Die Melusine - Chapter 65

On the ride back from the main palace, after their audience with the emperor—and even after they’d returned—Melusine had remained nestled in Kieron’s arms until she finally drifted off to sleep sometime around midday.

By the time she woke, the sky outside was already dusky with evening.

Was it because the weather was colder here than at the Grand Duchy of Triton? Unlike the southern province, the Imperial Palace always felt gray and dim. The sun was weak, and even when it was up, it still felt like evening.

“Ugh… Where’s Kieron?”

Groggy, Melusine pushed herself upright and glanced at Anne, who was sitting by the bedside.

“His Grace went to see His Majesty.”

“Huh? Again?”

They had just been to see the emperor yesterday. Why call him again so soon? That man really was strange. He always smiled, but his voice never laughed. The words he spoke were always sharp and barbed, like fish bones caught in your throat.

Melusine couldn’t tell whether the emperor’s strange behavior toward Kieron was because he liked him—or if he kept his distance because of it. It was too complicated to understand.

The more she tried to grasp human words and behavior, the more confusing they became.

In Vercez, no one ever said something different from what they felt.
When Melusine first learned the word “honest,” it confused her. Why would a word like that even exist? You only need a word like that if people often aren’t honest.

Maybe humans used “honestly” when they finally decided to speak the truth—for once.

“Yes, His Majesty is hosting a private farewell dinner for His Grace,” Anne explained. “Count Luthern stayed behind too.”

Maybe he was calling Kieron to apologize. That would make sense, given how strangely he’d treated him yesterday.

“A… farewell?”

“Oh! It’s something His Majesty is holding especially for His Grace before he returns to the Grand Duchy. After all, they’re family.”

“Family…”

Anne talked about her family often—her mother who still worried despite being ill, her younger brothers who only ever listened to their older sister. Vercez didn’t have family in the way humans did. They lived communally, as a collective. So every time Anne spoke with such warmth about hers, Melusine couldn’t help but feel drawn in. Family—even the way the word sounded—seemed warm and good.

But to think that man and Kieron were family…

She had heard words like uncle and nephew, but calling what they had family felt off. She’d thought family was supposed to be… kinder.

“Miss—ah, I mean, Lady Mermaid. Would you like to get up and have something to eat?”

Anne’s gentle question pulled her from her thoughts.

“Mm! I’m hungry. Very, very!”

She didn’t particularly want to eat without Kieron—honestly, she didn’t—but there was no helping it.

Melusine threw back the covers and replied with extra enthusiasm. Anne smiled warmly at her, as if proud of her for saying so.

***

Dinner was served for Melusine in a small dining room.
Thanks to Kieron’s request, her meals here weren’t all that different from the ones she used to have back at the Grand Duchy. Of course, being quite far from the sea, the fish wasn’t always as fresh.

“Today, your dinner was specially prepared by the royal chefs themselves, right from the capital. Maybe because it’s your last day at the palace,” the maid said.

“Wow, really?”

Maybe that’s why the food already smelled delicious, even before the silver tray lid was lifted. Since arriving here, she’d had all kinds of fish she’d never seen before—probably some caught in the eastern sea, not the southern one, judging by their shape and taste.

She wondered what kind of fish it would be this time.
Just as she opened the lid with anticipation—

“…Ahhh!”

The silver cover clattered loudly to the floor—Melusine had dropped it without meaning to.

“What is it? What’s wrong, my lady?”
Anne, startled, grabbed Melusine’s arm and held it tight.

On the tray were several small, bright yellow fish—complete with chest, back, and tail fins.
Their bellies were silver and their backs had dark patterns. Anne had never seen this kind of fish before, but its colors made it look almost cute and appetizing—not odd or dangerous.

“Th-this, this is…”

But Melusine was visibly trembling under Anne’s grip.

“Sa…Santopterus…”

She was pale now, muttering something incomprehensible as she all but collapsed into Anne’s arms.

“My lady! What’s wrong? Do you know this fish?”

“It kills.”

“What?”

“If you eat it, you die.”

Anne’s eyes widened as she turned back to the fish on the tray, now with alarm.
Could it be poisonous? She’d heard stories of fishermen dying from eating raw fish—but wasn’t that rare?

“P-please tell me you didn’t touch it,” she said gently, rubbing Melusine’s stiff shoulder.
But Melusine couldn’t even answer. She just kept murmuring things Anne couldn’t make out—she looked so stricken that Anne didn’t dare interrupt.

[They died. They ate this and died. My sisters… so many died.]

