Chapter 363 – Financial Gaslighting
She stared at him. Water beaded on her lips.
He let the silence breathe before he continued. "Let me lay it out for you. Straight. First—you're not a siren."
She blinked. "But I—"
"No. You're not," he cut in, calm but firm. "You're a mermaid. A real one. You know the difference?"
She hesitated. Shook her head.
Lux nodded like he expected that. "Figures. Sirens sing. That's their thing. That's it. No tails. Just lungs, lungs, and more lungs. They're pop stars with gills."
She blinked again, confused.
"But mermaids?" Lux said, pointing at her tail. "They're different. They have real aquatic bloodlines. Royal ones. They can sing and cry pearls."
Her breath caught. "Pearls?"
He raised a brow. "You've produced them before, haven't you?"
"…Yes."
"There you go. That's not a curse. That's a dividend."
Her brows furrowed. "But… they said it was because I was cursed. That sirens don't make pearls. That I was wrong. Broken."
