My Dominant Merman Lover

Chapter 1: The Dungeon

If a tragic story is to be told, it is best described with tenderness and love; the most charming characters, the most moving plots, together with the hope for the future, and then, at a certain moment, there comes a sudden and brutal end. Likewise, the beginning of a comedy should be somehow tragic: the filth, the pain, the rage, all in that cargo ship, in that dark room, in that stagnant pool filled with dark water that stinks.

"... Captain Gerald. What exactly do you want to show me?"

It was the voice of a young gentleman. He sounded gentle, but with a commanding tone that could not be ignored. The old captain of the cargo ship led the way, while the young man cautiously stopped outside the dark cabin as if he somehow sensed some danger.

"The beast of the sea..."

"Merman, it's a real merman..."

"Please come in..."

The cabin was stuffy and dark. The captain and sailors whispered in the darkness: they all lowered their voices as if they were afraid they would wake something up.

The color of the young man's eyes is a cool blue-green, but they seem polite: he smiled, but anyone who knew his temper well would have been quite disturbed by that smile.

"You caught me a beast?" the young man asked in a low but gentle voice.

"Yes, that is right, Mr. Carter," said the captain courteously, "something of an absolute rarity... ..."

The young man only glanced at the dim cabin, then withdrew his gaze and looked at the deck again.

"I thought you knew, Captain," he said, "that I paid you for my tobacco, silk, and spices."

In the next few sentences, his voice suddenly became cold and severe, like a real shrewd and mean businessman.

There was silence. The accusation from the always-tolerant employer came so suddenly that the captain, who wanted to get away with it like always, just froze. He racked his brains for a while, trying to come up with a reasonable reason.

"You... your cargo got wet, Mr. Carter," the captain pleaded. "You know I have been faithfully serving your father... no, for you, sir, for a very long time...and this time it was only a small mistake, sir..."

"A mistake?"

The young man repeated it coldly.

"Gerald," he said slowly, "look at me. Do I look like a fool?"

The captain was speechless for a while.

"I have no interest in your beast. Now tell me... where is the rest of my cargo?"

He added the accent to the last sentence. Several sailors beside them stopped their things, and the captain never expected that his employer would suddenly be so strict. He was completely speechless for a while.

He had always thought the young man was a foolish employer--a young, inexperienced freshman to the business. For the past two years, the young man had completely ignored his mistakes, and Captain Gerald would never have thought of this. His attack came so mercilessly at a very unexpected time.

"You are a drunkard, gambler, and lecherous bastard, Captain Gerald." The young man said coldly, "You lost the goods I authorized you to guard on the gaming table. You were fired."

The captain's face suddenly turned pale.

"...But...but...Mr. Carter!" The captain was stunned, and even stammered, "No, no...I worked for your father! I have been serving your father for a full five years! Mr. Carter!"

"He hires you like a bug who steals," the young man sneered. "The good laws of Great Britain allow me to hang you legally, Captain Gerald. You should be thankful that I would not hang you for my father's sake. I wish you live happily in poverty in the future, my friend."

Before the captain could speak of anything else, the young man turned and left.

"Go to the cabin and do a search," the young man ordered his men in a cold voice without even turning his head, "Take away everything that does not belong to Captain Gerald."

"No, no, no! Mr. Carter! Please give me another chance... Please give me another chance...!"

The captain rushed after him while yelling. For a while, there were loud noises everywhere. Vulgar curses arose along with the rotten smell: the smell of fish and rotten leather filled the small, stuffy cabin.

In the dark pool, there was only one thing: a tortured, imprisoned raging beast.

Beside the stagnant pool, several wrist-thick iron chains collided with each other, making a chilling sound.

A few people stepped forward to check. And what opened in the pool terrifyingly——was a pair of golden eyes with erect pupils—the eyes of a merman.

The man stumbled backward. The frightened cries came out of the cabin suddenly.

"Mr. Carter—!"

And that, my friend, was the beginning of this story.