Chapter 74

There seemed to be something behind the hesitation and twisting of his body.

"Actually, I wasn't interested, but I broke the Lord's I serve's favorite teacup, and I was in debt, and I ended up sitting on the street…"

So, that was why he was aiming for one hundred thousand gold in search of treasure.

Somehow, looking at the business plan he put out, it seemed that he was focusing on the treasures of Atlantis, not on Atlantis itself.

"I was in a situation where my wife and children would be sold as well."

The matter was more serious than she expected.

"I told the Lord about Atlantis and the map with the feeling of grabbing straws1. Then he told me that he would give me a chance and ask me to find the treasure."

That Lord has a bad taste. Aria thought.

'You don't even believe that the guy will bring you the treasure, you're just pretending to give it a chance for fun.'

And as long as the man has a keen eye, he would have known that.

But he had no choice but to do it. Because there was no other way.

'It seems he didn't believe that he was a descendant of the royal family, but somehow wanted to believe.'

If he didn't cheat on her, the situation would have been so desperate.

Aria pondered for a moment, then held out her hand with a new card.

[Give me that.]

Anyway, it seemed to be true as far as what he had heard of his ancestors. As Aria spread her palms out, the man hurriedly shoved the barnacles into her hands.

That was the moment.

"Gasp!"

"Wh, what!"

"My God...."

The mass of barnacles, which were close to sea garbage, was suddenly engulfed in white light.

Aria herself was so shocked that she almost dropped it.

'Oh, that scared me....'

The barnacles that covered it fell as if it was peeling off the skins, and the light that made them frown quickly faded away, leaving only the pink bare inside.

The identity of the lump was a pearl.

'It's a conch pearl.'

The most expensive pearl in the world. A pearl with a pale pink, porcelain-like texture, produced from a large snail shell.

Just enough to fit into Aria's hand.

[You don't even need to find Atlantis with a conch pearl of this size. It's not just enough to pay off your debt, it's more than enough to buy a permanent residence....]

It was when Aria was writing her card kindly for the man.

"Ki, king!"

Suddenly the man knelt to his knees. Aria was just speechless, she had nothing to say.

"Really?"

"Is the Young Madam a descendant of the ancient royal family?"

And as the Black Falcon began to talk, she became even more speechless.

"That's what it was! I wasn't a descendant of the royal family, but in fact my role was to deliver a map of Atlantis to the descendant!"

Fine. Think as you please. Apparently, this man was too impressed with the marine adventure novels.

'It seems that there is something really.'

Because she was a Siren? But other than that the barnacle fell, nothing special happened.

Aria looked around the conch pearl.

'Should I take this on a boat?'

Then the entrance will open? With a very suspicious look, she picked up her fountain pen.

[Sell ​​this jewel to me.]

Of course, if she pays it right, the prince will be staggering.

But it was clear that it would cost less than Lloyd's reckless investment plan to send an endless probe.

Then the man, very moved by the thought of being able to pay his debts and protect his family, banged his head on the ground.

"Of course. King!"

He was still obsessed with his role-playing.

***

"The king has come."

"…."

Lloyd seems to have heard the news too. Aria glanced at Lloyd, who teased her with a playful smile.

"It's okay, show me your wounds."

Lloyd rolled up the sleeves of his shirt without hesitation. Then it revealed a deep wound that had been roughly wrapped in bandages.

A cut to the point of almost showing through the bones.

Aria unknowingly twisted her face and bit her lip.

'I've been seeing it regularly for years.'

She never got used to it, and she didn't know why she felt like crying every time she saw it.

Aria had to sing a healing song while coughing several times because of her watery voice over and over again.

"Don't cry."

Lloyd reached out to reach his hand towards Aria's eyes. His forearms were tight, with only traces of dried blood remaining with the wounds fully healed.

Unlike before, he was surrounded by strong and thick muscles.

'Is Lloyd's hand this big in the first place?'

Aria's gaze suddenly touched the back of the young man's hand with blue veins.

