QT: I hijacked a harem system and now I'm ruining every plot(GL)

Chapter 426: Alira

I found out from Mum about the status of the two brothers. I could not resist it.

Turns out, Prince Caspian Jr believes that his father was kidnapped by monstrous water creatures. So he hates the sea. He spends his days staring at the horizon, dreaming of the day he will sail out and rescue his father.

I have met his father. He does not look very kidnapped at all.

And Prince Tristan thinks his mother saved his father from the barbaric ways of the human world. He has been raised to believe that humans are dangerous and cruel. He does not understand why his father still looks at the surface sometimes.

I swim, my tail splashing the water excitedly.

I told Tristan to bring his father over because I wanted to meet him—to see if his feelings for me are real. And I told Prince Caspian Jr to sneak out for a boat ride with me, because I had something to tell him.

I hide behind rocks, eagerly watching the spectacle.

I see the small boat paddle away into the ocean from the private harbor belonging to the royal family of the kingdom.

In the distance, I see Tristan swimming over with his father.

I see the small boat paddle away into the ocean from the private harbor belonging to the royal family of the kingdom.

In the distance, I see Tristan swimming over with his father.

I am so giddy.

Soon Tristan is close. I loudly swim his way.

"Alira." Caspian Jr calls.

I pause. I turn around. I fake being surprised.

"Alira, what is the meaning of this? Why are you in the water this late?" He asks.

I cannot exactly respond. In mermaid form, I have no vocal cords. My voice only comes out as a series of hums and sounds only fellow merfolk can understand.

Luckily, I do not have to.

Tristan and his father emerge from the water.

"Alira," Tristan says.

He looks at me. Then at the boat. Then at the human boy staring at us with wide eyes. His eyes immediately become hostile and wary.

Just then, Tristan’s father goes pale at his side.

"Father?" Caspian Jr says into the silence, recognizing him.

The word hangs in the air like a stone dropped into still water.

Tristan’s head snaps toward his father.

***

Caspian

The only unfortunate thing about my son is that he fancies the Devil’s daughter. In the few moments I have met her, she has made me uncomfortable. She has the Devil’s eyes—eyes that look down on everything, that look at us as though we are mere ants.

I do not understand how my son could love her.

So when he said the Devil’s daughter wanted to meet me—that she wanted to see if his feelings for her were real—I begrudgingly agreed to come.

What I did not expect was to meet another boy who looks so much like me, calling me father.

The word hits me like a physical blow.

I do not respond. I cannot.

The boy moves on the small boat.

"Father, it is me." He says. "Caspian. I am your son."

Caspian? My name? I was suspicious whether the child Penelope decided to pass as mine was really mine. But I suppose this is all the proof I need. Besides, I have chosen not to think of the kingdom. Of my life there.

"Father." The boy says again, nearly falling out of the boat.

Out of reflex, I hold him steady.

His hands grip my arms. His eyes search my face.

I look at him. I do not know what to say to him, when we are separated by so much—by years, by worlds, by the choices I made and the ones I did not.

"I don’t know what you are talking about, human." Tristan’s voice cuts through the air. He has legs in the water now—he has switched. "But this is my father."

Tristan swims closer. His legs disappear beneath the water. His tail reappears, lashing the surface. Before his legs appear again, showing how agitated he is.

"How dare you, human, say such lies!"

Tristan’s claws appear—sharp, glistening, dangerous. He slashes the boat. The wood cracks. Water seeps in.

"Enough!"

My voice cuts through the air.

They both freeze.

"You are both my sons," I say.

***

Alira

None of them noticed me swim away in the chaos.

This is so much better than expected.

I hide behind the rocks and watch in amusement as he tries to explain to both boys that they are both his sons. I do not know why they are not believing him—all three look so much alike, with the same blonde hair and gray eyes.

It is almost comical.

"Father, what are you talking about?" Tristan asks.

Caspian’s mouth opens. Then closes.

"I..."

"I do not know what is happening, but let us go—" Caspian Jr tries to pull him away.

He drops his hand immediately after feeling how cold and webbed his father’s skin is.

He stares at the hand.

He stares at Caspian.

His face pales.

"Father, your hands—"

Caspian looks down at his own hands. At the webbing between his fingers. At the pale skin.

"I know," he says.

He does not respond.

"It is the sea monsters, is it not?" Elias’s voice rises. "I will kill them. I will—"

"Stop!"

The shout cuts through the night.

Tristan moves closer. His tail lashing.

"Tristan, let us go," Caspian says.

"Father, no—"

"Wait."

Caspian Jr’s voice is now quiet and heartbroken.

"Do not go."

But Tristan and his father disappear into the water. Not before Tristan sends back a smug expression his way.

Awww.

How anticlimactic. I thought there would be more drama. I spent months planning this meeting.

How boring.

I swim out from behind the rocks. I do not go to the human prince he probably needs time to himself he is still staring at the water where his father disappeared. His shoulders are slumped. His hands are limp at his sides. . Instead, I decide to swim home.

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