Ritika finally manages to gather the courage and strength enough to look back, and then she sees the Handsome Devil that the Mermaid spy just mentioned.
[Certainly, he looks like the most handsome man ever and a demon too!] She thinks before using all her remaining strength to try to get rid of his grip again.
He lets go of her arm, and Ritika loses her balance, falling backward. Due to her injuries, she can't even get up quickly.
Then he looks at the Mermaid, chained to the wall as her blood flows from dozens of different wounds. "You seem to be in a really bad situation."
Despite all the pain, the Mermaid still manages to smile. "If my end has come even this way, I won't complain; at least you've given me this breathtaking view before the light in my eyes goes out."
"Hahaha…" Lucien can't help but laugh at the Mermaid's praise. Not only is he fascinated with her look but also her personality.
Ritika gets more and more confused, not understanding who Lucien is, how he got there, and mainly, what he wants.
But he wastes no time before making his intentions clear as he gently caresses the Mermaid's wrists. "This doesn't have to be your end; I can help you."
"A quick death is the only help you can give me..." The Mermaid speaks as she feels powerful and pleasant energies enter her body, healing her and making her feel better than ever.
She starts to fear that she doesn't want to die to feel more of that energy and thinks that maybe Lucien is a different kind of torturer.
"Even if you set me free, I wouldn't be able to get far before other Nagas catch me and bring me here again." She explains.
Lucien smiles, which makes the Mermaid's heart beat even faster as he speaks in a gentle tone. "I can guarantee you will get out of here completely healed, and no Naga in this outpost will ever harm you again."
"You can't promise that!!" Ritika exclaims in fury as she tries to get up.
"Oh, he can." A majestic voice echoes through the room, and Ritika is shocked to see the person who said that.
"The Queen?!?!?" She doesn't believe in her own eyes because it doesn't make sense for Queen to be in a place like that.
But then she sees other women alongside Mira, including someone she knows very well. "Kam- My Princess?!?!"
Kamala smiles at her old friend. "Ritika... it's been so long, my friend."
Ritika is even more shocked, while the Mermaid only has eyes for Lucien. "What's going on?? Why are you here?? Who is this man????"
"I'll explain everything to you later." Mira answers. "But now you just need to know that Lucien is my husband, so yes, he can order you and do what he just said."
"B-but, but..." Ritika is even more confused.
Lucien ignores her and goes back to talking to the Mermaid. "So now that you understand that I can help you, what do you say?"
"Why would you help me?" She asks. "You want to make some kind of deal, right? But what could I offer you in this situation?"
Before he responds, l.u.s.t materializes her body beside him. "You can see he's a demon, don't you? Then you should also know that no matter what deal he offers you, it's going to be fair and beneficial to both of you."
"Well, considering you are..." Helena comments as she looks at the Mermaid's body. "Such a charming species; I'm sure that deal will be much more beneficial for you and your people."
"*Roar!*" Oya roar in a tone of agreement, making Helena smile.
The Mermaid has no idea what's going on. She had already accepted death and would do nothing to harm her people. But now, she somehow sees kindness and compa.s.sion in Lucien's eyes, which makes her wonder what will come next.
"I'm listening…" She speaks while avoiding looking directly at his face and becoming even more captivated by his charm.
"First, let me heal you." He speaks as he begins to remove the chains that bind her, breaking that tough steel with his own hands.
The Mermaid is shocked at his strength as only someone above the middle Immortal Realm could break those chains with bare hands.
But she's also curious about how he's going to cure her. "Are you some kind of healer?"
Lucien smiles, and the moment he breaks the last chain that holds her, her body falls due to weakness. But he acts quickly, taking her around the waist and sealing her lips with a kiss full of life mana before she understands what's going on.
"Mm!! Mmm??! Mmmm... mmmmm..." The Mermaid tries to resist for the first two seconds but quickly realizes that his kiss is the best thing she has ever experienced in her entire life.
While his wives roll their eyes and Ritika stares at them with wide eyes, the Mermaid enjoys Lucien's kiss and has most of her wounds healed at unbelievable speed.
Time seems to stop for the Mermaid, who wants to stay in that moment forever, even if that is just a dream.
But Lucien soon begins to back off his lips after healing her enough. However, her mouth instinctively follows his in a desperate plea for more kisses.
And for not having her request granted, the Mermaid opens her eyes again and sees Lucien's teasing smile. "You can have more kisses after helping me."
She blushes, which makes her look even cuter to him, and then backs away a few inches slowly. "Ehhh... I just... I feel so much better... what kind of healing..."
"Can you tell me who that human you were talking about is?" Lucien wastes no time getting straight to the point.
The Mermaid is confused because she doesn't know why he seems so curious about that human. Ritika fought against her and Saria, but he shouldn't be so curious about the human.
"This... it's complicated..." She doesn't want to reveal any information about her Princess's best friend, a person who may in the future be the new Mermaid Queen's adviser.
