19. Love Is a Curse (Please Keep Reading!)
In the distant past, the Sea Demon Queen unexpectedly saved a mortal prince.
Together, they endured many trials and ultimately overcame the barriers of taboo to unite.
They fell in love.
But their love was not accepted by others.
Mortals saw the prince as a filthy fallen man, and having been exiled from his kingdom, he was forced to set sail across the sea in search of his beloved.
Meanwhile, the Sea Demon people regarded the queen’s actions as a betrayal of their kind and attacked the prince’s ship, intending to send him to a watery grave.
In this moment of peril, to save her love, the Sea Demon Queen made a wish:
“May my blessing brush your face like the sea breeze, granting you fearless courage, to be one with the sea and dance with the storm.”
“May the stars guide your voyage, the moonlight guard your soul, and the tide eventually bring you back to my side.”
She softly sang into the abyss, with sorrow, yet hope.
“May you never be harmed by the ocean.”
“May you never lose yourself.”
“May you never lose your way.”
“May you...”
“Forever love me.”
...
Splash.
Herbert jolted awake, staring blankly ahead.
Just now, it seemed he had heard an ancient tale and witnessed a love unacknowledged.
Then, he felt as if he had fallen into a warm embrace, dragged gently by slippery hands down into a bottomless sea chasm.
That sweet song echoed incessantly in his ears, urging him to make a firm decision, as if intending to keep him there forever.
And then, he woke.
“...”
Herbert reached up to touch his lips, feeling a lingering warmth.
What was that?
Was he kissed forcibly in a dream again?
Uh...
Why did I say “again”?
When was the last time... ugh!
Herbert gagged slightly. Though he couldn’t recall the exact scene, for the sake of his sanity, he decided not to think too deeply.
“Nenasha, what did I just see?”
Was that ancient memory fabricated? Did it have any connection to the seven-colored scales of Fureme?
---
“Huh? You actually woke up by your own will?” Nenasha said with surprise, clicking her tongue in admiration. “I was prepared to wake you after you’d fully succumbed. Your willpower is stronger than I imagined!”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing—it’s the ‘little help’ I mentioned before!”
“Only the Sea Demon royal family can wield this forbidden magic—the legendary curse: the Sea Demon Queen’s Devotion.”
The mischievous god chuckled, explaining the curse’s effect to his bewildered ally:
“From now on, you won’t suffocate in water, won’t fall under mental enchantments, won’t get lost; you will become the favorite of water elementals, and all sea creatures will naturally favor you.”
“The only minor issue is, you will gradually draw closer to the Sea Demons—webbing will grow between your fingers, and your legs will slowly transform into a fish tail...”
“But thanks to the purity’s protection and my blessing, you are completely immune to the curse’s negative effects! Rest assured, you won’t physically transform or change in appearance~”
The god deliberately left this revelation hanging, but contrary to his expectations, his ally’s face didn’t show panic or a shift from fear to relief.
Instead, Herbert raised a doubt: “Wait, that doesn’t sound right.”
“Hm?”
“Isn’t this a blessing? How can it be a curse?”
“She loves me so much that she even wants me to become a merman. Where’s the curse in that?”
Nenasha: Hm? You’re acting strange!
The god hesitated, deciding to let the question slide, and said instead:
“My ally, don’t you understand?”
“Love is the most twisted curse in this world.”
Nenasha smiled lightly, a hint of sarcasm in her tone, speaking calmly:
“Because of love, gods walk among mortals and ignite divine conflicts.”
“Because of love, monsters and humans fight, plunder, and kill each other.”
“Because of love, kin turn weapons against kin, shedding blood for another’s heart.”
“All disasters and sufferings in this world originate from love.”
He said:
“Love is a curse.”
As Nenasha spoke this seemingly corrupted idea, Herbert did not interrupt but quietly listened with raised eyebrows.
When he finished, Herbert remained silent for a long moment before shaking his head:
“Your words may not be entirely wrong, but I still think your view is a bit extreme.”
“Feelings are complicated; you can’t blame everything on love.”
If all sins could be blamed on love,
then this world would be far too trivial.
There must be many deeds beyond love, higher than love.
“Heh, perhaps.”
The matter was dropped; neither made attempts to argue further.
Though they had only known each other a short time, both understood that changing each other’s minds wouldn’t be easy.
---
No need for more words.
“By the way, with this gift, you can try learning some water elemental magic. It won’t take much effort, and you’ll gain a lot.”
Nenasha spoke with some admiration.
Even he hadn’t expected Herbert to acquire the legendary Sea Demon scales of royal blood so quickly.
If this talent belonged to a mage, it would be like creating a future great water mage.
But unfortunately, Herbert was a paladin, at most learning some water-based combat skills.
Such a waste!
Herbert wasn’t too bothered by it.
The more skills, the better. Who would dislike having more talents?
Whether he could use them in the future didn’t matter—best to learn them anyway.
What if, right?
“Wait!”
Just as he was contemplating, Herbert suddenly remembered something, his pupils contracting sharply.
“If this proves that collecting monster materials really works, then that means...”
His expression changed slightly as he recalled the pact he had forcibly made with Valentina, twitching his mouth.
“Am I really going to have to eat her hair!?”
Honestly,
that’s a bit perverse, isn’t it?
.
.
The next day.
When Herbert entered the prison with a heavy heart, the dragon lady remained blissfully unaware, lost in beautiful dreams.
“...”
Herbert looked at the peacefully sleeping Valentina, licked his slightly dry lips, and slowly knelt on one knee before the bars.
He took a deep breath, his gaze resolute, and stretched out his guilty little hand—
placing a chicken leg before her nose, swaying it gently.
“Suck, suck suck... suck suck suck suck...”
Hearing the sound, Valentina, who had been asleep a moment before, suddenly opened her eyes.
“Mm... huh!?”