Chapter 412: A human’s affections
Chapter 412:
Daphne
Thanks to the System, I can hear and watch everything unfolding on the small boat bobbing between The Bunny and the king’s kraken.
The image flickers in my mind like a reflection on water—clearer than any spyglass, sharper than any dream.
The prince and the mermaid princess stand on the little boat I used earlier. They are holding hands. The princess’s hair blows in the wind, and so does her dress. I wonder who gave her that dress. Maybe Nancy,Marina never wears dresses. Maybe she does but I’ve never seen her in one.
Caspian looks visibly terrified, though he is trying to hide it.
The king is furious. He looks like he wants to stab Caspian with that trident of his.
I lean back on my throne. The wood creaks beneath me. The crew moves quietly around the deck, pretending not to watch, pretending not to listen.
The System helpfully amplifies the voices.
"No, Father!" Larissa’s voice is high, trembling, desperate. "I love him!"
She visibly holds Caspian’s hand tighter.
The king’s expression does not change.
"He is human."
The word drips with disdain. The way he says human, like it is a slur.
"I know what he is." Larissa lifts her chin. "I do not care."
"You should care." The king’s grip tightens on the trident. "Do you know what they do to our kind? Do you know what they will do to you?"
Larissa flinches.
Caspian speaks. "Your Majesty—"
"Silence."
I swear I hear thunder in the distance at that word. The boat shakes. They stumble, holding onto each other, which makes the king scowl even more.
"Father, please." Larissa leans forward. "He is not like the others. He saved me. He protected me. He—"
"Do not be naive, Larissa! I may have spoiled you too much." The king says.
"We will go back, and—"
"I LOVE HER." Caspian shouts, interrupting the king.
Oh dear.
Wait, System.
How can the king speak and be understood? From what we have seen from the little princess and Lorelei, they do not exactly have vocal cords in human form. So how is the king speaking?
[...]
[It may be possible because he is king of the merfolk. Or because of the trident. I sense power from it.]
"How dare you?" The king says. "You speak of love?"
"I do love her," Caspian says.
"There is nothing as worthless as a human’s affection." The king’s voice is cold.
"Humans strike down their blood;their children, their family, their so-called loves—for mere material possessions. Your affections are nothing."
Well. He is not wrong.
I look at Caspian, who clenches his jaw. But I do not think the merfolk are a utopia either, when I think about how Lorelei was treated.
"Father, he is different!" the princess screams.
"Father, he is different!" the princess screams.
"Oh, different?" The king looks at Caspian. "Tell me, human boy. What are your plans?"
"I will marry her."
"And you will have my daughter forsake her tail to live on the land?"
Caspian does not respond.
"I do not mind," Larissa says, giving the prince a soft look.
They are shooting quite the drama, alright.
"My dear daughter." The king’s voice drops. "If he loves you as much as you love him, why can he not forsake the land for the waters?"
Silence.
"Of course he would... right?" Larissa trails off, realizing Caspian is looking down and not responding.
"Right?" she repeats in a small voice.
"Larissa, I am going to be king. I cannot have selfish desires—"
"It is selfishdesire to be with me?"
"No, but I have to think of my people—"
"You see, my dear." The king shakes his head. "This is all a human’s affections amount to."
"Tell him he is wrong," Larissa cries, holding Caspian’s elbow. "Tell him you love me. Tell him you would do the same for me as I would for you."
"I do love you, but—"
Larissa pushes him away.
"You are just like the rest," she says.
He tries to touch her.
Her face changes into a grotesque monster. She screams at him. Then she jumps into the water.
The king looks like he wants to say something. But he turns and goes under the water.
Soon, the kraken releases its hold on my ship.
Is the harem breakdown complete?
[No, Host. Her affection level is still at 98%.]
Wow. She really does love the prince.
I wonder what will happen now.
I stand up from my seat and head into the cabin.
***
Larissa
My heart hurts.
So much.
I swim through the dark water, not knowing where I am going, not caring. The currents pull at my hair, my dress, my tail. The cold seeps into my skin, but I do not feel it.
There is only the ache in my chest.
The betrayal.
The truth.
How could he do this to me?
I thought he was different. I thought he loved me. I thought he would choose me...choose us...over everything else.
Was everything he said lies?
Was it all false?
Or was it as Father said? That his affections amount to nothing?
I do not know.
I cannot tell anymore.
His words were soft. His hands were gentle. His eyes were warm. When he held me, I felt safe. When he kissed me, I felt wanted. When he said he loved me, I believed him.
Will he return to his kingdom, marry a human woman, produce human heirs, and pretend that I never existed?
The thought makes me sick.
I press my hand to my stomach.
I could be carrying an egg.
The thought burns.
I find a reef—a small outcrop of coral, pale and fragile in the dim light. I claw at it. My nails tear through the soft flesh, ripping it to pieces. Fragments float around me like shattered bones, like broken promises, like my heart.
"Oh, my dear."
Father’s voice.
He wraps his arms around me.
I struggle against his hold. I push at his chest. I beat my fists against his shoulders. But he does not let go.
"Let me go!"
He does not speak.
He just holds.
"This is why," he says quietly, after a long moment. "This is why I have treated you so preciously. Why I have protected you. Why I have kept you close."
His hand strokes my hair.
"I did not wish for you to experience such pain."
I press my face into his chest.
"Father—"
"I know, little one. I know."