“You need not settle for so little,” said Artem softly, for a second his gaze strangely intense before sparkling once more. “I do not only speak metaphorically here… As an Alpin, I also speak metallurgically!”
Before Regina could process the horror of that piece of wordplay, Artem said brightly, “As a prince of Carcosa, I have access to the guarded and secured treasure room of the reigning monarchs. The Gold Room is filled with all kinds of amazing treasures, including the jewel of our collection… a necklace made from stones given as a tribute by the Kuzey family.”
Considering the size of the golden crowns, scepters, and probably undergarments wielded by the various Alpins that Regina had met, Regina wondered how a necklace could possibly be the most valuable treasure of the Alpins.
“What kind of stones could be in such a necklace?” said Regina, more thinking out loud than actually intending to ask a question. “Diamonds? Rubies?”
None of those seemed valuable enough to overcome the public treasures the Alpins shared at every event she had seen.
“Far more precious than that,” said Artem, jolting Regina back to his intense, glittering gaze. “It is a stone you will have never seen since only the Kuzeys and the Alpins have access to it.”
The idea that the Alpins had a stone that only they and the Kuzeys could use, did seem of a kind of rarity that Regina could acknowledge.
She wondered how lovely it must be to be so hidden from the rest of the world –
“Of course it is even more rare,” said Artem cheerfully, “because it is set within the giant eye of a golden feet fish that wraps around your entire face.”
“Uhm,” Regina said, her gasted now thoroughly flabbered. “ Excuse me?”
“Around your entire face,” said Artem helpfully making a gesture that did, indeed, imply his entire face. “That is where the feet fish rests when you wear this piece of jewelry.”
“What-” Regina repeated as her mind vanished into some distant land.
“--Color is it?” finished Artem, sparkling even more in his enthusiasm. “The necklace almost looks like the true creature since it is formed in the finest pink-gold and has over a dozen feet that wrap gently around your face, as though it is cradling you like a baby.”
“How,” said Regina, ignoring what kind of childhood Artem must have had to be cradled by a dozen feet smothering his face, “is that a necklace ?”
“The tail splits to embrace your neck as well,” said Artem enthusiastically. “It is a very gentle choking sensation!”
“I can see,” said Regina numbly, “why this necklace is residing in a treasure room.”
‘ -and not being worn in public ,’ Regina thought but did not say.
“Oh,” said Artem, obviously sensing some of her… hesitation . “But the necklace is very wearable! In fact, it has many health benefits as well. In between fighting for breath, the stone eye of the feet fish shines with a light that infuses your body with strength!”
As Regina’s mind bounded between disbelief and horror, Artem paused for a second as his brow furrowed.
“Granted,” he added, “even most of my family do not enjoy this… process and will not do it. However, I believe it really is rejuvenating! I am so glad Cousin Reginald introduced me to it… even though he seemed strangely startled I was still breathing afterwards. I cannot wait to share it with you once we are married!”
Regina could only blink for several breaths before she managed a wan smile and said, “That is so very… thoughtful of you. Only Artem…”
Calming her nerves, Regina stepped forward to take Artem’s hands in her own, giving them a gentle squeeze.
“I do not need fish with glowing stone eyeballs or golden feet that apparently cradle my skull until I might lose consciousness to make me happy.”
Looking into Artem’s beautiful blue eyes, Regina murmured, “I only need you, right beside me.”
…Especially , she silently added, if you stay free long enough for me to use my visions to maneuver us into a nice countryside estate with no lurking assassins.
At her words, Artem perked up like a dandelion in the sun, his entire face shining with some emotion far beyond Regina’s experience.
“Are you…” he said gently, running his fingers over Regina’s own, “sure there is nothing else I can do for you?”
Regina felt that strange bubbling warmth at his unconditional generosity before he spoke again and broke her heart in another unfamiliar way.
“I have never been chosen by anyone before,” he softly admitted, “and I want you to… not regret choosing me over… over a much more powerful and brilliant prince.”
Regina felt a fierce and sudden anger that someone as bright and lovely and kind as Artem had never been anyone’s choice before he had stumbled into her dreams.
It made sense that someone like her had spent her life being overlooked. After all, being a particularly bland shade of beige was her primary survival strategy. However, Regina could not understand why no one had recognized the value of the shiny, lovely man before her.
