"..."
Henry gazed intently at his father, who lay sprawled limply.
They were currently imprisoned in a prison located deep within the castle.
He never thought he would set foot here in the days leading up to his death...
To think that the blood he thought was noble was born of betrayal and death.
A self-deprecating smile formed on Henry's lips.
Where did that legend, "If you tell the truth, you will be punished," originate?
He never once doubted it. It couldn't be brainwashing. Because his father, the leader, couldn't possibly be a Siren.
"..."
Henry bit his lip. He should have known when the mermaids were all light purple.
Henry loved himself. But now, he felt nothing but the desire to die. It was obvious that living would only amount to a life wishing for death.
And yet, on the other hand, he wanted to insist on it to the very end. Even if he were pointed at and called ugly, he wanted to make one last desperate struggle.
However, the moment the red-haired woman regained her memory, Triaina, the symbol of the leader, appeared from her hand. Everyone in the banquet hall witnessed the sight.
All that remained now was destruction.
'...How did that woman notice?'
Father clearly lost his reason and lunged at the woman.
However, the moment it touched her, everyone's brainwashing was undone.
As if melting like ice, or evaporating into hot smoke.
'How on earth.'
It was just as he was contemplating. A faint moan was heard.
"Father!"
Henry quickly supported his father.
Mentira, still breathing heavily as if unable to recover from the shock, barely managed to speak.
"W-what on earth is going on? Why are we here?"
"..."
Henry did not answer. Mentira squeezed out what little energy he had left and urged him to answer.
"Henry...!"
"What on earth happened?"
A chillingly calm voice echoed through the prison.
"Is what the Siren said really true? Are we... impure beings?"
Mentira continued to breathe heavily. As if regaining his composure, Mentira caught his breath and slowly opened his mouth.
"...There is a book left by my ancestor in the study. I received it when I took over the position of head. It reads there: 'Our ancestor took away the red hair—that is, the eyes of the first head.'"
"..."
"Our ancestor used the stolen eyes and magic to brainwash them. The mermaids came to believe our words without a doubt. We thought everything would be hidden like that, but..."
Mentira slowly drew out the end of his sentence.
"At some point, you felt the stolen mermaid's power weakening. You thought it couldn't be true, but the situation had already unfolded. Yes, that mermaid was reborn."
Henry took a surprised breath. Mentira paused for a moment before continuing.
"I had to find the mermaid again, but there were plenty of red-haired ones. They were all brainwashed, so their eye colors were identical. However, I couldn't just brainwash them. So, I decided to cast an even deeper brainwashing spell."
"No way..."
Henry muttered as if in a daze. Mentira nodded.
"That's right. The brainwashing that 'the red-haired siren has cursed blood' and 'those who speak the truth are punished.'"
Henry turned pale at the shocking fact.
However, Henry, unable to give up his last hope, spoke up.
"However, something is strange. If she is the reincarnation of the leader, why can she possess the abilities of a Siren?"
Mentira answered Henry's rebuttal.
"Yeah. I thought so at first, too."
Mentira opened his mouth with a self-deprecating smile.
"So, the ancestor cast another brainwashing spell."
Another brainwashing.
Henry immediately realized what that meant.
"So that she, still young, can grow up believing herself to be a cursed siren."
He immediately covered his eyes.
They were things that had been protected with such difficulty. Even as a leader, he worked very hard to maintain what our ancestors had built.
But everything came to nothing.
"So this is what they meant by living as if dead when that dragon appears..."
Henry's eyes widened at Mentira's words.
"What does that mean? Is there some connection between this and the dragon?"
At Henry's question, Mentira muttered something with a half-dazed look on his face.
"I've lost all my strength. It's all over..."
His pale purple eyes were losing their original light and growing cloudy.
It was then. Someone entered with the loud scraping of chains.
They were the mermaid knights who would no longer serve them.
"Follow me; the Southern Leader is looking for you."
Loyalty no longer existed. The other mermaids dragged Mentira out.
Helplessly, Mentira followed them out of the prison.
"..."
Unable to recover from the shock, Henry could only stare blankly at the iron bars closing heavily.
***
As the hidden facts were revealed, the East fell into chaos.
They had served Mentira as their leader for a long time.
But to think he's a Siren!
The mermaids, flustered and confused, soon erupted in anger, asking how he could have fooled everyone so completely for such a long time. Along with this, they shouted that they had to untangle the mess one by one.
However, too much time had passed. It was impossible to even tell where the knot had started to get tangled.
This was all the result of Eve's work.
She confidently aimed Triaina at the leader. It was an act that would have been impossible without conviction.
'How did Eve figure out his identity?'
Noelier recalled that dizzying situation.
Just before the truth was revealed, Mentira completely lost his reason and attacked Eve.
And as a blue light surged forth, Mentira fell from his side. Fortunately, Eve was unharmed, and everyone witnessed Mentira's crime.
However, this was not something that could be simply brushed off with an "it's a good thing." Eve could have been seriously injured.
Even though he had only imagined it, his passion boiled like crazy.
Noelier, having barely regained his composure, opened his eyes.
However, when he faced Mentira, the patience he had been holding onto began to waver.
"I was wondering why you suddenly disappeared..."
Noelier slowly drew out the end of his sentence.
"To think I would have done such a pathetic thing."
"..."
Mentira could not say a word. It was the face of someone who had let go of everything.
He would have loved to tear him to pieces, but if he did that, all of Eve's efforts would be in vain.
So, Noelier decided to exercise his last bit of patience.
"Tell me everything you know."
"..."
Mentira remained silent. Then, a small flame flared up around Mentira.
"If you do not answer, this will consume you. If you want to prolong your life even a little, you would be better off answering."
Mentira's cloudy eyes moved slowly. Noelier was reflected in his gray pupils.
He opened his mouth slowly.
"I have nothing to tell you."
"..."
"I just wanted power."
"Then why did you hide?"
Noelier refuted.
"When I took over as leader, you quietly disappeared. Tell me what you know."
Mentira bit his lip at Noelier's remark.
He opened his mouth slowly.
"There is something my ancestor left behind. He told me to beware of the dragon with a single heart, and to beware of its mate."
"..."
Noelier stared at him without showing any signs of agitation.
"They said she would ruin everything. Since the 'Mermaid's Eye' did its job back then... it probably wasn't a lie."
As Mentira said that, his eyes looked as fleeting as burnt ashes.
"Not long after my ascension to the throne, I heard the news that the Leader, who had undergone his second awakening, had only one heart. Fearing that everything would be revealed, I had no choice but to hide."
Mentira gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"In the end, everything was revealed, though."
"..."
Noelier's eyes narrowed. Was what he said really true?
When Mentira lunged at Eve, he saw a light shining for a very brief moment.
"...Does that 'companion' mean my wife?"
At Noelier's question, Mentira slowly raised his head. He cautiously opened his mouth.
“Yes, that’s right.”
"..."
"You said my companion would destroy everything."
It seemed this was all that could be ascertained.
Noelier rose from his seat, looked down at Mentira, and spoke.
"I will deliberate on your fate together with the Eastern Leader. Until then, wait quietly in prison."
Leaving those words behind, Noelier went outside. The knights grabbed Mentira and helped him up.
Mentira watched Noelier's retreating back.
Although I met this end...
'You, too, will not be able to escape tragedy.'
A faint smile formed on his lips.
'A pet.'
There's no way such a thing exists.
Mentira smiled the entire time he was being dragged to prison.
He heard voices whispering, asking if he had finally gone crazy, but he smiled steadfastly.
It was the best lie and brainwashing he could tell as a last resort.
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