Ch. 1: A Sudden Kiss
Month of Calm…-.
The waves gently lapped at the sand, washing away the day into the red sunset…-.
At the invitation of Prince Orion, I had come to visit the Undersea Kingdom.
(I wonder how I’m supposed to get to the bottom of the sea.)
Within a cave that was our designated meeting place, I looked down into the sea that was so terrifyingly vast and deep that I couldn’t see the bottom.
(It’s pretty, but also kind of terrifying.)
Feeling discouraged, I peered deeper into the cave and saw Orion waiting.
Orion: “Been a while.”
OO: “Orion.”
Orion: “Find the cave okay?”
OO: “Yes. Thank you for coming to meet me.”
Orion: “Ready to follow me?”
I tilted my head in confusion at the sudden question.
(Follow? But I don’t know how to get to the Undersea Kingdom.)
OO: “…yes.”
Orion gave a satisfied smile in response, then gripped me tightly around the waist.
(Eh?)
Orion was so close, I imagined his long eyelashes could have touched my face.
OO: “Orion… ….nn…”
Before I had time to register it…
He kissed me before I even had time to close my eyes.
OO: “Wh-what was that?!”
Paying no heed to my question, Orion suddenly lifted me up and jumped into the cave waters.
(Can’t breathe…)
Orion continued to swim deeper and deeper.
(Can’t hold it…)
Unable to hold my breath any longer, I breathed out and…
OO: “Huh?”
(I can breathe!?)
Orion: “My country is far down at the bottom of the sea. I used my power so you can breathe on the sea floor. You should be grateful.”
(S-so he kissed me so I can breathe?)
The sun filtered down through the water and lit Orion up from behind.
I found myself smiling in the wake of that beauty.
OO: “It’s so beautiful…”
I spoke without thinking, and Orion smiled in satisfaction.
Ch. 2: Captured Princess
That night…-.
I had arrived at the castle of the Undersea Kingdom, and I now stood facing Orion in a fantastically beautiful room.
Orion: “Well, you used to it yet?”
A little bubble escaped Orion’s lips.
Outside the castle, the waves swayed back and forth.
(Even though I’m underwater…)
Being able to breathe and having the ability to freely move my body felt the same as when I was on land.
OO: “It’s still pretty strange… and I was really surprised to see that the entire country is covered by an enormous bubble.”
Orion: “If you don’t want to die, don’t go outside the bubble.”
OO: “Eh…”
Orion: “If you go out with just the power I gave you, it won’t be enough.”
(So if I go outside, I die?)
I shivered at the thought, and Orion held something out to me.
OO: “What’s this?”
Orion: “You were pretty absorbed in watching the sea in the light of the sunset. This shell has a similar color, so I had it made into a necklace.”
My eyes lit up. The shells making up the necklace were a beautiful orange hue, like that of the setting sun.
OO: “I love it…thank you!”
Orion: “…anyone would want to give you something, when you look like that.”
(I thought Orion was overbearing, but he’s actually rather kind.)
I broke into a smile, seeing his kindness that was so opposed to his expression.
Orion: “That’s enough of that… You’re going to be my betrothed.”
OO: “Eh!?”
Orion: “Why are you surprised? It’s a privilege.”
I just blinked repeatedly at the sudden proclamation.
Orion: “Since you woke me up, I seem to have fallen in love with you.”
OO: “L-love…?”
Orion: “Yeah. I’ll do whatever it takes to get the things I want. That’s why I’m going to marry you.”
(Wh-what is he saying?)
I was so surprised…
OO: “You’re joking, right?”
I didn’t think before I asked, and Orion looked at me with regret.
(He’s joking right? Then I guess I’d better just go with it.)
OO: “…a-alright.”
Looking at him in confusion, Orion gave me a composed smile.
Orion: “At any rate, you can’t leave here.”
OO: “Eh!? Wh-what do you mean!?”
Orion: “The power from the kiss when you came here is different, so in order to get back to the surface you’re going to need something else.”
