Chapter 1

The moment I finished speaking, everyone went completely silent. The beautiful merman blushed with embarrassment.

Lyra Pendragon, my younger sister—her mother was my father’s concubine—did not expect me to be so resistant to this merman. She widened her eyes in shock. "Mirella, can’t you see that this merman is seriously injured? Why didn't you offer to help him? I can’t believe you insulted him instead! I know you’re jealous that the white tiger chose me first, but you shouldn't have taken your anger out on this innocent merman! I really didn't expect you to be so cold-blooded!"

She scrunched up her face, her eyes brimming with concern for the merman.

Father held back his anger, his eyes brimming with disappointment. "I never expected you to be so incompetent. Despite being a princess, you're so petty with your sister. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?"

The maids whispered to each other, their expressions full of contempt for me.

I remained calm and composed, watching the usually cold and composed merman lift his frail body and tilt his head to rub against Lyra's palm.

I could not help but sneer, realizing how foolish I was to have never noticed that he wanted Lyra all along.

In my previous life, I thought I was kind-hearted to take in the merman. His name was Thalyx Stormfin, and I kept him by my side and carefully trained him.

I spent a fortune getting the top doctors of the Beast Clan to treat the poisonous wounds on his body.

Worried that Thalyx might harbor resentment toward me, I used the ten cities under me as leverage, exchanging them for his flimsy slave contract to set him free.

To prevent anyone in the palace from looking down on Thalyx's beastman identity, I knelt for seven days and seven nights, begging my father to grant him a promotion and a title.

I thought Thalyx and I were both in love, so I gave him my whole heart.

I never imagined that Lyra and I would both be thrown into the surging river when the Beast Clan attacked again.

I cried and begged Thalyx to save me, but I watched helplessly as he jumped into the water and held Lyra instead.

Though I was heartbroken, the will to live kept me clinging to Thalyx's tail.

Clinging to a last glimmer of hope, I asked, "Why didn't you save me? I'm your master."

Thalyx seemed to have just noticed me. His cold eyes glanced over me as each word pierced my heart. "I was forced to stay by your side as a slave. Lyra is the only one who truly understands me. If you hadn't insisted on owning me, I wouldn’t have been forced to watch miserably as the woman I loved fell for another beastman. You're surrounded by lackeys, and you have people you can count on. You don't need me to save you, but Lyra is different. As a concubine-born daughter, she’s looked down on and has no support. I'm the only one she has now."

The icy river water seeped into my bones. I could not believe what I was hearing.

Thalyx's eyes held no hesitation. Seeing me about to be swallowed up by the water, he impatiently huffed his cheeks and used his massive tail to roughly shove me to the bottom of the river once again.

I had long lost the strength to struggle. I could only feel the mud and sand painfully rushing into my lungs, suffocating me to death in agony.

Even though I had been reborn, the excruciating pain still lingered for a long time in my heart.

Seeing Thalyx again, I felt more than just heartache—my body was consumed with hatred.

No longer wanting to be associated with him, I raised my eyebrows and faked a smile. "Since you care so much about the merman, take him back to your palace."