To prevent the merfolk from being slaughtered, I decided to go ashore and seduce my childhood friend Cyrus, who had become the Alpha King.

He still loved me deeply, and we spent three passionate days and nights together in bed.

Waking up from a haze of pleasure, I hadn't even had the chance to rejoice before a corrosive elixir was dunked over my head.

Listening to my pained wails, Cyrus smirked. "So even an immortal mermaid can feel pain, too?

"Well, this is just a taste of what's to come if you don't tell me where my parents are!"

Yes, he was convinced that the merfolk were behind his parents' disappearance.

From then on, I was forced to watch him flirt with his mistress, Emily; had to extract my mermaid pearl to help heal her body; was forced to dance barefoot to entertain Emily so that she could sleep…

Cyrus hated every fiber of my being, yet always held me tenderly in his arms whenever I was on the brink of death, carefully feeding me medicine.

Sometimes, he was cruel. "Do you think I'll go easy on you just because I love you? Quick, continue torturing her!"

Sometimes, he was gentle. "Can't you be good and tell me where my parents are?"

Silently, I endured his twisted love without a word.

Soon, however, these days would come to an end, and I wouldn't have to keep that secret any longer.

After all, a mermaid who did not return to the sea after three years on land… Would turn into seafoam.

And now, there were only three days until my time was up.

Late at night, the doors to the basement were kicked open harshly. In came a tall werewolf, yanking me up from the floor by my hair and slapping my face until I woke up.

Ignoring my pained groans, he grabbed my legs and dragged me out of the basement, cursing as he did.

"How dare you sleep so comfortably when Emily's hurt?"

My body was dragged roughly upon the coarse gravel road, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Eventually, I was dragged to Cyrus' feet. He furrowed his brows when he saw my bloodied state, as if he was about to say something, but seemed to decide against it.

"Emily's hurt. Heal her with your mermaid's pearl."

I looked up, my gaze falling on Emily, who was resting on the bed, her lower belly slightly protruded.

Smack!

The next second, Cyrus sent a slap at my face. "Where do you think you're looking at? How dare you lay your eyes on Emily? I'm here, so don't you even think of hurting anyone again!"

I immediately lowered my head, the slap stinging bitterly on my face. "I'm sorry."

Slowly, I crawled towards the bed and observed the wounds on Emily's hand.

Clearly, she'd been teasing a starving mermaid with food and got bitten as a result.

After more than two years of torture, I was already familiar with how to heal Emily and treat her wounds.

I began undressing with practiced movements, when I heard Cyrus bark out behind me, "Get out, all of you!"

Everyone else in the room immediately retreated, leaving just the three of us inside.

I didn't really understand why he did so, but I'd long since given up on trying to understand his intentions.

I continued, piercing my chest with my sharp nails and extracting the mermaid pearl from within, trembling from the intense pain that came as a result.

Cyrus' deep voice broke through the silence, "Marina, don't you can make me go easy on you by acting pitiful."

In his eyes, the reason why I used my mermaid pearl to heal Emily instead of using my blood was because I was trying to act pitiful.

But, in actuality, my blood had already run out of its healing properties because I'd become too weak.

Besides, I never intentionally acted to garner any pity from him—that was Emily's forte, not mine.

Illuminated by my mermaid pearl's glow, Emily quickly woke up, and Cyrus immediately wrapped her in a warm hug. "Are you alright? Does it still hurt?"

Emily glanced at my bloodied chest, a vicious gleam flashing through her eyes. "It doesn't hurt anymore, but… The scent of blood is making me nauseous, so can you get her out of here, pretty please?"

Cyrus turned around, glaring at me viciously. "Are you deaf? Get lost!"

I crawled out using my arms, and I heard Cyrus' gentle voice coming from behind me.

"Emily, don't ever go close to those ugly, evil mermaids ever again. They'll only hurt you."

My heart, already numb with pain, was stabbed with another knife, the pain going to places I never imagined.

