The Merman, My Man novel Chapter 210

My heart was pounding as my breathing turned ragged, but I worked hard to calm myself. “Hey, Dicken—why don’t we talk about it? I want to know what I mean to you… Am I just a container for your genes to propagate your bloodline?“

My heart clenched unwittingly even as I said those words, as if I was forcing myself to face a cruel truth. The smile was gone from Dicken’s face too, and he took a long look at my eyes, as if seriously considering the question.

Dicken had been the king of the merfolk for a long time, and had lived through countless battles and slaughters in his long life. Still, I didn’t think that such a simple question would stump him.

Sentiment, love, bonds —those were all emotions unique to humans, but would merfolk be able to feel the same as humans?

Even if I had been with him before, I cannot use the rationale of a biologist to decide on such cross- species relationships. Moreover, my EQ was not at all high and I used to be a nerd who only knew about her own research, having no experience in love and unable to make heads or tails of relationship matters.

I simply had no idea whether Dicken’s desire for me was an instinct to continue his bloodline, or to put it in another way—would he find it acceptable if it wasn’t me?

And did Dicken even understand my question? Or did he perhaps find that he was under no obligation to answer the question of a childish, insignificant progeny?

Naturally, I wished for an answer for him, and had been apprehensive —even insecure over it, and my heart felt as if I was walking a tightrope. Without knowing it, tears were welling in my eyes, and it took me so much effort to raise my gaze to stare fixedly at him, waiting nervously for his response.

”I did consider you a progeny when you were younger, grooming and protecting you so that you slowly became dependent on me. I watched in delight as you changed, until the day of your grandfather’s accident, and your parents took you away from my side.”

His wet breath seemed to swirl around me, and he would lick my ear from time to time as he whispered, ”It was too sudden, and I had to let go of you. I only began to search for you later at every sea that I could reach, but I failed even after over a decade, and could only reach you through dreams. As you grew, you would unwittingly yearn for me in your dreams, but lose all recollection of me once you wake up, which left me in pain, and I had even thought about changing into human form to find you, but I couldn’t do it at the time. Even so, I didn’t lose hope, because I knew that I was there —and that it would guide you towards me endlessly.”

Dicken had put his hand over my chest, and it heaved as I breathed. I looked up then, meeting his entrancing gaze as if walking with him to his distant memories.

”But one day, I sensed you, and could tell that you were definitely looking for me. I couldn’t wait and ran towards you, wanting to see what the tiny tot that belonged to me had become, only to find you constantly hanging out with that man named Gary… I could see the admiration in your eyes, and you were reliant on him as you were towards me in your childhood, although you don’ t remember me at all now.”