Secrets of the Azure Sea - Chapter 44 Part 2

“Oh, that reminds me! I brought souvenirs from the market for you and Kyrie.”

Floria retrieved the small wrapped packages from the table in the bedroom.

“Zanarf told me to buy whatever I liked. I got matching gifts for the three of us: silver combs and hand mirrors decorated with coral.”

She happily handed the packages to Aura and Kyrie. Aura eagerly unwrapped hers, her face lighting up.

“Oh, what beautiful pink coral! I’ve never seen such a shade, even back in our homeland. It complements the silver comb and mirror perfectly.”

Aura immediately checked her reflection and adjusted her hair with the comb. Floria watched with warmth in her heart.

Aura had grown up with Floria as her childhood friend and was of noble birth. Though her marriage had been delayed, under normal circumstances, she should have married into a family of proper rank and been leading a comfortable, well-off life. Yet she had chosen to serve Floria faithfully and dedicate herself to the princess.

“Aura… I’m sorry,” Floria whispered.

Aura smiled gently.

“My lady, I never intended to marry to begin with. When I entered the castle, I vowed that I would always remain by your side and support you in any way I could. That hasn’t changed, not then, not now, not ever. No matter where we are.”

Tears welled in Floria’s eyes as well, and she hugged Aura tightly. Kyrie, observing their embrace silently, quietly stepped aside, clutching the gift from Floria in her hand.

Leaning against the door after leaving Zanarf’s room, Kyrie closed her eyes deeply.

‘Zanarf-sama retrieved the legendary pearl from the depths of the sea for Floria…’

When she saw the pearl that Floria wore on her finger, Kyrie was so shocked she couldn’t speak.

The pearl said to slumber at the bottom of the deep sea.

Long ago, a noble princess who had drifted to this island threw herself into the sea to stop the conflicts among men, who all fought for her favor. The legend says that the princess transformed into a pearl on the ocean floor and fell into an eternal sleep.

The island’s men competed to dive into the depths where the pearl was said to rest, but not one of them ever succeeded in retrieving it. The shell that cradled that pearl lay far too deep; even if one were lucky enough and miraculously reached it, he would likely lose his life before surfacing again.

Eventually, everyone had given up on obtaining the pearl. For the island’s women, it remained a phantom treasure, a dream beyond reach.

Today, people call any large pearl a “legendary pearl,” but the large pearl on Floria’s finger, radiant and unmatched in size. A pearl that no one on the island had ever seen anything similar to it, was surely that legendary pearl.

Kyrie recalled asking Zanarf once if he might be able to retrieve the genuine pearl that slept in the sea. But Zanarf had merely replied that he had no interest in pearls.

‘And yet… Zanarf-sama gave that pearl to Floria…’

Kyrie bit her lip hard. She had admired Zanarf since childhood.  Her mother, originally a small-town doctor from Floria’s homeland, the Kingdom of Farnese, had raised Kyrie all alone. Later in life, she had settled on this island after falling in love with a local man. With her rare knowledge of continental medicine, she was beloved by the islanders as a healer. Naturally, Kyrie inherited her mother’s medical skills and knowledge of herbs, assisting her and later becoming a healer herself.

After her mother’s death, even Zanarf came to rely on Kyrie, and she would almost always accompany him when he set sail.

It had always been Kyrie who treated Zanarf’s strong body whenever he was wounded in battles at sea, knowing every inch of his powerful body.

When he was injured and feverish, Kyrie had nursed him with devotion, wiping his burning body through the night with cool cloths, gazing at his powerful form, feeling as though she herself might be consumed by the same fever. She had suppressed her own stirring emotions for so long.

‘And Yet…’

Kyrie clenched the gift in her hands so tightly that it nearly broke.

Crack! The sound of the mirror splintering echoed faintly.

Coral souvenirs meant nothing to her. Even emerald or ruby trinkets were worthless.

Anything other than that pearl sleeping in the sea was nothing but trash.

Floria gazed blissfully at the legendary pearl shining on her ring finger, so innocent and joyful.

‘How innocent, yet how cruel. If only she had never appeared…’

A single tear slid down the corner of Kyrie’s eye and fell silently to the floor. A dark stain spread across the dry stone beneath her.

Zanarf would never know her feelings. And that was the real tragedy.