The Mermaid’s Price

“Alright, your problems are settled. Now, isn’t it time we, the Bloodsail Alliance, settled our accounts?”

Borok tapped his fingers on the table, signaling everyone to turn their gaze toward him.

“I hope you all understand the Bloodsail Alliance’s predicament. This shipment from the Redwater Gang—”

Saranya cut Borok off directly, unwilling to grant such a bandit even a polite glance.

“Don’t even think about it. We will only pay you the original price!”

“I absolutely cannot accept that!”

Saranya and Borok faced each other in a standoff, neither willing to yield an inch.

Unexpectedly, Aivy once again sided with her.

“Borok, don’t be so overbearing. Earn a little less and leave others a path to survive!”

Constantly being challenged by Aivy, Borok’s irritation flared.

“Miss Aivy, if we lose money on a shipment, our boss will punish us. I don’t want this either, so why do you always take sides against me?!”

“Hmph, I also have some bad news for you, concerning the Weinshield family’s cargo on this ship…”

Borok instantly shot to his feet, his expression taut.

“What’s wrong with the cargo?!”

“We no longer want it.”

“What?!?”

Judging by Borok’s vivid reaction, it was undoubtedly a highly valuable item.

Aivy let out a soft chuckle, a hint of playful malice in her expression.

“Why don’t you bring your cargo here, and let everyone judge its worth together?”

****

Sailors pushed open the room’s door, carrying a crystal cage into the chamber.

Upon seeing the “cargo” inside the cage, Grondel and Rogni exclaimed in unison, while Nazareth, who had remained silent in the corner, let out two soft ‘tsk’ sounds. Cecilia, though showing no overt reaction, cast restless glances back and forth, her thoughts unknown.

Even Kaelan sat up straighter, appearing quite intrigued.

Within the crystal cage, shimmering with a deep blue luminescence, a silver-haired maiden huddled in a pile of moldy straw, her body trembling slightly.

Borok lit a torch, approached the “cargo,” and roughly struck the cage.

“Wake up! You useless wretch, all you ever do is sleep!”

The maiden flinched, burying her face in her silver hair in terror, a faint whimper escaping her throat, like a young beast resigned to slaughter.

Borok kicked the cage violently again, shouting harshly.

“Sit up! Look up! Can’t you understand a word?! No wonder you’re a money pit!”

The maiden in the cage weakly pushed herself up, lifting her head. She was completely naked, a s*ave brand etched with a bloody line marring her smooth, pale back.

She had clearly endured prolonged torture, her mind clouded, her speech already incoherent.

“Please… please…”

The maiden possessed an ethereal beauty, with delicate, exquisite features and damp eyelashes framing a pair of dull, sky-blue eyes. After barely sitting for a moment, her body gave out, and she leaned forward against the cage wall.

“A fine commodity, but you’ve managed to ruin her. How do you expect to sell someone half-dead?”

“What the hell do you know, you stinking blacksmith? She’s like this for a reason; we didn’t intentionally harm her!”

“Didn’t harm her? Then explain what happened to her legs.”

Grondel pointed to the maiden’s legs.

The maiden’s legs, which should have been smooth and lustrous as jade, were now covered in mangled lacerations. The skin on their surface had been deliberately torn away, exposing pulsating flesh and sinews beneath. The edges of the wounds shimmered with a scaly sheen, creating a truly gruesome sight.

Before Borok could reply, Kaelan suddenly interjected.

“This is no ordinary maiden; she is a mermaid. You had a witch brew a potion for her, forcefully transforming her tailfin into legs. The potion’s effects aren’t permanent, requiring continuous dosage. Yet, to cut costs, you repeatedly ripped off the newly grown scales of her tailfin, allowing you to sell the saved potion for extra profit. Am I correct?”

Scum. Stupid and wicked scum.

Saranya trembled with rage.

Aivy’s cool voice resonated from the side.

“We intended to buy her to entertain high-ranking guests in Harold Weinshield’s bathhouse, not to acquire a perpetual invalid to care for. You surely knew about the potion’s impermanence, so why did you conceal it from us?”

“This…”

“We no longer want this cargo. You have no complaints, do you?”

