The Mermaid Trap – Chapter 21: The Price of Freedom
The dark depths swallowed everything whole. No bottom existed beneath the waves that rolled endlessly through the fogged vision, and the light gradually faded.
Breath choked in his throat. Deep in his lungs, the space where air had fled was flooded with an unbearable humidity. Kian felt himself plunging into an abyss of terror, one where death seemed imminent at any moment.
He wanted to scream for help. Yet even his voice could not emerge. His hands flailed wildly, thrashing in futile desperation, but nothing could be reached.
Powerlessness crashed over him like a tide. Staring at the rising bubbles, he simply sank deeper and deeper, powerless to fight the darkness that was already devouring his mind.
When the pain finally crested its limit, a strange peace washed over him.
This is how death feels. Only then did the final moment arrive, and an indistinct melody whispered near his ear—
the voice of an angel.
Or was it the whisper of a demon?
He no longer cared what judgment had been handed down to the worthless life he had once lived. Whichever side it was, it would not change what he wanted.
If you let me disappear without a trace, I will gladly offer you my soul in return. At that moment of such a pathetic promise, light flooded his vision.
A life never granted permission from the beginning could not even be granted an easy death.
***
The sky after the rain was clear and refreshing. The waves, now taller, rose and fell in rhythmic waves.
His head was hazy. Kian had awakened later than usual and immediately leaned back against the single sofa beside the balcony.
Any morning after a nightmare was usually a mess. So he would not call for tea and would summon Matilda to quietly take care of everything.
Yet here it was—something strange.
The room was spotlessly clean, as if nothing at all had happened.
Matilda had already been here? No, she had never done that before. She always maintained a cautious distance when investigating her master’s secrets.
In other words, she never spoke first unless summoned. Besides, Kian had locked the door; it was physically impossible for anyone to slip in unnoticed.
Then—knock, knock. Someone entered the room carefully even without an answer.
Vivienne.
That woman.
“……Good morning.”
She greeted him first, hesitantly, without once meeting his eyes. Kian carefully studied the woman approaching him.
She was not dressed in any grand gown, but it was clear she belonged to a different world. She looked like the pampered young lady Matilda had described.
“……”
At the same time, Vivienne was carefully reading his expression.
Last night, she had sung for him. A little later, his condition had improved almost miraculously.
The rain had stopped, the fever had broken, and Kian’s breathing had grown steady. Only then could she breathe a sigh of relief.
And only then did she notice the mess the room had become. If she had not known, she could have ignored it. But she could not turn away after seeing it.
The way Kian had locked the door. The way he had reacted with such ferocity when she offered to call for help. All of it bothered her.
If someone else saw this, his mood would surely plummet to the floor once more.
Most of all, she worried that when she woke up in the morning and saw the chaos she had left behind, she would remember last night. When the thought reached that point, she could not stay silent.
Vivienne quietly removed the shards of the broken porcelain vase and the roses scattered everywhere, then slipped out of the room before dawn.
And when she saw him still asleep at the usual time, relief washed over her.
She had deliberately set out the tea set and placed the cups exactly as usual. Normally, when he unfolded the newspaper, the cups would pour with a soft clink.
She had learned it that way and had done it that way—until Kian snatched her right wrist instead of the newspaper.
…What?
Her heart dropped like a stone.
“How did you get hurt this time?”
Kian immediately began to question her the moment he noticed the wound on her fingertip.
What should she say?
Last night, Kian had clearly not been in his right mind. Did he not remember coming here? Or was he remembering and still questioning her? Her mind went blank and her lips would not move.
“Well. The reason doesn’t matter, does it?”
“…Excuse me?”
“I had two people watching over you for your sake. And both failed. So the questioning should be directed at them.”
Matilda and Theodore. The words landed somewhere she had never imagined.
She had never expected to be blamed for nothing more than a cut finger. Vivienne panicked and defended them immediately.
“Ah, no! They are not at fault at all. It’s all my fault.”
“Why is it your fault?”
“They thought I was sleeping. It was entirely my responsibility, and they had nothing to do with it.”
