Chapter 557: Misunderstandings and Frustrations

Claire had never been jealous before meeting Saria. She didn"t see anything as special enough to that, and even her relations.h.i.+p with her siblings, including Naomi, never made her feel that way.

And then she met the Mermaid Princess just as she finally accepted the greedy feelings in her heart. She finally understood that she wants a lot of things not just because of Greed but for herself too.

But what kind of things does she want? Everything is the answer. Starting with the attention of the most special girl she"s ever met, Saria, obviously.

The Mermaids Princess is as beautiful and charming as she is kind and friendly. She awakened in Claire desires she was unaware of. That is a different friends.h.i.+p from the one she had with Naomi.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly well; Greed was pleased with how her plans were going, and Claire was becoming more and more intimate with Saria.

But then Lucien showed up, and everything changed. Now Greed is mad, and Claire has to deal with even more intense feelings that she doesn"t understand, especially that devastating jealousy of everything and everyone.

[What am I going to do?!?!] She wonders as she feels like crying in frustration.

Saria doesn"t even have to be such a sensitive creature to realize that Claire isn"t okay, so she quickly tries to console her best friend.

"Don"t be like this; now that your brother is here, even if you have to share his attention with his wives, you guys are together, and it"s the most important thing." Saria comments as she swims to the edge of the pool, where Claire is sitting.

Claire keeps her head down as she gazes at the water with a vague look. "I know… but I had it all planned out, and now… now I can"t even deal with this jealousy, let alone think about what I"m going to do next."

Saria arrives in front of her and holds her hand. "What are you talking about? The fact that your brother has come doesn"t change our plans, and... our partners.h.i.+p."

"Hmmm..." Claire slightly lifts her head to look at Saria"s beautiful smiling face. "Do you mean..."

"We against all the bad guys, remember?" Saria smiles even more. "That was what we promised, loyalty to each other no matter what."

Claire can"t help but smile, glad that at least that hasn"t changed. She gently strokes Saria"s face. "Yes, we are still partners… best friends."

"Yeah!" Saria giggles while her eyes sparkle. "And as Lucien said, many Nagas are still loyal to Tyrion, so we can fight along with him. And I"m sure he would give you all the spoils for you to feed Greed."

She was finally forgetting the things that bother her, but after hearing her brother"s name again, her mood starts to sour. [Even you are being stolen from me...]

Perhaps for Greed, the treasures they would take from the Nagas were the most important thing, but for Claire, Saria was the best thing in months. So she is upset that Lucien is "stealing" the attention of the beautiful Mermaid Princess.

[No! I won"t let this happen; I won"t let him take even you away from me.] She thinks as she looks at Saria in the eyes.

"Ehhh…" Saria is confused by the way Claire looks at her. She looks like a starving bloodthirsty beast that stares at a succulent piece of meat; that"s scary.

Claire has never thought of Saria romantically, but she fears that Lucien will take her as his wife... [No, I won"t let it happen... I have to make it clear that you"re mine, only mine... ]

Saria can"t say she never thought about Claire romantically. As there is no male among the Mermaids, many of them form romantic relations.h.i.+ps with other Mermaids, while others keep unaware of such feelings until they meet someone special enough to touch their hearts.

And since Claire was the only person Saria liked as much as her family, the Mermaid Princess considered the possibility that she was falling in love with her.

But that thought changed when she met Lucien and then understood that even though Claire touched her heart, only he let her know the feeling of being h.o.r.n.y.

And now, two things seem to conflict in Saria"s mind. [f.u.c.king Lucien or continuing to be Claire"s best friend? Why can"t I have these both things???]

While she wonders about that, she forgets to avoid Claire"s lips approaching her.

Claire is very confused, and greedy feelings move her every action, so she really thinks kissing Saria is the best way to mark her best friend as being hers alone.

But as their faces get closer, she starts to smell a familiar scent, something super pleasant, by the way. [Hmmm... this...]

And when she tries to remember where she felt that fragrance again, only one name comes to mind. [Lucien!!!]

"Why is Lucien"s scent all over your face?!?!" Claire asks in an upset tone.

"Ehh... it... ehhhh..." Saria is very embarra.s.sed, which makes her feel guilty about something. "We fought! Yeah, I told you, we fought because I didn"t know if I could trust him, and you know... his scent must have stuck on me when we got too close during the fight."

"Hmm…" Claire doesn"t seem convinced by that as Lucien"s scent is more intense on Saria"s face. So unless he"s punched her face repeatedly, that sounds suspicious.

Saria tries to get away, but Claire quickly brushes her thumb over her lips and sniffs it, feeling Lucien"s scent there even more intensely.

[NOOO!!!] Claire is really furious. "Why?!?!"

The Mermaid Princess is very embarra.s.sed, mainly because she can"t stop thinking about that kiss. "That wasn"t my fault!! It... it"s because of that stupid compet.i.tion!!"

"What compet.i.tion?!?!" Claire asks. "How many times?? How many times have you kissed?!?"

Saria despairs and manages to escape, diving into the deepest part of the pool. "It wasn"t my fault, I swear!!"

Claire is distraught because she thinks Saria will become one more woman to share her brother"s attention, and he will also steal her best friend"s attention.

"You naughty Mermaid!!" She cries out before jumping into the water after Saria.

