Chapter 165 – The Witch and the Black Knight (42)

Ｒｅａｄ ｏ​ｎ Ｋａｔ​Ｒｅａ​ｄｉ​ｎｇＣａｆｅ

Once upon a time, long, long ago…

There lived a siren named Lapis.

With hair like melted midnight, deep indigo strands shimmering like the ocean’s depths, and eyes that mirrored the starry night sky, she was a vision of beauty.

Her voice, delicate and unforgettable, was the treasure of the sea.

And above all, she was the only siren loved by the Kraken, the Emperor of the Ocean.

The other sirens adored her just as much.

She was always loved—by the sea, by her kin, by everyone.

Had she not found that man sinking among the wreckage of a shipwreck that day…

Lapis would have lived out her days as the beloved siren she was meant to be.

But the moment she saw his beautiful form drifting into the depths, she fell in love at first sight.

For the first time, the siren who had always been loved yearned to love another.

The moment she cast aside everything just to be loved in return…

Lapis’ tragedy began.

Yet, her love was not a tragedy from the start.

After bringing the man to shore, whenever she sang upon the moonlit reefs, he would appear as if by promise, spending the night talking with her.

His every gesture—

The softness of his voice, the way his eyes sparkled only for her—she knew it was love.

She learned human speech, shared silly jokes, and as she led him by the hand, she truly believed their love would last forever.

“I… love you.”

The day Lapis, who had only ever been loved, loved someone with all her heart for the first time—

Her confession blossomed into something beautiful, like a flower blooming upon the waves.

But flowers, no matter how radiant, must eventually wilt.

“Would you give me your beautiful hair?”

It did not take long for the man to begin asking things of her.

Though his eyes no longer reflected her clearly, it was fine.

Her eyes still saw him perfectly.

“Yes, gladly… if you embrace me warmly in return.”

He wanted her sea-blue tresses, and she happily cut them for him.

“Would you give me one of your beautiful eyes?”

“Yes, gladly… if you gaze at me tenderly in return.”

He wanted her starry night-like eyes, and she willingly plucked out her left one.

“Would you give me your beautiful voice?”

“Yes, gladly… if you call my name in your wonderful voice.”

He wanted her elegant voice, and she surrendered her vocal cords without hesitation.

“Would you give me your beautiful scales…?”

“…….”

“Ah, you can’t speak now. Useless.”

The sweetness in his eyes was gone. He saw her only as a monster.

The warmth in his voice had vanished, and even the embraces that once comforted her heart.

When he raised his cruel blade to carve out her scales, she smiled through the searing pain.

She thought this was his love.

After giving even her scales, Lapis was no longer the beloved siren she once was.

Her hair, now short and ragged.

A grotesque, hollow socket where her left eye had been.

Unhealed wounds around her neck, her lower half stained crimson.

Another siren tried to stop her madness, but Lapis paid no mind.

If only she could be loved by him…

Nothing else mattered.

“Lapis, wake up. This isn’t love. Don’t you see?”

Even when her sister, Violet, wept and pleaded, Lapis’ heart did not change.

Instead—

“Sister, I’m so happy. Whenever I think of him, my heart races like mad. If this isn’t love, what is? Even if he asks for my heart next… I’ll gladly give it.”

Though she could no longer speak, Violet understood her embrace—and finally turned away.

Even if her only family abandoned her, as long as she could be loved by him, Lapis would be fine.

She climbed onto the reef and sang.

A voice now so broken it resembled a monster’s scream, even she winced at the sound, but it was fine.

He would come.

But he never did.

Time passed, the moon waxed and waned, yet he never appeared again.

As if he had no use for the ruined creature she had become.

“Lazuli. Lazuli. Lazuli. Lazuli…”

She repeated his name endlessly.

If she didn’t, she would go mad.

Had he died? Human lives were short, they said. But he had never aged like other humans or fish.

Then why?

“Lazuli… Why won’t you show yourself to me?”

Day by day, Lapis withered.

Her once-plump frame grew skeletal, her remaining eye dulled of life.

She resembled a deep-sea anglerfish now, even the fish avoided her.

“Do you think my love has faded? Is that why you won’t come?”

Yet her heart still burned, and she knew he was alive somewhere.

So she made a decision.

