Chapter 22 [END] - The Mermaid Princess's Little Brother

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

Now that Glen was convinced the dolphin he had befriended for so many years was truly Rito, the hidden grotto became more precious to him than ever. It was a place brimming with memories...

 

Here, in this sacred place, Glen would unburden his heart to the silent creature, as if casting off his deepest worries into the water. In doing so, he readied himself for the days to come, determined to become the noble prince he was destined to be. This grotto was the place where their story had begun.

 

With hurried steps, Glen descended the stairs, his heels echoing against the stone as he stepped into the moonlit underground canal. The sight of the neat rows of small boats, bathed in the silvery glow, brought back memories of the time he had spent with Rito, both in his dolphin and human form. He could not suppress the growing anticipation that filled him as he recalled those precious moments.

 

Rito the dolphin would leap joyfully from the water in graceful arcs, a display of pure bliss. Rito the human would sit by his side, listening quietly, sometimes smiling, sometimes troubled. It was only now that Glen understood why Rito had been so anxious back then. The young man had lost his left eye and left behind a loving family to come to him, burdened by a secret too heavy to share with anyone. Yet, despite his fears, Rito had stayed.

 

"Rito, I'll see you again. Even if it's just for a fleeting moment…"

 

Without a thought for what might follow, Glen seized the dagger with unwavering resolve. He drew the blade from its sheath and plunged it into his chest, ignoring the merman's frantic attempts to stop him. The crimson ceremonial attire tore, and the steel slid through skin and flesh as easily as if they were butter. As Glen envisioned Rito's smiling face, pain and suffering consumed most of his consciousness.

 

"Ugh... ghaa..."

 

The heart that beat within his chest—was it truly his own? Or was it the one that had been given to him by Rito? Whose heart did it belong to? The witch had told him he was no longer fully human but had already become a merman. If that were true, would his blood still be able to break the curse of the dagger?

 

But he was still a man, a man of the land. He had been hailed as the most beautiful man in the kingdom. Glen could only hope that it was still true… that the blood of this heart might yet shatter the curse.

 

"Ghh... khha!"

 

As the blade pierced his heart, blood, thick and dark like rust, spilled from his throat. He coughed, the deep crimson color of the blood even richer than that of his attire. With trembling hands, Glen reached toward the waterway, his bloodied palms touching the surface as he whispered a prayer to the current, which flowed toward the sea.

 

Rito had become the sapphire embedded in the dagger's hilt, but Glen believed that another part of him was still in the sea. He longed to gather the scattered pieces of Rito's soul and body here and bring him back to life while offering his own life in return.

 

"Haa… ugh... A-ah!"

 

Glen drove the blade deeper into his chest until the sapphire was bathed in his blood. He knew full well the folly of his actions. Yet he could not stop. He was so lonely, he missed Rito so desperately, yearned for him so much… perhaps he had indeed gone mad.

 

"Rito… I love you…"

 

As the young man withdrew the blade, blood gushed forth like a fountain. In that very moment, the surface of the water stirred, and a column of water rose into the air, as though life had been breathed into it. Glen's red blood mingled with the pure, clear seawater, slowly taking on a human form.

 

"Ri...to...?"

 

A miracle, or perhaps an illusion, began to unfold before his eyes. The dagger was swallowed by the crimson column, and the sapphire transformed into the left eye of the merman prince. Just as the witch had foretold, a body began to take shape around it, using the jewel as its core. The seawater and Glen's blood intertwined, forming the body of a young merman with a beautiful, glimmering tail. The blood that had seeped into the earth six months ago had returned to the sea… and now, every drop had come together in this place.

 

"Master… Glen… Master Glen!" Rito's voice rang out.

 

The southern prince smiled, joy and contentment spreading across his face as he momentarily forgot his pain. But his eyelids grew heavy, and he could no longer see the familiar form of the youth before him. The last thing he glimpsed was a patch of pale skin, golden hair, a shimmering merman's tail, and eyes as deep as the sea and the evening sky.

 

The brilliance of not one, but two eyes seared into Glen's soul.

 

"I… I wanted to touch you again…"

 

Perhaps because Rito, as a sapphire, had felt his emotions, he did not ask, "Why did you do this?" Even so, the prince spoke of the reason aloud, as he lay on the floor of the underground grotto, holding the boy's hand.

 

(Cold hands… is it because he's a merman?)

 

Holding the dagger had once felt like holding Rito's hand, but now that his touch was real, it was different. The merman's skin clung to his palm—cold, yet warm…

 

"I love you... Please, forgive me…"

 

"I love you too. How can I live without you?"

 

Rito's tears fell, thumping softly as they struck the ground. In his dimming consciousness, Glen imagined those merman's tears turning to pearls. Though his eyes would not open, he could somehow see everything. The youth gazed at him with those two beautiful, sapphire eyes. Surely, he was looking at him now, as he shed his pearlescent tears.

 

"Lord Glen... I feel such sorrow now... but at the same time, I am so incredibly happy…"

 

(Yes, I too... I wonder, did you feel the sadness, anger, and joy I experienced when you gave your life for me? At this moment, I feel happy too...)

 

Glen's body was sinking into the water, his lips no longer able to move. From the cold stone of the grotto floor to the steps leading to the sea, Rito dragged him into the water, soaking him from head to toe.

 

There was pain in his chest, but it wasn't sharp. The water embraced him, soothing and comforting, making him feel like a true creature of the sea. Here, in the depths, he felt freer, more natural than ever before... his body and soul unburdened.

 

"Lord Glen... I won't let you die! The sea will always embrace those who bear the blood of the merfolk. I will save you, no matter what!"

 

With all his strength, Rito pulled Glen through the water, leaving a trail of bright crimson behind. As they slipped beneath the iron grate that led to the open sea, the full moon shone down upon them, glowing brilliantly.

 

As he sank deeper into the ocean, the prince felt a surge of life return to him, and found that he could barely open his eyes. His mind was hazy, as if caught in a dreamlike trance, but through the fog, he caught sight of Rito, swimming desperately ahead. It was indeed the very same merman from that stormy night.

 

Rito, his tail working tirelessly, swam toward the moonlight, and Glen, with every fiber of his being, longed to remain by his side in whatever form fate would allow.

 

***

 

Hans Praggs Ander, prince of the southern kingdom of Fyun, would visit the underground grotto every night, slipping away from his chambers unnoticed. This sacred place, where his elder brother had passed away ten years ago, was always adorned with seasonal flowers. Though no aristocrat, and certainly not his parents, ever ventured here—finding it too painful a reminder of their loss—Hans found great solace in the grotto.

 

He stood on the slightly damp steps leading down to the water, and after a brief moment of waiting, he heard a sharp, familiar squeak from the other side of the iron gate. Hans rose, arms open wide, to greet his secret friends. A large dolphin and a smaller one swam beneath the gate, which didn't reach the seafloor. Every night, the two friendly dolphins would come together, eager to listen intently to his tales.

 

Hans, the ideal prince, could not reveal his troubles to just anyone. Sharing his thoughts with the dolphins had become his nightly ritual. They would listen with the same warmth and understanding that his brother would have offered, had he still been alive.

 

"Good evening, dear dolphins. You know, today…"

Last Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter