Chapter 547
Chapter 547
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 547
Chapter Title: Lurye Nukelavi (5)
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1.
The crew had retired for the night, and even Si-woo was continuing his magic research in his cabin. It was the hour when Lurye would normally be asleep.
Alone in the theater, a movie played before Lurye.
The phrase "played before her" was apt because she wasn't paying the slightest attention to it.
It wasn't because it was boring.
Having spent over a decade in isolation on the submarine, Lurye suffered from chronic boredom. No matter how much of a flop a film was reputed to be, she had developed the ability to watch it with genuine fascination.
Right now, though, a far greater worry had sealed off her eyes and ears.
"Loves me... loves me not... loves me... loves me not..."
Lurye carefully snapped off the branches of the coral in her hand, one by one, her eyes serious.
If the last one said "loves me," then he loved her. If "loves me not," then he didn't.
It was a primitive form of divination, but Lurye detached each branch with terrifying focus and deliberation.
"No way...!"
Her eyes trembled violently as she clutched the final piece of coral.
She had repeated the coral divination three whole times.
Yet every single result pointed unerringly to "loves me"?
"Would I ever fall for something as trifling as love?!"
She hurled the bare coral skeleton far away.
Lurye flopped onto the sofa, thrashing her legs wildly.
Until now, Lurye had always been alone.
No matter how loyally the crew pledged their devotion, they were still merely familiars. True emotional exchange or bonding was impossible.
So from the moment she first met Shin Si-woo, her spirits had been lifted. She had assumed she'd be alone until completing her trial, but now she had a new friend.
He listened well to her stories, gave great advice, and was handsome to boot.
His personality was smooth and accommodating, without a single rough edge, and he even went along with her more unreasonable demands.
Where in the world could she find a friend this perfect?
"......"
However, ever since his passionate confession, hints of it had crept in little by little. Today, she finally confronted the truth: the feelings she harbored for him were far too deep to be directed at mere "friends."
This sudden emotion, crashing into her for the first time in her life, shook Lurye to her core.
The name of that emotion was probably love.
A sentiment too complex to be captured by a mere two syllables.
And if you added one more syllable to make it "first love," it became an even trickier puzzle to handle.
"What am I to do...?"
Of course, like most first loves, the affection Lurye felt for Si-woo was more innocent and fresh than mature or profound.
This was especially true since Si-woo was the first man she'd ever truly interacted with.
Her confusion stemmed precisely from that innocence.
After all, the subtlety and depth of emotions were closely tied to one's cognitive faculties.
For example, take the male fantasy of sneaking into a women's bathhouse—something every guy has daydreamed about at least once.
Some might even have lived it out, like tagging along as a child while holding their mother's hand.
Yet children rarely feel shame or excitement in such situations.
It's because their understanding of "sex" hasn't fully developed.
Lurye's predicament was much the same.
Without any awareness of romantic or sexual dynamics, kissing, making out, or even sex hadn't struck her as remotely lewd when it came to him.
But now, in the fever of her emotional puberty, just imagining pressing her lips to his made her want to die of embarrassment.
She couldn't even fathom how she'd shown him her naked body before.
Thoroughly distraught, Lurye grabbed her bottle of liquor and stormed out of the theater.
Lurye wasn't ignorant of the concept of love itself.
Lately, she'd even studied movies to learn how lovers behaved.
The only problem was that watching it on screen felt worlds apart from experiencing it herself...
In the end, there was only one answer.
"I shall not flee!"
She had to face it head-on.
2.
Lurye's bewilderment wasn't solely due to experiencing love for the first time.
It stemmed from the fact that she had fallen for him first.
Who was Lurye Nukelavi?
The Queen of the Deep Sea, who had inherited the 23rd Hierarchy from her master, Shalit Nukelavi, and ruled the vast oceans.
Unless Si-woo lost his mind to love and begged desperately, her towering pride could never tolerate her being the desperate one.
-Tap, tap
Was it because it was the dead of night?
Or because this was the first time she'd entered his cabin since that night?
Her heart pounded fiercely.
Lurye opened the door to his cabin, where faint light spilled out.
She didn't bother knocking.
Because she was the queen.
Faint wisps of cigarette smoke curled upward.
Cigarettes were a massive luxury on a typical submarine, but the Akula was different.
Thanks to the intake systems in every corridor and cabin, it boasted cutting-edge ventilation that allowed smoking indoors.
Si-woo, cigarette dangling from his lips, was immersed in his magic research amid the hazy smoke.
It wasn't enough that he spent all day in the Trial Room; he'd even brought his study materials to the bedroom.
What incredible passion.
He was so absorbed that he didn't even notice Lurye enter, scribbling away with his pen.
Lurye found this irritating.
"Wah!"
"Gah!"
She smacked his back, and he whipped around with a startled expression.
Feeling like things were going according to plan, Lurye crowed triumphantly.
