Chapter 2
Damon carried Seraphina back to his royal chambers, a place that once, apart from him and me, no one was ever allowed to enter.
But ever since Seraphina arrived, everything had changed.
I, too, had become one of those forbidden to enter.
I’d even been reduced to a personal entertainer, summoned at her whim and dismissed at her pleasure, without any of the dignity befitting a Queen.
As long as Seraphina pouted to Damon about being bored, I had to appear and sing or dance for her.
If I showed any reluctance, Damon would threaten my people.
But he had forgotten—he once promised to protect me and my tribe forever. Now, he was the one trying to harm us.
When Damon was inheriting the crown, he was surrounded by enemies. Brothers coveted his throne, and rival kingdoms loomed threateningly. In such a desperate situation, he sought help from my father, the King.
My father was initially unwilling. We Merfolk never meddled in the affairs of other races.
But because Damon and I fell in love, my father had no choice but to lend his aid.
Though we helped Damon ascend to the throne, our tribe was greatly weakened and slowly began to decline.
Damon also crowned me Queen, promising to protect our people. But just a few years later, Seraphina arrived.
Everything he had said meant nothing anymore.
Damon protected Seraphina with such tenderness, as if she were a fragile treasure. It was a look I hadn’t seen directed at me in a long time.
In the first few years we were together, Damon had treated me with exceptional affection and care, as if I were too precious to hold, too delicate to even breathe near.
Seraphina leaned against Damon, her voice weak and soft. “Your Majesty, don’t blame my sister. This is just my pregnancy, it’s not her fault at all.”
Damon’s face darkened when Seraphina mentioned me.
“If she makes my Seraphina uncomfortable, then it’s her fault. She deserves to be punished.”
“I was too good to her in previous years, spoiled by luxury, so now she gets breathless with just a few movements. Seraphina, don’t worry, she’s just locked in water. She won’t die.”
Hearing Damon’s words, a wave of sorrow washed over me. How could I not die? I was already dead.
I remembered how, when I felt unwell in the past, Damon would take meticulous care of me, unlike now, when he knowingly confined me to a cage despite my discomfort.
Seraphina heard Damon’s words, and the smile on her lips was almost impossible to suppress, yet she still feigned innocence.
“Your Majesty, when my sister comes out later, she won’t come looking for trouble with me, will she? After all, she’s the Queen, and I’m just your mistress.”
Damon’s eyes widened. “She wouldn’t dare! Don’t be afraid. No one can release her without my permission.”
“Once you bear my child, I’ll depose her and make you Queen.”
“Ariel hasn’t given me a single child in all these years. She should have been deposed ages ago!”
“Oh, Your Majesty, you’re so good to me.”
Seraphina finally looked satisfied, having received Damon’s promise.
My heart twisted in agony watching this. I should have had a child too, but now he would never have the chance to be born.
Because of Damon, he and I had died together.
I couldn’t understand how a person could change so quickly, forgetting vows of eternal love in just a few short years.
He got a new love and forgot the old. We promised to be each other’s only love forever, but as soon as someone new appeared, everything changed.