Even if he was not particularly intelligent or ambitious or had any real goals besides frolicking and making his future wife happy –
“I will never regret it,” Regina said, knowing she valued Artem’s warmth well above his wits. “I know who you are, I know what you like to do, and I know we will be happy!”
‘ As long as we survive ,’ she had to admit, even as her mood turned grim. ‘ Yet surely I can leverage my visions of your future to ensure my happiness… and use those same visions to grant you a better life .’
Artem looked at her for a long, strange moment where Regina felt as if he was trying to see into her soul…
Before he smiled such a beautiful, lovely, and hopeful smile that Regina too felt as light as a dandelion.
“Are you a magician?” Artem said softly, and Regina’s heart nearly stopped in fear that he had figured out her secret.
Yet before she could panic and throw herself off the balcony in hopes of finding safety, Artem continued speaking. “Because,” said Artem, looking up at her from under those unfairly long eyelashes, “whenever I look at you, the world disappears.”
Regina’s heart started beating once more and she wondered why her eyes were pricking once again.
It was such a silly, ridiculous thing to say and yet…
“Even if you cannot believe me yet,” said Artem softly, as he very gently, delicately wiped the corner of her eyes with the tip of his fingers, “know that nothing I have is of any value compared to you.”
“Does that include,” said Regina, half-laughing so that she does not sob, “your giant face-hugging golden feet fish necklace?”
Artem winked and snapped his fingers. “I will destroy it the moment you wish to see it gone.”
Regina raised an eyebrow, getting into the game by boldly poking a particular prominent brooch on his chest. “What about your ever-present brooch?”
Artem did not look away from her for a single second, as he reached down and crumpled the brooch in his grasp.
“You did not-” said Regina, startled and suddenly uncomfortably warm, with an odd buzzing beneath her skin.
Artem leaned forward, his eyes strangely dark as Regina swayed towards him, wondering if they would finally –
–And then, to her intense disappointment, Artem suddenly pulled back with a soft, secretive smile.
“Nothing is more valuable than you,” he said cheerfully. “So you will just have to decide what you want… and take it.”
Flushed, Regina stared at him before she shyly asked, “What if what I want can only come after we are married?”
‘After all, I just want a peaceful life spent with the two of us tucked away in a remote estate – both of us happy and free…’
“What if,” she added, feeling her heart surge at the thought even as she wondered whether such a future was possible, “what I want is beyond my grasp?”
Artem once again took her hand in his and extended both their arms towards the sunrise.
“Then let me,” Artem softly said, “extend your reach.”
Regina leaned towards him, felt him shift to wrap an arm around her as if they were already wed, and could not bring herself to care.
So long as she could use the magical gift she had been granted to keep them both out of danger, she could hope for a future she would never have previously imagined.
Even as her gaze started to blur and her head grew heavy, Regina felt Artem’s comforting weight beside her and hoped that she would see a future where she could return that comfort and support.
The only problem was that once Regina finally fell asleep against Artem’s broad shoulder, she had a vision of a future filled with betrayal, murder…
…and feet fish.
~♦♥♦~
Author's Note:
Thank you for tuning into another chapter of our story! This was one of my favorite ones to write and fun-fact, Emily (aka Palhinhaea) is the one who wrote Artem's voice! I wonder if you can figure out some of the interesting clues she put in through the thing he says without maybe meaning to...
Also, cookies to anyone who can guess how feet fish are going to feature in Regina's next dream of murder and madness! This poor lady cannot catch a BREAK -- and the next few chapters are going to be especially hectic. This is about the point in the story where things are going to get wild and make the first 1/3rd of the story seem calm and sedate. Strap in, friends - it's about to be a WILD ride!
As always, if you enjoyed this story, please consider supporting our upcoming romantic mystery game - Save the Villainess - on Kickstarter or Steam. We will be releasing our free 2-3 hour demo in a few weeks and we can promise you an equal amount of wild antics and wonderful romance in that game!
♥ Kickstarter Pre-Campaign Page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/565568843/save-the-villainess-an-otome-isekai-roleplaying-game
♥ Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2578180/Save_the_Villainess_An_Otome_Isekai_Roleplaying_Game/
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