Chapter 512 - 334: Mermaid’s Tears Turn to Pearls

Lead-gray clouds sagged to the horizon’s edge, hanging like a forgotten curtain between heaven and earth.

Only High Cliff Castle brought an unimaginable vitality to this desolate and remote Wilderness. The entire domain was bustling with preparations for their Lord’s grand wedding, yet from one particular courtyard came a melody so sorrowful it could bring even the burliest man to tears.

"What? Hasn’t she eaten?"

Before heading off to build the Dragon’s Nest, Levi had one thing to take care of. He arrived outside his private courtyard and whispered a question to Tina, who was just emerging from the doorway carrying a tray.

"No. If this goes on, even if she has Mastered powerful Water Elemental Magic, her body will give out." Baisitina sighed, looking at the exquisitely prepared steamed silverfish in her hands, a creation of High Cliff Castle’s chefs.

Ever since Levi presented the Mermaid Princess he’d won to the people of High Cliff Castle, everyone had collectively gasped.

After all, this Legendary Race hadn’t been seen for many years. Some radical scholars even believed the race had vanished into the annals of history.

However, her appearance at least proved that the Merfolk still lived in the vast, boundless sea. They had simply cut off all contact with the continent, leading to this misunderstanding.

Merfolk cannot be out of water for long. They will lose their unique ability to summon the Water Element, and they will also lose the ability to speak.

Furthermore, with prolonged separation from water, their beautiful faces will wither like flowers, and they will eventually lose their lives.

Fortunately, the Lord had previously enclosed a subterranean spring on the hill and turned it into a pond. His original intention was that, as a noble, he should at least have his own garden and flower pond to avoid looking too shabby and undignified. He never expected it would now be the perfect place for this Mermaid Princess.

"Alright, I understand." The Lord nodded, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked inside.

Clear spring water trickled down from a high point into a pond dozens of feet wide. Thanks to Buji’s nature Magic, even though the Wilderness was now a frozen expanse, this small courtyard remained lush and verdant, with a hundred flowers in bloom.

And there, sitting on a blue-green stone by the pond’s edge, was a girl of breathtaking beauty. Her golden fishtail stirred the pond, sending jade-green ripples across the water. She gazed toward the east, her beautiful eyelashes trembling, as whisper-like syllables flowed from her lips, forming a heavenly melody that could move one to tears.

"

The beautiful sound of the water, I mistake for the tides of home.

Right now, the stream gently bites at the scales of my fin.

When the final teardrop falls,

How many others sing, so far from their homeland?

...

"

As she sang, tears began to fall silently. The large teardrops transformed into individual pearls, splashing into the pond with a clear, heartbreaking sound.

"What a beautiful singing voice. They say a Mermaid’s song is enough to make the gods stop and listen. You truly live up to your reputation." The Lord’s unreserved praise rang out as he pulled a white handkerchief from his pocket. "It would be even better if it weren’t so sad."

"Good day, my Lord." The Mermaid Princess shook her head, politely declining the Lord’s kind gesture.

Levi didn’t mind in the least. He nonchalantly plopped down beside her. "I am Levi, Duke Debei Pioneer, and also the master of High Cliff Castle."

"Although I was sealed by Magic, I was aware of everything happening outside. Thank you for your selfless aid in rescuing me from that Demon. My name is Tiffany Hailan Feng. As you can see, I am a Princess of the Seattle Empire. I strayed far from home because I listened to a villain..."

As she spoke, she seemed to recall a sorrowful memory, and crystalline tears welled up in her eyes again. It was like watching a beautiful early spring flower fall into the mud. It is in the nature of all intelligent beings to love beautiful things, and to see them broken is all the more heart-wrenching.

"Sigh. All hardships will eventually pass, just like the dawn after a storm." The Lord took out his handkerchief and carefully wiped the tear stains from her face. "’To not bear the ruin of any beautiful flower’ is the motto my family lives by. So please, forgive my presumptuousness."

After wiping them, the Lord spread his hands with a flourish and laughed. "See? Isn’t this much prettier? A moment ago, you looked just like a woman wallowing in self-pity."

"Pfft..." The young Mermaid couldn’t help herself, watching the goofy Lord. But she immediately became embarrassed, her face turning bright red.

’To be so sad one moment and then burst out laughing the next... I’m just like the children in my family begging for sweets. How rude of me to act this way in front of such a revered Lord,’ she thought.

"What I’m trying to say, Tiffany, is that you shouldn’t bear things alone. Problems can only be solved if you talk about them." The Lord said earnestly, gazing into her azure eyes, which were even more beautiful than the ocean.

"If you don’t eat, you’ll only make those who worry about you worry even more."

"I just... don’t like to eat fish..." the Mermaid Princess hesitated for a moment, then mumbled quietly.

’Well, so much for that. It wasn’t some hunger strike to cut herself off from the world and avoid some unimaginable, inhuman treatment. She’s just a picky eater.’

"Fine! Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll have the cooks make it!" the Lord declared with a magnanimous wave of his hand. As long as it wasn’t a hunger strike, anything could be arranged.

"Thank you again."

"Don’t be so formal. From now on, just call me Levi."

Once he said that, the two fell silent again. After a long while, Tiffany finally spoke up hesitantly, "My Lord, can you do me a favor?"

"What favor?"