"Ah…You both are lovers," the king commented, "I believe this is our second meeting, Mr. White?"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty. Forgive us for earlier…" Bai Xing immediately replied.
The king laughed, "It is not a problem," he glanced at his son and sighed, "I wish for my son to be betrothed soon, but with the sea being this dangerous, he is not able to even meet his future bride."
"Father, it is not set yet whether I will accept the princess or not." The prince reminded.
"Regardless, Mr. White, do you have any suggestion in this matter?"
Bai Xing was surprised, "M-Me…Your Majesty?"
The king nodded, "My son praised you often. You seem to have much knowledge hidden under your humble gait. My son is lucky to be found by you. It will not hurt to hear an opinion or two."
"Th-Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty…" Bai Xing was a bit overwhelmed by all the praise he got today.
He considered for a while and spoke again, "First of all, I think we should differentiate which ship disappeared completely and which became a shipwreck. Most likely, the cause is different. The ones we should be careful of are those that disappeared completely."
"Hoo…" the king rubbed his beard.
The prince marked 4 areas on the map, "These 4 areas are where ships disappeared. The rest has ship wreckages left on site."
Bai Xing drew a line connecting the 4 areas. Then, he drew a small circle at the center of their intersection. Afterward, he made a medium circle around the small one, overlapping with 2 areas. Lastly, a big one containing the 4 areas with the 2 circles as the center.
He numbered the circles 1 to 3 from the outer circle to the inner one.
"If we make it like this, we can see the hazardous area of the sea. In level 1, 1 out of 5 ships has a risk of disappearing. In level 2 and 3, 2 out of 5 and 3 out of 5 respectively,"
Bai Xing pointed an area outside the circle, "His Highness's ship got caught in the storm around here if I am not wrong. This means, His Highness is not a survivor of this matter. This is the temple's island where he got stranded."
He traced a path from the island back to the kingdom touching only the periphery of the outer circle, "I believe this was the route the ship that brought us back here and we are fortunately fine."
"So you are saying that as long as the ship does not enter the circle, they should be safe?" the king asked, considering Bai Xing's calculation seriously.
Bai Xing scratched his neck awkwardly, "It is…just my speculation."
"He is correct." Grey suddenly said.
The 3 people turned to him. Grey pointed at the level 3 area, "This is where the Sea Kingdom stood."
"!!" Bai Xing's eyes widened.
Is it alright for him to say that?
Moreover, he didn't expect he would manage to find it this way!
The prince stood blankly, "Sea…Kingdom?"
The king, "…"
"Young man, are you perhaps that of a mermaid kin?"
Bai Xing and the prince both looked at the king in surprise though for different reasons.
Grey nodded.
"As expected…" the king muttered, "Only mermaids have eyes and hairs with peculiar colors."
The prince was confused. He felt like he was the only one who was left out of the topic in the room.
"Father, what do you mean by mermaids? What is that?"
The king looked at Bai Xing, "You are aware of his true form, Mr. White?"
Bai Xing glanced at Grey. Seeing he was fine with it, he gave a little nod.
"Mermaids…" the king turned to the prince, "Are the dwellers of the sea. They have the upper body of humans and lower body of fish. They live underwater and have their own kingdom. Only few rulers of the land know of their existence."
"I am supposed to pass down this knowledge to you when you take the throne. It is important for both of our worlds to never get involved with one another and solely co-exist."
The king looked at the inner circle thoughtfully, "Still, I have never known the exact location of their kingdom until now. Why are they suddenly preying on humans?"
"Grey…were you in the middle of dealing with this before you surfaced?" Bai Xing asked in a small voice.
"She has been trying to catch me, but she suddenly disappeared from my radar last month. Just a few days after the sea witch's disappearance. She possibly has finished her ritual," Grey answered.
She…
Must be talking about Little Mermaid, Bai Xing guessed.
"Young man, it seems like you are the person who has the clearest understanding of the current problem than any of us," the king said to Grey, "Will you be willing to help us? I request your assistance as the king of this country."
"…"
Seeing Grey wasn't responding, the king added, "What do you wish to be your reward? Certainly, the other countries will also be willing to grant you anything. We also promise not to reveal your identity as a mermaid nor reveal the existence of the Sea Kingdom."
Instead of replying, Grey lowered his gaze to stare at Bai Xing.
"??" Bai Xing's face heated up from the stare amidst his confusion.
Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?
"I will only accept requests and rewards from you." Grey directly stated.
Bai Xing felt his heart squeezed.
The king chuckled, "Is that so? What do you say, Mr. White?"
"I, uh…I-I of course want to h-help…" Bai Xing stuttered from his embarrassment.
"Then, you should certainly come up with a proper reward," the king smiled meaningfully, "In that regard, it is best for the two of you to talk. I wish to spend the day with my son, so you both are excused for today."
Bai Xing, "!!"
W-What did that smile mean?
Once they left, the prince finally asked, "Father, I am surprised that you do not react much to their relationship. They are both men…"
The king patted his son's head, "In my age, as a king, I have seen many things, meet more than enough people, and am aware of many matters. There are many things in this world that are more concerning than love between 2 men. So much that you will soon realize that the latter could not be counted as a concern at all."
Bai Xing and Grey went back to Bai Xing's room. Again, Grey instantly clung to him.
"…" Bai Xing turned to face him, "Grey…can you tell me…what's wrong?"
"You."
Bai Xing gulped nervously. As expected, it was him. He gripped the side of Grey's clothes with his damp hands.
"I'm sorry. Can you tell me…what I did wrong? I-Is it because I refused to kiss you? Or maybe because this morning I-I–"
Grey kissed him and stopped his rambling.
Grey pulled away and pressed their foreheads, "You are too charming."
"…?"
"So charming that you are naturally attractive," Grey brushed away Bai Xing's bangs, "I hate it."
Bai Xing's heart immediately fell.
"I hate when anyone other than me looks at you. I hate when they smile at you. I hate when they talk to you. I hate when they touch you. I hate when they call your name," Grey cupped Bai Xing's face with glowering eyes, "Mine. I want to show them that you are mine."
Bai Xing's eyes widened. His heart drummed wildly from Grey's words.
How could Grey never fail to make his heart race? He was very scared when Prince Kalid said something crazy like this, but when Grey said it, he could feel his body tremble from joy with a tint of embarrassment. His heart was really going to burst at some point because of Grey!
Bai Xing connected their lips again. As they exchanged breath, he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his upper buttons. He pulled his collar and presented his neck to Grey.
"G-Go ahead…" he shyly muttered.
Grey didn't waste any time and buried his head in. Bai Xing gasped as he felt Grey's tongue licking him, his lips sucking him, and his teeth biting him all over. Each one was gentle yet passionate, giving him the pleasures of being desired and possessed.
"Grey…I…I love you, Grey. You made me fall and hopelessly in love with you," Bai Xing teared, "So please…don't say you hate me."
Grey halted, "I will never," he stopped marking Bai Xing and stared straight into Bai Xing's eyes, "I love you too. More than the sea. Bigger than the sea. I am completely yours."
Grey let Bai Xing rest his head on his shoulder and caressed his hair. The storm in his heart finally receded.
"Tell me your request."
"But…"
"Rely on me. I want to be of use to you."
Bai Xing hesitated but finally made up his mind.
"Then…"
