Chapter 54

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He asked himself, why did he continue calling out to her even though he knew that an answer would not come back?

Even now, he still did not know the reason.

It seemed like Ophelia would truly leave him if he ever stopped doing so.

This was nothing short of him grasping at straws, trying to connect two different things that had no relation.

Perhaps, he expected that he would be answered someday.

Ophelia will open her eyes one day. Perhaps, he couldn’t let go of that expectation.

It’s laughable, but it really was like that.

Ophelia remained asleep, unaware of everything, as though what the spell did was stop time for her.

Unlike Ian, who was sinking little by little into the reality of living in a world without Ophelia, she was calm, she remained the same.

Right before him, Ian would still think of that scene in his dreams.

His first meeting with Ophelia.

The red hair that he first saw after he had plunged into the depths of the sea.

“Are you awake?”

Because his eyes were closed for a long time, the sun’s rays were unusually blinding. Her wide, blue eyes were like clear lakes.

The moment he gained consciousness, Ophelia hurriedly checked his condition.

Bustling movements contrasted with his static self.

“Can you grip my hand once?”

A voice that was reminiscent of the warmest day underneath the sun.

When he felt something touching his hand, he realized that it was her hand.

When Ian lightly gripped it, the bright face crumpled up at once.

“Y-You’ve regained your senses then. Can you let go now?”

Only then did Ian realize that he couldn’t control his strength because he lost his composure.

When he loosened his grip, the thin hand that was folded in his was red.

This hand was what held onto him. It felt strange. Only then did Ian open his lips.

“Who are you?”

“I am Ophelia Milescet. I’m the one who saved you. Now, can you please let go?”

Her question was polite, but it’s strange. He wanted to do the exact opposite of what she was asking.

If Ian had less courtesy in him, he would have pulled Ophelia into his arms and embraced her right then.

His body, which had never yearned for anyone, was strangely drawn to her.

It was also an attraction that stemmed from the vague feeling of familiarity towards her red hair.

As he let Ophelia go, this was what Ian thought.

And sooner or later, he found a name to this abstract feeling.

It’s called love.

Realizing it wasn’t such a smooth experience, but whenever he tried to describe what exactly it was that he was feeling, there was only that word left.

Ian admitted it—that he was in love.

He wanted to kiss Ophelia over her round eyes. He wanted her blue eyes to have him in their gaze, and he hoped that it wouldn’t be strange to touch her red hair.

When he lay over her chest, it’s like he had ascended from the sea.

There was no other way to call it but love.

Even so, these feelings were Ian’s alone.

Unlike the yearning that Ian felt, Ophelia did not love Ian. No matter what sweet whispers of love that were whispered, Ophelia only smiled faintly back.

“Do you love me, Ophelia?”

“Of course.”

Uttering this lightly spoken, restrained affirmation, she was far too calm.

It was right to say that Ophelia resembled a lake. There were no waves.

Unlike Ian, who loved like the turbulent ocean, Ophelia was like a freshwater lake that had not a single wind blowing.

When she said yes to his proposal, that’s when he accepted it. She was always calm.

Still, Ian tried to trust her words.

“Do I look like I don’t love him?”

Except, if only he hadn’t heard this conversation she had with someone else.

The person she was talking to was a man. However, Ian couldn’t see his face.

“I’m… I’m trying to say that it might be better to rethink this marriage again. If you get married like this, you’ll certainly regret it.”

“But in our marriage, my love is not important. Because Ian loves me.”

Ian didn’t hear what came next.

He wasn’t confident enough to listen to what would be said after this.

Judging by Ophelia’s words, it clearly sounded like she was trying to take advantage of his love for her.

And one time was enough.

He didn’t want to hear it twice. He didn’t want it to be proven that she truly didn’t love him.

He was crestfallen.

However, Ian still loved Ophelia.

‘She saved me. There’s no reason for me to stop, either.’

He could understand to some degree that she planned to use him. It wasn’t as painful to think that he was only paying back what he owed.

He really thought he could understand. Once they got married, she would come to love him, too.

But after their marriage.

When he learned who it really was who saved him, all the endurance that he had mustered collapsed at once.

As he saw the mermaids with short hair crying, he knew who it was that they were talking about. Their youngest sibling.

Red hair. Blue eyes. These were rare features.

One day, while taking a walk on the shore, there was one person he helped on her way home because she looked lost.

She was a young woman who had yet to grow out of her youthful, girlish charm. Her smile was dazzling.

She resembled Ophelia, and because of this, he grew worried. So he helped her. But he remembered being surprised that her personality was the opposite of Ophelia’s.

But that young woman was the one who really saved him. And she died because he didn’t know that.

This guilt. This unrepaid love. This mistaken choice weighed down on Ian.

He knew that the mermaid’s death was not Ophelia’s fault. However, whenever he looked at her, his throat would tighten up and the memory would resurface. It became difficult to even face her.

And so, he ran away.

Ophelia didn’t love him anyway. She only desired the position she gained. Even if he wasn’t there with her, she would live well in Ronen regardless.

She often sought him out before, but once they arrived in Ronen, she stopped visiting him at some point. This fact solidified his conclusion.

‘Ophelia only used me.’

She had already become the Grand Duchess of Ronen. She didn’t need him anymore, so she no longer needed to look for him.

That’s what he had been thinking.

Until he returned from a territorial inspection—until the moment he heard that Ophelia had collapsed, not waking up.

In front of Ophelia, who would not wake up, Ian realized one thing.

It was his neglect that caused him to think that their love was over.

As he guarded Ophelia, who lay unconscious on that bed, the first year was shrouded with inconceivable grief and confusion.

When Ophelia wouldn’t wake up, he himself couldn’t understand why it felt like the world had collapsed.

He never wished for Ophelia to die, but he also never thought that a life without her would be so enveloped by smoke.

During the five years of their marriage, Ian had been extremely reluctant to even be in the same place as Ophelia. He didn’t even want to hear her name mentioned.

This was because whenever he heard any news about her, his heart trembled and it felt as though he would throw up.

But that didn’t mean Ian didn’t see Ophelia often.

He often left his castle. Ronen was located in a perilous region after all, so he needed to take care of the monstrous beasts in the north. There were also many times when he had to travel across the sea for trade.

Of course, it was still Ian’s decision to handle official business outside the castle.

However, laughably enough, whenever he would leave the castle and come back, he would first visit Ophelia.

There was no reason. Just as it was natural to exchange rings during a wedding, just as naturally as a migratory bird would return.

Whenever he saw his wife who would not even welcome him, it felt like the once bleak world was shining brightly again.

It was a different emotion, one that’s separate from the guilt eating him up as he faced her.

However, Ian never thought deeply about this.

No. It would be more correct to say that he didn’t want to think about it.

He tried to avoid anything that had to do with Ophelia.

“Now that you’ve returned, sire, will you be meeting Her Grace?”

If his aide had not asked this one day, Ian would not have even noticed it.

The first few times Ian came to her, Ophelia would only look at him with eyes that were like shattered reefs.