Chapter 180: The Twin-tailed Mermaid
Captain Remington certainly wouldn’t turn back for such a matter. He dismissed it as the girl joking and waved it away. At the same time, he realized that these people seemed to know each other, so he wisely found an excuse to leave.
“Do you two mind if I sit here?”
The Princess seemed to be asking, but her gaze held an emotion that made it difficult to refuse.
Outside, the waves battered the ship’s railing, and a few seagulls let out shrill cries, as if heralding an brewing storm.
Li Wen wasn’t particularly inclined to pay attention to her. She merely watched the darkening sky outside the window, contemplating what the storm would bring and what it would take away. If it weren’t for being too far from land, and her erosion progress not being enough to support her actions, Li Wen would have wanted to activate her Witch Form and fly back to Leicester herself.
It wasn’t that she disliked the beautiful Princess of the Kingdom. It was just that trouble seemed to always occur in the presence of the other party. The incident in Leicester might very well have been orchestrated by her, or at the very least, related to her.
On the other side, Moria had no particular reaction. He nodded slightly, and at the same time, he understood why Selwin had arranged for them to travel on this ship, or at least understood part of it.
“Sir Lance doesn’t seem to be accompanying Her Highness?” the priest suddenly asked.
Princess Victoria sat between the two, a little further away. She smiled, not answering the question directly: “Please, Mr. Moria and Miss Mephistopheles, understand that my journey this time is completely confidential, and I do not wish for too many unrelated people to know about it.”
So they weren’t unrelated people?
Li Wen wanted to ask that, but after thinking about it, she gave up.
Victoria’s identity was extremely sensitive. As early as Leicester, the Leader of the Wolf Pack had expressed killing intent towards her, and that blood-stained “owl dog,” Bati Haruntin, was clearly coming for her as well. This was most likely a manifestation of the cruel and bloody internal power struggles of the Arthurian royal family. Who knew how many of the Princess’s siblings, who shared the same blood, would wish to see her dead. In such circumstances, it wasn’t so hard to understand why she would embark on her journey back to the royal city in a way that was unimaginable to ordinary people.
Because of this, Li Wen could relax. The Princess probably wasn’t plotting any other schemes.
“Originally, I was worried about traveling alone on this journey. Now, seeing the two of you on the ship, I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.” Princess Victoria’s exquisitely doll-like face showed a smile of relief, yet it was difficult to discern her true feelings.
“I’m full, I’m going back.”
Li Wen stood up and said calmly. She wasn’t very hungry and didn’t want to interact further or deepen her connection with the Princess. She then prepared to go back to continuing her potion-making.
“It seems that Miss Mephistopheles doesn’t seem to like me very much?”
Watching the receding figure shrouded in a cloak, Victoria smiled quietly, her azure eyes as clear as nothing.
“Perhaps it’s not dislike, but rather that Her Highness is too adept at masking her emotions, making it difficult for people to discern. Miss Mephistopheles finds it difficult to cope, so it’s not entirely incomprehensible that she chooses not to interact.”
Moria explained softly, then suddenly froze. He hadn’t known the mysterious girl for very long, and it seemed he didn’t have the right to say such things.
“Is that… so?”
Not noticing the priest’s expression, the Princess beside him showed a thoughtful look, contemplating something unknown.
*
Rumbles of thunder emanated from the distant sea surface. The sky had already completely darkened, as if a grand storm was preparing to make its entrance. Among those who made a living on the sea, storms were the sea’s wrath; they always appeared at inconvenient times and cruelly swallowed lives, or ships.
“It’s the Twin-tailed Mermaid! It’s the curse of the Twin-tailed Mermaid! It’s coming! It’s finally coming!”
An old man with skin weathered by the sun and hair dry as seaweed suddenly became agitated. He pointed frantically at the raging waves outside, muttering nonsensical ravings that ordinary people couldn’t understand. His bloodshot eyes seemed about to pop out of their sockets, a truly terrifying sight.
This bizarre behavior immediately drew the attention of everyone in the dining room, including Li Wen, who was about to leave.
“Alas, Old Joey has started again.”
Someone sighed, seemingly accustomed to the scene.
But more were puzzled and curious. After all, almost everyone who could board this ship was an adventurer or a traveler, and they were interested in anything exciting or novel.
As more and more people asked questions, the old man began to recount the story.
The mad old man was named Joey. Thirty years ago, he was a seasoned sailor. The ship he served on was the same one they were on now, the Adventurer. Back then, the ship didn’t have this name, and its captain wasn’t Mr. Remington. At that time, Old Joey was young and was the most experienced sailor in the fleet. It was said that he could dive underwater with his bare hands, wrestle with several sharks, and kill them.
During a long voyage, Old Joey’s fleet encountered an incredibly fierce storm. Rain poured down incessantly, and waves dozens of meters high nearly capsized the ship. In the sea’s fury, all the sailors, including Old Joey, could only cower in the ship’s cabin. It wasn’t until a certain moment that the storm subsided, and the sea became calm.
But that was not a signal of survival, absolutely not.
Amidst the abrupt transition from raging wind to calm, everyone heard a melodious, beautiful song. They were drawn in and captivated by the song, then scrambled onto the deck, eager to catch a glimpse of the singer’s form.
Old Joey, suffering from a fever, could only lie in bed, unable to move. However, this inadvertently saved his life.
In the man’s account, when the singing stopped, Old Joey heard the sound of something crawling and rubbing on the deck, a grating sound like fish scales rubbing against a wall. This was followed by unrestrained chewing sounds, as if someone was gnawing on flesh with bones still attached.
Despite his fear and unease, Old Joey fell asleep, influenced by some unknown force. When he awoke again, the ship had returned to its port of departure. He was the only one left on board; over thirty crew members had vanished silently from the ship, leaving no trace.
From then on, the ship was rumored to be cursed. No patron was willing to buy or charter it until the unyielding Mr. Remington generously bought it and gave it a new name.
After that incident, Old Joey was driven to madness by the shock, though some said he feigned madness to escape responsibility. However, it was certain that Old Joey still harbored some sort of emotion towards the unknown entity that boarded the ship that day. It was based on this that he repeatedly implored Remington to hire him as a sailor. After failing, he repeatedly sneaked onto the ship, just to encounter that furious storm and silent night again.
In his helplessness, Mr. Remington allowed him to board the ship, but without assigning him any work.
The story ended there. Some people muttered in astonishment that it might have been a sea monster at work, while others sneered, believing it was just another uninteresting rumor concocted by sailors.
The protagonist of the story, Old Joey, had already climbed onto the deck, roaring and raging against the assault of waves and rain, until two sailors dragged him away.
The Twin-tailed Mermaid?
Li Wen withdrew her gaze and indifferently walked back to her room.
