Count Henry had fallen into a coma.
He lay on the bed, his face pale, and there was no trace of blood on his lips.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his dry, cracked lips moved silently as if he were trying to say something.
At this moment, the Count’s room was packed with people both inside and outside. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the doctor shook his head regretfully toward the Countess. “Madam, please talk to him as much as you can.”
The Countess, whose eyes were red as she tried to maintain her composure, suddenly broke down. With tears streaming down her face, she disregarded all decorum and clutched the doctor’s wrist, pleading, “Doctor, please, save him! You must have a way, right?!”
The doctor looked away with guilt. “I’m sorry, Countess, there’s nothing more I can do.”
With a wail, the Countess collapsed beside the Count’s bed.
Just days ago, the Count was full of vigor, but now, he seemed to have aged decades overnight. His hair was sparse and graying, his eye sockets sunken, and his face lined with deep wrinkles, his cheeks hollowed and shrunken inward.
She trembled as she held the Count’s aged hand, now as frail as a dry branch. The sorrow in her voice moved everyone present. “Count, wake up. Please, don’t leave me alone. Today is my birthday, remember? You promised to spend it with me. You are a noble Count, you cannot break your word.”
The Count lay on the bed, his breathing shallow, life seemingly draining away quickly.
No matter how heart-wrenching the Countess’s cries were, the Count did not open his eyes to respond.
Tears rolled down from the Countess’s eyes, one after another, dampening the bed sheets beneath her.
Choking on her sobs, the Countess murmured, “Count, my dearest husband, you are the person I love most in this world. You were, you are, and you always will be. I will never meet anyone as good as you again. If you die, my heart will die with you, but my love for you will never fade.”
“Yesterday, we were still dreaming of our future together. I never imagined our time would be so short. How cruel fate is, to tear you from my side so mercilessly. If I had known our time was limited, I would have stayed with you every moment, telling you I love you a thousand… no, ten thousand times.”
“Count, my dear Count. I am your wife, please, open your eyes one last time and look at your wife. Let my image be the last thing you see.”
As if moved by the Countess’s confession, the Count miraculously opened his eyes.
However, his eyes were no longer bright; they were now clouded and dim.
He struggled to keep his eyes open as he looked at the Countess, and she gazed back at him affectionately, tears streaming down her face.
Suddenly, the Count grabbed the Countess’s hand tightly and said with a ferocious expression. “You are mine, even in death, you will be buried with me!”
The Countess was stunned for a moment but quickly clasped his hand in return. “Count!”
That sentence seemed to take all of the Count’s remaining strength. His face contorted in a grimace, his eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, and his body stiffened as he fell back onto the bed.
His hand, which had been holding the Countess’s, fell lifelessly.
The Countess panicked and her voice trembled. “Doctor! Doctor! Check the Count, quickly!”
The doctor stepped forward, shone a small flashlight into the Count’s eyes, then checked his pulse.
After a moment, he shook his head. “The Count… has passed.”
The Countess, unable to bear the shock any longer, staggered a few steps and collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
On the night of the Countess’s birthday, the Count left his wife forever.
…
The night was dark and silent, with thick fog everywhere.
On the quiet deck, a shadow quietly approached.
Just as the figure reached the railing, a voice suddenly came from behind: “Countess, what are you doing here so late instead of resting in your room?”
The person in the black cloak froze, then slowly turned around.
The hood came off, revealing long black hair flowing in the wind and a stunningly beautiful face.
The Countess was wearing the black starlit gown from the evening banquet, holding a flower pot in her hands. She had a pale-face and she smiled softly at the people in front of her. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came out to get some fresh air.”
“Getting some fresh air?” Ji Nansheng pointed at the flowerpot in her hands. “More like trying to destroy evidence, isn’t it?”
The Countess held the flowerpot tighter. “I don’t understand what you’re saying. This is the Count’s favorite flower when he was alive. I’m just reminiscing about him.”
