Chapter 2

When I was reborn, Kaelen had already taken Lyra's hand, declaring his intention to make her his consort.

Everyone watched, utterly stunned, but I merely let out a sigh of relief.

I looked up to see Lyra gazing at Kaelen with an incredulous, lovestruck expression.

Kaelen, however, only gave me a smug, triumphant look.

That's when I realized: he had been reborn too.

The Carp Clan was the weakest in the entire East Sea.

So, even though I was the legitimate princess of the Carp Clan, Lyra and I were always looked down upon by the Merfolk simply because we were carps.

King Theron had ten sons. The year Lyra and I entered the palace for the royal selection, five of the princes were choosing their consorts.

Lyra and I were sent to the Merfolk royal palace.

Aside from us, all the other women belonged to higher-ranking clans.

After the princes made their choices, only Lyra and I remained.

Just as I was thinking I could finally go home, the Tenth Prince, Kaelen, chose me.

Kaelen's true form was a common black carp, the Merman King's illegitimate son.

His status among the princes was far from high.

After he chose me, we were quickly married.

Five months into our marriage, the Tenth Prince actually transformed into a merman.

Later, I became pregnant and gave birth to a Golden Merman, named Caspian.

A carp transforms into a merman after five centuries, and a merman must endure another millennium to ascend to a Golden Merman.

However, not every carp can become a merman, and not every merman can transform into a Golden Merman.

On Caspian's hundredth birthday, Kaelen himself also transformed into a Golden Merman.

After examining both their destinies, the Shaman declared that they would ascend to godhood in just two millennia, not five.

King Theron was overjoyed. He abdicated early, making Kaelen the new Merman King, and I smoothly became the Merfolk Queen.

But the first thing the father and son did after Kaelen ascended to the throne was to kill me!

They believed that I, a red carp, was a stain on their father-son glory.

They thought Lyra, who later transformed into a merman, was more befitting of their status.

If Kaelen had chosen Lyra back then, Caspian's tail wouldn't have had that large red birthmark.

They tricked me into drinking poisoned wine. Kaelen used a blade to slice open my chest, ripping out and crushing my core essence.

After I reverted to my true form, they plucked out my scales one by one to make a red scale robe for Lyra.

My son then chopped up my true form and fed it to the piranhas in the sea.

The腥味 of the piranhas in my nose still made me shiver involuntarily.

King Theron was not satisfied with Kaelen's choice.

"Kaelen, if you must choose someone from the Carp Clan, why not choose the red carp?"

Not just King Theron, everyone felt that if Kaelen were to choose a carp as his consort, no one was more suitable than me.

My mother had been the Queen of the Carp Clan, while Lyra's mother was merely my mother's attendant.

Back then, Lyra's mother had taken advantage of my mother's pregnancy to sneak into my father's bed.

In terms of looks, status, or spiritual power, Lyra simply couldn't compare.

Yet, Kaelen stood firm in his choice. He knelt before King Theron. "Father, my heart belongs solely to Lyra. I don't believe I'm fated to be with anyone else."

At these words, Lyra's face instantly flushed crimson.

Though she was a carp princess, her mother's humble status and her own form as a white carp often led to her being scorned.

Even if Kaelen's true form was a common black carp, he was still the Merman King's son.

Marrying into the Merfolk royalty was a significant leap in status for her.

Moreover, Kaelen had rejected me and chosen her in front of everyone.

Thinking of this, Lyra cast a triumphant glance my way.

King Theron didn't truly value his illegitimate son and mostly tolerated him. Since Kaelen was so resolute in his choice, King Theron agreed to the marriage.

At that moment, only I remained in the great hall, unchosen.

King Theron spoke, "Elara, since no one has chosen you, you may return to the Carp Clan."

"Father!" No sooner had King Theron finished speaking than Kaelen knelt again. "Your son visited the ancient merman in the Abyssal Grotto yesterday. Though he is five thousand years old and his body is not what it once was, he is still a member of our Merfolk clan. I've heard Elara is blessed with good fortune for her partner. Perhaps she could marry him, so as not to disappoint the Carp Clan's expectations."