She would go to land and find him.

Under the rising moon, Lapis dragged herself ashore, crawling along the path he once walked.

Her body dried without water, her scale-less flesh tearing against the rough earth, but none of it mattered.

Just once, she wanted to see him.

She would give him her heart—

And prove that her one true love was eternal.

In the end, Lapis did find him again.

But… that reunion did not bring the ending she desired.

“O great Witch! As you wished, I have brought you the most beautiful hair, eyes, voice, and scales in the world! Now, will you marry me as promised?”

“Oh my. You actually got them?”

The man knelt before a woman, presenting a small, ornate box.

And inside it—

Were all the things Lapis had given him in the name of love, carefully preserved.

Lapis didn’t care what they were saying. Her claws were still sharp enough to carve out a heart.

“Don’t tell me you got these from that monster?”

As she struggled forward, Lapis met the woman’s gaze, and desperately ignored the revulsion in her eyes at the sight of her.

“Haha… W-what are you saying? How could something so beautiful come from a monster?”

“Really? It reeks of fish… Well, the eyes are pretty. I’ll take those. The rest? Sorry, rejected.”

“What—?!”

But Lazuli’s next words—

Lapis could not ignore.

“D-damn it! If that monster hadn’t shown up, I could’ve married the Witch of Beauty!”

Monster.

He called her a monster.

“G…ah…?”

A guttural, inhuman noise escaped her, too weak to carry through the night air.

The man strode forward and kicked her. The impact nearly knocked her unconscious, but she strained to see his eyes.

Bruises covered her body, dark blood oozing from her empty socket. Her remaining eye was too blurred to see him clearly.

Yet, in the end, she did see his eyes.

And in them—

She was no longer there.

Her love had become a tragedy.

Her heart ached.

The heartbeat that once filled her with joy now tormented her inside and out.

“G-GAAAAH—!!”

At last, instead of laughter, she wept.

Under the moonlight, abandoned and alone, only the mournful roar of a monster remained.

Then—

“Hmm. That was quite the show.”

A girl with twin black braids dragging along the ground crouched before Lapis, tilting her head.

“You’ve got talent. How about it? Don’t you want revenge?”

Revenge?

She didn’t understand revenge.

But one thing—

She wanted to be free of this pain.

She wanted to feel only his love, pure and untainted.

She wanted to give him this heart that knew nothing but suffering.

A dreadful energy emanated from the girl’s fingertips, wrapping around Lapis.

Her siren instincts screamed at her to flee, but the deeper the energy seeped in, the less her heart hurt.

That day—

Lapis became a Witch.

Swallowed by the curse almost instantly, an anomaly even among witches, she used her newfound power to sink the entire Kingdom of Atilla, where Lazuli had lived, into the sea.

So he could never leave her again.

Forever.

 

---

 

Though Lapis’ rampage was eventually sealed away by the Kraken’s sacrifice, an elf’s meddling had awakened her once more.

“Lazuli… I knew you’d come back to me.”

“My name is Ophé…”

“What are you talking about? You’re Lazuli, aren’t you? My love.”

“Haha… Should I go by Lazuli from now on?”

Ophe broke out in a cold sweat.

Well, it was hard to tell if he was sweating underwater… For all he knew, he might have pissed himself too.

The monster before him clung to him with terrifying devotion, demanding love in a way that made his skin crawl.

Staying sane was a feat in itself.

“This wasn’t in the story…”

He thought back to what Josie and Leo had told him in Versha.

They’d only mentioned the sunken ruins, not this abomination. He’d been scammed.

Sure, all ruins had dangers, but this was something else.

Thankfully, the monster mistook him for this “Lazuli” guy, buying him time. But he doubted that would last.

“Anything. Just ask. Should I give you my heart this time?”

“N-no, I, uh… need gold and treasures…”

“Gold and treasures…? Wait here, my love. I’ll bring them right away.”

The monster vanished in an instant.

Now’s my chance to escape!

Ophé thrashed, trying to swim away—then paused.

If that monster really brought him treasure…

…This might work out better than expected?

“When the sky falls, there’s always a hole to crawl out of.”

Might as well use this chance.

Ophé licked his lips at this unexpected windfall.

 

 

Translator Note

Alright, that’s all. For real this time~