“You got hurt alone at night? How?”
He showed no expression. Rather than anger, that felt even more unsettling.
Since Vivienne could not speak, Kian jerked his chin toward the side table.
“There was a vase here with roses stuck in it. The breaking sound must have come from that. At the same time, you cut your hand.”
“……”
“Should I say it myself?”
She already knew everything. Denying it would be ridiculous.
She had no choice but to confess honestly.
“…Last night I came here.”
Vivienne closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head.
“I was worried because of the sound of breaking glass. I thought you would be unhappy if you woke up to the broken pieces. I cleaned it up on my own. I didn’t mean to hide it. I’m sorry.”
All she had wanted was to help if he was hurt. It had been an overstep. She had only hoped he would not be hurt and would not feel pain.
Yet when she considered that Kian did not want his secrets exposed, it was hard to call it selfless kindness.
She understood. She knew.
But she could not stop the doubt that rose in her heart.
What if she went back to last night? Could she have turned away from that pain?
Just because she saw him looking so pained.
For him?
She had not been there.
The kindness that had been offered now seemed to sting him. Her heart grew heavy.
“You went to all the trouble of stripping me of my maid’s clothes, yet here you are doing maid work again.”
Only then did he release her wrist. Her limp hand fell lifelessly.
“From now on, don’t bother with tea service. You are no longer a maid.”
“Then… why did you hold me back that day? You still haven’t told me the reason.”
It was a somewhat impulsive question.
Yet it also came from a place of honesty.
Kian had dressed her in beautiful clothes without explanation, given her a good room, and assigned guards to her. And still he could turn cold and speak rudely at any moment.
It was too cold to be affection.
Too warm to be hatred.
For a noble young lady, she had always had to read his every expression and had been told it was none of her business when she offered to serve him.
Kindness. Rudeness. Both had to be accepted without understanding. She had been confused.
On some days she had felt hope from his kindness, and on others she had felt as though she was being thrown to the bottom of the earth.
Yes. He had said he had something to say.
Because he needed her and missed her.
He had said he wanted to keep her.
She had wanted to hear the rest of that sentence now, even though she had missed it last night because she had fallen asleep.
“You were taken care of so prettily. It seems you still haven’t understood the situation.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Would you like me to show you? What kind of being you are in this house right now?”
Kian did not wait for an answer. He stood and strode away, and a faint jingling sound echoed from the corridor.
That meant a maid was about to come. He must have wanted to call one.
Why was he doing this? Before she could guess the reason, another knock sounded.
Kian moved in an instant, pulled her waist from behind with one arm, and drew her into his embrace. Vivienne’s body went limp like a rag doll in his arms.
Thud. With a feeling of her back being exposed, Vivienne’s face turned deathly pale.
“Come in.”
After granting entry to the maid, he released her. Vivienne stepped out of his arms without understanding what had happened.
“Is the master calling for me?”
The maid entered the room as instructed by her master and bowed her head respectfully. She tried not to glance sideways, but Vivienne could sense the effort.
Knowing exactly what that look meant, her face flushed hot. She wanted to escape the room at once.
“Ah, Vivi. Just a moment.”
Just as she was about to rush out, she was caught again in Kian’s arms.
He pulled her to him casually, like a doll, and tied the ribbon of the indoor dress she had been given.
Dressing a woman’s clothes on a man who was not insane? It was an act no noble man would ever perform.
“You’re going to get a bath.”
Then he gave quiet instructions to the maid. When the maid did not reply, Kian asked impatiently.
“Did you not hear me?”
“Y-yes! I-I’ll prepare it right away.”
Was she flustered? Her voice trembled.
Her legs felt weak and she wanted to sink to the floor. Did Kian sense it? Instead of releasing her, he held her tighter.
“Shall we bathe together?”
He tugged the ribbon again and whispered playfully. Her body froze, but her face burned.
“You’re so easy to startle.”
With no real answer, a light laugh escaped her ear.
“I was joking. Go rest.”
Before she could even answer, he had already walked out of the room.