Suddenly, a bucket of ice-cold water splashed onto me. It was a maid, looking down at me with disdain.

"You disgusting monster! Aren't you supposed to be immortal? Why are you bleeding all over the floor instead of healing your wounds quickly?"

A dirty rag was thrown onto my face, and I was already too weak to even dodge.

"Wipe the floor clean, or I'll tell the Alpha King to punish you!"

I started wiping the floor, but it was a never-ending task—I couldn't stop bleeding, so the floor never became clean.

I spent an entire night wiping the floor, listening to the sounds of passion coming from inside the room, and I cried.

As Cyrus' disgusted expression appeared in my mind, I thought…

Very soon, I would finally be free.

Even mermaids, with their legendary immortality, would still die. I was finally reaching the last three days of my life.

As I cleaned the final drop of blood on the floor, the wound on my chest healed thoroughly. At the same time, a new day dawned for the Moonshadow Pack.

Cyrus emerged from the bedroom, carrying Emily’s scent, and saw the rag soaked in dark red blood.

He frowned. “Why is there so much blood?”

I didn't explain, only lowering my head. "I'm sorry, I'll deal with this dirty thing immediately."

Outside the window, a maid was watering the garden, and she deliberately raised her voice, "That monster asked me how to please a werewolf and what gifts to give to a werewolf mate before! Goodness, is she trying to seduce the Alpha King?"

"Gosh, does she think that a witch like her can be with the Alpha King? How delusional! Doesn't she know that those dirty merfolk are the reason why the Alpha King's parents disappeared? She should be spending her entire life repenting!"

Hearing those words, I immediately sensed danger and tried to retreat back to the basement, but Cyrus moved faster.

He dragged me straight to the interrogation room, pressing me down on the chair that was carved with lightning runes.

With a mana stone that could activate the runes in hand, he looked down at me darkly.

"I just remembered that it was time for me to interrogate you… Now talk. Where did you bring my parents?"

I closed my eyes, flashes of excruciating pain that I'd experienced in this very chair flashing through my senses. Shuddering, I replied, "I don't know…"

The moment I finished speaking, strong electrical currents surged through me, making me scream in agony.

My entire body convulsed violently, and the wounds that had scabbed over split open once more.

When it ended, I was so weak that I could barely even breathe.

Cyrus' breaths became heavy, and he leaned in to press his ear on my chest, confirming that my heart was indeed still beating.

"Just tell me! Why won't you tell me?!" His voice was on the brink of breaking down, as if he was experiencing excruciating pain as well. "I just want to know where my parents are, Marina! If you tell me, I'll let you go…"

Blood flowed from the edge of my lips, every fiber of my being screaming in pain. "I… I won't tell you…"

I could never let anyone know where Cyrus' parents were—this was a matter of their safety.

"Well, be that way!" Cyrus stared at me for a very long while, before scoffing and ordering for his underlings to bring the mermaid pearls that I thought I'd kept hidden.

My eyes went wide, and I struggled in the chair. "What are you doing?! You can't do that!"

Cyrus spoke cruelly, “Of course I can. I can do whatever I want to a criminal like you.”

Then, he threw a mermaid pearl to the floor and crushed it underfoot!

As I let out a heart-wrenching scream, he continued, "I hear that mermaid pearls contain the souls of you merfolk, and that you'll never be able to revive them ever again if their mermaid pearls were destroyed.

"So… Does this pearl belong to your father, or your mother? Are you willing to let your family die because of you?"

My fingernails dug into my hands, already bloodied.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, falling to the floor and turning into blood-stained pearls.

"I hate you, Cyrus!"

In response, I got a kiss that was so fierce I couldn't breathe.

Cyrus growled, "You hate me? What right do you have to hate me?!"

I didn't speak, his kiss making me dizzy and confused.

These days, I was less and less conscious and aware, to the point where I almost forgot how in love we were in the past.