"I have personally graced your quarters with a visit, yet you fail to show proper respect? What an insolent subject!"
"Sorry. I was so focused I didn't notice."
But her confidence crumbled at the wry smile on his face.
Her already fluttering heart ramped up to a thunderous pounding, and her breath grew short.
Si-woo turned his chair to face her, and Lurye perched on the edge of the desk integrated with the bed.
"What brings you here?"
"Must I have a reason to visit?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
"You've been at it all day. How much longer?"
"I was just about to wrap up."
"See that you do."
And then... brain freeze.
She'd come all this way, but what now? How to keep the conversation going?
Actions that once flowed naturally now jammed up like a broken machine.
"Isn't it time for bed, Your Majesty?"
Si-woo casually stacked his papers and asked innocently.
Gathering all her strength, Lurye replied as usual.
"I decide when I sleep and when I wake."
"Ah..."
"What are your plans?"
"I was thinking of catching a couple hours of sleep."
"Hm. You're at leisure, then. As am I."
"Want to watch a movie together?"
The moment she accepted his suggestion, something magical happened.
Her heels felt lighter than helium balloons, floating her upward.
Joy exploded like fireworks from a corner of her heart, making her want to nod eagerly with a beaming smile.
All from a simple invitation to watch a movie!
"A movie sounds fine. But I want to do something else as well."
Forcing down the urge to hum a tune, Lurye set her lips firmly.
She hadn't come to simper pathetically at his every word.
Nor to remain some fragile girl swept away by love.
What was needed for that?
When problems arose, one should trace them back to their origin.
The trouble in Si-woo and Lurye's relationship started after sex.
The moment Lurye began feeling this giddy tremor was right after she failed to say "Let's have sex!" to him.
The solution, then, logically led back to intercourse.
But that didn't mean she wanted to say it first.
If she could seduce him with her fatal allure and make him lose his reason like last time, she'd seize the initiative and reclaim her queenly dignity. She firmly believed it.
With her resolve hardened, confidence surged within Lurye.
Si-woo hadn't changed.
A man who had fallen so deeply for her that he lost all reason wouldn't shake off that enchanting curse overnight.
So why was he being so cautious? Perhaps because she'd threatened him over their forceful first time?
That meant he was dying for it too.
A little gentle coaxing, and he'd fall right into her lap.
"If movies aren't your thing... how about finishing that game of pocket billiards we didn't get to?"
"No."
"Hm... then drinks?"
"I've already had some."
Thus, Lurye narrowed the options by rejecting everything.
Si-woo, who had been rattling off suggestions, seemed to catch on to her intent and fell quiet.
Seizing the moment, Lurye haughtily lifted her chin, elegantly crossing her pale thighs.
"I desire something more amusing. With you."
Si-woo couldn't tear his eyes from her sleekly exposed thighs, and Lurye's confidence doubled at the sight.
She had laid out the bait plain as day.
Of course, she had no intention of yielding easily to clumsy advances just because she was the queen.
Beg now! Succumb to desire, swear obedience, kiss my feet!
Pleeease let me hold you just once, Your Majesty Lurye!
Then I'll grant you a sweet dream of a night writhing in passion!
"Your Majesty."
But Lurye, who had steeled herself boldly, felt her resolve shrivel at his mere call.
Her heart throbbed as if it might leap from her throat.
He wouldn't kiss me out of the blue, would he?
Or pin me down roughly like last time?
Either way, if he came at her like that, she'd kick him away.
No, maybe she'd allow a kiss?
No. It might spoil him.
Their first time had left her at his mercy all day, hadn't it?
This was her chance to thoroughly tame him.
Her heart, burning hot as a furnace, froze into a pool of liquid hydrogen at his next words.
"Shall we study magic together, then?"
Because she never could have imagined such a stupid response!
Let alone him draping his outer coat over her thighs!
Yet paradoxically, his utterly tone-deaf reaction gave Lurye a profound realization.
Yes.
A perfect hypothesis formed for why Si-woo was acting this way.
Like a beast in heat devouring her naked body and dominating her forcefully, Si-woo had shown the traits of a pure conqueror.
And after that night, he'd put up an iron wall around her.
Wasn't this a fierce battle for dominance between lovers—the so-called "push and pull"?
Was Si-woo thinking the same thing, vying to take control of the reins?
In other words, he was saying:
Beg now! Cast aside your queenly pride and plead for love like some ordinary girl!
Pleeease hold me just once, Si-woo!
Then I'll let you dream of a night tormented by lust!
"Ha..."
A hollow laugh escaped as the truth dawned.
The nuance differed, but this mere subject had dared to challenge the queen.
No doubt about it!
"I do not turn my back on a thrown gauntlet. Shin Si-woo."
"Pardon?"
"I accept your challenge!"
Of course, she was almost entirely wrong.