While Claire has to learn to deal with new feelings, Lucien focuses on getting stronger with Helena, Oya, Kamala, Mira, and l.u.s.t in the purple world.

The Naga troops and the Mermaids await new orders, and hours pa.s.s as well as days.

-----------------------------

Somewhere in the eastern sea, the Sea Devil cuts through waves like an arrow through the wind. Such speed surprises even Nea, who agreed to travel with Eve"s group while her troops follow them.

Nea can"t hide that she"s excited to find her daughter, or rather the sword that contains the fragment of her soul.

But the concerned mood of the Sea Devil crew makes her a little uncomfortable. Then she comments to Maya. "All these girls are so concerned about that guy... he must be really amazing to make them like that."

Maya is also very concerned about Layla, her daughter. "You understand what it"s like when something bad happens to those we love so much..."

"Yes, I do." Nea answers. "There is no way to describe such a bad feeling."

Sophia, who is standing next to them, looking at the horizon, caresses her belly while making a sad expression. "The world looks gray, and I constantly feel a bitter taste in my mouth... it"s like a part of me is missing, not just any member but my own heart. No matter what I try to think, being back in his arms is the only thing in my mind... that"s how I would describe it."

"..." Nea doesn"t know what to say. [That seems a bit exaggerated for a sibling feeling...]

Then she turns and smiles. "But knowing he"s okay, and that we"ll soon be reunited again gives us the strength to continue." She emphasizes the "us" as she strokes her belly, which is already slightly swollen, leaving clear signs of the pregnancy that is actually almost a year old.

"Oh..." Nea is confused because she thought Sophia was just a little fat because she didn"t feel the life inside her. But now, her words make her doubt that. "Are you really pregnant?"

"No doubt." Sophia nods. "I can already feel this little girl growing inside me."

"It"s so strange that I can"t feel it..." For the first time in her life, Nea finds something that even her Mermaid instinct can"t notice.

Sloth materializes her body, floating in the air as usual. "It"s because of the royal dragon womb barrier."

"What???" Nea can"t help but be shocked. "I"ve never heard of a human becoming pregnant with a royal dragon, though I don"t doubt that it"s possible."

Then she makes a curious expression. "I wonder you meet that royal dragon..."

"She"s talking about Lucien," Maya explains.

"W-what??!?!!?" She is even more shocked. "But... that"s a lot of information for me... is he a dragon? And they"re siblings..."

Naomi approaches them. "Don"t think badly of Luci; he was never a naughty brother. Sophia developed such feelings alone and always tried to seduce him... I think he just couldn"t ignore her feelings anymore."

"That"s a lie!" Sophia complains. "We love each other equally; it just took him a while to realize that."

"Ya, ya, ya..." Amelia comments in a mocking tone. "I don"t know why Sloth chose you since you never spared effort to jump on Luci and force such feelings on him."

Sophia pouts. "You, on the other hand, are the perfect partner for Envy as you"ve always been jealous of the special relations.h.i.+p we have!!"

"You!!!" Amelia is upset by that comment, mainly because it"s true.

"Hey, hey, HEY!!" Donna jumps between them before a fight starts. "Are you brats going to stop this stupid fight, or am I going to have to punish you?"

"You can"t beat a pregnant woman!" Sophia comments.

Amelia can"t contain her jealousy as she"s not sure she"s pregnant yet. "Are you going to use this excuse for everything?!?! You can"t even defend yourself without Luci and this child??"

Maya and Nea don"t know what to do about that family fight. And meanwhile, Envy and Wrath delight in so much demonic energy being generated.

But then the air seems to get denser as everyone feels their bodies get heavier. That sensation is really uncomfortable, even for Maya and Nea.

"What"s going on here?" Eve"s voice sounds calm and cool, but everyone can tell she"s upset and even Nea and Maya feel an instinctive fear grown in their hearts.

Amelia and Sophia bow their heads with sorry expressions, but Eve still scolds them. "Luci stayed behind to hold a f.u.c.king Leviathan for us to be safe, and this is how you return his sacrifice??"

"..." The sisters don"t know what to say because they can"t control the intense feelings that get more and more chaotic due to the b.l.o.o.d.y Rose influence.

Eve understands that because she is also losing control of her emotions as she feels stronger. The worst part is her fear of not being able to help her siblings.

"We have to make an effort to keep calm because that"s the only way we can save-" She tries to explain, but then is confused when Sophia gazes at the horizon with a wide smile.

"Lucien??!?!?" She thinks aloud.

"Is him??? Where??!" Donna and Amelia ask.

Then Sophia points forward. "There, I feel his energy in that direction."

She is very happy and excited, but her smile soon fades when she understands that energy better. "It"s not Lucien... just someone with his energy."

"Roar?!?!" Little Ko roar as Ca.s.sidy pets her ears. She misses both Lucien and her mother.

"No, it"s just someone with a bit of his energy..." Sophia replies.

"Anyway, we must find them." Eve comments as Scarlett directs the s.h.i.+p in that direction.

After about twenty minutes at full speed, the Sea Devil crew sees two people in the water.

"A Naga and a Mermaid together in peace? That"s a rare thing to see." Nea comments when she sees Rupa and Ritika together.

Rupa smiles at Nea. "My Queen, I bring you very good news from Lord Lucien..."

"Lord Lucien!?!?" Many of Lucien"s wives and sisters think aloud at the same time while they can"t contain their happy smiles.