Mermaids had always had the custom of taking human form and going ashore to look for their true love.

I was three years old when I first met Cyrus.

The moment he saw me, he looked up at his mother and asked, "Mom, I like her! Can she be my Luna?"

Cyrus' mother smiled and looked at me. "Well, you would need to treat her well and get her to like you first, right?"

After that, Cyrus and I became the best of friends, spending most of our time together.

The year I turned fifteen, merfolk started being hunted for their healing abilities.

I was forced to leave the land and return to the sea, but I'd often sneak back on land and look for Cyrus.

When people asked me about my identity, I thought of an excuse—I'd tell them I was a distant relative of Cyrus.

However, before I could respond, Cyrus said, "She's my beloved girlfriend and my future Luna, Marina."

At that moment, I realized that I'd completely and utterly fallen for him.

Later on, the merfolk and werewolves were involved in a deal. The representatives for the werewolves were Cyrus' parents, but they ended up going missing as a result.

I was the princess of the merfolk, so I was naturally one of the greatest suspects.

I knew that Cyrus hated me, but I had no choice but to hide the truth.

Many years later, Cyrus became the Alpha King, and I had to approach him again for the safety of my people.

Many times, I couldn't help but want to tell him the truth, but I held myself back.

If I ever let the truth be known, his parents would be in peril.

In any case, I wouldn't have to bear any of this love or any of this hate ever again.

I had two days left.

Cyrus tried to lift me from the chair, only to find his arms soaked in my blood.

He paused and looked at my ruptured wounds.

I gave him a weak, bitter smile. “It’s dirty, isn’t it? But it’s fine. I’m going to die.”

I was telling the truth, but Cyrus acted as if I'd said something incredibly taboo, and he started pouring healing elixirs into my mouth in a crazed frenzy.

The elixirs barely worked.

His voice was icy, but beneath the frost was sheer panic.

“You can’t die! Not without my permission!”

Undoing the shackles on my ankles, he plunged me into a pool of healing elixir.

I coughed and choked, and the wounds on my body stopped bleeding.

However, I felt that there was something wrong with the healing elixir that I was plunged into—my body was temporarily healed, for sure, but the side effects were going to leave irreparable damage on my body.

Looking up, I caught sight of Emily, hiding behind the door. Meeting my gaze, she gave me a twisted, malicious smile.

Her red lips moved silently, wording the words she wanted to say to me.

“Marina, I want you dead!"

In my daze, I felt someone hold me close, caressing my hair gently. Hot tears spilled onto my cheeks, making my heart shudder.

"Marina, if all of this never happened… If only things were as they were…"

Was that Cyrus? Was he crying?

It took an eternity for me to open my eyes, but Cyrus was no longer there, only a guard that dragged me to the courtyard. The scorching sunlight beat down on me relentlessly, and I quickly felt dehydrated.

Cyrus and Emily were there in the courtyard, and seeing me, Emily made a show of looking concerned. "You haven't eaten in a long time, right? Are you hungry?"

My throat was dry, and it hurt to even draw in a single breath, so I couldn't respond to her immediately.

At Emily’s signal, a guard kicked me hard.

The kick landed right on an unhealed wound, and fresh blood stained my clothes again.

Cyrus seemed irritated. He frowned and threw his coat over me. "Enough! Heal your wound and stop playing the victim. You know that Emily faints at the sight of blood!"

A devious glint flashed through Emily's eyes as she threw dirty meat and vegetables onto the ground in front of me. "You must be hungry! Eat up!"

I turned to look at Cyrus, who only averted his gaze, as if he didn't want to look at me for one second longer than was necessary.

From the looks of it, that moment earlier, with him holding me and crying, must've been a dream. How could he possibly still hold any feelings toward me?

I slowly lowered my head and reached for the food on the ground, pitifully eating like a disgraced mutt.

Suddenly, Emily's voice, underlined with malice, rang in my ears, "Why aren't you eating the meat, Marina? I'm sure you need the nutrition, right?"

