Chapter 111: Husbands meeting

NERION/ ARIEL

He stood with his four guards, a faint smile playing on his lips as he watched them.

His eyes settled on Ariel. "Little Sister, why are you here?"

Ariel clenched her hands. Her expression hardened the moment she heard his voice.

"She said, "Serial, you can go. Let me talk to him."

Serial hesitated. Something about the fish male standing before them made him uncomfortable. It wasn’t merely his intimidating presence or the four guards standing behind him.

It was something else.

A familiar scent.

Serial’s brows furrowed as he tried to identify it. He had sensed that same peculiar aura around Vivian, and now he could detect traces of it coming from this flashy fish male. His outfit was almost blinding in the eyes..

Why does he smell like Vivian? Why would Vivian be in contact with this fish?

The question gnawed at him.

He turned to Ariel, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

"Who is he?"

Ariel’s expression remained indifferent. "Someone I know."

Nerion burst into laughter.

The sound was loud enough to make the guards behind him exchange glances.

"Someone you know?" he repeated, shaking his head in amusement. "I am your elder brother, yet you speak as though we are strangers."

Ariel’s eyes flashed.

"Don’t flatter yourself. Blood doesn’t mean anything when the person sharing it has spent years making your life miserable."

The smile on Nerion’s face faltered for a fraction of a second.

Then it returned. "My, my. Someone has grown a tongue."

"Enough," Herbert interrupted, raising a hand. "Let’s go. I’m tired, and I have no intention of standing here all day watching family drama. We all have our family dramas and I don’t have the time to care about yours."

He turned toward the others.

"We need to find Vivian and find Eric later."

Serial glanced at Ariel. "Are you sure you’ll be fine?"

Ariel gave him a small nod. "Go. I’ll catch up."

Serial didn’t look convinced, but Herbert was already walking away.

With one final glance at Nerion, Serial followed Herbert..

Nerion watched them leave. His gaze lingered on Serial’s retreating figure, his smile slowly disappearing.

There was something strange about that Male.

Something he couldn’t quite explain.

But he had more pressing matters to attend to.

The moment the others disappeared from sight, Nerion’s expression darkened.

He spun around and seized Ariel by the collar.

"Why are you suddenly getting close to Vivian?" he demanded, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "What exactly are you planning?"

Ariel looked down at his hand before slowly lifting her eyes to meet his.

Then she smiled.

It was a cold, infuriating smile. "What do you think?"

Before Nerion could respond, she grabbed his wrist and forced his hand away.

She straightened her clothes and turned to leave.

Nerion’s jaw tightened. "Don’t you dare walk away from me!"

He lunged forward. His sharp nails caught her skin, digging into her arm.

Ariel stopped. For a moment, neither of them moved.

Nerion’s fingers tightened instinctively, but something inside him made him hesitate.

He stared at the small patch of skin beneath his nails.

He could hurt her. He knew he could.

He had done worse things to her in the past.

Yet, for reasons he refused to acknowledge, his hand wouldn’t move any farther.

Ariel slowly turned her head.

"Go on," she whispered. "What are you waiting for?"

Nerion’s eyes narrowed. She leaned closer, her voice dripping with bitterness. "Remember, Nerion. This is your fault."

His grip loosened slightly.

Ariel’s smile vanished. "You’re the reason I couldn’t take on my mermaid form. You’re the reason I became what I am today."

Nerion said nothing, the guilt of the past eating him up. He just couldn’t explain himself.

The words hung between them like an old curse neither of them could escape.

Ariel pulled her arm from his grasp. "You took something from me, Nerion. Something I can never get back."

Her voice trembled, but not with fear.

It was anger. Years of anger.

"And now you expect me to return home simply because Father has suddenly decided he wants me back?"

Nerion clenched his fists. "Father wants you home urgently.."

Ariel laughed bitterly.

"Of course he does. Does he miss his daughter, or has he finally realized that his little secret is becoming inconvenient?"

"Watch your mouth."

"Or what?" She stepped closer. "Will you hurt me again?"

His expression hardened. "Enough, Ariel! Stop acting like a kid. We are adults now.!!"

The sudden outburst echoed through the deserted passage.

Nerion dragged a hand through his hair, struggling to regain his composure.

"You’re being unreasonable. You can breathe underwater. You can survive in the sea. A tail doesn’t define your identity as a mermaid."

Ariel stared at him.

Then she shook her head in disbelief.

"Is that what you tell yourself to sleep well at night?"

Nerion’s eyes darkened. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you have absolutely no idea what you took from me."

She touched her chest. "You think being a mermaid is just about breathing underwater? You think it’s about swimming through the ocean and having scales on your skin?"

Her voice grew louder with every word.

"It was my birthright, Nerion! My connection to the sea. My ability to transform. The one thing that made me feel as though I belonged somewhere!"