OO: “How…how do I do that!?”
Orion: “You think I’ll tell you?”
Orion’s smile was malicious, and my hope vanished.
Orion: “Well, even if I did tell you, you wouldn’t be able to do anything. Besides…I don’t intend to let you go back.”
He started to reach a hand down my neck and to the ribbon at my chest.
OO: “…please, stop!”
Orion: “You’re right, as my fiancée, first I should have you meet my mother.”
OO: “Your mother?”
(Maybe if I can explain the situation to his mother, she’ll tell me how to get back to the surface.)
As if seeing through my plans, Orion gave an unsettling smile.
Orion: “Be on your best behavior and do your best to learn how to be a good homemaker. Ms. Fiancee.”
(What…what on earth is going to happen to me now?)
I watched as Orion left, then I could do nothing but gaze blankly out at the beautiful scenery of the sea floor.
Ch. 3: Unbelievable
The next morning…-.
With the help of a maid, I was dressed and prepared when Orion came.
Orion: “Hmm.”
He looked at me for a while, his arms crossed over his chest…
Orion: “…short.”
Saying as much, the hem of the skirt was pulled down to my toes.
Orion: “With the exception of your betrothed, it’s improper to show your feet.
OO: “I-I’m not your fiancée!”
Orion: “I don’t dislike the spunkiness. Now get your clothes fixed. Ah, and… you should wear your hair up.”
Orion acted incredibly natural as he lifted my hair and exposed the nape of my neck.
OO: “…”
Orion: “You, maid. You heard me. Make my fiancée ready so she won’t be an embarrassment.”
OO: “I think I look fine like this.”
I spoke with force, and Orion tiled up my face with a finger under my jaw.
OO: “I told you, I’m in no way your fiancée!”
In response, Orion grinned at me, fearless.
Orion: “You’ve got guts.”
Orion suddenly put his left hand on the wall, pinning me between the wall and him.
Then as if to show off, his right hand went up my skirt…
Orion: “It gets me going when you fight back.”
OO: “Please stop…!”
I stuck out my hand to try and keep his in check, but he pinned my wrist.
Seeing me like that, Orion chuckled.
Orion: “Kidding.”
OO: “…”
Orion: “I’ll come get you in 15 minutes. Be ready.”
(Orion is so mean… I can’t believe he loves me when he just ignores my feelings like this.)
Orion left the room.
I looked at the shell necklace as I grasped it tightly…-.
15 minutes later…-.
The maid finished getting me ready, and Orion now stared at me.
Orion: “Not bad. I like it.”
The dress I wore was like being wrapped in feathers, and the hem sparkled and moved in the water.
OO: “Hearing you say that… doesn’t make me happy.”
(And I had thought he was so kind when he gave me the necklace.)
I was filled with misery and felt as if I was about to cry.
Orion: “Hm…I know, once you’re my wife, I’ll lock you away in the depths of the palace so that neither wind nor waves can touch you.
OO: “…”
At those words, I…-.
OO: “Were you serious…when you said you loved me?”
The challenge spilled from my lips, and I reflexively pressed my hand to my mouth.
Orion: “Am I…serious?”
OO: “Are you teasing me? Because if you are, please stop…!”
Orion: “Teasing…?”
Orion: “Are you doubting me? Well, it’s understandable that you’d be lost in all this, seeing as it’s so sudden. I’ll say it again: I love you, and I want you as my wife. …don’t doubt me.”
(His tone is terrifyingly serious…he really means it.)
I closed my eyes as I tried to figure out if that made me feel better and…
OO: “…!”
Orion suddenly pressed his lips to mine.
I held out a hand to stop him, but it was held down in a tight grip.
Orion: “I won’t forgive you… if you defy me.”
(He’s so cruel… do my feelings mean nothing?)
OO: “This…don’t call this love.”
I spoke in a murmur, then hurriedly ran off.
The shell necklace in my hand felt incredibly cold.
Ch. 4: Straightforward Words
(I ended up running away from Orion.)
