Home/I was reincarnated as a mermaid, but I ended up imprinting the shadowy Grand Duke/ch 5

Chapter 5: Life Never Goes According to Plan (4)

"Look! I said I'm leaving!"

I thrashed in the grand duke's arms, trying to break free.

My twenty years of mermaid intuition was screaming at me. Get out of here, fast!

"Are you really going to leave? Weren't you just running from those guys?"

He pointed to the poachers' boat approaching us.

I glanced down at my tail.

"....."

He was right. Even if I escaped now, I'd probably be caught again soon.

He looked at me, then smiled a meaningful smile, like one used to lure wild animals with light.

"You're hurt. I'll treat you."

"...Treat me?"

I looked up at him warily.

My tail hurt, and under normal circumstances, I would have refused without a second thought, but the fact that he was the villain of the original story weighed on my mind.

'I need to join the main characters' group too, and who knows what might happen if I get tangled up with this guy?'

Something felt deeply wrong. I rejected his offer immediately.

"I don't need it. I can take care of myself."

It felt like willingly putting my head into a predator's mouth, you know?

I pushed against him, signaling for him to let me go. But he didn't budge an inch.

"...Huh?"

I looked up at him, flustered.

He looked down at me with a mocking smile.

"Did I say I'd let you go?"

"You kidnapping freak!"

"Watch your words. You're the one who jumped into my arms first."

The grand duke checked the blue mark on his chest, then gestured toward the poachers' boat as they tried to flee in panic and gave his order.

"Strip them all."

"Yes, understood!"

The poachers' boat fell in an instant.

Naval officers swarmed over the bow, crossing onto the other ship, and within moments, the poachers were tied up and dragged out.

Valuables and supplies flew through the air.

They'd toss something from over there, and someone would catch it over here.

As if they'd done it many times before, the officers' movements were incredibly smooth.

"......"

It was a spectacular sight, enough to make anyone stare.

It was so circus-like and amazing that it took me until I saw the stripped ship set ablaze to snap out of it.

"Anything worth taking?"

"Ah, yes. There seem to be a few decent things..."

He asked the gray-haired man who had tried to capture me.

I slyly glanced at the grand duke, then peeked at the waves lapping below the deck.

'Maybe I can escape now?'

Even though I was tightly held in the grand duke's arms, if I caught him off guard, I might just be able to slip away.

The chance was now. I never planned to get involved with the villain anyway!

And in my past life, I'd heard that you shouldn't try to fix bad people.

He looks dangerous at first glance, so why should I!

This was a direct route to the bad ending that led the original story to ruin!

So my strong urge to escape right now was perfectly normal.

"......"

I quietly swallowed my saliva. If I got dragged along by this man, my life might really be over.

"Do you think I can't escape!"

Desperately, I created a splash of water and slipped out of his arms like a fish.

The grand duke, hit square in the face by my splash, staggered for a moment, then reached out to grab me in surprise.

"Try and catch me if you can!"

I twisted my body, dodging his hands left and right.

'A loach would have to learn a thing or two from me!'

Scrape, scrape!

The sound of wood scraping against my tail fin broadcasted my desperate struggle to escape him.

I rolled frantically toward the railing.

"Stop right there!"

"Would you stop if you were me?"

The harpoon in my tail still hurt, but escape came first.

"Splash!"

Splash!

Even the naval officers rushed at me, but they were ten years too early to catch me.

I dodged the wicked humans' hands and grabbed hold of the railing. Then I leaped toward the sea.

No, I tried to leap!

"Splash!"

If it weren't for the fishing net that suddenly covered me in an instant!

I saw the gray-haired man who had thrown the net over me.

As I gnashed my teeth trying to pull the net down, he looked at me with a tired expression and said,

"Please understand. Everyone here has been working overtime for a month straight, unable to go home, just to catch you."

"....."

Ah, I can't argue with that. No wonder they were all so desperate.

'I know all too well the mindset of an employee who would throw a net at a charging lion just to get off work...'

I looked at him with pity, but still scanned for an opening to escape.

By then, the naval officers had surrounded me and were closing in.

They were all wearing neat uniforms, but they were all built like proper sailors—imposing.

I was scared, but I gathered my courage and tried to threaten them.

"You wicked bastards! I said let me go, but you won't let go, and now you've put a net over me—what are you trying to do to me!"

I barely escaped the poachers, and now I'm destined to die at the hands of the villainous grand duke's evil schemes?

"Oh dear, humans catching mermaids. Waaah."

"Hey, she's crying. Do something!"

"Hey! What am I supposed to do about it!"

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't escape the net. After a long struggle, I was completely worn out and flopped onto the deck.

Curling up my exhausted body, I saw my tail still pierced by the harpoon.

I sobbed loudly, raising my voice as I stared at the grand duke's black boots approaching me.

"You wicked grand duke... I saved you, and this is how you repay me... Waaah. Don't eat me. It hurts..."

I felt his hand reach down toward my head, still covered by the net.

"Haha...!"

I squeezed my eyes shut.

"...Huh?"

But instead, the grand duke personally cut the net off me with his own hands?

"Ah..."

Maybe it was my imagination, but I felt his gaze looking down at me as if I were pathetic, which made me feel very uncomfortable.

"...What are you doing?"

I couldn't understand his actions. I stared at him blankly.

In the end, I was carried off by him.

I tried to escape until the very end, but I failed.

"Come with me. I'll take good care of you."

---

'No, you're the main culprit who's going to turn me into seafoam!'

Take good care of me, my foot. I'd be lucky if you didn't set the country on fire.

I grumbled, rolled up the blanket at the edge of the bed, and warily watched him enter the room.

His hands were full of suspicious items.

'Hmm, that's a bandage, that's scissors, that's... a knife?'

Scared, I watched him warily and gathered water droplets around me, spraying them everywhere.

"...Stay back, will you?"

Splat! Splat! Water balloons burst, soaking the bed, the floor, and the desk.

"I said I'll take care of you, didn't I?"

He approached me, carrying the mysterious items.

"I said I don't need it!"

I'm scared! I'm scared!

He was wearing a sinister smile.

Clomp, clomp. The sound of his boots approaching in a steady rhythm was terrifyingly chilling.

"Ahh, save the mermaid!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and cowered as his large hand reached toward me.

"......?"

But the grand duke wasn't in front of me.

Bewildered, I blinked and saw him staring intently at my white tail, still pierced by the harpoon, at the foot of the bed.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"...Of course it hurts! Can't you see?"

He looked at the harpoon as if pondering something for a moment, then suddenly grabbed the tip of my tail with his bare hand.

"Ah!"

I screamed at the sudden pain.

This enormous bastard, it hurts so much!

I squirmed to the edge of the bed, glaring at him.

He flinched, then continued, a beat late, looking flustered.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Don't worry. I'm trying to treat you."

"......Why?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'll take good care of you."

I didn't believe him. I looked at him suspiciously.

He examined my tail, then swiftly cut the shaft of the harpoon with a knife.

"It'll hurt. Bear with it."

Then he grabbed the metal tip of the harpoon and yanked it out.

"Ahhh!"

...You crazy bastard! Is there no anesthetic here?!

Shaking from the searing pain, I rolled back and forth on the bed.

Let's skip the description of the bloodstains.

"Sorry. I happen to be completely out of medicine right now. I'll make sure you get proper treatment once we reach the estate."

I felt him press the wound with the tip of my tail and wrap it in bandages.

He must have packed gauze deep into the wound, because the pain was excruciating.

I wanted to curse him out with every insult I knew, but...

...I held back.

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