Lucien knows there are many humans in the Blue Star, whether pirates or people from the Rising Phoenix Clan, but he can't help but hope that woman is one of his sisters.
And if that's the case, she seems to be being treated well by the Mermaids to the point of that woman doesn't want to give any information about her to save her own life.
"Alright, that wasn't part of the deal but a curiosity of mine." He smiles at the Mermaid. "What about telling me your name? Can you do it?"
She looks into Lucien's eyes and doesn't see any malice, so she responds. "Rupa... my name is Rupa."
"Rupa?" He smiles. "That sounds nice. My name is Lucien, by the way."
"Lucien…" Rupa repeats as that name echoes in her mind. She, like any woman who hears that name, will never be able to forget it.
But despite almost falling in love with Lucien, Rupa keeps her mind focused and her heart loyal to her people. "Lucien… what exactly do you want from me?"
He really likes the fact that she stays focused and loyal despite having his energies running through her body. In fact, the fact that she's in the early Immortal Realm is an important factor in her being able to resist his charm more than other weaker women.
"I need you to take a message to your Queen." He again cuts to the chase.
"Hmm..." Rupa can't help but wonder if that's something like a trap. [They could follow me, but even so, their troops couldn't harm the Queen in our capital...]
"Rupa?" Lucien can see that the Mermaid is confused, so he gently takes her hand. "I believe you think the same as I do about this war... it doesn't make any sense and doesn't need to continue; no Naga or Mermaid should die because of something like this."
"Does not make sense?!?" Rupa gets upset. "How does it make no sense for us to fight for our nation and want revenge against hundreds of years of abuse by the Naga???"
He shakes his head. "I didn't say that you guys fighting back don't make sense, but that the Nagas stealing your territory and hurting your people don't make sense in the first place."
"Oh." Rupa nods. "Yes, that shouldn't have happened in the first place, but... now my people won't stop just because someone asked."
"Of course not." He smiles. "That's why Mira is here, to make a peace deal with your Queen. Also, I'm going to make sure your people be compensated for all the evil the Nagas have done you in person."
"In person?" Her lips can't help but curl into a smile as she thinks of something. "You're going to have to kiss millions of Mermaids for that..."
A purple glow pa.s.ses through Lucien's blue eyes as he caresses Rupa's delicate chin. "I would love to do something like that."
Helena, Mira, and Kamala make upset and jealous expressions while Lucien can feel that they don't like that idea at all.
So, even though he really wants to explore Rupa's beautiful and exotic body, he takes a step back. "So, what do you think about going to your Queen and setting up a meeting with Mira? Your Queen can pick the place, and you just have to come back to me to tell me her answer."
Rupa thinks a bit about that and doesn't see how that could be a trap, so she nods. "I can do it."
"Great!" Lucien smiles. He seems to be deciding everything by himself, but he and Mira have already talked about that mentally, and she completely agrees with the plan, except for the part where he supposedly compensates the Mermaids with kisses, of course.
Mira walks up to Rupa and pulls a beautiful s.h.i.+ny blue earring out of her storage bracelet before handing it to her. That really looks like a very special and rare treasure.
"Give this to Nea as a sign of our good intentions," Mira speaks. "Also, it will be alright even if she wants our meeting to be in the capital of your Kingdom as I completely trust her."
Rupa is surprised at how things seem to turn out. Everyone knows that Mira had no real power over the Naga people, but it seems that things are changing, and the main factor seems to be Lucien.
So maybe there really is hope for that war to end and the Mermaids could regain their territory, as well as some really special compensation.
She looks at Lucien with a concerned expression. "Am I really going to get through all those Nagas without a hitch?"
He first looks at Ritika with a severe expression and does not contain his draconic aura. "You will go with her all the way and make sure nothing happens to her, do you understand?"
Ritika feels an incredibly powerful pressure making it difficult for her to stand and even breathe. But that also gives her hope that things will change for her people.
Despite looking like someone severe, Lucien can see that she is loyal to Mira and has a great friends.h.i.+p with Kamala. Also, they even told him to trust her character.
And even with all her body, heart, and soul wanting to follow Lucien's orders, Ritika still looks at Mira and Kamala with a pleading expression.
"Do this, and you will continue to be a respected general in the new world we will create together." Mira speaks in a confident tone.
"Yes, my Queen!" Ritika bows respectfully. She still doesn't understand exactly what's going on, but she definitely wants to be a part of that.
But as she moves, she feels her whole body ache and instinctively looks at Lucien's lips as she remembers how he healed Rupa with just a kiss.
"Hahaha..." He chuckles as he sees that woman who just seconds ago looked so dominant now with a pleading expression.
He wouldn't mind giving her some healing kisses, but since he doesn't want to p.i.s.s off his wives, he takes three bottles of special healing potion from his storage ring.
"Take it." He tosses two bottles to Ritika and one to Rupa. "Maybe you'll get something better if you come back with good news."