"Rumble..."
It did indeed rain that night. It was a spring rain, but accompanied by peals of thunder so loud they made it impossible to sleep.
"Creak, creak..."
The large ship rocked in the wind and rain. The wooden planks squeezed against one another, emitting groans that would keep any first-time sailor awake.
"Mmn~~"
A low moan rang out. Florence struggled to open her eyes. She remained dazed and confused for a few seconds, blinking her eyes before finally coming to her senses.
"Oh no..." Florence's eyes went wide. As if recalling something terrible, her mind raced as she vigilantly scanned her surroundings.
It was a narrow, small room—much smaller than her home in Mermaid Bay. The decoration was strange, too; there were no seashells used as ornaments.
"Was I saved?" Florence let out a sigh of relief. She glanced upward and saw a glass bottle filled with a white liquid. It was dripping, drop by drop, down a transparent tube, and then further down...
Florence followed the transparent tube downwards and discovered its endpoint at the back of her hand. That transparent liquid was actually entering her body! Her body stiffened instantly.
"What is this? Why is it entering my body?" Florence was filled with uncertainty. She didn't know if she should pull it out or leave it be.
She had clearly been saved by someone. If she pulled this tube out, would it affect her? But if she didn't pull it out, she feared it might be harmful.
"My body..." Florence suddenly thought of something. She lifted the blanket and found that her chest shells were still there, though her seaweed clothes were missing. The fish-skin fabric covering her private areas was still there, which made her sigh in relief. Since she hadn't been seen completely naked, she was still pure.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Otherwise, I would have to..." Florence murmured to herself, her cheeks flushing slightly. She pulled the blanket back up. Even if she wanted to get up, she couldn't; she had absolutely no strength in her body.
"Damn pirates, daring to attack Mermaid Bay," Florence gritted her teeth as she recalled what had happened.
"I wonder how Father is doing? He is a Mermaid General, so he should be fine."
"Those rebels will definitely be besieged by the King's forces. How dare they ally with pirates to rob the treasury?"
"I don't know where I am now. I remember fleeing for over ten days. To shake off those traitors, I sneaked onto a cargo ship and rode it for many days, but eventually, the traitors found me. After a big battle with those bastards, I was injured and fell into the water... What time is it now?"
Florence recalled the events in her mind, realizing her memory stopped at the moment she fell into the water.
"Creak, creak..."
Listening to the somewhat familiar sounds, Florence knew she was on a ship. She just didn't know what kind of people had saved her or how she should repay them. However, the thing stuck in her wrist made her feel extremely uncomfortable.
"Nngh!"
With a muffled grunt, Florence tried to struggle up, but a pain in her back numbed her entire body. Helpless, she lay back down obediently.
"Huff, huff, huff..." Florence gasped for air. She knew her injuries were severe this time; it would take at least ten days to recover.
"This is a good time to rest. Those people shouldn't be able to find me here, right?" Florence used her left hand to slightly lift her shell bra and pulled out a piece of fish skin from inside. She looked at the lines drawn on it; it was the map to the new treasury.
The new treasury of the Mermaid Race contained mostly pearls and some special items. It was what the old King had prepared for the next generation's ruler, but unexpectedly, the pirates had set their sights on it.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Footsteps sounded from outside the door, causing Florence's heart to tighten. She immediately stuffed the treasury map back into her shell, closed her eyes, and left just a tiny slit open to peek at the door.
"Master, is the mermaid beyond saving? She's been sleeping for over ten hours now," Ayesha said in a low voice.
"Who knows? We've done what we can. Whether she survives is up to her," Came Lucas's indifferent reply.
"Master, why don't you go rest? I can watch over the medicine," Mina said gently.
"No need. I'll check her one more time to see if she has a fever," Lucas shook his head and smiled faintly.
"Creak~~"
Three people. One man, two women. The man is in charge...
Florence analyzed the situation. Hearing the door open, she squeezed her eyes shut. She was somewhat nervous; she didn't know what they would do to her. After all, she was a mermaid, and a very beautiful one at that.
"The IV drip is almost empty." Lucas entered and glanced at the IV bottle with his eyes. Seeing there wasn't much medicine left, he looked down at the mermaid's face and noticed the color had returned to her cheeks, indicating her condition had improved.
Lucas reached out and touched the mermaid's forehead. Nodding, he said, "No fever. Her condition has improved. She should be fine."
"That's great," Ayesha said happily in her bright voice. It was her first time seeing a mermaid, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to her.
"Ayesha, not so loud. Be careful not to disturb her rest," Mina poked the cow-girl in the waist.
"Right, right," Ayesha nodded obediently, whispering, "I wonder when she'll wake up."
"Tomorrow at the latest, I should think." Lucas didn't know what a mermaid's constitution was like, but since they lived in the water, it shouldn't be inferior to a beastkin's.
Seeing the drip was finished, he reached out and grabbed the mermaid's hand. It felt soft to the touch, and trembled slightly.
Florence was nervous. Her hand was being held by a man, and his hand was very warm. Her ears turned bright red, and her hand shook subconsciously.
"..." Lucas's eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted. Seeing the mermaid's trembling eyelashes, he immediately realized she was faking sleep.
He didn't expose her. He lowered his head, pulled the IV needle out, and pressed a disinfectant cotton swab over the wound. Once the bleeding stopped, he placed her arm back under the blanket.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Suddenly, a strange sound rang out. Lucas, Mina, and Ayesha froze, then simultaneously looked toward the mermaid on the bed.
The sound was too familiar. It was the sound a stomach made when it was hungry. After all, the beast-girls made that sound quite often.
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