She swallowed hard. "And you took it all away. It’s all your fault."

For a moment, Nerion looked as though he wanted to say something.

Something that might have resembled an apology.

But the words never came. Instead, he lifted his chin.

"You cannot change the past."

"No," Ariel agreed. "But I can make sure you regret it."

A strange silence followed.

Nerion studied her face, searching for any trace of the little sister he remembered.

The girl who once followed him everywhere.

The girl who believed he could protect her from anything.

The girl who had screamed his name when everything went wrong.

He found none of her in the Mermaid standing before him.

Only resentment. And something far more dangerous.

Determination.

"What have you gotten yourself involved in?" he asked quietly.

Ariel’s expression changed. It was subtle, but Nerion noticed.

For the briefest moment, something flickered in her eyes.

Fear? No. Recognition. As though she had remembered something she desperately wanted to forget.

Then she smiled again. "Wouldn’t you like to know?"

She turned away. This time, Nerion didn’t stop her.

He stood motionless as she walked down the passage, her footsteps gradually fading into the distance.

His personal guards approached cautiously. "Your Highness? Why don’t you tell her the truth?"

Nerion didn’t respond.

He said. "Should we follow Princess Ariel?"

"No."

The guard bowed his head.

Nerion watched the empty forest passage for several seconds before speaking again.

"Find out where she’s been staying. I want to know everyone she’s been associating with. And find out Vivian’s address."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"And keep an eye on the Male who left with her."

The guard hesitated. "The Bear?"

Nerion’s gaze sharpened. "Did I ask you to question my orders?"

"No, Your Highness."

"Then do as you’re told."

The guard immediately bowed and withdrew.

Nerion remained where he was.

Serial. There was something about that male he couldn’t shake. He felt the dirty Aura when two males followed one female.

That strange aura. That familiar scent he was once told by his father. A scent when two males go after a particular female. He felt it from him.

Nerion exhaled slowly.He turned toward the exit.

He had wasted enough time with Ariel. If Vivian was truly in the forest, he needed to find her.

The journey deep into the forest was unusually quiet.

Nerion walked ahead of his guards, his mind occupied by the confrontation with Ariel. Her accusations had stirred memories he had spent years burying.

He remembered the day everything changed.

The screams. The blood.

The look in Ariel’s eyes when she realized what had been done to her.

He clenched his fists. It’s okay for her to hate me! It’s okay.

That was what he had told himself for years.

And he would continue telling himself the same thing.

As he approached where he felt Vivian aura and the smell of Beast blood. He bent down to find out where she had gone.

His guard tapped him. "Your Highness, someone is here."

Nerion stopped. "Who?"

The guard hesitated. "He refused to give his name."

Nerion’s expression turned cold.

"And you allowed a stranger into our turf?"

"He appeared without warning, Your Highness. The guards attempted to stop him, but..."

"But what?"

The guard lowered his voice.

"They couldn’t."

Nerion slowly turned his head.

"What do you mean, they couldn’t?"

"The man simply walked past them. None of the guards could explain how he got through. He is a higher ranked beast."

For the first time that evening, Nerion felt something other than anger.

A prickle of unease crept down his spine.

"Where is he?"

"The Other side. He is searching for Vivian too..."

Nerion exchanged a glance with his remaining guards.

"Stay here."

"But, Your Highness..."

"That was an order."

He walked toward the other guards.

The air grew colder as he approached.

There was something unsettling about the silence.

Then he saw him.

A male bent smelling the dark soil. His guards were already taken down by him.

He wore blue military clothing, and his long coat shifted slightly in the breeze.

He appeared perfectly at ease, as though he had every right to stand there.

Nerion stopped several feet away.

"Who are you, and what business do you have here?"

The stranger didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he tilted his head, studying the ground.

Then, slowly, he turned around.

Nerion’s eyes widened.

For one brief, impossible moment, he forgot how to breathe.

He knew that face. Not personally.

But from afar and his picture.

The stranger’s lips curved into a faint smile. "It’s been a long time, Prince Nerion."

Nerion’s heart slammed against his ribs.

His fingers curled into fists.

"No," he whispered. He bowed in respect. "Good day Cousin Caelan. How are you?"

Because the man standing before him was the last person he had ever expected to see.

Caelan!. Why was he looking for Vivian? Vivian once said he was her sister Elena’s fiancee. She never said they had a relationship. Why is he searching for Vivian?

Then that familiar scent came. A scent of a male sharing the same female. He thought. "Has he gone that far with Elena? Why does he have that scent? ELENA is mine. I must be her first Beast husband!! This is our Mermen’s rule."

Caelan smile deepened, he knew Nerion was in talks to be one of Elena’s husband.

Nerion’s blood ran cold.