Ji Nansheng took a small plastic bag out of his pocket, containing a handful of soil. “Even if you throw the flower into the sea, it won’t help. We’ve already taken a sample of the soil from the pot. Once we give this soil to a doctor or pharmacist, they should be able to figure out what’s in it. Countess, you killed the Count.”
The Countess’s face changed slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. “All soil looks the same. How can you prove this small bag of soil came from this flowerpot?”
Ji Nansheng: “Did you forget where we are? We’re at sea. We checked the ship’s logs, and the Dream Star doesn’t allow soil on board. The only place on the entire ship with a flowerpot containing soil is the Count’s room. So, this soil must belong to this flowerpot.”
The Countess’s tearful smile slowly faded, and she looked coldly at Ji Nansheng and the others. “No one will believe I killed the Count.”
Ji Nansheng: “Some things may go against people’s assumptions at first, but once you remove those biases, the truth remains. Even if no one believes it, the fact that you killed the Count won’t change.”
The Countess said in a low voice, “So, you plan to expose me?”
The girl said anxiously, “We just want the truth! Why did you kill the Count? Why did your fiancé disappear three years ago? We don’t want to be trapped in the Siren’s Territory, we just want to leave!”
The Countess glanced at the girl, then looked back at Ji Nansheng. “If I tell you the truth, will you keep it a secret?”
Ji Nansheng played it cool, neither confirming nor denying, “That depends on how true your truth is.”
“Heh, fine. This secret has been a burden on my heart for too long. I’ll tell you.” The Countess gave a bitter smile. “Jacob and I grew up together. I was the most beautiful woman in the Imperial Capital, and he was the most promising young man. Our families arranged our marriage with our consent.”
“The wedding was approaching, but Jacob received orders to escort some important supplies at sea.”
“Before he left, he said that when he returned, we would get married.”
“I thought it was just an ordinary mission, but two months later, the soldiers who returned said Jacob had stolen the supplies and fled, and his whereabouts are unknown. The Emperor was furious, Jacob’s family was destroyed, and because I was his fiancée, I gained the infamous title of ‘wife of a criminal’ and became the subject of scorn.”
“I never believed Jacob would do such a thing. That day, I couldn’t stand the whispers of others anymore and wanted to jump into the sea to end it all. But the Count was passing by and he saved me. He said a woman as beautiful as me was easily mistreated and attacked by the world, and he said he couldn’t bear to see a beautiful flower like me wither. The next day, he proposed to my family without my knowledge.”
“We couldn’t offend royalty, so in the end, I married the Count.”
“After we were married, he treated me very well. He gave me a high status and freed me from the judgment of the world. I also gradually recovered from the pain of Jacob’s disappearance. I knew that my feelings for the Count were gratitude and not love, but I still fulfilled my duties as his wife, doing my best to be the Count’s wife.”
“Until half a year ago, I met a man. He told me I had been deceived and that he would tell me the whole truth.”
“That’s when I learned that it was my beauty that had tempted the Count, making him want to possess me, but I already had a fiancé.”
“So, he used his influence to have Jacob accept the mission to escort the supplies, then arranged for him to be killed on the ship and framed for the crime of stealing the supplies.”
“Afterward, he easily got me.”
“I wanted revenge for Jacob, so I killed the Count.”
“Today is not only my birthday but also Jacob’s death anniversary. I wore the black gown Jacob had prepared for me and completed my revenge.”
The blonde player: “But the Count seemed to love you. Didn’t you have any hesitation? He saved you, protected you from the world’s judgment, and treated you well. The Count was of higher status than Jacob, maybe marrying him was the right choice.”
“Ha, what a joke!” The Countess sneered as if she had heard a joke. “He saved me? Protected me from the world’s judgment? If it wasn’t for him, Jacob and I would’ve been married long ago, and none of this disaster would’ve happened. The world wouldn’t have judged me, Jacob wouldn’t be dead, his parents wouldn’t have died in grief, my family wouldn’t be ridiculed, and I wouldn’t have tried to drown myself in despair.”