Numbly, I placed the meat into my mouth. My sense of taste had long since been dulled from all the pain I suffered, so all I could feel was that the meat was slightly different from anything I'd ever eaten before.

"Is it good?" Emily smiled brightly. "They're always in seawater, so I'm sure mermaid flesh is pretty tender, right?"

A piece of meat dropped from my mouth as I raised my head in shock, looking at Emily, as if I was processing what she just told me.

Her smile only grew wider, relishing in my pain.

A wave of nausea rose up, and I collapsed to the ground.

Urgh!

"God, my shoes!"

I had thrown up all over Emily's heels.

Without waiting for orders, the guards grabbed me by the hair and dragged me away, stuffing a rock into my mouth.

Cyrus held Emily in his arms, threw away her soiled shoes, and ordered a servant to fetch her a new pair.

He used to treat me like that too, in the past, but now all he had for me was hatred.

"What's wrong, Marina? You should have expected this when you merfolk hurt us werewolves. Since you don't want to eat, just throw the meat into the rubbish!"

Emily wore a new pair of shoes and kicked the meat away, before turning to look at Cyrus. "Alpha King, don't blame Marina. She's just not hungry, that's all.

"How about you let her keep me company while I paint to make up for it?"

Cyrus shook his head helplessly. "You're too kind, Emily."

Then, he took the rock from my mouth, wiped away the dirt on my face, and gripped my chin. "Hear that? You upset Emily, and now she's giving you the chance to make up for it. Keep her company, and don't make her unhappy."

What else could I do but nod?

Cyrus' grip on my chin became tighter, and he seemed to want to say something, but he was interrupted by an incoming call.

He stood up and bid farewell to Emily, before leaning down and kissing her pregnant belly.

Watching them, I couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness washing over me.

After Cyrus left, Emily didn't bother keeping up the act any longer, only rolling her eyes at me. "I don't like being watched while I paint. Go sit by the trash can."

I quietly moved to sit by the trash can. The sun was far too bright for me today, and there was at least some shade by the trash can.

A few moments later, Emily's maid came over with a bucket. Pinching her nose in disdain, she looked down at me—both literally and figuratively.

"Hey, monster! Emily needs red paint for her drawing. The prettiest red is the color of blood, so extract a bucket of your blood for her."

After that, she threw a rusty dagger in front of me.

"Use this."

I hesitated. "B-But it's rusted…"

The maid put her hands on her hips and yelled, "Do you think you're still a princess? Don't be so picky and cut yourself already, or I'm not going to go easy on you!"

All I could do was take the dagger and slit my wrist, allowing the blood to drip into the bucket.

I only stopped when my lips turned purple and I was close to passing out, when the bucket was finally full.

Leaning against the trash can in a daze, I heard a few maids talking in the courtyard nearby.

"Emily's paintings are just gorgeous! It's a pity how difficult it is for her to get the materials she needs for her paints. Did you know that she could only get a tiny bottle of pearl powder after killing several merfolk?"

"Why do those monsters only have one mermaid pearl? Since they're freaks anyway, what's a few more?"

The color drained from my already pale face, and I stood up, My face went pale. I pushed myself up, clinging to the wall. Shrill cries echoed faintly in my ears, and I prayed to whoever was listening for it to not be what I thought…

The closer I got to Emily, the clearer the cries became, and that's when I saw it.

The pile of mermaid corpses around Emily's feet.

When I got there, she had her hand around the throat of a mermaid, her knife stabbing into their chest with precision, digging out their mermaid pearl and crushing it in one fluid motion.

At that moment, I felt like my heart was crushed into pieces as well.

Wiping the blood on her hands, she turned to look at me. "Marina, I didn't know that you merfolk had differently-colored pearls. I just want white ones… I hear only royalty has pearls of that color, right?

"You're the mermaid princess, so you must know who's royalty, right? Could you help me get their white pearls, pretty please?"