In front of everyone, the mermaid maiden was discussed and haggled over like a mere commodity. She could only hang her head powerlessly, appearing utterly pathetic.

Kaelan rose and walked to the cage door, her slender hand reaching through the bars to touch the maiden’s forehead.

“I want her. How much is she?”

Aivy suddenly smiled, turning her head to appraise Kaelan.

“They’ve priced this little girl at an exorbitant sum. I doubt anyone here, apart from our Weinshield family, would be willing to pay that much.”

Saranya gazed at the silver-haired maiden in the cage, sighing inwardly.

An enslaved exotic being, trafficked and smuggled, was akin to a hot potato.

On one hand, her price was steep. People bought such maiden slaves primarily for pleasure or to earn money through their services. Rather than acquiring this sickly invalid, it was wiser to buy several healthy, ordinary maidens; everyone understood the principle of risk diversification.

On the other hand, if her exotic identity were discovered, it would invite a host of troubles. Merfolk like her, concealing their tailfins to walk on land, would certainly be executed as spies by the authorities, and their owners would naturally be implicated.

It was a pity. Given the maiden’s attributes, she could have graced the “Tidal Mirror Hall,” a high-class brothel run by the Tidesong Sisterhood, where exotic maidens were protected and elevated to high-status courtesans. The problem was, they did not accept slaves. The Sisterhood claimed to value female dignity above all else, and the maiden’s blood-soaked s*ave brand would not only fail to garner their sympathy but would instead earn her their scorn and pursuit.

“How about… I buy her for you?”

Aivy approached Kaelan, a playful smirk on her face.

‘Too close, she’s getting too close…’

Seeing Aivy’s flirtatious demeanor, a surge of anger ignited within Saranya. She shot to her feet, shielding her mistress.

“We don’t need your charity.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. I genuinely want to help you. Ask Borok: if I buy the cargo and then transfer it to you, with you covering the potion costs, would he be willing to sell the Redwater Tavern’s goods at the original price?”

Borok’s mind whirred, and his eyes immediately widened, veins bulging on his forehead.

“Then, damn it… wouldn’t that still be me selling a whole shipment at the original price?! I don’t care about your affairs; I only care about how much money I get!”

“Sell her or don’t. If you don’t accept, then keep the s*ave maiden for yourself.”

“You!!!”

Ultimately, Borok succumbed to Aivy’s pressure, softening his stance.

“Fine, then. Open the cage and let them inspect the goods!”

The sailors opened the cage door, draped a torn canvas over the mermaid maiden, and then dragged her out of the cage.

“Wuwu… wuwu…”

The maiden struggled weakly, her expression one of utter despair and sorrow. She merely whimpered, not crying, perhaps because her tears had long since run dry.

Saranya bent down, cradled the mermaid maiden by her waist, and carried her to her mistress.

Kaelan extended a hand, her eyes harboring an excitement akin to discovering a priceless treasure.

“What is your name?”

“Aquilis…”

“Mm… Aquilis, such a good girl… From now on, I am your new mistress…”

Listening to her mistress’s affectionate tone, Saranya felt a pang of jealousy, subtly puffing out her cheeks.

‘Hmph…’

‘Just a white-haired mermaid… Hmph… Acknowledging a mistress? Is she even worthy?!’

‘And Aivy, spending so much money for mistress for nothing, what exactly is she plotting?’

‘Now that I think about it, Cecilia wanting to rent the tavern’s attic—could she also have ulterior motives concerning mistress?!’

Suddenly, a profound sense of crisis welled up in Saranya’s heart. She knew perfectly well she was making baseless conjectures, yet she couldn’t stop her mind from racing with wild thoughts.

‘Damn it! Damn it all!’

Saranya stood rooted, one hand tentatively exploring Aquilis’s full buttocks, the other measuring her slender, elegant waist. Her eyes, too, were busy, meticulously assessing the other’s ample, snow-white peaks, then secretly comparing them to her own. Her face was a mask of dark lines throughout, consumed by an overwhelming jealousy.

‘Conclusion: they are all villains, and they all wish harm upon my mistress!!!’