The Countess’s face twisted in fury, and she asked hysterically, “He destroyed my carefree life, left me bruised and battered, then appeared as a savior, using my gratitude and guilt to control me. And you call that love?!”
“No, that’s not love; that’s possession! It’s the arrogance of someone in power looking down on us commoners! As long as it’s something he wants, he’ll stop at nothing to get it, without caring if it’s damaged or no longer beautiful. He just wanted to possess it.”
“I was that thing.”
Everyone was speechless.
Even the blonde player lowered his head in shame.
The live broadcast room.
[Listening to the Countess speak for just a moment feels more valuable than reading for ten years. I suddenly realize that the Countess is absolutely right.]
[I used to think the Count was so good to the Countess, gifting her such beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry without hesitation, and even thought that the Countess was ungrateful. But on reflection, my thoughts were nothing but blind admiration for wealth and power. The Countess’s views are truly correct.]
[Yes, if it weren’t for the Count, the Countess wouldn’t have suffered so much.]
[The Countess did well in killing him.]
Ji Nansheng: “Who told you the truth about all this?”
The Countess’s distorted face returned to calm. “It was Lord Siren.”
Everyone present was momentarily stunned by her response.
Ji Nansheng: “You’ve met the Siren? Who is he?”
The Countess sneered. “Are you crazy? Why would I tell you who Lord Siren is? If you have the ability, go find him yourself.”
As she spoke, she stepped back, pressing her foot against the railing and sat on the barrier.
Seeing the Countess’s actions, everyone’s hearts tightened.
The girl asked anxiously, “What are you planning to do?”
“Don’t come closer,” said the Countess. “Even in death, the Count still wants to possess me. He wants me to be buried with him after I die. I won’t let him have his way. You people are good-hearted, but there are few good people on this ship. If you ever get the chance to return to land, please reveal the truth and expose the evildoers here. But please, don’t tell anyone that I killed the Count. The royal family is powerful, and they will come after my family. I don’t want my family to be implicated because of me. But even if you say something, no one will believe it. After all, I was known for loving the Count so deeply.”
The woman raised her elegant neck, her expression resolute. “I am Hildeger Xin Sainon, daughter of the Sainon family, and wife of Count Henry VI. Today, my husband passed away in an accident, and unable to bear the pain, I have decided to follow him.”
With those words and without a hint of hesitation, she leaned back, holding the flowerpot tightly in her arms as she fell into the black fog.
The four rushed forward, but all they saw was the thick black fog, and all they heard was the sound of something heavy hitting the water.
The Countess had thrown herself into the sea, committing suicide.
The girl stood there, stunned. “Did we cause her death?”
Ji Nansheng: “Don’t overthink it, it was the Count.”
The muscular man: “The Count?”
Ji Nansheng: “I noticed that when the Count saw the dress the Countess was wearing, his face turned ugly. He cared so much about the Countess that he must’ve known it was a gift from Jacob. When she appeared before him in that dress, he probably guessed what the Countess intended to do.”
“My guess is that he knew the Countess never really wanted to be with him, so he deliberately said those things in front of everyone to force her to jump into the sea. Only by jumping could she make sure her body disappeared completely, escaping his control even after death.”
The girl shivered upon hearing this. “That’s terrifying. To come up with something like that just before dying… The Count was truly a master of manipulating people.”
The muscular man muttered, “No, he wasn’t devious enough to win over the Countess without such sinister tactics. He was just a lecherous old fool.”
“But…” Ji Nansheng wanted to say something, but then he had a thought and suddenly pursed his lips.
The muscular man urged, “But what?”
Ji Nansheng looked out at the dark railing, then at the bag of soil in his hand, and finally shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
But, if the Countess was the Siren, jumping into the sea wouldn’t kill her, right?
…
With the Countess’s death, the Siren’s identity became even more mysterious.