Bubbles escaped from my mouth and floated up, getting absorbed into the enormous bubble-like structure that covered the entire kingdom.
(I wonder how I can get out of here now…)
I gazed at the shell necklace and felt a single tear escape down my cheek.
Orion: “…are you crying?”
(Orion…)
I hurriedly stuffed the necklace into a pocket and pretended I hadn’t heard the anxiety in the voice from behind me.
Orion: “Why are you crying?”
(Why…)
OO: “You don’t know?”
Orion: “You expect me to guess when you haven’t even said anything?”
OO: “…”
As I stood there unanswering, Orion cocked his head to the side as if he were completely perplexed.
OO: “You kissed me all of a sudden, and you forced your feelings on me…it made me upset.”
I spoke barely louder than a whisper, and Orion frowned slightly.
Orion: “… The kiss was just to transfer power… well, more or less.”
OO: “Eh?”
Orion: “You’re a land dweller. If I don’t give you this power every day, you won’t be able to breathe.”
(So that’s what it was… I thought that was just in the beginning.)
Orion: “I thought you understood… I said something about it before. You’ve been fighting me and getting all worked up.”
(Now that he says it… but that’s not the problem here.)
Orion: “And what do you mean I forced my feelings on you? What’s wrong with telling the person you love that you love them? What’s wrong with wanting to be close to the woman I want to marry?”
OO: “Orion…”
Orion: “To happen to meet the person you love from the bottom of your heart is a miracle, right? I don’t want to have any regrets. No matter what happens… I’ll have you.”
OO: “…”
His words struck me, and I felt my heart pound a little faster.
Orion: “Let’s go. Mother is waiting.”
Orion held out his large hand to me.
I slowly took it, and Orion seemed to smile in satisfaction.
Orion: “Seems you’ve become more obedient.”
OO: “…”
I simply stared at his hand, completely at a loss…-.
Orion: “You’re so stubborn.”
Orion forcefully grabbed my hand.
(Even though I should say no.)
But for some reason, I couldn’t refuse his hand.
Ch. 5: The Darkness and Truth of the Deep Sea
As the multicolored fish sparkled and swam about as if in a dance…-.
Orion led me to a prepared table just outside.
Orion: “Apologies for the wait Mother.”
A beautiful woman was seated there, surrounded by many servants. She looked up casually at our arrival.
Queen: “Good morning Orion…and OO.”
With a glance down, the queen motioned for the two of us to sit.
Immediately, a teacup made of shell was placed in front of me and filled with a refreshing mint tea.
Queen: “I heard last night from Orion. That the two of you are engaged to be wed. I am delighted he is taking a bride but… I cannot so easily just accept the woman who will be Orion’s wife.”
———————
Orion: “At any rate, you can’t leave here.”
———————
(A way back to the surface… I won’t have another chance to ask.)
I braced myself and opened my mouth to speak and…
Orion: “Go ahead, ask.”
Orion whispered near my ear.
Orion: “But if you do… I’ll keep you locked in my room for the rest of your life.”
OO: “…”
A chill ran up my spine at those words.
I sat there, all sorts of things running through my mind as my mouth hung open, unable to speak.
Queen: “From today on, you will be on a provisional period and take lessons in how to be a princess. Is that understood?”
Orion: “…”
OO: “Y-yes…”
I was so caught up in Orion’s composed gaze that I answered without thinking.
…
……
That afternoon…-.
Orion: “Next we’ll cover the diplomatic relations between this kingdom and the surface kingdom.”
I had immediately been thrown into princess training and was learning the history of the Undersea Kingdom.
(What am I even doing?)
I let out a deep sigh and…
Orion: “Hey, are you listening?”
Orion lifted my jaw with a finger.
OO: “…! I-I’m listening!”
I answered on reflex…
Orion: “…”
Orion laughed with a sneer and removed his finger.