'He didn't have anything like that when he was younger....'

Aria thought blankly.

She then realized what she had just been thinking and she avoided his touch in surprise.

"….."

"….."

"No, this is…"

It was a misunderstanding.

"It's definitely not because I hate Lloyd!"

"I know. Who cries for someone you hate."

Lloyd said with a grin, as if she was worried about nothing.

"You said you wouldn't touch me when you became an adult."

"….."

It didn't seem like Aria had withdrawn because she was afraid. That's also a misunderstanding....

If she reveals it's a misunderstanding, there's no way for her to explain why she did it, so she just kept quiet.

'More than that, it's strange.'

Aria tilted her head.

'Why wouldn't he go crazy.'

Of course, she never meant him to go crazy. It was rather fortunate, though.

'Considering the speed that the Emperor, the imperial family, and the nobles went crazy in the past, he should have gone crazy earlier....'

Lloyd did not show any signs of addiction before suffering from madness. Not at all.

Even though she was anxious every day for fear that he might become addicted like the Emperor.

What if listening to this song starts addiction? So she was terrified the whole time.

'Besides, he obviously said that Valentine's direct lineage can easily go crazy.'

But he didn't go crazy.

'So is Tristan.'

He was fine. Even if he wasn't addicted to Siren's song, it was strange to think that the future that would come to him was death or madness.

That's so….

'It is fortunate, but?'

So, what happened in Aria's previous life?

She thought if they were addicted to Siren's song they would go crazy. So, sometimes, she felt guilty, wondering if it was her fault that the Empire collapsed.

She often had terrible nightmares in which the horrors of the past were reproduced as they were. Even after she returned, she often had to suffer from the trauma.

But what if that's not true?

'It was certain that only those who heard my song went crazy.'

It was when she was immersed in her thoughts.

She suddenly felt a light breath, and Lloyd's face was right in front of her. His cool body scents rushed in with her resting breath.

"Your complexion is bad. Are you sick?"

His red lips were close enough to touch. Aria was so startled she thought her heart was jumping out of her mouth.

"You're not suffering alone again, are you?"

She quickly shook her head.

"Hmm."

Lloyd frowned slightly, as she showed a very suspicious reaction. He brought his face closer.

Aria sighed and held her breath. Their foreheads touched each other.

"No fever."

Lloyd, who approached without any interest, quietly moved away again. He looked at her red hot face and tilted his head.

"No, do you have a fever?"

"..."

"If you're sick, don't hide it."

"…I'm not sick."

Aria mumbled as she rubbed her cheeks, which were burning red. Her face just got hot.

'You're really treating me like a real child.'

Even as the years passed, he became more and more overprotective.

She suddenly remembered what Gabriel had said about four years ago, as if it was quite obvious.

"The Grand Prince will never look at the Young Madam with those eyes."

"The four-year difference isn't that big of an age gap. But that's when you're an adult, and ten and fourteen are the difference between heaven and the earth."

Yes, that was very common sense. So she got even more annoyed.

According to that logic, the age of 18 and 14 is the difference between heaven and earth.

She realized again.

'Lloyd is coming of age.'

The two letters 'adult' brought up the memories that had been locked under the water.

'The Devil Grand Duke.'

Lloyd Cardenas Valentine.

Actually Aria had met him a few times before her death. The most memorable was at a social club hosted to promote Aria to high-ranking nobles.

Wherever Aria headed, there were always incidents and accidents. Because not just one or two high-ranking nobles who were obsessed with her to possess her fully.

However, the Count knew Aria's value more than anyone. He had no intention of selling her even to the Emperor, and those who were addicted to her songs went crazy.

It was like that that day too.

If a noble couldn't have a siren, they'd rather die and....

"Now I'm."

The Devil Grand Duke took his chance by subduing the nobles at once.

"Listening to the song."

The memory at that time was engraved in her mind so strongly that she could not forget it.

"Want to die?"

—

*) Last hope to do/achieve something