Silvanus hadn’t expected that he would actually find a bathroom.
The floor was decorated with moss, yet it wasn’t slippery or dirty in the slightest. A porcelain bathtub shimred with a faint green glow.
Outside the window, strands of seaweed and drifting algae swayed gently with the current.
Silvanus pulled the curtains closed at once. Looking at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help knocking Vivian on the head once more before quickly turning on the faucet to wash his face.
Water rushed down in clear streams. It was astonishing. He was washing with water underwater, yet the two didn’t mix. Instead, it flowed neatly down a separate drain.
Vivian couldn’t help mumbling, "This place is insane..."
But the mont it finished speaking, Silvanus had already shoved its body into the sink, slowly scrubbing it clean.
Vivian protested furiously, "You jerk, I’m not a piece of cloth."
Watching the soot wash away and Vivian’s fur return to its usual silvery white, Silvanus suddenly lifted it up and began wringing it dry.
Vivian: "..."
Neither of them knew that, outside, an invitation had already arrived.
"Elder Nicole, Her Majesty requests your presence. The Queen wishes to hear your thoughts on tonight’s banquet, as well as stories from Lumina."
The attendant smiled softly at Nicole as she spoke.
Nana happened to be nearby. Hearing that, she couldn’t help glancing at Nicole.
Nicole seed to sense her gaze. Lifting her head, she smiled. "What is it?"
Nana imdiately turned her face away. But at that mont, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.
She looked back to see Nicole floating at her usual height, her small hand gently patting Nana’s head. "Make up with Silvanus, okay? Unity is strength."
Nana instantly looked away again.
Nicole giggled. Nana could hear the cheerful bounce in her steps as she left with the attendant.
At that mont, the bathroom door opened, and Silvanus caught a glimpse of Nicole’s figure disappearing down the corridor.
Only after the sound of the closing door echoed did Nana turn back, frowning slightly, lost in her own thoughts.
She looked up to see Silvanus walking out with Vivian in his arms, both of them dripping wet. Silvanus himself looked surprisingly pleased.
Nana shot Silvanus a glare, muttered "idiot" under her breath, then turned and marched straight back to her room.
Silvanus had no words for her attitude. Vivian bared its teeth. "I want to bite her neck off!"
Silvanus couldn’t help knocking lightly on Vivian’s forehead. "She didn’t even do anything to you."
"But she always wants to pick a fight with you. Silvanus, I’ll take care of her soday!" Vivian declared with absolute certainty.
Silvanus felt that he really needed to correct Vivian’s habit of wanting to bite the neck of everyone it disliked.
Even at the bottom of the sea, there was night and day. As the golden light dimd and was slowly replaced by a soft silvery glow, the palace interior and exterior lit up with luminous gemstones, glowing plants, and flowers. They illuminated the gold, silver, and jewels scattered across the seabed, making everything shimr endlessly.
Silvanus glanced at the window outlined by the misty light. A faint crease ford between his brows. A sense of unease welled in his chest. His thoughts drifted unwittingly to the towering structure hidden behind the castle and the dark, fathomless depths beneath.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Silvanus opened it and found Nana standing outside with her arms crossed.
Her cloak was back on, her hair tied up neatly as usual. Her sharp amber eyes glead—brighter and more beautiful than gold.
Silvanus heard her say softly, "Elder Nicole hasn’t returned."
It felt like the currents at the ocean floor were beginning to surge, the final undercurrents preparing to break the surface.
Silvanus stepped out and closed the door behind him. He spoke abruptly, "I don’t think we can force our way out of Aqualon on our own."
Nana remained silent. Just when Silvanus thought she was about to explode again like always, she simply lifted her chin, her tone unusually calm. "Before she left, she told to make up with you."
Silvanus let out a strained chuckle, muttering, "Feels like we’re being set up, doesn’t it? Don’t you think so?"
It was as if those people already knew what would happen—like the headmaster, like Elder Nicole. Only the two of them were left in the dark, forced to choose and to deal with things they couldn’t predict.
Nana said nothing. Silvanus didn’t continue voicing the feeling of being led into a trap.
He raised a hand. Water and fire rged into mist. With a bit of light and a magic language, two duplicate figures of Silvanus and Nana appeared seated in the room.
They exchanged a glance; Nana imdiately looked away in irritation. Silvanus raised the hood of his cloak and whispered, "Let’s go."
The invisibility magic wrapped around them. Avoiding the main entrance, they slipped out through the window, careful not to disturb the water too much.
The ocean floor was rfolk territory, and the rfolk here held an overwhelming ho-field advantage.
Silvanus and Nana moved slowly, avoiding the patrols’ lines of sight. The seabed beneath them glowed with lights of all kinds. Voices of rfolk chatting and playing echoed around them. Strangely, the area near the royal palace was even quieter than it had been that morning, with no sign at all that a grand banquet was supposed to take place soon.
Just then, Silvanus suddenly stopped. He noticed a rfolk slipping out of the palace, carrying a large tray of food.
And the direction that rfolk was heading toward... was clearly behind the royal palace—the very path that led to the tall tower.
Silvanus’s heart pounded loudly. He whispered, "Follow him."
But at that mont, his wrist was pulled back. Nana frowned at him. "We need to find Elder Nicole first."
Silvanus replied softly, "Anything unusual could be a clue."
Nana pressed her lips together, saying nothing. Clearly, they weren’t reaching an agreent.
Perhaps they were never ant to be a perfect team. Neither of them liked taking orders. Nana absolutely insisted on being the one in charge. Silvanus, on the other hand, remained quiet, but would follow his own judgnt whenever he believed his decision was the right one.
They stared at each other and eventually split up without a word.
Vivian let out a stifled giggle. "This feels so epic... ha ha ha."
Silvanus pushed its head down lightly, still silent.
anwhile, deep within the magnificent palace—deeper than the grand hall, past the long, wide corridors—there was a room with a tall, pointed ceiling, completely empty. Golden bars hung down from the peak, making the entire space resemble a massive cage.
At this mont, the scenery shifted. The pitch-black walls suddenly beca transparent, revealing the vast, endless dark-blue ocean outside. Nothing else could be seen—no structures, no living beings—just the deep sea stretching into infinity.
Through the wide gaps between the golden bars, Nicole saw a silhouette slowly swimming toward her, the water trembling with every movent.
Queen Thalassa...
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