(Geez…)
Orion: “Long ago, the land dwellers could come and go freely between the land and the sea. But the merfolk were discriminated against and taken to be traded like pets or slaves… Nowadays exchange between the seafloor and the land dwellers is almost non-existent and the land dwellers are unable to come and go as they please without being given the special power. The only people from the land allowed to come to the sea floor are those who have been given the kiss of a marriage vow.”
OO: “Eh…?”
(The kiss of a marriage vow?)
Orion: “With that you have the power to come to the sea floor.”
The conversation had been flowing smoothly up to that point, but then Orion turned an unkind look at me.
Orion: “However, in order to get the ability to return to the surface… you’ll have to have an even deeper bond with a sea floor dweller.”
OO: “An even deeper…bond?”
At that, my heard started pounding.
Orion: “You bear their child.”
Orion tangled his fingers in my hair while he spoke.
OO: “…!!”
(Then with a sea dweller… with Orion, I have to have a child, or I can’t go back?)
I was frozen in place from the shock of Orion’s words.
Orion: “You get it now? If you don’t marry me, you can’t go back to the surface.”
Orion grinned widely.
(Huh? But when I came to the sea floor the first time, that shouldn’t have been the kiss of a marriage vow. C-could he…)
———————
Orion: “Ready to follow me?”
OO: “Orion… ….nn…”
———————
(Was that a marriage kiss!?)
Orion: “What’s wrong? Your face is red.”
I had instinctively stood up, and Orion placed a hand to my head as if worried.
OO: “N-nothing…”
Orion: “Are you getting a fever?”
He examined me closely and…
I felt as if I was being sucked into the depths of his sparkling eyes.
Ch. 6: The Shell Necklace
The light glittered as it slipped through the waves into the room…-.
Orion looked at me with madness in his eyes.
(What do I do? My heart…)
I reflexively looked away, and Orion chuckled.
Orion: “Are you feeling embarrassed?”
OO: “N-no!”
Orion: “Then what is it?”
(I need to check… if it was a marriage kiss.)
OO: “About the vow’s kiss…did we already do that, back on the surface…?”
Orion: “What, that’s why your face is red?
OO: “B-but we haven’t done that yet, right?”
Orion: “What are you talking about? That happened a while ago.”
Orion: “I asked if you’d follow me. And you said you would. No matter how you look at it, that ‘follow me’ is obviously a marriage vow.”
(Like I thought…)
OO: “But I didn’t make any vow! And…I feel terrible…for lying to your parents.”
Orion: “Don’t worry. The vow was already made… the only difference is whether we go slow or fast.”
OO: “But that’s…”
Orion: “I’m the one who lied. You don’t have to worry about it. You just…just think about me.”
His voice was low as he spoke, and he tilted my head up with a finger beneath my chin.
Orion: “If you want… I can make it so you can’t think of anything but me right now.”
Then his lips slowly drew closer and…
OO: “Stop it!”
I rejected his kiss and ran out of the room.
…
……
(This is so wrong.)
My mind was reeling with so many different things, and I felt like I was drowning as I watched the scenery outside the bubble sway in the current.
(I want to go home. What should I do?)
I crouched down and the shell necklace fell from my pocket.
(Orion is so upfront.)
———————
Orion: “What’s wrong with telling the person you love that you love them?”
Orion: “What’s wrong with wanting to be close to the woman I want to marry?”
Orion: “To happen to meet the person you love from the bottom of your heart is a miracle, right?”
———————
(But…)
I absently looked at the necklace as it drifted in the water…-.
Then a great current surged and caught it up.
OO: “Ah…”
(It’s going to go outside the bubble!!)
I reflexively reached out my hand to grab it, and the current was even stronger than I’d thought…
OO: “…”
I had been so absorbed with grabbing the necklace that I ended up outside the bubble.
———————
Orion: “If you don’t want to die, don’t go outside the bubble.”
Orion: “If you go out with just the power I gave you, it won’t be enough.”
———————
(Orion told me not to go outside the bubble.)
The sound of the water was growing more distant.
(It…hurts…)
I thought I could hear Orion’s voice as I drifted from consciousness.