The words came out in fragments, her voice shaking and laced with bits of Imperial speech. It was hard to catch it all, but the terror in her tone was unmistakable.

“Kieron. Where’s Kieron?”

Her trembling didn’t stop, but suddenly her blue eyes sharpened with urgency.

“His Highness? Why—?”

“Is he eating the same fish?”

Melusine pointed to the tray with a shaking finger.

“Well… It was also sent from the capital, so maybe— Ah!”

Tap-tap-tap.

Before Anne could even finish her sentence, Melusine bolted from the dining room. She was too fast for Anne to stop.

But she didn’t get far—Kieron’s guards blocked the hallway immediately.

“No—don’t! Let me go! I have to see Kieron—Kieron’s in danger!”

Melusine struggled to break free, swinging her arms, but the guards stood like immovable walls.

Anne rushed up and wrapped an arm around her to steady her.

“You’re not allowed to leave your bedroom or the dining room. We were given explicit orders to prevent you from going outside.”

“Even if someone dies?”

Melusine glared at them. Her voice, low and full of weight, was nothing like her usual self.

The guards, used to seeing her act like a child beside their master, now looked unsettled and confused.

“Die? What do you mean by that…?”

“Kieron. If he eats that, he’s going to die!”

Even Anne had never seen her like this before. Melusine’s entire face was flushed as she pointed back at the dining room, her voice shaking with panic and desperation. Her bloodshot eyes looked ready to overflow with tears—she hardly seemed like the same person.

“The meal tonight… it was sent directly from the capital,” Anne quickly explained on her behalf. “But there must be poison—or something wrong with the fish. As soon as she saw it, she started trembling. I don’t know what to do.”

The guards finally started exchanging worried glances. But they were under strict orders from the Duke, and they had no authority to act on their own.

“What’s going on here?”

A low voice interrupted them—Count Luthern had appeared, drawn out by the sudden commotion in the hallway.

“Please, help me!”

At the sight of a familiar face, Melusine rushed toward him like she’d found her last hope.

“Take me to Kieron. Please,” she begged, eyes wide and blue with desperation.

Ian let out a small sigh as he looked down at her pleading face.

“I’m sorry. I can’t just summon His Highness back from the capital on my own. And we weren’t invited—we can’t just barge in.”

“But that fish—it’s dangerous. If Kieron eats it—!”

“Let me see it.”

He had already overheard Anne’s explanation from the hall. Following Melusine and Anne back into the dining room, Ian carefully inspected the fish on the tray. He didn’t touch it, but he examined the scales, the eyes—every detail. Something about it definitely seemed off. Even as someone who had sailed with the Duke and seen countless sea creatures, this was a species he didn’t recognize.

Still, there was nothing he could do.

“His Highness… will be fine.”

“Fine?”

Melusine stared at him in disbelief. Her body was still trembling—how could he say that so calmly? Ian was the one person she thought might help her get to Kieron, and yet here he was, brushing it off.

“I doubt this is the first time he’s eaten fish like that.”

“This… kind of thing? Often?”

Repeating Ian’s words, her face twisted with anguish. The innocent, smiling girl they all knew was gone—replaced by someone consumed by dread. Her expression had darkened completely. Ian could sense that she was moments away from breaking down in tears.

“Please, don’t worry. Just return to your room and wait. If any news comes about His Highness, I’ll let you know immediately.”

“But—!”

Melusine grabbed his sleeve like a drowning woman clinging to a rope.

“This is the imperial palace. Rash actions could put His Highness in even more danger—you must understand that.”

But Melusine didn’t seem to fully grasp what he meant. She bit her lip and blinked slowly, her eyes wide and glassy.

Ian hadn’t expected her to understand anyway. With a subtle gesture, he signaled to Anne, who stepped in to guide Melusine—still stiff and unwilling—back to her bedroom.

“Are you hungry? Should I bring you something else to eat?”

Anne asked nervously, unsure what to do. Melusine stood at the balcony for a long time, staring out into the distance. Then, finally, she shook her head weakly.

“No… Anne, I… I want a bath.”

“Oh! I’ll get it ready right away. Just a moment, okay?”

Hearing her request, Anne felt a pang of sympathy—not just for Melusine, but also for the Duke. The girl was clearly suffering, and the weight of her fear was hard to bear. So Anne took her time preparing the bath. She used extra fragrant oils and added plenty of flower petals—the ones Melusine liked most.

“My lady! The bath is ready… My—lady?”

But when Anne returned from the bathroom, she found the bedroom empty.
Melusine was gone.

The cold, brisk wind rushing through the wide-open balcony door was the only sign she’d ever been there.