CHAPTER~09
No Voice
Me?
At a banquet hall?
The words that never became sound scattered 그대로 into the air.
From the day she set foot on land, Airi could not speak.
For Airi, who had lived breathing oxygen underwater, the air of the surface was unbearably dry and stinging.
She lost her beautiful voice and could only open and close her mouth like a fish without a swim bladder.
Because of that, even after gaining legs, Airi could never truly mingle with humans and always lived apart from them.
Magician N seemed displeased by that fact.
“Why can’t you go.
You want to see him at least once before you die, don’t you.
Once you see his face, you’ll probably stop staring all day at the faces of people passing by the shore.”
No matter how much N urged her to find a dependable spouse on land before she passed the age of marriage,
Airi only responded with an awkward smile.
She always kept her distance from the men who approached her and gazed endlessly at the sea.
It was only after some time that N realized she was searching for someone’s face among the waves.
“You never know.
Even if you don’t meet him this time, if you keep attending banquets, you might run into him someday.”
But I can’t speak, and I don’t know how to dance—
As if noticing the worry in her eyes, N added,
“Since we’re only going to take a brief look, you don’t need to dance with anyone or socialize.
Just offer the tribute at the opening, look around a little, and quietly slip out.”
Only after hearing that did Airi finally decide to ride a carriage for the first time.
There was no guarantee she would meet him just by attending the ball.
But if she could gain even the smallest clue.
If she could learn at least whether the boy who had wandered through her heart like a ghost for so long was alive.
If what N said was true, perhaps she too could escape that vague longing that had continued without reason
and move on toward a new life.
After barely practicing how to walk in high heels,
and enduring several days of rattling carriage rides,
Airi arrived at the ballroom—
and the moment she looked at the dais, her breath caught.
As he brushed back hair that shone like a sculpture carved from light,
and looked down with an indifferent expression,
their gazes tangled—
and her mind went completely white.
All the etiquette N had drilled into her on the way there evaporated instantly.
The brilliant music and lights blurred away,
and only one person remained clear in her vision.
Only when Magician N, who was prostrated before the Emperor, gave a small cough
did Airi manage to place the box filled with pearls in front of him
and flee as if running away.
As she passed through the murmuring crowd with clumsy steps,
only one thought filled her mind.
She had no room to feel regret or embarrassment over failing to deliver the greeting
she had practiced endlessly while falling again and again in her heels.
He was alive.
Far more magnificent and robust than her vague imaginings,
with no part of him broken or harmed—
just like the desperate wish she had made that day.
Relief washed over her like a warm incoming tide.
Only then did Airi realize why she had spent every day sitting by the shore, watching young boys pass by.
To know this simple fact.
That the life she had saved that day was still breathing in the light.
That the moment she had struggled with all her strength to push him above the water had not been in vain.
Saving a human.
Trying to learn their language.
Risking her life to come up to this land filled with light—
none of it had been meaningless.
The path she had walked, stumbling countless times, had meaning.
In that moment, it felt as though she had been proven right.
The instant she confirmed with her own eyes that he had grown perfectly,
all her worries melted away like snow.
He was no longer the small boy she needed to worry about.
Once she knew that, she intended to return immediately.
Before the flimsy lie about being a princess from an island nation was exposed,
she planned to disappear without catching his eye.
Approaching him in human form and speaking to him while he knew nothing felt like deception.
“It seems you have found a quiet place.”
That thought was rendered meaningless as Airi encountered a completely unexpected situation.
The terrace doors opened behind her.
At the approaching footsteps, Airi stiffened and looked at Magician N standing beside her.
Under the night sky, where starlight rippled like waves,
the two of them had been discussing how to leave the banquet hall unnoticed.
“It seems the music of the banquet did not suit your taste.”
When she turned slowly,
there stood an entirely unexpected face.
The dazzling man who had been looking down at her from the dais
was approaching them.
Flustered, Airi stepped back.
As if shielding her, Magician N stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Her Highness is simply not accustomed to crowded places.
She has no other intentions.”
Despite N’s polite reply, the Emperor gave no response.
Only when the Admiral standing beside him spoke with a displeased expression
did N realize he had made a mistake.
“I did not ask you.”
“……Ah, I merely—”
“Do I need to say the word ‘rude’ aloud for you to understand.”
With a belated look of realization, N glanced back at Airi.
As they both hesitated, the air on the terrace grew even colder.
Seeing the princess exchanging silent looks with her attendant before the Emperor,
the Admiral seemed thoroughly displeased.
“Do you intend to stand there and continue making noise?”
“……But.”
“Unable to prostrate yourself before the Emperor is one thing,
but answering back so persistently—
exactly which country’s etiquette is that.
I should—”
“It seems the apple wine prepared by the Marquis of Lusitania has arrived in the hall, Diego.”
The Emperor’s low voice cut in, halting the Admiral’s words.
The Admiral’s mouth shut into a straight line,
and as if nothing had happened, the Emperor continued.
Without sparing even a glance at N,
the Emperor addressed Airi once more.
Though he did not mention it directly,
Airi sensed from the Admiral’s expression that interrupting again would invite serious trouble.
“……Then, please excuse us for a moment.”
As if it were only natural, the Admiral began to withdraw with N.
To the flustered N, Airi gave a small nod.
As N repeatedly looked back, as if leaving a child by the water’s edge,
Airi gave a small wave—
and only then did she realize she had made another mistake.
“Were you so eager for the apple wine.”
Only when the sound of footsteps drew one step closer did Airi flinch and turn her gaze.
Now that even N was gone, she needed to say something—anything—
but there were no words she could offer with a voice that would not come.
After hesitating, she gave a small nod,
but the Emperor did not continue the conversation.
Because of his lack of reaction, Airi began to grow anxious.
From his face, polished like perfectly cleaned glass, no emotion could be read.
“I seem to have been detaining a busy man.”
After a long silence,
the Emperor, who seemed to have been waiting for her to speak, quietly began.
“I merely stepped out for some air, so do not trouble yourself.
I will ensure you may enjoy the apple wine alone.”
After saying that, he strode past her.
Only after watching his profile head toward the railing did Airi realize—
ah.
It seemed he had misunderstood her silence as intentional disregard.
That was not what she meant.
The Emperor no longer spared her even a glance,
as though he had already lost interest.
Airi stood there blankly, watching his pure white hair flutter in the breeze—
then suddenly reached out.
Only after her hand was firmly caught did the Emperor glance back.
In his slightly narrowed eyes, a subtle irritation surfaced.
The misunderstanding, swollen like a snowball, had finally reached its peak.
But there was no other way to resolve it.
Without hesitation, Airi began to write letters on his palm with her index finger, slowly enough for him to understand.
— I’m sorry
Even to her apology, he showed no reaction.
For a moment she wondered if he had not understood,
but from his expression, it was clearly not a matter of comprehension.
On his impassive face, she sensed a faint question—
“What in the world is this mad behavior.”
Before he could pull his hand away, Airi quickened her movements.
— I can’t speak
Since she had memorized the language of Histania mostly as individual words,
there were not many sentences she could form.
She chose the simplest vocabulary she could.
— No voice
Without time to check the grammar, she pressed the letters firmly into his palm
and glanced up at his expression.
At some point, he was silently looking down at the hand she still held.
