl, Kieron’s fingers brushed teasingly across her breast.

“Didn’t we already have plenty of those last night?”

“Mm…”

From the way she let out a breathy sigh, it seemed her strength was finally returning.

He’d started with warm water, but her body hadn’t warmed easily. So he’d carefully massaged her for quite some time—pulling her into his chest to help circulate her blood with the heat of his own body.

Only after that extended contact had warmth slowly returned to her small, fragile frame.

Melusine, basking in his warmth, suddenly realized—he was naked.

“Wait… was it because you wanted to?”

She glanced at him and touched his chest questioningly. Kieron snorted lightly.

“I’m not into sick girls.”

And it was true—under normal circumstances, clothed or not, he wouldn’t have left her untouched.

“But… I do want to…”

She rubbed her cheek against him with a pouty voice. Kieron gazed down at her quietly.

She really was so honest sometimes—it made him feel like he was raising some kind of wild animal.

He turned her to face him, settling her into his lap.

Thankfully, the dullness in her eyes was gone now, and her blue irises sparkled again.

That lazy gaze locked onto her, and Melusine blushed—face and body alike.

“Your body—”

“My body?”

“How does it feel now?”

“Me? Why?”

“You were freezing earlier.”

His hand slid slowly up her back, and she flinched at the touch.

“Ah… the water.”

“The water?”

“Mm. If I stay out of it too long, that happens.”

Melusine answered casually, playing with Kieron’s damp hair as she spoke.

Kieron’s golden eyes, which had been watchful, softened a little as they scanned her face.

Of course—she had come a long way, all the way from the Grand Duchy of Triton to the Imperial Palace. And even here, she’d spent days under his touch, being worn down in his arms.

She really was a fish.

She could never survive without the water completely.

“Wait—the water?”

Suddenly startled, Melusine reached down to feel around her ankles. After staying submerged for so long, they should have felt heavy—swollen and tight from where the shackles dug into her skin. But strangely, they felt… light.

When she finally looked, she realized it was gone. The shackle she had still worn even after coming here had vanished.

“It’s gone. Where… is it?”

The man who knew exactly what she was looking for answered in a flat tone.

“I took it off.”

Her ankles, free at last, felt light. But her heart—unexpectedly—felt a little heavier.

Even if it had hurt, even if it bound her… she didn’t like that a mark he left on her had disappeared.

“Why?”

“No reason.”

Kieron tilted her chin toward him, bringing her face close until she looked directly at him.

The initials still engraved on the collar around her neck caught the flickering candlelight in the bath and gleamed even brighter.

“Seemed like you didn’t need it anymore.”

Then, as if kissing her, he pressed his lips softly to her closed eyelid.

He sucked gently on her trembling lashes, then slowly traced over her lid with the warmth of his tongue—quietly, deeply.

As if thinking, I don’t need to carve out these eyes to make them mine anymore. I already have them.