Mermaid Trap

“Can’t sleep, Vivi?”

Matilda asked worriedly, noticing that Vivianne was still wide awake late at night.

Tonight, Vivianne had specifically asked to sleep with Matilda. According to Matilda, although the outing was in the afternoon, preparations had to start in the morning. It was hard for Vivianne to understand why so much time was needed for just one dress, but since Kian had chosen it because he thought it was pretty, it didn’t matter.

“No, I can’t sleep.”

“You’ll be tired tomorrow during the outing. You need to save your energy. Come here.”

Matilda patted the bed next to her.

“Will you hold me if I come over?”

“Of course. Come on.”

“…Okay!”

Vivianne, in her negligee, climbed into bed and snuggled up to Matilda like a puppy. Matilda looked at Vivianne with a face full of affection.

“Thanks to you, I get to sleep in such a big bed. What a life I’m living in my old age.”

“Should we sleep together every night?”

“What?”

“I like sleeping with you, Matilda.”

Vivianne nuzzled her face into Matilda’s chest and hugged her tightly.

“What about the master? He’ll fire me if you keep doing that, Vivi.”

“Do you think Kian would mind?”

“Of course. He would make a fuss.”

Despite her scolding tone, Matilda gently patted Vivianne’s head, showing her affection.

“Am I riding in the carriage with Kian tomorrow?”

“Yes, your wish is coming true, Vivi.”

“It would be nice if you came with us, Matilda.”

“What would an old woman like me do there? You go and enjoy yourself.”

“What are we going to see?”

Come to think of it, she hadn’t been told the destination. This naive girl seemed excited just at the thought of going out with the master.

“The opera. It’s like a play where actors sing and act on stage. You’re going to love it, Vivi.”

“Is it with Kian? And Theo too?”

“Oh, Theo is going as a guard. It’ll be you and the master enjoying it together. It’s kind of like a date!”

“A date?”

Vivianne tilted her head at the unfamiliar word.

“Spending enjoyable time with someone you like. So, have a great time.”

Spending enjoyable time with Kian.

Vivianne’s face lit up with excitement, clearly pleased at the prospect.

* * *

Matilda had insisted that she needed a good night’s sleep, but Vivianne was too excited to sleep. She tried to keep her eyes closed to pretend she was sleeping, knowing that Matilda would worry otherwise. Still, she couldn’t help the smile that crept up on her face. If Matilda had seen it, she would have thought Vivianne was having a lovely dream.

Vivianne’s thoughts were simple, really. Despite feeling down from Penelope’s words, the immediate reward in front of her was too sweet to ignore.

The carriage was quiet, with only the sound of horses’ hooves clattering on the road.

Neither Theodore nor Kian showed any expression. The only one whose heart was fluttering with excitement seemed to be Vivianne.

Her favorite male, Kian.

Her best friend, Theo.

For Vivianne, this outing was with her favorite people. If Matilda were with them, it would feel like a family outing, but this combination was wonderful too.

Theodore sat opposite her, and Kian sat right next to her. Vivianne alternated her gaze between the two, smiling broadly.

“What are you staring at?”

Kian asked indifferently.

“Because I’m happy.”

She replied honestly, her eyes crinkling with her smile. Despite having exhausted herself with a bath and dressing up early in the morning, being outside revived her spirits.

“Theo, aren’t you happy too?”

She tried to lighten the awkward atmosphere.

According to Matilda, Kian and Theodore had been close since childhood. But Vivianne had never seen them conversing amicably.

Given Kian’s difficult personality, it was understandable, but it puzzled her that even the friendly Theodore didn’t seem to get along with him.

“Yes.”

Theodore gave a short reply and looked out the window again. Kian didn’t seem to care either.

‘Am I the only one excited?’

Vivianne’s attempt to ease the tension made her feel a bit awkward.

“Um, Kian, how do I look today?”

“What about it?”

“Matilda dressed me up early this morning. It took a long time.”

Kian kept his eyes fixed outside, not even glancing at her.

“Well, Matilda said it was a special effort because it was a date with you.”

“I see.”

Without even looking.

Vivianne felt a bit disheartened by Kian’s indifference.

“How do I look?”

“You look fine.”

“…You have to look to know.”

She leaned forward, peeking into his line of sight.

“What?”

When she kept insisting, Kian grabbed her chin with his long fingers. Her blue eyes widened as they met his dark ones.

“I’ve seen you.”

Her heart pounded, but she clenched her fists tightly.

“How do I look?”

Kian casually turned her face side to side, still looking indifferent.

“I don’t like it.”

He’s really mean.

Vivianne bit back her words and pouted.

“Theo, what do you think?”

“What?”

Theodore, who had been sitting opposite them, was surprised by Kian’s question.

“Vivi’s face. What do you think?”

Kian didn’t even look at him.

“I’m not sure…”

“See? He doesn’t know either, Vivi.”

Matilda had put in so much effort. She thought she looked pretty when she saw herself in the mirror.

Was it really not suitable?

“Um, what don’t you like about it?”

She was upset, but she wanted to know what was wrong so she could avoid it in the future.

“Here.”

Kian pressed his thumb against her lower lip while holding her chin.

“…How?”

His persistent pressing made her speech slur.

As she felt embarrassed by her garbled words, Kian leaned in. He captured her lips, not giving her time to react.

It wasn’t just a brief kiss. He sucked on her lips as if to draw something out, his mouth exploring hers deeply. Being kissed so thoroughly made her breathless.

And Theo was right there. Just like in front of Matilda before.

She felt utterly mortified.

She glanced nervously at Theodore, who was deliberately looking away.

‘This is so embarrassing.’

Vivianne’s face turned bright red.

Kian, still sucking on her lips, pulled away with a soft pop.

“Stay still.”

“But…”

Kian wiped the saliva off Vivianne’s lips with his thumb and smirked mischievously.

“I like this better. What about you, Theo?”

After almost ignoring Theodore, he now acknowledged him.

“Yes?”

Theodore seemed slightly surprised by the sudden question from his master.

“What do you think of Vivi?”

Vivianne felt deeply uncomfortable and wished she could escape the carriage.

But Kian seemed to enjoy her discomfort.

Theodore sighed softly.

“She looks well-matched with you, Master.”

“Really?”

Kian’s lips curled into a satisfied smile.

“Theo says you look pretty, Vivi.”

Kian’s teasing words were childish and mean. It was always her who felt embarrassed.

“……”

As Vivianne fell silent, Kian looked her over.

“You did a good job, Matilda.”

Kian planted another light kiss on her lips before lowering his gaze. His dark eyes lingered on the neckline of her dress.

“But something is missing.”

“What is?”

“The mark I gave you.”

The mark he gave her…

…Could it be the one on her chest?

As the realization struck her, her mind went numb.

“Do you want to sit up or lie down?”

“What?”