After my bath, Reginald gently carried me to bed with the utmost care, as if I were something fragile and precious.

Blushing slightly, he pulled out a small, glowing orb and awkwardly mused, "This is half of my inner pearl. Once things get intense… Those water-repelling pearls you've been using… They'll lose their effect.

"In our merfolk tradition, when we marry a human, we offer half our inner pearl so our bride can breathe and live underwater safely."

I tilted my head to look up at him, feeling a warmth bloom quietly in my chest.

Reginald was nothing like Sheldon.

In my previous life, I did not know that I needed my husband's inner pearl before getting intimate.

Sheldon did not care to tell me. When my water-repelling pearl failed and I began suffocating mid-act, he just stared, watching with sick excitement as I choked and thrashed.

The more I panicked, the rougher he became.

Only when I was on the brink of death did he finally toss me a piece of his own inner pearl. It was foul-smelling and putrid, just like the beast himself.

However, Reginald's pearl was different. It was beautiful, clean, and warm to the touch.

I lifted my chin and swallowed it. As I did that, my tongue brushed his fingers by accident, and his entire face went crimson.

Then, clumsily, he began to undress me. His eyes paused when he caught sight of my long, pale legs, and he froze like he had been struck dumb.

"Ugly, aren't they?" I asked quietly.

Some mermen were disgusted by human legs. Sheldon had called them grotesque once. They were the most repulsive thing he had ever seen.

Reginald panicked. "No, no! Not at all! Your legs are… Beautiful! So stunning that I… I forgot how it even works between humans and merfolk!"

I blinked. "What?"

He stammered, flustered. "I mean… I forgot the instructions in my love manual…"

"You have a manual? Where is it?" I asked, trying not to laugh.

He looked away guiltily. "It's… It's under the bed."

No wonder his face was red.

"Go get it," I said.

"Huh? Why?"

"In case you forget again. You can read and learn on the job."

It was no longer just his face and ears. His whole body was flushed, hot to the touch. His scales shimmered and fluttered open uncontrollably.

He was clearly inexperienced. No matter how many illustrations were in that book, he was too nervous to get through it.

In the end, he just held me close and whispered apologetically, "I'm sorry…"

I smoothed the crease between his brows. "It's alright. We have all the time in the world. There's no rush."

Reginald knew I was still wary, so he did not push me.

Instead, he started taking me out every day so I would not feel isolated in his estate. He wanted me to see the underwater world for myself.

In my previous life, all I ever saw was the cold, towering palace of the merfolk—grand and intimidating.

However, walking through bustling underwater markets, I realized how narrow my view of this world had been.

I met other races, made friends, and laughed freely for the first time in ages.

It was one of those new friends who told me the news that Caroline was pregnant.

Apparently, after three days and nights of consummation with Sheldon, she conceived—twins, no less. The fish doctors confirmed it.

I was not surprised.

As a Pregnancy Maiden, she had enhanced fertility from the elixir, and Sheldon was not one to know when to stop. It would have been a miracle if she did not get pregnant.

"Celine, my father wants us to attend court."

Reginald took my hand and led me to the Mer-King's hall. When we arrived, Caroline and Sheldon were already there.

Caroline looked unnaturally flushed. Her belly was already swollen.

The Mer-King beamed with delight.

"As expected of a Pregnancy Maiden raised by the human Emperor! Well done, Princess Caroline. Now, Princess Celine, you'd better catch up. The palace could use a few more of my grandchildren."

Caroline stroked her belly with exaggerated care as if it were cradling treasure.

"Your Majesty," she said sweetly, "my husband and I are so deeply in love, and we both adore little mer-children. Why not let me take on the responsibility of bearing them all?"

Then, she turned to me, her voice syrupy and smug.

"Celine took six months to become a Pregnancy Maiden, yet I only needed three. I guess my body's just naturally more suited for it. Maybe we shouldn't burden her anymore."

Sheldon, ever hungry for the throne, chimed in, "Father, however many heirs you want, Caroline will give them to you."

The Mer-King laughed heartily. "Very well! I like Princess Caroline's suggestion."

Reginald frowned and stepped forward. "Father, it's not her fault. If anything, it's mine. I failed to please Celine."

I did not care about what the others said about me, but when I heard Reginald blame himself in order to protect me, I teared up a little.

Caroline shot Reginald a disdainful glance. "Prince Reginald, no one knows my sister's body better than I do. Whether she can even conceive is still a question, and even if she does, the best she'll manage is a red-finned mer-child."

The Mer-King said nothing to scold her. After all, he valued heirs above all else. He only chuckled lightly and dismissed us with a wave.

Reginald did not want me to bear that humiliation. His face darkened as he exclaimed, "Princess Caroline, please mind your words!"

Caroline was not afraid of him in the slightest. She beamed triumphantly and replied, "Am I wrong? That belly of hers is only fit to birth red-fins! Lowly, weak, and useless creatures!"

She pressed a hand protectively over her own bump.

"Whereas I'm carrying not one, but two black-finned mer-children. If anything happens to me, none of you could bear that responsibility!"

Her arrogance was based on her past experience. With her new life seemingly playing out similarly to the last, she was certain it would go her way.

In my previous life, I had conceived two black-finned mer-children just three days after consummating my marriage with Sheldon.

Caroline had not conceived until six months later, and even then, it was only a red-finned offspring.

However, despite her status as a Pregnancy Maiden, she was never strong enough to produce black-fins.

