Interstellar Beast World: All My Husbands Are Powerful and Rich!-Chapter 179: Can’t cry anymore

Before Aren could decide what to do, Wen spoke again.

"Yes. It was Aren." He nodded firmly. "That night, I wasn’t feeling well and went to soak by the Firebird Clan’s sacred pool. By accident, I overheard his secret."

"And so he tried to kill me."

"At the time, I was in the middle of an episode and couldn’t use my abilities. He gravely injured me. In a panic, I escaped and hid inside the fish tank Princess Lola Brandon keeps. She mistook me for an ordinary little fish... and later gifted me to you."

When he finished, Wen looked at Rory. A faint blush spread across his pale face.

Jasper cleared his throat softly, displeasure edging his tone.

"What secret did Aren have that made him want to kill you?"

And why was this fish blushing at Rory?

Wen glanced at him calmly and answered, "I overheard him saying that Lian was trying to seduce his female. He planned to hire several powerful fighters to beat Lian severely."

"But because Lian belongs to the Nine-Tailed Fox clan, he couldn’t kill him outright. So he intended to injure him badly enough that he wouldn’t be able to leave his home for months."

Nix’s eyes widened in realization.

"That explains it! After that banquet night, Lian never came near Rory again."

"So he really was beaten by Aren’s men."

He scratched his head, curious.

"I wonder how badly he was injured... He hasn’t shown up for days."

"Most likely," Wen said softly. He wasn’t entirely sure whether Lian had been beaten—but he certainly had been, nearly to death.

Rory frowned, anger rising in her chest.

"Aren is outrageous!"

But then a thought crossed her mind.

Was this Aren the same one Yuel and Vincent had dealt with before?

Did Aren have a twin brother?

Ever since they had gone to A3, Aren had stopped sending her messages altogether.

At the top of the staircase, Aren stood frozen.

Rory was angry.

If he stepped forward now and claimed it had all been Aris’s doing... would she believe him?

What should he do?

Vincent spoke coldly. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"The charm-demon clan dared to cause trouble at my Empress Matriarch’s birthday banquet. The Firebird Clan will demand an explanation."

As for how the Merfolk chose to deal with the charm-demon clan—that was their own affair.

The Firebird Clan would not interfere.

Vincent’s gaze shifted back to Wen.

"Now that your injuries are explained, let’s talk about why you’ve been hiding in our villa."

Wen knew this was where Vincent intended to hold him accountable. No matter the reason, secretly hiding in a female’s home was improper.

"Please, tell me what you have to," Wen said sincerely. "As long as I can remain by her side, I am willing to do anything."

Vincent remained silent and glanced toward Yuel.

Yuel smiled faintly and took over.

"Your Majesty, there’s no need to be nervous. We treat guests very kindly. While it was inappropriate to hide in our home, we have no intention of making things difficult for you. You simply need to provide appropriate compensation."

"We won’t even mention the water changes or medicinal treatments. But you ate my leaves—and quite a number of fish from our artificial lake."

"One thousand of your pink pearls will suffice."

That should be enough for Rory to play with.

Yuel had deliberately not asked for more—he wasn’t certain the Merfolk King could cry that much in his current state.

Wen stared at him in astonishment.

The little female was kind. Her companions were kind as well.

He had troubled them for so many days, and they asked for so little in return.

Yuel watched his expression, briefly wondering if he had asked for too much.

Could this Merfolk King not even produce a thousand pearls?

He considered lowering the number—not out of sympathy, but because Wen’s gaze toward Rory was far too transparent.

Keeping him here might mean gaining another rival.

"One thousand pearls is no problem," Wen said quickly, eyes lighting as he looked at Rory.

"I will give you as many pearls as you desire."

A faint flush colored his cheeks again.

"It’s just that... my body has not yet recovered. I cannot produce tears for now."

If he could cry, he would have already offered her pearls.

Seeing the skepticism in their eyes, Wen grew anxious.

"I’m not lying. I truly cannot cry at the moment."

"I don’t believe you," Xarion said evenly. "Unless you let me beat you."

Wen paused, then nodded. "Very well. You may."

Even if they beat him half to death, he doubted a single tear would fall.

Rory quickly intervened.

"Xarion, he’s not well. You can’t hit him."

If something truly happened to him, how would they explain it to the Merfolk?

She turned to Wen.

"If you can’t cry now... what about before?"

Surely he had some pearls stored somewhere?

She didn’t need a thousand.

Even a few hundred would do.

After all, he had eaten several of Yuel’s leaves. They couldn’t simply let that go unpaid.

Wen looked embarrassed.

"The smaller pearls were distributed to my clan. The larger ones were given to the Dragon Clan. In the Merfolk, pearls are of little value. And as king, I cannot appear weak. If I cry easily, my people would see it as a weakness. On rare occasions when I shed a tear, the female merfolk would scramble to claim the pearls."

"Sometimes members of the Dragon Clan would request a few as well. But ever since I fell ill... I have been unable to cry at all."

"I see..." Rory sighed in disappointment.

It seemed pink pearls were not meant for her.

Seeing her crestfallen expression, Wen stepped forward and dropped to one knee before her.

"Please give me time."

"Once I recover, I will give you many—many pink pearls."

He could feel his body gradually improving after consuming Yuel’s leaves.

With a little more time, he would recover fully.

He lowered his head solemnly. "Please keep me by your side. I am willing to become your follower. I am a Rank Ten male. Though I cannot compare to Prince Vincent or the young wolf heir, I am not weak. I swear by the Beast God to remain loyal to you. I will guard you with my life and never betray you. If I break this oath, may I lose my abilities and fall into eternal ruin."

He knew he could not compete with Vincent and the others as a mate.

So he would start as a follower.

If he stayed close to Rory long enough, perhaps one day she would accept him.

Vincent and the others said nothing.

This decision belonged to Rory alone.

She looked at Wen and tried to think.

"Why do you want to become my follower?"

Wen met her eyes with disarming sincerity. "The first time I saw you at the Firebird Clan, I already wished to become your mate. But you were speaking with Lian and did not notice me. And you have cared for me these past days."

"You even... saw my body just now. In the Merfolk, a male’s body may only be seen by his mate."

His cheeks flushed once more as he finished speaking.