CH 27

A smile lingered on Sante’s lips. He took Ophelia’s hand and pulled her lightly towards him.

Then his other hand slinked around her waist, looking into her eyes as he asked.

“Let’s set up your debt properly.”

“Are you helping me?”

“That’s right.”

Sante embraced Ophelia with one arm, opened the window and went out the balcony.

“What are you planning to do?”

“I think you know.”

He thought she wouldn’t like it if he said it straight.

Ophelia’s eyes grew wider, and what was within her gaze was apparent anticipation.

If her reaction’s like this, then he couldn’t possibly show her an unappealing side of him.

And the next moment, wings sprang up from behind Sante.

A couple of feathers fell out of his golden wings the moment he soared high up.

Surprisingly, the feathers that were detached from his wings were no longer gold.

Staring at them, Ophelia opened her lips to speak.

“Sante, the feathers you gave me weren’t gold.”

“I didn’t trick you. The original color of my feathers is dark green.”

Gold wings were the symbol of the head of the sirens.

But Sante didn’t explain further. More than anything, this just made him the opposite of inconspicuous.

Sante, who hid more about himself, held Ophelia tightly in his arms.

And Ophelia saw what birds saw for the first time in her life.

The wide view of those who had the sky as their backyard was right beneath her feet.

Ophelia was busy taking in the sight, enjoying her first and possibly last view of this.

Perhaps because she had no expectations of doing this again even if Sante asked her to do so, she was very excited.

And it was a pretty satisfactory outcome for Sante.

With a casual smile on his lips and with his hair fluttering softly in the wind, Sante asked.

“How does it feel to fly in the sky? Fun, right?”

“It is. You must enjoy seeing this view all the time.”

The corners of Ophelia’s lips were curled up. The emotions showing on her face were expressed that it’s no exaggeration for her to say that this was fun.

She really was a fearless human. What if he would let go of her and let her fall here?

‘They usually get scared easily.’

It’s common for people to be scared of heights. Even many sirens fly low during rainy days because they’re afraid of falling at high altitudes.

That’s why Sante had soared so high up on purpose. He was wondering if he could see Ophelia being flustered or intimidated.

However, seeing her like this, not scared at all, it made him wonder the opposite thing.

Did she have a kind of recklessness that caused her to fear nothing?

Or did she trust him…?

The question was like a lump on his throat. Sante knew that this was a very bad sign.

These kinds of questions had never done him well any time he thought of them.

So he gave a completely different answer to her.

“Well, I guess so. Are you jealous?”

“No.”

And the voice that replied was calm.

“I’m not someone who covets the things I can’t have.”

Sante’s eyes narrowed. Ophelia’s lips were still traced with a smile, and she was still busy looking below her.

That’s why the latch to the door that Ophelia guards diligently was slightly ajar.

With his sharp instincts, Sante noticed that her walls were down for a moment.

The answer she gave to a question he asked meaninglessly, might ironically be related to the answer that he asked himself earlier.

It’s an opportunity to get a glimpse inside Ophelia’s inner self that she normally wouldn’t show.

He didn’t miss the opportunity and asked back.

“Then what are you jealous of?”

“What I’m jealous of is…”

Ophelia had answered reflexively, but she slowly trailed off.

It wasn’t because she had stopped the latch from opening again.

It’s just that the timing was bad.

Since they were already near the beach, as Ophelia scanned the scenery below her, something caught her eye at that moment.

“Sante, look over there. Can you see the red hair that’s just like mine?”

“…I can see it.”

Damn it. Sante chewed the inside of his cheek.

It was a good opportunity, but it didn’t work out in his favor.

Sante’s gaze grew sharp and his expression hardened. It was a very small difference that anyone else wouldn’t notice, but Ophelia quickly sensed the change in Sante’s mood.

‘I think his mood suddenly soured.’

But despite her astute hunch, she couldn’t figure out the reason for his shift in demeanor.

Ophelia thought for a while what the reason could be that Sante suddenly became that way, and she rationalized it in her own way.

‘It must be true that sirens don’t get along well with mermaids.’

If it was something like an interracial issue, it made sense why he’d feel off.

Ophelia mulled over it, completely misled, then opened her lips.

“Sante, if you don’t want to get close, you can just drop me off.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Didn’t your mood become bad because you didn’t want to approach the youngest mermaid princess?”

At Ophelia’s question, Sante’s expression grew vague this time.

He smiled, yet it was like a wince, then replied.

“…I know we’re not on good terms with the mermaids, but Ophelia. I’m the head.”

This was nothing.

After saying this, Sante approached Ariel, the youngest mermaid, his wings flapping that way.

The golden wings fluttered gently like waves, and one feather fell out at the end.

The dark green feather gently fell right in front of Ariel as though it had a will.

Then Ariel, who had been talking to a seagull on a reef next to the beach, turned her gaze to the feather. She picked it up with her damp hands.

And at that moment, Ariel raised her head.

Red hair, blue eyes, resembling yet not resembling Ophelia. She shouted right then.

“Siren!”

“Yes, I thought that if it’s the Princess, you’d notice.”

At the same time, Sante landed on the beach and covered his wings over his body.

He also didn’t forget to shield Ophelia with his golden wings to hide her from Ariel’s view.

“Golden wings, I heard about it… You’re the head of the sirens, aren’t you?”

“Thanks for recognizing me. I heard that the youngest mermaid princess is smart.”

“Thank you for the compliment. I don’t think I need to ask how you recognized me… Wait.”

The voice of the mermaid, which was like that of humans yet sounded as if she was singing, quickly froze.

“I was wondering why the head of the sirens sought me out, but… What are you hiding under your wings?”

At Ariel’s interrogation, Sante dodged it and laughed dryly.

“Oh my, the youngest mermaid princess is too smart…”

“Don’t even think about using your spell. I can see through everything you’re doing.”

“Of course not. How can I not know that mermaids are good at detecting magic?”

Sante waved his hand and smiled leisurely.

However, beneath his seemingly relaxed, nonchalant smile was a slight shock.

He hid Ophelia under his wings that were full of mana, so he didn’t think that he’d get caught like this as soon as they faced each other.

Ophelia thought that this was her biggest difference against those like Sante and Alei.

Those who had abilities like theirs become somewhat defenseless in situations where their abilities wouldn’t work because things would go unexpectedly awry.

Being relaxed always equaled to being defenseless.

‘That’s why I succeeded in putting the ring on him during our first meeting.’

Of course, Sante had many years of experience, so he’d eventually find a solution to this situation.

But there’s no need to do that.

First, identify the opponent’s weakness.

That’s how Ophelia, who had no abilities, survived.

So Ophelia whispered to Sante.

“Sante, go take the man on the coast. The mermaid loves him.”

When he heard her, Sante’s expression became unreadable.

He thought it was ridiculous, that this situation was laughable.

Haha! Sante had burst into laughter and retracted his wings.

Dark green feathers, like a snake’s pupils, scattered similarly in the wind, and, standing on the shore, Ophelia gradually became visible.

At that moment.