In high spirits, I unrolled a sheet of paper and began listing a series of things I needed to prepare for Silas.

A sudden chill drifted through the room.

Through the crack in the door, a pair of violet eyes was quietly watching me.

In truth, I was terrified of Milo's gaze—it held no love, only pure resentment toward me.

I pretended not to notice him, breaking my usual pattern by not inviting him into the room.

After about five minutes, Milo finally lost his patience.

He pushed the door open, his voice dripping with awkward irritation.

"Hey, I'm hungry."

I was occupied with my task, so I didn't stop to coddle him.

"I bought you pearls this morning."

Milo actively swallowing his pride to speak to me was already the absolute limit of his tolerance.

Now, he lashed his tail in dissatisfaction, striking it heavily against the floor with a loud thud.

Suddenly, he seemed to catch a scent in the air.

In the blink of an eye, he glided right in front of me, leaning in close to sniff me thoroughly. His pupils contracted sharply, and his entire tail stood rigid.

"Why is there a scent of a high-tier deep-sea creature on you? Have you been seeing another fish?"

Before I could even tell him the news that I was going to send him away and bring Silas home, he dismissed his own suspicion.

"No, that's impossible. You're just a crippled low-born. What kind of high-grade fish would ever look at you?"

He reached out, clamping his hand tightly around my wrist, and snatched away the list I was writing.

"A giant glass aquarium, a new model air exchanger..."

Milo's eyes lit up instantly, his violet orbs shimmering like stars in the night sky.

But just as quickly, he suppressed his excitement with a smug look.

"Hmph, I knew you couldn't hold out. Trying to secretly prepare a surprise apology for me."

Milo swayed his head, proudly voicing his internal conclusion.

"Seeing you leave in tears earlier, I thought you were actually angry. Turns out you're still just trying to coax me into accepting your apology."

I was somewhat speechless, but he gave me no chance to defend myself.

He extended his hand toward me.

"In that case, give me two more gold coins."

I kept my mouth shut and promptly handed the gold coins over to him.

Milo gave me a suspicious glance.

"You're not going to ask what I need them for?"

It was undoubtedly to go see Mr. William Vance.

In the past, I always brought humiliation upon myself by asking too much, gaining nothing but a heartache.

But now, I no longer cared to ask. My mind was entirely consumed with the thought of getting rid of him as quickly as possible.

There were still so many things I hadn't added to the list for Silas yet.

I remained silent, and eventually, Milo stamped his tail and slammed the door shut behind him.

4

Meeting Silas once again, I felt a little nervous.

Clutching a leather bag filled with massive, gleaming black pearls, my steps carried a trace of excitement.

When I arrived at the marine aquarium, Silas was resting with his eyes closed.

He lay peacefully stretched out within the water tank.

I secretly observed him, marveling at how spectacularly beautiful he was.

A massive silver-white tail shimmered in the water as if encrusted with diamond dust, its sparkling brilliance impossible to hide even in the dim room.

Further up, perfect lines disappeared into his silver scales, revealing a flawlessly sculpted, pale torso with eight distinct abdominal muscles.

Silky long hair cascaded down to his waist, complementing a sharp jawline and a high, elegant nasal bridge.

And then there were his eyes—a blue so pure it held not a single shred of impurity, deep as the abyss itself.

Wait.

"You're awake?" I waved my hand at him.

Silas was indeed awake, but his pupils dilated instantly. He frantically thrashed the water aside, lunging toward me with terrifying speed.

"Liam, get back!"

A foul, fishy stench assaulted my senses as a massive manta ray erupted from an adjacent tank.

Its body was several times longer than mine, its eyes a vivid scarlet, lunging at me with its mouth wide open.

With no way to evade, I instinctively raised my arms to shield my head.

The expected strike never came. Instead, I heard a heavy thud as a massive weight slammed onto the floor.

The manta ray cried out in pain, left with no strength to rise and attack again.

Silas had already broken out of his tank, using his entire tail to support himself upright, standing well over two meters tall.

His expression was dead serious, his gaze icy as he stared down at the creature.

When I met those eyes—colder than ice itself—a violent shiver ran straight down my spine.

Silas reached his hand out to me.

"Liam, come here."

Obediently, I moved to his side.

Silas’s expression softened instantly. He wrapped his tail around me, bringing me gently into his embrace, and leaned down to press his cool forehead against my hand.

"Are you hurt?"

His display of dependency was so blatant that my heart throbbed wildly.

"No."

Steadying my nerves, I looked down at the manta ray sprawled on the ground. "What's wrong with it?"

"We are all considered damaged goods here. The aquarium staff doesn't feed us. It was simply driven mad by hunger, it didn't mean to attack you on purpose."

So that was the truth.

I immediately pulled out the bag of black pearls and offered them to the manta ray on the floor.

Yet, the manta ray seemed incredibly wary of Silas. It didn't dare take a bite, keeping its head bowed as it waited for Silas’s command.

"You may eat," Silas murmured.

Only then did the manta ray begin to devour the pearls ravenously.

Once it was full, it slowly turned toward us, its eyes pleading with Silas for help.

Silas pursed his lips, pulling a long halberd from the creature's side to hold in his hand. Coiling his tail around its lower body, he hoisted the massive ray and swung it back into its tank.

Water splashed over the edge, soaking the hem of my trousers. I stood frozen, utterly stunned by the two of them.

"Your strength... how can it be this immense?"

Although mermen were vastly larger than humans, they had been fully domesticated. In the eyes of humanity, they were nothing more than oversized exotic pets.

Just like Milo—even when enraged, the most he ever dared to do was smash household objects.

But Silas not only knew how to wield a halberd, he possessed such formidable power.

Silas merely lowered his head, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly.

"When I lived in the deep sea, I fought with other mermen constantly."

No wonder. He was a street-smart scrapper.

I gently patted his head, showing my understanding.

Silas suddenly pointed toward the black pearls scattered across the floor.

"Did you bring these especially for me?"

I offered a warm, gentle nod.

However, Silas shook his head.

"Take them back with you. You don't need to bring them anymore."

His expression suddenly turned forlorn, and he awkwardly averted his gaze.

Sensing something amiss, I asked, "Why? Do you not like them, or are you just a picky eater?"

Silas’s voice was muffled and low.

"No... these must be very expensive, right?"

Silas leaned against the glass tank and sat down, curling his tail tightly against his chest in a defensive, vulnerable posture.

"You already have another merman at home. He is far more precious than I am; he is the one who should be eating things like this."

"I can just eat small shrimp... or rather, some seaweed and sea water will do."

A sudden wave of intense tenderness and protective affection swelled within my chest.

I had never mentioned to Silas that I kept another merman at home, fearing he might throw a tantrum like Milo.

Yet, he simply sat quietly in the corner.

He didn't fight, he didn't grasp, he didn't demand my pearls—he only wanted my affection.

Making up my mind, I asked Silas to extend his tail.

Then, I solemnly pressed a tender kiss onto his silver scales.

Silas trembled violently from sheer shyness, quickly pulling his tail back into his embrace, holding it close as if it were a treasured prize.

I made a solemn vow to him.

"Three days from now, I will take you home."

"There will be no other merman in that house. Only you. Would that be alright?"

5

As soon as I arrived home, I piled the black pearls left over from Silas’s meal right behind the door.

Milo glided before me like a sudden gust of wind, chewing on a pearl while criticizing aggressively.

"Why do these pearls smell so strange, like one of our kind but not quite? Has another merman been licking them in the deep sea? You absolute fool, don't tell me you got scammed out of your money."