I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!

”Azul, we both know that... that’s impossible.” Mera swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and turned his face away slightly, unable to look at his brother for too long. ”We’re not children anymore—”

”What does that have to do with anything?” Azul cut him off. His voice grew louder than before. ”Just because we’re adults, does that mean we can’t see each other whenever we want? Mera, this is... this is ridiculous. I won’t accept it! No, I don’t want this!”

Mera shook his head and let out a weary sigh. He reached for Azul’s hand. ”Azul—”

”No! Don’t ’Azul’ me!” Azul pulled his hand away at once. He looked genuinely angry now. ”I may be your younger brother, but that doesn’t mean I’m a child! I’m old enough to help find a solution too! There has to be a better way than this!”

For a long moment, Mera said nothing. He simply looked at Azul in silence. The sea breeze swept between them, tossing their hair in the wind. Behind them, the waves crashed against the shore again and again. Usually, Azul loved that sound, but right now, he hated it.

”This is the only way,” Mera said at last. ”I’ve hidden a duplicate of your memories somewhere safe, just in case. One day, if you can’t remember on your own, you can use it to get them back.”

Azul froze in place. ”What?” His eyes widened in shock. ”What are you talking about? Memories? My memories are perfectly fine!”

”Not for much longer,” Mera replied calmly. ”The seaweed you ate earlier will soon make you lose consciousness. And when that happens...” He paused for a moment before forcing himself to continue. ”I’m going to take away your memories.”

”You won’t remember the Aquilian Kingdom. You won’t remember Father, Mother, or our brothers and sisters.” Mera’s throat tightened. ”You won’t even remember me.”

Azul’s face went pale. For a few seconds, he simply stared at Mera as if he had misheard him, then he suddenly laughed. ”That’s not funny.”

However, Mera didn’t laugh back and it made the smile disappear from Azul’s face. He said, ”You’re serious.”

Mera lowered his gaze. ”I’m serious.”

Azul took a step back. ”No, you’re lying.”

”I’m not.”

”You are!” Azul shouted. His voice cracked halfway through the word. ”Why would you do something like that? Why would you take my memories away?”

”Because it’s the only way to keep you safe.”

”I don’t care about being safe!” Azul snapped. ”I care about my family!” His chest rose and fell rapidly. ”You can’t do this. You can’t just decide something like this on your own!”

Mera clenched his fists. ”If I had another choice, I would take it.”

”Then find one!” Azul yelled. ”We’ll find one together! We always do!”

A painful smile appeared on Mera’s face. ”Not this time.”

The answer hit Azul harder than any weapon ever could. His brother had already made up his mind, so no matter what he said, no matter how much he begged, Mera wasn’t going to change it.

Tears began to gather in Azul’s eyes. ”Mera... We can still stay together. We can leave the kingdom together. We can hide somewhere far away. Nobody will find us.”

For a brief moment, Mera looked tempted. Just for a brief moment, and then he shook his head. ”If we stay together, you’ll never be safe.”

”I don’t care!”

”But I do.” The words came out so quickly that they almost sounded like a cry.

Mera looked away. ”If the Devourers learn that you’re alive, they’ll come after you. They’ll hunt you for the rest of your life.”

”Then let them come!”

”No.” Mera’s voice became firm again. ”I won’t allow that.”

He continued, ”Azul, listen to me. The Aquilian Kingdom isn’t weak. But the Devourers planted their poison in our land from the very beginning.”

Mera swallowed hard and tried his best not to let his emotions get in the way. ”We were conquered before we realized it. They slipped into our kingdom without anyone noticing. They pretended to be injured sea beastkins who had lost their homes, and we welcomed them in.”

At that moment, Azul held his breath. His blue eyes shook with disbelief, and his lips trembled. ”That...” His voice cracked. ”That was my idea.”

Mera nodded slowly. ”It was. But it wasn’t your fault.”

”It was my fault,” Azul whispered. His gaze dropped. ”I... I was the one who convinced Father to help them. I... I even—”

He was unable to say another word because his head suddenly started to feel dizzy. Maybe it was because of the seaweed Mera had given him earlier, or maybe it was because he had just learned that the people he had tried so hard to help were the same people who had betrayed them.

After a moment, he forced himself to speak again. ”What did they do?” he asked. ”What kind of poison did they use? And why isn’t it affecting me?”

Mera took a slow breath. ”The poison weakens our magical abilities,” he explained. ”It doesn’t take them away completely, but it weakens them enough to make a huge difference.”

His expression darkened. ”I don’t think Father can withstand the Devourers once more of them arrive. And honestly... I don’t think I could defeat them either.”

”But your ability hasn’t awakened yet,” Mera continued. ”That’s why the poison can’t affect you.” He stepped closer. ”That’s also why you’ll be safer on land than in the ocean and Azul, you need to understand that I’m not doing this because I hate you.”

”I’m not sending you away because I don’t want to protect you anymore. If anything, it’s the opposite.” He placed a hand on Azul’s shoulder. ”I’m doing this because I care about you, and I love you, Azul. That’s why, I hope you can forgive me when you remember about this someday.”

”Mera—”

Suddenly, Azul could no longer keep himself standing. His knees gave out beneath him, and he fell onto the sand. At that moment, he knew the special seaweed Mera had given him was finally taking effect.