Chapter 24: The Princess and the Queen

When Nitira Mingjiao regained her senses, she found herself in an environment that was completely opposite to the clean and tidy bedroom she remembered.

It was deep within the ruins of an ancient building, under a dim yellow sky. The walls, eroded by the sea, seemed to be on the verge of collapse, and the ground cracked like a dry riverbed. The faint salty scent carried by the air confirmed that this place was still above the ocean.

This had to be an island.

But… it definitely wasn’t the East Sea Pearl archipelago. At least, Her Highness the Princess had never encountered such strange, even eerie, ruins near her home.

“What on earth is going on…?”

Her head throbbed intermittently, reminiscent of the time those bastards, the poachers, had captured her and forcefully injected her with a large amount of sleeping potion, leaving her unconscious for several days. It felt like that again.

But Nitira could affirm—this was no simple case of being knocked out and abducted again.

The evidence was the utter silence around her; there wasn’t a soul in sight, which was eerily unsettling.

Though her head still ached a bit, Her Highness recalled clearly that she had been in her bedroom in the East Sea Pearl archipelago, secured by bodyguards and surrounded by many skilled warriors. How could something just come and take her away so easily?

What happened back then…?

For some reason, that memory had become somewhat foggy.

Nitira vaguely remembered that after Miss Vilyric left, she casually picked up a book from her storage item to pass the time while waiting for her return, but somehow lost consciousness in the process. When she came to, she had already…

Wait, a book?!

The princess’s brow twitched, her previously hazy mind suddenly jolted wide awake like cold water splashed on her!

During the day, while investigating her father’s disappearance, hadn’t Miss Vilyric used some special magic to observe him holding an unidentified book before he vanished?!

But wait… that was her father’s possession, and it had long since vanished with him. How could it possibly end up in her hands?

In that case, what exactly was in the book she casually picked up to kill time…?

“Uh…”

Her Highness tried to recall what she had seen, but for some reason, a more intense pain surged from deep within her mind, almost tearing her apart, forcing her to kneel and stifle a groan.

No, she couldn’t remember.

The contents of that book, its title, its appearance, and even how she came into possession of it were all shrouded and sealed within a thicket of thorns, and even the slightest touch brought waves of unbearable agony.

How strange… what is happening?

After kneeling on the ground and gasping for breath for a long while, the tearing pain in her mind finally began to fade. Nitira leaned on a nearby stone to rise, looking around once more.

Since dwelling on the past was fruitless, she decided to focus on figuring out where she was and finding a way back to the East Sea Pearl.

As the most talented among her siblings, who had once been abducted by poachers and endured many hardships, Princess Nitira, although young, had developed an exceptionally calm demeanor. She wouldn’t be flustered just because she suddenly found herself on a deserted island.

Her sudden disappearance from the royal court meant that, given the circumstances, Miss Vilyric and her companions might be in a bit of trouble. In the worst-case scenario, there could even be armed conflict with the Merman Tribe.

Nitira knew Miss Vilyric’s true strength all too well; regardless of whether she or her kin were harmed, that was not a sight the princess wanted to see.

“I need to come up with a plan… huh?”

Just as that thought crossed her mind, something lying not far from her caught her attention, a thickly bound object that suddenly drew her gaze, causing her pupils to constrict in an instant.

“This, this is…”

…

“Cough cough, anyway, that’s how it is. Whether you believe it or not, we truly know nothing about the reasons and process behind Her Highness the Princess’s disappearance. Our relationship with her is merely one of cooperation, and I believe Queen Your Majesty understands this point as well.”

“Unrelated…?”

In the audience chamber, a beautifully dressed woman adorned with many ocean-themed elements, pearls, corals, and other items Miss Vilyric couldn’t name, nodded. Her long blue and white hair, tied beneath a crown, swayed lightly as she pondered, like a graceful dance.

She was Queen Anies, the highest leader of the Merman Tribe, and the mother of a certain missing princess… which was something you could easily guess from her appearance.

She was just an amplified and matured version of the little girl… but instead of a mother-daughter vibe, it felt more like sisters. This regal queen looked no older than thirty, but it was said she had been alive for over a hundred years.

In the audience hall, Her Majesty sat in the main seat, with the Sea Priestess Silisa and another merman girl, whom she hadn’t seen before, standing on either side. Like Queen Anies and Nitira, the latter had three pairs of tear-shaped patterns at the corners of her eyes, indicating she was likely another princess of some sort.

Not paying attention to the three humans below who were responsible for speaking, but clearly noticing the somewhat disrespectful attitude of the black-haired girl, Anies Mingjiao rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Vilyric; her eyes, resembling water waves, sparkled slightly.

“I heard you were with Nitira and found a secret room in Willipol’s old mansion?”

“Oh… that’s correct. That place was quite well hidden, but we happened to have specialists for that sort of thing.”

Miss Vilyric carelessly pointed at the thief girl next to her, causing the latter to stiffen under the sudden attention and hurriedly shake her head, loudly defending herself.

“Ah haha… um, we only acted after receiving Her Highness the Princess’s permission! As a principled thief, I absolutely did not cause any damage or steal anything!”

“Hey, hey, don’t lay it on too thick…”

“What kind of bizarre metaphor is that, boss? I don’t understand! And why did you suddenly shift the topic to me?!”

The girls’ side conversation didn’t make Queen Anies frown but instead paved the way for an amused smile as she shook her head.

“Hehe ~ it seems that child really has good judgment. Just being able to crack the secret room and chat relaxedly in front of the king means you truly have the qualifications to be friends with Nitira.”

With a casual wave from the queen, a clever attendant promptly brought chairs for the three of them.

“Please, be seated. I’m not in a hurry to punish you; it’s obvious that none of you are fools. If you really intended to harm my child, you would never act at such a sensitive time and have no reason to stick around and wait to be caught afterward.”

“Though I am not an impressive person, I believe I have the discernment to see this much. I’ve also looked over the materials provided by your Merchant Association, and the quality is quite good… The Lingyin Merchant Association, right? I’ve heard much about you.”

Queen Anies smiled slightly.

“If possible, I hope our two parties can further cooperate, starting from this incident. Miss Vilyric, what do you think?”

   

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