I smiled calmly. "Then, I wish you many children and a long life, dear sister."

I was not upset. Not in the least.

In fact, I had a feeling Sheldon would give her quite the lesson once they were behind closed doors.

Just as expected, as soon as Reginald and I returned to our estate, I overheard gossip fluttering through the fish around the gates.

Apparently, after Caroline and Sheldon returned home and entangled with each other with great enthusiasm, she began to bleed severely.

It was premature labor.

Human and merfolk births were not quite the same. I had studied all of it carefully once I became a Pregnancy Maiden.

The Mer-King, afraid something might go wrong, summoned me personally to assist.

The fish-doctors did not dare look too closely, but I saw enough.

Her body was torn. It was worse than mine had been during my traumatic first birth in my previous life.

It was only the beginning.

It would get worse. Much worse.

Caroline gasped between contractions, her face pale but full of fire, "Celine, watch closely. See how I give birth to black-finned mer-children! Power, wealth, centuries of life… They're all mine this time! Hahaha!"

She was delirious, desperate to birth the babies and prove her worth.

However, Caroline and Sheldon had been far too rough. Her birth canal was torn in several places, and blood was everywhere.

Four long hours passed before the first child was finally pulled from her womb.

Its tail fin was a brilliant, unmistakable red color.

I made sure to cradle the child gently in my arms and brought it right to her bedside.

Beaming, I said warmly, "Caroline, don't fall asleep yet. Look, your little one's already here! He looks so much like his father, doesn't he?"

Caroline's eyes widened in horror, and her body jerked.

"No, no, it's not possible! This isn't my baby! I was carrying black-fins! This wretched thing, this worthless, filthy thing, there's no way it came from me! You! This is your doing! You were jealous, and you switched them!"

Caroline thrashed around and screamed, "There's still another! Doctor, bring me my other baby! If anything's wrong with my black-finned child, I'll have your heads for it!"

The poor doctor turned pale at her words.

"P-Princess, just a bit more. The second baby's almost here!"

Soon, it arrived.

Panting, weak, Caroline clutched the blankets. "Quick! Show me my black-finned mer-child!"

The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow and swaddled the child.

He then brought it to her.

"No! This can't be true!" Caroline screamed.

She stared at the red-finned mer-child in the doctor's hand and passed out on the spot.

Everyone had assumed, thanks to Caroline's bragging and insistence, that she was carrying black-finned heirs. At most, they expected silver or purple fins.

However, no one had expected two red-fins in a row.

In merfolk society, red-fins were the lowest of the low. Fragile, weak, and worthless.

They were seen as slaves and would be a shameful stain in royal bloodlines. Even commoners wept in disgrace if they gave birth to one.

There Caroline was, having given birth to two, born into the royal family.

It was nothing short of a scandal—the greatest joke the merfolk had seen in generations.

Reginald saw the obvious grin on my face and could not help but laugh along.

"Celine, did you already know this would happen?"

I nodded, meeting his eyes with quiet seriousness.

"Do you think I'm cruel? My younger sister gave birth to the lowest kind of red-finned mer-children, and instead of feeling sorry for her… Here I am, gloating."

Reginald's smile faded. He gently shook his head.

"You and Princess Caroline are sisters by blood, yet she insulted you and claimed you were only fit to bear red-finned mer-babies. If anyone's cruel, it's her, not you."

He reached out and softly clasped my hand, his voice warm and steady.

"If she had given birth to black-fins, she would've been even more arrogant. She never would've spared you a second glance. Everything that's happened to her… She brought them upon herself."

My eyes stung with unshed tears.

Caroline was born to the emperor's most beloved consort, and the emperor adored her.

Out of all the princes and princesses, she had the finest silks, the rarest pearls, the best of everything. He spoiled her into arrogance.

Caroline hated me, so naturally, the emperor turned cold toward me too.

Time and again, just to please her, he would humiliate and punish me.

After marrying Sheldon, my life only worsened with endless torment and nights of pain. I had often thought of ending it all, but every time, my mer-children would find it and report me to Sheldon.

What followed was more suffering and deeper despair.

The centuries of life granted to me as a merfolk bride felt less like a blessing and more like an unrelenting curse.

It was not until I married Reginald that I realized I, too, was someone worthy of being loved.

He stood by me, defended me, and treated me like I was the most precious pearl in the sea.

How foolish Caroline was to believe that Reginald was not good enough, and even more foolish to look at my happiness and feel jealous.

That night, Reginald held me in his arms.

Wrapped in his warmth, I asked suddenly, "That love manual of yours… How's the studying going?"

His ears instantly flushed a deep crimson.

"All those… Hundreds of positions… I've learned them all," he stammered.

I once woke up in the middle of the night to find him quietly studying the illustrated manuals in secret. His face beet-red, hands trembling, eyes focused with utmost seriousness.

It was so endearing that I could not help but tease him once in a while.

I gently brushed his scales and whispered, "Honey… I want to try."

I wanted to shed the nightmares of my past.

"Okay."

His voice was soft, trembling with excitement.

With care, he undressed me, his fingertips reverent, his gaze full of love.

When he saw my body, the flush spread down to his neck, but he did not disappoint.

Reginald had memorized it all. His movements were awkward, unpracticed, and it took some time for us to find our rhythm.

The shadows in my heart slowly faded. His tenderness never once sparked revulsion in me.

Instead, it made me begin to enjoy this feeling.